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Public Service Announcement : we regret to inform you of a minor adjustment to episode 17's tradition of drowning hazards, aquatic monsters, romance and Gourry in drag. Due to the Red World containing no Gourry Gabriev at the time being, we have employed the next best blond guy. Unfortunately, he lobotomized any potential for humor. Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience. We seek to rectify the situation as soon as possible.*
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Now that the Claire Bible was destroyed, there was little reason for Milgazia and his clan to stay at Dragon's Peak. They only kept station to guard over the piece of Lei Magnus, but this was form more than anything. The elves already were relocating to an area less populated with devils.
Milgazia and Azonge went south, prompted by a messenger of Valwin's dragons. Said wind dragons turned up with an army. Off course Milgazia had been aware of their movements, but the sheer extent had eluded him. There was practically an exodus of nations. Flarelord Vrabazard had commanded that all dragon tribes were to unite, as he sensed that the devils were up to something. Milgazia had every reason to believe this, so he eagerly joined. This had come as a relief to the messenger; negotiations with the earth dragons had failed. The earth dragons claimed that since their god had not contacted them over this, they saw no reason to found any United Dragon Nation. It would just provoke the devils needlessly.
Orispias, patriarch of the wind dragons, requested they search out the nomads and bring them together. Milgazia couldn't help but feel he and Azonge were shoved aside on a menial task the moment they arrived, while the wind dragons kept the more substantial work of the government to themselves. Nevertheless, it was something that had to be done, so they obliged.
Not all the eastern golden dragons were attached to the cathedral, but their primary culture was so tied by it that everything orbited it. With the destruction of Vrabazard's clan, the other factions had fallen out of touch with the individual houses due to lacking crystal ball headquarters. They were spread across the entire eastern continent. Finding them was a challenge.
Milgazia had sought out the so called second holy order first, the traveling monks that went between these smaller communes to carry along blessed items of healing and new teachings. The third, a coalition of houses that wanted a less religious government, were too busy bickering.
As Milgazia visited the communes, he learned the western nation believed in determinism of bloodlines. About six families dominated the houses, the unspoken rule that they'd proven to bring forth worthy children. The Ul Copt family was one of them. Milgazia met a twice removed nephew of Filia, who was under the belief she had died with the others of the main clan.
Milgazia was sorely tempted to assure him she lived, but after seeing the mixture of grief coupled with the belief she was a leading saint in heaven, he reconsidered. There was no way to tell she was alive without any of the unfortunate circumstances of it. Raising an Ancient Dragon, who the fire dragons believed to be inherently violent, and hanging out with Xelloss, slayer of dragons. Death and blessings in heaven was less depressing than the loom of eternal damnation.
Besides, telling the Ul Copts would get it to Orispias. This could bring more trouble than it was worth to sooth Milgazia's conscience.
Orispias was the sole patriarch of the wind dragons. A golden dragon as usual. Though his tribe was much more diverse than the northern dragons, he did not keep joint leaders, only a council for appearances. He had surrounded himself with a strict group of people who did whatever he wanted. Council was never kept. Milgazia was not fond of his style, but had to admit it had worked decently in the past. Though, he was uncertain how this would unfold in a more uncertain war scenario. Orispias only knew war under Siephied, now there was no such reigning force. Airlord Valwin had a method of utter detachment, so Orispias could do whatever he wanted.
Orispias very much wanted one of those dragons who could teleport. Telling him about Filia would result in "well we just have to get her away from that devil all the more". Then they'd have Xelloss on their roof sooner or later, which Milgazia absolutely did not want.
If he would even be believed, that was. He could hardly justify to his own mind what he had seen.
Before the visit, what little he knew of Xelloss came down to "he is stronger than us, ironically polite, can't be upset by anything and has no qualms about killing us if we get in his way, tactics range from finger pointing to hellsoup, and off course he wants to end existence".
Now, the facts were more like "he is stronger than us, ironically polite and acts like an immature brat around this one dragon who gets away with everything. We'll have to get back to the world ending thing later cause apparently this guy saved the world once. Maybe more." And the way they created fusion magic! His own people using the Claire Bible's knowledge, they had barely scraped the bottom of the theory. Those two marched in and did it, not even looking at any theory.
How did they do it? He'd seen was them messing around with clay and wirework while bickering, it wasn't mystical in the least. He had expected chants, long incantations, invocations of divine and arcane power, dark rooms with glowing symbols, aura of terror and awe ... not ... not ... toddlers playing with clay.
When they had left, the entire deposit of successful fusion magic vessels went missing. Xelloss had probably taken them for some nefarious purpose.
So really, there was no point in telling Orispias anything. They had nothing to show for anyway and it was pure humiliation at best, an angry Xelloss or Rangort at worst.
Not that something didn't go wrong.
Yesterday a pillar of light had surged from the center of the demons sea. Within an hour, they received a Vision spell plea from the unit closest to the cathedral's ruins.
When a ray from the pillar hit a random area of the sky, Vrabazard had manifested and gone berserk. Raining fire was absolutely not standard procedure. The dragons present had hidden under a collapsed tower for about half an hour while Vrabazard raged. Communication stopped after that.
Azonge had arrived to find the burned corpses in the middle of a stretch of scorched land. He ordered all units to keep their distance.
Vrabazard moved zig zagging lines towards the pillar of light, until the pillar disappeared again. He had gone traceless after that and no prophet could contact him anymore. Divination died down entirely.
Vision spells could only do so much and this led to an interesting request to Milgazia.
"We heard an interesting story. To the south of your location is a shrine where a local medium attracted a ray of that pillar. You need to go there and check up on this person."
"What exactly should I do with the information I find?" Milgazia said while peering over the projected map. It was a human location he was sent to.
"Should a holy connection be confirmed, we would have you recruit the entity for our cause."
"A human? Why involve them?"
"You may have heard of a human named Lina Inverse. She destroyed two, possibly three pieces of Shabranigdu. We intend to recruit her against Lei Magnus, but so far we have failed in tracking her down. Not even her sister can be found. This sacred human is said to be a prophet who does not rely on gods. Whatever way they use, we should give it a try."
The unspoken was a fear that without gods, they were flying blind. Milgazia had long since grown accustomed to that, but he understood it well.
"You have my word that I shall do my best."
· · · · · · ·
His best included taking a small delegation and Memphis to the temple. With the right impressions and a subtle indication they were dragons, he expected to get in fairly easily.
Nope.
A less patriarchal society would have been very useful when it turned out the temple only allowed men.
He would have sent Memphis in alone, but the temple lay in the peak of a massive holy tree. The kind that liked to absorb Zenaffa. Memphis refused to go (to Milgazia's relief, he doubted Memphis unsupervised would leave the place whole. Turning into dragons and flying to the top was also out of the question : there was no place to land and it would be a hostile gesture.
His best bet was finding a female dragon amongst his ranks. He sent his soldiers back to find one. In the meantime, he and Memphis retreated into the park that circled the tree, allowing himself some time to think and Memphis to love on some plants.
Just as he made his way down a cobblestone path, a new problem presented itself : on a rocky corner sat a crosslegged, happily waving Xelloss. He was humming a childish tune, completing the picture of the innocent priest. Nothing could be farther from the truth, which was exactly his intent.
To his own surprise, Milgazia kept walking. This was too easy, perhaps he had bought into the act after all.
Granted, Xelloss was probably not interested in killing him. Indeed, Milgazia might almost believe the devil wasn't as big a fan of death spreading as he had seemed in the war. But such idle musings were for another time. More relevant was how he got here and how to make him leave as quickly as possible.
Milgazia stopped a few meters from him.
"Hello there," Xelloss said with almost convincing pleasantness.
"What is it you are after, beast priest?"
"Is that the kind of greeting you give an old acquaintance? Really, Milgazia. I've been your guest for weeks. Should you not be past the point where you suspect I will randomly murder you?"
"You might decide to murder me for a less than random reason."
Xelloss scratched his cheek. "I suppose that's fair. You are a very faulty dragon, after all." One finger turned up and he cheerfully added, "But it's good to be aware of one's failings. Keep an eye on yourself and I'm sure nothing will happen."
"What do you want?"
Both of Xelloss's eyes opened, bloodlust thick in his aura. "For you do stop telling jokes. For as long as I'm here, don't try to make anyone laugh with any method what so ever. Do you understand?"
"Alright. How long will that be?"
The threat receded, and Xelloss chirped, "Oh, that depends on my companion. Speaking of that, where is your own?"
"My company? Memphy is ..." He looked around, but could not see her. "I have no idea. Why?"
"My, aren't you suspicious. We are in a similar predicament, yet my motives are questioned? Tsstss. Let's go find them, shall we?"
The priest stepped right through a flower bed even though he could float. Milgazia followed at a distance, if only because he did not want Memphis to meet Xelloss on her own. She had grown dangerously callous about him during his stay in Kataart.
Xelloss zig zagged through the park, happily wrecked shoe induced havoc on the vegetation. Truly, every act of his was drenched in evil.
Milgazia called out for Memphis. It took only a short time before Memphis came crushing through the undergrowth.
"Uncle you won't believe it! I ...what is Xelloss doing here?"
"I have yet to ascertain. What won't I believe?"
"I found another friend of Lina Inverse! Here! That witch is infecting everything we do!"
"Don't speak of miss Lina that way!" The voice's owner wasn't visible yet, but it was female and accompanied by a holy sense.
"What? She is a witch by profession," Memphis called back.
Out of the bushes stepped a young woman in purples, green and blues, her hair navy and in the typical neat cut of a priest. Her arms were filled with seedbags and bound herbs, a few select flowers stuck between them.
"I know what that tone means," the woman said. "It is how those who disagree with magic speak of its wielders."
"Hmmph. I am a magic wielder myself, why would I use it like that?"
"Miss Sylphiel, it may serve you to know miss Memphis is less against magic as she is against humans," Xelloss said.
"This is your companion?" Memphis shrieked at the woman. "Forget Lina, you hang out with devils? Why?"
Xelloss clapped his hands together. "Oh, that is a most unfortunate story. You see, I have this little issue with teleportation. Miss Filia was decent enough to teach me her technique, but as I am incapable of tapping into the flow, I move blind. I proposed to miss Sylphiel she be my guide, as she is excellent at feeling the flow and can invoke the necessary holy magic."
Dark speculations spun into Milgazia's mind about why he didn't ask Filia herself. Was she not alive anymore, was she—
"I thought it would be a nice surprise for miss Filia if we could go back to her city and retrieve her cat, but I'm afraid I got us lost," Sylphiel said, face turned down.
Ah, still alive then. Or at least, the woman thought she was.
"The flow of this area is a complete mess after Fire Dragon King Vrabazard went bonkers," Memphis said. "No wonder a navigating devil and human wouldn't be able to deal with it."
"No wonder indeed," Xelloss said, scratching the back of his head. Milgazia wouldn't be deceived by his nonchalant method.
"Human maiden," Milgazia said, turning to Sylphiel, "You should practice more caution in who you trust. The beast priest is a devil, not a man. He surely has a wicked plot in the works."
Imagine her response. She just smiled and said, "I've questioned him extensively and I believe in miss Lina and dear Gourry. They have told me he never lies, so I simply asked the right questions. I'll be alright, he means me no harm."
Milgazia sighed. Eons of experience with humans had taught him some people just could not be argued with. Milgazia tapped Memphis on the shoulder. "We will not leave the human unattended. It is our duty to protect the weaker. Remove her from Xelloss's company at first chance."
"Hmmph. Stupid human should have stayed put and called for help where ever she came from," she muttered, crossing her arms.
"Well, won't it be convenient? You can honestly tell the temple acolytes that we are travelers who met while on a pilgrimage," Xelloss said.
Oh no. No.
"The acolytes?"
"You wish to visit the temple, right? The solution is easy : you feign to be a woman. If mister Gourry and mister Zelgadis can pull it off, surely you can too," Xelloss said.
"We came here ourselves to the visit the temple I could try to use this tree to orient in the world's magical field and teleport back to Sailoon's Rygoon," Sylphiel added.
Ah. That meant Filia was likely in Sailoon.
"Ehm, miss Sylphiel, that is delicate information," Xelloss muttered.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sylphiel gave him and Memphy a look that Milgazia couldn't place. Apparently, Memphy could.
"We're not going to snip! Like we'd want to get near anyone who attracts devils. Besides, Jillas and his family don't deserve those idiots that uncle hangs out with lately," Memphis snapped.
"Memphy, that is enough. Lord Orispias may not be the most in line with our ideals, but he is making a good effort to ensure the welfare of the world."
"Does he now?" Xelloss asked. Sylphiel looked down again. "Is that why you intend to abduct a sage for your teleportation scheme?"
How on earth did Xelloss learn this?
"Abduction is not in the plans. We will politely request help," Milgazia stated.
"You were at the entrance shortly ago. What stopped you from asking for a message to be delivered?"
"They would not take it."
"Aha. Well. You might as well accompany us then."
"Eheheheh. Yes. Like a devil would do us a favor." Memphis snorted. "I bet he's up to something. We'd be totally at his mercy in there! Not gonna happen, right, uncle?"
"Oh, you don't need to be at anyone's mercy," Xelloss said. "Miss Sylphiel can communicate with holy trees, surely she can convince it to leave your Zenaffa armor alone. You'd feel more at ease with that, do you not?"
Memphis gave Sylphiel a look. "You ... can talk to the holy tree? How?"
Sylphiel twiddled thumbs. "It's not quite talking, at least not like we do. Just understand the flow and pacifying. I've been learning it since the barrier dropped and holy magic returned."
"Hmmmph. I guess I'll have a look what you can do, but I don't expect much of a human."
"Excellent!" Xelloss said. "For this moment forth, we are four holy women on a humble pilgrimage!"
He was so obnoxious, Milgazia couldn't help himself. "I'm not on a pilgrimage. I am aiding the foundation of a nation. You are looking for a cat, which you will doubtlessly wield in a way to annoy Filia."
"Come now, don't be difficult. It will be fun," Xelloss said, cracking one eye open, and the discussion was over.
Milgazia suspected his real reason for being here was spying. The massive open air movements of the dragons would not have escaped the devils. Perhaps his target was the prophet. In that case, it might be best of Milgazia was around. He could endure this.
· · · · · · ·
"Oh no, mister Xelloss! Marine blue is absolutely not mister Milgazia's color," Sylphiel said.
"I know that," Xelloss said while draping a shawl around Milgazia's head and neck. During the war, Xelloss had experimented with various methods of killing dragons. Strangulation had been one of them.
"Then why do you do it, mister Xelloss?"
"I believe a poorly organized color scheme will aid in distracting from his more memorable features. Normal humans rarely possess spiky eyebrows." Xelloss tied a knot a little too tightly. Milgazia dug his fingers into his chair. Well, chair ...
Their "changing room" consisted of paper screen and a line of bushes, chairs were created from dead trees. Xelloss did not bother the ladies while they were changing, if only for the wicked intentions of lowering their guard.
Where Xelloss got all these dresses or the mirrors was better not asked (surely they were stolen, the former owners left for dead after excruciating torture). Milgazia had spent half an hour getting into his assigned piece. After that he had assumed the torment would end, only to end up where he was now : before a mirror, being adorned with scarves, hair spray and make up by his nemesis.
Milgazia's expertise on human fashion was lacking, but he had a good idea this was extravagant compared to the local humans. He vowed not to look in any reflective surfaces he might encounter, including the mirror before him. Closing his eyes did the trick for now, but later he would have to walk.
The shoes were last; tight pointy withs with needles on the heel, making walking a painful exercise by straining his legs muscles and taxing his spine. The melons he was to wear up front only made it worse.
Almost equal was the effort to retain dignity. He was not to lose control of himself, a dragon elder had no business making huffing noises and insulted faces.
Xelloss only needed one little astral shift to change himself. The vile monster reappeared in an obscenely formfitting lilac dress that made it no secret he had changed his projection's gender. There were definite hips there, and other things.
He looked away.
"We should go through the village!" Xelloss announced. "This will give miss Memphis, who has been seen already, a credible source for meeting us travelers. As we are there, we should definitely check out the souvenir shops. They're all themed on the sacred lake in the top of the tree. I hear there's fountains, mirrors and I'm interesting in the local tea shops. Keep your eyes open, the roads are not smooth."
· · · · · · ·
Two hours later, Milgazia vowed to nevermore condemn Filia for heretical thoughts. It made entering the temple practically anticlimatic.
At the entrance of the temple, Memphy gave a spiel about having ditched the dragons, meeting these nice travelers almost slipping up on Milgazia's identity. Xelloss jumped in, implying but never quite stating (the word hypothetically was used a lot) that a dragon had stolen the woman's looks for his transformation, causing her a bad name. Milgazia was allowed to pass under sympathetic murmurs of, "dragons are always so callous, ruining people's lives with their high and might attitude".
Though he worried, Milgazia remained silent as they climbed the first stairs, a squeaky wood thing that ran up a steep root.
"Why are they matriarchal?" Sylphiel asked when they were out of anyone's earshot. "I've never heard of a temple that worked like that."
"From what I gather, this order has existed for nearly two thousand years and came into being due to a combination of luck and need. Luck in that a man who loved his daughters and had no male heirs gave all his property to them in defiance of the law, upon his death. Need in that this area was governed by dragons who were even more patriarchal than humans at the time. Unlike Aqualord Ragradia's dragons, the fire dragons enjoyed intimidation. You ought to see the massive temple they had built, miss Sylphiel. Humans in a hundred mile radius were reminded every day of their presence.
For that reason, the local humans invented a rule about men not being allowed to enter and backed this with the tree's magic. It severely limited nosy dragons, and is largely the reason why a patriarchal caste even recognized priestesses such as miss Filia. They were more or less forced if they wanted to uphold their sanctimonious attitude," Xelloss said.
Milgazia clenched his teeth. Telling himself Xelloss had no good reasons to lecture him about inequality didn't help. No, that just made it worse. It was a lot more painful hearing it from him as it had been from Lina, and that had been bad enough. How typical of him to try and wield certain lesser flaws in such a fashion. Devils worked that way.
"Magically backed? I don't notice anything," Memphy said.
"There's a shield around the tree that alerts the acolytes if a man were to enter," Sylphiel said. "I've convinced the tree we were friendly. I'm a little surprised at how easy it was, though."
"Try harder. My Zenaffa's getting nervous, I don't think I can keep it shaped like this for long. Not that I'm bad at this, off course. That tree's just very dangerous."
"I'm already speaking," Sylphiel said, smiling. "There is no need to worry, miss Memphis."
"Right. You're ... talking to the tree. Just like that," Memphy said. "If my Zenaffa armor gets absorbed, you can explain it to my parents."
"Memphy, calm down. Your armor is not showing the signs of absorption," Milgazia said.
"Okay ..." She gulped.
Vusang was larger than the town at its root, a solid sturdy root network that support a thick stem. Branches filled it from bottom to top, across which pathways hung. This long winded construct circled the tree and was adorned with sacred mirrors and passed through several clusters of houses.
Milgazia was sorely tempted to cast his fleet feet spell, but that would give away his dragon nature. The spirits appeared very much in line with the humans living here, they might betray him despite Sylphiel's efforts.
"I'm surprised a devil can go here without being affected," Memphy whispered at a point Xelloss had stayed behind to torment someone.
"Perhaps he is simply too strong?" he said.
"Can't be it. Do you really think that woman can talk to holy trees? She says she's from Sairaag, where Hellmaster died and Luke Shabranigdu as well. Do you think that's suspicious?"
"I would not know," Milgazia said. "We should find that prophet and teleport out of here."
"That's awfully simple and without caution. Let's wait and learn stuff first, I don't mind spending some time here. It's pretty nice."
The absurdity of Memphy being the more rational side of the team did not escape him, but his stockings were riding the wrong way. Milgazia was ready for desperate measures.
· · · · · · ·
They were assigned a room to share and told it might take a few days before they could see the prophet. Memphy disappeared for five hours along with Sylphiel and Xelloss. Milgazia spent the entire type trying to adjust these infernal clothes into something more suited for scaling a tree.
Memphy and Sylphiel returned late in the evening, laughing and smelling of herbs. They wouldn't stop talking to each other.
"Ahem. Did you find out anything?"
"Oh, yeah. The prophet's name is Lassandra," Memphy burbled. "She gives advice about people's lives. We didn't hear anything about powers useful to us, but we could always ask. Xelloss found her location, it's up and a little to the west.
"He will meet us later, but for now he would like to avoid you. He says you are fatally vacant," Sylphiel said. "What does he mean with that?"
Memphy clasped a hand over the woman's mouth. "Just ignore that, uncle. Sleep. Let's sleep. Don't think about vacant words."
· · · · · · ·
Before dawn Milgazia, Memphis and Sylphiel climbed out of their window. At these lethal heights, he would have felt safer with his wings out, but alas, that would make moving more difficult. He had burned the shoes, but the dress still got in the way. His destiny did not involve climbing. The way up was obstructed by a thick maze of leaves, which Sylphiel would navigate through on the flow; she ended up casting a levitation spell. Neither Memphy nor Milgazia had ever learned such a low ranked, human invention. Memphy could use her Zenaffa wings, but Milgazia had to go up the old fashioned way.
By the time they reached the room of the prophet, the sun was rising. Memphis and Sylphiel insisted on stopping to look at it. He supposed it was an artistic one, but otherwise didn't see the appeal.
The hanging home was roughly the side of a three dragons. All windows were sealed, but he could reach one by balancing on a nearby branch. Just as he was to use an unlocking spell, Sylphiel floated near.
"Excuse me!"
"Hm?"
"I can open that without magic that might tip the barrier," Sylphiel said. "It's just an ordinary lock."
"How would you know that?" Memphy asked.
"Well, mister Zelgadis is good at lock picking, and, uhm ... he introduced it to ... I asked him to ..."
"Do you mean to say—"
"Uncle! It doesn't matter, okay? Go ahead, Sylphy."
She took out a hairclip, fumbled with the metal construct, and indeed, within five minutes, the window quietly swung open. This was long enough for Milgazia to become accustomed to the atmosphere and energy, and he started to pick out a certain ...
As the window swung open, Xelloss leaned out. "Oh hello, everyone. Indulging miss Sylphiel's kleptomania?"
Sylphiel went beet red. "N-no! It's not like that! Mister Zelgadis just thought it would be handy for me to know."
"Don't listen to him, Sylphy," Memphy said. "Why are you here?"
"I knocked the door, politely requested to attend without asking question, and was obliged. You might want to know this is a front hall to the lady's private quarters, currently occupied by humans seeking advice. I suggest another door, unless you would like to go back down all the way?"
"No," Milgazia said.
Xelloss pointed to the left, at the bottom of the tree house. There was a shaft there, which occasionally opened. Off course. A garbage dump. The most odious plan that devil could devise.
Memphy and Sylphiel fit, but Milgazia didn't make it through without being covered in filth. They emerged in the kitchen, where Xelloss met them. He distracted the cook while Milgazia and the others climbed out, which made Milgazia worried he had worse in storage. Once safely in the hall, Xelloss joined them.
"Hmm. I had hoped your adventure in garbage land would be entertaining, but everything about you drains any potential for entertainment. How disappointing."
"Off course, your ideas about entertainment are very different than ours, gofer devil," Milgazia said.
"Don't call me that!" Xelloss snapped.
Sylphiel took a step between them. "Did you find out whether we can access the lake, mister Xelloss? I'm afraid I still do not have enough clarity to bring us back to Sailoon."
"Why don't we hear what miss Lassandra has to say? The hall of consult is right here."
The hall of consult wasn't truly a hall, merely a chamber barely large enough to house one golden dragon. Flocks of humans lined up here to speak with a woman on a large pillow in the center. She was what dragons called the sun touched humans, a race with brown skin, nearly black. Her dark red hair was in small braids and she wore green and red robes. It all set her apart from the eggshell and brown colored humans around her. On closer look, she had elongated earlobes. She was only similar to humans, like elves might be mistaken for them.
"Should we line up?" Memphy asked.
At these words, the woman stood up and declared to the room, "I have all the time you need, stay as long as you wish."
A murmur of disappointment waved through the crowd at the obvious lie.
"They say she often speaks the opposite of what she means," Xelloss said, scratching his cheek. "I suppose she just told them to leave, so that answers your question, miss Memphis. We don't need to line up."
When the room was nearly empty, the woman jumped off the pillow, facing the group that still stood near the door.
"Tonight, we entertain invaders." She spoke with a hushed voice, raw and old that carried all around the space. If one could whisper at speech level, this was it.
Milgazia braced for the others in the room to respond at the accusation, but none of them even looked up.
She pointed to a table near them, nodding. There stood four glasses : tea, tomato juice, milk and cider.
Xelloss claimed the tea with a curt, "Thank you."
Memphis picked up the tomato juice, sniffed it, twirled it and then took a tiny sip. "This is ... okay."
Sylphiel claimed the milk and handed the cider to Milgazia. "How does she know what our favorites are?"
Xelloss shrugged. "I suppose the rumors about her are true."
"I really want you to stay here while I talk to these people about irrelevant things," Lassandra told the lingering acolytes. They were out in a huff.
Milgazia would have taken the word, but he was sore and stank of garbage. In the hesitation, Memphy took the word.
"So, you're Lassandra the prophet, right? Pretty impressive, with the drinks, but you'll have to prove more."
"Will I?" She rolled her eyes, sighing. "You should call me Leyunso."
Milgazia didn't believe her for a second. Clearly, she was playing some sort of game.
Xelloss frowned, fazed away and reappeared as a whirling cone twice before solidifying into the human projection again. He did not smile and his eyes were open, but just for a few seconds before he returned to his usual charade. "Very well, miss Leyunso."
She broke into laughter. Had Milgazia missed a joke? Even when she stopped, a wide grin split her face.
"There you are," she said. "There you are, seed of Zelas. Every bit the clown I expected. I am pleased to meet you then."
She held out her hand, Xelloss slowly took it. They'd barely touched or he pulled his hand back, clutching it like it had been burned.
"There is only one creature I ever encountered with that astral signature," Xelloss said. "I take it you are her complimentary half?"
"Hnngh. Half? I am whole, just much weaker. Any of our kind will tell you that much. You'll ask them next time, won't you? In this game, you cannot afford ignorance of how minds work."
"I've never failed to understand people, or how would I have come where I am now?"
"Are you the master, pushing around ignorant, predictable pieces? Or are you yourself are a piece, surrounded by other pieces that you cannot afford to lose? Perhaps you are strong and they are fragile. Did you account for that?"
"What are they talking about?" Memphy asked.
"The fate of the world," Lassandra said, clearly lying.
"I do wonder why you are here at all, miss Leyunso," Xelloss said.
"I've been through a lot of phases, beast priest. I raged, I feared, I denied, I tried going insane, I made myself a saint, I became a god to some and a weapon to others, I actually went insane, I tried killing myself, but nothing sticks. After a while, I figured I might just as well stay where I am. At least until now I've come to the attention of the wrong people. We'll all be leaving soon."
"I see." Xelloss gestured at the door. "After you."
"Hey, Sylphiel, did we miss something about Xelloss?" Memphy asked, elbowing Sylphiel.
"I honestly have no idea," Sylphiel said. "Mister Xelloss was always very cryptic, but I've not known him to engage in such nonsensical conversations."
"My apologies," Xelloss said. "It would appear miss Leyunso has a very complicated state of being. Do not concern yourself with it. She will be able to help our little predicament."
"I don't think she can," Sylphiel said, quite rightly.
"Is that a very logical belief? Perhaps you misunderstood something. I assure you she will be able to steer a teleportation spell well, given that she is in the central lake. Shall we go there?"
"Alright. I'm eager to return home, everyone must be so worried," Sylphiel said.
Lassandra grabbed a few bags, tied them on her back and left the room without another word. The four followed her at an even pace. Memphy lingered behind with Sylphiel, Xelloss hummed something annoying. Part in an effort to get away from him, part for his mission, Milgazia came to the side of Lassandra.
"Human maiden, d—"
"Are you sure I'm a maiden? Maybe I would prefer to be called by a name, dragon?"
Actually no, he wasn't sure. "Lady Lassandra, how can a holy person such as yourself converse with a devil in such a manner?"
"You are fond of that question, are you not? Is that your elf with the history of destroying towns? Maybe we should be more worried about her than about the beast priest and I."
Behind them, Memphy huffed. "I've gotten a lot better at that!"
"You have not," Milgazia stated. "Lady Lassandra, you spoke as if you are happy to see him. Have you had familiarity with Zelas Metaliom?"
"I pushed her down the existential slope she was teetering on."
Clearly, he wasn't getting any honest answer out of this person. If she was so uncooperative, it might be better if she was not involved with the national efforts of the dragons.
The woman led them into a maze of corridors grown into the tree itself, her hands touching the bark here and there. There was no hurry in her steps, he might have pegged her as drowsy if not for having seen how hyper aware she was just before.
They doubled back twice and once took a long route around something. Not once did they encounter another person.
Without incident, they arrived at the highest point of the tree town. There wasn't a single top, rather, the tree branched in five directions. In the middle was a green lake covered with lilies, circled by a mossy shore. The center was pitch black, Milgazia suspected the bottom might be as deep as the roots.
"This isn't the sacred water of the tree," Lassandra said, her hand unfolding to the lake. "It hasn't flown through the veins of Vusang and shared in its power. Try to navigate on this, Sylphiel."
"I will do my best," Sylphiel said. She stepped into the shallow shore waters, her hands clasped before her face. For a while she stayed still.
"I believe I've caught the resonance of Rygoon! Stand close, please. Mister Xelloss, you should not touch the water, but you should be fine if you float above."
The devil shrugged and fazed over to the spot. Presumably under his magic, the hollow husk of a holy circle appeared. With some effort, Sylphiel steered local holy magic into it.
"Wow ... it's nothing compared to an elf, off course, but that's pretty good for a human," Memphy said.
"Uhm ... thank you," Sylphiel muttered.
Memphy looked oddly happy with that. She jumped into the water, taking Sylphiel's hand. "Let's go! You still have to prove this works!"
Clearly, Memphy had forgotten about their mission. Milgazia tapped Lassandra on the shoulder. "Lady, I would like to—"
"I would like to," she said in a tone that made him disbelieve her. She didn't like that at all.
"I would merely propose that—"
"I'll go my own way," she said with the same slow voice. "You are trustworthy, I'll take my chances elsewhere."
So ... she'd come along? Why did it seem like she didn't think he was trustworthy? What ...
Milgazia had the feeling he was missing a lot of information.
Again.
"Well, seeing as mister Milgazia is here, perhaps that will become a problem," Xelloss said. "He is intent to recruit you for his cause."
"I have known. It would be why I corrupted the flow to lead you here."
"Oh my. That is most interesting. Should you be stating this out loud? Won't it undermine your, ahem, escape plan?"
"They can't believe me. They really can't. In fact, it's better if I say it flat out : I realized they were after me and also realized that I could not outrun them. Teleportation is my best bet."
"What are you all jabbering about?" Memphy yelled to the shore. "Come on, uncle! Sylphy needs more holy magic! Let's leave already!"
By now, Sylphiel and Memphis had created a glowing circle around them. The flow waved out strongly and the water took on an eerie glow. When Lassandra stepped to the water, a glowing pathway form below her feet. With every step she took, it grew a little further until the circle. Once there, she spun around.
"Don't watch out of the lake guardian! He was not be angry at your intrusion at all," Lassandra declared.
That was the last Milgazia saw of her, because she flashed out of sight. Memphis and Sylphiel were left to fall back into the water.
"What happened?" Milgazia asked.
"Miss Leyinso used my teleportation knowledge combined with Sylphiel's work to go elsewhere," Xelloss said. "Well, I best go report to my liege. Miss Sylphiel seems to be in good hands here, I'm sure you can see to her return. Do make good work on my promise she'll return, will you?"
With that, Xelloss was off for whatever wicked work he did next.
Memphy and Sylphiel emerged, spluttering water. The elf was poked in her ears for water, complaining softly about sensitive ears, while the human just giggled. Thus occupied, they didn't notice the center of the pond grow darker. It took the tidal wave to make them aware.
Following that, there was a dragonsized frog, whose croak rang of doom and bad dental hygiene.
Yes, dental hygiene.
It had teeth.
On its tongue.
Which was now head towards Milgazia at a speed faster than he could dodge in human form. It was a five meter wide tongue, this ought to be mentioned.
He transformed, catching the brunt of the attack in his stomach. Even at this side, he was thrown back against the nearest main branch.
The frog pulled back its tongue, leaving Milgazia to bleed. He staggered forward, losing his footing on the slippery moss. This sent him head first into the water. The frog jumped on him, pushing him under. Its suction fingers clung to his wings, he couldn't expand them.
Xelloss might have just spared him during the Devil's Descent War to give him a more humiliating death later. By water no less, the very element of his own god!
There was no god to save him, but the water did heat and someone did pull him out.
Memphy had gone full giant Zenaffa mode. One hand pulled Milgazia to safety, the other used for balance to push down the frog. For a moment Milgazia believe victory, then the armor's mouth opened to form a laser breath attack.
"No, not here!" Sylphiel called from the shore. "This is holy water!"
Too late. Memphy's attack hit the frog and sent the water boiling, but part of it was diffused by the water's power and bounced away, sending power fragments into the tree itself. The wood splintered and burst into fire. Within seconds, a rain of branches came down. Milgazia scrambled out of the treetop, spreading sore wings.
Sylphiel was thrown off the tree, just as wind caught his wings she passed by. He tried swooping closer, but with his tiny arms, he had no effective way to catch her. Simply going below her would just make her splatter by the sheer momentum she had gained from the fall.
The frog forgotten, Memphy shot by, swooping her up before she was even halfway to the ground. Momentum easing away with magic and a wide round arc, she landed in the park below the tree.
When Milgazia joined them, he heard her stammer her apologies to Sylphiel, who sat in her massive white hand.
"I'm so sorry, Sylphy! I wasn't thinking!"
As usual.
"It's okay, please don't feel bad about it. You just wanted to protect your uncle," she said, though she sounded more sad than cheerful.
Milgazia agreed this far. The glorious holy tree was burning, making a sound almost like humans in pain. Acolytes were busy putting out the fire, but it would be a long time before it returned to tis former beauty.
Memphy should be lamenting the damage to the tree by now, but she was still fussing over Sylphiel. They were going through a blundering variant of hero and saved routine. Milgazia was familiar with the behavior, as it was prescribed in the methods on how to deal with humans. Memphy was turning red, as usual, shy over the excess of gratitude. Sylphiel was also red.
Milgazia was glad he hadn't bothered to detransform, since he had to drag her away. He had no interest in speaking to any of the angry acolytes.
Especially not since his human form was still clad in a very unflattering dress.
· · · · · · ·
Their dragon camp was human sized with tiny tents, less space was more convenient in these lands that had a less than favorable opinion of dragons. Milgazia plopped down on his bunk bed, which promptly broke. Little beauty flaws like this didn't deter him from some much needed sleep, but the fact that Xelloss returned did.
Xelloss floated in the middle of the tent, jovial as ever. "I heard the most interesting thing in the other dragons camps. You've told them miss Leyunso unfortunately slipped through your fingers. Not a word on the fact she fled! Will you pursue her even as you know she wants nothing to do with this?"
"There was no good chance to persuade her. More importantly, you were there. I suspect she fled from whatever nefarious purpose she realized you intended to abduct her for," he muttered into his pillow.
"Is that so? I suppose that's a fair assumption if you assume me the eternal enemy and have no god to chew the answer for you. At least, not a god you would find acceptable. Do you believe you can trust your current gods, Milgazia? Even now?"
"Off course. They may be negatively affected by that pillar, but from what I've heard this is otherworldly sorcery. When whole and healthy, our gods are our beacons."
"Where are the Ancient Dragons now?"
"They are ... that was the work of a renegade leader."
"Vrabazard didn't bother calling in to stop it. You have vision magic spells more accurate than godly prophecies. Don't tell me he couldn't have ordered him to stop? In fact ... did you know that the Dark Star prophecy included a line that spoke of the dragon's blood that would flow? It almost sounds like it referred to the massacre of the golden dragons. Vrabazard didn't care either to tell his own followers to stay out of it. No, the gods chose the one tribe most likely to die in the conflict."
Milgazia closed his eyes, but it did not block out Filia's words.
"We cannot understand the gods," he muttered.
"I can. After all, just as I am, they are astral beings. And where we devils still have a hierarchy, they do not. The gods, they have no need for rules or regard for life as long as they can feed. Perhaps since your clan was available again, the loss of the golden dragons of the east wasn't such a big deal."
"They made mistakes on their own accord."
"That their god never cared to correct them on, when it was in his power to do so. In fact, Vrabazard's massacres tend to be so much more thorough than those of my liege." Xelloss chuckled. "I never went back to kill all of you. Vrabazard's dragons did do so, save one. And now they're all dead, save one. Isn't Vrabazard responsible?"
He wouldn't be deceived by these words. "What is this about, beast priest?"
"Oh, nothing, apparently. I was merely curious to see how rational you can be in dire situations. You see, the closest you may have to a sane god who might consider your welfare is the person who is fleeing from you."
Milgazia finally couldn't resist looking up. Xelloss had both eyes open, none of the mockery in either pose or expression.
"What do you mean?"
"My liege thinks she is the Sage of Siephied. Shouldn't that earn her some respect?"
"Sages are not gods anymore than Knights are," Milgazia said.
"But your gods aren't gods in the sense that they care for you either. You would do well to consider where your alliance lies : with your ideals, or with the mathematical facts of which piece of Siephied is bigger."
"Go away. Nothing you can tell me can lead to anything good."
He actually did it. Milgazia clenched his fists. Anything would have been easier. A mocking goodbye, laughter.
Xelloss had been here in all earnestness. What did that mean? What purpose would he have for telling him that Lassandra figure was the Sage of Siephied? Probably some deceptive game, but what? The worst kind of scheme was the type one knew was being played, yet couldn't do anything against.
That just left one little tail, which Memphis soon came to announce. The elf burst into his tent, Sylphiel at her hand.
"Hey, uncle. It's okay if we're going to give Sylphy a lift home, right?" she blared. "That piece of junk just came by to tell Sylphy that he's going to be too busy to bring her home."
"I don't really want to be a problem, I could just go ask at the Vusang temple—"
"Don't be silly! You can come with us and you can cook for us to pay us back! My dad always complains about my diet, but I like your way, so we can compromise! Right uncle?"
"Gnnnrrghh. It is fine with me, Memphy. Now please, let me sleep."
He dreamed of a world that had always been without gods.
· · · · · · ·
*Soon may mean something entirely different for the author than for the audience.
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