Chapter 115: Revelations – Chapter 112: Matters of the Heart

"May I know the name of your friend?" Mayeia asked. "If they know you, it is likely I have sought them out in the past… Getting information about you isn't easy."

"Her name is Moria," Aperio said, tensing slightly at the prospect of having to inform Mayeia of the title the Beastkin held. "According to her daughter, she went missing some time ago. Nobody knows where she is.

"At first I thought that it could not have been her," she continued, relaxing a little as Caethya's hand brushed against her back. "I now know that I was wrong, and that I have to find her."

The Goddess of Magic lightly tapped her chin in thought for a moment before a bookmark appeared to replace her thumb in her book. "Finding her might be hard," she said, placing the now-closed book on the grass beside her. "I doubt you would say you needed to search for her if you knew the magical signature of her soul.

"Without that," Mayeia continued, a notebook appearing in her hand, "we would have to rely either on what other mortals tell us, or traces of her magic which have likely already vanished. I doubt she is a font of mana like you."

"She is not. But I can also do more than you think." Probably.

"Perhaps, but I still believe that it won't be an easy task," Mayeia said, opening her notebook. "Even if you can see the entire world at once — and she is even on this one in the first place — there are still millions of mortals."

And more than a few that I could mistake for Moria, Aperio thought to herself, her mind wandering back to her rather embarrassing encounter with Neria.

"I would start by asking her daughter," the All-Mother said. "I have met her in the past, but our ways quickly parted again. I am certain that she will be looking for her mother."

Caethya shifted next to Aperio, sitting herself up a little straighter. "Do you know Moria's full name, Aperio?"

The All-Mother nodded in reply. "Moria Kellborn. Though… I do not know if she has changed her name in the meantime." Perhaps she does not wish to be found…

"I doubt it," her disciple said. "You might not believe it, but I am certain that she kept the name by which you knew her."

Mayeia raised her hand slightly and quietly cleared her throat, only starting to speak once Aperio had turned to face her again. "If she is indeed a Kellborn, we would likely find information with the [Ancestral Guard] of Foderys. If I recall correctly, Edisicio once mentioned that all Kellborns serve them at one point or another."

"Foderys?" Aperio asked, unfamiliar with the city — or was it a country? "I assume that is on Solito?" While she might not know what Foderys was, assuming that it was on the continent that had historically featured the most Beastkin was a safe bet.

Mayeia nodded in reply. "It's the de facto capital of the continent; home to some-odd million mortals. A city-state unto its own that is neutral towards every tribe."

Aperio sighed internally. "Why do mortals always have to fight one another?"

"At the moment they aren't fighting. But I would argue that the Pantheon fights even more than the mortals."

The All-Mother narrowed her eyes at Mayeia, leaning forwards a little at the words. She was not surprised that the Gods fought amongst themselves, but she had hoped that it was intermittently at best. "And where do they fight?"

"On other worlds." The other Goddess shrugged. "I don't partake in the [War in Heaven]. Throwing away the life of my followers to deliberately claim an entire world makes little sense to me, considering that any given population will come into contact with magic — and therefore me — at one point or another."

"Do they send their followers to fight for them?" Aperio asked, the ethereal glow beneath her skin growing in intensity. "Is any one of them not a coward?" Why would I ever allow that?

"The mortals might think that Gods can't die, but we all know that is not true. Why should they risk themselves if they can just send some mortal pawns?"

Caethya's arms wrapping around her waist caused Aperio to let out a breath. The mana she had started to gather in anger simply flowed back into the raging river that coursed through her body.

"One thing at a time," her Disciple admonished, leaning her head against the All-Mother's side. "A mortal chooses their God. If they want to follow one that leads pointless wars, that's on them."

"Some people do not have the luxury of choice," Aperio said with a slight hiss as she turned her head to face her disciple. "I am certain that there are worlds devoted to but a single divine, one who makes sure that the mortals follow them and only them."

"She is correct," Mayeia said. "Though I only have second-hand information, I am certain that the likes of Lor'Kem and Epemirial have no problem killing off non-believers."

Aperio took a deep breath, the glow of her skin growing in radiance as she did. Moria first, she thought to herself as she breathed out a wispy fog of mana instead of the air she had taken in. "Do you know how to move between worlds?" she asked, shifting her gaze back to Mayeia.

"I do not. Not truly, at least," she replied, relaxing the grip on her notebook slightly. "All I know is that you need followers on the world you want to move to. Something you can do by sending an Emissary, though I do not have the ability to name one.

"The part of the System that enables this does not respond," she continued. "Only those who already have an Emissary can reassign that obligation."

Aperio furrowed her brows as she scrutinised the memory of Adam's entrance into this world. She could easily recall how the world had beyond felt; how the bridge between the worlds felt.

She tried to find something — anything — that could show her how she could move to that other world. All she needed was a hint, a small sign, and she could tear open reality and bring peace to the worlds her Pantheon had plunged into war.

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Caethya's sudden but gentle touch on her face caused Aperio to push aside the memory. "Focus," she said, cupping the All-Mother's cheeks in her hands, and her Goddess allowed her head to be guided to a different position. "I know you are angry; can feel it. But just sitting here and trying to figure out how to solve your problems won't actually solve them.

"For now, we will search for Moria," Caethya continued, brushing her thumbs over Aperio's cheeks. "Mayeia can help us, and mayhap Roots can tell you how to move between worlds."

"I cannot," the tree rumbled immediately in reply. "I have taken root on many worlds, but I am not permitted to spread on my own. The knowledge is forbidden to me."

"Why?" Aperio asked, placing her hands on Caethya's and gently pulling them away, holding them instead.

"I do not know," Roots replied. "It is a restriction you placed upon me when first planting my seed. I have not felt the need to question the decision, nor do I feel it now."

A few of its branches shook slightly, Roots' crown tilting to point towards the sky. "Diskrye was in charge of the new worlds. The Sky moves between the worlds like my roots through the earth."

Of course, Aperio though to herself, a part of her mind already reaching out to the nebulous entity beyond Verenier. But will its method work for me?

While a part of her conversed with Diskrye, Aperio shifted her right wing to pull Caethya a little closer. She ignored Mayeia's slight smile as she wrapped an arm around her disciple as well, leaning her head to the right so it rested against Caethya's. It was a comforting position, and Aperio let out a sigh.

"I do have a question," Caethya said, her voice even and calm despite her quickened breathing and rapid beat of her heart. "I know that I said we should look for Moria first," she said after a moment of silence, "but, how do you travel to your Void? Isn't that just another world?"

Aperio blinked at the question. "My Void is not a world like Verenier or the one Adam came from." She knew that to be true; knew that it existed between the fabric and foundations of reality. "I merely have to twist the threads apart and pass through. I also know where it is, which I cannot say of other worlds.

"Which is why I was scrutinising the memory of Adam 'falling' to Verenier," she continued, said memory closer to the forefront of her mind. "I know how his home world feels. The lack of mana on it; the little piece of my Void that was weaved into it."

"A world without mana?" Mayeia asked, suddenly intrigued. "How does that work? Every world has mana; it is required for species to develop beyond mere animals, as far as I know."

"It is not," Aperio replied. "Adam had not a shred of mana in his body before he came to Verenier." The System grafted that into him…

"Interesting," Mayeia mumbled, another notebook appearing in her hand in which she promptly started scribbling. "You wouldn't happen to know anything else about that world, would you?"

The All-Mother shook her head lightly. "I do not, no. But you are free to ask Adam about his home, as long as he agrees to your questions."

"Of course," the Goddess of Magic replied. "Unlike other divines, I respect mortals."

"Now," Caethya said, speaking before either Goddess had a chance. "How do you intend to find Moria?"

Aperio remained quiet at the question. She was not sure how she would do that. Or if I even want to. The possibility of the only friend she had ever known turning out to be nothing more than an act still filled her with dread. What if she disappeared because she knew I would come back?

While she could not be sure, the All-Mother felt certain Moria shared a connection to her. One akin to Maria's and Caethya's, just more subdued and likely only letting her know that she was alive. Enough reason to go and hide…

The face of her disciple filling her vision and the small weight of her body in her lap caused Aperio's thoughts to pause. "Focus," Caethya said, poking the All-Mother's forehead with a finger. "You are overthinking things again."

Aperio sighed in reply. She pulled Caethya closer with the arm that was still wrapped around her waist and slung her other arm across to embrace the woman in a hug.

She did not know how not to have her mind whirl with thousands of thoughts at once, and though hugging Caethya did help her to calm down it was not really a permanent option. In fact, doing so just sent her mind down another spiral, one in which she asked herself whether the Elf actually liked her and whether she even should entertain the idea of a relationship in the first place.

Aperio knew she had a mountain of issues to work through, many of which would be painful for herself and, by extension, Caethya — if she chose to stay with her.

Her disciple leaned back, or at least she did once Aperio loosened her grip so she could, and ran cautious fingers through the All-Mother's hair. "Please. Focus. Not on what could have been, but on what you actually know. The here and now. Facts.

"Don't worry about what you think I feel, or what Moria might think," Caethya continued, placing her hand on Aperio's chin and, after the All-Mother obliged the motion, slightly tilting her head upwards. "I chose to be with you. I knew it would not be easy."

She carefully brushed a few errand strands of silver hair out of Aperio's face, tugging them neatly behind an ear. "Presuming what others feel is not only likely to be wrong, but it also hurts. I know of your past; can feel your dread and anxiety whenever it comes up, but just thinking up the worst outcome won't solve anything."

Caethya rose slightly, the All-Mother shifting her arm away as soon as she noticed the movement, but the Demigoddess seemed to hesitate for a moment before removing her hands and sitting back down at Aperio's side. She trailed her fingers along the inside of her wing, mumbling some unintelligible words to herself before she faced the All-Mother. “It hurts seeing you continuously doubt yourself. It is true that you carry a great burden, but there is no need to add to it by blaming yourself for things you did not do. Helping those that have been wronged is right, but you must also help yourself."

GamingWolf

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