This beautiful drawing of Helena Dusklight was drawn by my BFF SCREECHING FLARE.

She was going to make some improvements to it, to make it look even better, but due to an unfortunate accident, she wasn't able to finish it, and she can't redraw it ATM.

Still, I would like to thank her for making this lovely drawing for me, so that everyone who enjoys reading MoD can get a better idea of what Helena Dusklight looks like.

Also, in order to understand some of the weird and/or unique terms that I use in this story series, I made these glossaries, in which I try to explain what they all mean.

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Misandria's facial expression remained unchanged, with that same serious, cold, battle-hardened look that she always has on her face, as though she hadn't even heard what Helena just said to her.

Misandria: …Normally I would have someone executed for saying something like that to me, but since you're a potential military asset that may be able to make a major difference in this war, I can't just get rid of you like that.

Misandria: Now tell me… How powerful exactly is this "Necromancy" of yours?

Helena: Well now, why don't you see for yourself?

Helena pulled her Magical Rucksack off of her back, and swung it out in front of her, scattering the skeletal remains of a thousand fallen Evilonian soldiers onto the palace floor.

She then spread out her arms in front of her and spread out the fingers of each of her hands, and began chanting in Ancient Drowish.

As she did this, Dark Magical energy that looked like black bolts of lightning shot out from her fingertips and into the bones scattered across the palace floor, as each of the soldiers' skeletons began to reassemble themselves, after which their souls (which were stored in the Phylacteries still in Helena's Rucksack) flew out from Helena's Rucksack, and into their respective skeletons, bringing them to life.

A skeletal army of 1,000 now stood before Misandria, all fully equipped with weapons and armor, and including warriors, mages, healers, and everything in between.

Misandria's eyes bugged out a little for a moment, and an evil glint briefly appeared in them.

Misandria: …I must say, that's rather impressive.

Misandria: …Now tell me, how powerful are each of these skeletons?

Helena: Well, they're basically as strong as they were when they were alive, although I can obviously make them a little stronger through enchantments and blessings, just like a living soldier.

Misandria: I see…

Misandria: Is there any limit to how many of them you can have summoned at once though?

Helena: Not really. As long as I have enough MP to do so and enough skeletons to raise, I can keep on summoning them indefinitely.

Helena: Hell, I could even summon a skeletal army of a billion if I had enough skeletons and Mana Potions available to do so.

A smile suddenly appeared on Misandria's face, which meant a lot, as Misandria rarely ever smiles.

Misandria: BWAHAHAHA! This is it! The secret weapon that will lead us to victory that we've been waiting for!

Misandria: …Thank you Adaman, for blessing me, your chosen Valkyrie, with the means to defeat the heretics and heathens in the east and win this Holy War once and for all, so that I may finally bring about the glorious age of Ragnarok!

Misandria: Guards, take my daughter to her new room, and be sure to make her feel as comfortable as possible, as she deserves to be treated as a princess.

Royal Guard: Yes, Your Highness…

The royal guards escorted Helena to the chamber that housed the rooms of the other 4 princesses of Evilonia, each of which was very large and well decorated, as would be expected of the living quarters of royalty.

There she found the other 4 princesses waiting for her, standing side by side.

Winter: …That will be enough, guards.

Royal Guard: Yes, Your Highness…

The guards left, leaving Helena and her new sisters alone to discuss their shared future together as members of the Evilonian royal family.

Winter: Greetings, Helena Dusklight. I've heard much about you.

Winter: I am Princess Winter Evelynia, Evelynist, Dragon Knight, and the rightful heir to the Evelynian throne.

Summer: Woah! What the heck Winter?! Why'd ya just go and blurt out all of that right away?!

Winter: Because it's obvious that we can trust her, and that there's no need to withhold any of that information from her.

Helena: Yeah, I kinda figured out all of that stuff on my own, anyway…

Helena: …So you really do know the truth, then?

Winter: Yes, that is correct, just as I know about that Shadow Dracolich standing behind you.

Helena: Wow, that Tuatara's Eye spell of yours is freaking AWESOME!

Helena: …I assume you know all about the Union of the Snake too then, right?

Winter: Yes, that is correct.

Spring: Wait a second… Isn't the Union of the Snake just some racist Velnirese conspiracy theory?

Winter: No, the Union is very much real, and they are directly responsible for all of Evelynia's problems.

Summer: Oh yeah, the Union of the Snake! I remember hearing about them!

Summer: If I remember right they're supposed to be a bunch of Lizardmen Balrothists who secretly rule the world or something?

Autumn: "Lizardmen Balrothists"? What kind of nonsense is that? Everyone knows that the Lizardmen are devout Primeval Draconists, just like every other reptile in Midgard.

Spring: I thought the Union was supposed to run by the Kazanians, and that they pretended to convert to Adamantism while secretly continuing to worship Balroth, although it all sounded like a bunch of racist nonsense to me…

Winter: Both of those theories are incorrect, although the Union of the Snake does in fact exist.

Helena: Yeah, I couldn't care less about what race or religion the members of the Union pretend to belong to, the main point is that the Union of the Snake is a secret society of Balrothists who've been controlling Evilonia's policies for over a thousand years now.

Summer: "A thousand years"?! They've been doing it for that long?!

Winter: That is correct, and they were even responsible for Queen Malva Evelynia breaking Evelynia's Peace Goddess Pact with Evelyn and starting the War God Pact with Adaman, and then changing the name of the queendom to Evilonia and the name of the royal family to Adamantia in honor of the queendom's new god.

Summer: How the heck did they do it all though? Mind control?

Helena: Sort of. They used a combination of Neuromancy – which I can use too by the way – and also just plain old fashion deceit and manipulation.

Helena: They basically just tricked her into believing that it was the right thing for her to do, in order to expand her queendom and share its prosperity with the rest of the world.

Winter: Yes, just as they've been doing with every queen of Evilonia ever since.

Winter: Our mother is a bit different than all of the queens of the past though since she believes that she is the Valkyrie, and she is also obviously a considerably more devout Adamantist than her more recent predecessors were.

Autumn: "The Valkyrie"? That's the name for the chosen one of Adaman, right?

Spring: Yep, that's right.

Spring: According to the Book of Adaman, a Holy Warrior whose skill in battle and love for war are without equal known as the Valkyrie is prophesized to one day be born, and that she is supposed to be a beautiful empress who presides over the greatest empire that Midgard has ever seen, and that she is destined to eventually conquer the entire realm.

Spring: Once she does, Adaman is supposed to summon her and all of those here in Midgard who worship him to his side in the legendary battlefield of Valhalla in Asgard, and they are all supposed to fight alongside him against all of the other gods and their armies in an endless war known as Ragnarok.

Winter: Yes, although the idea of an endless war may not sound very appealing to us, to a devout Adamantist like Mother, it is their idea of Paradise.

Autumn: Wow, I see… I guess I never payed enough attention in church, hehehe…

Spring: Well, considering that you're an Evelynist like the rest of us and don't even worship Adaman, I don't exactly blame you.

Spring: …Plus you're always spending time reading all of that geeky paleontology stuff and whatnot with Winter.

Autumn: Hehehe, that's true too…

Helena: Yeah, I'm a bit of a paleontology nerd myself, and that paleontology know-how of yours is going to be really useful pretty soon here.

Autumn: What do you mean by that?

Helena: Let's just say that I'm planning on going on a little fossil dig…

Autumn: Oh, if it's fossils that you want I have plenty that I can share with you. I have tons of them.

Autumn: I have several large Dinosaur skeletons, tons of fossilized shark teeth, and even a few Dragons.

Helena: Well, I probably will be using those too, but I'm particularly interested in looking for the skeleton of a specific Dragon: my friend Necky here.

Winter: By "Necky" I assume you mean that Shadow Dracolich ghost, correct?

Summer: Gee, do always need to be showing off that Tuatara thing of yours Winter?

Winter: I wasn't showing it off, I was merely asking a question, although I'm already fairly certain that I was correct.

Summer: Yeah, sure you were…

Helena: Yup, it's her skeleton that I'm looking for.

Helena: Her name's actually Necrofyrmythyr by the way, but her closest friends call her "Necky" for short, and y'all can just go ahead and call her that too if you like.

Necky: Greetings Princess Winter Evelynia, Dragon Knight and rightful ruler of this Human queendom.

Necky: I am curious how an Evelynist became a Dragon Knight, as I had thought that only Draconists like Helena and myself could master Dracomancy?

Helena: Geez Necky, we already talked about that! Remember that whole "foreign exchange" scheme that we read about in the newspapers?

Necky: Ah yes, I remember it now…

Necky: From what I recall, though, you were the only one who was able to successfully become a Dragon Knight.

Winter: Yes, that is true. I did learn Dracomancy during my time in Akushina during the foreign exchange program that my mother and I had come up with.

Winter: The idea was to take advantage of the Akushinese's desire for peace by having me trade places with Prince Tatsu Akusho of Akushina, so that I could attempt to learn the secrets of Dracomancy from the Akushinese.

Winter: Although I did master Dracomancy myself, I was unable to successfully teach it to any of our military forces, and so the plan was widely regarded as a failure.

Helena: Yeah, based on what even the lying propaganda newspapers are saying, the main reason that Evilonia's getting its butt kicked so badly in this stupid war is because of Akushinese Dragon Masters and Dragon Knights giving the other side a huge advantage on the battlefield.

Helena: Of course, having to take on both the Akushinese and Velnirese at the same time certainly doesn't help matters either…

Winter: Yes, but hundreds of millions have already died as a result of Evilonia's endless wars of conquest, and many more millions of lives will be lost unless your plan to stop this current World War succeeds.

Helena: Hehehe, so you know about that too, huh?

Winter: Yes, Misandria's been keeping a close eye on you, and she's well aware of your opposition to the war, as well as to many of her other policies.

Helena: Yeah, but her spies did a pretty lousy job, and they were always pretty obvious.

Helena: And they probably couldn't figure out that much considering that they couldn't even see Necky, or follow me whenever I went to Svartalfheim.

Winter: True, we were all working with very limited information, but after seeing you arriving here with Necky I immediately knew what your intentions were.

Autumn: You mean because Necky's a Dragon, right?

Winter: Yes, that is correct.

Winter: While in Akushina I learned much about Draconistic philosophy, and what the rather ambitious goals of their faith truly are.

Helena: Yeah, but there's some pretty big differences between the Akushinese version of Draconism and the Primeval version that me and Necky practice.

Winter: True, but there's plenty of similarities, as well.

Winter: …And besides, I met some Dragons during my time in Akushina, as well.

Spring: Wait a second, how come you never told any of us all of this before?

Winter: I didn't tell you and Summer because you never asked me, and it didn't seem relevant at the time.

Winter: …I did tell Autumn when she had asked me about it before, though.

Summer: Autumn! Why are you holding out on us?! You're just as bad as Winter is!

Autumn: I'm sorry, I guess I just forgot to mention it…

Necky: Tell me, Dragon Knight: how many of my kind have you met with, and how many do you believe are still alive here on Terrapin?

Necky: I have roamed much of Midgard during millions of years as a ghost, and although I havd heard the legends of Dragons living in the lands to the east, I never met any who were still alive.

Winter: Most of the Dragonkin that I met there were ghosts as well, but I did meet at least 1 living Dragon during my time there, and I'm aware of at least 1 other Dragon that still lives as well.

Winter: The Dragon that I met myself was a Crystalline Dragon named Cryofyrmythyr, who apparently survived Datenshi because she was in a deep cryogenic sleep off the coast of Arctica.

Winter: We became very close friends – not unlike you and Helena – and she's even let me and Autumn ride on her back from time to time.

Summer: You got to ride on a Dragon and you never even told us about it?!

Autumn: I'm sorry, I guess I just forgot to mention that too, hehehe…

Winter: I remember her telling me that she had many different sisters with different Elemental powers, and I'm guessing that you are one of them based on the similarity of your names, correct?

Necky: Yes, that is correct. Cryofyrmythyr is my sister, and I'm glad to hear that she is still alive, even if I no longer am myself.

Spring: OK, we get that you're talking to the ghost of some Dragon named Necky right now, but could you at least tell us what she's saying, so that we don't only hear half of the conversation?

Winter: My apologies. I will cast my Tuatara's Eye spell on you all, which should allow you to see and hear Necky, just like me and Helena can.

Winter recited an Ancient Draconic incantation, and a glowing eye made of aquamarine light appeared briefly on their foreheads as she cast her unique Dracomantic spell Tuatara's Eye on them, which allows its recipients to both see and hear ghosts, as well giving them the ability see through all lies, illusions, and other forms of deception, as long as it is in effect.

Spring: Thanks Winter.

Winter: You're welcome.

Summer: Woah! You're even scarier than Autumn's fossil collection!

Autumn: Beautiful…

Autumn: I've always wanted to meet a Dragon, and I'm very glad to meet you, Necky.

Necky: I appreciate that, young Princess, and I admire your love for my kind, and I hope that that fossil collection of yours continues to grow.

Autumn started to blush, as she was VERY happy about receiving a compliment from a Dragon, especially such a fearsome-looking one.

Autumn: Wow, I was just praised by a Dragon…

Spring: Wait a second, I thought that you said that you had already met this Cryofyrmythyr Dragon that Winter was friends with?

Autumn: Yeah, but Necky's a Shadow Dragon, and those are even cooler than Crystalline ones…

Autumn: …If you don't mind me asking, why did you become a Dracolich, Necky?

Necky: It's a long story, but it will unfortunately have to wait for another time.

Necky: …You were saying you were aware of at least 1 other living Dragon?

Winter: Yes, the other one is the legendary Golden Dragon Kinryuu, whom the Akushinese regard as a sacred being, and whom some there even believe is responsible for creating Humanity.

Necky: I see…

Necky: I assume that Empress Ino Akusho told you that he was still alive, correct?

Winter: Yes, I spoke with her about him, and she said that he was still alive and that they were close friends as well.

Necky: I see…

Necky: Well, I suppose you're all wondering why we agreed to come here given our opposition to the queen's war.

Winter: If I had to guess given all of the information that you just shared with us, and also the questions that you asked just now, you were trying to determine whether or not we were on your side or on Mother's.

Winter: You probably heard the rumors about our father King Andrew remaining an Evelynist even after he married our mother, and also the rumors that us 4 princesses were also secretly being raised as Evelynists by him, and wished to confirm that these rumors were in fact true.

Winter: When I immediately introduced myself as "Winter Evelynia" rather than "Winter Adamantia", you immediately realized that I knew the truth about our queendom's history, and also that all of those rumors about us were true.

Winter: I assume that you now want us to assist you two in retrieving your fossilized remains, so that Helena can bring you back from the dead with her Necromancy, allowing you to assist her in achieving her various goals.

Helena: Damn! You're good!

Necky: Yes, a brilliant deduction from a brilliant mind.

Spring: Yeah, Winter's pretty sharp, but don't waste your time heaping praise on her like that, as she doesn't really appreciate it like any normal person would…

Winter: I appreciate it on an intellectual level, just without expressing the unnecessary emotion of gratitude, as–…

Summer: Would you cut it out with all of that "unnecessary emotions" nonsense?! We all know that you have feelings just like everyone else does, so you don't have to pretend like you're all cold and detached all the time!

Winter: I've never said that I don't feel anything before, I just prefer to not be overly emotional, that's all.

Winter: For example, I love all of you just as much as you love me and each other, and I love Mother and Father just as much as well.

Helena: Yeah, speaking of you "loving Mother", I meant to ask you how you feel about my plans for her?

Winter: Well, I believe that I can speak for all of us when I say that while we do love our mother, she needs to be stopped at all costs, unfortunately even if that means killing her…

Winter: I suspect that your intention is to attempt to reason with her first, by telling her that she's being deceived and manipulated by individuals who don't share her faith in Adaman, and that are too cowardly to fight in wars themselves.

Winter: My mother already has a deep mistrust of those whom she regards as weak, cowardly, or dishonorable, but I am still doubtful that you will be successful in your attempts to reason with her, as she feels that she needs those peoples' money in order for her to keep waging this war, and unfortunately winning this war is the most important thing in the world to her right now…

Helena: Yeah, I was afraid that you'd say that…

Helena: Do you plan on helping me fight her if it comes to that?

Winter: No, and neither my sisters nor my father would be willing to do so, either.

Winter: We will help you retrieve to Necky's remains, however, which will undoubtedly allow you to be able to confront Mother.

Winter: We also won't interfere in your battle with her, although we will fight against anyone else in the Evilonian government who stands in your way.

Helena: …Fair enough, right Necky?

Necky: Yes, that sounds quite reasonable.

Winter: Also, I feel that I should mention something else about the Union of the Snake…

Winter: You see, while they aren't evil Lizardmen pretending to be Humans, they aren't really Humans, either…

Winter: My Tuatara's Eye can see through their illusions, and they seem to be a bunch of Hobgoblin Vampires who are highly adept at both Dark Magic and Neuromancy, not unlike yourself.

Helena: Hobgoblin Vampires, huh? That makes sense considering that Hobgoblins ARE known for their deceitful ways, as well as for being Balrothists.

Helena: And it's a shame that some Vampires choose to creep around preying on innocent people to satisfy their thirst for blood, although in these guys' case I suspect that they purposefully became Vampires in order to prolong their own lives at the expense of the lives of others.

Winter: Yes, that it is most likely the case.

Winter: Additionally, these Hobgoblins are far more powerful than ordinary ones, and although most of them don't seem particularly strong physically, their magic is actually quite powerful, and there are many skilled Assassins within their ranks as well.

Winter: Also, I can confirm that Lord Lumin Redshield – whom most conspiracy theorists believe to be the leader of the Union of the Snake – is in fact their leader, and that he appears to be something entirely different than the other members of the Union…

Helena: He's not just another Hobgoblin Vampire, huh?

Winter: No, I'm afraid that he's something far more sinster than that, and even my Tuatara's Eye can't tell precisely what he is…

Winter: Whatever manner of vile creature he is, he appears to my Tuatara's Eye as a humanoid figure wearing a black robe with Balrothic symbols written all over it in blood, and who wears a blackened ram's skull over his head, and has skeletal hands made of blackened bone as well.

Autumn: Wow, that sounds REALLY scary…

Winter: Yes, I seem to recall you saying how scary he was the first time I had you spying on him for me with my Tuatara's Eye spell cast on you.

Autumn: Yeah, that was REALLY, REALLY scary…

Winter: Additionally, I my Tuatara's Eye revealed that his IPP/IMP rating was 0/0, which was somewhat concerning, as that is even more unusual than you having an IPP rating of 0…

Helena: Yeah, you're even beginning to creep me out a bit, to tell you the truth…

Helena: …Still, I have every intention of kicking his ass, and also stomping that nasty cockroach that he calls a "god", too.

Spring: You really are brave, aren't you Helena? I wish that I had as much courage as you do.

Helena: Yeah, well I AM going to have Necky fighting alongside me, so that's part of why I'm so "brave"…

Winter: Yes, and you can count on our assistance as well when the time comes to face off against the Union.

Helena: Anyway, where did you say you were when you died, Necky?

Necky: Midgard has changed much in these past 65,000,000 years, but my bones should be in somewhere in what is now known as the "Suna region"…

Spring: The Suna region? You mean where the most intense fighting between the Evilonian Military and the VACP forces is going on?

Necky: Yes, I'm afraid so.

Autumn: That does make sense, as the Suna region is known to have lots of large Archosaur fossils, including those of Dragons.

Autumn: I'd imagine they'd probably be in the Dragon Boneyard, in the eastern deserts of the Suna region. It's where the most Dragon fossils have been found to date.

Necky: It sounds like you're probably correct. Thank you again, Princess.

Autumn blushed yet again, and as she had received yet another compliment from Necky.

Autumn: Wow…

Autumn: …Are all Dragons as nice as you and your sister are, Necky?

Necky: For the most part, although there are rare exceptions.

Necky: I suspect that any Dragon would be nice to a Human like you, however, given the level of respect and admiration that you have for our kind.

Autumn was speechless, as she had yet again received a compliment from Necky, and she felt so happy to be friends with not 1, but 2 Dragons now, as befriending a Dragon was something that she had always dreamed of since she was a little girl, and that childhood dream of hers was coming true once again.

Helena: Alright then, so first we go to the Dragon Boneyard and retrieve Necky's skeleton, and then afterwords I try to reason with your mom and probably wind up fighting her with Necky, and then after that Winter starts peace talks with the Velnirese and Akushinese, right?

Winter: That sounds like a plan.

Winter: We'll worry about dealing with the Union of the Snake later, as confronting them now would be far too complicated.

Winter: You had mentioned wanting to defeat Balroth too, however, which forces me to ask: do you plan on confronting Adaman as well?

Helena: Yeah, which means that I'll be taking a trip up to Asgard eventually too.

Helena: I'll worry about Adaman, Balroth, and the Union of the Snake later though, after the peace talks with the VACP have begun.

Winter: Alright then. Let's prepare for our trip to the Suna region, then.

Necky: Agreed.

Having decided their plans, they began preparing for their journey to the Suna Region.

Misandria allowed them all (including Helena) a surprising amount of freedom, and even helped them to train and become stronger, with the hopes that Helena could help her to finally win the war against the 2 great nations of the east, and allow her to fulfil her destiny as the Valkyrie.

She no longer had spies monitoring Helena's actions, and she seemed to have complete trust in her, despite how close she was to her other daughters, whom she also loved with all of her heart, in spite of her hatred of their faith in the "false goddess" Evelyn.
(She was still their mother, after all.)

The Union of the Snake, however, WAS monitoring their actions extremely closely, and they even tried (and failed) to get Misandria to turn against her own daughters, as they knew that they posed a grave threat to their own evil plans.

Lumin Redshield: So let me get this straight…

Lumin: You know that those 4 daughters of yours are all Evelynist traitors, and that that arrogant little peasant bitch that you just took in is a Draconist, and yet you still allow them all to live and even train here, as they secretly plot to murder you?

Misandria: I'm not a coward like you are Redshield. I don't fear battle, I welcome it.

Misandria: A true warrior doesn't run from any battle. They go charging in with their eyes wide open, even if they know that they are going to die.

Misandria: …And besides, even if I can't stand those disgusting beliefs that they picked up from their father, I still love them, and I still love him, too.

Misandria: …Not that you could ever understand the love that a mother feels for her children or her husband, nor the ways of a Paladin like me.

Misandria: Perhaps you ought to spend some time in church for a change, rather than at those "business meetings" that you're always holding down in the sewers with those other sewer rats.

Lumin: You know, considering that you wouldn't even have any money for equipment and supplies to wage this war of yours if it weren't for me and my business associates, you sure talk pretty arrogantly, "Valkyrie"…

Lumin: …Instead of giving me some self-righteous lecture about morality and the supposed importance of family, why don't you just kill those traitors that you seem so hellbent on defending, before they take over this kingdom and do even more harm to it than you currently are with your weakness and stupidity?

Misandria charged at Lumin with lightning-fast speed and lifted him off the ground with one hand, pressed him up against the wall, and then held her mighty greatsword directly against his throat with her other hand.

Misandria: Let's make one thing crystal-clear, Cockroach: I don't want to hear you threatening or insulting my children or my husband like that ever again, or I'll send this ugly ass head of yours as a present to the king of those Hobgoblin scum that you seem to like so much.

Lumin was a bit surprised to hear her say something like that, but he had assumed that she was referring to him being a supporter of maintaining the nonaggression treaties with the Hobgoblins that had been established by Misandria's predecessors, rather than her daughter Winter's conspiracy theories about the Union of the Snake.

Lumin: Alright! I won't speak ill of that wretched family of yours ever again! NOW PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT, YOU INSOLENT WENCH!!!

Even with his life being threatened, Lumin still couldn't manage to show even the slightest bit of respect, humility, or decency, only the frustration of having to deal with someone who actually had morals and principles (unlike himself), and who also happened to be a lot bigger and stronger than him physically.

Misandria: Very well then. I wouldn't want to dirty the blade of this beautiful sword of mine with the blood of a filthy cockroach, anyway…

Misandria let go of Lumin and let him fall back down onto the floor.

Misandria: …Anyway, just shut up with all of your pathetic scheming and conniving and give me your money already, you worthless little cockroach.

Lumin: Yes, "Your Highness".

Lumin handed Misandria a large suitcase full of cash, a "donation" to help fund the Evilonian Empire's ongoing war against the VACP, and he then walked away angrily while cursing under his breath.

Misandria hated dealing with people like him who called themselves Adamantists but then acted like dishonorable cowards, and who only seemed to care about money and influence.

She was unaware that they were all secretly Balrothists, however, and that the Union of the Snake that Winter had tried to warn her about was in fact real, and that she actually meets with many of its top members on a regular basis, and that those very same "cowards" that she hated dealing with so much were all members of it.