Disce Libens

Amidst the void of emptiness, Wilhelm found himself being pulled towards a bright star, its light consuming the darkness around it. Everything about Wilhelm, his memories, power, skills, everything that made up himself was being pulled towards this all-consuming star. Then he felt painfully pulled away from that star in an instant.

Wilhelm opened his eyes as air forced its way into his lungs, causing him to cough.

“Wake up sweet prince~”

Wilhelm groggily got up and looked around. He was within a stone building with undead standing guard. He instinctively got into a battle stance but the sudden motion made him dizzy.

“Dont strain yourself, you have only just woken up.”

Wilhelm rubbed his eyes to get back his bearings and looked towards the source of the voice.

On the throne he saw a beautiful woman in a black gown adorned with red and purple markings that exposed her legs and cleavage. Around her neck attached to her dress was a black metal crest that almost reached the top of her head, the holes of the crest had locks of her black hair flowing down them like silky black waterfalls that ended in red rather than white foam. No painting or statue he’d ever seen of her has managed to fully capture her majesty and beauty. She looked regal as she sat atop her throne lit by colorful magical torches, placed at the center of a raised platform overlooking a small court.

Wilhelm knew this woman, the only thing he did not recognize was her piercing red eyes because this woman had been asleep for over a millennium.

He was standing before Synthara, the goddess that he swore his soul to. It could not be anyone else. Wilhelm instantly bowed before her as low as he could, his forehead reaching the ground. As he bowed he noticed his clothes were freshly bloodied and torn, meaning her words were true.

“Milady! You have awakened at last! Does this mean you’re here to save us like in the legends!?”

Synthara chuckled. “I will do more than just save you all, young prince. I am here to assign a task to you, Prince Wilhelm.”

Wilhelm’s eyes felt like they were going to bulge out of his head. This was the moment he had dreamed of. He did his best to ignore the feeling, but deep down he felt as if the day Synthara would awaken would never come, and that he would forever be known as nothing more than an ineffectual prince with a rebellious streak.

Synthara stood and floated towards Wilhelm. “You will be my herald of conquest as we conquer all four realms in my name. You will lead my armies to victory over the other three gods, spread my name to every corner of the three realms, and destroy any who would oppose me.” Synthara stopped in front of Wilhelm. “Do you accept?”

Wilhelm hesitated. “Why me? Surely you have more experienced Einjerjar worthy of leading your armies?”

‘Oh fuck, Morgan told me this was going to be easy and that this kid would eat out of my hands no questions asked!’ Synthara thought as she quickly thought back to what she managed to learn of her own religion over the past month since the Ort incident. Going through Morgan’s library during that time helped her get her bearings in the world.

The Einjerjar were the warriors of the dead from Valhalla, her own hall where all of her faithful reside after death. Her army was supposed to comprise all of the faithful that have died over the entire course of her existence, which included various great heroes that made their name over the past millennium. The great thing about being the god of your religion is that you can change and add to it as you will, who’s going to tell a god how to run their own religion?

She chuckled sagely. “Surely you don't already know? I chose you because as you are the prince of the current ruling kingdom of my land, the only one who has remained stalwart in the face of heresy. People will rally behind the name Starrk. Not heroes whose names have sadly been erased from history by our enemies. Familiarity is what is needed now more than ever after my people have lost their way.”

“I see now my lady, and I apologize for questioning your wisdom and for the state of my kingdom’s souls. As the one who will rule this kingdom, I take full responsibility for my people’s lack of faith.”

Synthara smiled. “Good, it warms my heart to know that I still have faithful among me even in these dark times. Now, stand.”

Wilhelm did as he was commanded. He blushed at being so close to his beautiful goddess. She was taller than him but her levitation made her seem even taller and regal. Synthara gently took his chin in her hand and brought it up, eyes onto each other.

“I ask again, do you accept being my herald? My chosen king to rule this land and lord of all lords? My enforcer, who will enact my will now and forever?”

Wilhelm swallowed hard, this was it, this was his moment to make history. His people need him and their goddess.

“I accept.”

“Do you swear it?”

“I swear on the name of the Starrk dynasty. Should my actions not prove worthy of my words, then let the Starrk name fall to obscurity.”

Synthara grinned. ‘Looking at him closely like this he’s kind of cute. He means every breath of what he said. He’ll be like putty in my hands.

“Henceforth, I name you Boðara. My Herald and my will personified. Lead with confidence, knowing that you wield both divine and secular authority.” Synthara then slowly kissed Wilhelm directly on the lips. Wilhelm was stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening.

“With that, our covenant is sealed, break it at your own peril. Now that that’s out of the way, we must acquaint you with our plans. Morgan, I trust you can take it from here?”

Morgan’s jaw practically dropped to the floor, but she still stepped away from beside her lady’s throne. “W-With pleasure.”

Wilhelm’s eyes widened, he was so transfixed with the goddess that he completely missed his supposedly dead Royal Sorcerer. “Morgan! You’re alive!?”

“You sound surprised. Faking my own death with a fake corpse is trivial for me.”

“We held a grand funeral for you, an expensive one at that.” Wilhelm said annoyed.

“In order to fool one’s enemies, you must also fool your allies. That said, I found your parting speech very touching. I didn't know you thought of me as your mother.” Morgan said with a bright smile.

Wilhelm’s face grew red. “You will never be getting another funeral speech from me, hag.”

Morgan mock gasped, relishing in the moment to jab Wilhelm for receiving a blessing that she could only dream of having. “Oh my! Is that how you talk to your mother?” Morgan’s voice dripped with spite and envy.

As amusing as this was, Synthara would rather not have her high priest and herald come to blows. “Morgan, if you would explain our plans to him?”

Morgan coughed into her hand. "I apologize.” Morgan said as she began to walk in a circle around Wilhelm. “Now that we have you here, our next objective is to make Synthara the Royal Sorcerer. With your supposed assassination, Julius will think that he’s free to move on to the next part of his plan. Which is to make himself Royal Sorcerer.”

“My father ordered me to vote for him this morning. He seemed desperate to make it so.”

“The Royal Sorcerer is the only secular power in the land that is equal to the king in military matters. They can even start a motion to declare war along with the king, the only one able to refuse it. If Julius is made Royal Sorcerer, who we all know has the king under his thumb, then Julius would be able to reignite war between the four realms. That is the only reason why Julius would seek the position.”

“If that's the case then why did you fake your own death? Couldn't you have kept holding the position to prevent this from happening?”

Synthara smiled deviously. “Because that is where I step in.”

Wilhelm looked at Synthara worriedly. “What do you mean?”

Morgan continued. “Our goal is to start a war on our terms, my prince. My spies tell me of a massive military buildup on the Ougonian-Qin border and our own. Our goddess becoming Royal Sorcerer will put her in a position to stop whatever their plans are and put our own followers into position to take over the kingdom. Installing you as king.”

“To do that, I would need to overthrow my father. The people would never accept a usurper on the throne.”

“Not if they find that he is unfit to rule. I know why your father has been carrying out the Ultimatist’s will.” Morgan pulls out a small, palm-sized bag and opens it to reveal white powder from within.

“Is this a drug?” Could his father’s irrational hatred and actions be caused by substance addiction?

“All my chemical testing and magic have shown me that this is common sugar. Yet I found Julius spiking your father’s drinks and food with exactly that.”

“Surely it has to be some sort of spell.”

“I am knowledgeable on each magic system of the four realms, and this is unlike any spell I've seen. The only conclusion must be that it's a Soul Armament at work.”

Wilhelm raised an eyebrow.

“Normally an individual is only capable of using the magic within the world they are born in. Those with Soul Armaments are the exception. They are ones who managed to draw out their inner, unique magic from their souls and shape it according to their innermost desires. My hypothesis is that your father’s state is the result of a Soul Armament in conjunction with sugar. What the exact correlation between the two is I cannot say.”

Wilhelm grit his teeth. “If you knew about all of this, why didn't you tell me sooner?”

“We could not act on our plans until our goddess awakened. Telling you at the time had no benefit. But now, after centuries spent in the dark, biding our time, we can finally strike back at our oppressors and remind the people of Ragna who the true ruler of this land is.”

“Well said my high priest! Now prince, any further questions?”

“Yes, what happened to my followers who were supposed to meet at the cathedral? Where is Titania? Where am I? Did I interpret your earlier words correctly? How am I still alive?” Wilhelm’s head was aswirl with questions and worry. He had remembered that he just died what felt like a few minutes ago.

Morgan scoffed. “Are you dense? You are in the presence of the greatest necromancer in the four realms and the goddess that created us all, reviving you is a trivial matter. I’ve even made you stronger.

“Stronger?”

“Yes, remember how my experimental necromancy cured you of your condition as a child? All the time I spent with you has allowed me to improve those spells and use them to create a body more suited to them. I've even engraved some of my own spells directly into your mind so you know how to use them. Be grateful for the knowledge I have bestowed on you.”

Wilhelm looked down on himself. The only outward difference he noticed was that he was slightly taller, though he did feel more power flowing through his body.

“Thank you Morgan.”

“Dont thank me, thank Synthara. Because of your bravery and trust in the word of your goddess, the assassins now believe they have fulfilled their mission and are heading back to inform their master as we speak. They will be completely unprepared for our arrival. Consider your new body your reward for fulfilling your goddess’ wishes.”

Wilhelm let out a sigh of relief, he knew that his faith was not misplaced. He had fulfilled his first mission to his goddess with flying colors. Wilhelm swelled with pride.

“As for your followers, we collected them before the assassins arrived, they will be useful for our crusade. Including your bodyguard, though she is still recovering.”

“Though I had faith that I would meet them again in Valhalla, I am still glad they will join us in the fight to come.”

Morgan and Synthara exchanged glances. “Indeed, now, is that all of your questions?”

Wilhelm’s mind was a tornado. Dying, being reborn, getting a kiss from his goddess, and partaking in a plot to overthrow his own kingdom left him off balance. All he knew was that he must obey Synthara no matter what. He got on his knee. “No, I am ready to receive my next orders, my goddess.”

Synthara cackled. “Good! Good! As expected of my boðara, so diligent! But rest for now, we will make for Rok at dawn. Yol, please show the prince to his lodgings.”

“Yes my ladies!” Yol stepped out of the of the pews and gestured for Wilhelm to follow. “Come with me, human!”

As soon as the Kobold led the prince out of the chamber. Morgan turned to Synthara.

“That went swimmingly my lady, it was a wise decision to not only keep the truth of Valhalla from him, but to keep his bodyguard unconscious while we molded his mind to suit our mission as well. Her independent streak would have complicated matters.”

“Indeed, the death of the assassins was not part of the plan, but it's to our benefit. Not only does it make his death more convincing to Julius, but he has managed to take a few of Julius’ valuable pieces off the board.”

“As expected of Lady Synthara! Your foresight surpasses even the wisest of sages! It was certainly worth having Rusalka covertly remove Wilhelm’s brain from his head and bring it back. Her hynosis abilities are impressive but it has its limits.” Morgan looked down, as if was struggling to say something.

“Is something the matter?”

“Well…given that I have succeeded in my tasks and that another time may not come again for a while, I humbly ask to be rewarded as well…” Morgan trailed off as she glanced where Wilhelm was taken.

Synthara smiled. “Oh dear, I can't have my most loyal subjects feel pent up now can we?” Synthara used her strings to lift Morgan off her feet, causing her to squeak in surprise as she was brought closer and collided with Synthara’s lips.