Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 51

The quest wasn’t finished yet. Why? Wasn’t the Demon King the enemy I was supposed to beat? Surely he had to have been the idiot the quest mentioned. Just looking through his personal diaries, I could already think of a dozen ways he could have halted the impoverishment of his realm without resulting to dark bargains with evil gods from beyond the world.

Perhaps the System wasn’t happy with me leaving this realm in chaos following my departure? It hadn’t seemed to care about that on any of my other quests. So what was I missing?

Maybe there was still some agent of the Chaos Gods who could rebuild things as soon as I vanished. If so, I would need to figure out who they were and deal with them before the System would take me home.

Shrugging, I decided I might as well re-establish the local governments following the total societal collapse that occurred following the Demon King’s invasions. Some additional organization would certainly help resolve things.

I needed a government that would be stable and hold together even if I vanished midway through making it. Preferably with an institution dedicated to preventing the return of the Chaos Gods. I was generally fond of democracies, since I was raised in one. Combined with civil liberties and free trade, they were excellent at increasing the overall prosperity of a society.

But I wasn’t sure the lords and knights who’d just spent so much time fighting on my behalf would be too happy with the idea of me abolishing social classes and the privileges of noble station. Democracies and republics emerged from nations with a strong merchant class, and right now the closest thing this realm had to merchants were farmers who occasionally gathered up their neighbors’ goods to sell them in the city on the weekend.

If I was going to stay here, an empire would be easiest. Then I could do whatever I wanted and throw anyone who complained in a dungeon. I could retain most of my gathered forces as my imperial army and root out any signs of chaos as it emerged. But again, I might vanish at any time when the System considered my quest done.

No, any political structure I tried to establish would collapse in my absence. I needed something that would last for generations. Some way to make my words stick for decades or centuries as the people here slowly developed.

With a sigh, I realized I needed a religion. And as a fabled hero of legend, I was exactly the sort of person who had the power to establish one. And the lack of any real coherent religion in this region had been the whole reason I was fighting the Chaos Gods over it. If I established something and it stuck, it would hopefully help keep out any future Chaos God incursions.

So I quickly jotted down my best attempt at a holy book. Really, it was a self-help guide disguised as a couple of fables shamelessly lifted from Earth’s various major religions and fictions and combined with a few of the stories Sir Sandon and the other followers of the Goddess in Jade shared with me.

Besides the basic lessons on valuing human freedom and common decency, I also snuck in some basics on how the wider cosmos worked. I threw in most of what I knew about the Arcadia Multiverse, and the ancient people who built it. I even threw a bit in about hostile cultivators and void creatures on the edge of reality. It amused me to think that the average peasant who read and believed this book would know more about how the greater cosmos worked than the wealthy Amazonian noblewomen or merchants from Glacia.

It should have taken weeks to write, if not years. But through the power of shameless plagiarism, the words came out as rapidly as fifty telekineticly controlled pens were able to write them.

When I was finished, I copied a few rows of symbols from the two ancient books I found behind the margins. My experiments told me this combination of symbols was something important, and it was at least partially responsible for the magical effects those two books emanated. By combining it with a bit of Aethersmithing, I ended up with a small book that constantly glowed with divine light, held far more pages and text than it should possibly contain, could only be opened by those it approved of, and bent the fabric of reality around itself.

Basically, it was a very impressive book that had magical properties not even I fully understood. It should be well beyond anything the local magic-wielders could hope to understand in the foreseeable future, and would make a good cornerstone for any religion.

Then, I hunted down High Priestess Calista.

Apparently, I hadn’t been the only one who thought to pick over our enemies’ quarters. While I had gone to the Demon King’s chambers, she’d investigated the lich’s quarters. She didn’t notice me was she examined a rather impressive depiction of a raven made in solid jade as tall as a man. I immediately knew it to be the same as one of those faith-focusing tools I’d destroyed already. This was likely similar to the statue Sir Sandon spoke to sometimes in his people’s shrine to the Goddess in Jade.

“Take a step back, Calista. That statue is dangerous,” I said.

She turned with a sudden start, flinching at my appearance. She wore a guilty look on her face, and I could see one of the lich’s books on necromancy already in her hands.

Her expression firmed a moment later.

“This is a powerful artifact. One that could revive my order, if used appropriately. Perhaps if you’d been a bit more willing to aid me, I wouldn’t need to resort to dark artifacts like this one. But I need every advantage I can get.” Calista had more than a tinge of bitterness in her voice, and she took a protective position before the Chaos God statue and the surrounding artifacts.

“That statue and the god it represents will grant you only misery.”

“What do you know?” Calista snapped. “This war brought the greatest resurgence of faith in generations! I grew up in that cathedral wearing threadbare robes as the last acolyte of a dying faith. We are the guardians of this world’s legacy and the chroniclers of its history. I will not fail all the holy men and women who came before me by letting their order crumble under my watch.”

I took a step forward, and she pointed her staff at me. “The Chaos Raven is not a kind god. I’ve watched it sacrifice some of its greatest followers just to put one of its fellows in its place.”

Her eyes flicked back to the statue behind her. There was worry in her eyes. Had the Chaos Raven already started whispering in her ear?

“Then I will avoid the statue and its whispers and focus on the lesser artifacts,” she replied.

I could have killed her right then and there. From the shaking of her staff, she knew this as well as I did. And yet she stood against me anyway. Securing a future for her order was even more important for her than I assumed.

I could use someone like that every bit as much as Chaos could. It was time to see if I could be more convincing than a Chaos God.

“All those artifacts are tainted with dark power. They do not suit you, and they would corrupt your order from within like rot inside a mighty oak. In a few hundred years, all you knew and loved would be so corrupted your order might as well have died. No, I think I have something far better than that pile of trinkets behind you.”

I reached into the bag of holding I’d put together and withdrew the book I’d just written from it. Golden light filled the room, and until I revealed the book, I hadn’t realized how shrouded in shadows we’d been.

“W-what is that?” Calista gasped. Her staff slipped from limp hands as she reached out to touch the glowing golden book. She seemed drawn to it like a moth to a flame, for she knew deep within her heart that she had a far greater affinity for whatever power this book held than for the dark relics of the Chaos Raven.

I held the book back, just out of reach.

“Pick up your staff. Smash the Chaos Raven statue behind you, and burn what remains of these unholy artifacts. Do this, and the book is yours.”

Calista bent low, picked up her staff, and then shot a glance between me and the statue. She hesitated for a moment, brows drawn tight as though someone else was whispering fierce protests in her ear.

I stepped up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve seen what the dark gods do to realms they conquer. You didn't help me save this world just to give it back to them.”

She came to a decision and swung her staff. She struck the Chaos Raven statue right on the side of the neck. The head shattered into dust, and the rest of the statue crumbled a moment later.

Together, we heaped the books and remaining trinkets of the lich together in a pile and burned them. There were a few things I might have found interesting, but pocketing the dark artifacts would have sent the wrong message.

“It’s done...” Calista wiped sweat from her brow, then glanced at me hopefully.

“And here is your promised reward.” I handed her the book, and she accepted it with all the reverence of a priestess accepting a holy artifact, which was exactly what I hoped this thing would become.

She stared at the glowing tome, eyes slowly growing wider as she caressed its front cover.

“It emanates holy heavenly light! This has the feel of an ancient artifact left from the creation of the world. I must ask, where did you get it?” Her eyes still wide, she pulled back from the book as though afraid she would desecrate its pages just by touching them.

“I had some materials on me. And the words in the book come from up here.” I tapped my temple with a finger.

“You... made this?” Calista asked.

“Yes, transcribed from what I know and insights from elsewhere. Consider it the book of the Hero. It contains a basic explanation of how the universe beyond your world works. It also has a few lessons that I think will improve the quality of life for every society that embraces them. Ideas like human rights and equality before the law. There’s quite a bit in there meant for leaders as well, like what kinds of national policies lead to wealthier societies. There’s more than a little in there about the Chaos Gods and their evil ilk.”

Admittedly, the part of the book expounding upon the evils of the Chaos Gods were the most propaganda-laden portion of the book. But my quest was to quash their influence once and for all, and the text I’d just given her would make her order quite incompatible with any sort of chaos worship. Hopefully, her order could act in my stead and stamp out anything that wound up here before it could take root.

At my explanation, Calista’s curiosity finally got the better of her and she flipped the book open. The golden light emanating from the pages grew brighter with the book open, and the text seemed to rearrange itself as I was speaking so that she was always viewing the most relevant segment of the text. I had hoped to get the holy artifact vibe I’d been going for with the book, and from the reverent look in Calista’s eyes, I’d been successful.

“T-this is more than an artifact. This could be the cornerstone of our entire order.” She shook her head in wonder. “I admit, most of my assistants who helped me summon you were trained in great haste. Perhaps this book will inspire others more than we could by interpreting the will of the heavens. Any future summonings should go much smoother.”

“More than that. Here.” I tossed her one of my spare bags of holding.

She frowned at the small pouch, thinking it was a coin purse.

“Reach inside it.”

Her eyes widened as her entire arm vanished up to the elbow within the pouch.

“It’s bigger on the inside. And there are a lot more books in here. Are they holy books as well?”

I shook my head. “There are books, though I’m not sure if they count as holy books or not. That will be up to your order. There are a handful of trinkets you’ll find much more useful than the ones you just destroyed, though. There are also some basic enchanter and runesmith guides, all designed to work in conjunction with faith energy. You are free to choose your own path, but my suggestion is to establish a monastery or something. Get a couple of monks skilled in this trade and you’ll be able to craft magical tools the like precious few in this realm have ever seen. You can sell them or keep them for yourself, but with this knowledge, your order will always be well funded and endure into the indefinite future. The scraps of jade in there are from some Chaos God statues I smashed, and the material should make good practice for you guys. The scraps on the floor around us should be safe enough to use as well.”

Calista held both the book and the bag of holding tight to her chest. Then she bowed low.

“This, I did not expect. You have proved more capable than anything the ancient scrolls claimed. To me, it seems clear that you know more than they ever did. These are treasures beyond measure. Know this, hero, from this day until the end of days, my order pledges ourselves to your service. As do I.”

I felt a weight lift from my chest, and I had the distinct impression that my quest was nearly complete. It wasn’t often that I could win without a fight, but this was one of those rare opportunities.

“Raise your head, Calista. If you truly mean those words, then you have a hefty duty to become the pillar of this realm that raises up all others. You could even prevent wars and negotiate peace between various noble families, or at least ensure their infighting doesn’t harm the commonfolk overmuch.”

Calista bowed again, and the way she smiled at me finally seemed genuine.

“Just don’t go worshiping me as a god. The stuff in the book is the important part, I’m no diety!” I chuckled as she scurried off to find recruits for a religious order that would hopefully last a few hundred years and keep the forces of chaos at bay. I wasn’t sure if she heard my parting words.

The idea of empowering Calista’s religious order left me with mixed feelings. Things could go very badly with them, or very well. There was really no telling. Hopefully, they would stick to the instructions I laid out in the book and continue to be an organization fostering peace, understanding, and enlightenment for all people. Things had worked out well enough for Sir Sandon’s people, the Omikyr, but that was partially because their goddess really existed.

Here I’d be relying strictly on the integrity of mortal institutions. They wouldn’t even have a god who they believed would punish them if they strayed from their path. Just a general admiration for the heavens and a rough understanding of how the cosmos worked, given to them by a hero who would soon be gone and never to return again.

In the end, I decided that it would be best to absolve myself of responsibility. I’d done my best, and if they got invaded by agents of foreign gods again, they’d only have themselves to blame. I’d already given them the tools to protect themselves, and it was up to them to use them properly. At least now I wasn’t leaving the Chaos Gods an easy path to return to power. Saving Calista’s soul from evil was a welcome bonus. She had a good heart and was far too clever to leave directionless. Now she was set upon a righteous path.

Still, there was more I could do to stabilize the place, starting with talking to the various knights under my command and getting them organized for something besides fighting.

A few minutes later, I’d gathered up most of my people. Eowyn was missing and probably directing survivors from her kingdom. Though the System gave me no warning, I felt increasingly certain my time was running out, so I had little to waste.

As soon as I appeared, they gathered around, and when I announced I planned to speak with them, they soon went quiet and bent their ears to listen.

“The Demon King is dead, but your duties are far from over. We have a rare opportunity here with every noble house in the land that still matters close at hand. All of you who fought for me will be rewarded for your service with land, titles, and villages. If you were not a lord already, you will be after today.”

A chorus of cheers rang through the crowd. There were few things I could have said that would have pleased them more. I continued as soon as the cheering died down.

“But there is something more I want from each of you. I want to reframe how each of you thinks of lordship. These lands I give you do not exist to feed your coffers or suit any minor pleasure. Instead, I want you to think of yourselves as stewards with a hefty duty to uphold. Your power grants you the responsibility of protecting the commonfolk and work toward mutual prosperity. This, I will have all of you swear upon your honor.”

There was another round of cheering at the noble goal, but I think everyone was just eager to hear me declare them a baron or count and assign them land accordingly. I even wrote up official documents bound to their names and bloodlines.

The papers were even mildly reactive to soul energies, and intense resentment from the peasantry in the area it was associated with would blacken and burn the parchment. It was far from perfect, since my understanding of the dimension of the Kindling wasn’t all that good. But my recent studies of faith energies meant that I had a somewhat better sense of these things than I had before. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing, and would hopefully encourage these noble lords not to abuse their stations.

With those parting words, most of the army dispersed to restore order to their forsaken lands.

I spotted Eowyn from afar shortly after that. I’d left the best lands of her former kingdom for her, and most of her family’s former vassals had territories nearby. As long as she could obtain fealty from them again, her kingdom would spring back to life in a matter of months.

I thought I’d be eager to share the good news with her, but something within me sensed finality in that conversation. Maybe that really would be the end of my quest.

She had grown a lot over our adventures. I wished she’d been born in Crownhill or one of the other newly integrated worlds. Maybe then I could have gotten to know her better.

I fingered Morgathor’s satchel and realized what I was about to do. I had given High Priestess Calista a parting gift. It would only be fair to do the same for Eowyn. The two of them had been by my side more than anyone else.

So I thought about what would suit her. She had a kingdom to restore, and I knew she would do so out of responsibility. But she wasn’t nearly as desperate to make that happen as Calista had been. Truthfully, whenever I saw her, she was standing on the front lines just behind me, holding her own against overwhelming odds. She was a warrior princess in the same way Myrina and Cyra were, though her culture was far less familiar with the idea than the Amazonians were.

I flicked through my collection of skillbooks, many of which had been swiped off slain cultivators and looted from that city they’d destroyed. I added in the remaining two good experience pearls. Just one would probably be enough to get her to C-Grade, though without the skillbooks and leveling materials, they’d be hollow levels. I'd best give her the full set.

Still, she’d fought some tough battles. Hopefully enough to translate to a title or two if the System took notice interest in her if she could ever venture out into the wider multiverse.

One of the cultivator storage rings had a large teleportation array of advanced design. I was pretty sure this realm existed in a small and isolated pocket space, similar to the one I’d set up in Crownhill for the children and non-combatants. It would explain why no monsters spawned naturally and why levels were so low.

I didn’t think Eowyn would be happy if she stayed here. I wasn’t sure if this would give her the means to leave, but it was worth a try.

The last thing I added to the stolen cultivator ring was my personal enchanted rapier, as well as the enchanted set of silver armor I’d worn as the hero. I’d already resized it for her frame, and I wouldn’t need it anymore. It was better than any C-Grade armor I’d ever seen for sale, but once I returned home to my workshop, I could get back to making real power armor.

With gifts in hand and a heavy heart, I waited until she was alone, then approached her.

“Hello again, Eowyn.”

She saw me and gave me a sad smile. “You’re still here.”

“For now.” I pulled out the ring. “I have something I wanted to give you.”

She was silent as I tugged on her hand and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

“It’s lovely,” she said, examining the ring. It was a bit feminine for her current masculine disguise, but given how she could fight, I doubted her not being a man mattered much anymore.

“While I picked a pretty one for you, it’s also functional. Concentrate on the ring for a moment. Think of a book appearing in your hand.”

She frowned, nose scrunched until her eyes suddenly widened. I’d chosen a cultivator’s ring for this reason. The bag of holding was simple but impressive once you saw what they could do. The rings were a little more complicated and much more subtle. Accessing them took a bit of concentration, but then the item you wanted appeared before you.

Where Eowyn’s hands had been empty, now she held a skillbook that could teach her to parry any blow. It was one that I thought would suit her.

“This is a skillbook. It can teach you abilities much like my own. I left a few of them in there for you. There are other items in there too that you can consume to increase your stats. Somewhere in there is a small book I wrote explaining what everything is and how to make use of it. Look for that. There’s also something called a teleportation array. I’m not sure how that version works, but you should be able to make it function if you learn the teleportation array technician job from one of the other books I included. I hope it will be of use to you.”

Her eyes met mine. “Will... will we ever meet again?”

I shrugged. “If you stay here, on this world? No, probably not. But if you travel beyond it, who knows? Maybe you’ll find me.”

She clenched her hand into a fist around the ring I’d given her. “I will. You will see me again someday, Carter, hero of the realm. You’ll see me again because I love--“

Light quickly swirled around me, and in a flash, I was gone.

Quest Completed: A Test of Progress.

Congratulations, you have proved your potential by completing an entire continuous series of 10 training quests.

All prior rewards have been enhanced. Additional rewards are available.

<Note>

Maybe the real quest was the friends we made along the way.

It was nice writing a little side romance. I’m going to wait to see how readers feel about Eowyn before writing her into a future part of the series. I have a lot of roles she could play, the question is how minor/major will she be.

Next chapter, we’ll have a brief summary of everything Carter gained, as well as choosing some unique rewards for completing the entire quest chain.

This was another pretty long chapter, and we've got a few semi-long chapters coming up next week-ish. Chapters should continue at 4 per week for a while.

I had hoped to do more bonus chapters and maybe pick up the pace around now, but unfortunately I wrote myself in a direction that just felt unsatisfying partway into the tournament arc, so I'm deleting a few chapters and doing another take. This means we probably won't go much faster than this until the end of the novel. So we're sticking with 4 chapters per week until I either finish or build up a 10 chapter backlog again.

I'm going to do a hidden pole on whether or not Eowyn gets to join the harem right after this goes live. It shouldn't go out to emails so as to not spoil the story for people, but if this is up you should be able to find it on Patreon as the latest post.