I flew up out of the hole in Thunderbird’s Nest, the trees cleared away and the stone beneath, subjected to endless Lightning Mana for so many years, now forming the Pyramid that was slowly descending into the mountain as the former crack beneath it was expanded to include it.
When I was done, I would cover most of it up in layers of stone that could take the weight of Thunderbird and His nest, layers He could easily peel up and away or replace with His Void Magic, gaining access to the Seeds the Pyramid would be growing beneath Him, or directly accessing the Pyramid Power Field.
“I HAVE HEARD YOU SING, AND THUNDER CARESS ALL THE MANAFIELD IN A MANNER I DO NOT KNOW. BUT YOU HAVE NEVER SPOKEN THOSE WORDS BEFORE, HEALER FAE.”
There was a special note in His voice. It was the tone of someone with level of Awareness that bordered on the Divine, with great power almost inconceivable to mere Humans, a breadth of timeless experience and insight only great age and true Elemental power could know.
But the Words weren’t Elemental Power, they were Profound Power, Essences of Good that summed up the Virtues of Heaven. To speak them was to be bound by them, understanding that they were part of you, and in their own way defined who you were.
Who I was. I was a seeker after Truth, the hunt for knowledge and the power it represented all a part of me, without the sophistry of wanting those truths only for myself. An end to lies, cutting through manipulations, acknowledging the world as it was... but the world did not define me.
Valor was there because I wanted the courage to do what needed to be done, in the face of all adversity. It was not a natural part of my mindset, it was a choice I’d made to be something other than what many would consider to be a natural, ‘normal’ person. I was not bound by or limited by my fears; they were there, I acknowledged them, and I moved past them, not restrained by them.
If Valor gave me the courage and will to fight and strive, Hope gave me the motivation. The belief in a better tomorrow, that things could indeed be better, that despair was a lie used by Sin to gain what it wanted and by Chaos and Law to suppress others, Hope allowed me to keep striving and see that dream ahead, even if I might never reach it.
It didn’t matter that Thunderbird was mighty and powerful and wise. Those only made Him more aware of just how incredibly powerful and profound the Words of Creation were!
“The Words of Creation are not something spoken lightly, Your Imperial Majesty. This one knows only the three, of course. It is not for mortal minds to truly understand more of them.”
Thunderbird seemed a mite bit subdued. He knew Thunder, as much or more than any other being on the planet, and now He had realized that Thunder... was very small!
“THEY ARE THE ESSENCES, THE SEEDS, OF HEAVEN?” He asked me eagerly.
“If one likens Virtues to Elements, that is as fine an analogy as any, Your Imperial Majesty,” I assured Him, regarding the great golden eye only a handful of feet away from me. My utter lack of fear of Him was one of the things He found most interesting about me, and now He’d had a faint brush with why that was. “One cannot understand them without embracing them, Your Majesty, and to embrace them is to stand with Heaven.” I regarded Him calmly for a moment. “This one expects that Truth and Valor reverberated with you, but Hope is not in your character.
“However, there is another great Virtue that has a Word, and it applies to everything from Gods and Emperors to simple farmers.” My hands sparked gold as I invoked Exemplar Surge, and for just a moment, I gained the power to say, if not truly understand, another Word which might have been mine, were I more centered on building and rulership and management.
“Stewardship.”
It broke over Him, and He actually straightened at the sound of it. His crystalline feathers seemed to gleam with gold for just a moment, and the innate regality and majesty of His appearance and demeanor became at once loftier and more awesome, and yet more intimate and earthy. It was as if all things in the world came to Him, and He would take care of and guide them properly, abusing not His power or station, and make great things happen for all who cared to trust in Him.
It was a Word for a great and truly noble Emperor Beast, whose motivations for the Land and beings He watched over extended beyond just His own interests and benefits. It was a Word for Thunderbird, the Ruling Emperor Beast of North America!
“Stewardship. Truth. Valor,” He whispered, unable to say them any louder, just the shadow of understandings about them... but Stewardship He actually knew better than I did by default, having watched the face of the world turn and change across the millennia, the rise and fall of lands and species, and having managed those changes in His own way. “THERE IS SUCH GREAT POWER AND PROFUNDITY BEHIND THOSE WORDS, HEALER FAE...”
“This one has heard those who cannot understand them mock them as grandiose lies and delusions, Your Imperial Majesty. Yet behind their words is the envy, the anger, and the bitterness that they cannot comprehend them, for they only desire the power in the Words, not realizing that understanding them IS the power...” I just shook my head. “Of course, the Words embrace what is not practical, and embody an impossible perfection we cannot truly attain.
“But they let us know we are doing the right thing, and going in the right direction... and that, in the end, is all that we need from them.”
“IS THERE SUCH A THING FOR THE OTHER THREE FORCES?” Thunderbird asked carefully.
“Sin has its Vile Speech, which distills the core beliefs of Evil, twisting the minds of those who hear it and regard it like an invasive virus, a thing of lies and twisted truths bending hearts and souls. Law has no Words, merely sublimation and domination, the ever-increasing alignment and subordination of the mind, soul, and body to Law itself, giving up Free Will for obedience and being part of the Greater Whole of Law. Chaos, in turn, has mutation and change, eternal evolution and the promise of unlimited power for those who follow it and indulge in all their desires.
“They all have their temptations, Your Majesty. Free Will is choosing which to be tempted by, in the end.”
“AND THIS IS HOW THE SYNOD IS EMPOWERED AMONG THE HUMANS, WITH POWER CONTINGENT UPON SUBORDINATION.”
“Yes. Serve their Will, and be rewarded, setting aside one’s own ambitions and desires. The more closely one’s Will dovetails with theirs, the stronger one can grow, and the greater one’s power becomes.
“But in the end, one is being bestowed power from a collective source, it is only partially one’s own. The power of the Archangels is limited by what those above them grant them... which makes them powerful easily and quickly, but ultimately limits them in what they can gain because they are relying on external aids.”
“YES. THEY HAVE POWERFUL SOURCES OF MAGIC DERIVED FROM LIGHT, BUT THEIR POWER IS IN A NARROW BAND. THEY SHOW NONE OF THE FLEXIBILITY INHERENT IN YOUR OWN TYPELESS MAGIC.”
“That’s how Law tries to work. One Source or style, supreme within that style, hoping it can overcome all opposition. This one has been informed the Synod has the most powerful collection of Human Sages and half-Sages, and allied or subservient half-Emperor and Emperor Beasts, in all of Humanity. There is no other Human force that can individually take on their power, and no organized collection of would-be allies that can meet them together. Add in that they dominate the Faith aspect and fanaticism that comes with it of Humanity, and they are an extremely powerful force among Humans.”
“SUBMISSION TO THEIR CHURCH IS THEIR ULTIMATE GOAL. THEY LITERALLY CARE NOTHING FOR ANYTHING OUTSIDE THEIR CREED IN PURSUIT OF THAT GOAL, YES. THE EMPERORS HAVE WATCHED THEM FOR MANY CENTURIES OF YOUR PEOPLE NOW...”
“They are as invasive as the Dark Mana, Your Majesty, simply far more organized. It has been above the Great Beasts to organize and forge relationships with Humans the same way on scale, for it is simply not your way.”
“YOU WOULD CHANGE THIS.”
“Humanity has the ability to make wondrous Tools that would be of benefit to Great Beasts and us alike, Your Imperial Majesty, and the shorter lives and intelligence of Humans allow them to adapt and change with far greater ease than Beasts can. The Beasts have the ability to take a long-term view and understand history, evolution, and the effects upon the Land that Humans do not, simply because we do not live long enough.
“We should be working together upon this mortal world as its caretakers, part of a wise and growing greater whole, not with this constant war.
“But that is not the way of Law or Sin. They seek only domination for themselves, and all other considerations are in pursuit of that.”
“YOUR Hope AND Stewardship ARE NOT SO FAR APART, THEN.”
“None of the Virtues are. That is one of the great Truths of Heaven, Your Imperial Majesty. All are separate, all are interwoven. ‘Dominance or submission’ sounds natural enough, but it is a great lie when dealing with sapients. There are better ways.” I paused for a moment. “For example, this one was most impressed by His Majesty’s relationship with Fire Phoenix Emperor. There are many ways that relationship could be far more adversarial, and yet the Majesties remain true friends, not merely stronger and weaker.
“That is the reason this one sought out His Imperial Majesty. Thunderbird is not a Totem Beast, one of the ancient protectors of Humanity, but holds the same nobility and stewardship as they, broader of mind and scope than so many of the Great Beasts, who are focused on matters of their species, and their species alone... as are so many of Humanity,” I sighed. “If Thunderbird Emperor believes He can work with Heaven, then truly there is a better way forward.
“Also, this one is no great admirer of Dragons. The Avians have always been among the best of Beasts to ally with for Humanity, and the current trend to take on more Dragons to Contract is worrisome and dangerous if the High Emperors merely exert their Wills.”
“SO, SOME HUMANS HAVE NOTICED...” Thunderbird murmured knowingly.
“Even the Synod has enjoyed the idea, believing that their Golden Dragon of Light will be enough to reinforce those Contracts if the High Emperors interfere, and the will of the Lord of Beasts backing those Contracts will be enough to forestall them. In doing so, they proliferate more Dragons around the world and increase their numbers...”
“IT TAKES GREAT EFFORTS AND STRENGTH TO RESTRAIN THE POWER AND GROWTH OF DRAGONS. THEY HAVE MANY ENEMIES AMONG THE GREAT BEASTS BECAUSE OF THAT.” Thunderbird’s voice was not friendly at all.
“And here Humanity is inviting them in and seeding them everywhere, ignoring the potential consequences.” I just sighed. “This one thanks you for Thunderbird’s Writ, keeping out so many of them. This one does not know if it will be enough to save us if and when the High Emperors command, but it will still be appreciated.” I turned my eyes to his Nest, and steepled my hands together. “On that note, this one has a minor suggestion that Your Imperial Majesty may find of interest. You have heard me speak of Baneskulls. Might His Imperial Majesty be interested in such things for Himself, made from the skulls of His defeated Dragons?”
His great golden eyes turned to the trophies, including three Dragon Emperors, scattered about his Nest. “FIRE PHOENIX WORE SUCH UPON HIS TALONS. ARE THEY TRULY OF USE?”
“He has worn them for nigh unto ten years, Your Imperial Majesty. During that time period, not a single Dragon has dared His Talons. Of course, Fire Phoenix Emperor wears Dreadskulls, not mere Baneskulls.”
I popped out an Aquatic Baneskull, and then the Dreadskull made from an Undead Emperor. His unblinking golden eye regarded them on several levels, measuring and judging as the Banefires burned the pale red hue of Aquatic blood, and the foul black of the Undead.
“THEIR SKULLS WILL BECOME MORE THAN WARNINGS...” He murmured. “THIS IS A VERY HUMAN THING...”
“This one sees the remains of Human Sages among your nest. Perhaps you would feel it only fair that this one provide you with Human Baneskulls as proof of sincerity?” I asked calmly. “Humans cannot wield such things against ourselves, of course. To wield a Baneskull of one’s own kind is to be subjected to it, as well, and this one is not foolish enough to think there will not be Humans who will strike at His Imperial Majesty, or more likely His servants, in the future.
“This is not a show of weakness upon the part of the Great Avians. It is a declaration that they have friends and allies among Humanity who trust them, and that Humans can be of benefit to the Avians, even as they benefit Humanity. To each species, its strengths, and helping cover the weaknesses of the other.”
He considered the point for a long moment. Proud and noble, certain of His power, it was nevertheless the thinking of an Emperor facing a terrible foe, and symbology was not something He was unfamiliar with.
“TAKE WHAT YOU NEED AND RETURN WHAT YOU SPEAK OF.”
I bowed in midair to Thunderbird Emperor.