NOVEL FROG 236. The scion.
Queen Anne's Revenge landed reasonably smoothly on the ground just a few paces away from one of the Legion's artillery positions. Her sails were secured, and the crew was already repairing the damaged hull. Jasper was supervising the work, which at first surprised the privateers, but they quickly realised that it was for the better. Typically, only a team of woodworkers would work on the destroyed section. Then, the Quartermaster, who had some knowledge about runesmithing, would carve the missing runes in the rebuilt hull. The work was progressing smoothly thanks to the wood provided by the Legion’s supplies and Jasper's skills. Morrigan, however, wasn't paying attention to the ship but was preparing to join the battle. An enemy scion suddenly gained speed, far exceeding anything bound to the ground. She couldn't understand why he was moving just above the canopies of the trees. Arani and Gawain informed her that she needed to deal with him on her own. They decided to preserve their strength in case some additional enemy forces decided to join the battle, so the two were going to rest briefly. On the other hand, Crawline said she would continue to fight.
"I have a feeling, Sister, that this battle’s fate will be decided in the next hour." Aurora gently fixed her hair. "The enemies' behaviour has changed drastically, and the beasts have become much more cunning."
"You might be right, Sister. This battle’s outcome is still uncertain, but I have trouble seeing us defeated after the King contributed such sizable forces to avert this crisis." Morrigan slowly nodded and hummed thoughtfully. "I need to face that enemy. I need to kill it before it can collapse our lines. Will you aid the Legate?"
"Oh, I'm so glad you did not ask me to take command..." Aurora exhaled with relief.
"What sister I would have been if I forgot you don't like violence?" The Vampiress beamed a smile and brandished her sleek, blue-green orichalcum rapier.
"It's really embarrassing for a scion to not like fighting..." The Lamia lowered her head, blushing, but was happy that Morrigan was not judgemental.
"The truth is that before I was called back from the darkness beyond, I think I didn't like the fighting as well." Aurora looked at the Vampiress, who had a thoughtful and slightly uncertain expression painted on her face. Morrigan finally gave a silly smile and shrugged, waving her rapier at her side irresponsibly. "Probably..."
"Oh..." Aurora slowly nodded.
"I mean... Not everyone needs to fight, right?" The Vampiress smiled encouragingly. "During my first campaign, I was so stupidly aggressive and violent that even the King was slightly concerned. But that was just empty bravado on my part. I was scared, angry, and so hopelessly lost that I was no longer sure what was right or wrong. I just wanted to finish the work given by the King as quickly as possible. I thought that making it quick would make it less bloody. It was Galahad who corrected my mistakes and explained the folly of my thinking. Do I like fighting now? No, not really. But do you know who else doesn't like fighting?"
"Stella?" Aurora offered after a moment.
"Well, yes..." Morrigan nodded, but clearly, she didn't have the Faé Queen on her mind. "I was thinking about Queens Irene and Lavender."
"Ahhhh..." The Lamia scion nodded with a bright smile. While Queen Lavender was not surprising in this particular context since Aurora and she could be called friends, mentioning Queen Irene surprised her to the point where she tilted her head and looked at Morrigan. "But Queen Irene?"
"Sounds impossible, right? The Queen, who has an entire Guardsmen Battalion and at least a hundred Inquisitors at her beck and call. The Queen, who mercilessly rooted out any cult she had found traces of..." Morrigan smiled sadly. "However, she hates violence. I needed a long time to understand that Queen Irene hates fighting even more than Queen Lavender. But she understands the burden of responsibility she shoulders. If she hopes ever to see peaceful days, she knows she can't shy away from using force whenever necessary."
"Oh..."
"However... We are different, sister." Morrigan's tone changed as she slowly rose from the ground. She used her Levitation as her black and golden-red uniform was replaced by her sleekly profiled armour. "While we might have been someone or something else previously, we were gifted different shards of the King's personality, or sparks of individuality, as Galahad calls them. Maybe it was in your nature to despise fighting, which was pushed even further by the gift you received from the King?" She hung lightly in the air, her plate armour so dark it seemed to consume the light that shone on it. The ruby-red and gold ornaments distinguished Morrigan's rank as the commander of Cohortes Praetoriae. "I still have to figure out the gift I received, sister. But I think that not everyone has to fight. Your work as an alchemist is as equally valuable to the Kingdom as Galahad is as the Grand Marshall of His Majesty's armies."
Morrigan, still smiling, disappeared soundlessly without a trace, leaving Aurora to her thoughts. While the Vampiress became more aware of her own feelings, she knew that Queen Irene was right. Those who wield power have to fight, and Morrigan's might was beyond the Mortals' comprehension. Using her Levitation skill, she escaped the confines of gravity and propelled herself with Dash, heading to welcome the enemy scion. She gained more speed and smiled coldly when she finally noticed the enemy—a Gryphon. The enemy glided on his huge, eagle-like wings with an arrogant disregard for anything and the certainty that he was the master of the sky. It was far too late before the enemy realised she was speeding towards him. Morrigan collided with the Gryphon, her high-heeled, armoured boots first, delivering a bone-crushing kick. She felt the crunch of breaking bones and the meaningless resistance of the monster's skin that gave way under the pressure of the heel of her shoe. The power of impact alone was enough to send the powerful Gryphon tumbling toward the ground and rocks below.
With a series of quiet, whisper-like 'puffs,' she used her unique Blink, vanishing in a barely visible cloud of smoke. While King Theon's Blink was the ultimate weapon in his arsenal, giving him nigh endless options on the battlefield, it had some disadvantages. Admittedly, the King changed them into advantages, which still amazed her. His blink was accompanied by a bright flash, which rendered using that skill covertly useless. King Theon simply used it to blind his opponents during the fight. There was also a matter of range between their abilities; while his skill allowed him to teleport wherever within his line of sight, her Blink seemed limited to just 100 metres. Ultimately, it was the King who managed to help her hone her skills and turn the apparent weakness into advantage and strength.
She reappeared on the ground at a safe distance from the stunned enemy scion. The quickly thickening darkness of the night wasn't a problem for her Vampire eyes. She saw every detail as if she had observed it on a bright day, and the only inconvenience was the much darker colour perception. The Gryphon tore at the ground around him, and a painful scream escaped his beak. She quickly identified every single emotion that crossed her opponent. Shock, pain, fear, and slowly growing anger were the most important. She laughed dryly as she watched him struggle to simply stand up. Despite his strength, some of his bones were broken, and he was already severely wounded, bleeding from his beak and chest where she had delivered her kick.
"Welcome to Arcadia." She smiled mockingly, raising her rapier slightly while pointing its tip to the ground on her side. "Where is your visa?"
"How dare you to challenge me..." His proud voice and speech were abruptly interrupted by his cough. Strings of thick, red blood covered the feathers on his neck.
"No visa?!" She pretended to be shocked and concerned while entirely ignoring his remark, additionally hurting his pride.
The enemy slowly stood up, proudly gazing at her from above. However, as his magical senses washed over her, she noticed a terrified concern in his eyes, much to her satisfaction. She slowly stepped forward, her long, auburn hair waving behind her. Taking an example from the King, she slowly unleashed her auras and killing intent. The air itself started trembling with each step she made, additionally intimidating the Gryphon. However, he shook his head and, with a defiant screech, waved his massive wings to return to the sky again. Morrigan jumped forward, moving her rapier with lightning speed, aiming it at the wings of her enemy. He barely managed to cover himself with his sharp talons, but her orichalcum blade forged in the Dwarven forges of Avalon sliced through them. The Gryphon lost his balance and staggered back, sitting on his lion's rear. He quickly swiped at her with his other paw; however, she blocked it. Using Blood Manipulation, she formed a thin shield-like surface that absorbed the impact.
"Who are you?!" The Gryphon staggered back again, barely standing on trembling legs. "Who do you serve?!"
"It's rather rude to invade the lands that belong to my King and then, after performing so miserably, be this disrespectful." She smiled innocently at the Gryphon, allowing his blood to fall into the dirt.
It snarled and waved his wings, sending his feathers flying toward her. At the last moment, she noticed their knife-like shapes and shining edges. She quickly blinked away, avoiding the barrage. She dashed forward, aiming her sword at his right eye. Seeing her attack, he could only jump away, but by doing so, he allowed her to graze his belly with the tip of her rapier. He started heavily panting while he eyed every her move and limped back to gain space. However, she simply followed him, keeping him in range of her sword. The Gryphon's legs started giving out.
Morrigan sighed. "What's your name?" she asked with a bored voice.
"Tixlon," he replied with a voice full of hatred.
"Who is your master?" Morrigan asked another question, slowly preparing to capture the enemy scion.
"Hahahaha! You Mortals are truly baffling. Despite your undeniable power, you don't know?" Tixlon laughed, but it quickly turned into a cough. He spat blood angrily and tried to look at least dignified. "I serve the greatest Lord! One who rules all forests across the world! The one whose power changes the seasons! The Emperor of the Ancient Forest has sent me!"
"I still wait for the name of the fool who attacked Arcadia." She grinned viciously, baring her fangs. She was amused that Stella's simple masking skill was so effective even against other scions. The Faé had created it with Sebastian's help so that the Mortal servants of King Theon could freely interact with his scions.
"Vestargo..." the Gryphon begrudgingly replied, but before Morrigan managed to blink and shackle him in a slave collar, she sensed a powerful attack.
She swiftly Blinked away, but the force of the impact that killed Tixlon was so great and vast that it hit her like a hammer. For a moment, she flashed with her entire might and the power of her battle gear. However, after a few long moments, when no one appeared to challenge her, she once again masked her power. The Vampiress swept the area with her searching skills and confirmed that nothing was hiding nearby, so she slowly investigated the death place of Tixlon. She secured the loot dropped by the scion and realised that the enemy had sent two scions. The second one was responsible for taking out Queen Anne's Revenge and finishing off the Gryphon. After wasting a few more unproductive minutes and finding nothing, she decided to return. The enemy Dungeon was strong, but even the scion who had tried to kill her and killed the Gryphon to prevent his capture wasn't overwhelmingly powerful. She couldn't exactly put her finger on her strange feeling, but after hearing the stories about the ferocity of the monster raids from the west, she expected something more.
She took the last look at the battlefield and vanished with a disappointed sigh. On her way back towards the Ninth Legion positions, she continued to mull over the fight. The Gryphon was undoubtedly strong, but she could have easily overpowered him even without her surprise attack. On the other hand, the Mortals living in this area were aware of the danger lurking in the West for generations. For thousands of years, the people who lived in the shadow of that ancient forest lived in fear. And yet... The enemy she fought was weak compared to her. Even the hidden second scion wasn't strong enough to challenge her. She simply knew it. Killing enemy scions was always extremely profitable, thanks to the enormous amounts of mana they provided. She glided through the air, but to be honest, she didn't like using the Levitation spell for the pseudo-flight. Morrigan hoped to learn the true Fly spell at some point. In the far distance, despite the darkness of the night, she noticed the remaining monsters being routed by the Legion. The battle was over. She sighed once more and started putting the report for the King together in her head.