Advent – Chapter 36: Pieces of Truth

GamingWolf

Aperio took a deep breath of the cold, calming air. Being with the Humans had been more stressful than she had realised, and only now that she was alone with her daughter did the events truly sink in.

What she had done had probably not been compatible with continued anonymity, but at the heart of the matter Aperio could not care less if people knew what she was. The only thing she wanted from them was to be treated like any other person, something that was proving to be rather difficult to do for most of them.

"How long do you think it will take before the entire city knows who I am?" Aperio would not believe for a second that the people in the hospital – Orphanage? – would keep quiet about what they saw. In fact, she could already spot two people, ones that had earlier tried to keep her out, leaving the building through a back door. Where they were going, she knew not.

"Before the night is over," her daughter replied. "And soon they will realise that the pretenders are not as almighty as they portray themselves to be."

"How strong are those two anyway? You said they are scared to descend because you would kill them, but you feel…" Aperio's voice trailed off uncertainly. She did not want to call her daughter weak, not after she had taken such pride in being called strong.

"Weak?" Ferio asked with a small laugh. "Compared to you, everyone is weak."

The words caused Aperio to absentmindedly touch her arm, feeling the soft skin and hard muscles underneath. Did the girl think she hugged a piece of armour? "Is that why they did not come to kill me as soon as I returned?"

Ferio gave her a hesitant nod, seemingly not quite as comfortable about talking about her mother's potential death as the woman herself was.

"Why would they not do what they had done before? It obviously worked."

"We also don't know what they did in the first place. Maybe it only worked once."

The line of conversation was obviously making Ferio uncomfortable, understandably so. Now that she had her mother back, Aperio knew that talk about the possible ways that she could lose her again would land all the more heavily on her daughter's heart. "Are the nights always this quiet?"

Her daughter pounced on the change of topic like a cat on unsuspecting prey. "On the outer isles, yes. Once you get to the richer ones, the night life will be in full swing. Still not as loud as during the day, though."

Looking at the night sky, Aperio could not help but notice the twin moons lazily floating above. She squinted at them, trying to spot any clue about the Gods whose name they shared. Despite her improved eyesight she was unable to spot anything that would bring enlightenment, and so she directed her gaze back towards her daughter.

"Do you know where the Feranir isle is?" She could probably find Maria using her aura, but asking her daughter for help seemed like the right thing to do. She would have to learn to trust others at some point, and the knowledge at the back of her mind that told her Ferio was someone she could depend on certainly made the decision easier. Maybe Laelia too?

"No," Ferio replied with a shake of her head. "But one of my followers should."

After she had spoken, Aperio could feel a tiny sliver of mana splitting off of her daughter and racing towards one of the neighbouring isles. The winged Goddess tilted her head at the tiny droplet, keeping it in focus with her aura. It darted through the sky before descending into what she could only describe as a cathedral.

"What did you do?" Aperio asked.

"I asked a priestess where the isle is. Now, I can guide you there."

It had been what she had expected, and Aperio filed the information under the growing category of things to try later. When Laelia is not busy with her family. She glanced at the two bright spheres in the dark sky again, trying to decide what to do next. It was not the moons that prompted her next decision, however, but the state of the sky itself. "They are likely all asleep at the moment, and in the meanwhile I would like to explore the city."

Ferio lifted a brow at her statement before she smiled. "I would be delighted to show you around."

"Can we start with your cathedral? I would like to know what my daughter uses as residence." The building, seen through her aura, seemed too smooth to be forged by mortal hands. Had her daughter made it by herself? Or a very good mage, maybe?

"Of course!" The smile on Ferio's face grew even wider, seemingly very happy with showing her mother what she had accomplished. Her words were accompanied by another sliver of mana racing towards her temple. With a graceful motion she leaped far off of the ground. Once in the air, wings made of burning feathers sprouted from her back. Though they seemed to be lacking in corporeal distinctiveness, they still reminded Aperio a lot of her own.

Joining her daughter in the star-filled sky, Aperio revelled in the feeling of joy she felt whenever she flew. Being physically removed from the ground was freeing in ways she never thought possible before gaining her wings.

The two darted across the sky, Aperio twirling playfully around her daughter. She had to remind herself to slow down more than once; going too fast would disturb the mortals below. She did not know exactly what she would call it, but once she went fast enough there was a kind of boom that would most certainly shatter windows and wake those below. They need their sleep. I know I did. Restraining herself was hard. The wind brushing against her skin, the small giggles from her daughter; it all brought joy to the winged Goddess. Joy that spurred her on, made her want to do more. Aperio abandoned herself to the acrobatic delights that only wings could bring. Her woes of not knowing herself and worries of fitting in despite her strength were cast aside for the moment, swept away in the wind that caressed past her skin.

A mental nudge from Ferio caused Aperio to cease her airborne acrobatics and focus on her daughter. She was pointing below them and Aperio knew without looking that they had reached their destination. With a slight sigh, she folded her wings behind her back and let gravity assist her downwards. Just before she hit the stone below, she spread her feathered limbs once more and, with a strong beat, slowed enough to not damage the pavement too much. A few of the stones still cracked slightly, and it brought an idea to her mind.

Extending her senses to the cracks she had made, Aperio willed her mana to fill them and then to repair. The broken parts were soon mended, leaving behind stones that actually looked newer than the ones surrounding them. A smile crept onto Aperio's face; using her magic always felt good. Even for menial tasks.

"Some things never change, it seems," Ferio said as she lightly set down next to her mother. Her fiery wings vanished as soon as she touched the ground.

"Hmm?" Aperio only gave an absentminded reply, busy repairing hairline fractures in the stone surrounding them.

"Your love for flying. Your itch to fight. Getting lost in your magic, even when it's nothing but a tiny issue that could be solved in an instant by other means."

The winged Goddess stopped her magic and looked at her daughter. "I am sorry, it is just very enjoyable."

"No need to apologise, mother. If it brings you joy, that is good. We can even have a little fight if you want." She was quiet for a short moment before she continued in a mumble. "Few other things make you happy, after all."

Closing the short distance that separated the two of them in a few steps, Aperio wrapped her arms around the rather dejected-looking Ferio. She embraced her tightly, using her wings as extra arms to hold her daughter. It felt like the right thing to do, that it would make her daughter be a bit happier.

"There is no need for you to do anything you do not want to," Aperio said as she gently stroked the back of Ferio's head. That her daughter's hair felt warm to the touch was noted just as quickly as the notion was set aside for more important things. "It is true that I would like to have a bout with you, but I will not force it."

"Thank you," whispered Ferio in reply. "I just want to spend time with you, now that you are finally back."

She would have lingered longer, but the sound of approaching footsteps caused Aperio to end the embrace and turn to face the intruder. It was a bronze-skinned Elven woman in a tight, heavily decorated red dress. It looked like a more formal version of what Ferio herself was wearing, and the sun-shaped medallion that hung around the woman's neck left little doubt that she was a priestess of Aperio's daughter. Or maybe people really like that style?

She came to a stop a few steps in front of the two Goddesses, lightly bowing her head before she started to speak to Ferio. "My Goddess, we are delighted to have you visit our home." After her initial words, she turned to face Aperio, looking her over before she became a little stiff and began to speak again. "You have truly brought your mother, Lady Ferio? I must apologise, but we have not yet prepared her room."

"That is fine," Ferio said, waving the presumed priestess off. "She just wanted to see where I stay."

The woman bowed again at the words of her Goddess, gesturing towards the cathedral. "Lady Diana has prepared the information you requested, if you would please follow."

"Are all your followers prone to bowing?" Aperio asked with a slight frown on her face.

"No," her daughter replied. "I do not dictate how to behave around me. Most are rather formal for the first few years before they realise that a Goddess is also just a person. Candrial here is a bit of an exception though – she believes it is required to be polite to someone who is stronger than yourself."

"I assume telling her I dislike it will not change much?"

Ferio gave a small laugh at that. "It wouldn't. For someone who says she respects the will of those above her, she sure doesn't budge on this issue."

That her daughter did not force those that followed her to do as she pleased brought more joy to Aperio than she would have thought. It should have been expected, as she was her daughter after all. But then, I don't know how similar I am to what she remembers.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden noise that came from within the cathedral. Intrigued, Aperio lets her senses wander inside. What she spotted, though surprising, was something she felt she should have expected nonetheless. There were hundreds of people in the building, standing with their faces towards the entrance. All of them, without exception, wore decorated red clothing, and somewhere on their person they sported an emblem of a sun. Most had the same style necklace Candrial wore, though some of the other options included earrings, finger rings, or in the case of the woman standing in front of the big marble altar at the end of the hall, a tiara.

Is this normal? Unwilling to voice her question, Aperio gave her daughter a questioning magical nudge. What she got back could only be described as a good-natured laugh which was followed shortly by the rather definite answer that this was a small procession.

The few bits of chatter that had been thrown around inside the cathedral died down as soon as they entered. It was replaced by the regal-sounding voice of the woman next to the altar. "We welcome Lady Ferio and the All-Mother Aperio. May their blessings guide our future paths."

Aperio remained silent on their way to what she presumed was the local head priestess of Ferio. The stone floor of the cathedral did not groan under her every step, giving her floating gait the dignity it should have always had. As her old self from before the sacrifice, she never would have been able to move as she did now. Even despite the slave's training she had experienced, she could never have dreamed of matching such grace of movement. Aperio could not help but smile.

Some people might view it as vain behaviour, but she could not care less. She would enjoy herself.

Once they reached the dais that held the altar, Aperio watched with interest as Ferio weaved some of her magic into the marble. Strands of mana dove into the stone, spreading throughout the entire building. Soon a pleasant warmth filled the hall and the people began to disperse after clasping their hands together and uttering a small prayer.

Once the majority of the people had left, presumably going back to bed, the woman next to the altar produced a folded paper that she offered Ferio. "The map you requested, my Lady."

"Thank you Diana," Ferio said as she took the map. "You may leave, I have no more tasks for you."

Diana nodded but did not leave. "I would like to accompany you when you show your mother around."

Ferio glanced at her mother, obviously looking for approval. Aperio just shrugged, a motion that more and more turned into a slight twitch of her wings. "I do not mind."

The words caused Diana to narrow her eyes slightly, either merely mistrusting of strangers or unhappy that Aperio answered the wordless question of her daughter. Aperio just tilted her head questioningly at the woman. "Does she have a problem with me?"

"Diana is a bit distrusting of strangers, yes," Ferio replied. "Even if she is wrong in this case, she has every right to. It is her job to ensure the safety of my followers here after all."

"I will accept any punishment you deem fit, my Lady." Diana had still not taken her eyes off Aperio, an action that made the winged Goddess quite irritated. She did not know why the sceptical look of the woman garnered such a response from her, but she definitely did not like it.

"Can we start?" Aperio asked, shifting her gaze towards her daughter.

Ferio gave her a smile and a nod, starting to walk towards a door that led deeper into the cathedral. Aperio gave the distrusting priestess one last look before turning to follow her daughter. She had felt a tiny pinprick of mana leak from her, something Aperio had almost wanted to classify as an attack, but the amount was so minuscule it could never do much. Neither had it felt particularly threatening.

Stepping out of the main prayer hall and into the corridor, Aperio was greeted with colourful depictions of her daughter adorning the walls. Some showed a radiantly-glowing Ferio giving things to the people below her. Others depicted her burning demons, or battling other monsters.

The longer Aperio looked at the mosaic, the more certain she became that that it moved and, sure enough, a more focused look revealed tiny strands of mana running through it all. What surprised her was that it looked – and felt – very much like the mana of her daughter. "Do you animate the decorations on purpose?"

"No, it just reacts to my aura. A small indicator that I am currently here."

There was another thing on Aperio's mind, one she did not quite know how to ask. Every other God or Goddess besides her had a decent amount of followers, but what for? Unless strength was directly related to the amount of followers one had, Aperio could not see why she should bother with it. Having to care for people she would probably never see or meet properly was not very appealing and if what Ferio said was right — which she was becoming increasingly certain about — she would have no need for a power boost.

"Why do you even do all of this?" Aperio asked, gesturing at their surroundings. "I have a single follower and, according to you, am stronger than the other Gods. Why bother with people who only want to use you for their own gain?"

The balled fists of her daughter and the subtle movement of Diana behind her made it obvious that the question was not liked, but after taking a breath Ferio appeared to relax again. "I might not depend on them like Natio or the other newer Gods, but their belief in me still brings benefits. However, any potential plus that followers might give is probably dwarfed by your natural progression, something I have still not understood."

"Natural progression? You mean the way I become stronger by simply existing?"

"Yes," Ferio replied with a nod. "I can feel the change in your aura and body. But despite all my years of curiosity, I have never been able to tell where you take all that mana from. It took me centuries, both through training and the help of every one of my followers, to get where I am now.

"Granted, you are older than this world, but the amount of mana that I have observed you use to strengthen your body since we met again has been, frankly, ridiculous. Come to think of it, that's likely another reason neither Vigil nor Inanis have come personally to try to fight you. Your strengthening technique is not something you did before they..."

"I am not doing anything," Aperio said, choosing to ignore any talk about her death and her apparent age. "It happens on its own; the amount of mana used is almost too small to notice or, if it is not, it is replaced too fast."

Ferio almost fell when she heard the reply, only saved by Aperio quickly placing a stabilizing hand under her daughter's elbow. The action was far swifter than that of Diana, who had only gotten as far as beginning to reach out. The mortal glared angrily at Aperio, and the Goddess ignored it in favour of giving attention to her daughter. "Are you okay?"

Straightening herself, Ferio gave her mother a hesitant nod. Her face had adopted an expression Aperio could not quite place, but still saddened her. There was a tiny bit of what she would name fear, or apprehension, shining back at her through her daughter's gaze, and Aperio found she wanted to let go as soon as the other had regained her balance.

"Is there something wrong with what I do?"

"No, it's just… a bit much, even for you," Ferio replied.

Aperio could only give her daughter a helpless look. "But I do not actually do anything. It is simply happening. A part of me."

"May I try something with you, mother?"

Aperio gave her daughter a slightly confused nod, after which Ferio took her by the hand and led her further into the building. She barely took notice of the increasing complexity of the paintings on the walls and the mortals hastily stepping aside as Ferio sped along to wherever it was she was going. Diana, too, seemed to be surprised by the sun Goddess’ rather sudden eagerness. She hesitated, subtly holding her breath as if she wanted to speak before breathing out again and following the two Goddesses silently.

It wasn't long before they had reached their destination; Ferio's private room, if Aperio had to guess. It featured a large bed that looked like it had never been used and a multitude of closets that Aperio knew were filled with dresses and other apparel. Too red for me, though. With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Aperio took her attention off of the clothing that waited inside their wooden prisons. Not what I am here for. Probably.

Ferio motioned for her mother to wait and for Diana to leave before she walked into an adjacent room, coming back shortly after with a chest full of crystal shards that looked all too familiar to Aperio. It had undoubtedly once been part of what she now knew to be a dungeon core. "Why do you have that?"

"We studied them, once. Tried to figure out how they can summon monsters, or how they are able to restore themselves after their seeming destruction."

"Did you succeed?"

"No," Ferio replied with a shake of her head. "But you gave me an idea." She extended a piece of crystal towards her mother, who grabbed hold of it. "These things came into existence after you… vanished. They obviously played a part in what happened, and now I have an idea as to what they did. Or are still doing."

That the tinge of fear Aperio thought to have spotted in her daughter's eyes had vanished was nice, but the fervor with which she was now piling various crystal pieces onto a table in front of Aperio was making her worry again. "And what do you want to try?"

"I want to see if they were used to trap your mana! If I am right, it would explain where it is coming from and why there is so much more of it now. Think about it. They sat around, collecting mana for thousands of years, but in the end they had to be made with your mana’s template. So whatever they have gathered and not used over the millennia goes back to its original source. You."

Aperio tilted her head at her daughter's words. "And how do you want to test that with these broken pieces?"

"Just try to put some of your mana into the shard I gave you. I will do the rest."

Creating the tiniest sliver of her mana she could manage, Aperio guided it into the jagged crystal she held in her hands. There was a slight resistance but, once she had passed that, her mana flowed freely into it. A moment later, she could feel Ferio's magic taking hold of the tiny sliver and guiding it in ways she did not quite understand. Whatever her daughter was doing seemed to work as Aperio could feel something oddly similar to her well of mana being linked to the bit of mana she had inserted into the crystal.

Once the connection between the shard and whatever actually was at the other side had been fully formed, Aperio could control the mana that lay there as though it were her own. With it came a sense of calm she had felt once before, after destroying the crystal she had found upon her return. Willing the mass of mana to join the rest of her reservoir caused the shard she held to break.

"Did you try to pull the mana back?" Ferio asked.

"Yes," Aperio replied. "But you were right. The mana that I felt was mine; at least I think so."

The next hours were spent in confusion as they tried to find a way for Aperio to successfully pull her mana away from the crystals. No matter how little she pulled, or how gently and slowly she tried to guide her magic, the representative shard they had before them would always shatter. It soon became apparent that the only way for Aperio to get full control of her mana would be for her to do what Ferio had suggested back when they had first met. She would have to go to each main crystal personally, and destroy them in much the same manner as the first she had encountered.

A few errant rays of sunlight crept into the room, and upon noticing them Aperio put an end to their experiments. She wanted to keep the promise she had made to Maria and that, for her, meant that they needed to begin their journey towards the Terenyk estate.

It was difficult to leave the cathedral, Aperio noticed, as she seemed to need to briefly be greeted by everyone they passed on their way out. Just before they left through the main doors, Diana reappeared, looking slightly put out that she had not been called for, and silently joined their group.

As the morning was only just dawning, Aperio took her time, stopping to admire a particularly interesting building or view if it should strike her fancy to do so. The more she observed, the more it seemed that many of the islands were like their own tiny fiefdoms; almost as if Ebenlowe had been built to be a country the size of a city.

As they crossed over yet another bridge, Aperio saw a decorated sign that read 'Feranir' and knew that it was the last crossing that needed to be made. It was the name Maria's companion had mentioned housed the Terenyk estate. Now that she was looking for it, she could see a few servants out on the streets, preparing for the undoubtedly busy day to come. A select few of them seemed to notice their presence, though when Aperio looked back in their direction they all hurriedly averted their gazes. Others tried to shield themselves from her aura, which was now more prominently displayed than ever before. Undoubtedly the more sensitive of them had noticed it as soon as she had entered the city, but the strength of her mana seemed to be proximity based. The closer someone was to her, the stronger the perception of her aura would be. Aperio made note of those who looked to be in pain like Thaddeus had been, and wrapped them in the protective cover of exclusion bubbles, a task that had become almost second nature during the short time in which she had known it to be possible.

"We are almost there," Ferio said, looking over her shoulder. "Are you sure you want to visit them in their home?"

Aperio tilted her head at the question. "Yes? Where else would I meet them?"

The words caused Ferio to pause briefly, falling back into step beside her mother. "I don't know," she said, her voice a whisper filled with frustration Aperio herself had not noticed before. "But it just doesn't feel right. Your appearance at someone's home merely because they asked it of you is wrong."

"I may have invited myself," Aperio said. "But even if they asked me to come there, I do not see why that would be wrong. I have nothing to prove."

"I guess you don't," Ferio replied with a sigh. "It's just… you used to only meet someone after they formally requested an audience, and even then most of them got denied." She fell silent for a moment, looking first at her mother's face and then at her feet. "I just keep forgetting that you are not the same as I remember."

There was uncertainty in her daughter's words; uncertainty that Aperio shared. She would, in all likelihood, never again be the same person Ferio remembered with such fondness. Unable to find words to soothe the troubled mind of her daughter, Aperio reached out to grab her hand, and unfurled one of wings to wrap Ferio in a soft-feathered hug.

A few of the people around them gave them a curious glance at her actions, but neither mother nor daughter cared. Some gazes were not so easily brushed aside, and one of those was coming from Diana. The priestess was staring at her back, seemingly trying to will her to disappear so her Goddess would no longer be troubled by what she perceived as an imposter. Words were never spoken, as both Aperio and Diana knew that that would end badly for the mortal.

Aperio wanted to comfort the only person she felt she could truly trust, and her daughter did not seem to mind the attempt. She did not know the sort of relationship she had had with Ferio before, but she did not think her heart was yet ready to know the truth for certain.

The thought was pushed down as Aperio caught sight of a maid she had seen before. With her hands clasped behind her back, the woman that had previously accompanied Maria was standing in front of a closed gate. Ending her wing-assisted hug, Aperio gave Ferio's hand a last, reassuring squeeze before letting go.

It only took a few more steps for the maid to notice their approach, causing her to stand just a little straighter. Words were not needed for her to open the gate and gesture the two Goddesses inside.

"Please follow me," she said. "Lord Terenyk is expecting you."

GamingWolf

Time to talk. Been awful lot of that lately.

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