"What'd you guys think?" Kayzor asked.
He was in his command tent with his staff and aides, sipping on some tea after the bout with Reivyn. It had been a long time since he had had such an exhilarating sparring match. Reivyn was nowhere near his opponent when it came to Stats, and that showed when he let his control slip, but his Skills were the real deal.
"An excellent find, my lord," his executive officer, Brigadier Cren, intoned. "I've only briefly skimmed the relevant reports regarding his Command ability, but it would appear that he has the foundation laid like you need, to have a good understanding of how soldiers can be used to maximum effect."
Kayzor continued to sip his tea, not making any comment, yet.
"As it stands now, just because of his young age, he would have to fight an uphill battle to gain the respect of any troops we put under him," One of the battalion commanders said. "His Skills, though, qualify him to be an excellent trainer. If he spent some time training the troops in hand-to-hand combat, he would gain their respect that way."
"I'm guessing he's mid to high Tier 3, so we could also get him teamed up with an experienced squad for some Dungeon Delving to bring his Level up to raise his Stats," another commander offered. "If he had the Stats, not just the Skills, to simply overawe the soldiers, he has the chance to really make a name for himself."
Many of the other officers nodded their heads along with the statements made by the senior commanders. The Army was 50,000 people strong. It was much more than just a battalion. It was a task force made up of two entire divisions. There were several high-ranking officers tagging along with Kayzor, and most of the staff officers and aides were too low-rank to feel comfortable adding their opinion to the mix in their presence.
Most of them didn't have a differing opinion, though, so they just nodded their heads.
"I think you've all misunderstood," Kayzor said, setting his teacup down. "I'm not asking you to evaluate his potential as a prospective officer."
"Forgive me, my lord, but wasn't he a captain in the Oreck battalion?" The executive officer asked. Kayzor nodded his head in the affirmative. "And now he's traveling with us to Wispan after having gained a lot of merit fighting against the invaders..." Kayzor nodded once more. "Sooo... isn't he being recruited to the Imperial Army?"
"Nope," Kayzor shook his head. He looked at his officers with a slightly confused face. "You have noticed my sister, right? And the relationship they have together?"
The officers shared a look with each other before turning back to face Kayzor.
"We've been very busy, my lord, so we haven't paid too much attention to it. Isn't he just a young talent that the young lady has discovered and befriended?"
Kayzor barked a laugh.
"No," he shook his head. "He's courting her."
Gasps filled the room at the news.
"Isn't Lady Kefira the..."
Kayzor held a hand up to stop the executive officer from continuing.
"Forgive me, my lord," he bowed his head.
Not everyone present was qualified to know the secrets involving the imperial family. Kayzor took a moment to scan the faces of the officers present to see if he could spot anyone perking up or paying unusual attention to the line of conversation that was just caught. He had been leading these men for a long time, now, though, and they had all been rigorously vetted. Nobody seemed to want to pry, so he let it go for now.
I should have one of my personal bodyguards shadow the executive officer for a while, just in case, Kayzor thought. See if anyone fishes for information. It's not healthy to be so paranoid about my own men, but that was a pretty serious blunder involving a very serious secret.
"Back on track," Kayzor said, picking his teacup back up, but not drinking just yet. "After hearing about his exploits and seeing his Casting and Martial Skills in person, I've decided to give him a chance. That being said, I know my own biases, and I wanted the opinion of my subordinates to see if I missed anything."
"I can say that his talent seems to be on par with Lady Kefira, from what I've seen," Cren said, giving a meaningful look to Kayzor. "I'll have to look into the records to know for sure, though. We haven't known him long enough to gauge his character, though."
"I understand that," Kayzor said. "There's still time for that, but I just wanted to know your honest thoughts on the matter. They're not really hiding their relationship, so it'll be public knowledge, eventually, when we return to Wispan. I just wanted to know your thoughts on the matter against public opinion.
"None of you saw my sister drag him off to put balm on his wounds? I for sure thought you all would have made the connection."
"Ahem," one of the battalion commanders coughed into his hand. "Personally, I assumed she was going to have Lady Serilla do it."
"Oh," Kayzor said. He sat there in silence for a couple of seconds. "Yeah, that makes sense."
"If you want to truly know public opinion from our observations, it would be a good idea to spread rumors about the sparring match," another colonel said. "We were the only ones present, and if people don't know about his Skill, they'll assume the worst on account of it involving one of the Imperial Family members with an unknown."
"That's an excellent point," Kayzor said. "I'll leave it up to you guys to make sure such rumors reach the ears of the troops. If they unjustly think badly of Reivyn, then that might cause Kefira to suffer some hardship."
It's better that Reivyn gets a helping hand from me than to let Kefira worry about what the people are saying about him, Kayzor justified to himself. He was unaware that he was already more than halfway bought to fully supporting Reivyn and his relationship with his sister.
The conversation about Reivyn and Kefira ended, and the officers moved on to other subjects of importance. Kayzor would leave it up to the officers to figure out how to spread the word about Reivyn's Skills. He had faith that his men would do a good job of it. Most of his officers hadn't been present to witness him in action against the soul beast, either, and he would have them trickle that information down once they read the reports, as well.
Anyone who wants to court my sister has to be the ultimate talent, Kayzor thought. I don't know if that's Reivyn, or not, but he's the closest I've seen so far.
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Reivyn was unaware of Kayzor's scheming to make sure the troops had a positive opinion of him. He was sitting with Kefira, his shirt off, as they continued practicing their Spellcraft. He had made to put his shirt back on after Kefira had applied the soothing balm, but Kefira had pointed out that it needed time to dry. It was left conveniently forgotten long after the balm was no longer moist, though.
Reivyn concentrated on pouring his Mana, pure and not infused with any Affinity, into Kefira's thread. She was sitting in front of him, and she was drilling a hole in reality with her Space Affinity. She had gotten practice on repairing the jagged edges of a rent in space and patching it back up, but she hadn't tried to make a space tear in quite this way herself.
"What was it like?" Kefira asked. She didn't have to concentrate too hard on her task, as she was just drilling a hole. The complicated parts hadn't come up, yet.
"What was what like?" Reivyn asked.
"Being outside the Realm."
"Oh, it was... amazing. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. I could see multiple Realms floating in the void, giving off their own unique light, and there was a sea of those sparks floating about between them in the emptiness. Without them combining together to attack me, they gave off a tranquil feeling.
"If I had to describe it, I would say it was like standing in the stars in the sky, but the stars were practically within reach."
"I would like to experience it for myself one day," Kefira said whimsically.
"We'll need to figure out a way to safeguard ourselves from those soul sparks, first. They were just as attracted to you as they were to me, and that's their home turf."
"Oh, I know. I wonder if we could get something similar to the amulet I use to seal a portion of my soul, but one that masks the signature instead?"
"Hmm... I don't know what kind of talented craftsmen you have in Wispan, but I imagine that's something my sisters could cook up in several years when they're older and have formidable Classes of their own."
"You think they're going to go the Lifestyle Class route? Would your parents agree to that?"
"My parents have never pushed us in any particular direction other than being the best at what we choose. My mother might have had plans for what the twins could be in the future when she started teaching them Mana techniques, but I'm sure she just wants them to be happy and pursue whatever they want to."
"A hidden upside to losing your court," Kefira chuckled. "If you guys had remained in your empire, then their tutelage would have been much more strict."
"Did your parents force you down the path you've chosen?"
"Um... kind of? They definitely wouldn't have agreed to me choosing a Lifestyle Class, and I'm expected to contribute to the Imperial Family and the empire, but I have a fair amount of freedom on how I choose to do that. Being born with a powerful soul and natural talent for the Space/Time Affinity, though, has narrowed my choices down a lot, and my parents wouldn't let me ignore those gifts."
"Sounds like your parents are pretty lenient and fair, to me," Reivyn said.
"I realize that now, of course, but I didn't always. I'm also the youngest, and most of the responsibilities expected of imperial children have already been accounted for, so that gives me a lot of freedom of choice."
"How many siblings do you have, again?"
"Five older siblings. Kayzor you've met, and he's my third brother. Sophia, you've heard mentioned, and she's my fourth sister. Garet is my first brother, the oldest and crown prince, Faria is my second sister, and Trevor is my fifth brother. He's only three years older than I am, but I'm closest to Sophia and Kayzor."
"So three brothers and two sisters. Pretty even spread, with you counted in the mix. What about Serilla? I noticed that the two of you have the same type of eyes."
Reivyn heard Serilla snort in the background at Reivyn's inquiry.
"She's from a loyal, noble family. We have similar eyes because my mother is her aunt."
"And she's your bodyguard?" Reivyn asked with some surprise.
"Technically she's my lady in waiting," Kefira answered. "But she's far too rambunctious to sit around in a dress all day, managing my affairs. Plus I like her just where she is. There are a couple of other ladies in attendance that handle those duties."
"So if she's not your official bodyguard, do you have others?"
"Of course," Kefira nodded. "But it's traditional to only take one with us when we go out for Life Experience, and there was no way I was not going to bring Serilla with me. She's close enough to my Level and Skill Level that we can Party together directly, and we don't have to worry too much about crime or assassins, or anything like that."
"Well that's good to know," Reivyn said. "It's good to know that I can rest easy without having to worry about coming to your aid from a surprise attack in the middle of the night."
Kefira turned around a bit and swatted Reivyn on the shoulder.
"I see how it is. Turning it around about how it's good for you."
Reivyn just laughed, and Kefira joined him after a short glare.
"Let's see if we can punch the hole a bit deeper before we quit for the night," Kefira said, turning her full attention back to the task at hand.
"Sure thing," Reivyn said, resuming his own concentration.
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The March back to Oreck seemed to take longer than their March to engage the invaders. It was actually shorter, what with the soldiers being higher Level and better at Marching, but Reivyn didn't have as much to do. He didn't have a company to oversee, and he and Kefira didn't spend their entire time working on their Mana Skills.
The landscape slowly drew past them as they made their way, but there wasn't much that caught Reivyn's attention. He found himself watching the soldiers whenever Kayzor came back to chat with his sister, though he would occasionally converse with her brother when he was brought into the conversation, too. Most of the time, though, Reivyn and Kefira just rode in companionable silence.
There really wasn't a need to talk to each other nonstop, and they simply enjoyed each other's presence. The leisurely March back without having to check up on troops or worry about the impending battles, plus the pleasant company, made it seem like it was both fast and slow at the same time.
They eventually did reach Oreck, though, and Kayzor allowed for the troops to set up camp outside the city to take a break. They would be allowed to enter the city for some personal time on a rotating basis, and Kayzor also knew that Reivyn wanted to meet up with his pals one last time if they made it before they had to move on.
Kayzor wasn't free to accompany his sister strolling through the city, but Reivyn, Kefira, and Serilla were. The first place Reivyn went was to the Adventurer's Guild to check up on his commission. They were too far away from Garoq for the records of the money his guide to the Revenant Dungeon generated to be accessible, but he wasn't worried about it. He had already withdrawn funds before getting transported across the Realm, and he had been paid by the supply officer for his time in the battalion.
As expected there had been no progress yet made on his commission of finding the path back home, but Reivyn had expected that.
"So where do you want to go, now?" Reivyn asked Kefira as they stepped out onto the busy street.
"Well, Serilla and I didn't sell all of the silk we had acquired in the Lizaldon settlement," Kefira said, a sparkle in her eye. "We commissioned some outfits of our own to be made, but we never had a chance to pick them up before we left. We did pay for it and send notice to the shops that it could be a while before we could, though, so they should still be waiting for us."
"So we're going to go shopping?" Reivyn quirked an eyebrow.
"Of course!" Kefira jumped up and down in glee.
Reivyn could already feel the energy draining out of his body. Every time he went shopping, it was like he had a hole in the soles of his feet, and his Stamina leaked out of it into the ground. He didn't know why he felt that way, but it was the main reason he usually didn't like going shopping. Looking at some high-quality combat gear, though, didn't seem to have that effect on him.
He resigned himself to his feet as he followed Kefira and Serilla energetically making their way through the crowd to a prominent tailor. His shoulders sagged and his feet dragged, but he didn't complain out loud.
They stepped through the doors of the shop, and the two girls made a beeline to the counter. Kefira pulled out a scrip and handed it to the attendant.
"Here to pick up our commissions," Kefira said.
The attendant looked at the scrip and motioned for them to wait a moment as she went to the back of the store to bring the clothing items out. It didn't take long, and she quickly returned to the front of the store with several outfits in her arms.
"Would you like to try them on to make sure they fit the way you want them to?" The attendant asked.
"Of course!" Serilla took the bundle, and Kefira snagged a dress on the top of the pile. She turned to Reivyn and winked. "Just wait a moment."
Reivyn nodded his head, but inside he was in turmoil.
If she tries on every single one of those outfits, this is going to take forever, Reivyn groaned internally.
Kefira had been dressed in her customary Adventurer gear, a battle robe, and armor, so it took a bit of time for her to switch outfits. She eventually returned from the fitting room, and she struck a pose in front of Reivyn.
"What do you think?" She asked.
The dress she had taken fit her body perfectly. Without the constraints of her armor, Reivyn was able to see all of her curves. The dress was split on either side, but Kefira wore a pair of silk leggings underneath that were obviously a matching pair.
Reivyn looked her up and down, a bright smile on his face.
"It looks amazing," he said.
Maybe this isn't going to be such a chore, after all.