Cataclysm Conquest | Chapter 02: Blessings and Banality (First Draft)

Friday, November 25, 4 S.E.

Leonidas entered his chambers with Ceruviel behind him, finding Aylar and Synthra the moment he did. The Queen was aglow with the vitality of her pregnancy, relaxing on the lounge with her head in Synthra’s lap, and reading a newspaper of all things while the Sorceress brushed her golden hair. The pair of them looked perfectly at ease, a small platter of half-eaten snacks on the table near the sofa, and a decanter of chilled Aetherwine half-empty alongside it.

His wife was wearing a comfortable blue sundress down to her knees, loosened around the belly for her pregnancy, and was wiggling her painted toes with cotton balls wedged between them, smiling at whatever she was reading. Synthra, meanwhile, had opted for a flattering red blouse and black skirt just past her thighs; her toned, faintly bronzed legs crossed at the ankles and outstretched along the carpet.

When he entered, both women looked at him, and Aylar smiled widely alongside the redhead, folding her newspaper and tossing it on the table. The Queen made to rise, setting a hand on her pronounced baby bump, and Leonidas stepped forward quickly, motioning her to stay where she was while Ceruviel walked off and wordlessly picked up the decanter, pouring herself a glass of Aetherwine with a sigh.

“I hope your morning hasn’t been nearly as eventful as mine,” Leonidas said with a surge of love, and bent to kiss Aylar gently on the lips, before turning to do the same for Synthra, tasting cinnamon and coconut one after the other with a giddy sense of guilty enjoyment.

“We were doing wedding planning,” Aylar said matter-of-factly, “and then I had cravings, so we ordered snacks, listened to the broadcasts—there was a hilarious interview about your preferences—and then decided to relax with the papers. Did you know that Kairi is apparently assassinating every political opponent we have? It’s fascinating that she finds the time between training and wearing down poor Parnym.”

“Yeah, let’s not talk about my sister’s sex life,” Leonidas said with a grimace, and bent to kiss Aylar’s belly. “As for the press, they ambushed me in the entrance hall. Ceruviel nearly murdered them all, but we managed to leave them unscathed.”

“Pustules and pestilence, the lot of them,” the Duchess remarked, draining her Aetherwine. “Absolutely awful. I have no idea why you tolerate them.”

“Mother says he has a bleeding heart,” Synthra said idly, resuming her brushing of Aylar’s hair when the Queen relaxed into her lap again. “I’m of a mind with you, Aunt. I’d rather just burn the lot of them to ash. The stupidity of their articles rankles, and their so-called reporting is pure banality.”

Leonidas raised his eyebrow at her words and glanced at Aylar, who grinned.

“The broadcast was talking about your pending marriage,” the Queen said glibly. “They were debating whether Synthra’s assets played into your choice.”

“It was ridiculous!” the Sorceress objected, brushing Aylar’s hair while her cheeks reddened. “They kept going on and on about me, as if I’m nothing more than my features! It was utterly mortifying.”

“Welcome to being a celebrity,” Leonidas said wryly and gave Aylar another kiss before standing. “It was a common issue before the Integration, and I’m not surprised it survived into the System Era.”

“Utter barbarism!” Synthra said again, while scowling down at the Queen’s golden hair. “I swear, if I ever meet this Percy Halton, I’ll set him on fire.”

“Try not to commit capital murder without instigation, love,” Leonidas said to Synthra in amusement and turned to Ceruviel. “That’s the Duchess’ job. Speaking of which! I need you to check on the Commons, Ceruviel,” he said apologetically. “If they’re really taking this long to debate Amendments, I may need you to move them along. I need the Constitution ratified before Christmas.”

His Mentor eyed him with disgust and then nodded with a sigh, draining a second glass of Aetherwine and turning to Aylar.

“Your children are healthy,” she declared simply, her eyes faintly aglow. “Just in case you were wondering.”

Aylar smiled warmly at the older Haelfar in gratitude, and her eyes twinkled.

“You are very doting, Ceruviel,” she said gratefully. “You’ll make a fine godmother.”

“Phaw!” the Duchess snorted, unable to fully suppress her smile as she turned for the door. “Your mother would box my ears if I didn’t make sure. I’ll see you all tomorrow for the address—don’t be late, Achilles! If I have to deal with those pompous blowhards with just Uriel, I’m liable to end a bloodline.”

Leonidas grinned at his Mentor when she departed, and then turned back to his wife and wife-to-be.

“I’m going for a shower,” he said to them lightly. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Take your time!” Aylar encouraged, while reaching out to snatch back her newspaper and unfold it once more, while Synthra sighed heavily as Leonidas made his way toward the bathroom nearby his massive bed.

“Must you really read th—WHY AM I ON THE PAGE?!”

“It’s the fashion section, Synthra,” Aylar said with amusement, “of course you’re on the page.”

“I hate the press,” the redhead said, before shouting after Leonidas as he entered the bathroom. “THIS IS YOUR FAULT, ACHILLES!”

Leonidas laughed as he closed the door, and the sound of his fiancée’s complaints were shut off behind the manastone.

*

Leonidas emerged from his shower twenty minutes later, feeling refreshed, and stepped out into his expansive quarters with a sigh of contentment, long black hair still damp against his thoroughly clean skin. His eyes drifted to Aylar and Synthra as he walked out, towel around his waist, and was unsurprised to see his wife asleep in the redhead’s lap, her newspaper set on the table, and her hands folded in unconscious protection over her rounded belly.

The Sorceress glanced at him when he emerged and put a finger to her lips, smiling at him silently as Leonidas nodded and quietly stepped past them toward the open doors of his walk-in closet, smiling at Synthra in return as he did. The two women who had won pieces of his heart being genuine best friends made his life infinitely easier, and the peace the three of them were enjoying was only made more precious because of it.

The threats outside of Dawnhaven’s walls had hardly abated, and his still-evolving covert intelligence force, the ‘Ordo Umbrae’, was hard at work ensuring that it remained that way. He’d put Kairi in charge of it just to give his sister something to do other than pushing for Ascendant rank and exhausting his Royal Physician, and his sister had taken to it with gusto.

A large subset of her former followers from the Nomads had already found their way into his employ, with System Oaths to affirm their loyalty, and the Shadows, as Kairi called them, were performing beyond his wildest dreams.

He had regular reports ranging from the Humanity Alliance in Texas, embattled as his grandfather still was following his defeat at Leonidas’ hands and subsequent System-enforced reparations, to the Reclaimers, Harbingers, Nomad Clans, Khanate, New Republic, and various other factions that had emerged in the years since the Integration.

Leonidas picked out a black short-sleeve shirt, briefs, and loose-fitting leggings as he contemplated the Continent. Peace was a fragile thing, but thus far he’d been able to ward off any active threat by sheer force of arms. It wouldn’t last forever, but it was working for the moment.

Dozens of small powers had emerged in the immediate area of North America, and Leonidas was keeping tabs on them all for any number of reasons—but primarily in order to protect the calm he’d achieved in Avalon. There were several rival Dominions of sufficient size to be a long-term threat to his budding nation, but most of them were too far away to present a real problem.

If peace were shattered now, it wouldn’t be because he was weak. Leonidas knew that, and he glanced back toward his pregnant wife and fiancée as he considered it, pulling on his pants as he did. The cause of their idyllic life shattering would be something far less evident—it would be because he’d grown complacent. Failing to prepare was preparing to fail, and he understood that.

With the inclusion of the Starhold survivors, now-disbanded Unity Coalition, and thousands of refugees that had trickled in following the Cataclysm War across the last three months, Dawnhaven’s total citizenry had risen to over 300,000 people. His [Divine Magistrate] path had reflected the mostly successful integration of the diaspora, awarding him a bonus of 5,000 Aetherium and 5,000 Platinum at the beginning of the month, which he’d used to further expand the Residential Quarter while circulating the money into the economy.

Access to the System made things like housing crises and economic collapse relatively implausible so long as he was maintaining a net positive growth for the Kingdom, thanks to his [Divine Path], and the multitudinous construction projects throughout the capital had given rise to an explosion of infrastructure-focused Classes, much to Aylar’s delight.

Leonidas hadn’t expected to see ostensibly ‘non-combat’ focussed Classes appear so quickly, but their emergence was nothing to be dissatisfied about.

Food had been a mild concern until he’d tasked the Legions to establish forward positions within 200 miles of the Capital, and initiated an aggressive push for farming and agriculture, with substantial monetary rewards for those who took it up. [Aetherium] had purchased carefully secured converters that turned mana into grain and other base essentials, and he’d had those running almost twenty-four hours a day until the farming initiative could alleviate the food demand.

The beefed-up military has done wonders. I suppose that’s one thing I can thank the damn War for.

Between the Adventurers’ Guild membership boom and the Legions, however, the rapid escalation of manabeast presence and Dungeon Core emergence in Avalon’s territory had offered alternate ways to procure food for the City, and he’d agreed exempt the Guild from taxes so long as they supplied at least 100 tonnes of edible meat to the Crown each month.

Sinalthria had leaped at the opportunity, and by all reports, the Guild had never been busier.

Keeping my future mother-in-law happy is a definite bonus, he reflected as he stepped out of the closet and moved to settle himself on the couch opposite Synthra and Aylar, while kicking his legs up as the redhead eyed him quietly.

+What is it?+ he asked psionically, raising his eyebrows at her.

+Just enjoying looking at you,+ Synthra replied, her mindvoice coy.

+The feeling is mutual, I promise you,+ Leonidas said back, a grin spreading across his features. +Have you decided when you want me to officially propose yet?+

The Sorceress grinned back at him at the question, and glanced down at Aylar to make sure she wasn’t disturbing her before meeting his eyes again.

+The Christmas Ball,+ she said firmly, her golden gaze sharp with excitement. +Aylar suggested it, and it seems perfect. I know I’ve been very controlling about it all, but I have very specific ideas, you see, and—+

+Your neurotic passions are part of what I love about you, Synthra,+ Leonidas cut in, his grin morphing into a wry smile. +You balance out Aylar’s comparatively perfect mental stability spectacularly.+

Synthra’s cheeks reddened at his sending, and she scowled at him, carefully flipping him the middle finger with her right hand.

+You really are a bighead moron, sometimes, Achilles,+ she said angrily, though he could sense the hidden appreciation in her sending. God help him, he loved the insane Sorceress.

+Still hard to believe it’s only been three months,+ he said instead of dignifying her hollow insult with a response. Moving on was the best way to address her tsundere flashes. +The work we’ve been doing has made it feel like years.+

Synthra eyed him, fully aware of what he was doing, but finally relented and then nodded silently.

+The work you two have done with the Government will pay off, Achilles, you’ll see. I know you’ve been taking things off of Aylar’s plate here and there, but you shouldn’t overwork yourself. She’s pregnant, but she’s still a Swordmaiden. She can handle her responsibilities.+

Leonidas blinked at Synthra’s words and then reached up to rub his damp hair guiltily, running his hand through his ebon locks.

+Caught me,+ he sent back wryly. +I know she’s strong, but she’s also carrying twins. I have no idea how the hell we got that kind of blessing, but it can’t be easy on her body. She’s not even had a chance to Reinforce her Core yet. I can’t help but realize how vulnerable she is, compared to the rest of us.+

Synthra pursed her lips at his sending and glanced down at Aylar again, her golden gaze equal parts loving and protective.

+She has an entire Chapter assigned entirely to her safety, at your insistence. Anyone who made an attempt on her would have to get through a dozen Elites and dozens of Contenders, to say nothing of the vicious Venerate Archon that’s been watching her day and night. Aylar will be fine, Achilles. You need to focus on not exhausting yourself.+

Leonidas let out a quiet breath and nodded, resting his head back on the couch and peering up at the high, vaulted ceilings.

+Things are so calm it’s making my back itch,+ he admitted in his response sending, shaking his head with the thought. +I keep waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. We’ve had a great run of things so far—but this isn’t old Earth, it’s Terra under the System. I’ve got a Tribulation to complete sooner rather than later; there are Ascendant-level manabeasts coming in the new year; and, worst of all, there are already discontented rumblings about Autocracy. If I can’t handle those properly, it could impact my [Divine Path].+

Synthra smiled at him empathetically when he glanced at her, and her full lips curved into a confident grin thereafter.

+You could always let me and Kairi loose on them,+ she said glibly.

+Yeah, if I want half of Dawnhaven blown up, I’ll be sure to do that,+ he teased, and then smiled at her more warmly. +I know what you’re saying, though. I’ll try to find some time to relax. Aylar’s sex drive has finally wound down, too, so she’s not going to be throwing me onto the bed every time she sees me.+

Synthra suppressed a laugh at his words and looked down at the blonde’s head, hair haloed across her thighs, with fondness.

+From what she’s told me, I look forward to experiencing your vigor for myself, Your Majesty.+

Leonidas arched his eyebrow and stuffed his fist into his mouth to bite down on it a second later, forcing himself not to laugh.

+Synthra, that was downright sordid!+ he sent back, laughing silently in his own mind.

The redhead blushed furiously in response and silently tossed her head, haughtily raising her chin despite the reddening of her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.

+I told you this once before, Achilles, I am a daughter of Dragons—just because I hold myself in reserve until our marriage does not mean my appetite is non-existent. You had best prepare yourself, Archon-King. You’ll need every point of Endurance you can find.+

Leonidas’ eyebrows rose toward his hairline that time at the Sorceress’ bold sending, and he grinned at her in return.

+Trust me,+ he assured her warmly, +I eagerly await the test.+