Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete

"Let all know that he who holds this banner speaks with my absolute authority. Obey their commands as you would obey mine, heed their words as you would heed mine, for they are my Voice, second only to my Blade in my eyes."
- Emperor Theodore Wyrmblood


You frown as you stare at the complicated tangle of White magic in your hands. There's power behind it, more so than a normal Heal, but even you can tell that if you tried to put this particular spell into an injured person, you'd probably make them explode.

Healing, as it turns out, is rather more complicated and delicate than more aggressive Light spells. This makes sense, of course. In fact, you suspect that part of the reason that White manakete taught their children to heal before harm is because if they did it the other way, it'd be more likely the children wouldn't realize they'd made a mistake on their Healing spells and hurt someone they were trying to help on accident.

At first, when you'd started practicing your White magic, you'd figured you'd just make a feedback loop like you did for Elthunder. That had… worked, in a manner of speaking, but you'd quickly realized that it was working too well. There was just too much energy, and it would escape too quickly and too violently when it was used. You'd tried modifying and tinkering with the flow, but no matter what you tried the resulting spell was still more likely to burn than cure. The scroll talked about the creation of a "capped" feedback loop, but it was uncharacteristically unclear on how exactly to do that.

Sighing, you unbind the magic and let its energy flow harmlessly into the air around you; looks like you'll have to go find an expert. You'd suspected you'd have to: you'd never have been able to learn Heal as quickly as you did if you hadn't been able to follow Healer Clara around and watch her. You'd kind of hoped that you'd be able to figure Mend out relatively quickly on your own, since you'd made the instinctive leap with Arcthunder, but you suppose that wasn't a realistic hope. After all, you're a Yellow manakete; lightning is in your blood, while light and healing are learned skills. You could figure it out on your own in time, of course, but since you're here at the Marble Hall and you have the chance to watch experts work, there's no reason not to.

Rolling your shoulders, you spread your wings and glide down from the roof of the White tower, where you'd been sitting. Not only had it been nice to sit in the sun, but the aura of White magic emanating from the tower had seemed helpful.

A few mages look at you oddly as you land outside the central walls, pausing briefly to put your cloak back on. At some point, you'll have to get it modified so you can fly while wearing it, but right now you have more important things to do. Smiling and nodding at some of the nearest mages, you begin making your way towards the infirmary; if there's any place where you'll be able to watch healers at work, it'll be there.

As you walk, you take a moment to glance towards where the Regent's soldiers are still camped. It's a bit hard to see from your angle, but past the Red library you can still see their tents. It looks like, even on their third day in the area, they're still in no hurry to leave. You haven't heard anything about what the Archmage plans to do about them, or about getting you home. You frown; if they're still there tomorrow, you'll have to go and figure out what the plan is. If for no other reason than that Artemis's father will want to know.

Temporarily pushing the thought from your mind, you look up at the infirmary building for the Marble Hall. You haven't been in it yet, but you'd passed it as you were going to the library. It was a particularly beautiful building, made from the same white marble as the original Hall. Flying above the door is a fancy flag depicting a golden heart with sunbeams coming from it; some sort of healer's symbol if you're remembering Apollo's description correctly. Adjusting your cloak, you trot up the stairs and into the building.

Just as you enter, you nearly get run over by a pair of older mages, carrying bundles of vulneraries and staves. Thankfully, you're able to dart out of their way in time. "Mistress Levinheart, my apologies," the leader says, adjusting her load to be able to look at you better. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine, thank you," you say. "What's going on?"

The woman sighs. "We're restocking the defensive towers," she says sadly. "It's been centuries since they were needed, so a lot of the supplies had either gone bad or there simply aren't enough of them, so Mistress Softshimmer is having us restock them. Spirits, I never thought I'd see the day those old relics were dusted off..."

The other mage snorts. "Nothing's going to come of it," he grumbles. "Even if the soldiers are up to something nefarious, and I'm not convinced they are, they'd never be stupid enough to invade with such paltry numbers. Not when they're at a place where just about everyone over the age of fourteen has at least some combat ability."

You frown. "They are up to something!" you say. "I was talking with Archmage Stormspeaker when they arrived, and he was super mad-"

"After you had gotten through poisoning the well, dragon," the man says darkly.

As you recoil, the first woman glares at her counterpart. "That was uncalled for!" she snaps. "Levinheart's a member of the Hall, you were there yesterday! You were even happy for her yesterday!"

The man runs his eyes scathingly over you. "That was before I overheard what she was," he says coldly. "She's no true member of this Hall. At best, she's a charity case. More likely, she's an experiment." Without another word, he stalks down the stairs and towards the towers at the bottom of the hill.

Swallowing, you look up at the woman, who's staring after her counterpart with a gob smacked expression. "What the…" she says. "I mean, I knew… but I didn't think…" Blinking a few times, she looks at you with another sad expression. "I am so, so sorry about that…" she says. You simply nod mutely, and a moment later she hurries after her fellow.

As you watch them go, you faintly hear her hissing at him. "What in spirit's name were you doing?!" she snarls. "She's just a child!"

"A child of Fell monsters," the man's voice drifts up. "I don't know what Stormspeaker's playing at, letting that thing wear a cloak."

A sound akin to an angry cat emanates from the woman, but all you can do is stare after them. With everything that had happened, with all the people who'd been nice and supportive, you'd almost forgotten that your people were hated and feared by the majority of the Empire. Looking in the door, you see a few people standing in the entryway. Most are talking to each other, but a few are glancing over at you. Had they heard? What did they think? Would they agree that he'd been cruel, or would they remember the old stories and think that he had a point? How many mages, when they learned what you are, would be like Blitzbolt and that mage and make their anger and hatred clear? How many wouldn't be as obvious, just silently judging your every move and action?

Which was worse?

As you try to get your racing thoughts under control, a soft cough comes from behind you. "Can I help you, Mistress Levinheart?" a man in a white cloak asks.

Shaking yourself out of your mind, you look up at him. "Yes, sorry," you say. "I'm working on my healing, and I was hoping I'd be able to watch someone using Mend."

The man blinks. "Fortunately, I don't think there's anyone here right now who needs that serious a spell to recover," he says. "You'd probably be better off visiting one of the classes that's training students in the use of that staff."

You nod, you suppose that makes sense, but… "That won't disrupt the teacher?" you ask. "I don't want to cause any problems."

"It shouldn't be a problem," the mage says. "Who would be in that part of the curriculum…" He pauses for a moment, thinking. "I think that Master Glareshine is working with Mend in his Advanced Healing class right now," His eyes widen. "Yes, yes they are! I remember because he was complaining about how the staff stock was being raided to make sure there was enough at the defensive towers in case something happened. In fact…" He turns and hurries to a cabinet, pulling out a few staves. "I was just about to take a few more over to Whitewater Hall. I can show you the way and introduce you."

You smile. "That'd be great, thanks," you say. "Can I help?"

He smiles slightly. "I don't think that'll be necessary," he says. "Normally, I'd get an apprentice to do this sort of thing, but as you can imagine we're a bit short-handed with all the precautionary preparations, but I can still manage." Putting the staves into a long bag, he hefts them over his shoulder and begins towards the door.

"Alright," you say, pushing the door open and holding it for him with all your strength. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"

The man nods thankfully to you as he leaves, letting you fall into step next to him. "Master Starflight," he says. "And I'm sure you've heard this before, but congratulations on becoming a mage of the Hall."

"Thank you," you say.

Master Starflight seems to consider for a long moment before speaking slowly. "Perhaps it is impolite to ask, but I heard Master Sunbeam mentioning that you were… a dragon?"

Forcing back a sigh, you nod. "Manakete," you say. "That's my people's term for ourselves."

Several emotions flitter across Master Starflight's face, but he smooths them out and studies you. "I see," he says, his tone muted. "I had merely thought he was letting his annoyance with all this… unpleasantness get the better of him. I will admit, with what happened a thousand years ago, I'm surprised you would be willing to come here."

"It's the best place to go to be able to help my friends," you say. "And I've met a lot of nice people here too." You've also met some not-so-nice people, but you leave that part off.

"And these friends… they know what you are?"

You nod. "Of course," you say. "Why wouldn't they?"

Master Starflight frowns. "I had simply thought that you would be concerned that there would be people who would fear you because of your… nature."

"I know there are, I've met some of them, but there are also people who see me for me, not just my manaketeness."

"I see," Master Starflight says.

The pair of you continue to walk in silence. As you look around, perhaps it's just your self-consciousness, or perhaps news of your true nature is starting to spread, but you get the feeling a lot more people are looking at you as you pass. You tip your head up as proudly as you can, trying not to let your crawling skin show. Thankfully, aside from the looks, nothing happens before you reach Whitewater Hall.

As you watch Master Starflight hand the staves over, the sound of a quiet argument draws your attention to a group of older students (a little older than Artemis, at least). They have their heads together, but with your enhanced hearing you're pretty sure you hear your mage-name. Curious, you quietly scoot closer, perking your ears.

"-still think that those soldiers are here for the dragon," one of the girls says.

"You're crazy, Mary!" one of the boys hisses. "I got basically locked out of my own bloody dorm because a bunch of soldiers were asking for students I know for a fact are Kingdom noble brats, not extinct creatures that apparently can look like humans." He snorts. "I'm still convinced she's actually an Ascendant; someone made her, and Stormspeaker was nice enough not to punish her for existing but still wanted to keep an eye on her, and some idiot started the dragon rumor for a laugh."

"I know what I heard!" Mary snaps back. "Mistress Dawnstone's my mentor on my public service goals, so I visit her a lot, and yesterday she was talking to a few of her Revisionist friends about the girl, and they called her a… something, that apparently means dragon in dragon-language."

"Manakete," another girl says quietly. When the others look at her, she shrugs. "I got drafted to help enforce curfew for my dorm, so I had to drag a few of the younger girls back from where they were holed up in the library, looking up dragons. They talked my ear off the whole way back; I'm pretty sure that term's permanently burned into my brain now."

Sighing, you take a few steps closer. One of the students notices, and he quickly clears his throat, and the others stop talking. "You know, if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them," you say. "For example, in our heart-forms, manakete still have very good hearing."

Mary gives you an innocent look. "What do you mean, Mistress?" she asks as if she and the others hadn't just been talking about you behind your back.

You blink. Did she… "Look, I'm not mad," you say. "I just know that there's a lot of misinformation about my people, and part of the reason I came here was to start clearing some of that up." You look at the boy. "I'm not an Ascendant. I was born how I am, no magical changing necessary." You look to Mary. "The Regent's people are here for the Kingdom students, and Archmage Stormspeaker is not happy about it." Looking around, you spot a chair at a nearby table. Hurrying over, you grab it and drag it closer with some effort. "So," you say when you're perched just outside the circle. "Is there anything you want to know?"

The students stare at you, seemingly confused. Thankfully, after a moment, one of the boys who hasn't spoken yet clears his throat. "So, did you ever fight the Emperor during the Fell War?"

Well, you had asked for questions… "No," you say. "Before I woke up a month or two ago, I'd never fought anyone. I'd never even heard that there was a war between manakete and humans; Mother always got along peaceable with the humans near our home."

"Really?" Mary says, raising an eyebrow delicately even as ice creeps into her voice. "I'm sure the people of Old Ladinum would have been fascinated to hear that while they were all being burned alive."

Winces and hisses fill the circle, but you keep your calm and meet her eyes. "I don't know everything that happened back then," you say, channeling steady determination into your voice. "And nor do I claim to. However, I do know that things were more complicated than the one side of history that has survived. For example, I know that there were some manakete that lived with and fought to protect humans."

Before anyone else can say anything, a bell sounds from the top of the hill, followed quickly by a gong from within the building. "Class's starting!" one boy says very quickly. "Well, nice talking to you Mistress Levinheart gotta go to Master Glareshine have a good day!"

As the students get up, grabbing small books and putting them into various pockets and knapsacks, you push your chair back to its spot. "Can you show me the way?" you ask. "I'm working to learn Mend, and Master Starflight said that's what you're learning right now, and it's really helpful to get to watch people do something."

"Wait, you can cast light magic?" someone asks as you follow them deeper into the learning hall. "I thought you're a lightning mage?"

"I am," you say. "That's my natural magic, but I can learn all the different colors. I'm working on my White magic right now; being able to heal people is really nice."

"I guess…" he says, slowing his longer steps to keep pace with you. "My mom's a healer in Wyrmrise, and I think she'd disown me if I didn't get at least some skill in it, but honestly I kind of prefer combat magic." You nod; you still don't like fighting, but being able to protect yourself and those around you is nice. "I'm Nathan, by the way. Nice to meet you, Mistress Levinheart."

You smile; it's nice that someone's acting relatively friendly unprompted. "It's nice to meet you too, Nathan," you say. "You can just call me Ryza, if you want."

Nathan raises an eyebrow. "No offense, but it's a little odd seeing a full mage-cloak on a little kid," he says. "I mean, I trust Archmage Stormspeaker that he knows what he's doing, but it's still a little odd."

You grimace, but honestly you can't blame him. For all that you know you're the oldest person in any room you're in, you still feel young in your own mind. Still, while you never asked for this situation, you're going to do the best you can with it anyways. "Thanks for trusting him, and me," you say as he leads you into the lecture room.

There's about twenty students in the room; including everyone from the group you'd been talking to earlier. You guess it makes sense that the room is mostly empty; this is apparently an advanced class, but it still feels a bit weird to be in here rather than outside somewhere. "You should probably talk to Master Glareshine, let him know why you're here," Nathan says, nodding to the older white-cloaked man laying out the line of staves at the front of the room.

"Okay, thanks Nathan," you say, trotting down the aisle between the chairs to Master Glareshine. He looks up, raising an eyebrow.

"Mistress Levinheart," he says dryly. "Is there something you need?"

"Hi, Master Glareshine," you say. "I was actually hoping I could sit and learn about Mend a bit; I'm working on my healing and it's really helpful to watch an expert working."

The man blinks before a small smile crosses his face. "I see," he says. "Well, I won't say no to there being more healers in the world. I assume you've mastered the Heal spell?" You nod, quickly weaving the magic in your hand to show him. "Impressive…" he murmured, studying your casting. "I had heard that you passed your practical exam without any casting focus, but to see someone build a full spell from scratch…" He shakes his head. "Well, you are of course welcome to watch the lesson."

"Thank you," you say, heading over to a chair a little further back than the rest of the class: this is their lesson; they need most of the focus. You're just observing.

A few of the students give you odd looks, but thankfully Master Glareshine quickly brings their focus back to him. First, the class goes over a reading they'd done since last class, about some of the complications that can arise when attempting to heal someone. Some of them you remember from your study session: particularly deep wounds, objects being lodged in the injury, damage to skeletal structures, that sort of thing. However, apparently certain diseases, such as the Flame Fever Lacroix had told you about, could also disrupt healing spells. Even particularly bad cases of normal illnesses could make things harder, forcing a healer to carefully control and target their spell to avoid it getting confused and trying to do a different spell's job.

Finally, once Master Glareshine was satisfied that his pupils had done their pre-reading, he picked up one of the Mend staves. "Now that we're up to snuff on the typical Healing staff, we move onto its more powerful sibling. What are some of the differences you can see?"

You lean forwards, squinting slightly. The runes carved along the shaft are denser and seem to glitter more. The head's also bigger, and its crystalline structure shimmers oddly…

"It's thicker," someone says.

"True, though what does that allow for?" Master Glareshine asks. The students frown thoughtfully for a moment before someone ventures that it allows for better runes. "Exactly; which means more energy can be generated. What else?"

After another few seconds of thought, Mary speaks up. "The crystal… doesn't it have runes in it too? I see the dragonstone dust." You wince slightly; that must be the shimmer you'd noticed, but you don't speak.

The older mage nods. "Very good, Mary," he says. "If you'll recall, one of the key limitations of the Heal staff is the fact that, if too much healing energy is put into an injured body at once, the body will become hyperactive and potentially cause damage to itself. If one were to simply scale up the runes on a typical Heal staff, that limit would be swiftly reached." He glances at you briefly. "Thus, the designers of the Mend staff used a runic structure they'd discovered in a pre-Fell ruin to create runes that would store the healing energy before releasing it through multiple streams, allowing for greater healing while not overloading any one part of the recipient's body. Observe."

As Master Glareshine channels his magic through the Mend staff, you carefully watch the magical interplay. You notice the runes along the shaft seem to be the relatively standard feedback loop interwoven with the healing spell you'd seen on the original Heal staff. However, the runes that Mary had pointed out in the crystal are much more complex. 'That must be the cap that the scroll mentioned!' you think, leaning forward eagerly. 'Or at least the human equivalent!' As the mage unleashes the healing energies, you watch as they come out not as a single, focused beam or blast of magic, but as a spread of multiple flows, just as Master Glareshine had described.

While he starts pointing out a few other features, you quickly retreat into your own mind to think. Could you just split the streams yourself? Possible, with enough skill, focus and practice, but you wouldn't want to be doing it in a stressful situation. No, best to just go with the cap method that was mentioned in the scroll and you assume is happening here: make a structure that will regulate the flows automatically so you don't accidently combine them in the midst of casting.

"Alright, now that you know the theory and have seen it in practice, you get to work with the staves yourselves," Master Glareshine says. "Unfortunately, due to current events, we don't have enough staves for everyone to practice, so split up into trios, send someone to grab a staff, and make sure everyone gets a chance to use it." He gestures behind him. "Our subjects are in their usual cages; send someone from your group to grab them."

As the students shuffle around, you look for Nathan. He's gotten together with Mary as well as a student you don't think was in the conversation before class. You grimace, but head towards them anyways. Better to be with someone who's at least somewhat friendly; hopefully he can keep Mary from saying anything too nasty.

"Hi," you say as you reach them, wincing as you see a large cage with multiple rats laying in it. All seem to be unconscious and are wrapped in bandages that leak some blood. "Do you mind if I watch?"

Nathan quickly nods. "Sure," he says. "So, the ruins Master Glareshine mentioned, anything to do with you?"

You shake your head, ignoring the confused look the new boy gives Nathan. "No," you say. "So, are the rats what you practice on?

"Yep," Nathan says. "Don't worry, they get put to sleep before they get a cut, and the cuts are never life-threatening."

You suppose it kind of makes sense that students would need to be able to see if their work is good enough, and it wouldn't be fair to ask people to submit their real injuries to testing, but still… you shake your head as Mary picks up the staff and starts channeling her magic.

You have to admit; she seems pretty good at healing. The flow of energy is smooth and controlled, allowing you to watch carefully as she casts the spell a few times into the ground before gesturing for her partners to get one of the rats out. Once it's isolated, she points the staff at it with purpose and casts Mend in earnest.

As the healing energy flows out, you watch the runes around the crystal carefully. Just as explained, the raw torrent energy is first contained in the crystal before being released through its multiple streams, sufficing the whole rat's body in magic rather than just a focused point. A bit wasteful on a creature so small, but for an injured person, especially one with a large, dangerous wound… yes, spreading the healing would allow for more power to do more work with less risk. Already, you're working to figure how you'd make an on-the-fly version of that structure: you probably won't need the storage component, since you can more accurately gauge how much power you put in, so you just need to put in the splits… White magic begins to flicker around your palms as you start testing designs…

The rest of the class passes with students alternating between practicing themselves and giving advice to their teammates. Most students don't do as well as Mary; occasionally losing control of the different flows and sending them in different directions, ruining the benefits of multiple streams on a single injured creature. Thankfully, the design of the Mend staff stops anyone or anything from getting hurt, but it gives you some good feedback on what not to do.

As you build your own version of Mend, you notice Master Glareshine watching you carefully in between corrections of his students. Others will glance over to look every now and then, but you don't get the feeling they really recognize what you're doing, other than simply making magic yourself. Carefully ignoring them, you refocus on your work, you're almost there…

"Alright, that's enough, everyone," Master Glareshine says, glancing at one of the sand-based timekeepers he'd turned over at some point. "Put your rats back in their cages and stack your staves on the table. For next class, find a text describing the theory of the design of the Mend staff and be ready to discuss potential flaws and how to work around them." The class murmurs their agreement, more focused on packing up.

"Thanks for letting me watch," you say to the others.

Nathan shrugs. "You're welcome," he says. "So, what were you doing?"

"I was trying to make my own version of the magic splitting the healing energy," you say, weaving your current version and showing it to him. "It's not perfect; I'll have to work on it some more, but it functions. I can put as much energy as I want in, and it won't hurt anyone!"

The boy stares at the web of White magic in your palms. "Voidspit…" he mutters. "You can just… do that? Make new spells?"

You shake your head. "Not really? I mean, in theory I can, but right now I'm just learning spells that already exist. I just don't use a focus to do most of the work, so I have to learn how to do it myself." Mary sniffs for some reason as she walks away. Frowning, you dismiss your magic and look back up at Nathan. "What's her problem?"

He sighs. "She's from the Ladinum; one of the old, big cities that was destroyed during the Fell War. To this day, the ruins of the old city are still being cleared and reclaimed; so they're very anti-dragon." You grimace; you wish you knew what your ancient counterparts had been thinking! There had to be a reason for what they'd done, but Mother's sake you can't think of what it might be!

Meanwhile, Nathan was still talking. "Well… it was nice meeting you, Mistress Levinheart. Ryza. Good luck on making new spells and everything."

"Thanks, Nathan."

As your new… friend? Acquaintance? Person who doesn't hate you just for being you? As he leaves, talking to the other boy who seems to be trying to figure out what was going on, Master Glareshine makes his way over to you. "Did you find what you need, Mistress Levinheart?" he asks, studying the weave of magic still in your hands.

"I think so, yes," you say. "At least, now I can go back to my scrolls and get a better idea of what they were talking about, which will let me make this more stable and efficient so I can use it when I really need it. Thanks for letting me observe."

"As I said, there's always a need for more healers in the world," Master Glareshine says. "Now, I'm afraid I don't have any further Advanced Healing classes until next week, though you are of course welcome to return then."

You shake your head. "Thank you, but I'm probably going to be going home soon," you say.

"I see," he says. "Well, be careful, I've heard of a few people who've left the hall since the soldiers arrived, and while none of them had any problems they were stopped just over the border."

'Probably looking for any Kingdom students,' you think grimly. "Thanks for the warning," you say. "I'll be careful."

---

With Master Glareshine's warning in mind, you spend the next day keeping an eye on the Imperial soldiers' movements as you practice your Mend spell. Thankfully, since the Marble Hall is on the top of a hill, you just have to find a high point to be able to keep an eye on the surrounding area, allowing you to split your focus without having to worry about moving around. Once again, the roof of the White tower seems like a good place.

During your practice, you finally figure out why the "capped feedback loop" wasn't described clearly in the White section of Practical Magic: it's because it's from the Red section! You guess that makes sense since Red magic needs the most control to prevent it from doing something inadvertently harmful, but really it's just good to know that the scroll hadn't failed you, you just hadn't done enough background reading.

As you re-weave the cap for your Mend spell, you watch as a group of Imperial riders make their way around the border of the Hall. They've been doing that every now and again all day, though you're pretty sure that if someone wanted to sneak out they could do so pretty easily. After all, with only about twenty riders, and most of them staying near their camp along the road into the Hall, they don't have enough people to make a full encirclement. In fact… you squint: yep that's a trio of mages quietly riding out of the Hall's zone through the farming area, and there's no Imperial cavaliers anywhere nearby so they're not stopped. You grimace; you hope those people have a plan for what to do if they run into one of the moving armies deeper in the Empire.

Sighing, you test the cap; putting more and more energy through it with your feedback until it shatters, flashing brightly. You're getting better, the spell's getting more and more stable every time you make it, but it's not perfect yet. Remaking it, you study the result. If you readjust that flow-point a little to the relative left, you could fit in another one, which would make it safer and more stable. Reworking it, you test it again, satisfied with the increase of strain the spell can take. You'll probably need a few days, maybe a week or two, of practice before you can truly claim to be able to do it in a pinch, but you'll get there.

"You seem hard at work."

Squeaking, you realize that, in your concentration, you'd missed the flair of Green magic from behind you. Turning, you see Sunny balanced precariously on the roof, using her emerald-studded staff to balance. "Mistress Highwind," you say. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, several mages have pointed out that you're up here," Sunny says, carefully sitting down. "Those that don't know about your nature are worried that you're a young student who'll fall, while those who do know are either still worried that you'll fall or are worried that you're spying on us for nefarious reasons.

Shrugging, you spread your wings. "I'm glad people are worried about me," you say. "But you don't have to. I've been around high places most of my life."

"I know, Ryza," Sunny says. "But still, you're welcome in the top floor observatory of the Green tower. You probably could use the White tower's one as well, but Mistress Softshimmer's been very busy down in Quarry these past few days, so she's not around to offer. It's a little more comfortable, and you're not in the sun the whole time, and nobody'll have to be concerned."

Smiling, you lay back. "I actually like the sun," you say. "I know, that's more of a White manakete thing, but something about growing up underground… some of my best memories are of outside."

Sunny studies you. "If that's your wish, Ryza, then you're free to stay up here," she says. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. From what I've heard, not everyone has been… as accepting of you as I'm sure you were hoping."

"I guess," you say. "But… well, nobody's done anything. They've just…"

"Made you feel unwelcome when they could," Sunny finishes. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's not your fault," you say. "And I've made progress. There are people who're listening, it'll just take time, and time is something I've-" you stop, peering into the distance. "Wait a minute… is it just me, or are there a lot more of them now?"

Sunny shades her eyes to look at the Imperial soldiers' camp. The more you look… yea, there's a lot more than twenty of them now! You can see dozens of riders, including less-armored ones that you're pretty sure have bows. More worryingly, groups of them are starting to spread out into squads of six or seven, scattering away from the camp to survey the surrounding area. Turning, you look towards where the group of traveling mages had left earlier… you don't see any sign of them, so hopefully they're far enough away that they won't get spotted.

"It seems the Regent has decided to double down," Sunny says worriedly. "I had hoped…" she sighs. "Well, if reinforcements have arrived, surely the Voice will come by with the Regent's demands. I'll go let Archmage Stormspeaker know." Standing, she taps her staff, surrounding herself with Green magic for a moment before vanishing. Looking around, you spot her reappear near the front door to the main Hall building and swiftly enter.

Frowning, you turn to look back towards the Imperial camp. A moment later, you spot a single rider, the one with more ornate armor and carrying the big flag, leaving the tents and riding towards the Hall. Acting on a whim, you drop off the roof, spreading your wings to slow your fall enough to not hurt yourself. Once you're on the ground, you hurry towards the stable area.

If Archmage Stormspeaker does the same thing as he did last time the Regent's man came to talk, they'll meet there, and you're curious as to what they'll have to say to each other.

As you make your way down the path, you watch as people start to take notice of the change. Mages stop and point, older ones starting to hustle younger students further up the hill. Most worryingly, groups of grim-faced mages, all holding combat tomes, start making their way down towards the towers around the base of the hill.

It seems it's not impossible that this will come to a battle. You don't have your tablets on hand, but your dragonstone crackles in your pocket: if the Regent wants to come and make trouble here, you'll be sure to make him and his goons regret it!

You reach the stable just as the knight arrives. Ignoring the people watching him warily from the stable building, he swings himself off his horse, patting it on the neck gently as he moves to stand in front of it. Removing his helmet, you're slightly surprised to see a mop of fluffy blond hair and honestly soft-looking blue eyes. Planting his banner into the ground, he stands silently, looking around. His eyes pause for an instant on you, but you see no flash of recognition. Instead, he simply looks up towards the main hall building, seemingly content to wait.

A tense minute passes before Archmage Stormspeaker appears from his own teleport, Mjolnir once again filling the air with Yellow power. Silently, he stalks forwards to stand a few arms-lengths from the flag-wielding knight, folding his arms.

The two men stare at each other for a long moment before the knight speaks. "Archmage Stormspeaker," he says, inclining his head. "I come in the name of Emperor Thomas and his Regent. I bear his Writ, carry his Banner, and speak with his Voice. Will you listen?"

Archmage Stormspeaker remains silent for a second longer before nodding. "I will listen, Voice," he says coolly. "And I certainly hope that what I hear includes an apology for the grievous threat to the Compact that was issued when last you were here."

The Voice's eyes narrow slightly, but he sighs. "Then I am sorry to say that you will be disappointed, Lord Archmage," he says quietly, pulling a letter from a pouch on his belt and holding it out. "The Lord Regent bids me give this to you, and it will have more details, but he requests that you come to Wyrmrise, so that the two of you may speak in person." The Archmage takes the letter, but doesn't speak. After a moment, the Voice continues. "Despite what you might believe, his Excellency has the utmost respect for you and for the services that the Marble Hall provides. He hopes that you and he might come to understand each other better, so that there will be no discord in the Empire in these trying times."

Archmage Stormspeaker once again remains silent for a few long seconds before finally speaking in an icy voice. "I received a similar letter a few days before your arrival," he says. "One that, had a situation not arisen that required my personal attention here, would have conveniently seen me absent from the Hall, leaving it in the hands of those who might have felt… pressured, to go along with your master's demands, without the full authority of Archmage to stand against your title of Voice of the Emperor. You will forgive me, I'm sure, for finding this newest invitation a touch suspicious." His head shifts to look past the knight. "Especially as you have been reinforced."

Slowly, the knight drives the banner deeper into the ground before taking his hand off of it, folding it in front of him. "I can assure you, Lord Archmage, that there are no plans or orders to enter the Hall's domain without your consent," he says quietly. "Those men are simply… they are here to monitor and control the movements of anyone connected with Imperial regions in open rebellion. Any legitimate Marble Hall business and travel will not be interfered with; there is no need for subterfuge or distraction, such as the messengers you sent out earlier today." He reaches out and grips the banner again.

"I see," the Archmage says slowly. "And if I should leave this Hall and travel to Wyrmrise, what guarantees do I have for my own safety? After all, I rejected a direct command from the Regent."

"You did so under the honest belief that you were acting legally and morally," the Voice says soothingly. "The Regent is not an unreasonable man: he understands that your loyalty is to the Hall and its traditions. He simply wishes to meet with you, so that you both, as rational men who wish to do the best for the Empire and humanity, might come to an understanding. The lines of Wyrmblood and Thundercrier have always been most successful when acting in concert."

"Hmmm…" Archmage Stormspeaker says. "I will consider your words, Voice. However, I will once again state that any intrusion upon the lands of the Marble Hall, any attempt to harass or harm any student or mage, will be met with all necessary resistance. This is our home; sworn to Archmage Thundercrier by Emperor Theodore the First himself. We will not surrender it so easily."

The knight sighs. "I understand your concerns, Lord Archmage," he says quietly, releasing the shaft of his banner again. "And I say again, there are no plans or orders to attempt any intrusion." He starts to grab the banner again, only to pause and slowly release it again. "Lord Archmage… the Empire must stand together, you know that, right?" he says in a quiet, tired voice. "I have seen the border regions, and I have seen the heartland, and the difference between them is stark. Bandits, plague, monsters, demi-humans… those threats do not exist where the Empire is strong. Regent Justinian wishes to ensure the safety and security of all humans, just as the First Emperor did. Only in unity is there safety."

Archmage Stormspeaker is silent for several long seconds, and this time you don't get the feeling that it's a deliberate sign of his displeasure. However, after those seconds, he answers firmly. "I will think on the Regent's invitation," he says. "Have you anything more to say as Voice of the Emperor?"

Slowly, the man grabs the banner again. "Only that His Majesty and his Regent hope to see you soon, Archmage Stormspeaker," he says formally. "Good day." With that, he swings himself back into the saddle of his horse, turns it around, and canters away in a clatter of metal armor.

The Archmage stands stock-still, watching him until he is well on his way. Then, he turns and walks back to the path. "Mistress Levinheart, with me," he says shortly as he passes you.

Hurrying after him, you look up. "Sorry," you say. "I was just curious-"

"I have no issue with your being there," he says. "However, with events moving as they are, it is now imperative that we get you on your way as soon as possible. It is only a matter of time before the Regent learns of your nature and your presence, and I will admit to having my doubts that there are no plans for him to try and dig his fingers into the Hall. Best not to give him an even more tempting target."

You grimace, that certainly doesn't sound good. "So you know how you're going to get me out of here?" you ask.

"I had planned to simply send you out in a carriage, skirting the edge of the Regent's men. However, now that there are more of them and they're functionally besieging us, that is no longer a safe option." He smiles grimly. "Thankfully, yes, I do have a plan to get you out of the Hall. Come, it's time I showed you one of the greatest works of Archmage Thundercrier."

Fascinated, you follow the Archmage back up the hill. When you enter the pentagonal walls at the top, rather than lead you to the central building, Archmage Stormspeaker leads you towards the Wind tower. Nobody stops you as you enter, nor as he leads you through a locked door and down a long, spiral set of stairs, leading out into a large, open room.

"Welcome to the second of the Great Works, and sadly the last to be completed," Archmage Stormspeaker says. "This is the Teleportarium. As I'm sure you know, teleportation magic is complex and energy-intensive: even the strongest and most talented users of Rescue, Warp or Rewarp can only go for hundreds of meters." He gestures around. "With these enhancement runes, however, a skilled mage can send a single person for many kilometers with far greater precision."

"Wow…" you whisper, looking around. The room is circular, and as you look on the floor you realize it's a detailed map of the area around the Marble Hall, which is located in the center of the room. The walls are covered in runes, and you can feel the chill of Green magic everywhere. So much so that… "There's a spirit here, isn't there? A powerful one?"

Archmage Stormspeaker smiles. "There is indeed," he says. "Only a moderate spirit, lesser than the major spirit that inhabits the Recharging Room beneath the Lightning Tower, but still a powerful boon." He pulls a letter out of his pocket and holds it out to you. "As I said when the Voice and his men first arrived, I ask that you deliver this letter to Archduke Cartese. I also ask that, should you find out any information about the informant in the Regent's inner circle, you return here immediately to tell us. Go through the Whitewing lands; I will order a carriage to wait for you at Peace Point."

Quickly looking at the map beneath you, you find the location he'd mentioned: a small mountain just off the Wall of Stone and Snow. "Alright, I will," you say. "Are… are you going to go to Wyrmrise? To talk to the Regent?"

"Do not worry yourself about that," the Archmage says. "Your focus should be on getting back to the Southern Kingdoms, you will be safest there, and there you can do the most good." He gestures down to the map again.


[] I will be teleporting you to Peace Point. From there, it will be easy for you to get into Whitewing territory, and they will ferry you back to Agrithe. There is a line of credit for the Hall to pay for your travel; simply deliver this note to the Mercenary Center in Syrene; they'll send you on your way. I do not foresee any dangers along this path.

[] Unfortunately, it's too risky to go south: even if it would be quicker. I have heard whispers that the duke of the Meridiem has hardened the border: it will be too risky for you to pass through right now. However, I do have friends outside the Hall, including the noble family of Montgarde. You'll arrive on their lands, near the western border of the Southlands Duchy and in the shadow of the Sundered Mounted. While Duchess Callista will have patrols in her land, so long as you travel as a guest of the Montgardes, they shouldn't harass you until you reach the Southern Kingdoms.

[] This will seem a strange route, but I assure you it will work. With the armies of the Empire on the march, travel in the Empire itself is too dangerous. However, before I became Archmage, I saved the life of a Feliceian, and I have maintained quiet but good relations with their tribe ever since. I'll teleport you to the border between our lands, cross the river and they'll find you fairly quickly. Ask for Moonwatcher Leaping-Grass, he'll get you to Cat's Cradle, and from there you can take ship anywhere you need to go. A roundabout route, to be sure, but certainly unexpected and unwatched.


AN: Man the first part of this chapter was kicking my a**. I'm still not completely happy with the arcano-babble explanation how Mend works, but it was the best I could come up with other than "just add more power" which is boring.

Brainbow said:

A thought occurred: was there ever an Arch Sage, a la Athos, Gotoh, or the PoR setting, in this continent?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

There is, in fact, one. You have met them.