Beneath the Dragoneye Moons

Chapter 466: The Saturnalia

Chapter 466: The Saturnalia

Being a War Sentinel wasn’t all fun and games. I felt the crushing responsibility of the lives of the [Legionnaires] in my hands, and the stress and pressure was steadily growing as the fated day to leave approached.

The Legion was divided into eight cohorts, each headed by a [Tribune]. Generally, most issues simply needed one, sometimes two cohorts dispatched to handle the issue. It let the Legion handle several things at once, and I’d imagine I’d start dipping my toes into ‘real’ conflicts by tagging along with a cohort on a light mission or two.

Instead, I was being thrust into the deep end by having the entire legion deployed at once.

There was the other side of the coin to the whole thing.

Occasionally, now and then, being War Sentinel Dawn was all fun and games.

It was the Saturnalia! A festival deep in winter, celebrating the end of the old year, and welcoming in the new year. In one of the rare meetings I had to attend, Legata Katerina made clear that we’d finished shuffling the members of the Legions around, and that we all needed to put forth maximum effort during the Saturnalia as a bonding activity.

“The [Legionnaires] need to know, like, and trust each other before we put them at the business end of a spear.” The Legata gruffly told us all.

On paper, I was the single most powerful Classer in the Sixth Legion. That was the whole point of a War Sentinel - if someone else was stronger, if someone else had more sway to how the course of battle went, shouldn’t they be the War Sentinel instead?

In practice, nothing was that simple, and most everyone knew it.

It did mean that Katerina wanted me highly visible on all the events, along with several other members of the Legion.

I woke up bright and early on the morning of the Saturnalia to an unusually hot bed. [The World Around Me] helpfully let me know that Auri was right next to me, burning brightly but carefully not setting anything on fire.

“Auri?” I asked, a little confused at her presence, and why she was burning so hotly. “Is everything alright?”

“Brrrpt!” She reassured me, and I cracked an eye open and smiled at her, slowly stroking her flames.

“You’re sweet, but you know that’s not what I meant.”

I’d idly dropped yesterday that I was sad about my bed being cold, and Auri had figured out a literal way to help out.

I had some hopes that Iona would’ve managed to find a way to pop back briefly for one of the winter celebrations, but so far I’d had no luck. No letters either, but that was only to be expected. Even if she sent a letter the second she landed in Vollomond, she’d likely be back before any of them arrived.

Heck, I was likely to be in the Han empire before any of them even left the kingdom!

“Ready for the big day?”

“Brrrpt!!”

Auri had been working hard on her various flames, and had worked out a few browns and greys, letting her ‘dress up’ like she was wearing a miniature suit of armor. It was adorable. She even had a new ‘hat’ added to her collection! A miniature helmet, exactly like a [Legionnaires].

Sadly, the Sixth was stationed at their fort, and it wasn’t near Sanguino. I didn’t have the luxury of a slow morning. I hit myself with [Sunrise] and used [Blink] to get out of bed and instantly undressed.

[*ding!* [Blink] leveled up! 46 -> 47]

I was trying to use [Blink] whenever it was halfway reasonable to, working on grinding the level up. It was sloooooow. Painfully slow. The low stakes of each [Blink], combined with having infinite things to do, meant I didn’t always remember.

“Flame bath?” I asked Auri, who promptly obliged.

“Thanks!”

“Brrrpt!”

I shuffled closer to my closet until a tunic was close enough through a wall that I could [Rapid Reshelving] it straight onto my body, instantly getting dressed.

No level this time.

Between [The World Around Me], [Blink], and [Rapid Reshelving], I was regretting not making more secret rooms, passages, and storage closets in the villa. I could easily see and access things inside them, while they weren’t immediately obvious to anyone else.

Maybe one day we’d make an expansion to the place, and I’d squirrel away as many secret parts as I could. Or even make the entire thing secret!

The imagination boggled at all the things possible with magic, and I didn’t even have a building skill! Silly things were possible with that.

I wondered if anyone made a castle inside a cloud? It should be doable, the only question was mana and power requirements… levitating stuff was expensive.

I walked over to the armory where I kept my ceremonial gear, and another round of [Rapid Reshelving] got me geared up in no time at all. The only interesting thing was I needed to lift my feet slightly when teleporting my greaves on. Couldn’t just teleport them onto my feet, there was the floor in the way!

I continued to marvel at Harper’s skill. I looked amazing. All sharp black with subtle red lines. She knew her business! My pair of badges - the Sentinel one, and my own personal emblem - finished the look.

No helmet, of course. The armor was ceremonial, the whole point of the event was to see each other, smile, and make friends.

I just needed to shrug my shoulders and twist my elbows a bit to remind myself that the straps were all at the right positions. It still felt weird for a moment, I wasn’t yet used to teleporting my armor on myself.

I popped into the smaller kitchen for a minute, where Auri was fretting, making sure all the food was ‘just right’ for our guests - Artemis and Julius figured staying with friends was far nicer than getting lost in the city - and the man in question was nursing a mug of something warm and sweet smelling.

“Morning, Julius!” I said with a cheer only possible thanks to [Sunrise].

He lifted the mug in a toast.

“Morning. Your big celebration is today, yeah?”

“Yup!”

He nodded.

“Listen. I know you’re going to be tempted to focus on the appearances, and nail that aspect. I have no doubt you’ll do that well. Remember though, this isn’t just a ‘Dawn looks nice’ event. Mingle. Meet people. Otherwise, they’ll think you’re standoffish. That you think you’re better than they are.”

Julius gave me a Look over his mug, making the rest of what he wanted to say clear.

Old instincts died hard, and Julius was still my commanding officer in them. I did resist the urge to salute him - it’d be entirely inappropriate, given that I was in my full ceremonial Sentinel gear.

“Understood.”

Strangely, I felt more confident than I had before. Maybe being ordered to do social stuff was an option?

Oh wait.

Pastos.

Nevermind.

“I should get going.” I said, hoping that history wouldn’t repeat itself, and privately deciding that seeming a little standoffish was a better option than a repeat.

“Brrrpt!” Auri exploded into one last flurry of flames, getting everything just right.

“I know how bread works.” Julius made a shooing motion. “Go on, don’t be late.”

I gave him one last smile and bolted out of the place, pausing only a moment to pull out my spellbook and cast the magical equivalent of a delayed stinkbomb right outside the room Artemis was still sleeping in.

Hey, she started it!

“Sentinel Dawn. Excellent! Your schedule.” Leonidus, the second-in-command of the Legion, handed over my schedule for the day. Most of it looked pretty normal, but…

“We’re replacing Wren with Hazel?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. Last I knew, Wren was the third judge on most events, along with the Legata and I. “Also, an alchemy contest? Please don’t tell me I’m going to be drinking random potions.”

Leonidus gave me a pointed look.

“If you attended the meetings you’d know all this already.” He pointedly remarked. “I know you’re new, I know you’re still assembling your team, but unless you strongly object in the next meeting I bring it up in, I’m assigning you a liaison. Nike. She’s the head of the Battery line you’ve been asking about.”

I opened my mouth to protest, then thought about it.

Wait.

He wasn’t letting me protest now. He was going to bring it up in a future meeting, and I’d need to be at said meeting to protest. Either I started attending all the meetings to object - at which point Leonidus won anyway - or I accepted with good grace, got a liaison, and started to regularly meet with one of the people I’d be working closely with.

“To answer your questions - yes. Wren argued that he should participate directly in all the events as the Primus Pilus. Sitting on a table does him no good, and he persuaded the Legata. As for the potions?” Leonidus gave an evil grin. “Nobody says you have to drink them to judge them, which is always a source of hilarity in alchemy contests. They’re all over there stirring up the best potions they can think of, then Katerina judges them on their color. The first year she did it…” Leonidus trailed off with a silly look on his face.

I glanced at Auri, who was practically vibrating with excitement.

“We’ll see.” I told the little pyro. Hey, if we could be ridiculous in our judging criteria, why not?

Some more shuffling around, and I found myself sitting in some prime seats in a makeshift arena, next to Katerina and Hazel. Reed stood behind us, ready to amplify Katerina’s voice or make his own announcements. A few [Runners], [Scribes], and [Assistants] were hanging out with us, Katerina’s perpetual escort. She never knew when she’d need to send messages or need a hand with something, and today was no exception. Most of her escort had been peeled off to help Leonidus, who was actually running the event instead of presiding over it. The soldiers had built the arena themselves under Centurion Rhoda’s supervision. Good camaraderie exercise, and it helped flex the fort-building muscles the Legions were supposed to be famous for.

I had a sneaking suspicion that Rhoda would be building siege weapons and demolishing the arena after all the events were done. Everyone liked blowing things up.

Actually…

“When’s the stadium being destroyed?” I asked Katerina.

She snorted her amusement.

“Good morning Sentinel Dawn. How are you? Is the Saturnalia so terrible that you’re already asking about when we’re going to demolish the place?” Katerina had a little bit of bite to her words. I backpedaled hard.

“Whoa! No, I just haven’t been around anything big getting destroyed near me like this.” I had a few experiences that sort of counted, but nothing so direct. The Formorian walls had already been down when we made it there, trees weren’t buildings, Ochi was still standing when I’d left, etc. “I figured I should be there and get some experience before having it happen for real.”

“Wise. Next week.” Katerina told me. “First thing in the morning.”

Hazel leaned over.

“Do you want a particular role, just observe, or be in the trenches?” She asked.

“I think I need to meet with Nike, then Katerina, I think we should discuss exactly how I operate as a War Sentinel. Flying overhead is fine in drills and practice sessions, but it paints the biggest fucking target on my back. I think deception, smoke and mirrors, is the name of the game here.”

“Aye, we’ll discuss it later.” Katerina agreed, then focused on the growing crowd, looking kindly, but imperious. Aloof, yet approachable. No idea how she did it, but I was conscious of how many eyes were on us.

My vanity wouldn’t let me present anything less than my best, and I subtly traced a spell with my fingertip to help with my hair.

In a weird twist, the System-imposed vanity from my companion bond with Auri was steamrolling my desire and urge to fidget and move so hard I didn’t even feel it. I briefly marveled at the sensation.

Was this what life was like for everyone else?! Did people really have it this easy? Fuck, I’d been robbed.

Optio Beatrix brought her lines out to the floor of the stadium, the 24 of them either helping to drag a small altar out to the middle of the field, or holding various sacrifices.

That’s what the [Priests] had determined was the ‘right thing’ to do in the current day and age. It didn’t surprise me that the larger gods ended up with a more primitive set of rituals. When everything went to shit, I imagined the biggest, strongest gods got the most attention, people eagerly throwing whatever they could in their general direction. Some people - mostly those deep in the priesthood or highly educated, like those from the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft - knew that it was people who had made the rituals, and the gods simply accepted them.

Most didn’t.

Thanatos, god of death, demanded a crow or a dove to be sacrificed in his name. We had found a crow, cawing balefully in its cage, flapping its wings against the bars. Aion, goddess of life, required a domesticated animal. Beatrix had obtained a huge bull in the prime of his life, over level 100. Papilion wanted an animal of change. Frogs and butterflies were common, and the god/dess was something of an asshole regarding the slime debate. They refused to answer the question of ‘is a slime an acceptable sacrifice’ in any way, shape, or form.

Sure, it was people who made the rituals. It was somewhat ironic to me - people kept arguing about the status of slimes, yet it was people who could figure it out. If the consensus was that slime sacrifice worked, it’d work. If the consensus went in the other direction, it wouldn’t work.

Didn’t stop Papilion from being an asshole. They could decree an answer one way or another and stop the fighting. At least, that was my amateur theological understanding of the matter.

It had to be more complicated than that though - the high priests weren’t idiots. If it was that simple, wouldn’t they just… fix the problem?

The bigger the offering, the larger the sacrifice, the happier the gods, and the more likely they were to bless us in the coming year. For Papilion, Beatrix had gotten her hands on an enormous serpent, its skin starting to molt.

The goddess Seira, divinity of order, required a colony insect sacrificed in her name. Ants and termites were hugely popular sacrifices, given how much of a pest they were, and the goddess liked them just as much as bees. Glass walls enclosed an entire fire ant’s hive. They weren’t native to the area, but no expense was being spared.

Not when we knew we were deploying soon. It hadn’t been announced to the general troops yet, but people weren’t stupid. They could put one and one together. A massive reshuffling of troops? The logistics clerks chatting about all the different weapons being obtained? A dramatic upping of drills?

They knew something was up, just not what.

Xaoc, lord of chaos, had a singular demand.

Cats.

No other creature would serve, and an evil-looking mouser, missing an ear and with an ugly scar slashing across his face was hissing at everyone and everything.

The [Priests] and [Chaplains] arranged the animals onto their respective portion of the altar, or, in the bull’s case, near Aion’s side. Order opposed Chaos as Life opposed Death, with Change in the center, mediating it all. Katerina got up, and I mimicked Hazel in staying seated. Reed amplified everything Katerina said, letting everyone hear her.

“Sixth Legion!” She roared. “The Dread!”

Cheers and screams of approval met her opening of the ceremonies.

“Welcome! Welcome, old soldiers, who’ve been with us for decades. Welcome, new legionnaires, who’ve just joined us. I say this with complete confidence - we are the single best Legion in the entire Empire!”

Katerina’s speech whipped the crowd up into a frenzy. Lots of ‘we’re the best, rah rah rah, we’ll crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and hear the lamentations of their women’.

I felt myself getting caught up in the excitement, but I deliberately tried to separate myself from it. I didn’t want to be a blind fanatic, unquestioningly supporting the Empire.

I was a Sentinel, yes, but that didn’t mean I was going to leave my senses at home.

The Legata kept the speech short and sweet, then handed it over to Optio Beatrix. The [Chaplain] began her own speech.

“Welcome friends. Another year gone. Another year ahead of us. Today, we thank the gods and goddesses above for their blessings, and hope to see them again in the coming year. We thank the Emperor for his strong leadership. The Senate for their wise guidance. The…”

No wonder Katerina could keep her speech short and whipping people up. She’d delegated the boring speeches to everyone else!

“We give thanks to Aion, and her gift of life.” Beatrix announced, and the [Priest] ritualistically sliced the bull’s neck open, the life-blood spilling all over the goddess’s portion of the altar. The bull kicked and bucked as its life spilled out, the holy men and women effortlessly dodging its thrashes. A skill was clearly being used with the blood, directing it to the altar. Not a single drop landed on the ground.

The bull died, and was promptly castrated, the remains thrown onto the altar. One of Beatrix’s seconds raised his arms, sent up a prayer, and ignited the altar.

The magic didn’t care that blood wasn’t normally flammable.

“Brrrpt.” Auri observed with interest.

The rest of the bull was hauled away, to be a centerpiece on one of the feasts. I was pretty sure I was scheduled for that one.

“We give thanks to Thanatos, and his gift of death.” Beatrix announced next, and the crow’s neck was swiftly snapped, the body placed on the altar and ignited moments later.

Much easier than the bull. The gods didn’t care about the disparity in difficulty.

“We give thanks to Papilion, and their gift of change.” Beatrix announced. The serpent was placed, cage and all, on top of the middle of the altar, Papilion’s place in the Big Five pantheon. A blade was plunged through the cage, and it took the combined efforts of most of the priests to keep things under control.

The snake was skinned right then and there, the scales thrown onto the altar and immolated with the rest. The body was hauled away, and I mentally debated if I was going to have some snake at lunch.

“We give thanks to Seira, and her gift of order.” The ants were placed, enclosure and all, on Seira’s portion of the altar, and ignited while alive.

I’d burned plenty of Formorians to death. I didn’t have a leg to stand on to complain.

"We give thanks to Xaoc, and his gift of chaos.” Beatrix put the final offering on the altar, the cat.

Then she opened the cage, releasing the cat into the world. Letting a little more chaos roam around.