In this chapter . . . revelations! Finally, the plot threads all come together in time for the final act. At least I hope they do. I've tried not to leave any loose ends hanging, and I hope that you like the way I tied them all up.
And as always, thanks to my wonderful editor moncrifelle for the hard work.
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Gladia stretched and yawned as she woke. She couldn't remember feeling so rested in ages. It had been one thing after another—escaping from the castle, moving to Asdale, becoming reunited with her family, and then having to recruit Malgos to the resistance's cause. She had barely had any time to catch her breath, and she now relished in full the wonderful feeling that only came with a good night's rest.
Speaking of which, the Mad Mage was lying next to her, snoring fit to wake the dead. Upon arriving at headquarters, he had begun barking orders and ordering the staff about—actions which didn't exactly make him popular among the resistance forces, but they complied duly. Upon getting everything in order—which to him meant a room, a feather bed and a feast fit for a king—he had proceeded to eat his fill and then fuck Gladia upon said bed until he fell asleep. Once again, the queen was thoroughly unsatisfied with his performance. She had never had to fake so many orgasms in her life! But she left him slumbering and none the wiser. At the very least she got a good meal and a night's rest out of it.
So now what was she to do? Malgos had been sated and feted, and unlike her children, she was no mage or warrior. She had done her part in bringing Malgos to their cause, and his abilities had better be worth the time and effort she spent in doing so! Now there was nothing for her to do but wait.
No, that wasn't entirely true. Not nothing. There were things that she still wanted to know. And now, the eve of the battle, it was a good a time as any to learn what they were. She had tried on her trek up the hill to the Mad Mage's castle to piece together the disparate threads of what information she had, and failed. No, far better to simply ask the resistance directly. Suiting action to word, Gladia slipped out of bed and walked into the council hall.
It proved an easy enough task to find one of the hooded figures. Preparations for the upcoming siege were in full swing, with arrows being fletched and armor battered in shape everywhere, but sure enough Tyzhe was flitting to and fro, supervising the work being done. She fixed him with an icy stare and motioned him (it? she?) to the side.
For once, the figure simply nodded and acceded to her request. No equivocations, explanations or obfuscatory comments. Things must be serious indeed to warrant such a response.
Gladia spoke plainly. "Whoever, or whatever you are, this has gone on far enough. If we are to risk life and limb for you, we deserve some answers about the resistance—about why you are doing this, and about the Crimson Mage."
The figure nodded once more, and drew back it's hood to reveal . . .
The face of an elfslut.
The queen couldn't help but take a step backwards in shock. The female (very female!) figure standing in front of her looked like her daughter, but there were certain key differences. Where Daphnia's skin was golden, the formerly hooded figure's skin was an emerald green, and where the princess had long hair, this one had short. Besides though, there was no mistaking the tapered ears, almond shaped eyes, and preternaturally beautiful facial features that all elfsluts had. The robes were too long to tell, but in all probability what they concealed was the ultra-voluptuous body of a transformed woman.
The figure, or the elfslut, rather, spoke and this time it was in a high, almost bell-like tone of voice. It seemed that they had been using magic to mask their voices before. Were all of them elfsluts as well? But she put her questions aside and focused on the sound of Tyzhe's voice.
"We know not if you have guessed, Your Highness, but the resistance as you know it is comprised of transformees. Yes, we are all like you, or your son, or daughter—victims of transformation magic, and our story is a long one.
"Rampillion did not start his reign of terror with Erecia. No, he was active a long, long time ago, long before you were born.
"The story does not start with him alone. Rampillion's teacher was a mage called Barglais, and it was he who first created the transformation magic that has wreaked so much havoc in your life and ours. He was an alchemist, not a mage, and his potions were much in demand for reasons that you can imagine."
Here, Gladia started in shock, and Tyzhe nodding knowingly. "Yes, you guess correctly. The potion that transformed you was one of his. It had probably been procured many years before you were even born, in the case of emergency. I would say that it has served its purpose well enough.
"But after decades of willful transformation of man, woman and beast alike, Barglais grew tired. He wished to retire, and in choosing to do so he passed on his knowledge to his apprentice—the man you know as Rampillion. The self-styled Crimson Mage decided to forego potions and work with more . . . direct methods. He toppled kingdom after kingdom, enslaving others for the sheer joy of it. For a long time, no one dares oppose him, until the resistance was formed.
"All of us who wear these hoods are actually victims of Rampillion's magic. Male or female, we managed to find others like us while living our cursed existence. Powerful though he is, Rampillion is also careless, or perhaps he thinks himself so mighty that his victims are powerless before him. That is where we will prove him wrong.
"One-by-one we rallied ourselves, finding like minds and a similar cause. We had been warriors, mages, archers, politicians, and even now as slaves and elfsluts, we retained much of our former abilities. We used our bodies to earn coin and build connections where we could, and slowly and quietly gathered strength for the coming storm. It took years—decades—but eventually we had mages, swords and slaves of our own at our command.
"Why Erecia, you ask? It was mainly the luck of the draw. We had planned to make our move sooner or later, but when Rampillion struck again we decided we had waited long enough. You and your children have proven essential to our efforts, and for that we thank you. Your daughter was instrumental in gathering intelligence, and her magical knowledge helpful beyond measure. Your son has agreed to lead our charge, and you have brought us the arcane might we need to spearhead it. Our eternal gratitude is yours.
"And there you have it, Your Highness. The answers that you sought." The elfslut smiled and spread her hands wide. "Do they satisfy you? Are you still with us?"
Gladia took a while to let it all sink in. The true shape of the resistance was transformed slaves just like her and her children who had been waging a shadow war for a long time, seeking to topple the Crimson Mage and his evil deeds. It was a lot to take it at once, but it did explain almost everything that she had once wondered about.
The Queen of Erecia looked Tyzhe in her eyes and gave a firm and decisive nod. "Yes, I am. We must stop that monster by all means necessary."