New Test, New Threats

I felt like I was in the principal's office, or an interrogation room. A man claiming to be the literal king of this country (and backed up by God's Eye)is sitting across this desk from me - intricately carved, probably worth thousands of dollars back on Earth - while off to the side, Citrinas sits, drinking her tea.

"Now," the king begins, "I'd like to hear your version of events, starting from when you discovered the existence of the Hornet Empress."

"Well...I..." I could feel my ears burning. He'd stated several times already in the maybe three minutes that we were here that I wasn't in trouble and that he was grateful for my help with both Empresses, but that didn't stop this feeling that I did something wrong and was about to be punished. I gulp, my throat dry as a desert. "C-Camilla, the captain in Riverbend, she and I both took down a hornet nest near town..." I take the glass of water set out for me and wet my mouth. I probably shouldn't bring up anything about Ariel or my reincarnation... "The next day, I went back to see if there was anything useful, or something. We had to bail pretty quick before. T-to my surprise, the Hornet Empress had moved in...and I spoke to her..."

Noticing my pause, the king steps in. "The information you relayed through Camilla and her brother, you learned all that in a single conversation? I can't imagine she'd reveal her capabilities to just anyone."

"S-several conversations, actually. Over a couple days. A-and she said something about me passing a test, I think. After that, I fought the Empress while Roger, Camilla, and another friend of mine, Eve, led the troops against the rest of the hornets in the nest."

He nods, noticing another nervous pause. "Roger, why don't you come in? I think your input would be warranted for that battle."

Shit, Roger's here too? He's gonna make me look bad any chance he gets... The door opens, then closes, and I don't even look at the man as his footsteps echo in the chamber. I still want to punch his lights out...but I need to stay cool in front of the king...

"You called, sir?" His voice sounds...different, definitely more throat-y.

"Please, drop the formalities. We're family, aren't we?"

I hear a cough behind me. "Of course, uncle." Still raspy? Probably the smoke from the fires, if I had to guess.

"Do you have anything to say about the Hornet Empress fight outside of your report?"

"No, uncle." I look confusedly to the captain, in his loose-fitting armor and his helmet hiding his face. I could have sworn he hated me? Or maybe his report already has some damaging stuff...

The king raises an eyebrow toward his nephew, but seems to dismiss whatever suspicion he has. "Good. So, you defeated the Hornet Empress, Roger took you in, and you spent the last week in prison. How did you find out about the Rose Empress?"

I gulp, glancing once more to Roger. "He took me down into the lab...research area. I don't think he said why I was going, though."

As the king looks to Roger, he responds quickly. "The arch-imago requested it for...*khuh hugh*...research purposes."

The king hums, squinting his eyes at the autistic standing a few feet to his side. "...I see... Well." He takes a breath, returning his gaze to me. "Roger, is it customary to keep your helmet on in front of the lord you serve?"

I hear shuffling - more like clanking with the chain and plate armor - from behind me. "No?"

"Then take it off. You'll be working under Dusk in the near future."

"What?!" Both Roger and I shout as I stand, and I catch myself - not because I realized I overstepped some line, no. I turn to Roger, noticing his definitively feminine-sounding outburst.

"Take off your helmet, Roger." The king holds his hands together in front of his face.

The captain reaches up and pulls off...her helmet. It's still clearly Roger, or at worst a sister if you didn't know they were the same person. As opposed to clean-cut, her hair is scruffy, clearly having grown in the couple hours it's been since I last saw. A white rose is attached to her left temple, albeit a bit squished from the helmet, signifying her new allegiance. This explains why the armor doesn't look like it fits right... "This is absurd, uncle." Her voice is higher now, an alto, as she doesn't disguise it anymore. "You can't expect me to serve a monster..." She sneers at me as she says that last word.

"I can, and you will. Now let me finish." The king's gaze returns to me. "I don't quite trust you yet, Dusk. However, you've more than earned a chance to prove yourself." He stands, drawing a sword from his side. As I reflexively step back, conjuring a light blade, he raises a hand. "Apologies, I assumed you would realize from what I had said before. Dusk...what is your family name?"

I momentarily think back to my name on Earth, but I had also been trying not to think of my previous life for quite a while. "I...don't have one, sir."

"Very well. Dusk Blackwing, please kneel."

Is this... I look to Roger, their teeth seething as they glare at me. Dismissing my sword, I take a knee beside the desk.

He steps around, holding his blade in front of him, pointing up. "Dusk Blackwing. Do you swear in Juriah's name, to be a just ruler to your people?"

I gulp. Is this a knighting? "I...I do."

The king's blade lowers, resting on my shoulder. "Dusk Blackwing. Do you swear in Goron's name, to protect your people from harm?"

I breath. "I do."

The sword moves to rest on my other shoulder. "Dusk Blackwing. Do you swear in Econara's name, to bring prosperity to your lands?"

"I do."

The cold steel lifts up, once more pointing upward. "By the power granted to me by Juriah, Goron, and Econara, the gods of justice, guardianship, and wealth, and by these witnesses, Arch-imago Citrinas and Captain Roger Toran I name you lord of Riverbend."

I feel a slight breeze of sorts, no, power spread throughout the room, before suddenly stopping. I look up at the king. "Why?"

"This is a trial period." He sheaths his sword and opens one of the drawers pulling out a bag filled with some kind of metal clinking together. He sets it on the table, before sitting back down. "One hundred silver, and one week. If you wish to continue with your new title and the power that comes with it, you will have ten gold prepared by the time I arrive in Riverbend in seven days. Otherwise, I will have to be...more restrictive, on the experiments Citrinas is allowed to perform with you." He raises his hands in front of his face again, staring at me as I return to my seat. "My brother may have put you in prison, but he was only a duke. Imagine what I can do as king..."

I glare, activating God's Eye. He's cautious of me, but respects me? That doesn't make sense with what he's saying... "So I have to earn you more money or go back to prison... Sounds like you're really giving me an option here."

"You have many options, Sir Blackwing. I hope you don't disappoint..."

I mull over the information for a moment. "I have a condition." As he raises his brow in questioning, I continue. "There are a number of monsters and humans I want transferred to Riverbend. If I pass this 'trial' of yours, then they get to stay under my command. If I fail...I don't exactly think I get to decide, then."

The king hums. "I assume you refer to 'Monsquad', as well as the..." He looks down at a parchment to the side of the desk. "Rose Empress. To save the time of my..." He glances at Roger. "...relative, in pleading a similar case, I will approve the transfer. However, the Rose Empress is too dangerous to be left unchecked..." He now looks to Citrinas with a twinge of annoyance. "It has come to my attention recently that you, Dusk, have several boons of the gods, including the ability to bestow a Mark of Submission upon others. Place one of these marks on the Empress, and I will approve it's transfer as well."

"Uncle!" Roger quickly retorts, before taking a breath in an attempt to compose herself. "You cannot expect someone as powerful and prestigious as her to submit to this...this scum!"

"Roger, it is not your decision to make. I may have been informed on the Empress' existence only a few hours ago, but I know well where your allegiance lies, now. The only reason you aren't in the same cell as your treasonous father is because I know exactly how your loyalty has changed." Despite his relatively calm demeanor, it almost feels like the king's yelling at his nibling.

Treason? What? Shaking off the thought, I stand up. "Excuse me, sir. If I'm going to make the most of the time you've given me, I should leave as soon as possible."

The king nods, his icy blue eyes piercing my soul. "I see you're taking this seriously. Citrinas will teleport you to Riverbend once you finish with the Empress. Roger, I still have some things to discuss with you."

I kneel down next to the wilted verdure in front of me.

"She's doing better...but..." Essraya goes limp for a moment as Xerxes catches her.

"It's taking its toll on Ess." The minotaur continues.

I set a hand on one of Rose's petals. "Don't worry, I've got it from here. Rose?" I take a breath, not quite sure how to phrase this. "You're...between a rock and a hard place right now. The king offered you an ultimatum. Either submit to me and come to Riverbend...or be stuck here... "

Some say silence speaks volumes, and that certainly feels to be the case here. It felt like several minutes passed before I felt some form of answer. "One chance... What do I have to lose?"

I purse my lips, feeling that weird *click* in my head telling me that she's a viable target for Mark of Submission. "I'll try not to make you regret that." I move around where the sensation tells me I can use the angelic boon, and begin drawing the tattoo at the base of where the rose petals extend from the bulbous base of the verdure. Ten minutes later, a mark much like the ones on Eve and Belinda glows, before settling into a rose red color. "Done." I nod to Citrinas, who had been studiously observing the process.

She seems to be taking in the exact image of the mark, before she mumbles something. I suddenly feel sick to my stomach, and hunch over. When the feeling...mostly passes, I look up, seeing trees surround me in the dead of night. Rose is here too, but Citrinas and the others are nowhere to be seen.

"You okay, Rose?" I look at the verdure, seeing her slowly pierce the dirt with her roots.

"...I will be much better when day comes..." The voice in my head still 'sounds' exhausted, but at least she's out of that containment cell.

"Good..." I look around, not seeing any immediate landmarks. "I'll be right back; need to find out where exactly we are..." I flap my wings, pushing myself above the trees. A few more flaps, and I have a good enough view of the surroundings to see that we're near the north side of Riverbend. Actually, we're only a few hundred feet from my new house... That can't be a coincidence, Citrinas... As I'm about to circle back down to Rose, I suddenly see a burst of fire from town. Shit. Sorry, Rose, I'll be right back. I thrust forward and fly straight to the flames.

Within moments, I begin witnessing a battle between goblinoids, humans, and...is that Torch and Eve? I land next to the pair on the roof of what I think is my house, startling them and sending their next fire bolt and arrow flying off.

"Chief?! When did you get back?" The former elf screams over the commotion.

"Just now. What's going on?" I take a closer look at the goblinoids the Riverbend guards are fighting. "These aren't our guys, are they?"

"No, they're not." Eve readies an arrows and fires it. "This is a tribe neither of us have heard of. They call themselves the Morolo; Spring Warriors."

"Alright, let's try to capture at least one of them alive. We can find out where they came from and counterattack." I launch some light bolts as I speak.

"That's what Camilla said."

"She's awake?" I scan the combatants again, seeing the captain fight but...something's off about her. Not only has her fighting style seemingly changed, but...wasn't she in a coma just today?

"Yeah, but she was acting strange, and her voice was...stranger. Her eye was red too, like in that..." She fires another arrow as she pauses. "What was it she called it? A dreamscape?"

So it really was another one of those kinds of dreams... "She was acting weird there, too. I guess we'll ask her after this. Anyway, looks like this is wrapping up." Of the two dozen goblins, only a few of them are left standing. On the flip side though, it looks like the goblins overwhelmed the humans, knocking out all of them except Camilla. "I'm heading down." I jump off the roof and glide in circularly until I land near the captain as she's about to finish off the last goblin. "Cap, leave 'em alive!"

Her raised sword twists, and instead of slicing down, she knocks the goblin on the head with the flat of her blade, knocking it out. She then sheaths her sword and turns to me, pounding her right fist into her chest as she takes a knee. "My lord, you have returned!" Her voice sounds...distorted, as if someone else is speaking at the same time.

I step back, confused. Lord? No one here should know about that yet...and what's with this echo? Knowing she'd scold me for not using it in this odd scenario, I activate God's Eye. There's nothing out of... 'Nephilic Human'? And that's a result of...oh no...

"I assume you already know that I'm not Camilla." The stranger stands. "However, that does not change my mission to protect you, my lord." She suddenly stumbles, holding her head. "Fuck, that hurts..." Camilla's voice has changed back to normal as she looks at me. "Hey, Private. Welcome back." She nearly collapses onto her rear.

"You okay, Cap?" I cautiously step forward.

"Yeah, yeah. Just...woke up ten minutes ago, is all." She takes a breath. "Sorry about...her. Mind...helping me out here?" She holds out a hand.

I step forward again and take her hand. However, instead of pulling her to her feet, I twist, lifting her onto my back and nestling her between my folded wings. "I'm gonna heal these guys, take them to the church, and then take you back home." I walk over to the nearest recruit and bend down to begin casting the spell.

Her arms hug loosely around my neck. "...of course you say that..." She turns her head and whispers when she says that, and I nearly don't catch it. "Dusk, do you mind if I bunk with you tonight?"

I pause, before moving on to the next soldier. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm your bodyguard now, 'my lord'." A pause. "Yes, I know, shut up!"

"Who are you talki-...is that 'her'?"

A defeated sigh tickles my ear. "Yeah...even when she's not in control, she's in my head..."

"I think we need to have a proper talk about this..."

"Can it wait till tomorrow? I'd prefer not to need to explain again for Kara."

I sigh, finishing up with the last human that had been unfortunate enough to be awake at this hour. "Yeah. It can wait." I turn, seeing Eve and Torch already tying up any of the living goblins. "I have a couple things to take care of before I head to bed, though."