Four days passed sihe meeting with the Elders. Most of them were still in town to deal with various issues that were easier handled in the capital, but two left to hahings that required them elsewhere. Utros went back to the Streaming Pins to oversee reinf the borders in his home territory. Being the part of Willow Creek that has the rgest border with Imperial nds and with the fewest natural defenses, it was by far the most likely route an army would e through.

  Mother’s Teeth, the northernmion led by Banda, was mostly mountainous with a few picturesque valleys. There were some narrow passes that could be taken but none any sizable force could get through without taking weeks, much less vehicle ns or the armored magical beast cavalry that the Empire’s elite forces teo prefer. The fact that the mountains also surrouhe Willow Creek region on three sides and protected the capital city did mean that there were notable defehroughout, mostly focused on fighting airships and flyis, but it was effectively a non-viable route for anything but a small strike ford the local defenders were known to be very dangerous in their home turf.

  Eternal Pilrs was a region of rich rain-forest valleys woven through hot, dry red stone mesas that reached above the clouds in some pces. The Elder there was the ‘spymaster’ Durran. Arguably harder to navigate than Mother’s Teeth aainly more dangerous. The wiween the mesas would drive airships into the pilrs themselves and the valleys below them were teeming with predators, parasites, and pox. The beasts that roamed through the juhere were the most powerful and deadly ones in all of Willow Creek and eveeran hunters in well equipped and experieeams had a horrifyingly high rate of casualties. Trying to e through there was a fool’s gambit at best.

  That left Wavecrest. The eastern coast of Willow Creek, who had the unfortunate luck of having Junren as an Elder. He too returo his territory, though not to prepare, just to leave and ‘lets us be paranoid without him’. Wavecrest was a long thin strip of tropical beach that even in the winter was usually at least warm. With limited farmnds and a small fishing industry, they relied heavily on tourism and thus had several resort towns on the coast and a few det sized isnds. This lead them to being the richest of the regions as people would e from all over the world to enjoy the sand sun and surf in some of the most exclusive hotels oris. It being the middle of Summer, the Elder did actually have a lot of work to do managing things with tourism season in full swing. Teically it was also an avenue of attack by the Empire, they could make a coastal nding with a fleet of ships. But the Blue Father’s shamaed on the coasts in far higher han I thought and even just a few of them could sink a small fleet, it otentially more deadly a route thaernal Pilrs.

  Thus the Streaming Pihe most likely pce to be hit by far aing the most attention. Attention that the eion was giving now. The recruitment drive was made official only three days after the meeting, with a radio broadcast and thousands of pamphlets being spread as far throughout Willow Creek as possible as quickly as possible. All calling for people with bat csses to e join up and receive training and teenagers with bat aspirations to e for training. Being granted proper solider csses might limit their career options, but would make them far better at the kind of war that was likely ing and pretty much guarahem work with the military as long as they lived.

  I was right about ohing, Elder Avarin came to talk tga the day before the broadcasts. Even stripped down to show respect despite being clearly unfortable. Red was in fact well known as a hero and her word would probably draw in a lot more people. But she felt uandably flicted, promising only to sider it.

  That fourth day though? That’s when things hit us all. A lot happened and it just made certaiies boil over on us. Not necessarily bad things, but just a lot.

  A couple hours before lunch Dekarru and I got called to the cil chambers, Carmil joined us via my bloodstream again. I didn’t think arguing would do anything and I felt forted with her there so I just smiled and accepted her presence.

  Once we arrived I was slightly surprised to see Azuriel waiting with a pair of guards. She was wearing an outfit that could easily have e from the lockers in the encve district. Simple, undyed, baggy, but c everything loosely.

  Layanta, the Elder of Willow Creek was there with Elder Avarin. The first as a representative of the local gover and the sed in her position as the emergenander in chief of the military. Which teically things were under low priority emergency with the uainty over the Empire’s future behavior so she was the dy in charge over every region’s militaries until further notice.

  Before anyone could speak I walked over to the angel and looked at the leather strap around her neck. There was a metal csp on it with a blue gem set into it. On that gem was a ruhis must be the Mana drain device. I felt a very powerful sense of disfort at the colr, something from a buried memory no doubt so I ig for now.

  “Azuriel.” I said softly and offered a smile.

  She looked up at me aated. “I’m supposed to go with you.”

  I tilted my head. “Your voice, it’s not doing that booming thing.”

  She shrugged in a very mortal way, turning her eyes to the floor. “It’s just a skill. Meant to inspire awe or something.”

  Dekarru snorted. “Well I and my eardrums appreciate the softer tone.”

  I stepped closer to the angel. “You have a very pretty voice. It’s a lot nicer without the distortion.”

  A blue glow pulsed through the marble lines normally invisible in her skin. A blush, though a small one. “What do you want from me?” Her eyes flickered to my own for a moment, but she couldn’t maintain it and turo look at Dekarru instead.

  “We want to learn. Why angels act the way they do, what they want with our realm, and most pointedly, why they are so resistant to ge.”

  “Because you’re dangerous to the world.” I could hear the uainty in her voice.

  “This world?” She simply nodded. “That makes no sense. I his world.”

  “The Hierophant said-”

  “Stop.” I turo the Elders and motioowards the guards. Avarin sighed and nodded before the room cleared of everyo the elders, angel, and myself. Being a state secret was a novel experience. Once aloook a breath. “I am the Saint of a new Goddess trying to make a home for herself in this realm. Do you uand?”

  “We don’t worship gods in the Pure Lands, but we uand them. I think.” I fought back a smile, she was questioning what she’d been taught, that was good.

  “Do you know what sustains a god?”

  She nodded slowly. “Worship, right?”

  “So that means they need mortals, doesn’t it?” She hesitated but then nodded, clearly curious where this was going. I have to admit I was a bit disappoihat she didn’t piece it together from that much but someone fighting a lifetime of indoation was due some leniency. “So if this world is destroyed, what happens to the mortals on it?”

  She stared at me like I was an idiot. “They die, obvious—… oh.” The light of uanding in her eyes made me grin.

  “There we go, smart girl furing that out.” Her blushing light show was far more promihat time. Yep, definitely a praise kink. “So how could I or my goddess be a threat to this world if we to survive?”

  She chewed on her lip for a few moments before responding. “Maybe… maybe you are a threat in a way you don’t know? Maybe you mean well but are causing harm uionally?”

  “If it were just me, maybe. But there are gods involved in this. Do you think that aire divine pantheon would be so ignorant?”

  She shook her head. “Then why?” The look on her face was almost angry.

  A new voice spoke up. “Celestials don’t like ge.” We all turo watch Mary step out of a shadow. “Same story for thousands of years now. They get into a routine and something es along to threaten it even a tiny bit and they go absolutely irying to stop it.”

  “You still ’t have her.” I gave Mary a gre that held all the threat it o and she held up her hands in submission.

  “Not going to try. Just want to see what you do with this one. Promise.” I sighed. “Hey now, Fae always keep our promises. It’s why we tend to be so tricky with our exact words, so when we make a promise we figure out how to keep the letter of the agreement while tossing the spirit out the window.”

  “And just admitting that is meant to e?”

  “Yoddess scares me enough to be on my best behavior. Maybe eveer than my best if I’m being pletely ho. A whole new leaf for this Fae Lord!” She ughed and spun in pce, her sdalous dress failing to cover her as she twirled. “But.” She stopped and grinned. “I am holy curious about what you pn on doing. I am also not above admitting when I’m wrong about something. This angel seems very different than the usual humorless shits.”

  I turo look at Azuriel and she was clearly afraid of Mary. I reached out and drew her hand into mine. She squeezed it before she thought about what she was doing and blushed again. I squeezed back. “You’re under my prote, Azuriel. Mary won’t do anything to you, I won’t let her.”

  She looked up into my eyes and I could see the first hint of exactly what I rust. Maybe it was a good thing the Fae Lord arrived like this, driving the celestial towards me. Not that I liked the idea that maybe that was exactly what Mary was hoping for. Manipution always bothered me, it was holy a source of worry for me with Vei’Ryn. I got hints that she was a simir kind of string puller, even if she did so to help rather than for her own amusement. But she was a dream goddess and dreams are not the most direct of things. Maybe it was just her nature in a way that I couldn’t uand? I would have to ask her ime we talked.

  “Mary, go bother someone else for a few hours? I o get her settled in with my tribe and that’s not going to be easy with you h and stressing everyo.” She gasped in mock offense. “How about this, you leave us be for a day or two and once we’re ready for a again my tribe heads north to your territory to hunt demons with you. Sound fair?”

  Mary’s face turned immediately serious. “It would o be more than just oribe to matter.”

  Dekarru cleared her throat. “MY tribe, Mary.”

  The Fae tapped her . “That would weigh things in your favor somewhat, but I don’t think you uand just how bad it is. If you want to help, send an army.” She then smirked in a way that scared me. “Speaking of, I hear you have a fn general ing to visit soon!”

  I chewed on my lip, I was eager to see Henna again in person even if we’d both be incredibly busy. I was not about to let Mary cause trouble on that front.

  Mary seemed to uand the look I gave her. “Oh no no no, not getting in the way of peace. My personal is align there far too hard. Don’t worry about that. I just thought you all might like to know that the other side is sending an envoy as well.”

  Elder Layanta’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? We haven’t heard anything about Pitrak sending people.”

  “They’re trying to slip out from under Baradash’s nose, you think they’d risk announg it? Oh no, that would be foolish. They’re ing in a trade caravan. They should be in the Ash Lands right now and iy in two days. Just about in time to meet the Uvtrayl envoys ing with yeneral.”

  Layanta groaned. “I’ll have runners meet the caravan so we try for damage trol before things go off. Thank you for the warning, Mary.”

  “You know, it’s strahe caravan is quite rge and has a lot more people than it needs. I think it likely they’re bringing gifts. Though what they might sider gifts to you is something even I’m left w.”

  “Gifts?”

  “Gifts, bribes, a box full of apologies and begging?”

  I snapped my fingers. “They want to ask us to be a go-between with Uvtrayl. Having a powerful third party act as arbitrators with the nation they’re been at war with for years in hopes that will help ease the transition to allies.”

  Avarin grunted and rubbed her face. “Well that could help things in the long run, but could have been disastrous if the two sides bumped into each other without warning.”

  “What's a little disaster between new friends?” Mary grinned and patted the military Elder’s head. “See? I be helpful when I want to. I helped stop chaos instead of causing it. Hopefully that vinces you all that I want this as much if not more than anyone else. Seriously. I ’t get up to my usual nonseh demons chewing on my ankles.”

  Dekarru crossed her arms, fiapping softly on her skin. “I would say the timing is suspect but between the issues in the Empire and the manipution of Mary here it makes sehat they would do this as soon as possible.”

  Mary nodded. “And I didn’t even do this one! Holy, I was as surprised as ahat they took this route.” Then she narrowed her eyes and looked annoyed. “I wish I’d thought of it. I’m bothered that someone else did first.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “Okay. Mary, how about this. We have important people from both sides ing soon. You don’t interfere with anything involving Azuriel for two full weeks and I’ll insist that as part of any treaty, they send in troops to out demos? Do demons make s?”

  Mary’s face paled and she shuddered. “Yes, and you don’t want to see them. I’ve been alive for a very long time and seen quite a lot and I say with some authority aainty that nothing prepare you for the horror those s tain. I am not saying more on that subject.”

  “Okay so we insist that Pitrak and Uvtrayl up this mess they helped make. Maybe offer to assist.”

  Layantra cpped her hands sharply. “Joint operations!”

  Avarin’s eyes widened. “Oh! That’s brilliant.”

  I spoke up. “Mixed units could help form camaraderie, but that also poses a potential problem with lingering anger or trauma between Uvtrayl and Pitrak’s soldiers. Don’t want someone shooting an ally in the middle of a fight because they saw an insignia and had a fshback.”

  “True. The mixed units would have to be carefully picked to lower the ces of that, or of someone looking for payback for a lost friend or loved one.”

  “I think we mahat. Particurly with help that I’m sure both sides will be willing to give. Maybe not happily, but the alternatives are not good for anyone.” I took a breath. “Now, with that said, will you give us some breathing room, Fae Lord?”

  Mary wasn’t smiling. Her shoulders had lost some of the tension they’d held since I met her. She slowly nodded quietly. “Make it soon. If I lose another dryad I’m turning everything in my territory into a Wild Hunt tens of thousands strong and killing everything else for miles. None of us want that.” I nodded and bowed to her respectfully. She returhe gesture and stepped bato a shadow, vanishing.

  “That wasn’t a horrifying thought, not at all.” Dekarru shook her head. “Stareyes, thank you for handling her. She’s ly an enemy, but not always a frieher.”

  I simply gave the shaman a smile and gave my attention back to the angel who was slowly rexing from the abject fear of being in a Fae Lord’s presehout any mana to defend herself with. “Azuriel, sorry about all that. Are you ready to get out of here and see where you’ll be living for a while?” She just nodded softly and squeezed my hand.

  Dekarru, Azuriel, and I left the chambers while the remaining two Elders stayed to discuss preparing for the two envoys. Just outside we ran into Gina, who stayed only long enough to thank me fetting Tulip to ask her out and tell us whee nned on happening. I promised Carmil and I would be there, potentially Luvetra too depending on how my giant lover felt about it. Carmil moved within me in a way that I felt was happiness at deg to try and include our mutual love.

  The walk back to the Encve District was iing, the usual stares at me were lost entirely as people took in the sight of an angel walking dowreet. There had been an annou and posters put up to expin this would be happening so no one anig or anything. But it did mean that we might as well have been a damned parade with the hundreds of people lining the path to watch us go by. I apologized to Azuriel who simply shrugged shyly. Her reas were extremely muted, I think she was just unsure about what to do, about her future, about what was going to happen to her.

  Those muted emotions died as soon as we stepped into the District proper and she saw the couple hundred or so people naked. “Y-you said I would be safe!”

  I gently gripped her shoulders. “Azuriel, we’re naturalists, not monsters. No one is going to touch you without your sent. You don’t eveo undress if you’d be more fortable clothed. Normally that would get you more stares here, not being naked being unusual here. But holy I don’t think yoing to get fewer stares no matter what you wear or don’t. Sorry about that.”

  She swallowed and nodded. “I w-would rather remain covered, please.” I nodded and gave her a smile.

  “If anyone causes you problems or makes you feel unfortable, let me or anyone else in my tribe know. Especially Dekarru, ut a stop to it.”

  She started to say something but her mouth froze as she saw me strip. After a few moments of stariween my legs she blushed so hard she almost looked like her skin turirely glowing blue. “I th-thought that was just some quirk of the Dream.”

  I smirked. “Oooh, you thought that I had a dick because you wanted me to?”

  Somehow her blush grew stronger and even mid day, she bathed the area in a deep blue light. “N-no, I, what? No!”

  “Now now, lets be ho with ourselves and each other. We ’t go forward on a foundation of dishoy.” I couldn’t help it, she was fun to watch get flustered.

  She swallowed and nodded. “Yes. I thought it was my dream doing that.” I was surprised by her admission and fought a blush of my own.

  I reached out and patted her head and the blue fme that served as her hair not only didn’t burn, it was fly warm. “Good girl.” [Find The Pulse] told me that the particur blush she gave then was heavily saturated with lust. Maybe I actually could get her to joih.

  “Oy! Pale arse!” I tur the sound avel’s approach. “I see ya brought one of the things that nearly killed my Red.”

  Azuriel swallowed nervously. “I… it wasn’t personal, I was trying to protect… something.”

  Dekarru started to say something but I shook my head. Brigga wasn’t actually angry. The dwarf stepped up to the angel and I stepped aside to let her. “Something? You nearly killed the love of my life for ‘something’? Ya gotta do better than that, angel. Ya nearly tore my heart out, gimme a reason not to do the same to you.”

  Azuriel looked at me in subdued panid I just gestured towards Brigga. She hesitated before responding. “Th-they told me that Esme was a dahat she would-, would damage the band potentially destroy the world.”

  “This idiot? The only things she’s a threat to is anything trying to hurt her loved ones. Which your friends learhe hard way.”

  “… not my friends.”

  “What was that? Gotta speak up angel.”

  “They were not my friends. I put myself at extreme risk of not just death but corruption to help them and all they did the eime was insult ale me. I do not celebrate their deaths but her do I mourn them.”

  “Oooh, but ya still helped them. How long till ya try and finish the job, huh? How long till ya put a fming sword in our backs? After all, Esme is a danger, right?”

  Azuriel ched her fists nervously. “I… I don’t know. I don’t uand. M-maybe the Hierophant was—, maybe they misread the signs. Esme ’t be entirely what I was told.”

  Brigga snorted. “Eh, good enough for now I suppose.” She turo me and smiled. “Esme, ya have a couple of guests in the yurt.”

  Dekarru turavel and stared at her a few long moments, her eyes glowing with magic before she grinned wide. “Oh, Brigga dear? gratutions.”

  Brigga stared in fusion for approximately six seds before she screamed in joy and ran off as fast as her legs could carry her. “RED! RED! IT TOOK!”

  The world was lovely this day.