THEOS

The trio sitting on the back of the griffin exchanged awkwards glances, as the sound of hammering metal resumed.

“We have to talk to her again.” Nel yelled over the noise.

“Are you sure she won’t just blast us out of the sky?” Luke asked, knowing that it was a pointless question. He could tell that Nel wouldn’t back down. Not with her home and family on the line.

“No.” She patted her familiar, and they were once again cutting through the sky towards the source of the noise.

That’s just great. Let's totally go and bother the super powerful being that can probably kill all of us as easily as she breathes after she told us to leave.

The closer they got, the louder the sound of her forge became.

“Are those–” Luke said dumbly, looking at the shockwaves moving through the air in beat with Sophia’s hammering.

“Yeah.” Rex said. “The air is distorting with the strength of her strikes.”

How strong does someone need to be to make the air shatter? He felt his mouth go dry at the thought. And we’re going to talk to her, when she’s already said she doesn't want to. He stared at Nel’s back, as they traveled further and further into the One-Eyed Giant’s domain. A small primal part of him screamed in his mind that what they were doing was insane. Every instinct he had said that it was madness to test the patience of someone who was so much stronger than them.

“So, what’s the plan now?” He asked.

“Grandfather suspected that she wouldn’t agree right away, and he gave me some gifts to pass on to her.” She said reluctantly.

“Oh. That’s good.” Any plan is good.

“Mhm.”

“What gifts?” Rex asked.

“I don’t know. Grandfather instructed me not to look.”

“What?” Rex said incredulously. “Why can’t we look?”

Her cheeks turned red. “The gifts are in a storage ring and it’s enchanted so that I can’t –”

“Um. We might have a problem.” Rex interrupted the two.

Sophia had materialized. Or perhaps she had always been there, but was only now allowing them to see her. Whatever the case, her sudden appearance left Luke in awe.

She was well over a hundred feet tall. With long blond hair that reached her waist, and pale skin that seemed to glow from the inside. She was dressed entirely in black leather, but what manner of beast could provide so much of it and in a piece big enough to dress a giant was a mystery.

She’s pretty. Luke thought numbly as he stared at her. He had expected for her to be big, given her epithet, but he hadn’t expected her to be proportional. As it was, she looked like someone had taken a lithe human woman, subtracted an eye, and made her bigger. Much bigger.

“Why are you still here, Descendants of Cyzicus?” She grumbled, blinking her large blue eye slowly as she slung her hammer over her back. The gust of air from the casual movement pushing the griffin back a dozen feet in the air.

I’m not a descendant of Cyzicus – I think, but either way now doesn’t seem like the time to correct her. Especially if being related to him makes her less likely to kill us.

“We offer you these gifts.” Nel yelled back. Reaching into her robe, she pulled out a ring, staring at it nervously for a second, she telekinetically lifted it off her open palm, and moved it through the air towards the giant.

Sophia cocked her head to the side. Lifting her hand, the action once again stirring the wind to an unreasonable degree, she curled her fingers toward herself.

Immediately Luke’s mind flashed back to his death. His heart beat in anticipation, as a force he was helpless against seized him with no regard to his will, and tugged them forward along with the offered ring.

The storage ring landed on her finger, and rapidly began to increase in size. Grinning eagerly, Sophia slid it on to her finger.

“That Cyzicus. He’s always been a charmer.” She said, her cheeks turning a rosy pink.

He’s a what? Cyzicus you sly old dog! Luke grinned as he watched Nel and Rex share an extremely awkward glance. Clearly, neither of them had expected that response from her. Even if it was much better than either of them had expected.

The trio watched with a mix of curiosity and apprehension as the Cyclops closed her eye in concentration. A moment later, a hissing noise followed by a click came from the ring. It flashed three times. A letter, proportional in size to her appeared in her hand, followed by the largest teddy bear Luke had ever seen, and a single, equally large, blue flower.

Sophia’s face grew even redder, and her breath sped up in anticipation. Tucking the flower behind her ear she unfolded the letter. Her eye darted across its surface with startling speed, and a smile grew on her face.

“EEEP.” She squealed. Cupping her cheek with an open palm. “He finally agreed. I knew he would!” She bounced up and down excitedly.

“What does the letter say?” Nel asked cautiously.

She grinned at them, and turned the letter towards them. It read:

My Darling Sophia,

The time has finally come for me to take you as my bride. My Grandaughter, Agnella, grows more capable every day and I suspect in a few short years she will be strong enough to succeed me as Empress of Slycra. Allowing me to finally be free from the burden of my throne, and for us to be together.

Alas, not all is well. The wretched woman, Tyrisa of Peles, has crawled out of the mud in order to steal my precious kingdom. As you know, she is quite the slippery one, and I must thicken my skin and ask for your help.

I can kill her, of this I assure you, but it will take me time. With the Giant Tide so near, time is a luxury I do not possess much of. It would gladden me greatly if you could join my grandchildren, and return with them to the Capital. So that when the time comes, you can aid my Warriors in fending off the Tide for another cycle. It is an exhausting task, but I have trained my subordinates well, they will not require much direction or aid. Merely your mana to move them through space, and perhaps they will ask you to defeat a Hero-tier giant if one is born.

I know you hate the humdrum of civilization and prefer to avoid the company of many. If the idea of residing in the Capital, for however short an amount of time, is not to your taste, I beseech you to join me in battle. For I am confident that the two of us together will triumph over this wicked woman who dares presume that she can take what is mine.

I apologize for being curt, but my blood boils with rage when I think of her. Just a short while ago, I received news that she killed my grandson, Algres. While he was a no good scoundrel, ruining my good name just like his father did before him, he was still family. The death of which I cannot leave unpunished.

I am leaving now to find and kill her. I suspect she lurks in the Northern Marshes. Hiding among the hydras like the snake she is. I aim to end this feud between the two of us, before it devolves into a war. It is the only way.

I gladly await your arrival by my side, or news that you have entered the Capital.

No matter what choice you make, I would like to bequeath to you half of the Island of Slycra, and name you Empress of all land to the east of Nalion.

With Love,

Cyzicus.

“Is he serious about making you Empress?” Rex said dumbly after reading the letter.

“Why is that a surprise? He's been saying that since I became a Warrior.”

“Yes but–”

“But what?”

“I thought he was just doting on you, because you're his only granddaughter. I didn’t think he actually meant it. I thought it would be our Uncle Al who became Emperor.”

“Uncle Alkis?” Nel scoffed. “Why would he be Emperor? He has no hope of breaking into the Hero-tier, and he's a no-good scoundrel. I don’t think anyone has even seen him for decades. Grandfather would be insane to trust him with the throne. Maybe if it was Cousin Yannis, but even he has no hope of breaking into the Hero-tier.”

“I gu–”

“Guys.” Luke interrupted them, tapping Rex urgently on the shoulder. “While I’m sure that Nel succeeding Cyzicus is fascinating, we have bigger things to worry about.”

They both immediately straightened up, and met Sophia’s large blue eye.

“I have no interest in going to the Capital.” She said flatly. “I shall head west and meet Cyzicus in the marshes.”

“Thank you Lady Sophia.” Nel bowed her head slightly.

“No need for that, little Empress.” She chided, floating into the air as she did. Her form began to ripple, and to their astonishment, she began to shrink, and fast.

I wonder which one is her actual height. Luke thought to himself, as both her and her clothes rapidly shrunk. At least the thing with Cyzicus makes more sense now that I know she shrinks. The logistics otherwise– He shook his head slightly. Keep it clean, Luke. No need to go there. No need at all.

Once the transformation was complete, she stood in the air, meters away from them. The ring Nel had given her flashed a handful of times, and both the letter and the teddy bear disappeared. Leaving only the blue flower tucked behind her ear, which had shrunk with her.

Is this it then? Mission complete. She has the letter, and she’s going to help Cyzicus. If he’s right about how this will play out, then the two of them together should be able to beat the rebel.

Which means I can go back to the Capital, and train for the Olympics worry free until the Tide.

Sophia lifted her hand, and balled her fingers into a fist.

Metal shredded the earth beneath them, and rose into the sky.

She pulled her hammer from her back, and struck the air. A shockwave traveled out, and the metal split into countless metallic ropes.

“What are you doing?” Nel asked, her eyes wide, as she patted the side of her griffin. Desperately attempting to make the creature fly away. It didn’t.

The ropes latched onto their hands and feet and imprisoned them in space.

“What are you–” Nel asked again, struggling against her bonds.

The cyclops flew forward, and placed a single finger on her lips.

“Hush child. I mean you no harm.” She said, a soothing but creepy smile on her face.

Luke attempted to break free of his bonds, but he might as well have been an ant struggling inside a glass jar. He was too weak. They all were.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Rex asked angrily. Glaring at the cyclops with blistering rage. “The letter said that you and Gramps wanted to get married, so what’s this about?”

Sophia smiled. “As I was saying, I don’t mean to harm any of you. If however she is meant to succeed Cyzicus,” her lone eye locked onto Nel’s, “then I cannot risk her coming to harm. I shall join your Grandfather in his hunt, but if he really means to retire then nothing can happen to his heir. As such, you three will stay here while the situation outside resolves itself.”

“I appreciate your kind gesture.” Nel said urgently. “But there is more going on outside, than just the war. The Olympics are in six months, and I need to train–”

“Enough.” Sophia said. “I care not for the gods, or their games. You will stay here, and you will be safe. As for your training…” She bit her lip, her eyes darting between the three of them. “I will give you four– No ten sheep.” She said grudgingly, as if she had done them a great favor. “It’s the least I can do for my new family.”

The fuck am I supposed to do with a sheep? Luke thought incredulously.