A few hours passed while Yuriko meditated. Looking into herself and finding things that she never expected had been both enlightening and annoying at the same time. The Mishala Mien…she never knew of its existence before she met her mother’s clan, and all the while she had expected it to be a separate and distinct thing, like her Animus Core, Radiant Essence, and her expanded Anima. All three were a product of training, after all, and the teachings of the Mishala Primus indicated that the Mishala Mien was trained and honed too.

What had not been apparent, or even discussed, was that the Mishala Mien…was not something distinct and separate. She’d been thinking of it that way, and before she made love to both Gwendith and Heron, it had acted as such. But now, it was different. The Mien obeyed, just like her body did to her merest wish.

Where before she had to force her mind into a specific emotional state in order to shift the focus of her Mien, now, it was as simple as thinking about it and using her Will to fuel the change. Yes, it took that ephemeral resource, her Will, to actually make changes, but just like her Intent, the lesser the amount she used up, the faster it recovered. Just shifting her Mien cost a negligible amount of Will, but she wondered if she could activate two aspects of her Mien at the same time…

Well, it was possible, just a bit costly on her Will, as she expected. Hmmm, making someone feel both Terror and Charm at the same time felt wrong, somehow, especially when something deep inside of her relished the sensations…ugh.

‘No, no, no, let’s keep things simple for now.’

So the Mishala Mien wasn’t a separate part of her after all, but part of the intrinsic whole. Like a muscle or an organ. It's just that she didn’t know how to move it before, and now, she could. Gone were the days when she could subconsciously seduce someone. Now, it would be by her Will and her intentions.

“Haahh…” She sighed. Not that she wanted to, but…

Her memories flitted to when Mum simply told the Chaos Duke to stop. It hadn’t lasted for long, but it still affected him. Mum was a level lower, and a momentary opening like that could win or lose a battle. And now that her Mien was in her control, there was little need to be skittish about training with it.

And training probably involved a lot of what just happened, so it wasn’t as if it was unpleasant. Ehehehe…

Feeling her blush, Yuriko sighed and plopped backwards. The overhang was already covered with snow, and her landing was on a nice and fluffy pile. A quick check told her that her handmaidens were still resting, Gwendith and Heron were carefully not talking to each other but were meditating. Devotee was staring up at the skies, and Fluffington was dreaming of catching and eating bunnies, sheep, and cows.

She nudged Devotee a bit, through the thread connecting, not so much to talk to him, but to reassure him. There was a bit of melancholy in his emotions after all. That nudge created some warmth, and he looked up towards the overhang. Yuriko was not directly visible, and Chaos Lords did not use Anima to scout. His Chaos energies were limited in use out here since they would cause trouble with the ambient Elemental energies, but his physical senses were more than enough to hear her breathe. He nodded towards her and settled back down.

Well, after a few hours, Yuriko felt that she wouldn’t benefit from forcing meditation, so she decided to check what happened with the Reclamation Army. Mindful of what the Ishodirians were capable of, she didn’t simply cast a Sending spell. She also didn’t have a meaningful connection with anyone in the army, even the Field Marshal, so True Connection spell wouldn’t work well either. She could force the connection, but she had a hunch that the communication line that came out of that wouldn’t be as secure.

“I’m heading out,” Yuriko said to everyone using her Anima. She double-checked that everything was in order, including the Tower Entry Token that was back in Gwendith’s bag. She left when Gwendith gave an acknowledging nod.

Yuriko flew straight upwards and soon enough, she was within the dark clouds. She flew towards the direction Ryoko and Fluffington came from and kept a sharp eye out. It took her a couple of hours to find the army, and as she half expected, they were bivouacked on the road heading back towards Greyith. From the distance she travelled, heading south was a better option than going through Vallavega Pass.

Since they weren’t engaged in battle, Yuriko flew lower until she was spotted by scouts. She hovered there, waiting for an acknowledgement to approach, and it didn’t take long for a Sending spell to reach her. The contents weren’t quite what she expected, however.

“Professor Davar, please do not rejoin the Reclamation Army. The Ishodirian Commander presented ceasefire agreements and negotiations are currently ongoing. Please return to Greyith Fortress to resume your duties there.”

Yuriko frowned but didn’t send an acknowledgement. She flew back towards the camp, and since she was flying straight there, following the pull of Gwendith’s thread, she arrived less than an hour later. It was about a couple of hours to midnight, and she found her companions around a campfire roasting a couple of rabbits, while Fluffington gnawed on a third, roasted game.

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“Found them?” Gwendith asked as soon as Yuriko landed.

“Yes, I received a Sending asking for me to return to Greyith.” Yuriko pursed her lips, “The Ishodirians offered a ceasefire and they said terms were being discussed.”

“That’s odd,” Gwendith muttered. “Why would they ask you, one of their elites, to leave?”

“The Ishodirians have been after me,” Yuriko admitted.

“Ah.” Heron’s eyes narrowed, “You think they’re hoping to get you through peace talks?”

“They would be fools to attempt it,” Gwendith scoffed, but her brows lowered in deep thought, “but they may be able to push it.”

“They would dare?” Yuriko growled.

“They might. To the Bresians, it's not as if you’re someone that important to them. And we’re foreigners, too.”

“They would betray their policy of hospitality?”

“Everyone has a price,” Gwendith said. “We don’t know at what point they’d give in.”

“So what do you want to do?”

Gwendith gestured towards her bag. “Head to the tower?”

“Are we not jumping ahead of things?” Heron asked.

“The rebels kidnapped Ryoko. To get to me, I think,” Yuriko said. “There was a powerful Ishodirian Magi where they took her to.”

“Why are they after you anyway?” Gwendith asked, “Did you charm their leader or something?” From her tone, she was clearly jesting.

“I’m not sure.” Yuriko frowned, “And it doesn’t interest me enough to find out. They had some challenging warriors, and I’ve had some fun tussling with them, but the Guardian, a Knight Dominus-level foe, was just too much for me without Eli’Theria.”

“You got away from him anyway, that’s more than enough,” Gwendith said. “The Tower supposedly can hone you to reach the next level sooner. That’s why we took so long, after all.”

“Think we should avoid the Bresians for now?” Heron asked. “We’ll need access to their Portal Gate, right? That’s in the capital. Are we going there and activating it on the sly?”

“I’ve made no secret of my desire to access the Portal Gate,” Yuriko said, “I don’t want to burn bridges unless we have to, and if the Ishodirians press the Bresians to hand me over to them, then let’s remove the temptation, shall we?”

“Alright, so what first, then?”

“Let’s return to Nirlith, to our home there, and get our things,” Yuriko decided. “I think we’ll have to leave the ship there for now, and I’ll tell Blanca of our plans. Apply for a leave of absence, too. Then, we’ll head to Bresia City. With or without permission to use the Gate.”

The rest of them made noises of assent, so Yuriko continued, “Then, pack up the gear. I’ll fly us all the way there.”

So they did. Retrieving the bedrolls, packing up the tents, and the rest of the supplies only took ten minutes. Then, Yuriko picked everyone up with her Animakinesis and flew northwest-ish to reach Vallavega Pass’ mouth. She flew high above the clouds, though she kept her companions warm with her Anima. The blockade fortress didn’t even get a chance to see them, and they were through.

Yuriko followed the Vallavega Pass since going over the untamed Kerromere Mountains could ensnare her in Elemental Confluxes. She’d read accounts of even True and Grand Magi getting caught and staying stuck within the Kerromere for years if they ever made it out. She might explore by herself if she grew bored enough, but since she had a clear goal, she steered away from trouble. It only took a couple of hours to cross nearly a hundred leagues of the Pass, though, of course, she had to follow the winding ways, which nearly doubled the distance. Her flight, though bright and obvious, especially in the darkness, was conveniently fast.

They arrived in Nirlith City just after midnight, and they were in the registered house soon afterwards. Of course, she couldn’t descend directly on the mountainside since the Academy had detection wards. Instead, they had to go through the official gate and fly uphill from there.

The house didn’t really have much inside that they could take. It was mostly furniture and appliances. Their clothes in the wardrobe were folded up and put into travel chests, and Ryoko planned to buy supplies in the morning. As it were, an hour after midnight, they retired to their quarters.

She felt the weight of both of her lovers’ expectations, though they didn’t say anything out loud. Their emotions and inner thoughts said everything, and Yuriko wondered if she should tell them about the strengthened link.

Oh, she really should, since other than an invasion of privacy, it could be an important communication tool.

She beckoned to both of them then entered the room. Gwendith and Heron shared a glance, and both of their faces reddened slightly. Yuriko chuckled and patted the side of her bed for Gwendith to sit on, while she mentally directed Heron to sit on the carpet by her feet. He did so, and neither of her lovers noticed that Yuriko didn’t say a word.

“Well…” Yuriko began—she had to pause since both of their thoughts had already been directed that way—“er, before anything happens, I’d just like to let both of you know that my Mien…er, evolved…or maybe the better way is to say, it’s now completely part of me.”

“Hmmm, what do you mean?” Gwendith smirked.

“Ah, well, I can now sense and read your emotions and thoughts, and I can send my own.”

“Oh?” Gwendith frowned but shrugged. It didn’t really matter.

“Ah, I can shut the connection off, but strong feelings kind of push through the block,” Yuriko added.

“We’ve nothing to hide,” Heron said, and neither of them seemed bothered…no, they weren’t bothered by it at all.

Was her Mien affecting them that way? Or had their acts earlier progressed them through the Mishala Aspiration? She stared at them for a long moment even as she used some strands of consciousness to check if they were really fine with it. There were no signs of Aspiration behind either of their eyes, but she didn’t know the advanced symptoms, after all. Hmmm, they were also her Squires, so perhaps that shielded them from the Mien, somewhat. Besides, the pact of Squiredom was just as heavy on their side as Aspiration and above.

Still, she was getting affected by their desires now and her body was heating up from their intense gazes. She might as well let them please her while waiting for the Academy’s administration to open.