Though Lasutro’s red tome opened readily and even had several newly marked pages that told the story of a young guardian of an ancient blade who lost the very blade they were charged with keeping, Lasutro found themselves unable to focus on it at all. The very little knowledge she had collected on the bracelet and their experiences with it, the avalanche of emotions that had started to suffocate them quickly shifted into a persistent nervousness. A nervousness that had them pacing through their room even though the erraticness of their movements only inflamed their soreness of their worst wounds.
Unable to settle their pacing in the confines of their room, Lasutro grasped their tome tightly as she made their way to the grove just beyond Gallina House and the buildings relatively adjacent to it. Amongst the plethora of different trees and under the first beams of moonlight following dusk , Lasutro wandered the grove, not completely sure what she expected the extra space to do to their emotions. However as she meandered through the trees, the cool night air gradually bled both the tension and nervousness from Lasutro’s body and mind.
When she realized its apparent absence and found their mind clear of the turbulent whirlwind of emotions that had sent them into the temporary spiral, Lasutro began to carefully reflect on the realities of what had happened to the bracelet that had been entrusted to them. Shortly after which she whispered their resolve to recover the artifact to night air, an action that further quieted the once raging emotions that had indirectly brought them into the night.
With their mind largely freed from the more incapacitating emotions, Lasutro took a moment to find a tree that was large enough that she felt covered but also had enough moonlight that she didn’t have to strain their eyes to read.
When she found the tree she sought, Lasutro sat beneath it after kicking some of the fallen leaves out of the way. There, despite knowing that Henry had likely returned to their room, and that not making their way back to Gallina House would put an end to the implied plans the two had made, Lasutro cracked open their tome and read the new story it presented.
A story which, like the ones the tome had provided before it, kept their attention to an unnatural degree. Though the story it told was far longer than any single one of the other stories she had read from it, the story in its entirety was far more enlightening. The story not only provided them with insights into the some of the very magic she was to be studying over the days to come but also the essences of three particular spells.
Eventually, when she finished reading the story of the young guardian Rotyuck, their mind was stuck with the same psychic pain that she had been afflicted with when she had read about the method of the Mind Nourishing Core, though far more agonizing and persisting. Even as Lasutro made their way out of the grove and back to their room.
As she re-entered their room, Henry, who had been reading at his desk to pass the time, turned to face them with an expression that half expected an apology. However just as Lasutro began to muster up the words to properly apologize to him, while concealing their emotional breakdown, his expression shifted to an apologetic and one of pity. A change Lasutro quickly reasoned to be due to a failure on their part to hide their ongoing pain. As a result their exchange ended wordlessly and soon after the two extinguished their candles before bidding each other goodnight.
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Over the days that followed Lasutro did their best to remain attentive during their first attendance to the classes that she had missed, though both the nervousness brought on by what she could safely call the theft of their bracelet and the gradually decreasing stares from their fellow classmates, didn’t help their efforts. Outside their studies both assigned and personal, which she did while fighting the gradually fading migraine from their reading of their tome, Lasutro revisited the infirmary and went over the Princess’s letter with Henry, who did help point out some of implied purpose of the invitation and the subject of the conversation they were likely to have. Help for which she thoroughly thanked him for, an act that alleviated some of the tension that had grown between the two following their fall.
While she was partially distracted by both their lingering migraine and the theft of the object she had been charged with, Lasutro found themselves observing more than just the lectures of their classes but their fellow students. Something which discreetly added itself to the growing list of goals she had started to give themselves since she first arrived at the Academy.
By the time the day of Lasutro’s planned visit to the Imperial Villa came around, she had already sent an appropriate response with the help of Henry, and she had finished devising one of the spells provided to them by their tome to a usable degree, in part thanks to one of the classes she had missed. Additionally, after much persuasion from their noble roommate, she had acquired, for far more coin then she would’ve liked, what Henry had described as informal formal wear. Which was, despite its supposed informality, still far too lavish for Lasutro’s tastes, though it was far more comfortable than it appeared.
When she arrived at the gates of the Villa, a gruff voice called out to them from one of the two visible guards stationed there, who both tightened grip on their respective halberds.
“What’s your business here!?”
To which Lasutro simply removed the written proof of their invitation that she had received the day before, which came along with the Princess’s gratitude for their swift reply, handing it over to the first of the two guards to approach them. After several readings of the letter and several minutes of waiting for one of the patrolling guardsmen of the grounds of the Villa, the two guards open the gate, each giving Lasutro far too many apologies for the wait, before passing on the letter to guard beyond the gates.
Similarly to the guards of the gate, the patrolman’s attitude quickly changed after they read the letter, from the casual and somewhat demeaning way they had replied to their fellow guardsmen to an act in the manner of what they clearly believed, or had been taught, to be the ideal escort for a individual favored by a Princess. Which Lasutro found mostly pleasant besides the unprovoked shallow explanations of particular areas of the Villa and the pompous way the guard treated them.
Eventually, after several minutes of walking and several more minutes of unwanted conversation from their escort, their escort is dismissed in favor of an older human woman dressed almost exactly as Lasutro imagined a butler would.
“Greetings Izora Norkra, I am Ms.Zudyf, her highness’s aide and butler. Now if you would please follow me.”
The gray haired woman said with an exceedingly polite bow, before turning and making her way up the grand staircase where Lasutro and their previous escort had stopped before their dismissal. From there Ms. Zudyf led them through a short hall, leaving little time for Lasutro to inspect the various pieces of art they passed. After little less than a minute of following the remarkably aged butler, she pushed a set of doors open revealing a well decorated salon.
“Please wait here for a moment while I notify her Highness of your arrival.”
Ms. Zudyf politely declared, immediately after which she gave another bow to Lasutro then took her leave, closing the doors quietly behind her as she did.
Left to their own devices, Lasutro took a moment to properly inspect the room, silently judging the fact it was in fact larger than their own room. A judgment not helped by the increasingly obvious luxury of the items within, a painting that adjusted the visible brush strokes for different angles of viewing. However, as quickly as their unconscious judgment of both high nobility and the Empire’s Royal family came, it was brought back to a less biased understanding when Lasutro began pursuing the small bookshelves that the room had.
Among which she saw books or rather knowledge that would tempt any reasonable individual, making it clear as much as the opulence of Villa was display of wealth, it was also a show of the Royal family’s power.
Lasutro stood in the corner of the room reading through the first book to sufficiently tempt them into doing so while she awaited the Princess’s arrival. Just when the text was becoming particularly interesting to them she was interrupted by sudden, if expected opening of the salon’s doors. At which point she quickly snapped the book shut and returned it to its place on the shelf before turning to face the opened doors.
Despite knowing who she had saved and having seen her up close before, though under less than ideal circumstances, Lasutro still found themselves in awe, and unable to act properly for a single moment as the Princess entered the salon. However Lasutro quickly recovered their composure and performed their best attempt at a curtsy in the fashion Henry had insisted upon. A gesture that received an almost playful chuckle from the Princess. Following which she gracefully took a seat on the closeist of the two baroque-like chesterfields that were positioned opposite of each other and separated by a fashionably suitable table.
With a gesture of their own the Princess directs Lasutro to take the seat opposite of them, before turning the head slightly back towards the door where Ms. Zudyf was standing and politely ordering the tea she had mentioned in her initial letter. While the two worked out the specific tea, Lasutro took their seat across from the Princess. Shortly after which Ms. Zudyf gave a small bow to the Princess before opening the doors once more and making her way down the hall. During which Lasutro caught a brief glance at one of what seemed to be a pair of guards for the Princess.
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As soon as the doors shut behind Ms. Zudyf the Princess looked toward Lasutro more directly then she had when she first entered the room, giving the young half elf a thankful smile that she clearly didn’t often express.
“Now Izora, if you don’t mind me calling you such,” The Princess paused for a brief moment giving Lasutro the chance to politely correct her with a different address, to which she responded with a small nod of approval.
“I simply must thank you, I am sure that if I had been bereft of your succor I would have surely perished. However, though I owe you my life and shall remain forever grateful for the risk you took, knowing or unknowingly, my station demands that I do not ignore my debts. So, as you have prepared yourself for our proper introduction, I have prepared several gifts of use to you, not just as a student of our famed Academy, but as a fellow young and growing mage. ”
Just as the last words passed her lips, Ms. Zudyf re-entered the room with several servants of varying age each holding a tray of sorts and a few pushing a fanciful dolly. Some of the servants as well as the butler, carefully and efficiently set the table between the Princess and Lasutro with a veritable medley of tea snacks, cakes and other sweets. After which they were dismissed, with the exception of Ms. Zudyf, who quickly and skillfully poured the two cups of an almost ethereal purple tea before taking her place behind the Princess along with the dolly.
Although Lasutro had initially accepted the Princess’s invitation in an effort to avoid her scorn and to minimize the attention she had unintentionally drawn when she had saved her, with the disappearance of their bracelet their intentions shifted. After taking a sip of the light, herbal concoction presented to them, Lasutro asked the question she was sure to get an answer to, that being what gifts they intended on giving them. With a gesture, her butler carefully removed a worn leather book from the drawer built into the fanciful dolly, and handed it over to the Princess who placed it on a section of the table that was clear of food and tea.
Following another gesture, though this time to Lasutro, indicating to grab the small leather tome ,even encouraging them to open it. Which she quickly did, tempted further by their own curiosity she just as quickly disregarded their manners, and began to find themselves falling into a familiar trance. A trance which she would have given themselves completely to if not for Ms Zudyf loudly clearing her throat.
After setting down what she now knew to be a powerful grimoire, Lasutro returned their attention to the Princess who, after taking a sip of their own tea, gave them a pleased smile that made it seem like she would never deceive anyone. And before she speaks again Lasutro knows the intent of their imminent speech, and can only hope in vain that it is not what she expects it to be, as whatever temptation brought by the Princess for them, she will be unable to refuse. Despite all the logic that dictates otherwise.
“Now I still have a couple more gifts for you to alleviate my debt to you, but first I would like to speak to you on a separate matter. A matter which you could say is the less formal reason I invited you for tea. Given what little I have discovered about you, Izora, and your apparent skill under pressure. I thought that after your graduation from the Academy, which will likely coincide with my own, you would take a position as a Mage under my employ.”
Princess Ryea paused for a moment to read Lasutro’s expression, before taking another sip from her cup of tea and continuing.
“Of course you would be thoroughly compensated for your work in coin or objects that might catch your interest. Additionally if you accept now, I would be more than willing to assist you in a lesser but similar manner. Though I would not be paying you but rather ensuring your growth as a young mage.”
The Princess stopped again, though this time simply for another sip from her tea, something Lasutro failed to intuit as she proceeded to voice their concerns before the Princess could continue.
“While this gift is astounding, to say the least, and your offer enticing, what would you have me do for you now?”
Lasutro asked, attempting to hide the fact that despite the lack of information on what the Princess would have them do and the risk to their own identity, she was willing to join her for the simple prospect of more gifted grimoires and other pieces of arcane knowledge discreetly kept by the Empire.
“Well, you would simply be an escort of sorts during my attendance at the Academy, at least during class hours and the time between classes.”
The conversation between the two continued for several minutes and a few cups of tea, during which Lasutro attempted to covertly probe for other reasons for the Princess’s interest in them, a task she considered to be a failure. That is in sense that the only insights she could gain was that part of the reason the Princess was interested in having them work as an escort was to act as an obstacle, or rather an excuse to avoid the children of various nobles and aristocrats who tended to pester them.
Just when the subject of their acceptance or rejection of the Princess’s offer was about to rear its head, Lasutro managed to politely excuse themselves for use of the restroom which she was guided to by one of the guards who had been standing just beyond the salon’s doors.
There she quickly finished their business before she began to prepare for what she had intended on doing since their acceptance of the Princess’s invitation. After ensuring their secrecy, at least as much as she was able, Lasutro removed three components she had managed to prepare despite their expense, each holding parallels to the components of the spell the young guardian she had read about had prepared to locate their lost artifact.
Although on technical level Lasutro realized that the imitation spell that had gradually formed in their mind over the days that had followed their study of its more perfected form from their red tome, was far inferior and potentially far too costly in terms of their own mana, Lasutro couldn’t help not attempting to cast it. Especially since in their mind there was a chance that their bracelet found its way into the Princess’s hands, or at least someone under her employ.
With quick but steady hands Lasutro began to assemble their little spell on the finely polished tiled floor, first placing a creatively made brass cup, or rather goblet, that was designed to fold so that it may fit comfortably within a pocket at the center of one of the room’s large tiles. When Lasutro was satisfied with its position she began to pour the first of their spell components into the brass cup, holy water. After filling the goblet nearly to the brim she gently dropped the second component into the water, a clear crystal bead,which quickly settled at the bottom of the cup.
As the ripples in holy water settled, Lasutro removed the fake bracelet that they had continued to wear despite how much frustration its very existence brought to them, and placed it to the side before drawing the paring knife she had hidden with bandages on their left arm. After similarly setting aside their unused bandages, Lasutro held their arm above the goblet and with their other hand carefully drew the blade against their forearm, ignoring the pain as best they could with the help of the elven words that had come to their mind when she made the imitation spell.
While the ever familiar warm crimson trickled down into the brass cup, diluting the holy water, she continued chanting the elven words as hushed as she could, fueling the spell as she did. During which she rubbed their blood all over their fake bracelet, letting it stain the silver metal before cleaning it in the ever darker waters of their goblet, after which she set it aside once more.
As Lasutro reached for the final component for their spell, a small forked piece of wood foraged from a two thousand year tree, and floated it upon the waters of their goblet. At which point she reached the apex of their spell and the pull on their mana grew to such heights it felt as if each word she uttered pulled the enough mana to bring them to their knees if she had been standing. As their spell reached its end Lasutro spoke the final words and performed its final somatic components, ending the casting with their hand above the goblet.
With the spell’s completion their mana was pulled from them once more in a manner that felt akin to managing to break the surface of the ocean before being pulled under its waves once more. When the last of the mana the spell demanded had left them, Lasutro’s mind was suddenly aware of where their inheritance was the exact location known to them. However before she could even be made aware of its location relative to their own, the single location became many and soon after the unforeseen flaws of their imitation spell made themselves known.
First, the descriptions and images that had filled their mind with the details of their bracelet’s location tore themselves from Lasutro’s psyche leaving only a rough idea of its location, that being the Academy in its entirety. After which the psychic pain of its removal forced them to grit their teeth to stifle the scream that would have echoed forth otherwise.
Not a moment after the second consequence of their imitation spell struck them, though it was a consequence she had anticipated beforehand. However, Lasutro did not accurately predict the pain and physical damage it would incur. Although ultimately the inaccuracy worked in their favor as the sound of the foolish half elf choking on the metallic crimson that filled their throat was far quieter than the scream she would have let out with clear lungs.
When the pain that echoed through every bit of their body came to an end, Lasutro, with a near sickening amount of blood in their stomach, was suddenly met with an unexpected piece of knowledge. A unexpected benefit to their thrown together imitation spell which reveals to them that not only is their bracelet is hidden by a complex weave of spells but if she had simply taken the time to achieve a perfect recreation of the spell their tome provided them, she would have found it without issue, given it was within half a kilometer. Information which enlightened them to the fact that she somehow managed to enhance the spell’s range at the cost of overall power and an increase in physical repercussions.
After taking a minute to recover their mind from the backlash of their spell, Lasutro treated their cut with the minimal amount of bandaging before using the rest to wrap the paring knife against their arm in the same manner she had previously. Despite the fact their body felt as if it was on fire, Lasutro managed to push through the pain, partially thanks to their choice to imbibe one of the potions she had gotten from Oruker. While she slowly regained their composure, Lasutro tended to the physical evidence of their spell, the empty brass goblet and several splatterings of blood that had found their way onto the floor.
When she finally returned to the salon she found the Princess still waiting, though it was evident that she hadn’t been unoccupied. The most obvious signs to them being the absence of some of the tea snacks that had been prepared and a book in her hand that Lasutro recognized to be one of the texts she was studying in one of their classes. With their return the Princess took a long moment to study them again as they slowly made their way back to their seat, all the while doing their best to hide their massive increase in pain.
Instead of pestering Lasutro for their answer to her request, the Princess stared into their eyes, her gemstone eyes studying them with an intensity that Lasutro only ever had for books. Eyes that Lasutro was sure could see, at least to some extent, their pain. Although the expression she gave and the way she began to phrase her words when she broke eye contact communicated her almost arrogant demand for Lasutro’s answer. She instead concisely explained the two other gifts she had prepared for them in addition to an invitation to a celebration of the winter solstice that was to be held in the Imperial Palace. After which the Princess insisted on sharing a slice of one of the many cakes which had been prepared for their tea during which she almost begrudgingly suggested that Lasutro send their decision via letter.
However before the Princess could take their leave, Lasutro voiced the choice she had made not long after the Princess had made their offer, stopping the royal in their tracks. At which point Lasutro caught a brief glimpse of her relieved smile before it returned to the more neutral expression she often displayed in public. With hypnotizing grace the Princess turned back to face Lasutro before looking towards and instructing Ms. Zudyf.
“Karmen, see to it they receive the papers I prepared, something to help carry their gifts, and should they wish it, an assortment of the snacks Gurdem prepared for today.”
After the butler gave the Princess their prompt acceptance of the royal’s command, she promptly exited the salon, giving polite bow to both Lasutro and the Princess before doing so.
“Now, Izora it was a pleasure meeting you, and I would love to converse with you further. However, I have other business to attend to at the moment so I must take my leave. Thank you for accepting my offer, I will do my best to ensure you do not regret it. I shall see you again soon. ”
The Princess said before performing a small curtsy to Lasutro and exiting the room, leaving them alone with their new gifts. There she reflected on the consequences of their choice, as well as the location of their missing bracelet while she awaited for Ms Zudyf’s eventual return.