Crusade – Chapter 71: Off On A Visit

While Caethya and Ferio had no qualms of stepping through her portal, Aperio still had to wait on Laelia and her family. Brenia looked quite eager to step into the portal, but the same could not be said of the twins.

Neither of them looked particularly happy at the prospect of leaving their home, saying something that caused Laelia to lower herself in front of the two to better talk to them.

"They do not have to come if they do not want to," Aperio said, her voice easily crossing the threshold of her passageway. "And if you wish to stay with them, you are of course free to do so."

Her Scion hesitated for a moment, asking the twins a question before she nodded slightly. A few more words caused Brenia to run through the portal and try to sneak under one of Aperio's wings. She lifted the feathered limb slightly, smiling at the happy giggle the Human girl made.

"I assume this means you will stay with your sons?" Aperio asked.

"Yes," Laelia replied, as she properly sat herself down on the floor. "They need more time."

How long did they live with that curse? Aperio thought, the smile vanishing from her face. She would not call the Rage a disease, as it really wasn't. It was something much worse and its existence only told the All-Mother that something was definitely not working as intended. Another thing I have to look into. …Once I figure out how.

While she might know how to heal a soul, Aperio had no clue what might possibly cause multiple souls to try to inhabit a single body. She knew that each soul would get its chance at reincarnation in time. Where exactly they would go, she had not yet figured out, but there should be enough bodies for them to inhabit. Do the undead have souls?

Aperio herself had never met an undead, but she had read about them once. The book had claimed that a Lich was only distinguishable from a normal person by its bony nature, something that did not really indicate if it had a soul or not. Perhaps I should seek one out?

The undead, she had learned in that book, were usually hated by the living. Or at least, feared. She herself found the idea of a skeleton walking around to be somewhat unnerving. But, unlike the mess of souls the Rage created, she felt no overwhelming desire to remove them. So it's not wrong, per se. Or my old instincts are spotty.

With a light shake of her head she very carefully directed a small mental query towards her Scion, letting her know that she only needed to ask for her and she would come. Once she got a confirmation from Laelia, she closed the portal.

The gate to the Terenyk estate now loomed before them, staffed by a guard who had, despite his shock, managed to grab hold of his weapon. By no means did he look like he wanted to fight, a notion Aperio understood.

It had taken longer than it should have, but the effect she had on people had largely remained the same. Most still seemed scared of her — and why wouldn't they? She towered over most of them, tiny wisps of her mana floating around in a casual display that probably eclipsed the power of many that would observe her. On top of that she also had wings, and that her mere presence seemed to command respect from most mortals was also something she had to consider. Do they, deep down, know what I am?

She pushed the thoughts from her mind and focused on the guard behind the gate, causing him to take a step back and grab his sword a little tighter.

"I have come to visit Maria," she said. "If you would be so kind and inform her that Aperio is here, I would be much obliged."

The guard did not react, simply staring at her. Even when Aperio waved a hand and a wing in front of his face, he did not react. For a moment she considered simply teleporting herself and the others inside, but then she would be ignoring rules and conventions simply because she could, something she did not want to do. If this is the norm, I might have to reconsider that stance.

"Did he not understand me?" Aperio asked, looking at her daughter. "Or is he simply scared?"

"Of course he is scared," Ferio sighed. "You should really consider your impact on the mortals if you plan on living amongst them."

"I know that my presence has an impact on them. But why do they react that way? Is it because of the wings? My general appearance? The mana?" The fact that my dress is a bit too tight now? ...I will need to fix that.

While she had not previously been bothered by the way her dress had not adjusted to her new size, it did irk her now that she had noticed the issue. But, overall, it was not that important of a thing. I needed to make myself a proper dress at some point, anyhow.

She had no doubt that anything she could purchase or otherwise acquire from mortals would not withstand even a fraction of her power. The only real option was to make something herself. Like I did with my weapons… But how did I do that?

Aperio knew how to sew, of course, but it couldn't be as easy as simply replacing the thread with her mana, could it? While that approach had worked for her current dress, it did not mean it would for more. But why wouldn't it? Aperio resolved herself to at least try, once she had dealt with the situation at hand.

"Lady Aperio?" Caethya asked, only continuing once the winged Goddess had turned to face her. "Couldn't you just ask Maria to let us in?"

"I could, yes," Aperio replied. "But talking in that way caused you pain and Maria is a child, not an almost level four-hundred Adventurer." Not that the levels seem to mean much. I should really figure out how to fix that…

The amount of things Aperio wanted to fix was growing larger faster and faster, the System alone having so many components that seemed to be broken that she could probably spend the next few millennia just trying to understand them. Why did I not make a manual?

With a shake of her head, Aperio looked back at the guard. He still seemed to be frozen in place, his hand on his weapon. She waved at him again, but got no reaction.

"Just go in, mother," Ferio said, the annoyance at her mother's reluctance clear in her voice. "They wouldn't exist without you; a bit of lenience for breaking their silly rules should be expected." That she would extract that lenience with force should it not be given was left unsaid.

"Fine," Aperio sighed, lifting her wing slightly to not tip over Brenia as she stepped into the gate, reality rippling slightly before she reappeared before the closed front door. Her daughter had a point, one that many mortals would probably agree with even if Aperio herself did not really like it.

Brenia was the first to follow, running through the portal the winged Goddess had created just in front of the closed gate. The girl either had no sense of danger or was supremely trusting. Or she just wants to stay under my wings, the Goddess thought as Brenia attempted to hide under her feathered limbs again.

This time, however, the girl was out of luck. Aperio held her wings firmly, and when Brenia began to be confused at her inability to move them the Goddess bent down to pick the child up. "Why are you so fixated on my wings?"

Brenia did not understand, of course, simply tilting her head at the words and looking for Caethya, probably so that she might translate. I really need to learn that language. How hard can it be? She was able to do a great many things with little to no effort; learning a language should not be much different. I hope.

She had been able to learn the language of her own people fairly quickly. If she was able to do it in the past, she should definitely be able to do it now. Perhaps I should acquire a dictionary.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind as she, very carefully, knocked on the door, not trusting the runes on the bell to withstand her touch. They were already glowing quite brightly, seemingly etching themselves deeper into the metal. Couldn't they have stuck with the rest of the city and not use runes for things?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and a maid looked out with confusion at their group. Much like the guard, she did not speak, simply staring at Aperio with unbelieving eyes. "I would be much obliged if you could inform Lord Terenyk that his daughter has guests," Aperio said, already annoyed at the mortal’s reaction.

Despite her reaction, the maid quickly nodded and scurried off, forgetting to invite them in as propriety stated she should. Or at least, what was proper. Aperio simply stepped inside, adjusting her hold on Brenia ever so slightly so as to not accidentally hurt the girl. Is this even comfortable for her? Aperio couldn’t really believe that it was, even when Brenia seemed to be quite happy to be where she was.

"Caethya," Aperio said. "Could you ask Brenia why she is so fixated on my wings?" Brenia had not yet asked the Elf to translate, and her disciple had seemingly not heard the question Aperio had asked the girl.

Caethya hesitated for a moment, either not knowing the proper words or not wanting to ask the question. Or does she like them, too, and is embarrassed again? That seemed to be the trend with her disciple, after all. In the end, Caethya did ask the girl, exchanging a few more words that Aperio also did not understand but was sure were about her as well.

"Because they are nice and soft," Caethya mumbled, her gaze directed at the floor. "And you make her feel safe."

They are soft, yes. But, safe? Aperio looked over at the girl who had started to play with her hair. Perhaps that is because she doesn't know what a Goddess can do yet? Or because Laelia is my follower? "I get the feeling she is the only one that feels safe in my presence."

"That's not true!" Caethya objected. "The others simply don't know you. They only see a winged Goddess, wreathed in power, looking down at them. They don't know that you can be gentle, that you do your best to tolerate the antics of us mortals."

Aperio just gave an almost silent sigh in reply. Did she already forget that I lost it over nothing because I failed to control myself? "I believe she is simply innocent; lacks the knowledge. Of what I am. Of what I could do to everyone, should I so choose. ...But those living here have already seen me, and the last time I was here it became painfully obvious what I was."

"I have told you numerous times that you will have an effect on people, mother," Ferio said. "You practically scream Goddess currently."

"Ah, yes. The winged Goddess has come to claim their souls. Is that what they think?"

With a shake of her head, Aperio started to walk further into the building. She knew where Maria was, and could not sense anyone approaching them. Do they just let everyone wait? She somehow doubted that was the case, as the last time she came to visit they had been expecting her and had promptly escorted them to the Lord of the house. Why are they so scared now?

The only thing that had changed was that they now knew she was the All-Mother, but that revelation had not seemed to phase them at the moment it had happened. Telling them I fixed something in the System did nothing, but now coming here scares them half to death. Am I just not able to understand a normal person anymore?

"Do you happen to have any books that could help me learn this new Common?" Aperio asked, turning her head slightly towards Caethya. She directed the same question at her daughter with a small mental nudge, but only got a shrug back. Ferio did not have any but should be able procure something if Caethya could not provide.

"I have some," the Elf replied, sticking her hand into an inky black hole that formed in front of her. "But, do you really need them?"

Aperio just gave a slight shrug with her wings. She did not know if she needed books to learn a language or if she could dig through the System to find something. Considering that the System was understood by all, it should know every language. It has to have a translation function. "It certainly would not do any harm, no?"

"No, I guess not," Caethya said, offering the book to Aperio.

The winged Goddess took the offered tome, turning it in her hand to see the title: A Comprehensive Guide to the New Common - 3rd Edition. The language it assumed you to know was already something that was obviously a newer version of what Aperio herself spoke, but still close enough for her to understand it without issue. "Thank you."

Aperio let her senses wander. To her disappointment, the Lord of the house had not yet been informed of her arrival, nor had he even noticed their presence in his home. With a sigh, Aperio grabbed hold of a pen and paper in the man's office with a touch of her magic. If his staff was unable to relay the information, she would do it herself.

Humming quietly as she stroked the back of Brenia's head, Aperio moved the pen across the page in front of a rather stunned-looking Lord Terenyk, informing him that she had come to speak to his daughter. Once that task had been completed, and the paper signed with a flourish, she placed the pen gently down atop the Lord's desk and turned her attention to Maria, who was, unsurprisingly, in her room.

The girl was trying her best to get past the maid – Amelia? – that always accompanied her, leading Aperio to believe that the girl somehow already knew of her presence. A smile spread across her lips as she walked a little faster towards her youngest disciple.

GamingWolf

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