Halkegenia Online Thread 13 - New Lighter Mix!

[Triggerhappy]

Scraped from here.

PLEASE ALLOW JWOLFE TO POST THE OMAKE INDEX BEFORE ADDING ADDITIONAL POSTS!

The First Thread Where It All Began.
Official Conclusion of First Thread (Last Author Post) For continuities sake.
The Second Thread Things Pick Up Pace
Official Conclusion of Second Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread The Third (Mind the Crazy Arguments)
Official Conlcusion of Third Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Fourth (What the hell!)
Official Conclusion of Fourth Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Fifth (Things are exploding!)
Official Conlcusion of Firth Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Sixth (Over Half a Million Words and We've only Finished one Arc )
Official Conclusion of the Sixth Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Seventh (In Which TH shows he can't write a murder mystery )
Official Conclusion of the Seventh Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Eigth (Things have been slowing down, been kind of relaxing!)
Official Conclusion of Eigth Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Ninth (The Conspiracy Revealed!)
Official Conclusion of Ninth Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Tenth (We've reached double digits!)
Officical Conlusion of Tenth Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Eleventh(We're going to outstrip the FnZ Ideas Thread at this Rate!)
Official Conclusion of Eleventh Thread (Last Author Post)
Thread the Twelfth(The the Curious Case of Louise Francois)
Official Conclusion of Thread Twelve (Last Author Post)
Thread the Thirteenth(Can I just have fun for a while? Ahoy!)
Official Conclusion of Thread Thirteen (Last Author Post)


Previous Snips AKA- The Story So Far

prologue - "The Mage and the Swordsman." (corrected link)
chapter 1 - "Big Tree"
chapter 2 - Part 1 -
chapter 2 - Part 2 -
Chapter 2 - Part 3 -
(Posted in Following Posts)
Chapter 3 - part 1 -
Chapter 3 - part 2 -
Chapter 3 - part 3 -
Chapter 3 - part 4 -
Chapter 4 - part 1 -
Chapter 4 - part 2 -
Chapter 4 - part 3 -
Chapter 4 - part 4 -
Chapter 5 - part 1 -
Chapter 5 - part 2 -
Chapter 5 - part 3 -
Chapter 5 - part 4 -
Chapter 5 - part 5 -
Chapter 6 - part 1 -
Chapter 6 - part 2 -
Chapter 6 - part 3 - "Hammer and Heart, Split Moon."
Chapter 6 - part 4 - "A Pact of Blood Between Air and Fae."
Chapter 6 - part 5 - "Arrival in York, An Incident Ensues, Gunpowder Plot, The Captain and the Pirate Prince."
Chapter 7 - part 1 - "Millia's True Colors, York Escape!, The Daring Prince, the Winged Flash."
Chapter 7 - part 2 - "Meeting a Prince, Meeting a Postman, A Faerie Reveals herself, Sir Dunwell Arrives"
Chapter 7 - part 3 - "Execution, Battle of Skiesedge, Farewell to a Knight."
Chapter 8 - part 1 - "PoppopBoom!, the Luckless Princess , A wild Silicia Appears!"
Chapter 8 - part 2 - "Eve of the World Tree Raid."
Chapter 8 - part 3 - "A game of Crowns, A Incident in Albion, Midori the female swordsman."
Chapter 8 - part 4 - "Goodbyes, Mob Violence, We're Family"
Chapter 9 - Part 1 - "Tarbes Side Quest"
Chapter 9 - Part 2 - "Arrival in Tarbes, Goodnight Louise & KoKo"
Chapter 9 - Part 3 - "So Cute, Pixies Attack, Where's Yui?"
Chapter 9 - Part 4 - "Yui alone, the Shaman and the Yearning Knight, the Healer's Cottage.
Chapter 9 - Part 5 - "The Lame Count, Serpent in the Forest, Overheard Conversation."
Chapter 9 - Part 6 - "Sounding the Alarm, Missing Children"
Chapter 9 - Part 7 - "Kiting, Antoine and Euphrasie, The Butler did it!"
Chapter 9 - Part 8 - "Fernand the Traitor, Lhamthanc the Steel Toothed."
Chapter 9 - Part 9 - "Judgement & Duel, Sayuri's Reward, Healing"
Chapter 10 - Part 1 - "Midori & Bandits."
Chapter 10 - Part 2 - "Disclosure, Scheming, Zombie Powder"
Chapter 10 - Part 3 - "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"
Chapter 10 - Part 4 - "Breakfast With Zombies"
Chapter 10 - Part 5 - "Flawless Romeo"
Chapter 11 - Part 1 - "Night Raid of the Living Dead"
Chapter 11 - Part 2 - "A Crier's Call, The Trio Pursues"
Chapter 11 - Part 3 - "Reunion"
Chapter 11 - Part 4 - "Morning, Flashback, General of the Skies, Betrayal"
Chapter 12 - Part 1 - "Lunch with a Faerie Lord, Negotiations are Interrupted"
Chapter 12 - Part 2 - "Meeting of the Fae and Royalty."
Chapter 12 - Part 3 - "The Stone Wall Gramont, Strategy Meeting"
Chapter 12 - Part 4 - "Telenecronomicon, the Princess Leads, Argument Among Equals"
Chapter 12 - Part 5 - "Meet the Kurotaka, Captain Thorn, [<Dual Deciders]>
Chapter 13 - Part 1 - "Dunkirk"
Chapter 13 - Part 2 - "Battleship Alley, Apparitions."
Chapter 13 - Part 3 - "The Phantom Queen, Battle Lines Drawn"
Chapter 13 - Part 4 - "It's About Time, the Fall of Newcastle"
Chapter 13 - Part 5 - "Hold the Wall, the Prince Departs, the Children of Medb"
Chapter 13 - Part 6 - "The Lightning Viscount, Zombie Mamba."
Chapter 13 - Part 7 - "Lightning Rod, the Hat is Dropped, the Prince Departs"
Chapter 13 - Part 8 - "The Heavy Wind, Morgan La Fae"
Epilogue - One end, a New Beginning.

Halkegenia Online v2.0 - [<Snips are patched now as chapters!]>
Chapter 1 - "Yamada Sakura, Arrun Noir, the Dutiful Knight"
Chapter 2 - "Autopsy, Vandalism, Louise Obtains a Rare Drop!"
Chapter 3 - "Pixie Lunch, Investigation Complication, Silence in the Library"
Chapter 4 - "The Lieutenant's Investigation, Spoiled Morning , Freelia on the Coast"
Chapter 5 - "Bad Dreams, Hot Scoop, The Assassin Revealed"
Chapter 6 - "Rip Jack, Sakuya and Mortimer, Suisen and Argo"
Chapter 7 - "Negotiations and Trolls, Terrance de'Martou, the Plot Thickens"
Chapter 8 -
Chapter 9 - Horses for Courses, Caught!, Interrogation, Ganker, Midori meets Monmon
Chapter 10 - A lot of stuff happens
Chapter 11 - Foolish Girl

 

[Triggerhappy]

Halkegenia Online v2.0 – Epilogue – Part 1

The Palace Gardeners were just about finished with their work to erase the damage done by the attack on the Gala. Flowers had been replanted, trees struck by firework shells removed, and damaged statues, walls, and fountains repaired or replaced. There was a nary a trace at all left that this had been the sight of utter pandemonium just over a week ago.

Henrietta didn't know if she preferred it that way or not. It replaced the ugly wreckage with a beautiful facade yes. But that was the same as replacing a truth with a lie. They shouldn't forget so easily what had happened lest it make them careless again.

She made another, less pressing, observation. 'Spring is ending, the Summer heat will arrive early this year.' Henrietta mused to herself. The laborers were already wearing their wide straw hats to guard against the heat of the noon day sun. The spring rain storm had been a final exuberance of the season it seemed. They were moving now towards the summer months with their sparse rain and long, hot days.

Water would not be a problem for the crops of course. Tristain had always been a nation with just the opposite problem, with many levies and dams scattered across the countryside to redirect the rivers and reclaim the marshes and coastal deltas for farming. The Transition had wreaked no end of havoc with these measures, surely, but the Mages of Tristain were experienced in land reclamation and in repairing the intricate irrigation systems that they and their forefathers had devised and perfected over the centuries.

For once, even the clever mechanical mind of Head Researcher Hyuuga of the Tristain Royal Institute of Science and Technology could offer no improvements on the methods already in place. Though there was plenty else the Leprechaun and her staff seemed eager to improve, if her latest letters and funding requests were well founded. The Fae seeking sponsorship for more clever inventions. Henrietta would see at the end of the week when the fruits of Tristainian craftsmanship and Faerie ingenuity were presented for review.

Ah, how her mind seemed to be wondering again. Recent events had given her the conviction, the resolve to crystallize her will into action, but now there seemed to be hardly any time at all to be herself. So many things to worry about, so many considerations demanding her attention!

At last, back to the matter at hand.

"In that delicate matter, have our investigators anything more to report?" Henrietta de Tristain, Crown Princess of Tristain, and soon to be Queen of her nation asked the man at her side as she cast her eyes to the passing windows.

Cardinal Mazarin, the old regent looking even older today, pulled a hand through his thin gray hair. "I fear not, Your Highness. Our searchers have been casting their nets wide, as far as Germania's Easternmost border and North all the way to the Tearn and the Carcus mountains, but as of yet, no signs or news of a spotting." Her adviser paused in his dismal report, making an effort to appear more assured. "The Zerbsts appear sincere in their aid to us. Fear not Princess, if they are still in Germania, we will find them."

"That is, if they are still in Germania." Henrietta observed thoughtfully.

"Yes." Mazarin agreed slowly. "If."

Not to be defeatist, but that seemed most unlikely at this stage. Not for their lack of trying. Louise's acquaintance from the academy, Kirche von Zerbst, had proven most helpful in that regard. The Germanian had been sought out as soon as news had reached the Capital. Fearing the worst, it had not been ruled out that she might have had some doing in Louise's kidnapping, or . . . defection . . .

No, Henrietta shook her head quickly. She refused to court with such slanderous thoughts. Louise was not the sort to be a traitor. There wasn't a disloyal or selfish bone in that girl's body. If someone had convinced her to go willingly, then it would only be by making her believe it was in the best interest of Tristain, the Fae, and her family.

Miss Zerbst had thought the same, and, in a rare bout of cooperation between two of the oldest feuding families, the Zerbst daughter had delivered into the hands of the Crown an official letter pleading to her father, the head of her house, to use his influence to permit Tristain's investigators into the country.

There had been concerns, leveled by the Duchess de La Valliere that the letter contained some secret missive, suspicious even now. But she'd seemed unsure, doubtful. Failing to bring her daughter home safely had done something to the Heavywind. She'd . . . softened in some strange way that Henrietta could not yet fathom. At once, rigidly under control, but somehow hesitant. What a strange combination to see in someone like her.

Henrietta had ordered the letter used anyways, in spite of the Duchess's urgings to do otherwise, there simply wasn't enough time to decide one way or another, and besides, she had some confidence that the Germanian Mage was acting in good faith. Impulsiveness aside, the von Zerbsts no more wanted to sew chaos than did the Crown or the Faerie Lords.

Which then left only the question of who did and why?

"How fare your contacts in the Church?" Henrietta asked next, smiling sympathetically as Mazarin winced. Of course, he would not want to think ill of his institution of upbringing. There was no guarantee it had been the church after all, and even if it had been, it almost wasn't worth thinking about.

Henrietta had her suspicions, as did Mazarin and the Duchess. It was a very short list indeed that could only include people who knew of Louise's involvement in the summoning of ALfheim. It could be summed up as either Germanian spies, by way of Miss Zerbst perhaps, somehow, surviving Reconquista sympathizers who mayhapwitnessed Louise making use of Faerie Magic, or of course, the Church of Brimir.

Of the three, each could have good reason and perhaps the resources.

Germania, obviously, still feeling spurned by cancelation of the marriage agreement. If Kirche von Zerbst was acting in less than good faith, she may have been able to sneak word from the country. Word that might interest the Northern Kingdom if they saw the opportunity to ransom Louise or else use her as political leverage.

And of course, the surviving elements of Reconquista's conspiracy within Tristain, some of whom might have witnessed Louise using Faerie magic on the night of the Gala and escaped to report to their masters. Any remaining agents of Albion would no doubt be eager to redeem themselves in some small part after their catastrophic failure, especially if they meant to flee the country now that they knew the hunt was begining in earnest, and the White Isle could certainly have provided a cadre of Special Forces or high caliber if the mission was deemed vital.

But not so quickly, Henrietta was sure.

The last, was perhaps the most troubling. The Church of Brimir, Romalia, the Holy Kingdom would have ample reason to fear Louise. As a potential heretic, she was to be shunned. But worse, as user of an inhuman system of magic, she was a threat to the foundations of the Church's power, that human magic flowed from the Founder. Wars had been fought over less.

Perhaps that had been a poor decision.

The Church wanting Louise safely in their custody, where she would be no threat and could be studied at leisure, was not an impossible motive. But it lacked the ring of Truth to Henrietta even as she thought it. If it were the Church's doing, then it would not merely have been to remand a heretic into their custody.

'The Binding Ritual.' Henrietta recalled the report given by Kirito and the Duchess de La Valliere. An effort to complete the summoning and form the familiar bond. If it was assumed that the World Tree was indeed Louise's familiar, then it might even have been an effort to bind all of ALfheim.

An insane move, but one that could tell so very much about Master and Familiar. Henrietta realized she might even have suggested it herself if she hadn't thought the idea would be refused by the Fae Lords, even a high violation of trust.

"I've known Bishop Rubeis for years." Mazarin replied slowly. "I could tell you if that man were to lie. So I can say at least that this is not any matter that he is aware of, although . . ."

"Although?" Henrietta pressed.

Mazarin looked displeased. "It would not surprise him or myself if it were the doing of the Church."

Henrietta grimaced, it was not what she wished to hear. It was much happier to believe that it were Germania or Albion. But if, they could allow themselves believe that Louise had gone willingly, then only the Church might have been able to convince her to do so.

Romalia could offer something to Louise that was beyond mere safety for herself or absolution for her sins. That was to say, a pardon. Unlike Albion which enjoyed an unassailable position above the surface of the world and so was able even now to snub its nose at the Church and Holy Father, the other Kingdoms of Halkegenia were still very much beholden to the Church's influence.

Gallia, through proximity and close economic ties, Germania through its chaotic succession and noble houses always fighting to shore up their legitimacy, and Tristain, both due to size, and the present state of the monarchy.

Although rarely weighing in on a secular matters, the Church was involved in the life of every man, woman, and child, from the highest Royal to the lowest Peasant, and exerted commensurate influence so long as that influence was wielded sparingly. And the current Pope had been a miser indeed

The Church could pardon Louise for her perceived transgressions, judge her absolved for the sin of using Faerie Magic, and remove the threat of sanction upon her family and the Fae. It would be a powerful offer, a political offer that she might not believe she could refuse, demanding only that she deliver herself into Church custody and obey.

But even that wouldn't be enough, would it? What could the Church have possibly promised her . . . Help perhaps?

Louise would know better than most how little the Fae really knew about their magic. And likewise, the Transition was an unprecedented occurrence. Having Louise to study was unlikely to be enough without more knowledge than was possessed by the Academia.

There was no Kingdom in all of Halkegenia more knowledgeable in magic than Romalia. It was said that the Holy Kingdom had been stockpiling scrolls, books, and magical artifacts since a time within living memory of the sons of the Founder. Stored deep beneath the earth in cool, dry catacombs, and in the vault like libraries of the Holy City.

Henrietta would have admitted that Romalia would have been the natural choice of allies to help study Louise and the Transition, once the resources of her own Kingdom had been exhausted.

And then, she realized the heart of the matter, the reason she was so reluctant to believe it was the Church. She simply . . . didn't want to believe. Soon to be crowned Queen, very soon now, the thought of the Church and Romalia being involved, a violation of trust, would place her in a very difficult position as monarch.

For at that very moment, Romalia was expending manpower and treasure to keep up patrols over Tristain's western coast, helping to guard against Albionian raids and explorative forays. And at the same time, had delivered funds Tristain's coffers, made deals with Germania, all to ease the hiring of mercenaries.


Though Romalia had as yet made no committment to assaulting Albion itself, there help was greatly appreciated in strengthening Tristain's defenses, and would be essential if Henrietta was ever to see to the amibtions of her cousins, to retake their Kingdom from the rebels.

If Louise was all of the matter, then Henrietta might have been forced to bitterly accept that she and Tristain were beholden to a higher power, though hardly divine.

But Louise was not the whole of the matter.

Henrietta chewed at her lip. The Fae Lords, Sakuya especially, had been most gracious in the way they had handled the news. Henrietta had expected anger, and there had been anger, and she had expected worry, and there had been a great deal of worry. Demands had been made, accussations of incompetence and untrustworthiness. But the meeting had not grown into the sort of screaming match that might become the grounds of a feud.

The Faeries understood as well as any member of the Nobility that nothing but blood would come of an open confrontation with the Church.

For now, the Fae Lords had agreed to maintain a united front alongside the Crown. News of Louise's involvement in the summoning of ALfheim would be restricted to those who already knew, men and women who were now sworn to secrecy on pain of death.

There was still a chance, if this matter was handled delicately, and not allowed to grow in scope, that it could be resolved politically. The fact that the conspirators had sought to act in secrecy certainly suggested a clandestine effort. Henrietta had listened to her Regent's advice and chosen to hedge her bets on that. They would not move on, nor accuse the Church of anything until they had gathered evidence or Romalia made the admission itself.



And if not politically, then hopefully with the smallest amount of bloodshed. Mother had made her aware of certain . . . assets . . . still reserved to serve the Crown in such matters. And no doubt the Fae could likewise offer assistance when the time came.

It would be difficult. Evidence was circumstantial so far, and the remains that had been retrieved from the sight of the battle were . . . less than intact at this point. Partly damaged in the fight, but rendered unrecognizable by something else entirely. The bodies had seemingly cooked themselves from within, searing skin and leaving little that could be identified.

It stole from them the men's identities. But it did tell them something else. Special Forces, black ops, only they would be so concerned with hiding their identities that they would take such a poisonous potion into their bodies.

"Princess." Mazarin said quietly. It was a tone of voice that he reserved only for when he had something particularly unpleasant to say. Such as now. "Henrietta, there is one more thing I would like you to consider in this matter."

"Oh?" Henrietta cocked her head, listening closely.

"The last request of Miss Valliere . . ." Mazarin let the words hang in the air. A trick that was almost magic in itself.

"Oh." Henrietta said a little more dully as she realized what he was speaking of.

"I believe, given the circumstances that we've been made aware of, that we need to look upon it in a more critical light." Her regent cast his gaze to the floor at his feet while holding his hands at his back. "I thought that Miss Valliere was making a simple request at the time. But it occurs to me now that she may have already made her decision at that time."

"I see." Henrietta closed her eyes. "You mean to say that it is Louise's will to distance her family from the consequences of her actions."

"Indeed." Mazarin sighed. "Your highness, and I think . . . we should consider honoring that request for the time being, Your Highness."

Honoring the request? Henrietta's mind rebelled. That was . . . to strip Louise of her name, of her identity and rights as a daughter of the Valliere family. Merely Louise Francois.

To be stripped of title, a punishment reserved for the worst criminals and traitors, but also, a way to offer some measure of protection to her family. If she'd already meant to surrender herself to the Church at that time, there would be no need to insulate the Vallieres from heresy, but there could be every reason to protect them from their fellows among the nobility if news was ever leaked out.

A disowned, 'worthless' daughter could do no more harm to her family's reputation while she sought to fix what she had wrought. And also, it suggested another unfortunate truth. If Louise's flight had been more deliberate, less hasty than they previously assumed, then it was perhaps that she had sought sanctuary with the Church of her own volition.

By removing herself from the clutches of the Fae and the Nobility, she had taken away the fuel for the firestorm that would ignite if the truth behind the Transition was ever revealed.

What was more, Romalia was obliged to give her sanctuary so long as she obeyed their orders. It was not merely a courtesy, but an imperative of the Church. To do otherwise was to call into question the certainty of the Church's Right to grant forgiveness.

Or at least, Henrietta was certain that must of been her thinking. The thoughts of a girl who didn't really understand the world. 'Oh Louise.' Just what had her oldest friend decided to do, and with what misguided conviction?


And worse, the realization that whatever happened from here, Henrietta would not be able to protect her. She had lost that power from the second the words of Fae magic had left her lips.

"I will take it under advisement for now." Henrietta said. "But I cannot say I am pleased with this, this . . . "

"Impotence?" Mazarin offered gently.

A small nod of her head. 'Impotence'. Yes, that was a suitable word for it. They came to a stop at the end of the hallway, Henrietta looking back over her shoulder down the length of the Eastern Wing. For now, they lacked the power, but it would not always be that way. So she would wait, gather the strength to act when the time was right.

"It is the nature of wielding power, Princess." Mazarin warned. "The solution to every problem becomes more power, but always there are those ambitions beyond the reach, even of a king."

"No." Henrietta said quietly, causing Mazarin to recoil in slight surprise.

The Old Regent shook his head. "Pardon, your highness?"

"Power." Henrietta reasoned. "Power may not be the solution on its own, but we still need some, or we will not be able to achieve anything."

"Wisely spoken." Mazarin decided. "Then, I do believe I know how you will wish to proceed."

Henrietta took a small breath. Not more than a half hour past. Captain Hammond and Lieutenant Agnes had reported that they were at last ready. There investigations were complete, hastened with the help of what had been recovered the night of the Gala. There was no longer any reason to stay their hands.



The Royal Guard now merely awaited permission from the Crown to carry out the arrests. Their actions would no doubt generate more than their share of upheaval.

Their net had caught all it would and it was only left to draw it in and see the catch for themselves. "I believe it is long past time that we made the announcement. I will prepare for the proceedings." Perhaps Sakuya could help her with her planned speech.

Mazarin bowed his head. "Yes, Your Highness . . ." Old dry lips twitched ". . . or rather, Your Majesty."

Henrietta fought down a barking laugh. "I'm not Queen just yet!" The first step to gain power over herself and her Kingdom. She had finally taken it. "Then if you would please, Cardinal, instruct Captain Hammond that he is permitted to take action at once. Now that we know their nests to the last, it is time to cleanse the country of these pests." At last, the hounds were let to slip the leash.

 

[Triggerhappy]

I don't like Louise's power. I don't hide that opinion; but it's the Fae that are starting to feel like Sues.

Are they ever going to react like actual human beings? To anything that's not an internal matter? Because at this stage I'm starting to think that your next big reveal is that the Transition significantly altered their minds. There's no way that an actual human being is this perfect.

I mean Kirito and Asuna were totally cool with Louise and her mother. They were concerned about her.

This after Karin nearly got Kirito killed via stupidity in rushing in. And Louise summoned Heathcliff, bound The Seed, nearly got Kirito and Yui killed and ran off where the Fae cannot reach them taking with her their best hope for going home. Yet both of them remain calm and forgiving. Which is wonderful, it's the sign of truly good people...which is the exact problem.

Saints and Sociopaths are this rational. Asuna and Kirito are looking like the former at this point. They never get angry out of turn. Ever. Not even a slight bout of aggravation, it's just not believable. Real people get emotional at inconvenient times. The human characters do plenty of it. Yet the Fae...

Now the Fae Lords/Ladies are equally perfect. Joy.

Click to shrink...

-Kirito and Asuna who are perhaps the least phased of all the Fae by what has happened to them? I would actually think their circumstances make them the most able to understand.

-Kirito and Asuna realize that Karin is a flawed human being who loves her daughter and so can sympathize with the fact that it was the only thing on her mind in the heat of the moment. Do you really think for a heartbeat that Kirito wouldn't have done the exact same thing if Yui or Asuna were in danger right before his eyes? It is one of his defining character traits, one of Asuna's as well in point of fact, and apparently Yui also. (Probably a sign that Kirito and Asuna shouldn't fight in the same unit/battle unless absolutely necessary or circumstances force their hands.)

-They are willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Karin and believe that there is something wrong with Louise. She is being manipulated, tricked, or coerced. This seems more likely than the friendly if snooty girl that KoKo, Suguha, Klein, Silica, and Yui told them about actually being a maliciouse person and suddenly deciding that she wants -sucks in breath- UNLIMITED POWAAAAAAHH!!!!

Do not confuse this with meaning that they think of Louise as competent to make decisions for herself or others. No doubt they now suspect that she's at least somewhat disturbed in some way. If they didn't think Louise would be needed to be kept under house arrest for the rest of her life before, they almost certainly do now.

As for the Fae Lords, it might, just might, be that Sakuya and the others are being politicaly cautious. They only found out about this days ago at this point. It's a lot to fucking digest when the only solid evidence is that whoever did it isn't working for the Crown. There are times when leaders have to sit and stuff rather than advertise it to everyone out there.

None of those seem like perfect people being perfect. Sakuya and Alicia did not bake Henrietta cookies and hot Coco and tell her everything was going to be okay.

They accepted that shit happened. They're pissed. They're proceeding with commendable restraint hence Henrietta's fears that she might be compelled to action once Louise's location is known.

So basically, Tristain decides not to use the kidnap by force or blackmail of a major noble daughter to actually achieve anything. Instead they'll just let it go.

It's not like this would anger Germania and Gallia just as much if it got out, or that Romalia cannot possibly afford to do things this drastically. Nope, they can and do and they don't even have to say sorry. This isn't even invincibility anymore.

This is villain sues. When the world is this absurdly forgiving. It's sue time.

Click to shrink...

No, its that you don't start pointing finger at the people who are helping to finance your side of war until you have bulletproof evidence. And even then, you don't start pointing fingers at them in public, instead you do it quietly in back rooms, with a little passive aggressive foreign policy, and maybe some cloak and dagger thrown in.

You definitely DON'T advertise to absolutely everyone that they kidnapped a member of the Nobility.

For one thing, it probably isn't totally unheard of, Louise is politically insignificant in the public eye, and therefore probably isn't quite enough for anyone to start another war over. Letting it become public knowledge about why Louise is important on the other hand . . . that would be breath takingly stupid.

Basically, there's no good way to use that option as tempting as it is without knowing more about the circumstances.

Are you honestly trying to pass off Louise as having been the heroine of this whole mess? Oh yes, she made rational decisions to save everyone. Totally.

Let's be a little more realistic? Louise is now looking to be an exile, who broke a major treaty, committed treason, has been under the influence of a foreign power for who knows how long with who knows what brainwashing inflicted on her, made decisions she had no right to make and did all this for emotional reasons.

She's also unbelievably powerful and has none of the personality traits you'd look for in a person who is that much more powerful than anyone else.

Realistically, everyone and their grandmother is going to want her dead, she's too unpredictable and powerful. The moment she is out of Romalia's protection, assuming she cannot no sell every assassin that comes, she'll die. She's certainly not going to be able to come home, not unless she wants to force her friend to spend ludicrous amounts of political capital on it, and even then it won't be enough if word of her being a void mage gets out.

Of course that's just the non-protagonist elements. I imagine the protagonists will all continue to display their perfect selves by instantly understanding her actions and perspective and forgiving her for everything.

Click to shrink...

No, I'm tying to say that Henrietta still cares about her childhood friend. It's possible to think like that and still believe that Louise messed up unbelievably.

I also disagree about Louise's power. She is plot significant but her personal power, as in what she can do on her own without special circumstances, isn't actually that great and comes with its own drawbacks.

The cost of Louise Summoning the World Tree was already going to be hefty politically, regardless of her cooperation one way or another she was doomed to be a pariah anyways.

This feels a little out of no where. What reaction could he have been looking for with this sentence? Did he want her to decide not to gather power and influence to the crown any more? This just seems like a proverb inserted for no real reason, which would work if Mazaran was Uncle Iroh but he's not.

Click to shrink...

It's the simple realization that if the Church and Romalia are the one responsible then Tristain, at present, lacks the power to openly oppose them and must use quieter methods. Key word, present.

To wield power is to always face challenges that demand more power than one possesses, the same way gathering wealth tends to cause you to live larger even if you don't need to. In absolute terms, Henrietta wields relatively little power at this time. Not on the scale of Nations and she was lamenting this fact.

Mazarin was merely pointing out that though Henrietta understood that a King or Queen's power was limited, the visceral realization is quite another thing.

There's that Banana Peel. This should be a trope.

I mean why is it only now, after weeks of preparation for war, probably months of expecting to be involved in a war, that Tristain decides it feels like actually being serious about this stuff?

Given that they can "unleash the hounds" they've obviously been holding back until now and the only reason I'm seeing is so that they could have a big dramatic moment when they suddenly decide not to hold back any more. Oh sure there's all the stuff with traitors and nobles and so on, except there's no sign in the text of this story that any of that is less of a problem all of a sudden. No uprooting of a network of traitors or regaining of lost authority. Just, "oh woops guess we should probably start caring about the infestation of enemies now."

Click to shrink...

How is this a bannana peel? It was the whole point of Agnes' involvement and investigating de'Martou.

They wanted to get the conspirators all at once, in one go, or at least, root out the core of politically connected individuals to break Reconquista's power in Tristain completely. Small cuts wont do it, it'll only alert the conspirators that they are under particular suspicion, and that the Crown has grown aware of the greater mass of their conspiracy. It's why Agnes warned Louise off in the first place.

They may still have the usual agents and spies working on the fringes, but the biggest fear was that Tristain's own Generals and Pursers could be in on things. Worse, that they could be feeding battle plans and new Faerie innovations back to Reconquista in detail.

A long, protracted series of purgers gives time to whip up resentment and for the more powerful members of the conspiracy to wash their hands of the business and appear 'innocent'. Henrietta and Crown do not have the power to contest such people easily, and instead, it was decided to let them continue business as usual 'unsuspected' while the Royal Guards built up a picture of what was happening so that they could all be brought down at once using the shock of betrayal to lubricate the process.

They were getting close too.

This was entirely how Agnes became aware of Louise, and why Jack was tasked with killing several Royal Guard officers before they could report on their investigations. It's also how the Crown learned of the kidnapping attempt and decided to prepare for it rather than tipping everyone off that they had their hands wrist deep in the guts of the conspiracy already.

In fact, looking back, at least to me, the conspirators slipped all the way at the beginning, they were neverinvincible, merely very dangerous. The factor of being partly unknown is all they had protecting them. And they might have been afraid that they'd be found out eventually, coupled with the more powerful backers seeing it as their opportunity to rule Tristain. It's the Crown that dropped the ball thinking that they had things well enough under control and already knew all of the dangers.

The reasoning is reminiscent of a python sketch at this point. Though my ability to write such a thing is terrible.

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Understandable, Comedy requires an understanding of humans. You're a Scotsman. But I forgive you.

​

 

[Triggerhappy]

I like the latest Omake/Extra, I hereby declare it fancanon!

isn't "reappearing at necessity/will" what Kirito is already doing? "Retiring" kind of implies permanence.

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Similarly, killing 'her' off, might be bad if for whatever reason they need 'Midori' to show up again. Kirito kind of fucked this one up when he should have known better.

Like I said, I have an Omake idea for this that should be amusing. And now, it's not what anyone is thinking . . . well . . . not in the way anyone is thinking.

I'll try to right it up tommorow morning.

In the meantime, this is mostly my lack of sleep ramblings, but . . .

Another thing that occurred to me. The shapeshifting spells have a lot more utility now since they represent actual, physical changes, that could not be properly expressed in stats before. Not to mention bonusses to senses, access to unique mob magic abilities, etc . . . A lot of those have to make serious and invasive alterations to the brain.

The Cait Syth are certainly the most obvious, but also, anyone using a bestial form, there's no way, for instance, that Morgiana should be able to fly with physical wings, or Kirito be able to maneuver his Baphomet form so easily, if they didn't have some sort of mental mods. It could be that the Fae as they are now are 'built' as shapeshifters, a common part of Faerie lore, and have a less rigid sense of physical 'rightness' to their bodies.

Which might also explain why Kirito isn't as stressed playing Midori, at least not enough to trip Yui's sensors, she's aware it could be a problem, but given that Kirito hasn't displayed any obvious symptoms, its stayed bellow the threshold of concern. That and the fact that he doesn't really change his behavior in the slightest to account for gender.

That said, I'm sure that opens up a whole new can of worms for anyone with a cross gender human form >_>.

That also makes me wonder. Faction Disguise is already out of the bag. Plenty of Fae know about it, and the number who can teach it to others is great enough that they can't really stop people who want to know the spell from learning it. This obviously leads to some unfortunate situations, but it seems like teaching basic awareness and spreading how to cast the 'detect' spells would be a better option than trying to stop people from using it, especially if they work out the specifics of all of its quirks.

After all, you're going to have Fae who want to, attain a more human appearance (this may be especially good for children like Rika as well if they can figure out how to get them to scan a child form so that they can be there own age), those few who were genderbent on a lark and would really like to have their birth gender back, at least as an option. Out of that small community, there are probably one or two who've decided to roll with it, or discovered that they were always a man in a woman's body and are finally comfortable with themselves.

And then Agnes and Caramella had a solution to their relationship. Mazarin, Rubeis, and Zolf are going to need all of the Fae alcohol. (Yes, I'm aware that sexuality and sexual attraction is so very much more complicated than that and doesn't work that way.)

And of course, people using it to change things up in the bedroom with their spouse/significant other.

Yeah, the Mimic spell is going to probably gain quite a lot of baggag in the future.

 

[Triggerhappy]

I don't make such threats, But I guess its a little telling that you consider them as such? Either way I think I'm done though, not because of this last issue, but mostly you. You're a fucking asshole. Every time it comes around to people bitching about Dunkirk, the faerie arc, and other arcs, I did nothing but defend you, I never complained about louise getting the spot light with leafa and koko, I never thought dunwell was overpowered and needed to start sucking, I never needed to demand an explanation of why Albion is so competent. And here you are treating me like azerke, someone whose comments and complaining I found so obnoxious I put him on ignore long ago. As though I've been a thorn in your side every step of the way when the reality is, I haven't been waiting on your 'fixed' versions Because surprise surprise, I was one of the few who had nothing bad to say, and liked the story as it came.

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Look, I'm sorry you feel that way. I think there's still something of a leftover emotional charge in here about this whole subject at the moment and my post didn't help.

After all the crap that's gone down in the last couple of threads its very hard to measure anyones actual tone and intent in here. From my perspective your latest post read as an ultimatum which I'm sure you can understand I'm kind of sensitive to at the moment. Obviously, that was not your intent, but I allowed myself to see it that way. That was my fault.

And I can see how my post read like an attack pointed at you, which was not my intent. That is also my fault. I'm aware that my tempre was running high when I wrote that, and it's a revision of what I was going to first send. I hope you can find it in your heart understand that.

I do feel that your response is a little bit strong, even for that, however. So I think we both need to take a breath and try to undo the misunderstanding rather than thinking the worst of each other.

Several people have chosen to casually drop insults or place pressure on me before parts of the story are even written. If I tell them to drop it, they just come back to the subject again and again like sharks to blood, eating up posts without contributing a thing to the enjoyment or improvement of this thread. Or worse, they start campaigns of passive aggressive agitation.

I've kind of grown a skin against Vaer and Anzerke since I've realized how crazy they both are at times, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still rub the wrong way, nor can I ignore them because sometimes they have good points, once in a blue moon.

It's just . . . there was a time when I could throw ideas out and people would play around with them and bounce back ideas of their own. If it was good, it was good, if it was bad, it was let to sink. That was a golden age of these threads, albeit far from perfect even then. Now it seems like any effort to do that is either met with 'SPOILERS!' or out of control speculation that puts the story in the worst possible light and starts flamewars.

You blatantly miss read anything I write, to the point where you're bitching about me as though I want Louise to be all important plot relevant mary sue, When I've clearly said NUMEROUS FUCKING TIMES, that all I want is for her to be in control of her own future instead of being an overly glorified leaf in the wind surrounded by people who determine their own paths. In stating the way you write and the direction you take the story in is yours to control numerous times. You still have the gall to insinuate I'm doing the exact opposite of what I was doing for the last 8 threads; arguing for your own creative license.

Click to shrink...

As I said, I allowed myself to think the worst. I have no other excuse but being a flawed human being. But I do at times feel trapped between a lot of people who do feel that they have the right to . . . urm . . . write the story. It was wrong of me to imply that I was letting out that frustration on you. I never intended to make you the sole target but instead was lamenting a general fact of recent behavior on the part of several people. You're post just happened to set it off.

But what I should to say is, you shouldn't have had to argue for my license. That is also my fault.

You've let assholes like ver azerke and that guy who writes making magick get you so short tempered that you're seeing enemies in your biggest proponents. This has turned into another thoughtless mob, Look how many people threw their weight into your reply. How many likes and assurances you have from people who demanded you rewrite and "fix" things, over and over, and fucking over. If you want to garland yourself in that shallow praise and crap go ahead. If you don't want to cater to me, I've only written pages on why that's just fine. But I'm not going to sit here and be accused of something I haven't done. That shit does not fly with me. I hope you have many revisions to come, because honestly, at this point you have no one to blame but yourself for it.

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That's what I fear. That's the problem . . . I'm trying my best to walk the thin line between mindless praise, genuine critique, and people who are being psychotic assholes just because they can, and it can be a very thin line at times. Sometimes I slip.

I think you're angry partly because you feel betrayed that I would make a comment like that? Not that I don't appreciate what you've done. How couldn't I?

I mean, look at how pissed you got about this right now. And you're a reader. I won't say that you're merely a reader, you've contributed more through your posts than most, but that still only ammounts to a fraction of the time and effort I've devoted in comparison.

That isn't meant as some sort of objective sign of worthiness, merely that if you can get worked up over this, imagine how I must feel about it. You can't write something like this without being emotionally invested to great extent, in the characters, and in the world, and in the readers.

you'd think after all this time singing high praise for the tarbes arc you could at least fathom what it is I look to read with Louise instead of garbling the first deranged thought that comes through your mind.

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I don't know why you feel the need to hide this part considering it is the most concise element of your post and explains most of how you feel about the subject. But you ask me how I could think those things about you after the praise you gave the Tarbes arc?

All I can do is ask you back. How can you feel that about me after writing it?

You should know that I want Louise to have facility and control over her life. But there are also going to be times when she doesn't have control. That is normal, that is human. This is one of those times.

I just let Anzerke's contant hammering of Void == Complete Story dominance get beat into my head for too long.

Edit: And guys, don't give femanon a hard time about this. It isn't my intent. I snapped. I snapped for the right reason at the wrong person.

Though it was never meant to be directed solely at one person.

Sorry .

 

[Triggerhappy]

Halkegenia Online v2.0 – Epilogue Part 2

It started out like a wave. Spreading from the walls of the Royal Palace, down into the streets of the capital, flowing along back alleys like channels before doubling back on the main streets until there was no place left to go, no place to offer shelter. From there it stretched outward, into the surrounding countryside, and then to the other cities, the small manors and the large estates by way of the roads and ports.

An order perhaps too long in coming, at last given, now, when it would have the most devastating effect.

The Viscount de Wards' betrayal had alerted the Crown to the danger, the traitors that might exist even in its own midst. After the Battle of Newcastle, the Royal Guard had been scrutinized from the first to the last at the Queen's orders, its Commander down to the lowliest musketeer. They had been judged loyal, but the investigations had uncovered others, clerks, and servants who could not be trusted.

The logical thing would have been to take them into custody, to interrogate them, and from them, to extract the identity of further conspirators. But, after conferring for a time, it had been decided not to do so. In fact, to do nothing to them for the time being.

The Guard had stayed their hand, watching them as they watched, listening to them as they listened. They were followed, not allowed to suspect, when they made their reports by dead drop or in the back rooms of taverns, helped along by couriers and smugglers. A maze of dead drops and anonymous changing of hands. The trail had been lost more than once to preserve secrecy. But for ever lead lost, another way followed to its terminal point.

The smugglers had been tracked, their names had been made known, and their businesses located. Where they kept their stocks, where they laid their heads. Again, the Guard had stayed its hand. Only moving on those deemed 'non vital' to Reconquista. The others, they observed closely, even helped along, diverting unwanted attention.

Musketeers and petty nobility were sent in disguise to do business, to purchase goods and services and learn from where they came and how. Learning the other customers who frequented the black market and hidden routes.

Learning all they could of the illicit web, all of which led back to Reconquista and the conspirators within Tristain.

From there, the identities of Noble sons had been learned. Their families, their ties, their crimes against the Crown, until there could be no doubt of guilt. Men who would, if they were lucky, live the rest of their days in chains, serving hard labor as penance. And if they were less lucky, a swift, anonymous death within prison dungeons.

And what they found, left them in dismay. The web ran wide, and it ran deep. A rot that had slowed the investigation to crawl as they were forced to conceal their actions with even greater care.

Yet still, the Guard stayed its hand, it was not time yet. These young sons, always seconds and thirds, bastards, and extras. Disowned nobility with nothing to lose. It would be easy for them to be shed by their masters, discarded as part of a gambit. They would be sacrificed to save the real conspirators, leaving shadowy old men to continue their treason in the heart of the country.

To stop them would mean imprisonment, execution, measures that the Crown would not and could not take on such a dismaying scale without first justifying. And so again they had waited, waited for the first heads of higher authority to make a mistake, to reveal themselves.

A high ranking tax officer was among them, found by way of his subordinate, a smuggler. His associations were well known, but still, they were to be checked and rechecked, confirming what had been learned. The best lead they had found so far, a path to the center of the web.

Then, nearly disaster, a plot discovered by chance, the efforts of the conspiracy directed towards a single, finishing blow, a decapitation meant to take the throne. Did they suspect? Did they know?!

No, the plot had been in the works for far too long, only now taking form just as the final date closed. They feared, but only in general, not the specifics.

But it was not yet time to move. Move now, and they lost everything, they would be forced to start anew against a foe aware, or else, begin a witch hunt that would drive the nobility into the arms of Reconquista.

So again, they had waited, gathering their forces patiently, preparing to weather the storm. The targets were known, the likely time and location could be assumed with near certainty. Or so it had been thought.

When the sun had risen the day after the gala, ruin done to the Capital, a Royal Function disrupted at the very place where the Crown should be most secure. It was not clear whether it had been the right course of action at first. Surely it would have been better to put an end to the conspiracy before then, before their efforts became not only known, but known as a farce. They should have taken what they could and accepted that they would never burn out the cancer.

Yet the gambit had paid dividends like they would never have imagined.

Two bases found and taken apart, prisoners taken by the dozens and interrogated, notebooks and letters retrieved, fed into the waiting hands of spymasters and analysts.

And they had worked their magic, worming their way through what had been taken, sifting through notes, and sifting through heads to put everything together. No single piece was incriminating. None told the whole story. But taken together, with what had already been learned, it formed oh so many pieces of a very large puzzle.

Enough that they could now finish the picture for themselves. And with that done, with the festering heart before them, there was no longer reason to wait.

As one, the Royal Guard had moved, working their way down the list in exactly the opposite order from what the conspiracy had come to expect. They'd taken the shadowy old men first, giving no chance to fight or send warning to their co-conspirators, swords held to their backs as they stepped down from carriages, or blades held to their throats within the parlors of their own homes. Soldiers were ordered to arrest their comrades, or even their superiors, and did so on the authority of the Crown itself.

Some had tried to fight, to be brought down in the streets like rabid dogs. Some had attempted to flee, on foot, or in the air. To be chased down by the Knights and Musketeers. Some suffering the ultimate humiliations of being dragged in by Faeries, or worse, being taken by commoners, pistols held to their backs as they were marched from their homes and businesses.

Only when these ring leaders had been found, did the investigation turn its attention elsewhere, and begin the slow, relentless, process of hunting down the remainder of the conspiracy, now shattered, unable to communicate, and their identities known. It had become a great hunt that had gone on for fully a week as the last were chased to ground or fled the country, their names and betrayals publicly known, their power broken.

There was no use in chasing them now, they could do no more harm making their capture worthwhile, perhaps Albion would take them. The Guard had turned next to the aftermath. What to do with the thousands that had been found incontrovertibly guilty.

Foci had been confiscated, rank and title stripped temporarily in preparation for their trials where it would be surrendered permanently if found guilty.

If done one by one, without evidence, the Crown would have faced the stiffest of opposition. But all at once, and with the overwhelming weight of evidence on their side, it had gutted the conspiracy, and stayed the tongues of the loyal opposition as they watched, waited, and listened. The depths of the conspiracy shocked and outraged many, it called into question the authority of the Crown.

But there had been plans for that as well.

Even as the the disloyal were routed, Queen Marianne had publicly declared her intention to step down in the wake of her failures, and for her daughter, who had been instrumental in negotiating the peace with the Fae, and in seeing the investigation to its conclusion, to take her place as Tristain's monarch.

It did not matter whether it was wholly the truth, the blame or the credit, only that the people believe it. And they did. In this uncertain time, all that was known about Henrietta de Tristain was that she was politically deft, loyal to her country, and friend to the Fae. Her credentials were as good as any young monarch could hope.

With that done, Princess Henrietta de Tristain, soon to be Queen, enjoyed the greatest of advantages against her enemies on the first day of her rule. The outrage of a public, betrayed by their countrymen, and rallied however transiently around the symbol of the Crown.

The solution was of course not perfect. The rot had spread so deep and wide, the sheer number of betrayals had brought the organs of government nearly to their knees. It would slow preparations for the war, for a time at least, until things could be settled, new plans made to replace those that might have been stolen, new audits to discover how much had been thieved from the Kingdom's coffers.

And of course . . . it would be a very long time before every one of the traitors could be tried and sentenced. For the Lord of the Legal Collegiate, had, upon the day of the purges, vanished from his residence . . .
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cold water, and the feeling of soaked hair as a head fought against the strength of his arm. Ephilates did not stop as the bubbles streamed up to the surface as if the water was coming to a boil, nor did he relent as the bubbles stopped and the man began to fight and buckle with renewed strength. It did him no good, the position was exactly the reverse of the one that he . . . that the human Akito had found himself in once in high school. An unfortunate altercation he didn't care to remember, except the lesson that bravery meant fuck all without the power to back it up.

'That's right, you're the one who can't fight back now.' He thought without a hint of mercy. It was a sort of catharsis, a release as strong as any drug that drove him to push down harder, placing all of his weight against his arm.

Only as the struggles began to weaken, did the man to his side, the Earth Mage Digby, sans wand hand since the events of La Forace Prison, gesture for him to let up, giving the struggling man a chance to breath.

"Do I really have to?" Ephi asked casually. "This idiot cost me dearly." How fucking hard was it to kill one Faerie Lord who'd practically been deliered into his lap? "Mortimer was supposed to be dead, and if he hadn't cheaped out on mercenaries even Morgiana wouldn't have been able to save him . . ."

All because of this fucking human waste who had the gall to go on about his innate superiority. The Sylph grit his teeth. He could have been leading the Fae once the current Lords were dealt with. Once the weak were culled off by the slaughter, and the strong sought leaders more suited to this world.

Instead, forced to hide away in a broken down hovel like this, crawling along the surface of the Earth like some trash mob or . . . or human. The sensation of nausea as he recalled that existence was almost overpowering. He'd lost everything. Of his own stupidity as much as anything else he thought with barely contained self loathing. He should have bided his time a while longer.

Well . . . Ephi grinned viciously, not everything . . . His hand squeezed at the back of the struggling man's skull like an overripe melon. He still had his personal strength, and the will and knowledge to apply it in some very painful ways. He could extract at least some satisfaction from that. Or he could, except . . .

Digby grimaced. "Just let him up."

Sighing inwardly, Ephi acquiesced, dragging the drowning man's head from the tub, the gasping, spluttering old face of the Lord Justice of Tristain. This was the man they had been obeying? Pathetic. He hadn't even been able to put up a fight when he, Digby and Isabella had descended on him and his guards, trying to flee the country like rats leaving a sinking ship. Not that he was going to make it very far. Richmond's status as the Lord Justice had earned him an early warning, but the Royal Guard had been closing in on him fast, he'd never have made it past the border.

Which was unfortunate, as he could provide incriminating evidence on some of the few spies that had escaped the Royal Guard's nets. It was a shadow of the conspiracies former network, but if Reconquista wanted any sort of privileged information from within Tristain to continue to flow, the few remaining contacts had to be kept safe and unsuspected.

'From killing blow to damage control.' Ephi mused, how quickly things changed.

Sadly for Richmond, his utility to Reconquista had expired with his position as Tristain's Lord Justice. Which worked out marvelously for Ephilates, the first good news he'd had in over a week.

They hadn't needed the guards alive, so naturally, they'd killed them. That left only the Lord Justice himself to be dragged off. They did need to know if he knew anything of value.

"My apologies Lord Richmond, for our miserable surroundings." Digby raised the stump of his arm to take in the tiny room of the dingy little cabin they had found along one of the back roads.

There had been no sign of the owners, most likely abandoned when the Transition had occurred. Just two little rooms, one with a cot, the other housing a few barrels full of supplies and a tub still in condition to hold water. Tattered old curtains closed, and lit only by lantern light, the space made a suitable miniature dungeon for their work.

"Cugh . . . cuh . . . Unhand me!" Richmond choked, spluttering past mouthfuls of water as he fought to suck in air at the same time.

'Fuck, have the discipline to do one or the other!' Had Sigurd and Jack really been found by this guy? Or rather, his cronies. They'd been looking for isolated Fae to take prisoner and interrogate, instead, they'd found a buzz saw of a Spriggan living out his delusions by slaughtering the Lord Justice's men, and a fairly powerful Sylph Mage Knight who was all too eager to kill his former Lord.

Richmond had been quite happy to change his plans to accommodate this new factor, once their loyalty had been proven of course. Ephi had thought it was of a sign of caution, to forcibly invest them in the cause. Now, he realized it had just been gloating superiority. If he'd know, he might have rethought his involvement, or suggested killing Richmond and putting someone else with a brain in charge.

"Defiant to the last I see, Lord Richmond." Digby noted casually. "You know, I'm a reasonable man most of the time. This would go by a lot easier with some truth serum, but that's quite rare," the Earth Mage lamented, "And expensive, and it's not something we're issued in the field without good reason. Now, I don't like to use torture, it hardly offers the best results, but as your value depreciates by the second, I view it as a matter of expedience. There is fast coming a time when, regardless of what you know, it will be better that I just kill you."

Though . . . " The Earth Mage spun around, cracking the tip of his wand against the flesh of the Lord's Justice's arm. Losing a hand hadn't done much to abate his ruthlessness. Ephi tightened his hold on Richmond as he screamed out, only then noticing the smell of cooking flesh, and the smoke rising from the tip of Digby's wand. " . . . you could always just tell us the truth and it would be equally painless for all involved."

"You Albionian savage!" Richmond growled. "When Lord Cromwell hears of this you'll . . ."

Ephi was about to knock the mage's head against the wall, a little solidarity with his current employers never hurt after all, but Digby beat him to it, catching Richmond solidly across the jaw.

"When Lord Cromwell hears of this?" Digby asked coldly. "When he hears of this, he will hear that half a squad of Kings Hand special forces, and two thirds of our spy network within Tristain was pressed into your service, and destroyed for your ambition of becoming Lord Regent of Tristain."

"You supported me!" Richmond screamed.

"I didn't have a choice!" Digby bellowed at the top his lungs. "You'd committed us before we even knew, and don't dare pretend you didn't plan it that way." Richmond cringed away, lips peeled back in a sneer. "You thought to use us for your own ends. Now I'll tell you," Digby grabbed Richmond by the temples, torquing his head back to face him, "I'll tell you. Lord Cromwell, bless his soul, is a splendidly forgiving man, too forgiving in fact. But you know what else he is?"

Richmond swallowed, it appeared his tongue had left him at last.

That was okay, Digby answered his own question darkly. "Not here . . . So why don't you tell us . . . tell us everything in that precious little head and I will swear not to kill you." It was fortunate that Ephi was at Richmond's back so that the man could not see his frown.

Digby raised his hand again, the signal for Ephi to drive the prisoner's head back under the water. Richmond resisted, but it didn't do him much good. Then again, Ephi didn't really see the point of this exercise. Really, the Sylph hadn't expected it to work. It seemed to him like this was the least painful of the techniques he had helped the crippled Albionian to perform. So why would it break the old Lord Justice now?

But maybe Digby was an old hand at this sort of thing after all, because when at last Richmond's head was let back above water, he had become astonishingly more cooperative.

"Please . . . Please . . . I'll tell you!"

"Anything?" Digby asked.

"Yes . . . Yes . . . Anything. But . . ."

"Ah, there's always a 'but'." The Earth Mage mused callously.

"Safe passage . . . safe passage out of this country and to Albion." Richmond panted. "Until such a time that Lord Cromwell may make his judgment. Assure me of that!"

And what, did he want his safety blanket too? Ephi wondered. It wasn't like they would be held to any promises they made him. He had to know that. Hell, it was his job to know that. Ephi had listened well, and 'Lord Justice' was not entirely far off from 'Lord Torturer'. Personally, Ephi thought that the old bastard was way overvaluing himself. Which meant they must have just cracked him like an egg.

"I so swear that as long as your draw breath, I will transport you to the White Isle." Digby said solemnly. "And that you will not be harmed by any man or woman under my employ." Taking a seat on a broken crate. "All I want is the truth."

The way that Richmond proceeded to spill his guts was . . . Ephi could only think of one word for it. 'Disgraceful.'

Less than two days of torture and an unrealistic promise, and he'd caved like a house of cards. It told a lot about the sort of man that the Lord Justice was, always sending others to do his dirty work, and unable to command respect based on his personal prowess. At least Sigurd hadn't been afraid to get his hands dirty, share in the danger, even if he wasn't really that much good in a fight.

It was something Ephi valued when people began to see past his false charisma, they still could not deny his valor.

Ephi had chosen to leave the room while Digby finished up. He didn't know, and he didn't want to know more about Reconquista's plans. At this point, until he had something new to aim for, his best chance for survival was being a hedgehog, painful to attack, and not worth enough to bother. That went for both his enemies and current allies. That meant carefully not overhearing anything he shouldn't.

Fuck!

How had it ended up this way? Why had he trusted someone like Richmond to have a plan? He should have known better, but he'd let himself ignore that Sigurd was blinded by revenge and Rip Jack had never been more than a tool, unable to act for himself, and certainly not to be trusted giving any sort of advice!

No . . . he knew why. Part of it anyways. Shutting the door behind him. He'd let some remnant of his past self weaken his resolve . . . contaminate him with its fear . . . 'Still within me . . .' That hideous other self that he had at last been able to shed, peeling away its skin like a chrysalis to achieve this form. The ugly self, the inferior human that had existed in that other world, imprisoning his true nature.

'No!'

The thought drove him to take action, immediate action, ill thought out action, as he drove a fist into the cabin wall, feeling wood yield and splinter under the blow. The pain as the energy of his punch partly rebounded, tearing the skin of knuckles, and casting an ache up from wrist all the way to shoulder.

Breathing heavily as the flare of rage subsided. He would not be compared to that loathsome self. He would not succumb the way that the weak willed such as Sakuya had, wearing her Sylph flesh like a macabre second skin, refusing to relinquish what he had once been. The raw frustration. How he loathed her every day for what she was. Just another sheep who viewed her old self as somehow desirable. And how he lusted for what she could have become.

But instead, she'd . . . rejected herself, and by extension ALfheim . . . and him.

He breathed in again slowly, controlled, feeling chest rise and fall. He calmed himself. In a way, the pain was good. It was a reminder of this reality, and of his own realness that he would not relinquish.

A feeble chuckle reminded Ephi that he was not in lone company. "I do hope the Lord Justice is not the one who has upset you, Old boy."

Propped up on the cot by pillows and wadded up traveling cloaks, blouse open to reveal sickly skin and ring of slowly fading raw flesh around his neck, the man's name was Chadrick, and in so much as Ephi knew, he had been the one involved in the assassination attempt on Prince Wales.

"Oh?" Ephi assumed a smile. "He's done plenty enough to upset me already. No need for more."

The thespian smiled dreamily, eyes ringed by lack of proper sleep, possibly a symptom of whatever condition had befallen him, or possibly its treatment, so far as Ephi could tell. In any case, Isabella had been doting over him since they'd departed La Forace under the cover of the attack, and was largely responsible for his being lucid at all at this point. Well, mostly lucid.

"The croaking raven doth bellow for revenge?" He pondered, wagging eyebrows. "I do hope so, vengeance is such an interesting motive . . . wouldn't you say?"

Whatever, the man was obviously babbling. "Where's Isabella? I wouldn't imagine she'd leave you like this."

"I believe she went to keep watch." The stricken man waved vaguely. "A precautionary measure, Digby hasn't shown much concern for keeping our guest quiet I should say. You do know some people are trying to sleep."

Ephi rolled his eyes. "Of course. Maybe I should give her some help." He turned to the door to the small room, only stopping again because Chadrick hadn't gotten the hint and kept talking.

"Although, I have to say I understand the motive for revenge. Failure has cost you dearly. Hasn't it? Your status, your ambitions."

Ephi smiled towards the door. "A wise man knows when to keep his mouth shut, Chad-kun. And besides," he looked back over his shoulder, "I doubt things are looking much better for an assassin who couldn't assassinate his target."

Chadrick's eye twitched. "Yes well, Royals are a uniquely hard breed to kill. We had such ambitions, but . . . ah well . . . I suppose my current success shows I'm not much better than a Knight at this business. Anyways, with my services in the past, I'm sure this failure will be forgiven. Although, it does make me consider . . . a proposition of sorts."

Ephi let his hand fall from the door handle. He wouldn't have entertained the thought at any other time. But Chadrick didn't appear to be all there. Maybe he'd let something useful slip. "Go on."

"I've just been thinking. You Sylphs have a talent for stealth magic. And I believe you mentioned learning that spell that old Jack had in his repertoire?"

"Mimic." Ephi agreed.

"Isabella couldn't see through it, and she is one of the best at her trade." Chadrick mused dreamily. "In fact, I'd almost say it was it was a true body. How your Faerie magic discerns the difference is a mystery to me. Powerful magic, and not yet well known, thus hard to guard against. Useful in our line of work. I'm sure you understand what I am suggesting."

Ephi snorted. Oh, he did, he simply wasn't interested. "Hmm, wander the wilds avoiding air patrols and bounty hunters, or deliver myself to the country that makes Zombies. Forgive me," he reached for the door handle again, "But I'm not that stupid."

"You're heading into Gallia after this, aren't you?" Chadrick asked suddenly. His eyes had grown sharp and clear, like the daze had been either an act, or was being held back by force of will.

"Well, there are only two countries bordering Tristain in this cheap ass knock off of Europe." Ephi growled. "So you have a fifty percent chance of being right. Why? Something you think I should know if I am?"

"Nothing at all." Chadrick smiled. "Just . . . If you find yourself in Gallia, and in the most unfortunate of circumstances, you might wish to drop my name and the service you have done us. It will either spare your neck or . . ."

"Or?" Ephi quirked a brow impatiently.

"Well", the thespian smiled, "They might decide to make your death more painful. They're very good at that."

"Mind tell me who 'they' are?"

Another soft chuckle. "Why, that's part of the fun old boy!"

Whatever. Not to self, don't get caught in Gallia. "I'll send Isabella back in to empty your bedpan." Slamming the door behind him.

As soon as he was out in the chill, early morning air, Ephi felt his mood improve. As his affinity for his new form had grown, Ephi had found himself tolerating confined spaces less and less. Ironic considering it was how his past self had spent much of the previous half decade of his life. Being out of the cramped cabin did him a world of good. He didn't belong in such places anymore, yet another detail that further removed him from the human he had been.

The human he had been . . . he stopped beside a pond not far from the cabin, surface still and dark, it made a passable mirror. Running a hand through short cropped green hair. The handsome features of a man in his prime. He couldn't make out one trace of his past self, a sort of narcissistic pleasure. That idiotic, fat cheeked expression had been obliterated for all time along with the rest of his former body. Obese stocky frame melted away into something tall, and lithe, wrung with strong muscle.

And of course, he lifted his left hand, a whispered chant and a snap of his fingers. The low powered [<Echo]> spell ringing out, sweeping into the surrounding forest and then returning with a sudden knowledge of heading and proximity of every vaguely human sized creature within two hundred meters. A chill ran down his spine. To do it just like that. But now it was real, just like his body, just like his wings.

And there were people who want to undo this?

The sky above, the ripples that existed there, when he thought to look, swirling air currents rising higher and higher, the morning thermals hadn't started up just yet, but they would soon, and then it would be easy to see the paths the birds, dragons, and airships would follow.

Surprisingly, this was the third day that he had not caught sight of a single pair of Faerie wings. Sakuya had sicked the Sylphs loose along with the rest when the purges had begun, and from what he'd gathered, they'd been instructed to be non too gentle with the conspirators they ran to ground. At last some of the beautifully vicious creature within her was starting to show itself.

If it got her to shed the pretense, he might not even mind if she managed to keep her promise. "This world exists for those who will take it." He decided. He could tolerate no attempt to undo that. To do so was a denial of what they were. What they were supposed to be.

But for now, he'd have to bide his time. Chances were still good that Reconquista would finish what they'd started, or at least weaken Tristain enough to be finished off by an opportunistic neighbor. When that happened, he'd just have to have arrangements in place to pick up the pieces. Even if he was despised, people would accept his way if it meant survival.

So . . . "Isabella." He called up to his right, into the trees where he had sensed an unusually large creature to be up so high. The water mage keeping watch from her perch.

"So you can detect me even up here?" The voice called down, narrowly directed by magic so as not to expose her position to any eavesdroppers. "Good morning Mister Ephilates. And please not so loud. I can hear you perfectly well."

"And I can hear anyone who gets close enough to hear us." Ephi replied. And if need by he could lay out a perimeter of proximity trackers, which ought to give them a bit more warning. Not that he was about to reveal anymore of his tricks than necessary. "Chadrick is awake now."

"Oh?"

"I thought you'd want to know, given his condition."

"Looking out for him." A soft rustling came from above as Isabella fell far to the ground, landing light and easily as a cat, folding to absorb the impact. "What a considerate man." She teased softly. "Though you are correct. A death experience is an excruciating thing, even for those who do not have a high affinity for our tools. I'd fear for Chadrick if he'd been more into character, his heart might have given out."

"Die in the game and you die in real life." Ephi said under his breath. "Now where have I heard that before?"

The water mage composed her features, pursing full lips. "Your impertinence aside. I must thank you for your help in la Forace. We'd likely have never gotten out without those eyes of yours to lead us back to the surface."

"Lot of good its done me." Ephi grumbled mildly.

"Maybe." Isabella batted her eyes. "I know it may not seem like much, but there is a certain honor among thieves and assassins. We'd all be long dead if there wasn't."

"I'm sure." He said sarcastically. A healthy suspicion for everything. It was one of the few traits of his old self that he cared to retain, even while throwing away everything else.

"Well, a strong backer helps too." She admitted. "Which is why I was wondering about . . ."

"A proposition?"

The water mage stepped back, mild surprise gracing her features. "Why . . . yes . . . Don't tell me . . ."

"Chadrick, the 'Old Boy'." He said sardonically. "I'm sure it was all just drunken ramblings. Heading to Albion that is."

"And what's wrong with Albion?" Isabella pouted in a way that had to be deliberate.

In fact, he'd decided everything this woman did was deliberate. What he hadn't been able to discover was the source of her ongoing fixation. If she was trying to seduce him, she wasn't very good at it. Not that he would have been averse to getting in her pants if he didn't expect a knife between his ribs for the trouble.

Another bit of his old self discarded without a tear shed. One of the less oft mentioned side affects of the Transition. Living in a city suddenly filled to brim with young, physically idyllic, and most of all, horny, pseudo humans had made it hard for anyone who was making even the slightest effort to not get laid. Fuck that herbivore attitude and its fixation with 'pure' 2D girls, 3D was awesome.

But seduction didn't seem to be it. He wasn't that arrogant to think he had anything to offer that she'd need to screw him for. Professional interest no doubt, and maybe a little personal. She'd spent hours examining Jack under all of his faction disguises. What little he'd seen of her craft, she, and Chadrick appeared utterly obsessed with perfecting their abilities to assume a disguise, and to detect one.

A real body, woven whole cloth from magic was probably very close to embodying her goals. Which made every Faerie a specimen to her.

"My sinuses." Ephi said dryly.

"Pardon."

"I'm terrible at heights, I get all congested. A failing in a Sylph, I know."

Isabella blinked quickly. It took her far too long to realize that it was a joke. 'Which means you were really thinking about it.' Yeah, best to leave these people before he ended up with his vital organs in specimen jars.

Finally, it made sense to her, she chuckled mechanically. "Yes, of course, I rather imagine that would encourage a desire to stay nearer to earth. But if you fear the fate of your comrades, you know, I had no intent to suggest Albion . . . Chadrick and I do not hail from the White Isle either."

And how the hell was he supposed to know that? The locals all seemed to be able to tell the difference between a Germanian, a Gallian, and an Albionian, but he sure as hell couldn't. Not yet anyways. Another item to put on the list of [<Necessary Skills]>.

"Ah well, there's no convincing you I suppose. Not that I blame you at all. But the offer remains open. I doubt we'll get many more of your breed very soon, and rarity confers a certain value that really shouldn't be squandered on necromancy." She stretched arms behind her back. "You should . . . think about it is all."

"Roger that." He made a note to keep it in mind, if only to keep out of it. Remembering why he was out here to begin with. "Anything of note?"

"Not since last night. Oh, an overflying ship, but no patrols. They probably doubt the remaining conspirators would dare hide so close to ALfheim forests."

Focus their efforts elsewhere. Its what Ephi would have done. In fact, exactly what he would have done. He supposed there was an advantage to being hunted by his own troops.

"Shall we head back quickly then?" Isabella gestured. "I shouldn't leave Chadrick alone if he's woken up."

"Lead away."

Chadrick had been happy to see her if nothing else, launching into more poetry or play recitations or whatever he'd managed to cram his head with while she mixed more of the medicine she'd prepared for him and forced the foul smelling mixtures down his throat. Whatever it was had left him slightly more aware, and brought on a break in his fever.

He was still quite conversational when the door to the other room at last opened and a tired looking Digby emerged, face a mix of contempt and disgust. "We're done here. Isabella, Chadrick, we'll meet up with the others for extraction. We'll have quite the report to make."

"And your promise!" A weak shout from behind him as the white faced Lord Justice stumbled free, untied from his bindings. "Do not forget what you have promised. The Good Lord Cromwell will have your head if anything is to befall me!"

"Yes, I'm abundantly aware." Digby's lips twitched. "No man or woman under my command will harm you. Mister Ephilates!"

"Sir?" Ephi asked.

"Very good work this past week. I see we've found at least one useful gem in this pile of shit. You may take your payment and depart at your pleasure. You're dismissed from service."

Ephi felt the smile spread across his face. "Thank you Sir!"

"Wha -" The Lord Justice did not have time to finish as Digby stepped aside and Ephi took the opening to burst forward, driving his sword through the chest of the man, right to its hilt. Eyes nearly popping out of his skull as he looked down at what Ephi had just done.

"Oh my. Look at that. It seems that we failed in protecting you." Digby said tonelessly. "I guess we don't have to haul you to Albion now. Well, this has been a bad week for us. Don't take it personally, you just didn't have anything warranting keeping you alive anymore."

"Well, you should take it a little personally." Ephi said as he applied his considerable strength to driving the guard of his sword hilt through the old Lord Justice's ribs, bone creaking and beginning to crack. "I mean, you've been a right pain in my ass."

Blood forcing its way up, dribbled like drool from the mages mouth. Frothing like a rabid dog. "D-d-damn . . . y-you . . . s-sub human . . ."

"Please now, don't embarrass yourself." Ephi said as he reversed his sword, yanking the blade free with devastating effect as the head of the Tristanian conspiracy fell to the floor, and with him, the secret of the few remaining conspirators and spies. "There's no shame in admitting that I'm just better than a half baked mage like you."

Watching one of the most powerful men in Tristain pour out his lifeblood onto the floor of this filthy little cabin had to be about the most depressing thing Ephi had seen since coming to this world. Isabella observed coldly, licking her lips while Chadrick waxed soliloquy about the transience of life.

Digby simply went about packing up his tools, muttering curses under his breath until Ephi spoke once more. "Well then, I'll be taking my leave . . ." Hefting one of the small but heavy chests that the Lord Justice had been fleeing with. A nice little bit of starting capital he thought.

The Earth Mage stopped in his work, reaching for his wand uncertainly. It seemed he hadn't really decided if he actually meant to let him go.

"Oh please." Ephi tapped the hilt of his own sword. "Is it really worth it?"

"He's right Old Boy." Chadrick said drowsily. "Our man here has done rightly by his obligations. And what he knows of us, and visa versa isn't worth killing over. Besides, you're down an arm, I'm in no condition to fight, and Isabella, love, would be as likely to fuck him as fight him."

"Anything else you'd like to speak your mind about?" Isabella asked in a voice like wasp honey.

"Ah well, a premonition perhaps." Chadrick admitted with a sappy smile. "It just occurs to that we shouldn't be closing doors when we don't know where they'll lead. I do hope we'll meet again," The inflection of the man's voice shifted ever so slightly. "Monsieur Ephilates."

Isabella gave her partner an uncertain look, but opted to abide his wishes, gently squeezing Digby's good hand until he lowered his wand, the Earth Mage making dark noises about this 'not being a democracy'.


Ephi shrugged. Regardless he'd take it. "I'll be on my way then." Ephi grabbed his bag and cloak, jam packed but still relatively light compared to the dense little chest balanced on his shoulder. It was a ways to the border, and he wanted to make it before the patrols decided to double back on this area.

 

[Triggerhappy]

Ok, well apparently now anything that's not unreserved praise is classified as an insult, so this is probably gonna get me banned or something. Still, tis in my nature and all that.

Click to shrink...

That is not what I said and you know it. Or you should know it. Even if you don't inherently get it. There's offering your opinion, and then there's appending every post with a comment about banana peels

I'm now tempted to build up some reconquista villain just for him to slip on a banana peel and kill himself when the first Faerie comes into sight!

This seems like a contradiction. Not to say the stated play isn't a smart one, a little implausible in places but not a bad plan. However the "unleash the dogs" scene had people fixing cosmetic damage to the palace, given that something like an eighth of the city (might be remembering the fraction wrong) was on fire that cannot possibly have been a priority. Which implies at least a day or two had passed.

So which is it? Did they move immediately after the Gala or wait a few days? Either way one of these two referred to sections could do with alteration to fit the other.

Click to shrink...

I meant for it to imply that it was several days after the Gala. I thought the need to take all the new information and process it would have taken some time, during which the big wigs probably thought there bases were covered since they weren't hit immediately or didn't think the information was enough to incriminate them. (It wasn't on its own, there were other investigations in effect at the same time, hence why Agnes was running around.)

Um...is this a typo? Because I'm pretty sure that even a country like Tristain would not have enough nobles for "thousands" of them to be a true minority. Heck the big ass armies fielded now and then don't seem to have this many mages.

If they had this many people why didn't they just launch a coup? It just feels...a tad bit high. What we see of the conspiracy doesn't exactly scream thousands of mages in the organisation.

Click to shrink...

1 in 10 Tristanians is a 'Noble', I think we estimated Tristains population to be between 1.8 and 2.8 million or so. So thousands could be less than 1%, as low as 0.3% approximately. And for grunt work, I'm betting Reconquista recruited from the disenfranchised who would have the most to benefit from some counties and baronies suddenly, ahem, opening up.

I would hesitate to describe this is as a few spies. Given that thousands means at least 2000 and that the remaining third would be half of what's lost, that's still at least a thousand traitors within Tristain.

I guess they might have lost key members (or at least those stupid enough not to have insulated themselves from blowback) but, this is still more mages than we saw in the entire conspiracy. I'm not sure I have the right end of this stick.

Click to shrink...

Don't think of just the assassination plot, think of the efforts to sneek wealth out of the country, to generate funds by black market deals, to steal Fae Artifacts, or to pass military secrets. Think of everyone who could actively be helping Reconquista in some way that the Crown was afraid to go ater without crushing evidence against the patrons that were protecting them. Basically, most of the 'thousands' are the couriers, grunt workers, and muscle that were making things happen. The number of 'big wigs' probably is barely in the low dozens.

Most of spies that are left are the ones who were very well insulated. Basically, a normal spy network rather than the festering rot of corruption that had been eatin through Tristain for years. The conspirators were, after all, mostly opportunists, just look at Richmond. He gave Reconquista lip service so that he could get their help in taking the country of himself.

Anyway, loving Ephi as a villain now he's not the mole he seems to be coming out into himself. Still seems like the villains are getting away with too much but a) Here that's mostly just due to repeated focus on villains who already got out, the only real issue being the spy network remaining in Tristain and b) Mashador, a very talented author well respected on this board, got driven out of the thread for saying this stuff, so why keep going on about it.

Click to shrink...

Wierdly, I like writing him less than Rip Jack. Though I find his circumstances more interesting. I frankly pity him. But that may just be me.

And it wasn't my intent for anyone to be driven off.

But at the end of the day, people have to take a step back and remember this is fanfction, it is inherently escapist fantasy, namely mine. I write what I feel is appropriate and appeals to me. That will not always match other peoples tastes and sometimes they refuse to accept that and just keep going as if the continued criticism will make me change things.

Sometime I do so, because I see their point. You can't tell me that I haven't and will not if necessary again, rewrite a scene that people sufficienlty disagree with and show me the flaws of. Sometime they still don't like the rerwrite, but I tried to find a balance between what I saw and what they saw. And sometimes I have to tell them to stop because its going to be that way becaue I want it that way.

Mashador's talent has nothing to do with it. His skill as an author is acknowledged and accepted, that does not make it a trump card that he can pull, and I'd point out that while I disagreed with him and dislike what he had to say, he never tried to use it as such anymore than I've tried to use my utterly irrelevant 'street cred' to my benefit.

Once you step foot in this thread I try to give everyone equal weight until I've determine whether or not they're a right arsehole . Of course I like praise, I'm human, sorry I don't live in an air conditioned data center writing fanfiction based on a preprogrammed set of story algorithms and a massive DataFrame encompassing the entirity of tvtropes. If I did you'd receive a google based multiple choice survey after every chapter rather than being asked for feedback.

And of course I cringe away from criticism, but I do muscle through it and try to take the parts I find valid. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate criticism, but I have to balance that against what I want to write.

The thing that ticks me off about people claiming I only write for praise is that, for people who are claiming I have creative license, it relies on the fundamental conceit that I don't and that I only write a certain way because someone says something I like rather thanbecause I want to. As if the person saying the nicest things has permission to puppeteer me.

I've experienced that once or twice while writing this stoy. A mistake on my part. I fucking hated it, how it made me feel, and what I wrote because of it.

Honestly, I can't really remember what it was that ticked me off about Mashadors posts at this point and I really don't care one way or another. (Something about the whole Julio incident correct?). We obviously disagreed VERY strongly. I don't want to create stupid fued with someone over a disagreement on the internet. There's no reason behind that. Maybe in the future I'll write something and circumstances of what I want to write and his advice will coincide so that I'll genuinely be glad for his input on and take it to heart.

But that's really all I can say.

And TH, in case the above didn't make it clear. I don't say stuff under my breath. If I have an issue I promise I will say it loud and clear and if I mean something to be insulting it'll probably involve profanity. Excessive profanity. Thusly I can only say that as bizarre as I am (and in my defence, personally I find nothing more flattering then criticism, I tend to forget this isn't universally true) sometimes, any insults or attempts to threaten you were entirely in your head, because they certainly weren't in mine.

Click to shrink...

I understand that now. Like I said, I know that you're a Scotsman, you are forgiven.

 

[Triggerhappy]

Short and sweet

Halkegenia Online v2.0 - Epilogue Part 3

If Kino was being honest with himself, the truth was, after over two year of SAO and now over two months in Halkegenia, he still got homesick. He couldn't help it, he was still a kid after all, he'd never meant to go away when he'd gone up to his room and slipped on his Nerve Gear after the game install completed.

He liked to think he'd done a good job of hiding it, even from himself. But from time to time it would rear back up, a crushing sense of loss and loneliness that he didn't quite know what to do with. Sometime it even cropped up in his dreams.

"Hayato . . . Hayato-kun . . ." A hand shook him gently by the shoulder, trying to rouse him from his sleep. "It's time to wake up Hayato-kun."

"Mmm . . ." Not that he wanted to get up just yet. It was warm under the covers. "Juzza little longer . . ." He mumbled, cracking one eye just enough to make out the silhouette leaning over him through the slatted light of the blinds.

Mom?

With that thought, a comforting sense of peace settled over him, he didn't want to give it up just yet by waking up enough to know it wasn't true. Burrowing his head into his pillow to escape the light, he dove back into the safety and warmth of sleep. At least for a brief while.

He was, inevitably, woken again not long after at the most alarming scent . . . And the tantalizing sound of sizzling, like . . .

'Like . . . cooking.'

Kino's eyes snapped open, and then shut again quickly as a beam of morning sun threaded through the blinds and shot straight into them. "Hgn!" He pulled the blanket over his head, squinting in the dimness offered by the covers.

This was why he should have taken the other room in the little apartment he shared with Caramella. But normally, he was an early riser, he'd thought it would be nice to get the morning sun. He was starting to regret that decision now.

The scents of cooking were overridden by something closer, suffused into the fabric of the heavy comforter. The scent of another person, and of soap. 'Caramella.' He thought.

Last night had been one of those nights, Kino recalled. When Caramella had finally gotten back from the Capital, tired and acting strangely. Special 'bad dream' rules had applied.

It wouldn't have been the first time. They both hated being alone. And after everything that had happened, the peace and quiet didn't sit well with either of them.

So much so, that while Caramella had been running off with Kirito and Asuna, he'd slept at Arrun Home for the duration, better to be around people then coming back to an empty apartment.

Which came back full circle to the problem. Nightmares, bad dreams, everyone had them, especially recently. Not just the SAO survivors either, though he was sure they were some of the worst off. People lost their defenses when they slept, their worst thoughts and fears would come out. It wasn't a matter of being strong or weak, it was just a matter of being human.

Which was why Caramella had laid out the ground rules when they'd started living together. The rules were simple, no complaining about the other person sleeping in your room, no asking about it unless they decided to tell you, and in the morning, it officially hadn't happened.

She'd gently teased that it was so that he wouldn't be embarrassed about sleeping with an [<Older Woman]>. Never failing to illicit a blush. He was a boy, it wasn't his fault that she slept in an undershirt and panties!

But the truth was, although she'd never admit it, that it had been her who'd been the first to sneak into his room after a nightmare, and she'd kept on crying in her sleep long after she'd settled in. He definitely wasn't going to tease her about it though.

It was sort of nice, he guessed, that they could have things that way, trust each other. Simple.

But more importantly, if Caramella's blanket was in here . . . then where was Caramella? She was never up before him. The cooking. The smell of frying that could so easily become the smell of burning. It dawn on him, and with it, dread.

'My groceries!'

"Crap!"

Kino rolled over, throwing the blanket off without much regard for where it landed. Grabbing his cap off the floor beside his futon. As the days got hotter, the morning air was still slightly chilled and he shivered in his night clothes, a white shirt and pair of khaki shorts.

Standing, the sounds from the other room redoubled and he grimaced. It wasn't that Caramella didn't mean well. She'd become like a sister to him, and he really couldn't imagine being without her in this world as they struggled to get by and take hold of their lives. She just . . . wasn't very good at anything that didn't involve punching or stabbing things. Okay, she had a nice voice when she was singing, but mostly she was good at violence.

And that extended to her cooking as well, which tended to be more like a fried nightmare than anything remotely edible. Which was why he'd taken on the cooking duties, along with most of the cleaning and laundry, except for underwear, Caramella had to do those for herself, that would have been too weird.

'Damn it, the markets aren't open today!' And he'd just gotten fresh onions too. If she'd used them he wouldn't be able to get more until tomorrow, and then . . .

Pulling the door open as he burst out into the small living room, his first warning should have been the clothes basket missing from where he'd left it on the coffee table the night before, and the absence of dirty clothes scattered across the room, the inevitable consequence of Caramella coming home late. But he ignored that, reaching the attached kitchen his nose was met full force by the smell . . . of something wonderful.

It was like he'd hit a stone wall while flying at full speed.

"I've been awake for a while now, ya got me feeling like a child now . . ." Fading back to soft, cheerful humming, interspersed with . . . giggling . . . that rose above the steady hiss of boiling oil.

This smell. "No way." Kino breathed slowly.

Had Asuna come over early today? He knew she meant to talk to them about something. Probably Lord Mortimer's offer. That had to be what it was, because the alternative was, he poked his head into the kitchen, was what was happening.

"Oh?" The sweet voice singing suddenly stopped. "Good morning sleepyhead!"

Looking up from the little wood stove that dominated the far corner of the small kitchen was, well, she looked like Caramella at least, if Caramella had ever bothered to remind anyone that she was in fact a girl. Dressed in a clean, freshly pressed tea green blouse, and black slacks. The ones that Caramella never wore. Hair neatly combed and glossy in the morning light spilling through the window.

She was wearing his apron, and a radiant smile that didn't belong anywhere near his impression of Caramella in the morning, and usually not before she'd gotten at least a couple of bottles of something alcoholic.

What the hell.

It was enough to leave him fixed firmly in place in the doorway, mind spinning ineffectively, like an old disk hard drive trying in complete futility to recover.

The girl's smile faded to be replaced by a look of maternal worry not unlike the way his own mom would grow anxious if something appeared the slightest bit wrong. "Are you alright? Hey, Hayato-kun, speak to me, Kino?" She waved a hand in front of his eyes, and when that didn't work, leaned down to check his temperature. Even less like Caramella.

What the hell?

"Well, you might have a bit of a fever." She decided worriedly. "You should probably stay in bed until we're sure."

That was only because his brain was so overtaxed!

"But first, why don't you sit down and relax a little." He was coaxed to the table and made to sit down before a fully set place. Plate, silverware, and a large pitcher beside a pair of glasses. The vase at the center of the table had even been refilled and the flowers replaced. "There's fresh juice and toast. And I already took care of the laundry so you don't have anything to worry about."

The laundry, and cooking, and she'd made juice to go with breakfast. And was that . . . perfume?

What the hell?!

As she bustled about energetically, the girl alternately hummed to herself and spoke to him. "I know you probably wanted to use those ingredients yourself, but I remembered you telling me that the markets aren't open on the Day of Void. And besides, I could only check this cookbook out for one day since it technically counts as a reference."

She waved to a fat book laid out on the kitchen counter. "I hope they turn out okay. I might have gotten a little over ambitious." Looking back nervously. "You like croquets right?"

"You made . . . croquets . . ." Kino said slowly.

"Uh huh. It seemed pretty simple, so I thought I'd try it." She nodded enthusiastically. "Although." Smiling with embarrassment as she rolled back the sleeve of her blouse to show forearm covered in red marks from small oil burns, the type caused by individual tiny droplets. "There was a bit of a learning curve."

"A bit." Kino parroted.

Caramella's eyes widened as the sound of the sizzling behind her changed. "Ah, just a sec!" Rolling her sleeves back down, she turned back to the stove, quickly recovering the pot of boiling oil and moved it to a metal holder beside the oven to cool. Once that wad done, she grabbed a towel to take hold of the handle of the basket submerged in the pot, extracting two dozen of the little golden ovoids and depositing them atop a second hand towel to soak up the extra oil.

Well, they looked edible.

"Ah, ah, hot!"

Caramella caught one of the croquets before it could roll off the counter, carefully placing it aside before carrying the rest over to the table, depositing them alongside fruit and a preserves jar before turning to set her own place.

"You made breakfast . . . and you did all the chores . . ." Kino voiced aloud.

"I guess something good happened lately is all." Caramella looked giddy as if remembering something. "It just reminded me of everything you do all the time, and I thought it would be a nice change of pace, you know? I mean, I feel like I've been taking you for granted." She said as she came back around the table. "Now then, I'm really eager to know how they turned out. My sense of taste is junk."

Yeah, the a gourmet she was not. Kino agreed as he was offered the first croquet.

Taking a bit, Kino chewed slowly and then swallowed. Not saying a word, he closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he appraised the flavors carefully.

"Well?" Caramella sounding almost anxious to hear.


"You did all of the chores." Kino repeated. "You got dressed up. You're happy, in the morning." Caramella held her nervous smile. "You made breakfast. And its good . . ." Reaching forward slowly, he pulled the croquet plate close to his chest, spearing the next on his fork. "Who are you, and what did you do with the real Caramella?"

 

[Triggerhappy]

Well, this snip became MASSIVELY oversize and expositional. Oh well.

Halkegenia Online v2.0 – Epilogue – Part 4

"Come on Aunt Sugu!" Yui, Kirigaya Yui, former MHCP AI in the game world of Sword Art Online, and former Pixie in the real world of Halkegenia, now one of only two Faeries of the Maeve race, called over her shoulder as she took a running jump from the front porch of the home she shared with her mother, father, and aunt, landing with a heavy stomp on the garden walkway.

The morning air was warm and sweet with the smell of the flowers lining the street, and the sounds of bird songs filled the near distance with noise just as the birds themselves filled the space around her with [<Contacts]> in her expanded sensory field. It was a bright and [<Amazing]> day, and Yui didn't want to miss any of it. Unlike some [<Sleepyheads]>.

"Just a second Yui-chan!" Aunt Suguha called around a piece of toast, bright green eyes blinking as she was dazzled by the morning sun. "You don't need to rush, the Library isn't going anyplace."

Yui turned on her heel, smiling, wings flashing, the skirt of her sleeveless white dress swirling to reveal the dark shorts she wore underneath on Aunt Silica's advisement. "I know, but I just can't wait!"

Sometimes Aunt Suguha forgot, that before she was a young girl, before she was even a physical existence, she was an information existence, and her evolution into a true AI had only served to [<Generalize]> that constant desire for information, about herself, about the world, and about any number of subjects, wherever her observations or [<Thoughts]> led her.

But being without network access meant every bit of information was precious. And there was no place in this world with a greater concentration of information on so many different subject than the Arrun Central Library. The public building, semi submerged into the ground beside Arrun Tower, with its rows and rows of book shelves and big, squishy chairs and hardwood desks, was fast becoming one of her very [<Favorite]> places in this world.

The only problem, and the only reason she hadn't gone everyday, was that she wasn't [<Technically]> allowed to go all by herself.

With that thought, Yui's smile faded ever so slightly, and despite the warm sun, she shivered, almost hugging herself. Thinking about it, almost [<Breaking]> again, it wasn't something she wanted to dwell on. Even now, there were parts she couldn't remember and didn't think she would ever get back, sections of her mind structure that had been so corrupted that she couldn't even guess at what was missing.

She had been very careful not to tell Mama or Papa about that. All of her essentially functions had been recovered so it wasn't something she wanted to burden them with. She didn't want to scare them again.

Maybe even less than that, she didn't want to think of the reason that she was still alive. She could remember that part very clearly. Without . . . [<Grandfather's]> intervention, she would have killed herself out of recklessness. At the same time, she didn't know how to [<Feel]> about his help, or the fact that he had granted her dearest wish. A hand rising up to one long, pointed Faerie ear. It was another subject she carefully chose to put away for now, and not think about. Maybe one day she would be able to resolve the [<Contradictions]> it generated within her.

The recent lesson in [<Mortality]> hadn't been learned by just Yui alone, her Mama and Papa had also taken it to heart. The relationship dynamic between herself and her parents was currently in a frustrating state of [<flux]> and that had meant a lot of changes, most significantly, in where and what Yui was allowed to do on her own.

[<Threats]> of [<Grounding]> had only given way after days of pleading, and only then because her parents were ultimately reluctant to punish her for protecting someone else. That didn't mean she wasn't still under [<Probation]>.

Mama didn't even want her to go out of the yard without a chaperone! And though Papa was more [<Reasonable]>, even he drew the line at being allowed much past the end of the street by herself, and especially not if she intended to fly. Really they were just being [<Over Protective]> she thought, she was perfectly capable of staying out of trouble, she'd just have to be patient until she could convince them.

[<Assessment]> 'Maybe if I find a way to bribe Papa . . .' She pondered thoughtfully. Papa was a lot more tolerant of her being [<Adventurous]> so he would probably be her best bet. If she was going to do that, food would be best, which meant more lessons from Mama . . . [<Reassess]> Except . . . if she was going to use what she learned to influence Papa, Mama might be reluctant. Better check out a cookbook, just in case.

Which brought her full circle. In this world, information was a finite resource, it had to exist in books, of which there were a limited number. If she wanted to [<Transcribe]> that information to her own memory, it meant getting there before someone else, or who knew how long she'd have to wait!

"Thanks again for taking me so early, Aunt Sugu." Yui smiled as her aunt finally caught up.

Yui knew it had been a little [<Selfish]> to ask since today was her aunt's first day off in over a week, especially after all of her hard work flying patrols in the wake of the Gala. The Sylph was showing clear signs of prolonged fatigue, even after a good night's sleep. Her work had been really [<Eventful]> too as she had been eager to tell them all around the dinner table the night before.

The Faerie Lords considered the Watch to be an official [<Paramilitary]> force along with their peacekeeping duties, and had assigned them along with the defense force volunteers to bolster the Royal Guard and Gendarmes as they swept the country for the remaining conspirators. Aunt Sugu had been involved in five arrests of couriers and low ranking nobles, and had even captured a merchant trying to escape across the border on a Wind Dragon.

The accomplishment had cemented Aunt Sugu's reputation in the Watch, and even drawn attention from the Royal Gendarmes. But more than that was what it had done for her own confidence.

Yui tilted her head as she reviewed the subtle changes in behavior.

Suguha was acting more [<Assertive]> and engaging more and more with others around her. Aspects of herself that dominated when she had played the Sylph Leafa in ALO, were starting to manifest more openly and easily once more. She was finally [<Acclimating]> to this world as she found her place in it. A sense of [<Peace]> radiated off of her, putting Yui at ease.

The Sylph girl, blinking the last of the sleep from her eyes, gave Yui a pat on the head. "It's alright Yui-chan. I'm used to getting up early for practice, so I can't usually sleep in, even when I want to." Suguha said as she adjusted her own light green blouse and shouldered a small purse.

"Un." Yui agreed. The sound of her Aunt training in the yard every morning was almost as reliable as her own internal clock. "But I'm still glad."

"Off so early?"A gentle voice wafted from behind Yui's aunt, coming from the doorway where her Mama leaned, still in her night clothes and slippers.

Aunt Suguha spun around. "Ah, Asuna-chan! You're up early. And you and Nii-chan just got back from well . . . " She mumbled awkwardly about the excursion into Germania.

"I'm completely fine." Mama insisted. "I hope Yui-chan isn't causing you too much trouble, Suguha-chan." Mama raised a brow imperiously, causing Yui to rethink a little of her eagerness. Mama had been especially [<Strict]> lately, for the same reason Papa had grown more cautious.

"No no, it's fine." Aunt Suguha came to her rescue with a smile. "It's just fine. Like I was telling Yui-chan last night, I've been meaning to go the library too." Suguha pulled a loose strand of her long, blonde hair back behind her ear. "You see, there's a certain story I'm looking for."

"Oh?" Mama tilted her head. "A novel? "

"Well, something from when I was little." The Sylph admitted, seeming a little embarrassed. "I was reminded about it when I was thinking about a friend I haven't seen in a while . . . "

Yui tilted her head, feeling the same worry as Aunt Sugu. The underground zones beneath Arrun were presently under lock down for safety reasons, even the mob hunters couldn't get permission. As a member of the watch, Suguha had the authority to go down and look around, but nobody would dare descend down into Jotunheim. And as for their friend Tonkii, the guards on watch hadn't seen any sign of a flying Beast type mob near any of the Jotunheim exits.

'Hopefully he's just frightened by the strangers.' After all, it wasn't like the giant beast type mob had had many [<Positive Experiences]> with the other Faeries, or any desire to fight with them for that matter.

"So I'm curious to see if it came with us." Suguhad finished, shaking her head. "I know it's silly . . ."

"It's not silly at all." Mama disagreed, never losing her smile. "It's a precious part of your childhood. I hope you find it. Maybe I should find time to visit the library too. Keep an eye out for any good books, would you, Suguha, Yui-chan?"

"Un!" Yui nodded enthusiastically as she wondered just what Mama might like to read.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out." Suguha smiled wryly. "But . . . I hope it's okay if I skip the fantasy section for now."

"Good call." Mama agreed, sharing a chuckle, pausing as Yui turned back towards the front gate. "Oh, Yui-chan, let me help you with your wings before you go."

Yui shook her head quickly. "I've already got that part." She turned around to show her back, feeling her wings sympathetically separate into their flight sets, two conjured limbs becoming six, the biological part of her mind [<Miraculously]> having no trouble keeping up.

It was a little tricky since she had to execute the action through her physical body, namely using a portion of her conscious mind to willfully rescind the solidified magic that formed from her back and fused seamlessly with her physical skin, muscle, and bones.

Papa and Aunt Sugu said the thought exercise that Mama had invented was a lot like what they had to do to summon their own wings, simply performed in reverse. Instead of imagining illusory wings and muscles spreading from her back, Yui had to imagine being without them, and keep that image at the back of her mind constantly. The ongoing effort was why Mama only bothered when they were in public, but it was a good idea for Yui to do the same as well so that she didn't draw too much attention.

As Yui constructed the [<Image]> of herself without wings, what it would [<</i]Feel>> like not to have them, she felt her body changing to match the image. Wing tips trembled, each giving off a feeble note, their gossamer translucence dulling and beginning to frost before melting into thin air.

"Nnnnnn." Yui squeezed her eyes shut, it was a lot harder when she couldn't just execute the changes like she'd been able to when changing between her human and Pixie bodies.

Another thing, alongside some of her memories, that she had lost during her recovery. Her pixie form had been severely corrupted in her hacking attempt thanks in large part to her own misuse of data resources, and what hadn't been lost completely had been used along with the data from her original Maeve avatar and human body to construct a single, functional body for her to inhabit.

She wasn't about to [<Complain]> since it meant she was alive, and now shared yet another bond with her mother, but she did have to wonder how she would explain to Shion that she couldn't play hide and seek with her anymore.

With one final effort, the remains of her wings flaring wide, the construct limbs receded fully, vanishing and leaving her back bare. Yui let out a small sigh at the strange [<Phantom Sensation]> of tension. Once they were 'in' it was a lot easier to keep them that way.

"See!" Yui declared proudly.

"O-oh yes . . . I see." Her mother was still smiling, but her facial temperature had already risen by nearly a half degree. [<Embarrassment]>? But why would Mama by embarrassed? After all, shouldn't Mama be happy that she'd learned in only a tenth of the time it had taken her after learning to use her wings? "That's lovely Yui-chan. You figured it out so quickly!"

"Uhuh!" Well, she was her parents' daughter after all.

"Then I suppose you'll be off now." Mama decided. "Have a wonderful time you two. And Yui-chan, remember your check up is at the clinic this afternoon!" She called as she watched them set off out into the morning foot traffic, lighter this morning than usually, but still heavy enough that Yui had to stick close by her aunts side when they hit the main street.

It would have been nice to kick off the ground and get airborne over the busy streets, especially now that she could fly without worrying about small carnivores deciding she was lunch, but it could be a little dangerous if not done with care. Running into someone on the ground could be painful, crashing in the sky could be really dangerous, and Yui wasn't entirely confident with her new wings just yet. The extra [<Inertia]> of a larger body still wasn't something she was used to handling while flying.

Yui didn't mind though, walking in the crowds, surrounded by dozens of people, it was one of the best parts of living in a city she'd decided. Yui just had to close her eyes and feel the energy all around her.

'Everyone's so alive.' She thought with wonder. Not at all like the so often empty streets of Aincrad, inhabited only by NPCs, or those first few days and weeks after the Transition. Even with the hard things that had happened, people were able to go on living.

They passed a merchant's stall where a pair of Gnomes were arguing heatedly with a leprechaun alchemist. Yui didn't try to eavesdrop, but she still overheard the Gnomes complaining about the price of the sulfur they wanted to buy. The Leprechaun wasn't interested in haggling with them.

"Hey, it's not my problem that the army is buying up the stocks. Maybe you should go protest to Lord Mortimer!" He said loudly.

The shouts of vendors and customers only got louder as they skirted along one side of the central market on their way into the Shadow of Arrun Tower. Merchants setting up shop in the markets to sell their wares, just like any other day. But not all of the stall occupants were Faeries, nor were their customers.

The human merchants who had previously contented themselves at the gate markets had at last begun to venture inwards in large numbers, joining their Faerie companions in the city markets to both buy and sell.

A hundred arguments were taking place all at once over the sounds of bidding being conducted on rare reagents and crafting materials, both native to ALfheim and local to Halkegenia. By the sound of it, it was going to be a [<Profitable]> day for the hunters and tamers.

"I'm telling you Hiram, go in fifty fifty with me on the Lyla's Tears, I know a guy who's looking for a steady supply." A short, copper haired, leprechaun nudged at his portly Mage companion.

"Come now Kruznev, I'm not made of money. And you know my market is durable goods!"

"Then expand your markets man!"

The vendor, a Puca, pointed over the pair's heads to where an ivory skinned Undine had just raised her bidding card. "And that's one hundred from the lovely young lady in the back. One hundred from the lady in the back. Does anyone want to outbid at one oh five? Do I hear one oh five? Anyone want to raise the bid put up by the lady in the back . . ."

And then as they reached the far corner of the market, past the clusters of early morning pedestrians seated on the steps, trading gossip or reading broadsheets, the loud voice of a Puca Barker and a Cait proudly selling news sheets from the stack at her side.

"Step right up dudes! Step up and get your copy of the ALfheim Daily! The best source for the best stories! Sylph Traitor Ephilates still at large following assassination attempt, Royal Guard and Sylph Lord's place five hundred ecumi bounty! Prince Wales Tudor calling for a gathering of Albion Royalists in the wake of latest attack. Guild Leader Rio of the Friends of the ABC Guil jailed again for inciting a fight. Commentary by Regin on the inclusion of the Pixie Garden's in the Treaty of Arrun. Do you know how to spot if your Pixie partner is blossoming? Learn the signs dudes!"

Yui tilted her head, giving Aunt Suguha a thoughtful look.

Suguha smiled back. "M-maybe we should buy one?"

"Un." Yui agreed. Papa liked reading the paper in the morning, that was, whenever he actually got around to getting out of bed.

While her Aunt pulled out her purse, Yui scanned the headlines of the double sided sheet. There were no pictures, of course, it would be a good long while before that [<Technology]> could be replicated economically. But otherwise, the paper resembled a modern publication in every way that mattered. Articles stated their date of publication and author in small, block letters beneath each headline, and there was both a local section reporting on Arrun, and a national section that discussed events in Tristain and the neighboring countries.

It was [<Interesting]> to see what was getting mentioned in the paper. It told a lot about what people thought was important. But what it didn't say was also very [<Informative]>.

There was only minor mention of the Valliere 'Abduction', reported in a small article on the reverse side. Predicting the behavior of large [<Social Groups]> was a little beyond her expertise. Yui hadn't been meant to perform [<Social Profacting]> or make assessments about [<Group Dynamics]>. But it sounded like the Fae Lords and Crown didn't want to create an [<Incident]> by revealing that Louise had been responsible for the summoning of ALfheim.

'Louise'. That name set off a cascade of [<Associations]>. She couldn't help but review the time they had spent together.

Yui was very good at examining individuals, however, her last few visits with Louise had been painful, almost unbearable for her. The broken girl had barely mustered the interest to listen, much less to become engaged in Yui's efforts to draw her from her shell. The young noblewoman had been suffering from almost [<Crippling]> depression, and a plunging sense of [<Self Worth]> evident in the way she had refused to defend herself. In that state, Louise would have been extremely vulnerable to [<Suggestion]>.

Yet more evidence that . . . Heatchliff . . . had been telling the truth. Yui chewed worriedly at her lip. 'This feeling.' Yui realized that she felt upset for some reason that she couldn't define.

"Anything good?" Aunt Suguha asked as she returned her wallet to her purse.

Yui scanned the paper again quickly. "Uhm . . . Oh, Hinagiku has been chosen by the other Shamans to be their representative to the Faerie Lords."

"Hina-chan?" Aunt Sugu looked surprised. "Really? I would have thought she'd have her hands full in Tarbes."

"That's probably why the other Shamans want her to lead. Because she has the most experience." Yui nodded again, reading the article aloud as she followed close beside her aunt. "In a continuing display of ongoing cooperation and solidarity between the Lords and Crown, Lady Sakuya, First Lord of Sylvain, has declared her intention to petition the Tristanian Government that a special protected status may be extended to the Gardens of ALfheim coming in the wake of reports of attempted poaching and attacks."

Suguha and Yui exchanged meaningful looks.

"Under the new agreement, the Pixie Mobs would be entitled to full legal protection as members of the Faerie Races and representation under the leader of the nearest Fae settlement with further selection of a representative entitled to sit in upon meetings of the Lords' Council, voice concerns, and vote on matters directly relating to the well being of the Gardens."

"Sakuya's really pushing for a lot." Aunt Sugu looked thoughtful. "I wonder if this is because of the elections."

They were only a few days away from the official election for Lord of Sylvain. Just as Sakuya had promised, anyone willing to run against her had been invited to do so. The Gala attack had pushed the day back by over a week,but that was as long as Sakuya had been willing to wait. Even though several other candidates had been urged to run, only three others had put their names forward, and the popular opinion was that Sakuya was going to win by a landslide yet again.

Yui wandered if this was what was called 'Seeking a [<Mandate]>' before action was taken openly against Albion. But whatever it was, she was glad Sakuya and the other Lords were taking their responsibilities to the Pixies seriously.

"But I doubt even Sakuya-san will be able to get everything she wants." Yui added. "Even the Nobles who like us get a little nervous. Remember what Mama and Papa said about being knighted?"

It had been Wales' idea. If the Faeries were being formed into a defense force that would by extension be attached to Tristain's [<Army]> and [<Sky Forces]> then they would need to have enough Faeries with authority to command the detachments. There was a [<Social]> aspect to being an officer that couldn't simply be filled by just being a mage. But the suggestion of Knighting some of the Fae into the ranks of the [<Martial Nobility]> was met with mixed feelings.

Aunt Sugu rolled her eyes. "I don't think we have to worry about that anytime soon. Nii-chan would probably die before he'd let himself be made into a knight! Can you imagine your Dad in shinning armor?!"

Yui tiled her head as she made the appropriate projections, and then fought not to start giggling as the results triggered ripples of [<Ironic]> contradictions. "You're right! It would be silly. But . . ." The laughs dying away. "That doesn't mean it's not going to happen. What about General Eugene and Captain Gaius? Everyone respects them a lot, and they lead lots of people in battle, they definitely need the status that a title would give them." And also . . . Mama might accept that offer very soon, in which case, she might become either a Dame in service to Tristain, or an honorary Dame of Albion, by extension in Service to Crown Prince Wales Tudor.

"You're right." Her aunt held a hand to her chin. "And I guess there's other important parts to consider too."

"Other parts?" Yui tilted her head. What had she forgotten?

"Yeah." Suguha thought aloud. "Like money. A Knight probably has more financial opportunities than a mage officer of the same rank, right? I take it back." She grimaced. "Nii-chan might accept the offer. Because . . ."

"Papa's greedy." Yui finished, both Aunt and Niece giving a discouraged sigh as their path brought them to the oaken double doors of the Arrun Central Library. Most of the building was invisible from here, sunken into the ground so that only the ivy covered top of its domed roof emerged out onto the surface, ringed by rows and rows of small windows.

The Library, like the markets, was another part of Arrun that had changed a lot since the Transition. ALfheim had offered a fully functional library space within Arrun as a service to players who decided to read or study while in game. Despite ALO's emphasis on PVP, the dearth of Full Dive software following the SAO incident, and the reuse of many of SAO's high immersion elements, coupled with RETCO's exclusive ownership of the proprietary technologies of both the Nerve Gear and Cardinal System, had spurred the inclusion of as many non game play features as possible, often rolling up functionality that had been meant for canceled educational or productivity software into [<Complimentary Features]>.

But at same point in development or maybe during the Transition, Yui wasn't sure which, the line between these extra features and ALO's primary intentin as a game had become [<Obfuscated]>, resulting in artifacts like the Arrun Central Library.

"Good morning, Leafa-san, welcome to the Arrun Central Library." A short, serious looking Spriggan in very professional looking clothes nodded politely from beside the door as Yui and Suguha came near, his eyes shot to a Puca girl on the far side of the door, amazingly tall for a member of her race who stood suddenly erect from a standing doze.

"G-good morning!" She spluttered as she came suddenly awak. "Please . . . I . . . I mean we hope your visit it enjoyable today and erm . . ."

The Spriggan displayed open annoyance at his partner, even [<Irritation]>, and the way that the Puca cringed suggesting that she was expecting to be [<Disciplined]> for her mistake, but before anything could happen, Aunt Sugu defused the situation . . . by doing it herself.

Planting hands firmly on hips, "Kasa-san. Sleeping on the job is not permitted!"

The Puca shot up straight. "Ah, Leafa-san?! I erm, I didn't recognize you dressed like that! Erm . . ." The mousy haired girl fell silent as Suguha held her gaze steady.

Did she mean with Aunt Sugu in her plain clothes? Yui gave her Aunt a second appraisal. She didn't think anyone could mistake her for someone else.

"Kasa-san." Aunt Sugu sighed. "Remember, you are still on probation, which means everyone is expecting the most out of you. I know that seems unfair now, but if you really want to be a member of the Watch you have to show that you have the dedication as well as the skills to protect Arrun and uphold the law."

"Y-yes Ma'am!" The Puca shouted firmly. But Aunt Suguha wasn't done with her yet.

"Dojo-san shouldn't have to reprimand you for for sleeping on the job, because you should be disappointed in yourself."

The Puca held herself at attention just a little longer before her shoulders sagged in defeat. "Yes Ma'am."

Yui reached over to tug at her aunt's dress, if she wasn't careful she might take this a little too far. Then, as suddenly as she'd assumed her strict posture and demeanor, it vanished once again and her smile reasserted itself. "Don't be too hard on her Dojo-san, Kasa-san was up late last night processing all of the incoming reports for HQ, so it's natural that she's a little tired."

"She didn't mention that." The shorter Spriggan's eyes narrowed. He closed his eyes, sighing. "Well then, I'll let this lapse pass just this once. In the meantime, heads up Leafa-san, Irmin was looking for you when we left HQ this morning?"

"Eh, Irmin?" Suguha waved for Yui to go ahead of her into the library.

"Yeah, something you forgot to sign. I guess he needs your signature since you have a provisional commission. Well, just drop by sometime today. Or not," Dojo shrugged, "I'm sure you'll find him or he'll find you."

Suguha nodded once more, following after Yui. "Thanks for the heads up."

The Spriggan gave a casual wave, as if it was nothing, before turning to greet the next guest, his partner replying enthusiastically beside him.

"Jeez, he's so strict with everyone."Aunt Sugu muttered as they began their descent into the Library, the walls to either side covered in recreations of classical paintings pertaining to knowledge and philosophy. "If he keep's acting like that, he's never going to find a girlfriend."

"Aunt Sugu, who were those people?" Yui asked, she couldn't recall meeting the either the Spriggan or Puca before, nor did she have their names in memory, which meant they'd arrived in Arrun after the Transition and initial census.

Her aunt sighed. "Just some coworkers. They mean well. Dojo-san is one of the best hand to hand fighters and Kasa-san is a master with binding spells and paralysis debuffs. I guess they drew security detail for the library today."

[<Security?]> A cloud of associations as her mind shifted gears and it suddenly became clear. Security for the books, Guards, the Library wasn't just an important public place, it was a [<Strategic Resource]> for the Faeries of ALfheim and the Kingdom of Tristain. The library didn't just house stories after all. There were references and textbooks on math, physics, and chemistry, among lots of other fields. Who knew how much valuable knowledge was locked away in the books held here.

The fact that the knowledge existed couldn't be kept secret for long, which was why the Library was being kept under watch and [<Sensitive]> books were not permitted to leave the premises without special authorization, a compromise to make important information available while also keeping it safe. With the watch to provide protection, and the Library's navigation Pixies to keep watch on everything, the Library could be kept open to the public while sensitive materials texts were kept protected.

Althought, Yui frowned, What determined if a book was sensitive or not was still [<Vague]>. For instance, it could be that the book was considered [<Politically Inflammatory]> or it might contain [<Sensitive Information]>. For now, the judgment was being made as each book was brought up to be checked out, the Librarians making the judgment on the spot to supplement the ongoing effort by tens of Faerie volunteers and hundreds of Nav Pixies to catalog everything.

Stepping through the doorway an into the Library atrium, a landing that overlooked the stack from high up on the curved wall, a pair of Nav Pixies flitted down to take their places beside Yui and her Aunt, ready to direct them to whatever part of the Library they were interested in visiting.

"Good MorningYoung Mistress." The Pixie lighting softly on her shoulder said. "How may I direct you today?"

Yui looked the tiny girl over thoughtfully. "I'm looking for adventure novels, oh, and cookbooks." Because if she couldn't have adventures of her own right now, at least she could read about them.

The Pixie on her shoulder paused as she processed the request and then gave a slight courtesies of her flower dress. "Please follow me miss, I can direct you to both area of the stacks."

"Come on Aunt Sugu." She called, chasing after her Pixie guide down into the maze of books.

Books were another thing that Yui had discovered a love for. They were [<Primitive]> and [<Inefficient]> at their intended purpose, but they were amazing too. A book could only hold a few hundred kilobytes of information at most! But she loved them anyways. The [<Texture]> of the paper when she turned the pages. And the smell, especially when lots of books were packed closed together, or paper and ink. In her mind, it was the smell of stories.

For most of human history they had been the only way to preserve knowledge. In a way, their expense and difficulty to produce was also what made them precious, not just anything could be written down in a book that cost time and effort to make, people had to think it was important enough, so every one was valuable [<Intrinsically]>.

And if books were valuable, then Yui realized, being allowed into the Library was like being in a Sultan's [<Treasure Vault]>.

"Please follow closely Young Mistress!" The Pixie ahead of Yui accelerated, leading her through a winding twisting route that would have been impossible for her to keep straight if she hadn't cheated a little by using her own navigation functions. Wait? Couldn't they have just cut straight through? Did this Pixie really know where she was going?

"Yui-chan, hey Yui-chan wait up!" Her aunt shouted after her. A trio of Pixie stopped in their work to collectively hoist a book from one of the shelves, raising fingers to their lips as one. Aunt Sugu bowed apologetically before turning to catch up, only for a book trolley to bar her way, the Salamander and Cait on either side apologizing fervently.

Yui gave one glance over her shoulder, determined to wait, but her Pixie guide wasn't interested in doing the same. That was a bit of problem. 'I really need to learn the whole Library layout.' Yui decided reluctantly. Papa's [<Lazy Streak]> was rubbing off on her. Well, the Library was [<Completely Safe]>, and Aunt Sugu would catch up pretty soon, she knew what Yui was looking for, so her own Nav Pixie would be able to find her.

Turning back to chase after her own guid, Yui took the next left, a right, and another left, following the Pixie's [<Contact]> within her expanded sensory field, then a left again, doubling back onto a [<Dead End]>, her Pixie guide no place in sight, her contact vanishing from her senses.

"Wha?"! Yui blinked, she'd had the tiny flower girl in her field of view up until two hundred milliseconds ago! It must have been all of the [<Interference]> from the bookshelves and other Nav Pixies using their own senses. That must have been it!

Yui took it as a lesson. She needed to devote more of her processing power to recognition from now on. It would be pretty bad if someone managed to sneak up on her when she had such a powerful sense at her disposal!

"Excuse me Miss." A soft whisper beside her ear.

Just like that. "Ah!" Yui jumped, the sensation of surprise so sudden and forceful that she momentarily lost the image still floating at the back of her head. With a noise like [<Tensioned Nylon]> Yui felt her wings bud and unfurl from her back once more as she spun around to face whoever had manage to get behind her without her knowing.

When she saw, with her [<Own Eyes]> rather than through the limited data reported by her expanded senses, Yui wasn't sure whether to be [<Relieved]> or [<Embarrassed]>. This person definitely didn't mean her any harm. But at the same time, it was sort of bad that she'd managed to miss an entire Faerie.

"Are you alright young Miss?" The girl in scholarly robes and cap asked as she adjusted a pair of spectacles. Large, hazel eyes regarded Yui as a small frown came to her lips. "Are you perhaps lost?"

Yui blinked. There was something deeply [<Disconcerting]> about this person, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. "Lost?" Yui shook her head. "N-no. Well . . . uhm . . . actually." She paused, no, first she needed to introduce herself. "I'm sorry, I'm . . ."

"Kirigaya Yui, daughter of that Kirigaya Kazuto Kirito and Lady Kirigaya Yuuki Asuna." The scholarly girl said with almost encyclopedic precision. "I am aware."

This was enough to give Yui pause. How did this person know here Mama and Papa? "How . . ."

"It is my business to know. This is a Library, and a Library must keep apace with the times, that includes keeping an archive of periodicals. Your parents have made the headlines on several occasions. As for yourself." The girl's eyes twitched to Yui's exposed wings. "Those mark you out as a Maeve. Periodicals contain gossip too. I've read heard rumors that you and your mother are the only two."

Yui understood, that sort of things was bound to draw attention. Being [<Unique]> also meant people didn't forget. Frustrating. She finally had Faerie wings of her own, but she had to be even more careful using them!

"Then, you're a librarian?" Yui thought it must have been a [<Dumb]> queston because the girl's frown deepened still further as she tapped at a small enamel tag clipped to the front of her robes.

Yui read the name aloud. "Bishop, Senior Librarian, Arrun Central Library Branch. Ah." Yui's eyes widened. "Ah!" This person wasn't just a Librarian, she was the Librarian.

"Exactly. So I am amply qualified to see to whatever it is you are looking for. Some guests fail to keep pace with the Navigation Pixies. We're all very busy at the moment. I suppose it cannot be helped. State your business and I shall direct you. Please state your business concisely."

Yui swallowed, it wasn't that she wasn't thankful for the help, but . . . 'She's scary.' Yui thought, feeling the looming presence of the girl who wasn't much taller than herself, a [<Pressure]> that seemed to push at the edges of her consciousness.

"Uhm . . . uh . . . adventure stories and . . . uhm . . . c-cookbooks." Yui said nervously. "Oh, and uhm . . . I'd like to check them out today."

"I see." The girl waved for Yui to follow her. "Come this way. So you wish to check these out rather than reading here?"

"Un." Yui nodded her head in affirmation.

Bishop gave her a sidewise glance from behind her glasses. "Then, I don't suppose you remembered your library card?"

"Ah . . ." Yui began to answer and then stopped. [<Library Card]> She'd never needed one before. When Papa had checked books out the Library hadn't been properly organized yet, and all the times Yui had visited before with Mama before the Gala, she'd been able to read here.

"It is the rules of the Library that books may only be checked out by one possessing an appropriate library card." Bishop said severely. "This is essential to maintain order and allow all guests to enjoy the services provided by this institution. Authorization must be rightfully possessed and exercised appropriately." Hazel eyes glinted dangerously, and for almost one hundred milliseconds, Yui thought she knew what Papa meant by the term [<Killing Intent]>. "I'm sure you understand that no exceptions are to be made."

"O-oh." Yui felt herself growing dejected.

She could just scan the books, she supposed. But being a partially physical existence now, she found that the [<Heuristic]> portion of her consciousness enjoyed [<Taking Its Time]> when she was reading. And she'd thought maybe she could convince Mama and Papa to read to her before bed. It was really a good plan too!

"I will sign off on a card for you once you have made your selection." Bishop said, returning her gaze forward. "It is very fortunate you ran into me. Only the head Librarian can expedite Library Card requests."

"Ah, thank you!" Yui smiled eagerly.

Walking in silence, Bishop showed Yui the way to sections she was looking for, and even waited while she made her selection. "Be advised." Bishop warned. "A standard library card only permits three books to be checked out at a time."

Yui paused to examine the two books she'd already selected. 'Treasure Island' and 'A Brief Treaties for the Aspiring Chef' that she had found while looking for cookbooks that would be useful without a modern kitchen. If three was her limited, she needed to pick one more . . .

"Perhaps you would like this one." Bishop withdrew a thick tomb from the crook of her arm.

"The Treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan?" Yui read the title.

"A collection of Irish Folklore." The Librarian explained simply. "You seem to have an interest in adventures. I found this misshelved by someone disrespectful to the rules of the Library." Her eyes narrowed. "It was taken without permission and not even properly put back. But I'm sure you will return it in a timely fashion."

Yui looked at the book and then back to Bishop, she noticed a second book in the Librarian's hand. "What's that one?" Yui made out the name of the author. "Dan . . . Simmons . . . ?"

Bishop slipped the smaller book into the folds of her robes. "That is something I selected for personal reading. As is my privilege as head Librarian."

Yui simply smiled and nodded. It was probably something Bishop found [<Embarrassing]> so she shouldn't pry without permission.

"Now if you are satisfied, please follow me to the check out desk."

"Yui-chan!" The shout of her Aunt caused Bishop's head to snap around, her angered glared stopping the Sylph in her tracks. "Silence in the Library!" She whispered so loudly that it deadened the air.

'She must be a Puca.' Yui decided, either that or a Leprechaun, it was hard to tell without seeing her wings, the sound trick was definitely [<Music Magic]> though.

"Sorry, sorry!" Suguha said swiftly before entirely forgetting the Librarian. "Yui! You shouldn't have run off!"

"Sorry Aunt Sugu" She gathered up the [<Gall]> to smile as sweetly as she could in hopes that it would win her forgiveness. "I didn't want to lose my Guide . . . But I did. It was still lucky though since I found Bishop-san. If I hadn't, we might not have been able to check out our books."

"Oh?" Suguha stopped and regarded the other girl, Bishop tapping lightly on her name tag as if to explain everything.

"I trust you found everything you were looking for?" The Librarian nodded to the small book held tightly in her Aunt's hand. "Oh, this? Uhm, yeah." She blushed. "We sort of ended up passing the Children's section, so I happened to look for it." She showed the book to Yui. "How about we read this this afternoon?"

Yui read the cover and then shared a smile and a nod with her Aunt.

"That will be too library cards then." Bishop breathed. "Very well. Right this way."

They were taken to the front desk where Bishop and a half dozen of her assistant Librarians were hard at work scanning through books, pasting tags to spines and placing card slots on the inside covers. Bishop move through the activity with hardly a spared glance, removing two pieces of card from a desk drawer and presenting them to Yui and Suguha. "Please sign here and here." She offered a pen. "You should not allow anyone but a Library Pixie to see the twenty six digit key on the back of your card, that is your verification key so that you can still be identified if the Pixie hasn't met you before. Also . . ." Bishop breathed a small chant, tapping each card once, and then repeating the procedure with a different chant, causing a light green glow to suffuse the cards for a moment.

"These cards have now been [<Appraised]> by the Library. This will permit us to detect a forgery." Bishop adjusted her spectacles with a look of bored contempt. "Please do not attempt to forge a library card. If your card is lost or stolen, report so at once. Also, Yui-san, this cookbook is counted as a reference, it will have to be returned by the end of business tomorrow."

Returning their book and stamped cards, Yui followed her Aunt's lead, giving a small bow of thanks before turning to the door. As thankful as she was to have run into someone who could help, she felt strangely [<Eager]> to be out of sight and out of mind as they returned to the morning sun and made their way along the side streets to avoid the crowds now filling the Plaza.

"Do you think we can stop by Arrun Home on the way back?" Yui asked her aunt, not quite able to hide her eagerness. "I want to see how Rika and the others are doing."

Arrun Home, the establishment founded by the Faerie Lords to care for the children and others disoriented to the point of helplessness by the Transition, reminded Yui a lot of her brief time with Mama and Papa at the church run by Miss Sasha in Aincrad's [<Town Of Beginnings]>, both its purpose, and the warm and lively natures of its residents.

The residents of Arrun Home too had a kind and motherly caregiver in the form of Irene Sensei, a mellow Undine girl who had taken to selflessly caring for the Children and anyone else who needed her help.

Being there, and more importantly, being with and talking to the children and those who were like children, helping them however she could, had also become one Yui's favorite activities. Maybe that was it. Yui wondered if Arrun Home wasn't [<Therapy]> for herself as well. A way to make up for the people she had been unable to help even as she ached with every fiber of her being to do so. Yes, that had to be why she liked this place.

"I don't see why not." Aunt Suguha agreed. "It's the next right ahead isn't it? We'll take the bridge over the main street to avoid the traffic, okay?"

"Ah, Leafa-san!" A voice to their rear and the sound of a heavy landing and then running as an Undine hurried to catch up with them. "I've been looking for you all morning." He panted. "I knew you were off today, but I must have missed you at home."

"Irmin." Aunt Suguha greeted. "Dojo said your had something for me?"

"Yeah, I need you to sign this." He held a sheaf of papers up for her to read. "It's just to confirm all of our reports are in order. I'd sign it myself, but HQ wants you signature, since well, Provisional Flight Leader."

Suguha's face turned unhappy. "I wish you'd stop calling me that." She took the offered pen from his hand. "It's not like it really means anything. Yui-chan, wait just a second. I just need to sign this."

"I'll stay in sight." Yui called back, she just wanted to go look out over the footbridge, picking up her pace until she was jogging up hill to the start of the bridge that ran over Arrun's Main street, linking Ludlum Cross Street to either side.

"Just be careful!" Aunt Suguha called.

Of course she would be careful. Yui rolled her eyes. After all, she was paying close attention, open eyes, open ears, and her enhanced sensory ability was at peak acuity, her only blind spot being underneath the bridge and the shadow of the building to her . . .

[<ALERT!]>

Yui's [<Proximity]> warning tripped at the sudden appearance of something large, fast moving, and on a collision course.

"Wha . . ." Yui spun her head about but was unable to finish as something hard hit squarely at the center of her equally solid skull.

 

[Triggerhappy]

Halkegenia Online v2.0 – Epilogue Part 5

"Ueda you jerk! Get back here!"

Takahashi Ueda, eleven years old, former Japanese elementary school student, and now a Faerie of the Sylph Race in the world of Halkegenia, didn't bother to look over his shoulder as he ducked around the corner and darted into the morning foot traffic, the obnoxious girl who was presently targeting him with the full force of her anger in hot pursuit.

He really didn't need this today, especially from her. Uncle had been called back to the Capital just last night to help train the army that was being put together to protect everyone, it was an important job, so he didn't begrudge his Uncle that, but it also meant he was all alone again.

"Ueda! You can't just duck out of your responsibilities. Uncle made you promise!"

Or at least, wished he was alone again.

"I'm not ducking out!"

He'd finished his homework already, staying up late last night and then slipping his answers under the door to Irene-sensei's room this morning. He was free to do what he liked until lunch, it was her responsibility to keep up with the curriculum, she was the one who had wanted to pretend they were the same age so she could act tough and impress the other kids.

He finally looked over his shoulder at the girl chasing him, blonde, and tall, taller than him, and slenderly built, his sister, Takahashi Kazuna. Seeing her now, most people wouldn't have believe that she was his little sister instead of his twin, younger by almost two years.

Complaining all the while about being stuck in this world because he'd convinced her to play ALO, she sure hadn't minded gaining nearly a dozen centimeters, or posing in front of the mirror in borrowed clothes like she was some sort of cute fashion idle.

And also, thinking that her fake age entitled her to be treated as something more than a big crybaby. It didn't matter if she wanted to pretend she was the same age as him, if she didn't have the sense to act like it, she was still just a little kid. Which was why . . . he sighed . . . he still had to look out for her. She and Uncle were the only real family he had in this world.

"And don't call me that in public, you know it's a bad idea!" The old advice about keeping your IRL name close to your chest had still held true. Uncle had tried hard to drill it into their heads that only trusted people should know their real names.

That was why, outside of Uncle and Irene Sensei, Takahashi Ueda and Takahashi Kazuna were known simply by their former game handles and new Faerie aliases, Bardiche and Balandene, Sylph siblings.

"I'm not calling you that stupid name!" Balandene shouted angrily. "Besides, it's just some made up word you invented to sound cool."

'No, that's your name.' Bardiche thought darkly. Whatever. "Just quit following me Balandene, if you're so worried about your homework you should go ask Irene-sensei for help. I'm not going to waste more time just because you didn't want to work on it with me."

Besides, Irene-sensei's curriculum was really easy compared to what he'd been learning in school, so Balandene should have been able to figure it out. She didn't even assign extra homework the way his other teachers had. He wondered how much they must have been falling behind in the other world.

He knew Irene-sensei was trying hard, but she had to come up with assignments for all of them, and she was the only real teacher at Arrun Home, or at least, the only good one. Takai Sensei was way too impatient, and Ophelia Sensei, who had been a university professor, didn't know how to teach kids even though she tried hard.

Together, the three teachers and the rest of the staff of Arrun Home were trying to teach them the skills they would need while they were in this world. With that in mind, the curriculum they'd been learning was really different from anything he'd done before.

For instance, they weren't being taught any Japanese history right now, instead, Irene-Sensei and the others spent that time on current events and georaphy of Halkegenia, which were a lot more exciting in Bardiche's opinion because current events involved lots of fighting. That stuff was easy to listen too.

Mostly their other academic classes were math and science related because Irene-sensei said those would be useful anywhere, and also lessons in reading Tristanian lead by Ophelia-sensei and a hired Tristanian tutor so that they could understand directions and postings whenever they went beyond the Faerie settlements.

The older kids also got to practice more interesting things like nonlethal combat spells and flight maneuvers to protect themselves when they went with the teachers to the other cities. Secretly, Bardiche knew that was the real reason Balandene had lied about her age, to get tutored by Takai-sensei.

She'd blush and get all giddy when the Salamander helped her with her form and stances, its was enough to make him want to wretch. Didn't she know that wasn't what class was for?!




Bardiche had barely been old enough to qualify for the training sessions himself, and only because he was so well behaved. Most of the time. Now he wanted to try out some of what he'd been learning.

Hitting the main street and bolting underneath the footbridge at a sprint, parting the crowds as he ducked and weaved, if he hurried up he could get down to the armory before the defense classes left, he'd gotten permission from Uncle, and he really couldn't think of a better way to blow off steam than beating up on the slime type mobs that infested the city walls along the river edge.

[<Mud Skeet Toads]>, elastic blobs of ambulatory mucus that collected a protective layer of muck like a rubber eraser picked up hairs and lint. Pests that were spawned from slime mold that collected at the sewer outlets and along the edges of the river, feeding on garbage and other less pleasant things. The influx of people and the need for Arrun to deal with its waste meant that they'd had plenty of food recently and had been spawning like crazy.

They weren't very dangerous, though they'd happily surround and attempt to consume any isolated player or mob which was why people weren't supposed to travel alone if they went down to the lakeside nearest the wall.

More importantly, keeping their numbers down by breaking them apart and incinerating their slimy carcasses had become an important job, just not one that paid very well. Their mucus was a useful ingredient in a lot of potions, but their sheer numbers and ease of killing them, and the relatively common and steady supply it generated meant that most hunters weren't very interested in collecting them.

That was, until an enterprising Salamander and Cait couple had gotten permission to start leading volunteers along the wall every week. The reasoning was pretty simple, Bardiche thought, ALO had been a game about combat, and there had been lots of emphasis towards fighting monsters and other players. It had been fun, and also a little scary until you got used to it, not at all like the screen and controller based games Bardiche had played before.

But now that death was a possibility, the number of people willing to go out and fight real monsters had taken a dive.

At the same time, people had to leave the cities from time to time to travel and couldn't always expect to have the protection of armed guards. So self defense classes had seen a sharp rise recently. That was where Arrun's slime mob problem had come in handy.

Mud Skeet Toads, while not very powerful, came in a lot of different varieties. Some were poisonous, while others could use simple magic, or merge together into stronger, but not too powerful, monsters. They made really good practice for people who wanted to learn to use their magic for self defense. More importantly, it was good sport, and kids like him could get permission to harvest the carcasses to make a little spending money to supplement their meager allowances.

'Man, why couldn't I have gotten a courier job like Yuki and Silica.' He lamented.

But even with age restrictions being 'loosened', the minimum age to take a job, or to travel beyond the City limits by oneself had been kept at fourteen. Of course, there were people who lied about their real age to get around that. It was easy too, since lots of people didn't look their real age.

Unlike Bardiche himself who looked every bit to be eleven years old, all because he'd read that the top full dive players made their avatars their real height to make sure their coordination didn't get messed up. He sort of regretted it now, but Uncle would have still known his real age and stopped him if he'd tried to do anything too dangerous.

Who knew, if they were still here in a couple of years, if he kept practicing, maybe he could get good enough to be approved to carry dispa . . .

"Waaagh!" Bardiche stumbled as a weight hit him from behind, nearly throwing him forward before dragging him back, his sister had thrown her arms around him and seemed intent on keeping her grip, even if it caused them both to take a nasty spill.

Stumbling, Bardiche used some of the choice words he'd learned from his Uncle as his legs got caught up in his coattails. Weeks of hard practice paid off as he flared his wings, the ground dropping away as the street continued to slope downward. It bought him a few seconds, but now Balandene was too scared to let go.

No helping it, he dispelled his wings, landing in stumble that thankfully didn't turn into too bad of a tumble before they came to a crashing halt in a patch of grass beside the roadway, Balandene planted on top of him, straddling his stomach, hands on his chest, looking angry, as if completely oblivious to how dangerous it had all been.

"Oy, are you trying to kill me?!" Bardiche snapped. Crazy girl!

"I can't ask Sensei for help." Balandene's expression darkened. "Irene-sensei had to take Rika-chan to the clinic super early this morning and she hasn't gotten back yet."

Bardiche squinted, Rika had been taken to the clinic? "Weren't you just there a couple weeks ago? Does she have the same thing you did?" Something that a lot of the girls were catching . . .

Bardiche recalled the strange occurrence. His sister's groans had woken him up late one night a couple of weeks ago. But when he'd gotten out of bed and turned on the light, he hadn't even had a chance to see what was the matter before she had shouted for him to go find Irene-sensei.

He'd had to sleep alone for the rest of the night while Irene-sensei stayed with Balandene. The next morning, his sister had been acting, poorly, like nothing at all had happened. After that, Irene-sensi had told him it had been perfectly natural 'female stuff', which seemed to be Irene-sensei's way of explaining why his sister had been in an even worse mood than usual for a few days.

Balandene's blush deepened until her whole face was beat red. "J-jerk!" She snapped angrily. "You shouldn't ask about something private like that . . . pervert!"

Now she was just grasping for bad sounding words. "Whatever." Bardiche grumbled glancing down to confirm his suspicions while ignoring the crowd of onlookers gathering at the odd sight of the two children laying in a heap. "But should you really be calling me a pervert when you're the one flashing her underwear?" Sitting on top of him with her skirt partially hiked up by the way she had landed, it wasn't like he had to try to see anything.

Where the heck had she gotten green frog panties anyways?

"Wha-? Waaaagh!" His sister's attention shifted from him covering herself as quickly as she could, flattening her skirt of over her rear and pulling it down in front. Her head spun in every direction, she was probably afraid Takai-sensei was in the crowd and had seen, obviously humiliated. Bardiche wasn't very sympathetic.

"You should have known to wear shorts under your skirt." Irene-senei had tried to make sure all the girls did it but Balandene complained that they bunched up and made her skirts look bad. Well, she was a scarridy cat who didn't fly much if she could help it, so it usually wasn't a problem.

"I would have if I'd had time." She stuck out her tongue, acting her own age. "But I don't want to bother Irene-sensei. Especially right now, Rika-chan has it really tough too you know . . . No family and . . ."

Right.

Bardiche shifted into a cross legged sitting position, rubbing at the back of his head. Balandene had trouble being younger than she looked. It was even worse because they were both among the younger players. Balandene was even among the youngest of the children ranging to as low as seven or eight years old. But Balandene had only grown by a couple of years, Rika had leaped forward an entire decade, that couldn't be good, especially now that their avatars were their real bodies.

There were times when Bardiche still felt out of place in his own skin. His formerly round Japanese face replaced by the sharp features and wind spiked blonde hair, and body, that while the same height, was definitely more muscular, as if he'd really spent his childhood training hard to use the collapsible halberd that was presently folded up inside his dark green long coat. He couldn't imagine how bad it had been for Rika and some of the others.

And that was also part of the problem. He didn't like to think about it. Climbing back to his feet. The other people walking on the streets were still giving them odd looks, but had refrained from coming too close, warned off by Balandene's frantic hand waving. They couldn't trust appearances at all.

Lots of concerned looking people, Sylphs, and Salamanders, Undines, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Puca. And who could tell how old any of them really were. A youthful appearance didn't mean someone was young, and neither did a mature body. Irene-sensei had been an experienced elementary school teacher in that other world, but in ALO she was a cute, teenage Undine. And Rika, even though she looked fully grown, wasn't much older than Balandene.

The age range of an ALO avatar was usually between ten and thirty, with the average being around twenty three. The ratio didn't really match the real life distribution of gamers which included lots of kids and lots of middle aged people as well. Add in vanity and wanting to play a character that was different from their real world selves and it wasn't difficult to figure out out that there were lots of people who didn't look their age.

That should have meant Bardiche was happy to look his real age. But he was and he wasn't. Instead, he felt isolated. In a sea of young faces, there were very few he could point to and say confidently were really like him, kids he had something in common with. And that was the problem, surrounded by other kids, it felt like there was nobody but his sister to talk to. There was nothing more embarrassing than talking with a girl or boy and learning that they were actually much older. And even the kids who claimed to be his age, he could never really be sure.

People like Silica and Yuuki were really nice and understanding, which almost proved that they were ever older than they claimed, and he got along really well with Rika, once he got past her bone crushing hugs, but the feeling of being out of place lingered. And with it, the feeling of loneliness.

Which meant . . . looking to his sister, still fussing with her clothes, still looking for the world to be upset . . . he really should cherish the people he felt comfortable around. Bardiche let out another heavy sigh, casting a glance back towards the city gates. He hadn't really meant to go out mob hunting anyways. It wasn't like he needed that new utility knife he'd been saving up for or anything.

"Come on." Bardiche tapped Balandene lightly atop the head.

"What?" As if she didn't expect him to give up so easily.

"I said, come on." Bardiche said again. "This is what you wanted right? But you better not waste my time with dumb questions."

"They're not dumb!" Balandene scoffed, her confidence suddenly plummeting. "I just don't know how to do them." And she was probably too embarrassed to ask after acting like she was so smart around everyone else. Especially Takai-sensei.

"Come on then." He started making his way slowly back up hill.

Arrun home wasn't far from the main street. Like most important places that needed lots of space and room, the home for lost children and those who had been badly disoriented by the Transition had been set up in a Guild Hall. In fact, it had been set up in several guild halls located side by side, a cluster of buildings that took up almost half of one side street. Still uphill though.

"Nii-chan!" Balandene reprimanded as she saw him conjuring his wings without a second thought. He definitely wasn't going to walk all the way when flying was easier, not to mentioned quicker.

Kicking off lightly, Bardiche was airborne in a flash, savoring the heady sensation of becoming one with his wings. He'd taken to unassisted flight like a natural in both ALO and this real world, and alongside defense practice, it was one of his few real pleasures.

"Nii-chan!" Balandene ran after him on foot. "You know that's a bad idea. You're not supposed to fly over the main street!"

"Come on! It's faster this way." He grinned. "Unless you're a scarridy cat!"

"Watch out for the bridge!" Balandene cried.

The Sylph Youth rolled his eyes, like he was going to hit the footbridge while flying, turning his head back around to his front. He knew this route like the back of his . . .

-WHAM-

The solid, powerful impact of two very hard things, filled with something squishy, making solid contact. A reverberation that didn't so much hurt as immediately start throbbing. Bardiche felt his teeth slam together. His senses turned white, and for a sickening moment, he felt his body going limp before time reasserted itself and he very suddenly found he was rolling very fast and very hard until he came to an undignified stop in a heap.

"Nii-chan!" One voice shouted.

"Yui-chan!" Another voice cried.

Bardiche's head throbbed and he squeezed his eyes shut. Now it had started hurting. He was painfully aware of every scrape and bruise. "Ah . . . ah . . . ouch.".

"Nii-chan . . . Ue . . . Bardiche-kun, are you alright?" He heard his sister calling.

Grimacing, Bardiche got one hand under himself, and then the other, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Yeah I'm . . ." -WHAM- His sudden quick motion, ill advised, it felt like he's just driven his head into a wall. This time, at least he wasn't flying through the air, but it still hurt a lot more, probably because it hadn't quite knock him senseless.

"Oy . . . oy . . . a . . . ow . . ." Clutching at his forehead, Bardiche probed the air with his free hand to find whatever he'd hit, coming to rest on something small and warm and bony . . . a shoulder?

"Ah . . . ouch . . . ouch . . . ouch . . ."

The second voice right beside him prompted him to crack open an eye.

Struggling to sit up in heap beside him, he found that his guess was right, hand resting on the shoulder of a Faerie girl who appeared a little younger than himself. At least, he thought she was a Faerie. White . . . white dress and wierd white wings, she was really pale too . . . but her hair was super dark and glossy in the sunlight.

His hand fell slowly back to his side, squinting hard, how had he ended up beside her? He looked around, on the footbridge? Slowly, the girl's head fell forward and he saw where she was presently nursing her own forehead while continuing to whisper 'ouch' over and over again like a mantra.

Girl . . . forehead . . . Ah!

"Hey, hey are you okay?" Bardiche leaned forward, taking the girl by both shoulders.

From beneath her tightly held hands, she squinted out through one, dark eye, seeing Bardiche, she suddenly force a hurt little smile. "Y-yeah . . . ouch . . . I'm okay . . . ouch . . ."

'Then why do you keep saying ouch?' He wondered. They'd hit pretty hard after all. Or at least, he thought they had, he wasn't sure, his head was still spinning.

"Yui-chan are you alright." The voice from earlier came from over his shoulder the sounds of heavy footfalls coming to a halt beside them, he sensed another person crouching down beside him, looking over, he found that a really busty woman of his own race had arrived and had quickly begun to go about checking the girl for any sign of serious injury.

Balandene arrived a moment later, flitting up from below on her wings, lighting softly on the railing of the bridge before hopping lightly down. For someone who didn't like to fly, she sure was good at it. "Nii-chan!" She reprimanded. "I told you it was a bad idea." She looked worried, a lot more worried than she ever did. "Are you hurt?"

The Sylph boy waved off his sisters concerns. His head was plenty hard enough, she didn't need to worry about him, but . . .

"It's okay Aunt Sugu." The girl beside him said. "I don't think I sustained any serious damage."

"Aunt"

"Don't think?!" The woman who went by the title of 'Aunt' asked. "You could have a concussion or . . . or . . ." She paused as if finally noticing Bardiche was there at all. "Oh! Are you okay . . . erm . . ." She cast green eyes between the girl and Bardiche until he nodded that he was okay.

Only then, once she was sure the little girl was alright, did she suddenly grow angry. Rising back to her feet, the Sylph woman put hands on hips as she swept the children with a withering gaze. "That was really reckless Yui-chan! And . . . erm . . ."

"Bardiche." Bardiche offered.

" . . . and Bardiche-san." She finished. "I saw everything. Yui-chan!" The girl beside him cringed. "You should have looked both ways before crossing . . ."

"Sorry Aunt Sugu!" The the girl pleaded.

"And you!" The Aunt turned to Bardiche, who learned immediately why the girl had cringed like so under her withering gaze. "Bardiche-san, city regulations say that you shouldn't fly over the main street." The corner of her lip twitched. "Maybe I should take you in to watch HQ."

Bardiche paled. "H-hey . . . Lady . . . there's no reason to involve them, right? I mean . . ." If he got in trouble with the watch, he'd get reprimanded by Irene-sensei! He could kiss goodbye to being able to take defense classes.

Once he was good and scared, her expression softened. "You're not hurt though, right?"

"What . . . erm . . ." He rubbed tenderly at his head, the center of his forehead specifically. It was welling up. Probably going to be monkey bump.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." He answered. "And uhm . . . you're okay too?" He nodded to the girl. Well, probably not a girl. With an avatar that young it was good odds she was older.

"Un." The . . . he glanced at her wings . . . why were they still out? And what race did those belong to? They were ridiculously big, almost touching the ground even when she was standing. "I'm fine. Like I said, I didn't sustain any serious damage! . . . Ouch."

'If you're not hurt then why do you keep saying ouch.' Bardiche pondered as she continued to rub tenderly at her head.

"Nii-chan." Bardiche felt Balandene pulling at his arm, leaning in to whisper very softly, so softly he wouldn't have been able to hear it as a human. "Hey Nii-chan . . . what's with this girl . . . she's weird." Casting suspicious eyes to the other girl, Yui, who tilted her head curiously. "And what's with her wings?"

She might have heard that part, Yui's smile faded a little, wings folding sympathetically to hide behind her back.

"Jeez Sis." Bardiche sighed. Didn't she know how to be polite?

"Anyways, I'm Bardiche and this is my sister Balandene. It's nice to meet you." Bardiche bowed slightly, pulling his sister down with him.

A hand pressed against the back of his head as Balandene forced him to deepen his bow. "He's really sorry about running into you like that. Please don't tell on us!"

Here was hoping. Bardiche kept his eyes closed. Finally, the Sylph woman gave a small sigh. "Well, I suppose this doesn't need to go to the watch. Just don't let it happen again, that could have been really dangerous." She smiled slyly. "And trust me, I'll know, since I'm a watch officer."

The sylph boy swallowed, he'd really stepped in it!

"Sorry!" This time, Balandene didn't need to push him down, he couldn't have bowed any deeper if he'd tried.

"Like I said, its a first offense, so I'll go easy on you." The woman laughed gently, placing a hand on Yui's shoulder. "I'm Leafa by way and this is my niece."

The dark haired girl gave a small courtesy. "Kirigaya Yui. It's nice to meet you, Bardiche-san, Balandene-san." Her smile brightened again. "Sorry I made such a good target."

"Yeah . . ." Bardiche mumbled. "Sorry I made such a good missile . . ." Wait her name! "Uhm . . . Kirigaya . . . Yui?" Bardiches eyes widened. "Wait, is that your full name?"

"Un." Yui nodded, blinking curiously.

"Like your real name?" Why would she be using her real name so openly?!

Yui exchanged looks with the woman who claimed to be her aunt. "It's the only one I have, so yeah, it's my real name."

"You know it's not safe to use your real name like that." Bardiche warned her quickly. Chances were good if she'd made a mistake like that, she probably was as young as she looked. "You need to keep it between friends and family."

"Why?"

Perplexed, this girl looked utterly perplexed by such an obvious thing! Balandene was right . . . she was really weird.

"Because its not safe!" Bardiche exclaimed.

"So?" Yui scrunched up her face. "I don't think you're going to do anything bad with my name, right? It's not like I shouldn't be able to trust you with it. After all, you feel really bad for running into me . . . " Her eyes widened. "Ah, but it's my fault too for not paying attention."

"Yui?" Balandene became thoughtful as she mouthed the name. "Yui . . . You wouldn't happen to know Rika-chan, would you?"

"She's a friend of Rika's?" Bardiche asked.

His sister and Yui nodded simultaneously.

"Rika-chan told me about her. She visits lots at Arrun home." Balandene explained. "Not that you would know since you run out as soon as your done with chores." She accused.

It wasn't his fault that there were more interesting places to be. Like sneaking out to the lake, or climbing around the roots of the World tree exploring for good secret keeping spots and buried treasure. It was nice to get away from everyone else, except Balandene would inevitably tag along.

"I heard you're really good at making floral necklaces!" His sister said. "Rika won't stop begging me to help her make them."

"Un!" Yui nodded eagerly. "My Mama taught me how. Actually, we were going to go visit Rika-chan right now. I can show you if you want!" Yui looked up at her aunt as if getting permission."

"But just for a little while. You still have your checkup today." Leafa said seriously.

Balandene beamed at the offer. 'But what about . . . your homework . . .' Bardiche sighed. Was it too late to go meet Mud Skeet Toad hunting? "Wagh!" A hand grabbed him by the wrist, the small form of 'Kirigaya Yui' exerting a surprising amount of force as she started tugging him along after the two Sylph girls. "Come on Bardiche-san, you can help too!"

'But I don't want to make floral necklaces . . .'

Maybe he would have listened to the rules and not flown on the main street . . .