"And he fell, first of the divines, who sought to bring the gifts of divinity to all. And I failed him. It is beyond even me to bring back the dead, or to complete in full his task but that is the goal of His followers. Even if we are to strive forever we will do so for the divine who would have shared his divinity and was slain for it."

  -exerpt from the annals of Adras

  Alice woke in the middle of the night. Her brothers who slept in the room next door were snoring contentedly so she knew that returning to sleep would be difficult so she had better get to it and maybe get another few hours before the sun.

  Then light flashed across the sky and the idea of sleep was banished. There was a roar in the air that followed, echoing through the streets and off the clouds in the sky. She still heard the snoring of Martin and Simon, nothing would wake them apparently.

  She dressed and walked to her- ancestor's?- room and found it to be empty with the potted plant set on the windowsil being conspicuously devoid of any plant or soil. They were out and probably fighting something. She'd have to tell them off for waking her.

  Lacking anything more interesting to do and not wanting to attempt her way in the kitchen she walked about the garden. The shrubbery had the faintest hints of shapes that they had been carefully cultivated into before abandonment made them grow in every which way. The rose bush was filled with buds so she spent a few minutes picking them off the bush.

  It was better for their overall health since they were cultivated to have as many buds as possible and the nutrition required made them starve themselves for their beauty and a chance for descendants. If it was some special cultivar that had fewer buds then the negative consequence would be minimal.

  Some of the vines were hidden in the bush and one brushed against her hand

  (Do you want to know what's going on?) The lesser goddess Ariwyn asked.

  "Not really. Either you guys win or we all die." She dropped the buds on the ground and left the bush. There were some nice benches that would give a better view if it was daytime instead of night under the light of her spell alone.

  "I think you should still be informed." The 'avatar' of the goddess stopped walking three paces from her. A golem with simple orders to follow the instructions of the vines that grew from it's torso. It had a face of a vaguely female shape.

  "Okay then, out with it." The golem would follow her throughout the garden if she refused again so there was no point fighting it.

  "Your master arrived to retrieve you."

  Master Austalir, the second prince of Newport who single handedly kept most of the arcane machinery that the city used for trade. The person who took her on as an apprentice and would have thrown out a tenant just to keep her safe. The person who did not follow and destroy the mercenaries but came to get her after the battle was won.

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  "And?"

  "There was a small spat. We didn't know his connection to you and had to make sure he wasn't a threat. He's fine." Ariwyn insisted at the jump in Alice, "Though he will need to come to terms with his skills not being the peak."

  "He knows that. He also knows about Taramo's mythos." The blank stare of the golem was expected and it was unlikely that anyone besides Ariwyn would know the deeper lore of Adrasian religion, if she bothered to read it at all.

  Her mother had been an enjoyer of mythos and had, through hundreds of ancestors, connected themselves to one of the last known descendants of Taramo the ruler of the underworld in Adrasian faith. It made sense that a real person would have been the core of the story, though the exact points would probably be warped by time and the desire for a good story.

  "They'll be here soon. If you do not wish to meet them then I suggest you return to your chambers." She raised an arm to pat Alice's shoulder, waited a moment, then lowered the arm and walked off into the darkness.

  Did she want to meet Austalir now? He had 'abandoned' her but since he was in the network of academies he probably would have been gathering strength, or using his influence to get help brought over. He hadn't helped, but there hadn't been much time for him to have acted. If he'd fought the mercenaries on his own could he have survived? She wouldn't have wanted him to die trying to save her if he'd had better options.

  Alice decided to stay and not a moment too soon since the gate opened and a wagon led by the enormous and deadly Iron and flanked by one of the walking stretchers that had helped around the Pitarav village. Iron gave a lazy swipe at the sole occupant of that stretcher and Taramo dodged it easily despite his apparent tiredness. He nodded at Alice but the stretcher he sat on carried on through the doors that opened by themselves, probably to dump him into his bed.

  "Alice!" Austalir stumbled as he leapt off the wagon, righting himself with windmilling arms and a slight pull against the wagon by one of the tentacles that was connected to his backpack. So he did arrive ready to fight. She'd only seen him test the Autonomous Defense Backpack with the most basic testing spells, though she hadn't been able to splatter him with any paint before getting hit multiple times in each test. They'd stopped after the Autonomous system realized that paint could become slippery if sufficient amounts coated the floor.

  Alice accepted the brief hug from the older man, his only love was machinery and the Newport priest of Adras who, as a rule, took on an oath of celibacy. She was also several hundred years old but She'd only remarked that once. She kept a smile on her face as she shuddered inside remembering her master's arguments of 'vintage' improving quality. She stayed by Austalir's side as he went to one of the smaller rooms that were prepared. He'd only stumbled twice between the garden and there. His clumsiness was ameliorated by the Adras system giving him much greater dexterity and strength, which was absent here.

  Telling him that it would be better if he tried to sleep, and that she wanted to get back to it, Alice felt like a wetnurse putting a babe to bed. Now to try to sleep.

  The dirty golem was waiting outside her room.

  "I just want to sleep." She pushed past the golem.

  "You're wide awake. At least let me help with that." Ariwyn didn't try to push into the room so Alice closed the door and changed before letting her do whatever spell that happened after she tucked herself in.

  ---

  "BLESSINGS BE YOU ARE THE BROTHER OF HIM!" Alice immediately woke up with a strange dissonance. One moment the golem of Ariwyn was beside her and the next it was midmorning and Austalir was yelling with an unrivaled excitement.

  I guess he finally got the backstory.