Advent – Chapter 34: Dreadful Affliction

GamingWolf

Laelia had stopped on her way to the bridge, waiting for Aperio to follow. The winged Goddess instead turned towards the [Grandmaster] and motioned for her to approach. The woman complied immediately, and only as she was already walking towards Aperio did the Elf realise what she had done. In her old life, she would have always been the one to be waved over, but now she had not even thought about her switch in hierarchy. Moreover, O'lymni did not seem to mind that she had been summoned despite her arguably high status. Do they just assume they would be killed if they don't comply with the wishes of a Goddess?

"Could you send someone to the Terenyk estate and tell them that I will not be able to visit Maria today?" The sun had already begun to set and Aperio doubted she would be able to visit Maria at a reasonable time.

"Of course," the woman replied with a bow that she stopped as soon as she caught sight of Aperio's narrowed eyes. "Do you wish us to prepare a room for your entourage?"

The Elf inspected the group of adventurers, both with her eyes and her aura. Most of them seemed to be unsure about what they should do and Aperio could not answer that question for them.

"They are free to do as they please. I do not know who hired them, but they should probably inform them of their mission's outcome." Aperio paused for a moment, considering her next words. "Just remember that I am just a normal Elf here to visit the city." That she also wanted to see Arden again to check on his blessing she kept to herself.

Her words seemed to sound more threatening than she had intended, but the meaning had been conveyed well enough. All but the needle-poking Human looked to be relieved at the idea of not having to accompany two Goddesses and a disgraced paladin on a quest that would likely attract the wrong sort of attention from yet another God. It would seem that most mortals did not want to be part of any perceived divine machinations.

Having said all that she felt was needed, Aperio used her magic to give her daughter a small mental nudge to follow. This time she paid more attention to the amount of mana used and had managed to not startle Ferio as much as before. Still need to work on that. ...Also need to stop commanding people around.

She never really stopped to think about what she did, as most of it just felt like the right thing to do in the moment. But the longer she dwelled on her own actions, the more Aperio felt a rising disgust at herself. She did not want to be like her former masters; always commanding, and assuming that the orders would be obeyed without question. But why does it feel right? Just because I am a Goddess?

Figuring out why nobody objected was easy. They could not resist her should she wish to force them. Maybe Ferio could, but I doubt she wants to. Her daughter, it seemed, was more likely to forcibly make someone do as she wished than to object to Aperio doing the same. I am really not the person she remembered, am I?

Offering a tiny wave, Aperio turned to follow Laelia. None of the adventurers seemed to have any parting words to say, and O'lymni was already scribbling something on a piece of parchment, presumably the message Aperio had asked her to convey.

The winged Goddess trailed behind Laelia, her daughter in tow. The ex-paladin's gait was still unsteady and, for a brief moment, Aperio considered helping her. There was nothing wrong with her body – if anything, it should work better than it ever did – and Aperio found herself unsure about whether physical support was what the woman truly needed.

Instead, she tried to work her magic to soothe Laelia, trying to remember the gentle form of her daughter's magic in order to guide her actions. Her efforts didn't amount to much. Either she was still unable to properly wield this form of her magic, or there was only so much ethereal reassurance could do to calm a troubled mind.

After they had crossed half of the bridge, the sounds of the city slowly rose again, quickly reaching a volume that was uncomfortable for the Goddess. The other two women did not seem to mind the noise, either already used to it or not affected by it. Aperio tried her best to suppress the noises assaulting her ears. Her attempts were largely unsuccessful and it wasn't long before her daughter noticed her rising distress.

The soothing touch of Ferio's magic did make things more bearable, but it was unable to combat the source of the issue.

"Are you okay, mother?" her daughter asked, quickening her pace a little to walk alongside Aperio.

Laelia also slowed down and turned around, either because of Ferio's words or because she felt the change in Aperio's magic. Whatever it was, it caused what Aperio would classify as concern to briefly flicker across her eyes.

"Is it always this noisy here?" Aperio asked, still trying to ignore the sounds around her. They had not reached the deafening levels the crowd outside the city gates had managed, but she did not doubt for a moment that they were unable to.

"Noisy? This is just a little louder than usual, once the Festival of Life fully starts it's really going to be quite the ruckus." Ferio looked confused for a moment, then abruptly her eyes widened a little. "I forgot. This must be almost unbearable for you."

"It is not as bad as the people outside the gate were. Not yet, at least."

Ferio directed her eyes downwards as she replied. "I was so happy you are back I forgot that you dislike large cities." Her words were accompanied by a mental nudge of apology, making it clear that she knew of no way to fix the issue. With a sigh and a very faint touch of her magic to show her thanks, Aperio motioned for Laelia to continue. She would have to find a way to deal with the noise on her own.

In an attempt to distract herself from the chaotic interweaving of countless conversations, Aperio chose to inspect the city around her. If it was not for the levels of noise it was generating, she would have found the city itself quite nice. Most of the buildings were in good repair, made from sturdy looking stone and featuring wood-framed glass windows. The people too looked healthy, even if they gave her a few sidelong glances. It was also clean, and lacked any sort of scent of death or decay. With so many people in one area, the surrounding odours may not have been all that pleasant, but it was a far cry from the olfactory terrors Aperio knew were possible.

The occasional whiff of baked goods, or other tantalizing smells, would come in their direction. As their frequency increased, she became intrigued, and let the information provided by her aura more fully enter her mind. The dribble soon turned into a stream that fed her all the information on her surroundings, the most prominent of which was her daughter.

Ferio was like a fountain of mana in an otherwise calm sea; the largest presence of anyone Aperio had encountered thus far. What surprised her though was the fact that it still did not feel as strong as she would have expected from a Goddess. Maybe she knows how to hide it? ...Or am I that far beyond what is normal? Roots certainly seemed to think she was a cut above the rest. Aperio would ask her daughter as soon as she was done healing whatever this 'Rage' was. If I can even do that.

Shaking off the train of thought that would, for the moment, lead nowhere, she turned her attention back to the world around her. More specifically, Aperio was wholeheartedly seeking the source of the enticing smells that made their way to her nose. It was not long before she realized that they came from the very same square that she and the group of adventurers had passed through on their way into the city. How had she not noticed the smells before? Aperio didn't know for certain, but there was a good likelihood that she had been preoccupied with Maria, and the many resulting questions – some of which still remained unanswered – that had swirled through her mind. Now, though, she filed the food vendors away in her mind as a potential future option for something to do. After she had taken care of the more important things, of course.

The people milling about the stone-paved pathways paid little mind to her magical inspection, just like the first time she had come. Once people caught sight of her, however, they did pay attention. It seemed that a woman in a gambeson with a sword at her hip followed by others in expensive-looking dresses was not a sight people were used to. The wings probably don't help either. Still, she did not hide her feathered appendages – their stares were nothing more than curiosity after all. The ones she caught openly ogling with more primal thoughts got a glare in response that turned the air around them cold and heavy. Most of them averted their eyes after that, recognising that the group was not something they wanted to mess with.

Aperio heard a few insults being directed at both her and her daughter. Some of them she did not understand as they were spoken in the Human tongue, but the intention of the words was still painfully clear. Others were ones she had heard plenty of times before: 'Bastard', 'Half-Cast', and the one she had the most knowledge of caused her to lose her temper.

'Slave-born' was something Aperio had heard a great many times. If it had been directed at her personally, she might have been able to bear it through sheer rote and memory, but instead it was directed at her daughter. Both Laelia and Ferio did not seem to mind – or hear in the case of the ex-paladin – the insults. What they did notice was Aperio balling her fists, the stone cracking under her feet as she stepped harder on the road, and the almost boiling rage that had replaced the soothing touch in her magic.

The Human who had muttered the words to her friends noticed the winged Elf staring in her direction. Her friends quickly stepped aside as the Goddess lifted her arm to aim it at the woman, and as arcs of silver trailed in the wake of the movement, the colour drained from the unfortunate target's face. With a deafening crack that silenced the surroundings one of the arcs lashed out, disintegrating a tree that had stood just behind the Human.

"Never say that again."

It had taken Aperio more than her fair share of mental effort to not kill the woman where she stood. If she did, she would be no better than the people who had used that insult in the past. Her warning was clear as the now extremely pale-faced Human nodded profusely, muttering something the winged Goddess did not understand but sounded a lot like an apology punctuated by sobs.

A hand gently taking hers caused Aperio to relax a little, the arcs dancing around her disappearing. A quick inspection revealed Laelia and her daughter to be unharmed despite having stood right next to her. Aperio knew the arcs of mana tended to be wild, and contained more than enough power to kill the ex-paladin. The blessing? Or does it only hurt what I want it to? She settled on the latter; her mana had thus far always done exactly what she wanted. Even if she herself could not articulate the thought.

"Let us continue," Ferio whispered.

After giving the Human one more glare, Aperio gave her daughter's hand a squeeze and nodded towards Laelia who continued onwards. She hoped that the display hadn't made Laelia more fearful of her, but an inquisitive brush of her magic revealed no trace of any feelings of that sort. If anything, there was an element of admiration from the woman which, given Aperio's out-of-proportion reaction, seemed a little off.

She wanted to question why Ferio did not respond to the comments, but she shelved that for the talk she would have with her daughter later. Having a discussion in the open when she did not know most anything about her own daughter seemed like a bad idea. Besides the knowledge that Ferio was actually her daughter and a vague sense of truth to most of her words, she really had little to go on. For now she would accept her daughter's indifference. Perhaps that was the right choice.

As they walked through the streets that grew progressively tighter and more winding, and crossed the occasional bridge, Aperio could not help but notice the glances in their direction. Mothers quickly turned to shield their children and more than a few of the people present reflexively moved their hands to the grip of their weapon. It took a moment for the Goddess to realise that they were reacting to her aura, scared by the oppressive mana bearing down on them.

Once aware she did her best to wrap those she perceived to be the weakest in a small bubble of nothing. The amount of tiny holes in her aura sky rocketed quickly and keeping track of them all was turning into an impossible task faster and faster. Looking at her free hand, she balled it into a fist; the muscles shifting under her skin only the smallest indication of the strength she had. Strength that was causing her more and more trouble, was making it harder to achieve what she wanted. Some people in her place might have wished to trade, sacrificing ultimate power to be able to live the life they wanted.

Aperio was not one of them.

She would not trade the thing that could guarantee her freedom for what could never be more than a mere chance at the life she wanted. A chance she already had, as she only needed to figure out how to transcend the bounds she currently knew. A challenge she would gladly accept. Nobody would force her to do something she did not want to. Not anymore.

Aperio thoughts were interrupted as something started to… fight against her aura. It was the best analogue she could come up with. Someone was trying to stop her mana from seeping into a building, one the winged Goddess quickly realised they were heading towards. A closer inspection revealed it to be not someone, but a group of people trying their best to keep her mana at bay.

They were sitting around an intricate-looking rune, holding their hands. She could feel – see – their mana flowing in the rune, and pushing against her own. Despite the eight of them trying their best, it was a futile attempt. Their efforts had barely slowed the passive spread of her aura, not to mention her more active inspection. An action she stopped when she noticed the sweat dripping from each member of the group.

Her curiosity had potentially hurt someone again, but it had also given her an idea. One she should have had much earlier. All it required was a small thought and the ever-present mana that formed her aura obeyed. Instead of simply existing without a purpose beyond giving her information, Aperio directed it to help the group. Not in the way she had done with Arden; blessing everyone present was not her intention. She willed her mana to bring calm, help them regain their strength, and, if possible, carry the intent of her action to them.

If her plan would work the way she hoped it would, Aperio did not know. But, through realizing – truly accepting – that her magic was a part of her, and that it would obey her every whi, her initial fears of wielding the powers of her mana had steadily faded. Using it and actually seeing it do what she wished was even better. Her biggest fear now was that she would accidentally use too much strength. She had done so when first replying to Ferio, and if it had gotten a reaction from a Goddess it would probably mean death to mortals.

Aperio directed her mana as carefully as she could, making sure to closely observe for anything that would indicate any one of the group was in danger. She furrowed her brow as one of them tried to take a bit of her mana into himself. The action he took felt almost as wrong as Ferio using magic in her Void and, in response, Aperio cut the man out of her aura. She could not see his reaction anymore, but if the others were any indication he was very surprised.

It did not take long for the group to stop their attempt to keep her out, either having realised it was futile or being able to figure out the intent behind her actions. Either way, Aperio was able to focus more on the people again, this time without fear of hurting them. Having a clearer picture of those that had tried to keep her out was quite the shocking revelation, as most of them looked to be young. Younger than Thaddeus at least. Aperio was not good at guessing the age of people, but almost none of them could be older than Laelia. The only exception might be the man that had tried to take in her mana, but she would not let her aura near him again until she could see him with her own eyes. As she continued her approach, she could tell that they were indeed all wearing similar clothing: a blue robe with silver embroidery, and a small patch on their shoulder. She was unable to see what the badge depicted as it was radiating its own magic that obscured her sight.

There was little doubt that she could force the foreign magic away to look at what laid underneath, but she was certain that it would destroy whatever enchantment the tiny badge held. Probably not a good idea. Instead of futilely inspecting the group through her aura, Aperio took that notion of helpful intent and calm and tried to apply it to the rest of her aura.

Both Ferio and Laelia noticed the change in her aura as the former sent her a questioning mental nudge while the latter briefly stopped to glance at the winged Goddess before continuing on. Aperio gave Ferio a smile, a genuine one. Even if her aura was still weighing on the people around her, she could at least make it more bearable. Especially those close to her. That it had taken her so long to figure out how to do it was sad, but it did little to dampen her happiness.

It did not take long for them to reach their destination, and it was indeed the one that Aperio had expected. The people inside seemed to know who the source of the aura they had felt was, as the eight that had tried to stop her all came rushing out of the building. They froze once they spotted Laelia leading the two Goddesses, asking her something that – quite annoyingly – Aperio still did not understand.

The man that had tried to take some of her mana seemed to know Laelia quite well, embracing her in a long hug after they had exchanged a few more words. How old he was, Aperio could not begin to guess, but she assumed it to be around Laelia's age. Whatever that is. How old someone or something was had really lost its meaning after she had spent millennia in the Void. Her sense of time was nonexistent as of now, the entire journey from her return up until now was nothing but the blink of an eye even though she knew it had to be months – maybe even a year now.

Laelia gestured towards her and Ferio, but only mentioning her name. Not introducing us as Goddesses. Good. She gave the group of Humans a small smile as they looked her way, an action that caused some of them to look at her in shock. Is smiling forbidden here?

"Is smiling at people a taboo now?" Aperio asked in a whisper, turning her head slightly to face her daughter.

"She introduced you as an Elder of the Moons, in service to yourself no less. While they might not directly know who you are, being named as my mother remedies that to a great extent. They don't expect someone of that stature to treat them as anything more than vermin. Especially here in the Human part of town," Ferio replied with a raised brow. She paused for a moment as she studied her mother's face. "Do you not speak their language? I assumed you just used this one because it has always been a favourite of yours."

Aperio shook her head in reply. "I can only speak Common and Dryadalis." Admitting that still felt wrong, but less than it had when she spoke to anyone else.

An expression that Aperio could not quite place flashed over her daughter's features before she brushed her hand over one her wings and spoke. "Then I will just have to teach you as you taught me."

The winged Goddess could only give a nod in reply as Laelia was approaching them with the attempted mana-thief in tow. He tried to bow as soon as they had come to a halt in front of her, only to be stopped by the ex-paladin with a light tap to his head and quiet string of words. Whatever she had said did not seem to make a whole lot of sense as he was visibly confused.

"Bowing is not necessary. I am here because Laelia requested it," Aperio said. Her voice still caused the man to wince slightly, but less than she had feared. The trick she had used to make her aura more bearable did not work with her voice. She put no effort into it, felt no mana being used when she spoke. The ethereal echo came on its own and brought with it a level of strength that would probably make most people she would meet uncomfortable.

"We thank you for your time. My name is Kario Penbrooks, the administrator of this refuge," the man replied. "But I fear your undoubtedly valuable time will be wasted here. Vigil is the only one that can cure the Rage."

"He is not." Her words left no room for argument, something that Kario did not look like he wanted to do anyway.

"Then please, this way." He turned around and started to walk back to the house. Laelia looked like she wanted to say something, but kept whatever it was to herself.

Walking past the other Humans that had tried to fend her off resulted in a few bows and some looks of what she guessed was admiration. Inside she was greeted by the familiar groaning of wood under her feet and a narrow hallway that was lined with doors. Aperio knew instinctively what was in the rooms behind – privacy was not something easily provided within the reach of her aura. Most of the rooms had a few people in them, obviously sick, but none of them felt close to death. How do I even know that?

The thought was not continued any further as she spotted two… anomalies. They were undoubtedly the two boys Laelia had asked her to cure. Focusing on one of them revealed a rolling mess of something rampaging inside the boy.

As Aperio stepped through the door at the end of the hallway, she got her first true look at the patients. Both were covered in bruises, undoubtedly from the restraints that held them firmly to the bed as they thrashed around. Whatever it was that had taken refuge in their bodies was obviously the cause – every time the mass inside shifted, their bodies would automatically lash out, unable to prevent the damage to their person.

Aperio needed no prompt to approach the beds they had been confined to. Laying a hand as lightly as she could on the head of one of the boys caused him to try and bite her. It was, of course, a useless endeavour. For Aperio it was harder to not accidentally injure the child than to restrain him.

Now that she was here though, she had no real idea what she should do. She knew with certainty that what was going on inside the Humans was wrong, and her instincts screamed at her to remove the squirming thing. To remove it, but not to kill it. To free it. ...Too much life. Laelia's words echoed through her head and with them came a wild idea. Uncaring for her cover, Aperio transferred herself and the two boys to her Void.

The only thing that had come to mind when she remembered the words 'too much life' were souls. As they were not a part of Ferio's Domain, Laelia was right that she would not have been able to help. Aperio knew her daughter could not influence souls. But how does Vigil do it then? A question she would ask the God personally one day. Directing her attention back to the two boys, Aperio went to work.

She followed her instinct, slowly easing her mana into their bodies then slightly more forcefully snaking it inside the tangled, angry mass of what she assumed to be souls. What she was discovering within these two boys felt so wrong and disgusting that she physically recoiled, though her magic held firm and fast. Whoever was responsible for this atrocity would pay with more than their life. Of that she would make sure.

Using her mana, she carefully pried and coerced, teasing the interwoven mass back into the all-too-familiar orbs of light. As soon as each individual orb managed to break free from the tangle, it slowly drifted out of the body and towards the river filled with their kin. Aperio did not spare the wandering orbs any thought as she focused every last bit of her attention on the act of splitting apart the rest. The unweaving of the soul bundle was by far the hardest thing she had ever done. How so many souls had wound up in a single body she did not know, but what they tried to do once there was more than clear.

They fought. They strove for dominance, all trying to inhabit the body they found themselves in. In the end, only one belonged. She knew that only one could truly belong.

As she grew closer to the center of the knot of souls, one in each child seemed slightly different than the rest. It was just a little brighter, just a touch more firmly placed, and Aperio knew she had found each body's true orb inhabitant. Working as gently as she could, she removed the remaining surplus from the two boys, then got to the task of mending the wounds they had left behind.

Trusting her instincts had proven to be the right choice again and again, so when she got the feeling that she needed to heal them she would not go against it. Not this time at least. She'd worry about what to trust and what to ignore later. Giving the two children a last check, she returned them and herself to their room, and to a scene she had not expected.

Ferio was crouching down in front of a girl who had her head firmly pressed against the wooden floor. Noticing that Aperio had returned, her daughter said something to the girl and gestured towards Aperio and the two boys that now lay unrestrained on their beds, fast asleep. The girl looked up from her position on the floor, spotted Aperio and took off at a sprint.

Laelia yelled something, probably for her to stop, but the girl did not listen. She continued her approach until she reached the winged Goddess and wrapped her arms around her lower body in the best hug she could muster. Aperio looked at the girl, but the child was unafraid of her. She radiated thankfulness for the treatment of her friends, and even that was quickly overtaken by sheer innocent intrigue about the Elf's big and soft-feathered wings.

Aperio gave a small laugh as she crouched down, spreading her feathered limbs slightly. She plucked a feather from one of them and handed it to the girl who took it with sparkling eyes. "Your friends are safe now."

GamingWolf

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