“There is, or rather was, an active spell effecting Miss Amy,” Nallia reported a few hours later to Orlan and Lailra along with several other members of the first lance and the Grandmaster, who Orlan had asked to be present, “awakening alone was enough for her to be able to sever the connection.”
“Any idea what kind of spell it was?” Orlan asked.
“No, just that it was extremely subtle, otherwise we would have sensed it,” Nallia answered.
“There’s little that can be learned from a spell spike unfortunately,” the Grandmaster agreed, “from what I read after being informed, spell spikes are more of an oddity than a serious topic of study. A hint into how mana crystalizes within the soul as one forms a sphere, but that’s it.”
“All we can say is that the spell would have to be extremely carefully designed, to have such a subtle connection,” added Nallia, “meaning a skilled mage of, at a minimum, the Earthly realm.”
“What about when the spell was cast, or its origin, can you give me anything?” Orlan asked.
“Actually, I can,” the Grandmaster spoke up, leaning forward, “Lady Nallia and I went around checking other people on the protectorate, just in case we were compromised. No one who was awakened was affected, but among those un-awakened in the village… all of them had a very subtle spell on them.”
“All of them?” Lailra asked in shock.
“Everyone I tested in any case,” the older man shrugged, “but that’s not all, I did a wide area scan of the entire island, and there are a number of identical mana threads leading to our protectorate. Hard to get an exact number with a large scale spell but there were easily more connections than there are un-awakened here.”
“There isn’t anyone hiding on the Protectorate, I’d know if there were,” Orlan stated.
“Of course not, no, I actually found the source of them in your vault, the glass eye.”
“I thought it’s aura was contained.”
“It is, this isn’t its aura, it’s another effect. A proper spell not an aura as well,” he sighed, “I haven’t had a chance to investigate closer but I’ve called in several of the other mages to conduct a proper assay into the eye.”
“Did Theo say anything about what the Eye of Providence did?” Lailra asked, looking at Orlan.
“Only that it revealed the truth,” Orlan shrugged.
“The Eye of Providence is often used in reference to the Eye of God,” Nallia spoke up, “often used in iconography related to the religion ‘Christianity’ and, in the modern day, is the subject of much conjecture and conspiracy.”
“Might be more to that than I thought,” Orlan groaned.
“It is believed the origins of the Eye of Providence date back to Ancient Egypt, before the splitting, where the Eye of Horus was used as a form of protection,” the blank faced woman continued, “in mythology the God Horus had his eye cut out by another god, Set. From there it was eventually picked up by these Christians, who depicted the eye within a triangle, which they claim symbolizes God.”
“Why would the eye of a god be considered a protective emblem?” the Grandmaster asked.
“Because it represented the watchful eye of Horus, supposedly whatever his eye could see he was aware of, even after it was removed,” Nallia said, “they believed that this property extended to symbols of his eye.”
“You don’t think…” Orlan said slowly.
“There’s an easy way to test it,” Lailra replied.
“I’m confused,” Alia spoke up, “how would an eye be related to the spell cast on Miss Amy?”
“That’s actually a good point, the eye might be linked to other items that carry a symbol of it, but not to people,” Lailra agreed, “but this was only one of the items they had, maybe another one links to humans?”
“The other items were… let’s see, a necklace, a bow and the Holy Grail,” Orlan said, glancing at Nallia, “you did all that studying, find anything?”
“The Holy Grail’s abilities appear limited to those who drink from it, granting eternal life, healing, nourishment or even restoring life to a dead land. There seems to be two competing myths that both related to the Holy Grail, one related to King Arthur and his story.”
“King Arthur? Like the Last King of the Arthurian Isles?” the Grand Master asked.
“So it seems, they seem to believe seeking the Grail to be the main goal of King Arthur,” Lailra nodded, “and the second myth relates to it being the cup which the son of god in Christian mythology, Jesus, drank from, and the power relates to his bloodline.”
“Does myth refer to effecting large groups of people?” Orlan asked.
“No, my lord, if you really stretch the writing, you might conclude that there is a compulsion to find the Grail, but I find that to be unlikely,” Lailra shook her head, “the next item is Gandiva, a bow used by Arjuna, a hero of Hindu myth, crafted by the god Brahma, the creator deity and god of knowledge according to the Hindu. It’s stated effects are the granting of self-confidence, the power of a hundred thousand bows and that arrows it fires can’t be blocked or dodged.”
“Another reference to a creator deity and source of knowledge,” the Grandmaster mused, “maybe there’s a link?”
“Unknown, this is just what I learned from my research,” Nallia explained, “but I consider it likely that this Brahma and Horus were linked, if not the same figure. Regardless, the last item Theodor mentioned was Brisingamen. There is little actual writing about this item, besides that it was the necklace of Freyja, the goddess of love, war, gold and knowledge of the future in Norse Mythology. The extent of writing I could find that wasn’t pure speculation was that Brisingamen was stolen from Freyja by Loki, another Norse god associated with trickery and fire. The exact reasons why he stole the necklace are disputed, from simple whimsy to trying to get Freyja to marry him. It was later returned by Heimdallr, who’s associated with keen senses and foreknowledge.”
“According to Theo, Brisingamen can influence the minds of others,” Orlan added, “but, before the Grandmaster points it out himself, there seems to be more connections to sight and knowledge. What about on the other side, anything we know about these figures?”
“I’ll have to go through the archives, but I believe Horus and Brahma are mentioned, but under different names. Likely the result of linguistic drift,” the Grandmaster shrugged, “but I seem to remember a Haroeris, an important mage in ancient Egyptian history. A king of theirs, unless I misremember, who had his eye cut out. I’ll have to confer with Lady Nallia about the stories, make sure they’re related.”
“Will you have time while setting up the academy?” Lailra asked.
“The other’s are handling basically all of it, it’ll be harder for me to find other mages to assist with the assay.”
“I’ll see if some of our knights can help out,” Lailra offered, “but I figured you’d be super busy with the academy, how did you get the others to do it without your help?”
“I threatened to actually help them,” the Grandmaster laughed, “trust me, they’re better off without me poking my nose in.”
“Alright, keep me informed,” Orlan said as he stood, “I’ll go try to get more information out of Theo.”
\-\-\-\-\-
“I was actually just about to come find you,” Theo said, stepping out of the guest room he’d been assigned at the castle to find Orlan walking towards him, “is this a magic thing? Did you sense I needed you?”
“Yup, turns out I’m completely omniscient,” Orlan said dryly, “I was actually hoping to get more information about the artifacts the Sons of Kayeen lost.”
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“I already told you everything they told me, if you want more you’ll have to meet with them.”
“Figured, after some recent developments on my end, might have to set that meeting up sooner rather than later.”
“Soon as they contact me, I’ll set up a time,” Theo nodded, “Now, about what I wanted to talk to you about. You know people have been posting images of your island and castle on social media since they arrived, right?”
“You mean the workers here to set up the cell tower and generator? I figured they would,” Orlan dismissed with a wave of his hand, “they aren’t allowed anywhere sensitive, I thought a social media presence would be good for our image.”
“Oh, you’re right there, no I mean, I just got a call from my aides… do you have a young woman named Amy staying here?”
“Yes, what about her?”
“She was MIA after the Jefferson event, rift, whatever, thought dead,” Theo explained, “or at least she was, until one of her friends spotted her in a picture one of the workers here took. Now her family is up in arms.”
“Family? Her immediate family was dead when we found her,” Orlan replied, turning and walking down the hallway back the way he came, “she wanted to join up and help us. It’s not an uncommon way for us to recruit.”
“Apparently one of her aunts is demanding her back,” Theo sighed, as he followed, “at least we think she’s an aunt, not a lot of information yet.”
“If Miss Amy wants to go back she’s welcome to, but I’m not going to force her.”
“That might be how it works on the other side, but here she’s still a minor. An orphan at that,” Theo said, “where are we going?”
“To speak with Amy,” Orlan said as he pushed open a door, stepping out into a training yard where a dozen women were practicing. Many of them stopped and waved as Orlan walked out of the door, only to pause as Theo followed him, starting to huff at Orlan’s pace.
“Lady White,” the Protector Lord said, walking up to an old warhorse of a woman, “any idea where Amy is?”
“She’s with the gem sisters who are teaching her the basics of magic,” the woman replied, nodding over her shoulder towards the gate leading into the castle, “I asked them to stay in the castle, but they went out, likely into the forest.”
“Alright,” Orlan nodded before closing his eyes and freezing for a moment, Theo took the opportunity to catch his breath before looking at Orlan in askance, about to ask what was going on when Orlan suddenly opened his eyes again, “alright, found them. From now on, keep the trainees inside the walls while we have outsiders on the island.”
“Of course, my lord,” White nodded, turning to shout at the knights in training who were watching the interaction. Orlan turned and began walking towards the castle gate, causing Theo to jump to catch up.
“Must we walk?”
“Normally I’d teleport there,” Orlan said, “but I can’t take others with me, so yes, we’re going to walk. It’ll be good for you.”
“If I survive it,” Theo muttered but didn’t complain any further, kind of excited to see more of the island. The road from the castle was in quite good condition, feeling almost paved in concrete with how smooth it was. Only the slight gradation in colors indicating that it was actually stone, as they walked down towards the village the stone changed color several times, like they were passing through different layers. For all Theo knew, that was exactly what was going on. The road was cut from the stone itself, likely using magic, so why wouldn’t they just use the local stone, changing colors and all?
“Lord Orlan!” a man called out, looking up from some kind of woodwork to wave at them.
“Hey, how’s the daughter?” Orlan called back with a smile.
“Still dead set on becoming one of your knights,” the man, a carpenter replied with a laugh, “despite my wife’s attempts to talk her out of it.”
“Once she’s fully grown and awakened, I’ll be happy to have her, but don’t tell your wife that.”
“Be our secret,” the man agreed with a grin before returning to his work. Several more villagers called out as Orlan and Theo passed through, all happy to see him even if a few shared their concerns about the events of the past few weeks. One family was wondering when the growing houses will be functional again, a blacksmith asked about getting some ore for his forge and a few others.
“They seem to like you,” Theo commented as they continued along the road leading out of the town.
“They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t, these people aren’t my citizens or anything like that, as a Protector Lord I can’t claim a peasantry, receive or give titles of nobility, collect taxes or anything like that. Everyone here is free to leave, and quite a few did when I announced my plans to come to this side, so only those who really trust me remained.”
“But they live and work here?” Theo asked, “do they work for you directly?”
“In effect, while I can’t collect taxes, I can enforce some laws on my island, punishments for crime, that kind of thing. One of the laws is that everyone must assist the mission of the protectorate to save people in some way. Often that means providing supplies or services, often that means they grow food, make things or whatever.”
“And how is that different from taxing them?”
“I can’t force them to give me anything, or demand a percentage. I can ask them for more, but can’t force them to give it to me.”
“And if they refuse to give you anything?”
“They I’ll drop them off at the next port,” Orlan said, “think of the island less as a small city-state and more of like a ship. I’m the Captain here, so ultimately anything I say goes, but there are limits. You’re only onboard with my permission, and if I revoke that permission you have to leave.”
“And if someone doesn’t?”
“Trust me, if I want someone off the island, one way or another they’re leaving,” Orlan smirked, “there’s little I can’t do on my island.”
“Except teleport,” Theo groaned as Orlan turned off the road, walking into a forest, “there aren’t like, magical beasts in these forest are there?”
“Beasts? No, but there are a few monsters.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Beasts come from the rifts, monsters are native,” Orlan replied, “beasts are universally aggressive, but once they have offspring, those are less so and settle into more natural roles.”
“So there could be some ant things from Jefferson out in the mountains creating little monsters?”
“It’s possible, but unlikely,” Orlan replied, “we killed the princess, so they have no queen and probably can’t reproduce. Not to mention the mana here is too weak, the aether too thin, to support monsters that are very powerful. So even if they did breed, the offspring wouldn’t be much stronger than most people.”
“What about past Rifts? Before you arrived?” Theo asked even as he panted, following Orlan through the forest, “I doubt the military got everything from them.”
“They’re probably out in the countryside, messing up the local ecosystem,” nodded Orlan, “Thankfully monsters typically don’t get much stronger than what the local aether can support. On the other side there’s an entire profession of monster hunters who, well, hunt monsters. Hopefully the mages we train here can go on to start up something similar on this side.”
“Right… wait… is that a waterfall?” Theo asked, cocking his head at the distant rushing of water. Orlan simply smirked, continuing to walk. A short distance later they emerged from the tree line to a good sized lake of crystal clear water, on the far side of which a waterfall crashed into the surface.
“How is there a waterfall on a floating island?” Theo asked.
“Probably magic,” Orlan shrugged, turning to wave to three figures who were sitting on some rocks, their feet dangling into the water, “how are you three sisters doing?”
“Don’t encourage her, my lord!” came an exasperated reply as the three young women, all of whom looked quite young, early twenties most likely, with the radiant beauty brought by either their youth or magic, began hurrying over to them.
“You need something, my lord?” another one of them asked as the two groups met.
“How’s the magic coming?” Orlan asked with a smile.
“I finally managed my first spell!” the girl replied with a beaming smile, a slight blush on her cheeks. Not that Theo could blame her, even as a guy he had to admit Orlan was quite handsome. For a girl like her, at the tail end or just coming out of puberty it was no wonder she was excited to see him.
“Good to hear, those other two teaching you well?”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Great, unfortunately I didn’t come here just to check up,” Orlan said with a sigh, nodding to Theo, “this is Theo, he works for or in congress, he just got word that one of your aunts found out you’re alive.”
“Oh,” Amy replied, her face falling, “what does she want?”
“She’s demanding we give you to her.”
“I don’t care what that old harpy wants,” Amy spat, “she never helped after my mother passed, never even called to help Pa. Now she's suddenly conserned? Probably just wants a check from the government for child support.”
“Well, that seems pretty definitive,” Orlan said, looking at Theo.
“If only it were that simple,” the other man sighed, “I can try to push for her to be declared an adult, at her age, with her parents… it’s not uncommon. But are you sure this is that aunt? Do you have more than one?”
“Nope, my Pa was an only child, my mother had one sister and three brothers, they all disowned my mother after she married my father because he was Catholic,” Amy sighed, “only my aunt ever spoke to her. So either it’s Aunt Judy or it’s another woman claiming to be an Aunt. Either way, I want to stay here.”
“Then I’ll see what I can do, but… I have to ask, have you been treated well here? Orlan hasn’t…”
“He hasn’t done anything to me, nor has anyone else,” Amy sighed, rolling her eyes.
“Amy might go for it if it were Orlan!” one of the other girls said cheerfully, only to be smacked over the head by the other.
“Ruby! Not now!” the taller girl snapped.
“Ow, that hurt,” Ruby complained, rubbing her head and looking up with a dramatic pout.
“You’re welcome to interview her if you need,” Orlan said, shaking his head at the antics, “but I promise she hasn’t been treated poorly.”
“The worst they’ve done is exercise,” Amy agreed, her face red from Ruby’s comment, “I thought I was in good shape before I got here. But after this training…”
“Would you be up to speaking later?” Theo asked the young woman, the taller girl clamping a hand over Ruby’s mouth before she should say anything, “I might need to follow up with this.”
“Oh, sure,” Amy nodded, “my phone is back in my room though.”
“You… oh right,” Theo shook his head, struggling to reconcile the fact that this young knight in training was also a girl from this world, of course she had a phone, “guess we have to walk back then.”
“My lord,” the older of the sisters said, looking at Orlan, “don’t suppose we could get a ride back?”
“Sure,” Orlan smiled, a ring of greyish light appearing under them and gently lifting all five of them from the ground before flying back towards the castle.
“You… you said we had to walk!” Theo said, looking at Orlan in shock.
“I said I couldn’t teleport another person, that’s still true,” Orlan grinned back, “but so long as we’re over my protectorate I can fly us.”
“Then why did we walk out there!”
“I wanted to walk,” Orlan shrugged.