Now, I know what you are thinking. If we can’t prove the existence of blessings, how can we even be sure that Chosen Ones aren’t pulling some elaborate con?
Well, what if I told you that they might not even know the truth?
Let me share a popular story about Apheros that often gets passed around in taverns and brothels.
Apheros was following the Grand River, keeping a low profile so that Torbolt wouldn’t find him, when he came upon the union of the three rivers. Checking to see if there were any dangers, he cloaked himself in leaves, and discovered that the deadliest of predators was there. A trio of gossiping young goddesses.
Feeling a bit randy after failing to bed Torbolt, Apheros decided to scout ahead by shapeshifting into a young maiden before approaching.
The trio of river goddesses greeted Apheros, asking “her” why she had come to their domain.
Apheros claimed to be engaged to a man she hadn’t met yet and was worried about what she should do to please her soon to be husband.
The trio laughed, saying that it wasn’t her job to only please him, and that they both should get to enjoy their first night together.
Apheros then stated that she wasn’t sure what she wanted and asked the trio about what they would want from their husband on their wedding night.
The first of the trio, Philiadra of the Western Tributary, stated that she had no interest in carnal pleasures, and that she would prefer to spend the night sharing stories, hobbies, and other interests with each other.
The second, Erosathan of the Northern Tributary, stated that she would lay with her husband, but that she agreed with her sister in that she wanted to get to know her husband better first, now that they were to become a team.
The third and final goddess, Jormania of the Eastern Tributary, teased that she hoped her husband wouldn’t mind being tied to the bed.
Armed with knowledge, Apheros shed his disguise, then spent the next three nights greeting each of the goddesses in their individual domains. He spent the first night simply talking to Philiadra, showing her a few of the plants that he had been cultivating, and most importantly; actively listening to her. The second night he invited Erosathan to dine with him, then after competing with their minds in a few puzzle games, finished the night by sharing a bed with each other.
On the final night, an eager Apheros was having the last restraint placed on him when Jormania whispered in his ear, “Next time, don’t bother with the disguise. Simply ask.”
And so, with his (and the godesses’) lust satisfied, Apheros continued on his journey, proud of his newly formed domain of Fertility.
So, did you notice the problems with this tale that was originally told by Oskar himself? That’s right, didn’t Apheros already create his domain of Fertility? And who are these godesses? Hydraviandor’s church has no recognized minor gods. Also, why is this the only story about the gods that doesn’t include mortals? And why is there such a prominent moral in this one? Apheros’ stories, unlike some of the other gods, don’t usually contain one if they do, and they are always a more subtle one that the listener must determine themselves.
I spoke about this story at length with a human theologian, and he pointed out to me that the Chosen are first told the story by their gods before passing them on to the people. Perhaps Apheros simply wanted to brag that he once scored with a trio of godesses but embellished on the details to make it sound more legendary.
---
Travis
Windsday, the 25th of Fifthmonth
Jethro held up his double-ended spear while grinning madly, “Check it out, my cousin finished carving it last week. I just have a pair of human-steel tips on it for now, but the shaft is the most valuable. My Dad had the worst luck during his field assignments trying to win the lottery for an elmek horn, but he finally got lucky during the last flood when his squad took down a small herd of them.”
We were outside of the armory and chatting before morning drill, today’s topic being our personal weapons. Adrian was checking out my poleaxe, and was looking embarrassed, “You guys have some pretty cool weapons.”
I looked over at Mattius’ one-handed hammer-axe, then Bridget’s one-handed mace, and had to agree.
Jethro was quick to cheer up Adrian, “No, we’re just spoiled rich kids.” He paused to give me a quick smile, “Well, most of us. I doubt any of us will even be inscribing our weapons until next semester, so you got plenty of time to find something that suits you. In fact, you should join in on the quarter staff training. Mages tend to prefer 2-handers; so it’d be good to get comfortable handling one.”
Mattius cleared his throat, “There’s nothing wrong with preferring a one-hander, you get a lot more control and precision, even if you got one with a large head like mine. A monster probably won’t even feel it when Jethro stabs it with his skinny weapon.”
The guys and I all start grinning, and Adrian plays with my poleaxe a bit before handing it back, “Well, this one’s definitely too much for me to handle. I guess not all of us can be gifted like you Travis.”
My face turned red as the guys and Arc started laughing, our attitudes the complete opposite of Bridget’s, who was letting out an annoyed groan, “I need more girl friends.”
Drill went like normal, though there were a few changes. Our morning jog included some obstacles for us to cross that mimicked the glacis and ditches outside of the forts and walls, and a 4-story flight of stairs to sprint up and down. Sword training included more attack swings, lectures began to cover what role mages performed in a squad, and the last hour’s Q&A was shortened to allow us to begin training with our personal weapons.
Hector led the instruction for heavy two-handed weapons, and I was joined by a few students from mine and the other battalions. Most of them had hammer-axes or war-picks, but I wasn’t the only one with a unique weapon. One guy had what looked like a flat shovel (I think Arc called it a monk spade), another had a bardiche, and another had… ugh.
A Lightning Mage stepped up next to me with her weapon, and I felt my blood boil at the sight.
“I thought I’d be the only one with a halberd.”
Irrational rage flooded my body, and I was barely able to restrain myself, “It’s not a halberd, it’s a poleaxe.”
The Lakelander girl started laughing, “Sounds like someone’s angry that their halberd came up short.” She gestured with her weapon, emphasizing how its length was a least a few heads longer than mine.
I was about to unload on her, but Arc interrupted me, “Whoa there tiger. Keep it sturdy. She’s trying to get a rise out of you.”
I turned to face Hector, who was just about ready to begin the lecture.
“There’s a lot of variety here, but most of your weapons will have the same starting base for martial arts. This week we’ll work on the basics, but next week I’ll be addressing individual groups or inviting in an expert to help assist with your training. Additional instruction outside of morning drill is available, and I have a representative from the school’s polearm club here to promote their student-led training camps.”
We then went through the training exercises, and after chatting with the Polearm’s Club President, was able to get notified whenever they had open training camps. The guy was quite interested in my poleaxe, and we ended up chatting for a while when he asked how well the rivets held up.
It was already well past the end of drill when we finished talking, and I gasped when I finally took notice of Hector waiting to talk to me.
“Sir, apologies for making you wait.”
“None needed. Morning drill was completed, I’m borrowing your time now.” He then dropped the overly stiff and formal military tone, “I was wondering if I could borrow your poleaxe when you’re not using it during drill.”
“Um, what for?”
“I’ll need some time to develop a fighting style for you. The additional spear tip, plus the spike on the end, adds extra variables that a hammer-axe doesn’t have. Then I need to include the fact that you will have a unique caster style. Your fellow students will likely only inscribe their weapons with three mana types; something I have a feeling that you won’t want to do.”
I grinned, “Yeah, can’t see why I’d want to limit myself so much. Go ahead and borrow it as much as you need. Just let me know if anything starts to loosen, it's still just a prototype.”
Hector nodded in thanks, “Let me know if you need it to remain in your locker. I know you’ll want to get it inscribed soon.”
I let out a sigh, “I definitely want to, I’m just worried that I won’t be able to afford it.”
Hector tilted his head, “Huh, shouldn’t you be getting an allowance from the queen for being a commoner?”
“Wait what?”
It took Arc’s surprised expression for Hector’s words to sink in, “Umm, I don’t remember seeing anything about an allowance…” I scratch Arc’s pommel, hoping that I was just holding the idiot stick.
“Nothing in your paperwork from registration included an allowance.”
Hector looked perplexed as well, before something visibly clicked in his head and the bearded freak of nature packer began to laugh, “I think I know what happened, Young Master Farmboy.”
---
I got into line for lunch and was met by a familiar orkish face, “Travis! How have you been? I heard you did well in your arena match yesterday.”
“Not bad. And thanks, those things were terrifying.” I idly scratched Arc’s cross guard so I could remember the name of the nice orc that Jakob introduced me to.
Xruul chuckled, “I always thought tumblepigs were kinda cute. Used to have a toy one that my brothers and I would play in the pool with.”
I shook my head in disbelief, I’m amazed I didn’t have nightmares involving their eyes.
We chatted for a bit as we got served by the chefs, but I caught Xruul giving my plate a judgmental glare.
“Are you flirting with the chef to get larger portions?”
Arc started laughing as a groan escaped me, and I ended up unloading on Xruul, “No. I don’t know why that orc chef keeps giving me extra-large portions, or why the entire cafeteria staff is so nice to me either.”
Xruul took my frustration in stride, only clearing his throat before issuing a correction, “Half-orc chef.”
Irritation flushed away by curiosity, I did a quick head turn to compare Xruul to the chef, “How can you tell? You both look similar enough.”
Xruul balanced his tray with one hand to show his other, “Full-blooded orcs have webbing up to their first knuckles and more angular faces. Plus, he’s more of a pine green, whereas my skin is a pleasant shade of seaweed.”
I spun to give the chef one more look before I lost sight, then turned back to a shit-eating grin on Xruul. “Ugh, remind me again why I should trust anything you say.”
“You got any other orkish friends?”
“I guess not, my roommate and I haven’t been speaking to each other.”
He nodded his head as he joined me and my friends for lunch. I quickly introduced him, though had to give Adrian a prod to wake up and answer back. After we sat, the earlier talk about half-orcs spurred a memory, “Thanks for clarifying a few things about half-orcs for me, I almost thought my village’s blacksmith was one, but he looks just like a regular human.”
Xruul and the others turned their heads towards me with strange looks on their faces, immediately making me feel uncomfortable. Xruul thankfully broke the tension somewhat by letting out a lighthearted laugh, “Right, forgot that you were isolated in a tiny village. Half-breeds take after what their father is. For example, that chef with the orkish father looks nearly identical on the outside to a full-blooded orc, just with a few subtle differences. If his mother was the orc, he’d look a lot like a human, just taller and probably packed with muscle if he had a physically demanding job.”
“Maybe ‘Big Arms’ Franklin is a half-orc? I’m still confused as to why he wouldn’t tell you that or possibly not know.”
I stuttered out my words, “Umm, stupid question?”
Xruul set a hand on my shoulder to give it a comforting rub, “Ask as many as you want.”
“Is there a stigma to being a half-breed?”
Jethro leaned in, “In the noble circles, what matters most is that you maintain or grow your family’s number of knights and mages. I know of at least one house that’s completely composed of human-looking half-orcs, though they prefer the term goliath.”
Mattius spoke next, “One of my older brothers is half dwarf. He’s more of an embarrassment for my dad since he’s walking proof that my dad was unfaithful towards his first wife.”
“Yikes, there’s a lot to unpack there…”
I rubbed Arc’s pommel in agreement, then turned my ear to hear Bridget better, “From what I’ve seen, it’s only the half-elves and dwarves that get ridiculed by their full-blooded counterparts.”
Adrian rubbed his worn-out eyes before adding, “Same from what I’ve seen also, most humans won’t pick on a half breed since there’s a good chance that they or their sibling is a spartan. And Spartans defend their own.”
“Thanks guys, I appreciate it.” I turned to catch everyone’s faces, but stopped on Mattius’, “Hang on, you said your brother is half dwarf?”
Mattius nodded his head while Xruul clarified for me, “As long as you have an orkish ancestor, you can have a child with any of the other three races.”
I raised my eyebrow at that, Arc’s biology lessons echoed in the back of my head, “Shouldn’t that wear off after a few generations? Viable hybrid animals in the wild usually can’t even reproduce.”
“Another reason why I think us orcs are manufactured.”
Bridget made a small groan, then muttered, “Of course you’re a creationist…”
---
Arc
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Travis and I snuck over to the Administration building during break to get himself un-nobled, but upon entering the room to visit with an administrator, a deeply buried trauma submerged to set off my anxiety.
It was laid out exactly like the DMV. Complete with a number dispenser by the door, a roped off barrier to keep people from crowding the workers behind the counters, and even a burly guard acting as security.
Now, I’ve had plenty of good experiences at the Department of Motor Vehicles before. I’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes for my scheduled appointment, but there was that one time that I decided to go in without one.
It was a slow day at the office, I had finalized a trio of projects the day before and was simply waiting on feedback for the next project from a client, before deciding which design team to use. Wanting to do something productive, I went to the DMV to update the address on my license as a walk-in.
It was the longest three hours of my life. I couldn’t get a signal on my phone, the place was packed since there was an election in one month, and for some reason, I was way too dammed stubborn to leave and schedule an appointment. Then when I finally got to the counter, I realized that I forgot to bring proof of my change of address, and then…
Whoa, I drifted off there on that river of nostalgia, almost missed Travis walking up to the administrator.
“Hi, there’s a problem with my registration, my name is coming up incorrect on my instructors’ documents.” He handed her his identification papers.
The administrator looked over Travis’ documents, then looked up, “What is your name coming up as?”
“Travis Farmboy, I don’t have a last name.”
She looked over Travis documents again, “I’m not seeing a change of name declaration…”
“What? I’ve never had a last name. I’m not a noble born.”
The administrator set her hand down and gave Travis a hard stare, “You do realize young man that it’s a crime to impersonate a noble?”
Travis jolted back from the accusation and began to stutter, “But…, I didn’t… the person during my entrance exam must have…”
“Are you implying that a registrar made such an obvious and illegal mistake? I find it much more likely that you are a poor estate-less noble who’s trying to defraud the kingdom by claiming commoner status.” The administrator pushed forward Travis’ papers, “I’ll be alerting legal about this, I recommend that you contact your lawyer.”
---
Travis
Voltsday, the 26th of Fifthmonth
I stood next to Mattius while he practiced his [Wind Orb] during Wind Spells 1, “You’re keeping your array too rigid. Wind Mana won’t enter in even amounts, so you need some flex to accommodate one side attracting more mana.”
Mattius let out a long breath to help himself physically relax, and I watched as the spell stabilized into a proper Orb. He started moving it around, making a few winding circles around the trio I made, then started tracing out numbers. He was showing a remarkable improvement from last week’s practice at the spell range with me and the others.
We kept playing around with our spells, with me forcing Mattius to swap between a [Wind Orb] and an [Air Orb] then reversing the rotation array to make it a Wind variant again. A sudden voice from behind, almost startled us enough to break our concentration on our spells.
“I’m glad you found something to entertain yourself with Travis.”
I turned to address Professor Quinsandoral, “I meant no disrespect sir, just wanted to help out my friend.”
The High Elf made a small chuckle, “It’s quite alright, I figured that today’s practice would bore you.” He handed me a folder he was holding, “This is a variant of the Blast spell that you can practice on your own. I believe you are already intimately familiar with it.”
I looked over the spell diagram, it looked like a regular Blast spell, but instead of only one line reversing in direction, the lines went neutral and fed into an outer layer of repulsion lines. I had to visualize what the spell would do before I could comprehend what my professor was getting at.
“Oh, this is basically what those tumblepigs did to explode.” I angled the diagram so that Mattius could see.
Professor Quinsandoral grinned, “Correct, practically every basic spell draws inspiration from or downright plagiarizes a spell that monsters use. Make sure you follow the instructions carefully for this Burst spell. It’s very easy to modify the formation to create a loud noise, and although that can be handy in battle, you’ll anger the range master if you don’t warn them ahead of time.”
“Oooh, magical flash-bangs… I can’t wait to breach and clear an abandoned warehouse.”
Deciding to get clarification from Arc later, I smiled back to my professor, “Thank you, I’ll be careful.”
He nodded to me, then turned to Mattius, “Young Master Tatian, how are you enjoying Wind Spells 1? I can’t help but notice that you’re performing better than many of the actual Wind Mages in my class.”
A large number of heads turned towards us, making me wonder if Quinsandoral was using the Air Mana condensing around him to carry his voice farther.
Mattius, not surprisingly, grew nervous from the attention, and began to rub the back of his head, “Umm, I wasn’t exactly interested at first, and kinda assumed that I would have a harder time.”
The professor nodded along, “Not surprising. I’m just glad Ingotborn convinced you to enroll in my class. It’s rare to find a mage with an intact dual affinity.”
I cocked my head at his statement and noticed that Mattius looked confused as well.
The nearly snow-white skinned elf rolled his eyes, “Right, your general mana studies hasn’t covered how absolutely paradoxical you humans are.” He let out a quick sigh, “Humans are unique in that they inherit one of the four basic elements as an affinity from each parent. If someone was to inherit a Wind affinity from both parents, they would find that they naturally have an easier time shaping and free-casting Wind spells. If the person in question received a Fire affinity from their mother instead, they would have an easier time generating and syncing with Lightning Mana.”
Mattius let out a nervous laugh, “So, since Earth and Wind don’t mix, does that mean I get two affinities then?”
Our professor gave him a wink, “Or maybe your true affinity is still unknown. If you're not keeping a journal, I suggest you do so, a recording of your observations could prove invaluable.” He suddenly turned to me, “That goes for you as well, simply creating a replicable training regimen for the kingdom that can teach a commoner to become a mage, could easily be used for your Master rank thesis.”
I nodded my head and gave Arc a tap on his pommel to make note of the conversation for later.
Wait… hang on, “What were you referring to when you called us humans paradoxical?”
“Ah, I see you were paying attention,” He then raised his volume so that everyone in the spell range could hear, “unlike your classmates who should be focusing on their spells.” He lowered his voice back to normal and continued, “All humans have an elemental affinity, but for some reason that I wonder if even the gods know, it disappears as a mana user learns to use body reinforcement. You know; the magical ability that humans are naturally gifted in.”
---
Mattius and I ate supper together in silence, and I must admit that it was nice to not have to weave in conversation between mouthfuls of food. Just as I finished though, Arc prompted me to speak to Mattius.
“Ok, could you please tell your friend to stop staring at that one girl. He’s going to come off as a creep if he gets caught.”
I looked up to see Mattius staring off into the distance, so I traced out his view in my mind to see that he was checking out a Packer girl seated at a nearby table.
“Hey. Stop staring at the pretty girl.”
Mattius jerked his head towards me, eyes wide in surprise from being caught, “What? I… wasn’t…”
I frowned at my friend, “Don’t bother lying, I already saved you from being labeled a creep.”
He lowered his head in shame, “Ugh, you’re right… it’s just… she’s in my group for heavy one-handed weapons, and I’ve never seen a Packer girl use anything other than a crossbow before…” He started grinning with a far-off look in his eyes.
“Oh boy, he’s got it bad. I think we better give him some advice before he makes a fool of himself.”
I gave Arc an agreeing rub, then leaned into whisper, “Have you talked to her yet?”
“No, I don’t know what to say. Some of us can’t just smile at the orc chef and get extra-large helpings.”
I briefly scowled, but listened to Arc give some advice to repeat, “First off, he’s a half-orc. Second, I have never knowingly flirted with any of the kitchen staff.” Mattius held up his hands in surrender, “Third, when it comes to striking a conversation with someone you’re physically attracted to, the most important rule is to not objectify them.”
“So don’t tell her that her hair looks like a freshly bundled weave of golden-brown wheat?”
“You can, but if you lead with that, she’ll just assume that you only care about her outer appearance. Maybe start by complimenting her on her skill in a certain area?”
Mattius nodded his head, and somehow scooched closer despite having a table between us, “Ok, maybe comment on how she has excellent battle axe technique for a woman?”
“NEVER END A COMPLIMENT WITH ‘FOR A WOMAN’, it’s a back-handed compliment, and will always come across as sexist.”
I rapped one of Mattius’ hands to emphasize Arc’s words as I repeated them verbatim. He flinched at my sudden violence, then nodded his head, “Alright, alright, I got it. How about I say that I’m jealous of how effortless she seems to be able to switch from position to position?”
“That’ll do.”
I gave Mattius a thumbs up, “That’ll do. Let me know how it goes.”
---
Arc
Hmm, Day 5, and I’m still physically feeling Travis’ touch on occasion. I’ve been able to determine that it only happens when we are either thinking the same thoughts or if we actively make an emotional connection. It’s kinda strange, I figure a blessing from Apheros would have faded away by now. The books in Father Viburnum’s library that cataloged the publicly known divine blessings described that they either faded quickly or required constant affirmation of faith.
Granted, I’m still confused as to how Travis got one in the first place. Maybe as a thank you for defending his village? But wouldn’t that be more in line with Torbolt’s domain? Ok, think… Apheros domains are Nature, Fertility, Harvest, and Protection. So maybe defending a village counts, even though his presence might have helped cause the monsters to attack in the first place?
Ugh, you’d think already being dead and having met both a few gods and even a God before, would mean that I know how all this works. But, this world, heck, this universe, has different rules. I know where I probably could go to get answers, but that could put both me and Travis at risk.
Deciding that my problem wasn’t going to resolve itself, I stopped letting my focus drift and pivoted over to where Travis was testing out the [Air Burst] spell that his professor gave him.
A deep Thud sounded against the concave receiving wall, and I saw an equally intense smile on Travis.
“That spell packs a wallop.”
He nodded with the eagerness of a toddler playing with firecrackers, “Yeah it does. Do you think if I swapped the Air Mana for Fire, that it would make a fireball?”
“Maybe ask your Fire Spells professor first. Besides, we’re almost out of time now.”
Travis looked behind him towards the clock, “Yeah, I should probably pack up.” He then put away the spell diagram and notebooks that he had out but had to pull out the fat romance novel that he kept carrying for some reason first to make room.
“I’m glad we were able to stop Mattius from doing something stupid.”
Travis chuckled while he buckled his bag, “I am too, you’re much more knowledgeable than me when it comes to girls.”
“You know… if you ever want advice, I’d be happy to be your wingman.” Yes, I was leaning against the barrier of privacy that Travis put up, but c’mon. I’m not just going to let my buddy do something super embarrassing.
Travis stopped in front of the door before opening it, “Wingman?”
Crap. This world doesn’t have planes yet, I think… Ugh, the technology level is all over the place.
“Right, umm… there’s a story about a bird who was trying to attract himself a mate. There was a lovely young female that he wanted to impress, but there was an older male that was more experienced than him when it came to building an alluring nest. The bird shared his frustrations with a goose that he was friends with, and the fowl came up with an idea to help his friend. The goose would waddle by the older male’s nest every morning on his way to the pond, quacking loudly with the other ducks and geese. The racket that they created veered the female bird away from the older male’s nest and decided to mate with the younger bird instead. The goose as a result became the first successful wingman, a set of extra wings to help a friend impress a girl.”
Whew, managed to make up something halfway coherent, and it looks like Travis took in the story.
“Oh, I see. Wait, haven’t you already been doing that?”
“Ok, I didn’t want to encroach on your privacy, but I know that you’re taking notes from that romance novel.” Travis’ eyes widened in shock, but I continued, “I know it’s embarrassing for you to ask me about that stuff, but I want you to think of me as a friend or older brother. Like you said, I’m literally by your side now, so if you need a wingman, I’m just a pommel scratch away.”
Travis stood there dumbfounded for a while, and I grew worried that I had crossed a line when it came to his privacy. Maybe we should make an agreement with each other? I can shut off my sense by drawing into myself, but I lose the ability to track time or know if I’m needed.
I felt Travis give my pommel a rub, and my mind stopped racing. I moved my focus to see a smiling Travis, “Ok, if I need help, I’ll ask. I was just using that book for research.”
I mentally sighed in relief, “Thanks, and let me know if you want help writing a letter to Caldia. I assume that is why you were taking notes?”
“Umm, it wasn’t for that, but… I could use your help. I’m still not happy with how things ended.”
Travis gave my pommel another rub on the way out of the spell range.
---
Travis
Burnsday, the 27th of Fifthmonth
Bridget and I were entering the cafeteria together after spending the day going to the same classes. I let her go in line first, like the proper gentleman that Arc and my parents raised me to be, and decided to continue our conversation from break, “So I sent a message to the lawyer that did the paperwork for my wardship, hopefully I’ll get a response before my hearing with the administrative board gets scheduled.”
“I still can’t believe that you need to get one. I mean, the entire campus knows that you’re from a tiny farming village, it should be obvious that whoever filled out your registration added in a last name as a joke.”
I chuckled as we got our trays, mine of course was heavier despite the half-orc chef not being present. I suppose I could just ask, but if I’m being honest with myself, I’m worried that once I ask, my portions will go back to normal. All because I broke some strange social taboo.
“Excuse my interruption Travis, but Princess Seleyna has asked for you to join her table for supper this evening.”
I nearly tripped at the sound of Sir Asher’s voice (It’s so jarring hearing someone other than Arc use a [Message] spell on me) but stopped myself from spilling anything. I looked up to see the royal knight standing near a table that was opposite of where me and my friends usually sat.
I let out a sigh, “I suppose I can’t really refuse.”
“Not without insulting the crown.”
Oh, rot, I didn’t know he could hear me.
I turned to Bridget, “Umm, I just got invited to dine with the princess.”
Bridget’s quizzical expression changed into a downcast one, “You better go join her. It’d be rude not to do so.”
“You may bring your friend as a plus one if you’d like.”
Bridget shook her head, apparently, she could hear Asher too, “No thanks, I want to enjoy my last three years of quiet before I fully become an inner ring noble.”
Oh, I didn’t realize her family was one…
I nodded my head towards her, then gave a quick goodbye before walking towards the table Asher was standing by.
The princess was seated there, along with a few other (I assume) inner ring nobles. I set my tray on the space across from Seleyna, then stepped back to give a formal Lakelander bow, “Thank you for inviting me to your table Princess Seleyna.”
I stayed lowered, thanking Apheros that my nervous face was hidden. I hope I remembered the right procedure, Arc has been quiet, so I assume he can’t safely talk to me without getting noticed.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that here.” I looked up to see a flustered looking princess and a table of silently laughing nobles, “Please, sit. And feel free to just call me Seleyna. I’m just a student here, same as you.”
I stamped down my nerves with a cautious grin, then sat down. To my relief, the table was quiet while everyone began to eat, allowing me to calm down by focusing on my food. Once everyone had finished eating though, I mentally braced myself for round two.
The princess broke the silence, “I enjoyed watching your arena match Travis, your squad performed much better than mine.”
I darted my eyes quickly enough to hear a mild grunt from one of the Lakelander(?) nobles, then tried to figure out a response, “Thank you. My squad was lucky in that we didn’t need to immediately change formation.” My heart was pounding in my chest, I don’t remember being this terrified of misspeaking during my party. Am I overthinking the situation?
I looked into Seleyna’s large blue-grey eyes, then in what was probably a moment of insanity, decided to toss the paddle and let the river take me, “You yourself did well, I think you killed at least half a dozen shadetails.”
Shocked expressions filled the table, but Seleyna’s face did not have one. She instead began to laugh, “Wasn’t exactly the most dignified slaying of monsters.”
I grinned, reveling in the sudden loss of my nervous tension, “Hey, it worked. And besides, dropping and rolling is one of the best tactics for shaking off fires or swarms of pests.”
We began to chat for the next half hour. I spoke about my experience of what it was like to try and learn every element, and the princess talked about how she was excited to join the archery and drama club. I also shared that I got a letter from Reidar stating that he finally got his army assignment, but that he was being coy about sharing what it was.
One of the familiar looking female nobles tried to make a jab at me, but failed, “So how is that stumpy halberd treating you? With all those rivets and plates on the shaft, I assume you expect it to fall apart at any moment?”
I started to prepare my retort, but was shocked when Seleyna replied first, “A halberd? Cordelia, surely you must know that no one uses such an outdated weapon anymore. Travis’ poleaxe is a significant improvement over the original halberd, countering the easy to break haft head by securing the weapon head with langets, then shortening it to allow easier two-handed combat. I heard that Sir Hector Hopkins has had to dedicate extra hours just to properly comprehend Travis’ poleaxe’s full potential.”
I couldn’t stop grinning at the princess, and happily accepted her open invitation to join her every Burnsday.
---
Steelsday, the 28th of Fifthmonth
After a successful study group, we were heading back to the dorms (though I did have to keep Adrian from walking off the sidewalk a few times) and speculating at what Durinn was going to bring to the spell range tomorrow.
“There’s a familiar face reading a book on the bench outside of the dorm.”
I looked ahead to a guard wearing the colors and symbol of Clan Hopkins, “Barry, it’s been a while.”
Barry snapped his book shut and stuffed it in his pack with such quickness that I could barely remember that he had one, “Travis, it has been. I brought you some mail that reached us first, and a few other things.”
He handed me a small stack of envelopes, and I paused to briefly look over them, “Ooh, a wedding invite…”
Barry chuckled, “Yeah, Percy and Lucia found out that they forgot to give you an invitation the other day.”
I opened it up, and looked over the date, “Umm, I’m not sure if I can attend the wedding…”
“That’s fine, Hector is going to miss it as well since the only day he’s not allowed off is Snowsday. You both should be able to make it to the reception at night though, I’ve already arranged for a carriage to pick you and any guests up.”
I nodded along, “Thanks.” I looked through a few more, got excited that I had letters from Mom, Dad, Franklin, and Trent? There was also a letter from Caldia…
Barry must have saw me pause on that one, “I got that one personally from Caldia, don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.”
I gulped, my last real conversation with her was me telling her that I couldn’t pursue a relationship with her. Maybe I will need Arc’s help writing a letter back.
Hang on… Arc thought that my book on the history of human metalsmithing was a romance novel, and that I was using it to write a love letter to Caldia… Maybe I should…
“Oh, I finished that book I bought at the bookstore when we went shopping together, do you think I could borrow one of yours?”
Barry cleared his throat, then slowly began to grin at me, “Here, I already finished this one.” He carefully handed me the book in his pouch, making sure that our hands hid the title, “It’s got quite a bit of action and adventure, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”
I thanked Barry, then chatted with him for a bit before having to turn in for the night. I grinned as Arc moaned about me reading yet another romance novel, confirming that he was truly in the dark about me trying to figure out exactly who he was.