Chapter 36: Advent – Chapter 33: Of Lies and Prophecies

GamingWolf

The warmth of the sun on Aperio's skin, while nice, could not come close to the comfort the Void provided. That Laelia was looking even more terrified now certainly did not help. Neither did it help that she did not know why she was suddenly terrified. Aperio didn't think she had done anything differently. Is it because of Ferio? Her daughter had, admittedly, wanted to punish the woman for the arguably futile attempt on her life, but upon brief reflection the conclusion was obvious: Ferio was not the source of Laelia's fear.

Taking a careful step towards the sitting Human, she tried to push the sadness she felt whenever she saw Laelia's fearful expression as far down as she could. With a small and hopefully reassuring smile, Aperio crouched down in front Laelia. Her wings spread slightly to better accommodate her movement, a motion that also obscured the two from the prying eyes of the group behind her. She could feel her daughter's magic move with her, still trying its best to bring calm to all those it touched, but now there was a certain edge to it.

A small twitch of her mental muscles brought her own mana to bear. Aperio tried her best to imagine the feeling of calm and belonging she felt in the Void and convey it with her magic. As carefully as she could, Aperio tilted Laelia’s head to face her, just as Ferio had done with her shortly before.

The ex-paladin went stiff upon her touch, her eyes clenching shut in an apparent effort to not see the source of her fears. Aperio could feel the woman's terror through the magic she was using in an attempt to calm her. It was a bizarre experience, feeling what another person felt. The emotions never quite reached her, always remaining a distant echo that brushed along the edge of her perception.

"I have no desire to hurt you. There is no reason for fear." Her words were slow and deliberate, as gentle as she could make them. More like what one would use when talking to a child than a grown woman. In doing so, she became aware of an inner struggle she had been having all along. The sheer effort she put in to avoid having her inner sadness seep into her voice and magic was more costly to her than most other things she had tried. Whether the struggle was new to her since her return to Godhood, or whether it had merely been repressed by the collar, was something she likely would never know.

"P-Please d-don't kill me," the Human stammered in reply, trying to move further away from the winged Goddess.

Aperio tilted her head at the words. Did I not just say I wouldn't harm her? "Why would I do such a thing? You were not yourself when you attacked me. You were unable to make your own will known. Used as a tool. Relegated to being a passenger in your own body." Her words lost the gentle tone she had tried to keep, instead filling with disgust at her own memories of the collar that had imprisoned her. She tried her best to dismiss the thoughts and pulled back her hand that had, unbeknown to her, started to trace Laelia's neck where a collar would sit.

Aperio herself knew that the gesture likely looked threatening without context, and the shivering of the Human in front of her only underlined that fact. She was at a loss for what to do. She did not know how to comfort someone, even less so if she herself was the reason for their distress. Lowering her wing slightly, she turned towards her daughter, the uncertainty easily visible on her face. Trying to find out what had turned the once feisty paladin into the scared child she was now felt important to Aperio – Laelia was one of the first people she had met after her return and, thus far, she had treated her like anyone else. A bit fixated on a fight early on, but Aperio could not fault her for that; she had that itch to fight too, after all.

Ferio just sighed and shook her head. A moment later the soothing magic of her daughter joined her thus far fruitless attempt to calm Laelia. Aperio wasn't sure if she should even try her hand further at this kind of magic; influencing people that way did not sit right with her. But, there was no disgust when her daughter used it, no need to cleanse away vileness.

Instead it felt more like a magical version of a hug, a metaphor that made the Elf smile a little. There was an underlying element that somehow conveyed the intent of the one who used it, something that words alone would never be able to replicate. She simply knew that her daughter was trying to calm the Human.

It wasn't long before Laelia did relax a little. She still looked fearful, and was somewhat tense, but at least she stopped trying to scoot away. Again, speaking as gently as she could, Aperio asked the woman in front of her, "Why are you so scared?"

"Mother of the sun, the tyrant of old will return to bring ruin to the land."

Her words lacked the usual choppiness her lack of vocabulary brought with it. Instead, they sounded more like something she had learned to recite by heart. Almost like a prophecy. She gave her daughter another questioning look, but received only a slight shrug – Ferio didn't know what the ex-paladin had meant, either.

"I am often referred to as the Goddess of the Sun, they probably mean me," Ferio said.

"But why tyrant?" Aperio asked, turning her attention back to Laelia. She had a suspicion who might have an interest in vilifying her. "Is this something Vigil and Inanis fabricated?"

"The Scripture," was the mumbled reply.

The winged Goddess could not help but frown at the Human’s reply. "Your God forced you into a fight you could not possibly win. I have no intention to bring 'ruin to the land', as you put it. Perhaps you should not believe everything that they say."

A coughing sound behind her caused Aperio to rise and turn around. The needle-poking Human looked like he had almost choked on the water he just drank. Once he had his breathing back under control, he looked at the winged Goddess with a complicated expression on his face. He took a few more breaths before he finally asked a question.

"May I speak?"

Aperio just gave him an annoyed look and motioned for him to continue. She hoped the undue respect – Or fear? – would soon go away. Just because she was a Goddess did not mean she deserved their respect or admiration, even if a part of her revelled in it. Neither did she wish to be feared because of what she was, but it looked like she only had that effect on Laelia.

"I do not mean to be rude but, did you just say that Vigil and Inanis prophesied that you would return and...destroy the world?" He frowned, and his fingers shifted as he thought about what that meant. "How is that supposed to work? You do not strike me as the deliberately destroying type." His knee twitched, as though he were repressing the urge to pace about while his thoughts raced around. "But, if you aren't, then that would label anything written in the holy books as a potential lie..." His voice trailed off as he lost himself entirely to his thoughts, his final spoken question directed more to himself than to Aperio.

There was only a slight shaking to his voice, which was refreshing; he had not been that intimidated by her annoyance.

"Or she is lying," Arden supplied. A glare from Ferio sent him scrambling a step back, before Aperio gave both of them a disapproving look. Am I surrounded by children? ...better this than have them grovel every time though.

The sound of footsteps and the unmistakable noise of a door opening caught Aperio's attention. Turning around she spotted the [Grandmaster] walking out of the building. In one hand she held a strange-looking scroll. A closer look revealed it to be surrounded in a haze; a fog almost like Aperio's own aura, albeit less refined and far less powerful.

"Maybe I can help," the [Grandmaster] said. "One of Vigil's prophecies is indeed the one she speaks of. When it was first spoken, Inanis swiftly endorsed his words, and some more minor Gods followed suit. As for the truth of the statement...we don't know. What we know for certain, however, is that both Vigil and Inanis do not like Aperio."

Unfurling the scroll she held, O'lymni handed it to Ferio who, after a moment of confusion, read through it. Aperio caught a glimpse of the words written on the parchment, but to her they were just meaningless squiggles.

The more her daughter read of the scroll the angrier she seemed to become. Aperio felt her magic shift away from calming touch to something forceful that seemed to weigh on the people surrounding her. It did not affect the winged Goddess, but she could easily tell that the situation could turn dire should Ferio continue to react in this manner.

Just as Aperio wanted to intervene, the force that had pressed against the mortals vanished and instead, Ferio faced the [Grandmaster]. "When did you get this?"

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"Just now," O'lymni replied. "I brought it to you as soon as I could."

"What is going on?" Aperio asked. She did not like being left in the dark, especially if whatever was happening made her daughter that angry.

"They excommunicated your ex-paladin friend for failing her divine mission. They also declared Ebenlowe a 'dangerous territory'," Ferio replied.

"They?"

Ferio gave the needle-poking Human a long, hard glare before she replied. "The church of that ungrateful fuck who has the gall to call himself righteous."

Silence reigned after her outburst. Seeing a Goddess call another God an 'ungrateful fuck' was not an everday occurence. But, that mattered little to Aperio right now. What did matter was that, despite being used as a tool, Laelia was looking as if she was ready to break down.

Aperio did the only thing she could think of and sat down next to the shaking Human. She wrapped her arm and wing around her quivering form as gently as she could before she started to slowly stroke the woman's arm in what she hoped was a soothing motion.

This was her fault.

She had forced her will on someone. Even if she only had had the best intentions in mind, it had led to Laelia losing something that seemed to be of great importance to her. Aperio might not have been able to truly understand why the Human would still want to be part of an institution that had tried to send her to a sure death, but she respected the will of the other. What was the obvious choice for the winged Goddess might not be for the ex-paladin.

It wasn't long before she felt Laelia leaning against her, no longer shaking but now sobbing with every other breath. Her previous fear of the Elf had seemingly been forgotten, the shock of the arguably inevitable news still too great.

Aperio wanted to say something but couldn't find words besides the "I am sorry," she mumbled. She cared for the Human in a way she did not quite understand. It was not as strong a feeling as her affections for her daughter, but it was certainly more than was immediately reasonable for someone she had met not that long ago.

Is it because I gave her a blessing? ...No, I don't care about Arden that much. Maybe it's because he just has a tiny blessing and she has a proper one? ...What even is a proper blessing?

The thoughts were interrupted by incoherent mumbles from the ex-paladin that was now fully leaning on the Goddess for support. In response, Aperio wrapped her wing a bit tighter around the woman. The others did not need to see her like this. Or should I not do anything? She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. She was responsible for Laelia's current state and, even if she could not understand her reaction, she would at least try to make it more bearable for her.

The others had begun to ask questions, ones that Aperio ignored as she yet again inspected the blessing she had given. She had not expected it to change but was relieved to find that it was still doing its best to improve the Human, not that it was of much use at the moment. For now, all Aperio could – and wanted to – do was to wait until Laelia calmed down again. At least enough for her to tell why this had shaken her that much.

It only took a couple of minutes before Aperio could feel Laelia tense up again, seemingly having noticed who exactly she was leaning on for support. She did not struggle or try to escape, but it was obvious she did not want to be where she was right now. The Elf complied with her unspoken wish and retracted her arm, the wing she left loosely draped over the Human to at least preserve some privacy.

"I am sorry," repeated Aperio in a whisper. The act of apologising still felt wrong, even now when she was clearly the cause for Laelia's suffering. "It is my fault this happened, but I could not let that twisted thing try to control you. If you want to leave you are free to do so. Just know that I will help should you want it."

On the edge of her consciousness, Aperio felt the touch of her daughter's magic. It felt like a query, likely a wordless attempt to ask if she had meant what she had just spoken aloud. The reply was done with a thought of confirmation, and more force than necessary if the reaction of Ferio was any indication. The rest of the group did not seem to have heard Aperio's apology, or knew not to comment on it.

Laelia looked unsure at her words but, after a moment of hesitation, reached into a pocket and produced a picture which she handed to the Goddess. Depicted on it were a group of Humans, all smiling and happy. The ex-paladin tapped her finger on two identical looking boys who could be no older than Maria.

With newfound determination, Laelia looked into the Goddess's eyes. "Heal them," she said. "Please."

"Heal?" They looked perfectly fine to her. "What is wrong with them?"

"The Rage. No mortal can heal. Vigil cured me. I work, he saves them. Now…" Her words trailed off with a quaver, but it was clear what she meant.

Aperio could not quite believe what she heard. "Why not simply ask another one?" she asked, glancing at Ferio. "I am sure my daughter would have helped if asked."

"Her Domain is Life. The Rage is much life. Too much." Laelia just shook her head. "But you healed wounds Vigil could not."

"Too much… life?" It did not make sense to her, but there was a certainty to Laelia's voice that made her not question the notion. The fear the woman had felt seemed to be mostly gone; Aperio could only feel a sliver of it. What had replaced it was what she would describe as a desire to protect. It was similar to what she had felt herself when she had seen the grieving Laelia, yet not quite the same. "Where are they?"

The Human tried to stand, only to find herself unable to as the wing covering her did not yield at her push. Standing up herself, Aperio folded her feathered appendages behind her and watched. Laelia rose, trying to hide the slightly red eyes from tears the Elf had not seen her shed. With an unsteady gait, the woman began to walk towards the bridge leading into the city.

GamingWolf

The Rage is not a lie as some people thought it was. Or maybe it is?

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