Chapter 28: The World

<i>Onward into the tempest we march, before the wrath of gods we find our judgement.</i>

<i>- date unknown, author unknown</i>

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<b style="text-decoration: underline;">Sometime before the stormfall</b>

"A long time ago, during the waning years of the queen of concubines, a lone Lilinabus sought to rid herself of corruption. Her name was Jilana, and she was among the last of her kind." The woman spoke sweetly to her young child who was curled up next to her. At five years of age, the young Redever's horns were just starting to take a more defined shape. The mother was torn between wanting to see the woman she would become, and reluctant to see her little girl grow up too fast. Turning the page of the book, the mother arched it closer so the child could better see.

"Was she a demon mommy?" The young girl asks with fear. She always asks this question when revisiting this story.

"Certainly, if you believe the stories. In the beginning, the mother of the Lilinabus was a dreadful creature, born from surface level of the concealed plane, known as the underworld. Don't be scared darling, it's just a story."

The young girl curls up closer to her mother, not entirely convinced.

The mother continued, "So Jilana was one of the rare few Lilin's that sought enlightenment, and ascendency from her wicked ways. It was during her travels among mortals that she discovered a mortal warrior of some renown. His name was Lorin, and he was a crusader, a leader of men. He was proud, strong, and yet so vulnerable."

There were many versions of the story of Jilana and Lorin, but this one just so happened to be the mothers favorite. She stroked her child's hair as she turned the page, revealing a princeling reaching out to help Jilana stand up on her feet.

"Somehow, Jilana found herself drawn to the heroic warrior, and the two of them worked together to cleanse the world of demons and infernals. During that time Jilana slowly changed, transforming by the will of a divine, and she shed her infernal coils to join Lorin's side as a mortal. But alas, her new body would age, and die, just like the rest."

The story's progression was simple, yet each illustration was richly defined. Each page was fun to gaze upon, one could even get lost in it.

"The divine spirit then descended from heaven to approach Jilana and Lorin after the two of them settled along a narrow ravine, hidden from the outside world, and offered them a tribute, a reward for their love and devotion, and a recompense for Jilana's sacrifice of her immortal life. Through their love, and with the help of the divine, a new life was conceived in Jilana's womb, a child, the first of the Redever species."

The mother smiled, watching the way her child marveled at the illustrated pages, her tiny fingers gliding against the images.

"What happened to Jilana and Lorin, mommy?"

"They lived happily ever after, their lineage becoming one of the most prominent species on the planet."

"Is that even true?"

The mother smiled at that, "Perhaps, but it's just a story dear."

"Could you tell me the one about the great Queen Lorelei, who defeated the giants?" The child's sudden bout of excitement was spawned more from an unwillingness to go to sleep, rather than a true desire to listen to another story.

The mother would've indulged her child's antics, but alas, she was exhausted. "Another time, maybe tomorrow."

"Or what about the story about the grey prince?"

"It's getting late."

"Mmm just one more story? Please…"

The mother sighs, the weight of a long day of work finally catching up to her. Her eyelids felt heavy, her mind was taxed and foggy. Looking into her young daughters eyes, however, sent a jolt of energy through her soul, and the mother found she couldn't simply walk away.

Not yet.

"Ok, What about…"

A heavy bolt of thunder rolls from the distance, shaking the earth beneath them as the shockwave grinds all around them.

The mother froze, and looks outside to find that, despite the late hour, the skies were glowing.

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It always smelled good in the morning, the humans mother cooked for him well before he even woke up. Lorelei kept still, her empty stomach churning, as she could smell the aroma's of fresh meat being sizzled upon a skillet. The sizzling of fat being charred only made her hyper aware of the abundance of food only a couple meters away from where she laid.

Theo, sweet Theo, had given her a wad of soft blankets to lay upon, followed by a fairly soft pillow to rest her head. Her scraggly hair no longer itched as badly as before, something she was grateful for.

She had learned to be quiet a long time ago, and thus wasn't detected when Theo's mother came in to check on him. For the first couple of days her existence was largely contained beneath the mattress, with only a few moments where she could go to the bathroom, or stretch her legs with him. The mother was absent during most of day, but even still Lorelei didn't want to risk poking her head out and being discovered.

Lorelei, she played with the name. She could hardly remember her own mother, and had no recollection of a father, neither of which gifted her a name. Dirty, scavenger, gutter rat, succubus, those were the names given to her by those on the street. This new name sounded much better, and what made it even more spectacular was that it was given to her by someone who actually cared.

It sounded like a nice name, she would cherish it for the rest of her life. No matter what anyone else said, or called her, no matter what other names the world tried to thrust upon her, Lorelei would be the only one she would keep.

A slight groan, a shift in weight from the mattress above her, and Theo was getting up. His feet planted firmly on the ground, mere inches from her face, and Lorelei's tail slid against the floor with tepid excitement.

"Hey," his voice was a whisper. "I'll try to smuggle you some, but please be patient. Mom can't find out your hear."

He repeated the warning each morning, the fear in his voice always the same.

Lorelei got the sense his mother was like most of the other humans who threw rocks at her in the street, and thus knew the best way to survive was to keep silent, and stay hidden. She slowly crawled further back, her arms and legs feeling weak. She curled up in a tight ball, to better contend with the pit in her stomach. She was used to hunger, had never known a time without it, but right now, she felt as if a spike had been driven through her guts.

The smell of rich salty meats soon crept into the room, it was a small portion, but it smelled unbelievably good.

She waited patiently for Theo to sneak it to her. He would either drop it alongside the bed, or reach out to hand it to her if he could avoid being spotted.

"Hey…earth to succubus?" The voice wasn't Theo's.

Wait...who is this? What's happening?

The earth beneath her was bumpy and distracting, yet Lorelei somehow still fell asleep, despite the discomfort. She opened her eyes, awareness slowly returning. The inside of the Narcis was spacious enough to fully stretch out her legs as she leaned back in her chosen seat, choosing one close to Theo.

She looked down, noticing a long strip of microwaved bacon, held by the gas mask wearing driver of the vehicle.

"Better wake up if you want breakfast." His voice sounded muffled coming from underneath the masks air rebreather.

Lorelei straightened, her back feeling a bit stiff, and rubbed a small bit of saliva from the corner of her lip. She then accepted the strip of bacon, along with the small meal prep kit it came with. Designed for military use, the meal kits were small light brown plastic wrapped parcels that contained just enough food stuffs to satisfy a balanced calorie diet. They each had different meals, the breakfast ones often came with microwaved grits, or dehydrated eggs, along with an assorted of oats or cereals. The packet just given to her was strange in that it offered higher quality meats, and even some fruits.

"Civilians get the good stuff, can't be stored for as long though," the driver chuckled.

"Thank you," Lorelei nibbled on the bacon strip while pulling out the other sleeves of food from the packet. Inside the parcel was a pouch that could be used as a chemical warmer, she just needed to add water and dip the other plastic sleeves into it. After letting it cook for a few minutes she would have a full course meal.

The driver leaned in for a split second, "I'll make sure to keep a spare bacon and egg packet for you, just don't tell anybody."

Lorelei's nostrils flared, her brow furrowed. "Why are you being nice all of a sudden?"

The driver shot her a puzzling look. "I'm always nice. And besides, between you and me, I love seeing that chick across from you pissed."

"What?" Lorelei looked over his shoulder, seeing how Cassie was on the edge of her seat, the wolfkin's tail was wagging back and forth, desperately excited for the food. The scowl on her face was almost comical. "Nothing is as fun as getting in the sack with a pissed off wolfkin."

"Your a pig," Lorelei sighed.

The driver laughed at that, patting her on the shoulder as he walked away.

Lorelei finished the thick slice of bacon, enjoying every juicy inch, all-the-while ignoring Cassie's jealous glare, before cooking the small packet of eggs and grits. She would then warm up the extra slip of bacon as well.

She wondered if humans got to eat like this during the war, or if this was a privilege reserved for expeditionary members. Ultimately it didn't really matter, the food wasn't nearly as good as what she had at the university.

"You know you owe me big time for coming along, don't you?" Marci slithered her way to Lorelei's side, her plump breasts were straining against the ceramic cup pieces of her armored uniform.

"You didn't have to come," Lorelei responded, feeling a pang of guilt.

"Nonsense," Marci wanted to complain about the seating arrangements, none of them were wide enough to let her coil up appropriately. "Just remember, next time I get to choose the location for a vacation."

"This isn't a vacation," the voice belonged to Lucy, who emerged from the drivers station. She had elected to take the co-drivers seat, rather than sit with the rest of them, and had evidently been behind the wheel for the last couple of minutes. Stepping into the larger interior of the Narcis, she had removed the chest piece of her armor, and unzipped her jumpsuit all the way down to her navel. The heat was stifling inside the vehicle, and evidently, the woman couldn't bear it. "You better take this seriously."

Marci eyed the woman warily, "Where's the vampire?"

"Right here," Laura's crisp and cheery voice nearly made Marci scream. The vampire had somehow manifested right next to her.

"What the hell!" Marci hated it when the vampire did that.

Having her fun, Laura laughed, then got up from her seat and stood next to the other woman. Leaning up next to her girlfriend, the vampire's hands and eyes were drawn to the exposed skin, lathered with sweat. Whispering something in her ear, Lucy tensed up, her cheeks burning red.

Suddenly self-conscious, Lucy zipped up her jumpsuit to a more respectable level. When next she spoke, her voice was a bit tense. "We're going past the old front lines, to where the Redever's trench network was located. A lot of people died out here, not that I have to remind you, so show some respect."

Lorelei stared unblinking at the pair of them, then glanced around the open chamber. The vehicles constant movement had slowed a bit, and most of the team had taken advantage of the smoother motion to catch some sleep. Konrad, Victor, even Theo, was snoring lightly alongside them, while Monica kept her back to the sealed exit ramp, her eyes remained partially opened as she slept.

Only Cassie was fully alert, keeping to herself in the corner across from them.

Lorelei looked around for Mike, and found him emerging from one of the smaller side chambers that could be found just beyond the hatch leading to the drivers seat. Shirtless, the young man was struggling with the heat harder than anyone else.

"Can anyone turn on the AC in here?" He complained, taking a seat next to Marci, and ignoring the other two women standing in the center of the chamber.

"It is, just gotta get used to the heat," the driver's mocking tone was still distinguishable with his gas mask. Back in the drives seat, the older man seemed to steer the Narcis along a new path. "You should be thankful, during the quiet seasons it could get hot enough to melt the rubber off your boots."

Mike slammed himself down in the seat next to Marci. "Dear god, this is terrible."

Suddenly the tank stopped, dead in its tracks. The jolt was strong enough to wake everyone, Theo nearly fell out of his seat, Lorelei had to reach out to stop his fall.

"Hey, you guys want to see something cool," The drivers voice echoed. "Take a look outside."

Theo groaned, but thanked her for stopping his fall.

Lorelei nodded in affirmation, keeping a hand on his shoulder as he got back in his seat. One by one, each of them looked out of the small armor glass view slits along the top of the interior wall, and saw, to their amazement, a swirling curtain of bluish purple rain dancing in the distance. The rain seemed to take the shape of a cone, extending all the way up to the clouds, yet somehow it wasn't a tornado.

"Wow," Mike gasped. "What is that?"

"Weird," Theo seemed transfixed.

"Torrential Phenomenon, said to bring good luck, and only seen during the quiet seasons." Monica had gotten up, and flexed her shoulders. "Some say to stand in the middle of one will grant you special powers, or a single magical wish. Full of bullshit though, so don't get any ideas."

"Lori are you seeing this!" Theo gawked at the eerie downpour, now curling and weaving in the distance. It almost looked like a whip cord, the rain somehow defying the very laws of gravity as it followed the dancing umbilical cord.

Lorelei wasn't interested, she fished out some of the left overs from her meal prep, and sat back in her seat. "I've already seen it…multiple times." Her voice seemed distant.