Melia the Magnificent

“I’ll say it again,” Moeldywn repeated. “What is that?”

“It’s the [Frozen Heart of the Mountain],” Melia said. “It’s a quest item.”

“I see it’s a quest item,” Moeldywn sighed, leaning back and slumping into her seat. She could feel a headache coming on and it was barely nine o’clock in the morning. “[Identify] makes that clear as day. Meliastraza…why are you giving this to me?”

“Ahhh,” Melia’s smile fell slightly. “I know this isn’t exactly a gift in the traditional sense. I could see how you might consider this a slap in the face after all you’ve done for me. I just thought…you might be able to make better use of it than I can.”

Moeldywn stared at the large blue stone actively radiating cold across the table. A nearby pitcher of water was already starting to frost over, a small spiderweb of ice crusting over the surface.

“How so?” she eventually asked. She wasn’t looking at Melia from the perspective of a long-lost princess, but a venerable queen. Melia straightened and cleared her throat.

“Political leverage, for one,” Melia instantly said. “Or favors, if you want to spin it in a different light. Such things are valuable to you, aren’t they? As somebody with relations to many foreign powers.”

“The same could be said of you,” Moeldywn pronounced somberly. “You’re too oblivious to see yourself as such, but you are a ‘power’ all on your own. And I don’t mean in the obvious, level-gauge of statistics and might, but those do lie hidden under the threat, too. For better or worse, Meliastraza, you are a country of one, whose army is greater than any. You would do well to be wary of people bargaining for your favor, and keep in check your wrath against those who spur your ire.”

Melia’s mind slowly reeled as she digested that information. It was true, every word of it, but before Moeldywn pointed it out, it never crossed Melia’s mind.

Or rather, destroying a city or two was laughably easy, but there wasn’t a world in which she’d ever want to.

“I see,” Moeldywn sighed. “Perhaps this is for the best. Keep yourself out of the spotlight for as long as you can. That said, I could arrange a meeting if you wish to hand this over personally. It would be subtle, discreet, though it might take time to go through the necessary avenues…but, in the end, you would reap the rewards you no doubt dearly deserve after felling-“ she shuddered, “-a [World Boss]. You’d be a hero to the dwarves forever, you know.”

“Pft, I’m no hero,” Melia laughed, coming back to her senses. “And I’m not falling for that trick. I’m sure this would only lead from one thing to another, and before I know it, I’d be wrapped up in parties with heroes and everybody would want a piece of my time, and…let’s face it. It’s not my problem. And it wouldn’t help any of my people, either. I’m too high level; they’re too low. The only reason I considered holding onto it in the first place was if maybe [Sunrise] might benefit. But no. We’re barely clearing Lakeridge. It’ll be months, maybe years, before they’re strong enough to take on responsibility like that. I think the dwarves would appreciate getting it back sooner than that, no? The right people for the right job.”

Moeldywn stared at the [Heart] for a few long minutes, a silent battle warring inside. Eventually, she closed her eyes and sighed.

“Are you certain you haven’t returned for a reason, Meliastraza?” she asked, still as serious as can be. “Events seem to be at play much larger than anything that’s appeared in the last hundred years. There’s a war of succession looming in the demon lands, some unsolved threat lurking in the shadows of the beastkin republic, and unnatural storms plaguing the dwarven stronghold…until you apparently took care of it. To top it off, a [Saint] has appeared. I fear there’s trouble brewing on the horizon, and my people are ill-equipped to weather it.”

“As I’ve said before: no,” Melia firmly denied. “I’m not here to be some goddlet’s plaything. And I won’t let them drag Brandy into this either.”

“I believe you,” Moeldywn nodded. “I just hope you won’t ravage the continent just to prove your point.”

Moeldywn sighed before shaking her head.

“Well, my day is ruined. I was thinking of all the ways I could relax before…this. No,” she held up a hand as Melia looked like she was about to apologize, “I said I’d handle it, and I will. Eleanor!”

A maid waiting along the side of the room stepped forth.

“Clear my schedule. Refuse any appointments, reschedule what we must. If people complain, put them at the back of the line.”

“Very good, my lady,” the maid said as Moeldywn cast a spell over her hands, coating them in a protective layer of magic. She picked up the [Heart] and grimaced. “And if his majesty should ask what you’re up to?”

Moeldywn cast a glance at the stone.

“Tell him something…epic has come up.”

​

Melia and the party left the dining room, guided by some servants. It was perhaps the strangest procession anybody had ever seen, as Melia insisted on riding Jewel out…until approximately two short hallways down. The turtle, as beautiful as she was to look at, was simply too slow, and they weren’t trying to glide through water, where she might have held an advantage.

Instead, Melia gave Jewel more warm hugs and well-placed scritchies before she was eventually bribed by a platter full of lettuce to divert her course towards a kitchen.

That left Melia with only one option: riding on Midna, just like she had done for the past 15 years of playing the game.

She found the giant cat infinitely more comfortable than a gryphon, though she wasn’t sure if that was simply her personal bias or some real biological developments in their bodies that made the difference. Midna was nearly as big as a gryphon without the wings, but Melia felt her fur was softer, more luxurious, and gave her much more cushion to bounce around on. She would obviously need to find her old saddle if they were going any meaningful distance at a speed higher than a stealthy slink around the castle. Fortunately, Midna seemed to share a bond with Melia that inclined her to listen to whatever the gnome said, but finding a harness or some reins was also a top priority.

One that, honestly, Melia shouldn’t have been worried about. After the castle servants all dispersed, Lethia led the group not to some grand front gates of the estate, but to a stable. There, Melia, or more accurately Midna, was presented with the [Reins of the Swift Nightsaber]. Melia herself would have had a very difficult time placing it on Midna’s back, even if she was lying fully on the ground.

In the game, player mounts did not truly exist as independent entities. Yes, they were modeled beautifully and had a wide array of animations programmed into them, but they did not exist when a player wasn’t riding them. In reality, mounts were actually the resulting effect of using a mount summoning item, which was originally stored in a player’s inventory before eventually being moved to its own system tab.

Needless to say, this was not the case in the real world. For some reason, Midna’s [Reins] still had a level requirement (600) and a rarity (epic), even if they gave no stats and offered no tangible benefit…other than being able to more effectively ride the cat.

Which should be considered a miracle in itself.

The saddle was possibly the most unique example of its kind Melia had ever seen, though, to be fair, her experience was limited to pictures on the internet or in books.

First, it was huge. Even more than most things looked when compared to Melia, who was not huge. Not only did it need to be large enough to fit comfortably over Midna’s back, but it also needed to be secured so it wouldn’t fall off when she displayed her very impressive acrobatics. In that regard, perhaps it was closer to a harness, fitting under and around Midna’s neck and shoulders, as well as slipping around her middle.

But there the similarities ended, so far as Melia knew, and broached the more…fantastical aspects of riding a giant tiger-thing in a video game world come to life.

For one, the seat of the saddle itself. It was huge. Melia wasn’t sure how she was supposed to straddle it…until all at once it finally clicked. Nothing changed about the saddle or the harness, but it was like the license and training Melia had paid for and earned in the game suddenly translated into years or decades of professional riding.

The material it was made of felt strange too…very soft, very supple, but incredibly resilient and durable to the touch. Melia’s senses (as well as a quick [Identify]) told her the saddle was actually made from [Thunder Lizard Leather].

…fantasy dinosaurs. Midna’s saddle was made from the hides of fantasy dinosaurs.

It was muted silver in color, like the light of a shimmering moon, but not reflective, despite how badly it seemed to want to shine. Though perhaps that was also due in part to several reinforced bracings made of [Mithril].

To top it off, the very tip of Midna’s harness included a face shield that fit snugly over her forehead, displaying some sort of massive, spherical purple gem, the exact same color as Melia’s eyes.

“Geez, woman,” Jessica whistled once Midna’s saddle was fully secured. “Were you planning on riding to war?”

Melia cast another gaze over the saddle, appreciating the armor for what it was, but laughed. She noticed how the rest of her team wasn’t laughing, and her own slowly died off as a thoughtful look crept over her face.

“Maybe?” she said with a finger on her chin. Considering where she used to ride, or more importantly, what she used to ride into…maybe war was apt. In her time, she surely laid waste to entire armies of monsters and laid low hundreds, maybe thousands of dungeons. On this mighty steed, Melia truly did ride into battle.

“But not right now,” she eventually shook her head. “Right now, I really need to go visit the Bastion, and I’d much rather take Midna than a carriage.”

Her group nodded, but for some reason, Alastair felt compelled to add a qualifier.

“Please don’t bring war to the cathedral.”

Melia thought of Brandy, possibly being held against her will.

“I suppose that’s entirely up to them.”

​

“I never imagined I’d find myself riding on top of a giant cat.”

Jessica said those words from her seat behind Melia, and the gnome could hear the strangled disbelief, emphasizing the surreal nature of their situation.

“It certainly isn’t like riding a horse,” Y’cennia agreed.

The two girls were sharing the saddle behind Melia, and in truth, Midna could easily have taken Alastair as well, but he got shunted to the side so the girls could make a thing of it, just the girls, having a nice bonding time.

Alastair himself simply rolled his eyes, even as Jessica gloated down on him from her vantage point with a triumphant smirk, eventually turning to find his own horse.

He found one…or more accurately, he found three, each attached to a [Retainer] that wasn’t about to let him travel alone. He shrugged, allowed himself to be pulled onto a massive grey charger ridden by Layalee, and shot Jessica a helpless sort of look. She narrowed her eyes but said nothing.

But Y’cennia was fundamentally correct. Nightsabers had very different physiology from horses, or from any other mount for that matter. If all the options from the game were present in this world, then there were hundreds of different animals viable for transportation, on top of all the inorganic ones.

Midna herself was taller than any horse, but her head was not on top of a long, vertical neck. Normally, that would put her back, and thus her riders, at a much higher vantage point, which it did, to some extent. But the way she walked, more of a stealthy slink creeping from shadow to shadow as if she was hunting the path instead of trotting along it, meant they sat much lower.

She was also effectively running silent. She didn’t have hard hooves with metal shoes clip-clopping down the broad stone highway. Her paws, giant mitts with supremely squishy toe-beans, were deft, nimble, and didn’t leave the faintest trace of her passing…unless she stepped in mud, which she was very skilled at avoiding.

On top of that, the very fact that they were riding a cat in a sea of horses obviously stood out. They got looks from nearly everybody they passed, and some people even risked leaning far outside of carriage windows to get a look at them go by.

As all three girls found to their delight, the ride was much, much smoother and infinitely more comfortable than flying on the gryphon. It almost felt like they were sitting in a chair, levitating forward, rather than riding an actively moving animal. Melia was sure that would change as soon as they left the busy parts of town, and Midna would be allowed to truly let loose and run.

But, riding as they were created an excellent opportunity to bring up something on Melia’s mind.

“We should get you guys mounts,” she declared.

“Boy, would that be nice,” Jessica sighed. “I love horses just as much as the next girl, but we aren’t ready for the cost. It’s probably about time to have that discussion, to be honest. Paying for rides back and forth from Horizon to wherever we end up basing ourselves out of isn't going to get any cheaper.”

“So would you want a horse, then?” Melia asked. It was possible some of hers were still around, but for some reason, that didn’t seem likely. Jewel was an exception because turtles practically lived forever, but Midna probably lived as long as she did because she was touched by Melia…as weird as that was to say. But Melia couldn’t deny it was true, especially not after reuniting with Penny, Moeldywn, and her [Retainers].

“I wouldn’t say no to a horse,” Jessica mused, thinking it over, “But what other options do we have? I don’t exactly want to spend the next decade or so wining and dining the elves, getting on their good side with the hopes they’ll sell me one of these.”

“Mrrrroooowwwr,” Midna let out a guttural growl as Jessica patted her on the side. Melia could tell the cat was pleased, but she also felt Jessica shiver involuntarily behind her.

“Yes, you’re a very pretty girl,” she cooed. But she also muttered under her breath, “And only mildly terrifying, aren’t you?”

Melia let out a small chuckle before turning her attention to Y’cennia.

“And how about you?”

“I…don’t think I’ve ever put any thought into it,” Y’cennia admitted. “We’ve got horses in Ala Tappas, which is where I grew up, but most people anywhere close to Oasis want to ride a Strider.”

“Ooh,” Melia grinned.

Striders were a fan favorite, a combination of real-life meets fantasy. They were a mix of actual birds, such as ostriches, emus, and peacocks, as well as a very famous rideable yellow bird from an ancient video game series. But nobody dared make the connection out loud, because even a hundred years after the series's inception, the creators held their copyrights firmly and persecuted offenders ruthlessly.

Even if they were simply tipping their hats.

Regardless, Striders were tall, single-passenger mounts with incredibly colorful plumage. They came in all colors of the spectrum, from dull, muted solids to bright and airy pastels. They were popular in the game not only for their looks and the nod to nostalgia, but also for how customizable they were. They were the only mounts that could be re-colored after the fact, whereas every other mount needed to be repurchased for cosmetic differences.

Players made a big deal out of who had the most outrageous displays, hosting unofficial shows and pageants, spending untold riches pimping out their rides. Melia wouldn’t be surprised to find that detail also passed into real life.

To top things off, as Y’cennia said, Striders were very popular around Oasis, for a very good reason.

Strider racing.

Oasis, aptly named, was built around a watering hole in the middle of the desert. It stood for years as a vital point in the trade routes between two of the larger beastkin factions…or so lore would have people believe.

Really, the developers wanted to make a casino. The Mirage (no relation to the legacy establishment on the Las Vegas strip) was a gaudy, gilded, glorious palace fit for an Arabian king. It had entertainment of every kind…that the software rating and advisory board would allow them to include in a non-adult game. And it wasn’t only gambling, of which there were classic mainstays such as slot machines and card games: they had plenty of token-eating games of “skill,” weekly lottery drawings, and of course, Strider racing.

Melia never got into the racing herself, because they exclusively raced Striders and she exclusively rode Midna. It simply wasn’t meant to be.

It did, however, explain Y’cennia’s interest in the animals. If she grew up anywhere near the area, she would be immersed in the culture, and Melia couldn’t blame the girl for having an attachment.

“What color would it be?” Melia asked, remembering a pink flamingo colored Strider she’d seen from time to time, as well as one that could only be described as avocado green.

“Like I said, I haven’t put much thought into it,” Y’cennia said hastily, but judging from the slight dusting of pink coloring her cheeks, Melia guessed otherwise. She let it drop…for now.

“How about Al?” Melia asked. “Jessica, you’ve known him for a while. What do you think he’d ride?”

“Eh, he’d be fine with a horse,” Jessica shrugged. “Same as me, I guess: anything to keep us from wearing out our own two feet.”

That was good, it made shopping easier if she couldn’t pull anything from her old reserve of mounts.

Actually, it made things all the better if her party wasn’t dead-set on any specific animal. She would obviously have to wait and bring it up with everybody once they were all grouped up together again, but Melia could think of a few enticing options. Some of which wouldn’t cost them a single copper!

Such as the fact that [Paladins] had a special mount they could summon, exclusively to them. The same with [Alchemists], who had several [Vials] that allowed them to transform into different mounts. The same went for other professions, even if her group didn’t have any: [Engineering] had their machines, [Archaeology] had a relic of an ancient fossil, and [Tailoring] even had a [Flying Carpet]. Just saying, if her team wanted it, she had so many more options than just “a horse.”

​

That was a conversation for later, as they arrived at the Bastion. Lethia led them to the side, where several hitch posts were pounded into the ground, and Layalee helped the girls dismount.

Melia herself was about to jump off when Midna surprised her. The Nightsaber crouched down low, tilting her head back to stare at Melia, waiting for her to slide off. Melia held back a giggle and hopped off.

The others gave her a strange look as she caught up with the group, some of them casting wary glances back at the cat. They weren’t the only ones; one or two horses turned to stare at the cat, and more than one passerby nearly stumbled as they weren’t watching where they were going, transfixed as they were by the rare and unusual mount.

“You’re just going to…leave her there?” Jessica asked.

“Nobody’s going to steal her,” Melia rolled her eyes, but she could tell from Jessica’s frown that wasn’t the point. Melia sighed. “Midna, stay here. Wait for us to come back, don’t wander off.”

Midna blinked slowly, turned her head…and curled up for a nap.

“That…worked?” Jessica asked in disbelief.

“She’s a good girl,” Melia said proudly, and marched up the steps into the cathedral.

​

“Hello, I’m here to see a patient.”

It didn’t take long to find the healing wards, especially with Alastair guiding them. Melia was sure she’d be able to find it on her own, if not from the many healer-looking people traveling in a certain direction, then from the very particular smell wafting down the halls. The other direction smelled like body odor (not interesting) and old books (very interesting), while this one smelled of honey and the dead.

Or close to dying, as Melia wrinkled her nose to refine the smell, noting how the honey portion grew stronger as the dying grew less.

They eventually reached a room with a reception counter, where a [Priestess] with a tall white hat sat behind a desk.

“Certainly,” she said, barely flinching at the bizarre group of people gathered around her, least of all the gnome in a maid’s arms. “Do you know the name or room number?”

“I don’t know the number, but I have a name,” Melia said. “Eluna Brandywine. She’s a high elf?”

The lady was looking through her ledgers, but as soon as she heard the name, she tensed and looked up.

"Is that so?” she asked sharply. “I’m afraid that patient is under special care. No visitors without proper authorization.”

“You what?” Melia barked, her temper instantly flaring. There was no way these people were going to keep her from seeing her Brandy!

Before she could grow horns and spit fire, Lethia leaned over the desk and whispered into the receptionist’s ear, which Melia could hear as clear as day.

“This is not someone you should aggravate. And she does have clearance, authorized by her highness Moeldywn Eutevor herself.”

Melia couldn’t see around the elf, but she had a feeling Lethia was showing something to the woman. After several seconds, the woman gulped, audibly disturbed, and let them through.

“I-I see. Please, down the hall, to the left, room 104.”

Melia kept her eyes locked on the woman as they passed, burning her image into memory just in case she tried to pull anything funny later down the road. As such, she missed L’menia letting them into a room, with a familiar bed and a very familiar, rich smell.

And the person to whom the smell belonged.

“Melia! You came back!”

Brandy was standing by the window, no longer wasting away in bed. Compared to the visit yesterday, she looked infinitely better; her cheeks were no longer sunken, she didn’t have bags under her eyes, and she looked like she had several good meals inside her. If Melia didn’t know any better, she would have guessed she’d gone through months, if not years, of recuperating treatment. How amazing this world was, with its wonderful healing magic!

“Brandy!”

Melia wiggled out of Layalee’s arms and scampered up to Brandy. She stood before the tall elf, who looked quite amused, and held her hands up high. It was clear what she wanted, and Brandy didn’t miss a beat. She picked up the small gnome and bounced her lightly on her hip, though she winced as she did so. Melia instantly frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, worried.

“You’re heavy,” Brandy teased, moving to sit in a chair and placing Melia in her lap.

“Hey, are you calling me fat?” Melia grumped back playfully.

“Better than skin and bones,” Brandy sighed. “Or worse.”

They both knew what she was talking about, so Brandy simply shook her head.

“But no. I’m doing better, in fact, I’m feeling the best I have in weeks! But I’m not getting my strength back. I get winded quickly, and I’m weak. I’m guessing it has something to do with being low level.”

Melia gave her a quick glance and cast [Inspect].

“Hey! You’re level 7 now! Congratulations!”

“Thanks, Mel,” Brandy laughed. It was a melodic, musical laugh that made Melia want to dance. “But that’s not nearly enough. The doctors say I should be at least 50, or a lot higher for my age, but they won’t let me go outside, so the going is slow.”

“They won’t let you go outside?” Melia repeated. That didn’t sound right. The “fresh outdoors” was supposed to be great for your health! Or something like that.

“What she isn’t telling you,” Lethia explained gently, leaning in, “Is that they won’t let her go out without supervision. Lady Brandywine is correct in that there are faster ways to level, especially at that stage, but they are dangerous and the healers aren’t willing to risk the safety of a [Saint].”

“A [Saint]?” somebody inhaled sharply in awe. Melia was surprised to see it was Alastair. But then again, he was a holy man in training. Brandy gave a tired sigh and nodded to the rest of the crew.

“Melia, are you going to introduce me to your friends?”

The [Retainers], who had each visited Brandy multiple times in the last several weeks to verify her identity and subsequently check on her, all took a step back. That left Alastair, Y’cennia, and Jessica all huddled together tightly, looking suddenly awkward and very out of place.

“A [Saint],” Jessica repeated under her breath, paling slightly as if she might suddenly be judged for her sins. Melia let out a laugh.

“Brandy, I want you to meet my new team! This is [Sunrise], a party of up-and-coming adventurers! We’ve got Alastair, he’s our [Paladin] tank, Jessica, she’s our [Ranger], and Y’cennia, our [Alchemist].”

Melia pointed at them one by one, where they awkwardly shifted in place and gave a small wave.

“I’m sure you’ll meet her soon enough, but we also have Ellesea. She’s a [Mage].”

“Nice to meet you all,” Brandy said gently with a smile. It was so good to see Melia make actual friends, with real people.

“Wow,” Y’cennia muttered in awe, “Eluna Brandywine in the flesh.”

“Oh!” Melia had a sudden inspiration. “I just remembered! They were looking for a healer when they recruited me! You should totally join!”

“Melia!” Jessica hissed. “You can’t just say that! She’s a [Saint]! A [Saint]! Do you have any idea how rare those are?”

“Does that make her healing any less effective?” Melia asked. She knew why they were getting their panties in a twist, but it was fun to tease. Brandy, too, seemed in on it.

“Not at all,” she said magnanimously, tilting her head back elegantly. “Be healed. [Circle of Healing].”

A wide circle, nearly fifteen feet in diameter, spread out over the entire room. The group looked down in surprise and nearly panicked at the golden light rising from the floor, sparkling all around them. They waved their hands and arms around in front of them in disbelief as small scratches and minor scuffs suddenly got erased. If anything, when they looked back up at Brandy, they were even more unsure.

“Well, don’t expect that often,” Brandy laughed, dispelling the illusion of holy serenity. “Right now, I can only cast that once. It’s got a long cooldown and it tires me out.”

“N-no, Lady Brandywine, that was more than enough-“ Alastair began stammering, but Brandy cut him off.

“I’m Brandy,” she said curtly. “Or call me Eluna. Or Luna. Or whatever, just not ‘lady.’ Don’t get stuffy with me. Especially if we’re going to be on a team.”

“Team?” Jessica asked weakly, barely hiding her wince.

“Of course! If you’ve managed to wrangle Melia, you’re okay in my book! Besides,” she added with a glint in her eye, “I’ve been meaning to find somebody to help me level.”