Days 547-548
We part ways with Bran, Vaneilli, and Yneir heading back to the village before going to Ilac. The rest of us join up with the river again and continue towards the coast.
Travel is mostly uneventful, passing by small human settlements and people on the water who pay us no mind. But as we begin to think about packing up the boat and continuing on foot to avoid the churning water, Kaide and I sense an enormous creature beneath the surface heading in our direction. It carries water, earth, and motion magic along with us and Kaide calls out that it looks like a river serpent...but much larger than it ought to be.
We make for sure and are almost there before it emerges and sends an enormous wave to capsize our boat, leaving Trillium in the water but everyone else either flying or...walking on the air in Qing Chen's case. The beast itself is huge - 3m wide and 20m long with dark oily scales and a head that seems reminiscent of Tide. As Kaide takes off to meet it in combat I hang back and push healing and power towards her. The thing is incredibly powerful and I'm realizing I might actually need to get involved before Trillium begins shouting at it in the draconic languages and wades after it,
tossing it onto shore. I know enough of this language to make out that she is offended by its existence more than threatened by it.
Once on dry land we can finish it off before deciding to rest there. Trillium is fairly exhausted again even though she felt completely in control this time. As I start replenishing her magical energy she tells me that she didn't even call anyone - she just heard a deep, rich voice saying "Let me help" and then the power flowed through her. I have to smile at this explanation, much like when I was facing the Atir and felt Lyssa working through me. I wonder if this is Trillium's partner or some other benevolent entity looking out for her...it certainly seems too intentional to be the remnant lurking in her ring. Whether from the spirit helping her or from some buried knowledge, she got the strong sense that such a thing shouldn't even exist, as if a human had stolen the Empress' shadow. It felt like a parasite.
Kaide agrees with the assessment - river serpents are usually no longer than our boat and typically match the riverbed (muddy and brown). This one was far too large, unusually coloured, and much more draconic than any typical serpent. Maybe it had been leaching the magical energy from the lake in Deldrin, though its scales are more like labradorite than black tourmaline. My records of dragon bloodlines point to a distant cousin of Onyx that might be involved - Dark Iridescence. I'll write to Dedrafel and ask him to look into any possible connection.
And Qing Chen remarks that they have similar creatures in the mountains with limbs instead of fins, and with more wind magic. Their legends say that the beasts are serpents who fed on dragon flesh and took on their powers, or perhaps malformed dragons who hatched this way. At this Trillium gives him a dirty look and he apologizes for any offence. This particular idea of consuming dragon flesh and gaining powers is something that Kaide says sounds like their Exalted Ones might have done either intentionally or unintentionally. But at this point, of course, we have no way of knowing and it feels inconsequential to me. Just another strange event that we'll either understand one day or we won't.
Liliales and I set up camp while the others butcher the body and save the venom and scales. As the scales are removed, though, the body shrivels and shrinks to the size of a normal river serpent, almost as though it has lost its powers by losing the scales. Qing Chen and I divide up the iridescent stone-like scales between us and then immediately compare notes on our respective storage solutions: He uses a ring with a single dark stone that devours the items. It leads to its own small world where he can manipulate things within and store items, which is apparently reasonably common amongst demons.
The night dissolves into more study of magic and illusion - apparently his 'walking on air' was a piece of magic he refers to as Phantom Feather Dancing Steps, in which his own form is cloaked in invisibility while he sends an illusion wherever he chooses. At the end of the spell he is transported to where the illusion last stood. I'm itching to combine this with my own illusory duplicates and Liliales is also terribly interested.
Days 549 - 551
Travel continues to be uneventful aside from Qing Chen making a distinct effort to befriend Trillium. Occasionally in the evenings they will spar and if Qing Chen avoids using the magic in his handheld fans (each spine carries different runes and powers) then it is a fairly evenly matched fight.
Day 552
We are nearly outside of the Golden Micro Empire by my estimates when we find ourselves at a settlement I recognize. It was this place that was attacked by the Severed so long ago, but it now looks like it is flourishing. I have half a mind to simply pass it by until I reach out and sense elves within. A flourishing human settlement with elves inside is something that bears investigating and we dock at their small port. A new banner is flying above the walls - deep blue with a golden border and winged horse upon it, mirrored in emblems on the guards. They all look quite professional, certainly competent enough to post a threat to anyone who meant the city harm.
As we moor we are greeted by an official who asks if we have a pass and then grants us docking rights and guest passes for a small fee. He also offers us a wooden tablet inscribed with the laws of the settlement, including one that any religious observances must not disturb others. Apparently the Emperor prefers things to be orderly and thinks that the human religions have a high likelihood of causing issues. We are also directed to see the cavalry captain if we are seeking any other elvish names.
Within the settlement there is a notable, almost excessive military presence but they seem generally welcome. There are even some elves in uniform, which puts me more at ease. The person we're looking for - a cavalry officer, recognizes me immediately and drops to a knee.
Lady, forgive me for being unfaithful in my service.
As always, such an apology is a delight to forgive. While we retire for drinks and conversation I sense that this time the statement might mean more than just an apology for serving another Empire. His oaths are intact but there is a connection to something else, something that feels vaguely like Yneir.
As he describes his 50 years on this side of the Barrier and 20 years in the Empire I get a better sense of what it might mean. Apparently elves have been valued here because some of the spirit beasts in the area respect them and will refuse to work with any but elves. The Emperor has been collecting loose human settlements and forging them into something more able to protect themselves, much like Torrick has done in the Armed Nation.
Mid-conversation an inhumanely graceful woman joins us and settles down behind the captain (Cesstrum), introducing herself as his partner, Chrysilla. I can see instantly that she is the new bond he has formed and so she must be a type of spirit folk like Yneir. Unlike Yneir's golden presence, Chrysilla is iridescent blue-green and I can feel the bond to my Empire in her as well, as though their connection goes both ways. I reassure both of them that such a bond is not a problem at all and that I'm happy to see elves forging new connections. And when I push out the presence of the Empire as part of my reassurance, I see her instinctively respond to it by bowing and remarking on the aura of protection and peace I give off.
For his part, Cesstrum asks who exactly I am. He recalls meeting the Third Hand back home and says the presence they held is the only thing he's felt that is as strong as I am.
I'm a new thing. The Empress has named me our Imperator, sworn to protect our people from anything that threatens them.
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