The Mother of Monsters

By the time they reached Paraklytus’ library, Teyva had gone through multiple floors of greetings, handshakes, renewed declarations of fidelity, and even a few romantic confessions. That didn’t even cover the numerous times she’d been called a goddess by one person or another. Teyva let out a groan as she slouched her way across the suspended walkway towards Paraklytus’ circular desk. The Lich, on the other hand seemed to be having the time of his life. He drifted across the ground just ahead of her, humming cheerfully.

“It is good to see that the Akurai adore you so much, my lady,” Batel said, trying to fill the silence.

Teyva shot a dark look his way, “Having to talk them all down off the ledge of worship was exhausting,” She turned her eyes on Paraklytus who was pretending not to pay attention, “Not that I got any help with that!” 

The Archlich laughed, “My Lady, you should embrace it! If you really think about it, their logic is not far off from the truth. Also, you did dig yourself a bit of a hole with that ‘a little of me is in all of you’ comment.”

Teyva shook her head and sighed as they drew closer to the desk. Ahead of them, a small group of Akurai in pale robes were standing around the desk with what looked like panes of dark glass in their hands. They were looking up at something levitating just a few feet above the center of the desk. Teyva narrowed her eyes, the [Masque of the Fallen Queen] had been one chore after another. Barin Kot had restored the porcelain accessory after weeks of work, but it had turned out that Teyva couldn’t even so much as interact with it let alone hold it for too long. The object would simply slip through her fingers after a few heartbeats. Paraklytus had taken it upon himself to take over from where the Magi had left off, working to attune the mask to Teyva so that she could handle it and they could learn more about its abilities.

More importantly, Teyva thought, study its connection to Teyva Rani so that they could figure out a way to use it to rid Teyva of her freeloading ghost. Ahead of them the men studying the mask turned around and quickly shifted into low bows as the trio approached.

“Queen Mother! Lord Archlich! Captain Batel! Welcome to the library!” One of the men said.

“We’ve come to check on the mask, gentlemen, could you give us the room?” Paraklytus said, gesturing to the path behind them. The group of men looked at one another before bowing again and quickly heading down the pathway and out of the library, granting Teyva and her entourage a little privacy. The Lich moved around his desk and took a few steps up and into the raised space within, lifting his arms up when he came to a stop. The Mask, suspended in the air above them drifted down sowly before coming to rest floating between his hands. He looked down at the accessory and tilted his head, his eyes glowing bright for a moment before he looked up at Teyva. “Let’s give it a try.”

Teyva nodded and quickly moved around the desk and up the steps to join him. She reached out and took the object in her hands. 

“Whatever you did, I think it finally worked!” Teyva said, selecting Yes on the prompt.

“Magnificent! I’m eager to hear the results,” Paraklytus said.

Teyva felt something within the mask stir as a faint glow burst into life around it. The light grew in intensity until it was almost blinding. Teyva winced, tilting her head back slightly and holding the mask out and away from herself until the light began to fade a few seconds later. She turned it over in her hands, examining the silver metal that had been used to bind the parts of the mask back together before using her Journal on it.

Teyva’s jaw fell open, “It’s kind of ridiculous…” She admitted.

“I’m sorry?” Paraklytus asked.

She pulled out her journal and opened it, calling up the stats for the [Masque of the Newborn Queen] and handing the book over to the Lich who read thoughtfully. He looked up at Teyva and his eyes flashed; “Magnificent! What power! It is no wonder that woman kept it to herself during her time.”

Teyva rolled her shoulders and glanced over at Batel who made a face, she didn’t blame him. He hated his sister for all she’d done to hurt her people. The object reminded him of her. Teyva gave him an apologetic look and turned back to Paraklytus, “Might as well try it on, right?”

“Please!” The Lich said enthusiastically, “I would love to see the results!”

Teyva looked down into the Mask and swallowed. The porcelain upper portion of the mask seemed to gleam even without direct light shining on it. The opaque white silk of the lower portion of the mask glittered with even the faintest movement. Teyva raised it to her face, closed her eyes, and pressed it to her skin. In an instant she felt energy rush through every cell of her body, like electricity, she felt it dancing on her brain, neurons firing with even more ferocity. Her skin burned and then cooled over and over while she felt something tingling at the base of her talons. Eventually, the sensations stopped and she opened her eyes.

For some reason, the room seemed brighter than before. She blinked a few times and then looked down at herself and let out a sigh. It wasn’t the room. She was glowing even brighter than before. “Really?” She grumbled.

Paraklytus stared at her in silence for a moment before chuckling awkwardly, “Well, it only makes sense as your current aura ability is light-based.”

Teyva turned to look at Batel who stared at her wide-eyed, “And you? What do you think?”

“You now look like a Queen in visage as well as name, Queen Mother,” The Knight said, keeping his tone neutral.

Teyva called up her inventory and dismissed the mask into her [Bag of Holding], the light fading away along with the electrical feeling in her brain. Teyva let out a breath, feeling a little dizzy after the experience, and reached for a chair. Paraklytus was quick to assist her and she slumped back in her seat, shaking her head. “What a rush.”

“If it disorients you so, I suggest you take care when you wear it, Majesty,” Paraklytus said.

“No kidding,” Teyva said, rubbing her temples. She shook off the dizziness and looked up at the lich, “You said you had something else prepared for me?”

The Lich’s eyes flashed, “Ah! Yes!” The strange man turned away and began to dig through his desk, pouring over the various cat statues, books, notes, and boxes. While he did that, Batel made his way up to join the two of them and watched in silent amusement. The two of them exchanged a glance when Paraklytus finally found what he was looking for, picking up a box just a bit bigger than a softball and holding it up over his head. “Found you!”

“What is it?” Teyva asked.

The lich turned around and handed her the box, “A tribute, from my personal collection.”

She raised an eyebrow but didn’t turn it down, taking the box in her hands and running her finger over the latch. She glanced up at the Lich again before finally deciding to open it. Her eyes went wide. Inside was a glowing, off-white stone that seemed to change colors every few seconds. Sometimes it was a pale green and others it looked almost pink. Yellows and blues danced across it as well, a whole rainbow of color bleeding out of the stone. What was more compelling was how it effected the other senses. She could smell something like fresh hazelnut coffee and she could hear the sounds of rain coming from it. She took a deep breath, savoring it before using her journal to examine the stone.

“An aspect stone,” Teyva breathed.

“A powerful one, as well as one that might balance out the effects of your other aspects a little. I know that the others have begun to change you in ways that you are not fond of,” Paraklytus said, “I daresay if there is a stone in existence beyond the far rarer Aspect of Beauty itself, the Siren will help you.”

Teyva ran her fingers over the thoughtful gift, looking up at Paraklytus with a smile, “You can be sweet when you want to be, can’t you?” She asked, feeling a little lump form in her throat.

“I live to serve you in every way I can, my lady,” Paraklytus said in way of response.

“Azrael is going to want to see this, could we wait just a bit until we get up to the Pinnacle?” Teyva asked.

“So long as we do not dawdle, in this world it is unwise to hold off on acquiring power,” The lich warned, “You’ve already made that mistake once.”

Teyva nodded, thinking of the Labyrinthian stone. “Fair, let’s hurry back then. Maybe Elat and Azrael are done with their business by now. Batel, do you need anything from the University?”

The guardsman shook his head, “No, my Lady, though I still wish to speak with you about the abilities you possess that might manifest within the Akurai for the sake of the guards.”

Teyva smiled, “Absolutely.”