Chương 123

-0-0-0-0-0- The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea -0-0-0-0-0- I noticed the moment the fleet passed through the edge of my influence with their precious cargo in tow. As I'd expected, there was no instant reconnection as my Children passed back within my domain. It made sense, unlike with the fish in the ocean, the air wasn't saturated with my mana and was the only part of Atlantis and its environs that I couldn't claim.

Dolphins, whales, and a dozen large species of fish joined the fleet as they approached the island, to cries of delight from the passengers. A flock of seagulls joined them and let me finally get a good look at them. The first thing I noticed as Gull flew down towards the ships was the number of humans on board. A quick headcount gave me more than a hundred and thirty of them. I directed Gull to land on the ship with Baal, Towers, Teka, and Aston standing on the deck.

He landed as lightly as he could, but given he was now as large as Aston, it still rocked the ship slightly. Gull was the first animal I'd ever controlled, if not the first monster. While not as tough or dangerous as a Wyvern like Wave, he was the most steeped in my mana. It was trivial to move some mana and prompt his eyes to glow a solid teal as a more visual representation of my control. A quick enchantment woven in his throat, and I opened his mouth."

Welcome Home, my Children," I spoke aloud, my voice having an echo-y quality to it. The Children and humans on the deck fell to their knees." Please, rise. You need not bow. I see you have brought home some new friends."

"Yes, Creator," Baal began, waving forward one of the humans getting unsteadily to her feet.

"We found many willing to hear your teachings among the humans of Blackwater Bay. The most devout and were brought into our number as priests. This is Halley, chosen as their representative. For a time, we were thriving. However, some took your teachings too far, arguing that they should kill the nobles and rule the county as equals. Their rhetoric gathered some traction, though only amongst the most downtrodden and vengeful of the city. When they declared revolution in your name, we were horrified.

We cried that they didn't have our blessing, but it was too late by then. Even with your aid, we were lucky to escape, Creator."" And what are your thoughts on this revolution, human?" I asked the girl, whose legs quivered as she was addressed, but she took a deep breath, raised her chin, and stood tall.

"Creator, though I am not one of your Children, I have closely studied your teachings. They speak of cooperation, elevating the individuals involved in all matters. Of the endless pursuit of knowledge and of remaining curious in all things. Of treating others how you yourself would wish to be treated, with kindness, consideration, and respect.

The followers-turned-revolutionaries had ulterior motives and twisted the meaning of a few paragraphs on the equality of humanity to mean none are born inherently above others and that it was their duty to tear down those who believed themselves above others. They ensnared the most downtrodden and resentful and, in their actions, cast us all with the same brush in the Lord Kolchiss' eyes." She began tearing up and bowed her head towards Gull but soldiered on.

"Creator of The Children, Lord of Atlantis, I beg you to grant us sanctuary. We have lost our homes. Many of us have lost friends and family. I lost my parents in the first retaliation strike against the Church; they were slaughtered for 'harboring dissidents' on the street before my family home. We have nothing left." She'd fallen to her knees, head bowed. The other humans on the deck had done the same, their own grief evident. I prompted Gull to step forward and raise his wings.

I gathered the human in my feathery embrace and hugged her close.

"Of course, you are welcome. You all are," I reiterated, subtly altering the enchantment to allow my voice to be heard by all in the fleet." I offer sanctuary to all of my displaced human followers. On this island, you will not be hunted or discriminated against. My Voice, who administrates the island in my name, will organize housing and work for when you arrive. Atlantis has no homeless, urchins, or beggars. I intend for it to remain so."

I released Halley as she muttered a desperate thanks, then turned to the other Representatives of the Children, as they'd apparently organized themselves.

"You can remain on the surface with the humans or return to the dungeon as you wish. After two days to settle yourselves, I will be holding a meeting of Court and Children to discuss our next moves. Forces have moved against us, and we must be prepared." I launched Gull into the air and retreated only slightly, enough to give him back control. Together, we flew around the island as the fleet docked, and I allowed myself to relax.

It'd been so long since that first flight, and I took the opportunity to compare the view. My island was a tropical volcano. Once covered in jungle, a little under half had been cleared for human habitation. Most of that was farmland, split between fast-growing and nutritious crops and paddocks for large herds of animals. The rest was the quarry carving black basalt from a hill, the lighthouse above the dungeon's entrance, and the port itself. It'd come far from the few temporary huts and rickety wooden pier.

Planned and well-organized expansion had left a beautiful town. Protective walls encircled it, extending out around the port to provide an artificial harbor. The bustling market in the main square was surrounded by the town's most important buildings, including my very own bank, minting coinage of my own. The town was mostly multi-story houses, so everyone had somewhere to sleep. Some buildings had specialty shops on their ground floors, but most were merely housing.

Around the town were larger houses and manors, built for and purchased by the most successful people around; the guilders. Halfway up the volcano's slope was the old Lord's fortified mansion. I couldn't call it a castle because it lacked a keep, though it looked much better with the purple flags embroidered with my Core rather than whatever the Medean's symbol is. Stolen story; please report. I glared from Gull's eyes towards the west, where I knew Theona lay.

That damn man was causing trouble for me, as I knew he would. I should have just had him killed, but I didn't want to start the war that would have ensued. Though it looked like one would be starting soon anyway. Templars, huh? Bring it. You ain't never seen anything like me. -0-0-0-0-0- Castle Medean, Port Laviet, Medean Duchy -0-0-0-0-0-"They escaped!? How could they have escaped! Damn them! Damn them to the hells!" Medean the Younger raged, sweeping the table of his knicknaks and paperweights.

He stood from his chair by the fire and ranted, pacing back and forth. Duke Medean the Elder sighed and waved his hand, dismissing the messenger. One of his own household guards, a Silver guilder with a familial debt to his house, nodded and left the room. A look and a second wave had the guards inside the door follow him out. Soon, all that remained were the two Medeans, and the Duke activated his office's privacy enchantments. The man rubbed his right temple through silvered hair, feeling a headache coming on.

It hurt to see his son, once proud and eager to prove himself, reduced to this. He barely reacted when the secret passage opened, merely flicking his eyes as a figure stepped into the light, revealing their collaborator. His son had a much more visceral reaction. Medean the Younger cursed and went for his sword, then released it again on confirming the man's identity. Rather than backing down, though, his son stepped forward, baring his teeth at the man.

"You promised they'd pay!"

"And they will," The man replied, facing the fire. Medean's eyes were drawn to the fireplace beyond the silhouette. It was a grand mantlepiece, with a family portrait above it containing four figures. The Duke himself, his son, his wife, and their young daughter. It had taken some time before his wife's health had returned after his son's birth. Then, after the birth of his second child, his daughter, Meropa's health had never returned to how it'd been in their youth.

"How? All the monsters escaped; the guilders we hired didn't reach them in time," his son argued, shoving his face close to the other man's. The man placed a hand on his son's chest and pushed him away gently. Medean the younger huffed, then sat heavily back in his chair. He raised a goblet of wine and drained it as the man answered.

"Because two of the guilders in the group we sent are Templars from the Holy City, and they traveled with two young men and two women." Duke Medean frowned. Wait. Templars with youths? He raised a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat.

"The Templars don't train apprentices; they invite renowned guilders to join their ranks, and there's only one reason they'd be training anyone. Surely you aren't suggesting...?"

"I am," the man said, turning to face the Duke himself. The man was heavily scarred, with burns and cuts littering his face. Medean knew the skin beneath his gloves and clothes was similarly scarred. The dead man let out an ominous laugh.

"Heroes. At some point, the Gods summoned new heroes. And now, four heroes and two templars have been pointed straight at the largest congregation of monsters above ground since the Demon Lord." The Duke hummed, appraising the man before him. He stood tall, with a straight back, and his noble chin was raised high. Though he had noble bearing, he wore ordinary cloth. He'd fallen far, and though he played at civility, Medean could see the almost unnatural drive in his eyes.

This was a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain. A man who'd betrayed his oaths for the chance his vengeance would be carried out. The Former Grand Duke Plaised stepped forward and placed his hands on Medean's desk. He leaned forward, and the Duke got a good look at the fevered determination in those eyes.

"All we must do is wait." -0-0-0-0-0- Safehouse, Blackwater Bay, County Kolchiss -0-0-0-0-0-"-nd I was about to join my fellow Children at the docks with the last of the humans who wanted to join us when I looked out the window and saw this huge group of armored humans rush past. They were running straight to the docks, and I hadn't seen them before. Didn't recognize a single one. Definitely not local guards. After they'd passed, I could only watch as the others set sail without me!"

The minotaur, Ossydus, explained, stopping only to sip from the bowl of hot tea he held in hands bigger than Akio's head. The Japanese teen and his fellow heroes/hidden princess companions could only share awkward glances.

"I don't blame them, but I still feel... I don't know. Abandoned," Ossydus explained, placing the empty 8-inch bowl on the table.

"After that whole fiasco, the guard presence in the docks has quadrupled. Even if a friendly ship were to pull into port, getting down there and on the thing without being seen? Impossible. Escaping the city? Equally impossible. I'm not exactly stealthy."

"You managed to get here, though, right?" Sophie prompted, waving at the room they were in. She sipped her own tea, and Akio did the same. It was pretty good. Not as good as a pot of jasmine from Japan, though.

"By sneaking through alleys," Ossydus answered with a snort. And wow, that was a lot more dramatic on a cow-based monster than a human.

"Every time I move, it is a risk that someone will see me, someone who is not sympathetic to the children."

"What if we pulled a switcheroo on em?" Bruce wondered, putting his mug down so he could gesture and wave his hands around.

"We leak a rumor. They'd have to respond if everyone they ask says you're on the other side of the city. You've managed to slip their grasp three times now?" Bruce asked, to a pensive nod.

"If I was trying to catch someone as big as you, I'd be pretty pissed. I'd pull all the resources I could to block every possible escape route. So, they'll draw guards from other parts of town and the guilders."

"Leaving gaps in the patrols we could exploit and slip through," Elize finished, realization dawning on Ossydus' snout as well. His expressions were surprisingly easy to decipher, for, you know, having a cow head.

"Escaping the city into the countryside is pointless. There won't be any other towns or cities willing to take you in and risk something similar happening to their lands. Can you send a message to your people and have them send a single ship? A fully human crew, with the ship registered in a port town on the mainland, could probably slip through customs."

"Then, under the cover of night, we slip you down to the docks and onto the ship and sail away before anyone can figure out what's going on!" Akio declared.

"Ha! I like you four. You've got spunk. It reminds me of Aston when we were kids. Ah, those weeks were bliss," He drifted off a bit, and Akio had to wonder what he meant by that.

"It's a good plan. Bancia is an apprentice wind mage," he said, waving at the woman who'd let the four teens into the safehouse.

"She can summon a wind sprite for us, who'll deliver the message. It'll take a day or two to get an answer from Atlantis, then we can start."

"Atlantis?" Sophie asked, and Akio was struck by something. That was English, not Phenocian.

"Aye, the Isle of Atlantis, named by The Creator after he expelled the former lord for refusing to acknowledge his right to the island. Only made sense to me. He is the island, after all." Akio suddenly felt a little out of his depth and wondered exactly what they had gotten themselves into. -0-0-0-0-0-