《What We Do to Survive》


 Chapter 1

    Avalon Academy is one of the greatest centers of learning in the known world. Two in five of all archmages in the last nineteen centuries were educated at least in part within the bounds of its sprawling halls and fields. It is also a dangerous place to learn. The professors believe that conflicts between students are just that¨C¨Cbetween students. The people of Avalon stand together against all outside forces, but internally they are not nearly as unified. One does not become an archmage by being timid or walking with the crowd. Two in five of all students do not emerge from the pocket dimension where the Academy resides. Of the remainder, only a few dozen will graduate each year, the rest either dropped out, or forced out.


    Certainly some part of this lies in the danger present in all spellcraft. A poorly executed spell may kill the caster or render them as good as dead. Sometimes a successful casting can be just as lethal. Still, it is unquestionable that students act against one another on a daily basis.


    There are some rules of course, particularly those made to protect new arrivals from the machinations of their seniors. There are also certain codes of conduct, times and places where conflict is forbidden. Private rooms are just that, private, and the grand library is considered a neutral zone. Rules are strictly and lethally enforced by the staff. Otherwise however? It is free rein as far as they are concerned.


    I stared with dispassionate interest at the weakly struggling form of my former classmate. Her new¡­ accommodations seemed to be holding fast so far. I¡¯d initially used a small cage for storage, woven from enchanted threads and transmuted into titanium through alchemy. It had proven unfortunately insufficient and rather inconvenient. Not only did it limit access to my new research subject, but having her hands even partially free had almost proven disastrous.


    I had underestimated the girl, perhaps rather foolishly. She may be a pathetic excuse of a mage and a worse ranger, but she was still more than a century my senior and well read to boot. If I hadn¡¯t returned to my room early to retrieve some materials, I would have likely walked straight into a horde of summoned beasts. Elves were sufficiently magical that they didn¡¯t even need to deliberately channel the mana when using somatic rituals, the hand movements sufficient to cast the basic summoning spells.


    As it was, I had managed to interrupt the ritual in time, and then I¡¯d carefully snapped each and every one of her fingers to prevent a repeat attempt while I figured out a new system to hold my captive. It only went to show how unfair an existence elves were that she was fully healed by the end of the week.


    Her new restraints were far more thorough. Her torso was held parallel to the ground, supported at her belly with a metal plate. Two metal rings were cinched tightly around the base of her large breasts, a constant among elven women it seemed, and a rod passed between her breasts and ended with a collar, cinched tightly enough to almost choke.


    Her hands were pulled up behind her back, bound with shackles at the wrists and elbows. Tight fitting mittens had been forced onto her hands, pressing her fingers and thumb together, then her hands had been curled and the mittens transformed into metal to prevent the smallest movement. Her legs were spread widely apart and bound, a long bar connecting more shackles on her ankles and then bolted to the stone floor.


    Finishing the restraints was a blindfold and a gag, a tube connecting the gag, which extended down the elf¡¯s throat, to a tank of nutrient paste I had purchased for her feed. Elves required limited food after all, but they did need some amount. The entire construct was then painstakingly inscribed with magic suppressing runes and durability enchantments.


    I bit my lip as she continued to thrash against the transmuted titanium. She was putting up quite a fight, only the suppressing runes I¡¯d carved into her back preventing her monstrous elven strength from rending through the metal. I knew that there existed better binding runes for elves, I¡¯d even seen several examples of them in some of the attendants many professors kept on display, but this was all I had managed to cobble together. If this proved insufficient then I would¡­ well I wasn¡¯t quite sure what I would do. It had taken all my skills and the majority of my funds to make this happen. It had to work out. It had too.


    Checking my watch, my eyes widened as I saw the time. I hastily turned away from my bound elf and crossed the short distance to my desk, scooping up my backpack and all but running from the room. My first class of the day was alchemy 2, and I¡¯d apparently managed to work through the night on securing her properly.


    Professor Meadows was a harsh mistress, utterly unforgiving and unyielding in the face of those she considered as slacking in her class. I¡¯d only ever seen one student arrive late to her class, and she had transformed the poor goblin into granite for an entire year. There was an entire hall of statues littered throughout her classroom and office, and there were rumors that they were the remnants of students who had cut or cheated in her class. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was true, but I was not exactly excited to find out.


    Despite my haste, I did not drop my guard on the worryingly long run to the professor¡¯s classroom. I circled my mana constantly through my body, sharpening my senses and strengthening my muscles, even as I kept my favorite shield spell primed at the front of my mind. I didn¡¯t have any enemies per se, but then again that stupid cunt Mistletoe hadn¡¯t known I hated her guts until it was too late. There were also plenty of students who would happily go after targets of opportunity, like for instance someone clearly sleep deprived and in a hurry like I was.


    Fortunately nothing happened and I slipped through the door of the vast auditorium just in time. I took a seat near the front of the class, two seats down from my ¡®friend¡¯ Miranda. She flashed me a questioning look and I mouthed, ¡®later¡¯, gesturing to the front of the room where our professor was about to start the lesson.


    Laying out my papers across three spots, I was thankful for the much increased room this semester. Unlike the first course, the classroom was nearly empty, only about thirty of us in a hall built to hold hundreds. Practical Alchemy 1 was a brutally difficult class but it was also a prerequisite for many upper level courses. Alchemy 2 on the other hand was only for people actually interested in alchemy¡­ and only those brave enough to take a second class with Professor Meadows. At the moment, it meant I could easily reference the textbook, my notes from last year, the example questions she handed out, and my current notes all at the same time.


    The bell rang just as I finished preparing, and Meadows began to speak before the echo of the final dong had faded.


    ¡°Good morning students, we have a few announcements to get through before we begin. First of all in local news, the Nine-Seven Sisterhood has dissolved rather violently,¡± a smirk flashed across her face, ¡°it seems that some members were unhappy with the direction their little club was taking and decided to resolve the issue prematurely.¡± She gestured to a new statue standing near the entrance to her office. It was a tall, willowy woman, frozen mid stumble with her arm outstretched. ¡°One of my students has really taken a shine to my art, I could not be prouder. If anyone wants to take a look, feel free to come up after class. The ritual she used was a bit amateurish, but perhaps you can learn something from it.


    Moving on, my freshman class managed to lose three additional students yesterday. If you are sitting on the left side of the classroom, check under and around your desk for bits before testing any arrays. Wouldn¡¯t want some idiot to mess things up for someone with actual talent.¡± She shook her head in mock sadness, the long rings of her thick green curls dancing around her face. ¡°Finally, for anyone looking for a temporary research position, my husband is still in the market for a new assistant. The position is paid and is expected to last for three to eight months.¡±


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    With a flick of her wrist, a long stick of alchemist¡¯s chalk appeared in her hands and she swept up to the chalkboard, the trailing ends of her toga whipping around her ankles. ¡°With that out of the way, let¡¯s begin. Last class we began to discuss multi-elemental transmutation and the challenges there in.¡± She swept her hand along the board and alchemical arrays began to draw themselves where it passed. ¡°Today we will be discussing the opposite, converting one element into multiple distinct forms¡­¡±.


    Taking a deep breath, I got to work copying down both the arrays and what she was saying. The enchantments on my pen helped keep my writing neat, but it was still a challenge to keep up with her. It seemed that today was going to be a purely theoretical lesson, and that meant my hand would be aching for the rest of the day.


    ¡°And that is why you should never consume alchemically created food or water. Any questions?¡± She timed the end of her lesson perfectly, the bell going off just as she asked for questions. I snapped my notebook closed and shook my hand, trying to get the blood flowing again after an hour of frantic note taking.


    Miranda finished packing away her own supplies before I did, and she plopped down in the seat beside me, bag thrown casually over one shoulder. ¡°So, what had you in such a hurry this morning, it''s not like you to be running late? Also, you look terrible!¡±


    I threw her a withering glare.


    ¡°What, it¡¯s true! Your clothes are all mussed up, you have stubble coming in, and you look like you haven¡¯t slept all weekend!¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± I growled, ¡°busy.¡±


    ¡°Well, that sort of behavior isn¡¯t good for you! You know how important proper rest is, and you should always strive to look your best regardless. Like me!¡± She ran her hands down the little red dress she was wearing, the tiny bells dangling from her sleeves jingling soothingly. I bit my lip and forced myself not to look away from her face. She pouted, ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡±


    Miranda looked mostly human, but she was anything but. Her ancestry was a proper mess, with several sirens and succubi in just the last four generations. She might look like a bit of a ditz, what with the platinum blonde hair, the unnatural curves, and the skimpy outfits she always wore, but behind her glittering blue eyes hid a devious mind.


    ¡°Not now please Miranda, I¡¯m too tired for your games. If you are feeling antsy, go fuck Liam¡¯s brains out, or whatever your current boy¡¯s name is.¡±


    She giggled, her seductive laughter ringing unnaturally in my ears as her siren heritage worked its magic. I focused my mental shields, blocking out the powerful allure. ¡°Unfortunately Liam went mysteriously missing last week, you¡¯d know that if you were paying attention. I¡¯m available if you are interested.¡±


    ¡°Miranda.¡± I said warningly.


    ¡°Oh fine, be like that.¡± She pouted, but the supernatural pressure vanished from the corners of my mind.


    I let out the breath I hadn¡¯t realized I was holding and turned back to my things. ¡°Did you at least get anything useful out of him?¡± I asked over my shoulder.


    ¡°Not much sadly, his talent was meager. Still, bumped up my mana reserves slightly, and I think it improved my heat affinity.¡±


    ¡°Could be worse.¡±


    She nodded, watching me in silence as I finished gathering my things. Miranda¡¯s heritage had given her a very potent set of natural abilities. Through the combination of a succubus¡¯s ability to feed on their sexual partners and the manavore abilities of a distant elemental ancestor, Miranda could drain energy and traits from her victims. Combined with the seductive powers of her siren bloodline and her own natural charms, she had cut a swath through the weak willed idiots who had somehow managed to get into the Academy, adding from their mana pool and abilities to her own.


    We¡¯d met near the start of our mutual first year at the Academy when she had tried to target me with her abilities. Unfortunately for her, she had been much less skilled back then, and her plan had backfired spectacularly. She¡¯d ¡®convinced¡¯ me to take her back to my room, and then I had sprung my own trap. I had also been a far weaker mage back then, but I was a foot taller then her and she hadn¡¯t been physically strong enough to break store-bought steel chains.


    I¡¯d kept her trussed up and gagged for several days before we came to an agreement. I hadn¡¯t been confident in my ability to keep her long term, nor did I know what I could use her corpse for, and I had decided it would be a waste to just kill her and be done with it. Instead, she swore a carefully worded oath of loyalty and I let her go.


    Since then, our relationship had blossomed into something of a mutually beneficial friendship. Avalon Academy made it hard to keep close friendships, even tight knit groups often dissolved violently, just as the Nine-Seven Sisterhood apparently had over the weekend. Having someone you knew beyond a reasonable doubt could not turn on you was invaluable. Still, the oath she had sworn was rather limited, so my current houseguest would remain my own little secret for now.


    Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I turned to leave. Miranda bounced up beside me, her face wearing the vapid grin she used to great effect. ¡°Lunch then?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Maybe next time. I have a meeting with professor Igor later tonight and I really should get some sleep.¡±


    ¡°Ok! Let me walk you back to your room at least?¡±


    I gratefully accepted the offer and the two of us stepped together into the hallway. While classrooms were considered safe zones, with all interpersonal conflict banned without express permission from the instructor, the labyrinth of hallways, tunnels, and bridges that connected the sprawling campus were certainly not. It was why I always made it a point to stay a minute or two late after the bell, it was much easier to curse someone in a crowded hallway with no one the wiser.


    Spells at the ready and mental defenses primed, the two of us made our way back to my room. Fortunately nothing happened on the way back and she left me outside my door, leaving me with a peck on the cheek and a cheery ¡®sleep tight!¡¯ before she vanished down the hallway.


    She did not ask to enter my room, nor did I offer. We may be allies now, friends even, but it was hard to forget spending two weeks wrapped in chains and force fed gruel. With a tired sigh, I slipped into the relative safety of my abode. Thankfully it seemed my restraints had held, at least so far. The monitoring array I¡¯d left around my captive¡¯s corner hadn¡¯t registered any spell casting and the bindings themselves remained in pristine condition.


    The elf had stopped thrashing while I was gone, now just hanging limply in her bindings. The feeder tube was active, pumping food and water directly into her stomach through her gag. I was thankful that elves did not defecate, cleaning up after Miranda had definitely been a major point of awkwardness between us.


    Once I¡¯d confirmed that she was still secure, I quickly stripped out of my rumpled uniform and collapsed into bed. Mana circulation could stave off exhaustion and keep the body and mind running at full capacity, but magic had its limits and I was not very well practiced with the skill regardless. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

 Chapter 2

    The blare of my alarm spell woke both me and my houseguest. Her head perked up, long ears twitching and she yelled something inaudible through her gag. I hurriedly got dressed, I hadn¡¯t left much time for myself before the meeting and I still needed to eat, noting the minor flaw in her restraints as I went.


    Her head was mostly immobile, the rigid tube in her throat forcing her to keep her head tilted back, but she still had more range of movement than I was fully comfortable with. I¡¯d also left her ears unplugged, not wanting to deprive her of all sensory inputs, but that might prove thoroughly inconvenient over time. I would have to make something for that, maybe something easily removable so I could only put it in when I didn¡¯t want her overhearing anything?


    For now, I quickly transmuted a block of stone I kept on my table for alchemy practice into soft wax. Wax was actually a pretty tricky material to create with alchemy, especially if you wanted it to have specific physical properties. Professor Meadows had only shown us the technique a few weeks before.


    Trying to avoid forcing it too deep, I carefully stuffed each of her ears with the malleable wax. When I got to work on her second ear, she tried to jerk her head away, but it was futile. Once I was done, I hit her with a mild pain spell and a swat on her firm behind, giving her something to think about while I was gone.


    With that issue dealt with, I took a swig of nutrient potion, something to get me through the afternoon since I¡¯d missed lunch, and for the second time in a day rushed from my room. I threw a backward glance at the elf¡¯s dangling breasts, the unpleasant texture of the nutrient potion lingering at the back of my throat.


    Beyond the high mana content that made it valuable in spell-craft and potions making, elven milk was both incredibly nutritious, able to feed a man for a day with just a glass, and delicious. I¡¯d never tried the stuff before of course, it was a type B restricted substance in most nations, but I¡¯d heard the stories. As soon as I could find a reliable way to trigger her lactation¡­


    I arrived at Professor Igor¡¯s office with several minutes to spare. Unlike the more unassuming door to Professor Meadows¡¯ abode, Professor Igor took no measure to hide his immense wealth and power.


    The door was carved from a single piece of black ironwood and inlayed with symbols etched in gold and gems. It radiated an overwhelming aura of power, the enchantments on the wood thrumming with barely contained might. Though the simple stone walls of the office seemed like a glaring weak point in the door¡¯s protections, I knew from my past visit that the inner walls of the office were paneled with overlapping sheets of the nearly indestructible wood. Professor Igor took his safety, and the security of his possessions and research, very seriously.


    At exactly five p.m., the door slid smoothly open as I prepared to knock, and I heard the soft voice of the Professor call out from the depths of the space. ¡°Come on in, Mr. Hunter, I will be with you in just a moment.¡±


    I stepped into the room, taking a moment to look around the opulent, if somewhat off putting interior. The professor¡¯s choice of decoration was somewhat eclectic, solid gold busts set next to ancient manuscripts and magical nicknacks.


    Most strikingly however was the other theme that dominated the office¡¯s ¡®decorations¡¯.. The room was positively filled with bodies and body parts, preserved in jars, set on pedestals, and hung on the walls. Some sort of twitching humanoid was impaled in a corner, missing all its limbs and with stumpy wings growing out of its back. A metal rod passed through its crotch and up out of its mouth, yet it was clearly still alive.


    Two perfectly preserved fox beastkin, a man and a woman, floated serenely in glass tanks filled with clear fluid. Only the horrible rictus of pain on their faces and the bloodless pallor of their skin betrayed their likely agonizing end.


    I pointedly ignored some of the other horrors proudly on display on the walls and shelves. I was pretty sure I recognized one of the preserved heads I saw as Queen Valorous, who had been overthrown just a few weeks before I was accepted into Avalon. I did not want to know why her remains were here of all places.


    I had only just taken a seat in one of the hardback chairs in front of the desk when Professor Igor himself emerged from a back door, wiping his suspiciously red-stained hands on his off-pink apron. He shot me a bright smile as he plopped down into the large armchair across from me, propping his legs up on one of the few clear spots on his heavily cluttered desk.


    Professor Igor was a slight man, several inches shorter than my own six feet and very thin. With his mud-brown hair and eyes, he was one of the most ordinary looking Professors I¡¯d met so far. As usual, he was dressed in his regular work clothes, a white smock belted at the waist with a heavily stained apron fastened over it. The handles of two large cleavers stuck out of the apron¡¯s pockets, and I¡¯d seen just how adept he was with those blades.


    ¡°So kid, what can I help you with today? Bet it¡¯s got something to do with that elf lass you went and caught, Mindy? Molly? Whatever her name was.¡±


    I visibly started in my seat, half rising with my eyes darting around the room in a moment of panic. He chuckled, waiving a hand in a relaxed gesture.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry, I ain¡¯t gonna tell anyone. You did a good job, don¡¯t think even most of the staff saw you do it.¡± I relaxed slightly, settling back into my seat. I hadn¡¯t really expected for my actions to be completely unnoticed, but seeing it mentioned so casually was still jarring.


    ¡°Um, yes sir. Thank you sir.¡± I floundered slightly, unsure what to say. ¡°Um, it¡¯s Mistletoe actually.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore now, does it. Don¡¯t seem to me like you plan to be letting her go any time soon, else you wouldn¡¯t be coming to me!¡± He laughed again, waving broadly at the array of sentient remains scattered throughout his office. ¡°My victims rarely leave my care intact, or at least not in the same state they entered it.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    As if to highlight his point, a tall, bare-chested woman chose that moment to clop into the room, her hooves tapping loudly against the hardwood floors of the office. She was dressed in nothing but a skirt and collar, revealing the lines of stitches that crisscrossed her body. In her arms she carried a tray with two cups and a small teapot.


    I recognized her legs as belonging to a bovide, a rare subspecies of beastkin. Her torso and arms were a mismatch of pieces, the miscolored bits of skin a clear giveaway to the differing ¡®materials¡¯ she was made from. Her head was even stranger, just smooth skin with no obvious mouth, eyes, or any other features. The only other part of her I could really place were the breasts, they were too large and perfect to be anything other than an elf¡¯s.


    I stared in a mix of mute horror and fascination as the amalgam creature set the tray down, balanced precariously on a stack of textbooks, then delicately served each of us with a cup from the steaming pot. Once her task was done, she balanced the tray on one palm and stepped away from the table, pot held at the ready in her other hand.


    The professor gave me a knowing look as he leaned forward to grab his cup. ¡°So, what do you think of this one? I only finished her a few days ago, an associate sent me some wonderful parts to work with for my birthday!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ really something.¡± I eventually replied, unable to tear my eyes away from her creepily smooth face. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m quite planning to do anything similar with Mistletoe.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t really expect you too! If you are interested however, I teach a two semester elective on stitching, though I require at least one year of necromancy and a basic biology class beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± I highly doubted I was ever going to sign up for that class sequence, but I certainly wasn¡¯t going to say that aloud now.


    ¡°No, no, I imagine it has more to do with some general advice, hmm? How to harvest her properly and keep her contained I imagine?¡±


    I nodded, relieved to be moving on from the rather uncomfortably direction our talk was going. ¡°Yes Professor. My initial plan didn¡¯t really work out very well and I transferred her to a new set of restraints this weekend, but I don¡¯t know enough about elves to really make sure it will hold. Also¡­¡± I trailed off, slightly embarrassed by the other question I wanted to ask him.


    ¡°Well, I think I can certainly help with that!¡± He gave me another bright smile, ¡°I imagine you also want to ask how to get her milkers going, no? Definitely the most useful part of an elf if you don¡¯t plan to reuse the meat.¡±


    My rapid nod triggered another laugh, nearly causing him to spill his drink. ¡°Ah, to be young and so easily flustered. I would be happy to give you some tips, I am not inexperienced in keeping my ingredients alive!¡± Hmm¡­¡± he looked thoughtful for a moment as he scanned the content of a shelf beside the desk. ¡°Actually it may be easier to show you. Come along now!¡±


    He sprang from his seat in a movement almost too fast for my eyes to follow. His body might look old and frail, but a master flesh stitcher, no, the master flesh stitcher, was clearly more than he appeared. I followed after him, acutely aware of the abomination quietly trailing behind me, having wordlessly scooped up our abandoned cups and set the pot back on its tray.


    He led me through the back door of his office and into a labyrinthine complex of rooms and hallways. Occasionally we would pass an open doorway, and I could not resist taking a quick peak as we went. I regretted it instantly, my eyes registering the mangled corpses of several humans arranged neatly on a row of metal gurneys.


    Eventually we stopped by a locked door, the Professor pulling a large ring of keys from somewhere on his person and rifling through them for the right one. After inserting the key, he paused to look back at me.


    ¡°Now I apologize for the mess, I don¡¯t go in here very often these days and I¡¯ve sort of let the place go. I don¡¯t expect that your first setup will look anything like this, but maybe consider it something to aspire to.¡± Then he turned the key and revealed the abomination that waited within.


    My first thought was that if any of the elven kingdoms ever learned of this place, Igor would be an even more hunted man than I knew he already was. Sure he was wanted in multiple kingdoms for grave robbery and practicing illegal magic, but Avalon¡¯s power and reputation easily shielded him from any reprisal of that level. This however? Some elf queen might consider this a worthy reason to piss off the greatest mage organization in the world.


    Rows of dismembered elves hung in racks that stretched for dozens of meters. Each was just a head and torso, held in place by metal loops secured at the stump of each limb. Thick tubes connected to each exposed nipple draped haphazardly across the floor, trickles of glossy gold-white milk draining into a series of massive tanks embedded in one of the walls. Another series of tubes connected to the gag each one was wearing, leading to a giant feed tank much like the one I was using, just scaled up a thousandfold.


    As I took in the room, I silently swore that I would never go this far. I disliked elves in general, and Mistletoe had been a real bitch to everyone, but this was just monstrous. Though he acted like a kindly old man sometimes, always laughing and joking with his students, at that moment I realized how well deserved his reputation as a monster straight out of nightmares really was.


    Igor seemed to take my horror as a fascinated interest, because after a moment he began to gush about his setup. ¡°I put this together about two centuries back, right after the war of the red tree. The king was so happy with the help my puppets provided that he handed over a good chunk of the prisoners he¡¯d captured. After some minor medications I did, it produces some 7000 liters a day in total. More than enough to keep me and my colleagues supplied.¡±


    Gesturing to the feed tank, he continued. ¡°The feed is actually a special blend I designed, it¡¯s primarily a mix of their own milk and several waste products the botany classes produce each year. Very cost efficient. The entire setup basically runs itself, I only come in here once every couple years unless I¡¯m showing someone around!¡± He gave the nearest body a hard slap, leaving a bright red mark on the pale flesh.


    ¡°Now then, let me see¡­¡± he disappeared deeper into the room, ducking behind one of the racks and out of sight. After a moment I heard him call out, ¡°ah ha¡±, and he came back carrying a pile of loose papers.


    ¡°Here you go, my old notes on the array I used to seal their magic and the potions I fed them to boost their lactation. You¡¯ll probably have to modify the array a little, it¡¯s somewhat outdated and relies on the target being a quadruple amputee!¡± He let out another chuckle, a hint of madness edging into the laughter. He seemed to find the idea of a limbless torso to be quite amusing.


    I quickly flipped through the pages, finding them to be exactly what he described. Clutching them with one hand, I gave a respectful half bow. ¡°Thank you Professor. I will certainly keep that in mind.¡±


    He waved me off, ¡°Happy to, happy to! It¡¯s always a joy to see someone walk down the path on their own. Why, I didn¡¯t kidnap my first living ingredients until I was twice your age!¡± This time, his laughter was far more cackle than chuckle. ¡°Regardless, I think that will be all for today. I think I will take the opportunity to make some minor modifications in here.¡± He turned to look at the hoofed puppet who had been standing behind me this entire time, ¡°show him out.¡± Then, without another word, he spun around and disappeared deeper into his house of horrors.

 Chapter 3

    An hour later, I had gotten a plate from the cafeteria and was sitting at my desk, silently watching the sleeping form of Mistletoe. My food lay untouched where I¡¯d set it down a few minutes earlier, the papers I¡¯d been given still neatly stacked in front of me.


    Seeing Professor Igor¡¯s¡­ farm had been quite a shock and I wasn¡¯t sure how to feel. I didn¡¯t think I was an especially bad person per se. I certainly wasn¡¯t a good person, good people did not last long at Avalon, but I tried to hold myself to a moral code. I¡¯d known intellectually that many of my professors and classmates were monsters, but seeing it so blatantly was still disturbing.


    Did I regret capturing my Mistletoe? I took a moment to consider it, weighing the question in my head as I absently twirled a fork between my fingers.


    No, I finally decided. I didn¡¯t regret it, not one bit. Our conflict was inevitable and I had simply taken steps to preemptively defend myself. I refused to be a statistic, one of the thousands who joined the academy and never emerged. I could have simply killed her, but that would have felt¡­ wasteful. This was a much better outcome.


    Did I ever think I would go as far as Professor Igor? Taking someone else¡¯s prisoners of war and turning them into those things hanging in his office? No, I didn¡¯t think I would be comfortable with that. Maybe if they had fought against me, that would be different. It was basically self defense then, right? But I wouldn¡¯t go that far for someone that hadn¡¯t wronged me directly.


    Finally satisfied, I turned back to my meal and dug in, barely tasting my food as my thoughts continued to race. Seeing her like this was still so very strange, though I thought I could get used to it with time.


    I still remembered the arrogant, leather-clad elf that I had met on my very first day here. Back then I had been a very different person, more open and friendly than I was now. I¡¯d tried to befriend the girl, offering to lend her a pen when I noticed her sitting with a blank notebook, thinking she must have left her supplies in her room.


    Her haughty reply, that a higher being like herself didn¡¯t need to do something as pedestrian as take notes, had just been the start of our bad blood. When Aaron, another of our classmates with whom she¡¯d had a rather rocky relationship, was found shot full of arrows in one of the herb fields, her smirk had been the final nail in her coffin. She¡¯d as good as told me that I was next, and I was not willing to just wait and die.


    My attack had been meticulously planned and executed, every path considered and a dozen contingencies ready to go. I¡¯d been perfectly willing to kill her if my first plan didn¡¯t work out, a full vial of elfbane poison at the ready if things went south. Elves were hard to put down, but she was still young, not yet fully matured and resistant to many of the attacks older elves could simply shrug off.


    In the end, none of that had been necessary. She¡¯d been so confident in her superior senses and natural abilities that my ambush had never been detected. Before my meeting with Igor, I had really thought no one had been the wiser till she didn¡¯t show up to classes the next week.


    I stood up abruptly and crossed the few feet separating my desk from her prison, taking a seat on the stool I¡¯d left beside her. At some point during her struggles, her hair had finally escaped the loose bun I¡¯d tied it back in, now hanging in a curtain that half covered her face. I brushed it back gently, enjoying the silky smooth feeling of her bright red locks on my fingers.


    Elves were generally hairless below the neck, which was once again quite convenient for maintenance purposes. Professor Igor had gone a step further in his own setup, shaving them all over and likely using a potion, or knowing him, some sort of horrible procedure to prevent it from growing back.


    It was probably quite convenient, I had no idea how to cut a woman¡¯s hair properly, but I would cross that bridge when I got to it. For now, I didn¡¯t think I could bring myself to ruin this gorgeous mane.


    She looked kinda cute like this, I decided. She¡¯d always been beautiful of course, all elves were. It was just another of the unfair natural gifts they were blessed with. Usually however, her haughty expression and bad attitude really took away from that. Like this, mouth stretched into a wide o-shape by the gag in her mouth, blindfolded, helpless¡­ the look really suited her.


    Without really thinking about it, I reached down and gave one of her breasts a grope, the warm flesh deforming easily under my questing fingers. They were softer than I¡¯d expected, I¡¯d thought that with the way they had always stayed so perfectly shaped and perky they would be much firmer, but instead they were pillow soft.


    With a start, I realized that I¡¯d had her at my mercy for an entire week and had never bothered indulging in any way. Sure it had been inconvenient at first, what with the tiny cage and all, but not even a grope? The me of three years ago would have been shocked.


    After a moment of intersection, fingers still digging into the wonderfully pliable flesh, I realized it wasn¡¯t that I hadn¡¯t wanted to, but rather that I hadn¡¯t felt safe doing so. I¡¯d had to be on alert at all times around her, watchful for any attempt to escape her bonds. Now? I was confident she wasn¡¯t going anywhere, not for at least a few more weeks. I certainly had time.


    I felt her shudder slightly as my hands trailed along her body, tracing the edges of her ribs and the contours of her sides. I stood up when I could reach no further, stepping around to stand between her legs.


    The way I¡¯d bound her feet ensured her legs were forced wide apart, leaving her pussy and ass readily exposed. A single finger trailed down her spine and I felt her muscles tense as it continued further downward. It stopped for a moment to circle around her tensed anus, then moved on.


    I smiled slightly as my finger slid smoothly between the lips of her cunt. She was soaking wet, enough that I was half surprised she wasn¡¯t dripping all over my floor. I didn¡¯t really care if she was enjoying this, but something about seeing her tied up and all but leaking juices had turned my uncomfortably tight pants into a tent.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Unfortunately, now was not yet the time to get distracted. In a couple days, once I was certain her bonds would hold and I¡¯d had a chance to catch up on my assignments and practice, then I could have my fun. Until then, getting distracted was a liability.


    With a bit of effort, I positioned my stool so I could sit with my back resting against her delectable rear, far more comfortable than even my enchanted desk chair. My mind drifted to wondering if she would make a good pillow someday, but I stopped before I could get distracted again. This was already as much allowance I would make to my pleasure for now.


    I was ahead on the practical side of many of my classes, the excellent mana shaping skills that I¡¯d been honing since before I¡¯d ever learned what a spell matrix was had served me very well on that front. Still, with some types of magic, the only way to improve was through constant practice.


    I levitated the remaining wax I¡¯d created earlier in the day with pure mana manipulation, then carefully shaped it into a rough sphere the same way. This was one of the first exercises that I¡¯d ever practiced, though I¡¯d initially used tiny bits of mud and small rocks instead of a sizable chunk of wax like this.


    Fundamentally, there were two ways of using mana, spell matrices and pure manipulation. Spell matrices were the most common types of casting, by channeling the mana into very particular patterns and channels, you could achieve much more than was possible by applying the mana directly.


    However, pure manipulation was still a crucial skill, since without it it was impossible to shape the mana into the needed matrices for powerful spells. Pure manipulation also had some other advantages.


    For one, it was much faster to use, not requiring the charging time that almost all structured spells required. Secondly, if you didn¡¯t know the correct spell matrix, it was impossible to cast a spell, while pure manipulation allowed you to manifest a huge number of different effects without having to develop or find the appropriate technique.


    Since I didn¡¯t come from a mage family, or even a particularly wealthy family, I hadn¡¯t had access to any books of spells or the complex instructions required to develop a spell matrix. Thus, I¡¯d been left with only pure manipulation to practice, and had gotten quite good at it in my humble opinion. It was undoubtedly that talent that had gotten me into the Academy after all, I doubted the single spell matrix I¡¯d demonstrated would have gotten me the spot on its own.


    Regardless, I wasn¡¯t planning on practicing my manipulation right now. There was plenty of time to do that later since I could do it just about anywhere with no materials or preparation. That was exactly what I did actually, I typically spent every free moment going through one of the thousands of pure mana exercises I¡¯d found since arriving here. This was simply to make my actual exercise more convenient.


    I closed my eyes and focused on the alchemical symbols I¡¯d spent hours memorizing. With agonizing precision, I wove tiny strands of mana into the structure, forming a series of sigils a few centimeters above my palm.


    Opening my eyes, I examined the result carefully, checking the faintly shimmering mana constructs with a critical eye. Only once I was satisfied that everything was perfect did I channel more mana into the sigils to finalize the spell.


    With a slight gust of displaced air and a dim flash of light, the wax above my hand expanded dramatically as the relatively dense material was suddenly replaced by a heap of loose carbon dust. I struggled for a moment with the new substance, my mana struggling to control the suddenly wildly different objects I was trying to levitate, but I managed it without getting the fine powder everywhere.


    I smiled at my success, pleased by both the alchemical transformation and the mana control. Carbon dust was a valuable reagent in some forms of brewing, but it could be a pain to get the really pure stuff. That wouldn¡¯t be a problem in the future.


    After a moment spent admiring my creation, I got back to work. I modified one of the symbols and cast again. This time the powder collapsed in on itself, becoming one solid chunk of tightly packed carbon.


    I continued in that vein for another half hour, first creating a loose powdered form of a common element, then a solid structure of the same material. Twice I lost control of my levitation, thankfully both times with the solid forms and not the powders. That had happened once before and it had been an absolute pain to clean up.


    It was actually somewhat funny, controlling a loose dust was typically considered much more difficult than a single object of the same weight. For me it was quite the opposite however, likely because of how much more practice I¡¯d had with levitating sand and other silt.


    When I¡¯d been on the road, I had been forced to hide my status as a mage. It was much easier to practice manipulating some dust on an already windy and poorly maintained road than it was to justify why there were pebbles floating around my arms and legs.


    Eventually however, my practice had to come to an end. I groaned at the blare of my alarm spell, letting the ball of tungsten fall heavily into my palm. It looked like my fun practice time was over. I stood up with a groan and made my way back to my desk.


    Though I much preferred practical lessons to theoretical work, that didn¡¯t mean that I didn¡¯t have mountains of the stuff to do. It had taken the entire weekend and all of my free time the week before to prepare my elf¡¯s new restraints, and I¡¯d left a big heap of assignments for this evening.


    I only had one class on Mondays, right in the morning which sucked, but it should have left me with plenty of time to get everything done. Instead, I¡¯d taken a long nap and spent even more of my precious time playing with my new toy like a child. I was looking forward to properly getting to know my captive, but that could come later.


    I was better than this, I had to be better than this if I wanted to survive here. Letting a perky pair of tits and a nice ass distract me would get me killed sooner or later. Hell, it almost had twice already. Once with Miranda and a second time that same year with an upperclassman looking to harvest my soul for her experiments.


    Setting the papers I¡¯d gotten from Igor aside, I grabbed the half inch thick folder that had built up while I¡¯d been busy. Recent behavior aside, I tried to stay on top of both my work and my personal studies, so it wasn¡¯t as bad as it could be. Still, I had a long night and probably a long week ahead of me.


    Giving the pert backside just a few feet away from me one final longing look, I grabbed the first handout. It was from my evocation class, one of the core parts of the curriculum that every student was forced to take for at least four years.


    I was in my third year of the class, and it was rapidly becoming a brutally difficult slog. This homework had to do with spell matrix modification, and not the fun kind either. It was the nitty gritty stuff that regulated the tiny details of elemental spells.


    With a soft sight, I grabbed the relevant reference book from its shelf and got comfortable. Flipping to page 934, I took in the tiny text and the densely drawn diagrams. Gods above, this was going to take a while.

 Chapter 4

    I woke up the next morning with a crick in my neck and an aching back. I¡¯d done my best over the years to make sure the chair I spent so much of my day in was comfortable, but there was only so much I could do with my elementary understanding of furniture design. It was never exactly a focus of my education after all.


    I stood up and stretched, my back loudly protesting every movement. Thankfully, magic had a much more practical solution to that problem. With a touch of will, I set my mana circulating through my body, as I did every morning. I¡¯d gotten the skill down to the point that it took barely any effort to keep it going, but I was unable to maintain it in my sleep yet like a proper master could.


    Mana circulation was the most basic foundation of all body enhancement Magic. A master of the skill could bend metal bars, shrug off swords and arrows, and run as fast as a horse. It also was a great exercise for general mana control, the feeling of circulating your mana was an excellent way to familiar a mage with their mana, and shaping it inside your body was much easier than practicing outside the boundaries of your soul. There was a reason Introduction to Body Enhancement was a mandatory class for all freshmen.


    The skill had served me well over the years and I¡¯d even learned some additional patterns beyond the basics on my own time. For instance, one that helped heal stiff muscles and the like.


    The night before I¡¯d made a big dent in the pile of work, I estimated I was more than half done, but exhaustion had clearly claimed me eventually. In the background, I could faintly hear my captive¡¯s soft snores, muffled by her tightly fit gag.


    I quickly took a note of that, any noise she made had to be accounted for. I doubted she was going to be casting any spells with her snoring, but then again I hadn¡¯t expected her to almost summon actual demons with just some hand signs and mumbling.


    Checking the clock hanging on the wall by the door, I noted that I¡¯d actually woken up well before my alarm was set to wake me up. I had time for a quick shower and shave, and maybe I would grab a proper breakfast for once before class.


    Today was Tuesday and I had three lessons, the most of any day of the week. A solid chunk of the assignments I had completed the night before were due in class today. I¡¯d have to double check that I¡¯d packed everything before I left.


    I basked for several minutes under the wonderfully hot water. There was something truly magical about the experience, mana circulation might clear out all my aches and pains, but the hot water did something my magic couldn¡¯t.


    As I often did, I marveled at the ingenuity and convenience of the system. In the small apartment where I¡¯d lived before¡­ I stopped that train of thought before it could ruin my entire day. Suffice to say, if we wanted a hot bath we had to haul and heat the water ourselves. In buckets.


    The less there was to say about how I had to wash myself in the three years I spent alone before I was accepted into Avalon, the better.


    Once I was thoroughly soaked and steamed, I quickly used a spell to clean up my stubble. A blade of clear force swept smoothly along my jawline, trimming to the exact specifications I¡¯d designed into the spell. I hadn¡¯t made it myself from scratch of course, I was not yet at the level of a proper spellcrafter, but the matrix for this particular spell was built in such a way to be easily modifiable by an amateur, much less someone with actual training in the field.


    I typically preferred to shave manually, using my grandfather¡¯s old kit always brought me back to a kinder time in my life, but time rarely permitted me that luxury. Instead I contented myself by using his special aftershave, not the same one he¡¯d given me so long ago, but a bottle concocted with the same recipe and painstakingly collected ingredients.


    Today''s first class was EM 1031, Advanced Body Alteration 1. It was an interesting class, a mix of internal mana control, basic shapeshifting, enhancement spells, and a whole lot of studying how different body parts worked and interacted. After what I¡¯d seen the day before, I was thankful that Professor Igor was no longer teaching the class.


    Professor Yana was a demanding teacher, but she mostly used diagrams and models for her demonstrations.I had no doubt that the recent unit on digestive organs would have been much more gruesome with him as the instructor.


    I arrived at the classroom as I always tried to, 10 minutes before the start of the lesson and ready to go. I slipped my finished paper, just a short writeup about the risks of certain forms of self modification, into the box on her desk and took a seat.


    Her classroom was quite different from what I had grown used to over the years. Twenty-seven overstuffed bean bag chairs lay arranged in a half circle facing her desk. Floating platforms were hidden behind each seat, providing an easily adjustable and very stable writing surface when necessary.


    In the corner of the room was a fully stocked first aid station, complete with a stasis chamber to preserve grievously injured students until one of the academy¡¯s highly trained healers could arrive. Though the academy had no issue with students butchering each other in the hallways or blowing themselves up, as long as you didn¡¯t die immediately they were usually willing to put you back together.


    Professor Yana went even further than that, demanding a high level of safety precautions from all her students and going out of her way to keep them alive. Well, that assumed that you didn¡¯t piss her off, then she would happily watch you bleed out on the floor.


    She¡¯d actually saved my life at the end of my first year, and had recommended I take her class once I had a little more experience under my belt. I¡¯d been caught in a toxic cloud of aerosolized venom when one of her students made a mistake while casting. I¡¯d been left choking on the library floor, bleeding out of my eyes and ears. She¡¯d found me in the nick of time and got me to the medical wing before my organs failed.


    The student had died during the accident, and that was probably the kindest fate he should have expected. Practicing dangerous spellcraft in the library was expressly forbidden and typically punished with a torturous death and eternal servitude as a spirit. His soul had been so badly mangled the necromancers hadn¡¯t bothered with binding it into service.


    Though I had been the first to arrive, the rest of the class trickled in over the next few minutes. I¡¯d taken the red beanbag on the left side of the room, my preferred seat. With the way the Professor stood, this seat offered me the best view of what she was demonstrating.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    The spots on either side of me were taken quickly as well by my usual neighbors, two students with whom I was generally familiar with.


    Kalvin Boor was a perpetually tired, older man, with dashes of grey in his short cropped hair and beard. He had joined Avalon the year before me but was nearly three times my age, having only begun his study of spellcraft after his monastery was massacred by southern raiders. He had chosen to abandon his vow of peace and silence, though he still continued to practice most of his same religious ceremonies, and had thrown himself into the study of battlemagic with a frightening intensity.


    I¡¯d seen him fight a practice bout during the start of semester tournament, and the firestorm he¡¯d invoked had been a terrifying sight. I¡¯d tried to befriend the man since then, but his single minded focus and the large age gap didn¡¯t give us much common ground.


    The girl on my left could not have been more different if she¡¯d tried. Janna de¡¯Floris was a serious academic, as anyone who wanted to succeed here was, but she focused primarily on botany and alchemy, with healing and other white magic as a secondary area of study.


    She was a tiny girl, not even breaking 5 feet, and the twin pigtails she wore her hair in made her look like a prepubescent child. The frilly pink dresses she liked to wear, with their long multi-layered skirts and petticoats, did nothing to detract from that image.


    She was in the same year as me, and I remembered that in our first year a lot of people had seen her as an easy target. She had proved them wrong many times over, and there was a good reason I never ate or drank anything she might have gotten her perfectly manicured hands on.


    I gave each a nod of greeting as they arrived, then fell into some casual conversation with Janna about the homework I¡¯d just submitted.


    ¡°Did you have any luck getting the temperature control portion working? I couldn¡¯t get my mana to twist the right way around my belly and when I tried to meet with Professor Yana she just told me to keep practicing!¡±


    I blinked. The question had come somewhat out of left field, and I never would have expected someone to admit to that sort of weakness. It just was not done in my experience.


    Still, if she was going to open up, I would be happy to see if I could get something from it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have any trouble with it. Which of the configurations did you attempt?¡±


    She sighed with annoyance and pouted, looking like nothing more than a child denied their favorite treat. ¡°I tried all three of the ones she suggested, and even checked a reference book for four more, but none of them are working. They all have that half twist just below the intestines and I just can¡¯t make it form properly.¡±


    ¡°Show me,¡± I commanded, ¡°Maybe I can take a look.¡± I was pretty sure I knew what she was talking about, but I wanted to make sure.


    She dug into a pocket sneakily hidden on the hem of her dress and withdrew our textbook. Damn, I¡¯d known she had connections, but I hadn¡¯t realized they reached that far. That dress was worth a fortune, folding expanded space was difficult, but imbuing it into something like a lace pocket? Down right incredible. I was somewhat shocked she would show it off just like that.


    She slid the book onto my floating platform and pointed out the appropriate spot on the diagram.


    ¡°It''s this bit, right here. If you take a look on the next page, it''s on both the other versions of the circulation as well.¡±


    I nodded, examining the intricate illustration with care. Internal mana manipulation came easily to me after so many years practicing pure mana forms. Thus, I hadn¡¯t really had any trouble learning this stuff, and had thus not looked closely at it before.


    It took a moment, but I saw the issue. ¡°I think I know what the problem is.¡±


    She waited for a moment for me to elaborate, then huffed when I looked at her expectantly. ¡°Fine. And what do you want for this service, oh classmate of mine?¡±


    The ghost of a smile flickered across my face unprompted at the formal form of address. Janna was a de¡¯, an appointed heir to one of the judicial houses of the Gulivine Republic. The ¡®oh classmate of mine¡¯ was clearly a variation of ¡®oh petitioner of mine¡¯, the formal way a Gulivine Justice addressed people in their court.


    ¡°I know you are something of a botanist, yes?¡± I didn¡¯t wait for her to respond before continuing. ¡°I¡¯m interested in some rare plants. If you can source and grow them for me, I will happily help you out.¡±


    ¡°What plants?¡± she asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Nothing dangerous, just irritating to get. I need Island Milkweed, ?ther Poppies, Quickroot Moss¡­¡± I listed a few other rather odd plants as she listened intently. Several were those I needed to get my new pet¡¯s milk flowing, I¡¯d checked the recipe he¡¯d provided and though I would need to make some minor modifications (Elfroot Cherries were extinct in most of the world and the people who had them certainly wouldn¡¯t sell them to me), I was certain I could manage it. The rest were just other ingredients I would like to have and couldn¡¯t get freely from the Academy greenhouses.


    Sourcing the ingredients had seemed like it would be the hard part, stuck here as I was with my classes and somewhat low on money, but this seemed like a perfect opportunity.


    She listened intently as I spoke, and made a few quick notes on a piece of paper. Once I was done, she gave me a considerate look, glanced back at the paper, then glanced back at me.


    ¡°I can do it. I¡¯m not sure why you need some of these¡­ but I can get it. Still, I only have your word that you can help me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m certain that we could work something out. Perhaps a contract?¡±


    ¡°That would be agreeable. After class then?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I would be honored if you would join me for lunch in the cafeteria?¡±


    She flashed me a tight smile. I was certain she would have preferred to have this discussion somewhere she had more control, but I much preferred the safety the cafeteria offered. It was actually one of the safest places on all of campus, not only was violence not permitted, it was almost impossible to accomplish in the first place.


    Avalon had several ¡®patron¡¯ gods, some more willing to work with the academy than others. An unnamed goddess had at some point in the past had turned the Academy¡¯s massive dining area into a sort of pseudo shrine, granting her almost absolute power over the area.


    The divinity enforced the rules of the academy religiously, tolerating no conflict within the zone of her influence. I imagined people would complain more about it if she wasn¡¯t perfectly impartial and silent about what she witnessed. The side effect of enhancing the food with healing magic probably helped as well.


    I mostly cared that it meant little miss poison fingers next to me wasn¡¯t going to be able to drug me with something nasty while we ate.


    ¡°Oh course, that would be wonderful. I imagine you know the relevant spells?¡± I nodded. ¡°Perfect. Lunch it is.¡±


    Our conversation concluded, she turned back to preparing for class. I did the same, wondering if I¡¯d done the right thing. Revealing all those ingredients could be somewhat risky, but I¡¯d thrown in enough parts of enough different potions that I doubted she would be able to narrow in on what I wanted them for.


    After all, I had almost all the ingredients I needed for most things, the Academy¡¯s stores and fields were vast and they were generous with what students had access to. It was only the really wacky stuff that I couldn¡¯t get here, that and plants that required much too specific conditions to be cultivated anywhere outside where they grew naturally.


    I only stopped worrying and started listening when class began. Professor Yana spoke quickly but clearly, and was always happy to answer any questions. I didn¡¯t want to miss something important.

 Chapter 5

    The lesson was interesting, but I had trouble focusing on what Professor Yana was saying. We were discussing the initial exercises necessary to form a shapeshifter¡¯s foundations. Some people were naturally born with one, they were called natural shapeshifters, but it was perfectly possible to modify your body in the proper way through spells and exercise.


    It was something we¡¯d been building up to for the last eight weeks or so, learning enough about biology and the necessary mana circulations to keep us safe during the process.


    It was absolutely not a lesson I could ignore, yet my mind kept wandering to other things. Between my upcoming meeting with Janna, and boy had that come out of left field, my backlog of work, and the entire situation with Mistletoe, I was stretched very thin. That did not even begin to edge on my other research, something I¡¯d had to put aside to focus on the very immediate new ¡®project¡¯ I¡¯d decided to pick up.


    Everything would calm down eventually, but for now life was busier than I would prefer.


    ¡°Now then, Mr. Hunter, can you tell me why it is unwise to attempt self-modification without first establishing a shifter¡¯s foundation?¡± Though I¡¯d been somewhat distracted, I was still following along and this was something we¡¯d covered briefly at the start of term.


    ¡°Yes Professor. Without a shifter¡¯s foundation, it is very easy to cause irreparable or highly lethal damage to yourself. Since unlike with a hostile transformation spell, your soul will not resist changes to your body caused by your own magic, it does not keep a blueprint of your natural state. Thus it is impossible to ¡®revert¡¯ to that prior state. You must be prepared to use manual transformation to undo the magic, which is sometimes impossible.¡±


    She clapped her hands together excitedly and pointed at me. ¡°Exactly that. Remember, when a polymorph spell fades, you return to your natural state. When an eagle eye potion runs out of mana, your eyes revert. When an enchanted garment changes the structure of your jaw or alters your skin color, your soul remembers who you are!¡±


    She dashed across the room and grabbed a vase from her desk. With a bright smile, she dashed it against the ground. Ceramic shattered and glaze cracked, sending bits of pottery every which way. Then, in an instant, the mess vanished, collapsing into the form of a small piglet.


    ¡°As you can see, the polymorphed creature is perfectly fine, despite the destruction of its earlier form!¡±


    She paused for a moment to scoop up the piglet, nestling the creature in the crook of one arm. ¡°Here I will note that this is not always the desired effect, but that is not what we are discussing today. For that, please consult with Professor Fasil or one of the other members of his department.


    Now, back to our lesson. As your classmate pointed out, a shapeshifting foundation is required for your soul to remember changes made to it by your own mana. After all, mana is generated by the soul, and is thus uniquely attuned to it. Thus, any interested in self alteration go through this process to manually enable this record.¡±


    A young man at the center of the room raised his hand and the professor pointed to him. ¡°Yes Mr. Leeson?¡±


    ¡°Thank you professor, I just wanted to ask. What if, once the foundation is established, you want to make a permanent change? We are discussing organ transplants in Professor Igor¡¯s class but I am unsure how such things interact.¡±


    ¡°Very good question! I¡¯m not surprised Franklin would not cover such a thing in his own class, that is very much like him. He¡¯s always much preferred the manual approach to body modification.


    To answer your question, there is a process that you can go through that will add something to your soul¡¯s perception of self. It will happen on its own eventually, typically 2-6 years after a procedure, but this is of course not always ideal. Stay after class and I can direct you to the relevant texts.


    Beyond that, if you want to say, make a permanent alteration to your body, say your skin color or how your hair grows, it is perfectly doable even with a shapeshifter¡¯s body. You must simply make the change and then redo the last step of forming your body. This is a thoroughly simple process, as the main work involved is in the preceding steps.¡±


    She paused to look around the class, meeting each of our eyes in turn one after another. ¡°Still, this is not something I will encourage you to attempt. If you do plan to proceed with such foolishness after my class, ensure you are well prepared and have a capable healer at the ready. Such changes are very, very dangerous.¡±


    It was honestly a relief to know that some of our teachers really did care about our health and safety. After meeting Professors like Meadows, Igor, Volkshwag, and so many others, I was half convinced that all of them were murderous lunatics.


    ¡°Despite my warnings, I am certain that at least one of you plans to do so regardless, probably far earlier than you should be attempting such magic. Fine. Be like that, but at the very least try not to damage your corpse too badly! It¡¯s always so interesting to see what you children come up with!¡±


    Ah, there it was. Well, at least she cared. Somewhat.


    From there, the lesson proceeded as usual. As always, the final half hour of class was dedicated to practical applications. This was typically my favorite part of the lesson, and today proved no exception.


    One by one, Professor Yana had us drink a ¡®giant¡¯s liver¡¯ potion, and then used her own magic to guide us in examining the altered organ. Her mana was a feather light touch against mine, gently showing me how to properly analyze the temporary change in my body.


    Once everyone was ready, she briefly touched on our souls, showing how a sort of wrapper had been placed over a portion of it, causing our bodies to reflect that change in the physical world. It was an absolutely fascinating experience and I couldn¡¯t wait until I was skilled enough to do it myself.


    I¡¯d never really thought much about soul magic, and had certainly not expected to be learning about it in this class of all places, but I was suddenly very keen on learning everything I could about the discipline. That moment, looking at my soul, touching it¡­ It had been truly magical.


    I was in high spirits as I left the classroom, a bounce in my step as I made my way to the cafeteria. Janna had left before me, saying she needed to retrieve some papers from her room, and I wasn''t in much of a hurry. I was absolutely not ready for what I saw when I turned the corner.


    The hallway leading to the cafeteria had become a charnel house, the bleached bones of a dozen bodies scattered and shattered along the marble floor. Viscera stained the walls, splatters of blood and other fluids staining the walls a mottled red.


    One person remained standing at the center of the hallway, a tall boy who couldn¡¯t have been more than sixteen years old. He was panting heavily, but not a drop of blood stained his immaculate white robe.


    I stopped in my tracks, bringing my mental and physical enhancements out of their passive state and filling my body with the comforting thrum of magic. I didn¡¯t want to fight, not against someone who could do that, but aggressive self defense was sometimes necessary.


    Two others joined me in the following moments as I observed the carnage from the edge of the splatterzone. They too froze and my burgeoning mana sense could feel them preparing spells of their own.


    The boy turned around slowly, eyes staring unblinkingly forward. He seemed surprised to see us, but his face remained an impassive mask. The tiny wisps of pale hair above his lip really detracted from the entire effect, but I certainly wasn¡¯t going to say anything about it.


    ¡°Move.¡± The boy¡¯s command was almost pleading, but there was an undercurrent of ice in his tone.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Not taking my eyes off him, I stepped to the edge of the hallway. The others who had slowly gathered at the end of the hallway, it was a pretty busy hallway intersection, slowly did the same. All except one that is.


    Jack Baretree was a battlemage, plain and simple. He had little interest in the deeper mysteries, not unless they would help him kill things harder or faster. He was also something of a stubborn ass with a reputation for needless violence.


    Jack Baretree did not move aside. Instead he stepped forward, bone crunching loudly under his boot. His hands were at his sides, but flickers of volatile mana ran up and down his arms like snakes.


    I surreptitiously formed the spell matrix for my favorite heavy duty shield spell, holding the delicate spell matrix in my mind without casting.


    ¡°I like what you¡¯ve done here, very impressive. Still, Avalon trains bigger fish than you.¡±


    Mana flickered along his skin as he radiated a heavy aura of barely contained violence.


    The boy stepped forward to meet him, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed. His aura was more restrained, but I could taste the roiling ocean of power just beneath his skin.


    I closed my eyes for a moment, releasing a barely audible sigh. This was why I hated traveling through busy parts of the Academy.


    I let the spell matrix I was holding collapse, quickly weaving the same threads of mana into a different sort of protective spell. Once it was ready, I wasted no time in releasing the spell, a carefully shaped veil of mana shielding my casting from basic detection.


    Still leaning against the wall, I carefully inched away from the rapidly brewing fight. For all that I¡¯d studied the field religiously, I was not a particularly good battlemage.


    I had excellent mana manipulation skills, but I lacked the enormous mana reserves and combat skills of a proper walking natural disaster like Jack was rapidly growing into.


    I had barely made it around the corner when I felt the air quake, a wave of horrible heat flooding down the hallway I had just left.


    I let my spell of concealment fade and bolted, pouring additional mana into my circulation then was strictly proper to overcharge the physical enhancement. Screams echoed behind me as I ran, and several other sets of footsteps quickly joined mine.


    I only slowed down once I was certain I was outside the blast radius of even something like a hellfire field. Getting between two testy combat specialists, or even in their general vicinity, was an excellent way to become a statistic.


    With a quick glance around to ascertain where I was, I began the long trek to one of the cafeteria¡¯s three other entrances, mumbling curses under my breath as I went. At this rate, the girl was going to beat me there and I had wanted to select where we would be sitting.


    To my surprise, we arrived together, almost running into each other at an intersection a few meters from the entrance. We made the rest of the trip in guarded silence, keeping several feet of space between us and each watching the other for subterfuge.


    She had changed dresses since we¡¯d last seen each other, still pink and frilly but with a slightly different cut and pattern. This one left one shoulder bare and hugged her figure, lending the childish girl a more serious air than I was used to.


    I smiled as we crossed into the cafeteria proper, letting the soothing aura of the place wash over me and calm my racing mind. Being in the cafeteria always lent me an air of safety that no other space on campus could. Here I was protected not just by rules and consequences but by actual divine might.


    Gods could not stray from their domains, they were more fundamental force than sentient being. The protection in this room would never waver so long as the divinity enforcing it continued to exist.


    Sure, gods could die, and in fact Avalon contained more confirmed cases of deicide than any other places in the world, but that was still better protection than anywhere else I could access. It also helped that being in the cafeteria just felt¡­ good. Like a warm hug and a hot drink on a cold evening.


    Knowing neither could act against the other now, the two of us continued together towards one of the long food counters that lined the place¡¯s walls. Food from around the world was served buffet style, catering to the tastes and dietary restrictions of the Academy¡¯s varied denizens.


    As we walked, I questioned her about what exactly she¡¯d tried so far. It was about what I¡¯d expected and I was honestly somewhat surprised she hadn¡¯t found her answer with the number of books she¡¯d consulted.


    Honestly, she should have just asked one of the mana manipulation professors, they could have helped her and wouldn¡¯t demand any cost like a fellow student would. Still, I understood why she didn¡¯t.


    Students were allowed five faculty meetings per semester, and if you had a lot of questions that just wasn¡¯t very many. This only related to professors you weren¡¯t directly studying with at the time of course, but it was a pretty harsh restriction. If she was working on a specific project that required another instructor¡¯s expertise, she wouldn¡¯t want to waste one on something someone else could help her with.


    It was definitely an issue I¡¯d run into before, but thankfully my current professors had always been able to help me themselves. I was down to only two more meetings this semester after my talk with Professor Igor the day before.


    Once we had our food, a rich beef stew with steamed vegetables and rice for me and a plate of chicken and greens for her, we found a table we could both agree on and got to work hashing out an agreement.


    We both wanted a geas, a magically binding compulsion that would ensure both sides honored their agreement. It was a pretty standard way of doing business among students, and I¡¯d been taught the relevant spells only a few weeks into my first semester at the Academy.


    The tricky part was getting a wording that we could both agree on. We both wanted the contract to favor ourselves, yet knew the other knew that that was what we wanted. Thus we went back and forth, changing the wording and arguing over various phrases of the oath for much of a half hour.


    Eventually however we were in agreement. We clasped arms and together recited the words of the oath, spell matrices at the ready. As we spoke, phantom bands of mana wrapped around our wrists, binding our bodies and minds to the letter of our mutual promise.


    In essence, we agreed not to work against one another, attempt to sabotage each other, or share any secrets we discovered while we were working together on her issue. In exchange for my help in getting her circulation working, she would provide me with certain quantities of the plants I requested, to be paid in full within two weeks time. I was slightly surprised by how generous she was being with the time frame. I¡¯d expected her to ask for a month or more to get the plants I needed, but I certainly wasn¡¯t going to protest.


    Once that was out of the way, I immediately began to outline what I thought the issue was.


    ¡°It''s because you are so short, if you take a look at that section of the mana flow, it doesn¡¯t really account for how tightly packed some of your internal organs are.¡±


    She looked vaguely offended by my statement, but once I elaborated, fell into quiet contemplation.


    ¡°You really think that''s the issue? It¡¯s never come up with any of the other circulations I¡¯ve studied.¡±


    I nodded seriously. ¡°I could check of course, but that would require some invasive mana scanning. I¡¯m pretty confident in my assessment however.¡±


    ¡°Well then, how would I go about getting it to work regardless? You have an idea, else you wouldn¡¯t have sworn to help me with this.¡±


    ¡°I think it''s mainly a matter of mana control. I can feel that you are decently good at it already, but I have a few specific exercises I will show you to practice. This isn¡¯t typically an issue with a basic circulation like this, but that''s because it''s easy to make the mana flow that way when you have a lot of room to work with. For you, you¡¯ll need to control the mana with much more precision. If it brushes against your intestines, the circulation will collapse so you have to be really delicate in that area of your torso.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think I understand. The mana interference is more severe for me than it would be for someone larger, but I don¡¯t have the skill to compensate?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. You could brute force the issue I think, just practicing for hours until you can do it on instinct, but that would take a long time. We can meet in one of the practice rooms and I will demonstrate a few exercises and also take a closer look as you practice the circulation.¡±


    ¡°That should work. Tomorrow then?¡±


    I nodded, considering my schedule and the work I still had left to do.. ¡°I will be free in the late afternoon or before lunch, either works.¡±


    ¡°I think the afternoon will be better. Can you reserve a room for us? I¡¯ve hit my limit for the week already.¡±


    I was slightly surprised by the admission, wondering how she¡¯d already reserved twenty hours of time by Tuesday morning, but resisted the urge to ask. Maybe she would tell me, maybe she wouldn¡¯t. It really wasn¡¯t my business and the oath ensured it couldn¡¯t be something hostile towards me. Not for the next two weeks at least.


    ¡°Yeah I can do that, I still have a few hours left.¡± In fact, I hadn¡¯t reserved a room at all this week, nor the last, so I had a lot of hours saved up.


    ¡°Perfect. I will meet you there then. Five pm works for you?¡±


    I nodded again, mouth full of my rapidly cooling food.


    She gave me a smile and a nod, then grabbed her empty plate and disappeared into the crowd. I waited for a time, wondering if she was coming back. When she didn¡¯t, I shrugged and got seconds. The food was really good today.

 Chapter 6

    On my way to my next class, I passed through the ruined corridor that I had avoided on my way to lunch. The formerly blood splattered walls were blackened and even melted in some places. A large crater in the middle of the hallway had been bordered off my floating ribbons and two staff members I didn¡¯t recognize were rapidly repairing the damage.


    I was somewhat interested in what the result of the fight had been, but from just the damage I really wasn¡¯t sure. I shrugged it off for now, I was certain I would hear about it eventually.


    My next class was Evocation Fundamentals 3, taught by Professor Shrike. He was a stout, grizzled man with greying hair and one eye. A shimmering gemstone had replaced the ruined remains of his other eye, half hidden by a long fringe.


    I wasn¡¯t a huge fan of his class, no matter how useful the material was. He wasn¡¯t a bad teacher by any means, but EF3 was one of the few classes required for all students and had a very detailed curriculum that he had to follow. The combination of a packed classroom and a professor who didn¡¯t want to teach some of the course material but had to was rather irritating.


    On the other hand, the class also had a three hour practical once a week, also with professor Shrike. That part was an absolute joy and almost made the mountains of homework worth it.


    After submitting my assignments, I took a seat at the very back of the large lecture hall where the class was situated. Unlike in the smaller classes, the professor didn¡¯t take questions until the end, and the massive illusion display he used rendered any difference in seating moot.


    I was unfortunately joined several minutes later by Brenda Goodwitch, or as I¡¯d heard several people refer to her behind her back, Brenda Trashwitch. Unlike most of the rest of us, the girl had gotten into Avalon on the back of pedigree alone. Her grandmother and mother were both horrifyingly powerful spellcasters, and her family had spawned dozens of skilled casters over the years.


    Brenda¡­ wasn¡¯t one of them. She had little drive to improve, her spellcasting was subpar, and she wasn¡¯t even especially good at the theory end either. Unfortunately, she was her mother¡¯s little sweetheart and everyone knew it. Sure no one would stop someone from offing her, but that person would definitely not enjoy the consequences of their actions. The girl was just good enough as a caster to keep passing her classes and the myriad of magic items she wore ensured that what mistakes she made were not lethal ones.


    To add insult to injury, she was also an annoying bitch with a whiny voice and the personality of a dead fish. I had no idea why her mother had allowed her to join Avalon, but I was just waiting for the day someone with enough influence to do it finally got fed up with the girl.


    For now however, I had to deal with her. Sometime in our first year, the girl had decided that she was my friend, and nothing I¡¯d done over the years had disabused her of that notion. She loved following me around and always sat next to me during any classes we shared.


    ¡°Hi Orion!¡± she squealed, squeezing my arm tightly against her side. ¡°Where have you been? I haven¡¯t seen you all weekend?¡±


    ¡°Good afternoon to you as well, Bren.¡± I replied, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice.


    If not for her attitude, she would have been a passable friend. She was attractive in a sort of girlish way and had the resources I so sorely lacked. Unfortunately, she was a brat and someone had trained her not to go giving out her riches to her friends.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been a bit busy with some personal research!¡±


    ¡°Oooooh exciting!¡± she whispered loudly enough that I was sure they could hear her clear across the hall, ¡°What''s it about?¡±


    I smiled through pursed lips, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be personal research if I told you, now would it?¡±


    ¡°You can tell me! I can keep a secret!¡±


    I quirked an eyebrow at her, staring in silence until she blushed and looked away. Despite her faults, she was at least somewhat self aware.


    ¡°Ok, maybe I can¡¯t, but you should still tell me!¡±


    I sighed tiredly. ¡°Maybe when I¡¯m ready to show it off, it''s still a work in progress.¡±


    I had no actual intention of revealing my current project to her, or anyone for that matter. Igor might be able to get away with enslaving and experimenting on elves, but I certainly couldn¡¯t.


    Igor was something of a special case. For one, I doubted they could kill him even if they tried. The man had been ¡®killed¡¯ no less than three times that I knew of, but none of them had stuck. He was also a terrifyingly powerful archmage with enough allies and servants to cow nations into submission.


    The Triumvirate, the alliance between the three major elf nations of the world, took a very harsh stance on experimentation on their citizens. They knew very well how valuable their species was and were happy to kill indiscriminately to protect them.


    As a member of Avalon, even if only a students, I was somewhat shielded from reprisal. I doubted they would risk trying to act against me while I was here, but they very well would slaughter me if I ever left the safety of the pocket dimension. If I was too blatant, they might even put a secret bounty on my head and let my fellow students hunt me down.


    Sure Avalon would extort concessions or even get revenge for my death, but I would still be dead.


    ¡°Ok!¡± she contented herself in leaning heavily against me, using my shoulder as a makeshift pillow. I¡¯d initially tried to make her stop, but she just kept at it and I eventually decided it was futile.


    It made me distinctly uncomfortable to have someone not under my control this close to me, but there was nothing I could do about it. At the very least I made sure she only did it in designated safe zones like classrooms, the library, or the cafeteria. Even she wasn¡¯t dumb enough to risk the wrath of the Administration.


    Class began as usual, with Professor Shrike rapidly going over the homework problems on his illusion board. He wrote quickly and fired off explanations at a rapid-fire pace, making it clear that he really didn¡¯t care if we followed along or not.


    I checked the answers he gave against a copy of the assignment that I¡¯d held onto, making minor corrections to the few problems I hadn¡¯t analyzed correctly. After the first exam, where I¡¯d realized more than half the questions came from the homeworks, I¡¯d started making duplicates of my assignments before I handed them in. I expected they would also make a decent bargaining chip with one of the younger students if I ever needed something from them.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    With that out of the way, Professor Shrike clapped his hands together and cleared the board. He cleared his throat loudly, the megaphone enchantment he always used making it clearly audible even from up here.


    ¡°Well then, with that all out of the way, we can get started. As you can probably tell from your homework, we¡¯re going to be talking about elemental evocations today, and how to adjust them on the fly.¡±


    Raising a hand into the air, he conjured a tiny ball of fire in his palm, barely more than a candle flame. The flame flickered, then swelled in size until a pillar of roiling flames rested on his palm. Another flicker and the flames turned a deep orange and then a blazing white, radiating enough heat that I could feel it through my constantly running mana circulation.


    He brandished his hand through the air, the flames lashing over our heads like a whip before collapsing back into a tiny white candle flame, then vanishing entirely.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure some of you may not understand the purpose of that little demonstration. I¡¯m a battlemage, of course I can wield a measly fire whip. What you may have noticed however is that everything I did was just a single spell. It was candlelight in fact, one of the first elemental spells you all should have learned in your first semester. All I did was modify it on the fly to manifest a variety of effects.¡±


    Impressed murmuring greeted that admission, and I had to agree. That was an incredible display of skill, to the point I had no idea how he¡¯d managed it at all.


    ¡°Now, I don¡¯t expect any of you to do what I just did anytime soon. It takes a lifetime of practice to modify a spell to that extent while it''s active. However, I do expect you to manage something like this. I¡¯m going to cast candlelight again with three different modifications, see if you can spot them.¡±


    He raised his hand again and a small but very hot and bright flame appeared above his hand. It was clearly a candlelight spell, just hot enough that I was sure the front few rows were really feeling the heat.


    The light winked out and he cast again. This time, a much larger flame appeared above his hand. It retained the teardrop shape of a candlelight spell, but was an order of magnitude larger.


    He let it sit for a moment, then recast the spell a third time. Now instead of appearing above his hand, the little light orbited slowly around his hand.


    I watched the demonstration with interest, much more engaged then I typically was in this class. I¡¯d understood the theory of what we were preparing for, but seeing it in practice was an entirely different experience. I had been somewhat doubtful of the use of such spell modification, thinking it would be easier to just learn more spells, but I was quickly coming around on that issue. This seemed deeply useful.


    ¡°Enough with that, we¡¯re going to go more in depth on what I just demonstrated in our practical tomorrow. For now, we¡¯re going to talk about theory and really break down the fundamentals of the candlelight spell. I know it''s not the most engaging of topics, but this is actually important.¡±


    I temporarily shelved my excitement, realizing that the demonstrations were over for the day. At my side, Brenda squeezed my upper arm tightly, but I could tell that even she was paying more attention than usual.


    ¡°So first of all, let''s consider the upper portion of the spell matrix. As you can see in this two dimensional projection, the key portion of the framework is this bit here¡­¡±


    Despite my typically preference to wait until the halls had cleared, I left the classroom at a near run, defensive enchantments whirling around me and mana rushing through my body.


    It was an absolute waste to spend mana at such a rate, I wouldn¡¯t be able to practice as much as I typically did tonight, but needs must and all that. I had a third class today after all, and it was scheduled for only ten minutes after EP3.


    Typically I would be able to make my way to my next class quickly but without the need to dispense with my usual cautious movement. However, today the class was not happening in its normal room just a few moments walk down the hallway from the large lecture hall that housed EP3, but in one of the massive ritual halls that Avalon maintained.


    Advanced Enhancement Rituals was both my hardest and most important class. I¡¯d discovered even as a freshman that my talents lay primarily in the fields of internal mana manipulation and self modification, and I had dived deeply into those fields in the years since.


    I¡¯d taken Introductory Enhancement Rituals, taught by the same professor in fact, the previous semester but hadn¡¯t felt sufficiently prepared to actually try any on myself. That sort of magic was horrifically dangerous and the introductory class was purely theoretical.


    This semester, I planned to finally take the plunge. That was actually the entire point of the class, to prepare students to undergo such a ritual. The only requirement to pass was the completion of such a work of magic.


    Today we would be watching one of Professor Williams¡¯ proteges going through a ritual of her own and I was incredibly excited for it. Fortunately we had been told about the upcoming ritual weeks in advance, so I¡¯d had time to make all the needed preparations before all my time had been taken up by my new pet.


    I had a half dozen magic items I¡¯d made or otherwise acquired ready to go, all intended to help me better observe the magic at work. Professor Williams had in fact encouraged us to prepare in such a way, wanting us to get as much as possible out of the experience.


    After all, it was rare to be allowed to witness another mage¡¯s rituals. Only the fact that this was not a particularly unique enhancement and that the mage in question worked closely with our professor had made today¡¯s class possible.


    I made it down with plenty of time, thankful that no one had tried to test my protections as I rushed down. That would have been thoroughly irritating.


    The ritual room we were using was one of the larger ones, a wide open perfectly cubic hall with smooth stone walls. At the center of the room floated a spherical chamber of clear crystal, both the outside and inside covered in freshly painted symbols drawn in bloody ink.


    Most of the class was already here, Professor Williams herself standing just below the sphere and speaking with her protege. The young woman in question stood in nothing but a light cloak to ward off the chill of the stone hall. Her body was also covered in painted symbols, the blood kept from drying due to several additives in the mixture.


    The rest of us were gathered along the walls, sitting on small stools that had been provided and fiddling with various magic items. I joined them, nodding a greeting to those I knew as I sat down on a free stool and dove into my own bag.


    I started by withdrawing three small vials, each containing a different potion meant to enhance my senses and magical sensitivity. Next, I donned a necklace and headband both enchanted with similar effects.


    Finally, I carefully set up the object I had spent the most time on of the lot. It was an old project, though one I had originally put aside due to lack of expertise, only returning to it because of this opportunity. I¡¯d used one of my few academic advisement sessions to meet with Master Halmon, one of the Academy¡¯s foremost artificers, and burned several favors to acquire the needed materials.


    I slipped the heavily modified jeweler''s loupe over my eyes, carefully flipping down five of the eight lenses over each eye. I planned to continuously change which subset of the lenses I was using throughout the ritual to get the best possible experience of the process.


    Each lens was enchanted to filter out specific wavelengths of magic. When combined with the incredibly powerful magesight enchantment on the primarily lenses, along with the other potions and items I was using, I should be able to narrow down and observe the exact elements of the process I was most interested in.


    The item had been costly in the extreme and had strained my skills to the limit to create. It would have been a huge waste just for this one event. However, I had high hopes the device would help me in a lot of other places over the next few years, so I had decided it was worth the price.


    So far, I had been very pleased with the results, but this would be the first real test run.


    Unfortunately, it was too fragile and disruptive to wear in my day to day life, otherwise I doubted I would ever give up the incredible amount of data it gave me about everything I lay my eyes on.


    Perhaps in the future, when I was older, stronger, better, I would make a more compact version. Maybe something like those ¡®contact lenses¡¯ I¡¯d heard the dwarves were experimenting with. I¡¯d stolen the loupe design from those greedy creatures already, why not their next innovation too?

 Chapter 7

    Eventually Williams and her student seemed to work out whatever they were having issues with. I had spent the fifteen or so minutes it had taken running my instrument through its paces, familiarizing myself with its myriad capabilities. I hadn¡¯t taken my potions yet, they didn¡¯t have a very long lasting effect so I was waiting for us to start before I did, but it was good practice nonetheless.


    The device had drawn a couple of speculative looks and questions from my classmates. I¡¯d mostly waved them off and no one had pressed the issue, so I ignored it for now. I was sure one or two of them would eventually ask about it in more depth, it was a pretty impressive looking contraption after all.


    Professor Williams turned away from her student and walked over to where our group was clustered along the wall. However, I was much more interested in what the ritualist was up to.


    A flick of her wrist summoned a large, steel banded chest that gleamed with suppressive enchantments under my enhanced vision. She cautiously unlocked it, the enchantments on the lock tasting her magic and coming undone with a touch.


    She stepped back quickly as the chest sprang open, hand raised in preparation to cast something, but nothing seemed to happen. She stood at the ready for several long moments, then lowered her hand and cast what I recognized as a modified levitation spell.


    I raised an eyebrow when I saw the adolescent troll float smoothly from the dark interior, its ugly face slack and jaw hanging open. I¡¯d had an unfortunate run in with a troll once, one that I¡¯d been lucky to escape unscathed, and at the time hadn¡¯t been in any position to appreciate its magical nature.


    Now, prepared as I was to watch an intricate magical ritual, I could see the bands of tightly woven magic that flowed through its muscles and bones. Trolls possessed an impressive level of strength, regeneration, and magic resistance. There was a good reason they were a favorite guard and war animal, they were physically powerful but easily susceptible to brute force mental magic.


    None of that mattered at the moment of course, though I was impressed by the skill it took to so smoothly levitate a magically resistant target. She opened a hatch on the bottom of the spherical ritual chamber and carefully moved the troll inside.


    Once it was arranged to her liking, she withdrew four heavily enchanted metal spikes from within her cloak and proceeded to roughly crucify the unconscious animal. The spikes clearly had some sort of embedded levitation enchantment, as I could see the moment she released her own spell.


    The drooling creature slumped slightly, but the pegs driven through its palms, ankles, and belly kept it mostly upright in the air. It wasn¡¯t bleeding, I noted with interest, rapidly scrawling notes about the procedure. Probably a further function of the pegs, though maybe it was caused by potions the creature had consumed beforehand? I hoped I would have the opportunity to ask later.


    My attention was drawn away from the preparations as Professor Williams gave us some final instructions. We were to stay no more than five feet away from the wall. No active magic use of any kind was permitted. We were to stay absolutely silent.


    They were all things we already knew, but she was just being careful. My first semester with her had driven home the point that you could never be too careful, especially with ritual magic.


    She fell silent and donned some enchanted spectacles that glittered brightly despite the dim light in the ritual chamber. I took another note to ask her about those later, I¡¯d never seen her wear glasses before and I could see they were heavily enchanted, then returned to observing the final preparations.


    From what I could gather from the runes and other preparations, this was going to be some sort of ¡®theft¡¯ type ritual. The girl was going to ritually murder the troll in order to take on some of its characteristics, probably the afore mentioned physical might.


    Ritual magic was one of the best, if not the safest, methods of self modification out there. We¡¯d touched on it briefly in Professor Yana¡¯s class but most of what I knew about it came from this class and my own research. While shapeshifting magic and internal mana circulation could do a lot, ritual magic was a massive shortcut.


    You didn¡¯t have to know exactly how a troll¡¯s strength worked, nor have the capability to manipulate your mana in the precise way that its body naturally did in order to copy it. The power of the sacrifice was instead channeled to sidestep the entire issue, making massive alteration possible with much less effort.


    Though I certainly wasn''t going to say it around Professor Williams, I felt that enhancement rituals were a crutch and a shortcut. I was almost certain that anything you could accomplish with ritual magic was similarly doable through precise mana control and study.


    Would that stop me from making use of them? Absolutely not, and in fact I was very excited to take the plunge. However I still planned to eventually master those same abilities manually. Ritual magic had its own limits and I felt that was the most likely way to break past those barriers.


    The ritual began in earnest not long after and I quickly threw back my potions and set in to observe. The ritualist, Erna I¡¯d overheard one of the others say, sealed herself inside the crystal sphere with the troll and began to go through motions she had clearly practiced extensively.


    Chanting all the while, she carved runes into the troll¡¯s skin with a bloody athame one handed, her other used for arcane hand gestures. The troll woke up a few minutes into the process, but was held firmly in place by the pegs it was impaled on.


    I took thorough notes, marking down her exact actions and my observations on the mana flows caused by them. She was building a sort of pseudo spell matrix, one too large and complex to hold in her mind all at once. The runes played a part, but the key I thought was in how she directed the mana released by her words and gestures.


    The ritual peaked after roughly half an hour of constant work. I knew from prior research that it was just as the sun fully set in the outer world, though the space inside Avalon¡¯s hidden realm would remain brightly lit for a few hours longer.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The enormous ritual matrix snapped into focus, massive amounts of mana rippling through the intricate construct constrained inside the crystal sphere. An almost palatable wave of mana rolled off it, flowing and rippling through the room like a pond on a windy day.


    Then it all collapsed inward. With a visible flash of light, the girl slumped forward onto the rounded crystal beneath her. The troll¡¯s body seemed so shrivel in on itself, skin collapsing as the muscle beneath it was converted into pure magic. The bloody runes that had covered the entire arrangement vanished in an instant, burned away by the spell¡¯s wake.


    I worried for a moment that the ritual had ended in failure, killing the girl in the process. That would mean that I had wasted a lot of resources without seeing exactly what had gone wrong in the attempt.


    My fears were quickly proven unfounded when Erna stood up on shaky feet, a broad smile on her face. She took a moment to steady herself, then carefully slid open the crystal sphere and dropped the short distance down to the ground.


    Professor Williams was there to meet her, whispering something into her ears as she wrapped the cloak back around her shoulders. A potion vial was placed against her lips and she drank the entire thing back in one long sip. Almost immediately, the girl straightened slightly, some of the weakness gone from her posture.


    Turning away for a moment, Professor Williams called out, ¡°I hope everyone got a lot out of this today, we will be discussing it in class on Thursday. I will be escorting Erna here back to her room, but if you have any urgent questions, I will be available in my office later tonight.¡±


    She gave us all a sharp nod, then swept from the room, half carrying the exhausted Erna. I made a mental note to look into that. I wasn¡¯t sure if the weakness was a sign of poor preparation or simply a side effect of the ritual, but I would have to make a plan to get back to my room safely.


    From the look of it, Williams was pretty protective of her students so that was certainly an option. The entire ritual complex was considered a safe zone, but it was a long trek from here to the student accommodations. I wouldn¡¯t worry about it too much, not yet at least, but it was something to consider. It wouldn¡¯t do to get careless. As my father had always said, ¡®An unprepared hunter is a dead hunter¡¯.


    I swallowed heavily, my mother¡¯s voice echoing softly in my head. ¡®A hungry hunter my love, the children are awake¡¯. I clenched my teeth and began to circulate my mana faster. A wave of calm flowed through me, driving away such dark thoughts. This wasn¡¯t the time.


    Instead, I gathered up my things and joined a trio of my classmates who were gathered together beside the crystal sphere.


    ¡°Oh, hey Orion! Com¡¯ on over, we¡¯re just comparin¡¯ notes¡± called out one of them as he saw me approach, ¡°Wha¡¯d ya think?¡±


    ¡°It was certainly something. I¡¯ve never seen any magic like that, very impressive.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± chimed in the other male in the group, ¡°Just reading about it really doesn¡¯t do it justice.¡±


    ¡°You can say that again,¡± added the only girl of the group, ¡°and we¡¯re supposed to pull something like that off before the end of the semester!¡± She bit her lip, fidgeting nervously as she flipped through a palm sized notebook.


    I sat down beside them, laying my own notes on the ground between us. Unlike in many of my other classes, the students in Advanced Enhancement Rituals were moderately friendly and open to collaboration. This was our second semester together and no one had died during the first one, so that had built some amount of trust. It helped that we weren¡¯t really doing anything practical and dangerous, so there was little risk of someone ¡®accidently¡¯ getting one of us killed.


    I had expected the relationships we¡¯d formed to mostly collapse as we moved onto the risky business of actual ritual magic, but that hadn¡¯t really happened. Sure people weren¡¯t nearly as open with their own work, letting someone know the specifics of how you designed and executed rituals was risky business, but we still often collaborated on assignments and compared lecture notes.


    It was kind of nice, actually. Reminded me a lot of the school I¡¯d attended when I was very young, before my family had been forced to move out of the big city. Sure I stayed on my guard around them, but we occasionally met to work together in the library or our normal classroom if it was available.


    Of the class, these three were the ones I¡¯d gotten to know best. Ulan and Alan were identical twin brothers that shared a third soul. It was a rare condition, thought to be caused when a triplet was absorbed during pregnancy, and granted the two some interesting abilities.


    On the other hand, Camille was an ordinary human, much like I was. She was a moderately talented spellcaster, but I really worried about her sometimes. She came from Gulivine, just like Janna actually, but had not benefited from the same sort of social education that the heiress had. The girl had some very strange ideas about justice and fairness that I couldn¡¯t believe hadn¡¯t been beaten out of her yet.


    She would someday make a very valuable tool, if she survived that long. I didn¡¯t think she had it in her to complete her education, but maybe she would surprise me. For now however, I knew she had a good eye for runes and wanted to pick her brains about what she¡¯d noticed.


    ¡°So, Camille, I know you said you would be using a rune compass for your observations. What did you think of the symbols on the sphere? I could see they were constricting the mana flows, but I didn¡¯t really recognize the design.¡±


    The girl perked up slightly, her doubts forgotten for the moment. She fanned through the notebook in her hands, then set it down and used a minor illusion to display an enlarged version of what she¡¯d written.


    ¡°Oh it was some fascinating stuff! I would have never thought to use elven pictograms for this sort of working, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve talked about it in class at all.¡± She pointed to one of the symbols she was projecting. ¡°See, she made a couple modifications to the structure, but it''s clearly elven in origin. I¡¯m not sure about the exact meaning, I¡¯ll have to check my books and get back to you guys, but it''s a sort of rebound anchor.¡±


    I leaned forward, studying the bit she was pointing to intently. I could see her point about the symbol¡¯s purpose, but I didn¡¯t quite understand why she thought it was elven of all things.


    Ulan however seemed to understand immediately. ¡°Oh, ye¡¯ I think I remember this.¡± He sketched a somewhat similar symbol beside the indicated rune. ¡°Pretty sure it''s this. Ala, containment and strength within the home.¡±


    I nodded along slowly as the two fell into a discussion about the modifications done to the runework. That was slightly outside anything I¡¯d studied. I¡¯d only briefly focused on rune work, finding the discipline somewhat irritating.


    I¡¯d focused primarily on classical dwarven runes, since those seemed to be the most stable and consistent from everything I¡¯d read. It was dwarven runes I¡¯d used to strengthen my pet¡¯s bindings, dwarven runes carved into her back to suppress the girl, and dwarven runes I planned to use in my own rituals.


    Still, hearing them discuss what Erna had done could still offer me insight into my own work, so I listened quietly and took notes when appropriate. As the two got more and more technical, I shared an amused look with Alan, who looked just as confused as I felt.


    I knew the bond they shared allowed them to share knowledge, but clearly that link only went so far. Oh what I wouldn¡¯t do for an ability like that. Preferably something like a second body that could study while I worked, then could easily share that new information mind to mind. Unfortunately, if such a spell did exist, whoever had created it wasn¡¯t sharing. Pity.

 Chapter 8

    I finally returned to my room several hours later, thoroughly exhausted. The four of us had eventually moved together to the small library connected to the ritual complex to continue our discussion. I was sure the three of them were still down there, but I¡¯d eventually begged off citing the piles of homework I still had left.


    I did have piles of work to do, but more than that, I was just so done with dealing with other people. Sure we were in a ¡®safe¡¯ space, but I still had to stay vigilant and keep my wits about. Dealing with people was tiring. Dealing with my fellow students was even worse, the constant fear of betrayal and attack wearing away at the back of my mind.


    As the door closed behind me and the wards I¡¯d set up engaged, I sank into my desk chair with a long sigh. Tuesdays were definitely my longest day each week, with an entire seven hours of classes, but with all the day¡¯s added excitement, it had felt much longer.


    Even now, it wasn¡¯t really over. I still had to do the rest of my work, practice my spellcasting, and plan out what I was going to be doing with Janna. That entire mess had me thoroughly stressed out.


    It had come out of nowhere, and though I had tried to make the best of the opportunity, I still felt like I was being tricked somehow. She hadn¡¯t messed with the oath, I was sure of it. The Geas of Clasped Hands was very robust and any attempt to alter it would have registered as a hostile action and been prevented within the cafeteria.


    With the oath in place, my secrets and safety were ensured. She would get me my plants, I would help her out with her spellcasting, and then we would hopefully part ways. Dealing with that girl had put my teeth on edge and I intended to avoid her whenever possible after this.


    I knew the value of making connections, and as a future Lawbinder Janna would be a powerful ally, but I didn¡¯t think I would be coming out on top in any such future relationship.


    For now however, I put that all aside. It was getting late, I¡¯d grabbed a quick dinner on my way back to my room, and I still had a lot to do tonight. Scanning over the list I¡¯d made of what I still needed to accomplish, I put together a brief schedule for the rest of the night.


    I would start with some spellcasting practice, followed by some circulation exercises. It was always best to do those early, since it was important that my mana had time to regenerate fully by the time classes started the next day. It always sucked to cut my practice short, but I insisted on always keeping my mana pool above 25% in case of emergencies.


    There were a few exercises that improved the rate of mana regeneration, but I had long ago mastered those in my very first semester. If there were any I¡¯d missed, I was unaware. Beyond that, there were a few potions that improved mana regeneration, but those weren¡¯t feasible. Not yet at least. Another reason to get my not-so-little pet¡¯s tits working as soon as possible.


    Once I was low on mana, I would spend some time putting together the training regime I had promised Janna. I would still need to see the state of her current skills, but I felt I had a pretty good estimate already. Just in case, I would make a few versions of the plan.


    Finally, I would end the night with some more written assignments. Those weren¡¯t due until Thursday at the earliest, but I had a lot of things planned for the next day so it was best to get a head start.


    After changing into something a bit more comfortable, I retook the wonderfully comfortable seat that I had created the night before. The way she¡¯d startled when I gave her rear a firm smack had done wonderful things to her anatomy, and I endeavored to wake her up that way more often in the future.


    The only issue came when I noticed just how wet she was. There was a puddle forming steadily under her restraints and her thighs were thoroughly soaked. At first I¡¯d thought that she¡¯d pissed herself, no matter that elves were not supposed to do that, but after further examination I realized that wasn¡¯t the case.


    Instead she was simply incredibly aroused, and must have been for quite some time. I remembered noticing it the day before, but had assumed it was from what I¡¯d been doing to her body then. It seemed that instead it must be the way I had restrained her, the nasty slut.


    I would have to consider the consequences of this at another time, but for now I simply increased the amount of water the feeding tube was giving her. It wouldn¡¯t do for my future milk factory to get dehydrated.


    After using a rough towel to wipe down her and the floor, treatment that if anything had gotten the elf even more hot and bothered, I sat down to meditate. My skill with pure mana manipulation gave me a massive head start when it came to circulation, but that was no substitute for actual practice.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    For the first time since I¡¯d woken up, I let the mana currents trailing through my body grind to a halt, spinning my mana core to rewind the strands back into a tight ball. I immediately felt the effect, my body feeling so much slower and heavier than it had for much of the day. The chill air of my room bit at my exposed skin, no longer held at bay by the same temperature control techniques I planned to help Janna with.


    It was unpleasant. I hated feeling so very weak, so very mortal. I longed for the day I could maintain the full circulation in my sleep, but for now it still took some amount of my limited will to keep the mana flowing.


    I began the exercise by letting my mana unspool fully, the tight core in my chest expanding to fill my entire body. This was the natural state for an untrained mage, mana expanding in a loose cloud throughout their soul. In a nonmage, instead of stopping at the soul¡¯s boundary, the mana would instead flow out into the world, equalizing with the ambient mana around them. That was what separated us, a soul strong enough to contain its own generated mana.


    Once I felt it had properly dispersed, I began the laborious task of recompressing it. This sort of practice helped attune your body and mind to your mana. There was something of a trick to it, one I¡¯d only come across recently in the Academy¡¯s archives. The same way I had spun my core to drag in the strands of my circulation, I could twist my diffuse mana to accomplish much the same.


    It was brutally difficult, but much less exhausting than the manual method of gathering a core I¡¯d been taught initially. It also was a much better way of feeling your mana, the rotation causing it to trail across much more of the body and soul. Still, I easily understood why this wasn¡¯t a beginners technique. I doubted I would have even understood what they were asking of me had they tried to teach it to me initially.


    Despite the improved method I used, it still took much of an hour to draw my mana back into a compact core, and I was left mentally drained by the end of the experience. Still, I had plenty of time and mana left, so I continued.


    Now, I separated thin threads of mana from the core, leaving them just barely connected to the glowing hub of mana. These threads I wove gently through my body, wrapping my bones and muscles, lacing through and around my organs, and trailing gently along the contours of my skin.


    Each thread eventually wound back to the core, letting the mana flow smoothly out, around, and back into my primary pool. My teacher had likened it to a spiritual heart, pumping mana like blood throughout the body, and I agreed. There were even higher level circulations, ones I dared not attempt with my current level of skill, that followed the veins and blood vessels to further improve the user¡¯s body.


    Only once the full system was rebuilt, each of the different circulations I¡¯d learned carefully woven together into a construct greater than the sum of its parts, did I finally open my eyes. I was drenched, much as my pet had been, though in sweat rather than arousal. I had to peel off my shirt and pants, though thankfully the cold of my room no longer bothered me with my circulation restored.


    I hopped in place a few times, doing several crunches and jumping jacks to confirm everything was in order. I knew it was important to go through the entire process every few weeks, especially before you had fully mastered the skill, but I hated how weak I felt every time I had to strip away my progress. I was by no means a slightly built man, my early life had ensured I was tall and moderately muscular, but without the magic to reinforce me, I was just so very fragile.


    I still did it anyway. It helped that I was improving each time, rebuilding the entire system better each time I reassembled it. I didn¡¯t have a concrete way to check, one of the few things Avalon lacked was a proper gym, but I felt stronger and wasted less mana to do so. It was always a relief to be done however.


    Turning back to my seat, I was shocked to discover just how much the little slut had dripped in the two hours I was indisposed. At this rate, the puddle I¡¯d found today would be back by the end of the evening!


    I bit my lip, checked the clock, checked my to do list, then looked back at her. I had time for a little fun, right? Something to get my mind off things for a bit.


    I couldn¡¯t fuck her, not yet. I hadn¡¯t really been thinking about it, but after reading Igor¡¯s notes I had remembered that it was possible to produce half elf offspring, and that would just not do at all. None of the contraceptive spells I knew worked on elves after all, I had never felt the need to learn something that niche. That was certainly an oversight I would have to correct.


    That didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t enjoy myself though, far from it. After all, there were more ways than one to fuck an elf. Her mouth was out, no way I was removing her gag anytime soon. Her pussy was similarly off limits. That left¡­


    I dug my hands into her firm bottom, spreading her cheeks wider than her restraints did naturally. I was already mostly naked and sweaty after my meditation and my dick strained painfully against its remaining prison.


    <hr>


    This section has been removed due to Royal Road''s policies on disturbing mature content.


    <hr>


    There really was nothing like a good fuck to get the blood flowing, and it had been far too long. It was much too dangerous to sleep around with my classmates, and I hadn¡¯t had a chance to leave the Academy dimension in many months. It would be good to have this waste of a mage around to relieve myself when needed.

 Chapter 9

    The rest of my night passed far more productively than I could have hoped. I took a short break to shower, then cleaned up the rest of the mess with a water spell. I definitely took more pleasure in soaking the quivering girl in icy cold water than I should, but who was going to call me on it?


    I ended my fun with a few firm slaps on her engorged crotch, then returned to my work. It was much easier to focus now that I wasn¡¯t constantly thinking about what I wanted to do with the girl, and I spent another half hour practicing basic evocation magic.


    For anything more powerful, I would have to reserve a dedicated practice room, couldn¡¯t go around throwing fireballs in my cramped room, but this was still good practice and burned through mana at a painfully fast pace.


    It took another hour to get Janna¡¯s plans written up, and then I managed to tear through all my assignments through next Monday. I wasn¡¯t back to my preferred two week buffer, but I was getting there.


    Despite the long day and evening entertainment, sleep came slowly. Twice I got up to double check the restraints, and though I found no issues, I couldn¡¯t get the worry out of my mind.


    I hadn¡¯t really been planning to touch her for a few more days, give everything some more time to stress test, but it seemed even my best intentions couldn¡¯t escape my hormones. I would have to take that into account in the future. Hopefully having her around to destress would keep me focused around women who could pose a real danger to me.


    Eventually I resorted too drinking a sip of dreamless sleep. The potion was harmful in large doses, but I kept a bottle around for nights like these. I needed my rest, regardless of what my troubled mind might tell me.


    After such a long evening, I decided to take a bit of a lazy morning. I briefly left the savefy of my room for a short run to get breakfast, taking a slightly longer route to get some exercise and avoid the busier parts of campus.


    On weekends, I would typically reserve a training hall for after I ate, somewhere to practice the more destructive magics that did not come naturally to me. That wasn¡¯t practical today unfortunately. I didn¡¯t have class until the early afternoon, but it was a long practical so I wanted to be topped up on mana beforehand.


    Instead, I returned to my room and put aside my work for the moment, choosing instead to focus on some of the projects I¡¯d let fall to the wayside over the last few weeks. In particular, a fascinating idea I¡¯d come across in one of the many musty tomes the Academy had collected over the centuries.


    The book was a massive, weighty thing, bound with strips of dark leather and untitled. Even for its size, it was unnaturally heavy, the pages made of a slightly metallic-grey material instead of the typical paper or parchment. Thankfully it was written in East Elven, one of the most common languages for scholarly works and one I was well familiar with. I did know some translation spells, but it was always risky to use those on technical texts like this one.


    From what I could tell, the book was written by some long ago scholar who had been deeply fascinated by Nolar Wurms, a now extinct species of giant subterrestrial wurm. The creatures had been known for their terrifying ability to cancel out magical effects around them to an astonishing degree, and had been hunted to extinction several centuries ago because of it.


    The pages of the book were covered in sketches, diagrams, and theories about the creatures, but I was mostly interested in a small section towards the back. Here, the author had drawn a detailed breakdown of the wurm¡¯s internal mana flow, and it was this multi-page diagram that had sparked an idea in my mind.


    I knew it was possible to mimic a creature¡¯s natural abilities using ritual magic to steal them. I¡¯d just watched an experienced ritualist steal the strength and regeneration of a troll the previous day. However, I also knew it was possible to gain the same effect by copying the mana flows of that creature. I had here a very detailed diagram of exactly that, so, could I do it?


    It was not an easy task, taking masterful mana manipulation and intimate knowledge of the creature to do so, but it was definitely possible. My task was further complicated by the massive difference in our biology, after all I was not a twenty meter long snake of muscle and rage, but I could imagine how incredible the reward might be.


    It said here that the wurm was immune to area of effect enchantments, could shrug off magical attacks up to the 8th circle, and was able to destroy wards and enchantments simply by getting near them. Certainly some of that was a matter of scale, I had nowhere near the amount of mana a massive creature like that had at its disposal, but even just a fraction of that power would be a huge boon.


    I didn¡¯t expect to succeed on my first attempt and didn¡¯t even plan to try until I had more practice. Instead, I would start by trying to copy the abilities of something much more familiar. I¡¯d originally planned to buy a twintail ape and try to copy it''s supernatural balance. After all, apes were pretty similar in size and shape to humans, but I likely had a much better option available to me now. All I needed was unrestricted access to a humanoid animal with an innate magical ability, and I happened to have one right here waiting for me.


    Donning the enchanted glasses that I had used to observe the ritual, I turned to study my test subject. I had known that elves were a very mana-rich creature, enough that their bodies were thoroughly saturated with the stuff, but it was still something of a shock to see in person.


    Under the elf¡¯s skin was a dense web of twisting threads, layered over and around each other in a dizzying pattern of lines and curves. Even without the ability to manually circulate like I was doing, her body had an order of magnitude more mana running through it than I did. I felt a momentary spike of jealousy, elves were so fucking unfair.


    Each and every elf was born naturally immortal, supernaturally athletic, and with enough mana affinity to match an archmage. Yet, what did they do with that talent? Nothing. Here I was, centuries this girl¡¯s junior, yet I wasn¡¯t the one tied up and with a collar around my neck. I was wise enough to admit that not all elves were like that, but I couldn¡¯t stand the arrogant, condescending animals regardless.


    I took a deep breath and stamped the rage back down into the back of my mind. I couldn¡¯t change the past, but I could still do something about the future. It wasn¡¯t feasible to immediately try to copy everything, but I didn¡¯t have to. I could start small, build up until I could match and then exceed any of the nasty knife ears.


    I had a momentary thought of striding boldly through an elven settlement, undeterred by ancient wards and powerful spells. It was a cheery thought, certainly something to aim for. For now however¡­


    I fiddled slightly with one of the lenses, adjusting it until parts of the complex web beneath the elf¡¯s skin faded out of sight. This would be much more manageable to start with. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what this part of the magic did, but I intended to find out.


    I grabbed a fresh notebook and noted down the exact settings on my glasses. Subject: Mistletoe. Experiment 1.


    <hr>


    ¡°Oh fuck oh fuck oh¡­¡± I dove to the side to avoid a blinding lash of fire, the residual heat enough that I would have been badly burned without my passive magics.


    I frantically looked around, trying to orient myself. There! An open window looking down on expansive flower gardens.


    Behind me, I could hear the devil cackle at my plight, heavy footsteps slowly advancing down the hallway. This was going to hurt, but better than staying here.


    I wrapped myself in mana, forming a crude bubble. Feeling the attack coming, I rolled forward, barely avoiding another fiery whip that cratered the wall beside me.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Melted stone splattered from the impact, but the spin I¡¯d put on my shield was enough to deflect the droplets. I sprang to my feet and lunged for the window.


    The creature shrieked, an ear-splitting sound that hammered at the edges of my mind in a distinctly unnatural way. I looked down. We were on the fifth floor, and the ground looked so very small from here.


    I looked back, just in time to see the larger of the two summoned monsters round the corner. Where the devil was a short and lean beast, with small pointed horns and a smattering of scales, the demon was a hulking monster. It stood on four legs, each thicker around than my waist. Its massive claws dug deep furrows in the reinforced floor with each ponderous step and when it shifted its head its three long horns cut through the walls and ceiling like tissue paper.


    The devil swung its whip back, preparing itself for another strike. I had nowhere to dodge this time, the ground behind me a molten mess from its earlier attacks. Maybe if I was full on mana, had time to prepare, and knew this particular demon¡¯s weaknesses, I could take them. As it was, mentally and physically exhausted from burning the majority of my mana practicing elemental spells? Not a chance.


    I jumped, the demon roaring thunderously as its prey escaped. I wove my mana as best I could, pushing upwards on my body and forming crude wings of half-solid mana. Combined with the force of my leap, I was almost gliding, but it couldn¡¯t last.


    There were students below me, a group of four sitting together by a grove of peach trees. One of them looked up, pointed at me. Then he spun away as the demon slammed through the window, shattering the tough glass and ripping appart the carved windowsill with its bulk.


    I vainly hoped that it would kill itself on impact, but I doubted it. If a measly fall like this could kill a demon, they wouldn¡¯t have half the reputation they did. Me on the other hand. Well, it would be close.


    I hit the ground at an angle, having managed to turn much of my downward force horizontal. I rolled, shielding my head with my arms and relaxing my muscles as best I could. Mana cushioned my impact as best it could, but without a structured spell or a specific exercise to guide me, I burned mana to accomplish very little.


    My main focus instead was healing. I needed to get up and get going the moment I could, and that meant ensuring my body was in the best condition I could manage given the circumstances. I poured mana into my healing circulation. It wasn¡¯t meant for serious injuries, merely muscles soreness and bruising, but with the weight of my entire mana pool and fine control behind it, I could go slightly beyond that.


    I came to a stop in a shallow ditch, freshly turned earth clinging to me as I rose to my knees. I ached, body bruised all over and at least one arm broken. My ears were ringing, but I could hear fighting not too far off. The other students, I realized. The summoned duo must have run into them while chasing me.


    That was good, they could buy me time, even if none of them looked like the sort that could face a demon. Perhaps they would surprise me, I hadn¡¯t really gotten a good look at them during my short ¡®flyover¡¯.


    I closed my eyes, trying to think over the pain of overdrawn mana reserves. I was in the east gardens. That meant the nearest safe zone was¡­ greenhouse three? I was pretty sure that was right, but I would have to cover a solid chunk of open fields. The other option was training ground seven. It was further away, but through a lightly forested area.


    Another horrible roar and a burst of fire made my decision for me. The fight was moving right in the direction I had just been about to run. Training ground 7 it was. I pushed myself to my feet, body protesting with every movement. Then I was off.


    If you¡¯ve never tried running after falling out of a building, I would not recommend it. It was a decidedly painful experience, a lot like getting dragged behind a galloping horse actually. Notably, also an experience I would not recommend.


    My mana flowed sluggishly throughout my body, my core a dim speck instead of the raging light I had grown used to. The injuries I¡¯d sustained certainly didn¡¯t help, knocking delicate mana flows out of alignment. My circulations had already been damaged slightly by my clumsy attempts to cushion my landing, and I could feel them coming apart inside me.


    That would be¡­ bad to say the least. It wouldn¡¯t directly injure me, but collapsing circulations inevitably took a big chunk of mana with them, mana I did not have too spare. Combined with the sudden disappearance of my physical enhancements, I would be in real trouble.


    I pushed onward, most of my focus going to maintaining my internal mana flows. I was thankful for all the years I had spent running through fields and forests with my father, muscle memory compensating instinctively for the rough terrain.


    I could just make out the towering tree at the center of training ground 7 when the entire world *froze* around me. A horrible sense of pressure closed in around me, leaving me hanging in the air mid stride. Around me, the grass and trees were similarly affected, frozen mid rustle and sway. I could see a line of ants, unnaturally still as they walked up the tree bark beside me.


    Something slammed into the ground behind me, the thud of heavy boots on soft ground unnaturally loud in the sudden stillness. The presence intensified, an overwhelming aura of awe and power that made me feel incredibly small in comparison. A small corner of my mind was screaming, telling me to run, hide, submit.


    Then the pressure relaxed slightly and I hit the ground. My legs failed under the sudden weight, sending me sprawling. The rest of the world was still frozen, the small stalks of grass I landed on cracking instead of bending.


    I looked up, only to see a tall, imposing figure walking away from me. His long red hair hung in a high ponytail, a single streak of grey running elegantly through it. His robes seemed to twist and swirl unnaturally around him, a living shroud of shining stars and bottomless voids.


    In front of him I could see the demon, much closer than I had thought it was. It was only perhaps thirty meters behind me and I hadn¡¯t even heard it coming. The devil was gone though, perhaps the other students had dealt with it?


    Regardless, I didn¡¯t think that mattered anymore. Like everything else around us, the demon was frozen. Only the frantic twitching of its seven eyes revealed that it was anything but a highly realistic statue.


    The demon might be close, terrifyingly close, but that was no longer the biggest monster around. After all, how could I fail to recognize *him*. Ivius Ambrosius, archmage, nascent god, and sixth Myrddin of Avalon. One of, if not the most, powerful beings on this plane. I swallowed heavily and shifted around into a deep bow, face pressed up against the ground but eyes unblinkingly following the current leader of Avalon.


    He had closed the distance to the demon in just a few footfalls, each moving him further than his stride should allow. He was just¡­ staring at it, but I could faintly feel vast currents of mana shifting inside the overwhelming aura Ambrosius radiated.


    Abruptly, I felt a wave of something ripple through the air, a sort of mystical shockwave I couldn¡¯t really identify. The demon was just¡­ gone. Not banished, but simply gone. Maybe some sort of teleportation?


    Ambrosius stared for a long moment at the place where the demon had just been, then nodded gravely and turned around. For a moment, his eyes met mine and I felt as though my soul was about to get wrenched out of my body.


    His eyes were like black holes, two empty voids behind wire rimmed spectacles. I tried to look away, but I was frozen more absolutely than I had been before. I couldn¡¯t move, couldn¡¯t breathe, couldn¡¯t think. It was so cold. So dark. So cold. So empty¡­


    The feeling vanished as abruptly as it appeared and I immediately looked down until I could just barely see his feet. He was coming closer I realized, and I felt my heart begin to thunder in my chest.


    Most of the faculty did not interfere with the students directly. We were too far beneath their notice and it set a bad precedent. Sure some would give out horrible punishments, but typically they were justified at least in part. If the teachers were seen going too far, they risked being demoted or even removed from Avalon in some rare cases. That was never an option for him. If he wanted to do something, anything to me? There was nothing I, or most anyone else really, could do to stop him.


    ¡°Look at me boy.¡±


    The statement came so abruptly that I almost didn¡¯t register it, too consumed by my rapidly swelling panic. I jerked my head up so quickly it hurt, rushing to obey as soon as I understood what he¡¯d said. He was¡­ when did he get so close! He was right on top of me, my face only a few short feet from the toe of his highly polished boot.


    ¡°Hmm, I see. A right good job lasting as long as you did. Very good running it into your competition, even if that was not your goal.¡±


    Something small and shiny landed on the ground beside me, but I didn¡¯t risk looking away to see what it was. He¡¯d said to look at him, so look at him I would.


    ¡°Here, perhaps this will come in handy in your studies. You seem like you might last.¡±


    Between one heartbeat and the next, he vanished, taking with him the overwhelming presence that had still been pounding against the edges of my soul. I collapsed like a puppet with my strings cut as the grove came to life around me.


    One hand mechanically reached to grab whatever it was he¡¯d dropped. My hand closed around something small and hard, but I didn¡¯t have the energy to wonder what it was. That had been¡­ terrifying.


    That presence was incredible and horrifying at the same time. I was pretty sure it hadn¡¯t been a spell or anything, just the concentrated weight of his mana and significance presing down on everything around him. I wanted it. I wanted it so badly. Strength enough to shatter continents and bring down gods. Strength enough that no one dared move against you lightly.


    If I¡¯d had that strength, a hint of that strength¡­ maybe¡­ maybe they would still be here with me¡­ alive.

 Chapter 10

    I somehow managed to claw my way to the hopeful safety of training ground seven before passing out, whatever it was the Myrddin gave me still clutched tightly in one hand. When I woke up, it was late in the evening and, in a moment of painful clarity, I realized that I had missed my meeting with Janna.


    Fuck, that was going to come back to bite me in the ass, I was sure of it. Our oath didn¡¯t stipulate that I had to come to the meeting today, but I was certain she would hang the ¡®poor conduct¡¯ over my head for a while.


    I rolled onto my back, watching the dark, starless sky that hung above the academy at night. Since we weren¡¯t in a natural dimension, there were no real stars out there, and the original Myrddin hadn¡¯t felt the need to make a fake starscape like he had a false sun.


    It was strangely beautiful. I hadn¡¯t been skilled enough to see it when I¡¯d first arrived, but with my much expanded skills I could now faintly make out the dimensional boundary. A dizzying array of mana surrounded this ¡®world¡¯ in which I¡¯d been living for several years now, and yet I¡¯d never really given it much thought before.


    It was a wondrous feat, the likes of which I doubted had been matched since. Expanding space was tricky but doable. Even making small pocket dimensions was not beyond the skill of a talented mage. However, to create an entire world? Utterly unthinkable in this day and age.


    Avalon was not some miniature mansion or expanded chest. No, the pocket dimension that housed Avalon was nearly the size of a continent, complete with its own climates and weather patterns. Beyond that, it was also self contained, the mana that went into its construction perfectly conserved to keep the dimension powered indefinitely.


    It was one of the keys to the Academy¡¯s power, a base of operations that could not be accessed except from a single entrance. More than that, the portal to Avalon was moved frequently, ensuring that no nation or army tried to claim it for themselves.


    That had been the founder''s goal after all, that Avalon remain a bastion for mages and mages alone, free from the influences of any kingdom, religion, or movement. I didn¡¯t know how the founder would have appreciated the current cut throat nature of the Academy, the history books told of him as a rather laid back and kindly man, but that didn¡¯t really matter now. It was what it was and I did not have the power to change it even if I wanted to.


    Honestly I kind of liked it. I appreciated being able to do what I wanted, study what I wished, and the ruthless competition kept me on my toes. I didn¡¯t think I would be half the mage I was today if I¡¯d attended somewhere like Lambverruca or Forevermore instead of struggling to join Avalon.


    Sure those schools had a much higher graduation rate, some amount of student attrition was inevitable when studying something as dangerous as magic, but their graduates were barely comparable to what Avalon produced. They did occasionally produce the odd Archmage, but those were the sort of exceptional individuals who could excel despite the circumstances rather than because of them.


    I smiled as two bright streaks flashed across the night sky, leaving a glittering trail in their wake. Ortus and Occasus were phoenixes that made their nest in one of the Academy¡¯s towers. No one was quite sure where they had come from, but they were powerful magical creatures and having a source of shed feathers and everburning ash was considered well worth the inconvenience.


    Still smiling, I closed my eyes and sank into my soul. My core shone at the center of my consciousness, dim but no longer hazy and flickering. My circulations were an absolute mess however. Typically you had to sort of ¡®freeze¡¯ them before going to sleep, unless of course you were able to maintain them subconsciously. Otherwise, they would unravel while your attention was lapsed.


    I of course hadn¡¯t done so, and it had already been somewhat damaged beforehand, so the entire web had collapsed into a tangled mess while I had been unconscious. Fortunately I was experienced enough that my core had remained stable, if not wound as tightly as I would have liked.


    I carefully rotated my core, dragging in the ruined strands of mana spread throughout my body. It was painful, trails of mana biting uncomfortably against my insides, but I knew the feeling was entirely psychosomatic. I wasn¡¯t really injuring anything, but the poorly arranged mana clashed with the mana naturally accumulated in my muscles and organs, sending spikes of phantom pain throughout my body.


    It took nearly half an hour to properly recondense my core to a satisfactory level, my low mana levels and injuries greatly interfering with a process that shouldn¡¯t have taken more than ten minutes. I¡¯d overdrawn my core, not too badly fortunately, but worse than I¡¯d done in a while. Manipulating my mana hurt, a visceral burn that spread throughout my entire body as my soul protested the overuse.


    I decided against deploying my full set of circulations, merely building out the most basic physical augmentations and healing patterns I knew. Anything else would have been too much to handle as I was now.


    I opened my eyes and sat up with a soft groan, sore muscles and aching bones protesting with every movement. It was dark, unnaturally so. Without stars or a moon, only the windows and lights of the Academy buildings illuminated the night. The lamps that surrounded the training ground had gone out, their enchantments automatically deactivating at midnight.


    My stomach reminded me that I had missed dinner and I stared forlornly at a single illuminated window in the distance. I knew it wasn¡¯t really that far, but walking around campus at night was always a risky proposition. We¡¯d been warned as freshmen to avoid it if at all possible, and I¡¯d followed that advice religiously ever since.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Humans were one of the few species that did not naturally possess some form of nightvision, and with my mana the way it was, I didn¡¯t dare run a delicate circulation through my eyes. Too much risk of something going wrong and blinding me permanently.


    Wild animals were not much of a threat thankfully. The hidden world contained some rare and terrifying creatures that had been imported over the centuries, but they rarely ventured this near to the Academy itself. Too many people that would be happy to turn them into ingredients to be worth the risk.


    No, as usual the main threat was other students. If there was an elf or beastkin with a grudge against me, or even just looking for a convenient source of parts, I would be at a huge disadvantage. Unfortunately, I probably had to risk it. I wasn¡¯t particularly skilled with medical spells, but I kept a stock of potions I¡¯d brewed up in my room for just such an occasion.


    If I could get back quickly, I would probably be sufficiently healed to go to classes in the morning. Otherwise, I would have to make the trek back to my room in the morning, still injured and traveling through busy hallways. At that point, missing classes would be the least of my issues.


    With ponderous care, I gently shaped a light spell, conjuring a small globe of illumination several feet to my side. This was something I would typically use pure mana manipulation for, lights were very easy, but that would put much more strain on my core than a simple structured spell.


    Using a nearby lamp post as a handhold, I pulled myself to my feet and began the long journey back to my room. Luck smiled upon me, because I didn¡¯t encounter anyone until the very end of my trip. One of my peers was stepping out of his room just as I arrived at my own. He was dressed in a concealing robe, an obscuring spell hiding the features of his face from sight, and for a moment I feared he would attack me. Then the moment passed, and he hurried away down the hallway as I finally stepped into the safe haven of my own room.


    I went immediately to my potions cabinet, grabbing three unlabeled vials and throwing them back like shots. I almost collapsed in relief as a cool wave washed through me, washing aside the pain of strained muscles and soothing the burning in my spirit. I slowly unclenched my left hand, letting the small trinket the Myrddin had dropped beside me fall onto my desk from limp fingers.


    It was a pendant, a small golden raven hanging from a silver chain. The carving was incredibly lifelike, each feather perfectly formed and each claw carefully rendered in painstaking detail. A small gem sat where its eye would be, glimmering in the faint light of my spell.


    It clearly wasn¡¯t just a pendent, that would have been a very bizarre gift, but I didn¡¯t have the energy to question what it might be. I slid it into a warded box and promptly forgot about it. I would come back to it later, in the morning maybe, or the next day. My plans for Janna lay scattered across my desk, my research notebook tossed haphazardly beside them.


    I¡¯d gotten distracted and had to run to my afternoon class, planning to get them before I went to meet her. That was good actually, I doubted my bag would have survived today¡¯s ¡®adventure¡¯ intact, but I hadn¡¯t needed it for class so it was still here, leaning up against my desk.


    I gave a brief prayer of thanks that Advanced Body Alteration was only once a week, meaning I could sleep in until lunch. It was the work of a moment to push my alarm back three hours and then I was out like a light.


    Brenda Goodwitch, third born daughter of Galina Goodwitch, granddaughter of Archmage Goodwitch pouted as she looked away from her scrying bowl. The shallow basin stood on an elegant stand by her desk, the intricately shaped container filled almost to the brim with alchemically treated quicksilver.


    It was a princely tool, a priceless instrument built to account exactly for her favorite scrying technique. Alchemical quicksilver was one of the best possible scrying mediums, highly reflective and a near perfect mana conductor. It was far superior to the typically used alcohol or water, granting a much clearer image of the desired scene, but also ruinously expensive in even small quantities.


    The basin too was a work of art, pure platinum shaped by a master¡¯s hands and etched with runes and enchantments to pierce wards and ignore concealment. Even the stand was not just an ordinary piece of furniture, but rather a heavily enchanted artifact designed to protect the basin and substrate from outside interference and damage.


    Still, no matter how clearly she could scry it, none of that helped when things didn¡¯t go like she wanted them too! He just¡­ ran away! Just bolted down the hallway and out a window! What kind of self respecting man did that?


    She¡¯d gone to all the effort to waylay the boy, direct him down the correct hallways, make sure that moron¡¯s summoning went awry at just the right time, and what did she get out of it all? Nothing! Not a fight, no heroism, the lovable idiot hadn¡¯t even had the sense to die honorably!


    And his injuries, why was he so contrary all the time! She just wanted a couple of magic resistant burns so she could delicately tend to them, stroke his hair as he lay prone with his head in her lap.


    Instead, all he¡¯d gotten were a couple of bruises, nothing serious at all! He was up and walking around just a couple hours later like nothing had happened! At least that meant she would see him in class tomorrow. He was always so punctual and serious about it, that focused look on his face just made her want him to pull her tightly against his strong chest and wrap those muscular arms around her waist¡­


    She fell back against her bed, a dreamy look of contentment on her face as fantasies raced through her mind. It was so sad he no longer went running in the morning, but the memories of him shirtless and sweaty as he jogged around the lake in training ground 41 would tide her over for now.


    It was unfortunate today¡¯s plan hadn¡¯t worked out, but there was always tomorrow. At least he hadn¡¯t had time to meet with that whore Janna, she¡¯d made sure of that. What did that nasty hussy have that she didn¡¯t! She was taller, richer, curvier, better in every way that mattered!


    She clenched her teeth as she remembered seeing them together. They¡¯d been sitting together in the cafeteria, absorbed in conversation and holding hands! It wasn¡¯t fair! He never held her hand unless she grabbed him, and even then he usually pulled away as soon as she let up!


    Still scowling, she jumped up from her bed and pulled out a clean sheet of her pink and scented parchment. Aunty would know what to do! She was a smart lady and had always encouraged her to follow her dreams! She dipped her peacock feather quill into a pot of pink ink. Yes, Aunty Elpha would know what to do!

 Chapter 11

    With an irritated growl, I let the pendant drop back into its box. I¡¯d wasted two hours examining the stupid thing, but I had barely learned anything past the first ten minutes.


    Despite the fact that it looked like solid gold, I could clearly tell that it wasn¡¯t actually made from the metal. It was too hard, to the point that I wasn¡¯t sure I could damage it even if I wanted to. The gem was similarly mysterious, it looked like a ruby and read like a ruby to the only material identification spell I knew, but any deeper tests told me that was impossible.


    My main takeaway from examining it was that the pendant contained an almost unreasonable amount of mana. Under even the weakest mana sight enchantment, the pendant glowed like a tiny sun, any more complex enchantments hidden under the magnitude of mana contained within the inch high figurine.


    Beyond that I¡¯d had no luck identifying what it was, what it was made from, how it was made, or what it did. It probably did something, you couldn¡¯t have that much mana in such a tiny container without it being meant for some purpose, but what that purpose was was utterly beyond me.


    At the very least the chain was exactly what it looked like. The links were pure silver, with minor enchantments of durability and self-repair woven masterfully into the simple design. The clasp was especially interesting, it contained a miniscule spacial compartment that could store part of the chain, allowing it to grow longer or shorter with ease depending on the wearer¡¯s needs. At maximum length, the chain was almost two meters long, but it could be reduced to an inch long loop with a simple tug.


    It was an ingenious design, and I was envious of the enchanting skill needed to accomplish such a feat. The entire enchantment was anchored on a piece of silver smaller than my fingernail and more complex than anything I could manage at the best of times. If this was the sort of spellwork that was used for just the chain, I was even more convinced the pendant had to be something really special.


    What that special was would have to wait for another day however. I idly directed the seventeen ball bearings orbiting around my forearm back into their bowl as I stood up and stretched. I groaned in relief as something in my back cracked, relieving some of the tension I¡¯d been feeling all morning.


    I¡¯d woken up slightly ahead of my delayed alarm, years of early mornings pulling me out of bed hours before I particularly wanted to be. I¡¯d felt well enough by morning, my potions having kicked in properly while I¡¯d slept, that I¡¯d decided to try and be productive instead of lounging in bed until my alarms went off.


    I¡¯d grabbed a late breakfast, then delivered a note to the mailbox outside Janna¡¯s room apologizing for the missed meeting and suggesting another time this evening. I¡¯d hoped to catch her in person, but she was either out of her room or just uninterested in answering the door.


    With several hours left before I had to get to class, I¡¯d decided to take a look at the odd gift the Myrddin had left me. As I often did, I also used the opportunity to practice my pure mana manipulation. I¡¯d been slacking in that regard recently, and the events of the previous day had really shaken my confidence.


    I hadn¡¯t been able to do anything, the only combat spell I¡¯d thrown at the monstrous pair splashing off their magic resistant hides like raindrops off a shingled rooftop. I hadn¡¯t even done a particularly good job running away from the monsters! If not for them getting distracted by other students, I would have likely been caught before any of the staff decided to interfere.


    In hindsight, my jump had been reckless and poorly executed. I should have tried to climb outside to get out of immediate danger, then cast a proper feather fall spell before jumping down. Additionally, the mana shield I¡¯d formed had been painfully crude and far beneath what I should be able to manage at my skill level. I would need to dedicate a few days to researching and practicing pure mana shielding sometime soon.


    I¡¯d made much less headway in understanding my new gift that I would have liked, but I was out of time for now. Classes called and I was quite looking forward to this one actually. During our practical session the day before, Professor Shrike had hinted that we would be talking about spell deconstruction in today¡¯s class, a topic I was highly interested in.


    I was sure it was going to be a dry and complex lecture of course, but that also meant next week¡¯s practical was probably about spell deconstruction, and that meant countermagic. I¡¯d never really had a partner to practice real counterspells with before and was excited to find out how well I would do in practice.


    The practical lessons had always been the best part of Evocation Fundamentals, and this year was proving no different from the last two semesters of the class I¡¯d taken. There was nothing quite like getting shown how to throw fireballs and conjure lightning to make you feel like a real spellcaster.


    To my surprise, Brenda was already there when I showed up to class almost fifteen minutes before it started. She was sitting next to my preferred seat, and I almost decided to grab a spot somewhere else, but eventually decided against it. She would probably just get up and move beside me regardless, and then not only would I have to deal with her, but I would also be sitting in a worse spot.


    She gave me a bright, sunny smile as I took my seat, immediately latching onto my arm and pressing her cheek against my shoulder. Today she was wearing a periwinkle dress, a wide belt tied with a bow of the same color fastened to highlight her narrow waist. Her hair was tied back in her typical braid with a matching bow, and heavy sapphire earrings hung from her lobes to complete the look.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Hey Orion! Wow you¡¯re here so early, I knew you were punctual but I didn¡¯t realize you were always so serious about it.¡±


    ¡°Hi Bren. This is a bit early, even for me, but I¡¯m more surprised to see you here already. You usually get to class at the last second.¡±


    She blushed faintly and ignored the question, rubbing her face against my shoulder instead. I suppressed a sigh, what a strange girl.


    We sat in silence for several minutes as I got my things out and ready for class. Eventually Brenda decided to speak up.


    ¡°Did you hear what happened after class yesterday?¡±


    I looked back at her sharply. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t really spoken to anyone since I left the practical.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it''s crazy! One of the sixth years, Alken Corsly, the tall, flat faced one?¡± I nodded for her to continue, knowing the student she was talking about. After the first four years, classes became small enough from attrition that it wasn¡¯t hard to be at least passingly familiar with the students who were left. I knew by name all of the remaining seventh years and most of the sixth years, it was important to know who not to antagonize after all.


    ¡°Well apparently he lost control during a spell demo in Expert Summoning, loosed an elder horn-fiend and a cackling fleshstaker into the hallways!¡±


    I blinked, somewhat surprised by the news. So that¡¯s what had happened. Expert Summoning was taught by Professor Hareck, and his classroom was just down the hallway from where I¡¯d encountered the monsters.


    ¡°That''s pretty unusual, didn¡¯t think he¡¯d make such an amateurish mistake. Think someone slipped him something to disrupt his mana control?¡±


    A strange expression flashed across her face for a moment and she looked away. ¡°Maybe. Well it doesn¡¯t matter now. The backlash from the summoning circle was enough that the horn-fiend bit his head off. Then it smashed its way out of the classroom and went on a rampage! It busted out a window and killed two second years and a fourth year in one of the inner gardens. No one important I think.¡±


    I nodded slowly, thinking back to the group I¡¯d glimpsed while escaping. That was probably them, and they were dead now. I wasn¡¯t quite sure how to feel about that. It had hurt the first few times, especially when it was classmates I knew well doing the dying, but I was mostly numb to it now. Students at Avalon died or disappeared all the time.


    This one felt slightly different however. This time, it had pretty clearly been my fault, and I hadn¡¯t even meant for it to go that way. Well, it hadn¡¯t been entirely my fault, most of the blame lay with the idiot who managed to botch a demon summoning, but he was dead now so it was hard to blame him for much of anything.


    I¡¯d ¡®dealt with¡¯ three students in my time at Avalon. There was Mistletoe of course, she wasn¡¯t dead but if she didn¡¯t ¡®reappear¡¯ in a few more weeks Avalon would mark her as ¡®Killed in the course of Studies¡¯. I¡¯d also killed one student during a sanctioned duel during my second year, an arrogant ass I¡¯d known from before I became a student, and I¡¯d sabotaged another¡¯s alchemical equipment in revenge for her doing the same to me.


    Well, guilty or not, there was nothing I could do about it. The past was in the past. I would however need to look into who they were and who their friends were. Even though the faculty would not punish me for indirectly causing their deaths, someone connected to them might blame me and go for revenge.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t sound like my name was associated with the chaos yet, otherwise Brenda would be gushing about that instead.


    ¡°Orion? Are you ok?¡±


    Startled, I looked back at Brenda, who I realized was looking at me with a concerned look on her face.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, I¡¯m fine. Thanks.¡± Her expression shifted back into her usual cheery smile, but she continued to watch me with unusual intensity.


    We continued to chat about nothing particularly important until a vaguely familiar student plopped down his things in the typically empty seat on Brenda¡¯s left. It took a moment to place him as Ezra Floris, one of Janna¡¯s cousins.


    He was only a second year student, but was pursuing a specialization in Evocation so he was rushing through the core curriculum at an accelerated pace. I had taken the prerequisite Evocation Fundamentals class the previous fall, while he had taken it the spring after the introductory course.


    ¡°Aye, sorry to bother you guys, but I need to borrow Orion for a second.¡± He had a stronger accent than Janna, the faint lilt of his original Guliviniane clear in his voice.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked, looking up from my notes.


    ¡°Ah, Janna wanted me to tell you that the time you mentioned would work, she reserved the same training hall that you did yesterday.¡±


    Oh that was convenient. I was worried it would devolve into an entire mess of trying to get out schedules to line up. I only had class with her once a week so planning things out could have gotten quite tedious.


    ¡°Oh, thanks. Appreciate it. Tell her I¡¯ll see her then?¡±


    He gave me a sharp nod, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll let you lovebirds get back to it.¡± Without a backwards glance, he scooped up his things and headed down to his typical spot.


    I sat frozen for a moment, mouth half open to correct him. Holy shit, that was absolutely what it looked like, wasn¡¯t it? She sat here. Next to me. Twice a week. Clutching at my arm. She¡¯d been doing that in every single class we¡¯d shared since last fall.


    Was I part of the reason no one had offed her yet? Did they think I¡¯d be upset enough to hunt them down if she died? Oh for gods¡¯ sake, that was definitely part of it. Worst of all, she did nothing to deny his claim, simply pressing herself tighter against my side.


    I slowly closed my mouth and looked back at my notes, pointedly ignoring how my arm was pinned between Brenda¡¯s breasts. I did not have the mental energy to deal with this right now. Or ever. Fuck.


    The last few minutes before class started were a silent hell as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do. It was a relief when Professor Shrike launched into his typical homework review, finally giving me something more immediate to focus on. Brenda had been doing this for an entire year now, I could give it some more time before I had to deal with it.

 Chapter 12

    It was a relief to get out of there. I didn¡¯t wait my usual five to ten minutes, instead rushing out of the room as soon as the professor finished his lecture. At least Brenda didn¡¯t follow, she had another class after this on the opposite side of campus from me.


    This was such a mess, and not one I could easily solve. Killing her was out, lover¡¯s spats were the second most common source of deaths at Avalon. I would be the prime suspect and I didn¡¯t think I could avoid the scrying mirror of an enraged Archmage. Avalon would not protect me from her wrath.


    Pulling another Mistletoe on her was similarly out, the wards on student housing were powerful, especially when layered with each student¡¯s individual protections, but I didn¡¯t think that would be enough. She was not an elf either, though I didn¡¯t think she was quite pure human, so keeping her locked up would be much more messy and complicated. The fact she was still alive would maybe mitigate Goodwitch¡¯s wrath, but I doubted it would save me.


    That left more complicated solutions. I could technically try to distance myself from her, just push her away until she stopped coming but I didn¡¯t think that would work. Brenda was obsessive to a fault and I¡¯d certainly tried to get rid of her before, obviously unsuccessfully.


    I needed something subtle, something to get rid of her as a threat while leaving her alive and capable. Oaths could work, a high end vow of loyalty would turn her into a virtual puppet, but that sort of oath had to be sworn willingly to take hold.


    I might be able to manage something slightly stronger than what Miranda was under with some potions, but that wouldn¡¯t be enough. Shallow oaths were not only more detectable, but also much more easily broken. Miranda had no one who would go out of their way to help her, and the oath ensured she couldn¡¯t ask anyone for help either. Brenda? Well, it was a question of when, not if.


    Oh gods this was such a mess, and not one I¡¯d seen coming at all. How had I been so oblivious? It was so clear in hindsight, the touches, the constant presence, everything. I¡¯d been so careful, avoided making enemies, shut down any potential threats, stayed out of the way of people capable of crushing me, and this had just snuck up on me out of nowhere.


    After all, Brenda had never done any of that. She had annoyed tens or hundreds of our classmates, flaunted her protections! Protections that did not extend to me. Hells, I might have even gained the wrath of her overprotective family without knowing it. I doubted they would approve of their daughter fawning over an orphaned nobody from a backwater village.


    My eyes darted furtively around as I wove my way through the crowded hallway. I hated being surrounded by so many people, even before I¡¯d known any number of them might decide to murder me. Now, I also had potentially dozens of secret enemies I didn¡¯t know anything about, hoping to strike at my apparent paramoure through me.


    I made it to my rituals class in record time, before even the ever punctual Professor Williams. The main classroom was quite small, with only two rows of desks set in a three-quarter circle around the teacher¡¯s lectern.


    I had just taken my seat, the rightmost spot in the front row, when the Professor and Erna stepped together out of her office. I almost didn¡¯t recognize the girl initially, she looked very different from the ritualist I¡¯d watched two days prior.


    She¡¯d grown at least two inches in height and she had filled out, gaining at least thirty pounds of pure muscle. She was dressed casually, a tight shirt and shorts that showed off her new musculature. Her long hair was pulled back in a high ponytail on one side of her head, highlighting the large feather earring she wore on the opposite side.


    Professor Williams looked startled to see me for a moment, but quickly graced me with a small smile regardless. ¡°Oh, hello Orion. You¡¯re here a tad early, no? Class isn¡¯t starting for another twenty minutes.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m coming from another class and it''s certainly better than staying in the hallways longer.¡± I turned to address Erna, who was standing silently beside her mentor. ¡°I can see the ritual seems to have worked, almost didn¡¯t recognize you!¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I am very pleased with the result.¡± Her voice was soft and tinged with an accent I couldn¡¯t place.


    ¡°Yes, Erna here did a marvelous job!¡± Professor Williams gushed, ¡°I¡¯m very pleased with her progress. Why, she only did her very first solo ritual last year and here she is, trait-stealing trolls!¡±


    Erna blushed slightly at the praise and looked away. I took the opportunity to ask a question that had been bugging me.


    ¡°I have to ask, what¡¯s with the growth? I know you stole the troll¡¯s strength and regeneration, but I didn¡¯t see any components of the ritual to take physical properties as well as mystical ones.¡±


    ¡°Oh that is an excellent question. We¡¯re actually going to discuss it in class later but would you like to give him a preview Erna?¡±


    ¡°Of course, professor.¡± She stepped forward slightly and turned to address me. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly a direct effect of the ritual. You are correct in seeing that I wasn¡¯t taking the troll¡¯s physical traits, only its magical ones. However, those magical traits rapidly altered my body in order to accommodate them. It''s possible to stave off such effects, and is often important to do so, but in this case I felt the added height and muscle mass would be a blessing.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so it''s like the Lair effect?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, just as enchantments can cause alterations to the vessel in order to better suit their purpose, I allowed my new internal magic to adjust my body in small ways. In this case, it is to augment the improved strength and durability granted to me by the ritual. I have more muscle to reinforce, more body mass to protect my organs.


    Stolen story; please report.


    It is the same effect that allows elder trolls to grow to such massive size, though somewhat accelerated and altered by the spells I used to direct the change.¡±


    I nodded slowly in understanding. I hadn¡¯t realized that sort of thing was possible, but it made sense in hindsight. It was well documented that powerful enchantments and passive magics would alter the world around them to better suit them.


    It was why the homes of elder dragons and ancient elementals were so incredibly suited to the creatures, why the rock in the dwarven citadel of Deephearth was nearly indestructible after millennia of habitation, and why the old forests of the elves naturally beguiled unsuspecting trespassers.


    I¡¯d heard that such effects could be accelerated slightly with the proper spells and rituals, but I¡¯d never considered applying that same technique to a person. That warranted further research.


    ¡°That''s fascinating, I¡¯ve never heard of that sort of magic.¡±


    ¡°I am not surprised, it is not a common topic of study. If you are interested, I can recommend some of the books I reference?¡±


    ¡°Yes please.¡± I answered gratefully. Digging through the library for obscure topics was somewhat of a tedious proposition. The massive collection was technically sorted, but it was still hard to find anything beyond the basics without a guide. It was why one of the first things you received from any class was instructions on how to find books on that subject.


    I passed her my pen and a loose page from my notebook and she quickly scrawled down several titles and the shelves they could be found on. I was somewhat surprised by her open offer of assistance, but I wasn¡¯t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was probably still being compensated by Professor Williams for helping her students.


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll definitely take a look at these.¡±


    ¡°Of course. If you have any further questions, Professor Slaughterfang is highly skilled with such magic, though I know they can be somewhat abrasive to work with. Alternatively, feel free to reach out and we can work out some sort of exchange.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Thank you.¡± Neither of those options was especially appealing, but still good to know. It seemed that her free help was limited to what we were doing in class today and beyond that I would have to pay for her help as was usual between students.


    I was almost certainly not going to reach out to Slaughterfang. The ancient draconic shapeshifter was said to be temperamental on the best of days and actively malicious during the rest. I wasn¡¯t quite sure of the details, but it was common knowledge he was only teaching here due to some bargain or similar with the Myrddin and greatly resented his posting.


    There was a reason I never planned to take any of the advanced shapeshifting courses, sticking instead to the more general body alteration classes. He may be an absolute master of the field, but he wasn¡¯t much of a teacher.


    I tried to ask a few more questions about the ritual, but she waved me off, telling me there would be plenty of time for that during our class. Instead she joined Professor Williams at her lectern as she prepared for class to start.


    I was disappointed but not surprised. I¡¯d already gotten a lot of valuable information out of her and Avalon was not a school that taught the free dissemination of magic. The school would teach and guide, but it was the student¡¯s responsibility to learn, research, and apply that basic instruction.


    Eventually the rest of the students trickled in and class began in earnest. The seat beside me was taken by Ulan, who greeted me warmly with a squeeze on the shoulder as he rushed in at the last moment.


    We started with a brief review of the fundamentals of ritual magic, with the professor calling on students at random to explain certain sections as she wrote them on the board. In addition, she wanted us to explain what we¡¯d seen that fit that section in the ritual we¡¯d watched in our prior class.


    She seemed pleased with the result, smiling brightly the entire time as she asked us to elaborate on what we¡¯d observed. I spent several minutes theorizing out loud about how Erna had arranged herself and the troll within her ritual and the particular changes she¡¯d made to a standard sacrificial ritual to account for the troll¡¯s magic resistant nature.


    I was particularly interested in what the other¡¯s had observed in the initial preparations of the ritual, the runes and sigils that Erna had painstakingly drawn out and the ink she had used. I¡¯d primarily prepared to observe the magic of the ritual itself but some others had approached the ritual from other angles.


    Sten Strongpike had gone even more in depth on the specifics of the runework than Camille had and gave an impromptu presentation on what he¡¯d seen. Professor Williams was so impressed that she called him up to the board and let him draw out some diagrams as he spoke.


    When there were about twenty minutes left, she called a halt to our discussion and Erna stepped up to the lectern for a brief question and answer section. Unfortunately I didn¡¯t get a chance to ask anything, but I did receive a thorough explanation of what exactly those spikes she¡¯d used to restrain the troll were, which was something I¡¯d been curious about.


    They were an interesting design, but one she¡¯d purchased and not made herself. They were made from pure iron, a metal known for its poor magical conductivity, and were actually entirely non magical so as not to interfere with the ritual. Instead, runes inscribed along the length of each rod channeled the magic of whatever creature they were impaled in to power their effects.


    It was an ingenious solution, since active magic and enchantments could interfere with the operation of the ritual, but it was difficult to restrain something as strong as a troll without reinforced bindings that could also interfere with the ritual. It was the same reason rituals were typically done naked and in magically inert rooms, much less risk of harmful interaction ruining everything.


    The stakes were made in such a way as to sidestep this. Their magic was the same as the magic of the victim, and while active they counted as part of the target¡¯s body. Thus, a powerful restraint could be used without compromising the integrity of the ritual.


    Unfortunately the rods were built in such a way as to foil recreation, most of the key runework hidden inside of the inner layers of the metal. Any attempt to reproduce them would be incredibly challenging.


    She was however happy to point us at their creator, a dwarven smith who was always looking for more commissions. I was almost certain the two had some sort of relationship or understanding, since she seemed very eager to direct new customers to the smith. I still noted down the name and contact information, though I doubted I would be ordering any myself. They looked ruinously expensive for someone with my meager funds.


    I was disappointed when class came to an end and Professor Williams told us that Erna would not be coming back the next week. We would be returning to our usual course material to help prepare us for our own upcoming rituals.


    I wanted to stay back to discuss what I¡¯d learned with some of my classmates, but unfortunately I had my prior commitment with Janna to get to. If I¡¯d known how interesting today¡¯s class would be, I would have asked to meet her somewhat later in the afternoon.


    I spent five minutes extracting a promise from Ulan to get a copy of his notes. He was meeting up with Camille and a few of our other classmates to compare notes, then made my way down to the underground chambers where the private training grounds were situated. Hopefully Janna wouldn¡¯t be too bitchy about me missing our meeting yesterday.

 Chapter 13

    Janna was already waiting for me when I arrived. She sat primly on one of the stone stools at the corner of the room, hands folded in her lap and face twisted in a disapproving frown. She¡¯d ditched her typically frilly dresses for our meeting, instead wearing a more practical shirt and pants, though still in her favored pastel pink with purple highlights.


    I glanced at the clock on the wall, noting that I wasn¡¯t late, rather she had arrived quite a bit early. I set my bag down against the wall, then turned back to look at her.


    ¡°Well, glad to see you decided to show up today. It was exceedingly rude to keep me waiting.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow and jerked my head at the clock. ¡°I¡¯m early. You¡¯re just earlier.¡±


    She hmphed, uncrossing and recrossing her legs the other way. ¡°To be on time is the moment before tardiness.¡± Right, I¡¯d heard Gulivanienes were particularly anal about that.


    ¡°Janna. I¡¯m ten minutes early. You normally don¡¯t get to class until max five minutes before we start, you have no ground to bitch about this.¡±


    She pointedly ignored me, choosing instead to stare imperiously at me. ¡°If this is about yesterday, I¡¯m sorry I missed it. Got caught up around the escaped demon yesterday and couldn¡¯t make it down here.¡±


    Her expression softened slightly, though she remained visibly displeased. ¡°Well, that¡¯s something. At least you weren¡¯t caught up with that girl of yours, honestly, what do you see in her?¡±


    It took me a moment to realize she was talking about Brenda. Wow, apparently everyone except me thought we were together. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever shared a class with both girls at once so this wasn¡¯t even a first hand opinion.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really see much in her, because we aren¡¯t together. I am quite single.¡±


    She looked shocked by my admission, the mask of disapproval briefly vanishing from her expression. ¡°Truly? But you spend so much time together and she hangs off you like a barnacle at all hours of the day.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°That''s just how she is. I think. We are not and have never been a couple. Anyway, we aren¡¯t meeting to describe my nonexistent lovelife, so let''s get to it.¡±


    She remained skeptical of my claim, but didn¡¯t protest as I dug out the papers I¡¯d prepared and took a seat beside her.


    ¡°So, like I said on Tuesday, I need to know where your skills are now so I can work out a proper practice regime. I have a couple of preliminary ideas here,¡± I separated out several pages and dropped them on the small table, ¡°but I¡¯ll want to adjust it based on what I see.¡±


    ¡°Understandable. Do you wish for me to summarize my current skill level, a demonstration maybe? I am not sure how to display my internal mana manipulation to another.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard. I just want you to go through a few pure mana exercises, see where you stand. Let''s start with this.¡± Reaching into my bag again, I pulled out a small bag of glass marbles and poured them into a bowl. ¡°I want you to levitate these marbles.¡±


    She seemed somewhat bemused by the request, but seemed content to follow my directions for now. Reaching out over the bowl with one hand, I observed as she slowly floated the entire mass out of the bowl.


    ¡°Very good, now flatten them out.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I mean make, like, a sheet, one layer of marbles in thickness. Don¡¯t drop any.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± She bit her lip as she focused. It took almost a minute, much longer than I had expected, but eventually she had maneuvered the twelve marbles into a rough rectangle. She looked up, gesturing with her other hand at the marbles. ¡°There.¡±


    I hummed contemplatively, ¡°Now make a circle, hollow in the center.¡±


    This too took longer than I would have expected of a mage of her presumed skill level. Her control of the individual marbles was clumsy and she almost dropped several as she carefully arranged them into something that was technically a circle. In all honesty, it was more of an oval when she stopped, but I didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Make it spin, vertically, not like a wheel.¡±


    This exercise seemed easier for her, the entire construct gently revolving under her outstretched hand.


    ¡°You can stop spinning. Now, I want you to grow the circle outward, then bring the marbles back into the circle.¡±


    She began to move one of the marbles outward, but I interrupted her before it could move far. ¡°No, I mean all at once.¡±


    She nodded, eyes narrowed as she focused intently on the magic. Shakily, the marbles began to move, but then her concentration lapsed for an instant and it all fell apart. The mana collapsed, dispersing into the air around us, and the marbles clattered to the table, several rolling away deeper into the training hall.


    She scowled, but made no move to retrieve the marbles. ¡°What was the point of that? I have no idea how to do that last exercise.¡±


    I blinked, ¡°Wait, really? But that''s not really a particularly complicated one. We went over it in first year mana studies.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but purely as a theoretical exercise. Professor Zim didn¡¯t expect any of us to practice past the fourth chapter.¡±


    ¡°Hold up. You¡¯re saying you haven¡¯t practiced any of the exercises beyond the ones in the first four chapters of ¡®Elementary Mana Shaping¡¯?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve done a few specialized exercises for other magical disciplines, but not really.¡±


    I stared at her, flabbergasted. ¡°You¡¯re saying that you, Janna, are in your third year at Avalon, and you haven¡¯t at least mastered every exercise in that book?¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    She looked just as confused as I felt when she responded, ¡°Yes? I mean most people don¡¯t bother. Pure mana manipulation is basically useless in the modern day where we have so many easily accessible structured spells available to us.¡±


    What. The. Fuck. Was that really how most people felt about it? I¡¯d never taken Janna as a slacker, she was a focused and serious student. She also was much better connected than I was and would know if our other classmates had similar practice habits as she did.


    ¡°Wait a moment,¡± she interjected as I sat there, mind racing, ¡°Are you telling me you have mastered every exercise in that book? All ten chapters of them?¡±


    I nodded slowly. ¡°Well, yeah? I finished with most of them before the end of the class and got the rest down the next semester. I mean, none of them are especially hard, there are a couple of tricky ones in the last chapter but I¡¯ve tried loads of more difficult exercises since then.¡±


    We sat in silence for several long moments, both clearly baffled by the other. Eventually she picked up a marble that had bounced into her lap and dropped it in the bowl. ¡°I mean, I knew you were good at pure mana manipulation, it''s why I approached you and not one of our other classmates. You had to be at least decent if you got into Lectures in Mana Theory this semester, but what the hell Orion? Why would you ever subject yourself to that sort of torture? I can¡¯t imagine how many hours you wasted slaving away at those things!¡±


    ¡°Is that really how people feel about pure mana exercises?¡± I asked slowly.


    She nodded.


    I looked down at the table, rifling through the six theoretical exercise plans I¡¯d prepared for her. Then I balled them all up and dropped them unceremoniously into my bag. Leaning heavily on the table, I studied the earnest expression on her face.


    I didn¡¯t think she was pulling my leg. I wasn¡¯t the best judge of honesty but I had been watching her demonstration with more than just my eyes. It was hard to fake how clumsy her mana control had felt to my mana sense and I didn¡¯t think she was the sort to sandbag compared to her peers.


    I would definitely have to do some digging of my own, it was impossible that everyone was so very¡­ mediocre at pure mana manipulation. I was definitely better than most people, it was obvious from just surface observations I¡¯d made over the years, but I hadn¡¯t thought the gap was so wide.


    For now however, I would need to adapt to her current skill level. At least it was likely her issue was much more simple than I¡¯d thought. It wasn¡¯t that she had a particularly hard bit of mana shaping to do, but rather that her current skills were way worse than I¡¯d expected.


    ¡°Have you at least practiced any of the internal exercises we learned?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. I mastered the basic eight and practice them on occasion.¡±


    That was worse than I¡¯d hoped but better than I¡¯d feared. The basic eight was the name for the fundamental shapes of mana used in circulations. In rough order of difficulty, they were lines, curves, circles, spirals, twists, parallels, crossovers, and intersections.


    ¡°Well that''s something at least.¡± I would have hoped she had gone much further than just the basics, but clearly she was thoroughly deficient in terms of pure mana manipulation. I¡¯d known some mages didn¡¯t really focus on it past the point where they could form spell matrices, but I hadn¡¯t expected that attitude would hold here at Avalon.


    ¡°Here,¡± I pushed my papers and the near empty bowl aside to clear some space on the table. ¡°Lie down and demonstrate them. I¡¯m going to need to touch you for this.¡±


    She seemed sceptical but did as I commanded. She made a bit of a fuss when I told her to pull her shirt up, this would be easier with skin on skin contact, but eventually gave in. The oath we¡¯d sworn, and the safety provided by being in a designated neutral space, gave her enough confidence that I wouldn¡¯t take advantage of her vulnerable state.


    I let faint trails of my mana spread through her body, gently probing at the simplistic arrangement of circulations she was maintaining. It was honestly pathetic, I could have managed better after my first semester. No wonder she was having so much trouble with this.


    As I¡¯d directed her before we¡¯d started, she formed the basic eight one at a time beside her core, my mana carefully monitoring each structure through the entire process. The line and curve were both pretty good, but they were the most basic of the basics. The circle she formed was slightly uneven, but passable. The spiral was the same, somewhat lopsided but theoretically functional.


    The last four however, damn they were bad. She could make them, but they were faint and flickering, barely stable even formed just beside her core. I quickly scanned her body again, examining her current circulations. Just as I¡¯d expected, not a single one contained any of the advanced elements.


    I let out a long sigh as I waited for her to emerge from her meditative trance. I couldn¡¯t imagine everyone¡¯s skills were this rubbish, but it really lowered my assessment of my yearmates. No wonder so few people made it to graduation. With skills like this, I wondered how any of them would survive practicing spells above the fourth circle.


    Spell matrices got exponentially more complicated with each level of power. Sure she could form spell matrices up to the third circle with this level of control, she had to in order to qualify as a third year student, but I didn¡¯t think her control would be fine enough to form anything much more powerful.


    Well, at the very least that wasn¡¯t my problem. I just needed to help her form the circulation required to progress in our body modification class, nothing more. It didn¡¯t matter if she blew herself up next year learning new spells, I would have my payment by then and could just ignore the entire situation.


    She woke up slowly, shaking her head to clear the last traces of her meditative trance. It was clear that this was yet another skill she did not practice nearly as much as she should. I let her get her bearings as she clambered off the table and retook her seat. I was greatly amused when she pulled out a small mirror and checked her hair and makeup. She must have noticed because she blushed slightly and stowed the mirror away.


    ¡°So,¡± she asked, adjusting her rumpled shirt, ¡°what''s the verdict?¡±


    ¡°Well, honestly you¡¯re pretty abysmal at this, but it''s just a matter of practice.¡± I slid the diagram I¡¯d been studying towards the center of the table. ¡°The issue isn¡¯t quite what I thought it was initially, I overestimated your skill level and made some faulty assumptions. Still, I was right about what part you¡¯re having trouble with, just not entirely the why of it.¡±


    ¡°Ok, so what do I need to do?¡±


    ¡°Well, the professor basically had it right when you asked her. You mostly just need to practice.¡± I raised a hand to forestall her irritated response. ¡°No, I¡¯m not just going to tell you to try it over and over again. We¡¯re going to do this right.¡±


    Seeing she was about to interrupt me again, I dropped another sheet of paper onto the diagram. ¡°Here¡¯s a list of four exercises, two internal and two external. I want you to practice each of them for at least an hour. If you are struggling too badly with one, move on to the next and come back to it.¡±


    She was clearly unhappy with my advice, but grabbed the paper and slipped it into a pocket nonetheless.


    ¡°I know it''s going to be a bit boring, but practice is the only way to improve. There are no shortcuts in magic, you should know that.¡± That was absolutely not true, and we both knew it, but she got the point regardless. Even her family wasn¡¯t rich enough to afford the shortcuts she would need at this level.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll make time for that.¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡± I gathered my things and stood up. ¡°Same time Saturday? I don¡¯t think I have time to meet with you tomorrow. If you have some extra time, just go through the exercise again.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that should work.¡± She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°Thanks Orion, I don¡¯t like it, but you are probably right.¡±


    ¡°Of course I am, I¡¯m me.¡±


    Her laughter cut off abruptly as I passed through the warded doorway, enchanted to block any sounds coming from inside the training halls. Maybe that hadn¡¯t been the smoothest way to end our meeting¡­

 Chapter 14

    After all the fascinating things I¡¯d learned today, I went directly to my dear Miranda to ask some pointed questions. That was one of the problems with the sort of loyalty oath she¡¯d sworn. She couldn¡¯t act against me or plot to get out of the oath, but it didn¡¯t force her to do much of anything actively unless I told her to.


    She had standing instructions to inform me of any plots or similar that could result in me coming to harm, but she didn¡¯t have to tell me anything she didn¡¯t consider pertinent. Still, she would be the easiest way to confirm some interesting realizations I¡¯d come to.


    I found her in her usual haunt, one of the small ¡®social rooms¡¯ connected to the main library. They were technically meant for quiet study, but over the years had been converted into a sort of casual lounge where students of different years could interact freely.


    The library was one of the places where the rules were most heavily enforced. Head Librarian Lireal was a nascent divinity of knowledge and took the security of her space very seriously. It wasn¡¯t the absolute protection of the cafeteria, but it was a very close second. No student had died of foul play in the library in the two centuries she¡¯d been at her post, though I knew from experience that severe injury was still a possibility.


    This made the library and surrounding rooms a uniquely safe space for students to interact. The only threats here were social, which was actually one of the reasons I tended to avoid the side rooms whenever possible.


    I was much less confident in my people skills than I was my magic. With so many people of different race, religion, and nationality, it was all too easy to offend someone, something I took pains to avoid whenever possible. I was starting to get the feeling that I may have cast fireball in an enclosed room doing so.


    Standing just outside the room where I could sense Miranda, I tugged gently on our bond. This close to her, I could sense and interact with the web of oath magic binding her to me. Then I went and took a seat not far from the room.


    Miranda emerged several minutes later, hastily fixing her mussed makeup with a handy spell. It seemed she¡¯d found herself a new target since our conversation on Monday. I stood up and she fell in beside me as we wandered deeper into the labyrinthian shelves.


    ¡°Orion, we were just getting to the good part!¡± she whined as soon as she felt we were far enough away from the busier areas of the library, ¡°He¡¯s a real cutie and his water affinity is nothing to scoff at!¡±


    She let out an exaggerated moan of pleasure, ¡°Oh the things that boy can do with his tongue¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you done?¡±


    She pouted, lower lip trembling in feigned sadness. Giving a fake sob, she wiped a single tear away with a finger.


    ¡°Miranda.¡±


    ¡°Fine, gods Orion, you can take that stick out of your ass.¡± She gave me a saucy wink, and shook her rear suggestively. ¡°If you want, I can show you where that stick would fit much better.¡±


    ¡°Miranda.¡±


    ¡°Right. Sorry.¡± She straightened, adjusting her low cut blouse so her breasts weren¡¯t nearly popping out.


    ¡°Much better. I appreciate the view, but I have some questions I¡¯d like you to answer for me.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    I stopped and looked around, thin threads of mana reaching out to check for others nearby. Then I turned to face Miranda.


    ¡°First of all, Brenda Goodwitch. You know what I¡¯m asking.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± She let out a breath and looked away for a moment. ¡°I guess you finally noticed?¡±


    ¡°Miranda.¡± I said warningly.


    ¡°Well, you guys have been dating for like, a year. Congrats?¡±


    I continued to stare her in the eyes, unamused.


    ¡°Well at first I thought you knew, Brenda definitely contributed to the rumors when she found out about them. Later, well, it never felt like the right time and¡­¡± she paused for a moment, then blurted out the rest in a single breath, ¡°I thought it was funny and harmless so I didn¡¯t say anything please don¡¯t be mad.¡±


    I slowly reached out, wrapping one hand around her slender neck. I couldn¡¯t hurt her, not here, but threats without the actual violence were permitted. I felt her swallow heavily, throat bobbing under my light grip.


    ¡°I think we are long overdue for a Nice. Long. Talk.¡± My hand trailed upward, cupping her cheek in a deceptively gentle gesture. ¡°I thought my instructions were relatively clear, but it seems I was wrong.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir,¡± she whispered, a genuine tinge of fear in her voice, ¡°I promise it won¡¯t happen again. You don¡¯t need to do anything.¡±


    I pulled away, studying her expression speculatively. Her eyes were downcast, expression carefully neutral. Her entire pose screamed submission, but she was a consummate actress and I wasn¡¯t particularly good at reading people.


    The fear at least, that I was pretty sure was real. The oath she¡¯d sworn was very particular. She could not oppose me, but I had no such restrictions. If I wanted to say, tie her down and flay the skin from her back, she could do nothing to resist it. Her own magic and soul would fight her if she tried.


    I seriously contemplated it for a moment. Just, leaving the library with her and taking her down to my room for some good old-fashioned discipline. Eventually, common sense won out. If I did that, it would build a grudge that would only fester with time. She was not exactly a willing servant, but at least she wasn¡¯t actively trying to resist her bindings. They were not tight enough that I was willing to let that happen.


    If I ever decided to go that far, she would not be going anywhere afterward. Not without a seventh circle binding at the very least, and I was years away from that sort of magic. She would look good beside my not-so-little elf, but it would be more bother than it was worth at this time. No, today was not that day.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I eventually said, ¡°I don¡¯t think either of us wants me to do something. Still, this better not happen again, understood?¡± I let my mana unspool from my body, pressing heavily against her own core. It was nothing like the overwhelming aura the Myrddin had so carelessly displayed, but she shrank back from it regardless, pupils dilating and body trembling.


    I leveraged my fine control, mimicking the mana flows I¡¯d witnessed the day before and pushing down on her soul from all directions for a single moment. Then, I pulled away, mana once more tightly packed into the core at the center of my being.


    ¡°Yes Sir. I understand. I¡¯m sorry Sir.¡± She was shaking, and for a moment I felt bad about what I¡¯d just done. Despite everything, she¡¯d been a loyal friend and servant since that day our freshman year that I¡¯d let her go. Then I hardened my resolve and the moment passed. You had to be firm with people like her, else they would forever try to push the boundaries of their cage.


    ¡°Very good.¡±


    I smiled brightly and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her with me as I began walking deeper into the shelves. She stumbled for a moment, surprised by the sudden motion, but retained her footing and quickly scrambled to follow.


    ¡°Now then,¡± I began, tone much more cheerful than it had been but a moment before, ¡°I have a few other questions about our classmates you should be able to answer. Shouldn¡¯t take too long, I wouldn¡¯t want to keep you away from your new boy-toy for long.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯d be happy to help Orion.¡±


    ¡°Lovely. So I was talking to Janna earlier and¡­¡±


    Once I was thoroughly convinced that violence would not be necessary, our conversation eventually moved down to the cafeteria. We¡¯d arrived before the main dinner rush and managed to claim a small table in the corner, the open window letting in a pleasant breeze and the scent of blooming blood lilies.


    I leaned back in my seat, idly twirling a spoon in one hand. It was a trick my father had shown me, but now with the addition of a thin layer of adhesive mana, I could do things he would have never imagined possible. Miranda was back to her usual more exuberant and flirty self, digging into a large bowl of pudding with exaggerated enjoyment. Despite the act, I could tell she was still somewhat scared, occasionally giving me worried looks when she thought I wasn¡¯t looking.


    She¡¯d given me a lot to think about. I¡¯d quizzed her for the better part of an hour about the level of skill exhibited by our classmates, as well as the students a year above and below us, and had come to some fascinating conclusions. Overall, people just didn¡¯t try nearly as hard as I thought they would.


    It was a foreign concept really, I¡¯d assumed everyone was like me. Practicing at all hours of the day, grinding out spell after spell and pouring over books and notes whenever there was time. I had no social life and had accepted that as a cost of attending an institution like Avalon.


    Most people just¡­ didn¡¯t. I¡¯d heard that some people treated Avalon like a social club, but hadn¡¯t really believed it before. I¡¯d thought the constantly packed ¡®social areas¡¯ were just a symptom of burned out students needing to unwind.


    According to Miranda however, there were some students who considered that the most important part of their ¡®education¡¯. Sure they would learn some magic, but the real goal was to build connections with other powerful mage houses and organizations. Those were often the same students that chose to drop out willingly, another phenomenon I¡¯d heard of but never really believed. Who would choose to abandon a place like Avalon? Apparently a lot of people.


    Even among the more committed students she knew, those who had a chance to graduate and the drive to do so, most did not work like I did. Janna and her ilk had come to Avalon with five or more years of education under their belts and had mostly coasted on those skills. Sure they learned new spells, went to classes, studied, but they didn¡¯t do it like I did.


    There were a couple of others like me, workaholics that spent every waking moment striving to succeed. Sometimes they graduated, the rare archmage that could take the world by storm. Others? Others died, burnt out and alone.


    It almost made sense when I thought about it. After all, why did I work so hard? It was because I was scared. I still remembered what Adara Warbringer had told me, way back in our first weeks of classes.


    She¡¯d been someone familiar, coming from the same tiny island nation as I did. I¡¯d wanted someone to talk to, to hear the familiar sounds of our mother tongue. She¡¯d looked at me like a gnat that had just flown into her eye. Sure, our social status back home couldn¡¯t have been more different. I was just Hunter, while she was Warbringer. Daughter of heroes and generals. I¡¯d thought, hoped, wished that ¡®classmates¡¯ could bridge that gap.


    It had been the third week when it had happened. I¡¯d tried to talk to her after class and for the first time she had engaged with me as well. She led me to the library and sat me down for a talk. It had been short, sharp, and had nearly broken the hollow desperate shell I¡¯d been at that time.


    She¡¯d simply cited the statistics. As an unaffiliated student with no past formal schooling, I had a ninety-eight percent mortality rate by my fourth year. There was no point making friends because even if I survived, I had nothing to offer her. ¡®You aren¡¯t worth any effort because you will die.¡¯


    Then she¡¯d left, leaving me sitting shell-shocked for the rest of the day. I hadn¡¯t known how to feel when she¡¯d died last year, a poisoned knife under the ribs. I¡¯d never spoken to her since that day, but it had hurt like no other death among my classmates had.


    People like her didn¡¯t think they had to work, not nearly as much as those less fortunate. It didn¡¯t matter how well they did, they had family and wealth to fall back on. They were safer even in a place like this, just like Brenda was. Brenda didn¡¯t need to be powerful and paranoid, the threat of her family shielded her against offences that would sign my death sentence. It hadn¡¯t worked out for the Warbringer, but that hadn¡¯t stopped the others from acting like that.


    She¡¯d lit a fire under my ass that day. I¡¯d still been scrambling to catch up, desperate to learn all these things I was supposed to already know, but she¡¯d given me purpose. I refused to be that statistic she told me. I¡¯d done my own research of course, checked her numbers, and the truth had been even worse than what she¡¯d told me


    Until that day I hadn¡¯t really internalized that students hunted one another. Freshman were given a two month grace period, so I hadn¡¯t really experienced it yet myself. Watching the upper years had been eye opening, and I credited that with saving my life a dozen times over. I¡¯d started the first year as one of over a hundred ¡®random¡¯ students. There had been twenty of us by the end of the year.


    That conversation had put an end to my first attempts at friendship. Instead I¡¯d isolated myself, always working, always reading, always practicing. I¡¯d caught up with where I was supposed to be and just kept going. I had no one I cared to talk to, no social obligations to push aside my work for, no hobbies beyond magic. Father had taught me that if you wanted to do a job right, you had to focus on nothing else, and I¡¯d burned that lesson into my mind.


    It had worked, almost too well as I was learning now. I¡¯d closed myself off so far I had missed a lot of important context. I was still not a part of any of the social groups and unofficial clubs on campus. Many would have welcomed me after my first year, but I hadn¡¯t even known to listen for offers.


    This time I could forgive Miranda for not keeping me up to date. She¡¯d honestly assumed I¡¯d known and I believed her. I faintly remembered some people approaching me last year, but I had been so paranoid I had politely brushed them off and fled. I¡¯d seen enemies around every corner, enough that I¡¯d missed that not all of them carried knives.


    I set my spoon down softly. There was still food on my plate, but suddenly I wasn¡¯t hungry. My parents had always taught me to clean my plate, but  that had been a different time, a different life.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I eventually forced out. It almost hurt to say, but it was necessary.


    She looked up, her own spoon frozen halfway to the bowl. She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been,¡± I paused, searching for the words, ¡°unfair to you. I shouldn¡¯t have done¡­ that, in the library.¡±


    She closed her mouth, seemingly unsure of what to say.


    ¡°You¡¯ve given me a lot to think about. I¡¯ll see you in class tomorrow.¡±


    For the second time that day, I stood up abruptly and left, leaving Miranda sitting speechless, spoon still held loosely above her pudding.

 Chapter 15

    I got back to my room and just lay down on my bed. I was in no mood to do much of anything, the events of the last forty-eight hours racing through my mind like over sugared children. I shouldn¡¯t have been as surprised as I was, but I¡¯d spent so long jumping at shadows that I¡¯d missed the forest for the trees.


    Of course not everyone was here for the same reason I was. Nine of every ten students were accepted through one of the many special selection processes. Whether it was through money, connections, or invitation, most had had a much easier path to get here. Most hadn¡¯t searched out Avalon to attempt the tests, they had simply arrived knowing they were already in. It was the elves all over again, except instead of inborn magic it was family wealth and power that carried them through life.


    Adara had been just like Mistletoe, confident not in her own skill and work, but because of who her parents were. It didn¡¯t matter if she was a talentless hack, she was a Warbringer. Destined for greatness.


    Despite myself, I felt a cruel smile creep across my face. She hadn¡¯t looked so arrogant when they carried her desiccated corpse out of the building. Even in death her face had been a rictus of agony, frozen as her soul burned her body from the inside out. I hadn¡¯t done it, but I almost wish I had.


    A thought slowly pushed its way to the front of my mind and I sat up abruptly, eyes wide. Oh gods, it wasn¡¯t me that was protecting Brenda. She was shielding me, lending me the implicit support of her family name. Miranda had all but said it while we were talking, but I¡¯d brushed it off.


    What had it been that she¡¯d said? ¡®You¡¯re one of the best in our year now, but you were much less impressive last year.¡¯ It was true, no matter that Miranda looked like she thought the admission would make me angry again. I¡¯d finally caught up to and exceeded the skill level of my peers, enough that even some upper years had noticed it. During my second year though? I¡¯d been noticeably sub par.


    That made everything so much worse. I owed her. Owed Brenda! As I was now, I was confident in a straight fight with any student who was permitted to pick a fight with me. Last year though? I hadn¡¯t been ready to even run from some of the third years. I¡¯d thought I¡¯d been so smooth, cautious, careful. Apparently I¡¯d just been lucky and passably attractive. That was¡­ terrible.


    Oh and gods above, I¡¯d just told Janna, poisonous, scheming Janna that I didn¡¯t consider the two of us in a relationship. I was half way off my bed, unsure of what I was doing but needing to move when I remembered our oath.


    I sat down hard, heart hammering in my chest. Right. She couldn¡¯t share any information she learned about me during our meetings any more than I could tell anyone how pathetic a spellcaster she actually was. Everything was fine.


    I breathed deeply, falling into a semblance of a meditative trance to slow my racing heart. Nothing had changed, I was simply better prepared to face the world now than I had been this morning. This was a distinctly positive lesson that I had hopefully learned early enough to do something about it.


    I had to be more careful in the future. That could have ended very poorly for me. If I¡¯d said something to the wrong person last year, I might not be here right now. I needed to figure things out, and soon. I needed to talk to Brenda, maybe consult with Miranda again.


    Yes, yes that would work. Miranda was good at this sort of thing and her oath ensured she had my best interests at heart. I was immensely thankful for the decisions I¡¯d made the day I¡¯d let her go. She¡¯d more than earned her life, and if I had anything to reward her with I¡¯d have done it. Fate had been smiling on me the day that girl had tried to drain my life out through my dick.


    She¡¯d been desperate when she¡¯d decided to go after me. Avalon had very strict rules about who was allowed to target who. I wasn¡¯t quite sure how they were enforced, the monitoring alone must be a monstrously complicated system, but they were and brutally at that. My first week, a fifth year had been crucified and then burned alive for preying on a new first year student.


    The rules were roughly as such. Any student could try to punch up any number of years, but if detected reprisal was fully permitted. In the other direction, only first years could target one another, third through sixth years could target down one year, and seventh year students could target fifth years and above.


    However, first years were given a two month grace period where they were not permitted to target one another at all. Miranda had enough succubus blood in her that she needed to feed to survive. The Avalon Gate had been situated in the city-state of Armouth, a martial citadel notoriously hostile to beings like her. Feeding there hadn¡¯t been an option and so she had been almost starving when the two month limit finally ended.


    I had been her first target, fresh off the paranoia caused by Adora¡¯s harsh words. Between our brief struggle and the meager rations I¡¯d been feeding her, getting her to swear the oaths had been a breeze. I was pretty sure that if I¡¯d been able to bind it then, I could have convinced her to make a proper slave oath, anything to excape the gnawing hunger and burn of mana deprivation.


    I stood up, feeling much lighter now that I had a course of action. I would talk to Miranda again tomorrow. We had class together so I could drag her off to lunch and pick her brains for how I should proceed. Then, I would schedule a time to meet with Brenda, she was always happy to spend time together on weekends, though I¡¯d never actually sought her out for that myself. It had always been her coming to find me.


    For now, I could do exactly what I always did when I was stressed, practice. Practice, practice, practice. If I was strong enough, I would never have to deal with shit like this. No one would dare make me.


    After an hour of simple internal mana exercises, I might be even more assured in my superiority in that field but it was no reason to get sloppy, I was feeling calm enough to do something more interesting.


    In this case, that meant my rather promising research into what made Mistletoe tick. I¡¯d made some interesting observations on the surface level the day before, but hadn¡¯t had time for anything deeper.


    It was still early in the evening, I had about four more hours before I needed to get to bed, and I didn¡¯t have anything due the next day. That meant I had plenty of time to do some hands-on research. No, I wasn¡¯t planning to fuck her again, no matter how tempting that was. I meant actual research.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Digging out the same notebook I¡¯d started, I sat down on the stool beside her to make some observations. She¡¯d continued to drip aggressively, in fact it had gotten noticeably worse after I¡¯d fucked her ass. Clearly I¡¯d been right about her being something of a horny slut.


    I¡¯d set down a bucket under her the day before, as well as lay down some towels around her legs to catch anything trickling down her thighs. A day later, the bucket had collected several cups worth of the slightly pink-tinged clear fluid, and both towels were rather soaked.


    As I cleaned up and replaced the towels, I wondered if Igor had ever had to deal with this sort of thing. If he had, he hadn¡¯t bothered mentioning it in any of his notes. Maybe it wasn¡¯t an elf thing and Mistletoe was an exception, I¡¯d heard of girls who got really turned on by bondage, maybe that''s what was happening. Alternatively, maybe that''s why he kept them as dismembered torsos. Perhaps removing the arms and legs made them less horny?


    Whatever it was, I could tell that the liquid was absolutely packed with mana, so I carefully emptied the bucket into several glass containers and replaced it. I hadn¡¯t heard of any uses for elven arousal fluids, but that might be one of those deliberately suppressed bits of information. I couldn¡¯t imagine the elf kingdoms would want outsiders to know that their women were valuable for more than just their milk.


    I decided to reward her with a firm spank and a rub. I slipped two fingers between her legs, her pussy immediately clenching down around my fingers. It took barely thirty seconds of stimulation before she came, her legs thrashing against the metal bonds that held them in place and fluids gushing down my hands.


    I shook my head in exasperation. I¡¯d technically been engaged before everything fell apart, but she had never been even half this responsive. We¡¯d had a good relationship, but there had been little passion there. Not enough for something like this at least. If this was how all elves were, it was a miracle they didn¡¯t spend all their time like this. I¡¯d barely had to touch her even.


    Before I stopped, I decided to remind her of the previous time I had played with her. My soaked fingers slowly trailed up and slipped effortlessly into her rear. I sank my fingers in up to the knuckles, then pulled away and got cleaned up. That was enough for her, though if I found a good use for the fluids I¡¯d harvested I could see this becoming a frequent event. She¡¯d gushed almost a full cup into the bucket while I¡¯d been playing with her, despite much of it running off down her legs.


    Hopefully what I was about to do wouldn¡¯t ruin that, though maybe it would make things even worse. Better? I wasn¡¯t sure how to put it. Miranda had told me some girls liked a bit of pain, right? I wasn¡¯t quite sure if this counted, but whatever.


    Moving the stool around, I set it down directly in front of her, careful to avoid the tube leading up to her gag. Sitting down, I rested my hands on her bare shoulders, then leaned my head to rest against her forehead.


    I¡¯d never tried this particular technique before, but I¡¯d read that it was highly effective. It would probably be better if I removed the blindfold, eye contact was useful for many types of intrusive spellcasting, but that was a risk I wasn¡¯t willing to take. The eyes were a window to the soul, and the suppressive enchantments in her blindfold were a valuable addition to her overall binding


    I took a deep breath, unspooling my mana much as I had to intimidate Miranda. It was a difficult technique, very mana intensive but highly useful. I carefully shaped the mana, letting it pool around Mistletoe¡¯s body and roughly conform to her restrained form.


    Only then, once I had thoroughly smothered her in my presence, I began. I pushed inward in a brutal, crushing movement, mana shoving its way past the resistant nature of her body to seep inside. It was vaguely similar to what I¡¯d done with Janna, but in the same way a blacksmith¡¯s hammer was like a dwarven hammer-press.


    What I¡¯d done with Janna had been an expression of delicate control, minute threads of my mana worming past her defensis to observe what she was doing within her body and soul. That sort of approach was highly effective, but only because Janna was a human. She didn¡¯t have the immense natural magic resistance of something like a troll, dragon, or elf.


    Had I tried that same technique here, it would have failed no matter how tightly controlled my tendrils were. That little mana would never get past the spiritual barrier that flowed through her skin. Instead, I used a much more brutal, painful method. I forced my way through her resistance, burning mana to smash aside her natural defenses to get at the delicate mana within.


    It was a painful, impractical technique. Certainly not something I would ever use on an ally. I was relatively sure what the Myrrdin had done was conceptually similar, but much more refined. Still, despite my inexperience, it worked like a charm.


    After a moment of struggle, my mana spread throughout her body, carefully gliding around the complex structure of her natural circulations as I recovered from the strain of my entry. Now that I was passed the initial barrier, I could use my preferred threads of mana to probe and examine. Using brute force here only risked permanently damaging what I wished to study.


    From here, it was easy to tell that my entry had hurt her much more than it had pained me. I wasn¡¯t surprised, it was designed as a method for restraining and studying monsters that resisted typical scans. No one cared if it hurt, only that it was effective. There was surely a better way to do this, I just didn¡¯t know it.


    My pain had simply been the momentary feedback of my magic destroying itself against her protections. Hers was a constant ache, the mere presence of my mana burning her as her body identified it a foreign element. Added to the ache of stiff muscles and the sharp pain of shattered resistances, she would not enjoy this process.


    I was tempted to dig deep into her core, to see what really made an elf tick, but I limited myself to my current plans. There was no reason to blunder around and make a mess. I wanted to study what I¡¯d identified as the system that granted elves their preternatural balance. It looked comparatively simple to the rest of the system, so I felt it would be a good place to start.


    It took some time, possibly as much as half an hour though it was hard to tell time while so much of my mind was occupied, but eventually I found the magic I was looking for. It had been easy to find from the outside, flowing relatively close to the surface of her body and isolated by the enchantments on my glasses.


    From this perspective, everything was much more complicated. There was no outside aids to filter my perspective and there was so much going on inside her body! I¡¯d thought my own circulations were impressive, especially seeing the embarrassing state of Janna¡¯s own enhancement, but this made both of us look like rank amateurs.


    I slowly trailed my mana along the threads that made up this enhancement. It was a fine mesh of looping tendrils, running into and around each other as they wound their way through her body. It wasn¡¯t a particularly complicated pattern I realized, simply done in such fine threads that it looked almost like a uniform sheet of mana. The gaps between individual threads were sometimes so small that my own narrow tendrils looked comically oversized in comparison.


    For a moment, I wondered if I¡¯d bitten off more than I could chew. This was control on a level far beyond what I was capable of now. Maybe I should just go the easy route, use rituals to steal traits like so many other mages did.


    My mana sank deeper, feeling along ever more complicated structures. The patterns around her bones were particularly terrifying, nearing the overwhelming complexity of the few seventh and eighth level spells I¡¯d seen in passing. Would I ever be able to mimic something like that?


    Yes. Yes I would, I decided, returning to the circulation I¡¯d been studying. I could and I would. It would take time and effort, but when had I ever shied away from hard work? I wouldn¡¯t be like Janna, like my classmates, like the thousands of failed mages who had taken the easy way and suffered for it.


    I gathered my mana, forming fine fingers and feelers around the delicate mana flows. The time for that would come. For now, this was my goal, my focus. Other issues would come and I would conquer them in turn. After all, I was me.

 Chapter 16

    As usual, I got to class with plenty of time to spare and took a seat in the second row. Professor Meadows was already there, wandering among the statues with a feather duster while humming an off-putting tune. She looked particularly cheerful this morning, which was probably a bad sign for someone or another.


    Miranda arrived a few minutes later, and a jerk of my head had her coming down to sit beside me. I gave her an appreciative look as I reflexively blocked out her suggestive mental influence. She clearly noticed the attention, stopping to pose and throwing her long hair over her shoulder.


    She was wearing a particularly alluring dress today, an open-sided red number that hugged her curves and showed off her lack of undergarments. I hoped I wasn¡¯t ruining any plans, that would be a poor way to reflect my improved attitude towards her.


    ¡°Very nice, I like the new look.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Orion,¡± she simpered, leaning forward in a way that gave me a clear look down her dress, ¡°I¡¯m meeting with Phineas after class.¡±


    Damn, well there went those plans. I didn¡¯t want to be an ass to my first and only servant, not today. I took a moment to think, trying to identify who this Phineas was.


    ¡°You mean the blue haired one?¡± there was a fourth year Phineas I¡¯d heard of I was pretty sure.


    ¡°No, no, not him. He¡¯s way too short. Phineas Lutestrum.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at the name, ¡°The second year?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s positively delicious.¡± She closed her eyes as she said the last part, her entire body shuddering in feigned pleasure.


    ¡°Too much information Miranda.¡± I smiled at her pout, happy she was feeling comfortable enough to be her usual playful self.


    ¡°Though, isn¡¯t that a bit of a risky target? I don¡¯t think he¡¯s much of a mage,¡± I hadn¡¯t heard anything about him like I had most of the promising mages in the previous year, ¡°but Lutestrum is a strong name.¡±


    I was familiar with his family at the very least. The Lutestrum¡¯s were one of the aristocratic houses of my homeland, primarily made up of bards and musicians but with the odd mage as well.


    ¡°Not especially. He¡¯s from a branch house, though one that was allowed to keep the name.¡± She waved her hand dismissively, ¡°Even if he was from the core house, he¡¯s a backwater noble from a tiny island.¡± She bit her bottom lip and quickly added, ¡°Sorry, no offense.¡±


    ¡°None taken.¡± It was true. Places and nobles that had felt so important when I was a child seemed mostly irrelevant now. On a world stage, my home was barely a blip. It only remained its own nation because conquering it would be more effort than the place was worth. If Warbringer couldn¡¯t protect Adara, Lutestrum would certainly not shield Phineas.


    Still, it was hard to remember that sometimes. I would hear a name I remembered learning of as a child and think of them as important, even though no one outside our borders had ever heard of them. Leaving that forsaken place had been the best decision I¡¯d ever made. I only wished I¡¯d made it sooner.


    Eventually, I moved on to the reason I¡¯d called her over. ¡°I don¡¯t want to mess up your date, but I need to talk to you later. It sounds like you won¡¯t be free tonight,¡± she licked her lips suggestively, ¡°but are you doing anything tomorrow morning?¡±


    ¡°No, that should be fine, though the later the better.¡±


    ¡°Eleven? A late breakfast I guess, or an early lunch.¡±


    ¡°That would be good, thank you Orion.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Have fun tonight.¡±


    ¡°Oh I will.¡±


    We spent several more minutes discussing nothing particularly significant. Neither of us mentioned our interaction the day before but I felt that we¡¯d sufficiently put it behind us.


    Professor Meadows started class with her usual spiel, ¡°Good morning students, we have a few announcements to get through before we begin. In local news, there has been a bit of excitement on campus. On Wednesday, one particularly foolish student botched a summoning and let a demon rampage for several minutes before it was unmade. Unfortunately, four other students perished in the commotion.¡± She shook her head in feigned sadness, ¡°Truly such a shame.


    Additionally, I would like to commend our own Mr. Tanner,¡± she gestured to where the fourth year was sitting on the other side of the classroom, ¡°on his expert use of alchemy during yesterday¡¯s honor duel. It wasn¡¯t what I would have done, but I doubted your opponent expected that white phosphorus!¡±


    Damn, that sounded nasty. At her prompting, he stood up and gave a sweeping bow. I clapped politely like everyone else. Professor Meadows liked it when you did that. It was a shame I¡¯d missed the duel, I liked to attend as many of them as I could, but I clearly hadn¡¯t heard of it in time. It had probably been scheduled at the last minute, but I¡¯d been busy regardless.


    ¡°Moving on, my husband still needs an assistant, but I¡¯ve already told all you about that. This way I can tell him I¡¯ve done it without wasting any more time.¡± With a loud grumble about demanding husbands, she summoned her chalk and stepped up to the board.


    ¡°Today we¡¯ll be discussing shape transformations during alchemy. I shouldn¡¯t have to tell you that it''s sometimes useful to change not just the material but also the structure of the object. However, we¡¯ve already discussed all that. No, today we will be going deeper!¡±


    She rapidly sketched out a diagram on the board, showing small circles tightly clustered in different ways. ¡°As we¡¯ve discussed, all matter is fundamentally made up of tiny specs. What is important here is how those specs are arranged. Look at these two different patterns, see how one is neat and regular while the other is broken up? Well, these are both the same material, but their structure is different. This one will be brittle and easily fractured, while the other will hold firm under much greater strain!¡±


    I listened intently, pen flying as I copied down her words and everything she was drawing. This was fascinating stuff and not a topic I¡¯d studied before. Seeing the two metal sheets she transmuted act so differently was eye opening, as was her description of why they acted that way. The way this was going, I might be remaking Mistletoe¡¯s restraints earlier than I¡¯d expected.


    The rest of class and lunch passed quickly, and soon it was time for one of the highlights of my week. Lectures in Mana Theory was not so much a class as a lecture series. There were no assignments or exams and the professor was different each week. It was also a very difficult class to get into, accepting only those who could pass a rigorous test of their mana manipulation skills.


    There were only seven of us in the class, myself and six upper year students. I¡¯d initially thought that the low attendance was mostly from a lack of interest, and that was likely part of it, but after my conversation with Janna and Miranda, I wasn¡¯t so sure. It was possible quite a few more people were interested and simply didn¡¯t have the skill to get in.


    I personally hadn¡¯t found the test overly difficult, but even then I¡¯d known I was better than most at that sort of thing. Still, I had thought that just about any fourth year that applied themself could easily pass it. That probably wasn¡¯t true.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    I took a seat in my assigned spot, giving a small nod in greeting to the older student beside me. I felt much more comfortable in this class than I did in most of my others. Not only was it a very casual overall experience, but it was very freeing to know that none of these students possessed a threat to me. They were all more powerful than I was, but the strict rules of engagement ensured that they would have long graduated or died by the time they could strike at me.


    He returned my nod with a smile, turning away from his work to greet me. ¡°Hey Orion, how¡¯d your project go last week? I remember you were stressing about it all class.¡±


    ¡°Quite well, thanks. Any luck yourself?¡±


    He groaned and shook his head. ¡°No, unfortunately not. I¡¯ve burned through two meetings and a thousand platinum pieces in materials trying to get this blasted thing to work. Still, I think I¡¯ve found a promising lead.¡±


    A thousand platinum pieces? I¡¯d never even seen that much money, much less had it to throw at my own research! ¡°Damn, that sucks. I hope it pans out.¡±


    ¡°You and me both, Orion, you and me both.¡±


    He returned to his work, making minute changes to the intricate spell diagram he was working on. I respectfully refrained from peeking, not that I would be able to learn much from such a limited display. He was trying to craft an eighth circle spell, and this absurdly complex diagram was simply one facet of that work.


    Liam was one of the remaining seventh year students, and was working on completing his graduation project. Each student had to contribute some piece of original research or spellcraft to the Academy in order to graduate. Liam had told me he¡¯d originally planned to submit something else, but had decided he didn¡¯t want to publicize whatever it was. Now he was scrambling to make something else that was sufficiently impressive.


    I was about to ask another question when an oppressive aura flooded through the room, freezing me in place. A familiar oppressive aura. A dark shadow flashed in the corner of my eye and then he was just standing there, robes fluttering in a nonexistent breeze as he stared down impassively from the raised podium.


    ¡°Good afternoon students,¡± he said smoothly, aura vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, ¡°Welcome back to Lectures in Mana Theory. Unfortunately Professor Manton couldn¡¯t make it today, so I decided to take over for him. I¡¯m sure none of you mind?¡±


    I nodded rapidly, the rest of the class doing the same. It somehow felt like it would be wrong to say something, but if he wanted an answer he would get one.


    ¡°Very good, very good. Now then, I¡¯m sure you all felt it when I arrived, yes? A pressure on your backs, a lead weight in the pit of your chest. If any of you have experience with some of the other Archmages, perhaps Madam Goodwitch or Lord Mire, you may have noticed something similar. It is a skill many of us use extensively.¡±


    The pressure returned, but fainter, a heavy blanket instead of a smothering weight.


    ¡°You should remember the talk Professor Rainer gave a few weeks ago about mana leverage. A skilled mage can expand their mana to cloak their surroundings. This is useful in a number of areas, particularly in the more sensitive forms of mana sensing. I believe he primarily focused on suppressing the effect of magic items such as suppression bands?¡±


    I nodded, that had been a particularly interesting lesson. I¡¯d never been subjected to magic suppressing restraints like the collar I¡¯d put around Mistletoe¡¯s neck, but I¡¯d heard that it was a terrible experience. The idea of being able to smother the effects of such an item was a very appealing proposition.


    ¡°Very good, it is an important skill, especially when dealing with the outside world. Many mages disdain the use of magic items, but they are a favorite among those who seek to hunt our kind. You do not need much skill to wield a rod of fireball or a spear of piercing, but they can be just as deadly as the spells they seek to mimic.¡±


    He paused for a moment, fixing each of us with a piercing stare. I gulped as he met my eyes, but the expected void didn¡¯t descend to consume me. I still felt almost naked and defenseless under his gaze, but there wasn¡¯t the horrible darkness biting at the edges of my soul that I had felt the last time.


    ¡°We as mages are powerful, far beyond the keen of the mundane men and women you once were. However, you are all still mortal. Death comes for us all eventually, but do not invite her in through carelessness or arrogance. Even the greatest mage can be brought low if they grow careless.¡±


    ¡°Now then, back to our main point. As you may be able to guess, those same principles can be used to suppress other things as well. Plants, animals, even people. It is far more difficult, a person¡¯s soul is much more complex than an enchantment, but with practice it is an infinitely useful skill.¡±


    The aura around me changed suddenly and my heart felt like it was frozen in my chest as fear, blinding, mind numbing fear tore at every fiber of my being. I had to run, but my body wouldn¡¯t move, frozen as every terror I had ever felt seemed to rise from the depths of my mind.


    I stared at the most perfect man in the world, a paragon of beauty, eyes wide as I took in every twitch and expression. I¡¯d never been attracted to men before, but for a single moment I wanted him with every fiber of my being.


    Another flicker and the vision of beauty was replaced by a vengeful god. I cringed back, reflexively looking at the ground, praying that I could avoid his wrath. I was but an insect before a storm, a single grain of sand tumbling under the ocean.


    I gagged, repelled by the revolting mess in front of me. I looked away, unable to focus on something so gross, covering my mouth with my hand as I pinched my nose shut against the stench.


    Then it was over and I sat back heavily in my chair, gasping for air. Around me, I heard soft groans as my classmates recovered from the experience. I¡¯d stayed in my seat, but Liam had collapsed at some point without me noticing and was leaning heavily against the back wall, face pale.


    He let us recover for a moment, then continued on, pacing back and forth slowly as he spoke. ¡°That is just a small example of what I mean. Everything you just experienced was simply an expression of this one skill, though taken to a level few have ever attempted. I do not expect any of you to reach such a level, not without decades of practice at least, but let it be something to strive for. No, instead we will be discussing a different aspect of the skill today.¡±


    He stopped, turning to face the board with his back to us. ¡°I want each of you to cast a spell, something with a visible effect would be better, something dramatic maybe. Attack me, break something, anything!¡±


    I felt somewhat strange about doing any of that, I didn¡¯t think I could hurt him but it seemed like a bad habit to get into. Still, none of us hesitated. I formed the matrix for an elemental third circle spell I¡¯d been practicing recently. Mana flowed and I felt the spell form.


    Then a surge of mana flowed into the spell, rending apart the carefully formed matrix and dissipating the mana harmlessly into the air. Instead of the expected icy attack spell, there was nothing.


    I gaped at the display. He just¡­ crushed it. Effortlessly. Just as he had the spells each of my classmates had tried to cast, some of which had looked to be of the sixth or seventh circle. That was incredible.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t a counterspell¡± whispered the girl sitting several seats to my left, shock clearly audible in her voice. She¡¯d been the one trying to cast a seventh circle spell, only to see it fall apart before her eyes.


    ¡°Correct. I simply smothered the spell matrix out of existence with my own mana. Useful, no?¡± He paused and turned back to face us. ¡°Now then, another demonstration. I can feel that you all maintain some impressive circulations. It''s well known that traditional counterspells and suppressive techniques struggle to deal with that sort of magic. Now observe.¡±


    The overwhelming presence of his mana returned in full force, except this time it was not content in just pressing against the edges of my soul. In a technique vaguely reminiscent of what I¡¯d done to study Mistletoe¡¯s mana currents, his mana slid smoothly past that barrier, simply pushing through any defenses I tried to raise. It rapidly surrounded my core, cutting off the numerous connections that powered my physical enhancements.


    The weakness I so hated returned full force, made even worse by the constant pressure of his mana all around me. Worst of all, I couldn¡¯t feel my core. I knew it was there, inside me, burning with the mana I¡¯d cultivated for so many years, but my connection to it was gone. Like this, I was little more than an ordinary human. Powerless. Pathetic.


    I looked with horror at how he just stood there. This was effortless for him, seven skilled mages and he wasn¡¯t even breaking a sweat.


    ¡°As you can see, via this sort of manipulation, it is possible to entirely cut the connection between a mage and their mana. Fortunately, this is a very difficult technique and completely unreproducible with an enchanted item. It is also not as difficult to resist as you¡¯d think. The key is to break the wave of the attack as it begins, as once it has covered the link to your mana you can no longer try to fight it off.¡±


    He pulled back slightly and I gasped in relief as I felt the connection return. I clutched at that connection, fearing that it could disappear again at any moment.


    ¡°Now then, for the core of today''s lesson.¡± He smiled, a hint of cruel pleasure leaching into his voice. ¡°I will repeatedly smother your mana, though with less force than I used this time around. You will try to feel for how I am doing it, and resist the attack. Unfortunately, this is just about the best way to develop this skill, no matter how unpleasant the experience.¡±


    Despite his words, he didn¡¯t seem in the least apologetic about it. Oh this was going to suck.


    ¡°Let''s begin.¡±

 Chapter 17

    I staggered out of the classroom two and a half hours later, leaning heavily against Liam even as he leaned against me. It had been one of the most painful lessons I¡¯d ever gone through, leaving me utterly drained and aching. At the very least, he¡¯d given each of us a protective token, guaranteeing us safe passage back to our rooms to recover. Now, the main challenge was doing so, I could barely walk and that was after half an hour of extra time to recover.


    Still, I couldn¡¯t really complain. He¡¯d been right about the method¡¯s efficacy. I¡¯d noticeably improved over the course of the two hour lesson, able to even fight off a scaled back attack by the end. I had also become so much more familiar with the feel of my mana. The difference was incredible, like a nearsighted man putting on glasses for the first time.


    Everything felt so much clearer and my mana responded to my commands with an ease that astounded me. It was the sort of improvement that would have taken me hundreds of grueling hours to achieve through ordinary methods. A few more sessions like that and I would be well on my way to achieving my goals.


    Unfortunately, the Myrddin had shattered those hopes before he¡¯d left. Not only did you need a master of the technique to practice like that, and he certainly wasn¡¯t going to be coming in every week to help us out, it was also potentially dangerous if done too often. Even if I could find a willing mage to help me, he recommended against going through the exercise more than once a month at the very most.


    Even that major benefit wasn¡¯t the limit of what I¡¯d gotten out of the session. It didn¡¯t seem that the process was particularly straining for him, because he spent the entire two hours talking. He critiqued our technique, dispensed advice, and described in great detail mechanisms of mana control that I had never even seen mentioned in any of the books I¡¯d consulted.


    There was a reason Ivius Ambrosius was the Myrddin. He was powerful and knowledgeable to the extreme. Ambrosius was to his fellow archmages what an archmage was to a rank beginner.


    I left Liam at his room, the way the Academy¡¯s space warping worked, the upper year rooms were always closest to the entrance to student housing, despite the fact that students kept the same rooms from year to year. I managed to walk unsupported for several steps, pride more than anything pushing me forward, then gave in and used the wall the rest of the way.


    I barely made it through the door before my legs gave out, and I slumped bonelessly onto the small welcome mat I¡¯d brought with me back during my first year. That was before I¡¯d realized inviting people back to my room wasn¡¯t really something they did here. I smiled weakly as a sudden thought crossed my mind.


    The only people other than me who had ever seen it were Mistletoe and Miranda, and I doubted either of them had appreciated my grandfather¡¯s sense of humor. ¡®Come on in, we don¡¯t bite¡¯. Two sets of stylized wolf jaws flanked the text. The mat had been a gift from my grandfather for one of my parent¡¯s anniversaries. Since it hadn¡¯t been inside the house, it had been one of the fews things that had survived.


    I barely made it to bed; I knew I had things to do, but that could come later. Yes later. Work. Work later, sleep now¡­


    Janna de¡¯Floris, third of her name, heiress of house Floris, future justicar of the Gulivine Republic, scowled at the tangled mess of embroidery floss lying tauntingly on her desk. A muttered word and hand gesture later, the unholy abomination disappeared in a narrow jet of fire shot from her finger.


    She watched it burn for several moments, the flames eagerly consuming her most recent failure, then leaned back and sighed heavily. She was out. Again. She hadn¡¯t had any thread lying around, so she¡¯d had to go ask one of her cousins, who she knew enjoyed embroidering in her spare time.


    The first time, she¡¯d just asked for four short pieces, just as was specified in the instructions. That had lasted all of ten minutes before it was hopelessly ruined. She¡¯d tried untangling the mess she¡¯d made, but that had only made things worse. The second time around, she¡¯d asked for four times that, thinking that would be enough to get the hang of it. The pile of charcoal on her desk clearly said otherwise.


    She didn¡¯t want to go ask for more. That would mean explaining why she kept asking for it and she didn¡¯t really want to admit that she¡¯d spent the last four hours slamming her head against what looked like simple mana control exercises. She¡¯d managed one of the internal exercises, it was tricky but fundamentally similar to something she¡¯d practiced with a tutor.


    The other three? Well, the charcoal on her desk and the wooden balls scattered all around the floor weren¡¯t exactly a sign of her success. She didn¡¯t even want to think about the other internal exercise, she¡¯d had to dig out a reference book just to find the term¡¯s he¡¯d used in the instructions!


    Janna hadn¡¯t really been sure what she¡¯d expected when she¡¯d asked the quiet boy for help. They¡¯d spoken before, he was unerringly polite to everyone and would speak if drawn into conversation, but he rarely engaged with anyone of his own accord. Before she¡¯d started checking her homework answers with him, she doubted they¡¯d exchanged more than fifty words in the past two years.


    It had been something of a spontaneous decision. She¡¯d spent all morning trying to construct the circulation, failing over and over as the magic stubbornly refused to flow. She¡¯d heard he was pretty good at that sort of magic, he always asked questions related to it in class and had somehow gotten into one of the upper year lecture series on the topic.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    He¡¯d gotten so very serious all of a sudden, his typical polite smile replaced by a speculative frown as he¡¯d considered her issues. She hadn¡¯t really expected him to be able to help, it had been a longshot request, but it had only taken him a moment to figure out the problem and offer to help. She hadn¡¯t expected him to be quite so¡­ mercenary, she hadn¡¯t really heard of him doing anything of the sort with anyone else, though maybe he just kept that sort of dealing on the down low.


    Even after meeting with him again and working out the details, she hadn¡¯t really known what to expect. The price he¡¯d asked for had been somewhat strange, but not really much of an issue for her. All the plants he¡¯d listed were quite affordable, so even if he¡¯d wound up being unable to help, it wouldn¡¯t have cost her much to try. She¡¯d expected him to ask for something much more impressive, she was the de¡¯Floris for the people¡¯s sake, but she wouldn¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouth.


    She¡¯d been quite angry when he didn¡¯t show up for their first meeting. It was highly offensive and had made her think he¡¯d overestimated himself and was frantically trying to figure out a way to get out of his vow. Still, she¡¯d decided to humor him and let him try to redeem himself the next day. There would be no third, she¡¯d decided, not if he proved that irresponsible.


    That¡­ hadn¡¯t happened. His excuse had immediately taken the wind out of her sails, she¡¯d only heard about it second hand but the terror in knowing she was just a few hallways away from a unrestrained demon had kept her awake for hours the night before. She¡¯d tried to use something else to knock him off balance like her tutors had taught her, but that hadn¡¯t worked out either.


    She¡¯d really thought they were together, what with how the Goodwitch girl always hung herself all over him. She was one of the only people he ever spent time with and they seemed so close, but apparently not.


    The rest of the meeting had been¡­ humbling to say the least. He was overwhelmingly skilled, to the point she wondered why people had thought he wouldn¡¯t make it to his second year back in the day. He¡¯d made her feel like a naughty child who hadn¡¯t done her homework, talking down to her like she was a failure when she couldn¡¯t match his expectations.


    She wasn¡¯t sure why she¡¯d tried to defend her decisions to him, but she¡¯d just felt so pathetic. ¡®Is that really how people feel about pure mana exercises?¡¯ he¡¯d asked her, ¡®Are you really content to scrabble in the dirt like a peasant?¡¯ her mind translated.


    It had been embarrassing to look so weak in front of a nobody like him. She was thankful the oath ensured he couldn¡¯t tell anyone about what had happened. Avalon Academy was not a place to show weakness, and that was what had happened. She¡¯d made herself look weak.


    When he¡¯d frankly told her that her hard earned skills were ¡®abysmal¡¯, she¡¯d been ready to blow up on him. When he told her she just needed to practice more, she¡¯d wanted to strangle that disappointed frown off his face. Everyone had already told her to keep practicing, that''s why she¡¯d asked him for help for all the people¡¯s sake!


    After that horrible session (And what had that uncomfortable probing magic he¡¯d used when she was doing her internal exercise been? She¡¯d never heard of anything like that.) she¡¯d expected something more. Something special, a sign of why he was so much better than her.


    And then he¡¯d done just that, giving her detailed instructions for four exercises tailor made to help her with her issue. They were fiendishly tricky, but just barely doable with her current skill level. None of them were in any of the books she¡¯d read, and she wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d come up with them on the spot or just knew so many off the top of his head that he had something for every situation.


    She sighed again, mumbling rude things about unreasonably talented hunks that clashed severely with her little-girl look. Then she looked back at the table, consulting the meticulously hand written instructions she¡¯d been given. She would take a break from the stupid string tying excersies and try the wooden balls again.


    For giving her such devious things to work on, he was surprisingly considerate. In addition to the exercise, he¡¯d even included simplified spell diagrams for transmuting the materials she would need for practice. There was one for both the string and the wooden balls, though she didn¡¯t feel confident enough in her alchemy skill to try the string one. Was he intentionally mocking her lack of skill or did he really think she could just learn that sort of thing on the fly? Where had he found an alchemical circle designed to transmute wax into string in the first place!


    Elpha Lifebane ¨Carchmage, scourge of the western reaches, and vanquisher of the ancient emerald dragon Kaldunn¨C hummed thoughtfully as she scanned the letter she had just received. She recognized the sender instantly, only one little girl would continue to call her aunty after all these years. The most surprising thing was that the girl was still alive, especially with all the crazy schemes Elpha kept helping her plan.


    Elpha had thought that the last one would have for sure been the end for her. Boy had Galina been furious when the little darling had decided she wanted to attend Avalon. She¡¯d spent weeks trying to get her stubborn spawn to see reason, but once an idea was planted in the girl¡¯s head she clung onto it like a limpet. Honestly, Elpha was lucky Galina hadn¡¯t realized who¡¯d kicked off that particular desire. She¡¯d never seen the self righteous witch look so murderous before.


    Really though, how had that stupid brat managed to last almost three entire years at her alma matter? Back in her day, a girl like her would have been eaten alive and spat out in weeks! Kids these days, so soft. Even with her mother¡¯s support, someone should have offed her by now, or better yet, tricked her into something with a nice soulbinding attached.


    Still, this letter presented another opportunity. This boy, Orion, seemed like an interesting sort. Reading between the lines, he seemed talented and ruthless, an excellent combination in her opinion. She couldn¡¯t strike at the girl directly, no matter how much she often wanted to when the brat was running around her castle breaking things. Galina would never let her get away with it. If she used a patsy though, particularly one that Brenda seemed so very fond of? That had potential.


    She would write to some friends, see what they had to say about the boy. There were people who kept tabs on budding talents, so it wouldn¡¯t be strange to ask about him. If things panned out, maybe she would drop by and visit. She had some gifts she needed to hand deliver anyway. They could wait a few years, but if she had a good reason she might as well drop by. Igor would probably get a kick out of some of the specimens she¡¯d been working with recently. He¡¯d always been her favorite professor after all.

 Chapter 18

    I woke up sore in a way I couldn¡¯t quite describe. Mentally and physically, I felt fine, good even. I was well rested and ready to go. My spirit though, the mana that flowed through my soul felt tired and sore, like an overstrained muscle after a too-intense workout.


    That was exactly what it was, I realized quickly. We¡¯d briefly covered mana strain during my first year, but I¡¯d never gone far enough to experience it. It typically took a much larger mana pool than I possessed to use so much mana in one sitting without running out. The exercises the Myrddin had led us through were different, I had barely burned any mana, but had been using it nonstop for two hours in a way I¡¯d never experienced before.


    I tried to use a simple spell to check the time, but found my mana slow to respond and almost painful. It really was like a sore muscle. I managed to cast the spell on my second attempt, thankful I¡¯d not started with something more complicated. I was pretty sure I could survive the backlash of a second or third circle spell, but it would have been an incredibly embarrassing end if I couldn¡¯t.


    This put something of a crimp in my plans for the day. I didn¡¯t dare leave my room like I was now and I didn¡¯t want to miss my meetings with Janna and Miranda later today. I hopped out of bed, looking with distaste at my rumpled outfit and dirtied sheets. Something else to take care of, wonderful.


    I slipped out of the soiled uniform, tossing it carelessly onto my bed. Slipping on a pair of light shorts, I padded silently to the chest where I kept the majority of my old books. It took a bit of digging, but eventually I found the textbook I was looking for.


    It was a relatively thin text, barely two hundred pages and clearly well worn. It was my first year mana theory book, and one I¡¯d spent an excessive amount pouring over back in the day. Hopefully it had something to help with mana strain, I thought it did but I¡¯d spent most of my time with the book reading about pure mana exercises and had somewhat neglected the other two chapters of material.


    I smiled nostalgically as the book fell open to one particular page I had just been thinking of a few days before. Exercise 7.2 - Lateral movement with multiple objects; it was the exercise Janna had failed to perform when I¡¯d been testing her during our meeting. I ran my fingers over the neatly drawn diagrams, almost laughing as I read the annotations scattered around the page. Some of them were quite on point, others I¡¯d been way off the mark.


    There was a small hand-drawn picture, along with a speculative question about the ideal mana flow, crossed out with bright red ink. Professor Zim¡¯s expression when I¡¯d asked him about it had been really something, and he¡¯d warned me not to try anything of the sort without supervision. Looking back, I could see why. What I¡¯d thought to do had the risk of creating an unstable matrix and killing me with the backlash.


    I let myself indulge for a few minutes, flipping slowly through the chapter and remembering a time when things had been so much simpler. Then I shook my head and flipped to the back of the book, squinting as I scanned the appendix. There, page 33, mana strain.


    It wasn¡¯t much, mana strain wasn¡¯t a particularly common problem and this was a text meant for beginners, but that was better than nothing. I didn¡¯t think any of my other books would be of more help, and I¡¯d already decided I wasn¡¯t going anywhere until I was feeling better.


    At the very least, it told me that the issue shouldn¡¯t persist for long, I¡¯d definitely be fully recovered by the time classes resumed, but that didn¡¯t help me in the short term. Fortunately, it also suggested several exercises, simple internal movements, that should promote a speedy recovery.


    After completing my morning routine and drinking down another unpleasant vial of nutrient potion (Janna couldn¡¯t deliver those ingredients soon enough), I ran through the seven movements the author had suggested. It didn¡¯t take long, maybe ten minutes total, but it said not to over do it and repeat the exercise every hour until recovered. Even after just one attempt, I could feel an improvement. It was just after seven, so I had four more sessions before I needed to meet with Miranda. That would have to be enough.


    Miranda bit her lip nervously, foot tapping a soft staccato against the cafeteria¡¯s hardwood floor. She¡¯d arrived early and claimed a table in one corner near the window. It had a wonderful view, overlooking one of the Academy¡¯s gardens and with the lake just barely visible in the distance. Orion liked that sort of thing, and he always appreciated punctuality as well.


    Her nails bit painfully into her knee as she cast another clock spell. Seven after. Orion had never been late to one of their meetings and she didn¡¯t know what that meant. Was he angry at her? Unsatisfied with something she¡¯d done? Maybe it was just leftover annoyance from her little deception by omission? She didn¡¯t know and the ignorance sent her mind spiraling wildly.


    Her heart clenched painfully as she remembered the feeling of his hand against her cheek, deceptively gentle as he looked down on her. The phantom clink of steel chains echoed in her ears and her breath caught in her throat as she remembered the icy collar cinching tightly around her neck.


    A hand on her shoulder almost had her jumping out of her skin as she whirled to look at the person who had surprised her. Orion raised an eyebrow and let go, taking his own seat as she breathed deeply to still her racing heart.


    ¡°Sorry about that. Didn¡¯t mean to startle you.¡±


    His voice was calm and even, but there was a trace of something in his eyes. Annoyance? Anger? Something else? She didn¡¯t know and not knowing scared her. He¡¯d always looked so open and innocent back during their first year. She hadn¡¯t seen past that mask in time to save herself, and she¡¯d never had any more success seeing through his more recent polite smiles.


    Outwardly, she didn¡¯t let any of that show as she let herself fall back into the comfortable role she¡¯d played for so many years. ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry about that, I was just lost in thought.¡± She giggled conspiratorially and covered her mouth with a hand. ¡°Liam was such a considerate gentleman.¡±


    The typical chidding ¡®Miranda¡¯ she expected never came. Orion simply nodded and stood back up. ¡°Let¡¯s get some food.¡± Another stab of fear shot through her chest. That was different and she hated different. Different was chains and whips and gags. Different was suffocating in an inescapable chokehold, clawing weakly at muscular arms as her life flashed before her eyes. Different scared her.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She stood up and followed regardless. What else was there to do? The clack of her heels was loud in the mostly empty cafeteria as she hurried to catch up. She silently cursed the dress she¡¯d chosen to wear today, a traditional sheath-style dress originating from Orion¡¯s home region. The knee length skirt fit incredibly tightly, limiting her to short, careful steps.


    She¡¯d hoped the dress would help put him at ease, things that reminded him of home tended to as long as they weren¡¯t too personal. He usually commented whenever he saw her wearing something new, but hadn¡¯t said a word about it today. Did he not like it? Was it somehow connected to those few bits of his past that made him clam up in fury whenever they came up?


    He was already at the counter, filling two plates with eggs, bread, fresh vegetables, and cured meats. She didn¡¯t argue when he silently waved her away from the dish rack and handed her one. If he wanted her to eat the same thing he was eating, she certainly wasn¡¯t going to say anything. It had been long enough that she¡¯d almost forgotten what an angry Orion looked like, and the recent reminder was very fresh in her mind. She didn¡¯t think refusing his food selection would be enough to set him off, but she preferred not to pile extra straw onto that particular camel¡¯s back.


    Once again she had to hurry after him as he strode off, only stopping briefly to grab a cup of steaming tea and hand her a tall glass of her preferred cherry juice. She accepted it with a smile and a cheeky lick of her lips, but even to her they felt forced. If Orion noticed, he didn¡¯t say anything.


    Despite his apparent eagerness to get food, Orion did not start eating immediately. He set his plate and cup down in front of him and fixed her with an impassive stare. After a moment of consideration, she met his eyes squarely, hands fidgeting nervously in her lap and out of sight. Orion tended to prefer frankness from her rather than the sultry, submissive posture she tended to assume around her targets, so hopefully that was what he wanted here as well.


    ¡°Tell me about Brenda?¡± he eventually asked, ¡°I don¡¯t mean my apparent relationship with the girl, but just like, in general.¡±


    It took her a moment to formulate an answer. She¡¯d expected questions about the girl sooner or later, especially after the ¨Ca heavy clink of metal on metal, a calloused palm gently roughly trailing down her neck¨C conversation on Thursday.


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s a cheerful young woman, she acts a lot like I usually do, though it¡¯s less an act with her I think? I don¡¯t think she¡¯s quite as silly as she sometimes portrays herself as, but not that much more clever.¡±


    She paused for a moment, unconsciously adjusting her dress to show more of her bust as she often did when she was uncomfortable. Orion clearly noticed, though the slight hint of disapproval was not the typical reaction from men when she did that. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair in a clear signal for her to continue. She tried to think what else he would be interested in.


    ¡°She specializes mostly in support magic, though I think she¡¯s taken the minimum three courses each semester so she hasn¡¯t had much room to focus on anything. She definitely came in with some sort of prior skill, though I think she was one of the staff picks and not one of the regular applicants. Pretty sure Professor Fiylaar is like her paternal second cousin or something? They aren¡¯t close by any means but that''s the most likely string her mom pulled for her.¡±


    She paused again and took a sip of juice. Though the sweet, chilled juice tasted nothing like it, she couldn¡¯t help but remember the cold, tasteless goop he¡¯d spoonfed her. She¡¯d spit it out, but only once. He¡¯d forced her face into the floor to lick it up, not relenting until every disgusting drop was gone. He ¡®had to keep her strength up, no matter what I decide to do with you¡¯.


    ¡°I know she¡¯s taken a couple of healing classes, and she¡¯s pretty good at it? Not great but I don¡¯t think she ever had any trouble in those classes. I also think she might be good at scrying, but that''s a bit of a longshot. She¡¯s never taken a class for it here but that locket she usually wears under her dress looks a lot like a tiny scrying mirror.¡±


    He hummed thoughtfully, tapping one finger slowly against the table. ¡°And how do you feel about her?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t really have an opinion one way or the other¡± she answered after a short pause, ¡°We¡¯ve shared a couple classes but I¡¯ve barely spoken with her. We spent a little time together freshman years, hung around the same people, but these days the only man she spends time with is you. She has some useful connections if you do decide to pursue a relationship with her, but as a person she just doesn¡¯t seem all that interesting. She¡¯s a poor mage, kind of boring, and I guess she¡¯s kind of cute but¡­ you could do better.¡± She blushed shyly and looked away as she blurted out the last few words.


    Oh gods why had she said that? She was scared to see how he reacted. She hadn¡¯t meant to say it but it had just¡­ slipped out. It was such a natural part of her normal mask, flirting with any and everyone around her that she had completely forgotten that Orion seeing her in that light was bad. Chains and collars and pain bad.


    A soft chuckle had her turning back towards him, who clearly found her comment and embarrassment highly amusing. He shook his head and took a long sip from his still steaming cup, a look of contentment on his face.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re really something Miranda. Let''s eat and we can continue after. I¡¯m starving.¡±


    Without another word, he promptly proceeded to ignore her entirely, digging into his food with gusto and staring into the distance out the window. Miranda sat there for several moments, somewhat stumped by the rapid change in attitude.


    Eventually, she decided to simply comply and dug in herself. The request hadn¡¯t been phrased as an order, but she could still feel the faint pressure of her oath pushing her to do as he commanded. It was better to comply in places like this, where it didn¡¯t matter one way or the other, so she had more slack when ¡®suggestions¡¯ were much more serious.


    She took a deep breath, savoring the sweet smell of freshly baked bread and sliced fruit. Maybe today would be different? Orion had seemed almost pleasant today, happy. He¡¯d been in a good mood yesterday too.


    Her first bite disabused her of the notion. The bread tasted of nothing and misery, the cured meat like dust and ash. Mundane food had never done much for her, she was primarily a manavore after all so regular fare could at best help stave off starvation, but around him it was oh so much worse.


    She closed her eyes and swallowed, bile rising in the back of her throat even as she mechanically brought the fork back to her mouth. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. Her current bindings might be invisible, but she could always feel them at the back of her mind. So close to him, they felt alive, like snakes ready to strike. Always watching, waiting for the right moment.


    Someday, she would slip up, go too far. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t even be her fault, maybe he would just have a bad day and need someone to take it out on. All she could do was push it back, to say the end would not be today. She had to be friendly, helpful, pleasant, useful.


    Orion understood useful above all; he was practical that way. As long as she was of greater utility outside his direct influence, that was where she would remain. She feared for the day her¡­ parts would be more valuable than the whole. She took another painful bite and swallowed. After all, she had to keep her strength up.

 Chapter 19

    With a sad huff, I set my empty teacup down and turned away from the window. The cafeteria used some nifty enchantments on its tableware, I particularly appreciated the one that prevented anyone from spilling anything, but bottomless drinks wasn¡¯t one of them.


    After a busy and uncomfortable morning grinding through assignments and stretching my sore mana, it was nice to just relax for a bit. The cafeteria didn¡¯t often serve food from my homeland, so it was comforting to see the familiar breads and cured meats I¡¯d grown up with. They¡¯d even gotten the drinks right, I hadn¡¯t had this particular blend in well over a decade but it tasted just as I¡¯d remembered.


    Looking over, I noticed that Miranda had finished up as well, sitting primly in her seat with her hands folded in her lap and the empty dishes pushed to one side. I smiled, it was nice that she¡¯d enjoyed the food I¡¯d chosen for her. I was pretty sure I¡¯d gotten her usual favorites in addition to what I thought she might like to try, but it was good to know for sure.


    ¡°So then,¡± I clapped my hands together, ¡°onto the main reason I asked you to meet with me.¡±


    She sat up, leaning forward slightly and adjusting her dress. The style suited her, though the color was a little odd. Typically only a married mother would wear that color and cut, and Miranda was neither as far as I knew. I didn¡¯t say anything though, I¡¯d found she got uncomfortable when I commented on her appearance too often.


    ¡°I need to do something about Brenda. It¡¯s not super urgent, but I¡¯m worried about this turning into something serious. I can¡¯t imagine her family would find me a particularly good match for their daughter and I¡¯m also worried about attracting more negative attention than I can handle.¡±


    Miranda took a moment to gather her thoughts, biting her lip as she clearly thought about how to respond. ¡°That''s not quite where I thought this conversation was going¡± she finally said, ¡°But I think I see what you¡¯re worried about, even if I really think you are overreacting.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Orion, you¡¯re really overblowing this entire situation. I know you¡¯re a better caster than I will ever be, but there is a reason you came to me with this sort of problem. You¡¯re uh¡­ not very good at this stuff.¡±


    She stopped abruptly, swallowing heavily and adjusting her dress again. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯d like to think I¡¯ve grown past denying that my flaws exist. Continue.¡±


    She didn¡¯t look like she fully believed me, and honestly I couldn''t judge her for it. I¡¯d been particularly vicious towards her in the first few weeks after I¡¯d let her go and that first impression had never really faded.


    ¡°Well, first of all, I don¡¯t really think it''s going to be as bad as you clearly think it is. You¡¯re pretty well established as one of the best in our year and you don¡¯t really have very many enemies left. Mistletoe was really the only one who had actual bad blood with you, and she vanished at the start of the semester.


    We talked about this last time, you¡¯re a lot scarier than you give yourself credit for. There aren¡¯t very many students in our year or the next who are going to bother you, not now.¡±


    I nodded slowly. She¡¯d said something very similar when I grilled her on thursday. In her words, I¡¯d mostly proven myself strong enough to not be worth antagonizing.


    ¡°Secondly, I don¡¯t think the situation with her family is nearly as bad as you think it is. I¡¯m pretty confident they won¡¯t do anything to you, and after next year that won¡¯t be much of an issue anyway. She¡¯ll be gone by the time any of the students strong enough to target you directly will be allowed to do so.¡±


    ¡°You think she¡¯s going to take the option to withdraw?¡± I asked sceptically.


    ¡°Oh absolutely. Even if she doesn¡¯t want to, I guarantee her parents are going to pull her out. She doesn¡¯t have the talent or the will to manage fifth circle spells, not in just the next few years. She was struggling to get third circle spells working at the very end of last year and I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll have much better luck now.¡±


    That was a very good point. One of the requirements to progress to the next year at Avalon was the ability to cast that circle of spells. Since the difficulty of progressing to the next circle increased exponentially, many would never be capable of casting anything beyond the first few tiers. For that reason, Avalon had instituted a slightly more forgiving process for students to ¡®get out¡¯ instead of the usual ¡®try until it kills you¡¯ approach they used most other years.


    If after your fourth year, you couldn¡¯t manage to cast a fifth circle spell, or even if you could but didn¡¯t want to continue for whatever other reason, students were given their one and only chance to leave peacefully. They could relinquish their Avalon membership and the tuition they had already paid and make a clean break with the Academy.


    It was one of the reasons there was such a sharp drop between the number of fourth and fifth years. Somewhere between a third and a half of all remaining students ended up leaving that way. It made sense that Brenda would probably end up doing that. She definitely didn¡¯t have what it took to cast the 8th circle spells required to graduate, meaning she would die if she didn¡¯t leave.


    Leaving had never been an option for me, so I¡¯d never given it much thought. Only students who had paid the steep fees the Academy charged were given that option. As a ¡®scholarship¡¯ student, I was in for the long haul no matter my chances of graduation.


    ¡°I guess that does make sense, but that still leaves almost two years for something to happen.¡±


    ¡°Orion, think about this logically. What are you actually afraid of? You are always exceedingly careful, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you caught off guard outside a safe zone. That leaves honor duels the only real way to target you, and you¡¯re always careful not to give anyone grounds to challenge you.


    Honestly, even if you did, can you truthfully tell me you¡¯d lose against any one student in our year?¡±


    I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it. ¡°Do you think I would?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Orion, I know it sounds like I¡¯m sucking up when I say this, but you¡¯re amazing. You can cast fourth circle spells, right?¡± I nodded, ¡°Right, as I said, you¡¯re amazing. There might be like, five or six others in our year who can do that already. Maybe. Brenda¡¯s an annoying idiot, but no one is going to try to attack you because she pissed them off.¡±


    I was still unconvinced, but she had a point. I¡¯d apparently had an overinflated estimate of how skilled my classmates were. Was it really that strange that I might have overestimated the threat as well?


    ¡°Ok, let''s say you¡¯re right. That still leaves me with the question, what should I do?¡±


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Well, who says you need to do anything at all?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I mean, just continue on as is. You can reciprocate her advances if you want, or just continue to mostly ignore her. She might be useless, but even a tangential connection to her family could help you over the years. She seems pretty into you, but I doubt she¡¯s going to really do anything unless you take the initiative.¡±


    ¡°You think it will be that easy?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t really see why not. Your main goal for these next few years should be securing your position and consolidating your gains. From everything we¡¯ve discussed over the years, your main weakness is recourcess. Avalon gives students a lot of materials, but you''re going to eventually need things that won¡¯t be provided to you. There¡¯s a few simple ways to manage that, but I doubt you''re going to go for any of them.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too independent. You¡¯re skilled enough that quite a few people would be willing to sponsor you, but you¡¯d never accept the conditions they would require.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Yeah¡­¡± she was right about that. I knew I was something of a control freak, but I just couldn¡¯t see it as enough of a problem to need dealing with. I was just being cautious.


    ¡°Anyway, that means you¡¯re going to need to earn money and make connections. I can help you with the latter, but I¡¯m not really sure what to do about money.¡± She smiled ruefully, ¡°My plan was always to find a rich husband to take care of me.¡±


    ¡°You know, that''s not a half bad idea.¡±


    Her eyes widened slightly and she pulled back in her seat. ¡°Please Orion.¡±


    ¡°Oh you know I like you too much to pimp you out¡­ not yet anyway.¡±


    That clearly didn¡¯t reassure her, but she relaxed slightly nonetheless.


    ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll take that all into consideration. I have some things to do later, so feel free to run along.¡±


    She stood up at the clear dismissal, brushing out the hem of her long skirt, and turned to leave.


    ¡°Oh and Miranda. Remember where exactly you stand, hmm?¡±


    She nodded sharply. ¡°Yes Sir.¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡±


    She didn¡¯t run, it would have been impossible in her current attire and an obvious sign of weakness regardless. She simply walked away very quickly, the sound of her heels vanishing into the general hubbub of the cafeteria.


    I watched her go with a conflicted expression on my face. She was troublesome, but still too useful to lose. It would be a shame when I had to liquidate her. Two years, yes, she probably had at least two more years. After that? I¡¯d have to wait and see.


    I picked up my empty teacup and leaned back in my chair, letting my gaze drift out towards the distant lakeside. Mother once had a dress just like that. The fabric had been different, we hadn¡¯t spent our money on the fine silks Miranda preferred, but it had been the same cut and color. It was gone now, burned away just like everything else.


    It would be such a shame.


    Yvonne Guillaume Marc Pierr ¨C¡®just call me Liam¡¯¨Cgroaned weakly into his pillow. He hadn¡¯t felt this terrible since he and his brothers had snuck into the family wine cellar when he was a boy.


    With another groan, he levered himself into a somewhat upright position and leaned back against the wall. The hard stone was pleasantly cool against his bare skin but his head was spinning from the movement. It felt a lot like the end of his fifth year, when the backlash from a failed spellcast had nearly shattered the mana channels in his soul.


    Oh! That was it. Slumping back down onto his sweat soaked pillows, he closed his eyes and called out, ¡°Three, get me. The red bottle. From the cabinet. And some water.¡± His voice was weak, but he was confident in his work. He heard the creak of hinges as the cabinet opened, then quiet footsteps approached his bed. Glass clinked as two containers were set down on the bedside table.


    With a pained gasp, he pushed himself onto his side, bracing with his elbow as he reached out for the small glass vial. The enchanted cork came out with an easy flick of his thumb and he threw back the entire thing in one disgusting swallow. It burned going down, like acid eating into his tongue and throat.


    The feeling didn¡¯t stop when it reached his stomach, simply spreading out to fill his entire chest with the painful sensation. The vial dropped from limp fingers, rolling off the bed and clattering to the floor.


    Despite the burning, Liam sighed in contentment as the worst of the pain receded in an instant. He grasped blindly for the cup and downed it in three big gulps, spilling most of it onto his already soaked sheets.


    ¡°Fuck I forgot how much that hurts.¡±


    Sitting up, he set the empty glass down on the table and looked sadly down at the cracked vial. That was going to be expensive and time consuming to replace. ¡°Three, remind me I need to brew up another batch of soulsooth elixir. And clean this up.¡±


    The construct moved silently to obey, the spectral figure floating down from beside his bed to sweep up the bits of broken glass. It was his greatest creation, a seventh circle spell that could create near-permanent, semi-sentient constructs to act as servants or fight to protect their summoner.


    It had been a ruinously expensive project and one he hoped to keep secret for as long as possible. After all, the most impressive part of the spellwork was that the constructs were utterly invisible to everyone but the caster, able to deceive even sophisticated wards and sensory magics. Servants like that weren¡¯t particularly useful if everyone knew you had them after all.


    Taking a deep breath, he peaked at his mana. It was in a much better state than it had been when he¡¯d woken up, but there were still some irregularities and damage. He made a mental note to avoid casting any particularly demanding spells in the next few days. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have anything important coming up.


    A careless flick of his wrist cleaned the sweat and grime from his skin. Two floated up beside him just in time to receive the clothing he¡¯d been too out of it to remove the day before. It was a much more limited version of the construct, but still good for basic tasks.


    ¡°So what''s on the agenda today?¡±


    Text appeared on the board over his desk, laying out the work he¡¯d planned for the day. He frowned slightly at the top point, ¡®Finish Mass Animate¡¯. It was underlined three times and written in larger letters than the rest of the tasks. If only it was that easy. What else was there¡­


    He groaned as he got to the final point. Right, he still had to finish twenty more doses of haste elixir. It was a notoriously tricky potion, requiring both excellent brewing skill and the ability to cast the fifth circle version of the spell flawlessly. He¡¯d found a reliable buyer for the stuff back in his fifth year, and it had been how he funded his work ever since.


    Unfortunately, that meant that he¡¯d gotten positively sick of making the stuff. Sixty doses a month meant a full day of work that he usually split up into three irritating sessions. Despite his experience with it, he still couldn¡¯t relax while making it. Any lapse in concentration could mean a failed batch, and the ingredients were expensive enough on their own. Added with the risk of potential spell backlash, though that wasn¡¯t nearly as likely to kill him now as it had been when he¡¯d been a fifth year, it made the entire experience dreadfully dull yet stressful.


    Well, he would start with that then. He definitely felt up for it. A moment of effort confirmed that he could still cast the spell even with his currently strained mana pool, and he smiled as he felt the effect settle over him like a warm blanket.


    Crossing the room in a blur, he layed out the ingredients and equipment he needed on his workbench, easily weaving around the ethereal form of Three as it went about changing his sheets and making his bed. Taking a seat, he let the effects of the spell fade, heart pounding in his chest and face flushed with exhilaration.


    Even after three years, he couldn¡¯t get over how amazing the spell was. It made him feel superhuman in a way that few other spells could match. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t really help with spellcasting speed, affecting only the physical movement of the user. It was also a little bit too finicky to use when doing something as delicate as this.


    A pulse of mana activated the heating array and he set the small crystal cauldron he¡¯d found worked best into the center of the circle. One batch now, breakfast, then the other three he decided. He wondered how Orion was doing. The effect of the mana strain shouldn¡¯t have been as bad for the boy as it had been for him, his smaller pool would have protected him from the worst of the side effects, but he couldn¡¯t imagine it was particularly pleasant either way.

 Chapter 20

    Eventually I had to get going. I did have other things to do, no matter how much I would have liked to just sit and relax by the window. I did grab another cup and a flaky pastry before I left, hopefully they would still be serving it when dinner rolled around but I didn¡¯t want to risk it.


    I had a couple of hours to kill before I needed to meet with Janna, though I did need to work out a few potential study plans for her depending on how well she did with the exercise I assigned. I didn¡¯t particularly want to go back to my room, I had everything I needed with me already and the cafeteria was much closer to the practice rooms than my room was.


    Fortunately, it seemed the room I¡¯d reserved for Janna and I was currently not in use. It would only take a couple of minutes to set everything up, I still needed to transmute the training tools I wanted on hand, and then I could spend the rest of the time doing some practice of my own. An hour of casting training would leave me with plenty of time to regenerate some of my lost mana and write up the plans I was considering. With my mana still somewhat strained, I wouldn¡¯t be doing anything particularly complicated, but it was always important to review the basics as well.


    Setting my bag down by the same table we¡¯d used last time, I arranged three small bowls and filled them with wooden balls, a heap of thin threads, and a large handful of fine sand. As so many times before, I was thankful for the incredible convenience of applied alchemy. It had always been a pain to source the specific aids I needed for various exercises, and transporting many of them was equally difficult. I still hadn¡¯t gotten the sand out of all of my old clothing from when the bag I¡¯d kept it in burst during transport.


    Now I could simply carry around a couple of dense metal blocks and create whatever I needed on the spot. It had taken some time to work out some of the alchemical matrices necessary, but fortunately alchemy was one of the simplest magical disciplines when it came to modifying spells.


    The majority of modern day alchemy was based on just two spell forms. By combining different parts of the All-Material and All-Form forms, you could theoretically change anything into anything. In practice, it was much more complicated, but it did make the spells much simpler than in other disciplines that made use of a half dozen or more spell forms in a single spell.


    Instead, the difficulty came in knowing exactly what parts of the two forms to express in your spell, but after a semester and a half of class, I was slowly building a good intuition for it. Combined with the extensive references the Academy maintained, creating the correct alchemical matrices hadn¡¯t been particularly hard.


    With that out of the way (and the table pushed into a corner just in case as well), I walked slowly into the center of the room, cracking my knuckles and letting my mana unspool slightly from my core. This wasn¡¯t going to be a particularly interesting practice session, but it was important to practice your fundamentals. As Professor Zim had told us, ¡®repetition was the mother of learning¡¯. Sometimes you had to do a lot of repetitive, boring work if you wanted to progress.


    Unlike the smooth stone of the rest of the room, the back wall was a dull, matte grey and pockmarked with small cracks and craters. It was a specially reinforced surface, made specifically for practicing the more destructive sorts of magic. Despite all my practice, I¡¯d never even left a mark on the surface, making me even more impressed and wary of whatever students had damaged it so much. In past years, I¡¯d vowed to eventually manage something like that, but that was a task for another time. For now, the fundamentals it was.


    Flexing my mana, I carefully formed the spell matrix for the ¡®force spike¡¯ spell above my palm, studying it intently. The spell was formed from four different Spell Forms, only one of which I was particularly familiar with. They were Direction, Force, Penetrate, and Destruction, with force being the most important and the others helping to shape the spell.


    It was a second circle spell, but barely. It only used ordinary three-dimensional representations of the spell forms, though the bit of the Force Form was particularly tricky even without including higher dimensions. The rest of the spell was comparatively quite simple, utilizing very basic expressions of the three forms. It had been one of the first second-circle spells I learned, and I had been practicing with it ever since.


    It was also the combat spell I knew best, and my eventual goal was to make the forming of the spell matrix utterly instinctive, allowing me to cast the spell in an instant as though I was using pure mana manipulation. To that end, I had devoted hours to just memorizing every nuance of the spell matrix, even having modified it slightly to account for my needs. It also meant casting it over, and over, and over for hours and hours until I could do it in my sleep.


    Dismissing the outline, I turned to face the back wall and extended a hand. The matrix formed and activated with little more than a thought, launching a nearly invisible projectile of force at the wall. Without a moment''s pause, I cast again, then again, and again until I had launched a total of ten force spikes at the wall.


    I let out a gasp as the severe mana usage hit me all at once. Though the effort was entirely mental and spiritual, it still had a physical effect, leaving me winded and aching if I overdid it. After a minute of rest, I repeated the exercise. The matrix formed slower this time as I knew it would. Closer to four seconds per shot than the three I had managed the first time, but it was still much better than I had expected.


    Over the next half hour, I fired off eight more volleys of the spell, for a total of one-hundred casts. I had to rest for longer between each successive attempt, and by the end each casting was taking me upwards of twenty seconds, but it was still an impressive display. The last time I¡¯d done something like this was at the very start of the semester, and I had done far worse then. My fourth casting today had still been faster than the first rep then, and the difference between the two final reps was like night and day.


    I let myself rest for ten minutes, taking the time to go through the same strain-reducing exercise I¡¯d been doing all day. Then I continued on, getting in another six volleys before the time I had allocated for the training ran out. I moved onto stretching, both physical and magical, then jogged around the room for a half hour and did several other short exercises that I could manage without any special equipment. Whenever possible, I liked to end my magic practice with some physical excursion. I wasn¡¯t sure if it really did anything or if it was just a placebo, but I¡¯d found it helped me relax and helped with the strain of rapidly drawing on a lot of mana.


    A few spells easily got rid of the evidence of my exertion. They were no replacement for a hot shower and a change of clothes, but I still needed to meet with Janna and didn¡¯t want to do so stinking and soaked with sweat. I spent the last half hour before she showed up getting some final preparations out of the way and rereading bits of the reference book I had brought with me.


    Janna arrived almost exactly on time, flouncing into the room with her typical exuberant mask and her frilly skirts bouncing. I set my book aside, tucking it back into my bag, and waved her over to the table.


    ¡°Hey Janna, you¡¯re just on time.¡±


    She primly adjusted her stool and sat down, letting her skirts fan out around her. ¡°Hello Orion. It''s good to see that you are actually here this time.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and ignored the comment. Instead I pushed the two of the bowls across the table towards her and silently gestured at them.


    She scowled, but complied, carefully plucking two long threads from the bowl and laying them down on her palm. Letting my mana slowly extend out around me, I watched her carefully levitate the two threads side by side, then painstakingly overlap them as she began to tie them together. Her control faltered at one point, but she managed to recover and complete the exercise.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    With a quiet hum, I nodded. ¡°Slow, but passable. And the balls?¡±


    She let the threads drop onto the table and scooped out five of the small wooden balls I¡¯d transmuted earlier. Sloppy threads of invisible mana wrapped around each ball in turn and she turned her hand palm down over the floor. The balls spilled out of her hand but stopped before they hit the ground. They dangled and bounced, knocking against each other but did not fall further.


    ¡°Can you manage any more?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, I started with two but haven¡¯t managed any more than this.¡±


    ¡°I guess that''s fine for two day¡¯s work. How about the internal exercises¡±


    She turned away, focusing on plucking the balls one by one and depositing them back in their bowl. ¡°I can do the one with the spirals, it was tricky but manageable. I couldn¡¯t manage the tribar though.¡±


    That was honestly about what I¡¯d expected. From the abysmal state of the circulations I¡¯d seen last time, I hadn¡¯t expected that she practiced internal manipulation much. The impossible tribar was a particularly tricky exercise that wasn¡¯t really meant as an internal exercise at all, though I¡¯d found it quite useful.


    It was primarily supposed to be a training tool for practicing the sort of multi-dimensional, geometry warping matrices that were required for high circle spells. Past the fourth circle, most spells had to mimic the higher-dimensional, geometry warping parts of Spell Forms, making that sort of control a key skill to practice.


    I would keep that to myself however. It would only discourage her in the future if she thought I was assigning her work I didn¡¯t think she could do. ¡°I guess that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll find something simpler to replace that exercise.¡±


    She bristled at the insinuation of her lack of skill, but didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, she leaned forward, resting her chin on clasped hands and asked, ¡°Well, what''s next then? I tried the circulation again last night and still couldn¡¯t manage it despite your ¡®training¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really expect that you would, you¡¯ve made good progress but this is the sort of thing that takes time. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d have to be the one to teach you the value of patience.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed at the dig, but once again she let it pass. The high courts of Gulivine worked notoriously slowly, meticulously collecting every scrap of evidence before ruling on a case. Members of some of the shorter-lived races had been known to die of old age before their cases were ever ruled on.


    I regretted saying it almost the moment it had slipped out of my mouth. I always tried to be non confrontational, and here I was insulting a powerful noble twice in as many sentences. Unfortunately, m y slowly developing mana senses kept showing me just how inefficient and sloppy her spellwork was. I¡¯d always thought she was much better than that and the disparity between my mental image and reality made it hard to be scared of her.


    Deciding to put that aside for now, I grabbed a handful of fine sand from the last bowl and scattered it in the clear space between the two of us. ¡°Let¡¯s try something new.¡±


    A flick of my finger smoothed out the sand, forming it into a circular patch of even thickness about the size of a dinner plate. ¡°I want you to make waves in the sand.¡±


    She frowned, tilting her head as she looked at the circle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not quite sure what you mean?¡±


    ¡°Like this.¡± Holding my hand over the sand, I let a light sphere of barely solid mana drop gently into the center of the circle. It burst as it hit the table, spilling over the sand and leaving ripples in its wake like a stone dropped into a still lake.


    I let her study the result for a moment, then reshaped it into the original smooth circle. ¡°Now you try.¡±


    She copied my movement, extending a perfectly manicured hand over the sand, a look of intense focus on her face. I had to suppress a laugh, her tongue was sticking out just a little between her lips, reminding me of the tiny kittens one of my neighbors had kept for a time. Her hair was even the same color as their fur had been.


    Her first attempt was to make a disk with her mana and try to press it into the sand. She managed three even circles before the construct got too large and she lost control. She glared at me when I wiped the sand clean again, but I just stared back impassively. She leaned forward, sweeping her hair to hang over her shoulders.


    Looking at her like this, I imagined that she would look good on her knees. The way she wore her hair would make for a good pair of handholds and from this angle the illusion of a small child disappeared, leaving a gorgeous, refined woman in its place. Miranda had said that I needed to make connections. If I could pull it off, Janna would make for a very valuable¡­ ¡®associate¡¯. Her family was wealthy and well connected, and she had a guaranteed political office waiting for her in a few years.


    The oath I¡¯d sworn with Janna twinged slightly in the back of my mind, but did nothing more. I wasn¡¯t violating any of the conditions we¡¯d agreed to, simply skirting the spirit of the agreement. Unfortunately, I doubted anything would come of it. I was pretty sure, especially after my talk with Miranda, that Janna was another student planning on withdrawing after next year.


    I silently cleaned up her second attempt, which had failed explosively and scattered sand all across the floor and table, still lost in thought.


    A little over a year and a half was a lot of time, but I wasn¡¯t sure it would be enough to maneuver into the situation I needed. I could probably force her into swearing something similar to what Miranda had done, but that would not be enough. That sort of oath, especially when freshly sworn, was easy to detect and she absolutely would have the connections needed to shatter it. After that¡­ well I would be in some deep trouble. Making an enemy of the Gulivine Republic seemed like a good way to get myself killed.


    Still, it was definitely something to consider. My primary concern with making social connections was that well, I sucked at that sort of thing. Talking to people, being friendly, the sort of double-speak that I¡¯d heard others use? That was very much not my forte. If I could make that sort of connection, even if only in a somewhat underhanded way, without having to do any of that? Well, that had promise.


    I wiped away another failed attempt, somewhat amused by her most recent technique. She¡¯d tried to vibrate part of the table, once again scattering sand everywhere. It was still a decent idea and not something I¡¯d done much work with. Professor Meadows had taught us that all things were made of small bits. There was definitely an idea there somewhere. I jotted down a note and shoved it into my bag.


    There was that second year girl, Bella? Beatrice? Something like that. Her family was somewhat important in one of the other small nations not far from my own. I¡¯d passed through her family lands on the way to Avalon. She was moderately skilled, moderately wealthy, and moderately well connected. A decent potential plan.


    I had to put my scheming aside when Janna stood up and marched away from the table, arms thrown up into the air. ¡°For gods¡¯ sake Orion, how the fuck am I supposed to do this! Don¡¯t just sit there smiling, show me!¡±


    ¡°Well that last attempt was pretty good. You¡¯re on the right track.¡±


    She whirled around, eyes wide and teeth clenched. ¡°Well then, tell me that! I¡¯m paying you to teach me, not mock me!¡±


    She had a point, even if I felt figuring things out on your own was a better way to learn. I wasn¡¯t trying to make her a better mage, just ensuring she could manage one particular technique.


    ¡°Fine. Sit down and watch.¡±


    She did, though the scowl never left her face. I added some more sand to the circle and smoothed it out until it was closer to the size of a platter. Then I slowly formed a carefully shaped globule of mana in my hand, letting it bleed slightly into the visible spectrum. It was technically bad form to make pure mana visible, but she clearly hadn¡¯t developed her mana senses particularly far.


    I let the mana drop, maintaining my hold on it as it hit the sand and ballooned outward in a gentle wave. ¡°You have to make sure to keep control of the mana through the entire process. If you aren¡¯t careful, you¡¯ll get something like this.¡±


    Once again, I formed the mana and let it drop. This time however, I let it run wild, hitting the sand and bursting outward, sending sand flying every which way. I seized control of my mana just before it dissolved into ambient mana, splitting it into individual tendrils that collected the scattered sand and reformed the smooth circle.


    ¡°Now you try.¡±

 Chapter 21

    With all the excitement of the previous week, the next few days were a relaxing break from all the chaos. After leaving Janna with four new exercises to work through, I spent the rest of the evening doing some light work and playing around with Mistletoe. Having run some preliminary tests on the substance, I was feeling rather confident that the new materials I was harvesting from her would be quite useful.


    I was particularly curious if the stuff could serve as replacement foodstuff for Miranda. I would have to test if it could satisfy her specific brand of manavore diet. If it did, that would certainly make future plans involving her much simpler. Whether or not I decided to reign her in, having a ready supply of something for her to feed on would be very convenient.


    Beyond that, I had also found that it would likely make a very potent base for certain types of healing potions. That was something I would also have to experiment with, though that would likely require some disposable test subjects so it would have to wait for now.


    I spent the majority of Sunday working, switching off between spell practice, homework, and my research. I made quite a bit of progress with studying how elven intrinsic magics interacted, though I was still not going to try to copy it onto myself. I was starting to think I might have chosen an overly ambitious starting point. Even the simplest parts of Mistletoe¡¯s internal magic seemed to interact oddly with various parts of her body and soul, making me leery of just copying it wholesale.


    It came to mind that Miranda likely had some amount of natural magic herself, and I slipped her a note telling her to meet me later in the week and ordering her to look into the B girl who¡¯s name I couldn¡¯t quite remember. I was sure I¡¯d described her well enough for Miranda to figure it out, and worst case I would have information on two potential targets.


    My other primary project was examining the pendant the Myrddin had left me. It still resisted most of my efforts to examine it, but I found I could use the technique he¡¯d shown us in class to suppress its effects and study it in more detail. It left me wondering if he¡¯d done it specifically because of that, or if that was just a lucky coincidence. I didn¡¯t much like the idea of people that much stronger than me taking an interest in what I did, but the lesson had been incredibly valuable regardless.


    From what I¡¯d found, the pendant had two different enchantments on it, or rather, two clusters of enchantments with individual purposes. One was completely unintelligible to my current skill level, making use of runes and magical principles I¡¯d never even seen referenced before. The second was much simpler, though it made figuring out the other functions of the pendant even more difficult.


    It was a powerful obscuring field, one that covered both the pendant and the person wearing it. It inhibited mana sensing, scrying, many forms of identification magic, and dozens of other detection style spellcraft I was unfamiliar with. It was an impressive piece of work, the sort of thing I could have never afforded to buy for myself even if I had wanted to.


    Whatever the other enchantment did, it seemed entirely self contained within the pendant and didn¡¯t react to anything I tried to probe it with. I wasn¡¯t sure why exactly he wanted me to have it, but I was pretty sure that it was in no way harmful to me, so I¡¯d decided I would be wearing it going forward. If he wanted to hurt me, he didn¡¯t need to do anything tricky to get away with it. There was nothing I, or just about anyone else really, could do to stop him.


    Beyond that, I simply continued to practice my spellcraft and control and spent some time refining my plans for the ritual I needed to do later this semester. I was pretty sure I was going to be doing a sacrificial empowerment ritual, that was what we focused on primarily in class, but I was still narrowing in on the specifics.


    Classes continued apace and I scheduled meetings with Miranda and Janna for Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Eventually Wednesday rolled around, and with it the Evocation Fundamentals practical I¡¯d been waiting for.


    I was not the first person to arrive in the large practice hall where the class took place, but I was somewhat surprised by who had beaten me there. Jack Baretree and Professor Shrike were standing together to one side, quietly discussing something.


    I hadn¡¯t seen him since that unfortunate encounter outside the cafeteria, but he looked like he¡¯d come out unharmed. I wasn¡¯t particularly surprised, though I was curious what had happened to the younger student that had decided to pick a fight with him. Despite his aggressive reputation, Baretree was something of a gracious winner, typically injuring but not killing his opponents. It had earned him quite a few enemies, but also some amount of respect from the student body.


    Still, it had been either a first or second year picking a fight with him. He might have wanted to make a point, or maybe the boy¡¯s youth had made him hold back. The boy had certainly not won that fight, else I would have heard about it for sure. A first year beating a sixth year? That just didn¡¯t happen.


    Perhaps I¡¯d ask him after the class. I was quite curious why he was here in the first place though. I knew he was Shrike¡¯s apprentice of sorts, but the professor had never had any assistants helping him out in this class before. It would make sense though, we were doing counterspells and if he wanted a good demonstration, it was smart to invite another skilled mage to help.


    ¡°Ah Mr. Hunter, there you are. Come on over here for a moment.¡±


    I looked up to see Professor Shrike waving me over, Jack standing silently beside him. I shouldered my bag and hesitantly walked over, unsure of what he wanted.


    ¡°Right, I¡¯m sure you know my student here, this is Jack, he¡¯s going to be helping us with a little demonstration today. I was hoping you would be willing to lend a hand as well?¡±


    I blinked in surprise. I hadn¡¯t expected that, but it was a good opportunity. I never missed a chance to get into my professor¡¯s good books. ¡°Of course, Professor. What do you need me to do?¡±


    ¡°Good lad,¡± he clapped one large hand on my shoulder and his artificial eye shone brightly in its ruined socket. ¡°So as I told you all yesterday, we¡¯re gonna be doing some work with counterspells today. You all should have some experience with them from last year, but we¡¯re focusing on the elemental kind so I wanted to give a brief demonstration beforehand.¡±


    He gestured to Jack, who stepped forward to stand beside him. ¡°I want you to cast a couple of spells at Jack here, specifically flame bolt, rock arrow, icy daggers, and airburst. I¡¯m pretty certain you can cast all four of those, yeah?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Perfect. After the demonstration, you can continue to work with Jack. It''s not his specialty, but I¡¯m sure he can give you some handy pointers. Now, I¡¯ll leave you two to get ready, I have a few more things to get ready before everyone else shows up.¡±


    He rushed off, leaving us standing together awkwardly. I was pretty excited by the opportunity, a brief demonstration of skills people already knew I had in exchange for an hour of instruction from a talented sixth year seemed like an excellent deal.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Jack extended a hand and I shook it after a moment of surprise. ¡°Hey, it''s Orion, right? Thanks for helping out.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that''s me. I¡¯m happy to help and look forward to working together.¡±


    He smiled, ¡°I¡¯m sure. So, just to make sure we¡¯re on the same page, here¡¯s the plan. We''re gonna stand over there, at the back of the room, and you¡¯re gonna launch those spells at me one at a time when Shrike tells you to.¡± I nodded, that seemed simple enough. ¡°Good. After that we can see about helping you out with your own casting. Do you have much experience with countermagic?¡±


    ¡°A little, though it''s more theoretical than practical in nature. It''s hard to find good partners to practice with.¡±


    He let out a short laugh, ¡°That it is! It gets a little better in later years, but finding good practice partners is still such a pain! There was this time back in my own third year, I was trying to find a good dueling partner. There were a couple of upper year honor duels right back to back and it really inspired me, right? Well, so this idiot Irvin agreed to practice with me, and like, I was a little sceptical but it was third year so I thought he knew what he was doing. Very first session, dude¡¯s force shield backfired, blew both his arms off!¡±


    ¡°Damn.¡± That sounded like quite a mess. Exploding limbs splattered blood everywhere as I¡¯d unfortunately learned early on.


    ¡°I know right! Oh, there was this other time¡­¡±


    Jack continued to regale me with stories from his earlier years as we slowly made our way over to where the demonstration was to take place. The other students slowly began to trickle in, and I waved to a few that I knew better than the rest. I wasn¡¯t particularly close to anyone in this class except Brenda, and she was thankfully in a different section of the practical.


    I wasn¡¯t really sure what to do about her right now, conflicting ideas warring inside my mind, so for now I was just continuing as before. She¡¯d clung to me for all of yesterday¡¯s class and had ambushed me during dinner as well. It was annoying. Before I¡¯d just thought she was like that with everyone, but now I was shocked about how I¡¯d managed to miss what was happening. It really went to show how bad my social awareness was that I¡¯d managed to let the situation completely fly over my head.


    The moment class officially began, Professor Shrike immediately dived right in. ¡°Ok, gather around here for a minute. Today we¡¯re gonna be practicing countermagic to deal with elemental spells. A lot of creatures and races you may encounter are resistant or even immune to direct magical attacks. Someone like Mr. Weavingroot here,¡± he gestured to the tall elven man standing in the second row of students, ¡°is going to shrug off many of the spells that are useful for dealing with non magical foes. Similarly, it''s almost impossible to affect things like another mage¡¯s internal organs or a cerberus¡¯s brain like you would an ordinary bear¡¯s. That¡¯s where indirect magic shines. It doesn¡¯t matter that a target is immune to sleep spells, a fast moving rock is a fast moving rock, no matter if it was thrown or fired by a spell.


    That is why elemental magic, stuff like fire, force, and electricity, are so widely used among mages. As a mage, your biggest threat is other mages, which means you need to know how to deal with the magic they¡¯re gonna be throwing at you, and know what magic to use in turn.


    As I told you all in class, today¡¯s practical will be all about how to deal with enemy elemental attacks. Specifically, today we will be practicing the elemental cancelation style of counterspells that you all should have read up on last week. This sort of countermagic is tricky to use, because it requires an understanding of what spell your opponent is going to cast, or at least what sort of spell. This has become much easier in the past few decades, as basic spells have become more and more ubiquitous and widespread.


    Back in the day, there were dozens of variations on every kind of attack. Now, most low-circle mages use the same fireballs, the same force spells. Sure, those spells are much more refined and well crafted then the random chaff they used to use, but at the same time it leaves them vulnerable to a better trained mage in a way they weren¡¯t before.¡±


    He paused for a moment, scanning the room to check for questions. Not seeing any hands, he continued. ¡°Now then, before we begin I¡¯ve asked my apprentice and Mr. Hunter here to give a little ol¡¯ demonstration. Let¡¯s start with fire, that''s a nice flashy one.¡±


    Taking that as the signal to begin, I carefully formed the familiar matrix for flame bolt in the air under my outstretched hand. I didn¡¯t do it as quickly as I could, nor did I use nearly as much mana as the spell could handle. This was a demonstration after all, and I wasn¡¯t going to show off the limits of my spellwork in front of so many people.


    Just as I finished casting the spell, Jack¡¯s counterspell triggered. Counterspells were by necessity rather simple spells in execution as they needed to be faster than the spells they were trying to interrupt. A cone of dispelling magic washed over me and my spell just fell apart in my hands. I weathered the minor backlash easily, another reason to not put much mana into the spell.


    ¡°Very good. As you can see, Mr. Hunter tried to cast a simple flame bolt spell at Jack. Jack identified the specific spell he was casting and cast the appropriate counterspell, stopping the magic before it could be fully formed and hitting Mr. Hunter with the backlash. Again please, now the other method.¡±


    I obliged, casting another flame bolt. This time Jack let the spell finish casting, but it had barely crossed half the distance between us before it collapsed in mid air as Jack cast his own spell.


    ¡°This is the other way of dealing with this sort of magic. In this case, Jack knew a fire spell was coming, but perhaps he was unsure of what sort or did not know the correct counter. Instead, he used a more general counterspell that is designed to deal with all sorts of fire based attacks. It is a more difficult spell and is less effective against powerful spells, but it did the trick here. Notably, this sort of countermagic does not cause any backlash in the enemy caster. This can be both a boon and an issue, depending on the situation. Now, let''s try rock.¡±


    The demonstration continued in that way for another ten minutes or so. I cast each of the spells a half dozen times, letting Jack demonstrate all sorts of counterspell techniques. He ended the demonstration by showing off the technique we would be focusing on today, the same sort of general cancelation spells Jack had used against my second flame bolt.


    Since we were only third years, and thus not expected to cast anything over the third circle, we were limited to the bare basics of that style of spell. Unlike the fifth or sixth circle spell Jack had used, the one we were practicing could only cancel first circle (and particularly weak second circle) spells.


    Had I been practicing with the other students, I wasn¡¯t sure how much I would have really learned from the lesson. I¡¯d hoped to practice proper counterspells, the sort that caused backlash and could dismantle all sorts of spells before they were cast, but I understood why that wasn¡¯t a particularly good plan in a class like this. After all, spell backlash was literally part of the point, and spell backlash had a habit of well¡­ killing people. Students weren¡¯t supposed to kill each other during classes. That was for other times.


    Since I was practicing with Jack though, the classes ended up surprisingly educational. After showing that I could cast all six of the spells we were practicing (one for fire, ice, rock, air, force, and electricity), we moved on to some more complicated techniques. Jack was a very talented mage and could easily handle the backlash of third and fourth circle spells, so I was free to practice the actually interesting techniques with him.


    It went well enough. My main problem was, unsurprisingly, speed. Jack could easily cast the more complicated combat spells in just a second or two, whereas it took me at least that long to identify what he was casting, much less shape the correct counterspell. Once he slowed down a little, it got much easier and I got some good practice in identifying and dismantling the spells he was casting.


    I didn¡¯t think I was ready to use this sort of magic in real combat, not unless I was facing someone considerably weaker than I was, but it was a good learning experience regardless and I would just need to keep practicing.


    I also had a chance to pick his brain for tips and training methods, which was honestly the biggest gain from the lesson. I found Jack to be an easygoing, if somewhat violently minded, man and he made for a surprisingly good teacher. I never did end up asking what had happened with the white-robed boy from the previous week though. It never came up and by the time I remembered class was already over and Jack had disappeared.

 Chapter 22

    I met Miranda in one of the smaller training rooms typically set aside for medical magic and similar research. It came stocked with some rather intimidating looking ¡®medical¡¯ equipment that looked like something Igor would use and three different examination tables complete with adjustable restraints.


    She was already there waiting for me, and I could see her shifting uncomfortably as her eyes flickered around the room. She was sitting on a tall stool, a thick notebook clutched in her lap and her other hand fretfully playing with her hair. She was wearing a lovely blue dress today, cut to cover one shoulder and expose a generous bit of cleavage on the other side. It ended well above her knees and the color wonderfully brought out her eyes.


    She stood up when she saw me come in, bowing her head and stepping away from the seat. ¡°Hi Orion.¡±


    ¡°And hello to you as well Miranda, you¡¯re looking lovely today!¡± I smiled cheerfully, ¡°I see you have the information I requested?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes Orion,¡± she extended the hand holding the notebook, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I understood who you were interested in, but just in case I also made a write up about several other students that fit some of those criteria.¡±


    Grabbing the notebook, I flipped through it quickly, just scanning the neatly written notes and observations. ¡°Very good, thank you Miranda.¡±


    ¡°Um, is that everything then?¡± She glanced around furtively and bit her lip, clearly uncomfortable. My smile widened and I saw her swallow heavily.


    ¡°No, I think there are a few more things I needed you for. I hope you don¡¯t have anything planned, we¡¯re going to be a while.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Sorry sir.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you couldn¡¯t have known. Take a seat.¡±


    I summoned another stool from across the room, pulling it towards me with a rope of mana and sat down facing her stool. She sat down, legs crossed and tucked under the seat and hands folded in her lap.


    ¡°So to start, how about you give me a brief rundown of what you¡¯ve given me here.¡± I wiggled the journal, then dropped it onto my bag.


    ¡°Ok. Um, where should I start?¡±


    ¡°Whatever you feel is best.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± She took a moment to gather her thoughts, her hands fidgeting nervously. ¡°So, the girl you wanted me to look into. I¡¯m pretty sure the person you mentioned is Briella Ongallo. She matches the description you gave, tall and willowy, black hair, grey eyes, and her family rules one of Iveria¡¯s four duchies. I can show you if you¡¯d like?¡±


    At my nod, she raised a hand and conjured a small illusionary image of the woman in question. She was indeed the person I¡¯d been thinking of and I complemented Miranda on her work.


    ¡°Right, so she¡¯s a second year like you said, somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to academics. From what I found, her family has some amount of non-human ancestry but it is mostly diluted. You can still sort of see it in her eyes, they apparently glow in the dark and have some other magical properties I was unable to find out.¡±


    Interesting, that would be something to watch out for. ¡°Any idea what sort of creature they come from?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I¡¯d guess some sort of summoned creature but it''s hard to say beyond that. It''s something everyone in her family has from what I can tell, so it might be from an old bloodline ritual and not a natural occurrence.¡±


    It was possible, if rather difficult, to bind some types of enhancement magic to a bloodline. There were some people that theorized that elves were a result of this sort of magical medling, but the elven kingdoms typically suppressed those rumors whenever they cropped up. ¡°Very good. Continue?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I wrote down what classes she¡¯s taken so far and how she did in them. That would take a while to go through and it''s all in the notebook. I also took a look at the people she associates with in case you were actually interested in one of them?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Well she mostly hangs around with three people outside of classes. She has an older cousin who¡¯s actually a first year student this year, his name is Cellin and he seems somewhat promising. He came in with a pretty good foundation and has been doing very well in his classes so far.¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡±


    ¡°Right, the other two are some of her yearmates, Verdan Bluesap and Cayla Spellblade.¡± I raised an eyebrow at the names. Verdan sounded like an elven name though I wasn¡¯t really familiar with the half dozen elves in the second year. Spellblade on the other hand was a name I knew well. It was a large, military name from my homeland. I¡¯d actually met a couple of Spellblades, it was a commonly awarded last name, given to any lower caste spellcasters that distinguished themselves in battle.


    Miranda continued on, ¡°She seems closer to Cayla but shares almost all her classes with Verdan and they study together several times a week.¡±


    ¡°Show me,¡± I ordered, interrupting her. She quickly obliged and I spent a moment studying the two illusions. Verdan looked like a pretty typical elf, tall and slim but with very generous curves and a bust that looked somewhat out of place on her lithe frame. It was hard to tell with elves, but I estimated she was probably slightly older than Mistletoe was. That didn¡¯t really mean much though, she could be anywhere from fifty to five hundred years in age and look no different. Cayla also looked about how I¡¯d expected, with the typical olive skin and dark eyes that were rather typical on our island.


    ¡°Very good, continue.¡±


    She let the image drop and dove back into her report. ¡°Verdan is a very good mage, though she hasn¡¯t displayed any particular skill above that of her yearmates. She seems to have a very solid foundation however, and could already cast first circle spells when she began her education. Cayla is the weakest of the three, and I¡¯ve heard from other students that it''s unlikely that she will last much longer. She seems to have come to Avalon with Briella, I gather that they knew each other for several years at the very least before deciding to enroll together.¡±


    She paused for a moment, then bit her lip. ¡°I think that''s basically everything. I put a lot more details in the notebook, stuff like past classes, current schedules, other people they associate with, what spells they¡¯ve shown they know, but all that is hard to summarize off the top of my head. I could try if you¡¯d like?¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, I can take a look on my own. Very well done Miranda.¡±


    ¡°Thank you sir.¡±


    ¡°I want you to continue to watch them, figure out their regular schedules, where they study, when they are alone. I¡¯ll want another report next week, understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± She swallowed heavily and weakly asked, ¡°Um, can I ask you a question sir?¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    She looked away, gnawing on her bottom lip in the way she tended to do when nervous. Finally she blurted out, ¡°Am I getting replaced? I promise I¡¯m doing my best! I can help you with anything you need!¡±


    Oh. Yes, I could see where she was coming from. Trying to use my most comforting tone I laughed and said, ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry about that dear. You¡¯re still plenty useful to me. This is just me¡­ expanding my reach a little, let''s call it. You told me yourself, social situations are not exactly my strong suit, and I like to take steps to manage my weaknesses.¡±


    She did not seem particularly reassured by that, but I didn¡¯t really care much. This next part was definitely not going to help reassure her in any way, but that certainly wasn¡¯t going to stop me.


    ¡°In any case, I think it''s time to move onto the other reason I asked you to meet with me.¡±


    I hopped off the stool and checked that the door was closed and locked. Rooms like this were not considered safe rooms, likely for this very reason. It would be unfortunate if anyone wandered in while I was busy.


    ¡°Strip, then hop onto the table.¡±


    Miranda froze, her eyes going to the racks of ¡®medical equipment¡¯ scattered throughout the room. There was a very impressive collection, with everything ranging from a selection of bone saws, to what I was pretty sure was a selection of dental tools, and all sorts of other nasty looking probes and blades.


    ¡°Miranda.¡± I said warningly, and she jumped to obey.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    It took only a moment for her to step out of her dress, revealing that, as usual, she wasn¡¯t wearing any undergarments under the dress. It had been nearly two years since the last time I¡¯d seen her like this, the day I¡¯d forced her to swear her loyalty and obedience and released her back into the school. I took a moment to appreciate the fine work of art that was her magically sculpted body. Even without her supernatural allure, she was a stunning young woman, as befitting of her heritage as a predator of men.


    Elves, both men and women, were gorgeous creatures, but I often felt they seemed almost too artificial. They somewhat reminded me of Igor¡¯s ¡®art¡¯, pieces of expertly crafted flesh woven into a whole that just didn¡¯t look quite right. Miranda on the other hand was less perfect but somehow prettier because of it. Her looks, though similarly magical in nature, felt more natural then the eerie perfection that elven women tended towards.


    I shook my head, clearing out the cobwebs of Miranda¡¯s allure that had crept up on me while I¡¯d been staring. ¡°Did I tell you to just stand there and look pretty? Get on the table.¡±


    She scurried over, ditching her heels beside her dress and clambering up onto the padded surface. She shivered, goosebumps trailing across her arms as her warm body came into contact with the cold padding.


    I spent a moment fiddling with the controls, then lowered the table by several inches so it stood at roughly waist level. Then I began to strap her down, pulling her limbs out spread-eagle and fastening them one by one with the padded manacles at each corner.


    Her shivering got worse, and by the time I was binding her last limb, she had begun to shake. I patted her gently on the cheek, but the reassuring only seemed to make things worse. I put the gag I was holding down beside her head and sat down on the edge of the table beside her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry dear, this is simply for your safety. I don¡¯t want you thrashing around while I¡¯m working or biting your tongue off.¡±


    Once again, that didn¡¯t seem to reassure her in the least, but she didn¡¯t say anything. She looked pale, well paler than her usual skin tone, and her teeth were clenched tightly shut.


    ¡°Calm down Miranda,¡± I commanded this time, pulling on the oaths that bound her to me, ¡°This is just a temporary measure. Just for an hour or two and then we¡¯ll be done.¡±


    That seemed to help slightly and she quietly asked, ¡°Orion, what are you doing? What do you need me for?¡± There were tears in the corners of her eyes and she continued to tremble despite my orders.


    ¡°It''s nothing to be concerned about. I just need to¡­ examine you a little for my research. It might hurt a little, but that''s it.¡±


    I wiped away a tear and then pushed her unresisting mouth open, carefully inserting the tongue depressor and making sure the gag fit snugly between her teeth. ¡°Very good. One last bit now.¡±


    Digging into my bag, I withdrew one of the magic suppressing collars I¡¯d prepared back when I was getting ready to take care of Mistletoe. It was not as powerful as the one my pet elf was wearing, but Miranda was a much less magical creature than she was.


    Letting my magic pour outwards, I pressed down on Miranda¡¯s soul and snapped the two halves of the collar shut around her neck. With my magic restraining her, she didn¡¯t even have a chance to resist the effect, only letting out a sharp gasp as the restraint kicked in.


    I patted her cheek again. ¡°Very nice. Now, you can lie back and relax for a few hours and then you¡¯ll be on your way. Well, probably.¡± I stood up and walked around the table, examining her with both my magical and physical senses. I quickly noticed two magical items that I didn¡¯t recognize and leaned in to take a closer look.


    She¡¯d replaced her nipple piercings, the two heart-shaped barbells she¡¯d used to wear replaced by small golden rings each with a glimmering blue crystal. Each held a different enchantment and they felt impressively powerful for something so small. I took a moment to examine the enchantments, wondering what she felt was important enough to use on something so atypical instead of the normal necklaces or rings that most people favored for the increased size and surface area.


    It didn¡¯t take long to figure it out, and when I did I almost felt bad about what I was doing to her. The left ring was enchanted to help prevent asphyxiation, it could provide the user with oxygen directly transmuted inside her lungs, bypassing her throat entirely. The second was an anti-poison enchantment, one specifically designed to resist knockout drugs of various kinds.


    It felt pretty clear that she¡¯d gotten them as a direct result of what I¡¯d done when I¡¯d turned the tables on her during our first year. I¡¯d choked her out, then drugged her while she was disabled so I could properly restrain her. If she¡¯d had these then, maybe things would have gone differently.


    Well, unfortunately these might interfere with my examination so they were coming out. What would have been the point of using a restraining collar if I then went and left two magic items that directly affected her body on her person?


    Leaning over, I carefully removed the rings one at a time. She was trying to say something, or maybe just screaming, but the silencing enchantment on the gag ensured that no sound came out. I gave her another pat on the cheek and adjusted her hair so it ran down over the back of the table.


    ¡°Ok, now I think we¡¯re ready to get started. This might hurt a little.¡±


    Holding her head steady with one hand, I placed the other over her heart and looked down into her wide, fearful eyes. My mana flowed out around her, engulfing her tightly restrained form, and then I dove in.


    It was much easier than it had been with Mistletoe. I was correct in thinking that eye contact would be helpful, it made the entire process much easier, and when combined with her much lower magic resistance and my increased experience, it was almost trivial compared to what I¡¯d done with my little elf.


    As I¡¯d predicted, the magic pathways that made up her natural gifts were much simpler than those of an elf. It was like comparing a masterwork tapestry to a roughly mended pant seam. Of course in that comparison, my own circulation was like a bundle of unwashed and unprocessed wool, but I hadn¡¯t been born lucky.


    Unfortunately, after an hour of detailed analysis, I concluded that this brought me no closer to my goal of copying the circulations of non-magical creatures. Miranda¡¯s patterns were too tightly woven into her body and soul, making them almost useless to me unless I decided to turn myself into a busty blonde.


    That was actually something to consider if my shape changing practice went well. There was a strong possibility I could derive something that would assist with that sort of transformation from what I¡¯d seen inside her body, but I shelved that idea for now. That was a long way off, I hadn¡¯t even finished forming my shifter¡¯s body yet.


    Still, the experience had certainly not been useless. I¡¯d learned a lot about how someone¡¯s circulation could be interwoven with their body to modify and amplify the effect. I could in theory copy over her entire network, though it would be rather difficult to do. It would do me no good however, in the best case it would simply go inert, but more likely it would tear me apart from the inside out as the circulation tried to override my body¡¯s natural state.


    Additionally, it was a good cautionary lesson about what not to do when I eventually attempted to do trait-stealing rituals. As I¡¯d seen in Erna, the circulation could change the body around it, and if I was not prepared or did not account for it properly, that could prove incredibly lethal. With a circulation, I could at least hope to disable it before it killed me. If I¡¯d just gone and stole a trait like hers wholesale, there would have been no such option. After all, natural traits typically had no off switch.


    Pulling back, I let my attention recede from her internals though I did not cut it off entirely yet. There was one more thing I wanted to try. I left the hand over her heart and used the other to reach into my bag and dig out a small vial of pink-tinged fluid. I¡¯d done some minor processing to it, just to make sure it was uncontaminated and at least marginally safe.


    ¡°Now then Miranda, you¡¯ve been very good so far. I¡¯m going to pour this into your mouth, and you¡¯re going to swallow it. Ok?¡±


    She whimpered something into her gag, then tried to nod her head, but I¡¯d already unscrewed the opening in the front of her gag and tipped the entire vial down her throat. She choked and spluttered, but I pinched her nose shut and made sure she swallowed all of it.


    Without waiting to see her reaction, I shoved the stopper back into her gag and refocused on her internal magic. Watching it work was fascinating, tendrils carefully reaching out and absorbing the magically charged fluid she¡¯d just drunk. Then it began to distribute the energy throughout her body in a way I couldn¡¯t quite understand. It was making improvements, slight modifications to her spirit and body based on some sort of signature the magic was reading in the liquid.


    I looked closer, following the trails of mana as they seeped throughout her bones and muscles. They were, as I¡¯d noticed earlier, primarily clustered around her breasts and reproductive organs, but bits of the network stretched throughout her body and, surprisingly, even into her hair and nails. That was actually very interesting, as most of the books I¡¯d referenced told me that ¡®dead¡¯ parts of the body like those could not sustain portions of a circulation.


    Unfortunately, the mana in the fluid eventually ran dry, and I had only brought the one vial with me. I would definitely have to repeat the experiment soon, perhaps with a few more specialized tools on hand. I was very happy I¡¯d thought to continue watching her after giving her the dose, instead of just sending her on her way.


    I pulled away again, but this time disconnected entirely, withdrawing my mana back into my core. I had spent a fair bit of it, about a third of my total reserves, leaving me with about a third left when accounting for what I¡¯d used during the practical lesson. I would likely have to skip some of the practice I¡¯d planned for this evening, but the progress I¡¯d made was well worth that cost.


    Stepping away from the table, I took a look at my poor little test subject. She was soaked in sweat and shivering, eyes rolled back in her head and red marks on her palms from where her nails had cut into skin. I would need to remember that for next time, something to protect her palms.


    For the sake of expediting the cleanup, I summoned a large sphere of cold water directly above her and, after forming a basic mana shield to protect me from splash damage, let it drop. She jolted like she¡¯d been struck, head jerking up and limbs tensing against their restraints. She glanced around frantically, sending soaked hair whipping around her face.


    I suppressed a laugh and stepped forward, giving her wet hair a gentle pat. ¡°Glad to see you awake. Hopefully that wasn¡¯t too bad, I got a lot of valuable data out of it. I think we¡¯re done for now, though we might need to schedule a couple of follow up sessions.¡±


    I ignored her reaction as I slowly went about undoing her restraints. Last to come off was the gag and collar, at which point she weakly clambered off the table and collapsed shivering onto her knees. I gave her a concerned look, I didn¡¯t think it should have hurt that bad, but let her get herself together without interfering. Miranda was a strong and private woman, she wouldn¡¯t appreciate my meddling.


    According to the clock on the wall, it had only been a little over two and a half hours including our discussion and the time needed to get her prepared. That left just about half an hour before my reserved time ran out. I would give her fifteen minutes and then have a little talk with her before we went our separate ways. Maybe I would offer to walk her back to her room, she looked a little fragile right now and I didn¡¯t want anything bad to happen to my favorite subordinate. Some unsavory characters might try to take advantage of her.


    For now however, I wanted to take some notes on what I¡¯d seen while it was still fresh in my mind. What a fascinating way of studying magic, I was really glad I¡¯d stumbled on something so convenient. There was no way I would have been able to get anywhere near that level of detail with a structured spell. Well, maybe someday, but not in any circle I could cast.

 Chapter 23

    After putting an oddly subdued Miranda to bed, I¡¯d made her change her room¡¯s wards to allow me in ages ago, I made my way back to my own room. I was looking forward to a relaxing evening of research, perhaps some light reading and pure mana practice.


    I felt slightly bad about what I¡¯d done to the poor girl. I¡¯d been so excited to take a look at what made her tick that I had forgotten one of my key rules: don¡¯t make things harder than they need to be. I should have been gentler with her, explained things at the very least. Instead, I¡¯d just pushed onward without thinking about how it would look from her perspective.


    Empathy was hard. Intellectually I knew that I¡¯d probably hurt her, but it had seemed so perfectly reasonable in the moment. The restraints, the orders, the gag, all done as simply a means to an end. It had been the fastest way to get what I wanted from her, so I¡¯d just done it.


    Until I¡¯d seen those piercings, I hadn¡¯t even thought about how badly her original capture had disturbed the usually exuberant girl. And now this, only a few days after I¡¯d threatened her in the library? That had been a mistake, and one I was afraid I would absolutely repeat without meaning to. I would talk to her the next time I saw her, reassure her. It couldn¡¯t hurt, right?


    Maybe I would play with Mistletoe again, something to take my mind off my most recent fuck up. It had been a few days and working with Miranda had put me in the mood, despite the unfortunate ending. She was a gorgeous woman and I¡¯d spent two hours examining her exposed and vulnerable body. Since I had no plans of fucking the literal man-eater anytime soon, even with her oaths, which meant I had to find some other way to let off steam.


    At the very least, I needed to empty her bucket again. It had been about half full this morning and I didn¡¯t want to deal with any spillage if I got caught up with my other work. The stuff had proven its worth already and I¡¯d barely begun to explore what it might be capable of. I¡¯d noticed that her output tended to increase after I played with her, though even light touches were enough for that. If I ended up needing a lot of the stuff, it was important to keep her productivity up.


    My mind turned briefly to the image of the other elf girl, Verdan, that Miranda had shown me. Perhaps I would soon have another lab-cow to work with. A second subject would make my research much more reliable and I imagined the two of them would look lovely restrained side by side.


    Any thoughts of my future plans vanished the moment I stepped through the door. There was someone in my room waiting for me, a stout, green skinned woman in a dark robe and pointed hat. She was sitting on my stool, heeled feet propped up on Mistletoe¡¯s bare shoulders and back leaning against the wall.


    Though I was loath to damage anything in my room, safety took priority. A force lance, the third circle equivalent of the force spike spell, formed in my hand and I launched it at her exposed head. Without waiting to see the result, I followed up a force spike and an all purpose shield.


    The spell fell apart in my hands, matrix torn apart by the most elegant counterspell I¡¯d ever seen. I staggered back from the unexpected backlash, half falling against the doorframe. My force lance fared no better, impacting to no effect against a hexagonal shield I hadn¡¯t even noticed her cast.


    ¡°Oh stop that honey,¡± she drawled, ¡°if I wanted to hurt you, you would be hurt.¡±


    My eyes flickered between her and the door, wondering if running was even an option. She was in my room. My locked, heavily warded room. The door hadn¡¯t been forced open, so that meant she¡¯d probably teleported in. She could teleport. She could teleport inside Avalon¡¯s wards.


    I slowly bowed, folding my hands over my chest but keeping my mana at the ready. ¡°My apologies, great one. You simply startled me, I meant no offense.¡±


    ¡°Oh what a charmer you are. You make this old woman blush.¡± She let out a cackling laugh, an almost inhuman sound that reminded me of the devil I¡¯d barely escaped a few days ago. ¡°I think I get what my niece sees in you. Those muscles, yum.¡±


    I froze, suddenly, terrifyingly aware of who I might be dealing with. She grinned, a cruel thing showing just a hint of her curved incisors. ¡°Yes, she wrote me such a charming letter, begging her ¡®aunty Elpha¡¯ for advice. Her beloved would barely look at her, no matter how hard she fought for his attention.¡±


    Oh gods above, I was going to murder Brenda if I got out of this, and damn the consequences.


    ¡°I just knew I had to take a look at this upstanding young man she seemed so very fond of. I was in the area and decided to just take a little peek, you know? I wasn¡¯t really sure what I would find, but I wasn¡¯t really expecting this, hmm?¡± I broke into a cold sweat as I felt her attention focus on me. It wasn¡¯t quite like what Myrddin did, but her gaze had an oppressive weight to it that almost brought me to my knees.


    The woman I strongly suspected was Elpha Lifebane stood up and vanished, reappearing directly behind me in a silent teleport refined enough I couldn¡¯t even feel the magical ripples such magic inevitably produced. I was so dead, my mind gibbered, I was so so dead. A dainty hand landed heavily on my shoulder, long nails digging into my shoulder like claws.


    ¡°Very impressive work, I¡¯m not sure I would have been as thorough at your age.¡± Wait what? ¡°Igor was right to speak highly of you, he¡¯s been very impressed by your progress.¡± What?She seemed to sense the confused mess of thoughts racing through my mind and paused for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°Yes, I spent a few hours catching up on your time here at the academy, and I must say, you do good work. Your subordinate is capable and well trained, she¡¯s far too terrified to ever act against you. Your professors have nothing but good things to say about your progress and dedication, even in the classes you do not seem particularly interested in. Even this,¡± she gestured broadly at the restrained Mistletoe and the prototype restraints lying around her that I¡¯d been working on, ¡°inspired work. I can do better now of course, but at your age? Very thorough.¡±


    This was not going quite how I¡¯d expected. For one, I was not dead. That was very nice, I greatly approved of not being dead. Secondly, I had not really expected her reaction towards my work to be quite so¡­ positive, what with her niece''s obvious interest in me. The extended Goodwitch clan tended to stay on the nicer end of mages, the sort that avoided the ¡®distasteful¡¯ parts of typical mage life. What I was doing certainly fell into that category.


    Elpha gave me a moment to hyperventilate, letting go of my shoulder and slowly pacing around behind me. Eventually I built up the courage and asked, ¡°So, you¡¯re not going to torture me to a painful death? Or well, threaten me with that if I don¡¯t stay away from your little girl maybe?¡±


    The room fell unnaturally silent for a moment, Elpha¡¯s presence pressing down on me like a lead blanket. Then she burst out into cackling laughter that seemed to claw at my ears and linger in the back of my mind.


    ¡°Ah ha haha, ah ha ha! Is that what you¡¯ve been trembling about? Ah ha ha ha haa!¡± I wasn¡¯t quite sure what part of that question was particularly funny, but I hoped the response was a good sign. The pressure pulled back slightly but I remained in the deep bow I¡¯d been holding this entire time. It was how my father had taught me to act towards the rich and powerful, and his advice had served me well over the years. Act subservient, remain polite, bow, don¡¯t move unless they tell you too. Archmages weren¡¯t exactly nobles, but they certainly counted as ¡®rich and powerful¡¯


    After a good thirty seconds, her laughter finally subsided and she dropped heavily back onto the stool she¡¯d been using when I¡¯d walked in. She jabbed the point of one of her heels into Mistletoe¡¯s dangling breast, then kicked her legs back onto her shoulder, a cruel smile on her face.


    ¡°Anyway, no, I¡¯m not going to punish you for your perceived sins. I did way worse back in my school days. They didn¡¯t use to have nearly so many protections for students, no wonder your generation is getting so soft. The new Myrddin coddles you lot.¡±


    This was supposed to be ¡®so many protections for students¡¯? What the hell had her years looked like if this was what she considered being coddled.


    ¡°Now, I didn¡¯t come here just to reminisce about the good old days. I did plenty of that with old Igor already. No, I think you can help me out a little, or well, let''s say we can help each other out. Alumni are not supposed to interfere with students too badly, but many skirt the line much closer than I do.¡±


    Oh? That sounded interesting, even if I wasn¡¯t quite sure how someone like me could help an ancient monster like her. She¡¯d killed an ancient dragon! On her own! I¡¯d only been a child at the time, and it had happened halfway around the world from where I lived, but I¡¯d still heard the stories. Still, I didn¡¯t say anything. Whatever it was she wanted, I didn¡¯t really have much choice about not doing it.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re bursting with questions about what little old you can do for me. Well, use that brain of yours, even my little ¡®darling¡¯ tells me you¡¯re quite clever. What do you think you can do that I can not?¡±


    Well, that sure was the question. I closed my eyes, turning the question around in my head. What could I do that she could not. It couldn¡¯t be something magic related, I was apparently impressive for my age and experience, but she was a centuries old archmage. It couldn¡¯t be something resource related either, because I didn¡¯t really have any resources she couldn¡¯t acquire in an instant. That left¡­


    Oh. She¡¯d as good as told me herself. ¡°You want me to do something here, to another student. Alumni aren¡¯t allowed to mess with students, but I can.¡±


    She let out another cackle, ¡°Exactly! You do have something going on up there. What else?¡±


    What else¡­ ¡°It¡¯s something to do with Brenda?¡± I guessed after a moment. It had to be a second or third year, and if it had to do with a second year even Brenda should be a good enough agent to work through, talentless idiot or not.


    ¡°Exactly! That little brat has been pestering me for years on end. I thought to get rid of her by sending her here, but it seems things have gotten far too comfy for lower years. Back in my day, she would have been chopped up for ingredients by the end of her first year.¡±


    Oh. Ohhhh. Certain things I¡¯d noticed, the way she seemed to drawl whenever Brenda came up, her interest in what I was doing, her apparent friendship with Igor of all people¡­ I knew she and Goodwitch were half sisters, her half orc heritage clearly showing the divide, but it seemed their relationship was not as good as they publicly made it out to be.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re starting to understand. Yes, I want you to deal with the girl, and as long as you do it my way, I¡¯ll even give you a hand. If Galina thought I was behind it, I¡¯d never hear the end of it. She loves her little girl, stupid brat or no. If a student does it though, well that''s something else. Galina might act all high and mighty, but she was a student here in her own day. She will be angry, but as long as you do it right, our mother will not let her get involved.¡±


    That was not nearly as reassuring as Elpha clearly thought it was. She clearly knew her family better than I did, but I didn¡¯t trust empty platitudes when it came to my continued existence on this plane. Still, as I¡¯d thought earlier, it wasn¡¯t like I had much of a choice when it came to doing what Elpha wanted me to. Galina Goodwitch might murder me, but Elpha Lifebane was right here and would definitely not be happy if I disobeyed.


    ¡°I understand. What would you have me do?¡±


    Her smile broadened, showing off the gleaming points of her teeth. ¡°I hoped you¡¯d see it that way. Now, I¡¯m sure it would be easy enough to just dispose of her. She clings to you like a leach and I¡¯m certain she would follow you if you invited her back to your room. Unfortunately, that''s not very subtle and would likely end poorly for you. That little trinket around your neck is potent, but not enough to get around an angry archmage¡¯s sight.¡±


    My hand moved to the raven pendant hidden under my shirt. Well, that was good to know at least. That at least gave me some idea of how my observation skills could stack up against those of an archmage. Still, not exactly a pleasant thought


    She ignored my obvious discomfort and continued without pausing, ¡°No, I want something a little more clever. A dead girl is good, but I think a broken one is so much better. It will hurt for longer that way, and as long as she is still alive you still have power. Even better if it''s done cleanly so she doesn¡¯t notice right away. The realization that her darling has been a mindless doll, well even more mindless than before, for who knows how long and she didn¡¯t even notice? Oh that would be priceless.¡± She fell silent, looking into the distance with a nasty smirk on her face.


    Ok then. I¡¯d realized their relationship was a little rocky, but that was something else. Well, at least it sort of fit with my current plans already so that was a win? Maybe? This seemed like an entire mess that I really didn¡¯t want to get involved in, but I couldn¡¯t see a way out that didn¡¯t end poorly for me. I had a feeling Galina Goodwitch would give me a cleaner death than this woman.


    Seeing that she didn¡¯t seem to have anything more to say, I tentatively asked, ¡°So, just to clarify. You want me to kidnap your niece, torture her, and then let her go? If you know about Miranda, I guess something oath based to make sure she acts like she used to?¡±


    She startled slightly, then turned back to look at me. ¡°Yes, close enough. It would be best if you used something stronger, a higher circle binding, probably ritual in nature. I would highly recommend a proper soul binding, something to link her life to your own, for your safety if nothing else.¡±


    Oh that was definitely a good idea. I didn¡¯t know how to cast something like that, but I knew that sort of oath existed. I¡¯d made a similar contingency with Miranda just in case she ever managed to slip her bindings enough to work against me. If she ever felt the oath start to break, something that would only happen if I died, she was to immediately rupture her own soul and kill herself. Something more immediate would be even better though.


    ¡°Your advice is priceless, great one, but I am afraid I do not know any spells of that sort. The strongest binding I know is the standard fourth circle hand oath.¡±


    ¡°Easily fixable. Consider this your first payment.¡± She raised an arm into the air and cast what must have been an eighth or ninth circle spell. I could faintly sense the forms of Space, Distance, and Time in what she was casting, but the expressions of those forms were far too complex for me to understand.


    A spinning hole tore itself in the air in front of her, a dark maelstrom of chaotic energy through which I could faintly see a vast treasure room. She stuck her arm through the breach and withdrew a thick tome bound in a scaled hide. Another terrifyingly complex spell closed the gap as quickly as it had appeared, and she tossed the book onto Mistletoe¡¯s bare back.


    ¡°It''s from my personal collection. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to find what you''re looking for, and perhaps even a little more besides.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, great one. One final question if you would permit?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± she rolled her eyes, ¡°and enough with the ¡®great one¡¯ nonsense. I¡¯m not one of your stuffed up human nobles. Call me Lifebane, I earned that title at least.¡±


    ¡°Of course, my apologies Archmage Lifebane. Do you have any specific timetable on completing your assignment? I¡¯m afraid it might take some time to prepare everything.¡±


    She waved a hand dismissively, ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry too much about time. As long as you¡¯re done before she withdraws after next year, you¡¯re fine. I do need her to be able to withdraw though, I don¡¯t want Galina to notice too quickly.¡± She paused for a moment, then added, ¡°And be careful to always be wearing that little token whenever you¡¯re working on this. Brenda might be a failure, but she is a passable diviner and her mother has provided her with many tools of the trade. I doubt she can peer into private rooms, but her sight likely extends to much of the rest of the Academy.¡±


    I blinked. Damn, that was something I had to keep in mind. Miranda had mentioned that she might be capable of scrying, but I hadn¡¯t taken that particular statement particularly seriously. I would have to do something nice for her.


    Elpha stood up, and this time I felt it as she wove a powerful teleportation spell around herself. This wasn¡¯t a short distance blink, but the sort of magic made to punch through wards and cross continents. She paused for a moment, ¡°If you need any more encouragement to get this done, here¡¯s a fun little tidbit. That demon attack? Brenda¡¯s fault.¡± She winked. ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing you, young man.¡±


    And then she was gone, the spacial ripples from her teleport washing over me like a strong wave. I sat down hard on my butt. The demon attack? Brenda¡¯s fault? What the hell, no how the hell? That required serious looking into.


    My eyes drifted to the large book perched precariously on Mistletoe¡¯s rear. I¡¯d planned to play with her, hadn¡¯t I? I was definitely not in the mood anymore. The archmage hadn¡¯t given me a particularly harsh timetable, but I was sure she wanted me to make good progress at her task. When someone like her said jump, all I could do was ask how high. Break Brenda, hmm? I could do that. Yes, in fact I was certain I could do that much.


    Did I owe her? Maybe. Was I going to do anything other than what the terrifying woman had told me to do? Absolutely not. Well, it sucked to be Brenda, didn¡¯t it. Born with a silver spoon, but still clawing for more. I clicked my tongue. At least I didn¡¯t think any of my enemies were archmages. That was a positive.


    Well, not yet at least. I was not keen on crossing the Goodwitch clan, but I was even more keen on being alive. There was a fable from my childhood that perfectly encapsulated the situation, the Princess and the Rocks. And lo the vengeful princess told the ship¡¯s captain, ¡®do not fear the tides that will smash you upon the rocks. Fear me instead, for I have yet to decide if I shall do so first¡¯. Unfortunately in this case I was the ship¡¯s captain, stuck between two threats far beyond my humble means.


    Maybe I could maneuver things to come out ahead regardless? If I could convince her family I was a good match for Brenda, or well, make a thoroughly oath-bound Brenda convince her family I was a good match for her, then maybe¡­ That would hopefully be enough for Elpha, and if I timed things right, I could hold off on the reveal until I was strong enough to hold my own¡­ or at least run away very quickly.


    I stood up and grabbed the book. Brenda could wait. I would need more practice, which meant moving my current plans up slightly. It had taken two months to break Miranda in. Assuming I couldn¡¯t get the speed up by much, that left me with roughly a year and a half before I had to act. Probably less if I needed to get her trained up as well. This was going to be tricky, but doable.


    I smiled grimly. I¡¯d been pretty sure I would have to deal with her eventually, this just made it a somewhat more pressing issue. The rewards though, if I did this right, the rewards would be bountiful. I looked down at Mistletoe again, imagining Brenda in her place. Sure, her face was a little ugly, but the rest of her was certainly passable. I could do worse. Yes, the rewards could be bountiful.

 Chapter 24

    Sitting next to Brenda the next day felt decidedly awkward. I¡¯d leafed through the book I¡¯d been given, and some of the stuff in there made me just a tiny bit nauseous. I¡¯d always wondered why evil dragons and sorcerers were said to kidnap virgins, that had always seemed like a rather silly detail. I hadn¡¯t exactly looked into the topic before, but I¡¯d never come across something where that was a requirement so far.


    Well¡­ now I have. I somewhat wished I hadn¡¯t learned that particular tibit, but I had and I had to live with it. I had a pretty firm stance that no knowledge was bad knowledge, but I wasn¡¯t sure I liked the existence of spells that required the ritual sacrifice and defilement of say, ninety nine prepubescent girls. I deliberately ignored the fact that the pages around that section were particularly worn and filled with tiny notes in the margins. I did not like where that train of thought went.


    It was something of a struggle to pay attention to the classwork, especially with how little sleep I¡¯d gotten the night before. I¡¯d spent hours casting additional wards and practicing my spellwork. I knew it wouldn¡¯t help against someone like her, but I¡¯d been badly shaken by seeing her in my room and just¡­ had to do something.


    For now however, I had to deal with a particularly clingy Brenda, who seemed determined to sit as close to my lap as she could without actually doing so. I¡¯d accidentally brushed my hand along her thigh when she¡¯d grabbed me today, and she seemed to have taken that as an invitation to be even more physical than usual. I probably should have actually cultivated that a little, if she was comfortable with close contact it might be easier to eventually go in for the ¡®kill¡¯, but for now I was too exhausted to bother. At least she¡¯d decided to be quiet for once, I wasn¡¯t sure I could have remained calm if she¡¯d decided to pester


    I was somewhat dreading my meeting with Janna later in the day. I did not want to deal with her right now, but I wasn¡¯t going to skip out on another meeting. Fortunately, both my evocation and rituals classes passed without issue. The material was interesting, but unremarkable. Unfortunately, that''s where the good part of the day came to an end.


    I turned the corner and almost ate a bolt of lightning with my face. Only the split second warning provided by my mana sense gave me the time to throw as much mana in front of the attack as I could before it slammed into me like an enraged bull. My hastily formed construct shattered under the sudden strain, much of the mana dispersing into the air. The recoil sent me stumbling backwards as I frantically took in the situation, muscles spasming uncontrollably as the small bit of unblocked electricity washed through me.


    Two fourth years and a fifth year faced off in an empty stretch of corridor. Another student, likely a fourth year but I wasn¡¯t sure from this angle, lay sprawled across the floor, a bloody crater where his chest had been. One of the fourth years was on defense, rapidly casting shields and counterspells as his companion did her best to fight back. Despite their obvious experience and surprisingly excellent coordination, they were clearly on the back foot.


    The older student was slowly closing the gap between herself and the group, batting aside spells with a spherical shield that encased her left hand and responding in kind with a mix of brutal fire and force spells. Judging from the positioning, she¡¯d killed, or at least horribly injured, the fallen fourth year earlier into the fight and had forced the other two on the defensive ever since.


    With a flair of will, I suppressed the lingering shock the attack had left playing across my body and stood up, rapidly shaping a powerful shielding spell as I slowly backed away. My eyes went immediately to the small shield the girl was using to deflect spells. Spells like that lightning bolt. That lightning bolt that could have killed me.


    There was some sort of suppressive enchantment I could feel in the air, it was faint but likely the reason I hadn¡¯t felt this fight from two hallways away. It was difficult to hide so much concentrated mana use, it suffused the air and sent shockwaves a skilled mage could easily detect. Whatever enchantment this was, it didn¡¯t eliminate that effect, merely slowed it. This had been an ambush, I would put money on that, though who had ambushed whom was still up in the air.


    I should run, I decided after a moment. That''s what I¡¯d always done the rare few times I¡¯d run into upperclassmen fighting. I began to cast another spell, something to conceal me while I fled the scene, but had to abort when a roaring wall of fire raced down the hallway towards me. I scrambled backwards, almost botching the elementary ¡®protection from fire¡¯ in my haste.


    The burning torrent lifted me off my feet, shield and all, and sent me crashing back to the floor. The horrible heat of the flames felt muted, but the fact I could still feel it behind two layers of magical defense sent a cold chill down my spine. Twice. Twice in less than a minute. If I¡¯d been a moment slower¡­


    A shrill scream rang out through the hallway, only to cut off suddenly as a disk of cutting force removed the last fourth year¡¯s head from her shoulders. The other student, the defender, lay on the ground in a smoldering heap. His shields had not been fast enough to stave off what must have been a fifth circle attack spell.


    The other girl scoffed loudly and dispelled her small shield. She threw me a glance, but scowled and looked away when I raised my hands defensively, three fingers held up behind the translucent dome of my own protective magic. I let out a long breath when she looked away and climbed slowly to my feet.


    The suppressive enchantment had vanished and I could feel the massively increased level of ambient mana in the air from all the spells the group had been throwing around. It seemed the trio had screwed up their ambush and paid the price. I silently resolved to be even more careful. I wasn¡¯t sure what had convinced three fourth years to work together like that, but I would not have escaped unscathed from such an attack. I could probably take a fourth year? I was pretty sure I could at least, but three of them? At once? Not a chance.


    ¡°Mind if I get by you?¡± I called out hesitantly, ¡°I¡¯m heading that way and the closest detour would be like an extra ten minutes.¡±


    She looked up from where she was kneeling by one of the corpses, rifling through the pockets of the slightly scorched jack he had been wearing. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Um, like, just walk past you, down the hallway. Didn¡¯t want you to think I was stealing your loot.¡±


    She laughed and waved me past, ¡°Yeah, go for it. Sorry you got caught up in that, didn¡¯t realize there was someone nearby. Gods, would have been so embarrassing to get purged for accidently barbequing a third year.¡±


    I smiled weakly. Embarrassing. Right, we could call it that. She would have regretted it, but I would have been no less dead then she would have been. That was always a risk at Avalon, but I¡¯d never come face to face with it quite so brutally. Researching better protective spells (and practicing how quickly I could cast the ones I already knew) rapidly rose to the top of my to do list.


    I memorized her face, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what her name was but that was something I could work out later, and fled. She was a fifth year I was almost certain, which meant she would be a seventh year when I was in my own fifth year. Well, assuming we both survived that long. It was important to know the competition, and that little bubble shield seemed like a rather unique bit of spellwork.


    I made it to the practice room in record time, taking the rest of the journey at a near run. The moment I stepped through the doorway, I collapsed against the wall, heart pounding in my chest and adrenaline still rushing through my veins.


    I slowly let the shield I¡¯d been maintaining the entire run drop, wincing as I checked my mana levels. Just over a fifth left, shielding spells like the one I¡¯d used ate mana like nobody''s business. A peek at the clock told me I thankfully still had a good half hour before Janna was supposed to show up. That was something.


    I closed my eyes and took long, slow breaths as though I was meditating, and slowly felt my tense muscles relax. I mechanically grabbed my bag from the floor beside me and checked it for any damage. The outer leather was charred slightly in a few places where it had been at the very edge of my heat shield, but otherwise seemed to be in fine condition. The materials inside were thankfully undamaged, and the outside was easily cleaned up with first circle mending spells.


    With that taken care of, I folded my hands in my lap and hunched forward, thinking over the small bit of the fight I¡¯d run into. What went wrong, what went right, what could I have done better? Professor Costa had introduced us to that particular mental exercise during my first year, and I¡¯d tried to use it after every relevant event.


    Immediately, the obvious problem had been my lack of caution and indecisiveness. When did I start rushing around corners again? I¡¯d made a point of not doing that back in my first year, but the habit had slipped at some point since. Secondly, that first block had been embarrassingly crude and ineffective. It was even worse than what I¡¯d done against the demon, and that had been pathetic. If I planned to keep using pure mana manipulation to create rapid shields, I would need to actually figure out a practical technique for it.


    Finally, I had been so very slow. I should have disappeared the moment I realized a fight was happening, like I¡¯d always done before. Instead, I¡¯d just stood their gaping for several crucial seconds and almost got barbequed for my effort. Casting the shield had been the correct choice, but I should have immediately left, not stayed to watch the fight and try to cast more spells before fleeing.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Sloppy, slow, and arrogant. The talks with Miranda had left me overconfident, I was still a small fish in a large pond, even if I¡¯d grown larger than I¡¯d thought. I wanted to immediately get to work, to practice and train until my mana reserves were dry and my muscles ached. Train every day from dawn till dusk until I could feel safe again.


    It was what I¡¯d always done whenever I was reminded of how puny I was, but that wasn¡¯t an option any more. I had these meetings with Janna, my new mission from Elpha, and oh so many projects that would pay dividends someday, but someday wasn¡¯t today. Someday wouldn¡¯t help me if I died before it arrived.


    I stood up, bag spilling onto the floor as I paced rapidly around the room. What research could pay off soon? Something to give me a noticeable bump in survivability. An edge, a means to escape if I ever got jumped by a group of students? My plans on binding new ¡®underlings¡¯ wouldn¡¯t do it, that would provide resources but it would take time and wasn¡¯t what I was looking for. My work with Mistletoe was similarly set aside, the milk would be useful for a bunch of alchemical creations but I didn¡¯t even have the ingredients yet and that would all take time even once I did.


    In the same vein, most of my older research was similarly set aside. A lot of it had to do with enchanted items and magical manufacturing, fields that had already served me well but wouldn¡¯t provide any immediate boosts. Runecrafting and alchemically transmuted objects had proven invaluable, but they were slow and I didn¡¯t have the materials to craft something like a shielding amulet. The bindings I¡¯d crafted so far got around those issues by draining the mana of their wearer, but I was just a normal human and couldn¡¯t waste that much mana on something so inefficient.


    What else was there? I was making good progress on copying circulations, but I still wasn¡¯t confident in copying from Mistletoe and Miranda had proven to be a dead end. I didn¡¯t really have easy access to any other magical creatures I could copy. I could technically just learn new circulations from books, but that came with its own downsides.


    Learning circulations purely from books took a while, especially since it was hard to know if something you were adding would conflict with what you already had without just trying it out. It didn¡¯t help that I was still mostly a novice with the skill and had yet to manage unconscious mana circulation. As such, adding more circulations on top of what I already had would cost me even more of my attention dedicated to keeping them running.


    I stopped. Oh, right. I was missing the obvious answer here. Circulations that did not require constant attention from the user? A shortcut to a large, immediate power boost? The answer had been staring my right in the face, I was taking a class on it for gods¡¯ sake.


    Ritual magic, though somewhat clunky and delicate, could provide massive benefits faster than many other forms of magic. By casting a spell as a ritual, you could sidestep the massive complexity condensing the same effects into a typical spell would necessitate, allowing the caster to achieve magic multiple circles above their skill level.


    It was what I had done with Miranda back as a first year, no first or second circle binding would have been powerful enough for my purposes. Instead, I¡¯d painstakingly prepared and executed a fifth circle binding ritual typically used for animal familiars. That shortcut had its own costs and shortcomings, but it had been good enough for my purposes at the time.


    The main downside was that rituals were much harder to standardize than regular spells. Whereas anyone could cast basically the same spell using the same spell matrix, rituals had to be carefully adapted for the user. However in this case, I already had most of that work done. It was the entire goal of the class after all, to conduct an enhancement ritual of some sort by the end of the semester. It wasn¡¯t really finished yet, but I was sure a few more weeks of preparation would be enough to have something workable. We weren¡¯t supposed to be ready to execute the rituals until the last month of the semester, but I was sure professor Williams wouldn¡¯t have any issues with me doing it a little early.


    Unfortunately, that brought me to the main issue that had been holding back my progress on the ritual. I still wasn¡¯t sure what exactly I wanted it to do, or how it would accomplish it. I knew I wanted some sort of physical enhancement, but that didn¡¯t really narrow things down much. It was a very vague goal, with a countless number of ways to approach it.


    Hells, I wasn¡¯t even sure what type of enhancement ritual I wanted to use. Enhancement rituals could be broadly separated into two types, trait theft and sacrificial enhancement. The first, like what we¡¯d seen Professor Williams¡¯ protege, typically used the sacrifice of a specific creature to take some of that creature¡¯s attributes or magic abilities for yourself.


    The second was slightly more finicky but much more versatile, by using some sort of sacrifice, you could achieve a much more variable effect. They ranged from simple things like small blood sacrifices, just a slashed palm and a cup full of blood, to power up an enchanted object, to much more intricate and gruesome workings like the ninety-nine child sacrifices I¡¯d found in Elpha¡¯s book that was intended to grant temporary invulnerability to the caster.


    That was another snag in that particular plan. If I wanted to achieve something powerful, I needed something significant to sacrifice, regardless of which type of ritual I used. In the case of trait stealing, I needed whatever creature I was using as the trait ¡®donor¡¯. In the case of the sacrificial ritual, I also needed something powerful or valuable to sacrifice. It didn¡¯t have to be a living creature, though those tended to be the simplest forms of sacrifice, but I didn¡¯t have very many valuable or powerful objects just lying around either.


    The ritual framework I had designed so far was meant to be a very minor thing, using the sacrifice of some sort of meat animal for a minor physical improvement of some sort. Sacrificing something you planned to kill anyway and had no emotional attachment too wasn¡¯t a particularly good source of power, but it would have been enough for something like slightly improved senses or reflexes. That would not be enough for the boost I was looking for now, not nearly, and fortunately what I¡¯d created so far was general enough that it could be adapted for something more impactful.


    I would also need to take a closer look at the book, I¡¯d seen several ritual spells detailed within its pages already, so it might have something useful for me right now. That still left the difficult issue of a powerful sacrifice though. Humans and other sentients made for particularly powerful sacrifices, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted to take that step so soon. I¡¯d done some pretty nasty things over the years, killed, kidnapped, enslaved, but ritual human sacrifice was taking it a step further than I¡¯d ever gone.


    I sat down at the table and flipped to a clean page in one of my notebooks. This would take some planning and contemplation, but I had somewhere to start. I refused to be defenseless. Not now. The fire roared higher, screams and shrieks slowly dying down inside the festively decorated building. He watched from his far off balcony, a smug grin twisting his elegant features into a hideous mask. Not ever again.


    Elpha Lifebane was not used to feeling tiny. She was not the strongest mage in the world, not by a longshot, but she was powerful enough that few people dared test her resolve. Here and now though, sitting like a naughty schoolgirl in the headmaster¡¯s office, she could not help but hunch down in her chair, instincts screaming at her to hide in the presence of an apex predator.


    Ivius Ambrosius signed his name with a flourish, then pushed the stack of papers in front of him to the side. Leaning forward onto his elbows, he steepled his fingers and frowned down at her, the dark voids that had replaced his eyes swirling hypnotically behind his glasses. ¡°You broke the rules, Elpha.¡±


    She opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off before she could say anything. ¡°Yes, I know you did not physically enter his room. The use of astral projection to enter other member¡¯s rooms is not explicitly banned under Avalon¡¯s codes of conduct, but I think we both understand that it sets a¡­ poor precedent.¡±


    She huffed, but did not say anything, face twisted into a scowl. The air in the room was heavy with mana, the presences of the two ancient mages clashing silently without them directly suppressing them. The Myrddin waited for a few moments longer, then let out a long sigh. ¡°Fine then. We¡¯ll do this the hard way.¡±


    Elpha¡¯s eyes widened and her chair almost tipped back as a tangible pressure crashed down around her. It tore and crushed her presence, smothering it until she could feel the stronger mage¡¯s mana pressing up against the surface of her skin. She gasped loudly and looked up to see the Myrddin sitting motionless in his seat, staring down at her with his impossible eyes.


    ¡°Now then, let''s try this again. Elpha Lifebane, I find you in violation of the codes of Avalon. What are you going to do about it?¡±


    Fighting through the overwhelming weight with every movement, Elpha slowly bit out, ¡°I. Already. Paid him. Weregild. For. For the violation.¡±


    Ambrosius hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Did you though, or was that payment for services rendered? It doesn¡¯t seem like you to flaunt the rules like this without an ulterior motive. Or pettier motive, whichever the case may be.¡±


    ¡°Gave him. Grimoire. Enough for both.¡±


    The pressure eased marginally and Elpha took several gasping breaths as he studied her once again. ¡°Interesting. Yes, that is a fair payment, but I have a feeling you did not make that clear to the boy. I do not want more of our cabal graduating with poor impressions of how we do business.¡±


    Reaching into one of the bins that littered his desk, he pulled out a formal document bearing the Academy¡¯s crest. To anyone with the smallest hint of magic perception, the simple looking piece of parchment would blaze like a tiny bonfire. He pushed the paper across the table to Elpha, setting a tiny silver knife down beside it.


    ¡°Twenty thousand pieces, five to the boy, the rest to the Academy. An oath to keep any secrets you might have seen within his room secret.¡±


    She balked slightly at the price, but grit her teeth and scanned the contract. This was not a place where she could bargain or negotiate. She hadn¡¯t expected him to be so¡­ uptight about it, but she was lucky he hadn¡¯t decided to press the issue.


    Once she was certain there were no other hidden clauses in the agreement, she pricked her finger and signed her name in blood at the bottom of the paper. ¡°Excellent. I will expect the transfer by next week. Remember Elpha, you may not be a student any longer, but that would not stop me from taking you over my knee. We have rules for a reason, and as long as I am Myrddin, we will hold to those rules!¡±


    Elpha swallowed heavily and nodded. It had been too long, and she¡¯d forgotten how tightly the current master of Avalon guarded his precious students. Avalon had strict rules about how members could come into conflict with one another, but those were not enforced nearly as tightly as the rules about interfering with students.


    She¡¯d thought it would be fine, he was only a third year after all and Myrddin did not tend to look at the younger students closely. Even as strong as she was, she would not have dared test his patience by trying to creep on one of the sixth or seventh year students. It was just her luck she¡¯d managed to run into one of his pet projects.


    She wondered what a third year had done to catch his attention, but quickly decided that was a hornets nest best avoided. She would have to deal more evenly with the student in the future, but perhaps that was not a bad thing. It was always good to have an established relationship with the most promising up-and-comers. The Myrddin had a keen eye for those that would survive long enough to graduate.

 Chapter 25

    Despite the dread I¡¯d initially felt, the meeting with Janna passed with no major hiccups. She noticed of course that I was a little out of sorts, her talent in magic might be less impressive than I¡¯d assumed but she was still a very perceptive person, but I waved away her concerns and she didn¡¯t mention it again.


    In general, she was improving at a slightly slower pace than I would have liked but much faster than my worst case prediction. If nothing else, it was good to have a new baseline to compare against if I ever decided to take on other students. Depending on how my future plans went, I might have to train up some minions to keep them from failing out of Avalon. For now however, I estimated it would take about another week before she was ready to make the circulation work.


    Otherwise, the only other point of interest came right at the end of the lesson, as I was packing my things to leave.


    ¡°Oh, Orion, I almost forgot!¡±


    I looked up from my bag to find Janna standing half way out the door, head turned back to look at me. I raised an eyebrow and she blushed faintly. She straightened her back, falling into a more formal tone than she¡¯d used for most of our lesson.


    ¡°I wanted to inform you that I¡¯ve sourced all the materials you were looking for, they should arrive over the weekend, Tuesday at the latest. I am content that you are following your side of the contract as we agreed, so I am willing to deliver everything before we are finished with my training. Should I bring what has already arrived to our meeting on Sunday or hold off with everything till Tuesday?¡±


    Oh! That was good news, faster than she¡¯d promised, even. I still needed to finish the pumps and the tank system, but that shouldn¡¯t take long at all. I¡¯d found the designs used on commercial farms months ago so it was just a matter of assembling everything and making some minor tweaks to account for breasts and not udders. I made a quick note, another task for the weekend then.


    ¡°That''s great to hear, thank you Janna. Just bring everything on Tuesday I think, I assume you can keep everything in good condition for a few days?¡±


    ¡°Yes, certainly.¡± She nodded briskly, then paused and awkwardly adjusted the hem of her wide skirts. ¡°That is all.¡±


    ¡°Great, good doing business with you?¡± She nodded again, then bit her lip and fled from the room, leaving me staring after her in confusion. Every time I thought I was getting a handle on her character, she went and did something strange like this. Things like this is why I kept Miranda around, though I wished I¡¯d started asking for her advice and suggestions earlier. Her bonds kept her loyal and obedient, but she didn¡¯t provide anything I didn¡¯t explicitly ask for.


    Unfortunately, the rest of the day did not prove nearly as fruitful. I arrived back in my room in high spirits and resumed my work on the ritual, only to run into the exact issue I¡¯d been confronted with earlier after barely an hour. Without knowing what I was sacrificing or what I was trying to gain, it was all but impossible to continue. I¡¯d worked out the framework that adapted the ritual magic to myself, that had been the first focus of our class, but past that I needed to know what I wanted before I continue.


    It seemed my dreams of an immediate power boost would have to be just that for a while longer. Now that the moment had passed, I was feeling much less enthusiastic about rushing head first into enhancement rituals anyway. Magic was dangerous, ritual magic even more so, and trying to take shortcuts typically resulted in a one way trip to the afterlife. There was even a saying about it, ¡®shortcuts get you a head cut short¡¯. I liked my head exactly where it was now.


    Setting that aside, I spent a few hours alternating between fabricating the pumps and tanks I would need and flipping through the increasingly unsettling grimoire. The crafting didn¡¯t take particularly long, not that I¡¯d expected that it would. I¡¯d started to keep a stock of the large stone bricks that were a pretty standard starting point for many alchemical transmutations, and I already had most of the spells I needed prepared.


    The only time consuming part was getting all the runes done properly, but even that wasn¡¯t much of an issue. The biggest hurdle was adapting them to run off of Mistletoe¡¯s magic instead of an external power source, and I¡¯d already designed runes for exactly that purpose for her other restraints. After all, most farm animals were not as mana rich as my lovely pet.


    A few tests also showed that she seemed to really like the new devices, wriggling and moaning even more than usual while they were active. That was probably good, though I would once again have to increase her liquids intake. Elves did not actually require nearly as many calories or fluids as they should given regular biology, but if I had her producing bucketloads of milk and other liquids with her current water intake, that would stretch even her species¡¯ unnatural abilities.


    Comparatively, my studying was not nearly as successful, though it was certainly educational. The thick book was dense, filled with hundreds of spells, rituals, and theoretical musings on various aspects of magic and spellcasting. It was fascinating stuff, but much of it was above my current level of understanding and somewhat distasteful besides. I hadn¡¯t seen anything worse than the ninety-nine pre-teen sacrifice, but the authors (there were at least three distinct writers I could identify) clearly placed very little value on morality and human life. I had no doubt this book would have been widely burned and banned had the authors ever decided to publish.


    Towards the end of the night, I found the rituals I was pretty sure Elpha wanted me to use on her niece. There was a short section detailing several high level slave bindings, the sort that were never publicly distributed and highly regulated in most nations. Compared to the clunky mess I had used on Miranda, it was like night and day. I wasn¡¯t sure about casting some of them, but several options seemed rather appealing.


    I was tentatively leaning towards what the book referred to as ¡®the officiant¡¯s collar¡¯. It was an eigth circle binding ritual, but the mana manipulation required was only of the fifth circle. That was still somewhat beyond my current means, but I was sure I would be able to figure it out by the deadline Elpha had set for me.


    It was an extremely powerful yet subtle sort of binding that had originated as a trap for unsuspecting spouses. Instead of the straightforward loyalty and obedience that most oaths compelled in their targets, this one camouflaged itself with devotion, twisting the targets mind to make them think that what they were doing was their own idea. Beyond that, the binding was incredibly difficult to detect or remove, but that wasn¡¯t all.


    The truly devious part of the ritual was that it could sidestep the ¡®willing¡¯ nature that all oaths fundamentally required. The casting could be slipped seamlessly into a wedding ceremony or similar, requiring only some minor modifications to the typical vows. If the target was even marginally accepting of the relationship, the ritual could use that gap to dig in and slowly bind its victim over the course of a few days or weeks. Optimally, the victim wouldn¡¯t even know they were under an oath in the first place.


    It wasn¡¯t quite what Elpha had requested, but I felt it would be good enough. It was by far the most subtle binding spell I could feasibly cast, and thus minimized the risk of death-by-Goodwitch. Her family might get suspicious of how devoted and obedient she was towards me, but if she was already telling her family about me it wouldn¡¯t seem so out of place.


    I¡¯d also found a much more straightforward binding ritual that I thought would be a good choice for my more immediate plans. It was a powerful but barebones binding, forcing the target to obey their master¡¯s orders in both word and spirit and little else. It didn¡¯t inspire loyalty or have any more subtle effects, but it was a seventh circle ritual and was supposedly very hard to detect or remove. It wasn¡¯t nearly as subtle as the binding I planned for Brenda, particularly if you forgot to order the target not to tell anyone about the oath, but it didn¡¯t have to be. As long as I worded my initial orders correctly, it would more than do the trick.


    That binding also had the advantage that I was pretty sure I could cast it with a few days to prepare. The ritual components would be a little tricky, but once again it seemed Mistletoe would come through for me there. The main ingredient was several liters of blood from a powerful magical creature, and elves were even listed as one of the best options. The spell component was also not particularly concerning, it looked tricky for a fourth circle spell, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I would have plenty of time to prepare by the time I got my new ¡®associates¡¯ ready for the ritual.


    At the very least, every option in the book was so much better than the jury-rigged abomination that I¡¯d used with Miranda. I would have to do some more research and some minor tests, but I was hopeful I would be able to replace her current bindings with something better soon. That would be a huge weight off my mind, since well, her current bindings were not exactly meant for people and wouldn¡¯t hold for more than a few more years at most.


    Since I hadn¡¯t had access to rare and restricted materials like this grimoire, I¡¯d ended up putting together something out of several other rituals, primarily ones meant to bind animal familiars. In hindsight, it was a miracle the mess hadn¡¯t just killed her, though I was worried it might have had a detrimental effect on her mental health.


    Beyond that, though I hadn¡¯t told her, I¡¯d already noticed that the binding was breaking down. By the time Miranda had enough mana to cast fifth circle spells, the framework would no longer be able to influence her at all, and the first signs of the weakening would appear sooner. Before, that had meant I would have to have a permanent solution ready for her before I could no longer ensure her obedience, but if I could rebind her that gave me more breathing room.


    There were still some issues to consider, bindings tended to interfere with one another so I would have to figure out a way to sidestep or otherwise avoid that issue. Hopefully, I could just use something powerful enough that it would just cancel out the current oath, but there were other workarounds I¡¯d been considering.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    I also wasn¡¯t sure that Miranda would be able to remain at Avalon for much longer even if I wanted to keep her around. She was a skilled and powerful caster, but I didn¡¯t think she could keep up with the curriculum past the fifth or sixth year. Fortunately for her, her sponsor had paid her tuition so she had the option to withdraw, but with her bindings at the current state I couldn¡¯t have allowed that to happen. Too much risk of her slipping away and then looking for revenge.


    This definitely opened up my options a lot. It would have been a shame to have to kill her, I had grown moderately fond of her over the years and hadn¡¯t been looking forward to rending her down into ingredients. Unless she proved herself more useful dead than alive, this book had increased her life expectancy greatly. I laughed quietly, I¡¯d have to tell her she owed her life to one of the most brutal and feared mages in the world sometime. Her reaction was sure to be priceless.


    I went to bed tired but overall content with how the day had gone. I¡¯d managed to keep myself busy for the entire evening without thinking too hard about my most recent near death experience, and I was tired enough that I didn¡¯t lie in bed agonizing about it either.


    The next day, I saw Miranda for the first time since our poorly thought out meeting earlier in the week. She visibly paled when I waved her over to sit down beside me and I internally cursed how stupid I¡¯d been. I spent months agonizing about keeping our relationship mostly cordial and then I managed to blow it all away in a week.


    I gave her my most encouraging smile and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we should talk after class,¡± but she had arrived too late to discuss things beforehand. The class passed quickly, though I noticed that Miranda took no notes and had been as stiff as a board the entire time. Once again, my best intentions had clearly only made things worse. Still, I tried to put it out of my mind as Professor Meadows continued to lecture about the composition and structure of various types of materials.


    A quiet, ¡°Come along,¡± had her scrambling after me when I left the room, but I tried not to give her too much time to stew in her fears before I turned into the closest practice room. We stood in silence as I sealed the door behind us. She meekly obeyed when I gestured to one of the chairs, sitting down with her hands folded in her lap and her eyes downcast.


    ¡°Miranda. Look at me.¡±


    She looked up, and I was shocked to see tears in the corners of her eyes. She was shaking now, and I realized I winced internally at how this all must look to her. Gods above, even when I was trying to be reassuring I only made things worse. For fucks sake, this was already such a disaster.


    She swallowed loudly and I finally noticed that I¡¯d just been staring at her for several long seconds. Fuck! Right, reassuring people. How did a normal person reassure someone¡­ Hugs? Hugs were good, I remembered hugs. I opened my arms, then put them down as my mind caught up to me. No. Hugs seemed like the opposite of a good idea right now.


    ¡°Miranda. Look, it¡¯s ok. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡± No, that wouldn¡¯t do it. Maybe something like this? ¡°You¡¯re ok. You¡¯re safe. I¡¯m not going to touch you right now.¡±


    That seemed to do something, though I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good thing. She continued to stare at me unblinking, but she¡¯d sort of hunched in on herself. No, that probably wasn¡¯t a good sign.


    ¡°I wanted to apologize for what I made you do on Wednesday. I didn¡¯t mean for it to be so traumatic for you. It wasn¡¯t a punishment, nor a warning. I just¡­ got a little over zealous. I doubt that''s what you want to hear, but it''s the truth. If I was going to punish you, I wouldn¡¯t make it a surprise.¡±


    Hmm¡­ Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have added that last part. Still, it was the truth. Punishment for the sake of pain was just¡­ petty. If I was going to torture someone, I didn¡¯t want it to be an accident. I would do it, even if they didn¡¯t really deserve it, if it forwarded my goals, but needless cruelty was just that. Needless.


    After a pause, she finally opened her mouth and weakly asked, ¡°That¡­ potion you made me drink. What was it? It was so rich, but it tasted of pain and silence and so much endless pleasure.¡± She closed her eyes and shuddered, but I realized that this time it wasn¡¯t in fear. ¡°It was¡­ so dark but it hurt oh so good¡­¡± she all but moaned out the last part and I had to reinforce my mental defenses when I felt her aura momentarily spike. Interesting, that was very interesting.


    ¡°It''s a secret. The kind you don¡¯t want me to tell you.¡±


    She nodded shakily, but didn¡¯t press the issue. She pulled her knees up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them, rocking slowly in her seat. ¡°You promise?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You promise, you didn¡¯t mean for it to be that bad. You just¡­ didn¡¯t realize. Didn¡¯t realize how I¡¯d react.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I promise. You didn¡¯t deserve that, especially not by accident. You¡¯ve done everything I¡¯ve asked of you and more.¡± Despite some minor hiccups, she had been an excellent subordinate. It would be an utter shame to have to get rid of her prematurely.


    We sat in silence for another long minute. ¡°Can I go?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you want to leave. Even when I¡¯m trying for the opposite, I always seem to make things worse between us. For as little as it probably helps, I have no plans to get rid of you in the near future. You are much more useful to me like this than in pieces or locked up in a cage somewhere.¡±


    She nodded slowly. Then, without another word, she stood up and rushed out of the room. I sighed loudly when she was gone. Damn it. Well, maybe that helped a little? For once, I didn¡¯t seem to have made things worse. That had to count for something.


    We had a regular teacher in Mana Theory this week. My classmates seemed a little bummed when the Myrddin did not take over the class again, but no one was particularly surprised. Liam told me that he apparently did that occasionally, just taking over for one or two lectures at random, but that he rarely stuck around for longer than that. It was just a shame this happened to be a one lecture experience instead of something slightly longer.


    Despite that, the class was still thoroughly interesting, though not as productive as the prior week of course. Professor Manton, the one that Lord Ambrosius had stood in for the week before, gave a fascinating demonstration on animating pure mana constructs, summoning a translucent humanoid figure that brushed off all the attack spells we threw at it and then demolished several desks with powerful sweeps of its arms and legs.


    The lecture that followed was both informative and somewhat disheartening, the technique he demonstrated was something he had spent decades working up too and for good reason, but it gave me some ideas for the mana shield I kept meaning to work on. I didn¡¯t think I would be able to make something as durable as that construct, but some of the principles seemed very manageable.


    I was particularly interested in his technique of shaping the mana into tiny ringlets reminiscent of chain mail in order to reinforce the structure. It reminded me of the circulations I¡¯d seen in Mistletoe¡¯s bones and seemed like it could have some interesting uses in the future. If I could put something like that together just under the surface of my skin¡­ Well, that certainly warranted future consideration.


    I had planned to head directly to the library after classes, I wanted to pick up a few books and the class had finally inspired me to go and seriously look into proper pure mana shielding, but to my surprise Liam invited me to come grab an early dinner with him and a ¡®friend¡¯. It seemed like a somewhat strange offer, but I was about to accept anyway when he added a detail I had not seen coming.


    ¡°There are a couple of great restaurants out in Port Anangala and Avalon is moving the portal in just a few days. It¡¯ll be a good time and I¡¯d like you to meet one of the people I work with outside the Academy.¡± He clapped a large hand onto my shoulder, ¡°In our field, it''s always good to have connections and Orin has always been good at finding the resources I need.¡±


    It took me a moment to process what he¡¯d said, but when I did I turned to look at him in confusion, a bead of fear welling up in the pit of my stomach.


    ¡°You want me to leave the Academy with you¡­ for a fancy dinner?¡±


    Increasingly horrifying ideas raced through my mind as I thought back to every interaction I¡¯d had with the older student. Was this some sort of trick to get me outside the Academy¡¯s protections? Avalon¡¯s policies technically extended outside the bounds of the pocket world, but they were certainly harder to enforce outside. Perhaps someone else was targeting me, someone outside the Academy? It was a risk to attack a member of Avalon, even a student, but if they were careful I would be dead and no one would be the wiser.


    Liam, seemingly oblivious to my hidden panic, grinned widely, ¡°Yeah, exactly! There''s a great seafood place just a few minutes walk from the portal, what do you think? My treat!¡±


    He seemed earnest about it at least, maybe it¡­ wasn¡¯t a trap? Liam had been nothing but friendly over the time I¡¯ve known him. In theory, as a more senior member of Avalon, he was bound by the charter to protect me if someone outside the organization tried to do me harm.


    I bit my lip. I did need to improve my social skills and Liam was offering to introduce me to some merchant associate of his. That could prove to be a useful link sometime in the future. On the other hand, well, it had been a while since I¡¯d left Avalon. I knew it was always an option, as long as you showed up to classes no one cared what you did on your own time, but it had never seemed like a good time. I hadn¡¯t even left once over the past summer, choosing instead to spend the month-long break studying while many students left to visit family or whatever else.


    ¡°Um, well-¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± he interrupted my hesitant reply, face lighting up in a broad smile, ¡°I¡¯ll go get changed into something a bit lighter, it''s really hot out there this time of year. I¡¯ll meet you by the portal in thirty?¡±


    Right. Lighter clothes. Changed. I looked down at my long pants and the long jacket I tended to wear around campus. Avalon had a temperate climate most of the year, but it got cold inside the long stone hallways and cavernous underground areas. Ever since I¡¯d worked out circulations for temperature control, I¡¯d stopped taking the jacket off entirely. It was some of the only enchanted clothing I owned and the deep pockets made it particularly convenient.


    I opened my mouth to ask him some more questions, but he was already gone. For a moment I was tempted to just bail on him, I hadn¡¯t said I was going, even if he¡¯d clearly interpreted my response as an agreement. It felt¡­ too risky, to just leave the relative safety of Avalon¡¯s strict rules and policies for the dangers of the outside world. I barely even know where Port Anangala, much less the city¡¯s laws, who the important people were, what sort of things not to do, all those little details that were crucial to not attract unwanted attention.


    I weighed my options for a moment longer, then squared my shoulders and took a deep breath. I could do this, everything was going to be fine. Liam was going to be with me. I liked Liam, he was just about the closest thing to a friend I had made over the years. Worst came to worst, he was a seventh circle mage and the Avalon portal would be just a few minutes away. We would be fine. It was going to be fine.

 Chapter 26

    I found Liam already waiting for me, leaning casually against one of the towering pillars that littered the portal room. I almost didn¡¯t recognize him at first, my eyes passing over him until he waved me over. Instead of his regular formal robes, he was dressed like a street boy from back home with short shorts, a thin white shirt, and woven sandals on his feet.


    I glanced self consciously at my own outfit. I rarely wore anything other than my everyday clothes, but I¡¯d dug out some of the things I hadn¡¯t worn since arriving at the Academy. I¡¯d grown somewhat since then, and the shirt and pants I was wearing both felt slightly too tight. Still, it was the most casual thing I¡¯d found in the short time I¡¯d had to get dressed, so it would have to do. Hopefully I wouldn¡¯t stand out too badly?


    Liam whistled quietly as I came up to him, giving my outfit what I hoped was an approving look. ¡°Damn, you fill those out way better than I¡¯d of thought, can barely see any of that under that jacket you always wear!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to that, so I just smiled politely and nodded. He pushed off the wall, and gestured towards the portal. ¡°Let''s get going then? We¡¯re running a little early for dinner but it''s a beautiful city. We can take the scenic route.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± I followed after him, looking around with interest at a part of Avalon I rarely saw. The portal room was somewhat removed from the rest of campus, housed in its own free standing hall connected to the rest of campus by a wide plaza. It seemed relations with the port city were pretty good, because only two guards flanked the portal, leaning casually on long battle-staves.


    I¡¯d heard that when the portal was located in less friendly cities, the room was sometimes guarded by as many as twenty or thirty mages and twice that many war golems. Now, those golems stood inertly around the edges of the hall, towering stone bodies still as statues and crystal eyes dim.


    We passed through the iridescent portal with no issues, only pausing to channel mana into the record stone to mark our exit and prove we were supposed to be here. One of the guards gave Liam a friendly wave that he returned. The outside portal was staffed by slightly more people, a half dozen mages and four patrolling golems positioned around the free floating gate at the center of a large plaza. Once again, we channeled our mana into another record stone, and then we were free to go.


    The moment we stepped past the wards set up around the portal, I was hit by a veritable wall of sound, heat, and humidity. The outside of the square was lined with temporary stalls and shops selling foods, trinkets, magical reagents, and a million more things I barely recognized. I understood immediately why Liam had changed into the clothes he had. I was wearing my lightest outfit and still had my temperature control circulations running, but I still felt unpleasantly hot.


    After the subdued silence that typically filled the halls of Avalon, the port city was shockingly loud. Though many of the voices I heard spoke the same common tongue that had been forcibly spread throughout the world centuries ago, the babble was interspersed by the cries of exotic birds and a melodic language that seemed to be the local¡¯s original language.


    The people made any ideas I¡¯d had of blending in vanish in an instant. The locals had dark purple skin and shockingly white hair that many had dyed in a rainbow of colors. The ethnicity was slightly familiar, I¡¯d seen several such students over the years, but I hadn¡¯t known where in the world it came from. Even if I¡¯d worn the same sort of clothes as the locals, Liam and I stood out like a sore thumb.


    Despite the visual difference, I was struck by how familiar the clothing was in particular. Men and women alike wore loosely draped sheets of colorful cloth over one shoulder and secured at the waist by wide belts. Men seemed to wear them slightly longer, the fabric ending just below the knees but slit down one side to allow a full range of motion. Women tended towards shorter garments, with most ending around mid thigh, but theirs were typically not slit at all. It was very similar to the traditional clothing many still wore in my home nation, a fashion I had not seen much of in years.


    Despite the surface similarities, there were some clear differences between the two styles. Their garment left the majority of their chests bare, and I noticed that just about everyone past their early teens sported intricate jewelry pierced through their exposed nipples. They generally seemed to have far more tolerance to public near-nudity, many of the children I could see wore nothing but loincloths, and some men and women engaged in more physical labor were similarly garbed. That sort of thing would have never passed back home.


    I felt a pang of homesickness as I looked around. It had been more than five years since I¡¯d left the island, and I tried to avoid thinking back on it too much. The place held too many painful memories for me and I was not yet ready to return. Soon, I told myself, four or five more years and then I would make them regret what they¡¯d done.


    To distract myself from such melancholy thoughts, I focused instead on my mana sense, which I¡¯d deployed in full the moment we had passed through the wards. I could feel a dozen powerful presences nearby, but they were hidden in and around the locals. Perhaps they were just simple shopkeepers and merchants themselves, but I felt pretty sure that most were hidden guards meant to watch over the portal.


    I could feel several of them focusing back towards me, but the attention was not directly hostile. I tried not to let it bother me, I would also want to keep an eye on potentially powerful mages appearing unannounced at the center of my city. I comforted myself with the knowledge that Liam¡¯s presence felt just as, or in some cases even more, powerful than most of our watchers. Still, I didn¡¯t rule out that I wouldn¡¯t have been able to sense anyone sufficiently powerful who didn¡¯t want to be noticed.


    A young man, no more than sixteen or so years of age, appeared out of the crowd and approached us. He was tall and slender, his long hair dyed with streaks of red and orange and tied back in three buns of different colors. He was a mage, but not a particularly powerful one. His mana felt loose and weak, first or second circle at the most. That was well above average for his age and I assumed he attended a local training program of some sort.


    Bowing his head respectfully, he put a hand over his heart and said, ¡°Good mages of Avalon, this one is Kan. This one is prepared to guide you through the city.¡± He raised his head but left his hand on his bare chest.


    I glanced over at Liam, but he seemed unsurprised by the boy¡¯s appearance. ¡°Excellent. My companion and I have plans at the House of Blue Fins but not for another hour. Perhaps you could show us the sights along the way?¡±


    He bowed his head again, ¡°Of course, good mage. This Kan is well acquainted with the area you speak of. Is there anything in particular you wish to see?¡±


    ¡°A good view of the harbor would be nice, I believe the field of fountains is also on our way?¡± He turned to me, ¡°Anything you¡¯re interested in Orion?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°That all sounds good to me. If there''s some extra time, I¡¯d be interested in visiting a market of some sort.¡±


    ¡°This Kan understands.¡± He gestured around with his free hand, ¡°However if it is markets you seek, you need look no further. The city has assembled a wide display of our people¡¯s goods within this very square, to better welcome the good mages of Avalon.¡±


    Well, that actually made a lot of sense. I was pretty sure Armouth, the city that had hosted Avalon¡¯s gate when I first arrived at the Academy, had done much the same. The area around the portal had been a bustling, lively market much like this one. Well, as bustling and lively as anything ever got in that particular oppressive dictatorship.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know, we can just take a look at the end of the evening then I think.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Very well, if that is the good mage¡¯s wishes. This one shall guide you to the sea-bird''s tower, it is nearby and offers a grand view towards the waters.¡±


    Walking through the bustling port city was¡­ nice, even with the oppressive heat and humidity. Several years spent in one place, even one as majestic as Avalon, wore on the mind, and it was nice to see something other than smooth stone and open fields.


    Port Anangala seemed to be a well designed and built city. The streets were wide and well paved in the same yellow-gold bricks that many of the buildings were made from. The people seemed to favor mosaics as a form of decoration, slightly different shades of brick used to draw out vast images across brick walls and walkways.


    Though Liam and I mostly stayed silent, our guide seemed happy to fill the air with commentary and information about the city, the people, and the history of whatever buildings we passed. He gave specific emphasis to the lords of the city, whom he kept describing as generous, powerful, humble, beautiful, and just about any other positive terms he could spin into his story. If nothing else, that told me everything I needed to know about why he was guiding us around.


    Still, despite the propaganda, Kan had a pleasant voice, speaking with a faint but lyrical accent. The stories themselves were interesting enough as well, though I didn¡¯t plan to take his assertions as an honest fact. I was sure he was telling us a heavily slanted narrative, meant to appeal to powerful foreigners who could make valuable allies and trade partners in the future.


    We reached the aptly named sea-bird¡¯s tower after a pleasant ten minute walk. It was taller than the buildings around it and at the top of the tower perched a massive bird statue carved from yellow and black speckled granite. It was a masterful work, the bird caught with its wings half spread and its beak opened in a triumphant cry. Even from the base of the tower, I could make out the fine detail, every feather delicately shaped out of the hard rock.


    Kan led us up to a spiral staircase that wound around the outside of the building. The tower was positioned at the center of a small park, unfamiliar trees blooming with bright red flowers. Several women lounged on long benches under the trees¡¯ shade, watching over small children playing in the open space. Some of them gave us interesting looks, but a few rapid hand gestures from Kan made them lose interest.


    As promised, the top of the tower gave an excellent view of the city and the harbor just beyond the walls. The shadow cast by the bird sculpture shields us somewhat against the glare of the sun, making the rooftop a pleasant place to relax. Leaning against the warm parapet, I looked out over the city and smiled. The pleasant fragrance from the trees below just barely reached us at the top of the tower, reminding me of the exotic perfumes father would gift mother on their anniversaries.


    I was somewhat stunned by how large and well organized the city was. A neat grid of city blocks stretched as far as the eye could see in three directions. The neat grid was sometimes interrupted by large open squares, such as the one in the distance where I could see the top of the Avalon portal, but even then they were sized exactly to fit within the outline of the city.


    In front of me, I could see the city end with a high wall that faced the port itself. Hundreds of ships stood in the harbor, many of types I¡¯d never seen in my life. Even from this distance I could see the bustle of the city¡¯s namesake port, thousands of tiny figures scrambling in a controlled chaos that stretched to enclose the entire natural harbor below.


    I¡¯d seen cities before, I¡¯d even seen large cities, but nothing that compared to this. I had no doubt that this city alone held more people than all of my home nation. It seemed the lords of this place really did have something to brag about. Controlling and feeding this sort of population must have been an incredible undertaking.


    ¡°How many people live here, in the city?¡± I asked slowly, not taking my eyes off the shining sliver of sea I could make out in the distance.


    ¡°This one is sorry, for a hard number is difficult to obtain. However, if you ask of the local population, excluding visitors and traders from other lands and those that make their homes here unlawfully, that is a simpler question to answer.¡± I nodded, already distracted by his half answer. A population so vast it was hard to keep track of everyone¡­


    ¡°This one is taught that four million peoples of the nation make their homes within the great walls.¡± Damn. Four million people in one city¡­ It made the three hundred thousand in my homeland¡¯s capital look like a small town in comparison.


    Kan continued on, ¡°Roughly two million of those are the worker rank, those who are free laborers or work a lesser trade. A further million make up the merchant rank, this city is home to the majority of the nation¡¯s traders. Finally, the last million is divided between the lords, mages, scholars, and other higher rank peoples of the nation.¡±


    Though I was unfamiliar with the specifics of the local power structures, I nodded as I considered the numbers. They seemed roughly reasonable, particularly if children counted as members of their parent¡¯s ¡®rank¡¯.


    I listened with half an ear as Kan took the question as an excuse to launch into a propaganda filled explanation of the city, its people, and the nation it was a part of. Port Anangala was the northmost port city on the southern continent, making it a very wealthy trading hub. The two continents were divided by a vast stretch of mana-rich ocean, making travel a long and dangerous affair. Sure, powerful archmages could punch through that distance with raw power, but for most people and goods, ships were the only route that connected the two continents.


    It was little surprise that I had barely heard of the city and the nation it was a part of. My home lay nearly two continents away, far enough that even with magic news would take months to travel. It was like an entirely different world, the people, the plants, the animals were all so different from what I knew.


    I turned to look at him with interest when my mind caught up with something he¡¯d just said. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize your people kept slaves, I didn¡¯t see any along the way and you didn¡¯t include them in the population count you gave earlier.¡±


    ¡°Ah, this one apologizes for his lack of clarity. Slaves, local or otherwise, are not permited within the bounds of the city. This one understands other cultures have other traditions, but among the peoples, one can only become a slave through one¡¯s own actions. The worst criminals, some prisoners of war, raiders, and other such outsiders of the peoples are sentenced to work the fields, to atone for the harm they have brought to the peoples.¡±


    Oh, that would make sense actually. I had wondered how they provided for so many people, but a population of slave farmers would certain do wonders towards solving that issue. ¡°What about the children of slaves? What happens to them?¡±


    Kan looked back at me blankly for a moment, then tilted his head slightly and flatley said, ¡°Slaves do not have children.¡± Then he dove back into the story he¡¯d been telling a moment before as though I hadn¡¯t asked anything.


    Ok then. It seemed I had hit some sort of cultural taboo without realizing. I would let that line of inquiry lie, it wasn¡¯t like I was particularly interested regardless. They could do what they wanted with their own people, it was not my place to judge them.


    We spent several more minutes at the top of the tower before Liam asked Kan to show us the ¡®field of fountains¡¯ he¡¯d mentioned before. I was pretty sure I¡¯d seen the spot from the tower, one of the nearby open squares was partially shielded from view by some tall trees, but I could make out several large fountains through the gaps in the large leaves.


    My guess was proven correct when Kan led us in that direction, shifting his storytelling to the history of the fountains. Apparently they commemorated a lengthy war against a lesser sea god many centuries before. Each of the twenty-seven fountains honored a different hero who had killed one of the god¡¯s fearsome demigod sons.


    I had to admit that it was an awe inspiring site. The fountains were arranged in a large circle at the center of the square, each as large around as the tower had been. Though the designs varied, all were carved from a pearlescent blue-white stone that gleamed in the evening light.


    As Kan had said, each depicted a different life-sized person striking down all manner of monstrous sea creatures. In one, a tall woman carrying a blade-tipped staff stood over the corpse of what looked like a walrus with a dozen additional tusks and eyes. In another, a bearded man held a sea-serpent¡¯s head up with one hand, a heavy book clasped in his other arm.


    We walked slowly around the fountains, Kan an endless fount of information about each of the figures depicted in the square. We passed many locals relaxing in the square, resting on the edges of the fountains and dining at small open fronted shops that lined the edge of the square. There were several other foreigners in the square as well, some of them similarly guided by a local while others walked around with clear purpose.


    Finally, Liam told Kan that they needed to head towards the restaurant if we wanted to make it in time, and the guide led us the rest of the way there. At the entrance, Liam handed Kan a gold coin that the guide ¡®reluctantly¡¯ accepted and tucked away into a hidden pocket within his clothes. He offered to wait for us to, but Liam firmly told him that we would be fine, and the boy eventually relented, disappearing with a polite bow and a, ¡°This Kan is pleased to have been of assistance, great mages.¡±


    I found it curious but not surprising when a familiar presence appeared at the edge of my mana sense only a minute after Kan¡¯s departure. It was one of the mage¡¯s I¡¯d sensed around the edge of the Avalon portal, clearly the authorities didn¡¯t want any guests walking around unmonitored.

 Chapter 27

    Liam led the way into the restaurant, pushing past the intricate beaded curtain that served as a door and holding it back for me as I followed after him. The ¡®House of Blue Fins¡¯ was an airy, two story building with plenty of windows and lots of natural light even at this time of early evening. A local woman standing just inside the doorway gave us a deep curtsey of some sort, bowing her head with one arm placed on her exposed chest in addition to the typical bent knees.


    ¡°This hostess greets you. Do the good visitors have a reservation?¡±


    I left the talking to Liam, instead looking around with interest at the restaurant and staff. A half dozen young women dressed in the same light blue and with matching piercings served as the visible waitstaff, flittering between the tables with large jugs or trays balanced against their hips.


    Though it was slightly earlier than I associated with a typical dinner, the restaurant seemed quite busy already, all but a few of the twenty tables I could see filled with smiling patrons. Though the place was primarily filled with locals, I saw two other tables where the guests clearly stood out from the crowd.


    A trio of green skinned half-orcs sat by one of the windows with a short local man wearing his hair in an elaborate series of long, multi-colored braids. On the other side of the restaurant, two heavily tanned men nursed drinks as they poured over the pages of a thick book.


    I was struck by how¡­ familiar the place looked, despite being an entire world away from my homeland. Barring some of the odder decorative choices and the garments of the waitstaff, this place could have been in any number of the towns and cities I¡¯d passed through during my travels. I was curious if most local restaurants looked like this, or if this was perhaps a place built to appeal to foreigners that had grown popular with the locals as well.


    It seemed strange that it would look so¡­ ordinary. Until very recently, travel between the continents was limited to the rich and powerful. Only in the last two centuries had sailors and shipbuilders developed the techniques to reliably cross the vast ocean between the continents.


    Two centuries sounded like a lot, but a powerful mage could live for twice that, longer if they used potions and rituals to extend their lifespans. The original Myrddin had lived for almost a full millenia, long enough that even the ancient lords of the elves grew to respect his age and wisdom. Since many rulers were themselves powerful mages, or at least had the means to purchase life-extending treasures and spells, change came slowly in all but the most dire circumstances.


    Liam¡¯s quiet argument with the hostess ended when a tall, jovial looking local man rose from his table and briskly made his way over to the front, raising a hand in greeting towards us. To my senses, he was clearly a mage of some skill, his mana density made me think he was likely in the fourth or fifth circle. However, I could also feel that he wore a tremendous quantity and quality of magic items, with everything from his sandals to his jewelry and hair ties gleaming with magic. Though he wore little gold or gems on his person, it was a clear sign of wealth to any that could sense it.


    Liam returned the man¡¯s greeting with a broad smile and the two men clasped forearms and exchanged kisses on the cheeks. Beckoning me over, Liam stepped away from the man. ¡°Nalan, this is the other student I mentioned. Orion, meet Nalan, he¡¯s a merchant specializing in exotic reagents that I¡¯ve worked with in the past.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± I extended my hand and was somewhat thankful when he was content to simply shake it without any of the more¡­ personal greeting. Liam had taken it in stride, but he clearly knew the man quite well.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet another good-mage of Avalon. Liam spoke highly of your talent when last we met.¡± He spoke with a faint accent that sounded noticeably different from the one Kan and the hostess had used. Perhaps he was from a different region? ¡°Come, let us dine before we speak business. I¡¯m told they brought in a fresh catch of deepsilver snappers today.¡±


    Despite his statement, Liam and Nalan quickly fell into a discussion about some sort of rare slug that was growing difficult to source in the local area. I tried to follow along as best I could, but I was pretty lost by the technical details of their discussion. From what I could tell, Nalan had some sort of stake in the company that harvested the slugs, but the company was struggling to keep up with a contract they had signed that promised some other organization a certain number of slugs per month.


    I quietly sat back and listened, enjoying the cold, sweet drink we¡¯d been served the moment we¡¯d all sat down. It was thoroughly refreshing after an hour in the terrible, muggy heat and the server came by every few minutes to refill our drinks. After a few minutes, I realized that the drink was mildly alcoholic, though I couldn¡¯t taste it at all under the fruity tang. I thought about asking for something else, but decided against it after another sip. Instead, I simply pushed more mana into several of my circulations, that would be enough to purge this level of alcohol before it could noticeably affect me.


    The two paused only when the food was finally served fifteen minutes later. I hadn¡¯t ordered anything, but it seemed like this was one of those restaurants that served everyone a specific menu. I¡¯d never been at one like that before, but I¡¯d heard of the concept. They were apparently horribly expensive, but Liam had said he would pay so I didn¡¯t let it bother me.


    The first course was served on a large plate artfully decorated by swirls of a sweet red sauce. At the center of each plate was a small pile of thinly sliced and lightly fried fish. It was served with several pieces of delicate, flaky pastry that perfectly complemented the lightly crisped fish and sweet sauce. It was gone disappointingly quickly, even though I tried my best to eat at the same slow pace as the other diners.


    The next course appeared quickly, once again served on an absurdly oversized and heavily decorated plate. At the center was another bowl, filled with a bright orange fish stew. It was once again served with small slices of pastry, this time a dense bread that I saw the others use to mop up the stew. Once again, it was delicious, reminding me of one of the odder meals served in the cafeteria near the start of the semester. Perhaps a local dish of some sort? That would have been right about when the portal moved to the port city.


    The next course was somewhat strange. The same girl as before collected our plates and returned with wide saucers filled with a deep blue liquid. It was almost yogurt like in consistency, thinner than any sort of pudding but thicker than I expected a drink to be. Once again, I copied the others and slowly sipped at the oddly savory and slightly spicy drink. It was nice, I decided after a moment. Not something I would typically choose, but certainly a pleasant experience.


    I could feel the smells wafting from the kitchen, divided from the main room by only a long curtain of beaded strands. Something incredible was frying back there, and even as I finished the third course I was already salivating for the next. Unfortunately, the universe had other plans.


    Liam froze mid sip, the half full saucer falling from his fingers as he stiffened and turned to look towards the street outside. I felt it a moment later, as did many of the other diners who I¡¯d identified early on as mages. A buildup of mana glowed like a tiny sun in my senses, easily felt even from far outside my typical range of detection.


    The restaurant burst into pandemonium, some mages rising from their seats while others ducked behind chairs and under tables. Liam raised a hand and spat a series of words that rang through the air like the pounding of a gong. A thick haze of yellow smoke formed around him, then stretched to wrap around me and Nalan like a cloak.


    The next moment, the world exploded in a torrent of water and sound. The front of the restaurant was blown open by a wave of icy water as tall as a man, tearing through the thick stone walls like they were paper and flooding into the room. I cast a shield spell, but the convex dome of force flickered and died in an instant under the weight of the approaching tide. I tried desperately to backpedal, but the table was between me and the back of the restaurant and I fell back, knocking my half full cup to the floor.


    Then the crashing wave hit me, screams echoing in my ears and a haze of terror clouding my mind. It had only been two days. Not even a week since the last time. I¡­ hadn¡¯t been able to do anything. Anything at all.


    The wave parted around me like a school of fish before a shark. Water hit the yellow mist and rebounded back with greater force, not even a drop passing through to soak my clothes. Liam was saying something, tugging at the collar of my shirt as Nalan moved to stand behind him.


    I stared blankly at the body of the girl who¡¯d just served my food. She lay unmoving just a few steps away, body folded and head cracked open against a decorative statue of a fisherman. The jug she¡¯d been carrying lay beside her, staining the shallow water around her yellow-white. Two of the half-orcs lay beside her, both either dead or unconscious. The third was splayed across their table, legs visibly broken and bleeding heavily from gashes across his chest and arms.


    Someone was shaking me, and then I felt a wave of mana slam through my defenses, shocking me out of my stupor. ¡°...Stand up Orion, get behind me!¡±


    ¡°What¡­ Oh, right!¡± I shook my head and scrambled across the table to join my dinner companions. Climbing off the table, I carefully watched my footing, the floor hidden by a foot of turbulent water slowly rushing out throught he large gaps torn in the walls and floor.


    The yellow smoke had mostly dispersed, its power drained from countering the force of the rushing waters, but some still lingered in a thin haze around us. Looking around, I could see several other groups had survived the sudden attack, primarily those that had either powerful mages or magical items among their numbers.


    A besital roar echoed from outside, several of the survivors flinching back from the thunderous sound. Nalan let out what sounded like a local curse, ¡°My good-mage Liam, a sea dragon!¡± Wide eyes from around the restaurant turned to look at the merchant. ¡°I recognize the roar, I was in Janga during the last attack.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°A sea dragon? Here? In the city!¡± One man cried out, incredulously, ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±


    One of the other foreigners, the taller of the two tanned men, stepped forward. ¡°Sea dragon or not, something is out there.¡± As if to punctuate his words, another roar echoed through the city.


    Any further conversation was stifled when we all sensed another overwhelming star of mana form in the distance. It was weaker and further away, but that did not stop any of us as we all cast shields and protective spells around us. Liam conjured another wave of yellow smoke, then grit his teeth as his mana flexed and twisted in front of him. An impossibly complex spell matrix formed between his outstretched hands, and then thick, gelatinous walls of force rose up around the shattered restaurant, encasing the three of us and the dozen other survivors in a translucent dome.


    Panting, Liam let his arms fall to his sides as the others crowded together towards us and thus the center of the dome. Turning towards me, I felt his mana reaching out and then a whisper murmured into my ear. ¡°Orion, if that really is a true dragon out there, we need to get out of here. Do you remember how to get back to the portal?¡±


    I nodded slightly, not wanting to ruin Liam¡¯s efforts to hide our communication. I¡¯d tried the exercise to use mana to create sound, but I was still limited to single noises and syllables.


    ¡°Good. As long as the dragon itself doesn¡¯t come in this direction, I can protect us. I think it''s out over the harbor, that opening attack was just a show of power. I don¡¯t think it will target us all the way out here, but discretion is the better part of valor. If we can get to the portal, we will be safe even if it decides to come this way.¡±


    I nodded again, Liam¡¯s calm tone helping to sooth my racing heart. A dragon, an honest to gods true dragon. An ancient beast able to fight a dozen archmages and bring ruin to entire nations. I had no idea what the port city had done to raise its ire, but I didn¡¯t want to be here to experience it. That first attack would have killed me if Liam hadn¡¯t been here. One attack, and the beast itself was what felt like miles away.


    I shuddered as I imagined the damage it must have done to the city. Had I been one of the last people to see the city in all its glory? I wondered what would be left when the beast was driven away or simply chose to leave. Nalan and the others seemed similarly shaken, Liam standing as a comparatively calm beacon of strength at the center of the room.


    Liam hopped up on one of the tables that hadn¡¯t been washed away and addressed the rest of the group, ¡°Calm down everyone, the fight seems to be quite far away. My companions and I will step out and scout the area. Everyone else, stay inside the dome. It should hold for a few hours as long as there aren¡¯t too many more attacks.¡±


    His declaration was met with a flurry of questions and pleas to stay, but he ignored it. I tilted my head at Nalan, but Liam shook his head slightly. Fair enough, I barely knew the man and I couldn¡¯t imagine he would be safer if we took him back to Avalon. The only outsiders allowed inside the realm were either powerful visitors scheduled far in advance, or slaves. There was very little room in between.


    I waded after Liam as he opened a narrow gap in the thick bubble and stepped through. The water was deeper outside the protective shield and I almost tripped several times over rubble hidden under the murky water. My sandal slipped as I stepped on something warm and squishy, and I swallowed heavily when a broken corpse bobbed up out of the water. If I¡¯d been here on my own, that could have been me.


    Carefully picking our way past broken stone and collapsed furniture, we finally emerged into the city proper. The clear sky had been overtaken by a thick layer of dark clouds that covered the setting sun, throwing the city into a gloomy dusk. In the distance, I could see tiny shapes flickering through the air, bright bolts of light momentarily illuminating the shadowy form above them. That was the dragon, I assumed. It seemed the city¡¯s defenders had come out to fight it, but from this distance I couldn¡¯t tell how well that was going.


    The well paved streets were flooded, bodies and rubble floating slowly in the knee deep water. I could see where the city¡¯s drainage system tried to fight against the floodwaters, but they had never been designed to deal with so much water all at once. I could see some survivors similarly picking through the dark street, but there weren¡¯t many.


    Liam¡¯s voice whispered in my ears again. ¡°Do you know the levitation exercise?¡± My eyes widened as I realized what he was suggesting. Looking around, I found a large chunk of rock sticking out of the water and clambered onto it. Closing my eyes, I focused my mana around me, carefully letting it push upwards around me in an exercise I hadn¡¯t thought much of in months.


    When I stepped off the rock, I landed gently on the surface of the water, my mana easily hardening it enough to hold my weight. Liam was already beside me, though he seemed to be floating a few millimeters above the surface instead of standing on it. I could do the same, but it would be far less efficient and I didn¡¯t have that much mana to burn.


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s go.¡± We took off down the road. It took a little while to get the hang of it, but Liam showed me how to propel myself properly with my mana and soon we were moving at a fast run. We both strained our mana senses, constantly on the lookout for more attacks, but none came. In the distance, thunder boomed and the air hummed with magic as a large group of mages faced off against the dragon.


    We passed a terrifying number of dead. The streets had been rather full, and without other protection, anyone who hadn¡¯t been on a top floor had been washed away by the first attack. Several times, I was forced to run across floating corpses, the entire street covered by their bodies.


    We made it to the square in barely ten minutes, only having to detour once where a collapsed building was fully blocking off the road. The square was in ruins, shattered market stalls and waterlogged trade goods intermixed with more dead. I remembered just how busy the square had been, there must have been thousands of people, and now it was as silent as the grave. Whatever mages had survived had better things to do than watch the portal.


    Behind its powerful wards, the portal itself was abuzz with activity. A full two dozen mages, including several staff members I recognized, were moving around inside the bubble. Four war golems stood outside the wards, heads swiveling around and massive arms held up at the ready.


    Liam and I stopped at the edge of the square, content to approach the portal itself at a more leisurely pace. It was typically a bad idea to startle a group of Avalon mages, particularly an agitated group. We made it barely halfway across the field when Liam stopped, dropping back into the water as he leaned over to examine one of the bodies. Stretching out with my mana sense to see what had caught his attention, my eyebrows shot up when I felt a lingering spark in the body. It was faint, but they were alive.


    With a grunt of excursion, Liam lifted the body partially up into the air. Water dribbled from between the young woman''s lips and she looked half drowned, but a quick spell from Liam cleared out her airways, letting the unconscious girl take a shuddering breath of air.


    He let go, catching her before she hit the ground with a spell that lifted her up into the air and slowly spun her around. He hummed thoughtfully, then turned back to me. ¡°Want her?¡±


    What? ¡°Um, what?¡± I asked in confusion.


    ¡°Do you want her? I thought she might have a strong water affinity, but it''s something a little more exotic than what I was looking for. I saw you eyeing up the serving girls, the purple skin doesn¡¯t do it for me but she is pretty cute.¡±


    What. That was not what I¡¯d been expecting.


    ¡°If you aren¡¯t interested, I¡¯m just gonna dump her back. More hassle than it¡¯s worth for me, but you¡¯re still pretty new. At the very least, it''s always good to have some humanoid test subjects on hand.¡±


    Well. That was something. I took a closer look at the still floating girl. The wave had torn part of her garment, leaving even more of her body exposed than the odd clothes did usually. She was of average height, had long hair dyed pink and blue, and as Liam had said, was kind of cute. The features were unfamiliar, but she looked delicate in a way that reminded me of one of my first childhood sweethearts.


    I weighed my options. I could tell she was barely a mage at all, so holding her wouldn¡¯t be a problem. I absolutely did have some magic I needed to test, and kidnapping classmates wasn¡¯t always the safest of options. Did I feel comfortable just¡­ picking her up from the side of the road? A part of me said no, that was going too far, but that part of me had shrunk over the years. If she was just going to die if we left her here anyway¡­


    ¡°Um, yeah sure. I can see how that would be useful.¡±


    ¡°Cool, catch. Remember, disasters are great for this sort of thing. No one notices a couple of missing bodies after an earthquake or a flood.¡± That was¡­ grimmer advice than I¡¯d expected from him, but it was a good thing to know. He levitated her over to me, then released the spell. I caught her mid air with my own spell, then changed my mind and simply floated her over my shoulder. Tapping my finger on her forehead, I cast a simple sleep spell. With her magic as weak as it was, it was no effort to overcome her magic resistance.


    As we approached the portal, one of the golems swiveled to stare at us with its glimmering crystal eyes. We both shaped our mana in the sign we¡¯d been taught in our first years, something identifying us as mages of Avalon. It wasn¡¯t a particularly tricky bit of magic, but it was an effective deterrent. Few people were willing to claim membership they didn¡¯t have. Avalon came down on violators like, well, an angry dragon.


    The golem continued to watch us, but did nothing to impede us as we crossed through the wards. We were met by one of the same guards as before, though he seemed much less relaxed than he had been before. He hurried us through the portal, only letting us stop for the short moment needed to mark us in the record stone.


    Inside the portal room, it was busier than when we¡¯d left, but not nearly as much as the outer area. Several other golems had been powered up and stood just outside the portal, but there were only a few additional people in the room. Once again, we both marked ourselves in the record stone, and then we were free to go. No one even gave the girl over my shoulder a second glance.


    ¡°Well, ah,¡± I bit my lip, ¡°thanks for the invite? And the girl I guess.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I had a good time before the well, dragon attack.¡±


    Liam chuckled, ¡°Yeah, that wasn¡¯t quite what I was expecting either. A shame we never had a chance to speak with Nalan more, but I doubt he would have time for you any time soon now. He¡¯ll be scrambling to pick up the pieces after this disaster.¡± He shook his head sadly, ¡°A real shame that. The city was a real gem, but they¡¯ll be rebuilding and recovering for decades I¡¯m afraid. I¡¯ll probably have to find a lot of new contacts. Still, that¡¯s the way these things go sometimes.¡±


    I nodded not knowing how else to respond to that. ¡°I guess. Well, I should probably get this one settled before she wakes up. Thanks?¡±


    He laughed again. ¡°Always happy to help a promising junior. If they don¡¯t decide to move the portal tonight, I might go out again later and see what I can find. Always some good looting to do at times like these. You go ¡®get settled¡¯ if that''s what you young people call it these days.¡± He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.


    I had a strong urge to punch him, but resisted. I¡¯d just seen the sort of magic a mage like him was capable of, and it only reinforced my conviction to never piss off the upper years. He acted rather friendly with me, but I wasn¡¯t willing to push things.

 Chapter 28

    When I finally made it back to my room, I wanted nothing more than to collapse onto my bed. That had been too close. So, so close. If Liam hadn¡¯t been there¡­ Well, it didn¡¯t bear thinking about. It didn¡¯t matter that I was only there because Liam had dragged me out. I had made my choice and had nearly suffered the consequences of it.


    The experience only reinforced that I was still far too weak. Maybe I was strong compared to my yearmates, but in the real world it didn¡¯t matter what year you were in. It was a drake eat drake world out there, and I refused to lay down and die.


    I looked awkwardly down at the limp body of my newest acquisition. I had dumped her onto the floor in the shower, not wanting her soaked clothing to drip on my carpet. I wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about what I¡¯d done there. She¡¯d never done anything to me, hells, I knew basically nothing about her. She¡¯d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now she was here with me.


    Well, whatever the circumstances, she was here now and that was that. I certainly wasn¡¯t going to go back out there to drop her off and Liam had said Avalon would be moving very soon. Despite the odd means by which she¡¯d fallen into my lap, I was sure I would get a lot of work out of her. Perhaps she could serve as a good experience for when I went after those second year girls. It would be good to test the ritual on someone slightly more¡­ disposable.


    Still, despite my misgivings, it was important to not grow sloppy. I started off by snapping one of my oldest suppression collars around her neck, feeling as it kicked and sealed away her access to her mana. She felt like a pretty pathetic mage, maybe first circle but I wasn¡¯t certain she could even manage that much. It was always better to be sure though.


    The collar was not particularly powerful, it was of a design I¡¯d discarded as being insufficiently powerful to explore further, but that was when I¡¯d been trying to contain an elf. For a nearly manaless human like her it was plenty. I made a mental note to fabricate more collars, I seemed to be using them more and more often these days.


    With that taken care of, I peeled her out of her waterlogged clothes, the delicate looking cloth able to hold far more water than I would have expected. Under it, she had only a simple wrap around her hips that came off just as easily as the robe.


    The last part of her outfit, the intricate jewelry everyone in the city seemed to wear, was considerably tricker to remove. The studs in her ears and the short chain hanging between her lobe and upper ear were relatively simple, secured in the same manner as the earrings I was used to. Her various bangles and the thin chains that connected her middle toes and ankles were slightly harder, but after a bit of maneuvering I managed it without damaging anything. I wasn¡¯t sure if the precious metals and gems were real, but if they were, the jewelry was probably worth something.


    It was only when I tried to remove the two elaborate constructs that the locals wore in their nipples that I decided I was thoroughly stumped. It took several minutes to figure out how to remove them properly and involved carefully rotating them in order to remove the two perpendicular bars that secured them. I was entirely unsurprised when I noticed the weak enchantment that helped negate some of the piercing¡¯s weight, they would have been completely unwearable without it.


    With that done, I roughly toweled her off and used a spell to dry the rest of her with gusts of warm, dry air. I noticed with interest that she was completely hairless below the neck and wondered if that was a natural thing or something achieved with razors and magic. I imagined the pale white hair would really stand out against the dark purple skin, so it might just be an aesthetic thing for her.


    Leaving her slumped over the side of my chair, I grabbed several of the blocks I kept around for transmutation fodder and got to work. I knew from experience that I couldn¡¯t just use straight metal for most of her bonds. She was a mundane human despite the odd skin color (I¡¯d checked), so something like the restraints I¡¯d used on Mistletoe would chafe and cut into her skin when she struggled.


    I formed soft bands of leather around her wrists and ankles, using a spare belt as a model in order to sidestep the complexity of transmuting something so chemically intricate. Over top of that, I shaped bands of tungsten half an inch thick and an inch across, the material shifting smoothly from leather into metal to form one solid piece with no weak points. It was slightly overkill, but the events of the last few days had only reinforced my ¡®better safe than sorry¡¯ approach to life.


    Finally, I added the last part of the restraints. Thick metal O-rings were carefully fused into the front of each piece. Combined with the one already attached to her collar, it would make securing her in whatever position or place I needed a breeze. For now, I pulled her limbs up behind her back and looped a thick rope through all five rings before tying it off in a rough hogtie. That would hold until I decided what to do with her.


    As I worked, I made a silent promise not to get attached to this one. I would speak to her only when necessary and just¡­ try to ignore the circumstances that had brought her to me. There was no use thinking about it. I didn''t want another Miranda situation on my hands. Gods above and below, just thinking about the mess I¡¯d caused with my first slave made me want to slam my head against my desk.


    After temporarily binding her limbs, I thought about leaving her on my bed before deciding against it. I¡¯d dried her off, but she was still kind of dirty from the dust and detritus that had been in the water. I would give her a thorough washing later, but I didn¡¯t want her getting my clean sheets dirty in the meantime. Instead, I dropped her roughly on the rug and got back to work.


    I decided not to make something as restrictive as what I had done with Mistletoe, that would be too overkill even for me. Perhaps as a temporary measure if I was doing something particularly invasive, but if she was kept in that position permanently it would wreak havoc on her body. It would be simpler once she was properly bound with oaths, I could just order her to stay in one place with no restraints needed, but for now I just needed something simple.


    To that end, I started with the most basic design I could think of, a simple cage. It was made even easier by the fact I¡¯d already done it before, I¡¯d worked out how to do it back when I was making Mistletoe¡¯s first home.


    I started by fabricating a simple rectangular frame roughly four feet long, three feet wide, and two feet tall. Levitating the frame with a spell, I slowly spun it in the air as I wound a long strand of yarn up and around it, leaving about an inch of space between each strand. Then I rotated the frame and did it again two more times, forming a wide mesh on each side.


    After that, it was just the matter of casting a relatively simple transmutation to convert the entire thing into one solid piece of tungsten. I¡¯d used steel at first, but Professor Meadows had recently taught us about the much more durable and simpler material and I¡¯d been using it ever since. The thick yarn I¡¯d used was reduced to a much thinner wire by the spell, but a quick test showed that it was plenty durable.


    The last step was adding a door. I hadn¡¯t bothered doing so for Mistletoe the first time around, I¡¯d just transmuted the cage around her since I¡¯d had no plans to let her in or out at the time. I spent a few minutes fiddling with hinges and locks before deciding that was far too much effort. It would be a pain to create functional hinges with the transmutation spells I knew and a lock would just create unnecessary weaknesses in the structure.


    Instead, I spent half an hour digging through my growing collection of reference books until I finally found the text I was looking for. ¡®The Big Book for Beginners¡¯ was one of the first texts we¡¯d all been given back in our first year. It was a compendium of nearly two hundred simple spells, most of them incredibly specialized to the point that there was little reason to memorize them.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Memorizing spells was a hard, time consuming process, even for lower circle spells. There were special techniques and magics developed to help with the process, but even with them the mage had to recreate a highly detailed multi-dimensional structure from memory. Beyond that, even a magically augmented mind had its limits on how many spells you could have memorized at the same time. It was often easier to just have a reference book like this, something to quickly remind you of the structure for a spell you¡¯ve practiced in the past but never bothered to keep at the ready.


    I found the two spells I was looking for near the center of the book and took a moment to refamiliarize myself with the specifics of the spell structures. ¡®Part metal¡¯ and ¡®join metal¡¯ were fundamentally nearly the same spell. Their spell structures overlapped so much that they used the same diagram to save space in the book, with just a short section to show the small differences.


    Running my fingers along one edge, the metal parted easily under my spell, cut as though by an incredibly sharp blade. Running it back the other way, it fused back with no sign of damage. Just as I¡¯d hoped, this would work perfectly fine for storage.


    I carefully cut away the top of the cage again and deposited her bound body inside before resealing it. It was slightly less convenient than a lock, taking about fifteen seconds to open or close, but it was much simpler and more secure to boot.


    Now I just needed something to anchor her too when I needed easy access. Perhaps something on one of the walls? In Armouth, I¡¯d seen prisoners hanging by their wrists from large stone posts, feet just barely brushing the ground. I cast my eyes across the bare stone walls of my room. Yes, something like that would work out nicely¡­


    Naklana woke up slowly, feeling the unmistakable traces of magically induced sleep tickling at the corners of her mind. She noticed the cold immediately, chill air nipping at her bare skin and sinking into her bones. It was an unfamiliar feeling, even during the winter months the air in the city was hot and heavy. It almost felt like she¡¯d fallen asleep in one of the deep cellars where the family she served stored exotic spirits.


    No, that couldn¡¯t be it. She tried to cast her mind back to what she¡¯d been doing, but the lingering touch of the magic made it hard to think. Senior Cook had ordered her to¡­ go to the market. She¡¯d been supposed to buy¡­ something? Yes, she was picking up fresh fruits for the party. The party!


    Her eyes shot open in panic and she tried to spring to her feet, only to find her limbs unable to obey the orders her mind was sending. She tried to push herself up, but her arms were pulled tightly behind her back, something digging into her wrists and ankles with every movement.


    She twisted her head around, but could see nothing but metal and stone. Something tight and cold was fastened around her neck, cutting into her air and clicking gently against the lattice of metal bars around her.


    What was happening? Where was she? Heart hammering in her chest and breath coming in short gasps, Naklana closed her eyes, thinking back on the last thing she could remember. The market. She¡¯d gotten to the market, picked up the fruit, and then¡­


    Her eyes shot open again as she remembered. The water, the crashing torrent pouring into the square for all directions, washing away everything in its path. The crack of wood and the screams ¨Cshe¡¯d dropped the fruit, Senior Cook would be so angry at her¨C the icy cold water all around her.


    An oddly accented voice pulled her from her spiraling memories ¨Cwater all around her, pulling her downward, crashing her against other warm bodies as down became up and the air was crushed from her lungs¨C ¡°Ah, I see you¡¯re finally awake.¡± She tried to look towards where the voice was coming from, but couldn¡¯t turn her neck around far enough in her current position. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that you seem to be a well collected young woman, I honestly expected much more screaming.¡±


    Screaming? Why would she be¡­ She tried to move her limbs again, but found them pulled tightly behind her back and quickly realized her legs were similarly bound. She felt the cold stone of the ground sapping the warmth from her bare skin, metal digging painfully into her breasts and belly. She wiggled around slightly, but every movement sent her sensitive nipples dragging across solid rock and hard metal. Oh blessed Sea-Mother!


    She screamed, pulling hard against her bonds and thrashing around on the ground. Hard metal bit into sensitive skin, but that only made her scream and struggle harder. She faintly heard the same voice curse quietly, muttering something about ¡®asking for it¡¯, but she barely registered it past the blinding fear and growing pain.


    Something wrapped around her, slamming her mouth shut with a click that barely avoided taking a chunk off of her tongue. Bands of invisible force tightened around her chest, shins, and forearms, lifting her slightly off the ground and stopping her struggles in her tracks. She tried to open her mouth again, but it felt like a vice was squeezing her jaw shut. Something pushed against her throat, making it hard to breathe and stifling her terrified whimpering.


    ¡°It seems I spoke too soon. This is much better.¡± Light footsteps echoed loudly in the silent room as her captor walked slowly around her cage. ¡°I would ask what your name was, but I don¡¯t particularly care.¡± He hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then added. ¡°I guess blink twice if you happen to be part of some rich family or something? It would be a pain to ransom you back or whatever, but I wouldn¡¯t want to accidently torture a princess to death or something.¡±


    She remained silent, trembling at the casual way he¡¯d suggested what might be in store for her. After a moment, he clicked his tongue, ¡°Seems not, fair enough. Well, I guess I should establish some ground rules.¡±


    He finally stepped into her line of sight, crouching down to look her in the eyes. He was a young, foreign man, with strong features, pale olive skin, and short black hair. He was handsome in a way but the cold look in his eyes crushed any sort of attraction she might have felt. He was looking at her the way Senior Cook looked at prime slabs of meat at the butcher, judging how best to prepare her for the cooking pot.


    Her body rotated slightly in the air as he studied her, sending waves of nausea through her body at the unnatural motion. She tried to swallow down the taste of bile, but the pressure on her throat almost made her choke at the attempt. Cold, sharp panic rose in the back of her mind as the enormity of the situation slowly dawned on her.


    She was here, naked, in a tiny cage in a dark stone room. She doubted anyone knew where she was, nor would even bother to look for her. That torrent of water might have swept hundreds or even thousands into the sea. No one would question one minor noble¡¯s missing serving girl.


    She didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, nor where she even was. Had it been hours? Days? Weeks? Magical sleep could last for days if cast right, and there were potions that could put their victim into a dreamless sleep for years at a time. Was she even still in the city or had some enterprising merchant shipped her across the sea as some sort of exotic slave?


    She was so lost in her thoughts that she missed what the man had said, only coming back to the present when a line of red-hot pain lashed across her buttocks. A stifled shriek erupted from her sealed jaw and her eyes widened as she stared at the irritated expression on his face.


    ¡°Much better.¡± He said coldly, flickers of barely visible mana trailing around his outstretched hand. ¡°I guess that should be rule number one. When I speak, you will either listen, or you will suffer. I dislike having to repeat myself.¡± She nodded her head vigorously, the burning pain in her rear lending painful weight to his words.


    ¡°Good. Now, rule number two, though I feel this one doesn¡¯t really need to be said. When I tell you to do something, you will do it or you will suffer.¡± He paused, looking down at the magic rippling across his open palm. ¡°You know, you seem like a smart girl. Just assume that ¡®or you will suffer¡¯ is the alternative to all the rules, ok?¡±


    She rapidly nodded again and he smiled faintly as he looked back up at her. ¡°Very good. It seems like you¡¯re a much faster learner than Miranda was. It took her much longer to understand the rules. That''s probably a good thing for you. She is both more useful and more¡­ durable than you are.¡±


    The way he¡¯d said that last part sent a shiver of fear down her spine. The family she served had enforced strict discipline in their servants, but they¡¯d never gone further than verbal reprimands and withholding pay. Senior Cook had sometimes punished her when she made mistakes, but even then it had been limited to smacks from his wooden spoon. She had a feeling her new¡­ owner would not be nearly as restrained with his punishments.


    He stood up suddenly and released the invisible bonds that held her up in the air. She landed on her side, the metal of her cage digging painfully into her tender skin, but she thankfully managed to keep her head from slamming against the stone floor. ¡°Well, I think that''s the important stuff. We can add more rules when they come up. For now, let''s take a look at what I¡¯m working with.¡±

 Chapter 29

    I levitated the lavender skinned girl out of her cage, enjoying the way my rough handling made certain parts of her anatomy move. She wasn¡¯t nearly as curvy as Mistletoe, not even as much as Miranda really, but there was something to be said for a more lithe, toned figure. She was lightly muscled in all the right ways, with a well toned backside and perky breasts that fit her body perfectly. It certainly helped that her skin and features lent her an exotic air, something very different from my two pale skinned pets.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to remove the rope, and I suggest you don¡¯t try anything you might regret.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master mage.¡± I raised an eyebrow at the response, considering it for a moment. Master mage¡­ well, I wasn¡¯t technically a master mage, but it felt good to be called one. Still, I wanted to prove a point. I flicked my wrist, sending a whip-like tendril of translucent force to lash the girl¡¯s thrust out chest. It left a bright red welt across the base of her bare breast, and the girl recoiled from the hit with stifled shriek of pain


    ¡°I like the initiative, but I don¡¯t remember saying that you could speak. Let¡¯s call that rules three and four, don¡¯t move or speak unless I specifically tell you too. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes mast¨C¡± she cut herself off as I flicked another whip of force, leaving a matching mark on her other breast. Her response was much quieter this time, a pained whimper between clenched teeth, even as she nodded her head rapidly.


    ¡°Very good. In the future, you can just call me sir, or master if you so prefer. Now then¡­¡± I spun her body around and stepped forward, quickly undoing the simple knot that held her arms and legs up behind her back. Taking a firm mental grip on the shackles around her wrists and ankles, I stepped back and opened my hand, pulling her arms and legs into a wide spread-eagle position.


    She looked even better like this, the wide extension of her limbs showing off toned muscles in her arms and legs and giving me an excellent view of her firm backside. Only a single mark marred the view, the welt I¡¯d given her when she¡¯d missed my first command. That was certainly one downside of this particular form of punishment, I much prefered smooth, clear skin to scars and bruises.


    I would need to brush up on pain spells, I decided. Manual punishment was well and good, but something a little less direct would be a nice addition to my arsenal. For now however, this would do the trick. I still remembered the horrible pain from the ten lashes I¡¯d once received and my force whip seemed to be an effective copy of the real thing. If nothing else, it was just a flesh wound. Magic was very good at dealing with that sort of simple injury.


    I rotated her body slowly in the air in much the same way Liam had done. After a moment, I wrinkled my nose as I got a good look at how dirty she was, with bits of mud and debris caked around where her clothing had let it collect. I clicked my tongue in annoyance, no that wouldn¡¯t do at all.


    ¡°Well, for starters I think you need a wash. I¡¯ll not have any of my pets stinking up the place. After that, we can get you fitted with the rest of your new outfit.¡±


    I floated her slowly into the bathroom, then released my hold a few inches above the tiled floor of the shower. She hit the ground with a gasp, barely catching herself against one of the walls at the unexpected drop. Though I tried to look nonchalant, I kept my magic at the ready as I watched carefully for what she would do. I¡¯d told her not to move without being told to, but there was no magic enforcing that command. Would the promise of pain be enough or would she try to attack me?


    She looked around slowly, carefully stretching her arms and legs but trying to avoid moving too much. For a moment, she met my eyes squarely with her own, then quickly lowered them to the floor and reflexively shied away. Well, that wasn¡¯t too bad. She wasn¡¯t obeying my orders to the letter, but it was enough for now. I imagined she must be very stiff after several hours bound up in such an uncomfortable position. It would take some time to train this sort of small disobedience out of her, if I bothered to at all.


    I gave her another few seconds to stretch, then firmly ordered, ¡°Stand up, hands against the wall and legs spread to shoulder width.¡± She hurried to obey, scrambling to her feet and moving into the requested position. A weak smack on the inside of her thigh was enough to have her spread her legs wider as I considered my options.


    I could probably just use the shower, that would certainly be much more pleasant for her after what she¡¯d been through during the dragon¡¯s attack. It would even be easier for me, not requiring any magic of my own to do. On the other hand, I had planned to be tougher with her, and I might as well start our relationship off that way. Yes, I decided after a moment. That was probably the right move. I didn¡¯t want her to get any ideas about trying to murder me in my sleep or something.


    Well, I knew just the right spell for this. A concentrated jet of icy cold water crashed against the center of her back, sending droplets flying in all directions. I was thankful for the ward around the shower that kept water from escaping the confines of the tiled rectangle, otherwise it would have been a pain to clean up the spray.


    Despite what must have been a rather unpleasant surprise, I was pleased when the girl barely moved, only wincing slightly as the water poured down her back and between her legs. I moved the jet back and forth slowly, making sure to spray down every inch of exposed skin with the powerful stream of water. I got another pathetic wince when I directed the torrent to strike squarely against her rear opening and when I passed across the welt my first strike had left.


    Once I had cleaned every inch of her back and legs, I had her turn around and hold her arms out as I did the same to her front. As I¡¯d expected, I got several more winces this time, particularly when the icy water hit other particularly sensitive spots.


    Eventually, I had to decide what to do about her hair. It was rather dirty, bits of broken wood and other garbage caught in the multi-colored cascade. I didn¡¯t really know any hair care spells either, only that they existed, and I doubted my crude jet would be enough to clean it up properly. That left either cutting it all off or making her do it herself.


    I was half way through casting a shaving spell when I remembered Igor¡¯s elf farm, the limbless, hairless torso¡¯s hanging in their metal frames, and stopped. I¡¯d never had anything against bald women, in fact I thought Professor Yao was an absolutely stunning woman, though I was certain she would break me in half if I ever tried to come onto her. I was even pretty sure my little lavender pet would look good bald, but it felt almost wrong to just cut it off like this. I would do it later, frame it as some sort of punishment, but for now she could deal with it herself.


    I twisted the knob that controlled the water temperature and she flinched at the sudden spray of water from over her head. I considered leaving it as cold as it would go, but I wanted her to do a good job cleaning up and icy water would be counterproductive towards that goal. ¡°Finish getting yourself cleaned up.¡± I gestured to the two tall ceramic jugs standing in the corner of the shower. ¡°The blue one is for your skin, the green one for your hair. You have ten minutes.¡±


    I made a show of walking out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind me, then quickly cast one of the scrying spells I was most familiar with. The small mirror on my desk rippled, then cleared as it showed what the mirror in the bathroom was reflecting. I was very curious how she would act without me visibly in the room. It would inform a lot of my future treatment of the girl.


    On that note, I couldn¡¯t really keep calling her ¡®girl¡¯, and something generic like ¡®pet¡¯ would get confusing once I gained additional ¡®subordinates¡¯. Still, I¡¯d been honest when I¡¯d said I didn¡¯t much care what her name was. I wanted to make a clean break between her life then and now, and a new name would help in that regard. How about¡­ Rea. I planned to use her as a research subject, and I liked the sound of it. Yes, Rea was a good name for my new pet.


    I was not particularly surprised when the newly christened Rea did not immediately get to the task I assigned her. Ten minutes was longer than she really needed, but I wanted to give her a few extra minutes and see how she handled it.


    The girl sank slowly to the floor, letting the lukewarm water pour down on her hair as she rocked back and forth with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was crying, the tears washed away by the falling water but I could make out the slight shaking of her shoulders and reddening of her eyes. She was mumbling something, lips moving slowly under the curtain of water.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    She sat that way for several minutes, then shakily rose to her feet and got to work. I set the parts I was fiddling with down on the table and watched with interest as she stared silently at the blue jug she was holding, weighing in her hand and miming several swings.


    It wouldn¡¯t work if she tried, but it wasn¡¯t a terrible plan. I would have to punish her severely if she went through with it, though I would likely punish her anyway for even considering the idea. It would be good to project a facade of omniscience in front of the girl, that would hopefully stem any future plotting until the conditioning I had planned had time to set in.


    Just after the ten minute mark, I pushed the bathroom door open and stepped into the room. The girl was standing by the door, holding the heavy ceramic jug of body-cleaning potion over her head with trembling arms. I turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. Had she really chosen the worst possible time to lose her nerves? I¡¯d erected a clear force shield around myself before opening the door, but she hadn¡¯t even tried to test it. Had the extra few seconds it had taken me to deactivate the scrying spell and conjure the shield really been enough for her to psyche herself out of going through with it?


    She swallowed heavily and slowly set the jug down on the counter beside her, eyes glued resolutely to the ground and a look of abject terror on her face. ¡°Kneel.¡± I ordered, and she all but collapsed to the floor, knees crashing painfully against hard tile. I¡¯d only told her to get on her knees, but she went further than that, prostrating herself with her face pressed against the cold, damp tile.


    ¡°What did you think you were going to accomplish?¡± I asked rhetorically, pushing onward without waiting for her to respond, ¡°Do you think someone like me would be even inconvenienced by an attack as mundane as that? And even if it had worked, what then? How did you think you would get out of the room? Much less escape back to your homeland. Do you enjoy pain, girl? Because that is all this could have brought you. Either a painful death via starvation or even more pain from me.¡±


    I let my words hang in the silence, staring down at her with an emotionless mask on my face. Except for the first part, everything else had been nothing but the truth. Even if she¡¯d managed to kill me, and that was still a possibility with the current level of circulation I maintained, there would have been no way she could get through the wards on my door. Not that I could let her think she had a way to hurt me, that would only invite further retribution.


    After another minute, I clicked my tongue loudly. ¡°Pathetic. Now get up and dry yourself off. You¡¯re dripping all over the floor.¡± I dropped a rough towel on the floor beside her, then turned and slowly walked back into the main room.


    I was sitting in my chair, lazily flipping through a notebook with my feet propped up on a stool when she finally stepped out of the bathroom. The moment she saw me, she dropped back onto the floor and assumed the same kneeling bow position she¡¯d used before. Seeing her do it a second time, it made me think it might be another cultural difference. I¡¯d never seen anyone do that sort of thing outside of temples before, but maybe it was a more general sign of subservience among her people?


    Without looking up from my book, I gestured to the wall where I¡¯d mounted several hooks while she¡¯d been unconscious. ¡°Get up and get yourself hung up over there. I¡¯m sure even a worthless animal like you can figure it out.¡±


    Despite doing my best to look casual, I was not nearly as relaxed as I portrayed myself to be. My eyes stared unseeingly at the page in front of me while my attention watched her through an invisible eye floating silently over my head. It was a useful spell, though easily detectable by even the most rudimentary mana sense. Fortunately, even if she was normally capable of such a thing, the collar around her neck ensured she had no chance of seeing the construct. I was also still maintaining the shield I¡¯d summoned earlier. I was taking no chances.


    She crawled over to where I¡¯d indicated and stood up, studying the half dozen metal hooks and then looking at the loops in her shackles. Raising one foot in the air, she carefully maneuvered one ankle cuff through the small opening in the hook. Using the wall to support herself, she spread her legs wide open until she could just barely do the same with the other cuff.


    Now, she had to awkwardly balance on her toes, back pressed up against the cold stone as she felt her way up until she could just barely squeeze the loop on her cuff into the upper hook. The last arm was the hardest. She had no real leverage and could only barely see the loop on her shackle. After several attempts, she finally managed it, leaving her hanging by her wrists from the cold wall.


    It wasn¡¯t really an inescapable restraint, if she had the necessary core strength she could probably manuver one arm or leg free, but it was good enough. If I wanted, I could easily close up the small openings in the hooks, leaving her with no way to escape. In fact, I did just that, two metal pegs shooting off the table and screwing themselves into the small holes I¡¯d left for them. That way, her arms were properly restrained, but I still needed to move her legs somewhat.


    I let her hang for several minutes before I dismissed the eye and set my book aside. I would probably be leaving her up there for some time, but I still had a few parts of her final ¡®outfit¡¯ to fit her with. I could have done it while she was unconscious, but they weren¡¯t really a part of her restraints and I¡¯d felt it would be more humiliating for her if I did them while she was able to experience it in full.


    Tutting quietly, I walked over to her restrained form. ¡°Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. A fair attempt, but I was going for something a little bit more convenient.¡± Taking a firm grip of her legs with my magic, I tugged them out of their current restraints and pushed them up until her shins were pressed up against her ears. Then I lifted further, forcing her to thrust her butt out away from the wall, until I finally hooked her ankle shackles through the set of hooks above her head.


    I smiled and gave her a gentle pat between the legs. ¡°Much better, don¡¯t you think? Like this, I could do anything I wanted to you, well, more than I already could.¡± I was pleased when she didn¡¯t react audibly, teeth clenched shut against the smallest sound. I wondered how long that would last.


    I stepped back, taking a good look at how well I¡¯d judged the distances for the hooks. Her limbs were pulled taut, toned muscles standing out under her skin as she hung by her wrists and ankles. It really was a very convenient position, granting easy access to most of her body and leaving her very little room to move. I would have to remember it.


    Summoning a small box from my table, I let her watch as I slowly withdrew a potion vial, a large metal plug, and a thin tube with a stopper on the end. After the literal mess with Miranda where I hadn¡¯t considered how to deal with her, well¡­ waste products, I¡¯d given the matter some serious thought. I¡¯d considered several options since then, most of them rather inconvenient, before finally settling on this. I¡¯d prepared these for the Ongallo girl, but it would be good to have a practical test before I kidnapped her. Liam¡¯s surprise gift was already proving its worth.


    I started with the plug, unstopping the vial and dipping the bulbous end into the potion. The plug was covered in tiny runes and had an opening running through the center, though that was currently filled with another stopper. Once I was sure it was well coated, I pulled the now glistening end out of the vial and pressed it up against my new pet¡¯s rear opening.


    Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, before closing it with a click. I pressed onward, slowly twisting the plug back and forth as I worked it into her virgin hole. It was a very tight fit and would have likely been impossible without the lubricating properties of the potion.


    Despite her efforts, she groaned and whimpered several times before I finished lodging the intruder deep in her bowels. I channeled a small burst of mana into the plug and she squealed as the potion suddenly heated up for an instant before turning inert. When I tugged on the plug, it remained firmly seated in her ass.


    Very good, it seemed I¡¯d made the potion correctly. It was technically intended as a medical potion, something to hold wounds shut while they healed, but I¡¯d thought it would do well here as well. Though it wasn¡¯t designed for long term use, the book I¡¯d found the recipe in said the substance should last for upwards of ten years, which was more than long enough. The plug was enchanted to transmute waste into air and then slowly release the air through the small tube in its center. The tube also offered easy access for cleaning or any potions that could be administered rectally. Now for the other part¡­


    Though the tube was much smaller, it served a very similar purpose. Rea seemed to realize that as well, if her fearful whimpers when I dipped the tube in the same potion vial as the plug were anything to go off of. To her credit, she didn¡¯t make a single sound as I slowly twisted the modified catheter into place, only letting out another squeak when I set the biological sealant with a burst of mana.


    ¡°Good girl.¡± I patted her again, then flicked her clit with my nail, getting another squeak in response. ¡°It seems I don¡¯t need to gag you quite yet. Still, we¡¯ll have to train those noises out of you, it''s unseemly. Maybe this will help.¡± I wrapped a thick blindfold around her eyes, plunging her world into darkness. ¡°I think I¡¯ll leave you to¡­ think about your actions for a little while. Remember the rules, hmm?¡±


    Now with her fully restrained and her eyes covered, I let my shoulders slump as I chained off several spells I¡¯d learned from a book Professor Igor had recommended. I hadn¡¯t really understood the point at first, but with a better grounding in biology I realized why they were absolutely essential when leaving test subjects in unusual positions.


    One built an invisible frame of force under her body to protect her wrists and ankles from serious damage. Another circulated air to ensure she didn¡¯t asphyxiate. A third kept her body from moving around too much and supported her head to prevent any struggling from causing problems. Since I was casting them and hadn¡¯t had a chance to enchant them into the restraints themselves, they would only last twelve hours or so, but that was plenty of time.


    Only then did I finally turn away and put my new captive out of my mind for the time. It was very late, and I had things to do the next day. I could deal with her punishment in the morning. I was sure a hungry, cold night like this would get her into the right headspace without any additional effort from me.

 Chapter 30

    I knew I wasn¡¯t a very good person. The years I¡¯d spent living on my own I¡¯d had to lie, steal, and cheat just to make a living. Captain Alvin¡¯s disappointed eyes still haunted my dreams from when I¡¯d jumped from his ship and disappeared into the docks with half his lockbox in tow as he sailed away. He¡¯d been a good man, and had likely saved my life, yet I¡¯d repaid his generosity and kindness with lies and theft.


    Coming to Avalon, I¡¯d hoped I could start a new, better life. I hadn¡¯t known just how cutthroat a place the Academy was, even worse than the shady streets and criminal gatherings I¡¯d frequented. At least there, they would kill you for a reason. It might just be for a handful of coins, but at Avalon it sometimes seemed that life was even cheaper than that.


    Still, I hadn¡¯t considered myself a real monster. I wasn¡¯t like Professor Igor or Meadows, killing and torturing just for the pleasure of it. I¡¯d always had a reason to do what I did. Miranda, Mistletoe, Clark, and Cathrin, all four students I¡¯d targeted had come after me first. I¡¯d only retaliated when they forced me to, and tried not to go overboard.


    Clark and Cathrin had both tried to kill me, and so I¡¯d returned the favor. Miranda had tried to eat me, so I turned things around on her and now used her for my own needs. Even with Mistletoe, who had done everything she could to torment me over the years, I had only done what was necessary to keep her contained and never used any sort of overt torture once I¡¯d imprisoned her.


    Even my plans for Briella and her friends were somewhat justified. Miranda¡¯s report said the trio had killed at least four of their yearmates and had ambushed an unprepared third year just a few weeks ago. They had not done anything to me yet, but they were by no means innocent. If nothing else, they¡¯d known what they were getting themselves into by coming to Avalon.


    Waking up to the quiet sobs of a terrified girl who had never done anything to me? It made me feel like a monster. That my first thought was to punish her for waking me up in the first place only made things worse.


    I didn¡¯t regret taking her with me. It had been the decision Liam wanted me to make and I valued a connection to him much higher than I did her well being. Even if I hadn¡¯t taken her, I had my doubts on her surviving the evening. I doubted rescue would have come in time to save her from drowning or hypothermia in the icy waters.


    What I did regret is how harsh I¡¯d been the night before. I¡¯d been somewhat¡­ high strung after the day''s events, and had gone overboard in my actions. Rea, and I would need to get her actual name at some point probably, wasn¡¯t an elf or a powerful mage, someone I needed to cowe until no shred of resistance remained. I imagined I could force her into a sufficiently powerful binding oath with just a few days of imprisonment.


    At that point, all of this would be even more unnecessary. I couldn¡¯t give her a good life, but there was no need to make it a living hell either. It would be harder to not get attached, but I could test experimental potions and spells on a slightly happier slave just as well as on a broken meat puppet.


    If nothing else, it would be more useful to have a trained servant then another prisoner to take care of. I had no idea who the girl had been before, but I was sure she could move a bucket and change some sheets or something. Per Avalon policy, I couldn¡¯t let her out of my room except for some rare exceptions, but having someone to take care of annoying chores would be handy.


    I stood up, frowning as I took in the girl¡¯s pathetic appearance. She was still where I¡¯d left her, dangling obscenely by her wrists and ankles with her head slumped forward. There were tears leaking out from under her blindfold, dripping slowly down her cheeks and landing on her exposed breasts and belly. Her shoulders were shaking slightly, both from the strain of holding her body weight and from her crying.


    I was somewhat curious what it was that had set her off. Had it been hunger? Pain from the position I¡¯d left her hanging in? Or maybe the situation had finally sunk in for her and she¡¯d finally decided it was hopeless? It had taken two days before Miranda had started crying , but then again, I hadn¡¯t exactly hung her from my wall.


    It was probably some combination of those. It had eventually overwhelmed the fear I¡¯d pounded into her the night before, the idea of further punishment not enough to keep her silent. That was a good lesson to remember, fear could only take you so far if the situation was sufficiently awful already.


    Checking on the spells I¡¯d cast the night before, I found that they had been slightly stressed but still had several more hours before they risked collapsing. Several basic diagnostic spells confirmed that everything had worked as expected; there would be some bruising and chaffing where the edges of the cuffs bit into skin, but nothing more serious than that.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said loudly from right beside her. The purple-skinned girl nearly jumped out of her own skin, her head shooting up and would have slammed into the wall behind her if not for the protective spells I¡¯d cast the night before.


    Reaching out, I cupped her cheek with one hand, wiping away the tears trailing down her nose with my thumb. She went silent at the touch, breath coming in rapid bursts interspersed with weak sobs and hiccups.


    ¡°Do you want to tell me what rule number three was?¡±


    Swallowing another sob, she weekly mumbled, ¡°Not to talk unless you told me too, sir.¡±


    ¡°Very good. Well, I know crying is not really talking, but I think you should have understood regardless. Now tell me, what did I say would happen if you broke any of the rules?¡±


    ¡°You told me you¡¯d make me suffer, sir.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. So, what do you think I should do to you now, hmm? Not only did you break the rules, but you also tried to attack me. It was a futile effort, but that was very naughty of you.¡±


    Fortunately for her, she didn¡¯t say anything. I patted her cheek with fake affection. ¡°Good girl. Now how hard was that to understand? Say it.¡±


    ¡°Simple, sir. I¡¯m sorry sir.¡±


    I patted her cheek softly. ¡°I imagine you¡¯ve had a very uncomfortable night.¡±


    She did not respond, simply letting her head fall forward, resting her chin on her chest.


    ¡°Are you going to break the rules again?¡± I asked her after a moment¡¯s pause.


    She shook her head rapidly, half cleaned and matted hair slapping against her skin and the wall behind her.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s good enough for me.¡± I slid the tiny pegs that made sure none of her manacles could slip out of their hooks out with a thought, dropping them in a bowl on my table. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t a particularly large young woman, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult to lift her body with a simple spell. Her arms and legs dropped down limply the moment I lifted her off the hooks, sore and stiff muscles unable to support their own weight.


    She didn¡¯t even try to struggle as I carefully floated her back in the cage, which honestly made things worse. She wasn¡¯t the willful, desperate killer Miranda had been a few years ago. I paused before sealing the top of the cage, fetching a large towel from my linen closet and dropping it on the unmoving girl. It sometimes got chilly in my room, and the metal cage rested directly on the cold stone floor.


    A quick time spell told me it was late morning, a few hours after I typically woke up but still a half-hour or so before I could go get lunch. I quickly put together ¡®breakfast¡¯ for my new pet, mixing half a dose of nutrition potion with a small quantity of a weak healing elixir, water, and some of the dense goop I used for Mistletoe. It didn¡¯t come out looking particularly appetizing, but it should theoretically keep her full and nourished for an entire day.


    I poured the resulting concoction, a thick, red-brown syrup, into a small bottle and dropped it into her cage with a stern command to drink it all. Things would be simpler once I had Mistletoe ready for milking, a few cups of that mixed with water would serve as a basically free replacement for food. For now, I would see if I could use something like this, without having to resort to a fitted feeder-gag like I¡¯d crafted for my elf.


    I technically had enough feed for both her and Mistletoe, but I wanted to keep a buffer until I optimized the elf¡¯s new food source. The stuff I was using now wasn¡¯t particularly expensive, but I¡¯d purchased it in bulk from a specialty shop and the Avalon portal was no longer connected to that city.


    Nutrient potions had the issue that it degraded rapidly when mixed with other substances, but was otherwise rather cheap. If I could replace most of Rea¡¯s food with the stuff until I had her properly soul-bound, it would greatly lower the strain on how much feed I was using every day. Once she¡¯d sworn a full set of binding vows, I would be able to rely on her to eat on her own, but until then I hoped hunger would overcome any revulsion towards eating out of a bottle.


    I made it to the cafeteria just as lunch was being served. I nodded politely to several staff members and students I recognized, but otherwise ignored everyone around me. I was too tired, too wound up by the events of the last few days, to really care about anyone else right now.


    After a quick meal, I finally headed to the library as I¡¯d been meaning to for days now. Besides dealing with my newest toy, I had the entire day to myself and I had big plans. I was finally going to figure out a proper way of making shields with pure mana and hopefully make some serious progress in some of my other projects as well. I didn¡¯t have anything pressing to worry about till my meeting with Janna the next day, and even then I was mostly prepared for that already.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I spent almost a full hour combing through the shelves, coming away with a tall stack of texts on protective magic and a single thin volume of first through fifth circle pain spells. I noticed several other books I wanted to take a look at, but they were all ¡®delicate materials¡¯, meaning you had to study them in the library itself. There would be time for that later, maybe even this evening. This was a good start for now.


    Arriving back at my room, I was surprised to find a large package sealed with the Avalon crest, a circle of blooming flowers surrounding a stylized wizard¡¯s staff. After testing the seal and finding it genuine, I carefully pushed the heavy crate into my room and set it in a corner near the door. It was shockingly heavy for its size, taking all my strength to just push it across the smooth ground, and I was curious what it might be, but I could deal with whatever it was later.


    I was pleased to find that Rea had drunk the entire bottle, and was now fitfully dozing with the thick towel wrapped around her like a blanket. She was drooling somewhat in her sleep, tossing and turning while mumbling something unintelligible under her breath. It was somewhat annoying, but nothing a simple silencing spell couldn¡¯t handle.


    I considered disciplining her, but decided it would be counterproductive. I could just leave her in the cage for a few days, feeding her when necessary, until she was sufficiently desperate for the oaths to bind properly. She hadn¡¯t touched her blindfold either, which was an encouraging sign. I would have to remember to let her out a few times, just to make sure she could get a small amount of stretching and exercise in, but that was a problem for later.


    Looking between her and Mistletoe,  I wondered what my parents would think of me if they saw me now. Would they be repulsed? Proud? Angry at what I¡¯d become or impressed by the progress I¡¯d made? Well, it didn¡¯t matter. It hadn¡¯t mattered for years.


    They were gone, and I would do whatever it took to avenge them. Was what I was doing wrong? Probably. It certainly didn¡¯t fit in with the morals my parents had tried to instill in me growing up. Still, it was those exact morals that had gotten them burned to death on what was supposed to be a happy day for our family.


    That day had certainly taught me one final lesson. I remembered the first time we¡¯d encountered goblins while out hunting with my father. He¡¯d killed the trio of green-skinned humanoids with a single well-placed arrow each. They¡¯d all been dead before they could even react.


    After seeing the goblin¡¯s camp, complete with its little cooking fire and makeshift tents, I¡¯d asked him why we hunted animals and monsters, some of them smart enough to use tools and wear clothes like us. He¡¯d told me, ¡®We do what we must for the lives of our family, our friends, and our people. They wouldn¡¯t have thought twice about killing us, so why should we do anything different?¡¯


    On that day, I¡¯d finally understood. We all did what we must to survive.


    I spent the rest of the day leisurely going through the books I¡¯d grabbed. I had to give it to Elpha, Mistletoe did make a particularly convenient foot rest. I only left my room twice, both to eat and to grab more reference books from the library. At the end of the day, I felt I¡¯d made some serious progress. I wasn¡¯t able to implement some of the really advanced techniques, such as the nine-layered mana shield that could, in theory, block any single spell due to some utterly mind bending principles of mana cancellation, but I hadn¡¯t expected anything like that anyway.


    Instead, I spent hours experimenting with various configurations and designs, testing for both durability and how quickly I could summon that shield. I wasn¡¯t looking for something super complex and powerful, if I wanted that I could use one of the fourth circle shield spells I¡¯d painstakingly practiced over the summer. Instead, I just needed something I could throw up in an emergency to take a hit. It was much more important that I could summon the shield in an instant, I didn¡¯t care if it broke under the very first blow as long as it could deal with that much.


    In the end, I landed on two styles that I intended to practice with further. The first was a delicate looking construct of tiny threads wound back and around each other. It was more complicated than many of the shields I¡¯d experimented with, but I had a lot of experience forming my mana into exactly that sort of threads so it came rather easily to me. From my testing, I estimated that it was about as strong as the third circle deflect spell I¡¯d learned earlier in the year. It wouldn¡¯t handle direct force particularly well, but it was very durable when hit at an angle and should theoretically be able to eat most energy-based attack spells.


    The second was a very simple, brute force design, very similar to what I¡¯d done to block the lightning earlier in the week. Unlike that crude construct though, this shield would have likely fully stopped that attack without dissipating. It had the disadvantage of being horribly mana inefficient, I could cast three or four fourth circle spells for the cost of summoning this shield, but even with only a half hour of practice I could summon it in a heartbeat.


    I would add both to my rotation of mana shaping exercise for now. I would need to do some more research and refinement in the future, combine the various elements I¡¯d seen in the dozens of examples into something that fit my skills perfectly, but that was something of a long term project. For now, these would do nicely.


    I was getting ready for bed when I finally remembered about the package waiting for me in the corner. I kicked myself about how I¡¯d completely forgotten it was there, and immediately went to investigate. Hopefully I hadn¡¯t ruined some sort of alchemical potions that required specific storage conditions. That would be incredibly awkward.


    I was coming to realize that the obsessive focus I¡¯d developed over the years was not always a boon. Sure, it had saved my life at the beginning and had been a great boon in my studies, but sometimes I found it turning into tunnel vision at the worst times. I got so focused on whatever project I was currently working on that I barely noticed what else was going on around me. It was something I needed to work on but didn¡¯t really know how to, just like my social skills.


    The seal on the crate came undone with just a touch of mana. It had been tuned specifically to my unique magical signature and would have resisted anyone else¡¯s attempt to tamper with it. Inside the large crate was another, smaller box, along with a small stack of documents bound with a blue ribbon.


    I was instantly surprised and intrigued when I saw the top paper. It was the writ of delivery, marked with information about who had sent the package, who had delivered it, and who the recipient was. I was surprised to see two very important names at the top of the page. Elpha¡¯s was one thing, I hadn¡¯t expected anything yet but she had promised me more payment at some point. I did not expect to see the Myrddin''s name written directly above hers, his titles taking up a good third of the paper all on their own.  What could he be sending me and why?


    I set the paper aside and flipped quickly through the other four papers in the stack. One was about the content of the chest, I paged past it for the moment, the next was about handling instructions which I similarly ignored. Finally, I found what I was likely looking for. A formal document stamped with the seal of Avalon and glittering with intricate swirls of magic to my mana sense.


    I almost choked on my own spit when I scanned the page. Holy shit. I hadn¡¯t realized Avalon took their promise of ¡®private rooms¡¯ that seriously. My eyes widened and my mouth fell open as I continued reading. Twenty thousand pieces? Well, not all to me, but that was just an unfathomable amount of wealth. Even five thousand pieces was more wealth than I¡¯d seen in my entire life, more than my parents, their parents, and their parents¡¯ parents had earned combined in their entire lives.


    The last section was honestly even more mind bending. An actual blood oath not to share anything she¡¯d seen? That was¡­ that was insane. I was just¡­ me. A nobody, and someone had made Elpha Lifebane swear a blood oath to keep my secrets. My respect for Avalon¡¯s upper echelons rose immensely. I¡¯d known they took rules for students seriously, but to see them levy penalties like this against powerful members like her was just insane.


    Looking away from the document, my eyes fell on the small chest inside the larger crate. Wait, if this was my copy of the contract, that meant¡­ I snatched the papers I¡¯d set aside earlier from where I¡¯d dropped them. Five. Thousand. Pieces. I stared at the manifest for a long moment, scarcely able to believe what my eyes were telling me. The papers slipped from my fingers as I dropped to my knees beside the crate. I had to see it, had to see it for myself.


    Just like the crate, the chest¡¯s seal came apart with barely a touch. I could instantly feel the mana emanating off it, a mix of defensive enchantments, spatial expansion spells, and the magics woven into the coinage of various denominations. I could only stare in numb silence as the chest slowly opened, revealing riches I could have barely imagined a few minutes earlier.


    The chest was divided into three sections, each containing a different form of currency. Though most nations minted at least some amount of their own coinage, there were several forms of currency that were widely accepted anywhere in the world. The most common of these currencies were the ¡®pieces¡¯. Formed from naturally magical materials, they were valuable not just because someone said they were, but for their use in many forms of artifice and alchemy.


    These materials could not be transmuted, making them an excellent form of currency for mages. Furthermore, each coin or bar was marked with a special identifying enchantment, making counterfeiting even more difficult. I didn¡¯t know the specifics of it all, but I¡¯d read enough to be able to identify what I was looking at.


    The left-most section contained a small stack of silvery bars that I was pretty sure were mana-forged platinum. Each bar was worth fifty pieces and I could count twenty of the thumb-sized bars. The central section was the largest and it was filled to the brim with small square coins that I¡¯d seen a few times in the past. These were the most basic form of the currency, each worth a single piece and crafted out of deep-brass. I wasn¡¯t sure how many of them were in the box, but I imagined they were the primary contributor to how heavy the crate had been.


    The content of the last section almost stopped me in my tracks again. Three tiny cubes nearly glowed in their velvet lined compartment. Even if I hadn¡¯t known what the higher denominations of pieces were made from, it would have been impossible to not recognize the wonder I was looking at. Adamantine, the crystalized blood of ancient gods. One of the most valuable materials in the world.


    I reached down slowly, my finger stopping a few millimeters away from the precious metal. I could feel a nearly physical pressure emanating off the ¡®coins¡¯, the mana they held so dense even non-mages were said to be affected by it. It was¡­ it was too much to think about right now. I pulled my hand away and slammed the chest shut, blocking out the mana emanating off the incredible bounty of wealth I was looking at.


    I was too tired to think about what this meant. I couldn¡¯t imagine Elpha was particularly happy with me, twenty thousand pieces was a lot, even for someone like her. Hopefully she wouldn¡¯t take that anger out on me, but I would have to be careful the next time we met. Fortunately, it seemed Avalon really was serious about protecting us students. After finding her just¡­ sitting in my room unconcerned, I¡¯d been worried that it was mostly a sham. Clearly, Elpha had been the overconfident one.


    The situation was manageable. More than that, it seemed finally something had gone my way. This was going to change so much for me. I would be able to afford materials, texts, so many things I had considered far beyond my grasp for most of my life. It wasn¡¯t an absurd amount of money, but it was more than I had expected to see for years to come. Suddenly having access to so much capital would simplify so many issues. Money opened doors in a way few other things could.


    For the rest of the night, I could not stop smiling. I even gave Rea an extra blanket and spent half an hour ¡®rewarding¡¯ Mistletoe. For once, after such a crummy week, everything seemed to be going my way. What a great way to end an already productive day¡­

 Chapter 31

    ¡°Yes, just like that. Steady¡­¡± Janna lay silently on the cleared table, my hands resting gently on her bare belly. Her eyes were closed, but even through her meditative trance I could see the look of intense concentration on her face. I continued to whisper directions and encouragement in her ears even as tendrils reached down through her skin, helping direct and shape her mana into the correct configuration.


    ¡°A little bit more now, a nice smooth turn¡­ Oh dear.¡± I winced as I felt her overcompensate, pulling my tendrils back just in time to avoid the worst of the uncontrolled collapse. Her entire body flinched and I clicked my tongue in sympathy. That sort of backlash wasn¡¯t nearly as deadly as if she¡¯d been trying to cast a proper spell and failed, but it still hurt like a bitch.


    Her breathing quickened and I stepped to the side as she opened her eyes and sat up slowly. Half way through, she cringed back in pain, but continued anyway until she was sitting primly on the table, feet tucked up beside her.


    ¡°That was a good attempt. I think a few more days of practice and we should be good. Maybe as early as Tuesday if you take the time to practice properly.¡±


    She smiled brightly, then winced again in pain. The damage from that sort of backlash wasn¡¯t exactly physical and went away quickly, but it was unpleasant while it lasted. I¡¯d spent long weeks meditating on my bed after I¡¯d found that lying down made the pain go away faster.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯re having the most trouble with the second to last section. I suggest focusing on exercises two and five from our last session, though you should still practice a few of the others as well. I don¡¯t think the last bit will be particularly difficult for you, but I guess we¡¯ll see next week.¡±


    She nodded gingerly, ¡°That sounds good, thank you Orion.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to get any more work done today. I doubt you¡¯ll be in any shape to practice delicate mana manipulation for another half hour or so and we¡¯re just about out of time anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid not. I think I will stay here a short while longer, I don¡¯t want to wander,¡± she winced again, ¡°the corridors like this.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. I had the room booked for an extra hour in case we went long so you¡¯re free to stay until then.¡± I grabbed my bag and turned to leave, but stopped when she called out my name again.


    ¡°Um, Orion. Would you be willing to tell me a bit more about yourself?¡± I turned around, a mild look of confusion on my face. ¡°I mean, well, we¡¯ve been classmates for two years now, and you¡¯ve been teaching me a few times a week, but I feel I barely know anything about you. You never speak about yourself, your family, anything. I was¡­ I was just curious.¡±


    My first instinct was to refuse. Nothing good had ever come from sharing personal details and I was immediately suspicious of her intentions. I opened my mouth to say just that, then stopped and closed it. Hadn¡¯t I just recently vowed to try and work on my social skills? This¡­ Well this seemed like a relatively innocuous reason to do just that.


    I wasn¡¯t going to give anything particularly important away, not that there was much of anything important in my old life. Even if I did give away something that could be useful, we were in a meeting to work on her circulation. I could feel the vow at the edges of my soul, ensuring that anything we said or learned couldn¡¯t be used against the other.


    In the worst case, well, I got nothing out of it but didn¡¯t really lose anything either. In the best case, perhaps I would build a better relationship with a future political powerhouse. Some measure of trust between us could be¡­ valuable in the future for a number of reasons. Even if nothing really came of it, it was practice talking to people, and I absolutely did need more of that.


    ¡°Sure, I guess.¡± I said slowly. I set my bag back down and sat down at the table. ¡°What do you want to know?¡±


    She seemed just as surprised as I was by my sudden agreement. ¡°Well, um¡­ I don¡¯t really know enough to ask anything specific. I guess just, whatever you want to share.¡±


    What I wanted to share, was it? I didn¡¯t really want to share anything, but I could try. ¡°Well, you probably already know most of this, but I can try. I was born in Xethis, on the island of Kyra. I mostly grew up there, then left home in my early teens and spent a few years moving around. Eventually, I discovered that the Avalon gate was moving to Armouth, so I traveled there and spent a few months living by the border before the portal appeared. I took the tests and I guess I passed. You already know everything after that.¡±


    She was quiet for a long moment, then finally asked, ¡°What made you leave?¡±


    A few years ago, I probably would have snapped at her. Instead, I simply bit out, ¡°Personal reasons.¡±


    Thankfully, she didn¡¯t push, instead asking about some of the other places I¡¯d lived. I spent another fifteen minutes reguiling her with some of the more innocuous stories from my travels, speaking of places like Iveria¡¯s stunning coastline and the massive crystalline bridges that crisscrossed the canyons of Doria.


    In return, she shared a little more about her own youth. Once she was old enough to travel, her uncle had taken her on trips all throughout Gulivine and some of its close neighbors. He was a diplomat of some sort I gathered, primarily serving as a go-between for Gulivine¡¯s central government and the dozens of semi-independent regions and organizations that made up the Republic.


    I was sure she was glossing over many details, just as I was, but she made it sound like a beautiful place. Perhaps someday I would go there, just take in the sights. It was something of a foreign idea to me, just traveling for pleasure, but an enticing one. Despite the hardships, I had enjoyed seeing the natural (and less natural) wonders of the world I¡¯d passed. The world was a nasty, dangerous place, but there was a lot of beauty there too.


    If I was strong enough, many of the issues with such an idea would just¡­ disappear. Distance and travel times were much less of an obstacle if you knew higher circle teleportation spells. Borders and exorbitant fees similarly would be much less of an issue as well. Powerful mages could go where they pleased. It was an appealing thought.


    I said something to that end, about maybe visiting some of the places she was describing, and Janna gave me a radiant smile. ¡°In a few years, I would welcome a visit. I¡¯m certain my family would be happy to host a capable mage like yourself.¡±


    I ignored the unspoken caveat of us both needing to be alive for that to happen. Janna had already told me she wasn¡¯t sure if she would stay past her fourth year and she also knew that I didn¡¯t have any such option available to me. The only way I would be taking her up on that offer would be as an Avalon graduate, in which case I was sure her family would be very happy to have me.


    Her comment also made my mind turn to my current plans. Depending on how things went over the next few weeks, well¡­ I would have to adjust the hooks but Janna would look lovely on my wall. I ignored the painful twinge of my oath, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use anything I¡¯d learned over the past few weeks against her, but hopefully I wouldn¡¯t need to.


    It also reminded me that I really did need to get going though. I hadn''t fed Rea since the day before and she was likely starving by now. The meal I''d given her should have tided her over nutritionally, but it didn''t stay in the stomach long enough to stave off the feeling of hunger. I should probably let her out for a few minutes anyway, let her stretch her legs and move around a little. Unlike Mistletoe, who still looked to be in pristine physical shape after multiple weeks bound in place, humans couldn''t survive like that.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s been good talking with you, but I really must get going.¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course, I¡¯ve kept you for long enough. Thank you for indulging my curiosity Orion.¡±


    I simply nodded in response, then grabbed my bag and walked briskly from the room. That had been a decidedly odd, if not unpleasant, way to end our meeting. I wasn¡¯t used to, well, talking to people very much. I¡¯d nearly forgotten what it felt like to engage in protracted casual conversation. It was¡­ sort of nice.


    Maybe I would practice some with Miranda when I had a chance. We were meeting again on Wednesday, both for another check in on her research into Briella and a second examination. I could spend twenty minutes getting to know her a little better. Despite her ¡®working¡¯ for me for two years, I didn¡¯t really know much about her. I could ask about her family, see if she had any siblings or something. Yes, that sounded pretty normal.


    Liam silently picked his way through the ruined city, hidden behind three layers of obscuring wards and shields. He had not come alone, though he could not sense most of them; he knew two dozen other Avalon mages were somewhere out in the city. This sort of opportunity was too valuable to miss, particularly in a city as wealthy as Port Anangala.


    Despite the rather¡­ questionable nature of what he was doing, he wasn¡¯t particularly worried. The city certainly had mages who could detect him despite his precautions, but those archmages had much bigger things to worry about than little old him. For instance the cliff-face he could see in the distance, where a half dozen mages were working to prevent the massive palace situated at its peak from sliding into the ocean.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Even if they did decide to do something, he wasn¡¯t particularly worried. He would just say that he was out looking for survivors, and what were they going to do? He might not be a graduate yet, but he was still a mage of Avalon. The city wouldn¡¯t be willing to antagonize them over something so small, particularly at a time like this. It wasn¡¯t like he was robbing or kidnapping anyone important.


    Though the dragon had eventually been driven off, or well, had decided to leave, it had left a permanent scar on the city. Thousands of buildings had been ruined and the area near where the battle had taken place was leveled down to bedrock. The bay had flooded into the ruined city, worsening the already catastrophic damage and flooding further. It would take years and mountains of resources to recover from the night¡¯s events.


    Liam didn¡¯t particularly care about any of that. These were not his people and this was not his country. Sure, he did business with them, but that was simply a matter of convenience. This continent had some fascinating materials that were difficult to source back home, but he could simply find a different supplier. Port Anangala was not the largest city on the continent, simply the closest to home.


    What he did care about was what this opportunity meant for him. His eyes glowed behind his defenses as he scanned the buildings around him for valuables. His expanded sack was already half filled with enchanted objects, money, useful corpses, and whatever else he thought might be useful. Unfortunately, he¡¯d had no luck so far in finding what he really needed.


    Creating his invisible servants was a ruinously expensive proposition. The spell consumed a painfully large quantity of valuable reagents and mana in order to form the construct¡¯s body. In his work at optimizing the process, he theorized that a properly prepared sacrifice, particularly one with a very strong water affinity, could sidestep many of the requirements. A water-aligned soul could be used as a core for the construct, replacing the most difficult to acquire materials.


    Unfortunately, finding someone like that was easier said than done. There were a few students at Avalon who fit the bill, but they were either too young or too dangerous to bother with. He¡¯d checked a half dozen slave markets, but magically valauble sentients like that were typically scooped up by larger players and never made it the open market. Similarly, it wasn¡¯t easy to find someone like that just on the street, powerful affinities rarely appeared outside of established bloodlines. He¡¯d seen several others with the needed traits, but none had been people he could just disappear.


    He¡¯d had high hopes for this excursion. The city was built by the ocean, which tended to promote water affinities. Similarly, those with such an affinity were unlikely to have been killed by the initial floodwaters but their caretakers may have, leaving the valuable materials unguarded.


    He¡¯d already seen several such people, though unfortunately none were sufficiently powerful for his needs. He¡¯d still paralyzed and stowed them in some out of the way places, if he couldn¡¯t find what he needed soon he would go back and take a few of them along instead. It wouldn¡¯t be quite what he was looking for, but maybe he could distill several souls into a single core?


    He stepped out of the way to let a squad of patrolling peace-keepers pass. None of them could sense him through his defenses and he had no reason to bother with them. Killing them would be much more effort than it was worth and they absolutely would try to investigate if they bumped into someone invisible wandering through the city. Furthermore, there was always the risk they would call support from one of the mages who could get in his way. That would be terribly irritating. Better to just stay out of their way.


    Something in a nearby building pinged gently against one of his detection spells and he turned to study the house in question. It had once been a neat, three story home, likely belonging to some rich merchant or perhaps a noble¡¯s second home. Now, most of the front wall had been torn away and he could feel several people huddled around a fire on the second floor. He could see the remnants of wide flowerbeds by the entrance, a recent trend in the city, though any flowers or shrubs it had once contained had been washed away by the floodwaters.


    A magically augmented leap sent him soaring to land lightly on a third floor balcony overlooking the street. Disabling the alarm ward on the beaded door was the work of a moment and he silenced the beads so they would not give away his presence.


    The room beyond was mostly untouched by the damage outside. The wards on the door had blocked out the worst of the rain and the flooding hadn¡¯t reached nearly this high in this part of the city. He half-floated across the room, steps light enough that they didn¡¯t even mark the striped fur rug that covered most of the floor. Two and Three floated past him from where they¡¯d rested silently over his shoulders. They efficiently gathered anything that looked particularly valuable and was small enough to be worth collecting.


    Liam focused on casting several specialized detection spells, looking for what had drawn his attention. It took nearly a full minute, the detection spell he¡¯d used before was powerful but broad, but he eventually found himself looking at what seemed to be a blank stretch of wall just like any other.


    He didn¡¯t bother trying to find the hidden safe¡¯s door, simply directing Two to reach through the wall and grab it. The polished stone offered no resistance to her transparent fingers, rock crumbling at a touch. Several defensive spells triggered, but could not identify a target to strike against. The waves of heat and energy that did activate washed ineffectively off his protections and had no effect on Two.


    The safe came free with a crunch of shattering stone. Two turned, holding the warded metal box out towards him. Liam frowned. He recognized some of the protections on the box, and they weren¡¯t something he could just deal with on the spot. It was surprising to see something so relatively impressive behind such meager protections. Hopefully whatever was inside would be worth the effort of taking it with him. If nothing else, it would make an interesting target to practice his ward cracking on, perhaps a chance to apply some of the techniques the Myrddin had taught his class the week before.


    He stowed it in the expanded container with the rest of his loot, clicking his tongue as he realized he was just about out of room. Unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do about that. It was just about time to head back anyway, the portal would be moving in just over an hour. It was a shame he hadn¡¯t found an appropriate target, but he would settle with what he¡¯d gotten already. A few thousand pieces worth of materials and a half dozen new souls to play with was still a very nice outcome for the effort he¡¯d expended.


    ¡°Two, Three, collect the materials we stowed and meet me at checkpoint one¡± he commanded silently. The two constructs did not respond, simply turning and floating away in the direction of where he¡¯d left his new victims.


    Dropping back down to street level, he wondered how Orion was enjoying the girl. He was somewhat curious what the younger man would do with her. He certainly hadn¡¯t known how to safely contain a research subject during his third year, but Orion seemed like he knew what he was doing.


    Hopefully he had the good sense not to just fuck her on his bed or something. ¡®Killed by your own test subject¡¯ was an embarrassing way to go for any mage, even more so if it was for such a simple reason. The girl didn¡¯t really do anything for him, but the purple skin did have its own sort of appeal. Orion had always struck him as a breast sort of man¡­


    Elpha Lifebane collapsed heavily onto the ground, soft grass cushioning her knees and fingers digging into loamy soil. She gasped desperately for air, head spinning wildly and bile rising in the back of her throat. Her hair and robes are soaked, a mix of blood and salt water dripping slowly onto ground, leaving blackened and burnt patches on the vibrant field.


    With a pained sigh, she rolled onto her back and let her arms fall to her sides, staring unseeingly at the field of stars shining brightly in the clear night sky. Reaching into a hidden pocket on her robes, she withdrew a tiny vial and let two drops of the liquid gold liquid drip carefully into her open mouth.


    She coughed wetly but swallowed, and some color quickly returned to her pale green features. Looking up at the half empty vial, she sighed again before returning it to the pocket it had come from. Only three doses left, but she would have been dead within the hour without it. Sea Dragon venom was not to be trifled with. Without the many rituals she had put her body through, she would have been dead long before she had a chance to escape.


    Perhaps that had not been her brightest idea, but she hadn¡¯t expected it to find her so quickly. A few more hours and she would have been out of the city, safely hidden in her heavily warded workshop a content away. Still, despite some major collateral damage, it had been worth it. She probably wouldn¡¯t be able to return to this side of the world any time soon, which was somewhat unfortunate, but that was fine.


    She sat up slowly, carefully renewing the layers of protective wards that covered her in a thick shell. It was an annoying precaution, particularly with how little good they had done her, but that was just her frustration poking through. Without the anti-scrying and presence suppression wards she¡¯d been maintaining for the last week, she doubted she would have managed the theft in the first place.


    Though she didn¡¯t dare remove it from the pocket dimension she¡¯d stored it in, she smiled as she thought about her prize. A ready-to-hatch egg of a millenia old dragon was a priceless treasure. At that age, dragons only laid eggs every few centuries and were very protective of their spawn. It made acquiring them nearly impossible. This egg was even more special than most, the dragon had invested a massive quantity of its life force into the fragile shell, ensuring the dragon it hatched would be a monstrously powerful creature from birth.


    Despite her precautions, the dragon had somehow detected her presence. She¡¯d barely managed to snatch the egg and teleport out before it annihilated her with its breath, and even then she hadn¡¯t managed to avoid all of the caustic venom. It had chased her, tracking her chained teleportations until she made it back to the small workshop she had prepared with a long distance teleportation ritual ready to go.


    She doubted it would be able to follow her now. She¡¯d used exotic principles of gravity to form this ritual, making it much more difficult to track than a typical space based teleportation. Still, it was better not to dally for too long, lest it finish slaughtering the defenders and try to come after her again.


    A thought summoned her staff to her hand from where it had fallen in the grass. She used it to push herself to her feet, groaning as strained muscles burned in her chest. She hadn¡¯t accounted for the venom while calibrating the teleportation ritual. Combined with the rapidly compounding damage, the ritual had blown slightly off course and put immense strain on her body. Still, it had worked and she was alive, so that was fine.


    She wondered how the city was fairing. She didn¡¯t dare go back, dragonslayer she might be but she didn¡¯t fancy another match with this monster. Even Avalon would not protect her if it could identify who she was under her wards. The Academy would go a long way towards shielding its graduates from the consequences of their actions, but not nearly that far.


    Well, it didn¡¯t really matter. In half an hour, she would be on the other side of the world, far outside the bounds of even that terrifying creature¡¯s senses. She would ditch the robes, avoid reusing the same protective spells, and fabricate a new artifact to conceal her mana signature. It would be expensive, but a light price to pay in the end. She cackled quietly, caressing the dimensionally expanded ring on her pinky. Yes, well worth the price.

 Chapter 32

    Miranda stepped slowly into the laboratory, hands folded meekly over her chest. She was slightly surprised to find Orion already there, finely chopping a bundle of herbs with a silvered knife. She always tried to be very early whenever he planned to meet her, knowing how much he valued punctuality. It was better to be very early than risk annoying him by coming a few moments after the appointed time.


    He looked over when she quietly closed the door behind her, nodding a silent greeting before turning back to his work. He deftly weighed and added a few pinches of purplish moss to each of the eight bubbling vials he was working on, making the liquids inside bubble and spit. He nodded slowly, jotted something down in his ever present notebook, and returned to his chopping.


    Miranda silently made her way over to one of the chairs in the corner, trying not to look at the clearly pre prepared examination table standing on the other side of the room. She took a deep breath and began to organize her things, neatly laying out the folders and other notes she¡¯d brought with her on the small table. She spent several minutes fidgeting with the papers, carefully adjusting them until each stack was perfectly straight and equidistant from the others.


    Every few moments, she glanced back over at Orion, but he seemed content to ignore her for now, focused as he was on his brewing. She was slightly surprised to see Orion making potions of all things, she¡¯d taken Introductory Brewing alongside him but hadn¡¯t gotten the impression that he was interested in the practice. He¡¯d been decent at it, as he seemed to be at most things, but hadn¡¯t had the same spark that he exhibited in some of the other classes they¡¯d shared.


    A few minutes later, just before the time he had ordered her to be here at, he turned off the alchemical burner and carefully transferred the vials into a cooling rack. Without turning to look at her he called out, ¡°Give me a few more minutes Miranda, just want to get cleaned up.¡±


    ¡°Of course sir.¡± She bit her lip and watched silently as he stowed away his remaining ingredients and used a spell to scour the work surface and his hands. At the same time, he used some form of telekinetic magic to put away the other equipment, opening cabinets and floating delicate instruments into their places without looking.


    She wasn¡¯t sure if he was doing it on purpose, but it was a stark reminder of the difference between the two of them. She knew for a fact she couldn¡¯t match that little show of skill, and likely wouldn¡¯t be able to any time in the near future. Maybe if she learned some specialized spells for it, but she had a strong feeling this was simply pure mana manipulation at work. Even if her own skill with it increased dramatically, she had no idea how he was doing it without looking.


    She looked away again, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her dress. It felt odd wearing something so relatively modest, the skirt reached down all the way to her knees and the opaque red fabric covered her almost completely from the neck down. Still, after their decidedly odd meeting on Friday, she¡¯d wanted to see how, if, he would react to something like that.


    She still wasn¡¯t sure what to think of that entire experience. His simple command to ¡®come along¡¯ had nearly caused her to freeze up, her body moving while her mind silently panicked. The ensuing conversation had been like riding a wild griffin, leaving her almost unable to understand what he was staying.


    She still somewhat regretted leaving the way she had; if she had played her cards right, then maybe¡­ No, it had been the right choice. Who knew what he would have said or done or made her do if she had stayed there any longer. She had to keep telling herself that.


    Eventually, he stowed the rapidly cooled vials in a padded case and turned to look at her. He looked¡­ stressed, it was immediately obvious from the set of his shoulders and the tightness in his jaw. It had been a while since she¡¯d seen him like this, and like all unfamiliar things, it scared her. She was slightly reassured by his words the week before, but then again, he¡¯d never said he wouldn¡¯t do it again. Simply that it hadn¡¯t been meant as a punishment. He¡¯d never said he wasn¡¯t going to do worse.


    ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. You were earlier than I expected.¡± Another jolt of fear, she hated it ¨C¡®Sorry about this. It¡¯s nothing personal.¡¯ Her throat tore as she screamed and screamed and screamed into her gag. The cold steel slid effortlessly through warm flesh, removing another layer of skin¨C when he apologized.


    He sat down across from her, raising an eyebrow at the meticulously arranged documents. ¡°This looks very nice. I hope the material itself is as thorough as the presentation?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir, I think so.¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond, simply leaning back in his chair and gesturing at the papers.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Sorry sir.¡±


    She cleared her throat and sat up straighter in her seat. She needed to show him she could still be useful for something like this, for something other than her flesh and organs. She took a deep breath, then began her report. ¡°As you requested last week, I¡¯ve compiled a report on all three of the students. I have their class schedules, daily routines, with what people and where they spend their time, and other details I felt could be important.¡±


    She gestured to the three folders in question, each labeled with the girl¡¯s name. ¡°Beyond that, I¡¯ve also found what I could about their families and other connections. None of them have particularly close ties to any major powers, but I suspect that Verdan may be a distant relative of Eldest Ice-On-Blue-Leaves. Still, I don¡¯t get the sense that they are particularly close, likely a several-times great-granddaughter.¡±


    Orion nodded slowly, but made no move to interrupt her, so she continued, ¡°Cayla is similarly a distant relative of the main family. She is the fourth daughter of one Clarion Spellblade¡¯s son. From what I understand, he is the one paying for her to attend, but she has never actually met her benefactor. Even if they are close, Clarion is not a graduate, nor particularly well connected, so he should have no direct reach inside the academy. He received the Spellblade name a few decades ago after a successful kraken hunt where he distinguished himself.¡±


    She looked up, hoping to see some sign of approval or annoyance in Orion¡¯s face, but he simply continued to sit blank-faced as he listened to her presentation. She took a deep breath and pointed to one of the notebooks. ¡°Briella is the best connected of the group, but that''s not saying much. She¡¯s the second child of Lord Ongallo, but she has both an older and younger brother who will likely inherit the family name before her. Even the cousin I mentioned last week is more likely to inherit than she is, the Ongallos are traditionally a very patriarchal house.


    Still, she clearly has access to a not inconsiderable amount of resources. She spends a lot of time on alchemy, particularly on potions meant for body modification. That sort of thing is very expensive to experiment with, but she doesn¡¯t have any problems paying for it.¡±


    She paused for a moment, digging out a specific page from Briella¡¯s folder. ¡°If you want to do something to her soon, there is actually a very convenient moment for it coming up. She¡¯s gotten permission to miss two weeks of classes starting next Friday for an unspecified experiment in one of the isolation rooms. If you can catch her just before she goes in, no one will know anything is wrong for a while. Cayla is also coming with her, though I¡¯m not sure if Verdan is as well. The elf is much more secretive, so I¡¯ve had some difficulties looking into her.¡±


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ very nice to know. You¡¯ve done well Miranda.¡± She almost gasped in relief at those words, quietly letting out a breath she hadn¡¯t realized she was holding. He leaned over to grab one of the folders, quickly flipping through the neatly organized schedules, notes, and pages of observations and hypotheses. ¡°Yes, this looks very good.¡±


    She sat silently as he went through each pile page by page, only moving to answer an occasional question. Her eyes were glued to his face, watching for any tiny hint of irritation or joy. His vocal approval of her work was all well and good, but the padded table she could just barely make out in the corner of her eye loomed over her thoughts like a specter.


    Eventually, he set the last notebook down on top of the stack of papers that had formed between them and leaned forward to look at her, resting his chin on his folded hands. ¡°This is exactly what I was looking for. You¡¯ve done a great job.¡± Despite herself, she smiled slightly in satisfaction, even as her nails bit into her palms. There was a ¡®but¡¯ coming, she just knew it.


    ¡°Still, I¡¯m not quite done with you yet.¡± Of course, there it was. Memories from the previous week flashed through her mind, writhing against tightly fitted manacles as he loomed over her. ¡°I just have a few things I want to try, nothing nearly as invasive as last week. I don¡¯t even think the restraints will be necessary today, I don¡¯t expect any writhing around.¡±


    Oh. That didn¡¯t sound too bad. He reached out to the side, summoning a single vial filled with a nearly transparent pink liquid from his bag. He pushed his seat away from the table and beckoned her over. ¡°Come here.¡± She did not resist as he carefully positioned her body, pushing her down onto the floor with her head between his knees. It was a somewhat intimate position, but the cold, clinical look in his eyes crushed any shreds of arousal she might have felt.


    He handed her the vial, then carefully positioned his hands. One went towards her face, thumb on her forehead and palm resting on top of her head. The other rested lightly over her heart, one of his feet pressing roughly against her back until she thrust her chest out.


    ¡°Drink.¡±


    She gave the potion a nervous look, remembering the many lessons she¡¯d had about not imbibing unknown alchemical creations. The potion gleamed slightly under the harsh white light that lit the workroom, almost glowing as it sloshed around in the clear container. Orion shifted forward slightly and she hastily removed the stopper, the liquid inside sloshing in her shaking hand.


    The alchemical treated cork came out easily and she slowly raised the small vial to her mouth. Her first whiff of the liquid nearly made her drop the vial, knees buckling as a wave of pain and arousal washed through her body. She suddenly had a good idea what was in the vial. It was that same thing Orion had poured down her throat during their meeting the week before.


    She took a deep breath and then threw it back like a shot. It burned against the inside of her mouth and throat, a feverish heat of distilled pleasure intense enough that it hurt. Her entire body shuddered again and she would have collapsed if not for Orion¡¯s hands and knees holding her upright.


    She tried to control the sudden torrent of energy that flooded into her body, but it was just too much. It wasn¡¯t the same as it had been the last time. It was still the same power and feeling but so much more intense. She tried to direct the energy the way she¡¯d learned growing up, pushing it towards her soul and body in an effort to burn off excess energy. It worked, but it was simply too slow, barely making a dent in the veritable ocean roiling under the surface of her skin.


    She was cold and hot, tired and bursting with energy, her nerves screamed in pain and pleasure all at once. She felt Orion¡¯s mana reaching through her skin, probing at her insides and only adding to the burning heat that seemed ready to cook her from the insides. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she blacked out. The last thing she heard was Orion¡¯s quiet mumbling. ¡°Perhaps I increased the concentration too much this time¡­¡±


    Kol Niran Kan, Third Magelord of Port Anangala frowned as he took in the destruction. He floated silently in the air, weightless body swaying slightly in the stiff breeze blowing off the ocean. Far below, he could see relief and salvaging efforts proceeding as expected, hundreds of ant-sized specs moving in a controlled chaos across the flooded docks.


    The damage was better than he¡¯d feared, but much worse than he¡¯d hoped. Casualties had been surprisingly minimal, but the Port¡¯s infrastructure had been dealt a terrible blow. All but one set of docks had been swept away by the roiling waves and most of the cranes and other unloading equipment had been similarly destroyed.


    Of the homes and businesses that had lined the bustling coastline, only a handful remained. Thankfully, the records center had survived the attack mostly intact, the powerful wards protecting the building shielding it and the crucial papers it contained from the crashing waters. Still, it was a small mercy.


    He smiled ruefully. Small mercy indeed. He¡¯d been inside the building when the attack began, and had only caught the tail end of the battle. Several of his colleagues had not been so lucky. The seventh and eleventh Magelords had both been caught off guard by the first attack as they dined. The Seventh had survived, but had been seriously injured by flying debris. The Eleventh had taken a bread-knife to the eye, killing her instantly.


    She would need to be replaced in the coming days, along with the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth, who had perished driving the dragon away. It was a terrible blow to the city, even worse in many ways than the estimated two-hundred-thousand civilian casualties. Civilians could be replaced, a few years of lifted fertility limits would rapidly grow the population back up. It took much longer to replace trained, loyal archmages.


    They would need to make a show of power soon, lest other city states try to take advantage of the weakened city. It would be a stressful few decades, but as long as no other disasters struck, they would recover.


    He turned slowly, looking at the distant square where the Avalon portal had stood until just a few hours earlier. He had mixed feelings about their sudden departure, nearly two weeks ahead of the scheduled date. On one hand, it was one less thing to worry about. It freed up the dozens of mages and government workers who kept the portal under constant observation and the added manpower was sorely needed.


    On the other hand, it was another sign of weakness that Anangala¡¯s neighbors would certainly take note of. Hosting the Academy¡¯s portal was a prestigious position that had brought millions of pieces in trade into the city. Between travelers coming to meet with members of Avalon, the unique magical reagents that Avalon produced and sold, and the individual dealings that students and alumni engaged in, the city had profited greatly over the last few weeks.


    Still, he couldn¡¯t say he was too sad to see the portal go. He¡¯d noticed its mages using the chaos as an opportunity too loot, even if they had stayed within the bounds of what was reasonable. He burned at letting them steal his people and whatever random treasures they had stumbled across. He almost wished they had gone too far, taken someone important enough that he could kick up a fuss, but they knew better than that.


    He had also noticed the stark lack of assistance from the Academy¡¯s mages. Had just a handful of Avalonian archmages come to the city¡¯s defense, they could have saved tens of thousands of lives. Instead, those that had been in the city retreated back to the portal at speed and not a single member had tried to engage the dragon.


    He knew it wasn¡¯t something that was required of them by the contract they had signed with the city, but it would have been nice. Nice. Hah. Avalon¡¯s mages were certainly not nice. He¡¯d spoken with several over the last few months and that had been a very simple conclusion to come to. Whatever else the rumors said, one thing was for certain. Whatever they did in that ¡®school¡¯, it did not make for nice graduates.


    With a tired sigh, he began to drift downwards towards the shoreline, his short rest over. As he went, he began to weave a new spell, preparing to reinforce another section of the cliff face. He could think about the greater consequences of this later. For now, he had a city to save, lest everything be consumed by the hungry sea far before their neighbors had a chance to strike.

 Chapter 33

    Pacing slowly around my room, I tried to hide my nerves as I meticulously triple checked every inch of the intricate ritual circle. I¡¯d cleared out a large section of my room, moving all of the furniture and other obstructions to one side to leave a large clear area. The space was further encased in a powerful isolation ward that would hopefully prevent any outside influences from impacting the magic. It wasn¡¯t exactly a dedicated ritual room, but it should do in a pinch.


    A naked Rea knelt at the center of the circle, several symbols drawn in an alchemically treated mixture of our bloods precisely positioned on her hands, feet, forehead, and across her back. For the first time in over a week, she was mostly unrestrained, though the manacles themselves remained tightly clasped around her wrists and ankles. Despite her lack of bindings, she sat nearly motionless inside a small circle, only the trembling of her hands and the slow rising of her chest giving away that she was anything but a statue.


    I took a deep breath and stepped through the ward, carefully placing my feet to avoid smudging any of the runes. It had taken most of the previous day to prepare them and the ¡®ink¡¯ required time to set. Screwing them up now would put me back a painful amount of painstaking effort.


    Rea perked up at the sound of my quiet footfalls, eyes rising from the floor to stare fearfully as I slowly moved towards her. I nodded approvingly and her body relaxed slightly, a tiny trace of tension vanishing from her shoulders. I¡¯d laid out very clearly what I would do to her if she disobeyed me now. My next command had been to stay in her spot without moving, something she¡¯d done a commendable job at for the last several hours.


    I felt slightly bad about it, I imagined it had not been at all pleasant to kneel on cold, hard stone for most of the morning, but I wasn¡¯t taking any chances with this. I would have preferred to wait another week or two, to give her more time to understand her new reality, but Miranda¡¯s report had made me accelerate my plans.


    I wanted to snatch Briella and her companions at the end of the week to give me the most time possible to break them in before someone noticed. That meant I needed to prepare their bindings, plan how I would capture them, and practice the magic I planned to use on them. Thus, I had to move forward with Rea¡¯s binding as soon as possible. Not only would it give me much needed experience with this sort of ritual casting, but a magically bound servant would be very useful in the coming days.


    To that end, I had decided to cast the binding ritual on Rea today. It was Saturday, which meant that as long as everything went well, I would have most of a week to prepare. Over the last few days, I¡¯d dedicated most of my free time to practicing the casting components and modifying the ritual sections of the binding I¡¯d chosen to use on my new pet. I was rather confident the magic would work, that wasn¡¯t even a question. My concern was that Rea was insufficiently worn down and would be unable to swear a binding oath. If her conviction to obey was insufficiently ¡®honest¡¯, the spell would fail no matter how well I executed the ritual.


    In order to maximize my chances, I¡¯d given the poor girl something of an ultimatum. If she swore the oath truly, obeyed my every order and fully cooperated with my casting, I would ensure she had a comfortable life as my slave. If she tried to act up¡­


    I stopped directly in front of the girl, looking down on her with hard eyes and an expressionless mask. ¡°I see you are at least marginally capable of obeying orders today. I¡¯m glad to see it.¡±


    I crouched down beside her, moving slowly to ensure my bare feet did not brush the edges of the arcane symbols. I reached out with one hand, cupping her chin and raising her head to meet my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to get started soon. Do you remember what I told you?¡±


    She nodded quickly, then froze again. Her skin felt hot and clammy, sweat beading on her forehead despite the chill of the air. I could almost taste the fear wafting off her, a palpable energy that just barely brushed against my magic.


    ¡°Very good dear. Would you like to remind me what I¡¯m going to do if you decide to be a bad girl?¡±


    She nodded shakily, then opened her mouth and whispered, ¡°You- you said you would- peel off my skin like an apple. Rub salt and acid on my b-bare flesh. Burn my limbs and tear out my teeth one by-¡± she whimpered loudly, trying to both stay still and shy away from the hand resting on her face.


    I nodded slowly, ¡°Very good dear. I think we would both prefer it if I didn¡¯t have to do that, hmm?¡± More whimpering was my only response, but that was good enough. Fear of torture wasn¡¯t quite good enough with more powerful bindings, but for something like this, it should be sufficient. As long as she truly believed I would go through with it and that she was desperate enough to do anything to avoid the punishment, the oaths would take root.


    I took no pleasure from her fear, but it was necessary. I¡¯d heard of people who took gratification from the suffering they caused, but that wasn¡¯t me. Sure I¡¯d enjoyed being a little rough with Mistletoe, but that was different. Just thinking about doing some of the things I¡¯d threatened Rea with made me slightly uncomfortable.


    Still, if she forced the issue, I would go through with it. I didn¡¯t want to get into a habit of not following through on my promises. That sort of thing had consequences, tiny shifts in your soul that could build up over months and years and weaken certain forms of magic. I was willing to go through some personal discomfort to help enforce Rea¡¯s terror.


    I gently patted her cheek, then stood up. ¡°We¡¯ll be getting started in just a moment. Do you remember your part?¡±


    ¡°Ye- yes sir. This one remembers.¡±


    Right. I turned away from the girl and took a deep breath to settle my nerves. I could do this. Just like I¡¯d practiced¡­


    I stepped into the other smaller circle and briskly undressed, careful to not damage any of the symbols drawn on my own skin. I was wearing only a light linen robe to ward off the chill, the thin material well suited to not scuffing runes drawn under it.


    Balling up the fabric, I tossed it roughly in the direction of my bed. It didn¡¯t make it, but that was fine. I would have to wash it later anyway and it had gone far enough to land outside the ritual area. Still, that would be another thing to account for next time. I would have to remember to disrobe before entering the circle, lest a poor throw screw something up at the last moment.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    I took another deep breath, scanning over the ritual circle one last time before I began. Everything looked just as it should. A large circle drawn in Rea¡¯s blood and alchemically infused ink enclosed most of the open space. The circle was split into five even sections, each section containing twenty-five carefully drawn runes. At the center of the circle were two more circles, separated from each other by just a few feet. Both were clear of runes, with Rea kneeling in one and me standing in the other.


    It was a somewhat standard design, more complicated then the three by three by three design I¡¯d used back in the day for Miranda¡¯s binding, but not nearly as intricate as some of the rituals I¡¯d seen in the grimoire. I¡¯d made some minor modifications to the circle, adapting it slightly for my specific goals and target, but I hadn¡¯t changed anything particularly important. Professor Williams had always stressed the importance of personalizing rituals, but still admitted it was often fine to mostly work off of predesigned spells like this one.


    Exhaling, I let my mana expand out from my body, rapidly flooding the entire enclosed ritual circle with my presence. The magic in the runes reacted to my mana, starting to glow with a dark red inner light.


    I stretched out my arms, carefully directing the diffuse energy to follow the loops and whorls I¡¯d drawn out across the floor. I marveled slightly at how¡­ easy it felt. I remembered this part being agonizingly difficult, my puny reserves struggling to encompass the much smaller ritual circle as I painstakingly traced out the symbols I¡¯d drawn with my mana. Now? It was almost trivial.


    Two years ago, it had taken me half an hour to charge a twenty-seven rune ritual. I¡¯d had to go one at a time, touching each symbol to individually charge it with my mana. I¡¯d been wiped out afterwards, barely able to stand for several hours and unable to use any magic for two entire days.


    Today, I charged the entire circle in a matter of minutes, mana sweeping outwards to fill each symbol until they all shone brightly in the dim light of my room. I left the runes on Rea¡¯s skin for last and the girl winced in pain as I flooded them with mana. Since it was my own mana powering them, I could barely feel the runes on my own skin, but I¡¯d heard it was much less pleasant for other people. Judging from her expression, it was even worse than I¡¯d expected, but for my purposes, that was actually a bonus.


    With the circle fully charged, I began to weave my mana into the spell construct that would direct the ritual¡¯s power. A corner of my mind was sufficient to control the power in the runes while I focused the majority of my attention on carefully forming the fourth circle spell matrix.


    Finally, I felt the spell snap into place, and began the final portion of the spell. ¡°Oh captive of mine. You kneel before me in appeal, seeking an end to suffering.¡± My voice echoed strangely through the air, lines of mana twisting as they reacted to my words. The lines felt somewhat strange on my tongue, but I¡¯d avoided messing too much with them. The ritual I was using was Gulivine in origin and used the nation¡¯s overly formal grammar for the oath. I¡¯d slightly adapted the words, but had kept the tone. That sort of thing could be surprisingly important to the performance of a ritual, and I wasn¡¯t confident enough in my skills to modify them too much.


    Rea responded just as I¡¯d taught her, voice trembling but clear, ¡°Oh just master, this petitioner begs for relief. Oh just master, free this worthless soul from torment.¡±


    ¡°This lord hears and judges. Through service, you may find salvation.¡± The air in the circle trembled and the lights dimmed. The symbols on the ground shifted and writhed like live snakes, tendrils of my mana swirling through the air like schools of fish.


    ¡°This worthless sinner is blessed by your judgment. Its mind is yours to command, its body yours to use, its soul yours to serve.¡±


    ¡°Oh slave of mine, I hear and accept. Your will serves mine, your heart serves mine, your spirit serves mine. Rise and find a new world of meaning.¡±


    Mana surged through the air, converging on Rea and piercing through her body as it wrapped tightly around her spirit. I felt the link snap into place a moment later as she weakly pushed herself to her feet.


    I let my shoulders sag as I gasped for air. It wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as it had been the last time, but that had still taken a lot out of me. I would have to prepare better next time. The binding I planned to use on Briella was a seven section ritual, which meant nearly three times as many symbols to charge and maintain. I would have to commission a few potions of focus from the academy, otherwise I doubted I would be able to maintain so many separate mana constructs all at once.


    I¡¯d never used one before, but I¡¯d heard that their effect was rather miraculous for some things. They were based on one of the most useful and well known eighth circle spells of all time, ¡®Boundless Focus¡¯. It allowed the caster to split their attention in a way that was a strict improvement from the simple techniques I¡¯d been taught in my first year to do so.


    It would be costly, but after my recent windfall I wasn¡¯t as worried about that as before. At the start of the year, I had received twenty one Avalon points at the start of the semester, putting me to twenty seven when combined with the six I still had from the past two years. I expected the potion to cost me anywhere from one to five points, depending on the potency, but that was manageable since I could not afford to purchase some materials from outside the Academy.


    Avalon points were the internal currency that students and alumni used to purchase valuable materials, aid, and items from the Academy. At the start of each year, ten-thousand points were distributed evenly across each grade at the academy. Since there were just under five hundred people left in my year, I received twenty one points. I knew I could also get more by selling my own products and services, but it was typically recommended that lower year students not bother with such things. There were hundreds of alumni with far more experience and insight always eager to earn points themselves.


    Still, that was something to think about later. For now, I would focus on my newly bound slave. I stepped forward, gently placing a hand on her shoulder to steady her. ¡°Well done,¡± I said in my most calming tone, ¡°I¡¯m very pleased with your performance.¡±


    Stretching out a hand behind me, I summoned a warm blanket I¡¯d left folded on my chair, the isolation ward having collapsed with the ritual¡¯s completion. I wrapped the heavy fabric around her shoulders and guided her across the room towards a small cot I¡¯d set up in advance.


    ¡°You¡¯re probably exhausted after all those hours on the floor. Feel free to relax for the rest of the night, stretch your legs and get some sleep. I¡¯ll outline your new duties in the morning.¡±


    She nodded mutely, sinking onto the thin mattress I¡¯d gotten for her and wrapping her arms around her chest. I patted her lightly on the head and left her to her own business. With the soul bond in place, she couldn¡¯t even think about trying to hurt me, so it was perfectly safe to leave her unbound from now on.


    I would remove her collar in the morning, though the manacles would stay. I liked the visual effect and I expected I would still need to occasionally punish her. Miranda had shown that even with magical slave oaths, it was sometimes important to¡­ discipline your servants.


    As I began to move my furniture back into place, I gave a meaningful look at the hooks still embedded in one wall. I¡¯d rather enjoyed how she looked hanging up on those. Perhaps she could serve as a decoration sometimes. If nothing else, seeing something like that might be good for breaking my next target¡¯s spirit. I would have to enchant them to make sure she didn¡¯t asphyxiate, or something else of that nature, but it was an intriguing idea.

 Chapter 34

    The next morning, I woke up to find a rather strange sight waiting for me beside my bed. Rea knelt by the head of my bed, a shallow basin of water held over her head and a small towel draped over her shoulder. I recognized both objects, the basin was from my bathroom, where I used it to hold my no longer needed shaving supplies, while the towel had clearly come from my linens chest.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked blearily, shading my eyes against the rapidly brightening light of my room¡¯s magic lamps.


    Rea shifted slightly, raising her head while keeping the basin perfectly balanced over her head. ¡°This slave greets its Master. This slave hopes he has had a restful night.¡±


    I blinked rapidly, then let my head fall back down to my pillow and sighed. It was way too early to deal with whatever this was. I knew I was the one that had set my lights to wake me up at this ungodly hour of morning, but after an exhausting day like that one, I sometimes wished I could sleep in just a little longer.


    Rea seemed to take my sigh as a sign of displeasure and out of the corner of my eye I could see my newest servant shrink in on herself. ¡°Has this worthless one displeased Master? This slave does not know master¡¯s Morning routines, so it simply emulated what it has seen it¡¯s previous employer request.¡±


    I considered her words for a long moment, my half asleep brain struggling to connect the dots. Her old employer? The basin? The towel? I reached up to rub the sleep from my eyes and then it came to me.


    I sat up, dipping my hands in the cook water and using it and the towel to clean my face and wash away the last traces of drowsiness from my mind. Though it wasn¡¯t particularly necessary in Avalon¡¯s climate controlled dormitories, I could see how something like this would be very helpful in Port Anangala¡¯s hot, humid climate.


    Once I was done, she deftly lowered the basin and took the small towel I¡¯d used, not spilling a single drop of water as she switched to holding it one handed by her side. ¡°Does Master require anything else? This one does not know much about Master''s home but it has been trained in many services Master may require.¡±


    I met her words with silence, staring back at the earnest look in her eyes as she knelt by the side of my bed. This was not what I¡¯d expected to happen this morning and I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about it. I¡¯d gathered from the few short conversations I¡¯d had with Rea that she¡¯d been some sort of servant before I¡¯d taken her, so some parts of this made sense. Clearly she had some knowledge of how a servant should behave.


    Similarly, I knew that the binding would compel her to serve me in whatever way she knew how. It had originally been designed for use on criminals with valuable skills, so the binding had been intended to make sure they were motivated to do their best work in service of the government. I just¡­ hadn¡¯t really considered how those two things would interact.


    Seeing my silence as some sort of request, Rea began to list off various things she could do. I mostly tuned her out as she started off with rather mundane tasks. She knew how to sweep, clean up dust, change sheets, and a plethora of other skills. Instead, I sat deep in thought about the implications of how various bindings might interact with my future target¡¯s.


    ¡°...of both men and women, if Master requires it¨C¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± I interrupted her, not quite sure she¡¯d said what I thought she had.


    Rea blushed slightly, the purple skin of her cheeks gaining a violet hue. ¡°This one is still inexperienced, but it has been trained in the use of its mouth for the pleasure of its Master. It has studied techniques for use on both men and women if Master has need of such talents.¡±


    That was¡­ interesting. I was suddenly rather more curious about what exactly her position had been before this. Perhaps the term ¡®servant¡¯ meant something rather different to her than it did among my own people. Then again, I hadn¡¯t exactly been a noble before coming to Avalon. Perhaps that was something expected from as well and I¡¯d just never heard anything about it.


    Rea shifted slightly, lowering the basin so she could thrust out her chest while letting her hair drape forward over her face. I raised a hand to stop her, ¡°That will not be necessary. Perhaps another time.¡± I wasn¡¯t going to fuck my brand new servent right off the bat. I planned to use her for much more than my own simple pleasure and it would be bad form to start our new relationship on that note.


    She didn¡¯t seem particularly affected by my refusal, simply shifting back into her earlier kneeling position. ¡°Of course Master. Is there any other way this slave can assist you?¡±


    ¡°Not at the moment.¡± Rea nodded, but didn¡¯t otherwise move. I ignored it for now, simply climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom. When I returned, I found Rea kneeling by the bathroom door. My bed was made and one of my everyday outfits ¨Ca button-down shirt, pants, and a durable over-coat with plenty of pockets¨C was neatly laid out for me.


    She certainly worked quickly. Scanning the room, I found that her own cot was fully put away as I¡¯d half expected. The sheets were stripped and folded and the small bed had been neatly slid into the same place I¡¯d been storing it while she was kept in her cage. I was somewhat impressed, I hadn¡¯t really expected her to know where it goes, but it seemed she¡¯d memorized the layout of my room during the few times I let her move around and stretch.


    I stepped past her with a brisk nod of acknowledgement and watched out of the corner of my eye as she slipped in through the still open door. By the time I was fully dressed, she¡¯d also finished, returning to her kneeling position by my bed with no towel or basin in sight. I rather appreciated the quiet efficiency, her bare feet made barely any sound as she stepped lightly across the smooth stone, letting her move around without bothering me.


    I took a seat at my desk and called out, ¡°Come here,¡± indicating the spot on the floor beside me with my hand. It seemed that she didn¡¯t think she should walk while I was looking, because she instead scrambled over on her hands and knees.


    ¡°So,¡± I began slowly once she was kneeling beside me, ¡°We should establish some rules and expectations before I get going. Per Avalon policy, you¡¯re mostly confined to my room except for special occasions. I understand the bond should have given you an intuitive understanding of what I want, but it should mostly draw on your own memories of how those things should be achieved. I understand you were some sort of servant before this?¡±


    ¡°Yes Master. This slave¡¯s family was employed by Good-Merchant Nalonn Nak. This slave primarily worked in the house¡¯s kitchens, but it was trained to fill a variety of roles as needed. The Good-Merchant could not afford very many servants, so this slave spent its years in many different positions.¡±


    I nodded slowly. That was about what I¡¯d expected, though the way she¡¯d said it was rather interesting. The few times I¡¯d spoken with her in the past, she¡¯d referred to herself as ¡®this Naklana¡¯, or she had until I¡¯d started calling her Rea out loud. She¡¯d also used feminine pronouns to refer to herself.


    I hadn¡¯t seen anything about such a change in the ritual¡¯s descriptions, so I assumed it was an interaction between the ritual¡¯s effects and how the girl¡¯s culture perceived slaves. I¡¯d looked into it a few days ago, Kan¡¯s odd comments about slaves having piqued my interest despite the events of the following hours.


    It seemed that in the port city and the surrounding city states, slavery was treated as a rather different institution from how it was back home. Slaves were primarily property of the state, though some nobles maintained their own trained worforces. They were not allowed to reproduce, speak, or practice any sort of magic or craft. Instead, they spent their short lives toiling away in the vast fields that fed the massive city. Once they died, their souls were bound to their decaying bodies and forced to work until those too finally gave out.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I didn¡¯t plan anything nearly so brutal for my new pet, and her binding should have vaguely informed her of my intentions. However, it seemed her background had leached into her self-perception anyway, or maybe she just thought that was the way she should refer to herself from now on.


    ¡°Excellent, then you should hopefully not require any additional training. You will be responsible for keeping my room clean, doing any needed laundry, and some other basic chores that I do not care to bother with. Do not touch anything on my desk, any of the equipment connected to the elf over there, or the red-wood cabinet by my table. Maybe in the future I will trust you to take care of those things as well, but for now, hands off. So far so good?¡±


    ¡°This slave understands.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, I imagine none of that should take particularly long. When you aren¡¯t working, you are free to amuse yourself however you would like. I expect you to maintain a passible level of fitness, so make sure to stretch and exercise every day. You are free to peruse any of the books on those shelves or in those chests. Be careful with them, but they¡¯re all available to you. Do not touch any books or papers on my desk or any other books I don¡¯t explicitly say you can use.¡±


    ¡°This slave understands. This slave will ensure it remains presentable.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think that''s just about everything for right now. I expect we will be having some more¡­ ¡®guests¡¯ in a few days. I¡¯ll explain what I want you to do about that when it comes up. Right, I¡¯m going to go fetch myself some breakfast. You¡¯ve done a good job so far, I¡¯ll bring you something more pleasant than that muck I¡¯ve been feeding you.¡±


    I stood up, then stopped as I remembered what else I¡¯d planned to do. ¡°Ah, I almost forgot.¡± Reaching down, I carefully slid my finger across the polished surface of Rea¡¯s collar, tracing out an intricate pattern across the metal surface with my mana. After several moments, something shifted and the metal sprang appart, the collar splitting into two pieces as the magic holding it together fell dormant.


    ¡°In regards to magic practice, I can tell you are a first circle mage, is that correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes Master. This slave was once capable of several first circle spells, but it wouldn¡¯t dream to practice magic now. This slave is not worthy.¡±


    I clicked my tongue, having somewhat expected that response. I didn¡¯t approve of the city¡¯s ban on slaves studying magic, it was a waste of a valuable resource, even if it did make keeping them under control more difficult. Magic capable servants could work harder for longer and with less food and water. Even an elementary circulation could nearly double the productivity of a mundane human.


    ¡°I expect just the opposite in fact. It is shameful that a grown young woman like you isn¡¯t even capable of second circle spells. You will spend at least two hours each day practicing pure mana exercises, you can find several guides among my books. Do not attempt any magic you are not proficient with, nor anything that could damage your surroundings. Additionally, you are forbidden to use any structured spells without my express permission. I will periodically assess your progress and will punish you if you are not progressing adequately.¡±


    Rea seemed rather shocked by my outburst, but meekly bowed her head and acknowledged the order. I was honestly rather curious how she would progress. It didn¡¯t seem that the girl had any particular affinity for magic, her mana concentration was below average and I couldn¡¯t sense any strong affinities in her soul. Still, if she applied herself and actually spent those two hours each day, preferably much more than that, practicing, I expected she would eventually be a valuable servant.


    I didn¡¯t expect she would ever progress past the fourth circle, but then again, very few people ever did. I knew I was somewhat biased since any Avalon student had to be capable of at least that much to survive, but I knew outside the Academy the percentage of mages capable of such magic was shockingly low.


    If she did manage to do so, it would be well worth the investment needed to cast a new binding spell on her, one that would continue working on someone of that strength. The one I¡¯d used was rather powerful and versatile, but it had been designed for craftsmen, not mages or magical creatures. It would degrade rapidly if used on anyone with the mana capacity to cast fifth circle spells.


    If nothing else, it would be an interesting data point for my own research. I¡¯d found my own pure mana practice incredibly helpful in all aspects of my spellcraft, but many others didn¡¯t seem particularly interested in the subject. I would have my new pet practice exclusively pure mana exercises for a few months and see how far she managed to progress with no access to structured spells.


    ¡°Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes master. This slave hears and obeys.¡±


    ¡°Then get to it.¡±


    Grabbing my bag from the floor, I dropped the two halves of the collar into the inner pocket I¡¯d added just for such a purpose and slung the bag over my shoulder. It was earlier than I typically grabbed breakfast, but I had a lot to do in the coming days. It was too soon to really tell, but for now it seemed my ritual had been a full success. I had high hopes for my next attempt.


    Leana Sweetglass stared glumly down at her sketchbook, nails digging into the soft wood coating of her charcoal pencil. It was dark in the empty classroom, but a single line of light shone through a crack in the curtains, falling across the rough sketch of a smiling boy.


    It was an old picture, the rest of the sketchbook¡¯s pages long filled with other drawings. Compared to many of her more recent works, it was amateurishly done. The lines were rough, the shading uneven. It was the work of a talented child with little practical experience or formal education.


    Despite that, Leana valued this small sketch more than any of the large canvases that filled her small studio. She gently ran a finger across the thick parchment, a preservation spell ensuring her touch did not smudge the precious memory. The boy knelt on the ground by the side of a small creek. His hands were buried in the soft fur of his family¡¯s boarhound, face captured in a moment of laughter as the dog pressed its large head against his chest.


    Though it had been nearly a decade since she¡¯d last seen his face, her heart still clenched and a single tear dripped down her cheek as she remembered her old friend. It had been nine years now, nine years today since it had happened. Nine years since she¡¯d lost her sister, her mother, and her best friend in a single night.


    The door behind her slammed open loudly, the bright light of the hallway illuminating the billowing cloud of dust the violent opening had whipped up off the floor. ¡°Lea! There you are! Have you been shut up here all day?¡± Her cheerful voice echoed loudly in the open room, heeled shoes clicking across the hardwood floor as she hurried over towards her.


    Leana snapped the sketchbook closed and slowly turned to glare at her friend. ¡°Hello Adonia,¡± she said slowly, ¡°Maybe it wasn¡¯t obvious from me hiding in a classroom no one has touched since before I was born, but I don¡¯t want to talk to you right now.¡±


    She turned away from the door, folding her arms over her chest as Adonia dragged out the chair beside her and sat down. Leana half expected her friend to start babbling like she always tended to do, but it seemed that Adonia had some amount of tact. The older girl placed a hand comfortingly on Leana¡¯s arm, thankfully silent for once.


    They sat that way for several long minutes, Leana staring unseeingly into the distance with her sketchbook clutched against her chest. Eventually, Adonia broke the silence. ¡°I missed you in class today. Professor Lightkeeper assigned groups for the research project, we¡¯ll be working together again!¡±


    Leana did not respond, simply shifting slightly in her seat. After a short pause, Adonia continued onward. ¡°He did a spell demonstration at the end of class. ¡®Hope¡¯s Light¡¯, he called it, a third circle spell! It was amazing, he summoned this big ball of light that made me feel healthier just looking at it. He made a big cut on his palm and it just¡­ disappeared in like thirty seconds! He said that if we keep practicing, he¡¯ll try to teach us a third circle spell by the end of the year! Isn¡¯t that amazing? Just imagine, third circle!¡±


    Despite herself, Leana found herself smiling slightly at her friend''s exuberance. Adonia¡¯s constant joy was contagious, making it difficult to remain miserable when she was around.


    ¡°See, that wasn¡¯t so hard!¡± The older girl exclaimed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, but you don¡¯t have to deal with it alone. I¡¯m here for you, whatever you need. If you ever want to talk about it or just a shoulder to cry on¡­¡± She trailed off as Leana turned to look at her, bloodshot eyes still brimming with tears.


    Without a moment of hesitation, she scooted her chair over and leaned in, pulling the crying girl into a tight hug. Leana buried her face in her friend¡¯s, shoulders heaving silently. Adonia patted her gently on the back, whispering quiet reassurances in her ears. ¡°You¡¯re ok, it''s going to be ok.¡±


    Leana did not know how long they sat that way, but by the end of it she felt¡­ hollow, but not in a bad way. It was like a lead weight had been shifted out of place, the absence still painfully felt but better than it had been before. ¡°Thanks,¡± she whispered quietly. ¡°Thank you for finding me.¡±


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s what friends do.¡±

 Chapter 35

    The rest of the week passed quickly, far too quickly for my liking. I spent all my time working, barely pausing to rest between crafting projects, preparations, and the everpresent classwork that just kept piling on each day.


    I was incredibly thankful that the ritual with Rea had gone well. Not only had it removed the surprisingly tedious work of caring for the girl out of my day, but her presence freed up far more time than I would have expected. I¡¯d never really thought about it, but those tiny things I just had to do to take care of myself took up a shocking amount of time each week. Now that I had someone else to handle those chores, it made everything else much simpler.


    It definitely helped that the girl herself had turned out to be surprisingly weak willed, her mind easily altered by the power of the binding. Several diagnostic spells I¡¯d cast told me that it had taken barely a few hours for the binding¡¯s compulsions to take hold. By the end of the weekend, she was even more subservient and happily catering to my every whim.


    The book had said that such a process could take upwards of several months, but that assumed the target was not only much older but also far more experienced. It was designed to turn master craftsmen into loyal workers. Compared to that, the mind of a serving girl with no worldly experience and a decade of training to act subservient and follow orders was nothing.


    It was rather terrifying to see the power of binding oaths. It was one thing to read about what they were capable of, and entirely different to experience it first hand. The binding I¡¯d used on Miranda had been pathetically weak, barely able to enforce any mental changes on my classmate. Only the fact that she was technically a ¡®magical creature¡¯ and the weeks of torture I¡¯d put her through had allowed the mangled ritual to take hold at all, and it was limited to enforcing direct commands.


    Despite my research, I had expected something similar from my second attempt. I¡¯d thought Rea would be more¡­ resilient, fighting the effects and struggling against my control. I¡¯d fully expected that I would have to routinely punish the girl, but that hadn¡¯t happened at all. In fact, it had been just the opposite. The new Rea had dived wholeheartedly into her new role.


    Rea loved her new work, she lived to serve and obey. Even when I told her she could have some free time, she would actively choose to kneel by my feet, basking in silence even as I ignored her. The first time I¡¯d decided to use her back as a footrest, she hadn¡¯t been able to stop smiling for the rest of the evening.


    At first I¡¯d doubted that her new behavior was, well, ¡®real¡¯. I¡¯d half suspected it was some sort of clever act, a means to lull me into complacence so she could slit my throat while I was unaware. I¡¯d spent some time questioning her, the oaths ensuring I could tell that she was telling the truth. Only after that had I finally accepted the truth of her words, and then my own fears had started to set in.


    That sort of mental change¡­ it was terrifying. In the span of a week, I had transformed this girl, Naklana, she said her name had been Naklana, into a mockery of who she had once been. She still had the same skills, the same knowledge, the same memories, but it was unquestionable that she was a different person now.


    Naklana would have been outraged if her former master had ordered her to serve as a footrest. She might have been a servant, but she was still her own woman with her own rights and beliefs. She obeyed orders and took care of her master¡¯s home, but she was paid a salary and could technically leave at any time if she found a higher paying position.


    Rea? Rea lived for the opportunity to obey. No order was too degrading, no task too unpleasant. I fully expected that if asked, she would cheerfully clean my toilet bowl with her tongue, then thank me for the honor. I didn¡¯t plan to make her do something like that, it sounded rather disgusting and unsanitary, but she would do it with a smile on her face if I ordered her too.


    Despite the time pressure I was under, my fears did eventually get the best of me and I took a short break from my actual work to look into them. Unfortunately, there was no easy solution to prevent all mental and soul based bindings from affecting a person. There were wards and defenses, but nothing particularly useful. It seemed the old adage I¡¯d learned even as a first year really was all there was to it.


    It was simply a matter of strengthening your will and your magic in order to fight off any such attacks. According to popular convention, it was almost impossible to put a mage over the seventh circle under that sort of mind-altering binding without them doing it to themselves. As with so many of my problems, it seemed the only solution was power. Power enough that none would dare even try it, and those that did would break against my strength.


    And then, it was Friday, and I had to make a decision. I was not as ready as I would have liked to be. If I had it my way, I wouldn¡¯t have moved until I could absolutely guarantee success, but I was starting to learn that sometimes I had to do things under less than ideal circumstances. Things didn¡¯t always fall into place exactly as I wanted them too, but I had to work past it and make the best of the situation I was in, not the situation I wished for.


    If I had learned about the group¡¯s plans a few weeks earlier, I probably would have decided against it. Even if I¡¯d succeeded, I wouldn¡¯t have really known how to take advantage of my success. Now, with Elpha¡¯s book in my hands and still high off my success with Rea? That changed things.


    A small part of me still thought I was moving too quickly, discarding too much of the caution that had informed my actions for the last two years. It was a risk, but I decided it would be worth the reward. I might have some money now, more resources than I¡¯d ever seen in my life, but money wasn¡¯t everything. I needed information and I needed help. I¡¯d seen the value of Miranda¡¯s research and Rea¡¯s labor, and I wanted more.


    Stepping out of Lectures in Mana Theory, I wished Liam a good weekend and made my choice. It was go-time. For better or worse, I was doing this. I wasn¡¯t afraid. These were second years, talented second years, but still students a year my junior. Perhaps on my own, I wouldn¡¯t have felt completely confident, but I didn¡¯t plan to do this alone. Miranda had helped plan things out, and she would help execute the plan as well. Furthermore, I didn¡¯t plan for this to be much of a fight. It would be an ambush, overwhelming power crushing them before they had a chance to respond.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The only one of the three I was at all concerned about was the elf, Verdan. Elves were tricky buggers and were annoyingly resistant to most magic. Fortunately, I¡¯d had time to test a large number of spell variants on my little Mistletoe, leaving me far more confident in facing the other elf than I had been when I ambushed Mistletoe.


    Even if I was unable to capture her, she would not escape. None of them would. If I couldn¡¯t have them, I couldn¡¯t risk them getting away and planning revenge. One way or another, the trio would be dealt with by the end of the night. A weight lifted off my shoulders as I made my decision. Now that I knew what I would do, it was simply a matter of executing it. Time waited for no one, not even the gods. Indication would only let opportunities slip away. I was Hunter. I had never been one to let my prey escape.


    Briella Ongallo, second child of Duke Brin Ongallo, great-granddaughter of her namesake Archmage Aiella Ongallo, fixed her features into a sweet smile even as she seethed internally. The source of her frustrations trailed after her, unaware that Briella had contemplated strangling him a half dozen times since they¡¯d met up earlier that day.


    This was supposed to be her big break. She¡¯d finally acquired the materials for an experimental self-enhancement potion, painstakingly purchased and located over the course of a year and a half. The recipe had been a gift from her great-grandmother¡¯s personal grimoire on the day she¡¯d been accepted into Avalon, and she had been dreaming of this moment ever since.


    And now? It was all ruined and it was his fault. She knew she shouldn¡¯t blame her half-brother, Cellin was just doing as their father told him too. He was always just doing what father told him too. Still, father was back home, living it up on the family estate, and it was much easier to rage against the injustice right in front of her face.


    She wished she could just¡­ ignore father¡¯s demands. It was her potion, her materials, her work that had gone into this. What right did he have to demand that she share the fruits of her labor with her idiot half-brother? Unfortunately, bonds of blood were not so easily broken. Father was the head of the house and thus commanded their family magic. It wasn¡¯t on the level of a soul-bound oath, but he could still compel her to obey, even if he couldn¡¯t make her happy to do it.


    At least he wasn¡¯t making her share with one of her true-born brothers. Cellin was a dick, but he wasn¡¯t part of the direct family, so he had even less hope of inheriting then she did. If father had tried to make her strengthen one of them¡­ well, it was a good thing that hadn¡¯t happened. Those two sexist pigs were living on borrowed time. The day she was strong enough to resist the family magic, those two were going to die. She refused to be sidelined, to be passed over as heir for those talentless hacks just because they were born with balls and she wasn¡¯t.


    She listened with half an ear as Cayla prattled on about some inane topic or another. The girl was a good and loyal friend, someone she¡¯d known for years even before coming to Avalon, but she just couldn¡¯t care less about what she was saying today. She was just¡­ so angry. With only half a dose for herself, the potion¡¯s effects wouldn¡¯t be nearly as pronounced as they should be. It would still be a qualitative improvement, awakening a portion of the dormant fire-affinity in her blood, but it wouldn¡¯t grant her the innate knowledge of FIRE that she wanted.


    On her other side, she could see Verdan watching her face pensively. The elf could likely see through her false smile, she¡¯d always been a rather perspective woman, but she wouldn¡¯t say anything. That was something Briella appreciated about her other friend. Verdan was quiet and contemplative, so very different from Cayla but in a good way.


    Though she¡¯d only known the elf for just over a year, she had decided to trust her new friend with this. Taking the potion would knock her out for at least a week, possibly longer, and Verdan knew enough medical magic to watch over her as the potion did its work. If nothing else, Cayla would also be there. She could trust Cayla to have her back, no matter what happened.


    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Verdan miss a step, eyes widening slightly as her head turned to look over her shoulder. The elf¡¯s limbs blurred suddenly, hands flying to the sheathed knives that hung at the hips of her low-slung leather pants. Briella began to turn as well, suddenly aware that she hadn¡¯t been paying attention to her surroundings, distracted as she was by her anger and the confidence of traveling in a large group.


    She never had a chance. ¡®Sleep¡¯ a melodious voice commanded, the word rippling through the air and brushing against the corners of her mind. She tried to resist the command, throwing her magic against the subtle spell as it wormed its way into her head. With an effort of will, she shattered the spellwork, the minor changes she¡¯d made to her mind and body over the years allowing her to push through the powerful compulsion.


    Her companions weren¡¯t so lucky. Cellin was on the floor, slumped bonelessly against the wall. Cayla had done slightly better, managing to resist the compulsion just long enough to react, but it had been ultimately futile. She too was on the floor, a look of surprised confusion on her face and a protective talisman lying useless a few inches from her hand.


    Briella finished her turn just in time to see Verdan¡¯s knives deflect off of a spinning shield of force. She could not make out her attacker, their features hidden behind a shroud of illusion magic that rendered them almost invisible. Gritting her teeth, she dropped her bag and launched a weak bolt of fire at the attacker. Despite the lingering drowsiness, she managed to hit them, but the attack was deflected uselessly off the barrier around them.


    She began to shape another spell, a third circle fireball that she could only just manage due to her already impressive fire affinity. Long weeks of practice paid off as the spell matrix formed rapidly before her outstretched hand. She could execute the spell in just under ten seconds, faster than many casters three times her age. Whoever her attacker might be, they couldn¡¯t be more than a third year. Whatever defense they were using, a fireball would be more than enough to deal with it.


    Cold steel closed tightly around her neck, and she felt the connection to her magic snap. The spell matrix collapsed in an instant, backlash slamming into her suppressed soul and sweeping through her body. She screamed, the unexpected pain enough to bring her to her knees and drive the air from her lungs.


    At the end of the hallway, she could barely make out Verdan frantically dodging as oddly shaped projectiles whizzed through the air around her. A cloud of off-white powder floated through the air, clinging to the elf¡¯s skin wherever she passed through it. Eventually, she misstepped, foot landing awkwardly on a patch of transmuted oil. Two projectiles shot forward and slammed together around her bicep. She stumbled again, and the next set closed around the elf¡¯s neck. This time, when the same voice whispered in her ears once again, she did not resist. Sleep washed over her like a warm blanket and she welcomed the relief.

 Chapter 36

    It was honestly rather bizarre just how¡­ alike most elves looked. Sure it seemed reasonable that they would have fewer genetic variations then shorter lived, elves could live for thousands of years and often went centuries before reproducing. Still, considering the many millennia that elven history stretched across, I would have expected some sort of differences. If humans on different sides of the world had entirely different facial features and differently colored skin, it would make sense for elves to look at least somewhat different.


    And yet, looking between my two future cows, it was almost difficult to tell which was which. The two elves were bound side by side with matching restraints, eyes covered with identically enchanted blindfolds and gagged with nearly indistinguishable gags that I¡¯d barely had to customize for eerily identical mouths. If I hadn¡¯t known better, I would have thought they were sisters, not strangers born on opposite sides of the world.


    On closer inspection, there were a few minor differences. Some were hidden by their restraints, though both had blue eyes Verdan¡¯s had a slight green tinge around the edges while Mistletoe¡¯s were a deeper, nearly crystalline shade. Others were slightly more obvious, Mistletoe was the curvier of the two, her breasts and thighs slightly plumper than Verdan¡¯s more toned figure. Other than that though? They could have been simulacrums or clones and I wouldn¡¯t have known the difference.


    I smiled faintly as I slowly walked around the pair, inspecting my work and enjoying the view. Elves looked much better like this, I decided. Without the haughty airs and constant expressions of superiority, it was possible to appreciate the aesthetic appeal in peace. It was just a shame it was Verdan and not a certain other arrogant bitch in the second year¡¯s place. Perhaps someday, I would have a chance to take that monster off the streets, but she would not be nearly as easy a target as this one had been.


    My eyes drifted lower and I knelt down to inspect the contraptions carefully positioned over the two elves¡¯ breasts. While I¡¯d been getting Verdan settled, I¡¯d taken the opportunity to attach the milking apparatuses as well. The potion I needed wasn¡¯t quite ready yet, I¡¯d only acquired the last of the needed materials earlier in the week and it would take another two days to brew, but there was no reason not to have everything ready when the time came.


    The enchanted mechanism was rather simple. A small glass cup was carefully positioned and secured over each nipple, fully encompassing the areola and secured in place with the same sort of flesh glue I¡¯d used on Rea. Each cup was connected to a tube via a small valve, leading back to a large storage tank I¡¯d crafted that would keep the precious milk from spoiling. Around the base of each cup and positioned in bands around the length of the tube were circles of runes designed to generate a moderately powerful suction for half an hour at a time in three hour increments. I was somewhat skeptical about the timing, I wasn¡¯t an expert but I remembered that the Herder¡¯s only milked their flock twice a day, but it was what Professor Igor had specified in his notes so I would go off of that.


    After confirming that the glue had set properly on each cup, I stood up and gestured for Rea to come over. The girl rushed over immediately and I gave her some brief instructions for how to take care of my new captive (avoid messing with the feeding and milking tubes, check if Verdan starts dripping at some point, dust her back every other day just like with Mistletoe, and a few other minor things).


    With that taken care of, I turned to study my other captives. I¡¯d taken a much more serious approach to keeping the two of them secure than I had with Rea. Both were still asleep, kept unconscious via a powerful sleeping spell that I renewed every half hour. I¡¯d taken the opportunity to truss them up properly, taking even stricter measures than I had with Miranda back in the day.


    I¡¯d also gone ahead and prepared them for long term imprisonment before waking them up. Both were silenced with thick, rubbery gags that I¡¯d fit specifically for them, mouths stretched painfully wide and throats forced open for the feeding tube passing through a small space between their teeth. I¡¯d also added two more tubes down their nostrils, narrow lengths of a flexible yet rigid glass-like substance that would ensure their airways would stay open despite the large gag putting pressure on their airways. Finally, I¡¯d also inserted the same sort of waste disposal items as I¡¯d used on Rea, though these had several additional enchantments that I¡¯d added to help break the two in.


    I¡¯d taken some inspiration from manual torture methods used in my home nation before the rise of effective pain spells and truth detection magics. The kings of old, particularly the short lived Bloodsilver dynasty, had been fond of several methods involving the application of caustic alchemical solutions to the victim''s genitalia and other sensitive locations. This had been a rather destructive method at the time, but in the modern day alchemists had access to recipes such as the elixir of cold fire, a potion known to elect a sensation much like that of being burned alive, but without any of the hard to heal consequences such an action would normally bring.


    It would be interesting to see how effective such a method would be here. If nothing else, it would be much cleaner than the sort of torture I¡¯d employed agaisnt my poor little Miranda. Flaying someone was all well and good, but the blood got everywhere and it was impossible to avoid making a mess.


    At the moment, the two were bound, kneeling in side-by-side cages, each just barely large enough to fit them with no room to move around. Their arms were pulled together behind their backs, a series of leather bands forcing their elbows together and ensuring their fingers were unable to so much as twitch. Their legs were similarly bound, then I¡¯d run a wide band between their knees and around behind their backs, forcing them into an uncomfortable crouch with knees digging into the bottoms of their breasts.


    It was somewhat overkill, and I fully expected I would end up removing most or all of it over the next two weeks as I slowly ground away at their wills. As long as the collars stayed on, I was fully confident in my abilities to keep them suppressed, even if they somehow escaped the rest of their restraints. As Miranda had told me, I¡¯d noticed that Briella had some minor physical enhancements caused by potions, but it was nothing particularly impressive. She was no elf, not yet at least.


    I swallowed heavily as I remembered the frantic fight I¡¯d engaged in just a few hours before. Verdan had been fast, horrifyingly, blindingly fast. If I hadn¡¯t had a dozen contingencies and traps prepared for her ahead of time, I wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance. Each stab and slash of those enchanted knives had drained massive portions of mana from my shield. If not for the multitude of enchanted items attacking her while I hunkered down behind my shield, I would have been dead a dozen times over.


    Still, I was mostly satisfied with how the ambush had gone. There had been a few unexpected elements, particularly the presence of Briella¡¯s first year cousin walking with the group. Thankfully, he¡¯d fallen asleep immediately when hit by Miranda¡¯s siren-empowered sleep spell. Since he had just been in the way of a pre prepared ambush and we had taken pains to avoid dealing him any permanent injuries, we hopefully hadn¡¯t broken any academy rules. Still, it had been a stressful few minutes and I¡¯d had to abandon several of my more destructive contingency plans so as not to risk hurting him.


    It was very unfortunate that we¡¯d had to leave a living witness of what had happened. He wouldn¡¯t have seen much, but just knowing that the three students had been ambushed by someone who had left him alive was already far more than I was comfortable with anyone knowing. Hopefully a thoroughly soul-bound Briella would be able to convince him that everything was fine. I would have her claim to have escaped from some other student or something similar.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Honestly, I had nearly called the entire thing off when I¡¯d seen him walking with the group. Unfortunately, I hadn¡¯t been able to signal Miranda to call the attack off in time, since he had only joined the group a few short minutes before we attacked. It would greatly decrease the long-term value of my new slaves, since people would have much more reason to suspect that something had happened to them, but hopefully things would work out anyway. After all, people at Avalon got ambushed and disappeared all the time, right? Sure they didn¡¯t reappear very often, but it wasn¡¯t unheard of.


    I sighed. I hated when things didn¡¯t go as planned. Ever since¡­ Well, it didn¡¯t matter. Suffice it to say I didn¡¯t like things progressing in ways I wasn¡¯t prepared for. I had hoped to keep the trio¡¯s disappearance a secret, torturing them into compliance over the two weeks they were in ¡®secluded research¡¯ and then let them back into the world with, hopefully, no one the wiser. Now that was going to be impossible. At least one person knew that someone had disappeared them and I had no doubts that the first year would spread the information around as much as he could.


    The knowledge that someone had killed or kidnapped three second years but only stunned the first year with them obviously pointed to the perpetrator being a third year. That still left several hundred possible students, but I would have to be very careful about associating with them in public once I let them go.


    I sighed again, slumping down onto my bed. Rea crawled up beside me, inclining her head so that her long hair hung down just beside my leg. I smiled faintly and patted her on the head, electing a pleased hum out of the purple-skinned girl. I missed having a pet. My family had once had a dog, a massive, shaggy creature that had dwarfed my own slight frame at the time. Ever since I¡¯d been on my own, I hadn¡¯t really had the opportunity to take care of an animal. There was never enough money, time, or space to go around. Rea? Well, she wasn¡¯t exactly a pet, but I knew she loved me with the unconditional love a dog had for its family. It wasn¡¯t a natural affection, but that didn¡¯t matter. It felt¡­ nice. Warm.


    ¡°Now, I want everyone to be very careful here. I know you are all capable mages, but it is still always dangerous to cast new spells, even ones of a lower circle than you are capable of.¡± The instructor''s words were met with nods and a chorus of understanding. Though everyone in the class was capable of second circle magic, their reportuars were highly limited and the backlash from a miscast first-circle spell could still put them into the medical ward for days if they weren¡¯t careful.


    ¡°Very well then. I hope that everyone has prepared adequately for today¡¯s lesson. From our discussion, it seems you all understand the theoretical aspects of the spell quite well, but casting it is an entirely different kettle of fish. I will be calling you up here one at a time to attempt the spell. I am here to watch over your attempts, but that is no excuse to not be careful.¡± He paused, slowly scanning the two rows of seats and meeting each student¡¯s eyes one at a time. ¡°Well, no time to waste. Miss Warbringer, I think we will start with you.¡±


    Daphne slipped out of her seat, hurriedly hiding the book she¡¯d been reading in her lap in the small compartment under her desk. It was somewhat annoying, she was just getting to the good part, but at least she could get this out of the way quickly. Piet Spellsteward typically let his students leave once they¡¯d demonstrated they could cast the spell he was teaching.


    She briskly walked up to the front of the classroom, her long skirt fluttering around her legs, and stepped into the specially warded area they used for spell practice. The marked off circle had an impressive set of protective spells built into it, including powerful enchantments that helped reduce the effect of spell backlash. Students were technically forbidden from experimenting with magic outside of such warded and demarcated areas, not that she cared about such things.


    The teacher set his papers down on his desk and stepped over to stand just outside the circle¡¯s boundary. ¡°Now, feel free to go as slowly as you need. Shape the mana the way I have taught you, carefully now¡­¡±


    Without waiting for whatever else the old mage was going to say, Daphne raised her hand palm up in front of her chest and pushed her magic into the necessary configuration. A section of the Direction spell form, along with several tiny slivers of other forms, shaped themselves in the air before rapidly collapsing into a small arrow pointing towards the board. The silvery illusion hovered a few inches above her palm for several seconds before Daphne pulled her hand away, dispelling the magic.


    Turning back to look at her teacher, Daphne found him looking back at her disapprovingly. ¡°A reckless attempt, but a successful one. In the future, I expect you to be more careful with such things. You may be inside the protective ward, but magic is no joke young lady. It can and will kill you if you are not careful. Still,¡± he inclined his head slightly, ¡°that was a very well cast spell. The illusion component felt very stable and the arrow was pointed directly at true-north. Full marks, miss Warbringer. In the future however, I expect you to follow my instructions and not attempt any spellasting before I say you are ready.¡±


    ¡°Thank you sir. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Turning away from him, she rolled her eyes as she gathered her things and left the classroom. Behind her, she could hear the teacher slowly coaching one of the useless chits she shared a class with through the elementary spellwork. It wasn¡¯t like it was a hard spell or anything!


    She grit her teeth in annoyance as she began the long trek down to the grounds. Who did that ass think he was, telling her what to do. ¡®Don¡¯t attempt any spellasting before he said she was ready¡¯ her ass. How was she ever going to progress if she followed the school''s painfully slow curriculum. Five years she¡¯d been here now, and they were only just  starting to discuss maybe learning about third circle spells. It was infuriating!


    Well, hopefully a long walk through the park would help stem the frustration. She didn¡¯t have any more classes today and the weather mages said this would be one of the last warm days of the fall. Descending down the stairs, she nearly ran into a pair of girls laughing together as they looked out one of the wide windows towards the courtyard. She knew the pair of course, they had become something of a sensation when they¡¯d begun publicly courting just a few weeks earlier. That sort of thing was just not done, it was¡­ unnatural, but Adonia¡¯s father was a big deal in the nation¡¯s military so no one had raised a fuss.


    She felt a twinge of pain at how happy the duo looked. No matter their odd preferences, it was clear they really did love each other. She envied it, the freedom to be with the person they loved, to share each other¡¯s warmth and brighten each other¡¯s days. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t in the cards for her, not anymore.


    She¡¯d had something like they did once. Then her stupid older sister had gone and gotten herself killed chasing glory, and suddenly it was her job to pick up the slack. Her sister¡¯s betrothed had suddenly become her betrothed, and she¡¯d had to break it off with the boy she¡¯d thought she would grow old with. Everything had changed since her sister died. Father suddenly paid her much more attention. She had a dozen new tutors and a million new duties to attend to.


    Once, maybe she would have enjoyed it. She¡¯d always been jealous of the attention her parents gave to her older sister. Now? She sometimes wished she could go back to the old days. Just¡­ living her life with no duties, no fears of upholding the family Name.


    She pushed past the smiling pair, ignoring the blonde¡¯s grunt of pain and the nasty look the other skank shot her. It was their own fault for being in the way, if they didn¡¯t want to get walked through they shouldn¡¯t have blocked off the entire stairwell.


    She¡¯d never asked for this, for any of this. Some days, it just felt like one big cosmic joke. Life could be cruel that way. She continued past the pair, wiping away the lone tear that had begun to drip down her nose. Oh Adara, why did you have to go?

 Chapter 37

    ¡°Hey guys. Sorry I¡¯m late.¡± Hanging my bag off the back of the chair, I took a seat at the last open spot at the small table.


    Alan looked up from his work, ¡°Oh, hey Orion. Wasn¡¯t sure if you were going to make it this week. We¡¯ve missed you the last few times.¡±


    ¡°Things have been¡­ busy. Some personal research has been taking up a bunch of my time and between that and classes¡­¡±


    Alan waved me off, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it happens to everyone. I wasn¡¯t here last week either and Camille missed the week before that. We¡¯re third-years now and I hear classes only get more intense from now on. Still, it¡¯s good to see us all here this week.¡± He nudged his brother, who was intently studying a diagram in the book before him, with his elbow. ¡°Ey chucklehead, Orion¡¯s here.¡±


    Ulan jerked up at the sudden contact, ¡°Hm, what? Oh! Hey Orion! Cam just stepped out for a second to grab some reference books, she should be back in just a minute. What¡¯ve you been up to these days? Don¡¯t think we¡¯ve seen you a single time outside of class this month.¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing too exciting. Like I was telling Alan, I¡¯ve just been really busy.¡± He seemed to accept that, which was good because I had no plans to elaborate. I wasn¡¯t a very good liar so it was better to avoid explaining anything in the first place.


    I busied myself digging out my notebooks and some references I¡¯d brought with me. Ulan and Alan returned to staring at the book between them, occasionally jabbing at sections of the diagram as they silently ¡®discussed¡¯ the material.


    It was always odd to watch the two communicate. They had some sort of mental link, I knew, though it was somewhat limited. As their magic improved, they¡¯d gotten much better at using that link to communicate. Last year, they¡¯d been limited to emotions and brief flashes of memories. Now, I knew they could pass thoughts back and forth along the link, though they hadn¡¯t exactly told me how extensive that was. That wasn¡¯t the sort of secret Avalon students would share lightly.


    It was a fascinating ability. Mind to mind links were high level magic, typically only possible with the use of sixth circle or higher spells. Even then, that sort of thing was terribly limited. I¡¯d heard that extremely powerful mages could even push past the natural interference of the soul in order to read the minds of their lessers, but I had no idea how that would even work. There was a high level elective on the subject, but it was only available to sixth and seventh year students. Maybe I would give it a look then, but for now that sort of thing was still far out of my reach.


    It was a shame. It would be convenient to know what Mistletoe and now Verdan were thinking, but I didn¡¯t dare remove their gags. They were both decades my senior with who knew what sort of knowledge and information locked up inside their minds. Unfortunately, that also meant they might be capable of some rather unpleasant spellcasting if I gave them the ability to speak. Mistletoe¡¯s demon summoning attempt had nearly killed me and she¡¯d only been able to barely move her arms to manage that. Though I¡¯d never seen one, I¡¯d heard that there were some spells that could be cast purely with somatic components. It was too much of a risk for now.


    Camille came back just as I was done getting settled, carrying a stack of books tall enough that it nearly blocked her line of sight. ¡°I got all the ones you mentioned, and then a few more that looked interesting. There was a treatise by Archmage Elpho Aric tucked away behind some of the textbooks that looks really interesting!¡± Setting the books down with a loud thud, she finally seemed to notice me. ¡°Orion! You came! I didn¡¯t think you would show up this week, it''s been ages!¡±


    Taking her seat, she pushed the books and papers between us to the side and leaned forward. ¡°How have you been? You¡¯ve looked so busy these last few weeks, always running around and holed up in one of the practice rooms or the library. I walked past you a few times in here but you didn¡¯t seem to notice me.¡±


    She seemed oddly upset about my behavior which felt strange, but I wrote it off as Camille being her usual overly-positive self. ¡°Could have been worse. I¡¯ve just been very busy, some personal projects have been burning through all my free time and on top of that, I spent a few weeks tutoring a student in one of my other classes.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Do tell, that doesn¡¯t sound much like you. Someone I know?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? Janna de¡¯Floris, I think you guys are from the same region maybe? She got me some alchemical ingredients I needed for my experiments and I just helped her out with some mana shaping. Like a dozen half hour lessons or so, across a few weeks.¡±


    For a moment, Camille¡¯s face twisted into a look of annoyed anger. Then it vanished, replaced by her typically faint smile. Camille started to ask me another question, but was interrupted by Ulan shoving an open book in front of her.


    ¡°If you guys want to catch up, we can grab dinner later or something. For now, I have another two hours of study time blocked out and I don¡¯t want to spend it listening to you two. Cam, did you get the array book I asked for?¡±


    Blushing, Camille slipped a thick, yellowing book out from the stack beside her and passed it to Ulan. ¡°Yeah, here it is. I got the other two volumes too in case it¡¯s not in this one.¡±


    ¡°Good thinking. I¡¯ll let you know. Oh!¡± He leaned to the side, reaching into the bag beside him and pulling out a thick stack of papers. Dropping them on the table, he slid them over in my direction. ¡°Here¡¯s the notes from our last few meetings. I¡¯ve been holding onto them for you.¡±


    Picking up the stack, I leafed through the pages of diagrams and carefully jotted explanations in the boy¡¯s neat, square lettering. ¡°Thanks, I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°Happy to help. You¡¯ve gotten me out of a jam a few times last semester, it¡¯s the least I can do.¡±


    We spent the next two hours in pleasant silence, occasionally asking each other questions about the material but mostly focusing on our own work. It was¡­ nice. I didn¡¯t often work with other people, even before coming to Avalon I had preferred to do my own thing most of the time, but I¡¯d never had any issues with this group. We covered each other¡¯s bases well and none of us felt the need to fill the silence with pointless chatter.


    Towards the end, as we were all getting ready to go, Camille called me over. ¡°Oh, Orion, I wanted to let you know. I know you don¡¯t really pay much attention to what¡¯s going on, but I wanted to warn you about some recent events that you should probably know about.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Oh? I hadn¡¯t heard anything, but then again, Camille was right to say that I didn¡¯t pay much attention to the social climate of the school. Miranda kept me mostly up to date with everything, but Camille had definitely given me some helpful hints in the past. It had been her advice that had helped me capture Mistletoe actually, so maybe this would be something helpful as well?


    ¡°Some second year girls got ambushed a few days ago. There was a first year with them, one of their cousins I think, and he wasn¡¯t hurt at all but the other ones were either killed or kidnapped. I¡¯ve heard it was probably a third year student who did it, a powerful first year wouldn''t have left their classmate alive and I don''t know any second years who could have taken that sort of group on, so it must have been one of our classmates.¡±


    Oh. Oh¡­ That was¡­ Awkward. ¡°Do you know who it was?¡± I asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it anyway.


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t heard anything about that. There are a few names flying around, but nothing definitive. You should be careful, I know you usually wander around on your own, but if this monster is willing to attack a bunch of second year girls, they won¡¯t think anything of ambushing a lone third year in the hallways.¡±


    I nodded, hoping the bubbling laughter in the back of my mind wasn¡¯t visible on my face.


    ¡°No, Orion, you don¡¯t understand! Whoever did it, they¡¯re dangerous! The girls had an elf with them, and I¡¯ve heard the other two weren¡¯t pushovers either. Promise me you¡¯ll be careful!¡±


    Raising a hand, I tried to calm the increasingly frantic girl down. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful Cam, I promise. You¡¯re overreacting, Avalon¡¯s always been a dangerous place and I¡¯ve done well enough so far.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± she said, deflating slightly, ¡°but I worry about you sometimes. I try to stick with Alan and Ulan, or some of the other girls when I¡¯m going between other classes, but you never go along with anyone! You don¡¯t even let us walk you back to your room after classes. I¡­ I know how dangerous it is for students like us. We don¡¯t have backers and reputations to protect us, so we have to be twice as careful as everyone else, but you¡¯re too proud to let other people help you.¡±


    I was honestly somewhat touched by the exclamation, though I couldn¡¯t really tell how heartfelt it actually was. Camille had always worn her heart on her sleeve, but she was a third year at Avalon now, so I couldn¡¯t imagine she really was as vulnerable as she made herself out to be. Still, if she wanted to do it like this, I could play along.


    Reaching out, I gently put my hand on top of hers. ¡°Thanks Cam, it means a lot that you care. I promise, I¡¯ll be more careful. Let me know if you hear anything else about these rumors, it''s always good to be forewarned.¡±


    Camille smiled brightly, ¡°That¡¯s all I ask. Take care of yourself Orion.¡±


    On the other side of the campus, a small stone-walled room echoed loudly with agonized screams. Cayla and Briella hung limply facing one another, arms pulled up cruelly behind their backs and fastened with chains to hooks set into the ceiling. Their legs were similarly fastened to hooks in the floor, toes just barely able to brush the floor, offering a tantalizing relief to the pain in their shoulders. For the first time in several days, their blindfolds had been removed and the silencing enchantments in their gags disabled. Orion had decided it might be effective to let each girl see what was happening to the other.


    Between the two dangling figures stood Rea, a bright smile on her face as she looked back and forth between the captives. Despite her slight figure and cheery disposition, both shied away from her gaze and flinched back whenever she moved towards them. After all, in Orion¡¯s absence, it fell to Rea to pick up the slack.


    Briella shrieked into her gag, arms and legs thrashing as best they could as Rea pressed the tip of the iron rod she was holding into the pale flesh of Briella¡¯s thigh. Red-hot metal, heated to a cherry glow with an alchemical burner, sizzled against delicate skin, the odor of burnt hair and charred meat filling the air. No matter how Briella thrashed, there was no escape. The short chains were far too strong for her, holding her in place with barely any slack. Her movements only made things worse, shifting the tip of the iron against unburnt skin.


    After a few more moments, Rea pulled the poker away, setting it back into the flame to reheat. Whistling a jaunty tune, her fingers trailed across the table of tools until they settled on a leather crop that she¡¯d found tucked away in one of the chests of miscellaneous junk under Orion¡¯s bed. She gave the crop a few gentle swings, then spun around and struck Cayla on one of the burn marks scattered across her olive-skinned breasts.


    Cayla squealed into her gag, loud whimpers turning into muffled screams as Rea continued to rain blows down across her body. Though she was unable to hit half as hard as Master could, she made up for it with enthusiasm and careful aim at all of the dangling girl¡¯s most sensitive areas.


    After a few more strikes, Rea set the crop back on the table and took up the poker once more. It was by far her favorite of the tools Master had shown her how to use. It was a surprisingly versatile implement that could cause great pain without too much effort on her part. Her only complaint was that she had to be very careful when using it; any damage she could cause with a crop or whip or even the skinning knives Master had given her was not particularly hard to heal. On the other hand, broken bones and serious burns, while painful, took Master much longer to deal with. Her Purpose was to assist and support Master, not create more work for him.


    Screams turned to shrieks once more as Rea dispassionately jabbed the flattened tip of the poker between Cayla¡¯s legs. After holding it for just a few moments, she pulled it away and turned to face a wide-eyed Briella. The dangling student futilely tried to scramble away, but chains and a lack of leverage ensured she had nowhere to run when Rea delicately repeated the same action on her.


    Sniffing slightly, Rea wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant scent in the air. That was unfortunate. She only had another half hour before Master was slated to return, and it would be unseemly to have him return to a stinking room. Hopefully, it would be enough time for the air circulation enchantments to deal with the smell, but she would have to turn to other forms of persuasion for the rest of her time.


    She sadly set the poker aside and turned off the flame, biting her lip as she wondered what to try next. She had no formal training in how to torture someone, so she improvised while working around the strict rules Master had left her. It helped that spells on her future slave-sister¡¯s bonds ensured they couldn¡¯t pass out from the pain. Else, she would have had to be much more careful.


    Her fingers landed on the hilt of one of the small, flexible knives on the table and her eyes lit up. What had Master said on the best day of this slave¡¯s new life? It was hard to remember details from before he remade her, like thinking past a thick fog, but that day was still clear in her mind. ¡®Peel off her skin like an apple¡¯, she remembered it clearly. That had potential. If it was good enough for Master, it was more then good enough for his lowly slave.


    Nimble fingers wrapped around the knife¡¯s handle. She hadn¡¯t peeled many apples in her life, the fruit was a rare sight in her home nation even if she had seen them before, but she thought she understood the goal. She¡¯d done a lot of peeling and chopping under Senior Cook. How different could this possibly be? Just in case, she would start somewhere unimportant. Master would be disappointed if she messed up and damaged his property.


    After laying out a few towels and a weak healing potion (just in case something went wrong), she crouched down beside Cayla and took a firm grip of the struggling girl¡¯s toned calf. She carefully positioned the knife just above the metal shackle around her ankle and took a deep breath. Nice and steady, don¡¯t cut too deep or you¡¯ll ruin the produce. Just like Senior Cook had trained her. She would make Master proud.

 Chapter 38

    ¡°Hi Orion!¡± I forcibly shaped my face into a smile as Brenda half-tackled me, nearly knocking me out of my chair in her enthusiasm as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. Setting my pen down on the table, I shifted in my seat and did my best to look happy. Brenda bought it, or at least I think she did. Without a care in the world, she plopped down in my lap, one arm still wrapped around me and head resting against my shoulder.


    Glancing around, I could see several students looking with interest at what was happening. It was rare to see such public ¡®displays of affection¡¯ at Avalon. Few people were willing to advertise what people they were closest with. I had expected, hoped, that Brenda would be the same, but clearly I¡¯d been mistaken. I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised. Even just in class, she did her best to hang off of me at all times. Now, the first time I¡¯d actively invited her to study with me? Was it any surprise to see her acting like this?


    Seeing that Brenda wasn¡¯t going anywhere anytime soon, I tried to return the gesture. I half heartedly wrapped my left arm around her waist, pulling her slightly more tightly against my chest. From the way she reacted, blushing brightly and grinding into my lap, I imagined she liked what I was doing.


    Despite my concerns, things honestly went better than I had expected. Sitting on my lap seemed to calm some of the girl¡¯s more obnoxious tendencies and we spent a relatively productive hour working through our homework. It was somewhat awkward, our positions making it somewhat difficult to write at the same time, but it was manageable.


    Brenda¡­well, she was actually kind of better at this stuff than I had expected. She asked insightful questions, remembered what our professor had taught us in class, and didn¡¯t make any of the trivial mistakes that seemed to plague her the last few times we¡¯d ended up ¡®working together¡¯ in the library.


    We got through everything in just under two hours, only a little longer than it would have taken me to do it without her presence. During the entire session, Brenda only got distracted two times, and in both cases went back to focusing on her work within just a few minutes. By the end of it, the fake smile I¡¯d been holding had been replaced by something much more genuine


    The only issue was, it seemed that Brenda was ¡®enjoying¡¯ the situation slightly more than was warranted in such a public space. She spent most of her time slowly grinding herself against me, her ass rhythmically pressing against my lap as we worked through the questions. Several times I tried to shift her over slightly, slide her body to sit on one leg instead of right in the center of my lap, but each time she quickly moved back to her former spot. It was¡­ distracting, and I had a feeling I would be playing with Mistletoe when I came back to my room.


    ¡°That was nice,¡± I said as we both began to gather our things, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be opposed to doing it again sometime.¡±


    Brenda, who still had one of her arms wrapped tightly around my chest, nodded and pressed the side of her head against me. ¡°Yeah. Thanks for inviting me, Orion.¡±


    ¡°Happy too. We¡¯ve been friends for so long, it seemed only right that we should spend more time together. Well, I have some things left I need to get done before classes tomorrow. I¡¯ll see you later?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, definitely! Friends. Thanks Orion.¡± She suddenly let go of me, grabbed her papers, and rushed out of the room. I stared after in confusion, slightly lost. What had that been about? Maybe once I had her properly soul-bound I would finally be able to understand that girl.


    Raising the potion vial to the light, I carefully compared the amber liquid to the color diagram that had been included in Professor Igor¡¯s notes. This was my fifth attempt at the potion, the previous four not having been potent enough without some of the ingredients I hadn¡¯t managed to obtain.


    I¡¯d made some modifications to the recipe, increasing certain quantities and adding a few more recently discovered ingredients to compensate for the missing components. From what I could tell, I¡¯d finally done it. The magical signature of the potion seemed right, nothing had exploded, and the color was well within the range Igor¡¯s notes had indicated.


    Setting the potion back into its case, I wandered over towards Rea, who was hard at work taking care of one of my other temporary guests. Briella was stretched out across a low table, arms and legs fastened tightly to the corners of the newly transmuted work surface. A wide strap of soft leather ran across the center of her back, ensuring she had no room to move and potentially disrupt Rea¡¯s delicate work.


    Rea knelt on a small rug by the center of the table, a look of utter focus on her face. The flexible knife in her hand slid smoothly through pale flesh, the enchanted blade cutting through skin as easily as a hot knife through butter. Already, a large patch of the unfortunate second-year¡¯s thigh and buttock were stripped bare, exposed muscles twitching and shuddering in the cool air. Without the potion I¡¯d brewed for just this purpose I was sure the poor girl would have bled out by now, but that would have been a waste. Instead, the potion¡¯s magic ensured that she remained fully aware and conscious as Rea literally peeled her skin like an apple.


    Beside her, Cayla hung from the ceiling by her arms, toes just barely able to brush the floor if she strained herself. Her eyes were forced open by another enchantment, head fixed in place by a posture collar that ensured she couldn¡¯t look away from what was happening to her friend. She would be next, she knew. The next time Rea accidentally cut away too much and ruined the single piece of skin she was trying to remove from Briella¡¯s back, the two would switch places and it would be her turn under the knife.


    It was a surprisingly effective form of conditioning, and Rea seemed to enjoy it. When I¡¯d come back to find her cutting pieces of Cayla¡¯s leg with a cruel smile on her face, I¡¯d thought something bad must have happened. Instead, it seemed Rea had found her inner sadist. In the days since, it seemed she spent all her free time between other duties working on this one thing. She wanted a fully intact skin, without any nicks or tears to mark the surface.


    I¡­ wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about it. Sure, I¡¯d known I was going to be torturing the girls, but Rea appeoached it with a level of enthusiasm and efficient brutality that was honestly somewhat intimidating. It didn¡¯t help that I had no idea where that attitude had come from. Had she always had a hidden penchant for sadism that had been unearthed by my binding, or had my binding somehow changed the timid girl into the person who now was slowly skinning a young woman her own age with a smile on her face.


    In the end, I decided it wasn¡¯t worth worrying about. It was convenient after all, immensely so. It had definitely increased the amount of time I spent healing my prisoners, but that wasn¡¯t really a problem. If Rea wanted to do my work in breaking the duo for me, who was I to say no? Judging from how the two flinched whenever they saw her and begged me to keep her away from them, they would be ready for a binding ritual in just a few more days.


    I stood behind Rea for a long minute, watching as she carefully cut the skin away from the muscle. She was meticulous about it, Verdan¡¯s enchanted knife making the task much simpler than it would have been with an ordinary blade. It was rather disgusting, but I¡¯d seen worse. Professor Igor sometimes liked to show off his classes¡¯ work around the school; there was only so many times you could see a still-living dissected body dangling in a hallway before you became desensitized to it.


    Well¡­ at this point I was just wasting time. I grabbed both vials of potion and walked over to where I¡¯d already prepared the delivery method days ago. The two vials were carefully inserted into the small ports I¡¯d made in their feeding tubes. Then, it was simply a matter of turning the valve and it was done.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The faintly glowing potion flowed slowly down the feeding tube, but the pumping runes I¡¯d carved into each end had no issues forcing the viscous liquid down the tubes and into the two elves¡¯ stomachs. There it was done. Two more days for the potion to do its work, and then the terrifying investment I¡¯d started with Mistletoe those few short weeks ago would finally start to pay off.


    Emerald-Moss-That-Creeps-Over-Frozen-Roots, Verdan when she was around the short lived races, screamed into her gag. Muscles that could bend steel beams and crush a man¡¯s skull as easily as a grape flexed and pushed. Her mana flowed in vast torrents, weaving through flesh and bone in dizzying patterns.


    It was futile. No sound emerged from her throat, suppressed utterly by runes powered by her own mana. Muscles strained against unyielding bonds, runes glowing faintly as they tore away more power to suppress her strength. The collar around her neck grew warm as it slowely ground away at the faint connection that still linked her mind to her body¡¯s mana. No matter how hard she strained, no matter what she tried, she was simply too weak. Too young. Too stupid.


    She knew an older elf would never have been trapped like this. An older elf would have shrugged off the poisoned cloud, cut through the shielding spell like butter, and skewered the shrouded spellcaster like a squealing pig. An older elf would not have been so thoroughly suppressed by a collar like this, easily shattering its magic with a careless flex of their indomitable will. An older elf would have escaped from bindings like this in a heartbeat, no mortal metal enough to restrain a millenia old warrior.


    She¡­ she was none of those things. Compared to the children at this school, she was ancient. Only a scant handful of the teachers were her seniors, though she knew that all of them were much more experienced spellcasters than her. This boy who captured her, he could not have been more than twenty years of age. When she¡¯d been his age, her parents hadn¡¯t let her leave the house on her own nor trusted her with magic and sharp objects.


    And yet¡­ Here she was. Trapped at the mercy of a baby, about to live out the next centuries of her life as a farm animal. She¡¯d felt the potion¡¯s magic as it trickled down her throat, felt the changes slowly rippling through her body as dormant sections of her anatomy and magical circulation slowly triggered outside of her control. Her breasts felt strange, the skin too tight, sensitive nerves twinging with every tiny movement. She wanted to rage against the injustice of it, to scream and cry and beg. She wanted her parents, her friends, her aunts and uncles who had loved and cared for her. She wanted to go home.


    It was so¡­ dark. And quite. And cold. Her blood rushed in her ears, her racing heartbeat painfully loud inside the endless quiet. The mage¡¯s bonds were thorough, if nothing else. Aunty had taught her to escape all sorts of restraints, it had been a requirement from her family before they would allow her to leave the city, but none of those lessons would help her here. He had gone so far as to bind her individual fingers together, ensuring she could not manage the half dozen spell-signs she had been taught, though those wouldn¡¯t have helped her now anyway.


    She froze as she felt the touch of slender fingers on her ear. It was not the mage¡¯s hand, his fingers were thicker, the remnants of tough calluses barely noticeable on his skin. This touch was gentler than his, a woman then, or perhaps an even younger child?


    She expected pain. The mage had not been overly rough with her, mostly just uncaring of her comfort, but she knew many of the short-lived races enjoyed causing pain just for the sake of it. Elven ears were delicate, sensitive organs. They contained a multitude of nerve receptors that could cause great pain if damaged, though she¡¯d heard talented lovers could make use of them to great effect as well.


    The twisting, pinching, or crushing never came. Instead, the waxy stopper that had been painfully pressed into her ear was carefully removed, the fingers taking care to remove every trace of the material from nooks and crannies. For the first time in what must have been several days, she could hear, and it was wonderful.


    Her ear filled with the sounds of breathing, the rustle of clothing, the quiet scraping of metal on stone as someone moved around beside her head. ¡°Good evening, miss elf,¡± a quiet voice said from just beside her. The speaker had a strange accent, making it hard to interpret the tonnage of her voice, but she did not think the speaker had any negative intentions towards her. Interesting.


    ¡°This one hopes you are settling in well to your new accommodations. This one knows they are likely not very comfortable, but Master says it is important to keep you fully contained at all times.¡±


    Ah, another victim then, though a broken-in one, it seemed. So that was the mage¡¯s plan. Had she even been the target at all, or simply a victim of opportunity? Well, there would be time enough to consider that question. She had a terrible feeling that she would be having a lot of time to think in the near future.


    ¡°Master wants me to tell you that this was nothing personal. Master does not like your kind, but Master has no particular enmity with you. As long as you behave, Master says Master will ensure your stay is as painless as possible.¡±


    Nothing personal¡­ In all honesty, that just made things worse. To be reduced down to nothing but her heritage, ¡®her kind¡¯? It burned. He didn¡¯t care who she was, only what she was.


    ¡°Master says that as long as you do not try to escape, Master will not have to take any more severe measures. Master says that elf bone is a valuable material, but that Master can source it elsewhere if you behave.¡±


    She swallowed heavily around her gag, eyes widening behind the thick blindfold as memories of childhood lessons rose to the forefront of her mind. Stories of desecrated corpses, torn appart while still alive to preserve the freshness of the material. Aunty Oldroot, limping around with one artificial leg, the real one lost to orcish hunters centuries before. The rituals they had used prevented her from regrowing the lost leg, condensing all the potential strength of the severed leg to craft a more powerful artifact from the bone.


    After another moment of panic, she realized the voice had continued speaking and frantically tried to fill in what she¡¯d missed.


    ¡°...as painful or painless as you make it. If you behave yourself, Master will limit to harvesting your valuable fluids. If you are a bother, Master says elf meat is a valuable delicacy in many parts of the world. If you continue to struggle and plot, Master will remove your limbs, scoop out your eyes and tongue, and leave you a dismembered torso useful only for its milk for the rest of your immortal life. Master hopes you understand.¡±


    She understood alright. Behind her blindfold, fresh tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes and her heart pounded in her chest. Still, she did not try to move, did not try to escape. She was paralized with fear. This¡­ this dark, cold, quite hell was torture. The situation this other slave described? It was worse. It was the sort of horrors mother had tried to use to scare her off from traveling to the human lands. She should have listened. Oh, why hadn¡¯t she listened?


    ¡°Soon, Master plans to use a potion to trigger your body to lactate. Master has also told this slave that it is its responsiblity to harvest certain other materials from your body. Master¡­ Master is not cruel. Master hopes you will find some pleasure in this one¡¯s efforts.¡±


    And then, before she had a chance to process the slave¡¯s final words, enchanted wax was pushed back into her ears and smoothed out. In an instant, that tiny connection to the outside world was severed once more. Verdan closed her eyes, tears of fear leaving wet trails as they leaked out from her blindfold and trailed down her painfully stretched jaw.


    She should have never left home, she finally realized. A century and a half of kindness had felt stifling. She¡¯d wanted to go out, see the world, learn magic and become someone important. Spending centuries slowly honing her talents had felt like such a waste. Avalon had seemed like a perfect choice, the promise of incredible power in under a decade overwhelming whatever reluctance had tried to hold her back. Even among elves, the archmages of Avalon were respected, mortals with the power to face even millenia old elders.


    She should have listened. Should have been more careful. Should have¡­ she didn¡¯t even know. She swallowed again as fingers trailed across her dangling breasts, checking on whatever device she could feel tugging at the skin around her nipples. Tears fell freely as she tried to come to terms with her new life. Just days ago, the future had seemed so bright. Now? Her best hope was slavery. She knew powerful mages enjoyed the service of powerful servants. Perhaps someday, she would advance from dairy cow to pleasure slave. She prayed she would never face the¡­ other fate of cattle.


    Small fingers squeezed down around her bottom, pushing her sculpted ass apart. A warm, delicate tongue trailed across sensitive flesh, sending a shudder through her entire body. Oh. Her ¡®valuable fluids¡¯. She¡¯d thought they just meant her milk. Knowledge of how valuable elven milk could be had spread far and wide, despite the best efforts of the elven nations. It was just too useful to mages and too easily accessible. This though¡­ She prayed this wasn¡¯t what she thought it might be. What she had been warned to avoid at all costs. This could be a problem. Humans weren¡¯t supposed to know about that. Oh Elders, humans were not supposed to know.

 Chapter 39

    The rest of the week passed almost too well. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but, well, it just never did. For the first time in way too long, everything was just¡­ going exactly how I¡¯d wanted it to?


    By the third day, my two elves had begun to lactate. The production rate was still slightly lower than I¡¯d hoped for, but Igor¡¯s notes had mentioned that it would slowly increase over the coming weeks until it matched the nearly legendary quantities that elven women were known for. It likely didn¡¯t help that the two were still rather young by elven standards even if they were both decades my senior. Elves didn¡¯t tend to reproduce until well into their third century, so it made sense they would not have the same output as the older subjects Igor experimented with.


    Seeing the white-gold liquid slowly pumping into the prepared holding tank took a massive weight off my back. Despite seeing the evidence of Igor¡¯s own horrific farm, I¡¯d still had some doubts over if what I was doing would work. What if he¡¯d given me a faulty recipe, or maybe my minor adjustments had ruined something important without me noticing? What would I have done if the two elves had died from the potion I¡¯d fed them, maybe in a bad reaction to some innocent component? I didn¡¯t really want to think about it.


    It also helped that I could finally see first hand the value of the milk. I¡¯d of course read about all its wondrous properties, but it was good to confirm some of those stories first hand. Though I hadn¡¯t yet risked drinking any myself, I¡¯d run several tests and the results had blown away any lingering doubts that had been plaguing me. It was one of the most mana-rich substances I had ever seen, far more so than what I¡¯d been collecting from Mistletoe previously.


    Beyond the obvious payoff, I¡¯d also gotten some rather interesting data from the entire experience. With Rea taking care of the other two girls, I¡¯d had plenty of time to monitor the changes in the two elves¡¯ bodies. Watching the shifts in their internal mana flows and biology had been extremely educational, pushing my understanding of how their innate circulations worked forward by leaps and bounds.


    Though I had no plans of copying this particular circulation wholesale, the biology just wasn¡¯t compatible and I had no interest in turning myself into a cow, there was a lot to learn from the process. For instance, I¡¯d discovered that, like some of the authors I¡¯d consulted had speculated, about 2/3s of the milk¡¯s volume was produced out of nearly pure mana. It neatly explained how elves could produce so much of the highly nutritious substance while consuming a nearly inconsequential amount of calories themselves.


    It did however raise some more questions, namely, how the hell elven biology could literally create permanent matter from pure mana, something that was typically only doable using fifth-circle or higher spellcraft. I could faintly see the patterns of mana that seemed to be doing most of the heavy lifting for the process, but they were just too faint and intricate for me to make out with my current tools and perception.


    Regardless, I had high hopes that this new information would contribute to my own magical research. I¡¯d already made several minor modifications to my own circulations based on what I¡¯d observed, and the results were rather promising. By borrowing some of the mechanisms by which the new bits of circulation had interconnected with the rest of their bodies¡¯ mana channels, I¡¯d managed to decrease the time it took me to restore my own internal mana circulations after they were disrupted by nearly half!


    Though not directly useful, it was a very handy innovation that would likely save me weeks of meditation until I finally managed to keep my circulations active at all times. Additionally, it was a technique I had never come across, despite having read a large chunk of the Academy¡¯s literature on the subject. That meant that there was still a lot to discover on this topic, lending me new hope that my task to manually adapt the circulations of powerful beasts was possible.


    My other projects were also proceeding very nicely. Rea¡¯s enthusiasm had done wonders for breaking the spirits of my other captives. Briella had cracked first, pleading on hands and knees that she would do anything for the pain to stop. Her binding had gone off without a hitch. I¡¯d used a small portion of the newly available milk in order to craft the ritual circle and it had made the entire process much simpler than I¡¯d dared to hope.


    As I¡¯d planned, I purchased a vial of boundless focus elixir from the Academy. The small crystal bottle contained five doses of the costly potion and I¡¯d used a single dose during her binding ritual. With it, combined with the increased magical conductivity the elven milk had given to the runic symbols, I¡¯d managed to execute the seven-sectioned ritual without any issues. It had taken some time to charge everything, but I¡¯d managed to hold the entire ¡®spell¡¯ in my mind and it had worked perfectly.


    I had taken some time to be sure of course, leaving Briella¡¯s magic suppressed as I carefully probed the edges of the bond. Once I was certain it had ¡®sunk in¡¯ properly, I ran through some more overt tests, questioning the girl under several layers of truth spells and other enchantments to prevent any sort of deception. Only once I was absolutely certain that she wouldn¡¯t try to murder me the moment I gave her a shred of freedom did I finally let my guard down slightly.


    As I¡¯d expected, Briella hadn¡¯t changed nearly as much as Rea had, or at least the changes were much more subdued. I didn¡¯t have a particularly accurate baseline of how she¡¯d been before the ritual, only my own observations and the notes that Miranda had made, but I felt that she would have no issues blending back in with the rest of the student population. She was slightly quieter, though I had a feeling that might have been lingering trauma from the past days of confinement as opposed to something caused by the binding. There were several other small changes, primarily in personal preferences that had been warped by my own due to the ritual, but those were all things that I felt could be hidden or passed over as irrelevant.


    The most important part, the loyalty enchantment, seemed to be functioning perfectly. My newest servant couldn¡¯t even think about acting against me. Obeying me and carrying out my will was her absolutely highest priority, greater even than her own self-preservation. She still had her own ideas and desires, but ultimately, I came first. Just as the ritual descriptions had implied.


    Now certain that the ritual really did work as intended, I moved my focus back onto my other prisoner. With Briella now happy to assist, Cayla didn¡¯t last much longer. In the end, Briella¡¯s presense proved far more effective against the surprisingly resilient Spellblade then any amount of Rea¡¯s enthusiastic torture. Seeing her ¡®friend¡¯ eagerly help Rea with her grisly work was too much and she meekly swore the same oath as Briella had just two days later.


    And now? Now came the hard part. Ambushing other students and executing seven-sectioned rituals was tricky, but it was at least something I knew. I¡¯d spent a lot of time focusing on ritual magic over the past few years, and my mana control was excellent for my level of experience. Similarly, while I wasn¡¯t particularly skilled in a direct fight, ambushes were something I had both experience and a deep well of second-hand knowledge to fall back on.


    Now, I had to figure out how to get my newly oath-bound slaves back into the student population, hopefully without directing any suspicion towards me or letting anyone know what had happened. ¡°So¡­ Thoughts?¡±


    My question was met with silence. Briella and Cayla sat side-by-side on a low table that both were rather intimately familiar with. The shackles and straps had been temporarily removed, but I could still see the points where they could be easily reattached when they proved necessary again. I was just glad that I¡¯d used a nice, polished metal when I¡¯d built the table a few days after I¡¯d first ¡®acquired¡¯ the trio . With the amount of blood and other viscera I, well, mostly Rea, washed off of them, something like wood would have been horribly stained by now.


    After a few moments of silence, Cayla finally spoke up, raising her head to look at me. ¡°Master, I believe you are¡­ um, overcomplicating things again, just as you said you sometimes do. I¡­ I don¡¯t think you will need to do too much at all to keep your own name out of things at least, though I can¡¯t be sure since I only have what you¡­ I don¡¯t have all the details of what''s been going on for the last two weeks¡­¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Cayla trailed off, eyes falling back to the ground and body shying back slightly. Before I could ask her to clarify, Briella jumped in as well, ¡°What I think Cayla is saying is, well, I don¡¯t think very many people would suspect that it was you, even if we don¡¯t really do much to hide it. We definitely need to make sure to keep our stories straight, but as long as the two of us can make it back to my room without anyone noticing it should be pretty easy to claim that we managed to escape the ambush and have been healing ever since.¡±


    She paused for a moment, biting her lip as she looked over at Cayla. ¡°With the amount of healing residue on us, I don¡¯t think it will be too hard to sell that story. Since you don¡¯t plan on letting Verdan go anyway, it should be even more believable.¡±


    Huh. That was definitely one idea. ¡°So you think I should just try to play it off as someone targeting the elf?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you really think people would buy that?¡±


    Both girls nodded earnestly. ¡°Definitely master, it''s not even the first time it''s happened to Verdan, though um, the last few attempts didn¡¯t work out nearly as well for, well, the aggressor¡­¡± Cayla trailed off again, Briella jumping in to finish her thought.


    ¡°Everyone knows how valuable elves are, and it doesn¡¯t get much more vulnerable than being a student here. There are only a handful of elves among the faculty, and most of them don¡¯t really care about their students. Young elves that come to Avalon, particularly the girls, just¡­ don¡¯t tend to last long.¡±


    I considered her words for a moment. It was true that there weren¡¯t very many elves at the Academy. I hadn¡¯t really thought about it much, but outside of Mistletoe I could only think of one other elf left in my year. She was considerably older however, four or five centuries at the very least, and mostly kept to herself. Similarly, the older years were almost entirely devoid of elves as well. I didn¡¯t know everyone in the fourth and fifth year classes, but I knew none of the seventh years were elves and only one of the sixth years men was.


    ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ never really thought about it that way,¡± I said slowly. ¡°It makes sense. I never would have dared go after either of those two,¡± I jerked my head at the restrained duo, ¡°if there was a risk of an Elder hanging around one of them.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Well then.¡± We sat in near silence for another minute, the only sound Rea¡¯s quiet shuffling as she dusted my bookshelf. ¡°So, I guess that should work pretty well. As long as we¡¯re careful, I should be able to conceal us for the few minutes it takes to move you. I think Briella, your room is right next to the stairwell?¡± She nodded. ¡°That should work then. I have a powerful anti-scrying artifact and my illusions should be strong enough to hide us. If we go at the right time of night, we shouldn¡¯t bump into anyone either.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any issues with that plan, master. Though we should figure out our next few steps before we go through with this.¡±


    ¡°And as you said, we need to um, get our stories straight,¡± Cayla chimed in. ¡°Do we¡­ we want to maybe try to shift the blame onto someone? Say that we don¡¯t know who it was? It''s probably better to say we don¡¯t know, but it''s¡­ it¡¯s up to you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right. I don¡¯t really have anyone in particular I would want to accuse and pointing fingers is just going to make you enemies. Since I plan to associate with you publicly in the future, I don¡¯t need any more people eying my back.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Very good. We can iron out the specifics later. Now, what is the plan for connecting us publicly? You are mine and I think in this case, it would be more useful for our association to be at least somewhat visible?¡±


    Charon Goldgiver rubbed his tired eyes, numbers swimming behind his eyelids as he tried to stave off his rapidly worsening headache. He was tired, so very tired, but there was still work to do. There was always more work to do.


    For what must have been the hundredth time just that day, Charon cursed his fool of a king. A charismatic and powerful man he may be, but he had no head for numbers. Without Charon¡¯s efforts, and the work of dozens of junior accountants and bureaucrats, the young king would have driven the nation to ruin by now.


    Charon sighed. That was slightly unfair to the young king. He was a kind ruler and his decisions were primarily made with the good of the kingdom in mind. It wasn¡¯t that he was squandering the treasury for his own amusement, but rather that he was¡­ overly generous with plans to construct new infrastructure and similar projects.


    Still, Charon just wished that the boy would listen to him for a change. It was beginning to drive him insane, just sitting at the table and listening as other advisors slowly drained dry centuries of accumulated wealth. Sure it was nice that two new schools had been opened outside major cities. Sure the old inland roads needed to be updated, monster attacks ensured they always needed to be updated. Sure all the other million and one ideas swimming through the young man¡¯s head would benefit the people in innumerable tiny ways, but that wouldn¡¯t matter if they ran out of money and starved to death first.


    A quiet knock pulled him from his reverie and he shook his head to clear the cobwebs. ¡°Come in,¡± he called out, sitting up straighter in his padded chair as he craned his neck to look over his shoulder.


    Ancient hinges creaked quietly as the door slowly opened. Charon squinted, trying to make out who it was. The corridor outside was dark, the visitor visible only as an outline cast by the mage-lights illuminating his office.


    ¡°Hello? Who¨C¡± the visitor stepped forward, throwing back his hood and shutting the door with an ominous thud. ¡°Oh, Arnold, very good! I just was going to¨C¡±


    ¡°Silence,¡± the man commanded, and Charon¡¯s mouth shut with a click. Why, that was a very impolite thing to say. Sure Arnold was technically a more senior royal advisor, but they had served together for many years. There was no need to be rude!


    Charon tried to open his mouth, prepared to tell the younger man off. Just because he was a general didn¡¯t mean that he could just order Charon around! Perhaps, Charon thought with a hidden smile, he would divert a bit more coin away from Arnold¡¯s division. That would show him!


    Arnold reached into a pocket and withdrew a small charm that instantly drew Charon¡¯s attention. That¡­ it looked so very¡­ familiar? He stared at the small crystal, unable to pay attention as Arnold began to say something. The words washed over his mind, whispering¡­ something? But he could not tear his eyes away from the crystal. It¡­


    Charon opened his eyes to find his god standing before him. He scrambled out of his seat, falling to the floor in a deep bow, ¡°My lord! I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t recognize you for a moment! Please, take a seat, take a seat. I¡¯m afraid there is only one chair in the room but it¡­¡±


    ¡°Peace, Charon.¡± Arnold stepped around the aging man¡¯s kneeling form to drop heavily into the just vacated spot. ¡°How goes the work?¡±


    ¡°Very well sir! Everything is moving into position. I¡¯ve been using the king¡¯s recent infrastructure plans to shift extra coinage to your allies. It¡¯s nothing overt, I don¡¯t think any of the others will notice, but we are steadily getting closer to our goal. Just a few more months, I think. I have yet to find a way into the vault, but I think I¡¯m getting closer. By my reckoning, the king will choose to withdraw some of the royal treasures to help pay for his little projects, and then we will have it!¡±


    ¡°Very good, Charon. Well done as always.¡± Though his face was still pressed up against soft carpet, Charon imagined that his lord was smiling. Just the idea of it, the idea of pleasing his lord, brought a broad smile to his face and warmth to his chest.


    ¡°Thank you, my lord. Do you require anything else from me? I am always eager to serve.¡±


    There was a short pause. For a moment, Charon worried that he had overstepped. Maybe he shouldn¡¯t have asked for more work? It was his duty to obey, not ask things of the master! Then, Arnold finally spoke up again. ¡°No, I think that is all. Make sure to have new copies drawn up off all the ledgers and deliver them to the usual place.¡±


    ¡°Of course, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Very good. Then I shall take my leave. Hide yourself, my servant.¡±


    ¡°Yes my lord.¡±


    Several minutes later, Charon opened his eyes groggily. He was sitting in his chair, head lolled back and one hand hanging over the side of the chair. What¡­ he had been¡­ oh. He must have drifted off again. That was concerning, it had happened more and more often in the past months. Perhaps more coffee was in order, the drink was expensive to import but so very worth it on long nights like these.


    Charon sat up, straightening the stack of papers that must have been messed up when he had dozed off. Well, back to work. There was always so very much to get done.

 Chapter 40

    ¡°Very good, very¨C steady now, nice and slow, feel the flow¡­¡± I fiddled slightly with one of the lenses of my enchanted glasses, adjusting the focus so I could more clearly see what my classmate was doing. Professor Yana continued to murmur advice and encouragement as she watched over his progress like a hawk.


    Though she looked rather casual, relaxed even, standing as she was with her hands folded neatly behind her back, I could tell that our professor was ready to jump in at the first sign that something was going wrong. Under the sight of my enchanted glasses, I could clearly see the tightly coiled buildup of mana within her loosely held arms, a dozen different spellforms ready to be unleashed at a moment''s notice.


    It was a comforting and humbling display. On one hand, she was one of the few professors who genuinely seemed to care about her students. If someone like Professor Meadows was teaching, I was sure she wouldn¡¯t even consider trying to help if something went wrong. She would probably just sit back and laugh while the unfortunate student calcified or exploded.


    On the other hand, it was yet another testament to the overwhelming power of the faculty. I could hold a spell at the ready. It was a tricky bit of magic but doable with my current skills. If the spells had enough overlap in what spellforms they used, I could even potentially prime two or three different spells at once.


    What she was doing though? Not a chance. I could see at least a dozen distinct segments held carefully separated just under her skin, each corresponding to a different spellform. I recognized a few of them, or at least some sections of them. Bits of Reconstruct, As-Things-Were, and Life, along with several other completely unfamiliar forms were written out in flowing mana.


    Someday, I told myself. Someday. I briefly noted down some of the clearer sections from the forms I didn¡¯t recognize to look up later. It was possible those were just sections of a more common form that I was unfamiliar with, but it was good practice to learn about as many spellforms as possible. It was helpful in many aspects, particularly in identifying what a hostile mage might be casting.


    I shook my head, returning my attention to the focus of today¡¯s lesson. Kalvin Boor, one of the few fourth-years in the class, was sitting at the center of the room, eyes clenched tightly shut and mouth moving in a silent chant as he focused intently on his magic. Now that we were more than half way through the semester, Professor Yana had decided we were ready to finish forming our own shifter¡¯s foundations. Without it, it would be nearly impossible to practice any of the magic we were going to be learning for the rest of the year, making it a key part of the class.


    We had all gone through most of the initial parts of the process already, mostly consisting of some simple exercises, short rituals, and specific potions, but now it was time for the final step. We had to ¡®lock in¡¯ our bodies, functionally take a snapshot of our natural state and tie it into our souls. Once that was done, we could safely cast all sorts of alteration spells on ourselves, safe in the knowledge that our souls would help revert us to our prior state if anything went wrong.


    Kalvin stiffened and I watched curiously as a veritable wave of mana flowed out of his chest and through his body, soaking into every inch of muscle and bone. Professor Yana leaned forward slightly, fingers tense, as the mana rebounded throughout Kalvin¡¯s body, the ripples shifting each time it met his skin.


    It was an interesting thing to watch, somewhat reminiscent of waves breaking against a cliff face. I adjusted my glasses again, trying to peer past the roiling mana to see what was happening beyond the surface level. I hummed quietly in annoyance as another lens failed to clear up what I was looking at. Though I had made them only a few weeks before, I was already growing dissatisfied with the enchanted item¡¯s performance.


    It was still working just as well as I¡¯d hoped, but since then I¡¯d learned a much more detailed method of analyzing mana flows. Compared to just manually flooding something with my own mana and examining it that way, using a tool like this one felt¡­ clunky. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t really an option here. I didn¡¯t think Kalvin would let me do something like that, and it would likely mess with his own work even if I did. For now, I would have to settle with this.


    Kalvin¡¯s body went limp as the mana finally receded back into his core. He slumped forward, nearly falling out of his chair until Professor Yana carefully steadied him. After several long moments, he pushed himself to his feet and slowly stumbled back to his spot.


    Once he was back in his spot, Professor Yana turned to face the rest of us. ¡°Well then, that went rather well I think. Excellently done, Mr. Boor, and thank you for volunteering to go first. What do you all think, very manageable, yes?¡±


    Her question was greeted with a quiet chorus of yes¡¯s and small nods. It really didn¡¯t seem all that difficult, though that was after spending nearly ten weeks studying exercise specifically devised to assist with the process. I was pretty sure I could manage it without much difficulty.


    The final step consisted primarily of internal mana manipulation, combined with three third circle spells that had to be performed during the process. I had practiced each of them extensively, and was confident I could cast them all flawlessly. The internal manipulation was barely worth mentioning, it was somewhat time and mana consuming, but I was pretty sure Janna could have managed it even before our tutoring sessions.


    ¡°Very good. Now then, do I have any volunteers to go next?¡± She scanned the room and I looked around as well, but it didn¡¯t seem like anyone was going to step up. ¡°No? Ok then, I¡¯ll just choose someone. You should all be fully prepared for this by now, and it is a requirement to complete the course. I¡¯m certain none of you are planning to fail now, are you?¡±


    She paused and scanned the room again. ¡°Well then, how about you Mr. Hunter? Come on up, don¡¯t be shy. I¡¯ll be ready to jump in if anything goes wrong.¡±


    I got up, slightly surprised that she¡¯d decided to pick me but not particularly worried. Though she tended to prioritize the few upper-years whenever she was having us go up and cast spells in class, I had done so several times already this year. Carefully slipping my glasses back in their case, I set it down in my bag and made my way up to the front of the room.


    I sat down, stretching slightly as the professor moved to stand beside me just as she had with Kalvin. ¡°Feel free to get started when you are ready.¡±


    I nodded, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. Reaching out to the dense core of mana at the center of my chest, I carefully began to spin it, winding up the delicate framework of my circulations back into my core. The immediate sense of weakness was distinctly unpleasant, especially surrounded by so many people, but it was unavoidable. I didn¡¯t think it was likely that my circulations would interfere with the process, but it was known that certain kinds of internal magics could cause the soul to make an inaccurate image of the body and cause the process to fail catastrophically. With magic, it was always better to be safe than dead.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Once I was certain that all traces of my circulations had been drawn back into my core, I briefly reviewed the process I was about to undertake. First I had to cast a spell to ¡®manifest¡¯ my soul, briefly strengthening the link between body and spirit. It wasn¡¯t strictly necessary, but just another precaution to ensure the process went smoothly. The natural connection that all life had to its soul should be strong enough on its own, but extra precautions were very important when dealing with this sort of self-targeting spellcraft.


    Once that was done, I would need to establish a sort of internal framework, basically a simple circulation that would highlight my body¡¯s natural mana channels. Apparently this was considered one of the more difficult steps, but I¡¯d never had any issues while practicing. The circulation I maintained in my day to day life was miles more complicated.


    Then came the second bit of spellwork, a multipurpose spell called ¡®manaskin¡¯ that was used in some forms of rituals but was also considered a useful bit of defensive magic. It formed a skin-tight shell around the caster¡¯s body that prevented foreign mana from entering or your own personal mana from exiting the body. It wasn¡¯t a particularly powerful barrier, barely able to stop something as weak as a first circle mana-bolt, but it was perfect for this sort of work.


    Finally, you cast the last spell, this one a highly specialized bit of soul magic that had been developed centuries ago here at Avalon. It used a sort of magic pulse to map out the caster¡¯s body, using the internal framework and manaskin as a guide, and then lock in that image in the caster¡¯s soul. I had spent the majority of the last few days making absolutely certain that I could cast this spell perfectly. While the first part, the mapping, was completely safe, anything that messed directly with the soul was capital d dangerous. It was why Professor Yana was looming directly over me, ready to intercede at any moment. Soul damage could be catastrophic, and there was only a very short window of time to fix things before they cause permanent damage.


    I took another deep breath. I had this. Compared to some of the spellwork I was trying to learn, this was nothing. As long as I was careful, everything would be fine. Professor Yana was right there, even if something went wrong I would be fine.


    I took another deep breath, and began to cast.


    ¡°You want me to do what?¡± Miranda asked incredulously, voice rising in pitch as she stared back at the shorter girl. ¡°And even if I could, why on earth would you want me to do that?


    Briella met Miranda¡¯s gaze squarely with her own, hands folded neatly behind her back as she faced the older student. ¡°It¡¯s not an unreasonable request. Master¡¯s interests are our interests, it is only right that we strive to serve him to the best of our ability.¡±


    Miranda opened her mouth, then closed it with a soft click. She bit her lip and looked away, an unreadable expression on her face. Eventually, she sighed and turned back to the second year. ¡°I guess I can sort of see where you are coming from. What I don¡¯t understand is why you think I could help you with something like that. Whatever he did to you, it was clearly much stronger than what he managed with me. You should have nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Briella admitted readily, ¡°But that is not everything. I understand the Master''s will, but I do not know how to best execute it. You have many more years of experience serving Master, more even than¨C¡± she paused suddenly and fell silent, a look of pained horror flashing across her face for a single instant before she pulled it back into a faint smile. ¡°Apologies, forget I said anything.¡±


    Miranda took a deep breath and slowly let it out. ¡°Whatever it is, I don¡¯t want to know. Orion would tell me if he did.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. In any case, you have much more experience understanding what our Master wants us to do. He has given us some measure of instruction and we have some plans, but for now Master is leary of any visible connection between us. Even this meeting is pushing the boundaries of his will. You are too publicly associated with Master.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but¡­ I don¡¯t think you want to use me as a measure of how to help Orion. I¡­ haven¡¯t done a very good job.¡± She paused again and shook her head, ¡°No, don¡¯t use me as inspiration. I¡¯ve¡­ made a mess of things. I¡¯m lucky he still tolerates it, though now that he has you two¡­¡± Miranda trailed off, lips continuing to move soundlessly. Her hands clenched into fists, fingers digging into the hem of her short dress.


    Briella tilted her head, ¡°That''s¡­ not right. Master is quite fond of you.¡±


    Miranda laughed ruefully, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure he is. He¡¯s always worried about money, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll fix that right up for him. Any day now¨C¡±


    Before Miranda could react, Briella closed the distance between them with two quick steps. Miranda¡¯s eyes widened and she began to raise a hand, mana rushing up her limb in a torrent, but it was too late.


    Briella wrapped her arms around the older girl. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I may not have known him for long, but I do not think Master would do something like that to you.¡± There was a short pause as Miranda stood awkwardly for several seconds, letting the spell she had begun to cast fade back into ambient mana. Eventually, she freed her arms and returned the hug.


    After another moment, Briella spoke up again. ¡°Well. Not without a good reason at least. I believe Master has enough reagents for now, and Cayla and myself should be able to provide some amount of materials for him as well.¡±


    Miranda sighed. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, but¡­ how can you say that? I don¡¯t know what he did to you exactly but¡­ well, our master, Orion, he¡¯s¡­ not a very nice man. He¡­¡± she trailed off after a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡­ he scares me sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Master is Master. We are only fit to serve him as he thinks best. Still, he is a practical man. He would not be so wasteful with your body. Master has told me somewhat of what you are, he would not throw that away for short term gains unless it was necessary.¡±


    Miranda closed her eyes, trying to block out the other girl¡¯s words of ¡®encouragement¡¯. It seemed whatever Orion had done to their heads had more of an effect than she¡¯d thought. She¡¯d run into the duo a few times in the last week, and had thought they¡¯d somehow escaped his clutches mostly unchanged. Instead¡­ Well, it seemed they just knew how to hide it.


    She swallowed heavily at the thought. The girl standing in front of her was not the same person she¡¯d stalked for weeks on Orion¡¯s orders. That girl had been a consummate mage, but she¡¯d still had some measure of empathy left in her. She never would have tried to comfort Miranda by saying how much more valuable she was as a slave than as a specimen.


    It scared her, scared her in a way that nothing Orion had done before could. Someday, someday soon even, would that be her? Would she honestly tell another person that they should be happy to be a thing? An object to be used and disposed of on a whim?


    This? This was her fault. She¡¯d made this happen. She¡¯d made this happen, and for another minute of tentative freedom, she would do it a thousand times over. As long as Orion was happy with her, she could still be¡­ herself. Her will was not her own, but at least she still had it. That stunt with Brenda had proven it, she could still do things that were her own ideas, free from the constant pressure of her Oath. If she ever went too far though¡­ Well, at least she knew now what was in store for her. Maybe getting rendered down for parts wouldn¡¯t have been so bad.


    Miranda swallowed again and opened her eyes, fixing a cheerful smile on her face. ¡°Of course, if you think it would be useful, I¡¯ll be happy to help. What do you want to know?¡±

 Chapter 41

    I was sitting in my usual spot in Professor Meadows¡¯ class, reviewing some of my notes from the previous class and annotating some of the diagrams I¡¯d hurriedly copied down earlier in the week. I had time, I¡¯d shown up even earlier than I usually did and for once there wasn¡¯t any sort of pressing concern hanging over my head.


    It was nice, for a change. I¡¯d always worked well under pressure, but sometimes it was important to just be able to take your time. I¡¯d finally caught up with a lot of my classwork, skimmed several books that I¡¯d noted down but never had a chance to read, and finally went through my mountain of notebooks and put things back into some semblance of order.


    For the first time in weeks, there wasn¡¯t an urgent deadline hanging over my head. Sure, I still had a lot to do, and some of my deadlines were coming up worryingly soon, but it wasn¡¯t as bad as it had been the last few weeks. I had a lot to prepare for, there was dealing with Brenda, of course, and more immediately finalizing what ritual I would be conducting and some spell practice I needed to get in.


    The winter recess was rapidly approaching, though with Avalon¡¯s nearly unchanging weather you wouldn¡¯t know it, with only five more weeks until the end of the term. I¡¯d already completed the minimum passing requirements for most of my classes, only the ritual in Professor Williams¡¯ class and some specific alteration spells that Professor Yana required were left. The ritual was merely a matter of time at this point, and acquiring some specific reagents. Similarly, the simple shape-changing spells I needed to learn shouldn¡¯t be too complicated. I¡¯d formed my shifter¡¯s foundation the week before so it was just a matter of practice.


    Still, it wasn¡¯t time to slack off yet, not that I ever really let myself slack off. I was not content with merely passing my classes. There were always rewards given out at the end of each semester to the best performing students, typically nothing special but still very good to have. High placement also brought with it certain other benefits. When you selected classes for next term was greatly dependent on how well you did the previous semester. The top few students also were allowed more one-on-one meetings with professors and greater access to Academy materials.


    Beyond that, doing well was particularly important in the next two years. Professors really started watching students around this time, now that the herd had been culled to a much more reasonable number. At the end of my fourth year, I would be paired with a faculty mentor, and I¡¯d heard that having a well fitting mentor was crucial to succeeding during the last few years. Each professor could only mentor a handful of students at a time, typically no more than two or three, and students who were viewed favorably by the staff tended to get better mentors. After all, why waste the teachers¡¯ precious time on someone who was just going to end up dead anyway?


    I shook my head and made a small correction in the diagram I was looking at. There was no point thinking about that sort of thing just yet. One thing at a time. There was no use daydreaming about what could be if it meant screwing up and killing myself now. I didn¡¯t even want to know what would happen if I tried to manifest All-Material with that bit messed up. If the backlash didn¡¯t kill me, the unstable matter formed by a failed transmutation would make me wish it had.


    I looked up from my work when I heard the classroom door open, and was surprised when I saw Miranda step into the room. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever seen her come this early. Class wasn¡¯t going to start for at least another twenty minutes. Even I didn¡¯t typically come this early. I had been the first person in the classroom this morning and didn¡¯t expect anyone else for a few minutes yet.


    Her eyes immediately zeroed in on me and she purposely began to walk down toward me. That was rather strange, I had barely spoken to her in the last week and she rarely sought me out. It was typically the other way around, with me keeping her constantly busy with small tasks I felt she was well suited for.


    With a respectful nod and a small smile, Miranda sat down beside me and set her bag down before turning her chair to face me. I carefully set my pen down into its case. A minor enchantment on the nib ensured that the ink left no unintended marks, but even such a minor luxury had not always been readily available.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I folded my hands and quirked an eyebrow at the silent girl.


    ¡°Sorry. Um, there¡¯s some news I think you will probably want to know. There should be an announcement soon, but I overheard it a bit early and thought you probably would want to know. It''s¡­ it''s nothing, like, serious, but um¡­¡±


    I continued to stare silently as Miranda slowly stumbled through whatever it was she wanted to tell me. She didn¡¯t often get like this, but it happened occasionally. Clearly she thought I would have some sort of reaction to the news, though I couldn¡¯t think of what it might actually be. What would they be announcing soon that could¡­¡±


    ¡°Well. The portal, right? We¡¯ve been connected to Arika for a few weeks but, like, that''s just a temporary thing. The portal is moving again in just a few days and, well¡­¡± she trailed off slightly.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked again, more firmly this time. What had her so stressed out? Honestly, I could never understand what was running through her head.


    She took a deep breath and blurted it out in a single breath. ¡°The portal is going to be in Xethis starting next Friday. Just outside the capital.¡±


    It took a moment to process what she¡¯d said, my mind momentarily refusing to accept the words it had clearly heard. Then, I froze, my folded hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. Xethis. Just outside the capital. Xethis. Home.


    I exhaled slowly, trying to stay calm even as my mind raced a mile a minute. Xethis. It had been years since I¡¯d fled my old home, and I¡¯d never dared to go back since. At first, it had been far too dangerous to go back. Later, well, it just hadn¡¯t come up. The portal had passed within a few hundred miles of the island nation several times over the years, but it had never seemed like the right time. It still didn¡¯t seem like the right time.


    I opened my eyes, not really remembering consciously closing them, and fixed Miranda with a stare. ¡°That''s¡­ good to know.¡± I slowly bit out, ¡°Thanks Miranda.¡±


    ¡°Of course Orion. If you need any help, someone to bounce¨C¡±


    ¡°Yes. Thanks Miranda.¡±


    She fell silent, turning to face the front of the room as she quickly got her own things situated. I picked up my pen, but I couldn¡¯t focus. It was¡­ not news I ever really expected to here. The longer I thought about it, the more confused I was. What the hell did Xethis have to offer to Avalon.


    Avalon¡¯s portal did not just move randomly, the position was typically negotiated years in advance by powerful nations, organizations, or alumni. The Academy brought with it a veritable wave of trade and a small mountain of priceless reagents and unique magic items. Sure, there were some issues associated with the portal¡¯s presence, Academy members tended not to be the most¡­ law-abiding of people, but the Academy did impose limits on what members could do in surrounding regions. Well, what they could do without trying too hard to avoid getting caught.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Who or what had brought Avalon to a tiny, backwater country like Xethis? Sure the islands had some interesting magical creatures and several modestly powerful mage houses, but nothing particularly special. It was certainly curious. Very curious.


    We sat in silence for several minutes until I finally asked, ¡°Have they announced when the briefing is?¡±


    ¡°What? Oh, no, not yet. Probably next weekend though, that''s when they usually do them. I¡¯ll find out and let you know as soon as I can.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± We both fell silent again and I forced myself to get back to work. Hopefully the briefing would clear up some questions. If nothing else, I could use a refresher on who was who back home. I¡¯d been a child when I¡¯d fled, and that came with a limited perspective of who was really important in a country.


    Honestly, I wasn¡¯t ashamed to admit that the briefings were one of the services Avalon provided that I had sorely underused over the years. Each time the portal moved, a small group of faculty and staff members prepared a very comprehensive guide to the region we were visiting. I usually picked up the pamphlets they printed, but I had heard the actual briefings were considerably more thorough than those dozen-page packets. I wouldn¡¯t know, I¡¯d never attended one, despite having been at Avalon for almost two and a half years now.


    That sort of knowledge was useful, but I had never been able to convince myself to put aside most of a day that could be spent practicing magic to listen to what felt far too much like gossip. I was starting to realize that it was exactly that attitude that had hurt my efforts at connecting with my peers. That sort of information was valuable, expensive, and rarely available to the public at large. I should have been seeing it as yet another facet of Avalon¡¯s education, just like the library of priceless tomes and the freely available reagents.


    I continued to breathe slowly and deliberately, focusing on the intricate flow of mana just under the surface of my skin. What would it be like? It had been years since I¡¯d left, and back then I had seen the world with the eyes of a child. Would it be like I remembered, beautiful rocky coasts, ancient forests, the refreshing scent of the sea washing in on the cool breeze? Maybe¡­ maybe I could go back home, it would be something of a trip from the capital, but perfectly manageable in a day or two. Would it be safe though? Of that, I was not sure. I was strong now, at least by the measures of my homeland, but I was still unpracticed and inexperienced. If I ever saw his face¡­ Well, I wasn¡¯t sure I would be able to control myself.


    Rea whistled in quiet contentment as she worked, the feather duster in her hand dancing even as most of her attention was devoted to the small ball of light floating soundlessly over her upturned palm. Master had said that it was a simple exercise, something she should have been able to do years ago, but it still took all her concentration to keep the glowing orb from flickering. Still, that only made sense. To Master, this was a simple task. A slave like her could only dream of such power to better serve Master.


    An ill-formed current of mana suddenly snapped, tiny imperfections in the structure causing it to collapse into ambient mana. Rea let out an annoyed hum and redoubled her efforts with the duster as the light winked out.


    After a few moments of consideration, she concluded that she¡¯d tried to use too much mana this time. She¡¯d wanted an orb the same size and brightness as Master had demonstrated, but her control was just not at the level that Master expected of a lowly slave like her. That was why she had to practice, practice, practice. Her incompetence could not be allowed to reflect poorly on Master.


    Rea was pulled out of her thoughts when a particularly violent thrash from her victim nearly knocked the duster out of her slackened grip. Despite the restraints, the elves did have some minor range of movement, and with elven strength behind it even a seemingly casual flex or arrant thrash could be dangerous.


    Rea frowned. This ungrateful cow should know better by now. Master was so very gracious to it, taking care of the useless creature and giving its life purpose. Despite that kindness, the stupid animal continued to occasionally thrash and struggle against its home.


    Reaching out, Rea carefully formed a thin coating of mana over her palm just like Master had demonstrated to her. It took her almost a minute to form the barrier, a shamefully long time but Master was generous and had told her to focus on other skills for now.


    She flexed her hand, making sure that everything was properly formed. It was. Then, she brought her glowing palm down as hard as she could on one of the cow¡¯s generous buttocks.


    Pale flesh warped and jiggled in a way that seemed thoroughly unnatural yet strangely appealing. Rea raised her hand and was disappointed to find that she still hadn¡¯t managed to leave so much as a red mark. Master¡¯s handprint had lasted for almost an hour, yet she could not even hit hard enough to leave a visible trace of her efforts.


    Still, even if it had been a pathetic effort, the spank was enough to remind the cow of its place. Rea carefully formed a new orb of light, though this one was slightly smaller than the last, and got back to work.


    The feather duster danced across sensitive flesh, making the cow pant and writhe, its dangling breasts bouncing as the milking machines did their unending work. Her efforts were rewarded by a near constant dripping sound, pale-pink fluid accumulating rapidly in the large bucket Master had so generously crafted for her use.


    She¡¯d found that a gentler touch was better with this one. She¡¯d initially used her fingers and tongue the way she had been taught years ago, but master had decided that her tongue left too much contamination and her fingers were just not efficient enough. She had spent hours kneeling in penance for that horrific mistake, but thankfully Master had it in his heart to forgive even a useless slave like her.


    After that, she¡¯d tried several other techniques, but none had proven more effective than this one. She still switched her methodology around every few hours to ensure the cow did not get used to the sensation, but always returned to this technique. It was not her favorite method, but it filled the bucket faster than any other.


    It took another ten minutes to fill the bucket, and she carefully emptied it into the correct holding tank before moving on to the other cow. Though Master had been caring for this cow for longer, it was still much less well-behaved than the blonde-haired one.


    Thankfully, she¡¯d found that a much rougher hand worked wonders here, so she could continue to practice the techniques she¡¯d begun to develop when she assisted Master with bringing more slaves under his sway. To think that a lowly slave like her would be trusted with such important tasks! It was an honor beyond her wildest dreams. Though it was not her place to question Master¡¯s plans, she eagerly awaited the day master would command her to prepare others to serve him.


    Kneeling down by the chest Master made for her, Rea bowed deeply then carefully opened the container. She carefully set the duster back in its place, mumbling words of thanks to Master for providing his worthless slave with such an abundance of tools.


    Her fingers trailed slowly through the neatly organized box, a broad smile on her face and a burning heat in her core as she remembered how Master had given her each gift and demonstrated how to use it. For a moment, her fingers hovered over one of her favorites, she never had managed to fully skin one of her new sisters. Perhaps Master would let her practice on one of them again if they displeased him. Otherwise, she would simply have to wait for the next person Master decided was worthy of serving him.


    Eventually, her hands closed around two suitable tools and she reverently closed the box and stood up. In her left hand was a thin metal rod, nearly three feet in length with a handle on one end and slightly springy. Master had made it for her when he¡¯d seen how little effect the wooden cane he¡¯d given her to use on the other humans had proven barely noticeable to an elf. She¡¯d found the new tool worked wonders, leaving thin red lines on flawless skin that took hours to heal.


    In her other hand was a short, bulbous rod that Master had given her when he commanded her to start taking care of Master¡¯s livestock. It had of course proven wonderfully effective, particularly on the first cow, just as wise Master had told her it would.


    Taking up her position, she made sure the collection bucket was correctly positioned. Then, she gently lay the longer rod across her muscled back and set the tip of the shorter rod where the cow¡¯s back met its butt.


    Even without any force behind it, the first touch made the cow flinch away. It knew from experience what was coming. The second made its entire body freeze for a second, then almost buck into the touch of cold metal. Rea smiled again, a cruel little thing with none of the warmth she directed at her beloved Master. Had either of the former victims been around to see it, they would have broken out into cold sweats, even though they were no longer under her direct control. Metal cracked sharply against the tender skin of the cow¡¯s tautly bound thighs and the red-haired elf flinched silently, any sound cut off by the enchanted gag in her jaw. Rea¡¯s smile turned into a grin and she got to work.

 Chapter 42

    The auditorium was crowded in a way I hadn¡¯t seen in years. Only that very first day, when the entire first year class was welcomed to the Academy, had I seen this many seats filled. Even then, there was room to spare, an entire balcony populated only by a sparse group of alumni.


    I glanced around furtively, slightly uncomfortable in the crowded room. Intellectually, I knew nothing was going to happen. I could see a half dozen teachers gathered at the front of the room, along with several other staff members spread throughout the crowd. The room practically hummed with power, the collection of high-circle mages throwing off enough ambient mana that even an untrained person could feel it like a palpable pressure on their skin.


    To my own senses, trained over years to detect surprise attacks and other faint changes in the mana around me, it was like standing under a waterfall. I¡¯d had to pull the wide bubble I typically used inward, until it formed a shell just inches above the surface of my skin. If I hadn¡¯t done so, I was sure I would have had a horrible headache by the end of the presentation, likely within just a few minutes.


    That was clearly an oversight on my end, though I wasn¡¯t sure how to train for such a situation. Gatherings of mages like this were¡­ uncommon, to say the least. It seemed like most of the student body was in attendance, including what looked like all but two of the remaining sixth and seventh years. Combined with the twenty alumni I could faintly sense sitting above me, each of them a great mage at the very least, it was a concentration of power virtually unheard of outside of Elven assemblies and the courts of grand empires.


    ¡°First time?¡± asked Liam from right behind me. I jerked back, spinning around in my seat to stare up at the older boy who had walked up beside me while I¡¯d been looking around. With the level of interference in the room, I hadn¡¯t noticed even a hint of his tightly controlled presence before he announced it. Yes, I decided. This was clearly something I would need to practice. Maybe one of the lectures in the Mana Theory class the two of us shared would have some suggestions.


    I took a deep breath to steady my suddenly racing heart and nodded. ¡°Oh, hey. Yeah. After¡­ well, that mess, I decided it might be worth going from now on.¡±


    Liam let out a small laugh and clapped me on the shoulder, ¡°I bet. First time I went, I didn¡¯t really expect much, but the professors that prepare this information do good work. They always have some good stuff for us, it''s how I met a bunch of my suppliers and clients in fact.¡±


    I nodded again, not sure how to respond to that. It really seemed like I had been missing out, I wished someone had told me that earlier, but even then, I wasn¡¯t sure I would have listened until recently. Avalon was like that though. The Academy didn¡¯t tend to advertise many of the services it provided, it was considered part of the learning experience for students to figure out what was available and useful for themselves.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to go up and sit with some of my yearmates. If you stick around after the presentation, come say hi. I¡¯ve been meaning to introduce you to some of the others.¡± Seeing the look of confusion on my face, he elaborated. ¡°It¡¯s not often you get this many of us in one room, particularly one where the Academy guarantees safety. People usually linger for a few hours, to talk, make connections, plan, that sort of thing.¡±


    Oh. That was good to know. I probably would have hurriedly left otherwise, hoping to beat the crowds and get somewhere slightly less overwhelming as soon as possible. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± He clapped me on the shoulder again and walked away, taking a seat several rows in front of mine in the spots reserved for upcoming graduates.


    After a moment, Miranda leaned in from her spot beside me and murmured, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were so close to him. Marc Pierr is a very good friend to have, he¡¯s one of the three almost guaranteed to make it to graduation.¡±


    ¡°Who¨C oh, yeah. I keep forgetting that''s his actual name. Something of a mouthful.¡± Miranda gave me another unreadable look that I ignored. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ interesting. From what I¡¯ve seen in class, he¡¯s pretty talented. I hope he makes it.¡±


    Miranda turned away, mumbling something I didn¡¯t quite catch under her breath. I could have ordered her to tell me what it was, but with the constant pressure of mana pressing against me, I just couldn¡¯t muster the energy to care much. It was exhausting, stifling almost. I¡¯d read about how certain places, the lairs of ancient dragons, leyline crossroads, and dryad groves to name a few, could be fatal for mundane humans after just a few minutes of exposure. I¡¯d never really understood how that worked, but sitting here? Suddenly the idea felt much more plausible. Looking around again, I could see the occasional first year struggling under the weight, they were seated at the edges of the room where the pressure was least concentrated, but even there it was likely rather painful for the least practiced ones.


    Turning back to Miranda, I wanted to ask a few brief questions before we began, but I was cut off when a high, clear note rang through the din of conversation. The hall fell mostly silent, only a lone few voices continuing for a few moments longer before also falling silent. At the front of the room, a short, stocky woman with dark-amber hair tied back in intricate braids who I vaguely recognized as Professor Shatterglass, cleared her throat loudly and let go of the glass sphere she was holding, leaving it floating in the air in front of her. From the loud clicks that echoed through the room when her nails tapped against it, I assumed it was some sort of device meant to amplify her voice.


    I was proven correct a moment later when she cleared her throat again and began, her soft voice carrying clearly throughout the large room. ¡°Good morning students, graduates, and faculty. Welcome to this move¡¯s initial orientation, compiled by myself and my colleagues standing behind me. We hope the following hours prove to be educational and provide a good grounding before the portal shifts. If you have any questions after the presentation, I will be available after and you are welcome to seek me or my colleagues out separately for more details. As usual, a general outline of today¡¯s presentation will be available by the end of the day in the central cafeteria and by request at the main office. Now then, let us begin.¡±


    I watched with interest as the short woman withdrew two more glass spheres from the voluminous sleeves of her dark blue robes and tossed them into the air behind her. They gently floated up into the air and began to glow, a soft hum slowly building as the light brightened. After a few seconds, they flashed and seemed to disappear, wide illusionary screens forming in the air where they had been just moments earlier.


    The illusions flickered for a moment, colors swirling in a hypnotic jumble before resolving into a very familiar image. Eleven small islands appeared on the screen as seen on a map, arranged in a wide arc with even smaller land masses arrayed around them. My eyes were immediately drawn to the bottom of the image, where a forested, half moon island sat unassumingly. Kyra. Home.


    The second illusion cleared up a moment later, showing a zoomed in image of one of the islands. I recognized it immediately, Xeyra, the largest landmass in the island chain and also the nation¡¯s capital. A medium-sized town just outside the capital city was highlighted in pale pink, likely marking the specific location where the portal would be.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°First of all, for those unfamiliar with the region, Xethis is one of the successor states of the old Confederacy of the White Sea. After the organization¡¯s collapse, the former grand chancellor and his entourage fled back to his birthplace and declared themselves the new capital of the Confederacy. After his assasination and some messy succession disputes, his son took up the title of Lawgiver and his descendants have ruled the island chain ever since. Over the centuries, there have been a few attempts by larger nations to absorb Xethis, but a combination of the remote location, several powerful beasts that call the land home, and a moderately impressive tradition of magical studies have ultimately kept the land independent. It doesn¡¯t help that most of the islands are inhospitable to sentient life and the land is horribly infertile, making it a rather unappealing target in the first place.¡±


    She paused for a moment as the images behind her changed, labels in glowing pink letters forming smoothly on the illusionary maps. I couldn¡¯t help but suppress a small frown of annoyance, I knew intellectually that she was completely right, but it still hurt to hear my birth land called not even good enough to bother conquering.


    ¡°Now then, I think this is a good place to mention a few warnings.¡± Several of the smaller islands and two of the larger ones lit up in dark purple. ¡°These islands are considered ¡®off limits¡¯ by the natives. The smaller ones are well known to be absolutely filled with monsters, primarily sea creatures that either nest or relax on land. This island in particular,¡± she highlighted one of the small islands near the edge of the map, ¡°is well known to host a large siren colony. The matriarch has some sort of agreement with the local king, but trade ships are still recommended to avoid the area. We have been asked to do the same, sirens are considered a protected semi-sentient species by the locals. I would be very disappointed to hear about any Avalon members poaching the local sirens. Please remember Avalon¡¯s policies on responsible monster harvesting.¡±


    She paused again and winked in a horribly exaggerated manner. A wave of laughter spread through the crowd and I blinked rapidly as I stared up at the woman. Was she really¡­ yeah. Ok. I shouldn¡¯t have expected anything else from a presentation here. She was basically encouraging everyone interested to go take a look, sirens were pretty valuable after all, though I imagined we were supposed to disguise our Avalon affiliation if we decided to do so.


    ¡°Moving on, this is a warning that I expect everyone to take seriously.¡± Another island lit up, one of the larger ones this time. ¡°This island is home to a nest of Storm dragons, with at least one mated pair of ancients. They also have an understanding with the locals and are considered a neutral party. You are greatly encouraged not to antagonize them. Avalon will not protect you from the consequences of such actions.¡±


    This pronouncement was met with serious nods. Poking dragons tended to end poorly, usually for everyone within several hundred miles. After what had happened at Port Anangala, I had no desire to get anywhere close to any of the monstrously powerful beasts.


    ¡°Very good. Well, that is everything on that topic for now. Professor Glassoak,¡± the willowy dryad standing motionlessly at the back of the stage slowly waved at the crowd, a blank smile on his face, ¡°will go more in depth on the local flora and fauna during his portion of the presentation.


    Now, as you can see, we will not be portaling directly into the capital. The wards surrounding the palace are ancient and impressively comprehensive, so we have been offered the use of this town instead. It has a population of roughly four thousand people and primarily caters to the city¡¯s wealthy, many of which have their manors and estates in the area. Additionally, the nation¡¯s own ¡®Royal Institute of Spellcraft¡¯ is situated on the edge of the town, just a short walk away from the portal. As per Avalon policy 73.a, stealing members or research from the institute directly is strictly prohibited, but copying techniques and research notes is, as always, greatly encouraged. The institute is well known in the region for its expertise and detailed models of the Light and Recovery spellforms; points will be paid out for any information that may expand our own understanding of these forms.¡±


    She paused again, one of the screens shifting to display several images of people. ¡°Now, before I yield to my colleagues, some people of interest to look out for. On the top right is the institute¡¯s headmaster, Archmage Lightbarer. He is a former Avalon student, though he left after his fourth year so he should not be considered affiliated with the Academy. He is a highly talented, if somewhat narrow, spellcaster, with a particular affinity for light and healing spells. His personal students and bodyguards are well known to utilize some form of rapid regenerative self-enhancements, and he is likely highly proficient with that sort of spellwork as well.


    On the left is the local royal mage, Blightcleanser. He claims to be another archmage, but we have not been able to find any evidence of him casting ninth circle spells, so consider that unverified for now. He is rather young for his position, only a few years into his first century, but seems to be doing well enough in his current role. Per the local traditions, he received his current name after ending a minor famine in the islands several decades ago and rose to his current position soon after.¡±


    She continued on for several minutes longer, rapidly cycling through wealthy merchants, nobles, members of the royal family, and several other notable mages that called the islands home. I did my best to pay attention, but it was a struggle. I knew that this sort of thing was important, but it just¡­ wasn¡¯t very interesting to me. Miranda on the other hand seemed thoroughly enthralled by it all, so I would just ask her later if I had any questions.


    I shifted slightly in my seat, half my attention focused on a fiendishly tricky internal exercise as I listened to the presentation with half an ear. It was a nasty little thing that should have been rather easy, but was proving to be a challenge even with my current level of skill. I was trying to form a fine, woven mesh, like the sort I often saw in my elves¡¯ natural circulations. It was proving to be surprisingly challenging however, individual threads constantly trying to meld together. It was difficult to keep so many strands of mana so close together without them joining into a single whole.


    ¡°... another of the local nobles, Conifer Seatamer, administers the island of Kyra in the name of the crown. As you have likely noticed, he is not an island native, but rather one of the founder¡¯s friends who has been working with the royal family for centuries. His specific origins are somewhat questionable, but it is likely he made his way to the Confederacy sometime after the third dwarvish crusade and decided to stay with the grand chancellor¡¯s family. He is not particularly active among the local nobility and rarely leaves his home island, so you are unlikely to encounter him. Next¡­¡±


    I clenched my jaw, teeth grinding audibly as I stared unblinkingly at the illusionary image. He was just like I remembered him, sharp features looking down at me with all the arrogance he always carried himself with. He was gorgeous in a way only male elves could be, and I remembered that I had once thought he was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Now, looking at him I could only see the ugly monster that lurked under the perfect teeth and sharp jawline. It had been his fault, all his fucking fault. Someday, I looked forward to strangling him with his own entrails. Maybe that would finally wipe that disgusting smirk off his face.


    Miranda¡¯s hand on my leg pulled me away from fantasizing about how I would one day make the heartless monster pay for everything he¡¯d done, and I realized that I had been blankly staring at the screen for several minutes. His picture wasn¡¯t even up there any more, replaced by yet another of the dozens of petty nobles and mages that ruled little slices of the islands.


    I glanced over at her, somewhat surprised by the gesture, and mouthed a silent ¡®thank you¡¯. She looked away quickly, biting her lip before focusing back on the current speaker. I really did need to remember to do something nice for her one of these days. She¡¯d been doing a great job ever since our little talk a few weeks ago, and deserved some sort of reward. Maybe I could ask Rea what she would think was suitable, it was always so hard to know what Miranda might like¡­


    Yes, that seemed like a great idea. I made a mental note to speak to her later tonight and then looked back up at the stage. Professor Shatterglass had just stopped speaking and had waved up one of the other professors, a burly dwarf I didn¡¯t know by name but recognized from several advanced combat classes I¡¯d seen practicing in the fields outside. Maybe this part would be a bit more interesting?

 Chapter 43

    ¡°They¡¯re almost done, Orion. Orion. Orion?¡± I shook my head slightly to clear it, Miranda¡¯s quiet whispers pulling me away from the irritating exercise I¡¯d been struggling with. I blinked several times in rapid succession and nodded my head slightly at the anxious looking girl before refocusing on the stage.


    Just as Miranda had implied, it seemed the presentation was just about over. The last speaker, Professor Meadows, who I was pretty sure was also a Xithian native, had just yielded the stage back to Professor Shatterglass for the closing remarks.


    Shifting slightly in my seat, I did my best to subtly stretch my tired muscles. I¡¯d been sitting here nearly motionlessly for several long hours, and while the satin-backed chairs were comfortable, they were not that comfortable. Hopefully she wouldn¡¯t take too long, her last few times speaking had been only a few minutes at a time so I had high hopes she wouldn¡¯t drag everything out. That would be a welcome change, particularly after the grueling, hour long presentation given by the man introduced as Professor Glassoak. His presentation had certainly been¡­ informative, but I was pretty sure it could have finished in a quarter of the time he¡¯d spent talking.


    Thankfully, it seemed Professor Shatterglass was not one to mince words. She rushed through thanking her colleagues for their work, repeated where we could find more information about the discussed topics, and then sharply spun around and walked off stage, the floating screens flickering out and following after her a moment later. That was a nifty trick, though not an aspect of artifice I had ever looked into. Maybe I would try to take a class with her in the coming years.


    The moment she stepped away from the stage, the room broke out into a din of conversation. People throughout the room rose from their seats, stretching and talking enthusiastically with their neighbors. I could see quite a few people hurriedly rushing out of the room, and I was sure that if not for Liam¡¯s comment, I likely would have been one of them. As it was however, I turned to Miranda, who was nervously standing beside me.


    ¡°What did you think?¡± I asked while rolling my neck. ¡°I can see why people find these so valuable, that was¡­ dense.¡±


    ¡°Yes, definitely. Umm¡­ would you like me to make some notes for you on the sections during which you were preoccupied?¡±


    Preoccupied was a very polite way to put it. There had been more than one part of the presentation that I had ended up blocking out entirely as I focused on my practice. Some of it had been intentional, like when one of the botany professors had spent most of twenty minutes discussing soil acidity and the difficulties of growing most common crops on the islands. Other times¡­ I had a bad habit of hyperfocusing on things sometimes, particularly when they were giving me difficulties.


    Smiling brightly at her, I nodded. ¡°That would be great, thanks Miranda. I appreciate you taking the initiative here.¡±


    She didn¡¯t seem to know how to respond to that, simply standing silently for several long moments as I took several short steps to stretch my legs a little. Yes, I absolutely needed to reward her, maybe some jewelry or something? Miranda tended to wear quite a bit of it, maybe I could enchant something for her? Those nipple rings of hers had been quite clever, but the enchantments on them had been poorly bonded to the metal and that sort of enchantment would work much better somewhere closer to the throat. Maybe a tongue piercing? Did Miranda have a tongue piercing?


    I resisted the urge to check, that seemed rather rude to do in public, but I could just ask her later. I¡¯d been surprised to find that Briella had a stud in her tongue, apparently it was something of a fad among the local nobles where she was from. Something to do with purity? She¡¯d said something about it but I hadn¡¯t been paying much attention at the time.


    For now, I decided I would do as Liam had suggested and seek him out. If nothing else, I was interested in his take on what we¡¯d learned in Mana Theory the day before. Our lecturer had some novel ideas about training fine control using magically inert substances like depleted adamantine. It seemed like a rather far-fetched idea, and ruinously expensive considering just how expensive even a few grams of the material was, but after his presentation I was convinced it was worth looking into.


    I¡¯d had some thoughts about other substances that might work, something a little bit cheaper than a literal king¡¯s ransom, perhaps a more common metal that had been rendered artificially inert via runework? I¡¯d found some promising books the night before, but maybe he would know something I didn¡¯t. He was a much more experienced mage than I was, after all.


    Liam and his companions proved easy to find, having gathered in a small clump right by the stage at the center of the room. I recognized most of them of course, it was good to know all the upper years at least by face, even if I¡¯d only ever spoken to a handful of them. Only two unfamiliar faces stood with the group of sixth and seventh years. One was a leggy brunette who I thought might be a fourth year and was hanging off of Jack Baretree¡¯s, while the other¡­


    I almost stumbled over my feet as I stepped into the radius of her presence, the hammerblow of mana overwhelming even with the already high mana concentration in the room. It was clearly a deliberate gesture, no one that powerful could possibly have such poor control over their mana, and it certainly did an excellent job of displaying her ¡®credentials¡¯. She was clearly a graduate, and a scary one at that. I didn¡¯t recognize her off hand, but I was certain she was not someone to cross.


    Despite doing my best to keep my own mana pulled tightly against my body, my approach was easily noticed by several members of the group who glanced over at me. I nearly stopped, feeling somewhat awkward to be moving towards a group that so clearly outclassed me, but then Liam looked up and waved me over, a broad smile on his face. I did my best to smile back, squaring my shoulders and slowly spinning my mana to lessen the pressure on any one part of my soul.


    After another moment of indecision, I stepped into a small gap in the circle slightly behind Liam, bowing my head politely towards the rest of the group. Liam clapped his arm onto my shoulder and pushed me forward until I was standing in line with the rest of the group. ¡°Hey Orion, happy you could join us.¡± He turned to the rest of the circle, who had paused whatever conversation they¡¯d been having before I arrived. ¡°I want to introduce Orion, he¡¯s the third year taking Mana Theory with me this year. Kid¡¯s got a real talent, I have a feeling he¡¯s going to go far.¡±


    I did my best not to blush or look away as the attention of a half dozen mages was suddenly focused on me. I felt several of them reach out to gently probe the edges of my mana, though thankfully none of them went any further than that. After a moment¡¯s thought, I did my best to return the gesture, reaching out with feather-light strands of mana to meet the probes.


    My actions earned me several raised eyebrows and looks of interest. After a moment, one of the sixth years, a dark-skinned man with intricate tattoos running along his bare arms, clicked his tongue and nodded. ¡°I can see what you mean, his control is excellent. You say he¡¯s just a third year?¡±


    Liam started to respond, but Jack¡¯s laughter cut him off, ¡°Oh, I should have guessed it was going to be this kid. I did a demonstration with him for Shrike a few weeks ago, should have known it was the same person. I think I get what you see in him, if he can avoid getting offed for a few more years he has a real shot of graduating. Might even make it a year early at this rate, I can taste fourth-circle magic in his aura.¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I fidgeted slightly as Jack¡¯s companion pulled her eyes away from his face and turned to look at me as well, a thoughtful, cunning look on her face. I didn¡¯t like that expression at all, particularly not from a student who could attack a year down at me. I carefully memorized her face, it looked like I had a new task for Miranda the next time I saw her. She looked like trouble.


    ¡°Exactly. Figured I might as well introduce him if we were all going to be talking anyway.¡± He turned back at me, then began to point around the circle. ¡°So Orion, meet Shrav,¡± the ginger seventh-year nodded sharply, ¡°Clarient,¡± the severe-looking girl I recognized from our Mana Theory class smiled faintly, ¡°Shakhan,¡± the tattooed sixth-year silently touched two fingers to his lips, ¡°and Kess,¡± the shockingly pale seventh-year did not visibly react.


    Liam took a deep breath and continued. ¡°Of course, it seems you already know Jack, and this is Archmage Rockfish, she¡¯s actually the person who originally sponsored me to Avalon if you can believe it.¡± As each person was introduced, I nodded and committed their names to memory. It would be incredibly rude to forget them after they¡¯d been introduced to me, and I didn¡¯t want to be rude with people like these. If the nod to the archmage ended up being more like a short bow, no one seemed interested in commenting. I was slightly annoyed when Liam decided against introducing the fourth year girl, but I wasn¡¯t particularly surprised. She didn¡¯t feel like anything particularly special, so I was not really sure why Jack was letting her drape herself all over him. Were they in a relationship maybe? Or perhaps she was related to him somehow? Definitely something to look into.


    With the introductions out of the way, the group dove back into the previous topic of their conversation, which had something to do with the cost of certain salt-water kelp species that one of the presenters had mentioned. I had some trouble keeping up, I was missing a lot of context, but it seemed like the stuff was useful for some sort of potions research Archmage Rockfish was doing? I was not nearly as familiar with that branch of alchemy as I was with transmutation and some of the terminology being bandied about went over my head.


    Soon however, the conversation shifted to more familiar topics and I found myself drawn into the conversation as well. When I accidentally let slip that I was actually from the area myself, I was quickly pestered with questions about the islands ¡®from the perspective of a local¡¯. I was pretty sure they were somewhat disappointed by my answers, but it seemed Shakhan was interested in my descriptions of hunting with my father as a child and of the various mundane species that could be found in the area. I wasn¡¯t sure why that could be important, but I cheerfully traded a tutoring session in minor shapeshifting in exchange for writing up a report on everything I could remember. It would be good to refresh my memories regardless, and I would never say no to advice from a more experienced spellcaster in their speciality.


    Over the next hour or so, several people slowly drifted in and out of the circle, and I was introduced to two more alumni and three more sixth years. Liam was apparently somewhat friendly with the majority of the upper years, which surprised me until he quietly explained how inter-student conflicts tended to either peter out or end with someone dead before the middle of sixth year. That did make a lot of sense, two second years fighting might both walk away injured but alive, but in a protracted conflict between high-circle mages, people often didn¡¯t even leave an intact corpse behind.


    Eventually however, Liam had to leave, and I realized the constant weight of mana was getting to me as well. It had gotten much less overpowering once a large portion of the audience had left, but there was still enough lingering power in the air to be rather uncomfortable. I politely excused myself with no incident and fled back to the relative comfort of my own room and the mountain of work I still wanted to get done this weekend.


    Leana moaned loudly into Adonia¡¯s mouth as the older girl¡¯s manicured nail trailed exquisitely across flushed skin. Her partner immediately jumped on the moment of weakness, tongue pushing past Leana¡¯s parted lips and brushing against her own. Leana moaned again, wrapping her arms tighter around the other girl¡¯s waist and legs tangling together under the soaked and half-discarded sheets.


    After a moment however, Adonia pulled away, sweat-slicked skin shining in the dimly lit bedroom. With the thick blinds pulled over the windows and the large mage-light chandelier unlit, only the flickering light of the ever-burning fireplace was left to illuminate the room, casting deep shadows across parts of the olive-skinned girl¡¯s face.


    Leana tried to push herself up, but her tired arms gave out after a moment and she collapsed with a tired but satisfied sigh onto the fluffy pillows scattered around the bed. She stretched her arms out to Adonia, trying to pull her back into her embrace, but instead Adonia untangled her legs and rolled onto her side to lie shoulder to shoulder with Leana.


    The two lay in silence for several long minutes. Leana could tell that Adonia wanted to say something, but trying to push her would only make her scatterbrained lover lose her train of thought and rush to assure her that everything was fine. Unlike some people, Adonia did not stew in silence, simply taking some time to gather her thoughts. Instead, Leana simply stretched slightly, luxuriating in the feeling of Adonia¡¯s soft skin against her own and the wonderful soreness of her muscles.


    Eventually, Adonia rolled onto her side, throwing an arm over Leana¡¯s chest and supporting herself with the other. ¡°I¡¯m worried, Leana. About us.¡± She paused for a moment, and Leana barely resisted the urge to interject. Seeming to sense that, she quickly continued, ¡°Not about us, us, I mean. This is¡­ wonderful, everything I could have ever wanted, but just about how others see us.¡± She paused again, head slumping down on the pillow only a few inches away from Leana¡¯s ear.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Other people are starting to get to me. They don¡¯t understand, but they see our love as something¡­ dirty, immoral. I¡¯m not the heiress, thankfully, but even then, I was always expected to marry for my family. Dad. Father, he loves me, and wants what''s best for me, but there is a lot of¡­ other pressure on him.¡±


    Leana turned her head, staring into Adonia¡¯s eyes as she fell silent again. Was this? Was she?


    Again, Adonia interrupted her before Leana could say anything. ¡°What we have, it''s¡­ it¡¯s something beautiful, and special, and I never want to give it up. I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of our lives, but¡­ but it¡¯s going to be hard. The new king¡­ he¡¯s¡­ not as close to father as the previous Lawgiver. We¡¯ve lost a lot of influence, and¡­¡± Adonia¡¯s words caught in her throat and she swallowed heavily.


    Leana closed her eyes and finished the sentence Adonia had been unable to. ¡°And I¡¯m just a nobody.¡±


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t quite put it like¨C¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Leana turned away, eyes drifting to the glittering sphere of crystal that typically illuminated the opulent bedroom. Was it¡­ no, the crystal looked no different than it had been on any other day. It was the tears in her eyes that threw its image off.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t be together, just that¡­¡± She paused and took a deep breath. ¡°We¡¯re to be engaged on the solstice. Lord Shatterstorm has agreed that I can have other lovers, as long as none are men.¡±


    Leana felt her heart plummet, a nearly physical pain that pushed away the lingering tinges of pleasure in her chest. ¡°And¡­ and I¡¯m supposed to be ok with that? Just another lover for you, when you grow tired off fucking your lord husband? You didn¡¯t even¨C couldn¡¯t you have at least¨C you should have¨C¡± Adonia tried to wrap her other arm around Leana, but she pushed the hand away, ¡°You didn¡¯t even have the guts to say something! Anything! You just¡­ just¡­¡±


    She fell silent again, and rolled onto her side. She wanted to move, run, scream, anything, but¡­ what would it change? She sat up, ignoring the obvious pain written across her lover¡¯s face. No matter how much she hated to see it, a small, vengeful bit of her soul was happy to know that her words had cut the other girl. She deserved it, using her like this, using her, like¡­ Tears spilled freely from her eyes, running down flushed cheeks to land on bare thighs. Was this all she was good for? Just another toy for those born better to play with? She looked past the drawn curtains, imagining her eyes could pierce through the heavy cloth and the rainy gloom outside. At least he¡¯d been honest about his intentions from the start.

 Chapter 44

    With a relieved sigh, I slumped down into my chair and rubbed my tired eyes. After spending most of the previous day at the presentation, I¡¯d had a lot of work to get done today. On its own, that would have been manageable, but I¡¯d also decided that if I planned to leave the relative safety of Avalon to visit parts of my homeland I would also need to brush up on some additional combat magic. I¡¯d spent the entire morning working on painfully tedious assignments for several of my classes, the Evocation homework in particular had been very annoying this week, and then the rest of the day alternating between studying in the library and practicing spells in a reserved practice room.


    It had been thoroughly exhausting, the combination of high mana expenditure and dry treatises leaving me with a rather unpleasant headache. Even then, I¡¯d tried to keep working, but when it began to get worse I¡¯d decided to finish up and try to relax for the rest of the evening. I¡¯d made some good progress today and it had been a generally productive week, so maybe I¡¯d earned a bit of a break.


    Hearing a quiet rustle, I looked up to find Rea kneeling silently on the floor beside me, a small tray balanced neatly over her head. Smiling, I picked up the steaming cup of tea and took a sip, finding it to be at exactly the temperature I liked. At the beginning, I¡¯d wondered if all the effort I¡¯d poured into binding the purple-skinned girl had been worth it, after all she was basically a nobody with no particular talent or experience. Since then however, she¡¯d more than proven her worth. Just having all my pointless chores and small inconveniences taken care of with only minimal input from myself was well worth the cost of the reagents I¡¯d used and the price of keeping her fed and otherwise taken care of.


    Her tray empty, Rea wordlessly stood up from the small rug I¡¯d set up for her by my desk and backed away. She returned a few moments later, this time gingerly carrying a tall vial of thick, white-gold liquid. I took another sip, then set my cup down and took the proffered vial. There was no tray involved this time, I trusted Rea¡¯s balance to an extent, but not this far. Spilling a cup of tea was annoying. Spilling a dose of this would be expensive.


    Holding the vial under my nose, I took a deep breath. The air over the milk felt sweet in a way that extended beyond simple physical sensation. Without a cap, the milk radiated mana in an effect oddly reminiscent of the overwhelming pressure from the presentation, except it felt more like a warm blanket than a stifling weight from the day before. Some initial observations had shown that, without the enchantments I¡¯d found and inscribed into the prepared holding tanks, the milk would lose nearly fifty percent of its potency in just half an hour. With the amount of mana I could feel poring off it now, that didn¡¯t surprise me in the slightest. It was a testament to how mana-rich the fluid was that it was only fifty percent.


    I took another deep breath, savoring the smell for another moment, then shook my head and threw the small dose back like a shot. Half a cup of the mana-rich milk poured down my throat like a torrent of honeyed fire, both burning and soothing all at once. I felt invigorated and filled with energy, like I could run a marathon or cast a thousand fireballs. Even my pounding headache receded slightly, though not even the incredible milk could clear that out completely. Maybe if I took just a little bit more¡­


    I shook my head again to clear it, rapidly cycling my mana to speed my stomach¡¯s absorption of the milk. I¡¯d very carefully figured out exactly how much of the stuff I could consume safely each day and dosed it out so I could take one shot in the morning and another in the evening. Any more than that and it could cause my body to overdraw on my soul, grievously damaging both. Unlike elves, who were born with incredibly durable bodies and massively large souls and thus could drink the stuff by the gallon even as babies, I had to be very careful with how much of the miraculous substance I drank.


    Still, even with those strict limits, I could feel the improvement already. I was always careful to keep track of the growth of my soul, since that was one of the key indicators of when a mage was ready to cast higher circle spells, and I¡¯d noticed a nearly ninety percent improvement over the last two weeks. It was still painfully slow compared to what I¡¯d managed before I¡¯d exceeded the initial soul-elasticity I was born with, but it was still an incredible increase and likely meant I would be able to attempt a fifth circle spell by the middle of next semester.


    Beyond that, I could also feel the effects it was having on my body. They were slightly harder to measure than the effects on my soul, measuring the soul was something mages took very seriously and I¡¯d learned over a dozen accurate techniques to do so in the last few years, but I could feel the difference. I felt¡­ lighter in a way that was hard to describe. It was still a small difference, but after a few months¡­ a few years¡­ a few decades? It would build up into some real improvements. Combined with my circulations, which tended to be much more effective when used with a stronger body, and I had a feeling that the next time I had to fight an elf it would be on much more equal footing. Well¡­ comparatively at least.


    I shook my head a third time and used the cool, wet cloth Rea had given me to wipe my face. Drinking the stuff was rather¡­ disorientating, though thankfully the mental effects cleared up after just a few moments. That was another thing I had to be careful about, multiple studies showed that elven milk wasn¡¯t chemically addictive, but the rush of power it provided could still do an excellent job of mimicking the effects of that sort of substance. That was why I didn¡¯t take my entire daily dose all at once, I¡¯d tried it the first time around and nearly made some very poor decisions in the short minutes before my head had cleared up.


    I double checked the vial to make sure I¡¯d gotten every drop of the valuable fluid, then handed it back to Rea. I took another sip of tea, then used a touch of pure mana transformed into heat to raise the temperature of my drink by a few degrees and took another. Hmm, slightly too hot now. Directly transforming pure mana into elementally aligned mana was tricky, especially since I didn¡¯t have any sort of affinity for fire or any of the associated elements. Maybe I could try to enchant a few of my cups? One to keep drinks cold and another to keep them hot? Or perhaps a variable stasis array, something that would preserve the exact state of the cup¡¯s contents when it wasn¡¯t being held? What would be the most mana-efficent way to arrange that sort of enchantment on a ceramic base material, maybe¡­


    In the back of my mind, I noticed that Rea was back, kneeling once again in her usual spot by my chair. She¡¯d stripped out of the light dress she¡¯d been wearing and was diligently practicing a mana control exercise, small orbs of dim light dancing along her arms and breasts in intricate patterns. It was impressive progress, making light was one of the most simple applications of pure mana but she was controlling several balls that were each moving independently. When I had time, I would probably need to evaluate her progress, maybe reward her or something if she was coming along as well as I¡¯d hoped.


    Oh! Right, I¡¯d been meaning to ask Rea about what she thought Miranda might like. I set my pen down beside the preliminary cup sketch I¡¯d been working on and turned to look at my little helper. Ahh, very neat, the little balls of light had a lovely light-pink tinge to them that I hadn¡¯t noticed with just my mana sense. The contrast between their glow and her darker skin was rather lovely.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking,¡± I began slowly. Rea raised her head just enough that she was looking at my hips instead of my feet, ¡°I want to put together some sort of reward, something to show that I appreciate how hard she¡¯s been working for me¡­¡± I trailed off, biting my lip as I looked down at Rea. ¡°Miranda¡¯s done an excellent job these last few weeks. Between heading off rumors about the new duo, gathering information, and helping me with some of my own research, she¡¯s been a very good servant. Do you have any ideas?¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Rea shifted around under my inquiring gaze, turning slightly so she was on her knees facing me with her palms resting lightly on her spread thighs and her head lowered submissively. ¡°This slave¡­ does not presume to know better than master. It is certain that whatever master decides is suitable will be an excellent choice.¡±


    I sighed slightly in annoyance. That was one of the problems with asking Rea for input. It wasn¡¯t quite as bad with the other two, though I¡¯d spent much less time speaking with them, but Rea always defaulted to assuming I knew best. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for the right solution, simply your own ideas. I will of course make my own decision in the end.¡± I winced internally as I finished speaking and saw Rea¡¯s head sink even lower. That might have come out slightly harsher than I had intended.


    After a few moments, Rea raised her head again. ¡°This slave understands. This slave does not know Master¡¯s Miranda well, but this slave has heard Master describe her as part succubus. Perhaps, Master should reward her in a manner befitting her heritage? This slave has read that Succubi are considered very lustful when summoned to this world.¡±


    Well, that was a terrible idea. Still, I continued to listen as Rea layed out another suggestion. ¡°Alternatively, this slave has heard Master say that Master¡¯s Miranda was bound with an inferior form of oath. This slave was overjoyed when Master bound its soul to Master¡¯s, if Master¡¯s Miranda has been good, perhaps she is worthy of such an honor?¡±


    Wow. That was¡­ just stunningly horrible. Why had I thought about asking Rea again? ¡°If Master¡¯s Miranda has not earned such an honor yet, perhaps Master can bestow on Master¡¯s Miranda a simpler sign of Master¡¯s ownership? In this worthless slave¡¯s former home, former master¡¯s favorites were given elaborate jewels to represent their status.¡± Rea started to say something else, then stopped and silently looked back down at the floor.


    Well, none of those were at all serviceable. The third idea was at least slightly more reasonable than the other two, I somehow doubted Miranda would consider either of those a reward, but not in the way Rea was suggesting. I remembered the descriptions Rea had given me when I¡¯d been helping her put together a few outfits, and I doubted Miranda was interested in the sort of large nipple piercings and heavy collars that Rea considered to be the height of fashion.


    Maybe I should just ask Miranda, or at least someone a little bit more biased. I would table the idea for now, there would be large markets surrounding the portal once it finished moving and perhaps something there would be appropriate or at least point me in the right direction. For now, I would just head to bed. The energy from my nightly drink was wearing off and I was dead tired in both body and mind. Coming to professor Meadow¡¯s class exhausted sounded like a recipe for a very bad time indeed. It was only in the morning as I lay in bed that it came to me. Those were things Rea wanted me to do to her.


    ¡°Ah, Lord Shatterstorm! I hear congratulations are in order!¡± Plastering a smile onto his face, the young lord turned to look at the approaching noble, only to stiffen slightly when he realized who it was. ¡°Your betrothed looks like a lovely young lady. You must be pleased.¡±


    Recovering quickly, he gave a shallow nod and greeted the older noble. ¡°Lord Seatamer! Thank you, thank you. What a surprise to see you here today, I hadn¡¯t realized you were on the island.¡± Reaching out, he snagged a pair of champagne flutes from a passing waiter¡¯s tray and passed one to the slender nobleman. ¡°You simply must try the wine, it is from my dear Adonia¡¯s family fields, truely a vintage like no other.¡±


    ¡°Of course, that sounds positively delightful.¡± The finely dressed elf delicately took the offered glass and raised it to his nose. ¡°Ah, yes. Very nice.¡± He swirled the wine, then took a tiny sip. ¡°Yes, very nice indeed. Perhaps I may order a few bottles for myself before I leave. It is rather¡­ excellent wine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it. One of her grandparents was once titled ¡®Grapesinger¡¯ for his bountiful vineyards, and though it is not the family¡¯s focus any longer, it is still a major part of their holdings.¡±


    The lord tilted his head in thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. ¡°Oh yes, young Adrian, I¡¯d nearly forgotten. I hadn¡¯t realized¡­ oh, of course, yes. He was married to that Earthshadow girl, it''s good to hear that his family is doing well. I wonder¡­ no, no, I remember his funeral invitation¡­ a shame¡­ a shame¡­"


    Edwin let out a silent sigh of relief as the older elf spotted someone else in the distance and wandered away. Lord Seatamer was something of a fixture in Xethisian politics, with fingers in just about every pie and ties to almost every family of note. His favor could open a lot of doors, just as his wrath could cause someone no end of troubles. Unfortunately, he tended to be reclusive and prickly at the best of times, and interacting with him was always a gamble. Thankfully, it seemed he was in a good mood today.


    Taking another sip of his own wine, Edwin began to move towards a group of his friends when a slender hand closed around his forearm. ¡°Ah there you are, my dear lord future-husband. I¡¯ve barely seen you all night. Why, it feels almost like you are avoiding me.¡±


    As a matter of fact, that was exactly what had been happening, not that he was willing to tell her that. Instead, he turned to look at the girl who would one day be his wife and smiled innocently. ¡°Why, I would never want to avoid a vision of loveliness like yourself. You look positively ravishing tonight my lady Earthshadow.¡±


    Adonia looked up at him with an unamused expression. ¡°Why ever would you, indeed.¡± She extended a single, perfectly manicured hand palm up, ¡°Father says that we are expected to dance tonight, so let''s get this over with.¡±


    Suppressing another sigh, Edwin gently took her offered hand and led her towards the dancefloor near the center of the large hall. When Lord Earthshadow had first floated the idea of him marrying his gorgeous, talented daughter, he had jumped at the opportunity. Sure there were some negative rumors going around about the girl, something about openly toying with a merchant-girl at her school, but there were always rumors going around, so he¡¯d thought nothing of it. Earthshadow was a much more powerful lord then he was, even if their Names were of comparable valor. Additionally, having permanent access to the wealth of the capital instead of being limited to his family¡¯s outskirts holdings would open a lot of doors for him and his family.


    Ever since then though, things had only gone downhill. He¡¯d thought nothing of signing the secrecy contract, it was a rather standard thing that ensured that internal family matters stayed internal and that married members wouldn¡¯t be forced to hide their family secrets from their spouses. His own family employed the exact same practice, which had ensured that none of their family magic had been leaked to other nobles despite centuries of intermarriage.


    In this case however, it had been nothing less than a filthy trap meant to hide his new wife¡¯s unnatural tastes. She was beautiful and talented, there was no doubt about that, but behind her demure demeanor hid a devious and willful chit who was in no way happy with their newly formed relationship. She¡¯d made it absolutely clear to him that she was only marrying him because it was her father¡¯s will that she did so, and that she didn¡¯t plan to spend any more time with him than she absolutely had to in order to fulfill the letter of their future marriage contract.


    He¡¯d tried to make the best of the situation regardless, but she hadn¡¯t made it easy. These last few days she¡¯d been particularly frosty, he¡¯d overheard several servants saying that one of the girls she¡­ slept with had rushed out of the building in a huff a few days ago, so maybe that was the issue, but he didn¡¯t understand why she had to take it out on him. He hadn¡¯t known any of this nonsense going into this relationship, and now it was too late to back out. Lord Earthshadow was not as powerful as his great ancestor had been, but he had enough strength, both political and magical, to crush him and his remaining family.


    When the next song began, he gingerly set one hand on his future betrothed¡¯s hip and did his best to ignore the icy glares she kept shooting at him when she thought he wasn¡¯t looking. In a few years, once they had an heir and a spare on the way, he could leave her with her family and move back home. Perhaps some girl on his own island would catch his eye, if his wife was allowed an extra lover, there was no reason he couldn¡¯t take one as well, as long as he was discrete.


    He winced as a heeled foot came down deliberately on his toes. His hand had only slipped the tiniest bit, the silky-smooth fabric of her dress not giving him much of anything to hold onto. There was never going to be any love between them, but did she have to be such a bitch about it?

 Chapter 45

    I was sitting in class, honestly bored out of my mind by Professor Shrike¡¯s lecture, when I felt a ripple pass through the room. The ambient mana in the room seemed to shift and roil for a moment and I unconsciously pulled my mana in tightly against my skin. It felt¡­ familiar, but somehow more intense then I half remembered.


    Professor Shrike paused in mid sentence and cocked his head to the side as though listening for something. After a moment, another ripple washed over me, all the ambient mana in the room freezing for an instant and then returning to normal.


    Professor Shrike loudly cleared his throat. ¡°I do believe we¡¯ve arrived. Quite a distance this time too, that was more intense than usual. I¡¯ll give everyone a moment to adjust.¡±


    It took me a moment to understand what the professor had said, the sudden turbulence around me having momentarily overloaded my mana sense. It was a distinctly uncomfortable sensation, vaguely reminiscent of the overload I¡¯d experienced during the presentation yet distinctly different.


    Once I did, I had to agree with his assessment. I¡¯d always felt it before when the Avalon portal had changed locations, but never so clearly. Some of that was my greatly improved skills with sensing mana. I''d made an immense amount of progress in that area over the last few weeks, but not enough to account for that moment of horrible nausea. Apparently, traveling almost a third of the way around the world was much more magically intense than just making a small leap. I was immensely curious how the mechanism that moved the portal worked, but I¡¯d never found anything about the topic throughout my research.


    After another moment, Professor Shrike continued his lecture. ¡°Now then, as you can see here, this section of Force is distinctly different from the parts we¡¯ve looked at in the past. While the lower-dimensional sections are rather straightforward, in higher dimensions Force becomes one of the most intricate spell forms that are widely studied among mages.¡± He paused for a moment and raised a hand up in the air in front of him. After a moment, lines of shimmering mana drew themselves over his palm, forming one of the most basic parts of the Force spell form.


    ¡°So, this section should be very familiar to all of you. Can anyone tell me why?¡±


    I waited a moment, but when no one else seemed poised to answer, I decided to go for it. Professor Shrike would always give us an excessive amount of time to answer his random questions and I really didn¡¯t want to spend any more time than was necessary on this part of the class. ¡°It¡¯s the core of a basic ¡®force spike¡¯ spell, professor.¡±


    ¡°Very good!¡± The mana above his palm warped slightly and the rest of the spell¡¯s matrix appeared, though it was drawn out using a different shade of glowing mana. It was a trick he often used in class, and a very helpful one at that. I really wished some of my other professors would copy it, I¡¯d certainly found it very helpful during my own studying.


    ¡°Now, can anyone tell me a basic spell that uses a higher dimensional form of the Force form?¡±


    This time, one of the girls in the second row answered immediately. ¡°The fourth-circle version of ¡®bulwark¡¯, professor.¡±


    ¡°An excellent example.¡± The matrix above his hand warped again, restructuring into an unfamiliar matrix. I leaned forward in my seat, studying glowing strands of mana over his hand. I¡¯d heard of the spell before, it was part of a rather famous sequence that had been developed several centuries ago by an Avalon graduate. He¡¯d designed nine versions of the spell, one at each circle, that used the same arrangement of spellforms and had the same sort of effect, but varied immensely in power. It was a very impressive feat of spellcraft, since it was usually impossible to adjust the circle of a spell while keeping so many variables constant.


    ¡°As you can see here, this is the third circle version of bulwark. Just like in the force spike spell, the Force section of the spell is rather simple. However, when I move to the fourth circle version¡­¡± He trailed off as the spell over his palm warped, looping in on itself in a way that was almost painful to look at.


    ¡°As you know, one of the greatest difficulties with spells past the third circle is simulating higher-dimensional parts of the spell-form. This difficulty is particularly pronounced in force spells, as the fourth and fifth dimensional sections of the spell form are particularly complex. There are quite a few upper years who are capable of casting fifth or sixth circle spells but are still unable to manage something like this.¡±


    He thrust his hand forward and the spellform above his hand flashed before disappearing. A translucent wall of force nearly six inches in thickness formed around him in a half-dome. He knocked his fist soundlessly against the surface several times, then dispelled the shield.


    ¡°For similar reasons, runes that draw from the Force spell form are some of the most varied from culture to culture. While the elven and ol-dracic symbols for fire and earth are nearly identical, both systems tend to emphasize the higher-dimensional sections of spell forms, so the two symbols for force are completely unrecognizable without knowing their origin.¡±


    I leaned back in my seat, letting Brenda press herself even tighter against my side. The material was interesting, but unfortunately this was a topic I had devoted a lot of attention to in the past, and Professor Shrike wasn¡¯t really going particularly in depth on the topics he was discussing.


    Force was one of the spell-forms I knew best after all, I¡¯d studied it extensively over the years since it was well known as one of the most useful spells forms when combined with unstructured magic, and I was already able to cast several fourth circle spells, so I knew how to direct my mana to simulate the higher-dimensional structures of spell forms. For many of my classmates, this was probably a very useful lecture, but I just couldn¡¯t make myself pay attention.


    I just¡­ wanted to do something. The middle of this semester had been exhausting, filled with constant planning and frantic preparations. Compared to that, just doing classwork and working on my own projects felt somewhat¡­ dull. Dull was good, I kept telling myself, dull was safe, but just as I¡¯d always known, I did my best work under pressure.


    Brenda pressed her cheek against my shoulder, her free hand playing gently with the collar of my shirt. She¡¯d gotten bolder in the last few weeks, as soon as I¡¯d given her an inch she¡¯d begun to push further and further. It was distinctly annoying, but I knew it was good for the plan so I continued to tolerate it. If only her face and personality and voice weren¡¯t so¡­ ugh. She had a decent body under all that fabric, I knew it very well from the number of times she pressed herself up against me, but then she would open her mouth and look at me and I had to remind myself again why I was doing this.


    I was going to go out and take a look around, I decided suddenly. It was the capital, miles of ocean and uninhabited rock away from home. Even if I didn¡¯t feel comfortable going back to Kyra, no one would know me here and I could take some time to enjoy someplace so much like my birthplace. It wouldn¡¯t be the same cliffs and fields, but it would be the same sort of landscape, the same sort of people.


    Yes, the longer I thought about it, the better the idea sounded. It would be exposed, I still remembered the last time I¡¯d left the relative safety of Avalon¡¯s hidden world, but as long as I kept my wits around me, I should be fine. Compared to the port city, Xethis was a tiny backwater. Even as a fourth circle mage, I was going to be stronger than the vast majority of mages on the island, capital city or not.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I would be careful and quick, just go out for a few hours at most. The area around the portal was typically filled with all sorts of vendors and shops. I could take a look around, get the lay of the land so to speak. Maybe I would finally find something to use for my ritual, I was starting to cut it dangerously close and I still didn¡¯t know what sort of creature I wanted to use for my self-enhancement.


    I closed my eyes as Brenda''s hand began to play with the top button of my shirt. The things I put up with¡­


    Leana sighed and set the fine-tipped pen down into its stand. The page in front of her was all but blank, only a rough sketch, barely a half-dozen lines, maring the fine white parchment. The same lines that had been there earlier this afternoon when she¡¯d sat down. The same lines that had been there the night before when she¡¯d come back to the paper in her little work room.


    Leana leaned back against the wall, ridges on the wood panels digging lightly into her back. The feeling was familiar, almost comforting. She had spent many hours sitting on this stool, minding the counter for the kind family that had taken her in several years ago. After half a decade of jagged, icy-cold stone, the warm irregularity of roughly hewn wood had been a welcome change. She swallowed heavily, tears rising unprompted at the corners of her eyes before she quickly wiped them away.


    Setting the pen aside for now, she picked up a charcoal pencil and flipped to a new page in her notebook. She really should be working on the other piece right now, it was an assignment for class that was rapidly coming due, but she just couldn¡¯t do it right now. In the past months, inspiration had always been a short talk with Adonia away. Something about the exuberant girl had always made it so very easy to work, some of her best art coming nearly effortlessly after a short exchange with her girlf¨C with her. That¡­ wasn¡¯t an option at the moment.


    Instead, she turned to her old mainstay, just paper and charcoal like when she¡¯d been a little girl. Her parents hadn¡¯t been poor by any means, her father had owned the shop he worked in and they¡¯d never been pressed for coins, but there had never been enough extra to buy fine art supplies for a child, no matter how talented.


    She pressed the tip of pencil against the yellowing paper and began to trace out the picture in her mind¡¯s eye, lines coming almost effortlessly as she pictured the scene clearly as though it was directly in front of her. The ship¡¯s outline solidified first, then the smiling figures standing by the railing, faint smiles discernible on their indistinct features. Soon she moved on to finer details, carefully using the point to articulate the lines of their faces and the carved figures along the gunwale.


    The quiet ring of a small bell pulled her away from her work and she hurriedly pushed the notebook aside and sat up straight behind the counter. Uncle always stressed how important presentation was, it was always crucial to put your best face forward towards a prospective customer.


    The heavy wooden door, a necessity given the island¡¯s unpredictable climate, swung open slowly, the small brass bell hanging at the top of the door warning her of the potential buyer. After a few moments, a tall, slender man stepped through the half-open doorway, letting the door swing shut behind him with a soft thud. Despite his quick entry, Leana shivered slightly as a cold wind blew in behind him, the first taste of the island¡¯s brutal winters.


    Calling out a rote greeting, ¡°Welcome to Hidesticher¡¯s Fine Fabrics, let me know if I can help you with anything, honored customer,¡± she took a moment to study the man. As she¡¯d immediately noticed, he was tall, even taller than she¡¯d thought at first glance. He¡¯d had to stoop slightly to pass through the doorway, and now stood a head higher than she¡¯d initially thought.


    Still, while his height was certainly unusual and likely spoke of non-human blood in his ancestry, that wasn¡¯t what she was looking for today. Instead, she focused on how he carried himself, his clothing, and any other subtler signs of who this man was. As her adopted uncle had always said, knowing the customer was the clearest path to making a good sale. He could scope out a stranger in the blink of an eye and know what they wanted before they did themselves. She was not at that level yet, and doubted she ever would be, but she¡¯d picked up some tricks over the years.


    His clothing was fine, but worn and somewhat ill-fitting. Heavy leather boots shone in the dim sunlight trickling in through the window, but she could easily make out the marks of the road on the bottom of each boot. Similarly, his jacket was finely embroidered, but thicker and of a more practical cut than she tended to see worn by the young aristocrats at school.


    From his clothing, Lea would have taken him as a traveling noble, perhaps one recently arrived from one of the more remote islands and in need of a wardrobe updated with the latest fashions. However, the way he carried himself was rather odd. His walk was awkward and stilted, not at all the confident strut that was so common among her classmates. It almost reminded her of when an older students had used illusions to impersonate one of the teachers for a stupid prank, he¡¯d had the same sort of halting walk as he¡¯d tried to adapt for an illusion shorter than his own body, but who would try to disguise themselves as someone that would literally stand out in any crowd?


    The man glanced slowly around the room, eyes trailing across racks of clothing and displays showing off samples of the many fabrics they offered. He paused for a moment at one of the racks of winter clothing that she¡¯d helped set out just a few days earlier, then briskly approached the counter.


    ¡°Can I help you with something?¡±


    He wordlessly set his gloved hands on the counter in front of her, then tilted his head questioningly. She waited for a moment to see if he would say anything, then took a guess. ¡°Are you looking for new gloves, sir?¡±


    He nodded, a sharp gesture that looked distinctly out of place on a human neck, then carefully removed a glove, one finger at a time, and set it down on the counter. Between the odd movements and the way he¡¯d immediately hidden his bare hand in a pocket before she could see it, she silently changed the non-human ancestry to very recent.


    She picked up the glove, studying the greenish-blue leather and the deep gouge that ran from the tip of the middle finger to the center of the palm. ¡°Is there any sort of material you are looking for? I¡¯m afraid we don¡¯t carry this sort of leather, but I think we have several pairs that might fit you in a similar shade. If you aren¡¯t in a hurry, I think we can probably repair the damage, though that will cost you.¡±


    After several long moments of silence, she opened her mouth to continue when the customer finally spoke up. His voice was hollow and off-tone, with a strong accent she couldn¡¯t place, but thankfully it was still perfectly understandable. ¡°Repair unneeded. Simply¡­ replacement. Durable, warm, thick. Have gold.¡±


    ¡°Of course, let me grab a few options for you to take a look at.¡±


    ¡°Take time. Not¡­ in hurry.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll be back in just a few moments.¡±


    She disappeared into the back of the shop, weaving carefully between boxes and shelves laden with goods. Thankfully, they¡¯d already unpacked most of the winter stock, so she wouldn¡¯t have to dig through any packed away containers. The size would be an issue however, those gloves were verging on the largest sizes they sold, though she was pretty sure they had a few similar pairs in stock.


    She returned a few minutes later, carrying four pairs that matched the one she was given in size. She barely had a chance to set them down on the counter when the man snatched one off the table, raising it to the light and studying the well oiled leather. ¡°Oh, an excellent choice. Those are a rather recent addition to our stock, import¨C¡±


    He didn¡¯t wait for her to finish, hiding his bare hand under the counter and pulling it on. ¡°Very good. I take. Gold?¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, this pair would be fifteen¨C¡±


    A handful of polished coins slammed down on the counter before she could finish. ¡°Good. I take. Go now.¡±


    She blinked at the coins, then looked back up ¡°Sir, this¨C¡±


    The heavy slam of the door cut her off before she could finish. She stood up, looked around, then hurriedly swept the coins off the table and into a presence-suppressing box that she immediately sealed. She looked around again, then cracked open the box and stared at the contents. She picked one up and traced her finger along the squared-off edge of the coin, feeling for the mana inside the metal.


    The gloves should have cost ten silver, that''s what they¡¯d been marked as in the back. She¡¯d tried to upsell the man a little, but had honestly expected him to negotiate the price down at least a few coins. These were not the silver coins minted by Xethis¡¯ government. They weren¡¯t silver at all, nor the regular coinage she¡¯d been using her entire life. The small bars shone with an inner light, mana-forged gold shimmering under her touch. She swallowed heavily, shoved the ¡®coin¡¯ back in the box, and set it down under the counter.


    It was the work of a minute to change the sign outside to ¡®closed¡¯, lock the door, and slide shutters down over the store¡¯s windows. It was close to the end of the day anyway, and she was certain her uncles would excuse the miniscule loss in potential business. Then she picked up the box and went into the back.


    With a grunt of strain, she pushed a shelf several inches to the side, just enough to expose a tiny latch in the bare stone behind it. Sliding a finger into the gap, she channeled a touch of her mana, causing a hidden door to swing open. She slid the box inside, closed the hidden door, and moved the shelf back into place.


    Only then, with the largest amount of money she¡¯d seen in her life hidden away as securely as she could make it, did she slump bonelessly to the floor. She took several deep breaths, half expecting someone to rush into the store and demand the money back, but nothing happened. She took another breath and pushed the strange man out of her mind. It was probably best not to think about who or what that man was. Her uncles could figure it out. She had a very poor track record with older, non-human men, and had no desire to add to that chapter of her life.


    She slowly stood up and looked around the dimly lit stock room. The smell of oil, leather, and fabric filled her nose, reminding her of the horseback expedition she¡¯d gone on with Adonia just a few weeks earlier. She shook her head to clear it and took another deep breath. A walk, something to clear her head, would do her well.


    Apparently that trade portal or whatever it was supposed to be was supposed to arrive sometime soon. The entire town, no, the entire island, had been buzzing about it for the last few weeks. There was an entire market set up in the empty square on the other side of the town, that''s where her uncles were right now, getting their stall ready to go. Maybe she could go give them the¡­ good news?

 Chapter 46

    Cloaked under three different spells of concealment and dressed in the newly altered clothing of a Xethian peasant, I stared in trepidation at the rippling surface of the portal. Streaks of multicolored light played across the iridescent dimensional membrane, occasionally clearing up for a moment to reveal tantalizing glimpses of what lay on the other side. At the moment, all I could see was gray sky and bits of buildings, but I¡¯d heard that while the portal was moving, you could see directly into the great void between realities.


    A quiet cough pulled me away from watching the portal and I turned to look at the single guard lounging against the leg of a towering golem. I¡¯d been momentarily surprised when I¡¯d entered the portal room and found it almost completely empty, but on second thought, it made sense. Even for Port Anangala, a much more prosperous and powerful place than my homeland, Avalon had only posted a few people. Combined with the two mages who I knew were standing just beyond the portal, along with the dozens of war golems ready to spring into action at a moments notice, a single guard was plenty on this side of the portal. It would take just about every mage the country had just to fight through what was here already, and there were plenty of powerful reinforcements just a short teleport away.


    The guard cleared his throat and tapped the base of staff lazily against the short pillar that held the record stone. ¡°You goin¡¯ somewhere, kid? Otherwise, I gotta remove you from the logs before you run off. There¡¯s a big fine for not using them properly.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m going. Just¡­ Yeah. I¡¯m going.¡±


    I took a deep breath and looked down at my clothing, already slightly regretting this part of the plan. I hadn¡¯t really wanted to stand out when I arrived, I wanted a chance to look around without getting caught up in whatever greetings they had ready for Avalon mages, so I had prepared accordingly. It had been years since I¡¯d worn my old clothing, and absolutely none of it still fit, but between Rea¡¯s meager sewing skills and my own transmutation prowess, we¡¯d managed to make something that I hoped wouldn¡¯t stand out. Honestly, I was mostly worried that the shoddy craftsmanship might end up looking suspicious, but it wasn¡¯t that bad and would do until I could get something better to replace it.


    I really would need to get something better soon though. I hated to spend the money on clothing I didn¡¯t really need, but I could afford it and, since the portal was going to be in the area until after the winter recess, I did need something suitable for the area. I nervously adjusted the leather overcoat I was wearing, but the overly stiff material just wouldn¡¯t lay the way I wanted it too despite my best efforts. Similarly, my long pants and tucked-in shirt were just a bit off, cinching uncomfortably in some places and hanging awkwardly in others. Who would have thought there was so much work that went into making clothing properly! At least my boots were fine, good leather boots were pretty universal as far as I could tell, and my current pair was just as suitable for Xethis¡¯ rocky terrain as it was for harvesting ingredients in Avalon¡¯s greenhouses.


    The guard coughed again, and I exhaled loudly. It would be fine. Shit, I shouldn¡¯t have thought that. Everything was going to be fine. I stepped through the portal, nodding politely to the two guards flanking the gateway and registering my mana signature with the departure stone. ¡°Hopefully this time is a bit less exciting,¡± I joked. The guard on my left, who I¡¯d recognized from my¡­ eventful time during the dragon attack, chuckled loudly while the woman on my right looked at us disapprovingly.


    ¡°You can say that again!¡± He said boisterously, ignoring his colleague¡¯s glare. ¡°You¡¯re lucky, I made the call to summon reinforcements so I had to fill out so much paperwork after. Didn¡¯t even get to fight anything and they still had us file triplicate after-action reports!¡±


    ¡°The policy exists for good reason,¡± the second guard said quietly. ¡°Though I will admit, the paperwork is only barely worth the amount of points we earn doing this.¡± She turned to look at me, though I noticed the small constructs fluttering around her continued to watch for any approaching threats. ¡°Do they still make students declare what courses they are taking to each Professor separately? That scramble was always such a mess.¡±


    I nodded and she shook her head ruefully, ¡°At least Professor Molly finnally fucked off into retirement. She used to hide her box under a mountain of illusions. It was such a bitch to deal with.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think any of my professors have done something like that. I think Professor Igor still drapes intestines over his box, but everyone¡¯s mostly used to it by that.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like something he¡¯d do. Never had a class with him, but I¡¯ve seen the displays.¡±


    I set my hand down on the record stone for a moment and channeled mana into it until the pedestal flashed briefly.


    ¡°Oh right, you¡¯re good. Might want to renew the shroud before you go, it''s slipping. They don¡¯t have anyone particularly impressive watching the portal, but best to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    I walked up to the edge of the bubble around the portal, rapidly recasting my spells of concealment. They wouldn¡¯t last very long, nor hold up to any higher-circle detection spells, but I only needed them for the few minutes it would take to get away from the area immediately around the portal. Then, I stepped through the boundary and entered Xethis for the first time in nearly a decade.


    It was the smell that hit me first. The cool breeze blowing off the ocean and mixing with the scents of native grasses washed over me like a half-forgotten lullaby. Under it I could feel the fainter tastes of home, fresh breads, roasting meats, and the sweet perfume wafting off the many strands of laurel vines draped across the sides of buildings.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    I was almost overwhelmed by it for a moment, half-forgotten memories rising unprompted in the back of my mind, but then I shook myself and pushed through it. Under the cover of my spells, I walked briskly away from the portal, scanning my surroundings for someone to ¡®reappear¡¯ as I went.


    Like in the last city I¡¯d left the hidden realm, the Avalon portal was situated in the center of a bustling market square. The scale was different of course, I could see maybe a third the total number of people as back then, and the square itself was considerably smaller, but the overall atmosphere was very similar. The outside of the square was lined with shops and cafes offering all sorts of local products and cuisines. Judging by the smells coming from some of them, I had a feeling I would be ¡®exploring¡¯ them in more detail in the coming days and weeks.


    In front of those shops and extending down every street leading away from the street, hundreds of smaller stalls had been set up, some of them still empty while others were already advertising their products to everyone around them. Even though nearly half of the set up stalls were unoccupied, I was honestly surprised to see it so busy already. The portal had only arrived a few hours earlier and I doubted more than a few dozen members of Avalon had left the area so far. Still, maybe it was profitable enough to sell to whatever travelers had already arrived to do business with the academy? That seemed plausible.


    After a minute of searching, and carefully avoiding running into anyone who couldn¡¯t just sense my mana despite my concealing spells like the guards had all been capable of, I found a good spot. Taking a seat at an out-of-the-way table just off the square, I double-checked that nobody was watching me and let my spells drop. I waited for several minutes, making a show of examining the small menu card I¡¯d snagged from a nearby vendor.


    In all honesty, the food on the card sounded incredible, but I had eaten at the cafeteria just a half hour earlier and only wanted to take a short look around today. Promising to myself that I would come back some other time, I returned the card to the little box by the stall and continued purposefully down the road. Between my local appearance and clothing, nobody tried to bother me as I walked down the bustling street. I looked just like so many other workers hustling from place to place, though I noticed I hadn¡¯t quite managed to capture the look I had been going for. Still, it was good enough for now.


    Eventually, my feet took me away from the central market and out towards the less busy parts of the town. Cafes and other shops were replaced by houses and inns. In the distance, I could see a large, castle-like building, the local mage school I assumed, though the light fog that was so common on the islands made it hard to see it clearly.


    Stopping at an intersection, I leaned up against a cobblestone wall and looked up at the sky. The sun was hidden by a thick layer of gray clouds, and I could smell rain in the air. Combined with the everpresent fog, it was honestly somewhat gloomy, and yet? It felt incredible. The weather in the port and in so many other places I¡¯d been over the years was objectively so much better, but somehow this just¡­ seemed right.


    A loud shriek tore its way through my peaceful contemplation and I sighed in annoyance. Couldn¡¯t whatever idiots had decided to fight take it somewhere¨C another scream echoed through the narrow street and I paused. This¡­ wasn¡¯t Avalon. Random shrieks weren¡¯t supposed to just be something that happened, right?


    Should I¡­ no, this wasn¡¯t my problem. Whatever it was, someone else could deal with it. The city guards, or whatever it was they had around here, could figure out what was going on. I pushed myself off the wall and continued down the road, content to put whatever that was out of my mind. Hopefully there would be some nice little shops closer to the other side of the town and I could avoid dealing with all the shopkeepers eager to rip off travelers.


    Then, another shriek echoed through the air, a high, girlish scream of pain, and this time¡­ something about it sounded almost¡­ familiar? Without consciously thinking about it, my feet changed direction and I turned left. A protective barrier snapped into place around me as I moved down a winding alleyway, long years of avoiding fights at Avalon giving me a good idea of where the noise was coming from.


    Turning another corner, I finally saw the source of the commotion. A girl was lying on the ground, arm held protectively over her head and legs curled up against her chest. A small bag lay discarded several feet away, a large boot print marring the neat leatherwork. Around her stood a group of four men and two young women about the same age as the third. They were dressed in moderately fine clothing, nicer than my own but still well suited for the unpleasant weather so common to the islands.


    A heavy boot from one of the men slammed into her chest, knocking her sprawling onto her back. She gasped loudly in pain and my augmented senses heard something crack. ¡°Fucking dyke whore, think you¡¯re so much better than us! Well, not so high and mighty without your bitch friend, are you!¡±


    One of the women stepped forward, using the tip of her low-heeled shoe to grind the girl¡¯s face into the cobbles. ¡°I heart she¡¯s engaged to a proper man now, no room left for a dumb slut like you. The moment she found someone better, she tossed you to the wayside, isn¡¯t that right? Bless her bleeding heart she didn¡¯t send you to a whorehouse where you belong.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we can correct her oversight,¡± a heavyset boy growled as he stepped forward. ¡°A proper brothel¡¯s too good for a twat-eating hag like you.¡±


    I took a silent step backwards. This looked exactly like the sort of mess I didn¡¯t want to end up involved in. I didn¡¯t know who any of the people involved were, and I really didn¡¯t care what their problems with the cowering girl were. If it had just been a simple mugging or something, that would have been a different story, but I could feel weak auras of magic around all six of the attackers. They were only at the bottom end of the second circle, but that was still enough to show that they were clearly not nobodies.


    Then, one of the men stepped forward, and I got a clear look at the girl¡¯s face for the first time. Crystal-blue eyes met mine as they looked back at me past rapidly swelling bruises. White-blonde hair fanned out around her, dirtied by boots and gritty cobble, but still nearly shining in the dim sunlight. Her face, twisted into a rictus of pain, but so¡­ very¡­ painfully¡­ familiar.


    Muscular arms reached down, grabbing the front of her thick, fall dress and lifted her off the ground. The look of hopelessness in her eyes as she raised her head to look up at the man towering over her¡­ Mana surged inside my chest and suppressed rage bubbled up like an uncontrolled potion destabilization as I stepped forward, shedding the magical aura of normality that I had cloaked around me.

 Chapter 47

    There¡¯s more to being a real mage than being able to cast spells. It was something I¡¯d been slowly beginning to understand for years, and that understanding had progressed by leaps and bounds over the past few weeks. It had something to do with the near-physical presence almost every high-circle mage I¡¯d ever met carried with them, something beyond simple pure mana manipulation. That first encounter with the Myrddin, when he¡¯d simply commanded the world around him to cease and it had obeyed¡­ I hadn¡¯t realized it in the moment, but I was growing more and more certain that what I¡¯d seen had been an expression of pure presence, something distinct from any spell or technique.


    Combined with some other things I¡¯d learned, it had really changed the way I looked at so many of my classmates. So many of them were content to wallow in their own mediocrity, never progressing past the path that was set out for them. I was sure it was even worse outside Avalon¡¯s brutal ¡®educational system¡¯, but I was finally starting to understand why so many students dropped out after their fourth year. They were good mages, by the standards of just about anywhere outside Avalon they would be considered exceptional even, and many might even go on to eventually achieving the vaunted title of Archmage, but they just didn¡¯t have the drive, the will to tell the world to obey and bend it to their will.


    Still, I¡¯d never really understood how it was possible. I¡¯d heard other students throw around terms like ¡®nascent divinity¡¯ and seen some of the upperclassmen do things that baffled my understanding of their circles of magic, but the explanations of what I was seeing had escaped me. I¡¯d searched for it in books and asked professors probing questions, but had never been able to find an explanation that satisfied me.


    To be perfectly honest, I still didn¡¯t understand how it worked, how any of it worked. My best guess was that it had something to do with the deeper levels of mana manipulation, the same techniques that allowed mages to simulate the higher-dimensional appearance of spell-forms using just mana, but applied internally in some incomprehensible way.


    What I had learned however, was that sometimes that sort of presence could arise at the oddest of times. Professor Yana had cheerfully told me an anecdote of the first time she¡¯d ¡®broken past the limits of what she thought possible¡¯ and slaughtered a sixth year that had tried to force himself on the fifth year beauty. The way she¡¯d described delicately crushing every bone in his body in agonizing detail had been intensely disturbing from someone I had always considered one of the ¡®nicer¡¯ professors, and she¡¯d never ended up answering my questions anyway, so I¡¯d put the story out of my mind.


    Now though, I thought I could understand where she was coming from. These¡­ lowlife thugs had dared to touch something that very well might be mine. That was not something I was willing to tolerate. I didn¡¯t care what they did most of the time. I¡¯d certainly done worse, and stood by and watched a thousand greater atrocities over the past few years, but this¡­ If it was her¡­ if she¡­ if they had touched¡­


    I didn¡¯t want to kill them, I told myself. I didn¡¯t. It would be more trouble than it was worth. My eyes fell on the look of terrified hopelessness on the battered girl¡¯s face and my resolve cracked for a moment. I wanted to. I wanted to shatter their bones and grind their flesh into a paste. If that was¡­ if that really was¡­


    No. Not like this. I was not in Avalon, which meant I wasn¡¯t playing by Avalon¡¯s rules. If things really came to it¡­ It was barely the work of a moment to snag a tiny fragment of each of their mana and wrap it in a cocoon of my own power for safe keeping. I wasn¡¯t certain how I did it, their personal mana should have unaspected the moment it got too far from their cores without anything to contain it, but I commanded my soul to hold a memory and it obeyed. If it really came to it, if it was really her, I would hunt them down and make them wish they were dead. For now, a more delicate touch would be necessary.


    Still, I wasn¡¯t just going to rush into things. I took a moment to access the situation, my burgeoning mana sense brushing through the air as I quickly cast a personal shield and a spell to hide my face and distort my voice. Caution was a lesson people learned early in Avalon, and just in case this scum was somehow important, I didn¡¯t want to be unprepared.


    I didn¡¯t try to talk to them. Maybe once I would have, but I was not that person anymore. I hadn¡¯t been for years, even before I¡¯d come to Avalon. The first warning the group had of my presence was when a battering ram of force slammed into the bulky man, who was still in the process of lifting the girl off the ground, and sent him tumbling across the road and into the wall across the street. At the same time, a tendril of force lashed out and gently caught the girl before she could be pulled after him and carefully lowered her back to the ground.


    The remaining attackers spun around, shock and a tinge of fear visible on their faces. ¡°What do you think you are doing, peasant?¡± one of the girls drawled, her face twisting into an arrogant sneer as she took in my ill-fitting clothing. ¡°When my father hears of this, he¡¯ll have your entire rat¨C¡±


    I didn¡¯t wait to hear the rest of her presumably insult-riddled declaration. Whatever her backing was, it didn¡¯t particularly matter to me right now. Hundreds of hours of practice made my next spell almost effortless as I launched a volley of force-spikes, one at each of the still-standing mages.


    Three of them managed to shield themselves, though two of the hastily formed barriers shattered under impact of the translucent projectile. The rest tried, but their casting was sloppy and illformed. The mouthy brunette did manage to get off a shielding spell of some sort, but it proved no match for my spell. The last of the group, a stocky man in a finely embroidered doublet, didn¡¯t even manage that. Both of them went down in an instant, shrieks not unlike their victim¡¯s echoing through the narrow alley as my spells slammed with bone-cracking force against their kneecaps.


    The two remaining men tried to counterattack while the other girl seemed paralyzed by fear. My counterspells were formed before they even had a chance to finish casting their spells, fire sputtering out and earthen spikes crumbling to dust. They were slow. Sloppy. Pathetic.


    ¡°Stop this insanity,¡± yelled out one of the men. He gestured to the pair on the ground beside him, ¡°Look what you¡¯ve already done! There will be consequences for such a brazen attack on members of house Shieldlight!¡±


    I tried to call up anything I knew about the supposed powerful house, but my memories came up blank. It hadn¡¯t been mentioned at all during the presentation and I couldn¡¯t recall my family ever mentioning it either. Even if it had been a great house however, I wasn¡¯t really sure if I would have listened.


    I took another step forward and this time didn¡¯t even bother with a spell. Mana surged around me, forming invisible tendrils that swept forward like the heads of a hydra. Two rapid blows slammed off a shield, sending spiderweb cracks through the flickering sheet of force, before I simply went around the flat barrier.


    A pair of tendrils wrapped around the yelling man¡¯s arms and lifted him off the ground, disrupting whatever spell he was trying to cast and then throwing him after the first man. A third swept the woman¡¯s feet out from under her, then went after the last man who frantically dodged out of the way several times before he too fell to a force spike to the knee.


    I looked around, scanning the surroundings for further threats, but found nothing. None of the mages I¡¯d disabled had even tried to get back up, not that I would have let them. Still, it was a rather poor showing, even taking into account the power differential between us. I¡¯d unintentionally used exclusively second circle spells, something they should have been more than capable of dealing with, but they had barely even put up a fight. Hells, there were first years who could have washed the floor with them.


    ¡°Please,¡± I heard the girl who had spoken earlier whisper as she clutched bleeding leg, red slowly staining the fine white sleeves of her blouse, ¡°Mercy!¡±


    I ignored her pleading as I slowly walked towards the group. ¡°The next person that moves loses a hand.¡± My distorted voice rang strangely through the air and I summoned a glowing blade of force to hover by my side to punctuate the point.


    ¡°What are you¨C¡± began one of the men.


    ¡°Talking counts as moving. This is your only warning.¡± He wisely shut up.


    I walked over to where my telekinetic tendril had deposited the assaulted girl¡¯s body slightly away from the ¡®fight¡¯. She was curled into a tiny ball, one arm wrapped around her knees as the other clutched at the torn front of her dress. Looking down at her, there was no mistaking those features for anyone else. They were changed with age, but even then, she looked so much like her mother that it erased any hints of doubt from my mind. If this wasn¡¯t Lea, I didn¡¯t know who was.


    Questions rang loudly in my head, but I ignored them as I kneeled down beside her and gently lay a hand on her shoulder. It was pointless to wonder when the person with those answers was lying on the ground beside me.


    ¡°Are you strong enough to stand?¡± I asked quietly, projecting my true voice directly to her ears to ensure none of the whimpering cowards would hear. Their time would come soon enough, but for now this was more important. For now, I directed invisible strands of force to gather bits of hair and blood from each of the six local mages. Mana traces were well and good, but physical rementants were even better. With hair I could find them anywhere in the country without too much issue, and, in theory, the blood would let me curse them directly from anywhere in the world, not that I knew how to do that sort of magic. I would learn if they forced my hand.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    She nodded once, a shaky gesture that did little to reassure me of her sincerity, but I decided to trust her for now. From the look of it, she hadn¡¯t exactly recognized me yet, but then again, my face was still covered and the last time she¡¯d seen me I had been a preteen. I gently slid my hand under her armpit and lifted her to her feet, channeling more mana to my physical enhancements to compensate for the awkward angle and poor leverage.


    She winced as I maneuvered her legs under her, but managed to stay upright, leaning heavily against my side as I supported her by the shoulder. I shot another dark look at our terrified audience. Yes, I would be coming back for them later. I could recognize a head injury when I saw it, even without using any diagnostic spells. She needed a healer, someone with more experience treating internal injuries than I had, but I was unsure where I could find someone like that here.


    I wished I could take her into Avalon, the main infirmary maintained an eighth-circle ¡®Ring of Recovery¡¯ over the entire area that could heal even near-lethal wounds overnight, but that was not an option. The only outsiders allowed in Avalon, barring a few rare exceptions, were slaves and prospective students. Even then, only actual members were given access to Avalon¡¯s services, so that wouldn¡¯t have helped regardless.


    ¡°You need a healer,¡± I whispered, ¡°fourth circle at a minimum, higher would be better.¡±


    She turned her head to look at me slowly, eyes blinking in confusion. She wasn¡¯t going to be any help here. Well, plan b it was. I looked up towards where I could just barely make out the peaks of white-marble towers. If that was the mage¡¯s academy like I thought it was, that meant they would almost certainly have a robust medical center. It would be a bit of a pain to get them to care for some random girl off the street, but I was sure I could persuade them.


    Maybe it wouldn¡¯t even be too bad, I could feel some amount of magic in the girl¡¯s core, though it was muted and rough. She hadn¡¯t properly compressed her core in days, maybe weeks, but I could still feel power near the peak of the second-circle flowing sluggishly through her battered body. I had no idea how that had happened, Lea had never had any talent for magic from what I could remember, but then again, I hadn¡¯t been particularly inclined towards that sort of thing as a child myself. If she was a student here, former or otherwise, that could help explain some things.


    I shook my head again and cast a basic first-aid spell that would hopefully ensure I didn¡¯t make anything worse by moving her. Then, I slung an arm under her legs and picked her up. She mumbled something under her breath, her head slumping forward onto her chest, and I once again had to remind myself that getting her healed was more important. My magic twisted around me, shrouding me in a weak illusion that would hopefully stop people from focusing on me, and I began to walk.


    Daphne Warbringer shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking around at the crowded grand hall with annoyance. The massive room was packed, nearly five thousand students crammed into a room meant to fit half that number. She¡¯d thought arriving fifteen minutes early would be plenty, but instead had only barely managed to find an open seat at the back of the room. Still, she was one of the lucky ones. Just about everyone that had arrived after her was forced to stand, crammed like sardines around the edges of the hall and between the rows of seats.


    Adjusting the straps on her dress where they clung unpleasantly to her sweat-slicked skin, she did her best to fan her face with her hand. It was horribly hot in the poorly ventilated room, the heat of thousands of bodies rapidly turning even the vast hall into an oven. She threw a jealous look at the student lounging beside her. He was nothing but a jumped-up merchant boy, but as an official apprentice he was allowed to cast spells outside of the careful supervision of their teachers. The aura of cold air that she could feel washing around him was almost enough to make her debase herself by asking for help, but only almost.


    She shifted again, adjusting the way her long skirts hung around her legs. The warm dress was usually wonderful for this time of year, both fashionable and able to ward off the icy winds that blew off the nearby ocean, but today it felt stifling. She was only thankful she¡¯d decide to wear a light jacket today instead of one of her long-sleeved camisoles. She¡¯d thrown that off immediately and the occasional breeze across her bare arms and shoulders were a blessed respite from the heat.


    Glancing around, she tried to find any familiar faces in the packed crowd. Most of the seats around her were filled by older students and apprentices who had fewer classes and thus had easily made it to the hall ahead of time. She recognized several from the many balls and parties she¡¯d attended with her family over the years, but no one she was particularly close with.


    She raised an eyebrow as her eyes passed over the hunched figure of Adonia Earthshadow sitting in the row behind her. The girl, who she shared several classes with, looked terrible. Dark shadows, poorly hidden by makeup, were clearly visible under her eyes and a veritable aura of depression hung over her. It seemed the exuberant girl still hadn¡¯t made up with her blonde ¡®partner¡¯, Daphne hadn¡¯t seen the uppity baker-turned-artist in almost two weeks and had heard rumors that she¡¯d been seen rushing out of the Earthshadow estate with her clothing a mess and tears in her eyes.


    It didn¡¯t matter much to her. Their families, while not technically enemies, belonged to very different factions within the kingdom. Daphne would not cry if either of the deviant sluts disappeared for good. She¡¯d actually overheard several of her classmates discussing teaching the Sweetglass girl a lesson, now that she was no longer under the aegis of House Earthshadow. For someone like her to dare lay a hand on one of her betters, and another girl at that, was a poor precedent to set. The fact that Lord Earthshadow had tolerated it for as long as he had spoke of the sweet spot he held his daughter in.


    Still, hopefully the heiress would push out of her funk soon. It was demoralizing to see someone who looked so very miserable every day. How was she supposed to get any work done while she was always sniffling in the corner?


    A bright flash of light pulled her eyes to the front of the room and a hush fell over the crowd as the headmaster coalesced out of a pillar of light. He was a bulky man, nearly seven feet tall and with biceps as thick as her thighs. Despite looking more like a dock worker or a bouncer than a mage, his identity was unmistakable. His hair and skin glowed with an inner light and his eyes shone bright enough that it was almost painful to look directly at them. As the light coming off his body washed through the room, Daphne felt invigorated, sitting up straighter in her seat as the fatigue of a long day fell away, along with all the other tiny discomforts she¡¯d been feeling.


    Headmaster Lightbearer folded his hands behind his back and floated up several feet into the air until he hung over the stage. He looked almost like an angel, his elegant white robes draping over his shoulders like white-featherd wings. He cleared his throat loudly and the last traces of conversation in the hall vanished.


    ¡°Thank you, everyone, for coming to this assembly. I know it was a rather sudden summons, but an important piece of information has recently come to my attention and I believe it crucial for you all to hear it as soon as possible.¡±


    He paused for a moment, his eyes sweeping over the assembled crowd. She self-consciously adjusted the modest neckline of her gown, suddenly painfully aware of how crumpled it had gotten after all her fidgeting, even though she knew the odds of him looking directly at her were slim.


    He continued onward, ¡°As you may have heard, a ¡®trade portal¡¯, as our king has chosen to describe it, will be appearing in our little town in the coming days. It will be here for several months, disappearing just after the winter solstice. His majesty has chosen to distribute very little information about this portal, only calling it a wonderful opportunity for merchants and nobles alike.


    ¡°Well, as some of your parents may have told you, there is much more to the story than that.¡± He paused again, and the expression on his face became deadly serious. ¡°The ¡®trade portal¡¯ is much more than that. It is the interdimensional link to the headquarters of an organization you may have heard of before. Avalon.¡±


    A quiet mumble of whispers spread through the room as Daphne stiffened in her seat. What? That was¨C why hadn¡¯t her father said anything! They were coming here? After what had happened with Adara? Her hands clenched into firsts, finely manicured nails biting painfully into delicate skin.


    ¡°Avalon, and particularly its own academy of magic have something of a reputation among certain circles. It is often considered one of the finest institutes of learning in the world, producing a truly staggering number of archmages over the centuries. In fact, I myself was once a student there, though I completed my education elsewhere.


    ¡°What is not often spoken of however, is their brutality. The mages of Avalon are cruel and heartless, one and all. They do not care for others, they do not love or cherish. They will do anything to get ahead, no matter the cost to them or others. As students here, you are loosely protected by ancient treaties and the agreements made between our king and their own leadership, but do not let down your guard. The members of Avalon are vindictive and merciless towards any harm or perceived insult.


    ¡°Do not go anywhere alone with members of Avalon. Do not speak to them if it is at all avoidable. Do not antagonize their members, even if they are rude or seem weaker than you. Do not tell them anything about yourselves or your families. If you absolutely must interact with them, do so in a public place surrounded by those you trust. Most of all, never, ever pass through that portal. It does not matter what they offer you or what promises they make. If you pass through that portal, willingly or not, I fear you will never return.¡±


    He let them strew after that declaration for nearly a minute, before brightening slightly. ¡°Still, it is true that this is a wonderful opportunity for our nation. Mages and merchants from far and wide will be streaming into our little town to do business with Avalon. Make connections, purchase rare materials, and, most importantly, enjoy yourselves! Opportunities like these are rare, even when you live for as long as I have!


    ¡°Remember. I am here for each and every one of you. If you have concerns or questions, see me or one of my assistants and we will do our best to ensure your safety and wellbeing. Here at Lighcastle, your safety is our very first priority, and I will always strive to provide a safe and secure educational environment for us all. Thank you, that will be all for now.¡± He nodded his head once and a bright pillar of light lanced down from the ceiling to swallow him whole. When it vanished, the headmaster was gone.


    Conversation exploded throughout the room and everyone began to move as people crowded towards the exits. Daphne looked around, and realized that there was no way for her to get to the doors from where she was sitting. She sighed loudly in annoyance. Maybe she should have just stayed standing by the doors after all.

 Chapter 48

    To my surprise, it was almost shockingly easy to get Lea in to see a healer. The guard at the entrance to the school¡¯s compound had taken one look at the girl in my arms and called over someone to replace him as he personally led me into the complex.


    As we passed through the tall gate, I felt powerful wards brush up against my tightly compressed mana core and froze for a moment, but they did not seem to find my presence openly threatening so I continued onward. I didn¡¯t like being under hostile wards, but hopefully nothing would happen. They felt like the sort that had to be manually invoked or triggered under predetermined circumstances. As long as I didn¡¯t do anything stupid, nothing would happen.


    We emerged into a wide, open courtyard filled with students. There were hundreds of them milling around and more streaming in out of the main building. I reflexively readied my magic in case something happened, then forcefully compressed it back into my core. No one felt particularly powerful, with most of the students hovering around the first three circles and some rare standouts pushing as far as the fifth, but that was no reason to think there might not be someone more powerful around. With my magic purposely suppressed to the level of a first-circle amateur, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see through anyone else doing the same.


    Several people stopped and stared at us, focusing mostly on the guard guiding me and the girl in my arms. I guessed it wasn¡¯t every day that someone dressed like I was currently showed up here, particularly not under these sort of circumstances. A few people pointed at Lea¡¯s unmoving form, whispering quietly to the people around them, but no one moved to block our path.


    As we wove through the crowd, I looked around with interest at the tall central keep and the many buildings littered within the thick walls of the fortress-like school. I¡¯d heard of Lightcastle before, it was the most prestigious place of learning for mages in the country and I had once fantasized of attending and learning all sorts of powerful magic. Of course, that had been a pipe dream even then. Lighcastle did not accept any peasants within its walls, in fact none of the mage schools in Xethis did. Even merchant families had only a tiny chance of getting their children accepted, magical education was almost exclusively reserved for the children of the rich and powerful. Still, things had mostly worked out in the end. If those pests I¡¯d had to deal with were representative of the skill level of the students, I was lucky I hadn¡¯t ended up studying here.


    As we passed by several walls, I looked with interest at the white marble that made up nearly every building in the school. Within the pearlecent stone, I could make out shimmering flecks that glowed to my mana sense. Looking closer, I could feel that the flecks were part of a vast system of wards, their patterns forming parts of three dimensional spellforms inside the stone. It was a very neat design, and one I¡¯d never encountered before. I wanted to examine it further, I was particularly curious how they¡¯d managed to embed the flecks without damaging any of the surrounding marble, but now was not the time. Maybe I would come back at some point.


    We were met at the door to the medical building by a young woman wearing a bright white apron over her winter dress. She gasped when she saw the state Lea was in and beckoned me into the building after her. The guard gave her a sharp nod and left, hurrying back towards the gate.


    Inside, she quickly unrolled a stretcher and had me lower Lea onto the floating cloth. Then, she passed it off to another, identically dressed, woman who gently guided the floating frame deeper into the building. I moved to follow after her, but the first woman stepped in front of me. ¡°Only trained medical personnel and patients are allowed in the back. Thank you for bringing her here, but you are free to return to your labor now.¡± I inwardly sighed. Apparently, dressing like a peasant had not been the right choice today.


    Staring the shorter woman directly in the eyes, I tried not to get angry. She was only doing her job. ¡°I am trained in medicine.¡±


    She tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms, ¡°I don¡¯t care what sort of crude procedures your kind practice in the fields. Get out of here, the guards never should have let you pass in the first place.¡±


    Just wonderful. Maybe I could have argued around, something about being a close friend or some other nonsense, but I refused to let her out of my sight right now and the other nurse was rapidly moving out of my sensory range. I let the suppression I¡¯d been maintaining on my core lapse for a moment and pressed down on the nurse with the full weight of my mana.


    The woman¡¯s knees buckled and she staggered to the side, only barely catching herself on the side of the desk beside her. ¡°I¡¯m going to go with her.¡± I said simply.


    ¡°Of¡­ of course sir. Jus¡­ just down the hallway and to the right. Room nineteen.¡± She continued to stammer something, but I ignored it as I brushed past her and into the brightly illuminated hallway that led deeper into the building.


    Lighcastle¡¯s medical ward was arranged in a way I¡¯d never seen before. To be fair, that didn¡¯t say much about it, I¡¯d only ever been to a few such buildings, and they¡¯d all varied wildly. The one at Avalon was a multi-level maze-like series of corridors and locked rooms that had been carefully arranged to fit within the spherical boundary of a ¡®ring of recovery¡¯. The treatment station I¡¯d visited in Armouth had been a tiny, cramped building with only two rooms and staffed by a single, horribly overworked mage.


    From what I could tell, the building here was a single long hallway with rooms branching off on either side. I could feel more rooms above me on the second floor, but they were mostly empty and the wards around them made them feel more like labs and workshops than somewhere for patients to go.


    I caught up with the other nurse as she was carefully maneuvering the floating stretched through the wide doorway of room nineteen. She gave me an odd look, but didn¡¯t say anything, for which I was grateful. I didn¡¯t want any trouble, particularly not in a place so surrounded by potentially hostile spellcasters. Hopefully the other one wouldn¡¯t make a huge deal of it.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I stood silently in the corner as the nurse carefully transferred Lea to a bed by way of simply removing the floating rods that had been holding up the stretcher after lowering it over the mattress. She proceeded to cast several diagnostic spells, a few of which I was familiar with and the rest that I committed to memory. Once she was done, she made several notes on a board by the bed and stepped away from the bed as an older man rushed into the room.


    I had sensed him coming from halfway across the building. Compared to the rest of the mages I¡¯d seen so far, he stood head and shoulders above them, his mana reserves marking him as a fifth or sixth circle spellcaster. He was wearing a white robe with red trim and unfamiliar markings on the sleeves and went directly to the bed, firing a series of questions at the nurse without looking at her.


    She answered quickly and concisely, using several terms I had never come across, but I understood the gist of it. She had several broken bones, a concussion, and three of her ribs were fractured. Additionally, there was bruising all over her body and she was bleeding from several scrapes along her legs. That wasn¡¯t great, but it was nothing a competent healer couldn¡¯t fix with a bit of work, so I wasn¡¯t worried.


    It was only when the healer asked what had happened that the nurse trailed off. ¡°The peasant brought her in,¡± she said after a moment, ¡°I¡­ haven¡¯t had a chance to ask any more questions. I¡¯m not sure why Clara let him pass, but maybe he knows something?¡±


    For the first time, the healer looked up and turned to look at me. He seemed surprised for a moment, and then I felt his own mana brush up against mine for a moment and he nodded. ¡°It''s fine. Anything you can tell us, young man? Looks like she¡¯s been through a bit of a beating.¡±


    ¡°Exactly that. I was just passing through and ran into a couple of kids ganging up on her in an alleyway. Not sure what they were fighting about, but I broke it up and decided to bring her here.¡± I decided immediately to leave out the specifics. If those idiots had beens students here, it would only bring more trouble than it was worth. Hopefully they would go to their own family healers, I¡¯d made sure the injuries I¡¯d given them were painful but not hard to deal with.


    ¡°Ah, yes, that lines up with what I¡¯m seeing here. Thank you for stepping in. You did the right thing to bring her here, she¡¯s one of ours so we will take care of her at no charge. You are free to go, or at least take a seat. This should only take a little while, though she will have to sleep it off afterwards.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Now, let me see¡­¡±


    Mana danced across his fingers, forming an intricate web of spellforms over his cupped hands that quickly collapsed into a bright ball of golden light. Murmuring something under his breath, he slowly ran the ball over her chest and I saw her body go slack, a quiet gasp slipping past her parted lips.


    The healer tutted quietly and continued, recasting the same spell several times and using several bits of first-circle magic to gently move her body around to give him access to the injured areas. It was rather interesting to watch, I¡¯d expected him to use a variety of specialized medical spells like I¡¯d seen described in the books I¡¯d seen, but instead he was defaulting to this single piece of magic. I hadn¡¯t realized there was such a versatile healing spell under eighth circle, but it seemed I¡¯d been mistaken.


    Maybe this was one of those things the presenter had mentioned? She had said the headmaster and his students specialized in light and healing magic, and this seemed to incorporate elements of both. I was unable to identify exactly what was going on, I¡¯d never seen quite a few of the spellforms he was using and only had surface level proficiency with healing magic, but it was educational nonetheless.


    As he¡¯d said, the healing itself didn¡¯t take long at all. Dealing with the surface level injuries, the bruising and scrapes, only took as long as it did to drag the golden sphere across the damaged skin. The broken bones only took a tiny bit longer, he cast a second circle spell that ensured the bones set correctly and then held the golden sphere over the break for roughly thirty seconds. Only her concussion took slightly larger to deal with, the healer hemming and hawing over her as his fingers gently probed at her temples.


    I was very impressed by his work. I hadn¡¯t expected to find anyone nearly this skilled working at a school of all places. This was the sort of healer I expected to be earning a massive retainer working for some powerful organization or as the personal healer to a duke. Healers were always in demand and as such their services rarely came cheap. In fact, healing was well known as one of the most lucrative possible paths for a talented mage, though the specialization was somewhat rare at Avalon for obvious reasons.


    When he was done, he straightened up smoothly and turned back to face me with a smile. ¡°All done. She just needs a few hours to sleep it off and she¡¯ll be all good by the end of the evening.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, extending a hand which he shook, ¡°Orion.¡±


    ¡°Calvin, apprentice to our lord Lightbarer. On behalf of the headmaster, thank you for bringing her in. We can not control what our students do outside of school hours, but we always strive to care for them as best we can.¡±


    An¡­ interesting attitude. Still, it was never a good idea to be rude to healers. You never knew when you might need their help. ¡°Of course, I was happy to help. Do you mind if I wait with her? I feel¡­ obligated, and I have nowhere urgent to be¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course, stay with her if you wish!¡± He exclaimed cheerfully. ¡°One of the assistants will just move her into a recovery room and you can take a seat.¡± He jerked his head at the nurse, who¡¯d returned a moment ago after stepping out. ¡°She can show you where to go. I¡¯m afraid I must run, duty calls.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let me hold you.¡±


    With a parting nod, he rushed out of the room again. For a mage, he was impressively athletic. I couldn¡¯t feel much of anything in the way of circulation, so I assumed that must be mostly natural muscle. The man had been built like a brick wall, not quite what I expected out of a healer.


    The assistant ushered me out of the room, telling me that she needed to change the patient into something more appropriate for resting in, and pointed me to the room she would be moving Lea into. I took a seat in one of the cushioned armchairs beside the bed and set in for a long evening, it wasn¡¯t exactly what I wanted to do with my day, but it would give me time to process the last hour and I could always do more internal practice. Then, the door flew open to admit a lithe, dark-haired woman who looked around for a moment, then zeroed in on me. She stared at me with bloodshot eyes and almost screamed out, ¡°Where is she! What did you do to her! I heard¡­ where is she!¡±


    I closed my eyes and let out a hissing breath through my teeth. What was it now for gods¡¯ sake?

 Chapter 49

    ¡°How could you! What did she ever do to you, you monster! I swear, if you hurt her you will rue.¡± She took a gasping breath. ¡°You have no right to sit here and¨C¡±


    I hated dealing with hysterical people. It turned calm, rational people into emotional wrecks, more prone to, metaphorically speaking, thinking with their hearts instead of their heads. Fortunately, that sort of person tended not to last very long at Avalon. You learned to control yourself and your reactions very quickly, or you never had a chance to do so. Even the most expressive people knew when to shut up and think, or they stopped thinking entirely very quickly. Permanently.


    Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t default to my normal approach in this situation. I could still feel the powerful wards looming over me, ensuring I didn¡¯t dare cast any sort of offensive spell. I also couldn¡¯t just leave and deal with the situation later, I wasn¡¯t going anywhere until I¡¯d had a chance to speak with my Lea and that meant staying right here for the time being.


    That left me with a very limited number of things I could do. I could try to talk to her, slowly calm her down and explain what was going on, but that required her to be open to the idea in the first place. Under the exhaustion and tears, she looked utterly furious with me, making that an unlikely proposition. I had no idea what I¡¯d done in this case, there were several people who could justifiably be very angry at me over things I¡¯d done, but this random stranger wasn¡¯t one of them.


    That led me to believe that this was, somehow, one big misunderstanding. After the number of those I¡¯d had, I tried to be on the lookout for such issues, not that I was particularly good at it, and this seemed like an almost textbook case. She¡¯d probably overheard something stupid about me brutalizing someone and was now interpreting everything in the worst way possible. Unfortunately, that only made the idea of talking to her even more futile. Well, for now at least. That left¡­


    Without moving from my seat, I once again slammed the full weight of my mana down against her own, wincing slightly as the strain of today¡¯s mana use slowly began to catch up with me. Between all the spells I¡¯d cast during classes, the short fight, and the effort of suppressing my magic and the other concealment spells I¡¯d cast, my core was getting unpleasantly sore. I still had plenty of mana, I wouldn¡¯t have left Avalon in the first place if I didn¡¯t, but the amount of pure mana manipulation I¡¯d done today was coming back to bite me.


    Just like the nurse had done earlier, she staggered slightly, catching herself against the doorway before her legs could fully give out under her. The effect wouldn¡¯t last long, she actually had nearly as much mana as I did, though it was less dense and poorly controlled, but it was enough to shock her into silence for a necessary moment.


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯ve heard, but I didn¡¯t do anything. I came across a group of ruffians beating the poor girl in an alleyway and decided to offer a helping hand. Where have you been?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t really expecting much when I said it. I just wanted something to knock her off balance a little and hopefully start to clear up whatever stupid misconceptions had made her barge into the room ready to strangle me.


    Instead, my words hit her like an out-of-control cart bouncing down a hill. She took a single shaky step forward and fell to her knees, shoulders shaking with loud sobs. She was mumbling something, but outside of individual words, I couldn¡¯t make out what she was saying. ¡°Should have¡­ useless¡­ stranger¡­ hate me¡­ terrible¡­¡± Still, as I stared silently down at her shuddering figure, I thought I got the gist of it.


    This time, I was even less sure of what to do. I leaned back in my chair and tried to tune out the sniffling coming from the floor in front of me. Closing my eyes, I thought back to what the worthless little shits had been yelling before I¡¯d shut them up. Between the slurs, the insults, and now this sobbing girl, I was slowly starting to put together a picture of what was going on.


    From what I could tell, Lea and this sobbing girl had been in some sort of relationship, or at least people thought they had been. Then, this stupid cunt had done something to fuck things up and got Lea jumped in an alleyway, and was now coming back to beg forgiveness or something like that. I wished Miranda was here right now, but I hadn¡¯t even considered bringing her with me when I decided to go out. She would know exactly what was going on right now and have plenty of suggestions on what to do. Ugh, I¡¯d spent ages acquiring people to figure out social nonsense for me, and then when I need them, they''re all too far away to be helpful.


    I was still trying to figure out how to deal with the sobbing idiot (what would my family have done? Tea and a warm blanket¡­ no, that wouldn¡¯t work. How about¡­) when the door opened again to admit the nurse, Lea trailing after her on a new floating stretcher. As the nurse had said, she had been changed out of her torn and filthy dress and into some sort of temporary medical clothing. She looked so young in the baby-blue ¡®gown¡¯ they¡¯d put her in, hair pulled back into a loose ponytail just like she¡¯d always worn it when we were children.


    The assistent nearly tripped over the crying girl by the door, but thankfully caught herself and the stretcher moved independently of her regardless. ¡°Oh, miss, I¨C are you ok, miss? Did¨C¡± She turned to stare at me, eyes narrowed in a glare. Oh for gods¡¯ sake.


    I raised my hands defensively, ¡°I didn¡¯t touch her. She just¡­ ran in here and broke down sobbing. I don¡¯t even know who she is.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure that the nurse bought my excuse, not that any of it was technically a lie, but she didn¡¯t push the issue. She carefully maneuvered around the crying girl to get to the bed at the center of the cramped room. Just like before, she carefully lowered the stretcher over the bed, then removed the floating bars so as to not overly disturb her patient.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in half an hour to check on her. Try to keep it down please, let her sleep for as long as she needs.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I whispered. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    She nodded and quickly disappeared. I stood up and walked over to Lea¡¯s unmoving body, gently brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She looked¡­ so very innocent. Even nearly a decade later, her face still had the same girlish charm I remembered. Still, there were certainly some differences. She had¡­ grown up in all the right places, her slender figure filling out with muscle and curves that were unquestionably all women.


    I frowned slightly as she shifted slightly and her dress rode down on her chest, revealing part of a faded scar along her collarbone. She certainly hadn¡¯t had that the last time I¡¯d seen her. It looked like it must have been quite an injury, though the extent was hard to know given the power of magical healing.


    I glanced around furtively, then subtly cast a diagnosis spell designed to reveal lingering damage. I doubted the wards inside a hall of healing would have issues with medical magic. My eyes widened as the spell began to dump its results directly into my mind. I hadn¡¯t expected much, it wasn¡¯t a particularly powerful spell after all, only capable of detecting old injuries with physical signs over a certain level, but this¡­


    My mind was flooded with information and I twisted the spell, recasting it with a slight modification to the part that displayed the results. Phantom lines lit up all over Lea¡¯s skin, clustered tightly around her breasts, buttocks, and thighs and never extending past what would typically be hidden by clothing. The exposed line I could see by her neck was one of the thickest, but certainly not the worst of them.


    My teeth ground together, my jaw clenched painfully shut. My eyes flicked between Lea and the other girl before I discarded that thought. No, this wasn¡¯t her doing. Probably. If it was though¨C No. I knew who¡¯s work this was.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how long I stood there, finger still resting motionless by her hair and my other hand clenched into a white-knuckled fist. I looked up only when I heard quiet footsteps and shaky breathing move up beside me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was distraught. Might I know your name, good mage? Assistant Arabela tells me I have you to thank for bringing Leana here. Do you think you could tell me what happened?¡±


    ¡°Orion,¡± I said without looking, ¡°And I already told you. I was just walking around when I saw some thugs beating her in an alley and recognized her. She needed a healer, so I brought her to see one. Simple as that.¡±


    She didn¡¯t seem to recognize my name, though I didn¡¯t know if I should read into that at all. Orion was a rather common first name, and even if Lea had mentioned me to her, I doubted she would have connected tiny Orion Hunter to the person standing beside her. Still, telling her I recognize Lea seemed to have put her on guard. Interesting.


    ¡°Very heroic of you, mage Orion. Leana is a classmate and a close friend, I dread what might have befallen her if you had not intervened.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you do.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply for a minute, then asked conversationally, ¡°So, are you the bitch friend, the twat-eating whore, or someone else?¡± She spluttered in shock as I continued, ¡°Such a tight nit bunch of students you have here. Tight enough that six of them decided to go out and rape a lesson into their classmate.¡±


    Out of the corner of my eye I saw the shock on her face morph into a smooth mask that was quickly wiped away by icy fury. Even her mana responded to her emotions, the placid puddle that was her core turning into a slightly less placid puddle. ¡°Who¡­ They dare! I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    I mentally adjusted my opinion up a notch. She did seem to genuinely care for Lea, so whatever had happened between them seemed like it might have been a mistake? Some sort of miscalculation? I didn¡¯t have enough details to say anything for certain. She even felt slightly less pathetic now than she had before, purpose suffusing her body and leaching into her mana.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you care.¡± I said after another pause. ¡°So, who are you, exactly, and how do you know Lea? I do not believe we¡¯ve met.¡±


    She straightened her back and turned to face me properly. ¡°Ah, my apologies. I rarely have to introduce myself these days. I am Adonia Earthshadow. As I said before, Leana is a close friend and classmate here at Lightcastle. I assure you, those who did this will face the consequences of their actions. I swear it.¡±


    I finally turned away from Lea, letting the spell over my eyes fall away as I studied this Adonia. It was a good introduction, and I actually did recognize the name for a change. Earthshadow was another military family, with the current patriarch serving as the Lord Commander of the Xernian army. From their ages, that made her either his daughter or a niece. That wasn¡¯t just an empty statement then, she actually did have some amount of power in this part of the world. Still, the seriousness in her words was slightly undercut by the dark bags under her red and puffy eyes.


    My mind drifted slightly as I looked her over. Looking past the signs of her tears and recent issues, she was rather beautiful in the classic Xernian style. Her long, dark hair was shiny and pulled back in an intricate braid that ran all the way down her back. Between her family, looks, and modest potential, she could be very¡­ useful. I would move against him eventually, and it would be important to have support in the area when I did. Even better, I could ensure she did right by my Lea, no matter what issues currently stood between them.


    It was only unfortunate that she was a Lightcastle student. That made things much more complicated than if she had just been a random noble¡¯s daughter. Spontaneously thrashing a few idiots was one thing. Kidnapping a student would have to be done very carefully¡­


    ¡°Close friend and classmate, hmm? It sounds to me like¨C¡±


    I felt movement under my finger and my head shot around fast enough that it would have hurt without my physical enhancements. Lea stirred slowly, arms tensing at her sides as she arched her back and stretched. Crystal-blue eyes opened slowly, blinking several times as she turned to look up at us. ¡°¡®Donia? Where¡­ who¡­¡± Our eyes met. ¡°O¡­ Orion?¡±

 Chapter 50

    It was her. Any lingering doubts that this couldn¡¯t be my Lea were washed away in an instant. A single tear welled up in the corner of my eye as she blinked blearily up at me. For a moment, her face was overlaid with that of a younger, more carefree girl¡¯s. ¡°Orion, won¡¯t you carry me home,¡± the girl pleaded as she raised her hands in the air and wiggled them at me, bits of grass that had stuck to her long sleeves raining down onto her dress. I grabbed her hands and started pulling her up, but my bare feet slipped on the dew-slicked grass and I tumbled gracelessly down on top of her. ¡°Orion, you¡¯re crushing me!¡± We both laughed as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and rolled me over onto my back. In the distance, I could see father watching us, a wide smile on his face, as he tended to his equipment.


    The memory vanished as quickly as it came, leaving me feeling more hollow than I had in years. Oh father, what would you think if you could see me now. A cold hand of fear tightened in my chest. Oh, Lea, what would she think when she saw me? I had no doubts that she was not the same innocent child she had once been, neither of us were, but¡­ I didn¡¯t think she had changed as much as I¡¯d had to. I¡­ didn¡¯t think she would understand.


    ¡°Hey Lea,¡± I said past the lump in my throat, ¡°Sorry I was, ah, late to your birthday party.¡±


    Her mouth fell open and she stared up at me for a long moment. Then she sat up sharply and wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing hard enough that I could almost feel my back creak in protest. I was thankful that I was still keeping up my mana suppression, though it was starting to get rather uncomfortable. Without that strain, I was afraid I would have reacted badly to her movement.


    ¡°Orion! It¡¯s¡­ it''s really you! You¡¯re alive! He said¡­ he said¡­ he said he¡­¡± She trailed off, pressing her face into my shirt. Through the thin fabric, I could feel a small wet patch forming around her eyes.


    I tentatively returned the gesture, trying to remember what I would have done in the past. One hand went to her back, gently rubbing in small circles while the other patted her hair. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m here. It¡¯s really me. Everything is going to be alright, I¡¯m here now. ¡± I leaned down, pulling her closer to my chest, ¡°I¡¯ve missed you Lea. It¡¯s¡­ been a long time.¡±


    Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Earthshadow girl watching us awkwardly. She didn¡¯t seem to know what to do, though some of the tension in her shoulders seemed to recede as she watched us interact. Hopefully Lea¡¯s reaction to seeing me would allay some of her remaining doubts about who I was and my intentions. That would make everything easier in the long run, no matter what I ended up having to do.


    Eventually, she seemed to decide that she wasn¡¯t wanted right now. She nodded her head to me, mouthing something I didn¡¯t catch, and hurriedly left the room. From the way Lea reacted to her leaving, her hands loosening their tight grip on my shirt and her head turning slightly so she rested her cheek against my chest instead of having her nose dig into my belly as some of the stress drained out of her, Lea had been hoping for just such an outcome.


    ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± I whispered gently, ¡°You don¡¯t have to think about her right now. I¡¯m here for you.¡± After a moment''s pause, I quietly added, ¡°Though this is not the most¡­ private place.¡±


    She mumbled something I couldn¡¯t quite catch, but I answered the question I thought I¡¯d heard anyway. ¡°I took you to Lightcastle, you were pretty badly injured. Some of the staff told me you¡¯re a student here, that''s wonderful Lea. Your mother would have been so very proud of you.¡±


    Her grip tightened slightly and I felt her tense somewhat under my hands. Ok, not going to bring up family for a little while. I wasn¡¯t sure what might have happened with that, but there were plenty of reasons Lea might not want to be reminded of her dead (or at least probably dead, right?) mother.


    I switched tracks immediately, ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you. You must have worked very hard to get in. Lightcastle is a very exclusive school, I barely even knew they accepted non-nobles.¡± That seemed to get a better reaction, but I had a feeling Lea had preferred the comfortable silence between us as she¡¯d initially cried into my shirt. Still, it was getting rather late and I couldn¡¯t really stand here all night like this. Even with my circulations, it was a rather uncomfortable position, likely for both of us.


    I carefully maneuvered myself around, letting Lea continue to squeeze me as hard as she could as I sat down on the edge of the bed. After a moment, Lea turned onto her side, curling her body so her head rested in my lap. I did my best to smile down at her gently, the expression feeling distinctly odd on my face, as I continued to stroke her hair. ¡°How are you feeling? The healer said that you should be all better soon, but I understand some things are harder to recover from than others.¡± I¡¯d actually read an entire book about the physical damage that could be caused by emotional stress, though it had been more aimed at causing harm than helping someone deal with it. Still, hopefully some of the lessons would be applicable? I hadn¡¯t really expected that Lea would cry so much and didn¡¯t quite know how to deal with her.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine,¡± she mumbled unconvingligly. ¡°It''s been a long¡­ everything. I¡¯ve missed you.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ve missed you Lele.¡±


    She giggled quietly before falling silent again, but I counted that as a win regardless. I was about to continue, pushing the advantage so to speak, when the door opened and a different nurse quietly stepped into the room.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    She froze when she saw us, then continued walking up towards the bed. ¡°Good evening good mage, misses Leana. I heard movement and came to check up on you.¡± She looked down at Leana, ¡°How are you feeling, miss? Any lingering pains or aches? Any drowsiness, or perhaps a headache?¡±


    Leana didn¡¯t respond for a long moment. I almost decided to speak up for her when she raised her head slightly and craned it around to look at the nurse. ¡°No, none of that. I think I¡¯m just a little tired, it¡¯s been a very long day.¡±


    ¡°Well, that''s great to hear. You are welcome to stay the night here, or¨C¡±


    ¡°Am I free to go?¡± She asked sharply.


    ¡°Of course dear. Do you need any help getting home? Our records show you aren¡¯t living in the dormitories this year.¡±


    Lea turned to look back at me and I smiled politely at the nurse. ¡°I believe we should be alright. I¡¯ll make sure she gets back safely.¡±


    ¡°Very good, thank you good mage. If you could just sign out at the front desk when you leave, that would be perfect. Feel free to stay here for as long as you need.¡± She paused for a second and looked down at the clipboard of papers she was carrying. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m afraid the clothing you were wearing before was somewhat damaged. You can pick it up at the front desk when you leave, but you are free to keep the dressing gown for now. It is a little chilly outside though, so maybe¨C¡±


    ¡°I can cast heating spells,¡± I interjected. ¡°We will be alright.¡±


    ¡°Of course, good mage.¡± She inclined her head respectfully and left.


    Lea lowered her head back into my lap and I returned to gently patting her head. ¡°You heard the lady, just tell me when you feel up for it and I can take you home.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Orion. It will be¡­ Just like old times.¡± She giggled weakly. ¡°Though maybe you shouldn¡¯t carry me over your shoulder this time. I don¡¯t think the guards would be as understanding now.¡± She giggled again, but this time the laughter quickly turned into more tears and she pressed her face back into my shirt. I laughed as well at the image, an adult man carrying a struggling woman over his shoulder had a much different look from when both of them were ten years old.


    Eventually, her tears subsided again and she finally sat up properly. She gingerly swung her legs over the side of the bed and leaded her head against my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around her, and turned to say something before quickly averting my gaze. From this angle, I could very clearly see that my childhood friend had grown into quite a woman. I could also clearly see that the gown she¡¯d been changed into didn¡¯t have any sort of bra or breast band, and the loose garment strained against her rather large chest. It was clearly a one-size-fits-all sort of thing, easily mass manufactured by simple spells, and Lea was quite a bit bustier than the average Xernian woman.


    Lea unfortunately noticed immediately, and this time her laugh sounded much less forced. ¡°You can look as much as you¡¯d like,¡± she whispered into my ear, ¡°You¡¯ve seen it all before, after all. You can just return the favor later.¡±


    I turned back to look at her, this time making sure to focus on her face, and raised an eyebrow. ¡°It doesn¡¯t count, we were just children. You didn¡¯t have much to look at, as I recall.¡±


    She fell silent for a moment, before whispering weakly, ¡°You¡¯d think, but apparently I had plenty for some people.¡±


    I stiffened, my free hand clenching back into a fist by my side. ¡°His days were numbered before. The countdown has grown shorter.¡±


    She pulled away slightly, turning her shoulders to face me properly. ¡°You can¡¯t! He¡¯s so powerful! What can¨C¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not worth it! I¡­ I can¡¯t lose you again, not when I just found you again.¡±


    ¡°And you won¡¯t.¡± I paused and tried to inject some levity into the situation. ¡°And what¡¯s this about you finding me? I distinctly remember things going quite differently.¡±


    ¡°Ass,¡± she whispered quietly, but there was no heat in her voice. ¡°You know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°I do. Still, it''s not¨C We can talk about it later. This is not the place.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Take me home? Oh! Do you have a place to stay? I¡¯m living with my ¡®uncles¡¯, but I¡¯m sure they could find¨C¡±


    ¡°I have somewhere already, don¡¯t worry about me. Let¡¯s get you home and to bed, you look like you¡¯re falling asleep on your feet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said unconvincingly, then yawned loudly.


    ¡°Of course you are. Are you good to stand?¡±


    She abruptly fell back onto the bed, and a spark of worry kindled in my chest. Had something happened? Had the healer missed something and now¨C


    She raised her arms up into the air, hands flapping at me wildly. At the same time, she very intentionally wiggled her shoulders, making her chest jiggle enough that it threatened to pop out of the baby-blue gown. ¡°Won¡¯t you carry me home, Orion?¡± She asked, an expression of wide-eyed innocence on her face. ¡°I¡¯m so very tired.¡±


    Rolling my eyes, I stood up and grabbed her hands, pulling her roughly to her feet. She ¡®stumbled¡¯ slightly and caught herself on my chest, then promptly pulled me into a tight hug for the second time. I was about to make a comment about making her girlfriend jealous when I thought better of it, instead just wrapping my arms around her back and pulling her tighter against me.


    ¡°I¡¯m still not going to carry you, no matter how hard you rub your tits against my chest. It¡¯s been nine years Lea, I might even be married by now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not,¡± she mumbled.


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I admitted readily.


    ¡°Brute.¡±


    ¡°Lazy blonde.¡± She gasped in feigned outrage, ¡°That''s not a no.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten better.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll believe it when I see it.¡±

 Chapter 51

    By the time I finally made it back to my room, it was late into the night and I was thoroughly exhausted, both physically and emotionally. With a soft sigh, I slipped into my room and shut the door behind me. The soft click of the door and the pulse of reengaging wards had never felt sweeter and my shoulders slumped as I finally let myself relax.


    Rea appeared beside me a moment later, gently removing my rumpled coat and offering me a steaming cup of lifenettle tea. I favored the ever-dutiful girl with a small smile as I took a sip of the welcome drink, even as she helped me out of my tightly laced boots. The hot drink was a welcome relief after a long walk through the windy drizzle, magic more than my coat had kept me warm and dry, and my circulation ensured the night¡¯s chill had no chance of hurting me, but there was something deeply satisfying about drinking something hot after walking through such miserable weather.


    I took another long sip, savoring the light sweetness of it on my tongue. There was something more than just the lifenettle in the brew. Lifenettle tea on its own was a little bitter for my tastes, but this was just perfect. If it was anyone else, I probably would have suspected poison and cast a bevy of detection spells on the cup, but there was nothing in my room Rea could have poisoned me with, even if she was able to imagine the idea of doing so.


    I took another sip. Honeyblossom petals, that was almost certainly it. I¡¯d harvested a large stock of several simple herbs for my research a few days earlier and had given the leftovers to Rea to do with what she wanted. Apparently, for her that meant experimenting with teas.


    I gently rested my hand on her head, brushing back a lock of loose hair behind her ear. ¡°This is excellent.¡±


    Her cheeks flushed a bright violet as she looked away. ¡°This slave lives to serve.¡±


    I patted her head again and went over to my desk, slumping into my chair with a long sigh of relief. I was slightly surprised that Rea had waited up for me, though I probably shouldn¡¯t have been. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever seen her go to sleep before me and she was always awake before I was. If I didn¡¯t know that she took naps during the day while I was in class, I would have been worried about her health.


    I paused, tea cup suspended a few inches away from my lips. Worried about her health. Huh. It was a strange thought, but yes. I would have been worried about her. I wasn¡¯t sure when, but at some point the purple-skinned slave girl had transitioned in my mind from a thing I kept to something more like¡­ a pet? I wasn¡¯t sure if that was the right way to describe it, but I had grown modestly fond of the girl. I¡¯d never even ended up testing anything on her, had I, despite that being one of my initial motivations for taking her.


    I set the tea back onto a wooden coaster and bit my lip thoughtfully. The small part of my brain that had been screaming at me ever since I¡¯d decided to intervene in Lea¡¯s beating pushed its way towards the front of my mind. This was dangerous, it told me. Attachment could only bring pain. Attachment was weakness.


    It was true. The anger I¡¯d felt when I¡¯d realized it was my Lea they were hurting still burned in my chest, and I wondered what I would do if someone threatened her. I would make them regret it, my mind supplied instantly. It would make me reckless, a traitorous voice whispered.


    What about Rea? Miranda even? Despite myself, I¡¯d grown¡­ attached to my first two pets. The situation with Miranda was still fine, I told myself. I knew where I stood with her and our connection was still sufficiently impersonal for my tastes. I was prepared to¡­ dispose of Miranda if I had to, though it would be a terrible waste of potential. Rea though? Though I¡¯d only had her for less than two months, I had grown attached. Weak.


    A whip of cutting force coiled around my arm and I slowly turned around in my chair. Rea was standing by the large tank in the corner, carefully filling a vial with my evening dose of milk. It would be easy, so very easy. I doubted she would even drop the vial unless I literally killed her, her hands were shockingly steady. Just one hit, she would deserve it, right? She must have done something deserving of punishment recently, right? Maybe?


    She closed the spigot slowly, making sure not a single drop spilled onto the ground. I remembered telling her that a single spoonful was worth more than her life. ¡®This slave hears and obeys, Master.¡¯ I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d ever spilled a single drop. I dispelled the whip as she turned around, instantly falling to her knees when she saw me looking at her. ¡°This one begs forgiveness for the delay.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re fine. I¡¯m still¡­ finishing up my tea.¡± I demonstratively picked up the small cup and took another sip. I couldn¡¯t do it. No, I didn¡¯t want to do it. I could have if I wanted to, but¡­ it would have been such a waste. Punishment should be reserved for when the punished does something wrong. I was not some barbarian that found pleasure in the suffering of others. Suffering was a tool like any other, not a toy to play with. Father¡¯s half forgotten words echoed in my ears. ¡®Look at them son, and remember. They engage in violence not with purpose, but just for the sake of violence. When we hunt, we hunt with purpose. We kill to protect our village and feed our family. Purpose is a sign of civilization, violence for violence sake is the rule of beasts.¡¯


    Stolen novel; please report.


    I remembered not thinking much of the lesson at the time, only my supernaturally clear memory letting me recall the conversation at all. Even with the help of magic, it was still only a fragment though. Father had been a wise man, far more than I¡¯d ever given him credit for.


    I let my thoughts turn back to Lea, ignoring Rea as she crawled over to kneel beside my chair. Lea. My Lea. I still couldn¡¯t quite believe it, though all the signs pointed to her being that same little girl I¡¯d grown up with all those years ago. I¡¯d never thought I would see her again, hells, I hadn¡¯t really thought she¡¯d survived in the first place. I thought I¡¯d been the only one. Maybe¡­ maybe someone else had as well? If Lea had gotten away, why not¡­ No. No, I doubted it. I could still hear the screams some nights, slowly tapering off as the flames roared ever higher. No magicless human could survive that sort of heat.


    I had a feeling Lea hadn¡¯t really ¡®gotten away¡¯ either. We hadn¡¯t spoken for much longer tonight, she¡¯d been half falling asleep on my shoulder as we¡¯d walked and I¡¯d ended up leaving her at the entrance to the little shop she lived above, not wanting to deal with her ¡®uncles¡¯ without her awake and cognizant, but the lingering scars on her body and the tension I could feel under her outwardly relaxed demeanor spoke volumes. No, I would get the full story from her soon, but she had not gotten away unscathed. Neither of us had.


    Still, it was indescribable to see her again. It felt as though a weight I had never known I was carrying had been taken off my shoulders. Those short minutes speaking with her had been wonderful, freeing in a way I could barely remember. Maybe it was wrong of me to do so, I had no idea what she¡¯d been through over the years, but something inside me trusted her and was deeply comforted by her presence.


    Unfortunately, with that comfort came fear. What would she think of me? Even beyond not feeling comfortable under Lightcastle''s wards, I hadn¡¯t wanted to tell her about what I¡¯d done and where I¡¯d been. The girl I¡¯d once known¡­ she would have thought me a monster. I was a monster. No matter how I comforted myself, I knew I was. There was no excuse for the things I¡¯d done, even if I felt they had been the best paths available to me.


    I wanted to return to our old friendship, but I was afraid. Afraid of rejection, afraid of seeing that same look of horror on her face directed at me. I wondered what life could have looked like. What could have been if that greedy, conniving elf had kept his grubby little hands to himself. There had been talk of us marrying once, nothing concrete but our parents had been close friends and it had come up in conversation often enough. Mother and Father had married when they were thirteen and fourteen respectively, years younger than I was now. Life for peasants was short, much shorter than it was for mages and the nobility. I was already older than Mother had been when I was born.


    We could have been married. Had children even. Grown old together, side by side in our little town by the seaside. My fist clenched and, despite my exhaustion, mana flared around me. I felt Rea recoil slightly, a tiny gap in my presence that was both mine and other.


    With an inaudible growl, I grabbed the vial out of her hands and through it back in a single swallow, barely tasting the liquid ecstasy as it poured down my throat. This was not the mindset I would have preferred when taking something so potent, but I needed a distraction and I knew just what would help take the edge off after a day like this.


    I stood up abruptly, already pulling the ill-fitting shirt up over my shoulders. ¡°Rea,¡± I said sternly, ¡°I remember you had some interesting ideas of how to reward my Miranda.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master?¡±


    I unbuckled my belt and pushed my pants down, stepping out of them and leaving them lying on the floor. ¡°You¡¯ve been a very good girl, diligent and obedient. I haven¡¯t had to punish you a single time since that first day, have I?¡±


    ¡°No, master. This slave obeys. Thank you master.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I think you also deserve a bit of a reward. Good behavior should be commended, just as bad behavior should be punished.¡± Rea¡¯s eyes followed me intently as I stepped around her, watching with unblinking eyes as I sat down on the edge of the bed. A gesture caused the lights in the room to dim, all but one of the enchanted lamps going out together. ¡°I don¡¯t think you have any succubus heritage, but that was just an excuse, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Rea¡¯s body shuddered slightly. ¡°Yes master. This worthless slave begs forgivness.¡±


    I smiled down at her. This was wrong, I knew it was just the magic of her binding twisting her mind. The book had even noted that such side effects often occurred, though it hadn¡¯t really mentioned them as an issue. Simply something to be aware of. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about it, pet.¡± I patted my knee. ¡°Come here, slave. I think you¡¯re due for a little reward, unless you don¡¯t think you deserve it?¡±


    ¡°This slave would not dare contradict Master¡¯s judgement.¡±


    ¡°Good girl,¡± her body shuddered again, and even I could tell that it was with arousal, not fear. ¡°Now, get that cute little dress off and come here,¡± I commanded, ¡°I remember you saying something about training in how to please your master, hmm? Let''s see how much you remember.¡±

 Chapter 52

    My Rea did not need to be told twice. She crossed the few feet between us fast enough that, in the half-darkness of the room, it looked as though she¡¯d teleported. Slender fingers slid gently under the waistband of my last remaining garment and I obligingly shifted my weight forward so she could remove them properly.


    My smile widened slightly as Rea paused for a moment to carefully fold and set the undergarment aside, even while her eyes stayed glued to my rapidly hardening penis. The moment she was done, she all but lunged forward, nuzzling the tip of my cock with her cheek for just a moment before carefully taking the tip in her mouth. Rea moaned throatily, her tongue vigorously exploring every millimeter in her mouth. One hand came up and gently stroked the base of my cock several times before moving down to fondle my balls. The other remained primly folded behind her back, resting just above her lovely behind.


    I groaned in pleasure, leaning back on my arms and letting my head lull forward onto my chest as I watched her work. She was quite good I thought, though I didn¡¯t really have much to compare to. The last time I¡¯d had someone blow me, I¡¯d been too preoccupied to really focus on the experience. I¡¯d used the distraction and convenient position to wrap a length of steel chain around my partner''s neck and proceeded to choke her unconscious. Hopefully nothing like that would be needed here.


    I gasped as Rea suddenly pushed forward, angling her neck slightly and taking the next several inches of my cock in her mouth in a single motion. I felt my tip hit something soft but firm, but had no time to focus on it as her tongue went back to work and she began to bob her head up and down along my length.


    She shifted her head slightly and used her free hand to brush the hair out of her face before looking up into my face. Her violet eyes met mine and I was pleased to see them nearly shining with happiness, a joyful smile clearly visible on her face even as she bobbed her head up and down along my length. Despite myself, I smiled back at her, and let out a short laugh as she looked away, her blush clearly visible despite the dim light.


    Shifting my arms, I kept myself propped up on one hand as I used the other to pat her on the head again, then moved lower until I found one of her ample breasts under my palm. My thumb and forefinger closed lightly around her rock-hard nipple, electing a loud moan out of her as I rolled the little nub between my fingers.


    She redoubled her efforts, long tongue writhing in her mouth and head bobbing rapidly in long, fast strokes. And then she took a deep breath and, in a move I¡¯d heard of but never really understood the point of until now, she pushed her head the final few inches down until her nose was firmly pressed against my pubes. She choked and sputtered, swallowing rapidly around my cock even as tears formed in her eyes, but the satisfaction on her face was plain to see. She took a shallow breath through her nose and pulled back slightly before thrusting her head all the way back down.


    She sucked loudly, cheeks hollowing as she slurped and choked and licked with all her heart. I felt my cock stiffen even more than before and the hand that was playing with her breast came up to gently stroke her cheek and hair. She pressed into my touch, rotating her head and moaning in a way that sent waves of wondrous lighting playing across my nerves.


    It felt incredible. Physically, it wasn¡¯t really as pleasurable as the few times I¡¯d played with my tight little Mistletoe, but it was ever so much more satisfying. My Rea met my eyes again, the tears and drool on her face only adding to the glorious image as she wordlessly begged for my approval.


    ¡°Good¡­ girl,¡± I gasped out, ¡°Just a¡­ just a little more. Like that, yes¡­ Oh, good girl! Good girl!¡±


    She all but preened at the praise, thrusting her breasts forward and redoubling her efforts. Her other hand, still held behind her back, came up, stroking gently at whatever flesh was available as she thrust her throat down around me over and over. Her other hand continued its own efforts, slender fingers gently playing with my balls in a way that only amplified the rest of the experience.


    My entire body tensed up and my hand closer around the back of her head, fingers wrapped in silky-smooth ribbons of shiny-white hair, the bits of pink dye still present almost shining as the last lamp¡¯s light played across it. I pressed her face down, nose digging into my skin even as her tongue¡¯s continued work finally pushed me over the edge.


    I groaned loudly, throwing my head back as I came down my purple-skinned pet¡¯s throat. Though my grip on the back of her head slackened, she made no effort to move, instead gently humming as her tongue continued to writhe and dance across every inch of available skin. Her throat convulsed around me as she frantically swallowed over and over again, eagerly take every drop I could give her.


    I spent another minute just basking in the sensation before I sat up and gently pulled her off my slightly slackened cock. I was still somewhat hard, between my circulations and the known side effects of elven milk that wasn¡¯t much of a surprise, but a lot of my tension had drained away, down into Rea¡¯s stomach along with my cum. I considered simply calling it a night, chewing on the bottom of my lip as I glanced at the clock over my desk. It was very late, late enough that it almost qualified as early, and yet¡­ Well, I didn¡¯t have class till the afternoon, right? I was still feeling rather energized, much of the day¡¯s exhaustion temporarily washed away by my evening drink. Usually, I used that energy to get some extra work done, and I could do that too, but¡­ I wasn¡¯t really feeling it.


    My attention turned back to Rea as she rocked back, resting her butt on her heels and thrusting her shoulders back. It was quite the lovely view, kneeling as she was with her knees spread widely and her breasts jutting towards me. Her lavender skin was covered with a thin sheen of sweat, glistening alluringly in the dim light as she patiently stared at the floor.


    No, I wasn¡¯t going to be getting any more work done tonight, nor just heading to sleep immediately. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± I asked sharply, but there was no real heat in my words. ¡°You¡¯ve done a passable job, but we¡¯re not nearly done yet. Come here slave, up.¡±


    I hid a smile as she nearly vibrated with enthusiasm, rapidly crawling up to sit straddling one leg like I¡¯d directed her too. I could feel her crotch pressed against my bare thigh and she was soaking wet, just as much if not more so than Mistletoe had been during that first session. It was always nice when something that benefited you could also benefit what is yours. Like Professor Shrike always said, ¡®Best to sink two ships with one fireball¡¯.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I lay back on the bed, letting Rea climb on top of me as I got comfortable. ¡°Let''s see about you¡­ earning your keep.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    <hr>


    Adonia Earthshadow didn¡¯t know what to do. That had been happening awfully often these last few months, and she didn¡¯t like it one bit. Everything had always seemed so simple, so much of her life had been written out long before she was born that she rarely had to make any serious choices. That had never been a problem before, she¡¯d liked her life, loved the family that had given her everything she could have wanted, but now? Now¡­ Well, it sometimes felt stifling. She just wasn¡¯t prepared.


    Adonia laughed ruefully. Wasn¡¯t that supposed to have been the point of all those lessons? She¡¯d spent long hours with expert tutors, studying economics, politics, military theory, and so much more, all to prepare her for the decisions she would have to make in the future. And yet, now that she was under more pressure than she¡¯d ever been in her life, none of that seemed useful. She knew how to prepare a fort for attack from an entire bestiary worth of monsters or wine-and-dine a ballroom full of visiting dignitaries. She could fence any one of her peers to a standstill, verbally or with the ceremonial rapiers that were often used to settle interpersonal disputes. She knew her family¡¯s allies and enemies, had studied the stances every major Name took on any given political issue, and none of it seemed in any way helpful now.


    After all, Leana¡­ she didn¡¯t really care about any of it. She didn¡¯t have to, it¡­ wasn¡¯t her life. She would never be a general, a noblewoman, or a politician. She didn¡¯t care about the network of alliances that held together the power of the Centralist faction, she just wanted to be loved and cherished. She deserved it too, Adonia truly believed that. The poor girl had known so much pain in her short life, Adonia had only heard snippets, voiceless nightmares as Leana thrashed silently in bed beside her. She¡¯d asked, subtly at first, and then in whispered reasurences as she held the rocking girl in her arms, but whatever had happened to her, she wasn¡¯t saying.


    Adonia knew she probably could have found out. Just went over Leana¡¯s head and asked one of the myriad of investigators that served her father to look into things for her. It probably would have worked, Darkwalker and Umbra were experts and had ferreted out much nastier questions then the past of one merchant girl, but Adonia wouldn¡¯t do that. Not only would it be a terrible invasion of her love¡¯s privacy, but it could also unearth problems that would come back to bite them both if they came to light.


    Adonia had her own suspicions after all. For one, why the hell did a blonde-haired ¡®Sweetglass¡¯ call two black-haired Saddleshaper¡¯s ¡®uncle¡¯? She¡¯d met both men before, and if they were actually related she would eat her negligee. Adonia was very deflective of how she¡¯d come to live with her ¡®uncles¡¯, always directing the conversation away from where she¡¯d come from or what had happened to her parents. After the third time, Adonia had stopped trying to pry. She liked the younger woman too much to alienate her so blatantly. Once their relationship had developed further, she¡¯d put it out of her mind entirely¡­ Until now.


    The last few weeks had been hard. Courting Leana had been the best thing she¡¯d ever done, despite the pushback she¡¯d received from her peers and family, it had all been worth it. Holding Leana in her arms, kissing her and making her scream her name¡­ it had been incredible. Leana was such a loving young woman, so much better than the rude and ugly men who had pursued her for her Name and family. Leana didn¡¯t care about any of that, didn¡¯t care that Adonia lived in a giant mansion while she was stuck in a five-room box over her ¡®uncle¡¯s¡¯ shop. With Leana, Adonia knew that her partner cared about her as a person, not as a prize to win. And now? She was worried she¡¯d ruined that forever.


    She hadn¡¯t thought Leana would take it so badly. She¡­ hadn¡¯t thought. She thought she understood it now, Leana valued family so highly that her words must have come as a betrayal to everything the younger woman stood for. Adonia had just thought of it as business as usual, it was a common practice among nobles after all. So many noblemen had paramours, other nobles, or even lower-class men and women, with whom they shared a bed after their heirs were born. Sure it was typically not a public arrangement, but it was an accepted dynamic. Why should this be any different?


    She realized now that, for Leana, this was not business as usual. She¡¯d forgotten that the merchant and peasant classes didn¡¯t do that sort of thing. For them, marriage was a sacred bond between people, not just an exchange of goods and services. When the commoners married, they married for each other more often than not, not for whatever deals could be made by joining two Names in such a way.


    It¡­ sounded nice. Freeing in a way. Still, she didn¡¯t think she could ever do it herself. That just wasn¡¯t the world she¡¯d grown up in. She¡¯d known all her life that she would someday marry for the good of her family, and had accepted that long ago. She just wished Leana could understand! Understand that she loved her and wanted her, but she loved her family too.


    And now, it seemed things had gotten even more confusing. Her blood boiled as she remembered that commoner(?)¡¯s words. ¡®Such a tight knit bunch of students you have here. Tight enough that six of them decided to go out and rape a lesson into their classmate.¡¯ Those dogs dared! She¡¯d already ordered her servants to seek out whatever foolish curs had dared lay their hands on her beloved. There families would suffer for the indignity, or her Name was not Earthshadow. To lay a hand on one under the aegis of her house, even if somewhat on the outs, was the height of arrogance.


    And yet, even more than that, she had to know who that man was. He dressed like a peasant, but that¡­ pressure had been like nothing she¡¯d ever felt before. It was some magecraft, she was sure of it, but of what sort she had no idea. He had shaped no spell she had seen, nor uttered any words or made any gestures. It made no sense, and yet she had felt it, like a giant wave ready to come crashing down upon her.


    She would have understood if he was some house¡¯s agent, that sort often had to go undercover among the commoners, but he had known Leana. More than that, Leana had known him. It made no sense! She loathed to dig into Leana¡¯s past, but she just had to know, she had to!


    Adonia bit her lip, her hand already reaching for the small bell that would summon a servant to her room. No. No, she would give Leana a chance. Her beloved hadn¡¯t come to class in some days, but surely she would be back soon. If not, Adonia could simply visit her at that quaint little shop she called home. She would give Leana one chance to explain, and then she would decide from there.


    Her hand fell back to her side. One chance. And then she would have to know.

 Chapter 53

    I woke up slowly, something warm and soft pressing against my side as I lay peacefully under the thick covers. Rea¡¯s slow, even breathing tickled my shoulder, the rest of her body stretched out against my side and one leg was thrown over my waist. I opened one eye, glad I¡¯d left one lamp shining and looked at the clock over my desk. It was just after eleven, later than I usually let myself sleep, but I still had plenty of time before my afternoon practical with professor Shrike.


    I smiled faintly and closed my eyes, letting my head sink back into the down pillow. I was glad I¡¯d remembered to disable the alarm spell I usually used to wake up. I felt¡­ rested, lighter than I had in a while. I shifted slightly, rolling onto my side and pulling my Rea closer to my chest. She mumbled something too quietly for me to make out, but didn¡¯t wake up. I didn¡¯t really blame her, this was her first time sleeping in a proper bed in quite a while, and she¡¯d had a long night.


    My smile turned into a grin. A very long, pleasant night after that utter mess of an afternoon. Sure I¡¯d mostly done it for my benefit, but Rea had obviously enjoyed it quite a bit as well. I could definitely see a repeat performance in her future, though maybe not for a little while yet. Just as punishment should be saved for when it was needed, so too should rewards be earned. I could always satisfy myself with one of my cows if I felt like it, elves seemed almost purpose-built for that sort of thing. Still, having such an eager partner was definitely nice for a change as well.


    I took a long, deep breath, then wrinkled my nose in annoyance. Still, I would need my cute little pet to deal with the laundry once she woke up. She¡¯d really made a mess of things and I couldn¡¯t just hose down my bed like I would a useless elf.


    I lay there for a few minutes longer, enjoying the feeling of her breasts pressing up against my bare chest and the warmth of her skin against mine. Then, with a quiet sigh I carefully extricated my arm from under her and got to work. Just this once, I would let my Rea sleep in a little. Usually she was awake and ready to receive me before my alarm spell even rang out, so she deserved a little extra rest. The last dregs of her well-earned reward, so to speak.


    Even without her help, getting ready for the day didn¡¯t take long. I took a quick shower, cast my usual shaving spell, and cleaned up the ragged edges of my circulations where they had degraded somewhat while I slept. Still, I clearly noticed her absence as I went about my morning routine. Little conveniences I¡¯d grown used to ¨Chaving everything set out neatly for me, a hot drink ready to help me wake up, and other things like that¨C were ultimately unimportant, but annoying to go without. I glanced over at the bed. Rea had rolled onto her back, arms wrapped around a ball of messy sheets and a slack smile on her face. It was cute, but yeah, letting her sleep in wasn¡¯t going to become a regular thing.


    After taking my morning shot of milk, I spent the next hour quickly taking care of some work I¡¯d planned to get done the night before. It was nothing particularly important or difficult, but I had to do it at some point and I had a feeling I would be having another late night today. It was Wednesday, so I only had the one class thankfully, but I¡¯d told the drowsy Lea I¡¯d come visit her in the late afternoon so I would be leaving almost immediately after class.


    It was almost painful not to go now. Leaving her the night before had been the right choice, I knew that on an intellectual level, but it had hurt. It was part of why I¡¯d had to distract myself the night before, and made sure I wouldn¡¯t wake up too early. If I¡¯d been up at dawn like I so often was, I didn¡¯t think I could have resisted visiting before class, and that was definitely not the right thing to do.


    To know that she was so close by, and yet we¡¯d hardly had a chance to speak yet was¡­ unpleasant. A constant strum of worry in the back of my mind. Had I done the right thing last night, just¡­ leaving her at home defenseless? What if those fucks decided to do something to her, some sort of twisted revenge for what I¡¯d done? Lea had assured me everything would be fine, but could I really trust that? Could I trust her?


    Sure, she¡¯d clearly been through some things in the years past, but¡­ she wasn¡¯t like me. She still seemed so very innocent. I hadn¡¯t felt any wards in her house. That would have to be corrected as soon as possible, but it meant that if someone decided to break in while she slept, there would be nothing to stop them.


    I forced myself to sit back down, having half risen to my feet without even noticing. No. It wasn¡¯t Avalon. A person could be safe in their home, even without a mountain of barriers between them and the outside world. They had laws, guards.


    ¡®Laws and guards hadn¡¯t protected her yesterday,¡¯ my own voice whispered in my ears, ¡®You should have taken her, brought her here. Here she would be Safe.¡¯ Yes. She would be safe. But she would be horrified and miserable. ¡®You could change that¡¯. I could. Maybe I should. I wouldn¡¯t. Maybe. Someday. No. I wouldn¡¯t. She was my Lea. I didn¡¯t have to do anything to make her mine.


    I set my pen down on its stand and rubbed my eyes. The assignment I was finishing up was only half done, but I just couldn¡¯t focus. It was simple work, just a matter of selecting the correct parts of All-Material into the same spell matrix, but I¡¯d caught three minor mistakes in the twenty minutes. That¡­ wasn¡¯t like me. I took pride in the quality of my work, and alchemy was not one of those classes I ever cut corners in. Professor Meadows often made students cast the spells they submitted exactly as they were written, and a poorly formed transmutation would kill you just as certainly as any other spell backlash.


    I could finish this later, maybe take some work with me when I went to check up on her? Perhaps I could use it as an opportunity to see how her studies were coming along. I¡¯d heard that magical education outside Avalon was slow and sloppy at the best of times, and the skill level of her classmates painted a concerning picture. She told me she¡¯d been at Whitecastle for four years, almost a quarter longer than I¡¯d been studying magic, and yet her aura had felt sloppier than those of my newest servants. What the hells were they teaching them up there?


    I leaned back in my chair and sighed. Just as with the question of what had happened to her over the last decade, there was no reason to be stressing about these questions when I had the answers waiting for me in just a few hours. I would hear what Lea had to say and only then would I start digging deeper. For now, breakfast, or well, lunch really, and then class. Simple.


    Of course it couldn¡¯t be that easy. I had barely stepped out of the practice room, magic still singing in my veins when Miranda barreled around a corner, eyes wide in terror and her dress a tattered ruin. The relief on her face when she saw me was palpable and without breaking stride she gasped out, ¡°Orion, help!¡±


    She all but dove behind me and I was about to ask what was going on when another student floated around the corner, fury shining in her eyes. She stopped, hovering several inches above the ground as she took in the hallway before her. It was all but empty, I¡¯d stayed late speaking to Professor Shrike and he had simply teleported out of the room. Only a few stragglers remained in the out-of-the-way corner of the building and they quickly made themselves scarce. Avalon students tended to have good survival instincts.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Seeing that I wasn¡¯t going anywhere, she floated forward several inches, ethereal claws glinting around the clenched fists at her sides. ¡°Step aside, third year. This is a private matter between me and this whore.¡±


    Oh for gods¡¯ sake. I wanted to close my eyes and rub my forehead but this wasn¡¯t the time. Of all the things¡­ For a moment, I was tempted, so very tempted. I had been planning to finally go visit my Lea right after class, every minute away from her sending spikes of worry through my chest, but this was not something I could walk away from.


    Despite her occasional disobedience and the problems she caused, Miranda was mine, and I wasn¡¯t going to just give her up. The only person allowed to damage my property was me. ¡°I don¡¯t think I will,¡± I said simply, my mana flaring. I half turned to look at Miranda. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she whispered shrilly, voice several octaves higher than I¡¯d heard it in years. ¡°I swear, I didn¡¯t do anything Orion, please, I swear I didn¡¯t do anything!¡±


    The other girl interjected before I could say anything. ¡°Oh, she knows what she¡¯s doing! My fianc¨¦¡¯s been making eyes at her all year and she¡¯s loving it!¡± Of all things! For gods¡¯ sake, it was even stupider than I thought! ¡°She needs to be taught a lesson, and as her better it is my responsibility to teach it!¡± Her shimmering claws swept through the air with a worrying hiss. ¡°Now, step aside third year!¡±


    I met her gaze squarely, judging the fire in her eyes. Well, it didn¡¯t seem like talking things out would go well unfortunately. Oh how I hated emotional idiocy like this. Someone was going to die here, and I certainly had no plans for it to be me or mine.


    I took a deep breath, eyes flicking around as I examined our surroundings and assessed the situation. I honestly had no idea who this girl was, only the magic of Avalon¡¯s wards telling me that she was a fourth year and thus attacking the two of us was well within the rules. That was both good and bad, good because it meant she wasn¡¯t anyone exceptional, bad because it meant I had no idea what she was capable of.


    I extended my senses, trying to get a feel for her magic. She was stronger than I was from a purely magical perspective, which was expected and annoying. Fortunately, the difference was much smaller than I had feared. Neither of us were at our best, both down about a third of our total mana from what I could tell, and Miranda was at about half energy. I could feel a strong taste of wind in her mana, she had a very well trained affinity, but I wasn¡¯t sure how much of a help that knowledge would be. Specialist mages tended to learn magic that punished people for targeting obvious weaknesses.


    First year me would have offered her another chance. First year Orion would have asked if she was sure she wanted to do this. I exhaled, letting my worries and plans for the rest of the day slip away, leaving my mind crystal clear and empty of distracting thoughts. I didn¡¯t hesitate. Three smooth metal bands floated silently into the hand I was holding behind my back. Mana flooded into prepared enchantments and all three of us moved near-simultaneously.


    The three collars behind my back sprang apart, launching themselves into the air on either side of me and blitzing towards the rapidly accelerating fourth year. Whatever flight spell she was using was a good one, she dodged effortlessly around all six half-bands, but the distraction gave me just enough time to erect a flimsy shield of pure mana between the two of us.


    She rebounded off the barrier, unfortunately protected from the impact by a swirling, almost skin-tight, bubble of wind, but my spell had served its purpose of buying time. The complex fourth-circle matrix I¡¯d devoted most of my attention to flared and a crystalline shield of interlocking hexagons rippled into existence around me.


    At the same time, Miranda finally finished her own spell. Thin darts of white-hot fire flared to life around her before launching themselves at the still recovering wind mage. I saw her eyes widen slightly as she saw them and she began to cast some sort of counter, but the flying collars launched themselves at her once more and she had to abort the spell in order to avoid them again. Her face screwed up into a rictus of pain as the backlash from her failed response slammed through her, but unfortunately she managed to fight through it.


    For a moment, I let myself think that we had her. The collars looped around in wide arcs, closing in on her from all sides. The darts burned through the air, leaving trails of sparks in their wake as they flashed across the intervening space. A small volley of force spikes blocked off any other routes of escape as I carefully timed them to arrive at just the right moments.


    Then, that hope was washed away as she showed how she¡¯d lasted almost four full years at Avalon. In the blink of an eye she lashed out with both sets of claws, showing an impressive level of body enhancement as she moved nearly faster than I could see. Eight neigh-invisible blades of tightly compressed air hurtled through the air, knocking collars out of the air and shattering force spikes. At the same time, her flight spell sent her hurtling sideways along the corridor, the edges of her trailing sleeves all but brushing against the floor. Blazing darts tried to track her, but the angle was too sharp and they burnt themselves out uselessly against the ground.


    Miranda cursed, but neither of us had really expected the first gambit to work. We had both already begun to cast again before we¡¯d even seen our spells fail to find their mark. I narrowed my eyes as four of her ¡®claws¡¯ focused on my collars, chasing them through the air and knocking them aside each time they tried to fly towards their target. The enchantments I¡¯d imbued into the metal were well made, but they wouldn¡¯t last much longer against such an assault.


    Still, I didn¡¯t have a chance to focus on that for long as the other four shot towards the two of us. They slammed against my shield, grinding against the joints between panes of force with a terrible screeching sound. I spared a moment to lash out with tendrils of pure mana, trying to break apart the spell construct that animated the blades, but hit nothing. Interesting.


    Miranda finished her next spell before I did, this time transmuting the air around her into translucent shards of razor-sharp glass that she gathered in a loose sphere and sent spinning down the hallway. A moment later, my force lance lashed after them, a sonic boom ringing through the air as the tip of the lance broke the sound barrier.


    For the first time since we¡¯d begun, the older girl cried out as her shield failed to fully stop my attack. I smiled in grim satisfaction as blood began to flow freely from the divet where I¡¯d torn a chunk of flesh from her shoulder. As I¡¯d expected, she¡¯d used a wind-based shield, which was not particularly effective against such a tightly concentrated beam of pure force. Against a regular force lance, that might have worked better, but I¡¯d modified the spell to have a much narrower point designed specifically to punch through that sort of defenses. I¡¯d originally done it in case I ever came face to face with something like that demon, but this was a fine practice run for the spell as well.


    Unfortunately, Miranda¡¯s attack proved much less effective. Shards of glass flew in every direction as the flying girl simply bulldozed through them, her flight spell protecting her from their deadly edges and sending many of them back towards us. A new set of claws formed on her hands and she thrust them violently into my shield. Two hexagonal panes cracked under the blow and she wound back for a second hit that would certainly destroy the shield and leave me at her mercy.


    I couldn¡¯t fully hide my smile. The hand I¡¯d been holding behind my back shot forward, fingers extended and glowing with a baleful red light. My circulations burned under my skin as I eked every bit of power I could out of them. At the same time, I kicked the collar lying under an illusion on my foot into the air. It split into two pieces and launched itself at her exposed neck.


    She tried to dodge, but she was floating far too close to me and my hand was moving faster than even her flight spell could manage. I lunged through my own shield, the spell parting effortlessly in front of me. My hand cut through her flight spell with no resistance and into her belly; I¡¯d aimed for a lung but she¡¯d juked upwards in a frantic attempt to avoid the collar.


    A moment later, the collar closed around her neck and both her flight spell and claws cut out in an instant. She tried to fight off the suppression, but she was right beside me. My mana flared as I bathed her body with my presence, burning through mana like a raging bonfire as I smothered any shred of resistance. Then, Miranda¡¯s sleep spell slammed into her unresisting mind and she was out like a light.


    I pulled my hand back, letting her drop bonelessly to the ground, and wiped my blood-soaked fingers on her top. ¡°She should have listened the first time,¡± I said quietly.


    Miranda nodded her head slowly and I heard her swallow loudly behind me. ¡°Yes sir.¡±

 Chapter 54

    Like my father had always said, life¡¯s biggest challenges always came in packs. This semester had already been far too exciting for my liking, much more than the previous four I¡¯d experienced at Avalon, and it seemed that life was not done trying to clobber me over the head with a rusty shovel just yet. It was times like these that sometimes made me ask if my birth had somehow upset some cosmic force or ancient divinity. I would have been perfectly content living my life out in that same tiny village I was born in, growing old with Lea and surrounded by my loving family, but this cruel world we lived in had decided that was not to be.


    ¡°So. How bad is it?¡± I asked Miranda quietly as I sat down across from her.


    Miranda slowly let out a long breath, then looked up at me. She¡¯d changed out of her tattered dress, but I could still see the lingering signs of the wounds that had littered her body beneath the sheer fabric of her sleeves and bodice. It seemed she hadn¡¯t had a chance to go to the healing hall yet, so hopefully she had something good for me.


    ¡°Not good, but it could be worse,¡± she answered after a moment. She bit her lip nervously, hands fisted in the hems of her dress. ¡°I haven¡¯t really had time to investigate things properly, but I have some preliminary information.¡± She paused again, her eyes searching for something in my face. Then, she hurriedly added, ¡°I¡¯ll have a full report for you soon, I¡¯m sorry, I swear. I just need a bit of time!¡±


    I frowned and waved her off. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s hear it then, I need to get out of here soon.¡±


    ¡°Of course, right. Sorry, Orion. Right. So, the girl is Kwesta, she¡¯s a fourth year sponsored student from Kellesaria.¡± I tilted my head slightly and she hurriedly elaborated, ¡°It''s one of the tiny city-states that litter the Endless Plain, though I¡¯m not sure where specifically in the region. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re particularly powerful, but they produce some high end luxury products that no one else has been able to replicate so they have something going for them. Anyway, I don¡¯t think their reach is especially long, so you shouldn¡¯t have too much to worry about on that angle. I¡¯m not even sure how important she was to her family, I think she¡¯s from a branch family of the ruling house.¡±


    ¡°So far so good,¡± I said with a slow nod. ¡°So what¡¯s the bad news? The fianc¨¦ she mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Well, I actually don¡¯t think he should be much of a problem either. His name is Livian and he¡¯s a third-year like us. You might have met him a few times, but I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ve shared any classes. I have one with him this year and, well, he¡¯s¡­ nothing special. He mostly focuses on beast mastery classes, his family herds some sort of exotic cattle for their horns and leather, and he¡¯s also from that same region but a different city state.¡± She paused, fidgeting in her seat and leaning forward. ¡°If you¡¯d like, I should be able to take care of him for you sir? Kwesta wasn¡¯t wrong, he¡¯s been leering at me all year.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. Don¡¯t do anything yet, but that¡¯s a good suggestion. Continue.¡±


    ¡°Of course. As you say Orion. Right, so he shouldn¡¯t be an issue either. The potential issue is that Kwesta had a couple friends in her year who could be trouble.¡± I slumped back in my chair. Great. Just great. Having a bunch of fourth years gunning for me was just what I needed.


    What a bloody mess. I was half tempted to just let her go and hope my problems disappeared, but I knew it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. That sort of thing just wasn¡¯t done at Avalon, or at least only very rarely. If I¡¯d just killed her during our fight, that would have been potentially dangerous but much simpler. Instead, I now had a hastily restrained and drugged unconscious fourth year lying in a cage in my room that I didn¡¯t know how to deal with.


    I had a couple options of course. The easiest would probably be to let Rea at her for a few weeks and bind her once she was thoroughly broken, but that came with its own problems. Unlike my earlier ambush, our fight had been much more public and no one would trust her if I released her back into the Academy. I didn¡¯t even know if I could do so, depending on how long things took. If I waited too long, she would stop being considered an Avalon student and I would no longer have the option of sending her back into the school.


    It might be easier to just use her for parts, she was a fourth circle mage after all and that meant her body was positively soaked with mana. The materials I could harvest wouldn¡¯t be as valuable as those from one of my cows or another elf, but mage-flesh was useful in its own ways.


    Alternatively, I had been looking for someone disposable to test certain magic on. I¡¯d recently learned that it was possible to temporarily implant circulations into other people, and there were some ideas that I wanted to experiment with further before trying them myself. I couldn¡¯t just do it on a random mundane, their body would just burn away from the strain, but a mage of her strength would be able to handle most of the same things I could. Or maybe, hmm, that was an interesting idea, maybe I could¡­


    Miranda fidgeted slightly and I realized that she¡¯d said something while I wasn¡¯t paying attention. I shook my head to clear it, pushing aside the half formed plans before I could get even more distracted. That sort of thing would take time, and I had more immediate issues to deal with right now.¡°Repeat that.¡±


    ¡°Sorry sir. I, well I haven¡¯t found all of whom she was hanging around with, but a few of them could be trouble. Um, well, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Spit it out.¡±


    ¡°...she was friends with Clarient Valorous.¡±


    My head thunked against the table and out of the corner of my eyes I could see Miranda cringe backwards. Well fuck me I guess. Clarient fucking Valorous? Really? For once I could see why Miranda was rather hesitant about telling me. Clarient Valorous was not the sort of person I wanted as an enemy. Even though her family¡¯s dynasty had been overthrown a few years ago she still had friends in high places and was one of the strongest fourth year students at the Academy.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I slowly raised my head off the table, staring Miranda directly in the eyes. She sat frozen in place, shoulders hunched and eyes downcast. After a moment she whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. I¡¯ll accept whatever punishment you think is fitting.


    Wonderful. Just¡­ wonderful. I couldn¡¯t deal with this right now, I just¡­ of all the things, of all the times! This was why I tried to avoid politics and dealing with people and just¡­ everything! I¡¯d been careful, I¡¯d done everything right, I¡¯d practiced and researched and studied and¡­ And one stupid fight that I didn¡¯t even start had a chance to ruin everything.


    I grabbed my cup and took a long drink, wishing that the herbal tea was something much stronger. Then I picked up the remainder of my food and stood up. ¡°I expect something comprehensive after classes tomorrow. Don¡¯t get yourself killed and try to avoid getting me dragged into any more bullshit. You¡¯re on thin ice, Miranda. I¡¯ll deal with you later.¡±


    In the privacy of her own room, Brenda all but squealed in happiness and she watched the memory on her scrying pool for the fifteenth time. Her wonderful, beautiful, powerful Orion looked so cool! The way he just stood there, staring menacingly as the ugly wind-girl desperately tried to avoid his attacks was just¡­ oh it was just so amazing. It would be even better if that slag Miranda wasn¡¯t in the memory, but that sort of editing was just so hard to do with someone else¡¯s recollections. She would do it of course, her precious Orion deserved every ounce of her effort, but¡­ later. After she¡¯d watched him wipe the floor with the stupid bint who dared try to touch her boyfriend a few more times!


    Her legs kicked gently in the air above her as she stared into the platinum bowl from where she lay on her bed. It had been a pain to get the memory so quickly, it had cost her a not insignificant portion of her month¡¯s allowance to get one of the fight¡¯s few witnesses to part with it, but it had been absolutely worth it. Perhaps she could have asked her beloved directly, they were courting now so it wouldn¡¯t be overly presumptuous, but then she wouldn¡¯t be able to see him, watch his muscles ripple under his tightly fitting practice clothing¡­


    She sighed dreamily as the memory cycled again and she got to look directly at Orion as he calmly faced down the older girl. He looked so heroic! Maybe she could get someone to chase her down, let Orion step in front of her and look up at him helplessly as he fought off some foul beast to protect her¡­


    She rolled onto her back, one hand drifting to her chest while the other slid under the waistband of her skirt. Oh that would be amazing, but how to set it up? She would have to make it believable, but make sure that neither of them were in any real danger at the same time. Perhaps a tamed monster of some sort? The demon she¡¯d co-opted weeks ago had done a good job pushing Orion to his limits, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to run away if she was there as well.


    From the pedestal, she heard Orion¡¯s voice ring out once again. ¡°I don¡¯t think I will.¡± Even garbled slightly from the distance between him at the watcher, along with the imperfect nature of copying memories, he sounded so authoritative and stern and powerful! Everything she¡¯d always seen and wanted from her beloved. From the first day she¡¯d met him, she¡¯d known he was her One! Just like mom had Fiero, she would have her precious Orion to live and grow old with. They would have a big house by the ocean, a garden for her to tend, and a few dozen kids to play with and cherish. It would be beautiful.


    She moaned quietly as fantasies of Orion danced through her mind. Orion, spinning her around at a grand ball. Orion, sitting beside her on the porch as they watched the sun set. Orion, holding her hand tenderly as he looked down at their first child. It would be a girl, Brenda decided. Orellia Goodwitch, or maybe Orenda Goodwitch? No, Orellia sounded better. One daughter to satisfy mom, and then they could have as many cute baby boys and girls as they could ever want. Orion would be such a good dad, she was certain of it. The way his big, strong hands held her when she pressed herself against him¡­ Oh, it would be¡­ She moaned again, louder this time.


    She had to see him. She had to see him right now. One of her friends had seen him heading to the portal room, which meant he hopefully would be outside the impenetrable barriers of Avalon¡¯s dorms. She wondered what her wonderful Orion would be doing in a backwater like Xethis. Perhaps he was going off to fight monsters? She¡¯d heard the place was apparently teeming with all sorts of horrors that the locals couldn¡¯t deal with themselves. Oh, that would be so manly and amazing and heroic of him, the dashing savior protecting innocent civilians against the predatory advances of ancient beasts and terrors.


    She rolled out of bed, a quick spell cleaning the sticky residue off her hand as she gently removed the memory crystal from the scrying pool and got to work. Watching Orion had gotten much harder recently, but it hadn¡¯t taken her too long to find a workaround. The trick was that she could no longer scry Orion directly, clearly her wonderfully smart and talented beloved had worked out some spell that could defeat even the tremendous power of her grandmother¡¯s artifice, but his protections did not actually make him imperceptible to scrying magic. As long as she knew where to look, she could track him down eventually.


    Resting her hands on either side of the wide bowl, she focused her magic and an image slowly formed on the reflective surface of the alchemical quicksilver. She hummed quietly as the image drew into focus, a round void surrounded on every side by a wide city square. The portal itself was spelled to resist all forms of scrying, direct and indirect both, but she doubted her beloved would stay within that tiny area for long. Still, it was a perfect starting point for her search, after all, Orion must have passed through this square, no matter his eventual destination.


    She pulled one hand away from the bowl, the image rippling and growing hazy for a moment as her control lapsed. From a small rack by the stand, she withdrew a single strand of dark hair and dropped it into the pool. The quicksilver bubbled and rippled for a moment, and then the hair dissolved into the liquid metal. Perfect.


    She returned her hand to the bowl and the image returned in full clarity, only this time she could see hazy trails of light drifting through the square. There were three of them, but one was clearly much fresher than the others. She followed it.


    The path led her on a winding loop through the quaint town, detouring several times to visit seemingly random houses and small shops. She wasn¡¯t sure why Orion was going to those places, and he never seemed to have lingered long, but she memorized their locations regardless. Anywhere that was worthy of her Orion¡¯s time was worthy of her attention.


    Eventually however, the trail ended at a small shop near the edge of the town. She eagerly leaned over the pool, pouring more mana into the quicksilver as her spell pushed through rudimentary privacy wards and slipped through stone shingles. Just another moment and she would see her Orion again. It had only been a day since she¡¯d last pressed herself against his side, but that was a day¡­ too¡­ long¡­


    Orion appeared on the shimmering plain of quicksilver, dressed in unfamiliar leather and yet still looking so very handsome. There was another woman beside him, a large-breasted blonde standing behind him. Holding him. Pressing her hideous flesh bags against his back. Smiling. Laughing.


    Brenda saw RED.

 Chapter 55

    Clarient Valorous. Of all the fucking people¡­ I sighed quietly and shook my head. Well, if nothing else, that definitely changed my plans for the Kwesta girl. I was very glad I had made sure she would stay unconscious for the foreseeable future because her seeing anything¡­ incriminating in my room would have made things far more complicated than they already were.


    Had it been almost anyone else, I probably would have gone through with one of my earlier ideas. I really did need a proper test subject for some of my spellcraft, but it seemed Kwesta was not going to be fulfilling that role. It was far more likely that I would end up trading her back to her ¡®friends¡¯ in exchange for some sort of concessions and an assurance that they wouldn¡¯t seek revenge. That sort of deal wasn¡¯t exactly common, fights between skilled mages tended to end with one of them very dead and giving up a prisoner was typically seen as a sign of weakness, but I felt perfectly comfortable appearing weak compared to that particular monster.


    Even as just a fourth year, Clarient was well known as one of the most fearsome mages in her year. She¡¯d been casting fifth circle spells since the end of her third year and was on the short list of all but guaranteed-to-graduate students at the academy. More importantly, despite having the abilities of a student at least one year her senior, she was perfectly able to strike down a year at me.


    Still, Miranda had been right in saying that it wasn¡¯t as bad as it could be. Beyond her reputation as a terrifyingly talented mage, Clarient was considered rather reasonable and non-confrontational. I¡¯d heard she had been even more cheerful and openly friendly during her first year, but that had been stifled slightly by the entire mess that summer when her kingdom had been overthrown and her entire family had been raped and butchered. Apparently she¡¯d seen almost all of it first hand and had only escaped when her sponsor swooped in and brought her back to Avalon for the start of the semester.


    Maybe I could use that? Try to connect with her on a personal level using our shared trauma? It might make her more open to negotiating if I framed it as protecting one of my few friends after my entire family was burned to death in front of me. Hmm, that might be too grim as an opening, but if I could weave it in somehow¡­ Yes, that might work. I would try to get Miranda¡¯s opinion first however, see what she thought of the idea.


    If she had still been the heiress to one of the world¡¯s most powerful monarchies, with over a dozen archmages at their beck and call? Well, I would probably be busy groveling right now. There was a time and a place for pride and reputation, but facing down that particular family was not worth the risk. In theory, Avalon¡¯s rules wouldn¡¯t have let Clarient use her family¡¯s forces to get back at me, but the restrictions around external magic items and wealth were very lax for a reason.


    In any case, I really hoped Clarient would be willing to negotiate her friend¡¯s release. I didn¡¯t fancy spending the next three years constantly looking over my shoulder for vengeful disintegration spells. Well, more so than I already did, that was.


    I sighed again, I¡¯d been doing that a lot recently, and took a deep breath of the crisp evening air. I could taste the ocean on the breeze, a hint of ozone and the lingering puddles on the cobblestones telling of a storm earlier in the morning. I was glad I hadn¡¯t decided to walk through that, if there was one thing I didn¡¯t miss about living in Xethis it was being soaked to the bone during a hunt and making the miserable trek back to our village sopping wet.


    Looking around, it was interesting to see how quickly pristine stonework and sparkling paint jobs disappeared, replaced by the normal signs of wear and tear that were unavoidable this close to the ocean. I was only a few minutes off the town¡¯s main thoroughfare and already everything looked much as it had back in my hometown, if built on a slightly larger scale. I imagined the government had cleaned up the busiest parts of town in order to make a better impression on visitors, but hadn¡¯t bothered going farther than the main roads and squares.


    I turned a corner and my eyes brightened as I laid eyes on the familiar shop. It looked different in the fading light of the afternoon, the heavy wood beams gleaming with varnish and the bright white paint of the sign standing out starkly against the dark wood. I wrinkled my nose slightly at the construction, I hated the idea of living in a wooden house, but at least I could feel the faint traces of flame-retardant magic on the varnish.


    Crossing the street, I nodded politely to an older pair sitting peaceful outside the small shop next door and stopped. I could feel her already, a faint shimmer of mana moving around slowly on the floor above me. She was so close, just a doorway and a few steps away. I set one hand against the heavy door and began to push, then stopped. She was so close, and this time we would talk. Her mana felt invigorated, a faint sense of well being trickling from her mind into her soul and mana.


    Was it right for me to step through this door? To push myself back into her life after so long? Was I just¡­ selfishly putting her in danger for my own benefit? She wasn¡¯t of Avalon, she had no protection and lacked the skills to defend herself. Someone could so easily use her against me, I didn¡¯t know how I would react if someone hurt her to get to me, but I imagined it wouldn¡¯t be pretty for anyone involved.


    Maybe. Probably not. I was being selfish, but I didn¡¯t care. My Lea was here, just feet away from me, and I would not be denied.


    I pushed the door open, surprised by the amount of force it took despite my enhanced muscles. A small bell rang as I stepped through the doorway and an older man with a finely trimmed beard turned to face me from beside one of the racks of clothing. I glanced around, letting my eyes adjust to the comparative gloom of the shop. The last dregs of sunlight streamed in through several small windows and a half dozen lamps hung throughout the shop, but it still felt dark compared to the brightly lit halls and chambers of Avalon.


    ¡°Hello there, young man. I¡¯m afraid we will be closing soon, but you are free to browse our wares in the meantime. Is there anything specific you are looking for? Perhaps a new coat, winter is coming and a poor fit like that won¡¯t keep you warm, even in a well shielded town like this.¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    His voice was warm and respectful, and I could almost feel the sincerity in his words. This must be one of Lea¡¯s ¡®Uncles¡¯. She¡¯d mentioned the two men in passing, but I had yet to meet them. Lea spoke very fondly of the two, so I would take care to be respectful, at least for now. If they¡¯d hurt her in any way, if those marks on her skin had anything to do with this man, well¡­ They would live long enough to regret their actions.


    I smiled cheerfully as I turned to look at the older man. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not here to shop, sir.¡± I glanced around, noting the fine quality of the leatherwork around me. Though it was clearly made by hand, without any overt use of magic, it was much better than what I¡¯d managed the day before. ¡°Though maybe I¡¯ll come back for that. Your work looks excellent. No, I¡¯m here to speak with Leana? She might have mentioned I was going to come by.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes widened for a moment and a broad smile appeared on his face. ¡°Oh, yes, Leana said you should be here sometime this afternoon, though we expected you a bit earlier in the day. I must thank you sir, she didn¡¯t go into much detail, but I dread to think what would have happened if you hadn¡¯t been there.¡± He bowed his head and gestured towards the counter. ¡°She should be up in her room. Let me just put these away and I¡¯ll show you the way.¡±


    ¡°Of course, thank you. I¡¯m just glad I got there in time.¡± I fell silent, watching as he efficiently hung the last few belts he was carrying up on the rack beside him. I didn¡¯t know how much Lea had told them, both about me and what had happened, so it was better to just wait until I could talk to her before I said something that might upset her.


    It only took him another minute, at which point he wiped his hands on his heavy smock and gestured again at the counter. ¡°Right this way,¡± he pushed aside the bar that divided the counter from the rest of the shop and directed me through the doorway behind it. ¡°Just a little down the hallway and on the left are the stairs. Her room is the first one on the right.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Will I see you at dinner? My brother is an excellent cook.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to impose.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it would be no trouble, no trouble at all. I¡¯ll tell Erwin to set out another plate and he¡¯ll call you both down when it''s ready.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the least we could do for saving our darling girl. Leana may not be my daughter, but I care for her as though she were. Run along now, she¡¯ll wear a rut in the floor if she paces around much longer.¡±


    I chuckled quietly and nodded. ¡°I know how she can be.¡±


    Following his directions, I made my way down the even dimmer hallway and towards the second floor. However, I barely made it halfway up the somewhat creaky staircase when Lea¡¯s head poked out of a doorway above me and her eyes widened.


    ¡°Orion!¡± she half screamed, half squealed. She took a single step down the staircase, then paused and stepped back, opening her arms widely. ¡°I almost thought you weren¡¯t coming. It¡­ it all but felt like a dream. I¡­ I don¡¯t know¨C¡±


    She squealed as I cut her off, wrapping my arms around her waist lifting her off the ground. After a moment, the squeak turned into a soft sigh and she rested her chin on my shoulder, leaning her head against mine. ¡°I¡¯m here. I¡¯m real. It¡¯s really me.¡± She wormed her arms free from where I had trapped them and wrapped herself around my neck.


    ¡°I thought I lost you. I always hoped, but I never really believed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± I murmured again, ¡°It¡¯s really me.¡± Holding her tightly with one arm, the other came up to ruffle her hair. ¡°I thought I¡¯d lost you too, but I never gave up hope.¡± It was a lie, but the way it made her visibly perk up was well worth the small deception.


    After another minute I tried to set her down, the top of the stairs was not a particularly good place to hug, but she made a noise of protest and tightened her grip around my neck. I clicked my tongue and walked over to her room, stooping slightly so her head wouldn¡¯t risk bumping against the rather low doorway.


    A fierce rush of nostalgia came over me as I stepped inside and I froze for a moment, head moving slowly back and forth as I took it all in. Though I doubted any of it was original, Lea had decorated the space almost exactly as it had been all those years ago. A light pink curtain hung over the window, patterned with white and purple lilies. The bed was made up with matching sheets and a small vase filled with dried flowers stood beside it on a low table. Dozens of drawings covered the walls and the wooden desk in the corner, a mix of charcoal, ink, and colored chalks decorating the plain wooden walls.


    I walked over to the bed and sat down heavily, gently lowering Lea into my lap as I felt a single tear well up in my eye. As I looked closer, I could see some differences, but it was still¡­ so very familiar. The flowers on the sheets were just slightly off, the purple a different shade and the flower petals slightly wider than they should be. The drawings were better too, Lea¡¯s skills had clearly improved over the years, though I did recognize a few framed pictures standing on the desk. They were from her last sketchbook, I realized. Drawings of her family¡¯s house, of me running through a grassy field, of her mother sitting on the rocky beach. She¡¯d always kept that book with her, so it must have survived unlike anything that would have been inside the house itself.


    ¡°I¡­ I like what you did here. It¡¯s¡­ nice,¡± I said slowly.


    ¡°Thanks. After¡­ well, after¡­ I wanted something familiar. It¡¯s not perfect, but Erwin and Estin did the best they could to help me feel welcome.¡±


    I nodded, my arms tightening a fraction. I wasn¡¯t sure that this was the right time, maybe I should have waited a few more days, spent some more time with her first, but I had to know and this was as good a transition as any. ¡°What did happen?¡± I asked quietly. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t stick around for long. Baelin told me what happened and let me stay the night, and then I was on the first boat leaving the next morning. I tried to grab what I could, but his men had already been through the rubble by the time I got there.¡± I paused for a moment, half forgotten burnt corpses dancing before my eyes. ¡°I saw the bodies. I thought¡­ Well, I thought the worst. How¡­ How did you get away? How are you here?¡±


    Lea pulled away from me slightly, leaning back against my arms so she could look me in the eyes. Her shoulders were hunched and I could see the reticence on her face. I was about to stop her, to tell her that it could wait, when she finally spoke up. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± she whispered. ¡°I didn¡¯t even make it to the party. I was there for a long time. If not for Erwin, I think I would still be there.¡±

 Chapter 56

    ¡°I guess¡­ I should start from the beginning,¡± she said after a short pause. ¡°I didn¡¯t see all of it myself, but this is what I¡¯ve put together over the years.¡± She spoke slowly, her voice raw with emotion and unhealed pain clear on her face.


    ¡°Mom and I both woke up late that morning. The bakery was closed, so Mom decided to sleep in for once. You and your Da were long gone by the time I finally got out of bed, but your mom was waiting for us with breakfast.¡± She stopped for a long moment, her face twisting into a sad smile and she half laughed, half sobbed for a moment. ¡°Crag-berry pancakes, your favorite. The platter was all but empty, she had to hide half the batter in our icebox to make sure there would be enough left for the two of us. You were always such a gluttonous little boy.¡± She poked my stomach, her finger bending as it met hard muscle and she let out another sad laugh.


    ¡°We spent a few hours getting everything ready, cooking and cleaning and decorating. By the time your dad came back with the meat, we had almost everything ready, but mom realized she¡¯d lent Mr. Hogwranger our biggest pan and sent me off to go get it. I¡­ I didn¡¯t make it.¡±


    She fell silent and I gently pulled her back against me as she choked back a sob. ¡°That was¡­ that was the last time I saw any of them. I didn¡¯t even get to say goodbye, I was in such a hurry and¡­ and¡­¡± she trailed off for a moment and I almost didn¡¯t hear what she whispered next. ¡°The last thing I ever told my mother was that she was getting old and forgetful.¡±


    She took a few gasping breaths and then soldiered on. ¡°The duke¡¯s men grabbed me just down the street from our houses, right outside the general store. They were dressed like town guards and I didn¡¯t even realize what was happening at first. Then¡­ they brought me up to the balcony of his manor, and he made me watch.


    ¡°He used some sort of magnifying spell so I could see everything clearly and one of the guards held my head in place. The others¡­ They barred the doors and used magic to block off the windows. Then he lit it up himself. He said¡­ he said that''s what peasants deserved for denying their rightful lord.¡± She stopped again, choking back a sob and pressing her face into my chest.


    I groaned my teeth together, the hand behind her back clenching into a white-knuckled fist. Seatamer was a dead man, he just didn¡¯t know it yet. He thought he could get away with killing my family, with hurting my Lea? It wouldn¡¯t be today, maybe not even this year, but someday. Someday I would show him what elf scum like him deserved.


    We sat in silence for several minutes as Lea wept silently into my chest, only the slow shaking of her shoulders and the wet spot on my shirt revealing her tears. Something about it struck me harder than anything she¡¯d said so far. As a child, Lea had never been quiet. Whether she was sad, angry, or joyful, she wanted everyone around her to know it.


    Eventually she continued without straightening up, and I channeled more mana into my sensory circulations to hear her more clearly. ¡°And then¡­ and then he had me brought to his¡­ ¡®private dungeon¡¯, he called it. It''s not on any of the public records I don¡¯t think, he bragged about how he¡¯d carved the entire thing out of the rock with his magic. It''s cut right into the cliff face under his manor, close enough that you can just hear the crashing waves through the stone if it''s stormy enough.


    ¡°There were three of us down there. Aniva, do you remember Aniva? She lived just down the street from us, her parents said she was off in the capital working as a maid for one of the Great Names. I wonder¡­ I wonder if they knew. I never learned the names of the other two, they were twins, just a little older than I was, and¡­ he cut out their tongues. Aniva told me one of them bit his cock and tried to escape. They¡­ they didn¡¯t last long after that.


    ¡°It was¡­ I think the darkness was the worst part. When he would just disappear for days or weeks and¡­ and I would sometimes wish that he would come back. It was so dark and at least when¡­ when he called for you to service him¡­ it was at least warm and soft and light, even if only for a few minutes.¡±


    Over the next half hour, she slowly poured out the rest of her story, whispering and sobbing into my chest as I held her tightly against me. Outwardly, I did my best to stay calm, to project an image of strength the way I¡¯d learned to for Avalon. My Leana needed me to be strong for her, so I would be the shoulder, well, stomach, for her to cry on.


    Inwardly however¡­ bubbling anger slowly cooked into cold rage and icy resolve. The grudge I¡¯d carried with me for half my life rose up, cracking the carefully built walls of indifference and tolerance I¡¯d built up over the years. I hadn¡¯t realized I still had it in me to care so much about anyone or anything. Sure, seeing something in front of me had made me angry, but that was a given. For a story several years out of date though?


    I thought I had been mostly over the deaths, the pain, the fear. Lord Seatamer had been too far above me to oppose, so I had set those goals and terror-filled oaths of vengence aside, tried to move forward with my life. Now, Leana¡¯s words brought those emotions back to the surface. It took all my self control not to rush off immediately on some misguided revenge plot. Only the knowledge that it would be futile and I would be throwing my life away gave me pause. Sure I¡¯d gotten the better of two elves, but they were poorly prepared and young. Seatamer was at least eight-hundred years old, and a powerful and wealthy nobleman as well. No, this would have to be done carefully. For now, I focused on Leana¡¯s words, gently stroking her hair and whispering reasurences as she spoke.


    I knew I was not a good person. I had literal soul-bound slaves living in my dormitory and planned to acquire more ¡®servents¡¯ in the future. Still, I at least had lines I was unlikely to cross without a good reason. This fuck thought? He made me look like a saint in comparison. Hells, I had a feeling Igor would not look particularly favorably upon what the elf was doing. For all his faults, Igor made a point of not directly targeting children particularly often, and he tried to make things quick when he did.


    At least I finally had an answer to why an older elf would be living outside their usual territories. For all their faults, the elven kingdoms enforced one of the strictest codes of law in the world within their territory. They would not have overlooked what the centuries-old nobleman could get away with on his own private island.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    In short, he was a violently sadistic pedophile with very particular tastes and desires. When his victims grew too old for him, he would either slowly torture them to death or simply tie them up and throw them into a deep chasm below his home as live feed for his kraken familiar. Lea had a lot of experience with the process, as I¡¯d learned between tear-filled gasps and mumbled apologies, he would make his other victims help with the preparations. In the four years Lea had spent living in his dungeon, she¡¯d helped throw several dozen of her fellow victims into the unforgiving tentacles of Igathor Ship-breaker.


    When he wasn¡¯t using them, he kept his helpless victims in a system of underground tunnels and cells carved into the cliffside under his manor. The entire thing was unlit bare stone, with only a modicum of care taken to ensure his playthings didn¡¯t freeze to death during the icy winters. Lea described spending almost all her time in a tiny cell, not even big enough to stand up or crawl around in. They were only ever let out of their ¡®rooms¡¯ if the elf wanted them for something, some manner of ward or spell ensuring that their bodies did not waste away from lack of food and water.


    Despite myself, I couldn¡¯t help but be interested in that part, though I had the tact to stay silent about it. I¡¯d yet to find a spell or enchantment that would let people go entirely without food, water, or exercise for years on end and it sounded like some very useful magic. I would have to look into it further when I had some time, or maybe just steal it from him when it was finally time for vengeance.


    ¡°...and then he said that I was,¡± she shuddered, ¡°I was too old. I¡­ I knew it was coming. I¡¯d been there longer than anyone. None of the others had lasted for more than a year, and my breasts were starting to grow and I could see that he was¡­ getting bored of me. He was leaving me in the dark for longer and longer, months sometimes, I think. It was impossible to know for sure, but it felt longer than ever. Sometimes two or three others would come and go between times he would bring me out. I wish I knew who some of them were, now, so I could remember them as something more than voices. But¡­ but I stopped asking for names after¡­ I don¡¯t know. It hurt less that way, hurt less when he made me push them and cut them and¨C¡± she choked up again and finally pulled her face away from my chest. Her eyes were red and bloodshot and tears had left dirty streaks in her light makeup.


    ¡°Should I have kept track? Learned their names and families, their loves and hates and dreams and wishes? I¡¯m the only one who remembers their final moments, and I don¡¯t even know enough to mourn them like they deserve. Should I? Should I?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said simply, brushing a tear off the tip of her nose. ¡°I think you did the best you could. You never should have been in that place, that you survived is testament enough to their lives.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± She looked around the room, noticing how the light streaming in through the window had dimmed to almost nothing, leaving the solitary mage-light on her desk as the only real illumination in the room. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Orion, I¡¯ve got your shirt all soaked!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll dry it off later, what else is magic good for if not taking care of laundry?¡±


    She giggled, her voice hoarse and weak but I still counted it as a win. ¡°I guess that''s true. You¡¯ve got to tell me how that happened though. I never thought you would ever become a mage. How did that happen, actually? Where have you been all these years?¡±


    ¡°It just worked out that way, I think. After¡­ you know, I never wanted to feel powerless again. Still, you first. How did you ever manage to escape?


    ¡°Oh, right. Yes, I guess there isn¡¯t much else left to tell. It was almost five years ago now, but I still remember it like yesterday. He barely even seemed to pay attention, just told some of the others what to do. One of them bound my arms and legs, just like I¡¯d done to so many that came before me. Then¡­ he just lay me down and rolled me over the edge.¡±


    I could see it clearly in my mind, Lea¡¯s body tumbling end over end into the icy ocean, a monstrous kraken waiting in the waters below. ¡°So, how did¨C¡±


    ¡°I got lucky. So. Very. Lucky. The pool under his manor, it''s like this deep trench that connects to the ocean outside through a hidden cave entrance. He liked to brag about it sometimes, about how perfect his home was, how powerful his familiar was, that sort of thing. Well, something else, a large sea-serpent of some sort, decided to swim into the hidden cave and the kraken didn¡¯t like that at all. They started fighting right as I was falling, spraying up mountains of water and thrashing about. A sharp rock cut one of the ropes and I managed to ride it out, treading water in the calmest spot I could find. And then, when the serpent began to run away, I followed it. I clung to its tail as it swam out of the trench and back into the open ocean.¡±


    Holy shit. That was¡­ Lea had¡­ ¡°Damn Lea.¡±


    She smiled ruefully. ¡°Thanks. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been more terrified in my life than in that moment. I should have died in so many places, drowned, shattered against the rocks, eaten by something¡­ But instead, a passing ship pulled me out of the water. I don¡¯t know how they spotted me, Erwin still will never tell me and I was unconscious, but the next thing I knew? I woke up in a tiny wooden cabin with Erwin dozing beside me. The rest?¡± She gestured around the room, ¡°Well, the rest is what you see here. They took me in, fed me and healed my injuries. A few years later, I impressed one of the headmaster¡¯s students with my drawings, and he got me a spot at Lightcastle to learn how to imbue magic into my work.¡±


    I nodded my head slowly, still reeling slightly from the last part of her story. She told it so¡­ nonchalantly, but it sounded utterly ridiculous. If it wasn¡¯t my Lea, if I couldn¡¯t sense the sincerity in her magic and read it in her eyes¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure if I would have believed her.


    ¡°Who else knows?¡± I asked quietly. ¡°Do you think Seatamer suspects you survived?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t think to change my name at the time. There are hundreds of Sweetglasses and he rarely leaves his island. I¡­ I hope not. Originally, there would have been no reason for him to ever notice one random merchant girl, but¡­ well, it''s a long story.¡± I nodded, I suspected it had to do with that other girl, but I wouldn¡¯t pry. Not yet. ¡°If he does¡­ I¡¯ll kill myself first. I¡¯m never going back there. Never. I¡¯ve only ever told Erwin the whole story, and he hasn¡¯t even told his brother. Hopefully¡­¡±


    ¡°If he ever tries to touch you, I¡¯ll kill him.¡± I said sharply. ¡°In fact, I¡¯ll kill him anyway, but if he tries to touch you again¨C¡±


    ¡°Orion¡­¡±


    I let out a long breath and squared my shoulders. She¡¯d been so open with me, so vulnerable and honest about everything. I didn¡¯t think I could do the same, not fully, but she deserved to know some part of it. ¡°I think it''s my turn.¡±


    I paused, opening and closing my mouth as I tried to figure out where to begin. ¡°I guess I should start where you did. On that day. Like you said, I¨C¡±


    ¡°Leana, Orion, dinner is ready!¡±


    I froze and our eyes met as Leana looked up at me. Her stomach growled loudly and she blushed bright red. ¡°We can eat first.¡±


    Leana doubled over in laughter, almost falling onto the floor. It was annoying to stop right as I¡¯d mustered the willpower to tell my own story, but this, hearing her laugh so freely? It was worth any price.

 Chapter 57

    Sitting down for a ¡®family¡¯ dinner was¡­ odd. I couldn¡¯t even remember the last time I¡¯d done so. It must have been when I was thirteen or fourteen, when a young couple had taken me in for the night. I¡¯d been a miserable looking wretch, my clothing in tatters and bruises all along my legs from where I¡¯d barely escaped a pack of hollowsand wolves, and it had been my first properly cooked meal in weeks. Why did¡­ I winced internally as the memory rose up fully from the depths of my mind. Oh. Right.


    They hadn¡¯t been a particularly nice couple, had they. I¡¯d barely escaped through a window after stabbing the husband with the knife I¡¯d kept under my pillow when they tried to kidnap me from my bed. I was lucky they¡¯d used dreamnettles and not something more potent in my food, or I would have never woken up when I¡¯d heard him creeping into the room. I¡¯d thought I¡¯d tasted something off, but I had been so very hungry¡­ That had been the last time I¡¯d accepted food from strangers.


    I surreptitiously glanced around the small dining room, then used the table as cover to cast a localized poison-detection ward. I didn¡¯t really expect anything to happen, I was supposedly among friends, but you could never be too careful. Something about Lea¡¯s story felt¡­ off. It just sounded so unbelievable. I could tell that she believed what she was saying, but¡­ really? Escaping on the tail of a sea serpent from a centuries old kraken after surviving in the water while the two titans fought? Especially after years of captivity, torture, and while restrained? It was preposterous.


    I wasn¡¯t quite sure what it meant, however. Had she been stuck in some sort of illusion? Perhaps she¡¯d fallen unconscious and that was the story she¡¯d heard afterword, turned into memory by the passing years? Or maybe¡­ I looked searchingly at Erwin, who was standing in the corner of the room gathering plates from a cabinet. Though I¡¯d never tried it myself, I¡¯d heard that powerful mages could go as far as directly editing the minds of their lessers. It was apparently horrifically difficult, requiring the caster to be many circles more powerful than their victim, but if Lea had just been a magicaless child at the time? A seventh circle mage could have probably managed it. Unfortunately, such a skilled seventh circle mage would also be fully capable of hiding from my senses


    I grit my teeth and firmly pushed that thought aside. I would look into it, it would be horribly lazy not too, but it wasn¡¯t like I could do anything about it now. If one of these ¡®uncles¡¯ was a seventh circle spellcaster, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it even if I knew. Similarly, I had no way to check if her mind had been tampered with. I was sure such a method existed, but I barely even knew how I would go about finding it. For now, I would simply accept her story as sufficiently true and move on. As my father had always said, ¡®Trust that your arrow flew straight, but verify before you approach the corpse.¡¯


    A moment later, Lea and Erwin bustled into the room, carrying two heavy trays laden with food. I stood up to help, but Erwin waved me away, just as his brother had when I¡¯d tried to help set the table. I was a guest, he¡¯d said, so I should just relax while they got everything set up.


    Sitting back in the surprisingly comfortable wooden chair, I studied the duo as they moved briskly through the room, setting down cups and plates, arranging dishes, and pouring drinks. Erwin and Estin as they¡¯d introduced themselves were identical twins, only a pair of faded scars on Erwin hand and face helping to distinguish the two brothers. They were both older men, with graying hair and salt-and-pepper beards, but both moved easily despite their obvious age. They were dressed in simple, practical clothes, and their slightly paler skin told of foriegn ancestry somewhere among their grandparents.


    To my senses, both men felt like first circle mages, and only barely at that. Erwin¡¯s mana felt slightly denser, but neither felt like a real mage. Instead, I assumed they were just like so many other crafters, able to cast a few minor spells directly related to their work, and little else. Their cores were all but nonexistent, and neither man had anything resembling a circulation, but I did not discount the possibility that it was some sort of cover. I had no idea why a pair of near-archmages would disguise themselves as mundane leatherworkers for half a decade, but powerful mages could be eccentric at times.


    Murmuring a quiet ¡®thank you¡¯, I took the offered mug of hot cider and passed it briefly through the detection ward. When nothing happened, I took a deep breath over the mug and then drank a small sip. Delicious.


    Oh, that was a thought. What if neither of the brothers was the mage in question, but rather that part of the story was true and it was how she¡¯d gotten away that was the lie. Perhaps a passing mage had edited her memory¡­ and then dumped her in the ocean to die? No, that didn¡¯t make sense. And then dumped her down right beside a passing ship. Maybe? It was far fetched, but no more than her actual story.


    With everything laid out, Lea and the brothers took their seats around the square table, with Lea on my right and Erwin on my left. The food was simple, but smelled no less amazing because of it. Fried fish steamed lightly in the cool air beside boiled potatoes and freshly baked bread. I wasn¡¯t particularly hungry, I¡¯d eaten a light dinner at the cafeteria while I was meeting with Miranda, but I would gladly try this as well.


    I was about to dig into my food when Lea¡¯s hand on my leg stopped me. I glanced over at her and she jerked her head towards Erwin, who had stood up with his mug held in the air before him. I looked on in confusion as he poured a small measure of his drink into a small bowl at the center of the table, then he began to speak and I understood.


    ¡°Holy Miira, you who lit the sun and broke the Sea-Wraith¡¯s back. We thank you for the fruits of our labor, for bringing food to our table and guiding our hands as we work. Ten-thousand moons have you loved us, and ten-thousand more may we honor you.¡± He closed his eyes and bowed his head. A small spell matrix formed in front of his chest and the alcohol in the bowl flared up red-hot for a moment before sputtering out.


    I felt any respect I¡¯d had for the brothers disappeared as both of them mumbled a short prayer under their breaths. Lea copied them a moment later, but I didn¡¯t even care enough to pretend. Creator god cultists, of all the things¡­ It was one thing to worship an actual divinity for what it could do for you. I¡¯d never done so personally, but Avalon¡¯s members were encouraged to direct any worship towards the original Myrddin, First Librarian, or one of the myriad of other members that had ascended over the centuries. They rarely interacted with the physical world, baring a few conceptual entities such as the one that safeguarded the cafeteria, but acted to further Avalon¡¯s interests in the world beyond and thus deserved what little help we could offer them.


    True gods could draw some amount of power from devotion or actions done in their name, but that tended to be greatly limited, and they rarely offered anything in return. Some of the older ones had set up proper organizations over the centuries, drawing power from tens of thousands of mortals and granting them some sort of benefit in return, but it was not a particularly common practice because the effort was just not worth the payoff. In general, divinities could only gain tangible results from worshipers that aligned with the concept they had used to become gods themselves, so only former orators or political leaders could really get much out of a random worshiper.


    Worshiping a fake god on the other hand? Utter idiocy. I had no idea which particular cult worshiped this Miira, but they were all the same in the end. It was obvious from Erwin¡¯s words that this was one of them. ¡®Miira, you who lit the sun¡¯? Really? The sun was a gigantic ball of fire that predated known life in this universe. No one had ¡®lit the sun¡¯. Fucking lunatics, and they were draging my Lea into their madness as well.


    Still, I didn¡¯t say anything. You couldn¡¯t really argue with crazy, so I would just make sure Lea was properly informed later in private. There was no telling how the duo would react if I started to say something now.


    Seeing the others start to eat, I dug into my food as well, but my mood was thoroughly ruined. Despite my concerns, I¡¯d been looking forward to speaking with the people that had been taking care of my Lea while I couldn¡¯t. At least I¡¯d learned that both men were clearly stupid or insane before I¡¯d spent too much time with them. At least they seemed to be reasonably competent as people despite their other issues, the products I¡¯d seen looked well made and Erwin was a fine cook. Lea seemed like she¡¯d had a modestly comfortable life with them


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    After several minutes of clinking forks and quiet eating, Erwin finally broke the silence. ¡°So, young man,¡± he said, ¡°Leana told us that you saved her from some ruffians last night, and that you used to be friends as children.¡± So she had told them that much at least, that was good to know. He continued, ¡°We are very grateful of course, but I must ask. How did you come to be here now? I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met before, and our niece grew up quite far from this island.¡±


    I slowly finished chewing and set my fork down beside my plate. Even if I didn¡¯t think much of them, I¡¯d been expecting this ever since they¡¯d called us down for dinner. I was a stranger suddenly intruding on their ¡®niece¡¯s¡¯ life, of course they would be curious.


    ¡°It¡¯s a funny story,¡± I said after a moment, ¡°I didn¡¯t know Lea was here either, we haven¡¯t seen each other in almost a decade. I¡¯m actually in town for the portal, I¡¯ve been out of Xethis for most of the last decade, and ran into her completely on accident. I¡¯m glad I found her when I did.¡± I faked a shudder and decided to use Erwin¡¯s own words, ¡°I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn¡¯t been there. I¡¯m sure the guards would have arrived eventually, but until then¡­¡±


    Erwin nodded somberly, ¡°Yes, terrible business that. To think she would be attacked just minutes away from our home and we didn¡¯t even know it until later. These last few days the entire regiment has been focused around the market square, they¡¯re all on edge with so many outsiders rushing into the area.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to have a word with the captain next time I see him,¡± interjected Erwin. ¡°That such a thing would happen on his watch, shameful. Shameful. If you have any trouble, let me know and I¡¯ll go down to the station to work things out myself. Calvert is a good man and a good soldier, I¡¯m sure he would be able to help you out and he¡¯ll be shocked that his men let something like this happen.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d bet my last piece they were paid off,¡± Erwin grumbled. ¡°They brought in a whole new regiment from the outer islands to bolster the locals and it¡¯s been nothing but trouble. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s got his hands full dealing with those no-good bucket-heads. Why, just last week¡­¡±


    I tuned out most of the man¡¯s rant as he went off about the new guards. It seemed the shop had a deal to supply belts, straps, and harnesses to the local guard and the new people had been very rough on their equipment. I shared a glance with Lea, who rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.


    ¡­anyway, that''s not important,¡± he finally finished. ¡°By Miira¡¯s grace, everything worked out well in the end. Still, you should be careful. Leana told us that it was some of her classmates that attacked her, and nobles don¡¯t take insults well. You may have beaten them when taken by surprise, but they may go after you further in the future. Leana here is good friends with the heiress Earthshadow. I¡¯m sure she can find you a position¨C¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said sharply. ¡°I won¡¯t be suborning myself to some noble Name just in case some insects can¡¯t take a hint. It¡¯s Lea I¡¯m worried about.¡±


    ¡°I can take care of myself¨C¡± I turned to stare at her and she fell silent.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go dismissing things so hastily,¡± Erwin jumped in, setting his mug down on the table with a loud thud. ¡°The Earthshadows are a powerful family, working for them¨C¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± I said simply. ¡°If they try something, they¡¯ll regret it. Still,¡± I turned back to Lea, ¡°Earthshadow is that girl that was at the healer with us, right? Adonia I think?¡± Lea nodded. ¡°What¡¯s up between the two of you?¡±


    Lea frowned, a complicated look on her face and looked away. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she whispered after a moment. ¡°We¡¯ve been friends for a few years, and¡­¡±


    ¡°It looked like a bit more than that to me.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. You¡­ you heard what they called me? When they¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand. So, something happened? She wasn¡¯t very coherent when she introduced herself.¡±


    ¡°You could say that. She¡­ she¡­¡± and then it burst out, all at once. ¡°She got engaged! Without telling me! To some stupid old noble I¡¯ve never even heard of.¡± She let out a loud sob and continued. ¡°She said she could keep me around, that he would let her keep me around like some kind of animal, a pet to play with when she¡¯s feeling horny! I thought she loved me, but she¡­ and she¡­ I¡­ I thought we had something special and good and¡­ and we didn¡¯t care what other people would say but¡­¡±


    She broke down into incoherent sobs and I shared an awkward look with the two men. Erwin shrugged and refilled her mug while I scooted my chair over beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She leaned against me desperately and snatched the handkerchief Erwin passed me out of my hands.


    I was pretty sure that I could see what was happening here. I¡¯d spent long enough around nobles to know that most of them considered marriage to be a mostly transactional exchange, as opposed to the bond of love I¡¯d grown up hearing stories about. It seemed that Lea however hadn¡¯t, so to her this felt like a horrible betrayal. I imagined she was comparing it to what had happened with Seatamer in her head, and that was only making things worse.


    I wondered if Lea had ever told Adonia what had happened to her. I was starting to doubt it, else I was sure she would have handled the entire situation better. I didn¡¯t doubt that Adonia cared about Lea, maybe even loved her, but she also clearly didn¡¯t know her very well. Regardless, she would regret making my Lea cry.


    I could hear the heartbreak in Lea¡¯s voice when she¡¯d spoken about her former girlfriend, and many of the pieces were finally coming together about what had happened. Lea and this Adonia girl had decided to date openly, or maybe their secret had come out at some point. This wasn¡¯t a problem for a long time, what with Adonia¡¯s name offering a lot of protection in this place, but then they¡¯d had a falling out and the people that had been angered by their relationship had decided to lash out at a suddenly exposed target.


    I personally had no problems with homosexuality, I didn¡¯t much care about what anyone else was doing as long as it did not directly effect me or my people. Still, I knew that a lot of people did care, and care a lot about it. I wasn¡¯t sure how the climate about it was in Xethis, but I had witnessed a male couple get stoned to death in Armouth, the guards activily helping the mob torture their targets. Clearly it wasn¡¯t that bad, or their relationship would have never progressed as far as it had, but it couldn¡¯t be particularly good either.


    Leaning over, I quietly whispered in Lea¡¯s ear. ¡°If anyone tries to mess with you because of who you love, and I do mean anyone, tell me and I¡¯ll deal with it.¡± Even if I couldn¡¯t manage it myself, I would not let my Lea get trod on by anyone. The only person allowed to hurt what was mine was me. It would cost me, but I was sure I could convince Liam to lend me a hand. If not him¡­ perhaps a fresh elf could convince Professor Igor to harvest his next batch of bodies somewhere specific. I doubted there was anyone in these islands who could pose a credible threat to that particular monster.


    Lea turned to look at me, staring into my face searchingly. ¡°How can you be so confident?¡± she asked quietly. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you haven¡¯t said anything, but I can tell. You¡¯ve been alone for a long time. How can you be so strong and confident and¡­ You crushed them. I couldn¡¯t see much of it, but there were six of them and they didn¡¯t have a chance.¡±


    ¡°I did what I had to,¡± I said after a moment. ¡°I practiced and trained and begged and fought. I only did what I had to do, and I¡¯m just glad that this time, it was enough.¡±


    She buried her face in my chest again and we sat in silence for a time. I noticed that the two uncles had cleared out of the room at some point and I was grateful for it. I felt awkward enough sharing when it was just my Lea, much less around two crazy virtual-strangers.


    ¡°Can you show me?¡± she finally asked. ¡°You¡¯re my age, but you feel like one of the apprentices. Stronger even, like a bright beacon.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I was slightly surprised she could sense that much, maybe her skills were less lacking than I¡¯d thought, but I could spend some time testing her later. If nothing else, I would need to set up a proper practice regimen for her, something like what I¡¯d designed for Janna but more general. ¡°Still, another night I think. I¡¯m a little sore from a fight.¡±


    A worried look flashed across her face. ¡°Are you okay? Did one of them manage to hurt you?¡±


    ¡°One of¨C What? Oh! No. Not them. That¡­ wasn¡¯t much of a fight. I, ah, had a bit of a disagreement with an¡­ associate. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

 Chapter 58

    Erwin and Estin returned twenty minutes later with tea and a honey-citrus sponge cake that made even Lea¡¯s glum eyes light up. She scrambled off my lap and towards the cupboard in the corner, returning a moment later with her arms full of small plates and cups. They quickly cleared off the table and sat down as though nothing had happened. I wondered if this sort of thing happened often, and how they dealt with it when I wasn¡¯t around. Lea had been a big ball of energy at the best of times, and from what I could tell, hadn¡¯t yet fully worked through her teenage trauma, though I wasn¡¯t really one to talk.


    To my surprise, Lea had no trouble engaging with the rest of us in casual conversation. We didn¡¯t discuss anything at all important, I asked about their work, we exchanged stories about Lea, and she retaliated with some embarrassing anecdotes I¡¯d long forgotten. The food was good and it was so much more relaxing than speaking with any of my peers at Avalon. Talking to classmates felt like hunting giant trapdoor spiders, never knowing when the ground under your feet may give way and suddenly you are fighting for your life. Even with Miranda or Rea it was impossible to forget the power I held over them.


    Here though, it was nice, casual. I¡¯d mostly discarded the idea that the brothers were anything more than they appeared, though I¡¯d noticed they were a bit more handsy with each other than I would have expected, but no more than I was acting with my Lea so I didn¡¯t say anything. Whatever reason two unmarried, successful men of their age had for living together, I didn¡¯t much care.


    Instead I simply basked in their easy acceptance. I normally avoided speaking to people whenever I could, but it wasn¡¯t because I wanted to. I actually quite liked talking to people. It was the baggage that came with talking that I loathed with a burning passion. I just¡­ couldn¡¯t do the needling, the back and forth of verbal sparring that so many conversations so often devolved into. It was why I spent as much time as I did with Ulan, Alan, and Camille. It was the closest I ever got to a peaceful relationship between ¡®equals¡¯ and I cherished the novelty of it.


    Of course it couldn¡¯t last. As always, my luck took over in the end. ¡°So I told him, I can make you a new belt, but you can¡¯t put holes in leather that ain¡¯t there. He goes, ¡®So you sold my wife a defective product? I won¡¯t stand for it¡¯, and that''s when the rope he was using came loose and his pants slid all the way to the floor!¡± Erwin and Estin both roared with laughter, and Lea and I both joined in as well.


    ¡°What happened next?¡± asked Lea, leaning forward in her seat.


    ¡°Well, he tried to cover¨C¡±


    A loud knocking rang out through the house, coming from the direction of the shop. I could just barely make out a light tinkle under the pounding.


    ¡°Who could be at the door at this hour?¡± asked Erwin rhetorically as he stood up. I followed him a moment later, I¡¯d never had any issues myself, but history and fiction had taught me that mysterious knocks on the door tended to be a reason to worry. He gave me an odd look, but said nothing.


    As Erwin carefully unlatched the door and removed the small metal bar that held the door shut, I folded my hands behind my back, a spell matrix shaping itself above my hands. The door swung open slowly, revealing¨C


    ¡°Oh, hello Adonia dear, you¡¯re just in time for tea. Oh, thank you, this looks lovely!¡±


    The girl in question smiled up at Erwin as he took the large bowl of fruit she was holding out to him. I could see in the street behind her what I assumed was her escort, a young man and woman in matching uniforms with blades sheathed at their sides. Both of them gleamed faintly with mana, not true mages but wearing a small arsenal of magic items.


    ¡°Come in, come in. Let me just take this to the table. I¡¯m sure Leana will be excited to see you.¡± He pushed the door fully open and I saw the change in her expression the moment she saw me standing in the dark shop behind him.


    I stepped forward to catch the door and nodded politely. ¡°Good evening, Heiress Earthshadow. It''s nice to run into you again.¡± A complex series of looks flashed across her face before smoothing out into a familiar, pleasant mask. The same one that just about everyone at Avalon adopted after the first few months. I thought back to Lea¡¯s rant not half an hour ago and sighed internally. This was going to go great, I just knew it.


    Clarient Valorous, prodigy and former heiress to one of the world¡¯s largest absolute monarchies, fumed silently as she stared down at the cowering third year. Her mana roared around her like an invisible bonfire, raging wildly through the air and making the younger student flinch back every time it flared towards him. She took a deep, calming breath, doing her best to stamp down on the worst of the outpoor bursting out of her core. ¡®Don¡¯t shoot the messenger, deary,¡¯ her mother¡¯s severed head whispered in her ear, ¡®Good help is oh so hard to find¡¯.


    ¡°And then what happened?¡± she bit out through painfully clenched teeth.


    The third year nodded rapidly and continued to stammer out his report. ¡°I, um, I didn¡¯t see the¨C I mean I wasn¡¯t in position to see the tail end of the fight, but¨C he, um. He, I mean, I saw him, him and the other girl, carrying Kwesta off. There was something, a suppression collar I, I think? Yeah, a suppression collar around her neck.¡± He nodded again, his voice finally regaining some of its confidence. ¡°She was bleeding, but it didn¡¯t look too bad I don¡¯t think? Yeah, so they carried her off and I came here immediately to tell you.¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Clarient listened in silence, internally filtering out the boy¡¯s stammering and translating his words into something more comprehensive. He¡¯d clearly run off the moment the fight had started, but had stayed close enough to see the outcome. He most certainly hadn¡¯t come straight here either, it had been several hours since the fight in question had taken place.


    To think that one of her allies, her friends, would lose to a third year, or even a pair of third years, was shocking, but it seemed that really was what had happened. This boy, Ryan? Rorin? Something like that, it didn¡¯t really matter, was the third person to confirm things for her.


    Orion Hunter, hmm. She turned the name over in her mind, wondering where she had heard the name before. Within her soul, the book of queens slid ponderously open, a record stretching back a thousand years to the dawn of her family¡¯s power. Orion Hunter, who are you?


    Memories stretched out before her in an endless river, but she moved with practiced ease through the current. Orion the Huntsman? An image of a bare-chested mountain of a man, carrying a two meter tall bow glowing with streaks of adamantine. She studied the memory, her eyes almost reflexively drawn to his gleaming abbs, before she discarded it a moment later. Too old, to pale. Unlikely to even be a decedent.


    She moved further downstream. Calum Hunter? Maybe, the general appearance was correct, but he hadn¡¯t been a mage, simply a wealthy foreigner. Useless. She pushed past a dozen other Orions and Hunters, discarding each of the memories with hardly a glance. No, this was not something her ancestors could help her with


    Ancient images were quickly replaced by more familiar scenes. The summer palace, her home for so many of her formative years. Her father, whirling her through the air filled with laughter. Her sisters, Becca and Ela running through wide hallways. Then came the blood and the pain.


    Clarient braced herself and grit her teeth against the flood of sensation. She should be used to it by now, after so many years of its constant company, but it was still impossible to suppress completely. Fire burned in her throat and between her legs, blood seeping slowly from her mangled chest and the stumps of her limbs. Weak eyes opened slowly, and she could see herself¡­ and her sisters. What was left of them.


    With a tremendous effort of will, she pushed past her mother¡¯s final moments, pushing aside the looming pillar at the center of the river, and let her own memories play out behind her eyes.


    Orion Hunter¡­ An off handed remark two years earlier, ¡®Think any of the newbies are going to make it?¡¯ a cheerful voice asked from behind her. Dead eyes turned silently to look at the dark-skinned girl. ¡®Oh, look at that one! Orion Hunter, very exotic. Oh boy the muscles on him, hope he has a chance to make some girl very happy before he bites it.¡¯ No, that wasn¡¯t helpful, though she did recognize the younger man from the descriptions she¡¯d been given. How about¡­ Her eyes moved slowly over the list of upcoming duals, looking for her name. She was fighting twice this week, both men who didn¡¯t understand the meaning of ¡®back off¡¯ but were cautious enough not to try anything when she was surrounded by her friends. She had gladly accepted their challenges, eager to wipe away those cocky looks. Just because she had no family left did not mean she would take their words lying down. She pushed the sheet aside. No, this wasn¡¯t right. This was the second year¡¯s schedule. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the too-long list of names. Fools, the lot of them. So eager to throw their lives away.


    That was interesting. She would have to find a recording of his fight. If things did come down to revenge¡­ it was always best to be prepared. Now, what else was there. Her search continued¡­ ¡®Oh, there you are, Clarient. Sorry I¡¯m late.¡¯ The tall man tossed his bag carelessly off to the side. ¡®Was helping Master Shrike out with a class and got held up a bit.¡¯


    ¡®Anything interesting?¡¯ her voice asked quietly.


    ¡®Eh, sort of? Did a demonstration with this kid, Orion Hunter, do you know him?¡¯ She shook her head. ¡®Well, he¡¯s not half bad. Good reflexes, but a bit unpolished. Might hit him up in a few years if he¡¯s still alive, could be a fun fight.¡¯


    Interesting. The rush of memories subsided and the book slammed shut. Very interesting. She opened her eyes and looked back at her ¡®informant¡¯. Though to her it had seemed as though she was moving through the memories for hours, to the outside world the time had passed in the blink of an eye. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said briskly. ¡°Your efforts are appreciated.¡± She reached into a pouch on her belt and withdrew a handful of deep-brass coins that she deposited in the boy¡¯s cupped hands. ¡°The normal rate, as usual.¡±


    He quickly stowed the coins away in an inside pocket and scurried away, leaving her standing alone in the empty hallway. What a mess. She¡¯d told her it was a bad idea, that it wasn¡¯t worth the effort or the risk. Kwesta hadn¡¯t listened, waving off Clarient¡¯s concerns and worries. ¡®She¡¯s just an average third year costing along on her good looks and big tits,¡¯ her friend had said, ¡®It¡¯ll take like, ten minutes max and I¡¯ll be back here before dinner.¡¯


    Next time she wouldn¡¯t let one of her friends rush off on their own. Not again. That girl deserved an earful for the shit she was putting Clarient through. Her hand drifted slowly to her neck, feeling the phantom burn in her throat and the invisible weight of the executioner¡¯s axe. She really hoped there would be an again for Kwesta. This ¡®Orion Hunter¡¯ would regret messing with one of her friends, no matter who the aggressor had been in this situation.


    She turned around and briskly walked back towards her room. For now, she needed to see about getting her friend back. At the very least, she hadn¡¯t been dead the last time someone had seen her. There was still hope. Revenge¡­ Her family had waited for three years already. She would settle for one less corpse to cry for.

 Chapter 59

    ¡°Oh, hello, I didn¡¯t see you there. Orion, yes?¡± She delicately extended a hand, palm down, and I wracked my head for a moment for the correct response. I wasn¡¯t technically a nobleman, but this was a situation where it was better to act like one. Adonia was¡­ a friend of a friend, but engaged so¡­ The hour-long lecture I¡¯d had Miranda prepare for me proved its worth as I remembered the correct protocol.


    ¡°A pleasure.¡± Wrapping a neigh-invisible layer of mana over my lips to stop any topical poisons or similar residues, I bowed my head and brushed my lips across her knuckles. She frowned momentarily, then withdrew her hand. I honestly had no idea what was going through her head or how she would interpret my actions. In theory, the gesture was supposed to imply that I considered myself a noble of similar rank, but I definitely didn¡¯t look like it right now. Gods above I hated this already.


    We both followed after Erwin in silence, who loudly called out that Adonia was here. From the way she moved between racks of clothing and behind the counter, I assumed that Adonia came here occasionally, but not often. She clearly knew where she was going, but wasn¡¯t intimately familiar with the location.


    That did make sense. She probably had a manor of some sort in the town, or possibly somewhere slightly outside of it. Even if her House wasn¡¯t based on the island, everyone who was anyone had some presence in the capital. For an heiress attending school, it wasn¡¯t that big an expense to have something prepared in a convenient location.


    I slightly regretted not looking into these ¡®Earthshadows¡¯. I remembered the name coming up during the presentation, but that had been one of the sections I wasn¡¯t particularly paying attention to. Her dad was a general maybe? Something like that. I hadn¡¯t expected it to be important so soon, so hadn¡¯t yet checked Miranda¡¯s notes on the topic. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t be anything too concerning.


    I was somewhat worried about how Lea was going to react. From her rant and the ensuing mumbling, I understood she had mixed feelings towards the woman right now. She still loved her and cherished the time they had spent together so far, but it was tainted by the events of the last two weeks. Hopefully the chance to get some of that off her shoulders had helped, I had a feeling that having Lea blow up on this girl would not be conducive to a pleasant evening.


    Thankfully, as I stepped into the room just a moment behind Adonia, I found that Lea had barely reacted to her girlfriend¡¯s presence, simply continuing to sip slowly at her cooling cup. I was pretty sure Adonia was hurt by the indifferent response, but I really couldn¡¯t tell.


    She looked around briefly, then made to take my seat at the square table, only for Estin to intercept her as he carried another chair into the room and placed it deliberately between himself and his brother. She grudgingly took the seat, glancing several times towards where I had retaken my spot, but not saying anything. She smiled politely and thanked Erwin when he handed her a plate and a cup, but did not say anything else yet.


    It was only after a minute of awkward silence, once she had a steaming drink and a slice of cake in front of her, that she finally turned towards Lea. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that you¡¯re alright. When Corin told me he saw a stranger carrying you towards the healers, I feared the worst.¡±


    Without bothering to set her cup down, Lea eventually mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thanks.¡± Good, that was a nice, passive answer, if a bit rude. ¡°No thanks to you,¡± she mumbled under her breath. Lovely, at least Adonia didn¡¯t seem to have heard her, or was pretending she hadn¡¯t at any rate.


    Adonia soldiered on, ¡°Horrible, absolutely horrible that you would be attacked, and within the city as well. To think that some jumped-up thugs would dare assault someone under the protection of the Earthshadow name. I want names, Leana dear, and I will ensure they understand the consequences of their actions. I¡¯ll have my best servants on it that moment I get home. Just because we are having a¡­ minor disagreement is no reason to assume we are no longer affiliated. On my Name and honor.¡±


    Leana¡­ did not look particularly reassured by her words, but I was certainly glad to hear it. Name and honor was a serious oath and I could hear the resolve in her voice. I was curious how much of it was her genuine anger at someone infringing on her Name¡¯s associates and how much was a ploy to get Lea to forgive her, probably a bit of both. I was still going to make my own plans of course, I¡¯d carefully preserved both the physical and magical samples I¡¯d taken to ensure they didn¡¯t lose their potency, but free help was always appreciated.


    ¡°Fat lot of good your Name did me yesterday,¡± Lea mumbled, and Adonia reeled back as if struck. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Orion they¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°Leana,¡± Erwin cut her off sharply, a note of disapproval in his voice.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked, setting her empty cup down with more force than was strictly necessary. ¡°It''s true! If not for Orion, if he hadn¡¯t been there, they would have¡­ they were going too¨C¡±


    This time Estin spoke up ¡°It''s terrible, but it''s not her fault. Now apologize, she¡¯s just trying to help you.¡±


    I simply sat back and listened as the trio began to bicker, Lea protesting that she hadn¡¯t said anything wrong. There was no real heat in it I was pretty sure, and Adonia¡¯s rapid ¡®it¡¯s fine'' and ¡®it¡¯s ok'' were rather funny.


    I was honestly with Lea here, but then again, I¡¯d never really cared much about my Name. I¡¯d grown up as a peasant, if a comparably well-off one, so that sort of thing had never been particularly important. I¡¯d all but forgotten just how seriously merchants and nobles took the entire thing. There had even been a part of the presentation about it, though not a particularly large section, and what Lea had said qualified as a rather major insult, especially when coming from someone of a lower class than Adonia¡¯s Name.


    Eventually however, it got rather old. ¡°Lea,¡± I said quietly, setting a hand on her thigh under the table, ¡°the names?¡± I could track them down without the information, but it would be helpful and hopefully would let us move on from this nonsense.


    Adonia, who had been in the middle of saying something again, shut up the moment Lea began to speak. ¡°The names? Oh, yes. The names. It was¡­ it was a couple of our classmates. The Firewalker twins, Nettle Shieldlight and her older brother, I don¡¯t remember his name. Um, Seasong I think, Lilac maybe? The new girl. And¡­ Calvert,¡± her eyes briefly flickered over to look at me. ¡°Calvert Timetouch.¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Adonia¡¯s expression darkened as Lea spoke, and at the end she slammed her hand against the table and swore loudly. ¡°That lying snake son of a maggot and a whore! It was him, you¡¯re sure it was him?¡± Lea nodded wordlessly. ¡°Oh that little¡­ just because¡­ he thinks that¡­ oh!¡± She began to mumble quietly, a severe frown on her face as her words kept devolving into swears. She took a deep breath, then, as calmly as she could manage, said, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll make sure they regret messing with you. They¡¯ll rue the day they crossed Earthshadow.


    ¡°Should Lea be worried about a second attack?¡± I asked pointedly, ¡°I imagine it will take some time for you to take care of things, and I won¡¯t always be there.¡±


    She looked over at me in surprise, seeming to have all but forgotten I was here. She shook her head, ¡°They wouldn¡¯t dare. Still,¡± she turned back to Lea, ¡°Please do be careful. Even better, you should come stay with me for a few days. Even¡­ even if you don¡¯t want to stay in our room, I can definitely find you something. Perhaps a room down by the gardens? I know how much you enjoy¨C¡±


    ¡°Orion?¡± Lea asked, the question obvious in her voice.


    I shook my head somberly. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. The place I¡¯m staying isn¡¯t¡­ good with guests.¡± Her face fell, but I didn¡¯t let her puppy-dog eyes affect me. There was no way I was bringing her to Avalon unless there was no other option available.


    ¡°And where is that?¡± Adonia cut in, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen you around before and I¡¯ve met most of the nobles on the island.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ been away for a long time. Ten years, give or take, and I¡¯m not living in the city now either. I¡¯m just¡­ visiting.¡± After a moment I added, ¡°Because of the portal.¡± I didn¡¯t want to lie, but I wasn¡¯t particularly interested in telling the truth either. Many mages and wealthy nobles had items that could detect falsehoods, so it was important to know how to coach your words properly. More than that, I didn¡¯t want Lea to think I was lying to her. She was¡­ fragile, it was easy to see, and I had a feeling openly lying to her face might weaken our freshly reformed relationship.


    ¡°Oh? So you¡¯re from Kyra then? I know there are only a few noble Names down there.¡±


    ¡°I grew up on Kyra, yes. I lived not far from Leana here. We were¡­ good friends until I was forced to leave due to family issues. I traveled for a few years and have been studying magic abroad until now.¡± There. Vague, but still sufficiently thorough I hoped, and not exactly an uncommon story. The fact that I was from Kyra as well was a bit more than I was interested in revealing, but it wasn¡¯t a hard thing to intuit since it was the only way I could have known Lea as a child. Still, it was best to stop there, so I answered with a question of my own. ¡°And yourself? I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve been rather out of touch this past decade so I¡¯m not caught up on all the news yet, and I haven¡¯t had much of a chance to speak with my friend yet.¡±


    ¡°Myself? Oh, well,¡± she stumbled over her words for a moment, apparently surprised that I didn¡¯t immediately know who she was in detail. Maybe she was right to be, I honestly didn¡¯t know much about my homeland¡¯s politics, but it seemed she wasn¡¯t particularly used to talking about her past. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve lived here for most of my life, though my lord Father has taken me on some trips to the other islands and the mainland. Recently, I¡¯ve been studying at Lighcastle for a few years with Leana. It¡¯s the best school around and my house is based out of the capitol, so it was an excellent option.¡±


    ¡°Very interesting. So, that''s what, the last two years? Three?¡± I asked with interest.


    ¡°This will be my sixth, actually,¡± she corrected me. ¡°I began a year early and am almost ready to be certified as a third circle mage.¡±


    She said as though it was supposed to be some kind of boast, but I could only blink at her. This was her sixth year studying magic? And¡­ I reached out towards her core, feeling the clumsy knot of mana that made up her core. And this was all she had to show for it? Perhaps she could cast a third circle spell or two, but she was in no way a third circle mage. She had enough mana to manage one or two of them, probably, but her density was frankly terrible


    She seemed to be waiting for a response, so I eventually settled on a quiet, ¡°Very impressive. You are a testament to your Name,¡± which made her puff up with pride. Six years¡­ And Lea was supposed to be studying at this school as well? I would definitely have to make sure she wasn¡¯t developing bad habits. Maybe not today, but as soon as possible. Six. Years¡­


    Slowly, conversation around the table resumed, though it never returned to the light tone that had existed before Adonia showed up. Lea and Adonia kept looking at each other when they thought no one was paying attention, complicated expressions on their faces. Adonia repeated her promise to make the attackers regret their choices several times and used several excuses to try to get Lea alone, but Lea wasn¡¯t having it. Eventually, she seemed to get the hint and stopped.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s been a pleasure. Thank you for having me, Misters Saddleshapers, but I really must get going. I¡¯ll see you in class Leana?¡± Lea nodded and Adonia stood up, making for the door.


    A quick time spell told me it was getting rather late, and I had three classes the next day, including an important session with Professor Yana in the morning. I also stood up, ¡°I believe it¡¯s about time for me as well. Lea, we still have a lot of catching up to do. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to make it over tomorrow, but perhaps Friday in the afternoon?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯d be happy to have you over again!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that,¡± Lea chimed in softly.


    I turned to leave, and heard a chair push backwards quickly. Lea rushed up behind me, wrapping her arms around my chest and pressing her cheek against my broad back. ¡°Come back soon. As soon as you can. I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if I lost you again.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Something brushed up against the edges of my senses for a moment, and I tensed, but it disappeared barely a second later. I wasn¡¯t even really sure I¡¯d felt anything, it felt a lot like a particularly strong current of ambient mana, but I still glanced around suspiciously for a moment. ¡°Take care of yourself Lea. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±


    She held on tightly for another moment, before sighing and letting me go. I turned around and she giggled when I planting a small kiss on her forehead. ¡°Now, I really do need to get going. Unfortunately, I have an early morning tomorrow.¡±


    I closed my eyes, thinking of the mess that was waiting for me back at Avalon. I hadn¡¯t even left yet, and I was already looking forward to being back here. ¡°Bye Lea. Thank you for having me over Erwin, Estin. Maybe I¡¯ll get myself a new coat next time, this one¡¯s getting a tad worn out.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯d be happy to help a family friend.¡±


    I walked out into the dark street and shook my head. They may be misguided, but they seemed like nice people. I would have to take pains to keep them as far away from Avalon as I could. The faster I settled this business with Clarient, the better. I sighed. Well, best get to it then.

 Chapter 60

    With a soft sigh of relief, I passed through the warded entrance to the training hall and let the outer layers of my defensive spells fade away. The unpleasant weight I¡¯d been feeling faded almost immediately as the constant strain on my mana eased. I typically didn¡¯t bother with such heavy active barriers and illusion spells, but I¡¯d decided that right now, they were well worth the discomfort I would be feeling tonight.


    Still, there was no reason to burn mana when it wasn¡¯t needed. It was still early in the afternoon, and I was already nearly two thirds of the way through my reserves. Unlike in the hallways, here I was protected by the rules of Avalon, so I only kept up the protective spells that were either too much of a pain to recast or didn¡¯t use mana to maintain themselves. Even if I hadn¡¯t, if the person I was meeting wanted to hurt me, I doubted my spells would even slow him down.


    I watched with interest, and not a touch of awed jealousy, as Liam danced around his opponent¡¯s spells, the combination of some sort of powerful haste spell, a small shield bubble around one hand, and an occasional effortlessly cast counter letting him remain untouched as a hail of spells rained down around him.


    It was even more impressive when I finally realized who, or rather what, his opponent was. The figure was hazy and flickered occasionally, but it was clearly Liam as well, or rather a copy of him. Some sort of simulacrum then, and a powerful version of the spell judging from how quickly it moved and the ease with which it could weave together spells of its own. That was eighth circle magic, something from Avalon¡¯s point-restricted repositories I imagined.


    I set my bag down and stayed by the doorway, keeping a wary eye on the deflected combat spells flying wildly through the air. It was impressive to watch, and I did my best to commit everything to memory. I didn¡¯t try to interrupt, I was almost ten minutes early and Liam seemed razor-focused on his practice. I was already planning to ask for a favor, there was no reason to interrupt his practice beforehand.


    Still, it was rather daunting to see what he was capable of. I knew Liam was a talented mage, I¡¯d even caught the tail end of a duel he¡¯d fought when I was a first year and it had been really something, but seeing the capabilities of a seventh year student first-hand was¡­ daunting.


    He blazed in my mana sight, a rapidly moving furnace tossing about spells and counters that would have drained my core dry with impunity. It seemed impossible that I would be able to progress that far in just four more years, but it had been explained last year that spells got cheaper to cast the denser your mana became. Liam¡¯s mana pool was probably still much larger than mine, four or five times at the least, but it wasn¡¯t exponentially larger like it looked like it was.


    Focused as I was on the fight, I noticed immediately when the simulacrum began to cast a higher-circle spell. Great torrents of mana flowed out of it, making the clone¡¯s body flickering more pronounced, and it wove them into an incomprehensible complex many-dimensional sphere over its head. Even as it did so, it continued to fire a volley of suppressive spells towards Liam himself, mostly second and third circle force spells intermixed with small bolts of lightning and jets of high pressure water.


    Liam himself did not seem to be overly concerned, continuing to avoid his copy¡¯s attacks with the same practiced ease as before. It was only when the spell his copy was casting was almost complete that he finally made his move. A tightly compressed line of pure magic shot out of his off-hand and punched into the unfinished spell. The simulacrum tried to dodge, shielding itself with a triple-layered barrier of iridescent gold, but the line curved after it.


    The spell destabilized in an instant, mana exploding outward for a handful of feet before slamming back inward into the simulacrum. The room shook slightly and I reflexively shielded my eyes as a tiny star blazed for a single moment before collapsing into nothing. By the time I opened my eyes, the simulacrum was gone without a trace.


    I swallowed heavily, watching the ambient mana in the room continue to ripple in the wake of the spell¡¯s backlash. I¡¯d seen low-circle spells destabilize a few times, and it tended to be rather gruesome. That on the other hand¡­ It looked more like an explosion than any sort of backlash. I had no idea what that line had been, regular pure mana manipulation should not have disrupted a spell like that, but it seemed like a rather terrifying ability. Something he had developed himself maybe? Or possibly another high-circle technique that wasn¡¯t openly available.


    Avalon was pretty serious about giving its students free access to a massive amount of magical research and literature, but even it had its limits. There were parts of the library that were only accessible to people willing to put in the time and effort to earn the right to view them. This was another part of the point system the academy and its graduates made use of, and most eighth circle and above spells were locked away behind that barrier. It was one of the things that incentivized students and alumni alike to give powerful techniques to Avalon. Nothing got a mage feeling generous like the promise of powerful spells and techniques.


    I was rather curious what Liam had done to get that many points, if that was where he¡¯d gotten those spells from in the first place. It was entirely possible they were something he¡¯d traded another mage for or learned from a family member. I was pretty sure Liam was from a mage lineage of some sort, even if I¡¯d never had a chance to look deeper into it.


    Putting my musings aside, I stepped forward to meet Liam as he began to walk towards me. ¡°Hey there Orion,¡± he called out, pausing by a table pushed up against the wall. Reaching into his own bag, he pulled out a bottle and took a long drink, then wiped his mouth and face with a casually conjured towel. He rapidly cast a few more spells, sweat vanishing from his skin and his clothes drying out and straightening in moments. That looked like a very handy sequence of spells, I would have to look into those.


    He took another drink, then waved me over as he sat down heavily in one of the wooden chairs provided in Academy training halls. He exhaled loudly as I sat down, ¡°Phew, practice like that still wipes me out some days,¡± he said casually. ¡°Still, very satisfying and effective. What did you think?¡±


    ¡°It was very impressive. Hopefully I¡¯ll be able to do the same someday.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll get there. Give it a few years and we¡¯ll see!¡± I smiled at that. He seemed rather earnest, and the encouragement was welcome. ¡°Anyway, enough about that. I understand you wanted to meet with me about something?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, thank you for making some time today. I hope I¡¯m not pulling you away from anything important?¡±


    He waved my concerns aside, ¡°Just more practice, really. It¡¯s nice to take a bit of a break anyway, catch my breath and let my mana regenerate a tad.¡±


    ¡°Of course. So I was hoping¨C¡±


    ¡°Let me guess,¡± he interrupted, ¡°Something to do with the fight I heard about yesterday? Impressive work on that by the way, I haven¡¯t seen a memory of it but I¡¯ve heard a few retellings. Fighting up a year is always a challenge, and people say she wasn¡¯t any sort of a pushover.¡±


    ¡°Um, yes, thank you. It is about the fight, or well, the person I was fighting I guess.¡± I paused, not quite sure how I wanted to phrase my request. Before I could continue, Liam interrupted me again.


    ¡°If you¡¯re trying to pass her to me, I won¡¯t take her. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s an impressive specimen, but there is just too much risk for me. I don¡¯t want anyone to accuse me of targeting down to many years. The accusations probably wouldn¡¯t stick, but it''s not the sort of thing I¡¯m interested in fighting against. The headmaster tends to be a ¡®smite first, ask questions later¡¯ sort of person. And in any case, I don¡¯t think that would take any heat off you anyway.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°That¡¯s not it, no, though I¡¯ll keep that in mind for the future. I¡­ I was hoping you could help me set up a meeting with Clarient. I don¡¯t want to seek her out myself and it feels like too much of a risk to ask one of my yearmates, but I don¡¯t know too many others that could do it. I¡¯m willing to trade the girl back for an oath of nonaggression, but¡­¡±


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°You want a chance to make her hear you out, I get it.¡± He nodded his head slowly and clicked his tongue. ¡°Yeah, that''s not a bad plan. Clarient¡¯s the wrathful sort, but she¡¯s pretty reasonable from what I¡¯ve heard. She spars with Jack once in a while, I could ask him to pass a message.¡±


    ¡°That would be appreciated. What would it cost me for you to attend as the oath-binder? Well, if things work out, I mean.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°I could do that, no problems. No skin off my back. Let''s call it¡­ a small favor, some time in the future. Nothing serious. I¡¯ll help you get a meeting and we¡¯ll see where it goes from there.¡±


    I frowned slightly, a favor was not ideal but there wasn¡¯t much else I could offer to be honest. This was about what I¡¯d been hoping for. ¡°That would work for me. Do you want an oath or¨C¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you at your word.¡± Even better. I did much like the idea of swearing any sort of oath, not after seeing first hand what that sort of magic could do to a person.


    ¡°I appreciate it.¡±


    He sat up straighter, then leaned towards me. ¡°Well then, with that out of the way, let''s figure out the details. So, what exactly do you want me to pass along?¡±


    The door creaked open slowly, the bustle of the hallway outside spilling into the empty classroom. Daphne Warbringer looked up from her book to see the unmistakable figure of Leana Sweetglass slip through the small gap and fall heavily into the first chair she saw. The blonde slumped forward bonelessly, her hair falling in front of her face in a shimmering silver curtain. She let out a long breath and began to mutter under her breath.


    Daphne wasn¡¯t quite able to make out what exactly she was saying, but the individual rude words and occasional hissed names were enough to piece things together. It seemed that, even though on paper the two were still officially ¡®together¡¯, the merchant girl was not happy with her lover. Daphne was actually quite curious what was going on there. She knew they¡¯d had something of an argument and Leana hadn¡¯t come to Lightcastle for over a week in the wake of it. She also had heard the rumors that a few of her¡­ less bright classmates had decided to teach the ¡®uppity merchant slut¡¯ a lesson. From the fact that several of them were still in the Academy¡¯s healing hall, she assumed that hadn¡¯t gone particularly well for them.


    Still, she hadn¡¯t yet caught up with all the rumors about what had happened exactly. The Earthshadows had come down like a ton of bricks on several minor noble families, but Leana looked mostly fine after just a few hours with the healers. In fact, she had looked better than fine, an almost visible aura of joyful energy about her when Daphne had seen her in class yesterday. Right now though? She just looked¡­ tired.


    Daphne turned back to her book, weighing her options. She didn¡¯t much feel like talking right now, there was a reason she was here in a dark and empty classroom instead of back home in her well-appointed study, and it seemed like the older girl hadn¡¯t noticed her yet. Maybe she could just¡­ wait her out? She was sitting in the deep shadows at the back of the room, her book positioned in the single ray of light falling through the shuttered window. If she was lucky¡­


    Leana sighed loudly and sat up, sweeping her long hair back with a well practiced gesture. Then her eyes widened and she blushed brightly as she finally noticed Daphne¡¯s presence. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t realize there was anyone in here,¡± she blurted out awkwardly. ¡°You¡¯re, uh,¡± she leaned forward, squinting slightly through the darkness, ¡°Heiress Warbringer? I didn¡¯t mean to intrude¡±


    Daphne rolled her eyes and set her book back down. Of course it couldn¡¯t be that easy. ¡°Sweetglasss,¡± she bowed her head politely for a moment. The merchant girl was of a lower class but was still her senior at Lightcastle. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, I was just getting in some¡­ last minute reading before the weekend.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that''s good. Sorry.¡± She awkwardly looked away, glancing towards the cracked-open door, ¡°Something interesting?¡±


    ¡°Not particularly.¡± Daphne pretended to focus on her book, hoping the flustered girl would take the hint, but it seemed that was too much to hope for once again.


    ¡°Oh? A textbook?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°For what class. You¡¯re studying¡­ warding and runes?¡±


    ¡°Pyromancy,¡± Daphne corrected, ¡°with a minor focus in light based invocation.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Then why¨C¡±


    ¡°Runic inscriptions was a prerequisite for one of my core classes,¡± Daphne said, hopefully anticipating the girl¡¯s question.


    Leana closed her mouth and fell silent again, but it didn¡¯t last. ¡°So what class are you studying for now?¡±


    Daphne suppressed a sigh. ¡°Nothing specific, just some general reading,¡± after a moment, she scoffed and added, ¡°It''s not like we¡¯re learning anything particularly challenging. I swear, if I have to hear Spellsteward tell me to ¡®slow down and stop practicing outside of class¡¯ again, I¡¯ll strangle him with his own-¡± Daphne cut herself off mid sentence, realizing she was letting her building frustration leak into her words. She bit the inside of her cheek hard, if she wanted to, the Sweetglass girl could use those words to cause her quite a bit of trouble.


    She closed her eyes, expecting a reprimand if nothing else. In her experience, older students tended to be rather¡­ overbearing and conceited the few times she¡¯d complained about the pace she was being taught at. ¡®These things take time¡¯ they would tell her, or ¡®Your instructors know better than you do¡¯. She agreed that Instructor Spellsteward was absolutely a better mage than she was, but he was also nearing a century in age and was horrendously set in his ways. In his eyes, the school¡¯s curriculum was actually too fast, and he constantly complained how modern safety features made students overly eager to learn new spells.


    Instead of any of that though, Leana began to laugh. She had a very lovely voice, Daphne noted idly as she looked back towards the older girl, who was doubled over and clutching at the table in front of her in support. ¡°Oh that was perfect,¡± she choked out between peals of laughter, ¡°You sound just like him, oh lord, that was amazing!¡±


    Daphne blushed, realizing she¡¯d used the mocking imitation of her teacher¡¯s voice that she typically only indulged in when in the safety of her own home.


    It took the older girl almost a full minute to regain control of herself, at which point she repeated her earlier question. ¡°So if it''s not for class, what¡¯s it for?¡±


    ¡°Just some¡­ general reading. The Headmaster¡¯s speech got me interested in what was going on with the portal so I¡¯m reading about that Avalon place he was talking about.¡± She shuddered slightly, ¡°It''s pretty horrible, I can see why he told us to be so careful.¡±


    Daphne was surprised to see a look of confusion on Leana¡¯s face, ¡°What are you talking about? What speech?¡± Oh, right. She hadn¡¯t been at school in the week leading up to the full-school assembly, so she had probably missed it entirely. That was¡­ probably bad, right? Those had been important warnings, and despite their differences, Daphne didn¡¯t want to see the older girl get involved with any of the horrors she¡¯d spent the past hours reading about.


    ¡°I forgot you weren¡¯t there. Um, we had a full school assembly a few days ago with Headmaster Lightbarer. He had some pretty serious warnings about it, I can give you the rundown if you want?¡±


    She looked surprised for a moment, then smiled brightly. ¡°That would be very kind of you. I think I¡¯ve heard a few people talking about it, but¡­ I¡¯ve been avoiding listening to rumors.¡±


    Daphne couldn¡¯t blame her for that. Quite a few of them were about her right now, after all. ¡°Sure, it''s no trouble. So basically, that trade portal everyone¡¯s been taking about, the one in the central square? It''s actually to the entrance to this big pocket dimension school thing called Avalon, and those guys are nasty¡­¡±


    Leana listened to the explanation in silence, nodding along when it was appropriate but otherwise not reacting to her words. It was only once she began to list out some of the examples she¡¯d read about in her book, apparently one of their professors was a globally despised mass murdered who loved to torture his own students. Another had once been caught ritually slaughtering a village of people, and using the produced power to transmute an entire city into glass.


    She began to mumble something under her breath again, fingers clenching and unclenching into tight fists, and then she stood up suddenly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡­ I have to go. I need to¡­ he probably doesn¡¯t¡­ I need to talk to¡­ someone. Sorry. Thanks.¡± And then she rushed out of the room without a backward glance, leaving Daphne to stare after her in confusion. She wondered what that was about.


    After a moment, she shrugged. Nothing to do with her probably, so there was no use worrying about it. That had been a rather rude exit, but she was just a merchant girl, she probably didn¡¯t know better. She finally turned back to her book, eager to continue her reading, only to find that the sun had moved on while she was speaking, and the ray by which she was reading had vanished. She let out a loud sigh of annoyance and went to turn on the lights.

 Chapter 61

    Fine currents of mana flowed smoothly through the metal band, following the silver runes set both along the surface of the titanium band and hidden within the metal itself. Figuring out how to manage that had been an absolute nightmare, particularly since transmuted silver lacked the same mana-conductive properties of ordinary silver and the processing required meant I couldn¡¯t just poor in melted silver either. In the end, I¡¯d had to transmute the titanium around a frame of carefully formed silver wire, and it had taken quite a few attempts to get the technique down.


    After several tests, I smiled in satisfaction as I found that everything seemed to be working as expected. None of the specially treated silver wire had been damaged, I couldn¡¯t sense any imperfections that would make the titanium brittle, and the four crystalline mana-batteries I¡¯d embedded inside the metal had connected to the runic network without any issues.


    Setting it back down on the table, I pulsed my mana and, just like I¡¯d designed it to do, the collar split into four perfect quarters as though cut by an impossible sharp knife. I picked one up, examining how perfectly the titanium had bonded to the silver wire inside the metal. I could still feel mana flowing through the piece, though the primary magic-suppressing enchantment was currently inactive. I hadn¡¯t managed to find a way to include it in all the pieces, the entire thing had to reform before that enchantment would snap back into place, but that was not unexpected. I¡¯d recently come to find that symbolism had more of a place in runes than I had ever expected, and that sort of enchantment worked best with a closed loop or some other ¡®sealed¡¯ container.


    Still, I had high hopes for this new design. Channeling more mana into my circulations, I strained myself trying to bend the metal further, but my efforts were futile. The strengthening runes inside the quarter sprang to life immediately, drawing additional mana in order to reinforce the already very durable metal.


    Nodding in satisfaction, I moved on to the next test. I¡¯d made some modifications to the enchantments imbued into the metal since the last time I¡¯d made one of these, and I wanted to make sure I hadn¡¯t messed something crucial up in the process. Last time, I¡¯d had to settle with trying this enchantment on training dummies, but this time I had a much more convenient target.


    Looking over my shoulder I found Rea dutifully sweeping the floor, naked except for the long socks on her feet as she had been for the past two days. It wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d told her to do, I didn¡¯t particularly care if she wanted to wear her little dress or not, but apparently now that she had confirmation that I liked what I was seeing, she made it a point to immediately remove anything she was wearing as soon as I stepped into the room.


    Leaning back in my chair to watch, I channeled a touch of mana into the piece of the collar I was holding, then tossed it onto my table with the other pieces. It didn¡¯t even hit the wood before the enchantments triggered and it floated up into the air along with the other three pieces. They hung there for a long moment as the magic did its work, and then all four pieces simultaneously launched themselves through the air like a volley of arrows.


    Rea let out a cute squeak of surprise as the first piece slammed into the side of her neck, nearly knocking her to the floor as one soft sock slipped across on the smooth stone floor. Then the other three closed in around her and snapped together, the metal shrinking slightly to form a tight ring around her neck.


    A tendril of force caught her before she could hit the floor, another gently shifting her broom out of the way so she wouldn¡¯t impale herself on the dull pole. ¡°Try to cast something, a light spell.¡±


    Despite the sudden request and the fact that she was currently half-sprawled across the floor, she jumped to obey. Then she yelped loudly and I called out for her to stop. After giving her a moment to regain her senses, I curiously asked, ¡°How did that feel?¡±


    Hanging her head, she replied, ¡°This slave begs forgivness it could not complete Master¡¯s command. This slave tried to cast the spell, but it, it burned and this slave could not cast it.¡±


    I nodded slowly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you were not supposed to succeed. Come here.¡±


    She quickly crawled over and I easily removed the collar, the metal expanding slightly to its original size. I ran a cursory check on the enchantments and found that, beyond a minor drain on the crystal batteries, everything was still working as intended. Very nice.


    Leaning over, I placed a light kiss on the side of her neck. ¡°How about now?¡±


    ¡°This slave thanks Master. The pain was only momentary.¡±


    ¡°Good girl. I¡¯ll definitely make sure to make it up to you.¡±


    I smiled as she blushed brightly and ducked her head. Suppressing a laugh, I gently pushed her away. ¡°That too, but later. I saw how disappointed you were that you couldn¡¯t play with the new girl, but I¡¯ll probably have someone else for you soon.¡±


    I let Rea return to her work and went back to mine as well, making a few minor notes on the new design¡¯s performance in one of my many notebooks. I was quite happy with how well the new design seemed to be working. It had moved faster than the previous version, though I would still need to test how well the seeking function actually worked. It could clearly catch an unresisting novice human, but how well it would weave around obstacles and avoid attacks was still up in the air.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Additionally, I was happy the retributive enchantment seemed to be working, though that too would still need more testing. Instead of simply suppressing mana use, the new collar would also punish the wearer for trying in the first place. If it detected any attempts to breach the boundary it formed between the wearer¡¯s body and mana, it would subject them to an increasingly intense pain spell or attempt to render them unconscious depending on how I tuned the enchantment.


    Looking at the silvery band of metal, I compared it to some of my earlier attempts. It was the most advanced magic item I¡¯d ever made, the increased complexity only possible because of the valuable reagents I¡¯d used during its construction. The small mana batteries had cost me nearly two hundred pieces in materials, a veritable fortune but one that would hopefully last me for years. The silver wire I had made myself, using a painfully large amount of my pets¡¯ precious milk and some blood to improve its mana conductivity and empower the enchantments it was formed into.


    It had been almost physically painful to use so much money on a single item, but hopefully it would be worth it in the end. It was¡­ bizzare to realize that the unadorned piece of metal in front of me was probably worth more than some towns I¡¯d visited, more than the entirety of the Saddleshapers¡¯ inventory and house combined. It was also probably horrifically illegal in most of the civilized world, the mage elite of most countries were absolutely terrified of this sort of artifice. Even at Avalon, it had taken an enormous amount of effort to design a functional prototype, though I had innovated greatly since then.


    I stood up and stretched, my back popping after several hours hunched over my desk. Even though it was just barely after lunch, I¡¯d been up and working since the early hours of the morning. I had a lot to do, particularly since I still wanted to make time to visit Lea tonight. I would have to be extra careful now to make sure I wasn¡¯t tracked in anyway. Illusions, a few extra scrying wards on top of my amulet¡¯s protections, and some more mundane precautions would hopefully make sure no one looking to score points with Clarient would be directed towards my childhood friend.


    Unfortunately, I would probably have to put off tracking down the fucks that had hurt her for another day. I still had class this afternoon, I was meeting with Miranda and Briella to discuss how to deal with Clarient, and I still had to make time for practice and research. Now was not the time to slack off and let my hard-earned skills get rusty.


    I arrived at the classroom almost half an hour early, slipping into the small lecture hall under the cover of invisibility. I stiffened as the very last person I wanted to be alone with right now stood up from her desk and turned to glare at me, cold anger visible in the dark gray eyes.


    Clarient Valorous was an imposing young woman, with a presence around her that screamed of power and authority. She was tall, slightly shorter than me but not by much, with long black hair and sharp, regal features. She was built like a trained warrior and not at all shy about showing it off, her bare arms, belly, and legs covered in lean, corded muscles. On an ordinary day, I would have likely thought that she looked rather attractive, she wasn¡¯t exactly my type but she was undeniably a beautiful woman. Right now, her murderous intent killed any sort of apeal I might have felt in an instant.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Clarient,¡± I tried, doing my best to put as much polite sincerity in my words as I could.¡±


    ¡°Orion. Hunter.¡±


    A great start. I¡¯d honestly forgotten that she had been in this class the first week of the semester before transferring to a different course. Apparently, that meant that she had not been removed from the room¡¯s wards, otherwise she would have been forced out an hour before class started. Well, that or she¡¯d somehow overpowered the Academy¡¯s wards, which I found unlikely. She was good, but that would take more than just ¡®good¡¯.


    Well, if nothing else, it was a good opportunity to set the record straight, even if I wasn¡¯t really ready to talk to her yet. I would have much preferred to discuss things with my more people-savvy servants and have Liam present, but this was a fine neutral space as well. I doubted she would willingly violate Avalon¡¯s rules on classroom violence just to get back at me.


    ¡°So before we go any further, I want you to know that Kwesta is alive and well and that she was the one who started things in the first place. Miranda is a valued associate and an attack on her is an attack on me as well.¡±


    Clarient listed in silence, an unreadable expression on her face. I waited for a moment for her to say something, anything, then pushed on. ¡°I am willing to trade her back for a modest sum and an oath of nonaggression from you and her both, though the exact terms would have to be agreed upon later. Kwesta is fully healed and at no risk of deteriorating, though I¡¯ve kept her unconscious in a state of suspended animation since her attack.¡±


    I paused again, waiting for her to say something, anything, but once again she stayed completely silent. I bit my lip, then decided to try the idea I¡¯d been hoping to run by Miranda. ¡°Look, I understand how important friends can be. I lost my family years before I came to Avalon and I greatly value the connections I¡¯ve made with some of my classmates. I¡¯ve heard what happened and things must have been very tough for you. Losing my parents was horrible and I was much younger than you were at the time. I can¡¯t imagine how I would have managed to push through something like that now. I can see that you don¡¯t like me, but I want you to understand that I can not tolerate an attack on one of my people, no more than you can do the same.¡±


    Clarient¡¯s presence spiked sharply as I finished speaking, her dense mana crashing against mine for an instant. It was clearly meant as an intimidation tactic and it was a rather effective show of strength, but I was actually rather reassured. It gave me a chance to clearly read her mana, and while impressive, it was nowhere near what her titanic reputation had me imagining over the last few days.


    I flared my own mana in response, shielding myself in a shell of my own power. Our manas clashed directly for a moment before with both withdrew nearly simultaneously. ¡°I¡¯ll take that into consideration,¡± she said plainly. Without another word, she walked briskly past me and out the door, leaving me standing confused at the center of the room. That had been¡­ weird. Gods above I wished I had spoken to Miranda again earlier¡­

 Chapter 62

    Judging from how quickly she opened the door for me when I knocked, I had a feeling that Lea had been waiting by the door for me to arrive. It was later in the evening than I had planned, the first stars already shining in the evening sky, but I¡¯d had a rather busy day and I¡¯d headed over the moment I was finally free.


    I didn¡¯t even have a chance to step inside before she was on me, her hands slipping under the rough leather of my overcoat and wrapping tightly around my chest. I stumbled slightly as she leaned almost her entire weight against me and did my best to awkwardly hug her back. I still wasn¡¯t used to this sort of contact and it took some effort to suppress the reflexive force spike I¡¯d trained myself to cast if someone tried to grapple me, but the minor discomfort was a small price to pay for the relieved smile on her face.


    ¡°Good evening Lea,¡± I said quietly as I maneuvered the two of us through the half-open door. ¡°Sorry about the time, I had a lot to do.¡±


    ¡°That''s alright. I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re ok. I¡­ when you weren¡¯t here for dinner, I got worried.¡± She paused, clearly wanting to say something more but choosing not to. ¡°Are you hungry? Erwin made extra, or I can whip something up. They¡¯ve already gone to bed, it might be a weekend for me, but they have to be up early. Maybe some tea? I can put a kettle on, it will only take a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°I already had dinner, but some tea would be lovely.¡±


    She held me tightly for another moment, then slowly untangled herself and moved deeper into the shop. I watched her disappear behind the counter, then turned to close and bolt the door. Sliding the small bar into place, I frowned slightly in annoyance. It was a very basic sort of protection, enough to stop cursory attempts to get in and nothing more. No determined attacker, even a mundane one, would be deterred or delayed by something like this. I¡¯d already been concerned by the lack of protections on Lea¡¯s home, but this was just unacceptable.


    Digging through my pockets, I clicked my tongue in annoyance when I realized I didn¡¯t have any proper raw materials on hand. I had the few items that I kept with me at all times, a few potions, my seeking collars, an enchanted knife, and a few other small odds and ends, but none of the transmutation materials I typically carried with me in my school bag.


    Still, that wasn¡¯t too much of an obstacle. I would just work with what was on hand. Hopefully Lea¡¯s uncles wouldn¡¯t mind, though I would do my best to keep things visually similar to how it was before.


    I started with the bar itself, there was no point reworking the mechanism if the block itself could be sliced through with hardly any effort. Setting aside a small sample of the original wood, I transmuted and reshaped the rest of it into a medium sized stone cube. I then split the cube into three pieces. One was quickly reformed into a long spiral of titanium, that would form a more durable core for the new retaining bar. The next part was somewhat tricky, I needed the bar to be the same size but I had transformed a lot of it into a much denser material, so I would have to adjust accordingly.


    A honeycomb-like structure began to form around the titanium spiral, the added air allowing me to use a more durable material than wood. It took a few minutes to finish, I didn¡¯t have much practice with this sort of delicate work, but I¡¯d done enough theoretical spell modification that it wasn¡¯t too difficult. Still, something to practice more later.


    With that done, the last part was almost trivial. A thin layer of wood, barely a few millimeters at the thickest spots, formed over the bar. Typically transmuting wood was rather complicated, but with a sample of exactly what I wanted on hand, it was only modestly tricky. Moments later I was left holding a bar that was visually identical to what it had been before, but that would fare much better against brute force or something like a saw. Now, what else could I do in the time it took a kettle to boil¡­


    Lea returned just as I was finishing up melding the inefficient screws that held the locking mechanism in place directly into the now steel-cored wood of the door. She looked quizzically at what I was doing, but didn¡¯t seem to spot any differences in the dim light shining through the nearby window, so simply handed me my steaming mug as she took a sip from her own drink.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, enjoying the strong, smokey flavor of the drink. It wasn¡¯t exactly to my tastes, but still rather pleasant. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t keep you waiting for too long?¡±


    ¡°Um, not too long, no. It was no trouble.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I got caught up in some things. It''s been a busy two days.¡±


    ¡°In a good way, I hope?¡±


    I tilted my head to the side in consideration. ¡°Something like that. Nothing to worry about.¡±


    She started telling me a bit about her day and how her classes had gone as she led me up to her room, casting a minor silencing spell before we went up the stairs to make sure we didn¡¯t disturb her guardians. Watching her cast was¡­ informative. She was rather slow, and though I wasn¡¯t familiar with the particular spell she was using, the spellforms looked somewhat¡­ shoddy. It got the job done at least, but that didn¡¯t stop me from keeping my magic ready to mitigate the worst of the backlash if she managed to screw something so basic up.


    It was a slightly sobering experience and only reinforced my fears and desire to clean up her magical education. I¡¯d thought that with six years of training, even if at a not particularly good school, would be enough to ensure she could at least protect herself, but I was quickly starting to reconsider that assumption.


    As we stepped into her room, I offhandedly asked, ¡°So I was wondering, what sort of combat magic have you learned? I¡¯ve heard that Lightcastle specializes in all sorts of light magic and there¡¯s some nifty spells you can pull off with that spellform. Smite is a low-circle classic of course, but I know you can manage some impressive beam-style¨C¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I was interrupted when she mumbled something without looking at me. I couldn¡¯t quite make out what she¡¯d said, but it sounded like¡­ No, that couldn¡¯t be right. ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°I said I don¡¯t know any,¡± she repeated to my horror. ¡°That sort of magic is restricted, you need the appropriate permits to sign up for those classes, and it''s really hard for merchant students to get those.¡±


    What. The. Fuck. That was¡­ What? I could barely imagine learning magic without combat spells. Gods above, more than half of my first year classes had at least discussed the topic and you wouldn¡¯t survive past the first two months if you couldn¡¯t defend yourself. What then were they teaching their students?


    I must have said something out loud, or maybe she had just seen the incredulous expression on my face, because she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at me. ¡°I know plenty of other magic and I can defend myself just fine without it. When would I need to know that sort of thing anyway?¡±


    I blinked, unable to quite grasp what she was saying. She blushed and looked away. ¡°It¡¯s not like a shield and a fancy light show would have helped me¡­¡± she stumbled over her words for a moment, ¡°Would have helped me anyway. There were six of them, and that sort of thing isn¡¯t supposed to happen!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s stupid,¡± I said sharply, ¡°You should know better than to spoute that sort of drivel after everything that¡¯s happened to you. I don¡¯t care what sort of self defense you think you know, it''s always better to be over prepared than dead.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and you¡¯re so much better than me?¡± she asked. ¡°You said it yourself, I¡¯ve been studying magic for longer than you have. Why would you know better? We¡¯re in the capitol, there are guards and soldiers everywhere! There¡¯s no reason I should ever need that sort of magic anyway.¡±


    I silently stared at her, unable to quite accept what she was saying. I thought back, trying to remember how she¡¯d been as a child. She was worried about something, I decided after a moment, but she didn¡¯t want to say anything so she was being petulent about something else stupid.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t an argument we are going to have,¡± I stated firmly. ¡°When we have time, I¡¯m going to teach you some basic combat spells and help you clean up your foundations. I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re teaching you at that school of yours, but they¡¯re clearly not doing a very good job.¡± She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it as I continued on regardless. ¡°Now, what¡¯s actually bothering you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow and stared at her silently.


    She sat down on her bed, folding her hands in her lap and stared at the wall several inches to the side of my face. ¡°I¡¯m worried about you.¡± What? ¡°We¡¯ve been talking all about me, but¡­ you¡¯ve changed a lot. And, I¡­ I heard some worrying things today at school. And when you didn¡¯t come to dinner¡­ Um, you said last time that you¡¯re here for the portal, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Well, the government has been telling everyone that it''s like¡­ a trade thing. Everyone was encouraged to set up shops and stalls in the surrounding squares and merchants and people like you were coming in from far away and stuff, but¡­ well the headmaster told us what¡¯s actually going on.¡±


    I was having some trouble understanding where she was going. Had she figured out that I was an Avalon student? I had been meaning to tell her in private and it just hadn¡¯t come up yet, but that didn¡¯t seem right. What was she¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s actually a portal to some terrifying school filled with horrible monsters!¡± she exclaimed, ¡°The headmaster warned us to avoid interacting with them as much as possible and I read some stories about that place. Avalon, it¡¯s called, and they do all sorts of terrible stuff there. It¡¯s a deathtrap where the students are all encouraged to kill each other and they have duels to the death and the professors are all evil sadists and¡­¡±


    She finally looked over and probably noticed the exasperation I hadn¡¯t managed to fully hide on my face. ¡°I¡¯m serious! Be careful Orion, those are dangerous people! Just¡­ stick to the other merchants and don¡¯t trade or whatever with those psychos. I¡¯ve been living here for years now, I¡¯m sure I can help you find whatever it is you are looking for. Better yet, just¡­ you said you were studying somewhere abroad, right? Just try to transfer to Lightcastle and we can be together again and¨C¡±


    I crossed the room in two long steps and sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. This wasn¡¯t exactly how I¡¯d been hoping to tell her and it was¡­ annoying that she¡¯d heard so many negative rumors, even if they were probably pretty accurate, but there was no helping it.


    ¡°Lea,¡± I said quietly, ¡°I¡¯m not here for anything the portal can provide. I¡¯m here because the portal is here.¡±


    It took her a moment to parse what I was saying, but when she did her eyes widened and she turned to look me in the eyes. ¡°You mean¡­ you¡¯re¡­¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s¡­ not as bad as you make it out to be, but well¡­ it''s not a very safe learning environment, that''s for sure.¡±


    She half cringed away from me, and though she didn¡¯t push the arm holding her away, it still sent a spike of pain shooting through my chest. ¡°The headmaster said that we should¡­ stay away from you. That you¡¯re dangerous and evil and that we should never be alone or go anywhere with any of you.¡±


    ¡°That''s¡­ probably good advice, actually. He was a student there a long time ago so he knows what he¡¯s talking about. A lot of my classmates are not very nice people and wouldn¡¯t think twice about hurting you.¡±


    ¡°But not you?¡±


    ¡°I would never hurt you Lea. Never.¡± I tried to sound as sincere as I could, but I wasn¡¯t sure how well I¡¯d managed. After a moment, I decided to default to one of the strategies fiction had taught me over the years. Humor could often beneficially lessen the tension during stressful conversations. ¡°Not unless you¡¯re into that sort of thing, I don¡¯t judge.¡±


    For once, it seemed to have worked, because Lea burst out laughing and buried her face in my chest. I¡¯d forgotten how much she liked doing that, though back home her mother and my father had been the targets of her ¡®affection¡¯ more often than I had been. Apparently my skinny frame hadn¡¯t been as ¡®warm and huggable¡¯ as my much more muscular father.


    ¡°Tell me about it?¡± she asked, rolling onto her back with her head nestled in my lap.


    ¡°Of course. What would you like to know?¡±

 Chapter 63

    My explanation went on for almost two full hours and by the end of it Lea looked¡­ understanding, if not exactly reassured. I tried to highlight the good parts of the experience while underplaying the dangers somewhat, I didn¡¯t want her to worry but I was also terrified that she would want to transfer in. She had been shocked when I cited some of the statistics Avalon boasted, she hadn¡¯t known just how successful the Academy¡¯s system was, nor the many other advantages that came with being a member.


    Initially she didn¡¯t believe that I¡¯d gotten as good as I¡¯d claimed in such a short time frame, but a few minor demonstrations were enough to convince her. It was disappointing to find out just how shoddy her mana sensing was, she should have easily been able to sense at least an echo of my strength by now, but apparently she couldn¡¯t do much more than identity if someone was a mage or not with close contact. That was absolutely abysmal, I¡¯d been able to at least get a general sense of someone¡¯s circle at the end of my first year. It seemed no amount of time and dedication could forgive shoddy instruction.


    Unfortunately there wasn¡¯t much I could do about that yet. Passive mana sensing was a difficult skill to teach and had been something I¡¯d just sort of¡­ picked up after months of interacting with mages of varying strength. The key was intimate familiarity with your own mana and the feedback it was giving you as it interacted with the ambient mana around you, something that could only really be gained with practice and experience.


    I momentarily considered trying to teach her some of the more active forms of mana perception, the sort where you surrounded something with a cloud of your own mana and viewed it directly instead of ¡®listening¡¯ for the echoes in the ambient mana, but discarded it almost immediately. She just didn¡¯t have the control needed to even start trying something like that, if she tried to flare her mana the way I did it would just disperse into the environment moments later.


    Lea seemed somewhat depressed by the end of it, mumbling rude things about her teachers under her breath. That was good, hopefully she would be more receptive when I started to teach her how to do things properly. Actually¡­ I discreetly checked the time with a simple spell. It was getting late, but not that late, and tomorrow was a weekend. The more time she had to practice, the better.


    ¡°I have a bit of time, if you¡¯re interested, that is. I could show you some simple exercises to practice on your own. Nothing particularly special, but hopefully it''s a start.¡±


    Her eyes lit up and she looked up at me eagerly. ¡°That would be great!¡±


    I smiled down at her, happy with her reaction. Hopefully it would last, I¡¯d found that few of my classmates approached simple pure-mana exercises with the same enthusiasm as I did. ¡°Great! Well, before we start, let''s check how you are doing so far. This is going to feel a little odd, ready?¡±


    She nodded, then jumped slightly as I slid a hand under her shirt, splaying my fingers across her belly. ¡°Orion, wh¨C¡± A dozen intangible tendrils pushed past her magic resistance and into her body before splitting into hundreds of hairlike strands. ¡°Oh, that¡­ tingles.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. Should have asked. Anyway, let me see your basic eight.¡±


    She looked back at me blankly. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your basic eight. Um, I don¡¯t know what they call them here, the circulation exercises?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh¡­¡±


    I closed my eyes and sighed. Through my mana, I couldn¡¯t even feel a rudimentary circulation beyond the natural flows of her mana, but I¡¯d thought that was because she just had poor control, not because she didn¡¯t know any better. I¡¯d noticed quite a few of the mages I¡¯d passed at her school had them, and Adonia definitely had something as well, so maybe that was just another skill reserved for nobles? My dissatisfaction with this mockery of an education spiked sharply.


    ¡°I guess we can start at the beginning. Do you know what a circulation is?¡±


    Lea nodded. ¡°It''s an internal spell you cast on yourself. Most magical creatures can cast them instinctively and that''s what gives them their powers. A few of my teachers have mentioned them before, and I think the headmaster teaches a class about them to senior students.¡±


    An¡­ internal spell? That was one way of looking at it, if not quite how I would describe it. Circulations did use a number of similar principles, but functioned very differently. ¡°That''s¡­ not entirely wrong,¡± I said after a moment''s pause. ¡°But it''s also rather misleading. The key difference is that, unlike a spell, a circulation is not a discrete work of magic. When you cast a spell, you form your mana externally into the proper form. Then the spell casts, whatever you were trying to do happens, and the leftover mana disperses into the environment.¡± As I spoke, I demonstrated with a simple floating light spell, forming the spell matrix in the air over Lea¡¯s head so that she could see it clearly.


    I let the glowing ball I¡¯d conjured float silently for a moment, then dispelled it and continued. ¡°On the other hand, a circulation works by continuously forming your mana into the desired form within your body and then letting it flow continuously, just as your blood flows through your veins. As you said, this is something that many magical creatures do instinctively and is the source of most of their unnatural powers, like the imposing strength of a troll or the entrancing voice of a siren.


    ¡°Over the centuries, mages have learned how to artificially recreate the effects of these natural abilities, sometimes copying directly and other times creating new ones entirely from scratch. They¡¯re very useful, and make for very good practice with raw mana manipulation.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I paused, letting Lea absorb the deluge of new information. ¡°That does sound very useful.¡±


    ¡°It is. I personally make extensive use of them, it''s one of the things I¡¯ve focused the most on over the last few years, but most mages I know at least know a couple. It''s egregious that they don¡¯t at least teach you all the basics, there are some simple circulations focusing on mental control that really help with memorizing spell matrices and controlling your mana.¡±


    Lea didn¡¯t respond, looking off into the distance with a thoughtful look on her face. I waited for a moment to see if she would say anything, then continued when it looked like she didn¡¯t have any questions. ¡°Well, no use crying over spilled milk. Let¡¯s get started with the basics. I¡¯m going to guide your mana into the basic shapes used in most circulations and then you¡¯re going to try to copy me. Okay?¡± She nodded. ¡°Great, now this is the simplest of the eight, just a nice long strand of mana¡­¡±


    The room was quiet, only the barely-audible hum of the illusionary display glowing lightly at the end of the table disturbing the silence. After a long moment, Ulan finally verbalized what all three of them were thinking. ¡°Damn,¡± he whispered, ¡°That''s¡­ damn.¡±


    Camille could only nod in agreement, eyes still glued to the image projected on the back wall of the room. It was somewhat grainy, a memory of a memory projected by someone unskilled in the use of such magics, and the original viewer had watched the fight from a bad angle, but that did not take much away from what she¡¯d just seen.


    They sat in silence for another moment, Alan fiddling with the faintly glowing memory crystal he¡¯d traded for from some other student. Eventually she spoke up as well, ¡°I guess thats why he wasn¡¯t worried at all. Compared to that¡­¡±


    She trailed off, letting the words hang in the air as they all sat deep in thought. Camille chewed gently on her bottom lip, a bad habit but one her parents had never managed to break her of. Compared to fighting, beating, a fourth year, a combat-focused one at that from what she¡¯d heard, what was some chump who had to attack down at a couple of second-years?


    ¡°And I was always so worried about him,¡± she mumbled quietly. Orion had always been a reserved, silent student who rarely interacted with his classmates and was barely ever seen in public outside of the library. She¡¯d known he was driven and intelligent, it was impossible to miss after even just a few study sessions with him, but well¡­ It was Avalon. Everyone was intelligent and driven or they wouldn¡¯t be here.


    She¡¯d always worried about him, even before they had become friends. Like her, he was one of the rare few who had applied and gotten into the academy on merit alone, with no family, organization, or government to support them. Like her, he also hadn¡¯t really know what he was getting himself into, though she had thankfully learned about horrific statistics and the terrifyingly lax ¡®rules¡¯ in a slightly less public way than he had. That girl, Warback? Warborn? Something like that? hadn¡¯t done herself any favors with her rant about how worthless someone without connections was. She couldn¡¯t be certain, but she was pretty sure it was one such ¡®worthless corpse¡¯ that had arranged for the arrogant girl¡¯s demise.


    As the number of students like the two of them had dwindled, from accidents, fights, poor decisions, and far too many other reasons, that concern had only grown. Orion was always so reclusive, barely ever spending time with anyone. She herself had done her best to build those very connections she knew she was lacking, making friends and allies throughout their year and among some of the upperclassmen, but he had never done any of that. She was always terrified that one day he just wouldn¡¯t show up to class, and that no one would even notice he was gone.


    Well, apparently that had been an empty fear. She doubted any of their yearmates, or most of the older students even, would be messing with him any time soon. She didn¡¯t know when, but at some point the rank amature she had seen in that very first Mana Control class back during their first year had grown frighteningly strong. He had tried to hide it, but it was obvious he was a complete beginner without a single spell under his belt. She had been shocked he¡¯d managed to pass Avalon¡¯s rigorous admission exam, but apparently the examiners had seen something that she hadn¡¯t. She clicked her tongue, it was never smart to underestimate anyone at this place.


    Outloud, she said none of that. Instead, after another moment of silence, she brought up a more immediate concern. ¡°We should be extra careful for the next few weeks. Stick with someone you trust whenever possible.¡±


    ¡°Smart,¡± Ulan nodded somberly, ¡°It¡¯s clear he can take care of himself, dude was holding back on us! But until he figures things out, best not get caught in any crossfire.¡±


    ¡°Not like he got too many people he hangs out with,¡± Alan added. ¡°Da three of us, the Goodwitch girl, and Miranda. Don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s going to be poking either of those two over this, so that leaves just us.¡±


    ¡°Buddy o¡¯ mine was there when Clarient heard the news, said she was spitting mad,¡± he shuddered, ¡°Yeah, good call Cam.¡±


    ¡°Have either of you talked to Orion since?¡±


    They exchanged looks, then Ulan shook his head, ¡°We all saw him in class, but he rushed out before I could say anything. Can¡¯t say I  blame him, he¡¯s got a lot on his plate right now I imagine. I¡¯ll try to talk to him on Tuesday.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan. Maybe he¡¯d be willing to give us a first-hand memory? People love this stuff and the next batch of honor-duals isn¡¯t till the end of the year.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Camille said noncommittally, ¡°but I doubt it. He¡¯s always been very paranoid and careful, I can¡¯t imagine he wants more people pouring over the way he fights. Even the best memories I¡¯ve seen aren¡¯t particularly clear so he hasn¡¯t given away much.¡± She paused, drumming her fingers against the shiny lacquer of the table. ¡°Wonder if anyone¡¯s gonna challenge him. He didn¡¯t fight last spring, right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Then he¡¯s available for challenges this year. Poor Orion.¡±


    ¡°I think I feel sorrier for whatever idiot decides to try their luck.¡± The two brothers laughed quietly but Camille did not join in. They fell silent and Ulan decided to blatantly change the subject, ¡°So, how¡¯s your progress on your ritual? Did you manage to get those samples you were looking for?¡±


    Camille decided to go with it anyway. They only had so much time after all, and she did want some help with this regardless. ¡°I did! Jaqueue came through finally, though he couldn¡¯t find everything I was looking for. Still, I¡¯m getting some promising results already.¡± She dug out a sheet of notes and slid them over to the boys, ¡°Take a look!¡±

 Chapter 64

    I decided to arrive at our chosen meeting place early. Very early. Though we weren¡¯t supposed to meet up until the mid-afternoon, I was ready to go before the artificial sun that lit Avalon had even begun to rise. It had been moderately annoying to reserve a meeting room for so long on relatively short notice, I wouldn¡¯t be able to rent one again until next semester in fact, but I felt it was worth it. After all, ambushing me in the hallway while I transported her friend would neatly eliminate the need for any negotiations and I couldn¡¯t imagine the thought had not crossed Clarient¡¯s mind. Better to leave things up in the air on when I would be doing the transporting.


    Miranda met me outside my room, where she had clearly been waiting for some time. She was under a very impressive illusion, some sort of perception filter combined with an invisibility spell, that made me feel much better about recruiting her for this part of the plan. I didn¡¯t have much of a talent for that sort of thing, I could cast many of the same spells of course, but without the flair a more narrowly specialized mage could put into their casting.


    Miranda bowed her head in greeting and immediately got to work, layering prepared spells over Kwesta¡¯s prone form. I kept a wary eye on our surroundings, this was also an excellent place to prepare an ambush, but kept half an eye on what Miranda was casting as well. I¡¯d always thought she was a rather underwhelming mage, decent but not really living up to her potential abilities, but I was starting to rethink that notion. She was rather skilled, especially compared to the failures that existed outside of Avalon, she just focused primarily on disciplines I had never given much attention to.


    I had a feeling that, given a few more years to develop, she would be a fearsome mage in her own right. I would have to finish figuring out her future soon, I decided. That would be my next priority once this entire mess with Clarient was figured out. I¡¯d recently realized that I didn¡¯t necessarily have to use any sort of ¡®classical¡¯ slave binding on the girl at all. Her current binding was rather weak on the compulsion side all things considered, and she was doing a mostly excellent job outside a few hiccups. Perhaps I could figure out something like a very tightly worded oath of loyalty? Having her swear it ¡®willingly¡¯, without any overt torture or similar would result in a much more powerful binding than what could be easily managed with more dubious forms of consent. I pushed the thought out of my mind. Now was not the time.


    I blinked when, between one instant and the next, Kwesta simply¡­ vanished. My muscles tensed, ready to move at a moment''s notice, and my mana flared briefly before I noticed how unconcerned Miranda looked. I relaxed and tried to sense what sort of magic was hiding the girl, but failed. It was as though there was nothing there, though I could clearly see something pressed up against Miranda¡¯s palm. Very impressive


    Miranda turned to look at me and I decided to tell her as much. I rarely gave compliments, but that really was impressive. I didn¡¯t actually know any spells that could evade my own observational skills and it was a rather scary skill to see from someone in my own year. If someone tried to assassinate me under such a cloak¡­


    ¡°Very nice,¡± I said after a short pause. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Thank you Orion. I, um, I layered several forms of invisibility and then anchored them to a phasing ritual I prepared ahead of time and imbued into a keystone.¡± She opened her hand, showing me the unadorned ring of unpolished gold hanging from a short chain that she was holding. ¡°I had to add an extra stasis spell so her body would register as mostly inanimate to the magic, but this way it should last for at least an hour or two. Plenty of time.¡±


    Phasing? Damn, that was much more impressive than I had thought, though it did abate some of my worries about hidden assassins. Phased objects couldn¡¯t interact with the material world without certain very high circle magics getting involved. That did however raise its own issue. ¡°Wait, how are we going to move her then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. The phased space is spatially locked to the ring and will move with it.¡±


    I nodded slowly. ¡°Good thinking then.¡±


    With Kwesta thoroughly hidden, Miranda and I cast our own spells and began to make our way towards the annoyingly distant meeting hall Liam had chosen. We moved slowly, both of us cycling through a flurry of detection and scrying spells to look for any hidden attackers waiting in ambush.


    At one point, I thought our caution had been warranted when I sensed a pair of people hidden at the bottom of a stairwell, but it turned out to have been a false alarm. It was simply a young couple, a pair of first years, engaging in some early morning fun-times. I had no idea why they¡¯d chosen such a vulnerable location to be so, well, vulnerable, but was content to ignore them. I wouldn¡¯t have been caught dead doing something so suicidal, but it wasn¡¯t my problem.


    In the end, it seemed like my caution was unfounded this time, or, more likely I felt, maybe my precautions had simply been good enough this time. It was hard to know and the question certainly didn¡¯t help my ever present anxiety, but I still let out a huge sigh of relief when we stepped through the warded door and into the relative safety of the meeting hall.


    Miranda slumped down onto the floor, not even bothering to make it to one of the chairs, and let the illusion spells she had been maintaining drop with a soft gasp. ¡°Everything good?¡± I asked, a hint of concern creeping into my voice.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Orion¡­¡± she all but gasped out between deep breaths, ¡°I just, just overtaxed¡­ overtaxed my core¡­ a little.¡± She dug into a pocket and withdrew an ever-full flask, a small bottle enchanted to automatically transmute air into water. Taking short sips so the bottle had time to do its work, she continued, ¡°I should¡­ be fine soon. Just¡­ took a lot¡­ out of me. Never tried that on¡­ two people¡­ before.¡±


    I nodded slowly, deciding not to say anything about it now. She had been maintaining quite a few spells, but it shouldn¡¯t have been enough to put her out like this after less than half an hour. I would have to tell her to practice that sort of thing, it was deeply unpleasant but a necessary skill nonetheless


    Instead, I dug into my bag and grabbed one of the small potion vials I kept on me at all times, passing the thimble-sized container to her. ¡°Drink,¡± I ordered. It was somewhat annoying, I had only the one vial imbued with the correct sort of preservation spells, but ideally I would not need it later. It was more important for Miranda to be in top form when Clarient finally arrived than for me to keep it in reserve. Rapidly depleting your mana reserves could cause very unpleasant headaches, which would be rather detrimental in her role as my advisor.


    Miranda took the vial, eying the tiny runes I¡¯d shaped into the metal suspiciously, then wrinkled her nose, unscrewed the cap, and threw it back like a shot. She gasped, her back straightening and the empty vial falling from her fingers and clattering across the floor. She blinked rapidly several times, then took a deep breath and slumped back against the wall. ¡°Was that¡­¡± I nodded. ¡°Verdan?¡± I nodded again. ¡°Wow. Thanks Orion.¡±


    ¡°Better?¡±


    ¡°A lot. Should be good by lunch time.¡±


    ¡°Good. Kwesta?¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°She will stay phased out for at least a few more hours, or until I bring her back. Could I wait to do that until my mana has a bit more time to regenerate?¡±


    ¡°Not an issue.¡±


    I set my things down on the large, round table at the center of the room and took a look around. The meeting room looked a lot like one of the larger study rooms in the library, though even with my lacking knowledge of wards I could tell the protections on the room were noticeably more impressive. It was a simple but well appointed room of medium size. The walls and floor were made from the same fine white marble as most of Avalon, but heavy, brightly colored tapestries depicting notable alumni and scenes from the Academy¡¯s history gave the room a slightly more intimate feel.


    At the center of the room was a large table of dark wood polished to a nearly mirror finish and inlaid with intricate patterns of precious metals. Even without looking, I was pretty sure it was some sort of horrifically expensive hardwood, the sort that couldn¡¯t be manufactured with alchemy and had to be harvested and processed by hand. According to the books I¡¯d read, the third Myrddin had apparently loved that sort of thing and had filled the Academy with that sort of ostentatious nonsense. Thanks to preservation spells, and a lack of any real desire to change things, most of that excess remained to this day.


    Ignoring the rather uncomfortable looking straight-backed chairs surrounding the table, I sat down on one of the small rugs that lined the perimeter of the room and closed my eyes. I hadn¡¯t brought very many things with me, particularly my notebooks and reference materials, so I wouldn¡¯t be able to get much work done, but that was no excuse to just waste the day away.


    I didn¡¯t want to burn too much mana in case things got ugly, but that just meant it was a perfect time to revisit my basics. Advanced magic, particularly pure magic, was built on the fundamentals and perfecting them was a constant struggle that had paid dividends so far. Additionally, if I was going to be teaching Lea how to do things properly, it was always a good idea to refamiliarize myself with what I was going to be doing.


    Breathing slowly and evenly, I sank into my soul, letting the currents of mana flowing through my being rise to the surface of my attention. Typically, I would start this sort of exercise by stripping away my circulations by spinning my core until it reabsorbed every bit of my internal mana, but I didn¡¯t feel comfortable doing that outside the much more absolute safety of my private room. That exercise was very important, it was key in ensuring your core grew and compacted properly, but I would just spend some extra time on it later to compensate.


    Instead, I simply nudged my circulations apart slightly, opening a ¡®gap¡¯ in the web of mana channels that typically crisscrossed through my belly. I winced internally as I instantly felt a severe drop in the efficiency of my augmentations, that never got less unpleasant, but it was a necessary evil. It was much faster to fix things if the strands were still there, just moved out of place, than rebuilding everything from scratch, and I didn¡¯t want to risk screwing something up while I practiced.


    Then, I began in earnest. A tiny droplet of mana elongated into a single gossamer thread, perfectly straight and of even thickness. I carefully shaped it further, until it was so thin as to be nearly invisible to my internal senses, then held it that way for a few moments before I let it collapse back into a droplet.


    I moved on to the next exercise, first forming a single thread of mana and then shaping it into the desired form and making it as perfectly even and thin as possible. Curves were easy as always, circles barely a step up after that. Spirals were slightly more difficult, requiring me to spend some of my attention to ensure the perfectly even loops did not intersect with one another, but the shape was naturally inclined to allow the mana to flow without attempting to reform into a single mass.


    The next four were comparatively much more difficult, and I was as of yet unable to execute them properly with strands as fine as I had been using before. Twists were not too hard, simply requiring the mana to form a sort of knot-like shape where strands folded over and through each other like a pretzel. Parallels looked easier but in practice required much finer control. Running two threads of mana, even ones flowing in opposite directions, so close to one another without them joining into a single strand was tricky to manage.


    Crossovers were similarly annoying and challenging in a different way. In this case, the mana strands only passed each other in one spot, but since they were flowing at a ninety degree angle instead of in opposite directions, the attraction between the strands was even stronger.


    Finally, for the last of the basic eight I ended up using a pair of strands that looked much like the ones I had started the first exercise with. Forcing the mana to move smoothly down two intersecting paths was hard enough on its own without the paths themselves being all but invisible to my senses. I was very thankful that none of the circulations I had attempted so far required this particular skill, because I doubted I could manage it for any appreciable length of time yet. It was actually one of the major hold-ups with some of my long-term circulation research. I could do it, but not as well as the other seven.


    After completing them once, I started over, running through the entire set five times before moving on to something more specialized. I was currently working on an exercise the book I¡¯d found it in called ¡®band stacking¡¯, and it consisted of forming a sphere made up of many layers of wide, thin circles of mana. The first few layers were very easy, but once I passed the thirtieth band it became more and more difficult until I could sustain the structure no longer. In my last attempt, I¡¯d managed forty-four layers before it collapsed into a messy ball. I would try to push for forty-five today.


    I opened my eyes nearly four hours later, feeling mentally drained but very satisfied with my progress. I hadn¡¯t managed to add any more layers, it got exponentially more difficult each time and I had last attempted the exercises just a few days earlier, but I had felt like I was making good progress and the two other exercises I had attempted had both gone rather well.


    I stood up smoothly and stretched, then walked over and sat down beside Miranda, who was mumbling quietly over the illusionary diagram of an alchemical spell matrix. At some point while I¡¯d been busy, she¡¯d deactivated the phasing ritual, and Kwesta was now ¡®kneeling¡¯ on one of the nearby chairs, her body held rigidly by the stasis spell I¡¯d used.


    ¡°What are you working on?¡±


    Miranda almost fell out of her seat, jumping in surprise and spinning around to face me. She blushed brightly and looked away a moment later and I chuckled quietly at the look on her face. She adjusted her dress slightly and gestured to the illusory spell matrix. ¡°Alchemy homework. I have no idea how you do all those transmutations so smoothly, it takes me forever to adjust everything so it works properly.¡±


    I hummed quietly, looking over her work, then pointed at two spots in the spell matrix. ¡°Rotate these slightly, like five degrees I think. The core axis of All-Form should typically be in line with both the start and end definitions of All-Material.¡± I paused, tilting my head as I examined the part that defined what the spell could use as its starting material, ¡°You could probably make this more general if you wanted to. I know we only really have to make it work on the cubes, but it''s a little clunky if you do it like this.¡±


    Miranda frowned, lips moving silently as she considered what I was saying, then made some minor modifications to the illusion.


    ¡°That¡¯s better I think. Still a little clunky, but you¡¯re getting there.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Orion. It just¡­ doesn¡¯t really come to me very well. I¡¯m probably going to have to drop it after this semester, it¡¯s useful magic, but¡­ not my thing.¡± She bit her lip and glanced over towards me, ¡°As long as that¡¯s ok with you, I mean. I know you were planning to take the next one with her in the spring and¨C¡±


    I raised a hand, stopping her before she could get too worked up. ¡°It¡¯s fine. As long as you are keeping up a full set of classes and doing well, I¡¯m content to let you make those choices for yourself. I trust you to make adequate choices. What are you thinking of taking instead?¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Orion,¡± she said earnestly as she turned back to the diagram. ¡°I think I¡¯ll probably take Entrancements and Allures with Professor Diatee, she only offers it once every other year, so¡­¡± she trailed off awkwardly.


    ¡°A good choice,¡± I said simply, ignoring the worry I could make out in her voice for the time being, ¡°We can discuss our schedules in more depth closer to the end of the semester.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Now, I was hoping to go over our strategy again. I know we talked about this yesterday, but it¡¯s always good to review. Liam should be here at four and Clarient and whoever she is bringing should show up half an hour after him. They¡¯ll probably want to examine Kwesta before we begin, so¡­¡±

 Chapter 65

    ¡°I had wondered how you were keeping her contained,¡± Liam said conversationally as he continued to examine Kwesta¡¯s unmoving form, ¡°A very tidy solution, if slightly inconvenient for something long term. I can feel the edge of the spell boundary decay, you probably would have had to recast the stasis again in just a few days. Still, for a temporary solution, very nicely done.¡±


    Liam straightened from where he was standing hunched over Kwesta and turned to face me. ¡°I can see no reason why Clarient would complain about what you¡¯ve done to her since. The girl will probably be feeling out of it for a few days after you dispel it, but that has more to do with the injuries and mana suppression than anything you did afterward.¡± He paused for a moment and glanced back at the girl¡¯s prone form. ¡°What sort of guarantee are you using? I didn¡¯t detect any sort of poison. You do have something in place, right?¡±


    I nodded, smiling slightly, ¡°Of course. I¡¯m glad that everything looks good, and that nothing shows up on a cursory scan. I don¡¯t think I have access to any poison that someone like Clarient couldn¡¯t get an antidote for, so I decided on something a little more¡­ exotic. Thanks for taking a look.¡± I had no idea how Liam had seen even that much, the medical analysis spells I knew didn¡¯t work on a person under the effects of a stasis field and she outwardly looked completely fine, but that was probably just higher circle magic I hadn¡¯t looked into yet.


    ¡°Not a problem. I think that pretty clearly falls under our deal as it is.¡± He glanced back at Kwesta, ¡°So what are you using then? Poison¡¯s a classic for a reason, something subtle and fast acting usually. Stasis tends to help with that sort of thing but I can understand why you would decide against it.¡±


    I bit my lip, wondering if it was a good idea to share that information with Liam. I mostly trusted the older boy, but it went against my better judgment to share any of the contingencies I¡¯d set up, much less a key one such as how I planned to ensure that Clarient and her friend couldn¡¯t decide they didn¡¯t like my terms and just attack us as we tried to leave.


    After a moment, I decided against sharing everything, but there was no harm in sharing some minor details. Liam had been¡­ moderately helpful over the time I¡¯d known him, and being honest with him now might get me more from him in the future. ¡°It''s something to do with how I set up the stasis spell. If they try anything, she absolutely will not survive the experience.¡±


    Liam studied me in silence for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Good.¡±


    Clarient and her friend, Miranda quietly identified the young man as Cain Marrowood, a fifth year whose family had once served Clarient¡¯s, arrived a few minutes later. Clarient walked into the room like she owned it, dressed in some sort of ceremonial armor that blazed with an inner light to my magic sense. The golden breastplate, arm guards, and greaves didn¡¯t look like they offered much protection, their design clearly more decorative than practical and leaving wide swathes of her bare skin completely uncovered, but the amount of mana coursing through them left me with little doubt that the lack of a physical barrier indicated any sort of opening.


    I stepped forward to meet her, doing my best to not let any of the anxiety bubbling in my chest show. Miranda stood slightly behind me and to the right, looking poised and perfectly at ease in the shimmering red dress she¡¯d changed into earlier. I was glad to notice Clarient¡¯s companion¡¯s eyes flicker occasionally towards her, unable to fully resist her physical and supernatural charms. Maybe they weren¡¯t having very much effect on Clarient, but any bit of distraction was hopefully a good thing.


    ¡°Miss Valorous.¡± I greeted her cooly, nodding my head forward a fraction of an inch.


    She stopped several feet away from me and folded her hands behind her back. ¡°Hunter.¡±


    Liam stepped forward from where he had been leaning against the wall and moved to stand between us. ¡°Very good. Now then, I think you both want to get straight to business, so before we begin,¡± he raised on hand in the air between us and pressed the other against his chest. A vast tide of mana flowed out around him, filling the air with its oppressive weight. When he began to speak, his voice echoed with power, ¡°I swear to serve as an impartial arbitrator in this meeting between Clarient Valorous and Orion Hunter to discuss the release of Kwesta. Should an agreement be reached, I will also serve as oath-binder for any needed vows and as an impartial third party for any agreed upon exchanges.¡±


    He lowered his hand and the weight vanished in an instant. He looked between the two of us, ¡°Well?¡±


    Clarient was the first to respond. ¡°Yes, mage Marc Pierr. I have heard only good things about your character.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°That should suffice.¡±


    ¡°Very good. Now then, I have already confirmed that the goods are in fine shape, slightly battered but nothing serious. You may examine them visually if you so desire, but I will not permit any spellcasting towards them from either party to prevent further tampering.¡±


    I nodded, that was something I¡¯d discussed with Liam ahead of time. Clarient nodded as well, ¡°That is fine with me. I shall trust your judgment on this, observer.¡±


    Liam led us to the table and we took our seats in silence. Thankfully it was rather large, so despite its shape none of us had to sit particularly close to one another. Clarient and I sat on opposite sides, with our companions on my right and her left. Liam took the seat between us on my left, Kwesta¡¯s imobile body floating weightlessly behind him in a silver bubble.


    Once we were all comfortable, he continued. ¡°Now, as I understand, there are two primary issues to discuss. Firstly, the release of Kwesta here and an assurance that there will be no retaliation or further hostilities between you due to this issue.¡± He paused and looked at each of us in turn. I nodded, ¡°And secondly, the matter of compensation for Kwesta¡¯s release, alive and unharmed beyond any wounds caused by the initial altercation.¡± I nodded again. ¡°Very good. Mage Hunter, please begin.


    I sat up straighter in my chair, glad I¡¯d had a chance to discuss this with Miranda, and then later Liam as well. He might be sworn to be impartial now, but that hadn¡¯t stopped him from telling me how he planned to conduct our ¡®negotiations¡¯. I was very glad Clarient had been fine with him acting as our arbiter, and that Liam had agreed to do so beyond his initial agreement to be our oath-binder.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I imagined it had a lot to do with the potential difficulty in finding a higher-circle mage we could both agree on, and Liam¡¯s willingness to swear an oath beforehand. That had honestly surprised me, not many people of his skill would be willing to do such a thing, not without a lot more to offer than what I was giving him. Either he valued my future favor much more highly than I thought, or he was trying to cultivate a positive relationship between us. I pushed the thought aside. As always, this was not the time to worry about other things. I had enough on my plate as it was. Something to discuss with Miranda, but later.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I inclined my head towards Liam, then leaned forward to stare Clarient in the eyes. ¡°I was greatly irritated by the unprovoked attack of your friend on my companion. It is only because no harm came from it that we are having this conversation in the first place. I am simply glad I was in the right place at the right time, otherwise I am afraid things could have gotten very messy between us.¡± I did my best to put just a touch of menace into the last part, even though I doubted I would have dared to retaliate much even if something had happened. I valued my Miranda and it would have burned to give her up like that, but I valued myself much more.


    I let my words hang in the air for a moment, then continued. ¡°Thus, it is my first priority that things do not come to that point again in the future. This is Avalon, yes, and it was well within Kwesta¡¯s rights to seek satisfaction for¡­ perceived slights, but that does nothing to shield her from the consequences of her actions. Still, I like to think that I am a reasonable mage. Life at Avalon rarely grants second chances, but perhaps we can arrange something between the two of us to ensure things do not come to that. I can see that you value the lives of your companions highly, just as I myself do. We would not be here otherwise, after all. As long as you are willing to swear to never target me and mine, and to ensure that no one associated with you in any way does the same, I am willing to release Kwesta into your hands for say, ten thousand pieces and a vow of servitude from the girl herself.¡±


    I sat back, rather satisfied with my performance. After some discussion with Miranda, we¡¯d concluded that I had no chance with the sort of subtle maneuverings that so many nobles loved to engage in. Instead, she¡¯d given me some tips and coached me through a few attempts at a rather direct approach to our negotiation. I was pretty sure I¡¯d hit all the points we¡¯d discussed. My offer, an appeal towards our similarities, a few words to point all the blame for what had happened towards Kwesta herself¡­ Yes, I was pretty sure that was everything I was going for. My offer of course was wildly in my favor, but that was just how things were done. We would negotiate and bring things down to a much more reasonable compromise¨C


    ¡°Counter offer,¡± Clarient said coldly. ¡°You give me Kwesta and I don¡¯t make the rest of your short life a living hell.¡±


    Well shit then. I wanted to close my eyes and sigh but that would only undercut the impression I was trying to present. I briefly glanced towards Liam, but he seemed content to leave us to it without any interference. That was technically his job, but it was still somewhat annoying.


    I took a deep breath. This was an eventuality I¡¯d discussed with Miranda, even if it was one of the ones we hadn¡¯t prepared much for. I¡¯d heard that Clarient was rather reasonable compared to some of the royals at Avalon, but apparently that only extended so far. Maybe I should have figured that out from our encounter earlier in the week. Raising an eyebrow, I used the skeptic voice Miranda had helped me practice a few weeks earlier, ¡°Do you truly value the life of your friend so little? Of course I won¡¯t give her back to you with an offer like that, and she¡¯s certainly of no value to me if I¡¯m dead. If it comes down to it, her last days shall be the same nightmare you try to inflict upon me.¡±


    I saw Clarient¡¯s jaw tighten as she clenched her teeth. ¡°Your death shall last an eternity if you touch a hair on her head. I shall drink from your bejeweled skull like my foremothers before me, let your soul be flayed and returned to the aether for the harm you have inflicted upon me and mine. You¨C¡±


    Ah. I had a feeling I understood where she was going now. Unfortunately it wasn¡¯t something I could really deal with, I had neither the knowledge nor the skill to do so, but she didn¡¯t have to know that.


    So, I decided to lie out of my ass. Hopefully the amulet around my neck and my own skills would be enough to fool her. ¡°I don¡¯t know what sort of contingency you have prepared, but I assure you it will not be enough. The moment you try something, her soul will be cast into the endless void, beyond your reach. It may be against the laws of Avalon, but that is of no concern to me if I am dead.¡±


    Clarient shut up instantly and I forced myself to smile. Souls were¡­ hard to damage in a permanent way, but there was one sure-fire way to deal with someone in a way that even the most skilled necromancer could not revive them. The void between realities was a hostile, endless realm that only the greatest of mages dared to mess with. No one knew what happened to those lost there, and even a god could not revive them. Even if Clarient knew a skilled necromancer or had something like a soul stone set up for her friend, that would not be enough here. Hells, I had no idea how she had access to that sort of magic, but she was a former princess.


    Clarient stared at me in silence for several long moments. ¡°You¡¯re bluffing,¡± she stated, but I could hear a hint of uncertainty in her voice.


    ¡°Am I? We are in Avalon, after all. The barrier is much thinner here, thin enough that even my¡­ meager skills are enough to puncture it, if only for a moment. I have no doubt the Myrddin will kill me the moment I do so, but what do I have to lose?¡±


    Clarient studied me for a long moment and I had to fight to keep my composure. I wasn¡¯t used to that sort of scrutiny and she had a very¡­ intense stare. Finally, she looked away and shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡±


    ¡°I do what greatness requires,¡± I answered immediately. It was something one of my teachers had said during my first year. ¡®Power requires desire, determination, sacrifice. We are mad, for only the mad can command the universe and expect it to obey.¡¯


    She nodded slowly, ¡°Admirable. Still, your demands are unreasonable. There is no way I can accept such an offer.¡±


    Liam, who had been watching us with interest this entire time, finally stepped in. ¡°Well, this is a negotiation, isn¡¯t it? I do believe that''s why we are all here.¡± He had given me a strange look when I¡¯d made my claim, but hadn¡¯t said anything. I was curious if he would ask me about it later.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right, arbiter. Negotiations, then. I¡¯ll give you¡­ five hundred pieces. The oaths are out of the question, but I promise on my honor that I shall not retaliate. I do not want to know what other insanity you think is justified.¡±


    I scoffed exaggeratedly. ¡°And I am supposed to simply accept that? Honor is worthless without commitment, and five hundred pieces is a pittance.¡± I shook my head sorrowfully, ¡°No, for such a price I¡¯d rather take my chances with the headmaster. It is just a pinhole after all, and these rooms are often used for¡­ experimentation. Perhaps such a small offense on a subdued target could be forgiven.¡± It probably wouldn¡¯t be, disrupting Avalon¡¯s dimensional boundary was one of those rules that was very strictly enforced, but I honestly had no idea how to even accomplish that feat in the first place so it had never been a concern. Maybe the Myrddin would have been impressed if I could manage such a feat with fourth circle magic.


    ¡°Perhaps you should. It would be a joy to see you swatted out of existence. Still, it is clear that you have no honor, so of course you would refuse to accept my own.¡±


    ¡°Avalon is not kind to the honorable. You should have learned that years ago. I certainly did.¡±


    ¡°Well then, how about¡­¡±

 Chapter 66

    Negotiations were going¡­ well, not well, but at least they were going. Nearly half an hour of insults and rather blatant threats later, we had at least figured out what things each of us found completely unacceptable. It didn¡¯t feel like we were any closer to a deal than we had been at the start, but Miranda had warned me ahead of time not to get discouraged by a lack of immediate progress.


    Apparently, proper negotiations between governments and organizations could take weeks and even months, which felt utterly ridiculous to me but what did I know about that sort of thing? The closest I ever got to ¡®negotiating¡¯ was simple agreements with my classmates, like the deal I¡¯d made with Janna, and the haggling I¡¯d done with merchants for food and scraps before I made it to Avalon. Miranda also didn¡¯t have much first hand experience with this sort of thing unfortunately, but she was at least much better informed than I was.


    ¡°So,¡± I said slowly, doing my best to keep the growing annoyance and stress I was feeling from bleeding into my voice, ¡°you are provisionally willing to swear some kind of oath of nonaggression with me, as long as I am willing to do the same. You are also willing to help compel Kwesta into doing the same, but nothing more binding than that. Finally, You are willing to offer a modest fee of some sort in exchange for Kwesta¡¯s safe return.¡± She opened her mouth to interrupt me but I raised a hand in the air. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that we¡¯ve agreed to any of that, I¡¯m just trying to establish a shared understanding of the situation.¡±


    She tilted her head to the side, slowly tapping her bracers against one another as she mulled the question over. The gleaming metal rang like a bell each time the two pieces touched, but I tried not to let it bother me. She¡¯d done the same sort of thing several times before, and while it had put me on edge the first time, I trusted Liam enough to ensure she wasn¡¯t using some sort of subtle auditory magic or the like.


    Sitting back in my chair, I was content to let her think in peace. If nothing else, it gave me more time to study the absolutely fascinating armor she was wearing. I was pretty sure it was some sort of royal treasure, I¡¯d seen a painting of one of her ancestors wearing a very similar looking set, and it would explain how she had something so incredible. I imagined she had decided to leave it at the Academy over the summer for some reason, or perhaps it had otherwise ended up somewhere where it wasn¡¯t looted with the rest of her family¡¯s fortune. Lucky.


    In a word, the armor was incredible. I¡¯d noticed immediately how it all but shone with mana, but that did not do it justice. It was not simply some form of mana rich material, but rather a staggering number of enchantments layered through the metal so densely that it blended into a single incomprehensible mass. Just from the number of them, the chestplate alone must have taken years to enchant, and the rest of her armor was, if anything, even more densely packed with hundreds of individual enchantments.


    The longer I studied it, the more glad I was that I hadn¡¯t been ambushed by her while she was wearing something like that. It seemed like a primarily defensive magic item, but I was pretty sure it had some less passive defensive measures built into it as well. Even if it was purely defensive in nature, I didn¡¯t know if any spell I knew would be capable of scratching the older girl through that kind of protection, much less causing any actual lasting damage. The armor might look rather skimpy and stylistic, but I doubted her exposed belly, upper arms, and thighs were any less protected than the rest of her.


    In all honesty, I wasn¡¯t really getting much out of just looking at it with my passive mana sense, everything was too tightly packed to decipher any specific enchantment, but just observing how it all came together was giving me all sorts of ideas. I would have paid a fortune to examine it in depth, but I doubted Clarient would ever go for something like that so I didn¡¯t even bother asking. I certainly wasn¡¯t going to show anyone my equipment, and my best work looked like a child¡¯s drawings compared to that armor.


    Eventually she crossed her arms across her chest and leaned backwards in her chair. ¡°Yes,¡± she answered shortly, ¡°that sounds about right.¡±


    Great. We were making progress. Or at least I was pretty sure this counted as progress. ¡°Very well. In that case it is simply a matter of discussing specific terms?¡±


    She nodded slowly. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°Now, I see my initial offer was somewhat outside of the value you place on your friends value. She is a fourth circle mage I suppose, and those don¡¯t come cheap, but not quite as much I had proposed. Perhaps six thousand? It¡¯s slightly more than she would fetch on the open market I expect, but I think there¡¯s more to her value than just her skills, no?¡±


    I could almost see Clarient¡¯s teeth grind together behind the stoic frown she¡¯s been wearing for most of the last half hour. Miranda¡¯s knee nudged mine under the table and I tapped it back in confirmation. Apparently I should pull back slightly on the provocation. On second thought, that seemed like an excellent idea. My bluff had been working so far, but I really didn¡¯t want to push the terrifying girl too far. It was a balancing game, leaving her sufficiently on the back foot to keep the negotiations going but not so much that she just decided to metaphorically, or literally for that matter, flip the table on me.


    My eyes momentarily flickered to the fifth year boy who Clarient had brought with her. I still wasn¡¯t sure what the logic there was, a fifth year was a very odd choice since theoretically he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything if things did devolve into a fight. Was it a threat? Meant to show that she was confident she could take me all on her own, no matter the circumstance. Perhaps simply a matter of convenience, or maybe she hadn¡¯t wanted to risk me getting my hands on another hostage? It was impossible to know. Well, he hadn¡¯t done anything so far. He had just been sitting there in silence the entire time, all but motionless with a placid expression on his face.


    I focused back on Clarient, chiding myself for getting distracted, as she responded, ¡°To think that you would price one of my companions as a slave, pathetic. This is no market, Mr. Hunter, and you are no merchant here. I am not purchasing my companion back from you, any fee is simply for the costs incurred due to her reckless actions. I¡¯ve seen the memories of your fight, and it didn¡¯t look like she did much damage. Embarrassing, really.¡±


    Interesting. Was she trying to get me to reveal more about how the fight had gone than she had seen in whatever student had been brave enough to stick around¡¯s recollection? Kwesta had destroyed several of the collars I¡¯d used, which were going to be a pain to replace even if I didn¡¯t create more of the improved design, but I wasn¡¯t actually sure if she¡¯d, or anyone, had seen what exactly I¡¯d been using. The collars did have a weak obscuring field over them and moved rather quickly so their design was hopefully not immediately obvious.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Its true that her attempts were merely¡­ inconvenient, and not overly costly, but she still did damage some delicate equipment I was carrying with me,¡± I answered slowly, ¡°Nothing irreplaceable thankfully, but still something. Additionally, taking care of her and ensuring she did not further injure herself was similarly not without cost.¡±


    Clarient tilted her head to the side again and looked over at Kwesta¡¯s floating form. ¡°Perhaps. I hadn¡¯t realize you were still so untrained that a simple stasis spell would strain you overly much, or were you incompetent enough to have to pay someone to do your spellwork for you.¡± Though she phrased it like a question, it was clearly a taunt, but one I brushed off easily. I didn¡¯t care what most others thought of my skills, particularly if they chose to underestimate me. I would prefer to look competent, but not so exceptional that others would want to target me for it. This mess certainly wasn¡¯t helping with that, though maybe it would pull the attention of those I did want to impress.


    In any case, that was a worry for another time. For now, this absolutely demanded my full attention. Hopefully I would be walking out of this room soon with nothing to worry about. Ha, like it would ever be that easy.


    Sitting silently in his seat, Liam smiled pleasantly as he listened to the younger duo argue over the specific wording of their oaths. It had certainly been an interesting few hours so far, not exactly what he would have chosen to do with his time, but a novel distraction. It helped that he was getting a lot more out of this than either of the two thought, there weren¡¯t many activities this easy that could net you a favor from two up and coming mages as promising as Orion Hunter and Jack Baretree.


    He had always loved that sort of double dipping, especially when he hadn¡¯t had to exert any effort to get it. Both had approached him after all, and neither had asked for anything other than his impartiality. Cultivating a reputation of honest dealings and friendliness had certainly worked out well for him over the years. Sure he had probably missed out on some opportunities because of it, but goodwill had a value all its own and was much harder to get back once you¡¯d lost it.


    His eyes drifted slowly between the two, the layers of perception-enhancing spells he¡¯d cast ahead of time ensuring that he didn¡¯t really need his eyes to ¡®keep an eye¡¯ on both of them. He could feel every inch of the room as though he was touching it, see every strand of mana without looking at it. It was probably overkill, neither had tried anything since they¡¯d arrived, but it wasn¡¯t really costing him anything so why not? A half hours effort was much cheaper than if something did happen and he missed it.


    Not for the first time, he focused his attention on Orion, wondering how serious his threats had been. It was honestly hard to know, if there was any third year he thought could do it, it was Orion. The younger boy had an almost palpable intensity around him, a constant hum of barely suppressed action that made it hard to tell what he was thinking. He had seemed so serious, so frank and honest about the consequences, that it made even his rather absurd claims seem perfectly reasonable.


    Whatever the case might be, he was glad he¡¯d met the boy. He saw a lot of himself in Orion, that same drive to succeed and demand for excellence in everything he did. As long as the boy didn¡¯t do something stupid, he was nearly guaranteed to make it, and integrating yourself with other future powerhouses was only common sense. He still had a semester and a half with him before he graduated, and he planned to ensure Orion was left with a positive impression when he left.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re ready,¡± Orion said simply.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Clarient confirmed.


    Despite his lack of focus, Liam responded without missing a beat, ¡°Wonderful, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve come to an agreement. Now, how would you like to do this?¡±


    Clarient and Orion shared a weary look before Clarient responded. ¡°Orion shall swear first, then I will make my own oath. Once that is complete, Orion shall release Kwesta and I shall convince her to swear her own oath to Mr. Hunter and his companion. Then we can be done with this farce.¡±


    Orion cleared his throat loudly. ¡°And?¡±


    Clarient all but growled, but continued. ¡°If I am unable to convince her, then Mr. Hunter will have full rights to take her back with him and convince her himself, but that will not be necessary.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± agreed Orion easily.


    ¡°Very good. And you are both in agreement about the specific wording of your oaths? I shall be using a powerful oath that does work partially with intent alone, but it is always best to be certain.¡±


    They shared another glance. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°I as well.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± Liam took a deep breath and stood up, spreading his arms widely to either side. He exhaled and a veritable tide of mana flowed out of him. A thick band of barely visible mana encircled the table, pushing the two assistants aside before encompassing the three of them in a translucent dome. Hundreds of spectral runes wrote themselves across the surface of the dome even as an impossibly complex spell matrix took form at the center of the dome. ¡°Begin,¡± he bit out, the majority of his focus on maintaining the hybrid ritual spell he was casting.


    ¡°I Orion Hunter, do swear as such. As long as she and those who associate with her do not seek to harm me and those I claim as my associates, as long as they do not compel or convince others to bring harm to me and those I claim as my associates, as long as they abide by the terms of their own oaths, as long as¡­¡±


    Liam closed his eyes, mostly tuning out Orion¡¯s words. Within the dome, his voice echoed strangely, tendrils of power slowly wrapping around his body as they tensed for the spell''s completion. After nearly five minutes, Orion stopped and Clarient began her own oath, but he was too focused to make out anything but an occasional word. The spell he was casting required his full attention, else it would collapse explosively and likely kill everyone in the room. Well, everyone except for him hopefully, and maybe Clarient if the Royal Plate was as impressive as he¡¯d heard.


    Thankfully there wasn¡¯t really much risk of that. He might not be a true eight-circle mage yet, but he could cast a few spells of that tier without too much risk. This was something he¡¯d done before and had practiced extensively. Oath spells of this strength were rare and restricted, but Avalon cheerfully taught all of its members that could learn it at least this one spell. It was a very thorough and reliable spell and was often used between graduates in order to ensure that all parties obeyed the terms of their agreements. After all, no one wanted Avalon¡¯s leadership to have to get involved.


    He felt the magic shift as Clarient finished and the entire construct pulsed with barely contained power. Mana flared and the tendrils that had slowly wrapped around both parties collapsed into their bodies as the spell completed. The glowing spell matrix at the center of the room burned with a blinding intensity for a moment before vanishing, the mana comprising it fully expended.


    Liam sat back down in his chair slowly, doing his best not to show how much that had taken out of him. ¡°Well?¡± he asked after a moment.


    Clarient blinked rapidly, then let out a long breath. ¡°I can feel it settling. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done. Kwesta?¡±


    Liam directed the bubble holding her frozen body float forward and deposit her in front of Orion¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Thank you. Now, let me focus. This will take some time and then we can get on with it.¡±

 Chapter 67

    Even with just the initial oath sworn, it was like a massive weight taken off my chest. Studying at Avalon, there was never truly a time to relax. Even the safest places were simply a temporary reprieve from the constant danger. After all, despite appearing as a much more immediate threat, practicing magic killed just as many, if not more, students than conflict with one another did. Someone finding a mangled corpse in a practice room was a near weekly occurrence and watching the faculty drag the remains of unfortunate students out of their private rooms at the end of the semester had been one of the most sobering parts of my first year.


    Still, that was something I could at least control, and with this I had once again narrowed down the number of people with motivation to target me directly. I was much more confident in avoiding attacks of opportunity than well prepared ambushes from upperclassmen. More than that, I was glad to get rid of a dagger pointed directly at someone much less capable of protecting themselves. I was thankful I¡¯d thought to conceal my visits to Lea, because I wasn¡¯t sure what I would have done if Clarient had decided to go after her to get to me.


    ¡°I would appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t,¡± I said quietly, ¡°It would be really unfortunate if I made a mistake here and her soul got banished.¡± Clarient huffed, but didn¡¯t protest, taking a step backwards so she wasn¡¯t looming over me quite as much. Her companion did so as well, though honestly I didn¡¯t mind his hovering nearly as much. He was holding a vial of some very potent healing potion in one hand and had the spell matrix for a restoration spell primed in the other, so at least he was contributing something. Clarient had just been standing directly behind me and leaning over my shoulder as I worked, which was much more distracting.


    I returned to my work, carefully disassembling the stasis spell I¡¯d used strand by strand. The tendrils of mana fell away easily, but I moved slowly so as to avoid triggering one of the half dozen precautions I hadn¡¯t woven into it. I hadn¡¯t actually added anything nearly as complex as I¡¯d claimed, but there were quite a few protections built in to stop someone from simply dispelling the stasis, or making them regret it if they did.


    I was proudest of one I¡¯d added right from the start, taking advantage of a specific design ¡®flaw¡¯ in this sort of stasis. Before I¡¯d finished stabilizing the spell, I¡¯d had Rea hammer away at her frozen body with a mallet for several minutes, focusing on her head and chest. A peculiarity I¡¯d found with this specific spell was that, if removed without the intended counterspell, any exertion of force that had been prevented by the stasis during casting would reappear in an instant. This had mostly been noted in the spell¡¯s description due to how it interacted with gravity, but in my testing I had shattered a stone cube by smacking it repeatedly with a wooden stick, so her much more fragile body would be reduced to little more than a wet smear on the ground.


    With a small rush of air, the entire array of spells I¡¯d attached to the stasis collapsed into a loose cloud of ambient that quickly spread out into the rest of the room. Kwesta slumped forward bonelessly and the fifth year stepped forward, catching Kwesta by the shoulder and immediately casting what I was pretty sure was some sort of diagnostic spell.


    After a moment, he straightened up and turned towards Clarient. ¡°She¡¯s all right, my lady. She¡¯s very low on mana, but aside from some bruises and fractures she appears perfectly healthy.¡±


    The severe expression on Clarient¡¯s face lightened slightly and she nodded, ¡°Thank you Cain. Your service is appreciated.¡±


    ¡°Always, my lady.¡±


    I rose to my feet, feeling slightly awkward to be standing between the two. They seemed rather close. I would have to ask Miranda about that later, she hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about him in her report. Then again, I¡¯d mostly had her focus on fourth years and below, students that could target me freely, not any upperclassman that Clarient was connected to.


    I let him fuss over Kwesta for another minute, then loudly cleared my throat, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t keep Mage Marc Pierr waiting, I¡¯m sure he has better things to do on his weekends than this.¡±


    They both shot me dirty looks, ¡°I¡¯m working on it,¡± Cain said with disdain, ¡°I am trying to wake her gently after the strain you put on her body and soul.¡± There wasn¡¯t much I could say to that without leaving a worse impression on them than I already had, so I simply stayed silent.


    After another minute, I walked around Clarient and sat down beside Miranda, who was still sitting stiffly in her spot at the table. Poking her thigh to get her attention, I raised an eyebrow and jerked my head towards the trio.


    She bit her lip, shrugged, then nodded. I wasn¡¯t really sure what exactly that meant, I would have to remember to figure out some proper non-verbal code for later, but none of it seemed negative. I leaned back in my chair, mentally going back over the exact wording of the oaths we¡¯d taken. In the end, I was mostly satisfied, and I didn¡¯t see any obvious loopholes. Miranda had certainly been a lot of help in that regard, having caught several things I never would have, and I was thankful I¡¯d brought her with me. She absolutely deserved that reward I kept meaning to give her.


    In general terms, the oaths we¡¯d taken were rather simple. Neither of us could seek revenge for what had happened, we couldn¡¯t actively target one another, nor have our subordinates and affiliates target one another. The oath would last until either one of us died or we both graduated, which was not ideal but basically what I¡¯d been hoping for anyway. If I managed to make it to graduation, I was confident Clarient would no longer be nearly as much of an issue.


    It wasn¡¯t foolproof, unfortunately, but I had never really expected her to accept something so in my favor. For instance, it did compel her to tell people not to attack me, but she couldn¡¯t perfectly control all of the people interested in gaining her favor. I had however managed to put in a clause that meant that if anyone trying to do so attacked me or mine, she would be partially responsible for helping me deal with them, or getting revenge for me. Hopefully that would mitigate those potential issues.


    The oath also included a bunch of other tiny provisions, but nothing overly serious. I¡¯d made several concessions as well, mostly relating to various edge cases within our oath. For instance, if Clarient and I were competing in a bidding war for something, I had to give it up to her. I had no idea when that sort of thing might happen, maybe she knew something I didn¡¯t, but it didn¡¯t feel too important in the end. I didn¡¯t think I had the money to compete with a former princess anyway.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I¡¯d also ended up getting some amount of monetary compensation, to be delivered to me by the end of the week. A thousand pieces was less than I had hoped for, but more than I had expected. Still, a thousand pieces was a lot of money for me, and I was glad to have it. I¡¯d already spent a portion of what I had gotten off of Elpha for her breach of Avalon policy and it was nice to top off my reserves. I was starting to get used to having a sizable amount of money to work with but I didn¡¯t really have inexhaustible wealth. I would have to find a way of making more soon, or perhaps see what I could get out of my second year duo once I was comfortable associating with them more publicly.


    Kwesta woke up with a gasp and her hands shot to her abdomen. She looked around wildly, trying to get her bearings. She remembered burning agony in her stomach, something cold tightening around her throat and then¨C nothing.


    She raised her hands in the air and found them clean. But she¡­ she remembered¡­ where¨C


    ¡°It''s alright Kwesta. You¡¯re safe now.¡± Clarient reached down and firmly grasped one of her forearms, pulling her to her feet. She stumbled slightly, just catching herself on her friend¡¯s shoulder before she could take them both down.


    Clarient was wearing her armor, she realized. Had she heard what was going on and come saved her from the consequences of her own stupidity? An intense wave of shame washed over her. She hadn¡¯t listened, she never listened, and once again her friend had to bail her out.


    Then she looked around and her eyes widened as she saw the unnatural third year sitting casually off to the side, speaking quietly with the disgusting slut that had started all of this in the first place. She scrambled backwards, jerking her arm out of her friend¡¯s grasp and taking several stumbling steps before collapsing onto her ass. The boy looked up at the commotion and her heart froze in her chest when their eyes met. There was a promise of pain and death in those soulless eyes and a reflexive shield of wind sprang up around her, sending a renewed wave of agony through her entire body as her overtaxed soul protested the spell.


    Before she could so much as scream, her entire body was suddenly frozen by an overwhelmingly powerful force. A moment later, her shield of wind was stripped away by an overpowered dispel that shredded the magic animating it and blasted away every trace of ambient mana around her. Her eyes, the only thing she could still move, shot around the room frantically until they landed on an older, unassuming boy who was leaning casually against the back wall of the room.


    He tilted his head towards her, then loudly announced to the room at large, ¡°No fighting. You should know better. Control your friends, Miss Valorous, or I will do it for you.¡±


    The force holding her in place vanished, but Kwesta didn¡¯t move, simply sinking fully to the floor and curling up into a whimpering ball. Everything hurt, a soul deep ache that resonated throughout her body and made every breath a wave of knives biting into her lungs.


    Clarient knelt down on the ground beside her, holding one of her shaking hands with both of her own. Another man, one of Clarient¡¯s former vassals she thought, rolled her onto her back and placed a hand covered in strands of golden light over her heart. She let out a pained breath but her haggard gasps quickly evened off into something much more regular and the worst of the pain began to recede.


    ¡°Don¡¯t strain yourself,¡± Clarient whispered to her, ¡°You''re in no shape to be casting spells right now. You¡¯ve been through a lot, but it''s been taken care of. You¡¯re safe now.¡±


    Kwesta began to nod, then winced and stopped moving again. She tried to say something, but her voice failed her.


    ¡°It''s okay,¡± whispered Clarient again, ¡°You¡¯re safe.¡±


    ¡°Wha¨C what,¡± she stumbled over the words, her mouth not quite obeying the commands her brain was sending it, ¡°ha-ha-ppen. Where¡­ we? Yo- you c-came?¡±


    Clarient shifted slightly, lifting Kwesta¡¯s aching head into her lap. Kwesta watched in silence as Clarinet and the healer exchanged serious looks before he nodded somberly. Clarient gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face, ¡°You were captured. Orion smacked you around, then carried you off. He healed you a little, and then shoved you into stasis for several days.¡±


    Kwesta¡¯s heart sank. That was something of a nightmare scenario, and though she might be no longer frozen, the younger students'' continued presence likely meant their deal wasn¡¯t finished just yet. ¡°How much,¡± she interrupted before Clarient could continue, ¡°How much did my stupidity¨C¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t being stup¨C¡±


    ¡°I was. I picked a fight that didn¡¯t matter and¡­ How much did it cost?¡±


    Clarient bit her lip and looked away. ¡°Later,¡± was all she said. ¡°For now, we¡¯ve agreed on a reasonable oath you need to swear, otherwise our deal is void and¡­ I already swore.¡±


    Kwesta wanted to cry. She should have known better, and now her closest friend had locked herself into some sort of stupid agreement to dig her out of yet another mess of her own making. ¡°How bad?¡± she asked in a whisper.


    After a short pause, she replied. ¡°Not terrible. He was rather reasonable, all things considered.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to hear the terms first?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, whatever it is, I¡¯ll do it. Dead is dead, can¡¯t be much worse than that.¡±


    Clarient nodded, an unreadable expression on her face. Kwesta took the moment to wonder what she¡¯d just agreed to. It couldn¡¯t be that bad, Clarient never would have agreed to something like a slave¡¯s oath, and she doubted a random third year, no matter how competent, could pressure her friend into something ridiculous, but even the most benign oaths could cause no end of trouble. Still, she was resolute. Not swearing would certainly be worse for her friend than swearing, there was no telling what kind of penalties had been included in case she proved uncooperative.


    ¡°It goes like this¡­¡± She listened in silence, nodding along as Clarient recited the wording they¡¯d agreed upon from memory. Clarient was right, it wasn¡¯t too bad. In fact it was much more generous than she¡¯d expected from the way her friend was acting.


    She nodded resolutely when her friend was finished, then tried to lever herself to her feet. ¡°Lets get this over with.¡±


    Clarient stopped her, glancing over towards where Orion was sitting. ¡°You¡¯re in no state to do this now, at least wait a bit for some of your mana to regenerate. He said we could have some time to get you ready.¡±


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m good.¡± Once again, she tried to stand, but her arm gave out before she could even sit up. ¡°Maybe I need a few minutes.¡±

 Chapter 68

    It had been a long day. A very, very long day. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t over yet. Oaths had been sworn, agreements for payment made, and minor disagreements mostly settled. I¡¯d been very ready to get back to my room and sleep the rest of the day away¡­ and then Clarient had the bright idea that we should all grab dinner together to ¡®celebrate the end of our disagreement¡¯. I¡¯d almost refused out of hand, but Miranda¡¯s kick under the table and sharp look were enough that I¡¯d grudgingly agreed in the end.


    Thus, here I was walking into the cafeteria surrounded by, if no longer technically enemies, a group I didn¡¯t really tend to associate with. At least Liam had decided to join us as well, so I had one person I was moderately comfortable with beside me. Walking through the halls all together had been very strange. I tended to avoid large groups whenever possible and it was strange to see the other side of that coin, lone individuals and pairs giving us furtive, sidelong glances and hurrying out of our way.


    I released a long breath as we finally stepped into the safety of the cafeteria, the unmistakable presence of one of Avalon¡¯s divine guardians falling over me like a warm blanket. As always, it was a relief to be somewhere so clearly safe and welcoming, something so otherwise alien within the walls of Avalon. I clearly wasn¡¯t the only one that felt that way. I could see Clarient¡¯s shoulders relax almost imperceptibly as she stepped through the doorway and Kwesta finally stopped staring at me with terrified eyes whenever she thought I wasn¡¯t looking.


    Clarient stepped forward and scanned the room before pointing to a large, empty table off to one side. ¡°Over there,¡± she said authoritatively, ¡°Cain, could you¨C¡±


    ¡°Of course, my lady. I¡¯ll make sure our seats are not taken.¡± He turned to Kwesta and stared her directly in the eyes, ¡°Two full plates, at the very least,¡± he ordered, ¡°You¡¯ll need the energy to recover properly.¡±


    She nodded shakily, still somewhat unsteady on her feet, ¡°Okay,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure she behaves,¡± Clarient cut in. She lay her hand on Kwesta¡¯s shoulder, steadying her. ¡°Cain knows what he¡¯s talking about,¡± she told her friend.


    I watched the exchange in silence, then followed Liam¡¯s lead in heading towards the bustling buffet that stood against the far wall. Miranda trailed after me and I reminded myself to make sure she ate as well. She had a poor tendency to serve herself very little food whenever we ate together, and I couldn¡¯t have one of my most valuable subordinates starving herself.


    Liam slowed down until we were walking side by side, then turned to me with a small smile, ¡°Well done, I know that''s not exactly your strong suit but you did a good job. Negotiations are all about compromise, and I think you both walked out of that room content with what you got.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I responded honestly. ¡°I really appreciate your assistance. I can¡¯t imagine it would have gone half as smoothly without you there.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. I¡¯m sure you could have managed, but sometimes it''s right to look to others for help outside your speciality. That''s what Avalon is all about, after all. A way for the world''s greatest mages to collaborate and share knowledge without fear of betrayal.¡±


    I nodded slowly, not fully in agreement with his assessment, but unwilling to argue. Maybe he was right, but I was still a third year and it would be a long time until I saw that part of Avalon. Well, that wasn¡¯t completely true, was it? Even as students, we could use Avalon as an intermediary to exchange for goods and services impossible to obtain in the wider world. I nodded again. ¡°I think I understand.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re good Orion, very good even, but you can¡¯t be good at everything. Trying will just stretch you thin until you break. There¡¯s a reason they make students specialize in later years. ¡± He patted my shoulder, ¡°But you don¡¯t have to worry about that till the end of next year. For now, just remember that sometimes it''s best to seek out an expert.¡±


    With that cryptic remark, he grabbed a plate and stepped away, disappearing into the crowd of students trying to get their food. I silently passed Miranda a set of cutlery and a large plate, then grabbed some for myself. I wasn¡¯t particularly familiar with the food today, dishes of brightly colored meats and sauces served alongside wide trenchers filled with cooked grains and noodles, but it smelled amazing and I cheerfully served myself a plate heaped with a bit of everything. Miranda tried to be much more conservative with her portions, but I caught her wrist and made sure she filled her plate.


    ¡°Eat,¡± I ordered, ¡°properly.¡± She nodded and added another scoop to her plate. I smiled in amusement and patted her on the shoulder as well, ¡°You did well today. You¡¯re past due for a reward, we can talk about it later.¡±


    I sat down across from Clarient, who was already at the table waiting for us with her food. She, Cain, and Liam were discussing the intricacies of certain higher-circle healing spells and I happily joined in, listening attentively and adding my own two pieces when I felt it was appropriate. Despite my reservations, it went rather well and we parted ways on much better terms than we had met under. Nothing important was discussed, but I liked it that way.


    A cloaked figure walked briskly through the bustling city streets, weaving effortlessly between carts and pedestrians. Soon, the crowds dwindled, storefronts turned from gaudy displays behind thick glass to rough stone and signs with cracking paint, and the constant hubbub of voices faded into the distance. The figure slowed down, looking around the decrepit street until their eyes fell on a simple wooden sign hanging crookedly at the edge of a dark alleyway.


    They turned off the main road, stepping easily around a slumped man leaning drunkenly against a hard wall, and slipped into the alley. Despite the bright sunlight shining overhead, the alleyway was dark and shaded, deep shadows cast by tall buildings plunging the narrow passage into a perpetual gloom. The figure glanced around, then approached the solid wooden door on one side of the alleyway over which a torch flickered faintly. They knocked once, waited a moment, then knocked three times quickly and twisted the torch halfway around in its sconce. The door opened silently and the figure stepped inside. The door slammed shut behind them.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Brenda pushed the cowl of her cloak back and shook her head, brushing her fingers through her long hair to return it to some semblance of order. She hated wearing that old thing, but her mom told her she had to wear it whenever she was outside a good set of wards. She wasn¡¯t certain that this¡­ tavern qualified, but she had felt the thick shroud of mana part around her when she stepped through the door, and that tended to mean a place had the good kind of wards her mom would approve of.


    Looking around, she found the tavern¡¯s few occupance staring at her with undisguised interest. She smiled brightly back at them and wandered over to the counter, taking a seat on one of the tall stools at the bar. ¡°Something fruity and sweet,¡± she told the older woman behind the counter.


    ¡°You got cash, girly?¡± the woman half growled. Her expression took an immediate shift when Brenda dug into a pocket inside her cloak and then slid a single silvery bar of metal the size of her pointer finger across the counter.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be opening a tab,¡± she said with a grin.


    The old woman snatched the bar off the table and sniffed it, then dug out a metal ring from under the counter and slid it across the bar. The small crystals that lined the brass ring lit up one after another as the bar passed under them, until the entire ring was glowing. The old woman shook her head, then hid both the bar and the ring under the table. ¡°You got it, girly. Not exactly a speciality, but I think I¡¯ve got something you¡¯ll like.¡±


    ¡°Surprise me!¡± Brenda said cheerfully. ¡°I¡¯m just waiting on some associates.¡± She looked over towards the door and a look of murderous displeasure flashed across her face. ¡°They¡¯re late.¡±


    A minute later, a long stemmed glass filled with a light pink drink slid in front of her, a thin slice of deep red fruit floating at the center of it. Brenda took a long sip and let out a pleased hum. It was wonderfully sweet, so much so that she could barely taste the alcohol, but also cold and refreshing.


    ¡°I like it!¡± she exclaimed.


    Taking another sip, Brenda glanced over at the door just in time to see it swing open, allowing a trio of men to enter the building. Despite their near identical brown outfits, the three could not have been more different. At the front of the group strode a slim, well built man with a small mustache and a sharp goatee. He wore his long hair pulled back in a high ponytail, held in place by a gold hoop set with small stones.


    Behind him was a near-giant, tall enough that he¡¯d been forced to stoop to get through the doorway. He must have been at least seven feet tall, and built more like a troll than a man. A heavy club, as thick around as a man¡¯s thigh and as long as a sword hung from his belt and bounced slightly with each ponderous step as though it weighed nothing.


    The final man was slender as well, slightly shorter than the leader and much less muscular. He wore glasses, a rarity outside nobles and academic institutions, and looked more like a scholar than a thug. Still, there was a certain confidence in the way he moved that spoke of danger and experience.


    Brenda waved cheerfully at the trio, ¡°Over here!¡± she called out loudly, gesturing to the other stools at the bar.


    They exchanged glances, the leader conferring with the glasses-wearing man in a whisper, and then walked confidently over. ¡°Are you ¡®Whitebird¡¯?,¡± the leader asked quietly.


    ¡°Sure am, thanks for coming. You¡¯re late.¡±


    He shrugged his shoulders and sat down, ¡°Guard patrols are up these past weeks. Can¡¯t be too careful.¡±


    She stared at him for a moment, then took another sip of her drink, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Things happen.¡± Her eyes turned cold and a hint of warning dripped into her voice, ¡°Don¡¯t let it happen again, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am,¡± he replied after a moment, ¡°we¡¯re professionals.¡±


    ¡°Great, then I think we will get along nicely.¡± She turned towards the woman behind the bar, who was cleaning glasses off to the side. ¡°A round for these fine gentlemen please.¡±


    She waited until the men were served, nibbling at her fruit between sips, then dug a silver disk out of her robe and slapped it on the bar. A translucent dome shimmering with rainbow colors sprang up around the four of them, badly startling the leader sitting beside her. He jerked his hand towards her, only for it to bounce off an invisible barrier several inches away from her cloak. ¡°Careful there, wouldn¡¯t want to do anything silly. It''s just something to make sure we aren¡¯t overheard.¡±


    He retracted his hand, rubbing his knuckles and eyeing her wearily. ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that. Startled me.¡±


    ¡°No harm done.¡±


    ¡°Right to business then?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Time''s a-ticking!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯ve you got for us, then. Ludwig just said you needed some muscle. Don¡¯t look like you ah, in need of our protection, so what will it be?¡±


    Brenda¡¯s smile turned nasty, ¡°There¡¯s a dumb bitch in need of a lesson in manners. I¡¯d like you to teach it.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s the target?¡±


    ¡°Just some merchant girl, I have her name, a picture, and an address.¡±


    He nodded along, ¡°That should be enough to find her. What about the lesson?¡±


    ¡°Nonlethal, I think, but make it last. Make it hurt. Break her, and tell her that''s what whores who try to reach above their station get.¡± Brenda dug into her cloak again and withdrew a folded sheet of paper that she passed to the man beside her. Then she focused and an illusionary image formed above her hand. It was a tall, long legged blonde with blue eyes and a bright smile.


    ¡°That her?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°I think we can make it work. Timeframe?¡±


    She tilted her head to the side, humming thoughtfully. ¡°Take the time to do it right. If it''s not done in two weeks, I¡¯ll check in with Ludwig.¡±


    ¡°Reasonable enough. Payment?¡±


    ¡°Ludwig will take care of it.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± They shook hands, ¡°Good doing business with you ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Likewise. I look forward to seeing your handiwork.¡±


    He threw back the rest of his drink and stood up as Brenda pocketed the silencer they¡¯d been using. ¡°Let¡¯s go lads, we¡¯ve got work to do.¡±


    Brenda stayed in her seat, popping the last of the fruit in her mouth to suck on. ¡°Another one please,¡± she called out to the barwoman, ¡°something¡­ blue this time.¡±

 Chapter 69

    The rest of the week passed peacefully. It was nice to just¡­ go to class, study, and practice without an imminent threat hanging over my head. Twice during the evenings I went to visit Lea, and enjoyed some more pleasant dinners with her uncles. I also started Lea on her very first combat spell, the most basic possible shield I knew. It just summoned a simple disk of force that could block many types of spells and projectiles, though it would fall quickly to any serious attack. Still, it wasn¡¯t nothing and she was starting to get the hang of it by the end of our second session.


    Of course, just because it was peaceful didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t do anything productive. I ¡®bumped¡¯ into Briella and her friends and, after a short conversation, she formally asked me to help tutor her. I of course accepted, as we¡¯d planned. The exchange served several purposes. First of all, it was a good reputation boost for both of us and would hopefully serve to at least partially protect one of my assets. After all, it was one thing to go after someone with a far off power base that couldn¡¯t reach you within the walls of Avalon. It was something else entirely to risk the wrath of an older student that could cheerfully punch down at you whenever they liked.


    More importantly however, it gave us a very public reason to start interacting. Briella had good reason to want some additional instruction, after all as far as anyone knew she had nearly died in an attack only a few weeks earlier, and after my very public confrontation with Kwesta, I was a very obvious choice of trainer. In all honesty, it wasn¡¯t even entirely a front. I did plan to make sure the two second years brought their skills up to a passable level.


    It would be good to reconnect with my newest subordinates. With things going the way they were, I hadn¡¯t yet gotten much of anything out of my investments and that just wouldn¡¯t do. I was certain the two had a lot to offer me, but we just hadn¡¯t yet had time to figure out what exactly that might be.


    I also spent a lot of time around Brenda, who had somehow gotten even more clingy than she already was. She spent all the classes we shared hanging off of my arm and would inevitably appear beside me whenever I went anywhere public, like the library or cafeteria. I couldn¡¯t wait until I was ready to give her a proper attitude adjustment, and maybe do something about her vocal cords. By all the gods real and fake, her voice grated on me like nothing else.


    Eventually the next weekend came, and with it a task that I should not have put off for nearly as long as I did. It was finally time to deal with Miranda properly. She was too valuable to keep using the same slapdash binding I¡¯d thrown together with barely two months worth of instruction under my belt. I¡¯d been putting things off primarily because I just didn¡¯t really know what I wanted to do. Initially, I hadn¡¯t known any oaths strong enough to replace what I was using. Later, I was worried about the mental effects, I wanted Miranda for her mind and something like what I¡¯d done to Rea would ruin that.


    The solution had come to me while I was figuring out the mess with Clarient. Why should I bother with a clunky ritual at all? Those were most useful for half-broken prisoners and when discretion was necessary. A lot of the power in those spells went towards ensuring the initial binding held firm despite the rather dubious consent involved during the experience.


    Instead, I could simply have her swear a binding oath of her own free will. If there was no coercion involved, even the fourth circle oath I knew would be sufficient to bind her for the rest of her life, growing in strength and rooting itself further in her soul as she too grew in power. It would neatly fix all of my problems with her and I could always still just disappear her into my room if she ever seemed at risk of falling off the demanding pace Avalon demanded of its students. Unfortunately, I probably should have explained the plan to Miranda in greater detail ahead of time.


    Miranda was shaking. Under the firm grip of my hand on her shoulder, I could feel her entire body trembling, the quiet clicking of her teeth sounding unnaturally loud in the near silent corridor. As we quickly approached my room, her shaking got even worse, until I finally decided this was completely unwarranted.


    ¡°Miranda,¡± I said quietly into her ear, ¡°calm down. You¡¯re going to be ok. This will all be over soon.¡±


    That was clearly the wrong thing to say, because her trembling only got worse. I took a moment to think about what I¡¯d just said and then promptly wanted to slap myself. Well no duh that wasn¡¯t going to reassure her.


    I tried again, ¡°I promise nothing is going to happen to you. We¡¯re just going to discuss some things in private. As long as everything goes well, you¡¯ll be out of here by the end of the day feeling much better.¡±


    For once, my words seemed to have some of their intended effect. Miranda slackened slightly, some of the tension leaving her shoulders and her teeth finally stopping their chattering.


    ¡°Good. Let that tension flow out of you, it''s only going to make things harder than they need to be.¡±


    I let my own grip loosen as well, no longer having to nearly push the terrified girl forward. Hopefully once this was done, I would no longer have to deal with this sort of thing. Her current oath enforced obedience and loyalty, but it did nothing to help her mentally adapt to things. As long as we worded things correctly, the new binding would hopefully let her better understand what I wanted from her and eliminate a lot of the confusion and misunderstandings between us. Soul magic was handy that way.


    Miranda froze as we stepped into my room, and this time I could well understand her fear. It had been three years since she¡¯d been inside after all, and a lot of things had changed since then. I followed her gaze towards the limply hanging bodies of Mistletoe and Verdan. Last time, it had been her that was bound in metal.


    Miranda turned her head towards me and I could see tears gleaming at the corners of her eyes. ¡°Please Orion! I¡¯ll do better! Anything you want. I¡¯ll¨C¡±


    I cut her off with a finger pressed against her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t mind them, they don¡¯t matter. Filthy elves don¡¯t deserve any better. You though¡­¡±


    I gently led her to the center of the room, where I¡¯d set up a small table flanked by padded chairs. I had to press on her shoulders until she sat down shakily, then stepped around the table and sat down facing her. ¡°Rea,¡± I called out, ¡°Some tea please.¡±


    My lavender-skinned pet stepped into the room carrying a small tray with two cups and a tea kettle. She was dressed in one of the thin gowns I¡¯d helped her make, with her hair tied back in a pair of tight buns. The color was starting to fade, I noticed, artificial blue and pink giving way to the natural silvery-white around the roots. Holding the tray with one hand, she carefully set the cups down in front of us and poured the tea, then stepped back and knelt down beside me.


    I honestly thought the entire thing was far too dramatic, but Rea had insisted that it was only fitting and I¡¯d felt like humoring her at the time. In particular, I felt that having her wait inside the bathroom was just rather silly, but this was her first time in a while getting to interact with someone other than me and she wanted to make a good first impression. From the even more fearful look than before on Miranda¡¯s face, we hadn¡¯t really succeeded at that.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I picked up my cup and took a sip, trying to hide how awkward this all felt. I really hadn¡¯t presented this well at all, now that I thought about it. I thought making it a bit of a surprise and all fancy like would help make Miranda feel special and appreciated, but it had only made her nervous.


    ¡°Sorry about this,¡± I saw after a moment, ¡°I thought you¡¯d like it.¡±


    ¡°It''s¡­ it¡¯s very nice, sir.¡±


    Yeah, I wasn¡¯t buying it. I had planned to try and do some small talk, but I had a feeling that was the wrong choice here. Instead, I decided to just jump right in. ¡°You¡¯re probably wondering why I brought you here today,¡± I said, setting my cup down on the table. Seeing her untouched cup I added, ¡°Drink your tea, it''s very good. Rea did a great job today.¡±


    Rea preened silently at the praise, but Miranda seemed to interpret my suggestion as an order. She looked suspiciously at the small steaming cup, screwed her eyes tightly shut, and threw back the entire thing in a single swallow. She gasped as the scaling liquid burned down her throat, and I remembered that she probably didn¡¯t maintain many of the circulations I used on a day to day basis, such as the ones that made me less sensitive to extreme temperatures. She probably hadn¡¯t thought the drink was quite so hot.


    Miranda coughed painfully, then raised a hand to her throat and cast a healing spell. ¡°Sorry,¡± I apologized, scratching the back of my neck in embarrassment as Rea refilled our cups, ¡°I should have warned you.


    ¡°It''s fine.¡± Her voice was still a touch hoarse, but it didn¡¯t sound painful. ¡°What do you want from me, Orion? Is¡­ is it time¨C¡± her voice cracked and she swallowed heavily, her eyes drifting back towards my sleeping cows.


    ¡°I told you, don''t worry about them,¡± I said, my voice coming out harsher than I had intended, ¡°you¡¯re much more precious to me than they could ever be. Whatever else, you are mine, and I protect what is mine.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Then why¡­ what do you need me to do?¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond for a long moment, considering how best to say it. I¡¯d already made enough of a mess of things today. ¡°I think it''s time for us to¡­ rework our¡­ agreement,¡± I said finally. ¡°You¡¯ve been invaluable these past years, even if we¡¯ve had some troubles between us, and the binding I used back in our first year has its own issues.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± she asked, cautiously curious.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I nodded severely. ¡°It was very poorly done, cobbled together out of scraps. It''s a miracle that it worked as well as it did, but I can feel the bond starting to fray. It''s not going to last for much longer, and I¡¯m worried that when it goes, it¡¯s going to take you with it.¡± I was exaggerating, it would definitely be very painful, debilitating even, when the bond snapped, but she would have recovered without issues as far as I knew. Still, I felt that phrasing it like that would make her more amenable to swearing a new oath.


    ¡°Oh. That¡­¡±


    ¡°Would be bad,¡± I finished for her. ¡°Fortunately, I¡¯ve gotten much better at magic since then, so I believe I can fix things, but it will be much easier with your cooperation.¡± Patting Rea¡¯s head affectionately, I continued, ¡°If you try to resist, you¡¯ll probably end up like my darling Rea here, or like Briella and her friend. I don¡¯t think either of us want that. You¡¯ve got a lot more to offer me than just your body. I value your mind just as much as the rest of what you bring to the table.¡±


    She shook her head rapidly, ¡°Anything would be better.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you agree. Now, the easiest thing to do would be to just break the bond. I could do it, it would be tricky, but perfectly manageable.¡± I saw Miranda¡¯s eyes widen hopefully, right before the expression was replaced with pain as the bond punished her for imagining her freedom. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I said sheepishly, ¡°but I¡¯m afraid it''s unavoidable. Very crude magic.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m afraid that''s never going to happen. I like you Miranda, I really do, but I don¡¯t trust you. Perhaps in a different world we could have just been friends, but you started us off on the wrong foot.¡± Possessiveness rose up inside me as I imagined losing my Miranda and I added, ¡°The only way you are ever leaving me is in pieces, and whoever took you will soon follow.¡±


    She opened her mouth, winced, then closed it again. I jerked my head at Rea and she stepped forward and dripped several drops of pain-relieving potion in Miranda¡¯s drink. I¡¯d had a feeling something like this might happen throughout our discussion. ¡°For the pain,¡± I told her, gesturing at the cup. ¡°Drink, slowly.¡±


    She took a tentative sip of the tea and her shoulders sagged slightly almost immediately. I hoped the potion hadn¡¯t ruined the flavor, it really was excellent tea and the only pain-relief potion I knew how to brew tended to taste like burnt meat.


    ¡°Anyway, that brings us to our second option. Instead of using something so mind altering, you can instead swear a tightly worded oath of loyalty. I will cast the spell and act as our binder, but the magic will be entirely self directed. That way, even a fourth circle spell will last.¡±


    She looked confused for a moment, then realization spread across her face. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a foreign spell effect that way.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Souls naturally resisted foreign influences, even if the target didn¡¯t want them too. However, just like with shape-changing spells, if you cast the magic on yourself your soul would not resist, allowing even lower circle spells to have the same impact as something much more powerful. It was why casting healing spells on yourself was so much more effective than doing it to someone else. If I had used the same spell that Miranda had just cast on her throat, I would have had to burn three or four times as much mana and spend much longer casting to achieve the impact she¡¯d managed after just a few seconds.


    ¡°And you would accept that?¡± she asked skeptically. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be bound directly anymore.¡±


    ¡°A small price to pay. I won¡¯t be able to feel you anymore, nor cast spells through your binding, but it will leave you intact and I trust my magic. As long as you give the oath in good faith, it will be sufficient for me.¡±


    ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± she asked, a small quiver in her voice.


    ¡°You will. I think you know what will happen if you don¡¯t.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t hide her shudder and I smiled internally. Despite my best efforts, I knew that Miranda was still terrified of me. She would think up much more horrible punishments for herself than anything I could come up with.


    ¡°I understand sir.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯m glad we are on the same page here. Now then,¡± I slid an open notebook towards her across the table, ¡°This is the preliminary oath I am considering. You will help me refine it into something airtight. That is an order so don¡¯t try anything. The oath I plan to use will enforce the spirit of our contract just as much as it will the letter, but it is always best to be thorough.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. I understand.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± She leaned over the table and began to read. ¡°And Miranda?¡±


    She looked up, ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I want this to be as painless a process for you as I can make it. If there are any conditions you want to add to the oath, ask. Even if I do not include them in the end, I will consider them all the same and not get angry. I promise.¡±


    ¡°Okay sir. Thank you, Orion.¡±


    Miranda went back to the notebook, and I gently patted Rea on the head. She looked up and I held my cup out towards her. She refilled it silently, then knelt back down and laid her head against my thigh. I took a small sip of tea and hummed in satisfaction, my hand idly stroking Rea¡¯s hair. This was not going quite as smoothly as I had hoped, but still well within expectations. Hopefully it would continue that way.

 Chapter 70

    I waited patiently as Miranda gnawed on her bottom lip, hands folded in my lap as I stared serenely at her across the small table. Several sheets of paper lay scattered around the notebook she was studying, covered with short notes and ideas. It was not something I¡¯d ever seen from Miranda before. Whenever we worked together on something, she was always meticulous with her notes, organizing every page with different colored inks and bookmarks. The only you could tell this was her work at all and not something I had done was the perfectly even and flowing handwriting; despite my best efforts mine still tended to come out looking like chicken scratch more often than not, particularly when I was writing something for myself.


    She slowly twisted the pen I¡¯d given her between her fingers, setting it down on the table and then picking it back up immediately after to continue fidgeting. I considered just ordering her to spit it out, whatever it was she wanted to say, but I held my tongue. This entire thing was supposed to make Miranda feel more comfortable so her eventual oath would be given in good faith. Snapping at her would just mess up all the progress I¡¯d made so far.


    Eventually, she hesitantly said, ¡°I guess there are a few things?¡±


    She fell silent, and this time I did decide to prod her further, ¡°Such as¡­¡±


    She took a deep breath, opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. She began to ask something, then cut herself off, teeth clicking shut loudly. Then, in a whisper I had to strain to hear even with my sensory-enhancing circulations running, she asked, ¡°Could you please stop making me eat? I¨C I¡¯m a manavore, Orion. Regular food¡­ it doesn¡¯t do nothing, but¨C¡° she stopped, took another deep breath, then continued, ¡°but it tastes like ash. Ash and pain and nothing and¡­ Please it''s¡­ not the worst and I¡­¡± she suddenly stiffened and looked up at me with wide, pleading eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll be good. You don¡¯t need to punish¨C Don¡¯t put me back in the cold and the chains and¡­ and¡­ I¡¯ll eat¡­ anything, just¡­ I¡¯m sorry I¡­¡± she choked up and fell silent, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. Normally, I would have suspected it was all an act, but this¡­ I trusted that this was real.


    In all honesty, I felt somewhat terrible. I¡¯d never realized, never even considered what I might be doing to my poor pet man-eater. I thought back to all the times I had loaded her plate or told her to finish her food during our frequent meetings. It had happened often, and if she¡¯d been considering it a punishment this entire time¡­ Well, it did explain something about how Miranda had come to see me. As I¡¯d told myself before, punishments should always be intentional. This was a compromise I was happy to make.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said simply. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is something we need to add into the oath, but I will certainly keep it in mind for the future.¡± I considered admitting that it had been more a matter of ignorance than malice, but decided against it. We would need to have a conversation about what exactly I considered important for her to tell me later, but that could wait.


    ¡°Thank you sir.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m certain we can find a more suitable form of punishment going forward if such a thing proves necessary. Now, what else?¡±


    ¡°Um, I guess, well¡­ um, it¡¯s also about food. I¡­ its not always easy to hunt here in Avalon, and sometimes we¡¯re not somewhere I can do that reliably either. I was hoping, maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°You want me to find you targets to feed on?¡± I asked skeptically, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re probably much better at that sort of thing than I am, and I¡¯m certainly not letting you feed on me. Oath or no oath.¡±


    ¡°No! No, of course not sir,¡± she hastily assured me, ¡°and I won¡¯t ask you to waste precious milk on me, but that potion you fed me a few weeks ago¡­ I don¡¯t know what it was, and I¡¯ve never heard of anything like it, but¡­ it was perfect. The concentration was a little bit too high, but it left me full for days! If it''s not too expensive to produce, could you¡­¡±


    I blinked, not having seen that coming at all. At the time, she¡¯d been rather out of it and I hadn¡¯t really followed up on those initial experiments much. If I remembered correctly, that had been when Elpha contacted me and I¡¯d suddenly had a lot of more urgent things vying for my attention. I hadn¡¯t stopped collecting the fluid, Rea was in charge of doing so daily, but it had just been building up without much purpose since then. I would happily agree to such a thing.


    ¡°The cost would be¡­ manageable,¡± I said slowly, not wanting to say how trivial it would actually be. She would be more grateful if she thought it was actually costing me something. If anything, it was finally a purpose for something that I had been accumulating without any current use. Perhaps in the future that would change, but it wasn¡¯t like it was particularly difficult to harvest. ¡°Yes, I think I could do it. For as long as you serve me with faith and dedication, I will supply you with enough of that potion that you do not starve. How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°That would be wonderful sir.¡±


    ¡°Very good. I¡¯ll have to run a few more tests on you I think, less intrusive than the first time, just to make sure it¡¯s not having any unforeseen side effects, but it will be doable.¡± I was rather curious what effects imbibing so much elven mana might have on her diverse mix of heritages, and if the mental aspects she had told me about might cause some long term issues, but those were both questions that could be answered later with thorough testing.


    ¡°Now, what else?¡± I asked. She looked away and I decided to make an educated guess, ¡°I can tell there¡¯s something else you want to ask me, something important. I won¡¯t get angry, I promise¡±


    She looked back at me quickly, seemingly startled by my comment. ¡°How do you¨C of course you¨C yeah. Yeah, you¡¯re right. Whatever I do, you can always see right through me.¡± I personally disagreed with that assertion, but didn¡¯t say anything. If she was going to be forthcoming without being ordered, I wasn¡¯t going to do anything to screw that up.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Orion,¡± she began slowly, then blurted out ¡°do you think I¡¯m ugly?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, not quite understanding what she was asking. What sort of a question was that?


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m ugly?¡± she asked again.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how this related to what we were discussing, but I had no issues answering the question, ¡°Not at all. You¡¯re one of the most beautiful women I¡¯ve ever met, even without your allure.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ Why do you never do anything?¡± she asked, an almost pleading tone in her voice, ¡°Every day, every hour I am at your mercy and I know how other people look at me, but you never do anything. You¡¯re always looking, always touching and probing and¡­ and testing, but never anything more. Am I not good enough for you? Do you hate me? That day in the laboratory I thought¡­ I thought maybe, but then it was just¡­ just more pain and cold and chains, and you said it was an accident and you apologized, but even then you didn¡¯t even touch me and you¡­ and you¡­¡± she took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm her increasingly frantic words. ¡°I¡¯m no threat, I swear I wouldn¡¯t hurt you, I can¡¯t hurt you, but you never do anything. You¡¯re never warm,¡± her eyes teared up and she pressed her hands against her face, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t understand!¡±


    What? I really had no idea what Miranda was trying to say. Was she asking why I¡¯d never decided to have sex with her? I would have imagined that was pretty obvious after the way our first meeting had gone, but maybe I was misunderstanding something?


    Miranda fell silent, holding her head in her hands as she leaned heavily on her elbows. I closed my eyes and repeated her words in my head, doing my best to follow along with her thought process. It¡­ didn¡¯t really help though, my memory was good enough that I didn¡¯t glean any new information from the exercise, and she didn¡¯t seem interested in saying anything else.


    Maybe¡­ I tried to think of things from Miranda¡¯s perspective, was this some cultural thing that I was missing maybe? I thought back to what she¡¯d told me about her background. She¡¯d grown up in a siren colony, raised by a gaggle of ¡®aunts¡¯ with little contact with the outer world. I knew neither her mother or father had been in the picture, both dying when she was very young. Her father had died in his sleep, his inherited abilities tearing him apart from the inside out. Apparently the blood of a powerful succubus did not play nicely with a male body. Her mother on the other hand had simply been an unfortunate casualty during a raid on a nearby human settlement.


    That might be it? I didn¡¯t really know much about siren culture, but it was clear she¡¯d grown up with a much different view on sex and intamacy than I had. She¡¯d told me her abilities awoke when she was barely a teen and she hadn¡¯t been able to last nearly as long without sustenance at first, so she must have been feeding from a rather young age. Living in an all female settlement of litteral man-eaters had meant that that sort of behavior would have seemed rather ordinary, all things considered.


    I shook my head, still not quite getting what Miranda was¡­ asking? Saying? I wasn¡¯t even sure about that much. Seeing that she seemed to have composed herself slightly, I decided to try and get some clarification. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t think I quite understand what the issue is. Are you asking me why I¡¯ve never gone and had sex with you?¡±


    ¡°I guess that''s¡­ sort of what it boils down to,¡± she answered from behind her hands, ¡°It sounds¡­ a lot sillier that way.¡±


    ¡°Was I supposed to be?¡± I asked, ¡°Did you want me to be doing so all this time?¡±


    She shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again. ¡°No. Yes. Maybe. I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Explain then.¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡­ I was always expecting it. I don¡¯t know if I wanted it, but it just¡­ seemed like a natural progression. But you never did. You never even implied you wanted to. You look at me just like everyone else does, and I know everyone else wants me. I can tell who¡¯s interested and how much, it''s how I hunt, but with you¡­ I could never tell. Whenever you looked at me, I just felt¡­ like a piece of meat. A bundle of potion ingredients at the market. You always looked at me like a desirable thing, not a woman. I know you were interested, still are interested, but you never did anything. Ever. Nothing.¡±


    She paused for a moment, lowering her hands and looking at me with bloodshot eyes. ¡°That first time¡­ I thought you would be an easy target. You had the most¡­ passion for me, I guess. Maybe not passion, but something like it. You seemed so open and earnest and then¡­¡± I shifted slightly in my chair and she flinched away from me, ¡°and then suddenly you weren¡¯t. Even with the chain around my neck I¡­ I thought that I had a chance. But I didn¡¯t. I never had a chance. And then¡­ What if that was what you wanted? Is¡­ is that what gets you off? Blood and cold and pain and whips and chains and¡­ and¡­¡± she swallowed heavily and fell silent, looking away from me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have said anything.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine,¡± I said quickly, hoping to reassure her somewhat, ¡°I¡¯m not angry.¡± I was still somewhat confused, but was finally starting to catch on. Miranda could tell that I was physically interested in her, but having me never act on that had left her confused and afraid. I could sort of see where she was coming from, but her worldview was just too alien. I couldn¡¯t even really understand what the problem was.


    She didn¡¯t seem eager to say anything further, so I decided to elaborate. ¡°I never touched you for¡­ a lot of reasons, really. To be perfectly honest, I never felt the need. I like sex as much as the next man, but it doesn¡¯t control me. You were my property, but also¡­ my friend. It would have felt wrong to force myself on you.¡± As much as I didn¡¯t want to admit it, that was probably a lie. In reality¡­ I decided to be a bit more open than I was typically willing to be. She would be bound with tight oaths soon enough, ¡°Additionally, I¡­ I was concerned about your abilities. You¡¯re a dangerous woman, Miranda. Even with our bond¨C¡±


    ¡°I would never hurt you Orion, I swear. Please believe me, I would never¡­¡± she suddenly realized that I was still speaking and fell silent. I¡¯d never punished her for interrupting me before, but I think she knew I didn¡¯t appreciate it either.


    ¡°As I was saying, even with our bond I¡¯ve never been one to give in to recklessness. Perhaps if you truly wanted me too¡­ but I wouldn¡¯t put my head in a dragon¡¯s mouth even if it promised me not to bite.¡±


    She waited a moment to make sure I was finished. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. I think I understand. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Nothing to apologize for.¡±


    ¡°...would you do it though?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. If I thought you¡¯d earned it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thank you Orion.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, I see you¡¯ve made some comments here¡­¡±

 Chapter 71

    Miranda didn¡¯t quite know how to feel. On one hand, she felt lighter than she had in years. Orion had listened, had really listened to her. It was something she¡¯d been thinking about for weeks, months even. Ever since she¡¯d started to suspect that not all of Orion¡¯s cruelty came from a place of malice. It had been an incomprehensible thought at first, but the longer she considered it, the more right it felt. Ever since he¡¯d sat her down for that terrifying talk though¡­ it just had never felt like the right time.


    Now, it was done. She didn¡¯t know if anything would come of it yet, but she hoped so. Oh how she hoped so. Hope like she hadn¡¯t felt in years, not since it had been washed away by the cruel realities her sponsor had never told her of. With Orion¡¯s support¡­ maybe she would survive this hellish place. Hope came at the cost of freedom, but that was okay. She¡¯d accepted that she would never be free years ago.


    On the other? Orion¡­ Orion still scared her. Even when he said he cared, when he said he wouldn¡¯t hurt her, when he told her she was going to be rewarded¡­ She heard his words, understood that he meant them, and yet she still could not always suppress the icy dread rising in her chest. Orion cared, but it would not stop him from doing what he felt he had to. Orion wouldn¡¯t try to hurt her, but he didn¡¯t have to try. Orion would happily reward her, but it would be a reward by his terms. Invisible chains rattled and soft leather slid ethereally across her cheek.


    There was an intensity inside him, thinly veiled insanity hidden under dark eyes, sharp features, and polite smiles. Sometimes that veil thinned and she would see a hint of the real Orion behind his ever present masks. He simply didn¡¯t care the same way normal people did. He had his own values, his own beliefs, and even after two years as his ¡®closest friend¡¯ Miranda didn¡¯t truly know what they were.


    She still remembered the ice cold certainty in Orion¡¯s voice the week before. ¡®It won¡¯t be enough,¡¯ he¡¯d said. He¡¯d threatened the entire room with Oblivion the way an ambassador would threaten tariffs. Like it was a natural progression from where they were standing. Miranda suppressed a shudder. She¡¯d glanced into the void once, on accident when she¡¯d hurried past the portal room during a transition. The brief glance had shaken her to the core and left her feeling ill for days after.


    Orion was going places. She clearly wasn¡¯t the only one to see either. The attention teachers and older students gave him was intimidating, even if he seemed to brush it off like it was nothing. Maybe to him, it really felt like it was nothing. Whatever the case might be, she was going to be pulled along in his wake. Whether she wanted it or not, it was out of her hands. It had been out of her hands for years.


    Miranda took a deep breath and tried to refocus her attention on the page before her, line after line of text written out in Orion¡¯s messy scrawl. The oath Orion wanted her to swear was thorough. Page after page elaborated just how tightly she would be bound to him, how tightly she would have to bind herself to her master. She could instantly tell that this wasn¡¯t his work. Orion was no oath-writer, that took skills he¡¯d never sought to master. She wasn¡¯t either, even if her own talents lay closer to that direction than his own. Still, that didn¡¯t matter much. After all, centuries of more knowledgeable men and women than them had labored over such things. Even if the spells changed, the words could stay the same.


    She recognized quite a few parts of the oath. They came from ¡®The Words That Bind: Trusting Your Retainers¡¯. It was the seminal text on this sort of thing and she was completely unsurprised that Orion had chosen to reference it. He always had been a studious person, and the complete set of eleven volumes was readily available in Avalon¡¯s library. Despite his faults ¨CMaster is good and just and fair¨C she flinched. Despite how capable Orion was, he was always good about correcting holes in his abilities. The books might be banned in nearly every country in the world, but Avalon certainly didn¡¯t care about any of that.


    Orion had changed some things, adding some parts and removing others. In several places, he¡¯d added specific restrictions that were clearly meant specifically for her. There were two paragraphs that neatly outlined how she could never feed on him without his express permission or use any of her other abilities to try and influence him. She made the most corrections in those spots, outlining places where he had been insufficiently thorough or had misunderstood how her abilities worked. Each word she wrote sent conflicting waves of worry and pleasure through her as her bonds fought with her instincts. ¡®Feed and burn and never surrender. Do not give up your secrets,¡¯ whispered the succubus. ¡®Yes, good, serve your master,¡¯ clinked the chains around her soul.


    ¡°Everything alright?¡± Orion¡¯s voice asked from right in front of her, and she realized she had been sitting unmoving for too long.


    She looked up, unable to quite suppress her flinch as their eyes met, and nodded quickly. ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m fine. Sorry sir.¡±


    ¡°Good. How¡¯s it looking?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m just about done sir.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± he repeated, nodding sharply in that stifled way he often did. ¡°Pass it here when you¡¯re finished, I¡¯ll take one last look.¡±


    She was going to reply, but he looked away and she simply returned to the paper in front of her. Despite herself, she couldn¡¯t help but watch out of the corner of her eye as he gently played with the girl kneeling beside him, stroking her hair and scratching her scalp like she was a dog. For a moment, the lavender skinned girl¡¯s figure was replaced with her own, and she barely suppressed another shudder.


    She was morbidly curious where the poor girl had come from. She knew Orion had been out in the port during the attack. Had he simply picked up some random civilian on a whim? It seemed unlike him, but she didn¡¯t really know how well she truly knew the man who owned her. Miranda didn¡¯t want to know what things he¡¯d done to the poor girl, what cruelties and magic had turned her into the¡­ thing kneeling beside him, the tip of her tongue peaking out between her lips as she all but moaned under Orion¡¯s ministrations.


    She forced herself to look away and focus on her work, but inevitably her eyes were drawn back to the other horror put proudly on display for her. She¡¯d known Orion had captured and kept Verdan, she¡¯d helped him do it after all, but she had deliberately not considered what might have happened to the poor elf. For weeks, she¡¯d assumed that the second year had been rendered down into potion ingredients and ritual components. Then Orion had given her that accursed vial of wonder and she¡¯d been forced to consider what other uses a female elf had to someone like him.


    Still, even in her wildest nightmares she hadn¡¯t considered something like this. For one, it wasn¡¯t just Virdan that Orion had captured. It seemed she¡¯d been right in thinking that Orion had something to do with Mistletoe¡¯s disappearance at the start of the year. She¡¯d never been certain, but it had fit too well for her to discount the idea. The two had never gotten along, and Orion liked to be proactive about dealing with threats. The fact that she was an elf was another consideration. On one hand, elves were powerful, leading to the popular belief that some fourth year had dealt with the stuck-up redhead. On the other, she¡¯d always known that Orion was better than most people knew, and that he absolutely loathed elves. It was good she¡¯d never shared her suspicions with another soul.


    The two elves were bound in metal frames that Miranda couldn¡¯t help but imagine had once been meant for her. Their arms were pulled up behind their backs, each finger and joint immobilized by rune-covered metal bands. Their legs were spread widely apart, toes just barely brushing the ground as the shackles on their ankles held them in place with short lengths of dull metal chains. Tight collars wrapped around their necks, attached to metal supports that held their bodies parallel to the ground. Though she couldn¡¯t see them from this angle, the edges of their blindfolds were unmistakable, and she could see feeding tubes leading up towards their faces even as more tubes collected their priceless milk drop by drop.


    It must be a horrible existence, something she wouldn¡¯t have wished on even her worst enemy. They couldn¡¯t move, couldn¡¯t see, couldn¡¯t speak. Knowing Orion, she doubted he had ever removed either from their frames. They were elves after all, their bodies wouldn¡¯t deteriorate from such treatment. He wouldn¡¯t care about anything more than that. In his mind, she doubted he saw them as anything more than cattle. Meat and milk, blood and bone. They were just elves. Not really people. ¡®He wouldn¡¯t have cared even if they were people,¡¯ a tiny voice whispered.


    In the relative safety of her mind, she wondered if there was a third frame somewhere, one fitted for someone of slightly smaller proportions than an elf. Something to keep her contained and fed, just in case. He probably did. Orion was proactive that way. She didn¡¯t know what properties, if any, her own breast milk might have, but she didn¡¯t care to find out. Her blood and flesh was plenty valuable as it was.


    She shook herself, trying to clear her mind. Focus. She still had a task to do. Everything would be fine. Orion promised. Everything. Would. Be. Fine. She took a deep breath, heart still racing in her chest. Things would be better soon. ¡®Master is kind and just and fair,¡¯ clinked the chains. ¡®A man like him¡­ A limbless torso is plenty fine locked in a chest,¡¯ hissed her grandmother¡¯s voice.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    She quickly made the last few changes, a word here, a phrase there. Then she shoved the entire pile across the table towards Orion, not bothering to reread it one last time. She didn¡¯t have to, every word was meticulously recorded inside her mind with the clarity only magic could bring. It wasn¡¯t a circulation most cared to master, too complex and finicky with so many things that could go wrong. The common wisdom was that it was easier to use a one time spell when it was needed. Orion certainly hadn¡¯t thought so. ¡®This seems very useful. We should learn it. Let me know if you have any problems.¡¯


    ¡°That all?¡±


    She nodded soundlessly, not trusting herself to speak right now. Her eyes drifted back towards the elves. Towards the feeding tanks. Towards the hooks in the walls and the small table laid out with knives and whips and iron pokers. A human couldn¡¯t feel it, but the succubus inside her had keen senses and some things lingered. Sex could last for weeks. Pain¡­ pain didn¡¯t fade. She could still sense her own, feel Orion¡¯s inexperienced hands. Above it were layers and layers, fresh layers. The skin of her thighs peeled away under a razor sharp knife that tasted like joy. Meat cooked and fat crackled, dark marks lining her breasts and buttocks. The crack of leather against skin as¨C


    ¡°Everything looks good, well done Miranda. I would have missed some of this without your input.¡±


    A wave of pleasure washed through her at his praise, shoving aside the foreign memories before they could overwhelm her. It felt more sincere than usual this time, and her bonds rattled approvingly as they flooded her with ¡®positive reinforcement¡¯. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said with a small blush, ¡°it was nothing. Just my duty.¡±


    The answer seemed to please Orion, who smiled widely and stood up, setting the stack of papers aside. ¡°You have everything memorized,¡± he stated more than asked, and she nodded. ¡°Very good. Well, before we begin, a small reward for your continued service. Strip.¡±


    Miranda squeezed her eyes shut and obeyed, fresh fears rising up to replace those that had already passed. Was¡­ was this¡­ Hadn¡¯t they just spoken of this sort of reward? She didn¡¯t know if she wanted it now, but what she wanted had never mattered before.


    She was glad she was wearing something simple today, a form fitting halter neck dress with a long slit that went up past her hips on one side, because she doubted her shaking hands could have dealt with knots or buttons. She carefully slipped out of the dress, lifting the straps over her head and letting the rest of the dress slide off her to pool on the floor. As always, she wasn¡¯t wearing anything under the dress. No one in her village had ever worn them, or much of anything really. She¡¯d never even encountered the concept before she ventured out into the world for the first time in her teens. Undergarments had always felt wrong anyway, and her heritage ensured she never needed them.


    She stretched languidly as she stepped out of the dress, her instincts directing her to show off her goods, no matter how little she wanted to do so. Orion gave her a once-over, slowly examining her from head to toe like she was an art piece or an animal at auction. There was no attraction there, no warmth or lust or any of the myriad of emotions she knew she should feel. Simply cold, detached observation.


    Orion stepped forward and she froze in place, hands folded behind her back, chest thrust forward, and legs spread shoulder width apart. She was almost surprised when he roughly grabbed one of her breasts, his other hand toying with the gold hoop pierced through her nipple. A slow heat rose inside her chest, making her skin flush and her core clench. Still, she didn¡¯t move a millimeter, even as he leaned in to get a closer look.


    After a minute, he switched to her other breast, one hand holding her heaving chest steady, the other twisting her nipple this way and that. Then he let go of her and stepped away, walking towards his desk off to the side of the room.


    Over his shoulder he called out, ¡°Give me a moment. Rea, move the cups and papers out of the way. Miranda, lie down on the table.¡±


    Both rushed to obey, Miranda¡¯s mind spinning with theories. It was always terrifying to not know what was happening, but at the moment the heat and the ache in her core pushed most of her more rational thoughts aside. Being around Orion made her so very sensitive, loose chains links tugging at the edges of her own magic. She just hoped she wouldn¡¯t drip too badly on Orion¡¯s table. It was good quality wood and she would hate to damage something he¡¯d likely made himself. Orion hated when his things were damaged.


    She lay in silence for several minutes, legs dangling over the edge of the table as she watched Orion rifle through his drawers out of the corner of her eye. Eventually, he straightened and turned back towards her, a short length of fine chain dangling between his fingers. ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked, holding it between his hands so she could see it.


    She didn¡¯t respond for a moment, studying it curiously. The short silver chain was hung with seven thin silver bars evenly distributed across the chain¡¯s length. Each was about an inch long and a quarter inch wide, inscribed with tiny runes that she struggled to make out even from such a small distance. The entire thing smelled of magic, pain, and pleasure, suffusing the metal of each link and charm.


    ¡°May I, sir?¡± she asked speculatively, reaching out towards him.


    He nodded and dropped the chain into her waiting hands. She sat up, draping the chain across her bare thighs so she could examine it more closely. She didn¡¯t recognize the enchantments, that sort of thing was beyond her knowledge without the use of analysis spells and rituals, but she could sense the purpose in the metal. It was meant to protect and aid, though in what way she couldn¡¯t tell.


    ¡°For you,¡± he said after a moment. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t interfere with the magic of your piercings, I checked, but if you feel anything irregular let me know and I¡¯ll fix it.¡±


    She looked between Orion and his¡­ gift several times, slightly confused. Why would it interfere with the piercings? ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°It''s meant to dangle between your breasts. The magic will work better that way, though I could probably rework it into a necklace if you want me to. Some sort of choker maybe, it would take some time but¨C¡±


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s great,¡± she quickly interrupted with more enthusiasm than she really felt. She might be collared by magic, but she didn¡¯t want to wear an actual collar. That would be¡­ too much. She looked quizzically down at the chain, noting for the first time the small clasps on either end of the chain.


    ¡°Here, let me.¡± He grabbed the chain from her lap, turned it around, then firmly grasped one of her rings and clipped the end of the chain over the enchanted piece of jewelry. Before she could say anything, he repeated the gesture, leaving the chain dangling in a shallow arc between her breasts.


    She felt a small hum, the magic of her current jewelry trying to interface with the new additions. ¡°Try to channel some mana into the chain,¡± Orion ordered her. Despite her reservations, using unknown magic items tended to be a good way to get yourself killed, she obeyed.


    The chain flashed momentarily, lines of the rich burgundy her mana naturally took writing themselves across the runes on each silver plate. She gasped slightly as everything shifted slightly, a small stutter as dormant enchantments connected to her mana. The drain was minor, barely more than her current equipment consumed, but she still couldn¡¯t quite tell what it was doing with that mana.


    ¡°It''s a¡­ protective charm of sorts,¡± Orion said, answering her unspoken question. ¡°Each of the plates has a different enchantment. They should stay dormant most of the time and it shouldn¡¯t be hard for you to learn how to trigger them¡± He began to grab each plate in turn, tugging on it slightly as he spoke. ¡°This one is a particle shield, it should keep things like dust, sand, bugs, and any sort of other small debris out of your eyes and mouth. It won¡¯t help against anything much smaller than that, but there¡¯s quite a few common potion ingredients and poisons that it will be effective against.


    ¡°This one should be an upgrade on your current rings, as long as the poison isn¡¯t too magical it will directly transmute any unnatural gasses you breathe in into a balanced mix of atmospheric elements. With your ring it might also let you breath under water, I didn¡¯t have a chance to test it, by keeping your mouth closed and cycling the already present air, but it won¡¯t do anything about any water you inhale.¡±


    She jerked slightly as he tugged much harder on the third plate, meeting his eyes as he looked directly into her face. ¡°This one is a panic beacon.¡± He dipped under his shirt and withdrew a chain with several small rings looped through it. ¡°You activate it and my ring will tell me you need help and let me find you as long as you aren¡¯t too far away. Tell me ahead of time when you practice with this one, and don¡¯t use it carelessly.¡±


    She nodded quickly, not sure how comfortable she was with the idea. She had a bad feeling that she wouldn¡¯t have to activate it herself for him to find her.


    ¡°Good,¡± he let go and continued to the next plate, ¡°This one is sensory, it should protect your eyes and ears from bright lights and loud noises. Even with it only passively on, it should keep you from being too badly startled. Put some mana in it and you¡¯ll be able to look at the sun without being blinded and stand under a waterfall without damaging your hearing.


    ¡°The next one is a key, I put a tiny touch of my own mana into it and tied it into my room¡¯s wards. If you channel some of your own mana into it, it will let you into my room here at the academy. Don¡¯t overuse it. It will only work for you and it will alert me that you¡¯re here.¡±


    She nodded again, ¡°Of course sir. I won¡¯t.¡± She knew how paranoid Orion was about his things and his safety, so this came as something of a shock. She wasn¡¯t surprised Orion hadn¡¯t tied her into his wards properly the way she had done with her own on his orders, but this was still a big show of trust.


    ¡°Good. The last two are pretty simple, this one is a shield and the other one is a force spike. Don¡¯t overuse them, the design isn¡¯t perfect and they will burn out after you put too much mana in them, but they could come in handy in a pinch. The shield is a full dome, pure force and pretty weak. It should be pretty comparable to a second circle spell but won¡¯t last for more than a few hits of that level. The force spike is about that strong as well, you probably have three or four shots if you use them back to back, maybe ten if you give it time to stabilize in between. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. Thank you sir.¡± It was quite a gift, even if she wasn¡¯t fully happy with everything it did. This wasn¡¯t the sort of thing she could have just gone out and bought, not at a price she was able to pay at least. From the sound of it, he¡¯d made it himself, specifically for her. It was¡­ touching. Not something she would have expected from him, but appreciated. She looked down at herself. And it thankfully didn¡¯t look too bad either, though something like that would typically be hidden under even the revealing clothing she tended to wear.


    ¡°Very good,¡± he said after a moment, stepping away from her. ¡°Don¡¯t bother getting dressed, you should be naked for this. Let''s get this oath thing done!¡±

 Chapter 72

    Even though she knew what was coming and had accepted it as inevitable, there was still something distinctly off putting about kneeling inside a ritual circle drawn in your own blood. Miranda¡¯s knees ached and a deep chill had sunk into her bones from the floor by the time Orion drew the last of the runes, carefully cleaning up the edges of the meticulously drawn symbols.


    Despite her discomfort, Miranda had to admit that watching Orion work was very impressive. He¡¯d prepared the ¡®paint¡¯ in a matter of minutes, drawing the needed blood and mixing it with a host of other ingredients with practiced ease. He worked quickly and smoothly, a half dozen spell matrices forming around him in rapid succession as he activated and stabilized the mana-charged fluid.


    Making the circle itself had also gone much faster than she had expected, which, considering the rising discomfort of kneeling on cold stone, she was rather thankful for. He was using a relatively standard design that even she was familiar with despite her rather lacking background with ritual magic. There was a small circle around her, then a larger circle divided into five even segments around that with each segment containing twenty-five evenly spaced runes.


    The only unusual thing she¡¯d noticed, though she didn¡¯t really know how unusual it might be, was that each segment was done in a different runic ¡®language¡¯. She only recognized two of the sets, the first was clearly done in elven pictograms, though she didn¡¯t recognize most of the specific symbols. They were easily distinguished by the almost artistic nature of the flowing lines and shapes. The others were Orion¡¯s preferred dwarven runes, each symbol squared off and blocky. It was the set she was most familiar with as well, mostly on Orion¡¯s insistence that she needed at least some familiarity.


    She didn¡¯t like runes very much. The study had never come easily to her and it wasn¡¯t an ability that she could steal from someone with her innate magic. Enchanting and other craft-based magics in general were something she tended to stay away from, even if there was no denying their usefulness. Something about magic that could make use of her as an ingredient made her uneasy.


    It didn¡¯t help that runes were weird and complicated. Two symbols could look completely different yet have nearly identical meanings and effects, while two runes that were almost impossible to distinguish could have wildly different uses. She understood why that was, runes were just two dimensional projects of spellforms, which themselves were complicated, multi-dimensional things. A singular spellform could be used to make a near infinite number of different runes, even if most people defaulted to the well understood ¡®languages¡¯ that existed already. Unfortunately, knowing that wasn¡¯t particularly helpful when a tiny mistake might cause the protective amulet you were making set its user on fire instead.


    ¡°There, that should be good,¡± Orion said in satisfaction. He turned to look at her, ¡°How are you feeling? Good job on not smudging anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Are we ready to go then?¡±


    ¡°Almost. Would you like some water before we start? You have a lot of talking to do.¡±


    ¡°That would be helpful. Thank you.¡±


    Orion stepped away and returned a minute later with two glasses of water. With a flick of his fingers, one of them levitated towards her, sliding smoothly through the air and right into her waiting hands. She drank carefully, making sure that not a single drop dripped down onto the floor around her. When she was done, the glass was pulled out of her hands and Orion passed both empty cups off to his waiting slave.


    They began a few minutes later. Orion stood directly in front of her at the edge of the circle, hands extended out to either side. Mana poured out of him in an endless tide, flowing along the outside of the ritual circle and slowly moving inward. Runes lit up one after another, casting dim shadows across the walls of the otherwise dark room. Orion had cleared out a large space at the center for the ritual and put out the lights when they were ready to start. In the corner, Miranda could just barely make out Rea, standing with her hands folded at her waist and her back pressed against the wall.


    Miranda watched patiently as Orion charged the ritual, suppressing the urge to fidget with nervous energy. She had to stay perfectly still during this stage so that her body¡¯s natural magic wouldn¡¯t interfere with the rune-directed mana flows. Some small movement, the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, was fine, but anything more might cause irreparable damage to the spell¡¯s structure. She¡¯d dealt with the spell backlash of a second circle spell once. She didn¡¯t want to know what the backlash from something exponentially more complex would feel like.


    After several long, stressful minutes, Orion gave her a small nod. The runes around her were glowing with an even red light, pulsing slowly in time with her heartbeat. Orion had done his part, now it was her turn.


    She took a deep breath, then sank into a kneeling bow, her palms and forehead pressed against the floor. ¡°I am my master¡¯s loyal servant,¡± she began, her voice slow and steady. Barely visible threads of mana floated through the air around her, circling. ¡°My purpose is servitude, my life a gift freely given. I give you my body, to use and shape as you will. I give you my mind, to alter and sculpt. I give you my soul, may it bind me to you until oblivion takes me.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    She could feel it now, phantom ropes wrapping slowly around her being, tightening gradually with every word. She didn¡¯t fight it, letting them pass through her magic resistance with resigned acceptance. She could have stopped it at any moment, pushed these bindings of her own creation aside and continued with the ritual as though nothing had changed, but she didn¡¯t. Orion would know the moment they had finished, and she was so very tired. Her current chains weighed on her at every moment of every day, tearing her apart from the inside out with every word and thought. It was so easy to give in, to finally let go. It would¡­ be better this way.


    ¡°I make these vows before you now. May they bind me in thought and action till the end of all things. May you know this servant¡¯s devotion in unbreakable truth, spoken as I kneel before you. Thus I vow, this servant shall never raise a hand against its master. Through action or inaction, through word, through thought, through spell, through soul, this servant shall never bring harm to its master.¡±


    More ropes and chains wrapped around her, mana rising both from within her soul and from the ritual around her. They pushed into and through her body, ethereal touches drifting across the edges of her mind and worming their way towards the indestructible core of her soul. Once more, she let them pass freely. This was her choice, her freely given consent. These would not be the barbed chains rattling precariously at the edges of her being. By the end of the ritual, they would be a true part of her. Unbreakable and unending.


    She continued, even as more and more bindings wrapped around her, as they sank into her mana and under her skin. Vows, elaborations, promises, and duties rolled off her tongue one by one. The cold and discomfort were pushed aside, washed away by the feeling of Orion¡¯s strong hands holding her tightly against him. She continued to speak, eyes open but seeing nothing but the light of Orion¡¯s mana caressing her skin. Concerns and worries fell away until there was nothing left but duty and purpose.


    And then, ¡°... this I swear, and so it shall be. For all time, my purpose is servitude. I am my master¡¯s loyal servant.¡± Mana surged around her and she felt Orion¡¯s firm grasp twist it into shape, wrapping a single tether of the mana around himself as he completed the ritualistic oath.


    She stayed kneeling, knowing both through Orion¡¯s earlier words and an ice cold certainly at the back of her mind that she was not supposed to move yet. The light of the runes twisted and dimmed, symbols burning away and drifting into her. She could almost physically feel the final strands lock into place, gentle touches around her wrists and at the nape of her neck. She imagined that if she looked, she would see manacles much like those worn by Orion¡¯s filthy elven cattle locked around her own wrists. The thought filled her with warmth, to be so clearly marked by her master¨C she shook her head to clear it. No, that was wrong. Part of her oath said that she could never reveal its existence without the express permission of her master.


    A warm, actual hand touched her shoulder and she looked up from the floor to find Orion standing over her. A probe of mana slid easily through her resistance, her soul giving no opposition to her master¡¯s touch, and she didn¡¯t move as he examined her from the inside out.


    ¡°Seems to have worked,¡± he said cheerfully after a minute of silence. ¡°How are you feeling.¡±


    ¡°This serv¨C¡± she shook her head again. No, that was wrong. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It feels strange. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. The worst of the confusion should pass quickly, if you feel anything like it past the end of the week, let me know.¡±


    She nodded once, the order sinking easily into her mind. Once, she would have thought little of it, not wanting to concern Orion with something so trivial. Now, she understood that he really did care. He wouldn¡¯t want her to suffer through something like that in silence when he could help her through it.


    ¡°Good.¡± He offered her a hand and pulled her up to her feet. She staggered and he caught her as a mix of mana exhaustion and the strain of kneeling for almost three hours caught up with her. ¡°Careful there.¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± she apologized reflexively. No, wait, this wasn¡¯t something Orion would have seen as an inconvenience. She was fine. He was happy to help. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, and this time it was genuine rather than the automatic prayer for mercy it had been for so long.


    ¡°You¡¯re good. Take a seat on my bed, lie down if you want to. I¡¯ll get you a dose of milk, it should help you recover faster.¡±


    He led her over to the bed and helped her sink onto the soft mattress. This wasn¡¯t a trap. Her eyes closed, and she knew with certainty that they wouldn¡¯t open to find her chained down as he had his way with her, knives and needles biting into her precious flesh. The new weight of metal resting across her breasts and belly felt almost comforting, a sign of Orion¡¯s appreciation and trust, a tool so that he could save one of the people closest to him.


    She reached up and wiped a single tear out of the corner of her eye. He cared. It was a twisted, feeble thing, all that was left after years of abuse, heartbreak, and pain, but she could feel a touch of warmth where she had always seen only cruelty.


    The bed shifted and Orion gently pushed her mouth open, placing the opening of a small vial against her lips. ¡°Thank you,¡± she mumbled, unable to muster the energy to open her leaden eyes.


    ¡°Drink, then rest,¡± he said sternly. ¡°We can deal with the old binding when you wake up.¡± She didn¡¯t remember much after that, but she knew that she¡¯d fallen asleep with a smile on her face.

 Chapter 73

    Even though nothing had happened the night before, there was still something deeply satisfying about waking up sandwiched between two beautiful, naked women. I felt Rea shift slightly behind me, hard nipples scrapping along my bare back as she unconsciously pressed herself against me. Without really thinking about it, my own arms tightened possessively, pressing my Miranda tightly against my chest.


    Without opening my eyes, I extended my mana sense, wrapping both girls in a gentle layer of my mana. Rea let out a cute sigh, her breath warm against my shoulder and nuzzled her face against my shoulder. Then I stiffened slightly and rolled my eyes as I noticed what my newly rebound pet was doing.


    Despite clearly still being asleep, Miranda was rather blatantly masturbating. My cock was pinned between her pillowy thighs and she was slowly grinding against it, even as two fingers slid in and out of her sex while a third rubbed circles around her clit.


    I considered doing something, then decided to ignore it, even if the feeling of her damp lips slowly shifting up and down my length was rather distracting. Instead, I gently shifted the hand looped around her waist until it was resting on one of her perfectly soft yet firm breasts, fingers digging lightly into the malleable flesh. Miranda shifted slightly and let out a breathless moan, but otherwise didn¡¯t react.


    It was rather cute, I decided. I¡¯d never heard of someone playing with themselves in their sleep, but it was exactly the sort of thing I would have expected from a hybrid like Miranda. I wondered what she was dreaming about and if this sort of thing was a common occurrence for her or something brought about due to sleeping in a bed with two other people.


    Unfortunately, no matter how comfortable I was, there was work to be done. I was calm and relaxed, content with how things were going, so there was no need to destress more just yet. Perhaps sometime soon I would give Miranda the ¡®reward¡¯ I¡¯d offered her, but that was something to look forward to later. For now, I had plans I needed to get too, and I¡¯d already slept longer than I¡¯d planned.


    Extricating myself from bed proved to be surprisingly difficult. Something inside me felt that it would be a shame to wake either of my sleeping beauties, which was proving difficult since I was currently lying on my side with one of them pressing into my chest and the other hugging my back. I carefully maneuvered out from Rea¡¯s clutches, wrapping her grasping hands around Miranda as I wriggled out of bed.


    Dressing quickly, I stopped to look at the two girls before I left the room. They looked rather cute together, eyes closed with happy smiles on their peaceful faces. Rea¡¯s face was pressed into Miranda¡¯s hair, her hands squeezing tightly around the older girl¡¯s chest. One of her legs was wedged between Miranda¡¯s thighs and the blonde didn¡¯t seem to have noticed that it was no longer me that she was pressed up against.


    I sighed quietly and committed the image to memory. They looked so peaceful. Safe. Carefree. I wondered if I looked that way in my sleep, troubled as it was by old memories and new fears. Someday, I hoped I could build a place where me and mine could truly live that way even outside the realm of dreams. I imagined Lea there, resting peacefully with no fading scars to mar her smooth skin.


    My lips quirked up into a small smile. Now that I¡¯d seen my old friend all grown up, it was shocking how similar she and Miranda looked. They had the same hair, similar eyes, and comparable figures. With some makeup to change the shape of their faces, they could probably pass as sisters. Maybe that was why I had been so initially drawn to my man-eating pet, some half forgotten instincts conflating two very different women. I would have to introduce them some day, though only after I¡¯d properly coached Miranda on what to do and say.


    Then I squared my shoulders, scooped up my ever present school bag, and headed off to get a late breakfast. I had two meetings arranged for today, neither overly important but still not something I wanted to miss. I also had to spend some time seriously working on my required enhancement ritual. I¡¯d done as much work to prepare as I could already and needed to start considering what manner of creature I would be using as the sacrifice before I could continue developing the ritual.


    My first planned meeting of the day was both the more casual and stressful of the two.


    ¡°Oh! Hey Orion!¡± Ulan called out enthusiastically.


    Camille and Alan, who had been pouring over a single segment of a ritual circle drawn out on a massive sheet of paper that covered most of the table, both looked up at his loud greeting. Both smiled and waved, though it looked to me like Camille¡¯s smile was somewhat more forced than usual.


    ¡°Ey man! Good to see you again, been a good bit again.¡±


    I shrugged awkwardly at Alan¡¯s words, ¡°Yeah, sorry guys. I¡¯ve been¡­ busy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it!¡± Ulan enthistically continued, ¡°My bro managed to snag us a memory of the fight, you kicked that dumb bint¡¯s ass! That¡¯s what she gets for trying to bully¨C¡±


    He fell silent as Camille¡¯s elbow dug not-too-gently into his side, ¡°What he means to say is that we¡¯re glad you¡¯re okay. We heard you and Clarient came to some sort of agreement?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Once again, Ulan jumped in before Camille could say anything. ¡°Yeah you showed ¡®em! I got some classmates in fourth year, they say they¡¯ve never seen that Kwesta girl as meek as she was last week. She¡¯s used to be always picking fights, but seems she¡¯s rethinking some of her life choices, ey?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it was a wake up call for her.¡±


    Ulan opened his mouth again, then closed it with a click when Camille glared at him. ¡°Come on guys,¡± she said after a moment, looking between the two brothers, ¡°I¡¯m sure Orion isn¡¯t here to get interrogated. We¡¯ve only got the room for two more hours, let''s make the most of it.¡±


    Ulan looked away, chastised. ¡°He¡¯s sorry,¡± said Alan for his brother, ¡°Didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine.¡± I set my bag down and dug out most of the books I¡¯d brought with me. ¡°What have you guys been up to? Haven¡¯t really seen you all outside class in a few weeks.¡±


    Camille happily took the extended opening. ¡°Mostly just general studying. We¡¯re looking over Ulan¡¯s ritual right now, he¡¯s not very satisfied with the power balancing so I offered a fresh set of eyes while he brushes up on this week¡¯s readings.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked with interest, ¡°So you guys figured out what you¡¯re doing for it?¡± Power balance was one of the last steps of designing a full ritual, primarily dealing with evenly distributing the required mana between different segments of the circle.


    ¡°Yeah, we should be getting the last of the materials in next week. Our sponsor found a pair of soul-linked bababoons. I used one of my consultations to meet with Professor Williams and she thinks that if we do both our rituals at the same time and align them correctly, we should be able to amplify the power of the sacrifice significantly. Wasn¡¯t exactly my first choice of creature, but them being soul-linked makes a lot of potential issues go away so it''s worth the inconvenience.¡±


    I nodded my head slowly as I considered his words. ¡°Nice,¡± I said after a moment, ¡°A good choice I think.¡± The two had been somewhat worried that if they used rituals with particularly divergent effects, it might destabilize the third soul that linked the brothers together, likely with severe consequences for the twins. Using monsters that had the same rare condition would likely ensure nothing of the sort would happen, and the resonance between them and the sacrifices would likely amplify things further.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what are you trying to get from them?¡± Asking about specifics like that could be considered rather rude from what I understood of mage customs, but it would be good to know if I was going to be helping with the circle itself.


    ¡°It''s fine,¡± answered Alan without looking up from the diagram. ¡°Mostly just general enhancements we think. Bababoons have incredible balance and reflexes, so we¡¯re primarily going for those. We¡¯re also going to try and get some of its senses, they can see heat and mana but we¡¯re worried that both might be too much for our eyes to withstand without further preparation.¡±


    Ulan jumped in smoothly when Alan fell silent, ¡°So we¡¯re thinking that we¡¯re going to try and offload those both onto our link. Then we can each access one at a time and switch when necessary.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± I paused for a moment, tapping my finger against the table. ¡°Clever. Tricky, but I like it. Mind if I take a look?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Wordlessly, Ulan shoved the stack of reference books at the center of the table aside and moved the paper into their place. ¡°The other four segments are on other pages, let me dig them out.¡±


    I nodded, already focused on the diagram before me. It looked like the brothers had decided on a non-standard arrangement, a five by seven instead of the more traditional five by five. That was probably a good choice for them, they had more than enough power between them to charge a five by five circle, but not enough for a seven by seven, so this would be an effective middle ground between the two.


    It did mean however that balancing things ahead of time would be even more important than it usually was, since the forty-nine runes contained within each segment would be under much less ¡®pressure¡¯ and thus have more room to go out of control. In the traditional configuration, there would be two-hundred-ninety-four other runes to keep any unbalanced sections contained, while here there would be only one-hundred-ninety-six. Thus, if anything started to ¡®leak¡¯, it would take much less to destabilize the entire thing and likely horribly kill the person doing the casting.


    ¡°Are you guys planning to use identical circles?¡± I asked after several minutes.


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan, though we plan to flip them to stabilize the resonance.¡±


    I hummed thoughtfully as I flipped through the other four pages Ulan had passed me. Thankfully they were regular sized sheets, I assumed someone had used an expansion spell to make the other page more readable.


    Eventually I passed the papers back to the brothers. ¡°It looks¡­ workable. I¡¯m not completely familiar with all the runes you are using, I can see what looks like old dragon-runes, though I¡¯m not sure what age, and those have never worked right for me. Still, I think you should consider doing a larger offset if you plan to do things simultaneously.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Alan asked with a frown.


    ¡°Well, I understand that a portion of your mana reserves are shared, yes? So if you plan to¨C¡±


    Camille gasped, interrupting me mid sentence. I had a feeling she¡¯d just realized what I was saying and fell silent. ¡°Oh, that would be bad. We¡¯ve been assuming that you can charge the rituals using a standard flow pattern, but that''s probably not sustainable on a circle this big. If you only have half of your shared reserves to call on¡­¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Camille grabbed one of the books lying beside her chair and flipped through it rapidly. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure how to compensate for that, I¡¯ve never tried a ritual past five five, maybe¨C¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± I slid one of the books I¡¯d brought towards them, already open to the correct page. ¡°This would probably work? You¡¯ll have to stagger the rows but I think it should work? Might be worth discussing with the professor though.¡±


    Camille snatched the book off the table, forcing Alan to lean over to read it over her shoulder. ¡°Yes, this would work better I think, but we¡¯ll have to completely reframe the outer ring I think?¡±


    Ulan got out of his seat and stood behind Camille, one hand slowly running back and forth through his short hair. Leaning down, he flipped the book back several pages, pouring over the section she¡¯d already read. ¡°Maybe,¡± he admitted after a few minutes, ¡°I think we could probably just rotate it all one¡­ oh, shit it''s not gonna work that way. Maybe a one two one two one pattern on the flips? No¡­ how about¡­¡±


    The two quickly began to mumble back and forth, occasionally flipping back and forth to consult the different diagrams I¡¯d shown them. I was glad I¡¯d never had to deal with that particular issue, because I just didn¡¯t have the same sort of intuition for this kind of thing that Camille clearly did, nor the time to dedicate to the study that Ulan clearly put in every week.


    Thankfully, this was one of those parts of ritual magic where my tight control of my own mana came in handy, ensuring that I could smoothly charge every part of the ritual at the needed rate without activating any runes prematurely. Even if I didn¡¯t have the reserves to instantly charge a seven sectioned ritual yet, I could hold my recharging mana back with much greater accuracy than either of the brothers was likely capable of. Thus, instead of charging things section by section per the standard flow pattern and risking premature destabilization, I simply slowly filled each rune such that they activated all at once.


    Towards the end of our allotted time, Camille pulled me away from the table on the premise of returning borrowed books, leaving the two brothers alone as they redrew large swaths of their work.


    Once we were away from any prying ears, hidden among the towering shelves that filled the main library, she turned to me and asked, ¡°Are you really okay Orion?¡±


    I stopped and turned to look at her, somewhat confused. She looked and sounded¡­ worried, though I couldn¡¯t really tell why. Had something happened? ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    She frowned, ¡°Like, with everything happening, I mean. The last few weeks must have been really hard for you. Are you getting enough sleep? Eating well? I barely see you at the cafeteria these days and you¡¯re always in a hurry before and after class. You used to always show up before anyone else and leave after everyone was already gone, but these days you¡¯re running in only a minute or two before the bell.¡±


    Oh. Was she¡­ worried about me? If it was any of my other classmates, I would have suspected some sort of trap, but Camille had always been one of the most open of our year. She was a bit odd and had an unfortunate tendency to shy away from some of the more gruesome aspects of magic, but I¡¯d never had any problems with her before, and I doubted someone trying to target me would use her as an intermediary. Possibly as an unknowing patsy though¡­ No, that seemed unlikely.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said after a moment, ¡°Just very busy. Schoolwork, research, you know how it is.¡±


    That didn¡¯t seem to particularly reassure her unfortunately. ¡°Are you sure? What about the stuff with Kwesta, is everything good there as well? If¡­ if you ever need to talk to someone, I want you to know that I¡¯m here for you.¡±


    Once again, I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to respond. I certainly wasn¡¯t going to be spilling any of my secrets to her, that was just asking to be stabbed in the back. At the same time though¡­ among all the students in our year, she was undoubtedly one of the few with whom I was closest. It felt¡­ wrong to just walk away.


    ¡°It''s all fine. I worked things out with Clarient, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue going forward.¡± Oh! I suddenly had a feeling I knew what she wanted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I tried to reassure her, ¡°neither Clarient nor any of her associates should be going after you or anyone else I spend time with. I can¡¯t speak of the specifics, but there¡¯s a binding oath involved. You and the guys should be safe.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good to hear,¡± she said slowly, and I really expected that to be the end of it. She¡¯d gotten the reassurance she asked for and hopefully knew me well enough to know I wouldn¡¯t say anything more. It was relatively standard to have oaths contain sections that forbid the sworn from speaking about the oath itself, even if I had done nothing of the sort, so hopefully she would know better than to pry at that.


    Then she continued, ¡°But how are you feeling? Kwesta¡¯s attack must have been quite a shock. I saw in the memory that you guys both looked alright after the fight, but still. It came out of nowhere, I can¡¯t imagine how I would have felt after something like that.¡±


    I really couldn¡¯t see what her angle was here. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, really. It¡¯s Avalon, stuff like that happens all the time. I¡¯m just glad I was close enough to help.¡±


    She looked at me strangely, then shook her head. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Avalon¡­ it¡¯s really something. Are you worried about it? I know Alan told me he was planning to leave after next year, but us? We¡¯ve got four more years to look forward to.¡±


    ¡°It''s a shame, I don¡¯t know that there is anywhere else in the world with specialists in their abilities. Maybe they can get something from their sponsor, but I don¡¯t really know. I can¡¯t wait until we¡¯re allowed to take upper level classes. I¡¯ve heard excellent things about Professor Willson¡¯s specialized training courses.¡±


    Her expression shifted into something unreadable. Then she sighed softly, ¡°You¡¯re not at all worried about it, are you. I thought¡­ well, I thought we were a lot alike. But you¡­ you¡¯ve taken to Avalon like a fish to water. Meanwhile¡­ I¡¯m sinking, slowly but surely.¡±


    That was a rather odd thing to admit. Avalon preyed on weakness, and that was as clear a sign of vulnerability as I¡¯d ever heard from someone here. Still, it was something I could use. I doubted she would like it, but I would be a kinder fate for her than most.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to make it, Orion. I¡¯ve made friends, built connections, I practice every single day¡­ but I still feel like I¡¯m falling behind.¡± Something glistened at the corners of her eyes, and I realized that she was crying? She swallowed heavily and continued, ¡°I thought I was doing fine, but¡­ I couldn¡¯t have done what you did. Kwesta would have slaughtered me, I wouldn¡¯t have survived that first attack, much less the rest of the fight. Even with another year of classes, I don¡¯t know that it would make a difference.¡±


    I was so surprised that I momentarily just stared at her, unable to quite formulate an answer to what I¡¯d heard. We¡¯d gone from her poking at what I¡¯d been up to these past few weeks to her suddenly breaking down in the span of just a few minutes. Was this supposed to be some sort of act to lure me into complacency? This was the library, but that wasn¡¯t an absolute guarantee of safety like the cafeteria was. The First Librarian and her successors didn¡¯t care about students nearly as much as that particular divinity did and didn¡¯t spend much of their energy protecting us. Just in case, I let my perception spread out among the shelves around us, but found nothing.


    I took a deep breath and decided to take a chance. This wasn¡¯t the way I normally did things, but perhaps with Camille, honey really was the better option. I gently laid a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Thanks for trusting me, Cam. Whatever else happens, you¡¯ve got a friend in me. If you ever need help, ask. I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±


    She smiled faintly, a single brilliant tear hanging off the tip of her nose. ¡°Thanks Orion. I¡¯m¡­ sorry about that. I don¡¯t know what came over me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let''s just get the rest of these books put away and get back to the others before they get worried.¡±


    She let out a weak laugh, ¡°I doubt those two even noticed we left.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Maybe, maybe not. But I definitely don¡¯t want to get teased about getting in a quick fuck between the bookshelves.¡±


    Her startled laughter brought a small but genuine smile to my own face. Perhaps that would be fun to try. Someday. We¡¯d see.

 Chapter 74

    ¡°Master!¡± two voices chorused the moment the door shut behind me. I turned around to find Cayla and Briella together near the center of the room, both curtsying deeply with their heads bowed.


    It seemed they¡¯d decided to dress up for our meeting for some reason. Briella was wearing a flowing crimson dress with intricate gold embroidery along the sleeves and plunging neckline. Two openings just above her hips showed off smooth stretches of pale skin and she was wearing the same silver necklace she¡¯d been wearing when I¡¯d captured her weeks ago.


    Compared to her friend¡¯s rather bold outfit, Cayla was dressed much more conservatively in the traditional island-finery that I¡¯d just started to get used to seeing around again. The simple gray dress had a shallow neckline that showed just the barest hint of her chest and covered her entirely down to her knees. Still, I had no doubt that it was much more ¡®impressive¡¯ than the dress mother had worn on special occasions. It looked like it was made from something more than just regular silk, the cloth shimmering and glinting with a rainbow of colors whenever I wasn¡¯t looking at it directly, and there were small gems set along the hemline and at the end of each long sleeve.


    ¡°Good afternoon, girls,¡± I said after a moment. They both straightened up, though they kept their heads bowed and eyes turned towards the floor. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down, we have a lot to get through today.¡±


    Cayla hurried over to the table, pulling out the chair at the head of the table for me, even as Briella silently took my bag and set it down on one of the empty chairs beside my own. Then they quickly scrambled to their own seats, standing behind the low back chairs with their hands folded behind their backs.


    I glanced at them impatiently, ¡°You can sit, don¡¯t worry about that sort of disrespect when we¡¯re alone. I grew up in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, I don¡¯t really stand on ceremony much.¡±


    ¡°Yes master.¡±


    ¡°Of course, sir.¡±


    Once they were seated I leaned back in my seat, watching them. Cayla began to fidget nearly immediately, one of her legs tensing and relaxing over and over and her fingers twitching where she had her hands folded in her lap. Briella looked calmer on the surface, but this close to her I could feel her anxiety leaking into the bonds wrapped around her soul.


    Whatever this was, I decided to try and get it out of the way before we started discussing anything serious, ¡°Whatever it is, spit it out,¡± I ordered, clamping down on the spectral links I could sense between myself and the two of them.


    The two exchanged a short, worried glance, and then spoke almost simultaneously.


    ¡°Are we doing a good job, Master?¡± asked Briella wide-eyed.


    ¡°How can we serve, Master?¡± Cayla added, almost speaking over Briella¡¯s question.


    Ah. I¡¯d been worried about that. I closed my eyes and exhaled softly, considering how best to respond. It didn¡¯t matter too much, I was confident in my magic, but I didn¡¯t want to encourage any potentially self destructive behavior. Using such a powerful, intrusive binding had its advantages, but it also came with some¡­ potential risks.


    For one, the ritual had rewritten their priorities. To them, obedience and service was more important than anything. They would gladly die to fulfill my tiniest whim, which was good in theory, but also not something I really wanted to encourage. I¡¯d ordered them from the start that spending their lives was an option of last resort, but having them cripple themselves or something similarly stupid in order to fulfill some ofhanded command would be an absolute waste of potential. There were few things I hated more than wasted potential.


    Secondly, the ritual I¡¯d used had warned of some¡­ dependency issues arising in its victims. I¡¯d hoped to sidestep some of those problems by giving the two girls a host of standing orders about their conduct and then sending them on an ¡®important mission¡¯ to blend back into the student body, but it seemed that hadn¡¯t been quite enough in the end. I would have to take a slightly more active role in managing the duo or risk their mental states degrading into uselessness.


    I wasn¡¯t really looking forward to it, I had enough on my plate already as it was, but maybe I could see if offloading the responsibility to Miranda would work? Something to discuss with her once she¡¯d recovered from her ordeal last night. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t take long, I¡¯d ended up removing the original binding from her while she slept and I had high hopes that she would be in good shape by the time she had to go to class tomorrow.


    I noticed that both of the girls were squirming in their seats and realized that not saying anything was probably one of the wrong choices here. Mental strain was one of the most serious risks associated with binding oaths, and also the reason I was so leary of swearing any myself. That kind of damage was nearly impossible to heal, even with high circle magic, and could accumulate over months, years, and even decades until it finally killed you. Messily. Hopefully I could learn how to avoid that sort of thing.


    ¡°Let''s find out,¡± I ordered slowly, mulling over each word carefully. ¡°How is your current mission going and what else have you been doing since?¡± After a moment''s thought, I quickly added, ¡°Start generally, I¡¯ll ask any clarifying questions. Briella, go first.¡±


    ¡°Yes Master!¡± she exclaimed enthusiastically, her face visibly brightening even though she still wouldn¡¯t look at my face. ¡°My attempts to integrate back into the student body were successful. Several of my classmates asked me about what happened and I answered with our pre-planned story as instructed. A few of my classmates attempted to keep pestering me, but I believe I have successfully deflected further questions.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear. Continue.¡±


    ¡°As you instructed, I have dedicated much of my time to my academic pursuits. I have caught up on all my classwork that I missed during my training and am doing well in my classes. Outside of classes, I have been working to hone my potion-brewing and elemental spellcasting skills. However,¡± she fell silent for a moment, biting her lip and looking down into her lap. When she continued, her voice was filled with shame and self loathing, ¡°I have run into some issues that I have been unable to address and fear may expose your secret. I apologize for my inadequacy and¨C¡±


    She seemed like she was about to keep apologizing instead of getting to the point, and my experiences with Miranda had already taught me that that sort of behavior was not something I wanted to encourage in my people. That''s how we got the sort of unfortunate misunderstandings that I¡¯d learned about with Miranda in our meeting yesterday. ¡°Get to the point,¡± I ordered.


    Her mouth closed with a click, then she hesitantly continued, ¡°My father, the current Lord of my family, has been trying to compel me to do something that would go against your interests using our family magic. I do not believe he is doing so intentionally, but without your bonding I would be completely incapable of resisting his pressure, and I fear he is becoming suspicious that something has happened to me.¡±


    Huh. I leaned back in my seat, staring at her intently. Family magic was not something I had any familiarity with. It was one of those rather rare powers that few had and even fewer admitted to having. From what I¡¯d come across in my reading, family magic was the manifestation of an ancient semi-intelligent spiritual being that bound itself to a bloodline. There was no known way of recreating the circumstances that had led to their existence in the modern day, nor any way to bind them to someone not born with that connection, so it was something you either had or didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t know very many specifics, it had never been relevant to me after all, but I was certain Briella never would have told me anything about it without our bond. I needed to know more.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Elaborate,¡± I ordered, ¡°Tell me more about this magic.¡±


    ¡°Yes Master. I¡­ I¡¯m sorry Master, I can¡¯t say everything, but I will try my best.¡±


    Oh shit. That¡­ was potentially bad if she was implying what I thought she was. Still, I wasn¡¯t going to rush to any conclusions, but just in case¡­ ¡°Do not do or say anything that would cause you permanent harm, or alert someone to what you were doing,¡± I ordered quickly. Hopefully anything else would be covered by the commands she was already under.


    ¡°Yes Master,¡± she closed her eyes, then plugged her ears with her fingers and covered her eyes with her palms. Interesting. Very interesting. ¡°My father¡¯s family possesses a hereditary bloodline that came with a family magic spirit. The spirit is not directly bound to our souls, but, until our mana pools develop sufficiently, can touch them through the link between flesh and spirit. My father is the current head of our family and thus has more control of the bloodline spirit than anyone else in our family. One of the abilities this gives him is¨C¡± she paused, her entire body flinching back from some sort of phantom pain, but continued regardless, ¡°This allows him to force us to obey certain orders. He is unable to target our minds as far as I know, but until the bond between us formed I was unable to resist his commands. Now, I believe the additions to my soul caused by the ritual you performed is interfering with this somewhat. I am nearly certain he can not sense what changed exactly, but he is definitely aware that I have not obeyed his most recent command.¡±


    She shook herself, then opened her eyes and folded her hands back in her lap. ¡°I believe that is the important part.¡±


    I took a deep breath, then exhaled loudly. Okay. Probably not as bad as I was afraid, but still not good. I¡¯d never even considered this eventuality, which immediately made it a serious concern. I would need to examine her before we were done here. I hadn¡¯t noticed anything while I¡¯d been holding her captive, but I also hadn¡¯t known that I was looking for something at the time. Hopefully that would make a difference.


    ¡°And the order you¡¯re not obeying?¡± I asked, somewhat afraid of what I was about to hear. I wasn¡¯t sure what her father might have commanded her to do that would interfere with any of her current standing orders.


    Instead of answering immediately, she reached up and removed her necklace, setting the simple silver disk on the table. Then she pressed her thumb into the back of the disk and I nearly fell out of my chair when the completely mundane necklace lit up with nearly invisible threads of mana spaced so tightly that it almost looked like just a simple blob to my senses.


    Before I could ask what the hell she thought she was doing, or even finish cursing myself for apparently missing a magic item of that caliber when I¡¯d stripped the duo, space beside the necklace warped and a tall glass vial, more a bottle really, appeared on the table beside it.


    ¡°This is an experimental self-enhancement potion I brewed using a recipe from my great-grandmother. It¡¯s meant to awaken the dormant parts of my bloodline, but father ordered me to share it with my half-brother. That would go against your orders to better my magical talents as much as possible.¡±


    I took another deep breath to calm myself, looking between Briella, the vial, and the once again completely mundane looking necklace. ¡°That¡¯s why he was with the three of you?¡± I asked speculatively.


    ¡°Yes master. Originally I planned to absorb it entirely myself, but my father ordered me to share it at the last moment.¡± She sounded¡­ resentful, angry even.


    Ah. I had a feeling I understood where this was going. ¡°You weren¡¯t happy about that.¡±


    ¡°No master. I was not.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t have a very good relationship with your father?¡±


    ¡°That is correct, master.¡± I raised an eyebrow and she elaborated, ¡°My father does not like me. I think he saw my talent as a threat to himself and to my brothers¡¯ legitimacy as heirs.¡± She paused, hands clenching into fists, ¡°He was right to worry. Once I leave this place, his and my brothers¡¯ days are numbered.¡± She paused again, then hurriedly added, ¡°If that is your wish, master! I could provide much greater assistance as head of my family than I can on my own.¡±


    Now that was very interesting indeed. It seemed that this was such a deep rooted goal that it had remained near the top of her goals despite the binding she was under. It had simply been¡­ reshaped slightly, a desire to serve me better instead of for personal power for its own sake.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any issues with that. It will have to wait some time, but I may even be able to help with that some time in the future.¡±


    ¡°Master is too kind."


    ¡°I reward loyal service,¡± I said simply. ¡°Now, tell me about this potion of yours.¡± I also wanted to know what the hell that necklace was, and examine it in detail as soon as possible, but that could wait.


    I really hoped Cayla¡¯s report would be simpler than this, or we¡¯d be here all day.


    Briella enthusiastically launched into a detailed explanation of her enhancement potion and its history, more of which than I would have liked ended up going over my head. In the end, the major details were rather simple. It was a highly specialized and narrowly focused bit of magic designed specifically to interface with her family¡¯s fading bloodline. Her ancestors had once had an unmatched understanding of the Fire spellform, but it had been fading over the centuries until today it was a simple strong affinity instead. The potion was supposed to ¡®rekindle¡¯ the bloodline.


    Her great-grandmother, an unremarkable archmage that served as her nation¡¯s royal mage, had initially designed the potion for her husband, but he had passed away decades before the recipe had been completed. She¡¯d then considered giving it to her still living children or grandchildren, but both had proven to be, in Briella¡¯s words, ¡®irresponsible and talentless hacks unworthy of their name¡¯. Eventually, Briella herself had come along and received the recipe as a gift when she came to Avalon.


    At some point the year before, when Briella was still gathering ingredients, her father had gotten suspicious and ordered her to tell him why she needed them. She was under an oath never to share the recipe with her current family, so her father had instead ordered her to make the potion and share it with her half-brother, who she hated slightly less than the rest of her family. The way she said it, I had a feeling that they were both being used as test subjects of their father, seeing if the potion would work before he tried it himself.


    Briella had been on the way to do just that when Miranda and I had ambushed her group. Her father had seemingly believed that she¡¯d managed to escape, and even complimented her on it, but hadn¡¯t rescinded the order to share the potion, something Briella really didn¡¯t want to do.


    ¡°I see,¡± I said slowly once Briella was done. ¡°That is rather troublesome indeed. And how expensive exactly was this potion?¡±


    ¡°Rather,¡± she said remorsefully, ¡°I apologize for using so many of your resources. I myself only spent seven hundred pieces, but my great-grandmother provided several very costly ingredients that I wouldn¡¯t know how to find on my own.¡±


    ¡°I assume she wouldn¡¯t be willing to give you another set?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°She told me I had one chance and then I¡¯d be on my own. I spent all of last year studying this sort of potion making to ensure I made no costly mistakes with it.¡±


    ¡°Annoying.¡± I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, deep in thought. ¡°You are going to use that entire potion, I think,¡± I said eventually. ¡°I¡¯ll need to examine your soul before I make it an order, but that sort of direct command should override any external influences. Do you think your father would believe that the potion was damaged during the attack?¡±


    ¡°Maybe?¡± she said after a moment¡¯s thought, ¡°But I doubt it. I¡¯m sorry, Master.¡±


    I sighed again. It was always something. At the very least, Briella was already feeling much less¡­ fidgety than she had been at the start of the meeting. It seemed proximity and directions were helping already like the book had said they would. Hopefully weekly magic tutoring would be enough to deal with it. Ugh, I hadn¡¯t even spoken with Cayla yet, nor started to help direct their training, and I was already tired of this. Talking to people was exhausting sometimes.


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out. Do you have anything else you¡¯d like to tell me?¡±


    ¡°Nothing significant, Master.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± I turned to Cayla, who had been fidgeting silently in her seat while I was speaking with her friend. ¡°What do you have for me?¡±

 Chapter 75

    Thankfully, Cayla had nothing comparably annoying to report. The only irregularity was that her father had requested that she come visit him sometime in the coming weeks. I¡¯d almost forgotten that she was a fellow Xethian native, and, unlike me, had family to come back to here. Her parents lived on one of the islands neighboring the capital where her father served as the overseer of a small military outpost.


    I considered the request for a moment, then decided there was probably no harm in letting her go. I gave her a few simple standing orders to help her avoid revealing that anything had happened and she assured me she would ¡®strive to further my interests during her trip¡¯. I didn¡¯t really need anything specific right now, I wasn¡¯t going to send her hunting magical creatures after all, but she did remind me that I now had other people I could mostly trust to leave Avalon for me.


    With that out of the way, I decided I could figure out what was going to do with Briella later and started their tutoring session in earnest. My first mistake was asking them to show me ¡®what they could do¡¯, which I was pretty sure they took as a challenge instead of the simple demonstration I was looking for. Thankfully, I had spent a lot of time practicing all purpose shielding, both with spells and using pure mana variants, and the stone of the meeting room was not particularly flammable either. I was however moderately concerned by the enthusiasm with which Briella tried to turn half the room into a blazing inferno.


    After that initial¡­ misunderstanding, things progressed well enough. Briella was a competent spellcaster, slightly more competent than I had expected but less so than I had hoped. She was almost hyper-specialized, something that was discouraged at Avalon, particularly for someone just in their second year. She was very good at fire magic, better than I was probably, even if she couldn¡¯t cast any fourth circle spells yet. Her third-circle ¡®fireball¡¯ was as perfect as any I¡¯d ever seen, and she could easily answer every question I posed about the Fire, Heat, and Pressure spellforms. I was rather glad we¡¯d attacked the trio from ambush, I wasn¡¯t sure how well I would have fared against a melee-focused elf supported by that sort of firepower.


    Outside of that I already knew that she focused a lot on alchemy, specifically the sort that dealt with body-modification. Now that I¡¯d heard her story, I could see why she¡¯d chosen the field, but it was something that would be hard to access right now. I asked her a few questions that she answered easily enough and told her we would get back to it later.


    Her other skills were¡­ lackluster to say the least. Her mana control was barely up to the standards I would have expected from a competent first year and she had a very shallow pool of known spells outside of her fire magic. She also hadn¡¯t bothered to learn any circulations outside of the memory based ones required by the Academy and one that made her more resistant to heat and burns. We would have to correct those obvious deficiencies as soon as possible. It was utterly shameful, even with her clearly lacking education and only a few weeks of practice, my Rea was already rapidly catching up to her. No Avalon student should be so lax with their fundamentals.


    Cayla¡¯s assessment was much simpler and less¡­ explosive. She was¡­ disappointing, a technically well-rounded but very unimpressive mage. It was a good thing I¡¯d gotten to her when I did, I doubted that on her own she would have made it through to next year. Even with my help, I didn¡¯t think she would last much longer than that. Hopefully she could prove me wrong, but I doubted it.


    She could cast second-circle spells in several disciplines, but poorly. Her healing magic was mediocre, she could cast scrying spells but wasn¡¯t good at interpreting their results, and her combat magic was almost as bad as those Lightcastle idiots that had been picking on my Lea. Similarly, her fundamentals were abysmal. She couldn¡¯t even do all of the basic eight, even using the thick strands of mana that students were encouraged to start with. I had an uneasy feeling that prior experience was the only reason she¡¯d made it through her first year. Well, that and the protection of her much more impressive friends.


    Writing up a practice regime for her didn¡¯t take long, but I didn¡¯t have much hope. I sternly ordered her to practice the exercises I¡¯d outlined for her daily, in addition to her current practice. She seemed enthusiastic to obey, but I wasn¡¯t sure that would be enough. She just¡­ didn¡¯t have the instincts or the mindset to be a particularly good mage, and I didn¡¯t know if that was something I could fix. Her touch was clumsy and her mana rebellious. One of the spells she demonstrated, a simple illusion, nearly collapsed during its casting, despite being something she had ¡®mastered¡¯ the year before.


    I tried to end things on a high note, relying on some of the tips I¡¯d read in ¡®The Words That Bind¡¯ and in Elpha¡¯s grimoire that would hopefully play well with the specifics of their oaths. ¡°That was terrible,¡± I said sternly, ¡°but you have potential and I am a magnanimous master. With my tutelegous, perhaps someday you will be worthy to serve me directly.¡±


    ¡°Yes master!¡± exclaimed Cayla.


    ¡°We live to serve,¡± added Briella.


    ¡°Very good. Same time next week. I expect to see good progress.¡±


    The two girls filed out of the room. Once I was certain they were gone, I slumped down into one of the chairs and put my head back, staring blankly at the ceiling. What a great way to spend a day. There was a reason I much preferred to get my reports from Miranda in written form, and as infrequently as possible as well. I didn¡¯t have time for this nonsense! I had barely had any time to practice this weekend, nor in the weeks prior to it.


    There was just¡­ so much to do, so many things constantly begging for my attention. I had barely had time to focus at all on my circulation research, despite it being one of the avenues I saw the most potential in. Similarly, my skill with pure mana had barely progressed since the major improvements I¡¯d made after the Myrddin¡¯s class. There just weren¡¯t enough hours in the day it seemed.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I sighed loudly and closed my eyes. At least it wasn¡¯t anything particularly bad, just annoying. I was moving forward, just at a much slower pace than I would have preferred. I was grasping at too many things, and while I didn¡¯t regret any of them, I would have to try and control myself better. Plans were all well and good, but real life often came with its own trials and time commitment.


    I had hopefully finally dealt with most of the human commitments to my time. I still wanted to visit Lea, but that was never a chore. Time spent with my Lea was a gift I had never expected to receive again, and I was unwilling to squander it. Tomorrow, I decided. I would visit her tomorrow.


    Without opening my eyes, I checked the time. Ugh. That had taken much longer than I would have preferred. Dinner and then some practice. I could deal with the last of this week¡¯s homework in the morning.


    The heavy stone door shut with a resounding boom and a web of light spread along the walls as ancient runes lit up with iridescent green mana. Maxis Warbringer set his half-empty cup down, glass clinking against polished granite. ¡°Nice of you to finally join us Arnold,¡± he said quietly, but his voice carried in the silent room.


    The last arrival turned to look at him, an annoyed scowl on his face. ¡°Some of us actually have responsibilities we have to take care of,¡± he said sharply. ¡°The idiot kept us for five hours today! I barely have time to do my actual job, much less everything else.¡±


    Still scowling, he took his seat and dropped a thick pile of papers on the table before him. He exhaled sharply and brushed a strand of his long hair behind his ear. ¡°I¡¯m here now. Let''s get this done.¡±


    A soft, melodious laugh rang through the room, the sound bouncing oddly and hanging in the air for longer than it should. ¡°Come on, Maxi, don¡¯t be such a stick in the mud,¡± the woman purred. Setting a long-nailed hand on Arnold¡¯s shoulder, she leaned in and whispered loudly, ¡°Don¡¯t let him get to you Ari. I know you¡¯re doing your best.¡±


    Arnold pushed her hand aside and pulled away, ¡°I¡¯ve told you not to do that,¡± he growled.


    Before she could respond, the last member of their group spoke up. ¡°Enough. Maxis, don¡¯t antagonize him. Loraline, we have a deal with your queen. Shall I inform her that you are no longer willing to comply?¡±


    Maxis sighed and picked up his glass, swirling the remaining red wine with no real desire to drink it. ¡°Sorry, your holiness¡± he said shortly.


    Loraline scowled, but sat back up in her seat and folded her hands on the table. The last echoes of her laughter, still ringing softly through the air, faded to nothing. ¡°The agreement stands.¡±


    ¡°Good. Before we begin, does anyone have any concerns they would like to bring before the table?¡± The robed priest shifted in his seat, the deep shadows cast by his hood hiding everything except his gleaming eyes.


    They sat in silence for a long moment, the leader meeting each of their eyes in turn. Eventually, Maxis set his glass back down and leaned forward. ¡°Just one. Why in the blessed Lady¡¯s name is Avalon here, and how did I not know about this sooner?¡± Though he started quietly, by the end of his question he was all but shouting. ¡°I knew nothing of this until days before their arrival. My daughter had to learn of this from that thrice-damned fool of a headmaster instead of from her own father!¡±


    He exhaled loudly, then sat back down and took a sip of his wine. ¡°That is all,¡± he said with false calm.


    Arnold and the priest exchanged glances and then Arnold sighed. ¡°I think I can answer that unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°The king played things very close to his chest. He¡¯s made some sort of deal with their administration, though I haven¡¯t been able to find what it might be. None of my contacts, nor any of our suborned advisors knew anything about it until the last minute. I don¡¯t even know how he contacted them, he went completely over all our heads to do this. The first I knew of it all was less than a week before they arrived, when orders started coming in to move guards and announce his ¡®trade portal¡¯ initiative.¡±


    ¡°It is¡­ concerning,¡± spoke up the only woman at the table. ¡°Their mages hunt my kind, regardless of deals sworn with local rulers. Four younglings have gone missing already, and the wards around our islands have been tested multiple times.¡±


    Maxis growled again, ¡°Why would that moron invite such¡­ vipers into our midst? They can¡¯t be trusted, he has to know that!¡±


    Arnold simply shrugged. ¡°Power, I¡¯d guess. He¡¯s given a few reasons at the council, but not the real one I don¡¯t think. We¡¯re getting two dozen free spots spread over the next seven years, which is more ¡®generous¡¯, though I don¡¯t know if that''s the right way to say it, than most nations get. He¡¯s also hired several of their staff members to do something for him, though once again I couldn¡¯t say what it is. I have no idea how we¡¯re paying for it all though. Even the minister of finance knows nothing.¡±


    ¡°Irritating.¡±


    ¡°It really is.¡±


    The robed priest spoke up then, ¡°Do you think they¡¯re after it as well?¡±


    Arnold leaned back in his seat, tapping a finger on the table as he thought. ¡°No, probably not,¡± he decided after a moment, ¡°I don¡¯t think even he is stupid enough to reveal its existance. Whether they know about it though¡­ that''s a different question entirely. There are few things Calamitous Ambrosius can not achieve when he puts his mind to it.¡±


    ¡°Then we can only hope we get to it first,¡± the priest said with a long-suffering sigh. ¡°Her holiness tests even her most faithful servants.¡±


    ¡°For ten-thousand moons,¡± the other three chorused, the woman a half-word behind the other two.


    ¡°Well then, is that all?¡± asked the priest after another moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not happy, but I¡¯m satisfied.¡±


    ¡°Very good. In that case, let us begin the meeting with a short prayer¡­¡±

 Chapter 76

    Warm rays of morning sunlight streaming in through the half-closed curtains and the sweet smell of frying dough pulled Leana from the less than restful embrace of fading memories that haunted her dreams. She kicked away the sweat-soaked sheets that had bundled up around her feet and stood up, quickly peeling off the thin linen negligee she had worn to bed. Tossing it aside she, not for the first time, thanked the grace of Miira that had ensured that she would be one of the few graced with the gift of magic.


    She closed her eyes and bit her lip, focusing on the intangible energy that swirled inside her chest. The spell took shape slowly, threads carefully arranging into the pattern one of the nurses had shown her in secret. A twinge of guilt ran through her chest, but she suppressed it with ease born of long practice. She knew she wasn¡¯t supposed to practice magic at home, it was dangerous to do without proper supervision, but the utility of this spell saved her so much time and work that she just couldn¡¯t do without.


    A minute later, the spell was done and she gently released her tenuous hold on the mana. Feather-light strands of magic brushed along her sticky skin and the evidence of her troubled night vanished in their wake. She sighed softly in relief once the spell was done, opening her eyes to look at her own twisted reflection in the polished glass of the picture frames on her desk.


    Without her conscious direction, her fingers drifted to her belly, tracing the faded-white lines that criss crossed her otherwise unblemished skin. She could barely feel them now, not after the expensive treatment Adonia and Lightcastle had helped pay for, but the healer had told her the last remnants of her scars would take years to fade. At least they no longer pulled and ached when she moved, and the most visible marks had all but disappeared. She smiled ruefully as she followed a narrow line that stretched from her belly button to just above one of her nipples. At least Adonia had never minded her scars, even before the treatment.


    The smile faded quickly as her thoughts turned to her¡­ girlfriend? Lover? She didn¡¯t really know what to think of her now. Some of the initial anger and rejection had faded, washed away by time and the clear care the noble girl still felt towards her, but it was still so painful to think about. Another bond fractured by her own inadequacies.


    ¡°Leana?¡± her uncle¡¯s voice called from just outside the door, ¡°Are you up sweety? Breakfast is ready!¡±


    She shook herself, realizing that she had been staring at her pale reflections for several minutes longer than she¡¯d meant to. ¡°I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up, sorry!¡± she called out hurriedly before he could open the door. ¡°I¡¯ll be down in just a minute.¡±


    She didn¡¯t really mind if he saw her naked, he¡¯d seen it all before when they were treating her many injuries in the days after they¡¯d pulled her from the sea. More than that, she knew that, just like her, his tastes were twisted and unnatural. The ¡®brothers¡¯ had eyes only for each other, not that she would ever share that secret with anyone. They had done too much for her to repay their love with betrayal. No, she just didn¡¯t want to see the sad, consoling look in his eyes that he got every time he caught her lost in thought and tracing her scars.


    ¡°Okay dear. Don¡¯t take too long, the tea is getting cold,¡± he said after a moment, and she suppressed a sigh of relief when she heard his footsteps retreating down the stairs.


    With one parting glance into the warped glass, she hurriedly got dressed, making sure the neckline of her dress was adjusted such that none of her scars were visible. She hated wearing this style, the shallow neck and long skirt was stifling and unflattering, but she didn¡¯t have time to apply the makeup she sometimes used to cover the marks and hated showing them more. It was fine. It wasn¡¯t like she wanted to draw anyone¡¯s attention, anyway. Not today.


    She eyed the brush sitting on her bedside table, then decided it could wait until after she¡¯d eaten. Stopping by the door, she took several calming breaths, then cast the same spell as earlier again, but this time targeting her soiled sheets and sleeping dress. It wasn¡¯t a perfect solution, the spell only really dealt with sweat and nothing else, but it meant she didn¡¯t have to wash and hang-dry her bedding nearly as often. Miira bless that wonderful woman.


    Breakfast looked and smelled amazing. Erwin was an excellent cook and he¡¯d made some of her favorites again. He always seemed to have a sixth sense for when she was having a particularly bad night. It was hard to have a bad morning when there was a full spread of cheeses, sliced fruits, cured meats, and nuts waiting for her along side a big basket of fried bread.


    They all sat down together around the small table in the kitchen and Estin took his turn to lead them in a short prayer to Miira. She followed along dutifully, more out of habit than any real belief. She didn¡¯t know if she could believe in a just, kind god after everything that had happened to her, even if Estin always said she had been saved by the grace of Miira. Still, her uncles believed and there wasn¡¯t much she wouldn¡¯t do to make them happy.


    ¡°For ten-thousand moons and ten-thousand more,¡± they finished all together, and then Leana piled her plate high with food and dug in. That was definitely another benefit of being a mage. She¡¯d heard some of the other wealthy merchant-girls complaining about not being allowed to eat such heavy foods in fear of ruining their figures before marriage, but magic could burn away a lot of heavy fare without trouble.


    The thought almost made her laugh as she took another sip of her tea. As a child, she knew her family would never have had such problems. They had good food, but things had certainly been tighter than they were now. More than once she¡¯d heard her mother quietly whispering with Orion¡¯s parents about rising prices and grain shortages. Erwin and Estin may not be nobles, but they were highly skilled craftsmen and merchants. Living with them, she knew she would never go hungry, even if she did not feast every night the way she knew some nobles did.


    Soon enough, the bread was gone and she helped Erwin clear away the plates and pack the leftovers into their paper wrappings and into Erwin¡¯s prized enchanted cold-box. Despite its humble appearance, simply another wooden cabinet standing innocently beside the ones holding dishes, it was one of the most costly items inside their home. Not only did it keep food cold without the need for hard-to-get ice, it used magic to further slow the spoiling of food. It, along with the enchanted lock-box hidden behind an enchanted bookshelf, had actually been two of the items her uncles had brought back to Xethis with them during that fateful trip where they¡¯d saved her life from the sea.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go get ready,¡± she told him once they were done.


    He opened his arms and she feigned reluctance as he pulled her into a warm hug. ¡°Will you be back for dinner?¡± he asked quietly?


    ¡°I should be.¡±


    ¡°Do you need anything for lunch?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get something from the dining hall.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± He kissed her forehead, then gently pushed her towards the stairs, ¡°Have a nice day at school.¡±


    She nodded and smiled back at him as she hurried back up to her room. She wasn¡¯t running late yet, but she would hate to be late to class. She¡¯d missed almost an entire week in the wake of her¡­ breakup with Adonia and, while her teachers had been mostly understanding, she didn¡¯t want to miss any more of her lessons. She needed all the practice she could get and that meant going to class with their special protective circles.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    By the time she arrived at the school, she was out of breath and almost as sweaty as she had been when she woke up. She stopped on the last street before she reached the castle-like complex and ducked into a side alley to quickly cast the same anti-sweat spell as earlier, drying her clothing and face with a single careful casting. Using the spell so close to school always felt very risky, what if someone saw her use it, but going inside looking like an ¡®unwashed peasant¡¯ would do her already tattered reputation no favors. Everyone, other students and teachers alike, were already biased enough against merchant class students, she didn¡¯t want to make things worse than they had to be.


    She passed through the gate without any issues, exchanging hurried greetings with Fergus, the on-duty guard, before hurrying up the central staircase to get to her first class on time. At least this wasn¡¯t one of the many classes she shared with her former lover, there would only be a few open seats left and she really didn¡¯t want to worry about avoiding Adonia right now. She didn¡¯t even know if she wanted to avoid the kind, witty girl right now.


    Her first three classes passed in a blur of lectures, readings, and minor demonstrations. She was very proud that she¡¯d managed to cast all seven of the spells she had attempted today, including the tricky second-circle spells she¡¯d only learned in the last two months of classes. Between lessons, she grabbed a quick bite to eat from the thankfully free dining hall and spent the rest of her time in one of the public libraries trying to find any of the exercises Orion had given her in the available books. As with her previous attempts, she failed.


    She hoped Orion would come visit soon. He said he would be busy this weekend but would hopefully come by sometime during the week. It would be good to see him again and she really wanted to try a few of the exercises again but didn¡¯t dare do so without his supervision. Magic was dangerous after all, and if she asked a teacher she would have to explain what she was doing and where she had learned it. She wouldn¡¯t do that to Orion. Teaching people magic without a license was illegal after all, and she seriously doubted he had one. By all rights, Orion wasn¡¯t even supposed to know magic in the first place. Unlike her he¡¯d been born a peasant and it was illegal for peasants to learn magic.


    Her fourth class of the day was the one she shared with Adonia. Professor Lightkeeper¡¯s ¡®Healing with Light Magic¡¯ had been her favorite class for the first few weeks of the semester and she¡¯d spent all summer looking forward to it, but now she had mixed feelings about it. The teacher loved assigning group projects and, like she often was, she was currently paired with Adonia. That was actually how she¡¯d met Adonia for the first time three years ago; the teacher had paired them together in their very first class and they¡¯d almost immediately struck up a fast friendship. The rest had grown from that first meeting.


    She stepped into the large, airy room where the class was held and had to shield her eyes with her hands as she looked around. Rays of brilliant sunlight shone into the room through the large windows set into both the walls and ceiling of the classroom. In several places, glorious rainbows shone on the polished white-marble walls and floor where prisms hung suspended by translucent threads.


    Squinting, she frowned briefly when she found Adonia already sitting near the front of the class, an empty chair pulled out beside her in a clear invitation. After a moment of indecision, she crossed the room and sat down in the open seat, opting not to return her former lover¡¯s enthusiastic greeting. It would be silly to sit elsewhere, they were partnered on the current project after all, but she didn¡¯t have to like it


    Despite Leana¡¯s silence, Adonia had no trouble talking enough for both of them during the ten minutes they were waiting for the instructor, nor during any of the partnered exercises during the class itself. They were studying a spell near the peak of the second-circle called ¡®Invigorating Light¡¯, which was a precursor to the third-circle ¡®Hope¡¯s Light¡¯ that they were supposed to learn by the end of the year. It was a tricky spell and the spell matrix had a lot of different pieces that all had to fit together perfectly.


    None of her classmates managed to cast the spell when Professor Lightkeeper called them to the front of the room one-by-one to try it, but the special practice enchantments ensured that no one was hurt by the attempts. When it was Leana¡¯s turn, she managed to form almost two-thirds of the needed lines and swirls before her spell matrix collapsed. That was very good for a first attempt and Professor Lightkeeper clapped her on the back and told her to keep studying the diagrams he¡¯d drawn for them.


    A tiny, vindictive part of her mind smiled when Adonia didn¡¯t even manage half the spell on her first attempt. That hidden smile vanished quickly when Professor Lightkeeper gave her a second attempt, and then a third, before finally telling her to ¡®visit him in his office later if she wanted to keep trying¡¯. She knew for a fact that if she came by his office, he would be much too busy to monitor her practice.


    She left the school quickly after that, barely waiting for the bell to stop ringing before she was out of her seat and through the door. She didn¡¯t pause or even look back when she heard Adonia calling after her, weaving through the packed hallway and then ducking into the first available stairway leading down to the grounds. She left the school through the south gate as though she was heading towards the market, then on the first side street turned and headed home. They really did need some groceries, but she just¡­ wasn¡¯t feeling it today. Estin would take care of it after work, or maybe she would once she¡¯d calmed down a little.


    Perhaps if she¡¯d been less lost in thought or even just a bit more careful, she might have noticed that something was off. The shop¡¯s door should have been propped open on such a fine autumn day, and an unfamiliar wagon was standing unattended just outside the building. Perhaps if she¡¯d let Adonia with her constant accompaniment of bodyguards walk her home as she had once often done, things might have ended up differently. Maybe if she¡¯d stayed at the school for another hour, spent some time reviewing in an empty classroom or visiting one of the less biased instructors in their offices, someone else might have noticed something. Unfortunately for her, none of that happened.


    The inside of the shop was in shambles, stands of fine leather-work knocked onto the ground and piles of products scattered across the well-worn floors. The front counter was a smoldering heap of kindling, lacquered wood reduced to rubble. Leana¡¯s eyes widened as she saw a familiar body sprawled across the ground, blood oozing slowly from a cut right above her beloved uncle¡¯s eye. His face and arms were a mess of bruises, and there were scorch marks on his leather jacket.


    Leana began to rush forward when the door slammed heavily behind her and the bar fell loudly into place. She spun around, hands rising in a futile gesture to protect herself, but it was far too late for that. A massive fist slammed into her face, sending her sprawling on the floor. Her head spun and she looked up and up until she met the eyes of a hulking giant of a man who barely fit inside the shop without having to stoop. There was a heavy club slung over his shoulder and she could see blood splattered across the dark wood.


    ¡°This her?¡± he rumbled.


    ¡°Looks like it,¡± a smooth, venomous voice replied.


    ¡°Even prettier than in the picture,¡± a reedy voice chimed in. ¡°This will be fun.¡±


    ¡°Definitely,¡± the second voice said. He sounded like he was so far away, his voice almost echoing in her ears. ¡°Still, work comes first. Buzz, the message.¡±


    The hulking man stepped forward, holding his massive club one handed as the other went up to scratch the stubble on his cheek. ¡°Message? Oh, right, the message.¡±


    The burly man reached down and grabbed Leana by the hair, pulling her up into a rough sitting position. She whimpered loudly, the sound coming out more as a gurgle through her blood-fill mouth. ¡°Pwes,¡± she begged, ¡°Nauo. Nauo!¡±


    He cleared his throat loudly, looking back and forth between the prone girl and the two bloody men lying sprawled against the walls of their shop. ¡°Right, message. This is what dumb whore like you gets for ugh¡­ for¡­¡± He scratched his cheek again. ¡°Help me out boss?¡±


    The leader of the trio massaged his forehead with two fingers. ¡°It¡¯s ¡®for trying to reach above her station¡¯, Buzz. We went over this.¡±


    ¡°Right, yeah. Thanks boss.¡± He turned back to Leana, who was still dangling from his other hand. He coughed loudly, then pounded his chest with his club once and cleared his throat. ¡°This is what a dumb whore like you gets for trying to reach above your station.¡±


    He looked back at the slender man standing behind him. ¡°That it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah Buzz. You got it.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, where were we¡­¡± The club rose high in the air, then came crashing down. Bone shattered and muffled groans became agonized shrieks. ¡°Now don¡¯t be going anywhere, girly. We just getting started!¡±

 Chapter 77

    The street was abuzz with activity, but Orion stood rooted to the cobblestones, barely aware of the chaos. A burnt out ruin stood where a fine two-storied shop had been days earlier, a pair of mages still firing fire-suppressing spells into the smoldering building. He could feel the last traces of magic struggle and die under the constant barrage. Orion did not believe in coincidences, and those traces were all the evidence he needed. This had been no accident.


    Orion inhaled slowly, tasting the acrid tang of smoke and ash in the air. Someone was going to pay for this. He didn¡¯t care if it was an attack on Lea herself, simply a casualty of a separate conflict, or even just a business rival¡¯s scheme. Something like this could not go unpunished, would not go unpunished.


    He exhaled sharply. First though, he needed information, and he needed it now. If they had so much as touched a hair on his Lea¡¯s head, the person who had done this would rue the day they were born.


    Reaching into an interior pocket, he withdrew the small amulet that all Avalon students were ¡®encouraged¡¯ to carry when outside the Academy, and used a small bit of magic to attach it to his jacket. He didn¡¯t tend to wear it out like some students did, he didn¡¯t like to advertise his current status, but here it would hopefully give him some much needed semblance of importance. For a moment he wished he¡¯d worn something slightly more impressive, he was no longer wearing the pieced together outfit of his first outings, but his clothing was still that of a simple laborer. It would have to do.


    He glanced around, then marched towards the most official looking person he could see. The tall, uniformed guard barely bothered to turn his head. ¡°Please stand back, citizen. This area may not be sa¨C¡±


    I didn¡¯t have time for this shit. Magic rose within me and I briefly focused the entirety of my attention on the man. He stumbled over himself mid word and turned fully to look at me, eyes widening under his helmet.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, I didn¡¯t recognize¨C¡± he glanced briefly down at the amulet, ¡°¨CMy apologies, good mage. How can I help you?¡±


    ¡°The people?¡± I asked sharply, ¡°Was anyone in the building?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well¨C¡±


    For the second time, I let my mana flood out of my body and briefly wash over the guard. His legs buckled momentarily and he swayed drunkenly before refocusing on me. ¡°Was anyone in the building?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°Yes, good mage. Three were pulled from the building before the flames could spread fully. Two men, the owners I believe, and their adult daughter.¡±


    I frowned. He wasn¡¯t telling me something. ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ they weren¡¯t in good shape when my men got to them, good mage. All three were badly beaten and the woman was¨C¡±


    Without any conscious thought, my magic spiked again and he hurriedly shut up. ¡°Where are they now?¡± I all but growled. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I noticed that the poor guard looked utterly terrified, but I was too angry to care. I was afraid if I let him finish his sentence, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see past the red haze at the edges of my vision.


    ¡°Th-the gu-guard center,¡± the man stuttered. He straightened slightly, nervously fidgeting with a buckle, ¡°I can have one of my men take you there?¡±


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for?¡± I asked sharply. I turned to look at the cooling ruin, scowling as I remembered the irreplaceable pictures and whatever other precious memories my Lea had built in this place. ¡°Save what you can. Ensure nothing is¡­ misplaced during the cleanup.¡±


    ¡°Yes, good mage.¡± He nodded shakily, then turned away, scanning the slowly dispersing throng that had gathered on the street. ¡°Harth, over here!¡± he called out loudly, and a young-looking guard rushed over to join us.


    Harth glanced between us quickly, then clapped his free hand on his chest and slammed the butt of his short spear against the ground. ¡°Sir?¡± he asked quietly.


    ¡°At ease. Harth, please lead this good mage to the guard center. He is free to visit with the brought in victims as he pleases.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    With one parting glance at where the mages were finishing off the last of the embers, I stalked after the young guard as he briskly led be back towards the city center. Hopefully what I¡¯d just done wouldn¡¯t come back to bite me. I didn¡¯t really have the power or authority to order anyone around, but with any luck no one would question it. My amulet said nothing about year, and Avalon was very flexible about the age at which it accepted students, so as far as the captain knew I very well could be a near-archmage level spellcaster. Rules and laws tended to become rather flexible at those echelons of power. Combined with what I was rapidly learning was an excellent technique for intimidation, I doubted he would do anything he thought would piss me off in the near future. I could smooth over any ruffled feathers later. For now, this would have to be enough.


    As we went, my mind raced with plans and theories. There were a few things I needed to know, Who had done this? Why had they done this? And most importantly, what I could do about it. Hopefully Lea or her uncles could tell me something. Baring that I would have to go back and question the guards. Unfortunately, I was afraid the fire-suppressing spells, combined with the clearly magical flames, had likely wiped away any potentially useful traces of the culprits magic. Well, assuming other magic had even been involved.


    If none of those options panned out, I did have at least one lead. Well, five leads really. I only knew of one group that had targetted my Lea before, and it was high time I payed them a visit. Even if they weren¡¯t the ones responsible today¡­ well, I wasn¡¯t feeling particularly forgiving right now.


    As much as I didn¡¯t like the option, it might also be worth trying to contact the Earthshadow heiress, if she didn¡¯t already know what had happened. She clearly cared deeply about my Lea, and even if I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about their relationship, I doubted she would take this lying down. If she¡¯d been incensed by an attempted beating, I had no doubt she would be furious about such a brazen attack on her former romantic partner. Still, she should pray that this wasn¡¯t in some way her fault, perhaps some jilted¡¯d partner¡¯s way of striking back at her indirectly. Powerful heiress or not, her Name would not protect her from me.


    Most of the thankfully short walk passed in a blur, though I made sure to keep all my senses peeled the entire trip. I found it unlikely that this was something meant to target me, I had been careful about covering my tracks and didn¡¯t really have any active enemies in Avalon that I knew of, but that was no reason to let my guard down. If nothing else, if it was those idiot childern than they might have hired someone to do what their combined skills could not. The pendent the Myrddin had given me, its enchantments still just as inscrutable as they had been when I¡¯d first received it, hung heavily against my bare chest, hopefully shielding me from the prying eyes of any overly-curious mages.


    The guard center was a small, walled complex only a few streets away from the Avalon portal. My guide led me through the manned gate and towards a two-storied stone building covered with several layers of wards. I analyzed them briefly, then dismissed them as irrelevant. They were simple protective spells, under which lay a moderately powerful healing field meant to stabalyize life-threatening injuries within its bounds. Nothing particularly dangerous or unusual. From what I¡¯d read, it was a rather standard design for small-scale healing halls.


    The building was nearly empty when we arrived. I waited silently as my guide exchanged hushed whispers with the only nurse I could see in the entire wide-open first floor, tuning out the sharply hissed words, then followed after him as he led me up a flight of stairs. The second floor appeared to be divided into roughly a dozen smaller rooms, and the guard directed me to where I could sense three faint mana signatures just behind the wall.


    ¡°Through here, sir,¡± he said, opening the door and taking a step back.


    I took one step into the room, and, for the second time that day, was almost overwhelmed by raw, burning rage. My oldest, dearest friend lay all but naked on a hard cot, the burnt and bloody scraps of what had once been a dress leaving nothing to the imagination. Bruises, oozing abrasions, and horrible burns covered nearly every inch of her body, and both her arms were twisted in ways human arms were not meant to move. Despite myself, my eyes drifted lower and my teeth clenched painfully as I saw white slime pooling in the narrow gap between her parted thighs.


    They¡¯d done nothing for her. In fact¡­ I hadn¡¯t realized I could be this angry as I saw the manacle looped around her more-intact ankle, a short chain connecting it to a metal hoop in the floor. I scanned the room, noting the similar manacles binding both of Lea¡¯s uncles as well, ensuring the somewhat less injured men weren¡¯t going anywhere either.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I took a few shaky steps forward and dropped to my knees beside the head of the cot on which she lay. Patches of her beautiful silver hair had been torn roughly from her scalp, and the rest of it was soaked with a disgusting mix of fluids, both her own and those of dead men. Both her eyes were nearly swollen shut and blood leaked slowly from her broken nose and between cracked and missing teeth, then down her cheek to drip onto the already stained wood. Her breathing was slow and ragged, but even the clearly agonizing rise and fall of her chest gave me hope.


    A gauntleted hand clapped down on my shoulder, nearly sending me sprawling in surprise. A gruff voice spoke up from almost directly behind me. ¡°You can¡¯t be here right now. This is a matter for the city authorities. I don¡¯t know who¨C¡±


    I slowly turned my head to look up at the guard who dared try and pull me away from my Lea. He wasn¡¯t even a mage, I could feel only the barest spark of magic at the core of his soul, less potent than even that of some children I¡¯d seen playing in the street. Who did he think he was, ordering me around?


    ¡°Back off,¡± I growled.


    The man scowled, puffing himself up like a pufferfish. ¡°Now look here sonny. I don¡¯t know what a peasant is¨C¡±


    I tuned him out, turning back to stare at Lea¡¯s mangled body. She was alive, but I didn¡¯t have to be a mind reader to sense the nearly palatable waves of agony rolling off her like heat from a bonfire. A painful wave of hopelessness flooded through me as I studied her many injuries. I didn¡¯t even know where to start treating something like this. Anything I did might just make everything worse, interfering with deeper injuries I did not know how to diagnose. I¡¯d never taken a course on healing magic, nor any of the specalized anatimy classes beyond those needed for self-transformation.


    The hand on my shoulder squeezed down and the guard tried to grab my wrist. I managed to resist the urge to blast him through a wall, instead simply slamming my elbow back and up into the leather chestpiece he was wearing. He choked and stumbled away, clutching his bruised belly with his hands.


    My guide rushed into the room a moment later. I felt him glance rapidly between us and was thankful when he made the right choice to go help his colleague instead of trying to do anything to me. I would hate to make a mess of things here, it might even force me to grab Lea and rush back into the relative safety of Avalon, but I would not let some aging idiot get between me and one of the most precious things left in my life.


    ¡°Why are they chained down?¡± I asked quietly. ¡°Have you called a healer?¡±


    ¡°Its¡­ uh, its just a¡­ safety precaution, thats all. We¡­ we don¡¯t have a healer on staff for commoners. We ah, just typically wait for victims to wake up and see if they have someone they can request.¡±


    I closed my eyes and silently counted to ten. ¡®They¡¯re probably too poor so we were going to leave them to die¡¯ I translated. At least they¡¯d brought them under the wards, probably because it didn¡¯t cost them anything to do so.


    Standing up, I jerked my head towards the door. ¡°Stand back,¡± I ordered, and both guards rushed to comply. Mana singing in my veins, I rapidly cast the few diagnostic spells I knew, trying to see how much time I had.


    The results were¡­ mixed. From what I could tell, it wasn¡¯t quite as bad as I¡¯d initially feared. Her injuries had been inflicted with much more finess than it looked from the outside, designed to cripple and inflict pain instead of kill. Several bones were reduced to all but splinters and without serious healing she would never walk or use her hands again, but none of her major organs had been seriously damaged. I had a feeling whatever the guards had done to transport her had done nearly as much internal damage as whoever had attacked her initially. Bloody incompetence was what it was.


    Biting my lip, I launched several cursory spells at her uncles as well. They were in much better shape, bruised and battered but it looked like they would heal even without magical intervention. Good. Lea would have been devistated if they died, but I didn¡¯t have the time or mana to work on all three of them. My Lea needed expert healing, and the faster the better, else I feared that even if she survived some of the damage would linger for decades to come. Perhaps I could have convinced the guards to summon their own healer, I almost guaranteed they had one on staff, but I wasn¡¯t keen on trusting them with such a thing. Thankfully, I¡¯d learned the perfect magic I needed for this very recently.


    Digging into one of the deep pockets on my pants, I withdrew a small potion vial and popped the cork out with a finger. This wasn¡¯t what it was made for, the potion itself was meant to enhance mana regeneration, but it was the most magically conductive fluid I had with me in sufficent quantities.


    I mentally drew the cupfull of blue-green potion out of the vial, then split the floating mass into three even sections and got to work. The circle formed quickly as I drew the needed twenty-seven runes from memory. The exercise itself was not too difficult, this was one of my more practiced techniques with pure mana manipulation, but stretching the meager amount of fluid far enough took all my focus. The circle ended up much smaller than I would have liked, the lines drawn with barely more than a millimeter of liquid and I had to use some of my focus to ensure the potion wouldn¡¯t bead and ruin everything, but I managed it in the end.


    The moment I finished, I flooded the circle with mana, charging each rune almost simuletaniously and enveloping Lea in a soft red glow. At my direction, spellforms wrote themselves in the air around the circle, twisting slowly as they began to sink inward.


    I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth as I felt the strain of using so much mana all at once pound painfully against my skull. The last time I¡¯d done this, I¡¯d had much more time to charge everything and had used a much more powerful, specialized ¡®paint¡¯ to form the runes. Still, I pushed through it, forcing the mana to obey as I almost gently wrapped the last strands of mana around Lea¡¯s twisted limbs.


    With a nearly audible snap, everything fell into place and the oppressive weight of mana vanished in an instant. Lea¡¯s body froze mid-breath, a single drop of blood still hanging off the sharp edge of her cheekbone. I tentatively reached out and ran a finger down her cheek. Both her soft skin and the horrific burns that marred it felt like smooth, cold stone under my touch. Just in case, I cast a simple diagnostic spell meant to check for breathing and a heartbeat. It washed off her immobile form, finding no living thing to latch onto.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back to check on the other two later,¡± I said into the silent room. ¡°I will be very upset if anything happens to either of them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, good mage. I¡¯ll make sure they are well taken care of.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be taking this one with me.¡± The manacle around her ankle sprang open under the touch of a simple unlocking spell, the unenchanted offering no resistance to even such basic magic. ¡°I¡¯ll need a cloak, or perhaps a blanket.¡±


    ¡°There should be one in the closet just outside?¡± offered the gruff, older guard, his voice hoarse and tinged with fear.


    ¡°Fetch it.¡±


    He did and I wrapped the thin brown blanket around her, hiding her injuries and nakedness from the watching guards. After a moment, the older of the two stepped forward, one hand still held protectively over his chest. ¡°We release her into your care, good mage. On behalf of the third guard regiment, I ask that you bring her back to give a statement once she has recovered.¡±


    I glanced at him over my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it.¡±


    ¡°That is all I ask.¡±


    Neither of them tried to stop me as I picked up my ¡®parcel¡¯, carrying her cloth-wrapped body under my arm like I would a melon, and left. It wasn¡¯t the most convenient or dignified way of doing things, but it was at least vaguely subtle and my magically enhanced muscles had no issues with the weight.


    The nurse I¡¯d seen before stepped in front of me as I approached the door. ¡°Excuse me sir,¡± she said in a small voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but may I have a name for the register?¡±


    I looked down at her for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°Orion. Of Avalon.¡±


    She nodded quickly, eyes wide, and hurriedly stepped out of my way. ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    I nodded and left, mind racing as I weighed my options. I could take her to Lightcastle, they clearly had both the facilities and experts needed to care for her. Judging from my previous visit, they would even be willing to do it at no additional cost. However, that would advertise both of our locations and leave us in a very public and open space.


    I could see a few alternatives, but none of them were perfect. I could take her to a private healer, but that would likely be expensive, time consuming, and I would have to find one first. My hastily-cast stasis would hold for a few days, but I would rather not carry around a frozen body while I searched. That seemed like it could lead to more than a few misunderstandings and potential complications.


    Next, I could try and take her to the Earthshadow mansion and hand her off into the care of their family experts. I was confident they had at least a few healers on staff, or could easily bring one in on short notice. Considering Lea¡¯s relationship with their heiress, I had no doubts they would be willing to help. However, this came with its own concerns. I was loath to put myself or Lea in debt to a noble house. I wouldn¡¯t say I knew particularly many nobles, but if Adonia was anything like them she would happily use this to pressure Lea into her proposed relationship.


    Finally, and the option I liked least, I could take her to Avalon. It would cost me either a favor or several of my precious points, but it would not be particularly difficult to find someone capable of healing my precious Lea. Bringing her in would be similarly trivial, registering her as a research subject would take minutes at most and I even had an ¡®official invitation¡¯ to take her with me if I ever had to argue the point before the faculty. After all, the guards had ¡®released her into my care¡¯. Sure it was dubious, but I knew for a fact that Avalon wouldn¡¯t actually care, even if I had been kidnapping a random citizen. It was an arguable point, and that was enough.


    Still, I loathed the idea. Exposing one of my biggest weaknesses so openly went against everything I had been taught and believed in. It would be like climbing into a dragon¡¯s nest to retrieve a random bauble, a horrible risk for only the most meager of gains. Sure she would be healed, but it would also tie her to me in a very concrete, impossible to hide way. I didn¡¯t think I would manage to go through my next four years without making any enemies, and I was loath to put her in a situation where my enemies would see her as a way of getting to me.


    I stepped out of the guard center and sighed softly. Ugh.

 Chapter 78

    In the end, I chose what I decided was the least irritating option, at least in the short term. Time, as it so often seemed to be, was my biggest foe here. I didn¡¯t have time to sit beside Lea as she was cared for, nor search for less troublesome alternatives. The trail of whoever had done this was only growing colder, and it was never a good option to leave an enemy at your back. Caring for my precious Lea was the first priority. Making sure nothing like this would ever happen again was a close second.


    I stopped outside the gates of Earthshadow mansion and took a moment to brush some specs of grime off my clothing. I would have much preferred to do this wearing something more formal, but I really didn¡¯t have time to change, nor was I sufficiently confident in my ability to fabricate fine clothing with transmutation.


    In my current garb, I looked rather out of place this deep into the noble district. The broad streets were lined with walled mansions set far back from the street and surrounded by expansive gardens and grounds. I was garnering some rather strange looks from passersby and the eyes of guards had followed me as I walked briskly down the wide footpath along the edge of the road. I imagined commoners, particularly ones dressed in such simple clothing, didn¡¯t often go down this way.


    I took a few more steps forward and one of the two guards flanking the manor¡¯s gate stepped forward, raising a hand out towards me. ¡°Halt,¡± he called out, ¡°these are private grounds.¡±


    I stopped and placed a hand over my chest. ¡°Greetings. I am mage Orion, of Avalon. I have business with the heiress Earthshadow concerning a mutual friend of ours.¡±


    The guard stared at me suspiciously for a moment. ¡°The heiress is not in the habit of meeting unannounced strangers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m confident she will see me,¡± I answered evenly.


    The other guard stepped forward and whispered something to the first guard. After a moment, he frowned and answered curtly, ¡°I can pass along a message, but there is no guarantee she is available.¡±


    Annoying, but not unexpected. I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything the manor¡¯s gates began to swing open from the inside and I felt a familiar mana signature pass through the thick veil formed by the wards around the mansion. ¡°Ah, there she is now.¡±


    A carriage pulled by two beautiful white pegasi emerged from behind the low wall surrounding the entire mansion, and I could feel Adonia sitting inside it through the enchantments on the elegantly carved wooden body. It seemed like I¡¯d gotten here just in time.


    ¡°Adonia!¡± I called out loudly, a touch of magic amplifying my voice, ¡°Someone attacked Leana at her home. She needs urgent medical attention.¡±


    The carriage stopped abruptly, the two pegasi freezing nearly mid-step and enchantments on the body halting the rest of it in its tracks. The door closest to me swung open and a frazzled-looking Adonia leaned half way out through the opening. ¡°Orion?¡± she asked, a look of surprise on her face, ¡°what are you¨C¡±


    ¡°Leana needs help. She was badly beaten, tortured even, and needs a healer.¡±


    That seemed to be enough to clear away whatever concerns she had. Her eyes sharpened and she sat up straight, ¡°I just heard that her home was on fire. Do you know what happened? Where is she?¡±


    I gestured to the ¡®parcel¡¯ under my arm. ¡°I just got her from the guard center, they had her chained down to a cot! She¡¯s under a stasis spell now, but her uncles are still back there.¡±


    Adonia leapt out of the carriage and rushed over to me. I pulled back a corner of the blanket and Adonia almost staggered back as Lea¡¯s battered face came into view for a moment before I covered her back up.


    To her credit, she recovered quickly. ¡°Arra,¡± she barked to the armed woman driving her carriage, ¡°go retrieve Erwin and Estin from the guard center.¡± Her eyes scanned over the two guards still standing on either side of the gate, ¡°Edric, go get Healer Loraline, she should still be in her office. Tell her to come to my room, it''s urgent.¡± Finally she turned back to look at me, ¡°Are you coming?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Follow me then. Thank you for bringing her.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t thought much of Adonia the first time I¡¯d met her. She¡¯d been an emotional wreck at the time, sobbing and blaming me for what had happened to my Lea. My opinion had not improved much since then, not with how bitter Lea was about their current relationship difficulties. Still, I could not deny that when the time came, she had proven herself more focused and level headed than I had honestly expected.


    She was only momentarily stunned when I gently lay Lea¡¯s brutalized, unmoving body down on the couch she¡¯d directed me toward. Then her eyes hardened and her lips pulled into a tight line. I recognized the emotions that were all but wafting off her, radiating through her mana and into the air. It was the same icy rage I could feel clawing just under the surface of my self control.


    ¡°This cannot go unpunished,¡± she whispered through gritted teeth.


    At that moment, I decided that maybe this girl really could be good for my Lea. Perhaps she would not require as thorough an attitude adjustment as I had initially suspected. ¡°It won¡¯t,¡± I said solemnly as I stepped up beside her.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She turned to look at me and for the first time since we¡¯d met at the gate seemed to actually focus on who exactly I was. A look of instinctual derision flashed across her face as she took in my simple clothing, so very out of place in the well appointed sitting room with its embroidered curtains and gilded furniture. Then her eyes landed on the amulet I was still wearing, and a look of understanding replaced it.


    ¡°Ah,¡± she said quietly, ¡°that explains a few things.¡±


    ¡°I can see how it would.¡±


    ¡°Then your story¡­¡± she trailed off, clearly unsure of how to ask her question.


    ¡°It really was a coincidence. It was something of a shock to recognize her that day. It had been a¡­ very long time.¡±


    She smiled faintly as she echoed my own words back at me, ¡°I can see how it would be.¡±


    Despite the circumstances, I almost smiled back at her.


    After a moment, her face returned the the strained, determined look she¡¯d been wearing for most of the time since I¡¯d arrived. ¡°You know, they told us to avoid people like you.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Avalon students, I mean,¡± she elaborated. ¡°The headmaster implied you were all dangerous, unhinged lunatics and we should avoid you as much as possible.¡±


    I clicked my tongue softly. ¡°It¡¯s good advice,¡± I admitted after a moment, ¡°if a bit¡­ lacking. Dangerous, definitely. The unhinged lunatics don¡¯t tend to last very long though.¡±


    ¡°You agree?¡± she asked, sounding surprised. ¡°I thought you would be more defensive.¡±


    ¡°No, no, your headmaster has the right of it. He was a former student, you know, though he dropped out when he had the chance. We don¡¯t tend to be particularly nice people. If you ever see someone else wearing one of these, I¡¯d suggest getting out of their way.¡±


    ¡°I can take care of myself,¡± she said sharply.


    I looked down at her, gently wrapping my mana around her like a cloak as I felt for her magic. It was a tiny bit better than Lea¡¯s, but only that. ¡°No you can¡¯t.¡±


    She frowned unhappily, ¡°I¡¯m a third circle mage. All my teachers tell me I¡¯m very talented for my age, a rising star.¡±


    I scoffed loudly, ¡°I¡¯d give you even odds against a firsty. Probably. Maybe. You¡¯re a third circle mage the same way Xethis is a world power.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± she asked, clearly not liking where this conversation was going.


    ¡°Exactly what I said. You¡¯re a third circle mage on paper, but there¡¯s no substance behind it. Its a fancy title that gives you confidence but not the strength to back it up. In a backwater like our homeland, you might be impressive, but ultimately you¡¯re a small fish in a very large ocean.¡±


    She didn¡¯t like that one bit. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know¨C¡±


    ¡°Here,¡± I said loudly, cutting her off before she could get going. ¡°This conversation is getting us nowhere. How about this, how long have you been studying at Lightcastle?¡±


    ¡°This will be my sixth year,¡± she said after a moment, ¡°though I had some initial tutelage for a few years before that as well.¡± I had to suppress a shudder, it was even worse than I¡¯d thought. More than six years of work, and she had barely anything to show for it.


    ¡°Okay. There¡¯s a few second years that owe me some favors. Once this is all over, I¡¯ll get them to come over and spar with you. We¡¯ll see how you do.¡±


    ¡°Second year?¡± she asked, sounding outraged.


    I clicked my tongue again, ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know any firsties particularly well.¡±


    ¡°That''s not what I meant!¡±


    Thankfully, our ¡®argument¡¯ was cut off when Healer Loraline finally arrived, shoving the door open and striding briskly into the room without bothering to knock. She was a short, stocky woman with her wirey grey hair pulled up into a tight bun, dressed in a light robe with a white smock over it. She was clearly a foreigner, maybe even with some dwarven blood in her recent ancestry, and I was rather curious how she¡¯d ended up working for the Earthshadows, but for now I was much more interested in her qualifications.


    Her mana was dense and tightly controlled and I could sense the echoes of a well formed core pulsing rhythmically at the center of her chest. She glanced around quickly, then focused her attention on her patient. Holding her hand just over Lea¡¯s chest, her mana poured out and wrapped itself around the girl in a way I couldn¡¯t quite make out. Then she turned away, fixing me with an intense stare.


    ¡°Boy!¡± she barked, ¡°What sort of stasis is she under?¡±


    ¡°Archmage Nicohlis¡¯, the third variation,'''' I answered quickly. ¡°Should I dispel it?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°A good choice. Fast, versatile, and I know the appropriate counterspell. Anything else I should know before I start?¡±


    I quickly rattled off what I¡¯d learned from my diagnostic spells, along with some of my other observations, the healer listening silently except for a few clarifying questions. At the end, she nodded her head once, ¡°You were right to freeze her when you did. I don¡¯t know what those idiot guards were doing, moving someone in her state. Such reckless disregard for¡­¡± her voice fell in volume as she spoke until her final words were too quiet to make out.


    Adonia, who had been growing paler and paler beside me as I described the extent of Lea¡¯s injuries, visibly bristled. ¡°I will make sure those guards are¡­ sternly reprimanded for their stupidity,¡± she hissed, clearly wanting to use much harsher language but unwilling to do so in the current company.


    ¡°You do that,¡± said the healer, clearly not paying her employer any attention. ¡°For now, I need space to work. Shoo!¡±


    Adonia gave Lea one parting, desperate look, then obeyed. I followed after her, but stopped at the door and simply leaned against the wall.


    ¡°You need something, boy?¡± she asked sharply, not looking away from her work.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay out of your way,¡± I said simply, ¡°don¡¯t mind me.¡± I inhaled, and my mana rushed back into my body, my core spinning rapidly as I began to suppress my presence. A few breaths later, I was radiating barely more mana than was already present ambiently in the air around us.


    The healer actually turned around then, if only for a moment. ¡°Impressive. Fine, stay if you wish.¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond, already lost in thought even as my eyes didn¡¯t waver from Lea¡¯s frozen features. This was step one hopefully out of the way. What next¡­

 Chapter 79

    After roughly fifteen minutes of simply watching the healer fuss over Lea¡¯s many injuries, I decided that it was probably safe to leave her alone with the older woman and stepped out of the room. I found Adonia hovering by the door, pacing back and forth with nervous energy as she mumbled under her breath. She jumped when she saw me standing almost directly in front of her, hands seemingly instinctively going to the locket hanging around her neck before falling lamely at her sides when she noticed who it was.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry,¡± she mumbled, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks, ¡°how¡­ how is it going in there?¡±


    ¡°Fine. I think. The healer is taking her time with some of the internal injuries, but she doesn¡¯t seem too worried.¡±


    ¡°Good. That''s good.¡± After a moment, she frowned and threw me an accusatory look, ¡°Are you leaving?¡±


    ¡°Just for an hour. I need to check up on a few things.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Okay. Um, Arra came back with Erwin and Estin. Loraline¡¯s assistant is looking after them. He said they should be waking up soon if you want to wait a little while longer.¡±


    I considered the idea for a moment, then shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ll hurry. Hopefully they¡¯ll have something for us by the time I get back.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going after them?¡± she asked, a note of surprise in her voice.


    ¡°I just need to know where to start. Hopefully they¡¯ll have that for me when I get back.¡±


    ¡°That''s awfully altruistic of you. I thought Avalon students were supposed to be cold-hearted and uncaring.¡±


    I looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. ¡°I already said this can¡¯t go unpunished. What did you think I meant?¡± I paused for a moment, trying to find a way to say what I wanted to say without coming off as overy possessive. ¡°Leana is a close friend. An attack on her is an attack on me.¡±


    She looked up at me searchingly, then smiled faintly. ¡°I¡¯m glad she has someone else looking out for her. I always told her she needed more friends.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure what to say to that. Eventually I simply nodded and turned away. ¡°I need to go. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    ¡°The guard at the door will walk you out.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, heiress Earthshadow. Keep an eye on her.¡±


    ¡°I will¡­ and my friends can just call me Adonia.¡±


    I considered going directly back to the Academy, but decided there was somethings worth trying before hand. I had a feeling it wouldn¡¯t work, it assumed that the attackers had been careless idiots in addition to dead fucks, but I would feel very stupid if I didn¡¯t at least try it.


    I ducked into a small alleyway and quickly laid out a small ritual circle. First, I transmuted a single patch of hard-packed dirt into a smooth stone slab, then used a simple spell to momentarily heat the air above it to a blistering temperature before cooling it just as quickly. It was not a particularly thorough way of cleaning things, but it would hopefully do the trick for right now.


    With that done, I drew the circle itself using a tablespoon of my precious milk diluted with pure water that I gathered out of the air. It was a terribly simple thing, barely larger than a dinner plate with three sections each containing only three runes, but I had very little experience with this sort of magic and this was just a preliminary attempt.


    Then, wrinkling my nose in distaste, I fished out a small vial filled with thick, goopy, off-white strands floating in an alchemically-neutral fluid. It was something I¡¯d read was always good to have with you, since you never knew when you might come across something small and valuable like a four-leaf corpsebloom or a crystal rosebud. The transparent ¡®potion¡¯ in the vial was completely non-reactive with most known magical materials and could be used to preserve delicate ingredients until they could be stored away properly.


    This was not what I¡¯d been carrying the vial around for, but in a pinch it had done the job. I carefully used a tiny silver spoon I transmuted to extract several of the drops I¡¯d collected from Lea¡¯s brutalized body, then let them drop into the center of the prepared circle.


    From there, it was simply a matter of casting the spell itself, but the result proved just as unhelpful as I had predicted. Despite using what was clearly part of the attacker¡¯s bodies, the tracking ritual returned no results. It didn¡¯t even register the vial sitting in my pocket as the same substance that I had cast the spell with.


    I sighed softly as I cleaned away the traces of my ritual. I had really hoped that the attackers had been as careless as I would have liked, but that was not to be. Several centuries ago, someone had begun distributing a powerful and irritatingly simple spell designed to fool exactly this sort of tracking. Despite being so simple that even a complete amateur could use it, the spell could render discarded genetic material completely untraceable by magic under seventh-circle and had rapidly spread among criminals and would-be rapists.


    Well, this was a dead end. Thankfully I hadn¡¯t spent much time on this, but it was rather annoying. I still pocketed the vial with the remaining samples I had collected. If it came down to it, I would find someone at Avalon willing to cast the needed spells for me. It would be painful to ask for help like that, but for Lea? For Lea, it would be worth it.


    I made it back to Avalon in record time, all but running through the thankfully rather empty streets under the meager protection of an illusionary veil that distorted my features and made me hard to pay attention to. I slowed down slightly once I reached the Academy itself, forcing myself to act calm as I politely greeted the gate guards and passed through the portal. People in a hurry were much more interesting than those walking calmly through the hallways. I certainly didn¡¯t need any extra attention right now.


    My first task was tracking down Miranda, made almost trivially easy by the tracking spell built into her necklace. Though I had implied that it would only let me find her if she activated it, in truth I could easily trace the connection between her necklace and my ring as long as they were not too far apart. The only active part of the enchantment was the small alert spell woven into my ring that would activate when she channeled mana into the enchanted plate.


    It was actually a very interesting piece of magic, and one that I had a feeling I would be making extensive use of in the future. Fundamentally it wasn¡¯t even really an enchantment, but rather a sympathetic bond formed by aligning both the mystical and physical properties of the material in just the right way. Both the ring I wore and the small plate of silver hanging between her breasts had once been part of the same specially treated bar of transmuted silver. I had then ritually split it in half and painstakingly formed the two halves into the desired shape without using any magic directly on the metal. The end result was a nearly undetectable connection that, in theory, would ignore many of the standard ways of blocking tracking spells. I hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to test it as extensively as I would have liked, but it seemed to be working well so far.


    I followed the connection all the way down to Miranda¡¯s private room. I knocked once, waited a few moments, and then simply walked right in. I knew it wasn¡¯t exactly a nice thing to do, I¡¯d realized over the weekend that denying her any sort of privacy had been one of those things that had made Miranda so utterly terrified, but I was still keyed into the wards on her room and that wasn¡¯t going to change any time soon. I had been planning to start treating her room as a private space for her to retreat to if she needed it, like it was supposed to be, but right now was not the time for pleasantries.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    I found her lying passed out on her bed, a dopey smile on her face and a familiar-looking vial lying discarded on the sheets beside her. After a moment, I recognized it as the first dose of processed elven juices I¡¯d given her the night before. Judging by the state of her sheets and the placement of her hands, I imagined she had enjoyed her early dinner a little too much.


    In many other situations, I might have left her to sleep. I hated being woken up at the best of times and she looked so very peaceful. The smile on her face was warm and open and her muscles were slack and relaxed. Despite my urgency, I still stood over her for nearly a full minute before finally casting a spell that was technically meant to counter powerful sleeping enchantments but worked just as well on natural sleep.


    Miranda¡¯s breathing hitched momentarily as the spell washed over her and then she stretched languidly, pushing her light sheets aside and unintentionally giving me quite a show. Her eyes opened slowly and she blinked several times before they finally snapped towards me. She scrambled upright, kneeling down on the bed facing me with her legs slightly spread and her hands palm-up on her knees. ¡°Orion!¡± she exclaimed groggily, ¡°I¡¯m so¨C what are you¨C how can I help?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re fine,¡± I told her quickly. I hoped we were finally past the constant reflexive apologies but it was best to reassure her that she hadn¡¯t done anything wrong before it could grow into another mess. That was rather unlikely given her new bindings, but it paid to be cautious. ¡°Hurry up and get dressed and ready to go. There¡¯s a bit of a situation and I would like some backup.¡±


    She sprang to obey and I began to fill her in on the situation, starting from how I¡¯d run into Lea during that first fateful walk a few weeks earlier, brushing over our past relationship, and quickly summarizing everything up to finding her in the guard station earlier in the afternoon and taking her over to Adonia¡¯s estate.


    Miranda listened quietly, asking the occasional clarifying question as she quickly and efficiently got ready to go. She slipped into a dress that was rather conservative by her standards, covering most of her arms, back, and belly in form-hugging silk, a long skirt hiding her legs from view. Though the cloth was translucent and delicate-looking in places, I could feel the protective and durability-enhancing enchantments woven into the fabric, and closer examination revealed runes stitched into the inside of the dress using threads of the same color as the silk.


    Instead of her usual heels, Miranda donned a pair of tall boots, the dark leather shining as though freshly polished and neatly complementing the brilliant red of the silk. Lastly, she slipped on a half-dozen enchanted rings, switched out several of the piercings in her ears, and quickly added four small charms to the necklace hidden under her dress.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready.¡±


    ¡°Let''s go then. I have a few things to grab from my room as well and then we can be on our way.¡±


    My own preparations didn¡¯t take long either. I changed into my typical school outfit (it had always seemed obvious that my day to day clothing should be as durable and heavily enchanted as I could afford), grabbed a few extra vials and some more specialized tools that seemed like they might be helpful, and emptied out my bag of school books and papers, leaving only my supply of collars and other enchanted equipment. I also passed off several items I felt might be useful to Miranda, such as one of the older, non-levitating collars and several vials of useful potions.


    Then we were off. I led Miranda back to the Earthshadow estate at a brisk walk, continuing to answer her other questions as they came up. I made sure to impress on her that Adonia was an ally of convenience and was not to be trusted with any private information or secrets.


    At one point, Miranda suggested that it might be useful to bring Cayla with me as well, and I seriously considered the idea before temporarily discarding it. I was loath to reveal that link just yet, especially since she was such a low-ranking noble. Perhaps the connection might be useful later, but for now it was simply an unnecessary risk.


    We made it back to the mansion only a little over an hour after I¡¯d left. I was pleased to see that Adonia had left instructions with the gate guard, as Miranda and I were quickly ushered inside and led down unfamiliar corridors to where Healer Loraline¡¯s office was located. The healer herself was not there to greet us, apparently still up in Adonia¡¯s chambers working on Lea, but Adonia appeared a moment after we did, emerging from a hidden staircase just outside the room¡¯s doorway.


    ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± she exclaimed as she rounded the corner, ¡°Excellent timing, I¡¯m told Erwin just woke up a few minutes ago and Estin should be waking up soon as well.¡± She blinked and finally seemed to notice Miranda, who was standing a step behind me with her hands folded behind her back. ¡°Oh, hello there. Who¡¯s your friend, Orion?¡±


    I was somewhat irritated by the delay. If Lea¡¯s uncles were awake, I wanted to be questioning them yesterday, but I knew from experience that some people cared a lot about making sure all the niceties were observed. It was best to be polite and accommodating, else you risked causing yourself long-term problems. I had enough of those as it was.


    Fixing a polite smile on my face, I gestured to Miranda, ¡°Adonia, I¡¯d like you to meet my good friend and ally Miranda. She¡¯s one of my classmates and a talented mage. Miranda, this is Adonia Earthshadow, heiress of the Earthshadow name and sixth-year student at Lightcastle.¡±


    Miranda took a step forward and curtsied, the fine silk of her dress shining even in the dimly lit hallway. ¡°A pleasure, Heiress Earthshadow. You have a beautiful home.¡±


    Adonia bowed her head politely, ¡°It¡¯s lovely to meet you as well. Thank you for coming, Earthshadow appreciates your assistance in this matter.¡± She turned back to look at me and gestured towards the waiting door. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    I nodded and followed after her into the Healer¡¯s rooms, Miranda and the guard that had led me here trailing after us. We passed through a small waiting room, down a short hallway, and finally into an open room with several large, clean beds lining the walls. Each one was surrounded by metal rods set into the ceiling which could be used to close off the bed with thick, opaque green curtains.


    At the moment, only two of the beds were in use, and a young man in white robes hovered nervously between them. Erwin and Estin had both seen better days. They were awake, but dark bruises still covered their skin and half-healed burns were scattered along their arms. The moment we stepped into the room, Adonia rushed over to the beds, sitting down between them and crying out, ¡°Oh, Uncle Erwin, Uncle Estin, look what they did to you!¡±


    I stood awkwardly by the door as the trio had a surprisingly tender reunion, with Adonia constantly assuring them that Lea was being treated by a highly trained healer and that she would be alright. Eventually, the conversation finally moved towards what I was actually interested in.


    ¡°It was a trio of men,¡± Estin murmured, his voice rather dry and hoarse. He took a sip from the glass of water offered to him by the healer¡¯s assistant and continued, ¡°There was a big one, must have been nine feet tall, he barely fit into the shop. He had this huge club he used to batter down the door and smash all the shelves. I think his name was Buzz? At least that''s what the other guys called him.


    ¡°The other two were smaller, still pretty tall, but like, normal-person sized. One of them had a ponytail and a goatee, the other was clean shaven and wearing glasses. They were both mages, I think. Glasses started throwing around fire when Erwin tried to brain him with a chair.¡± He swallowed heavily. ¡°It didn¡¯t work, but at least he tried something. I never even made it out from behind the counter.¡±


    ¡°Esty,¡± mumbled Erwin, ¡°don¡¯cha beat yourself up about it. They did¡­ did plenty enough damage as is.¡±


    I was frowning. This was all well and good, but it wasn¡¯t really enough to go off of. I needed something, anything. I stepped forward, ¡°Is there anything else you remember?¡± I asked hopefully, ¡°Did they say anything? Drop any other names maybe?¡±


    The two brothers considered things for a moment, then Erwin mumbled, ¡°Yeah, there was one thing. When¡­ when Leana came in. And they grabbed her¡­ The boss told the giant to give her a message¡­¡± he choked up slightly and the assistant hurried around the bed and offered him a drink of water as well.


    ¡°Thank you, son. Right, he told him to give our Leana a message.¡± He swallowed loudly and sank down deeper into the pillows on which he was propped up. This is what a¡­ a dumb whore like you,¡± he choked up again and finished in a whisper, ¡°a dumb whore like you gets for trying to reach above your station.¡±


    I looked over at Adonia and our eyes met. She scowled, a dark gleam in her eyes, and I nodded slightly. That was definitely something to go off of, that was for sure. Apparently, it was past time I paid a group of idiot children a visit. My hands closed into fists, nails digging into my palms and blood and mana rushing through my veins. I¡¯d thought I had plenty of time to take care of them. Well, it sure sounded like one of them hadn¡¯t learned their lesson.

 Chapter 80

    I was angry. Very angry. Not just at whatever fools had decided to mess with my Lea, but also with myself. I could have done something about this, should have done something. I could have been more proactive, more insistent that Lea train in combat magic. I could have covered her home in wards and alarms spells, given my dearest friend something even half as effective as my slave¡¯s emergency beacon. I could have done something. Anything. Just a little bit more and maybe it would have been enough.


    But I hadn¡¯t. I hadn¡¯t been careful enough, insistent enough, paranoid enough. I¡¯d started investigating her earlier attackers, the five nobles who had ambushed my Lea in the streets, who had made her bleed and put fear and hopelessness into her eyes, but only that. I thought I had more time. I¡¯d found their identities, where they lived, and some other basic information, but that was it. I had been waiting for things to die down a little more, for my schedule to free up enough that I could take care of them silently and subtly. This wasn¡¯t Avalon, I¡¯d told myself. I could be slow and methodical about this, there was no need to rush. I¡¯d been a fool.


    They were going to pay for this. I didn¡¯t care if it was all of them or just one lone actor. They would suffer like Lea had suffered. I would tear down their names, burn their homes to ashes, and teach them the true meaning of pain. The streets would run red with their blood and¨C


    Miranda¡¯s hand gently brushed against my elbow and I felt her step up behind me, pressing her chest gently into my back and her cheek against my shoulder. I exhaled sharply through clenched teeth. With an almost agonizing effort of will, I brutally crushed my seething mana back down into the dense sun at the center of my chest. Almost instantly I felt the difference, my frayed circulations snapping back into place and the mental enhancements I kept running at all times returning to their usual gentle cycles.


    I inhaled slowly, then exhaled again. Right. No. That wasn¡¯t who I was. Reckless anger had once served me well, rage giving me the strength to forget and energy to move and run and live, but not anymore. I was not that scared child anymore. I was Orion, of Avalon. A trained and disciplined mage. Father¡¯s voice whispered in my ears and I closed my eyes as I forced myself to calm down and think. ¡®A raging bonfire will burn hot and fast, consuming all the fuel you feed it in a single night. A good hunter will only feed the fire what it needs, to save fuel for the cold nights ahead.¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t be stupid about this. A reckless mage was a dead mage, Professor Zim had made that point abundantly clear during my first year. The image of the unflappable professor calmly wiping blood off his papers after the first student in our class blew her arms trying to cast her very first spell was etched into my mind. ¡®The foolish arrogance of youth,¡¯ he had said, sadly shaking his head even as she slowly bled out on the floor, ¡®One cannot rush progress. Calm mages live, tense fools leave stains on my desk.¡¯


    I fell back on the very basics that I had ground into my head back in my first year. What did I want and how could I get there?


    First, what did I need to do? I needed to find who had ordered my Lea to be attacked. I highly doubted that the person behind things had been involved directly. That would be a rather silly decision, and the brief descriptions I¡¯d heard from Lea¡¯s uncles didn¡¯t match anyone I knew who might have a motive. No, if this was done by nobles, they would have delegated. It was entirely possible the men who had done the deed where three or more layers removed from whatever slime was behind this.


    Next, how could I accomplish my goal? I could see a few routes in front of me, though each came with its own potential issues. The simplest was probably to go after Lea¡¯s five original attackers. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to kidnap at least half of them, though I would have to move quickly. If the current attack had been ordered by one of them, I was certain I could get a confession out of them with torture and compulsions.


    However, that came with its own risks. Despite what they¡¯d done, they were still nobles and students of Lightcastle. I would have to be rather careful and even then, it was still a rather risky proposition. My homeland might be a backwater, but I already knew that the rich and powerful did have competent people working under them. I might be better than their children, but I couldn¡¯t fight even just a competent sixth circle mage. If one of them happened to have a seventh circle retainer or grandparent¡­ Well, Avalon didn¡¯t protect its students from their own stupidity.


    Additionally, unlike before this, there was now a clear link connecting me with any potential disappearances. I didn¡¯t think Adonia was going to say something, but that was still a serious risk. Unfortunately, I was currently in no position to get rid of that link. I imagined Adonia was going to be rather careful in the near future, I certainly would be if my girlfriend was violently attacked in her own home, and even beyond that, her help could be rather useful in this situation. Perhaps I would be able to deal with her later, but Avalon was only going to stay here for so long. Irritating.


    The second option was to work backwards. If I could find the attackers themselves, I could hopefully interrogate them into spilling the beans on who had hired them. I did want to find them at some point anyway, they were equally deserving of pain for what they had dared to do. They likely wouldn¡¯t be a particularly hard target either. I doubted any of the trio the uncles had described were particularly impressive. Skilled mages had enough options that only the stupid and talentless had to turn to petty crime.


    Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to do that. I didn¡¯t really know anything about the criminal underworld in this area, and the lead I had been hoping for had already proven to be a dead end. Xethis wasn¡¯t exactly a big country, but finding three criminal mages with nothing but physical descriptions to go off of was still a daunting task.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    As my burst of rage faded, I started to realize that this was going to take a while. I couldn¡¯t just leap into things like I wanted to. I hated being passive, but that might be the right choice to make right now. The issue was, being passive had gotten me into this mess in the first place. If something else happened¡­ I had already come to terms with being a monster. My morals were a small price to pay for my life and safety. Lea¡¯s life though? I didn¡¯t know if I could forgive myself.


    In the privacy of her finely decorated study, Adonia finally let the control that tutors had drilled into her head for her entire life slip. She knew the study was warded heavily, runes hidden behind tapestries and paintings ensuring that no sound could enter or leave the room, along with too many other functions that she didn¡¯t really understand. She didn¡¯t particularly care to understand. That sort of work was best left to servants and craftsmen. What she did know was that with the door closed, even the two guards standing right outside the door couldn¡¯t hear so much as a whisper of what was said inside.


    She certainly had no intention of whispering. ¡°Those stinking rats!¡± she shrieked, ¡°I¡¯ll kill them, I¡¯ll kill them, I¡¯ll kill them!¡±


    Grabbing an inkwell off her desk, she threw it as hard as she could against the wall. She was almost disappointed when the glass container deflected harmlessly away from the painting it was flying towards, landing gently on the ground without ever spilling a drop of ink.


    ¡°How dare they touch her! How¡­ dare they!¡± She stalked back and forth behind her desk, the tall heels of her sandals leaving deep indentations in the plush carpet. She didn¡¯t know which of her classmates had organized this, but it had to have been one of them. Leana was just a merchant girl, without even the semblance of a noble name. This was a cowardly, underhanded attack on the name of Earthshadow, there was no other explanation.


    Well, whoever it was, she would make sure they rued the day they moved against her house. Her honor would allow no other response. After the first cowardly attack against her beautiful flower, she had made it very clear that the girl was still under the aegis of Earthshadow. No matter what sort of tantrum Leana was throwing, it changed nothing. The poor girl just didn¡¯t know any better, it wasn¡¯t her fault she was born under such a lackluster Name.


    It was her responsibility, both as Leana¡¯s friend and as a noble Name, to educate and care for the lesser girl. Her tutors had made that very clear when she¡¯d raised her concerns during lessons. The lesser named were not always suitably educated, not taught how to care and act as was proper. Leana, as smart and beautiful as she was, had just been lashing out in ignorance.


    She screamed again, wordlessly throwing her head back and shrieking towards the ceiling. They were ruining things, ruining everything! Leana was getting better, she had seen it! A few more weeks and they would have been together again like nothing had ever happened. Then, Adonia could finally teach¨C show her that everything was alright. Leana¡¯s place was with her, loving her, touching her, moaning her name.


    Now, she was afraid that her wonderful, kind, loving, beautiful darling would be broken and hidden away again. Leana was a delicate flower, not meant for the rigors of a cruel world. It was Adonia¡¯s job to protect her, to tend to her and ensure she could blossom into the full beauty Adonia could see inside her.


    No. That wouldn¡¯t happen. Couldn¡¯t happen. Adonia would marry that ugly brute Shatterstorm, but at night beautiful, soft Leana would warm her bed and touch her like only another woman could. She would break whatever Name had dared impunge the honor of Earthshadow, crush their family and grind them down until they were nothing more than commoner worms. Let them tend fields and catch fish like their ilk deserved. Whoever had ordered this was no true Noble. Not like she was. Not like her flower could be.


    Eventually, when her throat was sore from screaming obscenities and her feet ached from long hours wearing the same fancy shoes she¡¯d worn to Lightcastle, she dropped down heavily into the padded armchair behind her heavy wooden desk. She took a moment to compose herself, an enchanted brush quickly bringing her hair back in order and her clothes straightening out with just a touch of magic. Once she was presentable, she picked up the small crystal bell at the edge of her desk and rang it three times.


    The door opened almost immediately and a man dressed in dark leather stepped into the room. ¡°My lady,¡± he whispered, falling to one knee and bowing his head respectfully.


    She didn¡¯t bother with any sort of formalities. He was just a servant of her Name, a capable underling, but nothing more. ¡°Leana Sweetglass, a merchant under the protection of our Name, was attacked earlier today. Find who was responsible and report back to me. Start with my classmates, I suspect it may have been one of the Firewalker brothers, or perhaps the Shieldlights.¡±


    The man waited for a moment after she finished speaking, then clapped a hand against his chest. ¡°It shall be done, my lady. For the honor of Earthshadow.¡±


    ¡°For the honor of Earthshadow,¡± she echoed, ¡°Dismissed.¡±


    He left as suddenly as he had appeared, and only once the door was closed again did Adonia let herself slump down, resting her forehead against the cool surface of her desk. She was so very tired, and she hadn¡¯t even figured out what she was going to do about Leana¡¯s enigmatic friend. Of all the things she had considered, it hadn¡¯t even crossed her mind that he might be a member of Avalon. She didn¡¯t know much about the mysterious organization, little more than what the Headmaster had told them, but it was enough to be concerned.


    If nothing else, he seemed to care deeply about her sweetheart. For his sake, she hoped that it was a purely platonic friendship that the two shared. Even if the boy seemed confident in his strength, she had no doubt that a mere merchant, no matter how well educated, would fall under the weight of Earthshadow.


    Still, as long as he behaved and did not interfere, he could prove to be a valuable tool. Perhaps she could offer him a position with the other servants? A well-trained, merchant-name mage was always a useful commodity. He was clearly no noble, else he would have introduced himself as such, and no commoner could wield magic with such expertise.


    Maybe he would make a good bodyguard for Leana someday. It would be unsightly to task a fellow noble with taking care of a mere merchant, but he already seemed both combat-capable and motivated to protect Leana. It may be illegal to teach the merchant-names combat magic, but there were no rules about using those already skilled in it. She smiled. Despite the tribulations, Earthshadow would always rise.

 Chapter 81

    ¡°Hey Orion,¡± Brenda simpered, dropping down into the chair beside me and laying her hand down on my thigh. I had to resist the urge to wrinkle my nose as the heavy scent of her flowery perfume washed over me. It was a different one today, and she was wearing new makeup as well. I could feel the thin film of mana rippling over her face, and though to my eyes she looked just as ugly as usual, the flavor of the mana was not quite the same.


    ¡°Good morning Brenda,¡± I said after a moment, turning to look at her with a smile plastered across my face. ¡°You¡¯re looking radiant today,¡± I lied easily, long weeks of practice making it all but reflexive, ¡°is that a new color?¡±


    I turned away and did my best to tune her out as she all-but squealed in joy and launched into a lengthy, elaborate story about her new cosmetics. It was rather pathetic, a third year really shouldn¡¯t need such a crutch to look the way they wanted to, but I¡¯d noticed very early into our ¡®relationship¡¯ that it was one of the compliments she reacted to most positively. Purple lipstick really didn¡¯t do her face any favors either. I knew very little of style and fashion, but the dark shade did not match her complexion or hair at all.


    At the very least she shut up when class began. The material we were covering wasn¡¯t particularly interesting, but it was better than her blathering. We were discussing ground-stilling spells today, a specific type of counterspell used to prevent hostile earth-manipulation. As far as I could tell, and Professor Shrike had even acknowledged it at the start of the class, it was almost always better to use an actual counterspell instead, so I wasn¡¯t really sure why we were learning about them at all. The only real use for them was stopping earthquakes, but that was typically done with long-term rituals instead of evocation.


    I wanted to pay attention, I really did. Even if the magic itself wasn¡¯t the most useful, I still always made an effort to learn as much as I could from all my professors. They were archmages with decades of experience to share, and I always believed I needed all the help I could get. Unfortunately, I was tired, distracted, and just so very sick of things getting in the way.


    It had been over a week since Lea had been attacked, and I was no closer to finding the fucker responsible for it than I had been at the time. In those first hours, I had been filled with fire and energy, determined to find the perpetrators and make them regret ever being born. I¡¯d had a lead, an ally, and all my magic singing in my blood.


    I¡¯d been an arrogant fool. Things had just been going too smoothly. Every time I¡¯d come across a problem so far this year, I¡¯d managed to resolve it in just a few short steps. Sure it had taken work and planning, but each time I¡¯d at least had an idea of where to start and what I needed to do. Even for the longer term projects ¨CBrenda, my research and classes¨C it was just a matter of doing it.


    Here though, I barely knew where to begin. I wasn¡¯t an investigator nor a detective. I also didn¡¯t have a mountain of money, connections, and subordinates I could throw at the problem until it went away. I especially didn¡¯t have overwhelming power on my side; I might be confident in a fight against the majority of people in my homeland, but I was only barely a fourth circle mage. If I came across a century-old mage, no matter how lackluster their skills, I would be washed away simply by the weight of experience and raw power.


    I¡¯d done my best, poking around the homes of Lea¡¯s earlier attackers and examining the scene of the crime, but I¡¯d found little to go off of. In those first few hours, I¡¯d been ready to kidnap them from their homes and torture them until they spilled everything they knew, but Miranda had managed to talk me down until I realized that would be a terrible idea. I wasn¡¯t exactly the first suspect, but my involvement would be easy to figure out once someone actually looked into things. I was still going to do it eventually, but that would have to wait until a good opportunity presented itself.


    Outside of that, I¡¯d had very little progress. Most of what I¡¯d learned came from Adonia¡¯s people. They¡¯d identified the three attackers as the ¡®Terrorbone Trio¡¯, thugs for hire with a good reputation among criminals, but they had clearly gone to ground the moment they¡¯d realized someone was looking for them. I¡¯d done my best trying to figure out where they might have gone, but my scrying and locator spells had been no-more successful than those of the Earthshadow servants.


    In the first few days, I had spent every waking moment outside of classes hunting. Eventually, lack of progress and a growing pile of other things I really needed to be doing convinced me to pull back somewhat. I hadn¡¯t even left Avalon yesterday, spending most of the day grinding out homework assignments and catching up on reading and spell practice.


    It didn¡¯t help that Lea was still unconscious. The healer claimed that Lea was getting better, but had put her into a spell-induced healing trance to deal with the internal damage. Outwardly, she looked fine, but her bones, organs, and mana pathways were still recovering. Such things could be healed in an instant by high-circle magic, but without it, she just needed time. Seeing her just¡­ lying there, silent and motionless¡­ It reminded me of things I really didn¡¯t want to think about. I¡¯d visited her on Saturday, but hadn¡¯t been able to stay long. I just couldn¡¯t deal with being there, seeing her like that. Adonia had promised she would send a message when she woke up, and I¡¯d layered a subtle alarm spell over her bed that would hopefully do the same. There was no point sitting beside a sleeping girl, I could be with her when she woke up.


    I was surprised when class ended, not having realized so much time had already passed. The page in front of me was covered in meticulously transcribed diagrams and notes that I barely remembered making. I shook my head to clear it, then snapped the notebook closed and leaned back in my chair with a soft sigh.


    ¡°Are you alright, Orion?¡± Brenda asked suddenly. I was shocked to realize that, under the honey-sweet tone she always used, I thought I could hear actual concern. ¡°You look unwell. Should I take you to the healers?¡±


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I blinked rapidly, then forced myself to smile and look at her. ¡°I¡¯m fine dear. Just a little bit tired.¡±


    She leaned in and pressed her sweaty palm against my cheek. ¡°Are you sure, darling? A big, strong man like you needs his rest. Maybe we should go grab some food and you can relax a little.¡±


    I caught myself before I could slap her hand away, changing the movement into a light touch against the back of her hand. ¡°I¡¯m sure. Don¡¯t worry about me, I need to get to class.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but you should go to bed early tonight.¡± Her hand lingered for a moment longer before finally pulling away.


    I stood up immediately, shoving my things roughly into my bag. ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Are we still good for tomorrow?¡± she asked, starting to put her own pink stationery away.


    I didn¡¯t particularly want to spend my Wednesday afternoon getting felt up by my ¡®girlfriend¡¯ while I tried to study, but it was a harmless way to appease the girl and Brenda was one of those projects I really needed to stop slacking on. I¡¯d already missed two planned ¡®dates¡¯ with her, and she had gotten much more touchy during classes because of it. ¡°Of course!¡± I said cheerily. ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon.¡± I spun around, made sure my protective spells were active, and hurried out of the classroom.


    Advanced Enhancement Rituals was another project that I really needed to be working on. There was only a little more than a month left of classes and I still hadn¡¯t finalized my ritual preparations. Several of my classmates had already done theirs, and most of our class time was now dedicated to refining our personalized work, but I had made barely any progress in weeks.


    I really needed to figure out what sort of sacrifice I was going to use, and soon. The ritual framework I had designed would work on most magical creatures, but if I wanted to maximize the benefits I would have to refine that framework to specifically target the traits of the chosen creature.


    Arriving with a few minutes to spare, I looked around and then took a seat beside Camille. She looked up from her book, absently brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, then frowned. ¡°You look terrible, Orion. Is everything alright?¡±


    Was it really that obvious? Mana condensed above my hand and I spun it into a first circle barrier spell barely larger than my palm. It wasn¡¯t a particularly useful spell, barely strong enough to stop a punch, but when cast correctly was highly reflective.


    Looking at myself in my makeshift mirror, I realized that it really was. I looked¡­ haggard in a way I hadn¡¯t in years. I tended to take pains to keep my appearance simple and non-threatening, but that was another thing that had slipped away in the past week¡¯s rush. There were dark shadows under my eyes, my hair was a mess, and even my slight smile looked dead. Wonderful.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine. Tired. Busy,¡± I mumbled, ¡°Give me a moment.¡± I closed my hand, dispelling the mirror. Focusing, another spell matrix formed in the air above my outstretched hand, this one far more complex than the simple first circle shield I¡¯d cast before. Mana spun and twisted onto itself, compressing and warping in that hard-to-describe way that allowed mages to simulate higher-order geometries in three dimensional space.


    After a few seconds, I felt a gentle breeze flow over my face and turned back to Camille. ¡°Better?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I mean¡­ technically. You look fine now. But¡­¡± she trailed off, chewing on her bottom lip.


    I resummoned the barrier and was happy to see that I was back to normal, even if it was only a visual illusion. I¡¯d picked up the spell the week before from a book Miranda had given me in case I needed to disguise myself for whatever reason. It was a rather versatile little spell, useful for me despite my lacking skills in illusionism. Unlike many lower-circle illusion spells, it didn¡¯t depend on the caster¡¯s knowledge to form the specific image, instead basing itself on subconscious memories. With something like ¡®Shape Light¡¯, I would have constantly had to know exactly how I wanted my face to look and constantly adjusted as the light changed and I moved around.


    Some people could do that, but I just didn¡¯t have the required level of attention to visual detail to manage it. With this spell however, ¡®Smiling Mask¡¯, I could simply specify that I wanted to look like I usually did or that I wanted to be a dark haired, green eyed man and it would do the rest for me. Definitely very handy, if unpleasantly mana hungry. It would be enough until I could get back to my room.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± Camille asked suddenly, ¡°You were always in such a huge rush last week and didn¡¯t make it to our meeting, and now you looked like you hadn¡¯t slept in days. I¡¯m your friend Orion, I can¡¯t help you if you don¡¯t tell me anything!¡±


    I glanced around, looking to see if anyone had noticed the outburst, then turned back to the frowning girl beside me. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have sat next to her, I couldn¡¯t imagine Alan or Ulan being this pushy. Still, I definitely didn¡¯t want her spreading rumors or stumbling around trying to ¡®help¡¯ me, so I decided to give her something.


    With another glance to make sure no one was spying on us, I leaned in and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s nothing you need to worry about. One of my¡­ associates in the city ran into a spot of trouble and I¡¯ve been trying to help them out finding some stuff. It hasn¡¯t been going particularly well, that¡¯s all.¡±


    She gave me a dubious look, but didn¡¯t press, which I certainly appreciated. ¡°If you say so. I assume you haven¡¯t had any luck with scrying for it?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Figures. Maybe you could find an upper year to help? Unless it¡¯s something really valuable, I guess. Maybe your girlfriend could help you? Isn¡¯t Brenda specializing in that sort of magic? Maybe¡­¡±


    Camille rambled on but I sat frozen in my seat. That¡­ that was an excellent idea. I couldn¡¯t believe why I hadn¡¯t thought of it myself. Sure it wasn¡¯t the specific reason I was cultivating our relationship, but I would be a fool not to make use of the resources I had at hand. Even if she wasn¡¯t a particularly skilled mage in general, she was still far more knowledgeable about scrying magic than I was. Even if she couldn¡¯t find them herself, perhaps she could point me in the right direction?


    I would have to be careful about it, I wanted to keep the number of people in Avalon aware of Lea as small as possible, but it was still the most promising idea I¡¯d considered since the middle of the previous week. After all, Brenda wasn¡¯t some random upper year. She¡¯d said in the past that I should come to her if I ever needed help, though I¡¯d taken the offer with a large grain of salt, so if anything this would only make her happier. If I framed it correctly when I spoke to her, I could probably use it as an experience that would let us ¡®grow closer¡¯ even if it didn¡¯t work out the way I wanted it to.


    I straightened my back and turned to Camille, a genuine smile on my face under my illusionary mask. ¡°That,¡± I said slowly, ¡°is an excellent idea. Thanks Cam.¡±


    She looked rather taken aback by my words, but after a moment simply smiled back at me. ¡°Happy to help?¡±

 Chapter 82

    Sometimes, it''s easy to forget that I¡¯m living surrounded by monsters. Things will be quiet for a few days, I¡¯ll spend some time with a few of my saner classmates, and I can almost imagine that every person I¡¯m talking to isn¡¯t fully willing and capable of tearing out my throat and using my corpse for spell practice. I do my best to avoid falling into that trap, to stay vigilant no matter how peaceful things seem, but staying on guard at every hour of every day wears on you. Some days, I find myself wondering if I¡¯m being too cautious, too paranoid.


    Days like today remind me that paranoia is perfectly reasonable when you¡¯re living in a place like Avalon. Power was the only thing that mattered here. Sure there were rules and regulations, but those only counted so long as those with true strength cared to enforce them. I had no doubt that without the indomitable strength of the Myrddin and his enforcers, Avalon would have collapsed to infighting centuries ago.


    After all, I doubted you would find something like an impromptu slave-market in a place that cared for morals and ethics. In the space of just a few hours, the wide open lawn behind Avalon¡¯s main building had been transformed under the power of several upperclassmen. A wide wooden stage had been erected near the center of the field, flanked on either side by large pens. Off to one side stood a long table, behind which sat Kess and Kyrak, a pair of seventh years I was passingly familiar with.


    ¡°Sirens for sale!¡± Shakhan¡¯s magically-enhanced voice called cheerfully from his place floating above the hastily thrown together stage, ¡°Come one, come all! Get them before they¡¯re gone! Fresh-caught sirens for sale!¡±


    The tattooed sixth-year¡¯s bright smile was in stark contrast with the row of bound, kneeling figures lined up beneath him. Nine young, terrified sirens knelt on the bare wood, arms bound behind their backs with lengths of spectral-blue chain and mouths covered by shimmering red silk enchanted to ensure they couldn¡¯t use their racial gifts to escape.


    In the pens on either side of the stage, dozens more awaited their own turns on the stage. They ranged in age from early teens to even old matrons, all bound and gagged with the same magical bindings. There would be no escape for them here, not that they would have gone far even if they did miraculously escape their current restraints.


    The trio must have gone and captured an entire flock, I concluded after some time. Judging from how human they looked, with only the occasional feather and backward joint to indicate their monstrous heritage, these must be members of the local colony. Wild sirens were much more avian than this. It was no wonder they¡¯d managed to reach some sort of understanding with the local government. Without the help of my mana sense, I doubted I would have realized they were anything but ordinary humans if I¡¯d just seen them walking down a busy street.


    I¡¯d heard that several students had already come back carrying their own prizes, but apparently picking off individual sirens was too amateurish for this trio. Instead, they¡¯d gone in big and had decided to sell off whatever extras they hadn¡¯t needed to other students. Judging from the brisk business they were doing, it seemed that not everyone who wanted a live siren had the time or inclination to go get one for themselves.


    At some unseen signal, Shakhan gestured and the chains binding the kneeling sirens to the stage shifted, flowing like water and pulling their limbs along until each was bound with their hands behind them and a length of chain connecting their legs together. Then, they were half-pulled off the stage, hobbling along as quickly as they could to avoid falling. One of the smaller girls couldn¡¯t quite keep up, and her legs bounced against the wooden planks as she was dragged along by the chains.


    I spun around when I heard someone loudly clear their throat behind me, hands coming up defensively and tendrils of mana wrapping into a shield before I realized who it was. Liam smiled, seemingly amused by my reaction, ¡°Good reflexes, but your sensory skills could still use some work. I was hiding my presence, but not my footsteps. It''s a mistake a lot of inexperienced mages tend to make.¡±


    I nodded slowly, committing the advice to memory. Something else to work on in my nonexistent free time. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said shortly.


    His smile widened, ¡°Happy to help.¡± He turned and gestured through the open window down at the bustling field below. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    I waited for a moment, wondering if he was going to elaborate. I wasn¡¯t really sure what he was asking. When he didn¡¯t, I eventually decided on the simplest answer. ¡°Dangerous. So many students packed together outside of a safe room? It''s more a matter of how many, not if.¡±


    Liam tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, then nodded. ¡°True. You can see it''s mostly upper years down there. Kess and Shakhan said they would retaliate against anyone that starts something so it''s mostly safe for them, but events like these tend to kill off a few of the less cautious third and fourth years. Watch yourself.¡± After a moment, he chuckled, ¡°But I don¡¯t think I need to remind you of that.¡±


    ¡°I try my best,¡± I admitted after a moment. ¡°In any case, I have no intention of going down there. I just heard there was something going on at lunch and wanted to take a look.¡±


    ¡°Fair. No use for a siren? Perhaps something pale to complement a lovely purple?¡±


    ¡°Not at those prices.¡±


    He chuckled again and I frowned internally. He wasn¡¯t usually quite this¡­ cheerful? Sure he wasn¡¯t the most serious person I knew, but he seemed to be in an unusually good mood. Or maybe he was pretending to be in a good mood? I didn¡¯t know what that would mean either way.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Orion, give it a few more years and it won¡¯t matter that you came to Avalon with nothing. In Avalon, a fifth circle mage is commonplace. Outside it? Depending on where the portal is, you could easily make a fortune over the summer with a few hours of work each day. It¡¯s what I¡¯ve been doing these last few years, definitely makes research much more manageable.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear! Well, I¡¯ve got some birdies to pick up. Hopefully at least one of them will have a strong enough water affinity to make it worth the hassle. I¡¯ll see you in class Friday.¡±


    ¡°Have a nice¨C¡±


    Before I could finish the sentence, the space around Liam shifted and he disappeared from my senses. My eyes widened and I looked around frantically for a moment before I noticed Liam calmly striding across the lawn some fifty feet below. I sighed quietly. It looked like he¡¯d finally found a teleportation variant that worked inside Avalon. He¡¯d been complaining about not knowing one for as long as I¡¯d known him, especially since two of the other seventh years were known to be capable of the feat. I had a feeling he would be showing off the ability at every opportunity going forward.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I really wished I could teleport, but even the simplest versions of the spell were sixth-circle. There were a few spells that could pass for a true teleport, but even those were at the high end of fifth-circle and usually had all sorts of costs and weaknesses associated with them. Space-warping magic in general was hard, but I had a feeling I would eventually dedicate a lot of time to its study. Until then, I would simply have to walk.


    I looked back down at Liam, who was speaking with a widely grinning Shakhan, then thought of the four flights of stairs and half-mile of hallways between me and the library. Must be nice.


    Between the detour to see what was going on and the talk with Liam, Brenda was already there waiting for me when I finally reached our usual table in the Academy library. Gritting my teeth internally, I fixed a smile on my face and stepped into the study room. ¡°Hey Brenda, sorry I¡¯m a little late. I hope you weren¡¯t waiting for me too long.¡±


    She all but spun around, nearly falling out of the heavily cushioned armchair she was sitting in. It looked somewhat comical really, particularly since the chair was clearly made for someone about a foot and a half taller than the slightly built girl.


    ¡°Orion!¡± she exclaimed, her face lighting up, ¡°I was starting to get worried! Is everything okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay dear. Just¡­ had to take a small detour after lunch. Nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s good.¡± She turned away, rubbing her thumb against the smooth surface of the small silver locket she always wore. After a moment she tucked it away, hiding the necklace under the too-many ruffled layers of her modest blouse.


    I set my things down and dug out several books and a stack of papers. ¡®Studying¡¯ with Brenda was not exactly the most effective way of getting my work done, her questions and constant touching were rather distracting and annoying, but as long as I wasn¡¯t working on anything that required my full attention I considered it a net gain in productivity. Spending time with the annoying brat of a girl was painful at the best of times, but at least this way I had something to distract myself with. I really wasn¡¯t looking forward to the start of next semester, that was when my current timetable had me start taking her out on ¡®dates¡¯. Ugh.


    Somehow, the first half hour managed to pass even slower than it usually did. I took my usual seat on the couch-like bench on one side of the table and Brenda ¡®sneakily¡¯ joined me after a few minutes. Denying her that little bit of intimacy had proven to be more of a pain than it was worth and I wouldn¡¯t put it past her to climb into my lap one of these days if I didn¡¯t let her do it in private. It sometimes felt like only her noble upbringing and feeble sense of propriety kept her from doing it in class and she was getting more and more bold with every passing week.


    Today however, in addition to dealing with that and nodding along politely as she blathered about something or another, I was also considering how to broach the topic I was actually interested in discussing. Maybe it was an unnecessary complication, but I wanted to do this properly. I didn¡¯t want the request to come out of nowhere and ideally Brenda would offer her help without me having to directly ask. That sounded like a great way to get roped into spending a few hours walking with her in the Avalon greenhouses or some such other rubbish. If I had to do it, I would do it. Anything for my Lea. If I could avoid it though? Even better.


    Eventually, Brenda did give me the opening I was looking for. I¡¯d managed to steer our conversation in the direction of sensory enhancement spells, something Brenda apparently knew a lot more about than I¡¯d thought she would. At the end of a boring, lengthy anecdote about some misadventures her grandmother had gotten into in her childhood (and I had no idea how Brenda could manage to make the exploits of one of the world¡¯s greatest living archmages sound stupid), I innocently spoke up.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s pretty amazing. Your grandmother sounds like an incredible mage!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s great! Don¡¯t worry, I think she¡¯s really going to like you Orion! Maybe next summer, during the break, I can take you to meet her and the others. Oh, and I can finally show you around Ezumrud city! It''s so beautiful there during the summer. When the sun shines through the city barrier just right, it''s like you¡¯re living inside a giant jemstone!¡±


    A faint stab of fear shot through my chest as Brenda continued to describe her homeland. Intellectually I knew I would have to meet Brenda¡¯s terrifying family at some point, but I¡¯d done my best to avoid thinking about it too much. After all, it was either that or face the wrath of her equally terrifying aunt. That ritual better be just as subtle and hard to detect as the book claimed, because otherwise I was a dead man. I made a mental note to figure out how to avoid that particular trip this summer. I definitely wanted to see the city one day, the city¡¯s barrier was one of the greatest feats of warding magic in history and many of the world¡¯s oldest buildings and records resided within the bounds of its nigh-indestructible defenses, but perhaps when I had a bit more power at my back.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said eventually, ¡°I think it''s a little too early to be making plans for the summer already. We¡¯re not even a third of the way through the year yet.¡±


    ¡°I guess,¡± she reluctantly agreed, her face twisting into a pout that would have looked charming on a five year old but just made her look even stupider than she already did.


    ¡°Still,¡± I continued, ¡°it''s amazing that she was able to find the nikkos so quickly. Aren¡¯t creatures like that really hard to target with divination magic?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, but there¡¯s always ways to get around that sort of thing. Just like Professor Shrike told us, no shield spell is a perfect defense. If you know what¡¯s coming, you can always counter it or use a spell that will ignore it entirely. It''s the same way with divination, right? With the right tools and spells, you can get around all sorts of protective enchantments, even the really good ones!¡± She paused for a moment, her fingers tapping out a rhythm against my thigh as she leaned her head back against my shoulder. ¡°Well, mostly.¡±


    ¡°Mostly?¡± I echoed, knowing it was what she wanted. She always got like this when I asked her about something, ¡°What do you mean, oh wise and beautiful Brenda?¡±


    She giggled, covering her mouth with her palm, then continued. ¡°Sometimes it''s really hard to do that, right? Like, look at the Myrddin. I¡¯m sure whatever secret shield spells he uses are as close to perfect as possible. Even if you knew exactly how it worked, you could spend years trying to figure out a way around it and still fail. Just look at Ezumrud city, grammy¡¯s been trying to figure out how to pierce through the shield¡¯s interference for decades and she still can¡¯t make it work.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating,¡± I said out loud, wrapping an arm loosely around Brenda¡¯s shoulders, ¡°that''s amazing Brenda.¡± Another interesting tidbit, even if it wasn¡¯t what I was looking for right now. Even the legendary Archmage Goodwitch couldn¡¯t get divination spells to work within the bounds of the Ezumrud dome.


    ¡°So, what about like, hmm, something like the untraceable molting ritual? I know there''s some really high circle spells that can get around it, but you¡¯d think there would be an easier way to get around first circle magic like that. That would be like blasting a firsty with a sphere of annihilation.¡±


    ¡°Oh that one¡¯s easy!¡± Brenda exclaimed, and my heart nearly skipped a beat. ¡°That one¡¯s a bit tricky, grammy always complains that there¡¯s no way it should really be a first-circle ritual, but you just need to think about it backwards. Instead of scrying for a sympathetic connection to your target like you normally would, you just have to treat it like an ordinary object and work backwards! Even if it''s not identifiable as theirs, a bit of hair or whatever else still spent a lot of time right next to your target. It''s not foolproof, but it''s much easier than trying to brute force things.¡±


    It took me a moment to realize that Brenda was done, and that she was waiting for me to tell her how smart she was. I mechanically went through the motions, patting her head and praising her as my mind spun with possibilities. What Brenda was saying made perfect sense and I might even be able to cast the spells myself with just a bit of study. As she¡¯d said, I just needed to reframe my parameters. The attackers had¡­ produced my sample through a deliberate action. Thus, instead of finding its owner, I needed to find its creator. I¡¯d definitely seen a book reference identifying a blacksmith from a hammer he¡¯d made, so now it was only a matter of finding the specific type of spell I needed.


    The fake smile on my face slowly morphed into a real grin. That was exactly what I¡¯d been looking for. I looked down at Brenda who was nearly preening from all of the attention I was giving her. Perhaps she was good for something after all.

 Chapter 83

    Orange-yellow light pooled and flowed unnaturally around the tips of my finger. I shook my hand and watched with interest how the fluid-like mana construct bounced and deformed, tracing the movements of my hand like a glowing echo. Several drops separated from the main mass, and, once they got too far from my hand to rejoin, fell to the floor like sun-kissed raindrops. They burst when they hit the ground, dissipating into short-lived clouds of warm, brightly-colored smoke.


    Unfortunately, despite some rather interesting properties, the spell had proven much less useful than I had hoped. I¡¯d found a fascinating old book while searching for some of the specific spells Brenda had mentioned might be able to help me. It was a thin, weathered text titled ¡®A Treatise on the Imbuement of Ectoplasmic Spell Constructs with Extraneous Spell Effects¡¯ and I would have walked right past it if I hadn¡¯t noticed the author¡¯s name written out in tiny gold lettering at the bottom of its spine: ¡®Transcribed from the teachings of Eldest Endless-Stains-of-Bloodshed¡¯.


    I hadn¡¯t thought much of it initially, mostly just grabbing it on the way and borrowing it along with nearly a dozen spellbooks and other reference materials. It was mostly just idle curiosity. I didn¡¯t particularly like elves, but there was no denying that their millenia-old elders were treasure troves of information. Not that they ever seemed keen on sharing any of that wisdom or near-forgotten secrets. They tended to instruct exclusively their most promising descendants and the few books written by Elven elders rarely left their ancient strongholds. Even in Avalon¡¯s fabled library, I¡¯d only heard of a half dozen such books, most of which had a waiting list measured in decades to borrow. Thus, something like this, even if it wasn¡¯t exactly written by such an elder, was still potentially an interesting read.


    I wasn¡¯t familiar with this particular elder, though like most people I only knew the names of a few of the most powerful and famous so that was no surprise. Elven elders tended to be reclusive at the best of times, with very few ever choosing to venture out into the world. Still, I knew the title of ¡®Eldest¡¯ was only given to elves over five-thousand years of age and the name itself was rather¡­ ominous. I was rather curious what this mysterious elf had done to be saddled with something like that.


    Over the next few days, in between long hours of studying divination related spellforms, practicing some of the second and third circle divinations I¡¯d found, and taking care of my other responsibilities, I¡¯d managed to find the time to peruse the old book. What I¡¯d found was both more and less than I¡¯d hoped. On one hand, there weren¡¯t any ancient secrets or long-forgotten spells of great power, not that I¡¯d really expected to find something like that. Avalon¡¯s library had long been scoured by generations of power-hungry mages and I¡¯d heard rumors that our current head librarian had actually read every single book in her domain. In any case, I doubted I would have been able to cast such a spell, even if I¡¯d found something no one else had. I was only barely a fourth-circle mage.


    What it did have though, was a very detailed breakdown of, well, exactly what the title said. Imbuing the effects of other spells into an ectoplasmic shell. It didn¡¯t give any specific examples, but using the provided diagrams and instructions I¡¯d managed to construct a fully-functional spell in the space of a single afternoon. Sure, it didn¡¯t really do anything, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d done a particularly good job on the conversion and apparently the ectoplasmic form of a simple candlelight spell was a second-circle spell that produced slightly warm magic goop, but the fact that I¡¯d managed to do it in an afternoon was insane. Making spells, gods above, even modifying spells was not supposed to be that easy. I¡¯d never even considered that you could just¡­ make a formula on how to do it and have it actually work.


    Unfortunately, after that first initial success, I¡¯d had to put the book aside and focus on the issues at hand. Lea¡¯s attackers still had to answer for their crimes and I had too many projects to work on to focus on something new right now. Still, I was absolutely going to come back to this book. Even if the ectoplasmic shells themselves weren¡¯t useful, the book¡¯s methodologies and diagrams had a lot left to teach me. I still occasionally cast the spell I¡¯d created, observing the spellforms and playing with the resulting water-like ectoplasm until it sublimated into raw mana. If nothing else, it was comfortingly warm and felt fantastic after a walk through Avalon¡¯s rather chilly stone halls.


    I let the spell dissipate as I turned onto the last street leading up towards the Earthshadow mansion. My monitoring spells had reported an increased amount of movement around Leana¡¯s bed, leading me to believe that she was probably either awake or something had changed with her healing. Either way, I wanted to be there.


    The guard at the gate let me in without much difficulty, I had become something of a frequent guest at this point. Adonia met me just inside the manor itself, my guide¡¯s ambling path through the estate¡¯s extensive gardens giving her plenty of time to prepare herself. I didn¡¯t particularly appreciate the delay, realistically the gate was barely a minute¡¯s walk away from the main building while we had taken closer to seven, but I was willing to indulge the pointless niceties of nobles. Well, to an extent at least.


    I bowed my head slightly, ¡°Heiress Earthshadow, a pleasure¡±


    ¡°You have excellent timing, Orion. She¡¯s asking for you.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s not keep her waiting.¡±


    Adonia and her invisible guard led me through one of the hidden doors lining the elegant entrance hall and down towards where Lea was waiting for me. I followed a step behind Adonia, listening intently as she gave me a brief rundown of Lea¡¯s current condition. My friend had emerged from her healing sleep earlier this afternoon. She was not yet fully recovered, but had reached the stage where she could safely move around without damaging anything further.


    Unfortunately, her mental state was a different issue entirely. She had spent the entire morning crying, was refusing to be touched by anyone, and hadn¡¯t managed to keep anything down since she¡¯d woken up. Adonia looked thoroughly heartbroken when she described how Lea nearly fell out of her bed when Adonia had tried to hug her. Even though it hurt to hear what my confident, willful friend had been reduced to, I was glad Adonia had told me ahead of time. Seeing her like that without knowing¡­ it would have been even worse.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    She was curled up into a ball when we arrived, her face pressed tightly into the fully pillow hugged against her chest. One of her uncles, Erwin, was sitting in a hardback chair at the edge of the room, watching her silently as he fiddled with one of the buttons on his coat. The two had recovered fully after just a few hours under the care of the Earthshadow¡¯s family healer and had been living in the servants quarters while they tried to recover what they could from their old lives. One of them always stayed with Lea during the day while the other was out and about. It was good to know that my Lea had found such a loyal, loving family.


    In a daze, I silently moved towards her. The room was almost eerily quiet, only Lea¡¯s muffled sobs breaking the somber stillness. I stopped a foot away from the bed and just stood there for a long moment, watching her shoulders shake and how she clutched tighter and tighter to the pure-white linen between her arms.


    Eventually, I decided I had to say something. ¡°Oh Lea,¡± I mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m so sorry I wasn¡¯t there. Not this time, not¡­ then.¡±


    Lea shifted slightly, but didn¡¯t pull away from the pillow. After a moment, she mumbled something almost too quietly to hear. ¡°Orion¡­ Orion, why does it hurt?¡± She paused for a moment, a powerful sob wracking her body. ¡°Why¡­ me?¡± she choked out, ¡°Why¡­ me¡­ again? Is¡­ is it me? My fault?¡±


    My chest felt like I had been hit by a fireball. ¡°No,¡± I said vehemently, ¡°No. You did nothing wrong Lea, you never did anything wrong.¡± The shimmering rage that filled me whenever I thought of him blazed brightly, and I silently added three more hazy, indistinct faces to that pyre. This time though, they were not ancient elven mages far beyond my reach. I was close. Oh, so close.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find who did this to you, Lea. They won¡¯t get away with this,¡± I swore.


    ¡°I¡­ love you too, Orion,¡± Lea mumbled.


    Adonia stepped up beside me, her lips drawn into a tight line. ¡°Yes,¡± she stated imperiously, ¡°they will learn the danger of crossing Earthshadow.¡±


    We stayed with Lea for another half hour, and, by the end of it, she had even stopped crying. She still hadn¡¯t let go of the pillow, eventually dozing off still wrapped around it like a limpet, but it was still progress. At that point, Adonia and I retreated to a nearby sitting room to ensure our conversation wouldn¡¯t risk waking her again.


    ¡°You¡¯ve found something?¡± she asked once the servant that had brought us tea and refreshments left the room.


    ¡°I believe so. But I¡¯ll need some help with it.¡±


    ¡°Ask.¡±


    ¡°It''s a ritual that should be able to track down our attackers. I can perform it, but it has a limited range and requires a proper room to cast. I could do it in Avalon, but I¡¯m concerned the dimensional boundary might disrupt things.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± she began after a moment, ¡°I can¡¯t say I am an expert in divination rituals, but my family does have several rooms set aside for ritual magic. Perhaps one of them would be sufficient?¡±


    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d say that. I¡¯ll need another day or two to prepare, but then, as long as they haven¡¯t left the country, we¡¯ll have them.¡±


    ¡°Excellent,¡± she said viciously, ¡°Then once we have a location, my family¡¯s men can strike. There will be no escape for such beasts!¡± She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then brushed away a phantom crumb from her green gown. ¡°I shall make sure my men are prepared. Would you like to take a look at the rooms ahead of time?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± She took a small crystal bell from a hidden pocket on her dress and rang it once. After a moment, a well dressed maid stepped into the room.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Ensure the ritual rooms are prepared for an inspection. I will be by soon.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± She curtsied deeply, then vanished.


    Adonia glanced around, then turned to fix me with a hard stare. It probably would have been intimidating if I wasn¡¯t used to spending time around much scarier people. ¡°What are your intentions towards Leana?¡± she asked sharply.


    I took a second to respond, surprised by the sudden turn in conversation. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It''s a simple question. What. Are. Your. Intentions. Towards. My beloved?¡±


    A spike of annoyance shot through me when I heard her refer to my Lea as somehow belonging to her, but I didn¡¯t let it show on my face. Now was not the time. ¡°She¡¯s a childhood friend that I care deeply for, nothing else,¡± I said evenly. ¡°Your relationship is not my concern. As long as Lea is happy, I¡¯m happy for her.¡±


    Adonia gave me a searching look, then relaxed. ¡°That''s¡­ good to hear. I wouldn¡¯t want any conflicts to come between our friendship. My beautiful Leana is a gentle flower. She has room for boundless love within her heart.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she is a wonderful friend.¡±


    We continued to speak for another several minutes until the maid returned and led us up to look at the Earthshadow¡¯s ritual rooms. Throughout all of it, I had to fight to keep an even, pleasant expression on my face. No, I decided, I was not willing to leave my Lea with this girl. I hadn¡¯t been sold on their relationship before, and I certainly wasn¡¯t now.


    An image of Adonia, naked and hanging from the hooks I¡¯d originally prepared for Rea drifted to the forefront of my mind. She was a beautiful young woman and held a very attractive political position. She certainly seemed to love my friend and maybe a relationship between the two of them could be good for my Lea. Maybe. However, I could not allow her to drive a wedge between me and my Lea. Mine. Never hers.


    For now, I would bide my time. She was far too useful in the short term to disappear, and I had no idea how I could get to her without it being far too obvious that something had happened. Soon though¡­ Hurting me and mine was unforgivable. Trying to steal from me was unforgivable. Lea deserved everything I could give her and more. A perfect, loving, doting, caring girlfriend was the least of it. Adonia¡¯s time would come.

 Chapter 84

    ¡°Ready?¡± a quiet voice asked through the small gold hoop resting just inside my left ear.


    ¡°O, in position,¡± I confirmed in a murmur, the silencing bubble around me ensuring only my temporary allies could hear me.


    Four other voices echoed my confirmation.


    ¡°Two, ready.¡±


    ¡°Four, in position.¡±


    ¡°Three, good to go.¡±


    ¡°Five, confirming.¡±


    ¡°On my mark then, good sirs.¡±


    Three cleared her throat loudly.


    ¡°And ladies.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, then focused. It wouldn¡¯t do to get distracted now. Mana rushed through my veins, powering three separate layers of shielding spells and charging the invisibility spell enchanted into the necklace I wore.


    A loud boom rang out not far from where I crouched on a low rooftop and a moment later Three¡¯s voice returned. ¡°Door is down. Moving in.¡± Despite her earlier humor, she sounded deadly serious now.


    ¡°Supporting,¡± Five added a moment later.


    Working as part of a team was a rather strange experience. I was pretty sure I could have taken care of things myself, once I¡¯d known their locations they were as good as done for, but that would have taken time and Adonia insisted on ¡®helping¡¯. Thus, here I was, attacking the small, nondescript apartment alongside five of Adonia¡¯s ¡®men¡¯. They were nothing particularly impressive, middle-aged second and third circle mages, but I could respect their coordination and professionalism. As far as I could tell, they were all Adonia¡¯s distant relatives. Cousins, uncles, that sort of thing. Far enough from the main branch to be unimportant but still close enough to be considered nobles, and thus eligible to be trained in battlemagic.


    I silently counted to ten, then jumped across the gap from one roof to the next. With my circulations running at full strength, I easily cleared the eight-foot gap and landed lightly on the shingled roof. I could sense our targets moving around below us. One of them, the large one, was already down, his mana moving with the sluggishness of unconsciousness, but the other two were putting up a fight. That wouldn¡¯t do at all.


    The spell matrix formed in a matter of moments, long hours of practice having made it nearly instinctive. With a sharp crack and a muffled sonic boom, a narrow line of force blasted through the roof, through the wooden floor beneath me, and into the knee of one of the two fighting mages. I heard a loud scream, followed by a muffled thud.


    ¡°Glasses is down, crawling towards the back. Goatee retreating up the stairs.¡±


    I weighed my options for a moment, then made a snap decision. The others were nothing special, but I had to assume they were competent enough to make sure Glasses wouldn¡¯t be able to get away with a hole in his leg and outnumbered five on one. It was best not to let the third mage get his hands on any of his equipment or cast something properly dangerous. He wasn¡¯t going anywhere. ¡°Secure him, I¡¯ve got Goatee,¡± I said into the transmitter. ¡°Engaging.¡±


    I felt him rushing up the stairs below me, his presence distorted by some sort of shielding spell. He was a surprisingly competent mage, his core was more finely formed than any of my teammates and his casting was fast and smooth. A few more years of practice and he would have been well on his way to fifth circle. Unfortunately for him, he¡¯d chosen to fuck with the wrong person.


    Two tendrils of invisible force slammed through the roof on either side of me, punching cleanly through both the clay shingles and the wooden beams beneath. They slammed into his shielding spell like a pair of sledgehammers and I felt the smooth dome of energy shudder and crack under my assault. He staggered slightly, nearly stumbling backwards down the stairs, but recovered quickly.


    His mana surged and I felt a spell matrix take shape, but he was far too slow. I recognized the spell for what it was before he had even finished shaping it and the appropriate counterspell was ready in an instant.


    His force lance collapsed in on itself, half-formed spellforms unraveling explosively under the sudden interference of my spell. I reflexively winced as I felt the mana from his failed spell lash back at him in an unconstrained torrent. Perhaps if he¡¯d been ready for it and in a controlled environment, he might have been able to salvage things in time. As it was, wild mana surged up along his arms, tearing flesh, rending muscle, and pulverizing bone. He shrieked as his arms all but exploded, collapsing to the ground in agony. A moment later, my sleep spell temporarily put him out of his misery.


    ¡°Goatee is down.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Excellent,¡± One said grimmly. ¡°Two, four, secure the prisoners. Five, look for evidence. O¨C¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be joining Five,¡± I said briskly, already cutting a hole for myself in the destroyed roof. ¡°I can sense something in one of the walls, a safe I think.¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡±


    ¡°Two, make sure Goatee doesn¡¯t bleed out. Spell backlash.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Two was the team¡¯s healer, not a particularly skilled one, but good enough to patch up minor damage and stabilize anyone he couldn¡¯t heal fully. In all honesty, he was the most impressive of the group, even if his fundamentals were still sorely lacking. Lightcastle¡¯s healing expertise really was top notch.


    ¡°I¡¯ll clear the basement,¡± interjected One, ¡°Three, on me.¡± I tuned them out at that point, slowing the flow of mana to the communication device to a trickle. The fighting was over and I hoped they could manage themselves from now on.


    I dropped through the hole I¡¯d made, the top layer of my shield spell briefly flaring as it absorbed the force of the fall, and glanced around. The safehouse was a small, nondescript building in a small, insignificant town some two hours walk outside the capital. The two-story home looked perfectly mundane from the outside, but now that I was inside I could tell there was more to it than that.


    For a group of thugs, they had access to some impressive magic. The inner walls of the building were carved with a simple but thorough rune scheme I recognized almost instantly from an introductory text I¡¯d read in my first year. The nine rune array was carved at each corner of the room and was likely the source of the interference I¡¯d felt while divining for their location.


    Closing my eyes, I focused intently on my mana sense. My range and precision was somewhat limited by the layers of protective magic I was using, but I had spent long hours honing the skill and working through interference was nothing new.


    It only took a moment to zero in on my target and a quickly formed axehead of mana made short work of the thin wood panel above the staircase behind which I could sense a large object that almost seemed to repel the mana around it. As expected, I found a heavy iron safe carved with mana-dispersing runes. Perhaps a few months ago, that might have been enough to fool me. Iron naturally resisted magic and, combined with the runes, the safe was probably designed to elude simple divinations. Now however, the artificially thinned ambient mana around it was enough for me to notice that something unusual was going on.


    Three more tendrils wrapped tightly around the iron box and wood splintered as I tore it out of the wall. I had to expend slightly more mana than I would have liked, the runes on the box flickering as they tried to disperse the invisible mana constructs, but once more it was not enough to make me lose focus. The box hung weightlessly for a moment, rotating slowly as I studied the lines of gleaming bronze set into the dull gray iron, then I gently lowered it to the floor.


    Kneeling down beside the box, I carefully examined the locking mechanism on the front of the safe. It was a rather simple design, a smooth door with a single small keyhole. It would be simple enough to just bust it open, but that might damage something delicate. I could also try to just pick the lock, or even use an unlocking spell, but a safe like this was almost certainly warded against such elementary entry methods.


    Thankfully, a solution presented itself before I wasted any more time trying something. Quiet footsteps heralded Four¡¯s arrival as the young Earthshadow mage climbed up the stairs. ¡°Mr. O, ah, I have something for you,¡± he called out. Reaching into a pouch hanging from his belt he withdrew a small iron key. ¡°Goatee had this in one of his pockets. Two said you might want it?¡±


    My eyes flickered between the small key and the safe. Well, that was easy. ¡°And she was absolutely right,¡± I told him. ¡°Let''s see what we¡¯ve got here¡­¡±


    The safe opened easily on well-oiled hinges, revealing a small, tightly packed compartment at the very center of the thick-walled case. I was glad I hadn¡¯t had to do anything drastic to get in, there were several glass vials of what I was pretty sure were third- or fourth-circle healing potions right on top of everything else and breaking them would have ruined the many documents beneath them.


    I closed my eyes and focused on one of the spells I was maintaining, shifting the defensive shell into a slightly different configuration. A translucent barrier shimmered into view around me, covering my body like a second skin. Reaching down into the safe, I carefully removed the vials one by one using the barrier like a glove to grasp the glass without actually touching it. Perhaps it was an excessive precaution, what sort of person would put a topical poison or curse on a healing elixir of all things, but it was always best to be safe.


    With those out of the way, I unpacked the rest of the safe onto a thin cloth I lay down across the ground. It contained about what I¡¯d expected. I found a half dozen pouches of money and small valuables. Most of it was the local currency, but a few pouches did contain a not-insignificant number of pieces. I weighed a velvet-lined sack in my hand and focused on the mana radiating off the metal within. Deep-brass, I was sure of it. I¡¯d had enough experience with the crate of it in my room to get pretty good at identifying it. There were roughly thirty of the small coins in the bag, enough to feed a small family for a lifetime.


    The rest of the safe¡¯s content was rather more interesting than raw currency. There was a thick stack of documents; a mix of letters, contracts, and signed notes that I was very interested in looking over. There were also a few more exotic items. I found a vial of something that felt very toxic, probably some form of potent poison, several magical trinkets, and a pair of thin booklets detailing how to cast a few basic combat spells.


    I silently pocketed the three bags of pieces, leaving the regular gold, silver, and copper coins behind, and stood up. Directing mana into my communication device, I rejoined the conversation I had been mostly tuning out until now. ¡°I got the safe. Some interesting documents, I hope. We can take a closer look when we get out of here. Everything secured?¡± Goatee¡¯s unconscious body was long gone, carried away by Four after he¡¯d brought me the key.


    ¡°Almost,¡± One told me, ¡°You need a box?¡±


    ¡°Would be appreciated.¡±


    ¡°Coming up. We¡¯ll sweep the rest of the floor before we go.¡±


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s get things done and get out of here. These men have a lot to answer for.¡±

 Chapter 85

    Useless. Absolutely useless. I watched through one way glass as Goatee, Balta Baker as I¡¯d learned from the interrogation, writhed under the touch of a second-circle pain spell. I¡¯d thought it would be satisfying to see them suffer, to teach them the cost of touching what was mine, but any vindictive pleasure I¡¯d felt had fled after the first few hours. Now¡­ I just felt tired.


    This was so pointless. We weren¡¯t going to get anything else useful out of these men, not with the means at our disposal. They were already dead in all but practice, only kept alive by whatever last scraps of information the Earthshadow interrogators were hoping to squeeze out of them.


    I slumped back in one of the heavy armchairs Adonia had asked the servants to drag down to her family¡¯s dungeons and closed my eyes, even while my mana sense continued to keep careful watch over the three tightly bound prisoners in the neighboring rooms. Adonia was long gone, she¡¯d stuck around for the initial interrogation but had gone slightly green and rushed out of the room once things had turned a little more messy. It was good to know she had such a weak stomach for the future, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered to look forward to when that information might be useful. Not right now.


    I suppressed a sigh and mentally adjusted one of my protective spells. Instantly, the muffled shrieks and screams coming through the glass faded into a mild buzz of white noise. That was better. His voice was getting rather grating, though it was still less annoying than Glasses¡¯ obnoxious whining and high pitched begging. Neither Briella nor Cayla¡¯s screams had been half as unpleasant as this.


    To pass the time, I began to silently go over the scraps of information we had managed to get out of the three thugs-for-hire. I¡¯d had such high hopes when we¡¯d first gotten them down into the dungeon, a circle of truth that I¡¯d prepared the day before already waiting for them. That had faded quickly once I¡¯d found just how many oaths of secrecy the three fucks had willingly sworn themselves to.


    Despite hours of torture and interrogations, all we¡¯d found was that none of them could tell us anything of value even if they wanted to. They couldn¡¯t say who hired them, what they had been hired to do, how they were hired, or much of anything else really. The closest we¡¯d gotten was when Goatee had managed to mouth something about a bird at a pub, but that wasn¡¯t particularly helpful. There were a lot of pubs on the island, and we weren¡¯t even sure that was in any way applicable to what we were looking for. He had clammed up immediately afterward and hadn¡¯t said a word since one way or another.


    The documents we¡¯d found had been barely any better. The majority of it was related to prior contracts, some sales records, and a surprising amount of stores and other property that the trio appeared to own or have stakes in. Apparently, they¡¯d been rather smart with their money, investing it back into a number of businesses to give them perfectly legitimate funds to operate with. A lot of their ¡®work¡¯ had been done on commission from one of those businesses, doing such things as procuring reagents, guarding shipments, and something that was labeled as ¡®scouting competitors¡¯.


    We¡¯d found a few things that looked promising, a few recent payments that lined up marginally well with when Lea had been attacked, but I was skeptical of how helpful they would be. There was a long list of obvious pseudonyms, ¡®Rocky¡¯, ¡®Whitebird¡¯, ¡®Boots¡¯, and so on, each charged for simply ¡®services rendered¡¯. Very useful, I was sure. Maybe there was something I wasn¡¯t seeing, but I just didn¡¯t know what we could do with such vague information.


    I exhaled loudly. This was a waste of time. I stood up and turned to the maid Adonia had assigned to guide me when I was inside the estate. She was a young, meek looking woman, though no amount of makeup and simple clothing could hide the second-circle core spinning slowly inside her chest. I didn¡¯t buy her act for a moment, she was clearly some sort of disguised guard, and I doubted she was a day under forty.


    ¡°Let''s go,¡± I told her, ¡°I need to go talk to Adonia.¡±


    She turned away from the wall she¡¯d been facing and the feigned trembling of her shoulders stilled, ¡°Ah-ah-of course, sir. The Heiress is likely in her rooms. This way.¡± She really was quite committed to the role, the small flinches every time one of the interrogators evoked a particularly loud scream were especially compelling.


    I let her lead me out of the dungeon and up several narrow flights of stairs. We were rather deep underground, at least four floors beneath the already rather large mansion. My mana sense wasn¡¯t particularly good for fine detail outside of things filled with mana, but the difference between rock and air was still noticeable due to the sluggish way mana moved through solid matter and I could feel vast amounts of mostly open space on either side of me. The land under the manor was absolutely riddled with tunnels and passageways.


    As we moved higher, rough stone walls were replaced by fine marble and polished granite hung with paintings and tapestries. Clearly that area was not something the Earthshadows liked to advertise to their guests.


    As my guide had guessed, Adonia was in her large suite of rooms. I could clearly sense her lying down through the wall on my left. However, there seemed to be something of a snag in my plan to speak with her.


    ¡°Our lady is otherwise occupied,¡± the guard outside her door told my guide briskly, ¡°come again another time."


    My guide turned to look at me, an apologetic look on her face and her mouth open to say something, but I cut her off. ¡°I need to leave soon and this won¡¯t take long. Could you tell Adonia I would like to speak with her?¡±


    The guard¡¯s nose wrinkled and he straightened his back and turned to face me. ¡°Our lady,¡± he began, putting special emphasis on the first word, ¡°commanded that she not be disturbed. You may wait and she will make time for you when she so chooses.¡±


    Ugh. ¡°Could you just pass a message that I¨C¡±


    ¡°Heiress Earthshadow commanded that she not be disturbed,¡± the guard all but growled, leaning forward menacingly. Wonderful, just wonderful.


    ¡°I just wanted to discuss our next steps now that¨C¡±


    ¡°And you can do so later.¡± He sniffed dismissively, ¡°Regardless, I do not see reason to bother our lady with such trivialities. I am sure one of her attendants shall be more than enough to debrief you. Perhaps¨C¨C¡±


    He continued speaking, but I ignored him as I suddenly realized what this was. I could feel Adonia moving around in the other room, so she was clearly neither sleeping nor doing anything particularly important. In fact, as far as I could tell she was listening to something, our conversation out here perhaps? This was one of those stupid games that nobles liked to play. She was trying to assert dominance in some odd, backwards fashion. Great. She¡¯d been mostly dealing with me straight so far, but apparently now that we¡¯d made some progress it was time to start the one-upmanship.


    Well, whatever she was playing at, I didn¡¯t particularly feel like dealing with it today. ¡°Very well,¡± I told the guard, interrupting him mid word, ¡°you can inform the heiress that I shall return when I am next available.¡± I turned away and began walking down the hall towards where I knew the stairwell was.


    After a moment, the fake maid hurried after me, but I didn¡¯t bother slowing down so she could catch up. I¡¯d spoken with Lea earlier in the afternoon and she¡¯d been planning to get some more sleep, so there was no point going to see her now. Similarly, I was pretty sure I¡¯d gotten all I was going to get out of men and I no longer felt any particular need to personally punish them for their actions. Adonia¡¯s men had already done plenty to ensure they would regret it with every fiber of their being before they died. It had been a long day already and I wasn¡¯t going to be wasting my time with this garbage as well. I would come back in a day or two and see if she was willing to act like a normal person.


    I arrived at my room feeling tired, frustrated, and just overall in a bad mood. Between the fighting this morning, listening to hours of interrogations, and now wasting most of another two hours taking the long way around Avalon to avoid an all out brawl that had broken out between a dozen or so fifth and sixth years.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    It was strange, it felt like I had made so much progress, and I had, yet it seemed like we¡¯d accomplished so little. Sure I¡¯d finally tracked down and captured the men who had beaten and raped my closest friend, but that didn¡¯t change the fact those things had already happened to her. Worse, I was no closer in finding the person, or people, ultimately responsible for what had happened and now down my most promising lead.


    I needed to calm down, take some time to unwind and relax. Perhaps I could have a lazy evening, read something interesting with a cup of tea and some dessert from the cafeteria maybe? That idea was immediately replaced by something slightly less calming but no less relaxing when I stepped into my room to find Rea enthusiastically harvesting Mistletoe wearing nothing but a broad smile and a narrow band of cloth to hold her chest in place.


    I looked silently between Rea, the large stone rod slick with glimmering pink fluids clutched in her hand, and Mistltoe¡¯s plump, quivering backside, and suddenly I knew exactly how I was going to relax tonight. It was still rather early in the evening and not only was tomorrow Sunday, but I had cleared nearly my entire weekend just in case the situation with the thugs had taken longer than anticipated. My lips involuntarily curved up into a small smile. Yes, this was an excellent idea.


    The door slammed closed behind me and I focused on my favorite purple-skinned pet. ¡°Rea,¡± I began gently, ¡°be a dear and get that lovely backside ready for me, hmm?¡±


    ¡°Yes Master, this slave obeys.¡±


    ¡°Good girl, good girl. When you¡¯re done with that, make sure you¡¯re ready to go too. I think someone¡¯s earned themselves a bit of a reward.¡±


    ¡°Yes Master!¡±


    She got to work with renewed enthusiasm, a nearly manic grin on her face as she used the juices splattered across her arms and still gushing from Mistletoe¡¯s abused lower-lips to ensure the elf¡¯s other hole was properly lubricated. It made for quite a show, particularly once Rea noticed that I was still watching and added some additional bouncing to her efforts. My pet might not be as stacked as Miranda or my cows, but it still made for a compelling show.


    I stripped quickly and reluctantly turned away from the spectacle and stepped out of the room to get washed up. I doubted that Rea would have minded me just the way I was and I would probably need to clean up again afterwards, but I didn¡¯t think I could properly enjoy my evening without washing away the last remnants of the day¡¯s activities. It wasn¡¯t really a physical thing, between my temperature-adjusting circulations and the protective spells I¡¯d been sustaining throughout the entire day I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d really gotten dirty or anything, but I¡¯d found over the last two years that a hot shower had its own ways of calming me down.


    I came back a few minutes later, skin flushed red from the pounding heat of the shower, to find a now fully-naked Rea waiting for me. The cup of tea I¡¯d been fantasizing about on the way back to my room was waiting for me beside her, resting just out of the way on a small table. She really was a treasure.


    I was slightly surprised to see that she wasn¡¯t holding it on a tray, she seemed to disdain using furniture when her body would do the job, but it didn¡¯t take long to realize why she¡¯d made such an unusual choice. Rea was kneeling on a small throw-rug just outside the bathroom, her knees spread widely and chest thrust proudly forward. That was all pretty normal behavior for her, but this time the effect was amplified by the metal bands around her wrists that held her arms behind her back in a tight reverse-prayer position. Ah, I¡¯d been wondering what she¡¯d done with the old prototype she¡¯d asked for.


    It was certainly a good look on her, the dark metal contrasting wonderfully with the pale purple of her skin and the rosy blush on her cheeks. ¡°Very nice pet,¡± I told her appreciatively, then demonstrated as much by leaning over and gently running my finger up through the valley of her breasts. ¡°Dessert tonight looks positively scrumptious.¡±


    I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and she shuddered faintly under my touch, chest heaving as her breath hitched. Lovely, now I could have some fun and leave her to marinate in her own arousal. Experience told me it would only make the payoff even more intense for her. It was more efficient that way.


    Moving over to my cows, I could see that Rea had gone above and beyond what I¡¯d asked of her as she so often did. Both of the restrained elves had been thoroughly warmed up, brought right to the edge of ecstacy without letting them push over that peak. Rea had discovered weeks ago that doing so over and over increased productivity by nearly thirty percent, though eventually they got to such a hair trigger that even just the light breeze from the door opening could get them off. More relevantly for right now, it also made them far more responsive and fun to play with.


    I stopped behind Verdan, gently running my hands along the smooth, soft skin of her ample cheeks. My fingers sank easily into impossibly durable flesh and I marveled at how skin that could shrug off magic and steel like water could feel so perfect. Sometimes, it really did feel like elves had been made for this. It wasn¡¯t like they were good for much of anything else.


    One hand went up, then came back down, the loud slap of flesh on flesh echoing in the nearly silent room. Despite putting enough force to seriously injure a normal person into the strike, Verdan certainly didn¡¯t seem to mind, her dripping slit clenching and unclenching around nothing but air.


    That was anothering interesting tidbit that Rea had noticed. Initially, it had only been Mistletoe that had responded so positively to pain during harvesting. After a few weeks however, the efficiency of less extreme methods had petered off and she had begun to use the metal cane, chain whip, heavy clamps, and other tools I¡¯d made for her on both cows.


    Between everything that had been going on, I hadn¡¯t given the change much thought. It wasn¡¯t like any of them could permanently damage someone as durable as an elf, though I did make a note to ensure Rea knew not to use some of them on any of our more mundane guests. The chain whip in particular left angry red lines and welts along every inch of exposed skin when wielded with all of Rea¡¯s boundless enthusiasm and I had a feeling a human would have been left rather worse off than that.


    Still, it was an interesting change that really did deserve more attention than I had been giving it. My elves in general deserved more attention, they were my most valuable resource and I had been all but ignoring them for most of the time since they¡¯d been acquired. Sure I had Rea making sure that their milking and feeding was continuing without interruption, but they had so much more than that to offer me. I hadn¡¯t even looked at their inborn circulations in weeks, despite it having been one of the major focuses of my magical research and practice for as long as I had been at Avalon.


    I sighed, my hands clenching tightly into the flesh of Verdan¡¯s ass. Things just¡­ kept getting away from me. I had suddenly gone from having plenty of time to study, practice, and pursue personal projects to frantically jumping from one thing to another. I needed to make a change, but I just didn¡¯t know how too. I just¡­ didn¡¯t know what to do. What I should be doing.


    I wish dad was here. He¡¯d always known what to do. I missed him. Even after all these years, I missed him so much. I missed all of them. I missed the way dad would pick me up and spin me around whenever I got something right during our lessons. I missed the way mom would pull me into her lap and hum songs as she rocked me beside the fireplace. I missed Aunty Sweetglass¡¯ hugs, how she would ruffle my hair and give me sweet treats fresh out of the oven.


    Oh, how I loathed the bastard Lord Seatamer. I had hated those men that had hurt Lea, but watching the Earthshadow men torture them for information had grown distateful after the first few hours. Him? He deserved an eternity of suffering. Every agony I could inflict on him, every cruel ritual or torture I¡¯d found in the library of Avalon, he¡¯d earned every drop and more. Even before Lea had told me her story, I¡¯d known that some day I would find him and I would make him regret the day he was born. No, not just him. I would find whatever bastard had sired him, whatever dog-whore had birthed him, and teach them the true meaning of pain. After? Well, I couldn¡¯t say I cared much about the fate of a few girls I¡¯d never met or heard of before, but touching my sweet, innocent Lea was unforgivable. I would¡­


    I was pulled out of my thoughts by Rea¡¯s voice, calling out softly behind me. ¡°Master?¡± she repeated for what I realized must be the third or fourth time. ¡°Master? Are¡­ are you¡­¡±


    I turned my head to see her half-standing on her little rug, body leaning precariously towards me as though she couldn¡¯t decide whether it was safe to approach. Behind the slavish devotion, I could see a look of worry and concern in her eyes, and even the pleasant smile she always wore was missing.


    My shoulders slumped and for the first time I noticed the oppressive weight of mana hanging in the air. Thick, billowing clouds of it were flowing like smoke out of my skin and the entire room felt cold and clammy. With a start, I noticed that my reserves were nearly fully depleted, the mana I¡¯d kept in reserve throughout the day now spread like a dark cloud around me. I clamped down on my core in an instant and exhaled loudly.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said quietly. ¡°Everything¡­ its fine.¡± I paused for a long moment, breathing deeply and evenly as I did my best to absorb as much of the mana in the air as I could. It was already deaspecting rapidly, collapsing back into simple ambient mana, but the echo of my former control over it still let me regenerate slightly faster than I would normally be able to manage. ¡°Thank you Rea,¡± I whispered.


    Rea¡¯s smile returned, but I could still see some lingering worry. ¡°Yes, Master. This slave is sorry for overstepping. Should this slave¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re alright,¡± I told her quickly. ¡°Just¡­ give me a few minutes. You¡¯re a good girl, Rea. A really good girl.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Master.¡±

 Chapter 86

    I stood there silently for a long moment, eyes staring unfocused at the rune-covered loop of metal that held Verdan¡¯s arms bound up behind her back. Then I shook myself, straightened, and took a step back. There was no use thinking about things that I couldn¡¯t do yet. Despite all my progress, Seatamer was still far beyond me. I had barely managed to wrangle a pair of half-trained adolescents, Seatamer was at least five times as old as either of my cows, and that was only covering the time during which he¡¯d been living in human lands. More than that, I barely knew anything about him and his elven family. Going at them with anything less than eighth circle magic was just asking to get smacked down, and it was probably best to wait until I was a true Archmage.


    No, I needed to take things one step at a time. The thugs seemed to have been a dead end, but capturing them was a payoff all on its own. Perhaps it hadn¡¯t been their idea to go after my Lea, but they had been the ones to do the deed and had now suffered the consequences of their actions.


    Now, it was time to move further afield, starting with the noble brats that had dared hurt Lea the first time around. At the time I had let them go, more worried about Lea¡¯s safety than any sort of punishment. I might not have any real evidence to suggest that one of them had hired these thugs, but that was immaterial. Whether they had done it or not, they had damaged my Lea and that meant they needed to learn that some actions have consequences. If I found my true target along the way, all the better.


    Beyond that I also needed to refocus on my own progression. I had allowed myself to become distracted, slacking off in my practice and not properly focusing on my studies. That was unforgivable and needed to change. I suddenly regretted not purchasing one of those sirens, it would have been good to have an available sacrifice for my rituals class, but it was what it was. I would need to focus on finding something as soon as possible.


    For now though, my darling little pet deserved a reward. More than that, I needed to calm down and relax. It was always good when work and pleasure overlapped like that.


    My fingers trailed for a moment up along Verdan¡¯s sides as I walked around her to step up behind Mistletoe. Even bound up so tightly that she couldn¡¯t so much as wiggle her toes, the red-headed elf somehow managed to project an air of palpable neediness, her body just begging for attention. Arousal ran in narrow rivulets down her plump thighs, tracing the outlines of rhythmically tensing and relaxing muscles, and dripped quietly from the red and puffy lips of her perfectly shaped pussy.


    The moment my hand touched her back, Mistletoe¡¯s entire body tensed up for an instant, and I felt her try to press into the light touch of my fingers. Metal creaked quietly and the runes carved into both her pale skin and covering every inch of her bonds glowed as the amount of mana flowing through them spiked momentarily.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Only my confidence in my spellwork and the knowledge of just how much mana I was pumping out of the girl each day between the bonds, milk, blood, and other materials I gathered from her kept me from jumping away. Mistletoe always got much more feisty when she was kept on edge for an extended period of time, but she wasn¡¯t going anywhere.


    <hr>


    This section has been removed due to Royal Road''s policies on disturbing mature content.


    <hr>


    Eventually though, all good things come to an end. ¡°Rea,¡± I called out haltingly, ¡°come get your treat!¡±


    The purple-skinned slave knew exactly what was coming and rushed forward, scrambling across the floor in a half crawl to kneel beside me. With a soft pop, I pulled fully out of Mistletoe, her ass opening and closing as she tried to pull me back in. I barely had to turn my hips before Rea was all over me, mouth wide open and eyes gleaming as she took me in her mouth. She bobbed her head several times quickly, tongue dancing along my length and lips sucked in tightly around me.


    Then, she lunged forward, taking me all the way down her throat as her nose pressed up against my pubes, and it was finally too much. One of my hands shakily went behind her head, long soft hair sliding between my fingers as I held her face tightly against me. I leaned my head back, exhaling a long, gasping breath as she continued to lick and suck at every accessible inch of meat in her mouth.


    Not for the first time, I seriously appreciated the fun quirks of elven biology that made this sort of thing possible. Had Mistletoe been anything other than an elf, this sort of fun would have required tedious cleaning and would have still been rather unpleasant for my pet. Instead, her biologically vestigial ass made for a lovely and completely sanitary fuckhole that didn¡¯t risk producing useless half-elf children. I didn¡¯t know why elves had asses when they clearly weren¡¯t using them for anything, but it was certainly very convenient here.


    ¡°Very nice¡­ Rea,¡± I eventually managed, ¡°you really are such a good girl.¡± Rea responded only by redubling her enthusiastic licking and sucking. I enjoyed it for a moment, then roughly pulled her head back. ¡°Well, that was a lovely warm up, but I think it''s time for the main event, hmm?¡±


    Rea¡¯s eyes widened and she rapidly nodded her head, her gaze still locked on my spit-slicked length. I ruffled her hair, then used it as a handhold to pull her to her feet. I was a little more careful than usual, an invisible tendril of force ready to catch her if she didn¡¯t manage to get her feet under her in time. After all, she¡¯d done such a good job prettying herself up with her arms locked behind her back for me and all. It would be a shame if she ruined it all by cracking her head open on the stone floor or busting her nose.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move this over to the bed, you can sleep with me,¡± I whispered into her ear, ¡°feel free to be as loud as you¡¯d like tonight, pet. Let¡¯s give the cattle a show on how a good girl like you is treated.¡±

 Chapter 87

    As I had decided the night before, it was time to start cleaning up loose ends. Thus, after a productive morning grinding through a small pile of assignments and some combat magic practice, I left Avalon and headed towards the edge of town where many noble families had mansions built for their children attending Lightcastle.


    I had already done some initial investigation into the six students that had cornered and assaulted my Lea on the day I¡¯d first found her, but today it was time for something a little bit more thorough. My goal was to analyze the wards on the homes of Nettle and Doran Shieldlight, Gilbert and Goran Firewalker, and Lilac Seasong, which were all conveniently within a few minutes walk of each other.


    Unfortunately, the last attacker, Calvert Timetouch, didn¡¯t have his own home in town. His family had only become noble within the last two generations due to the achievements of his grandfather, a healer who had saved the previous king¡¯s life after a hunting accident. He was living in one of the small dormitories inside Lightcastle itself, which was apparently considered rather pedestrian by other nobles but made it very hard to get to him. Still, I could always come back for him later. He had been one of the boys lurking near the back of the group without doing much of anything at all so he was a low priority regardless.


    I arrived at the small square I¡¯d identified a few weeks ago just before noon and sat down at a small table just outside a rather fancy cafe. I was dressed as a young nobleman, wearing a fine undershirt, loose leather pants, and a leaf-green coat. My usual boots nearly gleamed in the bright afternoon sunlight, polished to a fine sheen by my ever-so-helpful pet, and the sleeves of my light coat embroidered with circles of flowering vines done in silver thread.


    It was not an outfit I felt particularly comfortable in, and the cost of buying it had been nearly physically painful, but it let me blend in perfectly with the midday crowd so I considered it money well spent. In all honesty, it hadn¡¯t really been that expensive, the entire ensemble came in at less than five pieces and that included the reagents I¡¯d used to painstakingly layer an entire array of defensive spells into the fabric. Even if it looked like just ordinary, if rather fine, clothing from the outside, I was confident it would turn a blade or absorb a force lance if necessary


    A young waitress came over to me after a minute and set a menu down on the table beside me. ¡°Blessed morning, good sir,¡± she began, a faint accent coloring her voice, ¡°welcome to Alam and Malar¡¯s Fine Flavors. My name is Ambala and I¡¯ll be your server for today. Can I start you off with anything or would you like some time to peruse the menu?¡±


    I glanced down momentarily at the elegant paper covered in fine, flowing calligraphy and winced internally at the prices. You could have gotten bread at the Sweetglass bakery everyday for a week for the price of a single slice of cake here. I could afford it, rather easily in fact considering the very favorable exchange rate from pieces to the local currency, but even just two years ago I would have balked at spending so much on so little food when I could eat at Avalon¡¯s cafeteria for free.


    Well, nothing for it. This was easily the most convenient place to sit in and I was rather curious just how good the sweets had to be to fetch such a price. I looked back at the waitress, who was standing silently beside the table with a warm smile on her face and her hands clasped over her stomach.


    ¡°Some tea, I think. A pot of this¡­ East-Island fireflower blend. Oh, and a slice of nine-berry cake.¡±


    ¡°Excellent choices, good sir,¡± she simpered, ¡°I can see you are a man of impeccable taste. I¡¯ll be out with those in just a moment.¡± She swept away, the long skirt of her traditional blue dress fluttering behind her in the cool breeze.


    I was rather confused what that was about, I¡¯d mostly just picked the first normal-ish sounding thing on the menu. Apparently this place was far too fancy to have ordinary teas on their menu. Instead they all had overly dramatic names that didn¡¯t really tell me anything about what I was actually ordering. I was certainly going to be casting some analysis spells before I ate or drank anything.


    I leaned back in my chair, watching the people flow through the square around me. Two young women sat together on the edge of the fountain at the center of the square, each with a small child bouncing in their laps. In a shadowed corner two teens kissed passionately, hands clasped together and clothing rumpled. A group of boys in grass-stained finery chased each other through the crowd. At a nearby table, an older gentleman with a short, well kept beard flirted shamelessly with a blushing waitress that had to be thirty or more years his junior.


    It was all so very familiar, and yet I felt like an outsider looking in. It wasn¡¯t just that these were all rich merchant and noble names while I¡¯d grown up a mere peasant, but just the overall¡­ peaceful normality of it all. These people did not fear for their lives, did not worry that the man beside them might stab them in the back or sabotage them at a key moment. I was sure they all had their own problems and worries, but they felt so¡­ tiny.


    Before I could get too distracted the waitress returned, balancing a wooden tray carved with geometric patterns precariously before her. She curtsied deeply and set the tray down in front of me, ¡°Your food, good sir. Enjoy! If you need anything, anything at all, please do let me know.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, it looks wond¨C¨C¡± I paused mid word and looked sharply to the left where I¡¯d felt an oddly familiar ripple of mana. There was nothing there. I squinted at the polished stone wall of some small, overpriced clothing store, straining my mana sense as far as it could go. Nothing.


    I reached into an inner pocket of my coat and pulled out a pair of glasses, the edges of each lens carved with mana-perception runes. They had been an early prototype for my much more complex multi-lense design; less powerful but much more convenient. I slipped them on and looked again. Still nothing. Strange.


    ¡°Sir?¡± the waitress asked quietly.


    I shook my head, ¡°Sorry, I thought I heard something. Everything looks wonderful, thank you.¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Her smile returned and she curtsied again, ¡°Of course, of course. My pleasure.¡±


    She walked away and my gaze slowly turned back to where I¡¯d felt the disturbance. There was nothing there, not that I could sense at very least. That meant either a mage multiple circles above my own skills, or perhaps simply one highly specialized in stealth magic, or that whatever had caused the disturbance was long gone.


    I watched the spot vigilantly for another minute, then slowly let out a long breath and picked up the teacup Ambala had brought me. Whatever that had been, I wasn¡¯t going to learn anything by simply staring in its general direction for the next half hour while my food got cold. I was paying a truly unreasonable amount of money for this tiny slice of cake and pot of tea so I best enjoy it.


    I stared suspiciously at the deep crimson liquid in the fine porcelain teacup. It didn¡¯t really look much like tea to me, more of a well-filtered berry juice or dark wine, and I could feel tiny droplets of fire-aspected mana floating freely throughout the cup. I gave it a tentative sniff and my eyebrows went up when I smelled the bright, sweet, flowery fragrance gently rising off the cup. Huh. I set the cup down and cast a few analysis spells under the cover of the table. Nothing suspicious. I squinted at the cup, then picked it up and took a single, tiny sip. Damn. That was¡­ really good. Sweet and light, but with a touch of spicy heat that lent the cup a wonderful depth of flavor. I took another sip, then another. Very nice.


    Before I could get too distracted, I finally decided to do what I¡¯d actually come here for. Setting the cup back down in its saucer, I hid my hands under the table and began to cast one of the few divination spells I was truly familiar with. Over the course of about a minute, I carefully shaped my mana into one of the most intricate spell matrices I knew until, with a dim flash of light and a small flare of mana, a nearly invisible spectral eye appeared above my cupped hands.


    The eye floated unmoving for a moment, then began to slowly rotate. I closed my eyes and focused on adjusting to the newly gained third viewpoint, not that I could see much of anything right now. The tablecloth hid everything except my legs and hands from sight, even as it concealed my own actions.


    After about a minute I decided I was ready. The first time I¡¯d cast the spell it had taken much longer to adjust but my mental circulations had improved significantly since that day. The eye stilled for a moment, then faded fully out of view and dove downward, slipping smoothly through the cobblestones and disappearing into the ground. Pulling mostly away from its senses, I directed the divination probe towards the first of my target houses. It was very disorienting to use while moving through solid objects and the eye was sufficiently sophisticated to navigate to a fixed location without my direct intervention.


    I took another sip of tea, then picked up my spoon and tried a small bite of the cake. It didn¡¯t look like much, a long, thin slice of pale cake colored with the occasional bright spot of a berry and heaped with more of the same on the top. It was good. Really good. Not exactly my favorite flavor combination, but it was undeniably some of the best cake I¡¯d ever eaten. Maybe not worth quite as much as I was paying for it, but much better than the desserts served in Avalon¡¯s cafeteria. Damn it.


    The next two hours proved to be both enjoyable and highly productive. I finished my pot of tea and ordered another, along with two more too-small and far too delicious baked goods. While my body was focused on that, the majority of my attention was with the spectral eyeball as it floated slowly around the homes of my targets. The eye possessed incredibly keen vision capable of peeling back and filtering many different types of mana radiations. It wasn¡¯t quite as effective as the lenses I¡¯d left in my room, but far more subtle and mobile.


    The information I¡¯d found was rather positive as well. The wards on the small manor maintained by the Shieldlights were comically simple. I was pretty sure I could have brute forced my way through them by the end of my first year, though that would have taken a few days of preparation and wouldn¡¯t have been anything approaching subtle. Now? I could tinker up an effective anti-ward formation that would render me completely invisible to those defenses with a few hours of work. It was some really amateurish stuff, especially for a family that apparently specialized in defensive magic. Either that, or I was missing something important. That bore further considerations, but I wasn¡¯t too worried about it.


    The Firewalker estate was somewhat better protected, but that wasn¡¯t saying much. Those would take a bit more effort, but I was once again confident I could get past them if given some time to prepare. There was an obvious vulnerability near the back of the grounds where some careless gardener had improperly trimmed a five-petal peony bush. The inherent mana flowing through the plant was interfering with the wardstone buried not far from its roots and had worn some serious gaps into the protections over what must have been several years of neglect.


    Finally, I was just starting to analyze the last set of defenses when suddenly I felt a small tremor of mana from one of the inner pockets of my jacket. I half-jumped, nearly dropping the empty cup I was still holding loosely in one hand as my attention refocused on my body. After a moment of confusion, I realized that it was coming from the small communication device I¡¯d used while working with the Earthshadow men. Apparently I had forgotten to return it after Adonia had decided to try playing games.


    Glancing around the bustling square, I considered simply not answering. More likely than not they were just trying to retrieve the missing device. Still, I was not particularly far from the manor and maybe Adonia was finally interested in talking like a normal person?


    I weighed my options for another few seconds, then reached into my jacket, dug out the gold ring, and slipped it into my ear.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I asked quietly, channeling a narrow stream of mana into the device, ¡°O speaking.¡±


    Silence. Had I misinterpreted what the device was doing? I hadn¡¯t seen anything other than a heavily modified message spell in the ring¡¯s enchantments, but perhaps I¡¯d missed some sort of locator function? Most regular divination spells should just bounce off of the mysterious necklace the Myrddin had given me near the start of the semester, but as I¡¯d discussed with Brenda, no defense was foolproof.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± a familiar voice called out hurriedly just as I was about to remove the device from my ear, ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to respond this quickly! Oh, um, sorry! This is Four speaking.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re fine,¡± I curtly told the young mage, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. Sorry, sorry. We¡¯ve got something, sir! Thirteen found a way around one of the prisoners¡¯ oaths. We have a picture of the culprit! No one has been able to identify it yet, but we¡¯re hopeful we will find something soon.¡±


    My heart skipped a beat in my chest. That was¡­ that was fantastic! A picture wasn¡¯t perfect, but it should be enough. A picture drawn by someone who had seen something wasn¡¯t a perfect conduit for divination magic, but I definitely remembered seeing some spells that might work. I could always try to consult with Brenda again, she¡¯d been very helpful last time.


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way,¡± I said sharply, digging out a few coins from my jacket to leave on the table. ¡°I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± The spectral eye collapsed into a rapidly diffusing cloud mana as I let the focus keeping it together lapse. I would simply have to come back and finish up another day. This was much more important.

 Chapter 88

    Four, technically Four-Three based on the naming convention the Earthshadow¡¯s private enforcers used but I¡¯d never interacted with any of the other Fours, met me at one of the side gates in the wall around the Earthshadow mansion. Four was a tall, slender man with a long streak of red running through his messy dark-brown hair. With his hood down and the identity-concealing spells woven into the hoods deactivated, he looked rather awkward in his matte black robe.


    Though I reflexively called him young in my head due to his awkward mannerisms, and because he¡¯d been introduced as the newest member of his team, I¡¯d learned after a few days of working with the Earthshadow mages that he was actually nearly five years older than me. He wasn¡¯t much of a mage, he hadn¡¯t said anything about it but I judged him to be near the peak of second-circle, but he was rather clever and competent so I didn¡¯t hold it against him. It helped that he¡¯d been one of the few mages who had taken me seriously before I wiped the floor with One during a practice match.


    Four looked somewhat surprised to see me when I stepped up to the gate. He was sitting just behind the wall with a slim booklet held loosely in one hand and his head resting against the trunk of one of the many fruit-trees that littered the manor¡¯s grounds. When I called out that I had arrived he all but jumped out of his chair and nearly went face-first into the ground, only just catching himself on something I couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming, I¡¯m coming! Sorry sir.¡± He quickly brushed off his robes, shoved the booklet into an internal pocket, and rushed up to open the small metal gate set into a recess in the stone wall. ¡°Thank you for coming. I¡¯m sorry to say we weren¡¯t expecting you for another half hour, One is meeting with a few of the other team leaders and¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°It''s fine,¡± I interrupted, waving him off. ¡°I was nearby taking care of some other errands. I can talk to One later, let''s go take a look at that picture.¡±


    ¡°Of course, sir. Let me just call someone else to watch the gate, it will only take a moment.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like it, but there was no need to antagonize him now. Unlike some of their other members, Four had been nothing but helpful throughout my time working with the Earthshadows. Presumably the picture wasn¡¯t going anywhere, and perhaps they might even learn something useful while I was waiting.


    As Four promised, fetching a different guard didn¡¯t take long at all. Four rushed away, jogging around a corner to where I could sense a cluster of men sitting around a table. About a minute later, he returned followed by one of the Earthshadow¡¯s severe-looking guards dressed in leather armor reinforced with metal plates over the vitals. I gave him a polite nod that he ignored, instead dragging the wooden chair Four had been using to a spot directly beside the gate but still hidden from view by the tall wall and took a seat.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Four said between heavy breaths, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for keeping you waiting, sir. Follow me please.¡±


    He turned around and set off towards the manor. Despite myself, I felt my lips quirk up into a small smile as I followed after him. Four was just so¡­ earnest. I really couldn¡¯t tell if it was an act or really just how the man was as a person, but if it was an act he was doing a great job of it. Regardless, I appreciated him not acting like a conceited brat like some of the other mages that worked with him tended to. I had a feeling they just didn¡¯t like seeing someone as young as me stomp them into the ground.


    I was just glad neither of the proper mages I¡¯d run into among them had decided to act up, because I didn¡¯t fancy my chances against any sixth circle spellcaster, even a shoddily trained one. Both supervisor Zero and the man I suspected was Lord Earthshadow himself were perfectly capable of turning me into a wet smear across the training-ground floor if they wanted to.


    It didn¡¯t take long for us to make it down to the sub basement area where I¡¯d watched the initial interrogation the day before. On the way we were joined once again by the fake maid who typically accompanied me while I was inside the building, though Four continued to guide us down the long corridors and stairwells that wound their way beneath the gleaming mansion.


    Stepping into the observation room, I was surprised to see a Glasses sitting seemingly completely unrestrained on the floor of the interrogation room, a placid look in his eyes and a dopey smile on his face as he scribbled away on some paper using a lump of charcoal. Looking closer, I could just barely make out the faintly shimmering outline of someone standing in the corner of the room behind him, a common sign of a poorly controlled illusionary veil. From the taste of their mana and the shape of the outline, I guessed it was probably Seven-Nine, one of the interrogators I¡¯d seen but not been introduced to yesterday.


    Unlike the nearly empty room I¡¯d sat in the day before, today the already somewhat cramped observation room was packed to the brim with people. Thirteen-Nine and Two-Nine were standing together beside the glass speaking in hushed tones as they watched the prisoner work. Two completely unfamiliar mages fussed over an open chest full of potion vials while a third carefully measured out small portions drop by drop into a large glass beaker. Another unfamiliar man was sitting in the room¡¯s lone chair, watching the proceedings in silence. Judging from his nearing fifth-circle mana, he was probably someone important.


    Four stepped into the room first and cleared his throat. Two-Nine turned away from the glass, a flash of annoyance visible on his face before he saw who it was. ¡°Ah. Welcome back Four, and I see you have Mr. Hunter with you as well, very good. You may return to your duties, someone will call you if your services are needed.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Yes sir. Thank you sir. For Earthshadow.¡± He nodded sharply, clapped a fist against his chest, then walked briskly out of the room. I watched him until he disappeared around a corner, then shrugged internally and stepped into the room myself. Two-Nine said something I couldn¡¯t make out to Thirteen, then came over to meet me.


    ¡°I hear you guys managed to get some results after all,¡± I began, ¡°impressive. Things didn¡¯t seem to be going too well when I left. What changed?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well it was a number of things. We were not expecting much yesterday, not once we first ran into the oaths. As soon as we found that direct means would not produce any results, the goal became to explore the exact conditions of whatever oaths of secrecy the men swore. Though a powerful and obscure magic, no oath is truly flawless, particularly not those used by such cretins. Often times, those flaws can be exploited if you know what you¡¯re looking for.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked curiously, ¡°and I assume you found something useful then?¡±


    ¡°We did indeed! These men belonged to the Ludin syndicate, which uses a rather standardized oath of secrecy for all its members. My colleague has some experience dealing with the group and found a clever workaround. The men are sworn not to communicate any information about their jobs or employers to outsiders, but their oaths do not stop them from engaging in some perfectly harmless acts of artistic expression, hmm?¡±


    What. That¡­ that was a thing people could do? I considered some of the oaths I¡¯d sworn or had other people swear over the last few years and swallowed heavily. That was moderately concerning. Very convenient right now, but potentially very, very dangerous. I was pretty sure I knew where Two was going with this.


    ¡°So,¡± he continued, ¡°with a careful mix of potions and some mind-affecting spells, we¡¯ve had our prisoners doodling rather effectively. Fortunately it seems that this one,¡± he jerked his head towards the glass separating us from the cell, ¡°was something of an amateur artist in his youth. Nothing exceptional, but it''s rather convenient for us.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I said slowly, mind racing as I considered what the interrogator had told me. ¡°I imagine the process is somewhat inconsistent?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately so, but it still gets results. It''s not good for finding specific details, our suggestion spells are simply not precise enough to manage that, but Thirteen has made great strides in narrowing down our targeting. He¡¯s been at it since late last night and we¡¯re pretty sure we¡¯ve identified the key players. A certain face has appeared in a number of pertinent drawings, one we haven¡¯t been able to identify as of yet, but we believe her to be the woman who hired them.¡±


    I was rather eager to see the image in question, but I was still shaken by the man¡¯s comments on the fragility of secrecy oaths. Was I missing something in my own research? I knew some of the common issues that could arise with that sort of magic, such as the resistance caused by reluctant or unwilling oathtaker, but everything I¡¯d read told me that as long as the oath was worded properly and allowed to take hold, it was nigh impossible to circumvent without some incredibly potent magic. And yet, somehow, these rather pathetic mages had done it. I needed to understand.


    ¡°Very promising. You mentioned narrowing down your target data, could you tell me a little more about your process?¡±


    I spent another few minutes quizzing the man, but didn¡¯t get nearly as much out of it as I would have liked. He was perfectly happy to talk about the general idea of what they were doing, but refused to elaborate on any specifics.


    As far as I could tell, the process was mostly dependent on those potions that they kept pouring down the prisoner¡¯s throat. They kept his mind addled and suggestible, allowing relatively simple spells and the quiet whispers of the interrogator in the room with him to push him towards the topics the interrogators were interested in.


    Things became a lot more reasonable when we came to that part. It wasn¡¯t that Glasses was actively just showing us his boss¡¯s face, but rather they had him drawing scenes he remembered from the appropriate time period and then eliminating extraneous faces and details from those images until they found what they were after. I saw several rough sketches of a dimly lit bar, the trio walking furtively along a dark alleyway, and even one that clearly took place inside the very safehouse we¡¯d raided the day before.


    Finally though, it was time to see what exactly they¡¯d called me over to look at. Two led me out of the room and down to a larger, open room where a half dozen men and women stood huddled over a round table. Two nudged one out of the way and I stepped forward to look down at the large, hand drawn scene.


    ¡°We¡¯ve had a few people come through trying to identify this woman, but we¡¯ve had no luck yet. We thought Heiress Earthshadow may recognize her, she appears to be around the right age, but no luck as of yet. Five things she might be wearing some sort of disguise, in which case it will come down to divination magic once again. We were hoping you may be willing to help with that.¡±


    Goatee sat at the bar facing a young woman holding a long-stemmed glass with something floating in. Glasses really was an excellent artist, even while drugged out of his mind on all sorts of potions he had perfectly captured the expression on the woman¡¯s face. The very familiar woman¡¯s face. Even in black and white, I would recognize the stupid bitch anywhere.


    I took a long, slow breath, fighting to keep my boiling magic under control. This was no place to make a scene. ¡°She looks familiar, but I¡¯m not quite sure,¡± I said slowly. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to help with the hunt, though I¡¯m afraid my schedule is going to be rather busy in the near future.¡±


    ¡°Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I took another deep breath, then exhaled loudly. ¡°It is good to have a face. This should make things easier.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your time. I think I will need to take my leave now.¡± I turned away from the table, but I could still see that stupid, smiling face dancing before my eyes. Brenda had a lot to answer for.

 Chapter 89

    Miranda looked around furtively then knocked twice on the door, waited a moment, and knocked again. When there was no response, she reached into her dress through the long slit down its side and firmly grasped one of the silver plates Orion had made for her. Channeling just a touch of mana into it with one hand, she used the other to turn the doorknob and slipped silently into the room.


    Glancing around, she quickly confirmed that Orion was not around. Feeling for the bond between them, she concluded that he was probably still out in the city. Well, either that or he¡¯d ventured to one of the more distant greenhouses or training grounds outside of Avalon¡¯s main building. She could feel that he was relatively far away, but not how far.


    ¡°Good morning, Rea,¡± she called out quietly. The other girl briefly glanced in her direction, then returned to her work. Rea was sitting in the center of the room on a small rug, staring intently at a globe of water floating motionlessly over an empty basin. Miranda could just barely feel her fellow slave¡¯s mana moving in thin, rippling bands around the globe, keeping the water perfectly contained within them without letting even a single drop escape.


    It was an impressive display, particularly since Miranda knew Rea had only been seriously practicing magic without the help of spell forms for a few short weeks. That she could manage something like that, a feat she doubted all of her current classmates could match without practice, was downright incredible. The purple-skinned girl might only have the mana reserves of a first-circle mage, but her control was growing by leaps and bounds with every passing day.


    Well, she supposed it was to be expected. Not only did she have Orion¡¯s personal tutelage in a skill he¡¯d mastered like no one else she knew their age, but she knew that Rea poured an immense amount of time into her training. There was only so much cleaning and other busy work to be done in Orion¡¯s sparsely furnished room, so Rea spent almost all her time while Orion was absent honing her mana control.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it,¡± Miranda mumbled, and this time Rea didn¡¯t even bother looking towards her.


    Miranda didn¡¯t mind, she¡¯d grown used to the younger girl¡¯s single minded focus on whatever task she was currently working on. She threw herself fully into every little thing Orion told her to do, always striving to be better for her master. Miranda might have said something about it once, but she was also not immune to her master¡¯s influences. Ever since she¡¯d bound herself ever closer to Orion¡¯s will, she¡¯d found herself dedicating a much greater portion of her time towards self improvement. Whenever she considered slacking off or taking things easy, she could feel his disapproval at the idea and would almost always get right back to work.


    She made a wide loop around the focused girl, doing her best to ignore the bound elves as she walked past them. Even now, knowing that Orion cared for her and considered her more useful to him as she was now, she tried to avoid thinking about what he¡¯d done to two of their classmates. Growing up she¡¯d been told time and time again how potentially valuable her unique combination of natural abilities made her, and how she should avoid ambitious mages looking to take her magic for themselves.


    She didn¡¯t think she would ever forget seeing the half-butchered bodies of her aunties, nor the tubs of still-bleeding limbs and preserved organs in her ¡®sponsors¡¯ workshop as the aging mage helped her fill out her Avalon application. She didn¡¯t know what had convinced the man to spare her life, nor why he¡¯d done so much to care for her in the wake of hunting down and rendering her entire flock down into alchemical ingredients.


    Miranda squeezed her eyes shut and forced the memories out of her mind. She wished she could convince herself that Orion wouldn¡¯t do something like that, but she couldn¡¯t. Just as the bond between them had taught Orion more about his new slave, it had also given Miranda a much clearer picture of the man who owned her in every way possible. If Orion had sudden need of a pile of siren hearts, he wouldn¡¯t have thought twice about slaughtering her family down to the last elder and child. Maybe he would feel bad about it, but he would do it in a heartbeat.


    The well-organized cabinet in which Orion kept his finished potions was in the same place as it always was and Miranda quickly retrieved one of the tall vials of pale pink liquid that Orion had prepared for her. She did her best to ignore the row of metal capsules lined up in a row beside them, each etched with a loop of stasis spells around the cap. Those were not for her, no matter how much she wished they were. Even just seeing them had her mouth watering and the memories of the few times Orion had shared one with her would have had her soaking her panties if she had ever bothered to wear undergarments.


    She closed the cabinet door and deliberately turned away, trying to ignore the rising heat in her chest. Long nails dug sharply into the palm of her hand and her grip tightened around the vial. She exhaled slowly, then walked over to the bathroom and stepped inside, though she didn¡¯t bother closing the door behind her.


    Setting the vial down in a conveniently placed rack, she briskly pushed the straps holding her dress up out of the way and pulled the top down past her chest before letting the shimmery fabric slide the rest of the way down to pool on the floor. Then she slid her feet out of the tall heels she was wearing and stepped down onto the bare stone floor.


    The shock of the cold stone against her skin was enough to momentarily make her pause. She took a long, slow breath, then bent down and picked up the dress. Iceworm silk might not wrinkle as badly as its more mundane variants, but that was no reason not to be careful with her clothing. She gently hung the dress and only then snatched up the vial and hurried into the shower stall.


    The first time Miranda had come to Orion¡¯s room to feed, she¡¯d drunk the vial while standing next to the cabinet. That had certainly been a mistake, and it was only Rea¡¯s fast reactions that had stopped her from braining herself on Orion¡¯s desk. The second time, she¡¯d sat down on the edge of his bed. That had certainly gone slightly better, but Rea hadn¡¯t been happy having to strip down and replace the soaked-through sheets.


    The third time, the usually timid girl had been busily harvesting Orion¡¯s elven cattle when Miranda had come in, and had used the metal crop in her hand to menace Miranda into the bathroom. Sitting on cold tile wasn¡¯t the most pleasant experience, but Miranda had seen the marks Rea¡¯s crop left on unnaturally durable elven skin and wasn¡¯t keen on seeing what it would do to her. Well¡­ her already soaked pussy clenched as an image flashed through her mind. Not unless it was Orion wielding the crop. If nothing else, it made cleaning up much easier.


    Miranda sat down quickly in the corner of the stall, back against the smooth stone wall and legs stretched out along the floor. She could barely feel the cold of the floor through the feverish heat of anticipation burning through her body. With shaky fingers she removed the stopper from the vial and lifted it slowly to her mouth.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The smell and mana of it hit her all at once, a heady mix of pain, pleasure, and desperation that was even more overwhelming than it had been on that very first day when Orion had tied her down and poured a full vial of it down her throat. She breathed in deeply, eyes rolling back in her head and a dopey smile on her face as she savored the flavor of it


    The first time around she hadn¡¯t known what it was, and had been in no state to really think about what exactly she was drinking. For weeks, she¡¯d thought that Orion had somehow managed to synthesize some sort of artificial substitute for her need to feed on others. At the time, the thought had terrified her. It had seemed like the first step to ending up like Mistletoe and Verdan, bound in torturous silence and darkness untill she¡¯d outlived her usefulness.


    When he¡¯d brought her to his room for the new binding she¡¯d almost instantly realized what exactly it was she¡¯d been fed. The smell of it was thick in the air, invisible to her normal senses but blindingly obvious to her succubus heritage. She was glad Orion had agreed to provide her with a steady stream of it. She¡¯d never tasted a more potent source of mana-charged sexual fluids and even that single original taste had empowered her as much as a week of ordinary feeding would.


    Leaning her head back, Miranda hurriedly poured the entire vial down her throat in two large gulps. A moment later, the vial slipped out from between her suddenly limp fingers and clattered away across the floor, but Miranda was in no shape to think about that.


    Her entire body convulsed, arms twitching and legs thrashing against the stone uncontrollably as she wailed in overwhelming pleasure. She came almost instantly, then again a moment later, and again, and again. Time lost all meaning as pure bliss washed through her, shoving aside any conscious thoughts or worries in a haze of ecstasy.


    It was incredible, perfect, wondrous. Better than any sex Miranda had ever had, be that with her sisters in the flock or the many man and women she¡¯d fucked and fed on since she¡¯d come to Avalon. It almost made her wish she could be like one of them, bound, teased, and toyed with at any hour, completely helpless, at the mercy of the whims of her master and his other slaves. Almost.


    Slowly the sensation receded as her body absorbed and processed the sudden deluge of mana. Miranda didn¡¯t move, just letting herself luxuriate in the afterglow of it all. Eventually however, like all good things it was over and Miranda found herself lying on the cold tiles, body soaked in sweat and the sticky residue of her repeated orgasms. She reached up shakily, barely able to control her leaden arm, but on her third try managed to snag one of the handles that controlled the shower.


    Ice-cold water poured down on top of her and she shrieked in surprise, banging her head against the wall as she tried to scramble away from the sudden deluge. She hadn¡¯t thought to check the water temperature before sitting down, not having expected it to be set to anything different than Orion¡¯s preferred near-boiling heat. A thin strand of mana wrapped around the other handle and wrenched it to the side. Instantly the water changed from freezing to steaming and Miranda sighed blissfully as hot water pounded down on her heaving chest.


    She looked towards the door when she heard someone moving and found Rea standing at the entrance to the bathroom, shoulders shaking as the white-haired girl laughed silently. ¡°You did that on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡± Miranda asked with narrowed eyes.


    Rea nodded her head quickly, then began to giggle out loud.


    ¡°Brat. I¡¯ll get you for that.¡± Miranda made to stand up, but her legs were nowhere near ready to support her weight and she quickly sank back down to the floor before she collapsed. ¡°Later. I¡¯ll get you later.¡± Rea¡¯s giggling only got louder. She sighed again, this time in exasperation. She would have to be more careful next time.


    Miranda was just finishing up brushing out her hair when she heard the outer door slam open and shut. Heavy footsteps rang through the room and she leaned back and looked through the bathroom door to find a furious looking Orion storming towards his desk. His teeth were clenched, hands balled up into fists, and he was growling something incomprehensible under his breath. An oppressive weight seemed to hang over him, pushing aside the supernatural taste of elven pleasure with a wrathful, burning stench. Reaching for their bond she felt a wave of furiously roiling anger flood through the connection and nearly overwhelm her before she could pull back.


    Dropping the brush, Miranda rushed into the main room, her bare feet leaving wet footprints on the stone. Rea was still sitting in the center of the room, but the sphere of water she¡¯d been working with had fallen, splattering both her and the rug she knelt. ¡°Orion?¡± Miranda called out worriedly, concern welling up within her, ¡°What happened? Are you alright? Do you¨C¨C¡±


    Orion turned to stare at her and Miranda¡¯s mouth closed with a snap and she froze mid step as she physically felt his attention shift towards her. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill that bitch,¡± he said simply, his tone perfectly calm and even and completely at odds with the obvious fury on his face. ¡°And then I¡¯m going to find someone to bring her back and kill her again. And again. Until she learns her lesson.¡±


    Miranda wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to that and simply stood silently for a moment as Orion dug through the drawers of his desk and began to pile an eclectic heap of small enchanted objects at the center of the table.


    ¡°Who?¡± she eventually managed, forcing the word out between leaden lips.


    ¡°Brenda,¡± Orion answered simply in that same too-calm tone of voice. ¡°I gave her what she wanted and what does she do? That worthless elf-spawn went after the one¡­¡±


    His words devolved into more growling mutters, but Miranda had heard enough. It didn¡¯t take much effort to connect the dots on what had happened. Orion had gone into the city and somehow discovered that it had been Brenda that had ordered the attack on that Leana girl.


    The words welled up inside her throat before Miranda even finished consciously considering what to do. Her duty was to work in the best interest of her Master. She could not deceive her master, nor manipulate him towards a specific goal, but in this instance she was certain it was simply a matter of calming him down.


    ¡°Orion, please!¡± she called out loudly, filling her voice with every bit of allure she could muster, ¡°you¡¯re not thinking clearly!¡±


    Orion¡¯s eyes snapped back towards her and, for the second time in as many minutes, she found herself frozen in place under his gaze. ¡°I. Am. Calm,¡± he growled through clenched teeth. ¡°That. Bitch. Is going to. Die.¡±


    ¡°Please!¡± she called out again the moment she could move, ¡°think about what you¡¯re doing. How you¡¯re doing it! Brenda deserves every punishment you can think up for her, but not like this! This is not how you do things, Master!¡±


    She rushed forward and pressed herself against his side, his arm nestled between her breasts and her cheek against his shoulder. ¡°Master,¡± she begged again, ¡°I will do whatever you command, but this is not what you want, I¡¯m sure of it!¡±


    He shoved her away roughly and turned towards the door. Miranda stumbled backwards and tried to catch herself, but her wet feet slipped on the well-polished floor and she fell onto the hard floor with a heavy slap of bare flesh on stone. Miranda¡¯s heart dropped as she saw him moving away from her, but then she felt Orion¡¯s end of their bond¡­ shift slightly.


    Orion stopped and leaned against the wall beside him, pressing his forehead against the cold rock. He sighed heavily and some of the weight pressing down on her shoulders receded. ¡°Fuck,¡± he swore quietly, his voice heavy. ¡°I hate this. I hate this place.¡±


    Miranda pushed herself shakily to her feet and walked up to him, the pad of her bare feet unusually loud in the sudden stillness. She stopped an arms length away, simply standing with her hands folded behind her back and her head bowed.


    ¡°Gods above,¡± he mumbled quietly, then shook his head. ¡°What would I do without you guys. Best decision I ever made.¡±

 Chapter 90

    I was finally starting to see how Miranda had managed to be as successful in feeding on our classmates as she had been, even in a place as cutthroat as Avalon. She was scarily charming when she wanted to be and I was pretty sure that if not for Adara¡¯s warning at the beginning of the year, I would have ended up as her first meal at the academy. It was a shame she hadn¡¯t managed to practice what she preached, her family could have served as an adequate group of protectors for my Lea.


    I ran my thumb gently along the soft skin of her cheek, head slumped back against the cold stone wall as I listened to her quiet humming. I was sitting cross-legged on the floor by the door, still dressed in the relatively fancy clothing I¡¯d worn out into the city. Miranda was curled loosely in my lap, her bare back still dotted with drops of water and her long hair falling in a silky curtain to pool on the floor beside me.


    It was nice to just be so close to someone, to be able to relax with another warm body pressed up against mine. I was about as safe as I could be, hidden away in my room behind the wards of Avalon, surrounded by the only people I could trust implicitly to never hurt me. My confidence in oath magic had been¡­ shaken today, I would have to take steps to ensure what had happened with Brenda¡¯s minions never happened to me, but for now I was content with what I had in place. I was certain that none of those men had bound themselves quite as thoroughly as I had chained my own darlings.


    Miranda moaned breathlessly, disrupting the calming melody she¡¯d been humming, and I smiled in amusement as my other hand continued to stroke gently along the slick skin of a slightly less innocent part of her body. I was pretty sure her choice of clothing, or well lack thereof when I burst into the room hadn¡¯t been an intentional decision, but it had certainly been rather striking.


    ¡°What¡¯s the song?¡± I asked finally, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ nice.¡±


    Miranda shifted slightly, my clothing rustling as she turned to look up at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it''s called,¡± she admitted, a note of wistfulness in her voice. ¡°My mother used to sing it for me, back before she was banished. There are words to it, I think, but I can¡¯t say them.¡±


    ¡°Banished?¡± I asked in surprise, ¡°I thought¨C¨C She was the succubus? What about¡­¡±


    Miranda looked away sheepishly as I trailed off, trying to connect what Miranda had said with what I knew of her family. ¡°I lied,¡± she whispered after a moment, ¡°back in first year. I¡¯m sorry, Orion, I thought¡­ I thought the sob story would work better on you. I should have told you since, but it''s never come up. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I considered things for a moment. Maybe I should have been mad about the deception, but something told me Miranda didn¡¯t mean anything by it. It was simply as she¡¯d said, something that hadn¡¯t come up since first year.


    Still, now that it had, I wanted the truth. ¡°Explain,¡± I ordered eventually. ¡°I remember you told me it was your father, no? Your mother was supposed to be just an ordinary siren?¡±


    ¡°No, she was a hybrid, like me,¡± Miranda admitted easily. ¡°The others told me the blood was strong in her, strong enough that she could be banished, even if she was born here.¡± Though her voice was calm and even, sitting this close to her I could feel her lingering sadness hidden just under the surface through our bond.


    ¡°Why lie then?¡±


    ¡°I thought it would be safer that way. Men can inherit the traits, but not pass them down. Valuable and vulnerable are a bad combination, particularly at Avalon. I didn¡¯t know you well then, nor who you might tell.¡±


    ¡°And your father?¡±


    ¡°Just an ordinary man. He came to the flock willingly, with my mother. He died protecting her from the hunters. I barely had a chance to know him.¡±


    I considered her words for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Fine. It was a good choice.¡± I leaned forward then, the hand by her face pausing with my thumb held dangerously over her eye. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t lie to me anymore, would you, dear?¡±


    ¡°No Orion, of course not. I¡¯m yours.¡±


    Her voice was soft and even, without a hint of fear or deception. I didn¡¯t move for a moment, then returned to slowly stroking her cheek. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that, then¡± I told her honestly. Miranda might be my slave, but I sympathize with the pain of loosing family. ¡°Do you think she can be resummoned?¡±


    ¡°Maybe?¡± Miranda said apathetically, ¡°I don¡¯t really know. It''s been more than a decade, she might have drifted too far already. And even if she was¡­¡± Miranda paused for a moment, then turned away, ¡°I didn¡¯t really think I¡¯d last long enough to try, even if I could manage it.¡±


    Ah. Well, that was¡­ probably not something she wanted to talk to me about. I was quiet for several minutes, just thinking as I let my body relax, Miranda¡¯s warmth and the strain of the day¡¯s revelations lulling my body. ¡°When I¡¯m strong enough, we can try,¡± I finally told her, ¡°only if you want to, though. I can¡¯t promise it will work, but I¡¯ll try. You¡¯ve earned that much.¡±


    Miranda didn¡¯t respond, but I was certain she¡¯d heard me. It was probably a bad idea, summoning creatures from beyond the endless void was one of those terrible magics that even Avalon discouraged the study of. It wasn¡¯t something to attempt on a whim, even archmages could fall before the unnatural abilities of those bizarre beings. Over the millenia, some number of them had found their way into the world, some of them adapting to it better than others. Succubi like Miranda¡¯s ancestors were one of those beings that had adapted relatively well to our world¡¯s conditions. They could survive here indefinitely and even interbreed with some of the local sentients.


    I¡¯d done some research into the species after I¡¯d first subdued Miranda during my first year. Some cult had summoned the first dozen succubi into the world more than a millenia ago, and though those original monsters had been put down with extreme prejudice, their descendants survived to this day. I¡¯d heard that a few people had tried to resummon some of the originals, but none had succeeded so far as far as I knew. It seemed as though our world and whatever world that initial group had been called from had only briefly passed each other within the void and we were now too far away to summon any more.


    I did however know that it was possible to resummon some banished entities, as long as you worked quickly. Even though modern succubi had otherworldly origins, they had all been born on this world. Thus, when they were banished, they simply were left to float in the void until they were destroyed or ¡®crashed¡¯ into another world. Depending on how much power Miranda¡¯s mother had built up during her life, she might still be alive somewhere beyond the world.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    It was a slim chance, particularly since I was in no way prepared to do something like that with my current level of skill, but it was something. At least I didn¡¯t have to worry about someone banishing my Miranda. She had too much native blood in her, as was obvious from her ability to cast spells like a mage. The magic of outsiders was strange and otherworldly, incompatible with our own spellcasting. If she could cast spells like I could, she couldn¡¯t be banished, it was as simple as that. Well, I guess someone could just open an actual portal to the void and push her through, but that would just kill her. Without the buffer of a summoning or banishing spell, the void killed quickly.


    At some point I must have dozed off, because I woke up hours later lying in bed with Rea and Miranda curled up on either side of me. The disciplinarian in me insisted that this was a grave breach of etiquette on their part, Rea at least should have known better, and was screaming that they should be punished for it, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to care. There was only one person that deserved my anger right now. My slaves were just doing there best to help me in whatever small ways they could.


    Just thinking about Brenda was enough to have my hands curl into firsts and my mana begin to boil under my skin. That two-faced, scheming bitch was going to suffer. I knew it was hypocritical of me, after all my plan all along had been to turn her into my broken, obedient, resource-dispensing slave wife, but I didn¡¯t care. Brenda was the one that was supposed to care, and then she¡¯d gone and hurt one of the few good things left in my life.


    Well, I¡¯d so far avoided showing her who I really was, but it seemed like my schedule was going to have to accelerate. She¡¯d hired men to hurt and violate my precious Lea, perhaps Lea might enjoy some well-earned revenge? I wasn¡¯t going to hire anyone else to do my dirty work, far too much risk that way, but I think my pets and I could outdo a trio of brutish thugs. Perhaps Lea might even want to get involved herself? I¡¯d seen some students advertising enchanted harnesses that could give women the approximation of a man¡¯s cock. Something to consider for the future.


    I exhaled loudly and closed my eyes, trying to calm my mana and force my thoughts away from increasingly brutal revenge schemes. Miranda had been right, that was not like me. That was not how I did things. Perhaps if Brenda had been some nobody I could have gotten away with confronting her in a busy hallway and beating her into the ground until there was nothing left but a bloody, pleading smear. I¡¯d seen it happen before, for similar reasons even. That poor third year girl should have never cheated on her fourth year fiance, or at least been a little less obvious about it.


    Unfortunately, Brenda was a Goodwitch, and that name came with protections much more powerful than anyone in Xethis could imagine. Outside of people like the Myrddin who were simply too powerful to fear reprisal, no one crossed the Goodwitches lightly. Subtilty and deniability were the name of the game.


    It hurt, but I didn¡¯t really know how much I could do beyond what I was planning already. Once Brenda was properly bound in body and soul, then I could teach her the consequences of her actions in truth. Until then¡­ well, I would think of something. Maybe I could put Rea on the case, she had a real vicious streak under the meek, submissive face she showed me.


    Miranda shifted in her sleep and the tight frown on my face shifted into a small smile as her cold nose dug into my armpit. Her normally haughty beauty transformed into something that looked far too innocent for her bombshell body when she was relaxed like this. She really was much too cute, it was hard to be angry when she was lying beside me like this. Even with my magic filtering out the allure that radiated off her every action, she had a perfect charm to her. She may not have been as outwardly stunning as my elven cattle, but her imperfections only made her more perfect to me. Elves were unnatural, ugly creatures, whereas Miranda was perfect and mine.


    As I drifted back to sleep, I unconsciously pulled her and Rea tightly against my sides. My dreams were filled with warm touches and a musical chorus of agonized screaming. High pitched it might be, but I imagined her shrieks would be oh so much better than her words.


    <hr>


    She didn¡¯t wait for the door to finish before she was on her feet, teeth barred and hair bristling around her head like a bird¡¯s crest. ¡°How could you let this happen!¡± she shrieked, her usually melodious voice cutting through the air like a hail of broken glass, ¡°An entire flock, gone! In an instant! We. Had. A. Deal!¡±


    The men at the table simply stared at her impassively. After a few moments of silence, Maxis Warbringer leaned forward, ¡°Are you ready to speak like a civilized being, girl, or need I keep my hearing protection up for another tantrum?¡±


    Loraline whirled to glare at him, the back of her long gown shifting as though something beneath her skin was trying to break free. ¡°Do not test me, Maxis,¡± she hissed, ¡°you do not understand the pain, chicks torn from their mother¡¯s arms, elder voices in the chorus lost to us forever! What use is our agreement when you do nothing as my people suffer!¡±


    Maxis grabbed a bottle of wine from the table and filled his empty glass, ignoring the glare his alleged ally was sending his way. He took a long sip, then set the glass down. ¡°Quite the opposite,¡± he said quietly, ¡°I too have lost family to those monsters. I did not understand the danger and lost my daughter to arrogance. The colonies guarded by my men have seen no attacks. It is not our fault you could not adequately protect your own nests.¡±


    ¡°Peace, brothers and sisters,¡± intoned the robed priest before Loraline could respond. ¡°We are united under one banner, we need not quarrel. When holy Miira walks among us, none shall dare strike us. All slights shall be repaid tenfold, this I swear.¡± His voice was heavy with passion, washing away the lingering echoes of Loraline¡¯s cutting shrieks. ¡°Both your losses are a tragedy that shall not be forgotten. Remember our mission, our holy duty.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, your holiness. I let my emotions get the better of me.¡±


    Loraline dropped bonelessly into her seat, head falling against the table with a thump. ¡°Likewise,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Good. Now then, we have other things to address. Arnold?¡±


    The final member of the group who had sat silently throughout the initial exchange stood up from his seat. ¡°Thank you, your holiness. Despite the current troubles, I think you will all be pleased with my progress.¡± He smiled tightly and reached into his coat to withdraw a small pouch that he set down on the table. ¡°Take a look?¡±


    The others exchanged confused glances, then the priest reached over and grabbed the pouch, upending it over the table. A single golden key dropped onto the table, tinkling like glass as it bounced slightly before falling still.


    Maxis gasped, ¡°Is¡­ is that¡­¡±


    ¡°It sure is,¡± drawled Arnold. ¡°The holy brother has finally come through for us. Three down, one to go.¡±


    The priest picked up the golden key and lifted it to the light. ¡°Incredible work, Arnold,¡± he murmured. We are so close, I can almost taste it!¡± He set the key back down on the table, hands shaking. ¡°The hour of victory is nearly at hand.¡±


    ¡°For ten-thousand moons,¡± Arnold said quietly.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± the priest whispered.


    ¡°For ten-thousand moons and ten-thousand more,¡± they all finished together.

 Chapter 91

    The next week passed both far too quickly and somehow agonizingly slowly. That first class with Brenda was a true test of mental fortitude like no other. Each time the loathful girl touched me I had to restrain the urge to light her on fire or at least push her away. She must have noticed something was wrong, but seemed to have decided that I was just tired or worried or something else of that nature. Her solution was more skinship than I could have tolerated even if I wasn¡¯t absolutely furious with her, which only made it harder not to lash out.


    Still, I think I did an admirable job controlling myself, and outside the classes we shared and the one study session she managed to drag me into, the week was incredibly productive. As I always did when I encountered a problem I could not solve with my current power, I threw myself with renewed purpose into my studies. I spent long hours practicing casting and read through my backlog of books while I waited for my mana to regenerate. Every free moment was filled with one mana control exercise or another, and I spent several hours each night meditating as I worked to refine my circulations.


    Between that and my classes, I had very little time to spare, but I did manage to make one trip back into the city to visit Lea. She was finally back on her feet, the last of her internal injuries finally fading away under the care of the Earthshadow¡¯s family healer, but it was clear to see that the mental wounds from what had happened still haunted her mind.


    She was even more timid than before, jumping at every shadow and flinching away from unexpected touches. Our excursion to a nearby restaurant was cut short when another patron bumped into her chair while she was distracted and my poor Lea froze up and began to shiver as though she had just taken a dip into the winter ocean. I ended up escorting her back to the Earthshadow estate, my arm rubbing gentle circles on her back as I whispered comfortingly into her ear. The next day I had even more trouble restraining myself when Brenda threw herself at me during class as usual, though I think I managed not to tip her off in the end.


    I also made some more progress on my other project in the city. After returning Lea to the estate, I scouted out the wards around the last of the three homes, the one belonging to Lilac Seasong. I no longer had as much reason to go after her and the other young nobles that had ambushed Lea since I was now certain they had nothing to do with the second attack, but I concluded after some thought that they still deserved my attention. An attack on Lea was an attack on me, and neither could go unpunished.


    In any case, I¡¯d already put some time into the project and I hated to leave a job half-done. Inspecting the last set of wards didn¡¯t take long at all, less time even than I¡¯d originally planned to spend with Lea, so it wasn¡¯t an issue. If I also took the time to revisit Alam and Malar¡¯s Fine Flavors, the lovely little cafe I¡¯d initially used to surveil my target¡¯s defenses, then that was purely a matter of its convenient location and not the addictively delicious food I¡¯d eaten there.


    Just as with the Shieldlights and Firewalkers, the defenses around the building were nothing special. Lilac lived in the smallest and least elaborate of the three mansions, though it was still much fancier than anything I¡¯d ever lived in, and the wards were similarly lackluster. I was almost tempted to just go in immediately, but that would have been stupid and I was trying to avoid making stupid decisions. Instead I simply noted down what I¡¯d seen and returned back to Avalon for another evening filled with spellcasting practice.


    Eventually however, the weekend came again and I decided it was about time to visit Lea again. This time I decided I wouldn¡¯t try to take her out anywhere. Lea was improving but she still needed time before she was ready to interact with the world at large once more. Instead, I thought that maybe we could take a walk together through the gardens around the Earthshadow estate. Lea had always loved nature and it couldn¡¯t be good for her to spend all her time in a small room buried several floors beneath the ground.


    I didn¡¯t know much about treating injuries of the mind, it was a complex discipline at the best of times and traditional healing spells were often poorly suited for such things. From what I¡¯d read, she simply needed time and a stress-free environment. Outside of that, there wasn¡¯t much anyone could do for her, not without the use of dangerous, mind-altering spells and rituals. I could do my best to be there for her, but that was about it.


    I hated feeling so useless, but greater mages than I had spent millenia researching such things to little results. Spells that targeted the body where easy, mortal bodies existed fully within the world and could thus be easily damaged, repaired, and modified. The mind and the soul however were only partially material, making it much harder to affect them.


    The easiest method to do so was indirectly, using the body as a conduit to reach the other portions of the self. For instance, I typically maintained several circulations that improved my mental acuity and most oath-type spells targeted the soul by using a person¡¯s mana as a conduit between their body and soul. Unfortunately, there were limits to what you could achieve in that way. Healing magic, an already notoriously difficult and complex field that took decades to master, was very hard to translate over to either of the two.


    It was slightly easier when you were targeting yourself with the spells, it was why I could easily maintain my mental circulations whereas to achieve the same effect with a spell required at a minimum seventh circle spells, but that wasn¡¯t going to be of much help here. Lea may be a mage, but she had neither the knowledge nor expertise to perform delicate alterations on her own mind.


    I was on my way towards the estate, a small smile on my face as I looked forward to seeing my precious Lea again after far too many days, when I felt it. I stumbled over my own feet as a profound otherness briefly passed through my awareness. It was¡­ disconcerting, not wrong per se, but simply out of place. It was like a splotch of bright yellow paint on a dark stone wall, something that didn¡¯t quite belong and stood out as though under a spotlight because of it.


    I should have just kept walking. It was basically rule number one in Avalon, if you see something don¡¯t say anything and move as quickly as you can in the opposite direction. If I was in Avalon, I almost certainly would have kept walking. Bizarre magical anomalies were everywhere at the Academy, and feeling something unusual with my rapidly improving mana sense was a day to day occurrence.


    However, this wasn¡¯t Avalon. I wasn¡¯t even particularly close to the portal, I¡¯d taken something of a winding path along the edge of the town and was nearly an hours walk from the square where the entrance to Avalon was located. There was not much reason to be out here, the road along which I was walking was all but devoid of people and lined with stout warehouses and buildings with heavy, locked doors. It was the sort of place most people tried to avoid, particularly after the sun had set.


    I straightened slowly and made a show of brushing myself off even as my mind focused on extending my mana sense as far as I could in every direction. Huh, I couldn¡¯t feel it exactly anymore, but there was a strange echo in the air. Glancing up towards the sky, I clicked my tongue as I judged the time. It was still rather early, roughly ten in the morning I¡¯d guess. I had time and I was very curious about what I¡¯d just felt. A dangerous combination.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    I weighed my options. I should just go, I told myself. This was stupid, I told myself. Then I felt it again, a garish splash of neon color against the uniform background of ambient mana. I had to stop myself from spinning around to stare in the direction in which I could feel it. This was a terrible idea I told myself even as I briskly ducked into a narrow alleyway, the spellform for my favorite illusionary cloak drawing themselves under the cover of my long jacket¡¯s hem.


    I hadn¡¯t made it as far as I had by ignoring my instincts. I¡¯d clawed and scraped and clung to every scrap and advantage I could get my hands on. Whatever alien thing I had just sensed could be any number of things, but I wouldn¡¯t never know if I didn¡¯t go check it out. Perhaps it was some form of rare plant or animal, a mutated seed blown by the wind into a half-forgotten corner of the town. Maybe it was some mage¡¯s secret laboratory, the disturbance coming from a flaw or unforeseen interaction with its privacy wards. Or maybe it was something else that I wasn¡¯t considering.


    Regardless, it had the potential to be very valuable. Avalon taught its mages to be cautious but curious. Many of the greatest discoveries of the age would never have happened if someone had simply ignored what their senses were telling them and moved on. Even if it wasn¡¯t something I personally could make use of or was too dangerous to approach, I might be able to sell the information to someone who could. It was too enticing to pass up.


    I spent a moment studying the uneven stone bricks that made up the wall before me, then glanced around the alleyway. My eyes pathed out a route, the mana in my circulations accelerating as I took a deep breath. Then I took two rapid steps and jumped. A thin layer of mana protected my hands from the rough stone as I twisted my body and kicked off the wall towards the other side of the alley. I caught myself and pushed off again before I could begin to fall, mana flooding through my muscles. My fingers caught the edge of the roof and I easily pulled myself up onto the gently sloped rooftop.


    I glanced around briefly and found no one looking in my direction, nor could I sense any sort of active spell effects around me that might indicate magically hidden observers. There was only that same oily echo of bright color rapidly degrading at the edges of my senses.


    Another spell wrapped a bubble of silence around me and I set off at a brisk walk across the worn tiles. After a few steps, I cast another spell on my shoes to improve my traction. I wasn¡¯t that high up, but a bad fall while distracted could still kill me if I wasn¡¯t careful. What a way to go that would be.


    I quickly crossed the roof, then leapt across the gap to the next one over, my magic muffling what would have otherwise been a loud thump. I could feel it more clearly now, an odd smear in the mana flowing through the air that rippled in and out of my perception at irregular intervals. It was coming from the next building over, a low, dingy affair with boards nailed across the window frames.


    As I got closer, the oddity grew clearer and clearer in my senses. It was an object of some sort, the circle of disturbed mana around it wasn¡¯t moving as far as I could tell, but it was hard to judge the size. It could be as small as a pebble with a very intense mana signature, or as large as a boulder with a very diffuse concentration within it.


    I was much more careful crossing over this time, worried that even a muffled thump would be noticed. The oddity wasn¡¯t moving and I couldn¡¯t feel anyone in the building, but that didn¡¯t mean there was no one there. Three invisible panes of hardened air formed at regular intervals across the gap and I dashed across.


    My foot touched the roof and the oddity winked out of existence. I froze mid step and suppressed my presence with every ounce of willpower I could muster. I was invisible, soundless, and scentless, and had muted my magic down as far as I could possibly manage. Anyone or anything that could still detect me wasn¡¯t something I wanted to mess with.


    It was just¡­ gone, vanished between one moment and the next. If I hadn¡¯t just felt it, I would have never known there was something missing. The formerly disturbed mana was flowing smoothly through the air, complex currents winding straight through the patch in which I¡¯d felt the anomalous object.


    My heart pounded in my chest and I twisted my head around as I searched for appropriate paths of retreat or approaching attackers. Then, as quickly as it had vanished, the oddity reappeared, its smeared outline faint but still in the exact same place as it had been before as far as I could tell. I took a cautious step forward and nothing happened. Had it been a false alarm? Just¡­ bad timing?


    I exhaled softly, gods above that had been terrifying. Once again, I asked myself what I was trying to accomplish. This was a terrible idea, but I¡¯d come too far to back down now. I moved purposefully towards the center of the roof where I¡¯d already noticed a large hatch set into the dark tiles. It looked like it had been used recently, bits of dirt that had been previously lodged into the seam around the heavy-looking trapdoor now scattered across the rooftop.


    I sat down not far from the hatch and summoned a spectral eye, the same spell I¡¯d used the previous weekend to observe the wards around several of Lea¡¯s attackers¡¯ homes. I was half expecting something to go wrong, but the eye passed easily through the thick layer of tiles and emerged into a dark, mostly open space filled with stacks of heavy crates.


    Staying close to the ceiling, I directed the eye to slowly move in the direction in which I could sense the smear. The eye moved slowly, passing through several walls and dodging around crates in case they were filled with something like iron bars that could disrupt my control of the eye. Eventually, it emerged into a small room near the edge of the warehouse, some sort of out-of-use office or maybe an inventory room, and I finally laid eyes on the source of the disturbance I was feeling.


    It was a person¡­ or at least something that looked like a person. The tall, willowy man was lying on a makeshift cot, still dressed in a heavy coat, gloves, boots, and a wide-brimmed hat despite being indoors. I couldn¡¯t see his face, he was lying face down with his arm tucked into the crook of his elbow, but at least outwardly he looked like a man, if an unnaturally tall one.


    I watched him for several long minutes, noting how his chest was rising and falling with an odd, stuttering pattern. I quickly realized that the pattern was rather familiar. Each time ¡®his¡¯ chest rose, the smear vanished from my senses, leaving only an oily residue in the mana currents around him. Each time his chest fell, the smear reappeared, tainting the mana around him with its presence. Very interesting.


    I closed my eyes, considering my options. I could just leave, my curiosity at least somewhat sated by my findings. That was the safe choice. Perhaps I could head back to Avalon, get Liam, and bring him back here to show him what I¡¯d found. I was starting to suspect that I knew what it was I was looking at and if this¡­ man was what I thought ¡®he¡¯ was, I was sure Liam would reward me handsomely for the information


    On the other hand, by the time I came back there might not be anything to find. As far as I could tell, the man had some sort of disguise that was meant to shield his unusual presence, but that disguise was having some sort of issues. It was very possible that if I left, he would be gone by the time I returned and I would never find him again. Judging from how quickly that residue he left every time the disguise failed began to disperse, it would only take a matter of seconds for him to simply vanish into the background.


    I opened my eyes, already knowing what I was going to do. It was stupid, reckless, and probably a bad idea, but I simply couldn¡¯t pass up this opportunity. Even if it wasn¡¯t directly useful to me, I was absolutely confident that his body, dead or alive, would fetch an excellent price at Avalon. This was a chance for advancement that I couldn¡¯t ignore.


    After all, true Outsiders were sources of unique, priceless reagents. I¡¯d never seen one before, but the oddity of the mana before me did remind me of Miranda¡¯s complex web of inherited abilities, and every description I¡¯d read said that they were clearly identifiable as ¡®foreign¡¯ to magical senses. That was as good a description of what I was seeing as any. Well, it seemed like visiting Lea was going to have to wait. Work before pleasure, as my Father had always said, and it looked like I had work to do.

 Chapter 92

    The moment I finally made a decision, the doubts tickling the corners of my mind receded. Good idea or bad, reckless or not, I had made a choice and now was simply time to get it done. Sure I wasn¡¯t going to be stupid about it, if the Outsider woke up and proved itself to be both hostile and dangerous, I was going to get out of here with utmost haste. Until then though, there was no room for such self-destructive thoughts. I had a goal, it was time to get to work.


    I considered my options. I had four magic-disrupting collars on my person, two of the advanced self-propelling models I¡¯d designed and two far simpler models I¡¯d made earlier in the year. It was a flip of a coin if those would be effective, and the older models might actually be more useful in this particular scenario. I had designed them before I¡¯d gotten a good look at an elf¡¯s internal magics and had been working under the assumption that there may be some crucial differences between them and humans. Thus, those collars worked on a much more general principle of mana-disruption than what I¡¯d made more recently. Depending on how unusual the Outsider¡¯s abilities might be, the more recent ways I had come up with for preventing mana manipulation might prove ineffective.


    I also had a number of vials filled with various magically conductive fluids, mostly blood and milk from my cattle, but also alchemically-neutral oil and life-attuned water I¡¯d gathered from the supply typically used to water Avalon¡¯s greenhouses. That wasn¡¯t much to work with, but it would hopefully be enough. It helped that I was rather confident with my skill at transmutation magic. Getting most mundane materials was simply a matter of first transmuting some random debris into something simple like a block of pure nickel and then transmuting that into whatever shape and substance I needed.


    After weighing several potential choices, I decided that safe and simple was probably best. The simplest option was probably to try and kill it and just collect the corpse for study. If I moved to a safe distance first, I could take my time and prepare something thoroughly lethal to hit it with. I wasn¡¯t familiar enough with the Death spell form to cast something like Command Die, one of the most practical ways of assassinating an opponent sleeping without any wards up, but a barrage of fourth-circle force lances wasn¡¯t something most people could walk off.


    That, I decided pretty quickly, was a terrible option. It was very simple, but the complete opposite of safe. If the creature proved to be immune to force-based damage, and I was familiar with a number of such creatures, I would be in trouble very quickly. I also didn¡¯t really know what I needed to aim for, could the creature survive without a head? A heart? Perhaps it kept its vital organs in one of its limbs, or simply didn¡¯t have any such organs to begin with. Even if I succeeded in killing it, I risked destroying too much of its body to get anything valuable from it.


    I similarly discarded a number of other plans, such as trying to suffocate it, burn it, lock it in a cage, or a number of other increasingly convoluted ideas. Eventually, I concluded that I was overcomplicating things. After all, I already knew a spell that was almost perfectly appropriate for the situation, even if this was a somewhat unconventional way of using it.


    I got to work immediately, there was no time to waste. If the creature woke up before I was ready, I would have both wasted time and resources, and left myself in a rather precarious position. Hopefully it was a deep sleeper.


    Leaving the spectral eye to keep an eye on the potential Outsider, I moved over to the section of roof directly over where it slept and began to clean up the dead leaves and other bits of grime that had built up on the old warehouse¡¯s roof. I did my best to limit how much magic I was using and kept a steady flow of mana into my illusions, there was no telling what sort of senses the creature might have and a large flare of mana might wake it up at an inopportune moment.


    Once I was done with that, I took several measurements and took a brief detour to a neighboring roof where I transmuted several roof tiles into a large, mostly flat sheet of copper. The roof of the building was neither completely flat, nor made of a particularly good material for drawing a ritual circle.


    Getting the large sheet back into position took some work, but my circulation made me physically strong enough that I could manage it without much effort. I just hoped no one had seen the large metal sheet floating through the air without anything visibly carrying it, that would be a very awkward way for things to go wrong.


    One ¡®fun¡¯ feature of ritual magic was that, as long as you accounted for it, elevation didn¡¯t tend to be particularly important. It didn¡¯t matter if the target was standing right inside the circle or some distance above or beneath it, the magic would work either way. According to my professor, this feature was most commonly exploited in traps and warding.


    For instance, Clarient¡¯s Mom¡¯s throne had once been protected by a powerful isolation-field that had defied the understanding of many ward experts. After the fall of their queendom, it was discovered that the field hadn¡¯t been a ward at all, but rather a ritual maintained in a tiny ritual room buried miles under the palace itself. It hadn¡¯t saved her in the end, of course, but it was still a very clever bit of magic.


    In this case, it meant that I could lay out the ritual in relative safety on the roof, decreasing the chance that I might wake up my target before I was done with my work. The roof was also mostly flat and free of inconvenient walls and furniture, which further simplified drawing out a large ritual circle.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    I worked as quickly as I could, thankful for the long hours of experience I¡¯d gained in drawing out ritual circles over the past few months. I had to be fast but meticulous, a difficult combination but a necessity given my limited available materials and the need to finish before it woke up.


    As it was, I had already watered down my small supply of blood and milk more than I was fully comfortable with in order to have enough liquid to draw out the entire array. I could not afford to waste any of the resulting pinkish-white water with amateurish mistakes. In general, ritual magic and cutting corners went together the way practicing destructive spells and the Avalon library, namely very poorly with a high chance of a messy, painful death thrown in. I was pretty sure my control was good enough to compensate for it in this instance, but there was no need to make things harder than they needed to be.


    Setting everything up took nearly a full hour despite my best efforts, and I spent the entire time furtively checking up on the thankfully still out of it creature. In hindsight I probably wasted a not-inconsiderable amount of time doing that, time that could have been better spent drawing out the necessary runes on my copper sheet, but I weary enough of the Outsider that every time I looked away a pang of fear shot through my chest. I was so very close to it after all. If it woke up, felt me moving around above it¡­ I could be in a lot of trouble very quickly.


    I stood up with a soft groan and stretched. I wasn¡¯t physically sore like a mundane man would have been after an hour of kneeling on hard metal, my circulations had taken care of that, but it still wasn¡¯t a particularly pleasant way to do things. I should get Rea a nice rug or something, she spent so much time on her knees and it¨C¨C


    Not the time. My mana was getting worryingly low but I didn¡¯t want to risk waiting for it to regenerate. It would have to be enough. I regretfully dropped most of my defensive and concealing spells, leaving only the simplest and least costly ones active. It was another risk, I felt very exposed standing up here without the cover of invisibility, but not having enough mana to finish my ritual would be even more dangerous.


    Mana poured out of my hands in two long, narrow streams. Moving in opposite directions, the two streams began to settle into the still-wet runes I¡¯d drawn across the roof. It was not my preferred method of charging a ritual circle, but for today it would have to do. My usual method was both simpler and more effective, but it required a secondary containment circle around the ritual, one that I hadn¡¯t been able to prepare here. This was slower and much more costly in terms of focus, but it was manageable and I just needed to get it done.


    My heart skipped a beat when I took a momentary break to glance through my projected eye and saw the creature stir in its sleep. I almost panicked when its head turned to face the eye, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was actually waking up. Still, I redoubled my efforts.


    ¡®What if it didn¡¯t work?¡¯ an insidious voice whispered inside my head, ¡®It¡¯s an Outsider, a creature capable of acts that defy the conventions of magic. It could be completely immune.¡¯


    I firmly told that voice to shut up. It was going to work.


    The creature stirred again, and the odd rise and fall of its chest stilled completely. The slow pulsing of its unmistakable aura vanished as though it had never existed in the first place. The heavy coat it was wearing shifted, revealing a slender, pale arm wearing a glove of greenish leather.


    I kept casting. This was going to work.


    The circle was nearly fully charged and I began to cast the complex, fourth-circle spell that would finalize the ritual¡¯s effect. It wasn¡¯t a spell I had cast often, only a few times while I¡¯d been preparing to execute the ritual the first time around and never since then, and I had to manually weave my mana into the complex fourth-dimensional array of spell forms.


    The creature shifted again and I nearly lost control when I saw what was really hiding under that thick clothing. The coat was open at the front, revealing a shifting mass of grayish-white tendrils that writhed and twisted under its torso. It had eyes there, far too many eyes, and¡­ and it was looking right at me. Staring. Staring at the eye floating silently in the corner of the room. Invisible, intangible, fazed partially into the stone wall, but not hidden enough.


    The creature stood up almost faster than I could perceive, not so much rising to its feet as forming feet directly underneath its torso. Its arm lashed towards the eye, extending out from the sleeve of its jacket and slamming into the wall where my eye was hidden.


    The eye dashed backwards as fast as I could make it move, narrowly avoiding the strike. Nails like knives cut through the tips of the gloves and dug deeply into the stone. The eye slid smoothly back into the room and once again had to immediately recoil away from a jab.


    Still, it showed me everything I needed to know. Despite attacking the eye, the creature¡¯s main body hadn¡¯t moved. The spell forming between my outstretched arms snapped into place and mana flared.


    The creature noticed something at the very last moment, in the single instant between the completion of the spell and the ritual taking effect. It tried to bolt, but even its inhumanly fast movement could not save it. Between one instant and the next, everything within the circle simply froze in place.


    I watched with bated breath as the creature¡¯s twisted body toppled over onto the ground. Its arm, which had extended partially outside the space affected by my stasis spell, wriggled once, nails collapsing back into the glove, then fell still.


    I watched it for another moment, then finally let out the breath I¡¯d been holding. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. It worked. Of course it worked. There had never been any doubt.


    I took a deep breath and suddenly realized that I had fallen to my knees. Strange, I didn¡¯t remember doing anything like that. I took another deep breath. Now to figure out how to get that¡­ thing back home. Did it really have to extend its arm like that? The sleeping body had been so nice and compact, but this was going to be annoying.

 Chapter 93

    Despite being what some might describe as a lawless hellhole full of murderous sociopaths, Avalon did have a number of very strictly enforced rules. The student handbook they gave out at the start of every year was nearly four-hundred pages long and reading all of it was not so much required as it was just common sense.


    Every year a few particularly stupid first-years would disregard the strongly worded encouragement to read and memorize the entire thing before they did anything else, and their corpses tended to ensure everyone else complied.


    In any case, while Avalon did allow and encourage its students to practice a number of magics that were widely considered immoral or illegal in the outside world, it also had some surprisingly reasonable rules about that sort of thing. That was why, less than an hour after I¡¯d finally managed to wrangle the awkwardly frozen outsider into my room and properly secure it within a bubble of layered wards, I walked up to Professor Laushring¡¯s office and politely knocked on the door.


    There was no response. I waited for a few seconds, then knocked again. This time, the large green gem embedded in the center of the door lit up and the Professor¡¯s gruff voice rang out from it. ¡°Yes? You¡¯re not one of my students, what do you need?¡±


    I assumed that he probably wouldn¡¯t be asking me questions if the enchantments on the door weren¡¯t two-way. I looked around awkwardly, I would have preferred to do this with a little bit more privacy. ¡°Sorry to bother you, Professor,¡± I began. It was always best to be polite to grouchy Archmages, ¡°Could I speak to you with a little bit more priva¨C¨C¡±


    Before I could finish the sentence, a powerful set of wards snapped into place around me. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I suddenly felt my mana sense cut off and an oppressive stillness fall over me. ¡°There!¡± he barked, ¡°Talk.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Professor. Per Academy rule seventy-four, I wanted to inform you that I brought a potentially hostile outsider into the Academy. It¡¯s under a stasis spell at the moment and I used¨C¨C¡±


    Once again, I was interrupted mid sentence. The heavy door slammed open, crashing against the stone wall with a painfully loud bang that echoed inside the ward-enclosed bubble. I eyed the door warily, thankful that I¡¯d taken a step back away after knocking. That¡­ would have hurt. A lot. And I would have never lived down getting badly injured by an opening door if anyone knew about it. That sort of thing could break a reputation in a matter of hours.


    ¡°Come in,¡± the professor called out from somewhere beyond the door, ¡°take a seat and I¡¯ll be with you in just a moment.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have to wait for long. Only about thirty seconds after I¡¯d sat down in the heavy chair across from his desk, he emerged from a small, open side door that I somehow hadn¡¯t noticed when I¡¯d come in. He stomped heavily across the room, then hopped up into his tall chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he stared at me.


    For being barely four feet tall, Professor Laushring was¡­ intimidating. He wasn¡¯t the only dwarf I¡¯d ever met, there were two in my year and a few others I¡¯d run into over the years, but he was definitely the scariest. While his presence had nothing on the Headmaster, he had an aura of barely suppressed violence that hung over him like a storm cloud. The two gleaming rubies that he had used to replace his eyes certainly didn¡¯t help, their bright, baleful glow making it impossible to meet his eyes.


    ¡°First question. Did you summon it?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Good. You don¡¯t look like an idiot, but you never know.¡± He seemed to relax slightly, leaning back and kicking his feet up onto the desk. ¡°Now then, if you didn¡¯t summon it, do you know who did?¡±


    I shook my head again.


    ¡°Really?¡± he asked skeptically.


    ¡°Yes professor.¡±


    ¡°So then you hunted it down? All on your own?¡±


    ¡°No professor. I found it.¡±


    ¡°Found it?¡± He seemed rather confused.


    ¡°Yes professor. I was walking through the town and felt an odd disturbance in the mana flows. It was using some sort of spell or ability to hide its presence, but there must have been something wrong with it because I could still sense it.¡±


    ¡°So you just¡­ stumbled on the outsider and then decided to capture it? I take it isn¡¯t a very dangerous outsider then.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. It was sleeping when I found it.¡±


    The professor simply stared at me. After about a minute, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. ¡°Professor?¡± I asked tentatively.


    ¡°You¡­ were simply walking through town,¡± he said slowly, ¡°and then you¡­ found¡­ a sleeping outsider?¡±


    ¡°Yes professor. I can¡¯t be certain that it was an outsider, I¡¯ve never seen one in person before, but it certainly felt like the descriptions I¡¯ve read of them.¡±


    The professor reached up to rub his forehead. ¡°Okay. Well then.¡± He paused and looked up towards the ceiling. ¡°And where is your¡­ sleeping outsider now?¡±


    Oh, good. This was the question I had actually been prepared to answer. ¡°I have it secured in my room, professor. The creature itself is locked away under a stasis spell that should last for a few more days before I need to renew it. I haven¡¯t felt any sort of disturbances in the spell matrix that might indicate that its abilities are interfering with the spell. In case something does happen, I used Rolf¡¯s seventh prisoner ward scheme done in transmuted silver around it. That should last¨C¨C¡±


    My mouth snapped closed with a soft click when he interrupted me again. ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s one of the approved sets for outsiders. Assuming you managed to put it together correctly, you should be alright. Otherwise, the wards on your room should keep it contained after it eats you.¡± He chuckled loudly, and I tentatively joined him even though I didn¡¯t really see what was so funny about what he¡¯d said.


    ¡°Do you need anything else from me?¡± I asked once it seemed like he was done.


    ¡°No, no, you¡¯ve done what needs doing. I¡¯ll fill out the appropriate forms and make sure they¡¯re filled correctly.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, professor.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my job!¡± he cackled loudly, ¡°Run along now, lucky sod. Try not to let your new toy kill you!¡±


    ¡°Of course, professor. I¡¯ll take that into consideration.¡± I stood up, bowed my head politely, and then warily watched as the door opened smoothly at a gesture from the dwarf.


    The illusions I¡¯d dropped outside his office came back up as I resumed channeling mana into the spells and I hurried out of the room. For being such a valuable opportunity, the outsider really was giving me a lot of work to do on a day I¡¯d planned to spend relaxing with Lea.


    After a quick lunch, I headed to a practice room I¡¯d reserved several days ago for my next commitment. After seeing Miranda¡¯s underwhelming performance in our fight against Kwesta and assessing Briella and Cayla¡¯s own skills, I¡¯d decided that some group training was in order. I imagined that sooner or later I was going to end up fighting with one or more of them at my back, and dying because they couldn¡¯t cast a decent shield spell would be horribly embarrassing.


    I¡¯d already assigned all three of them a number of spells and general exercises to practice that would hopefully bring them to a reasonable standard of competence, but my books told me it was important to get some more practical training as well.


    Honestly, I probably needed some of that myself. I¡¯d only ever been in a few real fights over the years and there was a big difference between casting a spell during training and doing so while someone was trying to kill you.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    It hadn¡¯t been an issue so far, but if I¡¯d let myself panic for even a single moment during the fight against Kwesta I would have been dead before I could blink. If that first shield I had used at the start of the fight had been even an instant slower, that would have been it.


    Today had been the same thing. I should have done something when I¡¯d first seen the creature start moving. Everything had worked out well, but if it had been just a bit faster it might have escaped the circle before I finished the ritual. If I¡¯d thought to prepare something like a force wall or even just cast a simple shield spell at the edge of the circle, that eventuality could have been avoided. I needed to be faster, stronger, better.


    To that end, I had reserved one of the large, heavily warded combat-practice rooms that Avalon had set up for just that sort of training. Unlike the regular rooms I typically used, these came with another layer of wards that were designed to prevent serious injuries during training. As long as the combat spells being thrown around were under sixth-circle, the room would ensure most wounds were non-lethal, cushion impacts, and generally make things safer for everyone involved.


    I had only found out about that feature rather recently. Liam had told me about it after I met with him in one such room. I hadn¡¯t realized that Avalon offered such a¡­ relatively safe way of practicing dangerous magic to its students. According to him, they were a relatively new feature that had been added by a former professor who had designed the ward scheme to prevent ¡®accidents¡¯ during his classes.


    Despite heading over rather early, I was actually the last to arrive. Cayla, Briella, and Miranda were sitting together off to one side of the large, boxy room quietly talking amongst themselves. When I stepped inside they fell silent, Cayla and Briella bowing deeply towards me.


    ¡°Lovely,¡± I said loudly as I checked the time, ¡°we can start a few minutes early then. Good initiative.¡± I really did appreciate it. I hated being late and when others were late. Miranda had once explained the concept of ¡®fashionably late¡¯ to me, and it had only further cemented my distaste towards nobles. Even for long-lived archmages, time was a precious, limited commodity. Wasting it was criminal.


    Setting my things down beside the door, I dug out a notebook and flipped it open to where I¡¯d planned out our training time. ¡°We¡¯ll start with some simple partnered practice. I¡¯ll be with Miranda and you two will be together. One person casts, the other shields or counters. No destructive interference, the wards on the room won¡¯t do anything to prevent spell backlash.¡±


    I looked up from my notes, ¡°All clear?¡± I was met with three nods. ¡°Good, then let''s get to it. We¡¯ll switch partners every ten minutes. Once everyone¡¯s worked with everyone, we¡¯ll move on to the next exercise.¡±


    ¡°Yes master!¡± exclaimed Briella. She seemed rather enthusiastic about today¡¯s training, much more than Cayla had been when I¡¯d told her about it the previous week. I had a feeling that Briella considered any excuse to practice her fire spells against a living target as a grand opportunity.


    Ever since she¡¯d drunk her potion several weeks ago, her mastery of the Fire spellform had increased dramatically. Under my supervision she¡¯d even managed to cast a fourth-circle fire spell during our previous week¡¯s training, despite being completely unable to cast any third-circle spell outside of her speciality.


    She had an intuitive understanding of what the spell matrix should look like and how to form the multi-dimensional aspects of the magic that was honestly mind boggling. It had taken me months of careful practice and research to cast my first fourth-circle spell. Briella, despite having considerably worse control over her mana than I did, managed it in two weeks. Even if her mastery extended only to a very specific category of spells, it was still incredibly impressive.


    Something in her voice made me pause and turn to look at her. ¡°Nothing over second-circle when you¡¯re working with Cayla,¡± I ordered, ¡°you can try some of your more powerful stuff when we¡¯re paired together. I¡¯d rather not test the effectiveness of the room¡¯s wards if we can avoid it.¡±


    ¡°Yes master,¡± she repeated, this time somewhat more subdued.


    ¡°Good. Let''s get to it. Miranda,¡± I jerked my head towards the far side of the large room, ¡°let¡¯s give them some room.¡±


    Miranda hurried after me, then took a position about twenty feet away from me. For a long moment we just stood there silently, and I gestured for her to get on with it. Miranda raised her hand, mana curling around her fingers as she prepared to cast a spell. Then she lowered her hand, a conflicted expression on her face.


    ¡°Come on!¡± I called out, ¡°Let¡¯s get to work.¡± Miranda looked away, eyes cast down towards the floor. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to attack you, master,¡± she whispered after a moment, her voice almost too soft to hear. ¡°What¡­ what if I hurt you?¡±


    Oh. I¡­ hadn¡¯t considered that. In theory, this shouldn¡¯t be an issue, but I could see why it felt like one from her perspective. I reached inward, brushing gently against the bond that connected us. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t,¡± I told her confidently. Sure, Miranda was probably good enough to injure me if she caught me by surprise, but I trusted my own skills and this room should ensure any mistakes wouldn¡¯t be an issue. ¡°You can consider this an order if that makes you feel better.¡±


    ¡°Yes Orion,¡± she said after a moment, her voice still soft but less shaky. ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    I nodded sharply. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do. Your showing against Kwesta was an embarrassment, I hope your recent practice has¨C¨C¡±


    She was casting before I even finished the sentence and I shut up to focus on my own magic. I approved of her taking the initiative like that. In our fight against Kwesta, it had taken her a moment to realize that the conversation was over and it was time to fight and I was a fervent believer that any mistake should only ever be made once.


    Thin strands of mana poured out of her fingertips and spun together into a complex web of twisting light. I didn¡¯t recognize the spell, but I could feel elements of the Sound spellform and fragments from other forms I was familiar with. I didn¡¯t know any counters that were designed specifically for those forms, and my general purpose counters tended to be of the more destructive sort. Thus, I would attempt to shield myself instead.


    Miranda had started casting first and it had taken some time to assess her spell, so I didn¡¯t have time for anything too complex. My own mana spun around me and a dome of silence formed around me. Miranda¡¯s spell finished a moment later and I felt a wave of magic crash around my dome before fading away.


    My turn. I didn¡¯t want to overwhelm Miranda immediately, that would completely defeat the point of this exercise, so I chose a spell I was only passingly familiar with. Heat formed the core of the spell matrix, ribbons of mana expanding into billowing, hazy streams that twisted in and around themselves. Around it were elements of Force, Light, and Pressure, along with tiny fragments from other spellforms that I had simply copied wholly from the book in which I¡¯d found the spell.


    Miranda didn¡¯t try to prevent me from casting the spell either. A wall of oppressive, scorching heat rose up in front of me, then shot towards Miranda. Through the heat haze it left in its wake, I watched Miranda conjure up a classic third-circle bulwark to protect herself.


    It mostly worked, my spell dissipated as it slammed against the wall of magic-infused force, but Miranda stumbled back when the residual heat of the spell washed over her. I was glad I hadn¡¯t put too much mana into the spell, healing burns, even just first-degree burns, was annoying. I would have to show Miranda some heat-regulating circulations, that was definitely one of the most useful bits of magic I¡¯d picked up from my body alteration class so far.


    Miranda didn¡¯t let the heat distract her for long. A counterspell from me dismantled the earth spell she was trying to cast, then she used the exact same counter on my own attack. From there, we both began to get a little more creative. A concentrated blast of conjured water sprayed uselessly against a sloped sheet of force. That same water became a billowing cloud of scalding steam, then a volley of spinning glass shards that I threw back at her with a wide banishing spell.


    Eventually, time ran out and Miranda switched places with a slightly scorched looking Cayla. She also required a small nudge before she would start casting against me, but that was to be expected. Her binding was considerably less intricate than Miranda¡¯s, with a much more strict definition of what she could and couldn¡¯t do.


    Our exchange was considerably less interesting than the one I had with Miranda. She was improving, but Cayla was still a below-average second year despite our best efforts. She had little talent for shaping mana and was having trouble finding a speciality that suited her.


    At the very least, her fundamentals and casting speed had gotten better. I stuck to first-circle spells and she successfully shielded against or countered each one except for an electric jolt that knocked her on her butt right before our time ran out.


    When it was finally her turn, Briella proved not to need any encouragement. She almost seemed too excited to start. Her opening attack was a gigantic fireball that I deflected into the ceiling with a wall of cold air. The jagged ball of ice that I fired back with was obliterated by an almost blindingly hot ray of fire that was followed by another fireball, this one slightly smaller but much hotter. This time, I shielded myself with a wall of conjured water.


    The rest of our time proceeded exactly like that. She would cast a fire spell to attack, I would deflect it, shield against it, or counter it. Then, I would fire back and she would use some manner of fire spell, typically either a wall, bubble, or ray, to defend herself. Eventually, I switched to pure Force spells to try and stop her from just overwhelming my various attacks with more fire, but even then she simply used Force and Fire hybrid spells to defend herself.


    She was somewhat overspecialized, but I couldn¡¯t really find much fault in that. We would have to work on other fields eventually, but for now I could see she was reveling in her newly improved talent and throwing herself fully into her studies. When that initial wave of enthusiasm wore off, we would switch to something else, but for now it was too good of a motivator.


    I already knew exactly how I was going to motivate her to practice other magic. Over our last few sessions, I¡¯d found that she hated her family even more than I had initially suspected. Telling her that they were likely also specialized in fire spells and she needed something to get around that should ensure I didn¡¯t need oath-enforced orders to make her cooperate.

 Chapter 94

    I wanted to move immediately onto the next part of our training, but apparently I had overestimated the girls¡¯ mana reserves. Briella was mostly fine, her family¡¯s bloodline spirit made fire-related magic cheaper to cast as well as easier. It was why she could cast a fourth circle spell at all despite having roughly the same amount of mana as Cayla.


    Miranda and Cayla weren¡¯t nearly as blessed. Half an hour of near-constant spellcasting had drained both of them considerably. Both said they were fine but I could tell they needed some time before we could continue.


    As such, instead of going directly to some group sparring, we all sat down together in a circle and began discussing each other¡¯s performance. Though it took some prodding, I eventually managed to get some useful feedback from the trio. They were initially rather hesitant to criticize anything I¡¯d done, but a few sternly worded orders later, things proceeded much more smoothly.


    After about half an hour we finally got back to work. ¡°I think we¡¯ll start with a simple two on two,¡± I said thoughtfully, ¡°Cayla, you¡¯ll be with me. Miranda, Briella, you¡¯ll be together. Take five minutes to strategize and then we can get started.¡±


    I led Cayla over to a corner of the room with the other two girls taking the opposite corner. ¡°So I think we should keep things nice and simple,¡± I told her once we were out of earshot. ¡°I¡¯ll stay on the defensive, you focus on offense. Your force spike is getting pretty good, stick to those unless you think you see a good opening. Focus on Briella first, force spells are pretty good against her most common shield spell and she¡¯s slower with the variants.¡±


    ¡°Yes master!¡± she exclaimed quietly, ¡°I will strive not to disappoint you.¡±


    ¡°Just do your best.¡± I clapped her encouragingly on the shoulder, ¡°You have a long way to go still, but you¡¯re getting better. Keep it up.¡± She smiled joyfully, pressing back against my hand as a rosy blush spread across her cheeks. ¡°Okay, let''s do this.¡±


    Turning away from her I called out across the room. ¡°We¡¯re ready.¡±


    Miranda turned her head, ¡°We just need another moment please, sir.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re good.¡± The two girls continued whispering to one another and I was glad to see they were getting along. I had noticed some amount of hostility between them after I¡¯d first bound the younger duo, but that had seemingly faded away in the weeks since. Good.


    From there, it wasn¡¯t long until we were standing on opposite sides of the hall. I used a tendril of telekinetic force to pick up a white handkerchief I¡¯d transmuted earlier and carried it to the center of the room. ¡°Ready?¡± I asked.


    Briella grinned back at me and nodded sharply. Miranda¡¯s response was slightly more subdued, simply a soft yes. I let the handkerchief drop and we all watched it slowly flutter through the air.


    I was casting the moment it touched the ground, three dinner-plate sized shields of crystalline light forming from a shower of glittering sparks. It was just in time too as I directed two of the shields to deflect the ray of fire and volley of stone shards flying towards us. The third hovered protectively in front of me, ready to move at a moment''s notice.


    Cayla was slightly slower on the draw, but had put the time I¡¯d given her to good use. Instead of a single dart, her spell fired a volley of three force spikes traveling towards Briella on complex, twisting trajectories.


    Leaving most of my attention to direct the three hovering shields, I got to work on the role I¡¯d given myself. Any spell that couldn¡¯t be blocked by the shields was countered directly or neutralized before it could become a problem. Whenever Miranda tried to use her own counterspells, I was there with a pulse of disrupting mana that tore apart the fragile spell matrices before they could form.


    Whenever I had a moment to spare, I launched my own force spikes mixed in among Cayla¡¯s volleys. My version of the spell was faster, hit harder, and took more focus to disrupt and made it much more difficult to simply push through her attacks. Occasionally I also added a shieldbreaker into the mix, the projectile appearing nearly identical to a force spike at first glance but optimized to disrupt the mana of typical shield spells.


    I was impressed by how well Miranda and Briella were coordinating. Their plan appeared to be to drown us under a combined volley of spellfire, focusing almost exclusively on offense. They¡¯d obviously identified Cayla as the weak link and were directing the majority of their spells towards her.


    It was a good strategy, protecting someone else was much more difficult with most shield spells than defending yourself and Cayla was unlikely to weather the assault for long on her own. They likely hoped to knock her out of the fight quickly and then focus all their attention on me.


    Unfortunately for them, I¡¯d been expecting something of the sort. That was why my very first spell of the practice duel had been a fascinating shield variant that Jack Baretree had directed me towards during one of Professor Shrike¡¯s classes. Shrike¡¯s Cleaving Disk was a multi-purpose spell that our professor had designed back when he¡¯d been a student at the academy. It was a sixth-circle combat spell that created a fast moving disk of crystalized force that could cut through nearly anything and made for a formidable weapon. Jack had demonstrated the spell for me and it was a very impressive bit of magic.


    This spell was not that. Instead, it was a variant that another student had made in the decades since. By removing the cutting portion of the spell and replacing it with a different part of the Force spell form, the spell had been modified into a versatile shield that still retained a number of the original spell¡¯s properties despite now being a fourth-circle spell. Jack had noticed that I often made use of various mana constructs and had thought that this spell might serve me well. He¡¯d been completely correct and it had rapidly become one of my favorite spells.


    Despite being a fourth circle spell, the shields required a shockingly small amount of mana to create and sustain, and could take much more punishment without breaking than most comparable spells. Something about the crystalline structure of the internal force mana matrix reinforced the entire structure in a way that reminded me of Professor Meadow¡¯s lessons.


    Their main downside was their small size and the focus required to move them around, but those were both easily negated with practice. It helped that directing them was a lot like directing my pure mana telekinetic tendrils that I made use of all the time. I was very thankful to Jack for showing me the spell and studying its matrix had given me a number of ideas for my other research.


    Dodging out of the way of a partially-deflected jet of water, I interposed a shield between Cayla and Miranda just in time to intercept a very familiar force lance spell. I clicked my tongue in annoyance as the modified spell I¡¯d taught Miranda shattered the shield, the entire construct collapsing into dazzling sparks of light that vanished after a moment. Unfortunately that was one of the spell¡¯s weaknesses. Enough damage to one spot would cause the entire thing to break.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    After that, things became slightly more difficult. With only two shields and no time to summon another one, I was much more hard pressed to protect Cayla. Thankfully she wasn¡¯t completely useless, occasionally dodging out of the way of simple attacks so I didn¡¯t have to defend quite as thoroughly. She was impressively fast and light on her feet, particularly since I knew she still hadn¡¯t figured out any physical augmentation magic.


    The end of the fight came rather anticlimactically. Miranda tripped over her own feet as she frantically tried to dodge away from one of Cayla¡¯s attacks, her shield having shattered under the repeated barrage of spells. At her cry of surprise, Briella looked away from the fight and I mercilessly exploited the opportunity for all it was worth.


    My last remaining shield, the other two having shattered blocking Miranda¡¯s occasional force lances, launched forward like a discus and slammed directly into her chest. She went down with a cry of pain and the shield turned on a dime to crash into Miranda¡¯s side as she tried to steady herself.


    Cayla stopped her spell without having to be told and collapsed to her knees breathing heavily. I spared her a brief glance to make sure she was alright, then went to check on the others. I hadn¡¯t hit either of them particularly hard, but Briella¡¯s fall couldn¡¯t have been particularly pleasant.


    A quick diagnosis spell told me that Briella was alright. The fall had simply knocked the breath from her lungs and she was lying on her back groaning quietly. I helped her to her feet, then did the same for Miranda. They¡¯d done a good job until the end, that deserved some amount of notice.


    Surveying the three of them, I decided that was probably it for today. I had planned to do some dodging drills to close out the day, but all three of my slaves looked about dead on their feet. Magic could be rather exhausting. Channeling mana through your body stimulated the muscles in a way that was not dissimilar from exercise and they were clearly not used to so much spellcasting in such a short time frame. I would have to account for their stamina better next time.


    ¡°I was originally planning for some more training after this, but I think that¡¯s enough for today,¡± I told them once Cayla had slowly stumbled over to join us.


    Miranda¡¯s shoulders slumped in relief and I raised an eyebrow at Cayla¡¯s quiet exclamation of, ¡°thank the gods.¡±


    ¡°The gods have nothing to do with it,¡± I told her sharply, ¡°More training now would only cause more harm than good.¡±


    ¡°Of course, master. Thank you sir.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t tell if that was supposed to be mocking or not. She shouldn¡¯t be able to mock me, so probably not. I watched her suspiciously for a moment, wondering if she¡¯d somehow found some loophole in her bindings. No, probably not, I decided immediately after. Still, something to keep an eye on.


    ¡°Regardless, that was a good, productive session. I¡¯ll see you all back here next week at the same time. Keep up the good work. Briella, I want an update on the situation with your father by Tuesday. Cayla, same thing. Let me know how the visit with your family goes as soon as you get back. Miranda, you know what you need to be doing. Questions?¡±


    I waited for a moment, then nodded sharply. ¡°Good. Dismissed.¡±


    Lying silently on the too-soft bed, Lea wished she could remember the last time that she¡¯d felt safe. It couldn¡¯t have been that long ago. The memories should have been clear, Orion sitting with her on her bed, holding her tightly in his arms as she pressed her face into the nape of his neck. She could remember it, but that memory was¡­ tainted now.


    She flinched away from a phantom touch, eyes darting around the small room she¡¯d been given in Adonia¡¯s mansion, searching. She could see no one there, but that didn¡¯t mean she was safe. She rolled onto her belly, pressing her face into one of the thick, feather pillows and let the tears she¡¯d been holding back flow freely.


    Some time later she sat up, eyes red puffy from crying. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and tried to stand up, only to fall back down onto the bed a moment later. Everything felt so¡­ pointless. Everything she¡¯d done, everything she¡¯d worked for, gone. Useless. Worthless. What did it all matter if she could do nothing when it really mattered?


    It was as if she¡¯d never escaped that dark room of bare stone and salt water. Sure her new cage was soft and bright instead, but it was no less a prison for it. She¡¯d only left the Earthshadow estate once since she¡¯d been brought here weeks ago. Wonderful, strong Orion had taken her out for a lovely, very expensive lunch only for her to ruin everything like she always did.


    She¡¯d wanted to beg him to hold her, to stay with her, to make her finally feel safe again, but she couldn¡¯t. She should have told him that it was alright, that they didn¡¯t need to leave, that she¡¯d push through it. Like always though, she¡¯d done nothing at all. Just walked silently back into the cage, hoping and praying, but never doing.


    There was a soft knock at the door but she ignored it. Adonia never knocked, Orion didn¡¯t need to knock, and the healer lady had told her she was physically as healthy as she¡¯d been before¡­ before.


    The knock came again, then soft footsteps receded away down the corridor. It was probably one of the servants calling her to lunch. They would just bring something up sooner or later, not that Lea had much of an appetite. She would eat it anyway, Adonia always pestered her more if she wasn¡¯t eating properly.


    As she¡¯d expected, twenty minutes later a servant came by and left a tray of food outside the door. Lea eventually managed to drag herself out of bed and grabbed it, but not until the bizarrely smooth soup, freshly baked bread, and sliced meat had gone cold. It was still good, fancy and seasoned in a way that Lea had rarely tasted before, but she could barely taste it. She¡¯d asked for something simpler before, stew or smoked fish or any number of simple meals that she had always eaten, but the servant had simply smiled, nodded, and ignored her.


    At some point, Adonia decided to drop in. It was probably evening by now, but Lea didn¡¯t really know. Her room had no clock and no window, but she¡¯d had two meals so far today and Adonia was wearing a fancy evening gown.


    Her former partner burst into the room with her usual exuberance, heels clicking loudly as she pranced towards her. ¡°Leana! I¡¯m glad to see that you¡¯re up and about! How are you feeling, beautiful?¡±


    Lea looked up slowly from the book she¡¯d been blankly staring at for most of an hour. ¡°Good evening, heiress Earthshadow,¡± she whispered, ¡°thank you for coming to visit me.¡± Lea desperately hoped she would take the hint. Of course it was not to be.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be like that!¡± Adonia exclaimed. She plopped down on the edge of Lea¡¯s chair and threw her arm over her shoulder. ¡°What are you reading?¡± Without waiting for an answer she snatched the book off the table and looked at the cover. ¡°The light that binds us all,¡± she read out, ¡°trying to catch up with your schoolwork?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she agreed after a moment.


    Adonia clapped her on the shoulder, ¡°Great! I can¡¯t wait until you can come back to class with us! It¡¯s been lonely without you around. What am I supposed to do all day if you¡¯re not sitting next to me?¡±


    Lea wanted to say something like, ¡®pay attention to the teachers¡¯ or ¡®actually do your own work for once¡¯, but instead she just made a soft noise of assent.


    That seemed to be enough for Adonia. The dark haired heiress leapt out of the chair, gave her a quick hug, and turned to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll be off then! Father¡¯s making me go to another ball with Lord Shatterstorm. You know, he¡¯s not nearly as bad as I thought he was at first. I think you¡¯ll like him when you meet him!¡± Then she rushed out of the room without a backward glance.


    Lea watched her go, then turned to the now closed book on her table. She didn¡¯t really feel like opening it. She didn¡¯t feel like doing much of anything. Her head thumped down onto the table and she sighed, the sigh turning quickly into a sob.


    Why couldn¡¯t Adonia just¡­ stop. Understand that Lea didn¡¯t care anymore, couldn¡¯t care anymore? Each week Adonia was spending more and more time with her future husband and barely speaking to her. Adonia¡­ she didn¡¯t understand. Lea couldn¡¯t do this. Couldn¡¯t live like this. Wouldn¡¯t live like this.


    She stood up and walked over to the door. Her hand wrapped slowly around the handle and tried to turn it. It didn¡¯t budge. Of course it didn¡¯t budge. It never did. This time, she didn¡¯t even make it back to the bed before she was crying again. The stone floor was covered in thick, soft carpet, but it felt like coarse sand and salt-crystals against the bare skin of her arms and feet.

 Chapter 95

    Analyzing outsiders may as well have been a field of study all its own. Avalon¡¯s library contained records of nearly ten-thousand unique specimens, not to mention their various offspring and hybrids built from their corpses, stretching back to the founding of the Academy. Some had been summoned on site for research purposes, others hunted down by students and graduates, and further records had been brought in through the Academy¡¯s eternal goal of hunting down every scrap of knowledge our world had to give.


    Looking through it all was starting to give me a headache. While the Academy library was technically well organized, the head librarian would allow no less within her domain, there was only so much organizing that could be done with a mountain of research notes, journal entries, and barely coherent texts written by the sort of lunatics who thought summoning outsiders was anything other than insanity.


    The ¡®Outsider Anatomy and Analysis¡¯ section was spread across three tall sets of shelves, each stuffed to the brim with materials of varying usefulness. A few of the books were obviously useful. ¡®Containing Denizens of the Void¡¯ was the book on dealing with Outsiders according to everything I knew about the topic and Archmage Alitra¡¯s ¡®Analyzing Anomalous Abilities¡¯ was similarly broad in scope.


    Unfortunately, past that things began to get complicated. The main issue was that I didn¡¯t really know what the outsider I¡¯d captured actually was. I¡¯d done my best to get a good look at it, but with most of its body hidden under its thick clothing that was frozen with it under my stasis spell I hadn¡¯t been able to see much.


    What I had seen wasn¡¯t overly helpful either. It was vaguely humanoid with very pale white skin and a face that could pass for human at first glance. The rest of it was somewhat more difficult to categorize. The brief view of its torso that I¡¯d seen showed a bundle of tightly wound tentacles covered in large, lidless eyes.


    Most of its torso was now covered by its coat, but the problem was that the skin I could see looked perfectly normal. Even when I¡¯d shone a light into the small gap in its clothing I hadn¡¯t seen anything unusual.


    Similarly, it certainly acted as though it had two arms and two legs, but normal arms couldn¡¯t extend the way its had, nor did they have claws that could cut through stone. My biggest clue here was the extended arm that had attacked my eye, but that had proven to be less useful than I¡¯d hoped. The ¡®hand¡¯ inside its glove that had been cut off by my spell had dissolved into some sort of disgusting slime that I had nevertheless stored in a tightly sealed container and then placed under stasis as well. What parts of its extended limb I could see sticking out from its sleeve did support my tentacle assumption, but it honestly looked more like a woven metal cable than any sort of mollusk¡¯s tentacle.


    My initial assumption was that perhaps the limbs were similarly formed from yet more tentacles wrapped together to give it a more human shape, or perhaps it was some form of shape-changer. Perhaps it was a mix of the two even.


    Even with those two assumptions however, that left me with a towering pile of books and loose papers to look through. What I¡¯d seen so far wasn¡¯t particularly promising either. Most tentacle-based outsiders tended to be massive, disgusting creatures that couldn¡¯t pass for humans even with the help of magic. Conversely, most shape-changers tended to appear far more human than this thing had and tended to be less obviously alien than my new specimen.


    Still, if I let myself be deterred by a mountain of reading I wouldn¡¯t have gotten nearly as far as I had over the past three years. Since some of the texts I was browsing couldn¡¯t be brought out of the library, I reserved a private room and got to work.


    I left the library four hours later rather disappointed and carrying a very heavy bag. I hadn¡¯t found much of anything that seemed promising, but it was late and I had to go to class in the morning. It wasn¡¯t like I¡¯d made no progress, I had some ideas of how to analyze the creature to discover what it could do and a new layer of wards I wanted to add over its corner, but that wasn¡¯t nearly as much as I would have liked to find.


    I was somewhat surprised to find a very anxious looking Miranda waiting for me in my room. She was sitting on the edge of my bed chewing on her lower lip as she dispassionately watched Rea beat Mistletoe¡¯s thighs with a metal crop while her other hand vigorously thrust a thick stone rod between the quivering elf¡¯s legs. Every few seconds she would glance towards the corner of the room where I¡¯d stowed my newest prisoner before looking back at Rea.


    The moment I stepped into the room, Miranda jumped to her feet and turned to me with a wide eyed stare. ¡°Orion,¡± she asked shakily, ¡°why do you have a starspawn doppelganger locked up in your room? Please tell me this isn¡¯t your plan to get revenge on Brenda.¡±


    My overstuffed bag hit the ground with a loud thump and I tilted my head to stare blankly up at the ceiling. I had no idea what that was, but apparently it meant something to Miranda. What a bloody waste of time.


    ¡°It has nothing to do with Brenda,¡± I told her reassuringly, ¡°I¡¯m taking my time to deal with her properly. Still, how about you take a seat and tell me more about this,¡± I turned to look speculatively at the creature¡¯s frozen form, ¡°starspawn doppelganger thing.¡±


    Miranda looked confused but much less concerned than she had been before, so I counted that as a success. Maybe it should have occurred to me to ask the outsider-descendant before I went and wasted half my day. I¡¯d literally met with her right before I went to the library.


    Even if she didn¡¯t know anything it would have taken an extra few minutes maximum and potentially saved me a lot of time and effort. I really needed to get better at asking people about things. It was strange to have people I could trust implicitly to consult with, but I was criminally underutilizing my new assets. Something to remember for the future.


    Miranda, as it turns out, knew a lot about outsiders. Growing up she¡¯d always wanted to know more about her mother but her flock hadn¡¯t had access to any such information. Over the years that interest had swelled into a general curiosity about outsiders, one that she¡¯d taken no time at all to begin indulging once she¡¯d discovered the Academy¡¯s enormous collection of texts about the creatures. Apparently she¡¯d spent much of her free time during our freshman year reading through most of the books I¡¯d been browsing through earlier today.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I felt very, very stupid now that I knew that. I would have to look into compiling a list of things my slaves might know more about than I did at the earliest possible convenience. Outside of knowing what classes they had taken, I had never really bothered to ask about other interests and areas of exploration.


    Even with Miranda, who was technically the closest thing I had to a ¡®best friend¡¯ at the Academy, I was slowly starting to notice that I didn¡¯t know her nearly as well as I¡¯d thought I did. It was a¡­ disquieting realization.


    In any case, I was very glad Miranda had decided to come by for her meal when she did. Otherwise, I had no doubts that it would have taken me several more similarly fruitless sessions before I found the information I was actually looking for.


    After I¡¯d exhausted what she could tell me about my new resource, I¡¯d rewarded Miranda with an entire shot-glass worth of freshly collected milk, nearly three times as much as had been in the vial I¡¯d given her before our meeting with Clarient.


    I would have happily given her more, but that was about as much as I could reasonably expect her to safely consume in one sitting. Even with my precautions, the girl was currently laid out on her back in my bathroom, entire body quivering as she digested her meal.


    The interaction between her inherited abilities and the materials I was harvesting from my elves was honestly rather fascinating and I fully planned to study it in further detail in the future. I would just need to make sure to do so in a slightly less¡­ trauma inducing way than I had the first time around.


    In hindsight, particularly now that I knew the entire story about how she¡¯d ended up at the academy, I cringed internally at how things must have looked to my poor Miranda. Being considerate took an annoying amount of effort, but even with my bindings in place I could see the value of having happy subordinates instead of resentful ones.


    Though Elpha¡¯s book hadn¡¯t had any such warnings, other texts I¡¯d found since recommended indulging altered personalities and behaviors resulting from soul-based binding magic. It helped stabilize the effect and could often prevent fragments of the former personality from causing unintentional issues.


    The information Miranda had for me was somewhat spotty, but much better than what I¡¯d known before. Even better, she¡¯d been able to direct me to the exact books I should start with, though those would have to wait until I could return to the library tomorrow.


    What she did have for me was very interesting indeed. The creature I had trapped under stasis was a type of outsider broadly classified as a starspawn, a group of vaguely related creatures that were assumed to come from the same world within the endless void. As far as scholars could tell, our two worlds were relatively close together on a cosmic scale and seemed to be traveling along similar paths through the void.


    Every few centuries we would brush past each other close enough that some of the so-called starspawn that possessed an innate resistance to the void¡¯s corrosive effects could even enter our world without being summoned. Most of the time the outsider in question would be one of the gigantic disgusting masses of tentacles that I¡¯d immediately discounted during my initial search and would be immediately discovered and chopped up for ingredients, but occasionally one of the smaller, more adaptive creatures would slip through as well.


    When they did, they tended to go to ground within human societies and try to integrate themselves into local power structures. Though they could not use magic the way a mage could, they were versatile shapeshifters and had a natural grasp of language and culture that let them rapidly acclimate to whatever location they ended up in.


    No one was quite sure why they did so, they weren¡¯t particularly good at hiding from high-circle mages, but tended to commit suicide as quickly as they could once identified so it was hard to know why they did what they did.


    I¡¯d been rather surprised by that revelation, the creature¡¯s magical camouflage had seemed excellent. If something hadn¡¯t gone wrong, I never would have known it was there. I knew my mana sense wasn¡¯t as good as that of an archmage or even just an upper class student, but hadn¡¯t realized it was still so shabby.


    Then it had been Miranda¡¯s turn to be surprised. According to her, the creature shouldn¡¯t have had any such ability. In fact, starspawn tended to be easier to identify compared to most other outsiders because they had a particularly stark impact on mana currents around them. Either this was an otherwise undocumented ability that this particular specimen possessed or it was the result of a magic item that had malfunctioned. I would definitely have to look into that once I removed the stasis.


    Other than that, there wasn¡¯t much more to it. Miranda did mention that the creatures were considered very dangerous, but I already knew that much. She didn¡¯t know any specific spells that were particularly effective, nor any weaknesses the creatures possessed. For that I would have to consult the books, though that task had rapidly become much less daunting than it had appeared just a few hours earlier.


    I was dealing with a very fast, very strong shapeshifter that could quickly learn languages and cultures. It shouldn¡¯t have any sort of offensive magic beyond that, though the creatures were known to form very sharp spines that could extend several inches from their main bodies so I would have to be careful about that.


    As far as Miranda knew, my stasis should be perfectly suitable for keeping it contained. If I didn¡¯t find anything further in the library I would probably burn one of my one on one meetings with a professor to consult with either Laushring or the void studies professor to make sure my precautions were sufficient. Getting killed in my sleep by something like that sounded like a terrible way to go.


    Still, I was very happy with my new acquisition. I wasn¡¯t certain I was going to keep it yet, but either way it seemed like a very valuable commodity. Perhaps I might use it for my required enhancement ritual, I was rapidly running out of time to locate a different specimen and it did have a number of very interesting abilities by the sound of it. I¡¯d definitely heard of people using outsiders for that sort of magic, though I couldn¡¯t remember any specific examples. Another thing to look into then.


    I went to bed feeling very satisfied with how the day had gone. Despite some minor hiccups, things had ultimately fallen in my favor. A few minutes later, a freshly showered Miranda slipped under the covers beside me and spooned against me. Seemingly not to be outdone, Rea joined us as well a moment later. Perhaps I should have chided them for the presumptuousness, but it had been happening more and more often over the past weeks and I hadn¡¯t said anything yet. It would be¡­ hypocritical to do so now.


    Miranda shifted in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent under her breath as she nuzzled her face deeper into my side. I reflexively wrapped an arm around her shoulders, brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen across her cheek. She was very warm and the gentle rise and fall of her chest against my side was oddly comforting. I closed my eyes. It would be a shame to have to wake her up anyway. Maybe next time.

 Chapter 96

    I got to the classroom about twenty minutes before class was scheduled to start and was very glad to see that Professor Williams was just as early as usual. I would have liked to come even earlier than that, but unfortunately I was unwilling to miss class and I could only make it down from Professor Shrike¡¯s classroom so quickly.


    ¡°Good afternoon professor,¡± I called out as I set my things down in my usual seat in the front row.


    The professor turned away from the diagram she was drawing and smiled at me, ¡°Oh, hello Orion. It feels like I say this every time, but you¡¯re a little early again.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°As usual, I¡¯d rather be early than late.¡±


    ¡°Very true. A good habit to get into.¡± She turned away and continued to draw her diagram.


    I gnawed silently on my lip as I tried to figure out how best to phrase my request. Over the course of the semester I was pretty sure I¡¯d established a good rapport with the unusually approachable professor. I arrived early almost every day, though usually not quite this early, and we would often engage in conversation before other students began to show up. Hopefully that would work in my favor here.


    ¡°Ah, professor?¡± I asked tentatively, ¡°I was wondering if you could possibly offer me some advice with an issue I¡¯m having.¡±


    She looked back at me quizzically, ¡°If you¡¯re asking me now, I assume it¡¯s outside the bounds of our usual curriculum? Typically for such things you would need to seek me out in my office.¡±


    ¡°Well, somewhat? It does have to do directly with the class, but it''s not something I¡¯d like to talk about in front of everyone. I¡¯ve found a potential sacrifice for my ritual but I¡¯m not quite sure how to go about making everything fit together properly.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow, ¡°Oh? Well, I guess I can hear you out at least. No promises on if I¡¯ll be willing to help or not. What creature are you thinking of?¡±


    I paused for a moment, second guessing my decision on whether or not to talk to her about my new houseguest. On one hand, she was my professor. She was bound not to reveal her students¡¯ secrets. On the other, well, that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t make use of them herself.


    I took a deep breath and opened my mouth. It wasn¡¯t really much of a decision right now, I¡¯d already decided this was my best course of action at the moment. I didn¡¯t really know Professor Williams that well, but she had a very good reputation as far as I knew so hopefully things would work out.


    ¡°I recently came across an outsider and managed to subdue it. I¡¯ve identified it as having a number of potentially advantageous traits and was considering using it as my sacrifice, but my current ritual framework is not adapted properly to such a creature and I¡¯m not sure how to make the needed adjustments.¡±


    The professor looked rather dumbfounded for a moment, then her look of surprise morphed into a smile. ¡°Fascinating. An outsider you say? Yes, I can see why you would be struggling. The examples we¡¯ve discussed in class do not really stretch quite that far.¡±


    She tilted her head to the side in thought, humming an oddly hypnotizing tune as she stared past me into the distance. ¡°It''s certainly an interesting project. Were you one of my fifth-years I would most certainly help you with it, but unfortunately I do believe this is slightly outside of what is covered in our class. For such a thing you would have to spend one, perhaps two, of your personal meetings.¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°I understand, thank you professor. Could you perhaps direct me towards some resources while I consider my options?¡±


    Her smile widened, ¡°Why yes, that is an excellent request. Come speak with me after class and I¡¯ll point out a few titles.¡±


    ¡°That would be greatly appreciated. If I do choose to proceed with the outsider, would the usual class policies apply?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely. I¡¯m always glad to see my students strive to go above and beyond with their classwork. I would be glad to conduct a pre-ritual review and it would most certainly count as your completed enhancement. Perhaps it may even earn you some extra credit!¡±


    She laughed loudly, though I couldn¡¯t quite tell what was so funny. Instead I simply smiled and let the professor get back to her work.


    The result was about as good as I had hoped for, though I would have appreciated some more hands-on guidance without the associated cost. Spending my personal meetings on this was very much an option, but I was rather loath to do so. An hour of one-on-one time with any professor was a very valuable commodity and one I was already running quite low on. It would have been great if I could simply make Cayla and Briella give me theirs, but they were unfortunately non-transferable.


    Depending on what materials she showed me, I might have to do it regardless. I¡¯d made some preliminary alterations to the ritual based on some notes I¡¯d found in the outsider section of the library, but the resulting ritual was horribly unbalanced and would likely kill both me and the outsider in a messy backlash as the magic within the ritual ran rampant.


    I was very glad she¡¯d agreed to the other stuff. Everyone in the class was given a free meeting with her to discuss and make final tweeks to their completed ritual setups which would hopefully let me catch any mistakes that cropped up in my work.


    Similarly, it would have been very awkward if I¡¯d gone through with the ritual, only for her not to count it for my class requirement. Doing multiple such rituals in the short few weeks remaining in the semester would likely be very bad for my health, but not passing the class would be equally catastrophic.


    I still wasn¡¯t completely sold on using the outsider in such a way, but it was a very tempting proposition. There wasn¡¯t much time left in the semester, and I still didn¡¯t have any other good options for a sacrifice to use. Quite a few of my classmates had solved that problem during the recent siren slave-market some of the upperclassmen had put on, but I hadn¡¯t bought one and didn¡¯t really know where I would get something else to use.


    It had fallen into my lap at a very convenient time. Almost too convenient. Maybe I was being too paranoid, but I had realized over the past few days just how absurdly unlikely my ¡®lucky break¡¯ had been. There was definitely something fishy going on, particularly concerning whatever magic had allowed the outsider to blend in with the ambient mana around it.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I just hoped it wasn¡¯t something directed at me. Running into someone else¡¯s scheme was one thing. That was dangerous, but something that Avalon could likely help shield me from, at least somewhat. A scheme directed towards me was something else, and I certainly didn¡¯t want to mess with someone who could potentially throw away such a valuable resource for a nebulous goal I couldn¡¯t quite think of.


    Daphne shivered, pulling her cloak tighter against the biting winds blowing off the nearby ocean. Winter was falling over the islands. The weather mages had predicted a massive storm surge soon, and with it a return of the heavy snow and bitter cold she hated.


    She sorely regretted not wearing something warmer, but the sunny morning had tricked her into wearing one of her favorite dresses. With her heavy cloak it had been fine during the day, but now night was rapidly approaching and the bright half-moon shining in the sky did nothing to ward off the chill.


    It wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d been planning to stay out this late. She¡¯d just¡­ gotten caught up in some things. Father was going to be furious, he was back from the capital and had planned to have dinner with her.


    They rarely got to eat together like that, her father was an important man with obligations that kept him eternally occupied. For him to make an effort to spend more time with his remaining daughter and for her to not be there was an insult he would not forget.


    Still, Daphne was almost glad she was missing it. She was in no mood to speak with him. Her father had been strangely distant recently and even before that the constant weight of obligation that he¡¯d piled on her shoulders had cut a deep groove between them.


    Their dinner would have been a silent, somber thing. Father would ask about her studies and her progress going through the family ledgers. Mother would fish for gossip and ask about her many non-existent friends. Then they would just sit and eat in silence until either father excused himself or a servant came to fetch him.


    Her heart ached as she remembered back to how things had once been before. They¡¯d been a real family, not this cold mockery. Adara had always been the glue that held them all together. Her smile could pull their father out from his deepest funk, make their mother¡¯s laughter turn from placidly polite to genuinely joyful.


    She wished she could go back in time, to beg her not to go. Adara¡¯s ambitions had always been too large for their island. She¡¯d wanted to change the world, to expand beyond the petty concerns of their insignificant corner of the world and transform Xethis back into the global powerhouse it had once been.


    She¡¯d worked so hard to be accepted into that fabled school she¡¯d found in her books. Father never spoke of it, but she¡¯d seen the ledgers. It had cost them a truly exorbitant sum to send Adara there, but her sister must have convinced their parents it would be worth it. From everything she¡¯d heard, maybe it could have been. Avalon apparently routinely produced the kind of mages that she¡¯d once thought only existed in song and legend.


    Instead, the school had taken her family¡¯s money¡­ and then her sister as well. One day she had left with a smile on her face and a promise to visit on her lips. Daphne had watched her sail away into the distance until the boat they¡¯d chartered vanished beyond the horizon.


    She should have never let her go. The school didn¡¯t even bother to notify them she was gone. When she was absent at the solstice, her father had simply said she must not have had time to get away. Perhaps he¡¯d already feared the worst.


    When the letters had stopped coming, Daphne had finally let fear enter her heart. It was only months later that another returning student of Avalon from a neighboring kingdom finally gave them the somber news. They didn¡¯t have a body to bury, not a speck of ash to sprinkle within the family crypt. In the end, they¡¯d burnt a few locks of hair taken from a well-used brush. It was all they could do for her. She just wished the news had come a few weeks earlier. Early enough to save the last good thing left in her life before it too was gone.


    She hated that place. Hated what it had done to her family. Everything had only gone down hill once her sister found mentions of that accursed place in their family records. She knew exactly what book it had been too. She¡¯d watched father lock it away in the vault, never to be shown to another young, impressionable heiress again.


    Most of all, she hated how it called to her. How it tempted her. Magic was a beautiful, wondrous thing, and she knew that as she was now, she would never get to experience it in all its splendor. She was being limited, she could almost taste it. Hints of what could be in between the endless spoonfed lessons of Lightcastle.


    They called her a prodigy, a young talent unseen in decades, and yet she could hear the hypocrisy in their words. She¡¯d heard the same words told to heiress after heiress, to young lords and noble scions alike. They were just words, empty, useless words.


    How was she supposed to learn, to improve, to grow when every lesson was perfectly curated, every moment of training watched with hawklike precision for any hint of deviation. They taught her spells and she cast them as well as could be expected, but she didn¡¯t know how any of it worked. What did the words mean, the symbols she painted in the air with her mana, what were they?


    She¡¯d seen a number of terms thrown around, but her questions were always met with simple platitudes and assurances that she simply wasn¡¯t ready yet. Father was somehow even worse than her professors in that regard. He was a powerful mage, one of the strongest in the islands from what she¡¯d heard, but she¡¯d rarely ever seen him so much as draw on his mana. He absolutely refused to show her anything, to help her practice or answer even the simplest questions. It was absolutely infuriating. She clearly remembered him doing exactly that for her sister, but as with everything, Adara¡¯s disappearance had ruined everything good in Daphne¡¯s life.


    She wished there was someone out there who was willing to help her. Someone in her corner willing and able to push her in the right direction. She just needed a push, a tiny nudge and she knew she could be great. She just needed¨C¨C


    ¡°Daph?¡± a very familiar voice asked from behind her.


    Daphne jumped in surprise, not having heard anyone approach along the near-deserted street. She whirled around, her cloak billowing in the wind as her grip on its hem loosened for a moment. There, standing just a few paces away was a young woman in a simple black coat, a warm hat pulled down until it almost covered her eyes.


    ¡°Daph!¡± the woman repeated, more confidently this time. ¡°Oh my, it''s been forever! How have you been?¡± In one smooth motion she pulled her hat off, shaking out her long hair from where it was bunched up to keep it out of the way.


    Daphne¡¯s knees suddenly felt far too weak to hold her up. ¡°C-Cay?¡± she asked softly, not quite able to believe what she was seeing.


    ¡°In the flesh!¡±


    ¡°B-but¡­ but I thought¡­ I thought you were gone. Dead. Like¡­ like¡­¡±


    Her childhood best friend at least had the decency to look away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have written to you directly, but it''s really expensive to send letters out of Avalon if you don¡¯t have your own couriers. I definitely told my parents to share the news with yours, but they told me you guys stopped taking our calls. What was up with that anyway, mum¡¯s really upset about it!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ we¡­ you¡­¡± Daphne stumbled over her words, unable to formulate a coherent sentence as her mind scrambled to accept what her eyes were telling it. Eventually, she couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°We thought you were dead! Gone! Forever!¡± she burst out, tears beginning to pour down her cheeks. Then she threw herself desperately at the other girl, arms wrapping around her waist like a vice and squeezing until they couldn¡¯t squeeze any harder.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Daph,¡± Cayla whispered, ¡°I didn¡¯t know. Don¡¯t worry though, I¡¯m here now. Let it all out.¡±


    Daphne did exactly that, emotions bottled up over two long years of pain pouring out of her like a tidal wave. Outwardly, Cayla stood with a somber, shameful expression on her face as she simply held Daphne, whispering quiet words of encouragement to her oldest friend between sobs.


    Inside though, a broad grin stretched out across her face. This was something she could use. Something neither the beautiful Miranda nor the talented Briella had. She might not be as good at magic as them, but she could not bear to be useless to their Master. Perhaps this could be her contribution. She was certain Master Orion might find some use in the last remaining daughter of Xethis¡¯s greatest military house.

 Chapter 97

    The books that Professor Williams pointed me towards proved to be technically helpful. Unfortunately, the ¡®technically¡¯ was a key modifier in this case. The books were about rituals using outsiders as components, but they were all deeply technical and arcane to the point that I struggled to follow what the authors were saying.


    One of them, a journal detailing a long-dead mage¡¯s attempts to learn about other worlds by translating a monstrous outsider¡¯s memories into a form interpretable by human minds, included a ritual diagram that was so large that I doubted even an archmage could charge it before everything destabilized. It was drawn out across four pages of the journal and shrunk down so much that I needed specialized viewing spells to examine the individual specks of ink on the page.


    The others weren¡¯t quite that bad, but it was a close thing. It didn¡¯t help that the term ¡®outsider¡¯ covered an entire menagerie of wildly different creatures. Several books proved immediately useless simply because the outsiders used within were so divergent from my own that copying their work would only cause additional problems.


    I was fortunate enough to find one journal that actually used almost exactly the creature I was dealing with. Less fortunately, it was a detailed step-by-step walkthrough of how the mage in question had carefully rendered down the outsider into a number of highly valuable spell components and what he did with them afterward.


    This was an excellent find, but it didn¡¯t really help me right now. It would be very useful once it came time to butcher the post-sacrifice corpse, assuming the ritual didn¡¯t damage it too badly, but until then I was trying to avoid killing the thing. At the very least, the book was my best source of information about how the creature¡¯s body and magic functioned, which was rather priceless at the moment. It went into far more detail than any of the more general books Miranda had helped me locate.


    Outside of that though, my work so far had been utterly fruitless. After reinforcing the wards around its temporary prison, I had spent most of the next few days considering my options and theorycrafting various approaches.


    I was now even more certain than I had been that I wanted to go through with the ritual. Learning more about the outsider¡¯s various natural abilities, I¡¯d discovered some fascinating qualities that Miranda had missed in her initial explanation.


    The most important of these was how incredibly adaptive the creatures were. It wasn¡¯t just their social and language skills that could quickly shift to accommodate their new surroundings, but their very bodies themselves. Starspawn doppelgangers could survive in nearly any environment, from the depths of the ocean to the frozen poles and everything in between, they needed barely any time to adjust before they could thrive.


    This adaptability wasn¡¯t limited to only environment either. With just a few days of exposure, one could grow resistant to entire branches of magic. It wasn¡¯t perfect, I¡¯d accidentally stumbled on a near fool-proof way of containing one since it was a single ongoing spell effect and not repeated exposure, but it was still a very potent ability. Similarly, the effect could work in the other direction as well. Physical enhancement spells were known to be much more effective on the creatures than expected, and I assumed mental enhancements would be similarly effective.


    I had no expectation that I would be able to gain all of those abilities. My biology was just too different and there were limits to what even the best mages could manage with only a single specimen. If I could get even a fragment of that power however and cultivate it with specialized training regiments and other enhancements, it could potentially greatly improve my future survivability.


    The problem was, that was easier said than done. I was¡­ fine with runic magic. I wasn¡¯t an expert by any means, but I was very familiar with how mana flowed interacted with itself which gave me some measure of advantage in analyzing how a ritual would work.


    I¡¯d already prepared most of the ritual I had been planning to use for Professor Williams¡¯ class, and I was rather confident in my work. Had my intended sacrifice been an ordinary magical creature or object, I had no doubts I could have made the needed adjustments in just a few days of work.


    I even had several completed versions filed away ready to go in case I had to get it done in a hurry. One was for a siren¡¯s innate vocal magic, another for their ability to make their bodies lighter or heavier at will. I also had versions prepared for three of the more common beasts I knew could be found in these islands.


    Making the adjustments for the outsider on the other hand was proving to be mind bendingly difficult. I¡¯d run the calculations several times. If I simply attempted to use my current framework, at best it simply wouldn¡¯t work. More likely, the outsider and I would be turned into a chunky mass and splattered across the room.


    The issue was the outsider¡¯s bizarre, warped mana. I only had second-hand notes and a few minutes of initial examination to work from without risking freeing the outsider from its current stasis spell, but things didn¡¯t look promising. I simply didn¡¯t know how to account for it correctly, and all the changes I¡¯d considered making simply resulted in a completely non-functional ritual.


    What I really needed was an expert and a safe way to examine the outsider. That was why, after an entire week of fruitlessly pounding my head against the issue, I found myself standing outside Professor Williams¡¯ office waiting for my appointment.


    I didn¡¯t like it, this meeting left me with only two additional consultations with a professor left for the semester, but she had already said she was willing to work with me and that was the best I was likely to get. At least this had the upside of binding her into not talking about what I was doing. Professors were expressly forbidden from sharing secrets learned during such sessions.


    I jolted when I heard a voice directly behind me. I hadn¡¯t felt nor heard anyone approaching. Why did people feel the need to keep doing this? ¡°Perfectly punctual, some of my students could do to learn from your example, Mr. Hunter.¡±


    I turned around slowly, then bowed my head politely to the professor, heart hammering in my chest. ¡°Good evening Professor. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.¡±


    She smiled back at me and laughed quietly, a tinkling, musical sound that¨C¨C


    I doubled the amount of mana flowing through my mental circulations and her voice lost the alluring note it had suddenly gained. She stopped laughing and pouted at me, ¡°Ah, you¡¯re no fun.¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I could feel the traces of mana flowing off her expression, but managed to filter them out before whatever magic she was emitting could affect me. I¡¯d never noticed anything of the sort during class, she probably actively controlled whatever enhancements I was looking at while teaching. I wondered if this was a test, and if so, how I was doing.


    ¡°As you say, professor.¡±


    ¡°Well, let us get started then. No time like the present.¡± Her office door swung open, much more slowly than Professor Laushring¡¯s thankfully, and she waved for me to follow her.


    I¡¯d never been in Professor Williams¡¯ office before, but it looked much like I¡¯d have expected it would. Her desk was gigantic, an L-shaped slab of shiny red wood that took up nearly half the room¡¯s space. It was covered in stacks of papers, small baubles, and large diagrams drawn on thin stone slates. Two of the walls were entirely taken up by massive drawing slates covered in hastily scrawled runes and messy notes. The others were lined with bookshelves showing off an impressive library of unlabeled notebooks, ancient-looking tomes, and modern rune-reference books.


    It was very clearly a well used space, and I watched the professor cast an irritated glance at the papers on her table. She clicked her tongue loudly, ¡°Excuse the mess, I was working with Erna earlier and haven¡¯t had time to clean up. Here.¡±


    A spell matrix flickered in front of her chest before vanishing so quickly I could barely get a look at it. An invisible wind blew through the room, ruffling my hair and neatly sweeping half the scattered work on the table into a pair of piles, clearing a large area at the center of the table.


    Just as quickly, she cast a second spell and the chair piled with books standing in one corner of the room floated over to the desk, deposited its load in a neat stack on the corner of the table, and then positioned itself across from her heavy armchair.


    ¡°That''s better. Now, before we get started let¡¯s discuss some preliminary information. What we¡¯re working on, what you¡¯re trying to achieve, so on.¡±


    ¡°Of course, professor.¡±


    Things proceeded quickly from there. I¡¯d been worried that it would take a lot of work for us to both get up to speed on what I wanted to achieve, but luckily it seemed I¡¯d chosen a very good professor to go to. Professor Williams not only had experience in using outsiders as ritual sacrifices, though she wouldn¡¯t tell me how that had happened, she had even encountered several varieties of starspawn in the past and knew quite a bit more about the creatures than I did.


    After some initial discussion, she spent a few minutes looking through what I had done so far, humming quietly and taking shorthand notes in a leather-bound notebook identical to the hundreds of others on her bookshelves. According to her, my methodology was ¡®novel but poorly directed¡¯ and she complimented me on my prudence in not attempting any of the rituals without speaking to her first, but she refused to say anything more than that. Very helpful.


    Then, she decided that we couldn¡¯t make any proper progress before she got a good look at the outsider itself. I was slightly concerned about releasing it from its current stasis, I had no confidence that I would be able to repeat that feat while it was awake and I was worried about it growing resistant to the other protections I had in place, but she told me not to worry about it and that she would deal with keeping it restrained.


    I wasn¡¯t going to doubt the competence of an actual archmage. If she said she could do it, I believed her. In all honesty, I was more relieved to have it out of my room than anything else, particularly since she promised to hold onto it until I needed it for the ritual. The more I learned about its capabilities the less I liked sleeping in my own bedroom.


    I was slightly concerned about her simply taking it or using it for her own work and leaving me high and dry, but after what had happened with Elpha my trust in Avalon¡¯s rules had grown considerably. I¡¯d read the handbook from cover to cover and it very specifically stipulated that faculty could not steal the work or materials of their students.


    I didn¡¯t like trusting other people without oaths to bind them, but if I couldn¡¯t trust Avalon to keep to its own rules then I couldn¡¯t trust anything. I was simply too weak to do anything about it one way or another. It was a risk telling anyone that I had something like that stowed away in my room, particularly since I now knew that people could break into those with enough effort, but I¡¯d concluded that it was a risk I needed to take. I just wasn¡¯t getting anywhere otherwise.


    Professor Williams escorted me down to my room, then politely waited outside while I slipped in and extracted the frozen creature from the heavily warded corner of my room where I¡¯d stowed it. I was very glad for the privacy enchantments on the room¡¯s entrance, without permission no one except the room¡¯s owner could see anything except an empty stone box until they physically passed through the door. I trusted her to keep my secrets during our session, but there were some things in my room that I didn¡¯t want anyone to know about if possible, sworn to silence or otherwise.


    The trip back to her office was nerve-wracking despite her presence. I was constantly on guard, looking all around for signs of someone coming to steal my precious statue. I was rather confident that I could escape from anyone allowed to attack me, but I wasn¡¯t nearly so sure about it while carrying a person-sized, immobile frozen outsider. Professor Williams¡¯ protective presence was the only reason I had dared to leave my room with it without the extra assurance of Miranda¡¯s company to keep it hidden under her illusions.


    The next five hours were simply incredible. Professor Williams went above and beyond what was required of her, helping me for far more than the mandated one hour per session. It was my first peek into how an archmage-level ritualist worked and I was left thoroughly humbled by the end of it.


    More than just a skilled mage, Professor Williams was a consummate educator, her work accompanied by an endless explanation of exactly what and why she was doing. She showed me nearly fifty different analysis spells I¡¯d never seen and how to interpret their results, a new method of computing ritual outcomes I¡¯d never come across in any book, and so much more. I learned more in that single session than I had in entire semesters of classes.


    She was a whirlwind of activity and yet somehow managed to work me into the process in such a way that I felt like I was doing the work with her help instead of simply following along with what she was doing. Each conclusion came to me just as she was ready to move onto the next step, each rune drawn and repositioned was done by my hand but with her perfectly worded guidance ringing in my ears.


    It was mind boggling, and I barely noticed the time passing until she stopped me with a gentle hand on my shoulder and told me I was done for the day. I stared up at her through bleary eyes, mind spinning with equations, runes, and spell matrices. ¡°Huh?¡± I asked blankly, then caught myself. ¡°Sorry, I mean, thank you professor. You¡¯ve been¡­ a great help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it. I think we¡¯ve made some good progress today, but we¡¯re not quite done yet. See what you can do over the weekend, then I¡¯ll take a look at things before class on Tuesday. I think you¡¯ll probably need another session with me, I have some time Friday evening next week as well, but perhaps you¡¯ll prove me wrong.¡±


    I considered what we had now and then looked around the office that had become twice as messy as it had been when I¡¯d arrived. I somehow doubted it. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, professor. Thank you. That was¡­¡±


    ¡°You did great. I see a lot of promise in your future Orion. Perhaps after next year, we¡¯ll be working together much more closely, hmm? Think about it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t quite know what to say to that. Was she implying that she wanted me as one of her mentees after I finished my fourth year? It sure sounded like it. That was¡­ potentially huge. Was that why she¡¯d let the session go on for so much longer than she had to? ¡°I¡¯m honored by your praise. Thank you again, for everything. I¡¯ll see you in class.¡±


    Then I stumbled out of her office. I managed to make it back to my room in one piece and just collapsed into bed, a wave of exhaustion washing over me like a black tide. I didn¡¯t even remember closing my eyes.

 Chapter 98

    I woke three hours later than I had planned feeling physically refreshed yet mentally exhausted. Despite feeling rather hazy about it in the moment, I could suddenly remember the entire session I¡¯d had with Professor Williams in razor-sharp detail. Every moment, detail, and conclusion was crystal clear, as though I¡¯d been running my mental enhancements at full power for the entire session.


    In retrospect, it felt rather obvious that I¡¯d been placed under some sort of magical effect, though one so subtle I hadn¡¯t even noticed it falling over me. I didn¡¯t think it was anything hostile, though I would have appreciated some warning, but rather one of the high-circle mental enhancements I¡¯d only ever seen referenced in some texts.


    Professor Williams was certainly an excellent teacher, but she was likely not as supernaturally talented at it as she had appeared the night before. She simply had some form of mind-bogglingly powerful enchantment over her office that let her replicate the feat. I honestly didn¡¯t know if that was more or less impressive.


    If nothing else, it certainly cleared up some of my confusion about how anyone could manage to cast eight- and ninth-circle spells. Spells were categorized based on how many dimensions of a spellform were simulated within the spell matrix, and each dimension added an exponential level of difficulty and mana requirements to the casting. I could manage fourth circle spells already, but my few attempts of replicating fifth-dimensional objects with pure mana had so far all ended in failure.


    It was very difficult to do, and I wasn¡¯t certain how I would ever be able to simulate six, seven, or eight dimensions with just a few years of practice. Well, now it made a lot more sense. If mental enhancements cast by someone else could be that powerful, then those used on oneself must be even more effective. I had thought my current level of passive mental circulations was sufficiently advanced, but clearly I needed to focus further on that field of study.


    Even though I wanted to jump right back in where we¡¯d left off the night before, I knew I was in no shape to be working on complex ritual design. My mind felt¡­ wooden, and though I didn¡¯t have anything I could call a headache, I didn¡¯t really think it was smart to push things. I needed some time to recover, particularly since I had scheduled another training session with the girls for this afternoon.


    As such, after a lovely late breakfast in the cafeteria I set out to do what I¡¯d been interrupted during the previous week and hadn¡¯t been able to dedicate any time to since. I hoped Lea wouldn¡¯t mind that I hadn¡¯t visited her in a few weeks. She was probably smothered with affection as it was and my presence would have only made things worse. Adonia seemed like the touchy-feely sort who would constantly be hovering over her recovering friend, so it was probably for the best anyway.


    The weather in Xethis had changed dramatically over the past week. Cold, biting winds carried with them the taste of oncoming winter and the crowds of merchants and shoppers had mostly dispersed from the streets around the portal. The few people I did see out on the road were bundled up in warm coats with thick, hooded cloaks and moved hurriedly towards their destinations.


    I felt decidedly underdressed for the weather, and after some consideration, ducked into the first reasonable looking clothing store I passed and bought myself a new heavy cloak. I didn¡¯t really need it, between my spells, circulations, and the enchantments woven into my regular clothing I didn¡¯t really feel the cold, but I was probably much more memorable if I was just wandering the streets wearing clothes fit for the summer and early fall.


    Judging by the chiding look the proprietor, an older woman with graying hair and sharp eyes, gave my outfit, I decided I¡¯d made the right choice. She very loudly told me off for not taking care of myself properly, then did her best to upsell me on the most expensive option available in her shop.


    The cloak in question was an ugly, gaudy looking thing. It was pure white and embroidered with silver and red flowers. I examined the enchantments on it and promptly bought a much cheaper and more practical looking option. I certainly could have afforded the more expensive cloak, but it would have been a waste of money and I was still loath to part with a single piece or coin. Whoever had done the enchanting work was clearly a rank amateur, I could have done better after the first month of my first year.


    Now properly bundled up, I headed towards the Earthshadow estate with a spring in my step. Spending time with Lea was refreshing in a way that nothing else was. With her I didn¡¯t have to worry about keeping up appearances, constantly watching for deception, and ensuring my carefully sculpted mask never slipped. I could just¡­ be myself, even if there were a few secrets I was still keeping to myself. It wasn¡¯t like people didn¡¯t keep secrets from their friends anyway.


    Despite everything that had happened to her, underneath Lea was still the kind, caring, gentle girl she had been when we were children. Even though she¡¯d been cracked, broken, and put back together, at the core I could still see the eyes of my best friend shining through. It was a gratifying thought that gave me hope for my own character. Perhaps deep down I too was still that boy stalking through the woods at his father¡¯s side, sitting in his mother¡¯s lap as she taught him his letters, and rolling in the grass with his friend.


    Sure I had changed since then, but no one was the same as an adult as when they were eight. I had simply grown up, learned the realities of the world, and adapted. That was it. If by some miracle I ever saw my parents again, I could still look my father in the eyes and tell him that I was his son. He would understand. He¡¯d still be proud of me. He told me he would always be proud of me.


    I squinted as another gust of cold air blew into my face making my eyes water. Despite not feeling the cold as badly as a mundane human, certain biological responses were hard to eliminate entirely. With a soft huff of annoyance, I used a very handy first-circle spell to dry my eyes and nose and then formed an invisible shield of force over my face. It helped, but not as much as I¡¯d hoped. Perhaps there was some psychological response to the wind as well as a physical one? It bore further examination when I wasn¡¯t quite so busy.


    I half expected some trouble when I arrived at the estate, but the guard at the gate let me in with no issues and a very familiar ¡®maid¡¯ was quickly summoned to guide me. Unfortunately, I was proven correct only a few minutes later when she led me into a small, well-appointed office instead of Lea¡¯s room like I¡¯d requested.


    Two Nine, one of the Earthshadow mages I¡¯d met with during our investigation into who attacked Lea, looked up as we entered the room. ¡°Ah, hello there,¡± he said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Hunter, just the man I was hoping to see.¡± He turned briefly to look at the fake maid, ¡°Thank you, dear. If you could wait outside?¡±


    She nodded briskly, then stepped backwards out of the office and shut the door leaving just the two of us. Two Nine gently set his fountain pen down in the ornate stand on his desk, then gestured to the chair across from him. ¡°Please, take a seat.¡±


    I glanced skeptically down at the chair. It was a simple, hard-backed wooden chair with a small cushion on the bottom. I couldn¡¯t feel any magic coming off it, not even the various comfort-enhancing enchantments that Avalon tended to imbue into all of its furniture. This felt like some sort of power-play, but I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to do about it, so I simply sat down.


    Two Nine looked back down at his desk and began to move papers around. Now that was definitely annoying. ¡°Yes?¡± I asked sharply, releasing a touch of my irritation into my mana. ¡°I only have a limited amount of time and I¡¯d like to meet with Leana before I have to get going.¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course, of course.¡± He opened a drawer on his desk and took out a thick folder that he set down on the table between us. ¡°Have you made any progress tracking down our perpetrator?¡± he asked with a small smile on his face, ¡°You were in such a rush last time we met and I unfortunately was otherwise occupied during your last visit, but our search is as of yet still ongoing.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately not. I¡¯m no closer now than I was then.¡±


    He tilted his head slightly to the side. ¡°Really? Well, that is mighty unfortunate. We had hoped that a student of Avalon may have greater success than our own diviners. It is unfortunate that the stories are clearly overblown.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Yeah. Can¡¯t say I¡¯m much of a diviner, really. I dabble, but that¡¯s about it.¡±


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± I had a feeling he didn¡¯t believe me.


    The man silently opened the folder and riffled through the thick sheaf of papers inside before withdrawing a very familiar picture. ¡°Well, perhaps this will help. We had our source reproduce the image several times and this is one of the originals that he drew. I¡¯m not personally familiar with the mechanics of it all, but one of my colleagues tells me that such things may be helpful for finding our girl?¡±


    I took the proffered page and glared down at Brenda¡¯s smiling face. ¡°It could be helpful. Thank you. Is there anything else?¡±


    He waved me off. ¡°No, no, that is all. Go spend time with your friend. The poor girl¡¯s been holed up in her room almost since your last visit.¡± He shook his head sadly, ¡°Terrible business, simply terrible. Involving merchant children in the quarrels of nobles helps no one.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree more,¡± I said simply. Even if this wasn¡¯t actually another noble¡¯s work, his words reminded me of what had happened originally between my dear Lea and that walking corpse Seatamer. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave then. Till next time.¡± Then I stood up and walked out of the office.


    ¡°To Leana¡¯s room this time, please,¡± I told the waiting maid. I phrased it as a request, but it definitely came out sounding more like an order.


    She cringed away from me dramatically, then shook herself and smiled gently, hands folded behind her back. ¡°Of course, sir. Right this way please.¡±


    I sighed and followed after her. Her act really was horribly overblown, but at least she avoided pulling on her mana and kept her hands away from the enchanted knife I could sense strapped against her inner thigh. It probably wouldn¡¯t actually work, but I really didn¡¯t fancy getting stabbed out of the blue. If it came down to that, escaping from this heavily-warded labyrinth would be difficult enough without getting stabbed in the process. Getting stabbed sucked.


    This time she really did lead me to Leana. I sensed her before I saw her. The thick walls and wards of the manor did disrupt my senses somewhat, but I¡¯d spent long hours burning the taste of Lea¡¯s mana into my memory and could feel her presence growing thicker as we slowly wound our way towards her guest room.


    At first glance, I was rather content with how they were treating my darling Lea. Her guest room was situated in what I was pretty sure was the family wing of the manor and the door to the room across from her¡¯s was ajar, revealing a luxurious bedroom with all the amenities someone may reasonably need. I could faintly feel Adonia nearby, her rooms were just down the hallway if I remembered correctly.


    The maid gestured for me to wait a moment, then approached the heavy wooden door beyond which I could feel Lea. She knocked softly, waited a moment, then knocked again. There was no response and I didn¡¯t feel any movement from Lea.


    She turned away from the door, looking at me with an awkward smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, she¡¯s been very reluctant to leave her room or even come to the door.¡± She fidgeted nervously and bit her lower lip, ¡°Should I¡­¡±


    I nodded and she turned back to the door and knocked one more time. ¡°Miss Sweetglass? You have a visitor.¡± Once again, there was no response. She waited for another minute, though I could have told her that no one was coming to the door before that, then called out, ¡°I¡¯m coming in!¡± and slowly pushed the door ajar.


    Stepping up behind her, I glanced through the small crack. I could just barely make out Lea¡¯s leg on a thick, plush carpet. ¡°She seems to be dressed and awake. Wait outside.¡± Without waiting for a response, I pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped past her into the room, then pushed the door mostly shut behind me.


    Lea lay sprawled spread eagle on the floor, eyes empty and face impassive as she stared blankly up at the mosaic on the ceiling above her. Physically, she looked much better than she had when I¡¯d last seen her and I couldn¡¯t immediately sense anything wrong with her.


    I took a few steps forward and frowned when she didn¡¯t react, not even seeming to notice that I was there. ¡°Lea?¡± I tried quietly.


    ¡°Not¡­ now¡­ ¡®donia¡­¡± she mumbled, mouth barely moving.


    I didn¡¯t like that one bit. ¡°Lea?¡± I said again, much louder this time.


    She blinked slowly but otherwise didn¡¯t react at all.


    No, no, no, this was not what I wanted to see. She hadn¡¯t been anything like this when I¡¯d come to visit two weeks earlier. Had something else happened? Were they hiding something from me? I half-stumbled forward, falling to my knees right beside her. ¡°Lea? Lea! It''s me. Orion. I¡¯ve come to visit you.¡±


    Lea¡¯s head turned slowly until she could peer up at my face without moving her eyes. For a terrifying moment all I could see was her blank, unseeing stare as she seemed to look directly through me as though I wasn¡¯t even there. I¡¯d seen corpses with more life in their eyes than she had.


    Then, suddenly it was as though a switch had been flipped. She blinked several times in rapid succession and lifted her head slightly. ¡°Orion?¡± she asked hazily. Her hand reached out and I caught it between my palms and pulled it tightly against my chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m here Lea. I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ really you. You¨C¨C¡± she lunged up at me with all the ferocity of a leaping rock lion, bowling me over from the unexpected force. I fell back onto my butt, the plush carpet thankfully cushioning my landing, and Lea collapsed on top of me. ¡°You came! You came!¡±


    Cries of joy turned into wracking sobs in the space of a heartbeat and suddenly I found myself lying under my sobbing best friend, her face wedged into my shoulder and tears rapidly soaking my shirt.


    I think I was understandably confused. It hadn¡¯t really been that long, had it? I¡¯d been here just two weekends ago, and perhaps we hadn¡¯t spent very much time together at the time, but I¡¯d promised her I would be back as soon as I could make more time to visit.


    I¡¯d asked the maid about Lea¡¯s state on our way up to her room and she¡¯d told me that my friend had been given a clean bill of health right after my previous visit. She hadn¡¯t mentioned anything coming up since then, but this was absolutely not how my precious Lea had behaved the last time I¡¯d seen her.


    Glancing around I didn¡¯t immediately see anything that looked like a monitoring enchantment, but under such powerful wards it paid to be extra careful. A dome of silence snapping into place around us, joined a moment later by a ward-suppressing bubble. Only once that was ready did I gently turn Lea¡¯s head so she was looking up at me and asked, ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    Lea shook her head but I didn¡¯t believe her for a moment. Still, if she wasn¡¯t ready to talk about it yet I wouldn¡¯t push her. ¡°I¡¯d originally planned to take you on a walk around the grounds, but the weather is rather unpleasant today. Do you want to move up onto the couch maybe? I imagine it''s much more comfortable than the floor. We can¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°Can¡­ Can you take me out for lunch again? Like last time? I¡¯m sorry I ruined everything then but¡­ I promise I¡¯ll be better today. Please Orion?¡±


    She sounded almost desperate, pleading. I couldn¡¯t understand why, but it wasn¡¯t like that was a problem or anything. ¡°Of course I can. It''s alright Lea, you don¡¯t need to apologize. People can just be overwhelming sometimes.¡±


    Lea looked away again, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m such¡­ such a bother. I¡­ I always ruin¡­¡± she choked back a sudden sob, her arms squeezing my chest tightly enough that I felt my ribs creak from the strain. ¡°Everything I touch¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I mess it up. I show up and it all¡­ everything falls apart. I¨C¨C¡±


    I cut her off before she could continue, pressing a single finger up against her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± I told her sternly. ¡°It''s not your fault, none of it. You can¡¯t blame yourself for the actions of others. You¡¯re the victim, Lea, not the cause. Do you blame the trees during a wildfire?¡±


    She shook her head, barely but the movement was there. ¡°Exactly. There was nothing you could do.¡±


    That didn¡¯t seem to help. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can ever do!¡± she cried out suddenly, pulling away from me and pounding her fist into the carpet. ¡°Nothing, ever, ever. I¡¯m useless! Just an ugly, poor, broken curse on¨C¨C¡±


    My hand clamped over her mouth, rendering the rest of her tirade an incomprehensible mumble. ¡°Shut up!¡± I told her harshly. ¡°Never say something like that again. You''re wonderful, Lea. You¡¯re my precious, perfect, beautiful friend and I won¡¯t stand for anyone saying otherwise.¡± I sat up and pulled her into my lap, arms holding her protectively against my chest. Then I leaned over until my mouth was only a few inches away from her ear. ¡°Not even you.¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond immediately, though her shoulders continued to shake with silent sobs. Then she licked my palm. ¡°Very mature, dear.¡±


    We sat like that for what must have been at least ten minutes before I decided that Lea had calmed down enough that I could pull my hand away. ¡°Lunch, then?¡±


    She nodded her head enthusiastically, ¡°Lunch!¡±


    Wrapping my free arm around her waist I stood up and gently set her down beside me. ¡°Get yourself cleaned up. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll want to go outside in just a nightgown.¡±


    She looked down at her rumpled baby-blue dress and blushed, her flushed face matching her red nose and eyes. ¡°Orion!¡± she whined, slapping my chest lightly.


    I silently handed her a handkerchief, then turned to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll just wait outside while you¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I turned my head to look at her. ¡°No,¡± she repeated much more quietly. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t go. Not without me. Please.¡± The hopelessness in her eyes almost broke my composure. Brenda¡­ the fate I had planned for her almost seemed like a kindness after what she¡¯d done.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll stay. I¡¯m always here for you, Lea. You only ever have to ask.¡±

 Chapter 99

    I waited patiently with my back turned as Lea changed out of her rumpled night clothes. Once I¡¯d promised that I wasn¡¯t going to leave without her, her previous reluctance vanished and she shyly warned me not to peek before hurrying away.


    That had been almost twenty-five minutes ago and she was still holed up in the small bathroom attached to her room. I held back a soft sigh, knowing that she would likely both hear it and understand its cause. No matter how much I disliked just sitting here and waiting, I didn¡¯t want Lea to think that I was annoyed with her. She had enough on her plate as it was.


    I¡¯d completely forgotten how long it took some people to get dressed, particularly without the aid of much magic. I¡¯d sensed Lea casting a spell, some sort of basic cleaning and drying effect if I wasn¡¯t mistaken, but that was nothing compared to the entire array of spells I¡¯d seen Miranda use when she was getting ready for the day. She had an entire nine-spell sequence just for styling her hair!


    I heard Lea duck out of the bathroom, grab something out of the dresser, and then disappear again. ¡°I¡¯m almost ready,¡± she called out, her voice muffled, ¡°Just a few more minutes!¡±


    I let my head slump back against the top of the couch. A few more minutes, yep. Definitely. Just like it was the last two times she¡¯d said that. Miranda¡¯s morning routine might be complicated, but at least it was faster than this. Sure Lea probably couldn¡¯t even manage most of the spells Miranda used every day, but I didn¡¯t really understand what was taking so long.


    I¡¯d heard that some women took an awfully long time for such things, but this was ridiculous. If she was anyone other than my precious Lea, I probably would have stormed in there and took care of everything myself. How long did it take to put on a clean dress? Sure she probably actually wore underwear unlike a certain other stunning blonde I knew, but that shouldn¡¯t add that much time, right?


    ¡°You can look now,¡± Lea called out quietly, a note of reluctance in her voice. I stood up and turned to face her as she walked around the bed into the middle of the room. Extending her arms to either side, she whirled around, a bright smile on her flushed cheeks. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    I honestly didn¡¯t know much about fashion, but Lea deserved an honest assessment so I tried to channel Miranda¡¯s lessons as I studied her outfit. She wore a baby-blue dress in the classic Xethian sheath-style, the bright cloth hugging her curves and the shade perfectly matched her beautiful eyes.


    The neckline was somewhat more plunging than was traditional, but under it she wore a white, long-sleeved lace shirt of some sort that both served to preserve her modesty and would probably help keep her warm. Similarly, her uncovered thighs were protected from the cold by sheer tights that almost perfectly matched her natural skin tone and she wore shiny black heeled boots that went up to just below her knees.


    She¡¯d also clearly spent a lot of time styling her hair. Her long platinum-blonde hair was pulled back in an intricate braid and two additional braids hung down to frame her face. I¡¯d certainly seen more complex hairstyles, they were rather popular among certain cultural groups and magic allowed for some truly absurd feats of hair-based engineering, but this had clearly been done entirely by hand and looked rather good on her. The bright red lipstick pulled it all together and made everything really pop.


    ¡°Radiant,¡± I told her honestly. Just as beautiful as she had always been. My darling Lea could be nothing less. ¡°It really suits you.¡±


    Her blush darkened slightly, the bright red visible even under her makeup, but I could see the delight on her face. She looked down at the floor, ¡°Thanks Orion.¡±


    I waited for a moment, then extended a hand towards her. ¡°Shall we then?¡±


    She almost leapt forward, her warm, delicate fingers pressing against mine. ¡°We shall.¡± She giggled brightly, an honest warm laugh that reminded me of sunny days and burbling brooks. It was by far the most positive expression of emotion I¡¯d seen from her since the attack.


    I impulsively stepped closer and wrapped my other arm around her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m so glad I found you,¡± I told her quietly.


    She simply nodded, swallowing heavily as I pulled away. ¡°Me too.¡±


    And then we were off. The fake maid looked rather surprised to see Lea leaving her room. She said something about how Adonia would be pleased to see she was feeling better, but Lea ignored her and so I did as well.


    Before we crossed outside the wards of the manor, I surrounded the two of us with an illusionary veil that would hopefully prevent people from recognizing us. It wasn¡¯t a perfect defense, it simply slightly altered both of our features and made us less memorable, but it would hopefully be enough for this.


    I simply didn¡¯t have the mana to disguise both of us properly for long, casting spells on other people was always far more mana-intensive than casting them on yourself, so this would have to suffice. It wasn¡¯t that I expected anything to happen, though I never really let my guard down entirely, but Brenda had already found our connection once and I was loath to make it easy for anyone else.


    Then we were off. After barely a minute, I concluded that despite making some efforts in that direction, my Lea was clearly not dressed for the weather. She was hiding it, but I could see the suppressed chattering of her teeth and how she clutched the warm cloak I¡¯d grabbed from her closet tightly with her free hand.


    ¡°Here,¡± I told her quietly. She watched with wide eyes as the spell matrix formed in the air in front of us. It was a simple warming spell, even if its unusual design did bump it up to second-circle. In exchange for the added complexity it would cost considerably less mana in the long run.


    Instead of warming Lea directly, it formed a bubble that gently heated the air around her. The workaround ensured I didn¡¯t have to pay the hefty added cost of attempting to overcome her soul¡¯s natural mana resistance.


    It was also conveniently based off of the same standard design as many of the protective spells I used for my own purposes, meaning it had taken no time at all to learn when I¡¯d come across it in a book. I¡¯d never actually learned the proper way to keep another person warm, it had simply never come up in the past. I could probably cobble something together, but this was more than sufficient.


    Lea sighed contentedly as the next gust of freezing wind was replaced by the warm tickle of a summer breeze. ¡°That was amazing. Do you use that spell a lot? You cast it very quickly,¡± she commented quietly.


    I shrugged. ¡°It''s a simple enough bit of magic.¡± Clicking my tongue thoughtfully, I focused on Lea¡¯s mana. Her core was a loose, sluggish mass, slightly better than it had been when I first met her but still a far cry from what I would expect from a competent second-year. Despite having been learning magic for a fraction of the time, my adorable Rea¡¯s mana pool was probably going to outstrip Lea¡¯s by the middle of next term.


    ¡°You could probably cast it with a bit of practice,¡± I told her after a moment. ¡°It¡¯s second-circle, but not too complicated. Shouldn¡¯t be much worse than that cleaning spell you were using.¡± I paused, then added, ¡°Or I could find you a better version. This is nice, but it wouldn¡¯t work half as well if it was ten degrees colder than it is now.¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Lea looked excited at first, then her eyes widened and she half pulled away from me. ¡°How do you know about that?¡± she asked angrily. ¡°Were you spying on me! You said¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t spying on you, Lea. I wouldn¡¯t lie to you like that. I could sense the spell matrix forming and it wasn¡¯t like there was anyone else around to cast it.¡± I was honestly a little hurt by the accusation. I absolutely would lie to her about¡­ a number of things, but that wasn¡¯t one of them.


    ¡°Oh. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to imply¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±


    We walked in silence for several minutes. It was a nice silence, Lea looked like she was deep in thought and I focused on increasing my mana regeneration by assimilated ambient mana. It wasn¡¯t a particularly effective way of doing things, particularly somewhere with so little free mana in the air, but it was still good practice.


    Eventually Lea stepped closer to me, pressing her cloak-covered arm up against my own. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could do that. Is it a spell or something? One of your circulation thingies?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Nothing like that. It¡¯s technically considered its own thing entirely, but really it''s just a derivative of pure mana manipulation. Mana tends to move in rather predictable ways if nothing is acting on it. If you focus, you can feel how other mana interacts with your own and from that intuit what¡¯s going on around you. It''s a bit tricky, but I¡¯ve picked up a few things over the years. Definitely a good skill to have.¡±


    ¡°That sounds complicated.¡±


    ¡°Not really. Just a matter of practice.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She sounded rather skeptical, but I wasn¡¯t sure what else to say. It had taken some time to figure out the basics, but these days it was almost reflexive.


    She was silent again, then whispered something so quietly I couldn¡¯t make out anything over the rustle of dying leaves.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    She bit her lip and I smiled at how cute it made her look. For a moment I could see a much younger, smaller Lea standing in her place, pouting at being denied a second helping of dessert. ¡°Were you serious?¡± she asked finally, ¡°About teaching me, I mean. Aren¡¯t mages supposed to be like¡­ really secretive about their techniques? You keep offering but¡­¡± She trailed off. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have said anything.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t offer if I wasn¡¯t willing,¡± I told her simply. ¡°You have nothing to apologize for.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ why? I know the teachers at Lightcastle are being paid to do it, but even then getting anything other than the class material out of them is like pulling teeth. It''s always one or two spells per term, if that.¡± I cringed internally at that idea. ¡°Why¡­ just why, Orion?¡±


    I stopped in the middle of the street, thankful for the cold that had driven the usual crowds away. Then I turned to Lea and gently grabbed her other hand, holding both of her comparably small hands in my own.


    She tilted her head to the side and looked up at me, a single tear pooling at the corner of one eye. ¡°Orion?¡± she asked again.


    ¡°It¡¯s a couple things. First of all, you¡¯re right about mages and their secrets, but I think we¡¯re working on different scales here. Maybe at Lightcastle second-circle spells are something special, but that''s just Lightcastle. I can¡¯t say I understand what it''s like for you, I¡¯ve never studied anywhere else but Avalon, but to me second circle just isn¡¯t a big deal. It''s something to learn and then grow past, a stepping stone to something greater. In a few years, I doubt I¡¯ll ever cast most of the second-circle spells I know again.¡±


    She looked like she was about to interrupt me, but I gently squeezed her hands and continued. ¡°Going off that, it''s not like anything I¡¯ve mentioned is a special technique or some secretive spell. These are mostly the bare basics and foundational skills that every good mage should know. I don¡¯t know what sort of pathetic misers they have teaching you, but the educational standards at Lightcastle are clearly not nearly up to snuff. Maybe they¡¯re just intentionally ruining the non-nobles¡¯s foundations, but it''s not like Adonia is off to a much better start than you are.


    ¡°Finally, even if they were secret techniques, I¡¯d teach it all to you in a heartbeat. You¡¯re all I have left, Lea. I can¡¯t lose you too. Anything I can give you that will make you safer, it''s yours.¡±


    I took a deep breath, preparing to continue my impromptu speech, but Lea chose that moment to break down into tears for the second time in less than an hour. Once again, she threw herself at me, only this time there was no soft carpet behind me to fall onto. Instead, I stumbled backwards even as she clutched desperately at my cloak. I panicked for a moment, then logic reasserted itself and a telekinetic tendril wrapped around my back and arrested my fall.


    Lea used my momentary distraction to worm her way under my cloak and I was left awkwardly holding her against my chest even as her entire body was hidden from view by our combined cloaks. Why did this keep happening to me? I had no idea how to comfort a sobbing woman and Lea just kept doing it! She¡¯d never been this emotional as a child.


    I looked around furtively, then quickly cast another illusion over us. The street was mostly empty, but there was the occasional passerby and we were standing rather conspicuously in the center of the path.


    ¡°You¡¯re alright Lea, everything¡¯s alright,¡± I tried, my free hand rubbing gentle circles on her back. ¡°Do you still want to go get something to eat? I can take you back to¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°No! No, I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t want to go back. Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t make me go back to¡­ to¡­ It''s cold Orion, it''s so cold.¡± Despite being muffled by both my chest and our cloaks, I could hear desperation in her voice.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± I asked sharply. I glanced around again and found no one paying us any attention, then leaned in and in a whisper asked, ¡°Are they doing something to you? Mistreating you?¡±


    ¡°They¡­ they won¡¯t let me out,¡± she whispered, her voice pained. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m trapped. It¡¯s a comfortable prison, better than what¡­ what¡­ Lord Seatamer had for us, but a prison nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°And¡­ and it''s like¡­ like they¡¯re mocking me. Sometimes they¡¯ll invite me down to dinner, but the door¡¯s still locked. I want to go, go anywhere at all, but it''s always locked. And when the servants come by, sometimes they¡¯ll leave the food right outside. I can smell it, almost taste it, but it might as well not exist. It¡¯s¡­ At least with him, I knew what he wanted from me.¡± She pulled back slightly and wrapped her arms around her own chest. ¡°With Adonia¡­ I thought we had something. Something real. But¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. For the second time in less than a month, all I could see was a haze of blinding rage, tempered only by Lea¡¯s warmth just inches away from me. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know. I swear I didn¡¯t know. I thought¡­ I thought you¡¯d be safe with them. That it would be for the best.¡±


    ¡°Clearly we were both wrong. It happens.¡± Her calm, surprisingly even voice brought me back to myself and I took a deep breath.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going back there. I¡¯ll never make you go back there.¡± I promised her. It would probably paint me as an enemy of the Earthshadows, but that was fine. I had what I really needed from this place, and in a few years nothing the family could throw at me would be enough. By the time I came back to deal with him, they would be an irrelevant obstacle.


    ¡°What are we going to do then?¡± she asked in a small voice. ¡°I¡­ They¡¯ll make me come back. They¡¯ll find me and they¡¯ll take me and¡­ and I¡­ I can¡¯t go back. I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ll take care of everything.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I trust you.¡±


    I took another deep breath, mind racing as I tried to figure out what my next steps were going to be. ¡°Well then, first things first. Is there anything you need from the estate or anywhere else in the city? We only have a few hours before they¡¯re going to expect you back and I want you out of the city before that happens.¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± she whispered after a moment. ¡°Uncle told me there was nothing left. I guess I¡¯d like to say goodbye?¡±


    ¡°We can do that.¡±


    Lea smiled brightly, the melancholy on her face washed away in an instant. ¡°What are you waiting for then?¡± She grabbed my hand and we were off.

 Chapter 100

    Saying it out loud made it sound so easy. Adonia and the Earthshadows were clearly mistreating Lea. That was unacceptable, but as I was not yet in a position to change their minds the remaining solution seemed clear. I had to remove my darling Lea from the situation before things could deteriorate further.


    Five minutes later I was feeling much less sure of myself. I had made Lea a promise, and in this instance it was a promise I planned to keep despite the lack of magic enforcing my vow. She would never go back to the Earthshadow estate, at least not until I had Adonia on her knees ready to beg for forgiveness.


    I certainly couldn¡¯t bring her back to my room in Avalon. For one, I had a pair of naked elves locked up in makeshift milking stations. I had a feeling that Lea wouldn¡¯t take it particularly well. It was a completely different situation from what she¡¯d gone through with Seatamer, but I didn¡¯t think she would see it that way. Even if I managed to convince her, I doubted she would be comfortable living in the same space as them.


    Then there was Rea. She would probably be a slightly easier sell, I could just say that she was a¡­ servant I¡¯d hired. It wasn¡¯t something I would ever actually do, I couldn¡¯t imagine ever sleeping comfortably in the same room as a hired servant with uncertain loyalties, but I did now have the funds to do so if I wanted to.


    Still, some of her habits and tasks would be harder to explain. Her day to day dress, or lack thereof, would probably make Lea uncomfortable and some of the work I had her doing would likely do the same. Actually, maybe not. Lea and Adonia had been dating for some time before things between them had fallen apart so Lea was probably comfortable with naked women and some of the other things Rea got up to during her harvesting time.


    No, that definitely wasn¡¯t an option. Even discounting the fact that Lea would simply be trading one prison cell for another, after all non-members were not permitted to freely wander the Academy even if I was insane enough to let her do so, taking my darling Lea to my dormitory would be a disaster.


    That¡­ didn¡¯t leave me with very many options. Perhaps I could work something out through Cayla, her parents were nobles living on a nearby island and had the means to care for and protect Lea, but that came with its own issues.


    Cayla¡¯s parents may be nobles, but they were simply Spellblades. That was about as common as a noble name could get. The moment Adonia located Lea, and I had no doubts she would spare little expense in tracking Lea down, she would be able to retrieve her with little difficulty. Cayla¡¯s family would either give her up or be made to do so in short order.


    Okay, just thinking of random ideas wasn¡¯t going to get me anywhere. I needed to do this properly and I was rapidly running out of time. Given Adonia¡¯s general attitude towards my friend, I was pretty sure that if we weren¡¯t back by nightfall she would send some of her ¡®retainers¡¯ to go retrieve Lea.


    They would probably try to be nice about it at first, but would absolutely insist on taking Lea back with them and I really didn¡¯t want things to turn messy. I could handle most of her black-cloaked men, but if one of their few stronger mages was with the group it would get dicey very, very quickly.


    Even if I could fight off the first group, this was not a good place for it. With Lightcastle within eyesight and guards patrolling at regular intervals, it was not out of the question that the school¡¯s headmaster or one of his senior students could get involved. That would go very poorly for me.


    So what did I really need? The first requirement was safety. Lea needed to be protected from the Earthshadows, from anyone trying to exploit her to get to me, from other nebulous dangers, and potentially from herself. Her safety was the absolutely most important part of all of this. Other factors would be nice, but I could potentially live without them. I refused to lose my Lea for a second time.


    Okay, now what did safety mean? First of all, I needed to keep Lea away from the Earthshadows. That either meant getting her far away physically, putting her under thick anti-scrying wards so they couldn¡¯t locate her, or placing her somewhere the Earthshadows would not dare try and get at her. Safety also implied that Lea couldn¡¯t be hurt by anyone else. That meant either people to protect her or anonymity.


    I nodded my head slowly. Yes, that narrowed the scope of my search considerably. What else did I want?


    Well, ideally she would be easily accessible to me. Spending time with my Lea was calming and wonderful in a way nothing else was. I could live without her, though even irregular visits were better than nothing, but I would certainly prefer not to.


    Finally, I needed to cater at least slightly to Lea herself. She probably wouldn¡¯t be very happy if I locked her in a tiny stone prison somewhere, nor if her living conditions became completely unbearable. In the short term that wasn¡¯t a huge issue, but I was afraid that too much time without the ability to move freely would cause her mental state to deteriorate further. Just looking at her I could see that she was not quite all there, life had fractured my darling friend, and hammering those cracks would be devastating to her recovery.


    She would also hopefully have access to some proper magical mentoring. The best way to guarantee her safety was to train her to a state where she could protect herself. I didn¡¯t know if Lea was ever going to be an archmage, I was afraid the girl I knew simply didn¡¯t have the will or the drive to reach those lofty heights, but I would feel much better about her safety if she could fly, teleport, and had some basic defensive spells under her belt.


    I sighed. Well, that didn¡¯t really make things less complicated. I had no idea how I was going to manage most of those requirements, much less all of them. Things would be so much easier if we weren¡¯t in Xethis. Here the Earthshadows were a big fish in a small pond, one of the wealthiest and most powerful names in the entire country. On a worldwide scale however, they barely mattered at all.


    What were they going to do if I left her in Armouth? I¡¯d seen the quality of their divination rituals, I doubted their spells could reach halfway to the city state. Even if they did find her there, they had neither the pull nor the resources to send people after her. The city guards would not take kindly to foreign mages attempting to abduct a visitor, no matter what excuses they gave.


    I was pulled from my musings when I realized that we had stopped. ¡°I think this is the place,¡± Lea told me quietly, gesturing across the street with our entwined hands. ¡°Uncle said they were staying here with some friends.¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I glanced dispassionately at the building she had indicated. It was a narrow, three story building with a shingled roof and a sign over the door declaring it as ¡®Edric¡¯s Wares and Imports¡¯. I assumed it was a lot like the shop Lea had called home before Brenda¡¯s men had burned it down, a shop on the first floor and a living area above it.


    I could sense a number of people inside the building. Two of them were clearly Erwin and Estin, I couldn¡¯t distinguish which brother was which, but I was sufficiently familiar with the feel of their undeveloped mana to recognize them from such a short distance.


    Up on the third floor I could also feel an oddly familiar mana signature, but I couldn¡¯t place where I¡¯d felt something like that before. Perhaps that was their friend and he¡¯d visited the shop at some point while I was there? I wasn¡¯t sure. The rest were completely unremarkable, just magic-less civilians from the feeling of their meager mana reserves.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I told her, ¡°I can feel them inside. One¡¯s in the shop, the other is upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Oh good, I was worried we were going to miss them. Last time Uncle Erwin came by he told me they were spending a lot of time getting things set up for the new shop, but I¡¯m not sure how that¡¯s coming along.¡±


    ¡°It worked out well then. Let''s go say hello.¡±


    I dropped several of the visual disguise spells on Lea as we stepped inside. Erwin, who was sitting behind the counter, noticed us immediately and his eyes lit up when he saw who it was.


    ¡°Leana, my darling girl!¡± he called out loudly, ¡°What a surprise to see you! Oh, it''s so nice to see you up and about! Come here, give this old man a hug!¡±


    I let go of her hand and Lea rushed forward to meet her adopted uncle. Glancing around I found a small bench conveniently placed against the wall and sat down. This didn¡¯t really concern me and my time was currently better spent planning. It felt like I was onto something, I just needed to find it.


    Erwin loudly called out for Estin to come down and I felt that third person up on the top floor move around as though they were pacing. It was strange, I didn¡¯t tend to memorize mana signatures unless they were relevant to me and I couldn¡¯t think of who this person reminded me of.


    I shook my head to clear it and put the thought out of my mind. It probably didn¡¯t matter, just some random person I¡¯d seen on the street or something like that. I¡¯d spent a lot of time honing my mana senses over the past few months but I still sometimes wasn¡¯t certain how to interpret what I was sensing.


    What was important was what I was going to do with Lea. It had been nearly an hour since we¡¯d left the Earthshadow estate and I estimated we would be here for at least half an hour while Lea was saying a temporary goodbye to her uncles. Ideally I would know where I should be taking her by the time she was ready to go. I needed somewhere safe, accessible, and open enough that Lea wouldn¡¯t feel trapped. That was not an easy thing to find in a country as densely populated and tiny as Xethis.


    Something about that last bit nagged at me. Not easy to find in Xethis. In Xethis. Safe¡­ accessible¡­ in Xethis¡­ I couldn¡¯t take her back to my dormitory. In¡­ Xethis¡­


    I sat up sharply and dug into my pockets only to come up empty. Damn it. There were a number of things I always carried around with me within Avalon, but I didn¡¯t have my school bag on me so I was limited to what I carried in my pockets. Of all the times to leave my student handbook behind. Where was Avalon¡¯s portal moving after it left Xethis? I knew the location was already decided, but I couldn¡¯t remember where it was.


    That was¡­ yeah. That certainly had potential. I closed my eyes and thought back to the start of the year when I¡¯d last reviewed the handbook. I¡¯d memorized every rule and regulation that I thought had any chance of coming up. I could remember looking at the specific page near the back of the handbook, could picture the formatting of the table and everything. Where was it moving next?


    The familiar signature on the third floor stopped moving and I almost snapped at the two shoppers discussing the merits of two different boxes of candles just a few feet away from me. I needed to focus and this was not the environment in which I did my best thinking.


    I channeled additional mana into my mental enhancements. I could enumerate all forty-three bylaws regarding when it was permitted for an upper class student to retaliate against a first-year, but apparently I¡¯d never even glanced over the list of portal locations? I could even remember the exact date when the portal was supposed to move, though actually that might have changed due to our rapid departure from Port Anangala, but the locations? I was coming up blank.


    I shifted gears. Perhaps someone had mentioned the name to me at some point? I couldn¡¯t think of a specific conversation where that might have come up, but it was the sort of thing Miranda might have mentioned during one of our discussions. I thought back to every conversation I¡¯d had with my pet succubus in the past few months. Nothing.


    Maybe I could consult with Miranda? I¡¯d told myself I would make an effort to make better use of the resources I had available to me and she had a way of approaching social problems that I just couldn¡¯t wrap my head around. This wasn¡¯t exactly a social issue, but it was close enough, right?


    Unfortunately I didn¡¯t have a good way of contacting her from outside the Academy and meeting with her meant either bringing Lea with me or leaving her alone in the city without any protection. I glanced suspiciously at an older man with graying hair and very bushy eyebrows that I could just barely see over a nearby set of shelves. He didn¡¯t look like a threat, but when magic became involved it was impossible to say for certain.


    No, leaving her alone wasn¡¯t an option. Twice in my life I had left my darling Lea unprotected, and twice I had nearly lost her. There would not be a third time.


    And then it came to me. It was not a perfect solution by any means, but it sidestepped the majority of my problems. Lea would be safe, protected, kept away from some of my secrets that she was not yet ready to see, and most importantly I would have easy access to her whenever I needed it. Sure it would temporarily limit her freedom of movement, but it was only until a better solution could be found.


    I plastered a mostly-real smile across my face as Lea led her uncles over to where I was sitting and stood up to greet them. I suppressed the annoyance I felt every time I saw the silver sun and moon pendant hanging around Erwin¡¯s neck. Despite whatever else I might think of them, they¡¯d done a passable job caring and providing for my Lea, and for that they deserved my consideration if not my respect. Sure they were uneducated false-god worshipers, but that was more a criticism of Xethis¡¯s terrible standards of education than any fault of their own.


    Getting Lea away from them was not a priority, but it was certainly a favorable outcome. I just hoped they hadn¡¯t had time to indoctrinate her too much. I didn¡¯t think they had, they honestly didn¡¯t seem all too fanatical themselves though my books said you could never say with cultists.


    Educating Lea properly was going to take some work, but she would have little else to do for the rest of the semester so perhaps it wasn¡¯t going to take too long. I was certain I could find some way to motivate her.


    For now though, I simply let her enjoy her last minutes with the men who had saved her from a watery grave. They could have this. After all, from now on she was mine. Mine and only mine.

 Chapter 101

    Feeling stuffed was a novel sensation for Miranda. Well, at least in the ¡®well fed¡¯ sense of the word. Generations of self-conscious male mages had developed enough first- and second-circle body alteration spells to ensure that she was typically quite stuffed towards the end of a successful hunt, but that was besides the point.


    Even before coming to Avalon she¡¯d never been able to feed quite as much as she would have liked. She had never been in danger of starving, but she had always been a junior member of her flock and thus one of the last in line to toy with any captured men. She typically managed to supplement her meals with snacks from her many sisters, but that just wasn¡¯t enough to truly satisfy her.


    Coming to Avalon had not helped matters in the slightest. Her first disastrous hunt had left her a broken wreck chained up in her Master¡¯s dorm room. Since then she¡¯d been much more careful and successful, but there was only so much she could do when surrounded by so many wary mages.


    Most of the time she had to resort to hunting in whatever city Avalon¡¯s portal was currently located, but there were only so many men that she could easily disappear before authorities took notice.


    It was enough to grow and survive, but she had long become used to the dully throbbing hunger in her belly that never truly went away and the itch between her legs that no amount of self-pleasure could scratch. Even while she was feeding she could still feel the constant ache, her instincts screaming to take and take and take and never stop.


    Now though, those same instincts simply wanted to curl up into a ball and nap before a roaring hearth. For years she had been content with one meal a week, two or three if she could get them. Now she drank her fill every day, each meal just as good as draining a virile young man down to the bone.


    Even in just the past few weeks she had felt her powers grow by leaps and bounds. The hot, wonderful, agonizing, burning mana in every vial filled her with energy like she¡¯d never felt before. She was not skilled enough to feel out the exact effects it was having on her, but her body had never felt so strong and durable and her mana pool had nearly doubled in size.


    Out of curiosity she had run a sharp knife down along her palm and the scratch it had left behind had healed before her eyes. Though she did not yet feel confident in casting a fourth-circle spell, she knew she finally had enough mana to safely attempt, something she had not expected until well into the next term.


    More than that, she felt alive in a way she¡¯d never imagined was possible. Between her new diet, the absence of constant punishment from her Master¡¯s original bond, and truly knowing how much her Master valued her, she finally felt optimistic for the future. Perhaps it was not the future she had always dreamed of, but she no longer feared that her only fate was the same death that had found her old flock.


    It was¡­ good. Probably the first good thing that had come out of her time at Avalon. Perhaps it was simply the magic wrapped around her soul speaking, but most days she considered her freedom a small price to pay for safety and a full belly.


    Avalon was a dangerous place. It was far too easy to do nothing wrong and simply end up in the wrong place at the wrong time or accidentally do something to provoke a wrathful upper year. Those desperate moments as she fled from Kwesta¡¯s invisible blades of wind haunted her nightmares.


    As she¡¯d told her Master, she hadn¡¯t done anything to provoke the older student. Kwesta had simply decided she was trying to ¡®steal¡¯ her unappealing oaf of a fiance and decided the easiest solution was to remove her from the equation entirely.


    That day, when he¡¯d stepped between them and firmly told Kwesta to back off or else¡­ Just as the desperate moments before it haunted her nightmares, that memory always lit a fire in her core and made her feel¡­ precious. More than any promise or threat Orion had made, it was that moment that had convinced her to swear herself to him and mean it.


    She hadn¡¯t regretted her decision yet. She wasn¡¯t really sure she could regret it anymore. Most of the time her oaths simply hovered at the edges of her conscience and she didn¡¯t remember any changes they may have made, but she was certain she wasn¡¯t quite the same person that she¡¯d been when she¡¯d sworn them a scant few weeks earlier. It probably should have scared her, but it didn¡¯t. It couldn¡¯t.


    Still, even if she couldn¡¯t regret her decisions, she could absolutely acknowledge that her new life came with quite a bit of new work. Her Master demanded only the best from his slaves, and she spent long hours each day striving to meet his expectations. This past week alone she¡¯d spent more time practicing her pure mana manipulation skills than she had in the entire semester before her new binding.


    Between that, spellcasting, reading, and her many other commitments, she¡¯d hardly had a moment to relax. She hoped her efforts would be enough to impress Orion today. She¡¯d felt how disappointed he was in all their skills during the previous week¡¯s training session and the shame of it had almost brought her to her knees. She never wanted to feel like that again if she could help it.


    That was why she was currently rushing towards her dorm room. Their session wasn¡¯t for another hour, but she wanted to arrive at the reserved room early so she could spend some time warming up before they began. In fact she was already running slightly behind schedule. She still needed to wash up, style her hair into something more appropriate for combat practice, and change into a more practical outfit than the strapless sundress she was wearing.


    She was slightly out of breath and distracted when she finally arrived. That was why it took her until after she¡¯d already kicked off her heels to notice the two intruders waiting for her inside. One of them was her Master. Orion sat casually in her desk chair, hands folded in his lap and bare feet kicked up on her bed as though he owned the place. Well, in a way he did own the place. Miranda certainly didn¡¯t mind, anything for him.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    The other was a familiar girl, though she had been in a much worse state the last time Miranda had seen her. It was Orion¡¯s blonde friend who had been attacked at her home shortly after her rebinding. She was sitting perched at the very edge of Miranda¡¯s bed, hands fiddling nervously with the hem of her dress.


    Miranda¡¯s eyes widened and she quickly bowed her head. Perhaps if it had been just the two of them or they¡¯d been in public her entrance would have been appropriate, but as it was it was unthinkable to disrespect him like this in front of his guest.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry M¨C¨C¡±


    Orion¡¯s sharp glare cut her off before she could say anything more and he subtly jerked his head towards his friend, then tapped his neck with two fingers. The gestures themselves didn¡¯t tell her much, she had a number of ideas for what they could mean, but it was hard to know for sure. Thankfully she had much more than that to go off of. The impressions she could feel through their bond gave her a rough idea of what he wanted.


    ¡°¨C¨COrion, I didn¡¯t see you there!¡± She turned towards the girl and bowed her head towards her as well. ¡°It is gladening to see you¡¯ve recovered. Orion was worried out of his mind when he saw what happened.¡± Gesturing broadly around the room, she let out a deprecating laugh, ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting any company else I¡¯d have tidied up a little.¡±


    Orion¡¯s glare vanished as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by the polite smile that Miranda had once spent two weeks coaching him through. Miranda¡¯s eyes flicked briefly towards the girl. Thankfully it didn¡¯t seem as though she¡¯d noticed anything. ¡°Is there something I can help you with? I assume this isn¡¯t a social visit.¡±


    For a moment Miranda worried that she¡¯d been too hasty moving past the usual niceties of welcoming someone into her home. She knew he hated what he saw as pointless blathering, but she wasn¡¯t really sure what role she was supposed to be playing here. She barely knew anything about Orion¡¯s friend, nor what exactly was going on here.


    If something she did or said contradicted whatever narrative Orion was spinning, she would likely be in a lot of trouble. Orion had yet to punish her since her rebinding and she was not looking forward to experiencing whatever horrors he might come up with when he was actually trying to make her suffer.


    Fortunately it seemed as though things were moving the way Orion wanted them too. A gentle pulse of heat echoed down their bond and Miranda almost moaned out loud before she could catch herself.


    ¡°Unfortunately not,¡± Orion said solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry to impose on you so suddenly but I was hoping you could do me something of a favor. My dear friend Lea here is going through some rough times and needs somewhere to stay for a time. I would take her in myself but I have some volatile alchemical experiments going on and I¡¯m afraid my dorm isn¡¯t a very safe space to be right now.¡±


    He sounded honestly regretful and Miranda thought she might have believed him if she hadn¡¯t known the truth. It seemed as though Orion¡¯s friend was not to learn of any of his more grim work.


    ¡°Of course! Anything for you, Orion.¡± As if she could say anything else.


    ¡°Oh thank you Miranda, I can¡¯t express how much that means to me. Things have devolved so far that I don¡¯t think it''s safe for her to stay out in the city. It''s just going to be for a few weeks. Only until the portal moves to¡­¡±


    ¡°To the Gulivine Republic,¡± she jumped in quickly, ¡°Of course! And once we¡¯re there I¡¯ll be happy to find you somewhere safe for her to stay in the long term. I¡¯ve got plenty of room and it will be nice to have a roommate! It gets lonely here sometimes.¡±


    Orion opened his mouth to continue but the girl beat him to it. ¡°Are you sure it''s alright? I don¡¯t want to be a bother.¡± she said softly, her voice meek and eyes downcast.


    Miranda rushed to reassure her, ¡°Of course, of course! No trouble at all! Any friend of Orion¡¯s is a friend of mine and what sort of friend would I be if I didn¡¯t help a friend in need?¡± She winced internally at how silly that sentence sounded, but it seemed to calm the other blonde so perhaps that sort of over-the-top positivity was appropriate in this situation.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The girl finally looked up at Miranda, her big blue eyes wide. ¡°Miranda, right? Orion talks about you a lot. Thank you for letting me stay with you, I promise I won¡¯t be a bother.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure, I mean it. I know Orion would do the same for me. Has done the same for me, even.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Miranda smiled as cheerfully as she could manage. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it some time. It''s a long story.¡±


    Orion cut back in before they could move further off topic. ¡°Yes, thank you Miranda. It''s a weight off my chest to know my dear Lea is in such good hands. I have a few things I need to take care of, so how about you get her settled and I¡¯ll come by with food around dinner time? I know you have some plans soon so I won¡¯t keep you. I¡¯m sure no one will mind if you¡¯re running just a few minutes late.¡±


    Miranda nodded. ¡°Of course. That sounds great.¡± She was sure Orion would have more specific instructions for her during their scheduled training but she was allowed to be late. She glanced around the room. That was good, she needed to get some things out of sight before she could leave a stranger, even a trusted stranger, alone in her room.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you both at dinner.¡± Orion stood up and walked over to his friend. To Miranda¡¯s surprise, he took the initiative to pull her into a tight hug, whispering something she couldn¡¯t quite make out into his friend''s ear. They stayed that way for a long moment, then he pulled away.


    ¡°Be good for Miranda, okay?¡± he told Lea quietly, ¡°I know it''s not the best accommodations, but it''s just for a little bit while everything settles down. You¡¯ll be safe here. No one but Miranda and I can get to you here. Not those men, not the Earthshadows, not anyone.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she replied in a small voice, ¡°I trust you, Orion. Be safe?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    He turned away, glanced at Miranda with an unreadable expression on his face, then hurried out the door, leaving the two girls alone in her room. As the door slammed shut, she could just barely hear Lea whisper something under her breath. It sounded suspiciously like ¡®I love you¡¯. Miranda almost felt sorry for her, but she couldn¡¯t. To love her Master was only natural after all.

 Chapter 102

    A blazing pillar of fire bore down on me like a tidal wave, tongues of white-hot flames dancing within the conflagration. The heat radiating off of it filled the room in an instant and I watched out of the corner of my eye as Cayla scrambled back away from her joyously laughing friend, arm raised to shield her face.


    It was an impressive bit of magic, a peak fourth-circle fire spell Briella had found in one of the grimoires her great-grandmother had provided to her along with the potion recipe. It was particularly impressive coming from an unremarkable second-year. Though it had taken her nearly thirty seconds of careful work to form the spell matrix, far too slow to use in actual combat, the fact that she could even cast something like this in the first place spoke to both the power of her bloodline and the dedication she put into her studies.


    There were a number of ways I could have countered the attack. Disrupting the casting itself would have been relatively trivial, I had had enough time to weave a number of powerful counterspells or to simply directly interfere with the spell matrix itself as it formed. I could have also used the time to erect a specialized shield, even a decent second-circle spell designed to protect against fire would have probably done the trick if I poured enough of my mana into it.


    Had this been an actual fight, I would have absolutely gone with one of those options. However, this was a training exercise. A higher-circle opponent could have cast such a spell without giving me nearly as much time to react and so I was responding as though that was the case.


    My mana burst out of me in a carefully controlled torrent, thick cords of mana splitting over and over into fine threads that wove together into a scintillating dome of purple-tinged light. Straining against the limits of my mana control, the dome began to spin rapidly even as more and more threads poured out of my fingers and began to form a second layer directly beneath the first.


    A moment later, the fire crashed against the edges of my bubble and everything became very hot and bright. I could feel the scorching air clawing at my skin even through both the environmental ward I¡¯d set up before we¡¯d begun and my circulations. It was rather unpleasant but I knew that without those precautions I would have been cooked in seconds, even if the fire itself couldn¡¯t touch me.


    My shield fared magnificently against the attack. I could feel my mana levels plummeting at an alarming rate, but as the wave slowly passed over me, not a single flame could push through my defenses and I had more than enough in mana reserved to outlast it. I stood there surrounded by nothing but roaring flames for several long seconds until the pillar moved past me and I allowed my shield to drop.


    I was very satisfied with that trial run. The pure mana shield was something I¡¯d been practicing extensively since that terrifying encounter with a demon earlier in the year and I was glad that work was paying off. Though it drained my mana at a much greater rate than a traditional shield, I had summoned a defense that could stand up to a powerful fourth-circle combat spell in a matter of moments.


    Perhaps I could have cast a well practiced first-circle shield in that amount of time, but it would have done nothing against Briella¡¯s spell. I had known it would work, I¡¯d run the calculations and practiced the mana shaping extensively, but seeing it in practice was viscerally satisfying in a way no amount of rote casting in my room could achieve.


    ¡°Okay, I think that¡¯s enough for today,¡± I called out. Behind me, Briella¡¯s spell finally impacted against the wall, fire collapsing into loose embers with a loud whoosh of rushing air as the room¡¯s wards tore the magic animating it apart.


    Miranda, who had arrived some time into our session, used a wave of cold air to clear out the lingering heat. The worst of it had dissipated quickly after the spell itself had ended, but the chilling breeze felt pleasantly soothing on my skin.


    ¡°Thank you, that was a good call,¡± I told her briefly, then turned to face my other two slaves. ¡°Good work today everyone. Cayla, you¡¯re clearly been working very hard. Good progress on speeding up your casting, I could see a noticeable improvement during the spars. This week try to add some variety to your repertoire. See if you can find a half-dozen more unconventional choices and learn them. We¡¯ll choose something to focus on next week.¡±


    ¡°Yes master,¡± she agreed enthusiastically, still smiling from the praise.


    I turned to Briella, ¡°You¡¯ve also made a lot of progress this week. Your fire spells are stronger and faster, but you¡¯re clearly hyper focusing and your other work is suffering because of it. You have enough power, focus on technique. I want at least three hours of pure mana manipulation each day, more if you can manage it. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes master!¡±


    I finally looked over towards Miranda again. ¡°What I saw looked good,¡± I told her, ¡°Stay behind, I have further instructions for you. Briella, Cayla, you guys can go. Stay safe, stay vigilant, good work.¡±


    I was about to go over and get some water from my bag when Cayla spoke up. ¡°Um, master?¡± she asked hesitantly, ¡°I have a matter I¡¯d like to bring to your attention? I think it could be a good opportunity for you to expand your powerbase.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked curiously. I was in something of a hurry, I still needed to give Miranda instructions about taking care of Lea, get cleaned up, change, and then bring dinner over from the cafeteria for Lea, but this sounded interesting. Cayla wouldn¡¯t have said anything if she didn¡¯t truly believe this was a good opportunity, but I didn¡¯t know what she could have come across that Miranda or I hadn¡¯t seen already. Well, I could at least spare a few minutes. ¡°Do tell,¡± I commanded.¡±


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°While I was out in the city, I ran into an old friend I lost touch with when I came to Avalon,¡± she began. ¡°We spent some time talking and it seems like she¡¯s been going through some issues with her family. I believe if you could guide her like you did for myself and Briella, it would not take long for her to see the truth of things.¡±


    It took me a moment to realize what exactly she was implying, and when I did I could only marvel at the power of soul bound oaths. ¡°And who is this friend of yours?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°Her name is Daphne Warbringer¨C¨C¡± my heart skipped a beat, ¡°¨C¨Cand she¡¯s the second daughter and heiress of Lord Maxis Warbringer. They¡¯re one of the great houses of Xethis, her father is the current Lord Commander of the Xethian navy and her uncle is the general in charge of internal defense. Her older sister came to Avalon a year before I did and never returned.¡± Cayla paused thoughtfully for a moment. ¡°Perhaps you knew her? She would have been in your year.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve met,¡± I agreed sharply.


    Cayla clearly noticed that I didn¡¯t want to speak further on that topic and hurriedly continued. ¡°Well, her sister was the heiress and Daphne liked it that way. She¡¯s not very big on responsibility and really loved her sister. I think Adara¡¯s disappearance really upended Daphne¡¯s entire life and she¡¯s been reeling from it ever since. She¡¯s in a very vulnerable position and stands to inherit a lot of power in the next few years. I know the portal is moving soon, but if we move quickly I believe she may make an excellent servant to you, master.¡±


    I watched her shift from foot to foot silently for several long moments. There was definitely more to it than that. ¡°And?¡±


    Cayla looked down at the floor. ¡°...I want her to be happy. I think you could give her that, master. We didn¡¯t see each other very often, but¡­ she was a good friend.¡±


    Wow. That was¡­ not quite what I¡¯d expected. Every time I thought I¡¯d seen the limits of what my rituals had done to the two girls, they found a way to surprise me. This was¡­ cold. Brutally practical, but cold.


    ¡°Well, in theory that sounds like a good plan. However, how do you expect us to manage this in the time we have left? You said it yourself, her family is high up in the Xethian military and that means guards, high-quality wards, and people checking up on her. People will be alarmed if she just disappears, if I can get to her in the first place.¡±


    Cayla¡¯s face brightened. ¡°I already considered that!¡± she said cheerfully. ¡°I asked if she would like to come stay with my family for a few weeks like we used to do when we were younger. We have a small home on the mainland where we often go during the winter and she¡¯s been there with us a few times. She said she¡¯d love to and that she doubted there would be any issues with her going. It should be easy enough for me to bring her here instead and no one will be suspicious that they can¡¯t contact her because she¡¯s out of range of most communication spells.¡±


    Huh, that was actually a pretty good plan. I had the materials to go through the ritual, could offload most of the breaking to Rea and my other girls, and Cayla had a good point about how potentially useful a slave in such a position of power could be, particularly when it finally came time to deal with Seatamer once and for all.


    On a more emotional level, the idea of having Adara¡¯s younger sister at my beck and call was¡­ very appealing. I¡¯d never forgotten Adara¡¯s rejection of my offered friendship, and the haughty beauty still haunted my memories. On its own, that would not have been enough to make me act, but all together and with the opportunity simply handed to me on a silver platter¡­


    ¡°Good work, Cayla,¡± I told the waiting girl. ¡°We¡¯ll have to iron out the details, but you tentatively have my blessing to go through with this. I have a lot to do tonight, but come to my room tomorrow morning and we¡¯ll get everything figured out. Run along now, I need to talk to Miranda.¡±


    ¡°Yes master! Thank you, master!¡± she bowed deeply, then hurried out of the room.


    Miranda, who had been patiently waiting off to one side, stepped forward to take her place. I sighed, brushed my sweaty hair back with one hand, then shifted my mind back to the matter at hand. ¡°Right. Lea. How did things go between you two?¡±


    The moment the vault door slammed shut, the dark-robed priest began to speak. ¡°I come to you brothers and sisters with grave news and a somber heart. One of our brothers, a servant of she who holds the sun in her hands, has gone missing without a trace. He has missed several check-ins, has not responded to his communicator, and no manner of tracking magic has been able to locate him. Brothers and sisters, I fear the worst.¡±


    Arnold sat up sharply, leaning forward towards the priest. ¡°And the keys? Did he have a key?¡±


    The priest shook his head. ¡°Thankfully not. All three are accounted for and well protected.¡±


    Arnold leaned back. ¡°Then that¡¯s an unfortunate loss, but I don¡¯t see why it''s¡­ particularly grave? We¡¯ve lost members before. It''s a tragedy, but these things happen.¡±


    The priest sighed mournfully, ¡°It is true that we have lost many of our brothers and sisters over the years. Our great mission has taken many years and many have been lost to Miira¡¯s eternal embrace. However this loss is different. Our lost brother was touched by Miira herself¡­ just as I am.¡±


    A wave of understanding passed through the room and Maxis swore loudly. ¡°Miira damn them, that means¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, brother Maxis. I have faith in our missing brother, but there is much information that may have been extracted from him despite his strength.¡±


    Arnold clicked his tongue. ¡°We¡¯ll have to push the schedule forward. The equinox is too far away, when is the next suitable date?¡±


    Maxis shuffled rapidly through the papers before him. ¡°Soon, I think. A week and¡­ no, two. Two weeks.¡± He looked up at the priest, brows furrowed with concern. ¡°Will we be able to acquire it in time?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ believe it will be manageable. Miira willing, we shall find a way through this. She tests even her most faithful servants.¡±


    ¡°Good. My men will be ready. And you, siren,¡± he asked, turning to the silently watching Loraline, ¡°Will your flock be ready to assist us?¡±


    ¡°It is not quite what we agreed upon,¡± she began, and Maxis¡¯s frown deepened, ¡°but I believe my queen will find no issue in accommodating your errors. As long as we are duly compensated, you shall have our aid.¡±


    ¡°Then it is agreed,¡± the priest intoned somberly. ¡°We shall meet again in three days time, I have matters I must attend. For ten-thousand moons¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°And ten-thousand more,¡± they all finished together.

 Chapter 103

    The door opened just as my fist was about to impact against the well polished wood. ¡°Orion! Just the man I was hoping to see,¡± Professor Wiliams called out, her voice muffled, ¡°Excellent timing as always. Grab those pegs on the table and get over here!¡±


    I hurried into the room, keeping archmages waiting tended to be a poor strategy at the best of times and I actively wanted Professor Williams to like me as much as possible, and looked around. Professor Williams was nowhere to be seen, but her voice had sounded like it was coming from behind the open door at the back of the room so that made sense.


    I didn¡¯t see anything I would quite call a peg, but there was a case of silver stakes, each as long as my arm and sharpened to a deadly point, on the table so I assumed she meant those. The stakes positively shone to my mana sense, each one filled with more mana than my entire pool could hold.


    I carefully scooped up the entire stack, holding them gingerly away from my body as I stepped carefully around the table and peaked through the door. ¡°Down and to the left, second door!¡± her voice called out again and I obeyed. I hurried down the short hallway, passing a half-open door behind which I could see a room filled with empty cages and a suspiciously clean floor, then pushed the second door open and stepped inside.


    The professor stood just in front of me, facing what took me several long moments to recognize as my outsider. The creature looked very different from when I¡¯d left it in her care the previous week. She had stripped it of its human garments and disguise and the entire disgusting thing was stretched out across the room¡¯s far wall.


    A dozen stakes just like the ones I was carrying held it into place, silver rods piercing through its tentacled limbs without damaging the flesh they passed through and pinning it to the wall. It writhed and strained against the bindings holding it, but some sort of invisible force was clearly holding it back. Every time it tried to change form, the stakes would flare with spectral white fire and it would screech in pain, an inhuman sound like a dozen cats getting ground into a paste between steel nails and slate slabs.


    ¡°Excellent. We¡¯ll probably only need one or two more, but it''s always better to be safe with such creatures.¡± Without turning around, Professor Williams snagged one of the stakes out of my arms and thrust it towards the outsider. The mana within the stake flared, causing the intricate web of runes etched into its surface to light up with a shining emerald glow.


    A moment later, the rods pinning the outsider in place flared as well, and then the one she was holding hurtled forward, piercing through an especially dense cluster of whitish tentacles. The outsider screeched again and Professor Williams quickly grabbed another stake and repeated her action.


    I wasn¡¯t quite sure what exactly I was looking at, this was enchantment on a level I could not yet manage nor had the theoretical knowledge to understand, but it was absolutely fascinating to watch each stake slot into place. Despite appearing to be solid metal, they passed through the creature¡¯s flesh like flimsy illusions, but held it in place as though it was actually pinned through with metal rods.


    It reminded me a lot of the rods that Erna had used during her troll ritual, though the implementation was far more advanced than what she had used. They were clearly doing something to disrupt the Outsider¡¯s abilities, though how that worked on powers not strictly governed by the same rules as the magic I was familiar with I couldn¡¯t say, while also holding it in place without damaging its body.


    I imagined that Erna had likely been inspired by her teacher¡¯s own tools, or perhaps they were a more standard method of containment than I had initially assumed. Whatever the case might be, I hoped that Professor Williams didn¡¯t mind that I was frantically memorizing as much of what I was seeing in the rod¡¯s internal structure as I could. I definitely couldn¡¯t recreate them fully, but I could already see several fascinating workarounds and interactions that would make my next set of collars even more effective.


    It was not necessarily a better way of storing the outsider than using a simple stasis, but it certainly would make examining the creature much easier. I was once again thankful that I¡¯d seen sense and decided to seek Professor Williams¡¯s help with my ritual. I had no doubts I could have managed something in the time I¡¯d had left, but it would have been a pathetic mockery of what I could have potentially done and an utter waste of priceless materials.


    What she was doing now was so far beyond me it wasn¡¯t even funny. I hadn¡¯t had the slightest idea how I could actually examine the creature safely, nor how to keep it contained while I executed the ritual. When I¡¯d brought the issue up the week before, she had simply told me she would take care of that part and that I should focus on the design work. I¡¯d been slightly skeptical, but decided to trust her in the end. Clearly that trust had not been misplaced.


    The ¡®pegs¡¯, as she had called them, were only a part of whatever it was she was doing. I could feel great currents of mana slowly shifting in the air around us, forming a complex pattern that was invisible to the naked eye but felt like standing under a raging waterfall whenever they passed too close to me. Once again, I couldn¡¯t be sure of what exactly they were doing, but I was doing my best to examine and internalize every fragment of information I could glean from the process. It wasn¡¯t every day that you got to witness such a master of magic at work after all.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Several minutes and two additional rods, each eliciting a terrible screech that ground at my ears and made my chest ache, Professor Williams finally seemed happy with her work. She clapped her hands together and the rivers of mana flowing through the room froze in place, then rushed back into her. It seemed impossible that a single human could contain such a vast amount of mana, but they all vanished one after another into her body and disappeared from my perception as whatever magic she was using to hide her power stopped my mana sense in its tracks.


    ¡°Right then, that¡¯s all done for now. We¡¯ll let this one calm down a little while we finalize the initial design and then I¡¯ll help you fine tune your design. Your control is excellent for how little mana you have to work with so I think a few days of dedicated practice should be enough to learn the ritual. Then we can have you go through with it the second-to-last Thursday of the term so the whole class can watch. How does that sound?¡±


    Except for the last part, that all sounded pretty good. I was somewhat frustrated that the rest of my class, and through them the entire school, would get to know that I¡¯d used such a rare creature in my enhancement ritual, but there was no way to avoid that. It had been one of Professor Williams¡¯s conditions for helping me and was a pretty well established part of the class¡¯s curriculum.


    Perhaps if she had been any less helpful, sticking only to the terms of her responsibilities as a professor and nothing more, then I would have tried to fight it. There were plenty of cases where students gained exceptions to rules like that in order to conceal personal research and secret techniques. I was pretty sure the Myrddin at least knew of me, so I might be able to win that case.


    Doing so however would forever put me at odds with Professor Williams, and that was not a price I was willing to pay. Not for this at least. She was easily the most helpful professor I¡¯d had so far at the Academy and had gone above and beyond in helping me as much as she was. That was no way to repay that sort of aid and a reputation like that would hurt my prospects for years to come.


    More than that, I hoped she would continue to be equally helpful in years to come. Her speciality did not exactly line up with my own current goals, but that was no reason to ruin what was probably the most favorable relationship I seemed to have with any of my professors.


    I didn¡¯t say any of that out loud however. ¡°That seems reasonable, Professor.¡± I paused, then decided to see if she would indulge a slightly off-topic question. ¡°Will you be using the same mental enhancements as last time?¡±


    She turned away from the outside and beamed at me, ¡°Noticed that, did you? I was wondering if you would. Normally such magics don¡¯t have such a noticeable effect on mages of your circle, but you¡¯ve clearly gone much further with your own enchantments than many of your peers.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked curiously, hoping she would continue. Much to my joy, she did.


    ¡°Well, you should know by now that it is very difficult to affect another mage with a direct spell-effect, yes? Particularly an ongoing effect. As the soul grows denser and more powerful, it becomes more and more capable of simply shrugging off mana constructs.¡± I nodded, this was relatively fundamental stuff we¡¯d covered during my first year.


    ¡°Well, this continues to be an issue even as you reach the highest circles of spellcasting. Thus, mages have spent millenia developing spells that can get around this limitation, both for good and ill. Just as including sections of the Light spellform in healing spells is capable of bypassing such restrictions by including a physical component to the spell matrix, the spell I typically use with my students is actually more reasonably categorized as a temporal spell as opposed to a more traditional mental enhancement.¡±


    I blinked rapidly, opened my mouth to ask a question, then closed it. That¡­ was¡­


    ¡°Clever, no? In essence, it accelerates the rate at which your mind processes information without physically affecting the body, mind, or soul or even slowing your perception of time.¡±


    Huh. That was not quite what I¡¯d been expecting. ¡°So the reason it works better on stronger mages is that they have a better basis to work off of,¡± I said after a moment of thought.


    ¡°Exactly! It does not allow you to make connections you would not have made without it, nor understand concepts you could not otherwise wrap your mind around. It simply has a very profound multiplicative effect with regular mental enhancements, particularly those that aid in recall and acuity. I was very impressed by your performance last week, Mr. Hunter. I do not recall any of my former students that have done nearly as well the first time I worked with them in such a way. I expect great things from you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Professor.¡±


    ¡°Now then!¡± she clapped her hands together again and a dense sphere of mana flew out of her chest, over my shoulder, and then vanished into the hallway behind me. ¡°Enough of this chit chat, we have work to do!¡±


    I followed after her as she led me back into the main section of her office, only to freeze in place momentarily when I found it utterly transformed from when I¡¯d passed through it less than fifteen minutes earlier.


    Where everything had been neat and orderly, now stacks of books and heaps of paper littered the office. The formerly blank boards on the walls were covered with familiar-looking runes and sketches. In fact, looking around everything in the office looked achingly familiar.


    I stepped over to the side, moving to stand just beside the single chair left in the room that wasn¡¯t covered in an eclectic mess of reference materials, then looked around once again. Just as I¡¯d expected, it was a one-to-one match with what I could recall of the room¡¯s state when I had stumbled out at the end of our previous section.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± I whispered quietly.


    ¡°Neat, huh?¡± Professor Williams said knowingly. ¡°I¡¯ve always found it helps me to return to a project just as I left it. Now, where were we?¡±


    ¡°You were just telling me about¡­¡±

 Chapter 104

    Daphne was nearly skipping as she left her last class of the day. Not even the heavy folder of makeup work tucked away in her bag could sour her mood. She would simply do it all on the boat, at this time of year it would be a two-day trip, and not have to worry about it at all once they reached the mainland. It was probably just a bunch of busy work anyway, the sort she could just rush through in a couple of hours without giving it much thought.


    She hurried through the hallways and down flights of stairs, ignoring the constantly blabber of greetings and questions from her classmates. Most days she forced herself to acknowledge them, hating every minute of it but knowing it was expected of her as the heiress.


    Today she simply couldn¡¯t be bothered with it. She was finally getting out of here, away to a place where no one, not her father, not her suitors, not her useless teachers and tutors, could bother her. It was only for a few weeks, but there were times when she would have gladly cut off her own hand for even a day of reprieve. Three whole weeks was nothing less than a dream come true.


    Her friend met her just outside the gates of Lightcastle, waving excitedly as she leaned out the window of a simple carriage, a broad, familiar smile on her face. Daphne ignored the strange looks her classmates were giving her as she rushed towards the carriage, moving as quickly as she could in her heavy coat and heeled boots.


    Cayla pushed the carriage door open and leapt down to meet her. The moment Daphne was close enough, she was swept up into a tight hug. It wasn¡¯t proper, they may both be nobles but Daphne¡¯s status was much higher than that of her friend and a simple hug was in no way an acceptable greeting. There were dozens of people watching, people who would notice and talk and word of her behavior would absolutely get back to her father, but none of it mattered in that moment and Daphne hurriedly returned the hug.


    ¡°Oh I¡¯m so glad to see you! This is going to be amazing, just like old times! I¡¯m so glad your dad let you come with us on such short notice!¡± Cayla exclaimed.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Daphne agreed breathlessly. Her throat felt tight with emotion and for a moment she didn¡¯t quite know what to say. This was the third time she¡¯d seen her old friend since she¡¯d first run into her on that cold night the week before, but neither of those times had felt fully real.


    Things had just moved so quickly. Now, the realization that she was finally escaping this place, even if only for a few short weeks, had finally risen to the forefront of her mind and she simply couldn¡¯t wait. She also couldn¡¯t quite believe her father had let her go.


    She¡¯d thought she would have to fight and beg for the privilege, but he had almost seemed as eager for her to go as she was. She hadn¡¯t even had time to promise to attend extra lessons and events before he¡¯d hurriedly agreed. Maybe he¡¯d finally noticed how much she hated all of this, how much it wore on her mind to be the serious heiress at all times of day. Adara had worn the mantle like she¡¯d been born for it. She had been born for it. Daphne hadn¡¯t. Hadn¡¯t ever wanted the title.


    Cayla continued to chatter as the carriage driver, an unremarkable young man with a forgettable face and plain clothing, climbed down from his high seat and helped the two of them up into the carriage. Her luggage was already loaded up in the back of the carriage, handed over earlier that morning by her servants, and she happily deposited her school bag into the compartment under her padded bench.


    She leaned back, a smile on her face as she listened to Cayla¡¯s unending torrent of words. She¡¯d almost forgotten how much of a chatterbox Cayla became when she was excited about something. She certainly didn¡¯t mind, it was so much better than the stifled, formal tone most people assumed with her these days.


    The carriage began to move, a slightly bumpier ride than she was used to, but nothing the thick cushions on her seat and backrest couldn¡¯t handle. She watched idly out the window as the houses rolled by, occasionally inserting a word or two between Cayla¡¯s stories.


    It was rather strange. The girl spoke of Avalon with a level of fondness that was utterly bizarre to hear. At times, Daphne didn¡¯t even realize her various anecdotes even took place within the school. She¡¯d never had a clear picture of what the school looked like, perhaps a blood-splattered hellscape complete with dismembered bodies and skull-encrusted gates, but the image her friend was painting told of something very different.


    The Avalon Cayla knew was dangerous. Though Cayla glossed over it Daphne understood enough to know that a student that had stopped coming to classes was probably dead. Daphne knew that too, but Cayla¡¯s words also painted a picture of a cheerful place filled with wonderful people. She spoke fondly of her friends, her classes, and the wonderful places she¡¯d seen during the school¡¯s relocations.


    Daphne was sad she wouldn¡¯t get to meet this Orion boy that Cayla kept gushing over. How was she supposed to tease her friend about her obvious crush without knowing if the boy was cute or not?


    Slowly but surely, houses were replaced by rolling hills and fields filled with winter crops. Here a farmer tended to the bright blue vines of a winter melon, there a young man crouched hard at work on the roof of a barn.


    Eventually, Daphne could no longer hold back the question that she had really wanted to ask during the entire trip so far. She waited patiently until Cayla paused to take a drink and then turned away from the window to stare directly at her friend.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Avalon is the greatest school of magic in the whole world,¡± she began.


    Cayla put her metal bottle down and nodded her head enthusiastically. ¡°It is! Some of the things I¡¯ve seen the upper years do, it''s like something out of a story. One time I saw Orion¨C¨C¡±


    Daphne cut her off before she could get going again. Leaning forward in her seat, she quietly asked, ¡°Can you show me? I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone, I just¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°Sure! I¡¯m not that great, I¡¯m only a second year, but I¡¯ve picked up a couple of tricks.¡±


    Daphne jerked back in her seat when Cayla simply swept her hand through the air, fingers trailing streams of turquoise mana. The ribbons of glowing mana flowed together, forming a complicated-looking spell matrix that looked nothing like anything Daphne had ever seen before. For several seconds, the inside of the carriage was bathed in a cool glow. Then, the spell matrix flashed brightly and vanished.


    Daphne gasped when she saw what her friend had done. A dozen gleaming butterflies fluttered around her head, then spread out to fly in gentle spirals throughout the carriage.


    ¡°Whoa¡­¡± she whispered breathlessly. She¡¯d never seen a spell like that before Without really thinking about it, she reached out to grab one as it flew over her head, only for Cayla¡¯s hand to dart forward and stop her.


    ¡°Careful!¡± she snapped.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Daphne asked, looking questioningly at her friend.


    ¡°Sorry, I should have warned you. There, uh, not really¡­ safe to touch. Look.¡±


    Cayla slid the thick glass cover over the window out of the way and a single butterfly flew out of the carriage. Daphne watched mesmerized as it gently drifted towards the cobblestone road. It looks so¡­ graceful, silvery wings beating gently and body bobbing in the breeze. Then, it touched down and, for the second time in as many minutes, Daphne jerked back as the harmless butterfly was replaced by a head-sized ball of white-hot fire.


    ¡°Gods above!¡± she swore loudly. She glanced hurriedly between the rapidly dispersing ball of fire and the eleven remaining butterflies that were flying terrifyingly close to her head. ¡°What was that!¡±


    Cayla looked away sheepishly, toying with a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. ¡°Sorry, I should have said something. It''s, ah¡­ technically a combat spell, but it''s so pretty I thought you¡¯d like it? They¡¯re completely safe unless they touch something!¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Daphne looked around the rather cramped interior of the carriage, only made more cramped by the terrifying butterflies filling the air. ¡°Could¡­ could you make them go away? They¡¯re really pretty, but¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Yeah, I can do that,¡± she hurriedly blurted out. Cayla clapped her hands together and in an instant all the remaining butterflies vanished in a cloud of silver sparkles. ¡°Sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to spook you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Daphne said faintly. She lifted her hand up to her chest and felt her heart pounding in her chest. ¡°I just¡­¡± she took a deep breath, ¡°I just need a second.¡±


    ¡°Here, I have just the thing to make you feel better.¡± Cayla stood up and opened the seat under her. She spent a few seconds digging around, then straightened, holding a bottle of wine and a pair of tall glasses. ¡°I was going to save this until we got to the boat, but I think now¡¯s as good a time as any.¡±


    She set the glasses down on a fold-out table and poured them both a drink. Daphne hurriedly grabbed hers, wine sounded like just the thing to help her settle down a little. She reflexively swirled the dark red liquid and took a deep breath. The wine smelled wonderfully fruity and sweet, just like she liked it, with an herbal undertone.


    She took a small sip and her eyes widened at the taste. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s delicious.¡± It didn¡¯t really taste like wine, more like an alcoholic fruit juice, but it was undeniably delicious. Her more snobbish tutors would probably call it a mockery of a wine, but she didn¡¯t really care what they would think.


    She took another, bigger sip, then set the glass back down on the table. ¡°That¡­ was so cool,¡± she finally said, eyes burning with desire. ¡°You¡¯ve got to teach me that spell. I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before!¡±


    Cayla¡¯s eyes flickered to the side and then she picked up her own glass. ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± she said after a moment. ¡°I can totally do that.¡±


    Her voice sounded¡­ strange. Off. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Daphne asked.


    ¡°No!¡± Cayla hurried to reassure her. ¡°Everything is great. I¡¯d love to teach you that spell.¡±


    Daphne raised the glass to her lips again and took another long pull. The wine was so¡­ A sudden wave of drowsiness washed over Daphne¡¯s mind, like a heavy blanket suddenly wrapping around her head. Her hands went slack and the glass she was holding fell from between boneless fingers, splattering her green winter dress with splotches of crimson.


    Cayla snatched the glass before it could tumble to the floor, then used her other hand to cradle Daphne¡¯s cheek. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Daph, I promise this is for the best.¡±


    Daphne tried to say something, ask something, do something. Anything. In a moment of clarity, she remembered the small golden capsule her father had given her that morning. The capsule he¡¯d told her to crush it if something happened and someone would come get her. The capsule she¡¯d uncaringly wrapped in a spare scarf and tucked away in her school bag. After all, she was going to be with Cayla. Her good friend Cayla.


    She heard the carriage door slide open and someone gently stepped inside. ¡°Good timing,¡± a young woman¡¯s voice said simply. She had a strange accent, one Daphne couldn¡¯t quite place despite her lessons. ¡°Let¡¯s get you veiled properly and then you take the reins. I¡¯ve got her from here.¡±


    ¡°I got it.¡± Cayla responded, even as Daphne¡¯s eyelids finally slid shut.


    The next thing she knew, a deluge of ice-cold water splashed across her bare skin. Daphne gasped reflexively and what felt like an entire bucket-full of water flooded into her mouth and nose. She choked and gagged, desperately trying to clear her airways.


    Functioning entirely on instinct, she tried to thrash her arms and legs. A boat! She was supposed to be on a boat! She must have fallen overboard! They didn¡¯t move, couldn¡¯t move. Chains clinked loudly and cold metal bit into her wrists and ankles.


    She was trapped. She couldn¡¯t move, couldn¡¯t breath, and everything was so cold. She coughed and sputtered past chattering teeth. Her eyes were open, but she couldn¡¯t see anything. Where was she? How did she¨C¨C


    ¡°See, it worked. It looks like she¡¯s awake now,¡± a melodious voice called out softly.


    ¡°Awe, but Master said it would be my turn next,¡± someone responded glumly.


    ¡°You¡¯ll get your chance soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Yes Master.¡±


    The icy bath had been very unpleasant, but it had done its job in clearing away the last of the cobwebs filling Daphne¡¯s head. She¡¯d been in a carriage. Cayla had drugged her. Cayla¡­


    She shook her head to clear it and yelped when her skull impacted against unyielding stone. She tried to remember her lessons. Step one, step one¡­ Get your bearings. Then cooperate and wait for a ransom or rescue. She could do that.


    She tried to shift into a slightly more comfortable position, but it was impossible. Her back was pressed up against something cold and rough, rock probably. Her arms were bound at her sides and most of her weight was hanging off her ankles which were pulled up above her head. Neither set of bindings had any sort of give to them, and she doubted she had the core strength to move around even if they did.


    The next thing she noticed was that she was all but naked. She could feel soaking wet cloth covering her eyes, but that was the only fabric on her entire body. There was something, a collar probably, cinched tightly around her neck and four shackles holding each of her limbs in place, but that was it. That was probably a bad sign, especially given the commanding male voice she¡¯d just heard.


    She couldn¡¯t suppress a shudder as that thought crept into her mind, and she hurriedly banished it away. It was something she¡¯d read about in her books and journals, but not something she¡¯d ever seriously contemplated in the past. No, that was not even worth thinking about. Help was coming. It had to be. Her Father would be here soon and everything was going to be alright.


    At least she was blindfolded. That was good. Her lessons said that was good. It meant her captors didn¡¯t want her seeing their faces. Assuming they were also using voice-altering magic and took the proper precautions, they would be nearly impossible to find with divination magic. That probably meant everything was going to be alright. Everything was going to be alright.


    ¡°Hello there,¡± she said, doing her best to keep her voice as calm and even as she could manage. ¡°Might I have the honor of knowing my captors¡¯ names?¡±


    The glum speaker from before laughed softly, ¡°Oh, she¡¯s a polite one, Master. I wonder how long that will last.¡±


    Daphne waited for several more seconds, then continued. ¡°You probably already know this, but I am a woman of some importance. My family will pay handsomely for my safe return.¡±


    This time there was no response.


    ¡°You must know that hurting me will only sign your own writs of execution. My father is Lord Warbringer. Ours is not a name known for forgiveness and compromise. I doubt he would look fondly at any who dared harm his heiress,¡± she tried, ¡°If you release me now I¨C¨C


    ¡°The first one was funny, but this is getting annoying,¡± the man said, interrupting her. ¡°Be a dear and shut her up.¡±


    A moment later, the blindfold over her eyes was pulled away, and with it the majority of Daphne¡¯s remaining resolve. She blinked rapidly, eyes watering in the sudden bright light. A moment later, Cayla¡¯s smiling face swam into view.


    ¡°Hi Daph,¡± she said cherily, ¡°I know this doesn¡¯t look good, but I promise I only want what¡¯s best for you. Just cooperate and it''s all going to be over soon, okay?¡±


    Daphne opened her mouth but before she could say anything, though she didn¡¯t even know what she would say if she could, Cayla shoved a balled up rag ¨C¨Cher panties, those were her panties¨C¨C into her mouth, then followed it up with some sort of hard but pliable ball that forced her mouth wide open and left her completely unable to say anything.


    She tried anyway, but no sound came out. Even when she screamed she couldn¡¯t even hear the air coming out of her lungs. Cayla smiled, patted her gently on the shoulder, then stepped away.


    ¡°Much better. Thank you dear, you did well today.¡± The speaker from before, a devilishly handsome young man with short-cropped hair, a strong jawline, and striking dark eyes, turned to the purple-skinned girl standing a step behind him. ¡°She¡¯s all yours, Rea. I promised Lea I¡¯d bring her dinner and it''s getting pretty late. I¡¯ll heal her up before I go to bed, just don¡¯t damage her too badly before I get back.¡±


    ¡°Yes Master!¡± she chirped cheerfully, ¡°I¡¯ll start her off nice and easy.¡±


    ¡°Good girl.¡± He patted her head affectionately, then turned away. ¡°Let¡¯s go Miranda.¡±


    ¡°Yes Orion.¡±


    A moment later, she was left alone with Cayla and the oddly-colored girl. She stared desperately at her friend, eyes wide and pleading. Cayla smiled back at her.


    There was so much Daphne wanted to say, to ask her. Why? Why do this? What was happening? Why? Why!


    Then a whip cracked and a sharp pain erupted in her breast. Cayla waved cheerfully, an achingly familiar motion that sent a spike of longing and confusion shooting through her chest, then turned around and vanished. Then the whip cracked again and all thoughts but pain were driven out of her mind.

 Chapter 105

    As we moved into the final weeks of the semester, I was glad I no longer had as much of a reason to go out into the city because there was no way I could have devoted an entire evening to visiting Lea. Even with her staying just a few minutes walk away from my dormitory I was finding it difficult to spend more than half an hour or so with her at a time. It had already been most of a week and I hadn¡¯t even had a chance to renew the lessons I¡¯d begun with her before she¡¯d been attacked.


    There was just so much to do. Constantly. Endlessly. The board I used to keep track of to-does had doubled in size seemingly overnight and no matter how much work I did each day it never seemed to get any less full.


    Despite how busy I was, I found that I was somehow better off than many of my other classmates. All of Avalon was suddenly plunged into a forced calm as even the most aggressive and spell-happy students found that they had more important things to do than fight. When violence did erupt it was particularly fast and brutal as short tempers flared and were banked just as quickly.


    Even Brenda, typically ready to spend every waking moment hanging off my arm and rubbing her face into my chest, was suddenly much more attentive in class and hadn¡¯t pestered me about spending time with her all week.


    Everyone, even the first-years, knew how important the end of the term could be. Even ignoring that failing a class tended to end with your body rendered down into alchemical ingredients, doing well could be the difference between making it to graduation and dying an ignoble death.


    There were a number of benefits associated with doing well during the term. The first was off course the various rewards that the academy gave to those who did particularly well. The best scorer in every class received Avalon points equal to the average year level of their classmates. For first years that didn¡¯t mean very much, but five or six points was enough to buy priceless reagents, enchanted items, and books that were nearly impossible to acquire by any other means.


    Similarly, the top few students in every year would be allocated additional one-on-one meetings with professors, access to exclusive classes and Academy resources, and many other rewards that varied from year to year.


    Finally, doing well was a sure-fire way to draw the attention of the faculty. Not only did that make it more likely that you would find a good mentor to work with after your fourth year, but I had no doubts that Professor Williams would have been much less accommodating this term if I hadn¡¯t impressed her with my performance in the previous class I took with her.


    Of my five classes, the two I was most concerned with were Practical Alchemy and Lectures in Mana Theory. Professor Shrike¡¯s exam was well known and never really changed. He gave a two-hour written exam that was nearly identical to his weekly homework assignments, then asked each student to demonstrate a number of spells discussed in class. I knew for a fact that I could cast each and every spell he might ask for and I was confident in my theoretical understanding of the material as well.


    Similarly, I didn¡¯t expect any issues with Professor Yana¡¯s exam for Advanced Body Alteration 1. I had successfully formed my shifter¡¯s body about half way through the term and had already practiced the very basic body alterations she required to pass, along with most of the more ¡®advanced¡¯ techniques we had discussed in class. There was also going to be a written exam, but Professor Yana¡¯s tests were always open-note and I had taken very thorough notes. That didn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t studying for it, but I wasn¡¯t worried about doing poorly.


    Despite the name it really was more of an introductory course than anything else. The goal of the class was mostly to give students a foundation for learning body alteration rather than actually teaching anything particularly useful. Sure I could now grow myself a fur coat, turn my nails into claws, or make cosmetic alterations to my physical features, but none of that was nearly as complicated as I would have expected before I took the class.


    Advanced Enhancement Rituals, despite taking up a lot of my time right now, was also not a huge source of concern. As Professor Williams had predicted, we¡¯d finished designing the ritual during our session and now I simply had to practice it until I had it down. Over the past few days I had spent nearly half of my time outside of classes on doing just that and I was starting to feel pretty good about it. I would run through it two or three more times tonight and be ready to go through with it during class tomorrow.


    That left me with the two classes I wasn¡¯t nearly as sure about. The final exam for Practical Alchemy was scheduled for a week from today and Professor Meadows had given us basically zero information about it. We¡¯d simply been instructed to block out four hours and to meet at training ground nine at the designated time.


    I had no idea what sort of task or demonstration she had decided to bring out for our exam this year. Professor Meadows¡¯ exams were always complicated, dangerous, insane, or some combination of the three. From what I¡¯d heard from other students, my class¡¯s exam last year had been rather tame by her standards, and three of my less prepared classmates had died during it.


    Each of us had received a tray of small, opaque containers containing small samples of various substances. To pass, you had to transmute the provided chunks of slate into at least half of the hidden materials. The trick was that several of the materials reacted explosively with air, water, or each other, so you had to be very choosy about which of them you attempted to recreate.


    I¡¯d ended up only doing two more transmutations than was required of me, not willing to risk working with any of the samples who¡¯s properties I couldn¡¯t fully identify. That had still gotten me into the top five students in the class, but this year I was hoping to do a little better than that.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what exactly she was going to do this year, but I was absolutely working myself to the bone going over every single thing we had covered in that class this year. If she had so much as mentioned it once I was going to know the subject inside and out. That was going to take a lot of work, but hopefully it would be enough.


    The exam for Lectures in Mana Theory was much less mysterious but no less stressful because of it. It wasn¡¯t even really a final exam. Rather, we had to write a well researched and reasoned paper about one or more of the topics discussed during the semester and then present it to the rest of the class during our final session next Friday. In addition to the paper, you had to be prepared to back up your conclusions with practical demonstrations of the techniques involved.


    In this case, I wasn¡¯t so much worried about my ability to complete the assigned task, I¡¯d been working on my writing and presentation on and off for the entire semester and it would be done with time to spare, but rather about how well I would stack up against my classmates. The average year level in that class was six, and as an advanced lecture class, the rewards for the best performers would be double what they would normally be.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Thus, doing well was a priceless opportunity to acquire an entire twelve Avalon points. Even if I didn¡¯t get the highest score, which I found rather likely given the gulf in knowledge and power between myself and my classmates, the top half of the class would still gain benefits that far outstripped anything any of my other classes could offer me.


    I¡¯d already decided what topic I would be presenting on, my self-created shield was the only thing I really had impressive enough to stand a chance against whatever everyone else would be discussing, and now I was spending every free moment editing my paper, polishing my usage, and preparing for the presentation itself.


    It was all starting to get a little overwhelming. I was used to working long hours and spending every waking moment trying to better myself, but something about the constant stress and need for perfection was really getting to me. That was why towards the end of the day on Wednesday, I grabbed three heaping plates of food from the cafeteria and made my way down to Miranda¡¯s room to meet her and a waiting Lea.


    I had just finished my second to last practice session for my ritual the next day. I wished I could do more but each attempt consumed nearly my entire mana pool so I needed to give myself time to rest between attempts. I was absolutely exhausted from a long day filled with writing, studying, spell practice, and a mind-numbing three hour long exam prep session led by a fiercely scowling Professor Shrike.


    All I really wanted to do right now was curl up in bed, maybe with my darling Rea spooned up against my chest, and take a long nap. Well, that or drink a dozen more shots of elven milk, fuck my cows, and then go to bed properly, but that was the spike of energy from my evening drink talking.


    I had taken it slightly early to help my mana regenerate faster and was starting to regret that decision. Drinking something so magically charged without enough of my own mana rushing through my body to balance things out had, in hindsight, not been a great idea. Still, I was pretty sure it was going to be fine. Stimulating mana regeneration was one of the many uses of elven milk that made it such a prized subject among mages.


    I would happily spend an hour with Lea and Miranda, then an hour taking care of some last-minute homework assignments, and then use the diagram I¡¯d drawn out on the floor of my dorm to attempt the ritual charging one last time before I went to bed. As long as I didn¡¯t waste any time I should be able to get plenty of sleep before I had to wake up for Advanced Body Alteration in the morning.


    Balancing the tray I was carrying on an invisible disk of force, I reached out to open the door to Miranda¡¯s room. A moment later, I was very glad I hadn¡¯t been holding the tray in my arms because it probably would have gone flying as I stumbled backwards, the door slamming shut a moment later.


    I paused, took a deep breath, then reached up to rub my eyes with my hands. I¡­ probably should have seen that coming.


    With a soft sigh, I opened the door again and stepped inside before anyone came to investigate the noise. Miranda and Lea hadn¡¯t moved from where they were lying together on the bed. Miranda raised her head and looked over towards me, a bashful smile on her face. Lea didn¡¯t move, in fact I wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d even noticed I had arrived. Between Miranda¡¯s toned thighs clamped over her ears and the muffled, enthusiastic moans coming from her mouth, I wasn¡¯t quite sure she¡¯d have heard an entire stampede of rhinos charging into the room.


    Miranda mouthed something that looked like ¡®should I stop¡¯ and I felt something like a question echo down our bond. I sighed again, then shook my head. This wasn¡¯t quite what I¡¯d been expecting, but Lea seemed to be having a good time and I was confident that Miranda wouldn¡¯t dare feed on my darling friend.


    Miranda nodded sharply, flashed me a thumbs up, and dove back in with renewed enthusiasm. Judging from the increased pitch of Lea¡¯s¡­ various noises, I had to assume she was doing a good job.


    Doing my best not to disturb either of them, I set the plates down on Miranda¡¯s desk and cast a simple warming spell over them to ensure they didn¡¯t get too cold. I wasn¡¯t particularly hungry and could wait for them to finish.


    Maybe it was a good thing I¡¯d brought an extra plate. Initially it had mostly been as a cover, I knew Miranda didn¡¯t need anything but Lea didn¡¯t know that her current roommate was anything other than a mundane human and I saw no reason to change that. Now, I expected that Lea would be rather ravenous. If the state of Miranda¡¯s bed sheets was anything to go off of, they¡¯d been at it for a while.


    I grabbed Miranda¡¯s copy of our Practical Alchemy textbook, kicked my feet up on the edge of her desk, and flipped to where I¡¯d left off during my most recent reread. There was no reason to waste time that could be used for studying.


    Occasionally I would glance over to where my friend and pet were entertaining one another. I didn¡¯t approve of Miranda wasting her time like this, she had just as many exams coming up as I did after all, but at least it was for a good cause. From what she¡¯d told me, Lea was starting to get increasingly stir-crazy from spending all of her time, much of it all alone, in such an enclosed space.


    I hadn¡¯t noticed it myself, but I absolutely trusted Miranda¡¯s judgment more than my own on such an issue. I had considered a number of solutions, but none of them had felt particularly appropriate. Drugging my friend with hallucinogenic potions would have felt wrong, as would putting her into an enchanted sleep or under a stasis spell. If eating out and getting eaten out by my loyal succubus would keep Lea from doing something stupid I was more than glad to leave the two of them to it.


    They were really going at it, too. Lea¡¯s nails were leaving long red lines all across Miranda¡¯s back and behind and Miranda¡¯s face had been absolutely covered in Lea¡¯s arousal. They were quite a sight, pale bodies twined together on top of rumpled white sheets.


    I¡¯d never given it much thought but the two girls looked rather similar, something only accentuated further by their current closeness. Perhaps Miranda¡¯s figure was slightly fuller than Lea¡¯s, and her hair was a tad more silver-white than Lea¡¯s pale blonde, but other than that they could have been sisters.


    I didn¡¯t bother looking up when Lea¡¯s voice rose up in another shriek of ecstasy. ¡°Yesyesyeysyesyesyesyesyessssss!¡± she cried out for the third time since I¡¯d sat down. This time however, something was slightly different. The bed creaked and sheets shifted quietly as one of them changed positions. Then Lea let out a strangled gasp and a loud thump rang out through the room as both of them toppled off the bed. ¡°Orion!¡±


    I finished the last few lines of the current paragraph, noted down my page, and set the book aside before turning to look at where the two of them were sprawled across the bare stone floor. ¡°Yes?¡± I asked mildly, ¡°dinner is here if you are about done.¡±


    Lea tried to say something but it came out rather garbled. Miranda¡¯s leg, which was resting directly on top of her throat, probably had something to do with that. After a few moments of struggle, Miranda moved her leg and she finally pushed herself up into a sitting position, only to open and close her mouth several times without saying anything.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°Orion!¡± she said again, voice unusually high pitched. ¡°I¡­ we¡­ it isn¡¯t what it looks like?¡±


    ¡°I could go again if you¡¯re not in too much of a hurry!¡± Miranda interjected eagerly before I could muster a response. ¡°I have a double-ended dildo I¡¯ve never had someone to try with?¡±


    Lea turned her head slowly towards Miranda, eyes wide and a bright red blush coloring her cheeks. Miranda smiled widely from where she still lay on the ground and thrust her hips up towards Lea¡¯s face.


    ¡°Eeeep!¡±

 Chapter 106

    A few minutes later, a beet-red Lea disappeared into the bathroom and Miranda hurriedly shifted from where she was still lounging across the stone floor into a kneeling bow. She opened her mouth to say something, but I raised a hand to stop her.


    ¡°One moment,¡± I mouthed silently and Miranda obediently bowed her head. After a few seconds, I heard the sound of pouring water start up as Lea turned on the shower. Focusing, I summoned a thin wall of force between us and the bathroom. The sound of the shower instantly cut off.


    ¡°Now you can go,¡± I told her, ¡°How is Lea doing? I assume there was a reason for that show there at the end?¡± A tendril of force reached out and grabbed one of the cups of tea I¡¯d brought with me, kept warm and unspilled by the enchantments on the fine porcelain. They were very nice cups. It was a shame they were also enchanted to teleport back to the cafeteria after twenty-four hours, otherwise I would have kept a couple in my room for personal use.


    Miranda sat up straight, idly brushing a strand of her long hair back behind her ear. Unlike Lea, who really did need the shower she was taking, Miranda looked as spotless as ever. Her hair flowed as though it was freshly brushed, the juices staining her face had vanished sometime in the last few minutes, and she looked completely composed and comfortable despite kneeling naked on cold, hard stone.


    ¡°Well, the first thing you need to know, Orion, is that Lea has an enormous crush on you. She¡¯s not as in your face about it as Brenda, but the girl has it bad for you. I¡¯ve had to replace her bedding every night and she sleeps with one of your shirts balled up against her face.¡±


    I choked on my first sip of tea and nearly dropped the cup in surprise. ¡°What?¡± I spluttered.


    Miranda soldiered onward. ¡°It''s honestly somewhat sad. She¡¯s absolutely terrified of men, I can taste her fear and revulsion, but it¡¯s completely outweighed by her feelings towards you. You¡¯re her dashing hero and brave protector. Her ¡®Nico the Shipwright¡¯, returned from a perilous voyage to sweep her off her feet.¡±


    Miranda paused for a moment, biting her lip before continuing. ¡°I can see where she is coming from. She didn¡¯t say it specifically, but you know I have a sense for these things and she¡¯s told me a bit about what happened to her. You were her best friend and her first love before she even knew what that really meant.¡±


    ¡°Then, you were the only one she didn¡¯t know for certain was gone. I don¡¯t think she ever gave up hope that somehow you would come and rescue her. And then, well. You did. Not quite when she expected it and only after years of pain and sorrow, but suddenly you came back and saved her like she always hoped you would. And then, barely a few weeks later, you did it again. I¡¯d be more surprised if she wasn¡¯t smitten.¡±


    Miranda stopped, fidgeting slightly under my unblinking stare. She cleared her throat awkwardly, ¡°So um, that¡¯s the first part. I thought you should just¡­ know that as soon as possible. Just to, you know, clear up misunderstandings. I thought you might already know but after Brenda and¡­¡± she trailed off, shrinking in on herself as a flare of anger washed through my mind at the mention of that bitch.


    ¡°I¡­¡± I paused and glanced towards where I knew Lea was washing up just a few short meters away. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I told Miranda, ¡°I probably should have seen that one coming. But I didn¡¯t.¡± I sighed heavily and tried to clear my mind. This was too important to be distracted during ¡°So, um. What does this have to do with¡­¡±


    Miranda perked back up, ¡°I¡¯m getting there. Trust me, master. The context is important here.¡±


    I did my best to smile naturally. ¡°Go on then.¡±


    ¡°Well, as I¡¯ve mentioned in my other reports, Lea is not doing very well right now. Physically she is perfectly healthy, I¡¯ve double checked her healing several times like you ordered, but mentally she¡¯s very fragile. She has terrible nightmares almost every night, some mornings she can barely muster the energy to get out of bed, and when I come back from class I often find her curled up sobbing into a pillow. She puts up a strong front around you and when she knows I¡¯m here, but my monitoring spells tell me she does nothing but mope and cry when there is no one around.¡±


    That was¡­ considerably worse than I¡¯d thought it was. ¡°Is she suicidal?¡± I asked worriedly. Though it wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever spent much time contemplating, some of my books had mentioned that delicate stage between a captive that was fully broken and pliable and one that was just desperate enough that death looked like a better option than fighting on. Lea may not be my captive, but I felt the situation was sufficiently similar to be concerned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡± Miranda told me hesitantly. ¡°I¡¯m really not sure how to tell, but I think she is sufficiently invested in the value of her life to others to not be? I do have a ward set up to prevent her from hurting herself, but it hasn¡¯t triggered yet.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like the questioning tone in her voice, but that was about as good an assurance as I was going to get. There was no point in getting angry over something I couldn¡¯t change. ¡°Good thinking. Continue.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Orion. Thank you.¡± She took a moment to collect herself, then dove back into her story. ¡°So I¡¯ve spent a lot of time talking with her over the past few days, and I think I¡¯ve mostly narrowed in on the big problem. Basically, she¡¯s really into you but she¡¯s also scared of men and rejection. She falls asleep every night moaning your name, then wakes up an hour later screaming and sobbing about Seatamer and those men who attacked her.¡±


    ¡°The last few years going to that Xethian mage school really haven¡¯t helped things either. She tries to deny it, but she thinks she¡¯s used, worthless goods, permanently tainted by what happened to her. Then there is the entire thing with her old girlfriend and all the abuse that earned her¡­¡± Miranda trailed off momentarily, shaking her head sadly. ¡°I forgot how hostile some cultures are to same-sex couples. Nasty stuff.¡±


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    I shrugged. Once again, it wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever given much thought.


    ¡°So overall, I concluded the biggest contributor to her poor mental state is that she thinks she¡¯s ugly, broken, and not worthy of love and affection. Not yours, not mine, not anyone¡¯s. Well, I know exactly how to fix that issue! It might have been better if you¡¯d been the one to do it, but I have a more delicate touch and I think getting a man, even you, involved at first would have only made things harder.¡±


    ¡°It honestly didn¡¯t take much. A few subtle suggestions and she was all over me after barely an hour and a half.¡± Miranda shrugged, making her breasts bounce in a way that was hard not to look at. ¡°That was earlier this morning. I think you got a good look of how it all went from there.¡±


    ¡°That I did¡­¡± I mumbled just barely loud enough for Miranda to hear. She laughed and I let the gentle currents of magic in her voice wash over me in a soothing wave. ¡°So, how do you think it went?¡± I asked curiously, refocusing on the actual issue at hand.¡±


    Miranda shrugged again, and this time the smile on her face told me she absolutely was doing it on purpose. ¡°I think it went well? She was very, very into it and there¡¯s no way she can feel ugly after all that.¡± Her lips curled into a wide smile and she batted her eyelashes up at me, ¡°You¡¯re welcome to join us next time, I don¡¯t mind and I¡¯m sure Lea won¡¯t either. I certainly don¡¯t plan for this to be a one-off thing. I think she needs at least a daily treatment for now.¡±


    The lingering traces of lust left over after my evening drink flared up for a moment before I pounded them back down into the darkness. ¡°Perhaps another time, if you think it will make Lea feel better. I have other things to focus on now.¡±


    Miranda¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°Yes, master. I will keep you apprised.¡±


    ¡°Good. Get up and put something on, I can feel Lea finishing up. Excellent work Miranda.¡± Reaching into an inner pocket I withdrew a small, metal vial and passed it over to her. ¡°Mistletoe this time. I¡¯m curious if you can tell the difference between the two.¡±


    Miranda almost snatched the vial out of my hands, unscrewing it with shaky fingers and then drinking it down in a single wide-eyed gulp.


    I watched curiously as her eyes momentarily rolled back in her head and she let out a soft moan, her entire body shuddering slightly before falling still. She took several slow, heavy breaths as though she¡¯d just run a great distance, her eyes unfocused and arms braced against her knees.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ she¡¯s¡­ different,¡± Miranda reported between gasps. ¡°Darker, heavier maybe. She¡­ she loves¡­ the pain. Can taste it¡­ in the juices¡­ clearer like this¡­¡±


    That was very curious indeed. I really needed to properly study the interaction between Miranda¡¯s succubus heritage and my elves at some point, but I¡¯d simply never had the time. For now though it made for a very easy and desirable reward for my most valuable pet. That field of study could wait for break, or perhaps next term.


    I felt Lea step out of the shower and snapped my fingers in front of Miranda¡¯s face. ¡°Dress. Now.¡± Her eyes snapped back into focus and she scrambled unsteadily to her feet and rushed over to where a crumpled up blue cocktail dress lay discarded on the floor.


    I tilted my head, looking curiously at the small puddle that she had left behind. My elves had already shown that bodily fluids other than blood and milk could be surprisingly valuable. Perhaps the sexual fluids of succubi, or the closest thing I had to one, might have some interesting properties as well?


    Another project to consider for later, I decided immediately. Still, like my father had always said, waste not want not. The discarded vial I¡¯d given Miranda floated up into the air and I scooped a small sample up for later study before stowing it away. The rest was quickly cleaned up using the ragged edge of what used to be a pillowcase. Miranda and Lea had certainly not been gentle with their bedding.


    Lea stepped shyly out of the bathroom just as Miranda finished slipping into her slightly-rumpled dress. Evidently she¡¯d forgotten to bring any clothing with her into the other room because she was wrapped only in a thick towel that struggled to contain her generous cleavage and definitely didn¡¯t cover much of anything else. With one arm holding up the towel she was clearly struggling to preserve her modesty, not that everyone in the room hadn¡¯t already seen what she was desperately covering with her hand.


    Still, I knew that some people were less comfortable with their nakedness than my current pets were so I politely looked away. ¡°Here,¡± I said, summoning a blouse stitched with yellow flowers and a matching skirt from the chest of clothing Miranda had procured for my friend and floating them over to the blushing girl. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t peek.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Orion,¡± she whispered, voice still higher pitched than it usually was but less obviously filled with embarrassment than it had been earlier.


    Miranda brushed past her, eliciting another squeak as she took the opportunity to grope the not-insignificant portion of Lea¡¯s ass not covered by her towel. I couldn¡¯t quite hear what Miranda whispered in her ear as she walked past, but I could feel the flair of what I assumed to be lust as Lea¡¯s mana rippled in response.


    I sent a warning tug down the bond between Miranda and I and she quickly disappeared into the bathroom to wash up as well. Her body might be mostly self-cleaning, but there was a noticeable difference between magical cleanliness and feeling properly clean that I knew very well.


    After that things proceeded much more smoothly. Lea proved to be just as ravenous as I¡¯d expected, quickly devouring the contents of her plate and most of the food that Miranda ''subtly¡¯ kept moving from her own portion. We engaged in some light, casual conversation, though Lea couldn¡¯t stop blushing and peaking over at Miranda whenever she thought the other girl wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    Eventually, it grew late enough that I needed to get going. It took several minutes to pry Lea¡¯s arms from around my chest but we managed eventually and Miranda walked me to the door.


    I was about to step outside when I felt a sound barrier snap into place around the two of us. ¡°Yes?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°I really do need to be going.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, sir, but it really is important. Um, I¡¯m not really sure how to say it but¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Miranda took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what exactly she is, but your girl is definitely not fully human. It''s faint, very faint. I wasn¡¯t sure about it at first but I¡¯m pretty confident now. It''s slightly familiar, but I can¡¯t really place it. I¡¯m sure though, normal women aren¡¯t that¡­ sweet.¡±


    Huh. That was¡­ ¡°Interesting. Keep me informed, pet. Good work today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir. Good luck with your ritual.¡±


    I nodded and left without a backward glance. That was another thing that bore investigation, but it could wait for now. It would certainly help explain why Lea and her mother looked so very different from most other Xethian woman despite both hailing from the islands. Whatever it was, I would deal with it later. For now, I needed to practice, then sleep. I had a big day ahead of me.

 Chapter 107

    I met Professor Williams at her office nearly eight hours before class. She¡¯d arranged things with Professor Shrike such that I would not be penalized for missing one of his lectures and it wasn¡¯t like we were going to be covering any new material anyway. It was our last real class since next week was going to be two days of exams and he¡¯d told us weeks ago that we were just going to be reviewing some of the key concepts covered throughout the course.


    On Miranda¡¯s suggestion I¡¯d also warned Brenda that I would be otherwise occupied during our usual class time. It was a good suggestion, I absolutely didn¡¯t want her trying to hunt me down and the pestering I would have gotten the next time I saw her would have been even worse than her usual nagging.


    She¡¯d initially been very curious about what was making me skip class, but when I¡¯d told her I would just be doing prep work for one of my other classes she had quickly lost interest. I was just glad she hadn¡¯t asked any more questions because I certainly wasn¡¯t going to be giving out any more information about my upcoming ritual than I absolutely had to.


    Professor Williams was waiting for me in the hallway when I arrived. Beside her floated a massive chest of dull black metal that took up a not inconsiderable portion of the hallway. Though outwardly it appeared completely unadorned, simply six perfectly smooth and flat faces, to my mana sense it glowed as bright as the sun.


    Under the surface of the metal I could feel a web of dense, rippling enchantments that completely isolated the inside of the container from the outside world. After a few inches my senses simply stopped, cut off in a way I¡¯d never quite experienced before. It was rather jarring. As my skill with the technique had increased, I¡¯d grown increasingly dependent on my mana sense. To feel it fail like this was very unpleasant, like looking down into a bottomless dark abyss.


    Typically when I couldn¡¯t sense beyond something or I was reaching towards the edge of my range there was a sort of fuzzy boundary, like a dense fog that slowly dampened my vision until I could no longer see through it. Here it was more like a cliff face, a sharp boundary through which no light could pass.


    ¡°I assume that¡¯s it?¡± I asked curiously, gesturing towards the menacing-looking chest.


    ¡°Sure is,¡± she replied, a cheery smile on her face. ¡°Should keep it safe and secure until you need it. I¡¯ll show you how to operate the corpse vault when we get to the chamber. It''s not too difficult, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get the hang of it quickly enough.¡±


    She paused for a moment and her expression turned deadly serious. ¡°How are you feeling? Did everything go well in practice? The calculations all checked out, but sometimes that¡¯s not a guarantee that everything will balance out perfectly. If you¡¯re not ready I may be able to reserve the room for tomorrow? Perhaps an extra day of practice would do you good?¡±


    Another day to practice would have been nice, but this felt like a test. Professor Williams had told me my mana control should be good enough that I could learn the ritual by today. I wasn¡¯t going to disappoint her by not living up to the standards of competence she set.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± I said firmly, ¡°It¡¯s still taking me slightly longer to charge the circle than I would like, but it''s well within the needed time frame and I managed to acquire the reagents we discussed to complement the casting. Ink shouldn¡¯t be an issue either, I collected more than enough blood over the last few days.¡±


    There were two small kegs in my bag, one filled with elven blood, the other filled with milk. I was pretty sure Professor Williams could now guess I had an elf locked up in my room, you didn¡¯t become an archmage by missing the obvious and I¡¯d told her I could ¡®acquire¡¯ both materials in large quantities for the ritual, but not using such powerful reagents would have been an utter waste of my priceless outsider and knowing what materials I would be using for the ink was crucial for properly tuning the mana flows.


    It was a risk, but one worth taking. I didn¡¯t think she was going to rat me out to the Elven Kingdoms and it was more than likely she already knew regardless. Professor Igor certainly had, and he was not even particularly specialized in information gathering. Who knew what sort of advanced divination and monitoring spells Professor Williams had access to.


    She stared at me searchingly and then her smile reappeared as quickly as it had vanished. ¡°Excellent! Now then, I took the liberty of making some initial preparations, but you¡¯ll be mostly on your own from here. Once I show you the command signals to operate the vault it will be up to you to craft the circle and execute the ritual. I can¡¯t have my fellows accuse me of favoritism after all, no matter how right or wrong they may be!¡±


    She let out another one of those musical, hypnotic laughs, but this time I was pleased to see that the minor alterations I¡¯d made to my sensory circulations seemed to have done their job. I could still hear the laugh and feel the magic washing over me, but it was no longer as irresistibly mesmerizing as it had been.


    Between her antics, Miranda, and the other hazards of Avalon, I was getting a lot of practice tuning my enhancements to block out mind-altering magics. It gave me hope that eventually I¡¯d be able to develop a general-purpose circulation meant to counteract that kind of magic. I hadn¡¯t been able to locate anything of the sort in the library, but I was growing increasingly confident that such a thing was possible. If nothing else it would make a fine stepping stone towards some of the other circulation-based magics I was researching.


    ¡°Thank you Professor, your aid has been greatly appreciated. You¡¯ve gone above and beyond what is required of you and I will not forget it.¡±


    Something unreadable flashed across her face and then she laughed again, but this time it was a much more genuine sounding chuckle than her usual unnatural tinkle. ¡°Oh, you charmer. You¡¯re making this old woman blush.¡± She very clearly wasn¡¯t blushing. She also wasn¡¯t all that old, somewhere in her early fifties judging by when she¡¯d graduated from Avalon. That was very young by archmage standards, even if her proficiency with time magic likely meant she was actually older than the chronology would suggest. ¡°Just don¡¯t die. So you can remember it for a good long time, hmm?¡±


    ¡°I certainly don¡¯t plan too.¡±


    ¡°Few do.¡± She fell silent for a moment, then clapped her hands together. ¡°Well, come on then. No time to waste. I¡¯ve reserved ritual room thirty-one for you. The dune-slate in the walls should make sure none of the outsider¡¯s essence can escape, but it''s a tad slippery so it can be hard to get your runes to lie straight. It¡¯s got a shielding viewing balcony too so all of your classmates will be safely out of your way.¡±


    She set off down the hall at a blisteringly fast walk, the ¡®corpse vault¡¯, as she¡¯d called it, floating soundlessly after her. I hurried after her, having to nearly jog to keep pace with her despite my longer legs.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind, Professor.¡±


    The rest of the walk passed in silence as I mentally went over every step of the ritual. In the end, the ritual itself was shockingly simple, without many of the strange arrangements and design choices many of my classmates had incorporated into their own work. There would be no chanting, no ritualistic dancing, not even a special way to kill my sacrifice to extract the maximum amount of power from the ritual.


    It certainly wouldn¡¯t be nearly as arcane as the intricate set of sixteen interlocking ritual circles that Alan and Ulan had used in their ritual on Tuesday. Even having seen the circle design ahead of time it had been quite a spectacle and Professor Williams¡¯s excited stream of commentary had been very enlightening.


    The twins had shown an impressive level of coordination and precision, I was pretty sure I would have struggled to charge a ritual circle as delicately balanced as that one had been without anything going wrong. Then again, it had been two of them working at it simultaneously. Another copy of me would certainly make a lot of things much, much simpler.


    For instance, it would have been nice to have some I trusted to help me draw out the ritual circle I would need to prepare. I¡¯d already done a lot of the initial prep work for mixing the ink I would be using and creating a template for the ritual, but I would still need to draw out all three-hundred-forty-three runes that made up the main part of the circle, along with the outline and one-hundred-and-five runes that would ensure I gained as much out of the ritual as I could with my current power level.


    It was a good thing I¡¯d managed to get out of my afternoon class and didn¡¯t have any other commitments this morning. Getting everything set up was going to take long, mind numbing hours where a single mistake could result in my messy death. This was the most complicated ritual I had ever attempted, stretching the bounds of my mana reserves and control. I could pull it off, I knew I could, but it was going to take everything I had to do so. It was a good thing I still had some of that potion left over from my previous attempt at a complex ritual because I was going to need it.


    The circle Professor Williams and I had eventually settled on was a variation on the classic seven segment design that I had used in the past. The core of the circle consisted of seven triangles arranged into a heptagon, each triangle containing seven sevens of runes and each one directing a different portion of the ritual¡¯s magic.


    Unlike a regular seven segment ritual circle however, this one added another layer of complexity to the design. The regular boundary between each segment was replaced with a subsegment that was designed to mesh the effects on either side of it into a whole greater than the sum of its parts using seven additional runes in each one.


    The outer edge of the circle was similarly modified, with a border of seven runes at each edge of the heptagon and another rune at every corner to contain the mana within the ritual and help ensure all of the outsider¡¯s energy was funneled into me instead of dissipating into the ambient mana around us.


    The additions massively increased the power of the ritual with a much more modest increase to the design¡¯s complexity. Based on some calculations that Professor Williams had shown me, we¡¯d managed to boost the power of the ritual past the level of an eight-segment circle despite only adding two-thirds the number of runes.


    Despite my best efforts, I felt my mind drifting away from the specifics of the spell towards more¡­ nebulous topics that I was trying to avoid thinking about too hard. I was nervous. This ritual was undoubtedly the most complicated, expensive piece of magic I had ever considered attempting and I only had one shot to get it right.


    Preparation was my one advantage, the trump card that had carried me from a desperate, broken orphan to where I was now. I had always strived to work harder, to be better, to always be ready for any eventuality and to take advantage of any opportunity I could get my hands on. Sometimes that meant going into situations that I was maybe not fully ready for, but I never liked having to do so.


    Today, I wasn¡¯t feeling very prepared at all. I had practiced, done as much as I possibly could in the short few days since my previous meeting with Professor Williams, but there was only so much that I could do.


    I had practiced all the parts of the ritual that I could, but that was not very much of it at all. I couldn¡¯t afford to waste the massive amount of reagents required to draw the full ritual circle, which meant that there were no trial runs for that part of the ritual.


    Without using mana-charged materials for the ink, there was no way I could fully charge the circle in the way I would need to during the ritual itself, so once again I could only do things piece by piece and hope everything came together in the end. Finally, I only had one outsider so I certainly couldn¡¯t practice the sacrifice portion of the ritual either.


    I was worried. And afraid. This was serious magic, the sort that would kill you instantly or make you wish it had if anything went wrong. I didn¡¯t want to die. I still had so much more left to do. I couldn¡¯t die here. I wouldn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t fail. I wouldn¡¯t. I would succeed. I would push through this, rise above this. I was better than this fear. There was no room for doubt in the face of progress.


    Maybe if I kept repeating it I would even believe it properly some day. I glanced over at Professor Williams. She looked completely calm and collected. She seemed to believe in my abilities and she must have done this sort of thing dozens of times in her life. That had to count for something.


    I refocused on the task at hand, mentally going over every rune and line in the ritual circle. I had drawn the entire thing five times in the last three days, and practiced each individual section at least a dozen times more. Even with my enhancements it had made my wrist and knees ache, but I¡¯d visited the healing hall this morning and a few minutes of exposure to the Ring of Recovery maintained there had washed that away without any trouble.


    I was still silently tracing each rune when, slightly less than ten minutes after leaving Professor Williams¡¯s office, we arrived at the ritual room she had selected for me to use. Ritual room thirty-one was a massive hall of yellow-gray stone. The walls formed a perfect circle roughly thirty yards across, massive bricks of the rough-looking stone fitting seamlessly together to give the illusion of one unbroken mass.


    Even the doors were carved from the same material, ponderous sheets of stone thicker than I was tall, swinging open soundlessly at Professor Williams¡¯s touch and then sliding back into place behind us, curved faces perfectly flush with the walls around them.


    I walked slowly around the perimeter of the room, examining the way mana seemed to slide across the stone as I ran my fingers along the wall. Despite the material¡¯s sandy appearance, it felt more like glass under my fingertips than any sort of stone. I also noticed some of my things, the sealed containers of blood I¡¯d prepared ahead of time, containers of reagents, and brushes for applying the ink, lying in a neat pile not far from the doorway.


    Professor Williams loudly cleared her throat and I spun around to face her. Somehow I¡¯d managed to get so lost in my own thoughts that I¡¯d all but forgotten about the archmage standing beside me. ¡°You can take all the time you need looking around once I¡¯m out of here. For now though, I think you probably want to know how to get at your sacrifice, no?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Professor!¡± I said hurriedly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was¡­ distracted. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re alright, it''s a big day for you. Only so many times you can go through a ritual like this and the next one gets more complicated after every attempt. You¡¯ve chosen quite an ambitious undertaking, but I like it. Ambitious is good, you just have to have the skill to back it up. I certainly hope I haven¡¯t wasted all this time teaching a corpse.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t fail,¡± I said firmly, my voice hopefully showing more confidence than I really felt.


    ¡°Good. Now here¡¯s the first command sign you need to know.¡± She summoned a glowing line of light over her hand and shaped it into a half-spiral. ¡°You have to tune your mana correctly, I¡¯ll show you how to do it in just a moment, but if you do it right this one here opens the vault.¡± The shape changed into a hexagonal helix of sorts that reminded me of a fancy ring I¡¯d seen at a market once. ¡°This one will activate the suppression field, you¡¯ll want to use it before¡­¡±

 Chapter 108

    ¡°You can begin once you¡¯re ready,¡± Professor Williams¡¯s voice whispered in my ear.


    I nodded, glancing up towards where I knew the viewing area was hidden in the room¡¯s domed ceiling. Though I couldn¡¯t see them behind the opaque stone between us, I knew the rest of the class was watching me on specialized illusionary screens designed to transmit mana flows as well as images. I could just barely sense them, a dense cluster of mana signatures dampened by the mana-reflecting properties of the dune-slate.


    ¡°Thank you Professor,¡± I replied, my voice echoing in the empty hall. Doing my best to smile naturally I waved up at the viewing area. ¡°Enjoy the show.¡±


    There was no response, but I didn¡¯t really expect one. After the second student to attempt their ritual had failed in a messy explosion of blood and viscera, the student after them had waved and told everyone to ¡®enjoy the show¡¯ before their attempt. Everyone else had followed suit and that had been our only death this term. I wasn¡¯t particularly superstitious, but belief could play a part in certain magical disciplines so I wasn¡¯t going to say no to a potential bit of insurance.


    I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed those thoughts aside. There was no room in my mind for doubt or distraction, only action.


    Exhaling, I opened my eyes and gave the ritual circle I had painstakingly drawn out across the floor one final look. A massive heptagon drawn with reddish-silver ¡®ink¡¯ covered the majority of the room¡¯s floor. Even with the illusionary guide I had used to make sure my positioning was perfectly even and runes were shaped properly it had taken hours to get everything exactly right.


    I was very glad I¡¯d decided to use quicksilver-based ink for the ritual instead of something more grainy like powdered silver or copper. An early mistake in alignment had forced me to redraw an entire segment of the ritual circle and I would have risked running out of ink if I¡¯d used something that dried just a little more quickly.


    Quicksilver, even purely mundane quicksilver, was much more expensive and finicky to use, but the boost in mana conductivity was more than worth the expense when combined with some of the other materials I was using.


    The cost was painful, that much money would have been enough to raise my family to the merchant class in a matter of weeks, but nothing I couldn¡¯t afford after my recent windfalls. The bag of pieces I¡¯d liberated from Lea¡¯s attackers was enough to cover the cost with a few coins left over.


    It wasn¡¯t like I was using something insane like alchemical quicksilver, even with the chest I¡¯d received from Elpha I doubted I could afford more than a small bowl of the miraculous metal, if I could even find someone both able and willing to make it for me. The process wasn¡¯t a secret but rather it was so wildly dangerous and difficult that even most archmages didn¡¯t bother to attempt it.


    Everything looked good. The circle was as perfect as I could make it, the box holding the outsider was positioned off to one side but close enough that I could utilize all the commands Professor Williams had shown me, and my mana had fully regenerated from when I¡¯d used a large chunk of it to combine all of my individual ingredients into to the ink I needed.


    I took a small sip of a potion designed to help me split my focus between the many complex sections of the ritual I was about to perform, set the vial down carefully in the corner of the room, and then carefully picked my way between the runes and lines of ink on the ground to stand in the circle at the center of the heptagon.


    The small circle, though it was really only small in comparison with the rest of the ritual, was divided into two sections by a curved line and I was very careful to stand in the smaller segment of the two. One was for me, the other for the outsider. I absolutely did not want to find out what it felt like to be sacrificed in this sort of ritual.


    Extending my arms out to either side of me, I let the mana flow out of my core in a gentle tide. The moment the invisible wave touched the first line of runes it was hungrily pulled into them and the rusty red tint in the ink transformed into a crimson glow.


    This part didn¡¯t take very long and the moment the first runes were fully charged I instantly stopped releasing mana. Keeping half my focus on ensuring the mana in the runes didn¡¯t disperse back into the air, I turned to face the large chest holding the outsider. I took a moment to steady my nerves and then it was time. I really hoped this thing would work the way she¡¯d claimed it would, else I would very soon be stuck in an enclosed room with a very fast, very dangerous, and probably very mad monster.


    My mana shaped into the first sign Professor Williams had shown me and nearly invisible runes on the surface of the box lit up with a shimmery silver glow.


    <hr>


    Sitting between Alan and Ulan in one of the observation room¡¯s hard-backed wooden chairs, Camille nervously gnawed on one of the fingernails as she watched Orion make his final preparations on the illusionary screen before her. She knew that it was unseemly and a bad habit, her parents had hammered that point home quite clearly, but she still sometimes reflexively came back to it when she was stressed and now certainly qualified.


    It had been a few weeks since she¡¯d really had a chance to speak with Orion, he hadn¡¯t been coming to their weekly study sessions and almost every class over the past few weeks had been one of these ritual-viewing sessions instead of a more ordinary class.


    On a normal day she could easily catch him by simply coming to the room a few minutes early, Orion was always early to class, but it was never a good idea to loiter in Avalon¡¯s hallways and Professor Williams only ever let them into the various observation rooms right when class was starting.


    They¡¯d exchanged casual greetings and the like, but the last time they¡¯d had anything resembling a conversation was when she¡¯d caught him walking into class looking like death warmed over and given him what seemed to her like some very, very basic advice.


    Ulan leaned over and whispered quietly, ¡°Is it just me or does that look nothing like what Orion showed us the last time he came to one of our sessions?¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°Yeah¡­¡± she whispered back. ¡°I think I can see a few similarities, look at that section on the left next to where he¡¯s standing? The back two rows. But that''s really it.¡±


    Ulan looked back at the screen, tilting his head to the side and squinting at the image. ¡°I think you¡¯re right, I didn¡¯t see it at first but it''s those same dwarven stability runes Orion always uses. Good eye.¡±


    Camille did not respond, simply continuing to stare down at where Orion was standing beside the circle. She¡¯d noticed the same thing as Ulan had and it was the reason she was as worried as she was. Despite what she¡¯d said, this looked nothing like any of the drafts Orion had asked her to glance over during their study sessions. Sure a few of the runes and rune sequences used were the same, but they were being used for completely different purposes within the overarching ritual


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    If she was remembering correctly, Orion had originally used that six-rune sequence in each of the six segments to stabilize the ritual and combine the six separate segments into one ¡®package¡¯ for his body to absorb. Here they were only in one of the segments and were surrounded by runes focusing on amplification, conversion, and containment. The runes may have been the same, but it was like comparing using a brick to build a house to slaming someone over the head with one.


    This was an entirely new ritual, something Orion must have put together in the scant few weeks since he¡¯d last come to work with them. It felt like it had been a long time, but a few weeks was not a reasonable amount of time to develop a full ritual, much less one as seemingly complex as this one.


    Her own ritual, which she had performed the previous week, had taken her most of the semester to develop and she¡¯d had a lot of help from the others in refining it to the point of usability. She hoped Orion had had someone to go over everything with him, it was always a good idea to have a second opinion when doing such complex flow-balancing, but she doubted it. He certainly hadn¡¯t spoken about it with herself or the brothers and neither Brenda nor Miranda, the only other people he ever really spent any time with, knew the first thing about ritual magic.


    Orion looked up towards the screen and waved, lips moving soundlessly. Camille¡¯s painted nails sank painfully into her thigh. He probably hadn¡¯t even considered asking for help. He was like that sometimes, painfully independent and self reliant. He was always willing to help a friend, but never able to understand that they wanted to help him as well.


    Camille began to gnaw on her lower lip, white-knuckled hands clutched tightly along the hem of her skirt. Someone had hurt that poor boy one too many times and coming to Avalon had doomed any hope of him breaking out of his shell. He was like an animal that had been kicked and beaten until it no longer trusted anyone, lashing out at the world and always huddled in on himself.


    Camille didn¡¯t think of herself as being particularly violent, especially when compared with some of her classmates, but on those rare days where the gentle, vulnerable soul under his shell shone through, she wished she could get her hands on whoever had hurt him so she could make them regret the day they were born.


    She hoped he knew what he was doing. Maybe he¡¯d had one of the older students he sometimes hung out with look over his work? Liam Marc Pierr was not known for his ritual magic, but he had to be at least somewhat proficient in it after six and a half years at the Academy. He and Orion shared a class and ate lunch together occasionally, so perhaps? Though she imagined he was probably very busy right now with his own work and didn¡¯t have time to indulge a third-year¡¯s questions.


    She nearly jumped out of her seat when something brushed across the back of her hand and it took her a moment to realize that it was Alan¡¯s hand. ¡°Orion will be fine, I¡¯m sure of it,¡± he whispered in her ear. ¡°We all managed it just fine and you know how talented he is. He¡¯s probably just been busy.¡±


    ¡°I hope so,¡± she whispered back, but she noticed that Alan¡¯s accent was much thicker than it usually was. He was just as worried as she was, but she appreciated the gesture.


    A flare of mana made her look back at the screen and she found Orion standing at the center of the ritual circle surrounded by a faint cloud of blue smoke, the illusion¡¯s way of indicating the presence of vaporous mana. She knew that the illusion also had other ways of showing that information in more detail, but her mana sense was simply not good enough to use them yet.


    She frowned. He was starting already, but his sacrifice was nowhere in view. Had he not found something? The last time they¡¯d spoken he had still been unsure of what he was going to use, but she¡¯d assumed that the reason he¡¯d been leaving Avalon so often was to find an appropriate sacrifice. Was he going to sacrifice something else then? An object, or maybe some component added to the ink ahead of time? She hoped he¡¯d had that approved by the Professor ahead of time or he might be in a lot of trouble.


    Ulan leaned over again but before he could say anything, a writhing mass of something suddenly appeared on the screen, its shape half obscured by illusionary yellow smoke that made her slightly ill just looking at it.


    Gasps rang out around her but Camille couldn¡¯t tear her eyes away from the display as the blob rose slowly into the air and the smoke around it diffused into the air. It was an off-white mass of twisting, writhing tendrils, some like those of an octopus, others like a jellyfish, and yet others resembling no creature she¡¯d ever heard of. It seemed to struggle and twist in the air, pulsing rhythmically like a heartbeat as it slammed uselessly against some invisible barrier around it.


    ¡°What is that thing? Does anyone recognize it?¡± someone asked from behind her and Camille could only faintly shake her head. What injustice had spawned such a creature and where in the world had he found it?


    After a few moments, she managed to glance over at where Professor Williams was sitting at the edge of the room. The woman was smiling widely at the class and their eyes met for a moment. The Professor winked and Camille looked back towards the screen. Whatever this crime against nature was, Professor Williams didn¡¯t seem to have any issues with it.


    The thing, for Camille couldn¡¯t rightfully think of the writhing mass as a creature, floated slowly across the room and then Orion let it drop just a scant few feet away from him in the other half of the ritual¡¯s central circle. She half expected it to collapse into a puddle like some sort of monstrous pudding, but instead it simply bounced bonelessly and settled like a lumpy mound of putrid meat.


    After a few moments, the entire thing began to shift, this time seemingly with much more purpose than it had a moment earlier. A crude face appeared first, quickly joined by the facsimile of arms and legs. It was still confined into a small sphere, but now it moved with much more purpose than the writhing and lashing out from before.


    Someone gasped again. ¡°Is that¡­ is that a Starspawn?¡± one of the other girls asked, her voice noticeably high-pitched than usual. ¡°Professor, is that¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ yes, I think so,¡± Sten Strongpike announced loudly when it was clear Professor Williams wasn¡¯t going to say anything. ¡°I am not truly familiar with such creatures, but it does neatly fit the descriptions I¡¯ve read. An Outsider, and a particularly canny one as well.¡±


    Where the first announcement had been met mostly with confusion, this time the room erupted with harsh whispers. Everyone was familiar with what an Outsider was, even if only tangentially. Camille stared wide-eyed at the illusion, nails once more digging into her leg. What had Orion gotten himself into? An Outsider? Orion was not afraid of danger, but she¡¯d never known him to seek it out either.


    She almost couldn¡¯t bear to look and yet she couldn¡¯t look away. Something was going to go wrong and¡­ and¡­ she didn¡¯t want to see it. The outsider writhed and pounded against its cage and it looked like any moment it would escape and then¡­ She didn¡¯t understand how Orion could look so calm standing so close to it when she could barely stand to look at it from behind several meters of enchanted stone.


    And yet¡­ nothing happened. Orion stood motionlessly as more and more of the ritual circle lit up with the same crimson glow as the initial circle. As the minutes ticked by, mana continued to flow at a slow, even pace from his hands and hazy simples of blue smoke swirled above the ritual circles as the spell began to take shape.


    Slowly but inexorably, the entire circle lit up one rune at a time, starting with the dividers between segments and then moving in a spiral around him. The entire time not a single mote of mana escaped the ritual circle, held perfectly within the ink and in the air above it by Orion¡¯s iron will and mana control.


    It was almost¡­ anticlimactic when it was all over. The mana in the air rippled, pulsed, and then was sucked violently into Orion¡¯s chest before erupting outward in a dense wave that was reflected back towards Orion by the walls of the ritual room. Blue smoke obscured the entire illusionary display and when it was clear, Orion knelt alone at the center of a near-perfectly clean floor. Only a pile of gritty-looking black dust remained where the outsider had been.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s that,¡± said Professor Williams, her voice shockingly loud in the silent observation room. ¡°I will go check on your classmate but it looks to me like a success. I hope you found that educational. Class dismissed.¡± And then she vanished between one moment and the next, reappearing on the illusionary screen standing beside Orion¡¯s kneeing form.


    Camille looked over at Alan and found him and his brother sharing their own wide-eyed looks.


    ¡°That was¡­¡± Alan began slowly.


    ¡°...really something¡± Ulan finished.


    ¡°He damn well better be at the session this week,¡± Camille murmured, receiving twin nods of agreement. Her lips narrowed into a tight smile. ¡°I certainly would appreciate an explanation.¡±

 Chapter 109

    I slumped forward and my arms buckled under my weight, only a sudden firm grip on my shoulder stopping me from face planting into the unforgiving stone floor. My body felt like an overfilled waterskin, my insides bloated and gurgling with every tiny movement. Thick, ropy tendrils of half-assimilated mana writhed like a nest of snakes under my skin, probing and pulsing and shoving their way deeper and deeper into my being.


    I felt like I was going to be sick. Waves of unsettling pressure roiled between my body and soul, echoing back and forth and battering against my body¡¯s mana conduits. The tiny corner of my mind not dedicated to keeping my insides on the inside was grateful that Professor Williams had recommended removing any active circulations before the ritual. They would have been torn apart in an instant and left me in an even worse state than I was now.


    ¡°Control yourself,¡± Professor Williams said sharply into my ear, ¡°Settle your soul and the reverberations will follow in time.¡±


    Control. Right. I had to be in control. Squeezing my eyes tightly shut against the suddenly too-bright light, I focused on the tight core of my magic nestled at the very center of my soul. It was faint and depleted, drained almost completely by the strain of powering such a complex ritual. Only dregs remained but even still it retained its shape, a tiny sphere floating amidst the chaotic currents.


    With a monumental effort of will I forced it to start spinning, slowly at first but growing faster and faster as I caught loose strands of mana and wrapped them around what was left of my core. At first it seemed to have no effect, but as more and more mass rejoined my core it¡¯s movement became self-sustaining. Each time a chaotic wave of mana rippled from my body into my soul, it was caught in my core¡¯s orbit and dragged inexorably inward, no longer able to gather strength and slam back into my vulnerable body.


    I took a shallow, ragged breath and groaned in pain. Even though the waves were beginning to settle, the ritual itself was still in the process of stabilizing. Or well, I was pretty sure that was happening. I could still feel the dense cables of outsider-flavored mana spreading and dispersing throughout my body.


    It was incredibly unpleasant, the mana felt like greasy syrup dripping through my veins, but with every passing moment I could feel it becoming properly attuned with my own mana. Once that process was complete the abilities I¡¯d stolen from the outsider would be fully integrated into my body. I would just have to manage until then.


    I rose shakily to my feet, most of my weight held up by the arm wrapped under my shoulders. My bones felt like they were made of lead, my limbs unnaturally heavy as they tried to drag me down and my muscles aching from the strain. I tried to take a step forward but my legs wouldn¡¯t obey the commands my brain was sending them and I would have pitched forward if not for Professor Williams¡¯s tight grip on my side.


    ¡°Take it easy,¡± she whispered soothingly, ¡°You need to give your body time to adjust. Focus on breathing.¡±


    I tried to say something, but all that came out was another pained groan. Seeing that was a futile effort, I decided to take her advice and simply took a slow, deep breath as though I was trying to meditate. The air felt wonderfully cold and fresh, rich with mana and moisture.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how long I stood there, simply breathing in and out to the slow count Professor Williams had begun without my notice. Thick cables of foreign mana broke down into ropes, then strings, threads, and finally into gossamer strands that spread through every inch of my being.


    Links slowly formed between the new structures and my soul and my own mana began to trickle into the patterns created by the ritual, pushing aside the corrosive taint of otherness that my body felt as pain.


    When I finally opened my eyes I felt much steadier and in control of myself. My body still ached and my mana core held less than a tenth of the mana it should but it was finally all at a manageable level.


    ¡°I¡­¡± my voice cracked and I coughed painfully. A flask of cool water was held up to my lips and I drank greedily, droplets dripping from the corners of my lips and trickling down my chin. The flask was pulled away and I cleared my throat. ¡°Thank¡­ thank you, Professor,¡± I finally managed.


    ¡°Of course. Excellent work, Orion. I can detect barely any waste in the air at all. I think I can safely say that you¡¯ve passed with flying colors.¡±


    ¡°That''s¡­ good¡­¡± I whispered after a moment. Each word made my lips ache and, despite the drink I¡¯d just had, my throat felt as parched as when I¡¯d nearly run out of water in the desert.


    She seemed to notice my discomfort and I felt a single finger press gently against my lips. ¡°Hush now, we can speak at length another time. Let¡¯s get you back to your room so you can rest.¡±


    I nodded, then glanced towards where I knew my things lay hidden in a recessed shelf hidden behind a sliding stone pane. I didn¡¯t want to leave anything behind but I was in no state to carry several empty casks and bags. I could still barely stand with the Professor¡¯s help.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it, don¡¯t worry. Just walk and breath.¡±


    I barely remembered what happened after that. The walk back to my dorm was a blur of hallways and indistinct figures. I was pretty sure Professor Williams teleported us several times; though I didn¡¯t really notice it at the time, there should have been considerably more stairs between the ritual room and the student dormitories than we encountered.


    Eventually she gently pushed me and my things through the doorway into my room. Rea, who had been in the process of working Daphne over with a switch, rushed over frantically and caught me before I could take more than a single stumbling step.


    I¡¯d warned her ahead of time that I might be a little unwell when I returned, but I had underestimated just how severely I would be affected by the ritual. She helped me take a short shower, washing the sweat and smell of bloody ink off my body, then got me dried off and to my bed. I remember thinking how grateful I was that I¡¯d decided to keep the unremarkable servant-girl Liam had pulled from the water on that hectic day. Then I was asleep the moment my head touched the pillows.


    <hr>


    Cayla slipped quietly into the room, muttering a brief ¡®thank you¡¯ to Miranda for letting her in as the older girl hurried towards Orion¡¯s potion cabinet. She glanced around the room. Rea was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed in her corner, a dozen tiny balls of water orbiting her head. Orion was absent, he would be in class for another hour at least.


    Her eyes zeroed in on the low table where Daphne lay, strapped down with her arms stretched tightly above her head and her legs dangling over the edge and held to the table legs with leather straps. Her friend honestly didn¡¯t look too bad, nothing compared to what she and Briella had been subjected to on a daily basis under Rea¡¯s tender mercies.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She understood now that it had been for a just cause, it was only through Rea¡¯s care that they had been shown Master¡¯s righteous truth, but that had done nothing to dull the memories. Some nights she still woke up thinking she could feel the knife gliding ever so slowly just under the surface of her skin.


    It hurt her to think poorly of her new sisters, united as they were in purpose and servitude, but she was glad Rea was otherwise occupied today. The purple-skinned girl¡¯s far-too-cheerful voice and ruthless attitude never failed to bring a shiver to her spine. The thought of stopping her mid-skinning and asking to take a turn with their future sister was a chilling one.


    Cayla stopped beside the table and knelt down on the slightly blood-splattered rug beside Daphne¡¯s head. Her friend was gagged, blindfolded, and her ears were packed with sound-dampening wax. She personally did not see the need for it all, it wasn¡¯t like she was going anywhere with a magic-suppressing collar locked around her neck, but Master commanded that they take all possible precautions and Master was never wrong.


    It looked like Rea had been rather gentle so far this morning. Master had commanded they take it easy on Daphne for a few days while he had little time and mana to spare on healing. Thus, Rea had temporarily packed away her knives, branding irons, and other metal tools. That still left her with plenty of options, but those left far less obvious and long-lasting marks than her preferred implements. Cayla could see some whip marks and dark bruises littering her skin, and Daphne¡¯s soaked hair and the wet towel on the edge of the table made Cayla wince in sympathy.


    Gently brushing aside her hair, Cayla carefully removed one earplug, then tilted Daphne¡¯s head and removed the other. Daphne tried to say something, a question or perhaps a curse, but the gag turned it into little more than an unintelligible mumble.


    Sighing softly, Cayla sat down, tucking her legs under the table and resting her chin on the cool metal of the table. ¡°Hey Daph,¡± she began, her voice barely more than a whisper. ¡°How are you holding up?¡±


    Daphne stiffened, then suddenly began to struggle against her bonds with renewed vigor. Judging from the volume of the sounds coming from behind her gag, she was probably trying to shout.


    Cayla waited for her friend to settle down somewhat, then gently began to stroke her hair. ¡°I know it hurts, Daph, but the pain is just temporary. You¡¯re going to look back and remember that it was all worth it. I mean what I said, this is all for your own good.¡±


    She paused, fiddling with the straps holding the blindfold in place before simply smoothing out the opaque black cloth over Daphne¡¯s eyes and brushing several strands of hair away from her forehead. On one hand, she wanted to make things nicer for Daphne. On the other hand, doing so might only extend the process and she didn¡¯t want her friend to suffer for any longer than was absolutely necessary.


    Cayla glanced over to where Rea was still sitting motionlessly, then to the ajar bathroom door where she could hear Miranda moving around. Just a little kindness wouldn¡¯t hurt, right? Master wouldn¡¯t have allowed her this visit if it would.


    ¡°Okay Daph, if you promise to be quiet I can take the gag out for a couple of minutes. I remember how much it always made my jaw hurt. Can you promise me that? Rea¡¯s taking a bit of a break right now and we don¡¯t want to upset her.¡±


    Daphne nodded her head as vigorously as she could manage with the straps holding her head in place and Cayla smiled. ¡°Okay Daph, I¡¯m trusting you.¡±


    It took some fiddling with the straps, the gag was fastened very tightly and intentionally designed to be hard to remove, but eventually she managed to get it free. Then it was simply a matter of carefully wiggling the oversized piece of rubbery material out from where it was wedged behind Daphne¡¯s teeth.


    ¡°There,¡± she said, putting the gag aside, ¡°Isn¡¯t that much better?¡±


    Daphne worked her neck and jaw, opening and closing her mouth several times and turning her head in slow circles to stretch it now that the gag was no longer holding her head firmly in place. Then she turned towards the general direction of where Cayla was sitting and hoarsely whispered, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Her voice was weak and raspy, strained from hours of screaming and futile begging. Cayla knew the enchantments on the gag ensured that Daphne got enough water to avoid dehydration, but experience told her it did little to soothe a sore throat. That was why she¡¯d come prepared.


    Digging the flask she¡¯d brought from lunch out of her bag, she unscrewed the lid and pressed it against Daphne¡¯s bottom lip. ¡°Here, open wide!¡± Daphne wearily opened her mouth and took a small sip. A few droplets of warm tea sweetened with honey dripped from the corners of her lips and she greedily drank down as much as she could before Cayla pulled the flask away.


    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Better.¡± She coughed and cleared her throat before falling silent.


    Cayla smiled and simply waited. Daphne was not the sort to hold back when she wanted to say something. She just needed to give her friend time.


    She didn¡¯t have to wait long. ¡°Why, Cay? Why are you doing this? What is¨C¨C¡± she coughed again, ¡°what¡¯s the point? Do they have something on you? I could have helped you Cay, we could have gotten through this. Together. Like we always did.¡± Her voice was hopeless and pleading and it hurt Cayla to hear Daphne sound like that.


    Cayla sat up and wrapped her arms around Daphne¡¯s shoulders, careful to avoid pressing on any fresh injuries. ¡°Oh Daph, it¡¯s not like that. No one is making me do this. I¡¯m doing it because it¡¯s the right thing to do. You¡¯ll see. It¡¯s like setting a broken bone, it hurts for a little bit, but then everything heals better than it was before.¡±


    Daphne¡¯s shoulders shook and she choked back a sob. Cayla tightened her awkwardly angled hug, wishing she could just make Daphne understand. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Daph, there¡¯s nothing to be sad about! We¡¯re going to give you everything you¡¯ve ever wanted! You just need to be ready to accept it.¡±


    She thought back to the tearful reunion she¡¯d had with Daphne on that cold evening a few weeks earlier and the flood of emotion-filled words that her friend had sobbed into her shoulder. ¡°You want to be good at magic? Orion¡¯s a great teacher, he¡¯ll be happy to show you things you¡¯ve never even imagined were possible. He¡¯s been teaching me, you know? I was a pretty bad student until I met him but I¡¯ve been getting better so quickly now.¡±


    What else had Daphne been venting about then and during their other recent meetings? ¡°I know you miss your sister, I can¡¯t imagine what it must feel like to lose her like that. I don¡¯t know what I would do if something happened to you or mum. Well, Orion went to school with her for an entire year! I¡¯m sure he has a bunch of stories he¡¯d be happy to share with you. And don¡¯t worry at all about the future, no matter what happens all of us will have your back. With M¨COrion and Miranda and me at your side, you¡¯re going to be an amazing Lady Warbringer!¡±


    She was about to continue when suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder, ¡°Cayla, Cayla, Cayla,¡± Rea said brightly, and despite her best efforts Cayla couldn¡¯t suppress the automatic spike of spine-chilling terror that Rea¡¯s position above her brought on. ¡°I think that¡¯s more than enough for today. I think it''s time for you to go, unless of course you¡¯d like a turn? I¡¯m sure Orion still has your collar set aside somewhere. Just in case, you understand?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no. I¨C¨C I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to be necessary.¡± She stood up and all but scrambled away from the table. ¡°Bye Daph, hope you liked the tea! I¡¯ll bring you some more next time, okay? Okay!¡±


    She stopped after a few steps and waited silently while Rea pushed the gag back into place and strapped it tightly to the table. The first few times it had been taken out, Daphne had fought and pleaded and begged to not have it reinserted. Now the heiress knew better than to make Rea extra motivated and silently opened her mouth the moment she was prompted to do so.


    Once that was done, the earplugs went in as well and Rea stood up to face her. ¡°That was great!¡± she exclaimed, stepping forward and pulling Cayla into a tight hug. ¡°Oh, this was such a good idea! I¡¯m glad Master said it would be okay. She¡¯s going to be so happy and hopeful and confused now. It¡¯s the perfect moment to get back to work.¡±


    Rea pulled away and grabbed a pair of buckets off the ground. ¡°Here, fill these up for me before you leave? Miranda¡¯s going to spray me with the shower if I go in there while she¡¯s eating.¡±

 Chapter 110

    I stepped out of the classroom to find Camille waiting for me, arms folded under her chest and an unreadable expression on her face. She was standing in a very exposed and suspicious looking position, leaning against the wall across from Professor Meadows¡¯ classroom where she had an unobstructed view of everyone coming out of the room. I saw several of my classmates eyeing her warily as they hurried away down the hallways.


    She noticed me a few moments after I saw her and pushed off the wall towards me, ¡°Hey, Orion!¡± she called out, drawing even more unwanted attention towards me. ¡°Over here!¡± I suppressed a sigh, this was so very like her and one of the many reasons I was skeptical of her long-term success. It was a minor miracle she¡¯d lasted as long as she had already.


    Still, I didn¡¯t want her making any more of a scene and it wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t expected for her or the brothers to hunt me down sometime in the next few days. This wasn¡¯t optimal, but it was well within my expectations. I raised a hand in acknowledgment and stepped out of the doorway as I waited for her to hurry over.


    She dodged past a pair of arguing third years and then stopped beside me. ¡°Hey Orion!¡± she said again, ¡°Um, how are you feeling? Can we talk?¡± she glanced around, seeming to finally notice that we were very much not alone in the hallway. ¡°Somewhere a little bit more private maybe?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. A little tired, but it''s nothing serious. I had a few things I wanted to look at in the library?¡±


    ¡°That works! Can I walk with you?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t see why not. One second.¡±


    Turning away from her, I peeked through the open doorway towards the last few stragglers still left in the classroom. ¡°Miranda!¡± I called out sharply, making her look up from where she was fussing with her things, ¡°Some stuff came up. I¡¯ll see you at lunch?¡±


    ¡°Of course Orion. Until later then.¡±


    I turned back to Camille, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    In theory, it was only a short few minutes walk from Professor Meadows¡¯ classroom to the Academy library. In practice, there was no way I was ever going to walk through some of the horribly exposed and well trafficked hallways along that shortest path so it was actually more like ten to fifteen minutes depending on how careful you wanted to be.


    I led Camille a short distance down the hallway, then took the first left and immediately ducked into one of the safer stairwells that I tended to use. We descended down two-and-a-half flights, then exited into one of the smaller side-corridors lined with rentable individual study rooms. In my experience this area was almost always deserted, the study rooms here kind of sucked and it was a bit of a pain to get too since only some of the stairwells opened up into this between-floor area.


    ¡°So how are you doing?¡± I asked casually, eyes, ears, and mana sense peeled as I scanned the corridor around us for unwelcome presences. ¡°Sorry I haven¡¯t been able to make it to our meetings these last few weeks. I¡¯ve been helping out a couple of second years with their combat magic on the weekends and with so much classwork to do I just haven¡¯t been able to make time for it.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Camille told me in a tone of voice that just screamed that it was not fine and that I very much should be worried. ¡°It''s those two girls that got ambushed, right? I heard about that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The ones you told me about. Apparently after what happened to them, they decided they needed a bit of extra help and I guess I was a cheaper option than going to a fourth year.¡±


    Camille laughed but even I could tell it was forced. ¡°Small school I guess. How are they doing?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Can¡¯t say much, but fine I guess. They¡¯re second years, there''s only so much I can do.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that long ago that we were just second years.¡±


    I hummed thoughtfully. ¡°True. But a lot can happen in just a few months.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    We walked in awkward silence for a minute and before I led us around another corner and up some steps into one of my favorite non-safe rooms in the Academy. It was a large open hall, dominated by a massive fountain of green stone surrounded by benches and flowerbeds. Despite technically being directly under another hallway, the room¡¯s ceiling was open to the sky, filling the room with warm sunlight that danced and sparkled across the burbling water.


    Back during my first year, I¡¯d found this place while exploring and for a time it had become my favorite place to practice my mana control. That was quickly ruined when I came across a pair of fourth years dismembering another fourth year in the shallow water and discovered that, unlike most classrooms and other non-hallway areas of the Academy, this room was very much not on the list of ¡®safe¡¯ spaces.


    Camille gasped and stopped walking. Apparently she¡¯d never come across this room before, but I didn¡¯t give her much time to look around. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going, this place is not on the list,¡± I called over my shoulder.


    Her eyes widened and she hurried after me. ¡°Really? That¡¯s a shame. I guess that¡¯s why I¡¯ve never seen it before. Do you know who¡¯s statue that is? It looks familiar.¡±


    ¡°One of the first Myrddin¡¯s kids I think? The architect. There¡¯s another sculpture of him down the hallway from the portal room.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably why. Weird that they¡¯d put it in a place like¨C¨C¡±


    We turned another corner and suddenly I felt a spike of mana flair at the very edge of my perception. I felt hints of ice and force; a shield would be too slow. Flooding my circulations with mana, I shoved Camille to the ground and ducked under a volley of nearly invisible shards of ice that shattered into fine powder against the wall behind us.


    Despite my misgivings, Camille was not an idiot. ¡°Back!¡± I barked, and she scrambled out of the way a heartbeat before a dozen tiny bolts of fire that flew through the place she¡¯d fallen. Whoever had cast the spell had done an excellent job with distribution, there was no room for me to dodge all of the bolts.


    Fortunately, the spell had clearly traded power for precision and quantity. A tiny bubble shield formed around my hand and I swatted the two bolts that I couldn¡¯t avoid into the walls where they detonated into tiny fireballs. A moment later I launched the bubble of force forward where it intercepted a powerful force spike meant to shatter whatever defenses I had mustered against the initial assault.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I could sense them now, three fourth-years and a third year standing in a loose formation some distance down the hallway. They were invisible, but casting those spells had forced them to drop their mana-suppression so that didn¡¯t matter. Just in case I would be on the lookout for more invisible foes, but I was confident I would be able to feel them if they got close enough to make a difference.


    There was no time to counterattack or cast any significant spells. I needed a moment to prepare but the ambushers clearly weren¡¯t going to give me one. I could already feel spell matrices taking shape and Camille was currently a non-entity in this fight.


    Well, discretion was often the better part of valor and the group had seemingly chosen a poor location for their ambush. Pausing only to scoop Camille up into a one-armed carry I sprinted back down the way we¡¯d come and skidded around the corner.


    The hallway was empty and I continued to pour mana into my physical enhancements. If I could get back to the fountain room I would be in much better shape to stand and fight. Empty hallways with no real cover in sight were a poor place to fight while outnumbered. I needed every advantage I could get and it would buy me valuable time. If I could just hold on for a few minutes then¨C¨C


    I felt two mana signatures suddenly appear ahead of me and for a moment I felt a touch of dread brush my heart. Then I realized that one of them was very familiar and smiled in satisfaction. I sprinted full-tilt into the room to find Miranda standing over an unconscious third-year, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she focused intently on shaping a complex spell matrix.


    ¡°Excellent timing,¡± I told her as I quickly set a rather disoriented Camille down behind a raised flower bed and began to cast my own spells. I¡¯d expected that something might happen today after my ritual for Professor Williams and had ordered Miranda to shadow me as much as possible throughout the day.


    It seemed my preparations had paid off; I had confidence in my skills, but a one-on-five was rarely going to go well, particularly when there was an entrenched attacker waiting for me to run right into them. A three-verse-four situation was much more favorable, even if Camille didn¡¯t seem to be doing much of anything yet.


    A shield snapped into place over the entrance just in time to block an entire volley of spells launched from the end of the hallway. The multi-layered bulwark, one of Miranda¡¯s go-to shield spells, shuddered and flickered, but held.


    I finished my own spell a few seconds later and five crystalline disks formed just beyond Miranda¡¯s bulwark. It was the same spell that I¡¯d been practicing with extensively during my training sessions with Miranda and the others, though I could now conjure and control five shields instead of just three.


    ¡°Just like we practiced,¡± I told Miranda, deflecting another shield-breaking force spike into the ground with one of my shields, ¡°I¡¯ve got defense, you try to whittle them down. Focus on the guy on the left there, he feels sloppy.¡±


    Miranda nodded, already focusing on casting her next spell. Her combat-casting wasn¡¯t amazing, she just wasn¡¯t very fast with the majority of her spells, but she had an impressive repertoire of more exotic combat spells than I tended to use. As long as I could give her the time to do so, I was confident she would be able to find something that sidestepped the enemy¡¯s defenses.


    ¡°And what should I do?¡± Camille asked suddenly. I cast a rapid counterspell, disrupting the fireball I could feel one of the mages casting though unfortunately he managed to avoid the spell blowing up in his face.


    ¡°Um, help Miranda or something,¡± I snapped off quickly, unable to spare the focus needed to direct her more effectively. I winced as my next spell, a wind barrier meant to blow projectiles back down the hallway, fizzled out before it could fully form. Four sharpened metal disks slammed into Miranda¡¯s bulwark and the shield finally flickered and collapsed.


    The next few minutes were a blur of spellcasting. Defending against four other mages of a similar strength was a tough task, even if none of our opponents were particularly exceptional. Thankfully Camille and Miranda, mostly Miranda, were able to apply enough pressure that I was mostly just dealing with two fourth years actually firing back.


    It helped that we were in a slightly better position than our opponents. While they also had a corner they could duck behind if necessary, we had a lot more options for cover than they did. Miranda cast her spells while half-hidden behind the statue at the center of the room, giving her a clear line of sight down the hallway but leaving most of her body shielded by Avalon¡¯s durable stonework. Camille, who¡¯s primary attack spell seemed to be an electric variation on the classic force spike, similarly spent most of her time ducking in and out of cover.


    Several times the attackers attempted to circumvent this advantage by advancing down the hallway to engage us at a closer range, but each time they had to fall back under a hail of hard-to-shield spells like waves of scorching heat and my modified force lances.


    It was a frustrating stalemate, but one that could not last forever. I was pouring my rapidly dwindling mana reserves into shield after shield and counter after counter, all the while doing my best to disrupt their own defenses as well. I could feel Miranda and Camille starting to flag as well, while the fourth-year¡¯s more developed mana reserves were still concerningly high.


    I was starting to think I would have to do something reckless when some of my other preparations finally bore fruit. I heard it before I felt it, a muffled roar echoing oddly through the gelatinous shield I was currently maintaining over the entrance.


    Miranda heard it too and I felt an echo of relief wash through our link. A moment later, a pillar of writhing mana appeared at the edges of my mana sense, rushing rapidly down the hallway where I¡¯d first run into the group and towards the corner where our attackers were currently standing.


    That was about when they noticed it too, and I felt the two fourth years that had been slinging spells towards us turn to face the new threat. ¡°Go,¡± I barked, ¡°here¡¯s our chance!¡± I dropped the shield I was holding, ectoplasm collapsing into a puddle of rapidly evaporating mana, and fired an overpowered force lance down the hallway.


    It slammed into the third-year¡¯s primary shield and the barrier shattered into a dazzling cloud of glittering sparks. A moment later, Miranda¡¯s follow up attack caught him in the center of his chest, the heat ray completely ignoring his secondary force shield and instantly turning his heart into so much burnt meat. He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut


    Camille looked confused for a moment, but followed our lead, aggressively firing off a volley of her electric darts. They were all sucked into a glowing orb that had been periodically absorbing energy-based attacks and didn¡¯t accomplish much, but it was at least something of a distraction.


    With the third-year dead and his two companions dealing with the pillar of fire Briella had conjured at their backs, the second dedicated defender was momentarily left facing down the three of us all on his own.


    She barely lasted a few seconds. Earlier in the fight I had noticed that, when pressed, she tended to default to a classic half-aegis that Professor Shrike had shown us in class. It was a good all purpose defense and she could cast the third-circle spell with impressive speed, but predictability was a death sentence in combat.


    As I¡¯d expected, under Miranda and Camille¡¯s onslaught she once again attempted to bring up her usual shield. This time however, my counterspell shattered it before it could form and Miranda¡¯s water whip split her from shoulder to hip.


    From there, things did not take much longer. The last two remaining fourth-years managed to deal with the firestorm bearing down on them in time to defend themselves, but had to focus entirely on defense and were completely unable to fight back as we slowly but surely beat them into submission.


    To my surprise, it was actually Camille who landed the final blow. The bolt of lightning she used tore cleanly through a hastily erected force barrier and fried the duo in an instant.


    I took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. My mana reserves were down to a tiny fraction of what I would like and my mind and limbs felt wooden from the strain of casting so many spells over such a short period of time.


    Turning to Miranda and Camille, I smiled tightly, ¡°So ah, lunch? I have another class this afternoon but maybe we can talk after?¡±

 Chapter 111

    When I finally made it back to my room several hours later, I barely managed to step inside and shut the door behind me before my legs simply gave out. Only Miranda¡¯s quick reflexes saved me from face planting into the ground and instead I slumped onto my side, head lolling to rest against her bare thigh.


    My bones were like lead weights and my muscles had the structural stability of overcooked noodles. The moment my control finally lapsed, my circulations collapsed into a tangled mess of loose threads that would take hours to unravel safely and my over-drained core wobbled and quaked like a bowl of pudding.


    My stomach violently rejected the bread and simple vegetable stew I¡¯d eaten for lunch and I wretched, spewing half-digested food across the stone floor. Miranda just barely managed to turn my head to the side in time, sparing both of us from getting coated in the disgusting mess, but I was in no position to thank her for it.


    My stomach heaved again and Miranda gently held my head in place as I further emptied my stomach across the bare stone floor. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Rea rushing towards us and I momentarily felt bad for the mess I was making. These past few months my room had been cleaner than I¡¯d ever managed to keep it on my own. Then that thought was wiped away by the overwhelming pain flooding my body.


    I can barely remember what happened next. These days I rarely forget anything, but with my mental enhancements in disarray and my body doing an excellent impression of actively rebelling against my mind, I can only recall snippets of the next two days.


    It turns out that not letting your body properly adapt to a massive infusion of foreign magic was a rather terrible idea. When I had woken up in the morning I¡¯d felt slightly off, but it had been manageable. Then I¡¯d gone and gotten myself in a fight where I spent nearly all my mana in the span of less than ten minutes.


    Suddenly, the equilibrium that had formed within my body overnight was utterly destroyed. I¡¯d managed to keep things stable for several hours as I spoke with Camille and went to my other class, but that only served to drain the last dregs of my reserves and exhaust me both physically and mentally.


    Thus, instead of gradually letting my body shift to adapt to the changes over the coming weeks like Professor Williams and I had planned, everything began to happen nearly all at once. And it hurt. A lot.


    My mind swam in and out of consciousness. One moment I was in the shower, Miranda holding me gently under the hot water as Rea ran a soft sponge along my back. Then I was in my bed, familiar voices whispering in hushed tones somewhere in the distance.


    I ate and drank when I could, sleeping in short bursts filled with strange, psychedelic dreams. Each time I woke up I could feel the changes inside me progressing rapidly. Sometimes my vision felt weirdly blurry, others my tongue was on fire and I couldn¡¯t stop shivering and burning up at the same time.


    My body was yellow and blue, mana and something else flowing and mixing to form reddish hues and slick oily chrome across my fluttering eyelashes. Miranda¡¯s strikingly red skin danced in front of my eyes and she dripped fire and life down my throat as her tail brushed across my shoulders.


    There was something whispering in the darkness just beneath the walls. It was far away, separated from me by both an infinite void and a gossamer-thin sheet of golden ravens. The sun rose and set and rose and set and rose and set and everything was wet and cold and hot and dry and hungry. So, so, very hungry. I screamed at a swollen caterpillar and it ran away.


    I begged for food, tears burning bright paths down my cheeks, and an angel fed me pain tinged with her work and colored with gold. She was kind and beautiful and I could feel her work as I slept, forging and shaping a vessel already touched by grace. The screams, though muted and hidden, were filled with light and color. One worm hated it, one root craved it, and a third was filled with fear and love in equal measure.


    Sometimes when I stared into the sun I thought I could just make out countless shapes, echoes of something that once were and had long since moved on, but they were faint and beautiful like stained glass windows on a dark and foggy morning. Several stood out, bigger and brighter, but missing something.


    Time and knowledge looked back and I closed my eyes. They knew me, I knew I was safe. A bird landed on my windowsill and placed its beak against my heart. Behind my eyelids a familiar shape walked down a familiar street surrounded by familiar people. It missed me. It was lost. A bird ate it. I closed my eyes again and a mother¡¯s forgotten love dripped slowly down my throat like a blind woman¡¯s kiss.


    And then I finally opened my eyes again and the dark stone ceiling swam slowly into focus. Miranda was lying next to me, head propped up on one arm as she stared down at me with worry in her eyes. She looked as perfect as always, but I could feel the deep touch of exhaustion just behind the smooth facade. Rea snored softly on the floor beside my bed, her head slumped against the bedframe and one hand stretched out to just barely brush against my wrist.


    ¡°Orion?¡± Miranda asked hopefully, her voice barely more than a whisper, ¡°Are you¡­¡±


    I nodded a fraction of an inch, not trusting my voice. My throat felt dry and raw and there was a foul taste in my mouth. I could see a half-full cup of something on my bedside table but my arms felt too weak to grab it.


    ¡°Oh, thank goodness,¡± she said, sounding relieved and exhausted in equal measure. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    I coughed dryly and tried to sit up, but my muscles decided that was a terrible idea and I collapsed back down onto the pillows a moment later.


    ¡°Ah. Well, at least you¡¯re awake?¡±


    I nodded again, this time trying to jerk my head towards the cup on the table. I didn¡¯t know if Miranda actually saw what I was doing or if she just understood what I needed, but it worked out either way.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Miranda scrambled off the bed, carefully stepping around Rea¡¯s limp body, and raised the cup to rest lightly against my lips. I managed two small sips of heaven before I began to cough again and she quickly pulled the cup away before it could spill all over me.


    Without needing any prompting, Miranda quickly began to fill me in on the situation. It was the early afternoon of Sunday, a little less than two days since I¡¯d collapsed. I¡¯d spent most of the first day thrashing uncontrollably, then the next babbling incomprehensibly in between long stretches of motionless sleep.


    Miranda and Rea had taken turns watching over me, with Miranda spending both nights in the room with me in case something happened. Thankfully, we¡¯d somewhat prepared for a potential situation like this, though I¡¯d expected it would happen the night after the ritual instead of after nearly a full day, so the girls had known what to do. They¡¯d made sure to feed me the potions I¡¯d prepared ahead of time, along with a diet of heavily diluted elven milk to keep my mana levels up and ensure I had all the nutrients I might need.


    Once she was done, and I¡¯d drunk another two cups of milk and water, I took stock of how I was feeling. Overall I felt¡­ rather terrible, but less so than I had before. My body felt distinctly strange and the mess of fractured circulations strewn throughout my body had only grown more tangled, but my mana was mostly full and my core felt dense and stable.


    All in all, while I could still feel some changes continuing to propagate throughout my body, the bulk of the ritual¡¯s alterations had fully stabilized while I was mostly unconscious. What exactly those changes were I wasn¡¯t yet sure, it would take a lot of exploration to determine exactly what I managed to extract from the outsider, but even just a preliminary examination felt very promising.


    I felt¡­ strong in a way that was hard to explain. Even as unwell as I was, my body felt responsive and flexible in a way it never had before. There was something different about my mana as well, a hint of foreign color that was quickly integrating into my core and throughout my body. There was a lot of extensive testing in my future, particularly in the month-long recess between semesters, but that would have to wait for now.


    After all, I had class tomorrow. Just one thankfully, but it was my last lesson with Professor Meadows before our exam on Friday and there was no way I could afford to miss it. That meant I had to be up and about in less then a day, ready to defend myself against any sudden ambushes or attacks.


    I also still had exams to prepare for, spells to practice, and people to talk to. I had promised Camille that we would talk more soon, she had been very dissatisfied with our brief conversation over lunch, I needed to make sure Brenda wasn¡¯t doing anything stupid, and Lea was probably worried about why I hadn¡¯t come and visited her this weekend.


    After about fifteen minutes I decided to try to get out of bed again. I sat up, groaning in pain as sore muscles stretched uncomfortably, and then Miranda gently pushed me back down onto the mattress.


    ¡°Please Orion, just rest for now. You told us yourself, stretching yourself too far may set back your recovery and you only have so much time.¡±


    I wanted to protest, but she was right. I¡¯d even ordered Miranda to make sure I didn¡¯t over exert my mana in the days after the ritual, only to go and do so anyway less than a day later. I sighed and closed my eyes. ¡°Six hours,¡± I muttered, already feeling sleep¡¯s warm embrace reaching up to pull me into a slumber, ¡°make sure I¡¯m up.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Orion. Sleep ti¡­¡±


    <hr>


    Camille stepped confidently into her room and slammed the door shut with a muted bang. Then her nerves finally failed her and she slumped against the doorframe. Sliding down to the floor, she hugged her knees against her chest and let her face fall to rest on top of her legs. The cold of the stone was soothing against her back, but all she could focus on was the way her hands would not stop shaking.


    It had been so close. The shards of ice had flown mere inches over her head and the force of their impact against the wall had turned them into nothing but fine powder. They would have cut right through her without slowing down, with or without the durability enchantments on her clothing. If Orion had been a moment slower pushing her to the ground or if he hadn¡¯t noticed the attack in time, she would have died, bleeding out in a forgotten, empty corner of the Acadamy.


    Her breath came in short, shuddering gasps and something heavy was pressed against the back of her throat. Her vision grew blurry and the jitter of her hands faded into a vaguely whitish-pink blur cut through with streaks of her dark blue painted nails. The thumping of her heart was oh-so loud in her ears, a rapid drum beat that drowned out everything but her slowly rising sobs.


    She was going to die. It was a thought that had always lurked at the edges of her mind and haunted her on dreamless nights, but now it was the only thing she could think of. She was going to die and nothing she did was going to matter. Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps in a month, but she was going to die. It was inevitable. The sun would rise, the tide¡¯s would come in, and she would die.


    She could see it in her mind¡¯s eye, stark colors painted across the insides of her eyelids. Matilda Armin¡¯s bisected body was sprawled across the floor, blood and viscera pooling in the gap between where the two halves of her still-warm corpse had fallen. The other three bodies were all but unrecognizable, burnt and blackened by fire and lightning, but Matilda¡¯s face was all but untouched by the fighting.


    Camille had shared two classes with the fourth year. They¡¯d even studied together once, Matilda took excellent color-coded notes and Camille had traded the answers to a dozen homework assignments for an annotated copy of their textbook. Now she was dead, and when Camille looked down at her pale body, it was Camille¡¯s own face that looked back up at her.


    It had been so¡­ easy. She¡¯d followed Miranda¡¯s lead, launching powerful spells to batter down the duo¡¯s defenses. She¡¯d only ever cast that spell at static targets during class, enchanted wooden dummies designed to take spell after spell and come out no worse for wear. She hadn¡¯t thought it would be so¡­ effective.


    Burnt humans smelled just like any other meat. She wished she could have gone her entire life not knowing that. Well, maybe it was better to learn like this than¡­ when it was her own meat burning.


    Tears dripped slowly down her cheeks and soaked into her leggings. She wondered which one she would be. The boy with the hole through his chest had died in agony and Matilda had bled out on the ground. Perhaps frying really was the way to go, enough lightning and the mind had no time to feel pain.


    She just didn¡¯t understand why. Why, why, why? They¡¯d attacked out of nowhere with overwhelming force, and then they¡¯d died. Orion had been perfectly cool throughout the entire fight, completely unaffected by the sudden attack. To him it was barely an inconvenience, something to be dealt with and then pushed aside in favor of a hearty lunch.


    She didn¡¯t know how she¡¯d managed to avoid crying over lunch. He¡¯d been so¡­ casual. Him and Miranda had been all smiles and laughs, as though they hadn¡¯t just killed five people in as many minutes. She didn¡¯t belong here. She never had. She¡¯d just tricked herself into thinking she did and now the act was all falling apart at the seams.


    She wanted to do something, needed to move, to run, to think and plan. Instead she cried and shook, hugging her knees tighter and tighter against her chest until her ribs ached and her knuckles were white with strain. Everything was fine. She was fine. She was alive. She wasn¡¯t going to die.


    Maybe if she kept saying it over and over she would even trick herself.

 Chapter 112

    Class on Monday sucked even more than it usually did. I was in no way, shape, or form recovered enough to make attending a good choice, but unfortunately skipping was an even worse option. Not only was this our last class before the final, but missing it would also be an obvious sign of weakness to all of my watching classmates.


    Disappearing for a weekend was one thing, everyone knew that consolidating gains took time, but I could count the number of classes I¡¯d missed in the past two years on one hand and doing so now would be noticed. It would completely undermine the show of force I¡¯d made on Friday and just open me up to more attacks in the coming weeks


    Still, knowing that on an intellectual level didn¡¯t do anything to make the actual experience any less painful. Despite my best efforts, I was still barely functional an hour before class was due to start. My mana was barely half-full, the majority of my regeneration constantly devoted to powering the changes in my body and keeping everything under control. I hadn¡¯t even finished cleaning out the tangled web that had formed out of my collapsed circulations, the task made even more difficult by the outsider¡¯s newly integrated abilities, much less started rebuilding them.


    I felt as weak as a newborn and utterly naked without them. I could barely even cast spells, some initial tests sent painful shudders through my mana core and I had a feeling that trying anything over second-circle would be a¡­ bad idea, to say the least.


    In an ideal world, I would have spent the next several days lying in bed slowly getting everything in order, but that was not an option. Instead, I took a hot shower, leaning heavily against the wall the entire time and needing Rea¡¯s help to make sure I was properly clean, got dressed, and set out towards the class under the cover of Miranda¡¯s illusions.


    Thankfully we made it without any trouble, though it took all my strength to simply walk with a straight back and not wince with every step, and I sank into my seat, doing my utmost to hide the relief I felt from letting my legs rest.


    If anyone noticed something was wrong, they didn¡¯t make it obvious. I really didn¡¯t like the whispers I could just barely make out from the trio of fourth-years sitting in the row behind me, nor the pointed looks of other students in the class, but no one seemed keen on testing me.


    The exception was Professor Meadows herself, who absolutely knew that something was wrong. I hadn¡¯t really expected Miranda¡¯s illusions and my meager acting skills to do anything against an archmage like her, but I still didn¡¯t like the idea of one of my more sadistic teachers knowing that I wasn¡¯t at my best. I was pretty sure the rumors of her petrifying students that displeased her were just that, but the stories also said she happily accepted ¡®gifts¡¯ from her mentees in exchange for bonus help and there were a lot of eerily lifelike statues in her classroom.


    Fortunately, she seemed perfectly happy to limit herself to peppering me with questions throughout the class as we reviewed the semester¡¯s material. I would have seriously preferred to stay silent today, but it wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t know all the answers and a throat-soothing potion taken before class ensured I could talk without making my throat feel like I was gargling nails.


    A few of the questions were slightly tricky and wrapping my currently un-enhanced mind around the complexities of on-the-spot spell modification was somewhat more difficult than I would have expected, but the professor seemed pleased with all my answers so I counted that as a victory.


    The trip back to my room was also without any excitement and thankfully Camille hadn¡¯t tried to corner me after class today. This time when I staggered through the door, I managed to keep my feet under me until I made it to my desk and collapsed bonelessly into my chair.


    All I wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep the rest of the day away, but I had already done far too much sleeping in the last three days and there was so much work that still needed to be done. This was the last week of classes and I had a number of exams, particularly practical spell-casting exams that I needed to be ready for very soon.


    Additionally, the Avalon portal was going to be moving just a few days after my last test and I still had a number of things I needed to take care of in Xethis, such as the Warbringer heiress who¡¯s heavy breathing and quiet sobs had cut off just a few moments after I¡¯d stepped through the door.


    That wasn¡¯t even starting to get into the other obligations I had coming up. Between the dueling challenges, winter market, and other yearly events, the month between the fall and spring terms was always packed.


    For now though, I had to focus on getting back into casting shape. I spent a few minutes just focusing on my breathing and mana, counting slowly in my head as I inhaled, held my breath, and then exhaled rhythmically. A cup of tea was silently placed on the table beside me and I hurriedly gulped it down before returning to my basic meditation.


    Once I was feeling slightly more in control of myself, I got to work properly. Before I could make any more serious progress, I had to finish cleaning out the ruined remains of my many circulations that had collapsed throughout my body. Though not technically harmful, having so many aimless mana channels inside your body could seriously interfere with mana control and regeneration, and it was incredibly difficult to build new circulations with them taking up so much space.


    Unfortunately, my usual method of clearing out circulations, slowly spinning my mana core in order to wind them up like fishing line onto a reel, wasn¡¯t going to work in this instance. The threads were so badly tangled and torn that doing so would risk causing actual damage to my core if I tried it. Instead, I would have to manually absorb them one by one which was a slow and laborious process. I had already spent nearly six hours doing so and I was only about half done.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t something I could afford to put off. I was almost done clearing out my head and key portions of my nervous system. As soon as that was finished I could reestablish some of my mental enhancements which would make the rest of the job go slightly faster.


    I sighed heavily and got to work. At least the earplugs I¡¯d snagged from Mistletoe¡¯s bonds ensured Rea could also use her time productively taking care of Daphne without disturbing my work. Typically I would have used a sound barrier, but I just didn¡¯t have the control for it right now and they were a really nice bit of enchanting and were working just like I hoped they would. With any luck, Daphne would be ready for me by the end of the week even without having me on hand for any needed healing.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    <hr>


    Ivius Ambrosius sighed in exasperation. ¡°You know I can¡¯t accept this yet,¡± he told the woman sitting across from him flatly. ¡°Promising or no, he¡¯s not even done with his third year yet. Our policies exist for a reason. If you¡¯re still interested next year, come back and do things properly.¡±


    Gayle Williams grinned back at him, completely unaffected by the same frown that had once brought an adult dragon to tears begging for his forgiveness. ¡°I know. I just need your rejection on the form. For posterity, you know? What was it that delightful girl of yours would say? Doohickeys? Yes, I want to call dohickeys.¡±


    Ivius covered his eyes with his hand. ¡°Dibs. It''s dibs. And you know you can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, maybe. But I just did. He¡¯s mine. He¡¯s perfect, Ivy, perfect! This time next year, you¡¯re going to be flooded by applications. I want him to know that I wanted him way before any of them would give him the time of day.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just going to keep pestering me about this until I do, aren¡¯t you.¡±


    Gayle nodded, her wide, toothy smile never wavering.


    ¡°Oh fine, you insufferable girl. You win this time.¡± He shook his head, but accepted the pile of forms from his one-time student. ¡°I was far too gentle with you back in the day,¡± he muttered sourly, ¡°spare the rod, spoil the child.¡± A stamp teleported into his hand and he slapped it against the top of the first page, marking it with the date and reason for refusal in his inimitable mana signature.


    ¡°You know I would have loved to accept the rod,¡± Gayle told him with a salacious wink.


    Ivius threw the stamp at her face. It bounced uselessly off an invisible shield maintained a scant few millimeters over her skin, but it still got the point across. If he actually wanted to hurt her, he certainly wasn¡¯t going to use a stamp. The stamp disappeared in mid air, teleporting back into its secure storage box buried somewhere in the walls of his office.


    Ivius shoved the stack of papers back towards Gayle and a moment later they disappeared into a spatially-expanded pocket in her robes. ¡°Thanks Ivy, you¡¯re the best!¡±


    Ivius rolled his eyes and harrumphed loudly, but there was a soft smile on his face. There were very few people willing to act as casually around him as his former student, and as much as he enjoyed the respect and fear of his colleagues, sometimes it was nice to have someone act childish with him.


    Unfortunately, there was only so much room for such pursuits in his life. ¡°I assume that''s not the only reason you scheduled this meeting, Williams?¡± he asked seriously.


    Gayle¡¯s smile vanished and she sat up straighter in her hard-backed chair. ¡°Yes sir. I assume you saw my report?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to get much. It was a fresh specimen, powerful, yes, but young and inexperienced. Its mind was weak, but it knew little of value.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunate. Were you able to identify the summoner?¡±


    ¡°No. It had memories of several human mages, but none fit the picture. I don¡¯t think it was summoned at all.¡±


    ¡°Called?¡±


    ¡°Probably. It remembers little beyond its hatching and a long, instinct-driven trip through the void. It remembers others, at least two but probably more, but they are well hidden.¡±


    ¡°Lovely.¡± Ivius tapped his finger slowly against the table. ¡°He¡¯s fine, by the way. It was touch-and-go for a few hours, but Avalon is well protected. Your ritual worked, perhaps even somewhat too well.¡±


    Gayle scowled. ¡°It worked perfectly! It was all perfect! Oh, the most beautiful mountain of coincidences! A blank slate with the talent, the power, the resources! All to pull it off perfectly! I could never waste such a valuable specimen on a maybe, but I didn¡¯t have to! My theories were correct!¡±


    Mana rose from her skin in a diffuse cloud of tangible fury ¡°Everything was perfect! And those ingrates almost messed it up! If they¡¯d been a little bit more careful, if his slaves had been a scant few moments slower, then it could have all been ruined! I should¨C¨C¡±


    All sound in the room suddenly cut off. Ivius¡¯s mana, once perfectly intermingled with the room¡¯s ambient mana until it was all but undetectably, suddenly stood out in razor-sharp contrast. Faint symbols twisted and writhed in the air, invisible to Gayle¡¯s mana sense but just barely noticeable out of the corners of her eyes.


    His eyes gleamed, tiny pinpricks of light shifting and turning within the impossible voids of his eyes. ¡°And you will, of course, do nothing, Professor Williams,¡± he said simply. ¡°Such trials are part and parcel of a proper education, as you well know. I accept that sometimes my educators will go slightly above and beyond their obligated duties, but that is all I am willing to accept. Understood?¡±


    He held the frozen moment in place for an indeterminate amount of time, simply staring across the desk at Professor Williams until her boiling mana calmed. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, his mana vanished back into the background and Gayle almost collapsed onto the desk in front of her.


    ¡°Yes Headmaster. I understand.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now then, I do not believe there should be any lasting consequences. He is recovering quickly, no doubt the creature¡¯s influence is beginning to take effect. His control is admirable for someone with his level of experience and, as you said, the specimen was very young.¡±


    Gayle took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°Thank you. That was my conclusion as well, but it''s good to hear a second opinion.¡±


    ¡°Of course. It is always painful to lose out on a high-quality investment.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°...and I know how quickly you grow attached. It¡¯s always been one of your greatest flaws.¡±


    Gayle¡¯s scowl returned for a moment and then she sighed. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°You suck.¡± Ivius raised a single eyebrow and Gayle sighed again. ¡°I¡¯m done, I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now then, I have some new work for you. I have a feeling that our recent voyeur is the same creature we are searching for. I would prefer such a creature not have a direct conduit into my domain, but I imagine you would be opposed to the most expedient solution.¡±


    ¡°I certainly would be.¡±


    ¡°Then make sure it ceases to be an issue.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±

 Chapter 113

    There¡¯s a very stark difference between knowing academically what outcome a ritual is meant to have and feeling it directly. Ritual magic, more so than any other field of magic, could be both incredibly finicky and wildly powerful in ways that were hard to quantify. For instance, only among rituals did you find spells that were more powerful on certain days of the week or that required a certain planetary alignment to work properly.


    Unlike in a regular spell that might utilize perhaps a half-dozen spell-forms, perhaps slightly more in the case of highly complex and specialized spell matrices, a single ritual could use fragments from dozens, hundreds, or even potentially thousands of individual spell-forms. A single rune was simply a two-dimensional projection of a multi-dimensional spell-form after all, and a ritual such as the one I¡¯d used contained hundreds of unique symbols.


    Furthermore, there was the living sacrifice to consider, along with the magically-powerful materials I¡¯d used to create the ink and the innate properties of the room itself as well. With so many factors in play, there was only so much you could predict, calculate, and optimize. With Professor Williams¡¯s guidance, we¡¯d put together a ritual designed to maximize my gains, but that was no guarantee that things would work out exactly the way we wanted them too.


    The Outsider I¡¯d captured, a Starspawn Doppelganger, possessed a number of interesting traits, but after some discussion we¡¯d decided that it would be a waste to attempt to simply gain one aspect of its abilities. Instead, we wanted to steal as much as we could from its key trait, its incredible adaptability.


    Despite the power of the ritual, the ability I¡¯d stolen would never be as strong as that of the original host. Some of its adaptability was simply a feature of its otherworldly ¡®biology¡¯, but unlike a regular spell, ritual magic could often find workarounds for such things.


    More importantly, I was dealing with an Outsider and not a regular magical creature like a troll or a rock-wyrm. I didn¡¯t want to steal a specific circulation or group of circulations, as an Outsider its abilities did not conform to the rules of magic as I knew them.


    Instead, what I needed was a ritual that could convert some amount of the Outsider¡¯s innate ability into something my body could use. That was the key element that had held me back from creating the ritual without Professor Williams¡¯s help. I simply didn¡¯t have the needed expertise to do so.


    What we¡¯d come up with in the end was a complex web of runes that I only mostly understood and certainly wouldn¡¯t have been able to create on my own. Its function was to use the Outsider as both a sacrifice and a catalyst to convert the concept of the Outsider¡¯s adaptability into something I could actually use properly with my human body and local magic while limiting the amount of potential contamination from the Outsider¡¯s foreign nature.


    It worked. Or at least I was pretty sure it had. I had yet to test it fully and it would be months before I was certain everything was fully safe and properly adjusted, but even if what I was looking at now was the full extent of what I¡¯d gained, I would be absolutely thrilled.


    I watched with growing fascination as the threads of mana within my body shifted slightly, minute twitches and hair-thin adjustments that would have been impossible to perceive if I wasn¡¯t so in tune with my own mana. It was barely anything at all, well within the margin of error I typically worked with when it came to my well-practiced circulations.


    And yet, with every tiny adjustment my mind felt just that tiny bit clearer, my memories and senses sharper. Years of practice and meditation told me exactly how effective my circulations should be given the amount of mana moving through them, and this was not it. This was better, and not by a small margin.


    With bated breath I slowly formed my next circulation, carefully threading strands of mana out of my core and weaving them in gentle spirals and webs throughout the muscles of my arms and legs. The moment the circulation snapped into place, the end of the thread connecting back into my core, the entire arrangement shifted and twisted, the overall structure barely changing but individual strands twisting and twitching into a more perfect arrangement.


    I opened and closed my hand, feeling my muscles flex beneath my skin. It was hard to say for certain, I didn¡¯t have a good baseline to test with just this one physical circulation active, but my gut told me I was measurably stronger than I would have been a few days earlier.


    My lips stretched into a wide smile. That was interesting. Very, very interesting. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how this related to the ¡®adaptability¡¯ I had attempted to take from the Outsider, but if these initial tests were at all indicative of how it worked, I was already very happy with my newly acquired abilities.


    I could barely feel them thrumming in the background, a completely incomprehensible mass of higher-dimensional mana that was now woven through every inch of my body and stretched into my soul. The ¡®circulation¡¯, though calling it that felt like a gross mockery, was woven so tightly into the very core of my being that I¡¯d only noticed it after several hours of meditation.


    It was a part of me now, several long and painful days of recovery having given it time to integrate with the rest of what made me me. I was very glad that circulations created and acquired through ritual magic did not require the same sort of maintenance and reconstruction as manually created ones did, because there was no way I was in any way capable of understanding what I was looking at, much less recreating it from scratch.


    Looking at it now, I had a feeling that I had grossly underestimated the complexity of what lay beneath the surface of Miranda¡¯s skin. Sure I¡¯d found a very complex natural circulation, but I hadn¡¯t even been looking for something like this. I didn¡¯t even know how I would begin trying to analyze something like this outside of my own body. The spells and techniques I¡¯d used were made to analyze the sort of circulations I knew how to use, not whatever this thing was.


    I laughed silently. I thought I¡¯d understood circulations. Clearly I was very mistaken. Perhaps my understanding was better than that of my classmates, but this showed me just how far I had yet to go. Someday, I told myself, I would have the expertise to create something like this from scratch. That day was far off into the future, but it would be glorious.


    I let myself indulge in such a dream for a few short minutes, then got back to work. Clearing out the collapsed circulations inside my body had taken less time than I¡¯d expected, possibly my new adaptability at work or perhaps simply I was better at it then the last time such a task had been required, but I still had a lot to do today.


    I needed to recreate all of the circulations I maintained at all times before the next time I needed to leave my room and then there were people I needed to talk to, exams to prepare for, and important tasks to finish. Winter break was just around the corner and then I could spend day after day doing nothing but studying my new ability. Something to look forward to, not focus on right now.


    Three hours later I finally opened my eyes and stretched. My back popped, stiff from long hours sitting motionlessly in my chair. My throat was dry and my stomach empty, but despite those physical discomforts I felt amazing. Mana thrummed silently beneath the surface of my skin and my newly re-stabilized core spun slowly at the center of my soul.


    I was not yet fully recovered, my mana control outside my body was still thoroughly disrupted and at the current rate it would be days before my mana would regenerate fully, but my body felt strong and my mind sharp in a way they hadn¡¯t in several days. The sluggish mud had been washed away from my thoughts and I no longer felt like a strong breeze would knock me off my feet.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    I stood up and my legs held me with no trouble. I laughed loudly, stretching my arms up above my head and twisting my shoulders from side to side before leaning down and resting my palms flat against the ground without bending my knees.


    Straightening, I noticed Rea watching me from where she was kneeling by Daphne¡¯s bound body and gestured for her to approach. She hurried over to me and I pulled her up into a tight hug, then in a moment of curiosity picked her up by the sides and held her up over my head.


    It was nearly effortless. I could feel her weight, but it was like lifting a pillow and not an adult woman. I could have done this before, yes, but I would have felt it! Now, with five different strength-enhancing circulations augmented by the Outsider¡¯s adaptability, I could have held a dozen of her there without breaking a sweat.


    I couldn¡¯t wait to test things out properly in one of the Academy¡¯s reservable gyms. Perhaps it was not exactly common for a mage to engage in physical combat, but the ability to run and dodge better was potentially priceless.


    ¡°Master?¡± Rea asked quietly, and I realized that I¡¯d been holding her for nearly a full minute while my thoughts raced. I shook myself, then set her gently back down on her feet.


    ¡°Some¨C¨C¡± I began, then coughed as my body reminded me how dry my throat was. I cleared my throat, ¡°Some tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes master!¡±


    The next morning I woke up to another very pleasant surprise. Typically, the first thing I did after waking up was spend ten to fifteen minutes fixing up my circulations that had degraded over night without my direct supervision. I knew that it was possible to maintain circulations perfectly without paying them any attention, but my unconscious mana control was not yet quite at that level. It wasn¡¯t exactly a lot of work, but it was certainly an annoyance and for the first few days after adding a new circulation to my repertoire, I had to rebuild it fully each day until I got used to it.


    Now, it seemed like that was no longer an issue. I carefully examined the web of mana threads crisscrossing my body and found not a single mote of mana out of place. More than that, my mana core felt noticeably fuller than it should have considering how much time had passed. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was a sign that my rate of mana regeneration had improved or if the continued drain on my mana from the ritual¡¯s progressing changes had finally abated, but either way it meant I was much more ready to face the day than I had feared.


    I clambered reluctantly out of bed and slowly got dressed for the day. Today was Tuesday, which meant I had three classes to attend. More importantly, it meant that my practical exam for Professor Shrike¡¯s Evocation Fundamentals class was tomorrow and last night I had barely been able to cast a simple force spike spell without it making me want to vomit.


    Thankfully, I wasn¡¯t really expecting to need to do much in my classes today. Professor Yana told us we would just be having a review session during our last class together, as had Professor Shrike. Similarly, Professor Williams was having us meet in one of the viewing rooms to watch our last few classmates go through with their own enhancement rituals. The biggest struggle there was going to be dealing with Camille¡¯s inevitable pestering.


    Miranda met me at the door to my room and we walked together up to the Academy cafeteria. Today we didn¡¯t bother with using illusions to hide my presence; half the goal of this excursion was to be seen up and about. Though I still was struggling with my spellcasting, outwardly I looked strong and healthy.


    I piled my plate high with buttery eggs, cured meats, and some sort of fried, cheese-based cakes that were filled with chopped nuts and dried berries and smelled absolutely incredible. I hadn¡¯t really noticed it before, but I was absolutely starving. Elf milk had kept me going and made sure my body had everything it needed to function, but it was no substitute for hot food in my belly.


    Miranda and I found a small, out-of-the-way table by one of the windows and sat down together. She hadn¡¯t even bothered to take a plate, simply grabbing both of us a tall glass of the dark-blue iced tea they had on display today. I took a small sip and found it slightly sweet and fruity, with a pleasant minty aftertaste that lingered on my tongue. Not bad at all.


    I was about half-way through the small mountain of food I¡¯d grabbed and starting to question if I¡¯d been slightly too ambitious with my first real meal since Friday when I noticed Liam making his way towards us.


    ¡°Hey Orion,¡± he called out once he was relatively close, ¡°nice to run into you like this. Mind if I join you?¡±


    I had no real reason to say no. ¡°Go for it.¡±


    He set his own plate down and I was slightly relieved to see it just as filled with food as my own plate had been. Despite knowing it wasn¡¯t really an issue here, I still sometimes felt awkward to find myself taking more food then the people around me. It was an irrational concern, no one in Avalon went hungry unless they wanted to, but one I¡¯d never been able to fully eliminate from the edges of my mind.


    Liam grabbed a third chair from a nearby empty table and sat down heavily. Taking a long sip from his own blue drink, he set the glass down and sighed loudly, staring at it as though he wished it was something a tad bit stronger.


    ¡°Long week?¡± I asked rhetorically.


    He sighed again. ¡°Long month. You think exams suck now, just wait until seventh year.¡±


    ¡°I think I can imagine.¡±


    I felt a tiny flash of mana and one of the small cakes on Liam¡¯s plate silently split in half. Liam speared it with his fork and brought it to his mouth, chewing and swallowing the piece before responding. ¡°Maybe. Think the paper for our Mana Theory class, except there¡¯s at least two or three of them and also a practical exam.¡±


    I winced. ¡°Damn.¡± That paper had taken a lot of work and I still needed to finish editing and preparing my presentation. It would have been even worse if I hadn¡¯t already done so much work on my own time on studying and designing the shielding magic I was writing about. Five or six papers like that would have completely destroyed any semblance of free time I had.


    He smiled ruefully. ¡°Yeah. That. Speaking of which, how is yours coming along? This is probably your first time having to present like this, right?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°You got this. It doesn¡¯t have to be perfect, it just has to be good enough. Don¡¯t be discouraged if it doesn¡¯t match up with what some of us have prepared, you''re only a third year and the graders will keep that in mind. Plenty of time left to get better.¡±


    His words didn¡¯t come off quite as encouraging as I think he meant them too, but I appreciated the sentiment. ¡°We¡¯ll see. I think my presentation is good, I¡¯m mostly worried about the writing itself. I¡¯ve never had to submit something like that before.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. Would you like me to take a look before you turn it in? I think I can spare an hour to give it a quick look on Thursday night or something.¡±


    I was glad I had just taken another bite of my food because it gave me a good excuse to consider the offer before I had to say something one way or another. My first instinct was to refuse. This felt like a very obvious attempt to steal my work, either to take credit for it or just use it for his own purposes. Knowing how exactly my pure mana shield worked might expose an exploitable weakness that could potentially get me killed.


    On the other hand, well, it was Liam. If he really wanted to kill me, there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop him from doing just that. Similarly, how useful exactly would my clumsy attempts be to someone who I knew could snap off sixth-circle combat spells in the blink of an eye. I¡¯d seen Liam fight before, if only against a copy of himself, and my flimsy defense would do absolutely nothing against some of the spells he could throw around without breaking a sweat.


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you could do the same, of course,¡± he added a moment later, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯d have a much different perspective on my own writing than I do.¡±


    Oh, well that certainly helped make up my mind. I was very curious what a talented seventh-year like Liam had come up with. This was absolutely an unfair exchange for Liam, there was no way whatever feedback I could give him was as valuable as what he was giving me, but I would be a fool to pass up this opportunity.


    ¡°That would be great.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. Then how about we meet up after dinner on Thursday, say seven o¡¯clock, and see how it goes from there?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±

 Chapter 114

    After breakfast, Miranda walked me to my first class, Advanced Body Alteration 1 with Professor Yana, then headed off on her own to do some studying. Despite how interesting I found the material, the class itself had been rather boring the past two weeks. We hadn¡¯t really done much of anything outside of review and watching the last few students demonstrate their competence in the necessary spells to the professor.


    I spent a few minutes before we began chatting idly with Janna. Like me, she¡¯d already proven herself capable of casting all the spells needed to graduate weeks ago, and we were both just preparing for the written exam on Thursday. I was very glad that I¡¯d gotten those requirements out of the way before my ritual, as I needed to reestablish my shifter¡¯s body before I could cast any of those spells again or else I risked utterly ruining my new enhancements, and that was something I really didn¡¯t have time for right now.


    Janna seemed to be in a very good mood. Not only was she apparently doing better than usual in all of her classes, something she cheerfully thanked me for, but the Avalon portal was also going to be within a day¡¯s travel of her family estate over the winter holiday and she was very excited to spend time with them instead of staying at the Academy.


    Class was as dull as I¡¯d expected it to be. Professor Yana quickly ran through the structure of Thursday¡¯s exam, answered some questions, and then one by one called up the last few students who had yet to demonstrate all of the class¡¯s required spells.


    Most of them didn¡¯t have any trouble with the rudimentary spellwork, but three students were left nearly in tears when their attempts were deemed insufficient. One girl did break down into wracking sobs when the Professor told them they would have one last attempt on Thursday before the exam or she would fail them for the course.


    It was rather sad, the same way seeing a pitiful three-legged dog whining on the edge of the street was sad. It was pathetic; she had only managed one of the nearly a dozen required spells and hadn¡¯t even attempted the ones that required a shifter¡¯s body. I had no idea how she¡¯d managed to make it to third year, but there was no way she was going to master the rest of them in that short a period of time.


    Judging from the way the boy sitting behind her was eyeing her, I had a feeling she wasn¡¯t going to have to worry about that for much longer. Perhaps if there was slightly less attention on me right now, I might have tried something myself, but it wasn¡¯t like she was anything particularly special anyway.


    I said goodbye to Janna, remorsefully declining her offer to do some last minute studying together for the exam with her and a few of our classmates. It felt like she took my refusal gracefully; I was pretty sure she hadn¡¯t expected me to say yes and had simply offered out of courtesy.


    I paused, feeling a twinge of something in the back of my mind. Where had that come from? For a moment, Janna¡¯s usual smile had felt so very open and clear. Then the moment passed and I shook my head. Still, something prompted me not to end the exchange there like I normally would have. ¡°I appreciate the offer though,¡± I told her with a small smile, ¡°another time, just the two of us perhaps. Some time next week?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± Janna told me.


    We exchanged a few more pleasantries and then Miranda, who had arrived a few minutes after class ended, and I headed back down to my room. I had so much I needed to do and a rapidly dwindling amount of time to do it.


    I spent the next few hours meditating and running through some of the least mana-intensive mana control exercises I knew. Though I wasn¡¯t a specialist in the field, everything I¡¯d read and learned in class told me that the worst was behind me now. In theory, I could just wait a few weeks and everything should return to normal, but I didn¡¯t have time for that. I had two practical exams in the next three days and needed to be in casting shape tomorrow, not at the end of the month.


    As I slowly stretched my mana control ¡®muscles¡¯, I focused most of my attention on my mana core and slowly absorbing ambient mana into it. There were two ways for a mage to regenerate their mana, passively and actively.


    Mana was a byproduct of the soul¡¯s interaction with the world, something Professor Zim had likened to the heat produced by friction when you rubbed your hands together. As a mage grew in power, their soul became stronger and that interaction became more obvious, which was why an experienced mage could regenerate and store much more mana than a relative beginner like me. As long as you had formed something resembling a mana core, it would naturally catch and store this energy, thus passively regenerating your reserves.


    However, that friction was not the only place one could pull mana from. The world was full of ambient mana, the byproduct of millenia of mages and magical creatures pushing their mana into the world. With practice, this mana could be gathered, assimilated, and then drawn into the core to increase the rate of regeneration. It was a slow and difficult process, but it was also the only way I had a chance of filling my reserves by tomorrow¡¯s practical exam for Evocation Fundamentals.


    Thankfully, Avalon was filled with ambient mana, the concentration of it much higher than in most parts of the world. There was no risk of me draining the air fully and rendering my room a manaless desert, the pocket dimension was so packed with mana that I could do this for my entire life and never make a dent.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    By the time Rea gently shook me out of my meditative trance, my core was nearly half-full and I was genuinely pleased by my progress towards regaining my spellcasting. I hadn¡¯t tried casting anything yet, but I was pretty sure I could manage to form a second-circle spell matrix as long as I was careful and worked slowly.


    There was a smile on my face when I met Miranda outside my room and I told her to pass along to Lea that I would try to meet with her today after classes. Miranda had told me earlier that my friend was apparently getting worried about me despite Miranda¡¯s best efforts to keep her occupied, and I was pretty sure I could spare half an hour to reassure her.


    With Miranda at my side, I grabbed a very brief bite to eat and then hurried to my last non-exam class with Professor Shrike. Unfortunately, my good mood did not last much longer than that. I was just laying out my things when my least favorite person at the Academy came into the room.


    ¡°Orion!¡± Brenda half-shrieked as rushed over to sit beside me, her voice as loud and whiny as ever. I could barely stop myself from pushing her away when she wrapped her clammy hands around one of my own and pressed herself into my side. ¡°I heard you were attacked last week!¡± she exclaimed, ¡°And then you missed our date this weekend! Are you okay, darling? Did they hurt you? I was so worried about you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, sorry for worrying you dear,¡± I said softly, hoping to make her lower her own voice as well. ¡°I was just finishing up an important project and got caught up with things,¡± I lied easily, ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you. We can spend some time together this weekend. Maybe once the portal moves we can go out to a nice restaurant in Gulivine, see a play, watch the sunset¡­¡± I trailed off, carefully freeing my arm and wrapping it around her shoulders.


    Brenda sighed and leaned her head back against my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± Then her eyes narrowed and she scowled at me. I was pretty sure it was supposed to look like a glare, but I couldn¡¯t take the expression seriously on Brenda¡¯s face, no matter how good her makeup was. It took all my willpower not to laugh at the sight. ¡°But you better never do something like that to me, get it? I was really worried about you.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Screwing my eyes tightly shut, I leaned down and brushed my lips across her forehead. ¡°I love you Brenda. Sorry for worrying you.¡± I hated her. I hated her so much, but I couldn¡¯t let it show.


    When I opened my eyes, there was a bright red blush on Brenda¡¯s pale cheeks and she was looking down towards the ground. ¡°I forgive you.¡±


    I clenched the hand hidden by my side into a fist. ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± I couldn¡¯t wait to be done with Brenda. Perhaps I would not be free of her fully for a long time, but she would be so much more agreeable to be around. Every time I looked at her, all I could see was Lea¡¯s broken, violated body. Maybe in a few months Lea would enjoy returning the favor. My forced smile turned a fraction more genuine. Now that was lovely scene to picture


    My eyes flickered towards the front of the classroom, where Professor Shrike was still busily shuffling through a stack of papers behind his podium.


    ¡°How are your exams going, beautiful? You had one yesterday, right?¡± If I was remembering correctly, that would have been one of her divination classes, the only field of magic I knew for a fact Brenda was quite good at. Academics could sometimes be a sore subject for Brenda, she was rather bad at most magic, but the stupid girl loved bragging about that whenever she had the slightest reason too.


    It looked like I¡¯d made a good choice. Brenda¡¯s face lit up and she sat up straighter, turning to face me fully. ¡°Yeah, Intermediate Scrying. It went amazing, I found all the targets way faster than anyone else did. Professor Fovea hid a bunch of little tokens out in the city and we needed to make a list of where she put them and then what order she hid them in. It was a bit tricky without some of my equipment, but nothing I couldn¡¯t manage anyway!¡±


    ¡°That''s wonderful, I knew you¡¯d do well! I don¡¯t think I could do something like that half as well. Maybe you could show me some tricks. I keep meaning to take divination classes, but they never fit my schedule.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Orion! I¡¯d love to, you¡¯ve helped me so much in my other classes it would be only fair.¡±


    ¡°So tell me a bit more about this exam. You said the Professor hid these tokens up in the city, right? Did you see anything interesting while you were looking for them?¡±


    Without much more prompting, Brenda launched into a detailed account of the exam that I dutifully listened to and committed to memory. Honestly I wasn¡¯t that interested, but Brenda would expect me to remember every detail she¡¯d told me and it was better than actually having to interact with her. Or well, it was at first. There was only so much of her voice I could stand to listen to before I wanted to rip my ears out of my head.


    Her story was thankfully cut short a few minutes later when Professor Shrike started the class. She promised to tell me more about it when we met up this weekend, so that was something to look forward to. Ugh. That was the first thing I was going to change when I had the chance. In the future, my Brenda would be silent unless absolutely necessary. It would make spending time with her so much more tolerable.


    After class, I managed to deftly extract myself from Brenda¡¯s embrace after only two attempts, far too much practice making the necessary movements and apologies nearly instinctive by now. There was no Miranda to meet me this time, she was in class and the walk between Professor Shrike¡¯s classroom and the ritual room Professor Williams was using today was rather short so I hoped it wouldn¡¯t be an issue.


    Honestly it was probably a good thing. After what happened with Lea, I really didn¡¯t like the looks Brenda sometimes gave my succubus slave. I¡¯d tried to make it clear to Brenda that I considered Miranda a close friend, but in no way a romantic prospect. I didn¡¯t know what had made her order a hit on Lea, nor how she¡¯d even found out about my childhood friend, but I still wanted to minimize how often Brenda saw Miranda and I together. Just another reason to deal with her as soon as possible, as if I didn¡¯t have enough of those already. Ugh.

 Chapter 115

    My second-to-last class with Professor Williams was about as uninteresting as I had expected it to be. There were two rituals planned back-to-back, performed by two unremarkable third years with whom I¡¯d exchanged perhaps a dozen total words despite having taken several of the same classes.


    The first went well from what I could tell. It was about as simple as this sort of sacrificial enhancement rituals could get. The odd-looking bat creature he sacrificed apparently had the unusual ability of ¡®hearing¡¯ mana instead of sensing it in the more traditional sense. From what I could see of his circle, it seemed like the gray-haired girl was also angling to acquire some of its more mundane sensory enhancements as well, though there were only a half-dozen runes dedicated to that portion of the ritual.


    The second ritual resulted in our class¡¯s latest fatality. Even before he began his casting, it was clear to see that the lanky third year had copied a lot from the work of Erna, one of Professor Williams¡¯s prot¨¦g¨¦s who had demonstrated a sacrificial ritual for us about halfway through the semester. Furthermore, his runework was¡­ sloppy. Not bad per se, but I could see two different places where the mana flows would clash without even really examining it. Such issues could be ironed out during the casting itself, but they were a bad sign.


    I never did get to see if his casting was as sloppy as his preparations. He had only just begun charging the ritual circle when the decrepit-looking goblinoid he¡¯d planned to sacrifice managed to slip a hand out from the cuffs holding its arms behind its back and promptly ran one dirty, dagger-like claw across the back of his exposed ankle.


    The off-green mana slowly pouring into the prepared ink pulsed and twisted. For a moment, I thought that he might be able to maintain control of the ritual. Then he let out a piercing cry of pain and collapsed to the ground.


    Professor Williams¡¯s shield spell snapped into place, a dome of barely visible sand fully enclosing the ritual circle. Seconds later, most of our class was similarly encased in protective bubbles as everyone realized what was about to happen. My mana spun, a tight shell of woven blue tendrils forming around me like armor. Though it looked impressive, I could feel the painfully obvious faults in its construction, a sign of my still-recovering mana core.


    Thankfully, there was no need to test the strength of my defenses. The ritual detonated in a spectacular burst of green and red. Viscera from both our former classmate and the goblin sacrifice splattered against the dome Professor Williams had erected and then slid slowly down to puddle on the floor.


    We sat in silence as a storm of swirling green mana raged on for several long minutes. Then, it slowly dissipated, leaving behind an empty dome scoured clean of ink and life alike. Professor Williams finally let her spell drop and turned to look over at us. ¡°Well, that was an exciting way to end the class, hmm?¡± she said cheerfully. ¡°Normally I¡¯d ask for an essay on what exactly went wrong, but I think we all saw what happened here so I¡¯ll let you all off, just this once.¡± She winked conspiratorially, then loudly clicked her tongue. ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯re done a little early today, why not. You lot have enough on your plates as it is. Class dismissed.¡±


    I tried to leave immediately, but Camille cornered me before I could hurry out of the ritual chamber. Thankfully, she was just as loaded with work as I was, so we simply agreed to meet sometime next week to ¡®talk about things properly¡¯.


    Then, it was time for something I¡¯d been unintentionally putting off for several days now. I needed to go see Lea and reassure her that I was alright and that everything was fine. Apparently, Miranda had let slip that she was away taking care of me this past weekend and Lea had been growing increasingly frantic and worried in the days since.


    I did feel somewhat bad about it, even though the situation had been unfortunately unavoidable. It had been an entire week since I¡¯d visited her last, and she¡¯d been stuck in a small, windowless room all this with just Miranda for company. Miranda was doing what she could, but I had at least temporarily vetoed the idea of putting my friend into stasis or some other form of suspended animation, so there was only so much even my very capable succubus could manage.


    After briefly stopping by my room for a change of clothing and a shower¨C¨Cmy clothing stank of Brenda¡¯s perfume¨C¨CI made my way over to Miranda¡¯s room. She was probably not back there yet, my class had let out nearly an hour early and hers was unlikely to have done the same, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Perhaps it was even better for me to meet Lea without her present.


    I slipped silently into Miranda¡¯s room and, for the second time since I¡¯d brought Lea to Avalon, immediately wished I had been just a little bit less hasty. It was undeniable that my childhood friend had grown into an absolutely stunning young woman. She had the sort of figure that most people needed high-level shape changing magic and illusions to achieve, with perfect clear and smooth skin, curves in all the right places, and just the right mix of fat and muscle that drew the eye to her long legs and slender waist.


    At the moment, both of those features, as well as most of her other ¡®assets¡¯, were rather prominently on display. Lea was clearly not expecting company, or perhaps she was just expecting Miranda¡¯s company judging by what I suspected was the double-ended dildo Miranda had mentioned when I¡¯d caught the two of them enjoying themselves lying on the bedside table.


    My friend was sitting up on Miranda¡¯s bed, butt naked and utterly engrossed in a slender book with a bright red cover. She had the hand not holding her book buried between her legs, knees up in the air and legs spread wide as she rather aggressively pumped something in and out. Over the rather loud squelching, I could hear her breathing come in ragged gasps and her bare feet were kicking and twitching against the white sheets.


    I closed my eyes and sighed silently. I just knew that this was going to be a whole mess and there wasn¡¯t much I could do to avoid it. I had no issues with seeing Lea like this, I¡¯d never really had many issues with nudity in the past and between some of my classes, Rea, and my cows, I had grown mostly inured to it, but I had a feeling that Lea wasn¡¯t going to quite see it that way. She¡¯d been horribly embarrassed about it last time, and this time it was just the two of us without Miranda¡¯s utterly shameless behavior to help put her at ease.


    Well, unfortunately there was probably no helping it. I opened my eyes and loudly cleared my throat. ¡°Good afternoon Lea, sorry to interrupt. Don¡¯t mind me, I¡¯m just going to take a seat while you finish up.¡± The moment the words were out of my mouth something told me that there was probably a better way of phrasing what I was trying to say. Unfortunately it was probably a bit too late for that now.


    Lea¡¯s book snapped closed, followed a moment later by her knees as she let out a high pitched eep and frantically moved to cover herself. ¡°Orion!¡± she cried out, her already flushed cheeks burning a rosy red, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear¨C¨C I didn¡¯t realize you were coming!¡±


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Lea¡¯s head swung back and forth rapidly, looking between me and the bed around her. I could see a familiar dress lying balled up on the floor near the foot of the bed, her discarded undergarments scattered around it. After a moment, Lea simply wrapped the blanket she was lying on up around her waist and futilely attempted to hide her breasts behind one slender forearm.


    I took a few steps towards the bed, making Lea¡¯s big blue eyes widen, then leaned down and scooped up her dress. ¡°Here,¡± I told her. I gently shook it out, then tossed it over to land beside her. Smiling faintly, I made a point of turning around and folding my hands behind my back. ¡°Sorry about that, I got out of class a bit early and wanted to come see you as soon as I could. I promise I won¡¯t look.¡±


    I heard a soft rustle of cloth behind me and then Lea¡¯s arms wrapped around my shoulders. I had to stop myself from reflexively blasting her with a force lance at the sudden contact; even Brenda made sure that I could always see her coming when she threw herself at me. It was just another sign of how much my control had degraded, my mana sense should have warned me she was moving before she¡¯d crossed the bed, not only once she was within arm¡¯s reach.


    ¡°It''s alright,¡± Lea whispered softly, her mouth almost uncomfortably close to my ear and her warm breath tickling the back of my neck, ¡°I don¡¯t mind if it''s you. I¡¯m glad you came, I¡¯ve missed you.¡±


    I could almost taste the emotion in her voice, a mix of longing, fear, desire, desperation, and countless more that I wasn¡¯t sure how to describe. I was glad for Miranda¡¯s warning from before, or else I think I would have been thoroughly confused. As it was, I still wasn¡¯t really sure how to respond.


    I didn¡¯t know how I felt about Lea¡¯s apparent crush on me. On one hand, there was probably no other person in the world about whom I cared as much as I did Lea. She was my last remaining link to a kinder past that I had thought utterly lost until I found her again. I knew that, when we had been children, our parents had sometimes spoken of matching us together when we were both older. Some of it had definitely been said as a joke, but there had been hints of something much more serious in the final months before the end.


    Lea was smart, kind, beautiful, and, very importantly, far removed from the entire culture of backstabbing and political maneuvering of Avalon. Far too many students died each year from relationship disputes for me to ever feel comfortable with an Avalon student I wasn¡¯t already planning on betraying. Realistically, there wasn¡¯t much more I could want from a partner.


    On the other hand, well, I wasn¡¯t really the person Lea was crushing on, was I? That person was an illusion that existed only in her mind, a kind, gallant white-knight that she had built up from our scant few interactions over the past months. The Orion in her mind was not me, and I was absolutely terrified of what she would think if, when, she ever learned the truth.


    I had only ever done what I had to, but would she ever see it that way? Some of the things I¡¯d done, that I was still doing, well¡­ They were monstrous. Only out of necessity, and I always stopped myself from going too far, but would she believe that?


    There was a reason I¡¯d put her up in Miranda¡¯s room and not my own. Mistletoe deserved what was happening to her. She had squandered the gifts life had given her and was going to kill me! I was just defending myself and making the best out of a bad situation. I hadn¡¯t killed her or tortured her or anything like that, she would have happily done worse to me if I¡¯d given her the opportunity.


    Rea, well, I¡¯d saved her life! She was happy, well fed, and cared for. She had a job to do, plenty of time to spend improving herself, and access to any luxuries or things she asked for within reason. Her life was better than drowning alone and forgotten in a flooded city street.


    It wasn¡¯t like I was chopping their limbs off or testing dangerous spells on them or even torturing them and then feeding them to my pet kraken! All three of my ¡®roommates¡¯ were alive and healthy. However, would Lea see that? Or would she take one look at what I¡¯d done and see only that monster Seatamer? She hadn¡¯t been there, hadn¡¯t had to make the tough decisions and bloody choices just to survive. There was blood on my hands, but that didn¡¯t make me like him. It didn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t a monster. I wasn¡¯t.


    My nails dug painfully into my palm and I realized that I¡¯d frozen for a moment. I didn¡¯t resist as Lea gently pulled me back until I was sitting on the edge of the bed with her kneeling behind me with my head cradled against her bare chest.


    ¡°Miranda told me you were very sick,¡± Lea said after a long moment of silence, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling better. I was really worried about you, but Miranda said it was too dangerous for me to come visit. You¡­ you really scared me, Orion. After¡­ everything¡­ I can¡¯t lose you too.¡± She leaned forward, resting her chin on top of my head and I felt a tear drip down onto my head.


    I wasn¡¯t really sure how to respond to that. It had been a¡­ long time since someone had said something like that to me so earnestly. Eventually, I went with the simplest option. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for worrying you,¡± I said softly, covering the pale hands clutched together over my chest with one of my own. ¡°It was an unforeseen consequence of some magic I had to do for class. Nothing too serious, but certainly debilitating. Don¡¯t worry Lea, I¡¯m not going anywhere. Not now, not ever.¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡± she asked weakly.


    I opened my mouth, then paused. That wasn¡¯t really a promise I could make, not really. I would try, of course, but Avalon was a dangerous place at the best of times. Any day here could easily be my last, no matter how cautious and prepared I was. I could lie, of course, but¡­ something about that idea didn¡¯t sit right with me. ¡°As best I can. I¡¯ll be with you for as long as I am able.¡±


    ¡°That''s not a promise.¡±


    ¡°It''s as close as I can get.¡±


    Lea was silent for several minutes, simply continuing to hold me tightly as though I might disappear at any moment. Her presence was a soothing balm against my back, a gentle reminder that, no matter how dark this world we lived in might be, there was still light and warmth left to be found.


    Finally, Lea sighed softly and slumped backwards onto the sheets, her white-knuckled grip on my shoulders pulling me down with her. I fell almost fully on top of her, pinning her bent knees and belly under my back and shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten way too heavy for this,¡± Lea whined, but her voice was much more cheerful than it had been before.


    ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯re the one trying to break my ribs up here. Not really anywhere else for me to go,¡± I joked.


    Lea laughed softly and finally loosened her grip. I slid over slightly to lie on the bed beside her instead of on top of her, then turned onto my side to face her fully.


    Lea smiled at me, her blue eyes sparkling and hair forming a messy halo around her full faced grin. I smiled back and didn¡¯t move as she cuddled up against my chest and wrapped me in a proper hug. She was warm and soft, her smile open and friendly without a hint of the mask that everyone else I knew wore at all times. ¡°I love you, Orion,¡± she mumbled into my collarbone. ¡°I know you¡¯re busy, but¡­ will you stay with me? Just for a little?¡±


    I didn¡¯t have much time, but Lea¡­ she was worth whatever time I did have. It would probably hurt, but I had full confidence I¡¯d be able to pass my exam tomorrow whether I spent eight hours tonight preparing or five. ¡°Of course, I always have time for you. I love you too, Lea.¡±


    I lay there silently as Lea clutched me as though I would disappear at any moment. I would have to remember to clean my shirt, and probably the part of my pants currently pinned between Lea¡¯s thighs, before I left, but that wasn¡¯t an urgent concern. Perhaps my time would have been best used on internal mana control exercise, but instead I just gently rubbed circles on Lea¡¯s back and stroked her silvery-blonde hair. It was a waste of time, but¡­ it was nice.

 Chapter 116

    ¡°Cold!¡± barked Professor Shrike, brandishing the long staff he was holding in front of him.


    Weavingroot, the current student being assessed, jumped to comply. He was a tall, slim elf, one of the few left in our year, with long silver-white hair streaked with dark green lines. Strands of mana sluggishly formed the outline of what I recognized as a simple cold wave spell, one of the first we¡¯d learned this year months ago at the start of the semester.


    Then he flooded the spell matrix with an absolutely unnecessary amount of mana, nearly causing the entire thing to collapse before he could finish the spell. Still, he did manage to salvage things and a moment later a massive blast of arctic winds rushed towards our Professor. The wave of cold was so intense that the moisture in the air flash froze, leaving patches of frost on the room¡¯s sandy floor and specs of snow-like frost floating in the air.


    Professor Shrike met the spell with a slash of his staff, and the icy winds vanished as though they had never existed in the first place. A number of runes along the length of the staff flared like miniature stars, far brighter than anyone else had managed so far, and Professor Shrike hummed thoughtfully as he stared at them.


    The elf smiled arrogantly, clearly pleased with his performance. The staff was a rather famous artifact created by a long-dead alum that he had gifted to the Academy after his death. In life, it had made him a terrifying battlemage, able to absorb almost any spell under sixth-circle with barely any effort from the wielder. Now, it had been repurposed into a teaching tool, the many gauges along its length used to assess the power of student¡¯s spells.


    I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I really hoped that Professor Shrike wasn¡¯t grading us solely on the amount of mana we could put into a spell. The stupid elf clearly hadn¡¯t learned the spell properly, simply brute forcing his way through it with his naturally massive mana reserves.


    Though I¡¯d barely ever interacted with him myself, I¡¯d heard nothing good about the silver-haired elf. He was said to be something of a layabout and a whoremonger, like the worst of the useless nobles that was planning to bail after their fourth year, but even worse since his innate abilities meant Avalon¡¯s first few years were not nearly as challenging for him as they were for many others.


    I¡¯d also heard from Camille that he apparently had a thing for poor human women. He frequented the lowest sort of brothels in every city we visited and had propositioned several of the most vulnerable scholarship students during our first year. I had no real evidence to suggest that he was the one behind a number of their disappearances, but I really wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he was.


    Perhaps Weavingroot wasn¡¯t quite as much of a wastrel as Mistletoe had been, but it still made me seeth inside to see someone squandering their potential the way he was. He was consistently average among our year, not exceptional, but not a pushover either.


    There had been a very public fight at the tail end of our second year where he was ambushed by a third year and absolutely massacred her and one of her companions who jumped in half way through the fight. Though I hadn¡¯t seen the fight first hand, I¡¯d viewed a partial memory of it and his spellcasting had been slow and decidedly subpar, with his elven speed and magic resistance saving his life a dozen times in the span of less than a minute. Had his ambushers been properly prepared, he never would have stood a chance.


    ¡°Now, fire!¡± Professor Shrike called out loudly. Once again, Weavingroot slowly formed an appropriate spell matrix, then flooded with almost enough mana to cast a fifth-circle spell, much less a third circle flamethrower like the one he was using. A billowing torrent of orange fire filled the air between them, the flames seeming to pour out of his hands and flood directly into the staff.


    After nearly thirty seconds, the spell finally cut out, only the noticeable bump in the room¡¯s air temperature left to show that it had ever been there at all. Professor Shrike spent several seconds studying the runes on his staff, then gestured vaguely towards the clipboard and fountain pen floating behind him. The pen flew across the paper, seeming to make a number of notes but leaving the page completely unmarked. Either Professor Shrike had forgotten to put ink in his pen, or this was a way of stopping people from peeking at their grades. Probably the latter.


    ¡°Good. Mr. Weavingroot, you¡¯re free to go.¡± He turned towards where the rest of us were standing in a loose clump at the edge of the training hall and his eyes panned across the group until they met mine. ¡°Come on up, Mr. Hunter. You can be next.¡±


    The elf dipped his head towards our Professor, then spun around and marched out of the room. ¡°Good luck, Orion!¡± Brenda whispered loudly, then leaned in and pecked me on the cheek. ¡°You¡¯re going to do great!¡±


    ¡°Thanks Brenda,¡± I whispered back, then hurried over to the spot Weavingroot had just vacated. My breathing was slow and even, my mana core spinning gently at the center of my chest and my circulations thrumming under my skin. I wasn¡¯t in perfect form, but it would be enough for this. It would have to be.


    The structure of the practical portion of Professor Shrike¡¯s exam was very simple. He would call out the name of a spell-form and you had to perform an evocation spell that used that spell-form as its primary component. He¡¯d given us a list of the spell-forms he would be testing us on several weeks ago and I was confident I could at least cast something for each of them, even if some would definitely be more optimal than others. He hadn¡¯t given us a specific rubric, but I assumed that we would be graded on speed, casting precision, power, and spell complexity just like we had been in Evocation Fundamentals One and Two.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Professor Shrike asked. I nodded. ¡°Good. Force!¡±


    I almost grinned. That was about as good a start as I could get. A few months ago I would have hesitated to show something like this off in front of an audience, preferring to save it in case I was ever in trouble, but after my unfortunately public fight against Kwesta and the outsider ritual, using it as both a deterrent and to get a good grade was probably more valuable.


    Mana poured out of my fingers and I smoothly shaped it into the outline of my most practiced spells. Then, with a force of will that made my mana core twinge unpleasantly, I twisted the entire structure, warping my mana into the mind-bending state required to emulate higher-dimensional segments of spell-forms.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    A moment later, my fourth-circle force lance blasted towards Professor Shrike, a nearly invisible pale line surrounded in an expanding shockwave as the coin-sized tip shattered the sound barrier. I winced slightly at the mana cost, my core was dense enough and my reserves sufficiently large to cast a fourth circle spell safely, but only barely and that one spell took a not-inconsiderable amount of mana. Thankfully, the exam was only going to be three spells, but I was probably going to need to sit down and rest for a bit before leaving the room.


    Despite the spell¡¯s immense speed, crossing the distance between us in the blink of an eye, Professor Shrike still almost negligently caught my force lance on the tip of his staff, his body moving before I had even finished casting. He nodded slowly, his fingers tapping out an irregular rhythm against the dark wood of the staff. ¡°Impressive. How about¡­ heat next.¡±


    Oh, this was shaping up to be a very good performance. Working with Briella on her spellcasting had given me a lot of recent experience with fire and heat spells and there was one spell in particular that I quite liked and was very familiar with.


    A very similar spell matrix as I had used previously formed in front of me, only with the force component replaced by a section of the heat spellform and a few other minor modifications. I didn¡¯t attempt to cast the fourth-circle version this time, I didn¡¯t really have that much mana to spare right now and I had never actually learned a more powerful variation of this spell yet.


    Instead, I focused on speed. Only a few seconds after he had told me what spell-form I should be demonstrating, a hazy ray of scorching heat lanced towards him, visible only from the heat distortion it left in the air. The heat ray moved slower than my force lance had, but only slightly and without a keen mana sense it was nearly imperceptible until it hit something.


    Once again, Professor Shrike caught the ray on the tip of his staff. ¡°Good. Perhaps something a little different now, hmm¡­¡± he hummed. Almost as an afterthought, he twirled his staff and sent a gentle wave of refreshingly cool air washing out through the room, bringing things back to a more pleasant temperature. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ earth.¡±


    That was slightly inconvenient, it was one of the spell-forms we¡¯d covered in his class that I had focused on the least. Spells that used the earth spell-form tended to be rather clunky and large-scale in my experience, and they didn¡¯t really work very well in most of Avalon since the walls and floors of the Academy were made of heavily enchanted and magic resistant stone.


    For the other typical uses of such spells¨C¨Cterrain alterations, erecting barriers, and similar earth-shaping effects¨C¨CI much preferred to use transmutation instead. Between all-material and all-form, you could do basically everything that you could accomplish with earth-based magic except with considerably more finesse.


    Still, that didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t know any such spells, simply that I didn¡¯t really use or practice them very much. I mentally ran through a short list, then decided on the one that was least similar to my previous two spells. He had said he wanted something a little different, and this would hopefully do a better job of displaying the breadth of my abilities.


    I carefully shaped the mana for my next spell, working slowly but making sure that every single line, twist, and curl was exactly right. Messing a spell like this up tended to be very lethal and very messy. It took me nearly half a minute, but when I finished casting I dropped soundlessly into the ground, the earth parting around me like water as I vanished from view.


    Continuing to channel more mana into the spell that now surrounded me I walked slowly through the ground. It felt somewhat like swimming through honey, the hard-packed dirt parting around me but only when I focused on moving that specific part of my body.


    I couldn¡¯t really see anything, but my mana sense was not at all affected by a few inches of dirt above my head and so I could still clearly feel where everyone was. I stopped when I had crossed about half the distance between Professor Shrike and I, then lifted my hands up and brought them forcefully down at my sides while focusing on where I wanted to go.


    I shot out of the ground like a dolphin diving out of the ocean, rising several feet up above the ground. Then I let the spell disperse and landed in a low crouch. I took a long, deep breath, enjoying the feeling of cool air rushing into my lungs. I could easily go the twenty-or-so seconds I had spent underground without breathing, but it still wasn¡¯t particularly pleasant.


    ¡°An unusual choice, but well executed,¡± Professor Shrike told me quietly. ¡°Well done on the fourth-circle force lance. I¡¯ll make sure to mark you down as having completed the year-end requirements.¡± His pen flashed across a new line on his clipboard, then returned to where it had been floating while I was demonstrating spells. Raising his voice, he loudly called out, ¡°Good. Mr. Hunter, you¡¯re free to go. Mr. Floris, you¡¯re up!¡±


    I bowed my head politely. ¡°Thank you, Professor.¡±


    He grunted at me and I made my way back to where Brenda was waiting for me. The moment I was close enough, she grabbed me in a tight hug and stood up on the tips of her toes to kiss my cheek. ¡°That was amazing, Orion!¡± She kissed me again, the feeling of her painted lips like sandpaper against my cheek. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d managed a fourth-circle spell already! We don¡¯t need to be able to do that for almost six more months and you¡¯ve already got it down!¡±


    Of course I hadn¡¯t told her. If I had, half the Academy would have known by the end of the day and this felt like it was a much better way of revealing it. Still, something told me that Brenda wouldn¡¯t like that answer. No, there was a much better way of phrasing things.


    ¡°I wanted it to be a surprise,¡± I whispered, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and pulling her up against my chest. ¡°Did you like it?¡±


    Brenda grinned. ¡°It was so cool! Like, boom! Vwoosh! Can you do any others?¡±


    ¡°A few, I can show you some other time.¡± I leaned in and gently brushed my lips against her forehead, ¡°Not in front of such an audience, okay darling?¡± I felt almost dirty just saying it, but it was necessary. Whether I liked it or not, Brenda was a task that required constant tending.


    Brenda blushed. ¡°Okay Orion.¡±


    ¡°Now, it''s almost your turn. Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°I think so. I practiced really hard this weekend, just like you said I should.¡±


    ¡°Very good dear, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do great. I¡¯ll be right here cheering you on.¡± I kissed the top of her head. That at least wasn¡¯t caked in the layers of cosmetics she always wore for some reason. I was going to need to wash my mouth and lips with soap after this, but the rosy blush visible through her makeup and the way she slumped against my chest told me I was on the right track.


    Maybe I could make some time to visit Lea again tonight. Yesterday, she¡¯d ended up falling asleep after we¡¯d spent half an hour talking and cuddling on Miranda¡¯s bed, but there were still a few things I wanted to talk to her about. I still needed to figure out a more permanent solution to her living arrangements and I wanted her to step up her magic practice. At the moment, Lea was basically defenseless, and that wasn¡¯t something I could tolerate in the long term. It was a lot to worry about, but spending time with Lea always made me feel better. She was my¡­ best friend. She was worth it.

 Chapter 117

    After two-and-a-half years at Avalon, I could safely say that I absolutely loathed written exams. They were tedious, stressful, frustrating, and never failed to leave me grinding my teeth in anxiety until the professor finally decided to actually grade them. Even worse, basically everyone, including many of the teachers assigning them, agreed that they were an absolutely terrible way of assessing how well a student learned the class material, but somehow the practice managed to persist regardless.


    Every class with more than twenty-or-so students, barring a few exceptions, tended to have one. They were typically accompanied by a practical examination or spell demonstration, and those were often weighted more heavily in terms of grading for the class, but to do well you still had to perform at least adequately on the exam. If you wanted a chance at the top spots, you basically had to ace the exam, no matter how good your spellcasting was.


    Some written exams weren¡¯t too bad. For instance, the one I¡¯d taken earlier this morning for Advanced Body Alteration 1 had been about as simple as I could have possibly hoped for. The questions were mostly straight forward and only required a few sentences each to answer. Basically all the material was taken word for word from her various lessons and, since the exam was open note, I could just copy what I¡¯d written in my notebooks onto the test paper with only minor alterations.


    I was the third person to submit my paper and I felt rather confident with all of my answers. All in all, it could have been much, much worse. Still, I couldn¡¯t quite manage to silence the tiny voice at the back of my mind whispering that I¡¯d completely messed everything up, that I¡¯d written my answers in the wrong places, that my notes had been sabotaged, and so on. Even though I¡¯d triple-checked everything I¡¯d written before handing Professor Yana my paper, that lingering worry remained and would probably continue bothering me until grades were posted.


    Unfortunately, Professor Shrike¡¯s exam was not nearly as ¡®nice¡¯. It wasn¡¯t anything I hadn¡¯t known to expect; Professor Shrike had pretty explicitly told us that the exam was going to be ¡®just like the homeworks¡¯. However, the difficulty and complexity of the homework he gave every week could vary dramatically. I had foolishly hoped that the exam would be on the easier side, since we only had two hours to do it instead of a full week.


    Apparently even after all this time I was still far too naive.


    The exam was brutally difficult. Not as hard as some I¡¯d taken, I hadn¡¯t even been able to answer a quarter of the questions of Professor Zim¡¯s final during my freshman year, but much harder than I had expected or hoped for.


    ¡®An attacker standing ten feet away begins to cast a standard third-circle Fireball spell, but with several sections of the spell modified as shown below. Would Lugavin¡¯s Flame Ward be sufficient to ward off the ensuing attack? If not, what modifications would you make to the spell to more adequately protect yourself? Alternatively, what would be the cheapest way to defend yourself in this situation? Explain¡¯


    I hummed thoughtfully as I read and reread the question, studying the complicated spell diagrams provided alongside the question that took up nearly two full pages of the eleven page exam. My voice echoed strangely in the opaque bubble of silence around me, a precaution to ensure that no one could cheat by looking at another student¡¯s paper. The bubbles were also warded against scrying, mental communications, knowledge divinations, and basically every other way of cheating that Avalon had encountered over the centuries.


    This was a trick question, I concluded after another minute of considering the diagrams. If someone tried to cast a fireball with those modifications, it would explode violently, and not the way a fireball was supposed to. The spell matrix would simply collapse when they attempted to activate it, and the backlash would probably be strong enough to reach someone standing a mere ten feet away from the caster.


    Lugavin¡¯s Flame Ward, while a very good defense against most fire spells, would do absolutely nothing to protect you against something like that. Instead, a very simple mana shield like we¡¯d all learned in our first years would be more than enough to do the trick. Honestly you¡¯d probably be fine without it if you had good control of your own mana, but Avalon tended to take the view that it was always better to be safe than dead.


    Content with my conclusion, I began to write down my answer, making sure to thoroughly describe exactly what about the spell modifications would cause the fireball to fail and how I had reached my answer. Even if this wasn¡¯t exactly what Professor Shrike was looking for, he was one of those Professors who would accept multiple correct answers as long as they were sufficiently well reasoned and explained.


    It took several minutes to get everything down and then a quick look up at the floating clock illusion at the front of my privacy bubble told me there was almost exactly half the time left in the exam. Having looked through the entire test before I began answering questions, I knew I was slightly more than half done, so it looked like I was making good time.


    I flipped to the next question. ¡®Diagram the changes needed to make the light produced by a Force Spike spell purple regardless of the caster.¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t quite hold back a groan of annoyance. A properly cast force spell was basically translucent. When it wasn¡¯t translucent, it was typically tinted with the same color as the mage¡¯s mana since that was basically what was causing the color in the first place.


    Thus, what this question actually wanted was a force spike spell modified with an entirely separate light-producing component for some reason. I was intimately familiar with the spell in question and had even modified it somewhat in several ways, but this wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever attempted. After all, what was the point of making a combat spell more obvious?


    I looked up at the clock again, then down at my test. I had fifty-seven minutes left and this was probably going to take at least twenty or thirty of them, especially since I needed to both do the spell modification and write it all down. Diagraming multi-dimensional spells on paper was a challenge at the best of times, much less when under a time crunch. And then there were two more questions I needed to answer after this¡­


    I made a snap decision and flipped the page to quickly skim the other two questions. Neither was easier exactly, but they were probably going to be significantly less time consuming. I could come back to this one when I had finished the rest of the exam.


    I groaned, twisting my wrist this way and that. The pain was mostly a phantom sensation, a few hours of writing wasn¡¯t really enough to hurt my wrist with all the circulations I had running, but it was certainly unpleasant regardless. I really, really hated written exams.


    <hr>


    ¡°Well you look like you¡¯re having a splendid day,¡± Liam joked, setting his plate down on the table across from where Orion was sitting.


    Orion didn¡¯t look like he particularly appreciated the joke. The younger man was sitting hunched over his food, his eyes looking through the piece of meat speared on his fork more so than at it. His usual fake smile was missing, replaced by the same look of cold focus and intensity that had originally convinced Liam to strike up a conversation with the random third year who had sat down beside him in what was otherwise an upper-classman only speciality lecture.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind if I join you, this place is kind of packed tonight. I take it we¡¯re still good for seven tonight?¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    That finally seemed to shake Orion out of whatever it was he was focusing on. He shook himself slightly, then straightened his back and looked up towards Liam. He was smiling again and it looked much better than what he¡¯d been able to manage at the beginning of the year. If not for his experience with Orion and years of political training, he might have almost mistaken it for a real expression.


    ¡°Of course, take a seat. Sorry I was just¡­ lost in thought.¡± Orion paused for a long moment, his eyes never leaving Liam¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re a bit early. Let me just finish up and we can get going.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re all good, take your time. We¡¯ve both had a long day and I am starving.¡± Liam demonstratively picked up his dinner, a soft flatbread wrap filled with lightly roasted vegetables, crumbly cheese, and meat, and took a big bite of it. It was fine. Avalon¡¯s food was rather bland and not particularly amazing compared to what he was used to, but it had the massive benefit of never being poisoned as long as you stayed inside the cafeteria. That was not something he could really rely on at home.


    Orion nodded slowly. ¡°Okay. Do you have somewhere for us to go or should we see if one of the rooms at the library is open? I still have a few reservations open for the term we could use.¡±


    Liam quickly finished chewing and swallowed. ¡°I reserved a room, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Being a seventh year came with a number of perks, such as an unlimited number of room reservations each semester as long as they didn¡¯t abuse the privilege. Liam made sure to always have a room at the library set aside for his use, as well as an alchemical workshop.


    It had been a little bit annoying to set up at the start of the year, but it had saved him a lot of time and effort in the months since. Some of his classmates preferred to do all their research in their own rooms, but sometimes doing so was just completely impractical. Sometimes research exploded, and he much preferred it when that happened far away from his own expensive reagents and equipment.


    The two of them ate in silence for several minutes. Liam idly watched the bustling crowd of students moving through the cafeteria. With so many mages in such a comparatively small space, their mana mingled and flowed together until it felt like one great rainbow beast crouching over the room


    In a few spots, Liam recognized the mana of some of his peers, their much denser auras forming gentle buffers within the currents where little foreign mana could intrude. And of course above it all was the barely perceptible taste of divinity filling the entire space with a sense of warmth and homey comfort. Even after years of effort he could only just barely perceive it beyond a faint haze that seemed to cover everything within his sensory range. It was clearly mana, or at least something very much like it, but it was just slightly out of phase compared to what he was used to.


    When he¡¯d asked his mentor about it, the professor had simply smiled softly and shaken his head, and no amount of research since then had been able to shed a light on what exactly he was sensing. The knowledge was clearly out there, but it was not something available to him. Not yet at least. Perhaps once he had enough points saved up, he might finally be able to access the necessary books, but that would have to wait.


    Liam had just taken another bite from his wrap when Orion suddenly asked a question out of the blue. Liam typically enjoyed some light conversation while he was eating, but he tended to conform to his companion¡¯s preferences whenever he was meeting with someone and Orion tended to be on the silent side of things.


    ¡°Do you think that encompassing a force spell inside of a colored illusionary shell is the same thing as making the force spell produce colored light?¡±


    Liam blinked, slightly confused by the question and not really having caught everything that Orion had said. He¡¯d been so focused on trying to feel out the edges of the cafeteria¡¯s divine enchantments that he¡¯d stopped paying Orion very much attention.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°If you make a shell of illusionary light around a force spell and make it glow a specific color, is that the same as making the force spell produce that color of light?¡±


    Liam considered the rather strange question for a moment. ¡°I mean. Maybe?¡± he finally answered, ¡°I guess if you do it separately, then no, but if you slap together an illusion spell and a force spell and then link them up so they travel at the same rate then¡­ I guess yes? But a properly executed force spell should be fully transparent so I¡¯m not really sure about what you¡¯re asking.¡±


    Orion seemed oddly pleased by Liam¡¯s nonsensical answer. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too. I hope Professor Shrike agrees.¡±


    Ah, that made a lot more sense. Some professors hated it when students already knew the answers to their exam questions before they took the test, so they often used mostly nonsensical spell modifications and combinations in their questions to hopefully ensure that no student had attempted the specific given exercises in the past.


    During his fifth year Liam had been asked to design a spell to tell the specific wrong time based on a complicated scheme that varied based on the current temperature and humidity. The spell he¡¯d created was both utterly pointless and needlessly complicated, but it had done the trick. He hadn¡¯t cast it a single time since and doubted he ever would.


    ¡°An exam question, I presume?¡±


    Orion sighed. ¡°Evocation fundamentals three. Had it this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°My condolences. I thankfully dodged any such ridiculous questions this year. Most of my exams have been practical.¡±


    ¡°Lucky,¡± Orion grumbled, but there was no real heat in his response.


    Liam laughed and explained, ¡°It''s mostly just something that happens for fifth years and above. The classes are all much smaller once all the idiots are gone so you have a lot less written work and a lot more mandatory demonstrations and practical exams. It doesn¡¯t really save any time to have a written exam or weekly quiz when it¡¯s only six people compared to just having them show the professor that they¡¯re learning the material. There are a few exceptions of course, but even then it''s usually more like what we are doing in our class than the exams early years have to take.¡±


    ¡°That sounds amazing,¡± Orion said wistfully, ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡±


    ¡°Just another year and a half,¡± Liam joked. For most third years, it would probably sound like a bad joke. Very few of them stood a chance of getting that far, much less survive the following three years to graduate. However, he had absolutely no doubts that, assuming nothing terrible happened, Orion was going to get there.


    He¡¯d already heard rumors that Orion had cast a fourth-circle spell during his practical exam yesterday. A no-name human only halfway into their third year casting a fourth-circle spell sounded utterly outlandish, but as far as he knew it was the truth. Absolutely insane, but the truth.


    Back when he¡¯d been a third year, Liam had only barely started experimenting with that sort of magic. His first few fourth-circle spells had taken him more than half-an-hour each time, and that was with far more advantages than Orion had going for him. Just the safety precautions he¡¯d set up beforehand would have probably been enough to beggar the other boy a dozen times over.


    What a monster he was going to be someday. Liam was very glad this particular opportunity had basically fallen into his lap. Someday, this might turn out to be one of his very best investments.


    ¡°Just another year and a half¡­¡± Orion whispered, ¡°that¡¯s only three more sets of finals.¡± He sighed loudly. ¡°Thanks Liam, that¡¯s good to know.¡±


    Liam smiled cheerfully. ¡°Always happy to help.¡± He glanced over at the empty plate in front of Orion. ¡°Are you just about ready to get going?¡±


    Once Liam finished his own food, they made their way together towards the library. When they were safely ensconced in their reserved room, Liam dug out his final paper and the two of them went through it together. It was nothing particularly impressive unfortunately, he¡¯d been far too busy working on his graduation spell to give this project the dedication it really deserved, but Liam was mostly happy with it.


    Orion stared at him for several minutes as he demonstrated his technique several times, but didn¡¯t really say or do anything else. He did manage to catch a few minor errors in Liam''s writing, but they were all easily corrected in a matter of minutes. Overall, Liam was rather happy with how things went.


    Then it was Orion¡¯s turn. Liam hadn¡¯t really known what to expect. On one hand, Orion was just a third year in a class filled with much older and more experienced students. Not only that, but this was his very first time working on such a project. On the other hand, this was Orion he was talking about. Liam had gotten rather used to surprises when it came to the younger man.


    Liam read slowly through the nearly forty page paper that Orion presented him with, occasionally making a minor note about grammar or marking a confusing spot in Orion¡¯s reasoning. It was certainly an interesting concept, but he just didn¡¯t see a way for it to be practical. The strange mana weaving was certainly novel, but likely utterly inferior to a proper spell. It was just too complicated, too cumbersome, too slow to be worth the effort.


    Liam asked for a demonstration. In a matter of moments, Orion was surrounded in a dense web of interlocking strands of rapidly spinning mana forming a scintillating dome of purple-tinged light. He could only shake his head in amazement as Orion began to enumerate a number of flaws with the techniques and ideas on how to adjust for them. What. A. Monster.

 Chapter 118

    Perhaps I had been slightly too hasty with expressing my dislike for written exams. Sure I didn¡¯t like taking them and found them both overly stressful and generally pointless, but at the moment I would have much preferred to be frantically answering questions than taking Professor Meadows¡¯s demented ¡®final exam¡¯.


    The stone around me flowed and warped like hot tar under the direction of my magic, rising slowly from the ground to form a rough dome around the chalk circle within which I was sitting. From the other side of the training ground, I could feel Miranda¡¯s stress and anxiety rippling down our bond and I really couldn¡¯t blame her. Professor Meadows had really outdone herself this time.


    In essence, the task itself was relatively simple. Unfortunately, what it really boiled down to was ¡®here are some rules, don¡¯t die¡¯. As someone who was deeply attached to not being dead, that was something that I always strived for, but today Professor Meadows planned to make that task particularly difficult.


    Even for a professor well known for designing devilishly tricky and dangerous exams, what she had prepared for us today was particularly nasty. It wasn¡¯t nasty in the way a trick question on an exam or a misleadingly worded request was nasty. In fact, Professor Meadows had laid out the rules in very simple words that even an idiot couldn¡¯t misunderstand. It was nasty in the way an improperly brewed healing potion could be nasty. Everything might look and feel perfectly fine while you were working on it, and then you were just suddenly dead.


    The goal of the exam was to construct a bunker out of purely mundane materials in such a way that when, at the end of our allotted three-and-a-half hours, Professor Meadows bombarded the entire training ground with combat spells you didn¡¯t die. Each student was placed at the center of two concentric chalk circles arranged in a large grid on the packed dirt of the training ground. If you moved outside the smaller circle, you failed. If you tried to expand your build outside the larger circle, you failed.


    Professor Meadows was ¡®generous¡¯ enough to give us a list of what spells she was planning to use, and it was both terrifying and not as bad as it probably could be. For instance, she wasn¡¯t going to be using any earth spells or something ridiculous like a disintegration ray or turning the entire area around us into stone. However, knowing that in just a few short hours I was going to get bombarded by a sixth-circle meteor storm, fifth-circle force-ram, seventh-circle cloud of boiling ash, and a dozen other rather terrifying-sounding spells was in no way reassuring.


    She had also told us that before she began, she was going to use a ninth-circle dispel on the entire area to make sure that we weren¡¯t using any wards, enchantments, or magic items to attempt to get around her test. At least she¡¯d given us the opportunity to take off any such items before we began, because otherwise I would have been very upset to lose several of my creations that were in no way durable enough to survive an archmage¡¯s attempts to dismantle them.


    I hoped Professor Meadows knew what she was doing. I vaguely remembered a clause in the Academy rules that said that no exam could have more than a twenty-three percent fatality rate. I really hoped that didn¡¯t mean that Professor Meadows would bombard our class until twenty-three percent of us were dead. That would be¡­ bad. I also neither knew and really, really did not want to find out what the Academy would do if her first volley of meteors simply obliterated the entire training ground and reduced us all to ash and charred bones. She would probably be punished, but that was not going to bring me back to life.


    As the ground rose up to form a fully enclosed dome around me, I threw one final furtive look at the students around me. We were around half an hour into the exam and I was one of the first people to actually start casting spells. Most people seemed to be frantically figuring out what spells they were going to use and testing out various ideas on a much smaller scale. One young man I vaguely recognized from class was actively crying as he flipped through a thick notebook, his hands shaking and tears dripping down onto the pages.


    I wondered how many of them I was going to see again. My first exam with Professor Meadows had resulted in at least a dozen fatalities. This time there would presumably be fewer of them, but that was mostly because our class was not really that big.


    I hoped Miranda was going to be okay. We had spent some time preparing for this exam together, but right now there was nothing more I could do for her and this was not exactly her best field of magic. Miranda was a capable mage and a dependable servant. It would be very unfortunate to lose such a valuable asset in such a shameful manner, and explaining her absence to Lea would be difficult. On the other side of the training ground I could just barely make out a flash of her silver hair. Then the earth closed up around me and I was plunged into total darkness.


    A moment later, the two runic arrays I¡¯d hastily scrawled on the ground triggered and I was bathed in warm white light and a gentle breeze of fresh air caressed my face. Even though our final construct had to be purely mundane, there were no rules against making things easier for yourself with magic.


    I wanted as much time as possible to reinforce and build up the barrier around me while showing my classmates as little of my work as possible. Thus, I¡¯d enclosed myself in a thin outer shell of transmuted stone pulled from the ground beneath my feet. Over the next three hours I was going to build as many reinforced layers as I could manage, optimally eventually leaving only a tiny space for myself deep within the dome.


    However, an incredibly well built bunker wasn¡¯t going to help me if I suffocated before the exam ended and I didn¡¯t particularly like the idea of spending three or more hours in total darkness, so I¡¯d first prepared some temporary enchantments to deal with that issue. They would both be destroyed by Professor Meadows¡¯s dispel, but honestly they wouldn¡¯t have lasted much longer than that regardless. Not exactly my best work after all.


    The next few hours passed both far too quickly and far too slowly for my liking. With every spell I cast I felt time slipping away from me. Each took painful minutes to cast, longer to modify, and an uncomfortably long time to actually take effect properly. The ground beneath me slowly sank down as more and more of the material beneath my feet was drawn up above me. Despite mostly focusing on building a dome, I didn¡¯t fully ignore the much less durable ground beneath me either. About half of my layers extended into the ground, full spherical shells connected by triangular braces and packed with every form of insulating and shock absorbing materials I could think of.


    The outside of my shell was made from a material Professor Meadows had called ¡®alchemist¡¯s  steel¡¯, a combination of tungsten and carbon that was devilishly complicated to transmute and nearly impossible to work without magic, but if properly created was more durable than even many magical metals. The first layer was roughly five inches thick and behind that was three more equally thick layers, the gap between them filled with a type of gel that absorbed and distributed heat and blunt force but was horribly toxic if imbibed.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Behind that was a dozen more thinner layers, each one formed from a different material we¡¯d studied over the course of the last few months. In hindsight, it finally made sense why Professor Meadows had spent so much time teaching us about various building materials that were difficult, if not impossible, to create by mundane means. It had initially seemed like a rather odd choice of direction for the class to take; we were supposed to be studying magic after all, not metallurgy and construction.


    Now that I was putting things into practice however, I was very thankful for those lessons. The All-Material spell form theoretically allowed for the creation of any ¡®natural¡¯ material, but it was well known to be one of the most complicated spell forms ever discovered. To use it, you had to both intimately understand the material you were manipulating and which part of the spell form corresponded to that material, and even then there were a number of arcane rules to follow when modifying the all purpose alchemical transmutation spells I¡¯d learned in my first class with Professor Meadows.


    Suddenly, our overall curriculum seemed much more reasonable. Alchemy was more than the study of a pair of spell forms. It was the study of how to apply those spell forms, and this exam was a do-or-die test of how well we had absorbed those lessons. I had absolutely no doubts that anyone who tried to make a simple dome of granite or iron was in for a very harsh and very short lesson.


    About two hours in, I discovered that apparently I was rather claustrophobic. It wasn¡¯t debilitating, but as the space around me grew more and more cramped I couldn¡¯t ignore the sense of the earth closing in around me like the maw of some vast creature. That would have been something nice to know earlier, but there wasn¡¯t much to do about it now. I pushed that irrational fear aside as I did with my concerns about Miranda and my fears for the future. There was no room in my mind for fear, only action.


    When the alarm spell I¡¯d cast earlier warned me that there were fifteen minutes left before Professor Meadows began the second phase of the exam, I wracked my brain for anything I might have missed. There was very little space left within my ¡®bunker¡¯, barely enough to sit cross-legged with my back hunched over and my hair brushing the rubbery padding I¡¯d added to the innermost layer around me.


    Now that I was left with so little space, one of my largest concerns was once again suffocation. At the moment, I had an enchantment constantly creating new, breathable air and removing what I exhaled, but that would be gone soon. I was breathing slowly and evenly, ready to fall into a proper meditative state where my body would less quickly burn through the oxygen in the room. I had also prepared a spell to transmute fresh air for myself, but depending on what sort of dispelling magic Professor Meadows used, it was entirely possible I would be completely unable to cast anything for some time afterwards.


    Hopefully, I was just overcomplicating things. If I wasn¡¯t, then I prayed I¡¯d done the math correctly and would have enough air to last me the last thirty minutes of the exam. I¡¯d never really concerned myself with such a thing before, but I vaguely remembered reading about how much air a person needed to survive and how quickly the lifegiving air in an enclosed space could be replaced by an insidious poison.


    At least Professor Meadows had told us not to worry about getting out of our bunkers as she would take care of that herself. She was a cruel and vindictive woman, but she also followed her own twisted code. Once we had passed her exam, she would make sure we survived the aftermath of it as well.


    With less than a minute left, I filled the majority of the remaining cavity with a breathable foam that we had discussed in class less than a month ago. It was a very unpleasant substance, horribly sticky and irritating to the skin, but it would hopefully ensure that shockwaves rippling through the dome above me didn¡¯t simply burst my organs and crack my bones. I squeezed my eyes shut and kept my lips tightly sealed as the sensation of countless tiny bubbles rubbing against my skin sent unpleasant shivers down my spine.


    Then, a ripple of nothingness tore through me, utterly obliterating every speck of mana around me not shielded by my soul. In an instant, my mana sense went completely dark in a way I¡¯d never experienced before. It was still functional, but I could feel nothing. There was no ambient mana, no traces of my classmates huddled within their own defenses mere meters away from me. Only the link I could still feel between myself and Miranda remained, a tether leading out into a sea of darkness.


    And then, the darkness was washed away as a blinding cacophony of stars was born high above the training ground. They fell, and I could feel the shaking of the earth in my bones. The next half hour was one I would never forget and certainly not an experience I ever hoped to repeat. Through it all, I clutched at Miranda¡¯s tether as though it was a lifeline. It tasted of fear and anxiety, but a corpse could feel neither.


    When I finally emerged from my bunker, crawling awkwardly through the neat, cylindrical tunnel Professor Meadows¡¯s magic had made in my construct, I beheld a wasteland. The hard-packed dirt of the training ground was simply gone, blasted away until there was a nearly two yard difference between the ground around me and the grass beyond the border of the training ground.


    The once pristine training ground was now a cluster of cracked and pockmarked structures, emerging from the bedrock like shells on a sandy beach. Other students appeared slowly around me from the more intact bunkers, most of them having used, at least outwardly, a very similar design as I had.


    I glanced over to where I¡¯d last seen the crying boy. His spot in our grid was empty of all but rubble, cracked shards of some sort of pale stone piled up until they looked almost like an open egg shell. I wondered if he¡¯d simply left, choosing to fail the exam and throw himself to Professor Meadows¡¯s nonexistent mercies, or if he¡¯d tried and died in the attempt. I had been far too busy casting to pay attention to my mana sense, but perhaps someone else had seen what had happened with him. I was sure I would learn the details from Miranda soon enough.


    I looked down at my own creation and a small smile stretched across my face when I saw how well it had fared in the end. The outer layer of metal was mostly gone, only small patches of it peeking out from the scorched rock beneath the training ground. The gel beneath it was similarly obliterated, but the next layer had fared admirably. Outside of one massive puncture that extended down through at least a half dozen more layers of reinforcement and a few cracks leaking blue goo, it was nearly completely intact. Much better than most people¡¯s work seemed to have fared.


    Pathways of blue light crackled into existence throughout the field, one for each surviving student and all leading towards where Professor Meadows was standing silently with her hands folded behind her back. ¡°Enough lollygagging,¡± she called out, her cheerful tone sounding jarring and out of place, ¡°get over here so we can be done with all this already!¡±


    I hesitantly tested the pathway with the tip of my boot, not fully trusting that it wouldn¡¯t collapse under me at the least opportune moment. It felt solid, but that was not really a guarantee when it came to magic. An illusion could feel perfectly solid one moment and as incorporeal as air the next. I wasn¡¯t the only one either. Professor Meadows was not a teacher who inspired confidence in her pupils.


    Professor Meadows cleared her throat loudly. ¡°The exam is over. Anyone not beside me in thirty seconds loses fifty percent of their points for the year!¡±


    Well, fair enough. That certainly made my decision for me¡­

 Chapter 119

    Despite having said that the exam was over, what Professor Meadows actually meant was that the part of the exam that required our active participation was over. After we had all exited the confines of the ruined training ground, she motioned for us to stand back and proceeded to, in her words, ¡®properly evaluate the quality of our learning so she could distribute extra credit¡¯.


    In theory, that sounded pretty reasonable. The fact that we were all standing here meant that our creations had been good enough, but did not distinguish between someone who had just barely scraped by with their life and someone who had excelled. In practice, I would have preferred to watch Professor Meadows¡¯s ¡®evaluation¡¯ from slightly further away.


    Standing beside Miranda just a few short paces away from the shallow pit that had once been a training ground, I watched with a mix of fear, amazement, and longing as our Professor pounded what remained of our transmuted bunkers into dust. Meteors of burning ice and bolts of iridescent lightning fell from the sky, massive battering rams of force and air crashed against the ground with impossible force, and waves of intense heat and cold swept across the pit, only visible by the frost and heat mirages they left in their wake.


    It was an absolutely terrifying display, made only more fearsome by the near casual ease with which Professor Meadows created it. She cast spell after spell without any visible difficulty, forming seventh-circle spell matrices with the same ease that I could manage a first-circle force spike.


    The only spell she¡¯d cast that had taken more than a handful of seconds was the shield she had used at the very beginning of this display, a completely transparent box of force that fully enclosed the former training ground. Though I could just barely sense the construct, a sort of shimmering haze to my mana sense that made every spell cast within it seem slightly further away than it really was, the occasional shard of rubble and meteor that crashed against it never even made it flicker as they were deflected away.


    Through it all, Professor Meadows kept up a running commentary of derisive observations about our work. ¡°Pathetic Corbin, if you¡¯d properly formed the crystal structures that metal should not have buckled the way it did. Look at that, absolutely awful Yawna, that foam is still half-liquid, you¡¯re not going to get any sort of protection from that!¡±


    Less than ten minutes after she¡¯d begun, the only thing left within the bounds of her shield was ash and molten rubble. My bunker had been one of the last ones standing, though unfortunately not the last. That honor went to a glasses-wearing fourth year whose name I didn¡¯t know. The innermost layer of her dome had survived for nearly ten entire seconds longer than anything else, the nearly meter-thick layer of solid tungsten eventually boiling away under a massive beam of golden fire.


    Professor Meadows turned around to look at us, a small smirk on her lips and a cruel glint in her eyes. At the same time, the shield around the training ground vanished and a wave of intense heat washed over all of us. Even with circulations specifically designed to deal with heat, it felt like running into a brick wall. Around me, several people stumbled and yelped in pain, and Miranda raised an arm to shield her face from the heat.


    ¡°That was frankly a terrible performance, but Academy policies say I have to pass all of you. Congratulations, you are all awful, but alive. Better than some of your fellows managed.¡± She paused for a long moment, her eyes panning over us slowly. I met her gaze with my own and thought I noticed a hint of a smile, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. ¡°Those of you who are qualified to take the next level of my class know who you are. I hope to see you next fall. Everyone else, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d make an excellent addition to my collection. Dismissed.¡±


    And that was that. Four classes finished, one more to go.


    Miranda and I hurried back to the main Academy building together, wearily watching our classmates for any sudden aggression. Along the way, Miranda filled me in on which of our classmates had failed the exam. I didn¡¯t really recognize any of them, but then again I didn¡¯t know the majority of the eight-hundred or so students that made up the current third and fourth years at the Academy. I only really kept track of the top twenty or so students in both years, along with anyone I¡¯d shared a class with that stood out in my mind. Thankfully, I had someone like Miranda to keep me apprised of everyone else.


    We stopped by my room together and I changed out of my foam-covered clothing and grabbed what I needed for my next class, then hurried off to get something to eat from the cafeteria while Miranda stayed behind to ¡®eat¡¯ her own meal. The cafeteria was packed with students and filled with a nearly festive atmosphere. Dozens of tired-looking students crowded around the small cafeteria tables, talking loudly about their exams and enjoying the unusually large array of sweets and pastries available at the buffet.


    It was Friday afternoon, which meant that nearly everyone was done with their exams by now. Only speciality classes like my own Lectures in Mana Theory met this late in the week and those were typically reserved for upper years. After some very stressful weeks, it was only natural for people to congregate in the safest public space at the Academy, particularly since it was also the place where you could find food that was guaranteed not to be tainted by something. There were so many people crowded into the room that I could feel the mana in the air with more than just my mana sense, a palatable weight that squeezed my shoulders and sat heavily on my tongue.


    Unfortunately, I was not one of those students who had finished all of their work for the semester. In fact, I had barely twenty minutes before I had to be in class to present my work. Thus, I was rather annoyed when crowds of first and second year students blocked me from getting to the food for nearly two entire minutes.


    Eventually, I gave up on trying to figure out what everything available today was and just grabbed a vegetable-filled bun off a side table, scarfed it down with some water, and rushed off to get to class.


    I made it to the room several minutes early without too much trouble. The halls were all but deserted today and I had only seen a handful of students, probably heading towards the cafeteria, along the way. Then I stepped inside and felt as though I had slammed face-first into a brick wall.


    If the mana in the cafeteria had felt like a stiflingly heavy blanket, this felt like the time I¡¯d seen a rider get trapped under their dead horse. For a moment, the air in my lungs felt like tar, my chest was crushed by a phantom weight, and I stumbled over my own feet. I instinctively tried to flare my mana to push through the sensation, but I couldn¡¯t. Even focusing with all my might I couldn¡¯t force my mana out beyond the bounds of my skin.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    My eyes flickered around the room and I instantly saw the problem. Lectures in Mana Theory was held in a very small classroom. There were a dozen desks arranged in an arc around the board at the front of the room, a small shelf filled with books in one corner, and a few diagrams scattered along the walls. With only eight of us in the class counting the professor, it had always felt like an appropriately sized room.


    Now, fourteen professors filled the room, each an archmage with an archmage¡¯s presence and mana. Each of them had come in and talked to us at least once this semester, but I hadn¡¯t expected nearly so many of them to be here. Even with their impeccable control, some amount of their absurdly dense mana filtered out into the room and, since Avalon¡¯s powerful wards prevented mana from moving through the Academy¡¯s walls, it had nowhere to go.


    I managed to catch myself on the doorframe before I fell and took a long, shaky breath. Standing up straight took every bit of energy I could muster, but I refused to look weak in a room like this. I walked slowly to my desk, each step a struggle as I waded through the molasses-like air, then carefully sat down in my usual seat.


    Liam, who didn¡¯t look much better than I felt, turned to look at me with a pained smile on his face. ¡°Hey. Orion. Lovely to¡­ see you.¡± He was sitting with a ramrod-straight back and I could see a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Through my mana sense, as muted as it was by the overwhelming pressure around me, I could feel a rigid barrier of mana covering his entire body and flickering slightly whenever he moved.


    I nodded back politely, not fully trusting my ability to speak right now. How the hell were they expecting any of us to be able to present in a room like this? I had practiced what I wanted to say and show several times last night after taking into account some of Liam¡¯s suggestions¨C¨CRea wasn¡¯t a great audience since she completely refused to criticize basically anything I did, but her presence had still been helpful¨C¨Cbut I doubted I¡¯d be able to deliver any of it under the circumstances.


    I opened my mouth, planning to at least try and practice before we began, and then suddenly a new presence appeared in the doorway. The Myrddin swept into the room and instantly became the center of attention, all eyes instinctively drawn to him. He surveyed the room, his black-hole eyes lingering on the clumps of professors standing around the edges of the room.


    Ivius Ambrosius cleared his throat, a quiet sound but impossible to miss in the sudden absolute stillness of the room. ¡°Well, it looks like everyone who needs to be here is. Let¡¯s get this started then. Professor Rainer, if you would?¡± Then he leaned back against the doorframe, and, with an almost negligent air, flicked his wrist as though warding off an annoying insect.


    The overwhelming pressure in the air vanished as though it had never existed in the first place, replaced by something that felt like a gentle, cooling breeze on a muggy day. In a fraction of a second, the ambient mana went from stifling to Avalon¡¯s invigorating standard.


    Professor Rainer, who was technically the head professor for the class, stepped forward from where he had been talking with several of the other professors who had come in to lecture us in the past five months. He was a short, slightly portly and friendly-looking man. At the moment, he looked rather nervous, his hands in constant motion as he tapped away at the small stack of papers clutched in his hands.


    ¡°Of course, of course, thank you, thank you,¡± he began. He paused, reaching up to adjust the collar of his white shirt. Then he confidently strode to the front of the room and turned to face us all. ¡°Right then, welcome everyone, thank you for coming! It''s been a pleasure leading this class this past semester. We got a really good group of students this year, though sadly I see some of those who joined us at the start of the term did not stick around. A shame, a shame. Well, no matter! We''ve had a lot of great speakers come in and I¡¯ve heard great things about you from all of them.¡±


    He paused again, setting his papers down on the lectern in front of him and leaning forward. ¡°Well, today is the culmination of what you¡¯ve all learned this past semester. I¡¯ve spoken with several of you about your work and what I¡¯ve seen so far has been very impressive, so I¡¯m sure we¡¯re all in for a treat! We have something of an audience for today¡¯s presentations. Thank you, my dear colleagues, for coming today, and of course for all your hard work preparing our wonderful students for this day. I¡¯m sure that without all of you, none of what we shall see today would have been possible.¡±


    ¡°Now then, some logistics. We¡¯ll be going by year today, and then by last name. We have one third year, two fifth years, two sixth years, and two seventh years, a good distribution if I do say so myself. Mr. Hunter, you will be starting us off, and then we shall end with Mr. Marc Pierr. As we discussed at the beginning of the year, you will hand me your report and then you¡¯ll have fifteen minutes to show us all what you¡¯ve got. We have quite a crowd here today, but be aware that grades are assigned by myself along with Professors Manton and Zim. Grades and class rankings should be available late next week and I¡¯ll hold some office hours over break if you want to discuss my grading. Any questions before we begin?¡±


    I swallowed heavily. I had really, really hoped to get a chance to see how some of the others were going to do things before my turn came around. Instead, it seemed like I was going to be going first.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Liam''s smile and thumbs up. ¡®You got this,¡¯ he mouthed. He was right. This was going to be fine. I was really, really glad that he¡¯d reached out and helped me prepare for this. I still had no idea what ulterior motives he¡¯d had for doing so, but I was thankful for his help regardless.


    After a few seconds of silence, Professor Rainer smiled broadly. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get started! Mr. Hunter?¡± He grabbed his papers and stepped away from the lecture. ¡°The floor is yours.¡±


    I stood up, glancing briefly at the professors lining the back wall of the room. Professor Zim looked just as severe as when I¡¯d had him for a class in my first year, but something about him felt far more open and¡­ intrigued than I remembered. I blinked when the Myrddin, who I had somehow not noticed despite my eyes passing directly over him, gave me a little wave, then gestured towards the front of the room.


    Squaring my shoulders, I walked up to the front and handed Professor Rainer my freshly bound paper. I had no idea if he was going to grade on form factor at all for the paper, but it had seemed like a good idea this morning. I had found the spells used for binding books back in my first year and had been using them to create my optimally-sized class notebooks ever since, so it wasn¡¯t exactly a challenge to do and it really did look a lot better than a pile of loose pages.


    I did my best to put the crowd of mages many years my senior in both knowledge and experience out of my mind. Stressing about their presence was only going to make things worse, and I really did want to do well on this presentation. Not only would a good grade in this class really help me out in the future, but leaving a good impression on these people was even more valuable than that. I just needed to do my best as always. I had done the work, done the preparation, now I just needed to not blow it all by freaking out and forgetting everything.


    Easier said than done. ¡®Deep breaths Orion, deep breaths.¡¯ Hopefully the extra smiling practice I¡¯d done with Miranda was going to pay off.

 Chapter 120

    Nearly five hours later, I returned to my room feeling like a rag that had been rung out one-too-many times. I gratefully accepted a cup of hot tea from Rea, took a long sip of the scaldingly-hot liquid, my tongue and throat protected by my circulations, and then deposited the remaining tea on my desk before collapsing bonelessly onto my bed.


    I groaned into the soft sheets, my body aching with bone-deep exhaustion even as my mind was still racing with plans and ideas. Weeks of stress and anxiety had coalesced into a steady, throbbing ache behind my eyes that grew and shrank but never truly subsided. It had been a long, long few weeks.


    The mattress shifted under me and I felt Rea, her familiar presence a comforting glow in the back of my mind, sit down by my feet. ¡°Master?¡± she asked softly. I could almost hear the rest of her question catch in her throat, her shy, humble smile flickering behind my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I mumbled into the sheets. ¡°Just. Tired. Thinking.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Master. Sorry, Master.¡± She made to stand up, but an invisible tendril of force caught her shoulders and pulled her back down onto the bed. I was perhaps a little less gentle with her than I intended, my mind not quite fully focused on the pure mana manipulation, but this felt easier than opening my mouth to command her.


    She didn¡¯t resist as the tendril roughly dragged her over to my side. I lifted one arm and she slipped under it, letting me silently pull her into my side. Rea was wonderfully warm and soft against my side, her bare skin protected from the chill air of my room by a circulation I¡¯d shown her after the third time I¡¯d caught her shivering in the early morning. I could feel her mana brushingly gently against mine, a light pink glow that was just as obedient and welcoming as its source.


    I exhaled slowly, feeling a weight I hadn¡¯t really realized I¡¯d been carrying lift off my shoulders. Not for the first time I considered how lucky I¡¯d gotten with Rea. Her presence had significantly improved my ¡®home¡¯ life at the Academy. Beyond just the work it did, there was something incredibly soothing about having someone close to me who was completely loyal and also far removed from the struggles, intrigue, and competition of Avalon.


    I loved Lea, but there was so much of my life I just couldn¡¯t share with her. Miranda and my second-year girls had the opposite problem. I certainly cared about them, but they were just¡­ too close to too many of the stressors in my life. They had their own classes, their own research, and their own training to worry about. Furthermore, even after three years of mostly loyal service and despite her newly reinforced bond, I still wasn¡¯t completely comfortable around Miranda. Our first year at Avalon together had left a permanent mark on me, and the memories of my ambush and desperate struggle with the man-eating girl were just as clear today as they had been back then.


    Rea had none of those problems. Each day I came back to my room to find her waiting for me, a smile on her face, a cup of tea in her hands, and her eyes filled with nothing but fervent loyalty and obedience. She was a dedicated student, an enthusiastic assistant, and constantly strived to be the very best servant she could be.


    Since her binding, I¡¯d grown much more familiar with the mechanics of soul-binding rituals, and that knowledge only highlighted how wonderful my darling Rea was. Her initial personality must have been incredibly submissive, meek, and obedient to result in the girl nestled under my arm. Furthermore, some more testing had revealed that she had a natural affinity for the Emotion spell-form, which often dealt with mind-affecting magics such as sleep spells and more complex psychological effects. I wasn¡¯t completely sure, but it seemed reasonable to me that her affinity had helped make the ritual¡¯s changes take hold of her mind as quickly as they had.


    ¡°You''re a wonderful pet, Rea,¡± I whispered, my voice muffled almost to the point of inaudibility. ¡°Don¡¯t tell Miranda, but you¡¯re definitely my favorite.¡±


    Rea did not respond, but I didn¡¯t particularly want her too. My grip around her shoulders tightened, squishing her into my side until I could feel her warm breath tickling my cheek and the hard point of one of her nipples digging into my armpit.


    Mana poured slowly out of my skin, wrapping around Rea until she was fully enveloped in it. She felt so tiny like this, her core a flickering point of light inside her chest, flimsy strands of delicate pink extending out of it and spreading throughout her body. I could have torn it all apart with a thought, Rea¡¯s bound soul offering no resistance to my mana as it flowed over her, or simply pressed down on her with the full weight of my much more developed mana core until it all gave way under the pressure. Of course that would have been a tragic waste. Instead, I simply held her with my body, mind, and soul, her life a loving balm that warmed me from the inside out.


    We lay there in silence for several minutes before my mind inevitably began to drift back to my last class of the semester. That had certainly been an intriguing few hours that had raised a number of fascinating ideas that I couldn¡¯t wait to test out when I had some more time on my hands.


    My presentation had gone about as well as I could have hoped. I¡¯d spent the first few minutes outlining the theoretical portions of my work, discussing a number of potential ways to shape the mana in a pure mana manipulation shield and their relative strengths and weaknesses.


    Some were based on classic shield spells, but created without the use of any spell-forms to refine the mana. Others I based on material we¡¯d discussed in Professor Meadows¡¯s class, using principles of geometry and crystal structures to optimize for various forms of strength. Yet others I had designed based on theories of mana flow I¡¯d learned from books, classes, and experience.


    Then I moved on to what the bulk of my paper had been focused on; the specific shield I had eventually settled on for my own use. I briefly outlined how I had refined a number of the initial designs and combined certain principles from the more successful attempts into a cohesive whole.


    Per Liam¡¯s advice, I conjured an illusionary image of one segment of my shield, expanded by roughly fifty times until you could see the thin interlocking strands of woven mana that gave the shield its strength and transformed what was otherwise an overly-elaborate bubble into a strong defensive barrier.


    Finally, I finished the presentation with a small demonstration. First, I created the initial shield that had started me down this path and had saved my life near the start of the semester from a rampaging demon, pointing out a number of obvious flaws in its construction and how much mana it consumed.


    Then, I showed one of my intermediate designs, interlocking circular panels of whirl-pool like mana that I had based off of one of my personal favorite classic shield spells. It too had its pros and cons, but ultimately it wasn¡¯t nearly as effective as it could have been.


    Finally, with less than a minute left in my presentation, I showed off the finished design I had temporarily settled on. It was a very complicated piece of pure mana manipulation that had taken me a lot of practice to get just right and I was very proud of it. I was pretty sure that my audience was impressed, by the fact that I could manage something like it at my age if nothing else, but it was hard to know for sure. I answered a few brief questions and then it was time for the next student to present.


    By the end of it, I could feel sweat beading on my forehead and my legs felt like the shock-absorbing gel I¡¯d used in my exam earlier that morning. Having more than a dozen archmages staring directly at you for a quarter of an hour was terrifying. Still, Liam¡¯s quiet congratulations and the small smile Professor Rainer gave me as I tried to walk calmly to my seat left me hopeful that I¡¯d done well.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The next few presentations had left me feeling almost confident. Their work wasn¡¯t terrible, but it was much grounded in what we¡¯d discussed in class with a lot less outside experimentation and refinement.


    The first fifth year had designed a slightly different way of training initial mana perception in children, one of the biggest hurdles dividing a mundane person from becoming a mage. According to his presentation, he¡¯d tested it out on a number of test subjects and it had proven to be slightly more effective than some of the standard techniques we¡¯d discussed in class near the beginning of the year.


    I was¡­ dubious of his results. In his own words, he¡¯d only had five test subjects to work with and, even then, not all of them succeeded faster than average when using current methods. Furthermore, his method utilized mana flaring, something that most mages apparently couldn¡¯t manage, meaning it was of limited utility for anyone without a highly trained mage willing to help them. Still, it wasn¡¯t an uninteresting idea.


    The other fifth-year¡¯s work was probably the least useful of all, to the point that I had stopped taking notes half-way through his presentation. I was ninety percent sure that the conclusions he¡¯d come to were simply inherently flawed, as was his experimental technique. He couldn¡¯t even finish the demonstration he¡¯d prepared without everything collapsing down into ambient mana.


    The next presentation was much more interesting, but still nothing exceptional. The first sixth-year had created a dozen different mana-batteries using a range of different unorthodox and very cheap materials. None of them proved to be particularly good mana batteries, barely better than a piece of quartz with some containment runes carved into it, but the work that had clearly gone into them showed an astounding mastery of artifice. I certainly couldn¡¯t have pulled it off. Assuming she managed to graduate next year she was definitely going places.


    The last three presentations however had thoroughly put to rest my hopes of getting one of the top grades in the class. I¡¯d already seen Liam¡¯s paper and the amount of work he¡¯d put into it, but the other sixth- and seventh- years had also done some incredible work.


    The sixth-year¡¯s contribution to the class was a general-purpose dispel that had evoked a hum of interest from several professors. I wasn¡¯t sure what exactly about it was so special, but it certainly seemed to be rather effective. At the end of her presentation the Myrddin told her to ¡®come see him in his office¡¯ over the break. That was as close to an active endorsement as I¡¯d ever heard about him giving and was probably going to be all over the school by the end of the day.


    Kyrak, the other seventh-year in our class, had done something much more relevant to my own areas of interest. Taking The Myrddin''s demonstration of high-level magic suppression as an inspiration, he had replicated it using something that was half way between a ward and a ritual circle. Essentially, he had created a space that sucked in mana from anything inside its bounds and used it to power a high-end suppression ward.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly a novel idea in and of itself, and his final design worked very differently from the principles that Ivius Ambrosius had discussed in class, but some of the tricks he¡¯d come up with were absolutely fascinating. Specifically, I found the mana siphoning his ritual used was particularly clever and very applicable to several of my own projects. Instead of actively sucking in mana, he instead created a sort of low pressure zone within the bounds of the circle that passively drew in mana from its target to fill the vacuum. That mana was then siphoned into a battery and used to strengthen the effect.


    Based on some very loose projections, if I incorporated those ideas into my typical magic-suppressing collar design I might be able to double their effectiveness, if not more. Theoretically, it might even be a much more economical way of keeping my cows contained. At the moment, I had to keep them completely restrained at all times and absolutely covered in magic-suppressing enchantments. If I could fully replicate certain portions of his design, I might even be able to use the two elves as mana-batteries, producing much more mana than required to keep them contained. That might allow me to pursue entire avenues of research that I had never considered feasible due to simply only having so much mana to go around.


    Finally, Liam¡¯s presentation was exactly what I had expected. He had spent the semester designing and incrementally improving on a technique for determining a person¡¯s mana affinity. I wasn¡¯t sure why he¡¯d decided to put so much time and effort into something like that, but it did explain how he¡¯d known that Rea didn¡¯t have a water affinity all those months ago.


    There were two ways I knew to reliably find someone¡¯s mana affinity. The first was a long, annoying fourth-circle ritual. The second was using a specially designed magic item, but this test required the target to manipulate their own mana meaning it was only useful for already trained mages. There were other ways of course, but those two tended to be the most standard.


    Liam had concluded that both were clunky and inefficient, and had decided to design his own. The spell he had eventually created wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was much better than anything comparable that I¡¯d ever come across. It created a passive shell that used several complex principles of mana interaction that we¡¯d discussed in class to compare the mana of mundane humans and weak mages against a pool of general samples and then reported its findings to its caster. The spell didn¡¯t work on any mage over about third-circle, but it had the massive advantage of working on someone who hadn¡¯t even begun their journey as a mage.


    Even more impressively, the spell could do all that and was only fourth-circle, meaning even I could cast it with a bit of practice. As complicated as it was, I had expected that it would be sixth- or seventh-circle, but Liam had put a lot of effort into ensuring it was as easy to cast and accessible as possible.


    Overall, I was pretty sure that the sixth-year girl was going to be our class¡¯s highest scorer, probably followed by Liam and Kyrak. After that, I really wasn¡¯t sure. It really depended on what Professor Rainer and his fellow graders found more or less impressive. Still, for my first ever such presentation, I felt like I¡¯d done pretty well for myself. I¡¯d learned a lot, improved a lot, and ultimately that was the most important thing. Class performance mattered, but only so much as it contributed to my overall survival. As much as I hoped to excel, sometimes doing good enough was plenty if it didn¡¯t kill you.


    At some point I must have dozed off. I awoke hours later with Rea still pressed up against my side, an adorable smile of contentment on her sleeping face.


    I gently pulled away, moving silently to avoid waking her up, and looked around my room. Daphne was hanging up on the wall, her toes just barely brushing the ground as she strained to keep some weight off her arms and neck. She was gagged, blindfolded, and surrounded by a special sound dampening ward that blocked out everything including her own heartbeat and breathing. Hopefully Rea was almost done with her, with any luck I could finish binding her this weekend and get her back home with plenty of time to spare before the portal moved.


    Next my eyes landed on my two elven cows, their bodies stretched taught by their bonds and glistening with a thin sheen of sweat. Judging from the buckets, scattered tools, and the small carpet positioned directly behind Verdan, Rea must have been working on them when I¡¯d arrived and dropped everything to greet me.


    That was another thing that would require my attention over the break. Even disregarding the potential improvements I could add based on Kyrak¡¯s work, the current setup I was using for the two elves had been roughly thrown together and really needed a revamp. Their bonds did a good job keeping them from escaping, but the way they held their legs splayed out to the sides and their chests suspended above the floor both took up far too much room and made it awkward to access the milking equipment. Furthermore, while Rea never complained, I had seen just how awkwardly she had to position herself when she was harvesting the two elves and just how much of their valuable juices trickled down their thighs and dripped onto the floor and then had to be discarded each day.


    Finally, I glanced briefly at the growing pile of notebooks, loose papers, and references scattered across my once orderly desk. Everything else in my room was kept meticulously clean, but I had ordered Rea not to touch my desk and it was becoming increasingly cluttered with every passing day. That would need to be dealt with soon, it was already becoming difficult to find space to actually work at my desk, much less find specific things that I needed. So much to do, so little time, and that was discounting the many, many things I had to deal with that weren¡¯t in my room. Brenda, Lea, Briella¡¯s family, the Earthshadows, Seatamer¡­


    I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Still, it was going to be manageable. One thing at a time. I was done with the semester, I was alive, and I was stronger than ever. So much had happened in the past five months and I had grown immensely in magical power, connections, wealth, and resources. Whatever came next, I would face it and overcome it. I would accept no other outcome.

 Chapter 121

    ¡°And just one more time, what do you do if someone is getting too nosy?¡±


    Daphne, who was sitting hunched over in my lap, her ear resting lightly over my heart, turned her head to look up at me, her eyes burning with devotion. ¡°Deflect, hide behind my family, plan to dispose of them, and, only if all else fails, I shall die to protect your secrets, Master.¡±


    ¡°Good, very good,¡± I crooned softly, running my hand gently down her bare back. ¡°You are no good to me dead, pet.¡± I was glad that part had finally sunk into her head. It had taken far too long to stop her from defaulting to ¡®I will die to serve you, Master!¡¯ and bring her to a much more useful mentality. That was the price of using a ritual designed for saboteurs and spies; it was a very discrete ritual, its effects hard to sense even when you knew what you were looking for, but it also tended to make the victim somewhat prone to fatalistic strategies.


    Daphne leaned hungrily into my touch and I obliged her, running my fingers gently up and down her spine. She sighed contentedly and leaned her head back down against my chest.


    I glanced over to where Cayla and Rea were busily fussing over the last of Daphne¡¯s bags. ¡°You girls almost done?¡± I asked softly.


    They exchanged a short look, then Cayla turned to look at me while Rea continued working. ¡°Almost, Master. Just a few things left to repack and Daphne has two more assignments she needs to finish before we can return her to her family. Everything should be ready by tomorrow morning like you planned.¡±


    Wonderful. I¡¯d taken care of Daphne¡¯s binding the day after my last exam, the poor girl had been a blubbering, pleading mess when I¡¯d finally decided to check up on her and the bindings around her soul had clicked into place with ease. It seemed that a noble background did not really prepare a girl for weeks of daily physical and psychological torture.


    The day after that had been spent making sure she knew what she had to do once she resumed her position as Heiress, had a story ready for how her ¡®holiday¡¯ had gone, and a lot of planning. The Avalon portal was going to be moving in two days, which didn¡¯t leave us with very much flexibility, but would hopefully be more than enough time to return Daphne to her home. After that I would just have to hope her bindings and instructions would hold for several years until it was finally time for me to return home in truth and deal with certain people once and for all.


    ¡°Perfect. Good work Cayla, finish up and then you can help Daphne with her homework. I assume you¡¯ve made the needed arrangements out in the city?¡± She nodded. ¡°Excellent. You¡¯ve done well.¡±


    Cayla didn¡¯t visibly respond to the praise, but the clouds of joy bursting through her mana were impossible to hide. ¡°Thank you, Master! I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡±


    ¡°I know you won¡¯t. You¡¯re a good slave, Cayla. There¡¯s a reward in your future, I think. Something to keep in mind.¡± Slave bond or not, keeping your subordinates happy was always a good habit, and their bindings made them very easy to please.


    Speaking of which¡­ ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for you, pet,¡± I told Daphne, pulling my hand away, ¡°Up! If Cayla tells me you did a good job today, perhaps I¡¯ll let you sleep in a real bed tonight.¡±


    Daphne vacated my lap in a hurry and rushed over to where Cayla and Rea were standing over her luggage. I noticed with some amusement that she made a point of keeping Cayla between her and Rea at all times, which was somewhat difficult since Cayla also did her best to stay out of reach of my purple-skinned slave and there wasn¡¯t really very much room in that corner.


    Checking the time, I quickly put all of that out of my mind. I was running a tiny bit late. Well, more behind schedule than late, but I always preferred to be very early instead of on time. It tended to be safer that way.


    I¡¯d promised Camille that I was going to meet with her today. It wasn¡¯t a conversation I was particularly looking forward to, but I did value my connection with the girl enough to at least give it a shot. Worst comes to worst, she didn¡¯t really know enough about me to be a real problem and I was confident Miranda and I could arrange an accident without too much trouble should it become necessary.


    I honestly didn¡¯t know what to think about the girl. She was a talented, intelligent mage who had made it through the first two-and-a-half years at Avalon despite coming to the Academy with almost as little as I had. At the same time, I was starting to agree with her own assessment of the situation; Camille didn¡¯t really belong at Avalon. She was good, but good wasn¡¯t enough when you didn¡¯t have the option to leave after fourth year.


    More than that, she just didn¡¯t have the instincts and¡­ drive to succeed. Camille was a good person. She was friendly, kind, overwhelmingly positive, and had some very firm beliefs about fairness and justice that reminded me of my family. In another place and time, Camille could have thrived. At Avalon, I was afraid her own morals would be her undoing. Avalon was not kind to good people.


    Camille, like the majority of my classmates, was unlikely to make it to graduation. I¡­ didn¡¯t like that. I wasn¡¯t sure when it had happened, but at some point in the past year I had grown relatively fond of the girl. She, Alan, and Ulan were the closest thing I had to ¡®friends¡¯, and I enjoyed the time I spent with them all, but Alan and Ulan had been raised in a family of mages and understood the way things were. I doubted we would ever be much closer than allies of convenience.


    I didn¡¯t want Camille to die. I wasn¡¯t sure when I¡¯d come to that realization, but when it came down to it, I¡¯d pushed Camille out of the way of those ice daggers and then worked just as hard shielding her as I had my Miranda. Had it proven necessary, I had no doubts that I would have sacrificed both of them to save my own life, but that was only obvious. My own survival was paramount, all other priorities were secondary to that.


    That left me with something of a quandary. What exactly should I be doing when it came to Camille? At the moment, she was doing well enough in her classes and was on good-enough terms with most of our class that I didn¡¯t really worry much that someone was going to try and attack her. Camille almost always traveled with a group for safety, typically the twins and a few of their acquaintances, and judging from her well-developed mana core she would be perfectly capable of casting a fourth-circle spell by the end of the year so that wasn¡¯t a problem either.


    The obvious solution was just to kidnap her when it seemed like she was no longer able to keep up. I saw her often enough that I would likely notice the signs before too many other people smelled weakness.


    Unfortunately, it was possible that something like that could backfire on me. I didn¡¯t relish the idea of torturing her into compliance and I really didn¡¯t need a reputation for people around me disappearing. If anyone connected me with Camille¡¯s disappearance, it would make my tentative plans for much more valuable targets like Janna and a number of others much more difficult.


    It would be much better if I could trick her into coming to me of her own volition. I¡¯d already told her that if she ever needed any help, I was there for her. If I played my cards right, it was possible that when desperation began to set in, she¡¯d come to me begging for help and willing to pay whatever price I asked for. That was a much more difficult proposition¨C¨CI was considerably better at kidnapping and torturing people than manipulating them socially¨C¨Cbut I could probably make it work. Maybe.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    It was certainly something to think about.


    I made it to the library a few minutes before Camille and I agreed to meet up. The vast space was emptier than usual. I could only sense a few dozen people scattered among the shelves compared to the hundreds I normally saw. I politely bowed to the Head Librarian, who was sitting near the entrance to the library with a serene smile on her face and a massive book floating in the air beside her.


    Lireal didn¡¯t respond, but it seemed like a good idea to be respectful towards the second strongest mage in Avalon. I could faintly feel her presence in the air around me, an ever present cloud of mana that filled the entire library and suffused each and every book, shelf, and scroll. The amount of mana and control such a thing must require was mind boggling, especially since I knew the effect persisted even on the rare occasion that the Archmage left the library.


    I found Camille already waiting for me in the small room we¡¯d reserved for our meeting. She had her long brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail and held in place with a green ribbon the same color as her eyes and nailpolish. Instead of her usual practical blouse and pants, she was wearing a dress that reminded me of the styles Janna tended to favor, except considerably less ostentatious. It was dyed a rich navy-blue instead of the bright pink Janna seemed to love, only had two layers, and was adorned with far fewer ribbons and frills.


    She was sitting in the corner of the room, hands flat against the table and eyes downcast. As I stepped into the room, I just barely heard her mumbling something under her breath before she stopped abruptly and turned to look towards the door.


    ¡°Hey Camille. Hope I didn¡¯t keep you waiting too long?¡±


    ¡°Oh, ahh. no, no. I only got here a few minutes ago. Good afternoon Orion, thank you for making time. I know you¡¯re always so busy and¡­¡± she trailed off, reaching up to brush one of the strands of hair framing her face behind her ear.


    I was immediately on guard. I didn¡¯t think Camille was a threat to me, but she was behaving rather oddly and that was never a good sign. Had someone gotten to her before me? Was this a trap? It didn¡¯t feel like a trap. Camille felt¡­ scared, grateful, and hesitant? She didn¡¯t mean me any harm.


    I frowned internally. What? Where had that come from? My mind felt clear and I couldn¡¯t feel any foreign mana intruding within the bounds of my soul.


    Camille took a deep breath and soldiered on, unaware of the thoughts rushing through my mind. ¡°I¡­ I wanted to thank you, Orion. You saved my life. I was going to¡­ and you¡­ you pushed me out of the way. If you hadn¡¯t been there I¡­ I¡­¡±


    She stood up suddenly, her chair scraping backwards across the smooth stone floor and nearly toppling. Mana flared under the surface of my skin, thin strands weaving together into interlocking plates and disks ready to spring forth at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Camille bowed, bending at the waist until her torso was nearly parallel with the floor, her hands clasped over her heart. I suddenly noticed the gleam of unshed tears in the corners of her eyes, the hunched way she held herself, cowering away from the world, and the raw emotion billowing within her mana.


    ¡°Thank you, Orion,¡± she whispered. ¡°If you ever need anything, anything at all, I will do my absolute utmost to provide.¡±


    My train of thought ground to a halt and the mana I had been readying flowed back into my core. I¡­ wasn¡¯t sure how to respond.  ¡°I¡¯m glad I sensed them in time,¡± I finally managed.


    Camille straightened, her hands falling to her sides and curling into the folds of her skirt. She took another deep breath, bit her bottom lip, then took another deep breath.


    ¡°Camille?¡± I asked softly.


    She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, took another deep breath, then exhaled explosively. ¡°Orion, can you¡­¡± she shook her head and mumbled something that sounded like ¡®no, no, no¡¯ under her breath.


    I watched her silently. She was struggling with something, even I could see that much, but poking her clearly wasn¡¯t the solution here. I would just give her a minute to get her thoughts in order. That seemed like the correct way to go here.


    Camille squared her shoulders, clasped her hands over her heart again, and took a final, deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m scared, Orion. I¡¯m so, so scared. I¡¯m going to die. I just know it. I see it every day, every hour, every minute. I¡¯m not good enough and I know I¡¯m going to die. Maybe not today, maybe not this week or this month or even this year, but it''s going to happen.¡±


    That was certainly a way to start a conversation. It was probably true, but still a rather strange sentiment to hear from an Avalon student.


    Camille continued, ¡°I¡¯m not like you, Orion. Even a blind man can see that you¡¯re going places. I don¡¯t know how I missed it for so long but¡­ but for the longest time I thought we were the same, two struggling commoners just trying to hang on, but we¡¯re nothing alike. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m just me. I¡¯m pretty good at magic, everyone tells me I¡¯m a decent student and have a good head for runes, but that¡¯s just not enough. And you. You¡¯re so much more than that.¡±


    She paused again, her breath coming in slow, ragged gasps. ¡°I messed up. I messed up real bad coming here. Everyone told me Avalon was a death trap, but I felt so accomplished. So confident. I cast my first spell at nine, did I ever tell you that? No formal training, no books, no nothing. I figured out how to sense and move my mana around as a kid, but I never told anyone because I didn¡¯t think it was anything special. My mother¡¯s a seamstress, she does commissions for the Justicars sometimes, and I came along with her one day. I saw a couple of young nobles practicing in a park and just listened in on their conversation and copied what they did. I didn¡¯t even realize what I¡¯d done till the bush I was hiding behind caught on fire and I had to run away.¡±


    She hadn¡¯t told me that story, and that was absolutely incredible. Mind-bogglingly so, even. From the sound of it, she¡¯d copied a spell purely from a visual display and some beginner¡¯s commentary. As a nine-year-old. And it hadn¡¯t killed her. Absolutely incredible.


    ¡°I got away, but when mom finally found out we didn¡¯t really have the money to send me to one of the local schools. Most of them only teach nobles, justicars, and rich merchants. My mom is good at her job, but not that good. When I finally heard about Avalon, I thought it was a dream come true! The best mage school in the world and it''s free if you can show them you¡¯re good enough to get in.¡± Her voice fell suddenly. ¡°I was good enough to get in¡­ but not good enough to keep up.¡±


    ¡°I need help. And even then, I¡¯m not sure how long I can hold on. I¡¯m not a fighter, I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone! I just want to learn magic and have fun and spend time with friends. I don¡¯t belong here, Orion, I never did, but I was too stupid and too ignorant to know that in time.¡±


    She bowed again suddenly, her long ponytail whipping through the air and then falling over her face. A moment later, she dropped to her knees and looked up at me with her hands clasped in the air as though in prayer.


    ¡°You¡¯re my best chance, Orion. I don¡¯t know what I can give you, but anything I have is yours. You¡¯re helping those two second-years, right? I¡¯m not a noble, I¡¯m not rich or connected or anything, but please. Help me too. I just want to live, Orion. I see Matilda¡¯s face in my dreams. Reya, David, Violet, Kam¡¯bal¡­ they scream at me every night that I¡¯m next.¡±


    With every sentence her words grew more and more desperate and I could see the tears now finally flowing down her cheeks and leaving streaks in makeup I hadn¡¯t even noticed before. I didn¡¯t really remember any of those names, but from her words I assumed they were some of our former classmates that had died or vanished over the last five semesters.


    ¡°Help me Orion, please. You told me once that if I ever needed help, I could ask you. For our friendship, for whatever I can and have done for you, please. Please.¡±


    She fell silent, eye¡¯s downcast and hands still clasped in the air before her face. I stared down at her solemnly, doing my best to hide the confusion and other thoughts racing through my mind.


    ¡°There will be some conditions,¡± I began.


    ¡°Anything.¡±


    ¡°Then I think we¡¯ll be able to make this work.¡± I knelt down beside her and lightly wrapped an arm around her slowly heaving shoulders. ¡°It''s going to be okay Camille. I¡¯ll take care of you.¡± I always took care of what was mine. ¡°Just breathe for now, and when you¡¯re ready we¡¯ll figure out the details.¡±


    Camille nodded jerkily, instinctively pressing back into my gentle touches. I finally let myself smile.


    Well, that was easy.

 Chapter 122

    The carriage rolled smoothly down the wide road, pulled by a pair of well-groomed horses, their chestnut-brown fur almost gleaming in the sunlight. Unlike the hard-packed dirt and rough cobblestones we¡¯d ridden across for the last two hours, the road here was one solid sheet of granite polished to a near mirror shine.


    On either side of us were massive mansions surrounded by expansive grounds, each one more elaborate than the last. The amount of money needed to build and maintain such lavish structures must have been mind-bogglingly huge. Statues, fountains, vast stretches of elaborately-arranged flowerbeds and artfully pruned bushes, and other wasteful displays of wealth and opulence surrounded buildings large enough to house my entire village with room to spare.


    I could only sigh internally at the waste of it all. Thousands of pieces worth of labor, materials, and expertise used for little more than bragging rights. It would be at least slightly more understandable if each manor was also surrounded by impressive wards and other, more subtle, defenses. Then you were not just splurging on opulence but also on safety, and that was something I could get behind.


    Unfortunately, the vast majority of the manors we passed were defended by shockingly basic wards and barriers. They weren¡¯t bad per se, but with some rare exceptions I was pretty sure a motivated fourth- or fifth-year could punch through them with a few days of preparation. It was still better than most of what I saw in the city where the Avalon portal was situated, but only just.


    In theory, I was probably wealthy enough now to afford something like this, I realized suddenly. The money I¡¯d gotten from Elpha probably made me relatively wealthy by the standards of a middle-of-nowhere island nation like my homeland. Not as wealthy as a Great-Name noble like the Warbringers, Earthshadows, and Crownguards, but wealthier than any peasant or merchant would ever be.


    I paused mid-thought. That wasn¡¯t really true, was it? I didn¡¯t just have my own resources to fall back on now, but also those of my oath-bound servants. In a few years, once I was sufficiently established and could ensure that Daphne, Cayla, Briella, and potentially others were able to inherit their parents¡¯ positions and wealth¡­


    The slight smile on my face did not fade for the rest of the fifteen-minute journey down the wide boulevard, particularly when the ridiculous seat of the Warbringer family¡¯s power came into view. I was pleased to see that Daphne¡¯s family was one of the ones that had invested in proper wards. The sort that could hold off groups of trained mages and make even an archmage pause. I doubted they were as good as the wards around Lightcastle, but they were certainly just as good or better than what the Earthshadows had.


    We stopped just outside the tall, wrought iron gates, the elaborate patterns decorating them hiding runes of protection and reinforcement. I quickly climbed down and helped first Daphne and then Cayla out of the carriage. Knowing this was the last time she¡¯d be near me for many months or possibly years, Daphne clutched onto my hand for slightly longer than was absolutely necessary, but eventually let go and signaled the two guards standing by the gate to summon servants to help deal with her luggage.


    From there, it took only a few minutes to get everything unloaded and taken care of and I climbed back onto the raised seat at the front of the carriage while Daphne and Cayla acted out a tearful goodbye. I only half-listened to them as they talked, hugged, talked some more, promised to write to each other, hugged again, and so on and so forth.


    Eventually, they finally finished the whole song and dance and I climbed back down to help Cayla up into the carriage. It felt utterly pointless, but apparently it was what coach drivers were supposed to do and it was a small enough inconvenience to help sell the entire act. Daphne gave me one last, longing look, then turned back to speak with the guards.


    Apparently her father was out of the city on some kind of business and he¡¯d left orders for Daphne to head back to the smaller manor she was living in while she was studying at Lightcastle. I had to suppress a tired sigh when I heard that. It would have been so much faster to just drop her off there! Instead here I was, more than an hour by carriage away from the portal. What a waste of time. At least the ride wasn¡¯t too uncomfortable, the enchantments on the carriage and horse tack meant there was no jostling and bouncing and I barely had to do anything at all to direct the horses.


    Well, no matter. I flicked the reins lightly and we were off. Leaning back slightly, I decided that it was a real shame that the portal was going to be moving tomorrow. There were still so many things I wanted to do in Xethis but that I¡¯d never really had the time for. Now that the month-long winter break had begun, I finally did have time to pursue personal projects, but several of them would suddenly be far out of reach.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t like I wasn¡¯t going to come back. Dealing with Seatamer and now the Earthshadows were both long-term goals that I simply wasn¡¯t ready for yet. Seatamer was a nearly thousand-year-old elf with magics and resources that I simply couldn¡¯t match. Similarly, while Adonia was no match for me already, I did not like my chances against her father and their numerous enforcers and servants. Working with her family¡¯s cadre of security mages, investigators, and interrogators had given me a healthy respect for their competence. If not for the anti-scrying pendant the Myrddin had given me near the start of the semester and the many layers of privacy and disguise spells I had layered over myself I would not have dared to step outside Avalon until after the portal moved.


    Outside of those two, I still wanted to deal with the group of nobles that had attacked my precious Lea. I knew now that none of them had been behind the second attack on my friend, but that did nothing to lessen my conviction to take care of them. Permanently.


    Unfortunately, it seemed as though my preparations in that direction were going to be wasted. I doubted the information I¡¯d collected on the wards around there homes and where they could be found was still going to be very useful in a few years when I finally made it back to Xethis. Still, by the time I was ready to deal with Seatamer and Adonia¡¯s family I was confident I¡¯d be able to handle a few arrogant noble children as well.


    ¡°...driver? Mister driver? Sir!¡±


    I shook myself and looked back towards where Cayla was sticking her head out of the carriage window and calling up to me.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± I apologize quickly, trying my best to stay in character, ¡°My apologies ma¡¯am, I didn¡¯t quite hear you the first time. Can I help you?¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Um, where exactly are we going?¡±


    That made me pause. I looked around and suddenly realized that I was not on the road I should have been on. Instead of turning away from the boulevard where the majority of the noble mansions were situated, I had continued down it away from our destination and towards where some of the lesser noble names had their homes.


    Huh. I hadn¡¯t been that lost in thought, had I? ¡°My¡­ apologies, ma¡¯am. I seem to have missed a turn, I¡¯ll get it all sorted out, nothing to worry about.¡±


    Continuing down the road, we came to another turn that would take us back to Avalon, but something stopped me before I could command the horses to move onto the narrower street. I was instantly on guard, the mana trapped just beneath the surface of my skin roiling as I rapidly checked my body and mind for outside influences¡­ and found¡­ nothing?


    There was no foreign mana within me, nothing unusual at all. I closed my eyes and focused, but there was nothing to see. A concentrated pulse from my core rolled through my body and bounced back without any interference. The circulations in my mind felt crisp and neat, with no signs of tampering or damage.


    I opened my eyes and found that I had moved past the turn and was continuing down the road, away from both the Capitol and the portal.


    I went from confused and worried to terrified in a fraction of a second. What. The. Fuck. Was. Going. On.


    My defensive spells were still up, untouched and undamaged. My body, mind, and soul were my own, untampered with to the best of my knowledge. And yet, here I was.


    ¡°Cayla,¡± I called down as calmly as I could manage.


    Her head popped out of the carriage window. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°My bag please.¡±


    She passed me the small satchel I¡¯d left with her in the carriage and I scrambled to dig out a pair of small potion vials and the token that identified me as a third-year Avalon student for anyone that knew how to look.


    I threw back the first potion, cringing at the acrid taste of the potent general antidote, then washed it down with one of my emergency shots of elven milk, the most magically powerful substance I had easy access to. If this was a sufficiently subtle attack that I simply couldn¡¯t detect, then it was possible that a sudden spike of foreign mana inside my body could potentially destabilize it.


    I hid the token in an inside pocket, then turned to pass the bag back down to Cayla. After a moment¡¯s thought, I turned away and set it down on the seat beside me. If something was happening, it was better to have it nearby, and the token in my pocket was more of a giveaway of my identity than anything else I had brought with me.


    We continued down the road for another five minutes. The mansions around us were still clearly expensive and elaborate, but visibly less so than the ones closer to where Daphne¡¯s family lived. They were smaller, shabbier, and less well-cared for. Some had minimalistic gardens or inactive fountains, chipped paint on out-of-the-way corners or slightly dirty windows.


    I could feel it now, a silent voice ringing almost imperceptibly through the air. Someone, no, something, was calling out, calling to me. The pendant around my neck felt hot, almost burning my skin. I reached up and wrapped my hand around it, the heat suffusing my body and sending waves of clarity through my mind.


    Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Up ahead I could see a manner that almost shone to my eyes. It looked very much like the rest of the buildings around it, but I could feel the power of its wards from down the road and the air behind them was suffused with grasping tendrils of off-yellow not-mana.


    ¡°Cayla,¡± I asked slowly, ¡°Can you feel that?¡±


    ¡°Feel what?¡±


    ¡°The¡­ yellow¡­ the clouds? The¡­¡±


    ¡°What? Sir? Is everything¡­¡±


    I clutched the raven pendant, its feathers and claws digging painfully into my hand. The jewel in its eyes felt like a tiny knife stabbing into my palm, but I welcomed the pain and the sense of stability it brought me.


    ¡°Cayla,¡± I asked again, ¡°Do you know whose manor that is? That one, over there. With the red tiles and the big statue out front.¡±


    Cayla looked around, then ducked back inside and looked out the window on the other side of the carriage. ¡°Um, I think it might be Archmage Blightcleanser¡¯s home? He¡¯s the current Royal Mage, one of the king¡¯s personal advisors. I recognize the statue, he commissioned it from a sculptor that used to work with one of my uncles. The boat carrying it from our island to the capital sank and he made a really big deal of personally fishing it out of the ocean and bringing it back here.¡±


    I tried to remember what I knew about the man. I remembered the name from Professor Shatterglass¡¯s lecture about the important people we might encounter on Xethis, but little else of value. He was the royal mage, she wasn¡¯t sure if he really was an archmage or just claimed to be one, he was considered young for his position, and he was a new Noble Name with no established family behind him. None of that did anything to explain what I was seeing.


    I took a slow, deep breath, my eyes glued to the distant building. With a great effort of will, I flicked the reins and commanded the horses to stop moving.


    There was something achingly familiar about what I was looking at. It reminded me of¡­ the Outsider. The one whose magic I had absorbed only a few short weeks ago. The magic that now filled my body in an impossibly complex web of circulations that I had only barely begun to unravel the purpose of. Suddenly, incorporating something I barely understood so deeply into my body and soul seemed like it might not have been a great idea.


    ¡°Cayla,¡± I began, not really sure what exactly I was trying to ask of her. ¡°I¡­¡±


    I trailed off, my mouth open but no words on my tongue.


    ¡°Yes, sir?¡± she asked after a long moment of silence, but I had no response for her.


    The tendrils were moving. Yellow, oily smears of something drifted invisibly through the air like the many tentacles of a massive kraken. There was no way I should have been able to see anything like that through the powerful wards around the building. The amount of mana flowing through them should have blocked out any mana moving behind them. Indeed, I couldn¡¯t sense anything from the building itself, but somehow those streaks and tendrils were as clear as day both to my eyes and mana sense.


    Someone called out to me, another carriage driver annoyed that I was blocking the road, but I could barely hear his voice, much less make out what he was saying. All my focus was on the sky and the runes I could almost make out written in the air above Archmage Blightcleanser¡¯s home. The man scoffed and maneuvered his carriage around me, snow-white horses pulling a similarly white carriage embossed with the symbol of a shining shield.


    I found myself struggling not to climb down from my high seat, to rush towards the light before me. It felt so warm, so welcoming, so loving, so hot and cold, the gentle touch of a warm home and a loving family welcoming me in and¡­ and¡­


    Cayla was calling out to me. My nails dug painfully into my palms and I tried to focus on her words, on what my servant was telling me. I had no home left, no family left, only the home and family I made for myself, and this was not it. I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut.


    Cayla was climbing up onto the high seat beside me. ¡°Orion, are you¨C¨C¡± and then a wave of mana and something else crashed against us like a tidal wave and my world became nothing but light and fire.

 Chapter 123

    In the fraction of a second between sensing the wave of mana and the shockwave itself, I managed to snatch Cayla by the wrist and wrap both of us in a flimsy mana barrier. It was nothing compared to the barriers I had been developing and practicing over the past few months, worse even than what I had managed during my terrified flight from the berserk demon, but it was something.


    Then everything became a blur of light and color. I pulled Cayla in against me and did my best to shield my head with my free arm, too disoriented and overwhelmed to even try and cast a spell. Someone was screaming. Maybe me, maybe her, maybe someone else, or perhaps it was all of us.


    The initial impact shattered my shield like a soap bubble, but it did its job blunting the force somewhat. I felt like I¡¯d been kicked by a dragon regardless, my circulation-reinforced body aching from the impact. Worse, I could feel the mana-core in my chest shudder as it was buffeted by overwhelming waves of hyper-dense mana. It took every shred of effort I could muster to hold my core in place against the tide, my soul screaming as it fought to keep foreign mana out and failed.


    The entire carriage, horses and all, was picked up and thrown clear across the road. Enchanted wood crumpled, wheels shattered, and horses groaned and neighed in pain. Thankfully, Cayla and I were thrown from the carriage before it hit the ground. We careened wildly through the air and came down hard on a row of well-trimmed flower bushes at the edge of the road.


    The impact knocked what breath remained from my lungs and my head slammed back against woody roots, branches and leaves cracking and tearing from the force of our collision. My teeth clacked together, just barely missing my tongue and sending a wave of sharp pain echoing in my skull.


    Cayla fared slightly better than I did, but not by much. My body cushioned her crash, her face slamming into my belly and nearly making me vomit up the remains of my lunch, but I could hear something in her leg crack violently where it hit the granite road. She was unconscious, her body a limp weight pressing me down into the ground, but I could feel her heartbeat and see the faint rise and fall of her chest.


    For some moments I just lay there dazed, my entire body one massive bruise and my soul a whimpering mass of pain that rubbed against my mind and only exacerbated the concussion I had no doubt just sustained.


    Then the Call cut through the pain. Gone was any sense of subtlety. A wordless voice roared inside me, beckoning me, calling me, commanding me to come forward. I moved through the pain, my body protesting every twitch and shift as I sat up, then pushed myself shakily to my feet. I took one ragged footstep, then a second, and then my muscles simply gave out and I collapsed down onto my knees.


    There was a massive rift in the sky, a ragged tear with crackling edges that made my eyes ache just looking at them. It was as long as a town square and nearly as wide, like someone had sliced a long gash in the fabric of our world and then tore it wide open. Something was moving in the blackness beyond the tear. Something huge, surrounded by dozens of tiny wriggling things I couldn¡¯t see but felt like knives scraping along my brain.


    For a moment, I felt a shred of hope colored by alien despair as I saw thick chains of ethereal light ripple just beyond the opening. Miles of chain, each link shining like a star of molten gold, bound tentacles and shapeless limbs. The thing in the darkness shifted and the chains followed. It grew and shrank, twisted and warped, writhed and thrashed against them, but through it all it remained tightly constricted.


    Another wordless scream echoed inside my skull, the force of it darkening my vision and making me slump sideways onto the ground. My shoulder slammed painfully against the granite road, but I managed to shield my head in time to avoid another direct impact. I slumped bonelessly across the street, my eyes still glued to the portal.


    Every passing moment burned my eyes and made my soul shudder inside my body, but I couldn¡¯t muster the strength to turn my head or close my eyes. I felt so tiny, so utterly insignificant. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the carriage driver that had passed me just minutes ago. His prone body lay utterly still a few feet away from his overturned carriage. Despite the situation, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what had gotten him in the end. The force or the wave of mana? Without a mana core, his soul might have simply been torn from his body by the force of the wave, or maybe he simply died on impact, his brain unable to withstand the sudden starts and stops.


    Four gleaming points of light rose from behind the half-demolished manor and rushed through the opening. One after another they slammed against the golden chains and with each impact vast swaths of chain simply fell apart into golden dust that rapidly dispersed into the nothingness between worlds.


    For the third time I could feel that same scream, more a shaking in my bones and a quiver in my muscles than a sound, but this time it sounded like victory. A dozen column-like tentacles forced themselves through the portal and rushed towards the ground. Hundreds more caught the edges of the rift and began to push, tearing the gap wider and wider with impossible strength.


    The earth beneath me shook as the first tentacle hit the ground, and then it simply didn¡¯t stop shaking. Cracks zigzagged across the granite road. The wards around the building finally failed completely, though whether it was the creature¡¯s arrival that overwhelmed them or if some crucial runic array was shaken out of place I couldn¡¯t say.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    The world erupted with color as the auras of a dozen powerful mages suddenly appeared behind the crumbling building. Three of them winked out just as suddenly, then two more a second later. A massive burst of fire erupted towards the rift and then a sixth aura vanished as well.


    More and more of the vast creature beyond the rift began to push and tear its way into reality. As it did, a number of smaller things followed in its wake. Comparatively tiny monsters wriggled past eyes and tentacles that dwarfed their entire bodies and dropped into the world.


    I flinched when I felt something shatter, an almost imperceptible tether snapping as its anchor collapsed. Clarity rushed through me and for the first time in several minutes I was finally fully in control of my own body.


    I immediately scrambled back towards where Cayla lay unconscious in the bushes behind me. If nothing else, she was the one holding the bag with all my emergency supplies. I moved quickly but smoothly, doing my best not to jostle my many injuries and to avoid looking at the horror behind me. I had a piercing, throbbing headache that made it impossible to see through my left eye and I could feel warm trails of blood trickling down from my eyes, ears, and nose.


    Every bit of mana I could spare was poured directly into my healing circulations. As limited as they were, I didn''t trust myself with casting anything right now, much less something as precise and fiddly as a healing spell.


    The moment I was close enough, I tugged the bag open and blindly dug around until I found the right-shaped vials. One healing potion went down my throat, the pain in my head so bad that I didn¡¯t even register the vile flavor. A second I poured over my face and shoulders, roughly rubbing the stinging goo into my skin. As before, I followed it down with a small vial of elven milk to help boost both my own mana regeneration and the effectiveness of the potion.


    I found myself holding a fourth vial and froze for a moment. I couldn¡¯t drink it, another potion so soon after the first three was a terrible idea. Instead, I hurriedly rolled Cayla onto her back, pinched her nose shut, and poured it into her mouth. It went everywhere. My hands were unsteady, some of it slopping onto her cheeks and lips. She choked and coughed, but swallowed. It was fine, better a little potion in her lunges than none at all in her stomach.


    I looked around, trying to come up with a plan, but everything seemed rather hopeless. The air around me sang with not-mana, horrible writhing tendrils of it snaking across the ground towards me. The once fine mansion was almost completely buried under a massive heap of quivering, warping off-white flesh and eyes. The rift was still open, wider than ever even, and more and more of the thing¡¯s immense body emerged from it with every passing moment.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what exactly it was, but I had some ideas. It must be some sort of titanic starspawn, the sort that was usually simply too big to slip through the dimensional boundary. The books I¡¯d read never mentioned anything on this scale, but that seemed like the most obvious explanation. Especially since some of the smaller creatures around it very much did look like the Outsiders I was passingly familiar with.


    Whatever it was, it felt absolutely terrifying. Each of its titanic coils glowed with power, more energy in a single tentacle than the entire Outsider I had captured a few weeks ago. I had my doubts that anything I could do could so much as scratch it, much less do any real damage. My only option was to get away from here as quickly as I could, and I was not really in any state to do so.


    Even now, I could feel those that could rapidly retreat from the area. The wards on several neighboring buildings had also collapsed and I could sense dozens of mages, most of them as weak or weaker than I was, fleeing with all possible haste. Only a scant few people remained now, most of them completely imobile and scattered in the vicinity of the summoning. Everyone else was either dead or gone.


    I glanced down at Cayla, then towards the rift, then frantically looked around again, hoping to see something I¡¯d missed before. I was on the edge of the road. On my left was the upside-down remains of my rented carriage. On the right, the road was mostly clear except for two more damaged carriages and a corpse, but the road itself was covered in rents and jagged cracks and I wasn¡¯t really sure how quickly I could move in my current state. At my back was a tall brick wall covered in flowering vines and still shining with the remains of defensive wards.


    I looked down at Cayla again. She was still unconscious, but she didn¡¯t look as bad as she had a few moments before. Her mana core was a steady glow in her chest, dim but stable. Then I pushed her gently into the cover of the well-trimmed bushes and slowly staggered to my feet. There was only one way I could go. I had to try. I had to go. Walk. Run. Move.


    I stepped forward, my knees shaking from the exertion. I stumbled and¨C¨C


    A strong hand caught my shoulder and suddenly I could feel a very familiar presence standing right beside me. ¡°I had hoped you would be slightly further away for this,¡± Professor Williams said softly, ¡°but it seems the call is more insidious than I had suspected. Of course you would have something important to do around here today, hmm. Well, no matter. It will be dealt with momentarily.¡±


    I blinked slowly, barely processing what was happening. Soft hands gently guided me down into a chair that had definitely not been there a moment ago. Gossamer strands of mana appeared in a circle around me, runes written in pure mana burning themselves into the suddenly smoothed-out granite.


    ¡°Sit tight, focus on your wounds, and enjoy the show!¡± I heard, and then she was gone as suddenly as she¡¯d appeared.


    I blinked again. My mind felt clearer, the pounding, burning ache in my skull reduced from a dragon¡¯s breath to a simple bonfire. I could see tendrils of the offputting, yellowish not-mana rubbing against the runic barrier around me and failing to find any purchase on the smooth sheet of force. All of a sudden, the air in my lungs was lighter and a weight that had been crushing me was gone as well.


    I was still trying to understand what had just happened¨C¨CI¡¯d felt Professor Williams¡¯s presence, heard her voice and felt her mana, but the hows of it all escaped me¨C¨Cwhen suddenly the world became illuminated by a new star.


    ¡°There you are, beasty.¡± Professor Williams¡¯s voice was cold yet playful and boomed like thunder. ¡°How nice of you to finally come out of your shell. I¡¯ve been looking forward to this for weeks!¡±

 Chapter 124

    I always thought I knew what power looked like. I¡¯m young, barely an adult by human standards, much less those of longer-lived races like dwarves and elves, but I¡¯ve seen and experienced more in the past two decades than most people do in a lifetime.


    When I first fled Xethis, a juvenile sea-wurm attacked the convoy of ships I was on, having managed to get hired on as a cabin-boy by a too-kind captain. The monster was ¡®only¡¯ seventy meters long and had sunk nearly a dozen ships before one of the mages traveling with us managed to scare it off with a lucky bolt of lightning.


    I had spent the entire horrifying encounter cowering under a pile of ropes silently crying and praying for salvation. I¡¯d only learned after the attack that real sea-wurms are at least three times larger and rarely leave the deep oceans where they make their homes. You needed an archmage to deal with one of those, not the sort of mage a middling trading-house could afford to hire. The experience had left me terrified of deep water for nearly five years and had been the lead cause of me running away from Captain Alvin¡¯s ship despite his kindness and offer of a job.


    Years later, a caravan I was traveling with was attacked by a number of trolls looking for an easy meal. Not young ones like what Erna had sacrificed at the start of the semester, but adults ranging from the size of horses to a titanic specimen that wouldn¡¯t have fit in my room at Avalon even if I cut it in half. The caravan guards had fought and died to a man. It turns out that the saying ¡®You don¡¯t have to be faster than a troll, just faster than the slowest person running with you¡¯ was completely true.


    I¡¯ve seen the aftermath of monster attacks and bandit ambushes, watched mages years my senior fight to the death, and experienced first-hand the magic of archmages and elder dragons alike. Never like this though. Not even close.


    Professor Williams¡¯s first blow contained more mana than I could generate in a week. A furious thunderclap boomed through the air, shattering windows all up and down the street and momentarily leaving me deafened despite the defensive circle she had set up around me beforehand.


    A column of force as wide as a barn slammed down on the massive outsider like the fist of a wrathful god, hammering the squirming mass of eyes and tendrils into the ground. Moments later a dozen identical hammer blows descended upon it, each one shaking the earth and wrenching a horrible, brain-melting scream out of the creature. White pus squirted from the ends of torn and battered tentacles, soaking the ground for dozens of meters in every direction.


    For a moment I thought that was going to be the end of it. Professor Williams¡¯s sudden attack felt like it would have turned a mountain to dust, much less a living creature, no matter how powerful it may be. Of course that would have been far too easy.


    A titanic wave of whatever sickening yellow energy the Outsider seemed to use rolled through its body and before my eyes wounds closed and the entire creature¡¯s form shifted. A dozen spider-like legs grew out of the central mass like they were tearing their way out of a gigantic warped egg. Each was wider than I was tall and they honestly looked more fit as columns on a temple than legs.


    The legs were followed by yet more limbs, each just as titanic in scale and taken from all manner of mundane creatures. Human hands flexed beside rat-like paws and beetle pincers that looked like they could slice a whale in half. Hundreds of faces, some human most not, growled and screamed. A rat head that looked like it could swallow me whole barred pearly-white teeth at me, its red eyes glowing with madness.


    At the center of it all was a barely-reduced writhing mass of those same white tendrils as before. Hundreds of mouths opened at once and screamed, their voices drowning each other out until all that remained was a single unearthly chorus of horror that somehow resembled words. ¡°You. Will. Become. One. In. MIIRA!¡± it cried out, the last word coming as a nearly sibilant hiss  as hundreds of red and green scaled garden snakes emerged from the central core. ¡°All. Life. Is. MIIRA!¡±


    With a start I realized that I recognized one of the human faces staring up at where Professor Williams was floating silently far above the ground. It was the apparent Archmage Blightcleanser, who¡¯s manor the creature had just destroyed. Cayla had presumably been right, though I wasn¡¯t sure how the royal mage of Xethis got involved with something like this.


    ¡°Funny,¡± Professor Williams called out, her voice magnified by some manner of spell, ¡°it''s usually me doing the whole absorbing others shtick. And I do believe I¡¯m better at it than you¡¯ll ever be.¡±


    The creature, Miira? Why did that name sound so familiar? The continuing ache in my skull and the ridiculous quantities of power being thrown around were making it hard to focus.


    I shook myself. Focus. How often did one get the chance to really see an archmage of her caliber cut loose? Not very, I assumed. I had to get the most out of this opportunity.


    Miira roared again, this time a simple wordless cry of fury that still made my ears ring but didn¡¯t seem to carry any more sinister weight behind it. Then dozens of tiny, pearly-white balls of light formed between barred teeth and clutched in paws and hands.


    Before I could even begin to comprehend the suddenly visible array of impossible geometries written in yellow fog, lances of that same translucent white energy filled the sky, most of them targeted at my teacher but others going wide and gouging effortlessly through trees, houses, wards, and even the already cracked granite road.


    She juked effortlessly out of the way, then continued to zig zag through the air as more and more beams filled the sky, batting what few attacks got near her back towards their source with a hand covered in gleaming crystals.


    A spell matrix more complex than I¡¯d ever seen in my life appeared beside her, mana twisting and shifting out of phase as she rapidly wove together a spell using all nine possible dimensions that mana could mimic. A mere few seconds later she was finished and I felt it all snap into place as the spell did its work.


    From there, she became nothing more than a blur. I didn¡¯t lose consciousness or anything. My eyes and senses simply couldn¡¯t keep up with her movements and spellcasting as whatever spell she¡¯d used boosted her to levels I could scarcely imagine. I remembered what she¡¯d told me about stacking different forms of boosts and her own propensity for time manipulation. Was that what I was seeing? Had she accelerated the passage of time for herself compared to the rest of the world, or was this some other esoteric effect I didn¡¯t even have a basis to understand?


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Whatever the case may be, it was undoubtedly effective. Miira raged and fought, but even after just a few minutes it was clear that the Outsider was outmatched. Arms and tentacles flailed through the air, but Professor Williams flittered past them like a hummingbird, sometimes dodging by less than a centimeter but avoiding the massive blows nonetheless. Beams of light, waves of acid, hails of quills and spines, and so much more blackened the sky, but each and every attack was dodged, shielded, or simply ignored.


    Through it all, Professor Williams did not remain a passive defender either. She did not counterattack often, but each time she did it was far more devastating than anything the monster was able to achieve. A column of black fire burned away nearly a fifth of the entire creature. Golden lightning fell from the clear sky and left blackened scars all across its core. A gentle wave of sparkly mist filled with what looked like translucent music notes nearly succeeded in disabling it entirely, leaving Miira completely motionless for ten whole seconds before it broke out of the effect.


    And yet, I wasn¡¯t really sure if the battle was going well or not. Each time one of her spells proved to be particularly effective, the creature adapted in seconds, rendering further attacks of that kind completely ineffective. After the first barrage of force spells, gleaming black plates of chitten covered the creature¡¯s body and completely shrugged off her second attempt at the same spell. After her particularly effective use of fire, oily white foam began to drip down its sides leaving it all but immune burning.


    Professor Williams must be going through mana as though it was water, spending vast reserves every second. Her flight spell, the temporal acceleration, the occasional shields, and all those terrifying combat spells had to be ruinously expensive to cast.


    From what little of her spells that I could follow from so far away and with so little time to unravel everything looked both monstrously complicated and equally mana-hungry. How long could she keep this up? More importantly, how long could Miira keep going? From what I¡¯d seen, its levels of that strange not-mana hadn¡¯t changed at all, though my sense for it was so underdeveloped that I really couldn¡¯t say for sure.


    I had absolutely no doubt that if Professor Williams failed here I was dead meat. Despite starting out several hundred meters away from the center of the fighting and Professor Williams intentionally leading the outsider away from where she¡¯d left me, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to escape once the shield around me failed.


    Miira seemed to be both incredibly hungry and have some form of sixth-sense for any and all life around it, particularly mages. In just a few minutes several only partially-abandoned buildings had been completely demolished and each time the outsider relentlessly went after every living creature it could get its tendrils on.


    Even as it fought back against Professor Williams¡¯s onslaught, it dragged dozens of people¨C¨Cmostly servants and children¨C¨Chundreds of animals, and even some particularly magical plants into its many mouths where their mana signatures vanished in moments.


    Furthermore, dozens, maybe hundreds, of other, lesser outsiders swarmed around it and continued to appear through the still-open rift high in the sky. Most of them were instantly intercepted by Professor Williams¡¯s spells¨C¨Cprimarily rays of blinding-hot fire that completely obliterated them as they fell though I also noticed a number of stasis and petrification spells directed at choice specimens¨C¨Cbut some few managed to escape into the surrounding roads and manors. Sure I¡¯d subdued a similar creature once, but I¡¯d ambushed it while it was asleep and I had been in much better form than I was now. I didn¡¯t fancy my chances against one of them now.


    Despite the incredible spectacle before me, I was too worried about my own life and the life of my Cayla, who was still unconscious on the ground nearby, to focus properly. Even as the pain in my head had lessened, the rest of my body was quick to tell me just how much it hurt. I poured as much of my reserves into my healing circulations as I dared, barely noticing how they shifted and optimized for every additional drop of mana. If I did need to run, I needed to be in the best shape I could manage between then and now.


    And then, between one heartbeat and the next, it was over; most of my concerns rendered moot in a fraction of a second. Space glitched; I have no idea how else to describe it. One moment, a monstrous creature larger than some of Avalon¡¯s academic buildings stood on twenty legs taken from just as many animals amidst a field or ruined homes and burnt gardens. The next, a perfect sphere of space around it seemed to flicker and then everything within it was reduced to pieces no bigger than my pinkie nail.


    Earth, stone, flesh, it didn¡¯t matter. Plants withered into dust even as fresh petals rained down around them. Bits of wooden beams rotted and warped while other parts of the same former whole sprouted with fresh growth. Miira simply fell apart. Yellow not-mana howled and complex structures spun aimlessly as fragments of it seemingly vanished or were suddenly not where they belonged.


    Even as I tried to figure out what had just happened, the sphere glitched again, then again, and again. Tiny shards of meat and tile were reduced to fragments, then little more than fine powder blowing in the wind.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I whispered, my eyes wide with horror and amazement in equal parts. The second and third time it had happened, I had managed to notice bits of time and space aligned mana. I had not the slightest clue how I would go about defending against a spell like that. It was an attack on a scale and axis I had never considered and the very idea of it terrified me.


    High in the sky above the creature, Professor Williams raised her arm above her head and the horrible, oily-yellow energy of the outsider flooded out of the field of shredded space and up towards her. It flowed together, squeezing down, down, down until only a single sphere of radiant, otherworldly power remained floating ominously over her upraised palm. Then that too was gone, along with Professor Williams herself.


    A hand landed on my shoulder and I just barely managed to control my reaction, turning my head slowly to look at Professor Williams standing behind me, the outsider¡¯s condensed power nowhere insight, instead of jumping or lashing out in surprise.


    ¡°Pretty impressive, right?¡± she gestured towards what was left of the titanic outsider. ¡°You didn¡¯t hear it from me, but people say that I sometimes teach students who choose me as their mentor for their last three years some of my personal tricks. It''s just a rumor, mind you,¡± she winked, a broad smile on her face, ¡°as you know, Professors are not allowed to actively influence the academic choices of their students and I would never do anything that goes against Avalon policy. Oh, funny story! Did you know that I¡¯m teaching a new third- and fourth-year elective in the spring?¡±


    She winked again, then clapped me on the shoulder. A wave of mana rippled over my skin and I felt an incredibly sophisticated illusion of some form replace the frayed remains of my own illusion spells. ¡°Anyway, I have some new samples I need to go pick up. It''s so rare that I get to conduct multiple experiments with such rare specimens! I¡¯m so excited!¡± For a moment she sounded more like a teenage girl than the terrifying archmage I knew her to be. ¡°Barrier will last like, another ten minutes. You probably don¡¯t want to be here when the local authorities show up. I¡¯ll see you in class, Orion.¡±


    Before I could say anything, though what exactly I wanted to say I wasn¡¯t sure, she was gone. The raven necklace that had been burning like a hot coal against my skin for the last half-hour had gone cold and I suddenly realized that Professor Williams was very right. I definitely didn¡¯t want to be here when Xethian mages arrived, and we were barely a stone¡¯s throw away from the capital. If I climbed up to the roof of one of the surviving buildings I could probably still make out the palace in the distance. This day wasn¡¯t over yet.

 Chapter 125

    It took four painfully long minutes to get Cayla into a state where I felt comfortable moving her. My diagnosis spells told me she¡¯d cracked and broken a number of bones, but thankfully hadn¡¯t punctured any organs or major blood vessels. As long as I was careful, I just needed to get her to Avalon¡¯s hall of healing. Her body would be fully healed by the end of the day and I was pretty sure there shouldn¡¯t be any lingering soul damage either.


    After some deliberation, I ended up paralyzing her with a third-circle combat spell¨C¨Ca full stasis would have been better but I just didn¡¯t have the time or materials¨C¨C then transmuting a rough, padded sack around her with a strap that I slung over my shoulder.


    Through it all, my mind was still racing with all I¡¯d just seen and heard. Professor Williams¡¯ words couldn¡¯t have been any more clear if she¡¯d gone and said it all outright. It looked like I had at least one class for next semester locked in, and if that wasn¡¯t an invitation to take her as my mentor after fourth year I didn¡¯t know what was. I didn¡¯t really know what I¡¯d done to make her like me as much as she clearly did, but I wasn¡¯t going to question it. Well, not yet at least.


    Furthermore, I¡¯d finally remembered where I¡¯d heard the name Miira before. It was the name of the false god that Lea¡¯s uncles had prayed too when I visited them for dinner. I had no idea how that had happened, but I guess it hadn¡¯t really been a false god after all? Or maybe it had? If there was a connection between gods and outsiders, I didn¡¯t know anything about it.


    Well, it was dead now, so hopefully I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it. I just needed to gently nudge Lea away from whatever beliefs they had tried to press onto her. Outsider cults, and this certainly seemed like one, were dangerous. Information about them tended to be incredibly suppressed.


    Summoning and dealing with outsiders tended to be horribly illegal in most countries and even Avalon had strict rules about when and how it could be done. I¡¯d done some more research after Miranda had told me her story and I¡¯d mentioned the possibility of helping her resummon her mother. If I ever went through with the attempt I would have to jump through an enormous number of hoops without even considering the difficulty of the magic itself.


    Stepping out of the warded area Professor Williams had prepared around us, I found the air outside was noticeably hotter and drier than it had been inside. There was so much ambient mana in the air that it almost hurt to breathe and cut down my sensory range to nearly nothing. It would disperse soon, but for now someone without a mana core would be dead in minutes from soul damage.


    That wasn¡¯t even mentioning the slowly dispersing remnants of the strange, oily-looking energy that the outsider had been using and the lesser outsiders that I knew were still lurking around here somewhere. Professor Williams had gathered most of it, but some traces remained, sending shivers down my spine every time I looked at them too closely.


    After the outsider had been destroyed, the portal above it had snapped closed almost immediately stopping any more things from passing through, but I had seen quite a few of horrors scurrying away with all possible haste during the fight.


    Our carriage was a lost cause. I only needed a brief glance to see that. One side was fully caved in, half the wheels were a shattered mass of kindling, and the horses we¡¯d hired along with it were both dead¨C¨Cmundane animals simply couldn¡¯t survive in the aftermath of so much magical energy being thrown around.


    That was rather annoying, but it was a problem I could worry about later or preferably never. Cayla had hired the carriage through family connections and I was confident her parents could cover the cost. That was basically the point of acquiring her after all.


    I was about to hurry away when I felt two weak mana signatures flickering at the edge of my awareness. It was the carriage that had passed us on the road right before the explosion, I realized quickly.


    The carriage driver was dead. I could see his corpse sprawled across the road a few meters away from the overturned vehicle. It looked like he¡¯d been thrown clear of the wreckage and broken his neck on impact with the ground.


    Inside however were two survivors. They¡¯d gotten lucky. I could feel the remains of wards carved into the bleached-white wood of the carriage. It hadn¡¯t been enough to protect the carriage itself, but it had likely dampened the shockwave and impact enough that the people inside had survived.


    On their own a pair of survivors wasn¡¯t enough for me to care. I didn¡¯t particularly care if two total strangers lived or died. Judging by the location and carriage they were almost certainly nobles and would be fine. Xethis barely had a justice system in the first place, and nobles could get away with literal murder as long as their victim wasn¡¯t rich or connected enough to make someone important take notice.


    However, this wasn¡¯t just anyone. Now that my mind wasn¡¯t addled by whatever had been going on with the outsider, I recognized the insignia on the carriage. More than that, once I got a little closer to the carriage I recognized the mana signatures as well. Even as weak as they were and with my senses further muddled by all the mana in the air, I had spent too much time familiarizing myself with those two signatures to ever mistake them for something else.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Before I really knew what I was doing, Cayla¡¯s bag was on the ground and a razor-sharp blade of hissing force was cutting through what had once been the top of the carriage. Wood parted like butter in the face of my magic, the wards that had once reinforced it completely overloaded by the fight and preceding shockwave.


    Once I¡¯d carved a reasonably large circle through the wood, a tendril of telekinetic force grabbed the disk and pushed it out of the way, giving me an unobstructed view into the carriage. Sunlight poured in through broken windows, shining down on two battered, unconscious bodies. Doran and Nettle Shieldlight. Two of the students that had attacked Lea the night I¡¯d first found her.


    My eyes flickered between the unmarked bag I¡¯d made for Cayla and the pair of bodies inside the carriage. I was strong, between my natural build and circulations I could pretty easily carry Cayla¡¯s dead weight. Another bag was probably manageable. Two more? Unlikely, it would simply slow me down to an unacceptable extent.


    I bit my lip, horribly aware that time was ticking. I needed to get out of here. I really, really shouldn¡¯t have stopped for this. I¡¯d already decided that I was going to take care of them later. Later.


    Lea¡¯s face flashed before my eyes. There was dirt smeared across her bruised cheeks and her crystal-blue eyes ran with hot tears of pain. I could almost hear them again¡­


    ¡®A proper brothel¡¯s too good for a twat-eating hag like you¡¯. The crack of bone and a heart-wrenching shriek of pain. ¡®No room for a dumb slut¨C¨C¡¯


    The Shieldlights had a manor around here. We passed it on the way to the Warbringer estate. There could be Shieldlight mages scrambling towards here even now. Doran and Nettle were the Lord¡¯s third and fourth children, not heirs but still important members of the family. The Earthshadows were already after me, did I really need to make more enemies in Xethis right now?


    But¡­ there they were. Right there. They¡¯d hurt Lea. I¡¯d seen them hurt Lea. My Lea. Mine. The thought of just turning away made my heart clench and my soul ache more than it already was.


    I took a deep breath. Doran was on the shorter side, but heavily built. His white vest was stained red with blood leaking from his nose and I didn¡¯t have time to use the diagnosis spells that could tell me if there was anything else wrong with him, but he certainly didn¡¯t look good.


    Compared to him, his twin sister had gotten away considerably better off. She¡¯d been sitting closer to the blast than her brother and his body had cushioned her impact against the carriage wall. Unless there was some internal bleeding I couldn¡¯t see, my force spike had done more damage that night, though I wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d lost consciousness from the impact or from the mana overload.


    Looking at her, she honestly reminded me a lot of Adonia, with the same heart-shaped face, olive skin, and nearly-black brown hair. Considering how insular Xethis was and how often the nobility intermarried, I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised if they were related in the last few generations.


    She was rather pretty, all things considered. Xethian nobility tended to favor youthful, willowy builds with a hint of lean muscle and she fit the image to a tee, but in my eyes she couldn¡¯t hold a candle to my wonderful Lea. That someone like her had dared touch somethi¨C¨Csomeone so beautiful, so wonderful, so kind¡­ It was unforgivable.


    I had to consider things logically. He was heavy, she was slender, and thus light. She was comparably much less injured. There was a chance if I tried that he wouldn¡¯t make it all the way back to Avalon, or ever woke up even if he did. The decision seemed easy enough from there.


    It certainly helped that I could still see the arrogant sneer from that night echoed on her face. I hadn¡¯t let her finish her sentence then, but her words had reminded me why I loathed useless, worthless nobles. They were almost as bad as elves in a way, so much potential and wealth wasted on fools happy to squander it.


    I could definitely find a better use for her than she ever had.


    A tendril of force roughly dragged her out of the carriage and dropped her onto the cracked granite beside me. I folded her in half at the waist to save space, paralyzed her temporarily with the same spell I¡¯d used on Cayla, and then packed her away in another transmuted bag.


    I wanted to do more, but there would be time enough to make her regret messing with my Lea soon enough and it wasn¡¯t like she was conscious to feel anything I did now. I grabbed both bags and took a few steps back away from the carriage. The weight was noticeable, but I could manage.


    I gave the carriage one final look. Well, no reason to leave any evidence behind. Or survivors. It was an easier end than he deserved, but all the books I¡¯d read told me to tie up loose ends whenever possible. There was even an entire chapter about it in the Avalon student handbook. I¡¯d just have to make sure to take his fair share out on his sister instead.


    A tendril of force looped around his neck and then squeezed until I felt his spine crack and windpipe collapse under the force. A moment later, force became fire. The padded benches caught first, followed quickly by the curtains and bits of wooden scrap.


    I turned my back on the growing conflagration and hurried away. Best not to test my luck any further. I hadn¡¯t managed to do everything I wanted to in Xethis, but I¡¯d accomplished more than I had been expecting this morning. I had felt bad about the idea of testing spells and potions on an innocent nobody like my darling Rea. I had no such compunctions about Nettle.


    Two down, five to go. Adonia and the others would simply have to wait until I was ready to deal with that monster Seatamer. Those who had hurt my Lea would learn to regret it eventually. I had waited for a decade already. I could bide my time.


    Professor Williams had opened my eyes today. Someday, when I could make the world itself tremble before me, I would be back. Seatamer, Earthshadow, Firewalker, and the others would all learn the error of their way.


    For now though, I needed to get back to Avalon. I hurried away, the carriage rapidly becoming just one more fire amidst the destruction. Despite the circumstances, my lips were stretched into a broad smile.

 Chapter 126

    It took Camille twenty minutes¨C¨Capproximately the time it took to walk from the private meeting room where she¡¯d met with Orion down to his academy room¨C¨Cto realize that she had just made a huge mistake.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Camille whispered weakly, ¡°I fucked up, didn¡¯t I.¡± Orion¡¯s hand on her shoulder, which had felt so very comforting and reassuring as he¡¯d ushered her through the door, suddenly felt like a leaden straightjacket dragging her down into the depths of the ocean.


    She thought back to the oath she¡¯d sworn barely half an hour ago. At the time it had felt so much more innocent. Of course she would keep his secrets and follow the rules he set. He was helping her, saving her. And really, it was not so different from what any apprentice outside of Avalon would swear to their mentor.


    She¡¯d been so overjoyed, so full of life and hope for the first time in months, that she hadn¡¯t even thought twice. Orion had said yes. He was going to help her. On her own she stood no chance, but with Orion by her side, graduation¨C¨Csurvival¨C¨Cfelt like more than a pipedream. What were a few restrictions compared to her life? Potentially hundreds of years of it even! The lifespan of eighth-circle mages was measured in centuries, not measly decades. Right now even a few extra years had felt like a blissful eternity.


    She looked around the room, her heart sinking with every passing moment. There was a lump in her throat and her lungs felt impossibly heavy. Her mind raced, looking back at every word and interaction they¡¯d shared. She thought she¡¯d had a pretty good understanding of who Orion was. She thought they were friends. Was it all a lie?


    Orion turned to her and smiled as though Camille¡¯s world wasn¡¯t falling down around her. ¡°Maybe a little,¡± he agreed easily. ¡°I certainly never would have agreed to such a broad oath in your place, but truthfully this has saved both of us a lot of pain and effort, so perhaps it''s for the best.¡±


    His words, his voice, he sounded exactly like he always did! Camille¡¯s knees felt weak and she would have fallen if not for Orion tightening his grip on her shoulder. Her eyes flickered around the room, taking in her frie¨C¨COrion¡¯s collection of horrors. In one corner was a neatly stacked pile of familiar corpses, the bodies of the mages that had ambushed the two of them two weeks earlier. They were eerily stiff and looked perfectly preserved¨C¨Csome sort of stasis spell probably.


    Hanging on the wall beside them was an unfamiliar young woman, probably about their age if not a year or two younger. She was slender and fine-boned, with delicate, noble features. Her long brown hair hung in a limp curtain, half covering her face but doing nothing to preserve her modesty. She was completely naked except for a plain metal collar around her neck, and her body was littered with bruises and angry red marks.


    Kneeling a few feet away from the hanging brunette was another unfamiliar girl, this one clearly one of the natives from Port Anangala. She was dressed in a short, nearly translucent white sundress that did absolutely nothing to conceal her body or lack of undergarments. She¡¯d heard that many had taken the tragic attack on the port city as an opportunity to loot and take slaves, but she had not expected Orion to be one of them.


    Of course all of that was just a distraction from the awful centerpiece that Camille was doing her utmost to avoid looking at. Two very familiar young women were stretched out obscenely in the middle of the room, their bodies bound with cruel-looking metal restraints covered in dense webs of runic markings. Both were gagged, blindfolded, and their bare, dangling teats were connected to translucent tubes through which flowed a trickle of white-gold fluid.


    She recognized both of them of course. How could she not? She¡¯d attended nearly a dozen classes with Mistletoe before the poor girl had vanished. Everyone had said it was only a matter of time, that elves never lasted long at Avalon, but she¡¯d held out hope that maybe Mistletoe would be different. The much older girl had always been nice to her, condescending sure, but never actively antagonistic. Her disappearance had caused Camille several sleepless, teary nights as she mourned the likely death of another friend.


    To find out that it had been Orion, innocent, gentle Orion that had done it¡­ It was a shock, almost as much a shock as seeing what he¡¯d done to her. The two had always had a good rivalry between them, competitive but never violent the way so many Avalon rivalries were. If not for Orion¡¯s obvious relationship with Brenda and general¡­ Orionness, Camille might have thought that the two were secretly in a relationship.


    The identity of the other bound and displayed elf made Camille suddenly remember a conversation she¡¯d had with Orion earlier in the year. ¡°You should be careful,¡± she¡¯d said, ¡°if this monster is willing to attack a bunch of second-year girls, they won¡¯t think anything of ambushing a lone third year in the hallways.¡±


    Her mouth was as dry as a desert. She¡¯d literally called him a monster to his face. Warned him about himself. His later words suddenly took on a much darker tone as well. ¡°Let me know if you hear anything else about these rumors. It¡¯s always good to be forewarned.¡± Not forewarned about the identity of the attacker, but about whether or not anyone was onto him.


    Another realization suddenly pushed its way into the forefront of her mind. Those other two girls. Virdan, Briella, and Cayla. Virdan was right here, a promising student and from all accounts a loyal, dependable friend reduced to a literal head of cattle. And everyone knew that Briella and Cayla were getting private tutoring from Orion in exchange for something. That relationship suddenly didn¡¯t look nearly as transactional as everyone thought it was.


    Gods above, she¡¯d litterally used them as an example when she¡¯d approached Orion earlier in the week. Was that what had happened to them? Had Orion kidnapped them and then tricked them into the same sort of oath that she had just sworn herself like the gullible, trusting fool that she was?


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Or perhaps there had been no coercion and kidnapping at all, and the two girls had sold their friend out to Orion in exchange for help? Both ideas were too horrible to consider and Camille really didn¡¯t know which was more likely, nor which version she preferred.


    Camille¡¯s breaths were coming in short, painful gasps, each one feeling like it was pushing through a brick lodged in her throat. Her heart was racing, rapid staccato beats filling her ears like the pounding of drums and unshed tears were starting to pool in the corners of her eyes.


    How quickly things changed, she mused, feeling oddly hollow and disconnected from her panicking body. An hour ago, she¡¯d been scared and hopeful. Thirty minutes ago she¡¯d been overjoyed and filled with optimistic joy for the future. Things had looked bright for the first time in years. And now she had plunged back down, falling further than she had ever risen.


    Her, Verdan, Mistletoe, Cayla, Briella, and who knows how many more. Miranda probably. Maybe Brenda too. She thought back to their first two years at Avalon, at the many hundreds of students who had vanished without a trace. Most of them probably hadn¡¯t been Orion¡¯s fault, but it was impossible to know for sure. She thought she¡¯d had a pretty good read on him, but apparently that had all been a lie. A lie, a lie, a lie, a lie¡­ The words echoed painfully in her head.


    A few of the deaths and disappearances stood out to her. Adara Warbringer¨C¨COrion and her had had a very public, very loud confrontation, and weeks later she¡¯d died horribly in an equally public and very, very painful magical accident. Was that something Orion had done? It was possible. She had barely known the boy at the time and there had been a lot of people with a grudge against Adara, but it was possible.


    What about Reya Roype? Camille vaguely remembered that the outgoing girl had shared several classes with Orion during their first year. She¡¯d been a horrible fit for Avalon, but had survived her first year on the back of a very well practiced flamethrower spell. Her luck had run out two weeks into their second year and she¡¯d simply disappeared one day, never to be seen again.


    Camille still had her spare set of glasses tucked away somewhere in her room, kept in the forlorn hope that maybe Reya was somehow still alive and might need them again someday. For a moment, Camille imagined that it was Reya hanging up on the wall, her pale, freckled skin covered in a sea of bloody bruises.


    Camille had just barely begun to settle herself down when the bathroom door swung open and Miranda stepped out wrapped in a fluffy white towel. Her skin was flushed a bright red and the towel was barely large enough to hide her chest and did nothing to conceal her from the belly down.  ¡°Welcome back, master. I see the meeting with Camille went well.¡±


    Oh gods, oh fuck, oh fuck fuck fuck fuck she had been right. Master. She¡¯d called Orion master. Of course Orion¡¯s closest friend was actually his slave. If she¡¯d been right about that, what else had she been right about? The portal was moving today. Moving to the Gulivine Republic. To her home.


    She¡¯d so been looking forward to seeing her mother again. It had been over a year since she¡¯d managed to visit home¨C¨Cthe portal hadn¡¯t been close enough in either of the previous two breaks to make the trip. Now that anticipation was overwhelmed by fear. Was Orion expecting her to bring her mother to him? If so, there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop him, and that utterly terrified her.


    ¡°Something like that, though she doesn¡¯t seem to be taking things very well.¡±


    Miranda gave Camille a pitying look. ¡°I can see that.¡±


    The purple-skinned girl took a step forward and grabbed a long, slender knife from a small table Camille hadn¡¯t initially noticed standing beside the two bound elves. ¡°This slave would be happy to take care of her if she is causing you problems, Master!¡±


    Camille didn¡¯t miss Miranda¡¯s tiny flinch at her words, and the enthusiasm and devotion in her voice were terrifying enough without the huge knife in her hands.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that will be necessary, Rea. Camille is a friend, she just needs a little time to adjust I think. Miranda, could you¨C¨C¡±


    But Camille was no longer listening. Orion¡¯s words were simply too much. ¡°Camille is a friend¡±. Four simple words but they made her chest burn and the tears she¡¯d been holding back finally began to flow freely down her cheeks. How could he call her a friend? Had she unwittingly helped him somehow? Had it not been a lie? No, that was impossible.


    This time her legs failed her completely and her shoulder simply slipped out of her sleeveless blouse as she toppled to the floor, leaving Orion holding nothing but torn green fabric. Darkness was a welcome reprieve. Maybe things would make sense when she woke up. If she woke up.


    Orion, Miranda, and Rea stood in silence for several long moments.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Orion began, looking between the scrap of apparently rather flimsy green cloth in his hand and Camille¡¯s prone body. He¡¯d managed to catch her with a tendril of telekinetic force before she slammed her head into the ground, but hadn¡¯t reacted fast enough to keep her upright.


    Miranda sighed loudly. ¡°Did you explain anything before you brought her here, master?¡± she asked softly.


    ¡°I did not.¡± Orion¡¯s eyes slowly followed the same path as Camilles had minutes earlier. The stack of bodies that Briella had retrieved for him after he¡¯d gone to get lunch with Camille and Miranda. Nettle Shieldlight¡¯s prone form hanging from the wall by her wrists and ankles. Rea. The elves. Miranda.


    Orion sighed loudly.


    ¡°In hindsight, perhaps I overestimated Camille¡¯s fortitude.¡±


    Miranda sighed loudly.


    Rea took a step forward and wordlessly hefted the large bucket she typically used to wash the elves and wake up sleeping soon-to-be slaves, the ice cold water within sloshing dangerously close to the rim.


    Orion sighed again. ¡°Not this time, Rea.¡± He paused and tilted his head to the side. ¡°Though perhaps Nettle has gotten enough sleep for today.¡±


    Rea nodded enthusiastically. ¡°This slave hears and obeys, Master!¡±


    Hours later, Orion concluded that in hindsight, Nettle¡¯s panicked screaming wasn¡¯t really a much better way of waking up an unconscious Camille than the bucket itself would have been. Still, everything worked out fine in the end.

 Chapter 127

    For all that I had learned a lot in my classes this past semester, it was good to be able to pursue my own personal projects again, even just for a short time.


    ¡°Good, good, just like that. Nice and relaxed. Calm. We¡¯re almost done.¡± My hand moved slowly along Miranda¡¯s bare back and I continued to murmur reassurances as my mana swept through her body. Mapping the complex web of natural circulations in my pet succubus¡¯s body had proven to be a very productive project so far, it was just a shame that the process was not particularly pleasant for my research subject.


    Miranda flinched suddenly and whimpered painfully through the simple gag in her mouth. It wasn¡¯t really there to silence her, her occasional pained cries were mostly muffled by the sheets she was lying on and weren¡¯t enough to distract me from my work, but rather to make sure she didn¡¯t accidentally bite off her tongue if I did something particularly painful. That was a particularly painful and unpleasant injury to heal and this was much easier.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Miranda, we¡¯re nearly done,¡± I reassured her again reflexively, but my attention was completely consumed by the intricate knots of mana just beneath her shoulder blades. I¡¯d completely missed this section of her circulations the previous time I¡¯d examined her, too focused on the primary concentrations of mana within her breasts and reproductive organs, and infusing her body with enough mana to clearly sense the intricacies of the circulation without damaging anything was taking the majority of my focus.


    I mentally traced a single intricate thread, watching the way it flowed along her spine as part of a dense network, then split off towards her shoulder, looped through itself several times in a knot I could barely make out, and then wound back into Miranda¡¯s core.


    The circulations of magical creatures really were something else. This thread was one of countless thousands, each following a nearly identical path and yet every single one was completely distinct in its exact final form. Constructing something like this would take me days, perhaps even weeks, of work, and that was not even considering the amount of time needed to design such a circulation.


    And, what was the result of all this impossibly complex magical architecture? As far as I could tell, literally nothing right now. After all, Miranda didn¡¯t have any wings, so this circulation meant to aid in natural flight was utterly inert.


    A glance at the clock on my wall told me what time it was. Ugh, almost five o''clock already? I sighed heavily and reluctantly withdrew my mana from Miranda¡¯s body. She instantly sagged down onto the bed beneath her, the tightly coiled muscles in her back and shoulders relaxing as the source of her pain for the last several hours finally vanished.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I asked softly. Miranda turned her head to look up at me and I suddenly remembered about the gag in her mouth. ¡°Oh, right.¡± I swiftly unclasped the latch behind her head and set the bit gag on the table beside my bed. Rea would take care of cleaning it and putting it back in its place.


    ¡°So?¡± I prompted again after giving Miranda a moment to stretch her jaw.


    ¡°Not as bad as last time,¡± Miranda whispered hoarsely. ¡°Still. Really. Hurts.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately that¡¯s likely to be unavoidable. I was hoping it would be a little gentler on you this time since your oath makes your body more compatible with my mana, there''s only so much it can do. There¡¯s no real way to make having someone else¡¯s mana riffling around inside your soul pleasant, especially when I need to keep the concentration high enough to see things clearly.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Did you get what you wanted?¡±


    I hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Somewhat,¡± I eventually answered. After nearly three hours of examining Miranda¡¯s circulations, I had found a number of points of interest that warranted further examination. There were definitely a number of changes I noticed between what I¡¯d seen today and what I¡¯d found the last time I¡¯d examined her in depth.


    Some of those could be explained by my more refined mana sense¨C¨Cpatches that had simply looked like balls of mana a few months ago now clearly consisted of many hundreds of strands wound tightly around each other until they appeared to be a single point rather than a disconnected bundle. Others however I believed were likely to be related to Miranda¡¯s ability to acquire traits from those she fed on. There were some distinctly elven bits within her muscles and chest that I hadn¡¯t seen before she¡¯d started consuming elven juices for most of her meals.


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably need a few more sessions in the future. Definitely a few when you¡¯re feeding, both regularly and using the potions I prepared.¡±


    Miranda clearly didn¡¯t particularly like that idea, even with her bond she remained rather pain-averse, but it wasn¡¯t like she had any choice in the matter. ¡°Okay Orion. Just tell me when.¡±


    ¡°I will. Now then¨C¨C¡±


    The door to my room swung open and Camille slipped inside, quickly shutting the door behind her. Her eyes darted around the room, pausing for a moment to focus on me standing over Miranda¡¯s naked form, and then she bowed her head. ¡°Hi Orion.¡±


    ¡°Perfect, you¡¯re right on time. Take a seat, I¡¯ll be with you in just a moment.¡±


    Camille awkwardly looked around, then gingerly sat down on the stool Rea typically used when she was working with my cows. I put her out of mind for the moment and refocused my attention on Miranda.


    ¡°Right, as I was saying. Hold still and tell me how this feels.¡±


    I raised a hand in the air over Miranda, the motion technically unnecessary, but I found it helped me focus. Mana flowed from my fingertips and I carefully directed it into the shape of my newest spell. I formed it layer by layer, meticulously shifting my mana in just the right way to simulate the higher-dimensional structures of the spellforms I was utilizing.


    It took me several minutes to fully construct the spell matrix and once I was done I forced the spell matrix to hold in place as I double checked that everything was done perfectly. I didn¡¯t often work with these spellforms and it was always best to be sure when you were experimenting with the highest circle of magic you were capable of casting.


    Eventually, once I was completely certain that everything looked exactly right, I released my hold on the spell. Everything snapped into place and a gentle cloud of sparkling, ethereal mist rained down on Miranda, floating for a moment suspended above her skin before sinking into her body.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Tension visibly drained from my pet succubus¡¯s body and through the bond between us I could feel her relief. ¡°Oh gods, that''s¡­incredible,¡± Miranda whispered breathlessly. ¡°Thank you, Orion.¡±


    Well, that seemed to have worked the way I¡¯d hoped it would. Hopefully this would reduce the time needed for Miranda and my future research subjects to recover between sessions. It had taken an annoying amount of time to track down and learn such a specialized spell¨C¨Cfew people had use for a soul-focussed pain-relief spell that you couldn¡¯t really use on yourself¨C¨Cbut hopefully the amount of time I saved in the future would make up for the time spent now.


    ¡°Take as long as you need to recover, but make sure you eat before you leave,¡± I ordered. I let my gaze linger on the peaceful expression on Miranda¡¯s face for another moment, then turned to the patiently waiting Camille.


    ¡°Right. Good afternoon Camille. How are you feeling? Did you have a chance to talk to Miranda yesterday?¡±


    Camile, who had been staring at Rea as my darling went through one of the simple mana control exercises I¡¯d assigned her, whirled around towards me and jerkily nodded her head. ¡°Uh, better? Yeah, uh, I mean¡­yes Orio¨C¨Csir, I feel better. We talked.¡±


    I watched her silently for several seconds and she shifted in obvious discomfort under my gaze. I could sense the faint traces of an expertly cast illusion over her face and I had a feeling I knew what she was trying to hide. Through it all, her eyes remained focused squarely on the floor beneath me.


    I sighed again. I had been sighing a lot lately.


    ¡°Camille, look at me.¡± I ordered gently. I¡¯d missed a lot of cues that should have been obvious in the past, but Miranda had warned me this morning that Camille hadn¡¯t taken things well and I was determined not to let our relationship devolve through my own lack of social skills. ¡°And drop the illusion.


    She jumped slightly at my words, but obeyed quickly enough. The moment the illusionary veil lifted from over her face it was clear what exactly she¡¯d been trying to hide.


    Camille had been crying. Probably a lot. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face was covered in red splotches, and the cosmetics she¡¯d started applying to cover up the redness had tear-streaks running through them. Clearly she¡¯d tried to cover up the mundane way before that had proven ineffective and she¡¯d switched to more direct magic.


    I wanted to hug her, but Miranda had suggested that might just make things worse, at least at first. Instead, I walked over to my desk, dropped heavily into my chair, and rubbed my eyes and forehead with my hand.


    ¡°Well. I was going to start working on a training plan for you, but I think we have something else we need to talk about first.¡± I paused and looked directly into Camille¡¯s eyes. I could see fresh tears gathering and there was a tiny quiver in her lower lip. I could almost feel the fear, doubt, and so much more rolling off her in waves. She was both terrified and utterly resigned to her fate, and seeing Camille like this, knowing that I¡¯d done this, was not the most pleasant of sensations.


    ¡°Camille, for what it¡¯s worth¡­I want you to know that I neither plan nor want to hurt you. You said it yourself; you need help and I¡¯m going to help you. I¡¯m your friend Camille. You¡¯re going to be okay. I¨C¨C¡±


    Before I could finish, Camille burst into tears and I trailed off. It was something I¡¯d said. Probably the friend thing? But I didn¡¯t understand why that had set her off. At least she hadn¡¯t fainted. Crying was probably better than fainting, right?


    ¡°Camille? Camille. Talk to me, Camille. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    My words only seemed to fan the flames higher, but Camille could no more disobey my direct command than she could fight a dragon. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s wrong! What¡¯s wrong!¡±


    I frowned momentarily as Camille choked back a sob. That was the problem with poorly worded orders combined with an oath vague enough to not obviously look like a slave binding. The only order in my words had been ¡®Talk to me, Camille¡¯. Not, ¡®tell me what¡¯s wrong, Camille¡¯.


    However, I had a feeling that rewording my command would just make her cry more and delay any forthcoming answers. I would learn everything soon enough and Camille was worth spending some time on, no matter how much more productive it would be to do something, well, productive instead of watching her cry.


    ¡°Orion, te¨Ctell me hon¨Cnestly, was¡­was any of it real? How¡­how can you¡­can you sit there and call me your friend. When¡­ when¡­¡± her tears returned with a vengeance, but she¡¯d gotten the point across.


    There were a number of ways I could have responded. The easiest thing to do was what I was tentatively planning for Brenda. I could simply layer Camille with so many orders and commands that there would be no more issues. Such an approach could be rather damaging to the mind and soul, particularly in the long term, but it would certainly be very easy. I had read multiple books on exactly how to phrase and stack orders to ensure good results.


    However, that would be horribly wasteful. Despite what she¡¯d said, Camille was an incredibly promising mage¨C¨CI hadn¡¯t forgotten her insane story about how she¡¯d learned her first spell¨C¨Cand such an approach could permanently stifle her future. It took more than just mana control and book learning to cast high-circle spells, and the accruing damage from the clash between her soul and her mind would eventually halt Camille¡¯s advance permanently. Not only that, but it would all but kill the Camille I knew and replace her with a puppet that said all the same words and made all the same actions but had no real spirit. I already had Cayla and Briella and Camille didn¡¯t have the connections or family to make such an approach effective.


    I could have done a lot of things, but ultimately there was only one thing I was going to do. I knelt down beside Camille and wrapped my arms around her shaking shoulders. ¡°Because it¡¯s true, Camille,¡± I whispered softly. ¡°I¡¯ve definitely hid things from you and I can¡¯t promise that everything is going to stay the same between us, but I definitely did and still do care about you. I know you¡¯re scared. I know you still have a lot of questions. But it''s better this way. This is for your own good.¡±


    Eventually her tears ran dry. At my silent command Rea brought Camille a cup of calming tea and I sat beside her as she took slow, measured sips of the piping-hot beverage.


    We talked. Camille asked her questions. I answered them. She certainly didn¡¯t like many of my answers, but I was certain she¡¯d come around eventually. I reassured her that no, I hadn¡¯t killed all of her friends. I honestly had no idea who half the people she named were, but I was pretty sure I¡¯d know if I¡¯d kidnapped, tortured, and/or murdered any of them.


    By the end, Camille was certainly not happy about everything, but she was no longer quite as distraught as she¡¯d been when she¡¯d arrived. At the very least I was pretty sure I¡¯d managed to convince her that she wasn¡¯t going to end up on the wall next to Nettle or trussed up like one of my cows. I honestly wasn¡¯t sure where she¡¯d gotten those ideas, but it would be an utter waste to use a highly intelligent and talented mage like her that way and I was not an elf or a noble to squander such abilities.


    No, when the time came for Camille to quietly disappear from Avalon, she would be spending her days practicing magic, refining rituals, and helping me with my many personal projects. If I just wanted a pretty face to decorate my dorm room there were plenty of far-less useful options out there. Options that I wouldn¡¯t be reluctant to test dangerous rituals and spells on.


    ¡­though I really wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about the clear indignation I¡¯d felt from her when I¡¯d told her as much, nor when I mentioned some of my plans for Janna and her homeland. For someone who had just been sobbing about her expected future, she seemed oddly offended by my actual plans for her.

 Chapter 128

    The next thing I wanted to do was get Lea settled. I¡¯d visited her for at least a few minutes every day since I¡¯d finished with my exams and she was clearly starting to get very antsy despite Miranda¡¯s best efforts to distract her. Apparently there was only so much time two women could spend together in bed and Miranda did have a number of other commitments on her time. I¡¯d promised her freedom, not a new, slightly-larger bedroom to waste away in.


    There was always the option of just putting her to sleep for a few days, but I wanted to leave that as a last resort. Lea was my friend, not an experimental subject to be put in storage until I needed it. I would find her somewhere to live where she could enjoy her life and be free of the fear and danger that had haunted her life.


    Unfortunately, and as much as I loathed the very idea that I was prioritizing her over my precious friend, I could only push back Brenda for so long before it became an issue. Brenda was not a particularly patient person by nature and I was publicly pretending to be dating her, so it would be suspicious if I kept delaying the date I¡¯d promised her.


    I¡¯d only managed to delay her for as long as I had by telling her I wanted to have it in Gulivine, and then asking for time to get everything set up just right. Thankfully she¡¯d been flattered rather than offended and a shared dinner earlier in the week had settled her down slightly. I desperately needed Brenda¡¯s full and unwavering confidence if I wanted my plans for her to work out, so Lea would just need to wait a little longer.


    Thankfully, I didn¡¯t actually have to do much to get everything ready, leaving me time to focus on things I actually wanted to be doing. I was really starting to come around to the beauty of delegation. If you were bad at something, you just needed to find people who could cover your weaknesses while ensuring they couldn¡¯t try to exploit those same weaknesses for their own benefit.


    Camille and Briella were able to get everything planned, booked, and set up with minimal input from me. I had absolutely no idea what a stupid, spoiled-rotten princess like Brenda would enjoy, but between Camille¡¯s local knowledge and Briella¡¯s comparable upbringing, I was hopeful that we¡¯d ended up with something that would impress my ¡®girlfriend¡¯. What we ended up with was certainly better than anything I could have come up with in a comparable amount of time.


    That was how I found myself waiting for Brenda just outside the portal room dressed in the fanciest clothing I¡¯d ever owned. My crisp white shirt was made of smooth silk and embroidered with flowers done in gold thread, a number of runes hidden in the stitching. It was very tight around my chest and shoulders and had short, loose sleeves that left my arms bare. Over it I wore a red wool vest, the outside embroidered with a few more flowers while the inside hid as many of the protective enchantments from my usual jacket as I¡¯d managed to squeeze into the reduced space.


    At Miranda¡¯s urging, I was also wearing leather pants¨C¨Capparently they were all the rage these days in certain circles¨C¨Cand matching pointy shoes that were so much less comfortable and practical than my usual boots. The entire outfit had ended up costing not as much as I¡¯d feared, but much more than I liked spending on clothing. I could afford to spend nine pieces, but that was so much money for a shirt, a vest, and some shoes! For gods¡¯ sake, you could buy a half-dozen cows for one piece! How did a pair of leather shoes cost twice that?


    I tamped down my frustration and focused on watching my surroundings. I was considerably more worried about being attacked once I¡¯d left Avalon with Brenda than I was within the Academy, but it was stupid to ever drop your guard, even during winter break. I couldn¡¯t sense anyone except for Miranda, who was hiding some ways down the hallway and was going to be shadowing me today, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean that there was no one around.


    As the minutes ticked by, I began to shift awkwardly from foot to foot, my mind focused on the spell matrix of a fourth-circle shield spell I¡¯d been practicing. Brenda was running slightly late and I¡¯d come to our meeting point a little early, which meant I¡¯d been standing here for considerably longer than I would have liked. Staying in one place within the Academy was a good way to give people plenty of time to ambush you. Hopefully she would be here soon.


    This shirt and these pants were both too tight. They limited my range of motion to an unacceptable degree. Miranda, Briella, and Camille had all agreed that my outfit looked good and Rea had done an excellent job with the embroidery, but it galled me to dress so impractically. Next time I would make sure to impress upon my servants that safety was a lot more important to me than style, but there was no time to go change now and so I was left feeling like a stuck-up noble.


    ¡­okay perhaps that was going a little bit too far. I¡¯d seen some of the impractical garbage that real nobles wore and it was so much worse than this. Ultimately this outfit wasn¡¯t really that bad, but I was just feeling a tad frustrated by this entire situation and the other things bothering me weren¡¯t currently squeezing my thighs and shoulders.


    I felt Brenda¡¯s approach a few seconds before I saw her. She flounced around the corner, the many ribbons on her canary-yellow dress bouncing up and down with every step, and her face lit up in a huge smile the moment she saw me. ¡°Orion!¡± she called out shrilly, her voice echoing down the marble hallways.


    She broke into a run and I mechanically opened my arms for her. I was slightly surprised when she leapt the last few steps towards me, but managed to catch her in my arms and spin her around the way I¡¯d seen a few couples do in the past.


    ¡°And hello to you too, beautiful.¡± I planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and tried to set her down on the ground, but she instead wriggled in closer to me and half collapsed against my chest until the only things keeping her upright were my arms.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    She turned her head to look up at me, a dopey smile on her face. ¡°It¡¯s great to see you, Orion. I¡¯ve missed you.¡±


    ¡°And I you.¡° I paused for a moment. ¡°Though we did eat dinner together two nights ago,¡± I reminded her gently.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t count,¡± she grumbled into my chest. ¡°You were only there for like, twenty minutes.¡±


    We¡¯d sat together for one hour, three minutes, and sixteen seconds. Most of that had been spent listening to her retelling of all the mindless gossip she¡¯d heard in the past few days. I¡¯d counted out each and every tortuous second until I¡¯d finally tolerated all that I could and politely excused myself before I said something I would regret.


    I wasn¡¯t going to say anything about that though. ¡°Any time spent with you always feels far too short,¡± I told her instead, briefly squeezing her sides in a makeshift hug.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re such a charmer, Orion. Strong, handsome, and whitty,¡± she sighed dreamily, ¡°I¡¯m so lucky to have found you.¡±


    I wondered if she would still think that when I was done with her. Probably¨C¨Cassuming the spells worked the way they were supposed to¨C¨Cbut hopefully she¡¯d also be a lot less annoying to deal with. I couldn¡¯t wait until I could just order her to shut up and she¡¯d see nothing wrong with going along with it.


    We stood there together for another minute and then I gently reminded Brenda that we had places to be. She stomped her foot like a child that wasn¡¯t getting its way, but the mention of a cozy two-person booth was enough to calm her right back down.


    We stepped through the portal arm in arm¨C¨Cwell, Brenda was hanging off my arm and I was half dragging her along with me¨C¨Cand emerged into warm, mid-afternoon sunlight. Unlike in Xethis and Port Anangala, the portal wasn¡¯t situated in a city square, but rather a small park. We checked in briefly with the two mages guarding the portal, then followed a cobblestone path that wound through a small copse of flowering trees until it emerged onto a much larger, much busier road.


    I flagged down one of the dozen or so carriage drivers waiting patiently by the side of the road and helped Brenda up into the carriage box. ¡°de¡¯Vaalis¡¯ Hearth, please,¡± I told the driver, who nodded sharply, then climbed in after her. The carriages were something the local government had arranged¨C¨Cboth as an easy way to score points with the visiting mages and as a way to keep an eye on us¨C¨Cbut it was a convenient way to get around and I wasn¡¯t too worried about them knowing that I¡¯d taken Brenda out to a nice restaurant.


    The trip to the restaurant Briella had picked out took about fifteen minutes. I had been slightly worried that I would run out of ways to keep Brenda entertained, but she seemed completely content to blather at me while blatantly pawing at my chest and bare arms, so I needn''t have worried. Perhaps Miranda had been on to something with this shirt. There were several minutes when Brenda actually shut up all on her own because she was too busy staring, sparing my ears her voice for a time.


    While Brenda focused on enjoying ¡®the view¡¯, I took the opportunity to watch the city pass by through the carriage¡¯s incredibly clear glass windows. Oratrice City, or at least the part we were passing through, was a clean and beautiful city. The wide streets were lined with two- or three-story buildings made from a slightly pink-tinged white stone that shone in the afternoon sun. Most buildings were recessed slightly from the road by what I could only describe as large, high-ceilinged porches, the roofs of buildings extending out towards the road and supported by graceful columns. It meant there was a lot of shade to be had, while leaving the road feeling more open than it really was.


    Most of the buildings we passed had huge windows. While some were open to the air or blocked off my clear glass, others were decorated by lavish-looking stained glass or had flowering vines growing around the edges. Such huge windows would have been an unthinkable luxury in Xethis. With all the storms and freezing weather the islands experienced it was just impractical to have such big holes in your buildings. Here however, the weather was much more temperate and barely changed from season to season. According to Janna, many plants that in other countries needed to be grown in special greenhouses grew wild in the open plains of Gulivine.


    I didn¡¯t bother prying Brenda off me when we finally made it to the restaurant Camille had made me reservations at. Instead I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to where a waitress wearing a three-layered dress was waiting by the door. ¡°Reservation for Hunter,¡± I told her over Brenda¡¯s giggling.


    ¡°Of course, sir. Please follow me.¡±


    The table she led us too was just as awful as I¡¯d known it would be. We were tucked away in a small booth recessed into the wall. There was a curved table and a tiny loveseat barely big enough for me to sit comfortably on my own, much less with a second person. While I squeezed past the table and sat down, the waitress set down two glasses shaped like fish, each scale perfectly defined and gleaming, and filled them with cool water from the large crystal decanter on the table.


    ¡°Please get comfortable, honored guests. I shall return soon with your first course.¡±


    Yeah. Comfortable. I wished.


    Brenda grinned at the waitress and ground her butt against my thigh. She was all but sitting in my lap, only the arm I had wrapped around her waist stopping her from doing just that. ¡°That sounds great, thank you!¡±


    Were it any number of other people sitting here with me, I probably would have been enjoying myself as well. If the food was good, maybe I could bring Lea here later to help wipe away the memories of Brenda. As it was, I constantly had to resist the urge to push her away. At least she¡¯d had the courtesy of wearing a very modest dress, even if the color was utterly atrocious. I didn¡¯t know what I would have done if she¡¯d worn something like the dresses Miranda tended to favor.


    I really wished I could find it in me to be attracted towards Brenda, but years of interacting with her had utterly poisoned my opinions of the Goodwitch girl. As much as I disliked her, I could admit that, at least physically, she was rather attractive if I didn¡¯t look too closely at her face. Even that wasn¡¯t like, horribly disfigured, or anything. Just kind of plain and bulbous like one of those horribly inbred dogs some nobles kept.


    However, between her behavior, voice, lack of personality, general attitude, terrible perfume, and everything else, I just couldn¡¯t see her in anything resembling a positive light. I really wished I could. It would make this so much easier if I didn¡¯t constantly have to pretend. But I couldn¡¯t. Not without the sorts of mind magic I wasn¡¯t willing to let anyone cast on me, not even me.


    I suppressed a sigh and instead gently nudged her roaming hand away from my crotch, catching it in my own and raising it momentarily to my lips. Today was going to be a long day. Hopefully the play¨C¨Ca famous local drama about a dashing bandit and a magister¡¯s daughter¨C¨Cwould be colorful enough to distract her for a little while so I could recuperate before we went to watch the sunset. What a waste of time.

 Chapter 129

    Even after a hot shower, a reasonable night¡¯s sleep, and half-an-hour spent talking to and holding Lea, I still felt somewhat dirty as I headed to lunch the next day. Physically I was as clean as could be. I¡¯d been both physically and mentally exhausted when I finally made it back to my room and Rea had cheerfully volunteered to scrub every inch of me so I didn¡¯t have to exert myself. I¡¯d taken her up on the offer, and the unscented soap and hot water helped, but I could still almost feel Brenda¡¯s grubby little fingers pawing at my skin. Urgh.


    I was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t a magical effect either. I¡¯d scoured myself with detection and cleansing spells just in case she¡¯d tried something I hadn¡¯t initially noticed, but that hadn¡¯t helped either. It seemed to be a purely mental result of spending so much time in such close proximity with the annoying, grabby, entitled bitch.


    Honestly that was somehow even worse than if she had managed to dose me with something or hit me with a spell. I could deal with those, but there wasn¡¯t very much I could do about tricks played by my own mind. Magic that affected the mind directly was notoriously tricky and not something I focused on much outside of mental enhancements, and there was absolutely no way I was ever willingly letting someone else mess around with my head.


    I made it to the cafeteria without running into any trouble. In fact, I didn¡¯t run into anyone. Even the usually busy central hallways I passed through were completely deserted. At any other time of year, that would have been a cause for alarm all on its own. Such telegraphed ambushes weren¡¯t common, but they did happen sometimes and I didn¡¯t like my odds against an entire hallway worth of illusioned fourth-years.


    However, it was still the first week of the month-long winter break¨C¨Cthough the weather outside in Gulivine certainly didn¡¯t feel particularly wintery¨C¨Cand that meant that a massive portion of the school¡¯s population was currently gone. Avalon was all but empty, with only a handful of students from each year, those that had nowhere to go or projects they couldn¡¯t leave behind, still present in the pocket dimension.


    While the second half of the break was going to be packed with events¨C¨Cthe official dueling challenges, the winter market, and the solstice festival to name a few¨C¨Cthe first two weeks were always intentionally left completely open to give students a bit of a break. Motivated students took advantage of that time to progress personal projects that they couldn¡¯t devote enough time to during the year. Most others simply went home if they had the means, or traveled in groups to explore whatever area the Avalon portal was currently located.


    Even Brenda was gone now. She¡¯d delayed her departure so we could have our ¡®date¡¯, but an unspecified relative of hers was supposed to have come to pick her up this morning. When she¡¯d told me that, she¡¯d been very apologetic that we wouldn¡¯t be able to spend more time together in the coming week. I had been so glad I hadn¡¯t decided to try anything that I¡¯d nearly failed to come off as properly saddened by the news. I was pretty sure I could get some things past Brenda herself, but I had absolutely no confidence in my work evading the notice of whatever teleporting Archmage had come to pick her up.


    It was honestly rather nice. The library was all but deserted, I could reserve training rooms for as long as I needed them, and it took way less effort to avoid people when there weren¡¯t as many of them around. Also I wouldn¡¯t have to see Brenda again for nearly two entire weeks. That wasn¡¯t nearly long enough, particularly after spending nearly half a day together in such close proximity, but I would take what I could get.


    Even though this was the fifth break since I¡¯d joined the Academy, It was still rather jarring to see the cafeteria, typically the loudest and busiest part of the school, so empty. Usually at this time of day there would be nearly a thousand people here for lunch, but instead there were less than a dozen others and none that I recognized.


    Despite the nearly empty hall, the buffet tables were still piled high with enough food to feed thousands, and I quickly grabbed a plate and loaded it with bread, fresh vegetables, and today¡¯s main dish¨C¨Csome sort of pale grain cooked with meat, eggs, and finely-diced vegetables. It wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d had before, but it smelled good and I wasn¡¯t exactly a particularly picky eater. Hungry nights spent picking through trash for scraps had ensured that much.


    I also took the time to fill up a few transmuted metal containers I brought with me and packed them away in my bag. Most of the time I kept Rea fed with the same nutritious glop that I fed to my cows, but it was cheaper to sometimes bring her something from the cafeteria if I could manage it.


    On my way to get some tea to go with my food, I noticed a small table surreptitiously positioned between the buffet and the back wall of the hall such that you could only see it from a few places in the hall. I paused for a moment. That¡­hadn¡¯t been there yesterday, I was nearly certain of it.


    I quickly set my plate down on the closest table, the magic of the cafeteria ensuring I wasn¡¯t worried about someone poisoning my food, walked around the buffet, and approached the ¡®hidden¡¯ table. I was nearly certain I knew what it was, and I was rather glad I¡¯d spotted it.


    A moment later, I was proven right. There were a half-dozen booklets lying innocuously on the table, each one simply labeled ¡®Avalon Academy¨C¨CSpring Classes¡¯. I quickly scooped one up and hurried back to my food, my mood greatly improved.


    As in most things, class selection was another area where Avalon rewarded students putting in the required work. Each class had to be registered for separately by dropping an appropriately filled out form in a box set out by the professor, as well as filing a matching document with the Headmaster¡¯s staff.


    In theory, class registration started the last week of the break, when every student would receive a booklet like the one in my hands at their door. In practice, every professor had their boxes out as soon as the previous semester ended, class booklets could be found scattered around the Academy throughout the break, and forms were readily available year-round. I actually had an entire stack of them in my room that I¡¯d picked up during my first year and hadn¡¯t run out of yet.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    For most classes, registering early didn¡¯t matter much. Particularly in the first few years, most students took nearly the same standardized classes with plenty of room and even-tempered professors. Signing up for classes like Evocation Fundamentals, Mana Studies, and Fundamentals of Potionology was made intentionally easy since everyone was required to take them.


    However there were plenty of electives with only a handful of seats and some Professors made it intentionally difficult to find or use their registration box. It was also very nice to have several extra weeks to decide on a schedule for the spring and look up all the interesting-sounding classes. The booklets only contained the name of the class, who was teaching it, and what time the class was offered. For more information on what the class was actually about, you had to reference the library''s enormous class catalogs and those were always very contested during the end of the break.


    It was a good find. I had planned to go out looking for one sometime this week, but this saved me from having to comb the shelves in the library for the handful of copies that would inevitably be ¡®hidden¡¯ there. I really didn¡¯t fancy competing with hundreds of my classmates for the catalogs again this year, so I wanted to at least choose all of my classes before people started coming back.


    Barely paying attention to my food, I flipped the booklet open and started to read. Despite not really having that many students, Avalon offered a truly enormous number of classes each semester. Though I didn¡¯t know the specifics, I knew that every Professor was required to offer a certain number of classes each decade and it counted for their quota even if no one signed up. Every proposed class had to be approved ahead of time and Professors who had offered the course previously had priority in teaching that class in the future. Professors also had to offer some mix of upper and lower level classes, and there were a number of classes that had to be offered each semester even if no one specifically wanted to teach them.


    The system was arcane in the extreme¨C¨Ca good half of my past Professors had complained about it at one time or another¨C¨Cbut it seemed to be working so far. It also meant that there were a ton of options every term, many of which would have at most a scant few students taking them, particularly in the case of upper-level classes. Just in the first few pages I¡¯d already found twenty-six classes only available for seventh-years¡­of whom there were currently twenty-five left alive.


    My eyes moved swiftly down the page. I really wished they had at least alphabetized everything, but ultimately that wouldn¡¯t have helped much. Demonic Summoning for Beginners ¨C Professor Axleu ¨C Fifth-Circle, Dragons and How Not to be Eaten By Them ¨C Professor Duchendwarn ¨C First-Circle, Stopping the Tides and Stilling the Earth ¨C Professor Shatterglass ¨C Seventh-Circle, Mana Stabilization for Barrier Rituals and Associated Spellcasting ¨C Professor Williams ¨C Third-Circle.


    I paused and read the previous line over again, then marked the page. Looking back, I was almost certain I hadn¡¯t seen this particular class in any of the previous class catalogs. I would have to check when I got back to my room, but I was nearly certain this was the class Professor Williams had all but ordered me to take.


    I checked the time; ten to twelve on Mondays and Wednesdays. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t cut me off from any of the other classes I wanted to take. I had been looking forward to my very first semester with no mandatory classes I had to take, but I had a feeling this was a class I would have wanted to choose even without Professor Williams¡¯ words.


    Without looking away from the booklet, I stood up, fetched a new cup of tea, and continued to read, occasionally noting down a class name that sounded interesting. It was impossible to know if you managed to find everything you wanted¨C¨Csome class names were completely opaque and it would take far too long to look into each and every one¨C¨Cbut choosing from a few dozen was well within my means.


    Micro Precision and Runic Structors with Alchemical Transmutations sounded fascinating, though I wasn¡¯t sure how much I wanted to take a third class with Professor Meadows. Professor Yana was offering the second class of her four-part Advanced Body Alteration sequence, but I hadn¡¯t been nearly as impressed by the class as I¡¯d hoped to be so I might pass on that one. Professor Zim, one of my favorites from my first year at Avalon, was offering a fourth-circle class simply labeled ¡®Spheres¡¯ in the booklet¨C¨CI would need to check the catalog for what it was actually about.


    I also marked down a few classes I thought Miranda and my other bound servants would be interested in. I had a vested interest in their education now, and if that meant a little extra time spent helping them choose their classes then so be it. I¡¯d definitely be passing this booklet along to them once I was done with it, but noting some things down now would just save time later.


    Lighting People on Fire with Professor Shrike sounded like it might be good for Briella, and with her bloodline she¡¯d probably be fine in the third-circle class. That Which Cannot Be Destroyed was a class I knew Miranda had been considering last semester, and this time it was being taught by a Professor I¡¯d heard good things about. There were also a half-dozen rune-related classes that I thought might be of interest to Camille.


    Two-thirds of the way through the booklet, I felt a familiar mana signature sit down in the chair across from me. I slowly finished reading the page, marked down another class name¨C¨CCirculatory Systems, hopefully a class about circulations and not anatomy¨C¨Cand only then closed the book and looked up.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Clarient,¡± I said politely.


    Clarient scowled at me, but it still felt like a more positive reaction than the ice-cold menace of our previous interactions. She didn¡¯t like me, but she wasn¡¯t necessarily an enemy. Well, not for nine more semesters at least, and hopefully not ever.


    ¡°Orion,¡± she greeted back after a moment, dipping her head a fraction of an inch. She paused, then sighed heavily and slowly brushed a strand of hair away from her face. ¡°One of your classmates, Delphin Oratorio, is going to be challenging you this year. He¡¯s an idiot, but he owes me money and he apparently put in the challenge before our oath and didn¡¯t bother telling me until recently.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow and she sighed again. ¡°I¡¯ve already talked to him. You¡¯re going to destroy him. Try not to hurt him too much. Please.¡± She almost choked on the last word. It sounded like a trick, but something told me that this was a request made in good faith. ¡°I¡¯ll owe you one.¡±


    Huh. Well, I didn¡¯t like it, but a favor from Clarient Valorous was not something to scoff at. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

 Chapter 130

    Miranda was whistling cheerfully as she left the merchant¡¯s lavish, two-story home, a sprig of coulgeit sticking out from between her ruby red lips. The scandalously short skirt of her brand new dress¨C¨Ca splendid and rather expensive gift¨C¨Cfluttered gently in the afternoon breeze and threatened to expose her lack of anything under it to passersby with every step.


    She was limping slightly, but it was a good limp and would pass soon enough. The young man had been very enthusiastic and surprisingly skilled, and she felt both wonderfully full and fulfilled. She¡¯d really lucked out. For such an easy victim¨C¨Clured in with nothing but a bright smile and a flash of bare skin¨C¨Che¡¯d been much more experienced than she¡¯d expected.


    It had been far too long since she¡¯d had a chance to feed properly. The vials that Orion provided for her were a wonderful substitute, and her current roommate meant that she was never lacking in enthusiastic companionship, but there was something special about watching a handsome man writhe in ecstasy as she drained his life and energy through his cock. Or a pretty young lady; she wasn¡¯t picky, but those tended to be a little harder to hunt. Stupid overly-cautious prudes.


    It was just getting too dangerous to feed within Avalon itself and the last few weeks of classes had left her with precious little time to hunt down men that wouldn¡¯t be missed in Xethis. The stupid, frigid island with its stupid, black-haired homogeneous population made her usual strategies much harder. Pale blonde hair stood out like a spotlight and made her both memorable and unapproachable.


    Sex on its own was fun, and good food was good food no matter if it came in a vial or out of a body, but the two together were always so much better. Plus, a single flavor¨C¨Cno matter how rich and decadent¨C¨Cgrew old after a while of eating nothing but it. She¡¯d almost been tempted to sample a bit of Leana, just a tiny taste¨C¨Cthe other girl wouldn¡¯t even notice¨C¨Cif only to break up the monotony.


    However, even without the oath she¡¯d sworn to Orion, she wasn¡¯t that stupid. She knew now that her master did care for her, in that horrible, terrifying way Orion cared about anyone at all, but she also knew that his feelings for her were greatly overshadowed by his all-consuming, dominating, possessive love for Leana. If Orion thought for a single moment that she¡¯d done something, anything, to hurt his friend, she would spend the rest of her very short life in agony.


    No, she loved living far too much to ever consider pissing off Orion. Not that she could consider angering her master, her soul utterly rejecting the mere notion of doing so. Orion was her lord and god. She could no more wish him harm than she could stop the tides.


    Miranda let those useless thoughts drift out of her mind like leaves in a fall breeze. Years of living with the original, amateurish binding Orion had used on her had quickly taught her how to avoid thinking dangerous thoughts. Even though her new binding no longer caused her pain whenever she so much as considered doing something foolish, it was still better not to let her mind move in those directions.


    It was much better to instead think about her wonderful evening, night, and rather late morning. Gulivinian men tended to be on the shorter side, but her prey had more than made up for it with size in other places and some wonderful muscles. He was hung like a horse and, unlike far too many young mages with shapeshifted cocks, knew exactly how to use it. Size was no substitute for proper technique, but both together were a rare joy. All in all, the man had been an utter delight¨C¨Cso strong and eager to please.


    It was a shame that their night together would have to stay a one-time thing, but a single mundane man, no matter how fit, just didn¡¯t have enough lifeforce to survive a second night with her. Even the fun they¡¯d had this morning had been pushing it¨C¨Cthe merchant would find himself tiring easily and requiring more food and sleep than usual in the coming months until his body and soul recovered. Perhaps if she ever returned to this city in the coming years she might have to find him again, but until then she would have to find a new meal ticket.


    Miranda took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her belly was full, the sun was pleasantly warm on her face, and her mouth felt wonderfully cool and fresh. Finding freshly picked coulgeit herbs at the market had just made this already lovely day even better. The unpleasant, lingering taste of the merchant¡¯s seed was all but gone after just a few minutes of chewing on the bright green leaves. Manaless cum was better than choking down human food, but it was still rather unpleasant. She¡¯d have to make sure to buy some more later and ask Orion to put it in stasis for her¨C¨Cthe dried stuff was just no substitute.


    Glancing up at the sun, she judged that it was about two in the afternoon. The exact time didn¡¯t matter too much¨C¨Cshe had nowhere she needed to be today and could take her time¨C¨Cbut it was good to know that she still had a few hours of daylight left. That gave her plenty of time to take care of some important tasks and then find a nice bar or club for her evening hunt.


    Hopefully this time she¡¯d be able to find someone who wouldn¡¯t be missed. As much as she¡¯d grown used to leaving her victims alive after feeding on them, it was so much more satisfying¨C¨Cand productive¨C¨Cto drain her toys dry. She¡¯d thought she¡¯d found someone like that last time¨C¨Che¡¯d checked most of the boxes¨C¨Cbut the man was just a little too affluent to just disappear. She was glad he¡¯d told her about his two maids before she turned him into a withered husk.


    If she was lucky, maybe she would stumble on a young mage. Mages were always so much tastier than regular humans. She was unlikely to find someone as mind-blowingly delicious as Orion¡¯s cow¡¯s, or even Leana¡¯s weirdly pleasant juices, but it was so much nicer to blow a man when their cum didn¡¯t taste like ash or sawdust. Plus, draining even a weak baby mage would do a lot of good for her own magic. Maybe she¡¯d even be able to impress Orion during their next joint training session!


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She wandered down the street for several more minutes, just enjoying the fine weather and the lovely buzz of decadent lifeforce swirling in her belly. Then with a sigh she pulled herself together, made sure her illusionary veil and magical defenses were all still in place, and dug out the list of realtors she and Camille had put together over the past few days. Orion had told her to enjoy herself, but she understood that work should still take priority over pleasure. As much as she¡¯d like to go find a new target, finding a home for Orion¡¯s friend was much more important. And anyway, she¡¯d already had lunch. Dinner could wait till after the sun set and business hours had ended.


    She frowned slightly as a flash of discomfort followed that thought. For all the Orion was clearly intending to find Leana a new home somewhere in the Gulivine Republic, she wasn¡¯t totally certain that that was what he actually wanted. It was rather¡­atypical of Orion to let something he cared about so much out of his direct control. It would be fine for a few months while the portal was still in the country, but Miranda didn¡¯t think that her master had fully realized what it would mean for when Avalon moved on.


    The girl was very important to her master. More important than she was, certainly. More important than any of Orion¡¯s slaves were. Her bond with him made that very clear.


    Still, Orion had commanded that they find Leana a new home, and it was not her place to question a direct order from her master. She¡¯d have to make sure to bring up her concerns the next time they spoke, but until then her course of action was clear. Miranda had never gone shopping for real estate before, but how hard could it really be?


    Really fucking hard, apparently. Four hours later Miranda had made far less progress in her task than she¡¯d either hoped or expected. Hopefully Camille was having more luck than she was, because she¡¯d found a grand total of one property that even loosely fit Orion¡¯s requirements, and the quaint little cottage was way more expensive than she found at all reasonable. Sure the view was nice and the location was excellent, but she was absolutely certain that she was getting brutally scalped by the sleazy bitch who¡¯d shown her the place.


    In hindsight, perhaps Miranda could have gone about things slightly better. Gulivane was a nation with strong traditions and a culture she wasn¡¯t nearly as familiar with as she¡¯d like. Sure she¡¯d studied the major pitfalls ahead of time, but that sort of high level approach always missed things.


    She had felt rather talked down to the entire time she¡¯d spent with both of the salespeople she¡¯d met with today, a clear sign that they weren¡¯t taking her very seriously. She¡¯d even gotten the impression from the first man that he didn¡¯t particularly want to sell her anything¨C¨Ca rather strange trait to find in a merchant.


    Perhaps when she went to meet with the next group she should try something a little more formal. The dress she was wearing was rather lovely, but the looks she was getting on the streets were telling her that its style had a less-than flattering meaning around here. Her opinions of her last night¡¯s victim soured slightly. Sure he¡¯d basically been bribing her to sleep with him, but it was still rude.


    Maybe something a little more concealing, along with some of the more expensive, obviously-magical jewelry she¡¯d accumulated over the years. And with her Avalon token on display. Miranda rarely flaunted her magical abilities¨C¨Cintimidated men were less likely to invite her to bed¨C¨Cbut as a mage nearing the fourth circle, her magical strength exceeded something like ninety-nine percent of the population.


    She¡¯d probably still be discriminated against as a foreigner, but this way she¡¯d look more like a foreign mage and less like an expensive, exotic prostitute. Sure she kind of was an expensive prostitute, or in some cases a rather cheap prostitute if the man was handsome enough, but it was still a demeaning stereotype. She wasn¡¯t ashamed of her body, nor her appetite, but she¡¯d gotten kicked out of or barred from far too many establishments to not be a little annoyed by it all.


    Well, no matter. Like Orion always said, today¡¯s failures were merely a learning opportunity to pave the way for future successes. Well, as long as today¡¯s failures didn¡¯t kill you. That was always an important caveat with him. Failure was acceptable in training, never in practice.


    Miranda walked away from the unpleasant saleswoman without a backward glance. Mana pooled around her fingers and she swiftly shaped a well-practiced cleaning spell. Sweat and dust vanished, tiny wrinkles in her clothing were smoothed out, and a few stray hairs were brushed back into place.


    Her sensitive hearing picked up a soft curse from the woman¨C¨Cha, serves her right. Few people ever expected someone like her to be a mage. Even other mages were often fooled by her rudimentary mana-concealment skills combined with her outward appearance. It made hunting much easier, but sometimes, like today, it also backfired somewhat. Sometimes it was good to dress like a whore and be underestimated. Other times it got her kicked out of nice restaurants and was much less nice.


    It also gave her plan for tomorrow more credence. Maybe she should even just go to a tailor and eat the cost of a dress in the local style. Or even better, convince tonight¡¯s prey to buy her a nice dress. And maybe take her to the theater. This city had a bounty of high-class entertainment options that she was just itching to sample on some handsome man¡¯s coin.


    Now then, where to start. The place she¡¯d gone last night was nice, but a bit poorer than she¡¯d thought at first glance. She¡¯d been taken in by the outer decor, but the patrons had all been moderately wealthy merchants, not nobles. She wanted someone yummy tonight. Someone who could really spoil her in every way that mattered.


    An image flashed through her mind. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair and dark eyes that burned with intelligence and barely restrained power. She could feel his strong hands caressing her skin, sending fiery waves of pleasure right down to her core. The way he held her, the way he looked at her, his hands wrapped tightly around her slender neck as he¨C¨C


    Miranda bit down on the inside of her cheek, her fingers trembling slightly.


    Someone blonde, she decided. And if they were a mage, no one stronger than second circle. She gave herself good odds against any non-Avalon mage at her own circle, but there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.

 Chapter 131

    Of all the events that Avalon organized for its students, I didn¡¯t think there were any that I disliked more than the summer and winter honor challenges. They were everything I hated. Public, unavoidable, and potentially deadly. Sure I had quite enjoyed watching it the past two years, but this time I was apparently going to be participating and that was very annoying.


    Towards the end of each semester, any student could present a ¡®genuine grievance¡¯ against another student in their year to the headmaster¡¯s office, and, if that student had not been challenged in at least a year and the cause was accepted, the two would be forced to have a public duel in front of any students who wanted to watch. The duels weren¡¯t technically to the death¨C¨Cthe duel ended when one person was considered incapacitated¨C¨Cbut practically speaking, most duels ended with one student killing the other.


    I hated it. I hated everything about it. My entire time at Avalon I¡¯d done my very best to keep attention off me, stay away from dangerous situations, and not make enemies. In my eyes, the best fight for me was one that never happened. If I did have to fight, I¡¯d much rather do it from ambush and with overwhelming power, preparation, and numbers behind me. A straight up one versus one duel in a giant sandy pit was the exact opposite of that.


    On the bright side, Clarient¡¯s warning meant I wasn¡¯t going to be blindsided by the challenge. If the idiot who¡¯d decided to challenge me was as weak as Clarient was implying then really he was all but doing me a favor by ensuring no one actually dangerous could do so instead, since no student could be challenged more than once every year. I would much rather fight a fool than someone like Weavingroot or one of my other competent yearmates.


    The story was about what I had expected from Clarient¡¯s initial words. The Oratorio family owed Clarient¡¯s family¨C¨Cso just Clarient now that they were all dead¨C¨Ca horrifyingly large amount of money, the debt enforced by an oath binding the family¡¯s eighth-circle patriarch. However, the debt could also be forgiven or paid off with services to the Valorous dynasty, such as fighting their enemies for them.


    Delphin Oratorio, the third son of the family¡¯s patriarch, was a rather ambitious young man. He thought that by lessening his family¡¯s debt he might be able to gain his father¡¯s favor and potentially usurp his eldest brother as heir. It wasn¡¯t technically a terrible idea. Or it hadn¡¯t been when he¡¯d first come up with it.


    Unfortunately for him, the oath Clarient had sworn to me ensured that his challenging me would do nothing at all to reduce his family¡¯s debt. Also he apparently had a very overblown opinion of his own combat strength and Clarient was confident that he was no real threat to me, even if I hadn¡¯t known ahead of time that I would be fighting him. As it was, Clarient told me I had nothing to fear and the oath between us let me actually believe her when she said as much.


    Under most circumstances, my reaction to Clarient¡¯s story would be to spend a few days observing Delphin, then ambush him when he was alone with Miranda, Briella, Camille, and Cayla for backup. The best fight was one that never happened in the first place, and since Delphin had already lodged a challenge against me, I was protected from further challenges even if he died before he could go through with it.


    Unfortunately, that would most certainly involve ¡®hurting¡¯ Delphin pretty damn badly, and that was what Clarient was trying to avoid. I was somewhat tempted to do so anyway, but a favor from Clarient Valorous was potentially even more valuable than not having to fight someone in front of all of Avalon.


    Furthermore, I could empathize with Clarient¡¯s reasoning for wanting to leave Delphin alive. He was almost certainly going to be withdrawing from Avalon after our fourth year and at that point would be spending much of his remaining life working to pay back the massive debt his family owed her. The Oratorio family only consisted of a few members¨C¨Cthe patriarch, his wife, his three sons, and a few cousins. If Clarient wanted to collect what she was owed anytime soon¨C¨Cand gods above that was a truly colossal amount of money¨C¨Cshe needed them all alive so they could tend to their family¡¯s expansive greenhouses.


    To complicate matters further, Delphin was apparently engaged to the daughter of a rather wealthy merchant family, who were unaware of the debt hanging over the Oratorio¡¯s powerful patriarch. If the marriage went through, Clarient would receive a huge influx of wealth and useful connections. If Delphin committed suicide by me before he and his fiance tied the knot, she would get nothing at all.


    She wasn¡¯t asking me to spare him for the sake of Delphin¡¯s well being, but simply to protect her own interests. As long as the price I asked of her was less than what Delphin could bring her, it was at least worth trying to keep him alive.


    After some thought and a lot of questions, I tentatively agreed to her proposal. I¡¯d need to do some research into Delphin and his family myself¨C¨Cor rather, have Miranda do it¨C¨Cbut as long as he really wasn¡¯t a serious threat, going along with her proposal seemed worth the risks. Sometimes a show of strength was a better deterrent than obscurity, and my actions over the last few weeks and months had already attracted a lot of attention.


    I left the cafeteria in something of a bad mood. I still felt gross from dealing with Brenda and this whole situation with Clarient also left a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn¡¯t how I preferred to do things, and I didn¡¯t like surprises. Even finding the class booklet for next semester didn¡¯t do much to lift my mood. Ultimately, that was just another task I needed to push through before I could get back to work on something genuinely interesting.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I had originally intended to go straight to the library, but as I left the cafeteria I found my feet leading me back down to the student dormitories. It had been too long since I¡¯d last checked in on Lea and talking to her was a surefire way to burn away some of Brenda¡¯s lingering stench. Lea was a ray of sunshine on a gloomy day, a lighthouse beacon guiding ships to safety.


    I walked silently through the empty hallways, the sound of my quiet footfalls reduced to nothing by the enchantment worked into the soles of my boots. The enchantment was a new addition to my favorite pair of shoes¨C¨CI¡¯d only finished imprinting the runes a few hours before lunch¨C¨Cand I was really happy with how well it was working.


    I¡¯d gotten the design from Camille¨C¨Cit was something she¡¯d made for one of her classes this past semester¨C¨Cand I was very impressed by her work. It was certainly better than what I could have come up with in any reasonable amount of time and used a tiny fraction of the mana my usual sound-canceling ward required.


    The enchantment was nothing revolutionary, but Camille had only been studying runes for a few short years and it showed just how talented she was. I was really looking forward to collaborating with her on the next design for my magic-suppressing collars. It would probably take her some time to learn the principles I was using, but once she did I was certain she¡¯d be able to make plenty of improvements and it would save me an enormous amount of time in the long run. Unfortunately she didn¡¯t currently have the skills needed to manufacture the collars, but perhaps that was something I could teach her when the time came.


    When I finally made it to Miranda¡¯s room, I found Lea sitting cross-legged on Miranda¡¯s messy bed with her back to the door and a trio of marbles floating around her in wobbly orbits. I quietly closed the door behind me and extended my senses throughout the room.


    Miranda wasn¡¯t here¨C¨Cnot that I¡¯d been expecting to find her. She¡¯d told me ahead of time that she would be out of Avalon for a few days and the bond between us was stretched into a thin strand instead of the cable I would have expected to see if she was still within the Academy¡¯s pocket dimension.


    I focused on Lea, watching the way her mana moved sluggish through the air as she focused on one of the mana-control exercises I¡¯d given her. Her core was already looking much better than it had been when I¡¯d first brought her to Avalon, but she hadn¡¯t made nearly as much progress as I would have liked. She was clearly practicing, but not with nearly as much dedication as the task deserved.


    That, or she was doing something wrong. I¡¯d have to go through things with her again and make sure she wasn¡¯t screwing up one of the more delicate exercises. Bad practice built bad habits after all, and it was absolutely possible for a novice mage to do irreparable damage to their own soul and magic.


    After about a minute, Lea¡¯s eyes opened and the three marbles dropped down onto the bed around her. One of them landed on the very edge of the bed and bounced. I caught it before it could hit the stone floor, a strand of telekinetic force scooping it out of the air and depositing it gently back on the bed.


    Lea sighed heavily and stretched her arms out above her head, then slumped backwards onto the bed. She spent several seconds staring blankly up at the ceiling, then sighed again. ¡°Why is this so hard!¡± she whined suddenly. ¡°It''s just three marbles! Three! You can do better than three Miira¨Cdamned marbles, Lea! Orion¡¯s not going to be impressed with just three marbles!¡±


    Lea sighed a third time, and this time it sounded like she was barely holding back tears. ¡°You can do better than this, Lea. I can do better than this.¡± She closed her eyes and the marbles slowly rose up off the bed. They spun through the air around her, slowly at first but growing slightly faster with every rotation. Then Lea¡¯s concentration slipped and all three marbles whirled away from her, two clattering against the room¡¯s walls while the third vanished through the half-open bathroom door.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Lea cursed, and then she choked back what was very clearly a sob. ¡°Damn it, it''s useless. I¡¯m useless.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to do. I wasn¡¯t sure how Lea hadn¡¯t noticed me yet, but she clearly hadn¡¯t and I wasn¡¯t sure if it would be better to just quietly leave or to try and comfort her. It was clear that I was part of what was eating at her, but it was possible that my presence would just exacerbate her issues rather than help with them.


    Then Lea did something that made me decide that perhaps I should come back later. She was wearing one of Miranda¡¯s dresses, though it looked more like a nightgown than something a woman would wear out in public, and the sheer fabric did little to hide Lea¡¯s body from view. Lea pushed the already low-cut neckline of her dress down, fully baring her chest, and began to slowly massage and grope one of her breasts with one hand. The other slipped down between her legs and a small smile appeared on Lea¡¯s face as she began to pleasure herself.


    I was just about to veil myself and leave when Lea did something that froze me in my tracks. I honestly didn¡¯t have any problems with my friend taking care of her needs in front of me, I¡¯d walked in on Miranda masturbating in my shower something like a dozen times at this point and it wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t seen Lea naked in the past, but I was pretty sure she would prefer that I wasn¡¯t here while she did so. No, if it was just that I would have left and come back in an hour or two.


    What did freeze me in place was what Lea did next. I watched transfixed, my hand clenched tightly around the doorknob as Lea let out a long string of moans interspersed with mumbled words. ¡°Oh god, Orion¡­Orion,¡± Lea¡¯s hips bucked up off the bed and she let out a long, guttural moan that echoed throughout the room. ¡°Please Orion, oh Ori¨C¨C¡± Lea arched her back and suddenly our eyes met.


    Lea also froze and her eyes widened comically. ¡°Or¨C¨COrion?¡± she asked shakily.


    ¡°Hi Lea. Sorry about barging in. I¡¯ll just be going now. I¡¯ll be back in a few hours.¡±


    ¡°Orion? Wait, no! Don¡¯t go! How¡­how much did you¨C¨Coh Miira. How long have you been¡­I¡¯m so sorry I¡­I¡­¡±


    And then Lea promptly burst into tears. Again. And Miranda was out in the city somewhere, leaving me alone with Lea in a state that I very much wasn¡¯t willing to leave Lea alone in. Damn it.

 Chapter 132

    I stood frozen in place, one hand on the doorknob and the other hovering awkwardly in front of me. Lea had rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with every loud, drawn-out sob.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Orion,¡± she choked out, her voice muffled and shaky. ¡°You weren¡¯t, I mean, I didn¡¯t, I¡­I¡­¡± her voice faded into indistinct mumbles completely drowned out by her tears.


    Lea needed someone right now. Someone to hold her and tell her that everything would be alright. Without Miranda here, that role somehow fell to me.


    I hesitantly took a few steps forward and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. ¡°It''s okay Lea,¡± I told her, quietly. ¡°It''s alright. Everything is going to be alright. I¡¯m here.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what was wrong, but I wasn¡¯t lying. Not to Lea, as much as I could help it at least. Whatever the problem was, I¡¯d take care of it. She deserved that much and more after all the things life had thrown at her.


    I very gently brushed some hair away from her face, then set a hand down on her bare shoulder. Lea¡¯s soft, smooth skin felt almost feverishly hot to the touch and her face and shoulders were both flushed red and blotchy from crying.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Lea. You¡¯re going to be okay. I¡¯m here. Don¡¯t you worry, I¡¯ll take care of everything.¡±


    My hand moved over and I began to rub small circles on her back. With each circle I continued to whisper assurances to her, doing my best to keep my voice soft and soothing.


    At first, it didn¡¯t seem to be helping. In fact, Lea¡¯s sobs increased in volume and she curled into herself. Slowly however, her tears began to run dry, her shoulders settled, and her sobs turned into hiccups and quiet whimpers.


    ¡°There, there, Lea. Just breathe. In¡­and out. Just like that. There¡¯s no need to cry. I¡¯m here, and I¡¯m not going anywhere. I¡¯ll take care of everything, Lea. No one will ever hurt you again as long as I¡¯m with you.¡±


    Lea turned onto her side and looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. Her hands, wet with salty tears, squeezed my leg and there was a fearful, desperate expression on her face. ¡°Then why¨C¨C¡± she hiccuped loudly, ¡°why do I have to leave?¡±


    I tilted my head to the side, not quite sure what to make of that statement. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked softly, my hand continuing to move slowly along her back.


    Lea¡¯s words were muffled and choked. ¡°Miranda¡­she told me she was going to go find somewhere for me to live. But¡­but you¡¯re not going to be here for long. A month, a few months maybe¡­and then¡­and then you¡¯re going to be gone, and I¡¯m¡­I¡¯m going to be alone again.¡±


    That¡­she did have a point, I realized. I hadn¡¯t really been thinking that far in advance, but that had been the plan. But what was the alternative? I didn¡¯t much like the idea of needing to find somewhere for her every time Avalon moved, and there was a lot of risk associated with having to move Lea in and out of the Academy over and over. I¡¯d gotten her into Miranda¡¯s room safely, but that had been a very stressful experience and not one I wanted to repeat dozens of times over the next few years.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­probably right,¡± I said softly, hating the way that my words made Lea curl in on herself. ¡°But what other choice is there? I¡¯ll come visit when I can, and when I figure out teleportation in a few years I¡¯ll always be just a spell away, but until then¡­¡± I trailed off as Lea buried her face in my pant leg and began to cry again.


    ¡°Why do I have to go?¡± Lea asked pleadingly, ¡°I¡¯ll¡­I can be useful. I can¡­I can¡­I don¡¯t know¡­something? Anything! Anything you want. Just¡­just¡­¡±


    ¡°Lea,¡± I whispered, ¡°Lea, look at me.¡± I slipped my free hand down to cradle her cheek in my palm and gently pushed upward until she lifted her face away from the rather-wet leg of my pans and and her eyes met mine. ¡°Lea, I¡¯m not sending you away because I don¡¯t want you here or because I don¡¯t care about you. You¡¯re one of, no, you¡¯re the most important person in my life. You¡¯re the only family I have left and I can¡¯t believe I was lucky enough to find you again.¡±


    ¡°Then why do I have to leave?¡± she asked again, her usually soft and melodious voice slightly hoarse from crying.


    ¡°Because I want you to be happy, Lea. More than anything, you deserve to be safe, happy, and loved. After everything you¡¯ve been through, I don¡¯t want you to feel trapped ever again. I don¡¯t want to be like them. You deserve more than a cold stone box deep underground.¡±


    Just thinking about everything Lea had been through made my mana bubble unpleasantly and left me seeing red. I¡¯d already vowed to kill Seatamer for what he¡¯d done to my family, but now I knew that just death would be too good for him. Someday I would show him just a taste of what he¡¯d put my Lea through and he would know the depths of my hatred before he was finally allowed the mercy of eternal rest.


    Then there was Brenda and those men¡­Brenda would get what was coming to her. I couldn¡¯t hurt her too much, but soon enough she¡¯d have her whole life ahead of her to try and earn Lea¡¯s forgiveness. The men she¡¯d hired were already taken care of, and Brenda¡¯s days of freedom were rapidly running out.


    And the Earthshadows¡­I¡¯d trusted them, my Lea had trusted them, and they had utterly betrayed that trust. From the very first moment that I¡¯d decided to bring Lea to them for healing, I¡¯d been plagued by doubts whether or not I¡¯d made the right choice. Everything had looked so wonderful for so long, but in fact it was all just them playing me for a fool.


    Well. Their days were numbered. Adonia had slithered her way into Lea¡¯s good graces and then stabbed my Lea in the heart. Adonia thought it was funny to lock up a vulnerable, hurting girl after everything that had happened to her? Well, I looked forward to her learning intimately what it felt like, and then she could spend the rest of her wretched, miserable life begging for forgiveness.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be happy, I promise! I¡¯ll be good, and I¡¯ll be happy, as long as I¡¯m with you. I won¡¯t be any trouble, I can¡­I can clean, and I can cook, or¡­or¡­I¡¯m pretty! Everyone always¨C¨C¡± she hiccuped loudly and continued in a whisper, ¡°everyone tells me I¡¯m pretty and I¡­I¡­¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Lea¡­¡± I whispered softly. I was somewhere between furious and heartbroken, and just generally lost for words.


    She pulled herself upright using my outer jacket like a ladder and then latched onto me like a limpet. ¡°Please don¡¯t make me leave. Please Orion, I don¡¯t want to go. I don¡¯t want you to go. I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t care about being happy, I don¡¯t care if I¡¯m stuck in a box or¡­or¡­or¡­I just¡­I just want to feel safe. I don¡¯t remember the last time I felt safe before you came back. I just¡­just¡­¡± her words devolved into incoherent mumbling and she shifted from side to side, rubbing her face and nose into the side of my chest.


    I loosely wrapped my arms around her shoulders, feeling the feverish heat of her skin beneath my hands. She looked tiny like this, her feet tangled in the bedsheets and her sheer dress bunched up around her waist leaving her chest, rear, and legs fully exposed to the cold air. She looked so terribly vulnerable and weak, a perception only amplified by the weak wobble I could sense from her slightly-strained core.


    I remembered my first time entering her bedroom in the small apartment above the store she¡¯d shared with her ¡®uncles¡¯. At the time, I could remember being struck speechless how much it reminded me of her childhood bedroom¨C¨Cthe sheets were the same, the curtains were the same, even the way everything had been arranged and the scattered charcoal drawings on the walls were the same.


    In hindsight, that had probably been a bad sign, one that I had missed in the excitement of seeing Lea again. She had hated those curtains. I could still vaguely remember a fight between her and her mother about how she didn¡¯t like the way pink fabric dyed the morning sunlight as it shone through the window. And yet, when she finally had a chance to change things, she instead stuck to what she remembered from before.


    I turned my body and leaned down slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t cry Lea,¡± I whispered, ¡°It''s going to be okay. You¡¯re with me now. Everything is going to be okay. I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡±


    ¡°...and you won¡¯t make me go?¡± she asked hopefully.


    The logistics of that were going to be¡­cumbersome, but if Lea wanted to stay, I wasn¡¯t going to stop her. I¡¯d just need to start brewing double-batches of the potion I was feeding Rea to compensate for her not getting enough sunlight or exercise. ¡°Not if you don¡¯t want to. You have a home with me for as long as I can provide you with one.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean I can move in with you soon? I promise I¡¯ll be good.¡±


    I bit my lip. That¡­I¡¯d been half-expecting the question, but I didn¡¯t have a good response for her. Letting her live with me was¨C¨Cwell, there were a lot of potential problems with that idea. Like Rea. And the Shieldlight girl, who Lea would definitely recognize. Not to mention the cows and all the equipment I had set up.


    Lea didn¡¯t take my silence very well. She looked up at me, her eyes wide and her face covered in tear steaks. ¡°Please Orion? I¡¯ll be good. I¡¯ll practice my magic and keep your room tidy and I won¡¯t touch anything you tell me not to touch and I won¡¯t ask questions and I¨C¨C¡± her voice began to grow increasingly frantic with every word.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± I interrupted, ¡°it''s just¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it because I¡¯m used goods?¡± she asked suddenly. ¡°Adonia¡­Adonia wouldn¡¯t touch me after¡­after¡­¡± she choked on her words and I could only stare down at her, my own eyes just as wide as hers, as she soldier onward. ¡°I can still be useful! The healer said she put everything back together and¡­and if you don¡¯t want that, I know how to use my hands and my mouth and my breasts they only ever touched my cunt but Ma¨C¨CLord Seatamer always said that I had a wonderful bu¨C¨CI mean, I can¡­I can still be, I can still¡­¡±


    ¡°Lea. Lea!¡± I tried to interrupt her, but she was lost inside her own head and wasn¡¯t listening to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you! I¡¯m a good girl. You¡¯ll keep me safe and I¡¯ll take care of you!¡± She pulled herself upright and began to scrabble at my belt.


    ¡°Lea!¡± I said sharply, and she finally looked up at me. She flinched back as our eyes met and my hand, which had been reaching for her wrist, froze in mid air. ¡°Lea,¡± I said, more softly this time. ¡°You don¡¯t have to prove anything to me. You don¡¯t have to do anything. I¡¯ll keep you safe for as long as you¡¯re with me, one way or another.¡±


    Lea¡¯s hands froze, each one holding a different side of my unbuckled belt. They were shaking slightly, and the tips of her long, pointed nails were digging into her palms. ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t have to,¡± she whispered, ¡°but what if I want to, Orion? I don¡¯t want to be just another piece of clutter taking up space.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll never be just another anything to me, Lea.¡±


    Lea slid off the bed and onto the floor, her bare feet landing silently on the hard stone. Then she knelt down in front of me and looked up into my eyes. There was a tiny, hopeful smile on her face, and my words caught in my throat before I could say anything.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done so much for me, Orion. Let me do something for you.¡± She leaned back slightly, her knees spread wide and her hips and chest thrust up towards me. ¡°Am I too ugly for you?¡±


    I¡¯d never fully considered just how pretty my Lea was. Even as a child she¡¯d been considered very cute, with her pale hair and blue eyes making her and her mother stand out amidst the dark-haired and dark-eyes people of our village. In the years since, she had blossomed into the sort of young woman that turned heads wherever she went.


    She was tall and slender, with lustrous blonde hair and sparkling crystal-blue eyes that shone like gemstones. Her skin was pale and nearly flawless, the tiny imperfections only adding to her beauty instead of detracting from it. With her dress bunched up around her waist, her breasts were left completely bare, showing off her bountiful chest crowned with rosy nipples.


    Between elves, succubi like Miranda, other supernaturally-beautiful races, and even just vain mages, there were far too many utterly perfect beauties. It took something more than that to really stand out, and Lea had it. Even with tears staining her face, her nose and eyes swollen, and her face and shoulders covered in red blotches from crying, she still looked utterly breathtaking.


    Lea¡¯s eyes remained fixed on mine as her hands began to move again. She pushed my belt aside and one by one unbuttoned the metal fasteners holding my pants together, then slipped a hand through the resulting hole and into my underclothes.


    Her soft, slender fingers wrapped around my shaft and, with a gentle tug, she pulled it out of my pants and into the open air. Without the fabric to contain it, my cock sprang to attention, throbbing as Lea gently stroked her fingers down my length.


    ¡°Lea?¡± I asked one last time.


    ¡°I love you, Orion.¡± She¡¯d said the words before, but this time there was something else in her voice. In a moment of clarity, I remembered something that Miranda had told me just a few short weeks ago. About how Lea slept with one of my shirts balled up against her face and the ideas Miranda had had for helping Lea get settled. This was certainly not how I had planned for things to go, but maybe it was for the best?


    She wrapped her other hand around the base of my cock, the tips of her thumb and forefinger just barely touching around my girth. ¡°Even when I thought you were dead, there were days when I dreamed that you would come rescue me. And then you did. You saved me, and then you saved me, and then you saved me again. Let me show you just how thankful I am.¡±


    And then she leaned forward and kissed the tip of my shaft, our eyes never breaking contact. I had to brace myself with my arms against the bed behind me as she languidly leaned in and then licked all the way up from the base of my cock to the very tip.


    Lea took a huge, shuddering breath through her nose, her cheeks dyed red from more than just crying, and then she winked and, in a single smooth motion, swallowed a full half of my cock.


    ¡°Gods, Lea!¡± I exclaimed.


    Despite the rather sizable length of hot, throbbing meat stretching her jaw open, Lea grinned up at me, her eyes shining with joy. There was something heartbreaking about how this was the happiest I¡¯d seen her look in months. Then, I suddenly had not nearly enough brain capacity to consider the implications of what that meant.

 Chapter 133

    More than an hour later, I held Lea in my arms, her head resting on my shoulder and her legs wrapped around my waist. She was naked, having discarded the messy, crumpled dress she¡¯d been wearing before long ago, and I was missing my pants and my shirt was fully unbuttoned, leaving us sitting with our bare chests pressed against each other.


    We were both silent. Lea¡¯s hands were hidden from sight under my shirt and my own were slowly rubbing gentle circles on her back. Lea had finally stopped crying and hadn¡¯t started again, which was good. She¡¯d even looked and felt genuinely happy for a time, which was even better.


    What was somewhat less good was the way she was still rolling her hips, doing her level best to rouse my mostly flaccid penis still buried deep inside her to full wakefulness. Not to say that it didn¡¯t feel amazing¨C¨CLea was concerningly good at this¨C¨Cbut rather because she was doing it completely unconsciously and I was pretty sure that this was not an ideal coping mechanism.


    So far, all three of the most traumatic things that had happened to my friend (that I knew of) had involved sex and her body. As much as she kept claiming that this was something she wanted to be doing, I was loath to form any parallels between her time with me and what she had gone through in the past.


    Furthermore, I didn¡¯t want to reduce our relationship to something transactional, like a noble¡¯s arranged courtship or a whore and her buyer. Me protecting Lea was in no way dependent on what she could do for me, and I really wanted her to see that. Sure she hadn¡¯t gone out and said explicitly before, but it was clear enough what she was thinking.


    I was far from an expert on injuries of the mind, but I couldn¡¯t imagine this was the correct way to help Lea deal with the wounds she¡¯d endured over the years. I knew I wasn¡¯t exactly a pillar of mental health and stability¨C¨CI was self aware enough to know that not all of my loathing towards elves was fully rational¨C¨Cbut at least I was able to manage my issues and ensure they couldn¡¯t control me. From what I¡¯d heard from Miranda and seen during my own time with her, Lea was far from that point.


    I sighed softly and Lea flinched, her entire body tensing against mine and her core clenching down like a vice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m trying!¡± she exclaimed quietly, her voice sounding like she was on the verge of tears. ¡°I just¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± I hurriedly reassured her, ¡°you¡¯re alright. You were amazing, Lea. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of.¡± I closed my eyes, glad that Lea couldn¡¯t see my face. ¡°It¡¯s nothing you did. You¡¯re amazing. I¡¯ve just had a long, stressful day.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Lea breathed, her voice barely more than a whisper. Her body relaxed, slowly returning to the nearly boneless state she¡¯d been moments earlier, but the tension never fully faded. The muscles in her core tensed and relaxed rhythmically and the slow, steady movements of her hips intensified.


    I cursed silently. Of course Lea would respond like that. What a way to ruin most of the progress I¡¯d made so far. Well, so much for just letting her relax a little.


    I had been hoping that this meeting would be good for both of us. I¡¯d be able to relax a little and enjoy Lea¡¯s company. Lea would be happy to hear that Cayla and Miranda were well on their way to finding her a new home, somewhere with grass and trees and sunlight. Everything would be wonderful and peaceful, like those hazy memories of playing together in the hills and the trees and the burbuling streams.


    Instead, well. This had happened. I honestly didn¡¯t know how to feel about any of it. On one hand, Miranda had essentially told me that this was inevitable. On the other hand¡­I could have happily gone my whole life without knowing what Lea, the closest thing I had left to family, looked like with my cock in her mouth. Or the way she cried out in ecstasy as she climaxed around my manhood, my name spilling from her lips over and over again. Or hear her desperately beg me to fuck her, to hit her, to use her as much and however I liked as long as I never let her go.


    Well, the damage was done. I just needed to make the best of all of it.


    ¡°So Lea¡­¡± I began, my voice trailing off as I struggled to decide what exactly I wanted to say. Even with spells and circulations augmenting my mind, talking to people had never been something I was particularly good at .


    Lea jolted again, her back stiffening, but it was a much more mild reaction compared to the flinch from before. ¡°Yes Ma¨COrion? Is there something you need¡± she asked quickly, stumbling slightly over my name.


    I pulled her against me slightly. Not hard enough that it would feel like I was holding her in place, but enough for her to feel the pressure of my touch on her back. ¡°Quite the opposite, in fact. So¡­are you sure? Do you really want to stay with me? It¡¯s going to¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yes, I do,¡± she answered immediately, not even waiting for me to finish my sentence. ¡°More than anything.¡±


    I continued regardless. ¡°It''s going to be boring and cramped. My room is the same size as Miranda¡¯s. There are no windows. A lot of the floor is taken up by furniture or my equipment. I won¡¯t be able to take you outside often, or maybe even ever.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yes, yes, yes. As long as I¡¯m with you, I¡¯ll be happy. I promise!¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°I won¡¯t always be there. I have classes and other obligations. Sometimes I¡¯ll be too busy to spend time with you. I still have four-and-a-half years here at Avalon. Four years in a tiny stone box.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ll be there sometimes. And,¡± she tried to wave her hand around, but it was still tucked under my shirt so she mostly just slapped my back a little, ¡°it¡¯s still a lot roomier than I¡¯m used to. Warmer and drier too. And I don¡¯t think you¡¯re ever going to cut out my tongue or feed me to a kraken.¡±


    As much as I loathed the comparison, I wanted, needed, Lea to understand what she was getting into. ¡°Of course not, but¡­I¡¯m not a good person, Lea. I helped you, but I¡¯ve done¡­I¡¯ve done some bad things. I¡¯ve hurt people. Killed people.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ve only ever been good to me, Orion.¡±


    Well, in for a deep-brass, in for an adamantine. It wasn¡¯t like Lea would be spreading my secrets around to anyone. ¡°You won¡¯t be the only person there. I have a¡­servant that lives with me. I teach her magic and she takes care of things around the dorm.¡±


    ¡°Then it sounds like I won¡¯t get lonely when you¡¯re busy.¡±


    My throat felt ragged as I pressed onward. ¡°She¡¯s not the only one. But the others¡­they¡¯re not servants. They¡¯re not even slaves. They¡¯re materials. Materials, Lea. Not people, things.¡±


    ¡°Okay. And?¡±


    ¡°Okay? Okay! Lea, I use them. They were people, and now they¡¯re things. I use them and abuse them and I don¡¯t feel anything at all.¡±


    Lea straightened and looked me squarely in the eyes. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t damage your things, Orion. I¡¯m sure they all deserve it. And if they don¡¯t, well, I don¡¯t care. Spending their lives with you¡­it¡¯s a better future than anyone can hope for.¡±


    The sheer honest trust I could feel in her voice and face was¡­indescribable. ¡°Do you really mean that?¡± I asked softly, barely able to formulate the words. I felt vulnerable in a way I hadn''t in¡­I couldn¡¯t remember how long. I certainly had never felt this way with Kala, nor with anyone else I¡¯d met in the years since I¡¯d left Xethis.


    ¡°Oh, Orion,¡± Lea whispered, ¡°do you even have to ask? Of course I mean it. I would never lie to you.¡± She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against mine. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you¡¯ve done. I don¡¯t care who you¡¯ve done it to. I love you, and I will always love you, and nothing and no one will ever change that. Even when I thought you were dead and gone, I never forgot you. Even when I thought you were lost forever, you were there for me. Life isn¡¯t like those stories mom always told us. It''s not all sunshine and roses, and bad things happen to good people. Sometimes people have to do things they aren¡¯t proud of.¡±


    She took a deep, shaky breath. ¡°But you¡¯re the best thing that has ever happened to me. And I¡¯m never going to let go for as long as you let me hold on.¡±


    I stared into her eyes and saw nothing but truth and love. I wanted to trust her. I really did. But I¡¯d been hurt one too many times.


    I pulled back and all but shoved one of my hands in her face, mana glowing visibly around my fingers. ¡°If you really believe that, then swear it. Swear it to me, Lea.¡±


    She stared down at my hand and blinked, then comprehension appeared on her face. ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know how.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t willing to give her time to think about things. ¡°Just take my hand, Lea, and swear it. I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± And then¡­she did. She just did.


    She didn¡¯t argue. She didn¡¯t try to get out of it. She didn¡¯t try to reword things to give herself a loophole.


    Lea reluctantly pulled her right hand out from under my shirt and hesitantly wrapped her fingers around my palm. I quickly adjusted her grip and she easily obeyed, intertwining our fingers together between our two bodies.


    Mana spun around us as I frantically cast both parts of a type of spell that usually needed either a ritual circle or two people. It wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever done before, but I¡¯d become deeply familiar with oath-based magic in the past few months and a mix of experience and desperation helped me modify a typical hand-oath on the fly into something that would do the job. It was only a few minor tweaks, and the calculations all worked out. It would work. I was confident that it would work.


    She recited her earlier words word for word. ¡°I would never lie to you. I don¡¯t care what you¡¯ve done. I don¡¯t care who you¡¯ve done it to. I love you, and I will always love you, and nothing and no one will ever change that.¡±


    With each sentence, a loop of mana appeared around our clasped hands. The spell matrix I¡¯d formed floated beneath them, barely able to fit in the space between us and shining brightly as I poured mana into it.


    Lea continued, completely ignoring the display of magic to stare into my eyes. ¡°Even when I thought you were dead and gone, I never forgot you. Even when I thought you were lost forever, you were there for me. Life isn¡¯t like those stories mom always told us. It''s not all sunshine and roses, and bad things happen to good people. Sometimes people have to do things they aren¡¯t proud of. But you¡¯re the best thing that has ever happened to me. And I¡¯m never going to let go for as long as you let me hold on.¡±


    I almost released the spell then and there, but then Lea smiled softly. ¡°I love you, Orion. More than anyone.¡±


    Threads of mana sank into Lea¡¯s hand. For a moment, I could just barely feel them slipping past her core and deeper into her soul, and then they fully vanished from my senses. There was no real link between us. I had contributed nothing to the oath but my magic, but I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that the spell had worked.


    Lea really meant it. Utterly and completely. And now, she¡¯d never, ever not mean it for as long as she lived.


    It felt as though a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders and I sagged, nearly collapsing forward onto her. ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered. ¡°You don¡¯t know how much it means to hear that.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re happy, I¡¯m happy,¡± Lea whispered back.


    I wasn¡¯t a monster. Lea wouldn¡¯t love a monster. Lea loved me, fully and truly. My parents¡­if Lea understood, then they would have understood too. They¡¯d be proud of me. They¡¯d understand that I only ever did what I had to do. Things were hard when you were a penniless, nameless orphan. I¡¯d just made the best of a bad situation. I¡¯d always just made the best of a bad situation.


    Before I could get lost in my ruminations, Lea kissed me and bounced slightly, reminding me of what exact part of my body she was currently sitting on. ¡°Let me show you just how happy you make me feel.¡±

 Chapter 134

    It was good to be home, Janna thought as she looked out through the window of her carriage at the rolling hills that surrounded her family¡¯s estate. The winter moon-lilies were in full bloom, painting the landscape in glorious shades of white, pink, and purple. Tens of millions of the flowers lined the long, winding road that led from the nearest city to her home, and even though she¡¯d seen them hundreds of times by now, the sight still took her breath away.


    There was nothing else quite like it in the world. Each flower was smaller than her palm, but they grew so closely together that from a distance you could just barely make out the pale green stems and leaves hidden beneath the blooming flowers. Each flower had six petals, pale white at the center and darkening to a rich purple along the edges. The stamen at the center of the flower glowed with a soft, pale light, tiny sparkles drifting off them before dissipating into the air, giving the whole field a sort of ethereal glimmer.


    It was barely visible during the day, lost in the bright light of the sun, but at night the fields glowed as brightly as a full moon. As beautiful as the flowers were during the day, they were twice as radiant at night and Janna had spent long hours sitting by her open window admiring the blooming flowers and the luminescent bees that pollinated them. Her room was not the largest bedroom in the manor, but the view was well worth the minor annoyances of living in one of their many well appointed guest rooms and not the family suite.


    In a few weeks, they would start to wilt and a mix of paid servants and oath-bound penitents would descend upon the fields to harvest their valuable fruits. Soon after, the spring ice-drops would start to bloom, then the summer sunblooms, and finally the fall pearl-roses. Then, the cycle that had first elevated her family¡¯s status and given them their name would begin again, ensuring her family¡¯s coffers never ran dry and decorating their lands.


    For now though, she could just enjoy the beauty of it all. The carriage window was open, allowing the breeze to carry the flowers¡¯ sweet fragrance to her nose. The perfume made from them was good, but it really was no substitute for the real thing. These flowers were the reason that winter had always been her favorite season and it had been heartbreaking to not be able to see them at all the previous year.


    Unfortunately, the logistics had simply not worked out. Even for her family, traveling from one side of the globe to the other was not something one could do lighty. There were few mages willing and able to teleport such distances, and travel by land and sea was not nearly swift enough to make the journey in a reasonable time frame.


    Thankfully, this year that was not an issue. Oratrice City was not necessarily close to her own family¡¯s lands¨C¨Cshe¡¯d only ever visited the city a handful of times in her life¨C¨Cbut all the cities of the Gulivine Republic were connected by nationally maintained teleportation platforms. Such things were expensive and difficult to create and utilize, but the utility of rapidly transporting sensitive materials and important persons around the country was well worth the expense according to her father.


    It had been easy enough to arrange for her own transportation. She¡¯d met briefly with the a representative of House Vaalis¨C¨Cit was rather offensive for them to send a mere representative to speak with her, but she understood that both the de¡¯ and fa¡¯ were monstrously busy dealing with the other mages of Avalon¨C¨Cand the man had swiftly arranged everything as soon as he¡¯d realized who she was. Their families had had good relations for nearly six-hundred years now, and such a minor favor was simple enough to accommodate.


    There had already been a carriage waiting for her in Hwa city when she had arrived. She¡¯d spent a few hours visiting her favorite shops and a number of friends that lived in the city, paid her respects to the new Justicar fa¡¯Dumin and his young heiress, and then departed. It was about two hours from the city to her family¡¯s estate and she was greatly looking forward to a relaxing trip before spending a night in her own bed for the first time in far too many months and eating something with real flavor. That was by far the worst part of studying at Avalon. The quality of the accommodations was horrendous, and the food¡­well, it was better than what penitents ate, but only just.


    Unfortunately, her quiet carriage ride was ruined before it even began. As much as Janna missed her home, there were certain elements of being back here that she could have really lived without. Certain people she had really hoped to not run into even though she knew she almost certainly would.


    People such as Fabian Dumin, the annoying, ambitious younger brother of the newly appointed Justicar fa¡¯Dumin. Fabian Dumin, who was ten years her senior, but had the brain of a hormonal teenager. Fabian Dumin, who had been trying to woo her ever since her father had chosen her as his heiress. Fabian Dumin, who was too important to just brush off, and was sitting directly across from her in the carriage.


    ¡°Hmm, that sounds lovely,¡± she said softly, paying just enough attention to the man¡¯s story to respond with the right words at the right time. There was an enchanted scroll in one of the expanded pockets on her dress that was tirelessly noting down every word coming out of the man¡¯s mouth, allowing her to tune him out without potentially missing something valuable.


    She¡¯d hand it, along with the reams of similar scrolls she¡¯d collected over the past months, over to her uncle for analysis later. Someone would go through it all and fill her in on any important details she would need to memorize later. That was one of the things she greatly enjoyed about heading home. Typically she had to do such reviews herself each evening, instead of having trusted servants to do it for her.


    ¡°It most certainly was!¡± the man exclaimed, ¡°Oh, I know. I can take you to see it. I believe their next performance is scheduled in the capital later this month. I¡¯m certain my brother, Justicar fa¡¯Dumin, will be more than capable of securing seats for the two of us. Did you hear that the Orbix family opened a new restaurant in the capital? I haven¡¯t had a chance to visit yet, it''s very exclusive, but perhaps we could go together before the show? I¡¯m certain they¡¯d be happy to accommodate us. And¨C¨C¡±


    Janna¡¯s teeth ground together and it took her a moment to compose herself. She turned away from the window and smiled at Fabian. ¡°That does sound like a pleasant way to spend an evening, but I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯m unlikely to have enough time to join you for such a trip. I¡¯m only here for a few weeks, after all, and my lord father has planned a number of commitments for my time already. There are many duties that I as the de¡¯Floris must attend to that other house members are free of..¡±


    There. Reasonably polite, a reminder of their difference in status, and trying to insist that she join him would directly infringe on the work of a Justicar. Fabian was too influential for her to tell him to fuck off, but that was as close as she could reasonably get.


    Unfortunately, the man was undeterred. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a shame. A beautiful young flower such as yourself shouldn¡¯t be stuck inside reading dusty law books and meeting with stuffy dignitaries all day. Perhaps there is some other day where I can spirit you away for a picnic or a hike through the mountains.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Janna suppressed a huff. ¡°I would have to speak with my lord father before I can commit to anything. My magical studies and other duties take up much of my time, leaving little room for such entertainment. It is difficult, but the Republic deserves nothing but my best effort.¡±


    Fabian was quiet for a few seconds, long enough that Janna almost dared to hope that she¡¯d shut him up for good. Unfortunately, that was not to be. At least he set that particular topic aside for the time being, instead launching into an elaborate retelling of his recent travels. Janna smiled politely and focused on the view through her carriage window. Just another hour and a half to go and she¡¯d be home, free to ditch Fabian and go do literally anything else. Just another hour and a half to go¡­


    By the time they finally made it to the sprawling manor and surrounding outbuildings that Janna had called home for her entire life, she was fully ready to gut Fabian like a fish, or perhaps set him on fire. She was confident she could do it too, particularly since the guards on the outside of the carriage belonged to her family and not his. Fabian liked to brag that he was a third-circle mage, but Janna knew that to be mostly bluster. If she wanted to kill him, he¡¯d be dead before he could so much as call upon his mana.


    Her long nails, painted a lovely shade of pink that matched her pastel blue dress, shifted minutely. Keratin hardened, sharpened, and turned hollow, droplets of potent poison forming beneath the shiny pink exterior. It was not a visually impressive transformation, in fact it was intentionally all but invisible, but a rather effective one for her purposes.


    She was both highly resistant to and intimately familiar with many kinds of plant-derived poisons, allowing her to safely shapeshift drops of blood into deadly weapons without risking killing herself. A single scratch from her modified nails could kill a man in a matter of minutes, if the bleeding from their razor-sharp edges didn¡¯t get them first.


    She swiftly changed them back before the intrusive thoughts plaguing her mind could get to her. She could probably get away with killing Fabian, but it would forever sour relations between their two families and would bring dishonor to her House. As much of an idiot and leech as Fabian was, he was close with his brother and the price of his death was simply not worth his life.


    Thankfully, she did not have to resist the urge for much longer. The carriage stopped outside the gates of her home and a servant opened the carriage door for her before helping her out of the vehicle. Janna stood silently as another servant who had been waiting for her to arrive curtsied, then cast a number of spells to help freshen her up and make sure her hair and clothing remained pristine and unrumpled after the long journey.


    Only once the woman was done did Janna turn back to the carriage. ¡°Thank you for accompanying me, Fabian. I¡¯m afraid I must go meet with my father now, duty waits for no one. Have a safe trip home.¡±


    Fabian looked like he was about to protest, but then he saw the welcoming party waiting for her just beyond the gates and thought better of it. He¡¯s always been rather intimidated by her cousin Davius and avoided the other man as much as possible. There was a story there, she was certain of it, but not one she¡¯d ever managed to convince someone to share with her.


    ¡°Of course, of course. It was my pleasure. Don¡¯t forget to ask your father about my proposals, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± She wasn¡¯t going to forget. She just wasn¡¯t going to do so. He¡¯d learn about the various offers to go here or there with the man, ask her if she was interested, and then ignore them when she said she wasn¡¯t. Fabian was too important to brush off, but not important enough for her father to encourage the potential marriage if she was opposed to the idea. ¡°I look forward to hopefully seeing you again soon, Fabian.¡±


    Then she turned around, made sure her posture and apparel remained utterly flawless, and strode towards the gates. The nearly six meter tall gates of diamond wood opened smoothly before her and she walked through them without stopping. Father, mother, a number of her cousins, and several of the more senior servants were waiting for her, standing solemnly in front of the front doors.


    She stopped a few paces away from the group and curtsied deeply, her knee nearly brushing the ground. ¡°This de¡¯Floris greets you, oh honored Justicar.¡±


    Though she could not see it with her head bowed, she could perfectly picture the smile that was no doubt spreading across her father¡¯s face. ¡°This fa¡¯Floris welcomes you, oh daughter of mine. Raise your head.¡±


    She straightened, folding her hands over her belly as was proper. She and her father stared at one another for several long moments, both their faces utterly expressionless. For the first time, he broke first.


    Her father sighed heavily and took two steps forward, wrapping her in his arms. ¡°Oh my darling flower, how I¡¯ve missed you. It has been far too quiet around here without you.¡±


    Janna wanted to reply, but her face was completely buried in her father¡¯s stomach. She took after her rather petite mother, not her giant father, and he was hugging her rather tightly.


    Another set of arms, these ones considerably thinner, wrapped around her from the side. ¡°Welcome home, sweety,¡± her mother whispered in her ear. ¡°We¡¯ve all missed you.¡±


    Her protests that she wasn¡¯t a teenager anymore died in her throat. Janna¡¯s shoulders sagged and she hugged her father back. It really was good to be home.


    A third set of familiar arms joined the cluster. ¡°Hey, glad you could make it back this year,¡± her ¡®little¡¯ sister added. Violet was four years younger than her, but took after her father. ¡°Zerin,¡± her third sibling, ¡°should be back in just a couple of days. It''s been a while since we¡¯ve had everyone home at the same time.¡±


    Janna nodded, ¡°Yeah, it has,¡± she said, her voice heavily muffled. Zerin hadn¡¯t been home two years ago, busy with a diplomatic trip to a neighboring country, and she¡¯d been too far away to come home last year. They¡¯d exchanged a number of letters, but she was still looking forward to seeing him in person.


    Janna took a deep breath, the smells of home and family filling her nose. She felt more relaxed than she had in months. It was impossible to fully relax in Avalon, even with her family name to protect her, but here, surrounded by countless wards, mages and soldiers sworn to her family, and her father¡¯s strong arms, she was as safe as could be. It was wonderful.


    She hadn¡¯t been fully lying to Fabian¨C¨Cthere really were many duties and lessons that required her attention¨C¨Cbut at least for a few minutes, she could forget about all that and just enjoy the presence of her family.


    ¡°So, did you meet any cute boys at that school of yours?¡± her sister suddenly asked.


    Janna tried to elbow the girl, but she didn¡¯t have a good angle and Violet leaned out of the way of the clumsy ¡®attack¡¯.


    ¡°Oooo, that looked like a yes to me!¡± Violet sang.


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this?¡± her mother asked, ¡°is my little girl growing up? I thought it would be decades before I became a grandmother, but perhaps not.¡±


    ¡°She better not be doing anything that would result in grandkids just yet,¡± her father rumbled. ¡°Not before she introduces her special someone to the rest of the family.¡±


    Janna was briefly reminded of her invitation to Orion to come visit her family home while the Avalon Portal remained in the republic, and blushed faintly. That boy was unfairly handsome. She turned her head to look up at her grinning father and sister and scowled. ¡°It''s not like that!¡± she protested before realizing that would only confirm things for her family. ¡°I mean, uh,¡± she scowled, realizing that there was nothing she could say to spare herself a thorough interrogation. ¡°Traitors.¡±


    Violet laughed and just hugged her harder.

 Chapter 135

    Thankfully after the social and emotional rollercoaster that had been the first few days following the end of the semester, the next two weeks proceeded much more peacefully. Miranda and Camille were both slightly peeved that I¡¯d completely invalidated their work in the city¨C¨CLea no longer needed any sort of local accommodations-¨Cbut it ultimately wasn¡¯t a serious issue. Both had clearly done a lot more than just look at appropriate properties during their time in Oratrice City so it wasn¡¯t like they¡¯d entirely wasted their time.


    Miranda in particular carried herself with the air of a well-satiated apex predator, and a brief probe had identified at least four unique patches of foreign mana that she was slowly ¡®digesting¡¯ and integrating into herself. For all that the ¡®potions¡¯ I provided her kept her fed, she was still a predator at heart. I didn¡¯t particularly mind¨C¨CI trusted that she¡¯d kept herself to appropriate targets and Miranda¡¯s strength was my strength.


    Camille also looked much more relaxed when she returned to Avalon. She¡¯d spent two days visiting her mother and the trip had clearly helped her come to terms with her new lot in life. According to Miranda, Camille had been worried that I¡¯d use her as a way to get at her mother, and the relatively loose¨C¨Cat least in terms of what she could and could not do on her own time¨C¨Crestrictions I¡¯d placed her under were a comfort as well.


    The idea hadn¡¯t even occurred to me, though it was something I¡¯d need to consider in the future. I¡¯d more been thinking about bringing various wealthy and influential noble families under my sway by suborning junior members studying at Avalon, but there was sense in going after well-positioned and skilled craftsmen as well.


    Camille¡¯s mother may not be a mage, but the dress that my newest acquisition had returned home with proved that she was a true master of her craft nonetheless. I knew little about women¡¯s fashion, but even I could appreciate that it looked very good on Camille. I had no idea why or when I¡¯d need access to a seamstress, but it might happen at some point. It was always, always, better to be over prepared than unprepared.


    Still, such a thing could wait. I¡¯d give Camille more time to acclimate and come to understand that this really was the best possible outcome for her. She simply didn¡¯t have the right mindset to succeed on her own at Avalon. She was too restricted by her fears and empathy to do what needed to be done. The girl was a supremely talented mage but had been squandering her gifts. I would not tolerate such wastefulness, whether she liked it or not.


    In any case, it was a very welcome break. The last week of the winter recess would be incredibly busy, what with all the events that the Academy would be organizing for students and alumni alike, but until then I had time to focus on myself and the many, many projects that had taken a back seat in the past weeks and months.


    It was a very productive period. With Avalon half-empty, I was easily able to reserve all the training and study space I needed. I drained my mana all but dry practicing spells, learning new ones, and honing my raw mana control. I spent long hours in the library pouring over books and working on theoretical projects. I also finally had a chance to book one of the half-dozen cutting-edge alchemical workshops that Avalon maintained and ran a number of in depth tests of all the materials I¡¯d been harvesting from my cattle, as well as a few samples I¡¯d ordered Miranda to collect from herself and discretely gather from Lea.


    The results were illuminating, though not as conclusive as I would have liked in some aspects. In Lea¡¯s case, I¡¯d managed to confirm that she was absolutely not a pure human, just like Miranda had told me. I¡¯d run her blood, sweat, and a number of other fluid samples, as well as several strands of hair, a few bits of skin and muscle, and even a bit of bone marrow through a whole battery of tests, but the results didn¡¯t really match up with any of the many, many reference books I¡¯d checked them against.


    She didn¡¯t possess any elf blood thankfully¨C¨CI didn¡¯t know how I would have reacted if she did, and I was glad I needn''t find out¨C¨Cbut that was the only satisfying conclusion I¡¯d been able to draw. Near as I could tell, she was somewhere between three and ten generations removed from something very magical, but what exactly that ancestor might have been I had no idea. Either it had been something very exotic, or there were simply too many clashing heritages to identify any of them for certain.


    Just out of sheer happenstance, I was leaning toward it having been some manner of outsider. Between Miranda, the doppelganger, and the whole Miira situation, I¡¯d run into an unreasonable number of the things in my life, and it would explain why I couldn¡¯t find anything in the books I was looking at. Outside of some specific varieties that appeared comparably frequently and had been studied in the past¨C¨Cstarspawn being a prime example¨C¨Cmany Outsiders were wholly unique existences, at least in our world.


    Thankfully, the other tests I¡¯d run were much more productive. Elves were very, very opposed to mages studying what they could be used for, and for very good reason. So far, I¡¯d mostly been collecting just milk and arousal from my two cows, as well as some blood on occasion, but I¡¯d need to step things up going forward.


    I was still slightly squeamish about some of the things that Igor was likely doing¨C¨Chaving studied their natural circulations in depth, I was pretty sure that elves could regrow their eyes, but plucking those out over and over again seemed like a step too far¨C¨Cbut installing permanent taps to collect blood wasn¡¯t that bad. And perhaps I could finally put all of Rea¡¯s enthusiasm for skinning to good work. It would take some research, but I was almost certain that elven skin could be turned into an incredibly durable and magic-conductive leather.


    As tempting as it was however, I would refrain from going any further than that. The small sliver of bone I¡¯d extracted was an incredibly potent reagent, but not sufficiently superior to what I was already collecting to make it worth lopping off limbs or even just fingers and toes. The same went for muscles, fat, and organs. I wasn¡¯t a monster.


    Outside of that, I¡¯d finally confirmed all sorts of things about what I was already gathering. Just like I¡¯d suspected, both the milk and juices showed signs of properties that would make them perfect components for potion making and the production of some magic items. Now that I had details about their exact magical composition instead of just what I¡¯d been able to gather with my own senses and simpler tools, I¡¯d be able to properly utilize my growing stockpiles.


    Finally there was what I¡¯d learned from Miranda¡¯s body. In hindsight, I could better understand her terror at the prospect of what I might do to her when her usefulness ran out. The poor thing¡¯s corpse was probably worth its weight in mana-forged platinum, and twice that as a live sacrifice. I had no plans to rend her down for parts, of course, but perhaps I would collect a few bits from time to time. The ones that would grow back easily enough. Particularly since I no longer had to worry about her slipping free from her bonds if I was too heavy-handed with my demands.


    Beyond my studies, the primary sink on my time was getting Lea situated, and honestly that was no real hardship. After our¡­heated meeting in Miranda¡¯s room, I¡¯d taken a few days to get everything prepared and then finally went through with relocating her.


    It was a very, very stressful two minute walk between Miranda¡¯s room and my own. I¡¯d initially planned on hiding Lea in a big, heavily-warded box or something, but ultimately decided against subjecting her to such a treatment. As much as she¡¯d said it was fine, I still wanted to minimize any possible comparisons between myself and a certain someone.


    Instead, we¡¯d covered her in so many illusions and nondetection spells that I struggled to sense her even when she was standing next to me and holding my hand. Then we¡¯d simply walked, Miranda and I keeping Lea between us as we pretended to discuss some meaningless drivel in case someone was actively trying to spy on us.


    We made it to my room without running into anyone or anything. I¡¯d half expected to end up face to face with another devil or to get ambushed by a dozen fourth-years, but no. It almost felt anticlimactic.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Once we finally did make it to my room, I carefully dispelled the magic we¡¯d used, nervously watching Lea¡¯s face as she looked around the room.


    Her reaction had been¡­a lot better then I¡¯d feared. Everything I¡¯d hoped for, even. Despite her words, despite her oath, despite everything, I¡¯d still been afraid that it was all a trick. That she¡¯d freak out and panic, or curse me for what I¡¯d done.


    Instead, well¡­


    Lea gazed dispassionately at the two elves. Her gaze lingered on their pointed ears, rune-covered restraints, and the tubes scattered around them. Then she wrinkled her nose as though she¡¯d smelled something rotten¨C¨Cthe expression looking unreasonably cute on her¨C¨Cand looked away. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve got your animals properly under control,¡± she told me, sending a thrill shooting down my spine.


    Lea had promised never to lie to me. Sworn to never lie to me.


    I stepped up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. ¡°Welcome home,¡± I whispered softly. ¡°It''s not much, but I¡¯ll do my best to make sure you''re comfortable.¡±


    Lea¡¯s smile lit up the room. ¡°You¡¯re here, and that¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever needed.¡±


    Lea glanced over at where Nettle Shieldlight was hanging from the wall and my breath hitched. Even naked and without the usual adornments of a noblewoman, there was no way my Lea could fail to recognize who exactly that was. She¡¯d gone to school with Nettle for several years and the girl had been one of her tormentors long before that fateful day where I¡¯d come across her and her friends assaulting Lea.


    Nettle¡¯s naked body was limp and her eyes were closed. There was a gag wedged behind her teeth, keeping her mouth stretched wide open and making it easy to pump food and water down her throat. The gag was enchanted to keep her quiet, make sure she kept breathing, and to protect her neck from any serious damage.


    She was the part of this I was most worried about. I hadn¡¯t kidnapped her for the sake of some sick fantasy the way he had done to Lea, but would she see it that way? Would she be upset about the way I¡¯d chosen to take revenge for her?


    ¡°What about the others?¡± Lea asked, her smile never wavering.


    ¡°Doran¡¯s dead. The others I¡¯ll need to take care of the next time I¡¯m in the country. Things got messy in the last few days before the portal moved and I ran out of time. But don¡¯t worry. They¡¯ll never hurt you again. I won¡¯t let anyone hurt you again.¡±


    Lea nodded slowly. ¡°Is Adonia on that list?¡±


    ¡°Do you want her to be?¡±


    Lea was very still for several long moments. Then she nodded, a movement so small it was noticeable only from how I could feel her hair shifting against my chin.


    ¡°Then yes,¡± I told her simply.


    Lea stared at Nettle for a moment longer. ¡°Good. You didn¡¯t have to do that¡­but I¡¯m glad that you did.¡±


    I considered Lea¡¯s words for a moment. ¡°She¡¯s all yours if you want her,¡± I offered.


    There was another brief silence. ¡°Thanks, Orion. But I think I¡¯m happy to let you deal with her.¡±


    She leaned back against me and turned to look at where Rea was kneeling by the door, her head bowed and her hands folded behind her back. The purple-skinned slave was wearing one of the half-dozen light dresses she¡¯d made for herself¨C¨Cthis one a floral yellow that Miranda had provided the gauzy fabric for¨C¨Cand I¡¯d given her explicit orders and instructions about how to act towards and around Lea. If I wasn¡¯t hiding the cows or Nettle, I certainly wasn¡¯t going to hide my relationship with the girl, but neither did I want to reveal all of Rea¡¯s habits and mannerisms right from the start.


    ¡°So this is the servant you were talking about?¡± Lea asked, seemingly content to let the whole Nettle issue pass.


    I nodded, then realized that Lea couldn¡¯t exactly see me doing so. ¡°Yeah, she is. Lea, this is Rea. One of my classmates and I rescued her when a dragon attacked the city we were visiting and she ended up staying with me. Rea,¡± she looked up at my words, smiling widely at the two of us, ¡°this is Lea, my best and oldest friend. She¡¯s going to be staying with me for the foreseeable future.¡±


    Rea bowed deeply, pressing her forehead against the ground in front of our feet. ¡°This Rea is honored to meet Master Orion¡¯s Lea. This one looks forward to serving her.¡±


    I pursed my lips, anxiously waiting for a response from Lea, but the girl in my arms barely seemed to notice the somewhat unusual way that Rea tended to speak. It had taken a direct order to stop Rea from referring to herself purely as ¡®this slave¡¯, and I¡¯d been unwilling to go further. My clumsy and somewhat heavy-handed work with her had already done enough damage to her mind as it was, and I was loath to cause any more for such an ultimately small and pointless thing.


    Lea sighed softly, but it was a sound of contentment, not displeasure. ¡°Master Orion¡¯s Lea,¡± she repeated. ¡°I like it.¡± Lea knelt down next to Rea, slipping through my arms until they rested lightly around her slender neck. ¡°Hi Rea, it''s nice to meet you. From the sound of it, we¡¯re going to be spending a lot of time together from now on. I think we¡¯re going to get along well.¡±


    Rea sat up, rocking back on her heels and watching Lea intently for several long moments. Their eyes met and then Rea matched Lea¡¯s smile with one of her own. ¡°This one agrees with Master Orion¡¯s Lea.¡±


    Despite my fears, the two ended up getting along like a house on fire. In fact, they got along almost too well. Lea was supposed to be a guest, but every time I came back to my room I found her eagerly helping Rea out with her various chores or practicing her mana control alongside the purple-skinned slave.


    At least that second part was a good thing. Just like I¡¯d ordered her months ago, Rea had been diligently practicing her mana control every single day without fail. I hadn¡¯t really paid her efforts much thought, but seeing her working with Lea had made me finally check up on her progress.


    It was honestly rather impressive, far better than I would have expected. I had a feeling she¡¯d taken the two hours as a minimum and was putting a lot more time than that into it most days. I very much approved. Even if it was done under my express orders, such diligence was commendable. There were ways of ¡®practicing¡¯ mana manipulation without really getting anything out of it, and Rea was making sure to do it properly.


    Perhaps at some point I¡¯d actually start teaching her some spells and guide her through constructing a proper magical foundation. It would require eventually rebuilding her bindings, but by the time it became an issue I was confident I¡¯d be capable of the needed magic.


    If nothing else, Lea certainly would need to have her core reformed and the glaring holes in her theoretical understanding filled in if she ever wanted to move past second circle spells. It wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble to include Rea in those lessons. Particularly since practicing with someone else seemed to be going much better than the practice session I¡¯d walked in on a few days earlier.


    Despite never actually ordering her to do so, she¡¯d cheerfully started obeying the exact same restrictions I¡¯d put on Rea¡¯s magic use. No structured magic without my express permission and several hours of mana control training each day.


    She¡¯d also started copying Rea in other ways, ones that made me slightly uncomfortable but she clearly enjoyed far too much for me to say anything to the contrary. Things like not wearing any of the clothing I¡¯d brought over for her from Miranda¡¯s room and kneeling beside me while I worked with her head in my lap. She even occasionally called herself ¡®Your Lea¡¯, something that I enjoyed more than I wanted to admit.


    And then there was Nettle. The first time Rea took the Shieldlight girl down for cleaning and disciplining, Lea just watched. After that however, she got involved with a moderately concerning amount of enthusiasm. So much so that I eventually had to order her and Rea to be a little bit more careful, because there was only so much time and effort that I was willing to put into healing my research subject and I didn¡¯t want her permanently damaged. For all that she¡¯d said she was happy to let me deal with Nettle, she clearly took vindictive pleasure in making Nettle¡¯s life a living hell.


    Well, as long as she was happy, I was happy. This was probably better than spending her days crying in bed like Miranda had told me she often did in the past.


    The bed I¡¯d prepared for her never got a single use. She¡¯d taken one look at it, then moved her pillow onto my bed and gave me a challenging look. After what had already happened between us, I hadn¡¯t been willing to argue with her on that point. The next day I silently handed her a contraception potion that she downed without even asking what it was. I made a mental note to give her another dose in six months, then let the matter drop.

 Chapter 136

    And then of course there was the other project taking up my time. Getting Lea settled was a pressing issue. Taking proper account of my assets and how to fully take advantage of them was valuable. Progressing in my studies and advancing several promising lines of research was key to my continued success¨C¨Cand survival¨C¨Cin Avalon.


    There were a lot of things I wanted to be doing over the winter break, but figuring out just what exactly I¡¯d done to myself with Professor Williams¡¯ help was absolutely crucial and could not wait. It was recommended to give such magics some time to ¡®settle¡¯ before examining them too closely, but that time had now passed and I was already starting to notice some things that I thought were related. That wasn¡¯t good enough though. I needed to know, not just make educated guesses.


    Unfortunately, circulations were possibly the least intuitive form of magic there was. With a structured spell you could get a pretty good idea of what it did just by looking at the spell matrix. Given enough time, or simply sufficient experience with related magics, you could identify which spell form each section of the spell matrix was drawn from, how the sections were combined, and ultimately understand exactly what the spell did and how it did so.


    That was actually a skill that Avalon intentionally cultivated in its mages and was a fundamental building block of magical combat. If you knew what spell your enemy was going to cast before they could do so, you could counter it far more effectively. For instance, if you knew that your opponent was about to launch a fireball at you, you could erect a far simpler fire-disrupting field instead of a more robust all-purpose shield. We¡¯d discussed the topic in depth in Professor Shrike¡¯s class and had touched upon it in a number of earlier required courses.


    The same idea applied to rituals as well. Ultimately, a ritual was just a structured spell flattened and drawn out on the ground. Sure there was some variability based on the material components, the mindset of the participants, how the ritual was charged, and some other factors, but if you knew the runes that the caster was using you could literally read the ritual like the page of a book.


    Or well, theoretically at least. Rituals could get very complicated very quickly and it was unfeasible for even an archmage specializing in them to actually understand everything about one at a glance. But theoretically, everything was right there and could be analyzed and understood. There were just so many potential factors involved that any genuinely advanced ritual had to be created from scratch, unlike a structured spell that could be cast by anyone with essentially the same effect each time.


    Magic done with raw mana manipulation was even easier to understand, at least in most cases. Mana could be partially converted into other forms of energy¨C¨CI was particularly partial to force myself¨C¨Cand then, well, manipulated. Such feats could be difficult to recreate, but they were rarely inherently complex. Anyone with a sufficiently refined mana sense could get a pretty good idea of what someone was doing at a glance.


    Circulations on the other hand? Not only were they a lot harder to examine in depth, what with being inside of people and magical creatures, but they were also all but impossible to interpret without long hours of study, comparing them against well-understood similar circulations, and educated guesses based on the creature itself.


    To further complicate matters, the circulations that my trait-theft ritual had created inside me weren¡¯t simply torn from one creature and implanted within me, but rather created wholly by the ritual itself based on the alien energies of the outsider I¡¯d sacrificed. Even after several sessions I still only understood the bare basics of what was going on inside of Miranda, and she was several generations removed from any true outsider.


    Fortunately, I had a few advantages to help me out in this endeavor. Firstly, I was trying to examine something inside my own body, not someone else''s. It was much easier to perceive mana within the bounds of your own soul than it was when looking externally. I¡¯d be able to see the mana that made up the circulations far more clearly and with much less effort than while I was examining one of my cows or Miranda.


    Secondly, I already had a pretty good understanding of how mana flowed within my body and how it interacted with my existing circulations. Every body and soul was slightly different, but I knew what had been present very well, which should theoretically make it much easier to detect any particularly subtle areas based on differences from what I remembered.


    Not only that, but I¡¯d gone through all the effort of establishing a shifter¡¯s body and hadn¡¯t yet had the time to update it to reflect the new additions to my magic. That did mean I was currently unable to safely use any sort of shapeshifting, but it gave me a reference to compare against for places where my memory was insufficient.


    Finally, I wasn¡¯t really going in blind. I¡¯d done a lot of research into the type of outsider I¡¯d used in the ritual, had noticed a number of effects in the past few weeks that were likely connected with the new circulations, and had done a lot of research into complex, esoteric circulations over the past few years. Not to mention that I¡¯d been the one to design the ritual, if with considerable help from Professor Williams, and knew what I¡¯d been trying to accomplish.


    Combined, it turned a rather daunting task into something a lot more approachable. I doubted I¡¯d be able to figure everything out¨C¨Caccording to Professor Williams learning the ins and outs of stolen circulations could take months or years even when using simpler sacrifices¨C¨Cbut it was important to start somewhere.


    I had a few specific goals. Firstly, I wanted to identify and analyze which portions of the circulations corresponded to some of the effects I¡¯d noticed so far. Things like the odd social hunches and flashes of emotional understanding I¡¯d started to notice recently while I¡¯d been talking to Clarient, Lea, and Brenda and the automatic adjustments that kept happening to my other circulations.


    Beyond that, I wanted to make sure I knew what parts of my body were now being ¡®taken up¡¯ by the new circulations. I hadn¡¯t run into any issues so far, but it would be potentially catastrophic if I tried to build out or steal a new circulation that in some way interfered with what I¡¯d gotten from the outsider. That shouldn¡¯t be an issue, particularly since it seemed to directly interact with other circulations within my body, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Always.


    Finally, I wanted to learn as much as I could about circulations in general from the experience. Over the past few months I¡¯d progressed my understanding of circulations by leaps and bounds by studying the natural circulations of magical creatures and this was another invaluable step in that direction. The circulations I was capable of crafting manually were like a child¡¯s finger art compared to the legendary masterpieces within the bodies of Miranda and my elves.


    From what I¡¯d seen so far, what I¡¯d gained from the outsider was similarly complex and elegant. This time however, it was inside my own body so I¡¯d be able to look at it much more closely than I could manage when studying circulations in someone else¡¯s body. I wasn¡¯t certain yet, but I hoped that seeing something like this up close would help me refine my technique. I was still absolutely confident that, with sufficient control and knowledge, it was entirely possible to manually recreate the natural gifts of magical creatures, without the need for complex rituals and sacrifice. This was just another step towards that distant goal.


    All that was why a few days after I¡¯d finished getting Lea resettled, Camille, Miranda and I stepped into one of Avalon¡¯s specialized meditation rooms, the meter-thick stone door shutting soundlessly behind us. I looked around curiously. I¡¯d never actually been in one of these. They were very popular and highly limited in number, making them rather difficult and costly to reserve.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t actually me who¡¯d made the reservation this time. Unlike me, Camille tended to do most of her studying either in groups or in the public parts of the library, meaning that she had a lot more of her yearly room quota left. She¡¯d reserved this particular time slot a month in advance for the same reason as I wanted it. Namely, examining the effects of the enhancement ritual she¡¯d used for Professor Williams¡¯ class.


    The room was perfectly spherical and half-filled with a dense, translucent gel that provided a floor for us to stand on. It was slightly springy and my feet sank a quarter of an inch into the substance with every step, but not a drop stuck to my boots and it didn¡¯t really make it harder to move around.


    The walls were made from huge blocks of lazulite that fit together so perfectly they looked like a single solid whole and polished to a mirror sheen. The blue crystal shone from within, evenly illuminating the entire room without a hint of shadow anywhere to be soon. Thousands and thousands of runes had been carved into every inch of the crystal and then filled in with mana-forged gold.


    Just in terms of materials alone, this room would probably have beggared a minor kingdom. A small bar of mana-forged gold was worth twenty pieces, and it had probably taken at least one bar to fill each rune, perhaps more for some of the larger ones. Lazulite was a lot cheaper¨C¨Cit could be transmuted without too much trouble¨C¨Cbut the stone that made up the room had either been found naturally or charged with enough magic to make up for the magically inert nature of transmuted materials. And the gel, well, honestly I had no idea what it was or how much it cost, but I doubted it was cheap.


    And all of it was designed with one purpose in mind. Making it easier for a mage to get in touch with their soul and mana while meditating. I was very excited to see how well it worked.


    ¡°Well, we have six hours,¡± Camille said softly. ¡°I think it''s supposed to work best if you sit right in the middle. I guess we can¨C¨C¡±


    That was what I¡¯d heard as well, and I didn¡¯t really pay attention to what else she was saying. We only had a very limited amount of time before the next person or group¡¯s slot, and I intended to make the most of it. I took a few steps forward and sat down with my legs crossed, my butt and feet sinking slightly into the gel.


    A moment later, Miranda dropped down onto my lap and wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling out bodies together. She went to wrap her arms around my neck, but I stopped her with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Will you be able to stay still?¡± I asked.


    Miranda wiggled her butt, grinding our hips together as she got comfortable, then nodded.


    I raised an eyebrow and she grinned unabashedly. ¡°Fine then.¡± She smiled, wrapped her arms around my neck, and leaned against me, then closed her eyes. With our bond firmly in place ensuring she couldn¡¯t even think about hurting me, her presence was not particularly distracting the way it would have been otherwise, and I did not begrudge her the chance to make maximum use of the room.


    Miranda did not have any new circulations to examine, but she¡¯d recently taken an interest in learning more about how her inherited abilities worked and I was happy to encourage that line of inquiry. This way she¡¯d be able to guide my probes when I went to examine her natural circulations in the future.


    After a moment, Camille settled down beside us, leaning her back against my side. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, allowing my consciousness to sink inward.


    I could almost immediately see the effect the room was having, and it was staggering. I¡¯d put a lot of work into my mana sense over the past few months and my proficiency with it had grown by leaps and bounds, but this was something else. Everything was so clear and crisp, every droplet of mana flowing through my body visible in stark relief.


    I could feel my core like I never had before and my circulations were like lines of ink on white parchment, perfectly visible despite the background glow of the rest of my mana that typically washed them out.


    Just at a glance, I could see issues that I¡¯d never noticed before. The surface of my core was not perfectly smooth like it should have been, but littered in tiny flaws I¡¯d never noticed before. Now they stood out like mountains on an endless field of grass, so obvious I had no idea how I¡¯d managed to miss them.


    My circulations were even worse. Threads that should have been perfectly uniform were bumpy and covered with hundreds of loose strands like bits of wool protruding from poorly spun yarn. Tiny streams of mana flowed between nearby strands, connecting sections that should have been kept completely separate. And the coils¡­I barely wanted to look at how poorly I¡¯d managed to ¡®wrap¡¯ the threads of mana together.


    I¡¯d thought my internal mana control was relatively good. I¡¯d internally scoffed at all the little mistakes Janna kept making, but this was little better! Was this really the best I was capable of?


    I reached for my core and, like I¡¯d done countless times before, smoothly drew forth a single fine strand of mana, ready to be shaped into a fresh circulation. My technique was perfect. Or at least it felt that way. But the result?


    My heart fell. It was¡­terrible. Utterly unacceptable. I hadn¡¯t even done anything with it yet, and I could see so. Many. Problems.


    It was uneven, covered in wisps of loose, chaotic mana, and wasn¡¯t even perfectly straight like it should have been! It didn¡¯t look quite as bad as some of what I was seeing, but those were all problems that would only be exacerbated if I actually tried to work it into a circulation.


    I had half-heartedly hoped that the problem was the odd circulation-modifying effect of the abilities I¡¯d stolen from the outsider, but no. That only came into play once the circulation was finished. This¡­this was all me. My failures and lack of skill.


    I briefly turned my attention to the other mana paths present within my body, the ones I¡¯d taken from the outsider. I¡¯d been worried that I¡¯d have trouble differentiating them from my hand-made circulations, but that was apparently just my arrogance speaking.


    They were perfect. Every strand, every thread, and every node was utterly flawless. Free from the abject incompetence of my own efforts. It was like comparing chicken scratch to the work of a master calligrapher, or a child¡¯s muddy handprint to an emperor¡¯s royal portrait.


    Already knowing what I was going to find, I looked at one of the circulations I was most proud of. It was my own work, an original design made by combining circulations I¡¯d learned from books with the insights I¡¯d gained by probing my cows¡¯ natural magics.


    Awful. Just¡­awful.


    No wonder this place was typically monopolized by sixth and seventh-years with their far larger room quotas. To fix a problem, you had to know it existed in the first place. No doubt there were even more errors I still couldn¡¯t sense, even with the boost from the room. I¡¯d need to look into more ways to refine my internal mana sensing. I¡¯d thought I was good enough at the technique, but clearly I was sorely mistaken.


    With a thought, the mana flowing through my circulations stilled and I felt their effects fall away. My shoulders sagged and I had to shift slightly to compensate for Miranda¡¯s weight. She was rather thin, with a slim waist and long, slender legs, but there was a lot of fat in certain places that really added up.


    Not wanting to look at them for a moment longer than I had to, I began to spin my core, dragging the strands that made up my circulations inward where they quickly merged back into the central mass of mana.


    Soon, only the ritually-gained circulations remained. They, like any other natural circulation, were not connected directly to my core and so had been completely unaffected by my cleanup. Any incidental damage I might have done to them by dragging my other circulation back into my body had been repaired in moments. Such circulations were thankfully self-repairing as long as the damage wasn¡¯t utterly catastrophic


    I momentarily focused on my mana core again and winced. It was so¡­lumpy. Still better than what I¡¯d felt from mage¡¯s outside of Avalon, but I could scarcely believe that I¡¯d missed so many issues for so long.


    I really wanted to fix it. The urge was almost overwhelming. Here was a flaw in the very foundation of my being, and I wanted, needed, to fix it.


    But I couldn¡¯t. Adjusting my core would take hours and hours if I wanted the changes to stick after I¡¯d stopped meditating, and I just didn¡¯t have the time.


    I¡¯d come here with a goal in mind, and that was what I was going to focus on. Nothing else. No matter how much I wanted to.


    Trying to avoid thinking about all the minute flaws I could suddenly see, I swiftly began to rebuild a handful of my circulations¨C¨Cthe most essential, mind-augmenting ones that I¡¯d need to make the most of my time in this room. As soon as I was finished with that, I finally turned to the new additions to my body and soul and mentally cracked my knuckles.


    I had about five and a half hours left. I could work with that.

 Chapter 137

    Like all good things, the quiet half of break eventually came to an abrupt and violent end. Students who¡¯d left for the first half of the break flooded back into Avalon and the blissfully empty public areas of the Academy were once more filled with people. One day I could easily wander the halls without risking running into anyone, and the next I walked into the aftermath of a bloodbath on my way to lunch.


    I¨C¨Cnot being an idiot¨C¨Cimmediately turned around and used a different path, but I got the details from Miranda later. It was even stupider than I had expected. Over the break, two second years had had their engagement broken off by their families after a series of messy assassinations in the late fall had severely changed the balance of power in their home kingdom. One of them had been considerably less upset about this than the other and had made full use of his new bachelorhood to sleep with as many courtesans, lesser nobles, and attractive peasants as he possibly could in the two weeks he¡¯d spent back home.


    That could have been bad enough, but unfortunately, one of those ¡®peasants¡¯ turned out to be his former fiance''s bastard half-sister. Miranda wasn¡¯t completely certain of the circumstances surrounding how exactly that particular clusterfuck had unfolded, but her theory was that the girl had accompanied the main family during a trip to the king¡¯s winter ball and ended up wandering into exactly the wrong tavern.


    The girl in question had not been particularly receptive to the young noble¡¯s advances, but he hadn¡¯t been willing to take no for an answer. By all accounts she had apparently been forced to crawl home after the noble and his men were done with her and had been lucky to survive the experience. She would have died or been permanently crippled without the help of very expensive magical healing.


    Needless to say, when his former fiance found out what had happened later that night, she was none too pleased. However, instead of confronting him outside of Avalon where his family was far more regionally dominant then her own, she¡¯d decided to bide her time.


    Their eventual ¡®fight¡¯, if it could even be called that, had been short, brutal, and had no real winner. She had confronted him in the hallway surrounded by a dozen other students, and less than a minute later there had only been a single survivor. Miranda hadn¡¯t been able to get her hands on a memory of the incident, but apparently it had involved multiple idiots throwing around indiscriminate spells while surrounded by upperclassmen, a half-dozen vials of blasting potion, and one very annoyed sixth year.


    As much as I would have liked for the peace and quiet to last a little longer, I was content with how I¡¯d spent my time. I knew what classes I¡¯d be taking next semester and had already registered for several of them, had greatly advanced my understanding of both my ritually acquired circulations and the field in general, and had finally put to rest one of the things that had been weighing most heavily on my mind these past weeks¨C¨Cwhat to do about Lea Sweetglass, the last remnant of my lost childhood.


    There was still much to do and many things I wanted to investigate, but it was not like I was fully out of time. There were a handful of events coming up that would require some of my attention, but I¡¯d still have more time to pursue personal projects than I did once the next semester began.


    As it was every year, the first event scheduled was the dueling challenge. Two weeks was enough time to recover from most end-of-year injuries or rituals, and, in the words of the Myrddin, there was no point wasting resources by including dead men in other events.


    Students were not technically required to attend the dueling challenge. Practically speaking however, just about everyone did. Not only was it an invaluable opportunity to witness the skill level of your fellow students first-hand, but there was another reason that few people risked skipping it.


    Specifically, there was also no real way to know if you were going to be fighting unless you¡¯d fought the previous semester and were exempted. The challenged were not warned ahead of time so, if you were challenged and not actively present, you would be retrieved.


    Depending on where exactly you were at the time and which faculty member was selected to go fetch you, this could range anywhere from a polite knock on your dorm room door to an irate archmage shattering the wards around your home, murdering your guards and family, and physically dragging you into the arena.


    The latter situation was not necessarily common, but neither was it unheard of. A few centuries back, a rather cowardly but very well connected third-year had discovered ahead of time that he had been challenged by one of his classmates and had tried to run and hide behind as many powerful people as he possibly could. The resulting retrieval had toppled a moderately prosperous kingdom, killed nearly a quarter of a million people, and reminded everyone why even the most ancient elves respected Avalon¡¯s authority over its own.


    The event began early in the morning. More than three-thousand people¨C¨Cthe entire school population and a sizable number of teachers, faculty members, and alumni¨C¨Cpiled into the colossal open-air arena that stood a ten minute walk away from the main Academy building. For the first time in half a year, I felt mostly at ease despite being surrounded by thousands of other mages. The only violence permitted between students on this day were the challenges themselves.


    The stadium was built like a horseshoe and could have easily sat another few thousand people. At the center was a large, rectangular field of red sand surrounded by powerful wards meant to contain any stray spells. Around the field were two-dozen tiered rows of seats arranged in small clusters, each with a far-viewing enchantment to give the people sitting there a clear view no matter how far they were from the heart of the action. The first two rows were reserved for Avalon staff members. Then there was one row each for seventh through fifth years, two each for fourth through second years, and three rows for first years. The rest were available to anyone who didn¡¯t want to sit with their yearmates.


    I had intended to arrive early to claim a group of seats for myself, but apparently half an hour before the event was intended to start wasn¡¯t early enough. Most of the clusters already had one or two of the seats taken, and those that didn¡¯t were at the very edges of the stadium from where it was hard to see things even with the viewing enchantments.


    Miranda, who¡¯d accompanied me, tapped my shoulder and pointed towards where Alan, Ulan, and a girl whose name I didn¡¯t know were sitting together. There were three more seats open in their cluster, which was perfect since Camille wasn¡¯t far behind me and Brenda was probably still asleep or getting ready for the day. She was both not a morning person and exactly the sort of person who wouldn¡¯t care too much about actually coming to the event on time. There were very few people willing to cross the Goodwitch family and doing so in such a public forum was just a fancy way of committing suicide. She¡¯d be here¨C¨CI¡¯d heard she¡¯d arrived back at Avalon last night though I had thankfully managed to avoid her so far¨C¨Cbut not for some time yet. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    I made a beeline towards the trio, Miranda trailing just a step behind me. Today she was wearing a long, flowing gown that fluttered in the breeze and contained more fabric than any three of her usual dresses. Not that it was any more modest than the others. It was made out of some pale pink gossamer fabric that was almost completely transparent under the light of Avalon¡¯s fake sun, her non-existent modesty preserved only by strategically embroidered orchids and butterflies.


    I was almost certain the dress was supposed to be worn with something else underneath it, but then again so were most of the dresses Miranda wore and that had never managed to stop her before. I would call it an impractical thing to wear on a day like today, except it was absolutely blazing with protective enchantments. A gift from an admirer in Oratrice City, according to Miranda. One she was extremely pleased with.


    ¡°Is anyone using these?¡± I asked as I approached, gesturing to the trio of chairs.


    Alan and Ulan turned to face me with perfect synchronicity, identical smiles blooming on their identical faces when they saw me.


    ¡°Orion!¡± Alan exclaimed. ¡°We were just waiting on Camille¨C¨C¡±


    ¡°¨C¨Cbut you two are welcome to join us,¡± Ulan finished.


    ¡°Great. Camille should be here in just a minute. She was finishing up her breakfast when I left.¡± I was about to sit down when I felt one of my circulations stir and a faint feeling nudged against my thoughts. I paused for a moment to parse it, then stepped to the side. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not sure if you guys have met. This is Miranda. We met in one of our first-year classes and she¡¯s been a good friend.¡±


    Then I turned to Miranda, even though I knew for a fact that she knew who Alan and Ulan were. I¡¯d had her investigate them for me, after all. ¡°Miranda, meet Alan and Ulan. They were both in my rituals classes with Camille and the four of us studied together outside of class most weeks.¡±


    Miranda curtsied smoothly, ¡°It''s always a pleasure to meet more of Orion¡¯s friends.¡± She leaned in and conspiratorially whispered, ¡°He can be so secretive sometimes, but I didn¡¯t think he was holding out on introducing me to two such handsome young men.¡±


    Alan laughed while Ulan looked rather flustered, his cheeks reddening visibly and his eyes struggling to focus on Miranda¡¯s face. She was standing directly in front of him and her deep curtsey had given him an even clearer view down the front of her gown.


    The girl who was sitting on Alan¡¯s other side smacked the boy on the shoulder. ¡°You should be nicer to your brother,¡± she chided, but I could tell that there was no heat in her tone of voice. ¡°Now, introduce us.¡±


    Alan snickered one more time, then composed himself and smacked Ulan on the shoulder. He stood up and extended a hand out towards Miranda. ¡°Pleasure to meetcha. I think we¡¯ve seen you around a couple of times, but I don¡¯t know that we¡¯ve ever been formally introduced.¡±


    Miranda placed her hand in his and he leaned down to brush his lips against her knuckles. A frown flickered across my lips, but I quashed it as quickly as it had appeared, another thought nudging against my mind.


    I turned towards the unfamiliar girl and tilted my head towards Alan and Miranda, then rolled my eyes. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re going to be a while,¡± I deadpanned.


    She laughed, but it was a carefully controlled laugh, not a natural one. My expression smoothed out and I extended a hand out towards her. ¡°Orion Hunter,¡± I said simply.


    She regarded me for a moment, then brushed her middle three fingers against my own. ¡°Ayula Yelloweye.¡±


    I waited for a moment, then raised a single eyebrow. ¡°That sounds like false advertising. They look pretty brown to me.¡±


    Her mask cracked and she snorted in amusement. ¡°You know, that was the very first thing that Alan told me when we met during our first year.¡±


    ¡°Well, he seems to still have all of his limbs attached, so I¡¯ll take that as a good sign.¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond immediately, instead looking me up and down with slightly narrowed eyes. I did the same, carefully observing her with more than just my physical senses without being too obvious about it.


    She was a short and slender young woman, with heavily tanned skin and short-cropped brown hair. Her clothing reminded me somewhat of an elf¡¯s, though adjusted to fit her much slighter build. She wore a tight-fitting green tunic embroidered with hundreds of tessellating squares and triangles done in metallic thread along with a matching pair of equally tight shorts that went down to just above her knees. Her bare arms were well muscled, and there were dozens of long, faded scars extending from her wrists to her elbows.


    Magically speaking, I put her somewhere near the middle of our year, though that was more an educated guess than anything else. She was clearly a third-circle mage with a well-formed core, but anything else would require a much more intrusive examination. Stiil, if she was exceptional, Miranda would have told me about her, and she looked too self-confident to be at the bottom of the class.


    ¡°I heard what you did to Kwesta,¡± she said finally. ¡°Very decisive. I can see why Alan and Ulan speak so highly of you.¡± Then she turned away from me and butted into Miranda¡¯s conversation with the twins.


    I ended up taking the middle of the three open seats and Miranda sat to my right, leaving an open space between Ulan and I. Camille arrived not longer after and cheerily took the final spot, immediately starting up a conversation with Ulan about elven runework. My eyes met Ayula¡¯s from across the cluster of seats and I smiled as she sighed dramatically. I had a feeling she wasn¡¯t much of a warder, crafter, or ritualist and that most of their conversation was going right over her head.


    There were only a handful of minutes left before the event was scheduled to start when I noticed three very familiar upperclassmen moving towards us. Clarient, Kwesta, and Cain Marrowood, one of Clarient¡¯s fifth-year allies. They stopped a few meters away and Clarient exchanged a few words with the other two before continuing towards us on her own.


    I glanced past her and my eyes met Kwesta¡¯s. She took a hasty step back, nearly tripping over her own feet as she tried to hide behind Cain¡¯s broad shoulders, and quickly looked away. Clarient glanced behind her and pursed her lips, but continued towards me undeterred.


    I rose to meet her, folding my hands behind my back and squaring my shoulders. ¡°Clarient.¡±


    ¡°Orion.¡± There was a moment of silence. ¡°So?¡±


    I was almost tempted to play dumb, but I didn¡¯t need magic to tell me that would be a bad idea. There was no need to worsen things between us. ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything, but, like I said before, I¡¯ll do my best to keep him in one piece.¡±


    The tension in her shoulders slackened just a little, her golden armor clinking softly as she shifted. She exhaled heavily. ¡°That¡¯s all I can really ask for, huh.¡± She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again. ¡°I appreciate it, Orion.¡± It clearly pained her to say those words. It spoke volumes about how much she valued this exchange that she said them anyway.


    I smiled faintly. ¡°Of course. What¡¯s a few favors between friends?¡± I pitched my voice to carry, easily audible to the second, third, and fourth years seated in the rows around us.


    Her smile was perfect and sharp as a razor¡¯s edge. ¡°Precisely. Good luck, Orion.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Clarient. Enjoy the fights.¡±


    ¡°I certainly plan too.¡±


    Then she spun around and marched away. I very deliberately looked back towards where Kwesta was still hiding behind Cain and firmly refusing to look in my direction. I could feel the eyes on me, dozens of them from all up and down the stands.


    Miranda was right. Anonymity was lost to me. Now, strength would have to be my shield.


    I could make that work.