[Center][h2]What is a Calla Lily?[/h2][/center]


	It didn’t feel right, not at first. With war on the horizon it felt wrong to simply leave node 14, but it was just for now — and thankfully the usual entourage of paladins had felt the blessing of speed so the trip away and back would be sooner than anyone could muster and march an army or so Benea hoped. 

	The goddess kept her lips pursed as she cut through node 13, noting Dzallitsunya’s work, and then she kept her eyes down as she sped through node 7, not ready yet. She would return shortly and touch base with her beloved Dzallitsunya, but not now. Benea kept her head north as she thought of Xavior; he too would need her soon, if not to shake a fist at, but to embrace. Maelite’s chill lingered on Benea’s left cheek, but she cast Monica from her mind (though not her heart).

	Node 6 was next, and it was glorious. Benea’s thoughts melted away when she saw it. The meadows were brimming with life and the paladins she left behind were marching in blocks, seeing the citizens happy and safe. Bronze from Xavior had reached this far north and barter was slowly being bought out by the use of the demon god’s coins. Houses of grey stock and thick thatch dotted the dirt roads of the node, laying claim to endless farms and happy faces.

	A choke caught Benea’s throat when she saw the mountains in the distance, only to threaten wet eyes when she saw the castle that they had built around her node. Passing citizens and gregarious paladins excitingly explained that her white gazebo still stood in the central courtyard, waiting for her.

	“Welcome home, my Queen.” Jermane muttered.

	“I’m more home than you know, my sweet,” Benea answered without taking her eyes off the mountain range. “Let us meet with the commander.” 


[hr]

	“So what exactly is a calla lily?” Paladin Raunbalden asked with an eye squinted with curiosity. The man was standing guard outside the massive floor to ceiling doors that enclosed the meeting room of the Pristine Castle. He was on guard with six others, two on his side of the door with him, the Janitor in the center and three on the opposite end. His question was targeted at one of the nine Elite Paladins that once followed Benea around node 14 and back, now only to sit on red cushions and wait for her to return (except Jermane of course).

	Karlene blinked. “It’s a lily.”

	“No it isn’t.” Renault shook his head. “Don’t you know?”

	Karlene pushed, “It [i]is[/i] a lily.”

	“Nah,” Renault answered again. “Frederick?”

	Frederick, a tall and broad man dressed in rigid armor curled a finger under his lip. “It isn’t, not really. It’s a false lily.”

	Karlene made a face. “How can you even tell?”

	“That’s why it’s called a calla lily,” Renault explained (without much substance). “Because it looks like a lily.”

	“Then what the hell is the point in calling yourself the Cala Lily Goddess?” Karlene cursed. Before anyone could answer, the doors to the meeting room were swung open. The janitor himself had his hand outstretched as if he was about to be the one to do so — but instead Jermane stood in the center of the open doors, stoic eyes under the pink kiss on his forehead.

	Benea, the Cala Lily Goddess, stood behind him, her hands folded at her waist and a soft smile on her lips. She stood like a lily, in the sense that her dress perfectly matched the flow of the white pedals, with the difference being a golden crown rung around her head.

	“Recruiters far and wide will bring new bravery to the ranks,” The Queen said to no one in particular. “A special branch shall be garrisoned on the Road of Light, maintaining it and the safety of its travelers. Incumbent paladins will train hard in our lands and on the road, and in the same turn, they will train retainers. We have an order to upkeep.”

	Everybody in the foyer bent forward with respect. “My Queen.”
	

[hr]

	Two things happened after that. Two very important things that should have taken longer, but a certain fever had overtaken Benea, anyone could see that. First, she took node 2. She took it easily. A Chameleon of chaos and destruction owned the tainted lands, but even so it was no match for Benea’s paladins. Jermane and Larissa held it in place while Frederick and Karlene gutted it. The node was quickly turned into a land of white winter, fit with fjords and valleys. Some paladins were sent there to train their endurance. A mountain range in the northwest connected the mountains of node 6 to the ocean.

	Second, Benea made her way to the first node, Node 1. There, a pack of strange beasts challenged her, but she didn’t pay them any mind. By this point, she had more than her original surviving 9 paladins with her, and the enemy was held back while she stared at the node. She stared at it with a wrinkled brow, her hand hovering just out of reach from the black material. With a final breath, she pushed herself to touch it, and so a land littered with alpine mountains and peaks that broke the clouds was born. A small meadow pooled where the opening to node 6 was, but other than that, it was all alpine.

	Hidden in the mass of mountains was the node, and around it Benea built fifteen chairs — each by hand. Her followers were confused to see her use her hands let alone work, but as she said, just this once she would. Tiny drops of black bled from her palms whenever she cut herself on the blades, and callousses would form and disappear as she sanded the pine wood. When she was finished, she cast everyone away from her so she could be alone. Not even Jermane stood beside her this time.

	Alpine winds blew over her face and caught her hair as she stood by the chairs. Clouds danced below the peaks and edges of the mountain, and a small meadow had formed in the dew above. Even still, her dress didn’t soak up any of the moisture, and yet she stood defeated. Her usual smirk was gone and her brow had fallen. 

	She rubbed her thumb over the grain of the closest chair, feeling the carving of a lily underneath. Her other hand reached out to grab the chair that sat next to it. This one had two backs and a double seat, as if two adults were supposed to sit on it, side by side. 

	“I could really use you right now,” She muttered. “You, always brave and you, always fearful — one brazen, one cautious.” She let out a puff of mountain air. “I need you both.”

	Benea let herself sink to her knees, cold grass bending under her dress as she laid her chin on the arm of the chair, almost like a lost puppy. She felt the hard wood under her jaw as she spoke to herself. “Come, darling, you haven’t much choice.”

	The Calla lily Goddess closed her eyes, and slowly an aching heart mixed with the nostalgic wind of the mountains took her away. She spiraled into a dream…


	[hr]

	A blood curdling scream threw Jermane backwards. He had been sitting on a log, but now he was staring up at the blue sky, his heart smacking the roof of his mouth. The scream sounded again and this time Jermane ripped his shields from their resting place and jumped to his feet. He knew that voice.

	“My Queen?” He bellowed, his body turning into a blur as he sped to the ring of chairs where he left her. Cold air bit his eyes as he ran, but his blood was hot and his determination sent puffs of air through his nostrils. 

	Jermane burst through thickets of pine boughs and spilled onto the scene. Benea was on her side, propped by one hand. Her other held her heart, eyes wide with fear and lips trembling. Without thinking, Jermane dove to her side and held her upright. His eyes scanned her for any sign of injury, but there was none as she held the shaking Goddess.

	“My Queen!?” Jermane called anxiously. Benea closed her eyes and sucked in a large shaking breath. Gently, she tapped Jermane’s hand and released herself from his grip. Keeping her eyes closed, she cleared her throat.

	“I’m alright, dear.” She slowly rose to her feet, Jermane scrambling to his.

	“I heard screaming?”

	A soft smirk found Benea’s lips and she held her hands by her waist. “A silly dream is all, darling, don’t you worry too much about it. We have a Dusky Goddess to convene with I think, or shall we first confer with our horned brother?”

	Jermane tilted his head.

	“My Queen?”

	“Our tasks, dear!” Benea snapped a finger. “We have a maddened god to stop and orderly cousins to keep word with, do we not?”

	“Yes, my Queen!”

	“Good!” Benea stretched a wide smile. “Then let’s get on with it, dear.”

[hider=Summary] Benea is acting sneaky and gets back to Node 6 without stopping to say hi to anyone (though promises to say hi on the way back) in Node 6 she sees how well the people and paladins had developed, going so far as to build a castle around her node. She reorganizes the paladins, creating a special branch to protect the road of light and its walkers, as well as sending recruits far and wide to build the ranks. Paladins are sent to train in Maelite and in Node 6 as well as to train conscripts and non paladin recruits for the coming war. 

Benea then captures Node 2 and Node 1. Node 2 becomes a winter wonderland and Node 1 becomes a land of supreme Alpine conditions, barring a small bit of meadow where Node 6 opens to it. Around the node at node 1, Benea personally handcarves 15 wooden thrones, freaking everyone out. She then talks to one of them before falling asleep on it. She screams herself awake and Jermane runs to her, only to find her business as usual. [/hider]



[hider=might]none spent, none had[/hider]