Chapter 164: Omen – Chapter 153: Mortal Quandaries

The building the Council of Ebenlowe used to house their gatherings was not what Aperio had expected. She had assumed that they would simply pick an attending noble and use their mansion, but that was not the case. Apparently, it had long ago been decided by someone that they should have an entire building dedicated to politicising. It was not something she really agreed with.

Beyond the entrance hall she currently stood in was the room they would likely meet in. At least, that is what Aperio assumed as a lot of rather fancily-dressed mortals were inside. As well as Lord Terenyk. It also featured a rather large table — too gaudy for Aperio's tastes — that had just enough chairs placed around it to seat all of them. No, Aperio corrected herself, one too many. Someone who had been invited was apparently not present, and she could only hope that what they had placed at the head of table was meant for that person. But going by the fact that there are two… thrones, I doubt it.

"So gaudy," she mumbled, her eyes wandering from the golden inlays that adorned the walls and ceiling to the polished marble floor, then finally to the statue of herself. After she had last brought Maria back to her bed, Lord Terenyk had informed the other nobles that the All-Mother herself would attend their next meeting, and one of them had immediately called for a statue to be made for their honoured guest. It was a shockingly accurate depiction, done in just about a single day's time. Didn't think they would actually manage to get one. The more she looked at the decor, the more it felt like it was far too much."Could they just… not?"

"Whoever they hired did an outstanding job," Caethya said, dragging the reluctant All-Mother closer to the larger-than-life replica of herself. "They even got the armlet right."

"Where did they get an image from, though?" Aperio asked, tapping against the leg of her statue. The material bent slightly under her finger, causing Aperio to frown ever-so-slightly. While it looked like marble, it was obviously something else. "Only Maria draws me, and she doesn't share her paintings as far as I know."

"You have been seen by a lot of people," Caethya said, tapping at Aperio's hand, trying to stop her from poking the statue further. "And people with high enough intelligence to have near perfect recall of someone as striking as you are not hard to come by."

"Thank you?" the All-Mother said, not quite sure if she should take her love's words as a compliment. "I would still prefer if they did not make one, though."

She considered removing it herself, but that would be being mean for no real reason. Just after she had mentally dismissed the idea, Caethya's voice echoed through her mind asking her to leave the statue be, causing Aperio to look curiously at her disciple. "That wasn't a prayer, was it?"

"I don't know?" Caethya replied, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "I just did what I always do when I want to talk in private." Her words were quickly followed by a few more, ones that the All-Mother was glad she only heard in her mind. "Why do you ask?"

Aperio gave a small shrug, mentally showing Caethya what had changed with her now telepathic communications while simultaneously taking the Demigoddess' hand. Together they moved towards the only room that housed people that were not guards. As they walked, Aperio did her best to ignore the fact that they were all talking about her, some even throwing ideas around on how to best bribe her. The tiniest flex of her mental muscles caused the air surrounding those that thought a bribe was something she would accept to turn frigid and their drinks to slowly freeze.

"Why did you do that?" Caethya asked, glancing at Aperio as they reached the door that seperated the two of them from the people beyond.

"They were discussing potential things they could use to bribe me," Aperio replied, making no effort to lower her voice. While she was not speaking any louder than usual, her voice seemed of the opinion that the door should not hinder it much. Probably because I want them to hear… She might not have come with the intent to sow discord among the Council of Ebenlowe, but she wouldn't hesitate to do it if they all behaved like those people.

So far, luckily, it was only a small portion of the group that had gathered who had even considered the idea that she might take bribes. The rest were more interested in what Lord Terenyk knew about her.

"You can be bribed?" Caethya asked as she reached for the door. "With what?"

Aperio placed her foot in front of the door, making it impossible for her love to pull it open. "They cannot bribe me. And if they shift to threatening those I love…" She wrapped her wing around Caethya, pulling her closer. "I hope they’ve made peace with themselves."

With the last of her words, and a touch of her magic, Aperio opened the door leading into the large ballroom that housed the Council of Ebenlowe. While this rather pompous door was never meant to open inwards, Aperio felt that a somewhat dramatic entrance seemed in order, and reality only needed to break a little bit in order to accomplish the feat. In addition, it allowed every mortal present to see her walking in, wing wrapped around Caethya while also holding the Demigoddess' hand. That should be enough, right? She wanted the mortals to understand that Caethya was not some servant of hers but someone she cared about; someone they should not even think about messing with.

The room quieted immediately upon her entry, the ones whose conversation she had previously interrupted taking a half-step back as she let her gaze linger on them for a moment longer. She spread her wings to their full length before folding them behind her back; one of these days she would have to use them again. Didn't know I missed flying that much…

Lord Terenyk was the first to approach the two of them, offering a deep bow before speaking. "Welcome, Lady Aperio," he said, only straightening himself when an invisible hand made from the All-Mother's mana nudged him to do so. "We have been awaiting your arrival."

"I noticed," she replied, a touch of her magic pulling out all the chairs around the table so everyone might sit. "Your… discussions could barely be ignored." Another thought twisted reality apart, letting both Caethya and herself appear at the head of the table, in front of the thrones. In order to sit, her wings had to go, something she usually would not do, but today was not the time for that. She wanted these mortals to get shit done, and for that a confident approach should work best. At least, it worked for all the nobles in the Empire…

Aperio had no real training on how to behave in a situation like this and neither the memories of her past life nor the feeling at the back of her mind were helpful at the moment. She knew how to tend to these mortals as a servant, but not how to act as someone who stood above them. Don't like it, either. She was stronger than them, that much was true, but she did not enjoy lording it over them. Sadly, any other approach had been made moot when she gave those that had discussed her a little too much attention.

Still, she would not do what her old self would have done, which was in all likelihood the utter removal of the entire continent of Geshwen and calling it a day. The tiny voice at the back of her mind was also not of much help, as it wanted the mortals in front of her to start a war — preferably big — so she could fight something. The problem was that the tiny voice was not wrong. She was itching for a fight. Maybe I could ask Caethya to spar? She could use it to get used to her Class…

The mortals caught on rather quickly, taking their seats with only minimal wonder and glances directed at the All-Mother. Aperio shifted slightly in the almost-throne, not quite comfortable without her feathered limbs, and set her gaze on Lord Terenyk. She had no clue how these meetings usually went, and taking the lead any more than she already had was not something she wanted to do.

Geshton cleared his throat lightly as he let a trickle of his mana flow into the sole ring he wore on his left ring finger. The letters 'G' and 'M,' engraved into the small crystal that sat atop the ring, shone briefly with a dim red light before the letters gave way to the sigil of House Terenyk and a stack of papers appeared in front of the Human.

Aperio blinked, taking her eyes off the ring and setting them onto the papers instead. For someone of Lord Terenyk's stature, he was using an awfully old and outdated enchantment. Even during her time as a slave the Empire had made storage items that worked faster than the one Geshton had. It only took the All-Mother another thought to realise why he might be holding on to an artifact from the past. Oh.

Before she could dwell further on the issue, he began to read forth the agenda. First on the list for today's meeting was Aperio's presence — Lord Terenyk only announcing that 'The All-Mother has a request' before moving on to the other, much more mundane items on the list. Aperio had no desire to sit through talks about taxes, development, or proposals to settle the ruins surrounding the lake of Ebenlowe. She would have to thank Lord Terenyk for his forethought later.

"What has brought the All-Mother to our humble table?" one of the mortals asked, her voice just a little too dry to sound natural. She wore a plain black dress with a red double stripe over her right breast, as well as a scarf that looked like it would cost the average mortal multiple years to buy. How can something look so expensive?

Aperio remained quiet for a moment, trying to recall where she had seen that particular mark before. The realisation caused her to squint and the woman in question to shrink slightly. "An empire that is breaking the same rules as the Gods I have removed. Just like your son once did, Lady Vinmaier." I hope you are better.

"Which empire?" one of the mortals — one who had tried to figure out how to bribe her — asked. "And, with all due respect, what can we do that you cannot?"

"Understand mortals," Aperio replied, raising a brow. Answering the question had brought no feeling of disgust, nor had she even doubted that she should answer it. It's the truth, after all. "What they had planned to do before I deposed of their Gods should tell you all you need to know."

An unneeded wave of her hand caused excerpts of the 'New World' report she had found in Epemirial's Dominion to appear. They did not need the whole thing, just the part about the Eternal Empire of Zeltar planning an invasion of Vetus with the aid of Epemirial to enslave them all.

The woman that had initially asked her swallowed slightly, pulling her scarf over the red stripes that had previously been proudly displayed for all to see. So you have something to hide? Aperio thought to herself, making a mental note to keep track of 'Lady Vinmaier'. To [Identify] her for a proper name seemed wrong; she did not want to know the name of someone who was in all probability just like the son she had already disposed of. A slaver in disguise.

At least the other mortals appeared to have no problem with her being there. They all seemed a little on edge, but that was only to be expected considering what she had done just moments before. Though they probably still don't really understand what I can do. Grasping the true extent of her own power was not something Aperio was able to do either. Everything was a concept far greater than her still mortal-tinted mind was ever supposed to handle.

"Am I right in assuming this is about the Eternal Empire of Zeltar?" one of the others asked. The question had come from a mortal wearing armour that was polished slightly too much, his voice a lot calmer than Aperio would have guessed given that she was having a difficult time ignoring the intense beating of his heart. She had gotten fairly good at tuning out all the noise a city made, but for some reason she could not ignore the quickened breaths and elevated heart beats of the mortals in the room.

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"Yes," she replied, giving the man a nod. "I am not asking you to go to war with them — I will do that on my own — I merely wish for you to care for the people once the empire is dissolved. Help them start something new."

"I think you underestimate just how large the Eternal Empire of Zeltar is," Lord Terenyk said. "It spans nearly the entire continent of Geshwen and has millions of citizens, and even more slaves."

"That is the problem," Aperio replied, folding her arms in front of her chest. "The empire will fall either way, I simply wish for the people that remain to be adequately cared for." Maybe I should just make the System announce that the Eternal Empire of Zeltar is to be removed? No… that would just cause everyone to recklessly charge in to grab their land. The All-Mother had to suppress the urge to sigh and rub the bridge of her nose. Why is it so hard to stop mortals from being bad?

“What is the problem?” yet another mortal asked. “The size of the empire? The amount of slaves?”

“The fact that they have more slaves than citizens,” Aperio replied, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the mortal who had spoken. “Condoning slavery is already bad enough, but they are taking it to a level I have trouble believing the rest of the world let them reach.”

“We did not have much of a choice,” the armoured mortal said. “We are a small and, more importantly, peaceful nation. A declaration of war requires a unanimous vote, and that will not happen.”

“Of course,” Aperio replied, glancing at Lady Vinmaier. “You cannot expect a slaver to vote against another, can you?”

“Slavery is forbidden in Ebenlowe,” Lord Terenyk replied. “Indentured servitude, however, is not.”

Aperio’s head snapped around, her gaze focused on Geshton. “You do what?”

“I,” he began, “do not partake in those types of contracts. If someone owes me a debt, they will repay what they owe, not their life.” He cleared his throat. “Luckily, there are limits on how long someone might remain in servitude and what they might do.”

“Unless they are found guilty of a capital crime,” the armoured mortal added. “In that case they might be forced into servitude instead of being sentenced to death.”

Aperio took a deep breath, reality itself twisting slightly as she almost pulled her void into the mortal realm. Calm, she reminded herself as she tried to focus on the calming flow of her love’s mana around her. “How do you enforce such a ruling?”

Nobody replied. Instead, nearly everyone shifted their gazes towards Lady Vinmaier. The woman swallowed slightly before she replied. “With an old enchantment,” she finally said, not elaborating further.

Caethya’s hand on her leg stopped Aperio from standing up and introducing Lady Vinmaier to the lofty heights and potentially lethal lack of air she would experience by dangling from her infuriated grip. Instead, she closed her eyes, letting her aura show her every single mortal that lived in Ebenlowe yet again. She had only told the System to ignore people whose Soul had been marred, not ones who had been enslaved with the help of an enchantment etched into their flesh. Neither had she checked every mortal for such disfigurement.

It did not take her long to encounter a set of runes she was intimately familiar with, subtly glowing in the shade of yellow that made her stomach churn. Immediately she reached out with her mind, wanting to erase the marks from the mortals...  but she stopped herself. It might feel right in the moment to set them free, but she had no idea who those mortals were, much less what they had done.

“You,” Aperio spat, pointing at Lady Vinmaier. Her voice slammed into the woman like a hammer on an anvil, causing her chair to physically move back and the colour to drain from her face. “You will make me a list of every mortal that has been forced into servitude and who gave that punishment.” She breathed out a bit of black nothing she had not noticed she summoned before speaking again. “I will look at all of them and judge them — and you — myself.”

Most of the mortals that filled the room gave her a nod, only a few seeming scared at the prospect of being judged by her. Lady Vinmaier in particular seemed about to pass out as she ever-so-slowly moved herself closer to the table again.

"Will your church help?" Lord Terenyk asked, trying to move the topic back to Geshwen. He cleared his throat, trying his best to not to look at the shivering form of Lady Vinmaier. "Perhaps we could also ask the [Guides]?"

"My church will help as best it can," Aperio said, a part of her mind reaching out to Laelia to inform her Scion of her plans. Should have done that a lot sooner… "I have no control over the [Guides], but I intend to ask them as well." She let her eyes wander around the gathered mortals until she reached the lone empty chair. "I am surprised they are not part of this Council, given that they occupy an entire island."

"They are part of it," Lord Terenyk said. "They simply disagree with the issues a few factions represented here try to push and have chosen to not attend meetings until, and I quote, 'the fools figure out how to be decent'." He cleared his throat. "The [Grandmaster] herself has said that."

Not surprised, Aperio thought, thinking back to her first encounter with the woman. "In any case," she said with a light shake of her head, "are you willing to help or not? A simple yes or no is enough." This feels so useless.

Maybe her presence scared the mortals more than she had noticed. Their physical reaction to her and her magic had been tame as far as she could tell, and yet they all just looked at each other while not talking. When she felt like she had waited more than long enough for politeness to account for, she let out a sigh and shook her head. When she stood up, her wings settled against her back and a tiny part of her rejoiced in feeling complete once more.

"I will leave you to discuss," she said. "Lord Terenyk can inform me about your decision later." With those words, and a small flex of her mental muscles, Caethya and Aperio vanished from the mortal realm, appearing in her Void.

The All-Mother spread her wings to their full length as she let herself fall backwards, breathing in the nothing that filled her home. "Was that too much?" she asked, holding out her hands towards Caethya. "Or were they just scared?"

"Scared, I would say," Caethya replied, taking a step closer and taking hold of Aperio's hands. "You acted a little… weird. Quite unlike what I have come to know from you. Almost like I would think your old self would have talked to them."

"My old self would have removed Geshwen from existence and called it good," Aperio mumbled, gently pulling Caethya into her embrace. "I just thought that that was what they would expect, especially after I silenced the ones that tried to figure out bribes for me."

Caethya let herself be pulled closer to Aperio, only to flick the All-Mother's forehead and sit herself on her stomach. "You shouldn't change the way you act because that is what you think they expect. What they think doesn't matter. Be yourself." She hesitated for a moment before taking one of Aperio's hands into her own again. "If you don't know what to do, you can also let me do the talking. I have been to more than a few of those silly gatherings, after all."

"Let you talk while I just loom behind you, glaring at the people who only pretend to be nice?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly. "Would that work?"

"You are the All-Mother," Caethya replied. "You can make it work."

GamingWolf

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