Chapter 166: Devotee

 

I reclined into the giant cushion and enjoyed the subtle sound of the air being squeezed out of the bag. Then I sat back up and let the cushion re-fluff itself. Then I reclined again; I had been doing this for an hour. It wasn’t that I was bored; well, it was kind of. But I’m not bored now, and half my mind was in Necoronas. I followed Ordias around as he besieged one of the few vampire strongholds that refused to surrender.

Most just caved when they realised Ordias and Rosa had switched sides. Vampires were ambitious, prideful and greedy, but they weren’t stupid. Well, most of them aren’t stupid. The handful that decided to resist were either dead or on the way out.

As to what I am doing now, I’m just waiting for the angels to arrive. The Ariel girl dropped by yesterday and said that Archangel Uriel would visit again to discuss the vampire situation. I am sure she was less than pleased, but I am surprised their fancy council made a decision so quickly.

I was expecting them to take weeks, not days, to decide. Perhaps the angels were more decisive than I thought. But I suppose with all the pressure on them with the Syndicate and the Demons taking turns to screw with them; there was some pressure to be decisive.

They do say that pressure does push creatures to more decisive action. There are situations where indecision can be as bad as the wrong decision. So it boils down to maybe making things worse or definitely making things worse. For all the Seraphim’s shitty management of this world, they were still the preeminent rulers for hundreds of thousands of years. They must have some level of competency, if not, how the hell did they stay in control for so long?

“Friend, are you truly that bored?” Cecilia asked, and I looked over to see her sitting on a couch with an arcane tome in her hands.

“Not really, I’m tracking the situation in Necoronas.” I replied as I reclined again, the cushion letting out a satisfying poof sound.

“I hope Derenge and Maledicta are working well together.” Cecilia said as she gave me a look.

“They do seem to be working well, well, they are apart at the moment. Rosa is off handling one fortress that was on the fence while another one that is adamant on resisting is currently being sieged by Ordias.” I replied.

“And how is the infamous Ordias Derenge doing?” Cecilia asked.

“Pretty well, without monsters threatening to pop out of the ground at any moment. Much more freedom of movement.” I mused, and Cecilia nodded.

“There is a reason why the hives were so feared. An enemy unlike any other.” Cecilia agreed.

“I had Montis wrack his brain on how he would defeat a hive. He turned it in his head over, and over again, but inevitably he came up blank. The only things he could feasibly come up with were strange artefacts and magics of the ancients.” Cecilia said.

“Like Ether Frequency hijacking?” I asked.

“No, he didn’t know that was possible. He wanted to use jamming instead of highjacking,” Cecilia replied.

“Booooring.” I replied as I reclined again, and I ended up looking at the ceiling.

“Yes, quite.” Cecilia said with a light laugh.

“I heard someone else is coming too, right? Another Archangel.” I said as I continued to rock back and forth on my cushion.

“Yes, Archangel Silvana. They say she is the last survivor of Omelas.” Cecilia said.

“The city of dreams.” I muttered and Cecilia calmly nodded.

“Before the Seraphim came to be they lived under the Lightborn their progenitors. The Seraphim are to the Lightborn what the Cherubim are to the Seraphim.” Cecilia said.

“I wonder if she has any Lightborn characteristics.” I mused and Cecilia paused as she looked up at the ceiling.

“The stories don’t really say but one of her monikers was the Silver Maiden. There are some accounts that say Silvana was the one that founded the Silver Maidens.” Cecilia said.

“The Lightborn and the Ravenborn existed in the same age. By the time the Firstborn were wiped out these two races have withered into nothing. Well, almost nothing, there is the Crowfather and then there is the Archangel Silvana. I believe they also call her the absentee goddess.” I said and Cecilia nodded.

“Do you know anything else about her? Maybe some of those memories you have would be able shed more light on her.” Cecilia asked.

“Nothing much, unfortunately. Silvana has always kept herself out of the limelight. The memories that are passed on are the strongest ones. The only thing interesting thing I have from the Eternal Mothers is this tidbit.” I said as I sat up and I saw Cecilia turn to face me with interest.

“She called Silvana the one that holds the leash in heaven. Like some kind of divine sanctioned hound master.” I said and I saw Cecilia tilt her head at those words.

“That’s vague.” Cecilia stated, and I nodded.

“My best guess is that it has something to do with the Divine Virtues. The council above the Divine Council.” I said, and Cecilia nodded in understanding.

“It would make sense for the Divine Virtues to put one of thier number within the lower council. Since the Divine Council handles most of the daily affairs, it would make sense to keep them on a tight leash.” Cecilia said.

“Judging by how Mihael is so eager to flatten a city he does fit the description of a mad dog.” I replied, and Cecilia gave me a shrug in response.

“Then they better keep the leash tight.” Cecilia said.

“Then what about you? How tight is your leash on your new plaything?” I asked wryly and Cecilia rolled her eyes in response. 

“Balder is quite entertaining and I have him wrapped around my finger.” Cecilia said and I saw her heart rate rise as this small cloud of pheromones started appearing around her. Just last night, I saw her shaking her hips on top of him as she made all sorts of weird noises.

“On that topic, why do you drink that potion?” I asked as I shifted in my seat.

“The contraceptive potion?” Cecilia asked.

“Yeah that, why does it matter if you get pregnant? Don’t humans like to breed?” I asked and I saw Cecilia give me a wry smile.

“There are political reasons.” Cecilia said, and I tilted my head in response.

“Which can be resolved by you signing a sheet of paper. Who the hell is going to be dumb enough to challenge you over where your progeny came from? I have cults appearing, and the church hasn’t so much as made a single sound. ” I stated, and Cecilia let out a small chuckle along with a roll of her eyes.

“Fine, there are other reasons.” Cecilia replied with a small laugh.

“Like?” I asked as I tilted my head.

“Well, you need to take care of it. I’m not sure if I have enough time.” Cecilia said.

“Then pay someone to do it for you. All you need to do is ensure it doesn’t die.” I replied bluntly and I saw Cecilia give me the same look she always did when I am horribly misunderstanding something about humans.

“What? I never had parents, and I’m fine.” I said defensively.

“You aren’t exactly a human, friend. But honestly, it’s more for me really, not really for my child. I never had much in the way of parental love and it felt really… cold sometimes.” Cecilia said with a small sigh.

“And I don’t want my child to feel that. I never asked to be born, no one can ask to be born really. So if I do bring a life into this world, I want to be able to take care of him or her.” Cecilia said.

“That's uncharacteristically sentimental of you.” I replied with a smirk, and Cecilia gave me a glare in response.

“Sorry.” I said as I raised my arms in surrender.

“Freedom is a strange thing.” Cecilia said suddenly as she shifted her gaze to the window and looked out towards the horizon.

“How so?” I asked, and just as I said that, there was a knock at the door, indicating that the angels had arrived.

“When you are free to gain so much you realise you also are free to lose it all.” Cecilia replied as she stood up.

“Well that’s true for everything. What is given can be taken away and what is taken can be taken away.” I said as I got up as well.

When we got to the throne room we simply had to wait a short while before the angels were ushered in. There were three of them and no guards this time. Uriel was at the head of the ground with her daughter Ariel next to her. Yet this time there was another angel. This one was wierd she had silverish hair instead of the usual gold. Her body was also childlike but the strangest thing was her wings.

More accurately her wings were an illusion. To the average observer the six wings were your standard angelic feathered covered wings. But it was obscured by a type of a very old magic. She didn’t have six wings she had two but those two were made of raw ether. Furthermore her halo was not the usual one that were formed of gold fire, her’s was made of the same whispy ether that made up her wings. The ether that formed her halo and wings were white whispy arcs of energy that seemed to eerily wave in the air. This more or less confirmed it in my mind, she was no Seraphim she was a Lightborn. 

This Silvana was probably about as old as the Crowfather. Judging from what I can analyse from her strength she could probably give Mahaila a run for her money. In terms of raw power, she won out to Mahaila but then again Mahaila is said to be the most skilled fighter alive right now. She was trained and hand-picked by the greatest swordsman that had ever picked up a blade.

“Who are you?” I asked as I stared at her. I had to be sure just in case.

“Silvana Shadowbane.” she said her voice sounding oddly detached.

Huh, so it is her. Uriel was named Uriel Heseiva. The first surnames were born from titles, the later ones were changed and switched around until you couldn’t even tell what the original title was. But Silvana’s surname was quite straightforward. Another sign she was probably as old as she looked.

Still, the name “Shadowbane” was rather ominous. The bane of shadows or the bane of darkness. But then again, the Lightborn were historical enemies with the Shadowborn, and the Ravenborn. Both of which were rival powers to the Lightborn. To earn the title Shadowbane… she must have killed a great many things.

“Shadowbane…” I said, and Silvana just switched her gaze to me in response.

“Yes, the Bane of the Shadowborn. I have seen so many wars few things can now interest me.” Silvana said but I did notice a subtle change in her demeanour when she looked at me.

“So what is so interesting about me?” I asked getting straight into the meat of the matter.

“It has been a long time since I have seen something like you. But don’t mind me I’m just here to observe and to make sure no one tries to kidnap the two of them.” Silvana said bluntly as she glanced at Uriel and Ariel. Given the fact that she was a Lightborn I find her confidence perfectly fair.

“Very well.” Cecilia said and she nodded at Uriel.

Uriel gave Silvana a look before stepping forward. Her stance was preety predictable, she spoke about the vampires and the increasing presence of a cult that was dedicated to me. Then she dropped the predictable veiled threat.

“Given the current circumstances, I feel our ongoing agreement may become strained.” Uriel said.

“We did not agree on how to handle the issues of the Black Crusade. We merely promised we would resolve it.” Cecilia replied calmly.

“As for the cult? I trust you are aware that the Church of Order does not permit any other faiths.” Uriel said and I let out a low laugh.

“Sounds like you do not like competition. If people flock to me doesn’t that mean I am taking care of their needs more than you? How bad do you have to be at this for the humans to switch from worshipping you to something like me.” I said and a flash of annoyance flashed across her eyes.

“But of course I know all of you are obsessed with prayers as a power source. This isn’t about the agreement this is about power balance and how to balance it.” I said and Uriel shut her mouth before she could start speaking.

“So I offer a compromise.” I said with a smirk.

“What do you propose?” Uriel asked and I smiled as I gave her a wide fanged smile.

 

Who said only humans could pray?