A/N: I'm back! Not a whole lot to say this time. This one is a bit more of a departure from Oratoria canon than last time so I'm happy with that, but I'm still not totally satisfied with it. Mostly, I'm trying to get the Melen story done so I can focus on the others, but I don't want to just rush through it. This one sets up other stuff and paves the way for interesting interactions later on so I didn't want to skip it. Either way, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Also, I'm really sorry but this one is on the short side. Things are a little crazy for me at the moment so it's a bit of a miracle I've gotten anything out at all.
As always, please leave a comment or review with your thoughts and opinions. I really appreciate them all and they keep my motivation going.
Hearthfire
Chapter 43
Loki
The sun was shining, and a soft sea breeze wafted through the air as the Goddess of Mischief all but ran through Melen towards the wharf. Weaving her way through the crowd at the docks, Loki's thoughts were moving at breakneck speeds. Why was Kali here? It made no sense for her to have left Telskyura. It was the seat of her power, and to Loki's knowledge, she'd never left. The redhead just couldn't quite figure out what could have brought her here. Kali, as a goddess, believed in strength above all else. Her warriors fought to the death to improve themselves whether they wanted to or not, and more often than not the survivors were just as demented as Kali herself.
Behind Loki, she could hear the twins, Ais, and Lefiya fighting to keep up. That was another worry. The twins, Tione especially, despised Kali for what they went through in their childhood. Keeping them in line would be a real challenge, especially if the members of Kali's Familia became antagonistic.
Breaking through the crowd of people, Loki slowed to a leisurely walk. Putting on an air of nonchalance, she put her hands behind her head and a mischievous little smirk on her face. It was very important that neither Kali nor her Familia knew what she was thinking. Loki was the Goddess of Mischief, and it was imperative that no potential enemy understand her plans. Especially if she didn't have a plan.
"Keep calm, kiddies." Loki told her group, lazily. "Let Mama Loki handle the talking, okay?
"But!" Tione started to protest only to be cut off by her goddess.
"Quiet." She gave the girl a little glare. "You of all people should know that you can't show weakness of any kind in front of Kali. Including anger. So, calm down and let me handle this."
She could see the elder twin fighting with herself but the combination of Loki's admonition, her sister's hand in hers, Ais' on her shoulder, and Lefiya's worried gaze seemed to do the trick. With a sharp nod, Tione did her best to adopt a more relaxed demeanor, followed by her compatriots. Loki gave them a smile and kept walking.
"Calm and collected, ladies. Calm and collected."
Moving across the docks, they were soon within sight of Kali's ship. They'd probably been docked for a couple of hours by now but most of the crew and passengers were still milling about on the docks or up on the ship. She could see dockhands and sailors busily loading and unloading whatever cargo was onboard. Keeping an eye out, Loki tried to scan the area for Kali but a commotion closer to the base of the ship caught her attention.
A tall, beautiful amazon dressed in highly revealing white, red, and green clothes was holding what looked like a local fisherman in the air by his throat. Her long sandy hair was held together in a braid by golden threads, ending in a gold ring woven into her hair that was just about at her ankles. If it hadn't been so serious, Loki might have let herself drool a little over the exposed skin but now was not the time. Next to them was a second fisherman who seemed to be pleading with the woman to release her captive.
"That's Argana." Tiona whispered to her while a little growl escaped her sister. "She's one of Kali's captains." Giving the girl a nod of thanks, Loki moved towards them.
"Please!" The fisherman not being held by the throat was begging. "F..forgive him! You… you were just so beautiful; he was entranced and didn't realize what he was doing!
Argana turned to look at the man with a hard glare. "In my country, bumping into a warrior is a challenge. An invitation for a fight to the death." The fisherman went very pale and was about to speak up when Loki interrupted him.
"Now, now." She called over. Keeping her hands intertwined behind her head and her air of nonchalance evident, she wandered lazily towards the pair. All around them, a crowd was forming with worried faces keeping an eye on the standoff. Eyes focused on the amazon; the redhead kept talking. "That might be the law in Telkyura but… you're not exactly IN your country anymore, are you? See, assault is very much a crime in Guild territory and the Guild tends to look poorly on Familia that break their laws. You wouldn't want to make things difficult for Kali right of the boat… would you?"
"And… you are?" The amazon scoffed.
"The name's Loki." She introduced herself, "and I'm one of the three goddesses whose members would likely be asked to… deal with… any altercations between the Kali Familia and the locals."
"Hah!" Argana laughed and squeezed the neck of her captive, causing him to spasm. "Do you really think your members could… well now." It seemed she'd finally caught sight of the twins standing behind Loki. "The Hiryute sisters. Where have you been hiding? We did wonder where you'd gone."
"Let him go, Argana." Tione replied, her voice impressively calm.
"I'd listen to her." Loki cut in. "Let the poor man go, and we'll pretend we didn't see anything, alright? You wouldn't want the Guild finding out about this and sticking its nose into Kali's business, would you? I imagine that would make things a little irritating for you." Oh? Was that the slightest hint of worry in the woman's eye? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, she dropped the fisherman. His companion grabbed the fallen man and began to drag him away from the confrontation.
"I see you've finally learned to speak Koine," Tione said, her voice still shockingly calm considering the anger Loki was sure she was feeling. Koine was the name of the common language spoken in most of Genkai. "I wasn't sure you were capable of learning anything given your lack of brainpower." Whoops. Spoke too soon.
"Now, Tione." Loki cut her off, giving her a meaningful look. "Let's not insult our guest after we've come to an agreement." It would seem, however, that the other amazon was ignoring her now.
"Kali taught me. We wanted to know what our pathetic little prey was blabbering on about before we killed them." The sadistic smile that split Argana's face was more than a little disconcerting. Loki could practically hear Tione's teeth griding.
"Speaking of Kali." Loki interjected again. "I'd very much like to speak with her. It's been so long since I've seen her, I simply must know what could possibly have brought her so far from home. Besides, if things get any more heated then our deal will be for nothing. I'd hate to start things off on such a sour note."
"Well, Loki." A voice carried over from behind the redhead. "It has been quite some time. I do apologize for her behavior. It seems the outside world is a bit much for my girls."
Coming out of the crowd from the direction of the city was a short, almost childlike form. Dark skin and long blood-red hair, she was dressed in a barely there white and blue getup that looked just plain wrong on the very childlike physique. A white, bone-like mask covered the top half of her face. This was Kali.
Next to her was a second amazon. Her clothing was far tighter, with none of the flowing fabrics worn by Kali or Argana but it was no less revealing. In fact, the only loose thing about her was her free-flowing shoulder length hair and the draped cloth veil that covered the lower half of her face. If Loki remembered right, this was Bache, the second of Kali's two captains.
"Oh, not to worry, Kali." Loki replied easily. Inside, she was infuriated. Loki may have loved a good bit of mischief, but it was always in good fun. If somebody really got hurt, it wasn't mischief anymore. It was just cruelty. Kali excelled at cruelty and that was one of many reasons that Loki despised her. "What do you say we let bygones be bygones about this? Sit down and have a talk. After all, something monumental must have happened to draw you so far from Telskyura."
Kali seemed to stand and think for a moment, but it was difficult to get a read on her. Finally, she nodded her head in agreement. "I suppose we must. I was just at the Guild and have been informed of a few very interesting things about recent events. As one of the goddesses of Orario, you would have the answers I need. Shall we go aboard?" She gestured towards her ship.
No way in hell was Loki going to willingly go aboard a ship controlled by the members of the Kali Familia with only four adventurers as backup. That was a colossal mistake she was not stupid enough to make.
"Thanks for the offer," She replied, "but I think it would be better if we rented out a room at an Inn for our talks. There's a good one nearby." Loki gestured over her shoulder towards the row of buildings near to the docks. "Neutral ground, and all that. You understand."
"Lead the way." Kali agreed, flashing her a vicious smirk.
Riveria
"Giant, man-eating flowers? I've never heard of something so ridiculous." The haughty man scoffed.
Riveria was standing in the main hall of the Melen branch of the Guild, talking to the branch head, Rubato Ryan. He was tall for a human, thin, and lanky with slimy black hair slicked back across his head. His mouth seemed to be pinched in a permanent scowl and his arrogant demeanor made even some high elves look humble. In other words, he was very, very irritating. He was also very confusing.
"How can you not have heard of them?" Riveria asked, in genuine exasperation and astonishment.
"Are you accusing me of lying? We have heard nothing about a new species, not even from the main headquarters in Orario." Rubato scoffed at her, apparently offended.
"They were spotted during the attacks at Monsterphilia, and two members of the Loki Familia were attacked by them in YOUR lake not three hours ago!" Riveria replied to him. She drew herself up, pulling on her old training as a princess of the high elves. Looking down on the man, one eyebrow raised in clear disbelief. He might be the head of a guild branch, but SHE was Riveria Ljos Alf. Princess of the Alf's Royal Forest, Level 7, and Vice-Captain of the Loki Familia. Compared to that, this man was nothing more than a bug. "The sheer fact that two adventurers were attacked by them in your lake warrants an investigation at least. Your reluctance to do so is… intriguing."
"Pfeh." He scoffed again though his eyes were darting back and forth with a strangely nervous energy. "We can leave it to the Njord Familia, as we do all monster issues in the lake. I see no reason why the Guild must be involved beyond that point."
The Njord Familia? They were little more than fishermen and the Viola were monsters of Level 4 strength at least. Riveira wasn't sure Njord possessed any adventurers over Level 3 and that was pushing it! It was all but impossible for them to handle combating or investigating the plant creatures on their own. It seemed though, that the branch head had other ideas.
"It's this gaggle of horrendous amazons that I'm more concerned about. The ones that just docked. Why doesn't the Loki Familia deal with them instead of worrying about some silly monster?" He was clearly deflecting from the issues with the Viola but considering that Loki was likely already talking to Kalil…
"Deal with them?" Riveria raised an eyebrow. "You are the ones who gave them permission to dock, are you not?"
"The city government gave them permission." He all but whined. "I could not argue with them. They still possess far too much autonomy from before the Guild arrived."
"You didn't object at all?"
"Well… no. It's all that bastard Borg Murdock's fault! He's the city governor and refused to listen to reason! Please, I beg you, go talk to him! Get him to remove those pesky amazons before they cause trouble!"
"That is not my concern." Riviera told him, bluntly. "I am here about the Viola and nothing more."
"Well, I can't help you! Maybe Murdock knows about them! He's in charge of most of those disgusting fishermen anyway. If they've been killed or attacked by plant monsters, he might know! Now, please, go away. I'm very busy right now!"
Riveria scoffed in disbelief as the slimy man walked away from her. It was almost like he was TRYING to be suspicious. Deflecting, denying, and basically doing everything he could to distract her from the Viola. Or throwing this 'Murdock' under the cart. With a sigh, she looked at the map of the city on the wall before leaving. If nothing else, she supposed that if Murdock truly was the governor of the city, he might have heard something about the Viola.
It didn't take her long to find the governor's estate. A large, pleasant-looking building with a brick wall surrounding it. Walking through the open gate, Riveria knocked on the door. After a few minutes, a young woman opened it and stuck her head out.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Yes, my name is Riveria Ljos Alf. I am here on behalf of Goddess Loki to ask Mr. Murdock some questions. Is he available?" She did her best to be polite and unthreatening. The woman bade her wait a moment and shut the door again. The green-haired elf stood there for a few moments, composing herself before the door opened wide.
The man who emerged was an elderly human with a bald head, bushy gray beard, and a portly but muscular figure. He wore simple clothes aside from a distinguished blue coat with a large navy and gold stiped collar. Stepping out of the door, his glare was immediate and apparent.
"What do you want, Guild dog?" He ground out.
Riveria raised an eyebrow at the insult. This human certainly had some audacity. "I am not here on behalf of the Guild. I am here at the behest of Goddess Loki to ask if you know anything about large flower-like monsters appearing in the lake during recent weeks. Two of our members were attacked by them a few hours ago. As governor, we were hoping you might have heard some relevant information."
"Go away." He spat at her before stepping back inside and slamming the door. Riveria scoffed.
'What is with these nasty humans thinking they can just dismiss me?' Ah. She grimaced.
After walking away, she took a moment to breathe deep. Her offense at their arrogant and dismissive attitudes was causing her own superiority complex to come out. As her discussion with Torrhen showed, the High-Elves, like the Dovah, felt a natural superiority towards other races. An arrogant attitude she tried very hard to suppress but tended to come out when she was agitated. Taking a few minutes to calm down, she proceeded towards the docks. At the very least, she could inform Loki of the Guild branch head's suspicious behavior and be on hand for backup in case things with Kali went south.
Tione
Tione fought a growl, standing at the back of a private dining room in one of the local inns. On one side of the central table was the Loki Familia. Ais stood directly to Loki's right while Lefiya was on the left wall. Tiona was leaning against the right wall, leaving Tione herself to stand against the back wall.
Across from them, Kali lounged at the table with Bache and Argana on either side of her. Just the sight of them made her blood boil. She and her sister were raised by the Kali Familia. Growing up, they'd lived and slept in one room with other girls. They were her friends and family. Each day, during their forced deathmatches in the arena, it was always a fight against girls from other rooms. She didn't like killing the other girls, but she didn't know them. Until she did.
Seldas was something of a cross between a sister and a mother to her. Taking care of her, tending her wounds, holding her while she cried. She hadn't known Seldas was her opponent until she was already dead. Tione killed her in an involuntary fight to the death and didn't even know it until her mask slipped off her face after the battle. On her fifth birthday, no less. That same day, Tiona was forced to kill another of their roommates. Another of their sisters. Kali only smirked at their horror and said they'd proven their strength. That the sisters they'd killed were just too weak to survive.
This… sadistic cruelty proved to be the modus operandi of the Kali Familia. Women and girls forced to fight to the death against their friends, sisters, and lovers all in pursuit of Kali's idea of strength. All because Kali wanted entertainment. Only the truly desperate and determined survived. Only the psychotic and sadistic truly enjoyed it. Eventually, they just couldn't take it anymore and begged Kali to let them leave. She was still shocked that the goddess allowed it and never really found out why. For now, though, she had to focus on keeping her cool. Loki asked her not to snap and she would do her utmost not to. She owed Loki nearly everything, so she had to content herself with focusing on the conversation between the two goddesses.
"So," Loki asked, propping her feet up on a table. "What brings you to Melen?"
"Hm." Kali hummed in thought before replying. "Roughly a year ago, I was contacted by Ishtar to set up a meeting. It was supposed to be today, yet I arrived here to find out that Ishtar has been gone from the lower world for over a month. Meaning that I have wasted nearly a month and a half on a useless trip beyond my nation. This… irritates me." She growled.
Looking over her shoulder, Tione could see a sadistic grin on Argana's face. She looked away. The older amazon was clearly trying to goad her into a fight and Tione would let herself lose control. She refused.
"Yeah… that was quite the hullabaloo for a while." Loki admitted, swirling her drink. There was a bottle of a clear bourbon-like liquid on the table purchased from the innkeeper by Loki when they first arrived.
"Yes, I imagine it was. Can you tell me exactly… HOW that happened?"
Loki took a sip and stared at Kali for a moment. Tione wasn't sure what was going through her head, but it appeared that Loki didn't think the information dangerous because she gave an answer after swallowing.
"Nothing is totally clear, but it has to do with a new type of potion a friend of mine developed in the city. A kind of poison that throws the drinker into a frenzied rage. See, once the Guild found out about it, they confiscated all of the existing potions and set lots of major regulations on their production. Then, if the Guild is to be believed, Ishtar came along and charmed a few Guild workers to steal them for her."
Loki kicked her chair back onto two legs with her knees resting against the table. "The Guild thinks she was planning to use them against Freya in some way, though they're not sure how. Anyway, due to a little mishap, Ishtar's captain accidentally drank some wine infused with the poison and went nuts. She killed Ishtar and all but destroyed their home. The poison has since been banned and all copies of the formula destroyed.
"Hm. It is very like Ishtar to do something so colossally stupid just to get at Freya." Kali scoffed. "The whole reason I even came here is because Ishtar wanted my help getting rid of the bitch." A demented grin split her face and those of the others. "Who could resist the chance to fight to the death against the strongest Familia in the world? To fight the strongest living adventurer? A truly wonderful challenge."
"Heh. Just one problem with that, shorty." Loki giggled, settling her chair back down on four legs. "Freya ain't the strongest in the world anymore. Tied with me, maybe but there's no clear divide between us anymore. And just to let you in on a little secret," She leaned in. "Ottar ain't the strongest adventurer either."
All three of them were now sporting shocked and raised eyebrows. "Well, that's not what I was expecting to hear. Has one of yours surpassed him then?" Kali asked.
If only. Tione wished her darling Captain was stronger than Ottar but sadly that was not the case. Still, she supposed Torrhen had earned his strength properly and thanks to him the entire Loki Familia was growing by leaps and bounds, so she couldn't really complain too much.
"Nah." Loki denied Kali's assumption. "Don't get me wrong, my kids could go toe to toe with any of Freya's but the honor of strongest goes to a man named Torrhen. The first Level 10 in history."
"10?!" Kali and the others shouted. The goddess herself actually stood, placing her hands on the table.
"How?!" Argana demanded, all but salivating at the idea of such strength. Tione herself knew far more than they ever would but even she didn't know the real details on the types of battles Torrhen had gone through to achieve his strength.
"Haven't the foggiest." The redhead waved her hand, dismissively. "He's the real deal though. I'm allied with his goddess. Torrhen's their only real powerhouse at the moment so they're sitting at a comfortable third place in the overall rankings but there's no doubt that he's the strongest."
"Oh?" Kali grinned. "I don't suppose you and your ally are planning on going up against Freya? I came all this way because I was promised a fight. It would be such a shame to go home empty handed."
"Prepare to be disappointed." Loki deadpanned. "You'll get no fights here, Kali. Not against Freya, not against Torrhen, and not against me."
"Are you sure about that?" Kali asked. Behind her, the Kalif sisters shifted into more aggressive stances. "It's been so long since we've seen the Hiryute twins. I know the Kalif sisters are dying to know just how much stronger they've become. What's to stop us from simply finding a fight for ourselves?"
"Because you're outmatched, you sadistic bitch." Loki replied, glaring at Kali and dropping all pretense of cordiality.
At her signal, Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione all drew their weapons. Tione gripped her daggers tightly, just begging for a chance to run Argana and Bache through. Tiona's Urga was raised above her shoulder, poised to strike while Ais' sword was aimed directly at Argana's heart. To her side, Lefiya had a ward spell raised in one hand and lighting crackling in the other.
"Outmatched?" Argana laughed. "Please. The Hiryute twins may have grown since they left but they must still be the same weak children they were when they ran away. These others aren't even Amazons. I doubt they're very strong."
"You don't believe me?" Loki asked, feigning hurt. "Let's tally the numbers then. You two are what, Level 6?" The tightening of their eyes told Tione that her goddess was right on the money. "Now, that's quite formidable. Last you likely heard, there were only three Level 6 adventurers in all of Orario. None of which are here right now. But times change."
Loki gestured to the four of them. "Starting with my lowest level adventurer we have Lefiya here at Level 4. A powerful and quite fast spellcaster. As for the other three, well the twins and Ais are all Level 6." She paused in thought. "I do believe that's one more Level 6 than you have, Kali."
Tione grinned at the widened eyes and angry snarls that distorted the faces of her hated adversaries. Logically, she knew that a fight was the worst-case scenario but part of her was just begging for them to start something so that she had a chance to kill these sadistic nutjobs.
"And" Loki continued. "If that wasn't enough, I do have one more surprise for you. Care to take a guess what it is?"
"What, you bitch?" Kali bit out. Tione savored her impotent anger.
"That would be my darling Riveria. The Level 7 spellcaster who is standing right outside that door." With a bang, the door to the room was kicked in. Standing just outside was the green-haired vice-captain with her Wand of Chain Lighting in one hand, a ball of flame in the other, and the glistening effect of a mage armor spell covering her body. Tione's face split in a savage grin.
"Your move, Kali." Tione smirked.
Unknown
The hooded figure wound its way through the devastation towards the mountains. The area in the immediate surroundings was desolate and barren of life though there was a fairly thriving forest roughly a mile south. It was exactly the kind of place the figure expected to find their quarry. The only real irritation was how long it'd taken to find the target, combined with just how far away from the city it was. It'd set back the timing of their plans considerably, but the revelation…
If the report the figure received from the east was correct, then it changed… everything. Before, they'd have never even considered risking their life and plans on such a foolhardy journey, but the potential rewards outweighed the risks. It just took the right… motivation.
Reaching the base of the mountain, the figure moved towards a massive cave entrance at the base. Stepping inside, they gingerly stepped over the bones and scattered rocks that littered the ground. Moving further in, the figure stopped when the sound of a colossal creature breathing reached their ears.
"Excuse me!" The figure called, projecting their voice. "If you are what I think you are, then I believe I have a proposal for you. As well as information about a certain… demigod you may be acquainted with? Do I have your attention?"
The only answer was a deep, sonorous, earth-shaking growl as two points of red light snapped open.
A/N: And there we go! What did you all think? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on all of this. What did you all think of the scene at the end there? What about the confrontation with Kali and Loki?
I've been giving some thought to this story and the direction I want to go, and I believe I've come to a conclusion. I want to make sure I cover things like Dian Cecht, the Xenos, Evilus, and Alduin of course but I've realized that there is no real defined ending I can reach for from canon at the moment. One of the real pitfalls of writing a story about a source that isn't finished.
With that in mind, I did some thinking and planning and I now feel comfortable to say I know sort of when this story will end. It won't be for a while yet, there's still a lot to cover, but I suppose you can say I'm starting to plan towards an ending. I've already got some ideas for an epilogue of sorts.
Answers to Questions
On FFN
NinjaFang1331: Thank you!
Haziq Saffari: We'll see about Ryuu. As for Kali, what did you think?
The Disquieting One: I guess you could call this diplomacy?
Walkmanapprenticewordsmith: Glad you liked it! I'm sorry about no Hestia this month as well but I'm hoping to get back to them next time!
NaWard: I'm glad you like it! I chose RWBY characters because I love the show and I felt that their abilities and characters could easily be adapted into OC's that belong in this world. Plus, for characters that are likely to remain in the background, it's easier to use ones who already have a defined personality and design so I don't get bogged down with detailing my OC's.
Guest: I did wonder about her a little red riding hood but I've never found any official documentation of a connection.
Frostwolf3227: I like the idea of her having the flaming familiar. I do have a good idea for what Dian Cecht will do, but it's not totally fleshed out yet.
Monkey D. Conan: I did consider having her ambushed like you suggested but I realized that it's highly unlikely any such rumors exist. I haven't really shown them having any kind of public interactions. All their more romantic leaning interactions have been private.
Bauxite Glue: Thanks for the suggestions! I'm not sure if I'll have her beastify but it's a cool idea.
Guest: Glad you liked it!
Guest: I haven't really decided who to pair her with since I ruled out Finn.
Christalm: I can't really see Kali bothering with trafficking monsters anywhere but into Telskyura. I can totally see her doing that, but I can't see her getting involved with Evilus just for that purpose.
VirusZyX: Hope you liked it!
BiazarKaiser: I did consider it but ultimately, I think this worked out better. Killing a god is messy.
LionLordEscanor: Thank you!
Lucas Oliveira: There isn't really any point in updating his status. They're all pretty much as maxed out as possible. Besides, to actually face a challenge that would improve him at all he'd have to be soloing bosses down on floors like 60-70. Maybe even deeper.
Darkmaster10000000: No, not really. As I understand it, isn't she already dead by the time the story starts? I thought that was a thing.
On Ao3
FrankTHaddock: Oh yeah! I forgot about that one. Thank you!
MagnustheRed: Yeah, I feel like happy Ryuu is just a little Aang-like. As for Naaza x Airmid… I'm just gonna keep saying 'we'll see.' I do like a cute little Yuri ship though. That's why I went with Daphne x Cassandra.
Bonehead1st: Thank you for the ideas! I'll be honest, I don't really know if I'll be including Artemis at all. It's been a while since I familiarized myself with her story but I'll consider it!