H - 143: Because I Say So (Patreon)

“Yes, that was a goddess.”

Everyone turned to stare at Emeralaphine—the other two dragons in open irritation, Kaln and the ghosts with careful neutrality.

“You knew that?” Izayaroa said testily.

“You didn’t?” Emeralaphine snipped back. “It was a deity, coming right up to the border of our territory. An elder dragon needn’t be a legendary magical specialist to have spotted that—she need only have been paying attention. I was really the only one?”

Izayaroa and Tiavathyris both arched their necks and raised their wings, baring teeth.

“Peace,” Kaln ordered, and they subsided. “Emeralaphine, what did you observe in addition to what the soldiers reported?”

“Little,” she said, smoothing her own wings back. “Positive identification of what kind of thing she is, but not the individual—I wouldn’t have clocked what I sensed as feminine, for example. Also, where she went after that. You should be aware, husband, that using magic to discern information about gods is not a prospect. As you have yourself experienced now, divinity shapes creation into the channels through which magic flows; a god can easily block such attempts, fill them with false information, or directly retaliate through them.”

He blinked. “But… You’re still tracking her?”

“Because she has not chosen to prevent me,” Emeralaphine said—her delivery still even, but a flick of her tail betraying annoyance at the admission. “I maintain active wards and constant low-level spells gathering information about our surroundings. A small god walking through that will easily notice it, and in most cases, do nothing about it. Were she to disrupt my standard scans, or I to focus a targeted divination upon her… Well, then we’d be in conflict.”

“There is a certain etiquette among beings of our level,” Tiavathyris added, “which we would be wise to observe, husband, particularly toward a goddess of uncertain strength and intentions.”

“I see,” Kaln murmured. “Thank you for the explanation. Emeralaphine, you said you saw where she went?”

“Where is going, as of now,” Emeralaphine answered. “She is moving in an unnaturally straight line into the mountains…at an oddly slow pace.”

“Why unnaturally?”

“The terrain, Kaln. You can’t just walk through mountains like you can across this vault. A mountain range can be conceptualized as a collection of stuff in varying scales that you have to go over or around.”

“Ah, of course, obviously,” he said ruefully.

The Phantom Legionary who had brought the report saluted. “If I may, my lord, the explanation for her speed and direction is the same. She walked up a cliff face, re-orienting herself as if the vertical surface had become the ground.”

“Ah, that would explain it,” Emeralaphine said with a satisfied nod. “Yes, a straight line through that landscape would involve at least as much up and down as forward.”

“I have known beings which felt compelled to move thus, in straight lines,” Tiavathyris added. “Lesser gods, Fair Folk, various miscellany.”

“As have I,” said Izayaroa. “Some able to do what is described here—others that would knock down or bore through things in their way. So, it could be worse.”

“I don’t suppose you have a general idea what’s in the direction she’s heading toward?” Kaln asked, turning back to Emerlaphine.

She grinned. “More than a general one. She’s on a beeline for Shadrach’s tower. At this pace, she should reach him sometime tomorrow morning.”

Kaln winced. “Ah. We should probably warn him—”

“No,” all three dragons chorused.

This united front made him pause, blinking again. “You don’t think at least the courtesy is warranted? Shadrach is a friend and ally—”

“He is neither, husband,” Tiavathyris interrupted, flicking her tail. “He is a mercenary—a very effective and very expensive one. Shadrach Meshabedan’s services can be bought but he specifically and vociferously rejects both alliance and friendship.”

“This is not a case of us teaching him some kind of lesson,” Izayaroa added. “The man is smart enough to know the consequences of belligerently isolating himself, and these are those. You can probably expect your neighbors to warn you of potential trouble, husband, because you are sociable and helpful. Shadrach is lying in the bed he’s buttered. I wish him all due comfort in it.”

“I guess I take your point,” Kaln said, frowning, “but isn’t there also a strategic concern, here? We have no idea what that confrontation will look like, and it’ll be happening perilously close to our own borders.”

“Strategy is the point, husband,” said Tiavathyris. “None of us would oppose you doing Shadrach a favor on principle, but in this case, there’s something in it for us. We require intelligence concerning this new player who has just emerged from the wilderness with a direct interest in our affairs. There’s no more ideal way to gather such intelligence than by watching what she does right under our proverbial noses toward someone who, let’s face it, nobody is going to mind seeing experience misfortune.”

“Very well, I take that point, too, then,” Kaln acknowledged. “And in the worst case, I guess he’ll probably be fine. Even Atraximos didn’t want to fight Shadrach.”

“Atraximos was a coward,” Emerlaphine sniffed, “and he avoided that fight because it would have been incredibly annoying and he might have gotten hurt, not because he wouldn’t have won. Remember, husband—lesser gods are harder to destroy than more powerful ones, at the cost of being more constrained by their divine aspects. They suffer certain compulsions. That’s the entire problem we have with that shadow: its nature is too wrapped up in revenge for it to leave you alone after being spurned. This business of walking in straight lines across whatever terrain smells to me like more of that, though to be fair, it could also be the kind of personality quirk an ageless and unstoppable being develops.”

“This is exactly why letting that interaction unfold will be valuable,” said Izayaroa. “Seeing what she does when confronted by someone like Shadrach will reveal a great deal about what we should expect.”

“Regardless,” Emeralaphine continued, raising her chin, “you needn’t worry about the boy’s survival, husband. In the worst case, if he was in genuine peril—and after we’d learned what can be learned by watching—I would intervene. Not in the interests of Dragonvale entire, but because he is a friend of my daughter, and quite frankly Pheneraxa needs all the encouragement to not hide in the lair she can get. I want that boy alive and annoying at least until she manages to expand her interests.”

“I’m sure we can forgive that,” Tiavathyris said with a smile.

The ghost soldier saluted again; receiving a nod from Commandar Sharamin, he spoke. “Your pardon, my lord—permission to offer a personal observation?”

“Of course,” said Kaln. “You actually saw this goddess; I welcome your input.”

“Thank you, sir. While her refusal to profess non-hostility could be taken as admission of aggressive intent, and we don’t yet have data to prove it wasn’t… In my personal opinion, I don’t actually think that was the problem. Sir, I have encountered quite a few powerful individuals who were accustomed to unimpeded freedom and took great offense at the mere suggestion that someone else’s rules might apply to them. To me, this looked like that.”

“Interesting,” Izayaroa mused. “And was that pure instinct, soldier, or do you base it upon specific observation?”

“Both, your Excellency. I do trust my instincts, but there were specific tells. She was polite to us until I impeded her path. More importantly, she was friendly toward the petitioners waiting in line, despite the fact that her mere presence induced unnatural fear in the mortals. Even after being frustrated by rejection, she spoke kindly to bystanders instead of taking it out on them. I really don’t think she came to Dragonvale looking for a fight.”

“Thank you for that, soldier,” said Kaln. “That actually is a point worth considering.”

“Yes, sir. Lieutenant Irvas was still conducting entrance interviews when I left, but I’m sure he’ll have his own full report to submit ASAP.”

“Wait,” Izayaroa said suddenly. “A line? Multiple applicants? I thought you were stationed at the northeastern pass—that leads directly into wilderness.”

“Yes, your Excellency,” the ghost said, saluting her. “It was one large group arriving together—three families who were part of the same community. They’d come a long way and were very grateful for rations, first aid, and seats, and not resistant to queueing on request. This will all be in the Lieutenant’s report, but in brief, they were the entirety of what they called a village, though that would make a population too small for that designation under Hegemony codes. A landslide damaged their homes and destroyed most of their livestock and cultivated land. When they appealed to their local lord for aid, he responded only that their tax obligations would not be altered. The entire community appears to have preferred a two-week wilderness hike and gambling their lives on the rumors from Dragonvale to what would have befallen them at home.”

Izayaroa narrowed her eyes. “I see.”

“Indeed,” said Kaln. “I am inclined to believe hard-working folk with a story of a Vale lord acting the way I saw a lot of Vale lords act in the Storyteller’s visions, but this is the Evervales, and we can’t afford to blithely accept anything we’re told. Wirven, please see that the Lieutenant’s full report reaches me first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir,” said his new secretary, still writing in rapid shorthand on her clipboard. “It’ll be on your desk before breakfast.”

“Thank you. If there are no surprises in that to change my plans, I’ll ask one of the drakes to fly over the site tomorrow and verify its condition. Confirming their story about their lord will require knowing the local politics, which is trickier. I will ask Clarent; with luck, he’ll be familiar enough with the lord in question to vouch for or against this account. With less luck, he’ll know who we can ask, and how to do so discreetly. In the worst case this will have to wait until Pheneraxa returns from Boisverd with Henrietta’s signature on that intelligence-sharing treaty.”

“Husband, international treaty negotiations are never so…efficient,” Izayaroa warned.

“I’m well aware, my lady wife,” Kaln replied with a smile. “I did invite the Queen to reply with requested changes if she has any, but I also laid out terms that I deemed fair and made sure Boisverd would benefit from my proposal. It matters that Henrietta is only still Queen because I say so, and is not the type to need reminders of that. Nor do I think she’ll pass up the chance to get her hands on Storyteller data, since she’s just lost both her Court Mage and spymaster. And anyway, once we’ve put this lot through the Storyteller to weed out potential spies, we should be able to proceed without strictly needing on-site verification; I just want to develop our direct information-gathering capacity so we’re not completely dependent on a single point of potential failure. Unless something truly terrible turns up, I’m inclined to offer the lot full citizenship and jobs. It’ll mean having Miras bump up his terrace farm project on the priority list, but a ready-made community of farmers fits a specific need we have too perfectly to turn up our noses at the windfall.”

“I say this for the sake of thoroughness and not to discourage you, husband,” said Izayaroa, “but that will have consequences. Endorsing these villagers’ account of their lord’s alleged misconduct is a direct affront to said lord, and unlike the situation with the bandits, this time you will be poaching productive citizens who will now be paying their taxes to you instead. Other states will take note.”

“Good,” Kaln stated. “The details will depend on the outcome of our investigation, but either way, this serves to advance Dragonvale’s foreign policy. If this lord is as bad an actor as this account describes, we handle it like the bandits: publicize the full story and dare anybody to come complain to me if they don’t like it. Also like the bandits, if these people are lying and turn out to be criminals or something, we’ll send them home to face justice. But, there is likely to be more nuance to this situation. For example, it’s not implausible that the lord couldn’t aid them or lower their taxes because he couldn’t spare it. If he or the country is in distress, Dragonvale will offer them aid with whatever discretion allows them to save face, and come out of this with an ally. So long as we gather information before acting and don’t do anything stupid, then one way or another this situation will advance our interests.”

All three dragons raised their heads, nodding and looking satisfied. They consistently liked it when he took charge and showed competence, and Kaln had come to treasure their validation.

“Well and good, then,” Emeralaphine said with a touch of impatience. “That addresses the simpler and lesser of the immediate concerns.”

“Right, strange goddesses on our doorstep,” Kaln said, frowning. “Soldier, you’re certain she used the phrase ‘divine lineage?’”

“Yes, sir, it stuck out to me. I’ve never heard that particular expression before.”

Kaln nodded. “That’s the relevant context, then. We’re not going to be done with the Entity any time soon, but this one is probably not its ally; it indicated consistent failure in getting people to fully embrace its plans for them. Now we know at least one proceeded all the way through apotheosis, but based on her reaction to being stopped at the border, this is no goddess of revenge. It would be ideal if I could have a civil conversation with her, and learn more about…what we have in common. The Legion acted correctly, however. A creature like that who refused to promise she wouldn’t attack us can’t just be allowed to wander through Dragonvale at liberty. This is going to be tricky.”

“For now, we’ll wait and watch,” said Tiavathyris. “Hopefully her interaction with Shadrach will prove informative. Even if Emeralaphine’s wards don’t pick up any details at this range, he may be amenable to discussing it afterward.”

“If he’s properly motivated,” Izayaroa sighed.

“Or if we wait til Pheneraxa gets home and let her harangue it out of him,” Emeralaphine added, grinning.

“This is a being with a distinctive appearance and demeanor,” said Tiavathyris, “who walks in straight lines through whatever obstruction is in the way. That will have been noticed; somebody in the Vales knows more about her. The problem is that this is the Evervales, where information is more valuable than currency. The difficulty will be in finding out who has such information, and getting it from them.”

“Ideally without igniting another chain of unwanted consequences,” Izayaroa added.

“I’ll consult with Clarent about that first thing in the morning,” said Kaln. “Wirven, please notify him as soon as he wakes; we have two matters to discuss ASAP, but it can wait til morning when I get the Lieutenant’s full report and we see what happens with Shadrach.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The parties we can be certain are well-informed about this are the gods,” said Emeralaphine. “The Vale pantheon claim this as territory; no lesser god moves through it without their notice. And you have established a rapport with Anessima, husband.”

“Approaching her is…challenging,” Kaln murmured. “The method I used last time was rather presumptuous; making a habit of that will degrade our relationship. And I don’t think major gods come when summoned, especially not to do favors.”

“Anessima in particular can learn to live with whatever course you deem necessary,” Izayaroa stated, slamming her tail against the floor. “I am aware of the aid she rendered you at Boisverd, husband, and I do not deem it adequate recompense for the insults and injuries she inflicted prior.”

“With all possible respect, my lady wife, I would prefer to establish a warmer relationship with the local pantheon than you have with the Nine. I have seen firsthand how being at cross-purposes with local religions can hamper your objectives. I’ll consider a way to build rapport with Anessima and the others, ideally in a manner that encourages them to share information, but that needn’t be the first approach, anyway.”

He paused, grinning, and glanced around at the three dragons and three ghosts. Wirven, Sharamin, and the gate guard remained dutifully impassive, but his wives narrowed their eyes impatiently.

“I did promise to visit Hii-Amat anyway; this is a perfect reason to drop by the Reaches. She warned me last time that gods have strongly compelling reasons not to get involved in the business of other gods, so I won’t expect all the answers, but Hii-Amat is a source of great advice about life as a deity and seems to enjoy sharing it; it will be a good starting point for dealing with the others. I have a feeling Ralshi will be glad of an excuse to grab a couple of aurochs and drop by Riincroft. Zhiiji might enjoy a visit home, too.”

Emeralaphine cleared her throat, grinning. “And…does ‘home’ want a visit from Zhiiji?”

“Fortunately, Elder Liiri laid out the situation very clearly last time. If we bring Zhiiji along with a few tons of beef, let her say ‘hi’ to everyone and cook up a bunch of steaks, then leave and take her with us… That’s exactly the amount of Zhiiji that the Hiiri seem to want at a time. So it’s just a question of whether she wants to come with.”

All three dragons grinned broadly.

“This is definitely a new wrinkle in our situation,” Kaln said more seriously, “but the situation itself is better than the last time we had a troublesome god poking around in here. We have resources and options that didn’t exist before; we have a solid starting point. We’ll observe first and act with care, and I have complete faith we can resolve this. With any luck, we’ll even come out ahead. Thank you, everyone; we’ll reconvene in the morning once there’s more information. Dismissed.”

The three ghosts saluted, and vanished into mist.

“Ladies,” Kaln added with a warm smile. “Thank you as always for your aid and counsel; I would be lost without both. Rest well, and I look forward to seeing each of you in the morning.”

His wives dipped their heads respectfully toward him, smiling, and all three turned to head toward their respective lairs. Even now, Kaln hadn’t fully got over his surprise that they accepted such high-handed talk from him, even though he’d figured out the formula long since. The trick had been squaring the dragons’ towering pride with their expectations toward him, and he’d finally understood that it was being taken for granted that they wouldn’t tolerate. So long as he did what came naturally to him anyway, taking every opportunity to make sure his wives each knew they were respected and loved, they preferred it when he was authoritative.

All of them did, but one more than the others.

Speaking of which…

“Tiavathyris,” he said suddenly, and she paused, turning to look back at him.

In fact, all three did.

Kaln spoke in the specific manner he had gradually perfected for her: calm, but deliberately arrogant, presumptuous.

“I’m going to stop by the kitchen for an herbal tea before I turn in. When I reach my bed, you will be in it.”

She hesitated, her jaw opening in surprise. Then, the great dragon dipped her head low in a shockingly demure gesture.

“Yes, my lord.”

They resumed their departures, Tiavathyris adjusting course to head for his chambers instead of her own. Kaln indulged in reaching out to sense them, tasting their emotions—feeling the amusement of the other two, and the simmer of her heated anticipation.

Life kept growing more complicated; he remained concerned about the effect such power would have on his mind, the burdens of ruling what was increasingly an actual country were constant and ever-escalating in complexity, and that wasn’t even accounting for the random and un-expectable, like fellow members of his “divine lineage” popping out of the woodwork to make preposterous demands. But still, he couldn’t say it was all bad. It wasn’t even mostly bad.

In spite of everything, it was good to be the Dragonlord.