Jahi PoV
After the rather productive night inside of the newly acquired city of Goron, we departed for the Empire with haste, parts of the Legion remaining behind and helping with the rebuilding efforts while the other half traveled with us.
Anput left that forge that night with a better, clearer, more focused mindset, her prior pride returning slowly as she hammered away at the anvil, forging a beautiful war scythe that was surprisingly light.
With a new weapon firmly in her grasp, the Jackalkin spent an hour admiring her work and practicing with it before joining Leone and I in our room, her passion back as she whimpered beneath the combined attacks of the Vampire and Demoness.
The next morning, we set out for the Empire, the mood in the carriage much lighter as we managed to get some work done the day prior; Mom and the others got their reports finalized, while we managed to work through some of our lingering mental traumas from weeks past.
Our carriage ride back to the Empire was relatively quick, the hours spent going from Goron to the Capital filled with conversation regarding what we were going to do upon our return.
Kolia wanted to ask if Leone could get her an audience with Lady Theresa, so that she might further her understanding on the arcane and strengthen herself for the changes to the world around us.
Nirinia regaled Anput and I with tales of Lady Fenryas, making the two of us shudder as we listened to how she had been tortured for days upon weeks at a time, all under the guise of training.
Mom added a few of her own experiences here and there, further frightening Anput and I as the woman that we both believed to be amongst the strongest spoke upon how she too had almost been broken before Lady Fenryas' harsh training.
Leone couldn't even try and defend her Aunt, silently nodding her head off to the side as she listened, her eyes slightly hollow and filled with unwanted memories.
However, Nirinia also joked about how it'll be easier for Anput and I to bolster our morale, since we could just seek out one another after training was over.
The Djinn added a jab to Adelina there as well, thinking out loud to herself as she muttered "That sounds like a plan, actually... I wonder if Milan kept the Veritan open..?"
"The brothel? Yes, it's still open; in fact, I think it's currently amongst the highest earning night establishments in the Capital!"
Kolia was the one to inform those of us who were uninformed about what the Veritan was, and I could see Adelina clench her fists and grit her teeth at that, her gold eyes flashing with complex emotion.
It would seem the two childhood friends would never patch things up at this rate, though I don't understand why they didn't just marry right away if sex was the issue; that was the reason Adelina didn't want to marry, wasn't it?
'Sex was sacred' or something...
Either way it wasn't my issue, and to be honest it was growing stale at this rate, the way these two danced around one another instead of just making the decision to either cut ties or marry.
That was the only tense moment inside the carriage, as the mentioning of a brothel somehow led to the discussion of money and what we should do with the earnings from the Crusade.
Leone wanted alchemical ingredients to concoct more potions and pills, Anput wanted metals so she could forge some better armor and equipment for us all, I... was going to relinquish my portion to them.
Mom gave her portion to us as well, while Nirinia decided drinks were a good thing to spend money on, her lighthearted, free nature returning.
Kolia began to rave about a tome that she had been itching to buy for years now, while Adelina said she'd put her portion directly into the Legion's coffers, so that they could be better equipped as well.
Topic after topic distracted us as we traversed the mountain border between Sylak and the Empire, and eventually - as dusk fell - we arrived at the beautiful Capital.
Better known as home.
We took the carriage all the way up towards the Empress' Palace and went to meet the ruler of our Empire, presenting our findings to her and giving her individual accounts for what had happened.
This time, when we entered the Palace, we were greeted with all six of the Empress' wives, each one present for the return of the Crusade and wanting to hear what had happened.
I got to meet the last two wives of the Empress, who I had only known of through word of mouth and some of what Leone had said.
Lady D'Arcon, third wife of the Empress was a slender woman draped in clean white cloth, her wrists adorned with silver bracelets while pearls hung from her neck, all of which contrasted the golden locks that cascaded down her shoulders.
A white veil concealed her eyes and nose from view, but her white painted lips were curled into a warm, welcoming smile as she looked over us, her silver shakujo staff - the slender haft topped by a loop that housed four other rings dangling from that larger loop - leaning against her marble and silver throne.
She radiated a holy aura, and she looked every bit a priestess.
Her complete opposite sat beside her, and when I say complete opposite...
A towering, hulking woman lounged on a throne made from shattered blades and bone, her charcoal black skin bare to the world as she wore little more than a cloth binding over her medium breasts and a pair of tattered leather pants.
Muscle rippled with each movement she made, her body honed into the perfect machine for killing, and she sneered as she glared at Mom and Nirinia, one of her eyes - a brilliant, shining silver - open and pinning the two to their spots.
A gigantic black metal scythe - a proper farming scythe, oddly enough - was resting against her throne, the weapon shrouded with an aura of bloodshed.
Lady Fenryas was an arrogant woman, her black skin cracked with crimson veins that pulsed angrily, while her large, fluffy black ears and bushy tail gave away her Wolfkin heritage.
However, from what Mom had said, this woman was a Hybrid - a unique mixture - of old Demon blood and Wolfkin blood; she could trace her lineage back to Lilith, the oldest Demoness.
Where Lady D'Arcon was a serene, calm woman, Lady Fenryas was like a barely shackled beast straining at its chains, wanting to run free and whet its appetite for blood.
Under the presence of all seven of the Empire's rulers, we presented our findings to them, each of the women giving a different reaction.
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