Amdirlain's PoV - Demi-Plane

When the hug finally ended, Rachel winked. "Don't keep the family waiting too long for a barbecue."

"Once I'm settled, I'll put regular family gatherings high on my list."

Rachel laughed and wiggled her eyebrows. "That's an excellent idea. There is much to discuss, but you need some catch-up time first."

With that, she vanished, and Sarah slowly shook her head. "She's a brat."

"Did many people change their names while I was away?"

"Only Noltar and Azadi. That's the last piece of information you get out of order," Sarah scolded playfully.

Amdirlain raised her hands in surrender. "Not even where you set up your Domain?"

"In the Outlands, near Livia's place. Since I didn't know what the plinth would do, I wanted you to have the greatest opportunity to get to my Domain." Sarah shrugged. "It also seemed the fairest location given my mantles. Independent individuals can still appreciate an orderly approach to crafting or Mana without caring about the laws of their society."

Amdirlain's gaze flickered to the ashes Rachel's flame had left behind.

Sarah tilted her head. "What are you going to do with this Demi-Plane?"

"I'll transform it into something more peaceful instead of the dark holding cell it has been," said Amdirlain. "Do you think Aitherlar will get annoyed if I refine my Psi reserves into my essence? It will probably cause my Psychic Power to get absorbed by Primordial Will."

"Would it change your plans?"

"No, but I might talk to her about it first. I'll try using Primordial Will to duplicate the technique from Psychic first and see if it can copy all the ones I use."

"I doubt Aitherlar will be worried, but she'd appreciate time with you again regardless of what you're talking about," said Sarah.

"I know there are people to catch up with, but how about we work on a few things together first?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"How do divine beings advance?"

"I still need experience, but the Class-related activities are very different, and the level thresholds are vastly higher. Experience rewards range from a few points for mortals undertaking acts of faith unprompted and a few hundred for souls making it to the Domain's Wellspring."

Hence, you need millions of worshippers to make progress.

"With lots of variation in the reward for a Soul reaching the wellspring?"

"Yep. I think it's to encourage the gods to ensure they have servants out escorting all the souls to safety."

"You don't get experience for crafting things yourself?"

"Not experience, but I can still increase my powers and skills, and ones related to my titles help with divine acts." Sarah shrugged. "Plus, I enjoy the physical work involved in the creation process."

"How do the skills help?"

"An example is that my places of worship give crafting insights relative to my skills to worshippers who make things within their walls. I've been branching out into new skills to attract other groups of worshippers."

"None of this was in Ori's memories I've retrieved as yet. Does the same apply to me? I lost a bunch of skills."

"We'll have to find out, but you've had your powers ingesting skills over the years. You should see people dancing or hear the singers and harpists in the concert halls dedicated to you on Qil Tris. Jinfeng dedicated the training halls she established to you in the Qil Tris trials, and it improved people's uptake in Ki techniques and martial arts."

Amdirlain frowned at the image, which clashed with her experience on Qil Tris. "They've openly dedicated places?"

"Stop. I'm not jumping ahead by answering that question. We've got to handle debriefing you about the earlier centuries before discussing Qil Tris further. Gideon provided you with refinement advice, so try it out. Are you going to build city landscapes like the games you used to play?"

"I think I'd better start with something on a smaller scale first. Nicholaus would spend hours making knives and observing the atoms inside the metal and how they behaved."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "You tease, I can't do that."

"Yet."

"Fine, you're giving me a goal to work towards." Sarah kissed her lightly. "Let's get out of this place."

"Are you going to take me back to your place?"

"You'd hear far too much. Let's shift to the world Gideon told you about, and I'll summarise the first decade while you experiment."

"I also need you to tell me everything you get experience from," said Amdirlain.

"Why?" Sarah eyed her suspiciously.

Amdirlain's lips thinned into a vicious smirk. "I'm going to ruin Mooner's and his boss' progress."

I'm going to have trouble not laughing in Moloch's face if I ever meet him in person. It'll be hard to take him seriously after using Rachel's nickname for too long.

"Be careful not to start another Gods' War. There are consequences even for non-Mantle holders, and the rules could consider us part of the same pantheon. I doubt it would hurt you, but Livia or I might get burned."

"That's why I'm not planning to attack them directly. I'm planning to help their followers in many enlightening ways." Amdirlain waved an arm out wide.

"Not subtle, just a touch creative?"

Amdirlain grinned. "I regained memories from lives where I was subtle. Maybe I'll see if I can be sneaky since I have kept and enhanced my Stealth Skill. I'm also now a Grand Master at Archery."

"Must be all those elven lifetimes. Let's get you some practice with Primordial Will first." Sarah motioned to the empty air before them.

"Let's get out of this place."

The world's melody opened a Gate, and the pair stepped onto a rocky peak on an ocean's edge. Amdirlain's protective dome was a reflex consideration that had Sarah regarding her with amusement.

"I'm not in danger from an unbreathable atmosphere. Though I should have brought the house along if we're going to be here a while."

"The longest stopover will be for you to brief me on what I missed."

Sarah created a floating platform behind them and a Gate that let the house step through.

Amdirlain was about to say something when she received a report from her medical Demi-Plane. Distorted memories of pulling mortals from buildings while she fought to regain control of her body bloomed. "Medical update on patients."

It wasn't just a figurative issue.

"Weren't the last patients you sent to your medical Demi-Plane returned to their homes centuries ago?"

"My animalistic state didn't let prisoners in the Abyss die. I just got a treatment update, though I don't know how they got to the Demi-Plane. An Aspect must have moved them."

"Transforming their lives," Sarah quipped.

"I guess restoring their freedom is a transformation." Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. "I've regained Realm Step. I'll experiment and see if I can progress it inside this realm."

"You create some prokaryotic life forms while you get a new list together." With the house settled, it extended its stairs, and Sarah took a spot on the swing seat.

Amdirlain unleashed a song aimed at specific enchantments upon Culerzic. When the Plane resonated with the energies, Amdirlain felt trillions of collars shatter. With the echoes of freedom and slavery, the Pix's memories surged briefly—the miserable years of enslavement she'd experienced roiled with new meaning. Tears of misery threatened to prickle in her gaze as the torment of those few years briefly drew memories of other lives chained to another's will to the surface. A click echoed through her amid recognition of a truth.

Transformation can be more than just material.

"Why don't you come here so I can hold you?" Sarah asked. "Your scent spiked with unhappiness."

"Old memories," Amdirlain murmured, but she scrubbed the tears away and joined Sarah on the swing seat. "I just freed a bunch of demons."

"Why?"

"Partly to screw with Mooner, yet mostly because enslavement makes me want to scream."

"You only freed a bunch of succubi?"

"And any other being bound with collars of servitude. I know I'd be quick to kill most of them in battle, but a few might be on par with Klipyl's initial state." Amdirlain raised an eyebrow, hoping to prompt Sarah to spill.

She got a laugh and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm not telling you anything else out of order, but Klipyl, Kadaklan, and their children are fine. You know what the lifespan of half-celestials is like, right?"

Lifetimes in the various realms distorted her memories, so Amdirlain hazarded a guess. "Comparable to elves?"

"Yep, anyway, they all achieved Immortal Spirit before they looked middle-aged. I'll start with the attempted invasion of the South."

Amdirlain started creating prokaryotic life forms in the water. Though the Power allowed her to make the simple organisms, they barely filled a cubic metre.

Sarah tickled her side. "Back to the basics?"

A steel Jian appeared in Amdirlain's hand. "Interesting, forged metal is straightforward, yet organics are hard to create."

"The bacteria can multiply."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

While Sarah filled her in on the battlefronts Amdirlain had left them to handle, she continued the exercise. As each cubic metre of organic matter formed, she visualised them differently to see if it streamlined their cellular creation.

The first decade Sarah covered provided Amdirlain with names of people she craved to meet, and Sarah fixed her with a Cheshire cat grin. "You're fidgeting."

"We can't just binge this update?"

"You just want to meet the kids. However, they're adults now, and while they also want to meet you, I'd advise you to let that fact sink in first."

Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. "I don't do well with large groups."

"They're all long-lived; meet them in birth order and do things in between."

"Are you going to keep going?"

"I told you we'll cover a decade a day."

"That's going to take three months," Amdirlain protested.

"It gives you another ninety-one days to practice and settle your quilt situation."

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

Day ten found Amdirlain again on the porch creating cubic metres of microorganisms, and an unsettled tension twisted in her shoulders. "How about Rainith comes to talk to me about this part?"

The seams of all my lives feel strained, but why does talking about events on Vehtë make it feel worse?

Sarah crossed her arms. "You'll pick her brain. There is no way she won't tell you anything you ask, and I'll have to be the bad cop. All the drama about her adult rites got settled long ago, and you don't need to support anyone over it."

"So not fair," Amdirlain huffed, deliberately adopting a sulky child-like tone. The attempt at playfulness soured, and she blinked at the venom in her tone.

The Pix's anger at restrictions.

"How about we take a couple of days' break from training and debriefing?" Sarah casually stood and offered Amdirlain a hand.

"And do what?" Amdirlain sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm still merging, and there are odd strains I don't understand."

"You said Gideon told you that crafting skills are good contemplation exercises, and you spoke of Nicholaus observing atoms. What sort of metalworking would you like me to teach you?"

"I need to go see Verdandi." Amdirlain blurted, aware of why the moment the words were out.

"I've not covered a fraction of the changes to Vehtë."

"It's not the changes I'm bothered about. I think she's getting close to dying, and I have to say goodbye."

"Ahh. You should be able to get away with your normal robes, but change your hair colour."

"And my eyes."

Sarah rubbed her forehead. "I see this going wrong in so many ways. Try to be subtle."

"I'm just going to deliver some messages and gifts from an old friend." Amdirlain paused. "I'll let Týr know that I'm going to visit Verdandi. Do you think he'll object?"

She caught the attention she'd gained by mentioning his name and smiled.

"You can drop by if you want, Týr."

A clean-shaven man in a mithril riveted chain hauberk and open-faced helm appeared, his chin level with her brows. Týr brushed back a lock of russet hair from his brow as he eyed her. Satisfied with what his senses reported, he extended his sole hand to Amdirlain. "I didn't know you were free of the curse. There was certainly an attention-grabbing amount of energy in your use of my name, Amdirlain."

"Well met, Týr," Amdirlain returned, shaking his hand and enjoying that she was unaffected by his aura.

"Verdandi has been holding on for years, hoping she might speak to you again as herself."

The implication drew a wince from Amdirlain. "She didn't want to risk losing emotional memories from your Domain's Wellspring?"

Týr shook his head. "It washes some memories away. The uncertainty and emotional pain she suffered for years over Torm's fate would probably be among those she'll let go of to become a Celestial. Assuming her Soul doesn't dissolve in the Wellspring to form a new Soul or Celestial."

I don't think she'd give herself up so completely.

"Could you provide me with a location to transfer over?"

"Primordials." Týr snorted. "Just be careful exiting the planar boundary and don't allow an energy release."

"I'm glad someone warned me," Amdirlain grumbled. "In that case, I'll use somewhere outside the kingdoms and fly to Eyrarháls."

"Republic," Týr corrected. "You'll get strange looks using such archaic terms. Eyrarháls is the name of the southern suburb of a city now. The locals named it Southgate, since the gnomes started diplomacy with them, though the dwarves call it Stonegate."

Gnomes talking to humans?

Sarah smiled innocently. "A few things I've not had time to touch on."

"I'm going as an Elf. We can never keep up with you humans and your quick changes." Amdirlain huffed.

Týr laughed and patted her shoulder good-naturedly. "I'll let Verdandi know you're coming. What name will you use?"

"Amdirlain is an elven name. Would anyone believe it's even me?"

"None of my priests have ever met another Elf named Amdirlain, and there is a very prominent college named after you in the city."

"Perhaps she could tell the guards to expect J."

He clasped her forearm and shook it gently. "The news of your good health will please many. I'll request that Fenrir guides you in transitioning to the Material Plane, but I don't know how fast she'll get here. I would recommend that you keep away from the wizards' college."

"That's okay. I've had ample experience slipping through Wizard and Artificer wards."

"When you were a Hidden." Týr vanished.

"Bugger, he got in the last word," Amdirlain grumbled.

Sarah shrugged. "Still think this is a good idea?"

"Maybe not, but I owe her. She took a chance on me and helped Livia. I need to say my farewells."

Amdirlain had only returned to practice for a few minutes when a Message orb spun by her shoulder.

"Don't jump me, cub. My mate says you need lessons."

She used the theme in the orb to provide an acknowledgement.

A heavily muscular woman, nearly three metres tall, clad in worn leather armour, her ember-red hair was a heavy curtain around her. She parted a few locks with a pale hand to reveal one amber eye. The surrounding air smelled faintly of wood smoke and fur. "Amdirlain, my mate says you need help to access worlds."

The feral yet protective theme that screamed from the woman made her identity clear.

"Fenrir. I appreciate you taking the time to help me so quickly."

A line of white teeth showed through Fenrir's hair, and she brushed the locks to one side and fixed Amdirlain with an exuberant grin. "You didn't even flinch."

"I'll quake before your wild woman act next time," Amdirlain drawled.

Sarah rolled her eyes at the pair, and Fenrir winked at her before focusing on Amdirlain again.

"Are you sure you want to go to the Material Plane? The wilderness on any continent is a patch compared to the Outlands or the Beastlands."

"I'm not worried about the wilderness. I've a friend to see."

Fenrir nodded, and with quick motions, she secured her wild hair into thick braids, exposing her tanned, sharp features. When she'd secured all of her locks, she tied the end off with a battered, blood-stained strap. "Pack is important. Be warned, the Mana flows are fragile and thin compared to the inner or outer planes."

"I'm aware."

"Let's start with the basics. Getting out into an uncivilised world isn't a problem. However, accessing those with a large enough population for the Planar Barrier to form can be a pain. It's best to use a natural portal or rift. A standard Gate won't attune to your natures properly, and will limit the strength that can pass through and cause you to shed essence reserves. That causes environmental disruptions, from shockwaves in the ley lines to massive cyclones, depending on how much of your reserves you lose."

"Can you make one attuned to your natures?"

"It takes mortals on the Material Plane assembling it for you, and they might get it wrong. I once went to a world and manifested as a guy because they'd used the wrong runes, which wasn't very comfortable, and none of my clothing fit."

I'll have to experiment and see if I can make a summoning staff to do the job.

"Terrible."

"Anyway, natural ones flex with their surroundings, so you let your essence wash over them and attune them to avoid the hassle. I know one strong enough to handle you on Vehtë."

"Anything I should know about?"

"It might be better to wait and send an Avatar to Vehtë. You don't want to get Planar Locked, especially with your current strength."

"Aside from the century on my Home Plane, why?"

"The tightness is uncomfortable and makes it hard to change. I've never refined my nature further in any realm while Planar Locked. So it's better to send avatars, which are just an investment in time and essence, than risk an obstruction to your growth. You're still in danger of being killed permanently on your Home Plane."

"What's the downside of an Avatar?"

"They're nowhere near as strong. Regardless of your future growth, they might manifest your strength as a Fallen, and some find them distracting since they split their focus. As a new Primordial, you'd probably only be able to maintain one, and it would take a year to form."

As the knot of tension in her shoulders wound warningly tighter, Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. "I don't think Verdandi has a year."

"Then don't go picking fights on the Material Plane." Fenrir opened a Gate that showed a bubbling lava beyond. "The strongest natural portal I know about opens from the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma to a volcano near the Norse's old lands on Vehtë."

"Why use the strongest?"

"Less internal pressure in it, so it'll be easier to hold on to your reservoirs. Keep a mental wall around your essence when you cross the threshold to prevent spills and don't linger."

"What image do you use?"

"Soaking wet fur weighing me down and cooling my flesh."

"When I get back, can I ask you a favour? I'd like to talk to you about the approaches you've used to refine your nature."

Fenrir leaned down and nosed Amdirlain's cheek. "Your people guarded my mate during the Gods' War. There are no favours between us, only helping pack."

Amdirlain blinked in surprise.

"Pay attention, cub." Fenrir pushed her through the Gate into the magma.

Though still immune to fire, the combined energies of earth and fire struck differently, and Amdirlain hurriedly threw additional protections up.

Fenrir dived beneath the bubbling surface towards an eddy formed by material churning back and forth through a Portal to the Material Plane.

She visualised the wireframe of her form displayed in Lethe's vault and continually swept her essence reservoir through it as she followed Fenrir across the threshold. With a sensation like peeling velcro, Amdirlain felt some of it yank free and rush away through ley lines and into the atmosphere. A sudden Polar Vortex through North Europe, and a rush of animals struck by Mana transformation heralded her first transition into the Material Plane.

Fenrir paused in the magma chamber far beneath the slumbering volcano and waved a farewell to Amdirlain before passing back through the portal. Amdirlain orientated herself and found they'd emerged from a volcano in Iceland. She checked on the situation with the red dragons populating England. She found barriers enclosing them around the region of London, and swarms of kobolds populating the countryside, harvesting resources, and mining. Roher's energies were among the creators of the massive ritual circles that empowered the barriers. Though the creation of the circles had been done with True Song, they were objects that other races could create. The thought of Grendel still living in the frozen north alerted her to the storm swelling from her arrival, and she stilled it with a few notes. The surge through the ley lines wasn't something she could as easily suppress without risking many, and she opted to let it run its course.

Some will find the transformed creatures to be bountiful food.

An update nudged against her awareness, and Amdirlain learned of the progress made by a Thought Form she'd released in the Abyss. A golden Phoenix appeared on her wrist, and Amdirlain fed it with half her Psi reserves and a point of Primordial essence. The entity screeched in wordless surprise and flared its wings wide, buffeting the surrounding magma. It leapt upwards and shifted across the planes to return to hunting in the Abyss.

[Thought Form [S] (86->87)

Note: Keep that up and you'll have another Asta looking for treats.]

I'll stop by and give him some before I return to Sarah.

Amdirlain teleported into the open sky and took off towards Greenland, blurring past it in a stream of pure energy.

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

Moloch's PoV

The eternal flames of Culerzic's sky were no more, and the utter darkness smoothed even typical demonic senses. Those demons without Affinity to Darkness kept to well-lit locations or stumbled helplessly about in the oppressive atmosphere. It lay like a thick shroud across the limits of his Domain, hampering trade and causing other problems.

A four-metre-tall Balor looked uncomfortable standing on the strip of carpet that ran down the middle of his polished white marble throne room. His voice became a strained whisper as he continued reading the long scroll of problems. The start of which now spilled over his clawed feet, and he held the exposed spindle between shaking talons.

"Reports say the collars outside your Domain all failed, and most succubi have fled. Tests show they continue failing for anything collared—succubi or otherwise—if they exit your Domain." The demon swallowed nervously.

Moloch ground his teeth. "What else?"

"The conquest of Lady Tephros's Domain is complete, but no sign of her has been discovered. Her advisors tell the same story: she left close to a millennium ago, and the battles we fought were all run from the meticulous contingency orders she left." The Demon swallowed yet again as he turned the spindle, and the last section of the scroll showed.

She kept the loyalty of her hordes for nearly a thousand years, and yet I have the morons responsible for this mess serving me. Recent days have seen centuries of progress undone.

"Read it."

"It's only a single line. I'll go get more information."

A slight focus of his attention caused the Balor to wilt; Moloch's fingers left impressions on the enchanted metal. "Read it."

"A survivor reported on the destruction of the adamantine trade caravan from Kaputerv. They saw a flash of gold feathers before the carrier beasts, their fellow guards, and all the cargo vaporised."

An outpouring of spells lit the exterior courtyard through the throne room's wide window; the lightning and Mana bursts were dazzlingly bright. The darkness beyond the Domain's border swallowed the cascade of light, leaving only his screams to advertise the Balor's fate over the hours of slow torture.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.