Chapter 3 - Extracurriculars

With her belly full and her goal firmly placed at the forefront of her mind, Yuki went to her room to complete her nightly rituals. As she entered her room, she spoke a simple word of power, “Illuminate.” and two lanterns in the room came alight with a soft glow. She started toward the bookshelf in the corner of the room, planning on retrieving her training journal. As she neared, however, she became distracted by the souvenirs of her Father’s adventures that took residence there. There was a pendant from a maiden who was saved from a bestial lair, said to have protective magic. Another item, a preserved pincer taken from a giant ant, still speckled with the blood of her father, which he would still shudder at whenever he saw it. A multitude of letters of thanks, framed by Yuki, from the legion of villages saved from orcish raids. Lastly, Yuki’s most prized memento, a charm from the hilt of her father's obsidian-black sword. The charm was a mithril-gilded four-loop infinity knot with three rubies set inside the top, left, and right loop and a black diamond set in the bottom loop. If one were to set the runic symbol of protection, ᛤ, into the center of this charm, it would produce the Kai family sigil. Every individual who worked for the Kai family has this sigil emblazoned on their clothing. Her father gave her this charm right before he left for his current assignment. She remembered what Iskra had said as he handed the charm to her - “This holds great power and has even greater sentimental value than the entirety of our estate. Keep it safe until I return.” Since that day, Yuki had spent at least an hour a day polishing the charm and ensuring its safety in her room.

Her eyes glanced over her journal and she was broken out of her reverie. She plucked the journal off the shelf and took it to her writing desk, which was covered in all manner of crafting instructional guides. Her mother had told her that fools practice only combat skills and that she should find a craft that she enjoyed to enhance her combat ability. Yuki had been studying various crafts until she discovered enchanting. When she had found the instructional book in the family library, it had almost called to her - begging her to take it out of the dark and dusty room, pleading with her to learn all of its secrets and use them for her own purpose. As Yuki read and learned more about enchanting, she found it mesmerizing. All other thoughts of the different crafts had left her mind, only enchanting could maintain her attention now. Although she had not completed even one enchantment yet, Yuki knew that this was the craft she was born to use.

She cleared a space on her desk and set her journal down. Pulling open a drawer on the side of the desk, Yuki retrieved an inkwell and quill and began to write about the day’s training exercise. She detailed every action that both her uncle and herself had taken throughout the day, from the preparation of sparing to the retrieval of the weapons scattered around the forest. Her father and uncle had strongly advised, bordering on outright commanding, her to write out every battle she ever encountered whether she was a participating party or not. They told her that every experience held value for the encounters to come in the future and that “You never know what information will help you win a fight.” Yuki scoffed as she continued writing. I don’t see how a brawl in the tavern or the fighting of beasts could help me in the future. Nevertheless, she did as she was instructed, and her journal was becoming full of countless entanglements. As she finished reliving the day’s training, she stored her ink and quill back in their proper place and returned her journal to her bookshelf.

She returned to her desk and pulled a tome into the center of the desk, “A Beginners Guide to Enchanting” it was entitled. She spent some time reviewing the material she had read many times before finally reaching a place in the book that she hadn’t read yet.

“An enchanter’s goal is not to make the most powerful magical items, in fact, if an enchanter only focuses on the power of the item they are creating, the item itself will always be perceived as a waste of materials. Instead, an enchanter should focus more on WHO the item is for. A weak enchantment that is cohesive with the individual’s abilities will produce better results than a strong enchantment that is at odds with the abilities of its wielder. For example, a simple ‘Produce Light’ enchantment in the hands of a mage whose talents lie in phosphoromancy will be exponentially stronger. This mage could use their own ability to enhance the enchantment, making it stronger.”

Yuki had yet to have her magical abilities inspected and gauged. While she believed her latent magical talent was in the field of evocation, the school of magic that manipulates unseen energies, there was no proof. Often, those who had magical abilities wouldn’t know what area of magic they were best suited for until a Master Mage had evaluated them. Getting a master to evaluate any individual was an expensive affair and many never have the funds to get this done. However, Yuki had heard rumors recently that those who had received acceptance into the G.U.I.L.D. Academies would automatically be evaluated by the mages who taught there. I guess that's why enrollment is also so expensive. She thought to herself. Yuki continued to read the tome in front of her, but her focus was waning.

Thwack. The noise made Yuki look behind her at the door to her room, expecting it to be open, but it was still shut tight. Thwack. Thwack. Her eyes locked onto the direction of the sound, it was coming from the window above her desk. As she was staring out the window at the night sky, dotted with stars, the half-moon shining down through the partially cloudy sky, another rock slammed against it. Thwack. Crack. This rock had been big enough to create a splintering across the pane of glass. She could make out a very hushed “Ah shit…” coming from the courtyard outside her window. It's the middle of the night, what is he thinking… Yuki opened the window and looked down into the courtyard, seeing a short figure dressed in plain linen clothes. They were wearing white shirt that was stained off-yellow from sweat and spotted with gray ash, brown pants that had been cut off below the knees revealing tanned, burnt, and scarred legs, and simple shoes that had a few burn holes on the top.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Igris… What are you doing? You broke my window with that last rock!” Yuki half whispered and half shouted. “Remember what happened last time you were sneaking around here this late? Father almost took your arm off.”

“I know, I know. But… He’s not here, is he? I don’t have to worry about him. On the other hand, your mother terrifies me more than he does. Maybe I should have thought this through more…” Igris said, losing confidence in his words halfway through his thought. “Besides that though, there is a new bard at the tavern and his first show starts in an hour, I thought maybe you’d like to accompany me?” Igris’ voice turned sincere, “I figured you could use some mindless fun and a relaxing time with a friend?”

“That does sound like a good time.” Yuki looked back to her door, thinking about asking for permission to leave. Forgiveness over permission is sometimes the way to go. “I’d love to, let me grab my pack.” Yuki turned away from the window and grabbed her pack, containing a few coins, a dagger, and a journal.

“Great! I’ll meet you at -” Igris was interrupted before he could finish the sentence as Yuki dropped from the window and rolled to her feet. He back-pettled away from her landing, “Well I was going to say, meet you at the front door, but this works too.” Igris smiled at Yuki and nodded his head towards the town.

“Windows, doors, same difference. Why walk all the way through the house when you’re right here?” Yuki laughed as they walked around the outside of the estate hugging the walls. They reached the gate of the estate and Yuki looked back toward the manor, “Let's just hope we can leave the compound before -”

“Before what Yuki?” I’Kira said, materializing out of the shadows beside the gate. “Igris, you need to work on your stealth. I saw you coming from a mile away. Iskra told me to watch out for…” he let out a slight cough, “Vagabonds entering the estate.”

“Oh, well, Master I’Kira. I, um, thought you would be asleep already?” Igris said with a half-hearted smile.

“And you thought it would be okay to steal away into the night with young Yuki here?” I’Kira cocked his eyebrow, staring daggers into Igris’ soul.

“I just thought she might want some time away from the estate. Spend some time with the people her family protects? Enjoy a drink with them! Some comradery. Yeah, that's it!” As the words slipped out of Igris’ mouth he was already trying to make his escape through the gate.

“Uncle, we are just going to the tavern to see the new bard’s performance! I’ve been doing nothing but studying and training for the last six months!” Yuki blurted out trying to preemptively stop any more commotion.

“Oh, a new bard huh? Well then, I would also like to accompany you! It's been a year or so since I have heard a good tale.” I’Kira said with a slight smile. He knew just how to get under Yuki’s fur.

“Fine, but when we get there, leave us alone? Just sit in a booth and enjoy the show, there is no need to chaperone us like we are still children.” Yuki huffed knowing well that she wasn’t going anywhere without him now.

“I’ll be a fly on the wall, you won't even know I’m there,” I’Kira stated with one hand raised and the other across his chest in a mocking pledge. “However,” his eyes flicked over to Igris, “You, boy, know very well that the Kai family has a few enemies in town. How many times have we told you this? If I hadn’t been here watching and you two got into trouble, how would you explain it to Hiromi? You are still in training to be a Shadow of House Kai, but you are not prepared to take on this role just yet.”

Igris looked at the ground in admonishment, “I didn’t really think about the danger, just that Yuki needed to get away from the training and rules of the estate for a night of fun.”

I’Kira laid his hand on the Igris’ shoulder, “I know that you were trying to relieve Yuki of the stress she currently faces. A true friend wouldn’t do any less. All I’m saying is that you need more caution. I’d hate to see one of my most promising students end up in Hiromi’s stewpot.”

Igris’ eyes darted up to I’Kira’s, “She wouldn’t actually do that would she?” I’Kira shrugged, “Probably not, but she threatens me with it enough.” He let out a quiet chuckle and Igress a nervous one.

“There will be consequences though, Igris. Our next training session will focus on stealth. You best be ready for one hell of an afternoon. As for now, let us take our leave, we don’t want to miss the start of the show, do we?”

Igris once again looked down at the ground as the three of them headed into town, “Yes, sir.”