by P. S. Power
“The lovely young lady in all blue is Samantha. Her sister in black is Eva. They’re both formed of magic, but… It’s hard to describe. They’re people, so don’t let that part fool you.”
Eva bowed first, going fairly low, and Samantha did it shortly after that, as several of the students moved over toward them to see the new people that clearly weren’t normal at all.
Willet, looking as heavy as ever, and a bit sweaty given the work that had been going on, managed to bow fairly well in return, going halfway down, which was a bow between equals. That was actually very polite of him, given that he was kind of important, as far as Noram nobles went.
“Well met! Are you going to be attending lessons here? Oh, I’m Willet Wessling. Duke Wessling, if it comes up.”
Eva smiled at him, making solid enough eye contact that it was probably flirtatious. Dareg hadn’t created her to be that way, but it was clear that she enjoyed being around other people that way. More than Samantha, who wasn’t shy, but was more businesslike most of the time. Friendly, but just kind, not trying to attract people as powerfully.
“Hello! Eva Canton. Creation of magic. Technically I’m a Princess of Harmony, I think? Dareg keeps claiming that Samantha and I are his daughters anyway. No one has said that we aren’t in line for that yet. I should ask Queen Tiera, but until she says no, I can pretend it’s real enough, right Dareg?”
He shrugged and made a considering face.
“Yes? I’ll put the idea forward later. It doesn’t get you out of lessons or work though, so don’t let it go to your head.”
Petra, oddly enough, moved in and gave Samantha a hug, and then did the same with Eva.
“Welcome! You seem very real. As much as anyone. Can you learn how to fight?”
The look given was for Dareg, being the one that had created them, and it seemed a bit tentative. As if that might not be possible.
He nodded.
“Samantha, why don’t you work with Baron Havar here? Full force. Go until he can’t fight any longer, but try not to kill him. I’ll get poor marks if I let the instructors all get killed.”
“Got it!” The girl who was only about five-six or so, and had decently long blonde hair and a slightly heart shaped face moved toward the center of the square, seeming to be happy about it all.
Havar gave him a look that seemed to be a bit unkind, and moved to hand the club in his hand to Willet.
Dareg shook his head.
“No. Keep that, Havar. Don’t hold back at all. Go!”
The fight was interesting to watch, since the Baron was a better fighter than Samantha was. She didn’t take any damage however, and hit fast and hard, even though it was clear to Dare that she was holding back a lot. The battle went on for nearly twenty minutes, which was probably about as well as a regular human being could have done against the magical girl, ending with a beaten and gasping Havar laying on the ground with Samantha straddling his chest, kissing him.
It was different, but cute enough that people had to cover their smiles.
Sighing he looked at Eva and shook his head.
“And I thought you were the flirt. All right, Willet, I have a new shield for you. Then… How about you against everyone here?”
The boy looked slightly scared, but held his hand out, and wasn’t shaking or anything in particular.
“I… I can’t beat that. Do I get the ladies on my side at least?” He looked hopeful, until Dare shook his head.
“Nope. Not even a little bit. Eva, actually, everyone… Armor and best weapons. Get that around your neck Willet. Ready… Steady… Go!”
Most of the attackers were slow off the mark, with only Eva and himself hitting at the young sitting Duke fast enough to actually count. Petra and Samantha were next, but that didn’t last long.
Mainly due to the fact that Willet was simply gone.
Petra blinked and shook her head a bit.
“What?” She looked around, and finally up, to see that the boy was flying away at best speed. More to the point, he had, and was actually coming back now, far more slowly.
Pointing, he smiled up at the fellow and then spoke loudly to the rest of them.
“Not everyone is a great fighter. These shields will get you away from harm. Fairly intelligently as well. They’ll move around people and doors if they have to, making it harder to trap you anywhere. It won’t do much in a small enclosed space, but they’re designed to try. This way, if any of our friends or family are attacked, they’ll probably live. If the shield turns on due to a threat, they’ll be out of the area directly.”
It made sense to him, and oddly enough David moved in and gently slapped him on the shoulder.
“That’s… Incredible. I would have never thought about that. How much are you selling them for?”
That was a thing he hadn’t even considered for a while now. They were at war, and these were, even if passive comparatively, tools for that. Ways to protect the leaders, and those that wouldn’t last long in a stand up fight, who might not be clever enough to run first thing. That, or too brave.
Willet landed, controlling the field well enough for flight, and looked a bit troubled.
“I didn’t do that…”
That got him slapped on the back by Petra, who smiled.
“It’s the shield. Good work then, Dareg. So, price?”
Shaking his head, he looked at the others, and worked out what was going on. Most of them wouldn’t run. Even if it meant dying. These were the afternoon people too, not the real fighters. Still, even Willet would have stood his ground, rather than seem cowardly. They probably couldn’t see the value in a thing like that at all.
“Gifts. Get some for your friends and family that can’t, or shouldn’t, be fighting. The grandmothers and younger siblings. That kind of thing. They don’t have jump systems on them, but there is an interesting feature. If you intend to go someplace, even if you don’t know how to fly, it will take you there. It requires a bit of focus, but… Willet, that’s how you got back here, right? How did it feel?” As far as he knew the boy hadn’t used a real shield before, so couldn’t fly on his own.
The other fighters had them, in the morning classes, but no one in the afternoon class seemed to. If they had they would have been over on the table to the right, where things like that were put, if you couldn’t take a beating without your shield turning on.
It held several items, but they were just the same ones that were always there during lessons. A healing amulet, several practice weapons, and, Dareg noticed, a set of armor that he’d provided. They needed more than that, so he just got a large handful of the things out of the chest, and passed them over to Petra.
Then he did the same with the new fleeing shields, going to David to pass those out to anyone that wanted them. He didn’t say that, but it was clear enough that the man knew. He was clever enough, after all. Then, after a moment, he looked at Eva and Samantha.
“Can you two stay here? Maybe get an introduction to Countess Printer and stay with her? We need to make sure that everyone is guarded as well as we can manage. Then you can come here for lessons each morning?” He’d have to get, or make, some gold, so that he could pay for them to go to school. They only knew what he did after all, so it wouldn’t harm them to attend real lessons.
Petra nodded at him, then grinned.
“So, are you coming back? These are interesting tricks, but they won’t replace regular practice.”
“I know. Tor and I nearly lost a fight with one of the Adversaries last night. She was… Good. Like Kolb was? Probably not better than that, but I couldn’t have matched her in a fight. Not a fair one. She… I think she was trying to assassinate Tor. Which… Girls, we need to get some of you in with him and Alyssa. Petra and Gerent as well.”
As if that made sense, Samantha smiled at him, and Eva jogged to the case, collecting several more copies of herself and her sister.
Then she bowed and passed two of the tiles to the weapons master, w
ith a bow, making them a gift.
“Great Aunt Petra? Would it be all right if Samantha and I stay with you as well? We don’t eat anything, or sleep, but I promise to be relatively well behaved? Not perfectly so, since that would be boring, but I’ll attempt keep the carousing and carrying on in the streets to a minimum.”
That got a skeptical look, but also a smile from the dark skinned, muscular woman.
“Well… All right. You have to attend classes however, and do your chores.”
That got a discussion going, and oddly enough Willet to try and hand back the fleeing shield.
“I should get you to let me host one of them.” He looked a bit rueful and winked charmingly enough at Eva, who smiled back at the Duke. “I just doubt I have room for a whole woman in my tiny shared dorm room. Still, you’ll have to come and visit me at my estate in the Capital on the next long break?” It was pretty forward, but Eva just bowed.
“I’ll also be around here, so we can go and do things? That sounds fun. Are we going to be in the Capital as well, father?”
It was the first time anyone had ever called him that, and it hit harder than he would have thought it might, but he nodded.
“If we can arrange it. To answer your question, I will be here in the mornings. I need to pass some things out right now however, and make sure that everyone is as protected as possible. I’d also like to get a Tam-Comp in here.” He looked around and then smiled. “Oh! Also, can we arrange for everyone in the fighting section to get time off for the next week or so? The Jupiter trip is happening, finally. You’ll all have to work as crew, but… Really, it isn’t hard. You don’t have to of course, but if we denude the whole section we can bring Baron Havar and Countier Derring with us as well. Otherwise they’ll have to stay back here to beat you all each day. This way we can do that on the ship. It will let me get a bit of practice in too.”
Petra actually nodded at that and smiled.
“Which won’t get anyone out of classes. We can transport in and out from the craft, using the box, right?” She pointed with her whole hand at the red thing in the corner of her weapons square, which was a good point.
He nodded, and sighed a bit.
“Well, I tried to get you all out of classes. Still, if you want to do it, I bet it will be interesting. If you want to… Duke Wessling, will you be in charge of that portion of things? It means making lists and doing accounting and scheduling. I don’t really know how to do all that, to be honest.” Which was true enough. They’d have to balance classes, meals and duties on the craft at the same time.
Looking proud enough to be the one asked, Willet nodded, his face serious.
“I can do that. I’ve had courses on the concept. Is it just the fighters section, or is anyone who wishes to go welcome?”
He glanced around and then shrugged.
“Everyone, but you’ll all have to be checked out before you can come in each time. To make certain you aren’t spies, or Adversaries. They… Some of them are us, from different worlds. They look like we do, part of the time. As in more of me, and you. I haven’t seen another Petra yet, but I bet that one is coming. That means everyone has to be examined, almost constantly. Not everyone knows about this part of things, but… Well, their goal seems to be destroying all of reality, so that everyone dies. Our side wants to prevent that. They do have a decently good reason for it, so they aren’t insane, just… Different.”
Instead of looking at him like he was insane, or calling him a liar, Petra tilted her head and nodded a few times.
“That’s about what I was told. I didn’t know we were sharing that with everyone.” There was a tiny bit of scolding in her tone, as if he were giving away the big secrets for free.
Which he was.
“The people here aren’t just anyone, Aunt Petra. There’s a reason why I came here first with weapons and aid. I’m asking them to go into harm’s way, directly. Asking warriors to fight, without telling them who the enemy is… Well, that’s insane.”
Willet furrowed his brow, which made him seem kind of stupid, given his pouty lips and thick face. The words he spoke weren’t lacking however, showing a certain amount of dedication to following the idea, if not cleverness.
“Why do they want to destroy everything? Also, other worlds? Like the alien people?”
Dareg looked at him, and then decided to simply tell the truth.
“It’s different than the aliens. There are an infinite number of alternate worlds, many of them are much like this one. Everything that is possible has, or will, happen. There is separation between the places, clearly, but some beings and people have learned to walk between them. We even have friends from other worlds that are on our side. This war is… I think it’s probably the largest such thing that any of us have ever heard of. Anyway, that part is real, and some of the other versions of ourselves might be brought in to fight us. The Wizard Timon Baker had a version of him come in and attack at the King’s palace. Luckily that version wasn’t as good at magic.” He saw several shocked faces, and heard two gasps, so went on. “We won, by the way. The new armor really helps. It isn’t enough though. For now, if it comes up, put that on and run. The enemy can’t use their best tricks while moving very far. Keep moving back and hitting them with the weapons I gave you…”
That got people to seem both baffled and Petra to make a face.
“We… Can’t just arm school students. Half of them will kill their classmates as a prank.”
Dareg could see the basic idea, but shook his head.
“Fine. When you come on the ship however, you’ll be armed, and then turn the devices back in when you come back. If you go anywhere else, other than school, come and get one first. I’ll set something up on Mars for that. You can just come and get things from there, at need. You’re all responsible enough to not kill innocent people. Even if it means taking a beating in town to prevent that from happening.” He waved at the box, which got one of the taller women in the class, who was clearly a noble, if a bit manly and plain looking, having incredibly short hair, to wave at the thing as well.
“We can just use that? No one knew, and didn’t want to make you angry… So we’ve pretty much left it alone.”
He grinned then, and nodded.
“I’d wondered why no one was coming to visit me. Yes, you can use them. If you go anywhere in space, make certain that you pick up a shield for vacuum work first. I… Here, take these, and one or two of you can go to Harmony and get more for your friends. Remember, if you get things from there, you have to work to earn them. The same is true on Mars. They won’t remind you of that, but you have to. Also, time is measured differently in different places, so don’t mess up and miss classes. If you do… Well, then I imagine that Petra will forbid you from using the transport system.”
She nodded then, seeming to think that it was a good enough plan.
“Elsie, you and Willet will be in charge of picking up those shields. In your off time. You might want to communicate with people about that first, before just showing up with your hand out. Who do you think they should try for that, Dareg?”
He thought for a second, and spoke so fast it had to seem like he wasn’t doing that at all.
“Patricia Baker. If she isn’t around, try Tenet Baker. He’ll set things up for you. Remember, you have to find ways to help out on Harmony to earn them, so I expect to hear about good works being done.”
Willet nodded, and smiled.
“You didn’t say what their good reason for killing us all was?” It was friendly sounding, but spoken as if the boy, who was a year or two older than Dare, so was a man, if a plump one, thought that he was dodging the question.
“Right. I got side tracked. Conversation is sooo slow for me now. I literally feel like we’ve been talking for hours already. Anyway, it seems, at least in theory, that when you die there is always a chance of you living. So your mind always follows the path of life, meaning that we’re all immortal. We’d see our friends di
e and all that, but we won’t really ever notice it happening to us. The problem there is that we don’t die. Ever. So in the end, each of us will be floating in space, going mad from loneliness, in the dark. Forever.”
Elsie moved forward to get one of the Fleeing Shields, and took another to hand off to Willet. Her fingers, a bit rough and callused, lingered on his palm. It was done on purpose, he thought, as if she were trying to be extra friendly about everything suddenly. Her words were on topic however, so that part might have just been his imagination.
“Is that real? You said that it’s a theory. That isn’t the same as truth, is it?” The woman had nice eyes, which were a slightly murky blue, mixed with green and brown. The prolonged eye contact reminded him to check her for implants, and time distortion, but she was clean of those. He did the rest of them as well, finding that they were all fine that way, thankfully.
“Who knows? They believe it, and if you think that you and everyone you love, are going to exist until the end of everything, and past that, in horrible distress the whole time, going mad… Then it makes some sense to prevent that. I don’t think it’s real, myself. That doesn’t mean that the enemy doesn’t believe it, however. So, they’re trying to bring in some of those beings from the end of things, to destroy everything. I guess. That’s what I was told.”
He honestly didn’t have a lot more than that, and no one ran away in fright, even if a few of them seemed a bit uneasy. That started a line that ran to Samantha, so that all the afternoon people could get the armor and a few picked up several of the new shields as well. Hopefully so that they could each have a copy, as well as their friends or family.
It probably wasn’t that however, even if it made sense.
Then, Dareg wasn’t wearing one around either, so he could hardly cast aspersions upon his fellows for wanting to be warriors instead of cowards. It was just that, in the end, most of them really would be served by running away better than by standing their ground. Even if they had good armor and weapons. That didn’t put them sideways in time, and no one had been able to figure out how to put that effect on a tile or amulet yet. He could do it for himself, after a fashion, but needed to work on it. Soon as well.