A Salamander, but Mighty

POV: Dyenna

Her journey to reach her sister was being extended to take tours in the countryside, where thanks to her skills and level, she helped people, gaining their admiration and devotion; every person in power, even the most cruel and ruthless, played on a balance between fear and desperation: on the one hand there was the fear of losing what one had, on the other, the desperation of having nothing to lose. Revolutions happened when the scales tipped too far towards one of these two plates, too much fear and people would revolt to protect their wealth, too much desperation and people would revolt because they had only to gain by rebelling.

Dyenna was working on this balance as she waited for that slimy, dark god to keep his promise and grant her the longed-for Second Awakening, something she was beginning to doubt it would have ever happened.

If only I could do it alone without this encumbrance under my feet... Dyenna thought, turning a ceramic cup from which she was drinking hot herbal tea in her hands, there must be a way to bypass a god.

She and Shalotte had found shelter inside the inn of a city a day's walk away from the borders between Heliolite and the northern realms of Topaz and Adularia. The inn was populated by all kinds of customers, especially adventurers who tried to earn a living by escorting merchants and travelers across borders rather than venturing into dungeons.

In order not to make her presence visible in the room, considering that she was the future queen of Heliolite and that perhaps her parents had sent soldiers around to look for her to bring her back to the castle, she had decided to hide her presence with a rough cloak with hood and commoner's clothes that she had bought for a few leuns from a peasant girl along the road; clothing like that was absolutely not worthy of a prominent figure like her, but Dyenna wasn't the kind of person who was unwilling to make some sacrifices to obtain the desired results... that was a rather harmless sacrifice, which she didn't even come close to being displeased for having to remove her brother from the picture.

Oh well, you can’t let stupid sentimentalism get in your way.

In the meantime, Shalotte had returned to the table bringing with her a tray on which there were two plates full of meat with a side of vegetables and a bottle of red wine, an adequate meal, although not worthy of the future queen of Heliolite.

“Looks delicious!” Dyenna exclaimed with a cheerful trill in her voice, “I must confess that you are the best part of the trip, Lotte!”

She blushed, “you're t-too nice, I'm just trying to-to give you the treatment you deserve,” she said, sitting down at the table, but not touching the food or wine until Dyenna served herself first.

“That's not true, I'm simply honest,” Dyenna replied, taking the plate and helping herself to the wine, first to her subordinate, then to herself, “this trip would have been very different without your company. It's almost a shame that soon we won't be alone anymore.”

Shalotte smiled slightly, “Just a few more days and we'll finally be in Stanbroodge. Will the nobles Rosalia and Darren still be there?”

Dyenna nodded, “I wrote a letter to my sister before we left, I'm sure she's waiting for us.” She drank a few sips of wine, "not bad!"

“I'm glad you like it,” said Shalotte, cutting a piece of meat, “and after we reach Rosalia? Will you lead the group?"

"I don't know, it would be disrespectful considering that duke Darren is the one who financed the expedition, not to mention that the knights escorting him and my sister come from his duchy..." Dyenna also started cutting the meat and eating, accompanying it with some vegetables, “no, I think I'll just offer to accompany, I just want to be with my sister.”

And keep an eye on Darren to make sure he doesn't draw too much popular approval... she thought as she chewed.

“Did you hear about what happened in Seltipont?” said one of the adventurers sitting at a table next to Helen and Shalotte's. The adventurer and his drinking companions spoke so loudly that they were perfectly audible to them too.

“The monsters' attack on the village? Looks like they've managed to kill them all for now.”

“Who knows what caused this wave of monsters, usually they are not so coordinated unless there is a dungeon outbreak, but around Seltipont there are no dungeons…” said a third participant in the conversation.

Dyenna had begun to ignore Shalotte in favor of the adventurers' discussion, that is, until the beautiful, sandy-curled leporan leaned toward her slightly, whispering, "There's no point in risking exposure if you wish to eavesdrop."

Dyenna raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips in a mixture of surprise and offense.

Shalotte didn't answer, just moved her long, broad hare ears on top of her head.

"Oh! Right…"

In this way, Dyenna did not stoop to being a spy, letting her traveling companion do it for her; a few minutes passed in silence, eating and drinking until Shalotte began to turn pale and cast a few anxious glances at the small group of adventurers.

"What's happening?" Helen asked, tilting her head slightly.

“It seems that a monster has ascended near Seltipont,” the leporan replied, pulling back her ears, “when this happens near villages or cities, the monsters fleeing from the ascended monster immediately approach the settlements, fortunately this event does not last long, but in the worst cases it can end in a destroyed village or small town.”

Dyenna nodded slowly, saving a village would certainly be great publicity for me, but if I'm not mistaken, Seltipont would be a half day's detour from Stanbroodge, she thought as she finished her glass of wine and poured herself another.

“Luckily we don't have to go down that road!” Shalotte said with a hint of a smile, “I'm sorry, but it's a matter that should be in the hands of the adventurers to resolve.”

“And aren't we adventurers?”

“Well, we are not registered with the Guild…” the leporan muttered, “which by definition means we are not adventurers.” She swallowed and widened her eyes, “y-you're not going to tell me you want to go to Seltipont, right?”

“We're not officially, but that doesn't mean we're not!” Dyenna replied with a smile, “but to be honest, no, not really. Even the most premature ascended monsters easily double my level, if I remember correctly the earliest ascended monster ever recorded had a level around the fiftieth mark.”

“It's powerful!”

“Surely even my beloved brother would have had difficulty fighting it; monsters gain the ability to reason about the distribution of their Traits and Feats only after ascension, so each ascended monster starts with a build generated in part by their bestial instincts,” the human explained, “not exactly the best way to maximize a build.”

“And aren't you convinced that it would be better to avoid the risk of crossing paths with it?” Shalotte's shoulders shook slightly.

“Not quite,” Dyenna placed a hand over her heart and bowed her head. “Thinking of running away when it is my duty to be the guardian and savior of my people weighs heavily on my soul,” she explained, sighing dejectedly, I certainly don't want to risk dying for a handful of plebeians, but if I could know enough to predict my victory or defeat...

“You are so kind and selfless,” Shalotte murmured softly, “but should we consider these options? This…this is not a risk that a…” she glanced around them, “…a person like you should be willing to take on purpose.”

The human placed the glass on the table and leaned forward with her arms on the table, until she managed to take the leporan's hands in hers and establish direct eye contact with her, "don't worry, I would never take risks so serious without knowing that I can do it.” she smiled at her, “I'll take a night to think about it, I'll decide in time to leave!”

“…Okay,” Shalotte said, “just know that I will stay by your side no matter what.”

"I'm counting on it! You are my personal guard, after all!” Dyenna giggled sweetly.

- - -

Later that same night, Dyenna had trouble sleeping; she was lying on the bed on her stomach, contemplating the ceiling immersed in darkness to the point of being almost invisible. Her mind was busy reasoning about what she had heard, not only that saving the village would increase the people's approval of her, but also because there was an ascended monster involved... and killing an ascended monster rewarded with many experience points.

How much longer will I have to fight to surpass your power, brother? She thought, raising a clenched fist towards the ceiling, you were the strongest among us, you could have written a new page in the history of the continent if you had also been a far-sighted ruler.

Far-sighted and ambitious, like her.

“I will become more powerful than you, I will show you how a true ruler should manage the land,” Dyenna whispered to the darkness.

“Future Queen of Heliolite,” the voice that rang out from those darkness was easily recognizable to her at this point, nevertheless these sudden and dark apparitions did startle her a bit every time. “Go to Seltipont and eat the still warm heart of the monster who ascended in that area. Your wish will be granted."

Dyenna smiled, soon she would surpass her powerful but unworthy brother in every way and unite the continent and its people under the same flag.