Amdirlain’s PoV - Culerzic

The message globe buzzed at her shoulder, Resonance letting her hear the contents without activating it.

“Aunt Am, are you busy?”

Gail’s words were in an excited yet anxious tone that snatched at Amdirlain’s attention.

“I can be at the dome shortly.”

The energy in Gail’s message clawed at her for attention, but Amdirlain forced her notes to stay true. True Song was already straining with the force of the intention she was pushing into the tunnel’s latest linked song, so Amdirlain strove towards perfection in the notes instead of rushing. It hooked into the Plane’s primordial, fiery sky when it finally settled; a pulley anchored into the depths. Yet it was only one among the millions she’d set within the tunnels that now completely undermined the plateaus. It currently wasn’t so much if she could annihilate the Cliffs of Lust, but how fast they’d fall.

[True Song [S] (175) evolved into True Song Genesis [Ap] (1).

Lingering Song [S] (1) merged into True Song Genesis [Ap] (1 -> 2).

Symphonic [S] (102) merged into True Song Genesis [Ap] (2 -> 6).

Silent Song [S] (24) merged into True Song Genesis [Ap] (6 -> 7).

Singing [S] (100) merged into True Song Genesis [Ap] (7 -> 11).

Dance [Ad] (12) insufficient to merge. (Pre-Existing Exotic Dance in Master Rank bypasses Dance requirement for Power.)]

Amdirlain started to groan in dismay, only to freeze up at the impact running through her.

The orchestra of delicate notes representing the Power to her senses thrummed and pulled. Around her, the tunnel’s walls shimmered in and out of focus while the pattern she’d avoided cycling through for decades, inhaled. When reality came properly back into focus, a few solid chords strummed a pattern within her, and a dim light pulse ran the phoenix’s path of its own accord—a light that seemed incredibly insufficient against the gulf it was trying to illuminate.

Clearing her throat, Amdirlain swallowed the blood the strain had caused and checked the Power name in the notification. The beat echoing within her brought up a memory of a young Orhêthurin, maybe seven, pushing back at the surging Far Chaos and trying to create a bubble nearby like the one where her father’s forge sits. The Titan had rumbled a warning not to make a tiny realm without an exit defined and sat listening to her sing for hours.

[True Song Genesis

Details: The start of the Songbird’s path, a Power unrealised by, and then denied to, the ungrateful children that turned their back on the realm’s purpose. The music is within and without the flesh, and all can become one for those that tread this path fully.

Note: They still don’t have access to what they used to, but she didn’t lock her Soul from accessing this Power path.]

Amdirlain considered Gail’s objections to the ugliness of the True Song path in her Class vision. Though she’d sung other powers into individuals, the beat of this energy seemed extremely risky to instil. Putting the matter aside, she instead teleported back home. Once there, but only after setting concealments around her auras, Amdirlain sent a confirmation.

The Gate opened precisely in the section Amdirlain had kept clear of abyssal contaminants in the four years since Sarah’s departure. Gail’s confirmation that it simplified her clean-up efforts—after each of Yngvarr’s training trips—made the continual effort worthwhile.

The other side of the threshold wasn’t one of the stone chambers they usually used but a small clearing. The interlocking branches arched overhead, and the area’s illumination was a restful twilight. It wasn’t the material or a heavenly plane; instead, the faint radiant sunlight echoed the energy she’d put into the creation of Gail’s Demi-Plane haven. The mithril circle they’d centred the Gate in kept the abyssal energies from spreading their contamination.

In the small clearing was an excited Gail in her Wood Elf form wearing a green silk gown, Sarah in a figure-hugging knee-length red dress, and a terrified Greek man Sarah held suspended in mid-air. At least, he was Greek as far as Amdirlain could tell from his face since Sarah had wrapped him in a shiny, black latex-like material with a bright red ball stuck in his mouth and a pink bow around his neck. A sheen of sweat covered the man’s face, though Amdirlain didn’t hear a single wound within his song.

Sarah waved her forward. “Amdirlain, with the permission of your slayer, Prince Charilaos, I bid you come forth from your imprisonment. Hope you have your party shoes on, girlfriend.”

The pressure across her skin, whose sensation she’d long grown used to, shattered.

[Planar Lock released

Elapsed Time: 8,193.72 days (22.7 Vehtë years)

Remaining Time: 28,241.28 days (77.3 Vehtë years)

Note: Just in case you wanted to know. Keeping count last time wouldn’t have been too hard for you. ]

Not quite believing it, Amdirlain stepped towards the threshold and hesitantly reached out. Half expecting to hit a barrier when her fingers breached into the Demi-Plane, success drew a gasp of delight. Pulling her hand back, Amdirlain set a filter before the Gate’s threshold to hold back abyssal energy. Mindful of Gail’s presence, she carefully projected the restful serenity through Dominion that she’d perfected with Yngvarr before she stepped through the Gate. Her passage through the barrier provided the sensation of having her skin scraped raw, and the disturbing image of the corruption seeping into her skin’s pores made her pull a face in disgust.

The moment she was entirely in the circle, the Gate closed, and Gail launched herself forward with a squeal to claim a hug. “Auntie Am.”

After holding Gail for long minutes, Amdirlain kissed her cheek. “Are you alright?”

“I’m alright. I brought him back, but Sarah insisted on doing the convincing. She didn’t have to lay a finger on him, just showed him a bunch of options in his mind,” explained Gail.

Amdirlain rubbed her shoulder and stepped towards the captive.

“How did you convince him to give permission, Sarah?” asked Amdirlain. “Since bringing him back from the dead wasn’t enough to cooperate?”

“The hag built the new wall around Hades’ old palace using the godless as its bricks,” explained Sarah. “Those that took over Apollo’s Mantle found him lacking when they gathered souls from Judgement. It made it challenging to find something interesting enough since he knew we needed him alive. Eventually, I made it clear I’d happily make his torments far worse. There were so many loopholes in what I promised him, that I could still make that happen.”

At Sarah’s words, the man squirmed and thrashed. The harsh edges of his melody, with its brutal tones similar to the damned she’d claimed, told her enough about the man’s nature. Despite all he cost her and others, Amdirlain stepped forward and killed him with a single strike below the ear. The contact linked her to his Soul, and she yanked it from his dying body.

“You didn’t even unwrap him,” Sarah mock grumbled.

“What do you plan to do with his Soul, auntie Am?” Gail asked softly.

“You could have left this to Sarah and me,” Amdirlain noted, ignoring Sarah’s teasing.

“No. Sometimes a ruler needs to ‌make hard decisions, and turning my eyes away just makes it easier for evil to grow,” refuted Gail. “I didn’t ask because I doubted you. I need to know the details to ensure I don’t turn a blind eye or assume things.”

Amdirlain nodded. “The last four years have matured you, even if your song is still very playful.”

“Four and a bit, auntie. Yet that isn’t an answer to my question,” probed Gail.

“I’ll put him with the rest of the damned I’ve gathered to wipe their memories and cleanse their corruption. The Soul can have a fresh start. What he did to me wasn’t the greatest malicious action he’d performed,” stated Amdirlain.

Sarah snorted. “On another day, I’d happily argue that point.”

The slightest twitch of Gail’s mouth as she glanced at the prince’s remains prompted Sarah to pull his body into Inventory. The interaction nearly tempted Amdirlain to ask what Sarah’s job title had become.

“The Soul deserves a chance, though the person he’d been wouldn’t have shown others the same mercy,” stated Gail. “From his self-centred song, I’m not sure he ever understood that another person could feel pain.”

“You’re slightly off, Gail. He didn’t see anyone as a person, just objects that frustrated him by obstructing what should have been his,” corrected Sarah.

“Before we do anything else, I need to change my Home Plane,” stated Amdirlain.

“This place isn’t enough for it?” asked Gail, waving a hand towards the trees.

“No artificial Demi-Plane is, and even some naturally forming demi-planes are too unstable to risk. At least I assume Gideon wouldn’t reset your Home Plane if the one you linked to ceased to exist,” explained Amdirlain.

“Don’t be too long. Gail’s got a party planned,” cautioned Sarah.

Amdirlain gave the suddenly smug pair an amused smile. “Do I get advance notice of what you pair are up to?”

Sarah smiled merrily. “Many people you’ve not seen in years, though they don’t yet know the purpose. Make sure you keep your concealments steady and your Femme Fatale in check. We didn’t think opening the Gate directly in the banquet hall with them would have been a sensible approach.”

“The wards will force me to the entry foyer when I shift back here, so I’ll clean up before I come back,” confirmed Amdirlain, and she took a few moments to add to her protections.

As Amdirlain did so, Gail’s delicate soprano cleaned up the corruption that had leaked through the Gate and removed the mithril circle from the ground.

Gail glanced at her in concern when it was done. “Will it take you long?”

Amdirlain pulled a face as she considered possibilities. “It shouldn’t, but allow me up to ten or fifteen minutes.”

“Well then, I’ll gather some more for the party,” Gail said as she rubbed her hands gleefully.

“Are you planning to kick things off before you come back?” asked Sarah, and a predatory gleam showed in her gaze.

“Not yet. It’s all set if I wanted to trigger it, but there are a few final touches I want to put in place,” admitted Amdirlain. “Also, I need to check with Roher that we’ve got enough banishment arrays to cover the towns and palace.”

Sarah’s smile got broader. “You didn’t tell me what approach you settled on. Planning to use the misdirections still?”

“You’ll have to wait and see, but the fireworks should be fun,” laughed Amdirlain.

Planar Shift placed Amdirlain in the Outlands with nothing but grasslands visible all around her, even the spire but a distant line splitting the horizon. The feeling of the sunlight differed from the Demi-Plane, and the Plane’s song was significantly more substantial. Eager to get back, Amdirlain quickly cast Planar Attunement, but it didn’t go as she’d hoped. Instead, it behaved as she’d expected: the tuning fork that ran through her turned sour and faded away well before it would have caught hold.

With that hope dashed, concern knotted in her stomach, and Amdirlain opened a Gate to the Elemental Plane of Earth. The image she targeted was the cavern she and Ebusuku had used to stage the Erakkö they’d first rescued from the Dao. The pool of sunlight from the Outlands splashed across the massive stone arch, which ran from one side of the gigantic cavern to the other. Hoping to minimise notice, she dashed through and hurried off to one side. It hadn’t even been a half second from the Gate opening to its closure.

Here again, Planar Attunement soured and failed, and alone in the darkness, Amdirlain listened to the grinding bass tones of the elemental creatures.

Without the counterbalance the Mantle had provided, it was apparent her nature didn’t allow a connection to the planes she’d hoped she could use. Weighing up the options to try next, Amdirlain used Planar Shift again and appeared floating in a dark void. A thousand kilometres away was one of the countless planets floating in Carceri’s infinite darkness, eternally unlit by any sun but its surface emitting a reddish phosphorescent glow.

This time, when she cast Planar Attunement, the Spell struck through her and continued to ring as a surprising notification appeared.

[Planar Attunement Success

Primary Home Plane: Culerzic

Secondary Home Plane(s): None

Attunement Target: Carceri

Override Primary Home Plane, or accept the target as a secondary Home Plane?]

Amdirlain immediately picked the secondary option, despite never wanting to return to Culerzic, having doubled her survival chances. Attempts to gain more information quickly paid off, and it wasn’t as bad as Amdirlain had feared, but still not good.

[Secondary Home Plane Limit: 3

Options: Abyss (Any Plane) (Current Primary: Culerzic), Acheron, Carceri (Secondary - all layers accessible during Planar Lock), Hades, Hell, Gehenna, and Pandemonium. ]

“Chaos incorporated at one end of the tour and the order of Acheron’s eternal battlegrounds at the other,” murmured Amdirlain.

Shifting back to the Outlands, Amdirlain reinforced the efforts of the sunlight to clear herself of the lower planes’ energy before she returned to the Demi-Plane. Unguided by the Gate, her arrival this time placed her exactly where she’d expected. The entry foyer for the Demi-Plane showed seven silvery energy panes that served as exits to various locations on the Material Plane.

Interlocking branches created an arched ten-metre ceiling some twenty metres long. The hints of the radiant sunlight that broke through the net of branches barely illuminated it brighter than late twilight. Towards the foyer’s end, the lines of trees curved away, rapidly expanding into a long oval space, open to a bright blue sky with a Radiant orb high overhead serving as a sun. Shrubs filled the gaps between trees, and woven within them was a distortion to prevent anyone from seeing through to other clearings.

The feast hall’s tables were transparent blue laen—the magical glass on display would make tens of thousands of swords, if not more. The tables ranged in size from those that barely fit four guests, to others that could seat dozens along their lengths. Around each table, chairs showed polished golden brown grains and the smooth melody of the sung oak that Amdirlain had found in an ancient memory.

The layout of the tables followed a pattern Amdirlain had modelled off the Titan’s maze sigil. Scattered throughout the tables, gaps allowed easy passage between a wide path along the hall’s perimeter and the round dance floor covered in a soft fragrant moss in the middle.

Along the perimeter of the banquet area, a wide path provided enough space for six armoured knights to walk side by side. It ran in an unbroken curve along the sides from the entry until it reached a sloped rise at the far end, atop which stood the head table.

There was space to seat a thousand guests—or more—and the hall was beyond capacity. A few hundred older women bore the Amdirlain Cadre’s uniform, many of them bearing heavy scars with pride. Though the years sat heavily on many, Amdirlain recognised every one of them. Mingling with them was nearly twice their number in assorted apparel from the Human countries.

While off to one side, on the nearest table, the closest of a dozen dwarves were speaking to elves who Amdirlain identified based upon conversations with Gail and Yngvarr.

Standing on the foyer’s boundary, Sarah turned to face the hall’s shallow bowl and clapped for the crowd’s attention before Amdirlain reached her. The force of Sarah’s presence brought utter silence to the room.

“Everyone, Gailneth’s guest of honour has arrived.”

As Amdirlain neared Sarah, eyes attracted by her gliding motions were already starting to widen.

Livia turned from conversing with Verdandi and Eivor nearby, calling out in delight. “Móðir.”

“Lady Amdirlain,” Eivor intoned, long practice at public speaking letting her effortlessly project her voice. Her pronouncement caused a ripple the length of the still silent hall as she directed a near genuflection to Amdirlain.

The veterans turned to the figure who’d rescued them and stood guard to banish their nightmares, and the utterance of her name became a unified roar. The surprise written on their faces turned into delight as they called her name with increasing fervour.

Along one right side of the hall, Amdirlain spotted Gail laughing merrily while most of those Amdirlain recognised from descriptions as Gail's teammates paled in shock. Only a broad-shouldered man whose song resonated through a link to Gail seemed unsurprised among them.

As Livia darted towards Amdirlain, the rest of the crowd began to move.

Worried that someone would get hurt, Amdirlain projected a firm reassurance through her Dominion, even as she touched their minds to ensure they all heard her. “Hold position.”

The order stopped most of the crowd in their tracks from long ingrained habit; the rest took their guidance from the hundreds that snapped to a halt.

“Thank you. I don’t want anyone hurt in a crush. Thank you also for being here. Many among you are my heroes, having endured much and then continued risking themselves for others. While I appreciate the welcome to me, it’s their names you should be cheering. Please remain where you are and enjoy the refreshments. I promise I’ll come around and speak to all that wish to speak to me.”

Embracing Livia, Amdirlain looked over the crowd before her. The belief and conviction Amdirlain saw in many that met her gaze hit hard, and taking a breath, she focused on keeping the jittering emotions away from her mental voice.

“To address the question, I’m sure many will ask: I’ve recovered enough to win part of my freedom, but I still have many difficulties to overcome before I can resume the role it honoured me to hold. I’m gratified by those who’ve continued to protect others in my name and cherish Lerina for looking after those who previously followed me. I would ask you not to hesitate to return if I don’t meet with you in time today.”

“I’ll handle portals if anyone leaves early and set up a time for their return. You’re the star with no security from fans,” heckled Sarah lightheartedly, slipping away through the crowd towards Gail.

Even caught up in hugging Livia, Amdirlain felt the flurry of celestials arriving behind her. Rather than intruding on their reunion, Ebusuku briefly rested a hand reassuringly on Amdirlain’s shoulder and headed towards Gail. The cheeky miss in question was now smugly waving off queries and—from how she cupped her ears and leant towards the others—pretending to have gone deaf. Erwarth and the rest of the Lómë solars moved past in various Wood Elf forms, giving Amdirlain and Livia a wave or blown kisses.

“You attract quite the company, Móðir,” murmured Livia as she happily lent into Amdirlain’s prolonged hug.

When Amdirlain finally released her, she kept a hand on Livia’s shoulders and gave her a broad grin. “Will you accompany me around?”

“I wouldn’t want to monopolise your time,” objected Livia.

“Nonsense. We can greet everyone together. Sarah keeps putting off telling me about the cultists, and she’s already slipped away. You’re my captive until I learn more,” teased Amdirlain.

“Best spoken about afterwards; it was honestly nothing you could do anything about. The few clues we have led through The Exchange, not where we expected,” sighed Livia.

“Alright, afterwards,” said Amdirlain, and she shifted position to clasp Livia’s hand, starting for the first nearby group.

“I’m not ten still,” laughed Livia.

“You were never simply ten, missie,” countered Amdirlain.

Hours spent carefully moving through the crowd, Amdirlain caught up with many women from the first platoons. Along the way, she fulfilled a promise she’d once made herself, and those that wanted their scars removed found themselves with unblemished flesh; though not all veterans took up the offer, enough did to keep the crowd abuzz. Among the dwarven contingent, Jaixar—now a Master Artificer and Alchemist—became bashful from the warmth of Amdirlain’s greeting.

Later in the evening, as they slipped between groups, they found Aggie smiling at their approach. The network of lightning scars that had covered her face since the Gods’ War was gone. Instead, she now possessed blemish-free Mediterranean skin that looked too young for her years.

“How long did Gail wait before she made you accept her healing?” Livia asked and clasped Aggie’s cheeks; the two women, dwarfed by Amdirlain, were nearly the same height. The contrast between Aggie’s dusky skin and black hair made Livia’s white skin an almost neon glow.

“The moment the pair of you started circulating,” laughed Aggie, and she waved towards the hall’s entrance. “Though I think partly to deflect her team’s questions because she then made her escape.”

“Gail told me she’d set you up for healing the day you came to Sanctuary’s Cove,” informed Amdirlain.

Aggie gave a rueful head shake. “The enthusiasm she possesses makes it seem she’s not the type to plan more than a few days ahead, and then she goes and shows she can wait years. The key she’s been seeking, did it have something to do with getting you out?”

“She didn’t tell you when she found it?” asked Amdirlain.

“Not a peep,” confirmed Aggie. “I was in the dark about what this party was for. Given the crowd, there was plenty of speculation, but none included you being even partly freed.”

Amdirlain gave a helpless shrug. “It wasn’t just for me. I’m merely a first step in rescuing many others from undeserved fates.”

“That young lady can sure keep a secret,” laughed Aggie. “I think Myrto almost fainted in religious ecstasy that the often-mentioned auntie Am turned out to be you.”

“Why? She’s one of Hestia’s priestesses,” protested Amdirlain in confusion. “I know Gail and Tove arranged a meeting for her with Hestia shortly after Gail got here.”

“One, you wouldn’t know but Hestia’s faithful have sung your praises for years. Two, Tove’s done almost as much for Hestia’s faithful as yours and Lerina’s in the years she’s been working with Ipy.”

“I spotted Eivor’s son with Gail. He looks much like his father but massive for someone of Egyptian descent,” observed Amdirlain.

Aggie smiled brightly. “The fact you remember his father will make his day.”

“I remember them all,” replied Amdirlain, and she smiled at the waiting group. “Care to do the introductions, Grand Traveller Aggie? There are some here I’ve not yet had the pleasure to meet.”

Renewing her aura concealments several times through the evening kept one problem at bay. It was the easiest of the issues to resolve, and Amdirlain needed a great application of Dominion to calm some among the crowd. The occasional spike of serenity caused Livia to lift an eyebrow, but Amdirlain persisted in meeting those who waited.

The evening had long ago lengthened into the morning’s early hours when Amdirlain spoke to the last group who’d patiently waited. With the last farewells exchanged, some of Gail’s elven staff took responsibility for getting them home safely.

Amdirlain followed Livia to the closest table the servants had cleaned. “I never asked, but it seems Sarah’s got things organised.”

“Gail helped by poaching from other households initially, though most of her staff come from poor families,” commented Livia. “Are you going to give yourself time to relax?”

“I’ve made some promises I intend to keep. However, in the short term, I will be here regularly. The next stage of Gail’s plan will need Isa and myself helping,” explained Amdirlain. “I’ll wait until Ebusuku and the others come back before I discuss the next steps. What happened to the cult?”

“The Kyton turned out to be an older one that Sarah had encountered during her years trapped. When we raided the cult’s main temple, she didn’t appreciate Sarah’s ability to wrest control of her chains,” explained Livia. “Sarah rummaged through her mind and found the deliveries weren’t part of the cult’s plans. A broker from The Exchange hired them, and the Kyton charged for help and used the funds to forward Hell’s agenda on this planet. They never met Torm directly or gained his name.”

Amdirlain tapped the table lightly, listening to its song’s shift with each impact. “Using cutouts. I guess that’s hardly surprising after his work with the cell and my conversations with him. Any idea how Torm learnt of them?”

“The cult is old. Verdandi said that Torm had assisted her in putting it down a few times over his years with her. The Kyton didn’t know how the broker learnt of them. He paid well and, besides providing the material for the ritual, also helped them source hard-to-come-by goods. She got the feeling the broker had been told to ensure they complied speedily on their side of the deal,” clarified Livia. “You’ll have to get the broker’s name from Sarah—she didn’t share.”

“I can guess why. What would you have done if she’d given you the name?”

Livia crossed her arms. “He aided criminals breaking the law; there must be a way to get him.”

“There are ways and means of dealing with matters in The Exchange. I’ll discuss it with Sarah and Ebusuku; I know Ebusuku has had the most recent dealing with the Demi-Plane’s management.”

“Most recent dealings? You know who runs The Exchange?”

“A mated pair of gem dragons set it up; I don’t know who is running it now,” admitted Amdirlain.

“You remember it being founded? How long do dragons live?” questioned Livia. “I know Azex said he’s well past an Adamantine Dragon’s normal lifespan.”

“Dragons on the Material Plane, if they don’t get themselves killed, can live ten or fifteen thousand years, depending on their strength, before their body weight kills them. The pressure slowly causes organs to fail and blood vessels to constrict, cutting off circulation,” answered Amdirlain. “The dragons native to other planes live longer because of their aspects. Legends say there are dragons the others supposedly descend from that are truly immortal.”

“But you remember it being founded?” persisted Livia.

“Why do you think Orhêthurin was at every significant event in the realm?” Amdirlain countered evasively. “That’s completely implausible. I’ve many memories of her being surprised by various changes or finding out about things long afterwards.”

“Móðir!” chided Livia. “Can you be slightly more subtle in avoiding answering?”

“I’ve remembered Orhêthurin being invited along with others to visit after its founding,” answered Amdirlain. “Amethyst dragons believe in the balance, but they’ve no concerns over profiting from maintaining it. The Exchange started as a neutral territory because the couple expected its businesses to be good for consistently increasing their hoard. If they or their family remain in control, being the landlords earns them a lot.”

Livia started to speak, but Ebusuku, Gail, and Sarah reentering the hall and, heading their way, halted her questions.