Noblesse Oblige [Znt/SI]

[shadenight123]

Chapter Nineteen

The lessons were boring. When one thinks of magic, one thinks of the cool effects, the powerful spells, but doesn't actually realize there is grammar involved. The difference in a spell could rest in something as tiny as an article, like to make an example, "The fiery inferno of death and doom beloved by the Founder, I summon you!" and "Fiery inferno of death and doom beloved by the Founder, I summon you!" could have two drastically different effects. In the first circumstance, the chant allowed the summoning of a specific fiery inferno of death and doom, which was a five meters squared column of fire, but in the second circumstance the mage could superimpose his idea of fiery inferno.

Course, this was purely theoretical, and Professor Chevreuse had no intention of letting us create fiery infernos of death and doom, but this didn't stop some of the students from trying all the same to come up with their own personal variations of church-approved spells. If, of course, away from the earshot of others.

"We should find ourselves a nice place in the countryside near here and practice," Anthoine said one day as we sat in the Vestri court, a cup of tea in front of us, "I could bring out a few of my golems, let them catch some fresh air." The birds nearby chirped, the delightful chatter of noble children talking to one another around perfectly ordained tea cups creating a nice background noise that was pleasant to hear.

"Ah, the fabled Valkyrie spell of the Gramont family?" I remarked. "They would make excellent targets to test out the power of other spells."

Anthoine's face paled, "What? No! They're my precious lovely dolls-" I stared, and Anthoine looked back at me. "They...they aren't meant to be used as dolls to play house with?" he hazarded.

"Anthoine, are you doing this on purpose?" I asked with an eyebrow raised, only for Anthoine's lips to twitch, before he broke out in a vicarious bout of laughter. I snorted, and then soon joined him.

From the nearby seat, a voice rose, "What are you two laughing like commoners about?" André said snappishly, the book in his hands closed, but with a finger to keep a sign on the page he had been reading seconds before.

"Fun stuff, but with how tight your pants are, I doubt you'd understand," Anthoine replied.

"Remarking on how Anthoine's love dolls will be executed," I pointed out.

"Love dolls?" Anthoine mumbled, "I said lovely! Lovely dolls-" he exclaimed, "I don't know why, but Love Dolls sounds wrong-" he furrowed his brows, "But father did mention them once in passing, before mother dragged him in another room to give him a scolding." He turned really thoughtful. "Uhm...love dolls..."

"Goodbye, Anthoine's innocence, I hardly knew thee," I whispered with tears of laughter threatening to come out of my eyes, my shoulders shaking.

"For the son of the Heavy Wind and the younger brother of the Iron Lady," apparently, Eleonore's runic name was an apt 'Iron Lady', which...kind of fit, quite well indeed, to her character. "you sure are laid back, Henry," André said, his back as stiff as always.

"Why not? These are the best years of our lives. Freedom from oppressive parents, freedom from stuffy and boring naming conventions-come on, André, live a little while you can, because then it's going to be hell. Arranged marriages, military training-taxes," I shuddered. "Live your life, my friend."

"I never said I was your friend," André remarked, warily. "You know that, don't you?"

"Too late, André. You are his friend now," Anthoine said with a nod. "Now come join us of little seriousness. There's enough space at the table for one more."

André did close his book and join us for the rest of the evening, even though our discussions never became serious. He was a bit of a stiff kid, but quite normal below the stern expressions he held. Compared to the graceful Anthoine or the social mastermind that I was, he was the serious type. A company of madmen always need a serious man to point out flaws in reasoning, since, after all, even madness has its own inner logic.

It was late in that very same afternoon that we did our first lesson in Alchemy. I had expected bubbling cauldrons, thundering waving of sticks, and religious chants. Instead we got absolutely nothing if not scribbling down on parchment words, formulas, and stuff that was already starting to bore me beyond belief.

The fact that the first question the Du Tremelle had asked had been about a love potion had already been written off in the back of my head, becoming my warning against accepting any and all gifts from her, her friends, or anyone even remotely linked to her. My suspicions aside, since the chances that the girl had the skills to brew such dangerous potion were pretty low, I aptly turned my brain off until the lessons were over.

While it had already been days since we had begun the lessons, I hadn't yet found the time to say more than a few passing words to Wardes. He was with his older friends, and boy didn't I know how embarrassing it was to have a younger sibling of sorts hang around yourself and your friends, thus I kept my distances politely. Honestly, my main concern was finding a way to get to Square before the main plot began.

If I managed to intercept an elf and get him on my side before everything ever began, I could hand off the king of Gallia and the Pope to them, and try to weasel out a deal. It had something to do with safe passage in the Sahara desert for the people of the nation in question, so that meant trade, money, and an escape route from the cataclysm that was going to happen.

It wasn't a flawless plan, but it was the most ideal.

After dinner, the second part of my diabolical mastermind plan began to unfold as I took a chair, parchment and ink pot, a quill already clasped by my fingers.

I dipped the quill in the ink, and then stilled a second over the upper left corner.

"The Lion King," I whispered, "is pretty much a classic, and easy to traslate...but on the other hand, there is a market for porn, isn't there?"

I debated with myself for a bit, and then, finally, reached a consensus.

Only to stop.

Abruptly, I stopped.

"Oh." I suddenly began to laugh. "Oh, oh, oh!" I laughed, my shoulders shaking. "No, no...not the 'Lion' king..."

My quill began to scribble, and as it did, my smile grew positively feral.

The Lion Princess.

A bittersweet tale in a land of fantasy where mythical Lions capable of speech live.

Chapter One - Princess Lotte was the daughter of the wise lion king Char, and lived in the realm of Savannah. Her mane was soft, and shiny like the stars in the midnight sky. Her eyes were brilliant sapphires that reflected the kindest soul possible, and her faith in her ancestors was strong, for no heresy could worm its way into her heart. The counselor of the lion king was an old and refined monkey, wise beyond its years, it had been him who had blessed in the name of the Founder the lion princess on the day of her birth, with all of the animals present to watch the baptism unfold upon the rock of lions.

Yet in the shadows, the bitter, jealous brother of king Char, Seph, cursed the day of the princess' birth. Once more, his brother had done something greater than him. Once more, he would receive praise in his place. Yet, a deep void began to seep into the brother's heart on that day, a void that began to fill his soul. That void, which the Founder considered heresy, was obvious to the eyes of the pious. It was the heresy of betrayal.

For he who betrays his rightful king, then he is the wickedest of sinners.

Needless to say...

This would be only the beginning.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty

Professor Colbert had more hair on his head than I remembered. He also was a good eight years younger, so there was a distinct difference in approach. Not on the appearance though, because he still had glasses, and he wore a one piece robe of a somber dark blue color.

"Good morning, class," he spoke crisply, but gently. "Today, we will take a moment to explain the precautions you will all undertake before dealing with Fire spells. We wouldn't want any student to get hurt, or badly burnt, when it could have been avoided," he gently lifted his wand, and the basins that had been empty in front of our seats soon filled with water. "First of all, you should ensure your hands and faces are wet. If you have long hair, please tie it behind your back, small strings have been left near the basins just for that reason."

I didn't have long hair -thankfully- and while I did proceed to wash my hands and my face, I had the feeling that perhaps this was going a bit too far. What were we going to do, lit fire to the world as Dot-level mages? I folded the sleeves of my shirt back to my elbows, just as an extra precaution, and tucked the frills and lace inside.

"Now," Professor Colbert moved to the nearby window, opening it up fully. "We are going to test your affinity with the Fire element. Please, one at the time come to the window, lift your wand, and continuously chant the words 'Ignite, by the Founder's will, ignite.', by seeing how far and how hot the flame will be, we will have a decent inkling of your skill in manipulating the fire element."

He then smiled. "Who would like to go first?"

And as he asked that, I stood up. "Henry de la Blois de la Valliere answers the call," I said with a grin, wand already out and fingers itching as I descended the few stairs to reach the window by the professor's side.

"Keep your wand pointed out of the window, Mister Valliere," Colbert said, "Now, do not worry if at first no flame appears. Simply keep your mind on the purpose of this exercise-"

I extended my wand out of the window, my eyes fixed on the crystal blue sky that lacked clouds, and then I began to chant, my voice calm and controlled, my heart drumming from the excitement of what might happen, and what might not. "Ignite," I said, "By the Founder's will, I command you to burn!" a tongue of fire left the tip of my wand, lashing out in the air and twirling around with its magnificent orange light.

"Mister Valliere-the word you should have said at the end was 'Ignite'," Colbert remarked sharply, "Now try once more." With a sharp twitch of my wand, the tongue of fire came less as I took a small breath.

"I apologize," I said, "I got carried away."

The proper chant still earned me a decent jet of fire, but it lacked the orange lighting, and seemed quite suffused in heat too.

"Well done, Mister Valliere," Colbert remarked as he watched the jet of fire. "Within acceptable levels, I would reckon. Now, who would like to go next?"

I returned to my seat and sighed, yawning with a hand to cover my mouth as I decided to catch a bit of brain-dead sleep, since it would be a boring hour before everyone had done their thing. "Well, the son of the Heavy Wind without a fire affinity? Who would have thought," Anthoine said with a smug smile. "I guess the professor just wants to find out who's going to be the top of this class early on," he craned his neck right and left, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go show off."

I blinked. "But...you're a Gramont."

"Indeed," Anthoine said with a chuckle as he stood up, rose wand in hand, "And passion is as hot as the flaming sun...or so my father says, flamboyance, my friend, flamboyance!" and with that exclamation out of the way -and rose petals fluttering around his head together with the sparkles, he reached for the window next and repeated the chant, creating a long tongue of fire that was easily twice my own.

When he returned to his seat, I simply smiled. "Ah...overcompensating for something else?" I quipped, only for Anthoine to playfully shove me to the side.

Henriette de Joyeuse went next, her demure and petite form looking like that of a rabbit in a cage, afraid of everything and everyone. She extended her wand, her mouth twitched as she stammered on the first words -was she nervous in front of a crowd?- and then a blast of fire outright left the tip of her wand, easily dwarfing Anthoine's own jet.

I stared.

Anthoine stared.

"Anthoine," I said. "Are you sure you're the one with the affinity for fire here?"

"I-well-uhm...oh," he muttered in disbelief. His eyes were transfixed on the girl though, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Someone's got a crush," I hummed lightly, even as André went next and reset the bar to a more acceptable level -similar to mine, or perhaps a bit less. Anthoine snapped his head towards me, eyes wide in something similar to fear, embarrassment and shock. I simply clasped my hands together and smiled softly, "Perhaps she has yet to be engaged."

"Ah...you...you think?"

"Write a letter home and ask," I replied. "Who knows," I smiled, "Though if I were you, I'd be quick about it."

André sat back down near us, and then grumbled. "I could have just told him my affinity was water and be done with it." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "The shame..."

"Meh," I remarked, "If you're ashamed, then what should I be? We did pretty much the same thing. Just let it be, André. You'll have your chance to outshine everyone else when we meet the Water professor."

Who was a certain professor Anne de Noailles, and differently from what the name implied, he was a male and not a female. Also, he looked manly as hell. He had a thick beard, arms so large he could easily twist in two a man, and yet wore clothes that made him look like one of the Gramont family -if with visible amount of chest hair on sight.

"Now, my students," he spoke with the strength of thunder, this Anne de Noailles, "We shall see to it that you are educated in the might that are the crushing tidal waves, the strong currents, the-"

"Sir...isn't Water magic supposed to be about healing?" one of the students in the crowd asked, even as I carefully sank most of my body below the desk.

Goodbye, random student who couldn't keep his mouth shut.

I hardly knew thee, but I will forever cherish and remember your shocked expression at the end of the military-like rant of the professor.

Oh, who was I kidding?

"Hey André," I whispered, "go on, tell him of your affinity."

André looked back at me with wide eyes, and then most nobly shook his head in the negative sense.

"After class," he whispered back. "Wouldn't want to...disturb."

I chuckled.

He didn't.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-One

Professor Guiteau taught Wind magic. His stern, no nonsense face told me he considered his classroom serious business, and as his eyes narrowed upon each of us as we sat down on our seats, I realized he really was the Severus Snape I had been looking for. He just needed to say that there would be no flimsy waving of wands, or cheeky chuckling, and everything would fit in like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

He had short and cropped dark hair, narrow dark eyes, and thin lips that seemed to exude displeasure. He really didn't want to be there, apparently. Judging by the way he was in turn judging us, it seemed we were found lacking in something.

"Wind is an invisible force," he spoke in the end. "It can take the form of a thunderous air hammer, of a slicing blade, of a strong hurricane, or it can be linked-becoming lightning, enhancing fire, forming ice, creating sand-" as he used his wand to scribble on the chalkboard, it became pretty clear early on what type of professor he was.

He was the kind that began to speak as soon as the clock marked the start of the hour, and finished only when the lesson was over.

Quietly, I began to scribble down notes. My fingers didn't cramp, but then again I was used to hours and hours of scribbling, and where my body failed, my mind powered through. By the time we were done, I was the only one who did not groan as the professor handed out homework to do. Apparently, my first trip on the library would be earlier than planned, seeking out who were the strongest wind users in the last two centuries and writing a brief biography on their lives -as well as their emotional character, which would give insight on how to best manipulate said element in chants.

That was the theory behind it, or at least the explanation the professor gave. I simply looked at Anthoine, André and Henriette, who in turn looked back not really understanding my eye-talking ability. They were honest amateurs in professor-given tasks, but I'd teach them well enough.

After lunch, we made our way to the library, which was filled with shelves, books and students of older years rummaging through them. Although splitting up was a good idea, I did not want to end up losing sight of Anthoine and find him being babied by an older student. My eyes moved to where a group of youngsters -in my head, since in body they were older than me- were lazing around, half-asleep and dreadfully wishing they could get on with their lives without tests.

"Forgive me for asking and disturbing you," I whispered as I drew near, catching their attention, "Do you perhaps know which books are best to deal with professor Guiteau's research on wind users genealogy?"

One of the older guys looked at the other, and then furrowed his brows, "Uhm...what was it? Wind Users in Halkeginia?"

"Yeah, that one and Famous Houses by affinity," the second one replied. "The librarian should know where they are if you ask her," I smiled, and made a light bow of my head.

"Thank you very much," I said.

"Remember to polish off your writing," one of the girls of the group said. "Professor Guiteau doesn't like flourishes or large letters-he thinks we use it to skive off on the required number of pages."

"Thank you once more," I said with a smile as I turned around and began to walk towards the librarian, Anthoine right behind me. André and Henriette had gone to look for a table to sit, and were currently moving two chairs with their wands to have four chairs around a single table. The librarian pursed her lips at that display, but said nothing since we were keeping it on the low key.

"Good afternoon," I said gently, "Would you happen to know the location of Wind users in Halkeginia and Famous houses by affinity?" the old woman nodded, and quickly set off in her task. I turned to Anthoine, "We should be done in a couple of hours, perhaps even less."

Anthoine sighed, "And here I was, thinking we'd enjoy our day of the Void before starting this sort of dreadful work. We have a whole week to finish this assignment-"

"When half of your family is composed of strict people, you learn to adapt," I pointed out. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were spies referring my every move to my mother in an effort to ingratiate her," and I was pretty sure Wardes was among them, of course in his best interests as the older brother-type, he wouldn't be doing this out of malice, or self-interest, but simply because he had been asked.

Or he could be a malicious little bugger whose carcass would be found drowned in the courtyard's fountain one morning, but that wouldn't be the case, at least, I hoped.

I chuckled softly as I took my seat, cracking my fingers as quill and ink pot found their way in front of me from the table's side. "Two books, one per couple, then we compare the notes," I said calmly, "André, you're with me." My eyes twinkled, as Anthoine's own sparkled as understanding dawned on him that I was playing matchmaker. "We'll start with Wind users in Halkeginia," I continued, "If that's all right with you all?"

"Sure," Anthoine all but chirped it as he moved his chair closer to Henriette, who shyly looked at the blond blue-eyed kid before flipping open the book in front of her, while André and I did the same with ours.

In the silence of the library, only the scribbling of quills on parchments could be heard, and it suited me just fine. A few hours later and we were done with the assignments, the ink dry, and the parchments neatly rolled up. "And now we are free," I said with a sigh of relief. "So...what do you want to do?" I asked the rest of the group, who in turn looked at one another.

"Tea in the courtyard?" Anthoine hazarded.

"A horse ride around the academy?" André remarked.

"Uhm...anything's fine," Henriette mumbled, twiddling her fingertips. In answer, I looked at her, she squirmed a bit, even as I kept my stare on her until she finally emitted a soft whining sound, and continued, "I...I would like to practice my water magic a bit more."

"Why would you need to do that? Your fire's affinity is quite high-" Anthoine said with a charming smile -charming smile number three, known in the Gramont family as the smile that steals the panties. "We can just throw André in front of the water professor whenever he asks for a volunteer."

"Ah. Ah. Ah. No," André stressed out, "Anthoine-we can throw you in front of professor Chevreuse if you prefer, I'm sure she'd gobble you right up..."

I blinked as I looked at André, Anthoine surprised too by the sudden boldness of the teenager. André, instead, looked at the both of us -and at the creeping blush spreading on Henriette's face- with a puzzled expression. "What?" he asked.

"André," I smiled. Anthoine slowly began to push himself away from the table, "My dear friend," the Gramont third-born took Henriette by the wrist and began to move her away from the table faster than I could finish smiling like a shark, "Let me teach you some interesting stuff."

When we stepped out of the library, André was twitching.

I was chuckling and trying my hardest not to laugh out loud, but the pale white face of André was truly priceless.

"He told you?" Anthoine asked as he joined us outside, Henriette's face a startling crimson blush. "Everything?" There was a twitchy nod. "Come here, my brother..." Anthoine added as he widened his arms and hugged André tightly, "It's all right. Henry's perversion wins only if you let it win."

I bristled and mockingly brought a hand right beneath my chin, "Please-this is nothing."

"Excuse me for disturbing you," a familiar voice called to us as we turned, in time to see Wardes draw near with a smile on his face. "But I will need to speak with Henry for a moment in private, if that is fine with you kind misters, and miss," as he tipped his head lightly in Henriette's direction, the young lady in question giggled softly.

"Oh, Jean-Jacques," I said with a smile, "This is Viscount Wardes, he's engaged to my sister Cattleya," I added as I made the presentations. "I don't think it will take long, so...I'll probably meet you outside later, André," I said. I then patted Anthoine's shoulder and whispered to his ear, "One can train water magic in the courtyard while taking tea, my friend...go fulfill your destiny."

Anthoine's eyes shone with firm determination, his inner fire igniting with joy as his rose wand ended up in his hand, near his face. "Yes, sir!"

Wardes looked on and chuckled, not really understanding, or perhaps understanding and keeping quiet about it.

"So, Jean-Jacques," I said as I began to walk by the older boy's side. "Can I be reasonably certain you have the unrewarding task of referring my actions to Cattleya?"

Wardes smiled gently, "I do," he admitted. "But I would rather you told me, rather than risk throwing you under the tender mercies of your mother's punishments."

"You truly are a good friend, Jean-Jacques," I smiled back.

The best there could ever be.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Two

The world wasn't my oyster, but Tristania would be. Familiarizing myself with the layouts of the city would be easy, but rather than do it alone and risk suffering from my hubris, I decided to take the chance and head there with Wardes as a sort of tourist guide. He had been to the capital far more times than me -at least, in a visitor's way. Honestly, my life and that of my sisters had been pretty sheltered. This was the first time I saw the capital as anything more than passing background beyond the window of a carriage, for example.

We had left the horses at a stable near the gates of the city, and paid a pittance to have them stored for the rest of the day. We had an early morning, a lunch and an afternoon to go about exploring the city.

"Wouldn't want to take away too much of your time, Jean-Jacques," I said with a sigh. "Seriously though, tell me if I'm being a nuisance."

"On the contrary," Wardes replied, "I am also hoping you might help me choose a suitable gift for your sister." I hummed, and then grinned. There was no need to tell me something like that, Jean-Jacques. We both know you know that Cattleya would be happy with anything as long as it dealt with animals. Be it a book on them, a set of cute earrings, a puppy of sorts, a stuffed animal or anything equally valid.

"You know she likes anything you gift her," I pointed out as we began to walk on the main street of Tristania. "I reckon she might enjoy something that isn't a live animal this time around, but once more, you are her fiance. Gift her what you believe makes her happy, I'll simply make loud noises if you're off track." I hummed. "Though there is something that I think would be so awfully cute it would make me feel sick inside from the sheer amount of sweetness."

"I dreadfully await your verdict, brother-in-law," Jean-Jacques said. "And fear it all the same."

"You have your familiar now, don't you, Jean-Jacques?" I pointed out. "And it's a Griffin, isn't it?"

"Yes?" Jean-Jacques said. "I have been forewarned not to let you ride it, Henry, and I cherish my head on my shoulders just as much as everyone else." I bristled, and then huffed, shaking my head in disbelief.

"You betray me to my mother like this, Jean-Jacques? Very well, still, I am a merciful friend. Buy a diary, have some cute animals drawn on its cover, and then write on it what you did during the day before handing it over to your griffin, who will then bring it to my sister who, in turn, shall do the same on her side before sending it back. I think we can call it an exchange diary of sorts," I tapped my chin. "The thought of the amount of love you might pour into it makes my teeth rot, but I am sure it would be found as something terrifyingly sweet by my sister."

Wardes did not laugh at my suggestion, but simply turned thoughtful. "That is...quite the novel idea," he said in the end. "I do not particularly need my Griffin with the classes-and he could certainly use the exercise and the training of flying by night. I would need to set it up, but..." he smiled, "You are, as always, wise beyond your years, Henry."

"I do my best, Jean-Jacques, I do my best. Though, as always, break my sister's heart and I will break your bones. All of them. Slowly. One at the time." I said with a smile, making Wardes misstep his next step, only to nervously laugh and shake his head.

"Perhaps we should work on your humor a bit?" he hazarded.

"My humor works fine," I said with a chirp, "That wasn't humor, Jean-Jacques. It was a solemn promise," I nodded. "Still, I was wondering about getting training swordwand like the ones I had at home. Mother did not let me pack them because she feared I might skewer someone with them-though it was all needless worry on her part," I said as I looked around for a weapon shop. The streets weren't really filled with people, which made it easier to navigate them, even if as nobles, commoners naturally moved aside to let us pass.

As Wardes stopped near a shop that apparently sold books, and even made them, I looked around and memorized the road. I hadn't been completely honest with Wardes, but then again, why would I admit to anyone that my plan was to come back here with a hair-dye spell on my hair in order to get the first batch of books published and sold? Sending a messenger would be troublesome, because it would mean having a weak link that could be exploited by unscrupulous people to find out about me.

On the other hand, as a mage myself, I had my ways of running away -even if it involved levitating out of a window or breaking my way through the walls. Still, I hadn't even finished The Lion Princess yet, so mine was merely a scouting ahead phase of my great master plan.

As Jean-Jacques finished his business, and showed me the local blacksmith for nobles -with the steepest prices I had ever seen- and the alchemist, we kept moving along through most of the city. It would take me more than one trip to memorize the layout of everything, but I didn't complain. I had time.

"You look thoughtful, Henry," Jean-Jacques said. "And if I may be honest-that scares me."

I chuckled and shook my head, "Nothing of the sort, Jean-Jacques. Just thinking about my runic name," I pointed out. "It's at the end of the first year, isn't it?"

"Well, is that so? You shouldn't worry about that-just show what you have learned the best, and it will come naturally." Wardes was called The Lightning because as a show of end year, he linked two air elements together and wowed the crowd of gathered students and teachers with a lightning bolt. The name had been pretty much decided on the spot. The name didn't have to necessarily be linked to an element. Eleonore was The Iron Lady because, while she did flawless magic, she was also so strict her entire spine seemed made of iron.

"In my case, if it's not something proper, mother is going to punish me so hard they'll hear my screams on the other side of the Sahara," I said, my eyebrows twitching slightly.

"Cattleya did mention your mother said something about punishment if your name revolved around feathers," Jean-Jacques said with a chuckle of his own, "but I am sure it will not come to it."

I laughed, and inwardly cringed. If I ended up being called something like The feather lord, mother would kill me.

"Oh," I said as I stopped suddenly, after more than three hours of travel, "They sell exotic goods?" I was looking through a large window at the display within, herbs of various forms on display, but none caught my interest. "From beyond the Sahara, imported at great difficulties," I snorted, "How much of it is fake, I wonder?"

Jean-Jacques raised an eyebrow as he stopped in turn, "Would you like to go inside?"

"Why not," I said with a shrug, "perhaps they might have something interesting all the same," and with that said, I pushed open the door of the dingy looking shop. The thick smell of incense made my head spin around lightly, even as I grabbed hold of my breath to slow it down. Behind the counter, a young looking man smiled at our entrance.

"Ah-my lords, welcome to Lorenzo's Exotic Goods, has something caught your interest?" as he asked that, he moved away from the counter. "We have all sorts of exotic instruments and tools-" and I could see it. The shop wasn't small by any means, but it was packed with stuff. Shelves were filled with various toys and mechanical carillons, there were open chests with exotic looking clothes and robes, and weapons that seemed of Indian or Japanese fabrication hung loosely from the walls.

"For a young strapping man such as yourself, I might suggest a sword? They come from-" my eyes gingerly moved past the old looking gramophone covered in runes and drawings -probably from Rub Al Khali- and then centered on a large glass cylinder, which was filled with reddish berries of sorts.

"That," I said quite calmly, pointing at the red berries. "How much?"

"Oh-These are quite the product. They're quite used in Rub to keep people awake even in the middle of the night-but I must warn you they can be quite addictive, why, once you start, you'd never want to stop," I hummed thoughtfully. If only he had kept quiet about the addictive effects of the stuff, I could have bought it without Wardes remarking on it. Now, I had no choice but to shake my head. Stupid merchant, learn how to read the mood before opening your mouth! "And those over there?" I looked at leaves in another glass jar, to which the merchant answered quite primly this time around.

"Oh, these are tea leaves from the far land of Rub too. They're quite strong, it is an acquired taste, but quite enjoyable with a drop of milk and honey."

"How much for a pot of the stuff?"

If I couldn't get the coffee beans, then I'd have to go with the local equivalent of strong tea, I reckoned. But I'd be back, if not for the coffee, to find out who actually brought him the stuff. It could be pretty much that he had an elf partner, or if he didn't, that he had people who in turn knew an elf. It wasn't like elves weren't present in the world -they were simply content in staying in the Sahara, but sometimes a few did take a trip around the lands outside of it, and some less than holy nobles would employ them to build things -like a castle in Gallia- since with their magic, they could build them pretty easily.

Also, it hadn't yet happened, but I knew that in Albion, the brother of the King had an affair with an elf mistress. How would the brother of a king find himself an elf mistress, if there weren't any elves simply walking around? Elves had nothing to fear from just showing up at the doors of powerful nobles -since they were far more powerful than the nobles in question- and offering their services.

At the same time, they looked for signs of Void users, and once found, they turned them mad. Since they usually were royalty, and since the people considered their royals as the descendants of Brimir, and thus holy figures they prayed to, it was obvious that elves were seen not just as simple devils, but as something far more terrifying. If you pray to a descendant of a holy figure, but then he ends up mad, the fault is clearly to be attributed to an evil devil -not just any mortal- and so the hatred for elves was far darker than one might expect.

As we stepped out of the shop, my hands clutching the small bag of strong tea leaves, Wardes turned thoughtful.

"Didn't you remark how most of his stuff would be fake before entering?" he asked. "Still, you left a pretty amount of money for that pouch."

"I have an eye for things, Jean-Jacques," I said wisely. "I might even add that I see further than most others," I smiled. "And I've got myself some tea. I'll have it prepared and then drink it later tonight."

"You won't sleep if you do that," Jean-Jacques pointed out.

"That's good then," I replied softly, "Sleep is for the weak after all."

Jean-Jacques said nothing, but he didn't look pleased with my affirmation.

Be thankful, Jean-Jacques. I have not yet decided to play my card of ignorance and offhandedly suggest we grab a bite at the Fairy Charming Inn. But don't tempt me, Jean-Jacques.

I can be a very troll-like individual if you tempt me.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Three

There was no difference between using a staff, or a wand, if not for what concerned concentration. Nobles who did not seek a military training usually learned how to wield staves, because they were the closer equivalent to a noble's walking stick, so to speak. Nobles who wanted to join the military instead trained with wands. As I took deep breaths, I closed my eyes. The lessons were over for the day, and I had quietly slipped away to reach for the nearby forest.

I extended my wand arm, feeling the shimmering silence around me grow. Menvil could discern people through heat alone by using fire magic. I understood that Wardes had become a Line Mage because he trained, rather than just leave it to the school to teach him what he needed to know. It was, in the end, a matter of Will.

Great emotions could transform a dot-mage like Malicorne through jealousy alone into a powerful thunder-caster, without even needed to chant his spells to boot, so if it weren't for how nobility was supposed to keep their emotions bottled up, perhaps there would be more powerful mages around.

Even sadness worked, misery, strife-everything that could elicit an emotion worked, if with varying results. Unfortunately, one couldn't really practice it where other people stood to watch.

"I am at peace," I said gently, moving my wand. "And now I am...not? Let's think...memories, memories that birth anger..." I gritted my teeth. There were a lot of things someone could get angry about. No coffee, no internet, no decently written porn-hell, the vast amount of religious teachings I had to memorize when I was young-but those were annoyances. Annoyances at most, nothing worth getting angry over. My level of patience was legendary. It took a lot to get me angry. It really took a lot, a lot of stuff, a lot of-

My throat constricted as my eyes narrowed. The churning feeling in my guts twisted my stomach as my mouth hung half-open, a scream kept bottled down until it could be held no longer.

The tree in front of me had no guilt, but that of being the closest target. The bark around it exploded as it twisted, deep gashes digging into it as my screaming chant made me lose control on pretty much all the words that I was supposed to say, and that yet came out all the same.

I gasped for air at the end of it, wheezing as my hands went on to hold my knees. This was impractical. This was definitely impractical. I had no doubt that it was strong, but at the same time, it was also impractical. "I'm beat," I mumbled as I decided to leave decency to the wolves and sit down on the ground, my back against another tree, watching the end result of my spell on the tree itself. "But in this world...Charles, Duke D'Orleans-he managed things far earlier than me," I gritted my teeth. "And I have no excuse. My body is young, but my mind is not." I narrowed my eyes. "I should be the best-the first. If I'm not-then it's because I haven't trained enough."

I slowly got back up. "If my willpower's all drained up, then I just need to fire it right back up! Come on, think positive!" I slapped my cheeks, "Something positive-something nice-" I hummed thoughtfully as I crossed my hands in front of my chest, "lewd? No, doesn't work. Misery? Sadness? Jealousy-nope, not doing a thing," I sighed. "I wonder..." I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. In the silence of the forest, I began to chuckle and then laugh.

Funny thoughts, jokes-the sort of stuff a prim and proper noble would never think of-and as I laughed, I felt the seeping sensation of something stir and lurk. I laughed, and tears came unbidden from the corners of my eyes as I dropped my head against the ground, my heart drumming loudly even as my willpower filled itself back up.

"Have a laugh," I whispered, "It heals all sad things," I narrowed my eyes, "And if it doesn't-then just hate. I am...pfft...hatemon!" I chuckled, rolling right and left on the dirt, "So shameful-I got my clothes all dirty, but who cares! Ah-liberating! Being alone in the forest-no one to look, no one to bother me-I can scream, laugh, burn the world to cinders and bath in the blood of a hundred innocents and no one will dare stop me! Ah! Yes-eighth grader syndrome-everything that makes me giggle and laugh-I can think and say it all-"

I stopped laughing and simply stared at the top of the trees, the branches with their leaves rustling to the wind.

I raised my hand to the sky, the rays of the sun caressing the fingers and giving the skin a rosy pink coloration.

"Stand up and fight," I grumbled as I pushed myself back up, dusting the dirt off my clothes and lifting my wand once more. "Now, on to most heretical chanting! Let's see..." my eyes narrowed, my powerful eighth grader syndrome rising up to untold levels.

"Skewering winds of darkness and hatred," I snarled, "answer the call of your master, pierce and murder, slash and destroy!" twisting blades of wind spread out from the tip of my wand, but remained in close proximity to the tip of the wand itself. I sighed as I allowed the spell to disperse, cutting off the flow of Willpower. "Blades of wind, skewer my foes, thrown by my will upon their heretic flesh!" as I twisted and thrust the wand forward, all that I managed was to lift a bit of dirt from the ground as some bits and pieces of bark rattled off the tree.

"Well," I grumbled, "It's still progress, I guess." I stomped my right foot on the ground as I thrust my wand forth, "Thundering blades of air, answer the call of your lord, by the will of the all-mighty sky, come slice those who block my path to victory!" as I then proceeded to upwards-swing my wand, there was a soft crackling sound -like a pop- which was soon followed by the bark of the tree in front of me rattling and losing some bits and pieces of it.

It wasn't anything worthy of being called lethal to begin with.

"Let's see...let's try earth," I closed my eyes, the element of earth rumbling its presence in the back of my head as I lifted my wand in front of me. "I conjure you forth, sword tempered of the ground's materials-iron is what I need, and you shall be my blade," as I twisted my wand, an iron sword popped out from thin air, slamming down at my feet. When thinking of swords, of course my mind wandered to a sword with a guard. A pretty simple instrument of battle, with the tip sharp and the edges somewhat blunt. I gripped and lifted it, huffing as the weight was quite well proportioned -if I could say so myself.

I then threw it in the air, and lifted my wand to catch it. One couldn't double-cast, but if one spell lingered -like the summoning of a sword for a few minutes- then one could cast other spells after it. "Rotate, spin, drive yourself in the heart of my foes-come by my command, lance of the heavens-" I chanted, "twisting until the heart is dug out-that is my decree, that is my final will!" I thrust my wand forth, and the sword embedded itself with a sick thunk into the bark, twisting and rotating as bits and pieces of wood flew in all directions until it finally came a halt, dug only a few centimeters into the bark of the tree.

It then fell down on the ground uselessly.

"Once more!" I said to myself, "With passion!" I struck a pose, the sheer embarrassment enough to make my face heat, and my willpower to bubble a bit. "It's the eye of the tiger, that shines in the night, dadada, dadadum, dadadadaaaa," I sang as I struck another pose, recovering the blade with my magic and repeating the chant and the process itself.

I would reach Square magic.

Even if I had to strike silly poses and laugh at the silliest of things-I would reach the highest levels, and achieve the greatest of powers.

It was obvious, so caught up in this sort of training, that I didn't realize just how much time had passed until the sky began to turn orange.

I returned just in time to feign having gone horse riding around the fields, and nobody questioned me about it -or about the incredible amount of dirt and dust that covered most of my body. I did take a bath before heading to dinner -I was no savage, after all.

"Showers," I mumbled to myself as a servant threw a bucket of water over my head, while I stood in a large bath. "I must invent showers."

"Your grace, your arm if you would-" and as I extended my arm, the servant began to wash it.

...

First order of business with my illegally obtained money would be the creation of showers.

How hard could it be to make them a reality?

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sometimes, what one needs is a good friend to cheer him up. Sometimes, one needs a good book. I was hanging around the Vestri courtyard with my hands on a book, my eyes closing themselves due to the heat. The lessons at the magic Academy began in Spring, and finished with the end of Summer. Rather than have the coldest months as a focus for studying, we had the warmest ones.

Whoever thought of this must have been the kind of noble that enjoyed watching others suffer beneath the heat. On the other side, I was quite content with my positioning in the courtyard, under the shadow of the tower.

Two open letters rested in my lap. The first was from Cattleya, and the second was from my mother. I had written to them both as was proper form, and in turn received answers by the end of the next day. Mother wasn't pleased I wasn't the first in class like Eleonore had been, but she was glad I hadn't broken any rules, or forgotten about the importance of etiquette. Cattleya was instead sad I couldn't come back home every Void Day. I had written a letter to Louise, and the way she answered told me she had begun with the calligraphy lessons already -there wasn't a single blotch of ink on the paper even if I tried my hardest to find it.

I'd write back to Cattleya by the end of the day, but for mother I'd wait the end of the month -if there was no reason to write, then writing frivolous stuff was a big no-no in her opinion. Louise was a bit of a grey area. She was the future Void Mage, but right in that moment, she was just a young noble lady with a penchant for getting things done her way and huffing and puffing until it was done.

She was, plainly put, the spoiled youngest child of the family. The day she took up a wand and stuff began to explode would be the day she learned a bitter lesson in humility, but until then, she felt there was nothing wrong with her life, and indeed there wasn't. She was still terrified of Karin, though who could blame her?

Anthoine was drinking tea while entertaining Henriette, and André was out horse riding once more. I was currently busy reading a page concerning the union of different elements and their practical aspects. There was quite the amount of variety to a mage's spellcasting potential. A Water mage could easily paralyze an opponent's body with water elements alone, but a combination of air and fire could do the same thing, by causing a heatstroke that forced the muscles to twitch rapidly and shake, making the target lose his mobility.

A single element could be used with quite the effect, but when two came into play, one could either enhance the effects of the previous spell, or create new combinations of it, which once mixed with new chants, birth new spells of sorts.

Magic was quite fascinating, heresy of learning prohibited spells aside.

"Look Josephine, Valliere is alone right now-it is my chance?" I shuddered and then steeled myself. Fine, come on, come closer.

"I don't know Camille-he is reading, do you think it is wise to disturb him?" her friend replied in a barely audible whisper, but my ears picked it up all the same. I flipped a page, and sighed.

"Love, like tilling fields, can only release the greatest of bounties when you pour hard work into it," Camille Du Tremelle said with a determined voice, and I blinked in surprise at that. It was...pretty much a nice thing to say. I approved of it. I closed my book, and stood up. My eyes locked with those of the two girls sitting at the nearby table staring at me like deer caught by a car's headlight, and I smiled as I began to walk towards them.

"He heard you," Josephine whispered, "I think he heard you."

Camille's breathing grew sparse, her face a nice red color as I placed a hand on the free seat in front of them. "Is this seat free?" I asked kindly, a smile on my face. Camille choked on her spit but quickly nodded. "I think it's better if we talk to one another like this, rather than the one-sided conversation of before," I said. "Don't you agree?"

"D-Duke, no-your grace-no, Vallier-e," Camille stammered out, her eyes wide and her breathing growing quicker by the second.

"It's Henry, my fair lady Camille," I said with a smile. "Remember the headmaster's words. We should talk to one another with our first names, to foster friendship."

Camille actually salivated. It was like staring at Jabba the Hutt seconds before he began to lick Leia, and it was not a nice spectacle, but I had a strong stomach, and could withstand such sights. I turned my eyes to Josephine for a brief moment, "I couldn't help but overhear-is there something you wished to ask of me?"

"My birthday," Camille said suddenly, capturing my attention once more, "It will be soon-my mother felt it would be nice if my classmates could attend it. The headmaster was gracious enough to grant permission of using the Void tower for it, but as soon as it is, I find myself without a knight-" she looked hopeful in my direction.

"I understand," I said with a nod, "Unfortunately, as much as it pains me to ruin your hopes, I am already engaged and thus cannot attend as your knight," I smiled gently. "I would rather be upfront about this, rather than break your heart later."

"I understand," Camille said with her hands clenching her robes, her eyes downcast, "I suppose it is sensible-my impudence be damned-who is it? For someone like the future Duke of the la Valliere, it has to be someone worthy of him so...the princess?"

I shook my head. "Loathe as I am to admit it, I do not know myself. My mother, the Heavy Wind-she made the decision and decided to keep it from me until I finished with the academy. It could be anyone, but I dare not ask her," I chuckled, "If you are amenable to it, I can attend as your friend, Miss Camille," I added. "It is a meager thing, but if you would rather I were not there to begin with, I will understand."

"No, it is-you really are a gentle man, but-" Camille shook her head, "I fear I'll make a fool of myself if I stay here a moment longer-" and with that said, she stood up and rushed away, her hands covering her face as Josephine followed after her.

I simply sighed, and opened my book once more.

"Oi, Henry!" Anthoine hissed from behind me, "Did you just make the Du Tremelle girl cry?"

"It was that, or make her suffer far more in the long run," I pointed out. "Sometimes, we need to gather our courage and face unpleasant things head on before they become impossibly unpleasant things. That is what it means to be responsible for one's own fate-to be an adult, a proper noble," I grimaced. "But indeed, I made a young girl cry and that is quite unacceptable. If needed, I'll apologize to her later."

"Well," Anthoine said, "my older brothers would say that it's unforgivable to give up on a lady's love, and that you should surround yourself with all the love you can find-" he furrowed his brows, "But their wives don't really agree with that."

"Why would they?" Henriette said, "I don't think it's nice to play with someone's feelings like that."

"But then, people might get hurt," Antoine replied. "If you can choose between hurting ten women, or hurting none-then the choice is obvious, isn't it?"

"That's only if they don't find out," Henriette rebutted, "if they do, you'll be hurting them a lot because they trusted in you, and you betrayed their trust." She huffed, shaking her head. "Are all the Gramonts like that?"

"No, of course not," Anthoine said hastily, "only my elder brothers-Guiche seems fine for the moment-" he looked at me, and I looked back at him.

"Anthoine is surprisingly honest," I said gently. "I have yet to see him string along two ladies at the same time. Perhaps if caught young, he might become someone suitable?" I hummed and returned to my book, flipping a page.

The next moment, a scribbled Thank you appeared in glittering golden letters on the corner of my book, and as I tapped it away with my wand, I simply chuckled and resumed reading.

I am the wing man my friends need, not the one they deserve.

On the matter of arranged marriages-I had no idea if Karin had set something up or not. As things were currently, it made sense for nobility to try to push for a marriage with Germania to solidify an alliance, but with my birth a quite rowdy faction had popped up demanding the princess to be betrothed to me.

I hadn't been involved -mostly because I had no intention of getting involved in it- but I had ears, and I was pretty sure everything would rear its ugly head by the time the princess turned twelve. Until then, she was a playmate of Louise, and Wales regularly came to visit due to the instability of his home country, which made it a poor place to grow up a child of royalty.

I simply waited, and cherished my time beneath a warm sun and a book in my hands.

Soon, it would all be over.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Five

I lifted my wand, feeling the weight of the handle as I concentrated. It was time to test our wind affinity. "The chant you will use today," professor Guiteau spoke, "is as follows. Make no deviations. The caressing winds that circle around me are a boon of the Founder, by his mercy, I claim their strength to become my blades in my hour of need." I blearily stared at the professor, my wand still high in the air by my side. That chant wasn't just peculiarly long, it was also to be done without deviations?

We stood outside in the courtyard, straw mannequins prepared and strewn all across the place, with more to replace the broken ones standing by the side.

"The caressing winds from the circle around me, boon of the Founder-" I began, only for Guiteau to click his tongue against his teeth and shake his head. I gritted my teeth, and nodded once. "The caressing winds that circle around me are a boon of the Founder, by his mercy, I claim their strength to become my blades in my hour of need." Thin gusts of air left my wand as I moved it up and down, cutting down the straw mannequins with ease as my willpower drained with each blade that my wand emitted.

"Very well," Guiteau said with a nod, calling the next student. This time, there was much rejoicing as it was apparent that my blades had been the sharpest of the bunch -Henriette couldn't even get more than a few cuts on the first mannequin.

It dawned on me the moment the whole class finished the exercise and we were allowed to enjoy the fine morning away from the class.

Shit. I was doomed.

My affinity was Air.

I was dead.

"Well, like your mother-" Anthoine said as he saw my face, but I was already shaking quite vividly, "Not the right thing to say?"

"Mother never made it obvious," I said softly, "But she always wanted one of us to have her affinity so that she could teach them personally. Father has a Water affinity, Eleonore an Earth one, Cattleya's been privately tutored so I don't know if she knows her yet but I have an air one, which means...well, goodbye my free time, so long enthusiastic rides in the woods-I'll be forced to weather hurricanes and face mighty air hammers-" I shook my head. "She mustn't find out."

"I am sure you're exaggerating," André said. "She can't be that bad."

I pointed a finger at him, "If I come back missing some pieces, or not at all, then remember me as a hero."

"The hero of perverts, most likely," Anthoine chuckled, to which I huffed and replied with a smirk, bringing my chin up and a hand on my chest.

"Even perverts need heroes," I said. "Build me a shrine, and chant my name," I chuckled as I grabbed a seat, the rest of the group pretty much doing the same as servants began to serve us tea. The day of our naming ceremony would come soon enough. We were all preparing some kind of signature spell, even though they would most probably be simple variations of the spells we had learned, I had no doubt it would revolve around our affinities.

Mine was Wind.

Perhaps I could get Wardes to teach me how to get to Line within the end of the first year? It had to be possible-if he did it, then so could I.

"Ah, becoming a Line mage might help for our naming," Anthoine said as I exposed my idea. "But usually, that happens after some sort of personal experience makes the mage improve-I don't know how to explain it better, but Gascon said that he realized he could cast with two elements while jumping out of a mansion with a very angry father pursuing him." He grinned. "He was simply explaining anatomy to the young lady, nothing to-" I stared. André stared. Henriette blushed. "He wasn't teaching her anatomy, was he?" Anthoine faltered, much to our emphatic nodding.

"See? You can't fake this kind of innocence," I said with a dreadful sigh. "Still, throwing ourselves from a window while being pursued might not be the wisest of ideas. Something else?"

"Face a great enemy?" André hazarded.

"Survive a trial?" Henriette suggested.

I hummed, and stared at the sky. There were orcs in the forests. Not really near us, but somewhere close by, without a doubt, there would be orcs.

"The plan's simple," I said. "We practice as hard as we can before the day comes."

Suggesting young nobles venture in the forest filled with orcs was suicidal, and I had no intention of letting them go and kill themselves.

On the other hand, if I grew scared of facing off orcs, then how would I ever be able to face off Reconquista, or any of their agents, or be there when the time required me to be there in order to stop assassination attempts, plots, or far darker stuff?

One must leave his comfort zone in order to achieve new experiences, discover new things, and in turn, grow as a person.

"Jean-Jacques," I said later that day as I encountered Wardes just about to head over to the dining hall, "I have a favor to ask."

"If it's the griffin, the answer is no," Jean-Jacques replied, but I simply shook my head.

"I wish to reach Line before my naming ceremony-do you have any ideas on what I could do?" as soon as I asked that, Wardes tensed slightly.

"There is nothing I can recommend," Wardes pointed out. "With enough practice, Henry-"

"My idea was to go inside a forest and start killing orcs," I said quite frankly. "Do you have an alternative to that?"

Wardes remained silent for a bit, and finally spoke softly. "Magic is Willpower," he said, "And Willpower is feelings. There is a part of you, somewhere deep inside, that will teach you that if you feel strongly enough about something. It usually does happen in the heat of battle-but I will not admit I used such a crude method as fighting orcs. I simply sparred with another mage, and learned in the midst of it-but it is dangerous, and foolish, and someone might get hurt-"

"But you did it all the same, because you didn't care about the pain, only about the results," I said quite bluntly, receiving an equally blunt flinch on Wardes side. I clenched my fists. "I don't care about the pain either, Wardes."

"If you are sure, Henry-but it won't be painless, that much I have to tell you. If there is no real threat, then it's meaningless-"

"Don't worry," I said with a small smile, "If we do this, I'll consider you my enemy until the spar is over."

It would be good practice, should you fall to Reconquista's wiles.

Know thy enemy, and keep him closer than your friends.

Those were words I could live by.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sparring couldn't be done at the academy. Duels were forbidden, and the Academy did not want to risk their students lives with a spell poorly aimed. Even Wardes, for all of his skills, was nervous about this. The Void day was spent in the morning seeking out potions to heal oneself from the alchemists of the capital -they weren't the type that filled one's health point bar immediately, but simply ensured bruises and scraps would be gone before the end of the night.

Then, since we had all the space in the world in the stretch of land between the capital and the school, we found ourselves a secluded spot away from the eyes of the travellers on the road and tied our horses to a nearby tree.

"Thinking back, what I did back then was foolish to the extreme," Wardes said suddenly, "Perhaps this isn't a good idea at all."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, we went through all this trouble-most certainly, I'm not seeing the problem. Worst comes to pass, claim a fallen noble attacked us both and left me for dead."

Wardes' eyes widened in disbelief, "That's-rather than saying that, wouldn't it have been better to say something like, if it's you, Jean-Jacques, I'm sure nothing bad will happen?"

I blinked back in answer, and then shook my head. "Didn't you say it had to hurt for it to be real?" to which he nodded. "Then, how can hurt not be something bad?" I chuckled. "Come on, Jean-Jacques. I'm not a kid."

We took our distances from one another, and as we stood face to face, I raised my wand and he did the same. The gleaming tip of the swordwands that encased both of our wands had been rendered magically blunt, but if it hit an eye, it was still going to carve it out, so head-attacks were a big no-no. "To first blood," Jean-Jacques said in the end, "At the count of three-two-one-go."

As Wardes closed the distance, I could hear him chant even as I did the same. In the end, a duel between mages was all about concentrating about it, especially if they were both well-versed in the usage of a swordwand. While thrusts and blocks and deflections went on the physical part of the confrontation, the mental part was taken over by the need to chant, understand what the opponent was saying, and yet not stop chanting while also thinking about the best way to direct the spell in question in order to either deflect the incoming spell, or hit the enemy.

He raised his swordwand slightly up in diagonal, deflecting my incoming thrust before closing in with his shoulder. I answered by bending further down, twisting my body to deliver a roundhouse kick to his ankle.

"Match." The tip of Wardes' swordwand was poised to strike my neck, the older boy grinning even as he stopped his chant. I exhaled, stopping my own chant. Neither of us had managed to throw off a spell, too quickly had the match ended.

"Giving my back was stupid," I acquiesced.

"That it was," Jean-Jacques remarked. "Perhaps keep the pirouettes for the dances?" he added, even as I chuckled and shook my head. "Now, once more."

The blades met with resounding clangor, "Wind blades born of the surrounding air, be my swords against those who bar my path-" as I spoke hurriedly, twisting blades of air formed around me, just as Wardes' own chant came to an end and a powerful blast of air cancelled my own blades, sending me to skedaddle backwards, my ass hitting the dirt with enough strength to make me gasp. "Gaah." I opened my mouth to say something, and found the tip of Wardes' swordwand inside, resting atop my tongue.

"Match." Wardes was smiling about this, even as he removed the swordwand.

"That was quite lewd of you, Jean-Jacques, putting your swordwand in my mouth like that," I coughed out the metallic taste of the swordwand, even as Wardes had the decency to look shocked.

"I went looking for that," Jean-Jacques said. "I really did, didn't I?" he laughed, and I joined him in his chuckles too even as I stood up.

"Once more," I said, "With feeling, this time!" I brought my left hand behind my back, bending my knees as I made a few thrusts in the air while Jean-Jacques resumed his position. The blades met each others and parried, blocked, and created sparks. "Swirling gales, freezing breezes, twisting clouds, I call you forth to hide me from sight-" as fog began to spread out from the tip of my wand, Wardes simply smiled, and then said two simple words, "Air hammer-" the chant was longer, but that singular gust of concussive wind force was enough to blast the fog away.

Since he hadn't said the full chant, it wasn't at full force, so I quickly resumed my attacks. "Hammer of air born of the highest winds, come blast my foes away from me-" I chanted, and by the time the spell was ready to be thrown, Wardes had already moved sideways using a Fly spell to avoid the blast. Differently from levitation, flight was faster, but required concentration to keep up.

Used like this, he immediately landed and resumed chanting for a air hammer spell.

"Gales of wind, grant me speed-" I chanted as I rushed forward to close the distance, "swiftly, grant wings to my feet-" my feet left the ground as my speed increased. In a split second, I was upon Wardes. In less than a split second, Wardes swatted my blade away, grabbed me by the arm, and then proceeded to throw me over his shoulders, slamming my back on the ground with a gasp on my side as the speed met the ground and resulted in the laws of physics earning a victory over me.

"Match." Wardes' voice was a mixture of teasing and triumphant.

"You understand, this means war," I said quite firmly. "Now...help me up, please." I extended an arm, and Jean-Jacques quickly caught it, helping me back up. I dusted myself off, and cracked my neck slightly. "All right, no more games."

One minute later, Wardes would say match once more. Two minutes later, it was the same result. The third time wasn't the charm. Neither were times numbered four and five. By the sixth, I was pretty much beat.

"You are...a horrible person..." I gasped amidst lungful of air, my forehead covered in sweat. "How can you be...pristine...even after all..."

"I will give you points for persistence," Jean-Jacques said with a chuckle, "but since you haven't even hit me once, it's obvious I would not be dirty."

I raised a hand to dismiss away the issue, and then hung my head low. "I'm sorry I took away your entire Void-Day."

"Don't be, it is something I will write later tonight in my exchange diary. I am sure your sister will enjoy having a good laugh while I recap your glorious...attempts," Jean-Jacques pointed out. I gave him a flat stare, he looked back at me with a warm smile.

"I'm going to be upfront about this, Jean-Jacques, so please be honest in turn," I said with a sigh. "What are my chances of reaching Line before the naming ceremony?"

Jean-Jacques scratched his chin, and then smiled. "Well, if we keep this up, perhaps we can manage in time."

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you rather enjoy your Void days with your friends?" I asked, only for Wardes to draw near and proceed to put a hand on my shoulder.

"Henry, you're my friend too. And I see them regularly throughout the week-it's not like they're going to miss me terribly if I take one day off them to spar with you," he grinned, and I blushed. That was cheesy, Wardes. Cheesy, and underhanded.

"Then, I'll be in your care," I said as I exhaled. "You didn't use lightning once, though," I remarked.

"Let's keep Line spells for when you actually have a good chance at dodging them," Jean-Jacques said, "Now let's get back before they start serving dinner. Unless you're full?"

"From eating the dust?" I retorted, rolling my eyes. "Please, I could keep this up the whole day." I raised my chin slightly higher. "Covered in dirt or dust, as long as one has done his due, then it's not grime, but glory he is covered in."

Wardes said nothing, but it was clear by the way he was smiling that he simply found it amusing.

I hummed contently.

Everything was going better than I expected.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Seven

There was only the wind blowing in my ears. The tendrils of air, the sweet murmurs of nothingness, the air that people breathed, it cooed, and it lashed. It was the gentle breeze, and the whip that froze off limbs. It was the wind that called with its capricious nature, and it ruptured in hundreds of tiny seams. My wand stood in my hand even as blood poured copiously down from my split brow, my ears ringing with the hit of an air hammer so strong it made my teeth tremble, and knocked me back far harder than before.

I could see half a dozen of Wardes looming over me, his expression worried even as he had a flask of some foul potion in his hand and was already forcing it down my throat. I gagged and tried to spit it out, but Jean-Jacques held my head backwards so I had no choice but to drink or choke, and by the time I was done trying my hardest not to choke, there was a wet handkerchief wiping away at my face.

"Can...me?" Jean-Jacques said. "Hear me? Henry-can you hear me?" little pops announced that my eardrums weren't busted, only sore beyond belief.

"Jean...stop spinning," I gurgled out. "What hit me...a dragon?" I mumbled. "Did you get it?" I was slowly pulled up, Jean-Jacques holding me as he brought one of my hands over his shoulders.

"We can stop for today," Jean-Jacques said. "I might have hit you too hard."

"Nonsense," I blurted out. "I had the counter-"

"You didn't finish in time," Jean-Jacques said quite gently. "I thought you would, which is why I went along, but you misspelled the last word out of hurry, and so-"

I chuckled, "To think that far ahead while fighting-you're truly blessed with talents, Jean-Jacques," I grinned lopsidedly, "Keep it up. One day I'm sure you'll become...the captain of the royal guards, yeah-"

Jean-Jacques laughed, even as he helped me back up on my horse and took its reins, starting a light trot back to the academy. The day of the runic naming was upon us, and even though the sparring had intensified, I wasn't still any closer to becoming a Line mage than before. Perhaps it was because Wardes was pulling his punches, but even with this, I didn't have a better grasp of Wind's nature. If anything, I had come to enjoy the taste of the dirt, but at least it was good enough practice against a fellow mage -and it paid off, if nothing else because I managed to avoid one air hammer by the blink of an eye that one time, weeks before.

"About your signature spell," Jean-Jacques said, "have you already tested it out?"

"I have," I said with a nod. "There is a really unfortunate tree in the forest that is cursing my name, but I am sure it will work out fine. Though it is a long chant."

"You have all the time in the world," Jean-Jacques said, "Just as long as you properly follow through the instructions the teachers give you. You will be doing simple enough spells-if you had no troubles with them, then you'll do fine. Usually, they simply make you do a spell per element, and finish it off with your signature spell-" he turned thoughtful, "It's mostly the pressure that gets to you. Royalty will be present, so..."

I blinked, "What? Royalty will be present?"

"It's customary," Jean-Jacques said. "Like with the familiar show in second year, or the graduation ceremony in the third year," he added with a smile, to which I replied with a thoughtful humming.

"So...who decides the name? The king? The queen?"

"If you are lucky, your professors," Jean-Jacques said, "I have nothing but the utmost respect for their majesties, but while a professor's idea could be changed, a royal's one...could not." Jean-Jacques shook his head with a smile, and I chuckled in turn even as we returned to the academy.

The day of the Runic naming happened far too fast for my tastes. Of course, my chants were flawless in the Fire, Earth, Water and Wind department, even if Henriette boasted off a strong fire spell and Anthoine did something pretty much similar to it. André's water spell was the stuff of legends, which compared to my practical parts, I did the best in the Wind sector -as was expected of the son of the Heavy Wind was pretty much the only praise I heard carried by the wind.

In the end, the whole royal family had come. Queen Marianne looked quite sternly on, even if she did crack a light smile at the sight of her daughter standing as royal as possible in between her and her husband.

Still, in front of the King and the Queen, with the Princess watching, I had the honor of going first for what concerned my signature spell.

I had faced the oral exams of Calculus One and Two.

This was nothing.

"Rip," I whispered, "Skewer," I chanted. "Tear, and maim." I raised my swordwand, the rustling breezes coming to my call, "Austri and Vestri, Nordri and Sudri," twirling air gathered at the tip "Grip my foe with your gale, and split him apart with your gusts-" there were audible popping sounds in the air in front of me, "by the Founder's will, the heavens as judge, the sky as my witness, I summon you forth. Answer my call, and rebuke my enemy!" the popping sound suddenly clapped like that of thunder, the spiraling sphere of wind rushing forth from the tip of my swordwand hit the armored mannequin head on the chest, forming a small dent on its breastplate, ripping the metal apart.

There was silence for a brief instant, and then the grinding noise of iron shattering echoed as the mannequin twitched on itself, its limbs deforming and cracking asunder as if thrown into a whirlwind while it was being held at different angles, like a doll in the hands of a cruel child who wanted to see how much one had to twist before it broke apart at its seams.

The helmet flew off, the sawdust and straw exploded in all directions, and the armor was pretty much unusable from that point on.

I placed my wand back in my holster, and then bowed to the royalty present.

There was a polite and single clap from the king, and a slightly greater number of claps from Marianne and Henrietta. I took my place back among my peers while Anthoine went next, summoning a Valkyrie with four arms, and two bows, which precisely skewered his mannequin of choice. Again, there was quite the polite clapping.

Henriette's turn had the young woman do something simple, and yet surprisingly effective. She lifted her wand, made her chant, and then a geyser of flames burned to a crisp everything in the general proximity of where she had pointed her wand. Swift, brutal and effective -what was there not to love about this spell?

André brought out of the air a large, highly pressurized wave of water which hit the mannequin straight in the head and ripped it off, before coiling and coming back for another pass that smashed it on the ground.

By the time the showing of the signature spell of the whole class was done with, it was time for the naming ceremony to happen. The professors had been mumbling among themselves for quite a while before nearing the king with a parchment, presenting it to him. He nodded, before the Queen herself decided to have a look and furrow her brows. I did not like that. I really did not like that at all.

"Henry Philippe de la Blois de la Valliere, come forth," the king spoke, and his voice felt old to my ears. He wouldn't live for much longer, would he? Perhaps with his death, and the Queen's mourning, this event wouldn't go this way for Louise -otherwise, Marianne wouldn't allow her friend's daughter to be called The Zero, of that I was pretty much sure.

I walked forward and knelt, my eyes low. "From henceforth," the king spoke as he lifted his scepter to gently touch my right shoulder, "in the name of the Founder and his divine blessing, by the will of the Gods that watch over us, in my name as Henry the Fifth de Tristain, I name thee The Vicious Wind."

"I swear solemnly," I spoke in a firm voice, my fingers tightening around my knee as my eyes remained down, "with my name as proof of my oath to uphold the ideals of the Founder, the Gods, and the Kingdom of Tristain. I swear to be its shield and its sword, until my last breath brings me in front of the judgment of the Gods. Let my name be feared by my enemies, and let it be cherished by my allies."

It was rite. Was this something Louise would ever need to do? Would she have to bite back her tears as she said the same stuff, with The Zero as the nickname?

"Then rise, Lord Valliere," the king spoke, and I swiftly stood back up, bowed as deeply as I could, and then proceeded to walk back into the line with my heart drumming a hundred times faster than before.

I was alive.

Everything had gone well.

My mother was going to kill me through training alone.

Everything was going to be fine.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I returned home on the same carriage that had brought me to the academy, my eyes actually holding back my tears as I thought about all of that delicious freedom I was going to be living without for the rest of the school break. My clothes were pristine, my appearance unblemished, if not for a small area near my brow where I had been cut by a rock while falling due to the air hammer of Jean-Jacques and that, while healed, had left behind a tiny, insignificant scar.

The moment I saw the la Valliere mansion loom over the horizon, I knew this wasn't going to be easy.

I stepped down from the carriage and watched with a pensive outlook at the servants who bowed at my passage, having placed themselves in two distinct lines to welcome me back. If only the imperial march had begun to play, then I would have felt at ease just like the Emperor of Star Wars. Inside the mansion's main entrance hall there were simply more servants, and one escorted me all the way up to my father's office, who was standing in wait of me with his arms crossed behind his back and a stern expression settled on his face.

"Father," I said. "I'm back."

"Ah, Henry," Pierre turned to look at me with a small smile. "Just in time. Your mother is out patrolling the border, but she will be back soon enough," he smiled a bit wider this time, "I heard you have a Wind affinity," he chuckled. "Though the vicious part doesn't really sound much like you, does it?"

I chuckled in turn. "I guess my spell was kind of vicious, but it was against a straw mannequin, so it might have made the end result a bit larger than intended." I walked closer. "Did mother say anything about it?"

"No," Pierre replied. "She did decide to do a surprise patrol of the borders, but beyond that I am sure she will be quite pleased. She also insisted we could handle the caring of another manticore in the stables, so you will be taking riding lessons from her-"

"Father, on a scale of one to ten, how much time will my mother take away from my break?" as I asked that, the Duke de la Valliere laughed gently, and then patted my shoulder with quite a gentle squeeze.

"What a silly question, Henry. You know your mother does not do half-measures. She has quite a lot of free time, with most of the fiefs under yours and your sisters' care, and she was getting quite restless," he laughed nervously. "I am sorry, my son, but when I saw that she intended to start putting in order my own library of ancient war treaties, I had to intervene."

"You sold me, father," I said in disbelief. "You sold me!" I swatted his hand on my shoulder away, "How-How could you!? I trusted you!"

"One day, Henry, you will understand," Pierre said with a firm and resolute nod, "But do not speak about betrayal to me! You betrayed me first! Bringing that man, that Jean-Jacques into the family so that he could sink his claws in Cattleya! My poor daughter, in the hands of a Viscount!" he had tears in his eyes, "Only princes would have been acceptable! And acceptable is a large margin to fill, so perhaps, under great stress and duress I might have allowed it if the pope had given his blessings-"

I clenched my fists, "you threw me to the wolves, father."

"Your mother isn't a wolf, son. Just...really enthusiastic about having her eldest son follow in her footsteps?" Pierre coughed nervously, "Wouldn't you like to meet your manticore?"

I stared at him, "Is it a fluffy ball of feathers and love and friendship?"

"No son...it's a manticore," Pierre sighed. "You will be making this difficult, won't you?"

"Not really," I said with a shrug, "but I am still expecting my hippogriff. A promise is a promise, father," I narrowed my eyes. "You won't go as far as to renege on your most noble promise now, will you?"

"Of course not," the Duke said most solemnly, he smiled then, "But now let me look at you a bit better! You've grown so much, it doesn't even feel like half a year has gone by-" he squared me up and down appreciatively, "You must be making the young ladies fan themselves quite a bit, my son! Why, when I was your age the things I did for a chaste kiss on the cheeks-ah, those were the times!"

Don't remind me, father, that your porn power is awfully inadequate. Please, it hurts to even think about what you consider extreme smut seeing as playboy is deemed as the ancient relic of the Zerbst that can make old men revitalize themselves.

"Pierre," the sudden cold voice that filled the room made me stop in my tracks. Pierre de la Valliere froze mid-speech on how wonderful a young lady of his times had been with his full globes, "What are my ears hearing?" Karin de la Valliere stepped into Pierre's office with a few, firm but precise steps, and came to a halt right in front of me -since I had turned to face her fully. "Our son comes back and rather than send that useless owl familiar of yours to warn me, you decide to have a chat about this Miss Trementine?"

"She's the Marquesse De Rocheaux now-" Pierre's next words were cut short by Karin's glare, who made him zip himself up quite quickly.

"Mother," I said with a stiff back and my shoulders squared. "It is nice to see you are well." I bowed lightly, "How was your border patrol?"

"It went well," Karin said stiffly, "Very well indeed-there was nothing out of the ordinary," she narrowed her eyes, "About your runic name, I have received a letter from the headmaster detailing it. The vicious wind is not something I hope was given to you lightly, so I will be testing it myself if you are truly worthy of that name."

My smile remained stiff, "O-of course," I said. "As you wish, mother."

Karin nodded firmly, "That can be done tomorrow. For today, you should visit your sisters. Eleonore has returned home and is currently in the library, while Cattleya and Louise are in the gardens behind the villa, enjoying tea."

I grinned. "Mother, may I ask if the same improprieties allowed for departure are allowed also for the day one returns home?"

"No," Karin said flatly, emitting a singular huff, "They are most certainly not allowed, Henry. That disrespectful attempt of yours was allowed only on the grounds that it would be a one time thing. A proper noble handles himself with care, all the times."

"I understand, mother," I nodded. "I will keep that in mind."

"Yes, you do that," Karin nodded quite firmly, not understanding the double sense. "We will speak more after dinner."

"I...look forward to it, mother," I answered with a small smile, which earned me a noticeably softer glare than usual. She was probably glad I had come back home, but of course wouldn't say anything to corroborate such a thesis.

I began to walk outside, only for Karin to speak up once more as I reached for the door. "Henry," she said suddenly, "while not at the levels of Eleonore, you did well enough during your classes to warrant a reward. There is a gift in the stables for you-you may name it whatever you wish, as long as it is proper."

I nodded. "I'll go meet it once I'm done visiting my sisters, mother. Thank you," I added, forcing out a smile as I stepped out and closed the door behind me. I clenched my left hand and grinned, shaking my head even as I began to walk towards the far end of the hallway, in the direction of the library.

My steps were perhaps a bit faster than normal, but it would be fine.

I had just lost the freedom to write, and I wouldn't be regaining that until I returned to the academy.

I had just lost my hard earned freedom after having tasted it for the first time in years, but it would be fine.

The truest of despair, as Caster of Fate Zero would say, wasn't to kill a victim, but to show them a way out and once they were so fully entranced with the prospect of being free, of being safe, of having hope in their hearts blossom-then ripping it away would give the uttermost level of despair. That was Caster of Fate Zero, a cruel servant to a cruel master.

Yet, it did not make those words any less true.

He who knows not what freedom is, will never understand how horrible it is to have it taken.

But I was sure Cattleya would cheer me up.

And if not her, I'd pinch Louise's cheeks a bit.

First, though, I had to pacify the dragon in the room.

Thus, I knocked at the door of the great dragon of the Valliere mansion, and stepped inside. "Big sister Eleonore?" I said as I walked closer to where she was sitting, a large and thick tome in front of her with parchments all around it, with drawings and scribbling on them already. "How are you-"

"Ah, Henry-" Eleonore's head turned sharply, the various parchment scattering on the floor as she stood up and drew closer to me. She was taller than me -but not for long, not if my growth spurt kicked in when I thought it would, and her eyes were as stern as always, if with a small grin on her lips. "You have returned? So, the Vicious Wind, uh? I don't see it," she neared her fingers to pinch my cheeks, "Where does it says vicious on you, uh? They made a mistake. Perhaps daydreamer might have been better."

I swatted the fingers away with a huff. "Then, rather than Iron Lady, they should have called you Cheek Pincer."

"Oh?" Eleonore drawled, raising an eyebrow, "Are you talking back to me? I'm the eldest, you know!" she huffed, "What gives you this cheeky attitude, uh? You reached Triangle, perhaps? You're not even a Line mage. Did you refine silver? No, I'm sure you haven't even refined steel."

"I'm merely stating facts, dear sister," I said with a chuckle. "It's nice to see you again," I added. "Can I hug you? You look like you could use a hug."

"That's the summit of improper behavior, Henry. You're no longer a child," she said, readjusting her glasses. "But seeing how you missed me so much, I guess I can concede it just this once-"

"You're the best big sister ever!" I said with a giggle as I proceeded to hug her tightly, much to her surprise and audible gasp. There you go, Karin. That's where nobility's etiquette can go die in my opinion.

To hit the main enemy boss, you must first make the foundations around it crumble. Instead of aiming at the Death Star, aim at the Shields Generators first.

"All right," Eleonore said after a short while, "Enough now-"

"It's only a hug when both sides participate, big sister," I said with a slightly whiny sound, which actually made Eleonore twitch a bit more.

In the end, she caved in.

And etiquette shall hold no dominion.