Peter and the Kuroneko (War of Contractia)

by Dixon, TJ

  “No, I’m sorry, but I need to be alone.” I tell her.

  “Ok, well, I’ll see you tonight then. Good luck.” Rin says.

  “Thank you. Please have a good day.”

  “Thanks and I hope everything goes ok with whatever you need to do. Bye, see you later.” Rin says.

  “Good bye.” I say politely and port away.

  I am in a private glade in the forest. It is very well connected to the spirit of the forest. He is sick from the stain of the Death Bird, but he still has the strength to help me if I am able to convince him. So far my attempts have been met with failure, but I will not give up.

  I remove my clothes and then summon spiritual clothing. They look like my old miko clothes from my time as a shrine maiden. The people here use the word priestess instead of miko or shrine maiden, but it isn’t exactly the same. A miko is more like an offering to the gods and a priestess is the one who performs the ritual to offer the miko to them.

  The closest concept in Contractia is a ritual that the new queen abandoned, where a teenage son was sacrificed to the queen as a sign of loyalty. Even this is very different though, because it is the soul of a miko not her body that is considered important. Of course both belong to the god, but the body is just a vessel that holds the soul, whereas with the Contractian ritual it was only the body that was considered important.

  My spirit clothes only appear the same as my old clothes because that is what I am most comfortable with. The spirit of the forest like the Kuroneko has no interest in my body. All that concerns him is my soul. The spirit clothes draw my soul out into my whole body, instead of keeping it concentrated in my head and womb like normal. This allows my dance to interest even a god or nature spirit.

  So I begin to dance. It is a dance I have never shown another mortal. I feel sorry for Rin but the dance I showed her was just my practise dance. If I showed her the real dance it would lose its power. For a mortal watcher though, there is little difference between a practise dance and the real thing.

  As always the spirit of the forest is unmoved by my dance. Whether my soul isn’t pure enough, or whether my dancing lacks elegance I don’t know. He is the only one who can help me talk to my brother though, so I dance and dance until the sun sets. I then dance some more but finally give up for today. Tears fall down my cheeks but I quickly wipe them away.

  I return to our room and pretend that nothing is wrong. Rin asks how my day was and I tell her it was fine, but I am not sure whether Rin is fooled. She doesn’t say anything about it though, for which I am grateful. We wish each other goodnight and I fall asleep almost the moment my head hits the pillow.

  The morning begins like any other morning, with Rin waking me. Rin ports us to 2A like normal. Hermes, Asuna and Emma arrive just after us. It feels strange to be in the top class. The other class members are very, very cautious towards us. They aren’t openly rude but they feel hostile. It isn’t just us that they are hostile towards, but each other as well. A few seem to get on with the girl they happen to be sitting next to, but most pass each day in silence.

  The teacher, Professor Schwarz, is effective but nobody ever asks her a question. Like a typical Contractian she has short blond hair, blue eyes and pale skin. She is thin but about seven foot tall. She always wears plain white mage robes with a black hood, though the hood is always down.

  Perhaps the other students don’t want to be seen to need to ask anything. Perhaps they are just so smart that they don’t need to ask any questions. To be honest I feel out of my depth in 2A. We got here because of the royal tournament and I transferred in to the academy part way through last year, so there is no doubt that my theory knowledge is well below that of the rest of the class. Even Rin and Emma occasionally struggle on the theory, and Hermes is about the same as me. Asuna is the only one who seems to understand all the theories without any trouble.

  Like normal the theory lesson passes in an oppressive silence. We talk more each day at lunch to make up for the silence in lessons. We avoid mentioning anything related to Peter or David, but talk about anything else we can think of. After eating we hang around outside. It is cold but it is a more comfortable cold than the classroom, and Hermes warms us up with a small flame.

  The afternoon lesson like always is practical. Today the focus is on earth so I am lucky. With the other elements I have a very hard time completing the tasks Professor Schwarz sets us. Today all I have to do is summon marble and create a statue of myself from it. To my surprise even Hermes and a few of the students originally from this class struggle. Emma’s statue looks nothing like her and Rin isn’t even able to summon the marble.

  Professor Schwarz assesses our statues at the end of the lesson. She frowns at my statue for a minute before nodding but she just shakes her head in wry amusement at Emma and Rin’s attempts. She frowns at Hermes’ statue for a few moments before shaking her head.

  “The outside is fine, but the inside is weak. You need to distribute the power more evenly in the summoning and moulding processes.” Professor Schwarz says. Then she looks at Asuna’s and smiles. “Finally a statue that is worth looking at. I doubt I could do better myself.”

  “Thank you.” Asuna says with a small smile.

  Training goes fine but is uneventful. The next morning passes just as slowly as always, but it is dimensional practical this afternoon. As lunch passes I dread the afternoon lesson. I pray that it will be an easy lesson today, but of course my prayers are received just as my dance was. That is to say that they are ignored and the lesson is as challenging as I feared.

  We are expected to port twenty times in ten seconds to precise locations. Most of the lesson is just practise but at the end we are tested. The other students go first. Only one student fails it and they only just fail. Then it is Rin’s turn and she manages it, but only just. Hermes passes it slightly better than Rin. Asuna manages it without too much trouble. Then it is my turn. Everyone, other than my friends, laughs at my failed attempt. Most of them try to hide their laughter but a few are much more blatant.

  “Two ports in ten seconds and both were off target…” Professor Schwarz says with a sigh. “In 2A it is not sufficient to be good at just one element. You may get away with one weak element, but not dimensional magic. Stay behind after lesson for further practise. Emma, you’re next, and last.”

  “Ok.” Emma says sounding really nervous. She wasn’t much better than me during practise so I am not surprised when she only manages three ports.

  “At least they were on target, but three in ten seconds is simply not good enough. Stay behind too.”

  “When would you ever port that many times in ten seconds?” Emma asks with a glare.

  “No talking back.” Professor Schwarz says glaring back. “Everyone else leave.”

  “I hope to see you both at training.” Rin says.

  “They’re both going to be here all night, so you’ll see them in the morning. Now get out of here.” Professor Schwarz tells Rin with an angry scowl. All night!?

  “Sorry!” Rin apologises to us and then ports away. Now it is just Professor Schwarz and the two of us.

  “You both got here because of the tournament. It was an interesting fight, but neither of you even fought in the last match. I understand why you didn’t, and that was what made it interesting. I have serious doubts though, whether either of you would ever have been promoted to 2A on your own talent.” Professor Schwarz tells us both. I can’t disagree and Emma remains silent with her head hung low. “Well, as long as you understand. As a matter of pride though, I can’t allow you both to remain incompetent mages.”

  She teaches us through the night, but in fairness to her, she is working just as hard as we are. I am completely magically and physically drained by the time the morning lesson starts. I am also very unfresh, but the teacher doesn’t give me a chance to return to my room to freshen up. I am glad I am sitting next to Emma though, because she is in the same position as me. Rin is thankfully polite enough not
to comment but she must notice.

  I have a hard time focusing on the theory lesson but I wash and have a short nap at lunchtime with some help from a potion Rin gives me. It improves the effectiveness of sleep. She gives one to Emma too.

  The afternoon lesson is water magic but I am wide awake now. It has never been my strength but I am at least better than at dimensional magic. It is similar to the earth lesson in that we need to summon water and form a body of water that looks like us. We aren’t allowed to freeze it though. Rin and Asuna both manage it in less than a minute without any problem. Emma takes longer but manages it too. Hermes and I both have a hard time, but we manage to form the water into a vague human like shape. Professor Schwarz just sighs as she sees ours but seems impressed by Rin and Asuna’s.

  Rin tells me and Emma to rest instead of doing the training for today. The effects of our nap seem to be wearing off so we are both grateful. The next day theory is slow as always but this time it is followed by fire practical. Again it isn’t my strength but I manage somehow to make a human form that vaguely resembles me. I wonder what wind magic will be though. I don’t imagine we will be making a human form out of wind.

  To my surprise we skip wind and the next lesson is earth magic again. This time we need not only to create a human form but to control it like a golem. It is harder for everyone else but I am relieved. The teacher isn’t very impressed by Asuna’s attempt or any of the other students, but when she sees mine she gasps.

  “This is perfect. I’ve never seen such control over a temporary earth body. A golem is totally different because an enchantment controls it, but to control a temporary body requires an entirely different level of skill. You could still improve the body itself by spreading the power a little slower at the point of creation. Even so though, very well done Yu Kii.” Professor Schwarz says. A few of the other students mutter quietly and none of them look very happy.

  Training goes fine and the next day’s theory lesson goes a bit quicker than usual. The afternoon is wind practical and as I had suspected it is totally different to the other elemental lessons this week. I guess that is why we did earth again yesterday. It is a flight lesson, but it is group flight magic. Having worked with Peter we all manage it without any problem, although none of us especially excel at wind magic. Emma is by far the best in our group.

  Finally it is our next day off. The drake hunt earns us another five gold. I don’t ask Rin why her mother needs the drake bodies, but she has twenty now. Rin seems a bit put off when I tell her again that I have something to do. She accepts it, but since Elucia left under David’s control she seems less accepting that I’m not spending time with her. I had probably best spend my next day off with Rin before she gets too suspicious, but for today I will dance for the Spirit of the Forest again.

  I return to the same glade. I take my clothes off and summon the spirit clothes. Again I dance my sacred dance. My spirit clothes protect my dignity as I dance, but they offer little protection from this cold weather. As the day passes it seems to get even colder than usual. I am used to the cold, though I have never liked it. This seems worse even than back at the temple.

  Suddenly I realise that this cold is the Spirit of the Forest. It seems that I have his attention. He remains silent and I dare not speak first, but if he is watching so closely then there is hope. I doubt he will speak to me today, but perhaps next time or the time after he may do so. My dance gains energy as I am filled with hope.

  (Ara Kii)

  I watch Haru Kii, the new miko, dance in the shadow of the temple. The temple is carved from the mountain’s grey stone and layers of red and white stone have been added. It makes for an impressive backdrop to her dance, even though the dance itself is less than impressive. She is still clumsy and inexperienced. If she danced like this in front of the Kuroneko she would certainly be killed.

  It has been months since she became my sister. Our bodies are unrelated and this is obvious to even a casual onlooker, because my skin and hair are black and her skin is the same pale golden colour as Yu Kii. She also has the same white hair as Yu Kii. In fact her body is related to Yu Kii who is her elder sister in both body and soul.

  “Haru Kii, are you even trying?” I ask with a sigh as her limbs end up in a tangled mess around her on the stony ground.

  “Of course I am trying!” She protests as she untangles herself.

  “The longer you take to train, the more pressure Aka Ra is under. She has to perform the dance every day because you aren’t ready to help out. Both the other miko have other duties and so have not been trained to dance.” I remind her.

  “I know! I’m sorry! I’m just not good at this!” Haru Kii says bowing as she gets up.

  “When I heard you were Yu Kii’s sister I was sure you would be great, but I’ve never known a miko to still be this useless after so long. Anyway get ready.” I tell her and she assumes the opening pose.

  Haru Kii waits for my order without moving. I let her wait for a few minutes. She will need to wait for hours when she is doing it for real, but we don’t have hours to waste between each practise. This part at least she manages without too much trouble.

  “Start.” I tell her abruptly and she begins to dance. She manages the first few steps without any problem. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t take long before she ends up in a mess on the floor again. I sigh. Like every day since I took Haru Kii as my sister, this is going to be a long day.

  (Rin)

  The money from the drakes was very welcome, but their bodies were much more important. With Lucy awake again and Emma’s mother cured, my mother is now able to focus more on other jobs. I was surprised when Trinity asked for twenty suits of drake armour for their company, but it is much easier than you might expect. Assuming of course you have twenty drakes!

  It was good practise working as a large group. Everyone was paid by the Drake’s bounty though, so we’re not going to split the considerable fee from the Divine Flames. It may seem mean, but even though my mother’s work isn’t too difficult it still involves a lot of work. We are much better off now than before we met Peter. We were really struggling back then, but now we can get all the materials we need and even have noble customers like the Divine Flames.

  The drake blood can be used in potions if you have the other ingredients. We don’t yet, but I plan to get them. The potion I want most is the life juice potion. It can slow the aging process considerably. It isn’t the same as immortality of course. It only slows, not stops, aging. It also doesn’t prevent or cure illness. Not many alchemists can make it even with the ingredients, but my mother can.

  There aren’t many bounties worth using the whole group for other than ones that are a bit too risky. So for today’s hunt we will split into three groups. I will lead one group. Emma and Jenny will lead the other two groups. I chose bounties that will help get the ingredients for a couple of very expensive potions that also use drake blood. It isn’t going to help with the life juice, but it will be a quick win if we can get these ingredients today. The bounties are also fairly good.

  My group is Asuna, Tabi, Midori, Niji, Tomo, Neko and Mirai. Me, Asuna and six wind users! It may seem foolish, but the enemy we are hunting require a powerful lightning attack to kill. Asuna and I will focus on defence whilst the rest of our group focuses on hunting down and killing the enemy. If it gets dangerous Asuna will port us all back here to the training grounds.

  I don’t like Asuna but I respect her magical talent. It’s not like I hate her but I do find her annoying. What sort of idiot chooses to remain a slave? Despite that I do feel sorry for her, because of everything she has been through. So I am trying to be nice to her. It isn’t always easy though.

  “What are your orders?” Asuna asks a bit like an officer in the military. I suppose we are going to be in the military but I would still prefer to keep it a bit more informal.

  “Everyone hold onto Asuna, and Asuna please port us to the location I am about to share with you.” I say. Ever
yone holds on and I place my forehead against Asuna’s to share the location. As soon as I share it Asuna ports us.

  We are now beside a large river. The water is flowing fast and is higher than normal because of heavy rain over the last few nights. The rain was bad even for this season. If it keeps up for too long we could have flooding, but I suppose if that happens mages will just send the water somewhere that could actually use it. I am sure Asuna would like that to be her homeland, but I doubt they’d send it that far.

  “We are hunting Ice Birds today. They make their nests in the trees by this river but I doubt we’ll catch them there. The adult birds are generally about five feet in length and have powerful beaks as well as deadly sharp claws. Worse they can use ice magic and the river gives them plenty of water to make use of. The bounty is per beak but I want to make use of their blood in alchemy, so please only use lightning attacks. They are vulnerable to lightning anyway so it works out ok.”

  “How much is the bounty?” Asuna asks even though she isn’t going to accept even a single black coin of it for herself. Her share will go to Peter instead, which I will look after until I see him again.

  “It is thirty five silver per beak, so shared seven ways it works out at five silver each.” I say. It certainly isn’t on the same level as the drakes, but there are less of us so we can still earn a fair amount if we get enough of these Ice Birds. With a hundred silver in a gold though, there is no way we’ll earn as much as the five gold we took home last week and the week before. If we are lucky we might end up with close to a gold each by the end of the day, but I doubt it.

  “So if you don’t think we’ll find them in their nests how do we find them?” Tabi asks.

  “They’re birds, so they’ll be in the sky. We have plenty of wind users, so just use your senses and find them. There can’t be that many things in the sky that are five foot long.” I answer.

  “I hope not!” Tabi answers.