Even though an emergency meeting had been called, only two people had bothered to show up for it. Zaniyah had kidnapped Sybil, saying that she wanted to talk to her about something first. That, and she wanted to go through her sewing kit while laughing like a maniac.
Duxton and Shaw had to report to Till first. This left Alton alone in the room with Beat, who wasn't up for dealing with any sort of conversation at the moment. The Bronzescale member was laying back in his chair, with his legs up on the table and eyes closed.
At least he had Lydia. She floated in a seated position just above the table Alton was sitting at. The woman had been deep in thought up until this point, as there was much to consider. “I don't think the binding tools that will have much of an effect. No matter what happens, the increase in power that they’ve gained is more than likely to be permanent.”
Alton tossed her a glance. If she was willing to give information for a change, he was more than willing to listen. Though it troubled him how much she seemed to know. Her and Semira appeared to be long-standing associates. It was possible that Lydia had known much more about the Heart of Eishur and of the gods than she originally let on.
“In the old days, before the current gods, the prophets were the only mages to exist. Elementalists are the prophets of Tyrtain. Tria did what she could to prevent the prophets from losing their powers completely when she started to work with Brayton, but Tyrtain still chose to turn on her once Bellia and Tock were imprisoned. When Brayton defeated him, all elementalists experienced a drop in their potential. Now that you’ve granted him a body, Tyrtain is no doubt attempting to regain his power.
We also have another issue to deal with. Sybil told you all about Rosethorn’s theory last winter and I’m afraid that I have to agree with it. Tria is weakening, and necromancers are slowing losing their powers. Veximarl is quite talented. He should not have struggled so when he was attempting to stabilize Anais.
Tria might be dying. Dying for a god is a terrible thing, Alton. The results would be catastrophic!” His nose scrunched up at her shouting and she lowered her voice. “There's a reason why the old gods were merely sealed away rather than killed.
Say if Tyrtain were to die… Well, I hardly wish to imagine it. Fire and lightning would cease to exist, water could no longer turn to ice, and the winds would cease to function. Nothing would be able to fly! Now imagine what will happen when nearly everyone, save the prophets, lose their magic outside of mist regions. Blood iron, and technology that it supports, would come to an end.
There is immense pressure on us at this time. We are the only ones who know of Tria’s condition. We may be the only ones who could possibly locate a healer strong enough to fix her. Somehow, we must do whatever we can to save Tria’s life.”
Alton felt a headache coming along. It lessened slightly as the door opened, then greatly increased when Duxton and Shaw were the ones to enter. The prince went to stand up in front of the room while Shaw took a seat. Not a word was said until a few minutes later when Sybil and Zaniyah entered.
“You're late.” Duxton didn’t appreciate having his time wasted.
Sybil smirked as she took a seat next to Alton. Her hand gripped onto his tightly. As confident as she seemed, she was shaking. “I can't have you starting to think you're worthy of my time,” she replied casually. “I believe that’s a lesson you taught me back in Carapace, wasn’t it?”
“Hilarious,” muttered Duxton. “I'm only interested in the information the fish has and the only thing that makes him tolerable is you. So sit there quietly while the males of the room talk. I would say men, but that mutt is hardly half of one.”
“And that half is more than enough to satisfy,” replied Sybil, still smirking.
Duxton's expression became cold. He looked over to Alton. “Speak.”
“Hold on, I need to verify what Vex sent me,” replied Alton. “He checked around in Tilrey, and there were several elementalists who had stopped by a clinic complaining of severe headaches. They were mainly travelers. He hasn’t been able to find any evidence of an event similar to what happened to Naiov and Compton.
“What of it?” Duxton asked with a glare. “I don’t care what Vex has found out. You’re the one who seemingly already has the answers.”
Having Sybil here didn't surprise Alton, but he wondered why Zaniyah was asked to come as well. Did they think that she was just a bad a liar as Veximarl was? Though it was true that Zaniyah sometimes reacted oddly if someone said something off, her only probably was that she didn’t know how to stop talking once she started.
Alton squeezed Sybil’s hand. She was still gripping onto him tightly. “A mage in our class, Chester Compton, experienced something similar to what Naiov did today. Chi has also been having worsening headaches. I thought maybe the acolytes had similar problems, but the issue is only with the elementalists.”
Beat dropped his legs from the table and sat up. “These morons somehow resurrected Tyrtain. His growing influence is strengthening his elementalists. I doubt that there is anything to stop the mages from gaining power. What matters is that we attempt to hold a meeting with him to see what his intentions are.”
“Don't be an idiot.” Duxton laughed at the thought. “There's no proof that some ancient fairy tale is walking around.”
“I received a report from Byers. He caught Toval and Tuton in a storage room last winter. They were plotting to place Tyrtain’s conscious into a golem,” replied Beat.
Duxton blinked a few times. “... And he let that happen?”
“Their plan was to use Tyrtain’s influence over the region to locate Twist. She had been kidnapped at the time. They believed that they would be able to disable the golem once they had secured her whereabouts.”
Alton gritted his teeth. He knew that Irving's discovery would end up biting him in the ass at some point.
Duxton rolled his eyes. “Even if that were true, how are we to arrange a meeting? You expect me to find his secretary and ask for an appointment?”
Zaniyah raised her hand. “I know who his secretary is.” Everyone looked her way. “It's Mart, isn't it?”
She looked at the others, hoping that they would confirm her theory. Alton only wanted to smack her upside the head. They could've played dumb about Tyrtain up until the moment she spoke up. Duxton had been on the fence up until that point.
After a moment of silence, Duxton rolled his hand through the air. “... Explain?”
“I mean, something has been bothering me since Sybil was kidnapped, right? We found her, but they never found the kid she was with. That's because Tyrtain took him away. I imagined that you guys at least bothered to look for him?” She looked over to Sybil and Alton. They shook their heads Lydia didn’t panic about the situation, so Alton saw little need to worry. “But I was wondering why Tyrtain would want him? Then I remembered something!
Last summer, we found out that the storms in Herring were there because of these two awesome monsters were fighting each other. There was this big flying snake thing with antlers and a cat with stripes and wings. Alton got them to stop by challenging them to live a life as humans and they agreed. Then Sybil runs into this kid with funny colored hair and antlers. He has all sorts of magic and he took care of Sybil while they were locked up together, so I thought, I mean, that had to be Mart, right?”
It looked like Duxton was about to say something, but Shaw interrupted. “What boon did you ask of them?” Zaniyah frowned. “If you meet a god, they have to give you a boon. It's in the rules.”
Lydia thought to herself out loud. “They did refer to Alton a siren when he called them over...”
“They may have mistakenly thought he was a full-blooded siren, thus never offered a boon,” replied Beat in a calm tone.
Shaw scoffed. “I'm more concerned that none of them mentioned Tyrtain before today. We could have put him back into the ground and prevented any of this from happening weeks ago.”
“You're seriously buying into this? Are you serious, Shaw?” Duxton could hardly believe his ears. “You are expecting me to accept that Mart and Eatha are vacationing around Lustro as humans? That a myth, a very dangerous myth who tried to destroy the world once, is alive again? Not to mention you claimed that you saw Tria in the core.” Duxton pointed at Shaw. “You’re certain that that was not a hallucination brought on by miasma?”
“I believe that there is some merit in what they are saying.” Shaw looked over to Beat, who nodded. “We should investigate their claim and react accordingly.”
“I refuse.” The prince was putting his foot down on the issue. “I am half expecting you to tell me that Iath will somehow be involved as well.”
“I don't think he's in the room, but Sybil has talked to Iath before,” replied Zaniyah flatly. “She said she didn't like him much, but I'm starting to think that Sybil doesn’t like any god all that much.”
“... Yes. Because I absolutely believe that THAT happened.” Duxton shook his head. “Tria is one possibility. I have been more than generous when it comes to believing your claim of meeting her, but enough is enough. How did those two idiots manage to make a golem in the first place? Let alone place a god within one?”
Sybil raised a hand. “I made it,” she said softly. “Before I was kidnapped, I created a golem to house Tyrtain's conscious.” Duxton stared at her in a dumbfounded manner. “I theorized that there was a large blood iron source in the area that was powering the dueling fields and the barrack's archive system.
There had to be a centralized intelligence controlling it all, much like how I used Edwin to control the defense golems. I thought that Tyrtain may have been that intelligence. On that theory, I worked on creating-”
“No, no. Stop... You're doing the boring talk again. Stop that. Someone simplify.” Duxton looked between Shaw and Beat.
“She sought to find a way to speak to the admin,” said Beat. “She was convinced that the admin may have been Tyrtain.”
“The one who gave Vex the power to look at anyone's records,” said Duxton, and Beat nodded. “Why would Tyrtain want Vex to have full access to the records?” Beat shrugged.
“Apparently,” replied Alton, “someone comes by every few years to repair the barracks. Any fields, or pendants, or anything like that. Tyrtain gave Vex full access to Archive because he thought Vex was here to fix things. He didn’t want anything from us once he realized Vex wasn’t capable of managing any of the repairs on his own.”
Beat's usual stiff expression became colder for a moment. “Did Tyrtain offer you a boon?”
“Yes,” replied Sybil. “I asked that this area be purged of miasma.”
“And not to be rescued?” Duxton stared at her like she was an idiot.
“... He said help was already on the way,” replied Sybil in a small voice.
“Vex and I only asked to find Sybil.” Alton was growing annoyed with the conversation. He would rather address the current issue rather than be yelled at for doing a stupid thing that Alton had already fully acknowledged was a very stupid thing to do. “Alder, you said that a meeting should be arranged? How do we go about doing that? What would that entail?”
“If there is a disagreement between gods, they hold a meeting with a mediator,” replied Beat. “They either agree to a compromise or they elect mortal champions to defend their cause. A single champion for each god, who will then engage other champions in combat.”
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Duxton rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. The type of person who would be fighting is highly dependent on which gods there are available.” He scoffed. “Then our problem no doubt stems from the fact that Tyrtain is grooming a champion.”
“He may have a point,” muttered Lydia. “From what we’ve seen from the medical records Vex gathered, the elementalists have steadily been growing in strength for some time. It was only after we returned from Carapace did their powers began to increase exponentially, to the point where they started to lose control. There was something about our return that Tyrtain viewed as a threat, and he reacted accordingly to defend himself.”
“Which gods do we have available for a meeting?” Alton looked up at Lydia and then at the rest of the group.
“I'm certain that they would accept Vex as Tria's representative, since she is in no condition to show up on her own,” replied Lydia. “However, I don't believe we should mention that. The fact that he is capable of divine magic means that no god would be able to choose him as a champion. Considering that we don’t know who else would show up to that meeting, it may be safer for Vex to not show up at all.”
Beat folded his arms. “I can arrange for Iath to come to Braytons.”
“Seriously?” Both Alton and Duxton asked at once.
“By the time we locate Tyrtain, I am certain that he would be able to make himself available,” replied Beat. “If not him, then he will be sending his champion to the meeting. Iath will view Tyrtain as a threat that can only be defeated through combat.”
Shaw’s face flushed red. He then stood up and bowed deeply. “It would be my honor to represent our god during such a historical event.”
“Not you. The girl,” spat back Beat.
“... Ah!” Sybil pointed at herself.
Iath had chosen to talk to her directly about the sword. Perhaps the God Among Men was not only the god’s voice to humans, but acted as a form of conflict resolution between them. Although, Brayton chose to butcher all of the first gods. Genocide was… Certainly one form of conflict resolution. Now that she thought about it, she didn't know why she didn't expect something like this to happen.
Beat shook his head. Sybil tilted hers in confusion. Her finger slowly pointed to Zaniyah. Beat gave a firm nod as a reply. This only succeeded in making Shaw livid. Zaniyah, on the other hand, put her palms to her cheeks as she let out a squeal of excitement.
“I get to do something fun for a change?!”
She had been left out of so much that she was starting to think that she’d never have her own super awesome special adventure. Playing the role of a champion in a battle among gods wasn't ideal, but it was for the gods. It had to be fun!
Shaw pounded his fist against the table. “No! You do not!” He turned his head to Beat. “She can't even maintain a shield unless it’s an emergency!” Beat shrugged. “... Do you plan on taking her to visit your master?” Beat nodded. “I refuse to let her go near that miscreant!”
Duxton smirked. “Was that the man you could only tolerate for a week and a half before you ran away from your training?” He then grinned all the wider. The face Shaw was making was a mix of embarrassment, disgust, and shame. “You always make that face whenever I bring him up... What did you two do together?”
“Ah man, big muscle bro wasn't able to complete the training?” Zaniyah got even more excited. “It must have been crazy hard! When can I go? I want to go!”
“What sort of training is this?” Alton leaned around Sybil so that he could see Zaniyah's face.
“We beat the shit out of each other! That’s it!” She wrung her hands together at the thought.
“It is slightly more complicated than that,” replied Beat. Shaw glared at him. “... Not much more complicated.”
Lydia had to agree with Shaw. “I met a lot of interesting paladins during my time in the Clay Region. She might not be ready for such rigorous training. I think it may be best to come up with some excuse as to why she needs to stay.”
Beat shook his head. “Stonetoe can be convinced to allow her to leave for a short amount of time. She is in dire need of an expert and no one here is experienced enough to handle a novice.” Beat looked off to the side, not particularly caring if Zaniyah went or if she stayed.
Alton pulled out a journal from his inner pocket. “I'll need to look over our schedule to see when she has free time.” He then took out a pen and wrote down, “Alder can hear you.” He tilted the book slightly so Lydia can see it.
“Well, that's ridiculous. The only person I had expected to have that issue with was Vex, and he only seems vaguely aware of my presence at times. I’m also no fool. I’ve gone around and tested everyone at the barracks several times to verify that you were the only one who can see me.” Lydia folded her arms and puffed out her cheeks.
There wasn't time for Alton to argue. Zaniyah had jumped on top of her table so that she could attempt to attack Beat again. She lunged forward with a kick. He snatched her ankle and yanked her out of the away, avoiding the attack completely. Beat then took slow steps back and from side to side as Zaniyah chased him about the room.
Duxton sighed to himself and ignored the pair. As long as he didn't move, he wouldn't get hit. That was the lesson he had learned last year when Beat had given Shaw the same deal. It took Shaw three weeks. Shaw was very irritable for those three weeks.
“We are at risk of drawing the wrong sort of attention if we run around attempting to contact Tyrtain carelessly,” muttered Duxton as Beat and Zaniyah ran in front of him. “If there is an outcome we desire, we must find a way to force Iath to think as we do. He is our best chance to fix this.”
Although concerned, Sybil also chose to talk around the fighting pair rather than intervene. “The gods seem to take having territories rather seriously. Tyrtain views these lands as his. It's possible that he'll come here the moment he senses a god with us.”
“Then all we can do now is wait. Shaw, do what you can to make this meeting happen.” Duxton then pointed his finger at both Alton and Sybil. “All information spoken here today does not leave this room.”
“Of course,” replied Sybil. She fully planned on telling Chickadee and Veximarl the moment they got back, and it was quite likely that Duxton already knew that, but lying to the prince’s face was still fun.
Duxton leaned to the right as Zaniyah scampered past him and over the table. “Did you get any of that, freak?”
“Eh, what?” Zaniyah rolled over backward then hopped up onto a chair with one foot. She then put a hand to her ear. “Get what?”
“... Don't respond when he calls you a freak,” snarled Shaw.
Duxton rolled his eyes again. “This talk of gods is a secret that is to be kept among ourselves.”
“Yeah, sure. Got it.” Zaniyah nodded a few times.
Lydia took advantage of the momentary distraction by leaning down near Beat’s ear. She whispered something to him. Beat’s eyes widened in horror as he flinched away from her. This quickly lead to a hiss as Zaniyah slapped his forearm. He recoiled from the sharp pain, only to be surprised when he noticed that Zaniyah had stabbed something into his skin
“... A sewing needle?” He plucked it out of his arm and examined it.
Zaniyah grinned widely. “Yep! If it was poisoned, you'd be dead by now. That totally counts as me landing a blow.”
Beat muttered to himself. “Yes... It does count.” He then shook his head. “I will make the necessary arrangements. Prepare to leave before dawn. I will meet you in your squad room.”
“Yesss!” Zaniyah pumped her fist into the air.
“She is not leaving with you!” Shaw tensed up at the thought. “We are in the midst of a crisis and you need to make yourself available at a moment’s notice.”
Duxton sneered at Shaw’s panic. “That girl is old enough to decide who she wants to run off with to have a little fun. I doubt she would get much fun in regardless of her desires. Beat isn’t a fan of merriment. “He then clapped his hands. “Consider this meeting adjourned for the time being. We will reconvene when they have returned from their trip.”
Alton didn't hesitate to stand up and grab onto Sybil's hand. Beat could hear Lydia. He must have heard everything she had blathered on about before the others entered the room, and he could have known about her for a while. His ability to keep his ghost secret was compromised, and he didn't know how to feel about that. Not to mention that had he lost the chance to spy on them using Lydia, which also didn't sit well with him.
“I'm not certain if he can see me at all and my face isn't well known,” reasoned Lydia. “You’ve never refer to me by name. He has no idea who I am.” Alton tossed her a glare. “Other than the fact that you pulled my rapier... So… It's obviously me!” Lydia let out a nervous giggle.
The women in his life were becoming a great annoyance to Alton. Sybil was fine. She was wonderful. He loved Sybil. But Sybil's mother and Zaniyah didn't know how to keep their damn mouths shut. He decided it was best to ignore them both as he muttered angrily at Sybil.
“I'm fine with letting our squad know about this, but not anyone outside of that. If Lady Till gets wind of this, she’ll no doubt contact Grand Temple looking for someone with religious guidance, and who knows how much trouble that will start,” he said to Sybil as his grip tightened on her hand.
Sybil was somewhat out of it. There was the news that Zaniyah had given her and now this. She didn't know what to make of anything anymore. Now her head was a mess trying to sort out what was her biggest priority... Though one worry sat prominently on a throne built from the others.
Duxton shouldn't be allowed to know anything they did. He would only use it against them.
“Hey!” Zaniyah ran up behind the pair. Though not intentionally, they both ignored her. “Hey! It's really important, Alton! I want to talk to y-” She immediately became distracted with something happening in the dueling field. “Hold that thought! Be right back!”
There was a pair that Zaniyah hadn’t seen before nearby. One was a thin-faced teen with dark hair and hazel eyes. He was dressed in Gilded Region style tunic. On the back was embroidered a coat of arms. Two sickles crossed over one another on top of a golden snowflake. There was a saber on either side of his hips. His eyes were focused on the duel in the field and he had a harsh scowl on his face. It made him appear far more mature than his age.
The second of the pair was dueling Stonetoe. He seemed cheerier. His face was rounder and had a childish appearance, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. He wore a green suit with pink and purple embellishments.
In his left hand was a saber that was darker than a shadow in a storm, as though it were crafted from ink. As Stonetoe brought both of his sabers down on the lad, he raised his right hand up and summoned a black and white shield. His coat of arms was simple, being nothing more than three tall pillars of varying heights.
When Stonetoe pulled back, the teen flicked his saber forward and ink flew off of it. They painted a design on the ground, which in turn shifted into the form of writhing tentacles. Stonetoe rolled to the side, hacking at the ink as the teen made his approach. The two then exchanged blow for blow, appearing to be on even ground.
“... Whaaat?” Zaniyah ran up next to Basil, Peter, and Millie, who were also watching. “What is even happening?”
The only people she had seen go this even with Stonetoe were Shaw, Duxton, and Amalfrieda. What was even more confusing for her was the giant grin that was stuck on Stonetoe's face. The man was actually enjoying himself rather than having his usual stance of killing squires quickly so he could mock their fighting skills.
“These are two of the squires that gained early admission,” remarked Basil. “Supposedly they spent the past year studying at Petalmist.”
“That don't make a lick of sense! Gwyn and Ivy are from Petalmist and they ain't nearly that good!” Zaniyah waved her arms about and was even more confused.
Alton leaned against the fence so he could get a better look. “Those two likely had tutors and also trained at the Fogbloom barracks.” He then remembered that Stonetoe was excited that his son was entering the barracks this year. The one in the field was likely Marjoram’s son, which meant that the serious teen might be... “You're Rowan, aren't you?”
Rowan gave a nod and held out his hand. “Rowan Till. Captain of Spiced Tusk Squad. I will be the commander of the first years once the entrance exams have concluded.”
Alton shook his hand firmly. “My name is Alton Toval. I’m a member of Grimstone squad and the temporary commander of the second year class. Our original commander is on temporary leave. It's a pleasure to-” Both he and Sybil gave exchanged bewildered glances. “... Sorry, did you say your name was Rowan Till? Your last name is Till?”
“Yes. Headmistress Nita Till is my mother.” Rowan was confused by their shock. Zaniyah had gasped loudly and Sybil had clamped her hand over her mouth. “... There isn't a need to worry. I will not allow myself to be treated to any favoritism.”
Shaking her head, Sybil could only speak in a whisper. “I have no idea how to process this information... I’m done for today. This has done it. This has broken me.”
A glimmer of light appeared next to them as the teen who had been fighting in the field teleported out. He let out a dismayed sigh before he tossed his sword in the air. It shifted into ink that he caught in a bottle that was attached to his belt. A wave was then given to the others.
“Elm Graves. I'm Rowan's second in command and captain of Grieving Dove Squad.”
Zaniyah was still in shock. She glanced over when Stonetoe jumped over the fence. “Mama Stonetoe? Did you stick it in Nita while you were a squire?” She let out a surprised yelp as Stonetoe smacked her upside the head.
“What did I tell you about watching your language?” He flicked her forehead as she straightened up. “That ain’t proper language to use in front of either me or the new squires!”
Raising a finger, Sybil then winced as Stonetoe raised a hand at her. “I-I also have questions.”
“Both of you need to run laps outside until sundown. Get some of that stupidity out of your heads,” he replied. Zaniyah put her hand in the air. “How was that not clear?! I didn't hit you that hard! Why do you gotta be so damn defiantly stupid?”
Zaniyah lowered her hand and poked her fingers together. “But I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving for two weeks to go on a training session.” Stonetoe shook his head. “Beat was going to take me to meet some sort of grand mentor and then he was going to train me to be a better paladin...”
“Alder was?” Stonetoe thought about it for a moment. “When?”
“Tomorrow morning?”
“Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Have the two idiots behind you help you pack so you don't bring anything dumb with you.” He waved off his squad. “And you two.” A nod was given to Rowan and Elm. “Go find Dandy, err... Baroness Marjoram. Damn, I'm not ever going to get used to calling her that... Go find her and see what you two should be doing.” There was a visible grimace as he saw the look Millie was giving Elm. She was clearly intrigued. “... Female Cully. Stop making that face and go find Nox. You’re supposed to be shadowing her.”
Sybil frowned. “I still have questions,” she muttered.
“Later! Before I change my mind and make you do something worse.” Stonetoe pinched the bridge of his nose. “And when Forge Cully is done with his work on Furrow, we need to sit down and have a squad meeting. Tell Tuton when he gets back so he knows to stick around.”
“Yes, sir.” Alton gave a nod. He didn't approve of Stonetoe letting Zaniyah run off so easily, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
They walked as a trio back to the squad room. Zaniyah grabbing onto Alton's hand as she went. “Alton, it's really, really important that I talk to you.”
Alton frowned at her. “You should go do your laps now. We can talk later.”
“But I need to do it now,” she replied.” “When my dad wanted to talk to me, I had a condition. He had to tell me how your father really died... Can we talk about that as soon as we get into the room?”
A chill ran up Alton's spine. Sybil grasped onto his other arm tightly in order to help calm him down. That must have been why they were late to the meeting. Zaniyah wanted to tell Sybil first to see how she could break the news to Alton. He took a deep breath and the air in his chest was unbelievably tight.
“... Of course.” Alton gave a slow nod. “Yeah, of course, Zan. Let's go talk.”