by Andrew Rowe
“Beggin’ your pardon, m’lord. Maybe I couldn’t do precisely what you do, but...” She pressed her hands together in front of her, closing her eyes for a heartbeat, and then brought them back apart.
Her crimson shroud stretched out four inches in front of her hands, in blade-like points. “It isn’t much, m’lord, but...”
Keras closed the distance between them in a moment, striding forward with fervor. Marissa didn’t retreat.
If I’d been faster, I probably would have stepped between them in alarm, but Keras moved too quickly.
He reached upward — and brushed his hand against the blade-like shroud.
I saw silvery sparks when his fingers made contact.
“Remarkable. You managed this after only seeing me once?”
Marissa nodded. “It isn’t anything like your technique, sir. I know that. It’s just a standard shroud, shaped like—”
Keras tilted his head to the side, examining the shroud. “You’re not the first person I’ve seen who can produce a similar blade, but at Carnelian level? Having just seen something like it for the first time?” He paused for a moment, taking a step back and looking straight into her eyes. “It’s beautiful.”
Marissa blushed almost as bright red as her aura.
Keras was turning away a moment later, raising a hand to his lip in thought. He looked totally oblivious to the reaction he’d just triggered. “Yes, I believe I can teach you a bit. I will make no promises of anything specific. I am not much of a teacher.”
While he wasn’t focusing on me, I tried pushing on my own newly-formed Carnelian aura, trying to get it to move into a blade shape. Predictably, it didn’t respond in the slightest.
I’d only had a shroud at all for about a day, and I had no idea how to use it properly.
Marissa had been using a shroud since she’d earned her attunement — she was a Guardian, and shroud manipulation was their specialty. It made sense that she’d be able to pick up on a shroud-based technique more quickly than I could.
Still, I was a little disappointed. I always seemed to be one step behind.
More like five steps, if I compared myself to Derek or Tristan. Those comparisons were even less fair, but that didn’t stop my miserable brain from making them.
But just because I couldn’t learn the same thing that Marissa could as quickly didn’t mean that I had nothing to learn from Keras. “If you’re willing to consider me a student as well, Keras, I’d like to learn more about how your magic works.”
He turned his head toward me and blinked, seemingly just remembering that I was present.
“Oh, Corin. Hrm. I can tell you some theory, I suppose, but I don’t think you’d be able to cast anything. Same problem as I mentioned to Marissa — you don’t have the right types of mana. But if she can come up with a way to do something similar with her own mana, I suppose you might be able to apply some of my theory as well?” He shrugged. “I’ll give it a try. It’s worthwhile if it helps you protect yourself. I can’t be with you all the time.”
I found the implications of that a little demeaning, but I knew what he meant. “I’d appreciate anything you’d be willing to teach.”
Marissa was staring at Keras in wordless...admiration, maybe?...so I continued. “When do you think you might be able to start?”
“Let’s plan to discuss things a bit more tomorrow. Today’s sparring...left me in poor spirits. Talking to you both has helped a bit, but I need some time to myself to clear my mind. I’ll also need to think about what lessons might be useful to you. I’ll see if I can think of anything that would be applicable to both of you, but I may need to train you each separately, at least on some things.”
We both nodded. “Thanks, Keras. I appreciate the help.”
Marissa bowed again, still looking a little awkward. “Aye, uh, thanks...” And then she disappeared back into the house.
Keras frowned. “What a strange girl. Quite talented, but strange.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t know if she’s the strange one, Keras.”
He looked at me and tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“When you walk up close to someone and tell them that they’re beautiful — or I suppose, that their sword-hand aura is beautiful,” I rolled my eyes for emphasis, “They might take that as a bit...flirtatious?”
“Oh.” He put a hand to his forehead. “Oh, dear. I, uh, isn’t she a bit young to be thinking of me in that way?”
I pointed a finger at him. “You’re the one who called her beautiful, not me. You can sort it out.”
He turned his head skyward. “I think I’m just going to leave the matter alone and hope she forgets about it. She probably understands I was just complimenting her martial prowess.”
I was definitely not the world’s leading expert on relationships. Until recently, I had always assumed that my lack of desire for sex meant I’d never be interested in anything romantic at all.
I was just starting to figure out that sexual and romantic interests could be distinct...and then I’d blown up my love interest.
Oops.
So, my qualifications for this kind of thing? Not outstanding. I was D-ranked Quartz in romantic understanding at best. Even then, I could tell that Keras was being hilariously naïve about this.
Maybe it was mean of me, but I was tickled by seeing an unstoppable force of nature acting completely befuddled about how to deal with a teenaged girl.
I chuckled too and headed back toward the house. “Good luck with that.”
***
I was still grinning when I pulled up a chair next to the table where Sera and Patrick were playing Valor.
Sera was winning, of course. She had already taken seven of his pieces off the board, and he’d only managed to take three of hers.
Patrick was smiling, though, so at least he was having a good time.
Of course, he knew Sera was amazing at Valor.
He also knew she was probably upset about her inability to speak — especially since that directly impacted her ability to use magic.
The more I thought about it, the more I was certain that he’d picked this activity deliberately to let her feel better.
Patrick was an amazing retainer.
He glanced at me as I sat down. “You look pleased about something.”
I chuckled again. “Oh, I think Keras accidentally gave Marissa a bit of a crush, is all.”
Sera turned toward me, raising an eyebrow and using a ‘come hither’ gesture to indicate she wanted more information.
“Nothing scandalous, he just complimented her on being able to shape her aura into a blade after watching him do it once. If you saw her blushing, though—”
Sera narrowed her eyes at me.
I raised my hands defensively. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to tease her about it. Probably.”
She glared harder.
“Okay, definitely. Fine, fine. I can even make sure she knows he’s like... probably super old? I’m honestly not sure.”
“I’d guess about twenty-five,” Patrick offered.
I shrugged. “Could be twenty-five thousand for all we know. I don’t think he’s human.”
Sera nodded vehemently at that. Interesting. Did she pick up on something I hadn’t?
As a Summoner, she probably had more insight into how monsters worked. I’d have to ask her... Oh, right. Well, she could write something down.
Patrick glanced back at Sera. “Alas, a forbidden love. Like my love for you, Sera.”
Sera snorted, then made a vaguely heart-shaped gesture in her hands...and broke it apart.
Patrick laughed and moved his piece on the board, taking one of hers. “That’s for breaking my second-best heart!”
She brought her hand up to her mouth, and I heard the faintest wheeze coming through her lips. Apparently, that was all she could manage for a laugh right now.
That worried me a bit, but at least they both were smiling. I�
��d worried a bit that they’d lose their friendship after Sera had shot Patrick down about going to the winter ball, but they seemed as close as ever.
Good.
I stood back up. “Good luck to you both. Maybe I’ll play the winner later.”
Patrick groaned. “Don’t wander off too far, then. At this rate, that won’t take very long.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “You can play her best three out of four first. I’ve got some work to do.”
***
I got dressed in my uniform. It wasn’t in the best of shape after all the insanity in the tower, but I didn’t have a full change of clothes here. I’d need to go back to my dorm room for that.
I packed my gear and belted on Selys-Lyann.
The new stick went in my side-pouch, just in case.
I borrowed a glove for my right hand from Derek, since my own had been shredded during the fight with Jin. The metallic part was perfectly intact, I just needed to replace the leather portion.
Then I headed out of the mansion.
My first stop was the Climber’s Court, since it was just a few blocks away.
Lars looked me up and down as soon as I walked into the store. “Goddess above, lad. You look like Mizuchi chewed you up and spat you out.”
I cracked my knuckles. “Oh, no, we managed to avoid the room she was in.”
He blinked. “You saw her?”
I nodded. “Sure did. But that wasn’t even the scary part.”
He leaned back against a nearby table. “Sounds like you finally have a story to tell me for a change.”
I smiled. “You know what? I think I do.” I paused, considering. “But I’m going to have to leave a few parts out. I’m not supposed to be talking about them.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “You don’t have to tell me that, Corin. You just fill those parts in with something more exciting. The story is more entertaining that way.”
“Well,” I pulled up a chair and sat down. “It all started when Visage Katashi asked me to do him a favor...”
***
It took me a better part of an hour to tell him a heavily edited version of my tale. I talked mostly about the tower rooms themselves — and completely left out the fighting against Orden, Derek, and Jin.
He listened intently the whole time, hints of concern mixed in with peals of uproarious laughter.
“...And now I’m here, alive, thanks to the magic cloak you loaned me.”
Lars folded his arms, nodding with a grim expression. “And your sister, she still can’t speak?”
I took a deep breath, feeling a pang of guilt at my role in that. “Too much scarring. She’s using that regenerating rock I made, but I don’t think it’s helping much.”
“I still can’t believe you enchanted a rock. How’d you do it so quickly? I thought enchanting something on that scale took hours. And isn’t doing something that far above your attunement level a tremendous risk?”
I nodded. “It was a risk, but moving mana felt so easy in the tower. I felt like my attunement was enhanced while I was in there. I’ve never been able to manipulate mana in the air outside, for example.”
“I always felt stronger in the tower, too, but I could never sense the mana like you did.”
I tapped my right hand. “I think this might have had something to do with it, too. Even before Katashi changed it into an attunement, it felt easier to channel mana through my hand. I couldn’t actively draw mana out of the brand, but I think it might have been helping me.”
Lars shook his head. “I still can’t believe you have a gift from Katashi himself. You’ve impressed me, boy.”
“Thanks, Lars.” I smiled. “Couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“Aye. So, now you can start working on repaying me.”
I laughed. “I’ll get right on it. To start with, do you have any more powerful healing items for sale? Something stronger than a ring of regeneration?”
“For your sister, I take it? Nothing like that, I’m afraid. I’d see about talking to a Mender. Even if Katashi couldn’t have helped her right then, sometimes Menders can help with long-term treatment to accelerate natural recovery. Aside from that, there’s always taking a trip to Caelford, but I wouldn’t put your hopes on that.”
“Why not?”
“Ferras only takes on projects that interest her. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people petition her for help with something each year. And that’s if you even get a chance to talk to her — you’d have to find her first.”
I nodded. “I can try other routes first. But I’ll find a way to help Sera, regardless of how much effort it takes.”
“That’s a good spirit to have, lad. Now, can I interest you in something a bit less... divine in cost?”
“Sure, let me take a look around.”
***
In the end, I didn’t buy anything right then, but I put a few items on my list for the future.
He didn’t have a jump bell for sale, but he did have a single-use teleportation stone that interested me. That was only fifteen silver sigils, so it was reasonable, but I still didn’t have that much money on me.
I was also interested in getting an enchanted dueling tunic. My shield sigil and phoenix sigil both provided a good layer of defense against magical attacks, but I was extremely vulnerable to standard physical attacks.
If Derek had hit me with a clean sword swing, I’d have been dead. I couldn’t keep taking risks like that.
I considered more old fashioned armor — he had some of that as well — but I wanted something that wouldn’t hinder my mobility significantly.
My preference would have been to get a dueling tunic.
Dueling tunics were essentially just cloth, but they were made from rare and valuable materials that provided a high degree of defense, both against traditional weapons and spells. The two most common types were Ironweave and Steelweave.
Neither was actually metallic; they were simply called that because they were difficult to cut. I’d heard that the silk used to make them was from monstrous spiders.
Some dueling tunics were also enchanted for additional protection, like the one that Orden wore.
I considered just enchanting my own shirt and coat, but I couldn’t manage anything particularly potent yet. The runes for hardening a material were the key to making cloth provide any extra protection, and those required stone and enhancement mana — two types I couldn’t generate myself.
Getting a dueling tunic would have been somewhat more plausible. Unfortunately, even the most basic enchanted dueling tunics were about two hundred and fifty silver sigils, more than I’d ever owned. Lars’ most expensive one was seven hundred, and Lars told me he’d heard of ones that sold for thousands.
So, yeah, that was going to take me a while.
Aside from those, I also still wanted a long-distance communication item, but he didn’t have any. I’d have to look into other shops or make one myself.
With my shopping out of the way, I headed to the next place on my agenda — the Divinatory.
I still had a key to the restricted archives. Professor Orden had given it to me when I’d still been working with her. I figured I had at least a few days before someone else remembered that and tried to take it away.
I made it into the restricted section without incident.
I wasn’t the only one in there, though.
An elemental creature floated in the center of the room, her shining blue skin contrasting with her current outfit — a tailored suit in the academy’s white.
She was about a foot above a raised platform etched with a complex pattern of runes. It was some sort of combination of a containment device and power source, but I didn’t know exactly how it worked. Either way, it was definitely what kept her in the room.
She was doing stretching exercises when she saw me enter. She gave me a cheerful wave. “Hello again, Corin Cadence. I am Researcher 437-C. I have an answer to your previous question!”
I blinked, not remembering what she was talking about. “Oh? What’s the answer?”
“You may refer to me as a summon.”
Oh, that. She didn’t like being called a summoned monster. Because it had monster in it.
Makes sense. I wouldn’t want to be called a monster, either. Probably would have gone with summoned elemental in her case? Her choice, though.
“Summon it is, then.”
She visibly brightened. And I mean that in the literal sense — she glowed a little brighter, even without my attunement active. I hoped that meant she was happy? “Thank you, Corin Cadence. How may I assist you today?”
I removed the glove on my right hand and showing her my new attunement rune. “Any idea what this is?”
Her eyes widened to comical proportions, then she knelt down and lowered her head. “I am honored to serve in your presence, Arbiter.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Arbiter? Is that the title for this attunement?”
Researcher replied without raising her head. “It is.”
I waved a hand upward, uncomfortable with her reaction. “No need to be so formal. You can stand, er, float, back up?”
Researcher raised her head, then stood and floated back above her pedestal as before. “If I would better serve you in that way, Arbiter.”
I’d been raised in a noble household, so I understood the kind of behavior she was demonstrating, but it still felt wrong. Unearned. “Can you explain to me what this attunement does, and why you’re reacting the way that you are?”
“Certainly, Arbiter. Your attunement is only granted to one who has successfully completed a diplomatic task for one of the visages. Typically, it involves assisting in a political matter between visages and human cultures. Arbiters have demonstrated that they can be trusted with delicate matters, and thus, they are often employed by visages for additional assignments.”
Researcher paused, gesturing to herself with both hands. “As a spire elemental, I am bound to assist an Arbiter in any way possible, since their tasks are often of great importance to the visages.”
Well, that’s good and bad. It means I might be able to ask other elementals for help, but it also means Katashi or other visages might come calling for more help in the future. And I certainly can’t say “no” to one of their requests.