'Beautiful creatures.'
Rafel remembered it was Mistress Lilith of the long night who had first coined that. Those were words his aunt had uttered in passing when a [Silver Saint] had been dragged on his knees to her black throne. Rafel had been nine and a budding Hel prince at the time.
He couldn't exactly remember what the Power had done to warrant him being tied up in curling brass chains and pulled into the grim courts of Hel's Matriarch, like a stubborn gelding, whipped by giant Maulers. He couldn't remember what exactly his auntie had said before those two words, or maybe he didn't want to; Lilith wasn't his favorite person these days.
But what he could clearly spell out was when she'd whispered,
'Beautiful creatures,' in the sprawling spooky throne room of the Holocaust Tower of Hel.
What she'd said before or after he cared not for.
But it was in looking at this woman before him and his trail hiking squad that Lilith's words manifested in his mind again. He would describe the woman in exactly those two words of reference—three: "A beautiful creature." For so she was. She so was, beautiful that is. Her eyes were as snow melting down a glacier.
Her skin was the frost of the north Alps, the taint of it glorious as the whitelands of Rumbrun. She was a goddess carved of the Ice Age.
An Autumn angel.
All mouths of the Third Company had dropped to the forest floor at her initial appearance, and still remained there. Rafel forged forward, taking Aya with him by holding to her hand. He softly winded through the shoulders of stricken students in his way as he moved to the front of the lines. Clearly, everyone had forgotten about Land Nav. Class and old maps.
This unknown beauty of heavenly distinctions had her pure-white eyes leveled on them. Her iris and pupils were one and the same. Her gaze was pale; might look like it belonged on the face of a Spectre if it wasn't so marvelous and soulful when she stared at you. Rafel just reached the front of his group when she lifted her hand and stroked back her silky, silver hair.
It dropped in waves, past the back of her tiny waist to her thighs.
It fluffed like spun snow in the forest gale and kissed her single opal robe like flakes of it. Her dress was simple, but the girl in it made it into divine. As she parted her brilliant tresses back, Rafel caught the glinting of several Tiffany rings dotting her left ear, a sharp elfish one finishing the circumference off at the top and giving her ear a metal tint.
It was the only jewellery she wore. She had something luminous about her. In truth, many things. All of her was made from pure white. Like she'd just walked out of Harmattan.
"Small mercies!" The healer of the Third Company nearly dropped his satchel of vials as his nimble hands knocked together. He salivated in the aura of her.
Aelaria Törmund took a step forward to the only young man among the lot who wasn't smitten to redness. She smiled at him; and it was wonderful. Rafel felt like he should offer her a gift or something—but that was what one did in the presence of gods, wasn't it? Someone in the back voiced out that very same question at the instant it entered Rafel's head.
Experience more on empire
"A-Are you a god, ma'am?"
"What is a god," Aelaria swept her pale eyes off Rafel, smiling when the Third Company created space for her in their middle to meander, "a deity? An avatar? Energy? Or perhaps, a combination of all those things. If so, then yes darlings, I am one.
I stand before you as Keeper of the Gardens, the crossroads maiden. The Rose, the Herb, and the Blackthorn. The Huntress of the forest. Lady of the woods and fair fields. I stand before you the Mistress of Summer. The Autumn angel, Aelaria Törmund."
Yes, that was it! Recollection hit Rafel like he'd just swallowed a blue [Reminiscence] pill.
Anna Bellisima!
The Bone Huntress. And for a while, his immortal bride—with a question mark. They had never gotten to that part. But at least he remembered sealing her in his dungeons for weeks in Emberfall. She too had been lost like Corazón in the fire. Taken as dead.
They'd burnt a pyre for her at Sekhmet's island. But now—
"It definitely is her," Rafel responded to Aya, "but I have to be sure."
He waited until almost everyone in the company had asked questions of the Autumn angel. Aelaria answered generously and calmly. In addition to being one of the fairest forest gods he had ever seen, she was phenomenal at therapy too. Turns out, the First Years did have quite a lot to unbag, mostly sexually.
"I'm sorry dears, this will be the last question," and when Aelaria Törmund said this, Rafel raised his hand. "Yes, do go on."
"Are you Annabelle?" Rafel's voice was low and moist. He clarified, "My Anna?"
Aelaria lowered her moony eyes a moment and rubbed her ashen lips together. She lifted her gaze again, spearing his. Her reply was long and had Rafel clutching to Aya's hand for support.
"Yes, I am. And I am not. The one you know as Anna Bellisima, maiden of the Drowned god and the Bone Huntress was lost in the fire. She died, and her bones were taken up and buried by pilgrim monks in passing. But in death, the souls of the children she had saved those many years alone in the dark woods sought her out amidst the flames and bonded to her. They died also.
However, their sacrifice made her into something between words. A sprite. An offering to the universe. A world walker. A god.
So, yes, darling, I am Anna Bellisima. Your Anna. But I cannot be with you, for I am also Bernadette Portineri. Hope Hillsong. Tulane Fearst. Yvonne of Rochemont.
Xifeng Li. Greer Umbrasyl. And many others. I am hundreds of souls. I am a thousand and one lives." Aelaria's voice melded into the joint speech of her avatars and her pale eyes shined out brightly. "I am Spirit of the Ancient Ones and Charge of the Lost Children.
I am Seer and Sovereign. . ."
Her body began to glow and rise as she floated into the air. She was outlined in perfect radiance as she lifted high before their eyes, transfigured. Every [First Year] of the Third Company stood to watch her. She burned brightly in white light.
". . .but I am also the Archangel Mariel. Guardian of Eden. For you who have witnessed me today, my runes are in your hearts. When you summon, I shall heed.
This is my boon to you. Now I must leave. Farewell, my gifted ones."
Everyone was awed as the mystery woman known as Aelaria Törmund burst in sparkles of light that fluttered into the canopy of trees as luminous butterflies. And just as she'd appeared out of nowhere, she was gone—into everywhere. Rafel lowered his eyes from the empty clouds. Every one in the Third Company was staring at one another.
They were back at the flight field in half an hour, and the entire way no one had said a word. The squadron leader secretly pocketed the sketch of Aelaria she had stolen under the white woman's fair face. This Griffin Arc girl was of the mind to frame and keep it forever; a souvenir, to when she had encountered the Autumn Angel.
Sometime later, back in formation with the other companies, Rafel asked of the Major if she'd asked the help of any other person to the Land Navigation class.
Tanaka Hanzo replied with a hard no.