“That ignorant cripple!” An empty stein slammed against the table to punctuate the shout as Jeffrey, once again dressed in an outfit of dark blue that was trimmed with gold, continued to complain to his drinking companion, a black-haired boy who dressed in a white linen tunic and pants. Early on people had paid attention to his complaints about the city’s famous crippled girl but going on his third hour even the most interested parties had long since tuned him out.
The boy sipped his own drink, a spiced beer that had a hint of heat to it, before he bothered to respond, “Jeff calm down. You wanted to break off the engagement anyway, so why is it a problem that she tried to do it first?”
The boy rose to his feet as his voice rose once more, “You just don’t get it do you? Maybe it’s the fact you don’t seem to be interested in women, pride or anything to do with your right to the throne-”
A sharp glare stopped the ranting boy, causing his words to die in his throat, “Just because I prefer a free life far away from the restrictive trappings of my family doesn’t mean I lack pride. I just choose to not lash out just because mine gets a little bruised now and then.”
Jeffrey slumped down into his seat and mumbled something under his breath but his companion ignored the obvious complaint.
“Now, you didn’t want to marry her did you?”
“No.”
Lifting up the pitcher of beer on the table the boy offered to pour a refill for his childhood friend, “Well then regardless who breaks it off isn’t this fine? I mean she said it was a mutual break so it’s like you two agreed to it instead of her just dumping you out on the street. Rather nice of her seeing as you acted like a right ass.”
More quiet grumbling issued as the boy accepted a refill on his stein.
“Honestly I think she’s rather interesting and it’s a shame you turned her down.”
“PFFFFFT-” Jeffrey started coughing as he nearly choked on his drink, his face turning nearly as blue as his clothes. “Since when did you find any women interesting?”
Looking at his wet clothes the boy didn’t bother to shake the liquid off, but closed his eyes for a moment as a warmth spread from his mage gates, spreading out like a ripple around him as it dried the liquid off of him and his clothes before fading away. Opening his eyes he smiled, “Since she stood up to you yesterday without any level of power. It takes a lot of courage to stand your ground like that, especially when she could have just lay on the floor and cried when you slapped her. I’ve never seen a woman so proud, or have the courage to support that level of pride before. It’s rather interesting.”
“Pride is the only thing she has though. She dresses like a peasant and-”
“Don’t I dress far too plainly for my position as well? Besides, something about her looks good dressed simply. Kind of like a simple vase for a bouquet of flowers, it highlights her natural beauty instead of overpowering it or clashing with it.”
Jeffrey slowly lowered his stein and stared at his friend as if he was looking at someone who was suffering from a fatal illness, “You aren’t seriously thinking what I think you’re thinking are you Charles? I mean she’s not just any cripple, she’s THE cripple. The only noble famous for being given a prophecy of having immeasurable talent but ended up a cripple before she even learned to walk. You can’t possibly be thinking of trying to pursue her are you?”
The boy smiled as he lifted his own stein to his lips to drink, “Who knows?” With a swift motion he drained the rest of the drink before standing and placing a couple of silver leaves on the table. “Now if you excuse me, I see something interesting walking past the window.”
Jeffrey’s eyes were threatening to roll out of his head as he watched his friend leave, “I never thought he’d be a person to actually chase a skirt. Did the sun rise in the west this morning?”
At that time the ‘interesting thing’ that Charles had seen was walking with her maid as her gold eyes kept looking everywhere like a lost foreigner. If it wasn’t for the fact that she rarely left her home in the past the locals that walked past her might have thought she’d gone daft instead of just being a little lost. Though the fact she had a Ghost Cat on her shoulder was doing a lot to convince them that maybe there was something wrong with the girl after all.
“Lost are we?” A familiar voice from behind her caught her attention, causing Emma to pause in her tracks and turn to face the boy she’d seen yesterday.
“A little, yes. It seems I just don’t remember enough to find what I’m looking for.” There was no embarrassment in her voice as she understood her own shortcomings and refused to make excuses for them.
The boy’s face broke into a smile, “Well then, I’d be happy to guide you then.”
“There’s no need. Amelia is sufficient enough to reach an armorer’s just fine.” Her eyes traced past him to see if the boy she insisted looked like a peacock was behind him.
A soft chuckle escaped his lips, “Don’t worry, Jeff isn’t with me. He’s too busy drowning his bruised pride in beer right now. And while I’m certain your maid is an adequate guide I’d like to think that I can provide to be useful as well.”
An eyebrow was raised, “Your usefulness remains to be seen. That said, you know me, but I don’t know you.”
“Charles,” He bowed with a slight flourish.
“Indeed.” Without a word she turned and continued on her way, leaving him feeling both
surprised and amused. Where in the world could he find a woman half as interesting as this girl? He fell in behind her like a servant following his master as she continued to walk deeper into the market.
Amelia followed behind the two, not sure if she should raise a voice to her young mistress about the boy’s identity. Just as she was about to say something the boy turned back to her with an amused look on his face as he motioned to her to stay quiet about the matter.
“So what are you looking forward today my lady?”
“I need some training equipment.”
The famous cripple was planning on training? She was getting more interesting the more he knew about her. “Any preferences?”
“If I had any I wouldn’t have to be shopping now would I?”
The smile on his face didn’t falter at the harsh bite of her words, “You speak the truth rather plainly. It’s refreshing to not hear it dressed up.”
“You are the second most shameless flatterer I’ve ever heard.”
His grin grew a little bigger, “Oh, who is the first?”
“Gale, the God of Poets.”
Charles’ laughter could be heard from more than a hundred paces away as he struggled to stay on his feet as he doubled over in pain. After a long time he finally began to calm down, breathing in deep gasps as tears dripped from his eyes.
“Are we done making a spectacle now?”
Slowly nodding he gasped as he stood, “Being second only to a god isn’t too bad of a position I think. I thank you for the compliment.”
Her eyebrows pressed together as she tried to figure out the strange boy, “Take it how you want to then.” Turning away from the boy she didn’t understand she made her way towards a large building with a signboard showing a pair of crossed swords behind a shield. Amelia followed behind her young mistress with a pale face as she sure that the girl had been insulting the boy, and he wasn’t someone that should be casually insulted.
Of course neither party knew that the young girl actually did know Gale and did consider him the most shameless flatterer and flirt in existence and was ranking Charles behind him not out of malice, or as a compliment to his prowess with words, but as a sincere assessment of his behaviour. Not that this fact would change anything she felt about the boy if it was actually explained to either of them of course.
The trio spent a little while wandering before an outfit made of turquoise scales caught her attention. Turning, she looked at the other two beside her and asked, “What is this made from?”
Amelia looked at the boy who motioned that he’d allow her to handle this one, “Miss, it’s made from the hide of a Scaled Deer, a kind of Dragon Beast.”
Confusion was evident on her face as the girl brushed her hand over the smooth scales. Not giving her a chance to ask Charles spoke up, “Dragon Beasts are a subclass of Beast that have Dragon blood in their veins. Jackalopes, Fire Fish and Scaled Deer are the most common of these creatures but have the weakest amount of blood in them and are often used as food while their hides are sought after for clothing or equipment. Fire Fish scales are often used in jewelry due to their prismatic appearance that is known to accent the jewels they’re next to.”
“But what happened to the dragons? Why is their blood in a bunch of beasts?” The concern on her face was evident, though only she knew that was because she remembered the dragon race specifically and hadn’t known how this new type of beast had come about.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Amelia shifted a little as she sensed the girl’s feeling of concern, “Around six thousand years ago there was a massive war between mankind and the dragons. Eventually dragons were completely wiped out, but their influence on the world didn’t die with them as the blood in their bodies made its way into plants and animals that came in contact with it. Anyone who ingested it was affected too leading to a few families that have dragon blood in their veins. The effect on people is very thin though and usually only shows up very faintly every dozen generations. In beasts and plants though it has caused a series of changes that have caused new subspecies to occur, such as the Scaled Deer which has the scales and clawed feet of a dragon but is still a deer.”
Feeling the smooth scales once more the girl felt the wall that separated her from the common sense of the world was even greater than what she had thought it was. Just how many more surprises were there for her?
Moving on they eventually found a cheaper padded tunic and pants made of heavy cloth that could help lessen the force of blows. It wasn’t truly effective against sharp weapons or arrows, but for the sake of training it was perfect. With that, fifty silver leaves were quickly spent and they turned their attention to the second floor to look for an appropriate weapon.
They passed racks of swords and bows as she didn’t feel a draw to them as something was guiding her further across the floor. Likewise she passed by the racks of staffs and maces for the same reason. It wasn’t until she was in front of a rack of halberds did she feel a pull that the other weapons didn’t give her. It wasn’t because the weapons were particularly beautiful or even showing signs of masterful craftsmanship, but instead because something inside had been pulling her towards the rack since she’d made her way to this part of the store. Sorting through the weapons she found a halberd in the back of the rack that was made completely out of a dark metal. Before either of the two next to her could stop her from grabbing it she’d already lifted it out and effortlessly grasped it in both hands, feeling that it was somehow light in weight but threatened to crush anything in its path.
“Miss-”
Charles cut the maid’s concern off as excitement lit up in his eyes, “How does it feel?”
Her eyes didn’t come off the halberd she was holding as she tried to study the plain looking weapon, “Strange. It feels light, but at the same time I feel like its blows would be very heavy.”
“Interesting. That should be Star Metal, which is renowned for being unreasonably heavy. May I?”
With a nod she handed the weapon to him with one hand, the bladed head standing upright as he grabbed it. Almost immediately as she let go his face flushed and the veins in his neck bulged as he struggled to hold it, pushing it back into her hands almost immediately. Gasping as sweat dripped from his forehead he stared at her, “Are you sure you’re not already using Blood Force? That thing should crush a slight girl like you!”
“Really? It doesn’t feel that heavy. Are you playing with me?”
“Miss, Star Metal is a kind of iron only found in fallen stars and is exceptionally dense and heavy. At most people use it to make knives, daggers and arrowheads. Rarely it might even be used to make a spear head. Using it to make an entire weapon is a feat that could only be seen as utter madness and the fact you can even hold it is even more insane. If I hadn’t raised you for the last fourteen years I’d almost wonder if you were some kind of powerful cultivator or perhaps a high ranked beast that had become human.”
Surprise was an emotion that Emma was not prone to, not since her body had been given over to a goddess as old as the concept of medicine at least, but now the expression was clear on her face as the noon sun. “Then how in the heavens does it feel so light?”
“Let me check your elemental affinity. Maybe that has something to do with it. Sometimes a person with a very high affinity for a particular element can wield certain weapons or wear certain armour with less effort than others.” A hand reached out towards the wrist that was holding the halberd, but not touching it before she gave him permission.
With a nod she let him put his hand on her wrist, and he gently wrapped his hand around it, putting two fingers over the pulsing vein in her arm, his pride taking a small blow that he didn’t feel it quicken when he touched her. Was he really not even a little attractive to this strange girl? With a small sigh he closed his eyes as he pushed a small thread of Mage Force into her body, not noticing the glare that the Ghost Cat was giving him for touching its mistress.
The tendril of energy pushed past her Blood Gates, and even past her Mage Gates with a small twitch of his eyebrow as he noticed the strangeness that was hidden in her body, before he found the answer near her heart where a black flame flickered and snapped. As his Mage Force reached out to brush against it he felt as if he was being swallowed entirely into the flame as stars bloomed into view, spiralling out to countless galaxies. It was as if the entirety of the universe was beneath his feet and he could see every star that filled the sky. In comparison to the vastness he was facing it was as if he was a speck of dust floating in the deep of a much greater void. The two women, and one partially ethereal cat, watched as his face blanched in the face of whatever he was witnessing while pearls of sweat started to form on his forehead. His hand grew cold as ice around her wrist and if it wasn’t for the slight flare of his nostrils it’d be almost impossible to see that he was even still breathing. After what seemed like an eon to the young mage he let out a deep gasp as his body stumbled back, his hand barely peeling itself from her wrist, cutting his connection to the vastness he felt.
The boy’s eyes met their puzzled expressions with shock and amazement, “You’re a single element specialist of Space. To add to that rarity your affinity is at least as twice as strong as it should be.” His face began to regain color as he took a moment to breathe and slow his heart’s pounding a little. At the same time he took out a perfectly white handkerchief to wipe his forehead before continuing, for the benefit of the girl who seemed to have more secrets than he was prepared for. “You see, a normal person would have ten parts divided amongst the elements of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Mind and Space. Usually it’s a rather even distribution with everyone having at least one part of each element. Sometimes there are people who are more unbalanced towards one or more elements but will be lacking one of the others. The rarest are people who are ten parts of a single element and none of the other.”
He paused to let the explanation sink in for a moment before continuing, “The most common unbalance in that nature is someone who is ten parts fire, with the others coming in behind it in decreasing order from Water, Earth, Mind and with none having Space. In fact, normally, when a person is missing an element Space is the first to be missing, followed by Mind. Even when they are present it’s rare to have more than one part in either element, though I have the distinction to having four parts Mind as my affinity so it’s not too rare to say it’s impossible. What is impossible is the fact that you have at least twenty parts Space. Not only does this exceed what the body should be able to contain in terms of an element, but you exceed it with the least studied element!” His hands started to punctuate his words as his voice began to rise a little, drawing the attention of some of the other patrons who began gossipping about what he was saying.
“Is that the cripple next to the second prince?”
“Did he just say she had a large affinity for Space? What would a cripple need to know her affinity?”
“Wait, is that cripple holding a weapon? Don’t tell me she’s getting that for herself.”
“Is that a Ghost Cat? Is she being marked by the Goddess of Death as soon to be passing?”
The small group didn’t notice the chatter as Charles kept speaking, “Normally people who study magic use their Space affinity to create a tiny void in rings or other jewelry to store items in. Those who practice Blood Force have even less use for it, usually only being able to store a single weapon in a space inside of their bodies. But you…..well you have either won or lost a major lottery here and I can’t be sure of which.”
No one in their group spoke for some time despite the many whispered conversations going on around them, until Amelia broke the silence, “Miss, do you think it has to do with the Goddess?”
Emma’s eyebrows scrunched up in thought as she considered the possibility of a divine tampering of her elemental affinity, “Perhaps.”
Charles raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as he listened to Emma speak, his knowledge of her rumors deep enough to assume it had to do with her miraculous recovery from the brink of death as an infant. The same recovery that left her crippled and unable to train her Blood Force, something that had set her apart from the rest of her family and their overwhelming talent.
Her mind didn’t match the words coming out of her mouth though as she silently cursed Sol. If she found out that that pointy hat wearing jerk was the one who restricted her affinities down to the least useful element she was going to make him eat that staff he was so proud of. Who gave that pompous god the right to give her such an overwhelmingly useless amount of power for an element no one really knew how to use beyond as a storage space?
Pushing the thought, and her rising ire that was coming out of her assumption, aside she looked at the halberd once more and knew it felt right in her hands. The question was if she could afford something made completely out of such a strange metal. As she peeked at the price tag her eyes felt like they were going to fall out of her head, “Four hundred gold leaves? What, does it cook and clean for you too?”
There was a roll of laughter through the room as everyone who heard her her reaction thought it was more like some country bumpkin than a nobleman’s daughter. Did this girl know anything at all or was she stupid as she was uselessly crippled?
With a small chuckle himself Charles spoke, “Nothing of the sort. Star Metal is fairly rare to start with, and the amount of work needed to refine it causes the price to increase substantially. It’s not without cause though that it sees use despite the price as it’s incredibly resilient, and known for holding an edge finer than a butterfly’s wing.”
Her lips let out a rather reluctant sigh as she realized that there was no way she would be able to afford such a weapon with her meager budget. As she started to turn to return it to its home at the rear of the rack he noticed her expression and smiled, “Let me gift this to you for showing me something so interesting.”
The murmurs began again as a wave rushed through those watching the small group. The second prince gifting something to a woman? Much less the woman who’d just been dumped by the Heir of Blackwell? Was she some kind of supreme seductress to have captured him? The theories began flying and it didn’t take long for the rumors to leave the building and slowly ripple through the city without any of the group noticing what was happening.
Her eyes brightened a little as she looked at him, “Then I won’t pretend to be modest and will take you up on your offer. Such an interesting weapon is too good to let go for the sake of pretending to be modest.”
With a finger she lightly admonished the Ghost Cat with a thump across its forehead, “Hush you. If he wants to spend his money then it’s no reason for you to bad mouth him. I hardly doubt he’s trying to take liberties over something so small as this.”
Charles had to fight to contain his laughter. Did this girl ever stop with the surprises? Her shamelessness alone was the most amusing thing he’d seen in a long time and it was driving a new urge to see how spoiled she’d let herself be if given free reign to spend his money.
Resting the weapon across her shoulder she looked at him with eyes that spoke of her hope that he wasn’t simply toying with her, “I hope the disrespect of my beast hasn’t made you change your mind.”
“Nothing of the sort! Come, let’s get that thing paid for! I’ll walk you home after. That is, unless you want to take a carriage.” His smile was polite, but his eyes were sincere as he made his offer.
“Walking is perfect. Besides, it’s good for your health to move about a little.”
Charles’ laughter followed them down the stairs as they left the second floor and the confused gossipers inside. None of them knew what the boy could be thinking in his involvement with such a useless girl, much less how she could entertain him so much.