Well it's partly because the quest is based on Fire Emblem, where your progression
1. takes place during battles as a natural consequence of accomplishing goals
2. is very granular and simple (you can either use the relevant stave, tome, or weapon or you cannot, you have the bonus or you do not, you have the skill or you do not, you are a thief/rogue or you are not)
3. always pertains directly to combat, as characters' other skills are simply extrapolated from things they say in supports, and if the character mentions that they do it then it's kind of assumed that they are pretty good at it because they only have 3 or 4 personality traits or hobbies total
4. and has no weight to it beyond gameplay decisions,
whereas Ryza has to study and practice and during both downtime and the quest version of 'battles' or chapters she's mostly making narrative choices.
Realistically speaking if any killing machine could become an unstoppable killing machine just by killing enough then plenty of bad guys would have reached the level cap already.
Yeah, but this is Fire Emblem, so it's expected. Every single character gains large numbers of skills, spells and proficiencies over the course of the game, and being able to switch classes only makes it more glaring.
Literally no Fire Emblem game has no progression at all.
Yes, but also no. The skills that go up 2-3 times a battle are just...numbers. Character X does a bit more damage or doubles against more enemies or can use slightly better weapons. Ryza learning white magic is a completely different kind of thing—like going from the Mage class to Sage. It is the sort of thing that happens once to never for most Fire Emblem characters.
Also worth mentioning that most FE mages specialize in only two elements at most anyway. Being able to cast thunder spells at above average strength and sort of heal practically makes us an advanced class already, but we can also fly. And that's without the dragon transformation.
Ryza makes Avatar units look like one-trick ponies.
Anyways, FWIW I also think it makes sense to decouple friends from social stuff, at least a little. Ryza doesn't seem studious enough to focus entirely on studies, or extroverted enough to spend all day hanging out. Maybe instead of three free actions, we get a study action, a social action, and a free action? If that makes sense? Just an off-the-top-of-my-head kind of thought.
Power progression in Fire Emblem games is spread comparatively thinly across the team, while in this quest its all narrowly focused on one character. Providing the same amount of progression as the games in the same time experienced by the players would likely unsustainably power up Ryza, to the detriment of the tension and in-universe logic (if manakete can learn this quickly just from books and much less skilled humans, don't the centuries old elders living and learning at the height of manakete culture look like chumps?).
To achieve the same player experience without compromising the story, you'd need either much more granular or much more satisfying improvements in power, probably both. Or you'll need to wrap the story up quickly enough in terms of scenes and updates that Ryza doesn't outscale all of the challenges or you'll need to imposing binding power limits in the middle of things, cutting progression short.
[X] You want to start trying to combat the lies and slander about manakete. This is clearly something she wants to talk about to, and together the two of you should be able to start making a dent in the misinformation. You'll also probably find out more about the rest of the "Revisionists" who can help you teach humans that manakete were not monsters.
[X] Ask for home
"You say dragons were all evil monsters. I ask this: how you know that? You've never met one, since they were all killed. But the funny thing about stories is they can live beyond their tellers, and the stories these walls tell me are the stories of a people not so different from us."
-Caiaphas Whisperwind in a request for funding for further study of the Silent Aerie
The next day, you make your way towards the rune lab, still pondering what you're going to do about Mistress Flarestone. You take some comfort in the faint clinking of your stone against Father's in your pocket. You wouldn't be ashamed to say that you'd held it as you slept last night, and surprisingly you'd slept quite well. You'd have to find a proper place to put it eventually, but for now, having a reminder of family, of being loved unconditionally, was… peaceful.
Drawing yourself back to the moment at hand, you're not surprised to hear Siri chattering as you approached the room. You're not sure if she's had to train her lungs to be able to hold enough air to never stop talking, but she certainly seems to have the talent. She's fun to be around, if a bit tiring sometimes.
You are surprised, however, to see that she seems to have somehow cornered Mistress Flarestone just outside the rune lab. "-and then Ryza told me that rather than try to pull energy out of the tome, I should put some in!" she says happily as you approach, almost bouncing as she smiles up at the redhead. "And it worked! I was able to make some sparks; do you want to see?"
The older mage smiles. "Impressive work, young one," she says. "But I wouldn't want to take you away from your chores."
Siri makes a face. "Blegh," she says.
Mistress Flarestone chuckles. "I know it's no fun, child, but it is important. Not only are you learning, but you're also making things easier for Ryza and your fellow apprentice. Don't you want to be helpful to them?"
The girl nods. "I guess…" she says.
"Then why don't you get to it, Siri, that's a good girl," Mistress Flarestone says, glancing at you. "Ryza, are you well?"
"Yes, I am," you say. "How about you? Did you get a chance to talk to Sypha more?"
"I did, yes," Mistress Flarestone says, gently nudging Siri towards the door to the lab as the girl tried to loiter. "She told me all about how you rescued her. Once again, you have my gratitude."
You rock back and forwards on your heels. "It was the right thing to do," you say. "But thanks." You glance around. "Is there something I can help you with?"
The woman smiles. "Well, I was wondering if you felt ready to take the test I mentioned," she says. "If you want to wait or study a little, that's alright, but from everything I've heard it should be pretty straightforward for you."
"What would it entail?" you ask. Mistress Flarestone gestures for the two of you to walk down the hall a little. You wonder why for a moment before you glance at the door to the lab you realize it's cracked open a little. "Please go help James, Siri," you say.
As the sound of the girl's shuffling feet moves away, you follow Mistress Flarestone, who shakes her head ruefully. "A curious apprentice is both a blessing and a curse," she says. "But I'm sorry, you asked a question. There are several things I need to document you as being capable of. First, I'd get a feel for how well you understand the nature of magic; the five elements, how casting works, runes, that sort of thing."
You kick at the ground. "What if my answers are different than human ones?" you ask. "I learned magic differently than you did."
"I'll be sure to take that into account," Mistress Flarestone says, nodding thoughtfully. "But that's a good point. If there's any discrepancy, I promise we'll talk about it and work out the differences." She looks a bit excited. "I'm sure it'll be fascinating to see how human and dra- manakete magic differ from each other."
That does actually sound kind of interesting, and maybe you'll be able to get some ideas about what the basic principles of human magic are so you can follow Father's advice! "Okay," you say. "Anything else?"
"Well, I'll also have to see your casting: how good your control is, how long you can hold a spell together, how well you can judge burnout risk." She grimaces. "Though you probably won't want to do that last one, with your feelings on tomes…"
"I can still do something close," you say. "I have a tablet that can enhance my Yellow magic, and it follows some of the same principles."
"Great," Mistress Flarestone says. "For the basic accreditation as a mage, that's all that's needed. There are a few other things that count towards specialized credits: being able to make runes, casting multiple elements, designing spells, particularly advanced spellcasting, but those are all bonuses rather than requirements." She looks at you. "So, do you need a little time, or are you ready?"
You steel yourself and nod. "I'm ready," you say. "Let me just go grab Thunder's Cry. Where's it happening?"
"Well, most of it can probably be done anywhere, so why don't you choose. We will need some targets and space for the combat portions of the test, but we can do that at the end if you want."
You consider for a moment before nodding. "Okay. Why don't we go to the library, just in case we need to look something up." Plus, you get the feeling that being in a more scholarly environment will help you focus.
The human woman nods. "That sounds like a great idea," she says. "Well, if you're ready, then let's get going."
As you and Mistress Flarestone settle down at one of the tables at the back of the library and start talking, you find your nerves starting to calm. As different and disconcerting as their methods are, the human understanding of magic seems to be mostly the same as the manakete way. The five colors are the same, and while humans focus more on the obvious elements they do recognize the other aspects of magic. The nature of Yellow magic as commanding energy, the duality of Red as creation and destruction, Green's desire to chart its own path… it's all the same.
You find yourself wondering if the first human mages might have learned from manakete. The similarities are… uncanny. Maybe Archmage Lenora had been taught by a manakete, but that fact had gotten lost in history?
'Or maybe humans just dug through other manakete tombs and stole their research notes.'
You force that last thought down; it's not helpful right now.
You have a few difficulties when it comes to describing the tools that humans use to cast magic, not truly needing them yourself. Thankfully, you've been able to piece together the basics enough to satisfy Mistress Flarestone's test, and she's happy to explain the specifics from there. "A lot of humans do have magic in us, we just don't have enough to be useful," she says, making a tiny, spluttering flame appear in her hand. "So, we need to enhance it, which is where tomes and staves come in."
"But why don't you just set up feedback loops?" you ask, pulling out Thunder's Cry and showing it to her. "I can use this to enhance my Yellow magic, but it's not magical itself."
The woman nods. "It's a theory that's been tried a few times, but everyone's always run into the problem that the sheer amount of feeding back that needs to happen causes the tool to burn out almost immediately. The closest anyone came was when Archmage Lightning-lash alloyed gold and platinum and etched the runes into that, but all she could reach was the power of a basic Thunder spell before even that burned out." You nod, you suppose that makes sense. "As it is, one of the reasons combat magic is done through tomes is because they do burn out from the stress of having to cast when your life's in danger, so rather than have one tool that burns out and is expensive to replace, having a lot of pages that burn out quickly but are easier to replace."
You flinch at the likely inadvertent but still painful dismissal of your people's essence as easy to replace. "That explains why staves are more permanent; less risk of overloading it in panic," you say, trying to distract yourself.
"Exactly," Mistress Flarestone says. "Plus, well, at this point it's a cultural thing. Aside from a few criminals and assassins who'll make staves that can hurt someone directly, staves are seen as non-violent in and of themselves. They're the tools of priests and clerics, not warriors." She frowns. "Do you need to take a break? I know this can't be an easy topic for you…"
You shake your head. "No, let's move on," you say. "I don't… want to dwell, on this." Mistress Flarestone frowns, but nods and indeed moves on.
You cheer up a bit as you get to talk about rune-work. You're able to easily describe the basics of how runes function, as well as how to recognize them. Mistress Flarestone seems impressed by how easily you puzzle out the function of the few minor tools she shows you.
"Can you make runes?" Mistress Flarestone asks curiously.
You shake your head. "No, I'm afraid not," you say. "I have a scroll that can teach me and some tools to do it with, but I haven't had a chance to read it. I've had… a lot on my mind, these past few weeks."
"I completely understand," Mistress Flarestone says sympathetically. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. Don't worry about it, anyways. Making runes isn't part of the basic test. Some mages do specialize in it, but for most just understanding them is good enough."
"That's what Father did," you say. "He was a Runewright, a manakete who designed and made runes. He made the shrine that kept me safe until Artemis woke me up."
Mistress Flarestone's eyes light up. "Really?" she says. "Was that a common profession, or did-" she stops herself, closes her eyes, and takes a breath. "Sorry, we should finish this up first before I get distracted." She glances down at the paper she'd been scribbling on as she asked you questions. "Well, we've gotten through the theoretical stuff: now I just have to make a record that you can actually do magic." She smiles dryly. "A bit of a silly test, in your case, but let's see what you've got."
This part of the test is… genuinely fun. You've always been good at magic; even for a Yellow manakete if your parents are to be believed, but recently you haven't had much opportunity to just play around with it. Mistress Flarestone watches with delight as, when asked to make a shape out of lightning, you weave and maintain a respectable representation of Castle Agrithe. "Incredible!" she cries. "How long have you been able to do that?"
"With details, only about a decade," you say. Mistress Flarestone starts, but not as much as most people would.
"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" she asks, leaning in closer to study the model castle you've made.
"I'm ninety-three," you say. "Not counting the time I spent asleep."
The woman hmms slightly. "This is really detailed," she says. "Was this sort of skill common?"
You shrug. "I don't really know, I'm afraid," you say. "Mother and Father could do it; I loved it when they'd make little shapes and animals for me to chase when I was very little. I'd guess most manakete could do it, but I can't say for sure."
"Fair enough," Mistress Flarestone says. "Well, there are a few other things I'm supposed to ask you to do, but after seeing this it seems a bit superfluous…"
"I can still do it," you say eagerly. "It'd be bad if someone at the Marble Hall got upset with you because you hadn't done the test properly. Besides, this is fun!"
The woman grins, and over the next few minutes you play around with your lighting castle by making it move (flags waving in the breeze,) adding and subtracting to it (your dragon self flapping around the highest tower,) and even putting it right next to a table without scorching the wood.
"Well, now that we've dotted the i's and crossed the t's of that part, all that's left is combat testing." The woman reads your frown and sighs. "I know, you've already done a lot of that, but while you probably meant it as a joke you made a good point earlier. There are going to be people at the Hall looking for any excuse to deny you accreditation. I have faith that Archmage Stormspeaker will treat you fairly, but best not to give any detractors ammunition." She stands. "I'm sure Alexander Shadebringer had a space where he could test tomes in his lab, let's go find that so we can finish this up."
As the two of you make your way back to the rune lab, you consider. "Why is fighting a requirement for accreditation?" you ask.
Mistress Flarestone ponders for a moment before answering carefully. "It goes back to the time of Archmage Thundercrier. As part of her deal with the first Emperor Wyrmblood to ensure the Marble Hall could be autonomous, she had to promise that all of her students would be ready and able to fight, in case… well, in case there were ever more problems with dragons." You wince, and she sighs. "I know, it's a cruel reason, but from their perspective, they'd just survived a war that devastated just about every human nation of the time…"
"At least there were human nations left," you cut in, feeling your father's stone bump against your side.
The woman grimaces. "Yes, that was a stupid thing to say," she says. "I'm sorry." The pair of you walk in tense silence for a minute before she speaks again. "After the test… do you want to talk about manakete? The other Revisionists and I have been trying to prove that things were more complicated than the old stories make it seem, but it's been hard to get through the swamp of myth and dogma." She frowns. "It doesn't help that most of our evidence is honestly circumstantial. We've done our best, but there was so much chaos back then that the only written records that survived are Emperor Wyrmblood and his allies'. Anything else either never existed or was destroyed, save for some old ruins. Honestly, what I saw of your home was some of the best preserved I've seen."
You think back to your home. To the libraries filled with countless scrolls and tablets that tell the stories of generations of your tribe. There's no way other tribes and holds didn't have similar libraries. The thought of all that knowledge being lost… "I'd like to help you," you say quietly. "I can give you real evidence to prove that those stories aren't true."
"Thank you, Ryza," Mistress Flarestone says.
After another moment of silence, you glance up at her. "So… how did you decide to become a Revisionist?" you ask.
The woman frowns for a moment, clearly thinking. "There are a lot of different things that mages study at the Marble Hall," she says finally. "A lot of them, especially rune-crafting and the development of spells, try to study ancient manakete culture. We've known for ages just how good your people were at magic, something you've proven today, and so we were trying to learn from that."
You get the feeling she's painting this study in a bit of a rosy light, but she's at least trying to help prove that manakete were not princess-eating monsters, so you let her keep talking.
"As part of one of my studies, I went to the Silent Aerie, the largest known manakete ruin." Her eyes go distant. "It was… incredible. Spread across a series of mountains, it was full of wide open spaces so large it took wyverns to get anywhere quickly… but the thing that stuck with me was a massive relief carving of a little girl being hugged by an old woman." She sighs. "I just couldn't see any culture, any species, that would carve such a tender image with such care, put it in such a prominent spot, as being the monsters from the stories. It just didn't make sense to me. So I started asking questions, and I started finding out that others thought the same way. There aren't many of us, at least not in the Empire, but we do exist."
As you ponder her words, the pair of you reach the lab. "I'm glad you found it," you say. "It's… nice, to have someone think like that without having to get to know me first." You nod to the door. "Let's get this test done, then we can talk about it more."
"Of course," Mistress Flarestone says.
As the pair of you enter, you find James and Siri working together to transcribe something. "Oh, hi Ryza, Mistress Flarestone," Siri says cheerfully. "Are you all done?"
"Not quite yet," you say. "I just need to do one last test that needs a room where I can cast magic without fear of damaging anything too badly. Did Master Shadebringer have anything like that?"
James nods. "Yes, just down the hall a way, on the left. It's not a big room; if you need to do range testing you'll have to go outside, but there are a few stone targets that can survive magical hits."
"Oh, oh, can I watch?!" Siri asks. "You're going to be casting lightning magic, right? Maybe I'll be able to learn something by watching you go all out!" She gives you hopeful puppy eyes. "Please!"
You dither for a moment before nodding. Mother had usually let you watch when she was doing something cool with magic, and you had learned a lot from just following along with what she'd been doing. "Okay, if you want to, but then you have to go back to helping James." The girl cheers as jumps to her feet. James rolls his eyes, but you see him smiling.
The three of you quickly find the room that James had mentioned. It's empty of everything except a few roughly-carved stone disks, many bearing the signs of magic scoring. "Alright, so I just need to show I can zap them?" you ask, pointing at the stones.
"That's right, Ryza," Mistress Flarestone said. "First just by yourself, then with your tablet."
Nodding, you turn to look at the stones. Choosing one of the more damaged ones, you focus on the strand of yellow in your soul, call it out, and send it towards the rock in a bolt of lighting. The jolt of arcane energy carves another black mark in the stone.
After Mistress Flarestone hurries over and checks it, she gives you a nod. "Excellent; that's comparable to a well-cast Thunder. Let's see if you can get an Elthunder out with the tablet." Pulling out Thunder's Cry, you feed some energy in, let it build, and then send four bolts into the stone.
You're not sure if you hit it in just the right way, if the damaged stone had simply been overworked, or if you've just gotten stronger, but as your attack slams into it, you jerk as the rock shatters at your strike, sending shards everywhere. Siri squeaks and covers her head, while Mistress Flarestone starts to move to stand in front of you. Thankfully, the explosion turns out to not quite be big enough to hurt anyone, but you do see a few of the pieces skitter across the ground near your feet.
"Is everyone okay?" Mistress Flarestone asks.
"Yes, I'm fine," you say, looking at your feet. "Sorry, I guess I just hit it harder than I thought…"
The woman pats your shoulder. "It's alright," she says. "These things happen, it's part of the testing." She glances at the pieces before making a note on her paper. "Well, I think that just about covers it: you can produce both Thunder and Elthunder. Accredited mages are required to be able to cast only the basic spell of their element, anything else is a bonus." She blinks. "Oh, right, you can also do light magic, right?"
"Uh-huh," you say, drawing White magic to light up your hand. "So I guess even if someone had gotten hurt, I'd have been able to heal them."
Mistresss Flarestone studies the light as Siri oohs appreciatively. "Without an actual injury, I can't fully judge it, but the mere fact that you can get light magic to work is worth some more bonus points." She smiles. "And with that, I can officially say that you fulfill all the requirements to be an accredited mage of the Marble Hall. You'll have to go there at some point to fill out some parchment-work and make it official, but with the display you've shown, nobody can rationally argue that you're worthy of a mage-name."
"Thank you, Mistress Flarestone," you say.
"Just Jenna," she says. "The Mistress part is a sign of respect for those who're accredited by the Hall. Since you passed the test, as far as I'm concerned you don't need to use it anymore."
You cock your head. "Does that mean people'll start calling me Mistress Ryza now?" you ask. You're not sure how you feel about that.
"Well, you'll have to come up with your mage-name and they'll use that," Mis- Jenna says. When you give her a confused look, she nods. "Another old tradition from Archmage Thundercrier's time; all accredited mages choose a name that suits them; usually something to do with their element." She gives you a wry smile as you puff up your cheeks. "I'm sorry, but it is a requirement. We accredited mages have to have standards, you know."
You sigh. "Okay, I'll think of something," you say. "Come on, Siri, excitement's over, you need to go back and help James. Jenna and I have to talk about a few more things."
The girl pouts, but doesn't argue as she leads the way out of the room and trots back to the lab. You and Jenna turn the other way, meandering back towards the library.
After a minute, Jenna speaks up. "So… do you need some time, or do you want to talk about your people?"
You look up at her. "If I tell you… do you promise to get the real story out? To tell humans what manakete were really like, so that they know they don't have to be afraid?" A small, vindictive part of you also hopes that they feel guilty about what they and their ancestors had done, that they understand some small fragment of the pain you feel, but you don't put that into words. You don't want to feed your vindictive side.
Jenna smiles sadly. "I do," she says. "It won't be easy, but I know some people who'll be able to help get the word out." As she continues, she touches her tome, draws some flame from it, and forms a rough map of the continent and points to the north-eastern part of it. "There aren't many Revisionists in the Empire, but there are plenty in the Divine Realm. While the Church has no official position on manakete, unofficially, the Sun-speakers been trying to erode the legitimacy of the Emperor for centuries, so combating the idea that Theodore Wyrmblood saved humanity and charged his heirs with continuing to protect it lines up with their interests."
"Do you know any of them?" you ask.
"I met a few Realmers when we attended the Hall together," Jenna says. "And I still occasionally corresponded with them. I could write to them, tell them that something big has come up." She points to the western part of the continent. "The Marble Hall is around here: there are several Revisionists I know there, but you or I could talk to them directly when we go there, so we don't have to worry about writing them." She glances at you. "There are… a few other Revisionists, that I've corresponded with in the Empire. I trust them, and they'd be thrilled to hear about you, but I'd understand if you're not willing to risk them knowing yet by writing to them."
You hmm thoughtfully as the two of you enter the library and return to your seat. "So, what do you want to know?" you ask.
"What do you want to tell me?" Jenna asks softly. "You know your people better than I do."
The two of you sit in the library for the rest of the day as you just… talk. You tell her about being a manakete. About the way your heart and dragon intertwine, how you are both and neither and everything in between. You talk about your family structure, how family feeds into tribe which feeds into Tribe which feeds into a people. You speak of home, how hard you and your family and tribe worked over centuries to make it beautiful and comfortable, not the dark, grim things from the stories. You speak of diets and sustainable hunting patterns. You speak of love and stories and family and home. You speak of the Mother, the guiding light and ideal of your people.
You don't speak of power. That's not how you want humans to see you: as sorcerers and dragons and dangerous. You want them to see you as people, with hopes and dreams and fears and loves just like humans.
Jenna listens. She takes notes. She asks questions, but accepts wherever you guide the conversation. Neither of you really eat the meal Artemis has sent up to you, you're too deep in scholarly discussion. More than almost anyone else, she truly seems fascinated, and she even shares some things you hadn't known before. The two of you puzzle out that the Aerie was almost certainly a Green manakete community: a place of culture and dance and music.
As you talk, in the back of your mind you ponder Jenna's offer to write to her friends and tell them about you and what Manakete were really like.
[] Ask Jenna to write to her friends in the Divine Realm. You haven't heard anything bad about that place, so it should be safe enough.
-[] Let her tell them that she's met a living manakete who wants to get her people's story out.
-[] Ask that she only mention she's discovered new evidence about manakete, not the source.
[] Ask Jenna to write to her friends scattered around the Empire. She trusts them, and you do want to start rooting the misinformation out at the source.
-[] Let her tell them that she's met a living manakete who wants to get her people's story out.
-[] Ask that she only mention she's discovered new evidence about manakete, not the source.
[] Ask her to write to both. The more people who can spread the news about what your people were really like, the better. Jenna said that they're all trying to prove the same thing, and more voices lead to bigger echoes.
-[] Write-in: What level of detail does each group get told?
[] Ask her to write to neither. You want to see how your meeting with the Revisionists at the Hall goes before you give anyone else information.
Two days later, you're sitting quietly on a tree-branch in the grove of trees atop the hill outside Castle Agrithe. You've come here a few times just to get away from everyone for a while, and you've found that it's a nice place to meditate.
"How are you feeling, Ryza?" Artemis asks from the bottom of the tree. She'd come with you when you'd said you were going out here, bringing the pile of arrow-shafts she'd been working on with her. When you'd asked why she was making them, she'd said the Archduke had insisted that the castle's stock be increased, and it was something she could do to help while still taking a break from some of the more… pushy nobles wanting to talk to her.
You consider her question for a moment. "I think I'm doing well," you say. "It's nice to be able to talk to someone about magic, and Jenna's nice."
Your friend grimaces. "She was poking around your home without your permission," she reminds you.
"She was told to," you say. "Besides, if I held a grudge against everyone who'd ever done something that annoyed me, I'd have no friends." Artemis grimaces, but nods. "Besides… she did bring Father's stone to me. True, she was mostly doing it so I wouldn't be angry, but she did do it. That has to count for something, right?"
"You are entitled to your feelings, Ryza," Artemis says. "You don't have to let my cynicism affect you if you don't want to."
Glancing down, you frown slightly. "Are you doing alright?" you ask. "You seem tense."
The bigger girl sighs. "Just had a fun get together with Mother and some of the other ladies that came, both the landed ones and the wives of lords. It honestly wasn't that bad, until we got onto marriage prospects." Her lip curls. "Sypha was there, but she was spared the worst of it since as far as everyone knows she and Apollo are still betrothed. I, on the other hand, was bombarded with a stream of subtle and not-so-subtle suggestions as to various young men that would be just perfect for me."
"Aren't you a bit young?" you ask. "Mother would fight her way down from the Mother's side and scold me if I even thought about getting married before I was three hundred."
Artemis snorts. "Lucky you." she says. "Not that that stopped some of the women from making a few suggestions and offers about you, though Mother and I shut them down." As you blanche, she rolls her eyes. "Tremaine wasn't even offering a good match for you, just some third cousin she's been trying to get rid of for the past decade. It was an insult, frankly, and I might have lost my temper at her a bit-"
"Why were they even talking to you?!" you squeak. "If I was interested, which I'm not!" you say to the sky, "why wouldn't she come talk to me?"
"Nobles typically arrange marriages, and the general consensus among the nobles here is that you're functionally a ward of Father's, so they figure that he'll set something up for you." Artemis says.
"NO!" you splutter and as you faintly hear the noise of a horn from the castle. "No, no, no thank you I will make my own decision when I'm good and ready!"
Artemis laughs, but nods. "I understand that, and so does Father. We're not fool enough to try anything like that. It's just something nobles think about. For us, marriage a way of making alliances between families and kingdoms stronger. The only reason I haven't been betrothed is because I'm heir-apparent, and so-" She cuts off suddenly. Frowning, you look down to see her going ridged, staring back towards the castle.
"Artemis? Are you okay?" you ask, gliding down to land next to her and look at what she'd seen. A group of mounted people were escorting a carriage with a symbol on the flag flying from it. You frown; you recognize that symbol…
Artemis shakes herself from her frozen position and swiftly stands. "It's Mantrae, in person if the banner is to be believed," she says, a thin but deadly coating of ice forming in her words. "We should head back."
You frown as Artemis unties the horse from its tree and swings herself into the saddle. "Please don't shoot an arrow in front of her either," you say as you hop up behind her.
Some of the tension fades from Artemis's body as she gives a dry laugh. "You're never going to let that go, are you?" she asks as the two of you start back towards the castle.
You hug her. "Well, you are annoyed with her…" you say.
"Do I have to start warning you every time a spider might be around?" Artemis shoots back, but there's a lightness to her tone.
Still, you feel your face heat up. "That was one time, and I didn't expect it to get in my hair!" you pout. Artemis laughs gently, squeezing your hands at her stomach, and you can't help but be pleased that, even in embarrassment, you've managed to calm your friend a little.
A minute later, the two of you arrive back at Castle Agrithe. Mantrae and her people have already been admitted, and as Artemis helps you off her horse you see the Countess carefully descending from her carriage and starting towards where Archduke Letoro is standing at the top of the stairs.
You've seen this sort of meeting a dozen times over the past week, but this time the ceremony and decorum are interrupted as a blur darts out the door behind the Archduke, dodging guards. "Mama! Mama!" Sypha squeals, leaping down the stairs. She nearly stumbles as she lands, but she dashes determinedly towards her mother and throws herself into the woman's arms. "Mama!"
The woman's tense, upright pose crumbles as she wraps her daughter in a tight hug. "Sypha…" you faintly hear her whisper as she buries her face in Sypha's hair.
You can't help but smile: Sypha'd been waiting for this moment a long time, and you're glad nobody seems to be moving to stop her enjoying it. Archduke Letoro and his entourage keep their position at the top of the stairs, watching quietly as mother and daughter hold each other. Next to you, you hear a faint motion. Tearing your eyes from the scene, you see Artemis hurrying towards a horse without a rider, one that it takes you a second to recognize. "Actaeon…" your friend says as the horse tugs his reigns out of the hand of the yeoman who'd been leading him and trots over to her, nickering happily.
Meanwhile, you spot two more familiar faces. Grinning, you bounce over to Lancel and Axton, who're standing off to the side next to two more horses. "Hi!" you say cheerfully, wrapping your arms around Lancel's waist. It's one thing for Kelton and Jenna to tell you that your friends are okay, but it's another thing to see them. They're both tired-looking, but neither seems to be hurt.
"Ryza…" Lancel says, seemingly frozen as you squeeze him. "You-"
"You're my friends," you say, letting him go after a moment and moving to hug Axton too. He tenses slightly, but makes no move to push you off. After a moment, you step back and smile up at them. "I'm so glad you're okay," you say. "And… and I'm so sorry I left you there…"
The two men glance at each other before Lancel crouches down. "You made the right choice, Ryza," he says, a faint smile reaching his eyes as he holds out a hand for you to take. "I won't say that it was an enjoyable time, but compared to the bandits on the mountain, the Countess's guards were… civil. They questioned us, but there were no repercussions for refusal to answer, and after a while they just let us be."
You feel your shoulders slumping. "Still, I could have gotten you out too, when I was helping Artemis…" you say. "I should have…"
"Maybe," Axton says, "but there'd be no guarantee. Both of us would have told you to get Lady Artemis out, that she was more important, and you did that."
"You're both important to me," you say.
The men glance at each other again. "While that's nice to hear, Ryza, we weren't the ones at risk," Lancel says. "Lady Artemis was, so she needed the help the most."
You sigh. "I guess that's true," you say. You even know that it is, but it still hurts a bit to have the shameful reminder of your dragon's panicked flight in front of you.
The three of you stand in silence for a moment before Axton continues. "So, you're a-"
"Manakete," you cut in, having heard that sentence begin many times. "That's my term for myself: I'm a manakete, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you in Miau, but Artemis was nervous enough that I didn't want to make anything worse…"
Lancel nods. "Hey, it's okay, it makes sense," he says. "I don't know about Axton, but I probably wouldn't have taken it very well." Personally, you're not sure how honest he's being: Axton was always the more paranoid of the two, but you accept his reassurance. "I… did become concerned, when Her Excellency told us about you."
You cock your head. "Countess Mantrae told you?" you ask. Why would she-
Axton bares his teeth slightly. "I believe she was trying to figure out if we'd known all along," he says. "She was also likely trying to see how angry you were going to be. As always, we refused to speak."
"So you're… okay, with me?" you ask.
"You saved Lady Artemis," Axton says. "And from what we've been able to piece together, you were also instrumental in saving Lady Sypha and getting us out of the dungeon." He grimaces. "I won't deny that I still have some concerns, but they are the same baseless ones that I've always had."
Artemis's voice speaks up from behind you. "You don't need to worry about Ryza," she says, leading Actaeon over to the three of you. The big horse leans down and pokes at you with his nose, and you're able to force yourself to pet him. "She's my friend, and a friend of Agrithe."
The older yeoman bows. "Lady Artemis," he says.
The girl frowns. "Axton, Lancel… I'm so sorry," she says.
"It's not your fault, my Lady," Lancel says. "We were the ones who suggested that Countess Mantrae would be the safest place to go, and it made sense at the time."
The four of you stand in silence for a few seconds before the sound of footsteps causes you to turn. Sypha's leading her mother towards you. "Hi everyone!" she says, grinning happily as she looks around. "You must be Lancel and Axton, Ryza told me about you, sorry about all this, but it's nice to meet you. I'm Sypha, Countess Mantrae's daughter."
As the giddy human girl chatters, Countess Mantrae studies you for a moment before looking at Artemis. "Artemis,"
Your friend seems to be barely restraining herself from grinding her teeth as she nods sharply. "Countess Mantrae," she says, barely above a hiss. Sypha's smile slowly fades as she looks between Artemis and her mother. Frowning, you step over and gently touch Artemis's side. The bigger girl glances down at you, swallows, and looks back at Countess Mantrae. "Welcome to Agrithe. By your leave, Actaeon needs some proper care." Mantrae nods, and Artemis turns and leads Actaeon towards the stable.
"I see she's still upset," Countess Mantrae says softly.
You glance up at her. "I think she has a right to be," you say. "She trusted you, and you hurt her. A lot. You had your reasons, I know, but you still hurt her." You kick at the ground. "You know, you could have saved everyone a lot of pain if you'd just asked for help."
Countess Mantrae raises an eyebrow. "Perhaps had I know that there was a dragon-"
"Manakete," Sypha says.
Her mother nods. "Manakete," she continues smoothly. "I would have known there was a better option. However, with the information I had, I only saw one path that gave me a reasonable chance of saving my only daughter."
You frown. "I know," you say. "But still, you should have at least asked. If people don't know there's a problem, they can't help you."
Countess Mantrae sighs. "I am sure that Archduke Letoro will say much the same," she says. "However, before I go and speak with him, I must first thank you for what you did. You brought Sypha to safety, and for that I will be eternally grateful for that."
"Well, Robin helped, along with Sir Ector and the rest of your men," you say. "I couldn't have done it without them."
The Countess smiles slightly. "Your humility does you credit, but you were the one who carried Sypha to safety. Honor demands that I repay you."
You consider for a moment, but in truth you already know what you want from her. "Please never send someone to look around my home again without my permission," you say. "It may be a bit of a mess, but it's still mine. Father and Mother left it to me."
Countess Mantrae nods. "Very well," she says. "We will have to sit down at some point and figure out the boundaries, but before this grand council of Archduke Letoro's is over, you will have sole legal claim to your home, and I give my word that I'll respect it." You blink, that was easier than you'd expected it to be.
Sypha smiles. "I'm glad everything worked out," she says. "And I hope to be able to see your home someday, Ryza, if you'll let me."
"Of course," you say, smiling back. "Hopefully I'll be able to get it cleaned up before I have to entertain guests." Sypha giggles, and even Countess Mantrae smiles slightly.
Still, she glances back to Archduke Letoro, who still hasn't moved from the top of the stairs. "Come, Sypha, we should go and speak to our host. Well met, Ryza." With that, and a final wave from Sypha, Countess Mantrae leads the way towards the Archduke.
You let out a breath and look up at Axton and Lancel. "Well, that went well," you say.
"As well as can be expected," Axton says. "There'll be some tension between Legerius and Agrithe for the foreseeable future… but thanks to your efforts, the alliance survives intact."
You smile. It may have taken you a few detours and a lot more time than you'd planned, but you'd succeeded in your original mission of bringing Artemis and all her friends home safely.
Everything's going just great! A shadow moves beyond your sight. Wyrmrise, Three Weeks Earlier
Atop the ancient Grand Spire of The Wyrm's Castle, two men stood in silence, staring at the moon. After a moment, the first sighed and waved a tired hand. "Leave me, my friend," he said quietly. "I would be alone tonight." The second man, an armored giant wearing a wyvern-winged helm, bowed and stepped out of the door, closing it behind him.
Thaddeus smiled dryly as he tugged his thick, rich red robes around himself: for all that they were in the center of an impregnable fortress, in the safest city in the world, at the heart of Wyrmblood Empire, Salvador would not go far. In fact, Thaddeus thought as he began to quietly pace around the edge of the battlements, it was quite likely he had not taken one step farther than going over the threshold.
It was… comforting, to know that there were still people who took their duties seriously, even if it was due to caution bordering on paranoia.
The man sighed as he leaned against a crenellation, looking out over the Empire. He was tired, and he felt old despite for being only forty-nine in a bloodline that often reached a hundred. He had often wondered, as a boy, why his father looked so much older than other men his age, why his hair seemed to be greying before his very eyes. Now, as a man himself… well, it all made sense. Thaddeus chuckled sadly as he ran a hand through his own grey hair. The stresses and trials of his station and his father's station were overwhelming. Countless thousands of men, women and children looked to him to keep them safe, to see to their needs and guide them through their troubles. Others looked to him fearfully as the source of their troubles, as the looming menace that threatened to gobble them up if they so much as blinked.
Sometimes, he wondered if his ancestors had ever felt as overwhelmed and tired as he did. Or had they simply been greater men than he?
Of course, some of his stress could be traced back to the most recent setback in his plans. Today, he had just heard back from his diplomatic outreach to the Sky Marshal of the Whitewings. Which was to say, he'd heard that the fool had somehow gotten it into his head to suggest to the highly matriarchal society that had built its mythos around standing up to people who took advantage of them that they would be so much safer and happier if they just accepted the Emperor's generous protection. Quite frankly, Thaddeus was surprised the man hadn't been sent back to him in pieces! A decade of work, of careful negotiations and ego-soothing and reassurance, blown away in a moment of blithering stupidity! It was almost like the man had been trying to ruin everything!
Thaddeus frowned, turning the thought over in his head as he started pacing again. Arnold was loyal, Thaddeus knew that, but no one man could run a diplomatic mission alone. Who else had been in that entourage, who might have whispered in Arnold's ear? After all, this was not the only diplomatic mission that had blown up spectacularly in Thaddeus's face in recent memory. Thaddeus had very nearly gotten Sun Father Mathias to agree to meet face to face before-
The man's ears perked as he slowed to a stop… he thought he'd heard… "Who's there?" he asked, turning to look around the tower. There was no one in sight, and surely no one could have gotten past Salvador, but Thaddeus's family had always had sharp hearing, and he could have sworn…
A shadow moved.
"Who's there!" Thaddeus demanded again, drawing himself up proudly. "Show yourself!"
A long moment of silence stretched into two, then into three… had Thaddeus just imagined it? Had his lingering fears of betrayal and whispers that there were those who would see his ambitions for a stable, peaceful Empire fail grown into full-blown paranoia? He started to take a step forward…
A figure stepped out of the shadows, appearing as if from thin air. "Who-" Thaddeus started, only for his eyes to widen as he saw a glinting light beginning to gather at the tip of an outstretched finger.
Before Thaddeus could cry for help or try to draw the sword at his side, a single blinding bolt of Light magic, tighter and brighter than any the man had seen before, struck him in the chest. Thaddeus stumbled back, started to fall… he felt… cold…
He was…
…so…
…cold…
Emperor Thaddeus Wyrmblood the Second, Lord Protector of Man and Heir to the Fell Slayer, widower and father of one, was dead before he hit the ground.
AN: I had planned to have the meeting begin this chapter, and the news of the Emperor's death to reach Ryza there, but I'm having trouble with that meeting, didn't want to delay the chapter too much, and wanted to let you know the consequences of your votes what's going on elsewhere so you can make an informed vote.
As for Ryza's mage-name, you will have come up with one at some point, probably when you get to the Hall. Might as well let you start thinking about it now.
...gut response for a Mage Name is "Thunderwing". On one hand, that feels like a terrible name, but on the other hand, I can't think of anything better either, because I actually suck with names, most of the time.
...gut response for a Mage Name is "Thunderwing". On one hand, that feels like a terrible name, but on the other hand, I can't think of anything better either, because I actually suck with names, most of the time.
It could be kind of funny for us to go with an intentionally terrible mage name, as a character beat. My main concern is that it might be seen as us mocking the tradition itself, rather than just Ryza being bad at names.
"Just Jenna," she says. "The Mistress part is a sign of respect for those who're accredited by the Hall. Since you passed the test, as far as I'm concerned you don't need to use it anymore."
You cock your head. "Does that mean people'll start calling me Mistress Ryza now?" you ask. You're not sure how you feel about that.
"Well, you'll have to come up with your mage-name and they'll use that," Mis- Jenna says.
Another (minor) instance of Mis-Jenna not quite getting what Ryza's worried about.
Artemis snorts. "Lucky you." she says. "Not that that stopped some of the women from making a few suggestions and offers about you, though Mother and I shut them down."
...I realize this is mostly a political thing, but do they not realize Ryza is going to be physically a kid for most if not all of their heir's life, right? (To say nothing of how a nigh-immortal quasi-noble would screw with politics for centuries down the line...)
As for Ryza's mage-name, you will have come up with one at some point, probably when you get to the Hall. Might as well let you start thinking about it now.
I vote that Ryza break tradition in some way. Focus less on human perceptions on magic, more on...something manakete. At the very least, focus on color instead of element.
[X] Ask her to write to both. The more people who can spread the news about what your people were really like, the better. Jenna said that they're all trying to prove the same thing, and more voices lead to bigger echoes.
-[X] Write-in: Jenna can tell the Divine Realm about the living manakete she found, but not the Empire. It will be nice to not have to explain you are everywhere you go, but...maybe we shouldn't trust the Empire just yet.
Everything's going just great! A shadow moves beyond your sight.
...I realize this is mostly a political thing, but do they not realize Ryza is going to be physically a kid for most if not all of their heir's life, right? (To say nothing of how a nigh-immortal quasi-noble would screw with politics for centuries down the line...)
Not everyone fully knows about Ryza's age. The fact that she's a dragon manakete is leaking out, but the fact that she's 93 and will live for centuries hasn't been leaked/fully internalized.
In fairness, if I'm understanding Flarestone's explanation correctly, it's the pages that are easily replaced, not the manakete-essence they've been infused with.
Emperor Thaddeus Wyrmblood the Second, Lord Protector of Man and Heir to the Fell Slayer, widower and father of one, was dead before he hit the ground.
Well, crap. So, who's in charge of the Empire now and how likely are they to blame us and/or the Kingdoms for Thaddeus's death?
[X] Ask her to write to neither. You want to see how your meeting with the Revisionists at the Hall goes before you give anyone else information.
Honestly, this was a bit difficult for me. I was kind of leaning towards telling both and limiting the Empire Revisionists's intel to just "Flarestone has new information, source pending", but I wasn't sure about how much to tell the Divine Realms's Revisionists simply because we know basically nothing about the Divine Realms at the moment. In the end, I instead decided to go with this, because I would like to see how the Revisionists at the Hall react so that we can at least get a bit of an idea of how the Revisionists in general will take this in a context where we'll at least have some control over what happens.
As for Ryza's mage-name, I've had "Stormheart" rattling around in my head for a while now, so how does that sound?
Ah crap, so the Empire was relatively clean up at the very top levels, but the sabotage was from the shadows. Now that he's gone... well, that's not good...
Really enjoying all of the content in Agrithe, though. Great chapter!
Edit: Stormheart sounds badass and works in many respects, I like it
If anyone is leaning towards communicating, here's my proposal. I'm leaning towards writing both because I think it's a risk/reward decision of exposure vs. gaining valuable allies. At this point I think Ryza is going to attract attention and trouble no matter what, so we need to invest in the allies now for all the possible dividends we can gain later.
[X] Ask her to write to both. The more people who can spread the news about what your people were really like, the better. Jenna said that they're all trying to prove the same thing, and more voices lead to bigger echoes.
-[X] Write-in: Ryza can share what she knows about Manakete culture and history and answer their questions. Specifics about how Manakete magic works might be something Ryza could maybe discuss, but since magic is dangerous she would need to think carefully about the implications of sharing any given piece of knowledge on a case by case basis. It might be best if Ryza's age, circumstances, and whereabouts remained Agrithian secrets for however long that can be done at this point. Ryza doesn't want to court would-be dragon hunters to Agrithe's doorstep should word leak out beyond the Revisionists. Ryza will remain vague about the Manakete transformation and its weaknesses, too. It's enough for people to know that she can transform for now.
-[X] Write-in: Maybe the Duke or Kopoi would have some feedback on how best to do all this, like the best intermediaries to use for handling discrete post or something. It would probably also be good to run the idea by one of them in case the whole idea is just too dangerous. Ryza doesn't want to endanger her friends or herself by accident because she doesn't know the human world well yet.
-[X] Write-in: Tell Jenna about how Ryza wants to work on finding an alternative to Manakete remains for humans to use to perform magic with, and ask if any of the Revisionists she knows might be interested in such a long term research project. They might start by looking into how Thunder's Cry works and doesn't burn out, but there are a lot of possible things Ryza wants to look into as she has time to learn about magic properly.
Honestly after that display of control I think something kinda cheeky like 'Lightweaver' (can double as both the control over lightning and weaving skin back to together with light) would be fun.
I don't see much point to spewing out everything Ryza is thinking or planning in these letters like that words words words write-in. Just leave it to the in person conversations.
Mage name wise I'd rather lean into the energy/magic-manipulation side of it than the lightning. Most related words aren't so evocative as electricity, though... Lifeheart? Vimheart? Glamourheart? I do like -heart as the second part, as it's a salient word to Ryza, it'll be her heart-form that other mages are talking to usually, and she is the heart of the story/party.
[X] Ask her to write to neither. You want to see how your meeting with the Revisionists at the Hall goes before you give anyone else information.
The main benefit of spreading the knowledge sooner is that it spreads faster and wider. This is also its main drawback.
[X] Ask her to write to both. The more people who can spread the news about what your people were really like, the better. Jenna said that they're all trying to prove the same thing, and more voices lead to bigger echoes.
-[X] Write-in: Jenna can tell the Divine Realm about the living manakete she found, but not the Empire. It will be nice to not have to explain you are everywhere you go, but...maybe we shouldn't trust the Empire just yet.
[X] Ask her to write to both. The more people who can spread the news about what your people were really like, the better. Jenna said that they're all trying to prove the same thing, and more voices lead to bigger echoes.
-[X] Write-in: Ryza can share what she knows about Manakete culture and history and answer their questions. Specifics about how Manakete magic works might be something Ryza could maybe discuss, but since magic is dangerous she would need to think carefully about the implications of sharing any given piece of knowledge on a case by case basis. It might be best if Ryza's age, circumstances, and whereabouts remained Agrithian secrets for however long that can be done at this point. Ryza doesn't want to court would-be dragon hunters to Agrithe's doorstep should word leak out beyond the Revisionists. Ryza will remain vague about the Manakete transformation and its weaknesses, too. It's enough for people to know that she can transform for now.
-[X] Write-in: Maybe the Duke or Kopoi would have some feedback on how best to do all this, like the best intermediaries to use for handling discrete post or something. It would probably also be good to run the idea by one of them in case the whole idea is just too dangerous. Ryza doesn't want to endanger her friends or herself by accident because she doesn't know the human world well yet.
-[X] Write-in: Tell Jenna about how Ryza wants to work on finding an alternative to Manakete remains for humans to use to perform magic with, and ask if any of the Revisionists she knows might be interested in such a long term research project. They might start by looking into how Thunder's Cry works and doesn't burn out, but there are a lot of possible things Ryza wants to look into as she has time to learn about magic properly.
