บท 736: Steps for the future
Rutigan guided Hera and Queen Typhera to one of the rooms in the city. Not the same one that he let Peter wait at, but one that Shane had already cleared out of Naga relics and any remnants that could have any historical significance. The room was now just a large meeting room with some sculptures and carvings that had yet to be properly studied but wouldn't be more damaged if people were close to them.
Typhera asked most of her royal guards to wait outside and help the dwarves from Boothudurn. There was only a single member who was by her side right now. Nethe. Rutigan apologized, but he had to talk to his people briefly to calm everyone before he could join this conversation. Taking advantage of that extra time, Hera snapped a few pictures of the carvings and sent them to Tara, asking what they all meant. Even the ancestor herself wasn't entirely sure about the things she could and couldn't talk about, and this was a good way of testing the limits.
"Do you understand what those mean?" Nethe approached after helping his Queen to take a seat on the triangle-shaped table.
"Not really, but I can try. Remember when I talked about the being that can tell me about my new body? Well, they are also unsure of the limits of what they can and can't say. This is not about being an Ophidianite, but maybe it's about some part of Naga culture that will also affect me. That's why I'm sending them some pictures."
Nethe nodded, "I see… So it's really like you said before. Since you don't have someone with experience about… well being an Ophidianite. That being is taking the place of a parent teaching a child about life."
"Yep. That's the best analogy I could think of. And thanks for being so cool with it. I know how worried you all were because of the closed door," Hera smiled. Nimbus and Livy were by her side but refrained from talking out loud so as not to disrespect the Queen of the Children of the Sky by accident.
"There is no need to thank us. Well… there is, but consider it a favor already repaid. Knowing that beyond those doors is just an ancient city is much better than the unknown," Typhera said from her seat.
After meeting her friends, Hera reached out to the team that broke people out of prison and explained what happened and what she wanted to do. She even mentioned the snake head door near Zaxalam, and that caught Nethe's attention. Sometime later, he called the Empress and explained that he knew where one of those doors was located. In the Aerie of the First Flight. The birthplace and capital of the Children of the Sky. He explained that he was, in fact, part of the royal guard and that the door with a snake head was a closely guarded secret for his people. No one knew what was hidden behind it, and being closely related to birds, the Children of the Sky worried that something could one day emerge from it to devour their eggs. Nethe had talked with Queen Typhera and explained the situation, including what Hera said about that door. That behind it should be the ancient Naga capital and that now that place should only have monsters, not people.
She was the second generation of royalty who advocated for their civilization's progress. Her predecessor accepted help from the other intelligent species in the MAZE to develop their civilization and start a technological revolution. Typhera herself took things a step further, officially joining the larger MAZE community and doing her best to ally with the other species. Even now, with the terrorist attacks and all the protests, she refused to step back and withdraw her people. They had come too far, and it would be too easy to lose it all due to fear. Still, she wasn't gullible enough not to be worried about what the humans were doing. However, she had one more thing to worry about. That door with a snake head. Only the Queen and the most elite team of guards knew about that. Typhera also kept a considerable amount of powerful individuals in their capital. Her fear was that the moment she let them move out, those doors would open, revealing a hostile force with a path straight into the heart of her home.
Having Hera open the doors and show that the inside was empty would solve one of her people's biggest problems. Now that she knew beyond that place was only an ancient city and path to Zaxalam, the Queen could use her forces properly without having to worry so much about a hidden attack. Especially since the person who opened the door was an ally. Being able to reach this corner of the MAZE was also a massive boon.
"I still feel like I should thank you. You didn't have to get involved," Hera said with a smile.
"Yes, yes, I did. I'm not letting the guild get away with everything they are doing. Be it with my people or with someone else. Besides, if we can unite our forces, we will be much safer. Especially since you can open and close those doors," the Queen replied.
"I couldn't agree more. But what is this about the doors?" Rutigan asked as he walked inside the room.
"Since I'm a descendant of the Naga now, I can open and close those doors at will. If push comes to shove, we can use that place as a bunker. One that no one would be able to invade," Hera said with a smile.
"If that's the case, couldn't we live there now?" Naka entered the room after Rutigan, with Ogryn right behind her.
"Now? I don't think so. I didn't get a chance to properly explore the place and see if there were any other traps or anything that could get in the way. Also, that room is more dangerous than this one. The monsters there are more aggressive. Another thing, there is some kind of toxic mist in some areas that will be dangerous for anyone who doesn't have a natural tolerance to poison. I have that now, and before telling people to move there I need to see how to deal with that," Hera explained.
"I see…" Rutigan listened, but his mind was focused on something else, "I'm sorry. But are you really Hera?"
Hera smiled, "It's me. I didn't tell you because… well, knowing this is a possibility is a lot. But I got a quest that allowed me to 'Ascend.' Now, I'm no longer human. I can't leave the MAZE. It's a bit of a long story, but I can explain," she turned to Typhera, "I'm not sure I should tell it again now. I know you have already heard it before."
"And I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing it. It is fascinating, to say the least," Typhera smiled.
"How can we tell that you are still you?" Naka asked, "How can you prove you are still Hera?"
"I can say how we never got along all that well. Or I can talk about how you and the guards ran away when Blue and I faced the Sky Ruler. But, how about this?" the Empress snapped her fingers, calling her blades. She then pointed to the door, "And Lurize is just arriving with Daskka."
A small golden beetle flew inside and transformed into the armored warrior, followed by some mist that turned into a familiar white snake.
"Hello, King Rutigan. It's a pleasure to see you again. You as well, Councilor Ogryn and Captain Naka," Lurize gave them a bow before walking towards Hera to be by her side.
"Yeah, it's great to see you guys again! I missed you, and so did Mum," Daskka wrapped herself around Hera.
"We are happy to see you too. And can I assume that you stopped hiding your legacy? Since you showed Livy and Nimbus to Peter," Rutigan asked while walking towards a seat on one of the sides of the triangle.
"Sort of. I still appreciate it if you don't tell everyone, but I won't pretend I don't have it when I walk around. I won't announce it, but will tell people if they ask. Showing them to Peter was actually Typhera's idea."
The harpy Queen smiled, "Humans are afraid of the other species. If they think that there are more of us hiding from them, they might be more careful with what they do. They might also become more aggressive, but it would help change this stalemate one way or the other."
"So you want to force their hand? This doesn't seem like a good decision for us. After all, we are the ones closest to them," Naka frowned.
Rutigan stepped in right away, "My apologies, Queen Typhera. My guard captain is very zealous about her job, and she is just thinking about our people."
Typhera nodded with a smile, "Don't worry. I completely understand where she is coming from," the Queen turned to Naka, "I understand your worry, but now, we are neighbors. My capital is just two rooms away. And don't think of that as a threat. The Children of the Sky always tried to become closer to the other species in the MAZE. As a matter of fact, before you, and I mean the people of Boothudurn specifically, we were the youngest members of the larger MAZE community. I truly understand the growing pains of joining a world of technology. That's why I want our civilizations to form an alliance. We are too close to each other, and if we always think that we can be attacked, neither of us will know peace. Also, by joining forces, we will be able to protect this collection of rooms together," she turned to Hera, "All three of us."
Rutigan raised one eyebrow and turned to Hera, "All of us?"
"Ok… so I guess this is my turn. Let me explain what I am now."
Hera started explaining what happened to her, but by the end of her story, it was already too late. Typhera still wanted to talk more about the future, and so did Rutigan, but they all agreed to continue this in the morning. As a show of good faith, the harpy Queen offered to install devices to connect to the internet here. Not the same network used by humans, although much of the content was still available, but a version that the other species used only inside the MAZE. Hera was surprised that they already had something like that in place, and apparently, it was created a long time ago.
With this talk out of the way, Blue, Helena, Bonnie, and Alex also got a message to come to the city. They were all in the Aerie of the First Flight. In fact, they had arrived a few days prior and could have come here sooner, but Zestra's spy network informed them about Peter's mission and how they might be able to toss a wrench in that plan. Because of all that, Hera didn't explore Deakoshara, the Naga birthplace. She really wanted to, but it was better to focus on other things first. For now, the Empress moved around Zaxalam, looking for one thing in particular. The house where her dad was staying at. He followed the people of Boothudurn together with Renette since they disagreed with how the guild was treating them. It didn't take long for her to ask around and find the 'house' they were staying at.
Hera stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath before knocking. There was a tense moment of silence after it. Her mind rushed, thinking about what she would do if her dad didn't believe it was still her and how she could convince him otherwise.
"Yes?" Eridan opened the door, and his face froze when he saw Hera. Her heart sank. His face was that of utter shock. Maybe her transformation was too much. Maybe he wouldn't be able to deal with what she did, "Goldilocks?" his voice finally came through.
"Hi, grumpy bear. Sorry abo-" before the Empress could finish her sentence, her dad wrapped her in a bear hug.
"I'm so glad you are okay!" he squeezed her a bit harder and felt the scales around her arms, "Sorry. Am I hurting you?" he loosened his grip, but Hera stopped him. Giving a hug back with the same intensity.
"Not even a little. You can hug me tighter if you want," the Empress felt some tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
Sometime later, they finally let go of each other and walked inside. Shane, Mylo, Renette, and Quinn were all there and greeted the Empress. They were a bit more doubtful than Eridan, but they all relaxed when they saw Nimbus and the others.
"What happened to you?" Quinn asked.
"You really ascended?" Shane smiled, a spark of curiosity in her eyes.
"Yep. I was already marked as a terrorist, and what we found in the prison was… a lot. In the end, we agreed that more than trying to prove my innocence. The easiest way for me to be able to move around was for Hera Kingsley to die," the Empress turned to Eridan, "I'm sorry dad. I had to change my last name."
"That's okay, Goldilocks. You can change your species, your name, or whatever you want. I just want you to be safe," he never let go of her hand during that entire conversation.
"What's your new name then? Is it still Hera?" Renette asked.
"I kept Hera. I don't think I would be ok with people calling me anything else. But my last name is now Quetzaveth."
"Quetzaveth?" Shane frowned but, after a moment, started laughing, "C'mon. I thought you said you changed it."
"I mean, I did!" Hera chuckled.
"What? I don't understand," Eridan glanced at them.
"The Naga don't have a word for King. Only one for Emperor, and it's actually never used on its own. You can put 'Krath' before to mean grand when you talk about the overall ruler of the Naga. 'Vruk' for large, that would be someone leading a few rooms or something that spans a large area, but they still answer to the Krath. Or 'Bhasss' for small. They are the ones who control a single city, who answer to the Vruk. But you would say Krath Quetz, or Bhasss Quetz."
Eridan frowned, still unsure what that meant, but Hera continued the explanation, "Quetz means Emperor. And the Naga didn't have a word for lay. Not like we do. They have one for sleep, but that's specific for the act of sleeping. They have a few others for 'be on the ground', but it changes depending on the context. The closest thing to 'Lying in bed' would be resting. And that's what Aveth means. My last name means 'Emperor's Rest.'"
"Honestly. I think that's the best option you have. The closest thing I can think of would be 'Champion's Respite,' but that should be about someone's death. And it sounds just awful for a last name. 'Vkhrass Ssahrlzs.' I'm pretty sure there is not a person alive who wouldn't butcher that one," Shane chuckled.
"True. We discussed some other ideas, but they never fitted," Hera looked back at her dad only to see tears streaming down his face.
"You even thought about that?"
"Of course. I'm still your daughter, no matter what. I wanted to be as close as possible. And honestly, I think Shane is the only person who could actually translate the name," Hera smiled.
"I love you so much, Goldilocks," Eridan gave his daughter another hug, unable to stop the tears.
Hera stayed there for the rest of the night, talking with everyone about what happened and how she became the firstborn of a new species. Later, Blue and the others arrived, bringing some food from the Aerie of the First Flight. For the first time in a while, they just enjoyed the moment without worrying about what the guild was doing or about any of the problems in the world.
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