Divine Alliances: The Arrival of Terra Windblade

The first three sections of this are courtesy of our DM, while the last two are mine. There's more, but later for that...

 

Tavros walked into the common room and paused, immediately sensing something was amiss. The Abbess was seated at the table in the middle of the room, along with Vigo, Dante, Aesa, and several other priests. There was also a new face at the table: A tall, willowy human woman with a falchion strapped to her back. She had hair the color of straw and deep, green eyes. Although there were others eating in the room, they had occupied the benches and tables around the periphery of the room, giving as much space as possible to the group at the middle table. It was actually somewhat comical, as if there were an invisible circle drawn around this newcomer.

And everyone was on edge, which concerned Tavros more than a little bit.

Not wanting to look foolish, Tavros marched over to the table as regally he could manage. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a slight grimace of disappointment on Dante’s face. Dammit, man! I’m doing the best I can!

“My lady,” Tavros intoned, bowing slightly. He was surprised when the Abbess, not Dante, made the introduction.

“Your majesty,” the Abbess said formally, “may I present to you Lady Terra Windblade, Avatar of Demeter.”

Tavros gave a start and his eyes immediately darted to Terra Windblade. One corner of her mouth was turned up in a whimsical smirk, and she had a carefree air about her, as if she found a private joke in the formality of it all. In truth, her presence was somewhat intoxicating. Nobody would describe her as beautiful, but she exuded a powerfully pleasant aura, the kind one just wanted to bask in, knowing that all the world’s problems would temporarily go away, as long as she was present.

“Did I miss something?” Martini had slipped soundlessly into the room and was standing on the other side of the table, sizing up not the woman, but the weapon on her back, “Are falchions the fall fashion this year?”

The Abbess quickly introduced the Avatar to Lady Dwint’lithar, who promptly rolled her eyes, grabbed a single chicken leg off the table, and left the room without another word.

“Actually,” Aesa ventured bravely, “I was wondering the same thing. I was always taught that priests of Demeter would carry a scythe.”

Terra smiled and chuckled musically. The others at the table, save for Vigo, found that they couldn’t help themselves and laughed along with her, reflexively.

“Yes, it’s true, many do. But you should also know that the falchion is the chosen weapon of My Lady, and in fact its origins trace themselves to our religion, many years ago.” Terra drew her falchion (Now THAT is a nice blade, Tavros thought to himself) and laid it on the table. “As you know, our people are farmers, and trace our roots back to the cradle of civilization itself, in the Centro Mundo basis.” She noticed the tables at the edges of the room were utterly silent, and added just in case, “That’s in Terra Povos, right in the middle. It’s arguably the best farmland in the world, although I’m sure many vintners of the Lorillian Delta would beg to differ!” Again, everybody in the room laughed pleasantly.

Tavros took the opportunity to swing his giant legs over the bench and sit down. Vigo had purposely left him the seat between himself and Terra.

“Farmers, of course, have scythes, and so the early members of our order used the tool not just to harvest wheat, but also to defend their flock. Sadly, over the years, the needs for defense increased, and our order began to accept not just priests, but warriors as well, like myself. We also found ourselves needing a more efficient weapon. The first ones,” she gestured at the scythe, “were simply blades with shortened shafts, but soon the handle was rotated as well. From there, it was a short leap to change from sharpening the inside of the blade,” she ran her finger along the back edge of her falchion, “to the outside of the blade. And there you have it, my good King Tavros! Now you know that you owe that weapon on your back to the ancient warrior priests of Demeter!”

In the corners of the room, a few people actually clapped before Viggo shut them up with a piercing stare.

“Speaking of which,” Terra said, standing from the table, “how about a little sparring? My Lady is in good spirits this day, for it is absolutely beautiful outside!” She picked the falchion up off the table and slid it gracefully into the scabbard on her own back.

“Well, yes, that would be, of course… no problem… My Lady?” Tavros stammered and Dante audibly groaned on the other side of the table.

“Haha! Brilliant! Let’s go, T!” She slapped him on the back amicably and walked quickly to the exterior door as if drawn to it. Sun beaming around the edges, it was indeed a beautiful day for November, unseasonably warm. Tavros got up and flexed his shoulders. She was stronger than she looked. Oh well, no sense delaying what needs done.

* * *

“Ready – OH!” Tavros grunted as Terra Windblade, true to her name, crossed the entire distance of the courtyard in the blink of an eye. Her blade slammed into his with remarkable force and Tavros’ knees buckled slightly. He grunted, and with an effort pushed her away. She moves a little like Ruin, he thought, with her strength coming from speed and leverage, rather than raw power.

His thoughts were interrupted by a blow to his left pauldron. How’d her sword get over there? I just parried in front… Another blow came from his right, but he raised his vambrace just in time. He also got an assist from his trusty floating shield, which gave him just enough of an opening to follow her last strike with a downward slash of his own. She had a similar trusty floating shield, which dutifully interposed itself, but Tavros had put real strength behind the cut – more than he typically did in the practice yard – and the shield slammed back into her, forcing her to retreat a step. The sound was deafening and echoed off the stone walls; a few bystanders even had their hands over their ears. Terra, for her part, looked at his sword with a bit of surprise, then at Tavros. She grinned from ear to ear. Oh great, she’s enjoying this.

This time the onslaught was relentless. Her sword was smaller, but faster than anything he’d ever faced. Well, except for perhaps Kroni, and recently Sacha seemed to move that fast. He was noticing a pattern. Dammit, I’ve got to stop fighting avatars! Instinct took over, and he even managed to land a few blows of his own. Recently he’d been focusing on finesse and technique, trying not to rely overly much on his immense strength, but that all fell apart in this fight. He was simply reacting: Swinging, grunting, furiously counter-striking, taking hits in the process. He was pretty sure his nose was broken, but he was in blood rage. Against an opponent like this, everything else ceased to exist except for a carnal fight-or-flight instinct.

He parried a dizzying barrage, saw an opening, and screamed at the top of his lungs, spinning in a circle and swinging his sword with all his strength like a giant club. Terra’s eyes widened when she saw the incoming attack and she attempted to brace her sword against her own vambrace, but the force was incredible. She emitted a squeaky groan and flew backward, 10 or 15 feet into the air. Tavros was starting to feel pretty good about the massive strike, and even a little bad about hitting her so hard, when everything went to shit.

As Terra Windblade flew backward, she swiped her sword through the air several times in an intricate pattern, sending some kind of vortex toward Tavros. It picked up dirt and leaves as it swirled, widened, and passed over him. A moment later, he felt something slam into his back, sending him careening forward onto his hands and knees. Terra landed with a backward roll, braced her feet, and sprang forward, sword striking him everywhere at once. He parried as many of the strikes as he could, but still took hits in the chest, shoulders, and legs.

Only after she’d flipped over his head and landed on the other side did he realize the sword was no longer in her hands. By that time, it was too late. She reached out and the whirlwind gusted again, thrashing him hard in the back with the sword as it blew back into her waiting hands. His head was ringing from the impact, and he roared with rage, standing and ripping a massive uppercut at the same time. She blocked downward, and jumped upward – 15 feet into the air, lifted both by the force of his strike and the tempest raging around the courtyard. At the peak of her jump, she flipped and crashed down onto Tavros with a two-handed strike. He took a step backwards to absorb it, but his feet sunk unexpectedly into mud and he lost his balance. The force of the strike knocked his sword from his hands. Terra, landed, spun, and stopped her blade inches from Tavros’ chest. He raised his hands, indicating defeat.

The wind stopped immediately and Terra lowered her sword. Only now did Tavros realize the courtyard was jam packed with people. Oh no, Tavros thought to himself, Vigo is never going to let me hear the end of this. But, instead of mocking him, the people in the courtyard erupted into thunderous applause.

“And so, my friends, concluded the epic battle between Demeter’s own avatar and our great king himself, and thus you are given a tale to tell your children and your children’s children, that you were here to see it: Two of the greatest fighters in the world, battling fiercely and honorably!” Dante Alighieri was standing on top of one of the courtyard walls, screaming at the top of his lungs, rousing the giant crowd into a frenzy.

Terra was leaning on her sword, panting. She smiled broadly and offered Tavros her hand, lifting him back to his feet, “You, my friend, are one tough son of a bitch! I’m not sure anybody has ever hit me that hard! I haven’t had a fight that good in ages!”

To Tavros’ surprise, the mud was gone, and his boots were clean. What the? Oh right, avatar stuff. He shook his head in disbelief. Fighting her truly had been like fighting the wind. Someone handed him his sword, and the two of them walked side by side back into the abbey’s great hall. Vigo slipped in beside him.

“Oh, most magnificent, your majesty!” Vigo beamed.

Tavros looked at him, puzzled, “You’re not upset? I figured you’d be concerned I made a fool of myself, didn’t act kingly, and all that business. I thought you’d be upset that all these people were witnesses to my fallibility.”

“Are you kidding? I rounded half these people up myself. They’ll be talking about this from Valfort to Wellfort, mark my words!”

“They will?” Tavros was not quite sure that was a good thing.

“Oh yes,” Vigo reassured him, “Kings always claim to be great warriors, but everybody knows there’s a certain amount of exaggeration. However, you just stood toe to toe with an avatar! And even landed a few respectable blows. Terra Windblade has a few bruises to show for her duel with you, I assure you of that. Oh, you should have seen the fight: The way the two of you moved, the power of the blows, the sounds they made. It was like something from a fairy tale! Dante is not wrong, these people will be passing this story down for generations.”

“So, you were inspired?” Tavros raised an eyebrow, at least as much as he could.

“The publicity, my liege! Think of the publicity!”

Tavros grunted, “Sorry, I was starting to think you’d grown a heart, Vigo.”

“Of course not. Now, let us get down to business with this visitor.”

* * *

“Mother Noori sent me, of the high temple in the Centro Mundo Basin, but in truth I come to you as an ambassador of Demeter herself. The goddess wishes to treat with you,” Terra Windblade announced matter of factly.

“The goddess wants to treat with me?” Tavros spluttered in disbelief.

Terra furrowed her brow, “Is that so hard to believe? You’ve set yourself up a leading contender for the throne in one of the largest kingdoms in the world – a kingdom rich with farmland and a long history of devout worshippers of My Lady. You will be in a position to influence countless potential worshippers. It makes logical sense that My Lady would want an alliance with you.”

Tavros scratched his chin and thought about it, “Yes, I suppose it does make sense. It’s just a lot to take in.”

“However,” Terra continued, “you are not yet king, and you have a number of powerful enemies who stand in your way. Simply put, you need help.”

Tavros nodded, “I think I see where this is going. Would, uh, Mother Noori, is it? Would she commit troops to my cause?”

“No,” Terra said simply, “just me. Please accept my apologies, but my suggestion to engage in sparring practice had an ulterior motive. I needed you to see the value in our proposal.”

Tavros unconsciously rubbed his aching shoulder and grunted, “Point taken.”

“I hope you’re not mad,” Terra said, “I really did enjoy sparring with you.”

“No, it’s okay,” Tavros said, “I just, well,” he sighed, “I’m beginning to realize that, as king, my days rarely turn out the way I expect when I wake up in the morning.”

Terra smiled cheerfully and spread her arms, “Surprise!”

Tavros couldn’t help himself, he laughed out loud. He also immediately regretted it as pain shot through his broken nose.

“What we’re suggesting,” Terra began seriously, “is a definitive commitment that the crown will support My Lady as a state religion. Helios was the only deity publicly supported by the previous regime, despite the fact that many of the citizens of Sol Povos worship My Lady. We want a cathedral in the capitol, and public support. I might point out that the Elemental Compound in Solstar has been destroyed by the dwarven lich. That would be an excellent build site.”

“Ahem,” Vigo cleared his throat and gestured for Tavros to lean in, “Your majesty, ‘public support’ typically involves attending services, installing members of the clergy into prominent positions in your administration, and yearly contributions from our tax proceeds. It also usually involves at least co-financing the construction of a large cathedral in the capitol. To be honest, my liege, the decision of the previous kings to focus entirely on Helios was not just a spiritual decision, it was also the cheapest. But…”

“But?”

“But we also have an archduke of Baator to slay and the infamous She-Bear to displace, not to mention our old friends in the Order of Secrets, working somewhere to resurrect a dark god in Sol Povos.”

“In other words,” Tavros said wryly, “we can never have enough avatars.”

Vigo nodded, “Well said, my liege. In truth, I can see both sides of this one. The decision is yours.”

Tavros nodded and turned back to Terra, “Lady Windblade, I appreciate your offer and I must think on it. Please allow me three days to consider, and I will give you my answer. Now, if you don’t mind, I received a bit of a thrashing in the yard earlier, and I could use a hot bath. If you don’t mind?”

“Of course not,” Terra said, rising with a curtsy, “if you don’t mind, I will stay here and await your response. It is quite a beautiful place, and I would like to stroll the lake. I also have a gift for the Abbess. There is much here to fill three days.”

Tavros bowed slightly and made his kingly exit, trying not to limp.

 

* * *

 

 Tavros stepped into the baths just as Ruin was stepping out. The true elf started to step aside, then stopped and stared. Shaking his head slowly, he said, "Corellon's sacred scrotum, Tavros! What happened to you?"

Tavros started to shrug, then thought better of it. His shoulder still ached. "The Avatar of Demeter showed up a little bit ago and offered to spar with me. It was... educational."

Ruin laughed. "And what did it teach you?"

"Not to spar with Avatars, mainly. Remember when we killed Kroni?"

Ruin nodded. It had been a rough fight, even if they'd won.

"Something like that, but one on one."

Ruin gave a low whistle, impressed. "And was there a point to the exercise, O my friend? Or was she just passing through and in need of a practice dummy?"

Tavros grunted. "She has an offer for us. She'll help us out, if I agree to support the worship of Demeter as a state religion."

Ruin frowned at that. They'd never spoken much of it, but Tavros had the impression that Ruin didn't much like the idea of state religions. "What did you tell her?"

"That I'd have to think about it. I asked for three days to decide, and she said that was fine. She was actually very pleasant when she wasn't beating me to a pulp. And I did at least get in a couple of good blows before she overwhelmed me; it wasn't a complete humiliation. Vigo even seemed to think that it would make for excellent publicity."

Ruin looked puzzled. "The King getting his ass handed to him is good publicity?"

"Apparently the king going up against an Avatar and putting up any sort of noticeable fight at all is good publicity."

Ruin shook his head again. "That... Remind me never to become king, O my liege." He grinned, just slightly, as he finished the sentence.

Tavros said, obligingly, "Remember never to become king, noble elf."

Ruin laughed and slipped past him out the door, and Tavros went to ease himself into the hottest water he could find.

* * *

It was well after dark, and Tavros was on his way to consult with Geddy when Ruin stepped out of a side-passage. The elf seemed undamaged, but there was a huge smear of blood soaking the top of his tunic and several new dings in his armor... and in the floating shield that he kept with him. "What happened?" asked Tavros, and then watched the growing amusement on Ruin's face as the realization slowly dawned. "You didn't."

Ruin nodded. "I did."

Reluctantly, Tavros asked: "...And?"

"I won."

Tavros gaped. "You did?"

Ruin shrugged. "Well... I won the bet. I didn't even come close to winning the fight. I don't hit as hard as you do, and she's fast."

"Braggart!" called a cheery voice behind him, and Tavros looked past Ruin to see Terra Windblade striding easily towards them. She grinned at Ruin, then nodded to Tavros. "You keep interesting company, your majesty."

"Ah--" he swallowed. "Ruin didn't mean to--"

"Nonsense! He offered to spar, I told him it wouldn't go well for him, and he bet me five gold that he could surprise me -- and he did."

Tavros did not sigh with relief; that would have been undignified. Instead, he simply smiled and said, "Then I'm glad you enjoyed it. Although... Did anybody else see it?"

Ruin shook his head. "Only Akkora, and I asked her not to mention it to anybody. I know better than to disrupt Vigo's scheming."

"Good," said Tavros. "I need to get moving, but it's good to see you both."

Terra grinned and waved him away, and Tavros continued down the corridor. Behind him, he heard Terra ask, "So what was it that you did on that first strike?"

Ruin answered, "It has to do with attuning yourself to various sorts of terrains, not all of them part of this world. I hit you with..."

Then Tavros rounded a corner, and the conversation faded behind him.