Peter of the Wind (War of Contractia)

by Dixon, TJ

  I wander the market and choose a warm looking blanket that should keep me warm now that the weather is a bit cooler. When winter arrives I will really need to decide on somewhere indoors to stay. Either the room in Rin’s house or a room in the Drake. I decide to find out how much a room is in the Drake so wander in. It is as crowded as always and I have to push my way through the crowd at first but then someone recognises me.

  “He’s the boy at the academy!” The moment he calls this out everyone makes haste to get out of my way. I wouldn’t mind, but I can feel fear not respect in their auras. I decide to just have a drink for now after all, so I sit at the bar and to my annoyance the people on either side of me decide to leave because they ‘have something urgent to do’.

  “So what can I get you sir?” The barman asks bowing deeply.

  “I’ll have a glass of Happy Juice.” I say feeling I could really use the chance to relax. He fetches it and I pay five black coins for it. That would be five meals but I can afford it now as I am in no danger of starving after all the jobs I have done.

  “Have you considered taking on the dragon bounty?” The barman asks and I choke on my drink.

  “A bit much for a mere student.” I say with a laugh.

  “You’re very modest. The whole town has heard of your exploits though, so I am sure you could do it.”

  “No. A dragon is too much however you look at it. If that is in here I dread to think of what jobs the town hall must hand out. Perhaps they hire people to kill things like…” I say and trail off thinking about the huge ball with tentacles at the swamp.

  “The dragon job is available in the town hall too. That’s where you’d collect the bounty either way. There aren’t many things worse than dragons! They just figure travellers might come in here for a drink without bothering to visit the town hall. That’s why it’s advertised here.”

  “How long’s it been advertised?” I ask out of curiosity.

  “Ten years.”

  “What happened ten years ago to put a bounty on it?”

  “It destroyed a small village near here. Everyone thought we were going to be next but the royal army arrived in time and fought it off. A lot of mages were killed but they wounded it and it went to rest in the mountain it now lives in. They say it takes a hundred years for a dragon to wake once it falls asleep, unless it is disturbed of course.”

  “So if someone recklessly attacks it we could be in trouble much sooner?”

  “If nobody attacks it though it will be fully healed and take an army to kill it.”

  “Why didn’t the royal army finish it off?”

  “They couldn’t. They lost their commander and even those who survived were mostly badly injured. The queen could have finished it, but there was a lot of fear that the fallen angels would invade if the queen intervened personally.”

  “I heard we are at war with the fallen angels. Who are they?”

  “They are angels that rebelled against the gods. They were struck down but, ah, another of the same?”

  “Yes please.” I answer suspecting the conversation would end if I don’t continue to drink.

  “Here you go. That will be another five black. Thank you. Yes the fallen angels rebelled against the gods who struck them down. Injured and banished from heaven they forged an army of demons and other hellish creatures. Their ultimate aim is still to defeat the gods.”

  “Then why did the gods let them live?”

  “Angels are almost impossible to kill. Even the gods had a hard time against them, with some gods even killed. Of course many angels also died. The army of the gods was in turmoil with over half of their own now fighting against them.”

  “These creatures, that can kill the gods themselves, are at war with us.” I say turning cold.

  “The old queen was also said to have killed a god, and the leader of the fallen angels always feared her. What I don’t understand is why we declared war on them.”

  “We declared war on them?”

  “Oh yes. The queen sent most of the royal army against them. That’s why when the rebellion happened the army wasn’t here to slaughter the rebels.”

  “That was fortunate.” I say and the barkeeper laughs.

  “Yes! I suppose it is from your perspective!”

  “Is there a bounty on the leader of the fallen angel?” I ask.

  “Yes. The dragon would be far easier though.”

  “Perhaps when I am ready I will take on the dragon. Not anytime soon though.”

  “As long as it is before another ninety years pass it is fine.”

  “I don’t imagine I’ll be alive in ninety years!”

  “You’re not immortal?”

  “Of course not!”

  “If you carry on like you are though, it wouldn’t surprise me if you became immortal.”

  “How do you even do that?”

  “Just earn the favour of the queen. She can grant immortality to whoever she wants.”

  “That’s all?”

  “Most people have no chance of doing it, but yes, that’s all.”

  “I wonder if that’s how Silmarion was alive a thousand years ago.”

  “No. She was an immortal queen of a country that was invaded by Contractia. She’s legendary so I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”

  “Well I was a slave before I came here.” I say and his eyes pop open. “Is it that hard to imagine?”

  “I assumed you were a noble or perhaps the brother of the queen herself. You were really a slave?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you get to be a student at the academy?”

  “I just asked when the queen freed me.”

  “You just asked and she said yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Unbelievable. Another glass?”

  “Sorry but I think I’ve had enough.” I say and turn but there is a woman behind me who sends shivers down my spine.

  “You should just die.” She says and spits at me. I automatically form a wall of wind but the spit just goes through it and hits my cheek. My defences that can stop powerful magical attacks, unable to stop mere spit? I feel disgusted. This cold looking woman reminds me of ice with her sharp straight blue hair and sickly yellow eyes. She is short so I hardly have to look up but her wrinkled bone white skin leaves no doubt that she an old woman. “I could kill you in an instant, but then nobody else could join you. I look forward to the dragon eating you and those stupid girls that follow you.”

  “Say what you want about me, but do not insult those that fight by my side!”

  “You’re the sort of pathetic fool that the queen enjoyed toying with.” She says and laughs loudly. Everyone in the room is now staring at us whilst they continue their conversations. “Those girls that follow you are the most foolish. I look forward to watching them suffer and fall into despair if they do survive you. Oh this is going to be fun.”

  “I don’t like your idea of fun. You sound just like that traitor Claire.”

  “Oh, so you’re going to run to the queen and tell on me too?” She calls out and everyone goes silent.

  “No. How about we duel?”

  “Sounds brave, coward, but you know it’s against the rules until you graduate. I’ll happily take you on then though.”

  “Fine. Meet me in the arena when I graduate.” I say and port back to the academy absolutely fuming with anger.

  I can’t just go to sleep and the stars are not out yet. I decide to vent some steam practising in the arena. My attacks seem much stronger than normal, perhaps because of my anger. I make sure not to completely exhaust myself though, because I want to be fit for lessons tomorrow.

  The stars are quiet tonight. It feels unnatural and makes me a little restless. Even when I talk to them there is no answer. Morning seems to take forever to arrive. I arrive for lesson very early and the classroom is empty. I take my seat anyway and practise my writing. I’m actually quite good now so it is more to pass the time than anything else.
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br />   A student arrives who I don’t recognise. It is still early so I am surprised to see anyone but I haven’t been in the class long so I don’t recognise everyone in the class yet.

  “Excuse me?” She says to me.

  “Yes?” I answer looking up and paying a bit more attention. Her hair is white and skin has a slight golden tint to it.

  “Is this class 3D?”

  “Yes.” Not a 3D student then.

  “I’m a new student. Do you know which desks are free?”

  “I think only the space next to me is.” I say pointing to the seat next to me at the same desk.

  “Do you mind if I sit here?” She asks.

  “No. Go ahead.”

  “Thank you!” She says bowing and I feel a little awkward.

  “No need to be so formal.” I say.

  “Sorry!” She says bowing again.

  “Where did you transfer from anyway?”

  “I worked at a shrine in the Kuroneko mountains.”

  “Never heard of them. Are they far from here?”

  “They’re in another dimension.”

  “Oh. That is far then. Why did you want to come here?”

  “I made a contract in exchange for the protection of my land. If I graduate and serve in the army for the rest of my life then my land will be protected from their enemies for five generations.”

  “That’s a real sacrifice. You must have been really dedicated.”

  “It was my duty to the cat god that rules our land. He has many enemies and mere humans are always sacrificed for something. As a shrine maiden I was lucky this was all I had to do.”

  “I can’t say I like this cat god.”

  “He’s loved by the cat people who live in our land but there are few humans who like him.”

  “What’s your name by the way? I’m Peter.”

  “Yu Kii. It means snow in my language. It’s considered polite to always use both names.”

  “You had to learn a whole new language?”

  “I was given translation magic.”

  “Does it only translate spoken words?”

  “No. It translates written words too.”

  “Better than the magic they gave me, but I was a slave back then.”

  “A slave?!”

  “Yes. I was freed in the rebellion.”

  “There was a rebellion?”

  “That’s how the current queen came to power. She’s much better than the last one though. Do you have much experience with magic?”

  “Only with earth magic. Despite my name water magic is my weakest element.”

  “That’s Hermes element but we could still use another earth mage. Are your earth senses strong?”

  “Yes. Who’s Hermes and what do you need an earth mage for?”

  “I’m forming an independent company. Hermes is a mage that joined my team and is going to be part of my company. Do you fancy joining? If you’re going to be part of the military it’s probably better than being part of the core military. We train after lessons too so your chance of graduating successfully would be better, although it is hard work. Not sure what your contract says about failing to graduate.”

  “It would be a rather unpleasant death, and someone else would have to take on my duty.”

  “So what do you think?”

  “I’ll join.”

  We pass the time until the lesson starts, talking about Contractia, life at the academy, Yu Kii’s land and her family. When Rin comes in she heads straight to us and asks abruptly, “Who is this?”

  “I’m Yu Kii. It means snow in my language. Please use both names together.” She says and bows deeply. Rin is slightly taken aback. “I am a transfer student and a new member of Peter’s company.”

  “You got her to join the company?” Rin says impressed.

  “Yes. We need new members and she has to join the military anyway.” I say.

  “Your parents are mages?” Rin asks Yu Kii.

  “No, I’m an orphan. I made a contract as part of my duty to my god.”

  “So how long do you need to be in the military?”

  “My whole life.”

  “That sucks.” Rin says. “Well, pleased to meet you. I’m Rin and I’m also in Peter’s team. It’s not officially a company until we graduate and we will need more members to make it official. Word of warning though, don’t fall in love with Peter.”

  “Why?” She asks surprised and I am also curious.

  “If you really want to know, ask me in private.” Rin says and cheerfully heads to her desk. Hermes is slightly late and only arrives just as the lesson is starting. She seems down but I guess it is just because she is late. It’s not like her to be late though so I am worried.

  The lesson is about earth. I struggle and even Hermes is having a hard time, but Yu Kii acts like it is child’s play. I will have to have her help Hermes as it is her element and I want her to improve. It would help to have Yu Kii on our work team too though. I’ll have to talk to Rin about that. Lunch arrives and we walk to the lunch area together but then Yu Kii says she has to go somewhere.

  “Aren’t you hungry?” Rin asks surprised.

  “It’s not that.” Yu Kii says uncomfortably and I realise what it must be.

  “You don’t have any money, do you?” I ask and embarrassed she shakes her head.

  “I’ll get today’s meal. Rin treated me to my first meal here. Do you have a job?”

  “Thank you!” She says bowing low. “No. I only arrived this morning.”

  “Rin, how about it? She would be really useful.”

  “I’ll have to talk to my mother. I saw her in class though so I know what you mean.”

  “What are you talking about?” Yu Kii asks confused.

  “We do a job on our day off. It’s a little dangerous but it pays well. Rin’s mother is an alchemist and we get rare materials so she can make better items to sell. Officially Hermes and I are escorts. It helps us improve our magic and gives us useful experience for when we are part of an official company. Would you be up for it if Rin’s mother agrees?”

  “Sure. It sounds interesting. I had been told I’d probably have to do a really poorly paid job doing manual labour, without using magic.”

  “Escort duty and bounty hunting are the only jobs that you’re allowed to do using magic until you graduate. Peter is the only person I know who ever did bounty hunting whilst at the academy though. I suppose it may be more common for class A but most of class A are rich so they don’t need to. Anyway Peter was in 3G with me back then.”

  “You both got promoted from G to D?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about you Hermes?”

  “I was in 3F and got promoted with Rin and Peter to 3D.”

  “Pick what you want from this section. The section over there is really expensive so we only ever ate from there once.”

  “I still recall the taste.” Rin says wishfully. Hermes looks uncomfortable at the mention of that section. Strange, I thought she liked her dragon flavoured chips. We pick our meals. I have the usual broth and Hermes and Rin both go for roasted vegetables with cold meat. Yu Kii takes a dish of ‘dragon’ curry and rice. Of course the meat is from some lowly monster or animal as there is no way real dragon meat would even be in the expensive section, let alone the cheap section.

  We talk more as we eat and it is clear that Yu Kii is going to get along well with both Rin and Hermes. I am glad because we will make a better team if everyone likes each other, and besides that it’s just nicer if everyone gets along. The afternoon lesson is water and I see what Yu Kii meant. It’s not my strongest element but I help her as best I can. Rin is helping Hermes too because it is very much Rin’s element. I learn a bit and Yu Kii seems to learn a bit too so not our best ever lesson but it could be worse. We train on earth and water magic after the lesson ends and Rin is much better at teaching Yu Kii. Yu Kii is also great at showing us all how to use earth magic. Hermes learns the most of course.

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nbsp; As the training finishes Yu Kii asks to talk to me in private so both Rin and Hermes leave us on our own. It seems she is also meant to be sleeping in a tent and wants advice as to where to put it up. Apparently she can’t afford a room, which makes sense if she can’t even afford a meal, and naturally doesn’t have anywhere nearby to sleep. I didn’t realise Rin and Hermes had to pay for their rooms though. I assume Hermes has a room at the academy, but I suppose it wouldn’t be too far for her to port back home.

  The tent she has is much more luxurious than mine, with proper flooring and provides real shelter from the elements. Why didn’t I get one like that!? Well, I suppose that would be because I’m a boy. I suggest putting it near mine because the bad ground shouldn’t make too much difference with a tent like that, and it may be convenient to be nearby. I help set it up and take a look inside. It’s just as nice as I expected.

  “Why did they give you such a poor tent? Is it because you were a slave?”

  “No it was almost certainly because I am male.”

  “Does that make such a difference?”

  “It does in Contractia. Things are changing though with the new queen.”

  “Where I come from all that matters is your race. If you’re not a cat person then you’re nothing. If you are a cat person then you’re the next thing to a god. Humans are killed just for looking at a cat the wrong way, and if you look at a cat person the wrong way then you’ll be relieved when you’re dead.”

  “What did you do as a shrine maiden for this cat god?”

  “I had to remain pure of body, mind and soul. I followed certain rituals each day and kept the shrine clean and made sure that nothing broke. I expected to be sacrificed to the cat god at some point but I got off lightly when Contractia asked for me as payment.”

  “Sacrificed? Do you mean killed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Has it always been like that?”

  “I don’t know. Humans aren’t told about how things used to be. We’re only told how they are now and what is expected of us.”

  “In this world women and girls are the next things to gods, so you got lucky. That said, I got extremely lucky myself to be free and studying here. I look forward to working with you in the years to come. Now good night and sleep well.”