Novel Devil Princess Reincarnation

Hello, wonderful people of the NU forums, I'm posting my original fiction here in addition to RRL where it's already been around for a few months.

My story

You can read it here or there, but I'd appreciate it if anyone who likes it would go over to RRL and give me a review or rating, that's always a big help.

Also, if anyone has a better idea for a name after reading it, please for the love of god tell me, I can't stand that, and saying it loud causes me physical pain.

Anyways, without further ado...

Synopsis: Of the Pine Family’s five children, Olivia Pine Fredirin was the most unremarkable. Born to a Ducal House in the Fredirin Kingdom, she was a naïve, sweet and timid girl. The type that’s completely unsuited to the hard world of royal politics.

However, half the truth is often a whole lie and only children and fools would believe what’s meets the eye. Olivia’s entire persona was fake, manufactured out of necessity. A way to maintain her life until her body grows strong enough to house her true soul.

Now, after seven years of waiting, she has finally awakened.


Table of Contents:
Chapter 0: Waking Up.
Chapter 1: Stuffed Animals and Breakfast.
Chapter 2: The Capital, Arvas.
Chapter 3: Cats and Dogs.
Chapter 4: Family?
Chapter 5: A Family Talk, a Talk of Magic.
Chapter 6: A Family Talk, a Talk of Retaliation.
Chapter 7: Michael Canyon Fredirin.
Chapter 8: A Scenic Carriage Ride in the Morning.
Chapter 9: Dojo Raid.
Chapter 10: Cousins.
Chapter 11: Hidden Base.
Chapter 12: Michael Fredirin.
Chapter 13: Sisterly Bonding.
Chapter 14: Rising Panic.
Chapter 15: Snow Day.
Appendix: Character Information.
Chapter 16: Elemental Overflow.
Chapter 17: One Strike.
Chapter 18: Crisis Management.
Chapter 19: Getting Ready.
Chapter 20: Strange Meetings.
Chapter 21: Lillian Quarry Fredirin.
Chapter 22: Sneak Attack.
Chapter 23: The Battle of Berzin Hills Commences.

Author's Notes.

3/11 I would have just made another post for this, but i've been trying really hard to keep my likes higher than my post count, and since i just fell under that by 2, i didn't want to waste a post.

Anyways, i do have a couple of things to say here.

For starters, anything that counts as an author's note will get posted here. Obvious that was.

Okay, now to the real things.

The story on RRL is currently at chapter 26, here it's only at 21 as of right now. that's due to the aforementioned desire to not have my post count go over my like count, and also because posting the story is a pain. Also, i'm busy and stuff. Give me a break.

On that note, there will be a chapter 27, and then an epilogue, and that's the end for Book 1. So the first book is almost over, this plot line is coming to an end.

And final thing for this author's note. On RRL i have a thing where if you write me a review there, i name a character after you. So if anyone is interested, head on over to RRL and write a review.

 

Chapter 0: Waking up.

Spoiler

Duchess Isabella was one of the Fredirin Kingdom's six highest-ranked nobles, all siblings, and children of the current king. Duchess Isabella wasn’t particularly talented in any field, nor was she particularly inept at any field. If one were being generous, she would be average, run of the mill, and if one were being harsh, she was slightly lacking.



However, the Duchess housed a fierce stubborn streak, once she set her mind on something, she would almost never be dissuaded. And while the Duchess didn’t excel in any categories, she also lacked the common flaws that nobility often had. Hubris, arrogance, ignorance, they were lacking in the Duchess.



Her husband, Duke Leo, was the third son of a lowly baron, he had joined the Kingdom’s navy, and in a short two years, had risen to the rank of captain. Despite the fact he was extremely talented, without backing from someone higher up, it was nearly impossible for him to move up in the world. That backing, however, came from the Duchess.



The Duchess, in her mediocrity, had always surrounded herself with those who had what she lacked, skill, talent, knowledge, and power. Perhaps, due to her capable subordinates, or maybe due to her approachable demeanor, the Duchess was considered one of the top contenders for the throne when her father either retired or died.



Her younger sister, Duchess Analise, had made a bold power grab years ago and had overreached badly, her power base was still long from recovering. Duke Zachry, the eldest brother, was a drunkard and twice divorced. He had basically no supporters.



Of the other three dukes, Duke Patrick and Duke Henry were both older than the Duchess, and were both competent, but the strongest contender was Duke Jason, who had both military and civic accomplishments.



Duchess Isabella might have been able to fight her brothers, but she had no real desire to do so, and even if she had, she was hindered in one major way.



For a noble, the Duchess was a horrible parent. To a commoner, she would have been ideal, both caring for and loving her children, but for one who aimed to reach the peak, her kindness was inexcusable.



Her five children, two girls, and three boys, lacked the ambition, the drive, the cunning, the despicableness, to ever thrive within noble society. In fact, if not for the protection of their parents, it was debatable whether or not they’d even be able to survive.



The competition for the throne was still at least a decade away, and of the current King’s many grandchildren that would play an integral part, many were still children, having not even made their official debut into society.



That said, while the official competition hadn’t begun yet, the unofficial one had. The children would strive to gain accolades for themselves, and at the same time, beat the opposition down. For commoners, bullying would maybe be a fight or placing bugs in another's clothes, but for nobles, that was merely child’s play. Even as early as it was, already one of the King’s grandchildren had died under suspicious circumstances.



Even now, the children were locked in battle, with winners and losers. In the Pine Estate, the home of Duchess Isabella, one of her children, the fourth youngest, Olivia Pine Fredirin, was recovering in her bedroom. Two days prior, when the seven-year-old was riding on a carriage to school within the capital, the bridge she was crossing had randomly collapsed, sending the carriage, the driver, two guardian knights, three attendants, and the young Olivia, into the late winter river below. One of her knights had suffered a broken neck and died instantly, and one of her attendants along with the driver had both drowned. The rest has suffered from hypothermia while fishing their lady from the ice cold waters.



Having nearly died, the timid, and now severely ill, Olivia had temporarily withdrawn from school and returned to her family’s lands in the Pine Mountains. Bedridden with a fever, the girl had slept for nearly the entire time.



Having woken up just recently, the frail Olivia was now standing in her darkened room staring at a full body length mirror.



The girl wore a simple looking white nightgown, but despite its simplicity, it’s quality was clear. Having slept in it for so long, it was rumbled and damp with sweat, and while it was tailored for her, it now hung somewhat loosely on her haggard frame.



The clothes suited their owner, however. Olivia was pale, her face an unhealthy white, her hair, normally a dark brown that she tied into a braid, was currently a tangled mess. Her arms were thin, merely skin and bones, in fact, this was true of her entire body. But the most striking part of her, was her eyes, two dull gray orbs that stared lifelessly at her reflection.



However, the most peculiar thing happened. As she stared, her gaze became unfocused and her eyes lost the little bit of light they had left, it was as if her life was fading as she stood there. But, that was clearly not the case. The pitter-patter of her heart slowed, but each beat was heavier, more powerful. And with each strong thud, power returned to her body. The limp muscles on her body slowly filled out, hiding the gaunt bones under a layer of lithe and powerful flesh. The blemishes that adorned the skin of any living being slowly faded away, leaving behind a porcelain white, flawless skin. Her features grew sharper, the roundness of youth shifted into the form of an almost elven adult. Whereas before she could have been called cute or adorable, now she was a flawless beauty. Her hair gained an almost imperceptible shimmer, even as its hue darkened, it was no longer brown, but a black as dark as midnight.



As her physical transformation finally started to come to a stop, the last change was her eyes. The dull gray turned into a silver so pure it was almost white. For a moment, the girl stood there, still staring, but unmoving.



Suddenly, the lifeless aura surrounding her changed, a palpable aura of malevolence and power flooded out from her. Her features, formerly ones of exquisite beauty, were now warped by hatred and anger. Her hair billowed out behind her, despite the lack of wind. Her eyes, once silver, were now red on black, the pupils a blazing slit down the center. The power emitted by the young girl was palpable, the curtains around her bed blew around, the paintings and tapestries on the walls shook, even the glass windows began to crack.



With a rage-filled howl, the girl’s fist shot out and punched through the mirror. Shattered glass was scattered around the room, shards lacerated her outstretched arm, dark red blood dripped from her wound, staining both the fur rug and her nightgown.



The girl raised her head to look at the ruined mirror, and like it had never happened, the sinister atmosphere was gone, her eyes were back to normal, her evil appearance was missing, only the beauty was left behind. Even the room, was still and quiet. She retracted her arm from the mirror, the muscles twitched and convulsed, the few shards of glass that were embedded in her arm were squeezed out, falling to the floor, but even as they landed, the cuts and gashes had sealed themselves up, even the scars had faded. The blood was the only evidence of her injury, but even that began to smoke, within moments, only an acrid smell was left behind, the blood was gone. The girl’s hand went to her neck as if to grab an amulet or necklace, but there was nothing there and realizing this, the girl’s arms dropped back down to her sides.



Without another word, the girl returned to the bed and fell asleep.

 

Chapter 1: Stuffed Animals and Breakfast.

Spoiler

Sunday, February 8th, N.E. 807, 6:12

Citadel of the Pines, Pine Domain, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

I woke up in a bed that wasn’t my own. In a room that wasn’t my own, in a building that wasn’t my own, and in a world that wasn’t my own.



Or did I?



I reach towards my neck to feel for the amulet that I had always worn, but the small hand, the hand of a human girl, a child, found nothing.



This bed wasn’t my own, but it was, this room wasn’t my own, but it was, the building wasn’t my own, but it was, and this world, this fucking world, wasn’t my own, but it was.



“Fuck,” I said as I sat up in the bed that was apparently mine.



This room, well, it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t to my taste for sure, but it wasn’t bad, the quality was decent enough, fitting for the daughter of a duke and duchess, but it wasn’t what I was used to. It was a good thing that I preferred a more utilitarian approach to things, because if I had reveled in the full luxury that was available to me, I doubt anything on this worthless little rock would compare.



White curtains over large windows in stone walls, the bed was made of a dark wood, but the sheets and the curtains surrounding it were also a pure white, the floor was stone, but it was covered by big thick rugs. There were shelves with books and other odds and ends, wardrobes filled with my clothes, and also a desk. The room was far too big for simply a room to sleep in, but since it was also my primary living quarters, it could even be said to be a bit on the small side.



I knew that the room was decorated not by myself, or my prior self, but by the estate’s staff. The only thing that showed any of my personality, were the stuffed animals located in various spots, on the shelves, the desk, the floor, and the bed. Unlike the fine quality of the room itself, and the almost sterile feel it gave, the stuffed animals were worn and tattered, clearly showing how much they were used by the previous me.



Or perhaps not exactly.



My eyesight settled on one of the stuffed animals on the shelves, it was a fat sheep. The much younger version of myself had loved a story about a sheep that had blue wool and had no friends due to that blue fur, so I had begged my parents to get me a blue sheep stuffed animal.



Within a week, a high-quality sheep with fuzzy blue fur was in my hands, and I named him Gimmy, mostly because I couldn’t pronounce his real name from the story, Jimmy.



For two years, Gimmy, followed me as my loyal friend, until at an outing in the royal capital, one of my cousins used my stuffed animal to practice a magical spell, coating Gimmy with a small amount of acid. Most of Gimmy’s fuzzy blue hair had been burnt off, and what was left had been bleached white.



Gimmy, damaged as he was, was still precious to the previous me, and his new home was that shelf. The previous me had sat and talked to the stupid blue sheep, but had never dared touch it for fear that it would fall apart.



“Ridiculous,” I said to myself.



It was a stupid, old, toy. It belonged to a child, it was trash.



And yet, a boiling rage coursed through my very being.



The acrid smell of my blood burning away brought me to my senses, and then I realized that not only had I clenched my hands tight enough to dig my nails into my palms, but I had done so with enough force to tear the thick blankets of my bed.



The previous version of me, was in fact, me. It was a fake personality, designed to operate the body I had been born with, until my true personality, along with my soul, recovered. It also served to nurture this body, so that it could withstand the power of my real soul.



When I awoke last night, the old version wasn’t just erased, it was absorbed into me. Every memory, every thought, every emotion, was now mine.



I might find it absurd, but Gimmy was my old friend, a loved comrade, and while the old me, only felt sadness at her inability to protect her friend, or avenge him, all I felt was pure hatred.



To be fair, hatred, rage, fury, these emotions came easily to me. I had been enraged in the past by less, but I had to be honest with myself. I wasn’t only feeling rage due to a slight against me, or at my helplessness. I had genuine feelings for this stupid sheep.



I got up and walked over to Gimmy, his little glass bead eyes didn’t actually look at me, or at anything at all, they weren’t functioning eyes after all. Slowly, carefully, I placed my hand upon the stuffed animal's head and gently rubbed what remained of his fur.



It wasn’t soft, not like in my memories. What little remained, was still burnt.



Magic that could repair Gimmy existed, but to restore something that was damaged so heavily, and with magic no less, would require very powerful magic, and even as a daughter of Duchess Isabella, as a grandchild of the current King, I couldn’t ask for that, especially for a stupid reason such as repairing a stuffed sheep.



But that was the old me, the new me, wasn’t completely without options. I did possess a soul capable of wielding incredibly powerful magic, my body would likely be destroyed if I went all out, but I still hold that magic. But, repairing and restoration, were types of magic that were the direct opposite of what I focused on.



Let alone restoring a magically damaged stuffed animal, I couldn’t even repair the tears in my blankets or the cut in my nightgown sleeve from when I punched a mirror last night.



“Well, it isn’t like I can’t do anything, right old friend?” I asked the sheep as I cycled mana through my body.



Mana could do many things, and already my body had been reforged from my awakening, but I would need a bit more strength for this.



With the mana strengthening the muscles within my face and hardening my teeth, I brought my hand from the sheep's head to my mouth, and after placing my index finger into my mouth, I bit down onto the knuckle.



There was a wet ripping sound as my teeth cut and tore through the skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Crinsom blood, already beginning to burn away, dripped from my mouth as I severed the digit entirely. I spit the finger out into my left hand, and then brought my right one, gushing blood, back to the blue sheep's head.



My blood, a viscous, tar-like substance, oozed from the wound much slower than it would normally, and it soaked into the stuffed animal. The soggy Gimmy writhed as my blood coursed through its stuffing.



I was in effect, binding the stuffed animal to me as a bound magical item. I could bestow an actual magical effect if I wanted too, but I knew no spells that would be appropriate for a stuffed animal to be capable of manifesting. Gimmy would be a magic item, but besides being bound to me, it would show no effects.



However, merely being bound to me by my blood would make Gimmy nearly indestructible as long as my mana wasn’t cut off.



As the new and improved Gimmy continued to writhe, I held my severed finger to the stump, and as the deep red blood continued to burn away, eventually the bone reconnected, and then the underlying tissues, and finally the skin. It took less than five seconds, but all traces that I had been injured were already gone.



“Not bad,” I said satisfied.



Gimmy was now somewhere between a high-grade magical item, and an artifact. He was surely the most powerful stuffed sheep in the world. Or probably, any world.



“Let's go get breakfast,” I said as I picked up the sheep and carried him in my arms.

Sunday, February 8th, N.E. 807, 6:29

Citadel of the Pines, Pine Domain, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

The Pine Family has many customs that are strange for nobility, and one of them is to have family meals. Whenever possible, the family will try to at least have one meal together a day. But, since the family is undoubtedly busy, and since they have four separate estates, meals with the entire family are rather rare.



As I passed through the halls of the estate, I encountered no one. Of the family’s four estates, this one, referred to as the Citadel of the Pines, was the least used. The Pine Domain was dominated by a mountain range that provided both ores from the mines, and lumber from the pine forests that covered it. To the south was the royal capital, where I was going to school until two days ago, one of my elder brothers and my elder sister both resided there in our mansion. To the north-east was Arnbache city, the seat of power for the Pine Family, and to the North-west was Port Good Seas, the location of the Pine Family's navy and international trade network.



When I had been injured under mysterious circumstances, my elder siblings, along with the steward and guard captain from the mansion, decided to send me out of the city to recover, and to keep me safe from anything and anyone looking to finish me off. Ideally, the estate at Arnbache City would have been best, but while a rushed carriage could reach the Citadel in twelve hours, it would take nearly three times as long to get to the city. Not to mention, a carriage couldn’t rush for a day and a half without stopping.



As for Port Good Seas, while it was seemingly a bit closer than Arnbache City, that was only the case if one crossed the mountains, a difficult task for a group of adventurers, in summer. For a carriage, in winter, it was simply impossible. And if crossing the mountain wasn’t an option, all that was left, was going around it, and the only way to do that, was to go through Arnbache City.



With the above reasons, I was sent to the Citadel of Pines, and old fort halfway up one of the mountains.



Two of my siblings were at the royal capital, my younger brother was with my mother in Arnbache City, and my eldest brother was with my father at the Port of Good Seas, so I was the only one here. With this citadel being a relic of the past, and also being in an inconvenient location, it was almost abandoned. There were guards and servants for sure, since it wasn’t completely unused, but it had far fewer people than a building of its size would normally have.



While I was planning on going to get breakfast, there was a side stop I needed to make on the way. And that stop was now in front of me, behind an ornate wooden door.



With my hands filled with the stuffed animal, there was only one way to knock, by kicking the door.



As the thuds resounded, I heard some movement beyond the door and then the door opened.



The one who opened the door was Patricia Clarace, the head maid of the citadel, and the granddaughter of Ronald Clarace, a former general, and now the steward of the Citadel of Pines, the very man who was sitting at the desk in front of me.



“My lady, you’ve awoken?” Patricia uttered surprised.



“Patricia, tea please.” The old man said, bringing the head maid back to the world. “My Lady, please take a seat.”



“I’m sorry for bothering you this early,” I said as I took a seat across from the old general’s desk.



Gimmy was placed down next to me, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the people in the room, although neither brought it up.



“Nonsense my lady, I’m a humble servant of the Pine Family.” He said with a smile. “Still, I thought you would be resting still, you were rather ill when you arrived.”



Before I could respond, Patricia had placed an ornate saucer with a matching cup down in front of me. Steam was billowing from the top of the tan liquid.



I nodded to her and then softly blew across the cup. From the scent, it was Alfasp tea, a delicacy that I had previously enjoyed. But, when I tasted it, I found it too sweet.



I put the cup back down and spotted Patricia standing by the door, unsure if she should stay or leave.



“Patricia, please sit down,” I said.



“No thank you, my lady, I am fine standing.”



“Sit.”



“Er, yes my lady.”



I hate this civility and polite shit. Everything would be so much easier if people just said what they meant. No beating around the bush, no sly words and, hidden meanings, just direct words.



“I wish to return to the capital, today,” I stated after I watched Patricia sit down off to the side.



“Hmm, My lady, I don’t think that is possible. Leaving the Citadel is easier than entering it, but it's still a ten-hour trip. The procession would need to set out within the hour to avoid arriving after the gates close for the night.”



“Then we will leave within the hour,” I said simply.



“My lady…” Ronald Clarace made a face as he chose his words. “You have just recovered, it isn’t wise to set out on such a harsh journey so soon. It is best to rest for a few more days and then-”



“I unsealed my Mana core last night,” I said, interrupting what the elderly steward was saying.



“You, you did?” he said shocked.



I heard Patricia gasp, but I focused on the man across from me. His eyes quickly glanced over my torn sleeve, my different colored eyes and hair, and my sharper, but healthy, features.



I ignored him for a moment and took another sip of my tea. Steam still wafted off of it, and I still didn’t like the flavor. Then, after removing it from my lips, I slowly turned the teacup to its side, but the expected trickle of tea never happened.



Instead, with a clunk, a chunk of ice fell from the cup and clattered onto the desk.



“I-Ice attribute?!” he stuttered out, even Patricia had stood up in surprise.



While the granddaughter and grandfather combo looked upon the chunk of ice shocked, neither of them noticed as the last wisps of blood on my lip burnt away into smoke and the cut healed.



Then, before they could say anything else, I pointed with my finger, and the ice lifted off of the desk, and then hovered over the cup.



“Wind too?” Patricia asked. “No, wait, fire?”



As they watched, the ice reverted to its liquid form and slowly fell back into the cup that I was still holding. Steam was billowing from the top as if nothing had happened while I took another sip, my blood I had superstitiously placed into the tea was drawn back into my body.



I smiled as I placed the cup back upon the saucer.



“The journey will be no problem.”



“Yes… I will see that a carriage is ready within the hour.” Ronald said as he looked over me with a discerning gaze.



“A horse is fine, time is of the essence.” I ignored his gaze as I rejected his proposal.



“A horse is it?” He said more to himself.



“What do you mean by time being of the essence?” asked the head maid.



“Someone dumped me into a river, the favor needs to be returned as soon as possible,” I replied offhandedly



“...”



“...”



“Honor demands it,” I added.



“That…” Patricia started.



“You are right my lady, to not respond would sully the honor of the Pine Family,” Ronald responded, a glint of pride in his eyes.



Normally, I’d say that the only honor that mattered was my own, but looking at Gimmy from the corner of my eye, maybe the Pine Family’s honor did matter.



A bit.



“Oh, that’s right. “ I began. “My escorts should stay with my carriage for a while. At least until the start of next week. So I’ll need you to lend me some replacements.”



“... Yes, I will see to it. Some of my finest knights will accompany you.”



“No, not knights. I need some Spectres.” I said, a smile appearing on my face.



“... Understood…”

Sunday, February 8th, N.E. 807, 7:34

Citadel of the Pines, Pine Domain, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

Just under an hour later, after having breakfast, the main gate of the Citadel of Pine opened. Twelve riders, dressed in brown and tan cloaks raced out, the gate slowly shutting behind them. One of the twelve was curiously smaller than the others.

 

Please put it in spoilers.

 

Chapter 2: The Capital, Arvas.

Spoiler

Sunday, February 8th, N.E. 807, 14:18

Outside of the walls, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

The Royal Capital of the Fredirin Kingdom, Arvas, was a sprawling city built upon the convergence point of two rivers. It had grown out of its original bounds, and now the rivers flowed through the heart of the city, canals had been built, further expanding the city’s reliance on water for transportation.



When it was merely between the two rivers, they acted as a defensive measure that was unparalleled to what humans could make, and the city was a fortress. But since it grew, that was no longer the case. And since the Kingdom itself grew, the idea of a hostile army reaching the capital had become a joke. Due to this, Arvas was pretty liberal with its gates. There were six major gates, and twice as many smaller gates situated around the city, and during the day, all of them were kept open.



There was, of course, inspections that one needed to pass to enter, and the smaller gates were only used by people with permits to use that specific gate. Visitors and out of towners had to use one of the six major gates, and that meant a long wait until one of the overworked and underpaid inspection agents could get around to interviewing the prospective visitor.



Of course, bribery could always expedite the process.



However, that was only the case for commoners, those with permits or the insignia of a noble only needed to show their documents and they could pass, they even had a special area for those people, so that they didn’t have a wait.



And for an actual noble, they were able to bypass the entire process.



So when twelve horsemen came charging up to the tail end of the waiting line, most people assumed they would stop. After all, the twelve were clearly not soldiers or knights. Under the plain cloaks that they were, glimpses of weapons could be seen, but there was no uniformity to them. Even stranger, one of the horsemen appeared to be a halfling, and while not exactly rare, halflings were not common either, and they never served in the military.They were either adventurers or mercenaries, or so the merchants and travelers had assumed.



But the twelve horsemen nimbly detoured around the line and charged up towards the gates, only stopping when they were right in front of the inspection office.



Several guards looked alarmed, and a few crossbows were aimed while spears were lifted, but after a few words between the guards and one of the horsemen, and after passing some items back and forth, all twelve riders were granted access to the city.



To the people still waiting in line, this was only a matter of course, but still, some of them couldn’t help but sigh with envy.

Sunday, February 8th, N.E. 807, 14:20

9th Avenue, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

It would have taken ten hours by carriage, but with swift horses running almost without stopping, the trip was reduced to six. Since we had left just a bit after dawn, it was now a bit past noon. Granted, the trip was unpleasant, and it would have been taxing to a normal human, but I simply used my magic to reinforce my body, and the Spectres, they were used to this kind of thing.



“My Lady, what now?”



Our formation up until now was two riders side by side, and I was in the second group in, close enough to the front that it didn’t look like I was deliberately being protected, a fact that the Spectres that steward Ronald had lent me found difficult to bare. They had only relented when the three best fighters in the group were placed surrounding me, the one to my left, who just spoke, was the leader of this group, Captain Nev.



“Captain, we need to find a place to stay for a few days. An inn will do, I'll leave the arrangements to you.” I replied.



“An inn is it?” He asked.



“Yes, we need to be low-key for now, so find something reasonable, not something nobility would stay at.”



“Yes, my lady.”



“Hmm, but not a dump either. I don’t want to stay in a filthy room.” I added as an afterthought.



“Yes.” Captain Nev answered dutifully, and then went to his subordinates to discuss our future course of action.



Meanwhile, we meandered down one of Arvas’s main streets.



Arvas was set up in a series of rings, these main roads went from each of the six major gates, and headed straight into the city’s center, where the royal palace was. No shops or buildings faced these main roads, they were used solely to transport people and goods, a highway of sorts. They were decently busy, but everyone was either coming or going, people just moving slowly aimlessly like us were somewhat rare.



“My lady.” Nev turned back to me having finished his deliberations with the others. “Down this way is an inn with good security, it’s used by wealthy traveling merchants. We might stick out a bit, but it’s probably the best option.”



“Let us go with that then, lead on Captain.”



We turned off of the main thoroughfare and onto a side road, unlike the major circle roads that were bustling with shops and roadside stalls, these side roads were made up of inns, restaurants, and shops that catered to a more select clientele.



After five minutes, a large, four-story building came into view. It was one story taller than the adjacent buildings, but what really set it apart, was that it had a balcony area in the front that covered the second through fourth floors.



“Here we are my lady, the Patio Inn.” Nev introduced the building.



However, my attention was not on the inn, but the restaurant across the road. Three men had just excited, and after saying their goodbyes, they split up, two coming toward us while talking amongst themselves, and one going in the opposite direction.



“Captain, that man there,” I said motioning towards the single man heading away from us, “I need to talk to him.”



Not only Captain Nev, but the other Spectres around me all focused their gaze on the man.



“Who is he?” the captain asked.



“His name isn’t important, but he is a servant of the Iron-Hammer Family. He is an errand boy for their third son, Thomas.”



“Should we… invite him over?” Captain Nev asked uncertainly.



“No…” I glanced around to make sure no one was overhearing me, “We aren’t on good terms, both their family, or the third son.”



“I see…” Realization dawned on the Captain.



The Pine Family’s covert soldiers, the Spectres of Hemlock, were a mixture of spies, scouts, and secret police, but they were also split into sections. Captain Nev’s unit that I had borrowed was focused on scouting and policing duties around the Citadel of Pine, they weren’t aware of the situation in the Royal Capital.



“There are too many people around to do anything here, and we have nowhere to hide him.” Nev pointed out the problems with the plan.



“The Iron-Hammer estate is in the Second Circle, but it’s in the other direction, so he must be running errands, have someone follow him, and grab him when you get the chance,” I said.



“...” Captain Nev looked like he wanted to say something, but was holding himself back.



“What is it, Captain?”



“My lady, this is the Royal Capital, abducting someone… is risky. If something were to go wrong…” The Captain still hesitated.



“If there isn’t an opening, then no need to make a move,” I said plainly.



“No, my lady, it isn’t that. Us Spectres are willing to lay our lives down for the Pine Family.” He said resolutely.



“Then what?”



“I fear that if this fails, it could negatively impact the relations between the Iron-Hammers and us. You said that we aren’t on good terms, so they might use this as an opportunity to make trouble for our family.”



“Captain Nev,” I said as I turned to face him fully. “The Spectres are our family’s elite covert force, you won't tell me you can’t escape from the local patrol forces here?”



“Of course not my lady. Only the Royal Guard could catch us. But, if we need to transport a… prisoner, that could be different.”



“Then kill him.”



“...What?” The captain asked, a look of surprise on his face.



“Leave no witness, if need be. If you are discovered, kill the target, kill anyone who saw anything, and then flee.”



“Is… Is that okay?”



“It is more than okay, you didn't think I would release him after I went through all this trouble of catching him in the first place, did you? Now, get to it, and let's get off of this road.” I said and then turned back towards the Patio Inn.



“Yes, my lady.” Captain Nev said to me before turning to his subordinates. “Penk, Carl, Lin, follow that man, you know what to do.”



I smiled as I dismounted and entered the inn, the task in front of me was a large one, but it was off to a good start.

Sunday, February 8th, N.E. 807, 14:31

Patio Inn, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

Meditation is considered a tried and true way for increasing one's worth as a mage. It doesn't give the fastest or greatest results, but it gives them consistently, and it also increasing everything that a mage needs. Not just mana capacity, but mental strength and understanding too. There were more effective ways of increasing an individual trait, for instance, using all of your mana until exhaustion will increase capacity far more than just meditating.



Early on, when all three traits are low, it is really easy to get them out of balance, a huge mana capacity with no mental strength isn’t really useful, it would be better than someone who didn’t train at all, but someone who spent half the time simply meditating will see much better overall results.



After having rented three room in the Patio Inn, each large enough to fit four people, we split up into our adjacent rooms. I, of course, didn’t get one to myself, Captain Nev’s squad had three female members, so I was sharing a room with those three for my own safety. One of them was sent to tail the servant of the Iron-Hammers, but the other two were here with me.



Since I had nothing else to do after telling Captain Nev to gather rumors about my recent accident, I told the two women that I would be meditating.



That was actually a lie, however.



In all three traits, I had reached a point where further progress was so incredibly slow that I could almost not advance at all, even using the most extreme methods, let alone meditation. A normal human would require consistent meditation to not regress in their skills, but since my soul was vastly different from a normal human's, that wasn’t a concern to me.



What I was doing now, was repeatedly cycling my mana through my body, starting with my bones, in an effort to reforge it into something stronger. Right now, not even a day after having my true personality awaken, I was already as strong as an average soldier without using any mana to further reinforce my body.



But that was far too weak.



A weak physical body was not only dangerous, but it was also an embarrassment for someone like me. But there was an even larger problem, this body was so frail that using some of my medium grade magic would likely destroy my limbs, high-grade magic would shred my body, leaving nothing but a bloody mist behind.



Right now, not only was my physical strength a fraction of what it was before, but my magic was limited in a similar way.



The most annoying part, reforging my body would be a very long process, and it needed to be done step by step, the bones needed to be strengthened before muscles, veins and arteries, along with my organs would need to go before muscles and skin. And until my muscles were reforged, there wouldn’t be much noticeable effect in my power.



Unlike meditation, which made one unaware of the world around them, what I was doing was only moderately distracting, I couldn’t really do two things at once, but temporarily diverting focus from the reforging of my bones would only slow the progress for as long as I was not paying attention.



So when, even before someone knocked on the door, my two guards I shared the room with suddenly straightened up and placed their hands on their weapon, I had already shifted my attention.



“It's Nev. I have apples.” said the voice, slightly muffled by the door.



“Let him in.”



The chain lock was removed, the key near the knob was turned, and the chair propped up behind it was moved, and finally, the door opened, allowing Captain Nev to enter. He was suspiciously without apples.



“No apples, Captain?” I asked.



“Hmm…?” He looked confused for a second before realization dawned on him. “I am sorry my lady, that was a code to indicate everything was alright. If you’d like, someone can go get some…?”



“No, it's fine,” I said shaking my head. “Besides, I guess something has happened?”



“I heard back from the split squad, they have accomplished their mission without a problem. The goods are being stored in a warehouse, but we'll move them somewhere else once night falls.”



“Good. but there is no reason to wait, I'll go now.” I said as I stood up from the bed.



“My Lady, is that… a good idea?” Nev asked.



“Hmm…” I did stop and think about it.



On one hand, I didn’t have anything specific I wanted to ask that man, I just wanted to gather as much information from him as I could, and it would be a lot easier to do that if I were there, at least overseeing the questioning.



On the other hand, going myself was a risk. If anything happened and the Spectres were seen by someone, they could simply leave the Royal Capital without worries. If I were seen, that is a much bigger problem.



Well, there was a simple solution to this.



“Captain Nev, I will go personally, but have someone go to some of the suppliers for adventures, they should have filter masks on sale, we’ll wear those.”



“Yes, my Lady.” Nev responded and then turned and exited the room.



Now then, let's see what I could learn from my captured servant.

Sunday, February 8th, N.E. 807, 14:48

Abandoned Warehouse, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Vark, Son of Dems.​

“HMM...Mmmmm. HMPH…”



I tried to demand that I be released, but all it came out as was a bunch of muffled groans, all due to the piece of cloth shoved into my throat.



Okay, let's go over this again.



It was my day off, I spent the morning having tea and reading in the Iron-Hammer’s garden, a bleak little area with more stone than plants, but since I had allergies, it wasn't too bad. I had a light lunch in my room, and then I went out into town. I checked on my mother, who was getting too old to move around much. My afternoon was spent doing some chores around her house, while she complained that I did nothing right. I left at the fourth bell and went shopping, browsing I should say. I checked some bookstores, but my wallet was lacking, and there was nothing I really wanted, but I still enjoyed looking through the new publications. I then met my brother and his business partner for dinner, I was afraid they wanted me to invest, but it was just a simple meal. We left the restaurant around the sixth bell, and then I spent about two more hours doing some grocery shopping for myself. I got some extra snacks for myself, a new belt, and I dropped off some clothes for some mending. And then I was heading home, but at some point, I was knocked out, and I woke up here.



But how long had I been out? And who did this to me? And what did they want?



In fact, where was here?



I was tied up and gagged, a rope was wrapped around my feet and legs, another was wrapped around my chest and arms, and even my hands, held behind my back, where also tied up. And then I was left on the floor.



The floor was wooden, in fact, the building itself was wooden, decent construction, if not decorated. The room was almost a perfect square, about ten feet by ten feet, and besides the one wooden door, there was no other openings, doors or windows. The only light came from a lit oil lamp set in an alcove by the door. Besides myself, the door, and the lamp, the room was empty.



“Mmmmfff…” I tried calling out again, but no one responded.



Since I had woken up, no one had appeared. No one tried to talk to me, and I heard no one moving as far as I could tell. Was I abandoned here? Were they going to starve me? Or were they going to try and ransom me to the Iron-Hammers?



And… would the Iron-Hammers pay?



Somehow, I didn’t think they would. I may have devoted my life to them, but I was a mere servant.



I was afraid for myself, very afraid, but so far no one seemed to want to hurt me, so maybe I would be okay. But I was also afraid that I would be used to threaten, or embarrass, the Young Master who I served.



Young Master Thomas will likely not inherit the position of Family Head, his elder brothers are both healthy and skilled, but I think he will still serve the family in some way. I know a lot of second and third sons are pushed out of the family once a new head takes over, but the Iron-Hammers don’t work like that. The Young Master will likely oversee some stores, or maybe workshops for the family. And he’ll be good at it too, I just know it. He has the disposition of a noble, he’s a very good lord to serve, and he has my loyalty, more than the family itself.



I would never be able to forgive myself if I were used to in some way harm him.



So, what was important right now, was for me to escape.



But, that would likely be impossible, so instead, I need to gather as much information as possible, and then try to come to a peaceful agreement with my kidnappers.



And if I can’t do that, then at least, I need to make sure I am not a liability.



The question is, how will I do any of these things?



Do I just wait? I think I do, but for how long?



“Hmmmfff?” I groaned out.



Was that… footsteps? I think I hear someone approaching.



Yes, I hear the door being unlocked, now lets roll over and see who is coming in.



“It’s dark in here.” The newcomer, a male, said before I could finish my roll, the ropes made it hard.



“I’ll light a torch.” This time, a woman responded.



My roll finished just in time to see someone slip out of the door and shut it behind them. But, there were two others left behind.



One looked to be a man, but he had a simple traveler's cloak on, which hid his body outline. And his face was covered in a mask, the kind adventurers and explorers used to block certain poisons. It was a leather sack that fitted over the head, with glass lenses over the eyes and hose like thing where the mouth would be.



It was frankly, very eerie looking.



The other one, also wore the mask and cloak, making the gender even harder to tell. But unlike the first, this one seemed to be a halfling, based on its small size.



The large one looked around the room a bit but mostly kept his eyes on me, the smaller one, however, stared into my eyes, unblinking.



The smaller one was much eerier.



“I brought another lamp.” The female voice spoke again, having just reopened the door and came back in.



In her hand was another, larger oil lamp, which she brought into the center of the room and hooked up to a rope on the roof. The room still had shadows, but it was much brighter than before.



“Remove the gag.” The small one said, with a very feminine voice.



“What if he screams?” The man asked the small girl, who seemed to be the leader.



“Stay nearby, and choke him.” She said to him, but her gaze never left me. “But he won't scream, will you? You know that that is a bad idea.”



“Hmmff.” I did my best to show I understood, even shaking my head affirmatively.



“Good, remove the gag.” She said again.



The woman slowly approached me, and before removing the gag, she wrapped a wire around my neck a few times. I had no doubt, that if I made a fuss, she would choke me into unconsciousness immediately.



“Ahem.” I cleared my throat now that the gag was gone, and then tried my best to sit up a bit and look presentable, but made no progress. “What do you want?”



“Oh, you don’t care who we are?” the small one asked.



Honestly, I assumed they wouldn’t tell me, and even if they were willing, I also didn’t want to know. The more I knew, the greater the liability I was. That's why, despite being so eerie looking, the masks they wore actually helped me relax.



“Who you are, that doesn’t matter, what does, is why you kidnapped me,” I spoke calmly and clearly.



I may have sounded calm and collected, but I was secretly terrified. These people might not kill me or hurt me if they didn’t need to, but they were clearly professionals. And I had no intention of betraying the Young Master, so they might not be planning on hurting me now, they might change their minds later on.



“That may be, but as a servant of the Iron-Hammers, a prestigious noble family dating back to the founding of the Fredirin Kingdom, introductions should be made, don't you think?”



“Ah, yes,” I said slowly, the fact that they knew who I worked for was expected, but I still wasn’t happy to have it confirmed. “My name is Vark, son of Dems. I am a servant belonging to the third Young Master, Thomas Iron-Hammer.”



“Good.” the small figure said.



And then, she reached up and pulled back her hood, while also removing her mask. Long, midnight black hair, set into a single braid, fell down her back. She had a face like a doll, flawless, pure white skin, a perfectly formed nose, small red lips that were currently curved into a light smile, round eyes that were a silver so pure that where the iris ended and the white of the eye began could almost not be determined.



She was most assuredly one of the most flawlessly beautiful people I had ever seen, but there was also a hint a familiarly hidden in her features.



“A pleasure to meet you Vark, son of Dems.” Her voice, as she made an elegant curtsy broke me out of my stupor. “Olivia Pine Fredirin greets you.”



“Wha…?”



No way, was this that little, timid girl who went to school with the Young Master? That small, squirrel-like child that was a disgrace to the higher nobility? The daughter of the Joke Duchess?



“Now Vark, son of Dems, I need to ask you some questions.” She said as she straightened back up.



“Yes... I will try and answer…?” I answered, still shocked that she was who she said she was.



“Three days ago, my carriage suffered a mishap, I was wondering if you knew anything about it?” She asked.



...Is this girl, really this much of an idiot? She kidnapped me, a member of the Iron-Hammers, to ask something like this?



Luckily, the stupid question brought me to my senses.



“I’m sorry, I had heard about the incident, but I know nothing else, other than your carriage had overturned.”



That wasn’t exactly true, I knew it had crashed when the bridge it was on collapsed, which was to be fair, extremely suspicious. I also knew that she had fallen into the water of the Ivo River and almost died. The other servants and I had laughed about this for a while, it was a great joke.



“I see, you know nothing else then?”



Was she… insinuating that it was the Iron-Hammers that set this up? This could be bad.



“I had only heard about it later that day, I regret to say this, but many people were talking about your swift withdraw from the city to recover, many people were concerned for your wellbeing.



This wasn’t the behavior that the girl was known for at all, but I was pretty sure I understood what she was doing. Her family’s honor was tarnished by that embarrassing fall, and the jokes and gossip that followed. She probably needed someone to blame, a scapegoat, so she would convince me to confess, and then blame the thing on the Iron-Hammers.



“Well, that’s a shame. Nothing to be done then, I was hoping to find something out, but no matter.” She said, dismissing the subject just like that.



Was… that it? Really? I don’t get it, what was her angle here?



“I am sorry I couldn’t help you more.” I apologized.



I was about to ask if she could release me, but I was afraid to ask too soon.



“It’s fine, it’s fine.” She said waving her hand dismissively. “But I do have another question.”



“Yes?”



“Thomas Iron-Hammer, your master, he spends a lot of time in the company of my cousin, Kyle Gold-Field Fredirin, I'd like you to tell me about that.”



This… was completely different from before. And, this was really, really, bad.



“I am sorry, but…” I tried to deny her gently.



“”That’s right, this is an important thing for you. I understand how difficult it is, so let's give you some motivation?” She said with a smile.



A smile that did not reassure me, at all.



“Motivation?”



“The carrot and the stick, I'm sure you’ve heard the phrase.” She said as she walked up to me.



I was suddenly very aware that I was still tied up, completely unable to do anything other than roll and flop around the floor.



“I… have h-heard it before.” I stammered.



“Good.” She said as she crouched down in front of me and lifted my head with her hand.



And then, suddenly, she shoved her finger into my mouth.



“Gahg!”



It was so surprising, that I started choking and coughing. I hardly noticed she had withdrawn it and was wiping away my spit with a handkerchief she had produced from somewhere.



“Vark, son of Dems, let me ask you something else.” She said, her smile growing on her face.



“...Y-yes?” I was still coughing but managed to respond.



“Was that, the carrot, or the stick? What do you think, Vark, son of Dems?”



What? What kind of stupid question was that? If she had made me swallow something, or had actually made me choke, or even vomit, it might have been a punishment, but she did neither of those things. But, how could it be a reward?



Wait, I had heard that some nobles consider letting a person lick their shoes was equal to a reward, so maybe this was…?”



“The carrot?” I guessed



“Oh, I'm sorry, Vark, son of Dems. You’ve guessed wrong.” She said, mirth clearly visible in her voice. “It’s a shame you are all tied up, you look hot in that fur coat, I bet you’d like to take it off?”



… What was she saying? It was winter, and I was in a seemingly abandoned building, laying on the cold floor. My coat was hardly even keeping me warm at this point.



“...”



Wait a second, I did feel sort of warm… No actually, I was hot. What was this?



It was REALLY hot all of a sudden.



“See Vark, son of Dems, you should have taken the coat off when you had the chance.”



“What did… Its so hot, I'm burning. PLEASE STO-” I started yelling, but suddenly, the wires wrapped around my neck were constricted, cutting off my words, and my breath.



I couldn’t breathe, but it didn't matter, I was so hot. I WAS BURNING.



“Gag him again.” The girl said, her smile gone.



“Yes.” The woman said, and instantly the gag was back in my mouth, and I could breathe. But nothing stopped the heat from burning me inside.



“That, Vark, son of Dems, is the stick, or part of it at least. I bet it’s unpleasant, so hot, it must be burning, right?” She said emotionlessly, as she circled around me.



It was so hot, I could barely tell what was happening, but her words echoed in my mind.



“Don’t worry, it will be over soon. Just about…” she was behind me now, I couldn’t see her, but her words were still being whispered to me. “Now”



And just like that, the heat, the fire, faded.



“Better?” She whispered.



It was better. So much better.



I was exhausted, it was only minutes, if that, but it felt like so much longer.



“I bet you think this is the carrot, this break, don’t you Vark, son of Dems? But it isn’t. This respite is just the start of the fun. This stick, Vark, son of Dems, will be truly unpleasant for you. But, on the upside, at least you have your coat on. It might have been hellish with all that heat, but if you started to get cold… well then.”



Cold? Oh no, could she… no, if she was a mage specializing in fire, then she couldn’t also specialize in ice, they were opposites.



“I bet you are thinking something like this, ‘she must have used some kind of fire magic on me, but fire and ice magics are opposites, so she can’t also use ice to make me cold.’ You think that, don’t you Vark, son of Dems? But, I hate to say it, you would be wrong. It’s the cold hard truth.”



Impossible…



“And you should be feeling that truth, that COLD truth right about now.



“HMMMMFFF!”



I grunted angrily, but then suddenly, a chill, like a cold winter breeze hit me. My very bones started to freeze. I felt myself start to shiver, bumps appearing on my arms, I was probably turning blue. Even the sweat that I had produced moments ago, felt like it would freeze on my skin.



What kind of magic was this?



“Don’t worry Vark, son of Dems. The cold will only last for about half a minute.”



Half a minute of this? Of having my body froze? No, this would be hell.



“But then, I am sorry to say, the heat will return. And then the cold, and then the heat, and then, the cold again. Do you think you can handle it, Vark, son of Dems? It will go on all night, hot, cold, burning, freezing, ice, fire. When will you break?”



No… that can’t be, this can’t be.



“Has the cold worn off yet?” She asked.



And true to her words, it had. I could feel life spreading back into my limbs, my fingers, stiff from the cold were able to move again.



“Now, we have a short break, so let me tell you something, Vark, son of Dems. This magic, will not, can not, kill you. You will live through this cycle, over and over again, until I set you free.” She told me, simply.



And I trusted her on this, trusted her fully.



“Now, I said earlier, a carrot, and a stick. That hell of ice and fire is the stick. Do you want to know what the carrot is? Do you, Vark, son of Dems”



I couldn’t speak, so I limply nodded my head.



“If you tell me what I want to know, then you will get the best carrot of them all, a carrot called death.” She said and broke out into laughter.



She was crazy. How could she be this crazy?



“It might not seem like a reward now, but let us just wait a bit, shall we, Vark, son of Dems?”



The crazy bitch’s laughter rang out, and I wanted to angrily yell at her, to curse her, but the gag prevented me. And before I could even mumble at her, I felt it, the heat, coursing through my body again.



It was hot.



It was burning.



…



It was cold.



It was freezing.



Please… Please make it stop.



Please.

 

Chapter 3: Cats and Dogs.

Spoiler

Sunday, February 8th, N.E. 807, 16:55

Kolos Street, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

It took the servant of the Iron-Hammers, whatever his name was, Ven, son of Darks or something like that, exactly two hours to break down, offering me everything he knew while begging for death. The length of time might make him out to be rather heroic, but he only lasted two hours because I refused to accept his surrender until two hours had passed. In fact, he had caved the second I asked.



Unfortunately, he had no valuable information. But, that was only to be expected, He was a simple servant to the third son of a lesser noble family, that third son was part of Kyle Gold-Field Fredirin’s gang of friends, but I doubted he was a close confidant, so even if he had stupidly shared things with his servant, it still wouldn’t have been anything important.



That said, it didn’t matter to me much. Kyle was the last of sixteen children produced from Duke Zachary’s second wife before she divorced him like his first. With the father being a drunk wastrel, his children weren’t much better, some of the sixteen were competent, but even if Kyle were one of the competent, the Gold-Field family was not a pressing concern.



“My lady, it’s rather cold, you should close your cloak.” Captain Nev voice woke me up from my reverie.



It was, in fact, rather chilly, the sun was setting, and while the Royal Capital rarely saw snow or freezing temperatures, it still got close, and the rivers left a damp chill in the air.



That said, while I could easily use my magic to erase the effects of simple, natural, cold temperatures, I actually enjoyed the cold.



“It’s fine, we are almost back to the Inn. More importantly, hand me another one of those apples.”



Without another word, the Captain swiftly drew out another juicy red apple and handed it to me.



They used to belong to the servant of the Iron-Hammers, but he couldn’t eat them anymore. It was convenient he seemed to like apples, since he had purchased a half dozen.



If I had to offer a complaint, it would be that even though he seemed to have splurged on the higher quality fruit, he seemed to lean towards the sweeter ones, and I personally preferred the more tart apples.



Still, it wasn’t bad.



“Captain,” I started after swallowing a bite of the apple. “I have a job for you.”



“If you order it, we will do it.” Was the steadfast reply.



“We have until the end of the weekend, that’s three days, I need you to set up a meeting with the thieves guild. Anyone who isn’t guarding me should be working on that.”



“...” Captain Nev had a sour look on his face.



“What is it, captain?”



“I… I don’t think this is a good idea.”



“Captain, I will be frank. I can’t rely on you for this.”



“...If there is something you are unsatisfied with…”



“That’s not it. Your squad specializes in scouting within the mountains and the forests, you can stalk prey, lay traps, ambush things, and you are all able fighters. Right?”



“Yes. Exactly.”



“And that is exactly it, what I need right now, is information, I need people who can gather that information for me, your squad can’t do that. If it comes to a fight, I will rely on you.”



“I… understand my lady. We will make contact with the thieves guild within a day,” he said resolutely



“I’m counting on you,” I replied. “And, can I have another apple?”

Monday, February 9th, N.E. 807, 11:24

Patio Inn, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

True to his word, Captain Nev kept two men in each adjacent room, and left two of the three female Spectres with me, the other five people went out that night, searching for the thieves guild.



The next day, before noon, he had returned with the news he had set up a meeting.



“This is the meeting spot?” I asked incredulously.



I expected a warehouse, like the one that that servant died in, or a tavern or restaurant.



“Yes my lady,” Responded one of my escorts, Lin.



In front of us, was a church, and not a small, dilapidated thing either, but a proper church, with members of the clergy and even worshipers. The God of the Sky’s holy symbol was hanging over the door, a cloud with a moon on the left, and a sun on the right.



“Well, whatever,” I said and walked in.



The church was a decent sized branch, unlike the large cathedrals that were built in the first and second circle of the Capital, a few acolytes were going about their business, and a few particularly pious citizens were in the pews, deep in prayer.



No one paid any kind of particular attention as I went up and dropped exactly four bronze coins, one after another, into the leftmost tithe box, nor when I and my four escorts retreated without a word and sat in the pews.



My escorts for this trip included the two best fighters of the squad, the ones who had ridden in front and behind me on the way to the city. Jeb and Ivan.. Lin, who answered me earlier, and who also helped capture that servant, was known as one of the fastest of their group, if anything went wrong, she could grab me and run. And finally, there was Wen, who was the one who made contact with the thieves guild in the first place, a friendly face so to say.



We waited for half a minute before an old priest walked up to us.



“Oh? What a large group of believers, and at this time of the day. How devoted. Perhaps a private prayer chamber would be best?” he said, his voice sounding exactly like a devout follower of a god.



“No, that is fine, we can’t impose upon you,” Wen replied.



“Do not worry child, we are all children of the sky, please, let me guide you.”



“Well, if you insist, but the sky looks bleak today, I think it might rain, we’ll need to leave if it does.”



“All is the sky’s blessing” The old priest motioned for us to follow, and we did.



He led us down one of the side hallways, and into a room that was surprisingly roomy, mostly because it was barren, save for a single altar on the far wall, but we went in any way as the priest left with a small bow.



“That was what the informant told you to say?” I asked Wen.



“Yes, reject first, but then agree, if he says something about being children, respond with you think it might rain and we need to leave. If he says something about the sky being our parent, say it might rain, but we’ll stay. And if he said we were one with the sky, I was supposed to say, I hope it’s a sunny sky.” He answered dutifully.



Before I could say anything else, the holy altar built into the wall suddenly shifted, and a man stepped out of the opening.



“It's pretty complex, but it keeps out the undesirable, you know? Anyways, call me Dog, I hear you need our expertise?” the man said.



I hadn’t noticed his approach, and the movement of the altar was silent, but I had noticed my guards reaching for their weapons.



“It’s fine,” I said to the Spectres, and they released some of their tension, not all, but some.



“Oh, so you are in charge here? Interesting.” The man, Dog, said.



“I am,” I said as I removed the hood on my cloak.



“Oh, how pretty. And who could you be miss? A pretty lass such as yourself, how could I have let you go unnoticed until now.



Four hands tensed upon weapons, but I ignored them.



“I could introduce myself, but what would be the fun in that? I find it hard to believe that you couldn’t figure it out in time.” I joked with him.



“Still, I can't just call you, ‘You’ all the time.”



“Well then, how about you call me, Cat?” I said with a laugh.



“Ahaha, fine, Cat it is. But I think a Kitten is more accurate?" Then he looked at my frowning guards and added, “Maybe not, Cat will do. So then, Cat, what can we do for you?”



“I need you to gather some items for me, and I also need some information. For now, I might have something else to ask, but let us focus on those things first.” I said, the mirth having left my voice.



“Let's start with the items, I'll tell you if we can get it. Well, I say that, but for the right price, we can get anything, I guarantee it.” Dog boasted.



“The Royal Crown” I deadpanned.



“... well, except that.” Dog said with an awkward cough. “I mean, if you really, really, had the money, we could make it work, but I doubt that enough gold exists to do that.”



“I jest.”



“Good, I almost broke out into a cold sweat there. So what do you really want?”



“Garten Root.”



“We have that, it’s not popular, but we have it and sell it, how much do you need?”



“A pound or two, maybe more in the future.”



“That is a lot, but it won't be a problem, what else?”



“Tesk Spores, purified ideally, but raw is fine too.”



“...what do you want that for? Eh, never mind, you don’t need to tell me, probably better if you don’t.”



“It’s fine, I'm not planning on poisoning anyone with it.”



“Of course not, even the purified spore requires a large dose, and the smell and taste are both too extreme, no one will eat that.”



“Really? Hmm, I enjoy the taste myself, it makes a good tea, very bitter.” I replied nonchalantly.



“...For real?” Dog asked incredulously.



“Yes, mix it with milk, sugar, and a citrus fruit, oranges will do, but I prefer limes. It makes an excellent tea.”



“That’s crazy, I guess you use detoxification magic then?”



“Of course, I enjoy the taste, but not enough to die for it.”



“Crazy. Well is that all?”



“No, I also need a soul extractor, at least of grade four, and I need it unmarked.”



“That... might be difficult. There isn’t really a market for those, so we don’t keep any on hand, we’ll need to uh, acquire one.”



“I also need that quickly.”



“... How quickly?” He said with a frown.



“Within days.”



“That is going to cost you.”



“As long as it’s at least grade four, and unmarked, I'll pay.”



“Fine then, well, let's see, Garten Root is 10 gold an ounce, so 160 for a pound, we always have it in stock by the way. Tesk Spores, purified, I think 25 gold for a gallon, but another 5 for the container. And I can’t say for sure, but the extractor will be around 500, maybe even more. And I need a down payment of half that before we even start.”



“No problem.”



“Good, then, anything else?”



“No, just information then.”



“Okay, let's talk about that, what do you need?”



“Four days ago, a carriage with a True Noble, ended up going for a swim. You’ve heard?”



“Of course.”



“I don’t suppose you know, who set that up?”



“It was a faulty bridge support I believe.” Dog said coyly.



“Mmmm, well, if there was any additional information, I would buy that. And, I would like to put in a request, for someone to investigate and find the true culprit.”



“I imagine, you don’t just want the basic information, but you want all the details?”



“Yes.”



“40 gold, and for the investigation, tentatively, it will be 100 gold, that number will almost certainly increase as the investigation starts taking time. I should also mention, if it starts getting dangerous, we charge extra too.”



“That’s fine.” I then withdrew a single coin, one made of a shimmering blue crystal, and tossed it towards Dog.



“Wow,” Dog exclaimed seeing the coin, “A crystal coin, you don’t see these every day. Cat, you must be pretty wealthy.”



“I am.” I simply said.



“Hmm, well, I do love a wealthy client, but I'll need to get you change, unless you want to count this as a down-payment on the future costs?” He said while still looking at the coin in his hand.



“I did say, I had a third thing?” I mentioned, and then tossed over another two identical coins.



“Ah… yeah.” Dog said, his eyes not leaving the crystal coins.



“Your guild doesn’t just deal in the trade of… questionable goods and information, right? I need, something a bit more extreme, but just a bit.” I said, smiling.



“And what would that be? I can tell with that grin on your face Cat, it’s something big.”



“Nothing major, nothing major at all. I just need, someone to sneak something, a small package really, into someone's house.”



“What might be in this package? And whose house would it need to be snuck into Cat?”



“The package is just a pillow, don’t you trust me Dog? But, it might be best if it doesn’t get scanned for magical effects, if you know what I mean?”



“All too well, and since getting scanned is a concern, I imagine the house it is going to, will also be a concern.”



“I think you will be fine, I imagine you already have someone working in the house in question, the estate of the Canyon Family is too important for you to overlook.”



“Ah… you really are crazy after all. You want to smuggle, a ‘pillow’ into the estate of the Canyon Family? It’s impossible.”



“You said everything was possible for the right price?” I reminded him.



“Not this. Look, let me be honest with you Cat, the Canyon Estate is a natural fortress, and it’s only a fortress, nothing but. Red Rock Canyon is just that kind of place. There are so many magical wards on that place, we couldn’t even smuggle in a tissue, let alone a pillow, and one that can’t be scanned? It’s impossible.”



“Ah, I have made a mistake, I don’t need it in their main estate, just their villa here, in the capital.”



“... That… might be possible. I can’t make a guarantee on it, however, and it will cost you more than just these three crystal coins, that is for sure.” he said, resigned to his fate.



“Dog, this is important, you need to make it happen,” I said as I reached back into my wallet, this time withdrawing a coin made of clear crystal, which I held up so the thief could see. “I need that pillow in there within a week. Make it happen.”



“Uh, yeah, sure.” Dog said, staring at the coin, his attention only coming back to me when I slipped it back into my wallet.



“The three crystal coins are a down-payment, if you need more, you should know where I am staying by now right? Find me there.”



“Cat, you drive a hard bargain, I will see what I can do.



“Good,” I said as I turned and left.

Tuesday, February 17th, N.E. 807, 12:30

Pine Family carriage, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

One week had passed since my trade with Dog of the thieves guild.



By the time we returned to the inn, someone was already there with my Garten Root and Tesk Spores. The spores, which came purified in a magically sealed container, that prevented the smell from leaking, and the poison from leaking, were used for exactly what I said, tea.



This lead to a minor argument with my guards, since the idea of using the foul-smelling, poisonous mold spores as an ingredient to consume was met with disbelief, but I eventually won. Tesk tea has a rich, if bitter, flavor that just brings a small tingle to the tongue, the only effect of the poison on me. Normally, low-level detoxification magic would be sufficient for simply breathing in the spores, but to deal with the purified spores, that wouldn’t cut it. Let alone, directly consuming the purified spores, in that case, high-level detoxification magic would be needed. And while low-level detox magic is somewhat common, medium and high level are much rarer.



It was a good thing then, that I didn’t require detoxification magic. Organic and mineral based poisons were simply destroyed by my own blood, which itself, was the greater poison. Only magical poisons could harm me, and they would need to be either incredibly insidious or possess more magic than my own blood.



As for the Garten Root, it was technically a narcotic. It temporarily raised mana production, with the side effect of making it leak out too easily, and it also created a minor euphoric high when consumed in any way. It’s not exactly illegal, but a permit is needed to use it, and a large amount of research goes into trying to reduce the side effects.



The narcotic effect wouldn’t work on me since it’s technically a poison, but the effect of raising mana production and of making it leak out, I would experience both of those. The first effect would be largely pointless for me, but the second would help me reforge my body.



So I spent the rest of the week, and the weekend, circling my mana to reforge my body, drinking Tesk Tea, and reviewing the documents that held all of the thieves guild’s information pertaining to my fall into the river.



The conclusion about my swim was not promising. The bridge was old, it didn’t see much traffic, and there was a termite infestation in the wood. I was just unlucky to have been the one on it when it collapsed. Of course, anyone could see that wasn’t the case. But there was no magical interference, and as far as the thieves guild could tell, no one was pulling strings and derailing the official investigation.



The most likely assumption was that the bridge was tampered with the old fashioned way, someone with some tools damaged the support and then left. If someone other than me was the first to cross it, they would have ended up in the river instead. Well, the tampering was probably done under the assumption the bridge would only fail when a carriage with escorts crossed, a single horseman or pedestrian wouldn’t make it fall. It was simple, crude, inexact, but it left almost no evidence. The investigation was focused on anyone witnessing someone messing with the bridge, but that area doesn’t have a lot of traffic, so no one saw anything.



Conclusion, identifying the mastermind is impossible at this time.



The guild’s investigation did uncover that several parties were intentionally spreading the story, in opposition to the Pine Family’s attempts to cover it up. The end result was that the Pine Family was embarrassed by the entire thing. But the rumor spreaders were most likely just taking advantage of the situation.



Not only was the investigation a waste, but future investigating would also be a waste, so I dropped the entire thing.



On Saturday, Dog sent one of his associates, a small balding man named, Caterpillar, who handed off the soul extractor, grade four, and unmarked. I also put in a request for the blueprints for the Canyon Family’s villa within the capital. Those arrived within the hour, but cost an extra 200 gold.



On Sunday I had Captain Nev head out and find a warehouse to rent. On Monday, I became the temporary owner of a warehouse in the Seventh Circle. It was a three-story building, somewhat small, with the third story being little more than a shed on the roof. It did, however, have a large basement, which made it perfect for my purposes. The Spectre spent the day furnishing it with tables, chairs, desks, and shelves. And when they were done, I spent an hour cutting my hand open and smearing my blood liberally over the walls. Now, the warehouse was a lot more durable, and also nearly impossible to magically spy on.



While this was all happening, I had the Spectres randomly walk around town, sometimes individually, sometimes in groups, sometimes I sent a few out in different directions, and I even had them leave the city, sometimes they even spent a night outside. The idea was, that anyone watching us wouldn’t be able to tell which trips actually meant something, and which were simply a red herring.



On Tuesday morning, we vacated the Patio Inn and moved to the new warehouse, but during the move, I left the city myself this time. Not by myself, Jeb and Ivan both left with me, and we met up with Naya, who had left the night before. The three of us who left together had horses, Naya lacked one, but since I was so small, we shared my horse.



We spent hours riding until we met up with our target, the carriage I had left with over a week ago, along with my servants and guardian knights.



The Spectres would stay out for another night, they would head to the warehouse sometime tomorrow, but I, in my carriage, would enter the city around sunset tonight.



And I would not be heading to the warehouse, but back to the Pine Family Villa.



As the carriage slowly made its way down the road, and as my servants helped me change out of my traveler’s gear, I admit, sad as it was, I felt a tad bit lonely.



For the first time since I awoke, Gimmy, was not with me.

 

Chapter 4: Family?

Spoiler

Tuesday, February 17th, N.E. 807, 19:08

Pine Family carriage, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

The Capital Arvas is split into circles, each divided by by walls. The center, where the Royal Castle is, along with the made government buildings, is called the First Circle. Only, the Royal Family and the servants live within the First Circle, and while the facilities are massive, the First Circle is the smallest circle.



The Second Circle is about twice as big as the First Circle, and it houses many of the estates and mansions of the highest ranking nobles, in addition to holding the offices of most of the auxiliary government branches. Because so much is stuffed into it, the buildings tend to be tall and thin, taking up very little space. The Iron-Hammers, for instance, live within the Second Circle, but their mansion is only a bit larger than the Patio Inn, and in fact, the Iron-Hammers also have another estate in the Fifth Circle where most of the lower ranking members of the family live.



The Pine Family, and the other ducal houses, then have their homes within the Third Circle, which is actually one of the largest of the circles. According to history, the Third Circle was originally the farmland that surrounded the capital, but a combination of flood walls and proper defensive walls were built around that farmland. Eventually, as the city grew, the farmland became orchards and gardens, and then changed again, into the area where the largest, sprawling estates, exist.



Just like before, my carriage, or I should say, my convoy, bypassed the line of people waiting to enter the city. Unlike before, when it was just a group of twelve riders, this time it was a highly ornate and expensive carriage, escorted by a team of sixteen footsoldiers, eight archers, and ten knights in full plate mail.



Not to mention, that all of the armor, from the scale mail on the archers, to the shining steel breastplates of the foot soldiers, to the mirror-like plate mail, and even the carriage itself, all had the insignia of the Pine Family plastered on them.



The gate guards didn’t even stop us to ask for a permit, they just opened the way as we approached, saluted as we went through, and then closed ranks behind us.



Technically, while being a member of the nobility did give you extra privileges, it didn’t make you exempt from the law. We should have been inspected, or at least questioned when we entered. Likewise, without a special flag indicating our errand was not only urgent, but a matter of utmost importance, we still needed to follow the basic traffic laws.



In practice, for most things, making us follow those rules, would be an inconvenience for everyone involved. The guards let us pass without a word, the people on the road quickly vacated the area, and my carriage steadily went on its way.



That said, even with all of the obstacles removed, it was still, a shockingly tedious trip.



Honestly, the Capital Arvas holds close to zero interest for me.



It's undoubtedly a large town, by human standards. But, that is all it is. There is no unique traits, no personality, it contains simple wooden and stone buildings, a few fancier brink ones exist, and the odd temple or magic based building was made out of stronger materials could be spotted, but it was otherwise bland.



Back, before I became Olivia, my domain contained three things I would consider cities, and the most boring of them was a massive, sprawling, haphazard metropolis that I had inherited. Not unlike Arvas, except it was many times larger, the city had bigger buildings, but that was it.



As for the other two, one of them was built into a mountain range, with nearly three-quarters of the city being subterranean. My favorite though, was a city made of a series of massive spires, the smallest was over ten stories. They were all connected by bridges, and they sprouted out of a massive tar pit, a bridge nearly a mile long was the only access point to the city itself.



Compared to them, Arvas was quaint at best.



As I mused over the inadequacies of the royal capital, my group had passed through the gates that split the rings, until we finally entered the Third Circle. Already, my family’s estate could be seen in the distance.



The Pine Estate was a sprawling villa, built around gardens where the main attraction, the various types of pine trees, had been planted. A not inconsiderable amount of manpower went into transporting the fully grown pines here from the family’s domain. They were, however, rather majestic, the pines, hundreds of them, each a uniform height, reaching nearly two hundred feet, surrounded the villa, the wall that actually surrounded the villa for defensive purposes, was built around the trees themselves, even the small watchtowers, were built directly onto the trunks of the largest pines.



The gate was already opened for us and we pass through without issue, we headed straight towards the front entrance.



My guards and servants exchanged words with the guards and servants of the villa, but as they were doing that, another servant helped me dismount.



We had stopped several times during our trip, and my carriage was one of the finest that money could buy, but I was still stiff and sore from the trip, even if I was only onboard for a few hours.



Inactivity like that is not something I enjoy.



“Olivia!”



“Little Sister!”



As I was stretching to remove the stiffness from my neck and shoulders, two voices called out to me.



Hurrying down the stairs in front of the main entrance, was my elder sister, Pamela. She… seemed to be wearing a bathrobe, and her hair was damp. Behind her, a group of maids was scurrying around, trying to both dry her hair and place a cloak around her shoulders.



And coming from around the side, in the direction of the stables, was my elder brother, Timothy. He was wearing a riding outfit that was caked with mud and grass, and trailing behind him were two of his attendants, whose names I’ve forgotten.



I noted that the attendants were not stained, which meant my brother was still as inept as always when it came to dealing with animals.



“Older sister, older brother,” I said in greeting as they came up to me.



“I’m so glad you are okay.” My sister, Pamela, said as she wrapped me in a hug.



My sister Pamela was six years older than me at thirteen years old. It's said that girls mature faster than boys, and the nearly six foot tall Pamela, who dwarfed my brother Timothy, who was a year older than her, lent some credence to that assertion. Besides being tall, Pamela otherwise looked as if she was a full grown adult, any signs of childhood had faded, she was overflowing with womanly charm, and while she normally kept her silver hair in a simple ponytail that would make one thing she was somewhat of a tomboy, in actuality, she preferred reading and art to any kind of physical endeavour.



“I am glad you’ve returned well.” She said as she released me.



“Yes… You worried us.” Timothy said as he kneeled down to be at eye-level with me.



Or… a bit under eye level. He was a tad bit short.



Timothy was the second oldest child of the Pine Family, he was fourteen now, but his birthday was only in two months. The eldest brother, Kyle, was seventeen and had already graduated from the Royal Academy, and the youngest child, Vincent, was only four this year, he wouldn’t attend the school for another two years.



So we three here were the only ones in school.



“Elder Sister, you should return inside and dry yourself off fully, you’ll catch a cold. And Elder Brother, you should finish your horseback training before the sun sets.”



“Ah, you are right Olivia, it is cold out.” My sister said as she shivered into her cloak before turning and hurrying back up the stairs to the entrance, but once she was halfway up she turned back to me and yelled. “You too, come in with me.”



“Yes, go on in Olivia, I will make sure my horse is safe in the stable, and then I will come in too. We will have dinner tonight as a family.” He said with a smile and then turned and went back towards the stables.



“Hurry Olivia, It is cold!” My sister called again.



“On my way,” I replied.

Tuesday, February 17th, N.E. 807, 22:10

Olivia's Bedroom, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

Dinner was a strange affair for me.



My siblings and I ate in one of the smaller dining halls, a room that could have comfortably fit twenty to thirty people was reserved for just the three of us.



That, however, was not what made it strange for me. Nor was it the impeccable table manners that we all ate with, but it was the simple fact that I didn’t know how to handle myself with my family.



Subordinate, I knew how to carry myself around, how to deal with them. Potential enemies, that I understood, allies on equal footing, those weaker, those stronger, I knew how to handle them.



Family… a family was something different.



I… had family… a long time ago.



Brothers and Sisters. We weren’t biologically related, many of us did not even look remotely similar to each other, but Brothers and Sisters we were. Born in the same place at the same time, our bond was different, but not weaker or less authentic than the bond of the Pine Family. There were forty-seven of us that left our place of birth together. Within a day, there was only thirty-eight, within another, thirty-five, by the end of the week, twenty-nine, and by the end of the month, only fifteen remained.



For years, we only had each other to rely on.



As time went, more of my brothers and sisters left us, some joined other groups, others set off on their own, but most died, were killed by wild beasts and monsters, or were murdered by others who were competing with us.



Much, much later, when I grasped power, only six of us remained. Others of my family may have still lived elsewhere, but the last six of us never heard anything about them.



I ruled that sprawling city with my five siblings until a neighboring domain assassinated one of us. When we conquered the city of spires over tar, another died in the fighting. When another domain declared war on us, two more died in the battles that followed, trading their lives for the subterranean city in the mountains.



Only I, and my weakest brother survived.



He was not a warrior, not a general, not an administrator, he wasn’t even a talented mage. In a way, he was useless, but his uselessness allowed him to survive, to stay with me for all those years while the others left.



My kind, we do not give gifts out of goodwill, out of love. We give rewards, we give bribes, but not gifts.



My brother, he spent all of his time, all of his wealth, to give me a gift. An amulet, the same one that I constantly bring my hand towards my neck to feel for. That amulet was my life-line, my last defense, the last thing to protect me should all of my other defenses fail.



As is always the case, they did.



I fought, but fell, I was killed.



And that amulet did what my brother told me it would do, allow me to cheat death, sending me here, to this world, as a new life, as Olivia Pine Fredirin.



My brother, I wondered if he survived? Was he killed before me? Or after? Or did he escape? Or maybe… Betrayal… for my kind, is not in anyway uncommon.



But no, I do not think he did, otherwise, why give me the amulet?



Well, none of that mattered any longer, I was here, I was Olivia, and I had a new family.



But, the memories I absorbed from the fake version of me, the placeholder, were quite different from what I had known before. I did in fact, know this, from when I first woke up as my true soul. But knowing something as knowledge, and experiencing it first hand, are two different things.



Not only was I unsure how to act, but I couldn’t help but feel as if… I was betraying the memory of my original forty-six brothers and sisters.



The feelings I had for Timothy and Pamela were different, but no less powerful, than the ones I used to have. And in a way, that made me feel worse.



When I saw Timothy, as he slowly ate the dinner, savoring each bite, his face overlapped with another from my memories. Unlike Timothy’s human face, with blue eyes and brown hair, the one overlapping it was long, with black and red scales, and lacking a nose. But that face, in my memories, was also, slowly savoring his meal.



When Pamela sighed with content as she finished her tea at the end of the meal, I saw another, a woman with a cloth over her eyes, horns coming out of her head, and long shaggy blue hair framing her face. She too would sigh with happiness as she finished a drink after a meal.



In a way, I wished to interact with my two human siblings in the same way I had with my original siblings, but the memories I inherited from the fake me, clearly informed me that I should not.



And… it was painful, to remember my old siblings, it had been years upon years since some of them had died, and I had almost never thought about them since. Now, suddenly, I couldn’t help it.



But, as painful as it was, as strange and awkward, it helped me realize something.



What I had before, was lost. I could never reclaim it, it simply wasn’t possible, even if I had wanted too.



When I woke up that night in Olivia’s room, when the memories merged into my mind, I had decided on something.



I didn’t want to rule this world, or reclaim my own domain, or increase my power and become the strongest. I wanted to defend what was mine. My possessions, my honor, my pride, my allies, and my family.



My Family.



And to do that, well, a lot of things needed to be done.

 

Chapter 5: A Family Talk, A Talk of Magic

Spoiler

Tuesday, February 17, N.E. 807, 22:25

Olivia’s Bedroom, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

Like my room back at the Citadel of the Pines, my room here, while being filled with the highest quality furniture and furnishings, was somewhat bland. With the exception of the stuffed animals. Actually, being a room I not only previously spent the greatest amount of time in, but also the room was located in an area that piled stress upon me, this room had far more stuffed animals.



I never really considered myself sentimental, but the lack of my amulet that I had worn for so long was… irritating.



The stuffed animals, while not exactly a perfect replacement, were fulfilling the same role. To an extent.



Frankly, I found the previous version of myself, with her reliance and near obsession with these stuffed animals, to be rather irritating.



All of that being said, my annoyance at my previous self did not prevent me from grabbing one of the numerous stuffed animals as I left the room.



In my arms, was Mr. Zlizvnikchlex, a name human mouths can never pronounce. Mr. Zliz as I shorted his name, had the body of a moth, or I guess a butterfly, the body was a dark green, and his wings were orange with pink dots. He would have been a normal butterfly by most standards, if not for the thick, foot-long tentacles that came out of his wings and body. There were ten in all.



A bit more than half of my stuffed animals were custom works. Someone ordered them and gave directions on generally what the animal should be. Gimmy was one for instance. Mr. Zliz was not.



Stuffed animals are similar to ragdolls, which are similar to dolls. Low-end dolls are made of wood, clay, bone, or other easily acquired materials, and they are crudely made. Higher quality ones are made out of ceramic, or at least finely carved materials. Dolls are basically toys at the low to mid-end, the high-end ones are generally considered works of art, and are not given to children to play with.



From the same basic origins, ragdolls are simply made figures, that instead of being made as durable toys out of hard materials, are made of cloth, usually rags, and while still toys, they are soft and can be cuddled with. They are essentially the same as normal dolls, but they’re softer.



While something like dolls and rag dolls has probably existed since the first toys were given to children, stuffed animals are a relatively new thing. Unlike the first two, which can be made in an hour or so from any random person, stuffed animals require a skilled craftsman to produce.



I can’t speak of the lower quality stuffed animals that the children of merchants and lower ranked nobles might get, but each of mine cost enough money to allow a family of five to live comfortable for at least half a year. From the outer coating to the inner one that holds the stuffing, to the stuffing itself, the whole process not only requires a skilled craftsman and very specific knowledge, but magic is also used to reinforce or make certain parts.



Mr. Zliz here, had a body made of silk, his insides were mostly cotton and wool, but his tentacles were made out of a magically generated material that was smooth and soft, but very light. All ten of his tentacles, while making up more than half of his body by volume, had less weight than a simple handkerchief.



Clearly, a large amount of work and effort went into making this thing, but the fact that it wasn’t a custom product, made me somewhat concerned about Mr. Zliz’s creator’s mind. Why did the creator think this… would be something someone would buy?



A better question? Why did the prior me buy it?



Well, despite the appearance, the tentacles were actually rather pleasant to squeeze.



As I mused about Mr. Zliz, I arrived at my destination, my brother, Timothy’s room.



Standing here, in front of the door to my new brother’s room, the most unpleasant mood suddenly overwhelmed me.



Here I was, a child, with a weak and frail human body, hugging a stuffed animal, nervous about sharing my ideas with a family member. How pathetic had I become?



“Olivia? Is that you?” My brother called out from within his room.



Of course, my brother was a knight in training, and I had made no effort to conceal my steps, so he obviously heard me.



Before I could muster a response, the heavy door, where my head only reached to around the area of the doorknob, swung open and revealed my brother in his pajamas.



“It’s pretty late Olivia, you should probably be asleep. Well come in,” he said as waved me into the room.



“No, that is fine for now Brother. I actually wanted to speak to you and Sister together, would that be okay?” I asked.



“Um, yes, that is fine. Now?” He seemed surprised at my request.



“Yes please, could you find Sister and meet me in the… third library?”



“Okay, then I will get dressed and go find Pamela, she should be either in her room or her studio, I figure I will be there in ten or so minutes.”



“Thank you, Brother, I will see you then,” I said and turned to leave.



“Hey! Wait for a second,” his yell stopped me. “Hold on”



Timothy turned back into his room but came back to the door within a few seconds.



“That stuffed animal is… unique, but I bet it doesn’t keep you warm. Here, take this,” He wrapped a heavy overcoat around my shoulders. “It is pretty cold in the villa at night.”



“...Thank you.”



“No worries Little Sister. Now get going, I need to get changed.”



“Hmm,” I said as I snuggled into the coat.

Tuesday, February 17th, N.E. 807, 22:32

Pine Family 3rd Library, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

The Pine Villa was a sprawling compound, the highest sections, excluding the guard towers, were only three stories high, and most of those were basically balconies and observatories. The design was simple and elegant, gray marble merged seamlessly with the trees and other greenery from the gardens.



Because the villa was so spread out, making my way straight from my brother’s room to the third library in the back of the compound, took me nearly ten minutes.



It was a scenic journey, however, and it gave me time to sort some of my thoughts.



Since there would still be ten to fifteen more minutes until my siblings arrived, I had a servant start a fire and set up a table for us. Tea was prepared, Tesk for me, and something non-toxic for my family.



As the heat from the hearth slowly infused the room, I sat curled up in my brother's coat on one of the sofas.



My old form would find the chill of winter here to be below my notice. Unless it was cold enough to instantly freeze large masses of water, it was literally under my normal detection range. I didn’t particularly enjoy the cold, but it wasn’t until the temperature hit around 100 below zero that I would start feeling uncomfortable. I once even encountered a situation where the air around me began to condense into a liquid. Not only did I need to use mana to prevent myself from freezing, but I couldn’t breathe either, it was a very unpleasant encounter.



So, the chilliness of the villa in late winter, a mild fifty degrees, was quaint in comparison.



“Hey Olivia, we are here.” My brother called out as he opened the door.



Having confirmed I was here by sticking his head in, he held the door open for my sister. Pamela was wearing a pair of brown, baggy pants, a long-sleeved white shirt, and a gray cloak was wrapped around her shoulders. She had splotches of paint smeared on her shirt and pants, and also her face and hands. She was also wearing an eye patch.



Timothy came in after her and shut the door, he was wearing his school uniform, black pants that were similar to the military uniform used for officers in the Kingdom’s army. He had on a plain white undershirt that was visible through the school jacket he had left open. The uniform’s cloak for inclement weather was also wrapped around his shoulders.



The two of them each took seats, Timothy sat in a lounge chair, and Pamela was going to sit on the adjacent sofa, but she quickly looked over her attire, and realizing the paint was still wet in places, chose to sit down on one of the plain wooden chairs.



The servant handed each of them a cup of tea, and then placed the pot down upon one of the end tables, and then withdrew with a bow.



“Well Olivia, what did you want to talk about?” Timothy asked after he put down his cup of tea.



“Yes, I was surprised when Elder Brother found me so late at night.” My sister added.



“I’m sorry for bothering you when you were involved with your work.” I apologize earnestly to my sister.



“Oh, eh, well, it wasn’t going well, to be honest. I've cleaned that canvas more times than I care to admit. I just can’t get it right. Well, no matter, it is simply a mental block of some sort, it will clear itself up with time.” She responded.



“I see, I wish you luck then.”



My sister just nodded and then looked over to Timothy.



“Well, little sister, I know I asked during dinner, but are you truly well now? No lasting harm?” My brother asked.



“That is what I wanted to talk about. Or at least, part of it. I am fine though, so don’t worry.”



As I reassured them of my good health, both seemed to brighten up, a look of relief washing over them.



“That is good, I was so worried when I heard what happened.”



“Right, I was too. If I ever figure out… No, that doesn’t matter now. What is important is that you are well.” Timothy had a flash of dark emotion flash across his face, but it was soon gone.



“Exactly as brother says, all that matters is that you are okay now Olivia. We’ll figure out something to make sure this won't happen again.”



“Ah, yeah, thank you,” I mumbled out.



This level, of pure, open, concern was unknown to me. It was hard for me to comprehend it.



“Good.” My brother said with a smile. “Now, it is somewhat late, so what did you want to talk about?”



“Well.. the first thing is, my ordeal allowed me to break the lock on my magic core.”



“Gah-gah.”



“What!? Is that true!?”



My brother suddenly stood up from his chair and rushed over to me, and my sister sputtered out the tea she had just drunk.



“Mmm, Yes,” I responded.



Their shock wasn’t unfounded. The exact mechanism in which magic forms in people isn’t known, but large portions of it are hereditary. A powerful mage for a father and mother normally produces a powerful mage for a child. A child from two wind mages will also, usually be a wind mage themselves.



But not always. Sometimes two fire mages produce a water mage, sometimes two great mages produce an average one, sometimes two people who can’t use even the simplest spells, produce a once a decade genius.



For the wealthy, soon after birth, any children will be tested to check the strength of their magic core, while the ability to use magic requires great skill, it also requires the basic traits of a strong and robust magic core. A strong core doesn’t guarantee a powerful mage, but it goes a long way towards it.



The problem is, magical outbursts can be caused when a person’s emotions run wild. Mages, learn to temper this until it's basically unheard of. But for a child, an infant, it's nearly impossible to prevent outbursts. It’s not uncommon for children to exhaust themselves, sometimes even to the point where their lives are in danger. Worse, instead of just leaking mana all over the place, sometimes the mana can form an actual spell, and while rare, sometimes children sometimes kill themselves or their parents in this way. A small ball of flames might not normally be a real threat, but when it happens in a baby’s crib, it can be a disaster.



To prevent this, wealthy children get checked, and if they have almost any potential to be a mage, their magic core will receive a seal, that constrains their mana so it can’t leak out.



Generally speaking, the seals don’t completely block the mana, they just limit the amount that can come out to a fraction of the max, this allows the child to practice using magic as they grow. Eventually, as they get older, and their mastery of their mana grows, they will force a great amount of mana through the seal, which if done right, breaks the seal. This is normally a cause for a celebration, and it indicates the child is an adult.



Legally, one is considered a child until they reach the age of twelve, but for nobility, a person is still considered a child until they unlock their seal. Most people do this on their birthday during a party or ceremony, but a few do it a bit earlier or a bit later.



That being said, a bit earlier means eleven, rarely ten, and never seven. To unlock a sealed mana core at the age of seven, is simply unheard of, bordering on impossible.



“Olivia, did you really?” My brother asked breathlessly as he grabbed my hand and slowly circulated his own mana around it.



Timothy Pine Fredirin, was a rare genius, at the age of twelve, he had already unlocked his mana core a year ago. Now, doing that at the age of eleven, wasn’t uncommon, especially for the upper nobility, in fact, eleven could be considered average for people like us. What made my brother a genius, was that he could have unlocked his core when he was just turning ten, he just chose not too. Well, it was mostly our parents who advised him against it, after all, unlocking your core at that age would draw an enormous amount of attention towards you. And it was best to not paint a target like that.



“B-brother, is it true?” Pamela asked while wiping her mouth with a paint covered piece of cloth that she had produced from her pocket. The tea on her lips was gone, but in its place, she had smeared some yellow paint.



“It… It is true. She really has…” My brother muttered out as he stared at me in shock, the mana from his hand still flowed around my hand, mixing with my own mana, the two flows merging against each other.



But as the two flows came in contact, my brother’s shocked face slowly became a frown.



“How… how can it be so dense?” He asked no one in particular.



No two people have the same flavor of mana because mana directly makes up the person’s soul. All living things have souls, and all living things also have mana. Even if they can’t use magic, they have mana. Not only humans, but the other races, even animals, and plants, have mana and have souls. And no two souls are the same.



A stronger soul means stronger mana, and the inverse is true, increasing your mana makes your soul stronger. A person with a strong soul will inherently have powerful mana.



My brother Timothy is an earth mage, he can use the other elements to some degree, but he is particularly skilled in earth magic, and his mana shows that. It’s smooth and durable, a steady flow with few waves or fluctuations, it appears like a gentle hill slope, even the color of his mana, currently only visible to the two of us, is a light brown color, invoking the image of loose dirt.



“Olivia, your magic… it isn’t elemental?” He asked, me, this time.



“No, it isn’t,” I answered.



There are five, broad categories of magic that exist.



The most common amongst humans is Elemental Magic. There are six elements, Light, Dark, Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind. Nearly all humans have an aptitude for at least one and find themselves particularly skilled in that element. My brother has a strong aptitude for Earth, and a weak aptitude for Water and Wind. He’ isn't skilled with Fire, but average with Dark and Light.



The world is flowing with Mana, and nearly all naturally occurring mana is elemental, people absorb the mana from the environment, store it within their cores, and then cast magic using that stored mana. My brother can technically cast a Fire spell just as well as anyone else, but because his core naturally only absorbs a small amount of Fire mana, he lacks the fuel to power the stronger spells.



Elemental Magic is strong but simple, and while the heights of it require great skill and effort to reach, a small amount of effort will allow one to reach a decent level with it.



The next most common type is Arcane Magic. Practitioners of Arcane Magic learn to purify the elemental mana of the world, returning it to its base form. From here, the magic can then be converted into whatever element a person needs, or, it can be used to create much more powerful and esoteric spells.



Arcane Magic requires vastly more effort to learn, and its initial effects are inferior to Elemental Magic, but it can perform feats that Elemental Magic can’t even come close to.



Despite its difficulty, many low-level Arcane Spells are still very useful, if not powerful, and Arcane Magic is a necessary component in the manufacture of magic tools. The people who made Mr. Zliz, were practitioners of Arcane Magic.



The next most common type of magic is Divine Magic, this is magic that doesn’t use a person’s individual mana to power spells. A user of Divine Magic uses their mana to call upon a higher power, which then provides the needed mana for the spell. Here, the user’s mana isn’t important, instead, it’s their faith.



Elemental magic is used by almost half of the population, of the remaining half, about 35-40% use Arcane and Divine, with Arcane edging out Divine by a small margin, although that varies heavily by area. Here, in the Fredirin Kingdom, Arcane wins out, but to the south is the Holy Uvalin Theocracy, where the opposite is true.



Of the remaining 10%, about 7-8% is Spirit Magic. This magic allows the user to form a bond with various spirits, elemental, or fey beings, that jointly cast spells with the user. For some, this means they have a spiritual familiar that is physically there with them, but other times, it’s a bond with a greater spirit that doesn’t need to be physically there.



And the final 2-3%, is the broad Other Magic. Other Magic is a catch-all term for anything that doesn’t fit into the other categories. Shamanism, Necromancy, Diabolism, Witchcraft, Hex Magic, Alchemy, Mind Magic, and anything else fill in under Other Magic.



For the most part, Other Magic tends to not be popular, either because training in it is hard, or because the effects are limited, or, because it’s inherently awful, as is the case in Necromancy and Diabolism. Some Other Magics are rare because they have extreme requirements that almost no one can meet, or because they are inherited.



For example, Lycanthropy comes in two forms, the well-known infection, and also an inherited form. When people with Lycanthropy have a child, the child almost always has the disease too. If only one parent has it, and it’s the infected form, then the child will almost certainly have that too, but if both parents are infected, there is a chance, a small one, that the child will have the inherited form. The odds increase if either parent has the inherited form, and if both do, then it’s almost guaranteed the child will have that form also.



For the record, the inherited form is less of a weakness and more of a boon. It doesn’t affect the person’s mental state nearly as much, they don’t spontaneously transform when angered, the moon also doesn’t force a transformation, and the normal weakness to silver is reduced.



This type of Lycanthropy falls under a type of magic called Bloodline Magic, a magic that is not only inherited from a parent but is an inherent trait of the body. The exact point where magic becomes a Bloodline Magic is a bit fuzzy, but the big difference is that magical effects remain after death. A child of two powerful fire mages might also be a powerful fire mage, and grow up and master their magic to the point where natural fires can’t harm them. However, when this person dies, and the mana core and soul dissipates, that resistance to fire will disappear. On the other hand, a child that inherits the Bloodline of the Phoenix will showcase all of the same traits, a resistance to fire and a mastery over fire magic. But when this person dies, their body will still resist fire.



Bloodline Magic’s power is based on the bloodline in question, A harpy bloodline will give a slight increase in wind magic, while a Phoenix bloodline will grant a huge increase in fire magic, a massive resistance to fire, a boost to wind magic, and rapid healing, amongst other things.



But, Bloodline Magic is very rare, one can’t choose to practice it, you either have the bloodline, or you don’t. With the exception of some very, unethical programs, it’s almost impossible to develop a bloodline afterward. As for the Bloodlines themselves, they need to originate with a powerful magical creature, and that creature also needs to be able to produce offspring with humanoids. And such offspring rarely survive.



“If not elemental, then what is it?” Timothy asked.



“It’s Bloodline Magic,” I answered my brother’s question.



That… That’s impossible, it is, right? That can’t be?” My brother mumbled confusedly.



“No brother, it is possible, I think it’s called… what was it again?” Pamela broke into the conversation again.



“Atavism” I provided the word they were looking for.



Atavism is the regression to a previous form, in this case, one of our distant ancestors must have had a Bloodline, but it had faded away. But, somehow, the weak traces came out in me.



Of course, that wasn’t the case at all.



“Yes, Atavism. I've heard of that happening before, people somehow end up with a Bloodline Magic when neither parents had one.” Pamela nodded as she recalled that information.



“Atavism… We did learn about that I think. Or, the teacher mentioned it. But isn’t that… a one in a million chance?” Timothy turned to Pamela, even as he still held my hand.



“Hah, one in a million? Probably not even one in ten million. At least not like this, developing Bloodline Magic from scratch. It is normally a person with a weak Bloodline, that later on strengthens it back to its original form.”



“Well… maybe we all have this Bloodline? And Olivia just woke it up?”



“Er, maybe? I don’t know, it depends I guess?”



My brother and sister began discussing this in earnest, and my brother kept my hand in his while they did. For my part, I knew both of them were wrong.



In fact, I had technically lied to them, my mana wasn’t from a Bloodline, at least not technically. The Olivia of a week ago did not have a bloodline at all, it wasn’t hidden within her body just waiting to wake up, no matter what tests she would go under, nothing would come up.



But, when she grew, when her body got stronger, and her soul strengthened, and when my own soul finished mending, we two would combine. In actuality, Olivia’s soul was just a small portion of mine, when I awoke, I just reabsorbed that small portion. And when I awoke, my soul began reforging Olivia’s body, my body.



A bloodline is the genetic traces of a magical being, but what my soul was doing to this body, was reforging it into a magical being.



Well, for all intents and purposes, the effects were identical, it was just a matter of the scale. I was still weak now, in the process of reforging, but already I was stronger than all but the most powerful Bloodlines, when the process would end, I would tower over any mere Bloodline.



That being said, I would still be far from what I was before, right now, my soul resided within a biological body, the body of the human named Olivia Pine Fredirin, and there was no way to shed that body of flesh, at least as far as I currently know. I would always be tied down by that flesh, whereas before, I was a being whose body and soul was one entity and that lead to a vastly greater level of strength.



In fact, right now, not only was my organic body limiting my strength, it was an actual weakness, if I used too much magic, the body would be torn apart. And if I obliterated my flesh body, I would most likely die. I might be able to become a spirit, but that would be no better than death.



“Well Olivia, what kind of Bloodline is it? And what does it do?” My brother’s question brought me out of my thoughts.



“I don’t know what type it is, the inherited memories are fuzzy, and only related to some of its abilities. It’s… Probably some kind of Outsider…” I lied to them.



Outsiders were beings that didn’t exist on natural worlds. At the low levels they were spirits, elementals, angels, demons, and devils, and at the peak, they were gods.



The big thing that separated Outsiders from what is commonly known as Mortals, wasn’t where they hailed from, or their strength, but the fact that their bodies and souls were one.



“An Outsider, I see…” Timothy said as he appeared lost in thought. My sister too, also looked lost in thought.



Outsiders generally left the greatest amount of Bloodlines, even when compared to all mortal races combined, the Outsiders still produce more. This is because most Outsiders can shapeshift to some degree, and even if they don’t, because their body is their soul, they can produce offspring with any living being. Somewhere out there, there is probably a tree, maybe even a mushroom, with an incredibly powerful Bloodline that originated from an Outsider.



“Well, if we knew what kind of Outsider, we could determine… Wait! Olivia, you said you knew what your Bloodline Magic can do already? Quick, Tell us!” Pamela nearly shouted, as she too ran over and grabbed my other hand.



Mr. Zliz now sat limply on my lap as both of my arms were captured by my siblings.



“It is… blood manipulation.” I lied again.



While this was a lie, technically, it was a small one.



Bloodline Magic is inherent to the body, and my blood manipulation isn’t an inherent ability, but simply the magic I'm most familiar with.



Because I was one of the weakest types of my race, I was born with a body similar to a mortal’s, complete with organs, bone, and blood. Manipulating my blood was useful for healing, and keeping me alive when I found myself with more holes than normal, but it also served as a decent surprise attack. On more than one occasion when I was young, I was able to use my magic to devastating effect on something that was in the process of eating me.

And because I was one of the weakest of my race, if I had actually created a Bloodline based upon myself, all it would do is provide a more sturdy body and a resistance to magic. Granted, if that Bloodline came from me when I was at my peak, and it was a pure Bloodline, it would provide a nearly indestructible body, immune to most physical and magical attacks.



But still, it would be a boring Bloodline.



“Err… I am not exactly sure what that is.”



“Nor am I, could you show us, Olivia?”



“Yes, but I need my hands back first,” I replied with a smile as I pulled my hands back from my siblings.



“Ah, sorry.” Timothy apologized as he let go.



“Timothy, you shouldn’t hold a lady’s hand like that.” And Pamela let go while reprimanding our brother.



“Sorry.”



As he apologized again, I looked around the room for a sharp object, but since it was a library, there was a lack of knives and blades. Even our tea set, the snacks that were served were cookies with some kind of nut mixed in, nothing that required a knife.



I didn’t actually need to cut myself, I could easily make blood come out of any opening, my eyes or mouth for instance. And if I really needed too, I could just make blood explode out of my body by tearing through the skin.



But… that would make for a very… unpleasant scene, and I didn’t want to come off as too much of a monster.



Outsiders were a pretty diverse group, and an evenly split group. There were outsiders that were neither good nor evil, but there were also outsiders that were the paragons of good and virtue, and ones that were the embodiment of evil and wickedness. At least, that is how mortals viewed us.



Since Bloodlines do affect the personality of the wielder, having a Bloodline from an evil Outsider could be an issue.



And Flesh Magic, what blood manipulation falls under, itself was already something that was similar to necromancy.



So lacking a sharp object, and not wanting to use the other options, I did the best thing I could, I downed the last of my tea, and then made a sharp object.



With a crunch, the fine porcelain teacup was shattered between my two hands, shards of it stabbed into my palms and sliced my fingers. There was a tiny amount of tea left in the cup, but the liquid that fell onto my lap, staining the sofa and covering Mr. Zliz was almost entirely my blood.



“Olivia!”



“What are you doing!?”



My sister dropped her own cup and it shattered upon the floor, and my brother whipped out a handkerchief from his coat pocket and rushed towards my hands.



“Pamela, go call for-”



“It’s fine Brother.” I interrupted.



“What’s fine! You! What did… you… do…?” He trailed off shocked.



My sister too, who was moving towards the door in a hurry, froze when she looked back at us.



The blood that had splashed and dripped down onto my pajamas and the sofa, along with my stuffed animal, had peeled itself away and floated up into the air. The pieces of shattered porcelain, caked with blood, also came up, drug into the air by the blood that coated it. Besides those shards, nothing else retained any trace of my blood.



Before me sibling's eyes, the sharp parts still stuck in my hands slowly wiggled and slipped out of the wounds, they too joined the other bits along with the blood to float in front of me. Once they were all out of my hands, the blood flow from my wounds stopped abruptly, the gashes and cuts quickly mended themselves, and the blood on my hands withdrew into the wounds right before they closed fully.



The blood in the air condensed into one fist-sized ball, and then the shards from the cup all flew into that ball, slipping through the surface without creating a single ripple.



It took less than five seconds from when I reassured my brother, but nothing in the room was stained any longer, and the only blood was the orb floating in front of me.



I motioned with my finger, and the orb of blood swiftly and surely moved and hovered over the saucer that was paired with my cup, after a moment, a white powder fell from the bottom of the orb, the completely dry powder was the ground up shards from my cup. The orb then shot back towards me, and I caught it in my hand as if it was a thrown ball, and in a way, it was, since, during that trip, it had frozen solid and was now hard as a rock. I then tossed it onto the floor, where it hit with a soft clunk, and then rolled and came to a stop next to one of the bookshelves.



Both of my siblings never took their eyes off of it.



“That, is Blood Manipulation,” I stated.

 

Chapter 6: Family Talk, A Talk of Retaliation.

Spoiler

Tuesday, February 17th, N.E. 807, 22:41

Pine Family 3rd Library, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

I couldn’t very well have a maid brew Tesk tea in front of my siblings, that would require explanations, ones that I didn’t think would be conducive to the conversation I wanted to have right now, so when the maid came back in to replace my missing cup, I had to make do with normal tea.



Frankly, I wasn’t enjoying it, no amount of sugar, milk, lemon, orange, chocolate, or anything else made it palatable to me. It was warm, which counted for something, and provided the only real enjoyment I got out of it.



After giving me a new cup and saucer, the maid had left with the old plate and the white powder that was all that remained of my former cup. She also took the ball of my blood. When I originally made it, it was simply frozen, but if I left it like that, once I stopped supplying it with mana, it would slowly reach room temperature and melt. So using my mana, I allowed it to warm naturally, but at the same time, I crystallized the blood itself. Now, it was something similar to amber, and I intentionally dulled the outer surface of it, so that it would look like a faintly brownish red stone. I also made it brittle, it would crack and break easily, but it would also disintegrate if exposed to water. It would end up in the trash, broken into dust, and then washed away.



I didn’t want to leave it as is, and I didn’t want to reclaim it in front of my siblings, so this would have to do. Still, it would be best to make sure the maid knows it’s poisonous, I didn’t want to accidentally kill one of our family’s servants.



But, just like with the Tesk tea, right now, I didn’t want to explain to my brother and sister that my blood was also highly toxic, and also corrosive come to think of it.



Already, they were barraging me with questions in regards to my magic and bloodline, and I was giving them non-committal responses. As their questions seemed to be puttering out, I figured now was the best time to start on the real topic.



“Brother, Sister,” I began. “Let us leave my magic aside, for now, there is something more important that I wish to speak about.”



“Ah, that is right, you did say there were two things,” Timothy exclaimed, having suddenly remembered that fact.



“But… If your magic awakening, and it being a Bloodline, is not the most important thing…” Pamela said mostly to herself.



“First, I would like to confirm some things?”



“Hmm, go ahead.”



“Then, first, Momm-Mother… had no intention of becoming the next queen?”



“Um, yes, that is correct,” Timothy answered, looking bewildered.



“Then, since traditionally, the losing siblings, would… let us say, meet a sorry ending, our Pine Family is taking steps to avoid that.”



“Of course.”



“Absolutely”



Both of them spoke firmly, seemingly trying to reassure me of our fate.



“Those steps, generally speaking, are to build good relations with each of the other five contenders, along with the twenty-one electors who will pick the next ruler, and the other nobility. But the goal is to also do this without making anyone upset?”



“Er… yes, that is right.”



“Furthermore, the plan is to also increase the value of the Pine Family, so that the next king sees a reason to keep us around. Specifically, our focus is expanding our naval operations in the North West, since it’s only our family that has that capacity.”



Both my siblings nodded in agreement without saying anything.



“Is there anything else that either of you know about?”



Both then shook their heads to indicate there was nothing to add.



“Then, we could also say that this approach is, for the most part, not working?” I asked.



“Well…”



“It is hard to say…”



Both of them weren’t sure what to say to that.



“Maybe not our aunts and uncles, but our cousins clearly see us as a threat, my recent experience shows that. Most likely, our good relations and competent approach are viewed as a threat, because we have a very firm foundation, if we did decide to make an attempt at winning the competition, we would have a good chance. In fact, as far as the others know, we might already be doing all of that.”



“Well, you are not wrong.” Timothy agreed begrudgingly.



“The problem is that our intentions are not being conveyed, either they do not know, or they do not trust us.”



“Well, if we just keep up with what we are doing…” Pamela started to rebut me, but even as she said the words, she knew they weren’t true.



“This time, I almost died. I suspect you two had similar situations, our elder brother Jason has probably seen even more than us. And soon it will be Peter.”



“Olivia… What are you trying to say?” Timothy’s voice was stern as he asked.



I didn’t answer right away, I took my time taking another sip of my tea, a tea that had begun to go cold.



“We should… begin to take part in this competition ourselves.” I said slowly as I put my cup down.



“...”



“Olivia… what exactly does that mean?” Pamela asked me.



“We cannot keep ourselves limited only to defense. If we do, we will be overwhelmed.”



“...I do not know about this…”



“Are you joking Olivia? And you, Pamela, what are you thinking? Entertaining this nonsense? If we… If we do anything, it will throw out all of the work our parents have done! What you are saying, is irreversible!” Timothy was flustered as he rejected my words.



“Brother…” I sighed to myself, Timothy seemed to be very against this.



“Absolutely not Olivia.”



“We have no choice,” I said with exasperation. “We’re being surrounded on all sides, slowly whittled down. Our grandfather, King Wilson Fredirin, is 65, but his health is good and he is still very active in the Kingdom, he will not vacate the throne anytime soon. Currently, many of us are still too young to take an active role in the competition, but in a few years, that will change, and the attacks on us will only increase.”



“And we will be prepared for it. Look, Olivia, I know you just went through a frightening experience, but we will make sure that does not happen again.”

“Little Sister, Brother is right, we will double the guards, we will not let that happen again.”



Again, both of my siblings tried to reassure me, but I just shook my head.



“A perfect defense doesn’t exist, you know this Brother. You can defend and wait for a chance, you can defend and wait for the enemy to tire, and you can defend and wait for an ally to strike, but you cannot just defend indefinitely. One lapse, one mistake, one unlucky occurrence, and the worst could come to pass.”



Neither my brother or sister said anything, both sported thoughtful looks, but they were both clearly not happy with the turn this conversation had taken.



“And there is nothing easier than attacking a target that doesn’t fight back. Brother, who has ever lost a fight with a training dummy?” I asked rhetorically.



“Olivia, it is not that I… Look, I know we cannot defend forever, but we cannot hit back. Besides the fact that mother and father would not want us to, even if we did, it would only draw more attention to us.”



“Timothy is right, only a few of our cousins have turned their sight to us, and if we start making moves ourselves, then those that currently are ignoring us, will stop and take note.” Pamela followed up.



“You’re both wrong.” I shook my head again. “You are right, that only a few are moving against us now, but the others are not avoiding us out of good will, but because they are too busy dealing with each other.”



“I see…” Timothy thought to himself for a second before continuing. “You are saying, that even if we step onto the stage, they would still be too busy.”



“Close, Brother, but not entirely. Each of our cousins have their own feuds and fights, most of our enemies are focused on those, only the dregs are currently aiming at us. As long as we do not announce our intention to fight back, they will all assume that our attacks are being carried out by their current rivals.”



“Ah! I get it now!” Pamela exclaimed. “If we move fast and low key, we can make significant gains before they even realize it is us.”



“Correct,” I replied.



“But still… I do not know if we should go through with this.” Pamela had calmed down now.



“Brother, Sister, we cannot just sit idle any longer. Attempts on our lives come from the shadows, we are isolated and bullied at school, our business within the Kingdom get extorted, suffer bandit attacks, and are crushed by their competitors. We are slowly being killed. We need to stop it.” I said resolutely.



“...Olivia… let us… let us just say, we agree with you, what do you have in mind?” my brother was clearly hesitating, but this was a good first step.



“To start with, we cannot allow ourselves to keep losing, without at least making the other side pay first. We make loans and invest in businesses, and they often either disappear with our gold, or they are crushed and forced into bankruptcy, we might not be able to stop this now, but we need to make the other side suffer some form of punitive action. To be honest, I do not know a lot about this topic, so you two will need to take over for that.”



“Hmm, well, my understanding is that we just left these things pass previously, but even if we cannot win, we could still drag it out in the courts. We could also… probably bribe various officials… yes, actually, there is a lot we could do, but we avoided doing so for fear of offending others,” Pamela began planning out some ideas as she sat there.



“We also need to consider, later on, of course, some more overt methods. Damaging goods, or spreading rumors, that sort of thing.” I added.




“Olivia, that we cannot do, we cannot do anything illegal.” My brother clearly rejected that idea.



“If the other side is not abiding by the rules, it is foolish for us to do the same. I am sure several of our stores have had stock disappear, or suffered unexplained vandalism, right?” I watched as Timothy grudgingly nodded in the affirmative before continuing. “This is not a duel, with rules and codes of conduct, it is a fight for our lives. You understand that, right?”



“...” Timothy had a sour look his face, but he didn’t disagree.



“We need to also expand our business and the like, again, I will need to rely on you two for that. In addition, we need to form a faction for ourselves, we cannot just sit alone in school any longer. The next time someone disrespects us and bullies us in school, they should be sent to the infirmary.”



Timothy looked as if he were about to say something, but as he saw Pamela absentmindedly bring her hand up and rub the area around her covered eye, he stopped.



“That is all I want the both of you to handle, you are not striking back, merely defending yourselves, think of it that way.”



“And you Olivia, what will you be doing?” Timothy asked.



Before I answered, I finished my cup of cold tea and watched my siblings.



Pamela seemed to agree with me, even the prior version of me knew that while my sister hid it, the injury to her eye that had nearly ruined her vision had bothered her. There was no scar, but her sight was fuzzy, and it interfered when she attempted to paint, all she could do was wear an eyepatch and give up on using that eye entirely.



As for my brother, I knew he was still hesitating. He could barely bring himself to agree with what we had already spoken about, but if I went further right now, he would blanche and resist.



“I will… take care of the other things for now. Our cousins need to be kept off balance and distracted so they can’t focus on us.” I said slowly.



“Olivia…” Timothy’s face went through a myriad of expressions before settling on one of concern. Concern for what, I wasn’t sure. “How will you do that?”



“To be honest, before I left the Citadel of the Pines, I borrowed a squadron of Spectres, so I will have all the tools I need at my disposal. Don’t worry brother, I will not do anything extreme” I assured him.



First surprise, then resignation, showed upon my brother’s face, but he didn’t say anything else.



“Now then, I think we should turn in for the night, it will soon be midnight, and you two have school. I will rest tomorrow, the trip tired me, but I will go with you on Thursday.”



We slowly said our good nights, and then the three of us left the library and returned to our rooms.



I felt sorry for my siblings, they needed to wake up early for school, and even if they could get a good night’s rest now, something that was unlikely after that conversation, they would still be short about two hours.



Luckily, I needed far less sleep than a normal human, so I wouldn’t suffer the exhaustion they would.



And… I suspected school tomorrow would be very exciting.

 

Chapter 7: Michael Canyon Fredirin.

Spoiler

Tuesday, February 17th, N.E. 807, 23:02

Michael’s carriage, 5th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Michael Canyon Fredirin.​

For the most part, during the cold winter months, there were few major balls and galas held within the Fredirin Kingdom. Major events would require travel, and considering that most the Fredirin Kingdom occupied high altitudes, the cold would already be a great deterrent for said travel, and if it snowed, even more so.



However, there were still plenty of small events that took place, the world did not just come to a halt due to a few months of cold. In fact, if one was well connected, then there would be an invite to a party practically every night, and this Tuesday night was no different.



The Fischer Family’s youngest son had turned ten today, so they had hosted a party in celebration. The head of the Fischer Family was merely a baron, and the family was not an old one with a long history, but they still hosted a decent sized party that ran from late afternoon until nearly midnight. The guest of honor had already retired for the night and at this point, the party was only for the adults who would continue drinking and making merry, the youth who were invited had either already left, or were on their way out now.



In fact, a carriage was in the process of leaving right this moment.



Early, when the birthday boy was still awake, he would have seen the carriages off, but now, it was the job of his siblings. One of his older brothers would walk the guests out to where their carriage waited, wish them a safe journey, and then return.



However, right now, both of his brothers, his sister, and his father and mother were all seeing this guest off.



This carriage was significantly more ornate than any of the other carriages that had left tonight, and unlike the others who normally had one guard who doubled as a coachman, this one was guarded by a group of heavily armored knights, sixteen of them. Each knight sat atop a large warhorse that was also heavily armored.



“Young Master, thank you for gracing my son’s birthday with your presence today.” The head of the Fischer family, Baron Martin Fischer, said humbly as he bowed his head towards the young man who was walking towards his carriage.



The man was young, not even twenty, but he held himself with pride and self-confidence, so much so that he looked older than he really was. He was tall, even for an adult, reaching nearly six feet. His face still had traces of his youthful innocence, but it was a face that already would make the hearts of women beat faster, even the Fischer Family’s daughter looked away shyly. He had silky soft brown hair, crystal clear blue eyes, and he wore a white outfit decorated with golden buckles inlaid with small and tasteful rubies. To protect him against the night chill, he had a black cloak wrapped around his shoulders that at a glance looked plain, but that was incomparably expensive, it was, after all, a high-grade magic item.



“No, don’t worry about it Baron Fischer, Larry is my good friend, and his brother is my brother.” the young man, Michael Canyon Fredirin reassured the man as he patted his shoulder. “Still, it is late, and I do have school tomorrow. Larry, you do too, so don’t be late.”



Michael Canyon Fredirin winked at his friend, smiled at their sister, who turned even redder, and then alighted into his carriage. He waved out from the window as they set off, heading down the dark streets of the Royal Capital.



“Wooo… I am tired…” Michael said as he removed the cloak from his shoulders, the interior of the carriage was heated magically, so it served no purpose now.



As the carriage steadily proceeded along, Michael took this time to relax a bit, he had woken up early, at dawn, to finish his assignments for school, he had then rushed to school to avoid being late, spent the day in various lectures, returned home only long enough to get changed, and then had headed out. As a member of the Canyon Family, there was a few business within the capital that he was nominally in charge of, that he needed to check in on occasionally. Normally he would do this on a Sunday, but he had been too busy this recent Sunday, and it was likewise the same yesterday. In fact, he was still so busy that he was only able to check in with half of the business under his care, and while there was nothing major wrong, they still voiced various complaints. If there was a silver lining, it was that he had nothing to do other than listening to them, their problems didn’t require any real follow up because they weren’t real problems. And then after he did his rounds, he had headed straight to this party.



He had only slept for about four hours last night, and tonight looked like it would be the same. It would take about thirty minutes to return to the Canyon Estate, he would need to spend some time working on his school assignments before he went to bed, and he would probably need to wake up early again to finish them. Tomorrow too, would be busy, after school he had accepted an invitation from the daughter of the Silver-Bow Family to go see a play, and since he was a director at one of the major orphanages in the city, he needed to go there and take care of some work. Not to mention, he needed to finish his inspection of the businesses under his care.



“Gah… I just want to rest for a day. Why do so many people need me for things?” He sighed in exasperation.



“Young Master is an important and powerful person.” Was the response he got.



The carriage he was in was sealed well, it wasn’t exactly soundproofed, but unless he yelled, his voice would only be a muffled mess, and considering that the wheels and the horses pulling it made noise too, it was impossible that anyone outside could have heard what he said.



Thus it could be concluded, that there was another person in the carriage with him, and in fact, there was.



In the far corner was a thin woman, appearing to be in her mid-twenties, she had black hair and gray eyes that looked, well, dull. The simple maid outfit she wore, a black top and skirt with a white apron, and a brown coat on top, made her look even more inconsequential. She was very easy to overlook, but Michael had known she was there from the beginning.



She was called Shannon, Daughter of Jerry, as a commoner she lacked a true family name. And she held a rather unique position as Michael’s executive maid.



Servants, maids included, had various ranks. They weren’t hard and fast guidelines, but at the lowest, there was the apprentices and trainees, and then above them were the full-fledged servants. After working for a few years at the same place, a servant would become a senior servant. And then all of these servants would fall under the command of a head servant, usually a head maid or a butler. For low ranking nobility and merchant families, senior servants would generally be the highest ranking servants they would have, but for the upper nobility, they would often split the servant jobs into sections, there would be chefs and other kitchen hands, gardeners and landscapers, cleaning crews, and maintenance workers and handymen. With clearly defined roles like this, there would be department heads that would then report to the main head. And for the largest families, there would often be deputy department heads that would share the responsibility with the true head.



Shannon however, was an executive maid, a rank that didn’t match up with the normal rankings. In fact, the position of executive maid was something that Michael had invented, and as far as he knew, Shannon was the only person who held it in the world. Shannon was a mix of a senior maid, responsible for assisting Michael throughout his day, and a secretary. She not only kept track of his schedule, but she also acted as his liaison to many people he dealt with.



Her commoner background did create some hassles when he had hired her nearly two years ago, but her competence, along with his insistence, had silenced most of the naysayers. In reality, there would always be detractors, and Shannon would need to get used to that for their future.



“I wish I wasn’t.” Was the answer he finally gave.



“Yes I know that young master, but as you know, wishes are worthless.”



“I wonder who said such heartless words.”



“As if the young master doesn’t know.” She said dryly.



“Yes yes, it must have been some heartless bastard. Oh, that is right, it was me, wasn’t it?”



“It is good that the young master remembers his words.”



“Haha,” Michael laughed, some of the stress leaving his body.



Shannon did not laugh, but he could recognize a slight glimmer within her eyes that indicated she was enjoying herself.



“Young master.” Shannon waited until he had stopped laughing to speak up. “I have taken the liberty to change the return route, we will be going through Toris Park.”



“Er? Why?” Michael asked surprised at the seemingly pointless detour.



“This path will take fifteen minutes longer, but it will be a smoother ride, and there will be less noise.”



“Yes?”



“Since the young master can only sit and wait during the ride, I thought it would be best if the young master could rest for the duration of the trip, after all, there is still much work to do tonight.”



“Hmm…” Michael mumbled as he thought about her idea.



It wasn’t too late to change the route back to the original so he could get home faster, which would allow him to jump straight into his school assignments, the sooner those were done, the sooner he could get some proper sleep.



That said, a difference of fifteen minutes would make little difference, and his work assignments will be easier to complete after some rest.



If there was a problem, it was that napping on a moving carriage was not exactly easy. Even with Shannon’s attention to detail with diverting to a more peaceful route, it was debatable if he’d be able to fall asleep.



Suddenly though, he had a thought, a fun thought.



“It would be nice to get some shut-eye while I can, I’m not sure if I could sleep in the carriage…” Michael steeled his face as he said that, he couldn’t let her pick up anything being amiss.



“I see then, I will tell the driver to take the original path.” She responded with no sign that she was upset that her goodwill had been rejected.



“Sorry to bother you…”



Shannon stood from the bench she was resting on and moved towards the door to the carriage, she would need to at least open it a crack and relay the message to one of the knights, who would then pass it on to the driver. There was a window that could be opened to allow them to directly talk to the driver, but that window was large, and in the front of the carriage, opening it would allow cold air to flood in. The door would be a much better option, and while she would have to cross in front of Michael to get to it, the interior was spacious enough that she wouldn’t need to bother him.



That being said, maneuvering about on a moving carriage did require a certain amount of finesse, and it could be said that Shannon had more than enough ability to do so, but even then, when the young man, still seated, launched his arm out, the ever capable executive maid was caught off guard. Before she could even utter a surprised cry, the hand on her wrist has pulled her towards the seat. Even as she tried to regain her balance, a second arm had wrapped around her waist. Gently, she was seated down on the same bench as the young master of the Canyon Family.



“I changed my mind, a nap sounds good,” Michael said with a smile to his maid, who only showed a slightly annoyed look on her face. “And I think you could probably use some rest too.”



“Haaa… Young Master, I do wish you would have just asked.” She sighed as she spoke in a flat tone.



“Well Shannon, if I had asked, you would have said no.” He replied while still keeping her wrapped with one arm and grabbing his discarded coat with the other.



“If you know that, why do you still act?”



“Hmm… Good question?” He said as he made the cloak into a makeshift blanket and wrapped it around them. “Comfy?”



“... no, there is no pillow…”



“You will have to make do with my shoulder,” He repositioned himself a bit to make it more comfortable. Shannon was still wrapped in his arm, but he had begun to lean into the corner and pulled her along with him so she was partially leaning on his chest since she was shorter than him, her head rested perfectly on his shoulder.



“...”



“Well? Is this better?” He asked when she didn’t say anything.



“Haa… You know Young Master, I sigh a lot more when I am around you.” She said, but she still stifled a yawn.



“I’m sorry Shannon, I know your work is exhausting.”



“No, I know that you work much harder than me. I wish I could do more…”



“You do plenty. Just being here, is enough.” He said sincerely.



For a while, neither spoke and the only sound was the creaking of the carriage wheels and the steps of the surrounding warhorses.



“Shannon, are you still awake?” He asked lightly.



“Hmm…? What… is it… Young… Master…?” her voice was low and drowsy, her eyes were already fluttering.



“Thank you.”



“Mmm…”

Tuesday, February 17th, N.E. 807, 23:51

Canyon Estate 1st floor hallway, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Michael Canyon Fredirin.​

Michael Canyon Fredirin was a young man, mature for his age, that shouldered an incredible amount of responsibility, and he lived up to those responsibilities. With his behavior and looks combined, no one would think he was only a young adult of fourteen years.



However, in some places and some ways, he was still a boy at heart. When in private, he could be surprisingly childish, and like most boys, he had a fondness for teasing the girl he liked.



“It’s cold. So very, very, very, cold.” He said with a deadpan tone.



It had been less than five minutes since they had arrived at the Canyon Estate within the royal capital, a utilitarian series of buildings made of a simple gray brick. It had also been less than five minutes since the two had woken up.



“Well, it is winter, but still, it is so cold.”



Michael slept surprisingly well, and his mood had improved considerably. That was, however, only to be expected, Michael had received a warrior’s training, and one aspect of that included the ability to fall asleep quickly, and in inconvenient circumstances, and also to stay asleep. Michael slept like a log, he would normally sprawl out to some extent and then remain almost entirely motionless as he slept.



“Really, it is cold.”



Shannon for her part, was still being trained to be a bodyguard, and a guard’s sleep was different, she needed to be able to sleep efficiently, but also to be able to wake up immediately when any sounds were made. Of course, her training had only been going on for a little under two years, and all of her maid duties were also lumped into that training, so she was still far from that ideal.



“I might even come down with an illness from this chilliness.”



And unlike Michael who's sleeping posture which appeared as if he was a corpse, Shannon was the type that curled up into a ball when she slept, a fact that Michael found rather cute. Shannon had few personal possessions, and rarely splurged with her salary, but the one thing she had bought for herself, was a large bed that dominated her room, a room that was already a bit larger than what a senior servant would have. Her bed was a mass of blankets and pillows, appearing as less of a bed, and more like a nest for some animal to hibernate in. Even curled up as she slept, she often latched onto her pillows and wrapped around them.



“If only I had a cloak…”



As they walked throughout the Canyon Estate, Michael was lacking his black cloak, it had been handed off to a servant to be laundered.



“At the very least, if only I wasn’t… damp…” Michael couldn’t help but smirk as he said that, he knew Shannon couldn’t see him, but he also knew that she could tell he was smiling from the tone of his voice.



And as he mentioned, not only was he missing his cloak, but there was a conspicuous damp spot on his left shoulder.



“......”



Shannon probably wanted to say something, but she was smart enough to know that nothing she said would convince Michael to give up his taunts.



“I do wonder how this happened though.”



Shannon, true to form, had curled up in Michael’s embrace as she fell asleep, she cuddled into his chest, latching onto him, and onto his cloak. In fact, while she had slept, the edge of the cloak had ended up in her mouth, where she had seemingly chewed on it.



When the two had awoken, not only was the cloak ruffled and wet, but she had drooled onto his shoulder, leaving a decently sized wet splotch.



“So… Sooooo...Cooooold!!” He wailed dramatically.



“Young... Master… please…” Shannon whimpered.



“Hmm…” Michael thought to himself for a second. “Shannon, you’re good at math right? How about you do my math assignment, and I will never speak of this again?”



Without even looking at her, Michael knew she was torn about her decision. On one hand, she adamantly refused to do his assignments or to allow others to do it for him, after all, it was his assignment. But on the other, she knew he would torment her for days for this, and worse, she couldn’t even get annoyed and claim he was overreacting, even now, his shoulder was still damp.



“Shannon, it is just the math assignment, and you know I am capable of doing it myself, it will just take up my time.”



This was true, Michael didn’t particularly enjoy math, but because of his position in the Canyon Family, he was proficient in it despite his dislike. What the school was teaching was material he had already learned.



And while he did feel bad about taking up Shannon’s time, he knew that she was already overbooked, her maid training was days, if not weeks, behind. If she didn’t do the math assignment, she would instead be completing more of that training, and frankly, she was vastly more valuable to him as a secretary than as a mere maid.

And furthermore, he didn’t like her completing any more of that training. A fundamental aspect of training as a maid was being humble and obeying anything the master said, Michael did not want Shannon as a subordinate, but as a partner. So if she skipped that, then all the better.



“Fine, I will do your math assignment. But! Just this once.” She finally caved in and agreed to his demands.



“Good, then we shall never speak of this again.” He said solemnly, but then added, “At least for now”



“...”



“Well, I am sure this will be a fun story when we are older.”

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 1:06

Michael's Bedroom, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Michael Canyon Fredirin.​

“Hooo… Finally.” Michael let out a breath of air and leaned back in the padded chair in front of his desk.



They had arrived back at the estate a bit before midnight, and it had been nearly two hours since then, and he was just finishing his assignments.



However, this was actually better than what he had been planning on.



The nap in the carriage had left him feeling refreshed, allowing him to go further tonight before turning in, and with Shannon taking care of the math, the part that would have taken him the longest, he was able to sit down and muscle through the assignments, getting them all done tonight. The original plan was to get as much done now, and then wake up early tomorrow and finish it. Now, while he did stay up a bit longer than he intended, he would still manage to get at least six hours of sleep tonight.



“Young Master, good work.” Shannon had left her spot, wrapped up in blankets on the sofa, and had brought him a mug of warm goat milk that she had already prepared.



“Thank you, and I should be saying the same to you too.”



“Mmmm” She nodded and then went back to her pile of blankets.



“Will you… sleep here tonight?” He gently asked.



“No, I am still in my uniform, I need to go back and get changed.”



“You do know, I keep several sets of your night clothes here.”



“... Young Master, it isn’t appropriate for me to sleep on your sofa, I don’t want any more rumors to spread.”



“First of all, who said anything about the sofa? As long as you promise not to drool…”



“Young Master, we had a deal.”



“You are right. My apologies. Still, the offer stands. And as for the rumors, who cares?”



“I do, and you should too. I do not want to be a weakness for you.”



“Shannon, no matter what weakness and vulnerabilities you bring me, it will all be worth it. I can one hundred percent guarantee it”



“Still, it isn’t appropriate for an unmarried couple to spend the night in the same room.”



“So if we get married?”



“Stop joking!” Shannon said harshly.



“... You know I am not joking.”



“The Young Master is someone who will go to great places and do great things, and you will have a splendid wife in the future.”



“You are right, at least about that last part, I think you overestimate me for the first half. And my splendid wife will be you.”



“I… I wish you wouldn’t say that. I know I am not suitable, no matter what you might say, and what I might want, I am not suitable to be your wife.”



“Shannon, one day, I will either make my Father the next king, and then I will withdraw from the competition myself, or, if I don’t think Father can win, I will give up at that time. Regardless, with no expectations, I will be able to marry whoever I want.”



“The Young Master should not speak like that.”



“Hahaha,” Michael laughed. “You have no idea how much I hate this. Or, I guess you do? I do complain about it all the time after all. Nothing would make me happier to give up on this madness. The stress, the work, the distrust of my cousins, even my siblings. We may all be working together now, but if we win, and Father becomes the next king, then my brothers and sisters will need to compete, our children will go through the same thing we are going through now. Even if Father were to win, I would not wish this on my children.”



Following Michael’s slight outburst, there was a moment of silence.



“Young Master, I know this is hard on you, and… despite what… what… I…” Shannon shook her head and then stood up. “I will take my leave. Good night Young… Good night Michael.”



She sent him a slight bow, before she exited the room, leaving the young man to sit there in thought until fatigue overtook him and he headed over to his bed and fell into it. He still wore his outfit from the day, and the shoulder had long since dried, but he still drifted off to sleep with a smile as he remembered the carriage ride home.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 2:33

Canyon Estate 8th break room, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

????????.​

Where the Pine Estate was a sprawling compound infused with the feeling of nature, the Canyon Estate was a bland, unfeeling structure with a few annexes nearby. The main structure was little more than a three-story rectangle, the windows were old-fashioned, gated, and covered with shutters. The halls were stone with reinforced wood floors, most of which were covered with wool rugs. The Canyon Family seemingly eschewed the more common fur rugs used in the Fredirin Kingdom, opting for the wool creations that their territory is known for. And because the one building took up the majority of the estate, that building had several waiting rooms and break rooms that were almost exclusively used by the servants.



Most visitors to the Canyon Family Estate find it difficult to get comfortable and describe the building as a modified fort, and they wouldn’t be wrong.



In one break room used by the servants, in the center of the building on the third floor, there was a large table surrounded by several cushioned chairs and couches, and upon these pieces of furniture, were various pillows.



Since it was currently a few hours before dawn, the room was vacant, the last servants that used it had left hours ago, while Michael was still at Baron Fischer’s party.



But now, at the deepest part of the night, something stirred in this room.



On a nondescript chair near the wall, a pillow began to wiggle, seemingly under its own power. After a few seconds of squirming, there was a sudden snap, and then suddenly, a blackened blade was thrust through the pillow from the inside. Tearing sounds followed, and after a few more seconds, silence had returned.



But from the torn pillow, the form of a sheep, one covered with burnt and mottled fur, emerged.



The sheep's form didn’t allow it to stand upright like a human, but it could still hunch over and walk on two of its legs. And in fact, this was necessary, since the sheep held in one of its front hooves a sharp black dagger that was about six inches long. The blade was flat, thin, and straight, but it was also incredibly sharp.



Strangely enough, the sheep also had a belt strapped diagonally across its body, and on the belt were various pouches and an empty sheath that formerly held the knife.



The sheep looked around a bit, taking in the room, before nimbly jumping down from the chair to the floor. While the jump itself was nimble, the landing was not, it stumbled and fell, the knife even slid out of its front hoof and clattered across the floor. Without a moment’s hesitation, the sheep reclaimed the dagger and then promptly slid under another one of the chairs.



The sheep waited for five minutes, and when no one came to investigate, it slowly crawled back out, now covered in dust. From one of the pouches, the sheep pulled out a small length of thin silken rope, it barely reached four feet long, and at one end was a hook covered in cloth.



Like an expert, the sheep swung the hook to build up some momentum, before letting it loose, sending the hook back up onto the chair where the torn pillow was. It only took two tries to hook the pillow and pull it down to the floor towards the sheep.



With the pillow still hooked, the sheep turned and went towards the only door in the room, all the while dragging the pillow behind it. Once at the door, the hook was extracted from the pillow, and again, the sheep expertly threw the hook, this time towards the doorknob. If the knob had been a handle or latch, the hook would have been sufficient to allow access, but since it was a knob that needed to be turned, the sheep had to perform an extra step. It placed its dagger back into the sheath, double checked that the rope was secure, and then placed its leg upon the door, and then kicked off the ground, and like a mountain climber scaled the door.



When it reached the knob, it was able to turn it, but, the door opened inward to the room, and the knob was too far from the edge of the door for the sheep to push off of the wall. If there was a piece of furniture nearby, the sheep could throw its hook, latch onto that, and then pull the door, but sadly, nothing within four feet would work.



Instead, the sheep withdrew from another pouch, a piece of woven reeds. It was only a square about two inches by two inches, and it was also thin, but despite being thin, it was stiff and sturdy. The sheep turned the knob, and then rammed the woven reeds into the gap between door and wall. It was just barely able to reach, but the reeds prevented the latch from moving back into position when the sheep released the knob. Finally, the sheep undid the hook, and then jumped back to the ground, it stumbled again, but, didn’t fall this time.



And finally, on the ground, the sheep replaced the hook and rope and withdrew a very small crowbar, maybe only six inches in length. It was thin enough that it slid under the door, and grabbed onto the far side. The sheep simply pulled it, and the door swung open. The woven reeds did fall out, but since they were simply reeds, they made nearly no sound as they fell.



The sheep listened a bit to make sure no one was walking down the hallway, and when it heard nothing, I poked its head out. Seeing no one, the sheep again grabbed the torn pillow and moved with a surprisingly level of speed into the hall. Before shooting down the hall away from the room, it used the crowbar to pull the door shut, quietly.



It took the sheep only ten seconds to traverse the twenty feet from the break room to the first intersection. It would have been faster, but it paused at each door and listened for a moment, and after hearing nothing moving, it would continue on.



It paused at the intersection, checking for any servants or guards, and then turned right and continued on at a fast pace.



Twenty seconds later, it came to a stair landing. It was a large space, a bit larger than the break room from before, but worryingly, it opened directly into the stairwell, allowing anyone who came up the stairs to immediately see anything and everything taking place in the landing.



The sheep listened at the entrance to the landing, and again near the stairwell, and when it heard nothing, it scampered under the few decorate pieces of furniture here towards its current goal, the fireplace directly adjacent to the stairwell.



Without hesitation, the sheep plowed right into the fireplace, knocking some the burning embers and coal about. It even drug the pillow in with it, which started to smolder a bit at the edges.



Ideally, the fireplace would have had a real fire, instead of just the embers left behind, which would have ignited the pillow immediately. But, the sheep was prepared for this, and reached into another pouch, and withdrew a small flask of liquid. Popping the cap, the sheep poured the contents, a mixture of oil and alcohol, onto the pillow. Within seconds, the fuel ignited, and the flames began eating through the pillow.



The sheep, seeing that the flames were stronger, and more importantly, brighter, than it had expected, quickly grabbed the pillow and shoved it down into the glowing embers. Partially buried, the flames consuming the pillow were now a lot less noticeable. Even then, the sheep was still concerned and covered the flames with its own body.



It took nearly five minutes for the pillow to be reduced to something that was mostly indistinguishable to the surrounding coals, and besides wasting its time, the sheep was none the worse for wear.



With that done, the sheep turned towards its true goal in entering the fireplace, the small shaft in the back.



The Canyon estate had air vents built into the stone walls, they lead to several openings in halls and rooms, which allowed heat to spread through the building. They also gave a route for smoke from the fireplaces to escape to, greatly increasing the quality of life for anyone within the building.



The vents had several access points to allow servants to clean them. This was needed because the vents were far too small for a human, even a child, to enter, they were only six inches wide and about four inches high.Not relying only on the small size, several metal grates blocked the vents, and while they did open up into some less important rooms when they connected to an important room, they did so only through an existing fireplace. So even if someone with nefarious intentions could overcome the small size and the grates, they would still exit into a fireplace. This was an effective method of stopping assassins from using snakes, bugs, or even poison gas to hunt their targets.



However, for the sheep, the flames meant nothing, it’s body was impervious to flames of this scale. And when the sheep reached the grate, it simply placed its front hooves against it, and then bent the bars until there was an opening wide enough for the sheep to slip through. It did bend them back, and while the finished product wouldn’t look wrong at a glance, it wouldn’t stand up to any real level of scrutiny. But none of that mattered to the sheep, it would be long gone before any investigation even began.



The sheep didn’t know where any of the access points were, nor did it know what the rooms that the vent went into were for. It didn’t have a map, and as it turned out, the vents were a veritable maze. It knew where it needed to go, the southeastern corner on the first floor. And while it had no map, it would never get lost, it was just a matter of time until it found its goal.



Some thirty minutes later, a dirty and soot-covered sheep finally found its target. It bent the bars just like it had countless times already, and then entered into another fireplace that was filled with lightly glowing embers.



From within fireplace, the sheep surveyed the room. There were shelves on the far wall, three doors at various locations led to other rooms and the hallway, but since they were all closed, the sheep didn’t know which was which. There was a desk near the shelves, a small sitting area consisting of a table and two chairs, a sofa with a bundle of blankets piled upon it. There was a suit of shiny scale mail on a mannequin, and there were several weapons, swords, spears, and bows, on the wall near it. And near the fireplace, was a large and simple canopy bed with cloth sheets, likely wool, covering it.



And, there was a person sleeping in the bed.



The sheep exited the fireplace, and carefully headed to the foot of the bed. Once there, it took out the hook attached to the rope, and then took out a second, identical one, and then it removed the cloth wrapped around the hooks. It threw the first one up towards the bed, specifically at the thin cloth that made up the canopy. It took one try for the hook to pierce into the canopy, and once it was sure that it was sturdy, the sheep climbed up the rope. Afraid to even lightly shake the bed, the sheep didn’t use its lower legs, and only pulled itself up with its front legs, one hoof over the other. When it reached the hook, it used the second one to reach further up the canopy, and then having disconnected the first, it climbed higher.



Eventually, the sheep reached the top, the wooden frame that the canopy was affixed to. Now here, it replaced the hooks after it put the cloth back on them, and then it pulled two longer pieces of rope. Like the ones connected to the hooks, this silk-like material was sturdy but thin, and these ropes were closer to twelve feet instead of the former’s four.



The sheep tied one end around the wood where it stood, and then it circled around the frame to the other side where it tied the other end of the rope down. Now, there was a cord of the thin rope spanning the center of the bed.



The sheep shimmied across the rope until it was also in the center of the bed too, and then it looped one end of the second rope around the connecting first rope and then wrapped the remainder around its torso. It then slowly descended towards the bed by unwrapping the coiled second rope.



The sheep had long since confirmed that the person within the bed was Michael Canyon Fredirin, its target, so it didn’t hesitate any only stopped its descent when it was a few inches above the sleeping man.



If the sheep were a living, breathing, human, the man would have likely detected it at this distance, but the sheep was not alive, and as long as it remained motionless, it produced zero sounds. It did, however, smell of burning coal, and that would sooner or later alert the sleeping person.



The sheep withdrew both the black dagger and also a small think flask. It dipped the dagger into the flask, and when it came out, it was coated in a black viscous liquid that was almost darker than the blade itself.



Finally, the sheep took one last look at the man, double checking to make sure he was, in fact, asleep, and checking to make sure he didn’t have any form of hidden armor or magical items on.



And unfortunately, while the sheep couldn’t detect any magic, the target was wearing a normal set of clothing, he seemingly had fallen asleep still in his daywear, and there was no way for the sheep to tell if there was a mundane armor plate hidden within it.



As long as the armor wasn’t Mithril, Orichalcum, Adamantine, or some other legendary metal, the sheep could probably break through it with brute force, but there was both a risk that the blade would break, and that the impact would make noise.



Giving up on a strike to the heart the sheep considered its options. The neck was an option, but it would be messy, and it might not be instantly fatal. The only other real option was through the eye and into the brain, which would be instantly fatal, assuming the small and thin knife could reach far enough and hit something important enough.



There was actually another option, one that despite its downsides, the sheep was considering. A direct strike to the forehead to punch through the skull and go directly into the brain. Even if the stab wasn’t fatal, the impact would inflict injury, and the bone fragments from the shattered skull would cause further damage.



The only downside would be that such a method would leave a trace of the killer, punching through a skull would require quite a bit of power and strength, which would be somewhat revealing.



But, since no one would suspect the murderer to be a stuffed animal, the sheep considered it fine.



Finally, the sheep extracted another tool from its pouches, an eight-inch long wand decorated with silver and electrum, a grade four soul extractor.



With both tools, the wand and dagger, the sheep aimed its strike, and once it was confident, it dropped from its rope directly into Michael Canyon Fredirin’s chest.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 6:58

Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.​

The first of the sun’s rays were cresting the horizon, bringing daylight to the royal capital.



From the Seventh Circle where a bloody and soot-covered stuffed sheep was slipping into a seemingly abandoned warehouse, to the northeastern side of the Third Circle where Pamela and Timothy Pine Fredirin were just waking up, to the southern edge of the Third Circle where a woman was shrieking in despair after finding her master murdered in bed, the sun illuminated all.



Night had ended and a new day had begun.

 

Chapter 8: A Scenic Carriage Ride in the Morning.

Spoiler

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 8:13

Olivia’s Bedroom, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

My brother and sister had already been prepared to go to school well before dawn, and now that it was almost half an hour past that time, they had already boarded a carriage together and departed to school. For my part, I had pretended to still be asleep and had skipped the family breakfast, I hadn’t even seen them off.



In fact, it was only a few minutes ago that I had finished bringing Gimmy back to the warehouse Captain Nev had rented for me. Controlling a puppet like that, was a very exacting type of magic, as long as I maintained the connection with my blood, I could manipulate it at will, but it required a majority of my attention. I could leave it idle, as I did when it was within the pillow, but to actually make use of it, I had to focus entirely on it, it was not a golem or other type of magical construct that could take action on its own.



In the past, I was rather skilled in manipulating puppets like that, for a time, it had been a game of sorts between my contemporaries, to have mock fights and battles with puppets. But like all fads, it had fallen to the side, and it had been an incredibly long time since I did it last. Besides those stumbles when I was learning how to walk with the sheep’s hooves, I think I did a pretty good job. Afterall, Michael never even noticed, even as the knife’s tip was crashing through his skull.



Still, while I did accomplish what I wanted, having Gimmy navigate its way through the capital to the warehouse was significantly harder than I expected, and took longer than I wanted. Now, I was behind schedule.



“Ava, come in here please,” I called out towards the maid who was waiting in the hallway for me to wake up.



“Pardon me, My Lady,” Ava spoke as she entered the door, and having closed it behind her, she dropped to a quick, but flawless, curtsy.



Ava looked as if she was in her mid-thirties, she had the earliest hint of wrinkles around her eyes, and her rusty red colored hair was just beginning to fade. But, she had a quarter of elven blood within her, and while she had nowhere near the lifespan of even half-elves, she would still live at least another hundred years.



“Ava, have a carriage prepared, I wish to go to Varsin’s.”



“Yes My Lady. Do you want to leave before lunch, or after?” She asked.



“No, I want to leave as soon as possible.”



“...Will My Lady take breakfast before you depart?”



“No, have something prepared and I will eat during the trip.”

“Understood My Lady, I will go see to the preparations. I will have someone come in and help you dress.”



“No need, I will be fine. And, use one of the basic carriages, no need for an extravagant one to be used.” I added.



“Yes… I understand. The preparations will be complete within a quarter of an hour.”



“Okay,” I nodded as Ava curtsied again before she retreated from the room.



Today would be busy.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 8:30

Pine Family Courtyard, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

Fifteen minutes later, I was wearing a heavy white and gray overcoat that wrapped around my neck and came down to below my knees, and was about to enter the carriage, but, there was a problem.



“My Lady, I can not allow this.” The problem stated.



While I had told Ava to prepare a basic carriage, I had not told her I would not need an escort, as such, a team of knights had been prepared to guard me as I went. Rejecting the escort should have been easy, but, my remaining Guardian Knight had adamantly refused.



“Carla, It is just a small trip, I do not need an escort.”



“No. I am in charge of My Lady’s safety, I can not allow you to leave like this.” Carla, my Guardian Knight, rebutted me.



Guardian Knights are knights that focus entirely on protecting their liege, unlike a normal knight, a Guardian Knight will almost never act independently from their master. As a woman, my Guardian Knights would likewise, be women, all so that they could follow me anywhere I went. Originally, I had two such knights, Carla, who was an expert swordsman, and Bethany, who while not as skilled as Carla, handled the setup of my security detail. Technically speaking, the recent mishap my carriage had suffered would have been a failure on Bethany’s part, the advanced party she sent should have investigated the bridge more thoroughly.



Granted, there was no telling if they would have discovered anything, sometimes, these things are simply unavoidable, and as such, it would have been unlikely for Bethany to receive any form of reprimand, however, there would have been an unspoken mark on her record, it was even possible she would have been reassigned from my security detail for a while.



Of course, none of that ever came to be, because when the bridge collapsed and the carriage tumbled into the waters, Bethany had been sitting alongside the driver. The driver, an experienced coachman, had suffered a head wound before he was thrown into the water where he drowned, and Bethany too, had ended up in the icy waters. Unlike the coachman who was knocked out, Bethany’s neck had been twisted and snapped, she had likely died instantly.



Carla, for her part, had been in the carriage with me and had protected me as we tumbled by wrapping my body up in her embrace. I only received a few light bruises and scrapes, mostly from being smashed into Carla’s breastplate, while the Guardian Knight herself ended up with several cuts and even a fractured arm. I also had three ladies in waiting in the carriage with me, and after getting me out of the water, Carla had gone back to rescue them. Ultimately, she got two of the three out of the sinking carriage in time, but one ended up drowning, and for her efforts, Carla was bedridden for several days and almost died from hypothermia. Even now, she was a bit pale.



And then, because Guardian Knights required a large amount of training, and because their loyalty needed to be assured, a replacement for Bethany hadn’t been found, Carla was now doing the job by herself.



“Carla…” I said with a sigh.



“No, My Lady. Not after what just happened.”



“...haaah…” I sighed again, heavier this time.



Carla, technically, was one of the people who could override my orders within the estate, the other being the steward, Old Man Hart. For Carla, it was limited to situations pertaining to my safety, but that was precisely what this was about. If she wanted to, she could actually bar me from leaving.



And, she wanted to.



“Fine, Carla, you may accompany me, but I do not need an escort,” I said.



“My Lady, that is unacceptable.”



“And… Sir Jop.” I added.



“...” Carla pursed her mouth and didn’t say anything for a second.



Anyone with martial skills was given a ranking within the Fredirin Kingdom, and this ranking, for the most part, coincided with the ranking that other countries gave their warriors.



Rank 0, these are average humans with no training what so ever.



Rank 1, people who at least knew how to use weapons fell here. Most people fall here since a simple spear isn’t that hard to use, and merely a few hours of practice is sufficient to earn rank 1. Most conscripted forces consist of rank 1’s.



Rank 2, people with actual training in weapons. People of this rank are generally stronger, tougher, and faster than those of the prior two ranks. The basic soldiers of most standing armies are rank 2, along with most beginner adventurers.



Rank 3, these are the highly skilled basic soldiers, or those with specialized skills. Novice mages and priests usually start at this rank. Most knights are also rank 3, my brother Timothy is a rank 3 even though he is only a knight in training.



Rank 4, this is where the truly strong start showing up, people of rank 4 are equal to at least ten or twenty rank 2’s.



From there, the ranks are a little less clear, they are well beyond what normal people can really understand.



Guardian Knights are always at least rank 4, but often times going up to rank six. Carla is rank 5, and she’s in the upper levels. Bethany was at the peak of rank 4. My siblings have roughly equal setups, a slightly higher rank that is the main combatant, and a slightly lower rank that handles the planning and command aspects. Our parents use the same system, but they use rank 6 and rank 5 respectively.



But, outside of the Guardian Knight’s that act as our bodyguards, the Pine Family has many other Rankers that follow us, some are loyal members of the family, others are paid mercenaries.



Sir Jop is the second son of a baron family under our umbrella, one that is firmly, very firmly, under our umbrella, so there is little risk of betrayal. Sir Jop technically holds the noble rank of a knight, in that our family had knighted him and given him a small territory.



But, contrary to what one might think of when they visualize a knight, Sir Jop is actually an Elementalist. And not only that, he is an Elementalist of rank 7.



Our estate here in the capital also has a rank 7 Arcanist, and a rank 7 Druid, these three, along with several rank 6 guards, were the estate’s main military force.



That being said, a threat that was able to overwhelm the rank 6’s and force the rank 7’s into play, would lead to a battle that would devastate the surroundings. If enough rank 7 existences were to join in battle, the capital might cease to be.



So in that sense, Sir Jop would be a perfect guard.



Not only due to his power, but Sir Jop specialized in water magic, which out of the six elements, was the second best at healing. If anything really did happen, then Sir Jop would be able to at least prevent the worst.



“My Lady, having Sir Jop escort you is…” Carla said hesitantly.



“It is fine,” I responded.



Sir Jop was one of the linchpins of the estate’s defenses, but unless he was gone for an extended period of time, there would be no real effect on the estate, the other two could easily hold the fort, and an attack from someone stronger than them was largely impossible.



As for whether or not he would be willing, to start with, it was only Carla and Old Man Hart that could over-ride me, and I doubted the steward would do so. If I ordered it, Sir Jop would have no choice.



But, that wouldn’t be necessary, Sir Jop was almost an uncle to us, he even taught Pamela magic occasionally.



“...Fine,” Carla gave up reluctantly, before turning towards one of the servants, “Go pass a message to Sir Jop, My Lady would like to ask him to be her escort.”

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 8:41

Pine Family Courtyard, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

It took another ten minutes for Sir Jop to arrive, putting my plans even further behind schedule.



Sir Jop was somewhat taciturn when in public, so other than greeting me, he said nothing else and entered the carriage.



I watched as Carla finished up the last details, and I was somewhat concerned.



Both her and Bethany had been somewhat close to the previous me, not exactly friends, but closer than bodyguards would normally be. I did, in my own way, grieve for Bethany, but rather than wallowing in sorrow, finding out who had caused her death, and making them suffer for their transgressions, was a much better way to honor her.



I had lost Bethany, but Carla was still looking tired. She was slower than normal, pale, and she seemed a bit absentminded. I knew she was just being overwhelmed with the duties that were just pushed on her, but I was still concerned.



“Carla, With Sir Jop, perhaps you should…” I started to say.



“Hmm? What is it, My Lady?”



“No… Nevermind.”



Carla took great pride in her work and her position. I also know, she considered the mishap to be her responsibility just as much as it was Bethany’s. I also knew Bethany was probably one of Carla’s only friends, she had to have been taking her death hard.



She was clearly focusing on her work to numb her pain, and suggesting that she stay behind and rest would be an insult.



“Carla, you’ll sit inside of the carriage too,” I said and turned and headed towards the carriage.



At least she could rest somewhat during the trip.



“My Lady, are you boarding?” Sir Jop’s voice, his head looking out the window of the carriage, brought me out of my musings.



“Yes, Sir Jop.”



“Hmm,” He said, and then stood up, leaned out, picked me up, and brought me into the carriage.



“Thank you, Uncle Job.” I smiled.



“Olivia, you really gave me a fright. You don’t know how worried I was.”



“I am sorry.”



“Well, it isn’t your fault. Still, we need to be careful. We can’t have that happen again, my heart can’t take it.” He said solemnly.



“Do not worry uncle, it won't happen again.”



“Ha, you rascal, that isn’t for you to decide, protecting you is our job,” Uncle Jop smiled reassuringly while he patted my head.



“...”



How strange, a simple act such as rubbing my hair somehow created a warm feeling in my chest. If I didn't know he was extremely unskilled with fire magic, I would have thought he was casting a spell on me.



“Hmm?” He slowly withdrew his hand and looked at me oddly for a bit.



“What is it?” I asked, but I had a good guess.



“Eh, I guess it is nothing,” he said while shaking his head.



Before we could continue, Carla effortlessly pulled herself into the carriage and stood in the doorway.



“Well, we are all ready to go, just to confirm, we are just going to Varsin’s Home of Plush?”



“Yes, but tell the driver to take the Old Stone Bridge Route,” I said without much thought.



“Uh, yes.” Carla then leaned back out the door and conversed with the driver.



But, not before I spotted a dark expression cloud her face, much like the one that had appeared on Uncle Jop’s. They both probably thought I was intentionally taking the path with the more durable stone bridge.



I was, but not for the reasons they thought.



Well, they would understand soon.



Finally, Carla pulled herself back in, and this time shut the door, then she looked at the two open seats somewhat hesitantly.



This carriage was a basic four-seater, two benches each faced each other, and each was large enough to allow two people to sit side by side. Me and Uncle Jop were sitting across from each other, so the two remaining open spots were next to both of us.



Normally, both Bethany and Carla would have sat on the same bench, in fact, it would be strange for a servant, even a Guardian Knight, to share a bench with their master.



But, Carla was a rank 5 warrior, and Uncle Jop was a rank 7 Elementalist, not only was he two ranks above her, but he was also a mage, which automatically increased his prestige. And there was his nobility ranking on top of that too. Sitting next to him would be somewhat odd, and to make matters worse, Uncle Jop wasn’t that familiar with Carla, so he stoic facade was back up.



Even if she wanted to go with whichever seat had more space, my overcoat added some extra mass to myself, and Uncle Jop was thin, short, and just generally lanky. In fact, he looked like any average person off of the streets.



“Carla, take a seat,” I said as I patted the bench next to me. I knew if I didn’t say anything, she probably would have stood, hunched over, in the rocking carriage.



Carla was just a bit taller than normal for a woman, but otherwise, had an average physique, at least looking from the outside. She wore a cloak, and under that was thin Mithril armor, even though you could hardly tell she was wearing it, it had defense almost comparable to full plate armor made of steel. Even the seemingly simple gloves she wore had a Mithril mesh within them.



Under that armor, Carla had a finely honed body that was pure muscle without a speck of fat, she did, after all, spend several hours a day training with her sword.



While her muscles didn’t show, and while she wasn’t that tall, standing in the carriage would have been awful, so with only a moment of hesitation, she sat down beside me.



While we sat in silence, the carriage slowly headed towards the gate that allowed entry and exit to the estate. A few words were said between the coachman and the gate guards, and then the gate rattled open and we were truly on our way.



We were two minutes away from the estate when I spoke up.



“Uncle, I have a favor to ask.”



“Hmm?” Uncle Jop raised an eyebrow at me, and Carla just looked a bit confused.



Without saying anything, I reached into my coat and withdrew a stuffed animal.



It was a fish, a trout to be exact. Its body was covered in little, felt, patches that looked like scales, the main body was gray, but the belly was red. In almost every way, it was simply a trout, but, it had a monocle over one eye, and its lips were big, puffy, and bright pink.



I handed it to Uncle Jop who looked even more confused that Carla had been.



“The monocle’s frame has been torn,” I pointed out the damage to the stuffed animal as he looked over it.



The monocle had no lens in the first place, a glass lens would be somewhat dangerous on a toy that was designed to be cuddled with. Even the frame was made of a soft material that mostly held its shape when left alone, but that could be squished and squashed as one pleased. Now, however, part of the frame had been cut, as if someone slashed it with a knife.



“This is… Fish Lips…” I trailed off as I deeply regret my past naming sense. “He was a present, but he came from Varsin’s Home of Plush, so they should be able to repair him.”



“Oh… Okay…?”



“So when we get there, just take him in and hand him off to get fixed. And tell him I had stayed in the carriage because I had gotten a chill.”



“My Lady, you won't be going in?” It was Carla who answered.



“No.”



Varsin’s Home of Plush was one of the major stores for selling stuffed animals. Varsin Himself had died before I was born, but his son had taken his name and his business and expanded it. Varsin’s made both pre-made stuffed animals, and also custom orders, he had a large showroom with many of his works of art there, and unlike the person who made Mr. Zlizvnikchlex, Varsin was normal. His stuffed animals were bears, dogs, cats, fish, birds, and things like that, not butterfly tentacle abominations.



All that being said, Varsin’s Home of Plush was one of my favorite places, Carla and Bethany had accompanied me here many times, so the fact that I wasn’t going in, came as a surprise to her.



“Carla, when will Bethany… when will you get a new partner?” I asked as gently as I could.



“I don’t know,” Carla still frowned. “There are no females skilled enough in the capital right now that we can use, so we will need to wait until we hear back from either the Mistress or the Master. In the meantime, however, a temporary replacement will be filling in. But, I don’t know who that will be.”



“Hmm, I see.”



“Beth, she handled all of the behind the scenes work, and I regret to inform you, but I am somewhat struggling to take up her duties. When last I talked with Steward Hart and Commander Tale, my understanding is they’ll give me a military officer to assist with the management so I can focus more on actually guarding you like I did in the past, and they will also give me someone who is strong enough to act as a guard, even without training as a Guardian Knight.”



“Oh? who will that be?” I asked, interested in who the guard would end up as.



“Probably Abby. She’s loyal, and she’s a rank 6, even if on the lower end. The fact that she is so strong should make up for the fact that she is… well… basically a berserker. I'll focus more on protecting you then.”



“Okay…”



I didn’t know all of the important people in the estate, in fact, I hardly knew any of them. Old Man Hart was the steward, and I knew my own servants and guards, and Uncle Jop who was close to all of us, but that was it. As for Abby, I had no idea who she was.



“So Abby will be temporary then?” I asked.



“Yes, absolutely. She is strong, but not suited to be a guard. And, she is too valuable to do this kind of work,” Carla responded.



“In that case, I will tell you two now, but I would like you to keep this as a secret for now. Of course, Timothy and Pamela know, but I want it to just be you four.” I said after a pause.



“My Lady?” Carla asked while Uncle Jop just raised an eyebrow.



“When I was recovering at the Citadel of the Pines, I unlocked my Mana Core.”



“Wha?”



“Wha?”



Two identical sounds came out, one from a female knight, and the other from a middle-aged Elementalist.



Before, when I had shown off my magic, I had manipulated blood as a demonstration. That could be called an inherent type of magic, much like a dragon’s elemental breath, or a basilisk’s petrifying gaze. Just because I used that didn’t mean I couldn’t use other types of magic. As an outsider, unless we had a natural affinity to an element, we usually just used mana in its raw form, this was something largely different from any of the known types of magic that humans use. If anything, it comes closest to the type of magic that spirits grant to their contracted Spiritualist.



So while I couldn’t cast a spell in the way Uncle Jop could, I was able to diffuse mana into the surroundings and create a pressure aura.



Pressure auras weren’t really spells, just like arm strength wasn’t really a fighting technique, but it could be used to overpower a much weaker opponent. And technically, anyone who could use mana could create a pressure aura, even Carla could probably make a weak one, it was just that mages, who are better able to control and use mana, can make stronger ones, and do it with ease.



That being said, a pressure aura served no real purpose other than to flaunt your strength and oppress those who are weaker than you, so it was largely a useless skill. It did have some purpose, however.



So without a word, my mana flooded out, dense, heavy, cloying, it spread around the carriage instantly. It wasn’t enough to actually suppress any of the people in the carriage, although having caught them off guard, I probably could have if I had wanted too, but it was sufficient to let them know that I had immense mana at my beck and call.



Generally speaking, mages are better able to resist pressure aura when they know to prepare, because they too can manipulate the mana around them. When caught unaware, mages tend to crumble. On the other hand, warriors and other fighters, tend to be able to resist it somewhat just based off of the durability of their bodies.



While I didn’t output enough to actually suppress them, even as I surprised them with it, it was Carla who seemed to have suffered the most, even now, after I retracted it, she was still lightly panting and trembling, whereas, Uncle Jop was just sitting there.



Carla wasn’t simply a warrior, she was a knight, specifically, a Guardian Knight, a person who devotes everything to protect another from all threats, including assassination. She is extremely sensitive to bloodthirst due to that.



For my part, unlike humans who have trained and learned to use mana as a tool, mana has always been a part of me, just like a hand, ear, foot, or eye. Mana is not a tool to me, but a weapon, much as a beast’s claws and fangs are. I have, since long ago, learned to use my mana in different ways, but at its heart, my mana is a weapon that I attack with. Even when I use it for something else, it is still, fundamentally, something I cultivated to hunt others with. At its very basic, my mana is overflowing with bloodthirst.



A normal warrior would have been shaken since those who fight hand to hand are more sensitive to bloodthirst, it was just worse for Carla.



And as for Uncle Jop, he probably suspected what I was going to do, after all, he had picked me up earlier and even patted my head, coming into direct contact with my body, he surely felt the stirrings of the mana that I wasn’t trying to hide.



“Knight Carla! Slow breaths. Easy…” Uncle Jop’s yell startled Carla, but then helped her calm down.



It was a task I couldn’t do, as the source of her agitation, anything I did would have made it worse.



“Haaaa.... I have shown you something disgraceful,“ a now calm, but still breathing heavily, Carla said.



“No, I was wrong to do that, My apologies,”



“Leaving Knight Carla aside for the moment, what was that Olivia? That wasn’t Elemental Magic, nor Arcane Magic.” Uncle Jop sat up straight as he asked me this.



“It is Bloodline Magic, I don’t know the source, and the inherited memories are still unclear,” I answered his first question, and what would have been his second.



“I see, well, it is certainly powerful, but we will need to be on guard when all of your memories awaken.”



“Of course.”



“So Olivia, I imagine there was some greater purpose for coming out here and telling us this?” Uncle Jop asked with a knowing smile.



“Yes, in fact, there isn’t much time,” I stood up as I spoke and took off the overcoat I had been wearing.



Underneath it, I was wrapped in dark brown leather armor. Not only my chest, but my arms, sides, back, neck, legs, I even had leather boots on, and within the pockets, I had a pair of leather gloves to go with it.



The Spectres had acquired this armor from several different stores, each piece bought by a different person. It was not only decently high quality, but it was specialized gear, well beyond a simple leather jerkin. Even though there was no metal involved at all, since several pieces came from powerful magical beasts, the protection value was on par with chain mail. And, it was shaped for a female halfling, so if it had been bought all in one go from one store, the shopkeeper would have certainly remembered who the buyer was, which would leave a trail I did not want found.



“When we enter the Old Stone Bridge, I will be departing from the carriage.”



“Absolutely not!” Shouted Carla, who was not only still breathing heavily, but was flabbergasted at my armor.



“...” Uncle Jop just frowned in thought.



“The truth is, when I returned from the Citadel of the Pines, I brought with me a squadron of Spectres. I will be meeting with them.”



“That… That doesn’t make any-”



“Knight Carla!” Uncle Jop’s shout stopped her before she went on, but then he just leaned his head back and continued pondering for a few seconds. “You will be fine, right?”



“Yes.”



“Hmm…” He hummed to himself, his eye glancing at the clearly agitated Guardian Knight. “Perhaps a test is in order?”



“A test?” I asked, somewhat annoyed. We were only a few minutes away from the bridge.



“Yes, a test, a simple one too.”



Uncle Jop then raised his hand, and at the tip of his index finger, a small shard of blue ice appeared. It was about four inches long and had a girth that was just a bit smaller than the finger it floated in front of.



“Olivia, I will shoot this past you at the wall of the carriage, and it will have some force too. Block it, destroy it, do whatever you will, but if it hits the wall, I will not allow you to leave. If you can stop it, then you may do as you wish.”



“Interesting.”



“I will not fire it too fast, since we are pretty close, but it will have enough force to stick into the wood. Now, are you ready?”



“Yes, on three?”



“On three then. Carla, you count.”



“Ah, oh, okay. Then on three.”



“...”



“One”



“...”



“Two.”



“...”



“THREE!”



SLURCH.



“Eh!?”



“Wha!?”



The shard of ice never reached the wall of the carriage.



It wasn’t stopped by a magical barrier.



It wasn’t stopped by either a wall of fire, or of wind, or earth, or water.



It wasn’t deflected, nor was it redirected.



It simply impacted into my hand, smashing through my middle finger’s bones. Nearly three inches of the shard was sticking out of the back of my hand, blood was dripping out of the wound, skin and parts of bone were left hanging, but the shard had been stopped.



As my two fellow passengers stared dumbfounded, my blood covered the ice, and then slowly drew it into my hand. After only a few seconds, the ice was gone, and after a few more, the wound had closed, the bits of bone reformed and set itself, the muscles mended themselves, and the skin repaired itself.



Not even ten seconds since I had caught the spell, my hand showed no trace of anything having happened.



“I pass?” I asked.



“Um, yes. You’ve passed.”



“Good.” I reached into my pocket and withdrew the two gloves and then inserted my hands. “We are at Old Stone Bridge, once we enter it I will slip out, no need to stop the carriage. I need to ask you two to come back out later on tonight, say, about an hour after sunset.”



“Yes, Sure thing Olivia, I will be here.” Uncle Jop said.



“Thank you, then I will be off.”



I slid the door open and then slipped out of the carriage. I nimbly jumped, grabbing onto the edge of the carriage’s roof, and then flipped myself up onto it. I landed like a cat, barely leaving a single bump to echo within.



Old Stone Bridge was a bridge that was both old, and made of dull marble. It cut one of the rivers at a diagonal, so it was longer than it needed to be. It was also, a covered bridge. Because the center sunk in a bit, and because there was no drainage built into it, any water from rain or snow would pool on it, become a nasty mess. Long ago, the first simple awning was built over it, and after that rotted and collapsed, another was built, until finally, someone just constructed an entire fortified structure around it out of high-quality lumber. If the bridge wasn’t so thin that two carriages had a difficult time going by at once, Old Stone Bridge would have been one of the most scenic and traveled bridges in the capital.



Of course, none of that mattered to me. What did, was that within the bridge’s coverings, I was hidden from any prying eyes.



As my carriage passed under one of the wooden beams that held the roof up, I nimbly leapt up and grabbed onto that. The interior of the bridge was dark, and up here, no one could see me.



The odds were about even that someone was following my carriage, as unimportant as I was, spies might still keep an eye on me just in case. And while unlikely, the happenings at the Canyon Estate may have gotten out already, which would change the whole dynamic.



So I hid up here, even going so far as to bite my tongue so that I could use that blood to make a barrier around myself. Now, my faint heartbeat would be blocked, I would release no scent, and after I cooled the blood down to the same temperature as the wood, I couldn’t even be sensed through my body heat.



Five minutes later, an uncovered wagon entered the bridge from the opposite direction. In its back was simple trade goods, dried food, rope, tools, the like. The driver, keeping the old and battered horse in check, wore a brown cloak with the hood pulled tight. There was an unlit lantern hooked to the side, and next to the driver was a small bag of apples.



When it passed under me, I dropped down from the rafters, gracefully landing on the seat as if I was already there.



The driver was startled, but only for a moment.



“Good Morning Captain Nev.” I greeted.



“Good Morning My Lady.”



“We have a busy day today.”

 

Chapter 9: Dojo Raid.

Spoiler

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 8:58

In front of the Raging Chimera School, 6th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

“Is this the place?” I asked.



“Yes My Lady, this is the Raging Chimera School.”



“... What a name… Oh well. Oh, by the way, who is your Lady?”



“Ah, my apologies.”



“Hah, less formal.”



“Right, uh, I am sor-”



“Less. Formal.”



“My bad?”



“Better.”



I didn’t look at Captain Nev, he was wearing the same mask from when I had interrogated that servant from the Iron-Hammers, so even if I had looked, I wouldn’t have seen anything. But, I could tell, he was struggling with the latest batch of orders I had given him.



“Now then, Larry,” I used the fake name I had recently given him, “This school, what can I expect?”



“Yes My La- er, yeah… Cat…” Captain Nev barely managed to get my fake name out, the same one I used when meeting with the thieves guild. “The Raging Chimera School is a subsidy school belonging to the Canyon Family. Specifically, their patron is Gwyneth Canyon Fredirin, the seventh child of the Canyon Family.”



We had taken our simple wagon throughout the Capital and eventually made our way here, to the Sixth Circle, where this school was.



The next ruler of the Fredirin Kingdom would be the head of one of the six ducal houses, Zachary Gold-field, Patrick Canyon, Henry Lakeside, Isabella Pine, Analise Quarry, and Jason Steam-Burst. But, the next ruler would not be decided based off of their accomplishments, but off of their children’s. Those six, when they were children, competed with their cousins to allow their father to become the next king, and now, their children will compete to see who’s parent will be the next ruler.



With the exception of our Pine Family that is taking an unorthodox route, the families send their children out to earn merits and accomplishments. They can be personal ones, such as becoming a high ranking warrior or mage, become incredibly learned and knowledgeable, or even simply accruing fame. They can also be military accomplishments, business accomplishments, civil and administrative, political, or even simply by having powerful subordinates.



The children go out and try to better the kingdom and themselves to the best of their ability. And one way they can do that is by creating powerful warriors that serve under them. Simply the act of creating powerful warriors will earn them merits, but if those powerful warriors then go on to do great things under their flag, that would be even better.



To do this, the children fund and support various guilds, adventurer groups, mercenary companies, and combat schools.



The Raging Chimera School in front of us was one such combat school.



“Like a traditional chimera, this school specializes in three forms, the goat form is for fighting on unstable terrain, the lion form is for powerful frontal attacks, and the snake form focuses on defense and counter attacks.”



An aspiring warrior can join a combat school to learn their particular techniques and forms. They will also receive basic training, but the main draw is their unique skills, as Captain Nev just mentioned, the Raging Chimera School has three separate forms of fighting they can teach, and within those forms, are stances, techniques, breathing methods, and probably other hidden secrets.



“Elements?” I asked.



“Wind and Earth, about equal as far as we can tell. They don’t use true magic.”



Some schools, low-quality ones, only focus on physical traits, but most schools will incorporate magic in some way. A few schools train actual Magic Warriors, people who can not only use a weapon to fight, but can also cast spells as a mage, but those are somewhat rare. The majority, just fuse the two together. A warrior of at rank 3 or so will begin to use their magic to increase their own power, making their bodies sturdier, their strikes faster and stronger, things like that. Many warriors and knights stick to this method, but not all.



Some integrate elemental magic into their fighting style, using wind to propel their strikes faster, or encasing their weapon with fire, or making a layer of earth cover their bodies. This school was one that apparently did that.



“My- Cat, is this wise?”



“Hmm…” I looked around to make sure no one was listening before I answered. “The Canyon Family is going to go on high alert soon, so we will hit at least two of their schools first, then we will play things by ear.”



“High alert? No, well, that wasn’t what I was asking.”



“I know what you were asking. I chose not to answer that particular question. Larry, all you need to do is follow my orders.”



“Understood.”



I jumped down from the wagon and once I landed, I brought my hand to the mask that was on my face. Unlike Captain Nev’s, and the one I had used before, this was made of simple leather straps wrapped around my face, only my eyes were revealed.



“Sword?”



“This is the best we could find that fit your requests.” He said as he handed me the blade I had asked for.



I removed the sheath, a plain soft leather thing, and looked at the sword. It was falchion, the blade was sharpened only on one side, and the blade itself was thinner towards the hilt and flared out towards the curved tip. The entire length was just under three feet, the blade itself was about two and a half feet long, and the whole thing weighed just over eight pounds. For a falchion, it was not exactly long, but it was pretty heavy due to its somewhat crude design. It wasn’t that sharp, but it was thick and solid since despite being a weapon, it could also double as a hatchet.



Considering that my sword was around 35 inches long, and that I was only 44 inches tall, it would probably seem as if it was way too big of a sword.



However, it was very close to what I asked for, so I was rather happy with it.



“My L-Cat, we got that from a second-hand shop, so I don’t know how durable it is. I personally tested it and it seemed fine, but maybe a better sword would be best?”



I looked at it, and I could see several knicks on the edge, they were mostly sanded down, but they were still there. Even the leather wrapped around the hilt was a bit dirty and frayed.



“It will be fine.”



“I see…”



“Then, off I go,” I said after strapping the sword to my back.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 9:04

The Raging Chimera School, 6th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Ben, Son of Roka.​

“Haaah…” I did my best to stifle a yawn.



When I was still in my twenties I had no problem waking up, but once I hit thirty, each year that passed, I found the mornings to be more and more disagreeable. Luckily for me, I didn’t need to get up that early, nowhere near as early as our live-in apprentices.



The Raging Chimera School had two branches, the main one here in the Capital, and one in the Canyon Family’s main city, Red Rock City. The one in Red Rock City was smaller, but it had the same basic set up, there would be several live-in apprentices who would wake up well before dawn and prepare the school for the day, mostly some cleaning and meal preparation. Those poor souls have probably been awake for at least two or three hours by now.



I used to do that back when I was still in training, but the idea of waking up that early, bah, I can’t even consider it now.



At this time, those apprentices had already finished their chores and were doing basic body strengthening and personal training. They would continue that until just before noon, then they would stop, do the preparatory work for lunch, and then when the cook comes in and finishes the meal, they’ll all have lunch. In the afternoon, the part-time apprentices that do not live within the school come over, and they do joint training or listen to lectures from the trainers.



In some ways, not all, but in some ways, I envy the apprentices. They still get to see their hard work pay off as their skills grow, but for me, who was technically a master, I rarely saw any improvements, and as old age slowly took over my body, I only saw my skills degrading.



Since I never reached any great heights and languished as a rank 4 swordsman, I didn’t teach any classes and instead worked as a receptionist, which to be honest, basically meant I sat around all day and did very little of anything.



Well, I did offer advice and occasionally spar with the trainees, but that was it.



Since no one would come in this early, perhaps I could go see if that old geezer Gort needs some help with the apprentices.



“...This… Raging...Chimera... School…?”



Right as I thought that, the front door slammed open and I heard a dull and halting voice call out.



“Eh, who could that be?” I said to myself and went to the front.



Standing there in front of the open door, was what I assumed was a halfling. The halfling was wrapped entirely in dark leather armor, hands, feet, even the face, no skin could be seen. All I could see was a pair of eyes that seemed as if they had no color, only two small pinpricks of black that was the pupils. No, as I looked closer, the iris in each eye was silver. Despite the tightness of the leather, I couldn’t really tell if it was male or female, judging by the body type, I would have guessed a male, but the voice made it sound like a girl.



And worryingly, the halfling had a decent sized sword strapped to its back, and considering it was a halfling, the sword could be considered huge.



“Yes, this is the Raging Chimera School, can I help you?” I asked while trying to sound polite. The halfling was somewhat rude, and still hadn’t even shut the door, but it was probably a prospecting apprentice.



“...Heard...Strong...Want...Test…” The halfling said without moving, or shutting the door.



Well, of course, we were strong.



“Yes, well, come on in,” I said and motioned to the interior of the school where we had several small offices where I could to the halfling in private.



“...Yes…” The halfling said, and then walked in, without shutting the door.



I frowned, and then after letting the rude halfling go ahead of me, I went and shut the door. Did the halfling not realize how much firewood we needed to heat this place? Eh, it probably didn’t, their kind are often nomads and they don’t usually spend time this far north, they prefer the more temperate grasslands.



Come to think of it, maybe that leather wasn’t armor, but was to keep the being warm? Well, no matter, I guided the halfling into one of the small meeting rooms, and without even looking around, it plopped into one of the two chairs.



“Would you like tea?” I asked even as I went towards the teapot.



“...No…”



“Well, let me know if you change your mind,” I said as I came back empty-handed, I couldn’t very well drink by myself. “I didn’t catch your name, I am-”



“...Name...Cat… Your… Name… Don’t… Care…”



Eh…. This halfling is really rude.



“I see… Cat then, why is it that you came to our illustrious school?” I said while keeping my annoyance off of my face.



“...Want… Test… Fight… Strong...Spar…”



“You… want to test yourself against us?” I said, sharper than I intended.



Occasionally, these fools come around looking to make a name for themselves by challenging schools, and while most of them end up getting thrown out, bruised and beaten, some of them actually have some skills.



However, that was pretty rare, and all certified combat schools have an informal agreement to not send their own students to pick fights, so this halfling is almost certainly self-taught.



“So, an exchange of pointers is it? Well, if I may ask, what is your rank.”



“...Don’t… Know…”



Eh… This halfling is an idiot. A rude idiot.



“Then, I think it is probably best that we don’t go forward with this spar.”



“...Coward…?” The halfling’s voice didn’t change, but I could see the mockery in its eyes.



“I see, well if you don’t mind some broken bones,” I said viciously.



“... Cowards… and… Fools… Talk… Strong… Prove… It…”



“Almost all of our apprentices that are currently here are Rank 1 and Rank 2, so if you agree to a no magic match, I can let you spar with one of them, and it will be with training swords.”



“...Good…”



“Follow me,” I said and abruptly stood up.



The halfling, Cat, followed me as I went into the back where we had an indoor training area. A few apprentices were here, but most were in the courtyard doing physical training. Those that were in here all stood and saluted to me.



“Good morning Assistant Master Ben.”



“Morning, Assistant Master Ben.



“How are you, Assistant Master?”



“Good day, Assistant Master Ben.”



After dealing with the rude halfling, the respect from the apprentices was a nice change.



“Call over Mek and Orth, we have a challenger,” I said and motioned towards the halfling that had followed me without a word.



“Yes, Sir!” The apprentices shouted and then after throwing hostile looks at the halfling, went searching for their fellow trainees.



I took this time to explain how this would work to the halfling, after all, it seemed really dumb.



“So Cat, the match will take place in one of our training rooms, I called over two apprentices because our school has different styles, so you can pick which one you want to fight. Since I see you don’t have a training sword, one will be provided. The fight goes until one side surrenders, is forced out of the agreed-upon bounds, or is knocked down three times. Also, when you get knocked down, you have five seconds to get up, otherwise you lose, and you may not attack when either person is on the ground. I will observe and act as a judge.”



“...Talk… Too… Much…”



I ground my teeth together to stop from shouting at the wretched thing. If it doesn’t want to know the rules, then so be it.



“Assistant Master Ben, I heard you called for us?” A voice called out to me and distracted me from mentally cursing at the halfling.



In the front was Mek, he was wearing the simple cotton garb we used as training uniforms, but it was damp with sweat. The upper part was open and his well-defined chest could be seen. Mek Specialized in the Goat Style of our school, he was thin and lanky, but still muscular. He was also a rank 3 fighter.



Behind Mek was Orth, his top was missing completely and he was still dripping with water, he even had a towel wrapped around his neck. Unlike Mek, Orth was all muscle, he was a bit shorter, but he was wider and weighed almost twice as much as the thin Mek. Orth, like Mek, was a rank 3 fighter, but he focused on the Lion Style.




This is Cat,” I said as I waved towards the halfling, “Cat is looking for an exchange of pointers.



I had told the halfling that almost all of the apprentices were rank 1 or 2, I didn’t say all, and it was its fault for not asking for more information.



“Hmm… I see.” Mek said, his eyes looking over the halfling disdainfully.



“Cat, Mek here uses the Goat Style, while Orth is a practitioner of the Lion Style. They are pretty different and-”



“...Don’t… Care… Fight… Both…” The halfling said without even looking at the two of them.



“Yes… Well…” I started while trying to keep my anger in. “The Goat Style focuses on fighting on unstable terrain, so to showcase that, Mek will need to fight in a special room, so you-”



“...Don’t… Care… Noisy…”



“Hahaha, Don’t worry Assistant Master Ben, I will be happy to exchange pointers with this fellow first,” Mek said, even while laughing, I could tell he was just as angry as I was.



“That settles it then, Mek, head to the room, I'll get Cat a training sword and we’ll be right over,” I said to Mek and watched as he left to follow my directions, then I turned to Orth. “And Orth, if Cat still wants another match, you can have a go then too.



“Sure…” Was his response.



Orth was an orphan, and due to his rough childhood, he didn’t talk much, but I knew he was extremely devoted to the school, he was probably angrier than Mek and myself combined.



“Now Cat, come over here and try some of the practice swords.”



Oh yes, we will show this brat the harshness of the world.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 9:19

The Raging Chimera School, 6th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

This turned out to be a lot easier than I thought.



From what Captain Nev had mentioned, challenging a school was frowned upon, and most schools wouldn’t go along with a challenge. As far as we could tell, the only real way to reliably get them to go along with it, was to insult their honor. If you threatened to tell others that they refused to fight out of fear, most of them would accept the challenge.



I had decided to do that, but also to act as rude and obnoxious as possible, if I could get them enraged, that would make things easier.



And it had worked splendidly, I had been here for less than ten minutes, and already I was swinging this practice sword to get a feel for it.



Now, all I had to do was crush them.



Easy enough.



“Cat, are the swords suitable?” The receptionist asked, a boring look man in his fifties.



The practice sword in question was simply a stick with cloth wrapped around the bottom. There was no hilt, which seemed questionable for a practice weapon, and the tip was rounded. In the past, it had been polished so it was smooth, but it was currently scuffed up and was clearly well used.



Still, the balance was fine and it was certainly a serviceable weapon.



“...Fine…” I spoke in my halting voice that I adopted for this. I, after all, didn’t want anyone to know that I was the one performing this challenge.



“Then follow me to the training room.”



I followed the old man into a room that was rather unique. It was smaller than the other one, twenty feet by twenty feet, but the center was not wooden flooring or stone tile, but loose dirt. There were pebbles mixed in, even a few sections that looked like it was sand, and there were two pools of water, one surrounded by mud, and the other in the sandy part. There were stumps positioned around, larger stones were individually placed while there were also piles in a few areas. Some sections of both the dirt and the sand were pits, and others made little mounds.



“How is it?” A voice asked.



This was not the receptionist, but a much older man who was already in the room. My opponent, Mek I think it was, was doing some light stretches in the center while this elderly man watched. He didn’t turn and face me, but he still spoke.



“The Goat Style is all about moving around on rough terrain, here, indoors, we limit it to some stones and stumps, but we have other training grounds outside that are-”



“... Don’t… Care…” I cut him off.



“HAHA, it’s just as Mek here said. You have an attitude problem. Well, Mek is my disciple of sorts, so I am sure he will show you how wide the world is.”



“...Talk… Less… Old… Man… Fight… Now…?” I asked as I swung my practice sword a few more times.



“You! How dare you talk to a Master like that!?” The now no longer stretching apprentice yelled.



“Now, Now, Mek, just smash this loudmouth down, no need to talk to people like this. Now, let's finish stretching.” The elderly said and then focused entirely on his student.



“Sorry about that Cat, he gets angry easier in his old age, but Master Gort is a skilled teacher, and his disciples will be your opponent, so that is why he is here.” The middle-aged man said, not sounding at all sorry. “Well, normally we start Goat Style matches ten feet away, so just stand somewhere you want, and Mek will start at an appropriate spot.”



I didn’t respond to the receptionist and instead removed my falchion from my back and tossed it towards the wall, and then I walked in and stood at a random spot. After a second, the old man left the fighting area, leaving only the apprentice behind.



I held my wooden sword in both hands at the ready while Mek was lightly hopping up and down, his practice sword, identical to mine, was held loosely in his right hand.



“Well, you both know the rules, so begin.” As the middle-aged man said that, Mek jumped into action.



Instead of charging at me, he jumped sideways and started trying to circle around me. Instead of avoiding the rocks and stumps, he was directly landing on them, and then bouncing off. Occasionally he would come a bit closer to me, feinting a charge, but he would quickly bounce backward away.



I for my part, just turned my body to face him as he circled around, slowly and steadily advancing towards him.



It took a few seconds, but eventually, a smug smirk appeared on my opponent's face, the same smirk that had appeared almost immediately on the two men observing the match.



“What kind of footwork is that?” He called out to me as he bounced further backward.



Instead of answering, I trod toward him steadily.



“I couldn’t be that, you don’t know any footwork at all? It looks like you’re just walking.”



There were a few other apprentices in the room, in addition to the one that would be my next opponent, and they were all snickering as they watched.



“This is pathetic,” Mek said as he lunged forward, changing direction twice as he did, but then pulling back, well out of striking range. “Are you a complete novice? You responded to each of those feints. Have you ever been taught how to fight with a sword?”



“...Never…”



“What?” Mek actually stopped completely, even his bouncing when I said that. “Really? This is ridiculous.”



The fact was, Olivia had not ever trained with a sword, after all, she was still seven, a girl, and rather frail. Pamela my older sister, also was never trained in any military art. If either of us had wanted to, I was sure our parents would have let us, but that never came up.



So Olivia knew nothing about using a sword, and for my part, I had never really used one myself. I'm sure I had at some point, swung a sword around, but when it came to real fights, I would either use my magic, or would use my own body as a weapon. A tool, a weapon like a sword, was something I didn’t need.



Footwork, stances, techniques, I knew nothing of them.



Suddenly, Mek seemed to fall forward off of the stone pile he was standing on. As he fell, he kicked off of the pile, and sent himself lunging towards me, even with my short stature, it appeared as if the dashing Mek was even lower than me.



At five feet away he suddenly jerked and launched himself towards my left, by the time I turned, he had already come to a stop on another plank of wood, and then he leaped up into the air, flying towards me while bringing down a powerful overhand chop.



Footwork, Stances, Techniques, I needed none of them.



As Mek’s two-handed slash came crashing down, I sidestepped away from him, his strike went harmlessly past me, and as he landed, I sent a horizontal slash that was aimed at the back of his head.



But, he was nowhere near there when my sword reached the area. When he landed, even before that, he, having realized I wouldn’t be hit, had given up on landing normally, and once his feet touched down, he tumbled forward. Just like when he had lunged down from the rocks before, he had sprung forward. By the time my sidestep and slash was completed, Mek had already put nearly five feet of distance between us.



“Oh, not bad reflexes,“ he laughed. “But that’s it. I bet you rely on those reflexes and your fast movements, but you don’t really know anything. That might work against amateurs, but against us, you’re nothing but trash, like a goblin. Come to think of it, maybe you are a goblin under all that leather?”



As Mek prepared for another assault, and his fellow apprentices laughed at his comments, I cut all of them off by charging forward.



All I did was run straight at him, and then as I came into range, I skidded to a stop and let loose with a powerful sideways slash, that missed him by a wide margin as he jumped backward again.



I could tell he was surprised by how fast I had closed the distance, but I also could tell he was in no real danger, he had dodged it with ease after all.



“Well, you are trash, but, well, decent trash. Let's see how long you can hold out.”

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 9:35

The Raging Chimera School, 6th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

For nearly ten minutes, I traded blows with Mek. I charged and swung with powerful strikes, while he dodged and nimbly sent a flurry of strikes back. When I retreated, he would launch a powerful attack. Occasionally I parried and blocked, but I mostly dodged, and for his part, Mek dodged every attack.



But by now, Mek was getting tired, and I, I was learning how to fight.



I could have simply overwhelmed Mek if I had wanted too, but if I had brutally crushed him, it would have been obvious I was hiding my strength. I could easily break him, but then no one else would fight me, and things would get complicated.



So instead, I wasted my time with this game.



I was still nowhere near being a skilled swordsman, but by using my superior base stats, I could now put up a decent fight. Even now, as Mek was tiring, I was still holding back.



But, now it was time to finish this.



Mek had just bounced himself away from another one of my attacks, and this time, I quickly lunged at him again, without making any effort to reposition myself or regain my balance. For the first time in this fight, I thrust with my sword. Not only did I thrust, but I put nearly my entire body behind it.



Mek could tell I was powerful, he knew if he received this thrust, not only would he lose, but he would be severely injured and possibly even die. He also knew that there was no way I could ever hit with such a haphazard attack.



He jumped back and to my right, his right leg kicking off of a small mound of dirt, his left landing on a stump. My thrust missed him by a wide margin and left me completely open.



Rather than sending a large attack my way, he sent a fast one, he jumped forward and sent a single-handed downward slash towards the top of my head.



But, I stepped forward harder, as his jumping attack went forward, it would bring him past me and his slash would go over me and miss completely. And yet, I wasn’t done. Using my strength, I spun and twisted my body, turning my thrust into an upward slash.



As Mek slid past me, the tip of my sword flew up right into his armpit. I felt his arm dislocate with a pop. Mek stumbled forward, a pained expression already on his face as he let go of his sword.



With an injury like that, Mek would not be able to continue the fight even if he wanted too, it was my win.



Winning, however, was not why I was here.



As Mek stumbled forward, I used the force of my upward slash to completely spin my body around, and I used that rotational force to swing downward. Mek, who was on his way to collapsing, never even saw the attack coming.



My wooden practice sword’s edge crashed down onto his right shoulder. With a crunch, his collarbone splintered, his shoulder shattered, and the entire joint was reduced to tiny shards. The force of my blow sent Mek tumbling forward, he smacked into the ground, his face cracking into a stone and splattering blood as his lips split open. He rolled and came to a rest on his back.



An unconscious Mek, his face a bloody mess, with his right arm twisted and bent, his shoulder crushed and warped, laid there in the mud.



For a moment, the cheering from his fellow apprentices had come to a complete stop and silence reigned.



“...Weak…” I stated.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 9:37

The Raging Chimera School, 6th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Ben, Son of Roka.​

“...Weak…” The halfling’s voice broke me out of my stupor.



“Call a healer!” I yelled as I rushed towards the unconscious Mek.



At the same time I reached his side, so did Master Gort.



Mek was bleeding heavily from his face, his mouth and nose were both leaking blood, and Mek was beginning to choke on the blood that was pooling in his mouth. I knew only the most basic first aid techniques, but that wasn’t the case for Master Gort. The old Master quickly, but gently, turned Mek’s head to the side, allowing the blood that was preventing his breath to leak out onto the floor. Master Gort wasn’t a mage, but he could cast the most basic of spells like most people, so from his hand, he created a small amount of water that washed the blood from Mek’s face. The only new blood came from his mouth and nose, there were no major cuts which was good, most likely both of these would stop given time.



But, suddenly Mek started choking again and gasping for breath.



Master Gort frowned, and then without warning, shoved his finger down Mek’s throat. After he withdrew his hand, Mek spit up a mass of blood into Master Gort’s waiting hand, and in the bloody goo, I saw two small white things.



“Teeth?” I asked.



“Yup.” Master Gort responded with a solemn expression on his face.



Another, smaller, amount of water appeared, this time falling into Mek’s mouth and washing away the blood. With that gone, both of us could see that his two front top teeth were missing.



“I… think he is fine here,” I started, but then looked at his right arm, “But his shoulder…”



Mek’s shoulder had dropped down almost three inches, his arm was limply bent behind his body, and when we pulled his shirt down, his skin had already swollen up and turned back. But even through that, we could see lumps hidden underneath it. Master Gort gently placed his hand over it, but even then, Mek groaned in pain.



“How… How is it?” I asked.



“A mess. It’s a fuckin mess. His shoulder is ruined. I don’t… I don’t even know where to start.”



“Shit! Where is the healer!?” I yelled.



“Ben, we’ll move him to a bed.”



“...Weak… Pathetic… Fight… Other… Now…?”



“You son of a bitch!” Orth yelled and then started running towards the monotone halfling.



“ORTH! Stop!” Master Gort shouted. “We need to move Mek, then you can fight.



“Help us move him,” I added.



Orth looked conflicted, but eventually, he came over along with two other apprentices. We slid a board under him, and then the five of us lifted him up and took Mek out of the room and into the medical room.



“Assistant Master Ben, Lomb ran to go fetch a healer, he should be back soon.” Another apprentice said after we laid him down on a bed.



“Okay, keep an eye on him, call us if anything happens, but we need to get back,” I ordered as I shared a glance with Master Gort.



“Orth, come with us, we need to talk.” Master Gort said.



Outside of the medical room, we stopped to regain our wits. I could tell Master Gort was shaken, but it was nothing compared to Orth.



“Orth, lad, calm yourself. You can’t fight like this.” Master Gort said while putting his hand on the young apprentice’s shoulder.



“I know, it’s just…”



“Mek and you are friends right?” I said.



“Yeah… we are... we are friends”



“Okay, well, you need to be in control to get revenge. So let's discuss this.” I said, but then left the start to Master Gort.



“Yes, okay, why did Mek lose?” Master Gort asked. “That fellow was a complete amateur, at least when it comes to using a sword.”



“But, the halfling is strong and fast. A strong body can be a replacement for skill.” I answered.



“Right. And Mek got tired as the fight went on. That fellow probably has a really good body, that fellow just wore down Mek.”



“Okay, then, what do I do different?” Orth asked, having calmed down a bit.



“Mek took his time, which was a mistake, but it is also the fault of the Goat Style, the Goat Style doesn’t have a lot of decisive strikes, right Master Gort? You are a master of the Goat Style.” I said.



“Bah, that was a long time ago. But, yeah, that is right. When Mek did go in for a decisive strike, he left himself open, he was too tired, and that fellow got lucky with that strike. Orth, you just need to keep striking, wear that fellow down instead. Plus, after a fight, that fellow will be tired.”



“Okay, yes, I need to avenge Mek, let’s go.”



“Wait,” I stopped them, “There is something else. Orth, have you ever fought a halfling?”



“Uh… I don’t think so?” He answered.



“Come to think of it, I haven’t either.” Master Gort added.



“I have once, they are a pain. Not too many of their kind become warriors, they tend to be weak and their reach is short. This one seems strong, but that’s not important, what is important, is that halflings are short.”



“Er, what does that have to do with anything? Shouldn’t that just make them worse fighters?” Orth asked.



“It usually does, but, it also means that their attacks come in from below, something you aren’t normally going to face. That is also why they make for good assassins, it’s hard to dodge or parry that type of attack.”



“Oh…”



“I see, Assistant Master Ben is right.”



“Also, because they are so small, you too need to aim lower. Most training will have you aim at an enemies head, neck, chest, or stomach. Some might even have you aim for their arms, but on a halfling, if you aim at those areas, you’ll hit nothing. So you need to aim downward, which is difficult.” I lectured.



“Hmm... And I bet, they’re just a harder target because they are so small. If you hit them, they’ll take a bunch of damage, but hitting them is pretty hard. That fellow was pretty nimble too…” Master Gort mumbled.



“Yes, that is true, but it won't matter for you, Orth. The Lion Style focuses mostly on full body attacks that should cut through the entire enemy, so you are already used to swinging all the way down, you just need to get used to the timing. Just keep attacking, and you’ll be fine.”



“Yeah, okay, let me go knock that piece of shit around,” Orth growled angrily.



“Right, let's go.”

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 9:41

The Raging Chimera School, 6th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Ben, Son of Roka.​

Since Orth didn’t focus on the Goat Style, we had gone to a different training room, this one was just a normal room, the same size as the other, but with stone floors.



“Okay, same rules as last time. Begin!” I announced the start of the fight.



“RAAAAAARG” Orth Shouted and charged forward.



A lion uses all of its strength, even when hunting a rabbit.



That phrase makes up the basis for the Lion Style. Every attack is one aimed to kill, every attack is powerful. If one attack doesn’t defeat the enemy, use two, if two fails, use four. Keep attacking, overwhelm the enemy with power.



Orth was extremely skilled with the Lion Style. He didn’t use feints, he didn’t slowly whittle down his enemy, he just put all of his strength into each attack and crushed the opponent.



People who used their speed to dodge attacks, were caught and smashed, those who boasted of a powerful defense, had their shell cracked open and were knocked down, those that relied on technique, were defeated without getting a chance to show their skills, and those that used their own strength, were beaten down with even more strength.



Orth was a prodigy of the Lion Style, within a couple of years, he would for sure be at least rank 5.



Or, that was how it was supposed to be.



The extremely powerful Orth charged forward, and like a lumberjack splitting wood, swung his sword straight down. It was such a powerful blow that it would probably kill the halfling, and it was so fast, that there was no way to dodge it.



But…



But, the halfling’s own sword shot out, a thrust aimed towards Orth’s head.



It never got there, however, because the tip of the halfling’s sword came into contact with Orth’s wrist.



There was a wet tearing sound as the giant, powerful wrist of Orth seemed to explode. Blood splattered across his face, his sword went flying from his grasp, and his left hand dangled limply from his arm, held on by only some muscle and skin.



“AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! MY HAND! MY EYE!” Orth Shrieked in agony as he crumbled to his knees.



I could see something, a piece of white, sticking out of the center of his left eye.



“A bone…” I said shocked.



A piece of bone, part of Orth’s wrist, had actually been blown out from within his skin, and acted as shrapnel, embedding itself deep into his eye.



What kind of monster was this?

 

Chapter 10: Cousins.

Spoiler

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 10:18

Madam Tilly’s House of Heavenly Delights, 5th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Martin Steam-burst Fredirin​

Most commoners limit themselves to one avenue of study; hunting, tailoring, fishing, smithing, farming, soldiering, exploring, and so on. Even within those broad fields, most commoners further specialize in one area, some farmers grow one type of crop, some smiths focus on tools while others on weapons, some warriors focus on the bow, while others the spear.



This is because commoners lack the strength of character, the intelligence, and the wisdom, to even try to master more than one thing. Not so for the nobility. Nobles, by right of our birth, are simply inherently better in every way when compared to the ignorant masses.



Even when it comes to magic, most commoners, and even lesser nobility, limit themselves to the basic elements. But for the higher ranking nobility, such as myself, elemental magic is seen as crass and crude. If one is going to pursue magic, and any self-respecting noble will, then one should at the very least, pursue the mysteries of arcane magic.



Arcane magic brings order to the chaotic nature of the world, it isn’t powered by emotions, but by reason and thought; therefore, only those with a clear and powerful mind can truly master it.



However, while I pursue the mysteries of the arcane, and I respect those who follow the same path, I also acknowledge another path that some of the upper nobility tread. Some, using their vast fortunes and connections, delve into even more esoteric paths of magic, and while these paths lack the purity of arcane magic, I can still respect the dedication required to master them.



Most of the time.



If there was one person whose magic I couldn’t respect, it was the girl in front of me right now.



Victoria Goldfield, the thirteenth child of Duke Zachary Goldfield, and one of my many cousins.



“So… Cousin Martin… what has my big, strong, handsome, cousin come here today for?” She practically purred as she spoke those words.



“How would I know? You are the one who sent me a letter asking for my presence.” I spit out, a bit more harshly than I wanted.



Normally, since I had graduated from the Royal Academy two years ago when I was fifteen, I spent my time traveling to the domains of the other ducal houses to act as an ambassador on behalf of my father, Duke Jason Steam-burst. My work rarely brought me to the Royal Capital Arvas, but when it did, I would find myself swamped with work.



Two days ago I had received a letter from my cousin asking for a meeting, and it was only today that I had an opening in my schedule and could meet with her.



“Ara? That is right, I did call for you, didn’t I? Still, how cute, my older cousin dropped everything and came running once I called for him.”



“You… Hah, right, this is how you are. Well, what is it that you wanted?”



“My dear cousin, maybe I just wanted to see you? But, I see that the feeling is not mutual, after all, my dearest cousin hasn’t looked at me once.”



That wasn’t technically true, I had glanced at her when I first walked into the room, but once I saw what she was wearing I had pointedly directed my vision away from her.



“And why do you think that is? What are you wearing anyway? And why are you still in the bed? At least appear presentable.”



“This?” she asked as I heard her shift on the bed, but I still locked my vision onto the incense holder on the shelves. “Count Leopold gave it to me”



“The Count of Bestera? … The rumors about him though, I thought he was...?” I couldn't help myself and asked.



“Impotent?” Victoria answered with a chuckle. “That rumor is true, I am sorry to say. He is like a loaf of bread left in a bowl of soup too long, limp and soft.”



“...I did not really… hah...Then why was he...?”



“Here? In my little slice of paradise? Here in Madam Tilly’s House of Heavenly Delights?” she asked theatrically.



“...” I stayed silent because while I was interested, I didn’t really want to have this conversation.



My cousin was 3 years younger than I, but was an accomplished, if disgraceful, mage. What exactly her magic was, I didn’t know, but it had allowed her to open this business two years ago, Madam Tilly’s House of Heavenly Delights, the Royal Capital’s most luxurious and successful brothel. Madam Tilly was an alias used by Victoria, so every aspect of this sprawling compound was controlled by the young girl sprawled out on the bed wearing little more than strings.



“You are no fun, such a stick in the mud.” She sighed. “Well, consider it a freebie then, Count Leopold is a regular here, but he doesn’t come for himself. I entertain his wife, Countess Henriette.”



“His wife!?” I almost shouted out of shock.



“Hmm… Yes, the Countess is an active woman, but since the Count cannot fulfill his role, he had to look elsewhere. Further, the Count already has four children, he needs no more, especially a bastard child, so he found some women to… help his wife.”



“That… That is absurd.”



“Haha.” She laughed. “Does my cousin find it that strange? Maybe you need this place’s services more than I thought? Well, you might be surprised to know that about a third of our clients are women. Of course, many of them are here to find male companions, and many of them are here for… group activities, but still, a fair bit of them prefer the more gentle touch of a fellow woman.”



“Yes, well, let us never speak of this again,” I said, as calmly as I could.



“How cute, your face is red.”



“You..!” I snapped and stood up.



“Okay, okay, calm down my dear cousin. I won't tease you anymore.”



“You best tell me what you called me to this… den of perversions for, otherwise I will leave.”



“My dear father has bailed out Baron Stephan Korst after he went into debt from a failed investment.”



“Baron Korst? I don’t recognize him. And what was his investment?”



“Wine, his barony grows a type of grape known for being very sweet, I have a few bottles if you want one. But, let us see, what happened? Right, he decided to increase production and make a business out of it. In the past, his people just collected the wild grapes and made wine, but now he wanted to try and properly cultivate the grapes.”



“And?” I asked.



“He failed, of course. As it turned out, what made the grapes sweet, was not just the soil, but the adjacent plants where they grew, and those plants take most of the nutrients from the earth, it was simply impossible for him to produce more without converting massive stretches of land into vineyards. So his investment fell through, and he found himself heavily in debt.”



“And then your father, the Duke of Goldfield, paid off his debts? Why?”



“Who knows? Sometimes, I do not even know if my Father himself really knows why he does things. However, I have a guess.”



“And that guess is?”



“The Korst Barony is known for two things, its wine, and also the fact that just recently, the road that cut across it has seen heightened traffic, large wagons filled with a black tar-like substance travel from the Quarry Dukedom all the way to the Steam-burst Dukedom.”



“...”



“Now, while I don’t know what exactly these wagons are used for, I understand they are valuable to Duke Steam-burst, your esteemed father. I also understand, that my, not so esteemed father, had a, let us say, strong dislike, of his siblings. Now, since prior to this, the Baron of Korst had no interaction with my father, I suspect he might have some ulterior motives outside of pure altruism.”



“... Damnit.”



“Indeed.”



“Do you know what he is going to do?” I asked.



“Not at all, but I would guess, he could either delay your caravans or charge a tariff. Of course, he already charges a tariff, so he would need an excuse to raise it, something like the fact that your wagons are damaging the road and increasing the upkeep costs.”



“Haah… This will be an issue, but not a big one.”



“Well, that is if he only raises the tariff.”



“He’d delay them? How, inspections?”



“So uptight my cousin.” She said with a sigh. “No, inspections won't cut it, even a tariff won't cut it, if he charges too much, it will be obvious something is going on, and if he doesn’t charge an absurd amount, it won't really be that big of an issue as you said. Instead, what I suspect he’ll do, is allow his roads to fall into disrepair.”



“That… would he really do that?”



“I do not see why he wouldn’t. The Baron has already shown a lack of foresight, since he invested heavily in an unverified business plan, even going so far as to take loans out for it. And now he is firmly under my father’s thumb, and I can assure you, Father does not care one bit about the Baron or his lands. I had a look at the maps, and that road skirts the edges of the mountains, so come spring, when the snow begins to melt, there will be many blockages. Normally, the Baron’s people would clear them and maintain the road… but now…”



“Damnit, I need to let my father know this as soon as possible,” I said as I stood to leave.



“Forgetting something?” However, before I left, the words from behind stopped me.



“Right, what do you want?”



“Ara? Playing coy? With me?”



“Fine, how much?” I asked.



“”Well..” Her voice purred, but not from the bed, instead, she was right behind me. “Should not a negotiation like this be face to face?”



“Grr… Fine.” I said as I turned to face her.



My cousin was only a foot away from me, far too close. I was tall for my age, as was she, but since she was both younger, and a woman, her head only came up to my chest, forcing me to look down on her. From the edges of my vision, I could see her flawless white skin of her neck, along with the thin, light blue fabric that was barely covering her.



If I looked further down, I knew that whatever it was she was wearing, would do nothing to impede my sight, so instead, I locked my eyes on hers, two shimmering red orbs that seemed to draw in my soul.



“Five percent,” She stated clearly, not breaking the link between our eyes.



“Five? Absolutely not. One, two at best.” I countered.



“My cousin is jesting with me it seems. What would happen if things had played out naturally?” She said, her eyes sparkling.



“True, the information you have given me is valuable, but only to me and my family. It had no value to you.”



“So?”



“Even if I desperately need it, a seed is simply a seed, a merchant that raises the price might make a profit, but they will at best be second class, no, third class. This costs you nothing, so five is out of the question.”



“Fine, four percent.”



“No, even if this were a normal situation, four percent is still too high. If you hadn’t shared this information with me, it would have at best been a minor inconvenience for my family. One percent.” I stated plainly.



“How short-sighted of you, my dear cousin. You forget, if you were forced to react after the fact, then my Father, and our other uncles and aunts would be able to glean quite a bit about how important those caravans are to you. Currently, no one really knows what they are for, think of how much information could end up leaking.”



“Grr…” She had a point.



“See? You know I am right. Four percent sounds better now, does it not?”



“Well then,” I used my last card. “You are right about that, but do not forget, you gain from this too, a black eye for Duke Goldfield is exactly what you want. Do not pretend that this was all for my family’s benefit.”



“Three percent.”



“Two”



“...”



“...”



“Two and a half.”



“...Fine, two and a half it is.”



“Excellent.” She finally broke eye contact with me and turned and sashayed back to her bed. “That means I am now twenty-seven and three-quarters of the way towards having my way with you.”



“Hmmph,” I grunted and turned to leave.



“Goodbye my upstanding knight of a cousin, I can’t wait to have you all to myself in this bed.”



“Harlot.” I spit out through clenched teeth as I left her room.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 12:44

Prancing Pony Inn, 6th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Lenis Redstone.​

“Mmmm, it is probably fine…” I said to myself as I straightened the collar of my overcoat.



Like my father before me, and like his father before him, I had trained and studied to assist the one who would be my lord. Commoners would refer to me as a butler, and while that was technically a correct term, what I did was so much more than one people would assume. In fact, many of the duties that the uninformed would think I do, I do not in fact do.



Or, well, I should say, that is how it is supposed to be. In truth, many of those things that people would think I do, I don’t, but I also don’t perform many tasks that I should be doing either.



My master is Gwyneth Canyon Fredirin, a lady of the Canyon House. When she was a child, she was a tomboy, when she grew into a young girl, she was still a tomboy, and when she became a young adult, and then a proper adult, she remained, a tomboy.



Instead of being an upstanding lady, spending her time on the arts, or her studies, or socializing with her friends, she spends her time running around, killing monsters, and challenging people to duels.



The reason why I can’t get my coat to fit correctly is that, underneath it, I wore a suit of chainmail.



“My Lady, may I enter?” I said, having given up on straightening my coat any further.



I waited for ten seconds and then tried again.



“My Lady, it is Lenis, may I enter?” I asked again, this time knocking on the door.



“Come in.” Was the muffled response I got through the door.



I couldn’t help but be annoyed, if we were in the Canyon Estate, where we should be right now, the soundproofing on the door would have prevented me from hearing a response. Instead, we were in some random, low-class inn.



“I am entering,” I said and opened the door.



This inn had twelve rooms, four single rooms, four double rooms, two single rooms that were a bit larger and nicer, one single room that was the best the inn had to offer, and one common room with twenty beds in it.



My Lady had taken the best room, I was in one of the nicer singles, and we also booked two of the double rooms for our guards.



Still, the room that was described as the best the inn had to offer, was, if I were to be generous, shabby, and if I weren’t, was a dump. Dirty wooden floors with only a single fur rug that looked filthy thrown down, a rickety bed, some scuffed and almost rotting shelves and tables, the curtains were faded and patched, and the hearth was caked with ash and soot.



And for some reason, My Lady was enamored with this inn, it was her favorite and we stayed here rather often.



“What is it Pops?” My lady asked.



Gwyneth Canyon Frederin had turned sixteen last summer, but she looked older than that. She was taller than average, and while she usually kept a casual and playful atmosphere around her, the things she had done, the people she met, had altered her temperament, no one I had ever met was quite the same as my Lady. Outside of her atmosphere, the fact that she had an athletic build, and the fact that she had weather her fair share of experiences, she looked as if she was in her late twenties. A single scar that barely peeked through her hair only added to the effect.



Right now, My Lady was wearing a pair of long shorts, two mismatched socks, and a simple undershirt while she sat upon her bed performing maintenance on her sword, an elegantly curved scimitar.



“My Lady, you should talk a bit more-”



“Yeah yeah, I know, you’d think you’d get tired of that by now.”



“It is important”



“So you say, but I always ignore it. You know, they say insanity is doing the same thing, but expecting a different result.”



“Hah…” I could feel a headache coming already.



“You know pops, if you keep rubbing your head like that, you’ll end up going bald in that spot. And I can’t have an assistant missing a patch of hair.” My Lady said without looking away from her sword.



“Yes, well…” I struggled to calm myself down. “Putting that aside, Poe left earlier to go pick your jitte up from the blacksmith. I do not expect any problems, so he should be back soon.”



“Oh, good.” She said sounding happy, “I’ve been feeling stiff lately, I'm looking forward to having my first match in a while.”



“First of all My Lady, it has been only one week since your last match-”



“Too long”



“-And, you could have gone back to using your dagger.”



“Eh… Well…” She stopped polishing the sword and put it down on the end table before drawing her dagger and holding it up in the light. “Ash Fang is a nice blade, but I can’t use it fully, and the jitte is better anyway.”



My Lady had developed her own personalized combat system, in one hand she wielded her scimitar, a weapon used by the desert people of the south, and in the other, she originally used her dagger.



Due to the heat of the desert, heavy armor was rarely used, so more nimble weapons were developed and used, the speed of the strike was more important than the power of the strike. Of course, My Lady’s scimitar, Dry Wind, was made out of a mithril and steel alloy, giving it a bit more weight, but also make it a lot more durable, and it held its edge well, so while she did rely on nimble movements and quick, pinpoint strikes, she could still cut through most armors, and those she couldn’t, she could smash through without damaging the sword.



And Ash Fang was her dagger, it was literally made out of one of the fangs from a monster called an Ash-Eater, a type of wyrm. The fang was sharp, almost unbreakable, and it corroded metal and most living and formerly living materials. Despite the fact that it didn’t leave clean cuts, it was a useful weapon for breaking through armor and weapons.



But, Ash Fang was designed for someone who could use Earth Magic, and My Lady had almost no talent with that element. And while the tip was sharp, the edge was rather dull, Ash Fang should be used for stabbing, but My Lady’s style had her using the dagger mostly for defense, and only occasionally making a quick slash if there was an opening.



“Maybe if it was balanced better for throwing?” She added, still looking at the dagger.



I had to agree with that however, Ash Fang was oddly shaped, resembling more of a curved cone than a normal dagger. Even a dagger that wasn’t weighted correctly could still be thrown with decent accuracy, and some damage could be expected from a clean hit even at twenty feet away. Ash Fang, however, could only accurately be thrown less than ten feet away, and even then, having the point land on target was extremely difficult. The thrown weapon could be guided using magic, and in fact, My Lady was skilled at using wind magic which would allow for that, but in almost all cases, it would be better to just attack with magic instead.



Also, there is something to be said for not throwing an incredibly expensive magic weapon at someone.



“Well, it isn’t as if I'll get rid of it or anything,” She said as she put it away in its sheath. “I can use it as a backup or something, and it is still a good card to keep on hand, but that Jitte just works better.”



A little over a month ago, a caravan had entered the capital. It was a normal trade caravan, but it had come from an area even further south than the deserts. A lot of exotic items were brought along, many weapons and armors were included too, and one of which was the jitte my lady bought.



It was a bit longer than a dagger, but not quite long enough to be considered a short sword. The handle had a guard, but it was only on one side, and instead of covering the user’s hand, it pointed upward in the same direction as the blade. But most interesting of all, it didn’t have a proper blade at all, the weapon was basically just a pointed rod. It wasn’t rounded, but was shaped into a form with eight sides. It did get thinner towards the end where it came to a sharp point, but there was no cutting edge at all, and in a way, it was a lot like Ash Fang.



However, while Ash Fang couldn’t really cut with its edge unless a large amount of force was used to saw through something, the jitte could be used almost like a light mace, powerful blows could rain down with it, and it still had the swiftness of a dagger. Even the odd hilt itself was actually used to catch the enemy’s weapon and then disarm them.



And because there was no cutting edge in the first place, there was no need to fear it getting dull, nor would it break. It was a perfect match for My Lady’s style of using the scimitar to attack and the sidearm to defend and harass with.



“I was pissed when the handle broke though.” She mentioned. “I like the jitte, but that one was just a basic, everyday weapon, I need to get a better one.”



“Unfortunately, the trader didn’t know how to forge them, and no one knows how to make it that durable, but also light. And the weight is perfect. They’d have to melt it down to find out, but then yours would be lost.”



“I know. How long until the blacksmith finishes the set of prototypes?” She asked.



“Hmm, probably a week or two, Mister Flat-Hand’s work is in high demand, but since he is skilled with weapons, he is the best bet. It would have been faster if you could have at least left your jitte with him for a while.”



“Not happening.”



“Of course.”



“Well, then after Poe returns, you should probably reacclimate yourself with the jitte, but we can probably schedule another duel for some time tomorrow.”



“Ehh… too long, let's do one tonight.”



“My Lady… even if that were a good idea, it will be difficult to find an…” I trailed off, the sound of feet running up the stairs was heard by both of us.



While my lady again drew both her sword and dagger, I slid towards the door, locking it as I leaned up against the wall nearby. My own weapon, a plain looking warhammer, was already in my hand.



We waited with our breath held for a few seconds until the footsteps stopped in front of our door.



“My Lady, it is Ned, I have important news.” a voice called out in tandem with some frantic knocking. “Ah! Right, password. Horse Shit.”



I frowned but opened the door since Poe has said the correct password. Why My Lady insisted on such crude passwords, I would never understand.



“What is it, Poe?” I asked.



“Jitte. Where is my Jitte?” My Lady asked.



“Right here.” Poe went over and presented the jitte wrapped in cloth to her.



“Poe, what was so important?” I asked again.



“Right, it’s bad news,” Poe said, a solemn expression taking over his face. “On the way back, The path was near the Wild Bear School, and I heard people saying that the school had been raided.”



“Huh? I said shocked.



“I know, “Poe said as he looked my way. “But a lot of people were talking about it, someone raided the school and caused a bunch of injuries.”



“Is that one of our schools? I think I heard the name before, who is the patron?” My Lady asked.



“You are My Lady, The Wild Bear, Raging Chimera, and Swift Wind Schools are all under your umbrella. The Wild Bear School is lead by Mister Wild Bear, he’s a barbarian from the north.” I said exasperatedly before turning to Poe and continuing with my questions. “Poe, did you learn anything else?”



“Yeah,” he nodded in the affirmative. “I figured I should check in to see if the rumors were true, and they were. Since I was just a guard, the school wouldn’t let me in, but I learned that Mister Wild Bear was out hunting and was still away, but his son, Little Wild Bear had been in during the raid. He wouldn’t meet me, so I don’t know what happened. But, while I was there, a messenger from the Raging Chimera school came by.”



“Eh? Why?” I interrupted confused.



“This is where it gets crazy,“ Poe said, getting excited. “The Raging Chimera School got raided also, and they had a bunch of injuries too. So they called for a healer, but the healer was too busy because as it turns out, the Stalwart Man School was also raided.”



“The Stalwart Man… That is owned by your cousin, Bartholomew Lakeside.” I stated.



“Hmm…”



“Well, so the thing was, the Raging Chimeras sent word to our family, but they also decided to send messengers to the other nearby schools.”



“Apparently, they were too late for the Wild Bears,” I said.



“Hey, Pops.” My Lady suddenly said.



“What?” I asked, but I was pretty sure I already knew.



“Let's go find them.”



“Eh…” I really, really, did not want to do this. But, I also knew I had no choice. “Alright, get ready, and I will have everyone mobilized in ten minutes.”



My Lady didn’t say anything, only turning and grabbing her armor. I quickly steered Poe out of the room, because I knew that the presence of two men would not stop her from getting changed right then.



“Our Lady is really motivated, we can’t let people raid our schools like this,” Poe said excitedly.



“Indeed, go get everyone ready.”



“Yes, Sir!” Poe saluted and then left.



“Haaah…” I sighed as Poe left.



Poe thought My Lady wanted to avenge the schools under us that got raided, but he didn’t really understand her. Sure, she was slighted by having this happen, and she was probably pretty angry, but she didn’t actually care for any of the members of those schools. And while she was annoyed, that played second fiddle to how excited she was about the prospects of fighting a strong opponent.



My Lady had a great track record in her duels, almost never having lost, and I just hoped that would stay true.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 15:10

Bartholomew’s personal villa, 4th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

#27​

“My Lord, I bring you news,” I said as I descended the wide stairs into My Lord’s Basement.



My Lord was Bartholomew Lakeside Fredirin, the youngest son of Duke Henry Lakeside Fredirin, he wasn’t the youngest child, however, he had two younger sisters. My Lord was only fourteen, as such, he should have been in school right now, but due to his proficiency in the academic arts, he was able to avoid classes and only make an appearance during the testing periods.



“Oh, #27? It is good to see you, here, hand me that potion.” My Lord said.



“Yes My Lord.” I dutifully replied as I handed him a potion, the only potion that was on the table.



Bartholomew found other people to be, let us say, below his notice, not worthy enough of having him remember their names, so he used numbers to identify them. I was the twenty-seventh chamberlain that My Lord had hired, and the first one to last more than a week, hence, despite the fact I had stayed for over a year, he still only referred to me by number.



In some way, having my name replaced by a number should have upset me, but after all, I was a broken person. What should bother me, what should elate me, what should sadden me, what should anger me, my drives, were all different from normal people.



Just like my Lord.



“Well #27, what is the news?” My Lord asked.



“Before that My Lord, what are you doing?” I asked as I watched him work.



“An experiment.” Was the reply I got.



“I see that, but what exactly are you trying to discover?”



“Wooo. This was harder than I thought it would be,” He said as he grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. “What were you asking again?”



“What it is that My Lord is doing.” I reminded him.



“Right. An experiment. See, a few weeks back, a caravan from the Far South arrived, and it had some books in it.”



“I do remember that My Lord, I was the one who bought the books from the traders.”



“You were? Good, good. Well, one of those books explained the society and culture of the empire down there.”



“Yes? And that has what to do with this experiment? I asked, not at all comprehending what My Lord was getting at.



“Our Fredirin Kingdom has a rather unique, but dare I say, effective method of running the government. Our neighbors are well behind us in regards to this, but, that book claimed that this Empire, The Crystal Jade Empire, was able to create a highly stable and efficient government in its own way.”



“And that way is?”



The Crystal Jade Empire believes that only by focusing, and shunning the worldly needs, can people be dedicated to their work and the Empire itself. Of course, they still have an aristocracy that holds a large amount of power, but all of the central government matters are controlled by what are essentially career bureaucrats.”



“That is interesting, but what does it have to do with your experiment?”



“These career bureaucrats live their lives wholly dependant on the state, they have no property or wealth themselves, but the Empire takes care of them. In turn, they devote themselves to the Empire.”



“That seems as if it will not show results. That book seems flawed.” I stated my opinion.



“It does, or it would if there wasn’t more to it. See, a man must always provide for his family, to ensure his bloodline continues. While I don’t care for this, I understand how others think.”



“Of course, that behavior baffles me too, but it is the prevailing opinion of the masses.”



“Indeed. In fact, I believe it is family ties that cause a great deal of corruption, even in our own Kingdom, but I digress. The Crystal Jade Empire does not allow these bureaucrats to have families, in fact, they also are forced into daily meditation sessions and also, if I am understanding this book right, something like indoctrination.”



“Fascinating. Still, the experiment?” I prompted again.



“Right, right. Well, even then, the Empire does not believe that would be sufficient, so all of the bureaucrats are also… what was the word? You-knocks, You-knick. It is in the book, hold on.” My Lord began searching through the book that was beside him.



“These, You-Knicks? I haven't heard that term before, what are they?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.



“Eunuch, that is it. Eunuch. Right, these Eunuchs are all men, who have been castrated. Like livestock, apparently without the need to reproduce, these men are seemingly calmer and more thoughtful. Without the stronger emotions, and without a family, they are more devoted to the nation.”



“I see, I wonder if that would work?”



“I don’t know, but I wanted to test it. However, I wasn’t sure if they were castrated while young, or after they became adults. It is normal for a child to follow in their parents' footsteps, but these men can not have children, so where did they get the eunuchs from? Did men volunteer for this job? Or were they raised from their youth?”



“So you tested it then?”



“Yes, I had my guards pull twenty men from the streets, and then I castrated them. However, I wasn’t sure how much to cut off, and so far six of them have died. Still, this latest one, he seems to be doing well.”



“Yes, he is conscious at least, a bit pale, however,” I said as I looked at the man chained to the table.



“Yes, originally I removed the entire reproductive tract, but I quickly realized that interfered with urination. Then I tried cutting just parts off, even crushing the different parts with a vice. However, for this man, and two before him, I made a small incision, and then reached in with pliers and removed them. Then I just sewed them up, and then used a standard healing potion.”



“I see, still, it will take some time to see if they really do become less emotional.”



“Yes, in fact, I am not sure I can accurately test that with this batch, I would have needed to study them in depth in a natural environment before I castrated them to really tell if there are differences. This is mostly just to see if they survive and as a proof of concept. Much later on, I might require all of my employees to be eunuchs.”



“I feel that that may be difficult to implement My Lord, we are already rather short staffed, and I do not think that this would help matters. Come to think of it, we are missing another maid, do you know if she ran away?”



“Hmm? A maid? Which one?” He asked.



“I think it was M-305” I replied.



“Ah, right, that one. Her arm came off, and she was making a fuss about it, so I locked her in her room.”



“I see, did you call for a healer?”



“Oh, you know what? I completely forgot about that, I wanted to get back to my experiments.”



“Hmm, so she’s dead?”



“Probably? I don’t think she could use healing magic.”



“Haah… We’ll need to find a replacement then. And I guess I'll need to dispose of the corpse.”



“I always trouble you #27. Moving on, what was the news you brought?”



“Yes, about that, I suspect someone has made a move against the Canyon Family, a large move.”



“Oh? And why is that?”



“Earlier I received word that several combat schools had been raided, it is a bit past noon now, but already more than ten have been hit. One of which you are the patron of My Lord.”



“Who cares.”



“Exactly. Regardless, as I said, several have been raided, and I am getting reports that still more are being attacked. Four belong to the Canyon Family, one from your Lakeview Family, three from the Goldfield Family, two from the Quarry Family, and two from the Steam-burst Family.”



“While the Canyon Family did suffer more attacks, it does seem as if they are spread out pretty fairly, what makes you think this is a targeted attack against them?”



“I thought as you did at first too, none of the schools are particularly important or noteworthy, and only two the Canyon schools and two of the Goldfield schools have the same patron, so it does seem random, and in fact, if I hadn’t heard this last piece of news, I would have overlooked it.”



“And that news is?”



“Michael Canyon Fredirin, your cousin, was assassinated in their estate last night.”



“Oh, really?” My Lord asked, for the first time showing genuine interest in this conversation.



“Yes, our spy in their estate here in the capital passed word, his body was discovered by a maid this morning. The Canyon Family locked down the estate to investigate and prevent word from spreading, but it also slowed their response towards the raids, the other families are already mobilizing people, but the Canyon Family has done nothing.”



“This is really interesting, I wonder who planned this?”



“Right now, there is no information on who the assassin was, or how it happened, and there is likewise only limited information on who raided the schools. Our Stalwart Man School has reported that the attack was a halfling wrapped fully in leather armor who talked oddly, but that tells us little.”



“A halfling warrior capable of raiding the schools… do we know of anyone like that?”



“No My Lord, unless there was some trickery involved that the Stalwart Man School didn’t notice, but they claim the halfling faced them head-on. They did have a lot of complaints, however.”



“This is a shame, we can’t even begin to guess who did this at this point, and if we make a wrong move, we could overextend easily. We’ll need to wait until more details emerge. However… Maybe we can make use of this?”



“Oh, how is that, My Lord?” I asked.



“We can guess at how the other families will respond to this, some will defend their interests, some will try to use the period to build up their own strength, and some will further attack the Canyon Family. We could easily determine how a single family will react with some simple observation, but if they were the ones to initiate this, then they’ll have extra, hidden plans. This makes it hard for us to move. But, there is one family whose plans we know.” He explained.



“Which family is that?”



“Our own.”



“Ah… I see, then, what orders should I give?” I asked.



“Let us see… My older brother Sebastian, he has those boat restaurants, they should sink. Also, reveal the fake account forms we have slipped into his trading company. Hmm… we should also spread the damage about a bit, so have a business or two belonging to one of my sisters get vandalized.”



“The since the two families that are contesting the Steam-burst’s dominance were both damaged, the assumption will be that it was either the Quarry Family, or the Goldfield Family, or maybe even the Pine Family.” I reasoned out.



“Exactly, if we don’t suffer, the most likely assumption would be that it was us after all. However, I think we can do better. Have the spy we planted in Sebastian’s house assassinate my brother. This will also remove a thorn from my side.”



“As you will it, My Lord.”



“Get to it #27, but now I need to finish my experiments, I have two more men to castrate, and this time, I want to try freezing the area before I cut.”



“Yes My Lord.”

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 17:20

Bonto Lane, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

?????????????​

“So… Loud…” I groaned to myself as I threaded my way through the streets of the Royal Capital Arvas.



Everywhere around me was the hustle and bustle of the city, adventurers, soldiers, civilians, traders, craftsmen, merchants, guards, so many people.



Too many people.



“So… Loud…” I groaned again.



I hated the city, I hated people, but I couldn’t live elsewhere, and this mass of people, this faceless throng of anonymous men and women, was vastly preferable to only listening to a few people.



Still, every day, every hour, every minute, was pure torture.



A bit behind me, following me, were two of my guards. No matter where they went, how they hid, I could always track them, because instead of the boring and petty voices of everyone else, these two made a sound that was a mixture of glass shattering, stone being ground down, and wood snapping. A cacophony of sounds, only slightly better than the voices everyone else created.



They were both my guards and the chains that kept me locked down. They protected me, but they would also stop me if I tried to flee, not that I had any intention of doing so. Any other city would be just as bad as Arvas.



In fact, Arvas wasn’t completely awful, lost in this crowd, bustling with people, I could at least, almost, lose myself.



“Oh careful there, stupid children, little girl, brat, are you okay, I hope my clothes aren’t dirty.” The old man who I had bumped into said.



“....”



“Are you hurt, say something you dumb brat.”



“...sorry…” I whispered.



“It’s good that you are alright, now I am going to be late, you should be heading home, don’t stumble around in the road like an idiot, your parents are probably worried about you, probably a street urchin.”



“...Yeah…” I said and hurried away.



“I wonder if that was a pickpocket?”



“Scrawny child, probably poor.”



“Filthy kid.”



“I bet if I offered her a couple of coppers, I could buy her for the night.”



“Poor thing.”



“Jeez, who cares, get out of the way.”



“I need to meet Mat soon.”



“Wonder what the tavern has on sale today?”



“Did I drop of that parcel today or yesterday?”



“It’s late.”



“It’s gonna be cold tonight, I can feel it.”



“Oh, my hip, I wonder what I did to it.”



“...Stop… it…” I groaned in pain, my head throbbing.



Unable to stay here any longer, I started running. I had no destination, no goal, I just needed to be somewhere else.



I ran and ran, but my tiny body didn’t give me the speed that I needed. The voices faded, but new ones rose to take their place. My guards followed behind, the annoying sound never getting far away.



As I ran, the heaving of my own breath almost managed to drown out the voices. My exhaustion almost distracted me.



But, it didn’t.



I wound my way through the streets, the main thoroughfares turned to connecting streets, which turned into back streets, which then turned into dark and damp alleys.



“WOAH!” A voice called out.



I had run out of the alley and into a real road, right in front of a small wagon. The driver pulled on the reins of the horse, and it just barely managed to stop without hitting me.



Of course, I wasn’t in any real danger, one of my guards had swept forward and pulled me back, even if the carriage had made no effort to stop or turn, I would have been fine.



“Sorry about that, that was almost bad, are you okay, I should've have been paying more attention.” The driver asked.



“...”



My guard was still holding me, but he didn’t say anything.



“Well, good thing that guy saved you, really that could have been bad, if can offer you a ride as an apology, I hope this is okay with My Lady.”



“...sorry…”



“Don’t worry about it, it was my fault anyway.”



I stepped back and kept my head down, not looking at the man.



“Well, if you are okay, I hope she is okay, I'll be on my way, I need to get My Lady home before dark.”



The wagon started forward and slowly went past me.



“That almost took a year off of my life. I know I shouldn’t be rushing like this, but now is a really bad time for My Lady to be on the streets. Still, I can’t believe this went as well as it did. How is My Lady this strong anyway? I heard rumors, but they said she was frail and timid, when did she change? Was she always like this.”



The man’s voice slowly faded, as the wagon went away. I wondered what he was talking about, who was his lady, so I turned to watch his wagon leave, but I then I froze.



Sitting on the back of the wagon, its feet dangling off the edge, was a small person, almost as small as I was. It was wrapped all in black leather, and there was a large sword on it’s back. A pair of silver eyes were looking at me, staring at me.



But, there were no words, it was silent.



I still heard the driver, I still heard the mess of sounds from my two guards, I could hear the two people in the building to me left, the children in the one to the right, I could hear the people down the street, across this street, upstairs, there was even one woman moving underground within the sewers.



But the person on the back of the wagon, was completely and absolutely silent.



“...hey…” I said as I tugged on my guard’s sleeve.



“Hmm? What is it, Miss?”



“...Cary me, and follow them.” I ordered my guard.

 

Chapter 11: Hidden Base.

Spoiler

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 17:24

Bonto Lane, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.



“Larry, let us call it a day,” I said from the back of the wagon as we slowly went down another road.



Occasionally, as I finished off another combat school, a few pursuers would give chase, but those fools were left battered and bruised in various alleyways. But as time went on, more and more groups of people, that seemed to be searching for us, were spotted on the roads. It got to the point where out of the last four schools we went to, one of them wouldn’t allow us entry, and two others were too heavily guarded for my plan to go forward.



The Rain Sabre School was the last to be successfully raided, and that was almost two hours ago.



We stalled at the end, but the morning and early afternoon had gone well, fifteen different schools, all belonging to my cousins, had been raided, their disciples and apprentices were all left broken. Just like with the pursuers sent after us, I had held back and refrained from killing anyone, which both served to blunt any reprisal that would come, and to camouflage my behavior. Instead of an active attack against the families, this could appear as if I were simply a traveling warrior looking to make a name for myself.



The halfling warrior Cat would now be a persona I could use later on.



“Yes… Cat.”



Captain Nev still struggled when it came to some things, calling me anything other than, My Lady, was one of them.



While it was an annoyance, it was only a minor one, and I didn’t blame him either. It was a matter of course. Captain Nev was a Spectre of the Hemlock, our Pine Family’s elite force. The other families all had something similar, a fiercely loyal, powerful, small scale force.



I wasn’t sure what went into their training, but I knew a few things. The Spectres were all orphans, a choice made so that they would have nowhere else to go, so that their backs would be to the wall, but also so that they had no outside conflicts. The Pine Family was their family, their fellow Spectres were their brothers and sisters.



So calling me without using the utmost respect, went against Captain Nev’s very being.

“Hey, Larry, that girl we just encountered, did you notice anything about her?” I asked about something that had been on my mind for a while.



“Hmm? The man who pulled her to safety must have been a guard, and he must have had some skill. She might have been a noble?”



That was likely an accurate guess. I was sitting on the back, so I didn’t see the moment when she came running out, nor did I see when the guard pulled her away, but I was able to get an idea based off of the sounds.



“That isn’t it. Didn’t she seem…” I trailed off, not exactly sure how to describe it.



“Well, she was certainly odd, a bit quiet and shy I guess?” Captain Nev answered.



“Shy? That wasn’t what I saw.”



When we pulled past her, she had her back to me, but her posture was languid, unfocused. She did lazily turn to look back at us, and at first, her gaze was likewise, unfocused and vague, but after a second she focused on myself and her gaze sharpened, to an almost frightening degree.



“She seemed unsteady on her feet, and she looked down when I was talking to her.” He added.



“Hmm…”



I could only sense a small amount of mana from her body, likely some kind of low-grade protection magic, or even something to keep her warm in the cold temperatures. Nothing particularly stood out, but her gaze was too intense for her to be a normal person.



“Why are you asking… Cat?”



“No matter. Larry, return us to the warehouse, it is still early, and I have something I need to do before I head home.” I ordered.



“Yes, My… Cat”






Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 17:39

Olivia’s Warehouse, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.

​

Spoiler

Our warehouse within the 7th circle hadn’t changed much since I had last seen it, which after all, was only a day ago. The Spectres had moved some additional furniture in, but the big change, as the several crates of supplies that had been moved in.



Boxes of preserved food; nuts, dried fruits, salted meats, even pickled vegetables were spread around. There were several barrels of water too. Besides the food, there was also medical supplies, bandages, salves and poultices, a few potions, and various antidotes. And deeper in, either hidden by other things, or stored safely in the basement, was a multitude of weapons, long and short spears, crossbows and bolts, axes, hammers, barbed chains, caltrops.



“How is it My Lady?” Ula, one of the three female Spectres asked as I came in.



“You have done well.”



“Thank you. We’ve been working on this place tirelessly since you left. We have enough supplies to comfortable feed all of us for weeks, enough water too.” She said proudly.



“That’s not all,” Oz, another one of the Spectres added, “we’ve also opened up all of the walls, we loaded them up with iron rods. Nothing short of a siege ram will take down these walls.”



“While Oz is right, there is only eleven of us when we are all gathered, and this place is too big to properly defend with that number, so we built several fall back positions, not to mention traps. If we do get attacked, this place will become a deathtrap.” Bahn, another said.



“You have all done well.” I praised.



“Thank you My Lady.”



“Thank you My Lady.”



“Thank you My Lady.”



All three of them became a chorus of thanks.



“Ula, is there a private room for me?” I asked.



“Yes, of course, My Lady, would you like me to show you?”



“Please”



“Right this way.”



“Also, Can one of you go to the roof? There should be a rather dirty stuffed animal on the northern corner. Bring it to me.”



“Yes My Lady.” Bahn jumped when I asked.



“Then right this way My Lady.” Ula said.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 17:40

Olivia’s Warehouse, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.​

The private room Ula brought me to was very similar to my normal bedroom, just smaller, made with lower quality items, and lacking shelves of stuffed animals.



There was a bed, and just looking at it, I could tell the bedding was at least of high quality. For now however, I skipped the bed and was going to sit on a comfortable looking arm chair, but then I realized I was still wearing my armor. My dirty, bloodstained, leather armor.



“Haah…” I sighed as I sat down on a simple wooden chair set at a table.



“My Lady, it is Ula.”



I didn’t need to wait long before Ula returned.



“Enter”



“Pardon me,” Ula said as she came in. “I’ve brought the stuffed animal. Bahn was needed to set another trap.”



“Thank you. And extend that to Bahn also.” I said. “Here, let me see that.”



Ula dutifully came over, and held within her hands was a dirty, soot-covered stuffed sheep.



Gimmy.



“My Lady… where did this come from?” Ula asked hesitantly.



“Hmm?”



“Well, we did scour every corner of this building when we first came in, and while it was somewhat hidden, there is no way we missed it before.” She explained.



“Ah, well, this is Gimmy.”



“Gimmy? Oh! Your stuffed animal?”



“The very one who came with me when we left the Citadel.”



“I see, where did it get too then? And how did it get… burnt?” She asked.



“Secret.” I responded.



“Ah! My apologies My Lady.” Ula said while bowing in a panic.



“Do not worry about it, but, I would like some privacy.”



“Yes My Lady.” She said as she swiftly withdrew.



Now alone, I looked at Gimmy. When I had controlled him I could see, in a manner of speaking, but Gimmy’s eyes were glass beads, far different from my own. His vision, while similar, was only a facsimile of what a person could see, as such, I hadn’t been able to truly see what he had looked like until now.



“You are quite dirty.” I said to the filthy stuffed animal.



The great majority of the filth was soot and ash from when I had guided him through the vents in the Canyon Estate, but some of it was also blood, and a small bit of brain matter, that belonged to Michael Canyon Fredirin. The blood was not only caked into his fur, but it had mixed with the ashes and created a sludge that was even worse.



“I’ll ask Ula to give you a bath after, but first…”



I unlatched the belt of pouches that was draped over Gimmy’s chest. None of the tools were particularly important or valuable, they were made and acquired hastily, so even if I needed them again, higher quality tools could be easily acquired.



The soul extractor was an exception, however.



Putting the sheep down on the chair across from me, I held up the soul extractor. It was little more than a magic wand, a bit thicker and a bit shorter than a normal one, but still, little more than a normal wand. But, with a twist, the top part with two prongs on the tip was disconnected from the bottom, and within that bottom, was a thumb-sized crystal.



When I had received the extractor from the guild’s man, Caterpillar, this crystal was a colorless white. Now, it dark brown with hints of red, almost black really.



I held the crystal in my hands and focused my attention on it. My mana slowly crawling out like tendrils, wrapping around the stone, before they just slightly entered it.



“Micheal Canyon Fredirin, can you hear me?” I asked.



In response, the solid color of the crystal began to sparkle, some parts became lighter, and others darker, and these colors swirled around within it.



“Wake up,” I said as the swirling grew stronger.



“...”



“Michael Canyon Fredirin, Wake up.”



“...huh…”



“Focus Michael Canyon Fredirin.”



“...who…? ... what…?”



“WAKE UP!” My voice shot directly into the crystal.



“Huh? Shannon? What… What is going on? Where are you?”



“Are you awake?”



“Who? Who are you? Where is this? Where is Shannon?”



“Calm yourself, Michael Canyon Fredirin. You must focus.”



“I am focused. You focus. Who are you?”



“Answer me then, who are you? What is your name?” I asked him.



“Michael Canyon Fredirin, you've called me that already.”



“Who is your father? Your mother? Who is Michael Canyon Fredirin?” I asked softly this time.



“Father… who is my father again... “



“Focus, think, remember.”



“My father is… Patrick Canyon Fredirin, a duke. My mother is… Carrie Canyon. Right… I am the son of a Duke, Michael Canyon Fredirin.”



“Have you calmed down?”



“I think? Where am I? Who are you? And where is Shannon.”



“I do not know who Shannon is, so I obviously do not know where she is either. As for the rest, well, in time.”



“No, not in time. You will tell me now.” His angry voice said.



“Oh? Is that the domineering attitude of the son of a duke? Still, you win, I will answer you. You are in the basement of a warehouse in the 7th circle.” I answered.



“Then, what is this red fog?”



“About that… Well, instead, let me ask you something. Do you know what a soul extractor is?”



“Soul extractor? Of course, they are used to make magic items. Specifically, they pull a soul out of…”



“Do you understand now?”



“... Haha. Funny. You are suggesting that not only was I killed, but my soul was extracted?”



“Exactly.”



“Impossible. I went to sleep in my room, it is impossible for someone to have snuck in and assassinated me.”



“And yet, I am here, someone who you don’t know. Which would imply, I had kidnapped you, would that not be even more difficult?”



“...”



“Nothing to say then?”



“... Even if… Even if you were able to get to me in the Canyon Estate, you couldn’t have taken my soul, soul extractors will not work on sentient beings.”



“Ah… that shows how little you know. Soul extractors are normally ranked by grade, the grade indicating both the size of the crystal within, and the magical circuit that facilitates the transfer of the soul from the body to the crystal. In regards to the crystal, most of them are primed towards the type of beast that they are intended to be used upon. It follows the elemental types, red for fire, blue for water, gold for light, and so on. However, they can also be left in their base state, for when you do not know what you will be using it on.” I lectured.



“So? What does that have to do with anything?”



“The uncalibrated ones are less effective, requiring a stronger grade than a calibrated one. This, of course, increases the cost, but did you know an uncalibrated one will actually cost more than a calibrated one of an equal grade? Of course, this makes little sense at a glance, since a calibrated one goes through an additional step. What most people do not know, is that the uncalibrated one, isn’t actually uncalibrated, it is instead primed for all six types of mana.”



“Again, what does that have to do with anything?”



“A soul extractor that is actually, truly, uncalibrated, is an unfinished product. In fact, even more than that, it is a highly illegal product. Why do you think that is?”



“First of all, I do not trust you in the first place. But as for why, I do not know.”



“Simple, because during the calibrating process, a restriction is placed within the crystal, a restriction that prevents the crystal from absorbing a soul with a certain degree of structure. In other words, a soul from an intelligent being.”



“... I do not believe you.”



“In fact, if used early enough, a calibrated soul extractor can be used on a newborn infant.”



“That is appalling.”



“Indeed. Of course, most people do not try that, there is no need since an infant’s soul would be shockingly weak. Well, as for you, I should mention that if one knows the correct people, and is willing to pay, they can acquire an uncalibrated soul extractor.”



“Impossible. Production of soul extractors is controlled by the Artificer’s Guild, and is highly restricted.”



“It is, but money opens all sorts of doors. I do not know the specifics of how this one came into my hands, but I know it did. And then, it found its way to you.”



“I still, do not believe you.”



“I see, well the funny thing is, since you are merely a soul within a small stone, there isn’t much that can be done to prove it to you.”



“We are at an impasse then.”



“For normal people, yes. But, I am not normal. I wouldn’t say I am particularly skilled in it, but I do know how to perform soul magic, so how about this…” I said as I circulated my mana.



“...!”



“How was it?”



“That… was that… what you were seeing?” he asked in a near panic



“Yes, it was,” I answered.



“...”



“And that little rock in my hand, that was you. Your soul.”



“... What is it that you want?” He asked, his voice barely being held together now.



“Hmm… what do I want? You bring up a good question. To an extent, you are a hindrance to me. But, killing you would have sufficed for just that, so it could be said I also want to give me information.”



“... I see…”



“I would, however, be lying if I said I didn’t have another, baser, reason for all of this.”



“And that is?”



“Revenge,” I stated.



“Revenge?”



I didn’t answer, instead, I looked away from the stone and towards the adjacent chair while I circled my mana again.



“What… is that thing?” He asked.



“Gimmy.”



“What is a Gimmy?”



“A stuffed animal, specifically, a sheep.”



“A stuffed… sheep...? Wait, you can’t be!?” he shouted.



“Introductions are in order I guess,” I said slowly.



“...”



“Olivia Pine Fredirin greets you, my cousin.”