With every step, Alia felt herself bond closer to her divine form. She walked on her six limbs, as the movent felt more natural given her elongated body. Her talons were razor sharp and easily sliced through earth, stone, and wood. Her great wings were difficult to control entirely, but depending on her will, they could beco an impenetrable shield or wall of soft feathers.
The endless ocean of aether inside her begged to be used, circulating throughout her body and pushing her senses to new heights. It wasn’t just the feeling of her vast reserves; Alia could feel her body drawing in the aetherfield. It was like she was a vacuum, and the ethereal substance was rushing to fill her up. At the sa ti, she was continuously expelling aether back into the atmosphere, creating a continuous process that she could only describe as breathing aether.
Her perception had grown trendously, and her ability to process information had similarly caught up. Before, she could sense the aether inside soone to gauge their strength, but now Alia could see it. The aether inside people appeared like a shimring light, not blocked by earth or trees. She could count the people in the ship, unmoving due to her magic; a low-level sleep spell thrown far and wide from the branch of Kanaxai, the demon god of illusion and trickery.
She could also see the aether signatures of creatures many kilotres away, keeping their distance. She was strong and mighty, and everything around her knew it! It was a sha, as she hadn’t actually seen what they looked like. Serena had always referred to them simply as the ‘local wildlife’ but the way she had described so of them they sounded more like dinosaurs.
Alia turned in a few circles while Serena clambered through the ship on her mission to bring the healed and sleeping Polina out. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to say, but it didn’t matter much. What was done was done, and if Alia hadn’t been there, everyone onboard would have died. Alia cast her feathered head down in thought before breaking out into a happy grin, distracted by the sight before her.
How the ground sparkled! Thousands and thousands of moon crystals buried beneath the surface shone like the purest night sky. Like herself, the crystals didn’t produce aether; instead, the aetherfield was pulled through them, causing them to shine! Even in the giant trees that made up the forest, she could see a slight current of aether flowing through their roots. Aether appeared to be more closely intertwined with life than she had thought!
There were also other things. Aether signatures that didn’t seem to be a part of this realm. They were about as bright as Serena’s signature, but none ca close to her strength. They kept their distance but were evidently curious about her as they seed to follow and circle her cautiously, maintaining a distance of about a kilotre. Whatever they were, did she look the sa in their eyes? A bright glowing ball?
Whatever this other realm was, it seed to be layered upon this one. Her curious friends seed to follow the sa terrain as her, avoiding the sa trees. Was there another copy of Cascadia, existing alongside this one? How would that work, and what did it an? She would ask Serena about it later, although she suspected this might be a bit beyond the knowledge of her brilliant girlfriend.
Tatiana- no, Polina was carried out by Serena and thrown against the base of an enormous tree. Alia raised one enormous feathered eyebrow at Serena, who gave her a shrug in response. Polina stirred but didn’t respond; waking soone from her sleep spell would take far more than that.
Polina’s hair was unkempt, and her face and body were covered in dirt and gri. Where did she live, in the sewers!? Her clothes were tattered, although not to the point of being immodest. With a quick burst of aether Alia cleansed Polina’s body.
Beyond the flesh, Alia could see Polina’s soul. It looked like a white cloud, from which little wisps and bits would twist and turn. It was reacting to the aetherfield, or maybe the aetherfield was reacting to the soul. Looking even further, using her Second-Word-enhanced vision, she saw the soul was connected to the mists, the proto-realm connecting all other realms.
She wasn’t sure if souls lived in this realm and were linked to the mists or that souls lived in the mists and were linked to this realm. Regardless, Alia could see the complicated structure of the two blessings layered upon Polina’s soul. She couldn’t quite figure out precisely what gods gave each blessing, but Alia was certain one was provided by a human god and the other by a demon god.
Well, she would be ready for anything. Alia was basically invulnerable in this form, and anything that did manage to hurt her could be patched up in the blink of an eye. To ensure the safety of everyone else, Alia twisted the aether inside her to form an eighth-circle ward, which she casually threw over Serena. The ward was invisible to the naked eye, unlike the lower circle spells she had previously cast that caused a golden glow. This didn’t an they were cloaked. It shone like a lighthouse in her enhanced vision, disrupting the aetherfield and causing the mysterious creatures from another realm to draw back even further.
Alia then picked another spell and cast it around the three of them, creating a defensive shell that would act as a first line of defense against any attacks going in or out. Ha! She would like to see sothing and try to get through that!
“You just did sothing ridiculous, didn’t you?” Serena asked her while examining her own body. “A ward? I can barely sense it.”
“Yes,” Alia said.
“Are you able to control how much aether you’re leaking? If you keep talking with such power in your words, the girl will have a heart attack.”
Mmm. That wouldn’t be good. Alia focused inwards and slowed the flow of aether, both into and out of her body. Interestingly, it wasn’t just the aether that obeyed her command, but the aetherfield itself seed to want to work with her.
“How’s this?” Alia asked.
“Much better.” Serena unsheathed her sword. It was only a wooden training sword, but being cloaked in an orange aura, it was far sharper and sturdier than any blacksmith-created weapon. Serena pointed the sword at Polina’s throat. “Shall we wake her up then?”
“H-hang on!” Surely they didn’t need to hold Polina at sword-point! It wasn’t like she could escape unless one of her blessings was teleportation. “I think we should approach this in a much more friendly way!”
“Oh?” Serena’s mouth curled up. “Which one of us has actual interrogation experience?”
Alia groaned, which sounded more like a growl in her new form. “I’m just saying. Maybe we should do that thing, you know where one of us is helpful and friendly, and the other is aggressive?” Surely the classic good cop bad cop wouldn’t fail them?
“You… know about that thod?”
“Sure do! I saw it in shows all the ti!”
Serena rolled her eyes. “I don’t think your experience with entertainnt qualifies. Besides…” She turned her gaze towards Polina. “I think she’s going to be scared regardless.”
That was a good point. Waking up in a dark forest, not knowing where you were or how you got there. Anyone would be scared! “Good point!” Alia chirped, “Maybe you should hide around the tree so it’s just … what?” Serena was looking at her with a stupified expression.
“Idiot. You think you’re the less scary one of all of us. You’re a gigantic…” Serena gestured at her with a complicated expression. “Angelic-bird-peeka thing!”
“I know! Don’t you think I look fluffy and cute!?” To emphasize her point, Alia stood upright on two legs and extended her wings to their fullest extent. It felt incredibly satisfying to stretch her wings. Having a pair of wings was unfamiliar at first, but it was growing on her. She suddenly felt the urge to wrap Serena up like a burrito. Imagining the cute noises Serena would make almost made her do it then and there.
Maybe another ti.
Looking down, Serena and Polina did look very small. How tall had Serena said she was? Thirty ters? That was about the sa height as a ten-story building! Maybe she did look scary after all! “Fine…” she grumbled before plodding her way around the back of the tree, coming around and laying on the floor so Polina would only see two of her arms and her head. “You take the lead, and I’ll just… be here...”
“Better. Are you planning on talking?”
“Sure!”
“Are you… going to let Polina know it's you?”
“I’m not going to lie!”
“This is the exact kind of situation where you should lie!” Serena went to grab her horns but stopped herself. After mumbling about having an idiot as a girlfriend, she asked Alia what she could tell her about Polina’s blessings.
“I can’t tell what they do, or which god provided them, but…” Alia peered again at Polina’s soul. “One of them has a feeling of a human god, and the other a demon god.” Seeing Serena’s eyes widen, she asked, “Is that rare? For a human to be blessed by a demon god?”
“Yes, it’s rare! Two blessings, and one of them from a demon god!?” Serena took a breath. “It’s like… like… another you!”
“Another ?”
“An impossible existence! One that breaks all the norms and rules! Ah…” Serena’s head dipped in feigned defeat. “Why does this keep happening to …”
A thought popped up, “Do you think she could be in a similar situation as ? From another realm?” At her question, Serena eyed Polina for a few cool seconds.
“Perhaps. I guess we’ll find out…” Serena tightened her grip on the sword at Polina’s throat. “Want to wake her up?”
“Wait!” Alia exclaid. “Promise you won’t hurt her!”
“I can’t make that promise, she has two unknown blessings and she tried to kill us,” Serena said, looking at Alia with a resolute expression. “Anything might happen when she wakes. She’s an enemy.”
“She’s a friend!”
“You’re being naive! You-”
“No!” Alia’s aether flared as she lost control and Serena took a step back, grimacing. For a mont, a glint of fear appeared in Serena’s eyes, sothing Alia absolutely hated to see. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she whined. “I lost control!”
Serena was silent for a mont. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice softening. Her eyes had lost any sign of fear and instead looked at her in concern.
“Yes…” Alia thought about letting it pass but decided against it. She had to address the matter now, else the doubts would eat away at her in the future. “Did I scare you? You looked scared, for a mont. I hated that… I’m really sorry!” Ah, she was rambling! How awkward! She felt her eyes watering.
“Are you… crying?” Serena asked.
“No!” Alia exclaid as an enormous teardrop fell from her face, splattering on the ground and getting Polina wet. “Great, now I feel all awkward and stupid.” She closed her eyes, forcing two more tears to fall, and dipped her head.
Ah, she really was an idiot.
She felt two soft hands on her face and opened her eyes to see Serena had sheathed her sword and was reaching up and touching her. “I’m not scared of you, Alia,” Serena said with a smile. “You have to understand the sheer presence you have in that form. You’re incredibly powerful, and my instincts react to your outbursts. However, I’m not scared of you, understand?”
“... I see.” Alia felt a little better.
Serena leaned in and gave Alia a peck on the cheek.
Now she felt a lot better!
“I know I’m ignorant and naive,” Alia explained, “but I know I have good instincts. When I first t you, when you burst through the doors and jabbed with your sword - I wasn’t scared because I knew you weren’t an evil person - the sa thing with Tos, Lord Yulan, or Grandpa Gu. Before people say anything, I can determine their character. I haven’t been wrong yet. Even though Tatiana or Polina or whatever she’s called was deceiving … I can tell she isn’t a bad person. She wouldn’t knowingly destroy a ship of innocent demons!”
Serena sighed, tilting her head to the side. With an endearing look, she said, “Alright. No swords and no violence. We’ll figure out why what happened happened, and we’ll figure out how to go from there.”
“What’s likely to happen with her? After we get rescued?”
“It’s not really my choice,” Serena said with a shrug. “I’ll pass it up the chain of command, and she’ll be taken into custody. Her blessings make her a valuable hostage. She’ll probably be traded for a dozen of our own spies who are currently rotting away in so federation prison.”
“So, she won’t be executed?” Alia couldn’t help but sound worried.
In response, Serena rolled her eyes. “There are international conventions, and Cascadia does follow them. We’re not in open war with the Federation. The sanctions and military aid aren’t bad enough yet to break down common decency.”
Although Serena’s emphasis on the word yet caused concern, her assurances were enough for Alia. “Okay! Shall we wake her up then?”
Serena took her position. “Don’t call her Polina. Let her think we don’t know who she is. At first, anyway. Stay out of sight for now, until I can gauge the basic details.” She gave Alia a nod. “Ready?”
Alia backed up a little so Polina wouldn’t see her. While she also couldn’t see Polina directly, her perception and information-processing capabilities were so high that she could easily construct an image of the area from the other side of the tree. With a bit of focus, she found she could perfectly perceive a radius of a few dozen ters around her.
Taking a mont to quieten her breathing, she cut the flow of aether supplying the sleep spell. Polina stirred and mumbled sothing incomprehensible but otherwise seed content napping. Serena nudged Polina’s foot, which was missing a shoe.
“Wake up!” Serena called out, and Alia sensed Polina coming around. At first, her eyes opened slowly, but as the alien environnt beca apparent, her eyes snapped open, and Polina looked around before locking her gaze with Serena.
“Are you okay?” Serena asked, putting on an act of compassion. “Not many survived the crash. Alia told you were a friend.”
At that mont, Alia saw one of Polina’s blessings activate. It was the one linked to a human god. Its activation barely disrupted the aetherfield, and if soone didn’t have their perception enhanced by a Second Word, then it would be missed entirely. Even more noticeable - at least to her - was the ripple that propagated throughout the mists, sothing regular spells didn’t cause. Did this an blessings worked on different principles than ordinary magic?
As far as Alia could tell, the blessing didn’t do much. Her powerful wards didn’t register any attack, and Serena seed unfazed. What was it? What did it do?
“Y-y-y…” Polina was trying to choke out so words. It was as if she was in shock. “You… you… who are… you?”
“I am Serena Halen, Captain under Greatlord Oshiro of the eastern fleet,” Serena said, a distinctive note of pride under her voice. Once again, Polina’s blessing activated to no noticeable effect. “I saw you, in the engine room, before the ship exploded. What were you doing?”
“I… uh…” Polina gulped, “I…” She turned and threw up to the side. The poor woman was shaking. Alia almost reflexively cast so healing but held back. It didn’t make her happy at all, to see Polina like this. “I was a stowaway… hitching a ride…”
“Trying to get… where?”
“Anywhere… I had nowhere to go…” Polina closed her mouth and Alia sensed she was running her tongue around her mouth. It was a weird action, and she couldn’t understand why she was doing it. “How am I…”
“Alive?” Serena interrupted. “Alia healed you.” Polina’s blessing activated again, and Alia detected another disruptive echo in the mists.
“A titanic amount…” Polina whispered seemingly to herself. “Alia… is here?” she asked nervously. “Where is she?”
“Still in the ship, recovering from using up so much aether.” Again, the blessing fired. Was it activating whenever Serena talked? Polina looked around again, even up at the forest canopy where only a few beams of moonlight broke through the dense greenery.
“Are we…?”
“On the forest floor, yes.” Serena nodded. “I’m sure a rescue ship is already on its way.”
“T-the monsters!”
“The local wildlife? Have no fear. I am a Speaker. They won’t approach us so recklessly.” Serena paused and asked, “Why did you have nowhere to go? Alia told you were a rchant’s bookkeeper. What happened?” So more pulses from Polina’s blessing, and the woman beca silent for a long ti.
“What’s my na?” Polina suddenly asked.
“Huh?” Serena seed confused by the sudden question. “Have you forgotten?”
“What do you think my na is?”
“Why-”
“Just answer!” Polina cried out, her voice carrying out a strange note of desperation.
“... You’re Tatiana,” Serena said as Polina’s blessing activated.
All was quiet for a few seconds and then Polina giggled. The sound was so unexpected both Serena and Alia were taken back. “Pfft!” Polina giggled again, and then began laughing out loud. “Ha ha ha!” She laughed madly for a minute before settling down, breathing heavily. “Well, go on then, make it quick.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t matter much now, but I didn’t an to blow the engine. Really,” Polina’s voice beca firm, “I only wanted to get you.” Aside from the rustle of the treetops, silence filled the area for a dozen seconds. Alia’s mind raced. Why had Polina given up the act now?
“I thought you recognised ,” Serena said plainly, all veneer of compassion gone from her voice and her usual captain deanour coming through. “Why did the lift engine detonate? Those things don’t go up easily.”
“Ha!” Polina scoffed and pushed herself up against the tree. “You bitch,” she said. “I hate your guts. Hurry up and kill , before I try and kill you again.”
“Yet you haven’t, which ans you cannot. A lot of humans hate , although not many try and kill ,” Serena said. “Why did Federation intelligence try and assassinate ? Were you trying to kill Alia as well?”
“We didn’t try and kill you!” Polina spat on the floor. “I did! ! Alone! Why? Does it matter!? Why don’t you kill and finish the job!”
“Finish…?” Serena mumbled, seemingly unperturbed by Polina’s aggression. “Did I kill soone close to you? Ah… so it is that…” Serena leaned in. “Who was it? Who did I kill that caused all this to happen?”
“Bitch! I’ll never tell you!” Polina seed almost maniacal, and Alia was teetering on a knife edge about whether to interfere. “So just kill !”
“I’m not going to kill you,” Serena said flatly. Another activation of Polina’s blessing and Alia began to assemble a theory.
“T-then, hurry up and torture ! That’s all you’re good for!”
“What nonsense you speak…” Serena mumbled, “I’m not going to torture you or hurt you. It seems I’ve already done enough. I don’t think you understand how lucky you are. I doubt anyone’s going to be killing or torturing you, even if they wanted to.”
Another activation. “Huh!? What…” Polina’s attitude made another radical change, now she seed only confused. “I don’t understand…” This final change was enough to confirm Alia’s growing suspicions.
“I know what her blessing does!” Alia yelled out excitedly, popping out her gigantic face around the corner. “It lets her detect truth and lies! Isn’t that right, Polina!?”
“Ah, ah, ahhhhhhhh!” Polina scread.
Serena just sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose while shaking her head.
Huh, what did she do wrong!?
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