Vendis looked out over the walls in worry. Over the last few days the besiegers had grown more and more concerned over the scattered raids by Kassandra, and only once had the carnage broken out into open warfare in the middle of the night. In that raid the vampire had been spotted and others had attacked her properly, leading to a wide range of explosions and bloodshed during the night. Kassandra had escaped the battle with little more than torn clothing, and the blood-soaked scene revealed by the dawn had been shocking, prompting Kelvanis to attack the city in return.

That attack was going even now, a full day later, and Vendis found herself reassured by the way most of the catapult stones and ballista bolts bounced off the walls with little damage. “I’m glad the walls can repair themselves. Even if they’re tough, this sort of abuse would add up.”

“Agreed,” Slaid replied with a nod, glaring at the enemy force as they started moving up a covered battering ram again. “They just won’t give up, will they?”

“Why would they? They’re your countrymen, aren’t they?” Vendis retorted, faintly amused as she added, “Most people would have given up their rebellion a decade ago.”

“Lady Cascade, you wound me!” Slaid pretended to clutch at his heart and chuckled, smiling and shaking his head before his expression grew more solemn. “But being more serious, I’m surprised. The last time the ram didn’t get to the ramp, let alone much further than that.”

“I doubt they would throw good money after bad, but we can hope,” Vendis agreed, frowning thoughtfully as she watched two golems with arbalests take aim.

The two constructs took their time before firing, their bowstrings loud even with the regular fire of enemy siege engines. Vendis flinched slightly as a ballista bolt bounced off the shield defending the battlements in a spray of crimson energy, but her eyes followed the flight of the heavy bolts of the golems. The distance made it difficult to see for certain, but she saw the bolts hit the heavy wooden canopy and stop.

“I think they added metal plates to the cover. The bolts just stopped,” Vendis told Slaid flatly. “I think we need a couple of the ballista to go after it.”

“Crap. I’ll let their crews know. If not, we do have the water spouts, so we aren’t completely out of luck.” Slaid’s amusement vanished entirely, and he rushed off.

As she studied the ram, Vendis’ worries grew. If it was as sturdy as it looked, the ram was going to be very difficult to stop, unless a ballista hit the wheels. It wasn’t moving fast, which probably meant it was heavily reinforced, though. As she watched the first ballista fired at it, and the massive bolt bounced off due to the angle, spinning into Kelvanis’ army and revealing the gleam of metal beneath the wood.

“Archers!” Vendis called out, gesturing them closer. As the nearby squad approached, she nodded at the ram. “I want you to try and shoot into the gaps of the ram’s cover. They have to see where they’re going and breathe, so there have to be weak points. Try to slow them down and get rid of their porters.”

“Yes, sir!” they chorused, quickly moving into position.

Vendis grew a bit more worried over the next few minutes. None of the attacks were doing much good, though a few of the archers managed to at least get a handful of arrows into the interior of the ram’s canopy and walls. The only moment of hope was when a ballista bolt hit one of the supports, but other than cracking the wooden post it didn’t do much. Even the occasional fire bolts from their magi didn’t seem to be doing much, which was worrisome. Finally it reached the winding path up to the gates and started to crawl its way up, ironically moving faster on the slope than it had over the rocky ground. A moment later one of the other guards, a man who’d been enslaved by Kelvanis until Sistina freed him, vanished into the gatehouse and Slaid returned.

“Well, I suppose we’re about to find out if the water trap will do any good,” he growled, scowling. “I don’t know if you got a look inside, but the damned thing is being pushed by orcs, and they’ve got a pile of magi shielding them.”

“That explains why the fire bolts didn’t do any good,” Vendis commented unhappily. “I hope the water does better.”

“So do I. I don’t know how much water it can put out, though, so it might not…” Slaid began, but his voice trailed off as the sound of water rushing down pipes echoed through the area, and abruptly water began to fountain from pipes all around the gatehouse.

The water wasn’t a trickle, it was coming out with a speed that left Vendis drop-jawed, staring at the foaming water that quickly began forming a small river to flood down the ramp. The first few seconds didn’t have much water behind it, but the ramp’s lip kept the vast majority of the water focused, and the ram visibly slowed in only a few moments.

“Where’s the water coming from?” Vendis asked, stunned.

One of Beacon’s guards was nearby, and the woman smiled. “Someone said that Sistina put in a huge underground reservoir to fuel the defense. She said something about needing water for the dungeon, too.”

Vendis’ response was cut off by a cracking sound from the ram. The support that had been damaged earlier began to break under the rush of water flooding up against the ram, and ever so slowly it began to topple, and the ram’s sheer weight suddenly was turned against it as other supports began to collapse as well.

“Quickly, get ready to hit them!” Slaid called out, and the others prepared themselves.

Vendis readied her own bow, since she didn’t see any point to trying to call out orders now. Their target was obvious. Then the men and women within the ram began abandoning it, and as they did, Beacon’s defenders were waiting.

The hail of attacks decimated the fleeing soldiers almost instantly, and the survivors quickly broke and began to run. Vendis focused on taking down several magi, but as she was taking aim at a third, she saw a faint purple light in the distance, almost like a star that was rocketing toward them.

The afternoon sky was suddenly split by a brilliant crimson bolt of light. It didn’t so much lance across the sky as flash into existence, a lightning-cored crimson beam from the palace that reached out to meet the purple star. When it hit the star, it didn’t stop but kept going until it hit the ground in the distance, and then the light vanished. Everything happened in an instant, leaving Vendis drop-jawed. A few moments later a crash like immense thunder rolled over her and the others, prompting a flinch as it went on and on.

“What in the name of the gods was that?” Slaid asked, looking shaken.

“If I’m not mistaken… that was Tyria, and the Siegebreaker that Sistina was talking about,” Vendis replied hesitantly, her ears still ringing.

“Oh,” Slaid replied, and didn’t say anything more.

Even their opponents seemed cowed by the magic that had just split the sky, and the soft reverberations of thunder echoed from the mountains around them. It seemed that for now, the attack on Beacon was over.

* * *

The temple was finally quieter, and Elissa let out a soft sigh of relief as she reached the private wing for the priestesses. The last few days had been stressful, with a massive surge of people coming to the temple to ask questions, make demands, and attempt to appease Tyria as well.

Her smile faded slightly as she considered what the goddess had done. No matter what Elissa had thought about the goddess, she’d never expected Tyria to incinerate several noble households whose leaders had tortured and murdered their slaves, but she had done so with eerie precision, her flames having left the slaves and innocents completely untouched. How much of it was Medaea’s nature not having vanished, and how much of it were the changes that the faithful had instigated in the goddess, Elissa didn’t know.

Among the common folk and slaves, Tyria had suddenly exploded in popularity due to her actions. Unlike many of the courts and nobles, the goddess simply didn’t care what titles those she judged had, and the sight of someone holding them accountable had delighted a large part of Kelvanis’ underclass. It had also worried those in charge, which left Elissa in a strange position, as many of those who had questions came to her. In all, it had led to a couple of long, exhausting days.

That was why she thought it was time for a soak. The pool where she’d given Diane and Jaine their baptisms was now the private bath for the priestesses after only minor remodeling. The chance to relax would do her a world of good. With that in mind, Elissa grabbed a bathrobe and towel from her rooms and headed toward the bath, humming to herself. She really needed a few more assistants, but none of the acolytes felt right as priestesses, and she was debating whether to open the ranks of the priesthood to men, since they could already be acolytes, but—

Elissa’s thoughts ground to a halt as she opened the door and found the room filled with steam and a glowing figure half-submerged in the bath. The flame within Elissa surged joyfully, and the priestess openly gaped as Tyria opened her eyes and looked at her.

The goddess looked like someone had hit her with a boulder. Half her body was bruised, the skin an ugly purple and faint traces of other wounds on her face, while several regrowing feathers were in her wings. Near the wall behind the goddess was her armor in a pile, most of which had been mangled as well, a sight which utterly shocked Elissa.

“Come in, Elissa, and close the door behind you. You are letting the heat out.” Tyria’s voice was oddly mild, considering her appearance. The priestess numbly obeyed, closing the door behind her and carefully setting her things to the side.

“What happened to you, Your Eminence?” Elissa asked, feeling stunned and somewhat terrified. Anything that could hurt a goddess to that extent was shocking.

“I underestimated the city of Beacon. The light atop the city is not merely decorative, but is a weapon of some kind,” Tyria told her, swirling the water gently. “Where I landed may be a decent-sized pond one day. Much depends on the course water takes. Regardless, I now know the weapon is there, which will aid in future attempts to breach the city.”

“Oh, I… what kind of weapon could harm you to such an extent, Your Eminence?” Elissa asked, feeling breathless now.

“Elissa. You called me Tyria before this, you can once again. It will not anger me.” Tyria’s voice was mild and she gestured Elissa forward. “Now, into the water with you. I’m certain you came here to take a bath.”

“Y-yes, of course,” the priestess agreed, beginning to undress.

Even as she watched, she saw the bruise across Tyria’s body beginning to fade along with the other injuries. The goddess’ armor was also repairing itself slowly, which made Elissa wonder just how badly hurt Tyria had been when she’d been hit. It took a minute, but finally she was undressed and slid into the water, gasping as she found it was just barely cool enough to not burn her.

“I vaguely recognized it as a defensive weapon from before the Godsrage, though this one was much larger than any that I can recall,” Tyria said at last, her voice calm. “I believe they had a variety of names, but such an easily activated version of that strength is unusual. I believe I have a few methods of bypassing it, however, and doubt they would destroy their own city with it.”

“I… I see. That’s good to hear,” Elissa murmured, trying to relax.

“Indeed. Now, Elissa… what is this?” Tyria asked, standing up and pointing directly at the vivid purple slave brand on her lower body, complete with the purple gemstone it framed.

For a moment Elissa forgot to breathe as she looked at her goddess and the brand which controlled her. At least in theory. After a few moments she swallowed and replied softly. “That is a slave brand, Milady. It allows… allows the Archon or his lady, a demon lord named Irethiel, to give you orders and control you.”

“I see. I do not recall this being done of my own accord, which means that it was done as I slept. Perhaps they even did more than that to me,” Tyria mused, her eyes narrowing as she looked down, then snorted. “No matter, I suppose. While irritating, at least I can ensure that if they wish to give any orders, they will have to find me and do so in person.”

Elissa was about to say something, but paused as the goddess flicked a finger and a series of symbols rippled and flowed across her body like a shell. Moments later the symbols vanished, and Elissa asked, “May I ask what you did?”

“Of course. I blocked the ability of others to send me messages. I will still hear prayers, but prayers cannot convey commands like you speak of,” the goddess replied readily, smiling thinly. “Perhaps they will be put out, but it is only what they deserve.”

“Why is that? I mean… you’re the Goddess in Chains, aren’t you?” Elissa asked, feeling quite confused.

“Yes, I am. However, my creed is that one should possess a worthy master. The Archon has yet to prove himself worthy of my regard in any way, and his Lady even less so. Should they prove themselves, I will acquiesce utterly, but until that time I will not,” Tyria explained, settling back into the water. “Remember, Elissa, I believe that the master should be worthy of the follower. What kind of master makes to claim via subterfuge and dishonesty? Not one that I would choose. I would rather face them and, should I fail, submit at that point. In that, those in Beacon at least impressed me, as did the elves. They showed courage.”

“I think I understand. I just… it was not what I was teaching the congregation, My Lady,” Elissa replied, sinking into the water up to her neck.

Tyria smiled in return, shaking her head as her wounds continued to vanish, her voice filled with confidence. “Ah, but it was. You may not have realized it, but it was what you were teaching, Elissa.”

Elissa’s didn’t dare say anything more, simply staring back at the goddess as she smiled and relaxed. The priestess thought back to her lessons, and began to wonder if she’d possibly miscalculated in her decisions when talking to Ulvian. If she had… well, at this point she didn’t consider it a bad thing.