Alignment

[Pahrak Model ZX]

The Queen of Gravity paced up and down the small stone ledge, adjusting her many plates of iron armor as she waited. Looking down the mountainside, she scanned the plains for any sign of movement, but the land remained as still as ever.

 

Taking a seat, she thought, I was sure I’d be able to see a party that large, even from way up here…

 

Boredom began to take hold. Spotting a few loose stones nearby, she flicked one finger in their direction. The stones leapt into the air and started to swirl around, executing simple maneuvers and arranging into various outlines while the Queen watched them closely. This went on for some time before something else caught her eye: a flash of light rising up from the plains. Letting the stones drop and clatter down the mountain, she stood up and turned to look. An orb of light was being launched upwards from a moving mass whose details could not quite be made out from this distance.

 

Good, the Queen thought, they made it.

 

She turned to face the mountain and crouched. Ordering gravity to loosen its hold on her, she sprang up and soared into the sky, easily clearing the peak about a mile above her former perch before reversing the effects of her spell and shooting down the opposite side feet-first. Finally, just before the ground came up to meet her, she braced herself and swung one arm outward. The force of gravity on her body ceased altogether, allowing her to float about a yard above the ground. Shortly after, she relaxed her body and allowed it to touch down.

 

“Land?” she called. “Where are you?”

 

The Queen of Gravity then felt a tug, as if her armor had developed a mind of its own and was pulling her off to one side. Glancing in that direction, she saw a small woman with skin the same dark shade as hers, dressed in a burnt orange gown that had a few strips of silver chainmail sewn into it.

 

“You don’t have to shout—I’m right here,” said the Queen of the Land.

 

The Queen of Gravity smiled. “Our guests are on their way. Could you open the gate?”

 

Nodding, the Queen of the Land walked up to the mountain and placed both hands on it. Her eyes closed, and for a moment all was still. Then, a ripple passed through the wall of rock, radiating out from where the Queen was until it reached all the way to the peak. A thunderous sound was heard as two clouds of dust burst into existence a few miles apart. The section of mountain between the clouds then began to move. It was a very slow process, but little by little the stone sank into the ground, creating a massive canyon where there had not long ago been several tons of solid rock.

 

By the time the gate was completely open, the party was nearly upon it. The Queen of Gravity set a hand on the Queen of the Land’s shoulder, saying, “Thanks. Do you want to rest?”

 

The Queen of the Land scoffed, “That was nothing. Besides, all I’m going to be doing is shaking hands and showing them around, right?”

The two of them waited where they stood as their guests entered the canyon. Two figures on horseback came into view at the head of the procession: two young women, one a fair-skinned redhead wearing a pink dress and covered in bandages, and the other a tanned woman with hair of an ocean-like color who wore a dark blue tunic.

 

The two Queens bowed as the riders came closer. The redhead waved her hand, saying, “Come now, ladies, no need for formalities.”

 

Straightening herself, the Queen of the Land said, “We can’t forget our manners, Queen of Light. How are you feeling?”

 

Pulling her horse off to the side of the canyon, the Queen of Light muttered, “Oh, you know…not much different.”

 

The other rider dismounted and shook hands with the Queen of Gravity. “Thank you again for inviting us. I’m sorry if we’re late, but my people weren’t very eager to leave home.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, Sea,” the Queen of Gravity replied. “I’m just glad Mahou didn’t attack you on the way here.”

 

“As if he could,” the Queen of Light said. “With the beating I gave him, it should be a while longer before he feels up to crawling out of whatever hole he’s hiding in.”

 

“And…that’s why you and Sea joined up and lead your citizens here together, right?” teased the Queen of the Land. “Because you weren’t worried at all?”

 

The Queen of Light paused. “…Um…w-well, it just seemed to make sense, you know? Sea hasn’t travelled inland much, and I didn’t want her getting lost.”

 

“Of course,” chuckled the Queen of the Sea. “I don’t mean to be rude, but it has been a long journey. Where should we take our people?”

 

“I’ll take care of that,” the Queen of the Land offered. “Just tell them to follow me, and we’ll set them up right next to Sky’s people.”

 

As the visiting Queens relayed the directions to their followers, the Queen of the Land approached the Queen of Gravity and gave her a short kiss. The latter began to say something, but the former cut her off with, “I’ll get them to the camp and then come straight back, okay? Stop worrying.”

 

The two parted ways, with the Queen of Gravity leading the foreign royalty down a paved road towards a group of stone dwellings. Once they were on their way, she asked, “I must say, Queen of Light, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t arrange some more comfortable transportation.”

 

“I suggested that to her, but she’s stubborn,” the Queen of the Sea said.

 

“I’m not going to hide in some carriage,” said the Queen of Light. “Carrying on like I was never hurt in the first place is good for morale. It shows the people that I can take a hit and keep going strong, you know?”

 

“Hm…that’s quite smart,” the Queen of Gravity said.

 

“You sound surprised.”

 

“Maybe. But, now that they’re out of earshot…how do you truly feel?”

 

In a hushed tone, the injured Queen responded, “…This ride was a real pain…if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to lie down for a little before we talk politics.”

 

The Queen of Gravity nodded. “Of course. I’m afraid we only have two chambers set up for visiting Queens, one of which is already in use by the Queen of the Sky. We did work to convert a chamber intended for nobles into something more comparable, but it is still lacking.”

 

“I’m sure it’s fine,” the Queen of Light said. “I’m not too picky right now.”

 

The Queen of the Sea looked over at her. “Uh…shouldn’t you take the nicer chamber? I mean, you are—“

 

“I’ll be fine after a rest, okay? I insist you take the Queen chamber.”

 

Uneasily, the Queen of the Sea returned to silence. The Queen of Gravity offered, “Alright…shall I have the castle healer sent up?”

 

The Queen of Light shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t think it would do much good at this point. It never ceases to amaze me that even after all the magical research the world has done, our best healing magic can barely fix a broken bone…”

 

***

 

The Queen of Gravity strode into her audience chamber, a wide room with bare gray walls, a carved wooden desk, and a chandelier with seven candles hanging from above. The Queen of the Sea was a few steps behind her, and waiting next to the desk was a dark-skinned woman wearing a long green dress.

 

“Thank you for waiting, Queen of the Sky,” greeted the Queen of Gravity. “Land is seeing to the camps; she’ll be back shortly.”

 

The Queen of the Sky nodded. “Welcome, Queen of the Sea. Is the Queen of Light with you?”

 

“She’s resting,” answered the Queen of the Sea. “Light would never admit it, but this trip was a lot more difficult than she was expecting. I apologize if this delays any business.”

 

The Queen of the Sky smiled reassuringly. “Nothing to worry about, dear. I know she’s not in the best of shape, and I expected she’d need a little time.”

 

The Queen of Gravity sat down at her desk and reached for a pile of papers in the corner. As she began sorting them, she said, “You two are free to stay, but I need to go over a few things. Forgive me.”

 

“Are the people getting somewhat restless here too?” asked the Queen of the Sky. “This is quite a stack of reports you have.”

With a frustrated sigh, the Queen of Gravity said, “I expected unrest to begin when news of Mahou spread, but I never thought it would get this bad. Curse that Queen of War…”

 

The Queen of the Sea cocked an eyebrow. “War has something to do with this…?”

 

“Of course she does! Ever since she came here and fought Land, our people have been worried non-stop. Even after all this time…”

 

She shook her head. Understanding, the Queen of the Sea said, “Oh, yes, War did have a Divine Clash with Land about…500 years ago, didn’t she?”

 

“478 years, 10 months, 8 days.” The numbers were rattled off before the Queen of Gravity even realized what she was doing. “…I’m sorry, but I have to get to work.”

 

“We’ll give you some space, then,” said the Queen of the Sky, ushering the divinity of Sea out into the hall. When some distance had been travelled, she said, “As you can see, that incident is still a bit of a sore spot.”

 

“I had no intention of upsetting her.”

 

“She knows that, but…it was a very difficult time, and the effects are still being felt now, as she just explained.”

 

“So…what exactly did happen? How did War even get into a Clash with Land without being stopped?”

 

The Queen of the Sky shook her head. In a low voice, she explained, “The Queen of War is as skilled in conflict as her name implies. Not only is she a force to be reckoned with in battle, she is a master of psychological warfare as well. Ages ago, reports came in that some of War’s troops were marching towards the Queen of Fire’s region. Gravity paid it no mind, but Land, peacemaker that she is, insisted that they go lend aid to the volcanic lands. Not being able to refuse her request, the Queen of Gravity went to take the troops by surprise before they could even reach Fire’s queendom, and Land was left behind to watch over things.

 

“It was a trap. With the Queen of Gravity about a day’s ride away, the Queen of War strode in practically unopposed, walked right into the heart of this castle, and sought an audience with the Queen of the Land. She knew exactly what she was doing: proving to these people that their rulers could be so very easily manipulated, and that she could have killed them all before either Queen responded. The Queen of the Land stood up to her, challenging her to a Divine Clash. She hoped that by at least challenging this threat, she could re-establish her authority and the people’s faith in their leaders. She succeeded in controlling the damage…but even still, she lost the fight. The Queen of War killed her body, took her Crown, and left.

 

“Gravity was in bad shape when she found out. She wanted to take revenge, but we had to uphold the agreement: if one Queen kills another, she gets to keep the Crown for one year. We were able to keep her calm enough…though as the end of the year drew closer, it became apparent that War was in no rush to bring the Crown back. That made keeping Gravity calm a bit more difficult. Luckily, the Queen of Fire, of all people, swung by War’s castle and offered to bring the Crown here for her. I hear she thought of it as repaying Gravity for trying to help her. Whatever the reason, the Crown was back, so it was given to a new woman and a new Queen of the Land was created.”

 

“But…that’s not the end of it?”

 

“Of course not. Psychological warfare of that scale lasts for centuries, and so does that kind of pain. How would you feel if somebody killed the person you loved, kidnapped their soul, and couldn’t care less about giving it back to you?”

 

After thinking about it for a moment, the Queen of the Sea said, “I don’t think I can imagine that. How does Land feel about everything?”

 

“She doesn’t talk about it much. I don’t think it affected her that badly, though. These days, more than anything, I think she seems irritated with how overprotective Gravity has become.”

 

The Queen of the Sky couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s awful to say, but it looks like after thousands of years of being together, they’re finally getting on each other’s nerves.”

 

The Queen of the Sea frowned. “I hope not. They always look so happy together, and a relationship of that length is really rather inspiring.”

 

The other Queen shrugged. “We’re all part human. Sooner or later, our flaws come out whether we want them to or not.”

 

***

 

The Queen of Light woke up. Unsure of how long she had been asleep, she looked towards the window and saw that it was already dusk.

 

Oh great…

 

Though it was not intended to host a Queen, the chamber was actually very comfortable. Lavish tapestries covered the walls, silk curtains billowed in the breeze, the furniture (a desk, several chairs, and a large wardrobe) were elegantly carved from polished wood, and the bed, beneath its blue-gray canopy, was made with the softest material the Queen of Light had ever felt.

 

All this was a bit lost on her, however. She was distracted by the terrible ache that filled her body.

 

She tried to get up, but the slight movement of her shoulders was enough to rouse the pain of her injuries back to life. Grunting in equal parts anguish and frustration, she ignored it and got up anyway—first rolling onto her side, then propping herself up on one arm, and finally pushing herself into a sitting position. It felt more like she was being mauled by a wild animal.

 

There was a knock at the door, followed by the Queen of the Land’s voice. “Light? Are you awake?”

 

“Yes, I’m up,” the Queen of Light replied. “Please, come in.”

 

The small Queen seemed even shorter as she passed through the massive doors of the chamber. She grabbed a chair and slid it closer to the bed, taking a seat and folding her hands.

 

“Do you feel any better?”

 

“Heh…not exactly,” the Queen of Light grumbled. “But I figured it would get worse before it gets better. I’m just sore, that’s all.”

 

“Is it?”

 

The Queen of Light said nothing. Her host continued to stare at her until she finally relented.

 

“Okay, maybe some of my wounds haven’t entirely healed, but it’s nothing to worry about.”

 

Looking down, the Queen of the Land said, “Sea is worried, though…”

 

Waving her hand, the Queen of Light replied, “Sea worries too much. Believe me, this is—“

 

“I spoke with her earlier…she says your injuries are much worse than you’re letting on. We all suspected that was the case when we first saw you, but the look in her eyes leads me to believe we still underestimated the damage.”

 

“…I’m telling you, she worries too much.”

 

“I’m not so sure. I know what ‘worrying too much’ looks like—I’ve lived with it for over four centuries—and Sea’s emotions seem a bit more justified than the way Gravity operates.”

 

Shaking her head, the Queen of Light was about to continue her insistence, but she was cut off by an observation: “Your hair wasn’t that color when you arrived.”

 

Pulling a lock of her hair forward, the Queen of Light noticed that it was now orange in color. Thinking quickly, she said, “Oh, uh…you’re imagining things! Must be the sunlight. Here, let me fix it.”

 

She waved her hand in the direction of the window, but it was just for show. Hoping the trick to be effective, she instead focused on the light being reflected from her hair, willing its frequency to alter in such a way that its former red appearance would be seen once again.

 

“See?” she said. “Still red. This body’s not that old yet!”

 

“True,” the Queen of the Land said. “Unless your injuries are so severe that they shortened the natural life span of your current body. That’s what your hair color measures, right? As your body nears the end of its life, its hair changes from red to orange to yellow to—“

 

“Land, please,” interrupted the Queen of Light. “I’m sorry to be blunt, and I thank you for the concern, but I really can’t be clearer: I am fine. Please stop worrying.”

 

The Queen of the Land stared at her for a few more moments, and then nodded and smiled. “Alright, if you insist. I wanted to let you know that we set your citizens up without problem. They’re located near the western mountains, a bit south of where the Queen of the Sky’s people are staying.”

 

Feeling relieved, the Queen of Light said, “Oh, thank you. There was a small group that was talking about causing some trouble; I ordered some knights to keep an eye on them, but things could’ve gotten a little hectic while we moved into the camp.”

 

“Now who’s worrying too much?”

 

She chuckled slightly. “Well I am their Queen, after all. It’s only expected I concern myself with their safety.”

 

Feigning awe, the Queen of the Land replied, “Amazing! You must teach me your ways, O Great Queen of Light! Alas, if only I were worthy!”

 

The two Queens laughed at themselves. Rising to her feet (and suppressing any sign of pain), the Queen of Light said, “I think I’ve delayed things long enough. We should go talk with the others, probably.”

 

The Queen of the Land followed her to the door. “I hope this is more interesting than our usual political discussions. Now there’s one thing I don’t mind letting Gravity handle…”