Snow gently fell upon Caldrice as he steadily made his way into Frostfall, his longing gaze shifted towards the billowing columns of smoke that were nearly indistinguishable from the clouds that cloaked the sky. Slowly, his gloved hand rubbed his cheek, the cold having removed most sensation from it, but as he was about to continue walking, the rushed laughter of children stopped him in his tracks. Tilting his head, he’d smile and wave at them, but they stood there stoically, murmuring amongst themselves before scampering off in the other direction. His lips curled downward as he walked along the right side of the cobbled pathway, glancing between the similar snow-covered houses and shops before hearing a hearty voice boom from an upper story window to his left, “Well, look who’s finally been let out of their cage!”
Caldrice smirked, relieved, as he turned to face the aged, leathery man in the window, “Ah, yes, Kanreth! It’s been quite a while.”
“Indeed, it has! Several months, I was afraid that Guardian Delarin would never let you come visit.” Kanreth shouted through a stained toothy grin. Swiftly, he beckoned Caldrice, “Come on, that coat won’t keep you warm forever, boy. It’ll be a lot warmer here, especially against this sudden snowfall that’s recently begun.”
Caldrice sighed, nodding, “Yeah, it might be a good idea!” He shouted in return, rolling his eyes, “I have an idea as to what could’ve caused this.” He ran his gloved fingers through his hair, frowning at the snow that had begun to settle between.
“I’ll meet you down below! The deadbolt may be a bit stuck.” Kanreth grunted, slamming the window shut – a warm orange light showing from beyond the pane.
Smiling, Caldrice shook the snow off of his worn, leather boots and moved over to his teacher’s threshold, leaning against the door frame with crossed arms. He tilted his head, looking across the snow-covered path to see the quickly fading trail of where the children had gone. He frowned, remembering the odd behavior. His thoughts faded as he heard the muffled grumbling of Kanreth from beyond the door, and the dull thud of the deadbolt being pushed back. He squinted as the light of the house hit his eyes at once, smiling at the burly, yet wrinkly, old man who towered just slightly above him.
Kanreth extended his arms out, “I’ve missed you, boy.”
Laughing, Caldrice shook his head, “Certainly you’ve missed beating me up with wooden sticks and training swords.” He quipped as he moved forward to embrace the man.
Kanreth pulled away, placing his hands on his shoulders, before pulling him away from the open door, “Enough of that now.” He said, pulling the door shut, but leaving the deadbolt unsecure, “What’s that Guardian got you up to lately?”
Caldrice rubbed the back of his neck, “Well, he’s got me learning more about geography, especially around the City of Kur.”
“Just a bunch of rocks!” Kanreth proclaimed, moving over to his cooking cauldron hanging over the fire, “Rocks, rocks, and more rocks!” Tapping his chin lightly, he glanced back over to Caldrice, “Which reminds me, Lady Frostfall stopped by earlier.”
“Adelia?”
“Aye, Adelia.”
Caldrice shrugged himself out of his coat, draping it over the back of the closest facing chair to the fire before sitting in it, “What all did she have to say?”
“Well, she seemed pretty upset, boy.” Kanreth remarked, bringing a ladle to his lips, “Hmm, nice, very nice.” He snapped his fingers before placing the ladle back down, “Ah, yes, Lady Frostfall. She came by and invited me to the Remembrance ceremony happening in Kur soon.” He said, grimacing as he said the name of the city, “She said you were planning on attending to, but due to your, ah, uniqueness,” he said gingerly, “you can’t use the obelisk to get there.”
“So, she came by to ask you to take me then?”
“It was implied, yes.”
Caldrice ran his fingers through his hair, pursing his lips, “Did she tell you why she was upset, or explain why she came to speak with you?”
Kanreth shook his head, “I’m afraid not. I didn’t really want to press the issue further than what she had started with our conversation. Her eyes had quite the unsettling blue glow to them.”
Caldrice sat up in his chair, alert, his brows furrowed thoughtfully, “Her eyes only get like that when she isn’t in control of her Arcana.” He stood up, grabbing his coat, “Teacher, as much as I’d like to stay and visit, I need to go find her.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Do you think she’s responsible for the sudden change in weather?”
“It’s a very real possibility.”
“Then I can’t let you go alone.” Kanreth said, turning to face him, “Temperatures are dropping, and if she keeps it up then she’ll ruin our harvest for the season.” He grumbled to himself softly, moving over to retrieve his coat from the rack, “I don’t necessarily have strong Arcana myself, but if she’s not stable, then it would be a good thing to have me with you just in case.”
“Do you think she’ll try to hurt me?”
Kanreth pursed his lips, “It wouldn’t be the first time she’s lashed out at someone who didn’t deserve it because she let her emotions interfere with her ability as an arcanist.”
“She’d never hurt me though, right?” Caldrice said, his voice stoic.
Kanreth shrugged his heavy shoulders, “I’m afraid I can’t say, boy, but I don’t think it would be safe for you to go after her alone, at least not with people around right now.”
Caldrice thought back to the encounter earlier, his lips pursed, yet frowning, “I don’t really understand why people avoid me, Kanreth.”
“You’re different.” He said softly, gently patting his head, the snow melting against his strong fingers, “Different people are always looked at differently, and sometimes those differences don’t always end well.”
“Are they afraid of me?” Caldrice asked, solemnly.
Kanreth shook his head, “No, it’s difficult for people to fear someone who can’t harm them, at least in the way that they harm each other.” He frowned, “Truth be told, I’m not sure why. Maybe they think you’re an ill omen, your arrival coming shortly after the desolation of Midland.”
“So, they think I’m somehow related to that thing, that abomination?” Caldrice said, appalled.
Kanreth patted him on the shoulder, moving to open the door, “No, I don’t think anyone does, boy.” Moving through the door, he pulled it shut behind them, fumbling with his keys until the correct one fit into the lock, “I just think people are afraid of what they don’t understand.”
“Then why aren’t you afraid of me?” Caldrice asked, looking back at him as he descended the snow-covered stairs.
“You and I are pretty similar, although you may not believe it yourself.” Kanreth explained, “I mentioned once, years ago when Guardian Delarin brought you to me that I was from Erast where there is no Nexus, and where the connection to Arcana and the leylines are exceptionally weak.” He looked up to the dark grey sky, swiping the snow from his face as he drew up his hood, his heavy feet crushing the snow effortlessly with each step, “The land of steam, automation, and frequent civil war. I came here many decades ago whenever the draft was happening.” He smiled, melancholy, “It’s hard to fight in a war you don’t believe in, especially when the blood is tied to the land you were born on.”
“Then why did they fight?” Caldrice asked, drawing his hood up as he struggled to keep pace with the larger man.
Kanreth smiled, “They fought because they didn’t believe they were free. They thought the Grand Mechanist was keeping all of Erast in chains while he, or she, or whatever it originally was, reaped all of the benefits of the population’s efforts.” He rubbed his nose, frowning, “The Grand Mechanist, while originally human like you and I, feared death like everyone else, or so the story goes. Nobody really remembers what they were originally, nor can remember a time from before they had shed their human origins and ascended to immortality through the power of automation.”
Caldrice’s face twisted, confused, “So, the leader of Erast is a machine?”
Kanreth nodded, “Aye, it is, but one with a soul.” He cleared his throat, “Many people in Erast undergo the process of limb removal in favor of more versatile prosthetics, which would normally be an issue for a place of proficient arcanists, since it would hinder their abilities for incantation, but to a relatively weak nation like Erast? It’s a normal part of everyday life.”
“A machine with a soul.” Caldrice parroted, “How is that possible?”
“Well, surely that stuffy old Guardian’s had you read about liches, yes?”
“He has.” Caldrice nodded, “So, what you’re telling me is that the automaton is a big phylactery?”
“Kind of.” Kanreth said, “Only the core is, which powers the entire thing through the arcana that is drawn into it by the soul.” He laughed, “The entire process is considered taboo in many parts of the world, and outlawed entirely in Genova and Paelmun, which is why you’d be very hard pressed to find someone who isn’t an outlaw, or in high aristocracy running around with a prosthesis.”
“If it’s outlawed in those places, then why aren’t there wars fought over it?”
“Well, it’s more of a political move than anything else, boy.” Kanreth said, “Erast and Genova are important naval allies to Paelmun due to how inaccessible and landlocked it normally is. It would be foolish to start a war against either of them when it would most certainly end in defeat.” He frowned, “Though, Genova and Erast exclusively are a different story entirely. Genova detests Erast for its use of automation, and Erast detests Genova for its rampant use of slavery. Paelmun supplies weapons and arcanists to the highest bidder but doesn’t get involved either way.”
“That makes us just as guilty as them though, doesn’t it?”
Kanreth grinned, tapping his own forehead, “Welcome to the very tip of the vile political arena, my boy. Pray to the Maker that you never get involved in it.” His grin quickly turned to a frown as a series of small stone spires appeared over the hillside, each lined up equidistance apart, and nearly indistinguishable from one another from afar, “Well, boy, you wanted to know where she was, and this is pretty much the most likely place she’d be – the Frostfall Speaking Stones.”