Chapter 124: Revelations – Chapter 121: Moria’s Memory

At first, Aperio was not sure what Moria had meant by 'follow my lead', but it was quickly becoming clear. Her surrogate mother was weaving her mana into the crystal, causing something within the shard to flow back towards her.

That 'something' was still mana, but it resembled her own much more than that of Moria. Taking control of someone else's mana only required a thought from her — something that did not sit well with her, but was very helpful now.

As gently as she could, Aperio took hold of the mana that flowed from within the crystal, trying to mimic how Moria's mana clung to it. What followed after was not what Aperio had expected. She was not viewing the world from Moria's perspective as she had thought, but was more like a ghost floating around in the memory, free to look where she wanted. How?

She wanted to ask Moria but, unlike herself, the Beastkin seemed to be in a trance and did not react to Aperio moving. The All-Mother did not want to risk anything by actually touching her surrogate mother and instead erected a barrier around the two of them. While she was easily able to look at the memories Moria showed her and keep track of the real world, the All-Mother did not want to take any chances. Not like this requires any effort.

Aperio allowed more of her attention to drift towards the memory she was currently viewing, the large number of people garnering her interest. Everyone present wore colourful garments made from fabric that was visible to more than just her eyes. It was clear that Moria was fairly accomplished in reading things with her aura, the magic flowing through many of the attendees’ clothes clearly visible. However, it also showed just how much more Aperio herself could see.

The Moria in the memory stood next to another Beastkin — one that appeared strangely familiar to Aperio — that wore a rather tight-fitting suit that did not quite match his more beastly appearance. Where Moria could superficially pass as an Elf or a human if you discounted her ears, tail, and few patches of fur on her body, the man next to her looked like a wolf that had decided walking on two legs was preferable.

Aperio's attention was quickly taken from the mortals as she watched herself appear in the room. A version of herself, at least. She did not loom over everyone, and had no wings, but the face and general look was the same. Also, she just teleported there. What she did have, however, was the armlet Aperio now wore.

Most did not even notice her entrance, only a few select mortals looking in her direction. A few steps of her memory self were enough to close the distance to Moria, a bit of magic obviously at play as she crossed the space between them in only a couple of strides.

Perhaps it was a trend at the time, but the Aperio in the memory also had her hair in a braid; one that she easily recognised from her time as a slave. Did Moria get the style from me? Her surrogate mother had had a large variety of hair-dos that Aperio got to pick and choose from at the time. All of which had been more appropriate for her masters than a lowly slave like herself, and even at the time she had wondered how she had gotten away with it more often than not.

"Hello Moria." The voice of herself echoed through the hall, easily filling it but yet somehow not interrupting anyone else's conversation. "How have you been?"

Aperio could not quite describe the feeling of seeing herself walk and talk to Moria and, perhaps more importantly, see just how similarly she talked and carried herself now. She had thought her floating gait and rather posh speech had come from the fact that she had been forced to learn it from a young age, but seeing herself in Moria's memory caused her to doubt that a little.

"Well enough," the Beastkin replied. "I just wish these events did not come with such a stupid dress code."

"I did not make the rules," the All-Mother replied with a small shrug. "They wish to express themselves, and I see no reason to stop it."

"You don't see a reason to stop most anything," Moria mumbled, her voice obviously loud enough for Aperio to have heard as she just shrugged again.

"Why should I bother? It's gonna change in a few decades anyway." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "That I am attending this meeting is already more than they could ask for."

Aperio wanted to object to what her other self had said in the memory, but that was not possible. Moria, too, seemed to be not quite as happy with the words, but remained silent, while the truly beastly Beastkin looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

Her remembered self seemed to enjoy the Beastkin's struggle, as she gave him a smile that Aperio would now deem inappropriate for most any occasion — especially for someone she had just met that was already uncomfortable.

"I expected more from the future leader of the Lycans," the All-Mother said, squinting at the man in question. "Is he really your son?"

"Yes," Moria said. "And he has heard a lot about you."

There was a moment of silence before Aperio heard her own voice echo through the memory. Not the room they were in, but the memory itself. Is that what it sounds like when I use telepathy?

Her voice was inescapable, the question she had asked having seemingly embedded itself deep into Moria's mind. It was not a reprimand, or even a particularly harsh question. Her past self had simply wished to know if Moria's son knew about her title and past lives. Apparently, he did not.

Aperio moved herself next to Moria, gently wrapping her surrogate mother in a hug of arm and wing. Moria had wanted to show her that her past self was not as bad as she now thought and, while there had been no senseless murder just yet, Aperio was still appalled at the memory self's conduct.

Nice is something else, Aperio thought to herself as she shifted her attention to the mortals in the room. Her weird — almost ghostly — vision of the memory allowed her to drift away from Moria and her old self to look at the other groups. They were a little indistinct, and their voices not as crisp as she would perceive them in reality, but it was enough to figure out what they were talking about.

Most of the mortals present were discussing politics that Aperio did not understand and, likely, no longer mattered either. She didn't know when — or where — this memory was taking place, but the fact that Moria had stored it in a crystal meant that it had been some time ago. And that it is somehow important to her.

It undoubtedly had something to do with Moria's son. Maybe a crown ceremony? Her past self had addressed the Beastkin as the future leader of the Lycans, and that seemed like a fairly important event for both Moria and her son.

Aperio raked her mind to find his name, but came up empty. She definitely knew the man, but not why. Perhaps because he was Moria's son.

"I am honored that you chose to attend the day of my Delma," Moria's son finally said after a little nudging from his mother.

"You should be," her past self replied, still looking at him. "Not everyone gets to be in my presence."

Perhaps it was because she was viewing Moria's memory, but Aperio had not noticed until that point that the room was a little emptier than before — something she was certain had to do with her old self's last words.

"Plus," the All-Mother continued, "by just having me attend you are already guaranteed less potential usurpers. People magically lose interest in deposing the mortals I am closer to." She tapped her chin in an exaggerated manner. "Really weird, that."

Moria sighed at the words, shaking her head. "Don't mind her, Teldo," she said, patting her son's shoulder. "Just focus on the event."

Much to Aperio's surprise, her past self did nothing. She merely squinted at the future leader of the Lycan tribe a little longer before appearing in a cushy chair behind the mother and son pair. "Why did you ask me to come early, Moria? Doesn't seem like there is much going on."

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"I had thought you would enjoy a change of scenery," Moria replied as she turned to face the All-Mother. "Though, you are probably looking at a million things at the same time right now."

"Well yes, but I had thought there would be some action here. Excitement."

"I doubt there will be any fighting tonight," Moria said, eyeing the All-Mother who was now lounging in the chair, legs dangling over the arm rest.

Aperio knew that Moria wanted to say something about her past self's behaviour, but did not. If she hadn't known Moria as well as she now did, she would have thought that her silence would stem from fear. She knew better — her surrogate mother was simply tired of trying to convince her old self that not everything needed a fight.

There was even some vague feeling from the memory that led Aperio to believe that she was likely partaking in some altercation at the same time as she was in the room with Moria. She did not know for certain, of course, as her surrogate mother had no way of knowing that either. What a weird feeling…

Aperio leaned back a little, still holding on to her surrogate mother with her wings as the memory Moria was showing her sped along in front of her mind's eye. Her hand wandered to the armlet again, slowly turning it around her bicep.

The fact that the metal ring changed its form to always sit perfectly against her upper arm was ignored as Aperio watched Moria's son take an oath that made little sense to her despite reliving the memory through her surrogate mother. Maybe she doesn't know either… Or do I not understand because I do not know the language?

She had no trouble with that in her own memories, but there was likely a difference between her own and Moria's. All in all, however, Aperio failed to see why her surrogate mother showed her this specific memory. It did not really show her anything important, just that they were on decently good terms before and that her past self did not go ballistic at small snides. Something I had always felt like I should do until recently…

The rest of the memory was nothing more than a simple inauguration; quite similar to the ones Aperio had witnessed during her time as a slave. The only difference here is that I was present as an important guest. She did not do anything special in the memory, only continuing to lounge in the chair and looking generally disinterested.

Her past self did look at a few mortals as if she was appraising them but, even then, her attention was quickly pulled elsewhere again. Did I just forget I had a body there for most of it? …Was I just a formless mass most of the time?

Moria shifting in her winged embrace caused Aperio to let go, moving herself in front of her surrogate mother with a small flex of her mental muscles.

"And?" Moria asked after a moment of silence and a deep breath. "A bit eccentric, and most definitely not normal, but also not inherently evil."

"Also just a single memory against the ones I already retrieved," Aperio countered. "And I wasn't exactly nice either." A useless exercise… mostly.

She still enjoyed seeing a bit of her past that showed her being at least friendly with Moria, even if it was clear that her past self clearly saw herself as the superior being.

"It also makes me question why I would ever consider to live as a mortal," the All-Mother continued. "It simply doesn't fit with what I saw."

Moria let out a quiet sigh as she placed the crystal back into the black rift. "I do not know why you did that either, and I doubt any of the memories I kept through my lives will help you understand.”

She paused, rubbing the back of her neck. "I can't show you all of them either. It might not seem like much, but going through the memories in the crystals takes a lot out of me. Even more when I have to bring someone in with me. It did feel, though, like you were watching, and not reliving the experience like I did."

"I was," Aperio confirmed. "Like a ghost. But my view of the world was… dull. Subdued compared to what I usually see. I also did not really feel what you felt, just some vague hints at the back of my mind."

Moria offered a small smile. "Your mind does work quite differently from my own. Perhaps the way a mortal thinks simply does not work for you?"

"Maybe," Aperio mumbled, the crystal shard Moria had given her appearing in her hand. She turned it over in her palm, careful not to break it. "Perhaps I should try with this?" Maybe ask Caethya to help?

"A good idea," Moria said. "But I would be more comfortable if you had someone besides me with you when you do it. Most of what I figured out is… likely to upset you."

The All-Mother stopped turning the shard in her hand and fixed her eyes on her surrogate mother. "What happened?"

Moria held up her hand to placate Aperio. "Is there someone you trust that can view it as well?"

Aperio narrowed her eyes a little, regarding her friend with suspicion as she tilted her head. "Yes," she said slowly, reaching out to Caethya. "There is someone. But why?"

"Because I think you will need their support."

The All-Mother raised a brow at the words but did not dispute them. Aperio knew she had not been the most stable of people lately. Just a bit of anger could kill people…

A thought brought Caethya to her side, the Demigoddess having readily agreed to help her. Moria studied the Elf for a moment before raising a brow of her own as Aperio pulled Caethya into her lap and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Caethya has agreed to help," Aperio said, holding onto her disciple a little more tightly. "Now, what did you find?"

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