Chapter 26: Aelyn Arrives

I was happy to see Freya and Monty. Gareth had been expeditious in bringing them for their two-day stay. After dropping them off, Gareth practically ran back to the city to go on his own solo adventure. His enthusiasm actually made me nervous, but Gareth was smart enough not to make any major mistakes. The task was straight forward and simple.

The first thing Freya mentioned was that Pascal’s 17th birthday was coming. His Coming of Age was when he would be recognized as an adult. Seventeen was the age of maturity in Skyholme. Once you reached seventeen, it was your last celebrated birthday and then everyone aged just on the New Year.

Freya was pushing for me to get Pascal something nice. “Come on, Storme. Pascal hates you, and I hate seeing you like this. You are both my family!” She tried a different tactic: “It would make Mother happy if you came.” Freya had her puppy dog eyes and an actual puppy sitting behind her as reinforcements.

“Fine! I will get him a blade. What does he practice with?” I caved to my sister’s demands, and a smile spread on her face.

After talking with her for a bit, I found out Pascal’s preferred sword was just a standard long sword by her description. I said I would have one ready for her to bring him before I left. She probably thought I would get it from Callem, but I planned to forge it myself. I would give Freya the sword and some coin to buy a scabbard as I wouldn’t be present for the celebration of his 17th.

We spent a few hours playing and teaching Monty new tricks: roll over, play dead, and shake. They were simple tricks, but Monty mastered them all quickly, eager to please Freya. Freya and I then went to Callem’s house and cooked with Wynna. We made berry filling for a pastry and prepared the phyllo dough. For our meal, we made a basic lasagna and garlicky spinach as a side dish. Callem enjoyed the meal with us. Later, Freya and I headed to my bunkhouse and played some board games into the night. When she finally passed out from exhaustion, I got to work on Pascal’s long sword.

I got some coal, manifested the iron, made the steel, and worked the steel to make as strong and durable of a blade as I could. I folded the steel again but was able to tighten the lines enough that it just shimmered instead of showing the wave pattern. I realized that I probably hadn’t even come close to exploring the depths of my shape-metal ability. It was a tier 4 ability, and those abilities were extremely powerful.

I was quite impressed with the finished blade myself. I figured this was good practice for when I finally made a blade for Gareth. It still needed a handle and sheath, but it was more than adequate for Pascal. Hell, it was the finest blade I had seen outside of Callem’s personal collection. He kept seven remarkable blades in his bedroom which he had shown us a few times and let us clean for him. I wrapped the blade in one of my blankets and put it aside for Freya to bring back. I focused on my aether core exercises for a bit before repeatedly casting my cleanliness spell. I knew I would be getting new spells soon, and I was hoping to get this spell to level seven for a new evolution. The spell still hadn’t reached level 6 yet so I was pushing it. I fell asleep with the smell of vanilla filling the room.

The next day Freya and I had a simple breakfast of diced ham mixed into scrambled eggs topped with shredded cheese. It was my go-to for an easy but tasty and filling breakfast. Monty also seemed to like the dish, cleaning the plates with a fervor. After lunch, Callem and Wynna would be taking Freya back home, so I let her decide what to do for the rest of the morning. She wanted to see my sword skills. The little brat, this was my day off! Callem just smiled as Freya repeated her request to see her brother’s sword mastery. I was hardly a master—I wouldn’t even say I had reached the apprentice rank yet.

In the practice yard, I did my stretches and instead of the sword, I decided on a staff demonstration. It was a little more flashy, and I was actually more comfortable with that as a weapon. After my demonstration, Callem grabbed a staff, and we engaged in a few friendly bouts. So as not to embarrass me too much in front of my sister, Callem let me show off my prowess without giving me too many bumps and bruises. Freya, for her part, clapped at my effort, and Monty barked and needed to be restrained a bit as he didn’t like Callem hitting me—or maybe he just wanted to play with the big sticks?

Lunch finally came, and I was super dirty and sweaty. I healed myself and used my cleanliness spell. Callem asked for healing, which surprised me. Had I injured him? Then he showed me his injury, and I nearly fell over. He had gotten a large splinter when his practice staff had cracked a little from hitting me too hard. Still, Freya was happy to see my magic, and Callem winked at me. As I was walking Freya to lunch, she asked me, “Was that magic? Cleaning yourself instantly and healing the welts on your skin?”

“Yes, Freya,” I told her. “I can do a little magic now. Nothing extraordinary, just some simple healing and that cleaning trick.”

“Can you use magic on me? I can't wait to tell Gwen my brother is a mage!” She was excited.

“Oh no! It is a secret, and I can't really do much other than heal you. Can you keep my secret for a little longer?” She looked a little defiant but eventually nodded. She had a scrap on her forearm, and I quickly healed it. I also removed some small scars on her hands and arms.

“Storme, you need to tell mother and father. They would be so proud! Healers are held in such high regard! I bet you can marry into a noble house with your skills!” Freya’s mind was going down a road I didn’t want to travel. It took time to calm her down, and we had some nice finger sandwiches that Wynna made for lunch. After getting her to promise to keep my magic secret, she left with Callem and Wynna for the town. I gave her the wrapped sword for Pascal and 20 large silver coins to get a quality hilt and scabbard. After they left, it took me a second to realize I was alone!

I went swimming in the buff, wallowing in the cool water. Then tidied up my loft. I used my cleanliness spell to make sure all my sets of clothes were clean, as well as my spare blankets and pillows. I had a lot of pillows and had gotten comfortable enough in training I didn’t need them all anymore.

Each loft had two beds that were head-to-head and a large closet armoire built into the walls at the ends of the beds. Under the beds were three medium chests to store possessions. On the wall over each bed was a full-length shelf. Like Gareth, I had spread my belongings to the other bed in my loft but thought it was time to contain my things. We were having guests in a few months and Gareth would have to move to my loft or vice versa since they were both woman. I neatly packed my loose belongings in one of the chests under my bed.

Laying in a clean and organized loft I started reading my aether core book and practicing when I heard Callem and Wynna return. I could hear them talking as they returned and heard their door open and shut. Gareth should be returning soon as well. The transport skyship should land around dinner time and then it would take him 40 minutes or so walking time to get back to the farm.

I went and ate dinner with Callem and Wynna, some fabulous crusty cheesy bread and smoked ham they had gotten in town with some apple cider. The apple cider was an import from another island and was extremely good but a little thick for cider with its pulpy texture and slight fermentation. I returned to my loft and had trouble studying. I was anticipating that Gareth had found me some remarkable spells.

My eyes perked as I heard Gareth loudly arguing with a female voice I didn’t recognize. I couldn’t make out the words yet but both parties were not happy with each other. I rushed down my ladder and outside to see Gareth coming out of the trees with a tall young woman with long golden hair. Many things went through my mind. Did he kidnap her? Did he somehow get roped into marriage while in the capital? Did she kidnap him? The last was because of the tongue-lashing she was giving Gareth. Callem and Wynna were also outside watching the procession in confusion.

As they got closer, I could see a large mark on the side of the young woman’s neck. I had moved to stand next to Callem and Wynna, and it was Wynna who spoke first among us, and he tone was angry, and I mean mother ready to beat her kids angry, “Gareth, I thought you were much better than this! How could you do something so foul and unjust!” Before Gareth could respond she stormed away into the house and slammed the door behind her. I was still trying to puzzle out what was going on.

Callem spoke next and his tone was hard as well but not angry, “Gareth get into the house and you can explain yourself. Storme join us as I am sure you played some role in this travesty.” What, me? I just wanted books! At least I could be happy to see the young woman was carrying a large strapped white bundle that was very square…maybe four spell books? “Inside, NOW!” Callem yelled, breaking his normal calm. “You as well girl!” His command voice had all three of us scrambling inside.

We were all seated on different couches surrounding the large square coffee table. Wynna was not there but I was sure she had her ear to the door. “So, Gareth,” Callem began in a very gruff and aggrieved voice, “It seems you have taken on an indenture contract. What possessed you to do so? And where did you get the funds?” I connected the dots as Callem spoke. The large tattoo on the young woman’s neck must be the mark of the indentured. We hadn’t been told that in our lessons. “Well!?” Callem’s patience was wearing thin at Gareth’s silence.

“I…I thought I was doing something good.” He squeaked out. “I wanted to free her. I didn’t know she couldn’t be released from the bond.” Callem’s eyes at least softened slightly as his gaze went to the young woman.

“And you girl, your name? And what great evil have you committed that has gotten you a life bond so young?” The girl was on her guard and not at all as animated as she had been when I had first seen her verbally laying into Gareth.

“My name is Aelyn, Aelyn Imiduis. I committed no atrocity!” Her voice had grown a spine as she spoke. “You people are the wicked ones. We came here with the carnival and were ripped from it on the last day proclaiming we were spies and saboteurs!” I could see she was holding back tears now. My god Gareth, what fucking mess had you gotten yourself into? “This oaf over there,” she pointed at Gareth, “bought my contract and took me. I don’t care what he paid, 50 or 100 platinum! I will break this evil mark and free myself!”

I was processing what she had said. Did she say Gareth had spent 100 platinum to get her contract? To my shame, I only thought of how few and meager spells the remaining 11 platinum could have purchased. But Callem brought up a point I had overlooked and yelled, “How in Demon’s spawn pits did you get 100 platinum boy!” Surprise, anger, and worry were lacing his words. My thought was Gareth had just screwed us both.

Gareth was stumbling and gasping, not finding the words, and then made eye contact with me. He wanted me to bail him out. He wasn’t going to break our promise. Come on Gareth, you had a simple mission, get to the capital, get clothes, buy spells, and return. Well, if I couldn’t trust Callem, then I couldn’t trust anyone, really. I spoke, “They were my coins. I gave him 111 platinum to go to the capital and purchase a few spells for me.”

All eyes were now locked on me, and I heard the door open behind me. Wynna had entered the room. Callem’s jaw was briefly unhinged, Gareth’s face was relieved, and Aelyn was in mild shock. For the first time since arriving, she was actually studying me as if noticing me for the first time.

Callem regained his composure first, “And where did you find so many coins Storme?” At least his voice was not hard and interrogating like it was with Gareth.

I squeaked out my response, seeing no recourse without creating compounding lies. “I made them.”

I heard Wynna rushing into the circle of couches, emitting a frantic worry, “Oh, Storme! How could you! When they find out the coins are not real…well, they probably already have…how much did you spend, Gareth? I have savings and should be able to cover…oh boys, this is a fine mess, but we will get through it, and you will learn from your mistakes. The Inquisition will probably become involved..” She sounded concerned and motherly. We had definitely grown on her in the last few months.

“Wynna, the coins are real…well, at least the platinum is real. I can turn my aether into metal.” To illustrate my point, I created a steady stream of small gold coins rolling out onto the coffee table until my aether almost bottomed out. I had gotten really good at combining my abilities, and it was actually fun to show them off, even under the current circumstances.

The next few minutes had Wynna, Callem, and Aelyn examining the coins while Gareth looked relieved the attention was off him. I gave him a look that said, “Don’t get comfortable Gareth, me and you will be having words after this!”

Wynna asked a few questions about my ability: “How many coins could I make? What metals? How long did they last? Where else had I used the coinage?” Callem still looked in disbelief, and Aelyn was now dressing me down with a hungry stare that made me very uncomfortable.

After answering Wynna’s questions, Aelyn interrupted. “Since they were this boy’s coins, he is the owner of my contract, Gareth. Give him the ring.” I didn’t realize what this meant, but Gareth took a ring out of his pocket and tossed it at me like a hot potato. This young woman was an unknown factor. A factor I didn’t want to know my secret.

“I don’t want your contract; you are free!” I yelped, dropping the ring like it was hot. Wynna, now seated next to me, picked up the ring and briefly studied it before putting it on the table with a clink.

“Storme,” Wynna said. “The magic binding her to the contract is quite strong, tier 4 I’m guessing.”

Gareth interrupted with, “Tier 5 actually.” This didn't help his case as Callem and Wynna gave him a stare that caused him to shrink into the couch.

Wynna winced at the new information. “The mark on her neck is permanent, it can only be removed by the mage who cast it or a tier 6 spell that can overpower the magics in the mark. No one in Skyholme can help her. In the lowlands there are mages strong enough,” she paused, “Have you worn the ring, Gareth?” He violently shook his head no. “So, this ring is tied to her mark. She must obey the wearer.”

“And the longer I go without someone wearing the ring the more the mark burns me. Three days without a wearer and I would be incapacitated with pain.” Aelyn supplied mournfully. This got a pitying look from Wynna and made Gareth shrink even further.

“You or Callem should wear the ring, then!” I shouted loudly. Or Aelyn can wear it herself. Yes, let’s do that!” I thought my idea was brilliant.

Wynna at least seemed thoughtful, and Callem was still processing that I could make coins out of thin air, but it was Aelyn who spoke, “No, if you are all giving me a choice, I want him to wear it!” Her finger pointing at me didn’t make me feel any better. “If I put the ring on it would just accelerate the burning pain. The ring can only be attuned to one person. If that person dies, I have to return the ring to the archmage that linked it to my tattoo to reset it. That way, they can sell me again.”

My mind raced for a solution. I held up my hand. “Okay, wait a second. What if I just learn a tier 6 spell and free her of the tattoo?” It was Callem who laughed at my suggestion first, followed by Wynna and Aelyn. Gareth chuckled not getting the joke. I definitely didn't get it.

“Tier 6 magic Storme?” Wynna said. “First finding a spell capable of breaking the mark and removing it, then imprinting that spell? Archmages struggle to imprint tier 4 spells due to their complexity. Maybe in 50 years, you might have the capacity to do so…” She trailed off.

“Storme put on the ring,” Callem said, the matter apparently decided by him. “Aelyn has chosen you for now, and I trust you will not abuse her trust and will work to free her of her bond.” Aelyn looked smug. I reluctantly took the ring from the table and slid it on. It sent tingles through me, and almost immediately, I was aware of where Aelyn was. “Now, make sure she promises never to reveal your secrets, Storme.” Aelyn’s smile faded.

“Aelyn, never reveal my secrets to anyone or talk about them,” I said. I could feel the command work and felt sick as the young woman scrubbed her neck.

Callem looked at me, still unhappy and serious, “Now, Storme, let's talk about the other big problem. Your coins.”

I had to tell Callem everything—everything I had used my aether-created coins on since I started making them. Wynna started taking notes as I spoke, making me uncomfortable. It was a story highlighting my decision-making processes. Callem did not look amused when I finished.

“If anyone asks Storme you got the coins from me. The same goes for you Gareth. And give me all your remaining coins.” Gareth slowly produced and handed over his money pouch. Callem emptied it and mixed them with the gold coins I had made earlier. Callem picked up one of the remaining platinum coins and studied it. “Shiny,” was the extent of his appraisal.

He looked at a few more coins before returning to look at me. “Don’t make any more platinum coins.” It was not a request. But I took it as permission it was ok to still make gold coins. I nodded in acquiescence. “I need to think more on this with Wynna. Storme, you will take Aelyn to the bunk room and get her settled in. Gareth, I still have some words for you, so you can remain for now.” Gareth looked like I was abandoning him to the executioner’s axe as I left with Aelyn.

I got up and left the hot seat. How was I feeling like a kid who had their hand caught in the cookie jar? I was just using my abilities to beat the system. That was why I had chosen the abilities I had! Aelyn followed me, carrying the white square package. Well, at least I could see what spells Gareth had obtained for me.

In the bunkhouse, I told Aelyn about the larder below and the two lofts. I told her Gareth would move his things to my side, but she nixed that. “I am perfectly fine sleeping in the bed adjacent to you.” I got the uncomfortable feeling she had something planned for me or at least planned to use me somehow. The tattoo meant she couldn’t hurt me, right?

The other bed in my loft just had a lot of pillows on it, which made me a little embarrassed. I told her they were there so I could find a comfortable position to sleep in after a hard day of training. I got her some blankets from one of the chests under the bed and took the white package from her.

Aelyn made her bed and was trying to be busy organizing her space, but since she didn't own anything, she mostly arranged the pillows. I thought I would need to get a partition for the beds as they butted against each other.

“If you want to clean up there is a stream not far,” I pointed, kind of dismissing her. “I will stay here.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. I dug around in my chest for some of my clothes and held them out to her with some soap. She took them and smelled them to make sure they were clean. Of course, they smelled like vanilla, and she was surprised. “Fine. I will bathe. You know I can’t run. If I do anything to harm you, this,” she touched the tattoo, “will burn like it was being pressed into a fire.” With that pleasant thought, she climbed down, looked up at me thoughtfully, and left. I exhaled in relief.

This incident had thoroughly quashed my excitement over new spells, but I unwrapped the package anyway and looked at the receipt. The obfuscate spell! The most important spell by far, and at least Gareth had obtained it.

Ranged heal? I found the spell tome, opened it, and started reading the spell synopsis. It was a tier 4 spell that was fairly powerful and filled my need for repairing the bone structure. The aether cost was steady out to about 10 feet (3m) and then increased quickly the further away. So, it is not an all-powerful healing spell for long ranges, but it did a much better job healing than my current basic mend flesh spell. Even with the higher aether cost, it would be very useful.

I put the spell tome down and went to the obfuscate spellbook and paged through it. It was definitely the spell I would be working on next. After paging through it and getting a headache from my initial perusal of the spell forms I looked at the three lightning spells.

Lightning Sphere and Lightning Spear were both tier 2 offensive spells. One of these should have been defensive, right? Maybe Gareth didn’t read the synopsis? The lightning sphere created a ball of contained electricity that acted as a sort of hand grenade on contact after leaving the mage’s hand. Lightning spear flung a six-foot lightning bolt at a single target. I had brief dreams of obtaining the nickname Zeus...but that name meant nothing in this realm.

Aelyn had returned and was wearing my damp, very baggy clothes. As she came through the front door, I yelled down to her from the loft, “Get whatever you want to eat from the larder below!” I just wanted more private time with my books. She looked up at me momentarily before descending the stairs.

My final spell was Lightning Reflexes, and I was surprised to see it was a tier 4 spell as well. The spell synopsis was quite wild. The spell essentially accelerated a mage so much that it appeared time was slowing around him. The spell had a component to stabilize and strengthen the mage’s organs and skeletal frame to prevent him from being ripped apart. The spell did have issues in that it required a lot of aether to maintain. Hopefully, with my aether pool, it wouldn’t be a hindrance. I still wasn’t sure which spell I should learn after the obfuscate spell, though.

Aelyn had returned and climbed up to the loft and handed me a jug of pear juice and a sloppily made sandwich from sliced beef, tomato, and a garlic spread. “No eating in the loft,” was all I said as I returned to the spell books ignoring the young woman. I winced at my comment and added, “But you can choose to follow it or not.” She gave me a little smirk but climbed down the stairs with the food.

It was a rule that Gareth and I had to keep bugs and mice out of the sleeping area. I was engrossed in the obfuscate spell book. Aelyn returned to the loft a little later and slipped into her bed. She was obviously exhausted, as when I finally looked up, she was sleeping.

Gareth entered a short while later and looking down on him he looked like a beaten man. He had his pride, ego, intellect, and our trust greatly thrashed in the last few hours. I gave him a bone, “Nice job on the spell selections Gareth. They are all extremely useful.” He perked up at that. He started eating the sandwich that Aelyn had made for me and drank the juice as well. Well, I could do without food tonight. Soon Gareth was up on his side of the loft and in his bed.

“Did she decide to sleep over there or did you tell her to?” Gareth asked hesitantly.

“What, Aelyn? Yeah, she just chose this side. I think she is asleep, so we should be quiet,” I responded as I read with my light stone. I planned to put out my own aether light in just a few minutes.

“Storme?” Gareth whispered loudly.

“Yeah?” I responded.

“I’m sorry I screwed this all up.” His low voice was hurt and ashamed. After a long pause, he said, “I did get you a nice present, a new coat.” After another long pause, “And some new underwear which are pretty awesome.” He didn’t say much after that and his heavy breathing that signaled he was asleep. I closed my book put out the aether light and went to sleep myself.

Chapter 27: First Impressions

I awoke uncertain if yesterday had not been a bad dream. I looked at the bunk next to mine. The bed was neatly made, and the pillows were neatly arranged. Okay, maybe it was…but no. In the lower room, Aelyn was there, and she had a bunch of things out from the larder and was cooking. Her golden hair was pulled back, exposing her slightly pointed ears.

Looking at the mess, I reassessed. No, she was trying to cook. After watching her for a few minutes, nothing she was doing made sense. I groaned and descended the ladder. As I pressed my cleanliness spell, a wave of vanilla washed over me, and my body felt like I had just exited the shower.

I announced politely, “Morning, Aelyn. Callem makes breakfast in the farmhouse. There's no need to,” I waved my hands at the mess. Do this.” She looked disappointed, and I felt slightly guilty. I could see Gareth up on his bunk, pretending to sleep. He was definitely awake, as I knew he usually slept on his stomach. He was facing us on his side with his eyes falsely closed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know,” she looked a little abashed. “I just thought…”

I offered a weak smile. “No, problem. Gareth get down here and help put these things away,” I said. Gareth gave the fakest yawn ever and started to move and dress slowly. The ring on my finger suddenly felt heavy with responsibility as I watched the young woman.

She was quite beautiful now that I studied her. She was tall, maybe a little taller than me right now, perhaps 5’9” or a little taller. She had light blonde hair that reflected the light just past her shoulders that had a silvery highlight to it. Her shoulders were square like a swimmer's. Underneath the baggy clothes I had loaned her she had a lean and muscular frame. She had light curves on her hips and chest. Easily one of the more attractive woman I had seen in Skyholme.

“Why?” I asked, cutting the silence. When she looked puzzled at me, I added, “Why me? What do you want from me?” I didn’t like playing games or being manipulated. Gareth was still up in his loft and we were talking quietly enough he couldn’t hear. She locked her eyes on mine and it was a few seconds before she decided to answer me.

“I...I…” She started and then changed her mind. “You are young. You won't take advantage of me, and you have the potential to be a powerful protector.” My skeptical look had her continue. “You seemed to be my best option with your abilities to get me free one day. If I am good to you, you can buy my freedom from this in the lowlands!” she said passionately as she slapped the tattoo.

What was I to say in response? Internally, I was struggling and at a crossroads. Should I be the good guy and commit to helping Aelyn, a stranger, and never take advantage of our relationship? Could I just lead her on and never actually plan to help her? Or would I just abuse the power the ring had over her? The last one was really never an option for me as it didn’t fit my beliefs. I was quiet as her beautiful face slowly produced tears.

Gareth was coming down the ladder. I whispered to her, “Fine! I will do what I can to free you of the mark.” Aelyn wiped the tears before Gareth could notice them. I didn’t think they were crocodile tears, but it was definitely an attempt to garner pity from me.

After that, Aelyn’s breakfast mess was quickly cleaned up, but it was clear there was some tension between Gareth and Aelyn. I was tempted to intervene, but I didn’t have the energy right now. We all left to go to the farmhouse for breakfast.

Wynna had a large spread out and a smile on her face, “Everyone slept well? Aelyn, were the boys behaved?” Aelyn looked at me before responding, and I just nodded. Why did I have to nod for her to speak?

“Yes. They were good to me, and the accommodations were pleasant. The vanilla smell is nice, too. I was expecting the boys living arrangements to smell unpleasant.” She responded and seemed relaxed for the first time since I met her. I saw Gareth was about to comment on my vanilla scent and gave him a hard glare. He clapped his mouth shut, holding in his quip.

“Excellent! Callem will be out in a minute to talk with everyone. We have been up most of the night deciding what to do,” Wynna said. I was not comforted by those words. We all started to dig in. I went for some slightly burnt toast with scrambled eggs and filled the other half of my plate with thick-cut bacon. I thought if the shit was about to hit the fan, at least I could have a good last meal.

Callem came out and joined us. Everyone slowed their eating except for me, waiting for Callem to talk, but he just started eating too. Fifteen minutes later, the food was gone, and just empty plates were left, and all eyes were on Callem. He laid back in his chair and spoke.

“It has been an interesting night.” He gathered himself, unreadable. “Here I thought Gareth was going to be the one causing an uproar in the capital one day,” Callem sighed and looked at me and then at Gareth. “You didn’t know, but Wynna, Ennet, and I had things in motion to be your teachers at your first year of the Academy in Hen’s Hollow.” It was a shocking revelation to me. When you turned 17 you did one year of Academy, usually near your home, before proceeding to an academy for your career. “Hopefully, we can still get to that point.” Callem sipped on some juice, making us wait.

Callem continued with all of us silent and in rapt attention. “From what Storme and Gareth told us last night, we will make contact with friends in the capital to see if there is any backlash from Gareth’s spending. A few dozen platinum is not a big deal…but a few dozen platinum spent by an unknown boy might stir interest from the wrong people,” he said seriously.

My mind started putting some pieces together, and I told Callem and Wynna our original plan, “Callem we had planned to set up a mysterious patron for ourselves to funnel the wealth.” I didn’t use the term ‘launder’ because I didn’t feel like explaining the slang to Callem. Callem looked thoughtful and nodded. It was Wynna who spoke.

“Callem, it is similar to what we planned.” Her eyes settled on Gareth, “We just need to control their impulsive spending.” Some accusation in her voice, but it was not reserved for just Gareth as she stared at me next. Why was she eyeing me? I hadn’t spent dozens of platinum openly! Maybe I directed Gareth to, but it wasn’t me. Wynna nodded mostly to herself, then spoke, “Yes. Callem can go to Solaris this week and open an account for you Storme, at the Depository.” That was basically a bank run by the Triumvirate.

I added, “Um, we have been saying our patron is a woman from the lowlands.” Wynna pursed her lips in slight irritation.

“Well, I can make a deposit for you then. You can just tell them I am your patron.” Wynna smiled, but it felt forced. “It is well known I am quite wealthy in the capital, so it should not draw too much attention. But let us limit the deposit for you to say—ten platinum. That is a sizable amount and should last you two until you graduate from your Academy.” This was working out better than I could hope.

Callem interrupted, “I will be traveling to the capital and let it be known that Gareth.” He cleared his throat, “Umm, Gaston is my student. It should divert the Inquisition’s attention from you and onto me, Gareth.” He turned to me. “For you, Storme, I have placed pressure on Leon Mogensen’s family. That is the red-haired boy who stabbed you.” I hadn’t realized Callem had continued pursuing justice and didn’t know what to say, a knot in my throat at his concern. “Don’t get excited. His family is deeply embedded in the guards throughout the islands. My influence has waned, but I should be able to make his life miserable if I cannot get justice for you.”

We had truly been fortunate to stumble into the care of these two. “I will go with you to protect you to open Storme’s account. A young woman carrying around ten platinum is a target for thieves and cutthroats,” Callem said while giving Wynna a rare grin. There were no thieves or cutthroats in Skyholme—maybe I would have to reconsider that assertion.

“We can make a day of it. I know a great inn where we can spend the night in the city,” she returned a mischievous smile.

Callem quickly caught on to her intentions, but he looked at Aelyn, who had been quiet this entire time. “Yes, we can stay in the city. I believe I can trust these boys with Aelyn for a night. If they don’t behave, just let me know, girl,” she nodded slowly.

“Aelyn, do you have some skills? Well, if not, you soon will. You will begin training with the boys. Sebastian is bringing his granddaughter and her friend, so that should make you comfortable. Until then, you are my guest.” He stressed the last word to make her feel at ease. Callem eyed us both to make sure we understood and as a warning. He chugged his glass of juice and stood energetically, “Time for stretching!”

We went outside and started the stretching routine. We found out Aelyn was in the acrobat troupe at the carnival and she crushed all of us on mobility and flexibility. It sucked for me because I was still at the bottom of the ladder. She also took pleasure in correcting Gareth's form, which caused me to smirk for joy every time. When we finished, I went inside to make dinner. Callem decided Aelyn could chose to help with the fields or help me cook. She decided to help me. I quickly found out she was terrible in the kitchen and told her to just watch and learn. Wynna stayed was packing for the trip with Callem, leaving us to talk freely.

I soon got her talking about herself. “My mother used to be a dungeon delver. She fell in love with a human in her party, and I popped out a few months later.”

“You make it sound so romantic,” I said while dicing vegetables.

“Well, I was conceived in a dungeon. That is the only place two different races can conceive,” she retorted. “What’s more romantic than killing monsters and making love?” She broke into a laugh at my confused expression but quickly got hold of herself.

Aelyn got more serious. “Once my mother got pregnant,, she stopped dungeon delving and joined her extended family, who was the acting troupe in the carnival. I spent my entire life on that skyship, traveling from city to city.”

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Thinking of all the places she had visited, I was slightly envious, “It must have been exciting.”

“Not when I was younger. The elves don’t like half-breeds like myself. I was teased every day growing up,” she sighed heavily, and I couldn’t tell if she was acting for sympathy. “I did pick up a lot of skills in the troupe and various cities we performed in.” I nodded for her to continue.

“I have been an acrobat since I was three,” she smiled while doing a stationary flip to impress me. “I have practiced with a rapier since I was six to develop my own act, learning from different sword masters across the Sphere. I am not a master yet—but in a few years I might be.” It suddenly made sense how she had fought off the Wolfsguard.

“What was your act?” I asked, finishing the meal prep by placing every in the cold chest.

“I was encircled by twelve big hairy men with swords. My outfit was—minimal. I was the innocent maiden being accosted. Everything was choreographed, but it was a good show. I had thousands of fans in the cities we performed in.” She was watching me for a reaction, but all she did was nod in acknowledgment.

“I also did shows with just the tumblers. We wore skinsuits and performed amazing feats,” she added, watching me again for a reaction. I nodded again and handed her a chocolate éclair. She bit into it, not thinking, and her face lit up in pleasure. Callem might be upset the last éclair was missing, but Aelyn needed it more.

“That is all far more impressive than my skills. I just know how to cook,” I said. She choked on the éclair. “I prepared teriyaki chicken with pineapple rice for dinner.” I had a pineapple substitute that worked just as well as pineapple. Pineapple was one of the things I hadn’t yet found in this new world.

“But you can…” she started to say and stopped. Her had shot to the tattoo and pain laced her features, ruining the mood. She hadn’t screamed in pain, which made me admire her.

“I didn’t mean you to say that,” I apologized. “Yes, I can do that, but I am just learning to master my abilities.” I had been teasing her a bit and had forgotten I had forbidden her from talking about my abilities. At least I knew the tattoo worked, even if I now felt guilty.

“It is time to go to training,” I stated, breaking the awkwardness. We headed out to the obstacle course with Callem and Gareth. Callem explained first course to Aelyn. Gareth ran the course first to show Aelyn how it was done. Aelyn ran it second and tried her hardest to beat Gareth’s time. She was just 9 seconds off his time!

“Did I beat him?” she said, sucking wind.

“No, 9 seconds slower than Gareth’s time,” Callem said with admiration.

“I will go again,” she turned to run it again. I could see her mind working, and she had probably thought of some ways to cut her time.

“No,” Callem said with finality. “It is a good first time. But you should practice all the course today.”

“All the courses?” Aelyn said in confusion, realizing she had only run a small section. I couldn’t help but smile at her. A look of determination came across her face. “I am ready!”

She wanted to beat Gareth so badly. I didn’t understand why. Gareth had essentially freed her. I still had to run the first course. I ran a disappointing 19 seconds slower than my best time and well behind the other two.

Callem decided for all of us to do the second course next, focusing more on agility so that Aelyn would have a chance to beat Gareth. As Gareth ran the course, I asked Aelyn, “What is your beef with Gareth? He is a good person, and he freed you.” Aelyn studied me and I wasn’t sure if the tattoo was going to force her to answer.

“I have a small aether core. I have only imprinted one spell, read surface thoughts. I read his thoughts and…his thoughts were wondering what I looked like naked…kissing me…and…” I waved my hands in understanding and for her to stop before my opinion of my best friend dropped. She continued, “When I read you last night…your thoughts…”

“Stop there. Please don’t do that again! You shouldn’t do that to anyone without asking.” I was shaking my head and worried about what she might have found out about me. Gareth had finished the course and was returning to us. Callem had Aelyn line up and start. She beat Gareth’s time by 6 seconds! I had cheered her the entire time. Gareth gave me a sour look as I cheered for Aelyn. But his eyes did pop when she navigated the course with rolls, tumbles, and flips. Gareth studied her movements, and I just hoped Callem didn’t get any ideas on how to make the course more difficult. Who was I kidding? Of course, the course was going to get an upgrade, and I would be at a disadvantage!

Callem congratulated her with a nod. It was great that someone could challenge and push Gareth as he was getting further and further ahead of me. Callem realized this and although Gareth might be jealous now, it would make him improve faster chasing someone.

We moved to the training yard, not doing the third course today. Callem wanted to evaluate Aelyn’s skill with the rapier. I was the third wheel as Gareth and Aelyn spared, Gareth with a lightened broad sword, and Aelyn with a training rapier.

Aelyn bested him in the first nine engagements. It made Gareth frustrated, but I was cheering for both Aelyn and Gareth equally. How had she won me over so quickly? It had to be the eyes. I was always a sucker for pretty eyes in my past life, and hers had a depth to them. The matches continued, and soon Gareth was winning 1 out of 3 engagements, but that seemed his limit, and Callem stopped the practice.

“Aelyn, you will be a master of that rapier in a few years,” Callem said with respect in his voice. “You are incredibly adept, Aelyn. And Gareth, you made a lot of progress in just a few hours. You just had trouble with her speed, as she has a much lighter weapon and better mobility. We will start to work on counters for her style of sword work.” Gareth looked relieved. He was probably worried Callem had found a new protégée. “Storme, why don’t you go study for a bit?” I was happy to get away without sparring and embarrassing myself in front of Aelyn.

I went to my loft after using cleanliness and got to work on my obfuscate abilities spell. All too soon, I was called to lunch, and both Gareth and Aelyn were an absolute mess. Gareth had a smirk of victory on his face, and Aelyn had the shadow of defeat on hers. Callem said Gareth had won 8 of the last 10 engagements. That was a huge turnaround in such a short time…just two hours or so.

Lunch consisted of sandwiches and some fruit juice that Wynna had made. Aelyn asked, “how are you always clean all the frigging time.” She was covered in dirt, nicks, and bruises. I reached out and touched her arm, healing her minor injuries. She gasped in surprise. “You can heal, too?”

“It is the mend flesh spell,” I replied nonchalantly. I healed Gareth and noted they both had been rather intense today by the number of injuries.

Callem surveyed the table, the sandwiches were gone. “Let’s practice wrestling next.” Wrestling was more of a submission form of combat, immobilizing your opponent and getting them to submit with an arm or leg lock. I was shocked as Callem had Aelyn pair off with me first.

We were of similar size, but I was reluctant to wrestle a woman. She took the first two bouts with an arm lock because I hesitated. I wizened up with encouragement from Gareth. We split the next eight engagements. Aelyn actually looked to be having fun and encouraged me to be aggressive and not hold back. If she won, she wanted it to be a fair contest. She wasn’t very skilled in wrestling, and that was why I had a chance, even though she was quicker, more flexible and more slippery. As long as I treated her like any other combatant, I could overpower her and lock her up sometimes.

We were both filthy after the practice, and I used my cleanliness spell on myself. Aelyn gaped again, “You know the cleanliness spell, too?” She looked down at her dirty clothes.

Gareth chimed in with a grin, “He does, but he is too selfish to evolve it to clean others.”

I rolled my eyes, “I just learned it a few weeks ago, Gareth,” I said defensively. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to utilize so many evolutions for that path.

After wrestling, we went to practice with staves. I easily bested Aelyn as she was unfamiliar with the weapon, and Callem instructed her as she improved rapidly. Then, I was paired with Gareth, and he had his chance to get revenge for all the times I cheered Aelyn over him today. I actually got two concussions from him that I had to heal. Callem was a bit angry with my injuries as head strikes were generally off-limits unless we were wearing the hard leather caps, and today we were not.

It was finally time for dinner, and after cleaning the practice yard, Aelyn went to wash in the stream, and Gareth didn’t know what to do. There really was only one spot in the stream deep enough to wash. He ended up waiting for her to return before going to wash. I just used my spell to clean up and used my brief amount of spare time to study my spell.

While Gareth was gone, Aelyn talked to me. “So, what other magic do you have? Cleaning, healing, cooking, gold producing…you are basically the perfect man.” I blushed hard at Aelyn’s words.

“You brought me some new spells. I hope to learn them in the next few months.” I said. Wow, in less than a day, the young woman had befriended me and learned all my secrets. I showed her the spellbooks she had given me. When Gareth returned, clean and smelling a lot better, I cast my vanilla scent a few times to irritate him as he was sick of the scent.

When Aelyn returned clean, we all went to the farmhouse, and I cooked the prepped meal. Aelyn was very impressed with the dish, having two servings. I had made enough for 10 people, but it was all gone in an hour, and Gareth also seemed impressed at Aelyn’s stomach. During the meal, Callem and Wynna did most of the talking, with Callem relaying the results of the days training to Wynna. I noticed that Callem had managed to praise all of us multiple times.

I wish I had made a dessert tonight, but I hadn’t thought about it. I really wanted to make ice cream, and I just needed a cold container. Maybe I could use ice from the freezer to insulate a bucket.

After the dishes were done, we sat down for lessons with Wynna. Tonight, we had Aelyn with us, and Wynna’s lessons were on the cultures and inhabitants of the lowlands. We had only spent an hour listening to Aelyn describe her impressions of various cities and cultures. I noted that she had a nice feminine voice that was easy to listen to.

Finally, Callem stood and said, “Fantastic effort today. Storme can study, and Gareth, we can discuss variances in attacks with Flying Eagle and Thunder Strike.”

“Can I stay and discuss the sword forms as well?” Aelyn was asking me for permission, not Callem. I was surprised but nodded.

Later, in the evening, Aelyn and Gareth returned. Since Aelyn was next to me, she whispered two words to me before she crawled under her blankets: “Thank you.”

Chapter 28: Cilia and Leda

The next six weeks involved a lot of hard work from all three of us as Callem pushed us. Incorporating Aelyn into our daily training was a fairly smooth process. She seemed deeply motivated to impress me and outdo Gareth.

Unfortunately for Aelyn, other than flexibility, Gareth only took a few hours to surpass her when he focused. I was actually extremely happy that Gareth had someone pushing him so hard. Even though my fitness and strength were rapidly improving, I had failed in that role as his friend. Most nights, I was too tired to study and fell asleep with a book in my lap. Still, I felt like I was making some progress with my magic, and I was getting constant encouragement from Wynna and my friends. Aelyn apologized for not being able to help as she had no formal training, even though she had a simple spell.

Instead of Freya visiting after a month, Gareth and I took her to Goose Meadow, a small town with a skyship dock on Titan’s Shield. They had a playhouse and were outside of Celesward, one of the four major cities on our floating island. As long as I didn’t go to Solaris City, Callem was fine with us traveling. I was also apprehensive about Freya meeting Aelyn but felt guilty about not inviting her. It could almost be said we were developing a friendship. Even Gareth and Aelyn were getting along, although their relationship was very competitive.

Her indentured tattoo had a stigma, and I didn’t want my sister to learn I held Aelyn’s control ring—or for my parents to learn it either. The day off and the chance to visit another part our floating island were welcome. I think Freya was most disappointed that Goose Meadow was just like Hen’s Hollow.

It was about a week after we had traveled to Goose Meadow, and we were eating dinner when Callem announced, “Sebastian is here.” Aelyn was puzzled, but Gareth and I rushed outside, forgetting the meal. I wasn’t sure how Callem knew the skyship was approaching. To my senses, the ship was silent.

All of us were eventually outside to greet the arrivals. It was still amazing for me to see the Wind Splitter moving so gracefully without sound. The beautiful copper-plated ship scored high on my aesthetic scale.

After landing, the ramp descended, and Sebastian walked down the ramp smiling, shortly followed by an impassive Nisil. A minute passed and then two young women exited the craft as well. The woman on the right was tall, almost six feet. She had rich blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes were a light brown, almost golden. She had a square build and was obviously lean and well-muscled by her movement. She lacked a strong feminine presence from her dress and figure.

She could have been beautiful but her face took away from her potential. It was hard, and she pursed her lips tight as she walked. Her eyes, even with their rich golden color, had a fury written into them.

My focus switched to the young woman with her. She was much shorter, maybe 5’5”, and her hair was a shiny black. Her skin was dark too, a deep golden tan. She was the darkest-skinned person I had met on Skyholme. Her eyes were a dark brown but had a happy liveliness to them that the other girl lacked. She was also much more feminine with her curves. She did have an athletic grace to her walk, but she didn’t strike me as overly athletic from my observations so far.

As they approached, we were sizing them up as if they were us. I could tell Gareth was excited because he was tapping his foot in anticipation. I wasn’t sure if it was for more competition or because we had more woman joining us. Callem and Sebastian had already retreated inside the farmhouse to talk in private, leaving us to introduce ourselves.

We stared at each other for a time, Cilia looking unhappily at Aelyn’s tattoo. She finally waved her hand, “We have six trunks on the ship boys. Bring them to our quarters,” Cilia commanded. She was the tall blond one.

Gareth and I looked at each other and then at Aelyn. None of us moved. The smaller young woman, sensing an argument about to break out, stepped forward, “Hi! I’m Leda, and this is my friend Cilia.” She elbowed the stern, blonde young woman hard in the ribs. “Perhaps you can give us a tour of the…” she looked around at the small farm, suddenly uncertain, “fields?” She smiled brightly and guiltily. She probably thought she was making fun of us for living in the middle of nowhere.

This was not off to a great start, and Cilia made it worse, rubbing her side, she ordered, “If you boys are not going to get the trunks, you can have the servant girl get them for us.”

My temper flared. “She is no servant, and you will treat her with respect! Aelyn is our friend, and you came here to learn, not to boss us around!” I focused on the short young woman, ignoring the tall one, and trying to salvage the encounter, “Leda, we would be happy to give you a tour while Cilia decides how much of a stuck-up bitch she wants to be.” I spoke in a low tone but with inflection. I turned and started to walk away with Gareth and Aelyn following. I could hear the two young women whispering back and forth before they eventually followed us.

The two were quiet as I led them to the clearing where the obstacle courses were located. We patiently explained the three different obstacle courses and answered Leda’s questions. Cilia was quiet but still looked like she had a rod shoved up her ass.

Leda asked if Gareth was really 15 and actually went into his personal space to squeeze his biceps and grasp his shoulders. He had the body of an athletic adult man, and just his youthful face betrayed him as being young. If I met Gareth, I would definitely guess him to be about 20, maybe as old as 25—until he started talking anyway.

He flushed as Leda got a little handsy, and I caught Cilia rolling her eyes at her friend's forwardness. Leda squeezed a few handfuls of muscle before separating from Gareth, confirming that the muscles were real. I continued the tour, trying to figure out if we were all going to mesh in training.

Our next part of the tour was the part of the stream we used as a bathing spot. This had both women incredulous. No showers like at the Naval Academy? Still, Leda seemed to accept the pool, nodding after a moment and giving Gareth a look. I had to remember that Cilia and Leda were both in fourth year at the Naval Academy, which meant they were 20 or 21 most likely. Not that they showed such maturity so far.

We returned to the training yard, and the new large drying shed that we had built with Callem. The shed was actually being used to store farm tools right now. Callem had been extremely happy with Edel’s drying work on the tobacco leaves and planned to use her in the future so the shed we worked so hard to build was being repurposed.

The old drying shed was now storing training dummies and training weapons. Leda went to the rack with the staves, picked a short one, and with a mischievous tone challenged Gareth to a quick spar. “Are you any good with a stick?”

He agreed immediately, eager to test the young woman. “ I am proficient with all the weapons. If you prefer me to use the staff, I am fine with it.” I wasn’t so sure this was innocent banter. As they walked to the center, I moved next to Aelyn. Cilia was on the opposite side of us, looking smug. She probably thought Leda would show up, Gareth.

“Aelyn, what is going through Gareth’s mind,” I asked quietly. She looked at me questionably. “I know what I said not to read people but I am just curious.” She focused on Gareth as he limbered up.

“He is thinking of ways to get behind Leda and pin her with his staff. Ugh, he is going to reciprocate her handsy action and try to cup her breasts,” she said with some disgust. Oh, this was not good. I didn’t think Gareth knew Cilia had been assaulted, and manhandling Leda would ruin his reputation with the two new arrivals.

I yelled, “Hey, Gareth, it isn’t right that you get the first crack at the newbies. Let me take the first action! Come on, brother!” I said, stressing, “Brother.” That was our sign for him to retreat. He looked about to protest but relented morosely and walked to me, handing me the staff. I whispered to Aelyn, “Please tell Gareth what an idiot he is in no polite words.” Aelyn smiled happily at my request.

I walked to the engagement circle and squared off with Leda. The smirk of superiority on her face made me not want to give her anything easy. In our first engagement, I managed to catch her ankle with my staff, trip her, and retreat from her quick recovery sweep with the staff.

Her smirk was gone at least and a fiery determination was now firmly in its place. I tuned out the others who were cheering me on while Cilia was cheering her friend on. We had a minute of quick exchanges, and neither of us gained the upper hand as we sized each other up. She was good with the staff but not that good.

After crossing with Gareth and Callem for so many months, I actually felt pretty confident but remained solidly on guard and kept giving her the same opening. When she ran out of patience, she finally took the faux opening, and I put her on her back and pinned her to the ground on her back before she could recover. We recovered, and she wasn’t upset, even smiling now. She was enjoying herself even though she was losing. It took me six minutes to get her down again and pin her, this time face down. After that, she relinquished the victory to me.

Leda smiled, even though she was dirty and had lost, but Cilia was not happy. I checked on Gareth, and he looked miserable, so Aelyn put him in his place. Cilia, annoyed at her friend’s loss, pointed to the farmhouse. “Grandfather and Callem have been watching us. We should head inside.” I looked, and yes, they were over by the farmhouse door, watching.

We put away the staves, and Leda walked next to me. “You are pretty good. But now I am as filthy as are you. Perhaps we should go wash up in the stream?” I looked at her, and she definitely had a mischievous look in her eyes. I found her attractive and she was at least five years my senior. However, my aether burn seemed to be masking my teenage hormones as I wasn’t drawn to the woman’s flirting.

“I am fine, but you can go with Aelyn before bed tonight if you forgot where it was,” I cast my cleanliness spell on myself, and she gaped at me as the dirt, sweat, and grim melted from me.

“Boy, you wasted a slot on that spell? Well, I guess I should say I am a little jealous. And what is that scent?” She moved closer to me, but I managed to get Aelyn between us before she could sniff me. With Aelyn between us, she focused on the girl. “You are a pretty one. Who commands you here? Callem?”

Aelyn, to her credit, didn’t miss a step. “The boy who just dominated you in the ring.” I think Leda licked her lips as she was once again eyeing me hungrily. “Dominated? Yes, I suppose so. Does he dominate you as well?” Her tone was playful, but I got started to get a sense she was testing me. Maybe she was protecting Cilia by putting herself out there.

Aelyn defended me from the woman’s advances, “No, Storme is extremely respectful, protective, and a perfect gentleman.” That seemed to shut her up, and I noticed Aelyn had said it loud enough for everyone to hear.

We entered the house with Sebastian and Callem. Wynna had set out some snacks. Callem addressed me, “Storme, go take a walk with Sebastian. We are going to take some time getting to know each other here. And Storme, nice work with the staff this evening.” He was obviously proud I had bested someone five years my senior. I left with Sebastian feeling pretty good about myself.

I walked with Sebastian, who led me up the ramp into his ship. “We can talk freely now, Storme. The Wind Splitter has runes that prevent scrying. Callem is still concerned the Inquisition may be meddling, but it is unlikely so far out here.” We went up the stairs to his office on the ship and sat down in wooden chairs.

I was surprised when he poured me a drink of juice with a splash of vodka. “Storme, things are happening in the capital, and my attention is split,” He sighed, getting serious. “Callem said you display a maturity beyond your years. Cilia needs to get out of the Academy, but won’t listen to me. Her assaulter, Abaddon Bricio, is working to corner her. I had to pull her from the Naval Academy as setting her back a year wasn’t enough to take her out of his sites. I want both you and Gareth to try and help convince, indirectly, of course, that returning to the Naval Academy is a mistake for her,” He seemed deflated. “I can't protect her if she chooses to return.”

I was at a loss for words at the faith and trust he was placing in me. It probably had more to do with Callem than me, and I could easily guess why he was talking to me instead of Gareth and me together. “What do you need me to do?” was all I could say.

“I was hoping you and your friend could convince her to join the Adventurer's Academy or perhaps seek adventure in the lowlands. The lowlands may be dangerous, but if she persists in the Navy…” he paused with a sad look on his face. I concluded that he was disgusted with what the Skyholme Navy or the politics were in their current state.

Sebastian stood, “There may be a Sadian attack coming soon. Not a skirmish, but an attack on a large scale. Cilia cannot be in the Naval Academy when it occurs. If she is then she will be assigned under Abaddon’s command on one of the skyships.” My face creased in puzzlement and then disgust.

“Callem has taught you well. The Bricio’s may just be one of the three ruling families, but they essentially control all of Skyholme now. They have either married into, have leverage on, or outright bribed enough members of the other two branches to do whatever they please,” Sebastian said heavily.

I didn’t know what to say. Sebastian was laying quite a bit on a 15-year-old boy, even if Callem thought highly of me. He sipped his own drink and I sipped mine, finding it very pleasant on the palate. By Sebastian’s body language he was obvious he was getting the courage to do something or tell me something. I was certain he had already told me too much by revealing the impending Sadian attack.

He sighed, looking older. “The best-case scenario is that the Sadians weaken the Skyholme Navy, allowing the military to reset and receive increased funding. The failure would considerably weaken the Bricios' hold over the Torrent family.” My heart raced. Was he talking about treason? Did they plan to intentionally make the Sadian attack a little more successful than it should be? I could see why he was reluctant to tell me this. He nodded in response to my widened eyes. “Callem was right about you. I can see that.”

He sipped some more of his mixed drink, “Worst case scenario is the Sadians get a foothold on one or more of the islands, and we enter a drawn-out war which we will eventually lose.” Seeing my worry, Sebastian said, “Your family should be safe. Callem and Wynna said they would protect them and get them to the lowlands if necessary. He will tell you as much himself.” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at the mention of my family. War was unpredictable—no one would be safe.

“After talking with Callem, I know how exceptional you can be as a mage—your potential.” I got a little nervous but trusted Callem and doubted he had revealed too much to Admiral Sebastian. Seeing me uncomfortable, he continued, “As a reward for looking out for my granddaughter, I would like to offer you some assistance and a bit of advanced payment in the form of knowledge. I’m somewhat of a collector of spells and have an extensive library. I wanted to offer you three spells from my collection.”

I looked around the room but didn’t see any spell books. Sebastian smiled at my confusion. “In addition to the spells, I have the complete first two years of texts from the Mage Academy in the capital, totaling 11 textbooks on the basics of magic.” Again, I glanced around but didn’t see anything. “They’re in my personal space,” Sebastian, said, grinning.

Sebastian stood and waved his hand and a portal appeared in the wall. Inside the archway was a short hallway with shelves lining both sides. “Impressive, isn’t it? It is a dimensional space connected to my aether core. It is a tier three anchored spatial magic spell. It measures 10’ by 10’ by 20’ after five evolutions on my part. I wouldn’t suggest selecting it as one of your spells, though. Maybe the tier one version of the spell. Using four slots on your aether matrix for the dimensional closet spell this early in your career…” He let it hang for a second like I should know what he meant, but I didn’t.

He went in and picked up a bundle of 11 books on a small end table. “These are the textbooks I mentioned. Feel free to pick any three books in here as well. I will advise you as best I can. I don’t have a descendent who is on the path to becoming an archmage, so my collection will go to waste when I die.”

A little grumpily, he added, “My descendants will probably just sell them all off piecemeal. Maybe they will help you become a powerful archmage who can save Skyholme from the Bricios.” Sebastian sighed as he stared wistfully at his collection. I didn’t know what to tell the man who appeared defeated in his position.

I walked down the short hallway and looked at the books. A silvery book drew my attention, and pulling it out, I recognized it. It was the manual for building a Harbinger ship. The one I had seen in Wigand’s shop.

“Ah, Storme, that is not a spell book. It is flashy but not what you seek. It was a gift from Braden Torrent. Yes, that Braden Torrent. A sitting member of the Triumvirate for the Torrent family. They are in control of the military branch and have been on the decline for years as the Bricio and Miaden families have squeezed resources, raised prices, and lowered military funding in favor of covert operations. They are mostly honorable, well honorable, for the nest of corruption that is the capital of Skyhold.”

Sebastian exhaled in disappointment, “Well anyway, I digress. You probably don’t want that book, though, but it is valuable. Here, let me show where the pocket space spell is.”

Sebastian went to a shelf, pulled out a book, and handed it to me. I opened the book and examined it. The tier one pocket space spell created a space that was two foot cube. “It should take you a week or two to imprint this spell, as it is fairly simple. The one drawback of these personal dimension space spells is that they occupy a small portion of your aether core, thereby reducing your available aether. This is because the space is actually nested within your aether core. When you first cast the spell, you orient the doorway to your person. Then, every time you access the space, it appears in the same orientation to your body as when you first cast it. So, keep that in mind when you are able to cast the spell. You cannot cast multiple iterations of the spell to gain multiple spaces.” Sebastian finished his quick lesson on the spell. “Can I cast the spell’s tier 1 and tier 3 versions to get multiple spaces then?” I asked.

Sebastian responded impressed with the question, “Unfortunately, no. Your aether core can only support one dimensional space. How best to explain,” Sebastian thought for a second before continuing, “Imagine your aether core as a bucket of water. The pocket space is a ball that floats in the liquid within the bucket in three dimensions. If you add another ball and they collide…bad things happen. There are techniques you can learn to fix the balls in place within your core…but that is well down the road in your development. In that case you could cast another dimensional space…but I get ahead of myself. The warnings are in the spell book you hold so pay attention and read it well before casting the spell once you imprint it.”

I thought for a good few minutes before replacing the book and pulling out the personal dimensional closet spellbook that had been next to it on the shelf. This spell on examination started with a 10’ x 10’ x 10’ space. Well, if I was only going to get one space to store things I should go big. “I think I will take this spell instead. Do you have any spells for defense with a lightning affinity?” I asked.

Sebastian arched an eye but didn’t object to my exchange of dimensional spells; he just nodded. Then, he put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment, “No, I only have a few lightning spells and no defense-oriented spells for lightning. You need a good defense spell?” I nodded to his question.

“Okay, I have two that might interest you, one is aether shield. It is a tier two spell with no affinity, and the shield is about a yard in diameter to start and invisible to anyone without aether sight. It has no affinity like your cleanliness spell which makes it very versatile in its evolutions. It does take a fair amount of aether to maintain, which is a negative. I haven’t imprinted it myself. The other is a tier one spell called deflect. The deflect spell acts passively and deflects one attack before dissipating but only works against physical attacks. The aether shield is quite rare, a dungeon prize if I remember correctly from deep in the Nightmare Crypt dungeon in the city of Brightstand.” Sebastian was done explaining and retrieved both books for me to look at.

I perused both books, and I definitely took the aether shield spell after looking at both. The spell book itself had a heavy copper cover with a hydra on the cover, which I assumed was the monster the dungeon delvers had to defeat to earn the book. The script was in the common language of the Sphere, which was good, and the spell forms inside were quite orderly compared to what I had seen so far. “Yes, dungeon spell books are essentially perfect spell forms. They are what all spell forms evolved from, but the problem with them is they don’t detail any evolutions within the pages, and you cannot copy these spell books. They will dissolve once the spell within is successfully imprinted for the first time.” This information was mostly known to me and welcome.

“I will take this one then,” I said. Sebastian smirked as he acknowledged that I had made a good choice.

“Don’t show it to anyone. It is worth quite a massive sum, and many people would take it from you, whether to use it themselves or sell it. I haven’t used it because I don’t have any space left in my matrix to imprint spells. I was hoping I could make enough space over the next decade to imprint this very spell, but you can make much better use of it than I.” He smiled and gestured at the shelves, “You can see I have lots of other options. And I expect you to protect my granddaughter.” I nodded. “Okay, one more choice.” Sebastian said, eagerly. I think he was enjoying this process as much as I was.

I thought about the Harbinger book. I had no aspirations of building a Harbinger ship but having all the runic script for building a skyship would be useful. Sebastian seeing my eyes on the silvery-covered tome spoke again with a smirk on his aged face, “I think I know a book you may want.” He went to the back of the shelves and pulled out a book. He handed it to me and the cover was an image of the Wind Splitter.

I eagerly opened it and it was similar to the Harbinger book but detailed the Wind Splitter construction and runes. It was mostly loose pages neatly placed inside and not in an organized way. “I have been compiling that book myself. That has my copied notes, research, and everything I have found out during my restoration of the Wind Splitter. I was hoping to eventually get a new class of ship into the Skyholme fleet, a fast transport for troops and supplies. I doubt I will have much say in things anytime soon…” He tailed off, clearly disappointed with his role in the Skyholme navy. “I have copies of these notes anyway. If you prefer this over a third spell I am ok with your choice.” I nodded happily, carefully closing the book.

“Okay, Storme. I have fulfilled my obligation and then some,” he motioned me out of his dimensional space. I looked at the massive collection as the entrance disappeared and hoped one day I could match such knowledge in my own space. “I have one other gift for you.”

He went to the desk drawer and retrieved a marble. “This is an anti-scrying item. It is also a dungeon-created magical object obtained from a prize chest.” He handed it to me and I took the black marble. “All you need to do is continually channel a minor amount of aether into it and it will prevent anyone from remote viewing you. It has an effective range of about 55 yards. It is actually a gift from Callem. I obtained it at his request. He thinks either you or Gareth may have need of it in the future.” Sebastian sighed for the umpteenth time.

Sebastian led me down and out of the Wind Splitter. The fourteen books were heavy, but they were a prize I wasn’t going to let go of. We had spent over two hours inside, and as we walked to the farmhouse, Sebastian continued to talk. “I wish I had time to mentor you, Storme, but Callem is certain that only bad things would happen if it was known I was tutoring a promising young mage. My last two apprentices were kidnapped by my old family to gain leverage on me. Yes, they are bad people. If you run into anyone with the Riffolk surname, definitely don’t trust them. They control the seedy underworld in Skyholme and are heavily connected to the Bricios.” He didn’t mention what had happened to his apprentices, but the pained look on his face told me enough guess.

We entered the house and everyone else was in deep conversation. Cilia still had her hard look and Gareth looked so uncomfortable that I almost laughed. Callem spoke, “Ah good! Sebastian, did you give the boy the bauble you wanted to give him?”

Sebastian laughed, “Yes, it just took me a little to find it and he wanted to see the bridge and for me to explain the controls for the Wind Splitter.”

“Well, it is all good we have just been detailing the new training schedule. We are going to focus on unarmed combat for the next few weeks before incorporating sword work,” Callem said. Was that why Gareth was looking miserable and uncomfortable? Aelyn had berated him and now he had to fight Leda and Cilia with his fists?

Callem continued, “Sebastian, we will need your skills to expand the bunkhouse. It has been determined it would be best to add a third loft with two beds for Cilia and Leda. Aelyn has apparently taken a rather protective big sister role in regards to Storme.” A look of jealousy was on Gareth’s face, and Aelyn had a rare smirk on hers at Callem’s words. I was curious about the extent of the conversation that had occurred. “Boys why don’t you go and get the young woman’s chests on the Wind Splitter while the rest of us go and work on the bunkhouse upgrades.”

Gareth jumped out of his seat and to the door. Aelyn made to follow us but I waved her off. Gareth needed some ego soothing it appeared. I just didn’t like that Cilia looked a little smug that we were getting their chests. We both went up the ship’s ramp and found the crates before I spoke, “Gareth we are brothers, closer than brothers. You never have to fear I would place you under any circumstances.” Gareth looked at me and he wasn’t wearing his usual grin.

He looked a little constipated, “Storme, I have the charisma trait, but I can't seem to get any of the girls interested in me! Well maybe Leda, but she scares me a bit now. What the hell is wrong with me? Did you know Aelyn can read minds? She berated me for what I was thinking about Leda before we were about to engage with staves.” Gareth had never been so upset before. His hormones must be raging. Maybe it had something to do with his rapid growth.

“Gareth, you have nothing to worry about. Aelyn has been abducted and branded by Skyholme and has trouble trusting people. Cilia was assaulted and probably wants nothing to do with men. And Leda—scares me too.” This seemed to make him feel a little better. “You will have absolutely no problem getting as many women as you want in just a few years. Just give it some time.” We started moving the chests in silence.

Inside the bunkhouse, Sebastian was shaping lumber from outside into a new loft. It didn’t flow like water like my metal shaping ability but seemed to warp the wood. The new loft was a cantilever on the far side to give it similar space to the other two lofts. Watching such powerful magic never got old.

The new loft was similar set up with the furniture. By the time we got all the girls' chests inside, Sebastian was done. One of the chests had rolled mattresses and bedding for the wooden bunks in the new loft. Before he left, I asked Sebastian to put a panel divider between my bed and Aelyn’s. Aelyn nixed that, saying there was no reason for Sebastian to waste his aether.

The look of amusement on Sebastian’s and Callem’s faces was not to my liking, so I insisted on the upgrade to my loft. Sebastian relented and added a wood panel, stretching a log into the panel, and he added small shelves on each side of the separation panel, expanding the storage for my books. I smiled because it finally felt like I got the win.

Instead of helping Cilia and Leda unpack I went to my loft and started studying. Aelyn was up in the loft shortly after with a plate of food for herself. When I reminded her that there was no food in the loft, she icily said, “That is a rule for your side, Storme. I can eat on my side.” This was clearly anger at the new panel separating us.

She had said it loudly enough that everyone heard. It drew everyone’s eyes to us. I just rolled my eyes at her antics. I never understood women in my past life and apparently had made no progress in this one. I ignored everyone and studied my spellbook for the obfuscate spell and its evolutions. I needed to imprint this spell before I could focus on the dimensional closet spell.

I did my aether core exercises and spent two hours spamming my cleanliness spell, filling the bunkroom with vanilla. Two hours of constant casting only used up half my aether stores and I was so tempted to make coins but held back with all the new additions to the bunkhouse. Maybe once all the aether lights went out. Everyone else was in their bed, and I heard Aelyn whisper to me.

“I am sorry, Storme, I lied to you.” She was quiet enough that I didn’t think anyone else could hear.

“What about?” I asked, sounding unconcerned.

“My read surface thoughts is an ability. I have been using it on the others. Sebastian has some type of shield against it. Callem’s discipline makes him hard to read but the others…” She said sounding remorseful about her actions.

“What do you want to tell me?” I was overly cautious.

“Cilia is angry. She is angry at everyone around her for what happened to her. She respects Callem and loves her grandfather, but she is extremely angry and wants revenge on her attacker. She associates you and Gareth with being similar to him.” She paused, and when I didn’t ask a question, she continued, “Leda is in love with Cilia—or maybe just loves her. Everything she does is to protect her. She was trying to draw Gareth’s and your attention away from Cilia. Cilia tends to get overly aggressive toward men, so Leda was trying to temper her a bit.” Well, Leda's flirtatious actions make a bit more sense now.

“And Gareth?” I asked now committed to invasion of privacy but not really wanting to know the answer.

“He is a typical male. I have read many men in the past and like them his thoughts are focused on women. He thinks a lot about what he has seen farm animals do and that spurs him to think about women in the same way.” That was more information than I needed.

“That is too much information,” I said, stopping Aelyn. She was silent for a minute before finishing.

“Wynna is an overprotective mother hen. She is very fond of Callem and you two. She already thinks of you two like adopted sons. She hasn’t made up her mind on me yet, though. When I first arrived, she asked me if I would let her do a reading on me, and I declined.” Another long pause. “Do you want me to let her do a reading?”

I thought for just a moment, “She has a method that allows only you to see the results of a reading. It is up to you, but it may help her build trust with you.” I no longer saw Aelyn’s tattoo but it still clearly bothered her that she was marked. Very rarely did I make in mistake when I said something to her that forced her to obey.

“Okay,” she said. She appeared to be finished, but then added, “I haven’t read you again, Storme, and I never will unless you ask.” That seemed to conclude the conversation. I went to sleep with a swirl of thoughts, forgetting to empty my aether pool by making coins. My first thought was about how I could ensure Freya and the rest of my family would be safe if the Sadians attacked Skyholme.

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