The Crimson Calling is sailing on the Gilded Zephyr, having been smuggled from Sutheron and heading to Llanos port. Alexis kneels down next to Ethelred, who is continually studying the documents from the Collegium, holds the red jasper around his neck, and chants something while his other hand forms precise forms and seems to get a little blue.
For the next many hours Alexis sits next to Ethelred, thinking. Occasionally one of the Calling will ask him for something, or about something, and he will respond and then go back to his focused thoughts. For some portion of his reverie he writes or draws in his book.
The next morning at breakfast clears his throat to get the group’s attention while he idly walks a copper coin across his knuckles. “Yesterday I studied the ritual room with the demon under the Copper Hills Fort. As we had suspected it was human magics calling upon demon magics. Nothing about the magics was anything I’ve ever encountered before. Not the sorcery on the sword, not the summoning. But I could clearly make out two intertwined magics: one demonic, and other was of Avv.”
Rask make a sign of Raiden with his right hand and mutters “Raiden protect us from demons and witches…” and looks to Ca’armine and Gustav before glancing down for a moment.
“I wouldn’t expect true followers of Raiden to call upon demons.” He says quietly but more clearly and with self-conscious glance upward, in reference to the hundreds of souls trapped in the sword on his back.
He looks at Alexis sympathetically.
Alexis scowls slightly ” ‘witches’ ” and then he shakes his head. “Going forward, I’m seriously considering questioning those that would join the Crimson Calling. We seem to keep picking up one person who can’t see beyond the narrow narrative of ‘witches’. She created some of the most powerful artifacts we’ve ever known. She saved humanity. She has been the daughter, the mother, and now all that experience has made her a wise old woman. A crone.”
Alexis looks at Gustav and Ethelred who he has traveled with the longest “have I referred to Raiden, or all his followers, as ‘the butchers of humanity’ or ‘fanatic blood-letters’ or ‘mindless nationalists’ or any such?” when Gustav and Ethelred don’t challenge Alexis he looks back at Rask and answers calmly “No. I respect the followers of Raiden. The true followers of Raiden. I even respect Gus not accepting Avv’s blessings, as misguided as it is.”
“Whatever evil was being worked under the Copper Hills fort is a mockery of Avv. A mockery. They were not shielding humanity. They were not shedding tears of protection for the good of the human lands. They were not uncovering the lost secrets for humanity or a righteous cause.” Alexis stops gripping the red jasper around his neck and lets his hand rest back on his thigh.
Rask raises his eyebrows and bit, and shakes his head at the sensitive Sutheroni, and smiles a bit ruefully.
“I’ve spilled plenty of blood in Raiden’s name, I’m not going to throw a fit if you call me out on it.”
And he looks Alexis dead in the eyes, nothing but cold determination. No regret. No shame. Rask knows exactly who he is, what he’s done, and why he did it.
After a moment he sighs deeply, and quietly continues,
“Cleary I know less about the gods than you do…”
He leans in a bit, and lowers his voice further.
“Truth be told, while… followers of a god of secrets and magic calling upon demons doesn’t sound that far off from the… superstitious stories of my childhood and army indoctrination, I am deeply troubled, why would they pretend to worship Raiden but call upon Avv and Demons?”
Rask smiles, an attempt at a friendly smile, but it’s a little disturbing coming from a skilled murderer. He looks at Alexis,
“What do you make of it?”
“Other than the perversions of Avv’s power, I don’t know yet. Perhaps the Raidensblud wanted to deal with demons but didn’t have the experience and asked for help from perverse Avv-ites. Perhaps there is a secret relationship between the head priest of the Raidensblud and some powerful Avv outcast. Perhaps they’re lovers. Perhaps it doesn’t go that far, and the rot is contained to the Copper Hills fort.”
“Whatever the reality, we now know a secret that the Commandant, or his handlers, don’t want becoming common knowledge.”
“I feel the need to… meditate on this new information” Alexis restarts playing with a copper coin, spinning it around his middle finger “but I wanted to inform you all first.” Alexis looks around the group, lingering on Ca’armine a little longer than the others.
Gus says with an grizzled looking face to Alexis:
“I think that many of Raiden’s followers are ‘the butchers of humanity’ or ‘fanatic blood-letters’ or ‘mindless nationalists’. You’ll hear no complaint from me if you say those things within our group. I just avoid saying it because I have seen others saying them in public and they are gone. Never to be seen again.”
Alexis looks at Gus and is clearly trying to figure out how to address Gus’ misunderstanding of the point he was making.
Alexis takes a breath “I don’t mind if the witches of Avv are called ‘witches’, just as you don’t mind my calling the fanatic blood-letters of Raiden called as much. My protest from earlier is that every Avv-ite is guilty of being a witch before any information is known. And usually every Avv-ite is a witch simply by giving some worship to that goddess. And those using the term ‘witch’ clearly mean it in a moral-judgement sense.”
“Does that make sense, Gus?”
Ca’armine looks back and forth, among the speakers. He was not there underneath the copper hills fort, he did not sense the magic there. He has been loathe to comment, whenever the team talks about their previous adventures.
“Don’t you see? Av… Raiden… Hood… Our adversaries are evildoers. They have no qualms about dressing the part of followers of our gods, while doing the work of their demonic lords. This is why… this is why I am here. This is why I left the Raidensblud. This is why I joined this team.”
To Alexis he says, “Your perfect recall has showed you now, what you should have realized then. How do we use this information? Not to mistrust each other, my leader, but to distrust everyone else who claims to be willing to help us.”
“Distrust everyone who claims to be willing to help us?” Alexis looks incredibly dubious.
“You came to us claiming you are willing to help us. Am I to expect your betrayal, Ca’armine?”
Ca’armine frowns. “Your feelings are your own, Alexis, but I doubt you are in earnest. I do not think you have doubted me for even one moment, since I joined your team, because my words and my actions are always in alignment.”
“Indeed it seems you are usually willing to take people at face value, and trust they are earnest when the speak to you. Though you did not intend to accept the invitation to meet your old master at the Collegium, for example, it did not occur to you it would be a trap.”
“I think there is wisdom in wondering, whom we might trust, given that our adversaries cloak themselves in the garb of those one should trust– priests, holy warriors, even the upper crust of genteel society. We know that not everyone is who they say they are. It does make sense to pause a moment and try to discern, before taking action– is this person who they say they are?”
“Raiden can help me with my discernment, and I will ask him more often.”
Alexis smiles at Ca’armine.
“That would be a great help. Thank you.” Alexis gives Ca’armine a clasp on the shoulder.
Gus was deep in thought after Alexis last responded to him, and missed the rest of the conversation.
“Alexis, I now understand your point. There are perverse Avv-ites and perverse Raiden-ites. You are fine that anyone calls out either of those groups, but not fine saying every follower is represented by them. Certainly I can agree. And hope our group agrees.”
Gus realizes he missed the rest of the conversation.
“You all seem more relaxed. What did I miss?”
Alexis smiles warmly at Gustav. He seems happy with what Gustav has said.