Side Story - Ferio 2: Courts of Heaven

AN: These guys would love Halloween. Probably.

"Silence!" The deep voice of the golden, glowing humanoid echoed through the halls. The Gods and Goddesses present did not cease to speak, but their voices no longer produced sound. Nor did their telepathy reach their intended destination.

Diana shifted slightly behind her Goddess, obviously not quite comfortable with attending the [Heaven's Court]. Neither she nor Ferio were afflicted by the enforced silence, as her Goddess sat next to the [Celestial Judge] and Diana behind her.

The Goddess of Life and Light handed her a silver and gold decorated chalice filled with slightly glowing water. "Drink this," she said. "It'll help."

Menko really needs a break, Ferio thought to herself as she watched her priestess carefully drink the holy water she had given her. Diana too…

She didn't have to bring her, but now that she had undergone her final rite, Ferio wanted to introduce the woman to the divine life. Sadly, bureaucracy was a part of it. For those abiding by the rules, at least…

Almost everyone that did not attend the [Heaven's Court] belonged to the Repens Nabu. Most of the divines present simply referred to them as the Elder Gods, which wasn't wrong, but wrongfully grouped divines like Edisicio and herself together with lawless ones.

"When will you ask Aperio for help?" Ferio asked, looking at the two minor deities that were now held in place by two more golden glowing figures.

The [Celestial Judge] turned a little to better look at the Goddess of Life and Light. "I have never asked the All-Mother for help, nor will I start now," the being made of light replied in a now pleasantly light, definitively female voice. "You can expect my more shadowy-inclined colleague to give the same answer. We pride ourselves on accomplishing the task we were created for."

Ferio simply sighed. Her mother had never told her if she had actually made the Celestials to serve as judges and arbitrators in the court, but the beings of shadow and light were convinced of it. They weren't the only ones working in the courts; anyone could if they qualified. Though, nobody knows what does qualify you.

It was, however, easy to see why the Celestials thought they were made for the job. They vastly outnumbered the sum total of all the other races combined.

"If you get some more powerful deities that disagree, you'll run into trouble," Ferio said. "This might be a Dominion of sorts, but even someone a little more powerful would have little trouble resisting the bailiffs."

The Judge remained quiet for a moment before it sighed, its voice shifting through multiple pitches as it did. "That problem will be addressed if it arises."

"When," Ferio corrected, directing her attention back to the now separated deities below. "The number of deities that ascend is ever smaller, but the ones that do manage it are stronger. You and your people on the other hand, stay stagnant in power."

"Perhaps," the Judge replied. "We have other means to restrain unruly parties, however. There has simply been no need so far."

Ferio gave a half-hearted nod in reply. "If you say so."

The Judge did not continue the talk, directing his attention instead to the accused below. Its eyes glowed with a golden light for a moment before the gavel that had been lying on its desk floated up and struck once. The spell that had quieted the room had begun to subside, and the murmurs that had begun to pick up now quieted again.

"Jelverian of the Veil has been found guilty by Judge and Jury of deicide," the Judge intoned in a deep rumble. "As punishment for his crimes, he will be stripped of his powers and cast down to Eschengail's grave, where he will suffer for the rest of his now mortal life."

The decision was accompanied by another, louder strike of the gavel. It was quickly followed by cheers and shouts of opposition; the latter coming primarily from the rest of the faction Jelverian belonged to.

They called themselves the Veil — fanatics that tried to enter the New Worlds that had so far been untouched by immortal hands. As seen with the man that was now being led away in chains, they were not above killing to get information they deemed valuable. Figuring out who led the group was also the reason Ferio was here today.

As an Elder Goddess in good standing with the courts, she always had the option of sitting in on the hearings. Sadly, she did not learn much this time around and the ones at the top of her list of potential leaders were all absent today. And another promising suspect turned out to be just another goon… And is no longer a God.

Perhaps she was trying too hard to figure out what exactly the Veil wanted, but — much like the Repens Nabu — their inclinations were less than stellar. While they weren't as big on slavery, they really liked summoning rituals that tried to snatch mortals from the New Worlds in hopes one of them would be able to tell them how to get there.

Ferio was not yet sure if they were responsible for the appearances of the [Veil Walkers] as the System called them, or if they came to be because the [Veil Walkers] existed.

With a slight shake of her head, the Goddess of Life and Light stood up. Diana quickly followed suit, moving to the side a little to allow her Goddess to pass.

"Where might I find your colleague?" Ferio asked, eyeing the figure of light. "I have some questions for them."

The Judge merely waved one of the attendants over, not even having to explain what was needed of them as they had undoubtedly heard Ferio ask the question. True to her assumption, the new being of light simply bowed to them and motioned for Diana and herself to follow.

Ferio gave her thanks to the Judge for letting her attend the hearing; a formality that neither of them felt necessary but still abided by. The [Courts of Heaven] might be staffed by the Celestials, but they were subject to a few special rules the System enforced. Some of these rules defined the expected behaviour of guests and, while nobody had actually been punished for breaking them a while, Ferio would not be the one to break that streak.

"Who is the colleague we are visiting?" Diana asked after the set of heavy doors closed behind them, silencing the still ongoing argument in the courtroom.

"The Judge," Ferio replied, giggling at her priestess' confused face. "The Celestials have two main 'tribes' if you will. Light and Dark. Both are led by an individual they call The Judge.

"It makes more sense in their language," she added after briefly considering their actual names. "The Light one would technically be called 'Justice of Radiant Light Who Burns Sin' while the Dark one would go by 'Justice of Deepest Night who Drowns the Guilty'."

"I see," Diana said, nodding slightly. "But, if they usually go by different names, why do they share one now?"

"Because they like to confuse people," Ferio replied without missing a beat. "It also makes it hard to predict who will actually be the one to rule on any one case. Not that it matters much in the first place.

"I think they also asked Mother if they should share a name," she continued after a moment. "In true Aperio fashion, Mother just said 'sure, whatever' and went back to fiddling with reality because the last world that came into existence wasn't quite to her liking."

Diana stiffened slightly at the mention of her mother, her brows scrunching for a short moment before she schooled her expression again. "Does she not know how much weight her word carries?"

"Oh, she did," the Goddess of Life and Light replied with a small laugh. "She just didn't care. Most mortals meant nothing to her. Ants that lived in her creation. Fun to look at from time to time, but not something that keeps your attention for long.

"Now, though, she is a little too scared of her influence; thinking it to be bigger than it actually is." The Goddess of Life and Light also wanted to comment on her mother's apparent feelings for her disciple, but kept the opinion to herself. If she can help her…

Diana nodded at her words, the motion mainly serving to show her Goddess that she was listening. The woman had gotten a little more relaxed after she had finished her rites, but her [High Priestess] still clung to the rules of propriety a little too much for Ferio's liking.

"In any case," she continued, turning a final corner and stopping in front of a set of gilded doors, "I have not come here to talk about my mother, but to find some Gods deserving of punishment."

The Celestial that had guided them bowed to Ferio and Diana before excusing itself and scurrying off to do whatever they did when not helping out with the court. Before her knuckles could hit the door, it opened, revealing a Celestial made from darkness bowing to them.

"Please, follow me," it said. "The Judge is expecting you."

"Of course he is," Ferio mumbled to herself. Or she? Gender was not something the Celestials had most of the time. A few picked one or the other, holding the shape for long stretches of time, but most just stuck with their shifting form of Light or Dark mana. Perhaps they think that brings them closer to Mother?

Aperio used to spend most of her time outside of a body and simply existing, for a lack of a better term. She had returned to that state briefly not too long ago, but it was clear her mother had not been fond of what she felt. The ripples that were sent through the fabric of reality had been felt by every deity who was even only vaguely in touch with Verenier. And those that weren't there have surely heard about it by now.

"Greetings." The shifting voice of the shadowy Judge took Ferio from her thoughts. "My shiny colleague has informed me that you wish to speak."

Diana had to stifle a laugh, while the Goddess of Life and Light made no attempt to hide her amusement. "They did indeed," Ferio said, sitting down on the chair in front of the Judge's desk. "I assume you know of the Veil?"

"Of course," the Judge replied, gesturing for Diana to also take a seat. "They are involved in many of the recent cases."

The Celestial shifted through the stacks of slightly glowing paper on his desk, quickly creating a sizable pile separate from the others. "Almost two hundred cases this quarter cycle involve them," it continued. "We are seriously considering an injunction against their group. The System has recognised them and made the option available."

"Oh, so Mother is fixing it," Ferio said. That's good. "Do you know that some of us Elder Gods are looking into them as well?" The Judge nodded. "Would you mind answering a few of my questions?"

"I will answer as I am able," the Celestial replied. "You have to keep in mind that I am not at liberty to share any details of ongoing cases, however. Even if I wanted to, I could not."

"I know. I just have a few basic questions." Ferio said, crossing her legs and sitting a little straighter in her chair. "First," she began, "do you know of any way the members of the Veil could use to travel to the New Worlds."

"I do not," the Judge replied. "To my understanding, the System prevents any teleportation spells that target the New Worlds, and those who could travel without its help would find their new home severely lacking in mana."

"Most would, yes. But there are some that would have no problem living there," Ferio said. "Myself, for example. By just being in any of the New Worlds, I would raise the amount of ambient mana enough that the mortals there should start changing and making their own after a few centuries."

The Celestial's eyes rapidly shifted through various shades of black as it mulled over the knowledge Ferio had just given it. "Thank you for this information. It could prove valuable in a few of our cases."

"Glad I could help, but I have a few more things to ask."

"Go ahead."

Ferio gave a small nod and produced a small, metal badge that depicted a figure moving past a curtain. "Have you seen one of these before?"

The Celestial leaned forward a little, taking the badge from Ferio's hand. It turned it over, looking at it from every direction. "I have," it said. "Epemirial had one on her person when she last attended the court. She probably thought we would not see it, but in these halls we see all." The Judge paused to tap its chin before handing the badge back. "The one she had was made from Silfer Crystal and not metal, though."

Ferio smiled at the reply. While it did not necessarily mean that the Goddess of Duty and Loss was part of the Veil, Ferio was fairly sure that was the case. It fit with what she had gathered over the millennia she had known the Goddess. Guess a bit of espionage is next.

She stood up from her chair, Diana quickly following suit. "Thank you, Judge. That was all I needed to know. If I have more questions in the future, I will be sure to come back."

The Celestial looked at her with what she guessed was surprise, their featureless face making it quite hard to guess. "I am glad I could help," it said, its voice shifting more towards the higher end. "Do you need someone to guide you out?"

"Thank you for the offer, but we do not," Ferio said, a red and orange portal slowly coming into being behind her. "I do enjoy a few privileges here."

"Ah, yes, how could I forget," the Celestial said with what she guessed was a smile. It offered a small wave as Diana and Ferio stepped through the portal. "Safe travels to you and your companion."