"The Witchborn Are Protected"
Upper Realm
Some of the denizens of the Upper Realm hadn't missed the happenings of the Mortal Realm. They were able to watch the goings on of the mortals. They were forbidden from interfering, but that didn't mean they were unconcerned, that was why with the simplest of prayers and invocations, they lent as much power as possible to the witchborn and others who worship them.
They'd disapproved of Mafe escaping to the Mortal Realm because he upset the balance when he reproduced. That did not mean that the compassionate among them wanted the Mortal Realm to be taken over by the Lower Realm.
They'd taken notice when some of the mortals began to pray to them to send the "angels" to them. The Upper Realm was composed of many gods and figures from many cultures, but angels were not among them. There were no angels. That was a mythology that took root after they'd sealed the Upper Realm.
At first they were concerned as they observed the Mortal Realm. They were able to do so through magical pools of water. The Upper Realm was both boundless and compact. There were innumerable denizens, but they all knew each other. Some often congregated in groups and had watched these "angels" appear where witchborn were in trouble. They couldn't find the source, but if demons could figure it out, so could they.
When they tried to find the Crowleys, they could not. They were protected from their sight. This startled them slightly. Who or what were these "angels"? This question plagued them as much as the demons.
Only Mafe knew what these "angels" must be. He encountered the giant divine Dragons. They'd told him that the fate of his world and their world were linked. He only had hope when he managed to sneakily send Delaney to Thelessia.
He was now seeing the results.
So they continued to watch until the moment the demons chose to attack the ruins of Crowley House. They'd always been able to see the fog surrounding the house, but never the underground. So when they saw the "angels" come from the underground, some things began to make sense.
It also raised even more questions. Did that mean that the witchborn were hiding underground in the swampy surrounds of Nova Aurelea? Only Mafe suspected they were no longer on the planet.
He didn't share his insights with anyone. They still blamed him for all the trouble in the Mortal Realm. After meeting the three Silver Dragons who sang his fate, he would no longer bear this blame. He was sure all this was meant to happen.
When the "angels" revealed themselves as Dragons, the other denizens were shocked. Amazed even.
Mafe, though, he was sure of it now. The fates of their two worlds were now tied together, just like the Sisters of the Moons had sung to him.
--
Nova Aurelia
The hellhounds were monstrous creatures. They were incredibly strong and they breathed green fire that left barren scorch marks on the ground in wide swaths. Even when a Dragon got too close to it, their scales were scalded and slightly blackened.
Only Quinlan could withstand the fire. He would return fire with fire. Amber Dragons were the only Emphyralian Dragons that breathed true flames. While Quinlan distracted one of the hellhounds with fire, an Onyx Dragon jumped on the back of it. He blew his black shadowy flames at the demon on the back. The Demon was caught off guard and had to jump off the hellhound.
He hit the ground. When he tried to get up, an arrow lodged in his throat. He gurgled as he staggered around trying to get it out. While he was distracted, Troi stepped out of the shadows behind him. His sword flashed and the demon no longer had to worry about the arrow in his throat. It's not that the arrow was removed. No, it was still there. He saw it as his head flew through the air.
He landed, and rolled. It made him dizzy, but he was still alive, his body stumbling around. He grumbled and tried to will his body to move toward him. A sudden crunch ended his thoughts once and for all.
Troi had been slightly stunned watching the headless demon body stumble around looking for the head. He blinked when he saw a Sapphire Dragon accidentally step on it as it fought with a strong hulking demon. The body collapsed and began to dissipate. He grimaced and shuddered. He turned away, stepping back into the shadows, trying not to think about it any more.
The hellhound that was being besieged by Quinlan and the Onyx Dragon, fought back ferociously. "You're going to bring out my uncivilized side," the Onyx growled. He opened his mouth wide and jumped for the jugular. He sunk his teeth in, held back his disgust at that taste, and shook his head back and forth, finally ripping out the throat. He spit out the bloody flesh, and spit again. "Blegh, ack, agh," he gagged.
The hellhound didn't die from that, but it was weakened.
"It's weak, group up and Fire it at the same time!" Darius called out. He and Lazaurus were tangling with the other hellhound. He still kept an eye on the entire battlefield, physically and mentally.
Several of the Dragons converged on the weakened hellhound at the same time. They roared and multi-colored Dragon fire exploded into the hellhound. With a truncated yelp, the hellhound finally died, exploding and dissipated into sulfur ashes that were even more pungent than a demon.
The Dragons turned to the final hellhound. It wasn't intelligent, but had a beast's cunning. It knew its life was in danger and tried to run away, but it was trapped.
More Dragon fires exploded toward the hellhound. The demon riding on it didn't even have the chance to jump away. He was caught in the fires as well. Neither he nor the hellhound survived.
The remaining demons were afraid. Some begged for mercy and surrendered. Others fought back even more fiercely. "Mercy?" Lazarus asked, looking at Darius. His midnight blue eyes glinted fiercely.
"Capture them for study. Kill the rest. Let that one go," Darius answered, looking at the needle fingered demon that was down to one leg and one arm.
When the demon heard it could leave, it scurried away. Others tried to follow but only that demon was able to leave.
"Tell your demon lords. The witchborn are protected," Darius called after the escaping demon.
"Och. My prey," Gorka sighed lightly.
Darius shifted back to his humanoid form, then furled his wings until they too disappeared. The others followed suit, shifting back to their humanoid forms. There were only three demons left, and they were frankly only alive because of their strong constitutions. "Capture them," he ordered.
The guards closest to the barely alive demons used spare stasis cloaks to capture them. Darius led everyone back into the fog.
--
A week went by as more and more angel sightings were making waves. Mainstream news media was beginning to pick up on stories. They talked to people who claimed to be witches. Some where, some were not. What everyone wanted to know was where were the witches going to be safe?
No one could answer that. None of the witches on Terranthea knew where they would go once they used the transfer spell and the Crowley's weren't saying. They denied any attempts to get in touch with them, but would occasionally post videos on short form video apps, telling their story.
In a move nobody expected, there was a change in the opposition of the executive election. The incumbent, a kindly, but tired old man, dropped out of his race and endorsed his deputy executive.
She took a hard stance. Her first speech addressed the anti-witch laws that had been pushed through congress. She called for strong stances. "This country, perhaps even the world, is facing its most challenging time. This time the enemy isn't goose stepping in a country across the ocean. This time the enemy is hidden among us. Feeding the worst of human nature."
She went on to announce the investigations of corrupted individuals in their own administrative cabinet. She also vowed to investigate the members of the legislature and the high court. She vowed to make every investigation completely transparent to the people.
"No longer will we allow this threat to hide in the shadows and pull the strings of our country. No longer will we allow them to turn citizen against citizen!"
This statement was made to the applause of the audience. She didn't smile or look proud. She was grim and tired. She held up a hand to quieten the crowd. "Now, my opposition may pose the question, 'How do we know she's not corrupted?'" she said. Her face softened slightly.
"A few days ago, an angel visited me."
Indeed, after considering everything, and talking it over with the Crowley's and other witchborn, they decided unless something changed, the trend of the country, even without demons actively involved, would not be good for the witchborn. Even with the "angels" helping, the witchborn still couldn't harm mortals.
They finally decided to reach out to the leadership of this country. A Sapphire Dragon with the ability of Pushsinging, which was the ability to use one's voice to hypnotize or coerce someone else, went to the current executive of the country. He convinced him to give up the race and then asked him to forget his visit.
Meanwhile, Britiana and Darius went to the deputy executive. They presented themselves as "angels", although she didn't believe that's what they were, but she was willing to hear them out. They had explained that they wouldn't interfere with their politics, but they would give her a chance in the hopes of slowing the decline of this world until the Crowley's were ready.
They didn't go into all the details, but she understood the gist of it. Britiana Shielded her mind and, at her behest, a few of the people closest to her. She realized that just saying she was immune from influence wasn't enough, she needed something substantial to prove it.
Britiana had smiled and drew on her hands. It wasn't some fancy spell. It was only spelled to glow when the deputy executive wanted it to and make demon spawn reveal themselves. She made it look similar to the symbology of the religion of the angels.
The deputy executive took off one of the gloves she had been wearing and held out her palms. Holy symbols shimmered brightly. "They have chosen me to lead the way forward for the hope of our country and all mankind!"
--
Silvermoon, Emphyralis
Darius and Britiana returned to Emphyralis. Darius put Lazarus and Amadeus in charge of the Terranthea operation. They wouldn't be returning to Terranthea until they needed to.
Darius was satisfied that the personnel that was sent there was sufficient to handle most situations. With Amadeus and Lazarus there, Darius let them train Troi, delegating some duties to him as well when the situation called for it.
ZsaZsa returned to Emphyralis as well. Her expertise wasn't needed there. She helped her aunt make cloaks for the other nations.
The Crowleys would still take turns going back and forth to Terranthea. It was still their home for now, and they cared about the people there. Until they were strong enough to seal off the Lower Realm, they wouldn't give up on their birth world.
However, when they looked at each other, they saw the same resolution in each other's eyes. They didn't belong there. They weren't meant to be there. They upset the balance there. Emphyralis would be their home going forward. They would strive to learn more about Emphyralis and forge a path for themselves here.
What would that look like? They didn't know yet. Maybe they would migrate away from Crowley House and live in other places. Maybe they would find someone to live and build their own families with. They didn't know, but they looked forward to it.
They knew that when this new home needed their help, they'd do whatever they could to help them.
This was a silent vow each of them made and didn't need to discuss with each other.
Sariya didn't stay long after returning. She rested only a day before going to the air station, to take an airship to Myrkir. She'd miss her friends, but they promised to visit. They had call stones. They could talk whenever they wanted or needed. That was no big deal. She needed to stop running around doing dangerous deeds and settle down for the sake of her daughter.
When Britiana and Darius returned home, they were greeted with overbearing mom hugs. They told her everything that happened on Terranthea. They also amused her with anecdotes about the cultures they saw, and the foods they tried.
Chrystianna was honestly intrigued by all the descriptions of the food. That night they surprised her with a table full of food from Terranthea that they'd picked up just for her to try.
They knew she was probably quite sad now that their father had left. In order to cheer her up, they purposely gathered interesting food everywhere they went. Their time on Terranthea wasn't all fighting demons or making magical items. They went to various places and found the tastiest food.
It wasn't made with draconite enriched ingredients, so it wasn't very healthy, but it was tasty and novel nonetheless. Especially the sweet treats and pastries.
Chrystianna sighed as she enjoyed a strawberry cheesecake. "Maybe we should hire a Terranthean cook," she said delightedly. "If only to make this with ever berries or even brisk berries. Would elevate it ten thousand times," she said.
Britiana chuckled. She also enjoyed the cheesecake. "Amalthea actually discussed it with us while we were on Terranthea. They want to sell food out of Crowley House in order to help the witchborn and their families staying there make money," she explained.
Chrystianna brightened. "Great idea! Their food, made with our ingredients? People all over the world will gladly either come to Crowley House to eat or order it to go. We'll see if the kitchens need expanding tomorrow," she said, eyes glowing.
Darius laughed. It seemed they were from a family of foodies. His favorites were hamburgers, which is what he was eating now. It was just minced meat patties, bread and vegetables, and cheese, but the combination was just magical. "I'll see to it," he said. He was sure Crowley House could probably just sell hamburgers and cheesecake and make a lot of money.
Christianna laughed. She suddenly looked at her daughter. "I have a surprise coming for you soon," she said mischievously.
Britiana looked at her blankly. A surprise? For her? What could this woman be up to? She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. No matter how much she asked, Chrystianna wouldn't give her a hint. Instead, she changed the subject.
She wiped her lips daintily with a handkerchief. "The Earthborne. Both of you will be taking on this task as well?" she asked.
Chrystianna tilted her head. They hadn't forgotten that Raven wanted to go to her homeworld and connect it to Emphyralis.
Darius nodded. "After speaking to both Delaney and Raven, we agreed. We'd connect Icestorme to Silvermoon and then go to New Bienskurr," he answered.
Chrystianna smiled. "I really must meet the people who raised you and thank them one day. I'm not sure I could have done a better job," she said in an emotional whisper. Moisture gathered in her eyes. Her children had grown up so well without her. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad about it.
Britiana's eyes moistened as well. She stood and threw herself in her mother's arms and hugged her fiercely.
Darius couldn't escape the mood either. He stood and wrapped his arms around both of them and rested his cheek against his mother's hair.
Chrystianna laughed and cried at the same time. She really must go to the Mystic Temple and give thanks to the Sisters of the Moons. If it weren't for the prophecy they showed her, she could have lost them and never got them back.
If she never got them back, maybe she wouldn't even have been able to survive to this day.
Then what would have happened?