Chapter 31: Ascent

The Tower of Guidance, The Begnion Empire, Tellius

Year 648

When Celica opened her eyes, she was standing at the base of a tower that pierced the heavens. Grand spires, pristine and perfectly symmetrical in their construction, reached through the blanket of snow clouds hanging overhead and disappeared into the sky beyond. Every detail sculpted into the tower's exterior was expertly carved and crafted, not a stone out of place.

No cracks, no sections or borders weathered down by the passage of time…no imperfections. Certainly a sanctuary worthy of the Goddess of Order.

Celica stared up at the structure in silent awe. Soren, still struggling against the Black Knight's iron grip, turned his glare from his captor to the top of the tower—or rather, the parts that were still visible beneath the clouds.

"I thought Ashera was supposed to be up there."

"She is," the Black Knight said.

"Then what are we doing down here?" Soren huffed out a short, irritated breath that curled around the red mark on his forehead. "Surely you don't expect us to climb all the way up there just to be subjected to whatever pointless conversation you want to have with her."

"I do."

Celica's eyes snapped back down to her companions, shooting both the knight and the goddess among them an incredulous, weary look. She had built up quite a bit of stamina over the course of all her adventuring, but to walk up Mila-knows how many stairs to ascend a tower as tall as the sky itself?

Her legs were already starting to feel sore just thinking about it.

Soren seemed to share the same sentiment. "Would it not have been expeditious to warp us up to the top—you know, where Ashera actually is—rather than stopping short at her doorstep?"

Yune leaned back with a drawn out, exaggerated groan. "Does that slab of meat between your ears do anything? I thought tacticians were supposed to be smart."

Soren's mouth twisted into a tight line, deepening his scowl.

"Obviously, the tower has safeguards," Yune said. "There's a protective barrier that prevents any magic from passing through the tower's walls to keep Ashera safe from any unexpected visitors—or threats—while she was taking her thousand-year nap." She placed a hand on the stone; a soft golden light shone between her fingers. "It looks like she hasn't taken it down yet."

"If that's the case," Celica said, a relieved smile curling the corner of her lips, "then that should mean the invisible soldiers can't get inside either, right? Not easily, at least."

"In theory, yes. It should make a useful shelter for us against the coming danger." Yune hummed and rubbed her fingers together as if testing the magical residue left by the tower's touch. "If we can convince Ashera to cooperate with us, that is."

"My master has Ashera's ear," the Black Knight said. "I will speak to him about this new threat you have foreseen, if you would be willing to explain the nature of it. He should be waiting at her side."

"I can speak to him myself." Yune pressed both of her hands against the tower, tracing the crevices carved into the stone. Her fingers hooked into one of the indentations and squeezed. Almost immediately, the outline of a door became visible along the tower's intricate masonry, glowing equal parts blue and gold.

"But I promised I would share what I can with you and the mush head on our way up, so I will. It will be better if we're all on the same page, anyway."

The door slid open with a heavy groan, stone grinding against stone. Yune was the first to step inside, followed by the Black Knight dragging a disgruntled Soren behind him with several rough, forceful tugs. Once Celica was through, Yune waved her hand and the door slammed back into place, its echo bouncing off every stone set into the walls of the cold, lifeless chamber.

"Well, we better get started," Yune said, nodding to the tower's central staircase. The steps were steep, climbing up into a patch of darkness that Celica could only hope led to just another empty room, not something more…haunting. "Oh, you can let him go now, Sir Knight. There's nowhere left for him to go but up."

Nodding, the Black Knight released Soren from his hold. Soren immediately shoved himself away from the armored man, rubbing his sore arm and cursing the knight and the goddess under his breath.

"Oh, and be on your best behavior in front of Ashera, all right? If you want to save your friends, you have to show her you can get along with others." Yune's voice took on a teasing tone. "She won't be receptive to a sarcastic, moody attitude."

Soren glared at her, wiping off his sleeves as though they had been dirtied by the Black Knight's touch, and grumbled, "Noted."

"Good. Now that that's all settled…" Yune clapped her hands once and started up the first staircase. The blue energy radiating off her body chased away the darkness looming at the top of it. "Let's see, where should I begin…ah! Yes, we'll start with the army of the dead…"

Yune went on explaining everything she had learned from Celica's memories, sharing a new piece of information or insight with every set of stairs they climbed, with every large, empty chamber they passed through. For Celica, it was honestly a bit uncomfortable listening to someone else narrate her life experiences from the past few days, but she didn't think it wise to speak up. Not against a goddess…especially one who was, in the long run, trying to help her and all those endangered by the invisible soldiers.

Instead, she stared at the steps beneath her feet, silently planning out what she would say to the Goddess of Order. She had to pick her words carefully, and had to ensure that her argument would be persuasive enough to gain the goddess's favor but not so bold that she would cause offense.

If her training as a priestess had taught her anything, it was that gods were often sticklers for respect and propriety. She was willing to bet the spirit of law and order would be even more so.

"Celica, was it?"

Soren's hushed whisper at her side yanked her out of her thoughts. Nodding slowly, she glanced between him and the duo in front of her. Both Yune and the Black Knight were several steps ahead, the former of whom had moved on from talking about the invisible soldiers to complaining about all the years she had spent cooped up in "Lehran's stuffy medallion."

"You're really not from Tellius?" Soren asked quietly, so as not to draw their attention.

Again, Celica nodded.

"Then let me give you some advice," Soren said, "from one mage to another."

Celica threw him a curious look. "How did you—"

"Your hands aren't calloused enough for you to be a regular swordswoman, despite the sword you wear on your belt." Soren curled his fingers over his palm, tapping his thumb and index together. "When you're nervous, your right hand makes this shape—a typical stance taken by someone preparing to summon fire magic—instead of hovering over your physical weapon, as most melee fighters would. You might not have any tomes on your person, but you clearly have a preference for spell casting."

A short smile spread across Celica's face. "You have quite the analytical mind, sir. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

Soren shook his head. "No, I just figured I should warn you before we walk into this…conversation." His red eyes slid forward to the Black Knight and Yune, narrowing into thin, suspicious slits. "You shouldn't trust them so readily."

Frowning, Celica asked, "And why is that?"

"They're more dangerous than you realize." Soren's expression hardened. "Yune may not like the term, but history refers to her as the 'dark god' for a reason. Most people who touched the medallion she was sealed within had their minds twisted by her chaos, causing them to go berserk and destroy everyone and everything in their sight." For a moment, his fierce expression faltered, falling away to something much more solemn and sad. "I've witnessed it myself firsthand."

Celica cast a quick, wary glance to Yune's back, watching her blue energy flare as she hopped up the next flight of stairs.

"Micaiah herself is a fool," Soren continued quietly. "Only a fool would be stupid enough to follow the son of the Mad King of Daein, let alone lead his armies and drag Tellius back into war for him as Micaiah has done. But she's a capable fool, and that makes her dangerous."

Celica pursed her lips and let her gaze drift back to the floor.

"As for the Black Knight," Soren said, struggling to keep his voice down as the title passed through his teeth, "he murdered Ike's father, Commander Greil, in cold blood, then set his sights on Ike himself—"

"I did not murder Gawain."

Celica startled at the sound of the Black Knight's distorted voice; so, he had been listening to their conversation, after all.

"We crossed blades in a duel, and he lost."

"A duel you forced him into," Soren spat, "after threatening his children."

The Black Knight made a noise at the back of his throat that grated the air, like a knife dragging across brittle stone. "A duel he could have won if he had not wasted his life's training by crippling his sword arm. If he did not want to die, he should have put up a better fight."

Soren's eye twitched. With words like poisoned ice, he said, "I'm going to enjoy watching Ike kill you."

"If he was unable to endure Ashera's judgment, he would not have been able to challenge me at my full strength and survive. In the end, he was nothing but a poor imitation of his father's shadow."

"He beat you once," Soren said, "and he'll do it again. He's stronger than you know—stronger than you'll ever be."

"And yet I was not the one turned to stone."

Soren hovered a hand over the binding of a wind tome, eyes flicking between the Black Knight's helmet, the edge of the stairs…and the long, dangerous drop to the bottom floors below it. Sensing his intent, Celica grabbed his wrist and whispered, "Don't."

Soren muttered something about testing the "limits of his armor's indestructibility" and tugged himself free of her grip, but he left his tome in place.

"How much farther is there left to go?" Celica asked, straining to keep her tone patient and polite. Her legs were beginning to tire from climbing staircase upon staircase, and she feared Soren and the Black Knight would be at each other's throats if they did not reach their destination soon.

"Don't worry, we're almost to the top," Yune said, smiling back at her before jumping up to the last step and spinning into the connected chamber above them. "There should only be a few more…sets of stairs…"

Her voice trailed off at the sight of something on the other side of the room, something Celica couldn't yet see. Despite her muscles' protests, she jogged up the rest of the staircase to join Yune at the top, followed closely by the Black Knight.

The chamber was similar to the others they had passed through—dark, eerily quiet, bereft of life—but unlike the ones that came before, this one was far from empty.

A nervous chill writhed down Celica's spine as she looked upon the faces of a dozen petrified dragons.

Some were crouched on all fours, curled into themselves as Ashera's judgment had turned them to stone; others stood tall on their hind legs, massive wings unfurled and fangs bared to defend themselves against a force they could not fight. Yune's blue light flickered off their heads, illuminating the pain and confusion twisted over their scaled, stone snouts.

"This is…highly unusual…" The Black Knight marched up to a dragon statue frozen in the center of the room, one that towered over all the rest. He knocked on the dragon's tail as if to confirm it was truly made of stone. "The Dragon King and his brethren from Goldoa…my master said they were to be spared…"

"Why would the goddess spare them out of everyone else?" Celica asked. "Are they also considered—what was the word—Branded?"

Yune tilted her head up at one of the statues, frowning. "No, they are very much laguz—the most powerful type, actually—but King Dheginsea and his scalebags are some of Ashera's most loyal followers. I assume that's why they were here, waiting for her to wake up so they could receive her orders…but for her to have punished them, too…" She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Very strange, indeed."

A sudden frisson of fear, of dread, of realization ran through Celica. No, the dragons of Tellius being petrified was not so strange at all, given the pattern of Anankos's actions thus far. His armies had targeted the dragonkin in every world she had visited. Why would it be any different for Tellius? The method of incapacitation may have been new, but the outcome was still the same: no more dragons. It couldn't be a coincidence.

But if their petrification was part of Anankos's plans, like Celica suspected…then that would mean…

Anankos had meddled with more than just Yune's power.

"…We need to get to Ashera," Yune said, red eyes turning grim. "Something is very, very wrong."

The Black Knight was already moving for the next set of stairs. It was difficult to tell for sure through the armor, but his posture seemed much more tense than before. Nervous, almost. And Celica had a feeling the fearsome Black Knight was not one to get nervous often.

That thought in no way helped soothe her own rising anxiety.

Celica and Yune were quick to follow his trail to the upper levels of the tower (Soren stayed behind for a few extra moments to frown at the dragons before, reluctantly, continuing the climb with them). The exhaustion from their long trek up was all but forgotten as they hurried to the top-most floor. And there…

They found the Black Knight standing before a set of iron-bound doors, guarded by a single statue. A statue of a man dressed in regal robes, staring at the floor with a tired, sullen resignation.

"…Master…what…" He brought his hands to the man's shoulders as if to shake the statue out of his petrified state. Nothing. "This…this should not be. This was not supposed to happen…"

"Is that the Prime Minister?" Soren asked, studying the statue with a critical eye. Then, he slid that gaze up to the Black Knight himself, realization flashing across his face. "I see. You're Sephiran's lapdog, then."

The Black Knight answered by balling his hands into tight fists.

"Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say you were his lapdog." A hint of a smirk peeked through Soren's cold exterior. "How unfortunate. It seems like your dear, beloved master wasn't strong enough to endure the goddess's judgment, either."

"Mind your tongue, boy," the Black Knight hissed, turning around so slowly, so dangerously, that Celica herself felt compelled to take a step back, "or I will rip it out and shove it down your throat."

"You're welcome to try, Zelgius."

Yune groaned at them, running a hand down her face. "Could you two organ-sacks stop threatening each other for one second? We need to—"

The iron doors behind the statue swung open before Yune could finish, each slab hitting the stone walls of the chamber with a violent crack. Celica jolted up at the sound and reflexively curled her fingers, preparing her spell-casting hand for whatever might walk through the open doorway…

But instead of a person, an even, graceful voice drifted in from the other side.

"Have you come to my tower to squabble amongst yourselves," the voice said, "or are you here to speak with me?"

Yune perked up, head swiveling in the voice's direction. "Ashera? You're…are you all right? Have you been waiting for us?"

The voice did not see fit to answer her.

With a pointed look and few quick shoves, Yune pushed the three of them through the doorway into Ashera's chamber. The room, like the rest of the tower, was largely empty, save for a stone dais protruding from the center of the floor and a series of tall, pristine glass windows lining the walls.

A woman—no, Celica thought, a goddess—stood on the other side of the chamber, back facing them as she watched the snow clouds roll across the horizon. Her figure was framed with dozens upon dozens of white feathers; they adorned her long, pink hair, decorated the hems of her sleeves, and even fanned out around the bottom of her dress. When Celica and her companions approached, she did not turn around to greet them.

"It has been quite some time, Yune," Ashera said. "Though I cannot say it brings me pleasure seeing you again, nor the rabble you have dragged into my halls."

Yune rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "First of all: rude. Second of all: me and this 'rabble' are here to warn you—despite your betrayal of our agreement—so a little gratitude would be much appreciated."

The faintest hint of amusement touched Ashera's words. "Warn me?"

"There's something terrible coming for us, Ashera. Can't you feel it?" Yune gestured to the open doors behind her and the statue that stood just outside. "When you cast your judgment, it wasn't only the warring people of this world who were turned to stone—it was all of your subordinates, too. The dragons of Goldoa, Lehran, all of your allies have been petrified alongside the rest of the beorc and laguz! Something has weakened my powers, and from the looks of it, it's starting to affect yours, too."

Ashera just continued to stare out the window, silent and eerily calm.

"Please, Goddess Ashera," Celica stepped in, bowing her head even though the goddess was still turned away from her. "I have witnessed the danger Goddess Yune speaks of with my own eyes, and I don't wish to see either of you hurt—or worse—when it brings its armies to Tellius. I may not be one of your subjects, my lady, but I am—"

"I know who you are, Anthiese."

Celica froze. The goddess knew her birth name? How? Celica rarely ever used it herself.

"You…do…?"

"I know a great deal about you," Ashera said. Her voice was flat but as sharp as a razor's edge. "Queen Celica of the One Kingdom of Valentia. Wife of the Saint-King, Albein Alm Rudolf II. Daughter of King Lima IV. The Lost Princess of Zofia. Bearer of Mila's Brand. Am I missing anything?"

Every word made Celica's blood run a little bit colder, made her face a little bit paler. There were many explanations as to why Ashera would know all that information about her—she was a goddess, after all; perhaps her connection to divinity, or even to Yune herself, had allowed her to learn about Celica's history—but for a reason she couldn't place, an instinct she couldn't name…

She felt the true reason was much more insidious.

"…How?" Celica asked, apprehensive. Yune had gone uncharacteristically quiet, glaring at Ashera's back with a suspicion and anger that Celica was too afraid to openly express herself.

"How, you ask?" Ashera finally turned away from the window, her face void of any and all emotion. "The answer is rather simple."

Ashera's dull, bored eyes swept slowly over the four of them, evaluating them one-by-one. Then, without a shred of worry or a hint of hesitation, she cocked her head and said:

"Anankos told me."

Character Bios:

Dheginsea: Dragon King

—King of the Black Dragons of Goldoa and loyal general of Ashera. One of the "Three Heroes" who helped seal the chaos goddess within a medallion in hopes of preventing any future conflicts among mankind. He values neutrality and peace above all else, hoping to keep his people safe from the horrors of war and hold to Ashera's strict tenets for peace and order.

—Relations: Father of Rajaion (deceased), Almedha (petrified), and Kurthnaga (petrified). Grandfather (?) of Pelleas (deceased).

Sephiran: Chancellor

—Prime Minister of the Begnion Empire, Duke of Persis, and most trusted advisor of Ashera. Long ago under the name Lehran, he fought as one of the "Three Heroes" who helped seal the chaos goddess within a medallion in hopes of preventing any future conflicts among mankind. He had long hoped that Ashera and Yune would merge again to reform the Goddess of Dawn, but over time became bitter and resentful over humanity's constant proclivity toward violence…thus hatching a plan to awaken Ashera to punish mankind once and for all. Progenitor of the Begnion royal family and the Branded.

—Wielder of Ashera's Staff and Creiddylad

—Relations: Husband of Altina (deceased). Ancestor of Sanaki (petrified) and Micaiah. Master of the Black Knight.

Next chapter: Revelations