Chapter 307: Understanding

What made a person the Hero?

There were many reasons a person could be deemed a hero. From valorous deeds on a battlefield to works of great merit in a social context, there were innumerable avenues which a person could travel in their life to gain the label of hero. But on Oros, the title of Hero came not from past actions but from the bestowal of two gifts. The first was a class and the second was a mission.

The class of Hero was always a primary class. The individual who received it would have many variations to choose from, but the class itself would be a Hero class. No one but the ordained Hero of Oros had ever unlocked a Hero class, which was not unexpected considering its providence. The Hero class was considered to be a divine gift from the gods, one that the pantheon only granted to one lucky individual as a response to the resurgence of the demonic forces of Samleos led by the Demon Lord. Without having a Hero class, a person could never be considered The Hero.

The other gift that every Hero received was a divinely mandated mission. Over the millennia that the demonic invasion cycle had repeated, every Hero born had always been visited by at least one god. This visitation often took the form of a dream, though it could be a more physical encounter depending on the situation. One of the gods who would visit the newly chosen Hero was always Valtar, while if there was a second, they would be one whom the individual most closely identified with in both their personal beliefs and past actions. Most Heroes of the past chose a class related to Valtar, but a strong minority had chosen classes related to one of the other eight gods. No matter which god the nascent Hero most identified with, the mission was always the same: Stop the Spawn of Samleos from destroying mortal kind and destroy the Demon Lord.

Along with the mission, the gods who visited the new Hero would provide them with a relic of some kind. Usually they were given a weapon, sometimes armor or a tool of some kind. This item would be imbued with divine power and was intended to empower the Hero in their progress towards becoming a force capable of defeating the demonic hordes invading the lands. The relic would also serve as an identifier, making it easy for the common man to know that this person was the Hero. Aside from some form of identification spell, this divine relic was the main way most people were able to identify who the Hero was at a glance. However, there were other hallmarks of a Hero that were relatively unknown beyond those of the priesthood and the upper echelons of the imperial government.

One of those notable qualities was the way the Hero affected the class options of their companions. It wasn’t unheard of for one person to have an influence over another person’s class. One of the most well-known examples were “Bonded” classes, though other examples existed like “Loyal Follower” or “Mortal Rival”. Still, in the case of those influenced classes, the descriptor tended to have more to do with the feelings of the person who had gained the class than the person who stood as the focal point of the class. This was not the case for Hero-influenced classes.

The companions that a Hero could have with them always ended up gaining powerful classes that were more than just the standard variety of Bonded class. The impact that the Hero’s presence had upon his closest adherents was pronounced and consistent. That was why every Hero had an Oracle to aid them, as well as Paladins, Arch-Wizards, and Bulwarks. To be the companion of a Hero was to accept the inevitability that both one’s class choices and one’s life were going to be altered. No one but the Hero had the ability to affect other people’s classes with such power and regularity.

Except for Jadis.

Jadis, divinely chosen avatar of the God D, was not a Hero. That much the High Priests finally agreed upon after nearly six hours of debate. She didn’t have a Hero class and she didn’t have a holy relic. However. What Jadis did have was a mission given to her by a god of the pantheon and, arguably, an intangible gift in the form of her starting attributes.

No one started with seventy points in a single attribute. Not in any history that High Priest Myron could reference, and the Golem had read a lot of histories. It wasn’t uncommon for Avatar races to have higher starting numbers than other mortal species, but Jadis’ numbers were beyond any accounting. So, while it was possible that having seventy points in her Eldritch stat from day one was just a fluke and she was extremely lucky, it seemed more likely that D had pumped up her numbers as a gift. And holy missions accompanied by a divine gift were not something the gods gave to people, not unless that person was a Hero. Which Jadis definitely was not. Except, how else did one explain the undue influence her presence was capable of exerting over those who were her regular companions? All of which was to say, didn’t that mean that Jadis was actually some kind of non-standard Hero?

Such was the circular logic that kept the meeting going for an additional four hours after the high priests had decided that Jadis wasn’t a Hero.

Considering the nature and duration of the discussion, Jadis felt she was due some credit for not pulling her hair out, screaming, or punching anyone. She did, at one point, challenge Steingrimur to an arm-wrestling match just to prove to the man that she did in fact have more Strength than he did, which he was not willing to readily believe. The relish with which she had slammed his arm down onto the table had probably been inappropriate, but after the first three hours of endless arguing she found that her “shits to be given” reservoir had run dangerously low.

Seeing Steingrimur’s face after she won three times in a row had helped make her feel better, though.

By the end of the excruciatingly long day, Jadis could say that a few things had been accomplished. Not many things, but important ones. Firstly, the assembly of high priests had agreed that they would no longer make any petitions to move Jadis to some form of protective custody. Secondly, they would refrain from taking Eir into protective custody as well, pending further review. And finally, they had all agreed that Jadis was on a holy mission given to her by Destarious.

That last one was the most important item to get agreement on. While Jadis had secured both her and Eir’s freedom from the high priests, she hadn’t done so from the Empire. The temple at large would abide by the ruling that their little council had come to, but the emperor and those who advised him could come to a different conclusion and choose to act separately from the temple. However, since the high priests agreed that D had given her a holy mission, the temple would support her in that mission and would also strenuously object to any action the empire might take that would get in the way of her accomplishing that mission.

Of course, part of that support came from the fact that Jadis had made it clear that her interpretation of D’s mission was for the ultimate good of mortal kind on Oros. She was pretty sure that if she had chosen to assist demons with the eradication of all mortals from the face of the planet like Samleos wanted, then she’d probably be locked down like a rabid dog. Even her status as the last remaining Nephilim probably wouldn’t save her skin in that situation.

There were still issues to discuss, points to debate, and questions to be answered. However, after more than ten hours of talking to the high priests with no more than a brief lunch break of entirely too small sandwiches, Jadis was ready to go home.

As much as she wanted to leave the city hall and make a beeline for the rest of Fortune’s Favored, Jadis couldn’t go. Not yet. There were still a few things she needed to talk to Vraekae about, just not publicly. So, once the meeting was finally adjourned, Dys and Syd stayed with Eir and Tegwyn to talk in the room with whichever of the priests wanted to discuss less-official matters while Jay requested a moment alone with the Magistrate.

“First of all,” Jay said to Vraekae once they had excused themselves from the large hall, “would you please give me some fucking warning about what I’m walking into if you ever call me to one of these meetings again?”

Vraekae regarded Jay coolly in the dim light of the side room she had led her to. The room clearly hadn’t been used for years if the dusty sheets covering the furniture were to go by. Judging by her posture and lack of angry death vibes, Jadis thought that the elf had calmed down a bit since her obvious bad mood that morning.

“What would you give me for any such information?” she asked with no inflection to her voice.

“Give you?” Jay asked, one brow raised. “I need to give you things for common courtesy, now?”

“Common courtesy you can have for free,” Vraekae replied with a slight wave of one hand. “What would cost you are insights into the growing political storm you have stirred up. Knowing what’s coming and where to place your feet is a valuable commodity.”

Jay’s lip curled in distaste.

“Politics. Of course. I’d rather not be involved at all, thank you very much.”

“I’m certain of that,” Vraekae actually smirked for a moment before her lips smoothed back into a straight line. “However, a life free of political intrigue is something you are no longer able to have. I had hoped this meeting had made that clear.”

Jay sighed, her shoulders dropping as she leaned her back against a wall. Folding her arms in front of her, she stared down at the marble floor with a crease in her brow and a glint in her eyes.

“Yeah, I know. I knew before I said anything about my mission that I’d be stirring the pot. It’s why I’ve been avoiding saying anything about it. How deep in the shit do you think I am right now, anyway?”

“Thigh high, at least,” Vraekae commented. “Which is extremely deep for one of your stature.”

Jay let out a bark of laughter. Had that been a joke? From Vraekae? What was the world coming to?

“Okay, look,” Jay said with a shake of her head. “I’m going to be level with you. All I want to do is work on my mission for D while spending my spare time with my loved ones. I don’t want to get into politics. I’m not looking for favors from people in high places because I don’t want to owe anything to people who would trade in those favors to do things that I wouldn’t want to do. For real and true, I just want to be left alone to do my mission.”

Vraekae stared at Jay with an unreadable expression for a long moment before lightly sighing. Taking a short step, she took a spot against the wall to Jay’s right, leaning there with arms folded in a similar stance while staring off into the dark corners of the dusty room. When she spoke, her voice was tinged with a wistful note that softened her cold tone.

“I have been active in politics since before my class was unlocked. I do not think I need to tell you that my unlocking was a long time ago. While I have always seen it as both my calling and my duty, I cannot deny that there haven’t been days when I wished I’d chosen a different career. Perhaps I would have been happier if I had stayed in the military, or taken up a scholar’s robes, or settled down to marriage.”

Vraekae’s jaw tightened after a brief second of silence, her voice hardening into something more like her usual coolness.

“That said, I would not change my past choices as I believe all that I have accomplished so far in life has been for the betterment of the Empire, and the people of Oros. I consider you to be an excellent justification of that sentiment.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you,” Vraekae nodded. “Because my life choices led me to this point in my career where I can offer effectual aid to someone of importance who needs it.”

Jay looked at Vraekae consideringly. She had to say, she hadn’t expected those words to come out of the Magistrate’s mouth. She knew that Vraekae had been trying in her own way to protect Jadis, but she’d assumed that the motivation was entirely motivated by a desire to raise herself up the political hierarchy. The thought that Vraekae might have some “Greater Good” goals in mind hadn’t occurred to Jadis.

“Well, thank you,” Jay said after the silence had settled between them for a while. “But how much is the help you’re offering going to cost me?”

“Minimally,” Vraekae said. “I won’t deny that my help comes with a price. However. I will swear to you, here and now and before the gods themselves, that I will not use any favors to force you into action that you would find repulsive to your moral code. Does that satisfy you?”

Jay nodded thoughtfully.

“That helps, yes. I’m not going to try and skip out on any debts, but if you or anyone else asks me to do something I think is shitty, I’m just not going to do it.”

“Understood.”

Jadis smiled to herself. It actually felt like she’d reached some kind of accord with Vraekae. A true one. Maybe they weren’t ever going to be friends, but at least they understood each other and could work together. That was more than she thought might ever happen between them.

“Now, what else did you want to speak to me about?” Vraekae asked, tilting her head to the side so she could look up at Jay.

“Well, a few things,” Jay took a deep breath. “Not really sure where to start, honestly. I guess with Sorcha and the Reavers, since I feel like that’s the easiest.”

“I am already aware of the word you had promised to put in for the prisoners,” Vraekae cut Jay off. “That was part of why I had asked you to bring Tegwyn to the meeting today. I had planned on discussing their movement to the Dryad’s grove, but other ‘revelations’ took precedence.”

“You can say that again,” Jay mumbled before speaking up more clearly. “What about Sorcha? Can we get her remanded to Fortune’s Favored?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Vraekae agreed readily. “She has no history of prior criminal activity and is relatively low risk compared to some of the others from the Roiling Reavers. Besides which, seeing you redeem a sinner such as her will boost your reputation among the temples.”

Jadis couldn’t really be surprised that Vraekae was thinking about things like her reputation even in these circumstances. She wasn’t sure the elf was even capable of turning the politics off.

“What’ll that cost me?”

“Nothing,” Vraekae let out a breath. “I consider it more than fair considering all you did for my investigation team. Thank you for returning them to me.”

“Cool,” Jay nodded in appreciation. “Alright then. That actually brings me to my next topic. Why the fuck was Egilhard sitting in that room with us instead of in a jail cell?”

As soon as Jadis had asked the question, Vraekae’s whole demeanor shifted into one of extreme anger. Frozen rage radiated from her as her lip curled up in a snarl. The glowing red orb that floated by her shoulder shifted, sharp spikes appearing across its surface.

Jadis leaned away slightly, suddenly feeling a lot less comfortable around the red-eyed elf.

“That is a long story. However, the short version is this: Captain Hakon is dead and Major Kreszentia is in custody. And General Egilhard is the ‘hero’ who uncovered their misdeeds.”

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