Elizabeth's Retrospect (Elizabeth POV)

As I return to Aeternum, I immediately receive a report about the happenings over at the Town of Dawn. The battle has been won, although it wasn't a perfect victory, the Warband lost a couple of thousand soldiers.

"I'll arrange the preparations for a funeral to honour the deceased. We should make sure their names are recorded in the history of the Holy Oulvgar State as defenders who stood for righteousness. We'll make sure all who come in the future know the names of those who fought for them," I say.

The messenger from the Warband thanks me for giving them the chance to truly honour his fallen comrades.

"Make sure to bring the bodies of the deceased back to Aeternum. Anyone who wishes to attend the funeral from Dawn may do so, I'll have some of the Oulvgar sent over to cover their positions during their absence. I'll also be sending a Beaver and Otter Legion over as well, they'll be there to assist with the construction of the fortifications," I say.

Giving his thanks, the messenger leaves as I make my way back home to Astur's house. But upon entering, I find Astur asleep on the couch and Ystur asleep leaning against her.

"These two…"

I wonder if it's just a genetic problem that makes them so lazy. Regardless, I quickly find a blanket and cover them. After covering them, I proceed to clean up the various empty bottles and cans that litter the room. Now that I think about it, I've gotten really good at cleaning.

In this regard, Astur's hopeless, she doesn't clean after herself and Ystur isn't any better. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose.

*Sigh*

I grew up learning etiquette and dance, yet here I am, cleaning after others, taking care of menial tasks and even partaking as a commander in war. All things considered, I've gotten good at it. If I had to guess, then I suppose this would be the so-called lead by poor example. Astur definitely fits this description. The only thing I can't figure out is if she's purposely acting as a failure of a person or if she really is a failure of a proper person. Actually, she's been this way since the moment I met her, so she probably isn't acting but really isn't a proper member of society.

She sleeps all day and when she isn't sleeping she plays around and has others to do all her work for her. She's hopeless, Just what would she do If I wasn't around to pick up the slack. But occasionally, Astur offers some great insight and information that no one else could realistically obtain. I was sceptical when she first claimed to be of the Divine, but time has shown that to truly be the case. Yet she's never mentioned what she's really the God of. Astur's shown to be able to see around the people who say her name and even look into their minds, but she's also shown other strange abilities. Creating a fog from her body that selectively prevents others from navigating through it and communicating through it. She has extraordinary healing abilities, but I'm not sure if this is because of her species or Divine Authority since she also accelerates the growth of the nearby plant life and stimulates the healing of those around her. The Irregulars have said that she can stop people from moving with only her words, though I've yet to see this personally. What I have borne witness to is her ability to seemingly manipulate space as she pleases. She made my bag capable of carrying a seemingly limitless amount of items, moved our house from the outskirts of the forest to the central island overnight, and made a door in Dresuarstein connect to the front door of her house. Nearly everything about Astur is a Mystery.

Ever since I first drank her blood, I've been stuck here. The blood of others is no longer capable of providing me with any benefit. But this isn't a bad thing. I know Astur real goal is simply to laze around and live a carefree life, but her position in the world doesn't allow for that. And her response is to take over the lands and carve herself a place for her to live peacefully without any interruptions. And in the process, she'll also be creating a place for Demons to live without fear of prosecution. Although I wasn't privy to the conversation Astur had with the Warden, I would assume this is why he chose to follow her. Demons will no longer need to hide in the outskirts of Human and Beastfolk territory. Demons will no longer need to conceal and disguise themselves to fit in amongst the Humans and Beastfolk. Despite the inherent selfish goal, the end result of Astur's ambition will create a place for all the Demons of Vopal to live in the open, no longer needing to be afraid of any oppression.

Although… I still think Astur's personality could use some work. But I can't deny that her personality has helped me to grow as a person since meeting her. Even if I don't like such tasks, I seem to be quite adept when it comes to bureaucratic affairs, something I hadn't wouldn't have been aware of myself if not for having to pick up Astur's slack.

Despite the questionable things I've been subjected to, I think meeting Astur is one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. Despite being tired up and hung from the ceiling… despite being chased around… despite being used as a test subject for strange concoctions… wow, now that I think about it, I've been subjected to a lot of REALLY questionable things.

But at he end of the day, I wouldn't even be alive if not for Astur. And I'll repay this debt and follow her to the end. Besides, her end goal is great for us Demons, what could possibly go wrong?