We're just comfortably settled when Lala wakes up.
"You smell like Priestess, and soap. It's nice" she mumbles before drooping back into sleep.
It seems my aura, or maybe my natural scent has changed with my elevation to High Priestess. For some reason I can't small any difference, but Lala can. I wonder what the rest of the team will think about having religious leaders among them?
That's my last thought as sleep claims me.
It would have been better had I stayed asleep. This morning brings nothing but chaos. The news of the government falling is spreading like wildfire. So far 45 States have denounced the Federal Government as treasonous for their attacks on citizens, and declared their intentions to secede from the union. The artfully edited footage of the government raids are on every news station, and the body count is increasing by the hour. Our attack on Washington is being portrayed in the news as heroic troops thwarting an attempt to use Nuclear weapons on civilians and tragically losing their lives in the attempt.
The only good news are the once hourly short blurbs about the ceasefire in Seattle, though they're mostly drowned out by everything else.
All in all I feel… Powerful. No really, the sense of energy pouring into my body and merging with my cells is incredible. Forget meditation, even breathing is gaining me many times the benefit as a day ago. Perhaps this is a side effect of being appointed as a High Priestess of a Death God? I don't even know what my duties and responsibilities are.
Thinking about that issue a bit it occurs to me that I do know. In fact the knowledge is fresh in my brain as if I'd spent the night studying it. It seems the desires of my self appointed new Goddess are simple. Kill what needs killing, save what doesn't need killing, and kill anyone who kills what should be alive. The knowledge includes detailed descriptions of the laws, laws that my world has never known, but they're fairly simple. Servants of the Death God, led by the Black Dragons, serve as the judges for accusations of capital crime, and serve as the executioner to the guilty. Bronze are the lawyers and judges of non capital crimes. I hope they don't expect me to sit court like some religious arbiter every day, that would be hugely annoying and not at all my style.
From the information in my brain though, the lifestyle of a High Priestess is basically unimpeded. I'm free to do what I want, and only other High Priests and Priestesses have the authority to question my actions. It's like getting a promotion at work, except I'm reasonably sure that the Safe House won't see things that way.
Lala has finally gotten up and dressed, joining me to watch the news with increasingly round eyes. I totally understand Bunny, that's how mine were for the first half hour.
We're finally to the end of the news loop, the first stories she watched coming back on again when Lala turns to me for answers.
"Care to explain why you smell like a priestess of the Dragon Gods?"
"There's a smell for that?"
"Yeah, you smell like you, but with an incense sort of spice, like the Dragon Churches always smell."
"I didn't know they had Dragon Temples on your planet?"
At my prompt, Lala launches into a long story about the Dragon Gods, how their temples embody the aspects of their followers, and the schools and orphanages they run.
"The orphanages are pretty good, as far as orphanages go. The Red Dragons run them pretty strictly though."
"Why would the Red Dragons run orphanages? I thought you said they were the Dragons of the War God?"
"Well, anyone suited to be a soldier that grows up in a Dragon orphanage is recruited when they grow up. If you're not suited, like the Bunnies, or many of the smaller women, they either find you jobs or find you a husband to take care of you." Lala's gaze is far away at the thought, having herself grown up as a slave, I'm sure the thought of a Dragon Priestess finding her a husband when she reached whatever the age of majority for Bunnies is would have been a huge improvement.
"All this talking has made me hungry. How about we head on over to grab some breakfast while we continue this conversation."
Lala smiles her agreement, her tummy rumbling with morning hunger, and reaches her arms out to me, making grabby hands to be picked up instead of walking herself to the hall.
It seems my strength has definitely increased, having Lala sitting on my hip as I walk across our level is no more of a burden than shrugging on a hoodie, it's like she's not even there, just a bulk to work around with no real weight.
Our peace will be short lived though, as there's a commotion in the dining hall, someone is begging, it sounds like Narishma, but I can't see her doing something as degrading as public begging, and what sounds like the rest of our team laughing.
"Please Papa Karl, just 20, no 10. Even 10 is fine, you can spare that for your favorite vampire right?" It really is Narishma, and she's sitting in Karl's lap with her arms around his neck, likely to keep him from escaping.
"I told you once Ari, no matter how cute your pouting face is, I'm not giving you souls."
Souls? Where did Karl get souls?
Narishma notices me and Lala as we sit down, our position mirroring hers and Karl's as I get ready to watch the show everyone else finds so entertaining.
"Fine I'll ask Kat, she'll help me out, won't you?"
Karl has a point, for a vampire, a species Lycans have been taught to hate for generations, her begging face is adorable.
"You can try, but do you seriously think she knows the spell to separate the souls from the Goddess's mark? That is if she's even willing to share her Position's power with you." Karl teases the seemingly desperate vampire.
"Care to explain what's going on?" I ask, enraptured by the spectacle in front of me, automatically cutting up the plate of pancakes the golems have placed in front of me and feeding bites to the Bunny in my lap.
"The mark of a Priest or Priestess collect energies from the planet they reside on, in accordance to their God or Goddess's aspect." Karl starts "As we are High Priests of the Dragon God of Death, ours collects death energy, or a portion of the souls of the deceased. An energy that's useful to Vampires, but absolutely divine to Necromancers. Ari fits both categories and the mark on my chest has her all hot and bothered."
Narishma looks less than impressed with his explanation, but begrudgingly signals her acceptance that it's correct.
"I've been purifying mine to use as mana. It looks like your body is merging with the energy from your mark to increase your cultivation at a rapid rate. Something my human body isn't efficient at. I know, I tried this morning to see if I could get another big cultivation boost like the appointment to our positions gave."
"How big of a portion is the 10 souls worth that Ari wants?"
Karl laughs and Ari gives him her best pouting look, still openly begging, despite being shot down multiple times per minute since I've arrived.
"About a hundredth of a percent?" Karls eyes are filled with mirth, but he's not budging on giving into the Vampire's demand.
The rest of the room laughs even harder at this. Such a miniscule amount of his storage, and still he's not budging.
"And what might you need the energy for Ari?"
"I want to make zombies to serve my lunch room like the bunny maid golems serve on your floor"
Not even I can resist laughing at this. She wants him to lend her energy because she's jealous of his spellcraft? Oh, she should have known he'd have a heyday teasing her about this. It seems every mage loves showing off the power and utility of their spells.
"You could beg him to simply make you some golems?" I suggest.
"Use his golems on my floor because I'm not good enough at Arcane Magic to activate the circles? I'd never live it down"
"You could ask one of the water mages, Zelda makes really good golems. Then if anyone asks you can just say you ordered a subordinate to do it as a training exercise." Lala suggests, obviously trying to be helpful to her friend.
Narishma grumps and gets out of Karl's lap.
"This isn't over Priest"