Chapters He lay quietly on the muddy ground, uncaring of the coldness soaking in through his clothes and simply gazed at the grey clouds above. He cared not for the stains of brown on the expensive silk of his red trousers already drenched from the arrow imbedded in his right leg and the cuts on his left from the bite of steel blades. His leather boots were already heavy from battle, so he offered no resistance when they sank slightly into the ground. His brown longcoat was torn and soaked in blood that wasn't his own. The metal breastplate, poleyns, and pauldrons he wore were dented, scratched and splattered with blood.
No, he was already a mess so what was a bit more? If nothing else, the coldness of the mud worked to numb the pain of his dying body.
The sound of clinking metal caught the old man's attention, though he refused to spend his waning energy to look for its source.
"So, this is how the great Ricard Lupus falls. Leading an army of heretics and spending his dying breaths in mud," a young masculine voice to his side said, its tone filled with melancholy and spite.
Ricard frowned as he recognized the voice. "If you intend to spite me, Lord Commander, do it where I can see you." He still refused to look at the voice's source. His neck was stiff, the boy wasn't worth the energy.
A young man, pale of skin and hair with bright blue eyes, encased in a fine suit of plate armor entered his vision. Ricard noted with some satisfaction that like his own armor, it too was scratched, muddy and bloody. "I do not intend to spite you. Despite your poor choice in allegiance, you are still a man worthy of great respect," the man said with a frown. "I only ask that you tell me why."
Ricard huffed in amusement and eyed the young man with such. "You make it sound as if I betrayed her 'majesty'," he made no effort to hide his loathing of said woman. "Boy, you can't betray someone you were never loyal to."
The Lord Commander tightened his grip on his sword at his side. "You served the crown for more than forty years! You dedicated half your life to Her Majesty and her father!" Ricard would have laughed were his ribs not in agony.
"That's because her father was a man worthy of my loyalty. His daughter, on the other hand, is a foul, spoiled little girl pretending to be a queen. When her father died, it was only gold that ensured my continued service. Then a higher bidder asked for my service."
For a long time neither said a word. The silence between the two was even more overpowering than the silence of the dead field around them, scattered as it was with thousands of dead men who had spent their final breaths in mortal combat. Finally, the Lord Commander spoke. "Were it not for your presence here today, my men would have easily overpowered this rabble." Another long silence. "As it is, I lost many a good man here today because of you."
"Good," Ricard breathed with satisfaction.
"Good?" The Lord Commander's knuckles grew white under his armor as his grip tightened even further on his sword.
"Yes, good. It'll motivate you to not make the same mistakes you made here, today. All the death today would be pointless if you didn't take-" Ricard's body was wracked with pain as he coughed blood "-something from it."
The Lord Commander released his grip on his sword as he stared at the old man lying in a puddle of mud. Even as his body finally started to give in to Death's embrace, Ricard Lupus had an air of dignity about him than even the highest nobles in the Queen's court could not imitate. He turned and scanned the field around him until he found what he was looking for.
Ricard had resigned himself to a lonely death as the Lord Commander walked away. It came as a surprise then when the man returned with a rapier and longsword. "What are you doing, boy?" Ricard wheezed.
The Lord Commander held the two blades upside down in front of himself as he brought them before Ricard. "An old war dog like you deserves to be laid to rest with with as much respect as a you deserve," he said quietly as he assisted Ricard getting the two grips in the old man's hand before folding his hands over his chest. As the Lord Commander stood, noticing the quickly fading light behind the fallen man's eyes, offered a quick gesture and prayer. "May you find peace in the next life, Ricard Lupus."
Ricard gave a faulting hum. "Doubtful, pup. Old war dogs like me never truly stop fighting." And with those final words, Ricard Lupus allowed darkness to swallow his vision.
Queen Chrysalis looked at the strange ape-like creature before her with curiosity. To say that she was confused would be an understatement but like any Queen worth her title, she did not let it show to the changeling in the room with her.
According to the changeling stallion next her, the strange being had simply appeared in the middle of the medical wards of the castle, no great flash of light or magical explosions. He, and the mostly naked and heavily bandaged creature was most definitely a he, was simply not there one moment and then was the next if the words of her subject were true. It came as no surprise that she was extremely skeptical.
"Has anyone delved to determine his origins?" Chrysalis asked.
The changeling shook his head as his eyes drifted toward the ape thing. "No. He appeared to be near death when he appeared so I couldn't properly justify ordering a delve, in case he died during the process. We have since been waiting for him to stabilize before trying." Chrysalis nodded in approval of the stallion's wisdom. Delves were dangerous enough as they were, as entering the mind of another left a changeling vulnerable to the inner workings of the subject's mind. If said subject were to die with a delver in their mind, the delver would be left brain dead from the trauma.
"What is your name?" Chrysalis asked without warning. If the stallion was surprised by the sudden, odd question, he did not show it.
"Sev, your majesty."
"Very well, healer Sev. Would you say that it is safe to perform a delve now?"
Sev shifted uncomfortably, the thought of performing a delve so soon leaving a bad taste in his mouth. "Yes. It has been several hours since we were able to stop the bleeding and set several broken bones that could have damaged what we presume are major organs, if their position and structure are anything to go by."
He paused and Chrysalis could only guess that his mind had drifted to said similarities. Sev shook his head after a moment and returned his focus to the conversation. "However, despite this, I would recommend we wait another day or two, your majesty. I have no idea how much blood is needed to keep the creature alive but he has lost a significant amount to warrant extreme caution. He may very well still be on the verge of death"
"Hmm," was Chrysalis' only response. She was curious, extremely so, and she wanted to determine if this being was a threat as soon as possible. However, she would trust the healer's caution. There was no use putting either herself or her subjects in danger with so many unknowns.
"Very well," she declared finally. "I want this creature under watch at all times. As soon as you believe he is healthy enough, notify me immediately." And with that, she turned and left the room. There were other matters to attend to that required her attention and not even this strange creature would distract her from them.
"Of course, your majesty."
So, this was death.
.
.
.
Ricard could honestly say he was rather underwhelmed. Maybe it had been too much to expect great golden gates or fiery brimstone but was it too much to ask that he at least be somewhere that wasn't exactly like the world he had just departed.
Well, not exactly like his world. While the grand villa in front of him and the fortified town around it was certainly his home, there was not a single soul in sight. There were no people, no birds, no horses. The normal sounds of a roaring river that flowed under the town from the three wells were gone. The sky was a blank grey with no clouds and no sun or moon. Everything besides the buildings was just... gone.
Ricard scowled. This was his eternal punishment? He shook his head. No, he had lived his life in such a contradictory fashion he had most likely not been judged by god yet. So this was purgatory then, the place where it would be decided whether he would be able to pass on to heaven or be sent to hell.
Still, it was not what he had expected.
He journeyed through the streets of the town lazily, not exactly sure what he was meant to do to prove his worth to god. Nothing in particular seemed to stick out from the still environment. For what felt like ages he walked and found nothing. Eventually he began moving for the Villa itself in case the answers he sought were there.
It was a grand building, one that would make most lords green with envy. Finely carved stone bricks and masterful woodwork made the large building comparable to even a palace. Red and black banners with the symbol of a silver moon and black paw print were billowing in a nonexistent wind above the Villa's red tiled roof. A well maintained garden surrounded the villa with many exotic flowers and trees with a single large willow dominating the back courtyard.
For a moment Ricard paused as he ascended the final set of stairs that raised the villa from the rest of the town. It almost seemed like the Villa was more magnificent than he remembered, even though had always been exceptionally proud of the beauty he had commissioned with the earnings of decades of warfare. Perhaps the Villa itself was his test.
He shook his head. It was probably just his mind playing tricks on him, there was nothing else that seemed off about it.
He pushed through the finely carved wooden double doors with little trouble, though he remembered having trouble the last time he had been here. He did not dwell too long on that thought though since his joints weren't aching either. Clearly death had removed the more ill effects of his age.
Such thoughts were irrelevant though as he walked into the marble tiled and pillared foyer. He needed to discover what test god had in store for him and go about passing it.
Ricard looked about. There were two floors to the Villa. On the first were three rooms and up a mahogany stair case were two more. Still unsure of where and what he was supposed to do, he simply moved for the closest room on his left. It was filled many suits of armor as well as fancy dress uniforms gifted to him along one wall while dozens of racks of standard, exotic, and other such well made weapons lined the wall opposite them. Directly across from the door way were three more banners identical to those outside, one significantly larger than the two that flanked it. In the center of the room was a large sculpture of a pack of wolves perched on and around a pile of boulders, heads held high in a soundless howl.
Again, nothing seemed too out of place.
Next he went to the adjacent room, a much smaller one in comparison to the war gallery next to it. In it was a single table with a map of his homeland on it while on the walls were more detailed maps of other nations. Dominating one wall was a complete map of the world.
Nothing again.
The large art gallery across the foyer held dozens of fine paintings, sculptures, and tapestries he had either bought or been gifted for his services over the years.
Still nothing.
The second floor of the Villa was no different, either. His bedroom, its attached office and the guest room on the other side of the Villa were carpeted with four poster beds, several bookshelves filled to the brim with tomes, scrolls, and the like, as well as vanities, dressers, desks and so on.
Nothing.
Ricard scratched at his mustache as he contemplated what that meant. Perhaps the odd feeling outside Villa hadn't been due to his memory being faulty and had actually meant something. But what? He hadn't gotten the same feeling while he was inside the Villa so the Villa itself couldn't be the test god had prepared for him unless there was a specific area of the Villa he hadn't explored yet. Which was unlikely since he knew every nook and cranny of his own home.
Deciding that it would prove fruitful to go back outside, he exited into the courtyard. Again he got that strange feeling when he looked at his home. And then he slowly pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
There was now a third floor jutting out of middle of the roof.
A few moments later and a bit more thorough searching, Ricard discovered a small passage behind the vanity in his room with a ladder in it.
He really had no idea what to expect at the top of the ladder but even still he was surprised to find a great white expanse going on for what seemed to be eternity. He was even more surprised by hundreds, no, thousands of floating images that moved. When he realized the moving pictures were depicting different parts of his life through his eyes, he was simply shocked. What was this place? How was this possible?
He quickly regained his composure, however. This was god's work, surely. Ricard was sure that this feat was far from difficult for the great lord.
Something in the distance caught his attention.
Curious, he started for it. From afar it appeared to be a black horse but even from where he was he could tell it was too small. As he grew closer, the figure became more and more clear and he equally grew more and more tense. It was certainly horse shaped, though it looked like its brow would barely reach his collar bones, but that was where the similarities ended. Its head was not proportioned correctly, its eyes were nearly as big as its head, and its mane and tail looked like they were made from some bluish membrane. Even more disturbing were the insect like wings attached to a green carapace-like structure on its back, a gnarled horn on its brow and the fact that its mane, tail, wings, and legs looked to be riddled with holes near their ends.
Ricard had no idea what this creature was but he kept a hand on his longsword's grip just in case.
Eventually the creature seemed to notice his approach and turned away from the moving image, memories he reminded himself, and smiled. The fangs poking out from behind its lips did not dissuade his concerns. Ricard wasn't entirely surprised when it spoke. "Ah, so we finally meet, Ricard Lupus," it said in a regal, feminine voice that echoed slightly.
"Are you god?" he asked seriously, despite how ridiculous he thought he sounded. This was not how he, nor any one of faith probably, envisioned the divine creator. He reasoned, however, that god should not need to conform to mortal expectations. And if the creature said no then maybe he had found what he had been searching for.
The creature blinked in bewilderment before bursting into laughter. Ricard waited patiently for it to stop, already assuming that meant no. He was not offended by the outburst though, it had been a normally silly question for any sane person. That left the question then, who and what was this creature?
The creature regained its composure quickly and wiped away a single tear with its hoof. Ricard idly noted its flexibility and the strange material that made up its skin. It was no exoskeleton like he had seen on bugs and it wasn't scaled like a reptile yet it certainly look more durable that the skin of a mammal. The creature's voice broke him from his thoughts. "No, Sir Lupus-" now that was a title he hadn't heard for a while, "-I am not your god. Nor am I a god of any sort."
That gave Ricard pause. The way this creature had worded that made it sound as if there was more than one.
"Yes, Sir Lupus, there are far more gods than the one you know." He raised an eyebrow, wondering how she had known what he was thinking. She smirked, and again Ricard's thoughts were distracted by how strange this creature was. How could it have such human facial expressions with a muzzle? "Your emotions flared."
"Pardon?" he asked, this creature bewildering him more and more with each moment.
It opened its mouth to speak before pausing, apparently contemplating her response. After a moment, she spoke, "I'd rather not go into the specifics, considering where you're from, so I shall just say that I, as well as my people, can read, or better yet sense, emotions." Ricard nodded. That was simple enough to understand and the question of how could always be saved for later.
"Might I ask who and what you are then?"
The creature suddenly seemed much bigger, despite her having to look up at him, and he felt something hadn't felt in decades. Awe. "I am Queen Chrysalis, Monarch of the Changeling nation and people." She bowed he head slightly, enough to show respect but not more than someone of her position should. "A pleasure."
There was a small part of Ricard's mind that questioned the legitimacy of her claim that was quickly silenced by his instinct. The only other person to have held such an air about them was the now deceased king he had served so long ago. Even if she wasn't what she claimed, which he found unlikely, anyone who held themselves as she did commanded the utmost respect. As such, he let his right leg slide back as he gave a deep bow with his left hand on his stomach in submission and his right arm loosely stretched out to his side, the palm of his hand out and open in peace. "To you as well, your majesty," he returned, voice layered in reverence
When he stood, he saw Chrysalis sporting a rather satisfied smile. "You know, were it not for the fact that I had been perusing your memories for sometime now, I would have assumed you were mocking me."
"Never. I've only ever known one person who held himself as you do and I held him in very high regard."
Chrysalis tilted her head slightly in thought. "Ah yes, King Charles Gresley the Fifth. If your memories of him are even half true I can completely understand." There was a lull in the conversation before Chrysalis again spoke, "As pleasant as this meeting has been, I am not here for idle chatter."
Ricard nodded. It was time he learned what he had to do to pass on from this world.
"First of all, I am going to assume you think yourself dead." Ricard nodded. "In which case I have to tell you that you are very much alive." Ricard held up a hand, interrupting the changeling to her slight irritation.
"But I felt deaths embrace," he stated in a confused tone.
Chrysalis nodded. "Yes, your last conscious memory was of you dying soon after your final battle. And then you mysteriously appeared in the medical wards of my castle with little fanfare or clue to where you came from, covered in all manner of wounds but still clinging to life."
Ricard was silent as he digested this news. He was extremely skeptical of Chrysalis' words but his instinct told him that she was indeed telling the truth. His instinct had never failed him before when reason fled him and as he was talking to what appeared to be an equine-like insect that could sense emotions, reason was well and truly fleeing. So he accepted her words.
"If I am not dead then," he began, "and this is not the Purgatory I thought it to be, what is this world?"
"This," Chrysalis said dramatically as she gestured to the expanse around them, "is your mind. To be more precise, the manifestation of who you are."
"My mind..." he nearly deadpanned, still skeptical yet still running on instinct. If he stretched his belief just enough, he could understand. His Villa and the surrounding town had been designed mostly by him so, if Chrysalis was to be believed, everything from the walls to the garden around the Villa represented something about him. Perhaps even the completely empty streets too, he thought with slight amusement. "So then how are you here?" he asked.
"I am performing what is called a delve," she began. "It is the process by which a delver, like myself, links their own mind with a subject, in this case you, with magic to allow them to explore the mind and memories of the subject." The mention of magic didn't faze Ricard. By now he had resigned himself to learning many strange things that would make the scholars of his world either green with envy or foam at the mouth. "To avoid any future confusion, there was no spell involved as spells are too rigid for the diversity of every individual mind. The entire process involves the manipulation of magic in its purest state." That seemed interesting to know. He'd have to bring up the subject at a later date.
"And you found it necessary to examine my mind to ensure that I wasn't a threat before I regained consciousness."
"Precisely. Though I had to wait some time before I could perform the process safely for you were extremely injured when you arrived," she explained somewhat uncomfortably.
"And I'm going to guess that delving while I was near death is dangerous?" Ricard asked unnecessarily. From the way she was shifting, that was exactly it.
"Extremely so. Should the subject die during the process, the delver would experience extreme magical feedback from the unexpected break in the connection between minds that would cause the delver to become brain dead from the trauma."
There was a pregnant pause between the two while Ricard thought on the implications of the conversation. For one, the Queen was apparently risking her own life to ensure he wasn't a threat to her people, a foolish move that he couldn't help but respect. Two, he had apparently been in another world long enough for him to have recovered enough from his injuries to not be constantly at risk of dying. "I take it that my improved health is due to your people caring for me?" he asked, to which he received a nod. And three, he was now indebted to Chrysalis.
"So what now?" he asked.
Chrysalis was silent as she stared at him, examining everything from the obvious effects of age to his attire and weapons as well as all the memories she had gone through. With a firm nod, she came to a decision. "As you are no threat to me or mine, and you have no place to go or stay, I would offer you a place to stay amongst us."
And now Ricard felt doubly indebted to her. He had been nurtured back to health and now Chrysalis was offering him a new home without hesitation. He needed to figure a way to repay such kindness, even if it had been born of necessity at first. "I am humbled by your generosity, your majesty. Thank you."
"You are quite welcome," she said with a smile. "Now, since my business here is done, I believe its time to end this session."
Ricard nodded in agreement. Slowly, Chrysalis faded from view and with her so too did the world around Ricard. As darkness engulfed him, Ricard quickly wondered if everything that had just transpired was real or whether he had well and truly gone mad.
Queen Chrysalis found her mind wondering during today's court. Usually she would be able to give her complete attention to those who wished to speak with her, no matter how trivial the request, but she just could not find the will to do it today.
For one, it had been a day since her delving session with the human known as Ricard Lupus. She had learned much from her relatively short time scouring his mind and memories. He was very honorable by most standards despite his own code. He was unmatched in the art of combat. He was somewhat vain and greedy, as many of his memories were of him taking up assignments many would consider morally ambiguous for large sums of money or exotic plants and artifacts for him to add to his Villa's collection. Yet he was also very generous as for every job he took purely for gold, he took five more at a price many poor villages could afford or for free if he found the cause to be just. The man was introverted as well, something very rare in this world, though it was far from being bad as he was quiet and loyal almost to a fault to those who earned his respect.
That last piece of information was the most important. It was what had made her so generous towards him, despite having no obligation to. It served only to help her, actually. After all, she needed him.
She needed him.
Those three words left a bad taste on her tongue but it didn't make them any less true. She knew not his exact age, for the only memory she had seen that mentioned it had said he was nearing eighty years of age and that had been deeper in his mind than the more recent memories. Despite that, she could confidently say that he had spent at least sixty of those years fighting and waging wars. And that was what she needed. A leader with experience. An, as that Lord Commander had called Ricard, old war dog.
The Changeling Kingdom was at war, the first in nearly three centuries, and neither she nor her people had any expedience with it. Thankfully, neither did those accursed Equestrians, for they hadn't seen war for more than seven hundred years, but that only worried her more. She had read the ancient tomes of her people's military history as well as those of the minotaurs and gryphons and even the Equestrians themselves. Conflicts where young and inexperienced armies did far more damage to themselves than the enemy often left a nation in ruin for decades, if not outright destroyed.
The thought that her own kingdom would suffer such a fate had often left her retching behind the closed doors of her personal chambers as vivid images of her land in flames and her people being slaughtered played in her mind. Briefly she cursed her failed invasion of Equestria's capital. She had been so close to victory and ensuring the permanent safety of her people. And then that damned Twilight Sparkle had to find and free that wretched princess, exposing her just as victory was within her grasp.
She should have killed them both and yet she hadn't had the stomach to. Now her people would pay the price of her weakness.
Chrysalis shook her head of such thoughts, though it was barely perceptible as she was still in court. No, her people would not pay. Not if she was able to gain Ricard's loyalty. He was in her debt for now, ensuring his service to her for some time. But eventually he would deem his debt payed and leave, as he had done to many others.
She had a plan though. She had payed great attention to that king for whom Ricard had been so loyal as to give half his life to. He had been kind and generous to his subjects and foreigners alike. When his nation was at war he had been brutal in the defense of his land and merciful when his enemies laid beaten and bloody at his feet, often supporting them until their nation was once again able to sustain itself, gaining many allies in the process. Most importantly, as Ricard remembered, the man was well and truly a king and not someone who just had the title.
She was sure that earning Ricard's loyalty would not prove too difficult. She had been surprised by the amount of respect she had felt flowing off of him while interacting with her simply because of the way she held herself. Then there was the fact that she did indeed care deeply for her people and her generosity when she had offered him a place to stay in her kingdom. She already had much going in her favor. If she continued to play her cards right, his indebted service would turn into absolute loyalty within a few weeks.
She would need to stay careful though. One screw up would have consequences far more severe than her failure at Canterlot.
Chrysalis was shaken from her thoughts as the voice of Sev greeted her, "Good afternoon, your majesty."
Chrysalis smiled at the healer. "Ah, Healer Sev. I take it that our guest has finally awoken?" she asked.
Sev nodded. "Yes, just an hour ago actually. I would have alerted you sooner but I figured it would have been wiser to wait till the end of court when the were fewer people taking up your time."
Chrysalis blinked and looked out one of the large windows of her throne room. She frowned as she realized that nearly six hours had passed since she had opened court and she had not payed attention to even one changeling that had wished to speak with her. She turned to the changeling standing to the right of her and he held up several scrolls with his magic filled with many requests without prompt. She nodded in gratitude and made a note to give the scribe a raise for compensating for her lapse in etiquette.
She clapped a hoof against the wooden arm of her throne several times. When the dim chatter of the room had stopped, the scribe raised his voice so as to be heard throughout the large room. "The Royal Court of her Majesty, Queen Chrysalis, is hereby closed until tomorrow." And with that all the changelings, minus the guards and Sev filed out through the large wooden double doors of the throne room.
"Have these scrolls delivered to my chambers as soon as possible," she ordered the scribe. He nodded and quickly left as well without a word. The Queen of the Changelings rose from her throne and descended down the raised dais where Sev waited patiently. "Let us go properly greet our guest then, shall we?"
"Of course you majesty."
It did not take them long to reach the medical wards of the castle and enter the room Ricard had been placed in. He was just putting on the his last article of newly repaired clothing, his longcoat, when they came in. He nodded towards them. "Your Majesty, Sev," he greeted politely.
Sev nodded in response while Chrysalis returned the greeting. "I see you are moving around with relative ease," she noted as Ricard slowly twisted his torso from side to side.
"Relatively, yes," he agreed with a hint of humor. "I must say that your healers are quite skilled. The last time I had been as injured as Sev here had explained to me, I spent the better part of a year resting before I could move about without wincing at every step."
"Proper application of magic during critical stages of recovery can exponentially reduce the amount of time one needs to recover from injuries," Sev informed helpfully.
"Hmm yes, magic. You'll have to forgive me if I seem rude at the mention of it but where I'm from magic isn't real, or not so far as it is here." Sev just waved a woof dismissively, not offended in the least by Ricard's disbelieving tone. Ricard turned his full attention to Chrysalis and smiled. "I must admit, it's a relief to see you again," he chuckled at her confused look. "I was beginning to wonder if I had gone mad."
"Ah. Well I suppose it's a good thing you're not then, hmm?" she teased lightly with an amused smirk. She turned and motioned for Ricard to follow her and he did. Before he left the room though, Sev caught his attention.
"It was a pleasure speaking with you, Mr. Lupus. I have some other patients to attend to, so I won't be joining you. Do come visit me some time, you're quite fascinating to speak with," he requested with a smile. Before Sev had gone off to inform Chrysalis of Ricard's consciousness the two had shared a rather nice conversation mostly revolving around introducing themselves. Rarely were any of Sev's patients so fun to talk to. Maybe it had something to do with Ricard being from a completely different world.
Ricard nodded. "It was a pleasure meeting you as well, Sev."
As soon as Ricard joined Chrysalis outside the room, the two left the medical wards. For a time neither spoke, which was fine by Ricard since it gave him time to examine his surroundings while Chrysalis led him wherever.
As they walked, the pair passed through many sparsely decorated circular hallways with a single red rug that stretched all the way around them and what felt like dozens of staircases of varying length. Some hallways were decorated with many green, silver, and purple tapestries with an emblem of stylized outline of a heart and insect wings to the sides. Other hallways had portraits and busts of different changelings lining the walls. The rest, however, had huge windows twice as tall as he was that allowed him to look out and, to his shock, see that he was hundreds of feet above the tree line of a dense forest. When he looked up, he saw an absolutely enormous canopy of thick branches and leaves stretching hundreds of feet in every direction.
Chrysalis had found it rather amusing when he had simply stated that they were in a giant tree like it was the most normal thing for him. She had simply nodded and said completely seriously, "An Archtree, to be precise." He just stiffly nodded, speechless.
Eventually, the pair reached a large domed chamber with three large platforms that were attached to several pillars of metal each. "What is this place," Ricard asked as he gazed about the chamber. While it was completely empty now, he was sure that when it was in use the chamber could hold several hundred people with more than enough room for comfort.
"This is one of three lift hub chamber in the castle," she explained. "As I'm sure you noticed, my 'castle' is in fact the entire archtree, which I'm sure you also noticed is rather big." Ricard huffed at the understatement and Chrysalis chuckled. "These chambers are the only possible way of traveling up the archtree without being killed on sight. There are dozens of other smaller, single lifts as well throughout the tree that are independent of one another but if one needs to reach the upper levels, they must pass through these."
Ricard whistled, impressed, as the pair stepped onto one of the platforms. With a flash of green light from Chrysalis' horn, the platform began a smooth descent. "This is quite an impressive bit of technology. Not only is it convenient but it also acts as an effective choke point for invading forces," he noted with approval.
Eventually the lift reached the end of its journey in another huge chamber. Out in the adjacent hall, Ricard immediately noted how busy it seemed. Dozens of changelings were going back and forth, some carrying towers of paper with their magic, others had large bags filled with all manner of things strapped onto their backs, and quite a large number of armored changelings standing off to the side while the occasional pair could be seen patrolling about.
There was something that caught his attention though. "Your majesty, if it's not out of place, what is wrong with some of your people's eyes?" Indeed, many of the changelings had normal eyes like Chrysalis and Ricard, but there were also a number of them, including all of the guards, who had completely blue compound eyes.
If Chrysalis was offended or upset about the question, she didn't show it. "Those are my Leginas, titled after the ancient King Legina. They are bound to me, physically and mentally, by way of primeval rituals. Everything they know, I know, everything they feel, I feel, and vice versa when I allow it. Everyone of my personal guard, the entirety our capital's military forces, as well as the castle staff are apart of what you could call a hive mind linked to myself."
"And those who aren't?" Ricard asked, slightly disturbed.
Chrysalis looked at him from the corner of her eyes, slightly frowning at the feeling of discomfort coming from him. She did not mention it though as he did not seem so disturbed to let it affect him anymore than seemed natural whenever a non-changeling heard of the Leginas. "Regular citizens whose duties are not bound solely to the castle and are not part of the capital's military forces."
They moved into the hall, the crowd parting and flowing around the two naturally. Those who weren't in a rush managed a respectful nod towards Chrysalis before they moved on with their business. "Why do they not seem shocked to see me?" Ricard asked, genuinely confused. He was thrice their height so it wasn't because they couldn't see him and from the way Chrysalis had talked to him before it didn't seem like his kind were very common, if at all existent in this world.
"You are with me," she exclaimed as if that explained everything. And Ricard was sure it did but held his tongue for her to continue. "As far as they're concerned, if you are important enough to travel by my side then it would do them well not to insult you by gawking. Word of you will spread quickly and at most you'll receive the occasional glance or fascinated child during your time here."
Ricard chuckled and Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it's nothing," he said, waving a hand dismissively, "it's just in my world I couldn't go to a single city without the entire populace gawking and either praising me or throwing curses at me like they were sweets." He let out another chuckle and scratched at his mustache. "I remember a particularly creative one that could have put most sailors and poets to shame."
Chrysalis too chuckled as she tried to imagine such a curse. Sailors and poets were unmatched in the art of wordplay and with each passing moment it grew harder to hold back her amusement. Eventually though she managed to reign herself in. "I can only imagine," she chuckled.
A few minutes and several stair cases down, the pair arrived at another lift hub noticeably more active than the first one. They had to wait several minutes before one lift finally came up, loaded with dozens of large crates that were quickly moved to a storage area off to the side where changelings went about removing objects and then refilling them other things for the next trip down. "Come," Chrysalis said, "not even the Queen gets lift privileges, so we might as well get on before it gets too packed."
And indeed it did get packed. What looked to be barely under a hundred changelings were packed together, the soft chatter of business passing between them. Ricard also saw what Chrysalis had meant when even the Queen didn't get privileges the two of them were jostled back and forth, as respectably as the others could manage, until they were standing nearly in the middle of the platform with no more than an inch to move in any direction.
Ricard grunted as the lift operator's horn flashed green and sent the lift on its way down. "I loath complaining but might I ask why none of them are flying?" he asked, giving a significant glance toward the wings on every changeling's back. Several of them glanced at him before returning to their own conversation.
"Security measures," she said simply, to which Ricard just nodded in understanding.
The crowd dispersed quickly once the lift reached the bottom. As Chrysalis and Ricard left the lift chamber, Ricard could only whistle in awe at the next room. No, he couldn't properly call it a room for it could have housed an entire citadel. There were hundreds of thick, metal reinforced stone pillars reaching up towards the ceiling, a complete mess of roots thicker than entire rivers that also made up the walls, making a natural dome made of great wooden tendrils. He could see hundreds of windows on each pillar alone while dozens of bridges spanned between the pillars, some made of stone, others wood and rope, and all the largest bridges being made of metal.
Thousands upon thousands of changelings moved about the chamber, most by hoof while many others flew about the chamber in teams carrying large amounts of supplies to some of the thicker pillars with large platforms. Ricard wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him but he could have sworn that he also saw hundreds of changelings simply walking up the sides of some pillars.
And in the center of it all was the pillar that housed the, now relatively insignificant, lift hub.
Chrysalis could only bask in the absolute awe radiating off of Ricard. In fact, his astonishment was so great that many changelings within a few dozen feet stopped to take it in. While it did nothing to restore their magical reserves, awe did a great deal to relieve mental stress. Most of them didn't stay long to feed though, as they had business to attend to, but left with a bit more energy in their steps. Chrysalis could stay though and for the several minutes that Ricard had been struck dumb, the Queen of the changelings felt all her worries wash away and be replaced by a lasting, warm feeling. It was euphoric.
Sadly, most good things came to an end and Ricard's awe was not one of the few that did. Once he regained his bearings, what was once a raging river of emotion reduced itself to a small stream. Still, it did wonders for Chrysalis.
"This is... I'm not sure what to say to this. It's beyond comprehension!" Ricard whispered. He turned to Chrysalis, eyes wide like a child. "This is simply amazing."
Chrysalis smiled. "What you see before you is the result of centuries of hard work and strong leadership. Even if the entire changeling nation were to collapse, the history of our people would be forever preserved here," she said with pride before her features sagged slightly in uncertainty. "It is my hope prevent such an outcome, though." There! She had planted the first seed. With everything that she had shown him so far, it would no doubt be a certainty for her to earn his loyalty. But that would come in time. So long as he viewed his service to her as repayment for his debt and repayment alone, then his loyalty would be far more unpredictable.
"What do you mean?" he asked, taking her bait. Perfect.
Chrysalis nodded toward what Ricard could only assume was a long carriage made of metal, though the lack of wheels and the pair of metal rods attached to the bottom that extended well beyond his sight in the sea of changelings said otherwise. A Legina stood at attention nearby and opened the carriage door to let them in, though Ricard had to duck down a little. They took their seats in the relatively lavish cabin and soon the the carriage began moving once the Legina was at the helm, speeding past the crowds. Ricard once again admired the convenient and advanced technology that the changelings seemed to have in abundance before turning his attention towards Chrysalis.
The Queen of changelings sighed and leaned back into the soft cushions, wondering how to start. She needed to guide him into aiding her military directly and she had to do it in a way that wasn't too obvious. Eventually she figured out where to begin. "First, I should tell you that this world is not as... violent, for lack of a better word, as yours. If I remember right, you once served a nation that had been at war with another on eight separate occasions in the span of five decades. There have only been six wars in the past four hundred years."
She paused as the carriage entered a tunnel, bathing the cabin in darkness before light from an unseen source filled it again. "It's been nearly three hundred years since the changelings had waged any kind of war. When I said it was my hope to prevent the fall of our nation, I truly meant it because now we are at war with arguably the most powerful nation on the planet."
Ricard leaned backed and clasped his hands, already guessing where this was going. "And this generation is completely unprepared for war, both in terms of mentality and experience," he said flatly.
Chrysalis nodded, not having to worry about faking the fear that showed on her face from the implications of his words. "Yes, we've had books and scrolls to pass on past knowledge, and indeed our armies are well versed in the theory of fighting, but all they know is just that, theory. I fear that, when the time comes to put that theory to the test, they will crack under the pressure." She shuddered as images of panicked changelings thrashing about in the chaos of battle, all thoughts besides surviving pushed to the back of their minds until they were violently slaughtered.
She shook her head. No, she had the key to preventing that right in front of her and, to her great relief, she felt a steely determination radiate off of Ricard. She had him. "It seems you're in need of someone with experience in warfare," he said quietly.
She nodded, suddenly unable to speak and confused as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
He smiled a kind smile before speaking again. "It just so happens that I need to repay a debt. Perhaps you'd take my service and knowledge as sufficient payment?"
Chrysalis nodded again, tears now flowing freely, though she refused to show any more weakness beyond that. "Yes, that will do just fine," she whispered just as the carriage exited the tunnel, filling the cabin with warm, natural light and the splendid image of the changeling capital, Novo.
To Ricard, the environment was awe inspiring.
To Chrysalis, it filled her with something she hadn't dared to have before Ricard's arrival. Hope.
