Crusade – Chapter 72: An Overdue Visit (and Art)

GamingWolf

Surprise! I bet you did not expect a chapter so soon (though, it's only a day early) and you may wonder why. The reason is simple, one year ago the first chapter of Forgotten was released. Coincidentally, this chapter also pushes the story past 200k words published on RR/SH and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. I did not expect anyone to be interested in the story I want to tell or be happy with the eon pace I do it at.

There is also a little gift that has been taken from Maria's art collection for you to see, just click the spoiler button. I hope this brings a bit of joy to you in these increasingly unstable times.

Big Version

Maria pouted at her unmoving maid, letting herself fall to the floor in manner definitely not befitting of the lady she would one day be. She could feel her Goddess; knew that she was close. Why won't she let me see her?

The girl could see no reason why she shouldn't meet her Goddess. It made no sense. Aperio had removed both Vigil and Inanis, solving the problem of their existence. She had removed that particular obstacle. Perhaps it was because someone had bought one of the less-than-perfect paintings she had made? It was the only event in recent memory that stuck out in any way.

Luckily, she would not have to wait much longer as she could feel her Goddess drawing closer; the veritable tidal wave of mana that emanated from the All-Mother at all times hard to miss. Maria could not quite put her finger on it, but something about Aperio's presence had changed since the last time she had met her.

It wasn't anger, she knew that, but the memory of her unanswered prayers did resurface in her mind. She could understand that Aperio would not reply to prayers when fighting other Gods, but she had prayed a lot both before and after the notifications had appeared before her. Maria wanted to know why she had never gotten a reply and her maid was — for some reason — stopping her from making that happen sooner.

A knock shook the door and caused Amelia to take a step away. One of her maid's hands vanished beneath her apron, undoubtedly readying the weapon Maria knew she carried at all times. The girl doubted the weapon would do anything to her Goddess, but she did not want Amelia to die because of a false assumption of who lay beyond the door. Or does she not trust Aperio?

Maria could not think of many other reasons for her maid’s behaviour. It was highly unlikely to be an intruder, as they would have had to have made their way past multiple sets of guards, as well as other members of staff. And why would they knock?

"Come in!" Maria called, ignoring the glare she received from Amelia. She knew the identity of the one who knocked, knew that it was her Goddess. 

A moment later the door swung open and Aperio stepped into the room, ducking slightly as she passed through the doorway. For a brief moment, Maria questioned the validity of her memories of her Goddess. She could not recall Aperio being of such intimidating stature, nor could she remember seeing countless wisps of mana floating around her.

The girl she held up on one arm was also something Maria had not expected, quite unlike the fiery-haired woman and the Elf that entered the room following her Goddess. Those she had expected; a Goddess should have a following after all. Is she like me?

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Aperio asked as she set the girl down. "I thought it was your duty to protect Maria? How can you do that if you do not recognise her Goddess? Or do you think I have come to end her?"

Amelia stood straighter at the words, her hand no longer hidden under her apron. "My apologies." That was all she said, retreating to the corner of the room she always occupied if she had nothing else to do.

Maria's eyes lingered on her maid for a moment. The idea that, perhaps, her closest friend and her Goddess did not get along was not a pleasant one. She had hoped that her life would take a turn for the better now that the reason for her isolation had disappeared.

Her father had finally told her what had happened to her family. How her mother had been killed because of the blessing she herself had received; how the priests of Vigil and Inanis had tried to convince Geshton to kill his own daughter. It had been a few weeks since that revelation, the pain mostly held at bay by new dreams of her Goddess. They weren't answers to her prayers, but they at least showed her that Aperio had not fully abandoned her, even if the idea still managed to weasel its way into her head every now and then.

"Maria." The voice of her Goddess caused the girl to raise her head, finding the All-Mother crouching down in front of her; her wings spread slightly behind her. "Why have you been quiet all this time? Did they not allow you to pray?"

"I prayed," Maria mumbled. "But I never got an answer."

Her Goddess hesitated at the words, lowering the hand she had begun to outstretch. Maria could feel the uncertainty in Aperio, an emotion she found did not really fit the woman. She did not quite know why she felt that way, but in her mind a Goddess was always in control. So far that had been true for Aperio. The All-Mother appeared to always know what to do; was always in control.

The Elven woman that had accompanied her Goddess seemed surprised at the revelation as well, her eyes widening a bit as she tried to take a step forward. She did not get far, however, as the fiery-haired woman placed a hand on her shoulder that stopped her from moving.

"Could you pray to me now?" Aperio asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

Maria nodded slowly, getting onto her knees and clasping her hands in front of her chest. She focused on the mana flowing through her body, drawing a tiny fraction of it away to imbue it with her intent and the message she wanted her Goddess to receive. The task required more effort than any other magic she could use. Even imbuing her paintings with the required magic to give them the proper quality and look was easier to accomplish.

A final mental effort caused the tiny drop of mana to leave Maria and vanish to a place she could not begin to understand. She could only catch a glimpse of the world behind the reality she knew; the ever-changing nature of it giving her a headache whenever she even thought of it.

Aperio watched the minuscule droplet of mana race along one of the threads of reality. Nothing about its behavior felt wrong, as it seemed to be doing what it was supposed to do. Following Maria's mana was an easy task, the threads almost eagerly telling her where the speck of mana was at any given time. That was, until it entered her well and disappeared, joining the bottomless sea without leaving a trace. It was… too weak?

When Laelia or Caethya had prayed to her she could feel their mana in her well, the subtle variant in form calling, in a way, for her attention. Maria's mana did not. It simply vanished into the infinite ocean of mana and, try as she might, Aperio was unable to locate the drop. Being the wellspring of what she by now guessed was all the mana in existence made that specific task rather impossible. Unless I figure out how to tell each drop of mana apart from the rest.

Aperio doubted that she could do that any time soon. If that is even possible. With a sigh, she focused on the little girl again. She could see the apprehension in her eyes, the days in which she had been unable to even guess at the slightest hint of emotion gone. A small part of her wished for the blissful ignorance to return, but she knew that was neither possible nor desirable.

How she was supposed to tell Maria that she was too weak was not something Aperio knew, however. She could be blunt, of course, but the girl already looked like she was on the verge of tears. She did not relish that idea.

A small tug on the feathers of one of her wings caused Aperio to raise the limb and turn her head to properly face Brenia. The girl could not talk to her, nor would she have understood anything Aperio had said, so why would she interrupt now? Or does she just want to be close?

Her question was answered when the girl gestured to herself and then to Maria, obviously asking Aperio's permission to approach. The winged Goddess raised an eyebrow but let Brenia through regardless. Having the two meet was, after all, part of her reason for being here. It also allowed her to think about the issue at hand for a moment longer, an offer Aperio was not about to refuse.

The winged Goddess sent a small mental nudge to her daughter as she watched Brenia carefully approach Maria. Sadly, Ferio was not able to offer any insight as to why the prayer of the girl would not reach Aperio. Maria had more than enough mana to make a simple prayer. In fact, Aperio was fairly certain that the girl could draw on more than many adults she had seen so far.

It shouldn't have been a surprise. Everything she did was excessive in some form, and her blessings were no exception. How is Arden doing now? She had not really spared the Adventurer much thought, his blessing an accident that was not as impactful as that of Caethya or Maria. At least, she assumed that that was the case. I should check up on him at some point.

With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused her aura on Maria, trying to find some fault that would explain why the prayer just fizzled out and joined the mana in her well. Unable to detect anything wrong, Aperio steeled herself and, as Maria was distracted with Brenia, she started to very carefully examine the painter's soul.

It was free of runes — a relief to the Goddess — but was not undamaged. Aperio could sense tiny hairline fractures running all along the surface of the tiny orb, the mist contained within already starting to escape in a few places. It wasn't much, but the fact that it was happening at all caused a panic to spread through Aperio that she had not experienced before.

Whatever was happening here was definitely not supposed to be, but she could not determine the reason for the damage. What Aperio did know, however, was that she could fix it. The question just remained if she should. After what had happened to Laelia she was a bit more hesitant to simply go ahead and do what felt right. Leaving whatever was happening to Maria be, however, was also not an option. While Aperio might not be able to properly identify the manner of soul damage she was observing, or even how it had come to pass, she knew with certainty that it would not end well.

"Maria," Aperio said, interrupting the conversation the girl was having with Brenia. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

The girl gave a brief nod after she had said a few more words to Brenia, causing the girl to take a few steps away to give the Goddess and her new friend — hopefully — some space.

"Are you feeling unwell, Maria?" Aperio asked, keeping watch over her young followers' souls.

"No?" the girl replied, seemingly not sure why her Goddess had even asked such a thing.

Very carefully, Aperio opened a tear in reality and let a tiny bit of the soul-river water flow around Maria's soul. As soon as the orb had been fully submerged, Maria let out a small yelp and pressed her hands against her chest.

Aperio watched for a moment, observing how the cracks began to recede — a fraction of a hair's worth. "Do you feel better now?"

Maria did not reply with words, but with an almost imperceptible nod of her head. Her maid on the other hand was ready to draw her weapon again, only held at bay by an angry glare from Ferio. Aperio did not pay them much mind, instead focusing on the steady flow of the Void’s water around Maria's soul.

The act of healing the tiny orbs of light was becoming distressingly familiar to Aperio, something she had never expected to happen. Not that any of this makes sense. Try as she might, Aperio could not figure out why Maria's soul would be damaged in the way that it was. A mental query directed at her daughter did not reveal anything, Ferio not knowing much about souls to begin with.

Aperio could only heave a silent sigh as she invited both Maria and Brenia under her wings, keeping the constant stream from her Void up in the hope that more direct intervention would not be required.

A small flex of her mental muscles caused a pen from Lord Terenyk's office to lift itself off the table and start to pen a message for the man. As soon as she was done, Aperio let the note appear before him, briefly interrupting his journey towards them. He quickly scanned the words on the paper, his eyes noticeably widening as he read the part about his daughter's soul. As soon as he was done, he balled his hands into fists and resumed his journey, faster than before.

GamingWolf

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