The Dragon Queen of Thelvadore

Nyx was silent for a moment, studying me in detail, her face carrying still the same blank expression she typically wore. Eventually, she gave me a small nod, shifting in her seat.

“To be completely honest with you, Gravewalker, I can’t give you a perfect answer. When I witnessed your presence earlier, I felt something quite unbelievable, something I’m not sure anyone has ever felt before. Something that I, if I hadn’t felt myself, would’ve thought impossible.”

She paused, and I waited patiently, giving her the time she obviously needed to properly articulate herself.

“There are other presences within your own. As if you carry with you the souls of the fallen in your own domain. I hadn’t ever heard of anything like this, but when I felt that, I just… knew that you were a Gravewalker. Because these souls don’t feel like they are kept there against their will. They are loyal to you, from what I can tell. Even if it is hard for me to make out much, considering the sheer potency of your own presence.”

Silence reigned between us for a moment, as I digested this. To some degree, this came as a surprise. At the same time, though, it did not.

While it had only ever been a random side idea for one of the ‘Fall of Thelvadore’ scenarios, I had played around with the possibility of Vuthe absorbing the souls of her fallen people and sitting on a throne of bones. I had scrapped that almost immediately, since it went against basically everything Vuthe stood for.

Souls were the sort of thing you didn’t mess with, under basically any circumstances. They were the foundation of all magick, and thus the only thing considered taboo by the Celestials and the upper echelons of sorcerers and magicians the multiverse over. It was to the point that it was the duty of those with any level of divine authority to put a stop to anyone who was messing with them.

A duty that Vuthe had taken quite seriously in the past. Of course, her case was a bit special, given her nature, her draconic heritage, her own encounters with Altis, and her friendship with Abyss. For example: She did, theoretically, have the means to inflict soul damage, and had done so in the original draft when dealing with a bunch of lowlifes who had dared touch her niece back on Earth. But even then, she had never taken charge of souls.

In principle, that should’ve been impossible. It was the reason that idea never went anywhere, since it would go against all established rules that I had laid out, and why that sort of thing in the original draft hadn’t gone anywhere in the first place.

I had broken my own rules without good reason, just to be fancy, and didn’t know how to go from there. Doing the same in the attempted rewrite just to get to some fancy conclusion didn’t strike me as the right path forward, so I scrapped it. But now I was here, and all signs pointed to that possibility being true once again.

In a way, it was ironic. No matter in what way I interacted with this world, be it as the author, or as a living being within it, I seemed to always have to deal with problems surrounding the lore of souls in one way or another.

That said, given that I was now an inhabitant of Satien, it was perhaps even more worrying to learn that the rules around souls, as I knew them, were once again being ignored. This time, apparently by me, personally. Given how fundamental they were for magick as a whole, I had to tread very carefully.

“I… see… Is there anything else you could tell me about it? You said you can feel them, yet I cannot recall ever taking custody of anyone who had departed for the afterlife.”

Really, from everything I could remember of Vuthe, both as the author and through the glimpses of her memories that kept popping up in my mind, she had taken great care not to intrude on the domains of other deities, especially the Celestials. Taking charge of the souls of the departed was no doubt a grave violation of the tenets of Altis, and I really didn’t want to piss them off.

I had some inkling as to how this had potentially come about, but I wanted to know more before I settled too far into one of many possible hypotheses.

She slowly shook her head. “My apologies, Gravewalker. As I said, I can sense them, faintly, as part of your presence, now that I have gotten a better feel for it. But it is not easy to make out anything more than that. I am well aware that you are far more powerful than I am, and I doubt I could interrogate your presence enough even if you would fully lay yourself bare before me. There’s just so many of them that they alone overpower my senses, and that is ignoring the power you hold in addition to that. The only thing I can say with some degree of certainty is that they are all loyal to you. From all I can feel and make sense of, that seems to be the one constant between all of them.”

Another pause followed, during which I studied her closely.

It all pointed to the fact that, somehow, Vuthe had taken custody of her people right at the end, offering them shelter within her own divine domain, if this resembled the idea I had rejected in the past. That said, while I had an idea on what had happened, I wasn’t entirely clear on the how. The when was also a bit dubious, since from all I could remember, Vuthe had died when trying to stop Apocalyptica’s spell. Of course, my recollection from that came from a very hazy section of a dream, so it was inconsistent at best, and fraudulent at worst.

Eventually, Nyx spoke up again, evidently taking my silence as displeasure. “I apologise that I can’t be of more help, Gravewalker. If you wish to learn more, then I would recommend you seek out the Shepherd’s Church once you arrive in the next big city. They will no doubt be able to assist you more than I can.”

“It is fine.” I let out a sigh, then leaned back in my chair, rubbing my face with one hand. “It’s not like you could change anything. Thank you for the information in any case.”

We sat together in silence for a little longer, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Eventually, Nyx shifted in her seat, an expression of uncertainty playing faintly at the edges of her demeanour. The sudden shift made me glance at her, curious as to what she might have on her mind.

“If I may propose a theory…” Her words were uncertain and carefully chosen. “I have felt the touch of the divine in your presence, Gravewalker. Perhaps it is a blessing of the Guardian of the End? That could explain how you were able to accomplish such a feat. If it is indeed a blessing, then it is quite the potent one. I’ve never felt anything quite like today. Not even when meeting with the headpriests or the elders of my people.”

That had me wincing. I wasn’t exactly trying to keep my identity secret, although I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to reveal my own nature as a Goddess quite yet. Especially given how… reverent Nyx was. I doubted that she would become one of my followers, given that she was already a follower of Altis, and how seriously she took that position.

Actually, now that I thought about it, it was kind of strange how she kind of just accepted it so far. I honestly would’ve expected her to be pissed about it, since it wouldn’t really be wrong to say that I had usurped Altis’ authority by taking charge of these souls.

Hell, even if she knew I was a Goddess myself, that still wouldn’t make it any better. If anything, it would make it only worse, considering that I wasn’t a Goddess of the Afterlife. Shiarex of the Shadow Armory was a Goddess of War, and while War included the domain of Death, it didn’t include the Afterlife. So even if I gave myself every benefit of the doubt, I would still be acting outside of my authority by a landslide. And I really didn’t know how Nyx would take that.

Not that she, personally, would be a threat to me. Hells, even Cecily wouldn’t be more than a mild headache, despite her Void magic, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t harm me otherwise.

If Tizanta has taught me anything over the years, then it was that words were often far more powerful than even the strongest of dragons could ever hope to be. And there were very few exceptions to that rule.

Perhaps I should be grateful that she took this in stride. Or perhaps she was just acting, knowing that she couldn’t do anything against me and planning to tell the church or something.

I frowned at that. That was a pretty bleak way of looking at things, even for me. I couldn’t detect any falsehood or duplicity in Nyx’ words or behaviour. That wasn’t a perfect guarantee, of course, but it was at least a good indicator. And it wasn’t like I could do anything about it anyway, even if I took the evil path and murdered her right here and now. If she could sense it, so could others.

No, the best way going forward would be for me to try and learn more about it in cooperation with Altis’ Church. Even if I had usurped their authority somehow, that just meant that I had to be forthright about it and do my best to atone for my sins.

I really am turning into a dragon, huh?

It was a bit comedic to think about, and I snorted inwardly at the thought. But it also wasn’t wrong. I’d never been much of a liar. Heck, even if I did lie I was so easy to read that most could immediately tell anyways. But even then, the fact that my first instinctive response was to be honest and not even consider lying even in the abstract was a bit weird.

Well, a problem for another day.

Turning my attention back to the woman seated in front of me, I studied her once more, idly drumming my fingers on the table.

“The theory is sound in principle. But, while I cannot tell you much about what you felt, I can say with certainty that it is highly unlikely that I carry Altis’ blessing. While I have made their acquaintance in the past, I’ve never done anything that would warrant them extending such an honour to me.”

I hadn’t even finished talking when Nyx’ eyes lit up, going round as sourcers. I winced inwardly. That look never boded well in situations like these.

“You met with the Guardian of the End?!”

There was no accusation in her tone. If anything, all I could hear was awe.

“Well… yes. I was involved with… spellwork that went against the natural order of things–as a victim, I might add. Before I even knew what happened, I found myself standing in front of Altis. They informed me that, while usually they would escort me into the afterlife, my being there was, in part, to blame on them, and in recompense allowed me to live a little longer.”

I left out the part about that being the reason Vuthe was reincarnated into this world, and the whole thing about having met Altis once more after that, that time definitely not under such favourable circumstances.

Even leaving out those–certainly not unimportant–details, Nyx mouth opened in shock and surprise. She was quiet for a long moment, likely trying to wrap her head around what I had just told her.

“That… I have only ever heard tales of the Shepherd sometimes allowing the fallen to return back to their lives. In most such cases it is a matter of unimaginable importance. To meet one such as yourself, who has experienced such a thing…”

She fell silent, closed her eyes, and assumed a prayer position.

“This one thanks the Watcher of all Life for this gift.”

Okay… maybe she was more of a devoted fanatic than I had originally pegged her as. It made me wonder if I wouldn’t have been better off not to mention that in the first place. Well, no use crying over spilled milk.

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