Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 278

Chapter 278: Trek Across the Continent

Lysette spent the remainder of the day walking through the relatively quiet port and stockyard nestled right along the coast.  Though it was only relatively quiet by the bustle that would follow once sunset arrived.  The snoring and snarling and groaning of sailors half-asleep or in booze-induced stupor filled the dockyards alongside the smaller daytime crew handling critical and time-sensitive stocking and repair projects.

Around noon, she made her way off the docks and flew over to a nearby beach, where she sat down and watched the ebb and flow of waves rippling up against the pebble-filled shoreline.  Not the pristine sandy beaches even further south, but still not unpleasant to stroll through as she bided her time until the Night’s Reach arrived along the Ereillan shores.

She leapt into the air during the mid-afternoon, soaring up into the frozen maelstrom far, far above all but the highest and wispiest of clouds.  A chance to think undisturbed while waiting.  Think about how different Ereill was than the perceptions she’d gathered from her time listening to Dennell lecture her on formal etiquette.  It seemed that no matter the country, the common people and especially those living on the periphery of society lived in a completely different world than did the elites.  A place and culture that seemed to have more in common with its analogues on other continents than the prevailing one in the nation’s heartland.

Perhaps she was wrong regarding her initial impressions, ones well-meant and truthful from their speaker’s point of view, but ones which could never reflect the full diversity of the world’s experiences.  And that was part of the reason why Omnia’s system needed so strongly to go.

She spent hours thinking about her journey so far, and especially herself.  All the way until the sun went low and the Night’s Reach crept up upon the southeastern horizon, she floated and meditated.  And she understood the core principle that created eternal conflict for the gods, and by extension for Aimarion.

Like every other deity it seemed, Lysette could not act in ways antithetical to her nature.  She could moderate it and temper her Domain with difficulty, yes, but not act in direct opposition to it.  She could love those who loved her.  Could show camaraderie and kindness toward her compatriots and allies.  And of course, knew of hatred and anger and casting down her enemies as well as any being— mortal, divine, or otherwise— ever could.  But the idea of forgiveness was alien to her.

Sure, she could conceptualize it, describe it in words, perhaps even claim that she could do so in practice.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  She could never let go of her hatred toward Asterion.  Could never turn the other cheek.  She’d been able to justify it to herself for a long time now, telling herself that her cruelty was a necessity to prevent further cruelties against her and those whom she cared about.  Just like how Lacos had gotten away on that fateful night, and then returned a month later to wreak havoc upon the Academy, imperiling her and her friends in the process.

And now she stood near the apex of power on Aimarion.  The number of people who could seriously threaten her was more than a dozen, but unlikely more than a couple hundred.  And the list of people who could defeat Mirette was…  Maybe nobody on the entirety of the planet.  If her hypothesis about the Aestori ban was correct, there was virtually no chance that Mirette could be vanquished as long as that metaphysical reality remained true.

And yet, her instincts for forgiveness, for moving beyond her anger and hatred toward the gods, remained as dull and dead as they had been on that night.  Some part of her defied any sense of rationality that she could consciously generate, urging her onward without words.  Not just without them, but louder and more primally than any words, even Celestial tongue, ever could be.  That to let go, even for a moment, would be the death of her, literal as well as metaphorical.

The arrival of the Night’s Reach at the docks of Barillie heralded Lysette’s descent.  She chose not to dive down to the surface, but rather float more gently, spending a bit more time contemplating her next actions as the diplomat and his retinue disembarked and prepared whatever means of transportation would deliver them onward.

As Lysette landed on the docks, she learned that the answers to those two implied questions were: ‘there wasn’t a retinue’ and ‘by their own two feet.’  Dennell offered Lysette a curt nod as the two approached one another.

“I trust that your travels were safe, Your Ladyship?”

“They were.  And yours proceeded uneventfully as well, I hope?”

Dennell nodded.  “We should make haste.  We have much ground to cover, and I promised Her Divinity and His Eminence that I would have you safely delivered to them by morning.  I will not fail them.”

Dennell didn’t waste time after his declaration.  He ran off toward the north, dashing through the still empty streets as people were turning on their lights and rousing from the preceding day’s slumber.  Lysette followed not far behind, allowing her guide to dictate the pace of their travels.

And it was quite a pace— Lysette had definitely underestimated both his speed and his stamina as the two barreled their way through the boreal forests of central Ereill.  And it seemed as though he was only getting faster as evening gave way to the midnight hour.  Even more strange was the fact that the waxing gibbous moon was actually darkening as they continued further north.  A sure sign that Zarielle’s influence was growing as they neared the seat of her power on Aimarion.

What was not as strange in context was that the forests were positively teeming with life.  Not just the rodents and insects and spiders that were commonly nocturnal, but also larger predators.  There was at least one cougar as well as a black bear teaching a pair of young cubs how to hunt and fish in one of the continent’s small rivers.  And all of them had eyes that luminesced to supplement the limited natural light that permeated the increasingly thick forest.

Dennell had quite the advantage as he dissolved his body and slipped through even dense foliage as though it were nothing.  Lysette, on the other hand, faced a dilemma.  There were simply far too many plants for her to move with her plant manipulation while still traveling at such a speed.  She could cut through the forest with blades of ice, but neither wanted to damage the plants nor risk Zarielle’s ire.  Instead, she flew into the relatively thinner canopy, trailing her guide by aurasight alone as she focused on avoiding any ambushes.

Astoundingly, Dennell showed no signs of fatigue or hunger or thirst during their travels.  Even after four hours of travel, he looked just as fresh as he was at dusk, and hadn’t slowed down in the slightest.  If anything, he had somehow improved himself during the journey.  Thoughts of whether or not he himself was a deity crossed Lysette’s mind.  She’d never seen him sleep or eat on board the ship despite his claims that he was going to do the former.  And he was a talented Cultivator for his apparent age.  Though, for reasons she couldn’t pin down, she considered it unlikely.

After seven hours, the forests finally began to give way.  The occasional towns out in the periphery of their pathway were getting bigger, their lights brighter, and the sounds of human life more regular occurrences among the cold air of the far north.  Another half hour, and the pair reached the outskirts of the capital.  Five more, and they had arrived at the city gates.

Dennell took the lead as they approached the nearest waypoint into the gated city.  A small handful of people with various cargo waited in line to be inspected by the guards on duty.  At the same time, smaller numbers of people and carriages left through the adjacent egress point, hardly stopping at all before their departure.  Furs and gamey cuts of meat were the most prevalent items being brought in, with smaller quantities of fish and vegetables and—  A lot of black rocks.  Coal, if Lysette remembered correctly.

There were heating artifacts installed into major government buildings and the houses of the well-to-do population.  But owing to the harsh environments of Ereill’s eponymous capital city, many of the less-well-off townsfolk instead relied on more mundane forms of temperature modulation.

Although Lysette was prepared to wait for quite a long time in order to finally gain access to the city, she watched with horror as Dennell defied what he had previously extolled as his nation’s customary practices and boldly walked up to the front of the line.  He held out a single finger and traced a sigil in the air which glowed as if by a light of pure darkness.

“I apologize for the breach in protocol, Officer.  I am a member of the Temple of Zarielle and I am on an urgent and time-sensitive diplomatic summons from Her Divinity herself.  I must humbly request that my guest and I be cleared to enter the city without  delay.  Please convey to the leading officer on duty that the Temple will accept full responsibility for any incidents which might happen involving Her Ladyship.”

The soldier, as plain and unassuming as any of the others on duty, cocked an eyebrow through the warm leather armor and functional, if unstylish, fur cap.  He motioned for another soldier to come over, and began speaking to him in a whisper that Lysette couldn’t quite pick out.  From what she could understand, the soldier on duty merely wanted some sort of confirmation that Dennell was qualified to make statements on behalf of the Temple before admitting him.

About two minutes later, a well-decorated soldier appeared.  Between his well-decorated armor, his Cultivation ability, and the way the others deferred to him as he approached, he was probably a member of an elite squadron.  Dennell pointed to the insigne still faintly glowing in the air beside him, while the new guard examined it closely.  It probably had a similar function to the glyph Saffron had given her months earlier.  Namely, a way to identify certain important people who themselves might not want to have their identities formally and publicly known in some sort of broader registry.

In either case, after half a minute of increasingly intense examination of the crest, Dennell dismissed it and the guard waved him through.  And Dennell in turn waved Lysette through.  With a sigh, Lysette looked around at the grandness of the capital.  It was nearly as grand a city as Domark, but with one notable exception.

Instead of having a chunk of Ereill City’s land suspended in the sky, many of the buildings were built into the landscape.  Some had little more than a smokestack and a small ingress door above ground.  It was not at all dissimilar from how Zarielle’s temple in Domark was built.  A way both to avoid the worst of the harsh polar temperatures and be more closely shrouded in perpetual darkness.

But instead of heading into the depths of Aimarion, the pair made their way toward the largest above-ground structure, standing triumphantly over the entirety of the city.  To call it a mere tower would do it injustice.  It was perhaps three hundred feet tall, mostly cylindrical in shape, and made of a matte black brick that was uniform in color throughout.

The grand entrance was flanked by a quartet of armed guards.  Lysette half-expected to repeat the rigmarole from before, but instead, the guards moved to attention and opened the gate as soon as Dennell walked up toward them.  Dennell had claimed to work right under the Grand Abbott, so the action did make sense— he was undoubtedly notorious enough to be recognized by most of the temple staff.

“Is he the one?” the presumed leader of the four asked.  “I was under the impression Her Divinity was seeking a young woman.”

“Ignore her current appearance.  I can confirm that this is Her Ladyship.  Please, let us pass.”

“By the Grace of Her Divinity,” the four said in unison.

Dennell turned toward Lysette.  “Let us make haste.  We would not want to keep Her Divinity waiting.”

Chapter 277: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116433121

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 279: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116618350