Sometime later...
Having been left to her own devices after her sisters capacity to exist within the confines of Anea Sedea had run out, Anne found herself nearly wholly submerged in hot water, blowing bubbles as the warmth of her bath drew her mind into a somewhat drunken state. The Inerti, while being extremely resistant to absolutely freezing cold, were somewhat weak to temperatures that the other races would just barely call mild, which served as the main factor behind the reason why the tailless lions normally despised bathing, replacing it nigh completely with spellwork. In fact, the Inerti tended to prefer using magic for basically everything from cooking to crafting, for the simple reason that it was more efficient and while more casual forms of lifestyle existed, they were usually used by the peasantry.
There existed a great divide between the average person and one of noble birth, more so than even the most egoistical of human kingdoms, for the differences between these two social classes ran deeper than any Anne had ever known, surpassing even the Romans back on Earth. The divide existed since the very birth of the species, as those chosen by Domina were uplifted from talented members of other races, becoming nobles, while those the nobles themselves uplifted to become Inerti, became the peasantry, while a peasant could only create another peasant. This system was further imposed by the means of Inerti reproduction, for you see, the Inerti were sterile as a species, born without the capacity for any kind of sexual reproduction. In fact, their methods weren't even asexual as one may think, but completely magical in nature.
There were three main ways for an Inerti to reproduce: self cloning, transforming a member of another species or unifying echoes of two souls to form a third, though the last was largely outlawed and considered blasphemy by the Inerti church for reasons that were completely alien and unknown to Anne, though she figured it had something to do with the fact that lesser creatures often required two of their kind to reproduce.
Self cloning was the preferred way of reproduction for Inerti nobility, with those whom are considered powerful enough created children from pieces of themselves, much as Anne's mother did, though scarce few possessed the actual power level required to achieve such a feat. This act was also forbidden for the peasantry, as the average member of their class wasn't considered good enough to be worth cloning.
Regardless, the peasantry could still transform members of other species in order to swell their numbers, most likely targeting their own slaves, prisoners of war or those willing to undergo the transformation.
The third method isn't normally seen within Sarcopha, only being openly practised by a group of insurgents situated on Aestra's central continent of Ennergres, the homeland of humanity and demonkind. Anne found herself snorting as she thought of this, for she believed it very fitting that such degenerates would flee to the land of sin.
However, the reason why Anne was contemplating these things in the first place was due to the simple fact that she was currently considering trying to enter into an incestual relationship with her twin sister, Yvonne. For a species that is born sterile and for whom sexual intimacy had absolutely zero connection to procreation, being seen as nothing more than a tool for pleasure or an act of love, the Inerti did not share the same restraints that other races often placed upon themselves.
Incest, such as it was, barely even existed as a word, much less a scandal. In fact, it could be said that it was the preferred form of relationship, as the Inerti nobility often practised an art called 'Fyrism', which was the act of creating a clone of yourself for the sole purposes of having a romantic partner in life. Gender also played a barely existing role, having been reduced to little more than a preference, as those who were skilled enough in Soul Weaving could freely switch or even create new forms with which to put their tastes to the test.
Fyrism itself originated from the 'Fyr' dynasty; a high-born noble family that consisted of one man and six of his female clones, whom he held as both daughters and wives, while his extreme popularity as a lord served to spread his ways to the entirety of the Sarcopha in a matter of years.
For the most part, deviancy was an alien concept to the Inerti, with various new forms of 'love' being discovered every so often, to which the Inerti courts takes to in a very similar way one would fashion. Fyrism may be highly popular, but it is also considered yesterday's news, as a duchess from the cold north decided to marry a sapient glisterfang lion, having fed the monster enough of her own magical power that the beast gained a humanoid form, which naturally resembled that of an Inerti, effectively setting the courts ablaze as the nobles busied themselves trying to find out which of Phexris' many creatures could be transformed into the best romantic partner.
Arachne quickly gained popularity all around Sarcopha as already existing couples suddenly ceased to fear persecution, while the more esoteric nobles lead excursions into the monster-dominated continent of Avarest in search of their potentially exotic future grooms and brides.
Regardless of all this, Anne still found it somewhat difficult to see things the same way as her lion kin, serving to further her own hate towards humanity in the process as she blamed them for her indecisiveness, her hazy, heat-addled brain being the only reason why she didn't already leap out of her bath and teleported back into Zlato in order to cause a slaughter, consequences be damned.
Closing her eyes, the First Princess let out a sigh and steeled herself, knowing that her vengeance upon mankind was naught but a matter of time.
The Following Morning...
Hidden away in a small alleyway within Zlato, a trio of Inerti found themselves bickering with some intensity, as they continued to search for a certain someone in a slight panic.
"There's nothing and nobody here, old man! Are you sure that this is where your magic is pointing to?" The youngest among them, a runaway lass and supposed noble heiress, spoke with some disdain in her tone, clicking her tongue in annoyance as she poked around some trash bags with her splendorous rapier. She held the weapon close to her heart, believing its very nature to be as noble as her birthright, though such weaponry isn't normally used by the nobility of her species.
The aforementioned old man scoffed and snorted in response. "For the last time, my tracking magic is second to none! Its almost as if she disappeared from the face of the world itself!" He was an outsider to his kin, being born outside of their homeland of Sarcopha and raised by an elven couple from Ennergres, surrounded by a multitude of species that those like him would usually consider little more than animals.
"Calm yourselves. Fidius' magic can track even those whom leave the city. Our quarry is here, merely invisible." The heavily armoured paladin of the trio scowled lightly as he sniffed the air around him, finding it almost eerily similar to that of the homeland he abandoned. The presence of such foul air sickened him on a spiritual level, as it reminded him of all the atrocities he'd experienced during his time there.
Fidius approached and hugged his armoured friend from behind, bashfully grinning towards the arrogant youth staring at them both in disapproval. "Aww, thanks Julian~. You're the best! Hear that, Frea? This is how you're supposed to treat your mages!"
The young woman scowled and harrumphed, turning her nose towards the sky, but before any could speak further, the air around them suddenly became cold, eerily so. Instantly, the trio of adventurers were on guard, leaping back to back in formation, blade, sword and shield, as well as magic at the ready, patiently planning to annihilate whatever it was that jumped out of the shadows.
The alleyway was completely silent. Not a single sound could be heard from the outside, whereas just a moment ago, the bustling hum of the city was present in their ears. They'd grown so used to the ambience that its sudden removal caused all sorts of bad feelings to well up from inside of their rapidly-beating hearts.
Fidius, being the oldest among them, was the first to notice the growing, gnawing chill that now permeated the air around them, even more so than moments prior. In fact, it seemed as if the entire area would soon turn to ice from how things were going. Reacting on magical instinct, the grey-robed wizard turned his head skyhigh, causing his eyes to grow wide before he grit his teeth to fight back the cold. "We're trapped. Barrier above us, can't see its range due to the buildings."
They were surrounded on all sides, as the alleyway served as an intersection for a much larger portion of the city, though it was an old part of town and thus, rarely ever used by anyone with good intentions. Ice began to form on the buildings and their breath became visible. "[Flame Shroud]!" Frea, having noticed the old mans shaking form, quickly cast a small barrier of magical flame around herself and her allies, eliciting a thankful nod from the men.
"This place stinks..." She muttered out, harshly exhaling even as the stench forced itself down her throat. It was mix of decomposing bodies and half-rotten, diseased pustules. "... reminds me of the temples back home..." Julian grit his teeth at the ever-growing familiarity of the scent, his fury allowing him to withstand its heavily offensive nature.
Soon enough, the walls around them seemed to begin to crack, the stone road they were standing on, breaking apart before their very eyes, with no discernable cause as to why. Their hearts quickened, their ears flinched and their noses continued to infuse themselves with most foul air imaginable.
Then, without any warning, they all heard it; a subtle humming, an eerie whistle from their left, towards the street that lead back into the central district of Zlato. Their heads turned so fast that each persons neck gave an audible crack, as they witnessed the air contort, twisting and ripping itself apart until a strange, teal portal formed itself unto reality.
The humming became stronger, and stronger, and stronger, as the trio were consumed by growing dread and an unnatural fear. They could not scream, they could not move, they could not think. All they could do, was continue gazing forward. And after a few, final moments of pure torment, a woman leaped out of the portal; their desired target.
Anne Sedellean, the fourth Inerti that found itself within the confines of the city of adventurers, though she was nothing like the others. They knew it, from a deep, almost-natural instinct, that she was not someone they should trifle with, with Fidius even asking his fellows for an explanation why exactly he felt like he needed to kneel in her presence, though neither Julius nor Frea could give him a proper answer. From what they could tell, she was a noble, a high noble, if her scarred flesh and seeming disregard for common decency was anything to go by.
Even today, she was scantily clad, dressed in a tank-top, fingerless gloves, hot pants, stockings and boots, with the clothing leaving very, very little to the imagination. For Julius, Anne was a permanent, disgusting reminder of everything he left behind. For Frea, Anne's continued indecency was the source of nigh endless disgust, as she could not believe that a noble could be quite so shameless. For Fidius, Anne represented a clear danger to everything he'd worked for his entire life; to be accepted by society, even as an Inerti. Regardless of their reasoning, Anne was nothing more than someone they each wanted either dead or gone.
Yet, as they stood silent, drowning in fear behind her, Anne casually ignored their existence, not even noticing them until their souls were caught on her radar and even when they were, she simply continued walking forward, reading one of the books she'd bought the other day. The First Princess, you see, had far greater interests in mind to deal with, such as grabbing her first, official mission from the adventurers guild, an important step in her plan to gather the fame required to be trusted, or even invited into the courts of foolish human kings. With Ennergres being very close to Avarest, the human nations often employed adventurers as mercenaries in their many wars against demonkind, an opening which Anne sought to exploit.
A perfectly good reason as to why she had absolutely no time to deal with the plebeian trio, withering pathetically due to the merest echoes of the realm of the dead, the leaking energies of Anea Sedea being more than enough to effectively pacify them. "Tch." She turned her gaze away from them, as far off into the distance as she could, clicking her tongue and biting back a recoil of pure, unfiltered disgust, for though the Inerti were a nigh perfect society in her view, that did not mean that they didn't have the same dregs that bogged down every other society that Anne knew off. "Sheep are sheep and wolves are wolves, regardless of where or when you are..."
Her disgust towards the trio of plebeians behind her was strong enough to reverberate through their souls as they were forced to fall on their knees, kowtowing before their rightful Princess and heir to the Sarcophan Empire, regardless of if they knew who she was or not. Once she was far enough away, Anne allowed the portal to close, its energies reforming into the same rune-bound stone that she'd eaten such a long time ago, only to repeat that same process as she swallowed the thing down with practised ease. As the portal dispersed, the ghastly cold aura that permeated the alley went away with it, as the road seemingly repaired itself and the cracks on the buildings vanished into thin air.
They fell down, turning on their backs as the trio were forced to breathe in from sheer reflex, despite not needing breath at all. The sickness within the pits of their stomachs erupted outward, drowning the alley in vomit and bile as they struggled to retain their focus and regain their strength to no avail. And with each second they spent suffering, their collective hatred of Anne grew, causing the woman in question to smirk as she drank deeply of the spite radiating from their exposed souls.
With a self-satisfied smirk, Anne finally left the alley and reigned in the passive effects of her divine aura, though she did so in an almost reluctant manner, but not before making a mental note to do so before she returns back to the mortal plane the next time she leaves for Anea Sedea.
A few minutes later...
"Hmm... maybe I should've checked out their souls to see what exactly they wanted? I mean, they were clearly waiting for me, right?" Anne mused to herself, sparing the merest moment of thought towards her fellow Inerti, though the very thought that the trio could be anything even remotely similar to her was innately sickening to her.
She was a noble, a princess and a demi-goddess. Those peasants were nothing like her. Hell, in her view, they could hardly even be considered Inerti. One was born outside of their homeland, another was supposedly a runaway heiress while the third was nothing short of a deserter and outright racial traitor on the best of days.
"Maybe, I should just kill them next time..." Anne muttered out loud with an annoyed sigh, creeping out the few passer-by as she entered the adventurers' guild hall with a bored expression. She took a look around and, finding no familiar faces, walked over to the administrative counter. A small line of three people were already hogging the elf woman from yesterday, causing Anne to become instantly annoyed, though she held back from causing any trouble, remembering the entire guilds reaction to her casting a healing spell.
There was no need to waste any excess time by creating unnecessary enemies, for such a thing would be highly inefficient. She'd have to do with causing plenty of accidents outside. Well, as much as she could without drawing too much suspicion on herself, though some suspicion and rumour was fine, because she could easily overturn a plethora of evil rumours and use them to her benefit.
Be known as a monster, murdered, killer, et cetera for a while, then drink laxatives and vomit pills to rid oneself of everything that could otherwise involuntarily come out of when she finally decides to cash in with a heroic act. That was Anne's plan; have fools go around spreading rumours about how evil she is, before they are forced to speak of her 'good deeds', causing their public to shift their opinion of her to one that gives her the benefit of doubt, before she finishes the cycle with another deed 'good enough' to cement her status as a heroic individual.
"Ugh..." Anne groaned lightly and swallowed rising bile as she thought of her plans, wiping spittle off of her mouth in the process. The very thought of helping these animals made her physically sick. She just hoped that there were enough bandits around to slake her growing bloodlust before any unfortunate incident happened.
"Uhm... M-miss Se-S-.. Miss S-Sedellean!?" A voice suddenly exploded into Anne's left ear, causing the princess to blink in surprise and confusion as she turned towards the source of the voice with a glare, only to find a withering, shivering and yet, somehow firmly standing, catkin. Anne quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head in confusion, as this was the same receptionist girl that had shooed her away yesterday.
She seems to have either regretted or have been punished for her actions, as she was now trying her best to remain calm while bowing her head towards Anne. "... huh?" That response was the best that Anne could manage in this situation, not really having expecting anything of the sort as the catkin swallowed down hard, steeling herself and raising her head, meeting Anne eye to eye.
After a few more seconds of stunned silence, the catkin spoke with a clearer, though still shaky, tone of voice. "M-miss Sedellean. I've come to apologize f-for my reaction to your presence yesterday. I-it was w-wrong and r-rude of me!"
Anne stared at the young woman with disbelief, before promptly relaxing her posture and letting out a massive sigh, confusing the apologetic receptionist in the process. "Whatever. Its not like you did something illogical or anything." The first princess looked away from her with disinterest and a shrug. From the first princess' point of view, it was perfectly natural or even desired to have people being extremely, overly-dramatically afraid of her.
The Inerti were a species innately superior to everything and everyone that wasn't born of Phexris, with the children of the Mother Of Monsters often being seen as extended family by the tailless lions. "Ehh... wait, doesn't that mean that all the dragons and phoenix' in this world are my cousins?"
Anne mused to herself as the catkin swallowed down again, her fear being mostly replaced with shock and a little bit of awe with how nonchalant the Inerti princess seemed towards the situation. "O-oh, I- I see..." Anne turned to look at the catkin woman again, quirking an eyebrow as she noted the strange, almost admiring gaze offered to her in turn.
Clicking her tongue at the childlike receptionist, Anne turning her eyes towards the elven no-longer-so-hottie to the front of her before muttering out in annoyance. "Besides, your co-worker over there did something far more outrageous, despite being supposedly less of a racist." Anne sighed and rolled her eyes, with a vein popping on her forehead as she remembered yesterdays events.
"I mean, really?... You guys seriously believe that the my people aren't capable of using holy magic?" Rolling her eyes again, Anne promptly took a seat, twirling a nearby chair as she did so and adopting a look of silent disbelief. The entire idea was ridiculous to her, though she knew that most racist absolutism was much the same. It was mind-boggling to Anne that such a myth could ever even exist, since most of her species' military might resided with priests, inquisitors and paladins.
"W-well, h-holy magic c-comes from G-gods, y-yes? I-its just that, most people a-assume that no g-god w-would make a c-c-connection w-with..." The catkin stopped talking, not because Anne did anything, but simply because she realized how horrible what she was saying likely sounded.
Anne just shrugged towards the woman and sighed again. "We do have the NAO, you know? The Reverent Four are highly respected by the Inerti."
Tilting her head in confusion as her shoulders slumber, the catkin put a finger on her chin in thought. "T-the Nao?..."
But before Anne could answer, an elven man, dressed in priestly robes of white and gold, stepped in behind her and put a hand on her right shoulder, pulling the catkin woman back and away from Anne. "Evil, old devils that want nothing more than to destroy the world and consume the souls of all living things!" The obvious cleric stomped his feet up front and pointed his white staff towards Anne, who merely quirked an eyebrow in response. "Inerti filth! You shall cease spouting your vile heresies this very instant!"
Without raising from her chair, Anne grabbed hold of the clerics staff and pulled it, and him, forward grasping his head with her right hand and pressing down hard, causing the entire guild hall to turn and stare at what was going on as the high elf struggled to free himself. "A-argh! L-let g-go!"
He beat on Anne's hand with his staff in a lame manner, as the first princess' expression darkened and her grip on his head grew stronger, stronger and then strong enough for the elf's survival instincts to overpower his stupidity as he stopped moving erratically. "The only reason..." Anne began with a disgusted tone as she rose from her chair, her fingers roughly digging into the man's skull, causing him to bleed as her nails ripped up the skin. "... why you're getting out of this alive..."
She let out a sigh and flung him across the floor, causing him to fall backwards and eventually slam his thigh into a nearby table without doing any permanent damage. "... is because its my turn at the receptionists desk~." She finished with a smile, as the cleric's shuddering, shriven frame began to slowly trace the crimson lines left by Anne's fingers on his face.
The orcs, dwarves, humans and even some of the other elves present within the guild hall each began to chuckle and snort derisively towards the shaken elf, before the entire place promptly returned its attention to personal matters. Anne beamed another smile towards the now frozen catkin woman, whose fear of the Inerti flew right back where it belonged, etched so deep within her heart that she could do nothing but cease to breathe and hope to die quickly.
For a moment, Anne closed her eyes and thought to herself, before letting out a fake sigh of disappointment towards the catkin and moving on, eliciting a confused response from the woman, whom was now stuck between feeling dread and having an existential crisis of deep-seated belief.
Shrugging, and secretly snorting towards the catkin, Anne found herself face to face with the annoyed, formerly-sexy, but still very nicely tanned, elf woman with gigantic breasts. "Here I am, in the morning hours, as requested." Anne chuckled to herself as she dislodged her eyes from that wonderful chest, preferring to focus on the parts of the woman that she actually hated instead, though she hid the hate just as easily as her lust. "So, what do you have for me, Miss Receptionist?"
The elven woman merely quirked an eyebrow at the Inerti's antics, sparing the grounded cleric one look alone before letting out a sigh of her own and turned to face Anne with pure stoicism.
Religious zealotry at its finest! The poor cleric doesn't even realize he was annoying a demi-goddess.