"Ulrich, when will you awaken? I know what kind of person you are, the strength that resides within you. The love that you hold for this kingdom is beyond that of other kings. That is why you must awaken soon, because without you, I am sure that Camelot will fall. At least with you there, we stand a chance." Dianna looked at Ulrich's body on the bed, flashes of the forest shot back into her brain. The wounds on his body that had yet to heal were enough to make Dianna wince. She laid her hand upon his, hoping for any kind of response but was met with nothing. In her heart was an emptiness that was continuing to grow the longer Ulrich stayed asleep. Along with that emptiness, there was something else that was beginning to take form. She could feel her divine power beginning to fluctuate more than it had before. It used to be a rare occurrence, but now the fluctuations were happening more and more often. The cause was easy to identify, as it meant that the divine presence on Earth was beginning to grow rapidly. Dianna looked down at Ulrich and realized that his situation must have been made known to heaven. The time of their arrival must have been moved up, which meant that the war would soon begin. Dianna took one last look at Ulrich before turning and making her way out of the room. The time had come for her to embrace the side of herself that she had thrown away.
Alicia, Leanna, and Nina entered the throne room of Camelot with Vera and Belle following closely behind. Alicia walked up to her brother's throne and sat down with an exhausted from the day's events. Leanna walked over and took a seat on Alicia's throne, while Nina took a seat on the top step of the stairs in front of the thrones. Vera and Belle were now standing in front of the three, Vera was eager to speak to the girls and to meet the young ruler of the city. They were her last remaining family in the world after all and saw each of them when they were born. She had regretted not being able to be a part of their lives like she had been with her other descendants. Though the main route to the Northern Realm had been shut by her husband, the lesser routes were still active, which is what caused Vera's absence from her family. For some reason, the routes were beginning to widen, allowing different beings through, beings her and her dragons had to destroy.
Admittedly, Alicia had a bit of inferiority complex when it came to her brother. It never caused her to dislike her brother or grow jealous, it was actually the complete opposite, it caused her to look up to him even more. While she may have believed that she could never measure up to her older brother, the opposite was the truth. As Leanna had told her many times when she was trying to help her confidence, her and her brother were like yin and yang. Each had their own respective skill sets that perfectly complimented the other. That was why Leanna was laughing inwardly at her cousin at the moment. While Alicia was a bit harder to read than her brother, Leanna, along with Nina, were able to see the moments when Alicia would begin to compare herself to her brother. The slight twitch in her facial muscles and the sparkle her blue eyes would have made it obvious to them. One of the major tells that Nina herself noticed, was that the edges of her shadow would slightly ripple whenever her emotions shifted. Nina had noticed her shadow do this many times since they met Vera and Belle.
If either Nina and Leanna knew the real truth behind her current mood, they would no doubt be surprised. The thoughts that were going through her mind were the exact opposite of what they were normally. 'Nina and Leanna have no idea how relieved I'm feeling right now. While my brother being in a coma is a terrible thing, I know that this current situation is definitely one of the areas that I excel in. While he would want to be here to reunite with someone who claims to be our grandmother, the other woman is a separate matter. He'd more than likely ask me to help with whatever she's offering. He never did like dealing with such things after all.' She glanced at Leanna and Nina before looking forward again. 'This is my first time dealing with such powerful people without my brother, thankfully I still have Leanna and Nina with me, otherwise I'd probably be a lot more nervous. Still, Elizabeth always told us to remain calm and collected when representing the throne.'
Alicia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She focused on the magic in her body, how it flowed through the pathways within. She manipulated it, slowing the river of magic that flowed throughout herself. While doing this, subconsciously, the blood flow in her body also slowed slightly, her muscles tensed within this second of her held breath. She attempted to gather as much of the natural mana in the air as she could, however, she only managed to saturate her lungs with the natural magic before she released her breathe slowly. The magic that had almost come to a complete stop flowed forth through her body, at a rate much faster than before, cleaning out the blockages caused by her sickness. Her slowed heartbeat allowed her to calm herself while the natural magic that was coating her lungs allowed her to not worry about any coughing fits, at least for a few hours.
She let out a mental sigh when she remembered how long it took her to get her meditation to this level. Normally, she'd be in the garden underneath her brother's cherry blossom tree when meditating, though she realized she wouldn't always be able to be in a place so in tune with nature that you could practically feel it calm you once entered. To combat this, she attempted meditating farther and farther away, gradually cutting down the required breaths it took to take in nature's mana while controlling the flow of magic within her body. One of things she realized she could do that her brother couldn't, was she could use the natural mana that was emitted from the fires that lit the throne room. Her brother was so proud of her when she told him of it. Just like when they first sat underneath that tree together.
A small smile appeared on her face when she remembered the first time she meditated with her brother. It was after he returned home from a training trip that their mother sent him on. She saw him sitting on the ground crosslegged with his eyes closed. Of course, since she idolized her brother, rather than ask what he was doing, she just walked over, sat down next to him, and copied everything he was doing. She remembered how he let out a small laugh before explaining the process to her. It was a memory that always made her smile. Despite everything he had been through, he would always have a smile on his face when they were together. Just being able to spend time with him was enough for her, but the benefits of meditation and using the natural mana in the air to help her sickness was definitely a big bonus.
Her recollection was cut short by Vera, "Ah, it's been a long time since I've seen meditation that advanced. You were even using the natural magic around us. If you don't mind me asking, were you slowing down your own perception of time when doing so?" Alicia cocked her head to side slightly. Vera could tell from the look on her descendant's face that she thought that was common knowledge. 'She doesn't even realize that what she did is incredibly difficult. Then there's the fact that she clearly manipulated nature's mana to assist her body in some way. Even if she has fairy blood, to be able to manipulate it to suit her needs with one breath is beyond impressive.' "I apologize if that sounded like an odd question to you, I was just surprised is all." Vera spoke in a sweet, yet apologetic tone.
Alicia cleared her throat before she replied, "Oh, no need to apologize me Vera. It was just a simple meditation technique that was taught to me by my brother." Alicia's eyes then widened in realization, "Oh! You were asking about the fact that I was able to condense meditation into a single breath. Yes, well, I adapted my brother's meditation technique to better suit my needs. I spend a lot of time either in here or in the city, so I needed a way to gather and mold the magic in the air and inside my body without the need to be in an area filled with natural magic. If you'd like, after you prove your claim of being family, I'd be more than happy to explain more about it." Alicia spoke in her normal sweet voice, though her eyes made it clear that she was still on guard. "Oh, I apologize, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Alicia Pendragon, princess of Camelot and acting ruler. These two are Nina Kay and Leanna Pendragon, my cousins and also princesses of Camelot." Alicia maintained her smile and each girl gave a slight nod when introduced, though neither took their eyes off either of the women in front of them. Vera couldn't help but be impressed by the fact that the three young ladies in front of her seemed to be ready to cut her and Belle down the moment any hostility was seen. Though, she knew they could feel the emotions she, herself was feeling. The confusion on the road to Camelot, as well as the confusion currently on their faces, made it clear that they had no clue about their heritage nor the abilities granted by it.
Vera once again, gave a motherly smile to all three girls in front of her. Each girl she studied closely with her draconic eyes. These were not the same as divine eyes, though they were just as powerful. Each race had their own individual draconic eye and their abilities varied depending on how powerful the dragon was. Naturally, Vera, being the queen of the red dragon race, had the most powerful draconic eyes with all abilities at her disposal. The ability she used on her descendants, allowed her to see the magical aura a person gave off. Since magic naturally flows outwards from the body, unless they were unique like her husband, the aura could be noticed with her eyes. The aura identified three things, the color, amount, and control of a person's magic. The color of magic wasn't always something important, it was often just a way to see the color of someone's soul. According to Roland Kay, Nina's ancestor, it was useful for determining the nature of ones origin magic. The amount of magic was noticeable by the intensity of the color within the body. Naturally, this changes as an individual grows older. If one has a low amount of magic, the intensity will be dull, if someone has a high amount of magic, the brighter the intensity. If someone uses up all of their magic, which is close to impossible without passing out, the color will disappear and the person will die. The control of magic was the easiest to notice, it was denoted by the way the magic flowed out of the body. Some have an aura like flames, some looks like water, some lightning, some are wholly unique, but the more compact the aura is, the better control one has over their magic.
Alicia's aura's base color was royal blue, as all Pendragon's usually are, but she also had an ink like color that seemed to be mixed within. From the looks of it, she also had an incredible amount of magical energy, it was incredibly bright, bordering on blinding. The only problem was that she could see little specks of blackness, that were different from the ink color, within it. More than likely attributed to whatever disease she takes that medicine for. The thing that really impressed her was the control she had over her magic. Higher reserves of magic usually led to poor control over it. However, when she saw Alicia, it looked like she had a film of water that was flowing around her extremities, including her fingers, with the royal blue being the water and the ink color being the outline. All in all, Alicia was someone who Vera knew trained everyday and worked very hard to maintain such control. Vera figured that it may have had something to do with her sickness, but that was a question for a later time.
Nina's aura was green, though, you could still see hints of the royal blue Pendragon color within it. It gave Vera a relaxing feeling the more she looked into it. The amount of magical energy she had within her seemed to be pulsating, like a heartbeat. The intensity was fairly bright, however, the pulsing seemed to be a result of something else. Something that Vera couldn't quite put her finger on. This led to the most baffling discovery for Vera, her magic aura seemed to be constantly wrapping itself around her, the magic looked to be in the shape of vines and plants. One thing that struck her as odd, was that her aura was also trying to root itself where she was sitting, spreading out along the ground a short distance from her body. Vera knew for a fact that Nina wasn't a dryad, yet, her aura was interacting very similarly to one. Nina was definitely someone who was in tune with nature, so much so that her aura seemed to want to spread out and search for it. If not for the bow beside her, Vera was sure that it would have spread farther, until it reached one of the girls closest to her. It didn't seem invasive, no, Vera felt a sense of protection coming from it, like her aura wanted to extend its protection to all living things.
Then came Leanna, her aura was completely different from the two before her. It was a light blue that had fiery orange freely dancing around within. The way it danced around reminded Vera of her own dragon flames. Once again, the intensity was impressive, slightly above Nina's, though the intensity seemed to be constant, no fluctuations of any kind. She seemed to be the most normal when it came to the intensity of their auras. However, just like the other two, the magic control seemed to be completely different. Her fiery orange aura seemed to be dancing around her body, just barely, but the blue part of her magic, it was layered on her skin. For a reason she couldn't quite put her finger on, it felt like it was sharp, like if she were to attempt to touch her magic directly, it would cut her to pieces. The odd thing about it was that, despite the fiery nature of her aura, it seemed to be completely controlled. The three girls were definitely unique, Vera was certain of that much.
She was still disappointed that she had yet to see Ulrich. Belle and her both assumed that he would be the one to greet them, considering all of the stories they had heard about him. She couldn't help but be proud of the image people all held of him. She'd find out soon enough, all she had to do was get her descendants to accept that she was family. She decided to raise her hand to inspect her ring, before sliding it off of her finger. As she was doing so, Nina was the first to notice the ring and the blue gem within. Her eyes widened slightly, before she regained her composure, she had to hear her story before drawing any conclusions. Leanna's hand twitched as Vera held the ring in her hand and tossed it to Alicia. Alicia was a bit perplexed that Vera would throw her ring to her, but figured there was a reason, so she caught it. As she opened her hand in-between the two thrones so Leanna could take a look as well. While the two inspected the ring, Nina stood from her spot and took a few steps to the side of Alicia, making sure she kept the two women in her peripheral vision at all times.
In Alicia's hand was a beautiful ring, but the ring itself, while amazing, wasn't what caught the attention of the three princesses of Camelot. What caught their attention was the blue sapphire that accompanied the flame ruby. Sapphires like that one were only made in one place, Avalon, given only to the royal family, and were used by a member of the royal family to distinguish their lineage. The crest on the sapphire was etched and enchanted to make the water etching appear to move like real water. They were received under specific circumstances, rarely were they ever given to an individual more than twice in their lives. One was when a member of the royal family reached the age of five, the second was if the sapphire was somehow destroyed, the third was if it was given away to a loved one, usually for marriage. The enchantments made it impossible for someone not of royal blood to steal it and when one received it through marriage, a ceremony was needed to allow for the sapphire to be given away. The fact that Vera had this in her ring meant that she was indeed family, if only through the ceremony needed to allow her to have it.
Each of the three princesses subconsciously placed a hand onto their own sapphires. Nina's was placed in the handle of her dagger. Leanna's wore hers proudly around her neck within a simple necklace. Alicia's was placed within a small wooden bracelet. They all knew the significance of the sapphire and what it meant for Vera to possess one as well. She was essentially a Pendragon royal, which begged the question, why did she not simply show this to them from the beginning? It would have easily made Richard stand down outside of Camelot. Alicia realized that, as the acting queen of Camelot, she had to be the first one to speak up. "I had a feeling that you were telling the truth, though, I still don't know the exact truth. Could you explain how exactly you are related to us?" Alicia spoke calmly, trying her best to remain as professional as possible. This was caught by Vera, who, once again, gave her a sweet smile.
"Of course, the story itself is a very long one, so I'll just condense it down to who I am. It'll also give you an explanation as to what that weird feeling you've all been experiencing is coming from." Vera took a deep breath and felt some slight nostalgia at what she was about to do, even if it was a bit different from what she used to tell her own children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. "My name is Vera Pendragon, the Red Dragon Queen and wife of Leon Pendragon, and I am your ancestor. I am also the reason why you felt and continue to feel a familiar feeling coming from me. I'm glad to finally meet you all after so long." Vera finished and decided to wait for the questions that were likely to come. Half a minute passed and still no one said anything, which made Vera a bit disappointed, especially since she couldn't exactly see a change in their demeanors.
Yes, the girls had encountered many situations that most people would never experience in their lives. All three have met the gods who have blessed them, all three have battled against monsters of legend, and all three have seen the best and worst of humanity. Never in their lives would they have believed that they would meet someone who had not only known Leon, but was also the one married to him. Not only that, but that would also mean they have dragon's blood in them. Nina, being the eldest and more level headed of the three quickly thought through the information that was just shared with them. 'I guess that explains Ulrich's ability to use fire in such a devastating way. I wonder if there is a way to unlock more abilities from that line.' Nina shook her head slightly, now wasn't the time for her to be thinking about such things. She knew that the other two were more than likely still processing what they had just heard, so she would have to be the one to speak for them now.
"I believe that I can speak for all of us, when I say that we are extremely happy to meet you as well Vera, especially after believing we were the last of our line for so long. I know having you here will be a big relief considering our circumstances. I'm sure that we'll have a lot to talk about, but while I can pretty much guess at why you arrived at this time, that doesn't exactly explain who or why she is here." Nina had spoken a much lighter tone than usual, but her tone dropped significantly towards the end. Her, now glowing, brownish blue eyes shifting from Vera to Belle making it obvious that she didn't trust her in the slightest. Unlike the two younger princesses, Nina's sensitivity to magic made it very easy to pick out certain smells from a person's aura. This was why Nina had her guard up around this woman. She smelled of death and blood, though it was unlike the smell of blood that she was used to, it smelled more like the aura that surrounded Maria. Whoever this woman was, for her aura to be saturated in those two smells so strongly could only mean she was someone to be on guard around.
Vera still maintained her smile, though she was actually quite nervous. It was clear from Nina's aura that she and Belle were exact opposites when it came to their magic. She was pretty sure that her tone was because she could somehow discern Belle's aura. "Well, my friend and I happened to meet on the road traveling here. She told me she had some business here and actually threatened to stop me if I planned to cause trouble here. So, I can assure you that she isn't an enemy." Vera then stepped back to stand by her friend. "My friend's name is Belledonna, though I think I should allow her to explain more about herself." Belle turned her head to look at her friend before letting out a sigh. She looked up at the three in front of her and, while she wasn't exactly opposed to telling them about why she was here and who she was, she decided it would be best to discuss it with the one she came here for.
"As my friend has said, my name is Belledonna, well, one of my names anyway. I don't wish to offend you milady, as I would be more than happy to discuss the details of why I'm here, but I would much prefer if King Ulrich was present when I do it. So, may I ask as to when he'll arrive? The matter is very important." As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately recognized the changed atmosphere. For the first time since Vera and herself entered the throne room, Nina and Leanna both took their eyes away from them and looked to Alicia. The three exchanged looks before Alicia closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. Belle and Vera knew from that action that whatever Alicia was about to say wasn't going to be good.
Within the church, Dianna was standing within the sanctuary preparing herself to speak with the 15 patron gods of Camelot. The lesser gods within Camelot, or those whose children migrated to Camelot, were also to be called once she called them forth. She felt some apprehension at having to use her divine form but knew that this was important. Ulrich was still in a coma, so she would act on behalf of the one she loved. Camelot needed more allies for the coming war and needed more people capable of fighting in it. She had already spoken to Brynhildr shortly after she was healed, so supplies shouldn't be too much of a problem with her handling the negotiations. That's also not counting the reinforcements that Laura had told her were close to arriving. Babylon was sure to send some interesting people to assist Ulrich, that's not including the princess they were sending. She let out a sigh, she had a feeling something else was going to be rearing its head soon.
Of course, as soon as those thoughts finished, the doors to the church opened, a warm and cozy feeling filled the room. She turned around to see a beautiful woman with fair white skin, illustrious long black hair, and amber colored fox eyes. She wore an elegant, red coat over her white and red kimono with a red belt. Her long coat bore the design of a white fox with multiple tails on both sides of it. To her left and right were two pure white foxes, one carrying a box by its handle, the other carrying what looked to be a scroll in its mouth. They continued walking until they were a few short feet away from Dianna before they stopped. Dianna only watched, entranced at the woman before her. She knew, without a doubt, the woman before her was a goddess. The goddess looked into Dianna's eyes for a moment, before giving her a gentle smile. She gave a short bow before speaking, "Greetings young goddess, my name is Inari Okami, I have come to ascertain the state of two people under my care."
Dianna bowed in response, she knew of that name, but she didn't know of anyone in Camelot that had ties with the far east. Then her eyes slightly widened as she remembered Leanna's choice of attire, as well as her weapons. However, she had to be sure. "My true name is Artemis, Lady Inari, may I ask the names of the two you speak of?" Inari's gentle smile never wavered as she spoke of the two she sought out, the first only confirmed her suspicion but the second caused her eyes to widen and her heart rate began to skyrocket.
"The two I am looking for are Leanna Pendragon and Ulrich Pendragon."