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All her life, Venza had only one dream: To be a hero of the people like her father and serve the citizens of the Odolenian Empire. But due to the circumstances of her birth, that path seemed all but lost to her. When she meets a young witch who harbors an unusual view of the world, Venza finds herself struggling towards her dream despite all odds. And the more she learns about the Empire and its people, the more she realizes her dream was never as simple as it seemed.

This story is cross-posted on a few other websites like Royal Road, AO3, Wattpad, and Scribble Hub.
Chapter 1 - the Witch
Chapter 1 - the Witch

The nobility had a solemn duty to take care of the lands and people they ruled over. That was what Venza Greyfield's father always said, and what his father said, and what his father's father said. It was something she'd taken to heart. It was why she waited patiently in the carriage with her father as they made their way to Rentley, a frontier town at the edge of the Odolenian Empire.

Even if she was bored stiff.

Her father struck an imposing figure on the opposite seat, built like a wall and decked out in the fine dark metal armor worn only by someone in his station. Lord Lucius of House Greyfield was not just any member of the nobility. He was the Lord Marshall of the Odolenian Empire. In war time, the Empire's armies followed only the Emperor himself over him.

His bright red hair, a trait that he'd passed on to her, shone faintly in the late morning sun as he peeked out their carriage's window. They'd left home just as dawn broke, so the trip hadn't taken too long. The Greyfields, despite their contributions to Odolenia, did not rule as much land or people as some of the other highborn families of the Empire. It made keeping watch of their holdings comparatively easier.

"You're sure you're alright there, Scamp?" her father asked her. "You didn't have to come with me, you know."

"We take care of our people," she answered. "This is part of my duty."

Lucius smiled behind his beard, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Bold words for a nine year old girl."

Venza opened her mouth to argue, but knew by now whatever she said would be met with something like 'You're adorable,' or 'You'll grow out of it someday.'

When her father saw her annoyed face, he quickly added, "But thank you for coming along. This inspection is very important."

Venza nodded, though she knew he was lying. Rentley was a frontier town of little importance, surrounded on all sides by thick forest and the ruins of previous attempts to settle it. No one in the Empire actually expected this attempt to fare any better.

They'd come with a company of almost a hundred soldiers, knowing the frontier was uncharted territory at the southern tip of the Empire with all manner of monsters lurking in the wilderness.

In comparison, the thirty or so militia guarding Rentley may as well have been scarecrows. That was the irony of her father being Lord Marshall: In times of war, Lucius commanded all the armies pledged to the Empire. In times of peace, the Greyfields had very few soldiers they could actually command. It made keeping their lands safe against monsters and bandits quite an undertaking.

It was just short of noon when their carriage stopped at Rentley's gate. As an outpost on the dangerous frontier, they'd at least built walls to protect themselves, even if said walls were made of logs and manned by only a few archers.

Venza had her first look at Rentley: A scattering of small wooden houses surrounded by a flimsy wooden wall, save for the gathering hall which, while simple and only two stories, was at least made of stone.

Her father helped her out of the carriage, and soon she was standing in the center of the small frontier town. The air gave her chills despite the thick traveling shirt and breeches she'd opted to wear. Odolenia was largely hot and humid, particularly in the capital, but out here, people needed to dress warmly.

"The garrison is ready for inspection, Lord Marshall," a tall, slim man with a well-kept mustache saluted as Lucius approached the gathering hall. He wore the gray uniform of House Greyfield's standing army, the Grey Guard.

"Lord Marshall?" Venza's father echoed with distaste, though he returned the salute. "What's with the formal nonsense, Adam?"

The man, Adam Vosmer, snorted and then clicked his tongue. "Now, now. This is an official inspection. We need to keep up appearances." He turned to Venza. "And how are you, young lady? Did you get bored in the carriage with just this old man for company?"

Venza smiled. She'd always liked Vosmer. When she'd asked her father for a fencing tutor and he'd refused, Vosmer taught her the basics of self-defense, anyway. In secret. Naturally, her parents found out eventually anyway. They did not approve.

"The view was interesting, at least," Venza said. "Mother never lets me out of the house."

"A shame, that," Vosmer spoke. He glanced at Lucius, seeming to silently ask if he'd do something about that, but her father was nothing if not stoic. "Well, come along then. They've prepared a welcome feast for us."

"Good. I'm starving," Lucius said before wrapping an arm around Vosmer's shoulder and dragging him off.

Venza followed in their wake, taking in the (admittedly limited) sights and sounds of Rentley's gathering hall. A single, large chamber where meetings took place occupied most of the space, though she spotted a pair of doors on one end that she presumed went to other rooms.

A large hearth blazed with warmth on the far side of the hall, and Venza welcomed it. She rather disliked the unfamiliar chill out here.

The wooden tables and chairs the settlers used for their meetings had been rearranged to accommodate their company into a sort of makeshift mess hall. The smell of slow-roasted meats filtered into her nostrils, and Venza realized that she, too, was starving.

"Welcome, Lord Greyfield and company!" a man spoke, saluting them, his fist over his heart. He'd been standing near one of the doors at the far end. He had a wide face, and seemed to be missing all of his hair, though he seemed physically fit at least, judging by how well his brown robes wrapped around his body. He extended a hand in greeting.

"Constable," Lucius greeted in turn, taking the bald man's hand. "Thank you for having us." His face split into a wide grin. "Whatever you've got cooking smells great."

"Only the best for your Lordship," the constable answered. Venza thought she might've recognized him from home, though she couldn't be sure. Father certainly seemed to have forgotten his name.

"Good to see you, Johnson," Vosmer said, likely thinking the same thing Venza was. He and Lucius had been through a lot together, after all. She doubted her father would've been quite as successful as he was without Adam Vosmer at his side.

"Sergeant Vosmer," Constable Johnson said in turn. "Ah, sorry. I heard it's Lieutenant now? Congratulations."

Vosmer brushed him off. "Thank you, but there's no need to stand on ceremony."

Venza rolled her eyes. So much for this being a formal inspection and keeping up appearances. The constable seemed to notice her behind his two superiors, and smiled. "Is that-"

"Aye," Lucius spoke. "It's little Venza. You haven't seen her in, how many is it now?" He trailed off.

"Heir Greyfield," Johnson said by way of greeting. "I haven't seen you in three years. Do you remember me?"

"Of course I do, Constable Johnson," Venza lied, returning his smile. Lying was bad. Unduly embarrassing someone in public was worse. At least that's what her tutors told her. "Thank you for having us. Has Rentley been treating you well?"

"Oh, just fine, Heir Greyfield," the constable answered, turning back to her father. "And where is Lady Greyfield?"

"Not here," Lucius answered easily. "She needs her rest, as you know."

"Oh, of course. Forgive me, Lord," Johnson spoke, though Lucius waved it off. It was easy for others to forget her mother had a condition, considering how rarely she was seen outside the house.

The four of them sat at a single table along with other figures of import from the settlement, though Venza quickly forgot their names and faces. She met a lot of people as the sole heir to the Greyfield name, and while she knew she should, she simply couldn't remember them all. Besides, it wasn't like they were paying her much mind. They were nice to her, naturally, since her father ruled over them and defended the realm, but beyond that? She might as well have been invisible.

They had roasted fowl with vegetables and rice, washed down by freshly-squeezed fruit juice. The people at their table seemed to alternate between trying to sound important and flattering her father. She figured they'd realized what a bad deal they'd gotten being posted out in the sticks and wanted back into civilization.

When lunch was ended, Venza eagerly followed her father into the constable's office, only for him to stop her at the door.

"Now, now, scamp," he said, not unkindly. "This is official business. I'll take it from here."

"But Father-" she began to protest, but he shook his head with finality.

"Perhaps when you're older," he said. "Go explore Rentley for now. Meet the people."

Understanding their subjects was one of a ruling family's duties, but she couldn't help but feel like a child being told to run off and play. "Yes, sir." She gave him the customary salute, her fist over her heart, and retreated into the mess hall.

She encountered Vosmer, who'd slipped away for a bit before lunch ended. He seemed on his way to the meeting room. She jerked her thumb behind her as if to say 'Yep, he's in there.'

He gave her a reassuring smile. "He'll let you in someday. Just keep at it."

Venza nodded. Who else was he going to groom to take care of their lands and their people? She had no siblings and her mother seemingly couldn't make any more.

As Vosmer entered the meeting room, Venza turned around and left to explore the town like her Lord Father had suggested. The soldiers had largely left, off to inspect the settlement's defenses and supplies to report later. Rentley was largely self-sufficient, partly because few traders bothered to come so far, not when the settlement was so small and the road so perilous.

Venza smacked her lips, decided she needed something sweet to go with the savory lunch she'd eaten, and headed out to see what the frontier town had to offer.

The chill air outside reminded her she wanted something both sweet and warm. She spotted a woman who seemed to be selling flowers in front of the gathering hall and approached her. "Excuse me, miss?"

The woman, who had short blond hair and freckles all over her face, beamed at her. "Oh, aren't you just the cutest? Would you like a flower?"

"Afraid I've no use for flowers, ma'am," Venza answered, though she kept her tone polite. "I'd pay for information, though. Is there anywhere I could get sweets around here, preferably freshly baked?"

Realization seemed to dawn on the woman's face. "Hang on. You're not from around here, are you?"

Venza thought that would've been obvious, given how she was asking directions, but she nodded. "Correct. I arrived this morning with the convoy."

"Well, my sister runs a bakery behind the gathering hall," she said. "Do you need me to walk you there or-"

"That won't be necessary, ma'am," Venza spoke quickly. "I'm sure I can find it on my own. Thanks."

She took a silver coin out of her pocket and gave it to the woman before making a quick getaway.

"A whole silver?" the flower seller called behind her. "This is too much!"

Venza pretended not to hear her and continued walking.

"Ask for the baker's secret!" the woman yelled. Venza gave a thumbs up without looking back, wondering what that was about. Oh well. She'd find out.

She passed a chapel dedicated to the the Four. She deliberated popping inside to pray for a safe journey, and made her decision not to when the smell of baked goods reached her nostrils.

She made the Sign of the Four with her hands without so much as a prayer then headed off to find sweets.

The bakery was a cute little single-story building made of wood, though she suspected not entirely, or it might burn down. Most of it was open, which revealed a single stone oven that blew smoke out of its chimney.

Venza smiled to herself and approached when something caught her ear.

"Witch!" she heard a child's voice say, a short distance away.

"Get out of here, witch!" another one seemed to answer.

Venza stopped in her tracks. The voices were coming from behind one of the many little houses in Rentley. She supposed it was her duty to check it out, so she did, if only to sate her curiosity. She didn't think an actual witch would somehow be in Rentley, after all. The settlers would've reported that first thing.

Following the voices that seemed to taunt a 'witch' and hearing no rebuttal whatsoever, Venza crept close to the wall, peering around the corner to find a most unexpected scene.

Two large boys, roughly around her age or maybe a bit older, and even taller girl with uneven blond pigtails, loomed over a small girl. They had her cornered against the wooden wall and there wasn't an adult in sight. Venza might have to report someone for abandoning their post later.

The small girl had a blank, unresponsive expression, like she was unaware of the trio's presence. A surprisingly fine black dress framed her small body.

Venza held herself steady. A responsible ruler didn't just butt into every single conflict they saw.

"Hey, Kindra, let's see if she really is a witch," one of the large boys said, presenting what looked like a bucket full of something to his friends. Venza couldn't quite see it.

"Let her have it," the girl Kindra, who seemed to be the ringleader, said.

The boy nodded and then dumped the contents of the bucket on the girl. It had been filled with mud. The girl's long, black dress was soaked. She barely flinched and didn't speak, only shot the trio with a glare that could have either melted ice or frozen water.

Venza snapped, storming out of her hiding place. She drew a deep breath and yelled, "What the blazes do you think you're doing?"

The three bullies flinched, looked for the source of the protest, and seemed to relax when they saw it was just a girl slightly shorter than they were.

"Almost scared my pants off, you twat," Kindra told her. "Butt out. This ain't none of your business."

"It absolutely is my business," Venza answered. "As heir of House Grayfield, I demand you to explain yourselves."

"Air of house what?" Kindra sort of repeated. "Bah. You talk weird. Just like she does. Ain't never seen you around here, come to mention it. You a witch, too?"

"You're prosecuting this girl just because she's an outsider?" Venza asked, her voice cracking a bit. Her tutors would've chastised her for losing her cool, but she couldn't ignore this.

So much for not butting into every conflict she saw.

"We ain't prostituting her! She does that to herself, with demons!" One of the boys answered. "Now, sod off unless you wanna end up like her."

"I can't do that," Venza responded, her tone serious. "Stop this at once, or I'll have to use force."

"Them's fighting words," the ringleader said.

"Oh, good," Venza drawled. "I was wondering when your pea of a brain would understand a word I said."

She took up a ready stance, just as Vosmer had taught her, with her hands up to block blows and her legs apart to give her better balance. There were three of them, and they were all taller than her, but she was sure she could take them. If she couldn't fight off three children, how was she supposed to protect the Empire?

"Stand back, citizen," Venza said. "I will be your shield!"

Her father's words.

The trio glanced at each other, confused, and then shrugged.

"Get her," Kindra commanded, and the two boys obliged, moving in to grab her.

The first boy reached for her, but Venza ducked under his clumsy grapple and struck him hard on the chin with an uppercut. She then jammed her elbow into his chest, driving him backwards.

"Give up yet?" she asked.

The second boy lunged at her with a haymaker. She stepped aside, swept her leg down and sent him sprawling forward. She kicked him in the shin for good measure, causing him to howl and clutch his lower leg.

Unfortunately, while she'd been occupied, the tall girl had gotten behind her. The ringleader slammed her with a full-body tackle, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Her opponent might have been bad with words, but she wasn't entirely stupid. She had Venza's arms pinned to the ground, and the difference in size was simply too much to overcome, even with her training.

"Who the hell are you?" the ringleader asked.

"Like I said," Venza said, rather frustrated. "I'm Venza, of House Greyfield. We are the rightful stewards of this land!"

She would not show fear to this bully. If she screamed loud enough for help, someone would come.

"Rightful stewards of it? You think you own these lands?" a new voice spoke, completely monotone. It took Venza a moment to realize the little girl they'd dumped mud on was speaking. "That's rather presumptuous, isn't it?"

Venza chanced a glance at the girl, and her eyes widened like dinner plates as she saw the girl was no longer alone. A swarm of mosquitoes buzzed about at her side, seemingly in thrall to her.

"Witch!" one of the boys yelled. "She really is a witch!"

The girl named Kindra stood quickly, leaving Venza forgotten on the ground as she faced this new threat.

Venza jumped to her feet. "Get back to the gathering hall, the lot of you!" Venza yelled. "There're soldiers there. Tell them to send help! I'll hold her off!"

The three bullies, shocked into action, bolted in the direction Venza had come.

When she was sure they were gone, her face curled into a smirk. "We should go before they come back. I imagine the guard will scold them for telling tall tales."

The girl, who Venza now saw had chestnut brown hair that fell just short of her neck looked at her with a puzzled expression. "You're not scared?"

"I'd rather you didn't cover me in mosquito bites," Venza admitted. "But I doubt you could really hurt me when you can barely hold them together."

She gestured to the swarm, noting how several insects seemed to fly off in different directions. It had perhaps halved in size since the 'witch' had conjured it.

The girl shrugged and the cloud of mosquitoes scattered, leaving no trace of their congregation.

"It's a neat trick, though," Venza said. "I've never heard of a spell like that."

"You're magically trained?"

Venza pursed her lips a moment. "Yes."

"But?"

Venza didn't immediately answer.

So the girl hazarded a guess. "But you can't do magic, can you? Otherwise you'd have used a spell instead of subjugating them physically like you attempted to."

"Attempted?" Venza asked. "I took two of them down."

"I'm pretty sure they just stood up and ran," the girl answered. "Hardly seems like you took them down."

"Maybe you really are a witch," Venza quipped. "Your spell isn't what I was taught magic should be."

"Then your education is flawed," the girl answered. She was still dripping with mud.

"In that case, I'd love to hear what yours was like," Venza said. She walked past the girl and started heading to where she guessed the bakery was. "Come on. I'm buying."

"Buying what?" the girl asked with a blank expression.

Author's Note: This story will be updated weekly every Tuesday, except for this first week where I will upload once a day until Tuesday because I know how frustrating it is to find a new story with only one chapter available to read.

These first few chapters will be a prologue that eventually end in a time skip, bringing us to when the majority of Book 1 will take place. I hope you enjoy my first original web novel.

I've set up an official discord for this and my eventual other works here: Join the Raven's Realm Discord Server!

Come say hi! Also I am so not used to posting on forums anymore. Please tell me if I did something wrong.
 
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Chapter 2 - Secrets
Five minutes later, the two of them sat by the riverbank. Venza held two warm orders of 'baker's secret' while the other girl used magic to clean the mud off of her. It seemed to gather itself out of her dress before dropping to the ground.

When she was done (and Venza had reminded her to wash her hands), Venza handed her one of the two pieces of 'baker's secret' and nearly bit into hers before she stopped and thought to ask, "Why is it called 'baker's secret?'"

On the outside, it just looked like a normal piece of elongated bread to her. She assumed the 'secret' was whatever was inside, but looking at it she had no way to tell.

"Because it has a secret," the girl quipped unhelpfully, biting into her own piece.

"That secret being?" Venza asked, taking that as a sign that the bread was safe to eat. Her mouth filled with a creamy, sweet taste she decided she rather liked.

"A secret."

Venza rolled her eyes. "What's your name?"

The girl hesitated, then shrugged. "Aiela Durrell."

"And you don't live here?"

"They were picking on me because I'm someone who lives in the village that they see every day," Aiela drawled, rolling her eyes. "Of course I'm not from here."

"Point taken," Venza conceded. "But why didn't you fight back? You could've scared them off easy."

A long, deep sigh answered her before the girl's words did.

"Oma says I shouldn't do anything to antagonize the settlers," Aiela answered. "The wilderness will have them soon enough. Personally, I don't agree but Oma knows best."

"Oma?" Venza repeated. "As in grandmother?"

Aiela nodded.

"You two live nearby?"

Another nod.

"Just the two of you?"

"Yes. You have a lot of questions."

Venza thought about that. She was right. "Do you have any for me? Only fair I answer a few, too."

"What was that strange phrase you said?" Aiela asked.

"What strange phrase?"

"The one about you being my shield," Aiela clarified. "Are those your family's words, or something?"

Venza bit her lip. They were her father's battle cry whenever he leapt to the aid of their citizens, but it was a little embarrassing to admit for some reason. "O-oh, that. That was- That was nothing. Anyway, is your grandmother home?"

The girl seemed unsatisfied with her answer, but didn't press. "Should be."

Venza considered. Despite Aiela's odd demeanor, it was obvious the girl was intelligent. Something was very wrong here. Their convoy wasn't due to leave Rentley for a few more hours, so she had time. "Take me to her."

Aiela's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"I think I need to have a word with her," Venza said. "She shouldn't be teaching you to tolerate bullies."

The brown-haired girl snorted. "I'm not tolerating them. They're just beneath me."

"So, you didn't care at all about them dumping mud on you?" Venza asked. "And that's totally not why you threatened to swarm them with mosquitoes."

Aiela stood silent, eating the rest of her secret bread before answering. "Understood. I will guide you to Oma."

"It's fine," Venza said, giving Aiela a reassuring smile. "We're just having a small chat."

"Come on, then." The smaller girl started walking, not towards the settlement but away from it and into the wilderness.

"You're not afraid of being attacked out here?" Venza asked. The girl seemed completely unperturbed by the wilderness around them.

"No."

"You can't be that powerful," Venza countered.

"It's not my power that keeps me safe."

"Fine. Keep your secrets."

They walked in silence for roughly ten seconds before Aiela spoke up again.

"It uses the previous day's unsold bread as filling, mixed with eggs, milk, and sugar."

"What?"

"That's the baker's secret."

"Is that safe?" Venza asked.

"Yes," Aiela answered, actually shooting her a questioning look. "Not everyone can afford fresh ingredients every day. This method allows the baker to make use of the scraps instead of just throwing it all away. Just don't let it sit in your house for long after purchase."

"I knew that!" Venza protested, though she did feel embarrassed about asking. Father always told her to think of the common people and their circumstances, but it was easy to forget when you weren't one of them.

"Really?" Aiela asked. "Isn't your father ruler of Rantori?"

"It's called Rentley," Venza corrected. "And well, I suppose he is, but he's not the emperor. Father reaches out to the people often."

"No, it's Rantori," Aiela insisted. "Rentley is what your people called it after the original inhabitants died out. Oma told me so."

Venza frowned. She'd never read that in a history book. She considered simply insisting she was right, but this girl seemed unusually sharp. "Who were the original inhabitants?"

"The elves," the girl said simply.

"Elves are a myth," Venza said.

"No, they're history," Aiela said. "As in deceased. All of them."

"If they're dead, where are the graves? The ruins of their cities?"

"Look around you," Aiela answered. "They've been reborn as the forest, because even in death they cannot find peace."

"I've heard this before," Venza rebutted. "The Four Gods slew them for attempting to usurp their power. It's just a myth. It's why people can't raise the dead or control the animals," Venza's eyes widened a fraction. "Like you were doing with those mosquitoes."

"Just because almost no one was alive to see something happen doesn't mean it didn't happen." Aiela responded evenly. "And you've got it wrong. You are allowed to control animals, it's just that you can't."

Venza scoffed. "Those insects would like to have a word, if they could talk." She paused. "They can't talk, right?"

Aiela paused, then answered. "My magic can only control creatures with no backbone, like bugs and worms. And no, they cannot talk."

"What makes them different?"

Aiela shrugged. "I don't know everything, little lordling. Perhaps they're beneath the gods' notice? Either way, I'd appreciate if you didn't bring this up with the Temple of the Four. I'd rather not be branded a heretic."

Venza blinked. That was the most emotion she'd gotten out of the girl in the time they'd been together.

Venza raised her hands in a placating gesture. "I wasn't going to tell, I swear. I don't think it's right, what they do to people, going behind the Emperor's back and all."

"He can rot, too," Aiela said plainly.

Venza held her tongue. The Emperor was a good friend of her father's, but she didn't think this girl of all people would say such a thing without due cause.

"We're here," Aiela spoke. They'd come upon the bottom of a cliff, covered in thick vines.

"Is there an illusion or-"

Aiela rolled her eyes and parted the vines with her hands to reveal a well-hidden tunnel with light visible at the end of it. "You can still turn back."

"You really don't want me to talk to your grandmother?" Venza questioned.

Aiela stared at her blankly. "I cannot accurately predict what would happen if you two met, but it would likely not end well for you."

Venza shook her head. "You are strange."

Aiela shrugged. "Says the girl who's trying to meet Oma."

Aiela led the way through the narrow tunnel. It didn't take long before it spat them out the other side: an isolated space that housed a single, stone hut. Smoke blew from its chimney, though somehow disappeared long before it got high enough to give away the hut's existence. Magic, it seemed. In truth, the very place they were in had a feeling of unnaturalness to it. Why was there a tunnel within a cliff face that just so happened to lead to a place perfectly sized for the one hut?

A tiny garden surrounded the hovel, but she'd never seen the kinds of plants it had before. A corner had different-colored mushrooms that ranged from puny to taller than Venza was. Another sported crystal-like flowers that seemed to move ever so slightly whenever Venza turned away from them.

"I'll go first," Aiela declared. "Let her know I brought someone home. Well, she knows that already, I'm sure, but whether you're friend or foe is up to what I say."

Venza bit her lip as Aiela left her alone in the garden, trying to project an air of indifference. What had she gotten herself into?

Seconds felt like hours as she waited for the other girl to come back out. After a moment of internal debate, she'd decided to keep her eyes on the crystal flower, just in case it could move.

The door to the hut finally opened and Aiela beckoned her to come in.

She wasn't sure she felt any relief getting away from the strange flower. The inside of the hut Aiela shared with her grandmother was dark to the point Venza could hardly make anything out. How did they see in there?

The door remained open behind her, allowing some light to enter, but it was almost as if the very sunlight refused to come inside. She could make out Aiela to her left, waiting silently, and in front of Venza, right smack in the middle of the hut, was a figure who was either seated or very short. She couldn't see anything of its features.

"The girl tells me you wanted a word," the figure spoke. Her voice was high-pitched, creaking, like a door opening in the middle of the night. Suddenly, Venza could make out one new detail: something glittered in the faint light: sharp, bright points right where she thought the figure's mouth should be. "Speak, then."

Venza swallowed, hoped it hadn't been as loud as she thought it was, and said, "You're Aiela's grandmother, I take it?"

The sharp points glittered again. "For all intents and purposes."

"Did you know your granddaughter's being bullied by the children in Rent- Rantori?" Venza asked, correcting herself at the end. She wasn't sure she believed Aiela's tale, but she was in someone else's house. Best to be diplomatic.

Something seemed to change in the figure's posture, though Venza could see so little she couldn't have been sure. "Girl, is this true?"

A moment's hesitation, and then Aiela spoke. "Yes, Oma."

"Tell me their names."

"That won't be necessary, Oma," Aiela said, her calmness giving way somewhat to urgency. "They're only children."

"I said tell me their names, girl."

Venza, following her gut, interrupted. "She dealt with the problem."

She imagined Aiela's grandmother blinking at her in surprise, because she certainly couldn't see it. "What?"

"She used a spell I don't recognize to scare the bullies off," Venza clarified.

There was a shift again, Venza could tell, though she couldn't say what exactly changed in the old woman's demeanor.

"I just used Swarm," Aiela said nonchalantly. "Sent a few bugs at them. Nothing extreme."

Silence, and then the old woman broke into high-pitched cackling that sent shivers down Venza's spine. When the old lady finally calmed down, she said, "Ah, I wish I'd seen it."

"I thought you said I shouldn't get the villagers riled up?" Aiela questioned.

"No," the old woman drawled. "I said if they do anything to you, let them be, tell me about it, and I'll take care of it."

"They were only children," Aiela said, repeating what she'd said to Venza.

"So are we," Venza answered before turning to the old woman. "And that's why I wanted to talk to you. You shouldn't be teaching Aiela to just take it."

The old figure spat. "As if I of all people would preach pacifism." When Venza seemed not to understand, she added, "It means shutting up and taking it."

"I- I know what it means!" Venza hastily replied, though she was lying. She'd never heard the word in her life. She wasn't entirely sure she believed that was what it meant, either.

The old woman huffed. "So you've got something to say about how I raise my granddaughter, do you? How old are you?"

"I'm almost ten," Venza answered.

"Child, I've been around longer than you can trace your family tree back, and you think you can lecture me? Me?"

"You keep saying that, but I have no idea who you are," Venza snapped. She couldn't help it. This old lady was being rude.

The old woman cackled. "Well, that explains a lot, doesn't it?" She made a thoughtful sound. "You're an amusing one, I'll give you that. I'll tell you what: Let me read your fortune."

Venza's brows furrowed. "My fortune?"

"Yes, girl. Are you deaf?"

"No, but why would I-"

"Just allow it," Aiela said. "It will be easier."

Venza shot the other girl a questioning look and then shrugged. What harm would it do? "What do I have to-"

"Here," the old woman said, and a small, burlap sack floated out of the darkness. The string that held it shut quickly untied itself before her eyes. "Blow into the bag."

Venza gave it a skeptical look. She couldn't quite see what was inside, but she did as asked, blowing air into the bag as if putting out a candle.

On cue, the bag turned itself upside down, and a handful of small animal bones clattered to the wooden floor. The old woman made no apparent move to get them.

"I see, I see," the old woman said, mostly to herself. "Interesting."

"What?" Venza asked. "What is it?"

There was the glimmer again, which Venza now understood meant the old woman was smiling. "Why should I tell you?"

"It's my fortune."

"And it's my reading."

"What was the point, then?" she asked, losing her patience.

"Nobody ever knows what the point is," the old lady answered. She made another thoughtful sound. "But now I see why you're here."

"What?"

"If you're so against how I raise my granddaughter, you take her."

Venza blinked, sure she was mishearing. "Excuse me?"

"Take her with you," the old woman repeated. "To live in your manor. You teach her how to behave since I'm clearly no good at it. Maybe with you, she'll grow a backbone!"

The old woman cackled.

"Wait," Venza said. "You can't be serious!"

"But I am," the old woman said. "Girl, go with this child. Learn how to be a proper lady."

"Why?" Aiela protested.

"I see something in her," the old woman answered simply. "And you could learn a thing or two. You listen to me far too easily."

Aiela looked about to protest, but then said, "Yes, Oma."

"See what I mean?" the old woman asked.

Venza whirled on Aiela. "Are you seriously okay with that?"

Aiela shrugged. "If Oma says so, I'll do it. She knows best."

"I'm nine!" Venza protested. "I can't raise someone my age!"

"So? You have a mother, don't you? Make her do it," the old woman drawled. "Or if she's too sick, I'm sure one of your servants will."

Venza froze. "How do you know my mother's ill?"

Again, the glimmer, the smile that hid in the shadows. "I just read your fortune, child. Or are you telling me you're not Venza, only Heir of House Greyfield, daughter of Lucius and Nora? Are you not the very same Venza who dreams to take her father's place as that fool of an emperor Harway's attack dog someday?"

"But I never-" Venza stopped. "Am I supposed to believe you're a Witch, too?"

The old woman scoffed and seemed to direct her statement at Aiela. "Is that what you've been telling her, Girl? Bah. You've barely scratched the surface. You'll need to do a lot more than send mosquitoes at children before you're a proper Witch."

"I never said I was a good witch, Oma," Aiela answered innocently.

"But no," the old woman answered, turning back to Venza. "I am not a Witch. I am the Witch."

Venza felt overwhelmed by the sudden resurgence of a memory. There was a story for children about an evil hag who'd lived a thousand years, stealing away naughty children who didn't listen to their parents. "Oma as in grandmother?"

The twinkling somehow seemed to grow brighter without actually illuminating the room. "Took you long enough. I suppose, yes, I am her grandmother, of sorts, but Oma is also the first half of what most people call me. Do you know the second, child?"

This was bad. Really bad. Venza forced herself not to look behind her to see if the door was still open. It must have been since the shack hadn't gone entirely dark. "Surely, you couldn't be. She's a myth. A fable. A story to scare away children."

She vaguely remembered herself saying the same thing about elves.

"And yet I didn't seem to scare you away," the Witch said. "Why is that, Venza of House Greyfield?"

Because she didn't know, obviously. Still, she couldn't just say that. "I've studied magic. It doesn't scare me like it would the common folk."

"Of that, I am aware," the Witch drawled. "You have astounding affinity for one your age, and yet you seem to look down on magic. Why is that?"

Venza's mouth opened, then closed. Did she look down on magic? "It's a useful tool, but magic isn't everything," she answered.

"Isn't it?" the Witch asked. "Because I also know your ability to do magic is blocked. I could even tell you why. Do you dislike magic because it's something people expect you to do that you can't? Wouldn't it be so much easier to take your father's place as Lord Marshall if you could hurl fire from your fingertips? Annihilate armies with a thought?"

Venza swallowed. The crone had literally read her like a book. "No magic is that powerful."

"Ignorant," the old woman muttered. "Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it does not exist. Your own mother was known as the Phoenix of Odolenia in her prime."

Her mother? Surely, no. Nora Greyfield could barely do magic anymore, at least not without lapsing into illness. "You said my magic was blocked? And you could tell me why?"

"Yes, but I won't," the Witch said. "So, child, do you know who I am now?"

Venza bit her lip. Her skin crawled as she forced the words out of her mouth. "You're Oma Mala, the most powerful Witch who ever lived."

"People have called me less flattering things, I suppose," Oma Mala answered.

"What did you mean?" Venza asked.

"What do you mean by 'what did I mean?'"

"When you said you saw something," Venza added. "You seem to know more about me than most people do."

Again, the faint glimmer in the dark. Were those her teeth? "You have the potential for greatness," Oma Mala answered. "But right now you're just an impulsive child chasing a near-impossible dream."

Venza blinked. "Will- will I succeed my father?"

"The future is not set in stone," Oma Mala said, sounding bored. "Now then, I think you were leaving."

"Wait! I-"

"Leave," Oma Mala's voice was deep, warning. Venza felt a push against her mind, and found her body moving on its own.

"R-right, well, it was lovely meeting you," Venza said. Wait until her father heard about this.



A short walk through the woods later, and Venza found herself rather perplexed, indeed. She could not remember how to get back to Oma Mala's hut, or even what the old woman had sounded like.

All she could remember was that she was supposed to get someone to take Aiela in, and that she'd met Oma Mala somewhere in the forest. And that Oma Mala, greatest of all Witches, who'd lived longer than the Odolenian Empire, had told her:

"You have the potential for greatness."

The rest was a blur. She most definitely could not lead her father and his men to the witch's lair. Walking beside her was Aiela with a simple leather bag Venza hadn't even seen her take slung on her shoulder. It looked too small to fit much of her belongings.

"Don't beat yourself up," Aiela commented, seeing Venza's apparent misery. "She has that effect on people."

"You could guide us," Venza suggested.

"And sell out my grandmother?" Aiela asked, looking like she'd been asked to jump off a cliff. "Besides, you have what? Maybe a hundred men? She'd wipe them out with a single spell."

Venza would have argued again that no magic was that powerful and her father was unbeatable, but she did remember the part about how her mother could supposedly do the same, and Oma Mala was leagues above her. "Is she really your grandmother?"

"For all intents and purposes," Aiela echoed the old witch's response.

Venza rolled her eyes and grinned. "Whatever you s-"

A scream from further ahead interrupted her. The two of them shared a look before Venza ran towards the direction it came from. "Come on!"

"What? What are you going to do when you get there?!" Aiela yelled, but Venza was already moving. "You're just a kid with no magic!"
 
Chapter 3 - Her Legs Moved Forward
Her legs worked faster than her brain could. Aiela had a point. She was nine. What did she think she was going to do when she got there and someone was being attacked by a huge bear or something?

Still, if there was any chance she could save someone, she had to know. What kind of leader would she be if she let someone die when she could have done something?

"Get back! Get back, you overgrown chicken!" she heard a girl's voice yell. It sounded familiar, somehow.

She found a familiar girl with blond hair tied in uneven pigtails – the ringleader who'd been bullying Aiela before. The girl whose name currently escaped Venza hid between a group of trees, seemingly unarmed. She clutched her left shoulder with her right hand, and Venza could see crimson dripping down her pale skin.

The 'overgrown chicken' was a large, black bird that seemed to be trying to attack the blond girl. Venza swore silently. The bird was massive, nearly the size of a teenage boy. It pressed its face closer to the blonde. It was only a matter of time before it could get to her.

What could she do? If she could do magic, taking it out while she had the element of surprise would be simple. Unfortunately, the most she could manage was release sparks that fizzled out in about a second.

Think. Think. Think!

Her first thought was to throw a rock at it and hope it fled, but she knew if she missed or the rock didn't hit hard enough, it would probably turn on her and that would have been an inglorious end to the House of Greyfield.

She needed a long weapon to keep it at bay, at the very least. A long, snapped off branch with a somewhat pointy end caught her attention, laying helpfully on the nearby ground. It wasn't that sharp, but against a bird's hide, it should have no problem.

She considered yelling her father's battle cry, then realized that would be stupid in this situation. Instead, she gripped the pointy branch with both hands and rushed forward, building momentum to skewer the black-feathered fowl in the back.

Her blow struck true, except rather than sink into soft, feathered hide, the branch glanced to the side as if striking rock.

The bird suddenly stopped pecking at the girl between the trees, craning its head to look at Venza with eyes that were either angry or hungry. Hangry? No, that sounded stupid.

It turned its head to peck at her, but she'd recovered from the shock enough to back away. As its beak clamped down on empty air where she'd been a moment prior, something that looked like a small spout of water suddenly splashed it in the face.

The bird monster screeched, looking towards the direction the water had come from.

A bolt- no, it couldn't have been called a bolt. A dart of lightning suddenly shot through the air, so small and quick she'd nearly missed it, landing square on the bird's wet face.

It recoiled, giving Venza room to get away, but the fowl looked more annoyed than anything.

"Are you stupid?" Aiela called to her from behind a bush, beckoning her to run. She didn't need to be told twice. Branch still in hand, she made a beeline for her new friend.

"What were you trying to achieve?" Aiela asked as the two of them ran from the pursuing bird monster. They kept between tighter clumps of trees to prevent it from chasing them down from above.

"I was trying to stab it!" Venza answered, acutely aware of the bird stumbling through the foliage behind them.

"Don't you know Bloodbeaks have Protection? That they're resistant to non-magical weapons?" Aiela asked her, as if that was something every girl the age of nine was supposed to know.

No, she hadn't known that.

"I couldn't help it!" Venza shot back. "I saw someone in trouble and my body just started moving."

Venza cursed under her breath. If only she had a Revenant Arm like her father. Or even just a normal magic weapon!

Aiela let out an exasperated sigh despite clearly getting short of breath. "Oma, if you're watching," she called out, "A little help would be nice!"

"Wait! Over there!" Venza pointed, seeing a thicket of trees that looked close enough together to keep the bird from getting through.

Aiela gave an affirmative grunt and the two of them rushed towards the gap. Just as Venza was almost in, she heard a distressed yelp from behind. She found Aiela on the ground, her foot caught on a root.

Venza swore. The wise move would've been to keep going and hope Aiela could get away. At least that way, one of them would have been sure to survive. She didn't even need to think. She turned on her heel, branch still in hand. It might not hurt the monster bird, but it could still get in its way.

The bird had taken flight, swooping down towards Aiela's prone form. Venza's feet ran as fast as they could, placing herself between Aiela and the Bloodbeak, the branch held aloft like a spear with both hands, one end braced against the ground. The bird's neck caught on the branch, but it seemed unfazed, talons viciously trying to rake at her as it beat its wings to stay aloft.

Venza screamed internally. If only she was a little bigger and stronger like that blond girl. She could have grappled the bird to the ground. Instead, it was all she could do to keep it at bay while Aiela regained her footing.

As Aiela got clear, the Bloodbeak managed to lunge further than expected, and one of its wicked talons slashed into her shoulder. Searing hot pain flooded her mind, manifesting in a scream as she thrust harshly at the monster with her branch, driving it back with a strength fueled by her will to live.

Adrenaline coursing through her body, Venza ran right after Aiela, blood seeping into her shirt from her wound. Within moments, they managed to duck inside the thicket. The monstrous fowl tried to squeeze in after them, but it was simply too wide and the passage too narrow for it to pass.

It cawed angrily as it tried to enter, but wound up retreating, instead peering at them with hungry eyes from outside. It then flew up and out of view, though the sound of its flapping wings didn't last long.

The two girls flattened themselves against a tree farther back, hoping it was enough space to keep it away.

"Is it gone?" Venza asked.

"Might be," Aiela answered, "or more likely it's waiting for us to come out so it can nab us. Wonderful. Now we're in the same position that girl was. Happy?"

She gave Venza a pointed stare, though her face quickly softened when she spotted the blood seeping through her clothes.

"You're hurt," Aiela observed.

"It's nothing," Venza lied. Now that they weren't in immediate danger, the pain in her left shoulder was starting to register. She grabbed it with her right hand, trying to keep it covered.

"Don't touch it!" Aiela snapped. "You might get an infection."

Aiela reached into her bag and pulled out an unassuming, brown jar that looked to be made of clay and sealed with a wooden lid. She stared at it, muttered, "Alcohol," and then pulled the lid off.

"What is that?" Venza asked.

"An Alchemist's Jar," Aiela answered. "Oma gave it to me for my seventh birthday. Once a day, I can say the name of certain common fluids like water, oil, or alcohol and it gets filled with said fluid. Now come here and hold still. This will hurt."

Venza nodded and braced herself. It wasn't the first time she'd gotten a cut or bruise. She knew alcohol would sting, but it was better than what would happen if the wound was left untended.

She pulled down the shoulder of her shirt, revealing three mercifully shallow cuts on her skin. It seemed the bird hadn't gotten as good a blow on her as she'd thought.

"Hands," Aiela said. Venza got the message and presented her hands. Aiela poured clear liquid from the jar, covering her hands, and Venza rubbed them together.

Then, without warning, Aiela moved to her shoulder, hitting Venza square on her cuts. The redhead screamed in agony, nearly biting her tongue in the process.

"What the fuck?" Venza cried out, instinctively rubbing her shoulder.

"Your scream might get someone to notice and help," Aiela said simply. "It worked for the other girl, so why not us?"

Venza scowled. "Warn me next time."

"But then the scream might not sound authentic," Aiela answered. Venza couldn't tell if she was being messed with or not. It was becoming clear Aiela would be difficult to read and the coming years would be long indeed.

"But thank you," Aiela said softly.

"Hm?" Venza intoned, pretending she hadn't heard.

Aiela sighed. "I said thank you. You didn't have to come back for me like that."

"Yes, I did," Venza said. "You're my friend. Besides, I think your grandmother would have done worse to me if I abandoned you."

Aiela's lips twisted into a smirk. "She probably would. Hold still for a sec, alright?"

"Again?"

"Just do it," Aiela insisted, and when Venza complied, Aiela touched a hand to her shoulder. "Heal," she said.

A dim, green light poured from Aiela's hand, and where it touched Venza's shoulder, the wound seemed to dry, though it still left angry, bright scabs.

Venza reached out to touch it, but Aiela quickly stopped her. She wore a frown on her face. "Despite how shallow the cut is, I can't heal it fully," the brown-haired girl said, seemingly short of breath. It sounded like she'd just spent an entire day running instead of a few minutes.

"Thank you," Venza said. "And I'm sorry. We should have snuck past and called for help."

"You think?" Aiela asked, rolling her eyes, her breathing coming in deep gasps.

Just as Venza was about to respond, the Bloodbeak suddenly lunged forward, its red-tinted beak snapping. The two girls held each other on reflex, but were relieved as the bird drew no closer, its head stuck between the trees. It grew tired and withdrew shortly after, still watching them.

"Bloody chicken," Venza muttered.

The two of them stayed within the thicket for what felt like hours, but it had probably been minutes. The monstrous bird continued to watch from outside, waiting for them to slip up. Within roughly fifteen minutes, Aiela's breathing had returned to normal.

"How much magic you got left in you?" Venza asked.

"Not enough," Aiela answered. "I'm too young for proper magic."

"Could've fooled me," Venza said. "That lightning was more than I've ever managed in nine years."

"Even more reason not to agitate a monster like this," Aiela pointed out.

Venza winced, unable to deny that. "What would my father do?" she wondered aloud.

"He'd use the magic sword the Empire gave him and cut that bird in two," Aiela answered, deadpan.

"Right," Venza agreed, sighing. "His Revenant Arm. I could really do with a magic weapon right now."

She stared at the branch, still useless in her hands, and suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Can you make a magic weapon?" Venza asked.

Aiela gave her a withering look. "Enchanting is an advanced craft that takes years to master. Oma could do it, but she hasn't passed the knowledge on to me, and I definitely don't have the capacity for it yet."

"No, not that," Venza answered. "I mean can you put some magic in this branch? If you do, I might be able to hurt our pursuer enough for it to back off."

Aiela looked thoughtful. "That could technically work. The lingering touch of Mana should be enough to bypass its protection. The spell wouldn't even have to do anything." Aiela looked at her. "So you did take your magic studies seriously."

Venza sighed. "I did, at one point. Anyway, can you do it?"

"You think you, a nine-year-old girl with a recently-bloodied shoulder," Aiela gestured at her for emphasis, "can drive off a monster bird almost as tall as a man? Just because you have a pointy stick that doesn't get turned away by its magical skin?"

"I'm pretty strong," Venza answered with a confidence she didn't actually feel. "You saw me wrestle that bigger girl earlier."

"I saw you struggling to get back up because she was too heavy for you," Aiela answered. "Do you really think you'd fare better against a bird monster?"

"I don't know if I can do it," Venza admitted. "But it's better than waiting for it to get a chance at us."

"You realize we could just wait here until help arrives," Aiela pointed. "Or the bird leaves. Or a different monster comes along and drives it off."

"Who do you think is going to help?" Venza asked. "No one knows we're out here, and the town is-"

The town is busy receiving guests instead of actually patrolling outside, she thought, but didn't want to say.

"Understaffed," she said instead, managing to sound only mildly suspicious.

"Fine," Aiela said. "Give me a minute. The magic we need isn't difficult, but I am nine."

"Thank you," Venza said, now wondering if she'd made the right choice. She was the one who'd have to actually fight it, after all. "I don't suppose you have a better idea," she said hopefully.

"I have a few options," Aiela admitted. "But they're about as likely to succeed in taking it down as your plan is, probably even less."

"Alright," Venza said, steeling herself. "Make the stick magic."

"Could've waited a few years to ask me to cast this," Aiela muttered under her breath. "Demanding little-"

There was suddenly movement outside the thicket, and Venza worried the Bloodbeak had found a way through their wooden defenses, but the sound came from further away.

Racing through the brush, spear in hand, Adam Vosmer made a running leap towards the Bloodbeak. She wanted to yell for him to watch out, that his spear would do just as badly as her tree branch had against the monster's Protection.

Except it didn't. With a powerful thrust, the monstrous bird was flung backward, its head hitting a tree with a loud thud. It angrily turned to face its new enemy, but before it could, Vosmer delivered three more swift jabs, first on its left wing, then its right, and finally, straight on its head.

Venza could only watch in awe at Vosmer's technique. He'd taught her the basics at her request, but she had no idea how skilled her father's closest friend truly was.

The furious succession of blows sent the Bloodbeak falling to the ground, though it seemed even that caused no real damage. Venza cried out in protest. Being nearly immune to anything not magic was cheating!

Seeing their chance, Venza signaled Aiela to make a hasty retreat as Vosmer kept the bird pinned to the ground.

"Vosmer!" she called out.

With a gentle smile as if he wasn't still in battle, he said, "I had a feeling it was you."

Venza shot him a look. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked as she and Aiela got behind him.

Without a word, Aiela reached a hand towards Vosmer's weapon. A faint blue light shone from her hand, seeming to surround the spear before disappearing. "Hit it now," she said, before nearly falling over. Fortunately, Venza had been watching, and managed to get a hold of her before she hit the ground.

Vosmer didn't ask questions, seeming to understand what she'd done. With movement Venza could barely follow, he delivered a diagonal slash across the Bloodbeak's torso. To Venza's amazement, blackish blood sprayed out of it.

They'd done it! The infusion of Mana, no matter how weak, had given the weapon the means to pierce through the monster's Protection.

Sensing it was actually in danger, the Bloodbeak let out a bloodcurdling scream that made Venza cover her ears. Vosmer, however, seemed to have taken it worse.

Their savior's body seemed unnaturally stiff, as if invisible bindings had seized his arms and legs, freezing them in place.

"Venza! Run!" he implored, either unwilling or unable to look at her. "I can't move!"

The Bloodbeak swiftly got back up, flapped its wings once, and rose into the air. Rather than flee, it seemed to be circling them, as if looking for the best angle to strike.

"Venza! Get out of here!" Vosmer yelled.

But she couldn't. She couldn't leave Vosmer here, and even if she tried, there was no way she could outrun the Bloodbeak with Aiela weakened from her spell. Damn it all! She thought she'd finally had a good idea to beat the bloody bird, and now it looked like it would take down all three of them.

"I can't," she said, meekly, so softly that she doubted Vosmer could hear her. She couldn't run from this stupid bird. Not when it meant leaving him behind.

In a moment of clarity, she realized what she needed to do. If Vosmer couldn't finish it off with Aiela's help, then she would.

She pried the Mana-infused spear out of Vosmer's hands. Holding it up like she'd seen him do, her eyes locked on to the Bloodbeak as it circled them. The moment it struck, she would prop the spear against the ground and have it impale itself on Vosmer's weapon. Her arms lacked the strength to pull off such a feat on their own, after all. Not without a running start.

A part of her warned she would not be able to escape unscathed, that the creature would likely still get close enough to hurt her. She promptly told that part of her to shut up. The creature was going down, and they weren't. That's all that mattered. Flesh wounds could be healed.

She'd never killed anything more than insects, but even as green as she was, she knew the Bloodbeak wasn't about to fly off and retreat. It had spotted three humans it could sink its sharp beak into, and they seemed like easy prey even in its wounded state.

She watched carefully, for any sign of its course changing to swoop down. She'd have only an instant to react, or it would be all over.

With a great flap of its black wings, the Bloodbeak veered right and downwards, diving down with talons outstretched. Venza readied Vosmer's spear, angled it so it would catch the monstrous fowl.

The sharp talons inched closer, closer. Venza steeled herself. She had to brace the spear against the ground, which meant she had no time to adjust if she'd gotten the angle wrong.

She gritted her teeth, forced her eyes to stay open as the feathery monster descended-

And suddenly, a shimmering blue shield materialized between her and the Bloodbeak. The monster slammed straight into it, quickly falling to the ground in a heap. She could only watch in awe as a second blue shield of light appeared in the air above and then suddenly slammed into the Bloodbeak. She heard bones crack as it was pressed against the earth.

She recognized the shields of blue light. They were the extensions of her father's magical sword, Dauntless, the Revenant Arm he'd received from the Emperor himself. A rustling from the trees called her attention, and she found her father striding through the brush, striking an imposing figure in his dark armor with his mane of red hair spilling about.

"Fear not!" he bellowed. "I will be your shie-"

Lucius cut himself off as he spotted her, and then Vosmer still frozen by the Bloodbeak's shriek. Then finally, Aiela who seemed barely able to stand.

"Venza Lucia Greyfield," he uttered in a serious tone.

She hated that. He only ever used her full name when she was in trouble.

"I told you to explore the settlement," he said in a dangerous tone. "Instead I find you in the woods, with a girl and my best friend being beset by a monster."

He quickly turned to Aiela, expression softening. "Are you alright, lass?"

Aiela nodded, but seemed at a loss for words. Venza decided to answer for her. "She's just tired. She used magic on Vosmer's spear to help fight off the Bloodbeak."

Lucius nodded, though he turned to face Venza again, his face dour. "And how exactly did this happen?" he asked.

"There was another little girl in trouble," Venza immediately said. "She was being attacked, and-"

"And you could have called for help," he said, cutting her off. "There are a hundred soldiers in Rentley!"

Venza flinched. Aiela had said the same thing. "I'm sorry. But if I'd left her any longer, she might have died."

She scanned the trees for any sign of the other girl, but she seemed to have fled the scene.

"You could have died, Venza!" Lucius exclaimed. "Then what would happen?"

"I-" Venza began. "House Greyfield would be left without a direct Heir, and Verdeholm would fall to our cous-"

"Stop," Lucius said. "Not that. Think about your mother and I! What do you think we would do if you had died? How would Vosmer feel? How about everyone at home who loves you?"

Her response caught in her throat. She didn't know how to answer that.

"You cannot risk yourself like this," he said.

"But you risk your life for our people all the time," she answered meekly.

"I am Lord Marshall of the Empire!" he shot back. "One of the strongest Lords of Odolenia, with an enchanted suit of armor and weapon that befit my office! I could fight a hundred of these monsters and come out unscratched!"

Lucius let out an exasperated sigh. She rarely saw him like this, short of when his political rivals were making his life difficult.

"Maybe your mother was right," he muttered. "Maybe I shouldn't have taken you along."

Venza wanted to protest, but no sound argument came to mind. She could only watch as Lucius raised his blade high, and then struck a mortal blow upon the Bloodbeak. Its Protection stood no chance against his Revenant Arm.

There was a sudden intake of air as Vosmer was freed from the dead creature's magic.

"You alright there, Adam?" Lucius asked. "Sorry about the delay. I should've killed it faster."

"No problem, Lucius," Vosmer answered, shaking the stiffness from his body. It seemed at some point he'd also lost the ability to speak. "But don't be too hard on young Venza."

Her father frowned. "She put herself and you in danger!"

"She only did what you would do," Vosmer said. "Or are you telling me you wouldn't have done the same at her age?"

Lucius grumbled. "That's exactly why I don't want her doing it."

"Regardless," Vosmer continued. "You can't deny she saved a life today. Go easy on her."

Lucius let out a heavy sigh. "Right. C'mere, scamp. Let me see your shoulder."

"Let me," Vosmer said. Lucius gave him a look. "Come on. You know I've always been better at first aid than you."

"Fine," Lucius said. He looked at Aiela and asked, "Where can we drop you off, young lady?"

Venza bit her lip as Aiela gave her a nervous look. This was not how she expected this introduction to go. "Um, actually…"
 
Chapter 4 - Departure
If someone had told Venza that morning she'd be coming home with a souvenir from Rentley, she would have thought it a toy, or perhaps food she could bring home to Mother.

Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought she'd be bringing home another girl. These were her thoughts as their group approached the settlement, wondering how she was going to explain to her father, who was trailing behind with Vosmer.

She could hear them arguing in hushed whispers about her.

"You could always just leave me," Aiela suggested, seeing her apparent agony.

"Absolutely not," Venza answered in a hushed voice. "If I do that, your grandmother wins."

"But she told you to take me with you," Aiela pointed out.

"Because she didn't think I actually would, obviously," Venza said. "It's a ploy."

Aiela looked like she had something more to say, but whatever it was, she kept it to herself, instead asking, "So you really are going to raise me?"

"Goodness, no." Venza gave the other girl an odd look. "But we can grow up together. It'll be fun. Don't have a lot of friends my age."

That was an understatement. She had friends in other noble houses, but she only ever saw them during large gatherings the nobility attended. That may or may not have been why she wasn't as resistant to the idea as she thought she would be.

Aiela looked unconvinced. "Something tells me your parents won't be keen on adopting a girl they've never seen before into the family."

"Well, if they don't, maybe Vosmer will take you," Venza said. "He always tells me I'm like the daughter he's never had."

"If you say so," Aiela answered, nonchalant.

"Why are you so calm about this? You just got thrown out."

The smaller girl shrugged. "There's no changing Oma's mind once it's made up. Well, unless she changes it herself, but basically, I can't do anything about it."

"Then why suggest leaving you behind?" Venza asked.

"I wanted to see how she'd react if you did," Aiela answered.

Venza groaned.

"Hey," Aiela suddenly said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks again," she said. "For not leaving me back there."

"I couldn't forgive myself if I did," Venza said. "I just can't ignore people in need, you know?"

"I realize that now," Aiela said. "I can already tell you're going to get us in so much trouble."

"Excuse me," Venza shot back. "But I could say the same about you."

It was mid afternoon when they entered the settlement. Lucius called for a medic to give the cut on her shoulder a proper seeing-to.

He stood nearby as she was bandaged up and she realized she couldn't put off talking about Aiela forever.

"Father," she began.

"Yes, Scamp?" her father asked. Her father was no fool. He probably had an idea what she was going to ask, especially since they'd brought Aiela to the village and she hadn't left them yet.

"I know you've kind of met already, but this is Aiela Durrell."

To her credit, Aiela lifted the skirt of her black dress and curtsied, as if she'd been living in the Imperial Court instead of Oma Mala's dank, decrepit hut in the middle of nowhere.

Lucius looked at her with a curious expression, like he couldn't figure her out. "I already asked, but you never said where we could drop you off."

"We were wondering if we could take her with us," Venza said, as though talking about the weather. "She's-"

The words caught in her throat, coming out in a hacking cough.

Venza blinked. She's Oma Mala's granddaughter, Venza had been about to say, but the words refused to leave her mouth.

Of course. There was no way the greatest witch in history would let some kid just bring an army down on her.

"You alright there, Scamp?" Lucius asked with some concern.

"I'm fine, Father," Venza answered. "Just tired from today, I suppose. Anyway, as I was saying: we were wondering if we could take her back with us."

Lucius looked at her like she'd just grown a second head. "I wasn't sure I heard right the first time, but I guess I did. I- what-"

It was his turn to be speechless, it seemed, though Venza doubted he'd had a spell cast on him by Oma Mala.

"Maybe you could slow down and explain why first," Vosmer suggested, ever the voice of reason.

The problem, of course, was Venza couldn't. She literally could not. The words turned to spasms in her throat. So, she improvised.

"She's an orphan," Venza said.

"It's true. I don't have parents," Aiela added.

Vosmer and Lucius gave each other a look before Lucius finally said, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but we can arrange for someone here to take care of you instead of bringing you all the way back to Verdeholm."

It was a logical answer, really. She hated she hadn't thought of it, but then again, Oma Mala had been the one who'd suggested the arrangement. She bet the old crone defied logic on a daily basis. "But we've become such good friends!"

It was a weak argument, and she knew it. Her father doted on her a little, but not enough that he'd simply bend over whenever she pouted and made demands. Especially not after she'd gotten in trouble on the same day.

"Maybe we should at least consider if someone back home would raise her," Vosmer offered. He, on the other hand, favored Venza quite a bit.

Lucius seemed to give it thought, then said, "If I can ask: what happened to your family?"

"I don't know," Aiela answered. Venza wasn't even sure if she was lying or not.

Lucius pursed his lips. "I'm sorry for your loss, but why do you want to go with us?"

"I- I want to get away from here," Aiela answered, a hint of sorrow creeping into her voice, though it remained largely flat. "Get a fresh start."

"It's chilling, hearing something like that coming from one so young," Lucius said. "But are you certain? Surely, there's people here you're leaving behind."

He'd said the last sentence in a tone that said he really wanted to convince her to stay. Venza wanted to call him out on it, but Aiela had spoken up again. "There is another reason."

"And what might that be?" Lucius asked.

"I was hoping you knew someone who could help me control this," she said, opening her hands. Little sparks of lightning danced between her finger tips.

"Mother's already trying to teach me magic anyway," Venza added. "Please, father?"

"She's pretty talented, Lucius," Vosmer offered. "If not for her, you might not have gotten to us in time."

Lucius heaved a weary sigh. "Fine. Adam, double check if anyone would be upset at her coming along with us. If not, she can come."

Vosmer nodded and moved away from the group.

"Thank you, Fa-" Venza began.

"And you two can convince your mother to teach her," Lucius said.

Venza bit her lip. That might have been a harder battle than the one against the Bloodbeak.

Lucius eventually left them alone to discuss something else with the constable. Aiela looked at Venza with the usual unreadable expression, but Venza could swear she saw the girl's lips twitch into a small smirk.

The redhead shook her head just a little bit. She sincerely doubted the granddaughter of Oma Mala, of all people, needed help learning magic, but Aiela had gotten her foot through the door, and that's what mattered, wasn't it?



"Last chance to change your mind," Venza said. She and Aiela occupied the family carriage, seated across from one another.

Aiela gave her a searching look, then subtly shook her head as she ran an appreciative hand over the leather seat. "Oma has decided. I feel if I go back now, she won't even be there."

"What, she just packed up and left her hut? In the two hours since we left?"

"You assume she didn't take the hut with her."

Venza frowned. "Is she really that powerful?"

Making her forget how to get back to the hut was one thing, but making the entire place disappear was another.

"She has power and guile both," Aiela corrected her. "It's not easy getting entire nations to think you a mere fairy tale, though it helps when your magic is the actual stuff of legends."

"It would take a team of Odolenian mages to relocate a structure like that," Venza admitted, thinking of the team that did repairs on their house the previous summer. "And much more time."

"Oma has her ways," Aiela answered simply.

Before Venza could inquire further, the carriage door opened. She expected her father to join them, but instead of him, Vosmer peered into the carriage.

"Excuse me, ladies, could I have a moment?" he asked.

"Of course," Venza answered. "What is it?"

"Someone from the settlement wishes to speak with you," he said. "I found them while doing what your father asked."

What her father asked, of course, being to check if anyone in the village would protest to Aiela's leaving. Venza eyed the door warily. It would be most frustrating if she spent all that time convincing her father only for someone to stop her now.

"Lady Greyfield?" a man's voice questioned. He came into view as Vosmer stood aside. He was a tall, muscular man wearing an apron and a shirt. He had a head of blond hair, unusual for this part of the continent.

"That would be my mother, sir," she answered evenly. "You can just call me Venza."

"Ah, Miss Venza, then," he said, smiling behind a thick, blond beard. "My name is Ingvar Firebender. I am a smith in this village."

He had a thick accent Venza couldn't quite place, though it made it obvious at least that he wasn't a native of Odolenia.

"Good to meet you, Ingvar," she answered. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to thank you," he said. "For saving my daughter's life. And I apologize for her behavior."

Venza's eyebrow quirked upward, silently asking him to explain.

"Kindra has had a hard time fitting in because of her stature," he said.

The image of the blond girl with uneven pigtails and unusual bulk flashed in her mind.

"She is not short and slender like you Odolenian girls," Ingvar said. "It makes her a target for bullying, and so she has taken to being aggressive herself so she is not the one on the end of the bullying. I try to tell her this is wrong, but-"

"That's alright, Ingvar," Venza said. "But if anyone needs to apologize, it's her, and to Aiela."

She gestured at her friend, whose face remained impassive.

Ingvar scratched his head with a large hand. "I apologize, Miss Venza, but Kindra is fast asleep. She had quite an ordeal today, which is why I came in her stead." He turned his head to Aiela and bowed. "I apologize on my daughter's behalf, Miss Aiela. I will do my best to correct her."

A moment of stagnant silence hung in the air as Aiela's face remained unreadable.

"Apology accepted," Aiela finally said.

"Thank you," he said. "I wish I had something to offer you, but we are new in this village and I have been busy with getting my smithy up and running."

"Don't worry about it, Ingvar," Venza answered. "It's part of my duty as my father's heir."

"Still, I cannot thank you enough," he insisted. "One day, we will repay our debt to your House. I swear on my ancestors."

"I-" Venza hesitated. Her instinct told her to insist it was quite alright, but she knew she was pushing the boundaries of politeness by refusing. "Alright. Thank you. I look forward to it, someday."

The giant of a man cracked a wide smile and bowed one last time before leaving. Vosmer stepped back into view, gave Venza a wink, and said, "See? Don't beat yourself up. Your father isn't always right."

Venza smiled at that.
 
Chapter 5 - An Unusual Trip Home
A few minutes later, her father peeked his head inside the carriage. "We're about to head off," he told the two girls, his gaze lingering on Aiela as if to ask if she was sure she wanted to go with them.

"Thank you for taking care of me," Aiela answered.

Lucius nodded, resigned, then climbed on next to Venza. Their trip home went largely in silence, as Lucius struggled to think of something to say to two young girls. Venza avoided mentioning the particulars of how she'd met Aiela, conscious that the spell would send her into another coughing fit.

Magic was cheating. She realized that now. The spells she read about in books were one thing, but Oma Mala literally being able to control what she could say drove home just how powerful a tool it was.

Not to mention how largely ineffectual regular weapons were against the Bloodbeak, which to her knowledge wasn't even a particularly dangerous monster.

"Hey," Venza spoke, glancing at her new friend.

Aiela blinked, seemingly in a trance. She'd been staring out the window at the passing countryside. "Hm? What is it?"

"How does the Protection work?" Venza asked. "On those birds, I mean."

"I told you. It stops weapons without magic from penetrating the hide," Aiela answered, though she didn't look annoyed. More curious about why Venza was asking her to repeat something she'd already explained.

"But does it just work like armor?" Venza asked. "I mean, if for example I took that bird's hide and had a tanner use magic scissors on it-"

That earned her a laugh from her father, which flustered her. "Ah, that's good," he muttered. "Magic scissors."

He let them continue, barely suppressing a chuckle.

"Wouldn't work," Aiela said. "The hide isn't what makes such beasts resistant to non-magic weapons. It's the blood."

"Really?" Lucius asked, his interest seemingly sparked. "I've actually seen men try what Venza was thinking before, which is why I thought it was funny."

"You have?" Venza asked.

Lucius nodded. "There's a type of large boar in the north, to the lands of Lupa. They have the same Protection as the bird I slew, though I daresay theirs is a bit tougher. I've seen those things ram through spiked barricades without taking a scratch. One time, we defeated one with support from a trio of mages. One of the harder battles I've fought, I must admit."

"Really?" Venza asked. "But your blade should have cut right through it."

"Oh, this was before I had Dauntless." Lucius said, patting the sword's hilt. "Your grandfather was still Lord Marshall and my Revenant Arm was still in production. I was just a lowly sergeant."

"Does it take long to get a Revenant Arm?" Venza asked. She can't believed she'd never asked before. She'd always assumed the process was instant.

"Of course," Lucius answered. "Getting the Imperial Mark from the Emperor is only the first step." He patted the hilt of his own weapon. "Once the Mark determines what Revenant Arm you get, the Empire's workshops need to actually construct the weapon, and that normally takes years. I received Dauntless a full three years after I graduated from the Academy."

Venza stared at her father. "Don't you get the Mark at the age of ten? It took them nearly a decade to give you Dauntless?"

Lucius laughed sheepishly. "What can I say? There aren't many who know how to make or maintain a Revenant Arm. It's why even people who are Marked and can afford it purchase regular enchanted weapons until theirs is ready."

"But you were the Lord Marshall's son!" Venza protested. "Surely, they could have jumped the production of yours up a bit."

"No, it makes perfect sense," Aiela suddenly spoke, reminding them both that she'd been there the whole time. "The Emperor probably didn't want the Greyfield Heir to be too strong too early."

There was a moment of silence as Venza and Lucius seemed to contemplate Aiela's words. She was probably right, of course, but how could she have realized so easily that House Greyfield was kept on a tight, invisible leash?

"Anyway," Lucius continued, clearing his throat, "we killed the beast that was rampaging through the northern lands and one of my subordinates- Uh, damn, I can't remember what his name was- I bet Adam would know."

"He tried to make armor out of its hide?" Aiela asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Lucius said, chuckling. "Had to convince the mages to cut it up, and they didn't want to, but I was curious, so I told them to do it. And they did." His face curled into a grimace. "I can't remember the guy's name, but I'll never get that smell out of my brain. It was bloody awful."

"Even worse when the armor didn't work, I bet," Aiela said, offering a small smile.

"Damn right," Lucius said. "We made him keep watch the whole night as punishment." He laughed. "So how does it work? Do you just dip your armor in its blood?"

"Never done it myself," Aiela admitted. "But as far as I know you need to do it while the blood is fresh, and whatever you're soaking needs to actually be able to absorb it."

"So no metals then?" Lucius looked thoughtful. "Can't be better than a properly enchanted suit like I have, but it would be a good, cost-effective design. Not everyone can afford fully enchanted armor."

"Or you could just cast a protective spell that can cover more than just weapons that aren't magical," Aiela pointed out. "Why wear a shirt that turns away a non-magic sword when you can make your skin hard as steel?"

"Well, you have to remember mages aren't always available," Lucius said. "For example, this entire company I brought doesn't have a single mage, unless you count Venza here and my blade. If this company had to fight enemies with Protection without me, they'd take a lot of casualties."

"Besides," Venza added, "What's wrong with having both?"

Aiela and Lucius looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"What?" she asked.

"It would make it extra hard to kill you," Aiela said without hesitation.

"I agree," Lucius said, eyeing the witch girl with some discomfort. "It would be effective against most enemies."

"So there's merit to my idea?" Venza asked.

"It could be useful, assuming it works," Lucius admitted. "But I don't think I'd want that information being public."

Aiela hummed, as if realizing something. "Probably a good idea."

"How do you mean?" Venza asked.

"Well, it's easy to do, right?" Lucius replied. "It's one thing for the military to have it, but if the concept ever leaked out, you'd wind up with brigands wearing armor the town guard couldn't deal with."

"Aren't the Empire's enchantment methods secret?" Venza asked. "Don't you worry about those leaking, too? What's the difference?"

"Enchantment is different," Aiela said. "Permanent Enchanting requires a lot of study and expensive materials. With the whole blood soaking thing, any hedge witch or wizard who can penetrate a Bloodbeak's hide could provide a decent amount of Protected armor to whoever asked."

"Right," Venza said. "It would cause far more harm than good."

"You seem to know a lot about magic," Lucius said, watching Aiela closely. "What did you say you-"

The carriage came to a sudden halt, prompting an end to their conversation.

"Road must be tight or something," Lucius suggested.

Venza doubted that. Rentley was barely a settlement in the frontier. With almost no traders coming through, there was little reason for the single road leading out of it to be clogged.

The door to the carriage suddenly opened. Vosmer spoke to Lucius, lacking his usual cheerful demeanor. "Lucius, we've got a problem!"

"What is it?" Venza's father asked.

"There's a farm up ahead," Vosmer said. "They're being attacked by more of those birds we fought earlier."

"Ugh, I hate fighting fliers," Lucius groaned. "On my way." He looked pointedly at Venza. "Stay here, Scamp."

Before Venza could answer, he was gone, closing the door behind him. It went without saying that Venza opened the door and went right after him. Whatever it was, she had to see this. She wasn't surprised to find Aiela right behind her.

They stopped behind the line of soldiers. Venza was impulsive, not stupid. She wasn't going to charge in when there were professionals around.

What should have been the picture of a secure, peaceful farmstead had turned into a chaotic battlefield.

Dark forms swooped down from the skies, capturing smaller livestock in their talons before dragging them off. Her father was in the thick of it, constructing shields and swords of blue light to trap and kill the Bloodbeaks, but he seemed alone in this endeavor. Some soldiers took up positions to intercept the monster birds with spears and shields, but their mundane weapons could do no real harm to the Bloodbeaks with their Protection.

"Now that's just sad," Aiela said. "At this rate they'll make off with every single animal on that farm."

"I'm pretty sure some of our men have bows, but-" Venza began.

"But they're useless since they're not magic," Aiela finished for her.

"How does it work?" Venza asked for the second time that day. "Their Protection?"

Before Aiela opened her mouth, Venza realized she needed to be more specific. "I mean, is it like armor? Does it just stop things that aren't magic from penetrating?"

"It stops physical objects that aren't magical from penetrating, yeah," Aiela said.

"So anything that works on someone wearing full plate would work, right?"

Aiela looked thoughtful. "It should. I suppose."

Venza nodded. "Come. We need to find Vosmer."

They found him organizing a group of spearmen into formation. They might not have been able to mortally wound the birds, but the spiked wall they formed should still deter simple-minded animals.

"Vosmer!" she called out.

He heard her voice and immediately said, "Venza? You know your father won't like this."

His face, however, showed no hint of surprise.

"If we leave him to handle it, the farm will be ruined before he can take them all out," Venza said. "Try using heavy, blunt weapons. Aiela said their Protection functions like heavy armor."

"Easy for you to say," he answered, eyes glancing at the flying fiends above. "You're not the one who'll be swinging a mace at those blasted birds."
 
Chapter 6 - A Murder of Birds
William

William Carver considered himself a level-headed man, loyal to the Lord of House Greyfield and diligent in his duty as one of the Grey Guard. Theirs was a small group, considering the importance of the man they served, but they'd been trained by one of the greatest soldiers in the Empire: Lieutenant Adam Vosmer himself.

It was all he could do not to protest as he overheard the man he respected and obeyed listen to the advice of Lord Greyfield's young daughter who was the same age as his son. He'd heard the lass had a boyish streak to her, but hearing her advise Vosmer about how to conduct battle bothered him.

It was almost enough to question orders, but before anything else, William was a Greyfield man. And if Adam Vosmer, right hand of Lucius Greyfield, told him to do something, he'd listen.

If he had to bash a bird's brains out with his mace, he would. Lord Greyfield could have cleared the monsters out by himself, but his little girl's words rang true: If they waited for him to do it, the farm would be ruined before the battle was over.

His bludgeon was not like a sword. It was a stick with a hefty piece of metal at the top. His bludgeon was hefty, made to fight slow enemies in heavy armor. These birds were anything but. He'd seen the archers try to shoot them out of the sky, but most of the arrows either bounced off or barely penetrated.

Normally when something moved fast and swords couldn't really hurt them, the pikes and spears were deployed, but these were too light and agile for that. To be blunt, William felt like these were the kind of enemy best fought by magic, not that they had any in their current company besides Lord Greyfield's magic sword.

Still, if Vosmer thought his shield and mace could save these people from a gruesome fate, William would fight the good fight, like any good son of Astamarr would.

"Alright," he said. "Have at 'em, lads!" he bellowed to his fellow mace-men as they charged forward, shields and heavy weapons ready to do just that.

A farmhand who'd been trying to herd the animals into their shed suddenly found himself surrounded by three of the feathered fiends, but William and his mace-men were ready. They charged right at the birds and brought their heavy weapons down, bones cracking as they made contact.

The young Greyfield girl had been right: Their maces were just as effective against these monsters as they would have been against steel plate. Perhaps even more. Steel didn't dent as easily as these monsters did.

With renewed confidence, their group proceeded to hammer the monsters down any time they came close, taking down with numbers more birds than Lord Greyfield could on his own.

Around them, the other soldiers with less effective weapons helped the farmers usher their livestock to safety. Their blades could not harm the enemy in any real sense, but they made the beasts hesitate.

Rather than fleeing like sensible animals, the monsters seemed to grow agitated at their resistance. A cacophony of shrill, dreadful cries rang out from their beaks.

His body froze, his limbs locked up, as a deep-seated fear suddenly bound his mind and body like a coiling serpent.

Unable to move, he could only watch as one of the black-feathered monsters swooped down from above, straight towards him. Its wicked, blood-soaked beak lunged for his neck, and all William could think of was his wife Josie and their boy Wilson.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, closing his eyes.

The sharp beak never came. Instead there was a gargled sound in front of him, and William found the courage to open his eyes.

Lieutenant Vosmer stood before him, the tip of his spear plunged into the Bloodbeak's throat mere inches from William's face. As the life left the monster's body, William found that he could once again move.

"You alright, Carver?" the Lieutenant asked, pulling his blood-tipped spear out of the creature's neck.

"Sir?" he gasped, staring at the spear. It had a faint blue glow, but only at the pointed tip. "But how?"

"Thank Venza's new friend," Vosmer answered. "Managed to magic my spear in time. Good work holding out until now."

His mind couldn't quite process the words. The little brown-haired girl? Doing magic at her age? He took a glance at the carriage where he thought the girls were, then shook himself. Now wasn't the time for this. He had a battle to win. "Where do you need us, sir?"

"Cover each other," Vosmer said. "They can't freeze us all."

"Aye, sir!"



Venza

The two of them watched from behind the soldiers, eyes wide as Vosmer cut a deadly trail through the remaining Bloodbeaks.

"I knew Vosmer was good, but-" Venza trailed off, watching as her father's long-time friend delivered a precise sweep with the spear, getting the tip to slice three birds at once. "This is-"

He's probably stronger than my father in single combat, Venza thought, but didn't say out loud. In a fair fight, of course, without the Revenant Arm and other magic items that came with Lucius' position as Lord Marshall.

Aiela, however, seemed to think the same thing. "Is Captain Vosmer of common birth?" she asked, her tone more hushed than normal.

Venza nodded.

"I wonder how far he could've gotten if he'd been highborn," Aiela mused. "With all the advantages that confers."

He'd asked the rank and file to cover him, but they could only watch as Vosmer cut and stabbed through the enemy, the makeshift weapon in his hands like an artist's brush painting a bloody masterpiece.



In the span of ten minutes, the battle was mostly over, with most of the birds either dead or routed. Roughly, Venza estimated the Greyfield soldiers had defeated about two dozen of them. Her father, on the other hand, had defeated another two dozen on his own. Such was the power of a Lord of Odolenia.

Vosmer leaned against the side of the carriage, utterly exhausted. The spear lay at his feet, Aiela's spell expended.

"Was he the one who taught you how to fight those children?" Aiela asked Venza.

Venza sputtered. "I did not- How is that-"

The girl's blank stare only frustrated her more.

"I did learn how to fight from him, yes."

"That makes sense. He's quite talented."

"Says the nine-year-old who enchanted a spear tip for ten minutes," Venza shot back.

Aiela shook her head. "It'll be a while until I grow enough to do any real magic."

"I'm both excited and terrified to learn what you consider real magic," Venza quipped.

"Well, good thing you're going to be there to make sure I turn into an upstanding citizen of the Empire, no?" Aiela quipped.

Venza stared at her. "I can't tell sometimes if the blank expression and monotone are just really good acting or-"

"Truly, a mystery," Aiela deadpanned.

"Watch out!" a man's voice suddenly cried out, and Venza's eyes darted upwards. A Bloodbeak was coming down right on top of her, wicked talons outstretched. She had no weapon and nothing to put between herself and the foul, feathered fiend.

A soldier stood in front of her, his tall frame barring the Bloodbeak's path. He had a buckler in one hand and a mace in the other, prepared to take the hit and then retaliate.

But the monster was cunning, changing course at the last second. It slipped behind the soldier's guard, claws digging into his shoulder. It let out a frightening cry at the same time the soldier howled in pain.

Time seemed to slow down as Venza could only watch. The monstrous bird lived true to its name, digging its blood-colored beak into the soldier's unprotected nape.

Why wasn't anyone doing anything? She glanced left, and right, saw soldiers' bodies frozen by the Bloodbeak's shriek.

A glimmering blue blade materialized above the Bloodbeak, slicing horizontally. It cried out in pain as Lucius' blade of light severed its connection to this mortal coil.

But the damage was done. The soldier slumped backward, Venza planting her feet firmly in the ground as he fell on her. It took all her strength not to fall herself, at least until the nearby men snapped out of their stupor and managed to grab hold of their comrade.

"Medic!" Venza yelled, her voice shrill. "We need a medic!"

In a matter of moments, soldiers with medical training arrived, inspecting and cleaning the wound with Aiela's assistance.

"William?" Vosmer's concerned voice broke through the gathered crowd. "Is he alright?"

One of the medics shook his head. "We can treat the wound, but-"

"His nerves have been damaged," Aiela said plainly. "It will impair his ability to function."

Venza stared at Aiela, partly in horror. How did she speak about it so calmly? And why did she know that in the first place?

"Can he be healed?" Vosmer asked.

"I can try," Aiela said. "But I lack the power. A more experienced Nature Mage could do it, but we don't have time. It needs to be done now, while the damage is fresh."

They carefully placed a stretcher under him, and Venza could only watch as Aiela knelt above his body.

"Regrowth," she heard Aiela mutter. A green light poured from her hands, touching the wound in his neck. Then she staggered where she knelt, nearly falling over, but Venza was ready, and quickly caught her new friend.

Aiela had turned ghastly pale, as if she'd transferred some of her own life to William. Venza knew that wasn't how it actually worked, but it might as well have been.

"Did it work?" Venza asked.

"Time will tell," she said. "I think he'll live, but-" Aiela trailed off.

"Thank you," Venza said. She meant it. If that man had died because of her-

She could never have forgiven herself.

"Father," Venza said as he approached. "He should ride in the carriage. There's enough room."

"Aye, I was going to suggest the same," Lucius said, his face dour. Clearly he blamed himself for William's injury as much as she blamed herself.



Back in the carriage, Lucius, Vosmer, Venza and Aiela were notably less quiet than before. William lay on one seat, resting, while the four of them occupied the other.

"I've never seen so many of them at once," Lucius muttered.

The matter on both the military men's minds that they didn't voice was clear: If those beasts had hit Rentley in such a large number, the settlement would have been doomed.

And there was no telling they wouldn't strike again.
 
Chapter 7 - Arrival
The sun had nearly set when they reached the rolling plains of Astamarr, domain and home of House Greyfield.

The plant life, which had been green when Venza left, were tinted orange by the rays of the setting sun. Gone were the farmers who'd been tilling their fields in the morning, off to enjoy the evening with their families, or so Venza imagined. The town of Verdeholm, center of Astamarr, stood on a short hill, surrounded by old, but well-maintained stone walls.

Their lands might have been far from the Empire's capital of Gran Oden, might have been populated largely by humble farmers, but Venza liked her home and loved its people. Besides, it noticeably lacked a swarm of monster birds that couldn't be hurt by mundane weapons.

Venza watched Aiela, who was looking outside the window of their carriage with an unreadable expression. What did Oma Mala's granddaughter think of her home? Their home now, Venza supposed.

She turned her attention instead to Vosmer and Lucius, who'd been speaking in hushed tones since the afternoon's skirmish. Unfortunately for them, Venza's skill at listening in on conversations not meant for her had improved over years of being left out.

"Have to send more soldiers," Lucius muttered.

"You'll need to send a mage corps," Vosmer answered, a bit less quietly than her father. Vosmer was likely aware she was listening in, anyway. "Conventional troops would take too many casualties."

Lucius let out a frustrated sigh. "I know. They'll need the support. At least I can authorize it."

"Assuming Brandelis doesn't get in your way," Vosmer pointed out.

Venza was admittedly bad at names, though she knew that one at least: Brandelis Silverlake, head of the Emperor's personal guard and her father's long-time rival. It wasn't hard to remember, considering how much-

"Damn uptight bureaucrat buffoon," Lucius spat, no longer keeping his voice down.

Considering how much her father did that. Brandelis and his House were to be respected, Venza knew, for all they did for the Empire, but she reckoned if they ever met they'd be like oil and water.

A sudden stirring on the opposite seat drew their collective attention.

"Where am I?" William asked, his voice dry and hoarse.

Venza couldn't help but smile. He was alright!

"You're in our carriage," Lucius said.

Recognizing his Lord's voice, William Carver suddenly sat up straight, his hand flying to his chest to salute. Or at least, it tried to. William's right arm twitched, but did not rise, hanging almost limp at his side.

Venza's stomach sank.

No. That couldn't be.

"I-" William stared down at his arm. "I'm sorry, my Lord. I can't seem to-"

Lucius and Vosmer gave each other a serious look before turning back to him.

"Easy, man," Lucius said softly. "We'll have a healer see to you back home."

"Y-yes," William answered, visibly shaken. His left hand came up and he slowly, visibly flexed and curled his fingers, seemingly testing if that arm had been disabled as well. "Thank you, my lord. You're most generous."

But Aiela's words rang in Venza's head: He needed to be healed quickly, while the damage was fresh. She had no idea what 'quickly' meant exactly, but from the pensive look on Aiela's face, Venza could tell their pace was not quick enough.

"Thank you, Sergeant Carver," Venza said. "If you hadn't been there, I-"

"You're welcome, young miss," he said, his voice cracking. "All in a day's work."

William Carver smiled when he said that, but his eyes-

His eyes looked on the verge of tears.

None of them spoke after that.

Before they reached the house, they stopped by the Temple of the Four. Like many other towns, the Temple of the Four served as the only healer's facility in Verdeholm. Venza heard that larger cities had dedicated houses of healing, but in a relatively small township, this was all they had.

"I'll stay with him," Vosmer said. "And I'll send for his family."

"I'll go with you," Aiela said. It wasn't a suggestion. "I might be able to help."

"I hope it goes well," Venza said, her voice full of worry.

"Thank you, young miss," William said.

The three of them disembarked from the carriage, leaving only Venza and her father.



The brick walls of Greyfield Manor loomed into view as the carriage approached, the house red as a strawberry in the dimming sun. An iron-wrought fence surrounded it on all sides, protecting its well-kept gardens.

Venza had once pointed out such flimsy defenses wouldn't hold back an invading army or even a revolt. Her father had responded if they put up real walls, the gardens would go to waste. That, and if anyone attacked his home, he'd send them packing himself.

His answer had satisfied her. If Lucius Greyfield, Shield of the Empire, said the fence was good enough, then it was good enough.

The gate swung open to let them in, the carriage jostling a bit on the cobblestone road. As the carriage came to a halt, the door opened with a click, and Venza could finally take her first step back on home soil.

Seeing the soldiers of House Greyfield stationed on each side of the door brought Venza's thoughts to the man who'd saved her. William had been in the Grey Guard for years. It was hard to imagine he could continue on without the use of his right arm.

Venza pushed the thoughts from her mind and put on a brave face.

She heard her father sigh next to her. "It wasn't your fault," he said.

"How wasn't it?" she asked, her hands tightening to fists. "He was in danger because of me. I had at least two chances to prevent this. I could've kept my mouth shut. I could've run back to the carriage instead of watching."

Lucius pursed his lips.

"And why haven't you said anything?" she asked. "We got away from one Bloodbeak, barely scratched, and you were furious. Now one of your men is hurt because of me and you say nothing?"

"It was not your fault," Lucius repeated. "Vosmer gave the order based on your suggestion. They would not have charged into battle at the suggestion of a nine-year-old girl, even if she is my daughter. This is on me and Vosmer, not you. Now, come. Let's go. It's clear you want to be there, even if it's just to show support."

She wanted to protest, but the words died in her throat. Instead she nodded, and said, "Thank you, Father."

This too, was part of her duty.



The Temple loomed before her. Large double doors stood closed due to the lateness of the hour, but a smaller door to be used by staff was built into one of the larger doors. Lucius pulled the lever on the smaller door's knob and it swung outwards, granting them entry.

He quickly got them inside, using his status as lord of Verdeholm to get in with little fuss. They passed the chapel portion of the Temple and headed into the medical ward. She'd never been inside before since whenever she took ill, her father would send for a healer to come to the house instead.

The ward was a long room filled with two rows of beds spaced some distance from each other. Most of them were unoccupied, though a few had sleeping patients.

She quickly found an irritated Aiela arguing with a female healer in white robes.

"I'm telling you," Aiela said sharply. "You need to cast Regrowth on his nape."

"That wound has been closed," the healer answered. "It has nothing to do with not being able to feel his arm."

Aiela let out a frustrated sigh. "There are nerves there connecting his brain to the rest of his body! That's the likely reason why he can't move his arm."

"I have no idea where you've gotten this idea," the healer said, sounding equally exasperated. "His paralysis is obviously a lasting consequence of the creature's shriek."

"That was a simple Frighten spell," Aiela said. "It only worked that well because William has no magic resistance whatsoever. Besides, that spell lasts a few minutes at most!"

"Lieutenant," the healer said, looking at Vosmer. "Could you please take this child away? I am busy tending to Sergeant Carver."

"Apologies, Healer Jones, but could you at least try what she's suggesting?" Vosmer asked, though he looked like a nervous deer caught between two predators. It struck Venza as kind of funny his years of military service didn't seem to prepare him for standing in the middle of these two's argument.

"You can't be serious, Lieutenant," she said. "I cannot perform random spells on a patient. If something were to go wrong, I would lose my healer's license."

"I suppose that is true, but-" Vosmer scratched his chin. "This girl is a knowledgeable mage in her own right."

Despite his words, Venza could hear his confidence falter, and she couldn't blame him. They'd known Aiela for less than a day, and while she'd shown herself to know a lot about magic, it was hard to tell someone to risk their career based on a first impression.

"Do you think I could use my arm again?" William, who'd been lying on a bed suddenly asked.

"Possibly," Aiela answered. "I won't lie to you. There is no guarantee at recovery. A full recovery is nigh impossible, but this could let you feel sensation in your arm again."

"Can I agree to it?" William asked, directing his question at the healer. "I won't say anything if something goes wrong."

"I suppose?" the healer responded, sounding flustered. "But I don't know why you would. The lingering effects of the spell should vanish after a few days."

William stared at the ceiling, letting out a sigh. "It feels different. When the bird got me it felt like my body wouldn't move because I was too scared to. The way my arm won't move now isn't the same."

"Madness," the healer muttered. "You'd take the word of a little girl over that of a seasoned healer?"

"If she hadn't cast Regrowth on him, he'd be worse off," Venza suddenly spoke. The room suddenly turned to her. They'd clearly been so caught up in their argument they hadn't seen her or her father come in.

"Another little girl?" the healer snapped. "Who is it this-" she suddenly stopped, seeing Lucius' imposing figure behind Venza. "Lord Greyfield, my apologies, sir. What are you doing here?"

He waved her apology off. "I thought I'd check up on William with my daughter," he answered calmly but pointedly. "We won't be here long."

He glanced down at William, who looked like he was trying to salute again, but his arm would not move.

"Will you cast the spell like she asks?" Lucius asked.

"Not you, too, my Lord," Healer Jones answered. "Fine. Fine! If Sergeant Carver will sign a document releasing me from any responsibility with regard to the unconventional treatment, I'll do it." She turned to William. "Is that alright with you?"

William nodded. "I'll sign. I can't work with my arm like this."

A few minutes later, Venza, Vosmer, Lucius, and Aiela watched anxiously as Jones placed her hands on William's neck. He was lying on his front with his head slightly off the edge of the bed.

"Great Mother," the Healer intoned. "Harken to your servant's plea. Allow life to return where it should be. Regrowth!"

A green light flowed from the Healer's hand, bathing William's neck in a soft glow. The beam held for several seconds before fading.

"Is- Is that it?" William asked. "I don't feel different."

"That's it," the Healer answered, somehow sounding smug at his surprise, as if she'd told him it wouldn't work.

"Regrowth is a regeneration spell," Aiela explained. "It will help your body restore things to their natural state, but it takes time. I suggest you get some rest to help with the healing process."

"That is my line, little girl," Healer Jones said. "But yes, you need rest. I recommend you stay here overnight at the very least. We'll see if your condition improves tomorrow."

"Can I see my family?" he asked.

"Of course. I'll send for them," Jones said. "As for your other visitors-"

"We'll be leaving," Lucius said, taking the hint. "Rest up, Carver. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lord Greyfield. Lieutenant. Girls."



The four of them rode back to the manor in the carriage.

"Do you think he'll make a full recovery?" Venza asked.

"No," Aiela said flatly, a pensive look on her face.

Venza's smile faltered. "Why not?"

"Bodies are… tricky," Aiela said slowly. "Countless things have to be working right for them to function properly."

"You know a lot about this, too," Lucius pointed out. "Seemingly more than the Healer did, I might add."

"Indeed," Vosmer added. "How did you come by such knowledge?"

To their surprise, Aiela just laughed. "I wish I knew. For some reason I know a lot about a lot of things. The idea I was born with this knowledge is absurd, but I have no other way to describe it. I even know some spells no one else does, not that I have the power to cast them yet."

"Curious," Lucius said. "If I didn't know better- No, that's impossible."

"What is it, father?" Venza asked.

"You know about the Queendom of Lilium to the Northeast?" her father asked.

Venza nodded. "Isn't that the country ruled by a royal family of mages?"

"The very same," Lucius said. "I'm glad you're keeping up with your studies."

Despite the dourness of the situation, Venza found a shadow a of a smile appear on her lips.

"What does this have to do with our new friend?" Vosmer asked.

"Well, magic doesn't always get passed, right?" Lucius said. "Sometimes twins are born and one sibling has magic but not the other."

"It's random, yes," Aiela confirmed. "Up to that degree."

"But the Royal Family of Lilium is comprised entirely of mages," Lucius said. "Every single one, and if you believe the rumors, most of them know spells before they can even read."

"Interesting," Venza said. "Maybe you're a distant relative?"

She was half-joking, but was surprised to see Aiela looking contemplative. "No, your father is right. I don't think that's possible."

Despite this, Aiela spent the rest of the trip in quiet contemplation.



As they arrived, Venza quickly took Aiela's hand, proclaiming she'd show her around.

"Hold on there, Scamp," Lucius spoke before she could pull Aiela into the house. "I think your mother needs to speak with us first. We've already delayed enough."

Venza felt her face pouting, and then realized that was no way for the heir of House Greyfield to act. She schooled her features and said, "Very well, Father."

"Good girl," he said. "I'll be in right after you. Just need to have a word with the carriage driver."

The dark, wooden double doors welcomed them into the entrance hall of Greyfield manor. It was somewhat sparsely decorated compared to the few other residences of noble houses Venza had visited, but it was still the most beautiful house in Astamarr.

A dark green carpet covered most of the floor like a well-kept lawn. The hall opened up to the left and right, leading to two different wings of the manor. On the far side, a wide staircase of polished marble paved the way up to a second floor, where most of the bedrooms were.

Unlike the outside, the walls here were made of a polished, dark wood. Portraits of past family members covered the walls, placed after each member had passed on.

"So, what do you think?" Venza asked, pointing the question at Aiela.

"It is..." Aiela trailed off. "Large."

Venza brightened at hearing someone else appreciate her home, but her enthusiasm deflated when she realized Aiela was frowning. "What's wrong?"

"Does it not bother you that those poor fools in Rantori, a frontier settlement, have to deal with flimsy walls and little huts but your house looks like this?"

Venza's expression fell. She hadn't thought about that. "Well, Father's sending a mage corps there. Maybe they can work some magic on it. Pun intended."

"Perhaps."

The sound of a door opening on the second floor halted any further conversation. There was silence, then a sharp clacking of wooden heels upon stone, as if announcing the presence of someone important. The Lady Greyfield stood at the top of the staircase, radiant in a dress as deeply blue as the sea, her raven hair tied neatly in a braid. A spellcaster's focusing amulet hung from around her neck, its center a sapphire larger than a chicken's egg.

She looked down, curious eyes set upon Aiela, and then spoke in a voice so calm and commanding, you would never have been able to tell she was ill, "I see you've brought a guest, dear."

Venza swallowed. Nora Greyfield always had a way of unnerving both her and Father. "I did, Mother. This is Aiela Durrell."

Granddaughter of Oma Mala, she thought, but of course, couldn't say.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Aiela answered, curtsying, perfectly polite. She seemed uncowed by Nora's presence, though she had proved surprisingly adept at talking to people in the short time Venza had known her. Did she really just not care enough to associate with children in Rentley?

It felt like she could have talked her way out of conflict, had she wished.

"And what brings you to our humble abode, Miss Durrell?" Nora asked.

"Your carriage," Aiela answered, tone completely flat.

Nora smirked. "I like this one," she said, mostly to Venza, who couldn't be sure if Aiela had answered seriously or not.

"Oh, good," Venza said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was going to ask if you were alright with her staying here."

Nora's lips formed a thin, flat line. "And why is that?"

"Go on," Venza said. "Show her."

Aiela gave her a blank, defiant look as if to say she did not cast on command, but seemed to think better of it. She pulled a stone out of her pocket and it floated five inches into the air above her open palm.

"I can see them, you know," Nora spoke, unimpressed. "Your Hidden servants, trailing in your wake like a parade of hangers-on."

"I would have been disappointed if you couldn't," Aiela answered. "They're pretty useful for handling mundane tasks."

"I suppose I should commend such a young girl for commanding so many, but these are hardl-"

She was interrupted by the double doors opening again as Lucius strode in. "Honey, I'm ho-"

He took one look at his wife's unamused expression, the floating rock above Aiela's hand, and the palpable tension in the room, then promptly shut up, letting them go about their business.

"Welcome home, dear," Nora said, almost as a side remark before turning back to Aiela. "Now, what can you-"

It was rare for Nora Greyfield to be interrupted. You didn't become one of the most powerful mages in Odolenia and let yourself be talked over by others, but she was speechless as Aiela conjured a ball of crackling energy within her other hand.

Venza didn't get what the big deal was. Sure, she couldn't cast spells at her age, but she'd never really had a knack for-

"Wordless casting," Nora said, ironically having recovered her ability to speak. "How old are you?"

"Nine," Aiela answered.

Venza's eyes widened. How had she not noticed? Neither Aiela nor Oma Mala had spoken a single incantation the entire day! She could understand the Grand Hag being able to use magic without speech, but Aiela was- Aiela was her age. At most, she'd said the spell's name. Even the Healer couldn't do that.

Suddenly, Venza realized something else, and blurted out, "Aiela, where is your amulet?"

Aiela's face remained impassive. "I've never used one."

"Wordless, unassisted magic at the age of nine?" Nora spoke, shaking her head. "A curious friend my daughter has brought home."

"Can she stay, then?" Venza asked.

"Just because she can run circles around you in magic?" her mother drawled. "Hardly a reason to take in a child, but I'm listening. She can join us for supper, at the very least." Nora turned to her husband, who'd been keeping quiet since that first time, and said, "Honey, ask Adam if he wants to join us for dinner, will you? Since we're having company, anyway."

"'Course. Bet he'd love to."
 
Chapter 8 - The First Night
The manor's dining hall could seat a dozen comfortably, though it usually only had Venza, Nora, Lucius, and more often than not, Vosmer. It was on the east side of the main house, cordoned off by a pair of sliding wooden doors.


On the far end from the door, three great glass windows taller than any person Venza had ever met looked out onto the eastern gardens, lit up as they were by lanterns hanging from posts.


To the right was a connecting door towards the house's kitchen, though Venza had rarely poked her head in there. A wood and glass display cabinet occupied the left, holding enough liquor to keep the entire town happy for a day or two should Lucius ever decide to give the bottles away.


Her father sat at the head of the table, near the windows, with his wife at his left, Vosmer on his right. Venza took the seat next to her mother, with Aiela in front of her.


Magical stones fixed in lanterns on the walls cast the room in a warm, gentle yellow glow, illuminating dinner: Braised pork in a thick, sweet sauce served with carrots, greens, and fresh bread.


The adults had opened one of her father's bottles to enjoy, leaving her and Aiela with a choice of milk, apple juice, or orange juice. Venza went with the orange.


It didn't take long for them all to dig in.


"So, who taught you your magic?" Nora asked after cleanly swallowing some food.


Aiela finished her mouthful before answering. "My grandmother."


"And where is she now?"


"Gone," Aiela said.


Unlike her husband, Nora didn't take that at face value. "Gone where?"


"Honey, I don't think that's-" Lucius began to interrupt, but Nora held up her hand.


"Let her answer, dear."


Aiela gave Nora a curious look, then answered, "I don't know. She's not in the habit of sharing."


Venza couldn't really see her mother without craning her neck, but it was obvious Nora had an appraising look on her face. "So she trains you to be one of the most advanced mages of your age and then just leaves you to your own devices?"


"She's a woman of whimsy," Aiela answered. "Truthfully, I believe she took me in while in a good mood, more than anything. She's not prone to charity, though she does have a thing for making deals."


A moment of silence as Nora ate another mouthful while thinking. "Your grandmother, how powerful is-"


Her question was interrupted as Nora fell into a coughing fit. Lucius was immediately up and next to her, rubbing her back for warmth.


Nora had been prone to her coughing fits more and more. Despite the commanding presence she displayed when receiving them, Venza knew she spent most of the day resting in her room.


"Are you alright, Lady Greyfield?" Aiela asked. There was something in her expression that Venza couldn't read.


Her mother could clearly understand it, though, because Nora now looked at Aiela with some concern as she drank a glass of water. "I'm fine. It's the damned Mana Sickness."


"My sympathies," Aiela offered. "I've never seen it before, but I know of it."


"I'm assuming your grandmother's never had a problem with it, then," Nora said, fishing for information.


"Oma's never taxed herself beyond her capacity, to my knowledge," Aiela answered. "Perhaps back in the day, when she had not yet reached the height of her power."


If Venza had any doubts her mother knew who Aiela's grandmother was before, they were gone now.


"I'll think about it overnight," Nora said at last. "But for now, you can stay in the guest room across from Venza's."


"Thank you," Aiela answered. "I will try not to make you regret it."


Nora nodded, and then the conversation moved on. Lucius brought up the subject of the Bloodbeaks they'd fought in the afternoon, and asked her opinion.


"You say these creatures are impervious to mundane weaponry?" Nora asked, pointing the question at Aiela.


"Correct," Aiela answered. "It's a standard Protection effect."


Nora hummed, contemplating.


"Light them on fire or douse them in acid and they won't come out unscathed," Aiela explained. "But you probably understand that already, Lady Greyfield."


Nora nodded, indicating she did understand. Her next statement was directed at her husband. "A corp of a dozen mages should do it."


"A dozen?" Lucius repeated. "It's not that I'm being stingy, but that's a lot of mages."


"They don't have to be great," Nora clarified. "You're mainly looking for ones who can imbue short-term enchantments, like Aiela did earlier. The number is for safety. Someone with skills for making longer-lasting ones would be ideal, too."


"I'll look through the roster," Lucius said. "Thank you."


"By which he means I'll look through the roster," Vosmer said, giving Venza a conspiratorial wink that made her chuckle.


"And make sure they're briefed on how they're expected to use their magic," Nora reminded him.


"Dear, these are all graduates from the-"


"Remind them please," Nora insisted. "You'd be surprised how single-minded graduates from the academy can be."


"How do you mean?" Aiela asked.


"Odolenian military doctrine considers mage corps long-range bombardment units by default," Nora explained.


Venza nodded along. She'd heard her mother rant about this before. Nora considered it a waste to have mages use nothing but their long-range spells since more often than not a group of archers could accomplish the same.


"What a waste," Aiela concurred.


Nora's lips curved into a smirk. "How would you wage war with magic?"


"Keep me around and you might find out," Aiela offered.


Nora snorted, the least ladylike Venza had ever seen her. "I hope not, but I'd be curious to see it."


There was a knock at the door before one of the male servants entered. "Begging your pardon, milord, milady."


"What is it, Steve?" Lucius asked.


"I've been told the men are currently celebrating at the tavern," the servant answered. "And are asking if Lieutenant Vosmer would like to join them. Something about him being a hero."


Venza didn't know if this was normal for most military outfits, but her father and Vosmer never shied away from rubbing elbows with the soldiers.


"I can drop by for a few drinks," Vosmer answered. "You coming, Lucius?"


Lucius shot a nervous glance at his wife, but she nodded. "I'll probably turn in early, anyway," she said, smiling. "Have fun, boys."


The two of them finished their meals and set off, bidding the rest of them good night. Venza watched the door as it closed behind them, wondering what that was like- to be celebrated as a hero by the soldiers you fought with.


A part of her complained that Vosmer never would have gone into battle if not for her and Aiela. The more prudent part of her told that part to shut up and stop acting like a child.​




"This is your room," Venza said cheerfully. They were in the second floor halfway, almost right above the dining hall. "Mine's right here."


Venza gestured to the opposite door, right in front of Aiela's.


Aiela eyed the door in front of her, turned the knob, and made an appreciative hum. "This is really mine?"


"For the night, at least," Venza answered. "Hopefully more than that."


Venza hesitated. She didn't think her mother would say 'no' in the morning, but…


"If you can't stay here, I'll- I'll put in a good word with one of the servants-"


Aiela looked taken aback, but smiled softly. "I appreciate that."


"Of course. I was the one who brought you here, after all," Venza answered. "It would be bad if I didn't do all I could to see it through."


"Ah, still trying to be my shield, are you?" Aiela teased.


"O-of course," Venza stammered. "Like I said, it's my duty."


Aiela didn't answer, seeming content to let her stand there feeling like an idiot. Instead, Aiela's bag floated into the room, setting itself down in front of the bed. Venza had never seen magic used for such mundane things. Her mother certainly never did the chores with spellwork.


"Um, good night!" Venza said. "And, uh, the bathroom's the door we just passed. Don't forget to lock the door if you use it."


"I'll keep that in mind, Venza. Good night."


With that, Aiela closed the door, and Venza turned to her own room for the night.​




Aiela





She touched the control orb responsible for the room's lighting, willing the wall-mounted light stones to give a dim glow. She hadn't entirely been on board with this little life-changing decision Oma had, but she knew better than to refuse the most powerful Witch in history.


Aiela hoped Nora Greyfield had the same sense. The room they'd furbished her with was almost as large as Oma's hut, at least physically. Oma's hut was a lot larger on the inside than it looked, though most people wouldn't know that because of how dark the interior always was when there were guests. When it was just the two of them, the hut was usually quite well lit.


Her room's walls had been painted a solid, light green. She'd have preferred something a bit darker, but it would do for now. She could always convince them to let her paint over it later. A four-poster bed occupied one side of the room, with an empty wardrobe and cabinet available for use. She'd been provided a book shelf with no books, though Venza had mentioned a library in passing. A single throne chair sat in one corner of the room, looking out onto the gardens of Greyfield Manor through a paneled window.


Aiela sat down on the bed, feeling less tired than she expected. Dealing with the Bloodbeaks and attempting to cast Regrowth without enough power had been exhausting, but dealing with the damned healer dwarfed both of them combined.


Lily Jones. She'd remember that name, assuming she stuck around.


She was confident Nora wouldn't toss her out, but there was still a smidgen of doubt. A plan had to be drawn up for what to do. Maybe she could convince Nora. Then again, perhaps not being right under a competent mage's nose would actually be better for her.


As her thoughts trailed, the light in the room suddenly dimmed, lower than she'd set it. She smiled, realizing what that meant, and turned to the throne chair in the corner. It had changed facing, no longer looking out onto the garden but instead towards her. A deep shadow had engulfed it entirely, such that she could barely see its outline. She could, however, tell she was no longer alone.


"Good evening, Oma," Aiela said. "Was the sorrow of parting too much for you?"


A glimmer in the darkness meant Oma was smiling, her razor sharp iron teeth reflecting light. "Not even a day apart and your cheek has grown, girl."


"You told me to grow a backbone," Aiela answered, shrugging her shoulders. "What are you doing here? Not that I don't appreciate the visit."


"I just came by for a chat," Oma Mala answered. Aiela noted how she hadn't mentioned with whom.


"Must be nice to have so much time on your hands," Aiela quipped. "Being practically immortal and all."


"Maybe after a few decades you'll figure it out," Oma Mala answered. "You wouldn't want to be stuck a nine-year-old forever, would you, girl?"


Aiela grimaced at the thought. "Certainly not. Some degenerate might make untoward advances on me and claim I'm older than I look."


"I doubt anyone who tried would survive that attempt," Oma Mala commented, chuckling darkly.


"They might survive as a cautionary tale to anyone else who thinks about it," Aiela answered. "Are you far away?"


Oma Mala huffed. "I'm never far enough away that you're out of reach."


The lights slowly flared back to life, and all Aiela could see was an empty chair, now facing towards the bed rather than out onto the gardens.


"Good night, Oma," she spoke to the empty room.


"Good night, girl," the witch's voice answered back.


 
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Chapter 9 - The First Morning
Venza



The following morning, Venza acted calmer than she felt. She hadn't been able to sleep until she figured out a backup plan in case her mother decided to toss Aiela out.

She'd gotten up earlier than usual, dressed, and waited in the dining room for breakfast. Aiela was the second person to arrive. Unlike her, Aiela looked like she'd had an excellent night of sleep.

The brown-haired girl gave her a questioning look, but then seemed to decide not to ask, since she took her seat from the previous evening and simply said, "Good morning."

"Morning," Venza greeted back.

Aiela seemed to see right through her, but simply asked, "Is it too early for breakfast?"

Venza looked at the clock on the wall. It really was rather early. It wasn't even half past six.

"Oh, well, breakfast is usually at seven, but I can ask the kitchen to get us something-"

"Sounds like a good idea," Aiela said. "Lead the way."

"R-right," Venza said, getting up. Her mother often told her it wasn't proper for her to go to the kitchen demanding food.

That didn't stop her from walking over to the side door that connected the dining room to the kitchen and pulling it open. The passage curved left, leading deeper into the house. They didn't walk long until the smell of baking bread filled their nostrils. Venza's stomach suddenly rumbled in protest.

It turned out spending an hour or two scheming before bed made you hungry the next morning. The hallway had stone walls as opposed to wooden, with the paint cracked in places.

"M-miss Venza?" a surprised voice suddenly called from up ahead.

Venza smiled sheepishly. "Um, yes, I-"

"What are you doing here?" the servant asked. She had her dark hair tied back in a simple bun, her body wrapped in a plain brown robe.

Venza swore internally. She didn't know a lot of swear words, but she knew a few. What she didn't know was this particular maid's name. Or rather, she probably knew, it was just that it kind of escaped her at the mome-

"You're very pretty," Aiela suddenly spoke.

That seemed to brighten the servant's mood. "Er, why, thank you. Who might you be?"

"I'm Venza's friend. My name's Aiela. May I know your name?"

Aiela had to be reading Venza's mind, somehow. She had to. How else could she have said exactly the words that would save Venza from looking like a forgetful snob?

"Oh, uh, it's Milly," the servant girl said. She couldn't have been ten years older than Venza. Probably closer to five.

"Right," Venza said, recovering quickly. "Well, Milly, Aiela and I woke up a bit early for breakfast and we were wondering if we could get a bite while we waited?"

"Oh, of course, Miss Venza!" the girl said cheerfully. "Would you like anything in particular?"

"Maybe we could go see the kitchen?" Aiela suggested. "See what's available?"

"Sure, right this way." Milly beckoned them forward, leading them to the heavenly aroma. "Today's bread isn't ready yet, but we've got other things."

And have other things, they did. The kitchen was stocked with various fruits and vegetables, tantalizing smells, and the sounds of a busy morning.

The sweet, savory smell of bacon reached Venza's nostrils as the head chef, an older woman named Nicole, worked a few strips on a pan. Four plates were prepared on a kitchen counter, each already occupied by a freshly-fried egg.

A medium-sized stone oven blazed in a corner, sending smoke up a chimney. She assumed that was their daily bread. Venza could feel Aiela silently ribbing her about nobles getting freshly-baked bread every day, but the girl kept surprisingly quiet.

"So, what can I get you?" Milly asked.

"I think I'll have a banana," Venza answered. It felt a little stupid to come all that way for a fruit snack, but then she'd thought about how she needed room for that bacon.

"May I have an apple?" Aiela asked. "And a bowl of cream, if you have it."

They thanked Milly for her help before returning to the dining room with their snacks. Venza had just peeled and eaten the banana, but Aiela had requested a knife and was neatly chopping up the apple into little pieces.

Venza watched her, surprised at how fascinated she was that Aiela could chop fruit so skillfully. "You're really good with a knife."

"Well, we can't all have servants do this for us," Aiela sniped.

"Don't you have those Hidden things? You seem fine making them lift your luggage or wash your clothes."

She remembered what her mother had said the previous night. Apparently, Hidden were bound magical creatures that could do simple tasks. As their name implied, they couldn't be seen without magical assistance.

"They're too weak," Aiela answered. "They can't apply much force, see? They can lift light objects, a bit heavier if I make them all lift one thing, but if I have them chop this, the bacon will be here before I can put any of this in my mouth."

"They're too weak," Venza echoed. "But you're not?"

Aiela gave her a look that seemed to ask 'Are you always this slow in the mornings?' before saying, "Strength-enhancement spell. Short-lived. Besides, aren't you the one who was knocking children on their asses?"

She ignored the jab, and instead asked, "Do you think you could use that on me, one of these days?"

Aiela quirked an eyebrow at her, then looked at the sharp implement in her hand. "The knife?"

"No! Why would I-" Venza sighed. "I meant the spell!"

"Why?" Aiela asked.

"Well, if I want to prove myself a worthy heir to father-"

"Ah. We can try it, I suppose," Aiela said, never stopping her work on the apple. "I've always wondered how some of my spells would work when applied on other people."

Venza almost dropped her banana. "Your spells aren't dangerous to the person you're casting them on, are they?"

"Don't worry," Aiela answered, in the sweet tone she took sometimes. "I'll be careful about which ones I use."

Somehow, Venza didn't feel reassured. Five minutes to seven, they both finished their fruits, with Aiela even offering Venza some of her cream-covered apple since she was so curious.

It turned out to be a surprisingly sweet treat.

Lucius and Nora arrived at exactly seven, and Venza immediately noticed something strange about her mother. Gone was Nora's pale complexion, replaced by a healthy glow Venza hadn't seen in years.

"Good morning, Lady Greyfield," Aiela spoke. "You look well today."

There was a moment's pause before Nora answered. "Good morning, Aiela. Shall we eat before discussing the matter from last night?"

As if on cue, their breakfast arrived, carried by a pair of servants: Four plates of crisp bacon with golden fried eggs served beside buns fresh out of the oven.

"Oh, that smells heavenly," Lucius commented before digging in.

They ate their breakfast in relative peace. The Greyfield family didn't really like mornings, but duty demanded they wake up before eight, at the very least.

When they'd had their fill, the servants brought four cups and two kettles. One kettle, Venza knew, was filled with coffee, and went to her parents. The other kettle had hot chocolate, which she preferred anyway.

Aiela sniffed at the brown liquid she'd been offered. "What is this?"

"Hot chocolate," Venza answered.

"Chocolate, as a drink?" Aiela asked.

Venza grinned. "Go on. Try it. I'm sure you'll love it."

Aiela took a tentative sip, then smacked her lips, eyes widening a fraction. She took a bigger sip, and then another.

Venza nodded sagely, glad she was right.



When breakfast was over, the four of them remained seated, with the two young girls awaiting Nora's decision. If her father's cheerful mood was any indication, however, Nora had already said yes.

That didn't stop a knot from forming in Venza's stomach, though.

Her mother was temperamental at times, though her father always trusted her judgment.

"Aiela," Nora began, "Do you know why you're here?"

"I suppose you could say I'm here on a whim," the girl answered, though Venza knew that whim hadn't been Aiela's.

Nora nodded, as if she could read Venza's mind. Sometimes Venza wondered if she could, though her mother had never indicated she could work Mind Magic. "We would happily take you under our wing. Naturally, that doesn't mean we're going to make you a Greyfield."

"Naturally," Aiela repeated. Venza thought she imagined it, but Aiela seemed completely unsurprised by the decision, as though she'd already known.

"Officially, you'll be Venza's aide," Nora continued. "I've reasoned it would be good for her. She doesn't have many friends her age, if you haven't noticed."

"That's not true!" Venza said in protest. "I just haven't had the time to visit. I'm working hard to be father's successor, after all."

"Playing with wooden swords is hardly working," Nora shot back, before turning her gaze to Lucius. "Something your father should be reminding you of more often."

Lucius scratched the back of his head. "Now, now, honey. There's nothing wrong with her learning self-defense."

"The only self-defense Venza needs is to finally harness her magic," Nora said. "Speaking of which, I believe a magic lesson is in order."

Venza's eyes widened. "Are you sure? We haven't had a lesson since-"

"I feel better today," Nora answered, lowering her gaze for some reason Venza couldn't fathom.

"That's wonderful news," Venza said. "But won't practice make your symptoms worse?"

"Well, that's what Aiela is for," Nora said. "You'll join us, won't you?"

"Of course," Aiela answered, clearly amused. "What sort of aide would I be if I didn't?"
 
Chapter 10 - A Lesson in Magic
Venza had been expecting to be led to the library, but Nora took them into the back gardens instead. Particularly, she brought them to the open space behind the manor Venza used to practice swordsmanship with Vosmer.

"Mother, why are we-" she began to ask, but her mother hushed her.

"Well, I reasoned since you seem to prefer the outdoors so much, perhaps if we go out today we'll actually make progress," Nora explained.

Venza's lips flattened into a thin line. "I told you, the reading is wrong. I can't do magic."

"Now that doesn't make any sense, Venza," her mother said, shaking her head. "While there is a chance that the child of a mage and a non-mage like your father would be born without magic, you clearly have it, and it's nearly as diverse as mine."

"Really?" Aiela asked, looking curious and yet skeptical. Her eyes widened a fraction, and then she shook her head. "How strange."

"What is?" Venza asked.

"I just tried to appraise your magic aptitude," Aiela explained.

Of course she did. Without saying a word, too.

"And?"

"I can't," Aiela said flatly.

"Now you see why I find it hard to believe she has no talent," Nora drawled. "Venza's compatible with Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Nature, Space. She's got all the standard Spheres and an extremely rare Extra."

"You're right," Aiela said. "She actually has more than I do. How curious."

"Standard ones?" Venza repeated, curious despite herself.

"I mean the first five," Nora explained. "The gift of magic is rare, but among those of us who have it, the majority are proficient in usually one or two of those five Spheres. There are a few others, possessed only by a small fraction of the magical population."

"Six, technically," Aiela said. "Though I suppose the last one could be considered rare."

She turned to Aiela. "Would you know what they are?"

"Of course," she said. "I possess one, myself."

"Technically, you possess two, young lady," Nora corrected her. "I took the liberty of performing an Affinity Reading while you weren't paying attention. Relax. Your second Extra isn't explicitly illegal in Odolenia."

Aiela shrugged, showing no sign of remorse for the omission. "I'd rather err on the side of caution. And to be blunt, I disagree one is an Extra."

That got Venza curious. "So what are your Spheres?"

"Air, Nature, and Earth," Aiela answered. "Oh, and a touch of Mind and Death." She smirked as she mentioned the last one.

"Death Magic?" Venza repeated, to ask if she'd heard right. Aiela made no move to deny it. "But that's-"

"Merely having proficiency in the Sphere is not a punishable offense," Nora interjected. "You think I would have taken her in if it was?"

Venza closed her mouth. Of course her mother had already checked. The Death Magic Aiela possessed was probably why Nora had been on the fence in the first place.

"You seem to know to keep it under wraps, at least," Nora told Aiela. "It might not be illegal, but it is frowned upon. Do you actually know any Death Magic spells?"

"I might." Aiela smiled, as if she'd been asked if she could remember what she had for breakfast instead of whether she could cast borderline taboo magic.

Nora narrowed her eyes. "Of course you do. Necromancy?"

Venza furrowed her brow. She thought Death Magic was Necromancy.

"No raising the dead in my skill set, no," Aiela answered. "I have the aptitude but I was never taught."

Nora nodded. "Sensible. You aren't powerful enough yet."

"To use Necromancy?" Venza asked, mostly because she was starting to feel left out.

"No," Nora said. "I mean she's not powerful enough to hide her affinity for Death Magic. What have I taught you about power?"

Venza stopped a moment, racked her brain. "I think the gist was stronger mages can resist weaker ones?"

"An oversimplification if I've ever heard one," Aiela commented. "But I suppose it's technically true. I can see neither you nor Lady Greyfield's affinities."

"An oversimplification that will suffice for now," Nora said. "We can discuss the topic more in the future, after you've actually cast a spell. Are you wearing your amulet?"

Venza nodded, pulling her necklace out of her shirt. It was a silver piece in the shape of the Greyfield Griffin, the animal on their family's coat of arms. A small ruby served as the creature's eye.

"Aiela," Nora spoke, turning her eyes on the small girl. "How are you with Air magic?"

"I can do the most basic evocations," she answered. "Anything long distance or wide-ranging is too much for me right now, though."

"Could you cast a Sparks spell for me, then?" Nora asked.

Aiela nodded, aimed the index finger of her right hand forward. A visible, tiny bolt of lightning coursed out of it before disappearing almost immediately.

"With the incantation, please," Nora said patiently.

Aiela paused, using the hand she'd shot lightning out of to cup her chin, as if in thought. "I don't know it."

"Really?" Nora asked, somewhat surprised. "You've forgotten so quickly? How long have you been casting without words?"

"Two years."

"And how long have you been able to cast at all?"

"Two years."

Nora's eyes widened. "You've never used an incantation?"

Aiela shook her head. "I've almost never heard my Oma speak one. She taught me without them. It wasn't easy at first, of course, but I got used to it."

"I'm surprised it worked so well for you at all," Nora said.

"Why's that, Mother?" Venza asked.

Her mother looked at her evenly. "There are two parts to being able to cast magic: First is having the magical affinity to actually cast spells. This differs widely from person to person. The second part is actually knowing spells. For everyone I've met until just now, that means drilling the incantation into someone until they can recall it on command."

"But don't older mages cast spells without incantations all the time?" Aiela asked. "Surely that isn't unique to my Oma and me."

"We can, and we do," Nora answered. "But this is usually after years of familiarity with what each spell does." She paused, seeming to be in thought. Then, she added, "Are there any spells you cannot perform without the incantation?"

"There are plenty of spells I cannot perform, with or without the incantation," Aiela said. "I'm nine, after all."

"Right. I guess we'll find out in a few years. Anyway, can you try teaching Venza the way the Hag taught you?" Nora asked.

Venza blinked. Wait. Did her mother just confirm that she knew Aiela's grandmother was the Oma Mala? If so, why the blazes was she alright with it?

"I don't mind," Aiela answered, turning to Venza, her face wearing a mischievous smirk. "What do you know about spellcasting?"

"You invoke words of power while thinking of how the spell should work," Venza answered. "The magic core in your body then draws in Mana from the air and converts it into the spell you're casting." She stopped, looked at her mother. "Er, that's right, isn't it?"

"It is," Nora said.

"Would it surprise you if I understand it differently?" Aiela asked, cocking her head to one side.

"In light of everything, no," Nora answered. "No, it would not. Now, you think you can teach Venza?"

She nodded again. "Very well, Miss Venza," Aiela said in a teasing tone Venza feared she would have to get used to in the future. "Close your hand like this."

Aiela brought her right hand up to her chest, closed into a fist. Venza did as instructed.

"Good. Now, I want you to imagine a raging storm, all around you."

Venza did. She closed her eyes, imagined rain pouring down from the heavens. She could almost feel the water on her skin, could hear the raindrops as they struck the soil. She shuddered as the cold of a raging storm crashed against her.

"Now, imagine a bolt of lightning crashing down, and release!"

Her hand flung forward as she opened her eyes, like she'd seen Aiela do earlier, her index finger pointed to direct the bolt from her mind into the real world, but there was no bolt. Venza stood there, feeling like an absolute idiot.

Nora sighed as softly as she could, but not enough Venza couldn't hear. Her lips sagged. Why didn't anyone believe her when she said she had no talent for magic?

Aiela's expression baffled her. The other girl seemed perplexed, if anything. "I don't understand."

"Don't understand what?" Venza asked, voice rising. "I don't have magic. What is there not to get?"

"If that were true, I should be able to appraise you," Aiela said, tone perfectly even. "And see you don't have affinity for any Sphere."

"What do you think is wrong, then?"

"I can't be sure, but-" Aiela pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. "Could you try one last spell for me?"

Venza sighed. "Fine. If I have to."

A pebble floated off the ground, drifting to stand at eye level a few feet in front of her. Nora seemed to have no objections, because she let them continue without a word. If nothing else, she seemed curious.

"You know how I do this, right?" Aiela asked.

"Er, you have these invisible things called Hidden that do the lifting, right?"

"Right," Aiela said. "See, my pets have some rudimentary magic themselves. They don't really have good affinity for any of the Spheres like we do, but they can do simple things like this."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"Because," Aiela drawled, rolling her eyes. "If they can do something that takes almost no Mana and has no affinity, then so can you."

"Fine, so what do you want me to do?" Venza asked. "Do I lift a rock or what?"

"Oh no, much simpler," Aiela said. "I want you to move this rock without touching it."

"I- okay? How do I do that?"

"Nothing as intricate as before," Aiela assured her. "Just imagine punching this, the feel of your fist connecting with this little pebble and sending it flying."

"That's all? I can do that." And so, Venza planted her feet firmly apart, like Vosmer had taught her. Her body was angled so her right foot was behind a little. She took a deep breath, raised her fists in a ready stance. In a flash of movement, she brought her right fist forward in a hard straight, putting the weight of her body behind it.

The pebble sailed through the air, smashing a potted plant and sending soil all over the path. The three of them could only stare. She'd been expecting it to fail, of course, and clearly the other two hadn't been expecting much, either.

"Heavens' sake, Young Miss," Aiela finally spoke as her Hidden lifted the pebble back out of the ruined pot. "I told you to move it, not destroy a perfectly good pot."

Venza couldn't answer. She'd done magic. She'd actually done magic!

"So you can do it," Nora spoke. "I knew you could, dear."

Venza's expression fell, sensing danger.

"To think I was almost about to give up," Nora added. "Well, we'll have to redouble your magic lessons now, won't we?"

Venza swore internally.
 
Chapter 11 - Bargains Struck
Aiela



Three days later, Aiela stood in front of a healed man. Unfortunately, she also stared into the eyes of a broken man. William Carver sat in bed in front of her, the glow in his eyes gone like a firefly whose life ended too soon.

She had come with Vosmer to assess William's condition, opting to leave Venza behind until they were sure he was well.

Frankly, Aiela was glad they hadn't brought her.

William's healing could have been considered a success: He'd regained motor function in his right arm. However, it was also a failure. The goal had been to get his arm to a state where he could resume work, but while William Carver could move his hand, flex his fingers, his grip did not have the strength it used to. He could not hold a spoon for long, much less a weapon as heavy as a mace.

Four days ago, he'd been a Sergeant in the Grey Guard, leading his own unit of macemen. Today, he had no idea how he would support his family.

"We Carvers have always been soldiers," he said, his voice hoarse. He looked to her, and then to Vosmer, as if seeking an answer. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Fortunately, Aiela had prepared for this. She'd even spoken to Vosmer in advance. Normally, House Greyfield would have given him a small endowment to help him feed his family for a month or two.

But she knew if Venza ever found out the man who risked his life for her had wound up in such a sorry state, the girl would be crushed. And so would any potential Oma had seen in her. Besides, Lord Greyfield felt as guilty as his daughter did.

"Actually, young Aiela here had an idea," Vosmer said. "House Greyfield currently has an untended farm on the outskirts of Verdeholm. If you wish, we can place you in charge of it."

"You'd give me land?" William asked, shocked.

"No," Vosmer answered. "Let me clarify. There is a farmhouse there and some land. You and your family may live there and care for it, but it will still belong to House Greyfield. You may keep most of what you earn from farming, but the rest goes to House Greyfield."

With a pained expression, Vosmer added, "Normally, we would have given you the land outright, but Lord Greyfield has many critics at the Imperial Court. It pains us all to say this, but if he were to suddenly grant a commoner a noble title-"

Vosmer sighed. "Well, his rivals are always trying to make it seem like he's about to start a coup."

"Oh no, sir. I am happy to take this reward," William said. Then his face sank. "But I don't know the first thing about farming," he admitted.

"I can teach you," Aiela said. "Some of it, anyway. But more importantly you don't need to do all the farming yourself."

"She's right," Vosmer added. "You have a talent for keeping a disciplined unit. I'm sure it would translate well to managing farmhands. What do you say?"

"Hang on," Aiela interjected. "There are a couple of things, if you choose to accept."

William quirked an eyebrow at her. Not for the first time since they'd met, he gave off the sense that she completely baffled him. She found it rather enjoyable.

"If you accept this," Aiela continued, "Officially, we will say you decided to retire after your brush with death. You will refrain from mentioning you had to retire due to your injury. Moreover, officially, it'll sound like you were hired to manage the farm."

"No problem there, Miss, Lieutenant," he said to each of them in turn.

"Second," Aiela pressed on, ignoring the odd look Vosmer was giving her because she hadn't discussed this part with him, "I will be providing you some seeds in the coming weeks. I would like you to report how they turn out."

"What kinda seeds?" William asked.

"Not sure yet," Aiela admitted. She still needed to procure them after all. "Rest assured, it should be no trouble."

"Well, you heard her," Vosmer said. "What will it be, Will? Do you accept stewardship of Lucius' farmhouse?"

William smiled, his teeth clearly visible. His right arm tried to form a fist to salute Vosmer, but it could not. Regardless, he said, "Aye, Lieutenant. My family and I gladly accept."



On their walk back from the Temple of the Four, Vosmer finally asked her the question that had been burning in his mind.

"What seeds were you talking about?" he asked.

She glanced at him briefly before answering, "Seeds enhanced by magic. To help Astamarr."

"Why didn't you clear it with me before?"

"I forgo-" the look in his eyes stopped him. For the majority of their time together, she'd known him as Vosmer, friend to House Greyfield. He was kindly and seemed to care deeply for those he held dear.

The Adam Vosmer looking at her now was the man who'd faced the Bloodbeaks using the weapon she'd enchanted. He was the man who'd torn through a swarm of monsters and gotten out of it nearly unscathed.

"Don't pretend," he said, his tone even, but full of danger.

Despite herself, Aiela flinched. She had nearly forgotten that this kindly middle-aged man was a seasoned killer.

"Sorry," she said. "But that's exactly why."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission," she answered. "But do not worry. What I'm doing is definitely for Astamarr's benefit."

"Why?"

"I'll be staying in this region for quite a while," she answered. It was the truth. "Why not leave it better than I found it?"

Vosmer's expression softened, and he heaved a sigh. "I can tell you're not lying. But I'm pretty sure you're hiding something."

"What will you do?" she asked.

"I'll keep an eye on you, of course," Vosmer answered, grinning behind his mustache. "It's not like I've never done anything behind Lucius' back to protect him."

"Then we are more alike than I thought," Aiela said.

Vosmer let out a loud laugh, loud enough that nearby civilians stopped and stared. When he finally calmed down, he said, "In some ways, perhaps. But in others, not at all. If Venza's to succeed, she'll need someone like you and me."

"This almost sounds like you're going to mentor me," Aiela pointed out.

"That's exactly what it is," Vosmer said. "There's no textbook you can read or academy you can attend for what you're trying to do, but I'll do my best."

Aiela snickered, lips curling into a smirk. "That's fine as long as I have a good teacher. And I already know what I want to ask."

"Oh?" Vosmer said. "What might that be?"
"What exactly is stopping Venza from succeeding her father?"
"You've resolved to help her but you don't know?" Vosmer asked, looking confused.
"I have an idea," Aiela clarified. "But I must admit I'm not great at politics. Why exactly can Venza be Heir but not Lord Marshall?"
"I think Lucius might have mentioned it, but the office is not tied to blood," Vosmer explained. "Lord Marshall is a position appointed by the Emperor. It just so happens that for several generations, the title has gone to House Greyfield."
"I'm surprised women are allowed to inherit land at all," Aiela said.
"A fairly recent development," Vosmer explained. "Partly because the Queen hails from a matriarchal country, but more importantly, the Emperor has no sons, either."
"Of course," Aiela said, rolling her eyes. "The rules change whenever it suits the ruling family. So because the imperial princesses don't need to be in the military, Venza can inherit rule of Astamarr but she cannot continue her father's legacy."
"Correct. Moreover, Venza is a mage that cannot use magic."
Aiela quirked an eyebrow. "Why is that a problem? Lord Greyfield isn't a mage, either. He relies entirely on his Revenant Arm and magical equipment."
"What do you know about Revenant Arms?" Vosmer asked.
"They're special enchanted weapons granted by the Imperial Family," Aiela said. "And no one besides their appointed enchanters knows how to make one."
"Well, a little-known fact is that mages aren't allowed to have Revenant Arms," Vosmer explained.
"Why not?"
Vosmer shook his head. "I have no idea."
"Her wish sounds childish, then," Aiela said bluntly. "She's already set to be a noblewoman of renown. Why covet a position that demands you be away and fighting to expand an Empire when you aren't born to it?"
"You already know the answer to that," Vosmer told her. "Venza doesn't see it that way. Lucius spent his career becoming a hero to the people of the Empire. She sees him coming to the people's aid and wants to be just like him. It is idealistic, perhaps even childish, but she wants to do it for the right reasons. The same ones her father did."
"Then Lord Lucius only has himself to blame for how Venza is," Aiela commented.
Vosmer chuckled at that. "I suppose that's one way of looking at it. What about you, then?"
"What about me?"
"What exactly are you trying to achieve?" Vosmer asked her.
"Me?" Aiela scoffed. "That should be obvious. I'm trying to become a god."
Vosmer burst out laughing. "Now, who's being childish?"
 
Chapter 12 - Frustration-Relaxation
Venza



"Look on the bright side," Aiela began. "Not everyone can give someone a bloody nose from across the room."

Venza huffed and rolled her eyes, though Aiela couldn't see it because she had her face buried in a book about local plant life. They were in Venza's room, seated on opposite ends of her four-poster bed. Her room was a little larger than Aiela's, though in many ways it mirrored it. History books and manuals on the martial arts occupied nearly all space on Venza's bookshelf. She'd skimmed through most of the history books and re-read the manuals on a regular basis.

The wooden walls were painted the soft pink of cherry blossoms in full bloom. Her window opened out onto the gardens as well, though it also gave a view of the front gates. Unlike Aiela's room, Venza's was furnished with its own connecting bathroom, through a separate door on the right.

It had been a week since she'd punched the pebble out of the air without touching it. Aiela had called the spell 'Reach,' and said it was mostly used to grab things from a distance.

Venza couldn't do that. At most, her version let her touch an object for a second or two before turning itself off. She hadn't been able to perform any other spell they'd tried to get her to do over the week, either. All she could do was punch things she could see without actually touching them.

When she'd ranted about this, Aiela pointed out most people couldn't do that and she should stop taking it for granted. She reluctantly conceded the point.

"I guess I'm just a magical anomaly," Venza said bitterly, standing up.

Aiela laughed. She'd been showing more expression over the week. "Welcome to the club. Where are you going?"

"Blowing off some steam," she answered. "Gonna see if Vosmer can teach me to use a spear like he does."

"Do you think he'll beat you up?"

Venza quirked an eyebrow. "Probably? I've never beaten Vosmer in sparring before. Not even close."

Aiela's lips twitched into a smirk. "Count me in, then." She folded her book and set it on the bed. She'd gotten quite comfortable in her new home over the week.



They found Vosmer in the back garden, sitting by himself on a stone bench like he did on many afternoons. He always said he enjoyed the peace and quiet, though Venza suspected he made himself available to her on purpose.

He had a ledger on his lap and a pencil in hand. Venza almost would've bought that he'd come there just to do paperwork if not for the pair of wooden practice swords resting against the bench.

He looked up as he heard them approach, grinned, and placed the ledger on the bench. "Good afternoon, Venza, Aiela."

"Good afternoon, Vosmer," Venza said. "What were you working on?"

"The numbers for reinforcing the Rentley garrison," he explained, gesturing at the ledger. "We're sending two dozen men along with the half dozen mages Lady Greyfield suggested."

"Half?" Venza questioned. She was pretty sure her mother wanted a dozen.

Vosmer scratched the back of his head. "The Imperial Army can't spare mages to protect a low-value asset, so we're pulling those men straight out of our own troops here."

"Well, I could always lend a hand on patrols and stuff," Venza offered.

Vosmer smiled, not unkindly. "Kind of you to offer, but you still have a bit of growing to do. Ask again in five or six years."

Venza huffed. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could teach me something new today."

The lieutenant quirked an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"The way you used a spear on the way back last week," Venza said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Well, it was my weapon of choice, a lifetime ago," Vosmer admitted. "But really? I thought you wanted to use a sword like your father."

"Well, there's nothing stopping me from learning both."

"Learning a weapon and mastering it are two very different things," Vosmer said. "Still, I suppose you are young. No harm in letting you figure out what you want to use eventually. Not to mention, a pole-arm is generally a superior weapon."

He smirked a little at that last bit.

"So you'll teach me?"

Vosmer nodded. "I'll go get a pair of training staves from the barracks." He paused, turned to Aiela. "What about you, young miss? Anything you'd like me to teach you?"

There was an odd silence as Vosmer and Aiela looked at each other. As if they were communicating with their minds. When had they gotten so chummy?

"I was just going to watch," Aiela said, though she seemed to be in thought. "Well, if you have any ideas for something I could learn to protect myself as a mage, I might be interested."

Vosmer made a thoughtful hum. "I'll see what I can find."

He left them alone in the garden, striding off towards the guardhouse near the front of the manor.

"I didn't know you were interested in the martial arts," Venza said.

"Not the way you are," Aiela answered. "But magic can't do everything, especially since I haven't hit the height of my power."

"I bet he'll get you a staff, too," Venza said, feeling giddy at the prospect. "Maybe we can be sparring partners!"

"In a fight without magic? You'd mop the floor with me," Aiela said. "Oh, hell. I hope he doesn't get me a bow or something. If I want to hit something from a distance, I'll use a spell."

"I think he would know that," Venza assured her. "Bows are murder to learn, anyway. Tried it once. My arm was sore the next morning."

She'd also managed to completely miss the bullseye on every single shot, but Aiela didn't need to know that. Adjusting for wind and travel time weren't her strong suit.

Vosmer arrived shortly after, holding two training staves, and, to Venza's surprise, a thin, wooden shield shaped like an almond. It was rounded at the top, tapering to a sharp point at the bottom.

"Catch," Vosmer said, tossing one of the staves at Venza. She caught it easily. It felt firm in her hands. He then handed the shield to Aiela. "It's a little big for you, but I think this would suit you."

Aiela frowned at the wooden shield as she inspected it. "It makes sense, but I was hoping for something with a little more oomph."

"You're a spellcaster, so most of your offense is going to be from magic, no?" Vosmer said. "This is a backup weapon, for catching arrows and blocking enemies who get too close."

"Calling a shield a weapon is a little generous, don't you think?" Aiela asked. "Though not getting shot sounds good."

"You've clearly never been socked in the head with a shield," Vosmer told her, chuckling. "You see that pointy end at the bottom? You punch someone with that and they'll be reeling. Might even give them a life-threatening injury. A battered and swollen windpipe can kill a man."

Aiela seemed to consider that, inspecting the point of the shield. "Seems a little difficult to hit someone with the pointy end while also not getting stabbed."

She demonstrated, showing how she had to twist most of the part covering her to hit someone with the pointed bottom.

"Well, that's because you don't hold it like that," Vosmer answered. "You're not using a weapon in your other hand, so you can wear it almost like detachable armor. Here, let me show you."

Vosmer adjusted the shield so it would be parallel to Aiela's right arm. "See? The top strap would go around your arm instead of being held by your hand, which would hold the bottom strap to keep the thing aligned when you punch. 'Course, it's a little big on you right now, but in a few years, it should work."

"Interesting," Aiela said, examining the shield. "Alright, I'll play your game."

"In due time, young miss," Vosmer said. "I think Venza's getting a little impatient."

And she was. She'd been ready to learn five minutes ago. "So, what are you teaching me first?"

"Well, a staff is basically a big stick," Vosmer said. "A spear is just a big stick with a pointy end. Same goes for halberds, poleaxes, pole-hammers, and many others."

"I know that!" Venza protested.

"Right, but did you know a staff or spear actually has advantages over a sword?" Vosmer asked.

"I mean, it's longer," Venza said. "I guess if this had a spearhead, it would be difficult for a sword-fighter to get to me."

"You've also got better control of leverage, and the utility of being able to hurt someone wearing armor," Vosmer added. "Not as much as a mace or hammer, of course, but the staff is much faster."

"Alright," Venza said, holding her staff. "Teach me, then."



"I can't wait until I'm that good," Venza muttered. They'd finished training an hour before supper, so she and Aiela could bathe before Nora and Lucius saw them.

"You'll get there," Aiela assured her. They were both on opposite ends of Venza's bath tub, largely because it had been built with the expectation of her being fully grown one day. It felt more like a small swimming pool when neither of them were in their teens yet. "I can't wait until I can do enough magic to mess with our weapons."

That got Venza's attention. "As in enchanting them? You think you could?" Her tone wasn't doubtful, but excited. She'd always wanted to have a set of enchanted weapons and armor like Father did.

"Nothing long-term," Aiela immediately added as she sank lower into the water. Venza couldn't even see her neck. "Well, maybe someday. Your mother might know a few things about long-term enchantments. There are also a few things I could try."

"Enchantments are kind of a trade secret," Venza said, disappointed. "I guess we could always just commission a few things ourselves. That, and one day, I'll have my own Revenant Arm."

Aiela opened her mouth as if to say something, seeming to hesitate.

"Maybe you could, you mean," Aiela corrected her. "Enchanted items are pricey, and I am but a humble servant of House Greyfield."

"That'd be more believable if you weren't literally bathing with me, you know."

Aiela scoffed, smirking. "I am simply making sure my lady doesn't suffer the embarrassment of drowning in her own bath."

Oh, that was it. Venza brought her hands together and splashed Aiela with warm water. "Such treacherous words coming from my aide's mouth."

"Ah, so it's war, then," Aiela said, grinning. "Don't you know? You shouldn't wage war against a nation with more magic than you."

Venza's eyes widened as several spheres of water, each about the size of a baby's fist, floated out of the bath. Aiela couldn't do Water Magic, but her Hidden could clearly lift a small amount of water fine.

"You wouldn't dare," Venza warned.

The spheres floated over her head before releasing their forms, leaving her head completely drenched. "Aiela! Just you wait until I can do Water Magic, I'll destroy you."

"I look forward to it, my lady," Aiela answered as she continued pelting balls of water at her new friend.
 
Chapter 13 - Planting Seeds
Aiela baffled Venza. It went without saying, really, but more than the peculiarities of her upbringing and her prodigious affinity for magic, which at least seemed to go hand-in-hand, Venza wondered about the girl's seemingly paradoxical view of people.


The girl clearly harbored distrust if not outright disdain for the ruling class of Odolenia, citing that lords seldom actually took care of the people they governed. On the other hand, she didn't seem to get along with the common people, either. She didn't seem to hate commoners. She just sort of… didn't acknowledge their presence aside from the helpers at the house.


"That's a little unfair, don't you think?" Aiela asked when Venza brought it up one afternoon after another failed magic lesson. They were seated in the back garden, shielded from the scorching sun by the shade of a large, deciduous tree.


"How so?" Venza asked, doing her best not to be distracted by what she was seeing.


Aiela was in the middle of 'playing with her magic' as she termed it, manipulating a bit of garden soil into the shape of a minute horse without touching it. Apparently, her Oma had taught her that using her magic every day regardless of why would enhance her control over it. Neither Venza nor her mother had heard such a thing, but if the greatest witch of all time told you something about magic, you didn't just ignore it.


"You say I don't acknowledge people outside the manor, but you can't even remember the staff's names," Aiela pointed out as she fiddled with the horse head. Her tone was flat, not quite annoyed, but confident she was correct.


"But the few times we've gone out, you haven't so much as greeted the people we meet!" Venza protested. "Also I think the snout should be longer."


"Because I do not know them, and they do not know me," Aiela countered, though she seemed to acknowledge the horse's snout needed work, adjusting it with her magic. "You can greet them because you are the daughter of their lord."


Oh. Right. That made sense. Venza grinned. "Well, we can fix that right now."


"How?" Aiela asked, deadpan, leaving her mud horse alone for a moment. "Are you going to parade me around town and introduce me as your new servant?"


"No, silly. I'm going to parade you around town as my new friend."


"Semantics." Aiela closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought, and then she exhaled. "Fine. Where to?"


"Was there anywhere you wanted to go?" Venza asked. "I haven't really shown you around."


"Well, there are a few places."​




Aiela wanted to grab a bite at the local pub. Aiela wanted to see the view from atop the wall surrounding Verdeholm. Aiela wished to visit the large Oak tree in the middle of the town that served as the only site of cultural or historic significance in all of Verdeholm.


These were all ideas Venza could have wrapped her head around, but instead Aiela had asked Venza, heir of House Greyfield which ruled Astamarr and its constituent lands, to bring her to a farm.


And so, Venza escorted her to the first farm outside the town walls. It was modest, with golden wheat fields protected by thin wooden fences short enough that an adult could climb over them with effort.


Of course, they'd had to leave via the gate, which meant one of the guards, upon recognizing Venza, insisted on tagging along as an escort.


"You really didn't have to come," Venza told him as they approached the farm.


"If he didn't and something happened to you, your father would kill him," Aiela said casually.


The guard coughed to cover up his nerves, but simply said, "Nonsense, Miss Venza. It's no trouble at all."


"Can't blame him, really," Aiela added, smirking. "Last time you wandered off on your own, you met and brought home a witch."


Venza rolled her eyes, but gave no response. Instead, she asked the guard with them if he'd be willing to make introductions, since he probably knew the farmers better than anyone else in their little party.


"Of course," he said, waving to the male farmer. "Hey, Tony!"


The man, who'd been bent over inspecting his crops stood at hearing his name. He wore simple cloth garbs suited for hard labor, Venza could see. He waved at the guard. "Hey, Kevin! I didn't know you had kids."


"Oh, uh, these aren't mine, actually," the guard said. "This is, uh-"


"I'm Venza," Venza provided. "And this is my friend, Aiela."


"Venza?" the farmer repeated. "Venza. Where have I heard that name before? Well, pleased to meet ya, young lady."


"She's-" the guard, Kevin began but Venza cut him off by gesturing for him not to say. He nodded.


"Is Marie around?" Kevin asked instead.


"Yeah, she's over in the shed. Why?"


Venza didn't have an answer to that. She didn't really know why they were here in the first place. Aiela hadn't deigned to enlighten her yet.


"I was hoping to get a look at your plants," Aiela answered. There wasn't a hint of shyness in her voice. "And I think it's best if you were both present."


"What's going on here, Kevin?" Tony asked. "This some kinda prank to get me back after that night at the pub?"


"If it is, I'm as clueless as you are," Kevin answered, deadpan.


"Why do you-" Venza started to ask, but Aiela had already started to answer.


"I'm a Nature mage, you see," Aiela spoke.


She was also several other kinds of mage, but if Aiela didn't feel like sharing, Venza wouldn't, either.


As if to emphasize, Aiela waved her hand, and a patch of grass grew at her feet with an alarming speed. "I wanted to see if I could help out a bit."


Tony and Kevin both stared at the brown-haired girl with wide eyes. Venza counted a full ten seconds before Tony spoke again. "I'll- I'll go get my wife."​




Aiela had them guide her to a patch of turnips they'd planted that morning. "It's easier to influence the growth of seeds and plants still growing," she explained, to a mystified crowd consisting of Tony, his wife Marie, Kevin the guardsman, and Venza.


"And you can really make them grow bigger, Miss Aiela?" Marie asked. She was a stocky woman with pretty features and hands calloused by a life of hard work.


"Bigger, taller, just producing more food in general," Aiela muttered as she knelt over the turnips. "All possible."


There was a pause as Aiela closed her eyes, and Venza guessed she was using her imagination to trigger her magic. Then, shortly after, Aiela spoke the spell's name to invoke it: "Modify Gene."


A cloud of green mist seemingly seeped out of Aiela's outstretched palm, embedding itself into the soil beneath.


"Was that it?" Venza asked. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't that.


"They're seeds," Aiela said flatly. "I'll check up on them in a few weeks, when they've grown. If this batch is a success, we can take their seeds and start producing these enhanced turnips all over Astamarr."


"If?" Venza echoed.


"Gene modification isn't an exact science," Aiela answered. "Not yet."


"I don't know half the words you just said."


"Er, just trust me on this," Aiela said. "And if it turns out poorly, you can compensate Tony and Marie for their loss."


"Wait, what?"​




Aiela visited two more farmsteads after that, repeating the process of explaining her work before casting "Modify Gene" on any freshly-planted crops the owners consented to.


"You know, it's rare for me to hear you say a spell's name out loud," Venza observed. They'd returned to Astamarr proper, walking the path back to the manor.


Aiela glanced at her with a confused expression and simply answered, "I can do the most basic spells without uttering a word. For anything stronger, not so much."


"But you still didn't chant an incantation," Venza pointed out.


Aiela favored her with a look that said 'Ah, you're more perceptive than I thought.'


"I can omit the incantation, but still need the spell's name to trigger it at the end for the majority of non-basic spells," she explained. "I'll probably get better with time, but I kind of like the limitation."


"Why's that?"


Aiela's face was impassive. "It gives me a second to stop myself from doing things I might regret. With the kind of power I have, it's hard to say what's right or wrong sometimes. When I've fully grown into my power, I could kill a grown man with a thought."


Venza considered her words. "Well, my grandpa always said you can never really say what's right or wrong. But if you listen to your heart, you'll get there, one way or another."


That drew a chuckle from the mage girl's mouth. "Pretty words, but are they true?"


"I think so," Venza said. "Why'd you want to use your spell on those farms, anyhow?"


"I used to work on Oma's garden," Aiela explained.


"The manor has gardens," Venza suggested. "Maybe we could clear out a plot you could use."


"Maybe," Aiela replied, noncommittal, though Venza could have sworn there was a gleam in her eyes. She wondered what kind of plants Aiela would grow. Perhaps she could have a plot in the back garden since Venza spent a lot of time there, anyway.


Actually, she was pretty sure she could convince her parents to give permission. It would probably make Aiela happy.


As they entered the main hall of Greyfield Manor, Venza spotted a familiar, gray-haired figure at the foot of the stairs with his back turned to them. Venza grinned, focused her mind, and called upon the spell Reach. She made a light tapping gesture with her hand, giving the man a gentle nudge from several meters away.


The figure turned his head, hand going to the hilt of his blade. He relaxed as he saw her. "Little Venza, is that you?"


Venza beamed. "Grandpa!"


 
Chapter 14 : Grandpa Greyfield
Barnabas Greyfield struck an imposing figure despite his old age. It was expected, Venza supposed, of the former Lord Marshall of Odolenia. If there was any man she thought could best her father in a serious duel, it was her grandfather, even if he was past his prime.

He, Venza, and Aiela sat in the dining room as Milly brought in a fresh pot of tea along with some biscuits. Unlike her father, Barnabas kept his face clean-shaven, showing narrow cheeks weathered by age.

"A mage with your talent at your age?" he spoke, eyeing Aiela. "Incredible. If you trained in the magic academy at Lilium, you'd be a rising star in no time."

"Venza has no wish to attend the magic academy," Aiela answered politely. "And neither do I."

More like Venza couldn't be admitted into it with her feeble spellcasting, really, but she didn't need to say that out loud.

Barnabas laughed, not unkindly. "You remind me of Olivia."

"Who?" Aiela asked.

"One of my old comrades, Olivia Byrne," Barnabas explained. "She is- was my version of Lucius' Adam Vosmer, if you will. She was a battlemage and there was no one else I would rather have by my side in a fight."

He had a far-off gaze, as if remembering some distant memory. Venza had never met Olivia, so she could only assume she'd passed on.

"Do all the Greyfields have some sort of aide they rely on for everything?" Aiela asked, looking between Barnabas and Venza.

"Not officially, no," the former patriarch of House Greyfield answered. "Though my father had one, as well. It's not really tradition or anything, but I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."

"So, does that mean you're fine with Venza becoming Marshall after her father retires?" Aiela asked.

There was a moment of silence as Barnabas regarded his granddaughter with a calculating look. "Truth be told, I wouldn't wish the life of a soldier on anyone, but someone has to do it, and we Greyfields are pretty damn good at what we do."

Venza nodded, as if to say she wouldn't let him down. Barnabas and Vosmer had believed in her when no one else had.

"If I hadn't abdicated my position as Head of House to my thick-headed son, you'd be training properly right now, but I told Lucius he could make his own decisions," he said, almost as if apologizing.

"I wish he'd let me make my own," Venza muttered.

"In time, perhaps," Barnabas said. "You are only nine, though I wish he'd respect your wish to carry the family legacy onward."

"If I was a boy, I'd have the opposite problem," Venza said.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Barnabas said, pursing his lips.

He let out a heavy sigh, but continued.

"Fathers will always worry about their children regardless of gender. Admittedly, if you'd been born male, he'd know you wouldn't be able to escape your fate as the sole heir. Then he'd have no choice but to train you for what lies ahead."

"I'd probably be overworked," Venza mused.

"True. He'd be training you so hard you'd want to run away and leave the House altogether without an Heir," he said. "By the way, was that magic you did earlier?"

Venza grinned. "Yep! Aiela managed to teach me how to cast Reach."

"She can only maintain it for a second or two, though," Aiela commented, earning her a dirty look from Venza. In response, she smirked, and added, "Though I've seen her punch a rock out of the air and break a pot with it."

"I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with the spell," Barnabas admitted. "At least Olivia never used it."

"Not surprising," Aiela said. "It's something you'd use more around the house than on the battlefield. Basically, she can touch anything she can see clearly without actually touching it."

"You're right," her grandpa said. "I've never seen it used in combat, though I guess it would be hard to see."

"You're the one actually making things move," Aiela explained. "And since most mages have trouble lifting a sack of potatoes, there's no reason to punch someone from a distance instead of hitting them with a real spell. It does have its uses, even though you only have a fraction of your strength."

To demonstrate, Aiela made a gesture of pulling something with her hand, and Barnabas' sword came out of its sheathe partway before she slowly slid it back in.

"Impressive," Barnabas said, pulling the weapon back in.

"What? Hang on a moment." Venza asked. "Why?"

"What was confusing?" Aiela asked back.

"What do you mean by a fraction of my strength?" she asked.

"Ah, you haven't noticed?" Aiela asked. "You're not as strong using Reach as you are just doing it by hand, so to speak."

"Are you sure?" Venza asked doubtfully. "I broke that pot."

"Yes, but that was you punching with the entire weight of your body behind it," Aiela answered. "If you want, we can run tests later to compare."

"Sure thing," Venza said, flexing biceps that didn't grow much at all. "I'll show you how strong I am."

"Ah, yes, you did give those children a good thrashing," Aiela quipped.

"What children?" Barnabas asked.

Venza explained how she and Aiela met, omitting the details she couldn't voice, with Aiela filling in on occasion. She talked about how Aiela had been bullied and how the two of them fended off a Bloodbeak.

Barnabas had always been sharp, according to her father, and that hadn't changed with his old age. Venza had a feeling he knew there were parts they weren't saying, but if he truly did, he didn't press.

"So you're shield sisters already, are you?" he joked. "Bond forged by the fires of battle?"

Venza looked away, her face burning. "Like I said, it was hardly a fight. Just some children that needed straightening out. And the bird hardly counted. Vosmer and Father did most of the work."

"You say that," Aiela chided. "But you looked pretty serious about beating those kids up to me."

"Aiela!"

Barnabas let out a soft chuckle. "The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. Lucius got into fights all the time, you know."

"He did?" Venza asked.

"It's in our blood," Barnabas explained. Then, when he realized how bad that sounded, he added, "Not that we're belligerent or anything. I mean we have a hard time looking away from injustice when it stares us right in the face. Just remember: We may be the custodians of these lands and these people, but we are not always right."

"We can't always tell what is right or wrong," Venza began, repeating what he'd told her years ago. "But if you listen to your-"

"No," Barnabas said, surprising her. "That's only if you really can't tell. Did you forget the first part of that lecture?"

Venza blinked. "What first part?"

Barnabas just chuckled. "Consider the consequences of your actions, who they'll affect. You think like that long enough and you'll start to get a feel for it. Then, if you still aren't sure, listen to your heart."

"Right. I remember that," Venza lied.

Her grandpa looked like he was having a hard time not rolling his eyes. "Still, I am surprised."

"By what, grandpa?"

"Seems I'm not the only one who's been touring the continent looking for trouble."

That caught Venza's attention. "You went southeast, didn't you, grandpa?"

Aiela looked deep in thought. "Southeast? Then you went to Serian?"

"You know your geography, Aiela," her grandfather said.

"And did you find trouble?" Venza asked.

Barnabas smiled, and began to tell her about his recent adventures.

Author Note: Hi, all. If you've read this far, thank you for giving this story your time. Chapter 15 will be the last of the prologue chapters before the time skip so please look forward to Chapters 16 and beyond and thank you for reading the Greyfield Chronicles.
 
Chapter 15 - The End of the Beginning
Venza screamed, her arms burning from exertion. They were outside the Manor, in the back garden, with one notable thing different: A brass, equal-arm weighing scale stood on one of the stone benches, its arms undulating up and down. One arm held three apples, while the opposite seemingly held nothing.

It was on this empty arm that Venza concentrated her Reach spell, trying to push the arm down with enough force to match the weight of the three apples. She let out a sigh of exasperation as the apple-bearing arm fell back down.

"I can hold two. Why can't I do one more!?!?" she yelled.

Aiela tossed her a towel, hitting her in the face. "You're simply not strong enough."

Venza nearly screeched, but managed to to contain it to a frustrated groan. "It's three apples! I could probably carry a whole sack!"

Well, maybe not a full sack. But definitely more than three apples. Despite her annoyance, she accepted the towel and wiped herself off.

"I meant the strength of your spell," Aiela said. "It seems you can only use a third of your strength, maybe less. And you can't really hold the spell steady."

Venza grunted. Even two apples had been hard to keep stable, but she could tell she was physically strong enough for that. The issue had been stopping the scale arms from tossing around like a ship in a storm long enough for them to observe.

"Is this even worth using?" Venza asked. "I feel I could just hit someone with a long stick to better effect."

"Actually, since you've discovered this rather barbaric application of Reach," Aiela began. "There is something I want to try. You remember that strength-enhancing spell I used?"

"To chop the apple?" Venza asked, then nodded. "I remember. You said you'd try it on me."

"Good a time as any," Aiela said. She pointed at a sack of grain nearby. "Can you lift that?"

"Yes, with effort," Venza admitted.

Aiela nodded. "Pick it up. I just want you to be able to compare the difference with and without the spell."

Venza did as asked, carefully squatting down and placing her hands on either side of the burlap sack. With a mighty effort, she slowly lifted the sack off the floor, rising from her squat in the process.

"Good," Aiela said. "Hold it steady while I cast the spell."

Venza nodded, arms starting to feel the strain. The mage girl placed a hand on her shoulder and a green light flowed from her to Venza. Suddenly, her arms didn't feel so heavy, and neither did the sack of grain.

"Now, remember," Aiela said, looking short of breath. "This is a botched version of this spell. The normal one strengthens you more and lasts longer."

Venza nodded. If this was weak, she couldn't wait to see how much the real thing strengthened her. "Can I put this down and try on the scales again?"

"Go. You only have three minutes. Best I can do right now."

She quickly (but carefully) put the sack back down, and refocused her mind on the empty arm of the scale. With renewed confidence, she prepared to move the arm with her power.

The arm moved down despite the absence of physical touch, pulling up the opposite arm that held three apples. Just as the two arms were about to even out, the apple-bearing arm suddenly fell back down.

Groaning, she tried again. And again. And again. Until she felt the magical strength leaving her arms after three minutes had passed.

"Interesting," Aiela said, looking thoughtful.

"I'm so glad you find my failure interesting," Venza jabbed at her.

"Well, specifically, I find the failure of the spell to affect Reach in any meaningful way interesting," Aiela said. "Reach should scale with your physical strength but clearly this spell has no effect on it. But which part is causing the failure?"

"Meaning?" Venza asked. She was pretty sure she was keeping up, but it didn't hurt to make sure.

"I can't tell if it's because I'm not casting the spell properly or if the nature of the spell itself is why it doesn't work." Aiela shrugged. "We'll need to try again in the future. I'm willing to bet it's the latter, though. Bear Strength, the spell I'm casting, grants you strength directly. Reach is likely not counting it as your own strength."

"So you mean another spell might work?" Venza asked.

"If the spell boosted your strength indirectly," Aiela said, nodding. "Like by making you larger or having more muscle mass."

"Is there any other way I can make it stronger?"

"You'll get better with practice," Aiela assured her. "The more you use a spell the better you get at it. It might be a pain, but you can't tell me you don't see the merit in being able to strike stealthily from a distance."

"I suppose you're right," Venza grumbled. "Plant the seed now and wait for it to blossom in a few years."

"That reminds me," Aiela said. "Were you serious about that?"

Venza quirked a brow at her brown-haired companion. "Serious about what?"

"That I could get a plot in the garden to myself," Aiela answered.

"Of course you can," Venza answered. Not that she'd cleared the matter with her parents yet, but she was sure space for a flowerbed or a few plants wouldn't be out of the question.

"You promise?" Aiela asked with an uncharacteristically bright expression.

Venza couldn't say no to that. "Of course!"

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Aiela said, grinning brighter than Venza had ever seen.

"It's no problem. What are you going to plant?" she asked, returning the girl's smile.

"A tree," Aiela answered, maintaining her tone and expression.

Venza's expression fell as she noticed the mischievous glint in the girl's eyes. Had she just gotten played? "O-oh, that's uh-"

"It'll be pretty wide," Aiela continued. "Though I don't think it will grow too high."

A knot formed in Venza's stomach. What had Aiela gotten her to agree to? Actually, worse. Aiela had gotten her to promise. Gods help her.

She didn't know much about trees, or plants in general, for that matter. "What kind of tree?"

Aiela took a moment to answer her question. "That's a bit difficult to explain."

That piqued her interest. "Why? I thought you would know all about plants, considering everything I've seen from you so far."

"I should clarify," Aiela answered. "I think it would be difficult to explain to you."

She was about to ask if Aiela thought she was dumb, then remembered how she'd worked unknown magic on the plants at the farm. "Is this related to what you did before?"

"For Kevin and Marie's farm, yes," Aiela confirmed. "The rest, too."

It bothered her that Aiela could remember their names when she couldn't. She'd long given up on being able to remember every person she met, but clearly Aiela had a knack for it.

"Do you think you could try to explain it to me?" Venza asked, since no doubt her mother and father would at the very least be curious. More likely, they'd ask for a lot of details Venza wasn't sure she could provide.

Aiela considered, then shrugged. "In the simplest terms, it'll be a tree that grows other plants."

"I- what? How does that even work?"

"I don't have perfect control over my spell yet," Aiela answered. "It'll take plenty of trial and error to hone my technique, but it would take too long if I had to wait for crops to grow normally whenever I make adjustments."

Venza kind of understood that, she supposed, but something sounded fishy. "But you can make this special tree?"

"I think so, maybe. Probably," Aiela answered. "I've been tinkering with the design for a while now. I've probably been working on this for a year. I was going to plant it in Oma's garden, but-" she trailed off.

There was an accusing look in her eyes, as if it was Venza's fault she was here instead of her Oma's hut. Venza recognized the attempt at manipulation quite easily, having used it herself once or twice. She wouldn't fall for it.

"In the unlikely case you mess up," Venza began, trying to be careful. "We wouldn't have some kind of walking monster tree on our hands, would we?"

"Oh that's not possible," Aiela said. "For one, a monster is an animal with magical affinity, so by definition, a tree can't be a monster."

"Aiela-"

Aiela ignored her, continuing. "And getting a plant, let alone a tree, to walk would require so much altering I wouldn't be able to achieve that for many years."

Venza groaned. "Alright, alright. I'll go talk to my parents about it, whenever father comes back."

Lucius was off on an errand for the Emperor and Venza didn't fancy her chances of getting anywhere with just her mother to talk to.

"Thank you, again," Aiela said, no longer as unnaturally chipper as she had been.

"I knew it!" Venza exclaimed. "You were faking the big-eyed happy act."

"I'm hurt, Venza," Aiela answered, smirking. "I really am happy you've promised to let me plant my tree in the back."

Venza sighed. Whatever. It was likely Aiela's project would benefit Astamarr anyway.



The next morning, at breakfast, Venza found only herself, Aiela, and a healthy spread of bread and sliced ham.

"Just us?" Aiela asked.

"Mother apparently left instructions that she wished to sleep in," Venza explained. She'd just heard the same thing from one of the maids not five minutes before.

"Ah," Aiela responded.

A surprising silence spread over the table as they ate their breakfast. Perhaps it was because they'd spent so much time together recently, but Venza couldn't think of anything to talk about. She wasn't particularly fond of discussing the weather.

"What kind of climate does Astamarr have?" Aiela suddenly asked.

"Seriously?" Venza responded.

"Yes," Aiela said. "I'm growing a tree. I need to know."

"We've only got two seasons," Venza answered, sighing. "It's either hot as heck or raining like there's no tomorrow."

"So just like Rantori," Aiela mused to herself. "If a bit warmer."

"I'm surprised you're so interested in plants," Venza said. "I mean you're a very talented mage. I would have thought you'd mostly be interested in magic."

"I'm definitely interested in learning more magic," Aiela admitted. "But that doesn't mean I can't have other interests. Besides, my interest in plants and animals is related to my interest in magic. I mean, what about you?"

"What about me?" Venza asked, having an inkling she knew where this line of questioning was headed.

"You can't only be interested in things that would make you a great warrior someday," Aiela said.

"Well, yeah," Venza answered, finding herself very interested in her breakfast all of a sudden.

"Indulge me, then," Aiela pressed. "What would Venza Greyfield like to do, if she wasn't so focused on becoming a worthy Heir to her father?"

Venza considered. Did she really have anything she was interested in besides learning her father's work? She continued pretending to find her breakfast fascinating as she thought.

Then she realized she wasn't pretending. Not really. "Bread."

"What?" Aiela asked, her turn to be confused for once.

"I've always kind of been interested in bread. Baking it, I mean," Venza said. "I guess if I wasn't so focused on statecraft and the art of war, I'd have liked to open my own bakery."

"And yet you've never been to the kitchen," Aiela said evenly.

"I have!" Venza protested.

"Not before that day you brought me there," Aiela responded. "It was pretty obvious."

"I'm just too busy," Venza said. "I have to focus."

"Having a goal's all well and good, but you need to do things you like, too."

Venza considered that. It didn't sound wrong, but- "Things aren't that simple. I've got my work cut out for me. I'm a girl, after all. A woman being in charge of the Odolenian military is unheard of. Unless-" Venza trailed off. There was one way a woman could command soldiers in Odolenia, but that seemed to be a path she couldn't walk.

"Ah," Aiela said, nodding in understanding. "Unless you were a powerful mage like your mother."

Venza nodded. "Powerful mages can have positions in the military regardless of gender, due to how rare powerful mages are. I've never heard of one being Lord Marshall but in theory it's possible."

Aiela seemed to be in deep thought, because she took nearly twenty seconds to answer. "Why go to all the trouble then? Why walk such a difficult path? You're a noblewoman. You could just marry a military man and have him lead."

"It's what I want to do with my life," Venza said without hesitation. "To serve and protect the people who've trusted my family for generations. It wouldn't be the same."

"But your goal borders on unattainable," Aiela said matter-of-factually, which hit Venza like a knife in the chest. "Why not pick a more achievable goal? Even Oma knows to pick her battles, despite all her power."

"It's my dream," Venza answered honestly. "The thing I want to pursue most in life. People always tell me I only get one life so I should do what I want with it, so why not go for what I really want, you know?"

Aiela's mouth opened, then closed before she opened it again to answer. "Sometimes I feel like I'm living a dream already."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Venza asked.

"I don't remember my life before Oma," Aiela stated.

"Well, you would've been a baby," Venza pointed out.

"But I get flashes," Aiela continued. "Sometimes, of the place I think I came from."

"What's it like?" Venza asked. She'd long concluded Aiela probably hadn't been born in Oma Mala's care, but she kept that to herself.

Aiela seemed to hesitate, then said, "I remember water."

"Like a lake? Or near an ocean?" Venza asked. Odolenia was largely inland, but its northwest edge touched the ocean.

"Not like that," Aiela said. "I was submerged in it."

"So you dreamed you were swimming?"

"No. It's hard to explain," Aiela said, taking her glass of water and placing it between them. "It felt like I was trapped in a giant glass of water."

"A recurring nightmare where you're drowning?" Venza asked, concerned.

"I don't know," Aiela admitted. "I don't think so, but whenever I see it, I feel like I'm just lucky to be here, and not in there. Though at the same time I feel like I'm living on borrowed time."

"Maybe you should learn to swim," Venza suggested. "There's a pond nearby. Maybe it'll make the dreams go away if you can move around in water."

To her surprise, Aiela smiled. "Alright. It's not a bad idea. I've got one to solve your problem, too."

"You do?"

"It's pretty simple. If your parents won't give you the opportunity to prove yourself, go find it on your own. You just need to make people see you're worthy of leading them," Aiela suggested. "I can help with that."

"How? Like you said, Father won't give me a chance to prove myself."

Aiela's eyes went to her own hands, which she opened and closed for emphasis. "Once we've grown a bit, we can make chances ourselves. I've kind of already started."

Venza considered that. "You mean by helping the people of Astamarr?"

Aiela nodded. "Prove to the people you'll govern that you can aid and protect them."

Venza's eyes lit up. "You're right! You're a genius!"

Aiela inclined her head gracefully, accepting the compliment without a word.

Venza's brows furrowed. "Are you really the same girl I met in Ren- Rantori?"

"Of course I am," Aiela said, giving Venza a look that seemed to wonder if she was deranged. "Who else would I be? I just have a goal now."

"What goal?"

Aiela smirked. "That's for me to know." Maintaining her smirk, she picked up her mug of hot chocolate and raised it. "To the future defenders of Astamarr."

Venza blinked, then grinned back at her, taking her own cup of orange juice. "To the future defenders of Astamarr!"

Author's Note: And with that, the prologue is concluded and the story can begin in earnest. If you're still here, thank you for sticking around this far.
 
but you can't tell me you don't see the merit in being able to strike stealthily from a distance."
If you can TK a poison dart to the back of someone's neck then two apples' worth of force is plenty. Or, if you could just like someone's eyes with TK that would be a big advantage in a fight.
 
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If you can TK a poison dart to the back of someone's neck then two apples' worth of force is plenty. Or, if you could just like someone's eyes with TK that would be a big advantage in a tight.

The problem with the poison dart thing is she can't quite hold the spell steady just yet. Absolutely spot on with poking out someone's eyes with it, though.
 
You know that test they do at the opticians where they fire a puff of air into your eyes? If you're not braced for it you would 100% blink.
Yeah, no. It's one of those powers I think that benefits someone who follows up with physical violence really well. Like how in Skyrim for example the Unrelenting Force shout would just knock someone down but realistically a free knockdown means a free kill if you can follow it up most of the time.
 
Chapter 15.5 - What's Best for his Daughter
Author's note: Okay my bad. I forgot about this chapter. This is the last chapter before the real timeskip.

Lucius

Lucius frowned behind his thick, red beard as he listened to Cassandra's report. Cassandra Blackfeather was a tall, graceful woman with a beautiful face, dark hair, and an air of nobility that would put her right at home at a grand ball instead of the war room table she currently occupied with some of the most important people in the Empire. This came as no surprise, however, when one considered that Cassandra Blackfeather was the Spymaster of Odolenia. She claimed nothing happened in the realm without her knowing, though Lucius had cause to doubt that. She'd known nothing about the Bloodbeak attack on the frontier two years ago, after all, when he and Venza had made their way to Rentley for a routine inspection and picked Aiela up in the process.

"Am I boring you, Lucius?" Cassandra's tone was sweet, and yet cut through his reverie like a sharp blade.

"Not at all, Cass," he said, putting on a smile. "I'm just not particularly fond of these developments in the south."

"Tensions between the noblemen of Serian and the clergy could lead to civil war," said a sharply-dressed man with brown hair and a clean shaven face. He was Leon Redmane, Master of Coin and a very distant relative to Lucius, whose last name no longer matched his family's appearance. It was unfortunate, but the name carried enough significance and 'Brownmane' just didn't carry the same weight to it. "It could be a golden opportunity for us to seize some of their territory."

A very distant relative, Lucius repeated to himself. No Greyfield would think to profit off of a war that hurt people.

"I'm not keen on their infighting spilling over to our southern borders," Lucius commented.

"Ah, but those are your lands, are they not, old friend?" came the snide remark of Brandelis Silverlake, lifelong pain in Lucius' ass. He was a tall man with blond hair, a well-kept beard, and a head far too large for Lucius' liking. Brandelis headed the Silver Shield, the knight order that protected the Imperial family. "Surely, you and your Grey Guard can protect your own holdings?"

"Of course we can, Brandelis," Lucius answered in as even a tone as he could muster. "The same way I would protect your lands to the east since you're always here in the capital."

Brandelis huffed. "My presence here is of the utmost importance, old friend. Or did you forget that my duty is to the Emperor? Besides, Lucius, unlike you, two of my children have been granted the Imperial Mark and are more than capable of protecting their home."

Lucius snarled, but held his tongue. Insulting him was one thing, but his daughter? The nerve of this pompous-

"Must you two do this every meeting?" Cassandra asked with a groan, once again cutting into Lucius' thoughts. "By the Four! You act like children."

Lucius held back his instinct to say 'Brandelis started it' and instead said, "My apologies, Cassandra, and your Majesty."

The thin, older man at the head of the table let out an amused laugh. "Nothing to forgive, Lucius."

Despite appearances, this man held the most power in the room. In fact, he held nearly all the power in the Empire, for this frail-looking character was none other than Harway Odolenis, head of House Odolenis and the absolute Emperor of Odolenia. Despite his power, Harway gave his vassals a surprising amount of freedom, only limiting them enough that no one could truly challenge his rule. The mandatory headcount limit of the Grey Guard was part of this. Harway trusted Lucius with his life, but putting a renowned War Hero in charge of the military and allowing him to have a large personal army was a recipe for disaster. It made defending Astamarr from monsters a bit more difficult, but Lucius understood the reasoning.

The meeting continued on, with matters turning from potential foreign threats to issues with funding and infrastructure. Despite his best efforts, Lucius could not pay attention to these. He wondered if that was how Venza felt, unable to pursue the path she wished to walk, but uninterested in anything else.

The girl had turned eleven recently. If she had been born without any capacity for magic like he had, she would have been granted an Imperial Mark after her tenth birthday like Brandelis' children and someday, a Revenant Arm like Lucius' own sword. Unfortunately, Venza had been born a mage, which disqualified her from receiving a Mark. And even worse, despite being born a mage, she seemingly could not do magic beyond that one spell Aiela had taught her. He and Nora had been hoping Venza was merely a late bloomer as a mage, but they'd never heard of a girl so blessed with magical power that could not cast.

If she could be granted an Imperial Mark, she could have pursued a military career like he did despite being a woman. If she'd either received the Mark or been born a man, there would have been no problem at all, but with both things not going in her direction... Lucius' eyes wandered to Emperor Harway, who looked just as bored as Lucius felt.

He wondered. Could they make an exception for her? Could he use his good relations with the Emperor to have his daughter be granted an Imperial Mark? The idea planted itself firmly in the back of Lucius' mind, slowly growing like a plant in a field back home.

What was the harm in asking, after all? Was it not his duty as a father to make sure he did everything he could to grant his daughter the life she wanted?

It was another half hour before the meeting finally adjourned, and Lucius now approached Emperor Harway with a small grin, the idea fully bloomed in his head.

"Your Majesty," Lucius spoke once all the meeting attenders except Brandelis had shuffled out of the room, "Might I have a word?"

Harway gave him an easy smile. "Please, Lucius, it's Harry in private. And you may, although I hope you won't begrudge Brandelis staying. If anything happened to me, after all, he'd be out of a job."

Harway chuckled in that easy manner he had. It was hard to fathom this man was a conquering Emperor, but Lucius had fought at his behest in the war against Lupa, so he knew all too well that Harway could be vicious when required.

"Please, your Majesty," Brandelis said, "If Lucius tried anything against you in my presence, we'd be short of a Lord Marshall."

Lucius rolled his eyes and focused on the Emperor. He didn't like Brandelis staying when he asked this, but he had no choice.

"As you wish, Harry," Lucius said. "I was wondering if I could ask a small favor."

"Oh?" Harway intoned, curious. "Decades of service and this is the first time I've so much as heard a request from you. What is it, then? Do you need funds for agriculture? Infrastructure? Is defending the border too hard? Tell me and I'll see if I can grant it."

Lucius beamed, feeling triumphant. "It's about my daughter, Venza-"

"Ah, yes," Harway said, interrupting him in his eagerness. "Is this about her mage studies? I could send her to the Magic Academy in Lilium like my own daughter."

Lucius blinked. He hadn't considered that. But Venza had been clear that she had very little interest nor talent for magic, despite her born abilities.

"No, Your- er, Harry," Lucius corrected himself. "Venza has no aptitude for magic."

He could feel Brandelis smirking. Harway quirked an eyebrow and asked, "Didn't your daughter inherit magical talent from Nora? I was under the presumption that she's one of the most powerful mages of her generation. Cassandra tells me every so often that there's a powerful young mage in your territory, after all."

Lucius considered. Cassandra must have been talking about Aiela. "I'm afraid those reports may be confused, Harry, because Venza can only cast one spell and it's not a particularly strong one."

"I see," Harway said. "Then, I am confused. What would you be asking me for, then?"

"I was wondering if my daughter could receive an Imperial Mark," Lucius said before the conversation could be sidetracked again.

"That's impossible," Brandelis said. "You know mages cannot bear the Mark."

Harway's easy expression remained, although Lucius got the feeling the Emperor was thinking now. "How high was her affinity again? How many spheres?"

Lucius paled. What had Nora said again? One fire, one earth, one air? There was probably more. "At least four," he said, trying to sound confident.

"Leave it to you not to know your own daughter's magical abilities," Brandelis said with a sneer. "My youngest son, Cyrus, is a potent mage on top of being excellent with a blade. Two blades, actually."

Lucius gave Brandelis a look that silently said 'Who asked' before turning back to Harway, who looked deep in thought.

"I'm afraid it's impossible," Harway said.

Lucius' heart sank. "Impossible, my lord?"

"Few know this," Harway began, "but I will tell you, because you are a trusted ally of House Odolenis and a good friend to me."

"I swear to keep it secret," Lucius said, turning his eyes to Brandelis.

He shrugged, signifying he already knew what Harway was about to share.

"Make sure you do. For some reason, the body treats the Imperial Mark as a hostile spell," Harway explained. "Therefore, when one receives the Mark, one's magical resistance will try to dispel it. Remember. The Mark is granted to highborn children with no magic in order to give them the power to defend the Empire, but we do it when they are young so they can't resist it."

"But she's only eleven," Lucius persisted. "Surely, she cannot be strong enough to resist it?"

He knew he was lying, of course. Both Nora and Aiela had commented on Venza's extraordinary magic resistance before. If even Nora found it difficult to overpower the girl's defenses, then a spell that was aimed at nonmagical children would never take hold.

"I am sorry, Lucius," Harway said, sounding sincere. "I cannot take the risk. I am informed that if the Mark is ever resisted, the entire enchantment could be disrupted. You and Brandelis could lose the ability to use your Revenant Arms, along with everyone else in the Empire who bears a Mark."

"I understand," Lucius said.

"What do you want to get her Marked for, anyway?" Harway asked.

"She- " Lucius paused. That was right. Maybe he could still ask him to make an exception and let her be trained. Unmarked nobles could still lead, after all. They just needed to have a magical weapon crafted for them. House Greyfield wasn't particularly wealthy among the nobles, but they could afford some magic gear.

"She wishes to follow in my footsteps," Lucius said.

"A girl as Lord Marshall?" Brandelis spoke. "Ridiculous."

"There is no rule against it," Lucius countered. "The girl has talent."

"I see what this is now," Brandelis said. "You don't want to lose the office. Come to think of it, when was the last time we had a Lord Marshall who wasn't a Greyfield?"

"Never," Harway and Lucius answered at the same time.

"The Greyfields have served as Lord Marshall since the founding of the Empire," Harway explained.

"But we don't hold the office simply because we are Greyfields," Lucius added. "Each and every one of us has had to climb the ranks and prove ourselves. I only ask that my daughter receive the same chance."

"Women without the Mark cannot serve," Harway said. "You know this. We make an exception for the Marked and mages, but in general, women do not serve in the military."

"Then please make an exception for Venza," Lucius asked. "At least give her the chance to prove herself."

"This is ridiculous," Brandelis said, the amusement in his voice gone. "My daughter Britta will serve, but she is Marked, and she has spent years training so that she can enroll at the Military Academy when she turns fifteen."

"My daughter has also been training," Lucius said. She'd been trained by Vosmer, of course, not him, but that didn't help their case so he left that part out.

"Then you have filled her head with foolish notions," Brandelis said. "Instead of accepting her lot as a mage or as a woman, you've planted a dream in her mind that will never see fruition. And for what? So you can keep the title of Lord Marshall in the family? So she can become the first Lady Marshall? Don't make me laugh."

"I did no such thing!" Lucius shot back, his voice rising. "I have discouraged her from the path since she was a child, but she wants nothing more than to follow my footsteps and I will not have you spit on my daughter's dream just because she was not born under the right circumstances! I personally do not care if the title stays within the family or not, but I do want my daughter to lead the life she wishes to live."

"Enough," Harway said. He waited for the two of them to calm down before he continued. "I understand what you're asking Lucius. It is quite an unusual request, but I am not sure you want me to grant it."

"I don't?" Lucius asked.

"Have you forgotten what happened to your brother?" Harway asked.

Lucius frowned. Caius had been killed in combat. "I have not, my lord."

"Or what almost happened to you twelve years ago?" Brandelis added.

The assassination attempt on him and Nora, which they'd barely survived.

Lucius sighed. "Of course I remember."

"As Emperor," Harway began, "I would be happy to receive the service of a promising new recruit, especially one from such a prestigious military lineage. However, as your friend, do me a favor, leave her out of it. You of all people should know the dangers that come with the job."

"I-"

"Think on it," Harway said. "The next time you ask, I will grant you this boon. But consider if this is really something you want for your child."

"I will think on it," Lucius repeated. "Thank you, my lord."

"Again, call me Harry," Harway replied, mustering an easy smile once more.

There was a sudden knock upon the door. The three men looked at each other, and then Brandelis called out, "What is it? We're in a private meeting!"

"Messenger, Lord Silverlake! I bring urgent news from Silverstone."

Silverstone was the seat of House Silverlake's territory and Brandelis suddenly looked pale.

"Enter!" Brandelis said.

The messenger looked winded, immediately kneeling on the floor at the sight of the Emperor. "Ah! Forgive me, my lords! But the news is-"

"If it's so urgent, you can dispense with the formalities!" Brandelis said, an uneasy look on his face.

"It's about your son, my lord, your eldest-"

Brandelis' eyes widened. Lucius felt a pit in his stomach. He didn't like the look or sound of this.

"Your children went into the woods to hunt, and-" the messenger paused. The look in Brandelis' eyes said he'd already known that part, however, which was why he was so concerned in the first place.

"Spit it out, man!" Brandelis said, although he looked like he didn't want to hear it at all.

"Your eldest son, Balthander, my lord-" the messenger's voice hitched, likely from fear of Brandelis' reaction. "He died while fighting a monster."

Lucius had never seen his lifetime rival so pained. Brandelis looked like his world had just been taken from him. In some ways, it had been.

"And my other children?" Brandelis asked. "Cyrus? Britta?"

"They're fine, my lord," the messenger said. "They were the ones who reported what happened this morning."

"I will depart for Silverstone at once," Lucius said. "I'll avenge-"

"You will do no such thing," Brandelis snarled.

"What? Why not?" Lucius asked.

"Take a message back to my House," Brandelis said, his voice cracking. "No one is to go into those woods until I return. I will hunt that monster down myself!"

"Brandelis!" Lucius implored his old rival. "You must be here to protect the Emperor. I will go and-"

"Beg your pardon, my lords, but neither of you can slay the monster," the messenger squeaked, backing away from the angered father in front of him.

"Why the hells not!?!" Brandelis practically roared.

"Your other children already killed the monster who slew their brother," the messenger said.

There was a moment of silence as Brandelis absorbed the information. The messenger took that as his cue to flee before the man flew into a rage. Lucius wasn't sure what to say, but at the same time, his mind was reeling at how the eldest Silverlake, nearly a fully-grown man, could have been killed and then avenged by his siblings in one fell swoop. He might have been young, but he would have been Marked and possessed magical equipment. Lucius could not imagine what Brandelis was feeling. If that had been Venza-

No, he realized. He could imagine it. It was the same feeling of a knife twisted in his gut that he'd felt when he'd found Venza fending off that lone Bloodbeak in the forest of Rentley.

"Brandelis, I'm sorr-" Lucius began.

"Don't." Brandelis' tone was sharp, dangerous. His posture had sunken, resembling more of a humanoid beast than the Emperor's Protector.

"If that had been Venza, I-"

"Shut the fuck up, Lucius!" Brandelis cried out. "I don't want to hear it!"

Lucius promptly shut the fuck up.

Emperor Harway placed a comforting hand on Brandelis' shoulder, then shot a questioning look at Lucius. He spoke no words, but the message was clear:

Do you really want your daughter to be out there fighting, even if it is what she wants?

Lucius' only answer was to look away from his lord's questioning gaze.
 
Chapter 16 - Six Years Later New
Author's Note: Sorry for the delayed update. My internet straight up died.

Aiela

Darkness.

A thin, green slit stared at her from the the murky blackness. It blinked open, then closed. Open, then closed. Faster than eyes normally did.

She hesitated to call this a dream, but she'd had this experience many times over for as long as she could remember. Just a thin, green slit blinking in and out of existence. It looked familiar somehow, and yet she couldn't figure out why that would be.

Bored, Aiela opened her eyes and wondered.

When would this dream end?

Nearly six years had passed in the blink of an eye. Venza would be fifteen soon, and Aiela wouldn't be far behind. She was about to go back to sleep when one of her Hidden watching the outside of the manor urged her to give it attention. She blinked once and suddenly she was seeing through its eyes, revealing the Heir of House Greyfield to be sneaking out of the manor.

With a sigh, Aiela crawled out of bed, willing the lights on with her magic.

A clean, empty basin sat atop her dresser. She looked at herself in the mirror. A pair of sky blue pajamas covered her slender frame. Her face had gotten a little rounder since she was a child, though that was a good thing. The manor's servants and the Greyfields themselves went out of their way to remind her to eat more for the past six years.

She'd grown, of course, though not as much as she would have liked. Certainly not as much as Venza. Between rigorous exercise, a diet enhanced by Aiela's knowledge of nutrition and biology, and likely Venza's own genes, the young heir had undergone a growth spurt and now stood nearly a full head on top of Aiela, though Aiela had grown in other ways.

With a flick of her wrist, she summoned water out of thin air to fill the basin. Her powers had more than doubled in six years, though that didn't say much, considering how little she could do when she and Venza had first met.

She washed her face and hair, preferring to take proper baths in the evenings before dinner. At her mental command, her Hidden quickly helped her out of her pajamas and opened her wardrobe. Almost every piece of clothing she owned was dyed black, with the exception of her pajamas, which had been gifts from Venza that came in a variety of bright colors ranging from pink to blue.

Today, she decided to don a simple black dress with long sleeves. A trio of buttons sealed up the front, though she could open them up if she wanted to show off cleavage. If she ever got any, of course.

She blamed Venza and their regular sparring bouts, but neither of them had really managed to grow bosoms society would call "womanly." Of course, aside from that, both of them very much fit what society would have considered "attractive." Judging herself to be adequately dressed, she set off for Venza's room to confirm a hunch.

Aiela frowned at seeing Venza's empty room. She normally kept an eye on the hallway outside their rooms using a Hidden, but she couldn't exactly do that while asleep. She didn't need a lot of sleep, but she did need it.

A cursory glance of Venza's things told her the young Heir of House Greyfield had left most of her things, taking only a small, discrete pouch she usually brought on her less-advertised excursions. Of course, even among those, there were the kind her parents wouldn't be happy about, and there were the kinds they would be livid to learn of. This, Aiela knew from experience, was likely one of the latter.

She quickly turned in place, left the manor through a side door, gave the night guard a harsh glare because he'd let Venza out past midnight without telling her, then made her way to Verdeholm's market where she fully expected to find her troublesome friend.



Venza

At night, the markets were closed. Goods were hidden away, most merchants slept, and the sturdiest stalls were rearranged to form a square wide enough for a carriage to fit inside. Venza was currently in this square, wearing a sleeveless tunic that showed off strong, toned arms built up by years of training and exercise. Her red hair was tied in a short ponytail as she held her body in a fighting stance.

Soft green lights illuminated the square from four corners: Posts with glowing, green liquid inside glass lanterns. It was a device of Aiela's making that had slowly been spreading through the busier parts of Verdeholm. They didn't quite line the streets, which was what Aiela eventually wanted, but they covered enough that the town was mostly visible at night.

Across from her, a man nearly twice her height stood, boasting to the gathered crowd about how he'd beat the crap out of her. Russell was large, strongly-built, to the extent there were rumors he was part Troll, but Aiela had dismissed that as ludicrous. By her estimation, a half-troll, half-human would have been even larger and bulkier. Aiela had said something about how it was a genetic disorder, which was right about the place in the explanation she'd lost Venza.

Russell was posturing, making a show of stretching his large body. He was certainly intimidating, even to her, especially without a tangible weapon in hand to bridge the gap in size and strength. His arms could hit her without her being in range to strike back.

"Bets are closing now for Venza versus Russell!" the man aptly named Booker, who ran the betting pool for these matches, said loudly over the cheers of the crowd.

She took a deep breath, let the noise of the crowd fade away, and waited for Booker to signal them to start.

"Begin!"

She held her place calmly, watching Russell roar and lunge at her with a haymaker. It was a clumsy move that reeked of his inexperience: Russell may have been large, but he was both a year younger and less-trained than she was.

She quickly ducked under his outstretched arm, twisting her body to deliver a hard hook into his stomach as she did so. She slipped past him as he stumbled, delivering a quick series of blows to his exposed back before retreating to a safe distance. She was strong for her size and age, but if he grappled her with his weight, it was over. She'd already learned that in Rentley when she was nine.

He turned back around, this time trying to land a hard straight aimed right at her head. No sense blocking such a large opponent if she could dodge instead. She tilted her head to the side, narrowly dodging the blow as her left arm came up to deliver an uppercut to his chin. Russell staggered back with a pained howl. She took advantage of his stunned state by driving her right hand into his stomach again. Then followed with the left, then the right again. Russell slowly lost ground, being forced back by her furious onslaught. And then suddenly he stopped. Her next punch landed solidly against his tensed abdomen, but just as she realized he hadn't flinched back, she also realized it was too late.

Russell's left jab sent her reeling, shock and pain momentarily confusing her. Luckily, on instinct, she'd hopped back, because he'd just barely missed landing a second, harder blow against her own body. Venza backed up all the way, until suddenly her back hit one of the wooden stalls, and she realized she had nowhere more to retreat.

"Hells, Russell," she muttered, rubbing her cheek. She was sure it would bruise. "You really don't hold back. That any way to treat a lady?"

"Heh, you're one to talk, boss lady," he answered.

A lot of the lads called her that. The ones that respected her, anyway. It had taken a lot of convincing for them to let her join their little fight club, but being their future boss helped a lot.

"Oh, I'm holding back plenty," she assured him. Not that she expected him to believe that. They never did. Still, she appreciated that he treated her as another fighter instead of anything else.

Suddenly, a flicker caught her and everyone else's attention. The lights had gone out for a fraction of a second. She frowned. The lights only came on in darkness and she'd never known them to dim, unless-

She spotted a familiar, brown-haired girl in the crowd. Aiela. Venza almost rolled her eyes. Time to go home, it seemed.

"Sorry, Russ," Venza said. "My nanny's here. Looks like I have to go home. You win, I guess."

The crowd suddenly grew quiet to hear their conversation better. Then there was plenty of booing at her decision. In all likelihood, those were the people who'd bet on her winning. Or just people enthusiastic to see her fight, she supposed.

She moved to climb back out of the square over the stall, but Russell rudely grabbed her leg.

"Nuh uh," Russell said. "Not good enough. We're fighting until one of us goes down."

Venza sighed, then looked once more where she'd spotted Aiela, unsurprised to find she was no longer there. Aiela did love her little disappearing acts. They fit in with her whole 'witch' narrative she liked to sell people on. Venza supposed she'd have to get out of this on her own, then.

"Fine, fine!" she exclaimed with a shrug. "Let me get back on my feet and we can get this over with."

Russell did as asked, backing up to let her stand back inside the square.

"Booker, count us down, if you please!" she requested.

"No problem, Miss Greyfield!" he answered.

Three.

Two.

One.

She exploded into motion, going straight for his abdomen again. Russell seemed to catch on quickly, preparing himself to receive the blow like earlier, but that was his mistake: He was trying to anticipate the next move of someone who was thinking one step ahead. Venza was ahead by two.

She veered sharply to his left, knowing it was his less-used hand, letting the momentum of her body carry her forward, quickly landing a harsh blow on his left flank with her right hand. Her left fist went straight for his chin, causing him to recoil in surprise and pain. She used that opening to get behind him. As he rotated his body left to catch up to her, she was already almost on his right side, her left elbow smashing sharply into his meaty flank. Weight difference or no, one didn't simply take an elbow to the side and shrug it off.

He staggered to the left, giving her the chance to hook his right leg with her left, sending him toppling to the ground with a heavy thud. She quickly pressed her advantage, placing the heel of her boot on his chest.

"There. Are we good?" she asked.

Russell looked up at her, dazed, but nodded. She was lucky Russell was more fat than muscle.

The crowd watched her silently.

"What the blazes was that?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Years of training!" Venza answered back with a grin. "Booker?" she asked.

"Uh, yes!" Booker quickly recovered. "The winner is Venza Greyfield! Winners, please claim your payouts. Or don't! I won't mind!"

As she exited the square of boxes and stalls, a throng of people surrounded her, all either congratulating her on her win or trying to ask how the blazes she took Russell out so quickly. She thanked her well-wishers, a massive grin creeping on her face as she basked in their adoration. It was an entire ten minutes before she could get through the crowd, and it was there, under one of the green-glowing lamp posts, that she saw Aiela.

The young mage had grown tall, though she was still shorter than Venza by about a head. Aiela had worn a frown on her face as Venza approached, but her sourness couldn't dampen Venza's mood. "Enjoy the show? You could've helped, you know. I would've finished faster."

"What for?" Aiela asked. "Didn't seem like the sort of trouble that would leave any permanent damage."

Aiela quickly reached for her face, faster than Venza could react. The part where Russell had smacked her still stung, and Venza recoiled in discomfort. "What the fuck, Aiela?"

"Hold still," Aiela said, clasping her face again. A soft, green light pulsed from her hand, and Venza knew from experience Aiela was healing her bruise before it became a proper bruise.

"You could be more gentle about it," Venza complained.

"And you could stop sneaking out at night," Aiela answered before letting go. "There, all done."

"Thank you," Venza said, feeling her face with her hand. "I'm mostly safe, anyway. A lot of the people here are recruits for the Grey Gua-"

Venza noticed Aiela's gaze look past her and onto the crowd. A second match had started between two young men and for some reason, Aiela seemed interested.

"Did you want to watch or-" Venza began, but Aiela cut her off.

"I was simply wondering why the heir of the great and noble house of Greyfield would spend her nights here," Aiela said, shrugging. "But I didn't need to wonder long."

Venza winced at that. It was true. She knew she shouldn't be doing this. But-

"I know," Aiela said, as if reading her thoughts. "You've grown so much as a warrior and yet your father still refuses to acknowledge you."

It was true. Here she felt loved. Adored. Celebrated. Even more than whenever the two of them went out and did work for the town.

"Are you sure you want to be Lord Marshall?" Aiela asked. "Because it kind of looks like you'd be fine being a prize fighter in the Imperial Arena."

"Me? In the Imperial Arena?" Venza chuckled. "Father would have a panic attack."

"At least you remembered this time," Aiela said, holding up a pouch of money.

"Yeah, I bet on me in your name," Venza said. "More funds for the war effort."

The 'war effort' of course, being what they jokingly called Venza's campaign to succeed her father as Lord Marshall one day. They'd gathered a decent amount doing odd jobs or using Aiela's concoctions and devices to solve problems. Mother kept a tight leash on her spending the House's funds, after all, refusing to spend any of it on 'Venza's nonsense.'

"Shall we go home, then?" Aiela asked. "And pretend this didn't happen?"

"Right. Homeward, then," Venza declared, a soft smile on her lips.
 
Chapter 17 - Morning Routines New
Aiela

Aiela did not sleep again that night. She lay awake, concerned about the course she and Venza were on. Oma had said Venza would be bound for great things but with the way things were, Aiela couldn't see how that would happen.

Deciding she'd wallowed enough for one morning, she moved to leave her room but stopped when she remembered she had one last bit of business to tend to. She approached her window, where a pepper plant soaked in the dim light.

"Good morning," she spoke to the plant. It bore peppers that had no right to be the size they were, being nearly three times larger than normal. It was a wonder they managed to stay attached to the plant, but careful application of magic could fix almost anything.

With a thought, she sprinkled her new botany project with water before heading out. Water Magic was incredibly useful, she found. She was glad she managed to pick it up during her stay here.

___________________________________________________________________________________

At half an hour before seven, Aiela made her way to the kitchen. With a thought, she ordered some of her Hidden to pick up damp rags and give the hallways a bit of polishing. A clean home was a happy home and all that.

As always, the smell of food being prepared assaulted her nostrils like the sweetest temptation. She smelled bacon and eggs, just like her first morning here.

"Miss Aiela!" Milly greeted at her approach. "Good morning. Do you want a snack or-"

"Good morning, Milly," Aiela responded quickly. "No, I'll hold off until Venza comes down for breakfast. I'm just here for the usual."

"Of course. Thank you for your hard work, as always," Milly spoke with a hint of reverence.

In six years, her magic had assisted enough people around Verdeholm that she'd gotten quite popular with the townsfolk. She'd modified their crops to grow larger, better food. She'd nursed a few people on death's doorstep back to the living. Many times when the local healers deemed someone a lost cause, they came to her, instead, and she could find solutions they couldn't. The satisfaction of showing up Healer Jones was all the thanks she needed, but she never turned down promises of favors or the occasional stipend. They needed money for the 'war effort,' after all.

One of her next projects involved replacing the town's pulley-and-rope wells with something a bit more expedient, but it was a work in progress.

She could have settled for a simple pump and a few pipes, she supposed, but that required having to teach some of the townsfolk how it worked so they could maintain it when she wasn't around. She'd rather work on something else. Especially if it was something no one in neighboring regions could replicate.

Aiela pushed her musings out of mind and focused on her daily task. The kitchen housed several barrels of water pulled up from the well by the staff. She thought of a great, cleansing wave destroying bacteria, and then released her Purify spell.

A soft, green light enveloped the barrels for a few seconds, cleansing them of harmful substances. She willed her Hidden to provide her a cup, and then used the Manipulate Water spell to siphon water to the cup straight from the barrel.

Scan, she thought, and a heads-up display appeared before her eyes:

Substance: Water
Acidity: pH 7
Turbidity: Clear
Potability: No Bacteria Detected

She nodded to herself, satisfied with her work.

"I'm done," she said, almost absentmindedly.

"Thank you again."

She nodded to the servants in the kitchen. She wasn't sure why they were so grateful. She drank that water. Obviously, she would want it clean.

Aiela turned an eye to the wall clock, noticing she still had fifteen minutes before seven. Venza would be in the middle of her workout, despite having been out late at night.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Seventy-six," Venza counted aloud as she pushed her weight off the floor. "Seventy-seven. Seventy-eight."

"Seventy-two," Aiela said as she entered Venza's room. "Seventy-one, seventy-four."

Venza groaned, but didn't stop her push-ups. "Must you always try to make me lose count?"

"I'm doing you a favor," Aiela responded. "So you can do more."

Venza worked out in her room nearly every day before breakfast, only missing it when she had urgent business or her body was too sore for it. Honestly, Aiela had expected her to skip considering she'd spent the night brawling the town's 'Half-Troll.'

Still, Aiela made no complaint as she perched herself on her usual chair, finding her eyes glued to Venza's toned, powerful form. Venza's body was not overly bulky with muscle, but anyone paying close attention would see she was at the peak of fitness for her age. The most astute would even realize her strength was not entirely natural. She had the strength of the average grown man, at least, though she would still lose to the most athletic men in the realm. Or Russell. There was only so much Aiela could do without directly editing Venza's genes, after all. "Almost done for the day, then?"

"Maybe," Venza answered between gasps for air. "Unless you're up for some sparring?"

Aiela considered. She supposed she could use a workout. "Before lunch, maybe."

"Sounds good," Venza said, panting. She counted herself up as she approached her goal of a hundred push-ups. With a final sigh, she hit her hundredth repetition and promptly collapsed on the floor.

"Good work," Aiela said. "Do you want me to-"

"No," Venza answered, pulling herself up to sit on the floor. "No Relief spell today, thank you. I can't rely on your magic to pick me up every time."

Aiela nodded. "Such a hard worker you are, my lady. I'm glad your face didn't bruise."

"Thank you, really," Venza said. "Sorry. I just really had to let off some steam."

"You stress yourself too much," Aiela remarked.

Venza shrugged. "Have to be ready. Bloody civil war in the south and all."

"Ah, yes," Aiela responded. "Some of the nobles in Serian broke off and formed their own principality a few months back."

"Yeah, they're calling themselves the Principality of Savaryn," Venza answered, repeating what she'd heard from Vosmer. "They don't share a border with Astamarr, but the strip of land between us is hotly contested so we've got to keep on our toes in case they want to expand their territory."

Aiela nodded. That strip of land was unsettled wild territory home to a number of monsters. It was close to where they'd met as children.

"They'd be fools to attack the Empire so brazenly," Aiela said, unconcerned. "They have a fraction of its population and military strength. They'd be annihilated."

"But if they do, we're the first line of defense," Venza said.

"You mean the Grey Guard are the first line of defense," Aiela reminded her. "You and I are not part of the military. Not even Astamarr's local defense force."

"I-" Venza stuttered, letting out a sigh. "You're right."

Aiela blinked. She hadn't expected that. Her jibes were usually met with a roll of the eyes or indignation. Right now, all she could see in Venza was reluctant acceptance. She swore internally. She should've realized with how rash Venza had acted last night.

That wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all. She needed to fix this, and quick.

"We've been doing good work," Aiela began. "They have to accept you eventually."

Venza perked up at that. "I suppose we have."

"We've helped patrol the roads before," Aiela reminded her. "Even put down our fair share of monsters."

"Without permission," Venza reminded her. "Without acknowledgment, either."

"Not true," Aiela said. "Vosmer acknowledges us. So does your grandfather. And most of the people of Verdeholm."

"I guess that's true," Venza conceded. "But they're not the ones who need convincing."

"Then we do more," Aiela said. She had no concrete idea what she was suggesting, but this was what humans did when they needed to perk others up, right? "I'll keep an ear to the ground for problems that need solving. You can try asking Vosmer for things that need doing, too."

Venza seemed unconvinced. Eyes that belonged to someone who'd spent nearly a decade trying to prove herself with little to show for it stared back at Aiela. "I suppose."

"Come now. We have work to do," Aiela told her. "Your father is away on the crown's business as usual and the Grey Guard are stretched pretty thin."

"Fine, fine. Not like I had anything better to do, anyway," Venza said, but her lips twitched into a small smile.

Aiela resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Venza needed the nudge. She didn't need to see Aiela worried about her.
 
Chapter 18 - Strength and Suspicion New
Venza



Venza brought her staff down in a strong overhead swing, only to feel its impact on solid wood. Aiela had blocked with the shield strapped to her left arm, her other hand closing in, forcing Venza to back away.

She knew from past experience one touch was all the smaller girl needed to put her to sleep. Her resistance was strong, but touch-based spells were much harder to stave off. Magic was cheating, and Venza was glad Aiela was on her side outside their sparring matches.

In some ways, Astamarr had changed little in six years. They still sparred in the back garden, though Vosmer was away more often than not. His new duties after being promoted to Captain kept him busy.

In others, it had changed a lot.

"Thought I had you," Aiela commented, pulling her arms back into a defensive stance. It was, ironically, the same stance Venza had taken when she'd fought back the children tormenting Aiela six years prior. Aiela had come up with the rather brilliant idea of putting a shield on each arm, which made hitting her a difficult endeavor at best and nigh impossible at worst. Magic was her real weapon, after all. Why bother with a blade over a second shield when you could cripple most enemies with a thought or wave of the hand?

And Vosmer had been right. Getting punched with the tapered end of a shield hurt like hell.

"I'm just getting started," Venza declared, bringing her staff forward in rapid thrusts, each aimed for Aiela's torso, but her shields were wide enough that they caught each blow, even if Venza was gaining ground. She'd gained great physical strength compared to her younger self, and each solid strike pushed Aiela back little by little.

She brought her left arm forward and then to the side, as if yanking some unseen object. The Reach spell obeyed her will, pulling Aiela's right shield away from her body and letting Venza thrust with her staff. Aiela clicked her tongue in frustration, but managed to move her other shield in place just in time to block.

Venza then went low, sweeping the staff at Aiela's feet. The small girl tried to jump over it, but didn't go high enough. The staff caught her leg and sent her to the ground, where Venza quickly aimed the staff at her throat in victory.

"You're getting better," Venza said, offering her a hand up.

Aiela took it. "Maybe you're just getting worse. Or I'm tired from picking you up in the middle of the night. I thought I was going higher than that. Unless you used Reach to keep me from going up?" she questioned.

Venza shook her head. "Would've been a good idea, but hadn't thought of it at the time. And don't give me that. You hardly sleep, anyway."

Despite her initial reluctance with these practice sessions, Aiela had clearly grown to enjoy them almost as much as Venza did.

After helping Aiela up, the pair wiped themselves off with towels before sitting next to each other on the bench, worn as it was from their near-daily use of it.

"You're getting more consistent," Aiela told her.

"What?" Venza asked.

"With Reach," Aiela said. "When you started you could only get it to work maybe one out of five times."

Venza grinned, looking down at her own hand, curling it into a fist. "True. But I've been practicing almost every day, like you told me."

"What's your success rate like now?"

Venza pursed her lips in thought. "Maybe four out of five?"

"Do you want to test it?" Aiela asked.

Venza held back a groan. She wanted to eat, but she was curious, and it was always good to measure how much she'd improved over how she used to be. "Fine. Fine."

Aiela wasted little time, conjuring ten large bubbles each the size of an apple. They floated in front of Venza in two neat rows of five, one row on top of another. Venza stood and shook herself ready, getting into a fighting stance.

She called to her magic, invoking the Reach spell. She brought her right fist forward, and one of the floating bubbles popped. She invoked the spell again, taking less than a second, bringing her left fist up now. Another bubble popped. And then she did it again and again. Within the span of five seconds, she'd cast ten spells, thrown ten punches.

All but two of the bubbles were gone.

"Eight out of ten," Aiela said. "Good work."

Releasing a sigh, Venza asked, "Now, can we have lunch?"

"Why didn't you use it last night?" Aiela asked, suddenly.

Venza blinked. She thought that was obvious. "The bouts at the market are a test of my skill as a warrior. Using magic would be cheating."

"I certainly hope you don't apply that same line of thought in an actual battle," Aiela said in a warning tone.

"Of course not. I'm not that naive," Venza said. "Now, can we eat?"

"Thought you'd never ask." With a gesture, the remaining two bubbles popped and the two of them headed in for lunch.



A small feast of filleted chicken and buttered vegetables awaited them. In a mere six years, Verdeholm's ability to grow crops had more than doubled thanks to Aiela's experiments, making it the biggest source of non-meat foodstuffs in the Empire. These vegetables, however, were special, custom-made for Venza by Aiela.

Aiela had tried to explain it to her once but the gist of it was that these vegetables would help her body grow in strength as she exercised. Venza had been skeptical at first, but she'd definitely gotten stronger than a girl her age normally would have been.

The two of them dined by themselves, like they did more often than not these days. Her father was in the capital on duty, and Nora had yet to leave her chambers. Despite her miraculous recovery six years past, her health had declined slowly as time went on, to the point she almost never left her room.

"Good morning, Miss Venza, Aiela," one of the maids, Milly, if Venza remembered correctly, greeted them.

"Good morning, Milly," Aiela answered, confirming Venza's guess.

Aiela had carved an unusual niche for herself in their household. She was supposed to be Venza's aide, though she acted more like a princess' lady-in-waiting despite not being highborn herself. Then again, the people loved her like she was a proper Greyfield. Astmarr had a lot to thank Aiela for.

"These smell wonderful," Venza added.

"You're too kind, my la-" Milly was cut off mid-sentence as she seemingly stumbled in place, though she managed to right herself before falling. "My apologies."

"Are you alright?" Venza asked.

"I'm fine, miss. Just a little under the weather."

"You shouldn't work while you're ill," Venza said gently. "Take the day off. I'll make sure you still get paid."

Milly looked alarmed. "Oh no, I couldn't."

"Come here a second," Aiela spoke, though it sounded more like a command than a request. Milly looked hesitant at first, but realizing Aiela's intent, obeyed. Aiela made a gesture with her hand, sliding it over her face. As it passed, Venza saw her eyes glowing a bright green. She'd seen this enough times to know what it was: Scan, one of the spells Aiela had known from before she'd come to live in Verdeholm.

After a moment, Aiela frowned. "Have you consumed anything unusual lately?"

"Um, no, Miss Aiela, I haven't eaten anything strange. Why?"

The frown deepened as Aiela's eyes went back to their usual brown. "You've been poisoned. Not life-threatening, but it's there."

The maid shrank back. "What? How can that be?"

"You're sure you haven't consumed anything out of the ordinary?" Aiela asked.

She shook her head. "I had dinner at the pub last night. Didn't even have a beer."

"What are you thinking?" Venza asked, noting Aiela's furrowed brow.

"Hard to narrow down. Could be the food at the pub was bad last night," Aiela offered. "But before we go slandering someone's business, we might want to check the water."

"But we've been drinking the same water the whole time," Venza pointed out. "You and I aren't sick."

"Not exactly the same water," Aiela said. "Not all the time."

"What do you mean?"

"Miss Aiela uses magic to clean the manor's water stores almost daily," Milly explained. "I drink it when I'm here, but well - not when I'm off duty."

"I didn't know that," Venza said, looking at her friend of six years with some surprise.

"It's what I do in the mornings when you exercise before breakfast."

"I- I see," Venza said. "Let's investigate, then."

"Oh? Us personally?" Aiela drawled. "Why not have your father's men handle it?"

Venza looked away. She'd almost given up that morning, but Aiela was right. There were things they could do to help. All they needed was to prove it in a way they couldn't be denied.

"Which of my father's men can do both Nature and Water magic?" Venza asked dryly. Aiela had expanded her arsenal in the six years that passed, gaining an affinity for simple water spells.

"Unbelievable," Aiela answered. "I'll have you know I had a full schedule planned for today."

"You mean you were either going to spend most of the day with me or sneak off to your tree house until evening," Venza said flatly.

Aiela smirked. "What can I say? You're a demanding boss and I have plenty of work to do."

Venza rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna patch her up or not?"

Aiela turned to Milly, who was watching their exchange with poorly-disguised amusement. "You see what I'm dealing with?" Aiela asked, shaking her head.

Aiela made a gesture with her hands, muttered "Serpent's Slumber," and a blue light washed over Milly before quickly disappearing. "There. The symptoms should fully fade in half an hour, but you'll be quite sleepy for the rest of the day. Feel free to slack off since Venza's taking responsibility."

"I- thank you, Miss Aiela," Milly said, bowing her head slightly.

Venza sighed. It was going to be a long day.



Verdeholm wasn't big, even for a town. Built atop a large hill, the walled section of the settlement had only enough space for housing and some shops. A scattering of smaller structures outside the walls supported it, protected by watchtowers and outposts that covered the main roads. These included the vast tracts of farmland that produced Astamarr's food.

The sparse space in the walls meant there were few sights to see, save for the Sky-struck Oak near the center of the town - a great tree that had been blasted by lightning in the past. The townspeople revered it, believing it sacrificed itself for the benefit of Astamarr.

Her father had told her once that the townsfolk offered to build a sculpture of each Greyfield Head at least once in their lives, but they'd all refused. This included her father, who went out of his way to make his presence felt by the people of the Empire. He wanted to give people courage, he'd said. He didn't want them to revere him.

Speaking of reverence, however, there was one new thing in Verdeholm that stood out: A large, towering tree in the back of Greyfield Manor, even larger than the Sky-struck Oak. It was the same tree Aiela had planted almost six years ago, grown to a ridiculous size at an equally ridiculous speed.

Despite her family's best attempts, people talked about it, seeing it as a second place of interest in their quiet little farming town. Rumors abound that it was a gift from a nature spirit. In this case, truth was stranger than fiction: that a nine-year-old girl with immense magical knowledge had planted it and now used its hollow as her personal magic workshop.

Despite its simplicity, Verdeholm was usually lively during the few times Venza actually went out. That day, however, something was clearly off. It was as if a spirit of sloth had visited the town and dampened everyone's moods.

"I'm surprised no one's appealed to my father for aid about this yet," Venza said.

"Not everyone can just go up to Lord Lucius and tell them their problems," Aiela reminded her. "Especially when he's off to the capital so often."

"I suppose not." She couldn't even have a serious talk with him about whether she would inherit the family legacy or not, after all, and they were blood-related. "To the well, then?"

Aiela nodded. The town actually had a few wells, but to their knowledge, they all pulled their contents from the same underground water source - a river that ran beneath Astamarr. It was bad. If one well was contaminated, that meant all of them might have been.

Astamarr's wells were a simple design - a vertical shaft leading to the underground river with a bucket-and-pulley system for drawing up water. Aiela scoffed at the bucket and cast a spell to float a sphere of well water up from the bottom. Aiela had been telling Venza about devising a new, safer and faster way to extract water from the river, but she hadn't worked out all the kinks yet.

Aiela's eyes flashed green once more, and she made a thoughtful hum as she inspected the floating orb of water.

The people of Astamarr had gathered 'round, partly out of curiosity, but also to pay their respects to their future ruler and the mage who'd helped them so much.

"Miss Venza, Miss Aiela!" a young man called out. "Thank you again for driving those wolves away from our farm."

"You're welcome," Venza answered. She actually remembered doing that. A few animals were no match for a trained warrior and a talented mage. "It was our duty. Those wolves shouldn't have gotten that close to Verdeholm in the first place."

He presented her with a basket of assorted vegetables he'd been carrying. "Please, have this."

Venza smiled, but shook her head. He'd probably been meaning to sell those at market. "That's quite alright. Our kitchen's all full with vegetables right now, but I appreciate the gesture."

A large, towering figure of a man Venza knew to be one of the town's smiths approached. He had a mane of blond hair that covered most of his face. His name escaped her, though she remembered it was something foreign-sounding.

She also couldn't help but feel she'd met him before.

"Miladies, thank you again for mending Bessie's leg the other week."

Venza did her best not to look confused. Who the blazes was Bessie? "All in a day's work," she answered. "How is she?"

"She's right as rain, milady," the large man answered happily. "I wasn't sure at first, but Miss Aiela said she could go back to pulling carts in a few days, and she was right."

Bessie must have been a horse, then. Maybe an ox. Hopefully. If she was human Venza might need to have a few words with the smith. "Well, I'm glad you can get back to work, then. Your crafts are very important to Astamarr."

He beamed behind his mane of blond hair, then turned his attention to Aiela. "Er, not to pry, but does the well need fixing? Because I could take a look."

"Don't worry," Venza assured him. "Aiela and I are just inspecting the water after hearing a rumor."

She said that, but Aiela was the one who could actually appraise whether or not the water was clean. As much as she was loathe to admit it, Venza hated not being able to cast spells like Aiela did. Even half of Aiela's competency at spellcasting would have let her do so many things. Aiela must have read her mind, because the smaller girl gestured, and Venza found a ring of light surrounding her own right eye: an illusory monocle made of light. She nodded her thanks, and used the magical monocle to appraise the water.

Substance: Well Water

Acidity: pH 7.5

Turbidity: Low-medium

Contents: Water, Soil, Unidentified Toxin

Potability: Unsafe

They gave each other concerned looks. Unidentified toxin? That made no sense. The current would have washed something like that away before it could do any significant harm.

Aiela closed her eyes, craned her neck so her ear was closer to the well. "Listen."

Venza did as instructed, mimicking her friend's actions, but whatever it was she was supposed to be hearing, she couldn't hea- Oh. That was probably what Aiela wanted her to notice.

"The river's too quiet," Venza said, opening her eyes. "Something must be blocking the flow of water."

Aiela nodded, opening her eyes. "My thoughts exactly." She turned to the Blacksmith. "Ingvar, right?"

"Er, yes, ma'am," he answered, snapping to attention. It was strange seeing such a large man falter after being spoken to by a girl nearly half his height.

"Could you please get one of the guards?" Aiela asked. "The water might be dangerous."

"Right away!" he said, trotting off and disappearing around the corner.

"Why'd you send him?" Venza asked quietly. "We could have gone ourselves."

"I'm occupied," Aiela answered, her eyes not looking at Venza, but seemingly into space.

Venza knew that look. She was scouting something out using her Hidden. "Did something fall in and contaminate the water?"

"If it did, I can't send them out that far," Aiela answered. "You know how these things are. If they go too far my control weakens."

"What did you notice, then?"

"I think this was done on purpose," Aiela answered.

"What? Who would do that?" Venza asked. "And why?"

Aiela finally opened her eyes. "Because I've just been looking through the eyes of another one of my Hidden on the rooftops, and there's a group of travelers outside the walls distributing what looks to be medicine."

"That can't be a coincidence," Venza said.

"Exactly. Let's detain them and see what they know," Aiela suggested.

Venza put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "I think we should stick to a civil discussion for now. We've got no proof they're doing anything wrong, and-" She paused, then added, "Like you said, you and I are civilians."

Aiela looked like she wanted to argue, but sighed and said, "Fine."

Ingvar the Blacksmith came back with a guard in tow, and the two of them explained that people should stay away from the well water for a while.

"You can get a few barrels from the Manor," Venza offered. "It should be safe, but there won't be enough for everyone, so you'll need to ration it."

"Yes, Miss Venza," the guard answered. "Will you be-"

"We'll head out to see if we can fix the problem," Venza answered before he could finish.

"I'll gather some of the lads to be your escort," he offered.

"That would be helpful, thank you," Venza said.

"We don't need esc-" Aiela began. However, she suddenly stopped, cupping her chin with her right hand as if deep in thought. "Two," she said.

"Two?" Venza echoed.

Venza was about to protest that if they were taking two, they might as well have taken none since she wasn't sure what two ordinary guardsmen would add to their fighting strength. Knowing that Aiela usually acted with reason stopped her, however.

"Two escorts will do," Aiela explained. "Preferably men used to heavier equipment."

"We have a few lads who've been training with long maces," the guard offered.

"Perfect," Aiela said. "Tell them they only need bring spears."

"Are you sure, ma'am?" the soldier asked, clearly confused. Venza couldn't blame him. She had no idea what Aiela was scheming, either. What was the point of asking for people who trained with heavy weapons then asking them not to bring said weapons?

"I'm certain," Aiela confirmed.

"Right," the guard said. "I'll send for Roeder and Carver. They're young, but they should suit your needs."

"Thank you. Have them report to the back of the manor," Aiela said.

"Yes, ma'am," the guard said, saluting them both before heading off to the barracks.

Carver? Carver. That name rang a bell. Wait.

"Aiela!" Venza suddenly spoke. "Isn't Carver-"

"The name of the man who threw himself in front of that Bloodbeak?" Aiela finished for her. "Yes."

"I-" she stuttered. She didn't think it was such a good idea. Carver had needed to retire after saving her. They'd rewarded him with the means to start up farming as compensation for services rendered.

"It'll be okay," Aiela said, sounding sure for some reason.

"Right. I'm sure it will be," Venza said, not feeling assured.

Venza took a deep breath and let it out slowly, focusing her mind elsewhere.

"You know what I just realized? How strange it is for a member of the Grey Guard to salute and obey a supposed civilian," Venza commented.

Aiela glanced at her, looking confused. "What's strange? They're your House's forces, and as far as they're concerned, I speak with your voice."

Venza cracked a grin. "Do you? Because to me, we sound nothing alike."

She was teasing, of course. They both knew the real reason people saluted Aiela was because the two of them had helped out so much. Aiela just always wanted to act cool and aloof.

Aiela rolled her eyes. "With your authority, then. Now, come. We'll pay these peddlers a visit."

In about five minutes, they were outside and Venza could see the sprawling farmlands of her people. Fields of wheat, corn, and all manner of other produce stretched nearly as far as the eye could see.

Like Aiela reported, a group of townspeople had gathered around a wagon pulled by two horses. A large sign hung from the side of the wagon, saying "Heeling Woter."

Venza scowled. Had they meant to write 'Healing Water?'

A bearded, burly man wearing battered leather armor stood at the side, offering people small vials in exchange for money.

"Wait here," Aiela said, passing a hand over her face, and suddenly she was the spitting image of Milly, if a few years younger.

"Remember, don't-"

"Don't hurt them, I know," Aiela said, waving her off as she vanished into the crowd, leaving Venza on her own.
 
Chapter 19 - Scouting Mission New
Aiela



The Mind Sphere might have been her favorite sphere of magic. The ability to warp others' perceptions to suit your needs was incredibly useful, and while not as rare as Oma's Time Sphere or even Lady Nora's Space Sphere, there were perhaps a few dozen human users of Mind Magic on the entire continent.

Far from all-powerful, Mind had a large shortcoming: In addition to being resisted by powerful mages like the other types of magic, the illusions could be thwarted by a sharp mind or a strong will, especially when you knew there was an illusion in the first place. Still, on the average person, it worked just fine.

"Get your healing water right here!" one of the men from the wagon called out. "Fresh from a spring of healing! Only two silvers each!"

That made her quirk an eyebrow. Healing springs were rare, and most were controlled by the governing body of the territory they belonged in. The nearest such spring was to the north, in House Carsten's lands, and she knew they guarded it well. That left a few possibilities: These men were either thieves who'd stolen the water somehow, or more likely, they were swindlers peddling fakes.

Aiela picked a middle-aged woman in the crowd who looked almost as skeptical as she did, striking up a conversation, "Hey, how do we even know that stuff works?"

"They gave out five bottles to demonstrate," the woman answered. "The lucky sods who got the samples got better in front of our very eyes."

Aiela hummed in thought. That quickly? That couldn't have been healing water, then. Healing water was just water with curative Nature Magic in it. Her own healing magic would take roughly half an hour to alleviate the poison's symptoms, like with Milly. For it to work so quickly, it must have been some kind of antidote, which had unfortunate implications for the party on the wagon. They arrived just in time to sell their products to the town while the townspeople were suffering from poisoning? A likely story.

Aiela elbowed and zapped (lightly, of course, and discretely) her way through the crowd to get a vial herself. The man in charge saw her, noticed her fine black dress amid the crowd of common folk, and smiled.

"Welcome, miss. Feeling under the weather, too?" he asked.

"Yes, since this morning," Aiela lied.

"Worry not. A vial of this water, fresh from a healing spring, will fix you right up!" he said.

"It's not terribly expensive, is it?" she asked. She would have batted her eyelashes but she'd never been great at that.

"Naw, it's a bargain! For only two silvers, you're practically just paying for the vial!"

He was right, actually. A graded potion vial ran about a silver each, less if bought in bulk. If they were really selling what they said they were, they were losing money with each vial. A genuine vial of Healing Water ran for at least five times that if she remembered right. As a mage she never really needed it.

"May I purchase three, then, for my family?"

"Of course, of course! Hey, girl! Three bottles!" the man called out. A girl with jet black hair tied in a ponytail and sun-kissed skin wordlessly obeyed, passing three vials over to Aiela from aboard their cart. Their eyes met for a moment, and Aiela could practically see a cry for help on her face. If Aiela hadn't promised Venza to be civil, she would have knocked the man out then and there. Besides, if there were any accomplices, they needed to be found, too.

Instead, she used a spell to make six copper coins look like silvers, and walked away with her purchase, casting one last glance at the wagon.



Venza



"It's a curative tincture," Aiela explained, holding up a bottle. "Made from herbs common to Astamarr."

"So a potion that heals people?" Venza asked. Aiela had returned to her normal appearance.

"No, but it works well enough for mild poisoning of the stomach."

"That's not enough to put them under arrest," Venza said, frowning.

"Are you sure? I'm positive they're also holding a girl against her will," Aiela insisted.

Venza's mouth curled into a frown. "How certain are you?"

"Eighty percent," Aiela answered. "But it might be a bad idea to do it now."

"What do you mean?"

"These are shrewd brigands we're dealing with," Aiela explained. "And who knows how many of them there are? If we strike now, the rest might get away."

"Then, the better option is to see where the contamination is coming from," Venza said. "And find out why the river is blocked. The sooner we unravel this plot, the better."

Aiela nodded her head in agreement.

Venza cupped her chin in thought. "We should investigate the blockage first. If this was truly engineered by someone, they might still be there, or at least have left some clues as to their identities."

"Agreed, but who knows how far downriver the problem might be?" Aiela asked. "We can't walk the whole way. Shall we borrow horses from the stable?"

"Th-that's an option, yes," Venza answered, cursing herself for the slight quiver in her voice.

Aiela, with a barely concealed smirk, replied, "Are you certain? I'm decent on horseback, but as I recall, you seem to have some trouble with-"

"I'll be fine," Venza answered. "We even spent an entire summer with House Carsten learning how to ride."

"I'm aware," Aiela said, barely suppressing a smirk. "It's why I know how to ride."

Venza rolled her eyes.

"But perhaps we should take a carriage, instead," Aiela suggested.

"Of course," Venza said, trying to hide her relief. "No telling how far we'll need to travel, after all. May as well do it in comfort."



Like they'd asked, a pair of soldiers from the Grey Guard waited for them in the back garden, wearing their gray uniforms and wielding a spear each. Despite the number of benches available, the two of them had opted to stand.

"Ah, you two must be-" Venza stalled. Shit. She knew one would be Carver, but the other one's name escaped her. "The pair who were recommended."

"Yes, Heir Greyfield. I'm Marcus Roeder," the first young man offered. He had a short head of black hair and a stocky build.

Venza squinted her eyes, staring at him. For some reason, he looked familiar. "Do I know you from somewhere, soldier?"

"Yes, boss lady," the young soldier smiled sheepishly. "You, uh, bloodied my nose last week. In the square."

Oh. A brawler from the market. Venza's mind worked as fast as it could for an appropriate response. "Ah, that's where. Sorry about that."

"Nothing to apologize for, Heir Greyfield," he answered quickly. "We were opponents. It was fair play." He grinned. "I'm just glad you held back, unlike you did last night with Russell."

"I don't learn anything from the fight if I go all out at the start," she explained. Roeder. Roeder. She would have to remember his name. Or it'd be embarrassing next time they met.

She eyed the second boy, signaling him to speak.

"A-and I'm Wilson Carver," the second boy, brown-haired and similarly built, added. Despite standing as tall as she did, he seemed to shrink from her presence. An odd reaction from the boy whose father had saved her life.

"You seem nervous," she observed. "I apologize for pulling you from whatever you were doing."

"O-oh, not at all!" Roeder said. "John picked us because he knew we would want to go."

"You did?" Venza asked, quietly wondering why that was.

"Cute," Aiela remarked, but didn't elaborate. She then inspected the two young soldiers. "You two are accustomed to using heavier weapons?"

"We are, Miss," Carver said. "Though we were instructed to bring spears."

"Because I'll be having you help us with some tests today," Aiela explained.

"Tests?" Roeder repeated.

Aiela looked to Venza. "I'll go retrieve my things from my tree house. You might want to get your weapon and armor."

With a flourish, Aiela left the three of them to wonder as she sauntered over to the once-empty plot Venza had convinced her parents to grant her. A tall, wide tree now stood in it, growing faster than any tree Venza had ever seen until about a year prior when it just seemingly ceased to grow altogether.

Aiela waved her hand in front of the tree, and a hole suddenly appeared in the dark wood, allowing Aiela access into the tree's hollow. A moment later, the wood seemingly reformed, swallowing the mage up as if she'd never been there at all.

"So it's true," Carver muttered.

"What is?" Venza asked. "Let's talk while we walk. I need to get my weapon and put on my brigandine."

Roeder and Carver gave each other a look before Carver responded. "We'd heard Miss Aiela was responsible for the large tree that practically sprung up out of nowhere."

"And that it could swallow a man whole," Roeder added.

"Ah, yes. Aiela's tree house," Venza said absently as they walked towards the front door. She hoped her mother was still asleep. "The first part is true, but the bit about swallowing is off. That part isn't actually wood. It's a thick curtain of vines that are the exact same color. She uses them to keep pests out."

It was very similar to how Oma Mala had hidden her hut six years prior.

"If you don't mind my asking, Heir Greyfield," Carver began. "What goes on in there?"

"Aiela's research," Venza answered simply. "She calls it a tree house but it's more like a wizard's tower, albeit not a very tall one."

"You've been inside, then, Heir Greyfield?" Roeder asked.

Venza considered telling them to call her by first name, then decided against it. She would be ruler of these lands and people someday, after all, and these men would be her soldiers. A sense of decorum was required, as Vosmer would say. Maybe one day, if they served together long enough.

"A few times," Venza said. "Though I have not visited as much after I knocked over one of Aiela's bottles by accident."

Luckily, the bottle hadn't contained anything dangerous.
 
Chapter 20 - Infestation New
They passed through the manor's foyer and Venza told them to wait as she practically flew up the stairs, grabbing her training staff from her room and putting on her black brigandine. She exited as quickly as she entered, luckily seeing no sign of her mother.

As they passed the front doors, Venza found one of the family's carriages waiting, drawn by a pair of horses.

"Good morning, Heir Greyfield," the driver said. Venza swore internally. She was sure she knew his name. Probably started with an M.

"Good morning," she said back. "We'll be right back. Aiela's in the back fetching something."

"As you please, my lady."

When they returned to the garden, Aiela was already waiting on a bench. To either side of her were two large, green circular objects that reminded Venza of woven basket lids. A single leather bag rested on Aiela's lap.

"What are those?" Venza asked.

"A little something I'd been working on for myself," Aiela answered. "They're shields that deliver a nasty surprise to would-be attackers. I call them Entanglers."

Aiela traced her left hand along the green material that covered the shield's surface. Upon closer inspection, Venza realized they were a mass of interwoven vines.

"These are special vines I've cultivated," Aiela explained. "They react to physical trauma by coiling around whatever struck them. I made them so I wouldn't be overwhelmed in close quarters by a group of enemies, but-" she trailed off.

"But?" Venza said.

"They're too heavy," Aiela admitted. "Especially since I typically use two shields. I don't have as much muscle as you three do."

"Ah. So that's why you wanted two soldiers who were used to lifting heavy things," Venza concluded.

"I may not be able to use them, but it's a good chance to test the concept," Aiela said. "Even a grown man shouldn't be strong enough to break free."

"It's clever," Venza said. "You could use it to stop people without killing them."

"Not really something I was thinking about," Aiela confessed. "But that would be a good use for it. Roeder, Carver, please take a shield each."

"Do I not get one?" Venza asked. "I'm pretty sure the weight would be no problem."

"I only had two ready. Besides, it would just get in your way, I think," Aiela answered. "You need one hand free to use Reach. You can have these, though."

As Roeder and Carver reached for the shields, Aiela offered her the leather bag. Venza took the pouch, opened it, and saw what looked like dark green tomatoes. "Er, thanks?"

"They're Tanglefruit," Aiela said unhelpfully.

Venza gave her a questioning look which prompted the mage to actually give a useful answer.

"You toss them and they explode into a sticky, gooey mass that hardens after a few seconds," Aiela explained. "Good enough for people, but not against anything much stronger."

"Handy," Venza said, re-closing the pouch and slinging the strap across her right shoulder. "Are we good to go or was there anything else?"

"How do the shields feel, boys?" Aiela asked.

"They are heavy, Miss," Roeder confirmed. "But nothing we can't handle."

"Aye, we'll manage," Carver added. Venza wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but they seemed rather excited about actually trying them out.

Aiela nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"That's all I had," Aiela said. "Though if these work I have a few more designs I want to try. Herman should be waiting in front with the carriage."

"Yes, I saw," Venza said.

"Did you remember his name, though?"

Venza rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up."



Aiela

The carriage brought them downstream and west, towards Green Meadows, one of the agricultural provinces that made up Astamarr. Carver and Roeder rode alongside on horses from the Guard.

Farming required a lot of wide, open space, which made their lands difficult to defend from vagabonds, so Aiela supposed she understood why the Empire would put them under the protection of the Greyfields.

It didn't stop it from feeling like the other lords pawning off the territory that was the most trouble to them, though.

She regarded the map in her hands carefully. "If I'm right we'll be there in ten minutes."

"The underground river, huh?" Venza muttered to herself. "I've been to the entrance, but never down there."

"Apparently, no one's been there at all, at least not recently," Aiela said. "There used to be guards posted at the entrance, but with the threat of attack from the South..." Aiela trailed off.

Venza nodded. Vosmer said they'd needed to divert men to the border, which left fewer men to spare in Astamarr. Sending troops outward had been the sound choice. It did, however, leave them short-handed.

"Remember," Aiela said. "We're only here to investigate and if possible, remove the blockage."

"But you're only one mage," Venza said, guessing what Aiela was about to say. "I know, I know. If it's too much, we report to Vosmer and he'll deal with it using a bit more manpower."

Seemingly growing bored, Aiela began weaving a simple protective spell on the carriage. She'd always had her fun with her magic. No reason to stop now.

"We're here," Venza said, almost exactly as the carriage pulled to a stop.



Venza



She turned to her family's carriage driver as she stepped off. "Wait for us for a bit. We'll be back shortly."

"Yes, ma'am."

Aiela paused, looking sideways at the driver before she left. "And Herman, please don't do anything stupid like defending the carriage with your life if some lowlifes try to steal it."

The driver nodded. "Er, yes, Miss Aiela."

"It can fend for itself," Aiela added with a smirk, and Venza was mildly concerned she wasn't surprised anymore when her friend did weird magic to her family's property.

"I- I see," the driver said. He had Venza's sympathies. Aiela was a handful.

Venza scanned their surroundings. If she remembered right, they'd need to go off the main road for a bit along a rough path to reach the cave. "This way," she said, taking the lead. Roeder and Carver left the horses in Herman's care and took point, spears and experimental shields ready. Aiela strapped her training shields onto her arms.

Despite it technically being a path, the brush was still thick in places, but they managed to get through with little issue as Aiela's nature magic shifted obstructive plants out of the way.

"Found it," Venza said, spotting a cave opening beyond the next set of trees.

"I think you're right," Aiela said, tying a handkerchief around her nose and mouth. Venza saw the wisdom of this and did the same. The two boys luckily had their own. "Let me just send my Hidden ahead to take a look and- watch out on your left!"

Venza raised her staff to block despite not knowing what to expect, but managed just in time to jab her weapon into something green that had jumped at her. The impact sent a shock through her arms, but it had been enough to create space between her and whatever had attacked.

A set of jaws filled with sharp teeth hissed at her. She couldn't get a good look, but the creature seemed about the size of a large dog and stood on all fours, a long neck protruding from a slender body.

Venza prepared her staff to intercept another attack, only for Roeder and Carver to position themselves between her and the creature, their shields raised and ready to snare it should it attack again.

The creature, which Venza now realized looked like a large lizard, seemed to be weighing its options, faced with four opponents that stood taller than it did.

"Two more incoming," Aiela warned. "From your right!"

"I've got it!" Carver cried out as he left Roeder to occupy the first lizard, quickly turning to cover Venza's flank. As soon as Carver's back was to the reptile, it leapt forward, only to be caught on Roeder's shield. As advertised, the vines on its surface came alive and coiled around the creature like a pit of snakes.

It fell to the ground, bound, allowing Roeder to switch his attention to the two lizards engaging Carver.

The creatures stopped in their tracks, skidding to a halt on the dirt. They watched the group intently, looking for a sign of weakness, then seemingly spotted Aiela for the first time. Without warning, the pair bolted to either side of the two boys, attempting to flank them to get to Aiela.

A blast of lightning struck the one that had gone right, originating from Aiela's direction, throwing the creature back into a tree. To Venza's surprise, it simply stood back up before fleeing into the foliage.

Venza focused her mind and invoked the power of Reach, slamming her free hand down hard. The other lizard flinched as if slammed by an invisible force, its legs buckling as it fell headfirst into the dirt. Carver and Roeder took the chance to skewer it with their spears, putting it out of commission.

"Thanks," Venza said. "I'm not used to having help on the front lines."

The boys nodded, looking pleased with themselves.

"You alright?" Aiela asked.

Venza nodded. "I'm surprised you held back."

Aiela gave her a questioning look. "I most certainly did not. Damn thing is tougher than it looks."

Venza blinked. "You mean you weren't going easy on it just now?"

"No, that Bolt spell would have killed a full-grown cow," Aiela explained, looking at her open palm as if something was wrong with it. "Must have some innate lightning resistance. It can't be its hide since your spears did good work."

"An animal that resists lightning?" Venza asked, eyeing the remaining lizard that was firmly bound by vines. It struggled against its bindings, but to no avail. It seemed the Entanglers had succeeded on their first field test.

"Oh, these are no animals," Aiela said, letting her hand fall to her side. "These are monsters."

"You mean, these things can do magic?" That was the difference between animals and monsters, after all. Monsters had magic cores like mages did, along with their own affinities. Just like the Bloodbeaks from when she was younger.

Aiela nodded. "Water and earth spheres."

Venza made a thoughtful hum. "How strong?"

"Magic-wise? Not very," Aiela answered. "I'd say it has about as much magic as a seven-year-old."

"Never heard of a seven-year-old who could survive lightning without needing to be taken to a healer."

Aiela smirked. "I meant me at seven years old. Still, I've never seen creatures like these before."

Gingerly, Aiela stepped towards the living reptile and placed a hand on its side. Immediately, the creature went limp, though it still seemed to be breathing.

Venza saw the astonished looks on the boys' faces and explained, "She's just put it to sleep for a bit."

She considered explaining that Aiela probably wanted to study the creature, but realized she couldn't really explain what Aiela did well. Heck, she barely understood what Aiela did.

"Fascinating," Aiela muttered, her eyes turning the bright shade of green they did whenever she appraised something.

"What is?" Venza asked, moving closer.

"This creature is a mess," Aiela answered bluntly. "It's like a bird that never learned to fly."

"How do you mean? Is it young?"

"No," Aiela answered. "More like these things had a chance to grow, but instead they stayed like this."

"Grow? How much bigger?" Venza asked.

"Hard to say," Aiela admitted. "They're like ants or bees, essentially. Most of them are like this, but a few will be king or queen, with abilities I can't figure out just from seeing these runts. However, if that's true, that means there might be more of them under the surface. Perhaps it would be wise to go back and get help?"

Venza considered. They weren't sure these creatures were related to the town being poisoned. "We haven't found the source of the poisoning yet. Once we do, we can go back for help. Besides, I think we can handle a few of those things."

Aiela crossed her arms. "Aren't we optimistic, thinking they'll only be a handful?"

"If there were more than that, we'd have gotten reports of monsters in the area," Venza pointed out. Her eyes narrowed as she inspected the creature. "Do you think these things can swim?"

"It's possible," Aiela said. "The body's kind of like a crocodile's, though a lot smaller."

"Do you boys know how to swim?" Venza asked.

"Yes," Roeder answered, at the same time Carver said "No."

"There should be room to walk," Venza said. "But if there's something blocking the river's flow, we might have to fight on wet terrain."

She grimaced. She should have worn a cheaper pair of trousers. Aiela frowned, which didn't help Venza feel at ease.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm just thinking," Aiela began. "Beasts normally scurry away from poison, unless they're scavengers or something that can negate it."

"And that thing tried to attack live prey," Venza added, seeing Aiela's point. "That is strange."

"This warrants reinforcements," Aiela said.

"I thought we were clear we wouldn't go back until-"

Venza stopped as Aiela weaved a spell. It was an unfamiliar spell, even for Aiela. "Swarm," she invoked. Something brown suddenly appeared next to Aiela, followed by another, vividly blue-green.

Venza instinctively took a step back as she recognized two giant scorpions, their stingers as high as Aiela's chest. Roeder and Carver immediately raised their weapons.

"Relax," Aiela said, looking a little pale. This was clearly close to the limit of her spellcasting. "They're under my control."

Venza narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Where did you learn that?"

"Bit of light schooling from before we met," Aiela answered. She looked likely to keel over at a moment's notice.

"Do you need a breather?"

"Would love to," Aiela answered. "But I can't. Spell only lasts around an hour."

"Then they shrink back?"

"Yes, but more importantly they can't handle the strain of shrinking down," Aiela answered.

"Meaning?" Venza asked.

Aiela gave her a meaningful look, then shrugged.

"They die?!?" Venza exclaimed. "Are you sure this spell is legal?"

"Perfectly above board," Aiela said, quirking an eyebrow. "It's not like I'm raising dead bodies to use as minions."

"That's not the part that makes me think this should be forbidden magic," Venza said pointedly.

"Do you count every ant you happen to step on when you're training?" Aiela asked.

"Well, no, but doing it like this is-"

"We should go," Aiela said, ignoring her protest. "Need to wrap this up before they expire."

Venza grunted then offered Aiela her staff.

"Don't be daft," the smaller girl said. "You need that to protect us in close quarters."

"We have two giant scorpions and the boys with us," Venza reminded her.

"And you are still Heir to House Greyfield," Aiela shot back despite her weariness. "These things are likely mildly venomous. I can treat you, but I'd rather it not come to that."

"You should have started with that," Venza said, then wrapped an arm around Aiela's. It was a little awkward with the shield in the way. The girl stiffened, but didn't recoil from her touch. "Lean on me, then."

Aiela rolled her eyes and let it happen, leaning her light weight against Venza.

The cave entrance opened up ahead, inviting them into the the river that ran beneath Astamarr.
 
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