Chapter 47: Duty

Sakura

I came out of the hot and humid jungle, and into a bitterly cold winter storm. Though the city's protections held back the worst of it, the contrast sent my muscles into odd spasms the second I was through.

My feet were barely under me, and I had just regained consciousness a few seconds before I hit the portal. I nearly stumbled, but strong hands steadied me.

“Move off the pad!” Someone shouted, then forcefully moved me towards the stairs off a small raised dais where the portal rested. I hesitated as I descended, still disoriented. I had been stabbed clean through the abdomen. I had . . . I was dead. I had been sure of it.

Not dead. Wounded. Spine was nicked, healed. Woke up in the portal. I must sleep. King's voice went dormant, and my mind was filled with the mental equivalent of snoring as I continued down the steps.

I looked back in an exhausted haze and found the someone who had moved me was my weapons master, Kalgar. Dozens of other professors, and hundreds of upper year students were tending wounded knights and students from not only my class. But what I came to recognize as other years of the Practical Field class.

Many of them sported burns, acid scars, and worse. But the kingdom's clerics, and healing mages tended to the wounded. Among the healers I even spotted a few surgeon cultivators that had come to study with the clerics upon my parents' insistence. The healers plied their trade, potions, spells, and pills were being tossed around like snow in a blizzard.

Still they were few compared to the number of injured.

I focused and found the entire school plateau was covered in knights, warriors, cultivators, clerics, and even some of the odd looking adventurers I had heard about.

Vaush was at my side in an instant.

“Princess. Are you injured?” He opened my palm and forced a healing pill into it. “Take that, please.” I did as instructed, my mind quickly clearing from the haze. As I swallowed I found that my body quickly rejuvenated.

My chie wasn’t immediately restored, but within a few heartbeats I was at nearly half. And my mana was much slower to respond, but slowly growing back as well. The pill also repaired the last vestiges of the damage that King had largely healed, sealing up the small abrasions all across my body that I had gained when Regi had tossed me aside. Though it did nothing for my damaged robes, and now bare midriff.

A wave of pure exhaustion hit me. My body was nearly at its limit. Fighting, healing, and being healed myself had drained me. At least I didn’t need to be saved by a prince this time.

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at the thought. There were far more important things to focus on right now.

King had expended most of his energy to bring me back to consciousness, and Sky had done the same keeping me alive. If any of the difficulties and fights he had been in up until now had not proven their loyalty and friendship? This had.

He, and Sky, both slept now. And they wouldn’t be ready for combat again for some time.

“Don’t worry, everyone responds to stress differently.” Vaush’s voice was devoid of judgment. “It was a high grade battle pill. Used to sustain warriors on the front lines.” Vaush said, as he placed another in my hand. “Just in case.”

I took it, and he moved on to others who were far worse off than I was.

Rayce appeared at my elbow. “You alright?” I nodded.

“What happened?” I motioned to what had quickly become a full mobilization of the realms professional military forces.

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Rayce cursed. “Bastards caught us off guard. Set some kind of ambush. One of the Elvish Elders from the deep forest actually got involved in the fighting. He sent his sons and daughters leading their houses' personal slave armies to earn a bit of glory fighting against uncle Raif and the fortress kame leading the caravan. That old monster and his kids forced the Duke to get involved, he went through and is helping Raif protect the caravan now. Apparently the pressure is so intense, it feels like the elder elf is a King, maybe higher.”

“Raif and the Duke can handle it.” I nodded. It sounded like things escalated very quickly, but thanks to proper planning and the aid from our new allies here in the kingdom, we’d be alright.

Far above us dozens of flights of pegasi knights circled, and half a dozen cultivators from my parents personal house guard had joined them. If anyone could turn the tide of the battle it’d be all of our unified efforts.

“That old monster’s will locked Edna out of sending you all aid just at the wrong moment.” Rayce continued with his explanation. “She’s had to send most of the knights directly on top of Raif and the kame, as that's the only place his will isn’t so thick it can stop her spells. Apparently, you guys ran right into some kind of trap as it all went down?”

“Yeah. Regi. He’s working with the elves, I think. Or corrupted by them. I don’t know. He did something to the portal as we were going through and we ended up right in the middle of a trap. I don't think they expected us to be as strong, well armed as we were. But even then, honestly? If it wasn’t for the knights finding us, I don’t think we’d be here. But the trap worked, Regi killed and absorbed his siblings and . . . well. He’s working for the elves. I think. And he’s powerful. Very powerful.”

Rayce wanted to spit, but wounded or mustering warriors had started crowding in around us. “Bastard.”

“The last student portal closed!” someone shouted over the din. It was Kalgar. “We’re missing one!”

It was then I spotted Edna.

She and a handful of other teachers and mages were floating in the air, maintaining portals and casting spells that I could barely guess the purpose of. She was at the center, directing the others with her will, and holding dozens of portals open with little more than her raw mana and will.

“Fool boy!” Edna shouted in frustration, and I felt her emotion creep into my own. I wasn’t the only one, as Rayce’s expression shifted to mirror the feeling.

“Landar?” Rayce asked, and I nodded.

“He was the last one. We were being chased by Regi. I don’t know what stopped him from coming through, but whatever it was, it's not good. Regi will recover quickly. I have to make sure someone’s going after him.”

“NO way you can do it. Not with your aura being as shaky as it is.” Rayce put a hand on my shoulder and moved slightly to interpose himself between myself and the portal. I smiled.

“I’m not going to throw myself back into danger before i’m ready.”

“You’ve done it before.” he gave me an annoyed look. “ Fine, I’ll come with you.”

“If you like.”

Vaush was quick to mirror us as we made our way towards the impromptu simple gray stone dias I had just left.

When we got there, Edna had sent what I assumed was a symeraculum of herself to speak to Kalgar. “That boy is going to turn my hair gray,” she complained.

“Your hair is already gray.” Kalgar was perhaps the only man brave enough, or stupid enough, to say such things. And he only got away with it because it was meant as a statement of fact, not an insult or judgment.

Edna barked a harsh laugh. “That I am. Perhaps I'll go bald then. I can open the portal again, but I can’t get a firm fix on where it's meant to be, there’s too much interference from Sil’darus. He’s going to pay for this. Ten fold if I have anything to say about it. But I can’t get a lock on the boy, not without some kind of beacon on the other side. And no, sakura, you’re not going back through when I do get a fix on him.”

“Right, I'm going.” Kalgar said, as he brandished a particularly keen looking broadsword in the western style. “And a few knights. We’ll get the boy, and get out.”

“There’s also the knight captain Walden. He’s fighting and Elfish general.” I explained. “Antlers, and he stood at least a foot taller than any other elf there. Maybe more. He seemed to shift his size.” I explained, accepting her words. “Also, please take Vaush with you.” Vaush appeared behind us.

Kalgar nodded. “You’re welcome to come with us, Vaush. But you sakura? You and your brother stay here. There’s plenty of work to be done. “He gestured back towards the healers. “And I know you have the ability to help.”

“As to do I.” Rayce said, disappointment evident in his tone. Rex appeared next to him, leaping out of his soul vault and emerging into his small normal dog sized form. He woofed happily, and Rayce smiled. “Let's go buddy.” The two left and began casting celestial spells, breaking elvish curses on those afflicted with them.

I turned to Vaush. “I see this as a personal duty. But I am not strong enough to accomplish it. Thank you for your willingness to go in my stead.”

Vaush beamed with pride and saluted, his fist over his heart. “As a guard or a champion, I am at the service of house Gamera.”

I smiled, and my head swooned slightly. Vaush grabbed my arm and steadied me, and I felt his presence wash over me. “You nearly bottomed out both chie and mana. Refilling it as rapidly as you did is going to cause some issues with your balance. Go with your brother, I'll see to this duty.”

I nodded, turned, and went to do what I could while I still had mana.