The Celebration: Myssera's Order

"W-w-what?" John responds, unsure if he heard her correctly or not.

"You needn't lie to me, John. I've known since you first walked through the door to the throne room. I'm surprised that more people haven't started gossiping about it if I'm being honest."

John just stands there flabbergasted, barely able even make a single coherent sentence in his head. Myssera's calm demeanour saying those words just throwing him through another loop on top of the original question.

"I- uhh... I don't know what you're ta-"

Myssera puts a finger on John's lips. "John, I know you're trying to conceal your true identity, but please don't insult my intelligence to do it."

John realizes that no matter what he says, she already knows what he really is. How she knows is a different question, but one he'll be sure to try and get the answer to. The way to get that answer however, is to just admit it.

"Okay, okay, yeah, I'm... human." John sheepishly admits, hating that he's admitted this fact for the second time in only a couple days as he recalls his talk with Erya on the night that Terra was taken.

Myssera goes quiet for a few moments, just staring at him with an intrigued gaze. She examines his face, taking in all of his features like she was seeing an alien. Her eyes just scan every inch of his face and eyes which creeps John out.

Eventually, Myssera finally stops her staring and quickly drops to one knee, causing John to freak out a little. "By the edict of the Order of the Emberskiln. I welcome you to this world, and shall do my best to uphold the creed of which our Order has sworn by." Myssera then bows her head, and John is left even more clueless.

"Uhh... thanks, I guess? But could you maybe elaborate?"

Myssera then stands back up. "The Order that I used to belong to, were originally created many centuries after the first human dropped. There had been many a prophecy of more dropping in, so some powerful figures banded together to make groups. Some were hunters of the humans, deciding that killing the humans would benefit them for whatever reasons they deemed, but from what I heard, the humans were almost always going to be used for ritualistic purposes. However, there were groups that were focused on keeping the humans safe, and that's where the Four Orders of Protectors come in."

Myssera then takes a seat on the bed before patting the space next to her, signalling for John to sit beside her, which he quickly does. "So, these Four Orders... I'm assuming the Emberskiln are one of them?"

"That we are. We are the eldest of the orders, and while we are the most respected, it does mean that we have the most responsibility. As for the other orders, the second eldest is the Order of the Thunderspyre. The third is the Order of the Wavesmill, and the final is the Order of the Leafbane. Together, these four orders shared the single purpose of protecting any future humans that may drop into our world. Obviously, that wouldn't happen for a long time, until now anyway. So, our motivations and purposes changed toward other things, but the edict to protect humans always remained the most important."

John is even more surprised now as seemingly every time Myssera opens her mouth, a bombshell is dropped onto him. First, Myssera seemingly knew he was a human, and now, he just found out that there are groups whose goal it is to protect humans? Well, if John has learned anything in his time here, it's that the avalanche always follows after the first snowball.

"So... how did you actually know that I'm human? I could've just been very similar to a human. I mean, most people on Fucknowswhat wouldn't actually know the difference anyway."

"You do make a good point." Myssera responds. "However, when one is initiated into the Emberskiln, we are taught extensively about the First Human, and upon completion, we earn a mark."

Myssera then pulls the neck of her dress down slightly, revealing a glowing mark just below the right side of her collar bone. "This was a mark created by the shaman of the tribe known as the Zaa'krn, who were the ones to discover the First Human. The founder of our Order was a member of that same tribe albeit born centuries later. The Zaa'krn still prided themselves on being the first protectors of humans, so they continued with the tradition of giving their members the mark. The mark itself, from what I was told, was a way to identify any potential humans so that they could keep them safe. I'll admit that I wasn't sure if it actually worked, but the day you arrived at the dock, it began to glow for the first time. It was much lighter than this, but when you arrived, it got to this level and hasn't dulled since. Luckily, Holvy just believes it to be spell that I'm casting to spice things up in the bedroom, so he doesn't know your true nature either."

Upon hearing this, John stands up from the bed, feeling a little uncomfortable after hearing about the couples seemingly active sex life, and begins to pace around. As he moves back and forth, he sees Myssera's concerned face, so he says, "I'm sorry. This is just a lot to take in."

"I understand. After all, I am currently trying to believe that a human is really standing in front of me after so many years of wondering if there would ever be another."

"That's fair." John responds as it finally hits that he's not the only one dealing with a big revelation. "Uhh... do you... have any questions? About humans, I mean."

Myssera thinks for a few moments before asking the question that is at the forefront of her mind. "Do humans still sacrifice people and animals to your gods?"

John is understandably caught off guard as he didn't expect anything fucking close to that question. He eventually regains some composure and answers. "No, no, no. The first human was from at least a couple thousand years ago from what I heard, so things are drastically different now, but who knows? Maybe some people might still do that in some small religious circles, I don't have a clue. I'm not really the expert when it comes to religion."

"Hmm. Interesting." Myssera says as she seemingly processes the information whilst John just wonders what other weirdly obscure shit she's going to ask.

"Actually, I think I should hold off on the questioning for now. If I were to ask every one I could think of, we would be here for days on end. You should take the box and get ready for dinner and I shall do the same."

Myssera then hands the box over to John before heading to the door and unlocks it. As John heads over to the door to leave, Myssera stops him with a hand before digging into her pocket and pulls out a small talisman of sorts before putting it into his pocket. "Listen, John. When you reach Braxxas, you need to look for a woman who bears the symbol on the talisman. She is a member of the Emberskiln. It may be on an amulet, necklace, ring or even on her armour, but look for anything that has a resemblance to that symbol. When you find her, give her this talisman and ask her to guide you. She will know exactly what that symbol means, and shall protect you and your friends with her life."

John doesn't even get a chance to respond as Myssera shoves him out of the room and closes the door behind him, leaving a very confused John in the hallway with the blue box in his hand. He then just tries to shake off the weirdness of the past couple of minutes as he walks back to his room, wondering what in the hell is going to happen at dinner.

After closing the door to his room, John sits the box down on his bed before putting his hand into pocket and pulls out the silver talisman. John then begins to examine it. He sees that the symbol in question is the exact same as the one that's just below Myssera's collar bone. It's an upside down valknut with a border of flames surrounding it. He chalks it up to being the symbol of the Emberskiln before putting it into his backpack and heads back to the box.

John starts pulling out the outfit gifted to him, finally seeing it in full. Yep, almost everything is blue. The suit jacket, the pants and the shoes which are somehow the correct size. Luckily for him, the shirt, socks and belt are all black to differentiate from the near cosplay of Violet Beauregard from Willy Wonka.

One by one, he puts the items on, feeling more and more self-conscious of the overwhelming blue that he is dressing himself in, but what does he know about fashion in the first place?

He puts his arms through the sleeves of the shirt before pulling the pants up his legs. The socks quickly cover his feet before grabbing the belt and using it to keep his pants in place. Next, he slips on the shoes that he's definitely going to ask about later on before buttoning up his shirt. He then looks in the mirror, examining himself and is surprised to see that he actually looks pretty damn good, but the ensemble isn't complete yet. John then puts on the jacket, completing his transformation into a blueberry.

He looks into the mirror one last time and just smiles. In his old life, he didn't have many times when he could dress up, so seeing himself like this was weird, but he likes it. He then straightens the jacket once more before heading to the door and walks out into the hallway.

IN THE THRONE ROOM:

John opens the door to the throne room and walks in. Immediately, almost all eyes are on him as the only person missing from the table is Myssera.

Kyuala then stands up from her chair and heads over to John. "My dear beloved. You look extraordinary. You remind me of a wrapped jelly." She then leans in closer, "And I cannot wait to eat you up."

"I don't know if I should be happy for the plans you seemingly have or be offended that you just compared me to a jelly."

"I'll leave that for you to decide." Kyuala says before the two let out a small chuckle and share a quick kiss.

They head back to the table and take their seats, and Sydna immediately comments. "Looking good, John. It seems like Mother actually has some skill when it comes to clothes that aren't dresses."

Kova then chimes in. "Of course, she does. She is the one who picks out Fathers clothes after all."

Sydna just rolls her eyes at Kova's snarky tone, trying to quell the urge to rock her fraternal twin's jaw. Luckily for the two, Manai asks, "Where is Mother anyway? Surely her dress isn't that difficult to put on."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Kiera says, "You weren't around for Bislea's tenth birthday. I swear, half the night was spent waiting for her to on this five piece dress. It was so bad that we had to create a rule for it."

Holvaeth laughs, "Ahh yes, the infamous puzzle rule. If the outfit has pieces like a puzzle, then you leave it and find something else. Your mother was quite upset when we voted on it. I swear, my back still hasn't fully recovered from having to sleep on the old bed in the guest room."

"Gee. I wonder why it's the old bed." Amilia says in jest, earning herself a small elbow in the side from a smirking Terra.

The table soon begin chatting amongst themselves to kill the time until the matriarch of their family arrives. Luckily for them, they wouldn't have to wait too long.

The door to the throne room opens, and in walks a few of the maids. "May we present, Madame Myssera Tarron."

The sound of heels clack against the marble floor, but the legs are hidden by a large poofy bottom portion of a baby blue dress that could be considered white in the right light. The bottom of the dress also has frills all around that practically sweep the floor. The upper half of the dress is more form fitting, clinging to Myssera's torso and ends above her breasts. However, it has a split in the middle, so she still has a good amount of cleavage on display.

"Ahh, the jewel of Mulvenscroll has arrived. You look ravishing darling." Holvaeth says as he gets up to greet his wife as she walks over to him. The husband and wife share a kiss before Holvaeth pulls the chair out for Myssera to sit before pushing the chair close to the table. After that, Holvaeth takes his seat once more and announces, "Let us begin our meal! Remar! Bring us the first course!"

"At once, sire." Remar responds before leaving the throne room.

LATER THAT NIGHT:

The table is lively with conversation and laughter amidst the drinking and eating. There's alcohol aplenty and even more food, so much so that even the maids and butlers have fixed themselves some plates and have joined the table.

"So, I heard the magic training didn't go well for you, John." Bislea asks.

"Ahh, yeah. We kinda got blown up by Virra. Well, I did at least. Speaking of, Lani, how come you weren't affected by the whirlwind spell when the ward fell?"

"Uhh... well... I.." Lani's face is all kinds of guilty as she tries to answer, but John is confused as to what she's guilty about. Eventually, Lani spills it. "Well... you did say to get behind you if the ward fell."

John then immediately realizes what that means. "So, instead of helping me, you let me take the blast?"

"Uhh... It was a last second thing, I promise! I figured it could be a good lesson for you to focus on the target ahead of you instead of what was going on around you!" Lani continues to rapidly give excuses, trying to find the one that sounds the best, but the more she talks, the more the people around them just laugh.

Right next to that conversation, Kiera strikes up a conversation with Kyuala. "So, Kyuala, my sisters have been talking..."

"Ooooh, and what have they said?" Kyuala asks.

Kiera clears her throat, trying to find the right words. "Well, they have been talking about you and John's... night time activities."

Kyuala chuckles. "Oh, that conversation. Yeah, Sydna was interested to know how my beloved and I go at it."

Kiera sighs while face-palming. "Sydna... why am I not surprised? For a married woman, she certainly has a fascination with the bedroom antics of other couples."

"No wonder Amilia and her get along so well." Kyuala comments, causing the two to chuckle. A few moments later as the chuckles die down, Kyuala asks, "So, how come you're asking anyway? You don't seem the kind to be interested in hearing about stuff like that... or are you?"

Kiera splutters, her drink immediately going down the wrong pipe as she hears Kyuala's question. "What?! No, no, no. I am not interested in any of the sort. I am quite content with keeping quiet about all matters of that variety."

Kyuala just looks at Kiera, obviously unconvinced at the woman's answer. Kiera quickly looks away from Kyuala as her cheeks begin to blush and her already unconvincing lie is becoming even more apparent.

A little further up and on the other side of the table, Amilia and Terra are embroiled in a conversation with Sydna, Virra and Naura.

"She really said that?" Terra asks.

"Yep, and there wasn't a dry seat in the room." Amilia responds with a laugh at the end.

Terra isn't too happy with Amilia's choice of words. "Eww. Please don't give me that visual. I just managed to purge the image of Father and Mother creating us."

"And now I have both. Thanks a lot, sis." Virra says as her face cringes up like she just tasted the sourest candy you could imagine.

"So, is what Kyuala said true?" Naura asks, trying to pass her question off as merely continuing the conversation.

"Probably. When we were staying in the Kauldron, well, let's just say that it's lucky the top floor is reserved for staff." Amilia responds as she finishes the rest of her cup.

Terra chuckles. "Yes, luckily for myself and Lani, we are further away from their room. We also have spells we can use to avoid a restless night filled with a thumping bed. Amilia simply drinks herself unconscious."

"True." Amilia confirms.

At the head of the table, Myssera and Holvaeth are casually dining whilst smiling at the bustling table. "Isn't this lovely? A full table, everyone is smiling, and we even got to dress up for the special occasion. This moment gives me a warmth that I haven't felt in years." Myssera says as she reminisces about the younger years of her children.

Holvaeth quickly replies, "Indeed. I can't recall the last time their smiles made it past a curl at the corners of their mouths. Even in this time of uncertainty, we still have rays of hope. I just pray that hope is enough for her."

Holvaeth then looks over at Erya who is laughing along with her sisters. No matter how much they wish for Erya to magically be cured, it just won't happen. Holvaeth then looks over at John and the others, knowing that they are his only option. "By the way, you didn't happen to give John anything more than just his outfit, right?"

Myssera simply places her hand onto Holvaeth's. "My darling, you know I would never. I may tease, but you, Holvaeth Tarron, are the only train for my station."

"Oh, I know." Holvaeth says before the two giggle and share a kiss. As they break their quick lip lock, Holvaeth then says, "But because of that teasing, I shall be bringing out the paddle tonight."

Myssera giggles once again. "Holvy~ teasing me before we've even finished the main course? How bold."

"What can I say? I'm just preparing my dessert." Holvaeth responds with a smirk as he slowly runs his left hand up Myssera's right thigh. Myssera's face then begins to blush, and she feels a heat between her legs that no bath of ice could quell.

A FEW MORE HOURS LATER:

Everyone has retreated to their rooms with Holvaeth and Myssera being the first to do so which doesn't surprise the Tarron sisters.

Most of them have retreated to their rooms as well, or more accurately, stumbled back. Kyuala is also seen carrying John to their room, not because he's too drunk, but for the reason that you can probably guess.

The last four to come up the staircase are Amilia, Terra, Lani and Virra, and all four are laughing about events that happened at dinner. Lani clings onto Terra's shoulder as she is stumbling considerably less than her sister and Amilia as both are dependent on the railings to help themselves up the steps.

"How much did you two have to drink?" Terra asks.

"Shumwere beetwin a bayral 'nd a cahrtload." The incredibly wasted Virra responds.

"Listen to the light weight over here. I'm not even thaaaat drunk." The less wasted, but still quite tipsy Amilia comments. "I only had a lil bit o' wine and some ale. Oh, I did have some cocktails as well, hehe, cock. I also had a lil bit beer and mead, then I had like a glass of gin, or was it two? Maybe three? Actually, it mighta been four. There was also that cup of cider and then I had some of that fancy red drink that your folks were drinking. What was it called again? Chardy day? Hardy lay?"

"I believe it's called Chardonnay." Lani interjects.

"Yes! That's it! Chardonnay! It was kinda weak, but it was nice! I felt like fancy lady!"

The four just laugh at Amilia's final words as they begin climbing the final steps to the second floor.

Once the quartet reach the floor, they begin heading down the hallway towards their rooms. As they start getting closer, Amilia looks over at Lani and Virra before giving the latter a little nudge with her elbow.

Virra looks at Amilia for a second and catches the look in her eyes. She then realizes what this is about, so she says, "Hey Lani, can you hit me wif tha shleep sphell? I struggle to shleep when I'm drunk."

"Of course, I will." Lani responds, catching a quick nod from Amilia as she does.

"Terr-Terr, can you do the same for me?" Amilia asks.

"Sure. If it means you go to sleep quicker and you suffer the effects of your over-drinking that much sooner." Terra jests, making Amilia laugh more than it should.

Eventually, the four come to Amilia's door. Lani then hops onto Virra's shoulder before saying, "I'll probably stay in Virra's room tonight, just to make sure that she doesn't vomit too much. We'll see you both in the morning."

"Alright. Good night you two." Terra says as Virra walks away with Lani hanging on for dear life.

Amilia then opens the door and says, "Welcome to my humble abode. Oh wait, you've already been in my room." Amilia then chuckles to herself before walking in. Terra also chuckles whilst just shaking her head at her friend's drunken foolishness before walking inside and shuts the door behind her.

Amilia then flops onto the bed and looks up before saying, "Y'know, you guys have fancy ceilings."

"What do you mean?" A confused Terra asks as she sits down beside Amilia.

"Well, all the ceilings are so high up, and they're so smooth as well. They're even painted as white as a cloud, and there's not even a hint of rot in this entire place. It's like I'm staying in a castle. I can't even tell you the amount of times I've stayed in a place with rotting walls, ceilings, floors, or even the bed."

Terra just looks up at the ceiling above and takes it in for a moment. "You know, I've always taken this place for granted. When I lived here, I had everything that I could ever ask for. If I was hungry, needed help with my studies, needed fresh clothes, or even have a bath run, all I had to do was ask. You would think that living in less-than-desirable taverns would make me realize that I was entitled, but it never did. I never truly realized just how much of an entitled brat I was until we came here."

"How much of a brat you were? You still are one." Amilia says, earning a light jab in the arm from Terra as the two chuckle.

"Anyway, didn't you want me to use the sleep spell on you? Because you keep on talking like that, and the only thing I'll be using is my fist."

Amilia then sits up and puts her hands on her knees. "Actually... there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Terra looks at Amilia confused, wondering if she did anything bad.

Amilia takes a few moments, trying to find the right words to kick it off. Eventually, she gives up on that, and instead, takes a deep breath before speaking. "Well... we've had a crazy few weeks, huh? I mean, we found you in a cave, killed the Darkcross, re-killed dead folk and then you got kidnapped. I mean, what shitty fucking luck we got, right?"

Terra laughs. "You are correct. It's almost as if fate wants us to go through these trials for some bigger purpose. Hells, maybe we are just following one of infinite mythical threads that will lead us to a greater fate."

Amilia understood precisely none of that and is just idly looking at Terra while nodding. She then clears her throat before speaking once again. "Uhh, anyway... I, uhh... I've been doing some thinking. Well, I was doing most of the thinking when we were trying to get you back, but I also thought a lot here."

"And what was it that you thought about?" Terra asks.

Amilia's heart begins to rapidly beat as it seemingly finds its way into her throat. Her entire body is wracked with nerves, but she manages to keep herself composed enough as to not let Terra see said nerves in any sort of way.

Eventually, Amilia composes herself for long enough to finally get some words out. "I've been thinking about... you." Terra's eyes quickly furrow in confusion as Amilia continues. "When we were looking for you, I dunno why, but I was so pissed. I even kept shouting at the others to move their asses to find you. When we had to stop because of the weather, I had time to think about why I was so pissed."

Amilia stops as she realizes that these next words are probably the most important she will ever utter in her life. She takes another deep breath, anxiety filling every millisecond as she knows that Terra is listening intently.

Finally, Amilia begins to speak. "It's because... I..." Two more words is all that stand in her way. All she has to do is blurt them out!

"I... appreciate you!"

Time itself almost seems to stop, every animal, plant, man-made creation and even the breeze in the air practically ceases in motion. Every force around Amilia's pauses just for the briefest of moments and they all collectively scream at her for not following through with what she really wanted to say.

Terra's face goes through a few quick emotions after hearing Amilia's words. The first was the concern that she had done something wrong, next was the relief of knowing that she hadn't. The final emotion was the warmth of knowing that Amilia, in her own words, appreciates her.

"Aww, Amilia... thank you so much. I appreciate you too!"

Terra quickly wraps her arms around Amilia in a tight hug which Amilia reciprocates a few seconds later. The two remain entwined in the hug for a good few moments with Terra having a smile on her face whilst Amilia has one of regret and self-hatred.

Eventually, the two break and Amilia makes sure to quickly hide her true emotions with a smile as they revert to their original positions.

"Okay, do you want me to use the sleep spell on you now?" Terra asks.

"Uhh, yeah, please."

"Okay. Just lie down and I'll get to work."

Amilia then does as Terra says and gets under the covers. She then rests her head on the pillow as Terra stands up next to her. "Alright. Now just relax, and you'll be asleep in no time." Terra then places her hand over Amilia's forehead and says, "Siureepa."

Amilia's feels her eyes immediately become heavy and her entire body is in a weird state of relaxation she hasn't felt since that one time she ate the wrong plant.

"I know it's a weird feeling, but it's your body feeling the effects. You'll be asleep in a few moments, so I'll retreat to my room now." Terra heads over to the door and opens it up, "Goodnight Amilia. I can't wait to see what shitty luck lies ahead of us tomorrow." Terra then leaves the room and closes the door behind her.

As Amilia lies in the bed, her body begins to quickly succumb to the sleep spell. As it is, she looks up at the ceiling and just before she drifts off into a blissful sleep, only one word pops into her mind.

"Idiot."