There doesn't seem to be much in the way of exploitable resources in the immediate area. There is, however, a positive surfeit of mud. The earth is a nearly-uniform grayish brown, pockmarked by craters of varying depth in which a few flames still gutter. It's difficult to tell the time of day through the thick cloud cover, only a few shades lighter than the ground below. The air is thick with the acrid stench of fuel and spent gunpowder, almost covering the coppery tang of spilt blood.

Ah, a war zone, and a recent one. Nostalgic. Better technology or magic than her usual worlds, too...

She flies up into the air, deciding there's no real point in bothering with the mud. Even if her clothes are enchanted not to get dirty - well, it's the aesthetic that counts.

There is a whistling sound, rising in pitch, and something is streaking through the air to kill her.

Cute.

Her heat signature (and image) is suddenly far enough away from her she'll be unaffected by any blasts.

The rocket screams through a sharp turn to its new target position.

The explosion is quite large.

Oh, she underestimated that.

Still, she's unruffled, after briefly flickering ethereal.

She keeps flying up, away from the false target.

Another pair of missiles are sent to futilely attack.

From her higher vantage, she can see the battery that fired them and the encampment surrounding it. The tents seem like semipermanent structures, divided into neat rows. Parked between every few tents is an armored vehicle with a pair of long barrels on a swivel mount on top.

Interesting enough to investigate.

She stays high in the air, almost idly flying over.

A figure wrapped in a green glow rises into the air from near the middle of the encampment and streaks over to where Acererak left her decoy. It pauses there for a moment, then begins following her path through the air.

Oh, somebody over there's clever - and decently powerful, it looks like.

Acererak holds still, idly weaving protective spells and preparations around herself. (It'd be somewhat obnoxious to have to reform again so soon, and of course eventually she'll wear through her stash of functionally identical magic items.)

The figure quickly approaches, resolving into a young woman who appears in her late teens wearing a dark outfit: a long, slim coat over a lace-up shirt with the top ones left undone and a trim pair of pants that flare slightly at the ankles for the high-heeled boots.

She's murmuring something as she arrives, the sound stolen away by the wind, and her eyes flash as she looks Acererak over. "And who, pray tell, are you supposed to be?"

She grins and bows extravagantly. (She's wearing a purple robe with silver eye designs picked out in gleaming threads, and an elaborate headband, a silver and amethyst necklace that seems oddly arresting, gloves decorated with images of daggers, silver filigree boots, a wood and silver and amethyst staff slung on her back... Just of her visible items, of course.)

"Why, I am Acererak, the Devourer and the Lady of Unlife. And who might you be?"

"...Eliese."

"A good name. Tell me, Eliese, is this," and she gestures broadly, encompassing the destruction around them, "Your handiwork?"

"Most of it." She cocks her head to the side. "Are you a fan?"

Laugh. "I'm too newly arrived to be a devoted fan just yet, but it does look rather impressive from where I'm standing."

She smiles, tight and angry.

"If you like this, stick around for a day or so. I've had just about enough."

"Oh? Enough of what?"

"This fight. These orders. This planet. The whole damn war."

"I've never much been one for orders, or for wars I didn't start. Why do what others tell you?"

"Because there's too many of them."

"Declaring your own war on the universe can be a bit tricky... But there are other ways to fight, you know."

"Avenues I'm sure I'll explore after I've made my statement here."

"Oh?"

"I wasn't planning on witnesses. But you might do."

"I promise to provide only dramatically appropriate running commentary, then, whatever it is I am to be witness to."

"We'll see. Would you like to come down? You're making my targeting officers nervous."

"And we can't have that."

"I'd rather not land in mud, but lead on."

She descends towards the tents. The paths between have plastic planks laid out, so there's really not much mud at all.

Good.

She follows, looking around, mentally cataloging their apparent technology level versus how much of what they're doing is magic.

As far as she can tell, the only person using magic here is Eliese, and even she stops glowing when they touch down. All the soldiers who step aside and salute are completely mundane, and slightly nervous of one or both of them.

So high technology... Limited magic, but what they have is used to good effect...

She grins at the soldiers, following along in Eliese's wake.

"Efficient camp you have here," she comments, lightly.

"That is how I like it. They have practice."

"If you must have soldiers, I suppose it is nice to have them well accustomed to you."

"They learn quickly, or they die."

"A good motivating force."

"Mm." She stops in front of a large tent. "My officers. Try to avoid killing them. Or messing with the displays."

"I'll be cautious."

She pushes inside. An aide near the entrance is about to say something, but she cuts him off by saying "Acererak. Non-hostile," and waves him away. Around the edges of the enclosure, serious people are doing serious things on consoles with brightly-lit screens. A few of the stations are unmanned, showing test images or static camera views. In the middle is a circular table with a three-dimensional image of a spherical planet projected above it. The world seems to have two equally-sized continents on the same hemisphere, the rest of the surface taken over by ocean.

Their position seems to be marked as close to the center of the northern continent. Five clusters of enemies are noted, spread across the east and the south. Eliese moves to the center table, calling for updated positions.

She watches, interested, keeping her hands behind her back as she peers at the displays. She doesn't usually bother with worlds this technologically advanced - but perhaps this'll be a refreshing change of pace. She gets used to their reporting quickly, mentally dissecting the feeds of information, thinking through how she would fight this war... And how the way it is being fought reveals the extent of their military and magical prowess.

This Eliese seems to be doing quite well with what she has. A clever, vicious mind.

Acererak watches Eliese take command with an amused expression, not interfering for now (unless she sees a far too tempting place to teasingly offer advice; Acererak is immensely old, and she's fought more wars than even she can remember - including ones in universes like this).

Eliese is fighting more of a delaying action than a war; she seems to be trying to draw the enemy in closer, giving ground readily. Her officers don't agree with this strategy, pushing for a more offensive approach. Their casualty numbers against the Whitespawned are "unsustainable". Without her or additional reinforcement, they don't have any effective counters.

She brushes these concerns off. High Command has decided she alone is sufficient to solve this problem, and that is what she intends to do. In her own time.

She can certainly think of what she'd do, with her enemy all bunched up like that, overconfident at their successes... Of course, Acererak wouldn't be using soldiers that could complain about their deaths, nor whose ingenuity could throw off her plans. Skeletons make for a much better smoke screen.

And, well, if your intent is for no one to ever put you in any command ever again... Perhaps using harder to replace soldiers isn't the worst strategy...

Still.

"If you wish for less noisy bait," her voice whispers in Eliese's ear (audible to no one else), "Perhaps I can oblige."

She turns her head and pins Acererak with a glare.

Innocent smile.

She shakes her head and says "Smoke and Mirror Images."

She stays where she is and continues giving orders.

She also steps over to Acererak. "What are you talking about?"

"I can turn dead bodies into useful soldiers. Quiet, obedient, recyclable."

"An interesting talent."

"A fun one. And I could even put them directly under your control."

"Perhaps another time. Everyone is nearly in position. The delay is more to make certain my reserves are adequate. Your appearance has pushed the timetable back by about six hours."

"I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Well, thank you for that."

She smiles. "You seem interesting enough to bother with."

"High praise indeed."

Shrug. "I don't bother with most, not for long."

"Then I will be sure to treasure our time together. Perhaps I can show you the hospitality of the camp. There are places to sleep and food to eat. And that's about it, actually."

"I need neither, sadly. Though I'm sure your hospitality is grand."

"It is possible you are better off for passing on the experience."

"I do admit I'd be shocked if you had delicious rations."

"I suppose that's traditional where you're from as well?"

"Unpleasant ones are."

"A pity. I had hoped things might be better elsewhere."

"Most places don't care much for their soldiers."

"Have you traveled widely?"

"More than most."

"I would be interested to hear of your adventures."

"I'd enjoy sharing them. Do you prefer tales of far off climes, how I got here, where I'm from...?"

"How you got here, to start."

She hums, clearly thinking. "Well... The path that led me here started quite a while ago. In another universe, in fact, though the culmination of events all happened quite quickly."

She blinks slowly.

"Some centuries ago," she begins, voice low and grand, "I began a project - to build a god of my own. To feed it, I would need trillions of souls... Something rather simple, if I merely stole from the dead. I found and modified an artifact, to steal those souls and crystallize them."

"This apparently attracted quite a bit of ire, especially since it also stole the souls of the resurrected. I constructed a grand tomb complex to house my godling, to draw in powerful adventurers I could kill. And also because grand tomb complexes full of traps are funny."

"Unfortunately for me, I apparently drew the attention of a multiversal group, who allied with one of the resurrected whose soul was growing looser and closer to being stolen by the hour. They infiltrated my complex, bypassing many of the traps in a way I'll have to prevent in the future... And they actually got to my central room, challenging me. One could manipulate the blood of my little godling. One could manipulate reality to give her friends an edge. One could challenge my mastery of the undead, albeit weakly. Two had quite an entertaining array of powers - which proved my downfall. I played with them for a bit, you see, and moved early to try and rip out the heart of one of the more powerful members. She survived, but I thought I'd effectively removed her from play... Giving me time to winnow down her friends."

"She objected to me ripping out another's heart - the blood manipulator, who was being exceptionally obnoxious - and used a powerful ability to sacrifice her own life, blowing open the gates of the realms of the dead and resurrecting both her friend and every single soul I'd accumulated. I let myself be beaten back, after that, as I know when to give ground, and let them believe they'd killed me permanently."

"It seemed wise, after that, to avoid places where my face was known, so I picked a world at random - coming here."

"Of all the stories I've heard, that is certainly one of them."

"Do you not believe me?"

"No, I think I do."

"I can prove some of it, but not all, I admit."

"What I've seen of you already is certainly not of this universe."

"Should I be flattered?"

"If you consider being the first confirmed extrauniversal traveler I've heard of to be a point of pride."

"Hm, perhaps. I think I'll aim a bit higher, though..."

"Fair."

"How high are you aiming?"

"Ask me again tomorrow."

"This teasing's getting me all excited, you know."

She smirks. "What an entirely unforeseen outcome."

"Surely someone must have informed you before how tempting you are..."

"It has come up once or twice."

"Oh, good, I'd hate it if you were completely unaware."

"On the other hand, you've missed your chance to enlighten me."

"Hm, true..." Light shrug. "Though innocent girls get boring after a few millennia."

"I suppose they might. If you never vary your diet."

She laughs. "A well rounded diet is important." Her grin has quite a few teeth. "Is that something you pay attention to?"

"I keep myself healthy."

Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. "Very conscientious of you."

She laughs.

Oh, she's pretty when she laughs.

"Since I suppose I'm going to have to wait for the show... However shall I entertain myself in the meantime?"

"My quarters are available."

"Sounds fun."

"This way." She leads the way to her tent. It's decently roomy, but has few personal touches. It does have a desk, a pair of chairs, and a cozy-looking bed.

She sits on the bed after a brief glance around, then grins at Eliese. "How do you plan to entertain me? Or will you be leaving me in suspense there, too?" she teases.

She sits next to Acererak and presses her body up against her. "Well now, I wonder," she says, reaching out to stroke her face.

She leans in, turning her cheek into Eliese's hand and kissing her palm.

Eliese giggles. She runs her hand down to Acererak's chin, and guides her in for a kiss.

She brushes her lips over Eliese's, teasing.

"And you call me a tease," she whispers.

"Perhaps we're two of a kind." Still, she presses her lips a bit more firmly, next kiss.

"Mmm." Kiss. "That's either terrible, or very good."

Kiss! "Good for us, at least."

"I suppose it is."

Light kiss. "Perhaps terrible for everyone else."

"Perhaps we can, heh, revisit the question tomorrow."

"Mmm, tomorrow. For now..." Firmer kiss.

She likes the way this is going.

Acererak gets more and more into kissing Eliesse, swinging into her lap and pushing her back into the bed.

If Eliese lets her, she'll take this in quite delightful directions.

She has time to kill. This suits her just fine.

Oh good.

Then Acererak will help her winnow away quite a bit of time, showing (in her own opinion) remarkable patience about whatever Eliese's grand plan is.

After some time she stretches languorously. "It's about time."

"I'm excited!" she says with a laugh, stretching as well and grinning at Eliese.

She stands.

"Here is as good a place as any. Closer to me would be better, though if you have any defensive spells to cast, I would suggest you do so."

She smirks and stands, stepping into Eliese's space, then gestures (causing her clothes - including her magic items - to arrange themselves upon her), and starts sing-songing a bit, hands weaving - mostly for show, she doesn't actually need to speak or gesture for her spells. Still - she becomes massively harder to kill over the next few seconds.

Eliese gives her a moment, then begins speaking, almost chanting. "Raging Fire Heart Consuming Life's Destruction of Storm-wracked Sea Step from Sky to Star-" The same green aura she had while flying builds around her as she talks, crackling like flame and sending lashing tendrils all about.

Her incantation continues for almost a full minute, ending with "-in Seven Suns' Nova!"

And then there is light, and heat, and noise. A massive eruption of raw power, smashing everything, igniting the air, burning away the ground.

She spins, awed and delighted as the destruction spreads - a flick of her wrist, and scrying sensors spring up high in the sky, zooming out to track the edges of the devastation -

The extent is incredible, the firestorm spilling all the way over the horizon and beyond the next and further yet. And still it billows forth, wave after wave, an explosion unending.

Wondrous.

She claps, watching with her breath caught in her throat.

When finally it ends, an orange sun shines down from a sky seared clear of clouds onto a vast, perfectly level plane glinting with reflected light.

Eliese stumbles just a little bit, enough to bump into Acererak.

She steadies Eliese, wrapping an arm around her and muttering a spell to pour some of Acererak's own necromantic energy into her. (Modified a bit on the fly so it should refill Eliese's wonderful, delightful magic reserves).

"Beautiful," she breathes.

She gasps. "Ah. I'm glad- you think so."

Nuzzle. "You are a worker of amazing things."

"Worth the wait, then?"

"Mmm, yes."

"Good."

Hungry kiss.

Also good.

Surrounded by rather gorgeous death and devastation (and a heady rush of necromantic energy) is clearly the perfect time to make out.

(And Acererak is fully capable of kissing and casting. She gluts herself on the rush of dying souls, feeding some of the excess energy into Eliese.)

"This," she says, "is an," kiss, "incredible," kiss, "rush."

Kiss! "Good," kiss, "You," kiss, "deserve all," kiss, "the rushes."

"I'll have to keep you around."

"Funny, I was just thinking the same..."

"We're a pair after all."

"Mmmm." Kiss. "We rather are."

"What's your next step?"

"Wellllll... I was loosely planning on waiting to see who showed up first to see what happened."

"So you're sticking around?"

"I also left a shuttle in orbit, if that doesn't appeal."

"Well, depends on what you plan to do when found, really. And I'd like to stick by you for now."

"That depends on who shows up. I thought I'd tender my resignation."

"Well, I can help make sure that resignation sticks, then."

Smile.

"I'd appreciate that."

Grin. "In the mean time... I suspect we can entertain ourselves quite well."

"Oh, doubtless."

Mmmmm kiss!!!

(She'll notice, of course, if anyone comes to investigate... It's a tossup whether she'll care.)

Investigation, when it comes, is extremely unsubtle.

A woman in a black dress appears nearby in a flash of dazzling darkness. She flicks a hand and Eliese and Acererak are pushed apart by eight feet.

She pouts, of course, but lets herself be pushed for now.

"And who might you be?"

"Imperatrix."

"Eliese." She slightly inclines her head in acknowledgement. "And... visitor."

"My usual name is Acererak."

"Acererak, then. Which of you accomplished this?" She gestures at the featureless glass plain.

"You don't want to guess?"

A slow blink on a smooth face. "Rather, I wish to see if you will be truthful with me."

"I don't kill and tell."

"Hmm." Her gaze swings to Eliese.

"It was me."

She frowns, glancing at Eliese out of the side of her eyes then back to the Imperatrix. "You're not trying to intimidate my friend, are you?"

"She doesn't have to try..." Eliese mutters.

Acererak's stance is of someone who is thoroughly confident she's the most terrifying in the room.

"What do you want."

The Imperatrix is entirely unconcerned by whatever Acererak is implicitly conveying. She focuses on Eliese.

"Your instructions were to neutralize the Whitespawned on this planet so its people and position might be fully exploited. Instead, you have eliminated terrestrial life and existing economic investment. Why?"

"Because I'm done. Consider this my resignation from your army."

"You have heretofore been an effective agent. Is there no compromise you are willing to accept?"

A whisper, in Eliese's ear: "You do not have to compromise. We can leave this world fairly trivially. If she escalates and turns out significantly more powerful than me..." A pause, then another whisper: "I'm impossible to permanently kill and can resurrect arbitrary people. And I can make even the powerful regret annoying me."

A pause, and - "You have choices here. I will hear your return messages; focus on the intent to send it to me."

"I think you're underestimating her power level," Eliese replies.

"I won't cause trouble for you that you'd rather not court," she says after a small pause.

"...What kind of compromise?" she asks the Imperatrix.

"If the army is no longer to your liking, our academy is always in need of teachers. Your experience would be invaluable for the younger generations." She pauses. "Perhaps after a leave of absence. I can spare you a decade or two, if you agree to return at the end."

Acererak stays silent. (A lot can change, in a decade or two...)

"That seems too easy."

"You are worth it. As this demonstrates."

"Fine. Accepted."

"Very well." She nods. "You know where to find me." And in another flash of darkness, she vanishes.

"My earlier offer will likely remain open," she says, "If you end up deciding you don't want to return."

"Maybe. We'll see."

Small smile. "You shouldn't be bound."

Smile.

"Thank you."

Broader smile. "You're welcome, lovely."

"I'll call the shuttle, then."

"Alright."

She uses her wrist comm to do so.

"Shouldn't take long. Not like there are many obstacles for the autopilot to handle."

Snicker. "I'd be disappointed if there were. It'd ruin the view."

"It is very... enticing."

"Almost as lovely as you."

"You say the sweetest things."

"Would you prefer sweeter?"

"I'm not sure my heart could handle it."

"Perhaps I'll have to work you up to it, then."

"That sounds enjoyable."

"Good." Kiss.

Kiss!

The shuttle arrives. It's shaped basically like a flying brick, tapered at both ends. A door opens on the long side as it hovers just above the ground. Eliese offers her hand to help Acererak in.

Not the prettiest thing, but she accepts the hand graciously.

It's slightly roomier than Eliese's tent was, and about as spartan.

"Not the best ship I've ever had, but no one was going to be missing this one."

"Perhaps we can find you a better one."

"Do you want to make that our first destination?"

"I do enjoy traveling in style..."

"Destin Shipyards it is."

"To steal a ship? Or do you have enough authority to requisition one?"

"I could certainly purchase one. But if you really want..."

"I dunno. Theft sounds like it could be some kind of fun."

"All right. We'll be spoiled for choice. What do you like in a ship?"

"Hm... Fast, reliable, pretty, cozy and well appointed inside... Room for me to collect stuff like the gremlin I am..."

"We may have to trade off between 'cozy' and 'room to collect stuff'."

She laughs. "If it comes down to a choice, I do have my own demiplanes to store things in."

"All right." She gets the heading programmed in, then pulls up some common ship designs on the main cabin screen to scroll through. Silhouettes range from bricks stapled together to ethereal designs whose curves flow like water.

She likes the more ethereal (and more menacing, but also ethereal) designs best. She actually has some feedback on materials - she can interact with certain ones better magically... Probably could actually make some prettier...

What materials are good?

Plastics are a pain. Metals and natural materials are easiest. There's assorted materials in between those... She could probably also transmute some material, though "plastic is obnoxious" remains a consideration. Some of the best materials are ones she suspects aren't native to this universe.

Plastics usually feature in the interior, though hulls are typically a metal or metal alloy.

Should be workable, then.

With that, she's able to narrow down their choices to a couple models. They'll see what's available when they arrive.

Alright. How long will it be?

Probably another hour or two.

Not too long, then.

As these trips go. Eliese remembers a bit about the shipyard's layout. Does Acererak want to make some preparations?

Perhaps one or two.

It's a vertical design, consisting of a stacked series of 'Y' shapes rotating around a central column. Each branch hosts a drydock for repair or construction, with logistics, administration, and crew quarters making up the middle.

Hmmm... She can make the two of them invisible for a time, with varying strength and length, which should help... Making the entire ship invisible would be hard... 

She frowns up into the air, thinking through her spells.

They'll have to physically disable or otherwise convince someone to release the anchor locks, and evade the perimeter patrol if cloaking isn't an option.

Might depend on how much ships weigh... She can make up to three thousand pounds invisible or teleport up to fifteen hundred pounds fairly trivially, would have to poke metamagic for more than that...

It's going to be... a bit more than that for anything worth stealing.

She laughs - she's not very surprised they don't have ultra lightweight materials.

Her metamagic isn't useful for increasing that, not significantly - and the widest portals she can open are only twenty feet in diameter... She can make illusions, probably can randomly displace the ship's image, not as effective as going invisible but will make them harder to hit... She can teleport onto enemy ships and kill anyone inside... She can summon monsters into enemy ships, also killing anyone inside... She can mind control people at a distance...

Mind control would probably be the most useful for a stealthy getaway.

Teasingly: "Spoilsport. But I can do stealth."

"If you'd rather blow up half the shipyards, we could do that too.

Kiss. "Not if it'd cause trouble for you... But it's been a bit since I've gotten to blow anything up."

"I did just resign and get away with it. So I'd say I have some leeway."

"Oh, goodie."

Hee. Kiss!

Mmmmm good kisses.

Quite.

Eventually, they arrive at the shipyards. It is, as described, a rod-like space station around three miles long, with three docks per level sticking out like spokes. From a visual inspection, it seems like it's about three-quarters occupied at the moment. A few of the models they were looking at are toward the distal end.

"Where should the fun start?"

"Well, we don't want to scratch our new ride before we even get it out of the docking cradle..."

"Stealth, then a trail of explosions in our wake?"

"That would be efficient."

"Sounds fun to me."

"All right. I'll get us somewhere to dock."

"I'll start on the chaos, death, and destruction groundwork, then."

Eliese smiles, and brings them in. They wind up about half a mile from their target.

In very easy range for even weaker teleports! Which means Acererak can turn them both invisible then go teleporting around trying not to giggle out loud, sowing the seeds for later chaos. (She gives Eliese a way to signal her, and then returns to her side when chaos fuses are primed so they can properly steal the ship together.)

Eliese checks to make sure their chosen ship is in good repair, empty, and otherwise ready to sail out. Confirming that it is, she alerts Acererak.

Acererak teleports to her side.

"Ready to go?"

"Oh, absolutely."

"Well, essentially all we have left to do is... walk on and fly off."

"Sounds easy enough."

And it almost is, except for the pair of security personnel that show up just as they get to the docking tube.

She sends them a rather powerful suggestion that nothing is wrong here, and they have more business elsewhere.

And as quickly as they arrive, they turn on their heels and are gone.

"Smooth."

She grins. "Figured it was better for a clean getaway than just killing them."

"Most likely." The airlock opens easily. "After you, my dear."

She steps through, graciously, and looks around. "I can set off my preparations from a distance," she says, "But we should probably decide the best point to start blowing things up..."

Eliese follows and heads for the controls to start the engines. "This has decent shields. We can be in visual range."

"Perfect."

"There should be an observation lounge on the second deck."

She grins. "Will you be joining me?"

"Once I get the autopilot set up." Quick kiss. "Save me a seat?"

Kiss! "I promise. One with a good view."

"You're the best."

"We are."

Heh. "I won't argue that."

Kiss.

"I'll go head to the observation lounge."

"I'll be there shortly."

"I'll be waiting." And off.

The lounge has a large window on the port side, offering an excellent view out. There are a few reclining chairs and a small couch with some throw pillows arranged to face it, and in the back, what seems to be a small bar.

She gets an appropriately exotic and fancy drink and drapes herself on the couch, waiting for the ship to get some distance before starting her party.

The station starts falling away in the window. Before it gets too far, Eliese enters, leaning over the couch to rest her chin on Acererak's head.

She snuggles, and, with a twist of her fingers...

The first explosions start.

Small ones.

Of course, whoever goes to investigate them is going to trigger runes that cause blinding rage in the weak willed...

This is not immediately obvious from outside.

"I was expecting a little more..."

She laughs, says, "Faster, then," and triggers an explosive cascade at the shipyard's center.

Eliese coos appreciatively.

She smiles, coordinating the follow up explosions mostly for aesthetic - and destructive - effect.

"Should have set it to music," she muses.

"We can do that next time, darling."

"We're always improving."

"Practice is quite important."

"Mhm." She pets Acererak's hair. Twin jets of air puff out of either end of the station.

"Looks like the central shaft was ruptured."

Snuggle. "It seems likely they'll all be dead rather soon, then..."

"Those that don't flee to the ships."

"We'll see," she says with a laugh and another twist of her fingers. Strategically placed points along the docks explode, cutting off most escape routes, and several people whose job it is to coordinate and help with evacuations go insane.

This causes several follow-on explosions.

"You do think of everything."

"I've been causing mayhem for quite a long time."

"Fortunately it doesn't show on your face."

Smirk. "My skin care secrets are the envy of the multiverse."

"Must have been why everyone was really beating down your door."

She laughs. "Sadly, I only hand it out to people I really like."

"And there aren't many of those?"

"Only a handful. I do think you're one of them, though."

"I am happy to hear that."

Nuzzle. And, voice low and sultry, "How would you like to know my secret, darling?"

"I do like knowing secrets. Even if this one in particular is likely to be redundant for me."

"Oh? You know how to recreate your body after death?"

"...That seems a little extreme to get rid of wrinkles. But no, I meant that while I am alive, my appearance will not change."

Kiss. "I can keep you alive. My anti-wrinkle method is my immortality method, after all."

"That does sound interesting."

"It's a rather basic idea, though one with a complex implementation - you anchor your soul externally to your body. Of course, if you're not cautious that can simply give you a different vulnerability."

"Enabling people to attack your soul directly?"

"No more so than when it's in your body - but some people have a harder time defending locations far away from them, and it's most effective if you hide your soul's seat."

"I see."

"I have mine hidden in its own little universe, more trapped than the worst hell in the multiverse, of course."

"I assume it's fairly safe there."

"It has been for millennia."

"I don't think I know any places quite so secure. Somewhere anonymous in interstellar space, perhaps, though that would be obviated by objective-based teleportation."

"There's more methods of interdimensional travel than just mine, and mine is teachable."

"That is convenient."

"And the amount of mayhem you could unleash given time seems quite worth even some inconvenience."

Kiss!

Kiss!!!

"Where do we start?"

"Depends on how much control you want to give me over the process, really... If I'm assisting, the process will be a bit different than if you want to learn to do it yourself."

"I don't feel in any imminent danger, so I'd like to learn it myself."

"Sensible enough. It'll be safer, that way - and if something surprising happens, I can just resurrect you."

"So glad you approve."

Kiss. "I like independent girls, I must admit."

"And I," kiss, "like powerful ones."

"Oh, good." Kiss. "I'm afraid I'd bore you otherwise."

"Never."

Nuzzle. "Good. You're interesting."

Smile.

She stretches on the couch some. "Do you want to do lessons next then, darling?"

"Yes. The autopilot can handle things for a while."

"Most of the early arcana stuff's boring, and not even a good foundation for the later nonsense - I'll start you on the accelerated course of study, how about?"

"Sounds appropriate."

"And if you want to expand once you have your phylactery - the place where you keep your soul - well... There's quite a lot of fun nonsense out there."

"That depends how it compares to the power I already have access to."

"I suspect anything you'll hit in the next few centuries will have far less raw oomph, but there'll be some interesting synergies and utility spells arcana covers better - the spell I used to funnel necromantic energy into you was modified off of an extremely basic spell. At the highest standard levels - quite frankly, teleporting between planets is significantly more worthy of pursuit than causing earthquakes and tsunamis, even if it's less focused on."

"More versatile."

"That. And if you're smart you know where to find nice big bombs to teleport around, or how to conjure a bit of the inside of a sun - but the hilariously destructive spells require you to stick around being a target."

"Seems awkwardly designed, especially if most people are not as durable as you."

"A bit! Most people throwing around tsunamis are more durable than average, but arcana users are typically on the low end of 'stupidly durable powerful people.'"

"That won't be a problem for me, but I also have other tools to achieve those results."

"Having multiple specializations is good like that."

"Quite."

"It does make me curious if your system is learnable..."

"I don't think it is. You have to be- gifted it, by either the Imperatrix or her counterpart."

"Yuck."

"The bright side is that they do not appear capable of revoking it."

"An advantage, at least, and better than some kinds of granted magic I've seen."

"I'll take what I can get."

Kiss. "Fair. And you should get everything you can reach."

"Of course."

Mmmmmmm that is a very good look on Eliese. Clearly the proper response is for Acererak to tug her down to join her on the couch.

Eliese is completely on board with this plan of action.

Kisses!

And, a bit later, explaining the actual important basics of arcana as relevant to aspiring liches while cuddling. There's quite a few steps involving massive blood sacrifices of course, and the creation of the phylactery itself... Acererak's animated as she explains it, eagerly delving into the most obscure minutiae at the slightest provocation.

The best way to learn is from someone who has a passion for the subject. Which Acererak clearly does.

Cuddles (and floating illusions) are clearly essential to the explanation process, too.

Obviously.

"Where to next?" Acererak asks, after a lull in the conversation.

"Hmm." Eliese taps her lips. "I'm not sure. What sort of place do you want to see?"

Shrug. "Somewhere exciting? Exotic? Pretty?"

"How do you feel about tropical beaches?"

"Would you wear a bikini?"

She runs a hand delicately down her side. "I think I have the figure for it. Would you?"

"Of course. It's important to be appropriately attired."