Book 3- Parts 19-21

Part 19

Queen Ompera's POV

Perched around the war-stone, my advisors updated me on our country's situation. Today was hot and sticky, a rarity in this part of the country. It had rained earlier, but the Sun continued to shine, which filled the castle with fog. The castle's staff cleared it out as much as possible, but more poured in too quickly for any satisfactory fix. Mages under my family's employ even took to casting spells to cool the air as much as possible, but in a desert, that was a temporary solution at best.

"Your Majesty?" General Trygve said, drawing my attention back to the discussion and away from my burning tailfeathers.

"I am still listening." I lied.

"Right, shall we move on to the situation of The Island of Sangu?"

"Yes. How are things proceeding?"

"After the Viking was killed by the Drakes, the front lines of the battle have shifted in our favor. Reinforcements landed and began to take territory from the invaders. Most of the survivors of the occupation were starving and diseased; aid was rendered once each of the sectors were cleared. But by our estimates, the island's population has been reduced by eighty percent."

"Is the island still viable for use?"

"Yes, but some of the residents have requested permission to leave."

Another of the war council members, Viscount Sune Von-Pac, spoke up. "Roshia valks. They'd drain our resources further. We should confine them to the island."

"Her majesty's citizens cannot be left to suffer." General Trygve said sternly.

"They are isolationist who only ever make contact with the mainland when they need something, and rarely ever pay taxes. We should have left them to the Southern Union. Maybe then we could have finally–"

"Mind your words, Viscount Sune." I said.

"I… did not mean to offend, your Majesty. I simply meant–"

I cut him off again. "Enough. Your intentions were clear. But surrendering any of my lands to invaders is not an option." Turning to the General, I nodded my head, and told him to continue the meeting.

"We have taken almost the entire island back. Only the main city still remains. The Southern Union built a stronghold into it, making sieges impossible, and forward attacks difficult. Even with the Viking, Harbinger, dead, they are still a significant force. I suggest redeploying the third regiment to the island to bolster our forces, and then attempt Grand-Scale magic."

"That would leave the city unusable for a decade. Can the Roshia survive that long without access to the resources of the city?" I asked.

"Not without aid from the mainland." The General said, and the Viscount huffed, but said nothing. "Alternatively, we could relocate the Roshia until the land is usable again. Somewhere near the northern archipelago. Its lands are mostly untamed, but we could give it to them tax free for now."

"So, they get tax free land, and when they leave, we get the land back and cleared, with prebuilt settlements. A fine idea, but make sure they understand that they will begin paying their taxes again once they either choose to stay on the lands permanently, or return to the island. We will give them twelve years without taxes."

"And the ones that choose to stay, even after the Grand-Scale magic?" Another member of the council asked, Lady Fey; a Duchess with a sterling reputation for both battle and diplomacy.

"I doubt there will be any, but… perhaps aid could be rendered to the unaffected sections of the island?" General Trygve said.

"We cannot force them away from their home." The Duchess said firmly.

"We won't… my apologies. We will not be. If any should wish to stay, they can."

"But you are suggesting Grand-Scale magic. That kind of destruction will force them off, whether they want to or not. Any who stay will die."

"My mages are skilled. I am confident the damage will be limited to the city's area."

"With magic of that power, it does not matter how skilled one or two mages are. It takes hundreds to cast, and quickly becomes uncontrollable. Everyone here knows what happened to the border lands of the Seabeak Kingdom."

"That was over two hundred years ago. Our mages are far more skilled than the Seabeak Kingdom's."

"My Kingdom will not be responsible for another Glass-Sea, General Trygve. I permit your forces to be reinforced by the third regiment, and I permit the use of Tactical-Scale magic, but you will not use Grand-Scale." I told him.

"Yes, your Majesty. I understand." The General replied. Honestly, that is probably all he wanted to begin with. But that is the game. He knew I would never allow him to use Grand-Scale magic, and he knew Duchess Fey would protest its use as well, but he needed to satisfy his own advisors by asking, even if it meant looking cruel and getting rejected. Forward two wingbeats, and forced back one. "Mobilize the regiments immediately." I ordered. They bowed, and left to fulfill their tasks.

Back in my private chambers, one of my attendants was waiting for me by my roost. "Did the meeting go well, your highness?"

"We are alone, Svend." I said, and landed beside him.

"Did the meeting go well, Ompera?"

"Viscount Sune is still insufferable, but he is the son of an important figure, so I can't get rid of him yet." I complained, leaning my head against his, and letting the tension in my wings fade. Svend was a trusted friend, and more. We have gotten to know each other well since he entered my employ six years ago, and we have grown closer than ever this year.

"How a Neame like him could be the son of a respectable Neame such as the late Viscount Arne, I will never understand."

"Well, when two Neame love each other very much…" He and I both chuckled.

"You know what I meant." He pulled his head away, and tilted it somewhat. "So, what was decided?"

"Tactical-Scale magic, and reinforcement from the third." I said, and laid down in my roost. My head rested on the soft fabrics, and I tucked my wings in tightly.

"What did they ask for to get that?" Svend asked, surprised.

"Grand-Scale."

"Oh my. Anything else I should know about?"

"I don't know, it is too hot to pay attention." I told him, and closed my eyes. The meeting had taken hours, and I was exhausted.

"Goodness, Ompera. Whatever will I do with you?" He sighed.

"I permit you to worship me at my wingtips." I taunted. He scoffed and laughed.

Part 20

Jake's POV

After leaving the festival, I flew around aimlessly for a while on Chariot. Without any real destination in mind, I just enjoyed the feeling of wind in my hair while flying. Staying well below the tops of the city walls kept me close enough to the ground to spot Ceil, flying towards a gate on the wall alongside another Neame. "Ceil!" I called out, and waved. He spotted me, and stopped the other Neame so that I could catch up. They beat their wings, like slightly slower humming birds, to stay suspended in midair. A gentle, red, mist-like aura wafted off of them as they did.

"Hello Jake, did you all find yourselves a place to stay yet?" Ceil asked, perching on the back of Chariot. His friend followed suit, but looked at it wearily.

"I don't know, Suma hasn't told me yet."

"Ah, well, allow me to introduce my son. Son, this is the one I told you about." Ceil said.

Ceil's son bowed, both wings spread how Suma did when we first really met, or when we met the Queen. "It is my great honor to meet the one who has done so much for father. Not only to name him, but to personally escort him between cities, and support his business with such grand purchases."

"There's no need for all of that. I just helped him a little, and naming is easy for me." I said, not wanting to be praised. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you too. Ceil has told me a bit about you. He said you were a blacksmith too? If I need any work done while I'm in Ambos-Ompera, I'll stop by your shop." He nodded and thanked me.

"My son and I are going to the forest of death to perform a remembrance ritual for my late and oldest son, Ivor. Would you care to join us, Jake?"

Curious, but hesitant to intruded, I said, "I'd like to, but I don't know the ritual. What if I mess it up?"

"The ritual is simple. You can watch my son and I do it first, and then you can do it. We would be very happy if you came along."

"Well then, I'd love to." I said. Ceil's glitter glow brightened a bit, and he and his son flew off Chariot. Following closely behind them, we talked a bit about his son.

"Ceil, when you talked about your son a second ago, you said he had a name?" I realized.

"Yes, he was given a name during his time in the city's guard; Ivor."

(Sounds Norse.) I thought. "Why was he given one?"

"For acts of valor. His name was given to him after his death however, in recognition of his deeds."

"What did he do?"

"While on his normal patrol, he saved a group of travelers crossing the wastelands. They'd been attacked by a pack of sand-snatchers while resting in an oasis to the North."

"Evil bugs." Ceil's son spat.

"Have you ever encountered them before, Jake?" Ceil asked.

"No, what are they?"

"They are large insect-like creatures, with a hard shell and many tentacles. They lay in wait under the sand, and when something comes close, they wrap it up. On the tentacles are spines and barbs, ripping you up if you try to wiggle out. Even just getting hit once can be deadly."

"But, don't your people have magic? Why not just cast a fire spell and fly away?" I wondered.

"Sand-snatchers are resistant to magic, especially fire magic, so to attack them you need to be close." Ceil's son said. "Not as magic resistant as a borog beast, but still enough to pose a major threat to any normal Neame with no experience fighting, like seed farmers and stable-mages."

"Ivor saw the attack, and flew straight in to help, killing six of the bugs, and allowing most of the Neame to escape, but he died fighting." Ceil explained. He was clearly sad, but he didn't sound like his voice was breaking, or that he was on the verge of crying, or rather 'singing.' No, instead it was a cold, quite sadness that made his voice feel hollow. Like something he'd come to terms with a long time ago, but still hurt to think about.

"How long ago was this?" I asked, trying to be respectful.

"Over twenty years ago. He was hatched thirty-six years ago today. That is why we are going to visit his death tree." Just as Ceil said this, we arrived at a gate leading outside the city walls. A guard stopped up, questioned us, and then let us pass. This wasn't the gate we entered the city though, and it didn't lead into the desert, but to a grassland. We flew for about fifteen minutes before the forest was within sight. Once we got closer, I could see that almost every tree here had carvings in them. Most were just empty, but the further into the forest, the more often the carvings had clay or paint in them. They were runes.

"It is that one." Ceil said, folding his wings and diving downwards. Less than ten meters from the ground, he flared his wings and landed safely, his son just behind him. It took me a little longer since Chariot can't really do dives well. We landed at the base of a tree with wispy yellow flowers in its branches. I stepped off Chariot, and unsummoned it.

"It's a beautiful tree."

"The flowers have already yellowed. It must not have rained much this year." Ceil said.

"Yes, it was a very dry season. A month's worth of water has gone from one-fifteenth to one-tenth a daljar." Ceil's son said.

"Speaking of, we need the daljar." Ceil said, and his son nodded before summoning a small daljar. "How much?"

"About halfway. That was all I could spare this year."

"It will be fine. Hopefully we will have some good rain this year to hold the tree over. Besides, thanks to Jake, I have much more mana to spare myself. I can make another trip in a few months."

"Why do you need mana?" I asked.

"To replenish the tree's strength. When it is healthy, the flowers turn a vibrant red, but when it is weak, they shift to yellow."

"Could I add some mana?" I asked. "It would need to be in another daljar, but if that's okay, then I have one you could use?" I summoned my bag, and pulled out a smaller daljar filled up with my mana.

"Father mentioned that you have Chaos Magic. Will that hurt the tree?" Ceil's son asked.

"I doubt the tree will care. As long as it gets plenty of mana, it should grow strong." Ceil said, happily.

"Still…"

"Don't worry. For some reason, plants seem to love my mana. Whenever I grow anything using it, it comes out better than using normal mana. Fruits tastes sweeter, seeds grow faster, taller, and make more fruits."

"Is your affinity for Nature Magic then?" Ceil's son asked.

"No, mine is inversion."

"Well, it should be fine then, I suppose." He agreed. I set the daljar from my bag in front of him, and he used a spell to pick both of them up and carry them to the base of the tree. Surrounding its base was a tangle of roots, woven together like a pie crust or a knitted sweater. Using magic, Ceil parted the vines, revealing an empty daljar, with dozens of tiny web-like roots wrapped around it. His son placed the two daljar inside the opening, and fluttered back to his father's side.

"Okay, Jake, we are ready to begin the ritual. Please watch my son closely. After he has performed it, then I will, and then you." Ceil said.

The ritual itself was simple, and easy to do. It started with saying Ivor's name, and then pulling a root from under the ground with a spell wrapping that root around the daljar that was placed into the opening we made earlier. Once that was finished for all three of us, the two of them removed the roots from the old daljar, and offered it to me to replace the one I'd given them. I thanked them, filled it with mana, and put it into my bag. With that, Ceil closed the opening we made, and the ritual was finished. Looking up at the flowers, I noticed they were still a sickly yellow.

"They won't turn red for a little while. It will take time for the roots to drain all of the mana from the daljars, and longer still for the tree to get healthy again." I nodded, not really knowing what to say. "Thank you, Jake. You mana is strong, I'm sure the tree will still be red when we come again next year."

"It was my–" I started, but got cut of by Suma's voice in my head.

"Jake, we found a place to stay."

"Pleasure." I finished. "Sorry, Suma is talking to me over our connection." Through the connection, I replied, "okay, just give me a few minutes. I'm with Ceil at his son's grave."

"Oh no! His son died before we arrived?" She said, horrified.

"No, his late eldest son. I'll let you know when we are finished."

"Oh, alright then. My apologies for the interruption."

"Father," Ceil's son said, "I think I will stay for a little longer. You and Jake should go back to my home."

"Are you sure? I could stay as well?" Ceil offered.

"There is no need for that. Suma is ready for me anyway. So, I can't stay much longer. You two should stay." I told them. Ceil's son nodded, and I said my goodbyes just before getting summoned to Suma and Luna.

Darkness enveloped me, which has always been disconcerting, but now a knot forms in my stomach whenever this happens. Thankfully, nothing has happened since the incident in the desert. Just darkness. However, this time I felt something. I cold shiver ran down my whole body, expecting the worst. Around me was darkness, just endless darkness. No lights, no half-man half- evil dragons, and no voices calling to me. But there was a feeling like something was there. Like eyes watching me from a distance.

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I called out to those eyes. "Is that you? Zachariah?" No response, and the feeling didn't change. Whatever it was, was keeping its distance. "Who's there?" I called out, afraid. My body was suspended in the darkness, helpless, feeble. Alone? "Answer me!" I demanded, starting to freak out. Focusing on the feeling, I realized that I'd been wrong. It wasn't watching me, it was just… there, somehow. Like, it was just a passive presence. "I was in a graveyard. Are you a ghost?" I called out. "Ivor?" No, it was bigger than a Neame. I don't know how I knew that, but just did. That feeling in my gut turned into a steady churn as I worked up the courage to call out the name I'd been dreading. "Deyja?" The presence shifted, but didn't get closer. More like, it was roused from a nap after hearing a startling noise. At that point, I felt it focus on me, and me alone.

But, just as quickly as the darkness came, I was pulled out of it, and was now standing in a room that kinda looked like a log cabin. "Well, what do you think, Jake? Will this be a good place for you to stay for a few weeks?" Suma asked from behind me somewhere, but I couldn't bring myself to turn around at that moment.

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Suma's POV

"Jake?" I asked, concerned that he had not spoken for a moment.

"Sorry, I was just… are ghosts real here?" He asked suddenly.

"What? Ghosts? I do not… why?"

"I think I just met one." He said.

"By the dragons." My mother muttered. She was not religious, but did have a healthy respect for some Ashimda values. One of which was to be weary of ghosts, since they were signs of Death Magic being used.

"So, ghosts are real here?" Jake asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes, but why do you think you have met one? Was it during the summoning?"

"Yeah, I felt something watching me. At first, I thought it was… him." He said, glancing at my mother, since we had neglected to tell her about Deyja by order of her majesty the Queen. My mother was preoccupied however, saying a prayer, that she probably learned from a nun when she was young, and casting a spell to Ahshem to ward against ghosts. "I don't really know how to explain it."

"According to the church, ghosts can only last for a few hours before they disappear, and no one besides you is capable of even performing such a spell. At least, not anymore, and before Harbinger, not for centuries; maybe longer." I explained, trying to reason everything out.

"So, not a ghost?" Jake asked.

"Right…"

"You don't sound very sure."

"She is not." Mother said. We were interrupted with a scratching on the outer wall of our room.

"Come in." I announced, but there was no answer, and no one entered. Fluttering to the wall, I cast a spell, and opened a hole large enough to fly through comfortably. But rather than a Neame, a large, black and red furred, shadow-hound leapt through, and landed inside the room, frightening all of us.

"What the?!" Jake shouted, and summoned his metal garment, his armor, Jericho, as well as his sword, Mori. "Suma back up!"

On its neck, I spotted a metal ring, with the symbol of the royal family engraved on the side. "Jake, wait! This is a familiar."

He looked the beast over for a moment, realized that it had not taken an offensive posture, and sent his weapon away, but not his armor. "It's a gigantic black wolf with completely black eyes and red 'go-faster' stripes on its mouth that look like blood stains; forgive me for freaking out a bit."

"What does it want?" Mother, who in a panic had perched herself on the other side of the room as high as she could, asked.

"Probably waffle fries." Jake answered, sarcastically.

"Jake, if this beast kills us, I would prefer the last thing I hear to not be a joke. Especially one I do not even understand."

"Should I tell 'knock-knock' jokes instead? Just to be safe." The hound's eyes began to glow, and it lowered its head while opening its mouth. A small wooden tablet with runes engraved on the flats dropped out of its mouth, and a voice started to speak.

"Greetings, Lady Suma and her familiar, Sentinel. Your request for an audience with Queen Ompera has been approved. Please follow this familiar. It will guide you into the palace." A voice from nowhere said.

"Ah, a voice recording. Neat." Jake said, just as the eyes of the familiar stopped glowing. The hound turned back to the hole in the wall and looked back at us expectantly. We were to follow it, immediately, it would seem. I widened the hole for Jake, and he walked out. We tried to leave Jake at the stable, but the hound refused to move unless he followed as well. As Jake walked behind the hound, we rode on him.

"Jake," I started, "the next time we think our lives may be in danger, and you tell a joke to ease our tension, could it please be one I can laugh at as well?"

"Suma, I'm in my early twenties, and British. All of my jokes are centered around memes and sarcasm. If those aren't funny to you, we're both out of luck, because that's all I have."

"What is a meme?" My mother asked, and Jake spent the rest of our journey trying, and eventually failing, to explain the concept to her.

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Jake POV

Arriving at the tree-castle, the wolf familiar led us through the entrance. I expected us to get stopped like last time, but despite a few of the guards glancing our way, they left all of us alone. Unlike last time, no one met us to guide us in, rather, we just kept following the wolf. We went straight past the meeting room that we'd used last time we met with her, and went down a long, tall hallway.

"Is this what happened the last time you were summoned to the castle?" Luna asked, sounding nervous.

"No, this is very different. During out previous visit, we attended a formal audience with her majesty, Queen Ompera, in the room we just passed. The time after that, I believe the meeting was in her personal chambers." Suma said.

"I've met with her quite a few times, usually in her room, since we discussed private matters." I said.

"Wait… are we about to meet the Queen?" Luna asked, suddenly very aware of what was happening.

"I think so." I said.

"Most likely." Suma agreed. Both of them were still perched on each of my shoulders, but Luna was starting to shift around worriedly.

"You nervous?" I asked Luna.

"Are you not?"

"Not as much as I was the first few times, but a little. She is a queen after all. But I've met with her five or six times now, so I'm getting used to it at least. What about you, Suma?"

"… Is it too late to ask to go and relieve myself before meeting her majesty?" She said, half joking. I snorted, trying to stifle a laugh, and Luna shook her head.

Getting close to a wall, the wolf stopped without warning, and pawed at it with its claws. The sounds of creaking and splintering, the wooden wall split apart wide enough for us to crawl and fly through. Inside, three Neame, one of which was Queen Ompera, were perched on a stone table.

"Oh, Suma, Sentinel, and you must be Luna, welcome." The Queen said. Suma and Luna flew down to the floor and bowed. I got down on one knee as well.

"It is good to see you once more, Queen Ompera." Suma said.

"And you as well. Please, rise. This is an informal meeting. I received your request to see me, and sent for you immediately. I am told you wish to leave the army, is that so?" Queen Ompera asked.

"Yes, my Queen. Sentinel and I have discussed it, and if your offer to leave the military is still available, we would like to accept it." Suma said, speaking as formally and respectfully in tone as she could manage.

The Queen turned to me, "Is this true, Sentinel?"

"It is, Queen Ompera. When we last met, I was so angry about what…" I stopped talking and looked to the other two Neame and Luna, who had been quiet so far. Queen Ompera noticed my hesitation.

"Ah, of course." She turned to the two Neame. "Leave us for a moment. Lady Luna, would you please follow my attendants? They will see that you receive food and water while I speak with your daughter and Sentinel."

"Yes, of course, your Majesty!" Luna said, still bowing. She quickly followed the other two Neame as they flew out of the room in a hurry.

"Please continue, Sentinel." She said.

"When we met last time, I was so angry, all I could think about was revenge. And I do still want that, but…" I sighed, "I'm not a warrior. I've never been one. And being on that battlefield, it just reminded me of that. I got my butt kicked by another person, not even a dragon. I wouldn't stand a chance of ever beating Deyja."

"What will you do, then? Suma, you are a healing mage, you have a future ahead of you once you leave, but you Sentinel? Do you have any plans?" She asked, her tone neutral, and her sparkling glow was unwavering.

"I am going to start working with a runic researcher named Sela-Car."

"Have you given up on retuning to your home then?"

"No, your Majesty. I think, perhaps if I find a way to improve my runes and my magic, I can find another way home; without having to risk fighting Deyja." I explained.

"I see." She looked away from us, and to her stone table. "I will accept your request to retire from the military."

"Thank you, your–" Suma said, but was cut off.

"On one condition." The Queen's eyes did not break from the table as the stone shifted and molded itself. "Come, look at this." I stood up, and Suma flew and perched on the table, opposite of the Queen.

"What is it?" I asked, and the table settled into a series of shapes, then parts of it began to change colors. It shifted from stone gray, to blue, and green. Forming Islands and oceans.

"The Eastern Isles of Taldre. A coalition of island nations directly south of Sangu-Dragon."

"Your Majesty, may I ask what your condition was?" Suma asked.

"One of our spies was on the main island, Taldre itself, when a large force from the Southern Union invaded. He sent word beforehand that he had found important information, and that he needed to deliver it to me personally."

"So, you want us to find him, I guess?" I asked, annoyed and nervous.

"No, I assume he died during the invasion. The Union does not tend to take survivors, and while he may have been excellent at infiltration, he was unequipped to be a warrior."

"Then, you want us to find the information he had?" Suma asked.

"No, he had an assistant, a guardian. She may have survived. Find her, she might also have known the information."

"Why didn't he just send it with someone else? Someone trusted. I know he was behind enemy lines, but he was still able to get a message to you, right? What could it have been?" I asked.

"His message was encoded. It was meant to resemble a decorative statue, but the inside was engraved with runic symbols. We received messages this way at regular intervals, but complex communication was nearly impossible. His message was just four symbols. Urgent, return, danger, and dragon." She said. A chill immediately ran down my body as a cold sweat dripped down my back.

"No," Suma whispered.

"It may not be what you believe. 'Dragon' was a code word that meant a level of danger. He was saying that there was a threat to the country." Queen Ompera explained. I breathed a sigh of relief. "However, due to recent events," she glanced at me for a moment before returning her gaze back to the islands, "the possibility cannot be ruled out. Go to the island on one last mission with the Drakes, find the guardian named Völundra."

"What if she is dead too?" I asked. "Should we try to find the information?"

"That, and all other options, have already been explored. If we cannot find Völundra, we must consider the information lost, and hope that we can find rest in the eye of whatever storm may be coming."

(Awesome, I ask to get out of the army, and her response is "sure, but go on this mission behind enemy lines first. Oh, and our whole nation may depend on it.") I thought. "No pressure."

"Actually, a fair amount of pressure. Our whole nation could depend on your success." She said, and I sighed.

"If we do this, you will let us leave the army?" I asked.

"If you do this, I will personally ensure that you are retired with honors, and if you do manage to locate the information, I will give special assurances to the researcher you wanted to begin working with."

Using our private connection, Suma asked, "Well Jake, what do you think?"

"Sounds like we don't really have much of a choice." I responded, also through the connection.

"We accept." Suma said. "When do we leave?"

"Preparations will take three days. Word has already been sent to the Drakes. Your team is on the way here as we speak." The Queen said, her sparkling glow getting slightly brighter, and the feather around her neck puffed slightly. She knew we would agree, and was smug about it.

Part 21

"Thank you for agreeing to this, Familiar Sentinel." A Neame General named Trygve said.

"It's my pleasure. Besides, you're helping me out too. Oh, and you can just call me Jake." We were going to a training hall in the castle. General Trygve asked me to assist in training the Royal Mages. He'd heard of how strong my magic was, and wanted his soldiers to get experience fighting humans, just in case of another Harbinger. I agreed on the condition that I was allowed to continue my runecraft while in the royal capital. Since I will be working with Sela-Car soon, I will need that Rune-Maker's permit anyway, and this was a good excuse to cut through some red tape; especially since it would be a lot harder to get one outside the army.

"Here we are," General Trygve. He'd been perched on my head, an apparently favorite spot for Neame to choose for some reason, as I walked into a large outdoor area. There was a court with a floor made of easily two dozen different materials. Some spots were stone, dirt, vines, metal, water, grass, wood, and some stuff I couldn't place. Surrounding the court were metal beams, with fifteen Neame of various sizes, colors, and heights perched in a few groups of five.

"Squads, listen up!" General Trygve loudly shouted from atop my head. "This is Sentinel. He is a Viking." There were some murmurs from the squads, and more than a few icy stares. "Not only is he a guest of the Queen, and has generously agreed to help train you all today, but he is also a soldier in her majesty's army. He will be treated as an equal. He will not be ridiculed for purging those Court Mage traitors. You will give him the respect he deserves, or you will get your tail feathers plucked in this match. Mountain Squad, you are first!"

(Could've done without the Court Mages remark, but alright… Wait, traitors?) I thought, just as General Trygve left my head, and five Neame landed on different terrains around the court.

"Sentinel, please choose your preferred terrain." The General said, and landed on a metal beam nearby.

"I don't really have one." I said.

"An all arounder? Good. That means better training. Stand anywhere then. The match starts on my signal." The rules had been explained to me before I'd even agreed to do this, so I knew what to expect. And I'd already summoned all my gear, so I was fully armed and armored.

"Okay. Wait, what's the signal?"

"BEGIN!"

"Was that the signal?!" I shouted, and pulled my shield up just in time for a massive spike of ice to slam into it and shatter. "FRICK!" Without much time to think, four more attacks slammed into my shield, armor, and legs. As quickly as I could manage, I cast my magnet shield spell, just in time to catch and trap another entire round of attacks. Whispers came from the sidelines, but I was too distracted to pay attention to them. With a few seconds to breathe, I cast fireballs. The purple flames formed in the air, and launched at their targets without hitting a single one. Each of them spread their wings, and took to the skies. Like bees they zipped around, some too fast for me to even keep track of. All the while more and more attacks pelted the magnet shield, but none made it through. I found out in an experiment that launching a fireball from inside the shield ended with me surrounded by plasma, and getting bad burns in the resulting uncontrollable inferno, so I made sure to create my attacks outside my spell.

"How is he doing that?" One of the Neame flying around me at Mach-ridiculous asked. "Nothing is getting to him."

"Ground level." Another shouted.

"I tried. But nothing happened."

"Did he even notice?"

"I did not!" I shouted, mockingly. Then cast fireball again, but this time I did it with a plan. Since I clearly wasn't going to be able to hit them with singular attacks, I would just have to attack the whole area instead, and hope the shield, my armor, and my actual physical shield, could protect me.

"We got a funny one here, Capt… does anyone else feel a whole lot of mana suddenly?" One of them shouted.

(Oh yeah, I forgot they could sense mana.) I thought, as I filled the whole area with a cloud of my Inversion mana. Odens taught me this game when he was alive. He called it 'Display Dominate.' It rushed out of me like a rolling fog cloud in the wind.

"I lost sight of him!"

"Up!" Another shouted, but it was too late. I used that mana to cast a wind spell that created a massive downdraft. After hearing five meaty impacts, someone on the sidelines called for a healer. Once the dust settled, I noticed I was surrounded by five injured Neame. Two unconscious, one with a broken wing, and two moaning from injuries I couldn't see.

"I may have overdone it." I whispered, shocked that a little wind was so effective.

"Nonsense. They underestimated you, and paid the price." General Trygve said, suddenly beside me as if he'd just appeared out of thin air. I jumped slightly from surprise.

"Yeah, but I didn't mean to hurt them so much." I said, feeling guilty as one of the Neame's wings popped back into place with a crackling, crunching noise and a loud scream.

"You may not have noticed, seeing as how slow you were moving behind that barrier spell, but they were casting powerful magic at you. If you had been hit by any of them, you would not be in much better shape. This may be training, but we train for real combat. Besides, Odinthian breaks his wing every time. Is that right Odinthinan?"

"Y-yes General Trygve sir." One of the Neame, the one who'd screamed a few second earlier, replied with a groan.

"He is a good soldier. Has a bad habit of landing wings first, but we think we can beat that out of him before he gets put into active rotation for Queen Ompera's private guard."

"General Trygve…" I said, uneasy.

"Yes?"

"You are a very frightening Neame."

"Yes." Odinthinan groaned.

"Desert Squad, you are next!"

As they flew up, I heard a bit of their conversation. "That round was so long, but they barely did anything to him."

"After the first few attacks, nothing landed. Did you see what he did?"

"No, but I felt several massive waves of some really weird mana, one of which never left him."

"Enough squawking, BEGIN!" The General said, and I was immediately slammed in the back by a whip made of vines. It bounced off Jericho, but still pushed me a bit. I felt something hit my knee, making it bend in the wrong direction, a split second before my magnet shield went back up.

"AHHH!" I yelled.

"Got him!" One of the Neame said, and landed on the ground. By then, the healing runes in Jericho were almost done fixing my knee, so I cast a wind spell, and knocked some of his feathers off.

"Warned you." General Trygve said simply from the sidelines.

"Healing-Magic!" One of the Neame called out. I started to cast the down draft spell again, but just as I was getting ready, they all dived down to the ground and landed.

"You won't catch us with that trick."

(Fine.) I thought, and cast another spell instead. Slowly, I began to cover the entire court in a thin layer of water. While I did that, the Neame went back to attacking me from all angles while making me dizzy by zipping around. Once that was done, and the ground was coated, I got ready to cast a spell. Just like before, they all quickly dove and landed.

"He only had one trick- AHHH!" They all cried out sharply and clenched up as a small bolt of lightning hit the wet ground.

"Healers!" Someone shouted, and once again, a swarm of Neame crowded the court, tending to the injured.

One of them flew up to me. "How is your limb? It broke, yes?"

"It's fine. My armor healed it. Thanks though." I said. The Neame nodded, and flew to one of the others.

This time, I saw the General fly up to me, and we talked while the others were being treated. "Good thinking. They were too focused on attacking, and missed the subtle spell with the water. Though, I am not sure if I can blame them too harshly, I almost missed it too. Good work."

"Oh, thank you, sir." I said, panting. After two rounds of using the magnet shield, I was almost tapped out. It may have only been less than seven minutes since we started, but that spell uses a lot of mana. "I'm just happy it didn't explode in my face… again."

"Right, I was told about that training accident when you were in basic training. Half a year ago now, yes?"

"More like a year."

"Fourteen months ago." He said.

"So, a little more than a year." I said.

"How many months are in Viking years?"

"Not a Viking. They're an extinct culture, not the name of our species. Twelve."

"Twelve?"

"How many do Neame years have?"

"Twenty-three." He said, to my shock.

(Well, this explains why Suma and I can never agree on how long ago something was unless we talk about it in months.) I thought, and a lot of things began to make more sense.

One more, rather intense, sparing session later, and I was back in Suma and Luna's room. I was being treated for the injuries I'd received during the third round. It was a simple place. Stone walls, those glowing braids sewn into the walls and hanging from the ceiling. The furniture, if you call it that, were just metal and wooden bars and poles placed around the room. In the corner of the room were two boxes, with drapes hanging over the only opening, and a cushion made of animal pelts to sleep in. Lying on the floor, Suma was standing at my side, casting healing spells.

"Jake, these injures are terrible! What happened?" Suma asked. Luna was out with Ciel and his son at the moment, getting seeds and other things from the local market.

"I ran out of mana in the third round of training, and got hit by easily thirty spells in less than ten seconds; from all sides." I groaned, wincing in pain with every other breath.

"Well, after training with the Royal Mages, I suppose I cannot be surprised that you were injured. How did your other teammates fair?"

"No, it was just me versus them." I said. Suma gasped snorted in shock.

"W-what?! Then it is no wonder you were injured so badly! Why did they not stop after the first round if they were not going to at least heal you?"

"I wasn't hurt until the end of the third round. Actually, they ended it because I was injured. They had healers there, but I wanted you to heal me instead since you know–" I coughed hard, feeling my chest rattle and bringing my hand to cover my mouth as I did. Pulling it away, I saw some blood and a cold chill ran straight down my spine and into my stomach. "Oh, that's probably not good." Suma immediately fluttered over to my chest, and started another healing spell.

"Never before have I been so grateful for all those confusing lessons on your people's anatomy." She said in a frustrated huff.

"Just wish I could have made it through that final round. If I hadn't run out of mana, my magnetic barrier spell would have stayed up."

"Jake, it is nothing short of a miracle that you lasted one round, let alone two. And alone no less!"

"You know I won those first two rounds." I said, smugly.

"You have a head injury, Jake." Suma said, unfazed. "Once you have stopped spitting up blood, I will treat that too."

"No, really!" I protested. "And I think I could have won the third one too."

"If they had not pelted you relentlessly with attack spells?" Suma asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Exactly." Reaching a hand into my pocket, I pulled out a small wooden plank, engraved with runic symbols and the Queen's seal, and showed it to Suma. "Got this though."

"Oh, a Rune-Maker's permit?"

"Yup. Totally worth it." I said, just before my toe suddenly popped back into place, sending a sharp and stabbing pain through my entire foot. "AHH! Son of a… ow!"

"That was the last of your injuries. Please, in the future, if you plan on breaking every bone in your body again… change your plans."

"It wasn't every bone."

"But it was quite a lot of them." She shook her head, probably annoyed. "What are your plans now that you have your license?"

"Nothing immediately, but when we get back to Zach-Ashem, it'll help with my work with Sela-Car."

"And what about for the rest of the day? Not another sparring session, I hope?"

"No, but I wish it were." I said, suddenly feeling anxious. "It's time."

"For?"

"To learn how to heal myself." Holding up my missing hand, she suddenly realized what I meant.

"Ah, do you want me to stay with you while you do?" Suma asked, trying to be gentle, but I'm sure she was still nervous after what happened in the desert. She was no more excited about this than I was.

"Yeah, that…" A deep guttural sigh escaped my lip, almost without me even noticing. "That'd be nice."

Lying down on the floor, Suma by my head for moral support, it was time to delve into Deyja's memories. Falling into darkness, I felt that haze wash over my whole body. Searching for information about how he healed himself, despite famously having Death-Mage, I opened the first memory I found. Slowly, everything came into focus as the memory took shape. The first thing I noticed was how high up I was; Deyja was tall. On my, or rather his, left, stood Ashem, who looked different from the last time I saw a memory with him in it. He looked younger, smaller. Both were in a field of rolling hills, surrounded by flowers; some of which came up to their knees. He was using magic to create illusions, and they both were watching them.

"Let us begin our lesson." Ashem said, his voice rolling like thunder, even despite his youth.

"Thank you again, my friend. I have been wanting to learn to dual-cast for a century now, but have had little time while managing my sections of the project."

"It is my pleasure, Deyja. I know how hard you have been working with the Neame, and am more than happy to help." The illusions began to take shape, however it was not pictures, but words written in a language I did not know, floating in the air.