After a few weeks of their recruitment pilgrimage, it the Lunar Paladins were about ready to return to the Monastery.
Senior Paladin Conrad still couldn't get the meeting at the great tower out of his mind, where he had encountered Fenris the Black Wolf, Thor the Storm Bringer, and Yggdrasil the World Tree. They were all obviously powerful, far beyond even him, but none of them compared to the woman in green.
Nex Loki was something else entirely, she radiated power like the sun radiated light and heat, that kind of power could only come from something divine. Conrad had only ever experienced such a phenomenon once before, when he became a Paladin.
* * *
The Monastery was located on a floating mountain in the far north, only accessible though teleporation. According to the legend, a wise man discovered this fortress in the mountains centuries ago, holding great secrets within its walls. He and his followers settled here and came to learn of the Moonlit Mother, who blessed them with knowledge and power. Eventually, this fortress became known, and all the lords of the area sent armies to capture the fortress and its secrets. To protect the fortress and to make her power known, the Moonlit Mother raised the mountaintop into the sky. Ever since, the Luna Monastery has stood as a testament to the power of the Moonlit Mother, and the followers would later become known as the Lunar Paladins, who would use their great power for the good of the world.
Loki had been at the Luna Monastery for the better part of a month as an aspirant. Thor and Fen were in different courses than him, so they don't interact much, but they still kept in regular contact through thought communication.
This place was quite huge, and seemed to resonate with power. As an initiation ritual, each aspirtant were made to drink from a large ceremonial goblet filled with a glowing golden liquid, and once they did, they seemed to be imbued with power, a few of them even awakened skills.
From there, aspirants were seperated into different 'callings'; some joined the Monastery's custodians, some joined scholars, and some joined the Paladins. The training to be a Paladin was surprisingly complex, not the basic combat tactics Loki expected.
When Loki and the Valkyrie drank from this goblet, nothing happened to them. Fen theorized that it was due to their high resistances to status affects like poisons and the like, but Loki doubted that. He could sense the same resonance as the paladins from the aspirants after drinking from the ceremonial goblet, although far weaker, and the fact that none of them were affected gave greater credibility to a theory Loki was quietly forming.
Whenever Loki had questioned one of the custodians about the origin of the mystery liquid that every aspirant received when they advanced to a higher level, he was met with silence and sharp refusal to discuss further.
It had taken a few months, but Loki discovered that every member of the custodians were under a [Word-is-Bond] which most likely prevented them from speaking about the secrets of the Monastery to anyone who wasn't a high ranking member.
Loki had been there for roughly eight months by the time his patience had run out. As things stood, he was looking at at least a few more years before he became high enough in the hierarchy to learn the truth of this order, and he wasn't willing to keep this ruse going that long.
The senior Paladins were having a meeting when Loki barged in, along with Fen and Thor.
"This meeting is for senior Paladins only, squires," one of the guards said as he tried to impede their approach
Fen sent the man into a wall with a shove that was harder than it needed to be.
The Paladins looked on in outrage
"What is the meaning of this?" One of them demanded
"The meaning of this, is that I've run out of patience." Loki declared, deactivating the disguise that had kept the three of them hidden for the last eight months.
As soon as Loki's true form was revealed, senior Paladin Conrad shot to his feet.
"Nex Loki?" He declared, confused "... weren't you a woman?"
"That doesn't matter," Loki snapped, "I've grown tired of the subterfuge, I want to know the secret of this Monastery, now."
"Who are you to demand our secrets?" One of the head Paladins said
Suddenly, the chamber trembled and every member of the Monastery felt it in their soul.
NEXLOKI.
Conrad looked at his fellow Paladins, to confirm they all felt it too, then turned to Loki in awe.
"I will... I will take you to the heart of the Monastery." He declared.
The group was led down a dark staircase deep into the mountain. The deeper they went, the more intense the resonance.
"Only senior Paladins are allowed down here," Conrad explained, "because only we can withstand the density of anima."
"Well, we're just fine," Thor commented
"Well you aren't exactly normal, are you?" Conrad retorted
Fen snorted.
At the bottom of the stairs was a pair of large iron doors. Inside was a small chamber that reverbarated with intense power. On the ceiling of the chamber was glowing crystal cluster, and directly below it, in the center of the chamber was a large dias where sat the ceremonial goblet, gathering it sacred liquid, anima drops.
Fen turned to Loki. This close to the source, she could finally sense why it felt so familiar. It was similar to Loki's divine anima.
Loki approaches the dias, within each of the crystals, he felt a familiar presence. As if reacting to his presence, the cluster glowed brightly before something emerged from it, falling into Loki's arms.
It was a little girl that looked about thirteen or so, the resemblance was uncanny, she looked so much like Loki, same skin, same hair, even the same tired eyes. Upon seeing her, Loki received a vision.
He saw himself in a grand hall, with thousands of lesser titans around him, all bowing as he entered.
Suddenly, hundreds of them spoke up, offering praises and greetings. It was honestly a bit annoying, which was why he didn't come to the lower barracks often. He was about to leave, then he noticed something, a pleasant humming that reverbarated through his being and made him feel warm inside. He traced the humming to a small titan hiding behind a pillar at the other end of the city-sized chamber, quietly singing to herself.
{You,} he said, appearing beside her instantly, startling her.
{Y-yes, Prime?} She stammered
{I'm appointing you as my new herald.} He announced
{W-what?}
{I once knew a mortal, he called himself a world-singer, who collected his worlds stories and passed them on orally. Facinating tradition, going back centuries.} Loki mused, {Anyway, the last time we spoke, the old man said that he would have loved to herald my lore, to sing of the many worlds I have touched. I recently realised he had a point, and so I now bestow that role onto you.}
{Y-you honor me, Prime,} she bowed, {but... why me?}
Loki shrugged, {I like your voice. What are you called, anyway?}
{I am—} she then made an intelligible series of tones that were her designation as lesser titans didn't have names.
{Well I'm not saying all that. So from this day on, your name shall be Aya, my voice, my herald. Wear it with pride.}
What followed was a montage of memories with Aya the herald always following after Nex Loki, from battlefield to battlefield, until that terrible day... and the damned choice Loki made that would ruin everything.
{Aya!} Loki called, cradling the youth,
{My Prime? You have returned for me?} She said weakly,
{Of course,} Loki smiled weakly, {I promised I would, didn't I? I'm sorry it took so long, I'm sorry for what I made you do.}
{Don't be,} she said tiredly, {I was so small, so insignificant... but my Prime took notice of me, he even gave me a name. I was proud... to have been your herald, lord Loki.}
Loki could feel her fading, her existence was worn thin.
{I held on... because I knew you would come back,} she said, {I sang so you could find me again... like you did that first time,}
{It was quite the song,} Loki acknowledged, {I felt it through every mortal who held a sliver of your essence,}
{But my song... is ending now, isn't it?} She asked
{It doesn't have to,} Loki said, {I could preserve you long enough to fix you.}
{No need,} she shook her head, {I held on just to meet you... so that I could give you the rest of my song, my light,}
Loki balked, {Aya, what are you saying? Do you know what that would mean?}
She nodded, {I was born from a fragment... of your brilliance, lord Loki. Now I return that fragment to you. Let me live on... within you.}
Any protest Loki had died in his throat. He could tell her mind was made up, and she was as stubborn as her prime. He would not dishonor her by denying her final wish.
{It has been the greatest honor having you as my herald, Aya.} Loki said, {Now rest, knowing that your name will live on in the stars,}
She gave a contented smile as Loki set her gently on the ground, then he plunged his hand into her chest. Blinding light escaped her eyes and mouth, and in a flash, the light was gone, absorbed back into Nex Loki, leaving only her empty vessel behind. Around her, the smoldering imprint of a pair of wings were branded into the floor and dias, forever marking the location where Aya the herald found peace.
Loki turned to the small group, his eyes alight, with a single tear running down his cheek.
"Who was she? What happened to her?" Conrad demanded,
"She is at peace now." Loki said simply.
Conrad looked at the chamber, the crystals had stopped glowing.
"And what about us?" Conrad asked, "how will we make new Paladins?"
Loki looked at him, his alien eyes judging. Then he reached out and touched him.
Instantly, Conrad could hear something, a tune in his head that felt as comforting as it was familiar.
"That is Aya's Song," Loki said, "it lives on in all of you, and you can now pass it on to others who are worthy."
Conrad understood what he meant, deep in his soul.
"The rest of the order will have questions,"
"I'll leave that to you," Loki said, then he turned to Thor and Fen, "we have what we need."
They both nodded, Fen then reached out to Yggdrasil through thought communication.
"Goodbye, Senior Paladin Conrad," Loki said, "live up to her sacrifice."
"Stand by for Bifrost." Fen said, before they vanished in a halo of light.
* * *
Saint Silver had always been powerful. It had been born from the strongest World Pillar's encounter with a Great Old One, meaning it was part great celestial.
That was why, when the new Administrator had come to power a million years ago, it was the only choice to protect the World Tree, and since then, Saint Silver has never met a challenge it couldn't overcome... until it met Nex Loki.
The fallen prime, the great liar, the god of tricksters and fools. There were many titles one could use to describe Nex Loki, and all of them were insufficient, because to Saint Silver only one title was enough, the greatest threat on Uone.
As such, anything he laid his hands on should be of great concern, for instance that abomination of a tower Asgard.
Recently, Nex Loki has shown particular interest in the moon, and while most of the World Pillars were content to let the titan indulge in his flights of fancy, Saint Silver was not so inclined.
The moon was of little concern to the faeries, it was a subordinate function of the World Anima System, whose main duties were to record all events that took place on the planet and to maintain the World Isolation Barrier that seperates the Physical Realm from the Cosmic Realm. It was ultimately a dull place with little to offer... but somehow there was an unknown deity residing there, this Moonlit Mother.
The more Saint Silver thought about it, the stranger it became. This Moonlit Mother was not a World Pillar, yet was widely recognized as a being of innate divinity, and the fact that no one saw anything odd with that was confusing.
Without informing any of the other World Pillars, Saint Silver ventured out to the Moon to investigate. Maybe whatever was up there would give it leverage against Nex Loki, which was more reason to reach the moon before he did.
As the elder faery set foot on the moon's surface, everything was as it expected it to be, but there was definitely a presence here.
It gazed out at the planet above. From this vantage point, Uone looked incredibly beautiful. Why didn't more faeries come up here?
With a start, Saint Silver realized that something was wrong with the moon. That presence it sensed was actively masking itself so it couldn't be identified, even by the Administrator. That meant that the moons information was being manipulated, and anything that could hide something of this scale that was a problem.
Even with its guard up, Saint Silver was still caught unawares as something slammed into the faery. All it could perceive was that it was powerful and red.