'Seed of Chaos' System

Since she wasn't taking detours to defeat monsters at every opportunity, Captain Swallow's trip back to the Capital was a lot quicker than her journey out had been. Instead of two weeks, the return journey took only a single one. During her fortunately peaceful travels, the Captain had a lot of time to think; despite that, she couldn't bring herself to come to a decision. Her loyalty to and trust in the King was too important to her to simply abandon it. She'd tried talking with Bana Laoch again, attempting to get her to explain her perspective, but the sword that claimed to be Alesha didn't respond even once. Was she mad at her? 

Still, as much as she wanted to consult with Bana Laoch's consciousness, the Captain never again risked coming into skin contact with the sword. She wasn't certain, but she had an inkling that skin contact was required for the possession that had happened before. It just wasn't worth the risk.

At an inn the night before the last day of travel, Captain Edelle mulled over her situation while in the bath. As she washed herself, she recalled the dream Toltura had sent, instructing her to punish those responsible for meddling with Her "seedling." Since Alesha was the consciousness that had awoken within the sword, she was almost certainly the seedling. 

What was she supposed to do? As Captain of the Swallow Knights, an elite unit of female knights loyal only to the King, it was her duty to unquestioningly obey His commands, as well as deal with any threat to His Majesty's life. If it could not be dealt with immediately, it was to be reported. However, as much as she hated to admit it, a higher power had intervened -- an unknown Goddess, possibly one from another world, brought to this one by the presence of the Hero Alesha. That Goddess's presence complicated things greatly. This was true both for her personally as well as for the Kingdom as a whole. It was difficult on a personal level since the Goddess's instructions directly contradicted her deeply held loyalty to the King. As for the Kingdom, the Crown (and the people) had always only acknowledged Helia as the one true Goddess. This Goddess, Helia, was a benevolent entity who watched over her human children with gentle care. Captain Swallow herself had seen miracles wrought by Helia's priests and, as such, was a firm believer. 

However… what was she to do now? She fingered the sigil of the Goddess, now a scar on her forehead. It had mysteriously appeared on the morning she'd woken up from the Goddess's dream, caked with dried blood, and though slower to heal than her other injuries, had only taken a couple days to mature into a scar. Was the mark a stamp of ownership, meaning Toltura had claimed Edelle as Her own? Or was it simply a reminder not to anger Her?

She feared being labeled a heretic by those she trusted. Would they believe her claims about the sword, Alesha and the new Goddess? Should she even say anything to them to begin with?

Edelle thumped a fist against the side of the cramped tub, sending ripples through the warm water. If only Alesha would answer her questions, then she could at least make an informed decision. Why exactly was that child refusing to respond?? Was she angry with her? Or… perhaps her consciousness had gone back to sleep?

When that thought occurred to her, the Captain shook her head, recalling the altered golden windows that had appeared when she first regained control of her body. Just like the first strange one, these golden windows featured disintegrating and reforming sections of purple-red diamonds that appeared along the edges, migrating across the surface at varying speeds.

*****

QUEST COMPLETE: Wake the seedling sealed inside Bana Laoch

REWARD: The Goddess's favorability towards you has been upgraded to 'neutral' from 'suspicious'

*****

*****

QUEST: Punish the one responsible for sealing the seedling

*****

She had been confused by the fact that there was a reward for the quest, but simultaneously felt relieved that the Goddess's favorability had increased. It was always preferable not to incur the wrath of a Goddess. 

Especially not one whose presence was so overpowering that her very soul trembled just from being approached by Her in a dream.

Standing up and wiping herself dry, Edelle made her decision. Though she trusted the King and thought he was an excellent ruler, Bana Laoch had claimed that she, Alesha, was turned into a sword by His Majesty. She hadn't said it explicitly, but the Captain was good at reading between the lines, and this was the only logical conclusion when compared with the Goddess's message. 

Toltura wanted her to punish the one responsible for "tampering" with her seedling. That tampering was probably the act of turning Alesha into a sword. In the dream, Toltura had warned Edelle to comply with Her command (and punish the perpetrator) or die. 

Perhaps the King's reasons were sufficient to justify the unspeakable act of turning a Hero into a weapon. Maybe the potential benefit to the Kingdom outweighed the grave moral quandary such an action would pose; Edelle had no way to know. However, incurring the wrath of an unknown Goddess, especially one as domineering as Toltura, would be disastrous. The dream's encounter had been brief. Still, that had been enough time for Edelle to understand that unlike Helia, this Toltura was neither patient nor benevolent. If she didn't carry out Toltura's mandate, then perhaps the Goddess's wrath would spill over onto the entire Kingdom instead of being restricted to a single individual.

That was something that had to be avoided at all costs.

Thus, Captain Edelle LuRoss, whose loyalty to the King had been praised as the most unshakeable of anyone in the Kingdom, decided to betray her liege in order to defend against a potentially much greater disaster. When push came to shove, it turned out that her loyalty to the people as a whole was greater than her loyalty to His Majesty.

Or, perhaps it was more accurate to say that her fear of this unknown Goddess outweighed that loyalty. The terror of Toltura's presence had etched itself as if into her very blood; that Goddess had oozed divine authority too domineering to ignore even now, over a week later. 

She chuckled darkly at the thought. 

This would undoubtedly lead to her own execution. Her reputation as the spotless White Swallow would be ruined, and it was likely that none of her colleagues would accept her reasons. As it had in ages past, the death of a King would send the Heroes back to their original worlds, and the war with demonkind would take a turn for the worse. With Alesha's return home, any proof of her claims would vanish, and she would be branded a heretic, a liar, and a traitor. 

If that was what was fated to occur…

So be it.