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Chapter 332 - Ascendant Aspirations

Blude.

25th of Trescia, 1492.

Kasian Empire, Flate Wildlands. Joim Rift. 327 km east of the Rhar-Kasia-Chaulort Tri-Point.

5:29 AM.

***

It seemed ironic, how I had all the time in the world, yet seemed to have little time to reflect. To think of the wild ride these last several, or few months have been.

I went from an urchin in a backwater town to a royal overnight. That was something I was sure few in all the Mortal Plane could say. None could say, though, that they went from an orphan to a divine empress of the sea in only a few hours. Nor could they say they ventured to what was possibly the most dangerous country in the land to learn how to kill from perhaps the most dangerous creatures in all the realms. Ancient monastic dark elves.

It was something I still found trouble believing. That me, Redd, Sam, and Iris learned to fight from Abbot Eiriol of Nydorden Halls. We learned to fight well. But we learned much more. Elven secrets of the arcane. Dark elven secrets of divinity. Deception. Manipulation. Intrigue. And also things of the divine. Core annexes. Divine aphids. Trees of Life and more.

The one thing I could reminisce on, over these months, was my taste of what was to come.

The Walk, as they called it.

We weren't like Iris, who adopted much more than the name Cole. Seeing the kingdoms of Shujen line themselves up for slaughter was shocking, to say the least. Seeing so much pointless death and destruction made us- or at least me hope such events wouldn't transpire wherever we went.

Well, not that it was pointless. Geri and Freki were freed. And, for the most part, our journey hadn't been as dark and dreary as Shujen. Still, though, we returned changed in ways I still can't describe. Matured, would almost be the word. But not quite. I could notice it, though. When we returned to Winwell and saw Chloala, Jayde, and Kali squatting in our sauna, they almost looked at us as we looked at Amun or Lana. With reverence.

I thought it was because of something they experienced or heard during our absence. Perhaps it was, seeing the pirates that plagued our waters removed. But that was not us, so perhaps not.

When we arrived in Chor, we went out hunting. All of us. Geri and Freki killed most of them. Sam and Redd killed one or two, and Iris none. Regardless, those we returned with looked at us the same way. Despite them hardly knowing us at the time.

Ironically, those we recruited from Chor were not of those rescued. Mostly, at least, they were of those beaten into submission. Gwehn, a large girl Amun assured me was a barbarian, came with six little dimwits who've been addicted to the concept of extreme sports since they entered the Cuttleship.

They even went as far as to claim a different type of sport each. Summer sports. Winter sports. Extreme and casual sports. Water sports. And, per Amun's suggestion, sky sports. But like everyone else in this group, they had another job. Defense and protection. Hired goons. Bruisers.

Lizlee, on the other hand, stayed far away from them. Being a bardic half-elf, she and her seven other orphans instead spent her time with Kali and her eight subordinates, singing to them while they practiced their witchcraft. But singing seemed not the true style of Lizlee's bards. Bards of Entertainment, they called themselves. Journalists, broadcasters, publishers, and hosts of all sorts of media soon to be beamed across the peninsula and beyond.

Likewise, Kali seemed to be learning witchcraft for a different reason. Namely, to kill both fast and slow. To poison. To assassinate in the light of day as a witch who did her best.

The case was the same for everyone, of course. Emily and her five were all alchemists of some type. But whereas they could and often would make potions, their eagerness came from refining as many narcotics as they could learn to create.

Chloala was studying grandmaster artificing like many gnomes. But unlike them, she was starting a retail company that had a darker side that dabbled in the black markets.

Jayde had five subordinates, all studying some type of financial field. One was studying the principles of law. Another banking, and then insurance, real estate, and lobbying; and yet, they also studied gambling, loan sharking, offshore banking, and other things.

And then, of course, there was Redd and her industrial pod of 14. And Sam, with her 13 chefs. And me. The Prime Matriarch.

"Today's the day we change."

"What was that?"

I turned to Redd, looking curious but eager. Then to Sam and the others before I pulled their gaze above, to Mani and all its glory.

Normally appearing no larger than my thumb when held at arm's length, the moon had grown to dominate the sky as an alien eye of silver and gray as large as my palmed fist held at the same distance. The sky itself awoke from its brilliance, pushing back the ever-present darkness to allow a swath of glimmering blue to illuminate the ground from above.

But there were no stars, to glimmer in that night, only worlds. A crowned jewel, a foggy mountain, a smoldering sun, and others; all locked in an eternal dance around the world so large. So divine, the way they silently weaved and spun amongst one another, the woven worlds of the Legio Noctis.

"Planeta Supra. And the Blue Moon." I explained to the wide-eyed girls. "It means blessings are to come today, for all the Legions. And for the lands, great change. Orpheus Redd. Samejima." I turned a smile between them. "You hear them too, right? Our other halves.

"We become whole with them today. As do you lot." I said loud enough for the other girls to hear. "Today, we become akin to Geri and Freki. Touched by Mani to become on with the wolves of the sea.

"Today, the Orcinus Mafia is born."

"Well said, Blude."

I wheeled around to see Amun approaching with Etan by his side, like always. He trailed Amun more than Iris, even. But he wasn't so bad. He was a great teacher and an even better fighter. He even managed to get Freki to adopt a fighting style and start fighting with his mind for once. But, with his blessings, we all began to wonder if he was still a drow.

"Alright, Iris, Etan, put your friends away."

Etan's golden iris' squinted incredulously and focused on Amun before Iris sent her short-legged dog into the Cuttleship. Then he followed suit with a snap to disappear the jaguar cub.

"Are you ready to go?" Amun then asked, seemingly to no one in particular.

Still, though, I asked. "Where?"

A snap of the finger pulled the ground from under me, flipped me upside down, and blinded me in silver light. A hell of a response. One that ended with the heavily inclined ground firmly planted beneath my feet.

Still seeking an answer, I looked up to Amun, pointing up the silver-limned hill.

"Up there," He said. But I was already swimming.

Within moments I crested the hill and came upon a nostalgic land that I'd never seen before. White moths fluttered in dreamy circles amongst blue-trunked trees and silver flowers with veins of reds, oranges, and blues. Rocks poured mist across the ground that seemed to bubble and froth as it rose past the maws of wolves and foxes chasing the likes of rabbits and squirrels.

I froze as my eye caught the sight of something familiar. Not from fear, though. From astonishment. For a many-pointed crown of silver waded from behind a particularly thick tree. Its eyes were the color of rich blood, as was the otherwise white fur of its maw and the magnificently menacing weapons that gave the Bladehorn Stag its namesake.

It was the first I'd ever seen. Said to be dangerous carnivorous deer. Pack predators akin to wolves. But this one was beautiful. This one was blessed. And so too was I.

I began to approach with such thoughts running through my mind when I froze once again. A guy, probably no older than me, appeared from the bend of the same tree, patting the stag while he smiled at me warmly. "It is my honor, Chako Blude."

I titled my head as he bowed, taking in the loose blouse and trousers of white with blue stitchings. A seemingly plain design, I thought, until I caught the visage of a stag emblazoned on his back.

"You know of me?" I gave a curt nod when he finally turned back to me.

"Of course. You are one of the few who walk by Mani's side. We all know of you and the other chosen. We all have been expecting you." He motioned further up the hill- to a cliff, I realized and seemed to understand simultaneously.

The silver-straddled path led to the cliff's very edge, where it seemed to merge with the blue skies seamlessly. A simple design that forced a sense of insignificance upon whoever entered the forest and simply looked ahead and felt themselves standing at the edge of an endless sea. Which, for all intents and purposes, it was. A fluid void that stretched between the realms ad infinitum.

A perpetual sea with but a few islands found in its waters. Worlds in the cosmic void, nearly aligned in a perfect column beneath their foundation. Mani.

"I will see you on the other side. It would not be right for me to see God before the Silverskin Lady." I recoiled and turned to him, expecting some explanation as to who held such a strange title. Instead, I found he'd leaped over the edge, leaving his stag to snort at me once before it turned to walk off the edge calmly.

Walked, it did, in the same way I swam through the air. Down and through a barrier of blue that rippled as it breached, giving me a glimpse of a world of farms fields, and chapels surrounded by floating islands. Swim, the people within did to travel between the islands, and in the same way we did.

As quickly as it came, though, the sight faded with the distancing ripples. And so, with a shrug, I turned to wait for Amun and the others to catch up.

It didn't take long. However, they somehow managed to gain another companion along the way. A lady in her late twenties, maybe. She had brown eyes and hair of the same color, tied back into a ponytail that bounced with her pointed steps.

The true curiosity was what she was wearing, though. A skin-tight suit adorned with many streamlined pouches and pockets. But it had no gloves. Her feet were bare. And, strangely of all, it seemed to be made of spotted fur.

"Who are you?" I asked once they approached, seeking honesty and intrigue rather than unbiased information on the Net

She smirked proudly and threw her chin to the realms below- to a great bay encompassing the borders of Rhar, Ligin, Vruria, and Bakewia. "Folks in these parts know me as the liberator of Shavew Bay, Bella Hampton! The rest of the seas know me as Captain Seadog."

In spite of the great service she did for my homeland, couldn't help but laugh, gesturing to her suit. "Like a pinniped? You fancy yourself a leopard seal?"

Her chin and smile dropped instantly. "Is that funny?"

I gestured to the girls, snickering amongst themselves. "The Pod loves to eat those."

"Pod?" She canted her head with a snap. "You fancy yourself an orca or something?"

"Exactly."

"So, you're saying I should become one?" She snorted.

"Well, you're already a rogue." I shrugged. "Master class or not, I'm sure that can turn into a prestige class, given the right blessing."

"I'm an Admiral in the Noctis Fleets." She pointedly mentioned. "Soon to be Fleet Admiral."

"And you can be the Fleet's liaison to the Mafia. Safe houses and leave and all that."

"Hmm." She slowly nodded. "Being a liaison sounds good. But I'm good otherwise. Can't change my character."

"I respect that."

Rather than a nod, 'Seadog' turned to Iris, stepping before the group to approach a woman with bulbous red eyes and skin so pale it seemed to be silver. Plainclothes covered her frame in white and silver with traces of red. But it seemed to shine upon her skin in a way that was nearly unexplainable.

But of course, Iris found a way.

"You're so pretty! You look like a vampire angel!"

The Silverskin Lady's face melted in a mix of emotions that bashfully turned her away with exaggerated weeps. Weeps that halted as she met the eyes of Amun, smiling in a way I've never seen before.

"Hey." He said lowly.

"Hey, hot stuff." The vampire said in an equally low tone, raising her brows repeatedly in a seemingly joking way, given by Amun's laughter.

"This is for you." Amun pulled his hands from behind his back with a silver flash, revealing a blooming bouquet of silver roses with red vines cradling a hand mirror of white and blue that somehow reflected her visage perfectly.

Seeing it made her truly melt. Right into Amun's arms, she collapsed. Hiding eyes I was sure to be watered as she cracked his ribs in a tight hug.

"And I have another surprise." He wheezed in her ear. Then grabbed her by the waist with one hand and heaved her overhead with ease.

"OH MY GOD!" She scrambled, collapsing into his arms to reverse the roles and lift him overhead. "You're so strong!" She giggled, lowering him for a peck on the cheek. And Amun's smile couldn't have been wider.

"Your lover is a vampire," Etan said in his usual monotonous tone. "Somehow I am not surprised. But I agree with Iris. You two are perfect for each other."

I don't know why, but the way he said it earned him a scowl from the likes of me. Not that he noticed.

Neither Amun nor Zakira noticed either. The former introduced her to the Troupe. Then the latter embraced him a final time and whispered. "They're waiting for you."

With a pat on the head, Amun pulled away and approached the edge to first look down on the hidden world and release a burst of divine magic. A stream of moonlight flowed into the minds of the Mafia and the Order alike to tell us without words of the bounties to come.

That light told us without words of the chance of becoming like Geri and Freki, but also evolving into something completely unlike them. Where they were merged with celestial creatures, we would coexist with the divine. Our spirits, bodies, minds, and souls would be like a coin. Two-faced. Human and beastly, merged by the silver line of the moon.

Moontouched. But only if we so wished.

"If it's Chako's wish then it's mine too," I told him. "And so too is it our wish for every made member of the mafia to be Moontouched as well."

If there was any acknowledgment of my words or the prayers of those below, it came in the form of a wave across the skies above. A simple gesture that pulled the worlds into a line above Mani and sent the combined light streaking down to the surface in the form of a beam.

Not a beam, I soon realized. But a road of silver light. A Silverstream, ridden by a pod of sky orcas, Silverhorn deer, moon moths, and lunar canines of all types. Those magnificent creatures swam, trotted, and fluttered before us and those gathered below, guided by the eldritch song clicking from Amun's tongue to touch, nudge, and land on our bodies to pass along their very essence. Then they passed away.

Peacefully, they went into the night, leaving city-sized husks of midnight blue and silver blubber floating in the air belly up. Leaving, in our minds, memories of a foreign ocean and a strange kid swimming through the blue. Approaching us three to throw us into a pit of darkness.

In that pit, we changed. In that pit, we watched. For years, we watched. Dreaming. Hoping. Then we were released to make those dreams come true. How opposite, our dreams were, Chako's dream was to spread her family across the World Seas and the surface realms they surrounded. My dream was to have a family. How easily those dreams merged.

How easily we merged. How natural the absurd amount of power and knowledge and… everything Chako passed onto me felt. She gave me everything. Even her name.

Yet, somewhere deep within. She remained.

"You are the Matriarch of this pod now, Chako Blude. Name it as you wish. Lead it as you wish. I ask only that it be great enough to scour the realms."

I wiped away the tears before looking around at the floating bodies of stags, wolves, moths, squids, and octopuses. All so small in comparison to the 78 corpses belonging to the Mafia.

"Worry not." Amun's voice boomed, lifting the long faces of the still cadavers. "Like their spirits, their flesh will be born anew. Not into clothes or armor. But," He paused to allow a glimpse of the Cuttleship to flash through everyone's mind. "Mobile temples. Homes. Fortresses. Take them and weave the threads of freedom to the furthest corners of these lands so that all may bear witness to the coming tide."

Those words invoked a frenzy of movement across the Order of Worlds. Taking heed to the words of their priestess, they arranged in predetermined groups and took to the air, setting off in differing directions to build new temples in different corners of the peninsula. The new forests of Redagh. The frozen sea- Chako Sea, in Kasia. The city of Chor. A lighthouse off the coast of Chaulort. And Shujen.

"You have something else to do, however." Amun tugged at Zakira's sleeve with a charming smile. "We have a daughter to raise."

'She is adorable.' I thought as she turned away bashfully, opening her cheek for a small peck before she agreed to meet us 'up there' later.

In a flash of silver, she was gone and Amun was back to his old self, grinning wide as he threw several boards with boots fastened to them onto the ground. "Now then." He flicked his gaze between us. "Who's up for a little winter sports?"