"Why Are Men the Same Everywhere?"
Silvermoon, Emphyralis
After the children left, Chrystianna pulled Elias into a room with the gifts from the banquet. Most of the guests were leaving, but no one expected them to see them off. Therefore, they had time to spend together. "Let's see what kind of good things we got as congratulations," she said with a soft smile.
Elias chuckled and gripped her hand. "Are you sure that's how you want to spend our last day together?" he asked teasingly.
Chrystianna sighed with a laugh. "I just want to spend every second of it with you," she said. She leaned her chin on his arm and looked up at him.
He smiled at her and kissed her briefly. "All right. Let's see what kind of gifts we got," he agreed. Gifts were properly placed on several tables. Larger gifts were set on the ground. The gifts not only included those of guests in attendance, but also from well-wishers who couldn't attend for varying reasons. There were usually also name tags or even cards of written blessings.
A lot of it was local specialty goods or ethnic specialties. She was delighted when she found two beautifully sculpted, poseable dolls of Britiana, Darius, and Elias that were about two feet tall and wore elaborate outfits. She could feel the good wishes and protections woven into them. These dolls were a specialty of Maia Dawnweaver. "How beautiful! I absolutely must take mine out of the bedroom and leave the four of them in the sitting room!" she declared delightedly.
Elias smiled. "She's gotten better. I remember when she could only make these from fabric," he mused. "The sitting room mantle is a good place for them," he assured her. He admired Patternweavers. He was one of the rare Amethyst Dragons who had no Patternweaving ability whatsoever.
Chrystianna laughed lightly. "I still have the ones she made of us when we were little," she said. She carefully set the dolls aside with a smile. They continued sorting things out. There was a lot of jewelry for the children, some clothes, some decorative pieces, art, statues, and the like. Some they could use, some they couldn't.
Chrystianna noticed Elias had gone silent and still at some point. "What is it? Something good or something bad?" she asked, amused. Not everyone had the best taste.
Elias shook his head. " I have no idea," he said and showed her a large jewelry box and opened it up. It sparkled with the brightest crystal-clear crowns, diadems, and tiaras. There were several of them and they were a set. "Good Utraeus," she murmured. "Well, if nothing else, they're expensive and finely crafted," she said positively. "Who on Emphyralis sent them?" she asked.
Elias found the attached card. "The family of Seamus Eveningstar," he answered.
Chrystianna forced a stiff smile. She'd never seen anything so gaudy in her life, and definitely something she wouldn't wear. The most she'd ever worn was a small circlet draped over her hair on her coronation day when she was twelve, more than a hundred years ago. Things like that were popular in the middle of the 11th Age, but not recently. Even her great-great grandmother, who liked to sparkle from head to toe never wore such...ornate headpieces. "We'll be sure to send them a nice thank you note," she said politely.
Elias pursed his lip and closed the box. "Straight to the treasury then. They'll be glad to know their gift funded a school or three in a poorer district," he said. Chrystianna nodded. Elias was still frowning. "Is Eveningstar still trying to compete with Silvermoon?" he asked. He remembered, before the Plague, his father often muttering about the rapid growth of Eveningstar.
Chrystianna nodded slightly. "More of their clan survived the Plague, and it seems like, even during the Wars, they managed to grow their economy while ours stagnated due to the war effort. I've heard some people saying that Silvermoon and Evenstar are the twin moons of Silubra. I've also heard that Thunderlake could be the third moon if more people could stand to live there," she added the last part with an amused tone.
Elias chuckled. There was a large, unique lake in western Silubra called Thunder Lake. It was named so because it beat against the mountains of the Echoing Highlands. It was loud. People who weren't born and raised there could hardly stand it.
He coughed. "Stop joking. This is serious. The Eveningstar's always gave my family pause," he said.
Chrystianna let her smile drop. "I know. They're ambitious, but there are no signs of rebellious intentions," she said with a frown.
Elias nodded. "I don't think it's a coincidence that he married Belana's younger sister and started having children not long after she became mature. With Belana in service to the Sisters, she's next in line if anything happened to you or Britiana," he said.
Chrystianna sighed. "I know. Sonja even investigated them when I learned about the kidnapping plot. There was nothing. Now that we know it was Ludvig, there seems to be even less reason to think they had anything to do with it," she said. She'd already briefed him on Sonja's report from last night.
Elias nodded slightly. That seemed true but ambitious people could be dangerous people. He kissed her temple. "Just be careful," he said.
Chrystianna smiled at him. "Always," she assured him. Elias smiled back. He leaned down and kissed her again. They forgot to sort gifts for a while.
--
Nova Aurelea, Terranthea
Amalthea made it back to the house to keep an eye on Deianira talking to Corinne on the phone. Deianira was keeping Corinne calm by talking to her about inconsequential things. She checked in on Lysithea, who was using the computer, now tracking the situation in Termina. Phryne was monitoring the app and communicating with the person in charge of the safehouse, assuring them that someone would be there to help them soon.
Not long after, Helena and Honora came back from getting food. They noticed the atmosphere immediately. "What's going on?" Helena asked Amalthea in a whisper, taking out a few tacos.
"Put them away for now," Amalthea said and then filled them in on what was happening.
"Oh, that's Thea, Lena, and Nora you hear," Deianira said to the phone. "Yes, they're here, too. Everyone is worried about you. Don't panic too much. Delaney is bringing some friends to help you, soon. Try to stay in place until she gets there. No, no. I promise, I won't hang up," she said, her hand gripping the phone. She tried to keep her tone mild, but her temper was beginning to flare. She wasn't angry at Corinne, just the situation in general.
Amalthea held out her hand. "Let me talk to her for a while," she said.
Deianira gave her a relieved glance. "Thea wants to talk for a while, okay?" she said cautiously. When Corinne agreed, she quickly handed the phone over. She sighed and rubbed her ear aggressively. Frustration colored her face. Amalthea was better at soothing people.
"Are you okay?" Honora whispered to her older sister.
"I'm fine," she said. "Give me a taco," she whispered back. "I need a junk food hit."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the two shared a conspiratorial grin as Honora passed her a taco in a brightly colored tissue paper wrapper. Deianira skulked off to eat it without being noticed, but Amalthea still side-eyed them as they went.
Amalthea was chit-chatting with Corinne for a while when the other woman suddenly gasped. "Thea! I think some of them just came into the diner," she suddenly whimpered.
Amalthea closed her eyes briefly. "Okay, don't panic," she said calmly. "Just leave a tip and walk out. Don't call attention to yourselves. Tell me a funny story about visiting your sister-in-law in Memphis," she said.
Corinne took a shaky breath and began to nonchalantly start a story about her insufferable sister-in-law, while gathering the little girl, and nodded to David. He put some money on the table and gathered the toddler in his arms. She stirred a little bit and ultimately stayed asleep.
They naturally walked out of the diner and tried to casually walk down the street to a bus stop. Not a few minutes passed before several men walked out behind them. Corinne kept telling her story to Thea.
Deianira sent a message to Delaney letting her know that the family was on the move. "I'm going to the bomb shelter. Delaney said in her message that people should appear there," she said.
"I'll go, too. We also gathered some supplies while we were out," Helena said. Deianira nodded. The two of them went to the bomb shelter. Helena took out a twenty-four pack of bottled water and opened it. She also took out a box of peanut and chocolate candy bars. They may not be necessary, but it was always comforting to be given food and water.
Deianira didn't object. She was looking at the drawing magically stuck to the wall. "She was there less than a week," she said.
"Hmm?" Helena asked absently.
"Emphyralis. Delaney was there less than a week and she can stick a paper to a wall and go off and leave it and have no fear that it won't stay," she mused. Magic could do a lot, but most magic was developed for fighting demons, protecting people from demons, or summoning demons. They could charm objects, but only after certain rituals were followed. They took decades to develop the spells and rituals they used to build the tunnels and underground houses. They probably only succeeded because they were technically demi-gods.
Something like the cloaks they wore could probably be developed after a few years of research. Even large storage spaces could probably be produced eventually. It was the casualness with which magic seemed to be treated by the group that was startling and fascinating. Even Delaney seemed to treat it so.
Helena nodded. "Magic emanates off them like perfume," she said.
Deianira's eyes widened. "Yes. That's what it feels like. Even Delaney was stronger, it's not just her cloak, it was something more intangible," she said.
Helena nodded again.
Their conversation was cut short when they felt a whoosh in the room. They stared, wide-eyed when a man with a toddler gripped in his arms appeared in the room, the array drawn on the paper glowing behind him.
--
Termina, Georgiana
Delaney led the family and the foreigners to a parking garage. Parking garages were pretty good. They weren't high traffic, and if you avoid the security guard and the cameras, few people would even notice them, especially the higher up you go. Getting past the guard was easy, Amadeus used his Shadowcasting to put up an illusion around them that made them undetectable. As for cameras, when given the sign, Darius telekinetically turned them. If they were unmovable, a black shadow obscured the lenses as they made their way upwards to a less crowded parking area.
They found a relatively closed off spot that was in a blind spot. "Okay. We can stop now," she said. The family gratefully stopped. Darius, Amadeus, Lazarus, and Sariya fanned out to keep watch.
Amadeus was also looking at a nearby vehicle that was shiny, red, and had sleek lines. "These small, automated carriages would be a good thing to have. Some are quite aesthetically pleasing," he commented.
"Hmm. Like that one," Lazarus said, looking at a large black off-road pick-up truck. "Seems very powerful," he declared.
Delaney rolled her eyes. "Why are men the same everywhere? I'm so disappointed right now," she sighed. Sariya chuckled. She didn't understand but she understood. Lazarus and Amadeus looked at each other innocently. Darius didn't engage in the conversation, but he slightly agreed with the boys. He was smart enough not to vocalize it.
Delaney didn't dwell on it. "I'm going to send you to a safe place," she said to the family.
"Send us? How?" David asked, gripping his younger daughter tighter.
Delaney pulled a portable transfer spell out of her pouch and spread it on the ground. The Draconite ink that it was drawn with shimmered. "Relax. It's been tested numerous times. You'll be sent to a safe spot, and someone will be there to greet you. Would you rather stay and take your chances?" she asked.
Davis pursed his lips and looked at the spell. "How does this work?" he asked.
"Hold the baby close and step on the paper," Delaney instructed.
David wrapped his arms around the toddler, cradling her protectively and stepped on the parchment. Delaney activated the spell with a word. A "POOPH!" and the two people disappeared and the paper erupted in a purple flash.
Corinne gave a startled gasp, and the little girl screamed. Corinne hugged her and stared at Delaney cautiously. "It burned up," she said, confused and flustered.
"It's fine. They're one time use. I have more," Delaney assured them, pulling out another two. She opened one. "The girl next. Don't worry, sweetie, your Daddy is waiting for you," she said kindly.
Pip sniffled. "Promise?" she asked.
"I promise," Delaney said with a smile.
Pip sucked in even more snot and her eyes brightened. "Then can you find my mommy?" she asked.
"Pip, we can't ask too much. We have to have faith your mommy is okay," Corinne said in admonishment.
"Where is the last place you saw her?" Lazarus asked. "Do you have something that belongs to her?"
Corinne quickly found a picture of her daughter. "This is her. We last saw her at a campsite," she said and explained the location of their camp.
"Okay, I know where that is," Delaney assured them. "Hop on, sweetie," she told the girl.
Pip literally hopped on to the array with a grin. "Ready!" she announced. Delaney smiled and sent her through the array. She disappeared with a poof.
Corinne sighed. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring. "Kathleen gave me this to give to Piper. She didn't expect to survive. I couldn't say that in front of the child.
Delaney took the ring and handed it to Lazarus. "Come, let's send you to your family," Delaney said and spread the final array.
Corinne smiled tiredly and stepped on it. Delaney sent her on her way.
She sighed. "Let's go to the campgrounds. Do we go fast or slow?" she asked, not really wanting to be carried around again.
"How far is it?" Darius asked.
Delaney pulled out her phone and opened her map app. She showed them where the campgrounds were in relation to where they were.
"We'll take it slow. We can have a look through the city while we go," he said. He glanced at Lazarus. "Why did you need a belonging?" he asked.
Lazarus held a finger in front of his lips asking them for silence. He then flicked the ring with his fingers. They couldn't hear anything, but he seemed to listen closely. He then clutched the ring then put it away. "People have their own unique frequencies. I ruled out the old lady who recently held it, and now I should be able to detect her residual vibrations," he explained.
Darius raised his brows. In theory he knew about the abilities of other Dragons but seeing them in person and understanding how each person uses them was still very enlightening and novel to him.
Sariya glanced at Lazarus askance. "Do you hear people's noises all the time?" she asked.
Lazarus shook his head. "Not unless I try. I do tend to listen to new people I come across. And it's more like feeling than hearing," he explained.
She didn't say more, silently acknowledging his words.
Delaney didn't join the conversation. "We should go. The longer we delay, the less of a chance of finding her it is," she said.
Darius nodded. "Lead the way."
The group left the garage the same way they came, only with four less people.
--
Nova Aurelea
Deianira and Helena watched four people come through the transfer spell with some surprise, but also delight. Each of them had displacement skills, but they had their limits. They couldn't instantaneously move from Termina to Nova Aurelea, nearly five hundred miles. It took time. Even Delaney couldn't unless she actively used the Shadow Realm, which was why it took her an hour.
After coming back to themselves when David and the toddler arrived, Helena hurriedly gave them some water and offered David a candy bar. He gratefully took both and sat on the ground, still cradling the toddler. There wasn't much in the bomb shelter. It especially didn't have any furniture.
Deianira knelt. "Is the child alright?" she asked.
David sighed. "We had to give her a bit of a sleeping draft. She should wake up soon," he explained. He took a drink of water and began to nibble on his candy bar. He looked at the array stuck to the wall, wondering what was taking his mother-in-law and daughter so long.
Deianira sighed as she stood. Piper came through at that time. She beamed at her father. "Daddy! They're going to find mommy!" she said excitedly and hugged his neck.
David smiled back tiredly. "That's really good, baby. Here, ask the nice lady for some water," he encouraged.
Helena had already brought a candy bar and water for the girl.
A moment later the exhausted, almost frail looking Corinne came through. Though she seemed tired, she seemed hopeful for the first time in a long time. "Dei!" she exclaimed and hugged her distant cousin. "Thank you. Thank you so much for talking to me," she almost sobbed.
Deianira hugged her back. "It's good that you're safe," she said.
Corinne broke away and hugged Helena as well. "I'm so happy to see you both. After the way I broke with the family, I still can't believe you helped me," she lamented.
Helena sighed and patted her comfortingly. "We were ready to welcome you back any time you wanted. It was your decision to forsake magic. No one blamed you for that. I just wish it had been able to keep you safe," she said. "Here. Rest and drink some water."
While Helena was comforting Corinne, Deianira was typing into the family group chat letting them know that the family of four had arrived at the bomb shelter. Delaney chimed in a few moments later explaining that she would be looking for Corinne's daughter before going to the safe house. She strongly expressed she'd go back immediately if the situation there changed.
Phryne popped up with the good news that everyone there was still safe, but that more people were gathering. They were now carrying signs proclaiming the hotel a "den of witches" and chanting slogans like "Witches must atone for their sins."
Honora wryly observed their lack of rhyming slogans.
Amalthea shushed her and asked if any of the witchborn trapped at the hotel noticed if there was a demon leading the people there like there were around them.
Lysithea said she'd ask in the app for them to keep an eye out for a demon. She also asked that since everyone was safe for now, not to do anything until the array was finished. She wanted to have Britiana at the scene if she didn't object.
After a few minutes Delaney replied. [Darius said she didn't mind being used for propaganda for the witchborn.]
Lysithea sent a heart shaped emoticon in response.
Deianira glanced at Helena then at the family. "Y'all rest here for a while. There's a bathroom in another room. It ain't very pleasant, but there's water and it's clean. I'm fixin' to go get y'all some camping supplies so you can rest for the night," she explained.
Helena nodded. "I've got this," she assured her older sister.
"I need your bracelet," she said.
Helena didn't object and took it off her wrist and handed it over. Deianira slipped it on and left the bomb shelter. Helena sat in a corner away from the family and let them finally relax and rest a little after days of running without bothering them. When the spell array was finished, they'd be Emphyralis' first set of refugees.