Mana. It was a very mysterious thing, tied deeply with a person’s soul. The soul dictated a person’s emotions, personality, and preferences. While a brain was also necessary for logical thinking and physical functions, the soul dictated most of the emotional parts. Therefore, mana was also deeply intertwined with a person’s emotions. The more powerful the emotions, the more wild and untamed the mana was.
When a mage loses control of their emotions, their mana is released from their soul and into the physical world outside, being project as an invisible pressure. While emotions could transform mana into a supercharged version, it required that the mage be in control of their mana at the same time. In other words, to prevent a mana pressure from being exerted unconsciously, the mage must always be able to think logically, even while extremely emotional.
Isil lacked training in this area. She had a hard time keeping her mana controlled while being emotional. Since this had not been implemented in Endless Conquest, she never needed to practice this kind of control. In fact, despite the short amount of time she had been in this world, she had already unconsciously released her mana pressure twice. The first time was when she was in Suugant, and her frustration released a mana pressure that made people feel tired and weak. Her second was now, face to face with a child slave, whose eyes were as lifeless as the Deadlands.
Slavery was not something she had seen before, but she had detested it. However, since she had not seen it, she could not form a true opinion of it. When she saw the little girl, locked in a cage, barely clinging to life, she could finally form a true opinion of it. The horses that pulled the wagon squealed and fell silent, foam bubbling at their mouths as they collapsed onto the ground. The merchant gripped his chest, his heart having trouble beating under the oppressive mana pressure. He too, collapsed, eyes rolling up into his head.
The child was spared the worst of the effects, but even she could feel the powerful mana pressure Isil emitted. Her eyes snapped up to Isil, the dull lifelessness, sparking with fear and a tinge of relief. Isil quickly took control of her mana upon seeing the girl react. She smiled sadly, and used her mana to break the lock on the cage. She opened the door, and held out her hand towards the girl. She hesitated for a few moments, before gingerly taking Isil’s hand.
Isil helped the girl out of the cage, but found the girl’s legs too weak to walk. Isil’s smiled faded slightly, and her mana pressure nearly leaked out again. She picked up the girl in a princess carry and took her outside the wagon, allowing her eyes to see the light. The girl shielded her eyes from the harsh light of the sun, likely having not seen it in days, perhaps weeks. As the girl tilted her head away from the light, Isil once again caught sight of her features. Elven ears, even more pointed and prominent than her own.
Isil held the little girl carefully, not wanting to hurt her any more than she already had been. The girl began to cry, clutching Isil’s robe tightly and burying her face in her chest. Isil slowly put her hand on her head, and gently rustled her hair. Isil wove an Expert healing spell, the wounds on the girl’s body closing and healing at a visible rate. The girl’s cries slowly subsided, and she fell asleep in Isil’s arms.
Isil stroked the girl’s head for while, before returning to the wagon. She grabbed the discarded cloth and laid it down on the wagon floor. She set the girl gently onto the cloth, taking care not to wake her. She looked over her shackles, trying to divine what sort of enchantments were on them. Thankfully, they were nothing complex, and Isil could recognize most of everything on it. The shackles acted like a magical shock collar, meant to receive a signal from a transponder likely held by the slave owner.
There was only one part she couldn’t understand. It seemed something like a nexus for the enchantment lines, but it held no real purpose. It did not manage enchantments, nor did not add additional functions. It was simply… there. Isil could only assume it was some sort of trademark or logo of the manufacturers. Why such a thing would be on an illegal item, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t think of anything else it could be.
Isil tilted her head left than right, trying to crack her neck but failing miserably. Ignoring her failure, she went to work. Her white-silver mana reached into the shackles, scraping away at vital runic lines, rendering the enchantment useless without erasing the whole thing. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to leave the weird logo nexus on, hoping to use it to identify the manufacturers later. With all of the enchantments disabled, she was free to simply cut the shackles off with a Mana Blade.
She removed the shackles and tossed them into the cage that once held the girl. Having done that, Isil inspected the girl’s body, making sure there were no other injuries. She was also curious as to why the girl did not have any mana in her body. Either it meant she had absolutely no mana, or all her mana was in her soul, like a mage. Isil’s hypothesis was the latter, considering that most of the civilized beings in Kalixkto had mana. This was also due to the fact that elves had some natural affinity towards magic in the first place, so it was even more likely that the girl was a mage.
Isil checked the girl’s pulse, and began sending mana into her body. She kept her hand on the girl’s wrist to make sure she didn’t accidentally cause her distress, and allowed her mana to search for the connection between body and soul. All living beings had a soul, and there was always a connection point – or points – between body and soul. This allowed the person to function normally, instead of just being a robot driven by logic and instinct. Most connection points were in the brain, but it was possible for it to be in different places.
Unsurprisingly, the girl’s connection point was in the brain, and Isil had no trouble sending her mana to follow it to the soul. She only had a cursory look, as anything too invasive would be damaging, but there was indeed mana in the girl’s soul. It was small, but it was there. Isil shook her head, wondering just how the merchant got a hold of a young elf mage. Elves in Tyverra were rare, as most remained in their home continent of Segoe, and young mages in any race were very much a rarity. However the slave merchant got a hold of the girl, he was very lucky. Not lucky enough though, as he was caught by Isil.
She was just about to raid the wagon for any food when she heard something behind her. She twisted her head around lazily, annoyed at the sudden interruption. She could make out a faint line of dark colors and a storm of dust. Likely, the mercenaries she had earlier were done thrashing the bandits about. She shook her head, exasperated. Her mana pressure from before had killed both the slave merchant and the horses. While the slave merchant’s death was too good for him, she needed the horses if she wanted to continue moving.
Isil sighed and slid off the wagon. She didn’t know if the mercenaries knew about the slave merchant’s “cargo” or not, and if they did, if they supported it. She looked briefly for a weapon of some sort in the hopes of looking intimidating, before settling on a long wooden pole. It was a bit too unwieldy to be a good weapon, but it was better than being empty-handed. She waited for only a few minutes until they arrived.
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“Ho there!” The leader called, throwing up his hand and bringing his horse to a stop. “Who might you be?”
The leader removed his steel helmet, revealing matted dirty blond hair that was surprisingly fine. As Isil looked him over, so too did he. She revised her previous assumption that they were mercenaries, closer inspection allowing her to notice a crest stamped in the upper left corners of each man’s armor. She couldn’t claim to recognize the crest, but it likely belonged to a personal order of knights, or even state knights. Whatever order they belonged to, they weren’t mercenaries.
“Isil, and you?” Isil curtsied slightly, keeping a watch on the rest of the knights while simultaneously not allowing them to notice the elven girl in the wagon.
“I am Baron Vernon Ulbos of the Praxic Knight Order. We are here in pursuit of Ambassador Wellor Telvin’s daughter, who was kidnapped a fortnight ago. Move aside so we may search this wagon for her and her kidnapper.” With this, two knights from his left and right approached the wagon on their horses.
“Truly?” Isil queried, still somewhat doubtful. “I have trouble believing that.”
“Stop,” Vernon commanded to the approaching knights. They obeyed, but looked back at him curiously. “I have no desire for further bloodshed. Ask your questions so that I may allay your doubts.” Turning to his knights, he spoke, “keep watch, make sure no one runs from this wagon.”
The knights obeyed, and fanned out, keeping watch. Isil eyed these knights cautiously. She couldn’t think of any reason to doubt them, much less questions of their authenticity. She thought for a bit, before deciding on what to ask.
“I have three questions. First, what is the name of the ambassador’s daughter? Second, how old is she? Third, does she speak the common tongue?” Isil asked, raising a finger for each question.
“Her name is Ella, and she had turned eight three months ago. As for the last, I hear she mostly knows elvish, but can understand the common tongue. Now, may we search the wagon?” Isil could notice the man starting to send meaningful glances at his subordinates.
“No, I have more questions to ask.” Isil shook her head.
“What may they be?” Vernon asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Not to you,” Isil chuckled slightly, before turning around and walking into the wagon.
Since it would be telling if she entered the wagon while hiding the girl, she simply climbed in normally. A few of the knights caught sight of the girl, and quickly notified Vernon with hand signals. Isil didn’t pay attention to Vernon’s reaction, as he didn’t move anywhere, but she assumed he was now much more serious. It wouldn’t matter, she was already keeping track of all his knights with her mana sense.
“Wake up.” She nudged the girl, using a jolt of mana to stimulate her brain awake.
The girl’s eyes snapped open instantly, and darted around, only relaxing when she saw Isil. Isil smiled and grabbed the girl’s hand. The girl grabbed Isil’s hand with both of hers and inched close. Isil patted her head to comfort her.
“Can I ask you a few questions?” Isil asked in a much softer tone than before.
The girl nodded, not opening her mouth.
“What’s your name?”
“E… Ella...” She spoke quietly.
“Do you know your father’s name? Do you know where he is?”
“Daddy’s… daddy’s an ambass… ambass-ate-or. He’s in the big city with the weird name.”
“Ambassador?” Isil asked, to which Ella nodded. “Do you know what sound the city started with?”
“It was burrr… like, when you are cold.”
“Burgeses?” Ella nodded vigorously. “You did a good job remembering that. Do you remember how old you are?”
“I-I’m this old!” She stuck out eight fingers.
“Good girl, you’ve done a very good job. Now, tell me, do you recognize that angry man on the brown and white horse?” Isil pointed to Vernon, who looked very angry indeed.
Ella jolted and pulled herself closer to Isil, clearly afraid of Vernon. Noticing this, he quickly put on a professional smile that showed no trace of his earlier impatience. This only served to make her even more terrified, to the point where she was dragging herself to hide behind Isil. Vernon’s smile twitched, but he managed to keep it straight.
“Lady Ella, we are here on behalf of your father, Lord Telvin. Please, come with us so we can take you back to your father. You can ride on my horse, if you want.” Vernon said, holding out his hand.
Ella hesitated, but ultimately shook her head and continued to clutch Isil’s clothes. Vernon frowned at this, and glared at Isil. His glare was clearly ordering her to talk some sense into Ella. Isil frowned back at him. It wasn’t her fault his face scared her.
“Ella, do you want to go back to your father?” Isil turned to her and asked.
Ella nodded her head, tears in her eyes.
“These men are knights, that means they work for the country. If they cause you any harm, your father can have them executed. They wouldn’t lay a finger on you. And if execution doesn’t scare them, then I will be sure to do that in place of your father.” Isil told her with a devious smile.
Ella looked around nervously, before returning her gaze towards Isil. “Al-alright. I-I’ll go.”
“Thank yo-” Vernon began.
“If any of these men make you unhappy, just tell me. I’ll make sure they won’t do it again.” Isil spoke over the baron, sending a meaningful glance back at his knight order.
Vernon gritted his teeth, Isil’s clear disrespect stabbing his nobles’ pride with a knife. However, he didn’t say anything. Isil didn’t bother reveling in that small victory, knowing the man was just trying to do his job and she was making it hard for him. She was simply determined to make Ella feel safe in the midst of a bunch of armed and armored unknown men.
“Have you any spare horses?” Isil asked the baron.
Vernon didn’t reply, instead motioning towards another knight, who went off down the road with his horse.
“He will bring you a horse. Lady Ella, would you like to sit on my horse with me?” The baron continued to coax Ella.
Ella shook her head, clutching Isil’s clothes tight.
“Very well then,” Isil swore she could see a vein pop in the man’s head. “Would you like to ride with one of my other knights instead?”
Ella shook her head again, causing Vernon’s practiced smile to twitch slightly. Before he could say anything else, his subordinate arrived with two horses in tow.
“I have returned, captain.” The knight addressed Vernon.
“Good…” Vernon turned towards him and suddenly stopped speaking. “Why did you bring two? Just one would’ve been fine.”
“Were we not appropriating the wagon? The mares on it were down, so I assumed...” The knight trailed off.
“No, no, that’s a fine idea. Thank you for thinking of it.” Vernon rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Will we be returning the way you came?” Isil asked.
“Nay. It is our duty as knights to rid our great nation of evils such as this slave trader. We shall ride to Ashiron, and see just why this slaver was headed there!”