Carl loved his job.
It might not have made him a lot of money, at least not usually, but he never cared for all that fancy stuff money could buy. He loved traveling, loved meeting new people; he loved that he did an invaluable service to his home and beyond by sheer virtue of being one of the few people brave enough to take anything and everything from letters to packages, even the odd suspicious note. He enabled communication across the kingdom and beyond, all because he was a Courier. And a damn fine one at that.
He spent his days running all over Feoh without a care in the world, because that was his job… at least it was, until Prime Minister Beardsley got in the way of the Eostian Postal Service. People deserved to communicate, and that fossil of a man wanted people to stop.
No talking to friends or family outside the kingdom, no sending messages to lovers or children who lived elsewhere… he wanted to put a stop to the backbone of Eostia!
So when James Hind asked him to deliver a message, Carl was tempted to do it for no charge. He had a certain air about him, and once he was told he needed a message sent to the Goddess, Carl almost had him write it then and there. Sadly, rules were rules, and even though he was willing to break the law in spite of the Prime Minister's ban, he wasn't going to go against the Code of the couriers.
That being said, he still managed to come up with the coin to pay for the delivery of his message. And so, once their transaction was completed, Carl had taken off to perform his sacred duty of delivering the mail. Despite the late hour, this courier had nothing to worry about, as there was a very little known fact about couriers.
They were among the deadliest and most skilled warriors in the world. After all, they had to be when Monsters prowl after hours, and they are expected to get their jobs done in as quick a time as they can.
Orcs, Ogres, Trolls, Goblins, and every creature of the night would steer clear of them. Couriers past and present have made one thing remarkably clear to every beat in the nation by now:
Don't fuck with the mailmen.
And so, Carl ran as fast as he could through the nighttime air. He needed to deliver a message to Geofu; and not just any message, but one directly intended for the Goddess herself, Lady Celestine Lucross.
This was not the first time someone had tried to deliver a message to Her Holiness, but the Church always ensured nothing but the absolute most critical matters made it to the High Queen of Eostia. Seeing as there was nothing he could do to prove it was critical to them without showing them the contents, that left only one option.
He had to deliver it to her personally. He would not risk it being taken by untrustworthy people and disposed of like common trash!
No, the only way to ensure his duty is done is to ensure she receives it himself. That being said, despite being one of the fastest runners in Eostia, he was still human. So, halfway between Feoh and Geofu, Carl set up camp in a small clearing, just a simple thing, a small fire, a bedroll, and his trusty satchel right beside his head. He planned on sleeping until dawn and resuming the journey.
…
However, when he woke up, it was not at dawn, but when he heard the sound of a twig snapping, causing the Courier to shoot up into a sitting position.
"Well, well, well, look what we got here boys," said a man wearing black pants, a matching vest with a small dog head tattooed on their shoulder as he approached the small camp. "What are you doing out here all alone, friend? Don't you know how dangerous it is out here?" he asked as he knelt by the dying embers of the fire, and began throwing some more kindling onto it, reviving the flame.
"I do, but I don't see why that is any concern of yours, Sir," Carl said, his tone clipped. He already had a feeling of what was going on. "If you intend to rob me, then take my gold and go. I have a delivery to make in the morning, and I don't need my rest interrupted more than it already has been." He grabbed the bag of gold from his belt and tossing it to the man's feet.
To say the Black Dog was surprised was a bit of an understatement. "Well, it's good that you know your place," he said with a small laugh, opening the small bag and smiling as he saw the coins filling it. "Alright boys, you can come out," he called out to the tree line, and slowly more mercenaries began filtering into the clearing. "Our friend here was smarter than I thought, let's get out of here," the man said, signaling to all of his comrades that they were leaving.
"Wait boss, what about his delivery?" another man asked. He looked younger than the rest, but that didn't matter.
The leader of the little group looked back, between Carl and the small satchel by his bedroll. "Yeah, what are you delivering, mister?" he asked as he returned to the fire. This time his men began surrounding him, but the mailman didn't look at all distressed by the situation.
"That is confidential, only between the sender and the recipient," Carl stated, a strange amount of steel in his voice as he said that. It almost sounded like a threat, but the Black Dog mercenaries that surrounded the courier did not seem to understand that a man as unassuming as Carl had backbone.
With a laugh, one of the closer ones swiped the satchel, but the instant his hand touched the small bag, Carl's face morphed from one that was almost passive to pure rage in a fraction of a second. What happened next, no one besides Carl quite understood, as the man who had grabbed the bag suddenly found himself shot by a dozen crossbow bolts in under a second.
All of the mercenaries around the mailman jumped back in surprise as the courier grabbed the satchel from the man's hand, before he could have possibly dropped the bag and the letter it contained. "What the fuck?!" One of them exclaimed as they scrambled back away.
"You damn thieves have no respect for people's privacy?!" Carl shouted at them, a strange fury in those eyes that scared them. "You are not entitled to know what other people want to write or send to one another!"
The Black Dogs couldn't help but share a few glances at each other. Was the letter this courier carried really what set him off? However, one of the bolder members of this little group stepped forward.
"Well, I think we'll be entitled to it once you're-"
He never got to finish his sentence before the mailman whipped his torso around; a large, strange crossbow appearing in his hands in moments. They barely had a moment to ponder where that even came from, before they realized he had fired at the man who spoke. When the mailman fired, they realized it didn't fire a single bolt, but a dozen at once.
"When I took this important duty, I swore an Oath, sir!" he announced very briefly, breaking his stance, slapping the satchel and his hand to his chest as his eyes shone with a stalwart conviction. "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail, nor monsters, nor bandits shall keep me from making my appointed deliveries! This letter will reach its destination, and I will not tolerate ANYONE from getting in the way of the Eostian Postal Service!"
The Black Dogs mercenaries all exchanged a few more glances. He spoke with the same level of conviction and determination that Vault did when he had announced their plans to conquer the kingdom.
"Umm…" one of them began. "This letter can't be that important, right? I mean he's not a royal courier," he tried to rationalize. Unfortunately not all of his compatriots saw the situation the same way.
"You know our orders; Vault doesn't want any messages going between fortresses, and that means he's gotta either lose the message or-"
The sound of the crossbow firing again ended the man's sentence and his life. He fell to the ground, five bolts buried deep in his head.
Carl gave a death glare to every mercenary in the clearing. "Did you say Vault? Leader of the Black Dog Mercenaries?" he asked, his voice barely containing the rage he felt at the moment. "He ordered that no messages are to be sent between fortresses?!"
The clearing filled up with a strange aura; a killing intent, to be sure, but all the Black Dogs were flabbergasted that it was coming from this unassuming, weak looking courier with a handlebar mustache.
"Umm… No?"
What happened next could only be described as a massacre.
In less than three seconds, five bodies hit the floor. Each Black Dog that tried to fight this courier got the same treatment. Carl was a quick man, firing off volley after volley into the men that wanted to deny him his duty. A few of the smarter mercenaries took cover behind the trees.
"What the fuck?!" one asked another. "None of the other couriers were this deadly!"
"This guy's nuts!" another responded, cowering behind a downed log. "Aw man, we should've just left with the gold while we could have!"
The one behind the tree glanced down at his partner down by the log. "Well, at least we don't have to split it as much," he joked, tried to make light of the fact that a lot of their little group was now dead at the hands of that monster firing off shot after shot.
"Special Delivery! EXPRESS SHIPPING!" they heard the mailman call out, which confused them both for a few moments, as that was all they had before a massive ballista bolt blasted clean through the tree the mercenary was hiding behind, and pinned him to another tree in the clearing.
Being a Black Dog, there was a lot they were expected to see in life.
Gold, absolutely.
Naked women, certainly.
Seeing your buddy get nailed to a tree with a small log with an impossibly large arrowhead capping it?
Not exactly.
As such, when the man that hid behind the log saw that, there was one thing that went through his mind.
Run fast, and run far.
He got up and sprinted off into the forest, leaving whoever was left to die. If he could make it back to camp, then maybe he could get enough guys to pummel this guy to death with sheer numbers. He ran, and ran, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
What he didn't know was that it would never have been fast enough.
"HAVE A NICE DAY!" he heard before something stuck him in the back. It didn't kill him, so he ignored it. Whatever it was, either it wasn't lethal, or was too weak to have done anything but stuck to the back of his vest.
By the time he reached the camp, his lungs felt like they were on fire, his legs like they were about to crumble, and he just barely managed to realize that there was no one left. The camp was deserted.
Where was everyone?!
"Guys!" He called out only to be met with silence… Or at least, mostly silence.
*Tick**tick**tick**tick*
He heard a noise he couldn't explain. Now that he wasn't as focused on running away or getting back to camp, his ears finally registered a strange noise.
"What the hell is that?" he asked himself, looking around.
*Tick**Tick**Tick*
He looked around the camp, seeing no one but himself… was that coming from him?
*Tick**Tick*
That noise began getting on his nerves, so he finally took off his vest and saw something that made his eyes widen in realization.
*Tick*
"Oh, you son of a b-"
*CLICK*
*KA-BOOM*
Meanwhile
A bunch of Black Dogs were all lounging by a small spring, bathing, and generally enjoying the peace of the night.
"Ah… Tomorrow guys. Tomorrow, and we'll be kings among men," said one man.
"Yeah, hope I can get a nice piece of ass when the Boss captures Feoh," another man said. "I got my eyes on this nun, she's got that kinda innocent librarian look going on. I'm hoping I can be the guy to pop her cherry."
"Pfft!" a third man blew off. "Look at this guy, thinking no one else is gonna fuck his bitch." He laughed. "We're reserves, buddy, and once the attack starts, it's first come first cum. You'll be lucky if you get the filthy fifths."
This statement upset the second man. "Hey!"
However, before their argument could escalate, in the distance a low booming sound was heard.
"What was that?" The third man asked.
There was a silent beat for a moment, then they shrugged. No one seemed to care enough to check it out. After all, it sounded plenty far away, no need to worry about it.
Carl sat down in the clearing again, and with a sigh he began rolling up his bedroll. "Damn it. And I was hoping to get some good sleep tonight too," he said, gathering his coin purse, and all non-broken bolts that he could before looking for a new camping spot.
Not that it mattered too much; dawn was approaching, and he would have to get moving if he wanted to make a fast delivery. After all, no one likes slow mail, and if there was one thing Carl hated as much as people trying to tamper with the Postal Service, it's slow mail.
If you are going to be a courier, you have to be fast. The royal couriers got horses, but common ones like himself had to make do with their feet. That wasn't exactly something that bothered Carl, though, as he enjoyed running, even if a horse would make his job easier. Maybe if he started getting more mail than he could possibly handle, he would consider it, but for now, he can make do with just his own two feet.
The sun had begun peeking over the horizon, and that was the mailman's cue to start running again. It took only a few more hours to arrive at Geofu; the sky had gotten cloudy, and from the looks of things it might rain. He looked at the sky, a bad feeling washing over him, as if something terrible was going to happen soon. Despite that, he still had a job to do, and he would see it done, even if it kills him. He entered Geofu the same way many couriers do, through a special little doorway, so they weren't caught up in the hustle and bustle of the gates, and found himself inside and heading straight for the White Citadel.
However, he found himself stopped by the guards at the castle grounds. "Only royal couriers are allowed to see her Holiness," they told him.
For a few moments, Carl stared at the man with a flabbergasted expression.
But… but he had a mail addressed to her. He had to deliver it, he had to give it to her!
"But Sir, this is a matter of extreme importance," he told the guard, but the knight simply blew him off.
Carl tried numerous times to get in: going from gate to gate, asking to be let in, trying to convince the guard he was there to see someone else. None of his initial ideas worked. He tried for longer than any normal person would have, trying to convince them to allow him in.
Eventually, after receiving nothing but denial after denial, he took a small break, wandering across the square and away from the guards, sitting down on a bench. For a few moments, he thought about simply handing one of them the letter and hoping it gets delivered, but he knew better. If he surrendered that correspondence, then the privacy of the receiver and sender would be compromised, and Carl would NOT stand for it.
For a brief moment, he looked between his satchel and the castle, and made a decision. Even if it made him a criminal, Her Holiness would see this letter!
"I swore an Oath…" he repeated to himself. "I will deliver this letter, no matter what!"
While he hyped himself up, though, the citizens of Geofu simply looked at him and thought to themselves, 'That guy is weird.'
Not that he cared about what their opinions were, focused on delivering his letter to its intended recipient as he was.
And so he charged forward, sprinting towards the gates, the guards simply staring at him as he began running from across the square. "Is he gonna try to rush us?" One asked the other.
"Looks like it," the other confirmed, watching this strange man run at them.
"Should we close the gate or something?"
With a shrug, the other man signaled his hands towards someone up on the wall around the citadel, and the gate began to shut. Still Carl continued to sprint at them. "He's still going for it?" the first asked. "Doesn't he see he won't make it in time?"
"Maybe, maybe not. Doesn't matter though, he ain't getting in."
As Carl closed the distance, the gate finally shut tight. There was no getting in now… or so they thought.
The courier, rather than stopping dead at the closed gate, began doing something so appalling that the guards didn't know how to react at first.
He began climbing the metal gate.
"HEY! STOP THAT!" they shouted up at him as he got halfway up.
Unfortunately, when they yelled that out, the one manning the gatehouse looked down at the men guarding it, and seeing how they were both looking up in his direction, assumed he might have made a mistake by closing it, and began opening it back up.
Carl looked down as he climbed higher, and saw the gate was rising back up. While it was unexpected, he couldn't help but smile as he dropped down and sprinted into the castle grounds.
"HEY, WAIT! INTRUDER!" the guard cried out as Carl ran inside.
This was his first time inside the Geofu's White Citadel, so he didn't know his way around that well. But he would find her eventually if he just ran around the entire thing, right? That was his plan, and so without even thinking he took off, up the stairs and down the eastern corridor.
The White Citadel was a maze, by far one of the largest castles ever designed in the Kingdom. After all, it had been made to be fit for a Goddess given flesh, but that didn't mean it was impossible for a courier to navigate. A part of his job meant making sure he had a very good memory, and so every twist, every turn, every staircase, every room, every person he passed was memorized and mapped in his mind. The Goddess herself was bound to be in the hardest to reach place, so his first task was getting there and working his way down.
That didn't mean he could explore easily, as the guards inside were on alert and hunting for him. Thankfully, they were slower than he was, and lacked the running stamina they needed to catch him.
"FOUND YOU!" a guardswoman shouted, bracing herself in his path, ready to take any kind of tackle or attempt to get around her.
And to her credit, he didn't get around her. He instead went under, sliding between her legs, and for a brief moment their eyes met as he traveled between her legs. Her cheeks darkened, her eyes widened, and her mouth went from closed to agape in moments. It was a fleeting moment, but the guardswoman screamed in flustered embarrassment, before turning around and pursuing the determined Courier.
Carl for his part didn't really care that much, he was trying to simply deliver this letter.
That said, he continued to search for the Goddess herself, the almost maze-like construction of the castle worked to both his detriment and benefit. As he raced through the palace, he found himself losing any and all people trying to follow him, thanks to the many twists and turns. Unfortunately, he was unsure how much more ground he had to cover before he would find her, or at least narrow down possible locations.
He eventually stopped when he ran into a small child while turning a corner. The child fell back, and Carl tripped and rolled onto the ground. "Oh dear, I am sorry for that," he apologized as he went to help the kid up. "I didn't have time to stop before I saw you, are you alright?"
The child in question nodded, with a small sniffle. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said, but his face told a different story. His eyes were as red as his face, as if he had been crying.
Carl wanted to simply say 'Okay, have to go!' and leave, but… damn it, he wasn't heartless. Dedicated and hardworking, sure, but he wasn't going to simply ignore this.
"What's your name?" Carl asked, crouching down to get on the young boy's level.
"Isaac," he answered quietly.
Carl extended a hand. "Hello Isaac, I'm Carl," the mailman introduced himself, with a wide grin. "Mind telling me what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Isaac answered, even though it was clearly a lie.
Carl shook his head. "Doesn't sound like nothing."
The boy then looked down. "I'm scared, because my favorite knight might not be coming back," he confessed. "He went with Vault to go and attack the Dark Queen, but we haven't heard anything since they left." He sounded like he was about to start crying.
Carl gave a sad smile. As much as he disliked the idea of anyone idolizing someone willing to work with that mercenary, whoever it was must have been important to this kid. "Well then you're in luck, little Isaac, because I just happen to be a courier. That means I am great at finding people anywhere in the kingdom."
The boy's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
The mailman nodded. "Oh yes, it's my job to make sure everyone gets their mail, after all. If you want, once I am done with my delivery here, I can go looking for your Knight," he offered. He wasn't on a deadline to return to Feoh, after all. He could take a detour in case there were no other messages to send to look for him. "What's his name?"
"James Hind."
Carl blinked. That was… not who he expected.
"Oh… well then, worry no more, because your favorite knight is in Feoh right now. He actually asked me to deliver a message to Her Holiness. Said it was urgent," he informed, pulling out the letter to show the kid proof.
With wide eyes, Isaac stared at the letter. Her Holiness never got letters, not usually, and if Sir James was the one sending it, then it must be important! Maybe even good news!
"Come on, I know where Her Holiness is!" Isaac told him before running off down the hall, with the mailman close behind.
On their way there, Carl made a mental note that he had been searching the wrong side of the castle; he had gone east when he should have gone west. Not that it mattered much now, though, as Isaac led him through the corridors, halls, and rooms with practiced ease. "She should be on her private balcony!"
Unfortunately, as they arrived, the Dawn Templars, the Goddess's private guard, stopped them.
"Halt!" the pink-haired captain yelled at them. "You shall go no further! Commander Levantine and Lady Lucross not to be interrupted!" she stated, barring their passage.
Isaac frowned. "But we need to see her. It's important!" he protested. Sadly, he was but a child, so it sounded less urgent and more like he was about to throw a fit because he wanted to see Her Holiness.
The pinkette frowned. "Sorry kid, orders are orders," she apologized in a much kinder voice, probably because he was a child. "I can't move without disobeying orders, and no matter how important it is, I'm sure it can wait an hour or two."
Carl's eyes widened at that estimation.
An hour or two?! He needed to get this letter to her NOW! Marching forward, Carl didn't care at the raising hostility the pinkette was giving him. "I cannot wait an hour! I said I would give this letter to Her Holiness as soon as possible!"
As their expression locked, the air in the hallway tensed considerably. Isaac felt it, and made himself as small as he could, hiding off in a corner.
"You will wait, or you will be forced to," she declared, but Carl refused. With his head inclined towards her, he walked forward. "You have heard my ultimatum, and still you continue to approach?"
His stride remained uninterrupted. "I have a duty, and I cannot do that without getting closer," the courier said challengingly.
The woman had to admit, she didn't expect to be so brazenly ignored by a simple mailman of all people, but she felt she had to respect his dedication. Few would be so loyal to their duty that they would openly ignore her threats. The fact that he was challenging one of the esteemed members of the Dawn Templars all for the sake of delivering a simple message was commendable in a strange way.
"Then by all means, get as close as you like. You will never make it to the door."
With little fanfare, she drew her sword, and prepared for a fight. The mailman did the same, producing a crossbow seemingly out of thin air. It was loaded, aimed, and for a few tense moments neither moved. For a few moments, a silent negotiation was made, Carl demanding she step aside and let him deliver his package, while she was telling him to stand down and wait.
For a total of five seconds, they simply stared at each other. No one knew what would set off the fight, and no one wanted to be the one to initiate what might be a bloody conflict inside the pristine walls of the White Citadel. However, a single noise was all it took for things to kick off: a simple sniffle of a nose still recovering from a runniness brought upon by grief and sadness.
Isaac sniffled; and just like that, the world's most pointless fight began.
The Templar Captain burst into motion, as Carl's finger flexed and pulled the trigger of his crossbow. The pinkette dodged quickly, barely avoiding getting shot as she charged forward. In the moments between when she dodged and when the bolt struck and impaled itself into the wooden door, the distance between the two had been closed. For many, it would seem like the Captain had won by virtue of being close.
However, if closing the distance was all it took to take out this courier, he would have fallen ages ago. As she swung her sword down, Carl leapt backwards, a new bold loaded into the chamber and fired before his feet even touched the ground.
The pinkette however had good enough reflexes to avoid the shot, and continued to press the attack. She swung with speed and precision, aiming to either destroy his crossbow, or incapacitate. Still, despite her superior training and combat prowess, she began getting annoyed.
Every attack was either dodged, parried, or countered.
She stuck as close as she could, and despite their dancing up and down the hallway, Carl proved himself slippery, more so than he had any right to be in all reality.
The two other templars watched their captain with wide eyes. She was one of the best in their ranks, only outmatched by Lady Maia, Lady Arcturus, Lady Luu Luu, and Commander Levantine. Even then, the list of people that could match her evenly was her twin sister in the Knights of Iris. So seeing this Mailman not only avoiding her for so long, but managing to keep up despite losing the distance advantage was remarkable.
They had been so enamored by the fight that they hadn't noticed when Claudia herself opened the door and glared at them. "Would one of you like to explain why there is a crossbow bolt embedded in the door?" she pointedly asked, causing the two to go rigid.
"Is everything alright?" they heard the Goddess ask calmly from behind the doorway.
The two templars exchanged cautious glances at each other. "Umm…" Neither of them knew what to say exactly as they looked over at the fight still going on. "We… Uh, we're dealing with a potential intruder," one of them said, but the scrutinizing glare their Commander gave them was absolutely scathing.
Lady Levantine clearly didn't buy that. "Then explain to me why I see only one of you three fighting."
"Perhaps they were guarding the door?" Celestine offered from behind her friend.
As they were about to take the excuse provided, their attention was drawn to the small boy running over to them. "Lady Celestine! James sent a letter!" he yelled to the Goddess on the other side of the door.
"He did?" she asked. "May I have it?"
Isaac paused, glancing back at the fight happening and just in time, too, as Carl had managed to disarm and defeat the pinkette Templar. "Once the mailman gets back over here," he told his adoptive mother.
Claudia frowned at the sight of one of her templars being disarmed. And at the fact that two of them decided not to help defeat what might have been a potential threat. "You two go retrieve them. Isaac, out here," she ordered, allowing the boy to pass to Her Holiness' private balcony.
While Celestine dealt with her adoptive child, Claudia watched as the rather plain and unassuming man, carefully and with purpose, strode on over to her, while Captain Rose was helped up by the other two. She held up a hand to stop him.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave your weapon at the door, and submit to a search. I will not allow any potentially deadly people close to the Goddess."
"Of course," Carl obliged without a moment's hesitation, dropping the crossbow and taking the small pouch on his belt off, dropping them both on the ground with extraordinary little care. He then raised his arms up beside himself wide, spread his legs and allowed himself to be searched.
Claudia worked quickly, patting his body down, searching for concealed weapons. Once she was assured that he had nothing, he allowed him through.
"Deliver your letter, then leave." Her orders were simple, a certain edge clear in them.
With a single nod, Carl strode onto the balcony and took the letter from his satchel. He gave a polite bow, and held out the letter for her to take.
"Thank you for this," Celestine said, her tone gentle and genuine. A part of Carl couldn't help but feel giddy; he was in the presence of the Goddess Reborn!
For a few moments after she took the message, he allowed himself to simply drink in her form and… She was as radiant as the sun, even on this cloudy day she radiated such a gentle and motherly warmth that he-
"It's time to leave."
His thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, being carefully pushed back inside. Once he was back inside, the doors closed behind him, and Carl was left standing in front of a very cross Pinkette and many castle Knights.
For a moment, the Courier thought he was now about to face the consequences of being so devoted to his duty, but the Captain's face went from upset to happy in a moment.
"It's been a while since I met a man able to fight me, and with a crossbow of all things." Her tone was almost happy. "My name is Rose, Captain of the Dawn Templars." She extended her hand, and he shook it.
"My name is Carl. I'm a Courier."
Celestine looked at the letter, simply staring at it carefully, while Isaac began eating the snacks that herself and Claudia didn't finish. She was half expecting more bad news; the missive from Vault left her anxious. She had read it with Claudia, and a dark foreboding feeling had settled on them both.
'Submit to the Service Nation, or be enslaved.'
Celestine didn't want to admit it, but it terrified her. When Vault and James had left to defeat the Dark Queen, she had felt something faint tickle her senses. It was not a vision, but it had left her with the dread that one does.
She feared she made a mistake when sending him with the Black Dogs, that she made a mistake by sending them in the first place. What if she had sent the man who would save them to his death? What if they were wrong about the Dark Queen's defenses?
After reading the missive from the Black Dogs, though? She now realized it was not; it wasn't the Dark Queen she needed to fear.
But for now, she would put it aside. Isaac was present, and he need not worry. Things would be okay… or at least, she hoped they would be.
Opening the letter, she began to read it silently
Dear Celestine Lucross
I am sending this letter to… well, hopefully warn you. Vault has turned traitor, has an army of monsters, and is planning on raping the kingdom into submission. Raise every defense you can and prepare for a real war.
I understand you are a pacifist, but this is not something you'll be able to resolve by diplomacy or simply wait out, like you did the Dark Queen Olga Discordia. Do your best to make sure no man has the power to cripple defenses anywhere. Vault has planted traitors in each fortress, ready to hand this kingdom over to him.
DO NOT TRUST ANY MEN.
Hell, don't even trust me if you don't think I can. Anyone with a dick should be considered a potential security risk. No matter how close you believe them to be, do not trust them. I wish I could give you names, but I don't trust any message that isn't in person. If anyone sees this besides you, better I keep it as ambiguous as possible.
Something else you ought to know is that Vault has been targeting royal couriers. Be careful who/what you send, because he's actively having his men on the lookout for messages between fortresses. I am sending a normal civilian one in hopes he gets under their net.
With that warning issued, I'm happy to inform you that I had managed to capture Dark Queen Olga Discordia and her retainer… and then lost them in Feoh.
I wish I could say I was working on recapturing them, but given the Lady Discordia has essentially lost her powers, I don't see the point, since we have bigger concerns. I have it on good authority that Feoh will be the first fortress hit, so any help you can send would be appreciated. I'm going to see if I can't get a warning to Princess Arcturus before that happens, but there've been complications with that.
Regardless, it'll be a bit longer before I can report back. Hopefully you'll get this message in time, but if not, well… I don't know. One thing I do know is that I won't let him have this kingdom or its people without having him fight tooth and claw for it.
Signed
James Hind.
Relief practically flooded the Goddess Reborn. James was alive, and already trying to take action against Vault and his forces. She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, and handed the letter over to Claudia to read.
"Did James mention anything about coming back soon?" she heard Isaac ask.
A small smile graced her face. "Soon. He has some business to take care of in Feoh first, but he will return soon," she told him. "Now go inside and inform your siblings, me and Lady Levantine have things to discuss."
With a small hug, the young boy went back inside, smiling brighter than she had seen him do the last few days.
"This isn't good," Claudia said once the door shut again. "If what Sir Hind says is true, we are at a major disadvantage," she stated. "And as hesitant as I am to simply write off every man in my life as a potential traitor, I will take extra precautions to ensure Geofu and Ken are as secure as possible."
Celestine nodded. "I understand, there is a certain degree of sense in doing so, much as I dislike admitting it. If it is true he has people here already, our only option is to try to find them as discreetly as we can. At least we now know, and with that we may be able to find them before they can bring any harm."
The Dawn Templar nodded. "Indeed." She looked back down at the letter, before saying, "I'll work on sending a detachment to Feoh as soon as possible. They will need support against an army like the one Vault is believed to have."
Claudia left Lady Lucross alone on the balcony, and once she knew she was alone, Celestine voiced a question that had been in her mind since the day she met the man.
"James… just where are you from?" she asked herself. "You speak fluent Eostian, but with an accent that is hard to notice. You write Aurelian without using proper form, and yet when we met, you never once addressed me with the reverence most people in these lands give," she spoke softly and quietly to herself, her brows furrowed in thought.
He was an enigma, but one she found she did not want to pry into. Everyone had their rights to privacy, and if he desired to keep his origins a secret, he was entitled to do that, even if it only made her more curious. A sigh escaped the High Queen's lips.
"I hope you will tell me one day."
With that, she turned to go back inside, only for a low sound to reach her ears.
*Boom*
Whipping around, she was greeted with an awful sight.
Smoke was rising from distant Feoh, and with it, so was her dread of the coming conflict. But that was nothing compared to the vision that saw to strike her at that very moment.
A city in flames.
Lady Alicia, watching helplessly as her people were attacked.
Prim on the ground, looking up at a mysterious attacker.
Two Dark Elves fighting monsters in the streets.
James facing down a massive creature.
Teeth like knives, claws like meat hooks.
Eyes of fire, wings of death.
A single word echoed through her mind with a voice that could make the heavens quake in fear.
"DOVAHKIIN!"
It took Celestine a moment to realize the voice she had heard was not in her mind at all. Turning her head to the sky, she saw it.
It cast a large shadow on the ground, blanketing the city in its shade.
"LADY CELESTINE!" she heard Claudia call as she burst back onto the balcony. "We need to…to…" the Templar trailed off as she looked up alongside the Goddess as a creature that only existed in legends flew overhead, and towards Feoh. "What in the name of the Goddess is that?!" she asked, not believing what she was seeing.
Celestine looked towards Feoh, fell to her knees, and clasped her hands; praying for their safety, praying for their lives, and praying for the salvation of her people.
And Side story done.
Special thanks to Littlewhitemouse for proofreading this chapter.
Okay, so I think I am going to start cutting down Chapter Lengths to things that are a bit more manageable than 10k, maybe 6k or 7k.
Anyway, I wanted to show why Carl is good at his job, and give you guys a bit of a hint towards the next chapters.
Spoilers: Things are about to start kicking off.
Besides that, not much I really can say about the chapter besides that it is a bit… iffy in terms of quality since I kinda decided to try and go for a smaller word count mid-way through and while I think it's fine, it might come off as a bit odd to some of you. If it is, I'll give it a few edits to see if I can make it a bit more bearable, but yeah.
Also, I want to take a moment to address the situation in Ukraine. I know it's not my place to really say but what is happening there is awful, atrocious, terrible and many other choice adjectives I can think of. My heart goes out to the people suffering there and I truly hope that it can be resolved soon. If you are in Ukraine, I know it isn't much but don't give up. I truly cannot imagine what it is like there, but I know you have strength to withstand it.
