Chapter 100: SS34 – Amin – Blasphemous Prophet and Trickster Goddess

Make A Call: Amara.

[Hello!] (Amara)

[Yes, hello. Do you-] Amin began as Amara’s humming voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

[Is it me you’re looking for?] (Amara)

Amin frowned in confusion. Why is she even-

[I can see it in your eyes!] (Amara)

Amin let out a sigh before he asked. [Are you done?] 

[Yes. What’s up?] Amara asked gleefully.

Amin let out a sigh and shook his head. [Aleesha had some questions regarding the policies you want to implement. Do you have time to elaborate on them?] 

[Oh, sure. Why don’t we- oh, I see. Did the pope give you your own office?] Amara asked. 

Amin shrugged as he looked over the small office which, aside from the window behind his seat, had all its walls lined with bookshelves. [He figured we’d need it in the future. I might not be as quick as a scribe though...so I suggest we stick with their help when they're available.] 

Soon enough, Amin sat scribbling on a piece of parchment. But it soon became evident that Amara was getting bored, as she complained about how his writing tools were ‘medieval’. As it took time to even write down a few words, she started finding ways to relieve her boredom while she was waiting.

[I have a pen. I have an apple.] (Amara)

Amin ignored Amara’s humming as he continued writing.

[Uhh. Apple pen!] (Amara)

What the… Amin stopped the movement of the quill as his lips twitched as her antics were becoming too ridiculous to ignore. [Amara.]

[Yes darling?] Amara tried - and failed - to mask her amusement with an innocent tone.

Amin’s lips twitched as he ignored her attempt of glossing over her prank by addressing him affectionately. [I’m trying to concentrate.]

[Yes, I can see that.] The new goddess replied with a grin in her voice.

Amin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. [Would you mind?] 

[Oh, I was disturbing you? I see! Sure, I don’t mind!] Amara exclaimed brightly. 

Amin raised an eyebrow suspiciously at how easily she backed off. What is she up to now?

After waiting for a while, he noticed that the whirlwind of amused emotions emitted by Amara through the call seemed to settle. Concluding that she had actually taken his request to heart, Amin shook his head and let out a sigh as he put the tip of the quill back against the parchment. 

Now, where was I? ‘..education is to build foundational-.’...right…’skills’...’that’...’studen-’

[A-rapp zup-zah, yari-biddabbedill laa, ba-ditz-dan dillan dellan doh-] (Amara)

[AMARA!] Amin exclaimed in his mind as he dropped the quill and covered his face with a groan. ...She’s insane. 

[Rude!] The exclamation accompanied with Amara’s mad cackling gave no illusions that his opinion of her only made her happier.

Amin let out a sigh as he pressed against the corners of his eyes with his index fingers. I hope it isn’t contagious.

[Mental illnesses aren’t contagious!] Amara replied with a grin in her voice. [And I’m not mad.]

[I beg to differ.] Amin snorted as he picked up his quill. [And I can feel my own sanity slowly slipping away.]

Amara was silent for a moment as she seemed to compose herself before she muttered in a low, sinister voice. [Excellent...]

Amin’s hand stopped in its tracks as he raised an eyebrow with a wry smile. [...Are you really a demon?]

 

_______________

 

The days turned into weeks where Amin spent his days conveying Amara’s words to the scribes or the people that were present during the meetings. The city lord and the pope became increasingly occupied with preparing for the arrival of the foreign emissaries for the second Grand Conference. A few from the nearby human kingdoms already arrived within the first month, including the prince of the kingdom the Holy City of Levan belonged to. 

Aleesha and the other elves also spent time establishing ties with the dignitaries that kept trickling in. 

When the nagan ambassadors arrived, tensions temporarily rose. The relations between humans and the nagas had always been poor, a result of the nagas having no qualms about eating sentient beings. Even trade was minimal between the nagas and humans because of that, as traders who hadn’t already established connections with them feared they might get ‘lost’ during the journey to the desert where the nagas lived. Even if the rumours were exaggerated, the fear was not easy to shake off.

Especially not when the arrogant nagas deliberately accentuated the rumours. 

{“Elves, huh...I wonder what you would taste like.” (?)}

The single comment stated by the emissary had sparked the elves to show their figurative fangs. More specifically, one of the elves.

Zanadell had in the blink of an eye drawn her sword and made a furious exclamation in the elven language. The act had revealed that her class was indeed that of a guardian.

Except, the mana-laced shout had been powerful enough to draw everyone’s attention to her. Only when Aleesha told Zanadell to stand down did the situation defuse, at which time Zanadell’s strength had become evident. Even Amin, who had been given basic training against mental attacks, hadn’t stood a chance against resisting it. And neither had the emissaries.

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The nagas, who had always respected the strong, seemed honoured rather than slighted by the elf’s response. This had led to the nagas inquiring about how strong Zanadell was. 

When it was revealed that she was a warden, even Amin had to look at the elf in awe. Wardens were even more rare than archmages, as they stood on the front lines and were the first ones to die in battle. To have someone like that in their midst, a veteran who had stared death in the eye in over a thousand battles, made it difficult for even the nagas to keep their high-blown attitude.

And more than anything, it filled them with curiosity and hope for the future. Was Zanadell merely special, which was why she was tasked as escort for the mission? Or was this kind of strength commonplace among the elves? 

Amin already knew that elves lived long lives, but wasn’t sure how long. And out of three elves present, at least two were over level one hundred. Aleesha was unwilling to disclose what her own level was, but they all suspected that she had to be quite high as well, since she appeared to be a knight-magician, which implied an absolute minimum level of twenty five. The fact that she was the elven ambassador made it unlikely that she was at such a low level, however.

Instead, when the nagas inquired on the battle strength of the elves, Aleesha merely repeated what she had said during the first meeting with the pope - namely that the elves were planning on supplying a million fighters for the battle. While elaborating on the previous information that she was referring to combatants with combat classes over level one hundred.

{“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” (Aleesha)}

...Yeah. You did.

The absurd claim - and the fact that the elves could say so with proud expressions as if it was a realistic goal, although optimistic - made the last shred of pride vanish from everyone else.

Amara, who had been listening in on the conversation, was stumped too. Soon enough, she had requested a private conversation with the elves.

During that meeting, she and Amin found out that elves had life spans that lasted around one and half millenium - and while old, all three of the elves would be alive and present when the armistice breaks down.

{[...My next mouthpiece needs to be an elf.] (Amara)}

Although the comment had somewhat annoyed him, Amin couldn’t disagree with the reasoning behind it. But he couldn’t help but feel frustrated that he was reminded of his short, human life span - and that he would be unable to play a part in the final battle.

 

_______________

 

Amin frowned as he sensed through the call that Amara was standing still as the demon she was fighting approached. [Why aren’t you moving?]

[Because I don’t need to yet.] Amara snapped back as she kept her eyes on the demon that was covered from head to toe in plate armor. 

[...Nobody’s taught you anything, huh?] Amin sighed as he closed his eyes to focus on the flow of thoughts that occasionally flowed into his mind whenever Amara concentrated.

[I didn’t-] Amara cut herself off as she had to raise her sword to block the first blow from the demon. After a short scuffle with their weapons, Amara got behind the demon’s guard with her sheer strength and threw the demon back. [I didn’t agree to let you watch just to hear you hurl abuse! Fluffles has given me plenty of pointers!]

[But she never taught you the basics!] Amin snarled in response. [You’re standing completely still even though you’re anticipating a fight! Even if you have no intention of attacking, stay on the move instead of becoming a sitting duck!]

[But I’ve done it to practise fighting with as few movements as possible...] (Amara)

[I’m not telling you to run around like a headless chicken. Just try it.] Amin insisted as he crossed his arms. [You’ll find that it will also help you stay ready and keep you alert for sudden surprises.]

Amara sighed through the call but didn’t argue further. Amin had a feeling that she was now moving, albeit awkwardly at first. However, after only a few steps she seemed to have perfected her stance - a testament to how high her physical attributes were. 

Amara is a pretty quick learner. Perhaps the biggest problem is that she doesn’t know what she needs to learn. 

Although Fluff-...Ezme is a goddess, she clearly doesn’t know how to teach-

[Don’t insult my Fluffles! She’s helped me far more than you’ll ever know!] Amara retorted angrily.

Amin chuckled. [Perhaps, but am I wrong? Her teaching seems to be lacking, considering that you’re lacking a lot of the basics.]  

Amara’s frustration became evident through the call. After lashing out at the demon before her a few times to relieve her anger, she muttered moodily. [Well, she’s trying. And you forget that she’s ancient, and has never had to teach anyone before. She has probably forgotten what the steps were to learn what is now second nature to her.]

[That’s possible.] Amin had a wry, sadistic smile as he remembered the training he had received. [But don’t you worry, Amara. I’ll get plenty of teachers from all across Teyrin to complement what Ezme teaches you. I even have a few in mind.]

Amin suspected that Amara let out an audible groan inside the silver city that wasn’t a result of her fight with the demon. Combined with the thought he’d soon have someone who would be able to relate with him, he let out a chuckle.

Once the fight was over, Amara asked. [So? What did you think?]

Amin twisted his lips. [Well, at least you’re aware that it takes more to win a fight than only strength or speed. But...to increase your skill, you need better opponents. Ideally those that are stronger than you.]

[Yeah, but I can’t get much practise out of those that are only trying to kill me, can I?] Amara retorted and sighed dejectedly.

[...This is going to be a problem.] Amin frowned and fell into thought. [The gap between the strongest mortals and regular demons compared to divine beings is large, right? After all, you say you’re able to kill such demons.]

[Yes, it’s-HEY!! Rude!] Amara protested as she realized the implication.

Amin grinned in amusement. [Back to the point. If you can’t fight against divine beings, sooner or later you’ll reach a limit.]

[...I know. Dammit.] Amara sighed as her frustration rose in her voice. [But what can I do? Because of the rules I can’t get any help from the angels, so I can’t ask anyone to spar with me. I mean, aside from this room, they didn’t give me anything! They can’t even give me the knowledge I need! Like when I want to learn to make divine enchantments, I have to nick something from Morpheus and guess how-...]

Amin raised an eyebrow as the call went dead silent. [Amara?]

[Amin...I’ll get back to you.] Amara said in a low, sinister voice that couldn’t hide her smile. [I have an idea.]

As she suddenly ended the call, Amin shuddered as he couldn’t shake the feeling that Amara’s idea didn’t bode well for someone.

 

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