I zipped all around Her Nest as She rose above it and followed me flitting about, braziers on icy stands rising behind me and poof-poof-poof, Vivic Eternal Flames in happy flaming colors taken precisely from a certain Imperial Avian rose on them behind me.
Then I started flitting about Her great big sculpture of Fire Phoenix Emperor, adding some highlights to it. Strangely enough, I knew all His feather patterns...
Twenty Chained Vivic Eternal Flames later, and the glowing, fiery light of Fire Phoenix Emperor looked down upon His mate and this cold and lonely valley at the end of the world with a warm and burning illumination that was totally out of place in this desolate realm of ice and snow.
More amusingly, I darted down into the valley below, and parallel lines of twenty-five more stands rose with braziers atop them that paralleled the Wurm watching from below, ending in a tight cluster of them near its buried head. Vivic Eternal Lights in warm colors popped into being atop the braziers on both sides.
With a rush of the wind, I was gone and away before the Wurm reacted to me being there.
---
A few minutes after Healer Fae left, the ice cracked and groaned as a circular maw pushed itself slowly free of the ice, right in front of the cluster of scarlet, orange, yellow, and crimson Flames on the braziers.
Ice Phoenix Emperor watched as the Ancient Glacier Wurm came up, Her watcher possibly thinking to crush the annoying Flames and retreat back to its patient watch.
Then it inhaled, and Ice Phoenix Emperor saw it tremble slightly.
It breathed in and out several times, and then She watched as it wriggled itself down right in front of the braziers, its head only half-buried, ice soon gathering above it to look like an odd snowdrift. It sat there, inhaling the pure Mana about the Vivic Flames.
She looked up at the blazing sculpture of Her mate, so out of place here, visible from a great distance now, and if She could have smiled, She would have.
If the Ice Emperor didn’t like it, what did She care? A delighted warble that had not been heard in many, many years escaped Her long throat, and She looked out in satisfaction over the valley of Her tiny domain, a gleam in Her eyes that had not been there in millennia.
She would ask the little Healer to put up many, many more of the Flames, until the entire valley was lit up with little dancing Fires of warmth delivering clean Mana that no Beast would want to be rid of!
-------
Thunderbird’s Eye...
I placed the last Token of Will upon its stand, that of Ice Phoenix Emperor, right next to that of Her Mate.
Thunderbird Emperor reached down and plucked the stony top of the building off of the Formation like taking the top off a cookie jar. The Wills of True and Low Emperors spiked as the Formation began to draw power, alerting all of the Emperors that it was time.
Pointedly, directly above the Formation, a Portal opened above a single Mark in the stone of the building, where a single Claw had come through a Portal and etched His Will upon the ground of the Mortal Plane.
There would be exactly one High Emperor attending this meeting, but only as a moderator from a distant place, not to dominate or control it. If Thunderbird and Heaven Westward Emperors had not agreed to it, He would not have done so, but Flowing Silver Emperor was going to be speaking with the Emperor Beasts, as well!
Vague images of the Emperors began to appear around the Formation, joining Thunderbird Emperor there. I withdrew to a discreet distance, available if called upon, which I almost certainly would be, but not eavesdropping. The haughty Stormcrown Eagle nearby was probably dying of curiosity and prickling with the awareness of the Auras of multiple Emperors, but he didn’t dare get any closer, either.
As the Emperors manifested and began to speak, I just sat there and continued with my own version of Mana Refinement. There was another quiet break inside me, and Sorcerer/14 opened up for me.
Meh. I had so many Secondary Classes to take, I actually didn’t want the Level, but it just opened up for me.
So many Legendary Feats and Masteries to take, too...
Whatever. I had my Legendary Valences to take and Burn, and so much work to do. At some point Thunderbird would call me over to display Typeless Magic and Casting new spells from the many Elements, including Elements most of the Emperors had never seen before and did not know existed.
Then they would debate on the matter of The Great Flood, the destiny of Humankind, and other weighty things, while a High Emperor from the Beast Realm looked on.
It was a Good Day, a step forward in a new direction, because the existence of Heaven was one of the weighty matters on their docket this time.
-----------
They conferred for two whole days. Given that they were basically doing so telepathically, it meant they covered a lot of material. Since something like this had never happened, that probably meant tens of thousands of years of history was exchanged back and forth.
About twelve hours in I was called over to demonstrate the many new Magery Spells that had been worked out for the Emperors to observe, and to the absolute astonishment of all of them, including Thunderbird and Flowing Silver, I was even able to demonstrate the pure Sage Magicks, if not the Forbidden Magicks that were more like Rituals.
I also demonstrated spells from the Elements they didn’t know, although my weavings of Dark Mana were naturally vivified as soon as they were brought forth.
When that was done, I demonstrated dozens of Wizardry spells for them, in styles and patterns that they’d never seen before, but which the native Mana was very happy to glom onto and magnify into incredibly effective magicks. They were basically idealized, max-efficient versions of effects, with very little wastage and great penetrative power for their Mana.
Even the most aloof of the Emperors watched with great interest at the huge variety of magic I could wield, something none of them could even get close to rivaling. Sure, they could devote more energy to any spell than I could, and so were supreme in their Elements, but I was just using spells from everywhere and everywhen.
It was obviously disconcerting to more than a few of them as they realized the potential of Humanity was not in great depth of power, but great breadth of it!
---
Twelve hours after that, I was called over to speak the Words of Creation.
The haughty and arrogant attitudes of many of the Emperors was clear in their Auras. The whole idea of gods, and powers beyond gods, was not something they believed in. Realm Lords were basically just super-evolved Emperors or something, right? The idea that there was something Beyond them was just another step up a cultivation ladder, right?
I then spoke TRUTH, HOPE, and VALOR, and every single one of them rocked, regardless of how powerful they were. Old Mountain and Heavenly Fire almost lost their connections, and if they tried to hide it, they had the same thing showing as did most of the other Emperors...
Fear! Fear that there was something vast out there, beyond their comprehension, beyond their power, and it did not care that they did not believe. What were their beliefs, to it?
And it was merely the fourth of the powers, and the only one not already active here, with mighty agents beyond the Emperors’ power to contest!
I bowed and retreated from their gathering, but the interest and curiosity now turned very, very grim and weighty, indeed. Matters had moved from overseeing Humans and what they would do... to their own future, and realizing they too were just minnows or ants, regardless of what they had believed before.
Weighty things for Emperors to process, it was true. If a Sublime Chord underlaid with the three Words of Creation I knew was gently Singing about them for all that time, well, they needed some honest truth, courage, and hope for a better future like everyone else did, right?
------------
“COME.”
I got up and flitted back over to the other side of Thunderbird’s Eye, watching as He picked up the roof of the Council Chamber and delicately and precisely placed it back over top of the Formation and the Wills hanging within.
Flowing Silver Emperor’s Portal was still open, still looking on. Many of the Beast Emperors had been shocked to find a High Emperor in attendance, more shocked to realize He was from the Beast Realm, and flabbergasted that He did not dominate and steer the whole Council as He wished. He merely cut through old arguments that had no relevance and dismissed them, guiding His Juniors to keep the discussion moving, as well as answering many questions from the awed True Emperors about the Beast Realm and the views of the Beast Lord.
Their Wills were gone now, however, the Council concluded.
“Your Imperial Majesties?” I asked them, bowing once more. Thunderbird Emperor’s expression seemed a little bit odd as I did so.
“WE HAVE ALL WATCHED YOUR POWER GROW THE PAST TWO DAYS, EVEN AS WE TOOK COUNCIL,” Thunderbird Emperor murmured. “YOUR AURA... IN MANY WAYS SURPASSES THAT OF THE FOREMOST SAGES OF YOUR TRIBE, HEALER FAE.”
I laughed under my breath slightly. “Your senses are keener than this one’s fellow Humans, Your Imperial Majesty. To them, this one is still merely an Archmage with lacking Elements.” As I only had the one, even with Tier-4 and -5 Stars, I naturally didn’t have the weight of the Elements that other Archmages did, and certainly not those of a Sage.
“WOULD YOU BE CAPABLE OF SUMMONING ME, HEALER FAE?” Flowing Silver Emperor’s mental Voice asked with grave interest through the Portal. I’d proven capable of erecting a Portal He could shove a paw through, but that was all.
“No, Your Imperial Majesty. If Your Majesty were a Servant of Heaven, than this one’s answer would be yes, however. Perhaps in time, when this one finishes growing up.” I did tilt Noble’s Orb towards Thunderbird, however. “This one is, however, now capable of Calling Thunderbird Emperor from across the world, should He choose to come.”
“OR ANY OF THE NON-HIGH EMPERORS OF THIS WORLD?” Thunderbird asked.
“That is also true, Your Imperial Majesty,” I admitted quietly. “There is no compulsion to come, of course. But this one has met them all, this one knows their Wills, and if they do not choose to dismiss it, this one can erect a Gate which they can pass through.”
“CAN YOU RETURN TO THE BEAST REALM?” Flowing Silver Emperor followed up.
I rose to my feet, faced His Portal, and as both Emperors watched, flitted up to it with a beat of jetsilver wings. I extended my hand into the Portal, and they watched the silvery skein of it distort around my hand like a soap bubble, stretching as I pushed in with obvious effort. I managed to get in up to my elbow or so, but never broke through the film of the Veil made manifest over my skin.
“That is the actualization of the Will of the Beast Lord, and it reacts against the very magic that a Human carries within them,” I told the two Emperors, rotating my hand for them as I grit my teeth against the elastic pressure. “The only way this one gained entry before was to have absolutely no magic at all at the time. Presumably, this one could send a child or babe through who was not Awakened at all, this one has enough power to do so... but they still would not belong.”
I withdrew my hand calmly, and returned to my kneeling position.