Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 29 [Cyra Interlude]

Weeks ago, on Valkyrie’s Watch, Themyscira.

Cyra thrust her sword one last time, marking ten thousand perfectly executed thrusts, at least by the standards of her former trainer. Now, Cyra held herself to a higher standard, and what might once have been perfect was now merely adequate. The tip placement on that last one was a hair off. It was a small mistake, to be sure, but at C-Grade she needed to be able to reliably strike at the smallest gaps in a set of high-quality armor while fighting a moving target.

It was hard to exhaust a C-Grade body through mere training, but Cyra had managed it, as she did every morning, and if she went the whole day without fighting, she exhausted herself again before sleep. All just to ensure she kept her edge.

“Carter’s no doubt doing the same...” she muttered to herself. Bridget and Sakura seemed fairly diligent warriors, and while it would take decades to make up for not having a warrior’s upbringing, they’d close the gap eventually.

Myrina was the only one she was worried about. As a girl, Myrina often skipped practice so she could pick fights with monsters, the guards, or random tavern patrons. It had worked out well enough for her in the end, as winning the planetary tournament for her grade had proved.

Cyra had her own path to tread. One that involved hard work, regimented discipline, and steady progress. It had served her well, but sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder if her little sister had chosen the better path. She’d been smiling so wide when they all departed, leaving Cyra behind to tend to troublesome clan business.

She’d only recently become comfortable with governing the family holdings. Tradition dictated that she’d spend around a century here slowly advancing toward B-Grade. At that point, she’d leave the estate on Themyscira to Myrina’s daughters and join the broader Samhain Clan off-world and become an ancestor. But recent events had drawn her into things far sooner than she’d been prepared for.

“Matriarch,” one of her attendants cleared her throat. “Your mother’s sent another message.”

Cyra let out a long sigh. “Clear my schedule. I will go to Glacia and see her today.”

The attendant nodded, dutifully carrying off her message. Cyra went straight to the baths to disrobe and look at herself in the mirror. She frowned, focused, and squeezed herself down with a tremendous effort of will. Given how much mass she’d cultivated, squeezing herself down any further was like crushing an apple while trying to keep the same shape. It was difficult, but most things worth achieving were.

Utilized appropriately, the Amazonian racial buff and her own Samhain family bloodline work in perfect harmony. The compressed mass would lend strength and durability to her body, only rivaled by the natural abilities of awakened beasts in humanoid form.

When she looked again, she was about a finger shorter than she’d been the day prior. She used to prefer a size on the very upper edge of what could be considered humanoid, but looking at Myrina, Sakura, and Bridget, she’d reconsidered. Something more modest might be appropriate. For strictly practical purposes, of course. Though she wouldn’t have minded if Carter liked the change.

She nodded to herself, then bathed and washed with practiced efficiency. She changed into something a bit more formal. While her mother hadn’t reached C-Grade and wasn’t a Samhain family ancestor, the head of the Samhain branch on Glacia was such a woman. And one Cyra had grown familiar with thanks to her recent visit.

“Take me to Glacia,” Cyra announced at the teleportation array. The technician on duty nodded, and soon she was off. Upon her arrival, she was swiftly directed to the side, where other important people were skipping the line.

“Cyra, my baby, you’re here at last!” said Cyra’s mother, Kyrina Samhain. She wrapped Cyra up in a warm embrace.

“Hello, mother. How have things been for you?”

“Oh, well enough.” Kyrina waved her daughter’s concerns away. “What about you? Are you eating right? Normally you’re taller.”

“The cooks treat me just fine, mother. I just thought it was time for a change. I don’t like standing out so much, especially when I’m on another world like this one.”

“Yes, I hear you’ve gotten yourself in trouble. Arrested? Myrina, sure, but you? I can hardly believe it. I was ready to kick down the door of the Mucaria pocket realm myself!”

“The charges were baseless. I fought back in self-defense. There was no need for any concern.” Cyra returned her mother’s warm embrace.

Kyrina still didn’t break her hug. “Still, it worried me. Enough that your father noticed.”

“Truly?” Cyra wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Her father was an immortal god-king who’d ruled over his world for a thousand years. Most C-Grades would tremble at the thought of catching the attention of such a being. Cyra couldn’t help but feel mixed thoughts.

“Yes,” Kyrina said grimly. “He’s decided the Samhain Clan has been too stingy with its resources in raising you. He’s sent you a few gifts as congratulations on ascending to C-Grade. I tried to tell him that doing so wouldn’t come without a price, but he would hear none of it.”

“What kind of price?” Cyra asked.

Kyrina patted her daughter on the back. “It will be easier to show you. Come.”

Kyrina turned to the teleportation technician. “Take us to the Samhain Clan estate.”

Just as quickly as she arrived in Glacia, she left. They emerged on the outskirts of a sprawling city. In its center, there was a tower so tall it reached straight through the sky and skewered the moon overhead right through its center. The tower was a wizard’s tower taken to its extreme, and she knew at a glance that it belonged to her father.

The sprawling city came to an abrupt end just before her, transitioning to hard-packed earth and mountainous terrain reminiscent of Themyscira. In fact, the trees and plants were all varieties she recognized. Clearly, the Samhain Clan of Glacia had worked hard to make this estate feel like a home away from home.

The natural setting of the area contrasted sharply with the urban landscape just beyond it. This land was no doubt worth the fortunes of ten lifetimes. Spending so much on nothing but trees, rocks, and grass spoke of the Samhain Clan’s oppressive wealth. No doubt the locals thought it quite showy, though rendered less so by the tower that pierced the moon on the other side of the city.

Past the estate’s trees, the city’s noise rapidly faded away. Kyrina led her daughter to a clearing, where several ancient-looking stone buildings stood, each surrounded by a walled garden. These were the estates of the wealthiest and most influential families on Glacia.

“I’m usually at the palace, but your great-grandmother gave me a room at the family estate too,” Kyrina explained.

The inside of the building was much larger than the outside, proving once again that this branch of the Samhain family wasn’t nearly as shy about using magic to improve their quality of life. It was hard not to in a world like this one so deeply steeped in magic. Even the straightforward noble warriors of an ancient Amazonian Clan picked up a trick or two.

The table was filled with presents, presumably for her. Resting on its top was the finest sword Cyra had ever seen. Perhaps slightly better than the one Carter made for her, though she’d never say as much where he could hear. The armor was similarly well enchanted.

Next to them were several ornate boxes, each no doubt containing precious materials. She pushed those aside and peered underneath them.

They rested atop a pile of skillbooks stacked upon one another in an arm-deep pile. There had to be a hundred at least, and not a single one was below epic rarity.

“The armor was enchanted by the Master Artificer Goldenfinger Garund himself. Any list of the ten best craftsmen on the planet will contain his name, and he spent the entire year constructing this set. Each piece works with the others in perfect harmony.

“These colors look like a uniform.” Cyra flipped the armor over to see the colors that adorned the armor. Red on black with gold trim. She’d seen those colors all over Glacia.

“They are the colors of Glacia, yes. And this emblem here signifies the wearer is of royal blood. Technically, you shouldn’t wear it since you bear the Samhain family name, not your father’s. He insisted on an exception though, so here it is.”

Cyra stared at the armor. By all accounts, it was an upgrade to her current gear, but she didn’t like the thought of setting the set Carter made for her on the rack to gather dust.

“It’s good." Cyra shrugged.

Kyrina gave her daughter a thin-lipped smile. “Its more than good, it's world-class armor. Your grandmother had to chase your spoiled cousins off with a stick, otherwise they would have stolen it already. You'll find a few other gifts in the boxes. Mainly, a set of legendary-rank experience pearls, a set of stat-enhancing elixirs, and several writs of passage. The experience pearls should boost your race and class by twenty five levels each. The stat-enhancing elixirs will bolster luck and charisma to your caps, and also raise your intelligence stat to keep that from getting too low while you focus your growth in other areas. Most valuable of all are those writs of passage.

Kyrina flipped through the priceless sheets of paper to show off the fancy wax-seals on each. "They put you at the front of a very long line that will allow you to explore several challenge dungeons that will grant you titles useful for someone with your abilities. The one at the bottom will also put you in touch with the best theory crafters and combat trainers you can get. These are the kind of people you can’t hire no matter how much money you have, so make good use of them.”

Cyra flipped through the gifts. Sure enough, everything was exactly as her mother said. Acquiring these things would take somebody of immense power and influence. Someone like a god-king, she supposed. Though these gifts seemed extravagant even for him.

Her mind went elsewhere. All the way to back to Carter and what he’d said to her back in that tent. That they were going to have a duel. She’d seen him fight, and he’d be able to beat her with just a little more training. Or at least, he would have until she took advantage of these gifts.

“How long do I have to accept these?” Cyra asked.

“The writs of passage and trainer contacts won’t last long. You should take advantage of those first. Consume the experience pearls slowly so as not to poison your advancement. There’s a schedule with the papers. Several of the dungeons you will be running through have stringent level requirements, so you can use the pearls to make sure you’re where you need to be. There are ways to remove ill-gotten levels, but it’s not an easy or pleasant process.”

“There are no ill effects from them?” Cyra asked warily. Many people sold experience pearls that were nothing more than alchemically modified monster cores. Precious few could make experience pearls from the stuff of chaos, but all the highest-grade ones were made that way.

“These are the best of the best, daughter. Your father and I made sure if it. But I sense hesitancy in you? I would have thought you’d be more eager at these gifts.”

Cyra grimaced. “All this comes at a price.”

Kyrina gave her daughter a thin-lipped smile. “You’re right, daughter. Your brother has staked his reputation on reclaiming a border world from our enemies. He will lead a legion from Glacia to do it, reinforced with magical auxiliaries from the Dragon Lodge. There will be a tournament in Mucaria soon, and the tournament winner will be in command of the magical auxiliaries. A few influential families would be very happy to see your brother die in battle in a far-off world, which would certainly happen were his magical auxiliaries to betray him. You must ensure that doesn’t come to pass.”

“I understand. Tell my father that I will not fail him.”

Cyra glanced at the armor she’d been gifted. She should have guessed something like this might happen. One small mistake, and suddenly she was diving head-first into planetary politics, precisely the sort of thing she’d hoped to avoid.

Just days ago, she'd been looking forward to spending many years by Carter's side. Perhaps even raising a family with him. She should have guessed it had all been nothing more than a childish dream.


<Note>
Finally found an opportunity to sneak in a much-requested Cyra interlude!