***Luo Tung-Lei***
My chat with the core obviously felt one-sided, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I scheduled another delivery of materials a month away, and there wasn’t a guarantee there would be anything left anyways.
My detour from the caravan thankfully went unnoticed even with my delay explaining history to a crystalized soul, but it did mean I was tired when I snuck back into my carriage from the secret floor hatch I installed for this purpose. My ever-cheerful retainer, Kiki, giggles at my exhaustion before handing me a bottle of stamina. “Aww, you really do care for your summon!” she said through her laugh. I merely huff in reply.
Chang is sitting next to my half-succubi servicewoman Kiki, and hands me a tissue to pat some sweat away. He asks “So, Luo, what’s the core like? Or did you get… stonewalled?” I finish drying sweat before responding to the inquiry, ignoring his terrible humor. “Whatever soul got trapped inside, it has some big ambitions. It wants to stop the tide entirely. As in make it never happen again.” I lean back in the plush seat of the carriage and grab a waterskin from the storage compartment. Chang speaks up.
“Impressive such a young core can have such thoughts; it must come from a much kinder place than out here.”
“That or it’s gone mental,” Kiki replies, “Everyone knows our last chance to stop the tide was when it started.”
I do nothing but nod in reply. She’s right. The beast tide started millennia ago, and even then, the numbers were staggering. Ten thousand monsters. It sounds like a lot, but in the current time, that’s barely more than a scouting group for the main tide. Combined with rear guard, fliers, and titan class beasts, the current tide sat at over 80 million strong, with more being bred on the backs of the titans every day.
Not even the Nulls of today could make much impact. They have dedicated spotter monsters, covered in eyes, and wield a piercing shriek to alert others to intruders.
The rest of the ride is quiet, only occupied by the bubbling of hot water, clinking of teacups, and the few outdoor noises that make it past the enchantments of the carriage.
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“Luo, my dear! You look troubled, is everything alright? No, don’t tell me yet, I’ll boil us some tea, then we can talk.”
I smile at the concern my mentor holds for me, as we walk into the enchanter’s guild. “I would love some tea, but I have urgent duties to attend, master.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Master Enchanter and Grand Court Alchemist Sir Sibaguchu is the greatest magic user in the Kitsumari Empire, despite the constant praise he expresses for me. He’s a short man from the Mohgai Tribes in the mountains of the kha lands, his voice is coarse in a soothing way, and he currently was the elected head of the enchanter’s guild.
He was also my mentor, and that mattered more than any title I possessed.
“Nonsense,” He spoke, “your urgent duties are just your way of hiding from your guilt. Come, we really should get it off your chest before some guilt demon gets their hands on you.”
I nod and follow along as we pass hundreds of apprentice magic users, some waving, some nodding, others too focused on their newest invention to notice us. We make our way to the top of the towering guild building and enter the head office. I physically feel the obscurity runes activate as the door closes.
“Now Luo, tea first or guilt?”
“Tea…”
He chuckles softly and heads to a side room, returning shortly after with some fresh cups steaming hot.
“So, Luo. You finally did it. A summoned core to defend us, and you act like it’s the end of the world.”
I supress a frown as I reply. “It’s more complicated master, you know that. It’s a soul from another world that gets put into the core. What about their life?”
“Hrm. Your empathy was always your strongest quality. You of all my students would know that their previous memories get stored in the unconscious mind. They don’t lose them.”
“Its not about their memories. Master, they had whole lives and families. I never felt bad about the companion animals because they lack the ability to fully realize their position. This is different. This is a core. There have been countless studies-”
“Yes, I know about the studies, cores are sentient and even communicate, but you have no reason to feel bad about this. This was necessary. The empire is going to fall eventually as the beast tides get stronger. This is our hope.”
I sigh. He doesn’t really get it, does he? That soul I summoned wants to help. But it also wants to be free. It knows it’s been manipulated and has no real say in its role.
If only I could do something for them.
The rest of the tea break goes smoother, with discussions about various projects and finances filling the air. Eventually I make my way back down the tower, and head towards my room.
The last few hours of my day are spent working on a contraption that the students were calling an ‘heavy arbalest’ that looked like a gnome [Tinkerer] got in bed with a dwarven [Siege Engineer] built a weapon larger than both my arms. My role was designing enchantments for the huge bolts it was supposed to fire, and the work was enjoyable to say the least. Sure, I’d enchanted crossbow bolts and arrows for various ranger classes, but this was on a different scale entirely.
Eventually I had a dozen bolts finished and put them on the rack of others, before heading out with a wave of goodbyes from the restless group of learning folk. It was one of the few things I enjoyed about my life in the capital. Sure, having students come up to me a nervous reck asking if I could help them with something I was already scheduled to do was sometimes a drag, but it made me smile that they still came to me for help, even with my title as Grand Court Sorceress.