Kitsune of the Blue Sun

Chapter 190- Advent of a Goddess

[3rd Person POV]

An emergency Council had been called due to the rapid dwindling of their numbers. It had been a hectic three months of assassinations and espionage against one another.  Their numbers had been massively reduced, and for the most part the worst had all died. One could tell from their expressions that they were both terrified and angry, at one another or the ones killing them all, none but themselves could say.  They had been covered in this meeting for hours already, but nothing of note was discussed due to the tension and suspicion each individual held for the other. Only a very select few were completely unfazed by the atmosphere, and that was due to the fact that they had allied themselves with Sif.

As unbelievable as it was, not all nobles in this city were scum, some had been taking in kitsune to protect them, as Sif had been doing.  When Sif had learned of these individuals, she consulted with Margaret and Keeno’s other companions before finally bringing them into the fold, letting them in on the events occurring and vaguely what was to come. Only when Keeno judged them would they be trusted completely.  Speaking of Keeno, she had been taking care of the flames as she had said, and it was beginning to have tangible effects on the country.  This was also one of the reasons this Council was convened. Stepping up to the center podium, the newest Speaker slammed a gavel to silence the room.

“I understand that we all have our suspicions of current events, but this endless bickering is doing nothing but wasting our time!  I demand order!!”

Silence enveloped the room as all present looked to the Speaker.

“We have all been doing nothing but throwing accusations at one another, a violation of our rules when convened!  Remember that we are a civilized lot, we leave our differences and grudges outside of this room, so CEASE THIS INFERNAL BICKERING!!!  We have things to discuss, and inly so much time!”

Murmurs of unwilling acceptance washed over the room before silence once again reigned over all.

“Good. Not for our first order of business, the missing Princess of Falheim and the absence of the eternal flames. While her host, Lady Margaret of the Nearl family, has not come to this Council, I have sent inquiries to her.  Though many have gone unanswered, the one she did not rudely ignore was the whereabouts of the Princess. She has departed the city and begun the process of extinguishing the eternal flames. As we have all clearly seen, the smoke rising all across our land has ceased and the heat outside has become far less oppressive than we have become accustomed to.  This lengthy preamble brings me to the point; what shall we do to compensate the Princess for this altruistic aid?”

Murmurs once again arose from all around the room as nobles discussed potential rewards for Keeno. Most that  could be made out had strings attached that would only benefit the noble who proposed it, even to the detriment of the recipient of such ‘rewards.’  It was then that the proverbial spotlight shine on one of Sid’s allies.

“I suggest we relinquish the kitsune we have begun keeping to her. It would seem disingenuous of us to reward her while practically enslaving her kin.”

A new wave of murmurs arose. Most carrying decenting opinions. This nearly led to an new wave of arguments to erupt across the room. This abruptly stopped when a strange music none present had ever heard began to softly play. It was some kind of string instrument, not high enough to come from a violin, but not low enough to be from a cello. It was a middle ground that sounded pleasant, if not for the chills that the music made all present feel. As if it was the beginning of a dirge that brought ruin to all.  A compulsion hit all nobles in the room to go see what the source of this chillingly beautiful music was. In a near trance, they all filed out of the meeting room and began making their way toward the rooftop gathering place.

Upon stepping outside, all the nobles saw a sight they couldn’t understand, but something in their souls forced them to kneel. Where their beautiful fountain once stood was a giant glowing ball of golden light. The music began to intensify and a shadow overtook the nobles. They all looked to the sky only to see a silhouette with a crown of blue flaming horns, blue flaming wings and piercing, glowing blue eyes.  Just seeing the figure filled them all with dread.  It landed next to the golden light and stuck its hand into it. Soon the light began to fade rapidly. As this went on the figure became encased in light. When the golden light completely vanished, the light encasing the figure faded. The silhouette became clearer and revealed the Princess of Falheim, though now she had a fifth fluffy tail.

Turning to her shocked audience, she smiled a smile so devilish, it put a different kind of fear into the souls of most present. The water had ceased to flow from the fountain and the five-tailed kitsune jumped up, knocked the statue sitting atop the fountain away, and seated herself on the carved throne. Only now did all present get a good look at her as well.   She wore leotard type clothing that showed all of her legs all the way up to her hips. The part covering her midriff was covered in an opaque material that showed her naval all the way up to where her breasts ended. The material at her breasts was stretched taut, as if the fleshy mounds were about to rip free at any moment.  Her shoulders were bare, though her arms a bit below the shoulders were covered by sleeves of the same black material as the rest of her clothing. They covered her arms like the long gloves noble women loved to wear, though in her case they ended in metallic, armor-like pieces that gave the impression of a dragon’s claws. This was not the only metallic element to her outfit, as there were sharp looking metallic parts along her sides and one on each hip and four more along her chest.  From mid-thigh her legs were covered with the same opaque material along her midriff until mid-shin where boots of a mix of black and silver metal covered her feet, ending in more dragon-like claws.  Her now five tails fanned out as the crown of flaming horns atop her head flared, giving her the feeling of an overlord of death.

As soon as the Princess took her seat, two more shadows began circling above all present before flapping down. Two massive ravens landed, one on the back of the throne while the other landed on a knob just above the Princess’s shoulder. At the foot of the fountain two beings appeared. They shared the same appearance as one another with the only difference being the flames leading from the corners of their eyes as well as the color of their eyes. One was blue while the other was orange. More figures of similar appearance soon began to materialize red flames leading from the corners of their eyes and all with devilish smirks and arrogant expressions of superiority. The beings knelt on one knee or fully prostrated themselves to the Princess in her throne.

“The Spirits of Death greet the Goddess of Death!”

All the beings spoke in unison, the harmonization causing the sound to carry much more than it should have.  The Princess smiled down at all present. The meaning behind that smile was interpreted differently by all those that saw it. Some felt like there was a blade handing above their heads while others felt the gentle comfort of the sun or other such versions of these feelings. She then tapped a single finger on the armrest of the throne and where water once flowed, a blue flame began to travel. Like flames to oil, the blue flames rushed through the channel, eventually spreading across the entirety of the city, causing all to turn their gaze towards the source.  Back at the Council hall, the nobles were still confounded at what was occurring. They still did not know what that golden light was earlier, but a few that were slightly smarter began to notice something off.

“Wait…The Dead Zone! It’s disappearing!”

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE DIVINE DID YOU DO!!??”

The uproar began to spread as all the nobles not allied with Sif nor Sif herself began to become outraged.  Their outrage, however, only made Keeno laugh, which chilled the angry nobles to the bone.

“Hehehehahahahaha!!  Don’t worry, you filthy mongrels, you won’t be alive long enough to suffer whatever you think is going to happen, for you are going to experience something much worse.” (Keeno)

Sif then made her move, standing up, she stepped forward and those of them who had become her allies stepped forward as well.

“Oh Goddess of Death, I beg forgiveness for me, and those who have joined me.  Please spare our souls so that we me witness your glory, now and in the future.” (Sif)

Keeno nodded before looking at her hellhounds.

“My Death Spirits, these ones are off limits, the others are not. Go, have some fun.” (Keeno)

All present here would call the smile Keeno gave as a smile of the most vilest evil the world had ever seen.  The prostrating death spirits stood and turned toward the crowd. Some had already began running while others were dazed. A few who had recovered quickly also tried to run, but only managed a few steps before freezing in place before a muddy black orb flew from their being. Their fleshy bodies fell like puppets with their strings cut and the hellhounds gladly gripped the souls and vanished into the shadows.

Those that were spared looked upon Keeno with a newfound respect born from fear. The wicked smile she had was then replaced by one of a benevolent, loving one, warm and comforting like the sun.  She stood from the fountain throne and hopped down. The two spirits and the twin ravens looked at her with clear anticipation and their excitement was beginning to spread.

“Geri, Freki, give me the seed.” (Keeno)

The two spirits smiled brightly and stepped forward. Out of nowhere, they pulled out a shimmering, deep green seed about the size of a person’s head.

“Sif, as my high priestess in this land, you and my Valkyrie Margaret will be in charge of tending and protecting the tree that this grows into.” (Keeno)

“Yes, my Goddess.” (Sif)

Turning back to the fountain, Keeno raised her hand and, with a snap of her fingers, the stone lit ablaze with blue flames bordering on white. The fountain as well as the floor beneath it and the subsequent floors under those began to melt until a hole leading all the way to the natural ground. Writing strange symbols on the air surrounding the seed, it floated from her hands and gently down the hole until meeting the ground. The second it touched the ashy soil, it sunk into it like a mole burrowing in a garden. Seconds passed and everyone felt a small rumble, then out of that patch of soil, a sapling sprouted. It grew more and more until its trunk, branches, and fledgling leaves met with the light of the twin suns, just slightly above the heads of the people present.

“Take good care of this small sapling. If you do, it will grow to its true potential and spread it’s seeds and roots, filling this country of ash and Death with new Life.” (Keeno)

Most wanted to retort about what was small about this tree, but the second part of her words made them hold their tongues. New Life?  The implications of this were great, even greater than any of them could imagine.  Keeno then stepped forward and began to carve a symbol into the tree. Some wanted to stop her, but she was already done before they could even take a single step.

“This ash tree is Yggdrasil.  Tend to it properly and this country will become a whole new world.  However, if someone harms it, they will face a Death so cruel, it’s indescribable.”  (Keeno)

She stepped away from the tree and the ravens took flight. The two spirits disappeared in a flash of light bringing attention to the glowing tattoos along Keeno’s arms and back. On her back was what looked like the same tree made of the same strange symbols she kept using. The flaming wings then reappeared and flapped, sending a wave of heat over the crowd. Flapping one more time, Keeno took to the sky, circled around a few times, and flew away over the city. When she was far enough away, a blast of blue light swallowed her up, and she could no longer be seen.  Those left at the Council hall were left completely stunned at everything that had occurred over the last few minutes. That is until Sid stepped up.

“Everyone!  We have many things to do now, we will be starting the process of reorganizing everything as well as informing the people and explaining what is going to happen from now on. If any of you know skilled architects, or know of someone who does, gather them all. And someone gather the bodies here and place them near the roots.” (Sif)

The commanding tone she portrayed got all those present moving. It would be a rough time for a while, but eventually things would settle and Lokir would finally be able to advance.

[Keeno POV]

I left the city in a dramatic fashion and only returned after dark. The streets were still abuzz with people, even at the late hour and my flames still hadn’t gone out in the channels. I subtly walked over to one and commanded the flames to cease. All at once the flames began to die down until they were no more than a memory.  I then made my way back to the Radiant Knight  compound. Getting there was a hassle and inside wasn’t any better. The knights did stop their frantic business enough to let me pass, only to return to the hustle and bustle afterwards.  Only once I reached my room and closed the door did I allow myself to relax.

“*Sigh*”

{Are you alright, Keeno?}

“…Exhausted…feel strange. Stronger, yet not.  Freer maybe?  Dunno, too tired.”

{Sleep. We’ll talk more when you’re rested. I’ll let the others know not to bother you as well.}

“Nn.”

Falling face-first into the bed, I didn’t even move the blanket before I was out like a light.

Chaos Realm:

Luna: Wonder what she got for getting five tails?

Want me to tell you?

Luna: No spoilers.

Ok.

Luna: It’s a good thing only those nobles saw her face too.  I doubt she’d like people to learn she’s a goddess yet.

Hehe.  I just find it funny how, even with both Sif and the spirits saying so, some of the nobles believe she’s a Goddess of Life or Amaterasu’s Apostle.

Luna: Well, she did just plant a world tree that grew to the size of a mature redwood in an instant, so I can see that happening.

Wonder how Amaterasu is going to react.

Luna: Smugly.

Heh.

Luna: I like that heh.  What do your Chaos Eyes see?

Fun things in the future.

Luna: Fufufu.  I’m here for it.