A far off chanting echoed through the castle walls as the refined woman took her seat at the table. The room was pitch black, obscuring her pale, tight skin, pristine facial features, icy eyes and jet black hair, but still she moved with ease through the shadow and sat facing the looking glass. Indeed, casting a spirit projection took a lot of spiritual energy, and she could detect it rising through the tower from the chambers below, concentrating around the looking glass itself. As she settled herself, a picture began to form in the glass. A man’s head and shoulders, obscured by the shadow. “Fox. Why are you interrupting me at this time?” The man's voice came through, commanding and icy. “I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t Important, Snake.” The woman responded, her own voice soft and elegant, but with a warning edge to it. The man was quiet for a moment. “Speak”. He boomed, after a moment’s deliberation. “Let me be clear then: I want you to relay your plan to me in its entirety. I cannot afford to operate in the dark, especially not with the current state of the nation. The Thronesguard are becoming more and more troublesome as well, despite my soldiers best efforts. Every time we cleave one head from its shoulders, another two take its place. Furthermore, the old king is stirring and your actions are no doubt the reason. If he breaks free I will almost certainly not be able to offer any more support to our cause.” Again the room fell silent, and Snake neither moved nor spoke for some time. The silence dragged on, and Fox began to grow nervous. When Snake finally spoke again, it was with great disappointment in his voice. “You are having trouble suppressing that worthless rabble? You truly are Owls inferior, in every way.” His voice came through tinted with scorn.

“No, I will not be revealing it to you yet. You will see soon enough what I have in store for our collective. Do not ask again. Unless you have forgotten that it was our Lord who gave you the chance at the power you sought? Trust in his vision. I shall hear no more of this dissent.” Fox was beginning to lose her patience at being so readily rebuked by Snake, but despite the anger building inside her she kept her composure. “Fine. I shall play along for now.” Snake’s face split into a wide grin, and she could see his teeth glimmering through the looking glass. “Good. And what of the Sinners Initiative? Have you found a suitable candidate for Pride?” “I believe so.” Fox’s mind moved quickly from the previous topic “But I wish to observe his performance first before we take decisive action about it.” “Good. Shark has agreed to be tested on for Greed, and I already have someone in mind for Wrath. Continue searching for compatible candidates for the others. I understand your lack of enthusiasm for the project, but as the Otherworld and the living world draw closer together its chances of success become greater and greater.” “Understood. That was all, Snake.” “Don’t disturb me without a good reason again. You have your instructions.” And with that, the looking glass turned opaque again, and Snake’s outline vanished.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty?” Fox turned quickly, startled, to face a meek-looking servant girl who stood at the door, peering in tentatively. “Your bath is drawn, my Queen.” “How much of that did you hear, my darling?” Fox asked gently as she approached the girl and brushed her hand against the servant’s cheek. Her cold eyes bored deep into the girl’s but a faint smile still played at her lips all the while. “Oh- Uh… Really nothing, your Highness! I only just arrived…” The girl trailed off, stuttering a little. Her cheeks flushed crimson and she looked down at her sandals, clasping her hands together nervously and refusing to meet Fox’s gaze. “I’ll ask again. What exactly did you hear?” The servant girl’s eyes glazed over and she raised them to look directly at Fox. “I heard a man’s voice through the looking glass say “You have your instructions” and that is all, your highness.” Her voice had changed from shy and wavering to steady and monotonous, and it appeared as though she could see straight through Fox’s head and into the ceiling behind. Fox paused for a moment, still holding the girls face gently in one hand. “What is your name, darling?” The girl replied promptly, without a moment’s hesitation. “Anita, Highness.” “A perfectly sweet name for a sweet girl such as yourself.” Fox pulled the girl towards her chest and held her there, stroking her hair but never removing her hand. All the while the girl was almost lifeless, breathing evenly but little else. Fox began to whisper in her ear and the girl nodded and stepped away, leaving the room again.

“Excuse me, your Majesty?” Fox sat facing the door as the servant girl came through. “Your bath is drawn, my Queen.” “Thank you, Anita. Lead the way darling!” The girl frowned, clearly confused as to why Fox knew her name, but held the door open for her to pass through without saying a word, Fox’s robe flowing behind her as she descended the spiral staircase. The chanting had since ceased, and the only sound was the footsteps of the two women echoing through the tower as they walked.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

After her bath, Fox asked Anita to accompany her to the castle’s steam yard. The girl nervously complied but always remained a few steps behind Fox, walking quietly and mouse-like. Fox heard the sound of the steam hammers pounding away before she saw them, and on arriving at the steam yard was greeted by the pathetic face of Willet Flathand. However, as the leader of the Smiths union, he was sadly who she was there to visit. Alongside Anita she had various guards at her flank, and one of them stepped forward to push Flathand back as he tried to rush to Fox’s side and shake her hand. “Good afternoon, your Highness!” Flathand’s shrill voice grated against her eardrums, and she wished her business with him was anything but important so that she could avoid it altogether. “Flathand. How is the order coming?” The short man could not mask his anxiety at Fox’s question. “I… You’ve given us no small task, your highness! Heh heh heh…” He tittered nervously, eyes flicking from side to side skittishly. “You’ve asked for enough equipment to refit the entire army, and every guardsman in the city! Please, allow us some time…” “You have had time, Flathand. Plenty, in fact, and my patience is wearing dangerously thin. Do not mistake my patience for kindness. You can be easily replaced as the head of your union. Perhaps by your son? I hear his skill as a smith is already on par with yours, and he is not half as miserable as you are. Even steel manipulation? I may have to invite him to join the battlesmiths corps.” A dejected look crossed his face and he held his mouth shut. “I expect it done within the month. And no later.” And with that Fox turned on her heel and stalked out, with her entourage close at hand.

Morning came creeping over the plains and roused the two young men from their deep sleep. They began to break camp, the day bright and hopeful. “Alright, Makatai. You hungry?” Ahanu asked. Makatai nodded and Ahanu passed him a bread roll he still had from the food he swiped the day before. After packing up and ensuring the fire was out they began to travel again, still heading east by foot toward Knightsbed grove. They talked easily as they walked, chatting and laughing together, but Ahanu could still tell easily that Makatai was keeping his true emotions suppressed.

A while of walking passed when Makatai noticed the tomahawk dangling at Ahanu’s hip. “Did you by any chance take Kotan’s tomahawk, Ahanu?” “Ah, it was his?” The older boy chuckled awkwardly. “Yes, well… At the time I figured I could use it better than he could. I promise I’ll return it as soon as possible!” Now it was Makatai’s turn to laugh. “No, don’t worry. I asked for a different reason. You see the blade?” “Yeah, it’s leviathan steel. Why?” “I was just thinking that maybe I could teach you to make full use of its spiritually conductive properties. If the world is truly changing like Noaidi says, and we meet any kind of hostile spiritual entity again, a normal blade won’t do.” “Ok, sure! I’ll give it a try. Are you sure I can do it, though? I never thought I could use spiritual arts very well…” Ahanu trailed off. “Something as crude as applying spiritual energy to a blade in order to fight with it is achievable for anyone. If you want to use more advanced arts like manipulation, that’ll take a lot more talent. I could never manipulate any material at all, no matter how hard I tried! Although I suspect that that has to do with Noaidi, now that I think about it.” The voice in his head came through. “Yes. Sorry about that, Makatai. One of the more inconvenient side effects of our arrangement.”

It still unnerved him that Noaidi could do that. Did he really know everything that Makatai had ever thought? That uncomfortable thought aside, the two young men sat in the shade of a lonesome and towering tree, and Ahanu drew the blade from his belt. “Alright Ahanu, listen well. This chant I’m about to teach you is essential for anyone wishing to channel spiritual energy. It is called “Inner sight” and will allow you to start to see the shape of your own soul, and better understand its flow. Listen carefully, and repeat after me.” With that, he began to chant a brief but repeating chorus with his eyes tight shut. Ahanu, rather uncertainly at first, also closed his eyes and began to follow along with the chanting. With his eyes shut only the sound of chanting filled his head, and it echoed between the two as they went. He kept going, with his head facing down into his lap, and after about five minutes started as the image of his hands in his lap came through into his mind's eye. He stopped chanting and his eyes snapped open, prompting Makatai to do the same.

“Took you long enough! I thought you’d never get there. You saw it?” “Y-yeah… that was so strange.” “Don’t be rude to yourself, Ahanu. That was your own soul after all!” Ahanu raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Ok, now what?” “Hold the axe in your hand and start chanting again. Fully-fledged shamans can pull larger quantities of spiritual power from the Otherworld, but for now, you can just use your own. Start chanting again, and this time try pushing it through the handle and into the blade.” They continued in this vein until night once again began to fall.