"Among the many debates waged in the temples of All-Father one stands out for Vermilians and Orcs, "why were the Sea Elves, under their Gods and Goddesses allowed to mass enslave an entire population?" many an Orc Warpriest, monks, and common faithful asked both the Father and their Goddess, some even going as far as kidnapping Sea Elf priests and shamans to get their side of this enigma, in the end the Divine remained silent and to this day people bring it up..."
Priest Pakton Diary, first volume.
It was a rowdy day in the gym-turned-arena inside the Academy as scores of Students, their retainers, Knights, and private mercenaries taught the best and brightest of the fair kingdom of Vermilion the intricacies of combat.
"Step right UP you maggots! this week is the easy week, next week you will fight to the death in the fields hahaha!" screamed a Knight who was in charge of the ones who didn't have the means, be it via connections or money to get proper training, together with him were numerous students who had fought under Lucrezia and her forces, helping their classmates the best they could.
In an increasingly rare moment of solitude, Lucrezia toyed with new Magi-Tech gadgets as a special supply force of her own Knights distributed armor, weapons, and supplies to the masses, had this been any other setting, she was likely to be tried for treason and sedition of state, but for once the Queen's meddling worked in Lucrezia's favor, it was her blessing that allowed this to happen, and so Lucrezia would do her best hearts and minds operation for as long as she was able.
Lucrezia sighed as she saw a sign from the Supply Officer, they had run out of ammunition, demand for the Anti-Magic ammo was high but the new defensive spells were keeping up with her tech, she even saw a few of them today as people tested on dummies and later themselves "It's a good thing we will get another manufactorum open in the fields soon, the workers in the school proper are getting overwhelmed as it is..." Lucrezia spoke out loud to herself.
Richard was off working with the engineers in the Fields, reading the grounds for stage two of this mass training regime, Hope had gathered most of the crew including Vivienne for a quest given by the Ancient and a few Summer Spirits, even her maid was off collaborating with the Owl and his cadre of Assassins for something important according to her, in this rare moment of being alone among a crowd she felt...peace, a sense of deep fulfillment and tinges of fatalism that ever crept along the back of her mind.
I will die, I must die so they can live
"...Excuse me, Lady Lucrezia?" snapping to the waking world by a voice that screamed of shyness and demureness, Lucrezia looked to her right side and beheld what could only be described as a peak specimen of a woman, standing tall at nearly 190cm, hair perfectly done in a ponytail and built like model, Lucrezia was caught in a rare moment of lust over another, her Blessing kicking into high gear thanks to it.
A pair of green eyes stared her down, with a face that betrayed ancestry from the Dynasty but not of dwarven descent, Lucrezia coughed and spoke "Please, no need for titles, we are all equals in this institution" She laughed as the mystery woman smiled. "How can I help you..." Lucrezia let the silence drag out so she could get a name.
"Gertrhude Deviltide, a pleasure to meet you Lucrezia..." A name she wasn't aware of, not even from a side quest, hmm this would be hard Lucrezia thought, extending her hand for a firm handshake, after the gesture Lucrezia pointed to a chair and the woman sat down.
"Well, how can I help? I assume you mean to ask about the Magi-Tech devices yes?" Lucrezia couldn't miss the look of hunger Miss Deviltide was giving to her gadgets and weapons, it was rather intense even.
"Indeed, you see Lucrezia I am a representative of those forsaken by the Divines, be it via cursed bloodlines, or sheer bad luck many non-blessed individuals have trusted me with being their public face in this institution, and while Vermilion's laws are in our favor, you understand the commons and nobles alike are not keen to deal with us yes?" The woman spoke with vigor and conviction, Lucrezia's mind was spinning fast at the information, non-blessed were like, mentions in lore books in the game, this...
A consequence of the many events I altered?
Few places hated those who couldn't be blessed, most got by normally with magic, ki, or plain old martial arts, same for their noncombatant brethren "Tis rare for a collective to be formed and place such trust to someone so young, but as long you can assure me this isn't for ill I am more than happy to help" Lucrezia spoke and the woman nodded, Gertrhude pointed to her face "we are both young Lucrezia, and entrusted with much responsibility" she sighed "Sometimes I wish I had refused this task but... let not me talk your ears off of my woes"
Gertrhude tapped the table, a rhythm that felt like a song "It also gives me further confidence that you are indeed the right one for us to ask this, indeed some of the people I represent are not the best, be in character or how they live their lives, but they are also keenly aware of what would happen to us, especially in a good country such as Vermilion if they fucked this up"
Gertrhude went on about her plan, and that of her people to find a way to use ancient magical knowledge they had unearthed, researched, reversed-engineered, and outright made themselves to empower an individual with what they called "Neutral Faith" It was the stuff of genius, Kaine would kill for this Lucrezia reckoned, and while she was no slouch in magical theory, this was clearly above her paygrade.
"And yet we need to finance, man, and supply further expeditions, many of our more fighting-inclined brothers and sisters long to be of proper use, my complaints about such an idea falling into deaf ears as they refuse to listen to reason" Gertrhude sighed and Lucrezia spoke "for some they need to put their bodies to the fire to feel good, while I commend you for caring about their well being, as a leader, or even as a figurehead it is also wise to learn how to make them fill fulfilled"
Gertrhude stared at Lucrezia as she finished talking "I may not fully understand, but I wish to" Lucrezia nodded "Of course, we can throw in whatever I know of leadership in this deal of ours, but first I wanna know how you would and yours feel if we brought someone else into this..."
A clash of swords had quite several Knights enthralled as Lucrezia, now free of shady dealings decided to warm herself up a bit with an old-fashioned way, no magic or Ki, just pure muscle, reaction time, and skill, even blessings were off the table in these sort of "rustic" duels as the Knights called them. Lucrezia sucked in air and bull-rushed the woman in front of her, yet the Knight proved to be far too agile for such a power move.
One wrong stab at her thigh and Lucrezia felt what an explosion of muscle and speed was, the Knight kicked her in the chins and then kicked Lucrezia's sparring sword mid-flight, roaring with rage and cold fury Lucrezia tapped into the rusty skills of hand-to-hand combat, all that her better half knew of martial arts and even moves that wouldn't work in real life, now boosted by her improved constitution and raw power were made possible.
The Knight smiling roared her war cry and threw her sword to the side, fists clashed, bones creaked and grunts were heard as a slugging match happened to the delight of all spectators, Lucrezia listened to the men and women she trained shouting her match and that lit a fire under her belly, faster, stronger, she pushed her body to her absolute limit under the constraints of no magic or blessings.
A quick left hook from the Knight put her off balance, but she snapped into place as a right uppercut came at an impressive speed, Lucrezia screamed and leaped into the woman, her body clasping into her like a mad spider, and within seconds they were both on the ground and once again her better half knowledge shone like a blazing sun, she twisted and turned and had a lock on the Knight's arm.
"aAAA!" came the scream of raw power and she nearly tore the poor woman's arm off her socket, a smile flashed from the Knight and she tapped Lucrezia's body, as soon as both disentangled themselves (to some sneer and wooing by a few people) both women bowed in respect and went on their ways, Lucrezia didn't miss her opponent's fellow knights talking about the "Saal'Xhir takedown" and she couldn't help but laugh and let her blessing lose for a minute, sending that piece of news to her patron.
She swore she heard the Divine laugh.
Classes were done for the day and Lucrezia heard the stomping of armored boots in the distance, she sighed in exasperation as the "break" was over for her and her friends, the Royal Knights had come with the message, that the tournament would begin shortly and the lists for one on one and five on five combat scenarios (a very fancy way of saying spars within the Fields)
She followed the noise as a cadre of high-ranking Knights spoke with the nearby students and Academy staff, their Commander was not with them but Lucrezia did notice the slight change in attitude as soon as she made herself visible, slight twitches of muscle, hands, and legs as armored warriors took her measure and stood at attention, she smiled a disarming smile towards them, she was too tired even to poke these individuals with jests.
She sent messaging spells to her people, and more and more students flocked to the Knights as news spread like wildfire throughout the Academy, Lucrezia got pings back and everyone was busy still, so it fell to her to relay the news of who would be fighting who "Seems they will start with singular combat first, huh one would think the 5v5 would be best to thin out the herd..."
Lucrezia didn't notice but a tall Orc was next to her, under his arm the helmet of the Royal Knights "A decision by the Queen herself Lady Wulfgrem, these fights are meant to embolden those who lack the retainers to fight with them in the group contests, she hopes that these solo actors can band together and further the martial might and prowess of the Kingdom" He nodded and placed his helmet, walking away.
Impressive, Lucrezia thought to herself, the Queen played her part perfectly in setting this death trap for her and Hope, with a sigh Lucrezia strode forth weaving through the masses to see who she would be fighting, it was nearly like a dance as she mingled with the people, hearing them talk, watching how they shuffled left and right while looking for the next step over, a part of her enjoying this little event a bit too much.
"Roberta! Stop panicking already there are people behind you woman!" Lucrezia heard a bark up front as a small unit of young women huddled together "C'mon C'mon step to it you lazy git, it's just a fight stop worrying...Oh Gods be good" the tallest of them said and likely leader, point but not too point ears giving away her status as Half-Elf "Woman you have the worst luck there is, first the thing with that boy from the south now this?"
"...O All-Father in his Golden City, Lord of All and Everything, forgive this lowly mortal for any transgressions, O Unbroken, Lord of the Long Queue please have mercy, have mercy upon this lowly mortal..." Roberta held her hands in prayer with fervor so strong the people near her bowed their heads in acceptance, the ones further away cast puzzled gazes until they too saw who she would be fighting.
Lucrezia stared at this scene of faith and fear with respectful awe and curiosity, Roberta looked like a proper Vermilion noble scion, with short brown hair, black eyes, and a rather severe-looking face, Lucrezia walked past the group and saw the list, in a rather fancy paper she noticed.
"...This is not fair, I was there godsdamn! I saw when the..." Roberta spoke to her friend but froze on the spot as she locked eyes with Lucrezia and fear blossomed like a flower in summer out of her features.
Lucrezia was puzzled and as she looked to find her name, lo and behold, she found it next to one Roberta Beartalon.
"Well this wasn't in the schedule at all" Lucrezia spoke in jest and seeing how Roberta deflated from her tension continued "May our fight be one with honor and valor Lady Beartalon" She extended her hand, Roberta grabbed her by the elbow and shook with vigor "Indeed Lady Lucrezia, forgive my outburst earlier, one tends to get a bit nervous when facing down someone of your stature" Roberta unlocked herself from Lucrezia's elbow and wiped her forehead.
Lucrezia nodded "Worry not, a fight fair and square, plus we are all equals here" With a smile she moved closer and saw the list, pinging her friends and gasping at who Hope would be fighting.
"Oh, this will be rich" she spoke with glee as her mind noted who would be fighting who.
"This ain't fun" Kaine spoke as the entire gang finally had a chance to regroup, even Castra managed to finally link up with them as everyone ate around a huge table, Richard had found a new place that was using a ton of Magi-Tech to customize the experience towards their customers, it was a shock to Lucrezia who felt like she stepped into what could only be described as Fantasy and Cyberpunk mixed, minus neon lights sadly, those were replaced by more soft glows of regular magical illumination.
"Something else, this place Richard, do you have a hidden ability to find the best bars and inns or something?" Castra asked "Then again Lucrezia is a surprisingly good cook so maybe it's not a hidden ability and more of a "let's see what recipe the lass can copy this time" type of affair huh?" the table laughed at her attempt humor and she replied "It was funny, a few centuries ago"
Hope sighed "Really, out of every, Richard? not you, or Vivienne, I gotta fight Richard?" Hope poked Arthur who spoke as he finished eating some sort of cubic meal that smelled amazing "Hey don't blame me, it was proved that the selection was truly random, they even got a few priests of the Goddess of Luck and Chance to check it if you don't believe me" the man laughed at the face Hope made "But you gotta admit, it's a bit poetic isn't it? you versus him, the most powerful blessing there is against the second most powerful, depending on who you ask of course" Arthur laughed.
"Kaine, you are up against Vivienne right?" Castra asked "That will be an interesting fight to watch, especially given your new weapon" She pointed towards Arch-Duke's daughter who was sipping her drink with proper manners, "You think you can win Viv?" Castra asked and the woman shrugged in response.
"Kaine's the strongest mage I know, I don't know Castra, especially if his Goddess decides to come down to aid him" Vivienne spoke and Kaine made a defeated face, making her and Kaede laugh a bit "Don't worry Kaine, you know that dusty woman likes it, even if she puts quite a show to deny it" she smiled to the mage couple as Kaine sighed "This whole thing is just the prelude for the real deal, the group combat that has the fixed matches" he explained and the mood deflated into grim.
"A second" Lucrezia said as a specific message spell blossomed on her ears she got up, moving to a secluded place within the tavern. With a wave of her hand she cast a triple-layered spell meant to protect her privacy, a wonder of magic she had Kaine working on for a while and the genius magician had just managed to fine-tune it for her usage, a voice spoke to her and she smiled.
"Look at that Richard, something has the ice queen smiling today" Hope teased the young man who was currently devouring a huge portion of deep-fried seafood, and a huge pile of fried potatoes "Yeah something good happened alright, those moon elves finally stopped stonewalling us and if I am reading her face right, the final part of the space station's weapon systems are likely done, same for the mass teleportation platforms on the moon base, here and inside the space station itself" he spoke as he ate.
"You help her with those Kaine?" Castra asked and Kaine spoke "Nay, that was all her and her people, sometimes I wonder if she isn't the genius here and I'm just for the ride, some of the calculations..." he felt Kaede's hand on his shoulder as her voice took on a fervor unlike her demure attitude when around the group "Don't doubt yourself love, to hear Lady Lucrezia speak of your intellect and ability with the arcane is to see how much the woman trusts in you, never would she or anyone in this table, hells in this country doubt your abilities" she locked eyes with him for a long minute before Richard spoke, his voice also heavy with respect.
"She speaks true Kaine, neither she nor anyone here thinks of you like that, you are much like her in this aspect I reckon" Richard scratched his beard in deep thinking "A rock, no a Pillar, yes a Pillar in which we can depend on, and in turn, you can depend on us, even if half of the crew here isn't as good with magic as you" he laughed as the young mage's features took a soft tone, a small almost silent thank you came from Kaine's lips as the table smiled and laughed at the whole scene.
"...Now I only need the ships, and special all environment gear for the war...oh it appears I missed a moment, a shame" Lucrezia spoke as she returned to the table "Apologizes for leaving, those elves are a bit annoying with their secrecy, at any rate it is done! with this, I will be able to build more and faster too" Lucrezia smiled a wicked grin "Never mind the huge boost in Faith for Magi-Tech, it's going to be a fun few months friends!" she closed her fist in cheer.
"The smaller Armored Suits and those terrifying new weapons you showed the other day were testbeds for this huh?" Richard asked as Lucrezia sat beside him "Makes sense now, Goodness gracious Lu, you are going above and beyond for the Spirits you know?" Richard asked and Hope grunted "Yeah! I know it's important to help them but why are you going this far for the Spirits Lu?" she posed the question again, this time leaving no way for Lucrezia to escape from a legitimate answer.
"A hunch," Lucrezia said with a weary sigh "Gut feeling, paranoia, what have you" She pointed to the ceiling "Why would you escape such a fertile and bountiful planet and universe? why leave behind those who grant you faith? I believe the former ruler of this little dustball we are in has something horrible planned for all of us" Lucrezia tapped her fingers on the table in a rhythm "Plus I made a promise to the Spirits, the man who speaks for them and more, and I intend to keep it, nevermind the fact our expeditionary force will be able to strike at places even the All-Father can't reach, a boost and boon to the big man will surely be of aid for us"
The crew accepted her reason in good faith, of course, Lucrezia couldn't tell her hunch came from leaks about potential sequels of the game, it would take a few days to explain it all, assuming All-Father doesn't smite her first.
People began to leave as Lucrezia mulled over thoughts of her better half's old home, she barely noticed Richard speaking about training more due to having a "hard fight" to fight in a few days, eventually, both went back to the academy, sharing a pleasant evening and night.
A great arena was built in the middle of the Fields as the Academy's band, now armed with the best audio equipment Lucrezia could put together for them blasted songs to rile the crowd up, these duels would be done quickly but there was no reason not to make them a spectacle Lucrezia thought after she rashed out numerous deals with the leadership within the Academy.
Panels of Crystal, Powerful radio tower relays, and even reversed-engineered mana batteries to power continuous image transmission via magic (something she was still trying to rig into a proper Magi-Tech device for television) and sound more as the entire Kingdom and more than a few neighbors were more than keen to watch the happening, a great many requests came from innumerous channels for more coverage but Lucrezia would need a substantial increase of particular Sphere Shifts to get that done.
"Made for war first, entertainment second huh," Lucrezia said to herself as she flexed her arms, feeling the power of the Three Spirits of Winter that resided within the depths of her Palace radiate from the armor she was using, another iteration of the Regalia made by Idun who was struck once again by a bout of inspiration and mania, It wasn't fair to her opponent but there was nothing she could do, better to respect the woman by bringing her best, than to humiliate her by going dressed in school attire and using some borrowed sword.
Who knew, maybe her opponent would put up a good fight, she would perhaps even lose, come what may, she would give her all, as the true enemy was sure to be watching her performance today.
