What do you mean you need to be alone for a few days!?
Liria winced as Seralyth's voice echoed in her mind. Somehow, even while sounding terribly affronted, her eldest sister's mental voice never lost its warm and motherly undertone. Quite the trick, that.
Is there anything wrong with that? Liria defended herself. I just want to experience the world and find my place within it. How can I do that with you all hovering over my shoulder?
But… You're still too young! Seralyth retorted. Liria could almost see the frustration on her sister's face, the slight crease between her brows.
You were fine with this less than two days ago. She reminded her elder sister.
At least take Sir Theron Valemont and Corvin Ashford with you. It was Aethon who spoke this time, his solemn voice brooking no arguments.
Liria did so anyway. Sir Theron Valemont and Corvin Ashford are Knight Commanders of the Golden Compact. They have better things to do with their time than babysit me.
Nothing in this world is more important than your safety, Liria.
That's so sweet, big brother. I love you, but my answer is still no.
She sat in a rustic cottage in the Silverwoods, being grilled by her siblings over their shared mental connection while morning light filtered gold through the window shutters. The air inside was warm and faintly fragrant with pine resin and the lingering scent of bacon. Seris sat in her lap, brows furrowed in concentration as he practiced his letters for the very first time, the scratch of his stylus soft and steady against the paper.
Shortly after breakfast time, her brothers and sisters had collectively decided that they needed to talk. The only one missing was Vaelir, conspicuous in his absence. Liria was fairly certain that he had snitched on her, but as long as her other siblings did not directly bring up Seris, she was determined to play dumb to the very end.
The longer she could put off that uncomfortable conversation, the better.
Um… I think we should respect Liria's desire for privacy. Kaerthis' gentle voice had never sounded so reasonable, but before Liria could thank her…
Take my maid golem retinue with you. Not only can they fight, they can also cook, clean, and do all your housework for you. Much better than some knights, right?
Nope, her third sister was just as bad as the rest of them. And Vaelir had totally snitched on her.
I just want to test my limits without overly relying on you all. Liria pleaded. Please. I know what I'm doing. Can't you trust me?
Honestly, she thought that even this portable cottage that Vaelir had given her, complete with its state-of-the-art kitchen and bathroom, was already too much.
You're a two day old baby. Ilyrien's voice was flat.
Oh for the love of the Goddess.
As frustrating as this was, Liria could understand their worry. Even this nagging would one day become a beautiful memory—but that was a small comfort right now.
Should she just come clean and tell them everything? Which version of events would worry her siblings more?
"I'm a shellshocked war veteran who traveled three hundred years back in time to babysit the child who will grow up to destroy the world?"
Or…
"I'm a clueless baby happily running around with a biochemical weapon that could blow up at any moment?"
Hmm… Decisions, decisions.
The first one would definitely be more difficult to explain though. Better to revisit this question after she had made some progress in dealing with Seris' dead god problem.
That's not fair, Ily. Liria tried one last time. We've spoken in dreams for over ten thousand years. I may not remember specific conversations and details, but I've still inherited all your knowledge and values. I can do this. Trust me.
Book-smarts does not equal experience. Seralyth groused.
Which is why I'm trying to gain some. Liria soothed her. It takes less than a second for you all to teleport to my side if anything goes wrong anyway. You worry too much.
You know that's not perfect, Liria.
It's good enough. And danger builds character…
One by one, her siblings' voices faded from her mind. They would respect her wishes for now, but Liria could tell from the way they grumbled to the very end that she did not have much time.
The sooner she could help Seris and have a proper conversation with her siblings, the better.
Kaerthis was the last to leave.
Here's what you asked for, Liria. That was a very interesting design. Warmth colored her third sister's voice, the particular pleased tone Kaerthis got when a fabrication had exceeded her own expectations. Call me again if you need anything, alright? And always remember that we're here for you, little sister.
A tiny teleportation circle shimmered open above Liria's head and dropped a beautifully crafted medallion into her waiting palm. The metalwork was impossibly fine, the sigils engraved along its face so precise they seemed to breathe.
In less than half an hour, Kaerthis had finished what would have taken Liria a full day to make. Her third sister truly was the finest alchemist alive, and Liria was blessed, truly and ridiculously blessed, with a wonderful family.
This time, she would protect them without fail.
A happy giggle interrupted Liria's musing. Seris was looking up at her with adoring eyes. She had been brushing his hair throughout the conversation with her siblings. What had begun as a dry and tangled mop now lay soft and tidy against his forehead. She had set herself a private goal of making it shine like silk within the week, along with filling out those gaunt cheeks. Both projects were coming along nicely.
"I've finished, big sister!" Seris proudly held out his paper to her with both hands. "Did I do well?"
Liria carefully checked his work and felt her cheeks heating up. Seris' progress was quite impressive. What started as chicken scratchings became a childish scrawl after a few words, and by the time he was done filling up the page, his handwriting had become a remarkably beautiful imitation of her own. But the contents…
"Last night's dinner was so good! Breakfast was delicious! My big sister is the best cook in the world! I want to eat more! This house is so beautiful! I'm so happy! My big sis is the best big sis in the world! I love my big sis! We'll be together forever! My big sister is the most beautiful big sis in the entire world! My big sis is a Goddess…"
"Couldn't you have written something else?" Liria complained. The densely packed page filled with nothing but praises for her felt incredibly burdensome.
"But I only did what you told me to!" Seris looked wronged. His lower lip quivered. "Did I do something wrong?"
Before her conversation with her siblings, Liria had explained the alphabet to Seris, then told him to try writing down whatever he wanted while deducing the spelling of each word from its pronunciation. Again, Liria had to concede that he did remarkably well. There were very few spelling errors for his first time, and he had done exactly as she asked.
It was just that "whatever he wanted to write" was quite embarrassing for her.
Liria gently kissed Seris' forehead.
"Forgive me. You did great, Seris. Big sis is just a little shy."
Seris brightened at her praise, his eyes sparkling.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Our Seris is a genius!"
Liria ruffled his hair, and Seris happily leaned into her touch like a spoiled kitten, a soft sound of contentment escaping him.
How can he be so cute?
Still, a small voice of doubt nagged at her.
She was glad to offer praise, and Seris needed all the positive reinforcement he could get right now. But given what the Lich King had been capable of, she was not entirely sure this was truly his best effort. Would too much praise make him complacent? She had no idea. Parenting was hard.
Liria took Seris' hand and led him outside.
The Silverwoods greeted them with the smell of damp earth and young leaves, birdsong threading through the canopy overhead.
The cottage shrank down into a palm-sized figurine at her gesture, allowing her to pick it up and tuck it back into Vaelir's magic pouch.
Seris looked up at her questioningly.
"Next, I'll be teaching you how to control your power," Liria told him. "Our house could be ruined if you lose focus, so we'll stay outside for this. Please bear with me, Seris."
"Oh. OK." Seris glumly looked down.
It seemed that the child still had more to say, so Liria patiently waited for him to gather his courage. After a brief moment of hesitation, Seris finally looked up at her with a determined expression.
"But big sister, do I have to control it? Can't you just get rid of it?" His hands had tightened into fists, the nails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. "I hate this power. I hate it so much!"
Despite herself, Liria hesitated.
Her mind went, as it so often did lately, to the interrupted ritual. During the war, it had always been a sore point that Serivhal could corrupt humanity’s champions and holy sites into undead servants and places of dark power, while mankind had no equivalent answer. She had spent the better part of a year spitefully devising a Ritual of Inversion to balance the scales, then led an elite force deep into enemy territory to sanctify the Font of Corruption.
Halfway through the ritual, Serivhal had caught her, and Liria's expeditionary group had been forced to retreat before his endless legions. They made the Lich King's forces pay dearly, but in exchange, too many high-level clerics were lost in the retreat.
Without them, Liria couldn't attempt the ritual again. That failure had always haunted her.
If only she had succeeded, Serivhal would have lost one of the main sources of his power, and the newly restored Font of Light would have served as mankind's bridgehead and rallying point to resurrect the fallen Church of Light. The war might have ended very differently.
Now, in this era of abundance, with her eldest sister still alive, and the Church of Light and Order of Life ready to answer her call at any time, casting the ritual on Seris to rid him of his taint would be trivially easy. But there were two major problems.
First, the ritual was optimized to be used on a place, not a person. Second, its nature was Inversion, not Purification.
She had no idea how far this inversion would go if she used the ritual on Seris.
Right now, Seris was a sweet child with a cursed power. Would he end up as a spoiled and nasty brat with holy power after the ritual? Liria did not think she could live with herself if this happened.
She hesitated too long. Seris was already grasping her hand with both of his, looking up at her with desperate hope in his eyes.
"Big sister, you can get rid of it, can't you?" he asked her, his words more of a statement than a question.
Liria guiltily looked away from him. "That method is too dangerous, Seris. I can't even be sure what will happen to you if we use it. There may be serious side effects, and you might not even be the same person afterwards…"
"I don't care!" Seris shouted up at her, interrupting her midsentence. Then his eyes widened in shock at what he just did, and he immediately clamped both hands over his mouth.
"I’m sorry, big sis," he said, muffled through his fingers. He lowered his hands slowly, head drooping. "I shouldn’t have shouted."
"But you don't have to worry about me!" he quickly rallied, once again looking up at her with determination, "As long as I can get rid of this curse, I don't care what happens to me!"
"I do."
Seris flinched.
Liria knelt, bringing herself to his eye level. The forest floor was soft and cool beneath her knee, and the morning light fell between the branches in long, quiet shafts. She held his gaze steadily, without anger or impatience.
"I'll be sad if anything happens to you," she said. "I still want to be with you for a long time." To her surprise, as the words left her, Liria found that she meant every one of them. "So wait for me, Seris. I'm working on a safer method to remove your curse. Don't you dare say that you don't matter."
Seris looked back at her with a dazed expression, his cheeks reddening.
He looked so cute that she couldn't resist teasing him.
She reached up and pinched those red cheeks lightly. "Didn't you say you wanted to be with me forever? Where exactly do you think you're running off to on your own, you naughty child?"
The redness deepened to something almost alarming.
Liria laughed softly and drew him into a hug. He came without hesitation, tucking his face against her shoulder, and she held him for a long moment before whispering into his hair.
"It's not your fault that you were cursed by the dead god. You are a good and kind child who deserves to be loved. So love yourself more, Seris."
Around them, the Silverwoods breathed in the morning. A bird called once from somewhere deep in the canopy and went quiet again. The leaves were very still.
Seris' answer was choked with barely held back tears. "I'll try, big sister. I'll try."