Arcaday morning I'm kind of tired. I end up dozing off while Emily does my hair, then drowsing in John's arms on the way to work. He must have learned enough from all our trips through the northeast district, because I end up falling asleep for a bit, and he still gets us through without trouble.
"Mmm..." I mumble after sitting down in Eryk's office.
"Sleepy?" he asks. "Did you get enough sleep last night?"
"Yeah, just..." I have to stop to yawn, and he chuckles.
"Don't worry, lots of people get more tired in the winter. It's hibernation season."
"Hibernation...?" I tilt my head to the side. That's...
"Some animals sleep most of the way through the winter," he explains.
"Right, yeah, I learned about that," I comment when that reminds me. "I thought humans don't though?"
For some reason, that has him trembling with laughter even more. "We don't. It was a joke, Aria."
"Oh..." It takes a full tick before I get it, and laugh too. Eryk just shakes his head in amusement and continues with his paperwork.
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Thankfully, I'm feeling more awake by the time Claire arrives. She talks about warrior's guild today, and how they're the ones responsible for giving permits to people to carry weapons in town. You need permission for that...?
That sets me wondering if John has something like that, and Claire stops. She gives me a look that lets me know she caught my mind wandering, so I shake my head and focus again.
The rest of the lesson passes quickly, with talk about warriors and their responsibilities, and how modern drafts differ from the historical ones I've read about. Then we break for lunch.
I'm surprised when Eryk isn't in his office. I guess he's out working on something? Since it's just me and Claire- No, Claire and I, it passes quietly.
I never received any sort of response from Karl Liffan after my letter about the food I can't eat, but he must have read it, and thankfully bothered to care enough about what I wrote, because the foods I listed that I can't eat stopped showing up... whenever they deliver them. I've never actually been around when the food arrives. Which I guess isn't surprising since I'm always at work during the day...
My wandering thoughts are interrupted when Claire clears her throat, and gestures for us to return to the back room.
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My afternoon lessons focus on Ternian again, and we're finally starting to get into bigger words, like conscientious, harmonious, and pretentious. It helps a lot that I'm starting to get used to grouping words into parts, like the 'ious' part lots of words use, which lets me focus more on the first part to remember what each word means, since I don't have to keep memorizing all of those letters individually. It's just like Claire taught me back when we started, how everything builds up into bigger and bigger parts.
Once the eighth bell rings, Claire tidies up her papers and passes me my homework. We return to Eryk's office. She raises a brow when he's still not there, then shrugs. We exchange curtsies, and she leaves for the day.
"Hmm..." I hum, sitting down in my normal seat at his table. I wonder where Eryk went...? After a couple ticks, I page through my homework for tonight. Looks like it's more about agriculture, talking about rocky, mountainous climates in more detail this time. By the time I scan through most of the pages to get an idea of what it's about, the door into the shop front opens up and one of Eryk's employees comes in.
I flinch, it's Isabelle. "Eryk told me to tell you he's in the workshop, and to head in when you get out of class." She doesn't... sound too nasty today. I still don't like her because of how she's always treated me before. And now it makes me even more suspicious when she isn't mean to me...
Despite my feelings, I just say, "Alright," and quickly leave the office. I walk across to the workshop. "So high..." I grumble as I go up on my toes to reach the handle and get the door open. I pull it closed behind me, then look at the smocks hanging on the wall. They're even higher, I can't reach them at all... Well, I'm only wearing my peasant clothes today, but I just washed them and they'll get dirty if I spend too much time in here...
With that in mind, I look around for Eryk, and spot him on the other side of the workshop, past the furnaces and over by the cooling molds. I make it most of the way over to him before he notices me and waves. "Hi, Eryk. Can you get me a smock?" I ask first. "Sorry, I can't reach them."
"Sure, no problem, Aria," he rubs my head and we start on the way back. Surprisingly, I don't have to trot after him because he drops his pace to match mine. "So, I looked into some things over the weekend," he begins explaining as we walk. "That one substance we got from the copper ore, the one that you've needed-" and he gives a head tilt that tells me it's the one for special light mana, without saying it out loud. "-Turns out it is metal, and a very interesting metal too. It's lighter than anything we've seen before, even more than linite." That's right, I noticed how light it was when we were putting it into a crucible last Firoday, but to think it's even lighter than our new star metal...
"According to Ebbin, the structural properties aren't anything terribly special, iron still edges it out for most uses, but I'm sure it could be a valuable product given its weight. Especially as a specialty metal, so we could probably charge a good price for it. It doesn't rust as far as he can tell, so that could be good too."
"Oh..." My heart slowly starts to sink. So the metal I need for special light mana is actually really valuable, so it'll be expensive...
Eryk sends a glance down at me, then chuckles for some reason. "Of course you have no need to worry about the price. Since you're the only one who can produce it, the metal will always be a special, limited product. We'll never be able to use up all of the copper slag we produce. There will always be plenty for you to take."
"Oh..." I give the same reply, but smile down at the floor while he continues to pat me on the head. "So, umm... do we have a name for the new metal?" I ask while Eryk is tying a smock around me. "And actually, what have you been doing all day?"
He smirks. "No, not yet. And I've been running quality checks on our usual products. I have to double check them now and again to make sure there are no issues with our equipment, processing, or the raw ore we buy." I nod a few times at his explanation and he gives one last tug to secure my smock, then stands up.
"Ok so... what are we doing today?" I ask.
"I still have more to do with quality checks, so you're free for the day. I would like it if you could come up with a name for our new metal though. We already used linite for the light star metal, so I'm kind of stuck." and he scratches his head with a tiny, awkward chuckle.
"Good point. Huh..." I think about it for a bit, but I'm not coming up with anything. "Hey, can I see the new metal?"
"Sure." We head to the back room, where he grabs the particular one I'm looking for. It's a good thing he knows where it is, because the back room has kind of become a mess lately with our ongoing experiments strewn all over the tiny room...
I take the chunk of metal in my hand. Like he said, the first thing I notice is how light it feels. Like it weighs a fraction of what I'd expect by looking at it. "It's what..." I squint and try to get a feel from memory. "Maybe a third of the weight of iron?"
"Just about, yeah," Eryk confirms.
Let's see, titanium is about half iron's weight, and this is like a third. Linite sits somewhere in the middle, probably around forty percent. So this definitely is the lightest one so far. But what to name it...? It's a pretty plain, ordinary silver metal like any other, and Eryk said it isn't really as strong as iron in most cases. I end up asking him a few more questions and find out that it is pretty flexible compared to the others.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
And then Eryk remembers something. "Oh yeah, Ebbin said he was interested in doing some more work with this one if we can make some more of it for him. He made it sound like some personal project of his and said to ask you about it."
I blink in confusion, pointing a finger to myself. "Ask me?" Why me?
"Yes, you," Eryk shakes his head. "Remember, I just said you're the only one who can make it? Without using mana to separate the metal out of the slag, we don't have any other way of producing it. So any we make is ultimately up to you."
"...Oh." Ok yeah, I guess that makes a lot of sense, when I personally have to pull the metal out of the crushed up slag with mana and magnets... "U-uhh, sure," I quickly agree. "I'll make some for Ebbin. He's always helping us with everything, you know?"
"Yes, I do know," he snickers.
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Eryk takes some time off of his quality checks to help me crush up more copper slag, getting it down into the smallest powder we can manage, and then I separate the metal we want out, with a mana field to make it magnetic, and a strong durite magnet, just like last time. As soon as that's done, he gives me more slag and sends me home, saying he has plenty more work he has to get through tonight, and I should take my time practicing.
He's right, so I grab my stuff and head out to the front, where John picks me up. "Going home early?" he asks lightly as we enter the northeast district.
"Yeah, Eryk's really busy today." We continue on in our usual, comfortable silence for a little while, before I think of something.
"So, I learned about warriors in class today. You're one, right?"
For some reason, John laughs. "Yes, of course I am."
"Miss Claire said that you have to get a permit from the warrior's guild? What is that exactly?"
Still looking amused, he shifts me to one arm and reaches into the front of his jacket and draws out a small wooden thing. "Here, this is my permit." When he offers the bit of wood, I take it carefully in my hands and turn it around a few times. It's... odd. I would have expected paperwork or something, but instead it's a single, square piece of wood, about the size of my palm. It has what looks like a sword carved into it, but also... this strange, vibrant red color where it's carved in. I'd think paint, but it's inside the wood, not on top of it. So it's like ink. But ink is black, so I'm not sure...
After I finish examining the odd little permit, I hand it back. John explains, "This is the proof of my guild membership, and I need to carry it on me at all times. I can't do my work without it." With a few careful movements, he tucks it safely back inside his jacket. I nod a few times, then we settle back into our usual routine again. I'm glad that whoever's been having people follow me, they've been easing off lately. It makes our trip home quicker and easier since there are less people to avoid.
What it doesn't help with is the one watching that I still can't find. Whoever it is, and however they're avoiding me finding them, I can still feel the distinct presence of eyes on me briefly on our way across the northeast district, just for a few ticks. Unless it's just in my head...
Then an idea comes to me. "Hmm..." I hum, and reach inside my mark to poke Reena.
"Yes?" she asks, though she starts to pick up on the nerves I'm sending across the connection.
"I keep getting a feeling like someone is watching me. I've been avoiding suspicious people without much trouble for a while now, but this feels different. I'm pretty sure it's been the same person watching, and I have no idea what to do about it. Whoever it is, they're way better at hiding than anyone else I've run into." Unless it's in my head... I don't say that part though.
Reena feels surprised for just a moment, though I'm not sure why. Because people have been following me? It is kind of concerning, though I've had no trouble dealing with it until now. Then she responds, "I'm not sure if I have any good advice to offer here. Pinpointing a pursuer can be very difficult, especially if they're as skilled as you say. I'll see if there's anything I can figure out or... I don't know. We'll have to see. Sorry I can't be more helpful."
Feeling her rumble of guilt, I quickly try to assure her, "Oh no, it's fine. I just didn't know if you would have some advice I didn't think of! Besides, this one hasn't felt dangerous or anything, it's a lot more..." There must be a word for this... "Not bad or harmful... like, sort of neutral?"
"Benign," she fills in for me, and I return a mental nod.
"It's felt a lot more benign than most. It's just that I haven't been able to find them - so I don't know what else to do. And I just kind of thought, 'hey, maybe Reena will know!' But it's really not that big of a deal."
With a silent sigh, Reena waves off my concern at her response. "I'll do what I can, see if I can help... somehow." Her emotions there are like a wince, filled with uncertainty.
"It's fine. Thanks anyway." We share a smile, and I pull away.
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The rest of the way through town, I turn my thoughts to something more useful. I think over what to name that new metal we found. Besides the weight, it didn't rust, and was pretty flexible... I continue rolling the ideas around in my head. Flenite... frenium... runite... None of those sound any good...
Well, besides the physical things, the most important part of it to me is how I can get the same kind of mana I needed soul magic for. So something relating to that maybe...? Like soulinite, but that's too obvious. Not to mention it still has 'linite' in it which isn't helping... So, 'soul,' and 'mana...' somanite? Somatite? They still feel like too much of a mouthful... Then maybe just soma? Since it's a single special metal, I don't have to include the 'tite' or 'ium' part like lots of others have... I mean, it's not even a star metal.
"Soma, soma..." I mutter, trying to get a feel for the word, but also draw a questioning look from John, so I end up just grinning up at him awkwardly. Well, that sounds good enough to me for now, so I guess I'll go with it. We end up getting home not too long after anyway.
"Bye, John." I wave after him in the doorway. He smiles and walks off into the city again. Once he's gone, I head upstairs to drop off my stuff in my room, then sit on my bed and read through my homework. Like I saw earlier, it's more about agriculture...
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"Alright." I nod to myself and straighten out the papers in my hands when I'm done reading. I tuck them safely back into my basket under my bed for tomorrow, then hum to myself. It's still pretty early, not long after the ninth bell. Guess I'll practice more.
With that thought, I take a chunk of copper slag and head downstairs. Even though they've lightened up, there's still one person watching the front, so I slip out the back again, and swerve through the surrounding alleys to get to the north gate. Once I'm seated comfortably out in my grassy spot, I get get to work trying to control special mana.
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The rest of the day passes quickly and uneventfully, right up until bedtime. Lying down with Emily, I'm finding myself more and more nervous. It makes sense, the next battle is coming. But still, I can't let that keep me up. I snuggle closer to her and shut my eyes.
It still takes a while, and when I do manage to fall asleep, my nightmares are worse than they have been lately, all focused on what's happened to me in past battles. Replaying the attacks, the pain, fear, terror, and helplessness, over and over, until morning finally comes.
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"Urgh..." I grumble and wipe my eyes while Emily is doing my hair. I didn't want to think about any of that until it was actually time to go again. Stupid nightmares...
Emily gives me a big hug, and I wave goodbye to her and the caretakers when John comes to take me to work.
Another day of classes comes and goes, and since Venadays are my days without work, Eryk just gives me more slag to use and sends me home after I tell him the metal name I came up with.
Apparently, he's back to working on making new star metals, but he can do that on his own. He'll look them over with me later. I nod a few times and head home.
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Time passes unnervingly quickly, each day going so normally for a change, that it actually makes me a bit suspicious. Nothing out of the usual happens, it's just class, work, and practice, all week long. Nothing much comes of our star metal research either. Through the week, Eryk makes mixes of iron and azrium, tin and mollite, and copper and iron. When we look everything over again on Firoday, none of them stand out. Iron and azrium together are better than either on its own and will probably end up being a new product, but it's just a small step up, rather than something completely new and interesting, like linite and bronze were.
The only 'new' thing among them were some of our copper-iron mixes. When they were pretty evenly mixed, they started to glow inside mana fields, like tin does. But yellow instead of white. It was really surprising since the effect was completely unrelated to either metal that went into it. But in the end, it's not like anything actually came of that. Just one more odd effect, which I can't make use of for anything in particular.
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On Firoday afternoon, Eryk stops me right by the door out. He kneels down and gives me a tight hug. It's unusual for him, but so comforting... I hug him back. "Now go, do what you have to do and come back. I expect to see you next week, alright?"
"Yeah." He rubs the top of my head gently, then returns to his office. I take a big breath, then go through the door and set off home with John. Just Nuvoday left, then it's time.
The battle starts looming larger and larger at the back of my mind as I work through my night's homework, until I suddenly cringe. "I forgot to tell Claire," I mutter. I gave her warning that I'd be gone for some time before the last battles, but I completely forgot this time. Well, who knows? Maybe I won't get hurt as badly this time?
That nearly makes me laugh at myself. It's way too optimistic. Trying to find a way to not die is my goal. Getting seriously injured is an expectation at this point. In any case, at least I have Arcaday off because of the holiday. That's one less day of class I'll end up missing while I recover. Claire's definitely going to be mad at me...
Well, I'll just have to add apologizing to Claire to my list. One more reason to fight my hardest and survive.