Chapter 496 - The Sword, the Lava, and the Embassy. (Patreon)

I loved Auri, but waiting around while she classed up was torture. I had so many things I was far too excited about. We were done with the war! We were going home! I’d be able to hug Julius and Artemis again. I’d be able to see Night and Arachne! I wouldn’t be constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for the next ambush, the next attack. I wouldn’t be running doomsday scenarios through my head, trying to work out various hypotheticals, and mathing out who I could save, and who had to die.

I’d planted mango trees before I left. How were they doing?

Then there was classing up, and I was almost salivating with anticipation. I knew I had a class similar to [Mother of Modern Medicine] waiting for me, and I suspected I had to have a few more black-quality [Healer] classes waiting. What else would there be? What flavor would they have?

What options would they give me for the future?

Best of all - what surprise did Iona want to spring on me once I woke up? I had a pretty good idea, but I didn’t want to build my hopes up too high.

I entertained myself with thoughts of all the things I’d do once I was back in Sanguino, building up quite the list and making sure it was all written down.

Katerina walked in through the tent door.

“Bunny. I heard you had a few questions for me?” She said with no preamble.

The Legata was insanely busy, and I was grateful for her stopping by to satiate my curiosity. I cut straight to the heart of the matter.

“Yes. Why did you issue the order to attack the Han forces? We were super outnumbered at the time, and being second in command, I’d like to know the reasoning if you happen to meet Black Crow early.”

Katerina snorted her amusement at the idea of meeting Black Crow ‘early’, given her grey hairs.

“I don’t know how much you know about Guardians, but from what I understand, they can ‘see’ guilt in a way. Maybe culpability? Either way, when a disaster strikes, they know exactly who caused it, and tend to react accordingly. The Sixth having made the lanterns and supporting the Wei would make us ‘guilty’, but if we were trying to fight those truly responsible for the atrocity, it ‘absolved’ us in a sense. Hence only two harpoons sent our way, instead of the entire command structure marked for death.”

I tilted my head, not wanting to push my luck - Katerina had come all the way out to personally visit while I was looking after Auri’s class up - but eternally curious.

“The two attacks we took?” I asked. She got the rest of the question.

“Centurion Hans had run a competition for who could make the most lanterns. His group tripled the number of lanterns anyone else made, and it was all because of him. Legionnaire Jason had gotten into the lanterns a little more than most, and made 24 in a single day. His line hadn’t gotten to battle yet, and we figure he hadn’t managed to ‘purge’ himself of more than normal amount of guilt in time.”

I nodded.

“Thank you, Legata.” I told the woman.

She briskly nodded, did an about-face, and was out of the tent a moment later, off to the next task.

The sparkling lights around Auri faded away, the phoenix returning to reality.

“Brrpt! BRPT!” She almost immediately ditched her ‘gothic black’ flame scheme, returning once again to the vibrant and bright bird I knew and loved. “Brrpt brpt brpt!”

Auri chattered on and on, telling me all about the world of her soul, and all the things she’d seen in there, all the things she’d thought about.

“The class?” I asked her.

Her eyes opened wide, and she smacked her forehead with a wing.

“BRPT!” She admonished herself.

Her eyes focused on words I couldn’t see as she scrolled through notifications and offered skills.

“Brrpt, brrrpt, brrrpt…” She muttered under her breath as she worked out the puzzle of skills, selecting which ones to take and which ones to ditch. “BRPT!”

She gave me the breakdown of skills and the class details.

“Lava? Wow!” I patted my shoulder, offering Auri her favorite perch. “Tell me more!”

While I attentively listened to Auri dishing the details, my mind leapt and made a connection to an old flame of mine, Serondes.

Hadn’t thought about him in ages.

He had helped keep Auri’s egg warm, encasing it in his Lava. I had to wonder if that had any impact on Auri’s decision? If being wrapped in molten rock as an egg had subtly influenced her in that direction? It didn’t seem insane… but she’d spent a lot more time being bathed in Radiance.

Humph. I hoped that wasn’t the case, because I’d be a little peeved if she’d taken it because of that. It was stupid and a little jealous, but hey, I was only human-ish.

I remembered another part of my life. When I was classing up [Pyromancer], and I was selecting which element I wanted [Ranger-Mage] to be. In the end, I had narrowed it down to Radiance and Lava, and only narrowly had decided to take Radiance over Lava. In a strange way, it made me think Auri and I were on similar wavelengths, having both flown close to the eruption.

My shoulder suddenly started to burn, and I jumped with a small scream of discomfort and surprise.

“AH! FUCK!” I yelled, Auri jumping up with a start.

“Brrrpt!?” She asked with concern as I patted my shoulder, dousing the harmless flames before they could eat my shirt. I liked my shirt.

“Very nice skill being able to turn part of your body to Lava.” I praised her. “It turns out I am not immune to Lava like I am to Fire.”

“Brrpt! Brrrrppttt…” Auri cackled evilly, then did a double-take at herself. “BRPT! BRPT BRPT BRPT!” She yelled at herself, shaking her head. She didn’t mean it, but some of her bad jokes were well-ingrained pathways, and she didn’t want to make them anymore. Not with her new thinking and realizations. “Brrrpt…?”

I smiled.

“Yes, I’m fine. Now! You’ve got Lava, which is great for what I want to do next.”

I told Auri the plan, who perked right up at the idea.

“Brrrpt!!” She enthusiastically agreed. “Brrrpt?”

I eyed the Tears of Vulcan in the distance, running mental calculations, figuring the ratio of the impact of the situation, versus the chances of getting in trouble.

We’d get in some trouble, sure, but I was also getting the fuck out of here.

“Alright, let’s do it there.” I agreed with her.

I shot over to Katerina and saluted.

“Legata. Auri and I are leaving now. Quick errand, then I’m going to drop Auri back off here and head onwards to Lyon.”

Katerina crisply nodded and returned my salute.

“Excellent.” She dropped her salute and took a deep breath.

“Sentinel Dawn. I’m going to recommend you for the Crimson Fangs Medal, but that’s up to the Senate. I wanted to give you my personal thanks and accolades. Your actions here have been above and beyond any call of duty, and I know what expected casualty rates are. You’ve saved the life of every member of the Legion twice over, and I am forever in your debt. You are a true friend, and if ever you should need help, ask any member of my house or my descendants. They’ll do what they can.”

I grinned crookedly back at Katerina.

“Why Legata! You speak as if you’re going to die of old age. Don’t you know that’s not possible with me around?”

I shot off a cheeky wink, Auri trailing a raspberry in the direction of a wide-eyed Katerina.

===========================

It had taken time to clean up Shuixi and for Auri to class up, and by the time we arrived at the Tears proper, it was nighttime.

The Tears of Vulcan had been the backdrop to the entire campaign, the ever-flowing volcanoes that were constantly in the horizon, non-stop eruptions somehow both physical, ‘real’ material, and yet not expanding the range or the world at all, no matter how much metal and other goods were harvested from the founts. A true mystery, and yet, somehow not considered one of the Oddities of the world.

In another great mystery that made the Tears viable, the usual outpouring of caustic gasses that came from an eruption were almost entirely absent. They did occur now and then, but as long as people could handle the heat, they could stand right up to the ever-boiling rocks and breathe normally.

They were both well harnessed and utterly neglected at the same time. I was sure that in peace, there’d be dullahans lining the entire rim of every volcano, and each forge built over the Lava for heat would be filled with the sounds of ringing hammers as metal was forged into nails and plowshares, horseshoes and candleholders, fireplace equipment and butcher’s hooks.

Now half the forges were either cold and dead, no [Smith] available to work them, or filled with people making swords and shields, spears and helmets, and all other manner of war implements. It was the reason the Tears were so hotly contested.

Auri and I picked a smaller one with no visible signs of life, and dove down. I’d originally planned on forging the blade at the edge of the cauldron, but now I could do it right in the middle. Hey, why not? I wanted to go to the nines for this.

“Can you make a platform?” I asked Auri, wanting to give the newly minted [Molten Mythwing] something to practice.

“Brrpt!” She affirmed, firming up and cooling down a platform on the Lava where I could stand without burning my feet off.

Fun thing about Lava - in nearly every case, it was still rock. It didn’t suddenly become superfluid and suck people in, it didn’t magically take on the properties of water. It was rock. It was as dense as rock. I was as likely to sink into lava as I was to sink into the mountain.

“Great job!” I told her, then teleported back into my [Vault of Ages].

I’d carefully set aside a box of Remus coins when moving Night’s prank back to Sanguino to sell, the seeds of the idea having already started percolating back then when I read up about Lithos marriage traditions. I wanted the metal to be special, and I didn’t have anything else super fancy or special. Why not coins that were kinda-sorta from my home?

In all our years together, I hadn’t come up with a better idea, and I popped back out with a crate full of them.

“Alright! Divine flames, let’s go!” I encouraged Auri into the next step of the forging.

Divine flames. Arguably stolen from the Moon Goddesses, Iona’s patron divinities. A charitable interpretation would be ‘inspired by’ or ‘learned from’, but one way or another, there was no better flame to melt the coins down with.

As the Dragoneye Moons watched down over us, I carefully placed each coin in the mold.

It was weird.

Inferno was solid fire. Auri had made the mold of the sword out of solid divine flames. My immunity to fire did funky stuff at times. With each coin, I could easily pass my hand and the coin through the flames like they didn’t exist, but the moment I placed the coin where it belonged, it was being ‘lifted up’ by the flames. It was like reaching through a table to place a glass of water down on it. My hand and coin went through, but nothing came back on the other end.

Magic was so damn cool.

I carefully arranged all the coins, trusting Auri to have the right shape for the sword. I knew it wasn’t going to be a good sword - it was missing way too much technical stuff that I literally didn’t even know the names of, let alone how to do it. Like, I was basically going straight from raw metal to sword, none of the ingot, hammering, sticking it in water or any other steps in between. I had no idea which ones were important, and which ones would cause any [Blacksmith] to stroke out in agony if they saw what I was doing. But that wasn’t the point. I wasn’t trying to give Iona a weapon to defend herself with, it was ceremonial.

“Okay! Turn up the heat!” I asked Auri as the last coin slotted into place.

“Brrrpt!”

With a roar, the flames leapt high into the sky, but I could still see the metal perfectly. It melted and flowed, then Auri ‘compressed’ the mold before cooling the flames down. The flames went from azure blue to an icy blue as she switched out from ‘divine’ flames to ‘icy’ flames, rapidly cooling the blade and probably fucking up all sorts of things on the inside. Or maybe fixing them? I had no idea, I wasn’t a [Blacksmith]. I resolved to find a couple of books on the subject and read them when I got back to Sanguino. Too many magic and fiction books, not enough dry instruction manuals.

Actually, thinking about it… outside of the School, I hadn’t seen too many profession-related books. [Artisans] usually passed their secrets down master to apprentice style, jealously guarding their knowledge against thieves. Maybe I’d need to visit the School again to check out a few books.

Focus.

I sent a prayer up to the Moon Goddesses.

Heya!

Mind throwing a blessing my way for the sword? It’s for Iona you know!

Also, speaking of, can you pretty please not tell her? It’s a surprise!

Cheers!

Elaine

“Brpt!” Auri puffed herself up as she released the flames, ‘revealing’ the glorious creation inside. It didn’t have a pommel, just a tang, and it still needed more work - I wanted to etch little scenes with Radiance into the blade, but…

“It’s beautiful.” I told her. “I can’t wait.”

=================================

I dropped Auri off with Katerina and the rest of the Sixth - the Legata wanted Auri around, she wanted to be near Fenrir, and bringing a flaming phoenix into another nation’s capital was not how to stay discreet - then headed off to Lyon.

I was coming from an entirely different direction, with nobody else with me, but the trip was nostalgic in quite a few ways. It was what we’d done when we’d all first found ourselves here after the Fae realm, the first landmark we’d consciously worked towards.

I tried to mix subtlety with speed, running at a speed that would make most [Runners] envious when nobody was around, and slowing down to a more normal walk when passing others on the road. It wasn’t perfect - there was no good reason for me to decline the offers of traveling along with caravans, and for all I knew there were eagle-eyed [Watchmen] on top of towers miles away seeing me run down the road at absurd speeds - but I had no plans to stick around, and more importantly, I had protection.

Back then I’d been scared and nervous, unwilling to brave the city. Unsure of myself.

Now I smiled as I saw the walls and barriers of Lyon, comfortable in my skin and position, and slightly giggling to myself.

I’d lost the Deception Ring tanking the blow from Teruo, but I knew my backup amulet was good enough for most guards. I wouldn’t want to try to sneak past the [Royal Guards] in the palace - and it was possible that some were patrolling near the area where the [Ambassadors] had their residence - but broadly, I wasn’t concerned.

I waited in line at the gates, my happy feelings around being able to finally enter the city that had been locked away from me slowly being replaced by a sense of whiplash and dissonance.

Just 36 hours ago or so the lanterns around Shuixi had gone up, and the city had burned. Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people had burned alive, screaming the whole way. Guardian Teruo had needed to intervene, the kun-peng’s judgment falling on all of us.

And now… I was waiting in line. Surrounded by people happily chatting away about their lives. The price of bread at market, a recent scandal in the nobility, who was sleeping with whom, complaints about the weather… it was all just so mundane. I felt disconnected from it all, apart from it all. Like I was in a bubble, a world apart.

A few people tried to engage me in conversation, asking about my ‘fancy’ outfit - really just a normal Han empire everyday set of clothes - but I ignored them. I just… wasn’t ready for the world to be quite so normal yet.

I recognized what I was thinking and feeling wasn’t quite right, and chalked it up to the abrupt shift between warzone and civilian life. I should talk with Linnet or some other [Mind Healer] about it before it became a problem. See what the other War Sentinels did.

I made it to the front of the line, and put on my best charming smile, doing my best to look like a harmless healer.

I’d grown up with guards. I knew how to charm them, if no one else, and get through most checkpoints.

“Name?” She asked.

“Bunny! Here to work for a day! No goods to declare! Here’s 15 arcs for the toll!” I beamed as I held out exact change, doing my best to make their lives easy. It’d been trivial to hear what questions were asked and what the toll was while waiting in line.

I’d also used the Creation word for Bunny, the name completely different from the language used here, so there wasn’t going to be any concern about ‘you’re named what?’ from them.

The woman grunted, and seeing how easy I was making everything, decided not to make trouble for herself. Clean, well-dressed, a human like most everyone else in Rolland, and clearly looking like I was on a mission, I briskly walked through the streets of Lyon, taking in the sights.

It was like everything I ever thought a medieval-age city would look like. Crowded cobble streets, vendors hawking their wares with flashing magical signs, knights occasionally riding by on tall white horses, the place was wonderful. Not nearly as nice as Sanguino - they could really work on their sewage and roads - but it was like a dream.

I did get some looks when I asked for directions to the Exterreri Embassy, but hefty bribes - uhhh, unexpected additional compensation - turned questioning [Innkeepers] and [Courier Receptionists] into very helpful sources of information.

Which brought me to the estates of the Exterreri Ambassador. A grand mansion in the middle of Lyon, with the jarring, yet relieving image of several Exterreri heavy soldiers in full armor outside the gates.

I walked up, noting how many other guards were around - most of the embassies being near each other - and how many patrols were on the road. Random hooligans causing trouble for diplomats could be a diplomatic disaster, and the [Queen] clearly didn’t want any issues.

That, or it was the wealthy part of the city, and the usual ‘guards existed to protect the rich and powerful’ kicked in. I liked guards more than most people, buuuuut it didn’t stop me from recognizing some unfortunate realities around their position in various cultures.

One of the Exterreri guards had scowl lines that were slightly less deep than his neighbor’s, and I walked up to him. His eyes narrowed at my approach, but he didn’t say anything.

“Hi! I’d like to meet with the [Ambassador] if at all possible?” I asked in High Elvish, not really knowing protocol.

He sighed, and his fellow guard rolled her eyes. The fact I was speaking High Elvish seemed to go over their heads, the implications missed.

“You can’t just walk up and ask to meet the [Ambassador].” He patiently explained. “Would you walk up to a mansion or castle and ask to meet the [Baron] or [Count]? An [Ambassador’s] position is similar. Now, if you’d like to know more about Exterreri, we do have regular events showcasing some of the delights of the country.”

I was nodding along with a vacant expression, trying my damndest not to escalate. I wanted to grab and twist his ear and hiss words inside it, but instead I had to settle for a pitched whisper.

“I’m the fucking Dawn Sentinel, and I need to fucking talk with the bloody [Ambassador] now.” I hissed at him. “I’ll be happy to show you my credentials inside but I shouldn’t need to explain to you the levels of shit that will rain down on all of us if they catch one of our fucking War Sentinels in the fucking capital.”

Message received, a signal was fired across several neurons, and the guard practically tripped over himself opening the gate. A dozen eyes watched me enter, but it was fine. I was on Exterreri ground now.

“How important is this? Do I need to barge in and interrupt the [Ambassador’s] meeting? Do I need to call all the guards to present? Give me something to work with” The guard asked me as we entered the estate.

I shook my head.

“We’re fine. No big rush. I’ll take a room and meet with him when he’s got a minute, but I won’t deny I’m throwing a massive headache into his lap. Critically, it’s his headache, not any of ours.”

The guard relaxed and grinned at that.

“He’s a decent bloke, but I can’t say I wouldn’t mind him getting a few more headaches and less time, ah, ‘socializing’.”

I chuckled at the image. I was sure going to parties and rubbing elbows with all the other bigwigs was important, perfectly setting himself up to know all the right people and the proper things to say for situations like these, but from my practical, ‘just do it’ point of view I didn’t mind him getting more work.

“Right, give me a moment.” I asked the guard. “Let me change into something a little better.”

Without waiting for confirmation I teleported into [Vault of Ages], idly noting that it was an amazing place to class up. No need to have anyone protect me! Just so long as it wasn’t my Spatial class I was improving. No idea what would happen if I tried, getting flung into the endless void was one of the better options.

I rubbed the sword I was working on with a smile, then darted over to the armory. Fortunately, dust didn’t accumulate or settle here, because my poor Sentinel gear hadn’t seen a lick of action the entire time I’d been in the Han Empire. I’d barely worn it since I got it, and Harper had to be crying at all the lost cool moments.

It wasn’t combat, so the ceremonial gear went on. Black scales with crimson rivulets running between them, gauntlets and greaves. No helmet - it was for show - and a pair of badges pinned to my chest completed my outfit. I shrugged and twisted, getting it to all feel just right before teleporting back out of my [Vault].

“Sentinel!” The guard instantly snapped to attention, instinctively throwing a salute my way. “It is an honor to have you here!”

I snorted my amusement, once again mentally praising the works of prior generations of Sentinels and whoever designed the armor. It was one thing to hear I was a Sentinel, and quite another to see it.

“At ease. Let the [Ambassador] know I want to see him when he’s got a few minutes… better make it an hour, actually.” I corrected myself, thinking of the scale of the problem I was about to drop in his lap.

“Of course! Can I get you anything? Refreshments? Also, if I can ask, you’re not a vampire?” He asked the last bit as a question. “I thought all Sentinels were vampires.”

“I could use some food.” I admitted as my stomach eagerly leapt at the thought of nibbles. “And only most of us are vampires. I know there’s a troll, a few elves, and one demon…”

I wove a tale to the guard, liberally mixing in agreed-upon lies with the truth. Sentinel Invincible was far too high-profile to keep hidden, but there was only one elf Sentinel, not three. The truth and the lies mixed together made it nearly impossible for anyone to properly take aim at the organization, and it wasn’t like they could figure out that our stories were rehearsed. We all had a narrow range of numbers and lies to mix in, even to our own citizens.

Smoke and mirrors.

===============================

The door to the opulent parlor burst open, the vampiric [Ambassador] impeccably well-dressed to the nines in a toga.

“Sentinel Dawn! A pleasure, a pleasure!” He greeted me with open arms and a bared smile, his fangs just barely touching his lips. “I do wish I could entertain you for a week, but alas, I hear you need to speak with me urgently. What terrible concerns bring a Sentinel to my doorstep?”

I stood up at his entrance, and not quite knowing how to treat the man, defaulted to a respectful nod of my head. Couldn’t hurt.

“As you may or may not know, the Sixth Legion went on a bit of an expedition to the Han Empire…” I started off my tale, rapidly giving him all the details. The mercenary mission, the desire to level, the sort-of-but-not-quite clandestine nature of the event. The [Ambassador’s] face was a perfect poker mask, flawlessly transitioning from emotion to emotion without a single twitch or inner thought revealed.

He had known about the Sixth’s deployment, but the recent events were news to him. In the end he got up and clapped his hands.

“Excellent! Thank you Sentinel, for bringing this to my attention before it’s a disaster. I will have to send your Legata a pint of lion’s blood or a recommendation to become a vampire simply for having the foresight to send you over. A rare trait in Legati to be sure.” He bemoaned. “As for you. Excellent work, but please, please, do this old man a favor and leave for Exterreri. Just thinking about trying to hide you and what the consequences would be if you’re found is giving me an ulcer.”

I didn’t love the idea, but I could see where he was coming from. My presence here was breaking more rules, laws, norms, and conventions than I knew, and while my quick ‘slip in and out’ disguise was pretty good, there’d be questions if I started staying at the embassy full time, let alone interacting with the army. I was pretty sure I could manage it - I’d successfully done it for years - but I wasn’t adverse to going home, not after letting the rest of the Eventide Eclipse know what was going on.

“As you wish, [Ambassador].”