Amelia Thornheart

"One at a time, you bloody demons! You're like a pack of damn wolfhounds! One at a time!"

The rabble slightly calmed down at the head cook's bellowing, but it took only moments for it to fall back into a frenzy again, encouraged by the exclamations of the demons who managed to get their meal.

"Seven Hells! How can something taste so good!?"

"I must have died! I definitely died!"

"I feel like a right proper lord eating this, ha!"

"Me next! Me! I was first!"

The sardis were being filleted and cooked as quickly as possible. The sound of its sizzling flesh as it was placed on the hot plate was tantalising. A rich, mouthwatering aroma filled the air and contributed to the chaos of impatient, hungry demons.

"Miss Thornheart! Gut these two!"

"Yes, Head Cook!" Amelia hurried to the part of the kitchen that had been designated as the gutting station. She used a sharp knife to make an incision from the sardis's tail to its gills, being careful not to cut too deep and penetrate the internal organs. They had been impressed by her knife control and quick learning, something that was certainly greatly aided by her high dexterity stat from the game.

With the sardis's belly open, she gritted her teeth and reached into the abdominal cavity, pulling out the innards. She couldn't deny it made her squeamish, but the knowledge and sounds of a hundred ravenous demons behind her put those thoughts to rest. With the internal organs removed, she ran a thumb, like she had been shown, along the spine of the fish, removing any dark kidney tissue that would ruin the flavour.

They had gone through a sardis and a half before they figured that out.

Finally, she rinsed the insides of the fish and once that was done, repeated her actions with the remaining sardis. The results were passed to the next cook in line, who was delicately cutting through the connective tissue around the gills to detach the head.

"Done, Head Cook!"

"Get over there! I need more cooked! Don't let the rest burn!"

"Y-yes!"

"Yes, what!?"

"Yes, Head Cook!"

She ran to the hot plate where fillets of sardis were cooking. Amelia breathed through her mouth, not daring to breathe through her nose lest she start drooling all over the food! She grabbed a pair of metal tongs and began turning the fillets that needed it and removed the others that had just reached a subtle golden colour. Amelia wasn't sure if the flesh of fish was supposed to become golden when cooked, but sardis did.

She replaced the empty spaces on the hot plate with new fillets that made a satisfying sizzling sound as they contacted the metal. The cooked fillets were carried over to the opening where the head cook was defending against the horde.

"Head Cook! We're falling behind over here!" one of the cooks shouted.

"Miss Thornheart!" The head cook peered down at her, raising two fingers. "Two pieces per demon! Two pieces per plate! No favouritism!" He dragged her to his spot in front of the crowd. "Go easy on her or she won't heal any of you animals in the future!"

Amelia gulped as the head cook vanished deeper into the kitchen, leaving her at the mercy of the frantic mob.

"O-one at a time! Hey! Hands off!" She swatted the hand of a demon reaching over the counter.

"Hurry up!"

"We're hungry over here, Miss!"

"I'll pay you if you give me an extra piece!"

Amelia found her stride and began serving the demons. She wasn't sure but thought that perhaps they were slightly less aggressive with her than with the head cook. That didn't stop the mess hall from being a madhouse, though.

Two pieces per demon. Two pieces per plate.

She absorbed herself in the task.

"Don't stand around eating, you idiots! Get your grub and get out of here!" Tomes's voice could be heard from somewhere. The mess hall was a long, thin part of the ship and could only hold so many sailors at once. They were being funnelled out the moment they got their food, to the outside corridors, first deck, or their quarters, where they could enjoy the sardis.

"Two pieces per demon! Two pieces per plate!" she repeated to herself, a mantra to keep order in the chaos. After a while, she realised the noise had died down, and coming out of her work trance, she couldn't help breaking out into a nervous smile.

"Working hard?" Serena intoned. Her presence was enough to create a pocket of calm amongst the clamouring demons. No one dared to push past their captain, not even for sardis.

Her captain was a natural commander, wasn't she?

"Y-yeah!" Amelia looked at the demon, noting the small smile that had appeared on Serena's face. Honestly! Even though it was nice that she wasn't snarling at her anymore – with that look in her eye that said I really want to stab you right now – Amelia kind of missed it. Maybe she should annoy her in the future? See what happens when she pushes the captain's buttons?

"I'm waiting…"

"Ah! Sorry!" Amelia hurried and placed two pieces of golden fish on a plate. "Two pieces!" she said, beaming at Serena. "Per plate! No favouritism!" She handed the food to the captain, who cast a wary eye at it, then at her, and then at the pile of cooked sardis. Then, reaching out an arm, slowly and steadily, like a snake after its prey, the captain took another piece!

"Three!?"

"Officers get another share," Serena said, standing straight and dignified before reaching out and…

"Four!?"

"Hmm? Oh, didn't you know? Captain gets one more." She gave an exaggerated sigh. "Especially as she's been under so much stress recently." Then, with what was definitely a smug grin on her face, rivalling that of Amelia's own…

"Five!?"

She shouldn't chastise her captain, but she couldn't help puffing out her cheeks in frustration! "Why five!? That's unfair!"

"Well, an extra one for every Word you can Speak." Serena leaned in, her eyes glinting mischievously. "And how many will you be taking, I wonder?"

She… she was playing with her! It wasn't a serious attempt at extracting information from her; she was sure of that. Amelia bit her lips, trying to think of a good comeback, but finding nothing came to mind. Blast it! She knew one would come to mind just as she was drifting off to sleep that night – too late!

"Cooks!" Serena called out, her voice taking on that commanding captain's edge. The demons in the kitchen stopped what they were doing immediately. "An extra piece for you all, for your work! I last had sardis when I graduated, and that was cooked by Hakian chefs from the desert! I'm telling you, I think you may have outdone them!" The cooks raised their fists, hollering.

"Aye, Captain!"

"Give another share to the pilots; any remaining pieces we'll cut in half and serve for tomorrow's breakfast. If there's not enough, we'll do it by roulette." Commands given, Serena looked at Amelia. "As for you. Once you're finished with your work here, come to my quarters."

"Yes, Captain! I mean Lady Halen!" With that, Serena turned and – exuding control and dignity – left the mess hall. All was quiet for a few seconds before the chaos picked up once again as the last few dozen demons scrambled to be first in line.

Amelia worked hard, and before she knew it, she had finished her task and there was no one else left to serve. Looking around, the last of the sardis had been prepared and stored for tomorrow.

"Phew!" she said to herself, taking a plate and putting one, two, and then a third piece of sardis on it. It was common knowledge now that she was a Speaker, so she didn't feel concerned about that third piece.

Besides, if she truly followed Serena's instructions, she wasn't sure if there were enough fillets left or space on her plate! Even with only three fillets, her mouth had started watering again in anticipation!

She turned to the cooks. "Thank you! It was fun learning how to prepare fish! I'm happy to help in the future!" She gave a polite bow to the kitchen and its staff.

"Miss Thornheart!" bellowed the head cook, folding his arms and looking at her sternly. "Where do you think you're going!?"

"Y-yes, Head Cook! Umm… to eat?"

The demons stared at her momentarily and then started chuckling amongst themselves.

"The captain instructed you to come to her quarters after your work is done, is that right?"

"...Yes, Head Cook!"

"And that!" The head cook pointed to the workspaces of the kitchen covered in the blood and guts of fish. "And, that!" he gestured to the sinks where a mountain of unwashed plates was piled up. "What do you think that is, Miss Thornheart?"

Amelia felt her shoulders drop.

"...More work, Head Cook…"

She put her plate of heaven to the side. Fighting back tears, she grabbed the washing-up cloth and began filling the sink.

Over the next two hours, she would curse more than a few times.

With her hair and clothes wet, with bits of foam lingering here and there, Amelia opened the door to the captain's quarters.

"You should knock, in the future," Serena said immediately, without taking her eyes off the paper she was writing on. Amelia yawned, shaking her head. Despite being mentally exhausted, seeing the captain reinvigorated her a little.

"Even though these are also my quarters? Anathor will let you know when I'm coming, won't he?"

"Even though. Additionally…" Serena raised her eyes at Amelia, her speech trailing off when she saw the condition Amelia was in. The corner of her mouth crept up in a smile. "Oh dear, they had you washing up?"

"I have never," Amelia said, letting herself sprawl rather unceremoniously onto the wooden floor, "done so much washing up in my life!" She let out a long groan. "Hundreds of plates! Hundreds! I want to cry…"

"You finished it all, though? With minimal complaining?"

"...Yeah."

"Then I imagine you passed."

"Passed?" Amelia raised a weary head from the floor to see Serena looking down at her with amusement.

"All new cooks get washing-up duty first. It's the rite of passage. Anathor told me the head cook complimented your work ethic after you left."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Really!? That's great!" Amelia sat up. "Maybe I'll try and invent a dishwasher…"

"Dishwasher? As in… the job title?"

"Nah, like the machine. We had them. You put all the dirty dishes in and then press a button, and it would clean and dry them all for you!"

Serena raised an eyebrow, looking interested. "Oh? I thought you said you didn't have aether? How does it work? Just steam-powered?"

"No, it all runs on electricity."

"Electricity? Really?"

Amelia nodded. "Yeah! Like the lights on the ship."

"The lights on the ship run on aetheric principles, not electricity."

"What!?" Amelia jumped up, examining the lights in the room. It was as Serena said; these lights, despite looking and being shaped like electric ones from her world, were completely different on the inside. There appeared to be some kind of shining crystal inside. "What's the crystal?" she asked.

"Moon crystal. They interact with aether in interesting ways depending on the type and how they're cut. Without them, we wouldn't be able to sail the skies. I suppose you didn't have crystals in your world, or anything similar?"

"No! It was all electricity! Do you run anything on electricity?"

"How would you even create light from electricity?"

"Uh, you run electricity through a thin piece of metal, I think it has to be a special kind, and put it in clear glass surrounded by a special gas… I think?" Amelia shrugged; she had never had to think about something as common as a lightbulb before.

"I don't think that would work here. Too much electricity causes interference with the aetherfield and vice versa. An electrical light would probably blow out whenever there was a lumina storm in the vicinity."

"That makes… so much sense!" Amelia peered at the aetherlight, tapping it gentle. "How long do these aetherlights last?"

"As long as the crystal remains undamaged…" Serena turned her eyes upwards, thinking. "Forever, I suppose."

"Forever!?"

"Yes?"

"Ha! You have no idea how incredible that is! A never-ending source of light! People back home would shower you with prizes for discovering that!"

"Well, it's nice to finally have something about my world shock you. How refreshing." Serena gestured for her to approach. "Look here."

Amelia walked over to the desk, bending down and examining the paper. It was a table with many columns and three rows. The headers of the columns were written in what she now knew as Imperial, even if she still couldn't read it. The text in the rows was what Serena had shown her previously – the phonetic script of the Words.

"This," Serena said, "is a somewhat updated table of all the known human Words. Centralis Intelligence might know more, and the human nations themselves will be keeping some hidden, but this is most of what we know."

Amelia peered down. There were twelve columns spanning three rows. The first row was entirely filled with text, the second row had only a few parts populated, and for the third row, there was a single solitary entry.

"Since you can't read this yet," Serena said, "I will sound them out for you. As the Dragon and I both suspect – and you've hinted at – you may or may not be a dual-Speaker, if not more. I'll skip over the bit where I explain how incredibly impossible that is and put it down to the Fell Gods playing a joke on me. Instead, I'll read these out."

Serena took a breath and, with a quick glance at Amelia, began reading out the Words.

"Agni, Gaia, Aeolus, Yemaya. Those are the First-Words – and names of gods – of the human branches of fire, earth, air, and water." She looked at Amelia for a moment and then continued. "Besram, Surya, Rula, Aseco. Those are for the branches of protection, light, healing, and divinity. Then we have the warrior Words. Ares, Sullar, Luhran, Theran. These are the branches of the sword, spear, bow, and shield."

"Okay…" Amelia said. Other than Aseco, she didn't know any of these Words personally, although many of the names were familiar to her from the game. "What about the second row?"

"The second row is for the known Second-Words of each branch. Considering how insanely rare"–a flash of a glance in her direction–"it is for anyone, human or demon, to know a Second-Word, we know very few of them. It is not knowledge that is given out easily."

Serena pointed to a few entries. "We know of Vulcan, the Second-Word of the fire branch, Spoken after Agni. We know of Alorium, the Second-Word after Aeolus, the human wind god. For the warrior branches, we only know the Second-Word of the sword and bow, which are"–Serena traced the script with her finger–"Kartikay and Apollo. For the remaining branches, we only know the Second-Word of divinity, Asclepius"–a momentary pause–"Spoken after Aseco, your Word. Any of these… ringing any bells?"

"...Maybe," she said, suddenly feeling the urge to look away. Could she Speak Asclepius? If she went by the game, she should be able to, but Amelia never had the opportunity while in battle with Korvus and Narean, where she had favoured more familiar and powerful Words to subdue both him and the rampaging minor god. "What about the third row? There's only one entry, under Asclepius."

"That… is the only known human Third-Word, known only by the human pope, who has sat on his golden throne in the Vatican for centuries. It is Ascemurella, the highest god the humans have managed to commune with."

"I see," Amelia said. "And… are you expecting me to tell you any additional Words I know, if any?"

"No. I just want to put it in context for this discussion about how rare Speakers are, and how closely their secrets are kept. Second-Word Speakers are strategic weapons, closely guarded and controlled by both sides in past, current, and future conflicts." Serena spread out a large sheet of paper, on which was a map.

"This is Cascadia, both the name of the floating continent and the namesake of the empire of demonkind, the Cascadian Empire. It is split into five major administrative regions. In the centre is Centralis, the economic hub of the Empire. Several dozen cities in the Centralis Basin contain the majority of the Empire's population." Serena gestured at the map, pointing out the location. "And to the north, east, south, and west we have the four Terra-Firmas, which are each ruled by an Overlord, each of them being a powerful Second-Word Speaker, as well as a triple- or quadruple-Speaker of the First-Words."

"And Centralis? Doesn't the most important area have an Overlord?"

"No, because Centralis is headed by the Empress of Demonkind: Empress Elana. She is immortal – a Shard of Infinity – and has lived for nearly a thousand years. Like the human pope, she is a Speaker of the Third-Word. Demons consider her to be a god in demon form, and as you learn more about her, you will come to understand why. She is boundlessly wise and kind."

"What's her Third-Word?"

"It is unknown. We only know that it is the Third-Word of the branch of demonic hellfire."

"I see!" Amelia felt herself getting excited. Demon Words were her speciality!

"Although, there are a few records of it being Spoken in the last millennium. The Shattered Isles here." Serena pointed to an area of empty space, south of Centralis and a little bit east of the Southern Terra-Firma. "This used to be a peninsula, but was destroyed when the Empress Spoke her Third-Word. It is now a stormy, broken area, consisting of thousands and thousands of islands. It is where the arcwhales call home, and the territory of Rhaknam, the arcwhale god."

Amelia felt herself gulp. In the game, Speaking the Third-Word was just an extra-powerful area-of-effect attack! It wasn't something that could rip apart the land!

"Why did she Speak?" asked Amelia.

Serena shook her head. "Get a history lesson from Anathor or Tomes another time. I want to give you a grounding in the structure of the Empire and your place in it."

"Okay!"

"Now, each of the four Terra-Firmas has an Overlord, and each of those has numerous Greatlords under them. Typically, one for each plateau city. Greatlords are generally also Second-Word Speakers or triple-speakers of the First-Word. Each Greatlord governs and protects a territory of more than a million demons. Look, you can see on the map how the Terra-Firmas are split into these regions."

"And, where are we now?"

"We're here, sailing south towards Kenhoro in the Eastern Terra-Firma. Now, each Greatlord holds tremendous legal rights. They have a large amount of autonomy, but will mostly govern in accordance with their Overlord's will, who in turn is given a large amount of freedom by the Empress. Under each Greatlord are a dozen or more Highlords, who are either promising Speakers or very talented administrators. Highlords govern large districts, provinces, or important economic centres like ports."

"Highlord…" Amelia tilted her head. "Like the Dragon?"

"Yes, and like many Highlords, the Dragon occupies other positions in the structure of his Overlord's administration. The powers given to him from these positions are why he's so… intimidating. Now, we're almost done. Below each Highlord are half a dozen Lords, each of whom may or may not be a Speaker, and hold important estates and land within the domain of the Highlord." Serena took a breath, "Finally, below them are the Lord-Prospects. Any demon Speaker automatically becomes a Lord-Prospect and gains the privileges that come with it, such as hiring a personal retinue. This is also why you refer to me as Lady Halen. Should my service be satisfactory to my Lord-Superior, the respectable Greatlord Oshiro, he may bestow upon me full Cascadian Lordship."

Amelia took that information in, letting it simmer. She had a thousand questions, but could tell Serena wasn't in the mood for a long lecture.

"Right, so where do I stand in all of this?"

"Speakers are rare, even Speakers of the First-Word. The military academy that trained me in the sword only sees one or two Speakers graduate a decade. Most graduates finish with an orange, or at the very least, a solid red aura. And that's pretty damn good. Most captains of cruisers like the Vengeance are not Speakers. In fact, along with the ship itself being infamous, the fact that both me and Korvus were on it made its name and its exploits reach far wider than they usually would.

"You are a powerful Speaker, a suspected dual-Speaker, or more. You rival the Highlords in power, and dare I say it – with how easily you seemed to defeat Korvus and save me – you may even approach the level of some of the weaker Greatlords," Serena said, jabbing a finger in her direction. "This makes you of tremendous interest to people far above my station, and the station of my father, who is an important Highlord in his own right. Assassination attempts are not out of the question, by either rival demon nobility or from the human nations."

"Huh!? The humans might try to kill me!? Why!?"

"Once it gets out that you are not, in fact, a captive, and are willingly aiding demonkind, they will try something. You are a Speaker of Aseco and that means you share a branch with the human pope himself. They will likely see it is an act of heresy that needs to be stamped out."

"Oh."

"I suspect for this reason the Dragon is sending us south, to keep you away from the war and knowledge of you from spreading faster than it already is." A small sigh escaped Serena's lips. "Of course, alongside potential assassinations and kidnappings, even more demons will try and lure you to their side, bribe you, employ you, you name it. Demonkind has no gods of healing, and thus, you are a very, very rare commodity. It's not unlikely a request will come from the Greatlord himself or… even higher."

She didn't like the sound of that! "Nuh uh!" Amelia shook her head vigorously. "I'm staying right here! With you!" She was happy to see Serena smile at that – and if she wasn't mistaken – she could see the very faintest redness spreading on her cheeks!

"How… loyal." Serena leaned back on the leather chair, clasping her hands together. "You must be observant in the future. People will approach you directly and indirectly, pretending to be unaware of who you are; meanwhile, hidden behind them are the intentions of their masters, or a poisoned knife. I suggest that you, if possible, keep wards active at all times, much like how I keep a layer of aura running even when I sleep."

"Understood!"

"When we travel to Shimashina and meet my father, there may be complications. Technically, as my maid, you… belong to me in a sense, and are not directly touchable by the Cascadian Lords, even those high in the ranks. That does not mean some of them cannot apply an enormous amount of pressure and incentives to my father, who may or may not pressure me in turn. It depends…"

"Depends on what?"

"How much my father likes you."

"Heh." Amelia flashed two thumbs up. "I'll be on my best behaviour!"

"Ha! Pfft!" Serena laughed, covering her mouth. "Your best behaviour would cause chaos in any noble estate in Cascadia! During the month in Kenhoro, Tomes and I will thoroughly teach you some proper manners so you can at least pretend to be a normal, dignified Speaker like you should be!"

Amelia opened her mouth to protest and then closed it. Serena was probably right. Besides, how difficult could it be? It would be like cosplay, right? To pretend to be some stuck-up rich girl, prancing about with servants and dresses?

"Sounds fun! I can-oh no!" Amelia slapped her forehead with her hands. It was a disaster! She had been so mentally drained from the kitchens that she had forgotten! "I forgot to bring my share of food! The sardis!"

"Took you a while. Anathor told me as much. Here." Serena reached into a side drawer and pulled out a plate. On that plate were two – no – two and a half fillets of fish!

"For.. for me?" She felt her mouth start watering as she looked at Serena with wide eyes, trying to put as much pleading as possible in her expression.

"Seven Hells, you're like a starved pup. Stop looking at me like that. Yes, you can have it. It's cooled down, but still tastes good. I'll get the rest of my share tomorrow."

"You're… you're the best captain in the world!" Amelia bounced up and, taking the knife and fork on the plate, cut a piece of fish. The meat was so tender that it was just falling apart. Serena watched her, amused.

"Eat up, after which we'll go on deck and I'll introduce you to the sword."

"You're going to teach me!?"

"Yes, idiot. It's part of your contract, remember? It'll be good entertainment for the crew, and who knows, you might have some talent."

"Thank you! I can't wait!" She placed the sardis in her mouth and chewed, and as the rich flavour filled her senses, she couldn't stop herself from letting out a moan that in anyone's world probably belonged more in the bedroom than at the table.

The unelegant noise was worth it, as Serena's eyes darted to look at something else while the redness reappeared on those well-defined cheeks!

She devoured the rest of the food, and after spending a minute enjoying the heavenly taste that lingered in her mouth, she shook her head and tied her hair back.

"I'm ready!" Amelia exclaimed.

It was time for her first-ever swordsmanship lesson!