I should not have missed this…
Despite not truly blaming myself, I was still disappointed. When I first noticed that Freya and Nelya were showing discontent with the council, I should have started paying more attention to them instead of shrugging it off as squabbles and a side effect of ambition.
Well, I had not exactly ignored them. I had probed their thoughts and emotions a few times. After confirming that they had no intention of betraying either Eriavel or me, and that they genuinely had the best interests of the velmoryns in mind, I had started thinking it was merely a matter of differing opinions.
But now, watching a few discontent velmoryns huddled inside Nelya’s house, anger written across their faces, I was no longer sure.
“Have you noticed that none of the fallen are from the Crimson Tribe?” Nelya asked.
“I have,” Freya said.
“They were the weakest tribe, yet they were given all the important positions in Eriavel. What about us? Are we so inferior to them that none of our people could have been chosen instead? Could we not have governed better? Could we have done any worse than this?”
Nelya paused, as if waiting for someone else to continue.
“No wonder Othrien supports this structure. He was given the seat of High Vael while so many velmoryns were ignored. Younger ones. Stronger ones. Those who could lead better,” a young man said, his fingers brushing the dagger at his waist.
Then he shot a sharp glance at Freya.
“What of Dariel? Will your husband support us? He was also given an important role…”
“My husband was given that position because there is no one else who deserves it more,” Freya sneered.
The young man clearly wanted to argue, but Nelya’s glare stopped him.
“Dariel and I brought the Yellow Tribe to our Lord’s light, and we fought beside the Crimson Tribe against those vile mutants,” Freya said calmly, though a hint of superiority still colored her voice. “Although everything we have came through our Lord’s mercy, we fought for our place. We earned what SOME might call an advantage over others.”
She stared directly into the man’s eyes, as if daring him to say something.
For a moment, I thought he would, but Nelya intervened before the situation could escalate.
“But not everyone has earned their position,” she said reluctantly.
She could not exactly claim her own tribe had deserved more than anyone else in Eriavel. The Silver Tribe had been the only one that sided with Akrion, after all.
Freya nodded slightly, but said nothing.
“In the end, it is not the high standing of others that worries us,” Nelya continued. “It is how Eriavel… how our brothers and sisters are being led by the unworthy. If we were on the right path, would our Lord need to save us over and over again? Should we not have enough strength to protect ourselves? Should we not carry our Lord’s name proudly, instead of forcing Him to constantly reach down and save us from our own weakness?”
Freya nodded, more openly this time.
“I dare not claim our Priestess is mistaken. I admit I am not worthy to judge her, the only daughter our Lord has chosen,” Nelya said, stealing a glance at Freya, who bit the corner of her lip so faintly it was almost unnoticeable.
The faintest smile crossed Nelya’s face before she continued.
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“I merely claim our Priestess is… deceived by her love for her friends and family, and because of that, she sees no wrong in many of the mistakes they make. Otherwise, our caring and warmhearted shepherd could never have closed her eyes to the deaths of our brothers and sisters. We must demand Othrien’s removal and the appointment of our… more worthy velmoryns to important positions. Or else…”
I had seen and heard enough.
I could no longer dismiss this small rebel gathering as mere ambition, or an alliance being formed within the council. They were actively plotting against Eriavel and Tekla.
Plotting against me.
It was I who had picked Othrien, after all. Through my priestess, yes, but still by my will. They should have understood that much.
Yet as I watched them, these creatures I had brought together, given a home, and helped become more than scattered tribes, I could not bring myself to feel angry.
I felt disappointed.
Disappointed and…
What did I do wrong? I can understand why Nelya might not have loyalty or love toward me, but Freya?
I had felt Freya’s emotions toward me. I had felt how she adored and respected Tekla. What could have possibly changed in only a few months? Had I missed some important conflict? Had my complete trust in my priestess caused all this?
No.
Even if I now felt pity and love for the velmoryns, that did not mean I would lose rationality and turn a blind eye when they did wrong.
And Freya and the others had done wrong.
They had crossed a line that could not be forgiven.
The disappointment and pity I had felt quickly turned into anger, the anger of someone who had been betrayed.
For a moment, I even considered taking matters into my hands, using the very foundation of that house to raise a platform beneath them and punish them publicly. The images were already drifting through my mind when I stopped myself.
Not only was I forbidden from using my powers directly in the mortal realm, but I was also pretending to be a deity in slumber. More importantly, punishing mortals personally was unbecoming of my status. A god swinging an executioner’s sword was not an image I wanted tied to myself.
I looked at Aurelion, who was boiling with anger but doing his absolute best not to show it. Sensing my gaze, he mustered a weak smile and lowered his head.
“Everything happens according to my Liege’s will,” he said.
He has grown.
I chuckled to myself and turned back to the Window.
What should I do?
As I calmed down, I realized that punishing them myself had been a foolish instinct.
Everyone deserved a chance to explain themselves, even rebels and traitors. Letting the velmoryns handle the issue themselves was definitely the best solution in this situation.
So the simplest option was to send Tekla a vision and show her what Freya and Nelya were doing in that house. But I could not do that. My priestess believing that I was in slumber remained the best way to deceive the Night God.
I could send Aurelion, or even communicate with Avenor using tree bark and make him deal with it.
But I chose a different method.
I chose the one velmoryn who had earned my trust by slowly becoming devoted, rather than immediately accepting me as her god.
Aria was inside Vaelari’s house, showing him a book about medicine she had copied in the library.
“I did not have enough time to master the human tongue, but I did manage to understand and copy most of it,” she said, unable to suppress a satisfied smile as she watched Vaelari’s excitement.
“Thank you, Aria,” he said, gently taking the open book and moving it onto his lap. He flipped through the thick yellow pages, each motion drawing a faint creak from the binding. “So, how does it feel?”
“What?” Aria asked, a little too confused as a faint blush touched her face.
“Your new power, of course,” Vaelari said. Staring at the book, he missed Aria’s expression entirely. “How does it feel to finally attain the strength you always desired?”
“It feels… beautiful,” Aria murmured with a faint smile. “Yet… I expected something different.”
“Different? How?” Vaelari asked slowly, clearly only half listening.
Aria did not answer immediately. She played with her fingers, cleaning a small bit of dirt from beneath her thumbnail. At last, she sighed.
“There might be more to life than magic. I…”
She trailed off as a short vision settled in her mind, followed by my words, disguised as Aurelion’s voice.
“No one must disobey the order my Lord has established.”
Aria froze for a moment. Then, nodding to herself, she stood.
“I must leave,” she said.
“What? Where? Why?” Vaelari muttered, unable to understand what had just happened.
“I must wipe out the varnikeths before they spread among us.”