The Mother of Monsters

Mack fell onto his back and puffed out a heavy breath, his head was spinning. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fought so hard. That said, it was more than worth it.

He grinned a bit stupidly to himself as he stared up at the box that appeared in front of him. The beautiful text like a siren song to his eyes. He reached up and wiped the sweat off his face, smearing a little blood that had ended up there at some point. He coughed and let out a little laugh. “Holy shit, I leveled up!” He threw his fists in the air, “I leveled up! Level nine!” He kicked his feet in celebration as Delilah walked over to him, crouching at his side.

“Congratulations,” She said with a smile before pulling out a handkerchief. She wiped his face down, “Almost to ten.”

He beamed at her, “How about you? Make any progress?”

She raised an eyebrow, “I have a few levels on you, I’ve got a little bit more to go,” She said patiently before getting back to her feet. He glanced past her at Azrael who leaned against a tree nearby, watching them both intently. “At least you two can handle yourselves in a fight alright. That’s better than a certain someone I knew when I first met her,” She said with a grin. 

Nearby, Teyva, who had dozed off on the rock she’d been perched on, snorted and sat up abruptly, rubbing her eyes, “Huh? Did you say something Az?” She asked.

“Nope, nothing at all,” Azrael chuckled before approaching the two of them, “You should pick an ability as soon as you can and take that nap,” She said, “We’ll be leaving shortly after that. I’m satisfied that you won’t die on the first brush with an enemy so we can start heading to the forest.”

Mack frowned, “What enemies are we going to find in the forest? There aren’t any natural monsters in the green sea, only her…” He paused and looked at the Queen for a moment. The Great Demon Lord yawned noisily and covered her mouth before scratching at her waist. She turned and looked at him, raising an eyebrow and giving him a cocky smirk, “..we aren’t going through the forest as allies of the monsters, are we?” He asked nervously.

Azrael gave him a hard look, “A five man team of heroes wander through the Green Sea completely unhindered by the Great Demon Lord’s monsters? Especially with one of her top generals active in the area,” She pointed out, crossing her arms, “That’s quite a tall tale there, Mack.”

He sighed, “Great.”

“You signed up for this,” Azrael said, “You should have considered it beforehand.”

He frowned and pushed himself to his feet, “I’m not a child, I just don’t take any particular joy in violence,” He said crossly. What was her problem, anyway? She always seemed to be either lecturing him or mocking him. Queen Teyva, he understood, for the most part, was a troll in the most modern sense of the word. She enjoyed playing little mind games and verbal sparring. She bickered all the time with Azrael. She was also a human who, based on a lot of what she’d said, had a background in games. So the likelihood of her being that kind of person jumped tenfold.

Azrael was an enigma to him, on the other hand. She was hard, sharp, and quick to hit soft spots.

She’s like a knife. He realized and glanced down at the knife hanging from the woman’s belt. He didn’t know much about her aspects but if she was one of Teyva Akura’s generals, she must be an ascendant. That meant that she embodied her personal aspect, whatever that actually meant. He was still hazy on the whole concept. Was her aspect the knife? He frowned when she didn’t respond to him, just held his gaze as he tried to wrap his head around her. Behind him, Dahlia cleared her throat and tried to pull his attention away, “Mack?”

“What’s your aspect, anyway? Not the others, the big one,” He asked, “You know ours, isn’t it fair we know yours?”

“You two are a pair of neophyte heroes with two aspects each,” Azrael said evenly, “I am a full ascendant. In my culture such entities are objects of worship, so I suggest you watch your tone.”

He met her gaze and her eyes narrowed harder. Seriously, what was her issue? It was like she enjoyed his struggling earlier. He chewed his lip and tried to take a breath and think for a moment. She’s like a Sister to the Queen, right? They even call one another sister. He blinked, Oh.

He took a step back, “Sorry,” he said quickly, “Blood just got to my head after the fight.”

She narrowed her eyes at his sudden willingness to back down but said nothing, turning away to walk over to Teyva. She hopped onto the rock and sat down next to her, crossing her legs and closing her eyes. Mack rubbed his shoulder a little and made his way back towards Dahlia who was speaking quietly with Miranda. Miranda looked up and gave him a gentle smile, “Enjoy butting heads with the princess?” She asked with a chuckle, “You’re lucky she didn’t gut you.”

He sighed, “Yeah, I know,” He said. He hadn’t realized how hot under the collar he was after the fight, it just crept up on him. He glanced over his shoulder, “The previous King was her father, right?” He asked in a low voice.

“Yes,” Miranda said simply and sat down, patting the ground in front of her. “And the only reason she hasn’t killed you both is because of her sister. Nothing more, nothing less,” She said with an almost sad smile. Mack and Dahlia exchanged a look before sitting down with the priestess who reached into a sack on her hip and pulled out two small bottles. She handed them the items, “Drink, this will replenish your health a little. You took quite a beating.”

He took it gratefully, “Thank you,” He said with a sigh and popped the cork, downing the bottle in one gulp. He felt energy begin to permeate his body and a rush of relief washed through aching limbs. He groaned and fell back onto his back again, “Oh that is so much better.”

“So Azrael is opposed to working with the heroes?” Dahlia asked as Mack savored his rejuvenated body.

“Not quite opposed, from what I understand she was the messenger sent by her father to attempt to sue for peace before the last war broke out,” Miranda said, “The humans hunted her and chased her out of their territory before ultimately sending an army after her father. She doesn’t hate heroes, just Katal. After all, her majesty is from your world.”

“What about the other human nations? This is just one small continent,” Dahlia pointed out, “I’ve seen the world map and read a bit. The continent is known as the cradle of civilization but the rest of the world is far more developed. How does she see them?”

“How would any of us see them?” Miranda countered, “The rest of the world left this land behind a long time ago, they think very little of this place except when a new Azar ruler rises. They fund Katal’s wars and send their people to fight its battles at times. Soldiers from distant lands come here solely to spill Azar blood,” She shrugged, “At least the Katal have some kind of historical excuse. The rest of the world could leave us alone, but choose to interfere anyway. I imagine in her eyes, they’re worse.”

Mack stared up at the sky as the woman spoke before reaching into his bag and pulling out his [Aspect Shard]. He clutched it in his hand for a moment, “I’m gonna have to agree with her there,” He said sourly, “When you put it like that.”

It made him angry, it was like everything that happened in this place was a big show for them. Entertainment. He remembered seeing the foreign dignitaries once while in Katal. The way they looked at everything. He hadn’t understood it before but now he got it. It was the curiosity of someone at a zoo or museum. Novelty. He scowled a bit and reached into his bag. He hadn’t had the time or the focus to really think about it until now, the desire, but in that moment he felt that if he didn’t get stronger he was going to be just another novelty to those people out there.

I can pick two abilities this level with the Aspects I’ve got and a bunch of shards saved up. Time to use them.