Chapter 7.5 - Birds of a Feather

'Suffer not the Alien'

Hera was frozen as she listened to the town hall meeting. Bilol, her representative, had held a meeting for the changelings. He described what had happened. He had spoken of fire and ash. He had spoken for children extinguished from the land. He spoke of the xenophobic savagery and the words written on the walls of Ston.

'Suffer not the Alien'

The words were haunting. The actions were haunting. Hera may have just plated over summer, but she was one of the last to remember. She was just a little girl when she came through the portal. She remembered the fires of her old life. She remembered watching her mother, dragged in the streets and burned alive. She remembered the 'crime of her birth', having been born the bastard of an elven father, conceived in rage and force. She remembered being secreted away by her mother. She remembered those same words, 'aliena pati'. 'Suffer not the Alien'.

She remembered being rounded up with what was believed to be the last of her kind. She remembered feeling only despair and sorrow, as soon she would taste the fire that consumed her screaming mother. But it had never come. She had been saved by Lord Serin.

To her, Lord Serin was a beautiful man. He was kind, and gentle, and saw everyone in Haven as his people, and ensured the laws of the land kept it that way. He was the example of what genes to take.

Hera knew when she saw him, he was the kind of man to take as her own. And had she not been a child, Hera would have done so. Alas, almost every changeling girl thought so, but they had seen Olma. She had claimed Serin in front of the other younglings, and when she plated and was recognized as an adult, something magical happened. Olma became [Beholden]. Hera remembered her mother telling her of fairytales of her people. About how if it was this mythical magic called 'true love', a changeling's heart could be won. It was always just that, a fairy tale. None where Hera grew up loved changelings. They were despised. But it was not so in this new place.

Olma had been proof, as she showed everyone she was beholden to Serin. If there was ever a claim on a partner, this was it. Hera conceded this defeat. She hoped that one day she could find someone to take her heart the way the Serin had taken Olma's. In fact, there had been twelve changelings that had become beholden to their various partners after Olma. it seemed that there had to be a sincere connection, and something else that Hera didn't understand.

In fact, Hera wanted so much to become someone's beholden, she would have gladly continued working at her job as a delver for hire. She was an expert in trap magics, and past level 6 in the dungeon and level 44 in the training dungeon, there were traps in many biomes. She would have continued making herself a desirable mate by increasing her level, stats, and merit. Then, she would go to the next spring rut, and hope that she found her beholden there.

But there was one thing that drove Hera more than her want to feel true love. That was the feeling of deep seated hatred on the elves who had taken her entire family.

And although they had been left on the other side of Haven's gate, their words and their actions had followed her. Children turned to ash. 'Suffer not the Alien'. Hera's plan changed. Her heart could wait. She could not do something so selfish as try to find love while there was such a dire threat to her people around.

Which is why, the day after Bilol's announcement, Hera had changed her plan.

She was a member of the protectorate, and usually her work days were spent on training missions or guarding an embassy or relaying letters to the other nation's diplomats.

Earlier that morning she had volunteered for a rather contentious assignment. She had requested to meet with the Spymaster Dana, and said she would volunteer to hunt Chimaeras 'no matter what it took'.

And now she sat in a briefing room. The room had seven people in it. There were two changelings, two humans, two constructs, and a lybringer. Although it was difficult to tell if it was a lybringer, because there wasn't the normal shine they gave off, and their hair was cut short. However there was one thing that Hera noticed. They were all near the same age as Hera, and they were all women.

Dana sat at the group. "Welcome all of you. Thank you for volunteering for this assignment. I would like to start and say that there is a very high chance of death, and with it Post Death Syndrome. During today's briefings I will bring in someone who has this condition so you can see exactly what the risks are. You will be working primarily on foreign soil. You may be required to sire children. I cannot promise their safety. You will have to take lives. I cannot promise they deserve death. The clear conviction which we are used to operating on will be muddied. But all of it will be done to ensure the safety of the future generations of Haven. At any time during your briefs you are welcome to walk out. For the driver in the room, your passenger has to consent as well. For everyone other than the two constructs, you will need to volunteer to allow a parasite with driver access to be a guest inside you for the length of this assignment."

Dana waited. Nobody moved. She gave it a few minutes. Hera watched as nobody moved. One did ask a question. "Dana, everyone here is willing to do what it takes, but why also endanger the lives of additional citizens by having them ride as passengers?"

Dana smiled, "Astute question. For a few reasons. If a changeling is asked by a diviner "are you human?" the answer would be "no" or show up as false. But if a parasite takes control, they aren't answering the question anymore, as their instance of you was not the one questioned. Instead. The simply would say 'yes'. The diviner would register a 'false negative'. Additionally, parasites are immune to most mental conditions, so should someone cast sleep or charm on you, your guest would take control."

It made sense. Dana continued, "Additionally, you are given access to an additional pool of mana which can be invaluable in the worst case scenario."

Dana watched. Nobody moved. "Then I will give you a few moments to get acquainted with your new teammates. Introduce yourselves, and explain why you volunteered. There needs to be a layer of trust between you and your common goal will provide that."

With that Dana left.

Hera looked around. The first to two go were the constructs. One spoke for the pair of them "We have been ordered to work on this team by our registered Users. Our names are Lana and Lia."

Hera watched as the Lybringer stood up, "I have already died once to the Saboteur attack a few years back. I want a world that is free of the ruin of xenophobia, where my daughter can go to school without fearing death. My name is Cere."

"My name is Ulrica, and I am a parasite. This host is awake most of the time, but she is currently sorting a depressive episode. Her Daughter was one of the children turned to ash."

"My name is Nesme. And I am a parasite in full control. My host was captured during an attempted caravan raid on our merchant allies and was subsequently Snapped. As there is an abundance of caretakers, I have volunteered my duties externally to reduce the threat to my species."

Hera remembered the term 'Snapped'. It was the term that was used as a death caused by the addition of a full control parasite. 'Snapped', although somewhat disturbing sounding, was not as bad as calling it 'death by infestation and consciousness removal'.

Hera looked at the other Changeling. She was a bit older. "My name is Ulrica, and I lost my husband to the hands of high elves before we came to this land. I have completed my duty to sire offspring, and as one of Gideon's children, I will spread his message everywhere I go. I am a true believer."

Hera was a bit taken aback. The spread of religion in Haven was relatively new. To already have those devoted to its ideals spoke of the authenticity of its values. Lastly was Hera.

"My name is Hera. I know I am the youngest here as I recently plated. I also know I am one of the last to remember the fires of my homeland. 'Suffer not the Alien' is a phrase that has haunted my entire life. Because of it, I am without parents, grandparents, aunts, and Uncles. I will find all that believe this phrase and ensure that they feel the fire and fear that still haunt my dreams."

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