764 First assignment

Everyone was looking at Hera, waiting for her introduction. She had thought about it before meeting them and replied with her rehearsed answer, "I can go now, but you will probably have many questions. So we can come back to all that after everyone introduces themselves. There are a few things I want to show you and people I want to introduce" the last line raised a few eyebrows, but she just shrugged them aside, "I'm Hera. Level 39, and an explorer. I'm also an Ophidianite, but I was human until… I want to say a month and a half ago. I don't really remember since I was in hiding and going through some stuff. And jumped right into changing species, which was weird, and I slept a lot after it. Amway, I use various weapons, from spears to daggers and anything with a blade. I also have some poison spells, and my poison is powerful, but I stopped focusing on that a while ago. The reason for that is because I got a legacy," she took a quick glance around, noticing that aside from the triton and Vash, no one seemed surprised, "I'm assuming some of you already knew?"

"I did. Elara talked about it but didn't go into details," the elf replied.

"Same here. But it was the King who told me," Flint added.

"The Spirit Shaman for me, but he did mention the name. Court of Blades, right?" Roan asked.

Hera just nodded, "That's fine. I kind of figured it wouldn't be a secret anymore. Basically, I can 'destroy' a weapon and add it to my legacy. That way, they gain their own egos and can move independently, but they must be within a certain range. I can only have a certain limit of court members at all times. Currently, my limit is 7. I also have special versions of them called 'Titled Blades.' They are not the same as the other court members. They are permanent and can grow with me," Hera turned to the side and called Lurize out. The sizeable beetle armor appeared and waved at the group.

"I am Lurize. The blade with the Royal Tutor title. I hope we can get along," he gave a slight bow.

"And this is Daskka," Hera called her herald, "She's a construct that is now the herald of the legacy. I can talk with her, and she is generally with me all the time. I hope that doesn't bother anyone."

Daskka waved at everyone but turned to Hera, "Just for the record, your limit is 8. You have 7."

"What? My limit is 8? Since when?" Hera turned to the snake, who was already around her shoulders.

"It happened when we were in the Pinnacle Mountain. I told you about it, but it's not like we could get a new weapon then. After it, there was just so much going on that I kind of forgot to remind you," Daskka scratched her cheek with her tail.

"OK then. One correction. My limit is 8. I'll have to stop by a blacksmith again before we head out."

There was a pause as the group digested the information, but Flint was the one to speak first, "And you say you can have 7 of those? Sorry, 8," he pointed at Lurize.

"No, I can have 8 of these," Hera called Ember, who was floating around her, "Lurize is the special case, and he is not included in the count. None of the titled blades are."

"And how many titled blades do you have?" the triton closed her fan to pay more attention.

"Technically four, but one of them is a special case that counts as one. I should be able to get another 2, but the requirements are a bit complicated," Hera turned to her court members, "Do you mind going back? Just until the introductions are over."

Ember and Lurize nodded and vanished in the mist, returning to the legacy as the Empress continued, "Like I said, I imagine you have a lot of questions, and we will have time for them, but let's meet everyone first," she turned to the elf at her side.

"Thank you, but I'm not sure how I can top that introduction. I feel like everything I say will be overshadowed now," the elf sighed but continued, "My name is Skylar. I am a controller, and I also use music to fight, but it's more about rhythmic attacks and disrupting skills or spells. I think we can do some fun things together Vash," she opened a large smile that almost felt contagious. It was just pure glee to be placed in a group where someone shared that interest that warmed everyone's heart. The elf wore a light purple summer dress with a few black leather straps filled with various glyphs and spell circles. She had a golden bracelet and chocker with another necklace, but this one was green and had a single pressed white flower in the middle. As she spoke, her dress looked as if it was being constantly caressed by the wind, even if there was none in the room they were in. After reaching out to a small pouch on the side, she pulled a small golden harmonica with green inlays, "This is my weapon of choice. My parents forced me to learn an instrument, and this was the only one that I could keep in my pocket to pretend I was practicing when they arrived. My plan didn't work, and I actually liked learning this. Only later did I realize that there are things similar to this, but I already had my favorite," Skylar noticed Flint's and Roan's expressions and cleared her throat, "Right. It's not important right now. Sorry. I was very sheltered when I was young. It took a lot to even convince my parents to let me go to school instead of having private tutors, and I only got permission to travel around the MAZE in the last couple of years. When the war was announced, I stepped in to help."

"Why did you do that?" Vash asked, "Sorry, it just sounds like you had a pretty good life. I don't know why you would volunteer for this."

"You are not wrong. And this might be a cultural thing, but we elves believe in noblesse oblige. It means that if we lived a good life or a good period of our life, we need to pay it back when needed. Be it helping build houses in less fortunate places, fighting on rampages, or whatever. It's our duty. But also, war is scary. I wanted to help, but I didn't know what I would do on the front line. When Elara mentioned groups like this, I felt like it was a good way to help."

"What about you, Vash?" Flint asked.

"Me? Oh, it's kind of similar. I figured that people might be scared, and I wanted to help them realize that things will be ok. You?" Vash turned to Roan.

"To prove myself. The chieftain is against having anyone with the Beast Armor skill on the front lines, so this is the best next thing. Flint?"

"Crafters are in high demand right now. It was either this or forced me to spend my days inside a forge working on mass production. I also really wanted to punch a human in the face," he glanced at Hera, "No offense."

"None taken. I'm no longer a human. And trust me, depending on who we end up finding, Roan won't be the only one who will need people to stop him."

"Why is that?" the trios asked.

"I was part of the team who rescued people that were being experimented on. I saw what humans were doing. That's not something that can be forgiven."

"Oh! You're that Hera?!" Flint gasped, "Things make more sense now. I was wondering why the King trusted a former human with this."

"I heard about you too. Weren't you the first person to find a Wendigo, too? Outside the wall break, I mean," Skylar asked.

"Yep, that's also me. The thing about finding a kingdom of dwarves is also true. And I was in Dzviery when the centaur attacked."

"Damn, girl. You've been busy," the triton chuckled.

"You can say that again," Hera smiled, "But what about you? We ended up going to a different topic."

The triton smiled, her dark red lips curling up slightly. Her eyes were blue like the water on a paradisaic island, and her long hair changed colors from a deep purple to a vibrant when reaching the tips. She was wearing a long open shoulder dress with sleeves that started a bit above the elbow, "I'm not sure I can follow up with any of you. But I'm Neria, and I'm a level 35 healer. I use water to heal and attack when I need to, and I know a bit of hand-to-hand combat. I also have a staff that lets me make various types of water. Like salt water, thermal, and even some simple herb mixes, and I use them to improve the best. Even among Tritons, I really love water. That's why I love people and became a healer. After all, everyone is mostly water. And the reason I'm here is my dad. This is actually my second option. I wanted to be on the front lines to help heal people, but my dad has a high position in the military. He was against his 'little girl' going to the front lines. We argued a lot, but eventually, he said that he wouldn't be able to control the troops properly if he knew I was in one of the battalions. So, as a compromise, he let me be a part of these groups since he wouldn't be in charge of our assigned missions."

"I see. Well, for what's worth. I'm sorry you had to settle for us, but we will have fun! And help many people," Vash said with a big smile.

"Of course. I'm not complaining about it. And I hope no one understands this as me complaining about you. I'm happy to be here, and you all seem great!" Neria smiled back.

"You seem nice too. Also, it's not like you are the only one with those issues. From what I understood, Roan is kind of in the same boat. He wanted to be in the front line but couldn't, right?" Flint turned to the beastman.

Roan nodded but then stopped and shook his head, "Sort of. It's not 100% the same, but the sentiment is very similar."

After saying that, there was a pause, and Skylar spoke up, "Ok, does any have any other questions? Or can we deal with this one?" she pointed both thumbs at Hera.

"I think we can go for her. I only need to share the trigger words to help me get back if I lose control with the Beast Armor, but I can send you all a message and you memorize it," Roan said.

"Oh, I can have my court remembering that. Then we won't have to worry so much about forgetting about it," Hera replied excitedly.

"Ok, we really need to talk about what you can do," Flint sighed.

Hera started explaining a bit more about the nuances of her skills. She still kept some details to herself, like the Royal Seal or the Bestow Gift skills, since that was something that wouldn't matter much to the rest. In addition, she introduced everyone to Nimbus, Viper, Crimson, and Livy, who had to stay on one knee due to the ceiling of the meeting room. She also showed them how she would add a new blade to her court. The Empress also removed Edge and Dao since both were already falling behind the others. Doing that kind of thing now hurts less due to the [Blade Graveyard] skill. Even if they wouldn't remember things that happened when they became part of the skill, she could still meet them when she missed the blades.

The new additions were called Autumn, a large glaive with a green shaft and a blade colored the autumn leaves. The pommel had some small thorns that would create a spectral armor when a skill was active. And Tide, a trident that resembled a sea serpent with the prongs being its tongue. This weapon became more powerful when close to a significant body of water, and Livy, due to her water mana, was considered a significant body of water. Adding that with Neria, the weapon could become stronger than Hera expected.

When the important questions were over, they asked more about curiosities, such as what it was like hearing voices in her mind or if she had privacy. Queen Typhera appeared, apologizing and explaining to them about their first mission.

"I'm glad you are all getting along, and I'm afraid that I'll have to ask you to leave in the morning. We just got a message from the Krashak Plains. It seems they have a Wendigo problem. After you deal with that problem, just send a message to the number Milla here is going to give you, and you will receive the next mission. Also, there might be cases where the situation is a bit more sensitive, so we will only tell you where to go and who to look for. You will get the details in person. Milla will be one of your contacts, but you don't have to worry about saving a bunch of numbers. All the communicator will be done through the same one," as soon as Typhera finished speaking, another harpy whispered something to her, "Now. I wanted to talk more with you all, but I have to go. No rest for the royalty apparently," she sighed, "If you need anything, intel, items, or whatever, just tell Milla. She will see what we can do about it."

Milla was a small harpy, even for her species. She was carrying a book in one wing and wore a pair of glasses that were snapped to her head like swimming goggles, "Yes! I'm here to help. Whatever you need, just let me know."

Hera nodded, "OK, then we need a list of all the monsters that live in that room. All of them, including the ones that are unique or rare. Also, if anyone went missing in the nearby rooms, we need to know. Especially what they could do and the powers they had," she stopped herself, realizing that the team might not agree with what she was asking, "Sorry. I didn't mean to take charge."

"No, no. It's fine. I don't have any experience with wendigos. What about you all?" Flint looked around, but everyone nodded, "Yeah, so go for it. Take point."

Hera nodded and continued talking with Milla, listing a large number of things that might make a Wendigo more powerful or more weird. She had studied a lot about the monsters and refused to let one of them roam free.