A.N. So. This chapter took a few attempts. Still am not 100% happy, but I had to eventually get it done and move on, which I did. Backlog is slowly going down though, current chapter I am, slowly, working on is 118, which is fighting me... in part because I distracted myself with a low quality LN/Manga/anime series, called 'I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire'. Its predictable, with an MC that never really loses... but some of the side characters are entertaining. (Wait, that description sounds familiar...)
I even wrote the start of a story set in that world, partly inspired by a fic by a friend that is WiP and not yet ready to post, and partly because I was bored and wanted a break. Not sure I will write more of it, but a link to that 'first chapter (at 13k words!) is here:
Link
Anyway, on with the show. We are making progress towards the end of this story.
No longer burdened by worry for Tara, Richard found he had the opportunity to finally look around and see what the island they had landed on was like.
By the time the spy ship had set out, it had turned to evening. The sun began to dip below the horizon, casting the wide sandy beaches into a warm orange glow, the heat cooled by the sea breeze.
Soft, warm sand shifted beneath his feet as he walked, noting the dense greenery of the jungle, mixed with colourful plants that flowered between broad leaves.
There was a peaceful air of tranquillity that should have put him at ease. Instead, Richard found himself wary and tense.
As much as he wanted to relax, to enjoy the however brief stay in this paradise, he knew there was a war on. And not just the Imperial Civil War.
"Sorry about that," Tara said with a smile as she jogged across the beach to him. "Some of my people wanted to hunt. I told them to wait until tomorrow, given the meat that had already been brought in. So, what did you want to talk about? Important, I presume, given we're away from the others."
Richard turned to look at her. Her soft, white hair turned almost a shade of pink by the embers of the sun, and her tall ears outright turned pink by the light passing through them.
He struggled to put his feelings into words, to fit emotions into a form he could communicate why he felt so unsettled, so ill at ease.
With a sigh, he sat on a nearby log, gesturing for her to sit next to him as he did so.
"How… do your people… what do they think of the gods?" He asked, tentative.
Confused, Tara sat next to him as she formulated a response.
"Well… it varies between which gods you are talking about," Tara began slowly as she explained, taking the time to think out her words. "Hardy, for example, is venerated the most. Sacrifices were done in her name, especially by the more… aggressive tribes. But Emroy was also worshipped, as was Miritta and Deldort. Is there something you are specifically interested in?"
She blinked and glanced around, noting their distance from the others.
"… is this related to the dream you had? The vision with Hardy's consort?" She asked, tentative. Her tone carried across undertones of something Richard couldn't identify.
"Before we… get into that," Richard delayed answering her. "Could… you go more into how your people interacted with the gods?"
"Well," Tara's arm came up and began to rub his back in a comforting motion. "There were the priests and elders… but most of us had little direct contact with them. The demigods were rare and… honestly, generally harbingers of something bad, unless they were just passing through."
She paused in thought.
"Though, sometimes they were also helpers. Usually, Rory, going after bandits or the like, though I remember an old story about Miritta's demigod from generations ago, helping a tribe avoid being wiped out by a plague that was causing malformed children to be born."
"I see…" Richard gave her a weak smile. "Thank you."
"… you… don't have many gods on Earth, do you?" Tara asked. "And from what I've heard, the major one… doesn't act. He… what was it that I heard?"
She chewed her lip for a moment.
"Respected mortal free will, I think was how it was put?" Tara said after a moment's recollection. "Though, I heard that second hand."
"Something like that, yeah," Richard nodded, wearily. "But to be honest, even after my father died, I was never strongly religious, for all that my parents were. None of it connected with me. It was all… history and another story. Like ancient myth to me."
"And now… it's not just that they are present, it's that they are in your life," Tara observed. "You aren't sure how to handle it."
"…yeah," Richard admitted.
Tara let out a laugh as she leaned against her, her arms embracing him in a hug.
"I grew up with them being present… and while I'll admit being so close to them is… new, you also grew up with all the strange things on Earth, too," She pointed out. "We'll manage, together?"
"Together," Richard did his best to affirm, though he thought his voice sounded less sure than he wanted it to. But he returned the embrace.
"Can I borrow Richard for a moment?" A voice called from behind them.
Giselle gave a small wave as they turned.
"Of course," Tara gave a respectful nod, before walking away, giving Richard a wink as she did so.
The blue dragonoid took Tara's spot. Her wings fanned out behind her as she stared at him with purple orbs.
"You… don't handle change well," She bluntly stated. "You can handle minor changes, or if the change can fit with your existing worldview. When your father died, you carried on as if everything was normal, just putting in more time to play pretend knight."
Richard's immediate reaction was indignation. Anger at the accusation. But… that faded when his thoughts turned inwards. He… couldn't find any situations that provided contrary evidence. He wouldn't say he acted as normal… but he certainly started spending a lot more time learning medieval skills.
Still, calling HEMA 'playing pretend knight' rankled.
"You weren't unaffected, but it's why Rory isn't too fond of you," Giselle continued. "You treat her as an adult… with a child's body. Extensions of how you interact with other people. It's… one of her pet peeves."
"That… explains more than I would like to know about her, and her relationship with the Marines," Richard grumbled, the fading burst of fury left him feeling tired. "Bloody lunatics."
"On top of that, you don't really react in an interesting way. So, she is minorly annoyed and bored of you," Giselle shrugged. "I've only known her for around a century, but she tends to go after what interests her and ignore the rest. Aside from her duties."
"Point is," Giselle fixed him with a gaze. "You don't get pushed outside your boundaries often, so you aren't handling something outside of your experience, like gods, well."
"I rather think that real gods are a bit far from what most people would consider their normal experience in life," Richard's reply was indignant, before he formed himself to let go, exhaling through his nose. "But that is from a Terran point of view. From a Falmartian… I see what you mean."
Giselle shrugged.
"I don't mean any offence. Just doing what Hardy told me to do," She told him. "She said you needed your… personal issue laid out in front of you."
Richard blinked at her. His reply was a grunt as he tried to process it all, falling silent for several moments.
It was broken not by any revelation, but by Tara jogging back towards them.
"Richard!" Her voice echoed over the sandy, evening beach. "Radio started working again!"
"Good to hear from you," Major Edgar Johnston's voice crackled through the static, making the words audible, but hard to distinguish through the interference. "We were a bit worried when you disappeared."
"The storm gave us a scare, and we lost a couple of ships," Richard answered as he spoke into the headset. "But we survived. Current guess places us down south, at the Empire's colonies."
"That tracks with what the technicians are saying," Edgar replied. "They also say there was an abnormal amount of magnetic interference in the region after the storm. That would explain some of the issues your radios have had. What's your fleet's status? We can fly a few planes towards you to drop off supplies if you need it."
"I'll have someone give you a list of what we need later," Richard replied. "The fleet… we're down a few ships. Some we know were sunk, while others are missing."
"How bad are the losses?" Edgar's voice dropped lower; a tone of sympathy reached Richard through the static.
"Higher than I would like," He replied to his friend. "One hundred eighty-six confirmed dead."
"I doubt either of us have the time now… but will let the general know what happened," Edgar replied. "We'll make sure you can talk to someone about it. It's never easy losing people under your command."
"I'm functioning," Richard replied. He tensed as he felt Tara lay a hand on his shoulder. "But I appreciate it. I don't think it's fully hit me yet, to be honest. And there will be more casualties once we re-engage. How are things at Alnus?"
"Well…" The Canadian Major's voice faded out. "Hang on, Tyuule just arrived. I'll let her fill you in. Tara is there, you said?"
"Right behind me."
"Alright. I'm putting Tyuule on."
"Hello?" Tara's sister's voice cut through the static a moment later.
"Tyuule, hello," Richard smiled; despite knowing she couldn't see him. "Tara is here with me. How is Alnus?"
"Better, or will be, once fears regarding your fates are put to rest," Tyuule gave a laugh, distorted by the static. "But there is an… issue that has cropped up. Can Tara hear me?"
"One moment," Richard pulled the headphones off his head, handing the bulky things to his lover. "Your sister wants to talk to you."
Tara held the headphones in one hand as Richard stepped out of her way, keeping them close to her ears, as wearing them properly was rather awkward. Doable, but awkward.
"I'm here, Tyuule," She spoke into the microphone. "How are things?"
Richard couldn't hear the conversation. The words were swallowed by static, to his ears, at this range. Sadly, the speakers had been damaged by salt water, despite the radio itself being untouched.
"I… see. I understand why, yes… no. No, we are not," He listened to the half of the conversation that he could. He trusted Tara to tell him if it was important. "… they want me to what?"
"Everything alright?" Richard frowned at Tara's voice. A mix of shock and anger had tinged her words.
She held a hand towards him. Asking him to wait as she listened.
"No… no. No. No. What about Pina?... Yes, okay, I can understand the concerns then… we'll have to get in contact with her then."
Richard felt a pit of worry forming in his gut.
"Thank you, for handling this, sister," Tara sighed. "We need to talk about this, but then we… well. We aren't going to accept. But Pina needs to be informed."
As she set the headset down, Richard gave her a supportive look.
"How bad?" He asked.
She barked out a laugh. It was a sad, mournful laugh that collapsed into a groan.
"Pina wouldn't give the nobles what they wanted," She explained. "No extra powers, or senate seats, or pardons… so they came to Tyuule, looking for me… and my sister hosted them, as is expected. They took that as a potential way to get around Pina, and that we are not fully behind her… and are offering me the throne if I remove Pina and accept what they want."
Richard blinked in confusion.
"The throne? They couldn't mean…"
"The Saderan Imperial throne," Tara burst out laughing again, more amused than tired this time. "Not that I expect them to honour that offer. No, they want to use me to pressure Pina. Put a wedge between us, so she is more pliable to their demands. That she won a major battle against Zorzal only makes them more desperate."
"Well, I certainly agree we need to talk to Pina about this," Richard blinked. "What next?"
"We'll see what the spy ship can gather, I think," Tara replied. "Pina is still on the march and hasn't said much about the battle, but she's headed back to Italica. It will be a few days."
"Hurry up and wait?" Richard winced.
"'Patience is the only way prey comes to you'," Tara said. "An old saying from a long time ago. But… its never pleasant, is it? Waiting while others fight and possibly die?"
"No. But there isn't anything else that can be done."