grail knight monty but the Bugs won

The morning came far too fast for Capsize’s taste. The beauty of the stars faded from view as pinkish-orange light overtook the sky. The passing of time was a different kind of beautiful sight; one Capsize had taken in every moment of. Despite the looming dread it brought forth into her, and despite how she had seen a hundred different sunrises from so many different ports, she found herself paying such attention to the changing of the sky.

The slow turning of the sky from the inky depths of night, dusted with the shining lights of the stars, to the mixing of yellows, oranges, and pinks as the sun’s rays began to spread across the world. Those colours fading away until all that was left was a pleasant, familiar blue. She found herself completely enchanted by it despite how utterly ordinary it technically was.

She wished she could capture it somehow, bottle it to keep forever. This moment with Foxx lying beside her in a position that had somehow become comfortable after so many hours just felt right somehow. Her heart craved to stay in it. However, she knew that was just her attempt to find any reason to not do her duty as she should. Continuing to lay here pretending she was within some different world was letting herself live in a dream. It was time to wake up.

Despite desperately wishing for an excuse to keep staring at the sky, she knew what she had to do today. To keep Ianite at any sort of strength, she needed to retrieve her champion. Without his location or any good way of learning it, there was only one way for her to do that quickly. At least, if this went the worst way it could there was no risk of her losing her soul to the devil.

She rose to her feet, stretching her aching limbs. The pain of movement wasn’t nearly enough to make her regret her activity for the night. A night under the stars aboard a ship was a nice break from everything. A moment of peace that she had desperately needed after all she had faced since coming to this little realm. It hadn’t helped with the exhaustion with her – how could anything at this point – but it was nice to have a single night where she did nothing.

Now, though, she did have tasks that needed to be done. No more time for herself when her goddess awaited her action. Not that she held the right to complain about that. She had chosen this quest, after all.

Beside her, Foxx rose. Capsize could feel her eyes on her. Though she did her best not to react, the gaze set a guilt in her. She didn’t know why. She hardly knew Foxx, really. Yet the woman had stayed here with her all-night, laying in silence despite the mass of questions she must surely hold. She had been a desperately needed comforting presence.

How had the captain rewarded her? She had lied to her, said that she had nothing to worry about with the method she had to save Sparklez. It was a bold-faced deception that would be proven wrong the moment she attempted to use it. Another in a long line she had told in relation to this mission which had led her to this state of failure. Yet still, she kept telling them. What else could she do when she was in so deep?

She tried to just ignore how Foxx’s eyes were boring into the back of her head as she committed to moving. Whatever the woman wanted to say, it remained within her head. Capsize wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than her asking directly about the plan. At the very least, it didn’t slow her down, but was that a good thing?

Despite the early hour, none of those she went to collect were asleep. This was odd for all three. She had rarely seen the champions about before the sun was properly up, but she guessed that no one on the island had gotten any more sleep than she had. Tom certainly didn’t look to have gotten any.

Capsize felt for the lad. It didn’t seem natural for him to have dark circles under his eyes. Nor for him to be so lacking in energy. He was supposed to be a restless ball of chaotic activity, but instead he seemed barely holding together any more than he was the day prior.

Jericho was, at least, acting his usual self. He still had a look of tiredness about him, but overall, he didn’t appear off in the way that Foxx and Syndicate did. It was a normalcy Capsize appreciated, even if she somewhat doubted that he was okay as he was acting.

Then there was her brother…

Capsize hadn’t exactly wanted to go to the cove to retrieve him. As much as a part of herself knew she was being unfair to him, that didn’t mean she wanted to apologise. Maybe that was something he deserved, but a certain bitterness still sat upon her tongue. What they really needed was a long and complicated discussion about everything she had been hiding, but gods knows that she didn’t have the energy for that. Even if she did, it would only cause her to waver in her decision and truly, she couldn’t afford that.

However, she couldn’t just forget about him. That wasn’t actually a solution to anything. Even if it was, she needed Red to take back Sparklez’ soul for their Lady so she could damn well suck up her own feelings and retrieve her brother. Any conversation he wanted to have after last she’d just need to stomach.

She should’ve predicted he wouldn’t want anything of the sort. When had he been anything other than avoidant? She’d gotten to the cove expecting him to, at the very least, still be upset, but instead there Redbeard was acting as though everything was normal. It was frankly odd seeing that, even if she hadn’t exploded at him not that many hours ago, the situation they were stuck in was beyond dire. Yet he smiled when she appeared.

It knocked her sick to her stomach in a way worse than if he’d yelled at her. She had understood for quite some time that her brother had a gift for deception. A useful talent even if he would never allow anyone to say so. After all, she lacked such skill herself and now she felt as though she was spiralling into distrust with everyone around her. However, having it so clearly used against her made her wish that she didn’t know him a liar.

Maybe she could pretend he was being genuine. His smile looked so real and welcoming. But what she had said and thought last night kept repeating in her head. All her rage about everything had been directed towards him, there was no possible way he could be happy to see her. With that thought, another cloying question entered her mind and would not leave, no matter how she tried to push it away. If the only thing stopping Red from currently fooling her was concrete knowledge, how often had he fooled her in such a way in the past?

That question clawed at her, threatened to stop her in her tracks for how much she had failed him, yet she couldn’t dwell on it. No matter how much she wished to pick herself apart. She could handle it later, if indeed she had one. Right now, she had a duty and there was little point in putting it off.

So, she began the walk to Sparklez’ house. She was met with the same mild dread she typically had when approaching the man’s home, though from a different source given that its owner wasn’t about to make an appearance. Not until this was over, anyway.

The others trailed behind her, surprisingly quiet considering their general dispositions and the fact she hadn’t actually told the majority anything yet. It wasn’t until they entered the forest surrounding the house, the shadow of the great tree blocking out the morning light, that anyone thought to question what they were doing.

“Shouldn’t we be headed to the docks,” Jericho asked in a way that didn’t really sound like a question. Rather he was clearly attempting to correct their direction, as if she had come this way accidentally. Capsize couldn’t bring herself to be annoyed at the attempt. Frankly, she was too tired, stuck with the sort of weariness that made bones ache.

“No need. Ianite managed to make contact with me last night,” She replied simply, as if her goddess hadn’t been a crying mess that had barely had the strength to talk with her. It was just so much easier to keep it to the basics. She’d learned that lesson years ago. Everything went smoother if she pretended everything had come easily. Or maybe she was just searching for ways to not look incompetent. “There’s no need to go to Ianerea. With what she told me, I have a method to get Sparklez back today.”

Those words hung in the air. The sparse murmuring that had been happening behind her completely fell away leaving her stomach to become a pit. Her throat was already dry trying to think up a way to explain it without them figuring out the true risks. The precarious balance she was maintaining felt ready to topple.

She waited for their questions to begin, though they didn’t. Was the extra time to think that granted her a mercy? It certainly didn’t feel like one.

The rest of the short walk that left her on Sparklez’ porch looking down at the others felt like a trek to the gallows. She, the condemned, stood atop them alone, forced to face those she owed answers she couldn’t give. Unlike the day prior, Red remained standing with the champions rather than herself. Just another person she owed answers to.

She swallowed down the hurt it caused. She deserved his judgement. After what she had said yesterday, what she had thought, she didn’t deserve him to be stood by her.

She stood facing them all, still waiting for their questions. Surely one of them would have something to say, would spare her from having to break the silence herself.

“We can get Jordan back today?” The shaky voice of Tom didn’t give her the clarity of mind she had wished a question would. It just made the tightness in her throat worse. He shouldn’t sound like that, it didn’t feel at all natural. “Did she learn where the prison was?”

That became yet one more lump in her throat that she had to fight through to reply.

“No. Ianite remains unsure of where she’s imprisoned, but what she did know made me realise we had Sparklez’ whereabouts wrong,” She spoke as though her goddess had been intentionally giving this information rather than having it coaxed out of her in the middle of a devastated breakdown. That was something she was practised at from giving messages to the church, acting as though there had been no emotions in her conversations with Ianite because she wasn’t expected to act as anything other than a vessel for her words.

Still, despite her being well accustomed to this practice, she found herself avoiding Foxx’s eyes. Seeing them to remind her of the truth would break her resolve, she knew it would. “Furia was lying. Sparklez isn’t being held in the same place as she is. Ianite had no idea where he was.”

These words descended upon the group before her. She made herself watch as the faces of the three who didn’t already know turned to shock and confusion. She waited for their anger, tried to prepare to take it. That was what she needed to do, part of her job that she needed to just cope with. If she couldn’t stand strong, she wasn’t worth her title.

That anger did begin to crack through as Jericho stepped forward. There was danger in his eyes, his teeth bared. It was a look that she saw often upon the champions, one that reminded her that these people weren’t quite human. It would do her well to remember that.

However, she had been interacting with them for a while now. She had very little reason to fear them, even if Jericho did look ready to pounce.

“I’m sorry, is that supposed to be good news?” He growled.

She kept a level stare at him, trying to not rise to his aggression. She’d expected this reaction. She just needed to keep going.

“Maybe not on the surface of it, but it means—”

“It means that we have no way of finding him!” He cut through her, ignoring her stated reason for bringing them here. That did frustrate her, set her with a familiar bite between her teeth. She almost wanted to just physically fight him to get all the hatred out of her system. That was the way the champions settled their differences, so why shouldn’t she?

It would make the situation worse. She knew that. However, knowing did very little to stop the bubbling boil her thoughts were stewing within. She could sense the same from him, a want to make this physical to just release frustrations more than anything else. Maybe she should let him lunge so she could fight back.

“Our friend is gone and that’s somehow fine?!”

“For gods’ sake Tucker! Will you let her speak!” Instead, it was Foxx who cut through the air, sounding more annoyed than Capsize had ever heard her. Jericho seemed taken aback, looking ready to argue with her instead until she glared at him. Those green eyes hit him at full force, and the fight was gone from him for the moment. He simply folded his arms and turned his own glare away from both women.

Capsize gave a thankful smile to Foxx, trying to ignore how worried those eyes suddenly looked when they touched her.

“As I was saying,” She saw Jericho’s scowl deepen, but he remained silent. “The fact he’s not being kept in a prison designed to hold a goddess means I should be able to teleport him out.”

Those words jolted the man. That anger, the viciousness in his eyes, dropped immediately. She half-wondered if he even believed her despite knowing he’d experienced her gift in this magic just yesterday. She tried to shake away that thought. Where had all this self-doubt come from?

“Wait, are you serious?” His tone had entirely flipped. She tried to not be annoyed about that. It was, after all, good for her if he dropped the attitude. However, that didn’t budge that part of herself that felt offended.

She made herself breathe through it despite how little that did. She couldn’t let negative emotions control her. Not right now.

“Aye, I—” Again she forced a breath as this was proving far harder than she’d thought it would. She knew that she had no choice in what she had to do yet every moment it grew greater, her throat felt tighter. She wanted someone to stop this. However, she couldn't be that person. She forced herself to continue. “If I’d known yesterday that he was being kept in a different place to Ianite, I would’ve done this then.”

Was that a lie? It sat on her tongue like one, leaving that bitter taste. Would she be doing something so risky had Ia not made her need for Sparklez rescue clear? She didn’t know the answer for certain. She wanted to believe that she would’ve, that she wouldn’t have left the man in the clutches of the devil when she could free him, but there was such a tiredness within her at all of this. Maybe that belief was her just attempting to pretend this was the inevitable conclusion so she could stop feeling so nervous about it.

“Well, what are we waiting for then?” Jericho now wore a great smile on his face as if he hadn’t been questioning her half a minute ago. Of course, that was how the champions worked. One second, they were at each other’s throats, the next they were best friends. Maybe it was a compliment to be treated the same way.

“Just need a focus. Something that links me and Sparklez to represent him seeing that I don’t actually know where he is,” She replied despite how Jericho’s question had clearly been rhetorical. They’d quickly forget everything she’d been saying when she said why she’d brought them here. “We need to get into Sparklez’ vault.”

The glint that appeared in Jericho’s eyes was something wild. It was impossible to tell how dire a situation they were in from the look plastered upon him.

“Oh, we can do that,” He said, as if he had been waiting for this moment his entire life. He took a hold of Tom’s arm, half-dragging the zombie as he quickly headed inside. Though the undead champion didn’t hold quite the same excitement, he did appear less shaken. Nothing got the champions distracted like permission to steal from each other.

As her friends disappeared inside, Foxx remained hesitant. She was still worried, Capsize could tell that much, but she didn’t say anything. She looked as though she wished to, like there were words in her head just waiting to be said, but they didn’t emerge. She looked down at her feet and followed after her friends.

Capsize slumped, leaning on the railing, wishing her thoughts weren’t endlessly dwelling on every tiny little detail. Most of them were meaningless little details that she was making bigger than they really were. She ran a hand over her face. Why couldn’t she just shift this exhaustion?

“Captain?” Redbeard spoke for the first time that day. His voice was hoarse and unsure in a way that clawed at her. How badly had she fucked up everything that her own brother sounded like that when speaking with her? She barely conjured the energy to look up at him. His face was difficult to read. Maybe he was just scared to show concern after her reaction last night. She could hardly blame him if that was the case.

“Yes?” She prompted, trying to not sound snippy despite how goddamn tired she was. They didn’t have much time before the champions would realise they hadn’t followed. If he had something to say, it was best he did it quickly.

He swallowed, clearly scared she was going to bite his head off, but he did continue.

“Last time you teleported someone who you didn’t have an approximate location on, you broke multiple ribs,” He somehow managed to sound neutral when recounting that fact, as if he hadn’t realised she was desperately wishing to keep that secret. She should’ve counted on him to remember. He’d been very involved, after all. Yet still, she’d hoped he wouldn’t mention it, that her cruelty the day before had been enough to drain any concern he might’ve had for her.

The fact he had waited until the champions left was at least better than if he’d spoken up immediately, she supposed. “Rupert said the only reason it wasn’t worse was that you were teleporting me.”

The fact he wasn’t saying anything directly made it feel worse. Like pointing out a storm, the knowledge that it was about to hit didn’t leave just because no one acknowledged it. It just let the nervous anticipation build further.

She remembered, of course, the incident he was referring to. It was years ago now, back when they lived in relative normality. Back then, their biggest trouble had been rough seas and skyrites. The latter had been the cause of trouble that day.

She still didn’t know how it had happened. Something had gone unbelievably wrong and the end result was her brother taken prisoner. She hadn’t known at the time where they’d taken him. Red had recalled later being imprisoned upon an airship, but all she’d had to go off was the note left behind by his captors. Whatever fate they’d had planned for him, it was undoubtedly an unpleasant one.

So, she had acted. Ianite had given her the power to save people. Though that had mostly meant retrieving people who fell overboard, that use case clearly applied to such a kidnapping. She had done her usual action, finding his string was second nature, and teleported him back to her as she had so many others. The moment she had, she’d blacked out from the sudden and immediate backlash to her decision.

She’d ended up out of commission for a week after finally arriving home. It should’ve been much longer, but the decision was made to use some of Ianerea’s limited potions supplies to heal her. That week had been filled with so many lectures from officials about not using her powers impulsively, as if she would’ve made any other decision had she thought about it for longer. Only her crew had given her any sympathy.

Of course, the event had stuck within Red’s head. He’d gotten it in the neck just as much as her. Half the officials – arseholes that they were – had blamed him for her injuries because he’d been captured in the first place.

“The champions have potions coming out their arses. Long as I don’t instantly die, I’ll be fine,” She said as though she wasn’t half-convinced that would be the outcome of her action. Maybe she’d get lucky and just once more black out in immeasurable pain. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Red looked at her oddly, as though he didn’t understand her one bit.

“Bit of a risk, isn’t it? Do you really need Sparklez back that badly?” Capsize was sure he hadn’t meant anything by it. He was clearly attempting to express concern. But the way he said it, it made her tense. She tried to bite back the festering anger she had allowed to explode yesterday, pressing nails into her palm to give herself anything else to channel the rage towards.

“Do I need back the man who constantly harasses me with encouragement from half the people here?” No matter her attempt, she couldn’t shift the annoyance from her tone. Did she want the man dead with his soul in the clutches of Lord Dianite? No, that much she could admit. However, she couldn’t exactly say she missed him nor his constant attempts to get her to go out with him.

There was a flash across her brother’s face, as if he was considering for the first time that her interactions with Sparklez hadn’t been fun. Maybe he was considering his own part in it all, thinking about how he’d added to it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to allow him to dwell on that. “No. I’d be fine never seeing him again.”

She let that confession sit for a moment before looking up.

“But Ianite needs her champion back if she’s ever to regain her strength, so what choice do I have?” She asked no one. Without waiting for any sort of answer, not allowing him the opportunity to talk her down from this self-immolation, she pushed off the railing and headed inside. Silently, her brother followed her, as much a comfort as not.

She heard the champions before she saw them, back to that noisy bickering that so defined them. It wasn’t long before she descended down the stairs to actually see the three. They stood among the shattered remains of the vault’s glass doors. No doubt when he returned, Sparklez would demand a trial for the damage done. That thought left her smiling at the idea of the chaos.

She strode past them, boots crunching across the glass shards. Normally, she might’ve allowed the messing around to continue for some time longer, but today? Today, she had no desire to drag anything out. She knew exactly what she needed. She walked through the cramped, chest-filled room to Sparklez’ bed. It was right where she had last seen it: the damn rose.

Frankly, she didn’t understand why Sparklez put so much focus on it. It was some random thing she’d picked up then gave him when prompted. He was the one that attributed meaning to it. He was the one who got weird about his name being misspelt or if it even was a rose as opposed to some other flower.

However, it was also the only thing that really linked her and Sparklez. Even if that felt a shaky description, she needed something to act as a focus. Gods, she hoped it would be good enough.

As she plucked the flower from its frame in the wall, the others filed in behind her. She tried to ignore the growing pit in her stomach. She walked to the centre of the room.

“So, I’ll get Sparklez here. Then I need you lot to do the next part,” She spoke as she should, like a captain in control, like there wasn’t a horrid dread building inside her. It was hard even now to surrender Ianite’s needs to other people. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, but she still held that desperate want to be her goddess’ only hero. “Do whatever the hell it is you guys do to make Sparklez respawn here rather than back in Dianite’s clutches. Then take him to the temple he built in the End. When you’re there, Skipper, you kill Sparklez’ in Ianite’s name and then it’s as if none of this happened.”

It wasn’t overly complicated. There might be resistance from the devil himself which in turn could take Tom’s support away from them, but still, what choice did she have but to entrust the task to them all?

“Why won’t you be coming?” Foxx asked the question Capsize had been hoping to avoid having to answer. It might’ve been manageable had Jericho been asking. Not that she disliked that lad, but his tone wasn’t generally concerned. Foxx, though, she sounded beyond worried.

It was odd how much the pirate had been hearing such a tone directed towards herself since last night. She hadn’t heard it in years before now. Was it supposed to be comforting?

She gave an attempt at a smile to the lass.

“This power is a gift from Ianite which means it has balance to account for. It lashes back at me. Usually, no worse than an ender pearl, but this is a fair bit more complex a job than I normally use it for,” She felt like she was utterly failing to be convincing. Her nerves were leaking through. Was that normal? Even if the result wasn’t bound to be as dire as she suspected, it was still reasonable she would hold nerves about using an ability that would injure her. Right?

Still, she couldn’t let them reject the plan. “I’ll be wiped out for a few hours. Nothing potions can’t fix, but it’ll be better for you lot to move without me before Dianite can attempt to get Sparklez back.”

She didn’t see sureness in any of them, which just made her feel more like she was gargling glass. She was betraying them, she knew. It was so wrong to lie to them to trick them in this way, but really it was just rebalancing everything to the way it was supposed to be. She was meant to have died. Retrieving Sparklez was just restoring the scales she’d inadvertently shifted.

“But, if we leave you alone, what if he comes after you?”

“I’ll be fine. Focus on Sparklez,” She managed a smile.

Despite how Foxx didn’t seem all that convinced, she raised no more objections.

Capsize took a breath. Her gaze drifted down to the fragile flower currently resting between her fingers. It’d probably end up just as broken as she did after this. For now though, it remained just as pristine as it should.

She allowed the world around her to blur, focusing only on the red petals. The strings of those around her appeared at the edge of her vision, reminding her of those depending on her, of those who were going to watch her break. Detractions, she had to remind herself. Her only focus had to be Sparklez.

Each second that passed, a pain grew in her chest. It was like she had been forced underwater, that same burning in her lungs. She was drowning, except she didn’t have the option of coming up for air. Sparklez’ string, unlike what she had expected, hadn’t made itself clear alongside the others.

Why was she meeting such resistance? She knew this would be painful, deadly even, but she’d thought she could at least complete the task quickly. She chastised herself for that naivety. Why didn’t she expect the devil to have set up precautions to stop her?

Still, this wasn’t impossible, she reminded herself. It might take longer than she thought, but this was a task she could complete. She had to, for Ia’s sake. No matter what it cost, she would get it done.

She forced her focus to narrow to only the magic she was performing. Ignore the pain. Ignore the growing noise around her. Ignore the way the petals were beginning to smoke. Just find the damn string.

As she fought through a new wave of pain, something cracking as this power did its best to crush her chest, she saw it. Hazy and blinking, there was the braided purple twine she knew to be Sparklez. She could’ve sighed in relief if her lungs had the room to function.

She locked her eyes upon it, forcing it to be the only thing at all in her mind. The more she focused, the more the pain in her chest grew, the more solid the soul thread became.

It looked wrong. Certainly, it was Sparklez’ she was sure of that. But the perfect braids were fraying, the purple forced away, red strands haphazardly knotted in. This was what the devil had done in a day?

It’d be fixed. That’s all she could think to keep herself on task. The damage would be fixed. She just needed to get a hold and pull.

Her fingernails grazed the string, not getting a grip, but managing to tempt it closer to her. Close enough now for her to wrap a finger around it. Finally, she began to pull.

It disappeared. The very instant she tried to do what she had been fighting to, the string disappeared.

All her focus dropped at the shock of it, allowing her to breathe. Every sensation she had been ignoring returned at once, an overwhelming crash of a great wave. All the pain began to consume her, but before she could buckle, a force hit her square in the stomach.

For a moment, she flew backwards. Then she hit the back wall. A great pain in her head joined so many others. The world went dark.

There was a splash. Then everything faded.

⚖ ⚖ ⚖

It all happened so quickly.

Capsize had begun her task, her gaze becoming far off as if she was suddenly lost in another world. It didn’t seem to be anything to worry about. The tears forming in her eyes and the odd pattern her breathing started to take could’ve been ignored. Until the rose began to catch alight.

At first, it was just the tiniest ember, but far too quickly for it to be in any way natural, the entire flower was engulfed. The flames, hungry still, latched upon the captain’s sleeve. Just as they had consumed the flower, they crept far too fast up the fabric.

That was enough for Sonja. This wasn’t going on any longer. She made a grab for the rose, intending to just stop this before any real damage was done. Her arm was caught by Tucker.

“Jordan’s not back! If we stop now, we won’t be able to try again!”

“What the hell does that matter?! She’s going to die!” She couldn’t wrench herself free of him. The fire was nearing the pirate’s elbow, all the while Capsize appeared oblivious, reaching towards something unseen. How were they all okay with watching her become a human candle? “Skipper!”

The man didn’t acknowledge her. He appeared frozen in place, staring at his sister in horror but making no move to aid her.

The fox turned her gaze towards the other man in the room.

“Tom!” She begged. He’d saved her yesterday. Surely, he didn’t want this.

For a moment, the zombie seemed lost. He blinked and Sonja almost lost faith. Then he lunged for the flower, tearing it from the captain’s grip.

Capsize’s eyes came back to focus in an instant, looking bewildered. Then, without warning, she flew backwards. There was a thump as she hit the wall. Her eyes once more lost focus as she slumped and fell into the water basin.

“Capsize!” The shock allowed her to escape Tucker’s grip, rushing to pull the unconscious woman from the water. Fingers fumbled for a potion to fix the damage. She was breathing. The water had extinguished the flames. So, this would be fixable – right?

Sonja knew the only way to guarantee that was acting fast. The liquid would’ve already been down her throat had the booming laughter not began to echo through the room. The last person any of them wanted to see had manifested within the vault with them.

“Now what are you all doing down here, hiding out of my sight?” Lord Dianite asked as he appeared where Capsize had been in the middle of the room. He didn’t fit at all within the cramped space, horns scraping across the ceiling. Still, he stood with the knowledge that he owned the place. “Surely not robbing your dear missing friend.”

“He’s not missing! You kidnapped him!” Tucker yelled, having no hesitation in pulling out his sword and pointing it squarely at the god. He didn’t care at all if threats were meaningless to a deity, he’d make the devil’s smiting look like a joke if their friend wasn’t returned safe and sound. “Give him back now.”

Of course, Dianite just laughed.

“No, I think I’ll be keeping my new champion to myself for a few days longer,” He said with a smile that showed all his jagged teeth. He knew precisely what effect his words would have and took joy in drinking in the reactions.

“Wait, what?” Tom asked in genuine confusion. The entire glare of the devil landed upon him.

“Oh Thomas,” He cooed as he encroached on his space. There wasn’t room for the zombie to back away, instead leaving him forced to be pressed into a corner as the devil loomed over him. “You’ve made your loyalties quite clear.”

The dark pit eyes glanced over to the unconscious woman, resting upon the lap of the fox that threatened to pounce upon him. Tom wasn’t so oblivious as to miss the meaning.

“No, that’s—We’re just—”

“You want to play ship with the enemy? Fine. You can keep her… Though I suppose, her injuries might be a bit much for her to be any fun anymore,” He laughed, enjoying how scared his traitorous thrall appeared. If he wasn’t still potentially useful, he’d smite him where he stood. “If you come begging on your knees, I might consider taking you back with a demotion, but I have no need for a disloyal champion.”

He took the charred remains of the rose from the now shaking hand.

“But thankfully, I have a new, far better follower to replace you.”

In the early days of the realm, it was said that the Northern kingdom was largely inhabited by mechanists, magicians and artificers alike, all of whom relied heavily on the crimson ores that littered the rocky countryside as the power source behind their creations. Eventually, the process of collecting enough redstone to sustain them became too arduous to the point of it impeding on innovation; so some artificers took it upon themselves to find a better solution.

While resource gathering in swamps, artificers noticed a magical aura exuding from the blue orchids that painted its landscape, curiously in the same way the ore emitted electrical particles. Experimenting with petals and copper vessels, they discovered a magical essence that could be drawn and conducted from the flowers, drawing from the natural world in harmony w itself, containing a special affinity. In combinations with one another, they found this essence was capable of powering machines just as well as the ore could. Some would say their commitment to this methodology put them behind the technological advancements of neighboring settlements, but it never seemed to bother them all that much.

From a foundation of copper and blossom, the artificers created a guild that rooted itself in the Voltelia, a kingdom ran on this very magic. Most of its citizens become apart of this guild, dedicating their lives to that same discovery and innovation- some choosing to focus more the spiritual magic side of things, others the attunement of magic and machinery. Many of these engineers, artificers and mechanists would also come to find great companionship in their copper golem assistants, powered by the same magic that beats through the kingdom and its citizens. Folks hailing from their say that if you walk upon its grounds, through the fragrant flowers and clank of machinery, you can hear it for yourself in your own heart.

[ Voltelia's banner colors are red and eggshell white, and bear blue orchids on their coat of arms, the flower that had begun it all ]

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Bdubs:

Noble distantly related to the royal family trained in the artificer arts (the more magical side of attuning magic and machinery through different techniques). Most of his work focused on building machines in a more unconventional way that always ended up having an effectiveness not many expected xD

Easily irritated by the copper golems who enjoyed his presence over many of his colleagues. He does not understand why (its the niceness to the stable horses, they see him as very kind)

In his early days studying in the guild, he was known to be underestimated by peers, who could recognize his affinity to the natural world, just not the mechanical side of things. Aside, of course, from one-

Ethoslab

Talented mechanist who was more interested in the mechanic side of Voltelia's teaching, but nonetheless found a strong companionship with Bdubs from when they had first met. Both saw the value in each other's work and over time began to work collaboratively on a lot of things together

Before joining the guild, Etho was the apprentice of the blacksmith Odell, a jolly old man who had a fascination with immortality, and was always surrounded by many, many copper golems. While Etho had left by then, Bdubs was around to see Odell go through a transformation that left him without any memory of any of his life before that, and a much more copper-y appearance.

At a point, Etho's sights began to reach beyond Voltelia, and he sought to bring his talents to the neighboring settlement (Etho's cyberpunk city), hoping to encourage their innovation to take a different turn. Despite Bdubs' protests, he eventually leaves the guild to work his way up and become "king" of that other city.

But, Bdubs never forgets about Etho, nor holds much of a grudge (most uncharacteristic for how he typically can get) and when he gets the chance, he leaves the comfort of Voltelia's streets behind to set up base at an old outpost near a forest, hoping that whatever Etho got up to, he can find him again.

(bonus side note: I also imagine that Joel's lore could connect to this a little as well, w horseheads (thing from the natural world) powering his rainbow generator 👀 Joel isnt from Voltelia, but he heard about Bdubs and his origins, and was like hehehe i think ill pester you a little because we are the same :]c We are both normal and happy rainbows yay yay yay)