Ahzi reached for [Light of the Empire] and lit up with a brilliant internal glow. Ghostly white flames enveloped her form, then reached for those closest to her. The soldiers looked upon her reverently, unmoving, and so they were engulfed in the flame. Each conflagration was short-lived and after the flames extinguished was left flawless skin. Burns turned a healthy pink, gashes that showed bone closed, and the amputated limbs became seamless stubs. The last always filled her with a profound sense of sorrow, that she could not heal what was already gone.
As she walked stately down the improvised lanes of the tent, Moeris drew close and murmured quietly enough that only someone with her senses could hear: “Is this wise Princess? To weaken yourself so close to the battlefield?”
Ahzi arched one eyebrow from behind her fan and replied just as silently, “I shall be fully recovered long before even my meeting with Omnū.”
She could feel Moeris wringing his hands, “But, this leaves you vulnerable and if there are any —”
“But nothing Moeris,” she interrupted before the man could work himself up. “We are in the middle of a war, in case you have forgotten. One we are losing. Risks must be taken and this one is small enough for the reward. Just look at the faces around us.”
Where once there had been nothing but despondency in the eyes of the wounded now burned an intense zeal. Many gripped their weapons tightly and some tried to rise, only stopped by weary healers. Ahzi did not doubt that when they returned to the front, they would tell tales of what had happened here.
“Princess, General Omnū has requested you give a Circlet to the heavily injured soldier on your left.” Morris's murmured voice reached her again and she sensed the Circlet being pressed into her hands, which she took gracefully.
He continued while stepping back, “She was the first to raise the alarm that the assault had begun and she suffered greatly for it.”
Ahzi spotted the soldier, who was missing both of his legs and one eye — perhaps the most injured woman she had seen yet. None of which her flames cured, though they healed what would have otherwise taken months. Which is not to say that it would be impossible to heal such wounds, such medicine was scarce.
She turned her attention inwards and queried [One with the Realm]. Corporal Raun Idress, guilty of one count of sleeping on duty, It whispered to Ahzi in her voice. She suppressed a shudder. She had always found the emotionless replica unnerving. Apparently that last infraction had been forgiven in light of this achievement, which Ahzi quite agreed with.
Ahzi stopped their party in front of the soldiers' cot and turned to face her. She favored the woman with a direct look, causing a sharp intake of breath and paleness from the soldier. The poor woman looked about ready to faint.
“Corporal Raun Idress,” Ahzi spoke with a commanding tone that carried to all corners of the tent, despite seeming to only be spoken at normal volume, “The Empire has seen your exceptional sacrifice in the face of impossible odds. You are to be rewarded with the Osāzi Circlet.”
Ahzi took pleasure in seeing the woman's guard drop and be replaced with wonder. It was moments like this that she looked forward to. It was a shame that they were few and far between. Moeris always made sure to set such occasions up when she visited the soldiery. For all of his flaws, he had always been thoughtful.
Ahzi snapped the fan shut, allowing the woman an unobstructed view of her visage, and then presented her with the Circlet. Corporal Raun took it with trembling hands and then gave a salute the best she could from a resting position. Given the beaming look on her face, and the envious looks from her fellow soldiers, Ahzi counted this particular ploy as successful.
“I shall endeavor to prove myself worthy of this honor, your Highness!” Said the woman with an admirably unwavering voice.
“See that you do,” stated Ahzi as she snapped the fan open and continued her journey.
As Ahzi neared the end of the tent, the drain on [Light of the Empire] fell off and then stopped. It was a welcome reprieve as she was just beginning to feel the effects of mana exhaustion. She was right about to exit the pavilion when she noticed something … strange.
A man had looked away from her. This alone wasn’t suspicious, there were certainly reasons for looking away. They could be doing something vitally important like the medics or simply had made a mistake. It did happen, and Ahzi was always forgiving of such displays. What was unforgivable and noteworthy was doing it twice. Or thrice, she amended, as she watched the man be distracted by the spectral flames playing across his flesh.
The more time she spent observing him the more discrepancies she picked out. The cast of his features was foreign, reminding her of a Zalpurian — though that wasn’t quite right. He was currently hairless, a common symptom at the front, but her enhanced vision was able to pick out stubble which was a matte gold-whitish color that she certainly hadn’t seen before. His posture was all wrong, far too closed off.
Ahzi had completely stopped by this point and turned towards the stranger, shielding her eyes with her fan. Her retinue milled behind her and she could feel her attendants exchange worried glances. Before the situation could devolve further, she motioned Major Tal back to her side.
Once she had retaken her place by Ahzi’s side, she redirected her finger towards the strange man and asked: “Who is that?”
The Major followed her finger, blinked at the man, and then a well-hidden look of dawning embarrassment spread across her face.
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“Ah yes, I meant to discuss that situation with you Princess.” Major Tal cleared her throat and then spoke as if reading from a report, “This man was discovered by Corporal Rhea Māno near the heart of yesterday's battle. He was burned and broken, but enough remained of his clothing to identify it as our uniform. Usually, that would be the end of it, but there is the case of his looks … and his words.”
“His words?” Ahzi repeated as she led her entourage over.
“The Corporal had reported that he was speaking nonsense when she rescued him, but such behavior is not uncommon among the wounded so it wasn’t seen as cause for concern. However, when he awakened he continued to speak his strange tongue. None of our healers here were able to recognize it and some learned their craft as far as Avlend.”
By this point, their group had reached the man’s cot. For the first time since she had entered the tent, he looked directly into her eyes — or would have had her fan not been in the way. She was shocked to see that his eyes were green, something that must have been the result of an [Ability] or [trait]. The stranger looked away a moment later and Ahzi had to discreetly signal Moeris or she sensed he would have struck the man.
“Surely there must be theories,” Ahzi stated while using her senses to analyze him. The general lack of calluses or scars indicated that he likely lived a life free of labor, which pointed to him being relatively wealthy. On the other hand, he was so scrawny that his ribs were visible and he was quite short to boot. Both of which were general indicators of poverty. His current state of petrification likely meant he was unused to the presence of nobility.
“There are two main ones, Princess. The first is simply that he was struck in the head and is quite mad. We get a few such cases each span.” Given the clearness she had glimpsed in his gaze as well as the fact that no other symptoms were present, Ahzi doubtful of this one. With her particular attributes, she was rarely ever wrong about things like this.
“The other is substantially more fanciful. A teleportation miscast.” Sensing perhaps her raised eyebrow, Major Tal hastened to finish. “It may be near unheard of, but sometimes such accidents can safely deposit their target without any accidental … dismemberment or rearrangements.”
Well, she could certainly put the second to rest. Ahzi reached once again for [One with the Realm], not expecting a response. However, she was pleasantly surprised when the ability activated.
Dante Embry, born in the province of Wʉl.
Wasn’t that a surprise. While it wasn’t quite as informative as the Queens, her skill was never wrong. This ‘Dante’ was born in the empire, probably descended from immigrants. It would explain the strange language, or perhaps the head injury was responsible after all.
The question now is what to do with him?
While she was considering the question, Moeris’s voice reached her ears. “Perhaps he could be a spy or saboteur?”
It wasn’t surprising that Moeris’s thoughts went in that direction, it was his duty as a bodyguard. Though she thought it often made him inflexible as she doubted that any spy would stand out as much as this man had. Any spy worth their salt would do their best to fade into the background and avoid notice.
Besides, this man was an open book to her. Either he had no social defenses or he far exceeded her level to fool her to this degree. This is not to say that no such individuals exist in the enemy's ranks, just that they were exceptionally rare. As it was, Ahzi sensed no malice or deception in his body language, only anxiety and awkwardness.
Still … it was better to be cautious and Ahzi saw no need to take a risk with this stranger.
Right before she was about to deliver her verdict, Major Tal spoke up again. “Ah! The reason we thought to bother Your Highness about this is that this man has a Unregistered Ability. Quite an unusual one as well.”
That brought Ahzi up short. An Unregistered Ability? Why the last time that had happened had been well before she was born. If she remembered her history lessons correctly. Either the conditions to unlock it were extreme … or it was a high rarity.
“Explain.” She demanded of Tal who, in response, bent down to pick up a hand of dust under Ahzi’s questioning eye. The Major then cast the dust over the stranger, who flinched and covered his eyes.
About a hand's breadth away from the stranger’s outstretched hands, the dust seemed to strike and coat something invisible mid-air. It contoured around his limbs, almost like he was wearing bulky armor. It reminded her of the spell [Force Armor], though she hadn’t detected any magic around the foreigner.
“It seems as if anything that passes within a certain distance of this man’s body is pushed away. It is not a strong repulsion, quite weak in fact, but it was active while he was unconscious. Which was more than a day.”
“Truly?” Ahzi asked, taking note that the sheets he was lying on also had an imprint that was far bigger than his frame. Keeping a spell like that running for that long would drain even her mana pool. Unless the foreigner had a monstrous mana pool, then that meant that this was a [Passive] ability.
Which were at minimum [Rare].
“Yes, Your Highness. It is especially impressive given that the healers judge him to be less than level 10, given his natural healing ability and resilience of flesh. I’d say if he advanced some levels and achieved a decent class advancement, he could become a military asset. I certainly wouldn’t mind a Defender with an ability like that in my regiment.”
Her assessment was similar and that certainly changed things. Before, she would have simply executed the man and been done with it. Sure she would remember his face, she always did, but it was necessary for operational security. But now, he was potentially valuable.
Indecision wared within her and she sighed.
Ah by the dead gods, why not. It wasn’t like they weren’t going to win this war without a risk or two. This was a minor one all things considered.
She turned to her retinue and stated, “It has been revealed to me that this stranger, Dante Embry, is a citizen of our great Empire. Whether or not he was part of our military in the past, it remains his duty to defend his homeland. Moeris, ensure that he is properly enlisted. If I recall, it was a certain Corporal Rhea Māno who found him? In that case, she shall assume responsibility. Put him underneath her command and impress upon her my personal interest in this case.”
Moeris stiffly saluted, “As you order, Princess.” Then he turned around distributing orders to Major Tal and the other underlings. Soon, runners were dispatched.
With one last glance at the man whose fate she just ordained, she turned to leave. Ahzi turned her mind towards her upcoming meeting with General Omnū. Before she had even left the tent, she had put the strange man out of her mind.
In all likelihood, she would never see him again.