"I didn't mean to upset you, Miss Grey," the librarian blurted out, a little panicked, not knowing how to calm me down. "Take... take a sip of tea and have a cookie."
'Yes, cookie.... no! No, forget some stupid cookies, Korra.' If what the librarian said was true - and whether I liked it or not, I saw some truth in it myself - I had a serious problem. Worse, considering the mess I was already dealing with, I was in some seriously deep shit.
'What if that deranged asshole showed up now? Would my heart flutter? Would I be struck with the urge to run to him to serve him?' Sure, like in the cellar, I should be able to resist it with [Indomitable Will], to some degree, yet the idea was gut-wrenching. 'Will I never stop being a fucking slave?!'
"... Miss Grey! MISS!"
"Y-yeah?" I asked, lifting my eyes from my hands as the old librarian's voice finally broke through my lament.
"Presumption on my part entirely, for which I apologize, but I dare say I know what is troubling you. As such, let me say that there is no reason to panic."
'There wasn't? Only someone like him, not a slave, could say that!'
"A-and what do you think is troubling me?" I growled, perhaps a little too offensively.
"Weaves like [Lover of Master], [Master's Toy], [Servant to Master], or one similar to those. Or am I mistaken? Please don't get upset. It brings no joy to be right, not in this case. You see, as it is the case with arrays, the Slave array includes a number of weaves, weaves that, shall we say, are meant to bind the Slave to their master, to make their service easier."
"Easier?!"
'Was he serious? There was nothing easy about being a slave.'
The librarian raised a hand to stop me, with the other stroking his beard. "Poor choice of words, but true nonetheless. Those weaves have one thing in common, though. Do you know what it is?"
"I guess you don't mean that they're Slave array weaves, do you?" I asked, hitting my mind with [Indomitable Will], and taking a deep breath to calm down and think about it rationally. I'd have to be deaf not to hear that the librarian meant well by his words.
"No, all these weaves work with the assumption that you have a master. But do you have one?"
─◇────────────────────────────────────────
Name: Korra Grey
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 27
1st Array: Slave
Master: None
Sigils: 97 - ○○○○○○
─◇────────────────────────────────────────
WEAVES: 1ST ARRAY (6/6)
Eleaden Standard Language (General): .... 22 → 23 glyphs - ⦿⦿
Indomitable Will (Slave): ........................................111 glyphs - ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿
Spatial Domain (General): ..............................13 → 15 glyphs - ⦿⦿
Equilibrium (General):............................................... 7 glyphs - ⦿
Never-Dying (General): ............................................. 6 glyphs - ⦿
Tail of Poison Empress (General): ........................ 11 glyphs - ⦿
─◇────────────────────────────────────────
Despite seeing "Master: none" written in my Grid countless times, I had to look at it again to make sure.
"Not according to my Grid. But that deranged asshole should still be alive - or was the last time I saw him."
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"I see, quite a colorful way of addressing your… well, nevertheless, what I thought."
"W-what do you mean?"
"Only, Miss Grey, you are not the only Slave who, having gained her freedom, found herself without a master. You see, there's a reason that even those with your array are forced to wear slave collars. Terrible as magical tools those are, they force on you an allegiance to a given master. Arrays are not meant to tie you down without your will - in all my years of reading, I've never come across a mention of one."
'How could that be?' That damned array of mine couldn't have been the only one - I couldn't have been that unlucky, could I?
"You really didn't, Mr. Sandoval?"
Seeing that he had my attention, and that I had calmed down a bit, the old librarian sipped his tea, nodding. "Indeed. By all means, you could argue otherwise, as there are weaves that tie a farmer to a piece of land, a druid to a tree, a tamer to a beast, or a lover to their beloved. All, however, under free will. There are conditions to be met, as in the case of Slave and their master. Tell me, do you know what I'm talking about, Miss Grey?"
'That ol… fart! Couldn't he just tell me?'
Nevertheless, I'd have to be stupid not to see what he was trying to do. It was one thing to listen to another's words and take them at face value, and another to arrive at the truth yourself. And so, as much as I hate to, I thought about the master issue and the conditions the librarian mentioned.
"Is it… is it that I must see this person as my master?"
"I couldn't have said it better, Miss Grey. That is indeed the case. Of your own free will, that person must be a master to you. A well-documented fact and well-known among those working with slaves. Thus, the need for slave collars. Hardly any slaves harbor genuine warm feelings for the one who holds the whip over them. Or did you...?"
"Never!" I blurted out, almost barked.
"See. As such, you don't have to worry about your old weaves."
"Because I don't have a master to wag my tail over," I breathed in realization, clutching Sage to my chest in relief, mumbling. "I see no one as my master - so it says in my Grid. And if I remember correctly, every [Master's Toy] circle mentions a master, so..."
* You were poisoned
Ignoring the notification, I looked at the old librarian. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Sandoval. I..."
He held up his hand to stop me. "If anyone is to blame, it's me. If I had restrained my eagerness to talk to someone willing to listen and was more considerate, you wouldn't be sitting here tormented by distress."
"No. No, if you hadn't brought it up, I'd be... I'd be living in the dark, hating those weaves - I mean, I still hate them - but now I know I don't have to fear them."
The old librarian smiled. "Who knew that the Emperor would bless me with meeting someone as bright as you today? Truly a pleasure to meet you, Miss Grey."
"O-oh, l-likewise," I stammered, not really sure how to respond to that. Especially when my mind has already wandered off to think about the possible lingering effects of the weaves I so happily discarded. Could I still go unheeded as [Faint Presence]’s description said, or be silent while my body threatened to break under another mutation as [Silent Suffering] had forced me to so many times before? But more importantly, could I ever get another sigil on my array without having a master?
"Mr. Sandoval? M-may I ask you something else?"
"Certainly. What's on your mind, Miss Grey?"
"Is it possible to change your array? I mean, I tried, but… maybe I was just doing it wrong."
"Don't feel ashamed about it. You are neither the first nor the last to ask this question. In fact, I don't think you'll find a single person who hasn't at least once in their life questioned the choice they made when they were coming of age. I'm no exception myself. Some regret their decision their whole lives. That's why I say sixteen is too early to make such a decision. Alas, that's how the Lattice works"
"So... there's no way?" I asked, hoping to hear that I was wrong.
"Unless you reach the formation of the second array, I'm afraid not."
"Shit...!" I cursed, burying my head in Sage's soft hair. Assuming something was quite different from having it confirmed by another.
'Wait, did I say that out loud? I did, didn't I? Shit, shit, shit!'
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Sandoval. I didn't mean to swear, not out loud."
"I appreciate your honesty, but don't worry. I've heard a lot worse over the years. Moreover, you put it quite well. The inability to change one’s array even at the cost of losing one’s sigils, as it is with weaves, is a big limitation of the Lattice. Not even the freedom to choose from an immeasurable number of General Weaves cannot outweigh that."
"How so? If I fill all the slots with General Weave - oh. OH."
"Indeed. First, you have to get those slots, that is, get the sigils engraved on your array. Something hard to do when - take me, for example. I'm a Librarian. Certainly, I could try being a seeker. But do you think killing beasts down there in Fallen's Cry would contribute to my array in any way?"
"No."
"Common sense would say so, wouldn't it? And that is true for most librarians. Yet in my library, you would find many mentions of librarians accomplishing just that."
"Huh? How?"
"They found a unique means to use their array in other ways. Eldric Quillshade, for example, bashed his enemies over their heads with books."
"Oh… wait, you mean?"
"Yes. There are ways for Slaves to move forward without having to be slaves. In fact, due to its nature, it is one of the best documented arrays there is. Would you like to hear some examples?"
The hope in my heart, almost extinguished, flared up again.
"Yes, please," I beamed without hesitation, taking another cookie to nibble on.