Dungeon Robotics 137

Hey Guys!

Louella

I looked around my room and couldn’t help but feel it had been longer than a few weeks. Even though most of it was exactly as I left it when I heard that Thonaca was attacking. I slid my hand along my desk finding the nostalgic feeling I was getting strange. A rush of footsteps told me someone was at the door just before it burst open and Ezal, looking very pregnant.

“Louella!” she shouted as she rushed at me.

I met her halfway and hugged her carefully. The sun spirits joined in as they all attempted to hug her with their tiny forms. With a smile, I broke the hug and took her in. Just like the room, it felt like it had been several months and not weeks since I last saw her. Another set of footsteps echoed just before the door was thrown in again and Valamar stepped in.

He looked much different than the last time I saw him. I knew Regan had mentioned that he’d altered him at his request to gain more power, but this was a bit much to take in. Mainly the fact that he had four arms now. “Louella! I am certainly glad to see you alive and well.”

“You, too. Never thought I’d see a man back from the dead. How is Bruce taking that?”

“The lug is doing fine. Watches me and Ezal like a hawk though. I’m worried the man might have permanent issues now.”

I laughed at that then looked back to Ezal who was silently crying as she held my hands. “And how much longer are you going to make me wait to see your baby?”

She snorted which didn’t helped her face much. I grabbed a cloth and dried her tears. “Not much, I wager. Any day now,” she replied. We moved to the couch and took a seat. Now that her tears had mostly stopped, she took in my appearance and all the sun spirits around me. “Why do these ladies look like mini you?”

“They were sort of born with my help. I suppose their sort of like your staff, Regan and I brought them into the world together. His mana and my will.”

Ezal sighed and shook her head before she looked down. “Just couldn’t let me be the first, could you?”

I held up my hands worried I’d upset her, but she jerked her head up with a grin then started laughing presumably at my expression. “Don’t worry. I understand that these things generally happen outside your control.”

“You little minx. You had me worried,” I said with a sigh as I dropped back in the couch.

“I must say, your mana pressure is almost overwhelming though. I think some of the lower tiered people are going to have a hard time being in the same room as you,” Valamar said interrupting our back and forth.

“I knew it was stronger, but is it that much so?”

I concentrated and focused on my aura. Sure enough, it was like I was trying to crush the room with my force. While I could contain it to an extent, there was no way to reign it in completely. This was one of the reason that the higher races were forced to live in the Beneath. If we weren’t in Regan’s dungeon right now, there would be all sorts of abnormal changes happening around me to due to the influx of my mana.

“Now that you mention it. I do feel like I’m being smothered. I can resist it but only a bit,” Ezal commented.

“I’ll need to speak with Lord Regan about something that can hopefully dampen the effects. Hard to be Queen if I cannot meet with my subjects,” I said shaking my head. “Speaking of. How is the situation here?”

“To be honest, it got tense around here for a few days after your disappearance. It was lucky that we only suffered minimal loss during the defense of the border or there would have been a civil war in the valley. We had the force to put down the problems before they grew to big to contain. Too many self-entitled nobles that lost everything in Lecazar and some of the fanatics at the church causing problems.”

“How is Thonaca responding to their loss?”

“Well that’s the thing. They are claiming they defeated you in a stunning move that brought our forces to their knees by taking credit for the fire elemental that we inadvertently summoned.”

“Figures. We will probably have to march ourselves and smack the grin right off the king’s face before they would say otherwise. I’m sure the church is backing them all the way.”

Ezal nodded with a frown that answered my statement. “They didn’t suffer as my causalities as they should have while the Elemental was raging above the surface. Our spies have reported that they only lost close to a hundred thousand of their forces. That’s including the ones we defeated with our forces. Something just doesn’t add up.”

It wouldn’t surprise me if the church was hiding more secrets than they let on. There was also the problem that many of their locations were infested with necromancers. Who knows what kind of unholy magic they might be using in their halls. “What was the final count of the enemy force that attacked us?”

“The numbers might not be accurate but close to three hundred thousand. They rushed the valley, so it wasn’t their full strength. Our recent reports have it that they’ve already recovered their numbers.”

“I’m sure they commoners aren’t happy about being drafted to fight a war in the middle of winter. Do you think they’ll hold off until spring like we originally thought?”

Valamar leaned forward this time. “Its hard to be sure, but I believe so. The king is already claiming victory. Without you there to refute the claims the people are believing that he was just in his actions.”

“Well then!” I said standing up sharply. “It sounds like we need a party.”

The next few hours moved quickly. I employed Regan’s automata to hurry everything and the party was ready in un-mortal speeds. I stood on the balcony overlooking the city and found that my senses had vastly improved. I could hear people talking on the streets with ease, and if I focused on someone, my vision would zoom in on them as well as my hearing.

I would have to blink to return my sight and hearing to normal. The benefit, I supposed, was that I had nearly perfect control over it. I could set my senses to whatever level of sensitivity that I wanted. I just wasn’t sure if it was from my transformation into a elemental or from reaching tier four.

“You guys enjoying that?” I asked looking at the sun spirits. They were basking in the evening glow of the sunlight. I found they were pulling the energy in and converting it to their own. Not that they needed anymore energy, but I wasn’t going to tell them to stop.

After a moment, it looked like they had their fill as they started flying towards me. I nearly jumped as one rubbed up against me and I felt a rush of energy flow into me. It looked like they were sharing it with me. Soon all fifteen had shared their energy with me and I felt energized like I had just woken up from a very good night’s sleep. 

“Thank you.” I gave each one a kiss on the forehead.

There was a fluctuation in the mana behind me. I braced myself, but I recognized it as Regan’s pattern. He stepped out with two men, or automata. One reminded me of an ancient god of lightning that was talked about in children’s stories. The other was a handsome man with long black hair. His pale skin seemed to draw in the light around him.

“We heard there was a party and I thought we should drop by,” Regan said moving from behind the two. There was another fluctuation in the mana and Alara appeared in the air before she slammed into Regan. 

“Regan!” The two men moved out of the way as he was knocked over. “Regan!”

“Alara. While I’m happier than anything to see you after a day apart, we have an audience.”

“Don’t care!”

The two men ignored them and moved over to me. “So, I hear you brought ole Glourios back huh?” the large man asked. “Ah, Duilin’s the name. We sort of met before.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Yes. The old soul that tried to take over my body.”

“Guilty.” He held up his hands. “Hey, the boss has helped me out though. So, no hard feelings I hope.”

“If Regan vouches for you then I suppose,” I replied then turned to the other man. “You look familiar.”

“I would hope so.” A familiar voice came out of the man’s mouth.

“Wrakras!” I exclaimed. “You look… good.” 

“Master helped me acquire a new body, as well as a new power.” He looked me over which felt much different now that he was so handsome. Maybe I was a bit shallower than I thought. I coughed to clear the thought. “You look quite different yourself, your majesty.”

“Thank you. Not sure I would do it again if offered to be honest.”

“Sun spirits! Damn! This place gets more interesting every second,” Duilin shouted as one of the girls was circling him.

“What do you know about sun spirits?”

“Not much. Really only their existence. They usually only live in the sun after all. Where’s their mother spirit?”

“Mother spirit?” I mouthed then thought about it. “Probably me,” I answered.

Duilin looked at me with a critical eye. “Yes, I can see the touching of sun energy on you. The undead are going to loath you.”

“Why?”

He laughed which managed to shake the room. “Because unlike the light magic, you’ll make true light. Cleansing light.”

“Well isn’t that an unexpected boon,” Regan said as he walked up to the group. Alara was hanging on his back from his neck. She had a very pleased grin on her face.

“A walking anti-undead weapon is nice to have around,” Alara added.

“Thanks,” I said with an exasperated smile. “Time to get this party started. I want those assholes from Thonaca to be able to hear it.”

“I could make that happen,” Regan said with a straight face.

“No, wait what? Really?”

He burst out laughing with Alara joining in. I shook my head at his joke then turned back to the balcony. Channeling some mana, I took to the air. Soon, I was above the entire city, with Regan next to me. He created a platform out of something transparent. While it looked like glass, it felt a hundred times stronger than that.

  “First we need to do something about that mana pressure or you might cause more than a few hearts to stop during the party.”

“I’ve been trying to suppress it, but the moment I relax it rushes out. Think you can whip up something like last time with my dress?”

Regan looked at me with a critical eye. “It would be difficult to suppress this constantly. Let me see your staff.” I held Helios out to him. He placed his hand on my head and I felt some of my mana leave my body though it was quickly replaced. The silver staff soon turned gold as it was infused with my aura. He handed it back to me. 

While I was holding the staff, my mana pressure was reduced to a more manageable point. When I released the staff, my aura spiked again. “That’s going to give someone a nasty surprise on the battlefield.”

“All part of the fun,” Regan said then gestured with a sweeping motion to the city. “The stage is set. Whenever you’re ready.”

“People of Vaihdetta!” I started and my voice was amplified to reach ever person in the city. Soon I found heads popping out of windows and streams of people crowding the street. “Thank you for loyalty in these troublesome times. Rumors of my death have been circulating as of late. I wanted to assure everyone that I am very much alive!”

I gathered some of my mana then sent a bolt of golden lightning into the air. It arced straight up until it struck Regan’s barrier where it scattered in every direction. Soon, the golden lightning made it bright as day. To top it off, I released my full mana pressure that I was keeping contained. It was like the gravity in the valley increased by a few fold. “I am alive and much more powerful. I assert again that everyone under my banner will see my protection and their freedom for suppression.”

Regan stepped forward and raised his arms. I wasn’t sure what he was planning until above the valley dozens then hundreds of airships started to appear. It was quite the display and soon the sky was blocked by the mass of vessels. The concentration of mana in the area grew to levels that probably would have caused adverse effects had we not been in a dungeon field. 

“The Queen of Vaihdetta has spoken. As the Machine Father, she has my protection and support. If you foolish mortals wish to continue to press your luck, then one day do not blame me if fire rains and metal replaces flesh. It is only her life that protects you from this fate.”

I felt mana pulse from one of the ships then a beam of energy lanced through the air towards where the fort had been. Soon, there was an explosion that formed a dome of flames that broke apart quickly. I was a bit worried we’d have another Glourios, but I also knew that Regan was more aware of mana taint than anyone as a dungeon core.

My senses let me pick up the worry and tense atmosphere among the people. I flew up to attract everyone’s attention to me. “My people. My friends and family. As long as I live, I live for all of you. Vaihdetta will grow and prosper that is set in stone. How big and wonderous it grows to be? That is determined by all of you. One person can only do so much after all.” I paused for effect. “But enough of the heavy stuff. For tonight, we celebrate my return!”

The sun spirits all flew up and light flooded out of them. All around the city, Regan’s children moved to set up feasts and drink. Music and light spilled from places around the city that Regan set up. The music was light and upbeat. It made one want to dance with your loved ones. It seemed to call for a good time and for everyone to forget the hardships of life.

Regan moved up next to me. “That went well.”

“Were you serious?”

“Very.” With that he vanished. 

I shook my head and flew down to the crowd. I planned to see as much of my city tonight as I could. My people needed to know that I was back. Plus, I wanted to enjoy the sight and knowledge of what I was always fighting for. I didn’t want the city to be a blank sheet that faded to numbers and figures on a sheet while I sat on my throne in my castle.

People rushed up to me and I addressed each person. Some of them wanted me to bless their children, homes, or farms. At least for the children, I would touch their foreheads and say a prayer to Regan. He was well on his way to becoming a true god. I understood the links a little better now and knew that people believe in him went a long way to getting him there.

The sun spirits also appeared to be having a fun time. They would play with the children. Some playing tag or other innocent games. I wasn’t sure how many people I talked to this night, but each was bright in my mind. The party was well received, and many people had a good time with their friends and families. All in all, it was a good night.