Chapter 168: Omen – Chapter 157: Mortal Perspective

O'lymni straightened her robe one last time before she gave the large form of Roots-Beneath-All a nod. She closed her eyes as she felt its vines wrap around her and then, just a fraction of a second later, her aura was filled with flashes of mana she could only describe as magical white noise. That gives you a raging headache for weeks if you look at it.

The teleportation method Roots-Beneath-All employed was unlike any other the [Grandmaster] had encountered before. Where normal mages could not transport themselves more than a few meters, and the best of their craft might manage to go to another city, Roots could send you to any place on Verenier it wished. In the past there had been groups of mages who had figured out long range teleportation, but all that remained of their work were the large gates that stood in most every city — the ones that nobody knew how to use. Just the knowledge that it required quite a few high-levelled mages to fuel just one of those gates, via a ritual.

When O'lymni was still a child, her father had worked for one of the guilds that ran a few of the gates. She had never used them, and her father had never explained how they worked in detail, but she knew enough about them to sit by and smile when empire after empire tried to repair them. The key was held by someone who had just returned, and their trying would amount to nothing without that.

"Welcome, Lady Videns," a voice called, taking the [Grandmaster] from her thoughts. "We did not expect you to attend the council today."

"Neither did I," she replied as she offered a small nod to the servant, "but the circumstances demanded that I attend."

"So you have heard?"

"Of course." A small smile spread across the face of the [Grandmaster]. "Lady Aperio did tell me, after all."

The servant simply stared at her, seemingly not quite believing that the All-Mother would seek out a specific mortal. Such a belief was at odds with the fact that she was in a relationship with one, as well as personally attending a meeting of the Council of Ebenlowe even though she could have simply solved whatever problem she perceived on her own. Well, O'lymni thought. She is quite unlike any of the few records show and definitely not like what little the Elder Gods divulged.

She was still angry at the various churches for suppressing knowledge of the All-Mother and telling the people that the [Guides] were following a faux Goddess. But then, what were they supposed to do when the Gods they followed directly told them that? Just as she would not question Aperio, they would not question their chosen deity. O'lymni still technically did question the All-Mother, but that was mostly related to how she presented herself and what exactly she was trying to achieve now.

"If there is nothing else, I will show myself inside," the [Grandmaster] said as she stepped past the still-silent servant. "You should get used to the All-Mother appearing more often in these chambers. For one reason or another, she wishes to work with us on the issues that plague our nation."

She only saw the servant offer a slight nod before she rounded the corner and lost sight of him. Of course, she could simply use her aura to keep an eye on him, but the enchantments that were all over the Chambers of Rule made that task a lot more difficult. And I would upset the powers that be. Her breaking the wards that had been in place for centuries now would also show people that she was a lot stronger than they thought; an advantage she did not want to give up.

Should really get them to upgrade this place while I'm at it. The building where the Council convened was older than she was — even predating the nation of Ebenlowe as it currently stood by multiple centuries. It had been built by the same nation that had constructed Lightfray, and it showed. The enchantments they had woven into every piece of stone that made up the Chambers of Rule were far beyond what any modern mage — or runesmith, if you even managed to find one — could make.

The shortage of good magicians in Ebenlowe was just another entry in the long list of things O'lymni wanted to address. Sadly, some of the …traditionalists had taken to opposing her merely because she was not fully Human, while others seemingly abhorred the idea of inviting scholars from other continents to finally build a proper academy in Ebenlowe itself. The one they currently had was a disgrace.

Already at it, I see, the [Grandmaster] thought to herself as she heard the heated voice of Lady Vinmaier coming from the Chamber of Law, in which the Council usually convened. Probably stressed about being judged by the All-Mother herself for her barbaric ways.

O'lymni did not find it in herself to even appear sad for Elariya. The woman deserved whatever Aperio had in store for her.

Lady Vinmaier was quite well known for her policies, but also for the fact that she liked to punish every transgression against her or her family with indentured servitude. No matter how small the perceived crime might be, she would find a way to get the person into her custody. Most people that ended up that way were not heard of again as they were brought to one of the estates the Vinmaiers maintained outside of Ebenlowe.

At first, O'lymni had intervened where she could, but that had to come to an end fairly swiftly as the various churches that supported the Vinmaiers’ behaviour simply sent their own knights and paladins to guard the carriages. The [Grandmaster] had no intention of sitting idly by again. The All-Mother was upsetting the balance with her mere presence already, but now that she was taking an active role, O'lymni would do her best to rid the city she loved of the people who wanted to bring it low.

"Greetings," the [Grandmaster] said with a smile as she pushed the doors open and entered the Chamber of Law. "I have been informed that we would be holding an important meeting today."

The conversation that was ongoing before fell silent immediately as the eyes of the people present settled on her form. O'lymni did not mind. In her nine-hundred and some odd years, she had experienced this more than a few times. And they still forget that I am older than some of their silly families.

Just because she had never devoted her might to establishing a noble family or a company did not mean she had done nothing. She had thought that was obvious, but generations of council members — or kings and queens, when Ebenlowe had had them — had taught her differently. For one reason or another, most people did not see the [Guides] as a force to be reckoned with until she withdrew their support from whatever endeavour they had planned. I even got fucking Vigil to send his paladins on one of our expeditions.

She had not liked the fact that she needed to rely on that God, but it had been the best option. And it paid off. Laelia was now the Scion of the All-Mother and, from what she knew, it was the group led by Inerlius that had first encountered Aperio on the lowest floor of that dungeon. And to think we were only trying to study the Dryads that live in Roots’ forest.

"Welcome, Lady Videns," Lord Terenyk said as he stood up from his chair. He offered her a bow before moving to a chair to the right, giving the [Grandmaster] the option to seat herself at the head of the table where he had previously been. "I had hoped you would attend today's meeting."

"I would have likely missed it if Lady Aperio had not paid me a visit," she replied, gracing the man with a very brief curtsy before she made her way around the table. "The topic she wishes to discuss here is one I have been trying to address for multiple years now." O'lymni sat herself down on the chair to the left of the one at the head of the table, and set her eyes on Lady Vinmaier. "And I think, today, I can finally make some progress."

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The Human flinched ever-so-slightly at the comment, but it was enough for O'lymni's smile to widen just a little bit. "Though, I think we will require another chair for her Grace's partner." She gestured to the lone throne that sat next to her. "I doubt Lady Aperio will look favourably upon people who forget about her partner."

"Not to worry," Lord Terenyk replied. "We will be using the Chamber of Judgement for the actual meeting with Lady Aperio and Lady Martinek." He rifled through the stack of parchments in front of him for a moment before he found what he was looking for and handed it to the [Grandmaster]. "You are free to make adjustments if you feel the need to, but I think we’ve covered most everything already."

O'lymni nodded at the man's words and set her eyes on the paper that was now in her hands. It was a simple summary of what the Council had decided on for the 'event' today, covering everything from which servants would attend to what kind of napkin would be allowed if someone wished to carry one. The only thing that stood out to the [Grandmaster] was the lack of religious symbols and phrases, but she could not argue with the decision. Aperio had just removed nearly all of the major deities.

Luckily, the Classes that had come shortly afterwards had taken the people’s minds off of silly things like revenge against possibly the only actual immortal being in existence. Gods might be regarded as 'immortal,' but that was a lie. They could die; it was just hard to kill them. The All-Mother, on the other hand, would always come back even if you somehow managed to kill her body. She is the source of everything, after all. If she truly died, so would everything else.

"The Chamber of Judgement?" O'lymni asked, lowering the parchment. "It's been a while since we used that one."

"It seemed fitting," Igelio said. "Lady Aperio wants to judge everyone who is currently enslaved, after all."

The [Grandmaster] nodded at the words, ignoring the disgusted expression of Lady Vinmaier. If the woman wanted to jump in and defend the practice she was pushing, she was free to do so, but most present knew that it was merely a facade they had to keep up as actual slavery had been banned. Still don't understand how this indentured servitude garbage made it through.

"How many people are we expecting?" O'lymni asked.

"Just shy of a thousand," Igelio replied. "There are more, of course, but we only brought the ones that might require a new sentence." He glared at Lady Vinmaier. "Not the ones that tripped and spilled some whale oil on a noble’s dress."

The [Grandmaster] tuned the bickering of the other Council members out as she started to sift through the stack of papers that had appeared next to her. Once Aperio had passed her judgement on the slaves as well as the nobles that had taken their freedom, she intended to press her advantage to make sure that she could stop this kind of abuse in the future.

While she had drafted many proposals for this matter before, O'lymni now chose to start over. Not necessarily because she had to, but because invoking the name of the All-Mother would remind the nobles on which side the Creator stood. And because I can't stand their discussion.

She did as best as she could to remain calm as she worked on her new proposals, even as the words grew a little heated around her. O’lymni knew that there was no point in arguing about anything with them until the All-Mother had passed her judgement. I already tried for decades, after all. Luckily for the [Grandmaster], they found themselves in the Chamber of Justice not long after. Only five hours that felt like a year, she thought. But now it's almost time.

She was about to call for order in the room when the lights that usually shone brightly dimmed as a creeping cold started to fill the room. A moment later, the All-Mother appeared in front of the throne the Council had prepared for her, Caethya by her side, as black and blue feathers slowly drifted through the air.

The version of Aperio the [Grandmaster] saw now was yet again different from what she had experienced so far. Much closer to what I thought… The All-Mother still wore her usual black and blue dress, but this time silver armour adorned her chest and shoulders, and there was a subtle glow that seemed to emanate from her skin. She also carried a swordstaff that stood taller than the Creator and whose edge seemed to cut into reality itself even though it was held perfectly still.

As if all of that had not been enough, the room had by not only been filled with the creeping cold of the All-Mother's mana, but also another force O'lymni could not categorise. It was not physical like the mana, but a feeling that filled her body and mind, preventing her from moving or speaking; telling her that she was nothing in front of Aperio. That she was nothing more than a mote of dust dirtying the tapestry that was Aperio's creation.

The All-Mother did not speak. She simply shifted her gaze from one mortal to another, causing each and every one one of them to lose what remaining colour their skin had thus far managed to hold on to. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her eyes settled on the [Grandmaster].

O'lymni would have sucked in a breath if her body had allowed her to breathe. Whatever the Aperio was doing caused her own magic to yield and flow away from her mental grasp. It was a weird sensation, being unable to feel a part of yourself that you had known for centuries. A fraction of a second after her control over her own mana had ceased, it returned, and in its place was Aperio's gaze. The [Grandmaster] felt the All-Mother's eyes look past her physical self to stare directly at her very Soul.

She did not know how she knew, but she knew. Aperio was passing judgement on every single mortal present. She had taken what little power they had away, and then looked at their very core. If she could, O'lymni would have fallen to her knees, but the same unseen force that stopped her from breathing also held her upright.

Just as suddenly as the All-Mother's might had manifested itself, it disappeared. Caethya was the first to sit herself down after the presence had vanished, briefly taking hold of the All-Mother's hand before letting go and folding her hands in her lap. Aperio followed suit a moment later and sat herself down in the throne she had summoned, her wings somehow phasing through the otherwise solid marble.

"We can begin," Aperio said, the thrones the mortals had prepared disappearing without a trace only to be replaced by two others made from what appeared to be black marble. "Bring in the Accused."

GamingWolf

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