Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 236

Chapter 236: Fields and Fortifications

Lysette gripped Mirae’s hand as the two bade Kiarra and Nicholas farewell and made their way out to the northern fields.  The sun stood a short way south of the celestial zenith, sending yet more warm southerly winds blowing down the Spire Mountains and filling the people of Ciricu with the vitality of the impending spring.

Kids were running about in the grassy commons, playing with the remnant patches of snow that remained from the building of snowmen and snow castles over the previous seasons.  And as they did, the grasses and trees were making clear to Lysette their desire to soon wake up and flower for the coming year.  Lysette could feel it in the maples and oaks that surrounded the village— the season of rest was coming to an end.  A new season of wondrous and maybe scary change was about to begin.

“Lyse, my love?” Mirae projected.  “How are you feeling?”

“A lot better.  I’ll need more time before I’m back to full strength, but Kiarra’s prayers were so warm and heartfelt.”

“Nicholas’s were the same for me as well.”

“What did he pray for?”

“He wanted me to bless his new relationship.  He mentioned that this was his first time being in a relationship, and how he would normally have asked his sister about what to do.  But with the two of them being so far away and him not ready to tell her about Kiarra, he wanted me to intercede and make sure that the two had a long and happy future.”

“That’s sweet of him to ask that of you.”

“So I told him that I can’t force the two of them to be happy.  And even if I could, it’s anathema for me to force a couple to remain together if both parties aren’t actively seeking that outcome.  But I told him that if he remained Devoted to her, thinking of her well-being as much as or more than he does his own, that things will work out and he wouldn’t even need my blessing for that.”

Lysette smiled and squeezed their hand.  “It’s sweet.  I think they’ll both learn a lot from each other.  And hopefully have a lot of fun times and happy memories together.”

“Well, I can only tell him what’s worked for me.  The rest is on him to figure out for himself.”

Out in the fields, two dozen men were hard at work tearing up ice and rocky soil and working the plows to prepare the fields for harvest.  Though, in what struck Lysette as particularly odd, the men gathered— all in their prime and full of youthful vigor— were working the plows under their own physical might, rather than relying on the brute strength of their livestock.

And more than that, the men had turned it into a sort of competition.  Two teams of four men apiece were operating each plow while others were cheering them on in some sort of bizarre race.  And as they did, the air was poisoned by the stench of beer and no small number of obscenities and less than appropriate remarks about some of the young women living in Ciricu.  A fact made somewhat more offensive by the fact that Jules and Katie were, as mentioned before, very much in earshot of their crude comments as they worked an adjacent field.

Lysette chose to ignore the larger, rowdier, yet still very productive group and instead made their way to where the two women were using a combination of Earth- and plant-based techniques to till the soil, again without any assistance from animals or tools.  Jules started each pass by tearing the various grasses and weeds and plant detritus from the preceding season into a chunky mulch.  Katie then followed suit, lifting a person-sized chunk of soil and breaking it down into a well-aerated mixture.  And finally, mixing the two together before refilling the hole in the field.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Lysette said.  “How are the both of you feeling today?”

“A little better every day,” Jules said.  “Though doing all this is a painful reminder of just how much ground we have to make up if we ever want to get back to where we were before…  Well, all of this.”

“Still pissed with me?”

“It’s more complicated than that, Lyse,” Katie said.  “Yes, it’s definitely a reckoning accepting that we’re only a shadow of the warriors we once were.  And you are responsible for that.  But you met us on the field of combat and by all rights, could have killed us.  Were it anyone else, we would be dead, not talking with our captor and savior alike.”

“It’s kinda weird, being referred to as both of those things so… so casually, despite the two of those words being so different.  Like, I’m definitely a villain and a crazed and evil demon lord to some, and to others, I’m this guardian and protector.  I’m just surprised you called me both of those at once.”

“Do you really see yourself as a villain and a demon lord?” Jules asked.  “I know you called yourself that before, but I figured it was just a joke.”

“I mean, thinking back on it, I don’t know about the lord part.  I do have some authority in the village.  But I really, really try not to exercise it except when lives are in imminent danger.  Maybe a demon lady instead?  As for the villain part, yes, I’m going to be seen as a villain simply because I’m opposing other people.  No shame in that.  And as for the demon part, I’m trying to do better about accepting that part of myself.”

“And yet, you didn’t deny being a demon?” Katie asked.  “Should we accept that as a tacit admission?”

“I mean, I’ve been called a demon by so many people at this point that I’m willing to accept the moniker.  But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a demon.  I like to think of demons as those who set out to oppose the gods.  And considering the state of Aimarion, I think now just as I did then that Aimarion needs someone to oppose those gods.”

“You seem pretty not-evil for a demon lord.  Honestly, a lot kinder and more caring than the leadership back in Terea.”  Katie looked at Lysette’s frown.  “Sorry, a demon lady.”

“I’ve definitely committed actions some would consider evil.  But I’m trying to do better about that.  But right now, I’d like to know more about Terea.  What kind of a place is Seliora?  Are the Archduke and High Priestess of Thosse really as tyrannical as the rumors I’ve heard?”

“Unfortunately so, at least in regards to the last question,” Jules said.  “Honestly, it’s probably worse than you are imagining.  Terea’s leadership is not actively micromanaging or controlling people act in a certain manner, at least not on a day-to-day basis.  But the relative freedom that people have here in Ciricu is not at all found in Seliora.

“The military maintains a strong presence throughout Terea, and order is enforced by strength of arms.”

“So when the capital sent a detachment of soldiers not to process and prosecute some bandits causing problems here in the village, but to locate and apprehend me on sketchy allegations that I was… What was the phrase Captain Garland used?  Heresy, and claiming divinity in defiance of the laws of Terea?”

“Wait…  Captain Garland was slain… by you?”

“Among others, yes.”  Lysette paused.  “I apologize.  I hadn’t yet made Ciricu my official base of operations, and this was before I had the time and resources to manage the detention-facility-now-apartment-complex where you are all staying.  I couldn't entrust a bunch of Cultivators to the people of Ciricu to detain, and I wasn’t as merciful then as I try to be now.  So yes, I did slay them.  I wish I could say that I regretted it.  I think I regret it more now than I did then.”

“In any case, I think you are already aware of this from our previous conversation, but while Terea is nominally an archduchy, in all practicality, it is a theocracy in service to Thosse.  Public prayer and worship services are mandatory and attendance is enforced.  Heretical beliefs are stomped out by force.  Including worship of other deities, and especially other people claiming to be deities themselves.”

“Do they have people going around reading minds to ensure that no one harbors belief antithetical to established religious orthodoxy?”

“There are no thought police in the most literal sense, but there are certainly spies and inquisitors keeping an eye out for heretical beliefs and reporting them to the relevant parties.”

Damn.  So that’s what prompted that first attack way back when.  And now I have to keep an eye on secret police reporting on everything I do.

“So what comes next?  It’s been too quiet considering how absolutely pissed I’m sure they all are.”

“According to the orthodoxies of Thosse’s teachings, winter is a time of dormancy, when the ocean and water freeze and remain in stasis in anticipation for the coming spring.  But now that spring is soon to follow, I would expect the military response to be swift and decisive.”

“So, how long do you think we have?  You’re the expert on Thosse’s doctrines here.”

Katie nodded.  “According to the doctrines, for religious purposes, spring begins on the first day of the third month.  So ten days remaining.”

“I see.  I was hoping we’d have until the fifteenth day in accordance with the solar calendar.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Do you two want to go back?” Lysette asked.

“You’d let us?”

“I would.  Maybe if you did so and reported that you were prisoners of war who managed to escape, albeit with grievous injury and damage to your Spark in the process, your lives would be spared.”

“No,” both of them said in unison.

“Are you sure?  I promise there won’t be any repercussions if you want to leave.  You’re welcome to take any of the other Tereans who want to come along with you.”

“Former Tereans,” Katie said.  “Even if we did survive, torture and imprisonment is about the best future we could expect for ourselves.  And it’d be actual imprisonment, not this… I guess, work-release program?”

“Are you prepared to fight your former comrades?” Mirae asked.  “Even if you want to support us, I’m sure it won’t be easy for you to fight former friends.”

“Either way, we’ll have to fight against someone we care about.”

“You could just not fight,” Lysette said.  “Many of the people here in Ciricu aren’t cut out for combat, and I’m not going to try to convince them otherwise.”

“Even though you gave them the power of Cultivation?” Katie asked.

“Even though.”  Lysette pointed back to the men who were still being raucous and more than a little vulnerable as they continued to tear up the fields in preparation for the upcoming planting season.  “Cultivation may be the power of the gods.  It may be used predominantly as a tool for war.  But look at how even ordinary people are using these powers in their ordinary lives for so many things that have nothing to do with fighting and violence.”

“That has been bothering me as well,” Mirae said.  “When we discover our talent for Cultivation, we are highly encouraged to go and sign up for military service by the promise of prestige, training, resources, and perhaps some wealth if we complete our tour of duty.  But with how useful it is in so many different ways, don’t you think it’s a shame that these gifts of the gods aren’t distributed more widely?  Think of what we could create, all of us, working together instead of fighting.”

Jules laughed.  “Too true, Mirae.  I see Lyse has rubbed off on you, considering you share her penchant for uplifting speeches.”

Mirae flashed their ring.  “Oh, I assure you, my fiancée and I do plenty of rubbing behind closed doors and in all the best ways.”

Katie chuckled.  “Too relatable.”

“Well, I think we’ll be taking our leave then,” Lysette said.  “And no pressure if you need a couple of days to figure out what you want to do going forward.  We still have a little time.”

“Thank you, Lyse,” Jules said.  “And thank you too, Mirae.”

Chapter 235: https://www.patreon.com/posts/113770326

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 237: https://www.patreon.com/posts/113910877