When it comes to Domains, one thing I’ve noticed is how some of the gods have more than others. Hydraviandor the Ocean goddess, for example, only has two, her Elemental Domain of Water and Greater Domain of Navigation. Titantuin’s church has shrunken to the point that, despite being a dwarven god, I myself had to confirm that he doesn’t even have a known Greater Domain.
This is likely the byproduct of the lack of communication between the gods and us. Chosen are the only ones that most churches will allow to contribute to a god’s divine canon, so if a god is not willing to speak much to their instrument, then there’s not much to go off. This has no doubt contributed to the division in some of the churches, especially since the orthodox congregations don’t recognize the existence of minor gods.
I do have another hypothesis as to why some gods have more domains though, but I’ll have to inform you about how some of the other gods established their Greater Domains first. I’ll start with Ignitious, since their adoption of Aelder arguably caused their final two Greater Domains to emerge.
Aelder was taking a nap underneath his tree, so Apheros was making use of the opportunity to help his friend Ignitious with their latest project.
“I can’t sense any meaningful amount of bacteria.” The moss covered god turned to Ignitious after setting the barrel down with the others, “You were right, allowing the yeast to ferment long enough would eventually cause them to die off from the lack of sugars.”
Ignitious smirked, “Of course I was right. Now, let’s begin the distillation process, so I can extract this useful disinfectant they produce as waste.”
Apheros cocked his head, “Disinfectant? I thought we were making a drink that the mortals could store long term without having to worry about contamination?”
“Oh, I already deemed those a failure. Any mortal drinking that will mildly poison themselves, causing disruptions with a brain’s communication pathways, making their thoughts muddled and hampering coordination.”
Apheros turned back to check that his child was still asleep, “Best keep Aelder away from this then, he’s been growing curious lately, so I told him about our project.”
The god of Fire began to set up the equipment but ceased when they heard Torbolt bellow loudly for Apheros’ head from beyond the horizon. They then gave out a sigh, “It seems Torbolt has recovered from his ‘condition’. I advise that you stop him from venturing on a warpath to this location. I’d prefer to not restart my experiments due to him destroying everything again.”
Apheros let out a groan, then moved to comfort a now scared Aelder, “It’s alright little one. I’ll go to Torbolt and get him to calm down.” He crouched down to become eye level with the child, “Ignitious will keep an eye on you, so be good while I’m away.”
The nature god stood back up and approached Ignitious, “He’ll need four meals a day, a nap after the second, and you’ll—”
“I’m more than capable of caring for a single mortal.” Ignitious snapped.
Apheros surrendered, then left to approach the growing storm cloud in the north.
Ignitious shook their head, unsure why they bothered associating themself with such an emotional fool and proceeded to begin the distillation process using the glassware that Adamanrion created for them. A tugging sensation was felt on their clothing, and they shifted their ornately feathered pauldron to see Aelder standing beside them.
“What’re you making?”
“Alcohol. It has some interesting properties that I wish to study. For starters, it seems to naturally kill smaller organisms, and has a lower boiling point than water. I believe that teaching mortals like you to use it will help combat monster infections, even for those who cannot command fire.” Ignitious pointed to the coiled tubes and the beaker that was collecting the condensing compound and began to explain in simple terms how everything worked, immensely prideful of his new Domain of Science, and how the mortal child watched with fascination while asking questions about the experiment.
Well… for a time…
“I’m bored.” Aelder whined, “Can we do something else?”
Ignitious scowled, they didn’t mind the endless questions to correct the child’s ignorance, but to suddenly lose interest…
“I cannot leave this experiment alone. Perhaps find something else to entertain yourself.”
Aelder pouted but left the god alone to tend to their experiment. He tried to play with the ball Apheros gave him, but without someone to kick or throw it to, he found it boring. He gathered the wooden animals Apheros made him, but without a Nature god’s Wood Mana to animate them, they weren’t exciting either. He finally tried doodling in the mud with a stick and found that to be fun. Especially when he began to draw silly pictures of Apheros and Ignitious.
Ignitious was unamused at the artwork when he approached Aelder for their meal, carrying a plate of cooked food and glass mugs of the stored juice Apheros was keeping for the child.
Now, what happened next is up for debate from a historian’s perspective, since this story has been told from three different perspectives, and they all differ. Plus, when one of the accounts comes from a god of Trickery and another comes from a minor god of childish mischief, the truth has a difficult time of being objective.
Aelder states that after eating, he went to play with his ball again and accidentally kicked it towards the experiment, causing it to erupt in flames. Ignitious claims that Aelder hurt himself, causing them to leave their experiment unattended, and one of the beakers to boil over and catch fire.
Apheros, of course, found it suspicious that a god of Fire would be unable to stop a section of the forest from burning down, but was happy to see Aelder and Ignitious having fun together upon his return. Ignitious was smiling as they told the child stories, using their newly formed Domain of Art to depict scenes from the past by using either images burnt into wood, or drawn using the charred remains of the forest. The pictures and doodles the two made were everywhere, and the ones on his barrels of juice ended up being quite useful, since the ones being used for the fermenting process now had warning symbols on them, making it much easier to keep them organized.
---
Arc
Woodsday, the 6th of Sixthmonth
“Morning bud!”
“Good morning.” I watched as Travis got up bright and chipper just like he always does. I wonder if I influenced that trait by helping lull him to sleep almost every night? Our routine of having him count mana clusters seems to work far better than any oscillating fan or white noise machine ever did for making me fall asleep.
Travis finished his stretching routine, made his bed, then started to change into his school uniform. He then looked up at the clock in his room and gave an exacerbated laugh.
“Guess I still got some time before breakfast…”
“I was actually hoping we’d have a minute to talk. Have you noticed any changes with your blessing?”
“Hmm… to be honest, I keep forgetting that I have one. I don’t feel any different, even when I’m holding you.” He turned to give me a guilty smile, “I’ll admit, now that I know you can feel pain, I’ve probably been a bit too eager to make you shut up on occasion.”
I sent a chuckle to Travis, “To be honest, I don’t mind. Makes me feel less like a ghost hovering around you and more like a living and breathing person.”
Travis relaxed to sit on his bed, right next to where I was leaning against the wall, “What about you? Anything different?”
“I’m feeling your touch more often, but that might just be a side effect of you being aware that I can feel it. I haven’t noticed any significant change in sensitivity either, so I don’t think frequency affects it.” An idea creeped into my head, and I casually spoke out my next sentence to not come across as begging, “I would like to make note, however, that your scratches where my cross guard meets the handle are the most pleasurable.”
Travis raised an eyebrow and grinned, “Really?” Then leaned forward to remind me why the queues to reincarnate as a dog or cat were so long. After he finished by giving me a few pats, he leaned back to set his arms on his lap, and tapped his thumbs together while thinking, “Wish I could ask someone from the church about this.”
“Hmm, not sure who or how you could ask without letting them know about your blessing. And I doubt any church officials would want to share their secrets so freely with a random teenager. Doubly so if they’re using him as a scapegoat for why they got banned from entering campus grounds.”
Travis nodded along, “I could try researching, but I’m not sure if I could find anything useful unless I had access to the church’s archives.”
“Yeah, Father Viburnum didn’t mind you browsing his library, but he wouldn’t be in possession of anything considered confidential.”
“I guess we’re on our own for now.”
“About that… have you considered introducing me to any of your friends?”
Travis twiddled his thumbs and clenched his teeth, “I have…, but I’m not sure how much I trust everyone. The only person I think I’d be willing to right now is Lancel since I’ve known him the longest.”
“It is a big confession to make, especially when there’s no immediate need to do so. I’ll trust your judgement, but I will share my honest opinion on someone if you’re on the fence.”
Travis gave a nod, then stood up to taunt me once more, giving himself one final stretch and groan before clipping me to his belt. He gave my pommel a pat, then leaked a tense grin, “Still want me to leave you here when I go to church? I’m sure a change of scenery would be nice for you.”
I moved in my focus to read his abnormal expression better, allowing me to guess his real reason for wanting me to come.
“I’ll admit I’m not as hesitant now, so if you want, I’ll come. Do you think I’ll get to see that cute girl that left you tongue-tied last week?”
Travis gulped, but managed to croak out, “Not sure.” He then moved to his desk to grab a few things, including the multiple drafts he was composing for Caldia.
My friend was ripe for further teasing about his girl problems, but I figured he had endured enough stress before breakfast. He finished packing, then stepped into his living room to greet Drozuk.
I let out a mental sigh. I still need to tell Travis about my encounter with Adamanrion, although it might be best if I wait, he already has enough things to worry about. Plus, I’m still completely in the dark about what the rules are in this universe when it comes to interacting with the physical plane of existence. I’m most likely operating in a legally gray area, since I’m a trapped spirit capable of direct conversation, and if I’m not careful, I’ll probably end up angering the local God.
---
Travis
Jethro and I finished eating breakfast, and after we reported to the knight that we’d be going to church, I turned to him, “I’m just going to wear my uniform today. That should be fancy enough to join your family right? I’m pretty sure I saw other students seated in the noble’s section of the pews.”
Jethro looked flummoxed by my sudden statement, “Umm, yeah… I guess. Just, uh… let me… umm, get changed.”
Jethro led me to his dorm, which after a quick scan, looked almost identical to mine, only with the bathroom on the opposite wall. I sat down in one of the adjustable couches while I waited for Jethro to change. He was taking his time, so I decided to pull out the different letters that I was drafting for Caldia and started to read through them again. Arc began to groan again in annoyance, but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t come across as cold, or too friendly, or too flirty, or too…
“Oh, for… stop obsessing, and just write out a simple reply! The longer you take to respond, the more stressed out both you and Caldia will become.”
The longer I take?
Oh, rot! It’s been over a week since Barry delivered her letter. Will she be mad? Or think I’ve outright rejected her? Or… simply don’t care?
My breathing started to grow shallow, and I think my peripherals started closing in. I looked down at my letters and watched as my hands began to shake. Rot! None of these will do. I need to start over. Maybe think of a lie to explain my slow response? Ugh, I need help.
I looked up towards Jethro’s door and remembered that he has a bunch of sisters. Maybe he’ll know what to do? I moved over to his door and gave it a knock, “Can I come in?”
“Uh… yeah… sure.”
I slid open his door to step into his room and was immediately bombarded by the amount of clothes piled on the bed and stuffed into the closet. I looked around to see there was also a bare armor stand, a trifold standing mirror, colorful printed paintings of people plastering the walls, and a stack of magazines on the desk. The entire room was a flower garden of color, making mine depressing in comparison. The only decorations in it were the wood burning picture Issac gave me and Silia’s drawing of a squirrel-tailed rabbit with bird wings on its back.
“Oh, dear gods and God… Posters! How could I forget! I’m adding those to your shopping list.”
Forgetting why I came in suddenly, I turned to Jethro, who was obsessing over a pair of jackets.
“Maybe this one… no, then the green would clash with the orange on the pants…”
“Umm, Jethro?”
He startled, then turned, looking embarrassed, “Sorry, can’t decide what to wear.”
“Ok, we both know he’s stalling right?”
I gave Arc’s pommel a rub, and spoke with a concerned tone, “Do you not want to go to church?”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Jethro deflated, “Ok, so… I haven’t talked to my family at all since the first week of school. And to be honest, I barely said a word after my sister acted rude to you.”
I reached out to give Jethro a comforting shoulder pat, “It was hardly the first time I was insulted”
“Yeah, but… here’s the thing.” Jethro squirmed underneath my hand, “I have four sisters, and since you’re probably going to be the first official human elementalist mage…”
“Ha, you went from Aelder Creek’s most eligible bachelor to the entire human kingdom’s.”
I let out a groan, not just because of Arc’s comment, but because I remembered now why I came in. I gave Jethro another pat, though it was probably more to reassure myself this time, “It’ll only get worse if you put it off, trust me, I’m suffering a similar problem.”
Jethro cocked his head at me, “Really?”
I proceeded to tell Jethro the story about how I met Lancel’s younger sister Caldia and what happened between us since.
Jethro nodded along, “So you want to be friends, but don’t want to accidentally spark a romance or seem like you’re only writing back because a spear is pointed at your back?”
“Yes,” I let out a deep sigh, “exactly. Should I make up a lie to explain why I haven’t responded for over a week?”
Jethro returned the shoulder pat, “No, if my sisters have taught me anything, it’s that women always find out. And if they don’t, you’ll just get tempted to lie again. Just be forthright and tell her the truth. You said you wanted to be friends? Well, friends don’t lie to each other.” He shook his head, “The guy who didn’t hesitate to ask a princess out on a date is afraid of writing a letter.”
I scowled, but let out a sigh of relief, “You’re right. I’ll try to stop obsessing, and just write her a normal letter.”
“That’s literally what I told you to do!”
Ignoring Arc, I looked around at the abundant clothes, “Did you bring your entire closet with you here?”
Jethro began to chuckle, “No, just a small selection and the articles that I was able to finish without a sewing machine.”
That was a surprise, “You made all of these?”
“More like modified them, one of my cousins owns a factory that creates formal uniforms for soldiers, and he taught me how to tailor.”
I shook my head, “Should have asked you to fix Drozuk’s sleeves, I had to redo one arm twice because I couldn’t get it aligned right.”
Jethro resumed his earlier laugh, then looked around, “You know, last week I borrowed your clothes, I should return the favor this week.” He grabbed a rusty orange shirt and navy-blue doublet, “Here, these will go nice with your brownish-orange hair.”
---
The noise of the protesters could be heard long before we neared the church. Traffic wasn’t too bad moving in, but it looked like the exit lanes for foot traffic were completely packed with people holding signs and forcing the outgoing lanes for horses and pedestrians to merge.
Jethro grabbed a flyer from one of the protesters and shouted towards me, “No wonder it’s so loud. The royalists have set up a counter protest.” He handed the flyer over to me so I could read.
I read over the arguments in favor of the Queen’s proposed law to place a mage or knight in every fortress while we finished our journey to the church and dismounted our horses. I then put the printed paper in my bag, and turned to Jethro once we cleared much of the noise, “What’s your opinion on this whole thing?”
Jethro bobbed his head from side to side as we walked towards the entrance of the church, “Well, my family and I are strong royalists but even I’ll admit the new law seems like an overreaction.” He turned his head towards me, “If you had the option, would you take a posting in a fortress after graduation?”
“No, I’d want to tour the entire kingdom at least once first, maybe even visit our coastal neighbors. Honestly, I’m not sure if I can even call myself a proper Lakelander, I’ve never been on anything larger than a canoe.”
Jethro’s eyes widened, “Really? Well, if you don’t get to ride one during your Fall Expedition, I’ll take you to the docks during Solstice. One of my neighbors is ship captain of a gunboat, I bet I could easily convince them to give you a tour.”
I smiled as we entered the church properly, “Sounds like fun.”
Jethro smiled back, but it quickly grew strained as he suddenly turned his head, “Be right over Dad.” He took a big breath and led me over to a beaming older version of himself.
He was slightly taller than his son, had longer hair with grey streaks and the top half pulled back in a ponytail, but his face was nearly identical to Jethro’s, only with a handful of wrinkles. He reached out to tousle Jethro’s hair, “There you are boy. We missed you last week.” He then took notice of me, “Who’s your friend?”
Jethro was looking mortified from the treatment, so I reached out a hand, “Travis, I’m in the same training battalion as Jethro.”
He raised an eyebrow, then took my hand to give it a shake, “Just Travis?”
“Yes, don’t let the fancy clothes your son lent me mislead you. It was only a few months ago that I was cleaning out a barn.”
The older man let out a chuckle, “Always refreshing to meet a commoner born, keeps us older families from growing too out of touch.” His head perked up, “Oh, but where are my manners. I’m Obadiah Bradshaw, Master Wind Mage.” He placed a hand on Jethro’s shoulder despite his obvious protest, “You’ve been keeping this one out of trouble?”
I grinned, having to hold back the number of things I could say to embarrass Jethro, but decided to be kind, “More like he’s been wrangling me. He helped me out greatly one morning after I only got three hours of sleep.”
“You’ll have to tell me about it.” He looked around at the sudden increase of traffic, “But, maybe after we find our seats.”
He led us inside, and over to a section of benches on the nobles’ half of the sanctuary. Jethro’s dad immediately began to introduce me to his wife, mother, a few of Jethro’s cousins (including the one who taught him how to sew), then Jethro’s three older sisters and one younger sister. I winked at the red-faced sister that snubbed me a couple of weeks ago, then grabbed one of the hymnals to begin bookmarking this week’s song selections while I made light conversation with the family.
Jethro’s dad began to subtly maneuver his daughters into position near me while we talked, but to my surprise, Jethro gave his dad a nudge and whispered into his ear. He gave a grin, then stood to Jethro’s left, allowing me and Jethro to take the end of the row. The conspiracy was blatantly obvious, and I tried to deduce what they were planning, but didn’t get long to ponder before I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
“Travis, I didn’t recognize you at first, you’re looking quite dashing today.”
I gulped, and mentally cursed at the two Bradshaw men, then slowly turned to face the beautiful Sister that I quickly fled from last week. She looked just as lovely, with her green eyes accenting her wavy brown hair, and was smiling brightly at me. I took a big breath and tried to remember the advice Arc gave me.
“Thank you, although credit goes to my friend Jethro,” I shakily held up my hand to gesture, hoping that the queasiness in my stomach would settle, “he’s the real fashion expert.”
My traitorous friend leaned forward, “Will you be gracing us with your presence and enchanting voice again today? It was such a treat to hear you and Travis sing together last week.”
She turned to me, smile still on her face, “If you’re willing to have me.”
Not wanting to be rude to the Sister of Apheros, and not having a real reason to say no, I scooted closer to Jethro and his dad to make room, “Of course.” I looked down at my hymnal so I could open up to the first song, but nearly jumped out of my boots when I felt her press up against me to read from my copy.
I closed my eyes to help myself focus my thoughts inward. Why was I so nervous around this girl? Was it because she was so forward? Ingrid made some not-so-subtle passes at me back in the village, but she didn’t elicit such a strong response. I’ll admit Caldia made me nervous at first, but that’s because I thought Lancel was trying to set me up with her to marry, and that faded once I got to know her better. Was it the same thing here? Or simply because I think she’s pretty?
I felt her body’s warmth penetrate my jacket and could hear her soft breathing in my ear. I cursed myself for leaving Arc behind, wishing he was here to reassure me that I wasn’t doing anything stupid.
I let out a strained sigh, unhappy that I apparently was so dependent on him. Why was I even obsessing over a girl flirting with me? I barely know her and haven’t even been able to remember her name. Plus, I had many more important things to worry about.
The girl I was fretting about pulled away, causing me to look towards her and see her concerned expression before she spoke, “Is something wrong?”
I took in a breath, “Just lamenting the fact that the only thing I know about you is how talented you are as a soprano.” I slumped my shoulders to emphasize my next point to hopefully lessen the impending rejection, “It’s a shame, the only chance we’ll ever get to visit will be the short periods before and after church service.”
The awkward pause while she visibly tried to understand what I said was interrupted by the start of service.
---
Today’s service seemed to drag on, partially because the sermon today was about how Apheros first helped teach mortals how to farm crops, but the more likely culprit was the Sister constantly sending me looks and looking more and more uncomfortable.
Once the closing hymn was sung, I turned to her, “I’m sorry for being blunt, but my studies at the Mage’s Academy leave me with very little free time, including pursuing a romantic relationship. If I’m being presumptuous, my apologies, but I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between us.”
The Sister of Apheros shifted from foot to foot, but nodded her head, “My apologies, I thought…” She turned, then started to walk away at a brisk pace.
I held up my hand, but my voice failed to form any words, and I lowered it with a regretful sigh. A hand settled on my shoulder, and I turned to see it was Jethro’s dad.
“Jethro filled me in on exactly ‘who’ you are.” He gave my shoulder a few pats, “You’ve got a lot of cargo in your boat, finding room for another person may be more trouble than it’s worth.”
“I still feel like a sack of manure.”
He gave a few more pats, “Better than a full wagon of it from leading a girl on.”
Jethro approached, “Sorry Travis, I wasn’t being a good friend there.”
I reached over to chain the shoulder pats, “It’s alright, you were just trying to be a good wingman.”
“Wingman?” Jethro moved his eyes towards his dad to see if he knew but stared back at me inquisitively once he didn’t get an answer.
“I’ll tell you on the way back.” I reached to grab my pocket watch to check the time, “Speaking of, I’m betting it will take longer to get back with the protests outside. We should probably get going?”
Jethro bobbed his head in thought, “Think we can sneak in a quick prayer at the Altar of Protection?”
I nodded, then said goodbye to Jethro’s family before making our way into the side hall that held the familiar altar of a shield propped up against a tree. It wasn’t too crowded, so we were able to walk up to a spot for kneelers, right next to where a burly paladin in armor was standing.
“Need assistance in prayer this day?” His words had clearly been repeated dozens of times just this morning, but still managed an enthusiastic cadence.
Jethro turned to the silver haired Lakelander, “Yes, we would much appreciate it.”
The paladin grinned, then moved behind us to set a gauntleted hand on each of our shoulders, “Anything in particular you’d like to focus on?”
“We’re studying at the Mage’s Academy, so perhaps guidance as we learn to defend the kingdom?” Jethro looked to me for confirmation.
I nodded in agreement, but noticed that the paladin had stiffened up, and that his hands seemed to quiver. I wonder if he was nervous about the tensions between the school and church?
His voice quavered at first, but he eventually spoke in a preacher-like manner, “Blessed Apheros, god of Nature and Protector of Burgeoning Life. Keep these two safe under the shade of your branches and shield, so that they may one day provide protection to the generation that follows them. Keep their bodies strong to endure the rigors of combat, their minds clear to strategize, and senses sharp to react without hesitation. Provide guidance the day these two face the harsh sun, and smile upon them when a new crop sprouts at their feet.”
He removed his hands, allowing Jethro and I to stand up and turn to face him. He kept darting his eyes between us, clearly looking uncomfortable, and making it click in my head that he probably thought that it was one of us that got the paladins kicked off campus.
Feeling bad for the guy, I reached to give the paladin a pat on one of his shoulder pauldrons, “Thank you for the prayer. I know things are tense between the church and academy right now, but I don’t hold any ill will towards the church.”
He closed his eyes briefly, and must have felt my intention to provide calm, “That… is a relief to hear.”
I gave him a big smile and another pat, “Thanks again, umm… keep up the good work.” I stepped away to leave with Jethro, chastising myself for not thinking of something better to say.
---
Marceles stood there in a daze, heart pounding in his chest, and amazed that he remembered to breathe. He didn’t even notice that someone had approached him until they reached out to shake him and asked if they were alright.
“Apologies… I, uh, need to go refresh myself…” He gave the stranger a nod, then exited the hall through a door leading away from the public areas.
His footfalls were heavy, his armor felt double in weight, and as he leaned his back against the wall to support himself, he truly felt old for the first time in his life.
“That was him… the auburn-haired one…” Marceles’ felt his lungs struggle to breathe, and he reached into his pouch to grab an idol of Apheros to give his mind something to focus on. Wood Mana began to thread into the carving, and he felt his body relax bit by bit as the bundles of mana were tied together.
He stood there for a long while, letting his mind and thoughts finally settle enough to calmly focus on his encounter.
“I knew I’d eventually meet him, but…” He closed his eyes to focus on what was spoken, “No ill will towards the church… and I’m doing good work…”
Elation welled up in him, to the point that his whole body began to quake, and it didn’t take long for tears to well up in his eyes as he remembered the prayer he spoke.
“I can’t believe it… I got to… Thank you Apheros.”
---
Arc
3-4 Break
“It was a relief to see that you wish to remain friends. I’ll admit, despite Barry’s assurances, I was worried about what you wrote in your letter and was too big of a coward to open it for a few days.”
I listened to Travis narrate his “final” draft to send to Caldia, but I wasn’t going to bet on him actually mailing it just yet.
“Of course, it was only later that Drozuk pointed out that I unintentionally asked the princess out on a date.”
I bobbed my focus along to his testament of events from his perspective, wondering if Caldia might read his letter and give a sigh of relief for not being hitched to Travis’ boat.
“And that about sums up everything that’s been happening here at the academy. I’ll be at Percy’s wedding for the reception, so I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in person there.”
Travis set down the letter, giving it a discerning glare.
“It’s good enough! Now hurry up and mail it before you change your mind.”
Travis flinched, despite his trained behavior to not strongly react to me in public, then folded up the letter to place in an envelope. He got up off the shady patch of grass he was sitting on, then winced as his stomach grumbled loudly. Afterall, it had only been three hours since he last ate.
“Sounds like you need to make getting a snack during break a regular routine.”
Travis patted me on my pommel, “I was oddly enjoying not having to eat so much.”
I hovered my focus in front of him while he moved, “If you’re going to lie to me, at least try to make it believable.”
---
Travis
We entered the cafeteria, walking past the elven students that were in line for lunch, and over to the carryout counter… where a reclusive half-orc was currently working.
My grin grew wide as I modified my approach to hide my presence for as long as possible before suddenly stepping in front of the counter.
The half-orc’s body went stiff, and his voice sounded overly stiff, “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I would like a sandwich and drink, chef’s choice for both.”
Reidar’s squad brother nodded, then went to grab a pre-wrapped sandwich and drink carton from behind. They then wrote down my order in the ledger after setting the food on the counter.
“Beef, bison, and manatee on wheat with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato sandwich, and a cold cherry limeade.” He looked back up and with a tenuous air of professionalism and tried to complete the transaction, “Enjoy your day.”
“There’s no line behind you, now’s your chance.”
I gave Arc's pommel a purr inducing scratch before I picked up the order, “Thanks. Oh, by the way…” I smiled at the beefy spartan, “Reidar never told me your name.”
The half-orc peered to see if anyone was behind me, then let out a tiny sigh, “Varguk, Junior Spartan Field Chef.”
I held out a hand, “Travis, Initiate Elementalist Mage. I'm surprised you didn’t introduce yourself earlier.”
Not having the emotional stoicism as his brother, Varguk took my hand with a clear discomfort, “Well, I… didn’t want to… uh…” He lowered his head in defeat, then let out in a huff, “Everything just started snowballing until the ice broke through the pond.” He raised his head back up, reinstating his presence as a spartan by giving an after-action report, “Our squad was ecstatic when Reidar received his invitation to your party, especially considering how shy he can be, so when Braxton returned late that night without Reidar, we all wanted to know what happened.
Varguk paused to give me a nonverbal cue to go ahead and eat my sandwich after my stomach grumbled again, then continued his debriefing, “Braxton, of course, refused to say anything that night, but we managed to get the complete story of how our little baby brother got to spend most of the night dancing with a princess the next day when we sat for breakfast.”
I held up my hand, and took a swing of my limeade to finish swallowing my current mouthful, “Baby brother? I thought Reidar said that your entire squad was born within a week of each other?”
The half-orc smiled, “Yeah, but he was born last. Plus, he’s the shortest of us boys. Well, except for Yarruck, but he’s practically wider than he is tall.” Varguk returned to his military candor, “Anyways, a few weeks later, I managed to see you in line, and as a way to thank you, I gave you an extra-large helping.”
He let out a long sigh, “Of course, despite having a quarter of my first squad already active in the logistics corps, I forgot that it’s near impossible to keep a secret from them. So, one of the other line cooks noticed my charity, put two and two together, and then convinced the rest of the cafeteria staff to also use their daily generosity budget to give you bigger food portions.”
I nodded along, not too surprised, Jakob did mention on my first day how practically everyone on campus had heard at least one rumor about me. That didn’t explain everything though.
“Ok, but why have you been avoiding me?”
The spartan chef scowled, clearly hoping that I’d forget to ask, “Well… Reidar found out, and…” he shifted uncomfortably, “got mad at me for giving you special treatment. Saying it was unprofessional.” He made eye contact with me, “Word of advice, don’t ever make him mad at you, especially if you’re wearing anything with wood-fiber fabric.”
I gave the big guy a pat on the shoulder, “Well, thanks for telling me, and for all the extra food. All my friends were convinced that you were flirting with me.”
Varguk started laughing nervously, “Well, I’m glad to have cleared that up. Oh, would you look at that, I’ve got someone approaching, we’ll have to chat sometime when I’m not on duty.” He waved me away a bit too eagerly as a bronze-haired high elf approached.
I needed to leave for my next class anyways, so I finished off my sandwich and drink, then exited the building while giving Arc’s pommel a scratch, “I think that cleans up my quest log right?”
“Yep, just long-term goals now, assuming you actually mail your letter to Caldia.”
I winced, but nodded along, “Alright, I will.”