Lenit woke with a groan.
“Ah, good he’s awake,” a man’s voice commented.
Lenit opened his eyes to find two investigators standing next to his bedside. The two men wore black leather armor and helmets that hide their faces like any other rider would wear while flying on their dragon. There was only one thing marking them as investigators, and it made Lenit start to sweat just seeing it. A glowing dragon claw was on both their right shoulders, shifting like a flame, marking them as top investigators working directing for the Lord of Flame.
Shit!
“It was self defense,” he croaked out.
“Hmm, I wouldn’t start with that,” the man on the left commented.
“We have a recording of the entire incident. It also would be best for you to explain how you knew where Zerine would be and if any of E-ranks acted a little odd before the fight, and then we will explain how this will go for you as a bonded rider,” the other man said.
“We had someone nearby that overheard dragon Arashi send a messenger to her rider about Zerine staying back. We had planned to start a fight in the city, so we just changed the plan,” Lenit said. His voice was still horse, but neither of the investigators offered him water.
“You had already paid the Watchers of the hunting ground to track Zerine, correct?” the first investigated wondered.
Lenit nodded.
“The crossbows were only supposed to stop her from running so we could beat her up, but they shot to kill and then everything went shit,” Lenit said his voice broke. “She killed them all.”
“None of the group died. Although there were some close calls. Everyone has at least a week to recover at a minimum. But did you notice anything with the E-ranks?” The second investigator wondered.
The relief at hearing his friends were alright washed over him and a tension in his gut lessened.
“The E-ranks might have seen eager to beat a smug noble up. Nothing I noticed, other than that. Why?” Lenit wondered.
“You had the misfortune of having a rare variant of doppelgänger in that little group of yours. It appears they made the E-ranks fight as if it was a life and death battle, making Zerine out to be some enemy in their minds. You D-ranks were stronger than them so you weren’t affected, which is why the punishment you all will receive is severe,” the first investigated said.
“What! No! She attacked us. Some freaky sphere of darkenss allowed her to ambush us!” Lenit said fearfully.
“Your telling me…that you weren’t going to attack Zerine once she tore her way through the E-ranks?” The second investigator wondered.
Lenit opened his mouth, then closed it. They were going to fight when that witch sent a knife through the throat of their friends.
“Yeah, the others already confirmed they were going to fight. So we already have a ruling from them. We were lucky both councils were here to handle another matter. The process to deal out your punishments was probably the fastest I have ever seen,” the first investigator commented.
“So I don’t get to defend myself?”
“Nope. You’re going to tell us who put you up to it this because we all know this wasn’t your plan. Your guilt was captured in real time and recorded, so all we have are some loose ends before we close this investigation.”
Someone was watching from the start! Those watchers would have called it off if that were the case. Then that means either a Gold-rank or higher was watching Zerine. I shouldn’t have volunteered for this. We are all screwed, Lenit thought dread racing through him.
He sighed and began telling them everything.
***
Zerine felt her become somewhat aware the world around her. She wasn’t quite awake, but not quite asleep, either. She certainly wasn’t willing to open her eyes, either. They felt to heavy. Whatever bed she was in was far too comfortable for her to want to even move.
“So she should wake any minute?” Ava’s soft, alto voice filtered in.
“Yeah, it might take a little for her to fully become coherent. She lost a lot of blood,” Vinessa’s soothing soprano voice replied. In her strange state, Zerine could have sworn there was a bit of pride in her voice.
“You shouldn’t have just appeared in the tribunal and showed everyone the fight. I thought Varino was going to destroy the place at the end,” Ava chided.
“Eh, it was probably the fastest tribunal for a group in years. We found a nest of spies. Punished one of those old annoying families of riders that have been causing trouble and that is just the past day and a half. Not bad at all. You shouldn’t be too mad at Cal. He played a game and caught a few rats. It all work out in the end.”
Ava sighed.
“I’m not mad at him for his planning. I’m annoyed that they went for Varino after they failed to get Zerine because of this so-called game,” Ava grumbled.
“Zara was so happy to take out another group of assassins. I nearly laughed my ass off when the first assassin was blasted off the ascent challenge before Cal and Cassel handled the rest,” Vinessa said, chuckling.
“I’m glad you find assassins going after my children entertaining,” Ava said flatly.
“Oh, don’t be like that. Varino didn’t even know they were there. That is the best part. And Cal wouldn’t have let anything happen to her. But did you get to see Varino and Kamar fight that group of challengers?”
“I did. I still can’t believe she danced. She-”
There was a bang followed by a gust of wind.
Something landed on Zerine's chest, followed by an incessant chiming and whistles.
“Wake!”
Poke.
“Zerine! Wake up!”
Poke poke.
“I know you can hear me. The beds here are great, I know, but I want to tell you everything that has happened!”
“Varino! She-”
Zerine struggled, but got her eyes to open. It was a bit of a struggle at first. She tried to hug her friend who was sitting on chest, but found one arm didn’t really want to move. At least the other could move, which used to embrace Varino, who hugged her back. Then began a tsunami of chimes, burbles, and whistles, as Varino told her everything that had occurred over the two months. Then a tail about the tribunal and the assassination attempt.
Zerine just nodded along, holding on to important bits and pieces, which was made difficult as her head was a bit fuzzy still. But she couldn’t stop smiling. Varino was back, which filled the hole that had formed over the past two months. It just felt right to have her back, even if she was barely able to keep up with everything Varion was telling her.
After Varino’s torrent of information ended, the spirit sat happily as Zerine worked on telling her what she had been up to, which then lead to the fight.
“I noticed that my instincts reached further during it,” Zerine said glancing at Vinessa, who raised an eyebrow.
“It took you a while to notice that,” Vinessa replied.
Varino looked between the two and peeped.
“I didn’t tell her because it looked like she had adapted without noticing, so it wasn’t bad,” Vinessa said, shrugging.
“No wonder why that city teleport nearly knocked her out,” Ava said, exasperated.
Vinessa winced. “I’m still sorry about that. But how large do think it is?”
Zerine blinked for a moment, thinking. “Maybe twenty-five feet?”
Vinessa sighed. “You have excellent hand and eye coordination, but your distance estimation needs work. From the simulation work, I would say that it’s more like thirty-eight feet.”
“Oh, that...how?” Zerine asked, trying to sit up more, but Varino put a hand on her chest, shaking her.
“Not sure,” Vinessa said cheerfully, clearly enjoying the mystery.
“We will try to figure out why it’s gotten larger. Control will have to become more of a priority,” Ava said with the last part pointedly looking at Vinessa, who nodded.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Am I in trouble?” Zerine asked.
Varino had shifted to sit on the side of the bed and looked at her, confused. Ava and Vinessa started blankly at Zerine.
“The fight, I-” Zerine struggled for a moment. “I killed people,” she said in a small voice.
“Oh, no one died. There were some really close calls, but Escanar I got them to a healer,” Vinessa replied casually.
“But-”
“No buts,” Vinessa said sharply. “They would have killed you without hesitation. Our world has laws and all that, but when it comes down to a life and death fight, you better chose your own life over that of your opponents because it’s rare for them to show that courtesy.”
“But killing should be a last resort. You fought well. Only about half of those you fought would have died. The others would have some nasty head injuries, but would have recovered after being detained,” Ava said.
“You just have to realize that our world can be brutal at times. And we don’t always have the luxury of mercy,” Vinessa said. She leaned forward, making sure Zerine met her gaze. “Two continents were ruled by the Empire. The First Empress didn’t bother with going after the other five because the nearest two go by the rule of strength. It’s a brutal way of living but produces extremely powerful mages.”
Vinessa sighed.
“This is a lesson we will go in far more in depth later, as it is critical for you to realize that there is a tipping point where S-rank and above can only be held in check by someone stronger. Once you're at that rank and come across someone who has done horrible things, the only way to truly make sure they don’t stab you in the back is by using two things.”
“First is using so many soul contracts that they can’t sleep without you knowing. The last is killing them,” Ava said before Vinessa could.
“No, other ways?” Zerine wondered.
“Sadly, history has shown that other means haven’t had the impact people would prefer when someone breaks the law. Some S-rankers may lose a limb if what they have done isn’t too terrible. But a Gold-rank? They would regenerate it back in a year or less. Many feel entitled and want to use the power they have, which causes plenty of problems,” Ava replied.
“Even if they gained their power the lazy way,” Vinessa grumbled.
“I…see. So things are just more complicated the higher rank you are. Not sure if I’m looking forward to all that,” Zerine said.
“You’ll understand. But how do you feel about what you did?” Ava asked. She searched Zerine’s gaze.
“I just reacted like how I have been trained. It’s only really now that I feel…bad. Its all still kind of a blur if I’m honest. But I can guarantee you I rather fight monsters and not monsters of people verity,” Zerine said.
Varino chimed her own agreement, but added that it’s fun to spar people.
“We all do, but unfortunately you’ll discover that as adventurers, you’ll deal with people as much as monsters,” Ava said.
Varino whistled.
“Right, let’s go back to the fight. So you got gutted,” Vinessa said, skipping the rest.
Varino made a sound more akin to a hiss than her normal whistle. A cracking sound filled the room as lightning arched around the spirit.
Zerine began braiding Varino’s hair, which had the desired effect as the lightning immediately vanished.
“What happened in the middle of that fight?” Ava wondered. She sounded casual, but Zerine knew better. Her mother’s tone was too casual. She was looking for something.
Zerine frowned, thinking back. All of it was still a blur. Flashes of blood, spells, and blades. The sounds of weapons clashing. But then a moment of sharp clarity came through her memory.
“Um, I not sure. Maybe the same thing that happened on the island, but less? The melody started and everything just flowed?” Zerine replied, sounding completely not confident in her own words.
“Hmm,” both women said.
Varino burbled a question, asking about how she had saved people.
“When you reach my power, you’ll find that normal speed is slow and if you have the concepts like I do, you can stop lower ranks from dying by protecting vital organs and the alike,” Vinessa replied, clearly still l thinking about Zerine’s last words. “Although Zerine still did a number on them. Speaking of, let’s talk about your injuries.”
Zerine groaned. “My head is still fuzzy. Do we have to?” Zerine said which came out more whining than she liked.
“Your going to be stuck taking it easy for probably a week. You were lucky that the boy you fought at the end was using his mana to control the sword and not imbuing it. If he had, well, your insides would be those spirit fruit smoothies you and Varino love so much and you would have been nearly dead. I don’t even want to guess at how long it would have taken you to recover if you recovered at all from something like that,” Vinessa said.
Zerine winced. “That’s…horrifying,” she said.
“You did fairly well in that fight. Even if that fight should have been stopped by observers,” Ava said, eyeing Vinessa, who only shrugged.
“War is coming whether or not we like it. It sucks, but I suspect all of us will fight people more than monsters in a few years,” Vinessa replied, sighing at the end.
“Shifting to good news,” Ava said, her smile brightening her blue and teal eyes. “In a few days, the intersection ends and Sashi will ascend during it. So after today, we’ll have you two come home for a few days, but Vinessa and the others will come along to continue your lessons.”
“And one more thing, if you do well on this coming politics and etiquette test, you’ll go off with Marigold and myself on a trip,” Vinessa said cheerfully.
“Really!” Zerine said excitedly.
“Yep.”
Varino chimed, asking if she was going.
“Sorry, dear, but you have a lot of dragon rider training to go through, so you can’t come along. But Cassel has something special for you,” Vinessa said.
Varino sighed, throwing her head back, her shoulders slumping. Zerine patted her back.
“Also, you are further behind than Zerine, so if you want to come along, you’ll have to catch up,” Ava said.
Varino whistled and chimed, trying to argue her case.
“Its perfectly fair. I also haven’t forgotten what Cassel said about the strange happenings with the cities slimes and elementals. I heard races were happening, and other things where elementals caused some trouble,” Ava added flatly.
Varino facepalmed then gave them a sheepish smile.
“Hmm, hm, I thought that would change your tune,” Ava said with a smile.
“I want to hear about those adventures,” Zerine said.
Varino perked up while Ava shocked head.
“We’ll be back with food and drink. Marcy will be here for both your lessons later today,” Vinessa said, getting her feet half picking up Ava as she did.
Zerine appreciated Vinessa giving her and Varino some time to catch up in privacy. When the two had left the room, she waited a few seconds to make sure they didn’t listen at the door.
“So, you, Bronte and the councils are all set, then?” Zerine wondered.
Varino nodded, making her temporary braids drift upwards.
“Are we all good? Still want to travel the world with me after I get out of an academy?” Zerine asked, a sudden pulse of fear flowing through her.
Varino flapped her hands, chiming, saying that was a silly question. They have many adventures and mischief to ahead of them.
Zerine laughed.
“Alright, alright, it was a dumb question. I just wanted to make sure,” Zerine said, then pulled the spirit into a one armed embrace.
“Gods, I missed you,” she said. Varino wrapped her arms around Zerine’s neck, chirping, saying she missed her, too.
When they separated, Zerine gave Varino a conspiratorial smile.
“Now tell me about the real fun you had. Oh, but the independent dragon path is a great idea. Dealing with rider politics and a joining a wing really doesn’t suit the pair of you. I bet when they were talking about avoiding storms you just tuned it out because you and Bronte will just power up from them. And I bet you tuned out the rules of the city as well.”
Varino nodded vigorously to her words till freezing at the end. She sighed and nodded.
“I knew it. So spill!”
***
“Well done, you two,” Marcy said, closing the book she had been using to help grade their written part of the test. “I’m glad to see you put more effort into this Varino. I know generally spirits get a pass in polite company, but it’s still worth your time to put in the work on these lessons.”
Varino chirped and whistled.
Marcy chuckled once her pixy familiar translated the spirit’s words.
“So it’s the travel that got you motivated. Good, good. Well, Zerine will be still going with Marigold and Vinessa alone. Parthevia has many customs for spirits you need still work on. They are amongst the few nations whose customs extend to spirits. And before you complain, they were created by spirits for spirits to...” Marigold rolled her eyes. “To stop all the pranks and general chaos.”
Varino pouted.
Zerine whistled, which turned into giggles as Varino gave her a rather adorable glower. “Seems elder spirits knew they needed to set some ground rules.”
Varino grumbled, then asked an excellent question.
“The Heartstone kingdom lets everyone be themselves just like the Empire before it. The customs here are all related to the varied cultures that are within the kingdom. Spirits here enjoy their freedom and everyone agrees that it’s easier to let a spirit be happy then force anything upon them.”
Varino whistled her agreement to that. Zerine knew that Varino’s nature was exactly like her affinity. Constantly changing, never staying in one place for every long, and impossible to truly control. In short, Varino was a ball of chaotic energy that would barely follow any of these lessons Marcy was teaching them.
“But when Parthevia separated from the Empire, it underwent quite the cultural shift diverting significantly from the Heartstone kingdom, which is why they have spirit customs to begin with,” Marcy explained, giving Varino a look that said you want a trip you will have to learn the etiquette and customs.
“The trip coming up is to Parthevia?” Zerine wondered, sitting up in the bed. It was nearing lunchtime, and Zerine was gaining some mobility back, which was a relief.
“Yes, the Emerald Forest extends over the mountain range and into their borderlands so Marigold and Vinessa will go to a gathering with the local governor and governing committees. With the upcoming end of the intersection, this region and those nearby will increase in mana density. We are currently in a low mana zone. This intersection won’t change that by much, but those zones around us may go from low minus to low or even to low plus nearly breaking through in to medium.”
“So, it’s discussing the changes that it will bring and the fact that fairies and dragons are returning,” Zerine said.
“Exactly,” Marcy said with a warm smile. “You’ll be making your first appearance with your alter ego as well. We will have to get you used to that as well, but for now, you need to rest and eat. Varino come along, you have training,” Marcy said, getting to her feet.
Varino patted Zerine’s blanket covered leg, chiming that she would be back in a bit and to rest. A few minutes later, Marigold dropped off her lunch, saying Vinessa would take her to the simulation rooms in a bit to work on some things.
***
“It won’t be anything to stress about,” Vinessa reassured Zerine. She had picked Zerine up out of bed like she had weighed nothing at all, placing her into a wheelchair. Currently, she was pushing the wheelchair along.
“I’m still pretty tired,” Zerine said, covering a yawn, having only woken up from a nap when the fairy had burst into her room and absconded with her.
“Yeah, you were bored. At least, that is what Varino had said, so this will distract you. We will work on enchantments. Plus, you’ll feel better than ever in the simulation, but I won’t push you. You got two days to recover enough to not be in a wheelchair before the intersection ends,” Vinessa said cheerful as always.
Zerine only sighed in response, but part of her was excited to do something. Before she had fallen asleep, Zerine had finished a book and didn’t feel like reading just to pass the time.
“I got a book from Escanar on magitech and enchantments,” Vinessa said in a singsong voice. “Oh, and he also promised to do some lessons with you and Varino for some dragon enchantments as an apology.”
“Wait! Really!” Zerine said, suddenly feeling far more awake.
Vinessa laughed. “That got you excited. And yes, really. But you and Varino need to keep it a secret. The other riders will be jealous and we don’t want another repeat of the fight.”
Zerine winced.
“Don’t have to tell me twice. Varino though, maybe.”
“Oh, we know. But all we had to do was dangle a spirit fruit as a prize for keeping it a secret,” Vinessa said in a conspiratorial whisper. Zerine giggled.
“That would work for me too, but I would want a spirit fruit smoothie.”
“Hmm, noted. You will regret confiding that to me,” Vinessa teased as they entered where the simulation devices were. “Alright, let’s begin.”