Chapter 24 — Patience and a Ripening Meal
After having their fun and done showing-off, the second-years left to work on their assigned tasks for the next team meeting.
Ria spent some time getting to know the two fellow first-years before contacting Arthur to see if he was ready to head back. Needing a bit more time, Arthur suggested that they meet him at the Enchanters Guild and that he’d be ready by the time they got there.
The guild’s public entrance wasn’t their usual gate, but it didn’t really matter which they used as long as it wasn’t the main gate. Oddly, Harvin was the one who answered Jarrel’s stone when she activated it to arrange their pickup. Ria didn’t particularly care who came to pick them up, but she was annoyed about not having a way to contact Jarrel. If Jarrel was going to be busy so often, maybe she should purchase another stone for Harvin…
Heading to the temple to purchase the incense before returning to the estate was tempting, but she decided against bothering Keira about it. Dinnertime wasn’t far off and familiarizing herself with the soul-strengthening method and the purpose for the incense beforehand would likely be wise anyway—especially, if more expensive incense wouldn’t provide her any extra benefit.
Nursing the last of her shadow drink that tasted like berries and pepper, Ria felt that she was pretty much done for the day. Or at least, she didn’t have any further plans. Keira seemed to agree with the sentiment but reminded her not to get comfortable and slack off with her studies—House Vorshan was investing good money into providing Ria with this opportunity, after all.
Ria had to hold back a laugh at Keira’s trying-to-be-the-adult-in-the-room act. Instead, she annoyed her friend with a big hug and told the mortified girl how completely totally super-duper grateful she was. It wasn’t a lie though, she was grateful.
And, if anyone had noticed how hard she was working to improve, Keira had—Keira and Grandma Fana. Rather than slacking, her continual dedication to her studies, day and night, had even worried Grandma Fana to the point of calling her down for regular tea and snack breaks. Ria smiled at the memory as she let go of a grumbling Keira so they could go meet up with Arthur.
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Lightning-Sky-Eyes smiled from her well-appointed room as she directed her Midnight Crow to follow the carriage leaving from the Vorshan Estate. Finding a suitable place to reside while engaging in her hunt and her schemes had taken some time but not an unreasonable amount of effort, and she was quite pleased with the obtained arrangement. The house’s position near such an active ley-line would help hide much of her activities and provided an easy way to power her anti-divination wards.
Taking such precautions was only prudent, considering that her primary target was aware of the usefulness and dangers of divination. That the foreign witch-girl had a means to hide from direct scrying and divinations was something she had learned during the assault on Vorshan’s Hills and was the most likely reason why the divination of their success had been so disastrously wrong.
Of course, with her plans to target the elite children of this country, she would have warded herself against divination and detection anyway. Her decades of wandering and infiltrating herself into the high society of many different cultures had taught her that the powerful always have means to safeguard their interests, or they don’t last long. And the Greater Houses of Crysellia had been around a long time, indeed.
The crow didn’t have to wait long before the foreign witch exited from a guild building and climbed onto the waiting carriage. Of the others with the witch, Lightning-Sky-Eyes was fairly certain the blond-haired girl in the gaudy golden and white robes was the Vorshan granddaughter. The boy was of little importance.
Of more interest were the cloaked priest and mercenary guards that were picked up by an enclosed carriage and followed the witch—something to investigate more later. For now, she was eager to get a closer look at her quarry—a quarry that had cost her much but might actually provide a value significantly in excess of what was lost.
Having the crow carefully obscure it’s aura, she directed it to land on the rail at the back of the uncovered carriage that the children were riding.
“…was pleased with the early sales of the enchanted paper. He thought it was frivolous and too expensive to sell well and, honestly, I also had my own doubts, but having sample letters demonstrating seasonal greetings displayed in student lounges in several of the halls and towers drove immediate sales. It was a brilliant idea.”
The Vorshan granddaughter sat up straighter at the boy’s words, looking amusingly proud of herself. “See, Arthur? I told you it would work.”
“This is great!” the witch girl enthused. “If this keeps up, it won’t be long before I can purchase Zephec!”
“Are you sure getting a second familiar so soon after doing Ranger’s transformation is wise?” the granddaughter cautioned.
“Ah-!” the witch slapped her forehead. “Do either of you know how expensive soul-cultivation incense from the temple of Ellnys is?”
“Soul… what?!” Arthur sputtered.
“Ria…” the granddaughter groaned. “Tell me, you aren’t actually doing spirit magic—here where the inquisitors have their main headquarters…”
“Er, um,” the witch girl hedged. “It’s to make my familiar bond safer. And so I can bond with Zephec. Researcher Shadwich said that Soulkeeper Renard approved a temporary license...”
The Vorshan granddaughter rubbed her forehead in frustration but didn’t say anything to discourage the witch’s planned course of action.
Lightning-Sky-Eyes’ grin widened. With the swordsman protector nowhere in sight, stepping through the crow’s shadow and harvesting the three where they were would be a simple matter, but there was no need for haste. In fact, the situation was already developing in a surprisingly pleasing direction. Whatever forbidden process the witch girl was undergoing, her tasty bloodline had already strengthened noticeably from when the girl was in Vorshan’s Hills.
If the girl managed to complete her bloodline… Lightning-Sky-Eyes shivered at the thought of harvesting such a rare and potent bloodline.
She directed the crow to take flight and return to the academy, circling in view of the busier exits. She would find a tool to be put to use nurturing the witch’s growth and finding appetizers to further amuse her palette. After all, when one is at a buffet, there is no need to rush for the main course.
Lightning-Sky-Eyes laughed without restraint. This was going to be fun.
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Even with all that had already happened over the course of Ria’s busy day, the sun was still surprisingly high in the sky, high enough to be seen over the taller buildings of the surrounding city. Or at least it was from Ranger’s vantage point.
Ria placed a gently steaming cup of tea for herself and her friend and glanced toward Ranger as she leaned back into her seat to relax. Her much more impressive-looking familiar was back to meditating on her room’s balcony and, judging by the flow of energy, was having a fair amount more success than before the transformation.
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“How’d your visit with Amilee go?” Ria asked, now that they had some privacy.
Keira sighed out a long sighing sigh. “I gave her hugs and tried to remind her that I would help her when I could. It’s sad how much the magic has changed her, I guess. But, she does seem to have found a direction and is making far more progress with her magic than she ever did under Master Harlow’s instruction.”
Ria let the silence stretch, giving Keira the time to organize her thoughts.
“Even though I hate it, maybe Grandfather was right.”
After sampling one of the elven confections, Ria pushed the box toward her friend. “These are surprisingly good.”
“Of course, they are good!” Keira huffed but still helped herself to a sculpted pink one with a minty green leaf on top.
They continued experiencing the confections in silence until Ana informed them that dinner was ready.
Jarrel missed dinner again, going to train in the garden immediately upon returning.
After dinner, Ria joined Ranger in meditating on the balcony. The training match with Orlisi had been full of insights and challenges, pushing her in the way that training sessions with Tina had. There was a meaning in the elf-girl’s movements, both dodges and strikes, that was different from Tina’s—a fluidity of water and a sharpness of wind balanced with a sturdiness of wood and filled with the vitality of life.
Was that the ‘Seed’ that Orlisi was talking about?
Tina’s sense of cloaking power in darkness still felt like a better match for her, but… during her fight with Orlisi, there was something different. When she was hurting, cornered, and frustrated, the shadow magic had, at times, seemed to draw something from deep within, something more primal, more... destructive. If she had to put words to the feeling, it was as if the magic had become a vehicle for the darkness that churned and seethed deep within her heart.
No, not her heart. Her soul.
If she assumed that shadow magic wasn’t the proper expression for her Seed, would her power improve simply by finding the correct attunement for her magic?
Ria turned her senses inward. Her true affinity, that was what she needed to better understand. Fire, earth, shadow, gold, time—those were the hints that she had. No, there was one more: Divine.
She cycled her energy and thought back to how her energy had felt before she learned any of the elemental transformations. The indistinct sense of warmth reflected back from her staff. The sense of similar energy in the shrine of Hemse…
It had been too long ago, and she had progressed so far since then. She simply couldn’t recall the feeling.
Maybe if there were any times that she had brought forth her magic instinctively? Thinking back to the times her magic had channeled that inner darkness… the time when she had raged at the slimes… and the time with the barbarian chieftain.
The golden chains of molten fire. Chains… metal.
Those chains had been more than molten metal. They had restrained his movement and his magic.
How she had managed such a spell… was a mystery. And though she had tried several times in the days after the battle, Ria hadn’t succeeded in reproducing the magic.
The memory was clearly a trauma, and focusing on it made her heart rate quicken and her breathing erratic, but that feeling, together with the darkness in her soul... Her rage and deep desire for retribution, molten metals from the depths, and a tremendous weight. Not a physical heaviness. A weight of countless ages. The weight of the world’s history. Time. That was the missing piece, the answer.
Feeling that she was on the right track, Ria reached deeply into that memory, that feeling, and brought it out together with her dark desire for vengeance. The power stirred. She could feel it begin to rise within.
A sharply barked warning from Ranger brought her suddenly awake and the sensation faded. Sweat dripped down her back, and her improved senses caught a faint scent of molten metal.
Ranger confirmed the smell and the dangerous change in her aura that had prompted the warning.
Ria thanked him and breathed deeply while circulating her energy a few times until she had calmed down. She had been close to successfully manifesting her natural affinity. But Ranger was right. This was not the place to be experimenting with such dangerous magic. For her innate affinity to be something so dangerous was scary… and a development she eagerly welcomed, particularly with what it might mean for her long-term goal.
But, that was enough for now. Now that the insights from her training match had been worked through, Ria wanted to start on the soul-cultivation manual.
Moving to her desk, she took out the manual. After a quick glance over the notes on the customized abjuration spell and the list of incense types with names such as The Seven Heavens Above And The Thirteen Hells Below, she set those aside and opened the thin book.
Two folded notes fell out.
She picked up the one on fancier paper first and opened it to reveal an excessively fancy handwriting.
> Don’t rely on that monocled windbag. If you want help with the methods, come directly to me.
>
> Renard of Vesali City
> Soulkeeper of the Grand Mausoleum
> Head Instructor for Initiates
Ria blinked and reached for the other folded note.
> I recommend taking him up on that. If he’s motivated to share methods and insights not normally made available outside the Soulkeeper Order, it would be good to include them into the research. Don’t worry! We’ll credit Soulkeeper Renard in the final publication, of course!
>
> Shadwich
A faint breeze ruffled the unfolded paper in her hand as she stared, unmoving, trying to piece together how the dynamic between the two instructors might impact her future. With a shoulder-drooping groan at the trouble sure to result from her involvement in this, she transformed her energy and disappeared Researcher Shadwich’s note into a brief flare of flame and a follow-up swirling gust of wind, scattering the ashes out the window.
Best not to leave such incriminating evidence.
The stakes raised, she opened the manual with some trepidation.
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“Ah, Jarrel, do you have a moment?” Ria asked when Jarrel poked his head in to check on her. As expected from Ranger’s spying, her protector and surrogate father-figure looked exhausted.
“Did something happen?” he asked, worry further lining his brow.
Ria gently shook her head and motioned him toward one of the couches. “No, it’s not that. I saved you a few confections and thought you might want some tea after training so hard.”
Jarrel gave her a searching and suspicious look before taking his seat. “You’re up to something, aren’t you?”
Rude! Ria was tempted to make his tea extra hot as she used her magic to warm the liquid but settled for an annoyed huff and eye roll. After warming her own tea, she took her seat opposite Jarrel. “Do I need a reason to want to share a moment of tea with the man who saved me from certain death, arranged for me to attend this academy, and adopted me into his family?”
Jarrel grimaced and, with a nod, his features softened. He reached for his tea cup and one of the confections presented simply and beautifully, each on a small white plate. “How are you finding the academy? Are the nobles causing you any problems?”
“I’ve already made some noble friends. Iselyn Jayre from Erime and Zena Emberflow from the southern frontier. I’m really learning a lot.”
Jarrel’s eyebrow rose, and he lowered the confection from where he had been preparing to take a tentative bite. “Emberflow? Someone related to the hero, Jeria Emberflow?”
“Her youngest daughter. Or so I heard,” Ria confirmed and sipped her own tea. She had been hoping he would come by to check on her as he did most evenings since they arrived in the capital and had prepared the tea and plated the confections ahead of time. The Elven sweets were works of art and ‘simple’ presented them best.
He was working so hard lately, and she thought it would be a nice way to show her appreciation for the trouble he was going through on her behalf. She had chosen a selection of the remaining wind-attuned confections to place closest to Jarrel since he had been spending his time in that section of the garden while doing his training.
“Ria… these confections,” Jarrel began after having tasted a minty white one that Ria knew had a wonderfully breezy flavor.
“They were an apology gift from Phaelys Vesali—for cheap-shotting me in front of the whole school the other day,” Ria reported and took a yellow confection for herself. The yellow ones decorated with depictions of green grass and flowers tasted like lemongrass and gave a feeling of sunshine on a grassy meadow. Those were Keira’s favorite.
“At the duel,” Jarrel half-questioned, looking worried she would correct the clarification.
“Yep,” Ria confirmed. “Apparently, some of the other students were calling him a bully for dueling me.”
“I hope you received the apology graciously.” Jarrel glanced meaningfully at her over his teacup to indicate this was important. “Last thing you want is to end up on the bad side of the Vesali.”
“So, I’ve heard,” Ria agreed with a nervous chuckle, thoughts of Phaelys’ cousins and their furious glares flitting through her mind’s eye before she banished them with a cheery confection heralding the colorful blooms of the cherry trees.
While she was doing her best to rid herself of useless worry over her latest blunder, Jarrel had taken out a leaf and was staring intently at it. The leaf glowed faintly in Ria’s view.
Was Jarrel trying to sense the nature energy it contained?
“Ria, have you ever tried to cut something with the idea of sharpness?” Jarrel suddenly asked, still staring at the leaf as he rotated it by the stem so the edge was facing him.
Ria stared at him with her mouth open for a moment before a snort slipped out, followed quickly by a chortle.
“That’s silly!” Ria laughed and waved away the idea. “Magic doesn’t work that way. You can’t just will effects into existence. You first need to understand how the different energies feel so you can perform the transformation. Then you have to assign it a compatible meaning and constraint.”
“Understand how sharpness feels…” Jarrel muttered to himself.
After a contemplative silence, he nodded. “Thanks, I think that helps. And, thanks for the tea.”
He looked lost in thought as he got up to leave and absentmindedly wished her a good sleep.
Whatever insight Jarrel thought he had found… Ria was pretty sure he had it completely wrong.