Chronicles of the Night Rose Legion

[tigra9]

Rydia felt herself get pushed out and quickly forced her head above the water with a gasp and a few coughs, she had tried to take a breath the moment she was pushed out, but being underwater she was left coughing it up now since she couldn’t breathe underwater.

Miia had turned away and turned back hearing the grunt and then coughing and quickly put her dagger away patting rydia’s back “Rydia-sama are you ok?”

“Fi.. *cough* ... fine” Rydia spoke and then looked between the guardians then quickly deducing what had been going on she held a hand up and blasted Miia with a freezing cold wind spell causing the lamia to recoil and drag herself out of the water sluggishly “you had her womb in your coils!” Rydia spoke angry

Miia whimpered “I.. I’m sorry Rydia-sama I didn’t know!”

[Whitebrand]

Aisha smirked a bit, glad that the blame had shifted from her. She decided to take advantage by lowering herself into the water, preparing to vacate the pool and leave Miia in the lurch.

[tigra9]

Rydia stood and spoke as she stood “oh don’t leave Aisha, your not off the hook yet... and if I have to go to your lake I will simply invoke a super tier magic on it as punishment” super tier magics were the most powerful spell in the game, ranking above tenth tier magic and often referred to as ‘game breaking’ spells, their effects varied by spell but there was one common trend, they took a lengthy time to cast and had a large visual effect to go along with it, and the user was rooted in place while casting the magic, and lastly after a spell was cast the user could not cast it again for a set period of time with the times for both casting and period before recast depending on the spell.

“Now then... first things first, Miia? How did you know I was inside her?” Rydia asked calmly she wanted to know how that was, it might be information useful to her in the future, and even though her back was to Aisha she was still paying attention to the mermaid, a fact she punctuated by glancing back occasionally

Miia shivered and spoke “that... that’s because we can always sense a supreme ones presence... even if their covered or disguised we will always recognize we are in the presence of you or the other supreme ones”

Rydia blinked “is that so?” She turned to face Aisha “are you also capable of this?” She asked, it would be better to double check since there was a chance it was a limited ability among the npcs

[Whitebrand]

Aisha nodded her pretty head.

“Of course,” she said. “If someone were to claim to being a Supreme One we would instantly know if it was true or false, and we can quickly go to those who call us.”

[tigra9]

Rydia hmmed putting a hand to her chin as she thought in that

Miia frowned though “only you and Bereth can instantly move to a supreme one Aisha, the rest of us have to make our way through our own legs, wings, or... well... my tail” she frowned “nobody but you and Bereth have a skill to move to another location under specific circumstances, Rosa could use the gate spell... but I think that’s about it for us guardians”

Rydia hearing all of this hmmed “is that so?” Now that she thought of it Miia was right, only Rosa was close enough to a caster able to learn gate or teleport, Adian and lucina while able to use magic didn’t have the ability to use space magic which is where one learned teleport and gate, Rydia herself could use both as they were a good utility spell, and then Bereth via plants and Aisha via water had skills similar to those spells.

[Whitebrand]

"Well the Supreme Ones could move about from room to room instantly," Aisha said. "I always wondered how they could do that."

In the game the place had been the players' base, so naturally they could quicktravel around as they pleased. Hard to see how that game mechanic might work now.

[tigra9]

Rydia sighed “it’s not as we please” she reached a hand up and moved it forward, her hand seemingly disappearing into the air and she stood there for a moment before pulling her hand out of the distortion that had appeared holding her guild ring “this ring is what allowed that, the holder of this ring can instantly move from one place to any other place inside the castle.... or connected to the castle”

This was a basic game function, players never got any convenient abilities to move freely in the game, if one wanted to fast travel to another location instantly they needed to know the aforementioned teleport or gate spells or pay someone who did to move about, a guild after conquering their guild base gained the right to produce special guild rings that granted them the ability to teleport within their base, however any player who obtained the ring (by whatever means) was entitled to this ability.

Rydia closed her hand around the ring, she had a stockpile of the rings but right now she didn’t have any intention of handing them out “in the world before convenient traveling means were limited, even despite your... quirky... abilities Aisha what you have still required some hoops and hurdles just to obtain” she smiled “that’s why I know no matter what the supreme one who made you loved you, no matter what happened afterwards” she shrugged “regardless back to the important stuff” she quietly contemplated for a period before asking “oh yes, what was it you intended to do if Aisha had actually eaten me Miia?”

Miia frowned “I would have killed her lady Rydia... among us able to eat others an agreement was made we would never eat a supreme one, no matter the circumstances” she bowed her head, she had recovered from the blast of cold from before “if any one of us did so the punishment would be severe for committing such a heinous act upon you the ones to whom we dedicate everything... If say I had done it, even accidentally... I would willingly accept death for it aswell”

Rydia listened to Miia’s response, it was filled with determination and resolve that in truth, shocked Rydia.. not that she would say anything since it was protecting her of course “are you of the same mind on it Aisha?” She asked wanting confirmation more then anything, if she had to fear an npc capable of eating her.. well.. eating her... then this would be a large problem to rectify, while she awaited confirmation she walked over to an edge of the tub and sat down, still in between the guardians, but both now where in positions she could see them at the same time.

[Whitebrand]

“I am,” she said immediately. “If such an act was irreversible, of course. Death would be far too merciful, if truth be known.”

[tigra9]

Rydia frowned and crossed her arms, in truth she was not keen to test if it was reversible, she could probably bring the npcs back if the game mechanics for the base still functioned properly, but she suspected she had only one life now... a terrifying concept.

“Let us treat it as an irreversible event... I do not wish to gamble my life away in such a... stupid manner” she looked between the guardians as she stood climbing completely out of the water “well you two enjoy yourselves, make sure to stay alert but get plenty of rest too, we can not be to careful as we know nothing about this strange place we are in” she gathered her papers and turned leaving

Miia nodded “yes my lady” she watched Rydia leave then visibly relaxed with a deep sigh “... I thought I was going to be a popsicle....” she said letting her feeling of fear show, to the npcs Rydia was know as a cruel woman to those that angered her after all, and Miia had done exactly that but she looked at Aisha “sorry about jumping to conclusions so quickly Aisha”

[Whitebrand]

Aisha waved it aside.

"She holds no grudge, neither do I," she said. "Now...what sort of bath can I fix up for you? Something nice and hot I imagine?"

[tigra9]

Miia shivered “yes please... lady Rydia nearly made me hibernate with that simple wave of her hand!” She was not exaggerating with that fact.

Rydia after a point simply teleported back to the hall outside her room, certain rooms in the castle could not be teleported to, the bedrooms of the players and the throne rooms were some of this spots, but Rydia was still able to teleport right outside her room door and just opened it walking in, with the blinds closed her room was still dark but Rydia knew the sun had already risen outside as she set the reports on her desk and walked over to a full body mirror set next to a wardrobe closet in her room and looked at her reflection, producing a small ball of light with a low tier spell when she realized even with her ability to see in the dark the mirror still didn’t reflect her in it since there was no light

[Whitebrand]

Adian was still asleep in the bed, his arms stretched out in either direction. In his sleep he had evidently cast around looking for his sleeping partner. His mana bar was restoring itself normally, but the dark elf would probably sleep until sunset...his normal sleep pattern.

It was odd that he was so appealing to her...almost as though he’d been customized with her tastes in mind. Handsome, well-equipped, perfectly toned, while sensitive and strong at the same time. Had he been created in the image of someone’s fantasy lover?

[tigra9]

Rydia after looking her body over turned to Adian and frowned, while certainly he matched her tastes in what an appealing male would look like, in truth that was all she felt about it, she held no sense of love or desire for him, in fact even the fact she had sex with him not even a few hours ago did not make her heart move. This mind set may seem a cruel one but Rydia had been burned more then once by a male that tried to appeal to her, it was another part of the reason why after learning she liked girls Rydia had embraced in her heart being a lesbian, of course though she understood Adian would no doubt think the sex they had a special occasion since it was his first time, Rydia could not bring herself to think of it the same.

After a bit of watching him Rydia would call for someone to retrieve him and take him back to his chambers with all his stuff, then ordered her sheets completely changed, she didn’t want to sleep in those bedsheets until they had been thoroughly washed, then after giving out a few more orders to be spread appropriately Rydia finally got into bed with her fresh sheets and quickly fell asleep, slumbering until sunset.

One of the orders Rydia had given was a message for Adian to come to her chambers when he woke up, which at the time he woke up Rydia was still asleep in bed but at the doorway he would be greeted by an unusual sight, or atleast, not someone he was used to seeing here.

Sitting in a chair was Agatha, her fiery red hair that was in a loosely braided ponytail easily capable of reaching her knees shining brightly as ever, she was wearing her combat gear same as usual for her, but currently she had in front of her with her hands no doubt resting on the grips given her position, a large tower shield with what appeared to be a sword handle sticking out of the top, these were her personal weapons and the tower shield itself was a little over half her height, which given her height was around 11 feet.. meant it was a pretty large tower shield “oh, hello Adian, you look well rested” she spoke in her rough but friendly accent, it had a sort of Scottish ring to it, her green eyes watching Adian, she didn’t move despite the fact if she didn’t move Adian wouldn’t be able to get into Rydia’s room

[Whitebrand]

"I...was," Adian said, noticing right away that she was politely blocking him. "I'm here this evening per orders. Would you please stand aside so I can report to Lady Rydia?"

He intended to apologize for his uncontrolled behavior with her before. He felt like he had somehow violated some sort of sacred charge or crossed some sort of line, and he wanted to straighten things out.

[tigra9]

Agatha was silent for a moment then stood lifting her tower shield easily with one hand and turned to face the door (still staying in his way) and knocked “lady Rydia, Adian is here” she spoke in a loud enough voice to be heard

A few minutes of silence followed before Rydia answered sleepily “I’m... awake, tell him to come in”

Agatha nodded and finally stepped out of the way moving her chair aswell, save for the supreme ones Agatha never used titles with names so that was nothing unusual

When Adian entered Rydia was sitting up in bed, her hair a mess from having slept, the maid assigned to her was in the room sitting in a chair looking awake and alerts, but she had not cleaned the bit of slobber down her chin, homonculus did not need sleep but it’s not like the couldn’t sleep occasionally to mentally recharge themselves.

[Whitebrand]

Adian and entered, giving Agatha and odd look before he closed the door.

"Is there a reason you have a guard posted?" he asked cautiously.

[tigra9]

Rydia blinked as she thought over Adian’s question before answering “do I need a reason to have a guard posted besides ‘I want to’ ?” She shot back at him rubbing her eyes and looking at the maid “leave” she commanded calmly the maid standing and bowing before rushing out the door closing it behind herself

Rydia then moved to the side of the bed and let her legs hang off the side “to be honest... I don’t like males... my experiences... have been less then enjoyable” she gave a sideways glance at him “even you, though I won’t say I hated having sex with you... but it didn’t stir my heart at all like I have enjoyed in the company of other females” she forced herself to stand and stretch “however... you did well enough to have earned an answer to the questions you posed before I let my lust take us both over” she walked over to the exit to her balcony and pulled open the blinds letting in moonlight as she looked out glass doors “before last tonight, you and every other being in this castle was not able to talk save very specific and limited responses such as ‘yes ma’am’ or ‘thank you’ or whatever me or my comrades wrote into you all, lucina in fact could only say ‘halt intruders you must pass over my corpse!’ ‘Be safe my goddess’ or a few others of that gist” Rydia remembered well how she had programmed lucina.

[Whitebrand]

Adian wasn't sure what to do with her opening. So he had done well...but she did not enjoy it as much as...he wasn't at all sure how to react to that. And he didn't stir her heart...well that was heart-breaking for him, actually.She seemed to want to move on from it, however, so he didn't pursue it...even if it bruised his ego a bit.

"How odd," Adian said. "I do not remember it so. I remember taking my oath to serve you and the Night Rose Legion. I remember the grand adventures alongside your predecessor and my transferring my oath to you. I remember the friends I made among the Supreme Ones...and how you took on the trials of the Seven Sins. And you say we were...automatons? Golems?"

[tigra9]

Rydia blinked and looked at him “your oath... and much else was memories your creator wrote for you... In truth, I do not know what occurred but” she turned to face him and crossed her arms “those became real memories, everything written for you became a real memory” she tilted her head “at the least, you are you despite your origins... and right now every thing happening is very much real, so please don’t dwell on it so much, I will be relying on you in the future just the same as your memories tell you” she smiled warmly

She motioned him over closer “now another question you brought up, did the supreme ones abandon everyone?” She shrugged “yes and no” she looked out the window “for us that you call ‘supreme ones’ the bodies your familiar are not our real bodies, well... mine wasn’t atleast” she looked down at herself running a hand over her breast “we kinda possessed these bodies in a sense, we spent time in them, grew in them... but that was that, we didn’t think of these as our real bodies, as our real lives” she turned only her eyes to look at him “it’s blunt but that was the truth even for me... if I had known I would become stuck in this body... truthfully I would have left too” she turned her back to him “but that is just something I think now, I can’t leave this body or leave any of you... so for what it’s worth I Will Not Abandon Anyone Here”

After that there was a period of silence before she closed her eyes and spoke a spell, the Rydia before Adian’s eyes reappearing as a completely different person, she was now 4’9, her breasts had flattened down to a cups, they were clearly breasts but Adian could guess if she put a shirt on it would be impossible to tell she had them, her hair was now shoulder length chestnut brown and her eyes a dark brown color, her figure was on the thin side, almost too thin, and her face had gained light bags under her eyes, and her ears were... human, definitely the Rydia appearance standing before him was completely human as she turned and looked up at him “this... was my real body, not quite as beautiful and stunning right?” She gave a nervous smile that quickly faded into a frown “in truth Adian... I don’t want you telling any of the other servants everything I’ve told you.... because though it’s world shattering information... I don’t think it will be relevant moving forward” she reached a hand up and touched it to his cheek, she had used a high level illusion so even the sensation of her touch had changed, it was a weak touch made with rough hands, the hands of someone that did hard labor activities for a living “your still you Adian, my second in command now in place of your master, the leader of the Area Guardians that have devoted so much to the protection of this castle, and the one I, Rydia, have entrusted with a burden I can not give to others lightly...” her words did not hold the confidence of Rydia’s usual demeanor, they were weak, fragile words, even an idiot would be able to see Rydia was holding so much insecurity in her that it was amazing how she could act so upbeat and confident at all.

[Whitebrand]

Adian was doing his best to understand.His memories were constructs? He couldn't believe it...but her words had the painful ring of truth. Then...she changed.

Suddenly before him was the vulnerable, good young sort of woman that he had given his oath to protect. One who was looking to him now for support. He reached out and pulled the small woman into a hug, one arm around her shoulders, the other pressing her head into his shoulder.

"I, Adian Novar," he said seriously. "Whatever I am. Do pledge to you that I shall support you in all things that you will need. Without hesitation...but not without question...just as it has been, so it shall be. I will surpass those who have done you wrong, and I shall give you my sword, my hand, or my life if I must. Lean on me and I will do everything I can to not disappoint you."