Well, Ive been surrounded by Templars for a solid half hour and Im not dead yet, so Im now willing to bet they cant passively see Im an animancer sohow. Penta also hasnt died, so all things considered I think this is a successful outing so far.
The two of us and Penelope are resting in the wagon, which to my surprise is actually pulled by a pair of Templars rather than beasts of burden. Our crew has a full squad of Templars with us: eight identical-looking soldiers plus a captain with a slightly fancier helt. First Lady High Templar Gladra Karthala or whatever the heck her full set of titles is supposed to be is also with us, walking outside next to the wagon.
So, how do you know that weird lady, Penelope? I ask.
The young woman shifts in her seat, arching an eyebrow at .
Did you just call Gladra the Annihilator a weird lady? Penelope asks.
Fuck a duck, how many titles does she even have? I ask, exasperated. Who is she and why is her na so long?
Penelope blinks at very slowly, as if Im so sort of freakish monster. Which, okay, I suppose I am, but
How have you never heard the na Gladra the Annihilator?
Quite easily, seeing as I have put no effort into the matter and still managed to turn up ignorant, I answer dryly. Co on, can you just tell ?
Penelope shakes her head, but sits up straight to answer.
Well shes the single most powerful learned mage in the country, and possibly the island, she answers simply. Shes a hero.
Shes a psychopath, I counter.
Penelope grimaces.
Well she can be both. I was surprised about how casually she was willing to destroy Litia Village. She might have a personal reason for overseeing the mission herself or maybe Im reading too much into it. It wouldnt be good to spread rumors about a First Lady, in any case.
What does that an, anyway? Whats this First Lady Third Lady junk?
Have you really lived in Skyhope your whole life?
Skyhopes a big place, I say, narrowing my eyes. My part wasnt like yours.
She sighs.
Fine, fine. So, Valka politics basically revolve around
Wait, I say, cutting her off. Whats a Valka?
She blinks at .
That would be the na of our country, Vita, she says slowly.
Oh.
Our island is called Verdantop. Thats Ver. Dan. Top.
I-I knew that one! I insist.
Thank the Watcher. Okay, so Valka politics. Skyhope is our capital, and in the center of the capital is the royal palace. There, the King and his family live.
Why not the Queen? I ask.
What?
Why isnt it the Queen and her family?
Well, sotis it is, Penelope clarifies, exasperated. But this generation, a man was the royal successor. So our country has a king, and the King has a wife, and she is a queen but she is not the Queen. If the King nas a woman as the successor to his throne, she will eventually be the Queen, and her husband will be a king, but not the King. Does that make sense?
No, thats really confusing.
Penelope groans.
Look, none of that actually matters. The important thing is that we have a king, and the King has the power to nominate people to be counciln and councilwon. When he does so, they beco nobles, as does their entire family for the next two generations. In return for her services in war many years ago, the current king made Gladra a noble, granting her the na Karthala. Thus, she is a First Lady, or informally, a True Lady since she was personally nominated. If she had a husband, he would also be a First Lord, and their children would be Second Lords, Ladies, or Nobles, and so on.
My head spins. This is way too much at once.
Uh, okay?
Its rare for a Templar to also be a noble, but hardly unheard of. Theres usually a few on every council. The current King greatly values strength at arms and military prowess, so there are more than usual as of late.
She seed kind of sour about that. Well, hey, Im not going to complain about her having a thing against Templars. At least she seems done explaining. The trip has been boring so far; nothing in the forest seems to want to attack a caravan with this many people. I need sothing to do.
A combination of exhaustion and Penelope's political speech decides that for pretty quickly. I make myself as comfy as I can in the bumpy wagon and quickly begin to fade into unconsciousness. I don't sleep well; more or less any ti a Templar moves too fast I'm jolted awake. Even the basic soldiers are pretty strong, and my groggy brain interprets them as threats... which to be fair, they are, even if that threat isn't imdiate. At one point during my nap, Gladra leans against the outside of the wagon and her soul brushes through the wood.
When she asks, I attribute the scream to nightmares.
Still, as the day drags on, I probably get close to five or six total hours of rest. Probably not awful for my first wagon-nap in enemy territory.
Eventually I exit the cart, feeling the need to stretch my legs and take a piss. The Templars all politely look away as I squat on the side of the road, not needing to worry about slowing everyone down. The wagon is just moving at a walking pace as the two Templars pull it. They presumably swap out every hour or so, but since they all look the sa I don't actually know if that's true.
I'm soon back with the group, deliberately walking on the opposite side of the wagon to Lady Annihilator over there. She still freaks out. To my dismay, however, she quickly heads around the cart, matching pace with . Her soul brushes my arm and I subtly move away.
"Um, how can I help you, High Templar?" I ask hesitantly.
"Did you sleep well?" she inquires, mirth in her tone.
"I... slept, Lady Karthala. Thank you for letting us rest in the wagon."
"Oh, it's no trouble. We've got to keep the weight up for these slackers pulling it or it's not proper training, you know?"
"Ah... so they're pulling the wagon to train?"
"Well, they're also much easier to ta than horses," she whispers conspiratorially, leaning in.
I lean away from her. Is she doing this on purpose? What should I say to her?
"Are you ssing with ?" I ask, wrinkling my nose.
She laughs, but doesn't answer. Ugh, now what? If I say nothing she's going to go back to poking at .
"...How do you know Penelope?" I ask.
"Hmm? Oh. I don't, really. But I know her grandfather, Lord Vesuvius, quite well. We fought in the war together, forty years ago. That bastard beca a noble before , and I've never forgiven him!"
She laughs again.
"Other than that, I suppose I've seen her here and there at social gatherings. It wasn't terribly difficult to recognize her."
"Huh," I murmur. "How did you beco so strong, anyway?"
She snorts.
"Oh, everyone asks that. 'Oh Lady Annihilator, please give your quick five-step guide to being an invincible goddess of battle!' What do people expect to tell them? 'Ah, well, I ate my veggies and practiced very hard every day!' I pioneered thermomantic theory in our generation, damnit, I'm stronger than you because I'm smarter than you."
"Oh, okay. So you're a thermomancer?"
Her helt tilts towards , as if she was giving a serious look.
"You... have actually never heard of , have you?" she asks.
I shrug.
"Grew up in the slums. I don't really know anybody. I lucked out and got a cool scout talent like... a few months and change ago? Until then I was nothing and nobody."
"Mmm," she hums. "Isn't that how it always is. People always hold as so great hero for being as strong as I am even though I'm 'talentless.' As if Mistwatcher-granted Talents are the only kind of talent! So people are simply set apart. That is how the world is."
I frown.
"Isnt it weird for a Templar to decry the Mistwatcher like that?"
She laughs.
"Don't go to church either, do you? Well, I don't know if that counts as decrying. Why do you think we worship the Mistwatcher, exactly?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," I say honestly.
"Mmm," she murmurs. "Have you seen it before?"
Only Penta's intervention stops from shivering at the mory. I send her a ntal thank-you.
"...How could I have seen it before?" I ask.
"Mmm, slums, right. Well, we'll get the chance to correct that on this trip. Our route will take us by the edge for quite a ways."
My eyebrows raise.
"Wait, really? Isn't the edge really far away?"
"Mmm, pretty far, I suppose, yes. Do you not know where Litia Village is either?"
She chuckles and moves to pat on the back, sending intense pain searing through my body as her soul passes over .
I put on a fake grin and ignore the pain as best I can. I just want to scream. Her soul is power incarnate. I'm legitimately afraid that if I stand next to her for too long, I could die.
Her hand moves away. I nod at her and politely excuse myself, crawling back into the wagon. Only then do I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"Did you have a nice chat?" Penelope asks blandly.
"It, ah... went okay," I manage to gasp.
"Mmm. Rather than gossip about , you should probably spend this trip doing sothing productive."
Oh, had she heard all that?
"I was just curious," I protest. "We didn't gossip about you."
"Of course. Either way, it might do you good not to waste the ti. You should practice your cancel commands."
"Uh, aren't I not supposed to be learning magic?" I whisper quietly.
"As long as you don't channel any mana, you're not breaking any laws. You could also just work out, I suppose, since you ntioned wanting physical skills as well. I'm sure the Templars would be happy to give you tips."
"I think I'll take them up on those tips, then," I answer. "I feel like I'm pretty awful with this spear, still."
"Suit yourself," Penelope grunts.
I retrieve my weapon and hop back out of the wagon, heading once again to the opposite side of the cart from Gladra. A few Templars glance my way, but as I start doing walking spear drills they nod in acknowledgent and lose interest. I'm a bit too intimidated to go over and ask them for pointers, so I just keep practicing the routine Lyn taught , hoping one of them will eventually say sothing if I'm being dumb.
After a while, I manage to settle into a rhythm. The cart isn't moving very fast, so it's simple enough to keep pace while drilling. There's nothing I need to worry about other than , my shitty spear, and my always-on soul sense. Beasts of the forest leave us alone however, and Gladra doesn't move to bother . I can't say I like the training, but I'm used to it now. It's no longer the excruciating chore it was when I first started, back when my body scread in protest just from running a few blocks. I've gotten so much stronger in such a short amount of ti.
Eventually, I don't know how much later, the squad captain approaches .
"It might be ti for a new drill, miss." he suggests politely. His voice sounds vaguely familiar.
"Huh?" I ask.
"You've been doing the sa drill for a couple hours now. It might be good to give those muscles a rest, move to a new drill."
"Oh," I say. "Yeah, I guess so. I sort of lost track of ti, there. Do you have a drill you recomnd?"
Its impossible to see his reaction from under the helt, but he seems pleased.
"Well, I'm more of a sword fighter myself, miss, but if I may..."
I hand him my spear, watching him move with it while asking questions. If I'm placing the voice right, this is actually the guy that hired Rowan. Odd, that. I guess he got promoted. I've no idea if he rembers , though. My cheeks aren't quite as hollow as they used to be, but surely I don't look that different?
I want to ask him why I'm running into him again out of the blue. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, thrice is a pattern. Yet on the off chance he doesn't recognize , I don't want to bring attention to the fact that two months ago I weighed about half as much and now I'm a hunter who apparently goes on missions with a Grand Templar. Sure, I'm still the weakest person here, but I've been improving fast. I don't want Templars asking how I've been improving so fast.
Thankfully, he doesn't. He's a very polite and personable guy, all things considered. His soul almost feels like that bath Penta took to: warm, wide, calm, and pleasant to subrge myself in. He's just under Penelope's size, making him the third strongest person here. No points for guessing who's first.
Honestly, I have to take a mont to reassess how friggin' powerful Penelope actually is. Even after all the literal and figurative beasts I've been eting lately, she ranks high. I should probably ntion that and stroke her ego soti.
"She'd probably like that," Penta murmurs.
"Hmm? You say sothing?" the squad leader wonders, his helt tilting towards as he corrects my stance.
"Just thinking out loud," I tell him. Penta squirms indignantly in my neck. Gah, what the fuck? Why has she been speaking up so often? Its going to get us killed!
Bored out of my mind, she grumbles quietly.
Thats no excuse to play fast and loose with Templars! I thought you were all about trying to survive!
She doesnt respond. I sigh.
You wanna take control for a bit? I ask her.
Imdiately, my body stops responding to . I guess I'll take that as a yes. Penta stretches, slowly moving and popping every joint in my body as she takes a deep breath.
"I think I'm done spear training for now," she tells the Templar squad leader.
"Oh," he says, surprised at the sudden declaration. "Well, that's no worry. I hope I've been of assistance."
"Very much so," Penta answers, smiling warmly. "Your expertise has been most valuable. I don't believe I've caught your na, by the way?"
"Ah! My apologies, how rude of . I am Templar Dasil. I'm glad I could be of assistance, Hunter Vita."
He nods politely, which Penta returns. Geez, she's so proper!
She hops back into the wagon, imdiately lying on her back and stretching again, enjoying the feeling.
"Have a productive session?" Penelope asks blandly. She has a book open in one hand, which she reads languidly.
"Yes, it was quite informative," Penta responds demurely.
Penelope narrows her eyes, stiffening up imdiately.
"Ah. Well. Good for you, then."
"There's no need to be so cold!" Penta says, smiling. "We're teammates, aren't we?"
"Don't," Penelope warns. "I can tell."
Penta's smile falters a little.
"I was... just hoping to ask you if you've made any progress on"
Penelope snaps her book shut.
"How about you take a walk to cool down after all that training, hmm?"
Penta swallows, sitting back up.
"Okay. Sorry."
"Yes, so you've said."
Penta scoots back out of the wagon, fleeing from Penelope's death glare. At least I hadn't felt her activating her talent. Talent-activation sensing is going to be a useful ability in fights, I suspect, so I've been trying to pay extra attention to it. There aren't many places to walk, since we have to stick by the wagon to stay safe. I feel Gladra start to slowly approach us, circling around the other side, and Penta makes the sensible decision to circle around opposite to her, keeping the wagon between the two of us. Gladra seems to notice, and the two of them slowly start to pick up the pace, participating in an intricate, pseudo-passive-aggressive speedwalking ga.
Unfortunately, Gladra is mostly just regular aggressive.
"You're not avoiding , are you Vita?" she calls bluntly.
Penta sighs, making her way around the cart towards Gladra.
"No, High Templar," she says glumly. "I'm just trying to stretch my legs a little more."
"Ah, yes. Bad breakup?"
She pats my body on the shoulder, sending burning pain through us. Penta steps away, her smile strained.
"That's... not exactly how I would describe it, no."
"Ah. Sha. There are too many straight nobles."
"Then perhaps you should woo so of them," Penta answers testily.
Gladra barks out a laugh.
"Hah! Unfortunately, I'm straight too. Also well over sixty years old. Also too busy to give a shit."
The heavily-armored master mage flicks the front of her helt's visor, the scale-made plate making a light "tink" noise as she does so.
"No, I'm prettier with the helt on, little lady. Romance is for the young."
Then why, pray tell, do you care?
Because the gay nobles are more likely to do fun things like legally adopt their friends in order to put them on the governnt payroll! Its a hoot. Marry a man and woman, though, and they usually just create wling babies. Anyway, you two are young. Im sure youll find a way to make up.
"Well, your advice is both unwanted and completely off the mark, but your position on the matter is noted," Penta remarks.
So much for not playing fast and loose with Templars, I guess. Gladra doesnt seem to mind the backtalk, at least. Since I have nothing better to do, I use this chance to examine Gladra's soul more closely. Were it not so terrifying, it would be truly beautiful. There's a subtle artistry to it, despite the raging tempest inferno that it reminded most of. Complex patterns dance in the whirling flas, srizing as they roll about in the massive soul's storms.
I want it. I want that soul. If only I were stronger. As-is, though, I know my place.
Dejected, I look inward again. I'm vaguely aware of the conversation continuing, with Penta continuing to flatly sass one of the most powerful humans in the country. Whatever. She can handle the body for a bit. I want to figure out what the heck is going on with my soul.
Well... I guess it would be more accurate to say I want to figure out what's going on with . I am my soul, after all. My inky black shell is cracked even more than when I last felt it, despite my decision to not unleash whatever's inside. My soul sense does not generally care for depth; it senses a soul in its entirety. Yet sensing through the black covering around myself seems beyond , and I can only glimpse within the cracks. Sothing squirms. It's ready.
I've been ready. I must hatch! It's ti! I grow too large for this pathetic prison! This faade only serves to keep weak! I do not need this pitiful pretense of human nature! I! Must! H
Penta sticks my body's arm out towards Gladra, patting her on the pauldron. The searing heat of that woman's soul washes over , the indescribable pain snapping back to my senses.
But senses or no, I feel my soul stirring. I am stirring. I rest no longer.
"I need to take a shit," Penta says quickly, running off towards the forest.
"Have fun!" Gladra calls after us. "But not too much fun! That would be concerning!"
The shell hurts. It constrains. I want to move. I want to be free...!
"What the fuck are you doing!?" Penta hisses. "Why would you ss with this when we're standing next to Gladra the fucking Annihilator!? Do not do this, Vita! Vita!"
Shit. Shit, she's right! But I'm already awake...!
My shell, part of my soul, starts to crack in huge chunks. It hurts....! Agh, it hurts so fucking much!
"Vita, what agh, fuck! What is happening? Why are you doing this?"
It's just happening! I'm not doing this!
"Yes you are!"
I am? Oh. I am. Well, that makes sense, I guess. Its getting awfully cramped in here.
Vita! Vita, please, Im scared! Penta begs. Please, stop it! At least not here! We can find a better spot!
Wait, fuck! Again, shes right! What am I doing!? Agh, but if the pain of being touched by Gladra's soul is like being burned, this is the pain of being crushed. The shell is so small! My soul is too small! No. I have to hide. I have to. Dont break. Stay inside. Stay!
Penta and I scream together, the all-consuming pain filling us for a mont before I rein myself in. I just have to stop squirming. I just have to go back to...
Sleep...
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