Chapter 111: Revelations – Chapter 108: Embrace

Aperio looked at her disciple. She knew that Caethya likely did not expect an answer right now, but she felt cornered nonetheless.

Her hands moved across Caethya’s back on their own accord as she thought. Further denying that she liked the Elf would do everyone a disservice, but Aperio likely had different expectations than her disciple. She would also become a target for the Repens Nabu…

She was about to speak when Caethya put her finger on Aperio’s lips. “Don’t force yourself to answer,” she said. “I know that you enjoy my presence. But I also know that you are not sure.”

“Yes, I like you,“ Aperio said after her disciple had removed her finger, “but I don’t know what that means to me yet. What I do know, however, is that you are already a target. Anything more might just put you at a greater risk.“

Caethya only raised an eyebrow at that. “I am certain you can protect me,” she said, poking the same finger against Aperio’s stomach. “I know those aren’t just for show.”

Aperio sighed, separating herself from the Elf as she sat herself down on a chair made from her mana. Another one appeared for Caethya before the All-Mother rubbed the bridge of her nose and spoke. “I can protect you, yes. Your family, too. But I do not want to cause needless death again. There has been enough of that in the past.“

“I doubt anything between us will influence the decisions of the other Gods,” Caethya stated matter-of-factly as she made herself comfortable in the chair. “And as much as it pains me to say, I doubt those who want to see you gone will just leave quietly.

“This is probably also not the best place to discuss this,” she continued, scratching the back of her neck. “I doubt me disappearing did us any favours.”

Aperio just waved her off, the movement also causing the last of her mana that still filled the cave to return to her. While her newly acquired memories were still quite fuzzy and had not held a solution to her omnipresent aura at first glance, they had still given her an idea.

“You are more important to me than they are,“ Aperio said as she directed her mana to do something she should have thought of a lot earlier.

“Perhaps it’s a little selfish,“ Aperio continued as she tried to make her mana mimic the ambient mana that surrounded them, “but I did not come here to talk to them. I came for my memories.“

“We both know that you will still talk to them, even if you don’t like it.” Her disciple looked around, her magic sweeping through the cave as she seemingly tried to figure something out. "What are you doing? I can still sense your aura, but it feels more like when you were formless.”

The All-Mother smiled at her disciple’s words. “I am trying to imitate the ambient mana — make my mana appear less pure — something I should have tried earlier, all things considered.“ How would I even explain this?

The idea had crossed her mind before, but Aperio had discarded it on the assumption that her mana would still be significantly purer and more potent, and thus still detectable in the same ways. Masking it with ambient mana and weaving her own between the threads of reality worked better than she had presumed. “I had not expected it to work, especially for you.“

Her disciple tilted her head slightly, her magic once again flowing through the cave. “Maybe you should ask Mayeia for help with this as well. Magic is her Domain, after all.”

“Maybe,“ Aperio said, standing up and letting the mana she had used for her chair return to her. “For now this will have to do, however.“

As Caethya also rose, Aperio mentally dismissed the other mana-formed chair. Her disciple hesitated for a moment, taking a step closer before she asked, “What else did you remember?”

The All-Mother flicked her wrist, countless runes appearing around both of them. “What these mean. Mostly.“ She recreated the model of the ‘Class’ part of the System in front of Caethya, slowing it down so the Demigoddess could perceive it properly. “I hope I can use that knowledge to repair this. Sadly, it’s all still a bit fuzzy… and I have yet to figure out what, exactly, it is even supposed to do.

“But, while important,“ she continued, “this will have to wait until after I have found Moria. I need to know if her friendship was feigned or not.“ I hope it wasn’t. Aperio was not sure what she would do if it turned out the only friendship she had had in her time as a slave was because they knew what she was.

“You are thinking too much again,” Caethya said, stepping beside Aperio and brushing her hand over the All-Mother’s back, below her wings. “I doubt she simply pretended to be a friend.”

“Hopefully,“ Aperio mumbled, her eyes wandering to the barrier that still separated them even though she did not spare it a thought. But then, the world also runs without me thinking about it. She could of course sense Fel’Erreyth behind the barrier, as well as a Serpent-Dragon and a surprisingly strong Beastkin. The ruler of this cave was agitated, though Aperio doubted the other mortals would be able to tell. “I think it is time to talk to our Dragon friend. I am sure he has some questions.“ 

The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before she turned to face Caethya again. “How long was I gone?“ Didn’t feel all that long…

“About a week,” Caethya replied immediately. “If I had not been able to feel your presence, I might have tried to go through the barrier.” She removed her hand from Aperio’s back, taking her hand instead as she moved herself a little closer. “You did not answer my prayers, but I could feel you reacting to them.”

“I feared I might hurt you if I did. The more of my mana that returns to me, the harder it becomes to talk mentally without injuring others. Even you.“ Everyone is just so fragile… Of course, she knew that it was not really everyone else that was weak, but it felt like it nonetheless.

“But you can still do it?” Caethya asked, giving Aperio’s hand a small squeeze. “It would be weird if you could not answer prayers.”

“My thoughts and mana were in turmoil,“ the All-Mother said, wrapping a wing around the Elf. “I might’ve crushed your mind if I answered. Now that my memories are mostly in order, I can do it, even if holding back that much is becoming quite the task.“

Caethya ran her hand over the inner feathers of Aperio’s wing as she leaned against the All-Mother herself. “Talking is much easier anyway.”

“Is something wrong?“ Concern rose as Aperio pulled her wing tighter around the Elf for support, sending out a tendril of mana to check on her Disciple's condition.

The Elf shook her head slightly, visibly relaxing as the All-Mother’s mana flowed through her. “I was simply more worried than I thought. Not having slept for a week probably did not help.”

Aperio removed her hand from Caethya’s and wrapped her arm around her waist, easily holding her up as her disciple leaned further onto her. “You are a Demigoddess,“ she said, slightly tilting her head. “You do not need sleep.“

“My body might not, but my mind is still very much used to it.”

Her disciple did indeed sound tired, even though her body, from what she could sense, did not seem to share that sentiment. Aperio hesitated for a moment before she picked Caethya up, forced reality apart and gently placed her disciple into her bed. The All-Mother could feel Mayeia perk up outside but ignored her, brushing Caethya’s hair out of her face and tucking her in instead.

It did not take long for the Elf to fall asleep, mumbling words that made no sense but still caused a smile to tug at Aperio’s lips. How exactly she had managed to fall asleep this fast was a mystery for the All-Mother, but that did not matter. As long as she is well.

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The doubt she felt at the back of her mind was rapidly dissolving, but she still did not know what to do with the feelings. She was the All-Mother, had created everything there is. Should she feel this way for someone that lived in her creation? Aperio wanted to, but she also knew that if she ever wanted it to be anything serious then either Caethya would have to become a lot stronger or she would have to get significantly better at subduing her own strength. Can’t even hold her properly…

With a quiet sigh and a last look at the sleeping Caethya Aperio disappeared from her temple, a part of her mind still keeping watch over her disciple. She also created a small note for Mayeia, informing her that she was not to disturb Caethya. The Goddess of Magic simply scribbled a small ‘yes’ on the paper Aperio had provided before offering it to a lowered branch of Roots. What does he want with it?

The All-Mother dismissed the thought, instead spending a brief moment to inform Maria that everything was alright. The girl had been praying to her, obviously aware that something had happened. Her youngest follower also happily informed her that her father had no objections to letting her live in the All-Mother’s temple.

I should probably just land it somewhere, Aperio mused to herself as she dismissed the barrier in Fel’Erreyth’s cave. Perhaps Ebenlowe is the best place for it.

The conversation that had been going on immediately stopped, all eyes focusing on her for a moment before they started to wander: likely searching for Caethya. Aperio kept her eyes on the black and gold Beastkin. The woman already looked ready to draw her oversized sword at a moment's notice, every muscle in her body tense.

Aperio took a step forward, stretching her wings slightly as she did. I should fly again. The motion seemed to be more intimidating than she had thought, as it prompted a few of the armoured individuals to step between her and the two Dragons. I didn’t even mean for it to be intimidating… I just want to use my wings.

“I have taken the liberty to repair your home,“ Aperio said, directing her gaze at Fel’Erreyth. “It took a bit of damage while I was sorting things out.“

“There was enough mana behind that barrier to erase this continent, likely more,” the Dragon said, raising its head slightly. “Where did that all go?”

The blunt nature of the question took the All-Mother off-guard — she had expected more annoying groveling and useless platitudes. “To me,“ she said, gesturing at herself. “It was mine to begin with; I just took it back.“

“So you did not lie,” the Serpent-Dragon said, his voice barely a whisper in her mind. “The First has returned.”

Telepathy? Aperio thought, sending a minuscule, probing thought towards the Dragon. She did not try to place her message in his head like she did when answering a prayer, but merely let it flow by in the hopes he could pick up on it.

The Dragon coiled its long body in reply, either in pain or not liking her attention. “I did not intend to hurt you,“ Aperio said after a brief moment of hesitation. “I was simply not expecting a telepathic Dragon.“

“How did you hear my words?” the Dragon asked, his voice now clear in her mind. “I did not direct them at you.”

Fel’Erreyth slapped the other Dragon with one of his wings, causing the Serpent to bow slightly. “She is the All-Mother,” he said. “Do you expect her to not be able to pick up on simple telepathy?”

Aperio tilted her head slightly at the words. Considering that she could very much kill someone by thinking in their direction, she would not call telepathy ‘simple’. But then, they probably don’t have that problem. Her ability to hear telepathy if it was not directed at her could be both useful and annoying. The All-Mother could already imagine the ordeal of being in a city of telepaths, all speaking to one another in an incoherent barrage that would be difficult to tune out. Even more so if they were trying to talk behind her back in the belief that she could not hear them. Please don’t let that be a thing.

“It does not matter,“ she said, a slight flare of her aura quieting the two squabbling Dragons. “I have retrieved what I came for. I only remain to offer my thanks to Fel’Erreyth for making the right choice.“

“There was no choice,” the Dragon said after a moment of silence. “The Laws are clear.”

“Many have shown themselves to be less intelligent — or perhaps too arrogant. Including Gods.“

The Serpent-Dragon slithered forward, its magic holding it aloft as it rose slightly into the air. “What have you done to Fel’Erreyth? He lacks the Crystal of Old, but his strength remains unchanged.”

“I gave him a minor blessing as a sign of good will,“ Aperio said with a raised eyebrow. While she liked people not being intimidated by her presence, being asked question after question annoyed her. “Should you not introduce yourself before trying to interrogate me?“

“My wingless friend over here is called Aveo,” Fel’Erreyth said. “He rules over the waters surrounding Procul and the people that live within them.”

What Aperio could describe as a snort reached her mind as Aveo moved a little closer to her. “I am a [Seeker of Knowledge],” he said. “And I am sure you hold knowledge I lack.”

The All-Mother tilted her head slightly, as the mention of the title he bore prompted a trickle of information to enter her mind. Effortlessly, she now knew what the title meant as well as how he had gotten it.

“Perhaps I do,“ she replied. “But it is not your place to know. Like I have said before, I merely stayed to offer my thanks to Fel’Erreyth, which I have done multiple times now.“ Reality shattered behind her, a blue and silver portal forming that led into her temple. “Should he have need of me again, he can pray to me,“ she continued, fixing her gaze on the winged Dragon.

After she had received a nod, Aperio took a step backwards and entered the portal she had made. A moment later she was in her chamber, the bed with Caethya in it in front of her. She closed the portal, making sure reality repaired itself quietly while she stepped closer.

Despite not feeling the least bit tired, her bed looked oddly inviting. A thought caused the armour adorning her dress to disappear and a moment later, Aperio let herself fall face first into her bed.

With a thought, she stopped herself short of actually hitting the bedding as she did not want to wake Caethya. Instead, she simply lowered herself the last little bit and spread her wings, draping one over her disciple.

She turned after a while, her wing simply moving through her bed as it was filled with a comforting warmth. Aperio wrapped her arms around Caethya, pulling her closer as a thought moved the blanket to cover both of them.

Pretending she had no feelings for the Elf would be a lie,and while the All-Mother was not yet certain how to express feelings she had yet to properly define, this seemed like a good start. She closed her eyes, taking slow breaths as she tried to find sleep for the first time since she had returned to Verenier.

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