ARC 8-58

One of the main reasons I decided to tell Miss Alyssa about the estrazi is because of Little Water’s ambition. If the lady lizard has her way, her people will be in an open alliance with the north. Once that happens, if it happens, everyone in Harvest will know about them. It’s not harmful to let a few interested parties know in advance.

But, once again, I underestimated Victorians’ obsessions with their homeland and the war that defines it. Watching the redhead’s disbelief was amusing at first but it got a lot less funny the more she started to drink. I’m sure I caused her true distress, especially when I didn’t answer the most important question; why the estrazi are so determined to keep humanity out of the north. The poor woman literally drank until she passed out, dropping her head to the table with a heavy thud. Earl carried her to a spare bed and left a note on the bedside table with my permission to make herself at home until she felt ready to return to her duties.

I expected her to be surprised but the anxiety that practically radiated off her was unexpected. I get the anger; who wouldn’t be angry to find out that the ceaseless death that drove her from her home was orchestrated by intelligent enemies with the capacity for diplomacy? Or who could build a wall. And she was angry at the start. So angry I wouldn’t have been surprised if she stood up from the table and chased down the Stars to give the estrazi a piece of her mind.

Then at some point, that anger turned to fear. She tried to mask it with a harsh tone but I’m not easily fooled. The woman is afraid. The question is, of what? Afraid the north’s enemies are far more troublesome than a few titans? Afraid that, from all accounts, the estrazi could get tired of the war and wipe them all out?

Or maybe she’s afraid of the end of the war? Until now, the campaigns were just a fact of life, so commonplace they’re regarded with the same attitude of inevitability as the yearly storms and the endless snow. No one bothered to contemplate it, because it seemed there was nothing to contemplate. You fight until you win or die.

But now, we’ve finally pierced the veil of death and gotten to the heart of the war. The problem has been identified. There’s a chance that someone, maybe the ambitious lady lizard, will present a solution. 

What will happen to the fort that revolves around fighting? Do they have anyone skilled in a trade not related to war? What will they do for food and money? From what I understand, monster meat is a significant part of their diet and they get most of their income from selling the other parts.

There’s a nonzero chance that if the yearly wars end, Victory will crumble.

Makes me wonder who’ll be responsible for cleaning up that mess. Saints know who’ll take over from the current duke. The favorite for the job as I understand it is Alana’s eldest living brother, Zachariah. He didn’t make a good showing of himself during our visit. On the other hand, he’s been in the most campaigns out of the duke’s children and is a Victorian to the core. A popular pick for those who want to see the north’s traditions carried on without deviation or common sense. Which is basically everyone up there.

However, Yulia is a strong contender. She isn’t the warrior venerated by their warring culture and she’s got some radical ideas, especially regarding the war. But she’s well-liked. If Alana’s right, the snow bunny’s never met a soul she couldn’t charm. To bolster her image, her husband is a respected field commander, giving the warmongers a figure to unite around. I can imagine her smiling her way to the front of the family.

Then there’s Alana. A year ago, I doubt she would have even thought about being duchess one day. However, we caused quite a stir during our visit. On top of that, the March is sure to get people talking. We haven’t brought back anything but the blood spilled will certainly earn her some goodwill amongst those lunatics. Her reputation should be growing with frightening momentum. 

With our clan behind her, it’d be simple for her to take the title. I actually think she’s the best choice; Zachariah is far too arrogant and Yulia is too idealistic. She’s fair and capable, the two things I’d look for most in a leader. She believes in Victory’s traditions but isn’t bound by them. I can see her guiding the Victorians through the turbulence that’ll come with removing their purpose.

Unfortunately, Alana doesn’t care to rule. Oh, she wants the family name and the recognition. She’d kill for that. There was a time she’d have died for it. But she’s cemented her place as a James. I’m sure she’d like to be acknowledged as the best of her siblings but, with every day that passes, she seems less concerned with that. I can completely imagine her working hard to be offered the position of heir, just to turn her father down with a smug little smile.

I suppose I can throw myself onto the list of possible heirs. One day, Alana and I will be married; next spring if I follow the fort’s traditions. That would give me the justification to make a play for the big chair. Alana would support me in a heartbeat and Kierra would enjoy the yearly bloodshed…probably too much. Forget one season, she’d be beyond the walls all the time collecting skulls.

I don’t see myself as much of a leader. Looking after my small clan is one thing but the thought of being responsible, directly, for thousands of lives is…overwhelming. Saints, any other reaction to that duty feels arrogant. How many people can take care of themselves? I haven’t met a single person where if I take a close look at their lives, I’d feel comfortable letting them dictate my future.

I’m sure I could keep them fed and watered, but people aren’t livestock, no matter how many nobles treat them as such. People have hopes and dreams. They have talents that should be nurtured and fears they need to be defended from. 

Then there’s the matter of judging them. I can’t imagine being the one meant to decide what’s right and wrong, not when just being thought of as a hero makes me cringe.

There are plenty of people who lack faith in their abilities as leaders who end up with the job anyway. They find advisors to do the work for them. But if I’m going to make someone else do the work, why have the job anyway? If it’s a matter of power, I’ve never confused prestige with actual power and my clan has plenty of it.

So, it likely won’t be me on the winter throne. And isn’t that a scary thought? If the Victorians run out of monsters, they might turn their swords on the crown; they already call the duke the king of the north. Even if they can control their bloodthirst, I’m sure the king would be nervous having an unoccupied army that isn’t loyal to him in his borders.

Yulia is the only heir that would work to stop a war from happening. Alana would give diplomacy a shot but, as I’ve witnessed, she has no problem settling disagreements with a sword. Zach would probably encourage it; he’s the type to confuse prestige with power. 

Or maybe it’ll be Little Water contemplating conquest. If her plans work out, she and Khan could be sharing the seat. By that, I mean she’ll be sitting in the chair and he’ll be in her lap. From what I gather, she doesn’t have the talent to thrive amongst her people but refuses to be mediocre. She’s the type to want her name to go down in history. 

Being the first nonhuman queen of Harvest would certainly do it.

By the end of my morning walk, I’m imagining a bunch of lizards  dancing at a ball. I’m smiling as I make a quick stop at the study before making my way to the back of the estate, holding a stack of papers in my hand.

Days ago, I tasked Geneva with writing down ten spells from the water and fire affinities that would be the most useful for me. It could be years, decades, saints, maybe centuries before I master my affinities, giving I’m in no particular rush, but it’s ridiculous that I can’t use my ridiculous magic potential. For emergencies at the very least. I don’t know how I’d ever end up in a situation where I need to conjure water or heal someone, but those seem like very good skills to have just in case.

I asked Geneva to give me ten spells each from water and fire. Why not her other two affinities? Easy. I don't want to limit myself to her perspective. What a succubi thinks is usual is very different from what a human thinks is useful. Also, the idea of letting Geneva guide my growth is just scary, as she’s already subtly tried sabotaging it.

As expected, Geneva thoroughly completed her task. Not only did she provide ten spells, each of them are accompanied with an explanation of the theory behind them and helpful notes. Interestingly, they aren’t organized by difficulty, but by concept; the spell to manipulate water is third, preceded by a spell to locate it and one to create it.

I look at the search spell, amazed by the  sheer complexity of the spell needed for something so simple. Geneva really took advantage of my eyes and wrote so small, the average person would think I was looking at random squiggles. Saints, there’s actually two versions of the spell here. One pushes out mana in a wave that stops when it encounters water. The other sends out, as the succubus puts it, a net that scoops up all thoughts related to water, sorts through the information, and then delivers an approximate location back to the caster. 

Hm. Isn’t that second one just a mental spell? I don’t see how the water affinity has anything to do with it. The variable is there, to focus the net it looks like, but that’s about it.

Is this Geneva going above and beyond or is she pushing me to focus on the mental affinity? From the looks of it, the second version is by far the better spell, with lower cost and more exact results. There’s a reason the affinities are separated into basic and greater.

Either way, I ignore it. One might cost less than the other but both of their costs are high. Geneva wrote that the water variant is variable depending on the distance which, given we’re nowhere close to a water source, would be ridiculous. The mental version? Sure, in theory, it should cost less, but I’m not a schemer that’s been practicing the mental affinity for centuries. She might be able to cast something like that with a few drops of mana, but she estimates it’ll cost me 100 mana. That’s over a fourth of my entire pool. Worse, that’s the assumed cost with a rudimentary understanding of the principles behind it. Who knows what it’ll cost if I cast it now, without said knowledge.

Not a good choice for practice.

So, I skip right to water creation. And this page also has two spells on it. These both relate to water. The first is exactly what I expect, a spell to create water.

The second is similar but different in a very sinister way. It’s a way to harvest water, drawing it from the world. And, according to Geneva’s little summary, water is everywhere. In the ground, in the air…and in people. Apparently, there’s a lot of water in people, in most living things really. Ripping it out of them is a very effective killing method, if the caster can get past their natural defenses. 

Why the succubus felt the need to include that specific use I don’t want to contemplate. I do practice the spell though, as it is significantly cheaper than the water creation spell.

I wince as a small patch of grass in front of me browns as I pull a ball of water from the plants. Saints, Gajin is not going to be happy if I get careless with this. Most of his plants are tucked away in a warehouse, as I don’t plan on staying in this estate long enough to bother planting them. The poor gardener has been listless without his usual duties to occupy him. Rehabilitating the scarred land surrounding the estate has been his only outlet besides his personal collection. I feel like any damage to it will depress the man.

I leave the poor grass alone and pull water from the air, tiny droplets for the same amount of power, but that doesn’t matter. I focus on the process, trying to familiarize myself with it to make it more efficient. Usually, a caster focuses on speed first when it comes to spells but I can’t imagine a situation where I’d be pressed to use this. Someone trying to use it for combat might focus on speed but I’ve got much better options for killing things.

“Ah, Water Drawing. A good introductory spell.”

I manage to restrain my reaction to a mere twitch and swallow a curse as Morgene suddenly appears at my side. Saints damn it all! I’m so used to being able to sense anyone well before they reach me that her sudden appearances always manage to throw me off. Something that amuses her judging from the small smile on her lips.

“Can you just walk up to me?”

She ignores my question, leaning across me to peer at the papers in my hand. “These must be the work of the pet. Though it's curious.” Violet eyes, a shade darker than my own, look up at me with a scrutinizing look. “I didn’t know you had the water affinity.”

I clear my throat. “Well, I do.”

“On top of two pure greater affinities.”

Suddenly, I’m several strides away from her, my arms raised defensively. I blink, confused by my own actions. Then I look at her.

Oh. That’s why. I know that look. I’ve seen it on Kierra’s face right before she pounces. 

On me.

Before I can try to talk my way out of the dire situation, Morgene closes her eyes and shakes her head. “You can relax. I wouldn’t test my daughter that way. The blood was running a little strong is all.”

If her smile is a bit predatory, I don’t say anything. She beckons me closer and I approach with hesitant steps…though I leave some space between us. She accepts it gracefully.

“I can’t wait to see what Kii’s children will be capable of. Between the two of you, they might be the first to challenge the Eldest.”

“What’s that?”

“The oldest wyvern whose roost sits the highest in the Sacred Tree. It’s the creature that has bested the elves’ greatest warriors.”

“Wait. I thought you all were fine with the wyverns living there?”

She gives me a look that says she’s questioning my intelligence. “You think we willingly allowed a bunch of beasts to eat, shit, and sleep in the tree that houses our saviour?”

Ah. When she puts it like that…

“They are far from common pests. They also care for the tree in their own ways. For that reason, we haven’t thrown our lives away to oust them. Instead, we use them to sharpen our warriors, until a champion is born to drive away the Eldest. Finding a way to coexist doesn’t mean we are happy with the situation.”

“Got it.”

“Good. Now, about your education.”

“I thought you were done with that?”

“Merely reevaluating. Improving your magic is good, but it’s not just about adding spells to your repertoire. You need to know how to use them.”

“Sure, but isn’t spell use pretty obvious?”

She raises a brow.

“Then how would you use the Water Draw spell?”

“To draw water?” I drawl, trying and failing not to let sarcasm slip into my tone. “If you’re talking about killing with it, my bloodthirsty elemental already included that with the explanation.”

“Oh? That’s good. But you think about drawing water, you are thinking about pulling water from the surroundings to drink, yes?”

“Or bathe, I suppose.” Though that’d be a phenomenal waste.

Morgene nods. “Is that all you can think to use it for?”

“I’m sure I could come up with more given time.”

“Take your time. While you continue your practice, of course.”

I glare at the purple elf. She smirks back. I’m the first to break. After several repetitions, I concede. Partially. “When I say time, I mean a few days.”

“I’m sure you can.” I don’t believe her. “I’ll give you a few examples to get your imagination going. All warriors with the water affinity are taught to use it to draw poison from the bites of venomous beasts. It is far less costly in terms of mana than healing the effects and has saved countless lives when the bite is inflicted by a creature that can kill in seconds.”

Once more, I affirm my resolve never to live on the elven continent. “That is useful.”

“Mm. It is also used by builders. Many natural building materials can be strengthened and maintained by drawing moisture from them.”

“That’s…interesting, I guess, but why would I need to know this?”

“For your eventual kingdom. Being able to construct homes from nearby materials that at first seem unsuitable will be immensely valuable.”

“...what kingdom?”

She gives me a look. “You are strong. Either the strong will challenge you and you will take their territory or the weak will flock to you.”

“Why are those the only options?!”

“There’s also the option of allying yourself with another strong power, but you don’t seem to do well with authority.”

I…can’t argue that. “There isn’t going to be a kingdom.”

Again, she doesn’t look like she believes me.