T. A. Star
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19 - Mother
🕑 Added 2024-06-14 00:00:04 +0000 UTC
Phoenix was surprised the next morning when she couldn’t open a portal to the location atop the Soul Reaper’s downed ship, where she vividly remembered both saving and condemning Paul’s life. There was no way she would ever forget that place.
When she finally relented and was able to open a portal to the nearby hill she recalled watching the Ruby Caste battle from, she soon realized that it wasn’t a failing of her memories that had disrupted the aural imprint of the area, but the fact that the place had dramatically changed since she was last there over a week ago.
The sundered ship that had last been burning and swarming with chaotic magic from the chain of magical explosions triggered by her [Supernova] in the bowels of its insanely large ritual room was no longer a site of mass destruction.
It looked as if nature had been hyper-accelerated in the area and the remnants of the twenty-story ship that was half-plant half-black glass and metal framing connecting it all together and been reclaimed by the land. Except it wasn’t by the snow-covered tundra but by a blooming meadow with a singular overgrown sapling sprouting through the center of the ship.
Phoenix thought it was a sapling due to its appearance, but its scale made it taller than any tree she had seen in this world so far, rising another story in height above the ship. The main reason she didn’t think of it as a fully grown tree, despite the size, was the scale of the vibrant green leaves branching off of it. They were easily the width of an entire floor of her home.
Smaller vines seemed to cover the surface of the ship –which no longer appeared broken or in ruins either– as though the vines were bandages mending what had been cracked. There were also flowers peeking out everywhere, still small buds, but she didn’t think it would be long before they bloomed.
The snow and ice that normally covered the tundra seemed to have thawed around the site, almost as if it didn’t dare to trespass and disturb the beautiful scene of rebirth displayed before them.
“This looks nothing like the other ships I saw when helping portal people during the battle,” Camrin whispered in a mirror of her own thoughts and awe. The former lord had been tasked by Patricia to accompany them there to be able to assist in portaling others in the future. It seemed the Ambassador was already putting their newest assets to good use, taking advantage of the Crystal Caster’s rare portal ability.
“Do we know what’s going on here?” Phoenix asked curiously to Patricia as the older woman stood beside her, also taking in the scenery.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I can at least see why my goddess was interested. Aside from this alien plant life, trees can’t normally survive this far north in the tundra. It’s too cold for them to take root.”
“Scholar says there’s more to learn within the structure and advises making sure Phoenix goes in but I must voice my hesitancy on rushing,” Everin said softly, coming up from behind her.
The voxen had been busy with his new position within both clergies, even backing down on wanting to officially join their team with so much demand for his time and Kara’s reassurance that they would be guarded. Still, he made time to visit them when he could and would stand beside them whenever they were out on a mission together.
Pati gave him a surprised look as she asked the Avatar, “You would speak against your goddess?”
“She knows who else I’m an Avatar of now and that I’m not one to obediently stay silent,” the voxen replied with a grin, “I think she half-expects it now, so will often phrase her Whispers to make me hesitate on purpose but that is an endless spiral of reasoning I don’t care to get trapped within.”
He turned to her then, those odd eyes full of their usual mirth as he said, “There is something in there that concerns you, and I don’t think it’s just our memories. I don’t believe your aunt being chosen by the Cultivator as her envoy is also a choice made on a whim.”
“Nor do I,” said another voice that Phoenix didn’t recognize. She turned to see an older Sapphire Caster walking up to them, wearing priestess robes with the hems embroidered with playing children and a sigil of a swaddled baby over the heart.
“High Priestess Deserin,” Dazien said in surprise, moving to let her be included in the group discussion, “It’s good to see you, but I admit my confusion about your presence.”
The runeforged with white markings that stood out prominently from her warm chestnut skin smiled brightly as she said, “It’s wonderful to see you too, Dazien. Especially in your element as an Adventurer. I know how hard you worked for it and to see you achieve your goals despite the disadvantages brings me such joy.”
“Did the Parent send you out here as well for the vessel and your connection to Phoenix through Dazien?” Everin asked pointedly to the High Priestess.
The newcomer maintained that smile, though it became a bit more indulgent as she addressed the Avatar, “I am inclined to believe so though only the interest in the seed was made known to me. Unlike a rebellious child, I trust my deity to have our best interests at heart. I’m only here to ensure the survival of the newborn before us.”
Phoenix blinked owlishly at the words, looking around the area to see if anyone left a baby around. When she was sure that insanity wasn’t true, she clarified, “Newborn?” then tilted her head towards Dazien, “Is that another translation issue I’m having?”
He chuckled but shook his head, running a hand through his longer hair, which she noticed he did when he was stressed and trying to solve a problem, as he replied, “No, and I caught that too. Deities always seem to prefer speaking in riddles and hints it feels like.”
“Cheapskates,” Everin grumbled offhandedly, causing Phoenix to snort a laugh.
“I think we’ll be fine going in and checking things out,” Kara interjected, having appeared suddenly next to Phoenix and causing her to jump in surprise, “I finished scouting a bit and there’s nothing dangerous nearby.”
“But I thought the Corrupted Reality Seed was inside and tainting everything? Shouldn’t there be Corrupted monsters nearby?” Rayna asked from the back of the group, where she and the others were quietly listening.
“The seed isn’t Corrupted anymore…” Patricia replied, looking over at the towering sapling in contemplation before glancing at the quiet researcher standing near the party and checking, “Is it Miss Saren?”
Phoenix’s shy cousin shook her head in confirmation and clarified, “N–No. It, um, it’s not,” Camilla stuttered, seemingly caught off guard by the sudden question before centering herself and continuing as though giving a report, “It’s doing the opposite and cleansing the area of any Corruption. During our initial tests, it was fairly clear that something had altered this seed during the time the ambient magic of the area had gone wild, but we are still trying to determine why.”
“It’s still refining the magic and raising the area’s Caste level, though, correct?” the Wayfarer inquired, “I thought that alone was something we didn’t want to keep happening.”
“If this seed, or eventual tree, is naturally cleansing Corruption, it might be worth the risk in the long run,” Pati clarified, glancing at the other gathered clergy members for assurance.
“Considering I only know of one other place in the world capable of such a feat, if that’s indeed the truth of the matter, then it will likely become a very important and protected location, just like the Sacred Grove on Alkupera is today,” the Paladin of the Champion agreed, looking more serious and composed then Phoenix had seen the Obsidian Caster behave till that point.
“You think the Fae would want to claim it for themselves?” Everin asked curiously, “I could see them eager for a new place to migrate some of their people to.”
“The Fae?” Phoenix asked her party leader quietly.
He summarized the relevance for her, “The Fae are especially sensitive to Corruption. Their current homeland is a large area called the Sacred Grove that was blessed and cleansed long ago if the stories are to be believed. Many of the details around its origins are a bit lost to time.”
“It’s still the only place on the planet that is completely free of Corruption,” Kara pointed out, “It’s considered sacred for that reason alone. If this is similar, it won’t be long before more clergy and Fae-kind appear.”
“We should do what we can to protect it then,” the High Priestess of the Parent interjected, “While the blood moon stalls travel, we can secure it and make sure the followers of the Voidsworn Syndicate don’t attempt to harm it.”
The others nodded in agreement, and Kara turned to Phoenix with a grin, “Ready to go see what’s waiting for you inside? I rarely get to experience surprises anymore, so I’m very excited.”
She gave the nine-tails a flat look, “So glad I can be a source of entertainment for you.”
“Oh, it’s not just me,” the Obsidian Caster replied with a mischievous look, “I’m sure you entertain plenty of people who hear about your crazy adventurers, Miss Chosen One.”
Phoenix rolled her eyes and started walking towards the ship, ready to get this next surprise over with. The rest of the group trailing behind her.
She tried not to damage any of the colorful flower buds that surrounded the vessel housing a giant sapling but it was impossible due to the sheer number of them. In their closed state, she wasn’t sure exactly what kinds of flowers they might be but remembered Pati saying they were alien so she looked forward to seeing what they bloomed into.
As she got closer to the main body of the vessel, she started to hear an odd melody that wasn’t familiar and sounded strange. It was as if it was being filtered through something, and it took the Wayfarer much longer than she would like to admit to recognize the signature of electronically produced music.
“Is… is the ship playing a song?” Phoenix asked once her party caught up to where she had halted to listen.
“Not one I recognize,” Rayna said curiously, “I have no idea what kind of instrument that could be.”
That was when Saiya gasped, causing the others to turn to her suddenly as the Healer’s furred hands covered her mouth. The smaller voxen looked towards the vessel in awe and whispered, “It– it’s happy. I think… I think it’s singing.”
Everyone went silent at that proclamation, and Dazien clarified, “Are you saying the ship is feeling emotions? It’s sentient?”
“I think it might be more than that,” Everin said solemnly as he joined them and nodded towards the open doorway Phoenix had been heading towards before, “It explains why Scholar would be interested. I believe it may also be sapient.”
Standing in the doorway was what appeared to be a toddler with tan skin, curly red hair, and bright blue eyes staring directly at Phoenix. Her jaw dropped open at the child that had one thumb in its mouth and the other hand making a grabby wave toward them.
“Is that a trick? A monster or some sort of construct, Everin? Kara?” Dazien asked uncertainly, “My eyes can perceive the magic of it, and my aura is reading it as a Crystal Caste construct, but there is definitely something off about it.”
“I’ve never felt a construct like that either,” the Emerald Caster replied in confusion, “I don’t sense any aggression or deception from it, though.”
Kara nudged Phoenix’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Why don’t you go see what it wants? I’ll save you if it turns out bad but it seems interested in you.”
The Wayfarer stared at the golden voxen with wide-eyed alarm. Was the Paladin really sending her in as the red-shirt sacrifice to ask the potential devil-child if it was evil? She swallowed her initial fear, reminded herself that she wouldn’t die for real if it slaughtered her in an unexpected transformation, and cautiously walked forward to greet the toddler that was eerily reminding her of a baby version of a ruby-haired Paul.
“Hello there,” Phoenix said when she was about three meters away, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible, “What’s your name, um, young one?”
The magical construct tilted its head curiously at her for a moment and shook its head.
“No name? That’s okay, um…” she stalled, glancing back at her party, who had also moved closer but kept their distance as they watched, and she turned back to ask, “Is there something you want?”
The adorable child lifted both hands toward her again and made dual-grabbing gestures as it said, “Mama.”
Phoenix froze in place. Staring at the apparition and knowing that every single person behind her heard exactly what was spoken. Almost woodenly, she turned to stare at Patricia: the only person who had ever mentioned offspring with her.
The woman at least looked as surprised as the rest of her party members, and it was High Priestess Deserin who smiled and said happily, “Congratulations, Regent Wayland. It looks like you’re a mother.”
