Aegis Online

The Skyborne clerk pauses, his quill pen hovering over a blank page.

“Are… are you serious? You KNOW she can’t fly, right?”

 

I smile. “Leave that to me. Now, do we have to make this difficult?”

 

The clerk looks me up and down, taking in my armour, greatshield, and swordspear. I can hear him swallow nervously.

“N-no, no. we can do this peacefully, miss. No need to make this harder than it needs to be, yes?”

 

I pause, my hand on my coinpouch. “Oh, well. Good to see you’re reasonable. Now, let me see you put Morrigan’s name down, okay?”

With a slight tremble to his fingers, the clerk scratches Morrigan’s name neatly, and I double-check the spelling.

“Yep, looks good. Here’s for your trouble!” I toss him a small handful of coins as I saunter away, putting a little sway into my hips.

 

Finding Asteria and Morrigan takes quite a long while, since my girlfriend really wasn’t kidding about training in a hidden spot. I message her to let her know I’m coming, and she grabs me from behind.

“This way!”

She whispers, kissing me on the cheek, and I follow her as she takes my hand, leading me around a narrow ledge, to a surprisingly-large cave with the mouth open into the sky. Morrigan’s right there in the middle of the cave, her feet hanging off the ground as she beats her wings, concentration and joy warring on her face as she hovers!

I clasp my hands over my mouth, trying not to squeal in glee at how happy the young woman looks, and how quickly she’s started to pick up on how to use her new wings. I guess that she still has the natural instinct to fly, after all!

 

I watch as Morrigan slowly rotates in mid-air, turning to face me. She’s beaming, her black hair swishing in the breeze her wings are whipping up. I smile back at her. “Look at you, Mor! You’re flying!”

 

She nods, before she swivels, angling herself as she launches herself out into the void, the clouds around her burning away as she spirals, her hazy figure swooping and diving through the foggy air, and I can’t help but go after her, the two of us looping around each other. I note that Mor’s carefully studying how my wings move, before she replicates what I’m doing to mimic the same thing I’ve done. She’s a savant!

 

After an hour, I guide her through the landing process, and she furls her wings, as Asteria gently hugs her. I then realize I’ve got an incoming call.

 

“Hello?”

 

“FINALLY! I’ve been trying to get your attention for twenty minutes!”

 

“wait, really? Cra-uhhh, crumbs! I didn’t notice. I’ll be down at the Trevalli estate right away!”

 

“Why did you just censor yourself? I’m the same age as you!”

I can hear the amusement in Harvenhaight’s voice as he questions my sudden change of language.

 

“I don’t want to curse in front of the kid!”

 

“…. What kid?? WHEN did YOU… have a KID???”

 

I grin. “I’ll introduce you once we’re here! Ulged’s just about done setting up a Translocation Beacon, so fast-travel will be enabled soon.”

 

“Alright, I’m waiting!”

I hang up and use my teleport crystal for the first time today, leaving me with two more uses. I appear at the gates to the Duchess’ estate, and make my way past a couple of Argonauts who appear to have taken it upon themselves to act as guards, entering the grounds and approaching the door. Dorothea sticks her head out through the wall, beaming. “Hello, and welcome to the Trevalli estate! Are you here for a tour - OH! Lady Kettrin, it’s you!”

 

I smile back. “Hello, Dorothea! So, you’re giving guided tours now, huh? I’ll have to come with Asteria!”

“Yes, I’ve been making some money. I offered to do it for free, but all the Argonauts insist on paying me for it. I’ve put the money towards upkeep and maintenance, though, so I guess my conscience is resting easy.” She smiles at me, and I can feel my heart warming.

“Well, judging from those guys at the gate, you’ve really got a fanbase among us adventuring sorts!”

 

“Yes, they’ve been keeping an eye out for that… ‘poncey, up-jumped sack of pudding’ in case he comes back again.”

I go still. “Viscount Fitzwilliam came back???”

“Oh, he did. Not personally, but he sent a pair of those scandalously-underdressed lady bodyguards to break in. They were apprehended immediately, though, so nothing was damaged or stolen. We turned them over to a nice Andromal major, so they’re probably already released and getting a dressing-down from their master.”

 

I try not to laugh, knowing that we most likely haven’t heard the end of this, but happy that Dorothea’s been handling herself and her estate well. She guides me through a pair of doors, Literally in her case and metaphorically in mine, into a beautiful parlour. Harvenhaight is sitting in a rosewood chair, his black wings and armour and long, silver hair standing out as he sips tea from a delicate china cup.

“Ah, about time you got here, Kettrin! Dorothea was kind enough to make me some tea while I waited. I’ve been making friends with her!”

Dorothea floats on to ‘sit’ in a chair of her own, and I take a seat as well. “Before we set off, Harv, I’d like to ask the Duchess something.”

“Sure, I wanna finish my tea first, I’m in no hurry.”

I turn to our ghost hostess, her eyes wide in curiosity.

“I… I would like to know if you’ve ever thought of sponsoring a guild.”

 

“Sponsoring a guild? Well, my parents often made allusions to such things, but they seemed to be divided on which guild to sponsor. I suppose that decision falls to me now, though. Why?”

I smile. “Well, I have a guild of my own. The Wings of the Storm, formed very recently. Having your support in the manner of reputation would be most beneficial. If we have you as our benefactor, at least on paper, our own reputation would be bolstered by your show of confidence. We’d be mainly looking to perform courier jobs, transporting cargo and people from place to place. Thanks to how fast my airship is, we’d be able to make more trips than most other guilds. There’s also the potential for us to engage in assisting other guilds or clans by providing air support and reinforcements once we have the numbers.”

Harvenhaight’s eyebrows are raised, and he silently sips his tea. I wait for Dorothea to say something.

“Of course! I’d be honoured! You’ve done so much for me, acting as your guild’s benefactor would be the perfect way to repay you!”

I smile, relieved. “You have my deepest thanks, Duchess.”

With Dorothea’s backing, we’d be more likely to attract notice from other members of the nobility, either for work, or for them to try and see if we’d sell-out for a big payday. Contracts of work from noble houses would carry weight, and the more we completed well, the greater our own influence and clout would become.

Once the details have been finalised and we’ve had the signing witnessed by Professor Jerome’s associate, the young woman whose specialty is Spiritual Common-Law doctrine and Custodia Legis, she approves it, it’s signed and sealed, and handed to me. I make a note to lock this priceless document up in my strongbox back aboard the Devil Hunter.

 

 

Once all the proceedings have been wrapped up, I draw out my teleport crystal after a fond farewell from Dorothea and a promise to return soon for that guided tour, and clap my hand over Harvenhaight’s shoulder, my gauntlet clanking on his pauldron, and we find ourselves standing on the deck of my ship, the wood swept and clean. I grin at Harvenhaight.

“Well, ready to meet the kid?”

“Yeah, actually. You’ve been very secretive about this and I want to know what’s going on in that head of yours!”

I shoot Dana a quick message to let her know Jeffrey’s with me and that we’re on our way to meet her and Morrigan. As soon as I get a confirmation back, I grin.

“This way!”

 

I lead Harvenhaight to the secret cave and slip in, making sure no-one’s watching us. Inside, Asteria and Morrigan are playing air-tag, the smaller girl darting around and juking out of Dana’s laughing grasp, the Alv sorceress trying in vain to catch the red-winged Skyborne. I wave, and Morrigan flies straight at me. I unequip my armour hastily, leaving me in a tunic and leggings, as the raven-haired Skyborne careens into my arms, breathless with mirth and the simple, fierce joy of having finally experienced her birthright.

The impact of Morrigan against my chest rocks me back slightly, but my Strength is high enough that I can keep my feet, and I lower her onto the rocky cave-floor. I turn to Jeffrey, who’s staring, wide-eyed.

“Harvenhaight, this is Morrigan. She’s a Skyborne, like us, and she’s been playing with her new wings for the last… oh, five hours, now?”

 

“New wings? Kettrin, what do you- ?”

As Jeffrey starts to question me, Morrigan turns around, unfurling her wings, and understanding floods my friend’s eyes.

“I see. I get it now. You’ve been helping her, right?”

I nod. “Ulged, Trinity, Gimmel and Doctor Frank were the ones who really made the wings. I just… asked them. And Astie seems to have taken the role of flight instructor, which leaves me kinda… here, I guess. There’s something else, too…”

I fill Jeffrey in on the Cloudrace and how we managed to enter Morrigan, despite her status as a freak in the eyes of the rest of Aerene’s population. The grin spreading across my friend’s in-game face is identical to one he’s sported often throughout our childhoods. It’s that grin that screams, “I’m about to cause chaos, and you’re going to help me.” it’s that look I just know is going to lead to things getting very, VERY interesting.

 

Over the next two weeks of game-time, Harvenhaight and I train Morrigan in flight manoeuvres, even a few basic aerial combat tactics. Once the Cloudrace begins, we’ll be unable to interfere, and, if I was a betting woman, I’d lay all the gold, jewels, ingots, and even my airship, that those brats or others like them, would be angling to make sure that Mor was ‘tragically unable to complete her Cloudrace, and simply plummeted to her death, miles below’. Foul play would NOT be out of character.

With the three of us taking turns, it allows us to go out and about, while Morrigan trains harder than any of us expected. She’s still going while we’re begging her to rest. She’s driving herself at full power, except when she’s sleeping or eating. Ulged and Gimmel keep a close eye on her wings, running test after test, using Mor’s feedback to make minute adjustments.

 

Finally, we manage to convince Mor to take a day’s rest, since the Cloudrace is nigh. She reluctantly does so, and we do our best to distract her with tales of our adventures, keeping them PG for the young girl’s ears. Luckily, it works, and we manage to keep her focussed on other things, as well as making sure she’s not using up all her energy for tomorrow. Astie slips her a sleeping draught in a mug of warm milk that night, and we let her sleep, taking the time to plan. Tomorrow… the coin is tossed. If it lands face-up, with Morrigan succeeding, we want to be ready for those who will attempt to flip it to land on tails, instead… well, no mercy will be shown to those who stand in our way. We’ve all come to love the newly-winged girl. Ulged’s been muttering darkly about “the world’s most diabolical Pokéballs ever devised”, and tinkering with various bits and bobs. I’m almost scared to see what he’s got in store… then… morning arrives, and the day of the Cloudrace with it.