Burn The Ashes: An Invitation To Court (Patreon)

[An Invitation To Court]

Tanya was no stranger to accidental incineration. Say what you will about just how ludicrous such a term was—even moreso when applied in context, but the fact of the matter was that she’d had access to her family’s bloodline magic since she was an infant, and didn’t always know how to use it as effectively as she did today. 

All that was to say, she learned to pack a spare change of clothing for training. Which was good on the odd occasion that she found herself stripped from clothes and skin by her own flames, such as today.

“That was one of my favorite suits,” she commented idly as she strode through the foliage. She tightened her gloves, pulling one down her slender wrist until her fingers sat flush inside of the fitted material. “Though I suppose that’s my fault for wearing it. I never imagined you’d put up quite that much of a fight. You’re quite hard to put down.”

Connal smiled slightly as he ran a thumb across his cheek, burning away a spot of soot marring his fair skin. His appearance was as impeccable as it was conjured by his own power. “It comes with the territory of being undead, I’m afraid.”

Tanya eyed him as she smoothed her tie. “Hm. And the staggering power?”

“Who could say?” he replied smoothly, and Tanya smirked. To this day, she did not understand how Chernabog ever thought he had the Dullahan under his complete command. Connal was nearly as powerful as the god had been, and Tanya knew for certain that it wasn’t due to their infrequent training sessions.

A long, squeaky meow came from the brush behind Tanya and Connal’s companion followed shortly after. The cat regarded Tanya with narrowed blue eyes, before clambering up her master’s arm as he offered it down to her level. She perched herself on her shoulder, forming into the crook of his neck like a living scarf, before closing her eyes. Connal reached up, running a finger along her brow, and smiled at the purr it elicited. 

“Shall we return home?” He asked.

Tanya shook her head, leading the way through the woods, or at least what remained of them. Their battle had scoured this section of land to bedrock, leaving nothing but burning dirt and piles of ash to remember what had once been a vibrant forest. “Now just yet. There’s still work to be done at the USB headquarters.”

“Where else could I possibly be referring to?” Connal chuckled. “I don’t believe you’ve spent more than a night away from there in months. You may as well expand your office to include basic amenities given how often you find yourself sleeping in there.”

“There’s always more work to be done,” Tanya sighed as they passed by the large basin that had once held a substantial amount of water. Now, the only liquid that remained was a pool of tar bubbling near the bottom.  “Our military isn’t quite as messy as it once was, but it is still a mess. I hope to have it cleaned up before my twentieth, but that goal is seeming more and more impossible.”

Connal hummed, gently rubbing his companion’s head. “If you’d allow me to pick your brain, Master, what do you plan to do when you finally rise to the seat of Asmodeus? Will you continue to run the organisation on top of all of your other duties?”

“Not directly. The USB’s operations are far too large to dedicate anything but one's full attention to. Once I become Asmodeus, I will have to find someone to run it in my place and report to me directly.”

Proper delegation was the key to any successful venture, and the same rang true when it came to military operations.

The issue was that no one under her was qualified enough to handle the position she was planning to vacate. Certainly, there were people in the USB who could do it, at least theoretically. Whether or not they'd want to after a year or so was another question entirely.

“I'll need to start grooming a successor soon,” she murmured. “The Quincy girls are powerful, but apart from Liltotto, not a single one of them is responsible enough to even touch administrative work. And I very much doubt I have enough food to bribe her to try.”

Even with her family's wealth, it probably wouldn't take long for Liltotto to eat them down to pennies. Considering she was also a stress eater...

Tanya cast a sidelong look at Connal, but the man merely met her eyes and shook his head. He didn't have any interest in doing it. How unfortunate. He was honestly the perfect candidate if one didn’t take into consideration—

Just then, something pricked at the edge of Tanya's senses, drawing her thoughts outward and her eyes forward. The air split open, a portal of deepest black and swirling purple rippling into existence directly in front of them. The grass curled at its edges, aging and turning to dust in only a moment.

Tanya stopped, her proverbial hackles raising a wave of power washed over her. Who in the world would dare to brazenly teleport themselves this deep into Phenex territory.

This power, Tanya stepped back, drawing on the embers of her power and stoking them into full flames. It’s eerily similar to Chernabog’s.

Flames flickered at the edges of Tanya’s fingers as she prepared to fight this possible threat. Suddenly, a hand was thrust in front of her, fingers splayed in the universal sign to wait. Tanya gave her servant a sharp look. “Connal?”

Connal had eyes for the portal, a small smile on his face. “There's no need for that, Master. This is a friend.”

As Tanya watched, a snout poked through the portal, sniffing the air. A snow-white hound lagged behind it, stepping onto the grass and nosing around. Another followed, and then a leg stepped through the veil of black.

“It doesn't look like a friend,” Tanya muttered as she took in the new arrival. He was a mountain of a man, wrapped in a cloak of deep brown fur pinned with a clasp of silver. Underneath, he wore a cuirass and chain, with a sword at his side. A helmet sat upon his head, gnarled antlers reaching towards the sky.

Connal stepped forward, a smile upon his face. “Arawn, it is good to see you.”

Tanya's eyes widened minutely but before she could say anything, the man strode forward to meet them. He reached up and slid his helmet off, revealing a rugged, bearded face. 

Arawn smiled. “Connal! I trust you are doing well, my friend?”

“As well as can be,” Connal chuckled. “My master gave me quite the thrashing just now, so I'm a bit out of sorts, as I'm sure you can see.”

The other man nodded in spite of Connal's ever-impeccable appearance, before his eyes slid to Tanya. He seemed to examine her for a moment, before smiling.

“And this… Ah, yes. I can feel it. It's strange. I knew it would be different, but to know it and experience it are so different.” Arawn smiled. “I must say, you’re even more impressive than I ever thought you’d be.”

Tanya did not like being kept in the dark, and that definitely showed in her frown. She knew who this man was, though she had never met him face-to-face like this. “For one who once held my Knight’s leash, you seem remarkably pleased to meet me.”

Arawn chuckled. “I hold no ill will toward you for taking Connal into your peerage. It was his choice at the end of the day, just as it has been since he pledged himself to me. For him to remain under your banner means you are a better master than I could have been.” 

He shook his head. “Ah, but where are my manners? We haven’t been formally introduced. I am Arawn of Annwn, king to those under me, and friend to those who would wish to know me. I have come to bring you a message, Tanya Phenex, and an invitation.”

“There are easier ways to give me a message than trespassing in the middle of my family’s territory,” Tanya said, her tone a little displeased. “You are very lucky Connal was here, or I doubt this conversation would even be happening.”

Arawn simply smiled. “Fate works in mysterious ways, wouldn't you agree?”

One of his hounds padded forward and sniffed at Tanya's hand. She regarded it with a raised eyebrow as its wet nose pressed against her knuckles, its red ears flicking. After a moment, it seemed to deem her acceptable and trotted back to its companion.

“He likes you,” Arawn noted.

“I'm flattered,” Tanya said dryly. “But you’ve still not explained your purpose here.”

Arawn chuckled as he reached down and scratched one of his hounds behind the ear. “Very well. I'll not waste your time with pleasantries, then.”

He stood straighter, a bit of his good humor disappearing as he adopted a more serious expression.

“Members of the Court are convening on an important matter. One pertaining to you. We would like you to attend.”

Tanya's eyes widened minutely at the mention of the court. She hadn't heard a whisper of them since Chernabog's defeat, though she had a feeling that wouldn't be the end of it. For them to suddenly ask for her after four years… What could they possibly want?

“This is quite sudden,” she said slowly. “I understand that your group has interest in me. Why seek me out so suddenly?”

“To answer that question, first, you must understand that every member of the Court has served for millennia. It is rare for our numbers to decrease, and practically unheard of for that reason to be because one of us were claimed by the very force we hold dominion over.” He stroked his beard. “While many of us were unsurprised at Chernabog's untimely end, there were those among us who feared it might have been too soon, and many more who worried about your intentions.”

Tanya's frown deepened. “I was defending my home from a genocidal warmonger. I'd rather not have my motives be conflated with something they're not.”

Arawn raised a hand. “You do not have to justify yourself to me. I was no fan of Chernabog. His lust for destruction was his own downfall, as I and many others knew it would be. Make no mistake, this meeting is not a trial of intention. We merely wish to shed some light on things—peel the veil back, as it were. We feel you deserve to know your place in the world.”

My place in the world. Tch. Tanya fought a sneer. These people clearly had some preconceived notions about who she was, some kind of “destiny” that they thought she would fulfill. Likely something to do with this title they've burdened me with.

Though she had no desire to entertain such drivel, this did present an opportunity to learn more about the Court and of their intentions for her. Connal trusted this man, and that was enough to tell her his offer was genuine.

“Very well,” Tanya said after a moment of deliberation. “I'll join you. Connal?”

“I'll inform the rest, Master.” Connal bowed.

Arawn smiled at his old friend. “She is in good hands, my friend. We'll have her back to you shortly.”

Tanya bristled slightly, but she swallowed the retort as Arawn turned to her.

“Whenever you're ready.”

Arawn snapped his fingers, and the portal that had closed behind him appeared once more. The void within swirled with shades of violet and black, and his hounds padded forward into the dark without waiting.

“After you,” Arawn said, gesturing toward the portal with an open palm.

Tanya stepped from the portal into a palace that made her own home seem like a drab shed in comparison. Floors of solid marble carved cleanly spread underneath obsidian pillars inlaid with branches of silver that stretched towards a vaulted ceiling painted with stars.

Men and women bustled back and forth as the portal closed behind them. Tanya noticed immediately that only a select few of them seemed corporeal at all. Others seemed just a bit less than real. Light passed through them sluggishly, staying just long enough to make it seem as though they were different from the shadows they failed to cast upon the ground.

Tables filled to the brim with all manner of meat and fruit were placed along either wall, so full to bursting that it was a marvel that the tables supported their burden. Nearby, another table was laden with clay jugs, many of which had been opened, the smell of fermented fruits and berries wafting from within. 

Gazing around at all of this, Tanya's eyes eventually locked onto a group of figures joined at the far end of the hall. They were different from those around them, and not just because they were corporeal. Power radiated from each of them, washing over the room in rippling waves. 

“Come. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” Arawn gestured them along. 

The crowd of spirits parted before them as they walked across the hall. Tanya felt eyes stuck to her skin, and smothered the disquiet prickling at her skin. This place set her on edge, and it wasn’t just because of the power flowing through the hall. The very air around them seemed to speak to a part of her, telling her that she wasn’t supposed to be here, that she was trespassing in some manner she couldn’t possibly comprehend.

By the time they reached the end of the room, it was completely silent. Tanya found herself staring up at a throne and the woman sat upon it. Dusky skin was draped in only the bare necessities. Feathers were woven in an almost ritualistic manner to protect the modesty of its wearer and nothing else. Deep blue paint was smeared across the woman’s skin, covering more than the clothes even attempted to.

Lidded golden irises stared down at Tanya from beneath dark lashes. Displeasure flickered through them after a moment, and the woman’s painted lips turned toward the earth in a delicate frown. Tanya tensed minutely as she lifted a painted hand, before pointing a finger toward the steps of her throne. 

“It is customary to prostrate yourself before a queen in her own palace, child,” the woman said in a strange accent. She stared Tanya down, still as a statue. “Kneel.”

Tanya stayed standing for just as long as it took to precess that statement before slowly lowering herself onto one knee, bowing her head. “I apologize. I’m not exactly used to meeting royalty.”

The woman’s frown lifted as her shin touched the polished marble. “Royalty, I am not. But I am entitled to due respect all the same. I am Ereshkigal, goddess and ruler of this part of the Underworld.”

She leaned forward, golden eyes glinting. “It is a pleasure to finally meet the one who might one day destroy us all.”