Hello, hello, hello! Welcome back for another chapter. This is what I consider to be the real rewrite, as the plot changes considerably into something really AU (though I think you guys have already realized that in the previous chapter). As always, if you see some plot points you don't understand, don't hesitate to ask in the reviews!
Oh, going back to my usual habit of anime recommendation... damn, Lycoris Recoil is reall good. A-1 Pictures really has become a must-watch studio lately, though I'm sure they outsource a large part of its production as usual (credit to those people!).
Because of popular demand, last chapter's smut tags has been updated.
R.I.P. Her Majesty Elizabeth II. In an eerie coincidence, just a week before her passing, my family and I were joking around about how much of an immortal she was, and her son would never take the throne in his life because she'd outlive him. Funny that.
Starhammer & Lord Naruto: Several reasons: (1) I've recently read several real-world recounting for those born hermaphroditic, and I feel I understand it well enough to make an actual story out of it instead of just a fetish fulfillment. (2) Directly opposite of (1), I feel I don't have enough understanding of lesbian relationship to just use the excuse of 'dick magic' during sex. (3) Arthur/Altria, in our historical canon, was a very amorous 'man', having several relationships with many women. While in that age male homosexuality was still accepted/common, female ones were still frowned upon. That's why (along with future explanation in later chapters) I incorporated masculine elements into this Altria. (...) Regarding how complex I write, I currently don't have a good way to justify 'waste paragraphs' when I can be world-building instead. Maybe because I try to cram so much into a short space, it troubles you when reading. Apologies.
FGORider23: About Altria being an actual hermaphrodite? Or are you asking something else? Please elaborate.
98kazer: No prob. It's something I've thought of for a long time as well, before finalizing its inclusion. Hope to see you soon, anyway!
Mo Eazy: Yes, Morgan's confusing thoughts were actually a premonition of the multiple personalities she had. She's aware of it, but was currently unable to sort things out. I somewhat agree with your criticisms about parts of the M-rated scene, and I'm still working on how to evolve my writing style in that part.
somebodied: Thank you! Glad I fulfilled your expectations some.
King0fP0wers: Yes. I think that word covers everything...?
Torukeru: Yes, that part of her new background will be slowly explained along future chapters. 'Seirios' was the one I used for HV-S02: QGF, no? I felt it wasn't Roman enough for this one. Remember, the setting was post-Roman Britain. (...) Regarding Nimue/Nyneve, because of the revelation of Morgan's backstory, I'll go with our historical canon where experts debated they're all the same person. You'll see my interpretation in later chapters. Like what I replied to a previous harem question, while yes, SHIROU will be gathering some sort of harem, it's sort of an open, web-like relationship between the people around him. So the answer regarding Morgan is yes and no - she'll be in some relationships and not in others.
N.B.: A new Glossary Update entry has appeared at the bottom!
While it might be a familiar tale to some, everything in this reality was different. It was more jarring for SHIRŌ, because not only he knew what 'regular' Arthurian mythology was supposed to be like, but also one which belonged to 'Shirō Emiya' and EMIYA. Basically, other than a few genderflips, they all followed the same script: a 'boy' sacrificing any potential of fulfilling daily life to be a king, before the burden of such position became too much, fracturing the utopian kingdom 'he' had so painstakingly built, before ending in the hands of 'his nephew', Mordred. There was no changing this fact, and even 'Shirō Emiya' chose to chase Avalon instead of researching Second Magic to change the past, knowing everything was set in stone. Besides, the protagonist power protecting 'Shirō Emiya' also influenced him into loathing to take that option, thinking it'd be a disservice to the sacrifices and pains people in the past who actually went through it.
SHIRŌ attached this to said 'protagonist power' instead of being unique to his constituents, because this belief was also shared by his other versions, then Illyasviel, and even Ritsuka Fujimaru. When faced with the 'easy' choice to erase everything and start over, fully knowing they could create the happy endings of their choice, they rejected it with all their strength and try to fix what's already helpless.
The Heroic Vessel was forced to admit, however, in his limited emotional capacity, he had learnt 'respect' from them. They're certainly examples worth studying, because SHIRŌ didn't doubt he'd be pitted against similar situation in the future. This was why Alaya endowed him with much more power than necessary, and why he continuously strived to grow endlessly, solely to gain the 'possibility' of a third option… or force open a new one regardless.
Even though he's more likely to take the easy option because of his greater detachment to humanity. Unlike them, he had not actually lived among those people – as he's just been born, after all – and despite the influx of memories and knowledge, it was still akin to watching a movie from a 3rd-person perspective. His job was even to do exactly that: change things as heavily as possible so the future couldn't self-correct and make his efforts meaningless. The people around him right now were the experimental subjects, and he was the technician responsible for them. It'd be foolish to rebel and refuse to do anything with these people simply to preserve a finite and soon-to-be destroyed future because of… well, feelings.
Even if he was allowed to engage in deep relationships with the people surrounding him, it didn't change the fact his task was to save them and not their original alternate selves which made up the Proper Human History. Having lingering emotions for people he never personally knew or met just didn't make sense.
Just save those in front of him. That's all.
What's different… was a lot. Merlin might have an idea of the reality she's in, but certainly not with the same far-reaching knowledge he had with the assistance of the Akashic Records. In fact, she was one of the greatest changes, because the character named 'Merlin' should be of the opposite sex of 'Altria', according to Proper Human History. And, from the information he was able to collect just by lying here in his crib, being an innocent baby, Altria Pendragon should still be female. He wasn't sure she knew her male 'canonical' counterpart – to him, this female version was canon – or whether they could communicate indirectly, but it's safe to assume she was more aware of the multiverse than most… including her beloved student, Morgan.
"At least her mischievousness is the same… So that's predictable," he evaluated.
This princess wasn't the main target, surprisingly enough. It's hard to designate that word – 'target' – upon someone he didn't wish to harm, but it's an evaluation born on who could influence this Quantum Time Lock the most. However, Morgan was certainly a crucial foundational piece… perhaps more important than any other, including her younger sister and would-be king, Altria, who was undoubtedly the Proper Human History's protagonist.
Obviously, this was the point where Merlin's plans didn't just go haywire, but outright stopped and replaced by Alaya's.
As a magus whose prowess was great enough to break [Time] itself, at least only along her own world's trajectory, she was presented by a conclusion it's best to support Altria as Britannia's king at the expense of her most beloved student. While the sense of betrayal she should've felt due to their closeness was muted due to a magus's natural inclination towards such emotions, it still didn't feel good when she made the decision… doubly so when Alaya's appearance forced her to spill the truth to Morgan, who didn't take it well at all.
Merlin was ready for whatever the consequences, her submissive behaviour partially fuelled by the aforementioned sliver of guilt. Not only she was robbing Morgan of the future she'd always dreamt of, Merlin kept leading her on with her silence while arranging multiple passive things so Altria was the one chosen in the end. The first major step was already complete: the design of Caliburn, so the next should be arranging the tourney and enchanting the sword so only that little girl could pull it from the stone.
That was under the assumption Morgan's powers didn't grow any stronger than she was now, so Merlin could balance the power level between the eventually-antagonistic two camps. However, straight after this redheaded baby boy's arrival alongside Alaya, her student begun to amass new forces to the extreme. The Human Order had seemingly unlocked not only this Morgan's potential, but opened channels from parallel dimensions of other Morgans to increase it behind Merlin's back. While the process didn't make the older princess anywhere near omniscient, it did push her that tantalizing large step closer to omnipotence.
Right now, Merlin wasn't sure who'd win in an outright contest of Magecraft. Morgan was already better in killing ability than her teacher, whose speciality laid more in support Magecraft than offensive ones… but now? Merlin would never admit it because she was chasing after the Grand Caster designation of the Throne of Heroes, but she certainly felt at her most vulnerable despite her immortality.
…or was it precisely because of her immortality? She knew plenty of ways to condemn someone to something to a state worse than death, so…
The second question, then, became: What should she do with this baby? Obviously, he had something to do with Alaya, but unless she used age progression Magecraft to forcibly mature him so they could converse proper-
"Oh, wait, I can do that, can't I?" She mumbled to herself, a touch embarrassed she forgot such a trivial spell.
The laws of Equivalent Exchange dictated it's not feasible to sustain a permanent transformation, because the caster's payment would be too grave. However, a magus at Merlin's level must be excellent at reading the fine print, so a temporary transformation, with a separate artificial living being prepared as the sacrifice – though usually non-lethal – would suffice. Especially because she didn't need another adult living in her personal space after her spat with Morgan just a few days ago.
But… should she do this now without waiting for Morgan? There's no doubt the princess would be eager to hear what the baby boy had to say, not to mention he was already visibly handsome even in this early age. 'Clearly to Morgan's taste,' she remarked. 'Maybe mine, too…'
Morgan Pendragon, as the eldest daughter and still heir-to-be of the burgeoning Pendragon Clan, was naturally popular among the younger male generation. Countless marriage proposals flooded the administrative department every single day, becoming the main reason why Morgan even bothered to accompany Altria, who's supposed to be the only one in hiding due to Merlin's machinations. Even now, she was set to be sold off to whoever presented Uther with the best offer, since Merlin had only started working to cancel all her arrangements.
However, it seemed this royal generation wasn't blessed with great aesthetic genes, and Merlin could confidently say this baby was the handsomest among all she'd seen… though that's an admittedly low bar to clear. Simply by looking at the mirror would dispel all that thought, Merlin confident in her own face as the holder of 'the most beautiful' in the lands, closely followed by Morgan. The boy didn't have their naturally-enchanting auras, so otherworldly they appeared magical with no effort. In fact, he had more in common with peasants, with how rugged his physique appeared. Fortunately, there's no sign of malnutrition, so Merlin didn't have to spend resources in that department.
Apart from the upcoming energy consumption when he's aged up, of course.
"Alright, since this big sister of yours and her naughty student aren't on speaking terms…" Merlin decided, rubbing her palms together as she approached the baby's crib, "Let's hear what you have in mind."
Before the separation of the Reverse Side and the Outer World, as predicted, everything was one. Gaia – the representative name of TYPE-EARTH, and not the Greek Protogenoi – had just been born… and was straight locked onto by Velber, who thought of this newborn entity as an easy meal. In most realities, its agents were fought against and defeated by the planet's first hero, using a legendary weapon forged within itself by one of the oldest Phantasmal Species: the faeries. This was so established it counted as [Fate], though there were still some realities where parts of its building blocks were missing.
This particular reality, in fact, should be counted among the latter group, headed for destruction and in a dead solar system. However, an entity from the future was sent back as a test run to assume the role of a 'hero', and hold the aforementioned building blocks accountable for their failure in reproducing what should be an easily achievable result.
This was the first example of a successful Heroic Vessel, the #10 prototype SHIRŌ, as his nine predecessors failed against Velber in nine attempts, within very similar frameworks. Ironically, the alien devourer was the most reliable constant, and the variables were all caused by its would-be victims figuratively shooting themselves in the head, resulting in the required presence of a disruptor to attempt to change the result.
Morgan looked at the dishevelled condition of her one and only teacher, and sighed. "I don't understand how you can constantly mess up all the time when I'm not here."
The succubus wasn't wearing her usual overflowing white cloak, which meant her skintight black undershirt was cut in several places – thankfully without wounding the tender flesh underneath – revealing more skin than Morgan was comfortable with. The remaining pieces of clothes were scandalously few and far in-between, and were sure to fall off and reveal her naked body with a touch more careless movement. One wall of the baby's room was caved in, Merlin embedded comfortably inside, though the shape of the crater was suspiciously similar to Morgan's personal Pendragon weapon aftereffects instead of a smooth half-sphere.
Merlin weakly raised a finger, her face trembling and making an unreliable and unrepentant smile. "Y-Your usage of 'constantly' a-and 'all the time' is r-redundant…"
The blonde had to restrain her foot from kicking the succubus right in the face since one, she was a touch too far away, and two, she's holding the increasingly-heavy baby – he's about toddler-sized now, incredibly – in her arms once again. "You don't think something like him won't have protection against our meagre spells, hm? How stupid can you be, Master?" Morgan kept on with the insults, fully knowing Merlin wouldn't have anything to retaliate and her words comically stabbing into the latter's chest. "Besides, we have a lot on our plate now. There's no sense in greedily digging for information anymore. What if you hurt him?"
The baby flailed his fat hands, causing Morgan's expression to soften. "Ah, yes, yes, little one… What is it?" She lowered her face to make soothing expressions for the boy, but nearly squealed in delight when he actually used his arms to hug her happily, a sign he approved of her opinion. "Oh, g-great hero… Y-You shouldn't…! Kyah!"
Merlin sweatdropped. "W-Why are our treatments so d-different? I-I thought we h-have something special, Morgan!" The white-haired magus whined. "Now that you have someone else, you've casted me aside like garbage…!"
"Haven't you always been garbage? Useless Master!"
"U-Ugh! T-That hurts…" Merlin clutched her chest, feigning a heart attack.
Indeed, what they found out – at least before the information flow was cut off – was this baby was the reincarnation of that great hero who swung Excalibur for the first time. Other details were vague, but it's enough for them to greatly respect him and view his strange maturity with a different light.
…well, Morgan had been looking at him with a 'different light' from the start, causing him to have shivers down his spine. Now, with her innate childish competitiveness, Merlin was joining in on the fun as well, jokingly playing up the jealousy the succubus felt towards both of them, since she wanted them both in her harem.
This world was different precisely because of that battle SHIRŌ barely remembered. He, as a Heroic Vessel, was designed to only be responsive to strong emotional fluctuations sent his way. Typically, this was affection and friendliness, just so Alaya wouldn't have an independent and unruly killer robot in its hands. A life-and-death, fate-defining battle against a supposedly invincible alien entity was… not to disrespect Velber's strength and Conceptual Weight, but no more than a realistic simulated combat for him. Neither had any emotion to throw into the battle, since they were constantly calculating and testing out ways to defeat the other, instead of being a heart-to-heart, romantic, desperate duel bards always sang about.
In fact, when it happened, it was also nearly soundless and imperceptible to most organisms on the planet, because their battle happened in space. Using his weapon, SHIRŌ first beat back Sefar, then the mothership itself, though instead of achieving total victory through brute force, it was more of a forceful draw, frustrating Velber enough it left since the energy expenditure to swallow this small blue planet just wasn't worth it anymore. There were many other easier targets out there, and perhaps due to this retreat, the current humanity still failed to find another life in its perceptible universe, as Velber had devoured them all in pettiness.
The source of the initial problem was the 6 ancestral faeries' failure to forge Excalibur in time. Usually, that would mean complete incineration of all lives on the planet, killing Gaia and Alaya prematurely, leaving using gigantic Phantasmal Species as growth material as the only solution. However, the emotionless ten Heroic Vessels, when faced with this problem, all produced the same solution: use those 6 bodies, containing enough Conceptual Weight, as material to forge the ultimate weapon themselves. However, the previous nine weren't skilled enough in phantasmal weapon forging, forced to rely on their immature innate skills, and were defeated by Sefar. Only when SHIRŌ was conceived the weapon – what future generations would name 'Excalibur' – was not only completed, but improved upon the previous nine's design, finally achieving victory and saving the primordial planet.
Then, the 6 original faerie clans would gather underneath the hero's banner to ensure their immediate survival among the hostile primordial planet's environment. The Heroic Vessel didn't find what he's looking for in assuming a leading role – primarily emotional nourishment – because of politics, and promptly cut his deployment short after setting up several fool-proof systems to be passed down through these 6 bloodlines. It's a trick a future errant Noble Phantasm would utilize to manipulate the entire modern-day magical population, and was so effective Alaya took note of it and taught it to all its Heroic Vessels.
These were the details both Morgan and Merlin were unaware of, and why the latter risked automated counterspells to gain more information. The Flower Magus might be skilled with the workings of [Time], purely in terms of scrying, but it didn't mean she was adept at deciphering the past. Manipulation of the future was always her forte, which was why not even Morgan could escape her machinations and become king herself if Merlin's push for Altria's kingship was successful.
Coincidence or not, the other two people in the room represented different aspects of this reality. The boy – unbeknownst to them – was their superior in reading the [Past], owing to both his connection to the Akashic Records and his unique, sometimes game-breaking, Tracing Magecraft. Morgan was the best combatant and with the most experience of the [Present], which enhanced all her offensive and defensive abilities when duelled fairly. As mentioned before, Merlin's array of supportive Magecraft and talent for politics represented the [Future], since the succubus had chosen to live far from human society to focus on this aspect in her tower in Avalon.
Regardless, the rest of Morgan's day – the real one, at least – was spent cooing over and burying her face into the baby's not-at-all flabby stomach, completely ignoring and forgetting her teacher was even there, leading Merlin to sulk.
Morgan's Origin, apart from her familial talents, was [Transference]. She often used it in conjunction with her [Water] Element to great effect, but one of her favourites was her ability to apply this into duplicates of herself, creating truly perfect controllable clones which retained enough independence to help her, instead of being a hindrance as was typical of this type of project. A perversion of the Equivalent Exchange law even allowed her to produce clones as equally-powerful as herself, as opposed to the usual requirement to split her strength between as many clones.
She theorized this was because of an unawakened Origin, but she could put it to one side since the combined efforts of her and her teacher still hadn't managed to reveal what it truly was. So long as there's no palpable or logical side effects to abusing this loophole, she'd gladly use it to the fullest.
Which was why, as her real body was busy having fun and indulging in her own perverted desires – hypocritically enacting the very same acts she often chastised Merlin for – one clone was touring Britannia's Reverse Side, starting her plan of gathering military strength early.
Tonelico, Morgan's [Warrior] side.
Regardless of Merlin abandonment of her betrayal against Morgan after Alaya's alternative, her desire to become the next Pendragon king after her father waned tremendously. She realized she'd been too narrow-minded in the past, fixating on gaining what should be her birthright… instead of aiming higher. Hadn't their invader from across the ocean provided enough examples? Whether it's the ancient Celtic tribes, the recently-declining Roman Empire, or the Anglo-Saxon newcomers, they had ambitions spanning continents. How in Cernunnos's name could she be so blind?
Altria could be Britannia's king. Why couldn't Morgan be ruler of the entire planet?
That was Alaya's offer. Which was why she agreed so readily.
She wasn't shown what her other self in a parallel reality could achieve with a singular plot of land on a destroyed planet otherwise filled only with a continuous ocean, but if she was, she'd feel the opportunity she had here was too good to miss.
She had Altria wrapped around her finger. It was fortunate she kept on showering her little sister with as much love as she could before the confrontation with Alaya and Merlin's plans' revelation happened, because all she had to do was continue doing it. It'd be awkward if she'd been treating Altria poorly, because then she'd have to concoct an incredible act so a sudden change in personality to 'perfect older sister' was believable.
…did Morgan still love her sister?
After pondering that question for the past few days, she muttered to herself confidently, "I love her."
What she was angry, disgusted at, and loathed was what cards [Fate] had dealt to her. She realized even without Merlin's intervention, her ascension to an official ruling position just wasn't destined. Altria's [Fate] powers were simply too strong, regardless of realities, so things would always fall so she'd at least be king for one day. By the time of her fall, Morgan would always already pass away.
Her familial love towards her younger sister wasn't fake, because that's what she'd genuinely felt in this life. Knowing Altria was destined to overtake her almost made her change her mind, but the knowledge it was out of either sibling's control calmed her down. Even now, the 'happy ending' alternative was provided by a third party, and she was still a pawn – a crucial one, but still… – dancing atop a board she couldn't see either the ends or the players of.
But she had an idea… one she hadn't shared with her teacher. First, Merlin didn't need to be informed because that nosy bitch usually always had an eye on everything. While their relationship on the outside appeared cold, Morgan was confident she was also her teacher's most beloved, because she was the first and only creature who could match her in Magecraft. Being number one would definitely bring forth loneliness, which was exactly what Merlin was subjected to the decades before Morgan was born. Forming a same-sex relationship with someone older than her own father… was surprisingly acceptable to Morgan, and she knew Merlin knew this relationship was one of a kind. An immortal's common sense was heavier than a mortal, so what Merlin considered precious… the Flower Magus would protect with all her might. Morgan suspected Merlin never intended for her death, and only Alaya's revelation of this possibility made the latter instantly cancel all her plans for Altria.
Secondly, as heavy a crush as she was having towards that particularly attractive baby boy, Morgan was still a magus. She wouldn't hesitate to use anything and everything to accomplish her goals – what separated 'good' and 'evil' was just how much she was willing to compromise. She's convinced this brat was the key for her to break [Fate], purely because Merlin could no longer extend her divination beyond the [Present] the moment he arrived in this world. It's the typical sign of extradimensional tampering from a third party, in this case Alaya, so Morgan was confident the opportunity had finally come, unworried this was just a false dawn.
Of course, if a road appeared, one must rush down on it as quickly as possible, lest it crumbled underneath their feet before they reached their destination. Having to play her cards earlier than expected didn't bother Morgan; in fact, there was a rare trace of excitement fuelling Tonelico's steps.
Currently, the available Phantasmal Species to meet in Britannia's Reverse Side was the faeries, since the others had retreated too deep for Tonelico to efficiently travel and negotiate with. The further she went into the dimensional inside of the planet, the harsher the blowback would be once she exited. With her current strength and body make-up, it's too much of a risk without a proper guide or shortcut. Besides, the Pendragon's siblings' mother had fae blood in her, meaning the faeries would at least be non-hostile to her. Also, as the planet's 'sense of touch', their domain was very close for her Magecraft to grab onto anyway.
To be more specific, since 'faeries' also included other Phantasmal Species not at all closely related to them, Tonelico was visiting Britannia's native ones. Descended from the original six ancestors – the ones SHIRŌ and the other Heroic Vessels tore apart time and time again, to Merlin and Morgan's cluelessness – they'd built a very different society than they would've been if they were left on their devices from the beginning.
One particular trait Heroic Vessels had was the inverse of their emotional absorption of others, which was their ability to imbue aspects of their Origin into others – in SHIRŌ's case, [Sword]. Much like how he externalized Unlimited Blade Works through his body, this was an offensive trick similar to corrosive poison, which damaged his opponents conceptually, rupturing their bodies with countless metal shards until no trace of flesh and bone was left because their souls had been forcibly transformed into [Sword]. A perversion of the laws of Equivalent Exchange: what the Heroic Vessels take, they must return equally.
When he stood alone, his emotional capacity still at zero after vanquishing the invading Velber, he saw flawed creatures gathering around the corpses of their six ancestors… to figuratively lick his ass and survive under his leadership. After a while, he judged there was no positive left he could extract from them, and readied himself for a swift, history-altering exit – since his presence would always be erased from future generations' perception to minimize unnecessary changes to Proper Human History. He imbued the survivors with the 'antibody' to their sole weakness, iron, thinking they wouldn't clash with future humans if neither held a racial advantage over the other. In Proper Human History, one of the animosities inhabitants of the Reverse Side was the ability of humanity's technological advancement to literally poison them, the same way the Mystery within their then-habitat poisoned humans with excess Mana.
Currently, it worked… somewhat. Because the Age of Gods was still going better in Britannia than other parts of the world, though Mystery was admittedly still declining, combined with local druids still maintaining a good relationship with local Phantasmal Species, outright war between the Reverse Side and the Outer Side of the World was still on hold. The Akashic Records theorized this was what prolonged the Dark Age in Britannia and the rest of the European continent, because there's no sense how literary works managed to completely disappear into thin air for centuries, before abruptly starting at the eve of the 2nd millennium. Obviously, in Proper Human History, humanity won, piggybacking on the increasingly-powerful Thaumaturgical Foundations of the modern-day 'five big religions', completely driving the old animistic and dynamistic beliefs to extinction.
Then, when magi wanted to restart and revive what they perceive as 'the golden age of Magecraft' in the 16th century, it was too late. Mystery had lost much of its strength, and the chance of blending science and mysticism into hypermodern magitek like the Greek Divine Spirits was also gone. One of the passive tasks of the Heroic Vessel program was the maintenance of an acceptable Mystery level, so humanity was well-equipped to handle world-ending mystical threats in the future when Alaya perished.
Again, this was details none currently living was privy to, especially with Merlin's Clairvoyance skill being heavily disturbed with SHIRŌ's presence. All she and Morgan knew was faeries had always been this way: a comparatively neutral party who's too powerful to be unused and left as a bystander.
The faeries were divided into 6 clans, each with their individual characteristics: the most human-like Wind Clan, the stocky and overly-burly Earth Clan, the bestial Fang Clan, the petite butterfly-like Wing Clan, the prophetic and clairvoyant Mirror Clan, and the charismatic King Clan. This description was accurate bar a few exceptional individuals, such as some mutated children or external advisors adopted by the clans.
However, they all number in the tens of thousands. Even if Tonelico made time to only meet with their leaders, they amounted to almost 3 dozen including the elders. Yes, she's still young, and Altria's eventual coronation was still some ways' away – they were still in their early years of adventuring, as planned by Uther to 'train' them – but Alaya's revelation meant she was pushed to complete everything as quickly and as perfectly as possible. It's a waste of time to individually negotiate with each and every one of them, as political talks often boiled down to behind the scenes.
Just go straight to the figurative head of the snake. Which, conveniently enough, was located smack dab in the middle of the various congregations of the faerie clans.
The Reverse Side of the World had no physical roads or routes for visitors to go along, fully assuming whoever wished to visit was able enough to navigate the dimensional inner sea of the planet. If not, then they're not welcome and better off dead anyway, instead of making unwanted messes. Britannia's faerie lands, either for the sake of easiness or preference for symmetry, looked like a hexagonal bipyramid, with the 6 clans' domains located around the six-sided horizontal plane at the middle. The 'peak' was where Tonelico was heading, vertically projected perfectly in the centre, while the 'bottom' was actually Avalon, which was physically the closest to the Outer World.
"Welcome, Queen."
"Are you mocking me?" Tonelico growled at the silhouette who just greeted her. "I am not-"
"Has not, not yet, never will; what difference does it make? Aren't you here to ensure the opposite?" A perfectly-even, frighteningly monotonous female voice easily peeled apart Tonelico's mental defences. "Why are you here, when you yourself have calculated your changed destiny?"
The older Pendragon princess gritted her teeth, twisting her beautiful face. "…formality."
"Or is it 'fear'? Having lost control over your [Fate] before, you doubt us? Doubt him?" A trace of anger leaked out of the silhouette, so effervescent Tonelico had trouble detecting it despite being nearly face-to-face with the individual. "You are innocent, yes, but do not assume we have forgotten the sins of your bloodline. Igraine's inheritance…"
"Keep my mother's name out of your mouth," Tonelico spat. "You know nothing of her, just as much as you think I know nothing of you and him." Having grown used to the intimidation, she stepped closer and nearly headbutts the female silhouette – even this close, she couldn't discern the other party's facial details due to this space's peculiarities. "If you have nothing to help me with, then move aside. I have business with your master, Pandora."
The mystical veil covering the other person's appearance disappeared when Tonelico revealed her true name.
A cold-looking blonde with the soft features of a young maiden, her expression as blank as Tonelico could remember. Shorter than the princess, Pandora nevertheless stood with a Conceptual Weight exceeding even the former, despite being perfectly human compared to Morgan's mixed ancestry and training. Just their close proximity applied palpable pressure on the princess's whole being, but she was used to the discomfort.
Neither placed the other in their own eyes. To Morgan, Pandora was simply a particularly difficult human to kill, even more so than Merlin. Apart from that, she was nothing special – much less so than her fellow Divine Spirit-created mud dolls like Adam or Enkidu – as her task in her existence was no more than a glorified gatekeeper, instead of having special [Fate] ordained to her by her creators. To Pandora, Morgan was no different than Outer World inhabitants who're short-sighted, greedy, and unreasonably violent – all of which Morgan would readily admit if the person exclaiming these facts weren't Pandora. Potential [Ruler] like her was a dime a dozen, Pandora having seen literally countless amount throughout her immortal life. Unlike Merlin who was motivated by the search of her own entertainment… humanity utterly bored her, even the creative ways they tried to repeatedly end her existence with.
No one knew of Pandora's history apart from her current master, mostly because no one could live long enough to do so. Regardless, Morgan had little care to start learning now, and only focusing on her opponent's [Present]. Why blame the [Past] if one's personality was horrible? Shouldn't they the one to change?
Pandora's usage of the word 'queen' irked her because it directly mocked her fated failure to become one. Unlike the current Morgan with very little knowledge of her other selves, Pandora had seen all of her failure, since not only she couldn't usurp Altria to become Britannia's ruler, she couldn't even leave behind a legacy through the blood family she left behind when she got into the political marriage Uther set her up in, as none of her children followed her footsteps. The closest one, Mordred, failed utterly, because the remains of Britannia after the Battle of Camlann… had nothing left for her to rule. Her husband's assets were out of reach, ditto her teacher's, ditto her original clan's.
A woman who dreamt of everything in her hands… grasped nothingness instead.
Still, Pandora at least acknowledged and referenced Morgan's various sides, all of which indeed had the potential to become rulers.
The [Warrior], Tonelico. The [Fairy], Vivian. The [Witch], Nimue. The [Maiden], Morgan. The [Queen], Avalon le Fae.
Currently, she could only manifest two aspects due to a lack of magical strength and maturity. Further understanding of the laws of the world was also necessary, though she's at the point of requiring a fresh perspective instead of further training. Merlin had taught Morgan everything she could, and all the latter could do to improve was gather experience and find originality.
Greece's 'first human' shrugged, without changing her expression, and stepped aside. Knowing engaging in further verbal barbs would also count towards a waste of time, Tonelico quickly walked forth towards the opening Pandora had appeared in front of.
In contrast to the various cities and villages in the faerie clans' lands, this domain contained just one temple. A humongous one, yes, but just this one structure alone. It was still larger than all the other seven domains including Avalon, symbolizing who was the master of this place.
Tonelico exited onto a bedchamber… about a mountain's height off the actual room's floor. She'd been to Beinn Nibheis's summit, or flew around similar heights, and the sense of vertigo she's feeling was similar to those times… or perhaps even stronger since the thing residing within it was even larger than said mountain.
In fact, her entire field of vision couldn't even capture the width of the creature, much like a human's eyes couldn't grasp the planet's diameter from this close.
A normal person would instantly classify this being as a 'monster'. No matter how they put a veneer on their primal fear with words like 'deity' and 'force of nature', one couldn't help but tremble just from its presence. Just by being here, Tonelico instantly understood how others coveted it so, either wishing to be under its protection, receiving its blessing, or ripping it apart for treasured materials.
"Greetings, honourable Cernunnos."
This was the only Divine Spirit… no, the only living being Tonelico made the conscious effort to get down on her knees and place her forehead against the floor, in a gesture of complete worship and reverence.
It's a wonder how it was aware of her existence even if she was speaking loudly and clearly, because their sheer difference in both physical size and Conceptual Weight was akin to a human being and a bacterium. No matter how much the latter moved or tried to attract attention, the much larger party – almost an additional dimension superior – had to be incredibly perceptive to notice something was going on, much less identify what the issue was.
Of course, as the source of all faeries' blood, Cernunnos truly lived up to its position as the current Britannia's chief deity, as Tonelico could sense its perception locking onto her feeble form.
Her entire being trembled.
She was being so revering because of the [Love] pouring out of this Divine Spirit. The Christian Roman preachers would classify this as agape, the selfless [Love] a higher being bestowed upon a lower one. Even she herself could feel her body instinctively returning the favour involuntarily and unconsciously, through her bloodline connection to Cernunnos.
"I greet you," she spoke to the ground, not daring to lift her face to meet its gaze. While she knew this was an easy-going Divine Spirit, her entire being simply refused to show the slightest bit of disrespect. She had experience of suddenly bursting into tears at the mere thought of that the last time she was here, requiring Pandora to drag and throw her out to recover. "I beseech you… of a chance."
Much like the Outer World, the Reverse Side also ran on traditional ruling systems – either monarchy or parliamentary, if culturally a step behind. A system where bloodline still mattered more than pure might, though thankfully still free of the restrictive legislative structure humans had thought of. They were weak, so they devised a way to chain down the strong down to their level in the name of 'equality', instead of using the latter as a goalpost to improve themselves. This was prevented due to the Phantasmal Species' innate Fairy Eyes, so only the truest intentions were conveyed.
Whether it's destructive or beneficial to the other party was another matter entirely.
Cernunnos bristled kindly. She felt a phantom 'hand' rising and patting her entire being as if she's no more than a cute rabbit, said limb being bigger than her whole body. Obviously, Cernunnos couldn't physically do so without tearing this entire dimension apart – such was its true size and Conceptual Weight – so this was just a spiritual handshake.
The faeries currently didn't have a leader. Cernunnos, as their pantheon's chief, was actually new to this position, since Britannia ebbed and flowed with its belief and the invading cultures dominating its lands. When it was still dormant after Velber's retreat, this position was held by Danu, Mother Goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The Celtics brought her over when they populated the land, Britannia's native people being very receptive and adaptive alongside them. As a result, the cultural mingling went relatively smoothly, far from the bloodshed the Anglo-Saxons were using to stamp their authority all over the islands now.
When the Romans ruled, YHWH obviously took over, though His hold upon the land was quite weak as He had to spread his consciousness over a nearly-global Thaumaturgical Foundation, His followers parasitizing His established system all the time. Quirinus had faded by the time Roman Britain was established, taking with him the Greek-based Roman pantheon.
The faeries, as symbols of animistic and dynamistic belief, usually push for more control at times of transition, such as now. Decisions were usually taken by committee, supervised by Cernunnos and moderated by Pandora, as the sole human representative. When studying this part of magical history, Morgan was shocked anything every got done at all, because this was usually the least effective, though most publicly-pleasing, method to advance one's society. However, she was quickly reminded of their differing physiques and common sense, hence the surprising success.
The 'chance' Tonelico spoke of was to establish a more human-like monarchy where… well, a well-meaning tyrant decided everything for the betterment of the whole. Yes, strict passive control measures must be willingly shouldered to prevent destructive tyranny and oppression, but it's a single person making the decision quickly, instead of having to cater to 100% of the population's thoughts and desires.
Cernunnos's answer was the Fairy Patterns he's engraving upon Morgan, atop of her pre-existing Magic Cores.
Tonelico never realized it had retracted its hold upon her being until Pandora literally slapped her awake, her cheeks flooded with streams of tears involuntarily flowing from her eyes.
"Kay, duck! I got you!" Altria commanded, her body and sword already moving even before her foster brother finished digesting her bark. "Get away from him!"
A flash of steel diagonally bisected a goblin… or not, since her sword was of too poor a quality. It did succeed in knocking the green-skinned offender back and cracking its collarbone and ribs, though not before a sizeable part of her edge rolled upon contact with its tough skin. Even with Mana Burst, the feedback managed to stall her movement for a second, but she and Kay had been working together for too long for him not to cover this opening.
His much taller frame not only bent at the knees in panic as someone who's shouted at by Altria's words would normally do, but immediately spread his legs to retain balance while sliding to one side, his own much sharper sword slashing at the ankles of another goblin by the side. The swing was deliberately wide, causing the demi-human's posture to sharply snap at its knees, because he knew Altria would swing vertically down from somewhere behind him and finish the deal. "It's yours, Arthur!"
"Hyah!"
The blunt sword was more akin to a club, but its wielder had enough strength and skill to still cleave skull like an axe, Altria embedding her weapon diagonally through the goblin's head.
This was a split-second snapshot of the routine extermination they'd taken, this one having been going on for about ten minutes.
Three lycanthropes immediately surrounded them once the last of the goblins had fallen, one sprinting on all fours while the other two chose the aerial route by jumping onto the pair. Their comrades had all been slain by Morgan and Sir Ector, and these remaining three saw the other pair looked less dangerous, and betted their lives on preying upon their flesh. Wounding them gravely was the minimum acceptable target, just to buy time for the lycanthropes to escape.
Alas, while their theory about Altria and Kay's combined strength was true, the pair was still stronger than the trio.
"Hammer!"
The air around Altria exploded out, hammering all three lycanthropes with a cylindrical wall of wind as she stabbed her now-damaged sword to the ground. Kay, using his longer reach and better physique, quickly dispatched their disoriented opponents through quick stabs towards the throat, finishing with additional small slashes when the trio fell on the ground, bleeding out.
Normally, his father would've chastised him for half-assing the job, since a not-dead enemy, even for a split second, could always launch a fatal counterattack, but Kay was so tired he didn't care. Collapsing on the ground, his now-grimy armour rattled loudly, causing Altria to wince. As the squire, she was tasked with the duty of armour maintenance and cleaning after every mission, so the dirtier the men got, the worse she's going to have it later. While Kay wasn't that far along in political rank, for all intents and purposes, Altria was the gofer. At least, until Uther recalled her back to Camelot and reinstated her prestige publicly.
- Step. Step. Step.
The two looked up, seeing their teammates making their way through the undergrowth. Or, rather, the trees and shrubs bent out of the way for Sir Ector's massive girth under Morgan's Magecraft, using a spell Merlin was famous for. As such, unlike the younger pair, these two were almost spotless, with only Sir Ector's sweaty brows and bloodied axe the evidence of a hard day's worth of fighting.
This time, it was Kay's turn to frown when Morgan hurriedly made her way to spoil Altria once again, quickly washing the younger blonde with a blast of high-pressure cold mist and drying her off with a blanket of warm air. "Thank you, Sister," Altria's 'unbroken' voice chirped. The short but intense battle had drained her concentration terribly, and despite her still-adequate Od, she found herself leaning into Morgan's welcoming chest to rest. "I'll… Ah, I'm quite tired… How strange…"
Compared to Altria, Kay was far closer to a human male in body and mind, and thus was perturbed when the only pretty and ravishing girl in their party only paid attention to her younger 'brother' all the time. This was in spite of Uther's strict orders Altria was to be trained as harshly as a peasant recruit. Morgan's political status wasn't even hidden like her brother, already an officially-recognized princess – albeit a well-hidden one – so if a noble was to recognize her, Altria's real identity would soon follow.
'Grr… and my allowance this month's getting low…' he lamented, his wallet dangerously thin after his last visit to the red-light district not too long ago.
He wasn't stupid. Eyeing a princess came with it a whole host of dangers, especially from Morgan herself who's already much stronger than him, even without her Magecraft. His father, for one, would never agree… and most likely would've beheaded Kay himself if he forced himself upon Morgan. Still, it wouldn't behove him to enjoy some eye candy…
A difference due to SHIRŌ's battle with Velber was also apparent here. A small one, but also crucial: Unlike Proper Human History, neither Kay nor Sir Ector was in the know regarding Altria's real physical gender, still assuming she's male. Again, it proved how easy it was to hide her hermaphroditism when she actually had a cock, and all Merlin had to do was hide the female genitalia beneath it. Even after bathing together several times and spending time in the nude, neither had an inkling Altria was more than she seemed. Neither was the younger princess, as she felt no shyness, shame, or excitement from being around two naked males.
In fact, perhaps Uther's intent had been a little too successful, because his second daughter pent her current days thinking exactly like how a young boy would.
The waft of her sister's scent immediately sent blood the wrong way. However, knowing tensing herself would let Morgan know something was wrong, Altria forcibly calmed herself and chose to calm herself, enjoying and taking advantage of this situation like a scumbag. It stung her nostrils like the chilliest dip into the clearest spring, scented with the slightest floral note.
It was a smell she knew very well. After all, she buried her nose in it almost every day whenever Morgan was lax with her used underwear, leaving it laying around for a later wash. The amount of fluids Altria rubbed out while inhaling her sister's scent was ruinous, leaving her tired and exhausted before training every morning. This era's strophiae and subligacula were more body-covering, but this only made the lingering scent stronger and more alluring to perverted young virgins like Altria.
After all, she had a familial advantage Kay couldn't use. If Morgan saw the older boy anywhere around her clothes, she'd immediately hex him without asking a single word, then listen to his explanation later. Altria could pretend to be the ever-good little sister by doing her sister's laundry atop of her daily training, earning her pats and hugs from Morgan.
'Ehehehe…'
Now with her face covered in Morgan's caring embrace and covered from Kay's envious gaze, Altria loosened her facial muscles into a small foolish smile.
They were in the middle of a quest to clear out the errant monsters around this area. Travelling costed money no matter what the ruling dynasty or era was, and even the well-maintained and -garrisoned Roman highways of decades past, before its downfall splintered Britannia into countless petty kingdoms and large tribes, must be paid in the form of yearly taxes, plus the requirement to present 'hospitality' for any Roman soldier in need.
How far they took it and how large the damage to one's home afterwards would depend on the commanding officer of the local garrison. Every few years, there would be half-Roman children being born fatherless in these quaint villages.
Now, the soldiers followed the Roman Empire's departure back home in continental Europe… either to be ambushed midway by 'barbarian' tribes, lost at sea, or deserting for more adventurous lives outside of the military. A select honourable few did settle down in Britannia and properly became a citizen, and it's from this group local order could be maintained without the negative attachments Britons feared. However, with the increased independence came increased responsibility. No matter how peasants despised their superiors, the latter did patrol and control public order to some extent – an aspect they had to do themselves these days.
Only nobles and royalties benefitted from Roman rule, and the lower class suffered no matter they went. The Pendragon Clan was wealthy enough because of this corruption, yes, but the current Clan Head wished to change things, having foreseen – with Merlin's aid – a great shift was coming. Staying on their laurels and enjoying the 'fruits' of the last generations' labours would mean to perish alongside like-minded garbage.
This was the reality Uther wished Altria to learn: how to inspire and unite common men by assuming the figurative, intangible, invincible role of a leader, different than the systems past. How should she go about it?
No one was sure, as her own mind was more and more frequently in the gutter lately, thoughts of kingship the last thing in her head.
Ahem. Back to the topic at hand.
Mercenary work was the choice for the lower-middle class. There was always a surplus of requests for a strong sword arm or a wise magical mind, the 'small things' Britons took for granted which their previous rulers unwittingly provided now piling up and becoming unmanageable. This was an opening the Anglo-Saxon leaders took advantage of: by claiming to be hired muscles from afar, just as eager to make ground and settled down as the Britons' own ancestors in the past. They began underselling their services, and thus the people, right after the Romans' abandonment, began to accept these Vikings as part of daily life, thinking they're just as much honest working citizens as they were.
Of course, this lasted until the Anglo-Saxons began to interfere with politics, promising military might and alliance to petty kings and chieftains, using their established mighty reputation as bargaining chips. Without the need for gold or other resources, they'd long realized what a leaderless island with reeling economy prized most: manpower. The Romans' retreat would mean upcoming inflation, and cheap yet skilled labour was the best way to worm their way into the locals' hearts.
And when they're there, it's just a simple gesture to swing their axes through those very hearts.
The Pendragon Clan, based in Camelot, was the last bastion in limiting Anglo-Saxon influence, strictly regulating these foreign raiders and preventing their rise there. It worked for a while, since Britannia was wide and the Vikings soon realized there's other, more profitable targets elsewhere, and left Camelot relatively alone once they decided it's too uneconomical to force their way in. However, as surrounding royals and nobles fell to either their influence or axes one-by-one, Uther realized his situation was getting desperate.
One powerful individual to not only rule them all, but also vanquish all thoughts of invasion. That's what he decided this island needed.
Merlin's machinations led him to believe Altria was the one. Obviously, Alaya had no need to inform such a minor character, so Uther was still in the dark for everything new. He obediently followed the words – 'prophecies', Merlin sold them as – of the person who helped him rape the wife of his past political opponent, giving him Morgan and Altria, and adorably thought he was still the hand playing the chess pieces, while he's no more than the most expendable pawn in reality.
And that was literal. His death was required to kickstart Merlin's 'plot', though what that was now after SHIRŌ's deployment, no one really knew. Perhaps the succubus herself was also still unsure.
Regardless, the group of four – one grizzled knight and three young people – needed money. The easiest path was also the one quickest to be hatefully discarded, which was Morgan selling herself to the highest bidder. Other than her own teacher, she was confident she could even win Britannia every single Viking currently on the island if she so chose to use her beauty, but this was obviously left unsaid after Altria threw a tantrum at the inkling of this possibility. The older sister was barely past marriageable age back then, and she had only grown more ravishing now.
The 'orthodox' path was the one they're doing right now: make names by successfully and perfectly doing the tasks at hand, spreading Altria's popularity so when Uther recalled her back and integrated her into his governmental structure, only minimal protest would ensue. Sir Ector, ever the loyal knight, volunteered for the 'task' of raising the crown prince, then took his son along so they could train together. The money's good, since clients had realized relying on Anglo-Saxon muscles was a bad idea, so local parties got extra shares.
They'd been doing this for just one year, and progress was good. They weren't renowned across the still-crumbling Roman Empire yet, as Britannia was still internationally considered to be its province, but their party's spreading its name across the local boroughs and shires. The goal was to be like Merlin, who despite her known alliance to the Pendragon Clan, was more famous all the way to Constantinople as the Flower Magus who'd perform miracles to anyone who managed to attain her interest, whether it's money, power, or other methods of payment.
The 'best' path, meanwhile, was still closed to them, the keys held by Morgan and Merlin.
Glossary Update!
I
Individual role
Much like actors/actresses on stages, most sentient beings in Britannia were given specific roles to fulfil, whether they knew or consented to it or not. This was typically designated as [Fate], though there were creative and powerful enough individuals who could assign multiple roles towards themselves. One such example which naturally must occur was those designated as a [Calamity], as they required another vessel to operate normally day-to-day. [King], [Queen], [God], [Ruler], etc. were other popular contested examples.