Ashtine’s Problem

”Who?” ~Frein Nivan, the Visitor

“Who?” Frein asked Katherine. He nodded subtly towards the stranger, who was accompanied by a number of Sky Knights. He recognized the mandated armor of those soldiers, lightweight leather gear for flexibility, as they mounted their trained yumas.

What he didn’t recognize was who these people were exactly, especially the woman in the middle with a slightly modified uniform and a better armored yuma. She seemed important, or at least the way her blonde hair was neatly braided said just as much to Frein. Or it might have been the intensity in her brown eyes. Those told him she was worried.

“Ashtine Solfey,” Katherine replied, mimicking his subtlety. “General Sky Knight. It’s comparable to a Royal Knight in terms of rank, but this position mainly focuses on the yumas.”

“That’s it? Why yumas?”

The Lady of the Void nodded. “In addition to being just as strong as a Guard Knight, the Sky Knights are generally more in-tune with their yumas. It simply means they have a higher survival rate in the Nightmare Lands if they trained their tolerance against them, since they can depend on their companion if needed.”

“So in a sense, you can consider me a Sky Knight?” Frein asked, referring to his bond with his yuma, Enza. She, in her ever-present Nature’s Favor nudged his leg slightly. He relaxed a hand on top of her invisible head.

“Sure. You can say that.” Katherine frowned. “You sure you don’t recognize her, though?”

He made a confused face and shrugged. “I’ve no clue.”

“You met her on top of the Vanguard. She was with her twin, Smyl Solfey. He was gravely wounded… I think. I don’t remember that part very well.”

That caused their frowns to curl tighter. Frein asked Elizzel to search his Mind Palace for any memories of the General Sky Knight or her twin. The faunel, yawning away her boredom, started digging through piles of canvases.

“I guess I’ll go look…” she said lethargically.

Granted, Frein hadn’t known how to use his Mind Palace back then, but the fact that he could manifest Recollections further into his past didn’t give the question regarding Ashtine that excuse. Maybe it was just that forgettable? The only pristine memory he could recall after the Battle of the Vanguard was Frill’s chaotic meltdown. Admittedly, something as significant as that would overshadow meeting two strangers for a quick while and never seeing them again.

With this in mind, Elizzel ignored the important piles and rummaged through Frein’s discarded paintings first. It would take her a while to go through even just a few collections, were they important or not. Fortunately, she was too bored to decline a request.

In the meantime, Frein and Katherine were satisfied to simply observe from afar, using their Siffera-enhanced hearing to listen in on Ashtine’s conversation with Kristel. So far, they were still in the middle of greeting each other and catching up, settling on a conveniently stationed porch.

“Frill’s with them,” Katherine pointed out.

It took Frein a single Mesiffera-enhanced look to see that the Aria was doing better now. The flow of her meiyal was stable, and she was even subtly practicing Perpetual-Layered Milling Form while standing behind the Princess.

“She’s Milling,” Frein said. “If I haven’t been constantly using Mesiffera, I wouldn’t have known.”

“You can do the same,” Katherine responded. Her brows contracted into another frown, trying to read him. “Not everyone can use that Art or that Milling form.”

“Can’t bet on it.” Frein looked at his wrist; at his meiyal core. The Art allowed him to see the same Milling form, toned down to the same subtlety as the Aria’s if not quieter. “If our enemies can see us through Destiny, there’s no way they can’t see through our meiyal systems.”

“That thing with the Deitars?” Katherine asked, referencing his experience with Palar’gog and Su’karix. Those two scanned him and Frill like they were reading a hospital record. “You’re saying we’re fighting Deitars?”

“If Elizzel’s so sure that there are gods still maintaining their hold on Brymeia despite the Divine Severing, why not Deitars? We already have two of them as proof that they still exist.”

“You saw what a mere Deitar Art could do, Frein,” Katherine pointed out, reminding him of Kristel’s Leviathan. “It sliced through the entire ocean. If she had aimed just slightly to the left, she would’ve killed that Da’bloop. If she had aimed slightly through the right, though, it would’ve probably reached and cleaved off half of Veli Manor.”

“Still don’t really like that name…”

Katherine just shrugged with a smile.

Frein did the calculations inside his head. Veli Manor was positioned far beyond the shores of Westleaf. It was right at the border of Central, which was aptly the name of the capital at the center of the entire landmass that encompassed the Four Great Cities of the country.

Katherine might have been overexaggerating it a bit, but he got the point. An Art capable of that devastation would’ve ripped through part of the nation regardless. It would’ve dealt enough damage to warrant some cartographers.

She leaned on him, continuing the conversation. “If you’re saying our enemies are capable of that kind of destruction without any repercussions, I don’t think trying to hide your powers from them should be our priority.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Frein conceded. “It’s like trying to maintain Siffera while sleeping all over again.” Which was, in fact, something he could do now.

With that in mind, the two now focused their attention fully on Kristel and her guests. It was weird trying to eavesdrop from so far away. None of them would know, not even the Princess or the Aria, that he and Katherine were listening in.

Well… Frein figured those two would be already aware of what they were up to, since they were keeping their distance in the first place.

“So, why the sudden visit, Ash?” Kristel asked, sipping from her coffee. The General Sky Knight was alone with the Princess, while Frill busied herself serving tea or coffee to the other guests on a separate table. They were well out of earshot. “You didn’t just come here to pass your condolences, did you? And where’s Smyl?”

Ashtine was frozen in place. From Frein’s perspective, he could see she was hesitating. “Something’s wrong.” he said.

Katherine was immediately alert. Mesiffera, now with Frein’s absolute mastery, told him she was using her Heart’s Will. It was his first confirmation ever. The Lady’s meiyal swirled in a completely different way. It didn’t use her Milled meiyal at all. Instead, it strained her core to quickly Gather Brymeia’s meiyal before using that alone as the Blessing’s source of power.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

It was quick, subtle, and almost imperceptible had Frein not been looking for it. He had already confirmed the same was happening to Enza, and that her innate connection to nature was simply allowing her meiyal core to constantly use Nature’s Favor without any sort of stress. It reminded him too eerily of Schrodie’s instantaneous flesh appearances.

So that’s how she could use it back on Earth.

Katherine had Gathered excess amounts of Brymeia’s meiyal before venturing on her Seeker duty. It only cost her a sliver to use the Blessing, which meant she had had no problems using it before, and even now more so, since she had completely mastered it.

Before he knew it, the Lady had already relaxed. “She doesn’t have any hidden motives,” she said. “But you’re right; something’s wrong.” She nodded towards the General Sky Knight, sure that she would say it anyway.

“It’s…” Ashtine hesitated, her fingers wrapped around her cup. She took a breath before straightening her posture. “That’s part of the problem, Princess Kristel. My brother is missing.”

Suddenly, Frein didn’t care about finding out who Ashtine or Smyl were. They needed help. At that point, it was all that mattered. And of course, the Princess shared his sentiment.

“Tell me the details.” At the same time, she signaled for Frill to come over. The Aria approached, leaving the other Sky Knights to their drinks.

“People from the High Palace have been missing,” Ashtine began. “Two of your father’s advisors had disappeared a few days after they returned from the Battle of the Vanguard. They returned just as suddenly, but with no recollection of what had happened to them. Two other Royal Knights suffered the same a week after that. And then two days ago, it was Smyl. He still hasn’t come back.”

“What about…”

“Monarch Denis and Princess Scuti are worried, but they’re safe. Security was doubled after the first incident. Tripled after the second.”

Kristel breathed and gestured for Ashtine to continue. “Sorry. Go on.”

The General Sky Knight was on the verge of tears, but she was holding on. “We can’t figure out how they’re disappearing or returning. But the only constant thing is that they keep forgetting what happened to them.

“We couldn’t make any public announcements because they were only targeting high ranking officials, whoever they were. The others didn’t want to cause panic. I had heard news that you had arrived here yesterday, so I wanted to personally ask for your help. I can’t help but think ‘what if Smyl never returns?’”

“Of course, we’ll help. Can you tell me how—”

“That’s weird,” Frein said.

“Yeah.” Katherine used her Heart’s Will again. She was even more subtle this time.

“You think Ashtine might be the traitor?”

She shook her head rather vigorously. “She’s clean. But it’s still weird.”

Why keep it secret? Why tell the Princess now and not through M.O.B.I.L.E. when it first happened? Why bother making a personal visit? Why are they being taken and returned? Why only high-ranking officials? How are they missing their memories?

‘To not cause panic’ didn’t answer the first question at all. Keeping that detail hidden would bring out more suspicions the longer they kept the secret. The entire monarchy was risking the trust of their citizens for something so important.

But Frein couldn’t blame them. It was probably a gut reaction from the rest of the advisors and the Monarch himself. Whatever decisions they made were probably what they thought was the best for the nation. Besides, because the victims were returning anyway, they probably couldn’t justify making an announcement. For the rest of the people, it would’ve been unnecessary information, which would cause more public stress without resolving anything at all.

Still, the rest of the questions burned in Frein’s head like glaring issues that he should be able to figure out right away, but couldn’t for one reason or another.

“Calm down,” Katherine said, placing a hand on his head. “This world is different from yours, Frein. You already know that. Every decision you think wouldn’t make sense can’t be justified by how Earth operates.”

“But it’s like defying common sense.”

“Is it?” Katherine looked at him with a calm stare. “You know how the M.O.B.I.L.E. works, right? You know how it sends its messages. You also know that this network is monopolized by the High Palace Network. It doesn’t matter how they present their privacy policy. Our enemies won’t exactly leave something so fragile uncompromised.”

“I know that, but Kristel bypassed it when she called the entire Cross Irista before, right? How come Ashtine didn’t if she was so worried?”

Katherine scratched her head. “I don’t really know how to explain this to you, Frein. But if you disregard your standards as a Meiyal Arts practitioner for a minute, and just think about it in the shoes of the people in Irista Nation, like Maffelyne for example. Kristel’s meiyal control and capacity is actually the best among them. Only Frill surpasses that standard because of her meiyal system. And I’m basically an enigma.”

“So you’re saying, Ashtine couldn’t really do it?”

“I don’t think they even bothered trying to figure out how to bypass the High Palace Network.”

The things clicked inside Frein’s head, but he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that, somehow, it felt forced.

Was it really that simple? Would a General Sky Knight not really bother trying to figure out how to use the M.O.B.I.L.E. while bypassing the High Palace Network? He appreciated that Ashtine was cautious enough to figure out that there could be hidden spies and enemies within their midst, but he couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling that they were missing something.

“It could be a Blessing,” Frein guessed. “That’s the only blind spot we have.”

Katherine took his guess seriously. “We only know of five out of the ten in terms of how they actually work. Heart’s Will, Monarch’s Law, Fate’s End, Souls’ Walk, and Nature’s Favor. The other half, we just know by name, because they were already mandated throughout history.”

Frein named them anyway. “Time’s Eye, World’s Chosen, Heaven’s Grace, Death’s Wish, and… what’s the tenth’s name, again?”

Katherine shrugged. She enumerated the Blessings again, only to fall short at the tenth one. “Is it… no way.”

Frein pressed a hand on his forehead. “It’s Destiny again, is it?”

“Correct,” Elizzel’s lethargic voice echoed through the Tether. “Also, I can tell you a few things I know about Death’s Wish. I know the Letterman has it. Probably… he claims he has it.”

“What!” Frein exclaimed, barely catching himself in time to not use Siffera or an echo Meiyal Art. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?”

“I was too busy thinking about the Incursion. And we don’t talk about Blessings that much compared to when you’re practicing or discussing Meiyal Arts, or whatever else.”

“What is it?” Katherine asked, startled. Frein gave him a signal, a new one they came up with, to indicate that he’s busy talking with Elizzel within their Tether. He covered his left ear.

“Alright, fair. Tell me what you know now.”

“I don’t really know much about it, to be honest. I only know that only one can be Blessed by Death’s Wish at any given time. And that person can’t die at all. It’s in the name, Frein. The Letterman wants to die, but he can’t. He’ll keep re-living the same thing again and again until he can finally find the right path to die. At least, that’s what me and Schrodie think about the Blessing. We don’t really know with absolute certainty how it works. Only Brymeia does.”

It came out of nowhere, but Frein slowly repeated Elizzel’s words to Katherine verbatim.

“That completely hurts his reliability,” she said. “What if all the clues he’s been giving are just so he can finally die? And not really bothered with the rest of us?”

“But what if he’s taking advantage of it?” Frein asked. “For us?”

“How?”

“We’ll head out tomorrow,” Kristel said a little too loudly, unknowingly breaking the conversation between Frein and Katherine. “We need to get to the High Palace soon, anyway.”

“Can’t it be today?” Ashtine implored. She could barely hold the demand in her voice.

“I know it’s very important, Ash, but I think you should give Frill and her family a day to grieve, at least.”

There was a moment in the General Sky Knight’s face when she appeared ready to give a retort, but Kristel stopped her.

“I’m part of their family, too, Ash.” The Princess smiled. “I won’t be able to operate properly if you rip me away from my retainers now.”

“I… I understand, Princess.”

“Thank you, Ash. We’ll set out at first light tomorrow. Why don’t you introduce yourself to Frein in the meantime? They should be in the training hall. I’m sure he and Kat can keep you busy until then.”

At that, Frein instructed Elizzel to forget about looking for details regarding Ashtine and Smyl. He asked her, instead, to record what she knew about Death’s Wish while he prepared to meet the General Sky Knight.

He inadvertently smiled. He might be reading too much into it, but he wanted to believe that it was the Princess’s subtle way of letting him know that she was aware of them eavesdropping.

Katherine elbowed him, puffing her cheeks at the same time. “Pervert. Don’t forget about what we talked about today just because you’re meeting a new woman.”

He stammered in self-defense. “I wasn’t thinking of anything like that!”

“Oh, sure. Whatever you say, Pervert. Lech! Stupid!”

“Are you… are you getting jealous?”

“Duh!”