Heulyn's Adventures - Arc I: Corner of the Sky [Eteru/Iammelon] [FIN]

Sethus shook his head and sighed, "Arrogance surfaces once more. Meddling in the affairs of the universe and gods is not the place for the living, or at least for those who intend to stay living. Fools continue trying, fools continue feeding the Glutton. It is a cycle that consistently repeats. And yet those fools are the sort I am duty bound to slay, for the same reason as you mentioned they wished to Heulyn. Their idiotic ideas often bring others into the firing line, and that cannot be abided. The Anubite Empire hunts and kills these people for that reason. If they intend to feed themselves to the Gods, then we will help them along, and prevent them from dragging the less foolish down with them. Still, these experiments are interesting, if sickening, and bear investigation."

He then paused to consider the implications, thinking carefully, "Her soul yet survives at the root, and the magical circuits are the path to it? I suppose then, in a way, the soul can be retrieved and reunited with us. That will give everyone the ability to contact her once more properly, and solve the issue. Of course, that begs the question of how one could drag the soul back. I doubt it would be as easy as simply pulling on the tethers to drag her soul right back. But if it is possible, then something of the sort should be attempted." And then, privately, he would have to look into severing any path to this Root. As High Lord of the Anubite Empire, this Root was all too dangerous from his understanding, and not something to be meddled with. Once their objective was done, he would study how the path was made, and then lock it down forever, and stop this from occurring again. He kept that to himself for now, however, as he wasn't yet sure of the implications.

“Hoh? I suppose it’s not erroneous to take interest. Erudition, after all. Is not inherently evil. Rather it’s the observer who posses the flight jeopardy. For they can interpret it however they delectate and possibly distort it to their vision. It’s the very premise of the Taikyoku Schism for instance. Either way, do as you optate my high lord. No one here will dispute you on that.” She simply spoke to which Gol silently agrees to. He doesn’t really mind what Sethus plans to do with the knowledge and Heulyn in general really. As much that sounded harsh he views it from the perspective of a king. As a ruler of a great empire what else would he see from an alien foreigner that lays at his feet? If he was in Sethus place there were two potential things that could happen depending on the stage of him life. The wisen king would’ve taken her in as an honorary concubine to keep her close. The tyrant king on the other hand… would most likely do unsavory things if not outright kill her. Because of his sexual abuse to the women of Kuru, he was taught to control and maintain his sexual desires, which ultimately helped shape into a more respected and admirable king. It used to be so bad that his epic opens with him sleeping with all of the women of Kuru before mothers and fathers released daughters from their care and before husbands enjoyed a touch from their wives. Gol almost shudder at the memory of those days. Another reason to add to the things he dislikes about his adult self. With that in mind Gol can’t really play the moral card if Sethus does something he deems wrong. After all, what right does he have to tell a ruler how to govern their nation?

While Gol was mulling over his thoughts, Mystery listens quietly to Sethus as she plays with one of the chess pieces from the chess board. Rolling a glass, black knight in the palm of her delicate hand. “Her soul very much subsist. After all, it makes sense for a soul as anomalous as hers to be able to endure the exposure of the Root. Who kens what she been too in her long chain of unbroken reincarnation.” She set the knight piece back on the chess board. Looking back up to Sethus eyes. “Retrieving Heulyn is thankfully for you, not all that arduous. There’s an individual who been optically canvassing over as she slumbers. Waiting for someone gifted in handling with the soul, such as yourself, to carry her out of there, and bring her to her personal room that she used during her time in COS. If all goes well, as you verbalized a reunion will provide better opportunity for you and her to learn about the soul relic.” It was unclear on her thoughts of Sethus interest in the soul relic. For the most part it felt as if she was merely observing him so far. Mystery then gracefully stood from her chain. Using her back hand to press against her lower back to silently pop out a crick. “If you optate. I could escort you there. It’s not a bother on my component.”

Sethus of course didn't know what Gol was thinking, even if he could know that Gol was thinking deeply about something. For his own part, he did know that even after this was all done, he would have to keep a close eye on Heulyn. There was too much going on around her, based on everything had seen and heard of thus far. Not only from the mindscape he was currently in, but information from the outside. Lady Kissa's report, and this Mage's Association having such a keen investment in her... All of this meant that Heulyn could not go without monitoring and careful watch. At this rate, it was going to need the attention of his own household. But that was for later, first he had to actually retrieve Heulyn's soul and restore her being.

The High Lord nodded to Mystery, "Yes, in order to be recycled so often it would require a rather durable soul, so I would not doubt it could survive for a time. But it is good that it would not be too difficult to bring her back. Do show me to this individual who has an idea of how to begin the process. Once I know what to do, I am quite confident in my ability to see it through. Though as you bring me there, could you tell me about who this individual is? Is it another figment of the mind or another phantom?"

Mystery gave a smile. Holding a finger to her lips before waving them side to side.”For now you require not to be concerned with who the individual is. Rather the only thing you require to ken is that you ken nothing.” She spoke softly as she came over to the due. Her step graceful and fluid. Almost dreamlike. “The place we have to enter requires a certain mindset to endure the exposure. And that is the profound palliation in surrendering the ego and embracing, "I don’t know”. Drop all pretense and forsake the facade of all mendacious-kenning. Relinquish endeavoring to ken-it-all, for it only reveals nescience. Sanction the mind to relax into the presence of here and now, no longer encumbered by the tension of endeavoring to maintain an imagined self-identity. Postulations are not erudition, and cognizance is illusory kenning. One is a concept of the past; the other is present-moment spontaneous understanding. Sapience is silent.

The truth is found only in the absence of words. Ease into the placidity of inner stillness. To ken something, you must first ken nothing. But, do you ken your own nothingness? Afore you make any claims, you must ken yourself first. You can only ken your Self; everything else is a postulation projected by the mind.

So, be vacuous. Be silent. Be still. Be nothing.

Find your liberation in the vacuousness of being—not endeavoring to be this or that, just pristine being; a vigilant presence revealed only through a serene and quiet mind. No longer perpetuate the ego’s mask. Relinquish the mind from its habit of pretending to be that which it isn't. Ease into the gentle grace and commiseration of, "I don’t ken,” “Perhaps,” and "Maybe so”. Have this sapience in the back of your mind and soul. And you will be able to endure it. But we can't even be too safe. So take my hand. My High Lord. And I'll ascertain that will never float away. As for you Gol, It's best for you to remain. For due to your nature, you may very well be lull back to the throne.” Gol gave a nod in understanding. Seemly trusting in what Mystery is saying.

“I have a good gut feeling on who this individual is. So you can definitely trust them mister. I’ll go make her room ready when you guys get her!” He beams a smile. Showing confidence in both of them. Mystery extended her hand to the anubite. Prompting him to take it as she gives him the same smile only more serene this time.

Hand in hand she would guide him to the open doorway to the left. Taking them into a small library lit up by overhead lights. All the books were black, same size, and nothing on their spine except for two books on different shelves. Both bore a red cover and words on their spine. One being ‘The Song of Color’ and the other ‘Gigantomachy of Ice and Fire’. Unfortunately both were out of Sethus line of sight. Being led down the hall to a doorway on the other side of the room. The wall bore the appearance of a circuit board with the amount of blue, glowing lines that connect to the door frame which is another strange door in comparison to the rest of the architect door. For it was a paper, sliding door. “It will feel like you're entering a dream. But recollect what I verbalized and prehend my hand as tight as you optate.”

With her free hand she slid the door open and they step into a moonlit path. The transition was abrupt and almost disorentitiing to the High Lord. He would see the path before them and the cherry blossoms that line it. A strange blue light filter between the branches. As Mystery said it felt like it was a dream. It would be hard to focus on a certain detail and the more he focus the more things become blurry and distorted. He would, if he has any, have a hard time hearing his bonded spirits in him. The only sensation that he knows is a hundred percent real is the sensation of Mystery hand around his own. An anchor in the ephemeral dream. He would hear her voice. Telling him that he’s doing well yet her voice sounds close and far away at the same time. Having a hard time whether the blue glow in her eyes were a trick of the light or not.

Everything would continue to feel like a trance to the High Lord. Before he knew it they came to the end of the path and he doesn't remember how long they been walking. Coming up the steps she would slide the door open. Her voice was muted to Sethus but she seems to be talking to someone in a happy tone. If he were to look in her would see… someone sitting on a mat. It wore a long, white dress that looked similar to the Shoukou kimono but it was hard to make it facial features and hair. It seem to happily greet them but again he would have a hard time hearing the words. He would snap back to a more lucid state when Mystery pulls on him. Leading him inside the exotic place.

He would be led to a room. Mystery and the being sharing a conversation that he would have a hard time hearing. Coming into a room he would find a second thing that he won’t have a hard time focusing on. Laying on a mat lined with white lilies was the sleeping form of Heulyn in a black nightgown. Her hair was much longer, flowing down around her to her sides. She was breathing softly and seem to be in a peaceful dream. The important thing was that Sethus could sense that she was the real soul. Mystery slip her hand out of Sethus hold and placed it firmly on his shoulder. He could see her giving him a smile. Not telling him anything for surely she does not need to tell the High Lord of the Anubite Empire how to pick up a soul.

Sethus was not worried about what she was asking of him. It was a mindset he already knew how to submerge himself into, based on a form of mediation he learned in his youth. The simple state of stillness, and accepting that as a mortal you know nothing. This mediation, the so called "modesty of the soul" was something all High Lords had to master for the sake of communing with some of the older, wiser spirits who tolerated no arrogance from the living at all, even unconsciously, and would only impart their knowledge and experience onto blank slates. As High Lord, Sethus had to be able to gleam knowledge from all sources, and so he had to master that technique as well as many others. Still, Sethus was always a careful sort when dealing with the unknown, and took Mystery's hand regardless, nodding to her, "Very well. Lead me well, as I will have to trust you to know the path to our destination." With that, he started his focus.

The path was not of concern to Sethus, he did care to focus on any details and simply kept to focusing on himself, on maintaining his mediation. His bonded spirits did feel more distant, but that was fine. He focused on his own internal clock instead of relying on the world around him to keep time, his own thoughts. At journey's edge, he allowed himself out of his meditation, to reemerge into the world, and looked around. It was certainly interesting, though the inability to speak was quite something. Still, seeing Heulyn's true soul, he was satisfied to have reached here. He gave Mystery a silent nod, and then tap his staff so it attached to his back, giving him use of both his hands, having the souls in the staff grant him their strength. He then simply leaned down and gently picked her up and put her into a gentle two arm person carry. He then turned around, indicating to Mystery it was time to simply walk back.

The form of the young woman felt light in his arms. A given since she was a spirit. Settling her in his arms with her head resting against his chest. Mystery said something about a good job but would be hard to tell with the sounds sound like they are underwater. She says something to the person in the kimono, sounding as if she was giving thanks. Her hand was lifted off his shoulder and slid to softly hold his bicep. Sethus would feel her politely tug on him. Guiding him out down the building and back down the road. The cherry blossoms sway softly in the non-existent wind.

When they enter back into the library everything return to as before. With the exception of the door now missing behind him. But that was not the only thing missing. As if he truly woken up, the dreamlike experience was melting away. Slipping through his fingers like fine sand.  He would have trouble remembering any detail beside the presence of Mystery hand and the form of Heulyn that was flush against him. “You did great. As expected of the high lord. Come, let us take her to her room.” She let go of Sethus as she gives him another smile. Her amber eyes shone with warmth. Strangely enough he would be reminded of a vauge moment where he would've thought her eyes were blue. Perhaps it was a trick of the light?

Having retrieved Heulyn from the transient place, she led him to her room. At the normal, metal looking door they could see Legion near it. Acting as some sort of guard. Entering the dimly lit room they would find Gol and the outside Heulyn standing there in her white nightgown. When she saw her whole self her face lit up with both joy with a bit of skittishness when making eye contact with Sethus. For he could see that her irises were a gleaming band of white. It would dawn on him that she was the one he saw sitting under the bands of light awhile ago. For the second before he was pushed out, they had made eye contact. He saw the same eyes as he does now. Gol too was clearly happy and prompted Sethus to set her down on the bed.

If he were to place her gently down. Setting her head upon the pillow. The other Heulyn near him will shed a tear in happiness and contentment. “Thank you my High Lord.” Her body than became transparent. Turning into a amzielean shape of glowing magic curtics that zip down to the floor and spread all over the walls and floor before quickly fading away. Heulyn body briefly shone with the same circuitry under her skin before fading. The sound of electricity was heard as the lights came on. Showing that Heulyn dress strangely turn into swirling spirals of black and white.

Mystery came up beside him. Softly smiling down at the sleeping form of Heulyn. “A congenial way to tie up this diminutive adventure. I feel this is where we take a reposal for now. Let your spirit mystics work at availing her move through the arduous time when she arouses. When she is of stable mind we can resume the exploration into the soul relic.” She spoke in a congratulatory tone. Gol gave a nod in agreement as well. As they have both learned a lot and would like to have time to process it as well plan what lies in store for Heulyn’s future.

Sethus carefully laid Heulyn's soul down in the room's bed, making sure her head rested comfortably against the pillows, as well as bringing the blanket over her resting body as well. He did note the others in the room, Legion and Mystery still being present. He was pleased to see that the circuit-Heulyn was there and happy about the real soul being retrieved, and he nodded to her as she faded away, "You are welcome. You may relax yourself now." He wasn't surprised to see the power return as this happened either, it was rather what he expected and hoped for. Stability was being restored to the mindscape. The change in dress was interesting, though he couldn't quite pin what that was all about.

The High Lord nodded to Mystery, agreeing with her assessment, "Indeed. The great work is done, now is for the more menial mental tasks. I will leave this to spiritual therapists and mystics, allow them to smooth over whatever issues remain. They should be doing that for a few days. In the meanwhile, I will have to make arrangements to move Heulyn into Anubite Imperial Care. I don't believe I can let her out of supervision too soon, so she will be remaining in Tarset's Palace for the foreseeable future, and I will make visits. Once she is recovered, her long term future can be discussed. See what exact sort of role she may yet take on in the Anubite Empire, and of course I still need to delve into her soul relic properly. There are things I wish to know. But for now, we break. Goodbye to you for now, Mystery and Legion, until I return to search this soul once more. Be seeing your adult from soon, Gol." With that, the High Lord did a small, formal bow, and then tapped his staff against the ground three times, to eject his soul from the mindscape, and return to the material realm where Tarset was still watching carefully, getting a bit startled as the High Lord's body returned to life, but calmed as he gave her a nod, indicating success.

Mystery smile turn to almost a playful one. Looking forward in seeing Sethus again. “No doubt about that. That burning desire to learn about the inscrutable macrocosm reside in many.” After all, she would not be here if that emanation of emotion did not exist. She watched as Gol being the first to leave the mental realm. While Sethus departed to he heard Mystery voice more and spoke a message fitting of her namesake. “At the terminus of all things to come. Of the pretender and the truth. I do wonder, of what you will become as well.” Coming back to reality he would see that Goljamush is there as well in his material body. The divine slaying sword had been dispersed earlier when Gol relay to his adult self that there was no present danger anymore. The amzielean king give him a nod as well before going back to his astral body and leaving the room to let the mystics do their healing.

It would be roughly twelve hours before Heulyn would retain consciousness. Upon her waking she was for the most part, lethargic and quiet. Not having the energy to respond to many questions. This mood will remain for the following week as she remains bedridden for the mystics to look after her and do their rituals. She was eventually cleared to relocate her room when the mystics where assured that there is no major issues. The menial work continued to a lesser degree than before. Assigning Heulyn from eight to 15 therapy sessions a week, usually 90 minutes each for the time being. It was evident they take their job very seriously. Heulyn herself did not seem to protest about the planned sessions. Seemingly content to keep it to herself in her room. Said room had long been redecorated by Goljamush who deemed it unfit for his needs. Turning the once humble room to a room befitting for the king of heroes. Of course he had to spent a few hours explaining how he reshaped the room to such a degree and was banned from making any more ‘modifications’ to the palace. Despite not seeming to care he complied with their order.

Another week passed by for the palace with the routine set in place. Heulyn was still reserved but showed the drive for some sociability. Opening up bit by bit. Having a 24/7 spirit by her side certainly help in not letting any of her thoughts getting too extreme. Showing just how much control he has over her emotional state.They played a lot of Royal Game of Ur in their down time. Tarset came by when they were playing and Goljamush was ‘proud’ to enlighten her on how to play. Given it was a game for two players, they did a lot of taking turns with it. When it came to meals, Tarset attempted to bring food made by the chefs for Heulyn but true to his nature Goljamush intervene and proclaimed Heulyn should not suffer such meager quantities of food. He then proceed to pull the finest silverware from the vault and laid down a special tablecloth that when uttering a chant, will create the finest food they ever dream of. Leading to a practical feast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If it weren’t for Heulyn Soul Relic keeping her body in prime shape she may very well be bloated from all the food she ate. Almas would be notably excited for these meal times but Tarset would have to restrain her when she was appearing to become too chunky for her taste. Goljamush shared plenty of seasonings as well to enrich the smell of the food. Such as wafts of the finest cheese that can even be smelled by those walking outside. All in all while Heulyn has a long way to go, it was obvious that she was not a lost cause.

As the wafting smell of pristine cheese left the dining room of Tarset's palace and into the outdoors, it eventually reached the senses of a certain creature strolling about outside. The smell intrigued this creature very much, and so it turned about towards the palace gates. The guards realized who this was, and likely why they were here. They tried to prevent their entry, but this creature was one they could not harm by law, and so when simply blocking the path did not work, they simply gave in, watched the creature enter into the palace, and dispatched some servants to keep an eye on it and clean after. The gates to the palace being locked and closed did not trouble the new guest, who opened them magically. It was thankful for the Guards that they would not be punished for this, as this was not exactly an uncommon occurrence when it came to this particular resident of the planet.

It was this chain of events that led to what would happen next in the dining room. As Heulyn, Tarset, Goljamush, and an impatient Almas were eating at the table, a large tongue  swiped up a large chunk of cheese, carrying it away to a mouth that quickly devoured it. When turned to be looked at, one would see a large stag with glowing eyes, calmly munching the stolen cheese. Almas growled at the visitor, but was a bit lethargic from the meal she had just eaten and so did not care to actually get up. Tarset meanwhile, while surprised, calmed down quickly and sighed, "Mildir, you can't just do that! This isn't just a park! You have to at least let me prepare for one of your random visits!" The stag, whose name was revealed as Mildir, simply looked up to Tarset, waggled his ears in a peculiar fashion, and then swinged his head straight back around to the cheese. The Lady-Lord crossed her arms and sighed at this.

Given that the Stag wasn't going to offer any explanations, especially not while enjoying some cheese, Tarset turned to Heulyn and Goljamush to tell, "This is Mildir. He's a Freeforest Great Stag and an honored resident of the planet. He is special in the fact that he is more intelligent than most of his kind, and the fact he is an immortal being who has lived for about five thousand years with immense mystic powers. It's a bit of a complicated story, to say the least." She sighed, prompting another bout of ear waggling from Mildir before she nodded and spoke up again, "Right, and he's here because he smelled the cheese and wanted some. While he is very much a sapient being, he is still a stag and so he can't exactly talk. He communicates with his ears instead! It takes a bit to learn, but it's completely effective for conversations! I can teach you sometime, if you like, as he has many stories to tell!" There was another set of waggling, a bit different from the former, which prompted a sigh from Tarset, "Oh goodness... He compliments you for the cheese, Goljamush, but he wants to know if you have any butter. Please don't indulge him too much. He can't get fat, but it's not good to spoil him. "

The king laugh in amusement. His voice seems to echo throughout the entire palace. “Ah, my dear Tarset. You have much to learn about desire.” Recollecting himself, he turned to the strange stag. “Don’t fret mystical creature of Freeforest. Do exactly as you like. That is the true meaning of pleasure after all. Pleasure leads to joy and joy leads to happiness.” With a prideful smirk he utter a swift chant. Prompting the area closest to Mildir to conjure a jeweled lined platter stacked with the highest quality of butter out there. It was evidently foolish to tell someone like King Goljamush that indulgence is bad. With the amusement out of his system he finally took a moment to comprehend that a strange creature came in their room unannounced. A strange one at that! At this point he’s not surprise. His master does have the tendency to have a colorful life. Speaking of which he gave her a glance before speaking again to Tarset. “I’m already busy learning your native language. So I’ll have to pass. But I’m sure Heulyn would be interested to learn about this creature, no?” The latter was spoken to his master at the side of the table.

Her amber eyes snap away from Mildir who she has been looking at for the past few minutes. Looking at the Goljamush and Tarset she gave two nods in agreement. Indeed interested to learn more about Mildir and she seem to already enjoy his personality. On Goljamush end he looked back at her. Holding back the urge to sigh. Her reserved nature is to be expected after all. Doesn’t make it any less troublesome. Last night was truly the highlight of her foolishness. Apparently Heulyn wanted to call Kissa but felt conflicted because it was the ‘other me’. Prompting him to announce her foolishness, snatch the phone, and called the anubite much to her shock and flustered noises. Tossing the phone back to her he left the room when he was sure that she would be talking to her. Her indecisiveness and guilt complex will be the end of him someday.

Tarset sighed and dropped her head at the display, letting it fall into a waiting hand to keep it from falling to the table. She did not quite approve of these antics from . Meanwhile, Mildir absolutely did approve. The Great Stag was visibly quite pleased at the sight of this pristine butter being placed in front of him for his own consumption, and one could swear his licked his licks. There was a bout of ear wiggling, which could be presumed to be him giving thanks, before he stepped forward and started gobbling all the butter up, not caring that he was making a rather large mess in the process. The servants that had followed him sighed in exasperation, given that they were the ones who would have to clean the butter off his fur by the end of this.

For Heulyn, she could remember that Kissa was very pleased to hear from her, not quite concerned with the whole matter of which Heulyn she had known prior. To her, it was really quite irrelevant, as all she cared about was that she got to speak to a Heulyn again and know she was doing okay. She dropped the mention of coming to visit sometime, and also bringing some greetings from Ipwet, who was working now on Angelarium. But snapping back to present reality, Tarset smiled and nodded, "Very well, I'll only have to teach Heulyn then! I do hope you'll give me some assistance in this, Mildir, given that you are the subject of note. You'll get fed plenty if you agree!" After receiving an ear waggle of confirmation from the still-eating Stag, she continued, "It's not too difficult to learn, really! There's a few tricks to it, but it's sorta like rather rapid sign language, based on which ear waggles, the speed of the waggling, and the directions it uses. He uses them to either spell out words at a rapid pace, or to do specific movements that get across certain phrases like 'thank you' or 'I'm hungry' and the like. The second phrase is a rather common one. Right Mildir?" The left ear did a little waggle, with Tarset then explaining, "That for instance is how he says yes. I'll explain some more..."

As Tarset started to explain some basic Mildir phrases, with the Stag's help to give examples, Almas grew annoyed with the attention being given to the Stag instead of her. So much so that she eventually wandered over towards Goljamush, pushing a chair over next to him, and then hopped onto the now adjacent chair. She sat in the chair, and poked his arm, indicating that she wanted him to pet her, or she was going to be annoyed. Though of course while the large feline was doing this, Goljamush, as a spirit, would be able to see somethings in Mildir that the living folk in the room did not. It was of course explained that Mildir was an immortal creature, and he could comprehend this by the fact he could feel what was almost a glow from him. There was an aura to the Stag that indicated a powerful soul that held with it much power, and notably that it was seemingly always in use. The well of magical power was constantly being tapped into by something to do something, though not in any way that was visible, like an internal repeating cycle that had power dripping in, and then being ventilated harmlessly, and that was how the well was being maintained. It was never a case of the power simply being conserved. But just what was going in specific was clouded. All the same, the Stag was very much personally invested in the butter, even if Tarset was managing to get his help in teaching Heulyn how to talk to him.

In fact, Tarset decided that Mildir would be a good new companion and bit of company for Heulyn. Her lessons in Mildir-speak would become something to help take up time as Heulyn's soul and body recovered, and so he would be staying around for some time. Almas wasn't quite happy about that, having decided she liked sleeping in Heulyn's bed alongside the Amziel, but it was the case regardless. Heulyn now had to deal with two fluffy creatures, but in time she would learn how to hold a conversation with the immortal stag, and he had quite a few tales to tell, based on all he had seen.

Goljamush gave a small laugh at the best jealousy before petting her. He was used to feline beasts from having pet lions in his mortal life. With the inclusion of Mildir arrival into the fold. The days pass once more. Accumulating to two weeks having gone by. With Almas, Mildir, and Tarset keeping Heulyn busy the King of Heroes found himself with time to spare. Using it as an opportunity to venture outside of the Palace-Fortress and out into the Linear City in more casual attire. His first impression of the city made him think of the architecture style used by a western nation in his mortal life. Sightseeing aside he did not set himself out into the city to indulge in his vices. He did ten years of that before in one of his previous summonings and found it plainly boring overall. Instead as any king would he begin to plot and devise a way to build a powerbase for his master.

It did not need to be said that there were issues of course. Giving the lack of citizenship for Heulyn he was limited in what he can do to set her up. The first two days were spent going around finding coin shops, pawnshops, consignment shops and jewelers to sell precious metals from his vault. While it sounds blasphemous for someone like him to do it’s not the first time he sold things from his vault. At least this time it was not a useless goddess that he sold to. He knew this tactic would not last long of course for word had gone around about his exploits prompting the locals to ban him from doing anymore of it. He was still a bit disgruntled. Surely an interstellar economy can handle a small spike of inflation. Accepting the loss he took his gains back to Heulyn room to store them in a hidden vault behind the wall that he placed in his renovation. Heulyn will certainly be a bit miff when she finds out the things he has been doing for her without her knowing. Considering everything that has been going on, ignorance can be bliss.

Having secured wealth for Heulyn his next plan of action was to learn more of Tombuiorn. It topography, history, economy, culture, and it mysticism. The reason for doing so is again for his master benefit. What is a King if not building a society for his subject to live in? Anubite culture is already suitable for spirits working alongside the living. Her dream also reminded him of a world he seen before through his Sha Naqba Imuru during his down time in a prior summoning. When facing him in a game like chess he does not read the future of the chess board, but instead gazes down upon and oversees it, allowing the correct move to always be visible to him. He can also see the possibilities of various parallel worlds should he so chooses. Even with this ability, however, his personality would cause him to reject certain world lines as nonsense, such as using it to see something like a possibility of a world where he is swallowed by the mud of the grail. That had been an embarrassing moment when it did in fact happened during on of his summons.

The alternative version of Eæireth that he oversaw was about a great war that led to the world be radically changed. Every Amziel bore their own miniature ‘Holy Grail’ and their own Servant. Replicating this pure folly of course, but it still bore similarities to Heulyn desire for rebuilding the Chaulkuau community. Serving as inspiration for ideas on how to build up to it. First, he needed to find ways for them to support more Heroic Spirits. The start of his investigation brought him to Aluxandri Great Archives. Upon arrival he went to buy himself a library card to have access to the more ancient, physical material. He told the librarian to put the cost on their proprietor for he was a close associate of hers. Naturally suspicious of such an arrogant claim the librarian calls Tarset to make sure. Goljamush could hear what sound like cursing at the other end of the line prompting him to smirk in amusement. A moment later the librarian ends the call and told the spirit that he can have the card. And that the Lady-Lord would like to have a discussion of proper etiquette when he gets back. Letting out a laugh he thanks the librarian and went on his way into the archives.

The rest of the two weeks were spent making trips to the archives. Looking into everything arcane which is no easy feat with a history as long as the Anuites. So he started small. Looking into stuff regarding the planet. Such as it mystical elements, pseudoarchaeology, ancient legends that predate the empire, rare artifacts, natural wonders, and the list goes on. The goal in mind was to find some sort of power source or vessel to maintain one. In which they can use as an alternative source of magical energy to draw upon. Whether it be building a structure at a ley line point if the world has such cosmology or something else. The odd nature of Mildir caught his interest as he found it somewhat relevant to his goals so he spent time studying about his origins as well.

As a polar opposite to Goljamush productivity his master has been taking it easy for the two weeks. Still cooperating with the extensive therapy that she is going through. If she was not up and about she was sleeping for the most part. However given she now possess two large furry friends that seem to now sleep with her. It took time for her to get used to them. For once they laid on a spot there was no way for her to move several hundred pounds of fur and muscle around. Resulting in being in cramped positions sometimes and more often than not get sandwiched between them. Even with the air conditioning in the room she had to strip off her sleepwear due to overheating between them and now sleeps with in her underwear. Having blankets was a lost cause.

Learning how to communicate with Mildir was an easy affair thanks to her perfect memorization and took delight in feeding the mystic stag. So much so that the servants got a bit fed up with Heulyn spoiling him. Leading them to place the responsibility of cleaning Mildir onto her. She did not mind, for she was now taking a daily shower anyways due to sleeping with two large animals every night. Speaking of the two creatures she also came to be responsible for being the mediator between Almas and Mildir. When she’s not breaking up fights and cleaning the stag. Most of her waking moments were spent listening to Mildir stories over his long lifespan. So much so that not even two continuous weeks was not enough to cover a fraction of it. Now and then she will think about the others. Getting into the habit of calling Lady Kissa now and then. As well getting into touch with her servant who seem to be going outside more often. She has full trust in Goljamush but even she knew that misunderstanding can arise around him. Her relationship with Tarset is somewhat still there. Heulyn still being reserved and distant in her social moments. She also thought about the High Lord and wondered what he has been up to for the past few weeks.

The acquisition of the library card was rather important to getting into the true depths of the archives. For while a good deal of information was publicly available via digital sources to any resident of Tombuiorn, to allow research at home or at other workplaces as was often needed by Anubites, the public database paled in comparison to the sheer bulk of the true archives. Just one hallway was filled to the brim with books, replica artifacts, archived old newspapers, recreated paintings, and even statues of people of extreme note. Navigating the Archives effectively was simply not feasible just by walking around, you needed to know where you were going. That is where small terminals spread across the area allowed library card holders to request transport to the sections they needed to visit, and they would be brought there by hovering mobility platforms, which brought them up and down through the halls. Up and down stairs, into elevators, and past many doors. Those two weeks would be very much needed to just learn one's way around.

Still, despite its monolithic nature, once one got over the shock of the archive's size and got used to navigating it, its use became very clear. It was easy to find a modern, up-to-date paper explaining concepts and histories one may be interested in, and the paper's primary and secondary sources were always within easy reach as well. Very little was not present in the archives themselves, always having physical copies, exact replicas, or at least digital transcripts and recreations in case the physical variant was not permitted to be on display. So, Goljamush would find much.

When it came to power sources, most of the information in the archive was from the four great cities; Grazo, Asysus, Cairito, and Aluxandri. The mystics of these cities kept many records when it came to mystical power and its concentrations. It was also clear from them that finding rare artifacts was a task of monumental difficulty since they had gotten to most of them first, and often kept them close in their families with no interest in giving them up, rather preferring to utilize said artifacts to boost their own mystical power and gain prestige. They did however keep a very nice record of Anubite mysticism and its faucets, giving an indication that spiritual power among Anubites appeared to be exponential in nature. Anubite Mystics who had more experience could channel more spirits, who could offer their own assistance and experience in channeling more. Thus the collection of bound spirits to add to one's little spiritual retinue was not just for the sake of companionship or prestige, but also because it was the key to growth. This was also why ancient and powerful spirits, like those of old High Lords, held such value. As such, a power source that could perhaps be searched for was a spirit of sufficient great and elder power who was themselves a mystic in their lifetime. Of course, one issue with that was managing to actually locate and bind such a spirit.

Another big source of interest however came from the records of Tombuiorn's ancient desert nomadic cultures, whose writings and journals were the best source when it came to the world's natural wonders and tales of the great desert beyond the Linear City. Natural Wonders such as the Pillar Mountain, a mountain which was strangely clean-cut in the shape of an obelisk, or the Desert's Maw, a massive pit that led deep underground into Tombuiorn. Both of these however were also home to many an ancient tomb, some of which were still not yet fully explored and documented. As for legends, there were tales such as the Broken Pyramid, a shattered pyramid which appeared in sandstorms and disappeared with the winds, and the tale of the Wandering Oasis, a mystical lake said to appear to Anubites lost in the desert whom the gods had deemed unfit to die and so gave them another chance at life via the Oasis giving water and food, and rumored to even grant those who drank from its waters great mystical power and long life! Neither of these were confirmed to be true, but had extensive documentation regardless, as was the Anubite way.

When it came to Heulyn, Tarset was understanding of the distance but did still try and talk whenever she had a good chance. Lady Kissa was delighted with the calls, and talked plenty. High Lord Sethus did visit once, to check up on Heulyn's health, but he was rather busy it seemed as he had gotten into a dispute with some lord of the Yuya Family. As for Mildir, he appreciated the washing, and Heulyn would get to know the great stag better. He had many, many tales to tell, but it was still clear that while he was very intelligent, his mind still clearly wasn't exactly the same as a normal person. For instance he didn't quite see the difference in significance between a story in which he snuck into a family's kitchen to steal their butter supplies and an entirely separate story in which he could accurately retell the brutal assassination of a corrupt Anubite minor lord he saw go down with his own eyes. As far as Mildir was concerned, these two stories held equal importance to him. Still, with his ear language learned, Mildir was an adept story teller so long as he was rewarded for it. And that led up to the current day...

"I am hungry, and I want to walk. Get food and put on clothes, it is travel time. I want to see the park again." That particular set of ear waggling to Heulyn was done in as stern a matter as one could do with ear sign language. As Heulyn would have learned, Mildir was rather stubborn, and did what he wanted. So, he was intent on pulling Heulyn out of bed to go on a walk. Almas seemed to detect this and got up as well, clearly intent on not being outdone and would also go on the trip. Now both of the fluffy animals were staring at Heulyn, so as to make her get ready faster through the power of big cute eyes.

It certainly did take a good week for the king to get his bearings of such a large complex. He came to admit that the Anubites are worthy of their renown. They certainly done a great job in recording many things over the galactic history. And that immensity shows in the many hours it took to look through the archives. A scholar could spend their entire lifetime here and not even learn a fraction of it. Eventually he found what he was looking for. The mystics having claim over rare artifacts were not a major surprise. They were after all been living on their planet for hundreds of millenia. So it was safe to say that any artifacts not related to unexplored tombs have been long kept under lock and key.  He was especially not going to make moves against them either for many obvious reasons. The one piece of information he found interesting involve great spirits that could maintain a sort of spirit retinue. To degree it reminded him of his own proficiency in summoning, one instance of his talent was during the seventh singularity when he summons seven servants on his own and manages to re-summon himself after death. The servants he summoned are unique in that they only required his mana to be summoned, and they then gather their own mana to stay in physical form by eating and sleeping like normal beings. They also survive by taking in mana from around them as it is abundant in Kuru due to being in ancient times. Considering the ancient nature of the world if he were to summon spirits they could also survive off the surrounding land. All in all such spirits were certainly noteworthy. He’ll keep them in mind but for now devise no plan for them.

The records from the ancient desert nomads shows promise. Both landmarks were worthy of further study including the legends. Mythical they may be, all legends have a grain of truth to them. He is after all, the walking truth of that. For now he’ll continue looking through the library for more information on these ancient sights before making any serious judgement. It was always best to have the most understanding of something new and ancient before poking around. The thoughts of the mythical spirits made him think about summoning spirits once more but he runs into a wall. One being that they can’t help him out in the library because they would be found right away. Two if he were to summon too many at once the influx of his mana use will be noticed by his master. Lastly in regards to his master and the rest of the world they need to be kept hidden until the time is right. Mulling over the facts some more he decided that having servants explore the expansive desert while he relay new information to them whenever he learns something new from the archives would be an efficient tactic.

Over the course of several nights he went out of the city deep into the desert. Where after finding a good place, set up a bounded field. A topographic type of Magecraft that consists in knitting a network of magical energy and spreading it on base area, such as a piece of land or a building, to create a mystic boundary line that separates the inside from the outside. Nothing too extravagant of course given he was trying to be discreet. Setting the place within the boundary to appear as a small dune from the outside. Inside he began to create a small structure. Not only can he produce tools as a magus, but he can even pull off the construction of buildings. The origin of this skill came from the fact that the citadel of Kuru was designed by him. There are limits of course given he can only construct with clay and stone. Once he set up a basic structure for his spirits to use as an outpost and place to eat he came back the following night to summon a group of spirits.

It took most of the night getting them up to speed and convincing them to go along with his plan. Which meant not making any contact with Heulyn at the present moment. Staying far away as any Anubite, Yuya more specifically, as possible. Lastly and most importantly, if they were to get into any hostile situation the best case scenario is to disengage and retreat. One of the summoned servants asked him why he did not talk to Tarset for official help which he aptly responded by saying that Tarset has her purpose to fulfill. With everything settled they set up a printed out map on a table and marked expedition routes that the servants, now split into groups, will take. Pauline and Nenkidu are tasked to explore the Desert's Maw. Srauko and Jane will check out Pillar Mountain. As for the more mythological leads. The main task was to scout out locations for supposed unexplored tombs while investigating the locations recorded in the legends. The spirits that made up this group are Nameless and Cu. The later group raised their voice in suspicion of both their summon and group being to intentionally annoy them. To which Goljamush curtly replies with ‘Yes, but actually no.’. With everyone knowing their role they scatter while in their astral forms. Goljamush heads back to the archives to wade through more piles of tomes.

Heulyn was a bit strange when around Sethus. At a loss on how to approach him for the first time for her in peculiar. Finding it difficult to formulate words. Thankfully for it it seemed Sethus was distracted and was not here for a social call. The word of the dispute did perk her up in interest. As she came to learn that the ongoing behind the house are actually a secret. Which she found Tarset sharing that be a touching sign of how much she already trusts her. With Sethus being busy she did not raise up some things she has been experiencing for she felt obligated to tell him that after everything he has done for her so far. While she does not know much of what had happened, her dreams have slowly drip in snippets of what had happened within her.  Most nights she had dreams of another life. From being among blue-skinned giants to floating around in the void with other colorful clouds. There was a dream or two of Goljamush life but those were a given. So for now she kept quiet. Not wishing to bother Sethus when he is busy.

Her newfound animal friend took her by surprise when he wanted to go on a walk. Heulyn had been cooped up within the walls for weeks, her bedroom in peculiar, so she found the idea to be a bit intimidating. It’s only by the collective power of two sets of big animal eyes that she gave a sigh in defeat as she went to get dressed. Feeling to make Tarset happy after being so distant she decided to try on one of the dresses that she gave her. After getting it on and refreshing her up a bit. She went to prepare a food basket for Mildir and Almas. Which just included an entire cheese wheel, a dozen bars of butter, and packaged meat for Almas. Once done she heft the bag over her shoulder and went over to the duo waiting by the door. “Alright, alright, I’m ready guys.”

Goljamush's efforts would very quickly run into a few issues, displaying why the desert was not exactly prime real estate and took quite a bit of effort to stay in permanently. When night fell upon the outpost, the desert stirred with unlife, and spirits stalked the sands. Most of these spirits were those of long dead Desert Nomad Anubites, wearing masks and cloth that made them blend in with the sands, armed with bows to unleash deadly ambush barrages upon passersby. The other spirits were lost souls, quite literally. Anubites who had wandered into the desert, lost their way, and then died, their spirits continuing to hopeless traverse the sands. Both of these groups however were not quite as aware as most Anubite spirits, and were more feral, attacking anything they came across, as well as attack the outpost to ransack it, and let the sands absorb it. They were not all too difficult to fend off, but their attacks were always sudden. This included attacks on those simply wandering the deserts at night, be they spirit or mortal, and so Nameless and Cu didn't just have the task of finding things that were mythical, they also simply had to not be destroyed. It was difficult to retreat when the enemy was one with the sands. It would be immensely difficult to locate unexplored tombs of value in these conditions, so Goljamush could be assured he had given these two a role that was more than simply annoying.

Pauline, Nenkidu, Srauko, and Jane meanwhile didn't have to worry as much about roving angry spirits, but they would find that their objective of avoiding the Yuyas was not going to be very easy. The Yuya family were the guardians of major tombs and the world's spiritual hotspots, and they did not slack in this duty as the Warrior Great House. Both Pillar Mountain and The Desert's Maw were under their watch, with patrols in the area to keep an eye out for intruders. However it was not impossible, thanks to the scale of these locations, and with careful work they could start to explore the locations. Finding that Pillar Mountain did indeed have many tomb complexes built into its structure, but also many beneath it, and those underground were not as deftly explored as the ones above. The Anubites didn't even quite know the identity of those buried in the lower chambers. Meanwhile The Desert's Maw was a location in which one could practically feel the spiritual energy in the air, and as spiritual beings themselves  Pauline and Nenkidu would feel a little tug, as they could feel the Maw calling to them, to delve into its depths. But that would very foolish, as that would be seen by the Yuya guards within moments.

Almas was waiting impatiently near the door, since the cat had seen what Heulyn was packing, and she wanted the meat. Mildir was more calmly waiting, liking what was packed but also more relaxed for the walk. When Heulyn was prepared, the stag nodded his head, "Good. We walk this way." With that, he turned about and went straight out the door, with the doors opening after a little magical push from the Stag, who did have quite a bit of power in him that he seemed to just generally forget he had. Walking out into the street, Mildir was not a sight uncommon to the Anubites of the Linear City, and in fact he was a regular in every regard. People waved to the stag, children came by to stroke his fur and then run away laughing. Mildir did not mind, as he was noticeably gentle around children, sometimes even pausing his stroll to let them stroke his fur! He did not offer that same courtesy to adults, continuing his stride regardless.

The destination was a rather unassuming park in the city. It was a little section of green in a world of sand, with nice trees, long grass, and benches to sit on. A few Anubites were here, just relaxing. There was one thing of note here however, a large obelisk in the middle of the park. It had blue, glowing glyphs carved into its side, each a simple letter. Reading from top to bottom, they spelled out "Menthrais", which was the case on all four sides of the stone carving. Upon its square base there seemed to be a plaque too, to explain the meaning of the name. Mildir went for the Menthrais Obelisk himself, calmly strolling towards it. But when he got close, the glyphs started glowing red, and a spirit formed, an Anubite in ceremonial armor. It was in fact the same suit of armor Sethus owned, but there was certainly a different Anubite wearing it now, and the spirit quickly pointed at Mildir and yelled, "Absolutely not! Away with you, scornful Stag! Get away from my damn pillar, I will not let you ruin it once more!" He then looked to Heulyn and pointed to her, "Human! Assist me in preventing this stag from desecrating my namesake once more! Obey the mandate of Menthrais and stop the damn creature from relieving himself on my monument again! Now!" Mildir seemed unconcerned, simply wiggling his ears calmly, "It is my spot. I will use my spot. Go away, old thing."

Goljamush was not surprised with these issues. In fact he and his servants very much welcome the challenge. Otherwise it would’ve been months worth of boring travel across the same scenery. One can only appreciate the shifting sands for so long before it becomes lackluster. Novelty dries out very fast like that. Sand aside the king foresaw the desert coming to ‘life’ at night without his clairvoyance. With how active spirits are on this world it was not a stretch of the imagination to assume there would be feral spirits. So as much Nameless and Cu were probably cursing his name (much to his great amusement) with what he is putting them through, they were chosen with a purpose. Goljamush can very much be petty, but he covers it with a solid reasoning. Cu was summoned due to his proficiency as a Druid. Pacifying most of the feral spirits that come his way along with protecting the outpost with ancient runes that can ward off malicious spirits. Nameless, as much Goljamush dislike the faker, can use his trademark skill Projection to create objects to either ward the spirits off or attack them. Regardless of how well they are faring. They very much hate the Kings the Heroes for the trouble he’s putting them through. Thankfully for them it’s not on them to man the outpost. For the other teams do come back frequently enough to help out in the raids. At the moment none of them venture closer to the wonders yet as they just went to scout it out for now and wait for Goljamush to learn more about them so they can be better prepared. Said study was going well for Goljamush. He has gotten used to the archive system. It’ll take awhile but given Heulyn needs time to recover he can take as much time he needs.

The sun was harsh. It sunbeams hot against her exposed skin and face. She almost forgotten how harsh the desert sun can be. At least the sky was clear. It blue expanse is always a source of wonder for her. She could lay on the ground to stare up into the sky for a long time. There was no breeze which makes the low humidity that much worse for her. Oddly she was not as thirsty that she expected to be yet. It felt she only been out for a minute instead of the long walk they took through the city. A city that she felt a bit uncomfortable being out in. Her hands were becoming a bit clammy as anxiety rolls in the pit of her stomach. If it weren’t for the presence of a few familiar faces she would’ve been having a harder time being out and about. Some tension was relieved when they reached the park. They always did serve as a therapeutic location for her. Following Mildir lead into the park grounds she would see the monument up ahead. What unfolded next was a surprise to her. Finding herself at a loss to the escalation. Calming herself she manage to will her legs to move between the two. Handing out an unwrapped butter bar to Mildir to temporarily distract him while she tries to understand more of the problem for something had stuck out to her from the exchange.

“Forgive Mildir, I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by defacing your monument.” She began as she looks to the red spirit. “But I’m confused Menthrais. Why didn’t you contact well, anyone really. I doubt they would have ignored you.” Mistreatment of monuments is heavily frowned upon in her culture. So with the Anubite reverence of their ancestors that offense is much more serious, so she’s at a loss as to why no one saw Menthrais situation. Was Mildir really that protected by the law? “If you’ve made some request to them say wishing to install a fence around your obelisk I’m sure they would’ve done so. Aren’t Anubites suppose to be subservient to ancestral spirits like yourself.” She inquired out of curiosity. Not wanting to neglect Mildir she turn to him real quick. “Mildir, isn’t there any other spots in the park you like? The spirit seem to be upset with you.”

The feral spirits weren't quite able to be pacified in the case of the Nomads. They were beings simply of rage and hate, they did not calm. But they could be warded off, misdirected, and simply returned to the sands. Still, while these tactics would work, there were many spirits, and they did occasionally speak. Usually it was simply garbled gibberish, angry grunting, and battle cries, but sometimes there were proper sentences. They were still incomprehensible, being spoken in Ancient Nomadic Anubite, they were saying something, though always following it up with attacking. Notably however the Nomads did not appear nearby Pillar Mountain or The Desert's Maw, though the occasional simple lost soul did, but were easily driven off by the Yuya guards.

The distraction was functional, with Mildir going at the butter instead of striding forward. The spirit of Menthrais looked to Heulyn, still red. But then he seemed to start calming down as Heulyn began asking questions, his form returning to the normal blue hue that Anubite spirits seemed to have. His voice took on a different tone now as he returned to normal, showing a more noble tone that suited his armor, "Nobody ignores me, youngling. I am quite aware of that, and that is why I am careful. I may dislike the Stag's actions, but it is an animal even with its increased intelligence. And I value life. Now, if the Empire was to know that the stag was so flagrantly disrespecting my monument with its increased intelligence, I know all too well that the response would be somewhat more aggressive than I would prefer. So I do not tell, and I ask that you do not do it as well. I am quite fond of my people, but I am sure you have seen by now we can be a bit overboard in our responses to slights against us. Besides, the stag is valuable. Even if I did not generally just like nature, it'd still be bad to punish him too harshly. I know Mildir quite well, and it is a balancing act with him. So while I will angry, I have zero intent to give him a High Lord's punishment. As for something simple like a fence... I do not wish to bar anyone, man or beast, from visiting my obelisk. It is via contact with the glyphs that I can assist them in their troubles, after all. On that note, I do not recognize you, Human. You look odd for your race, I can sense that about you. From where do you hail?"

As the ghost was focused on Heulyn, Mildir did actually seem to take the young Amziel's advice, and moved off towards a tree to the side which he also favored. Almas stayed with Heulyn, looking at the spirit of Menthrais with curiosity.

Heulyn gave a grin at her distraction working. Putting the wrapper into the bag she extended her arms around the stag wholly neck. Threading her fingers through his fur as she buries her face into Mildir neck to affectionately nuzzle him. Letting out a noise of content in the process. “Hmm, thanks for working with me.” She whispers softly to the stag. Planting a few butterfly kisses on his cheek. It was nice when things go smoothly. Anxiety is not something she can handle well right now. Massaging Mildir neck in a tender manner is very much a therapeutic sensation. Her amber eyes open up to look over to the spirit when he began to talk. All the while continuing to give the stag loving attention. Listening to the spirit she did have to agree with his points. While she’ll never tell it to a Anubite, they're a bit arrogant in Heulyn eyes. And that’s only the tip of her opinion of them so far. So she agrees with the spirit about them being harsh because she has no doubt they will. Mildir is undeserving of such treatment. She buried her face once more into her fur. What can she say, it just feels really nice to hug Mildir. “I understand now. Apologize for my misunderstanding.” The apology roll out of her out of habit. An instinct to show humility and submission to a more prestigious individual. Mildir seem to be moving to a different spot as per her request. Giving him another smooch on the cheek before letting him go. Letting her hand be dragged along his neck and down along his body. Now standing with Almas by her side. “Oh I’m um from a group of people new to the galactic life. A Amziel from Angelarium. My name is Heulyn.” She politely introduces herself to the sprit.

Mildir did certainly appreciate the nuzzling and affection, which perhaps played into him actually playing along with Heulyn instead of continuing his stubborn ways. However, as Heulyn was giving Mildir such attention, that drew jealousy from the other animal in Heulyn's presence; that being Almas. The black-furred feline started pawing at Heulyn's legs as the Stag wandered off to do his business at the tree, with Almas wanting her to give her some affection too in order to keep the balance. The spirit of Menthrais chuckled at this sight, as well as that of Mildir actually showing something in the way of care, "Impressive, you seem to have a good bond with wildlife. Mildir does not cooperate with others very often. You remind me of my youth! Part of the reason I set up this park while I was High Lord, you know. Regardless, I have never heard of this Angelarium, but I will take your word for it that you are an Amziel and not a Human. Good to see that more species are being brought into the Empire even at this point. I expect creatures from this Angelarium to be added to my parks and zoos soon, subject. But I will leave that for the ministries. In the meanwhile... Tell me, who is the current High Lord? I have not been keeping up to date, and I do hope my descendants doing well, and the Rwim family is still going strong. If I'm right this current lord should be the... fifteenth to come after myself? Perhaps sixteen if Uldamis has passed."

The sensation of a big paw stroking her leg was expected. Over the past two weeks she came to learn that Almas is very much the jealous type. Therefore she was more careful in ensuring they both receive equal affection. Twenty minutes had to be set aside each day to give them enough attention. It was tiring some days, especially when the two were getting into fights. But overall she very much gotten used to dealing with animals. Especially when it came to multiple animals. Last time she dealt with so many was when she gifted Sphinx Wehem-Mesu or rather three newborn clones of it. Their size and mannerisms are quite similar to that of a lion cub. They are rather cute and it possesses quite a giant figure when grown up.The thought of them made her a bit sad. Wondering where they are now. Her best guess would be that they are within Ramesseum Tentyris the Shining Great Temple Complex. Nostalgia aside she shift her focus to Almas. “So very needy.” She teases the feline in a way a mother would tease her infant.

Crouching down she began to pet Almas. Starting with the areas that she knows she enjoys. Once Almas is all bliss out from petting, she starts the full body massage with slow, slightly pressured strokes down her back, from her neck to the base of her tail. Once she gave the back a good amount of attention, she moves onto Almas shoulders. And proceed to make slow, very slightly pressured circles around her shoulder blades. After that she does a bit of freestyle around the chin and ears. At this point Almas would be on her back. Giving her an easier time to follow up the last step by cupping her chest and making circular motions. Finally she finishes with the paws. Spending at least thirty seconds giving attention to each fear. Once done she stood up. Taking a breath of relief for finishing the massage. Almas should be out of commision for a good while.

She heard Menthrais complement of her interaction with the animals. Not disagreeable for she does develop good bonds with them. But nothing deep or spiritual like her friend Albrecht. Partly due to his elemental affinity being Earth. For her she simply enjoys animal life because she finds them nice to cuddle with. “Thanks.” So far Menthrais is one of the more pleasant Anubites she had the privilege of meeting. Not too rooted in traditionalism. That’s not to say she dislike those types Anubite but rather they tend to be narrow-minded in some cases. Not being open to the possibility of something more beyond their civilization. At first she thought the ‘disdain for barbarism’ attitude that she saw in some were a reaction to the deeds of Amzilean. But after browsing the Ethernet in bed (Mostly due to being woken up from her two sleeping companions) she came to learn that all of Iammelon view anything not them as uncivilized. This mindset was nothing new to Heulyn, she worked with Servants who bore great for their nations that they had ruled over. It was more of a somber moment to see that even societies that span the stars hold prejudice toward others.

Turning to face the spirit she thought on what he requested.Giving a short nod before answering. “The Rwim Family is still the heart of the empire. I don’t know his ancestral line but the High-Lord is Sethus.” After all, she only knows a little bit of the empire at this point. Less so than Goljamush who she is unaware of his study at the archives. As most she’s aware of some of the biggest events that happened in the last century referenced in news articles on the Ethernet. “I don’t know much about him. Only met him twice. Despite that I feel he’s a good High-Lord.” It was tough to put her feelings into words for she truly does not know much about him beside hearsay. There is a desire to meet him again but she wouldn’t know what to say around him.

Almas seemed to rather happily accept the full body massage and patting, with the feline greatly enjoying it. Heulyn had learned spots that pleased the big cat the most, and even though she was rather easily made jealous, Almas wasn't actually all that hard to to satisfy in the petting department. Rather, once she got the attention she so desired, it wasn't hard to take her out with the barrage, especially with the paws and ears, the areas she seemed to enjoy the most. Heulyn could be sure that Almas was going to be fine for a little while at the very least, and would likely only act up again once she was hungry.

Menthrais watched this all happened, and he began to laugh. Being a spirit, his laughter echoed for a bit, adding some additional volume to him. The ancient High Lord did seem to be rather pleased with her ability to interact with animals, as he really was. Menthrais was a High Lord who greatly valued the natural world and all of its features, be they plants or animals, and he heavily judged other people by how they treated the world around them. As such, he found that those who treated animals poorly or with disdain could not be trusted as much as those who seemed to just naturally get along with other creatures. That perhaps could explain his more open-minded nature in comparison to most of his kind, or even family for that case.

Regardless, Menthrais smiled and nodded, "As expected. The Rwims have ruled for longer than your species has been sentient, I dare say! It would be quite the change for them to no longer rule. And hm, Sethus... I believe that's Uldamis's first grandson? Seems he is High Lord number seventeen after me, longer than I thought! Still, good that he appears to be a functional High Lord. I should get more in touch with the modern histories, but I am a rather busy spirit. It is not easy controlling the flow of spiritual energy that comes through my obelisk, after all. Not that you need to know while you live! It'll only be relevant once you're dead, and let's not have that happen too soon now, no? Teasing aside, I shall have to meet the current Scion of my family in due time. See if he is prepared to do what all High Lords must do here..."

Mildir, who had finished his work on watering the tree in his own special way, returned to the side of Heulyn. The Stag looked at Menthrasis and snorted, his ears wiggling, "You will mess up again. It will not work, again. Give up, old thing. You cannot stop it." The spirit was about to respond before Mildir's head suddenly turned around, his ears wiggling in urgency, "You shall see soon, old thing. The big lord approaches." While Mildir's wording wasn't quite correct, Heulyn could see in the distance that Sethus was coming, seemingly approaching the obelisk of Menthrais, although he was coming in on the opposite side of Heulyn and hadn't noticed her yet.

A rash of unease crept up her spine the more she listen to the spirit. Alarm bells rang in her head. She gave a smile regardless. It’s unwise to give him a sense of her anxiety so soon. If she were to appear distrustful it’ll only arouse suspicion. She was about to open her mouth to respond when Mildir came back over. Thankful for the involuntary diversion she gave a smile. Reaching up to massage his neck. All the while analyzing the words spoken. With a side thought of mentally thanking her teachers on how to deconstruct words and speech to unravel potential danger. Very useful for a magus like her to possess in their skill set. So far she got a strong feeling that Menthrais was not a Rwin by how he was talking about them in the first few sentences. The comment on the possibility of them no longer ruling wouldn’t have been so brow raising if there wasn’t a pretender to the throne. Further comments from Mildir makes her suspect that the spirit is a part of the Yuya family whose head is Nerotep. Once again she’s reminded of the fact that Tarset told her something the public does not. Part with the fact that from Menthrais perspective she’s a foreigner. Leaving him unaware of how informed she really is. An advantage she’ll need cash in on.

Her everyday worries have now been brush into the back of her mind. Years on the field had taught her on how to focus on the situation at hand and not worry about anything except for the present moment. She took note of Sethus approach and given that she could see him, Almas laying nearby revving up a storm, and the beacon that is Mildir there’s no doubt that he’ll see them. The first plan that was formulated was to do the thing they came here to do in the first place. As they are in a public park. “Oh, he seem to be here for Menthrais. Let’s them be then. I bet you’re famished Mildir.” She teases the stag. Gesturing for him to lay down to when she will do the same. Sitting down she lean on his side close enough to his head so that she can hand him butter from her bowl. With the stag so close to her she began to funnel a bit of magic into her magic circuits. The activation couldn’t be physically seen for it was within her inner ear for the purpose of strengthening her hearing. Thanks to the nature of Mildir mystical aura her magic usage is well blanket by it.

There’s a plan b if their discussion was done through magical means. Given she doubt anything sensitive would be spoken in a public area. So leaning more against Mildir to the point of fully laying against him. Handing him another bar of butter she took a moment to get in a comfortable position. She closes her eyes only to open her third eye to see her imaginary space. It’s the same as before. A void in all directions save for the internal luminous that her spirit gives off. Revealing that she was sitting on a watery mirror surface. Body still glued together with gold. Her reflection was wearing ambiguous armor which she assume to be Legion. They were strange to see but she didn’t put much thought into it. More distracted by Mildir reflection that seem to represent the magical side of him. His glow causing a scattering effect underwater. Almas is near her whose reflection is nothing noteworthy. Taking it all it she mentally look in the direction of the obelisk when they began to possibly chat. Her secondary focus was getting a deeper sense of both the obelisk and the spirit.

All the while she physically look to the sprawled out feline nearby. She gently ease her head onto her lap and set the basket on the other side of her. Reaching in she took out a slap of meat and unwrapped it to hand it over to Almas for her to chew on. While she was eating she continued to hand Mildir butter bars. "Got any more fun tales to share Mildir?" Her voice was low enough for Mildir to hear. Spoken in a jovial mood as a result of her relaxing position. She would continue to pay attention to the possible interaction between Sethus and the spirit. Not wanting to make her presence known just yet for a few reasons. From not feeling it's her place to still not knowing how to interact with the High-Lord.

The stag was of course quite interested in the offer of food, and so Mildir followed Heulyn over to lay down for the picnic. Almas of course sensed that food was about to be distributed as well, and she quickly leaped up to join the picnic, intent on getting her bit of the meal. The slab of meat would be quite enough for the feline, and so she happily snacked on that. Mildir in the meanwhile pleasantly devoured the butter, with his ears beginning to wiggle as he responded, "Another tale, this very park. It was made shortly after my arrival on this planet, finished just before my escape. It is the location I first escaped to once I got out of the zoo, and I marked my spot. It is very close to where I was caught up in the immortality ritual, which is directly north from that Obelisk, near another just like it. It is also where I found butter for the first time after being offered it by an older Anubite Woman. I thank her for this discovery every time I visit this park." With that he turned his full attention to the butter, to honor the memory of the now long dead woman.

Menthrais meanwhile also took note of Mildir's warning of Sethus approaching, and moved to go and greet the High Lord. Heulyn was very much correct in that Mildir's mighty magical presence cloaked that of those around him, and the Stag's presence here in itself was rather normal for those who knew him. This was after all his spot, and there was no reason to not expect him to be here to utilize it. And fortunately for Heulyn, she would not need to go to Plan B, for Menthrais spoke out to Sethus in voice, beginning a conversation, "Ah, so the High Lord comes to visit. Sethus, is it? Good to meet the current head of my family! Life goes by too quickly to really know you all, but I am sure once you are in my plane we can talk more."
Sethus nodded to the spirit, "Yes, I did wish to come and talk. Good that you have heard my name, however. I understand you do not involve yourself much with current events. But I do hope Mildir hasn't been giving you any additional trouble. While I can sense that he is here, he should've been mostly taken up in being a companion to a guest on the planet. Regardless, this is not a mere social visit as I am sure you have already guessed. I've come to ensure the lines are still functional, and we won't have another incident as happened two hundred years ago. The Empire is caught up in a war, and yet I also have a pretender to the throne to deal with. I need this to go right, and get that much needed help. Can you assure me of this, ancestor?"
The Spirit of Menthrais nodded, "I am quite certain this time we shall see no interruptions. Your grandfather's mistakes won't be repeated. Not unless you have the same faults as he, Sethus. Regardless, you will get your assurances, you can be... assured of that. Heh. But while I have you, High Lord, are you sure it is wise to be hosting aliens from outside the Empire so closely if you are so very worried? The guest I met seemed fine enough, but I do hope you do not get too many. We cannot quite afford the potential of tainting the process."
That line actually seemed to confuse Sethus a bit, "Tainting the process? I was not aware that was possible in this case. Is there something wrong with having non-Anubites on the planet or something? It's never been a problem before! And what do you mean you already met a guest? I only have a few, and only one within the general area here, and they are resting. Had a particularly interesting experience with their soul which I intend to help them with further in coming times, but still. Hm... I do hope she isn't making unnecessary expenditures of energy. Or perhaps that is the fault of Mildir..."

Both Mildir tale and the ongoing conversation were interesting to listen too. The building mystery is something she come to enjoy. A given engrossment given her life of traveling across space and time to fix temporal anomalies. And meeting amazing figures from legends and histories. As a result her curiosity is more pronounced in many things, often luring into her into things she shouldn't be for better or worse. Sethus assumption that the stag was up to something was a source of dry amusement. While she never became physically tired it was a weight on her mind to keeping care of not only Mildir but Almas as well. Both of which don’t have the best of bonds which results in her making sure they don’t get into a fight. They got into a bad one a few night ago that led to her being accidently raked across the arm by Almas. That was a mess to clean up. She had to coax the the guilt-ridden feline afterwards that it was all right and she would not say anything to Tarset. It’s moments like those that she is thankful for her regenerative ability. It would have been tricky to hide a big new scar on her arm from Tarset. After that night they seem to be more passive-aggressive towards each other but not as violent as before. ‘It can’t be helped.’ She mentally sigh as she kept feeding the stag. Her basket being quickly depleted of the butter.

The two animals were quite the bundle of trouble, be they on their own or together, especially so however in the latter case. Almas was certainly not fond of Mildir, and Mildir's magical strength when used on the defensive could be a bit overboard for dealing with Almas. That moment however they learned they could hurt Heulyn did stick in both of their minds, and get them to change their attitudes, even if they still didn't like eachother. The Stag was not thinking of that now however, instead simply chowing down on more butter, quite happy. One could almost swear he was trying to wag his tail to show that, but it was hard to tell. His ear wiggling was easier to tell, "The butter is good for life. A word of advice, butter-giver, enjoy the butter, enjoy the life. It is all fleeting, but in the end all things are but the same, if more extended. An inability to enjoy the taste of a treat leads to a bad life, a sad one. Do not fall into the trap of time. Simple things, heavy things. All are a blink, but that does not mean you can not enjoy the good. Every minute can be your favorite. Like butter, this is my favorite. More please." The use of "please" was certainly not common among Mildir's speech , so that was remarkable.

While Mildir was absently giving out random bits of advice, the conversation between spirit and High Lord continued. Menthrais grunted, shaking his head, "You can find these things out on your own time, High Lord. But remember your station, most of your focus must be on what is important. Uldamis made his mistakes because of losing track of that. For different reasons, perhaps, but it is the same principle. Remember that, Sethus. And ignore this pretender. Such people never amount to anything, the Rwims will never lose their seat. That would be a greater change than the Empire would be willing to stomach at the pace our culture changes!"
Sethus sighed, nodding, "Yes, I suppose. I am worried however, the Pretender is Lord Nerotep Yuya, head of his family. He has many warriors, and so I cannot just strike out against him. Extra dangerous given that we are in a war. I need him removed, quickly. But the ancestor council denies me the expulsion..."
"If they refuse you, then you accept their judgement, High Lord!" The outburst was sudden from Menthrais, surprising even Sethus. The spirit caught himself, calming a bit more, and then speaking again, "Apologies, I am fairly stressed. Regardless, the ancestors are wise, I am sure what they do is reasonable. As for the Yuyas, that is most distressing. I am sure you are aware, but it was me who saw that house of mere palace guards ascend to their current position. Renesab Yuya was a close friend of mine, so I implore you that you send this Nerotep to me for a talk. If he is the descendant of my friend, then I am sure I can handle him. Perhaps I can get him to back down entirely, solve this issue entirely. Do that for me, Sethus."
"Very well, Menthrais. I'll see if Nerotep is willing to meet you. He should come here if that happens, just keep an eye out for when he arrives in case he accepts. In the meanwhile, focus on your duties. No mistakes this time." The Spirit nodded in agreement, and then his form faded from sight back into his obelisk. Sethus sighed, planting his staff down in the ground before sitting down. He then looked up into the skies above, a hand over his heart.