Chapter 55: Not Exactly a Nympho

Sammy did not waste any time. “It’s Zadkiel — he’s making intrusions into Oldaster, tried to kill the marchioness there, sow discord, I guess create a distraction for this war he’s playing at on the Dominion’s outskirts. I bumped into him without knowing and I faked myself as Greenleaf, but he saw through it and thinks I’m some up-jumped Fae spirit of your machinations.”

Redberry had a bewildered, double-take ‘Huh?’ sort of reaction, which reminded Sammy of that blinking double-take meme. “How do you live months of time in days? I’ll blink and you’ll be a Major Deity; I’ll yawn, and you’ll conquer a new continent. Slow down! You really are like a bug. You’ll burn up too, too fast this way.”

“Can I be a butterfly instead of a moth? Something prettier.”

“Well of course you’re pretty. Some moths are magnificent, you know. Do you think I see you as some common thing? You’re a Blue Streaker, delicate and intricate and bright. Iridescent and reflective wings to bedazzle and enchant.”

An image flashed into Sammy’s head of the creature, bright blue and magenta on the center back, purple with heavy iridescence at the wings.

Sammy was a bit stunned by the reaction, the blunt praise of sorts hitting her in the gut with the feels. Good feels, though.

Holy shit, this must be what head pats feel like. Except from something considering swallowing you whole as it gives it…

“Ah… hehe… good to know…it’s very nice…”

“He’s been requesting my attention too — more politely, I might add. I take it you want me to… confirm this somehow? Have you already created another persona or three? Names?”

“I haven’t actually. Um. Maybe you could help with that? What’s a good name?”

“Moth.”

“Har har.”

“First consider what the origin is. Illusive hiding beauties are natural enough. A patron of nymphs and elves. I’m sure that will get his curiosity quite fired up.”

Sammy gasped and mind-whispered, “There are elves?!”

“See? Even you’re excited. Imagine Zadkiel’s reaction. Anyway, they are exceptionally rare. They were some of the first victims of Dominion extermination in the north. All that remains is some fragments of their bloodlines in mortals. Their gods were gone before I arose. Those in my territory are descended from refugees, I think. It took a long time for even one group to worship me. Others never did. They don’t care for swamps, for one thing.”

“I hope I get to meet them one day… hmm… nymphs and elves… fae creatures, less dryadish… ooh! What about water-aspected beings?!”

“Of course, though they are even rarer-”

“It’s perfect! I can see and hear through calm water surfaces as they form a mirror!”

“Scintillating.” Utterly deadpan. “It’s believable I might cultivate Lake Yura for such an entity. There is a clutch of naiads there, even one that styles herself a ‘princess.’ They are lazy and usually bored, completely without ambition, but no one else knows that. I could even tell them about this and it would amuse them. And they have some ties to the Thirikira, a nearby elven tribe along a river.”

Not bothering to hide her burning curiosity and excitement, Sammy sent, “I’d really like to meet them!”

“You do know how naiads are, right? Water-aspected nymphs?”

“Well… no.”

“Insatiably horny with little to no inhibitions. A personification of beauty and temptation. Health, virulence, fertility, life. The Thirikiran word for the lake means ‘The Shores of Forbidden Desire.’ Male elves are not ‘supposed’ to go there, but you can guess how that goes. And while you’re at it, guess how it goes for females that like other females.”

“My guess is that there’s sex.”

“Correct.”

“So you’re saying… they’ll make a pass at me. Well. Whatever! I can handle myself.”

Amusement. “Are you sure about that? Suit yourself, though. You can sate your curiosity with them if you like. I’ll tell them to expect ‘you’ someday.”

“But this makes sense, right? This entity being connected to them? Actually, do nymphs have illusion abilities?”

“All nymphs are skilled in charm, enchantment, and Glamour. Admittedly, dryads the least due to personality and a more physical form of shapeshifting, but… there are no Fae left who cannot hide or disguise themselves in some way. And I have always been connected to feminine entities of nature. A… cultivated child of sorts among the naiads is reasonably natural.”

“Wait, will they try to charm me? Like, magically?”

A laugh. “Are you susceptible, then? No. They are freedom-loving beings, any heavy-handed abilities would be reserved for self-defense or exceptional circumstances. Or on request. That wouldn’t stop them from enchanting you in other ways… potentially.”

Am I, though? Damn this college-age gradient! That’s what it is. Totally. It’s a thing. Not to mention being jammed into a new, divine body. Maybe it doesn’t even matter to deities? Eh. I’ve never been super drawn to casual sex, anyway. Okay, no more thinking about this-

“So your younger days must’ve been pretty wild, huh?” Sammy asked.

“Naturally. Yes, that was a pun. I had lots of sex if that’s what you mean. I’m glad nearly all of the lucky souls are dead now, though.”

“Nearly all, hmm?”

“A few memorable left, others vague or forgotten. Whether any of them do, I am unsure.”

“And now? No interest anymore?”

“I don’t know.”

“That makes two of us. It’s just odd to think about here, stuck in my own head… in the back of my mind, I always feel like I don’t have a body. Unreal. But maybe that’s wearing down.”

“You should get used to it in time. But perhaps an Avatar would feel more natural for one that was a mortal to start.”

“Right… anyway, I still need a name.”

“Nyniane Nel Mieri, which means Queen of the Lake in Thirikira Elvish.”

Sammy squinted in thought. That seemed familiar and certainly felt right. “Perfect! Alias: Stillwater. Nothing too specific.”

“Lies upon lies. As long as you’re having fun, dear.” A wave of a hand.

“Totally. So, logically, you’ll tell Zaddy to mind his own damn business if he asks about her. But if he spills enough, you… I dunno, get annoyed? Tell him not to get entangled with me?”

“I’ve never been one to domineer. I can show annoyance. I suppose I would indeed just refuse to discuss you. He might assume I scold you some after, for being discovered.”

“Let’s do that. I can be pissed at him for going to you. And you warned me hardcore about him. ‘I can make my own decisions, MOM!’ Ha!”

“I see where you’re going. Be careful with that angle.”

“Now you are mom-ing me.”

“If you really draw his attention from me, I’d honestly owe you great thanks. But I’m not sure merely stringing him along will work long-term. If you seduced him, well… he’d be putty in your hands.”

“Wha-! Tch-! I-I’m not gonna get it on with him!”

Amusement once again. “Suit yourself, good girl. Your scruples are your own. I’m just providing information.”

“Yeah, well, maybe he’s actually impossible to sway from you, anyway. Maybe you should have him as putty in your hands!” How ‘bout them apples?!

“Maybe. But I don’t feel like it. Now. I think we’ve covered everything. Here’s the location of the lake. I’ll pass the information on. Sans what they don’t need to know, of course.” She sent a bunch of visualization references, of a dense forest closer to the mountains in the Southlands than the coast and Geirkos. After that, she disconnected.

“Sys,” Sammy called, “I need another aspect called Nyniane Nel Mieri, also answering to Stillwater. Patron of naiads and elves. Domains of Freshwater and Glamour.”

It has been created and is tied to your central identity. Note that you do not actually have access to domains you pretend to have. Note that you must complete a separate Ritual of Conversion form to accept Followers.

“Well, I’ll just go ahead and do that then, thank yoooou…”

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Ritual of Conversion Form (Nyniane Nel Mieri; Stillwater)

(Note: Do not add superfluous text to this form.)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Requirements: Pour drinking water over your head, then into a significant, still pool or body of water say, “I, NAME, hereby pledge to pray to, praise, and seek the goddess Stillwater, she who watches over the lakes and ponds and those who honor them.

So will I also speak her name, and especially her true name, only in private, holding her secrets in my heart unless otherwise directed.”

Religious Experience: Mild, feel-good high (30%), and energy/motivation (40%).

Authorized Officials: N/A

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“Another face in the books, baby!” After a moment, she had a little extra personal ‘hmmph’ for Redberry’s suggestions about Zadkiel.

Like I’d stoop so low! I don’t need him anyway. What would I do, get him to not go to war and tax my enemy? It’s in his nature at this point. All I need is to keep him off-balance and believing a lie that he actually wants to believe, to preserve my own secrets.

Hesitantly, she searched for the lake Redberry mentioned… it wasn’t hard to find based on her information. She didn’t want to poke around much yet. It seemed very pretty as a landscape, though.

Before anything else came up, Sammy summoned her copy of Big, Fat Book of Runes and began pouring through it to finish off her rune construction for Identify, with growing excitement. Hours died to the jumble of semi-linguistic puzzle-constructing and then it all came together, forming into a complete runic spell with a jolt in her mind.

Spell [Identify] learned.

She leapt out of her throne, tossed the book away, and thrust her hands up. “Wizard spell, bitches!”

Soon thereafter, she drew it up.

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Identify [5 MP]

(Informational) You may cast this on an item, person, enchanted area, or targetable persistent spell within (1 meter + ½ relevant levels, rounded down). Details of any magic or supernatural effects upon the subject will be revealed, including the Effective Level of the effect, along with any source and flavor information. This only includes ‘active’ effects or enchantments — it does not reveal information related to a supernatural creature’s nature or abilities. It also does not read auras of spells already cast.

Identify is sometimes required to compare levels with a stealthing effect — in this case base class is [Wizard], [Priest], [Shaman], or other special spellcasting classes, One additional class may add as normal, providing (level/3, rounded up) to the base class.

Add 1 Effective Level if touching the source. Add 1 Effective Level if the exact caster of the effect/enchantment and/or the item/subject/area is known and familiar to you (these bonuses stack). You must subtly adjust the spell beforehand to enact this bonus.

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Pretty basic shit. I could probably help Carlisle out with this now…

When she checked in, though, everyone in the group was outside, clustered together, even Merril. Most were solemn.

“Your Majesty,” Carlisle sent, “we’re about to say a few words over the graves of the fallen who have been buried.”

Sammy took a look through Estara’s Mask-hat, seeing seven distinct graves marked with stones, wildflowers made to stick upward between the rocks. The whole group was gathered around, standing before them.

Briefly, Samantha brushed the minds of all her Followers, to let them know she was there, and to show her support.

“I think the valorous deeds of these men,” Agatha declared, “speak for themselves, my words floundering to measure them. We stand here, we can walk away from here, because of the stand they made. The price they paid in blood, and not without rivers dealt for every drop of theirs. They did not flounder for one minute, not one moment, not one inch. They faced the impossible and won the day, for us, for our tomorrow. We send them on to theirs with assurance of blessing. The blessings of heroes, of knights, of the truly noble.”

She drew her blade and touched it to the first cluster of headstones. “Sir Theron: thank you. Fare you well beyond and remember your virtuous life as we do.” She went to the next. “Sir Uthen of Tolk: thank you. Fare you well beyond and remember your virtuous life as we do…”

Down the line she went, solemnly knighting the dead and sending them off. Sir Galmore. Sir Amdien, son of Bolmard. Sir Jeffry. Sir Eckard of Shenne. Sir Redienne.

Sammy made a point to record them, record the funeral and rites, to burn it all into her memory as she wiped the tears from her eyes. They were all dead on her watch, and she owed them that remembrance. She owed a promise to do everything in her power to do better for the next man. The things and people they died for.

She knew she’d see more mortals die. That was what mortals did. But she could take the inspiration of how hard and fierce they fought for the preservation of life and freedom… take it to heart. She could swear to protect their lives like a mother bear for her cubs, like a cornered badger, like a guardian angel. She could swear to share their determination to shelter others.

So that’s what she did.

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