When Legends Rise

It was about 5 minutes later that Tarn had calmed down enough for us to decide that we were ready to join Octavia, with no other place to leave my clothes I opted to strip down and leave my clothes laid out by the fire next to Tarn’s dress. It took a little poking around, but eventually we found the bathroom, with one slate grey earth pony lounging in a sizable tub more than big enough for the three of us. Hell, I’d go so far as to say it wasn’t so much a bath as it was verging on a hot tub. From the looks of things Octavia was utterly blissed out, allowing herself to float on the surface, I was a little confused until I spotted a faint purple glow surrounding her body.

“You’re a bloody showoff” Tarn snarked, climbing into the tub and attempting to tread water only to sink under completely with a yelp, then reappear in that same purple glow a few moments later bobbing at the surface of the deeper than it looked water, now looking less than amused with a pout on her face and her arms crossed over her chest “I reiterate my statement, ya big grey bitch”

“Oh, you’re just jealous that you’re unable to stand in 4 feet of water” Octavia shot back, righting herself and letting her hooves touch the floor of the tub, the water now coming up to her shoulders as she sat on her haunches and pulled tarn into a hug “Come here, I’ve missed you” she then began assaulting the Kobald with nuzzles and the occasional kiss, and I chose this moment to climb into the tub, in treading the water I found that there was a ledge which was at the perfect height for me to sit in, with a well towards the center which left me standing about waist deep.

“How d’you get this filled up with so much water so quickly?” I asked, taking a seat right next to Octavia and throwing an arm over her shoulder. The water was at a perfect temperature, that goldilocks zone when it’s hot but not scaldingly so, and I could already feel my stresses start to melt away.

“Hmm?” she asked, clearly distracted in her raining affection on Tarn, who by now had started to practically melt into the earth ponies hooves, there was a pause before my question fully sank in “Oh, there’s an enchantment that summons water” Tarn meanwhile moved her way over to me, a now unoccupied Octavia opting to snuggle into my side as the Kobald can to rest knelt on my thighs facing me, placing her hands on my shoulders, my own sense of modesty forcing me to turn my gaze elsewhere rather than let my eyes get drawn down there.

“Hey” Tarn said, drawing my attention back to look her in the face and being greeted by a pair of almost glowing turquoise eyes, she then playfully tapped me on the nose, causing my to jerk my head back in surprise and prompting a giggle from the Kobald “You needn't be so bashful around me” her expression then turned more serious “I know that you feel you have to be modest, dare I say cautious, for my sake because of my past, and I‘m flattered that you’re so considerate, but I’m not some fragile doll that’s at risk of cracking from the slightest touch. I wouldn’t have chosen you” she then turned to look at Octavia as well “either of you, if I didn’t feel prepared for the possibility that we’d end up doing the things that, well, healthy couples do.”

“This is something that I think needs to be discussed frankly rather than beating around the bush, so I’ll ask you up front, how far are you willing to go?” Octavia asked “because, putting it bluntly, there’s all sorts of things I would love to do to you and with you, but I wouldn’t won’t to overstep my bounds, certainly not in your case” at this Tarn twisted to sit in my lap, the water reaching just her shoulders as she turned to face the earth pony whilst leant against my chest, in response I let my arm snake around her, pulling her into a hug and prompting a contented sigh from the kobald. I dare say at that moment things were perfect from my perspective, they were free to discuss boundaries as frankly as they’d like, I was perfectly happy to cuddle with two gorgeous ladies from this world even if nothing else came of this.

“I don’t have issues with sex, if that’s you’re meaning” Tarn said “I know you’ve been very cautious in that area, Onælan, and I do appreciate that, but you don’t need to hold back, I’ll tell you if I want you to stop” at this Octavia moved closer. It was pretty clear where she wanted things to go, what with the way she’d been talking with me earlier, and how she’d been almost frisky with Tarn. it was almost surreal watching it occur as someone who’d never been all that active in this way back on earth, it’s not that I hadn’t seen any action, it was just infrequent, and certainly never this sort of situation.

“What about right here and now?” Octavia asked, at this Tarn’s eyes widened, clearly she hadn’t quite picked up on the signals Octavia had been sending.

“Wait, you mean now-now?” she asked, the surprise clear in her voice “us two? Here? With Onælan watching?”

“My not?” Octavia asked, looking at me out of the side of her eyes “in fact I’m sure he’d rather enjoy watching us two let loose. As a matter of fact he’s more than welcome to join us”

“I...uh, wouldn’t be opposed” I said, truthfully I was stunned. After this OK on my behalf, it was Tarn’s turn to look bashful, looking away and tapping the tips of her claws together in thought.

“It’s not that I’d be opposed, far from it” she said “it’s just that, well, I’ve never been with-” she didn’t get to finish her statement as Octavia leant forward to plant a kiss on her lips, the kobald’s eyes widening for a moment, before she melted into the kiss. Octavia began to carefully guide Tarn off my lap and towards her. Then, when the Kobald was practically straddling the earth pony, Octavia pulled away, her cheeks rosy but otherwise appearing unflustered, Tarn on the other hand was practically putty in Octavias hooves, panting softly.

“Why don’t you let me lead you?” Octavia asked, though she didn’t wait for an answer as she all but dived right back in...

...I let myself sink into the mattress with a sigh, now well and truly spent. Tarn hummed as she rose up off of me and moved to lay beside me, Octavia also making her way to lay the other side of Tarn.

The other two fell asleep relatively quickly, though sleep didn’t find me quite so easily for whatever reason, I never could be sure with how my mind worked. For a while I was content to watch them sleep, the sight of the both of them sleeping peacefully was enough to bring a smile to my face, eventually, however, I grew bored, and opted to find myself something to pass the time. I gently planted a kiss on both of their foreheads and got out of bed trying my best not to disturb them, unfortunately I failed in my task, as heard Octavia stirring as I set about getting dressed.

“Onælan?” she asked “Are you alright?” turning around I saw her crack a single eye open to look at me through the gloom, I shot her a smile

“Yeah, I’m fine” I said, before elaborating “couldn’t sleep, my mind’s too active right now...I’ll be fine, you go back to sleep” a barely perceptible nod was the only answer I got as Octavia pulled Tarn closer.

A couple of minutes and a glass of something alcoholic along with a sandwich later I found myself stood on the balcony of the living room which offered me a view of the city. All told there wasn’t much that could occupy me at that moment, but it did give me time to think, mostly about my own preconceptions about what Hiemutia would be like and how they had been proven at almost every turn. Truthfully I felt embarrassed about how many times I’d been wrong, but at the same time, I found my mind wandering back to when myself and Tarn had first arrived at Glück’s house, a rather tidy estate up in the northern hills just out of the city.

We had not long left our belongings in the room which Tarn and I would be staying in when Glück had called us down for some afternoon tea.

We had just sat down in the extravagantly furnished study when in strode an equine-like creature which I could only describe as exotic, there was scant fur on its body, though it did not appear to be shaved, just around the hooves and ears, with a brunette mane tied into a ponytail, instead it possessed tannish skin which was almost unsettlingly close to human, with the addition of dark tribal-esc markings. Its tail was long and muscular, almost reptilian in appearance. The forelegs were noticeably shorter than the hindlegs, meaning the shoulders sat much lower than the hips. But perhaps the most startling of all were the eyes, two pairs of them, a vibrant green colour.

As the strange creature made its way over to us pushing a cart laden with a teapot and cups I couldn’t help but find myself staring at it.

“What race are you?” I finally asked, only to find her seemingly ignoring me as she went to stand by Gluck

“Ma’chen is what’s known as a Tatzle, a particularly exotic offshoot of earthkin who hail from the southern continent” it was Glück who spoke, as she began pouring out tea, the third cup did not escape my gaze “Unfortunately she was mute when I bought her” this caught my attention, and put a foul taste in my mouth”

“Bought her?” I asked as levelley as I could manage. At this Glück paused and looked away, letting out a sigh.

“Onælan, I want you to understand something, but I need you to let me explain in full before offering a rebuke” she said, levitating a teacup over to me, then another over to her apparent slave, who gave a nod of thanks as she sat on her haunches to hold the cup between her hooves. I simply nodded “It is true that, in the eyes of the law at least, she would be considered a slave, but understand that I’m doing it for her benefit more than my own”

“How can enslavement be to someone’s benefit?” I asked, fighting to keep my anger in check.

“It is true that slavery is comonplace among the nobility, often they try to find to most exotic race they can as some sort of fasion statement” she said “and whilst there are some that do not treat those in servitude to them as decently as they should as set down in law, there are a number of us assigned to track those abusers down and bring them to justice, and their slaves either transferred elsewhere, or freed entirely”

“And Ma’chen?” I asked “how did you acquire her?” I asked, at this Glück glanced to her servent, the two seeming to share a silent conversation, before finally the Tatzle nodded.

“When I found her she was in less than desirable circumstances” Glück began “understand that whilst slavery is legal, those who own slaves must adhere to certain laws, they must be treated as one would an employed house servant; given food, accommodation, a monetary allowance so as to have a life outside of hours spent working, not forced to work more than a set number of hours, and one cannot use physical or magical punishments nor withhold basic living necessities as a reprimand”

“Sounds similar to Victorian house servants” I noted.

“Victorian?” Glück asked, tilting her head to the side inquisitively “are they are race?”

“It was a period defined by the ruler of my country, Queen Victoria, as well as the social trends and fashion of the period. It ended about 120 years ago” I said, at which Glück nodded in understanding “Now, you were saying about slavery laws”

“Ah, yes” the unicorn said, before her expression soured “When I found her, she was not being treated so courteously as the law would warrant”

“How bad?” I asked, another silent conversation between the two, before again Ma’chen nodded.

“She had been bought by a brothel owner” Glück began “this in itself isn’t illegal, but her owner had her magically rendered barren, made her work longer than was legal, beat her, raped her, and had her tongue cut out so she couldn’t go telling anypony”

“That’s vile” Tarn growled, no doubt reliving her own memories.

“Indeed” Glück agreed “if you feel curious as to the specifics, I do have a small collection of newspaper clippings from the time it all came to light, if you wish to read up. But in short it caused a public outcry even among slave owners, and lead to new laws being passed which made slave owners have to sign a register, and have government officials check frequently to ensure they weren’t mistreating their servents. Now Ma’chen, in the state she was in, would not have been able to lead an independent life”

“So you bought her to give her a better life?” I surmised, Glück nodded.

“Exactly” she said “In the eyes of the law she is indeed my slave, but I’d consider her closer to family, perhaps something more. She has as much food as she likes, and a generous allowance well above the minimum requirement, in return she cleans, cooks when I am too busy, and occasionally makes tea when we have guests” at this, Ma’chen put down her mug of tea and rested her head on the arm of the sofa Glück was sat on, letting out a sigh of contentment as Glück took to stroking the strange pony’s head.

“So she does this willingly?” I asked.

“Oh yes, if she wasn’t content with her life, I could soon arrange for her to be transferred to somepony else” she said “from what Octavia told me your species outlawed servitude, yes?”

“In most countries, that’s not to say it doesn’t happen” I said “every so often something will come up”

“I was a slave” Tarn said, pulling her legs up and hugging them to her chest “I was kept by slavers for seven years, they kept me in a cage only to bring me out to...to rape, beat me if I didn’t cooperate, or sometimes even just because they wanted to, and then shove me back in the cage after they’d had their way with me...it was Onælan who found me and got me out, and for that I owe him my life”

“I know this might not seem like it’s worth much coming from me” Gluck began “but I’m sorry, truly. I wish I could have known, and maybe have been able to do something to help you”

I let out a particularly sharp exhale as I found myself returning to the present, then found myself doing a double take at the greyish plumes which shot out of my nostrils, then I found myself studying the twin jets as they merged into a cloud and then gradually dispersed.

“What the hell..” I muttered

“You’re maturing” came a familiar disembodied voice as Fantasia materialised to my left “when every Wrakjon is first granted their power there is a brief period of time where they are not fully fledged, in time you will begin to better reflect your element, in time you may find that your skin resembles that of cooling magma whilst using your powers”

“You saying I’m gonna end up looking like a lava monster?” Fantasia snorted at my question.

“Nothing quite so drastic, no” she replied “it would only become apparent as you were using your powers, the rest of the time you would be for all intents and purposes look completely human”

“Well, apart from these” I retorted, pointing to my left eye with my left arm, bringing them into full view.

“Hmm, quite” she said “well, regardless I am pleased to see you are returning to your...previous levels of endurance” at this she glanced behind me to look inside, her face becoming marred with a slight frown.

“Don’t give me that” I said “do you honestly think we’d be that stupid as to try and actually conceive”

“Indeed, but still, I would advise caution with such activities” she said, shooting me a sideways glance “spells are only so effective”

“What are you, my mother?” I asked in mock indignation, before turning away and muttering to myself “am I seriously being given the talk by a feckin’ god?” that prompted another snort, and an eye roll.

“Don’t be so dramatic, I’m merely offering a little advice” she said “if you want to talk technicalities then I am your superior which means it is part of my own duty to ensure that you don’t allow yourselves to get too hedonistic”

“If you’re gonna start preaching celibacy I’m just gonna walk away” I retorted.

“And I could simply follow you” came her lightning quick response.

“Did you come here to prod into my private life, or did you have a reason to be here?” I asked “you never turn up unless you want to offer advice, and I don’t think giving me the parental talk was your reason for coming here”

Hmm, quite” she said “I came here because I could sense your indecision”

“About if anything bad’s happening?” I asked “if i’m just letting my own preconceptions about my own kind cloud my judgement?” Fantasia nodded

“I won’t say you’re wrong, however I would suggest that your aim is off, as it were” Fantasia answered, and following a gesture to elaborate she continued “I haven’t been idle during our time apart, I’ve been doing some digging around under a couple of assumed identities. There are indeed dark things happening within these borders, particularly to the east under recently annexed territories. A great many people are suffering, more than I have the power to help, though the blame lies not with the empress or her rulership, but those under her”

“So what do you suggest?” I asked

“Go with the flow for the time, your little group falling under the charge of the empress can be worked to my advantage” she said, before turning to address me directly “keep your head down, gain the empress’ trust, in time you will have the chance to make your way into the lower rungs of the local nobility. I believe Octavia mentioned an engineer’s society, that might well be your ticket to meeting the nobility”

“As much as it’d be fun for me, I don’t see how playing with engines will help save lives”

“Hiemutian culture feeds off of a sense of pride; of one’s self, of their nation, and of their nations achievements, do the same of yours, show off what your people have built, take the time to let your own ingenuity loose, and you will earn acceptance, in time you might just find the people you seek approaching you in search of advice or seeking inventions that could further their goals” I nodded in agreement

“That’s all well and good, but I’m no socialite,” I said.

“But your friends are, there’s a reason I chose Octavia and Vinyl, they are both well experienced in two very different levels of society; Octavia is experienced with high society, whilst Vinyl is experienced not only with the underworld, but also the social circles of the youth” she said “I shall help you in the short term, give you the occasional push here and there based on what I’ve uncovered myself, but in time you must learn to use your friends abilities to your advantage, I can’t always be here to help you and you need to learn to work these things out without me” I took a moment to digest this, I had the makings of a plan starting to fall in to place, and I got the sense Fantasia was able to see me figuring this out, there was just one more thing I needed to be sure of

“What about Reinesfell?” I asked “after everything I’ve seen I want to believe she would help me, but I don’t want to spring my plan on a potential ally to our enemy” Fantasia nodded.

“A sound judgement” she said “I would suggest you go ahead with any plan you have without her, until such a time as we can both be sure that she’s not secretly in on everything that’s happening. In the meantime I will make myself useful by seeking out what I can” that left me with another question

“What is it you do when you aren’t here anyway?” I asked

“For the most part, I observe” she said “I have avatars that I assume in order to walk among mortals so that I might experience life as they do, it helps me to know if I’m doing well in my own duties”

“Do any of those have their own lives?” I asked, and upon receiving a genuinely confused look I elaborated “I mean, do you ever live out the life you wanted through them? Ever raised a totally normal and insignificant family that wasn’t bound to destiny? It must get lonely as a lonely god” at this she frowned and looked down at her hooves.

“Truthfully no” she said “they are mere shadows that I look through the eyes of to see...I believe an apt comparison might be those “NPCs” from those games of yours that you told me about” it was admittedly odd to hear her talk about such things, and even she seemed to find it a strange topic to reference.

“I think I understand” I said “you know, you would be more than welcome to tag along with us on occasion” at this she looked genuinely perplexed as she turned to regard me.

“Well, all the stories do always have some ageless wise character who wields unfathomable power” I explained “plus I’m sure it would provide you a chance to relax a little, what would be a challenge for the rest of us would likely be a walk in the park for you”

“Such as?” she asked “you imagine I would just walk up to an approaching army and proclaim the words you shall not pass?” I was so taken aback by the rather platelet reference that I couldn’t help but let slip a chuckle.

“I never took you for someone who partook in literature” I said.

“A mare has to have her hobbies” she said with a shrug “Even if that includes material from other worlds” that brought a question to my mind, and I leant against the railing of the balcony, thinking how best to word it.

“Fantasia” I asked “I know I now have my duty here, and don’t think I’m looking to abandon that...but would you ever give me the opportunity to return home, even for a short while?” Fantasia didn’t respond right away, and when I glanced at her she looked to be deep in thought, like she was actually weighing up the answers. Eventually she looked at me with a small smile

“I could perhaps looking into allowing you a brief stint back on your home world” she said “Though don’t expect me to just let you go digging for remnants of your old life, you know now that, especially after the injuries you’re received, you could never return to stay”

“That wasn’t my plan” I said, before glancing back into the bedroom “I was thinking more a short getaway for a few of us, once we have the luxury of doing so of course. My newfound friends are always showing me things of their culture and countries, I’d like to be able to do the same of mine without doing so through a computer screen”

“That is understandable” she said, casting forth a projection, I was surprised to see it was of my world, flicking through multiple different views “at times I feel I let my own duty to preserve the balance of this world colour my view of others. Your kind are so...industrial that I worry what any large number of them would do in this world”

“But not everyone is like that” I said, and she surprised me by actually nodding “I think it’s just that the wrong people are the ones that have been allowed to the top”

“Which is why I even considered allowing you as a human to set forth on my planet” she said “your kind does possess an innate and flawless adaptability that other species on this world do not possess”

“But we don’t have magic, or wings” I countered.

“And yet in the space of a few short millenia of your exile you have spread out to become the dominant species on the planet” she said, leaving a pointed look at me “one that now threatens to bring about its own destruction through multiple reasons” I went to argue, only to fail to come up with a counter, and instead opted to keep silent. After a brief pause Fantasia let out a final breath of air.

“I have said what I have needed, I will leave you be” she said, following up with the briefest of flashes from her horn, and a flick from her head. Both were accompanied by a feeling of tiredness washing over me “consider that just a little something to help you find sleep more easily from now on” and with that she disappeared, leaving me alone once more.

Despite my creeping tiredness, I still felt that I had unfinished business, and calling the mind the spell I required, I still had enough focus to summon a familiar music box from its stasis in a personal pocket dimension I had been able to conjure up during my time at Glück’s estate...

---The shores of southern Meira, that same night---

A six or seven foot tall bipedal figure made its way to shore, rising out of the ocean and making its way onto the deserted beach, they’d made sure of this before poking their head above the surface. their blue armour was cast in a magenta glow by the setting sun, revealing the myriad of scars from battles eons past, and their glowing yellow eyes, hidden beneath a relatively plain-faced mask, displayed an almost impossible wisdom. In their right hand they held a fierce mace whilst a shield was strapped to their left arm, as they walked the whirring and hissing of servos and pistons long past their best produced a quiet rhythm

This being’s name was Helryx, the first Toa created many hundreds of thousands of years ago. She was a being who held herself above the moral code that she’d written for her own kind. A being who believed in doing whatever it takes in the name of the greater good. A being who had once been willing to sacrifice herself and everyone else in her universe for the sake of taking down her sworn enemy in the process, and right at this moment a being who was on the hunt for a human.

She’d heard word of this some time ago from a band of particularly loose beaked griffon traders, something about a zyglak raiding party to the south. She’d been willing to dismiss it off hand, perhaps amble her way over at a more leisurely pace out of curiosity, and to eliminate a few zyglak scum as a way to pass the time.

Then they’d mentioned the human, it had only been a passing description, but her run ins with with humans aligned under the Shadowed One’s black legion and the Skrall Empire some 3000 years prior told her everything she needed to know, if this makuta-spawn had been spotted with zyglak then that would mean only bad news and after showing herself to them, demanding more information, they’d managed to stammer out the vague direction in which it had travelled before soiling themselves in fear. She cared not as to why it had broken off from the band of zyglak to travel northwards, nor how it had somehow corralled a number of locals to follow it, her main concern right now was to find out what it was doing and eliminate any threat it posed. She’d managed to secrete herself aboard a passing merchant ship until she could see the eastern shore of Stirrupe, from there it had been a simple task of swimming to shore, where she now found herself.

The shores of Meira were bleak, much like the rest of the country, it wasn’t some picturesque beach one found on the back of a postcard, instead of pristine sandy beaches it was harsh grey stone, with boulders poking out here and there, ahead of her looked to be boggy ground with patches of trees spattered in between. Meira as a nation wasn’t the most prosperous of lands, much of it was either dense woods or muddy peat bogs, but this suited her perfectly, she could do a little digging around without worrying about any of the incompitent local militia that those equine rahi oh so loved to use. Based on her own personal experience they would brand her a monster and attempt to take her down, those that did so soon learned the very permanent and painful lesson of what happened to those that would dare challenge a toa of water.

Helryx stopped with a jerk, her left foot sinking into the boggy ground with a squelch. She looked down, her eyes narrowing in annoyance as she looked at her leg slowly sinking into the depths, crossing this quagmire unaided would be impossible. The Toa let out a barely audible growl as she practically ripped her foot from the sludge and took a couple of steps back, she then lifted her hand and the bog before her seemingly quivered as if it had come alive. great mounds of earth and peat were shifted using the vast quantities of water, until a pathway made out of syrupy mud stretched before her, then with a flick of her wrist there was a strange gurgling sound as the water was extracted from the earth, rising up through the air and then beginning to glow blue as it was absorbed directly by the Toa, turning the walkway dry and firm and absorbing the water into her own reserves of power, replenishing the exertion of having to swim across a sea. The toa nodded almost imperceptibly at her own handiwork before setting forth along the now paved bog, the ground now firm enough to take her weight

As she walked she spent most of her time mentally cataloging the scant information she had to hand, then filling the rest in using her vast prior experience, all the while keeping a lookout for potential leads. Those griffons said the human had headed north along one of the main rivers, so she would trek inland until she reached it, from then on following it wouldn’t be too difficult, Humans had a habit of leaving a wake of chaos wherever they travelled.

Quite suddenly she found her senses snapping into focus, and she got the distinct feeling that she was being watched, she was past being so rattled by signs that had saved her in the past. She stopped, sweeping her mace across the bog which stretched out before her for miles, her vision following along and looking for any threats.

“If you’re looking for an easy meal, you shall be sorely disappointed” she called out, her voice having the odd quality of sounding youthful yet aged all at once “I don’t go down easily, and should you somehow win, you will find that I don’t taste all that good, either” for the longest time nothing happened, and Helryx almost prepared herself to keep on walking as if nothing had happened. Then a foul looking rahi sprang forth from the bog, a weird abomination that looked much like a changeling with tentacles sprouting from its back, truthfully Helryx didn’t much care for the specifics of what it was, she had already wasted enough time as it was. She all but rolled her eyes as she lifted her left hand and drew it back with a flick of the wrist, the creature ceasing its cacophony abruptly as its blood was suddenly and rather violently ripped out of every orifice. Helryx suspended the orb of life essence even as the exsanguinated husk collapsed without a sound, then let it shower down onto the ground, extracting and purifying the water contained within blood was more taxing than it was worth from the usable moisture it yielded, so she let it serve another purpose, its scent would mark her as she walked through the puddle, serving as a warning to any other basal predators. And so it was that she continued on her journey, her footsteps now noticeably stained red and what little wildlife that surrounded her now deathly silent.