Upon hearing that his mother had died at Prelinsa’s hands, Sir Vincent Lupin said that he was still willing to speak with Prelinsa directly. Though he requested that it be kept brief.
Prelinsa met the lycan knight in a private room in the Western Keep. Vincent’s eyes were red – he’d definitely been crying. An earthen mana heart burned steadily and mournfully within his chest. Prelinsa waited for him to speak first.
Vincent took a deep breath. “…Hey,” he finally said, as evenly as he could.
“Hey,” Prelinsa said back.
“Was she in pain?” Vincent asked.
Prelinsa paused, then nodded once, slowly. Honesty was the best approach. “She was. Mana fury is painful, no matter what you do. I tried to end things as quickly as possible.”
“Thanks,” Vincent said gratefully. “Honestly, I’m still mad. I want to be mad at you, but that’s wrong. Mom was too far gone.”
“Even so, I’m sorry. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
Vincent nodded, forcing a twisted smile. “That’s good enough. I can tell that you mean it. You can go now. I just… I need time alone.”
Prelinsa nodded again, then turned and exited the room, leaving Vincent to dwell on his thoughts and feelings.
----------------------------------------
“Mira. Tell me the truth. Am I crushing on Prelinsa?” Camilla asked. The two of them were in the Leclerc family’s secondary residence in White Blossom Fortress, inside Mirabelle’s room. It was the morning after they had returned to Pyrus, the capitol of EGP Silvermoon.
“Yep,” Mirabelle said, as she did her makeup in the mirror.
Camilla flopped onto Mirabelle’s bed, putting her arm over her face. She sighed. “I knew it. I just didn’t want to admit it. How obvious was I being?”
“Really obvious. I think even Arlan can tell something’s up.” Mirabelle squinted to get an eyelash, while using her water magic to clear away some dust.
“Ugh. No wonder Prelinsa keeps bothering me about it. This sucks. This really sucks.”
“Yeah, Linsa’s a tough one, huh?”
Camilla sat up. “No kidding. She’s way too good for me.”
“One sec- got it!” Mirabelle said, finishing with her makeup. She turned to face Camilla. “Also, I mean the whole Phoenix Heart thing. She’s gonna live way longer than any of us.”
“You think I don’t know that?!”
Camilla grabbed a pillow and angrily slammed it against the bed with a loud thwack. Mirabelle flinched.
“That’s why she doesn’t try anything with me!” Camilla continued, as tears welled up in her eyes. “Both of us know we can’t be together like this! I hate it! Why did I have to fall for someone like her?! Why did Prelinsa have to be the Phoenix Warrior and not me?”
Mirabelle’s look was one of empathy. She silently walked over, stretched out her arms, and gave Camilla a good hug. Much more gentle than a typical roughhousing Mirabelle hug.
“I’m sorry, Cammy. I really am,” she said softly. “But at least you’re going to become a Phoenix Warrior too, right? Then you can be together after that.”
Camilla breathed in and out, still crying. “I’ve… I’ve been trying,” she said. “I still don’t know what I have to do in order to learn the Path of the Phoenix. Even Prelinsa can’t tell me!”
“Maybe you can ask Princess Corynn or something,” Mirabelle suggested. “She seems like she’s smart about these sorts of things.”
The two of them finally released their hug. Camilla just looked at Mirabelle silently for several moments, gathering up her words.
“…You think I can just… walk up to Princess Corynn and ask her?” she finally asked, wiping the tears from her face.
Mirabelle shrugged. “Why not? I’ve spoken to her a bunch. She’s friendly.”
Camilla sighed again. “I wish I had your confidence.”
“Cammy, you don’t have to be like me. You’re great the way you are! You just need to see that for yourself.”
“We’ve had this talk before, Mira. But we both know I’m stupid and jealous,” Camilla said, rather morosely.
“Nah. You know, I’ve always thought you’re a better Leclerc than me,” Mirabelle replied.
“That’s not true!” Camilla blurted. To her, that was the furthest thing from true.
“Why not?” Mirabelle looked Camilla in the eyes.
“You’re better at fighting! And you’re confident, and charismatic,” Camilla listed. “Everyone loves you! Sure, you have some issues, but to me you’re the perfect Leclerc. The perfect older sister.”
“Aw, thanks! But we both know that’s wrong,” Mirabelle replied, grinning sheepishly. “You’re way smarter than me, Cammy. And you’ve got your stuff together in ways that I don’t. Me? I’d make a terrible leader. You saw back in Sarcodes – once we finished, all I could think of was having a good time for myself.”
She scratched the back of her head, as she thought about some things.
“Being a leader is too much for me. I’m thinking of giving up my inheritance to the Marquisate, and handing it over to you.”
“What?! No!” Camilla protested. “Leclerc needs you. I need you!”
Mirabelle patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t get your tail in a knot, I’ll still be around! I’m just gonna be doing other stuff like fighting, instead of being the Marchioness.”
“But what happens if I do become a Phoenix Warrior? Then I’ll be Camilla Silvermoon, not just Camilla Leclerc. I won’t be able to lead the Marquisate anymore.”
From both political and social standpoints, all Phoenix Warriors in the EGP had to be part of House Silvermoon. While they managed their own private family affairs, they couldn’t start their own noble houses independently of House Silvermoon.
One’s name also reflected their dedication to House Silvermoon. All disciples and knights added Silvermoon to their name, and Silvermoon always came before the original surname. To be an Elder meant giving up entirely on one’s original surname, and committing fully to House Silvermoon.
The only time a Silvermoon could be head of their own noble house was by being the head of House Silvermoon itself, thereby also becoming head of state and assuming the position of Grand Prince or Grand Princess. Currently, that position fell to Rensa, but it wasn’t limited to her direct family – by tradition, any of the Elders was eligible. With Rensa’s liberal attitude, she probably considered others eligible as well.
Naturally, Camilla becoming a Silvermoon would exclude her from being head of House Leclerc. But that didn’t bother Mirabelle. “Then I guess our baby brother will take over the house! Or one of our relatives. Or mother and father can just adopt someone,” she said, listing a few options.
“Uh, I don’t know about that,” Camilla said uncertainly, fidgeting with her hands.
“Look, all I’m saying is, there’s more than one way to deal with this,” Mirabelle said confidently. “There’s no point worrying when we have lots of good choices! That’s something you gotta work on, Cammy. It’s good that you worry about things, but you worry even when there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Hmm.”
Camilla thought on that for a bit, while Mirabelle waited patiently. Eventually, Camilla spoke again.
“…Mira. Have you ever wanted to learn the Path of the Phoenix?” She asked curiously.
Mirabelle shook her head. “Nah,” she said instantly. “The whole thing about living forever sounds like a pain to me. I’d rather make the most of the time that I have. Live well and die partying, you get me?” She raised her hands into the air. “When I die, I want people to throw a big celebration for everything I accomplished! Not just mope around, but party so hard that I wanna rise from my grave!”
She clenched her fists and stamped her foot on the ground. This was promptly followed up by a call from an intercom on Mirabelle’s nightstand.
“Mira. I told you not to make too much noise – your father and brother are still sleeping,” Marchioness Leclerc called.
“Okay. Sorry, Mother,” Mira called back.
Camilla stifled a giggle at both Mirabelle’s infectious optimism and their mother’s reaction. Mirabelle grinned goofily again.
“Well, at least I made you smile. Anyway, really think about what I said, okay? I’m sure Linsa doesn’t want you feeling down like this either.”
“Wait, why did this suddenly become about Prelinsa again?!”
----------------------------------------
“…And that’s all I have to report,” Prelinsa said, finishing her report on the events of Sarcodes. She stood before the Council of House Silvermoon in an auditorium within White Blossom Castle – the capitol building of the Eastern Grand Principality. The Council consisted of the core Silvermoon Elders, some of the more powerful Eastern noble families, and a large Board of Commoners, all of whom gave their input into governmental matters. There were some familiar faces present, including Duke Whitemane and Marchioness Leclerc – respectively the father of Arlan, and the mother of Camilla and Mirabelle.
“Thank you, Dame Prelinsa. You have done us all a great service,” Elder Kirith Silvermoon said. Down to her silver fur and soft facial features, the former Matriarch looked strikingly like Corynn – visually, they even looked about the same age. However, Kirith carried herself with a level of poise and dignity gained from over a century of political experience. The disconnect was pretty striking, but one that any EGP citizen was familiar with. Even Prelinsa, a former foreigner, was used to it at this point.
“Indeed. The Way of the Leviathan spreading is a danger to the entire Greater Realm,” Elder Lumio Silvermoon said. He was a giant human man of Eastern ancestry – built like a tree, over two meters tall. His black beard was visible poking out from under his mask. “We must find and destroy the root of this problem quickly.”
“Dame Prelinsa. This may be jumping to conclusions, but do you believe House Goldensun is responsible for this?” Sable Pastore asked. An outspoken member of the Board of Commoners, she was a dark-skinned elvish woman of South Realm ancestry, with frizzy black hair. Appearance-wise, she was stockily built and resembled other races in their forties – which meant she was at least two hundred actual years old.
Prelinsa shook her head. “Unfortunately, there’s not enough information yet. Normally, we would interrogate the Leviathan mage in question, but she passed away. As we speak, the rest of the bandits are being interrogated. If any of them knows, we’ll find out soon enough.”
Sable nodded. “Very well. I have no further questions.”
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“Rensa. Do you have any thoughts on this matter?” Elder Kirith asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got plenty of thoughts,” Grand Princess Rensa Silvermoon replied, again speaking way more casually than her station would suggest, even in the presence of the Council. She was the eldest daughter of Elder Kirith and the current head of state, so nobody dared to correct her anyway. “But like Prelinsa said, there’s not enough information about what’s happening. For now, we should warn people to be extra careful and keep an eye out for rogue Leviathan mages.”
The Council members and Prelinsa all nodded in agreement.
“We lost an important suspect this time,” Rensa continued. “It takes a certain kind of broken person to enter mana fury willingly. But focusing on that is a mistake. What we need to focus on isn’t the who, it’s the why and how. If a broken person knows the Way of the Leviathan, chances are good that someone taught it to them. I think we can all agree with that, right?”
More nods and murmurs. No one disagreed – the Way of the Leviathan was legendary, second in status only to the Path of the Phoenix. The most powerful practitioners could destroy entire towns on their own.
Needless to say, this kind of magic wasn’t easily replicated, let alone by a lone bandit. It was more likely that there was a teacher out there. A teacher who was willing to teach someone as horrible as Gladys. The thought of that sent chills down Prelinsa’s spine. She wanted to punch that person.
“Yeah, I thought so,” Rensa continued. “Anyway, that teacher might not be a Goldensun, but if they exist, their motivations can’t be good ones. Regardless of the situation, everyone, and I mean everyone, has to be on high alert. The more people know about what’s going on, the better off we are. I will alert the press, but feel free to warn people before that.”
“I apologize for my lack of skill,” Prelinsa said, bowing. “If Gladys hadn’t died, we’d be able to question her about all of this.”
“Don’t do that, Prelinsa; it’s not your fault,” Rensa said. “All of us got careless because we thought we fixed the Leviathan problem. Also, I don’t care that this is a Council meeting; just talk how you normally do.”
“Alright.”
“Anyway, I think we’re all in agreement over how to proceed. Prelinsa, keep us posted about the interrogations.”
“Yeah,” Prelinsa replied, bowing.
“Thanks. All of you are dismissed now. Except Mother and Rupeth,” Rensa said.
The rest of the Council stood, and began to leave.
“What’s up, Ren?” Rupeth asked. The older Silvermoon Prince been standing next to Rensa the whole time, as her bodyguard. He shared her black hair and fur, but it was tousled and coarse, and his eyes were ice blue instead of red. Of the core Silvermoon family, it was said that he looked the most like Kirith’s late husband.
Rupeth also wore a backpack full of stuff – it was his ‘contingency stash,’ which he brought everywhere with him, even to a Council meeting like this. His respect for tradition and formality – or lack thereof – was similar to that of his sister’s.
“I’ve got something to tell both of you in private,” Rensa told him.
“Ooh, you’ve got a plan! I like the sound of that~”
----------------------------------------
Prelinsa left the conference room alongside Princess Corynn Silvermoon.
“I hope this doesn’t mean we have more clones to worry about,” Corynn said, frowning. She herself had been created as a prototype clone of Kirith by a disbanded militant group, the Magic Freedom Fighters. The final production clones had been used as soldiers by House Goldensun in the Second Civil War, and most of them were rushed into service at young ages. Many died horribly from either combat or experimentation, which had led to stricter laws on cloning.
Naturally, Corynn treated the surviving clones as her sisters, and was deeply concerned with anything unethical regarding full individual cloning.
“Yeah, I really hope not,” Prelinsa agreed. “But so far, there’s no sign of any new clones yet.”
“Right. I’ll try not to worry too much yet.”
As they walked through the corridors of the castle towards the entrance, they saw one of the aforementioned clones. It was Carolynn, one of Corynn’s sisters. She was a friendly clone that had assisted Corynn in the Battle of Pyrus during the Second Civil War, helping fight off fellow clones and putting out fires from bombing.
At eighteen years old, Carolynn was younger than Corynn, and had some reddish whisker-like marks on her cheeks – clone marks, which had since faded on Corynn. She carried herself more aloofly, with narrower eyes, and had a somewhat shorter haircut. Otherwise she looked nearly identical to Corynn and Kirith.
The clone bowed deeply, without speaking. It was a very respectful bow.
“At ease,” Corynn said. “You don’t have to act that way around us, you know?”
Carolynn frowned, pulling out of her bow. Instead of speaking, she pulled out her phone and began typing out on some assistive software, very quickly. The phone began enunciating her words for her, in a somewhat flat and dry voice.
<
Corynn looked sad at that. “Carolynn, we’re sisters. I won’t get angry with you for being a bit informal,” she insisted. “It’s the other way around – if you’re too respectful, I’ll get sad.”
Carolynn paused, then simply nodded.
“I’m glad you understand. We also have something very important to tell you. There might be someone teaching rogue people the Way of the Leviathan.”
A dark look crossed Carolynn’s face, as expected. She quickly punched out something else on her phone.
<
“We don’t know yet. Either way, be careful, alright? Look out for strangers who have Leviathan Cores. And if you see any sisters you don’t recognize, call someone right away.”
Carolynn nodded again.
“Thanks.”
<
Corynn sighed, but smiled. “Carolynn, you don’t have to do anything. I just want you to be safe and happy.”
Carolynn frowned at that, seeming skeptical. Her watery Leviathan Core – the standard that the clones had been forced to learn – started to churn a bit turbulently, like waves at sea. But she wasn’t sure how to express this over text-to-speech, especially with its lack of intonation. It was one of the limitations of the technology. Eventually, she entered more things into the assistive software again.
<
“Carolynn, this isn’t a matter of…” Corynn sighed and paused, looking for the right words. “It’s not about trust, or strength. You’ve proven yourself plenty of times in combat already. I really do want you to be happy, and heal from your past.”
Carolynn didn’t look entirely convinced.
Seeing Carolynn’s frustration, Corynn hugged her. The two weren’t always able to exchange words properly, so showing affection was the next best thing she could do. They held this hug for some time, trying to make up for their inability to communicate.
Eventually, Carolynn’s turbulent mana seemed to calm down, and Corynn let go of her. She turned to Prelinsa.
“This is unrelated, but I actually have something to tell you, Prelinsa. Camilla she spoke to me earlier this morning, asking about the Path of the Phoenix. I think she wants to speak with you.”
“Huh,” Prelinsa said.
“She should be practicing in Training Field Five West right now.”
“Thanks.”
----------------------------------------
Prelinsa parted ways with Corynn and Carolynn, and entered the training field. It was currently empty except for Camilla, who was wearing her workout clothes and practicing with her saber, which blazed brightly with fire. She didn’t have anyone to train against at the moment, but her movements still looked sharp, like she was fighting against a real person. She was so focused that she didn’t seem to notice Prelinsa approaching.
Prelinsa concealed her presence, allowing Camilla to keep her focus. She saw no need to warn the lycan about the Way of the Leviathan spreading – Camilla already knew about that possibility, since she was a witness.
Instead, Prelinsa just watched Camilla practice. The young woman swished her sword and kept a good stance, her Firebird Heart burning steadily as she never took her eyes off of her shadow opponent. Camilla always considered herself to be an inferior fighter to Mirabelle. But seeing her here, Prelinsa could appreciate that Camilla was a good fighter. Maybe a bit less sharp than Mirabelle, but far from bad.
Camilla exhaled, put out her sword, and sheathed it, bowing to thin air. She then wiped some sweat off her brow.
“Hot,” Prelinsa commented.
Camilla jumped and turned, finally realizing that Prelinsa was there. “Huh?!” She said, her face turning bright red.
“I meant that your fire’s hot,” Prelinsa clarified, not getting embarrassed at all. “It’s hotter than it was back in Sarcodes. Felt like you had a good rhythm going.”
“Well, of course! I’m not in a real fight, so I can focus more,” Camilla said. “Anyway, don’t hide yourself like that! I won’t get distracted just because-” She caught herself from doing the Camilla Thing. “…No. I probably would have gotten distracted,” she admitted, a bit sheepishly.
Prelinsa tilted her head with feigned innocence. “What’s up?”
“Ugh.” Camilla looked down at the ground, then at Prelinsa more directly. She was still blushing, but not as brightly as before. “You know what’s up. I have a thing for you, okay? Being around you makes me uncomfortable sometimes,” she said, fidgeting with her hands.
“Well, it’s about time you admitted it,” Prelinsa remarked.
“Yeah. I wasn’t being fair to you. Sorry about that. I just…” Camilla took a moment to gather her words. “I didn’t want to burden you. You’re going to live for a long time, and I’m not. But I can’t just let go of my feelings so easily. So I’ll have to learn the Path of the Phoenix to try and make this work somehow. But I still don’t understand what I have to do to make the Elders teach me! And you don’t understand, either! I just… ugh.”
“Sorry,” Prelinsa said, unsure of what to say.
“Don’t be, you didn’t do anything wrong. This is my problem,” Camilla insisted. “I spoke with Princess Corynn earlier. She thinks Elder Kirith won’t teach me because I’m too attached to people. She thinks I’ll go crazy if I live forever, because everyone I love will die. But Princess Corynn’s attached to people who will die, too! She treats the clones like her sisters, but Elder Kirith hasn’t stopped her. What’s the difference between me and her?” The apparent hypocrisy maddened her – she was frustrated.
Prelinsa thought about Corynn for a bit, and what kind of person she was. Thinking back to the six years she’d known the Silvermoon Princess. Her past, present, and future. Corynn could be very emotional and attached, much like Camilla, but there was one big difference.
“…It’s that Corynn can get over it,” she realized aloud. “She’s already watched her sisters die before, many times. I don’t think she’ll ever forget what happened, but at some point, she just… moved on. She’s going to keep moving on, every time someone she loves passes away.”
Camilla wasn’t on that level of acceptance – not yet at least. She still had people that she simply couldn’t get over. Like her feelings for Prelinsa, and for her sister Mirabelle. If she lived on forever, she would be weighed down by those feelings until she collapsed.
“Oh,” Camilla said, looking down at the ground for a bit, before looking back up at Prelinsa. “Isn’t that kind of… shallow? No offense, of course.”
Prelinsa shook her head. “I don’t think it’s shallow. I’m still sad that my mom died. I’m angry at my dad for leaving us, and I’m angry at the slavers for how they treated me. Just thinking about those things makes me upset,” she remarked, tensing as she clenched a fist. She took a deep breath, calming herself down. “…But at some point, I had to move on. I had to understand and get over my feelings.”
“So… you would get over me, too?” Camilla asked.
Prelinsa thought about that. “I’d be sad, but… yeah. I think I would get over you at some point,” she replied, as honestly as she could.
Camilla looked crestfallen. “I… I don’t know if I ever could do that,” she said sadly. “I love you. If we started going out now, and I grew old and left you behind, I feel like I’d always regret it. I love Mira, too. Even Arlan and Rona – I love everyone. If I had to choose to live on forever without them, I just… I don’t know.”
“Sorry if this is uncomfortable,” Prelinsa said, her ears drooping.
“It’s fine. I just… I need time to think. You can go now.”
Prelinsa nodded, and left Camilla to herself in the middle of the training field.