《Crystal Rebirth Chronicles》


 Diamonds in the Rough

    The small cavern was lit by a singular blue crystal. The cave wasn''t particularly large so the gem, maybe the size of a child''s fist, was more than sufficient, its glow growing then dimming in a steady beat. However, its beat steadily started to pick up pace until it was glowing a solid blue, and the far wall of the cave shuddered, cracked, and finally formed a small hole. A yellow light shone through, scanning over the cave before disappearing, and a few more cracks split the wall before it finally fell revealing a small, somewhat hunched figure. They wore a heavy looking mix between a helmet and gas-mask, a yellow crystal set in a cage on the front of the mask providing light, and the figure looked around before it moved up to the blue crystal and swung a heavy pick into the stone beside it. It only took a few swings to free the crystal and it was quickly placed in a dirty cloth bag before the figure turned around, heading for the entrance before pausing, turning to look back at the wall it got the blue crystal from.


    After a moment they returned to the wall and swung more and more into it, eventually coming away with a baseball sized piece of yellow crystal that was hidden deeper in. Running their thumb over it caused it to glow with a sickly light, and the thumb pulled away with a string of yellow slime. With a quiet hum they stowed it away as well and hobbled out of the cave and into a wide area, men and women of all ages digging into the stony cave walls as they were or moving to deposit their found loads of blue crystals into minecarts. Some wore similar masks but others simply had to make do with cloths around their faces, none stopping in their work to even glance as the hobbling figure''s own blue crystals were deposited and they began stalking off along the minecart rails, ending up in a massive cavern. Chunks of crystals embedded in the walls or along tall poles kept the cavern from plunging into darkness, revealing even more tunnels and tracks that spiraled out into the walls or led up to one long building made of sheet metal, and the masked figure scanned the area before spotting his target.


    An area had been set aside for several wooden tables and crates, manned by men and women who looked much healthier than the miners and a few who were even armed. Miners were lined up in front of the tables, dropping off rough gemstones or bright crystals, and those who had their bounty accepted looked like they gained ten years back on their lives before heading to a table with a rotund man behind it. The masked figure got in line for one of the tables and when their turn came they deposited the yellow crystal from earlier onto the table, along with a few small red gems and one large pink one. When their load was counted up they were given a large iron coin, and they clutched it in their pocket as they moved to line up before the fat man.


    When they finally were before the man he smiled wide, "Ah, Hazard! My favorite little roach. Let me guess-" The masked figure wordlessly passed over the coin, and the fat man chuckled as he set a few coins down, two silver dreks and a copper coin "Hazard" didn''t recognize but quickly scooped into their pockets, and the fat man leaned forward on the table. "You know, I could put a couple more dreks in your pocket if you-"


    "No." Hazard said plainly, knowing that anything the man wanted would be either vile or more effort to acquire than it was worth.


    "Someday Hazard, someday." The man waved Hazard off and the small miner found their way through one of the tunnels, reaching the "residential" area and the scrap metal shack they called home. Past the curtain door old Jeddard was in the main room, scrabbling against the stone floor with his long white beard dragging along the ground. The two long white spikes of hair that trailed up to either side of the man''s otherwise bald head whipped as Jeddard looked at Hazard and smiled.


    "Ah, lad! Come, come!" Hazard stepped closer to see concentric circles scratched into the ground, "I''ve been thinking about those "atom" things you mentioned, and I had an idea! If we harmonize crystals using the correct focii and tools, we may be able to combine crystals as you suggested into more powerful forms!"


    "That''s great Jeddard." Hazard''s voice was muffled through his mask and as the old man continued on about theorems Hazard moved to a dirt-filled pot, one of the few pieces of furniture in the room and shoved the coins right into the dirt. Smoothing the dirt inside so the coinage was hidden Hazard moved past Jeddard, careful not to step on any of his diagrams on the way out of the hovel. Down the tunnels he returned, getting back to work on his mining. As always, the usual scrabbers came to beg and Hazard gave a few of them some of the smaller crystals he found, knowing they had actual injuries that stopped them from working. The rest, however, were told to pound sand. His work finally ended with a loud whistle echoing out through the cavern, and after trading in his crystals once more he was back at "home" watching Jeddard make his diagrams.


    As the minutes dragged on a creeping feeling found its way into Hazard but passed when someone came into the home, sighing heavily and practically tossing off their heavy mask into the corner, revealing a female face and straight black hair, "I swear I''m going to just dig my way out of here one day."


    "So you say." Hazard snorted, and he realized he may have messed up when the girl glared at him with bright purple eyes and grabbed his mask, ripping it off his head to reveal a similar appearance, albeit with bright blue eyes and clearly much younger.


    "Well it''s true! How many more years are we going to be stuck down here before we can save up to leave?"


    "One month, three weeks, and two days at Hazard''s current pace. With contributions by you of course, Ro." The girl gave Jeddard a flat look before sighing, rubbing her face as Hazard reached out to pat her arm.


    "Soon."


    "I know, I know, it''s just... ugh." Ro huffed, crossing her arms. "Bal is on his usual stick again."


    "What was it this time? Tried to offer you some rations he swiped?"


    "Worse: he told me about his plan to take up the Toad''s position and told me about how he could "protect" me." Hazard blinked at that, remembering the fat man from earlier.


    "Wait, so he thought the way to get you to like him was by saying he wanted to be like someone everyone hates?" Ro shook her head.


    "I got all the protection I need." She patted a pocket sewn on her rough-cloth pants and Hazard shook his own head, seeing the outline of her shiv.


    "He''s going to go crazy when we leave."


    "Eh, let ''im go crazy. We''ll be long gone on an Aotian beach, watching the sun set." Hazard smiled and snorted, shaking his head again. Realistically he knew they''d never reach Aoti''i, but they''d be out of the mines, that''s all that mattered. They spent another short while speaking before it was back to work, long hours of toil leading up to a dinner of, to no one''s shock, gruel with dried-out vegetables tossed in. A rare treat was added in though: actually fresh bread. When dinner was over they returned to their ramshackle hut, Jeddard already asleep in a corner as the two young folk curled up in their own corner, artificial night coming over the mine as the crystal lights were covered.


    Normally sleep would find them quickly but Hazard felt fingers pressing over his shoulder, tracing them before Ro sighed. "...You awake?"


    "...yes."


    "...you really think we''ll get out of here?" Hazard to think on the question for a moment.


    "Yeah. I do." Hazard turned in to Ro, resting his head on her shoulder. She let out another long sigh before her arms wrapped around him in turn. "You''re just worried because you''re staying up too late."


    "Yeah, yeah." Ro grumbled, pulling him closer. "...we''ll get out of here, we''ll make a little house in Aoti''i, never have to worry about food or money or having to share a bathroom with a dozen other people at once, and-"


    Hazard smiled slightly as Ro started to ramble about all the things they''d have when they were gone from the mines, as close to a lullaby as one could get in the dank work camp outside the clang of tools, drifting off to sleep...


    <hr>


    His eyes opened once more to a bright blue sky, not marred by any cloud. He was laying back against the lip of a wide but shallow crater, drifting slightly in the tides of the sea before he sat up, looking around behind to see a white-sand beach. A home was standing on the sands, red brick and surrounded by a metal gate before he blinked, and the home was replaced by the rounded, natural sandstone homes of Aoti''i. Ro was there in a sundress, Jeddard in a rocking chair, both beckoning him forward and he smiled as he stood. When he took a step towards them however there was a great clanging, and he stared at his foot in confusion as he took another step with another clang sounding out-


    <hr>


    Hazard took a deep breath in, groaning quietly as he heard the morning alarms blare. It had to be early, normally he got much farther in his dreams before the morning call. He sat up, pulling away from a just-waking Ro as he stumbled for his mask, grumbling as his legs pulsed with dull pain. He waited for Ro to join him and they moved to the main hall where... oh wow, seemed like every overseer and guard was out in force today. When the hall was packed with miners practically shoulder to shoulder overseers with clipboards did a headcount, and Hazard immediately knew something was going down. The overseers barely noted it if a miner died, so why were they being suddenly taking stock?


    Scanning the are he saw the Toad, sweating up a storm at the head of the hall. This wasn''t just sweat from the heat of the forges or having to walk around, this... he was afraid of something. Hazard looked up to Ro and was partway to opening his mouth when the Toad''s voice started to boom over the hall.


    "All women head down to Spring A! All men head down to Spring B!"


    The pair managed to look at one another before the guards began forcibly separating everyone, guiding them down hall after hall until they reached the springs. The men were lined up along either wall of the sloped room, forced to stand in the streams caused by the water crystals embedded in the walls and strip down. The guards placed more water crystals into their spears and clubs before aiming at the miners and hosing them down. Normally, this would be considered better than the "showers" most took by using buckets to scoop up spring water, but the water blasted at them was ice cold. Still, Hazard frantically rubbed at his body to both warm himself and scrub as much of the accumulated dirt off as he could. Their clothes were given the same rough treatment, and when they were dressed again the guards swapped crystals to blast them with hot air.


    Confusion abounded, but Hazard felt he was the only one who really felt fear in this situation. There were only a handful of reasons the miners would need to look clean: an inspection was coming up and they needed to check if anyone had a contagious illness... or they were being bought out. It was incredibly rare but it did happen that mines that had a high rate of casualties could "buy" miners from other locations, or worse: a noble would need them for some shady reason. When the guards forced them all back to the main hall Hazard immediately began hobbling about to try and find Ro, doing his shuffling "sprint" through the crowd while his head swiveled on the lookout for her. Whether fortunate or not, he found her when the guards started to split the crowd down two lines; one for the adults and older people, the other for the younglings.


    It was pure luck he ended up next to Ro, looking as water-logged as he was. She seemed shocked when he grabbed her hand, whispering to him, "Okay, you are never touchy-feely. What''s going on?"


    "It''s an inspection... there''s only two reasons for that: someone''s got the plague, or we''re being sold." Immediately her hold on his hand got tight as a vice. Ten minutes felt like ten hours before figures in dark metal armor stomped into the hall, much different from the robes and simple breastplates most inspectors had. Even from afar he could feel and see the purple filigree on their armor, no doubt crystal-laced, a sign they were above the average guard... wait. Hazard looked about and noticed how silent it was. There would always be people whispering or conniving with one another in moments like these regardless of the inspection, but it was a terrified silence.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Did the others know what sort noble had come? Had... Had there been an outbreak of some sort and they were here to purge them if they were infected? Was-


    Hazard stopped himself, taking a deep breath to stop his oncoming panic. All he focused on was watching the new armored figures as as a tall figure strode into the hall. Their hair was a shocking white and stuck up in a gravity defying heart shape, a tiny body at their side. The Toad, normally bombastic overseer of the mine, was hunched over and wringing his hands like a cartoon character as he approached the tall one, words lost on Hazard due to distance but the tall figure held up a hand. They said something and the Toad began leading them down the line of adults, Hazard following their walk with his eyes until they reached the end, spoke, and then began moving down the line of youths. He quickly sussed out a pattern in that the older teens were passed over but those on the shorter or younger side were spoken to, then moved on from.


    Two more puzzle pieces were added as the tall and short duo came closer and more details revealed: the tall figure was definitely a noblewoman, face nothing but sharp angles and the ornate robe she wore was decorated in countless small crystals laced between silver chain. He''d seen the dark purple gems in her outfit before, incredibly rarely and only in small grains, but the black crystals dotted between them were entirely new and given how rare the purple ones were he didn''t doubt the black ones cost a small fortune. What really stuck out though was the shorter figure: it was a young girl, near Hazard''s age, dressed in a less ornate robe. She was carrying a stuffed pink rabbit, which was already odd, but it was that fact she was nearly a carbon copy for him and Ro that was truly throwing him off. The jet-black hair, the blood-red eyes, hell even as emaciated he and Ro were, he could tell their faces were practically copy and pasted on one another. He''d been staring long enough that he hadn''t realized the two were looking back at him until they were standing right in front of him.


    Hazard gazed up at the older woman, a single thin brow on her face raising up over purple eyes. There was a tense silence between the four before Hazard waved. "Hello. I... presume I am supposed to bow, but my legs do not allow it."


    The movement of her eyes to his awkwardly shaped legs was obvious, and she sniffed dismissively. Still, she spoke up, voice hoarse but still powerful. "What is your name?"


    "Hazard." The thin brow went up again, and he explained. "My parents died when I was younger and didn''t name me, so the overseer went with what felt appropriate. I always seemed to get into trouble while mining when I was younger, so they joked about me being a "Hazard to our health.""


    The older woman made a noise, looking to Ro, "And you?"


    "...Roanna." Ro squeezed his hand tighter, trying to keep her back as straight as she could as she looked up to the woman. "I''m his sister."


    "What happened to your parents?"


    "Dead." Hazard felt an odd satisfaction at the awkward silence over his blunt response, "Mining accident."


    "...What happened to your legs?" The voice that spoke up was so quiet that they almost missed it, but the three turned their heads to look at the small girl at the elderly woman''s side, Hazard first to respond as the girl started to shrink back behind her elder.


    "A different mining accident." The girl nodded as Hazard tapped his legs, and he tried to come up with a question in turn before he spotted their rabbit. "What''s their name?"


    The girl said nothing for a moment before taking a hesitant step out from behind the curtain of black robes, holding up the rabbit, "Dame Prim-Hop of the Skylands."


    "Well, a pleasure to meet you both." He tried to put as much of a friendly tone into his voice as he could, and it clearly worked as the girl''s eyes literally sparkled and she began to dump all the lore of the Dame unto Hazard. He nodded and agreed when appropriate, asking the occasional question of the Dame''s life. When they were done there was silence, and Hazard looked to see Ro and the woman both looking stunned. The woman more so, eyebrows as high in surprise as they''d go, head tilted back as if she was blown away. Catching Hazard''s eyes she quickly schooled her face and looked back to the Toad.


    "This one."


    "Yes, yes, of course Your Ladyship, an excellent choice, I-" The overseer kept spouting off platitudes until the woman''s words finally processed in Hazard''s head.


    "M... Ma''am? Are you taking us out of the mine?"


    "You shall henceforth be a servant of the royal family." Hazard''s eyes lit up and for the first time in a long while, he felt something like hope... but he knew just how dangerous hope could be. He swallowed down the emotion and spoke up.


    "Does that include Ro, and Old Jeddard?"


    "No." The woman said bluntly. "You are the only one I am purchasing."


    "Then I have to respectfully decline." Hazard was quick to argue but there was a pregnant pause, a dead silence where not even the air seemed to dare move as all but the woman stared at him with shock and fear... and then it felt like the world came crashing down onto him. It was a physical weight that nearly slammed into his body, seeping straight to his bones and forcing his legs to flare in pain, nearly buckling. He could see the purple gems on the woman''s robes flaring faintly with light, and a second later the black gems seemed to bubble and suddenly that weight felt like it was piercing into his very soul. He couldn''t stop himself from falling to his hands and knees, scared for a moment he''d crack straight through.


    "You would defy the High Queen of the Skylands?"


    Hazard tried to respond but what came out was only a pathetic squeak. He couldn''t even raise his head to look at her, whole body straining just to not collapse flat against the ground. His vision started to shake... and then the immense weight was gone. Hazard took deep breaths, flinching when something settled on his head. Hesitantly he raised his head and saw pink, and it was strange enough it cut through whatever fear he was feeling. Pulling his head back he saw the plush Dame Prim-Hop resting a "hand" on his head, and further up he could see the young girl peeking from between the toy''s ears. The High Queen (the impact of her title was only now just sinking in) looked at the two bitterly, but her gems were no longer flaring with power.


    "...This... "Old Goddard," who is he?"


    Hazard swallowed at the queen''s question, "Jeddard is... h-he''s a crystalsmith. He said he used to, to be head of the Jeveraux Academy."


    "Find him." The queen didn''t even look back at the Toad who quickly barked commands to find Old Jeddard to the guards. This left the group in an awkward silence, Hazard just about managing to stand up on his feet by the time Jeddard was dragged up to the four of them by the arms, though he was still all smiles as he waved.


    "Hello!" He yelped as he was tossed forward, falling to the ground. The queen raised a brow as Jeddard picked himself up, dusting his clothes off.


    "Who... are you?" She was squinting at Jeddard now as he bowed.


    "I''m Giraurd Jeveraux, of course! Though, everyone calls me Old Jeddard, on account of me bein'' old."


    "Do not lie to me old man. You were the Headmaster of the Jeveraux Academy?"


    "Of course! Who do you think Jeveraux''s Faceted Interlacing theorem is named after? If I hadn''t spent those years with the finesmiths of Bosconau learning to engrave down to the tiniest detail, I would''ve never been able to do it. Of course, I''m still guffed they didn''t credit me for using copper wire to form internal gem lattices-"


    "Enough." The High Queen cut Jeddard off, and after a moment''s deliberation she looked to the Toad. "We''ll take the three of them. Prep them."


    She didn''t even wait and began walking off, the young girl clinging to her side and looking back as Jeddard, Ro, and Hazard were led off by the mine''s guards. They didn''t have much to pack, just spare, slightly cleaner clothes and the dirty coins they had hidden away for so long, marched out by the guards towards the exit to the mine. The air was still heavy but it became cleaner and cleaner as they marched up the winding, angled path, past carts of dross being hauled out as the other miners looked on in confusion. With a final turn they came to the last tunnel, light beaming down onto them and blinding the trio who were far more used to the dark but still they pushed on and out into a while other world.


    Hazard blinked away the spots in his eyes to reveal an only partially familiar plateau with carts of dross being emptied over the sheer edge. What Hazard expected were carriages, but what he got were... boats? Hazard had to blink the sunspots away a bit more to confirm but yes, there was a series of black-painted boats hovering over the edge of the plateau, more of the dark-armored guards standing at the ramps leading up to them. Even from here he could feel the thrum of crystals, likely what kept them afloat, more intricate details revealed as he got closer: the color of the boats was not paint but seemed to be the natural stain of the wood, interlaced with a deep black metal that seemed to be purple in the right light. When he was at the ramp, he could just make out vents lining the bottom that seemed to push out energy, but sadly that was the last he saw before being all but shoved into the purple-clothed seating area of the ship.


    Roanna followed suit, the High Queen and the youngling at her hip joining a second later and sitting on one of the benches. Without much else to do Hazard sat on the opposite bench... and practically melted into the soft purple velvet. This was quite literally the most comfortable thing he''d felt in this life. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Ro trying to remain upright and tense, but even she couldn''t help relaxing back into the seat. His head rolled and he saw out the window as the armored guards of the noble among them shuffled back onto the other boats, and with a pulse of energy they began drifting away from the plateau. As they rose higher and higher into the air and the cart tracks and people shrunk in his view, the realization hit him harder than the High Queen did before.


    They were leaving.


    It was a breathy mix of a cough and a laugh that left Hazard, and he started to blink faster as his eyes grew wet. He didn''t cry, at least he was fighting not to, but that was all the more difficult a battle when he felt Ro''s hand on his shoulder.


    "Haz? Haz, are you okay?"


    "...We''re leaving." He didn''t give a damn how embarrassing it was to squeak out the words, they were out. They were finally out. There was a moment of silence before Ro pulled him in for a hug, her head resting above his and starting to tremble. His vision already was subpar but everything became murkier as the tears finally flowed free.


    And that was how he fell asleep.


    <hr>


    "...Grandmother?" Vitala glanced over to her granddaughter as she spoke up, Dallia staring at the two urchins on the opposite bench who had cried themselves to sleep, "How come they seemed so sad?"


    "Those are tears of joy, little storm." She smiled, even if it didn''t reach her eyes. "They''re so happy to leave and be your friend."


    Her granddaughter said nothing and Vitala turned her attention back to the porthole, watching the lands flow like the ocean below them. At the very least, those two urchins had better be happy to serve the royal family. Trying to find a friend for her granddaughter that wasn''t some sycophant''s whelp trying to weasel their way into the royal family was hard enough, but trying to find people her own age? Near impossible. She had only bothered to come out to this backwater little shithole because she was desperate enough to see if any prisoners had a child to exchange for time off their sentence. Then she found Roanna and... Hazard. She''d have to change his name at some point, lest the Rings find another reason to aggravate her.


    At the very least, they appeared to come from good stock; the hair and skin were Gailian, she could feel a strong Resonance from both, the boy more so. Perhaps their parents were Lower Ring nobles, angered the wrong enemy? With any luck, they know their etiquette. Without any luck... they''ll be taught soon enough. Vitala began plotting all they would need in her head over the next few hours until the sun set and they finally arrived at... who cared. It was one no-name sky island among hundreds, all that mattered was that it had an inn for them to rest at.


    Vitala''s power flickered and Dallia looked up at her as the two children stirred, Vitala taking Dallia''s hand and leading her out the carriage as they docked, turning to one of the High Guard who had moved to flank the landing ramp, "Wake the other two, guide them to their rooms and have them fed."


    The guard saluted and Vitala continued on towards the inn. It was an easy thing to acquire a room for herself and Dallia, letting the High Guards decide among themselves who would remain at the ships and who would get rooms. Their accommodations were hardly fitting of a royal but one more day of travel and they''d be back to the castle, so she and Dallia settled into their beds for the night. Unfortunately, as Vitala was feeling that sweet tug into the darkness of sleep, the word "steak" suddenly came to her ear. Her eyes shot open and she was ready to blast away an intruder as she sat up to find nothing... but the empty room. Hearing muffled speech she turned and realized it was conversation filtering through the thin wooden wall.


    Who would have the gall to- Vitala paused, and she realized it was likely the urchins were placed next to their room. They were the only ones not dressed in armor, after all, the innkeep probably assumed they were close servants. Didn''t make it less annoying. Vitala was about to raise her voice and demand silence when Dallia''s tiny voice cut through the darkness.


    "Have you never had steak?"


    Vitala watched as Dallia somehow managed to have a muffled conversation through the wall, and Vitala pursed her lips before laying down again. It was... a bitter pill to swallow but this was the most she had seen her granddaughter speak to someone who wasn''t her. How many years since the loss has it been that she gave anything but one word answers? She knew it would be good for Dallia to be with them, but there was a seed of fear that she was getting too attached too quickly. She would have to make sure her granddaughter didn''t fall into the trap of being too trusting.


    The warning of too much trust was engraved deeply on her, after all.


    Vitala''s fingers brushed against the gems of her robe, she herself slowly drifting off to sleep, hoping she did not make a horrible mistake...

 Delivery

    "I have made a horrible mistake."


    Hazard mentally berated himself as he, Ro, and the young girl accompanying the High Queen sat around in his and Ro''s shared room, the girl on Ro''s bed and the siblings on the other. Apparently, the girl had gotten up and insisted on visiting them even if they were sleeping, and Hazard was blaming himself over and over for getting the three of them into this mess.


    ...He might''ve been a little dramatic and grumpy from being woken up, sue him.


    It was surprisingly silent in the room. He''d suspected the girl would want to continue the talk they had before they fell asleep, but they were quiet, just staring at them. Eventually the tension was too great and it was Ro who spoke up first. "Why are you here?"


    The girl flinched at Ro''s harsh tone and Hazard rested a hand on Ro''s arm. Ro huffed and crossed his arms as he looked at the other girl, "It''s okay, just tell us what you want."


    "...to talk..." He almost missed the girl''s words due to her quiet voice.


    "Okay... how about your name? Can you tell us your name?"


    "...Dallia." Hazard nodded, trying to commit it to memory. He was still off-kilter from... really everything that happened today, so he was trying to focus on gathering details as a way to anchor himself.


    "That''s a very pretty name. Can you tell us why the High Queen visited the mine?" Dallia said nothing, gently fidgeting with and rubbing one of her plush''s arms.


    "...Grandmother said she wanted to find me friends. Good friends that I could trust... but you were crying but Grandmother said you were happy..."


    "Crying- oh! We were crying, yes, but we were just happy to finally leave the mine."


    "...So you weren''t happy to be my friends?"


    "It''s not that we aren''t happy to be your friends, Dallia, it''s just... we don''t really know what''s going on." Hazard kept his tone as gentle as he could, "Why did your grandmother bring you all the way out to the mines to find a friend?"


    "She says we can''t trust nobles but..." Dallia shrunk in on herself, "...there wasn''t anyone at home she wanted to be my friends. We went all over the kingdom to find someone but she always said they could find someone better... and we did."


    She was back to looking at them with bright eyes, Hazard smiling back and nodding even if he didn''t feel as excited. That did very little to explain why they were chosen, but she was probably way too young to understand. Ro made a noise, one he recognized as her being discontent, and Dallia looked to his sister. Hazard breathed out a laugh, "Ignore her, she''s just grumpy."


    "Not grumpy." Ro grumbled.


    "Grum-py." Hazard sing-songed, and Ro pointed at him.


    "Short."


    "Beanpole."


    "Are you fighting?" Dallia asked in confusion, but they both shook their heads as Hazard answered.


    "No, no... well, kind of. Still, we don''t mean anything by it, it''s just what we do." Dallia still seemed confused.


    "Do all brother and sisters do that?"


    "Some do, some don''t." He shrugged, memories tickling at his mind. An all too familiar house faintly-


    Dallia suddenly, quietly gasped, eyes locked onto Hazard. "A Bright One!"


    "A what?" Hazard blinked as Dallia slid off the bed she was sitting on, her toy tucked under her arm as she hustled up to Hazard, eyes actually glowing this time.


    "Do you remember who you were? Were you a soldier? A crystal-smith? Did you have-" Dallia was rapid firing questions, Hazard unable to get a word in edgewise until Ro whistled, cutting Dallia''s deluge of words short.


    "How ''bout letting him breathe, huh?" Dallia blink-blinked, frozen a moment before she nervously leaned away, clutching at her toy with both arms. Hazard noticed her eyes started to dim, and he cleared his throat.


    "It''s okay, Dallia. She''s not mad at you, she''s just worried for me." Dallia gave a tiny nod. "It''s okay to be excited. Now, tell me: what is a "Bright One?""


    Some of the glow returned, as did her excitement though it was clear she was trying to tamp the emotion down. "They have a lot of different names but Lady Lubel says there are people whose souls get picked up by the Light to return to new bodies."


    Hazard felt a pit in his stomach, Ro going stiff-backed in the corner of his eye. His mouth was suddenly dry and he glanced to his sister before looking at Dallia. "I... see, can you tell us more?"


    Dallia nodded, "She says that the souls that come back get gifted with a bit of the Light''s power, plus sometimes they remember bits of their old life." She pointed at her eye. "I''m really good at seeing magic, and Lady Lubel says sometimes you can see a Bright One''s echoes. Their soul is still attached to their old memories, so their magic sometimes shows pictures-"


    As much as he tried to focus as Dallia explained Hazard was, quite frankly, having a massive existential crisis.


    In essentially 30 seconds, a literal child proved he wasn''t going crazy.


    She was right. Even when he was younger than he was now, he always had memories. A life not this one. A home, a job, even an entire different world as he could remember, but he... he thought he was crazy. Everyone said he was, hell he thought it was crazy, nothing of his memories matched this world after all. Ro was the only one to defend him but he knew even she had her doubts.


    He was right.


    The world suddenly jolted, and he felt something tight around his shoulder. He had no idea where he was just a moment ago, as if he was in another world entirely before he was back in the inn staring at nothing. A hand pressed against his face and quickly his head was turned, now staring at a scared Ro, only just realizing she was speaking.


    "Haz!? Haz, Haz it''s me. Haz I-" He blinked and she paused, breathing deeply, "Haz? Haz, a-are you back? Are you okay?"


    "...-ah." His voice cracked, getting half of his word out. "Yeah."


    "You''re crying..." He blinked and slowly he raised his hand, touching at his face. When he pulled his fingertips back he saw they were in fact wet and warm, but Ro quickly angled his face so he could look in her eyes again. "Haz, are you... are you okay?"


    He knew that tone, familiar from when she knew he was lying about how he was feeling. Despite this he only said, "Yeah."


    There was an unsettling silence as she searched his face before pulling her hands away carefully, slowly, as if he would fall apart the second she''d let go. He simply breathed and blinked, mind too filled with thoughts yet then too empty as he sat and ruminated. He needed time to remember there was a third in their room, and he looked at Dallia to see tears welling up in her eyes,


    "I-" Hazard has to cough, throat suddenly dry, "I guess we should explain, huh?"


    Dallia said nothing, just staring and Hazard took a breath to calm a heart he realized was trying to pound out of his chest. "It... yes, yes I think I''m a "Bright One," like you said. It''s just... down, down in the mines there wasn''t-, there was no one who ever told me anything like that. I- they said I was insane, because I said I had memories that weren''t my own."


    "...I''m sorry." Dallia nearly buried her face in her doll. "I-I''m sorry, I never mmmmeant to make you think of bad things, a-a-a-and-"


    The apologies were cut off as Dallia fully buried herself into the Dame, body shuddering, and Hazard took a long, deep breath that helped clear his mind as he fought to bury his own turmoil. "It''s okay-"


    "It''s not!" Dallia''s head shot up, "I saw your magic, you, your soul is all shaky! It-"


    "Dallia." He raised his voice, and the princess froze minus her sniffling. This time Hazard took a deep, long breath through his nose with his eyes shut, and as he let out through his mouth it was like his whole body cooled down. When he opened his eyes he tried to keep his voice as even as he could, "I''m okay, I promise."


    "...Promise?"


    "Promise." He nodded, "I''m not mad, it''s just... today has been a lot, and I need some time to process- uh, to think on it."


    Dallia nodded back and stepped back, slipping back onto the other bed. "...I''m tired."


    "...Would you like me to tell you some stories from what I can remember?" That perked her up a bit and she curled up under the bed''s blankets, looking at him expectantly. It was somewhat difficult, having to remember the fairy tales of a youth that was a whole lifetime ago, but with some ad-libbing she eventually drifted off to sleep. After a few moments of silence Hazard let out a long, slow breath, and Ro pulled him into a close hug with his head tucked under her chin. An old, familiar move done whenever he was upset. "...I''m tired."


    "I know, Haz." Ro gently laid on her side, bringing Hazard down with her. "It''ll be okay."


    Truthfully, she didn''t feel confident in her words. Ever since the moment in the mines they''d met the queen and she''d floored him, she knew they were in trouble. The high of knowing they were free of the mines was steadily replaced with the realization they''d have to live on a constant knife''s edge around the royal family. The idea of simply taking Hazard, slipping out of the inn window, and finding some way off the island teased her but in the end she knew it was pointless. Angering the royal family would be a death sentence, moreso than any mine collapse or accident. Ro clutched Hazard a bit closer, "...You know I''m always going to protect you, right?"


    "..."


    "...Haz?" She pulled away, enough to look down and see her brother fast asleep. Even if she didn''t have the same sight as him or the princess, she could tell that he seemed... lighter, in a way. Normally his face while he slept would be in an ever-present frown, but here it was a flat, neutral line, a rare sign of him feeling relaxed. She supposed that had to do with being proven right about his memories. It was an odd, bitter taste left in her mouth in the realization he seemed to get comfort from someone else, but the more she thought about it she realized this was an opportunity, however dangerous. A glance down to his damaged legs and she started to come up with a plan, even as she too started drifting off into sleep.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "I''m going to get us out of this Haz, don''t you worry."


    <hr>


    Watching the two orphans eat was a great and terrible thing: the older girl quickly cut or ripped chunks off the meat and bread of her breakfast to stuff down her gullet, the boy not much better. The Queen could tell he at least had some sort of etiquette drilled into him the way he held his utensils, but he was still shoveling food into his mouth like it¡¯d disappear any second and any mouth wiping was incredibly rough against his lips. Small mercy that Dallia seemed confused instead of trying to imitate them. Her granddaughter was about halfway done by the time the two finished, Roanna tense and keeping a careful eye on everything, but the boy... he was calm. That could¡¯ve been simply not knowing to be worried in this situation, but the bluish light that bled off him yesterday seemed calmer, less a flickering fire and more a smooth current. Had something happened she didn¡¯t know about? Or was-


    ¡°Ro, my lass! Hazard, my boy!¡±


    Vitala managed to stop her eye from twitching, but it still narrowed a hair as she turned her head to see the old man that had accompanied the duo shuffling past the dining area to put an empty bowl on the counter, cheery as yesterday. It was such an odd collection: the boy¡¯s Resonance was like a squire¡¯s, already so strong it bled off him, the girl¡¯s seemed focused purely internally to the point his very veins were almost shining, and the old man glowed like a master.


    Was he truly the Headmaster? The man certainly looked like the Headmaster she remembered from her youth. Rumors surrounding his sudden departure from the academy abound, but for him to have ended up in a random mine, it simply made no sense. He would¡¯ve had enough power, magical and political, to prevent being removed from his position, so why? Too many questions without answers, and in her position a lack of information was a deadly thing.


    The old man had been talking to the orphans, stroking his beard in response to a question, hand leaving long streaks of food matter... and he lifted his beard up, looking at the stains in surprise as the children giggled.


    ¡®...Or perhaps I¡¯ve finally become too paranoid, and I¡¯ve just bought a buffoon and his merry puppets.¡¯


    It was a small mercy he seemed to have whatever shred of sense left to go clean up before the group departed on the ships once more. From there it was the same long, boring journey as she¡¯d been on with Dallia for the past few weeks, rather it was boring for herself. Dallia was livelier than she¡¯d ever seen, talking animatedly with the three every time they had to land. As stinging as it was, Vitala stayed away to let them bond, though a guard was always close by to relay Dallia¡¯s needs and keep Vitala appraised of their conversations.


    She was not expecting them to approach her, however.


    <hr>


    Vitala raised a brow as Dallia approached her on the fine wooden chair the Queen set up on the grass, one hand clutching her toy and the other the wrist of the young boy, ¡°Grandmother, can Hazard ask you a question?¡±


    The brow remained raised as she looked to the miner boy, but she nodded towards him. He swallowed nervously but held her gaze as he spoke, probably already asking for favors-


    ¡°Can a Bright soul come from another world?¡±


    ¡°...Pardon?¡± Her normal harsh tone was completely lost to confusion and boy continued.


    ¡°Well Dallia says a Bright One comes from a soul returning to the Light, even if I don¡¯t fully get it, but does that mean a soul can from other planets, or another dimension, if they have the right crystals or, or something?¡± His confidence waned the further his question went, but Vitala was still stuck on the absurdity of the statement. Besides the fact that it¡¯s a very religious question to be coming from a child, other worlds? Had the boy been in the mines so long that the outside world seemed a fantasy to him? The instinctual urge to tell him to make himself scarce for such an inane question was restrained solely due to Dallia being there, and she considered the thought.


    ¡°...The priests and priestesses would say yes, I believe.¡± She wasn¡¯t exactly religious, so it¡¯s not as if she could say that for certain. ¡°What even brought about this question?¡±


    The boy opened his mouth but Dallia quickly chimed in, ¡°He¡¯s a Bright One! He¡¯s been telling me all about his people¡¯s inventions and stories and-¡±


    ...In hindsight, the answer should¡¯ve been obvious to Vitala. However, she was caught off-guard; Dallia was exceedingly cheery, yes, but it was the fact the boy was claiming to be a Bright One of all things. It was ludicrous... actually, no. No, the more she thought about it, in a way it did make sense, that was a very plausible explanation for why his Resonance was the way it was. From what she could catch from Dallia¡¯s stream of words, however, it seemed the boy was claiming his people were some advanced race, and she scoffed at the notion. Her gaze turned to the boy.


    ¡°Do not be preposterous. Likely, your mind is struggling to reconcile sparse details of your old life, perhaps as some crystalsmith or some sort of learned man, and you¡¯ve imagined any of this ¡°other planet¡± nonsense.¡± He seemingly mulled over her words before he hesitantly nodded.


    ¡°I see. Thank you for your time, Your Highness.¡± He awkwardly bowed and hobbled away, Dallia followed along. Vitala quietly snorted as she watched him go. Perhaps she should rename him to ¡°Absurd,¡± but at least now she knows he¡¯ll be good at telling her fairy tales...


    <hr>


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Dallia whispered to Hazard, and he looked to her.


    ¡°Hm? For what?¡±


    ¡°That grandmother said...¡± Dallia trailed off and Hazard shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, she¡¯d know more than most, I think.¡± Dallia seemed to brighten at his words, but the truth was that he was still skeptical of this being his imagination. He didn¡¯t doubt the Queen¡¯s information, but these memories... they were so vivid. It wasn¡¯t like he just had ¡°a feeling,¡± he could remember days of his former life down to the minute details. He could remember nearly cursing out one of his teachers because they were mad he chose to attend a funeral instead of study remedials on fractions, he could recall the ingredients of his favorite trail mix down to the salt they used, hell he could remember his exact change from that time he fell over in front of that one cute cashier at the convenience store and she laughed at him. His face started to burn in embarrassment as he recalled her laugh, and to him that was just another piece of evidence that there was more going on than just an overactive imagination.


    ¡°...I bet you were smart.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Hazard was brough out of his thoughts by Dallia.


    ¡°I bet you were a really good crystalsmith, or a finesmith, or maybe you were a really high-ranked mage.¡±


    ¡°...Thank you?¡± The compliment blindsided him and he was brought out of his thoughts, shuffling them aside and trying to focus on the now instead. They returned to their small ¡°picnic¡± area, Dallia returning to the fine seat while Hazard sat on a crate, Ro and Jeddard making do with rocks. A small diamante board was sat between the gathering, though Hazard wasn¡¯t participating; Jeddard seemed the champion, Dallia a close second, and despite her best efforts Ro was getting knocked out of the game first in most matches. He was never a fan of games like chess, so he was happy to watch the other three, and it gave him a chance to... recover, in a sense. He had lost track of whether it had been days or weeks since their travel began, but throughout it all Dallia had been keen on asking him every question that came to her mind and it was exhausting. Trying to gather any information during this was also an issue since she was a literal child, royalty or not, so her knowledge of the world was limited. The kingdom the High Queen ruled was known simply as the Stormlands, a rocky place with arches stretching around the city, and the city was ruled by nobility who lived in the Upper or Lower Rings of the city. What exactly the Rings were and how the Ring nobles ruled was unknown to her, so it was unknown to him as well.


    She seemed more obsessed with magic, something that she and Jeddard would gush about, and thanks to Jeddard¡¯s boundless energy he provided the perfect distraction when Hazard was tired. Speaking of which; Hazard shut his eyes and rested a moment, listening to the sound of the wind, the clack of diamante pieces, and Jeddard and Dallia chatter away. He even heard Ro¡¯s quiet grunts of frustration whenever one of her pieces was taken... but then a familiar ache started to seep through his legs and back, and he opened his eyes. He let out a quiet breath through his nose, but Ro¡¯s eyes locked on his.


    ¡°Haz? You alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good, just the usual aches.¡± She nodded but now Dallia was looking at him, more accurately his legs.


    ¡°...Does it hurt?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes.¡± It was a particularly odd question, considering she¡¯d avoided speaking up about it until now, but maybe that tension had finally built up too much.


    ¡°How come they didn¡¯t fix it?¡± The change was instant: Jeddard¡¯s face sunk and Ro¡¯s lips pursed, fists balling up on her knees. Hazard was about to tell her the overseer¡¯s many sins, but realized he wasn¡¯t around the jaded old miners he normally was. The queen would also probably not be a fan of him swearing or traumatizing her granddaughter.


    ¡°...Healing crystals are very rare and expensive, especially ones that could heal what was done to me, and they aren¡¯t normally carried around in mines.¡± She said nothing, still looking at his legs before turning back to the game. The conversation between her and Jeddard was much more subdued, and Hazard couldn¡¯t help but feel he screwed up. The feeling doubled when their travels turned silent, Dallia¡¯s questions being a rarity instead of a constant, but as they got closer to Dallia¡¯s home energy returned to her... in fact, it seemed energy returned to everyone. It was hard to explain but his fatigue was quickly disappearing, his sight became sharper, even the pain in his legs started to dull.


    Letting his senses flow he could see the energy radiating off Ro, Dallia, and the Queen become more powerful, something he found ironic given how the land passing under the airships grew rockier and plant life seemed sparse. Dead wasn¡¯t quite the right word to describe the land, but-


    The airship jolted and he pressed himself back into his seat, one of Ro¡¯s arms shooting across his chest to secure him. Dallia seemed nonplussed and the Queen was... smirking? They were much more comfortable than he and Ro were, at least, and he remained glued to his seat until there was another shudder from the ship and the Queen stood. Dallia took her hand as one of the royal guards opened the door to the ship, more guards making a long line to either side of the door to another open doorway. The Queen and princess made their exit, two of the guards taking positions behind them and following them into the doorway. The rest of the guards had followed once the royals disappeared into the doorway... leaving Ro and Hazard alone. Hazard looked at Ro and shrugged before standing up, moving towards the door of the ship with Ro following behind him.


    Stepping out on the platform was the first true look he had had at civilization, and he had to admit: it was an amazing sight. They were atop some sort of tower, that much was clear by the city that stretched out far below like a model. With his eyesight energized as it was the city seemed modern for this world: long, wide roads all laid out in perfect straight lines radiating from the tower and what looked like streetlamps lining each one, tall towers adorned with massive crystals dotting the circular city at regular intervals, and what looked like tall, natural walls of stone stretched up to the sky around the city. Gaps between the stone were filled with row after row of tall archways stretching across the space, the faintest dots of movement he assumed were other ships, flowing through the arches.


    ¡°...Hey Ro?¡± Evidently the sight had mesmerized her just as much, because his question caused her to visibly jolt.


    ¡°Wha?¡±


    ¡°We really did go from the deepest pit to the highest peak.¡±


    ¡°...Yeah... yeah, guess we did. What was it you said that one time though? ¡°Into the frying pan from the fire?¡±¡±


    ¡°¡±Out of the frying pan, into the fire.¡±¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re both going to be ¡°fired¡± from your positions if you do not move.¡± The two of them whipped around to see the Queen in the doorway, and Ro bristled before the two approached her, ¡°And why exactly are you two lazing about?¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, we weren¡¯t told to follow, and it seemed like the guards were quick to close around you.¡± Hazard offered in as apologetic a tone as he could muster, now well aware ¡°fired¡± might mean something very different here compared to his memories.


    ¡°You need instructions for me to tell you something so obvious?¡±


    Hazard could tell Ro was about to say something, so he quickly bowed, ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Your Highness.¡±


    Ro seemed to thankfully resign to following his lead, bowing her head as well. He heard the Queen sniff, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    The two did so in silence, Hazard keeping his head down and just following the white marble tiles and the Queen¡¯s cape until something struck out in his periphery; a stained-glass window showing a purple tower, maybe some sort of castle? They started down the stairs and each landing included another window; a figure in white, black, and purple clothing holding their hand high and sending lightning towards armored figures, that same figure with their hand outstretched but with plants now sprouting from the earth, them again but now with people behind them as they appeared at the purple tower again, and... Hazard thought the last one strange. The figure from before was gone, this one showing a group of people fleeing from knights. Was this a religious story, or a historical one? He lingered a moment on the last window before he could feel the Queen¡¯s gaze on his back and he hurried along. They were finally led to a round platform with a purple crystal jutting from its center, and the Queen nodded to a figure in white, hooded robes. The figure nodded back and raised a black staff capped with another purple crystal, both gems lightning up before the platform shook, then began to lower.


    There was silence bar the hum of crystal and what sounded like the grinding of gears, until they reached their destination and the Queen walked out into the hall. Hazard followed, taking a deep breath as he stepped over the threshold to their new life...


    ...and everything turned black...

 Healing

    Hazard was used to pain, at least he liked to think so. Outside of the obvious, he¡¯d been zapped, burned, frozen, and slimed by plenty of different crystals, got stuck in a few fights, and one too many head bumps thanks to his poor eyesight.


    This? This was new.


    It was like he was drowning in fire, a cold burn saturating his whole body. Yet... he could feel so much around him. He was in a void with lights of all shapes and colors moving through the darkness, but four white forms rimmed with purple seemed to be constantly moving around his sides, and he felt a constant pull from every light. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he was floating for, like he was in the strange blur of time that usually accompanied a dream, but at one point he started to feel as if he was being drained. The ¡°burn¡± faded away, replaced by a soreness, and the white forms leaned in. He felt like he should be afraid but there was a calmness to their presence that radiated towards him.


    He wasn¡¯t sure how or why, but the lights all vanished suddenly, and Hazard¡¯s eyes suddenly cracked open like he had just had a long nap. Blearily looking around he saw he was in a room with a tall ceiling, a row of beds stretching to the wall on his left, and to his right-


    Hazard practically went blind as bright sunlight blasted his face, and he quickly tried to turn away and raise his arms to block his face. His left arm came up, but something heavy weighed down on his right. He heard a quiet groan and the weight shifted... and suddenly he was wrapped in a tight embrace.


    ¡°Haz!¡±


    ¡°Ro? What-¡± She pulled away so she could turn his face, cupping it tightly with both hands.


    ¡°Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere? Are-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine.¡± He cut her off, trying to blink away sunspots. ¡°Just too bright.¡±


    She laid him back down a bit roughly but she did get up and close the curtains so he wasn¡¯t having the entire force of the sun in his face. She quickly returned to his side, grabbing his arm. ¡°Haz, seriously, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, Ro.¡± She nodded but she still held onto him like he¡¯d vanish any moment. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°You... You passed out.¡± Her voice was choked and hoarse, and he quickly turned to hold her hand. He only heard her like this once or twice, and it was never a good sign. ¡°You¡¯ve been asleep for a whole day.¡±


    That would explain the weird dream, at least. ¡°Did they say why?¡±


    ¡°You abs-¡± Hazard practically jumped out of the cot he was in at the sudden voice from his other side. It was a bald man in white robes, practically blending into the white stone of the wall. ¡°Apologies, I did not mean to startle you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Hazard took a breath to calm his racing heart.


    ¡°Regardless, you have my apologies. As I was saying, you absorbed quite a bit of power.¡± The man pulled out some sort of short stick with a small, round crystal embedded in the tip from his robes. The crystal began to glow, and Hazard followed it with his eyes, not unlike the doctor visits of his past. ¡°We rushed you here and I must admit; you gave us all quite a fright.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± The light faded and the man stowed the wand away.


    ¡°Tell me, do you remember anything?¡±


    ¡°Not really? I was in the elevator with Ro and then everything went dark. I... had a weird dream, if that helps?¡± The man hummed, sliding a stool from... somewhere and sitting beside Hazard.


    ¡°Tell me about this dream.¡±


    ¡°Not much to say, there were a bunch of colored stars moving everywhere, and these four... I don¡¯t want to say stars, they were figures, were all moving around right near me. I had this pain like... you ever hold something that¡¯s too cold and it stings? Like that, but through my whole body. That went away, then all the lights, then I woke up.¡± The man¡¯s eyebrows went up in surprise.


    ¡°Are you certain that¡¯s what you saw?¡± Hazard nodded. ¡°Amazing... you absorbed quite a bit more power than we thought.¡±


    ¡°What¡±


    ¡°When a... no, if a... hm.¡± The man hummed, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, before he spoke in a tone Hazard usually heard used for children. ¡°When someone very, very skilled with crystals and magic focuses, they can take power from the world and crystals around them. You took in quite a lot of power, and quite rapidly- er, quite fast at that. It seems like your body wasn¡¯t ready for that. Tell me, did you feel anything before you fell asleep?¡±


    ¡°...You can say ¡°fell unconscious,¡± and no, nothing at all.¡± Hazard wracked his brain for a moment before something popped up, ¡°Wait, Ro, do you remember when we first came here? Or started coming in?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You felt that weird charge too, right? Everything felt sharper, we felt better?¡± Ro¡¯s face scrunched up in confusion before it clicked.


    ¡°Oh! When we were on the boat, yeah!¡±


    ¡°The High Queen¡¯s skyship... so you were pulling in energy even then?¡± The man pressed his hand to his chin. ¡°I see... yes, that would make sense. If you grew up somewhere with few crystals, your body was probably starved for energy and started pulling in as much power as it could as soon as it reached any source large enough.¡±


    ¡°Well, that explains why I passed out, but not anything else. How come Ro didn¡¯t pass out then?¡±


    ¡°We did an examination on you both: your sister was suffering as well, but as she was older and healthier, she was much more resilient. It seems her Resonance also focuses inward, so her body was able to process the sudden influx. You, however...¡± The man trailed off, and Hazard had a feeling he was trying to find a polite way to phrase his next words.


    ¡°Going to guess it has to do with me being malnourished, having horribly injured legs, and being cursed with an already underperforming body?¡± The man winced.


    ¡°...It is not your fault; you are as the Light and your situation made you. Thankfully, we were able to get you here quickly. Those lights you saw were likely the other Medennice. By absorbing so much power, you obtained a sense of sight that most mages train their whole lives to have, but it was also hurting you. We drained the energy out from you, and now we just need to slowly give you the power back, so that you will get used to it.¡±


    ¡°So building up the resistance over time.¡±


    ¡°That... is very astute for one so young. Yes, that is exactly it. If you are to remain in the Stormlands, being adapted to the Star is the highest importance. For now, though, I think it best you rest again.¡± Hazard nodded, making himself comfortable in the cot. The man bowed deeply and made his way out of the room, the siblings sitting in silence.


    ¡°...Hey Ro?¡± She hummed. ¡°What¡¯s the ¡°Star?¡±¡±


    ¡°No idea.¡±


    ¡°The Star-¡± Hazard jolted as Jeddard¡¯s voice suddenly came from the doorway.


    ¡°Fuck mothering- Jeddard! Gonna give me a fucking palpitation.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that! Anyways, the Star is the single largest crystal to have ever been discovered by mortal eyes.¡± Jeddard waves his fingers around, trying to establish some sort of mysticism with his words. ¡°Legends say the Saintess Alessa led her people after they were driven from their homelands into the wild, dangerous Stormlands, where roiling storms of crystal energy churned and burned the land. Still, they survived and came upon... it.¡±


    The dramatic pause made it clear Jeddard was waiting for one of them to ask, so Hazard spoke up, ¡°¡±It?¡±¡±


    ¡°The ¡°Heart of the Heavens,¡± also known as the Fallen Star: a massive, massive crystal. The religious say it was a gift of the Light, sent down as the holy land for the people of the Stormlands to find, while the more scientific say it was suspended high, high among the sky and came crashing down, causing the deep crater that surrounds it. Whatever the case, no one had seen such a massive, massive crystal before, let alone one so powerful, and Saint Alessa sought to tame the crystal and its power. And she did! Using the energy and shards of the Heart, she led her people into a war to seize back their lands, followed by a long age of prosperity in which she built a capital city over the Heart. Fun fact: the Queen¡¯s Spire, which we landed on, is the tallest shard of the Heart, and is used in multiple ceremonies!¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Thank you for the exposition, Jeddard.¡± Hazard did have one concern, namely if he got sick due to being too infused with crystal energy, a giant, city-sized crystal should be blasting him like a nuclear power plant. Then again, even as weak as he was, he did spend most of his life mining for crystals. Maybe that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t end up worse...


    He shuddered at the thought of how it could be worse, and Ro looked at him, ¡°Haz?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine you¡¯re both exhausted! Ro hasn¡¯t left your side since you fell!¡± The girl blushed.


    ¡°Excuse me for being worried when he suddenly passes out!¡±


    ¡°Actually, that brings up a good point: what¡¯s been going on with the Queen and Dallia?¡± Jeddard opened his mouth but there was a popping sound, and he leaned back into the hallway.


    ¡°Oh! Here she comes.¡±


    There was a quiet tapping noise that grew louder and louder before Dallia came running into the room. She stopped at the foot of the cot and Hazard blinked at her outfit, a mostly purple dress with white filigree in the shape of birds lining the bottom, frillier than anything he¡¯d ever seen. She said nothing, just staring at him for a long moment before Hazard waved to her. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Oh you can do better than that! This is a joyous reunion; she was just as worried as Ro was!¡±


    ¡°...Wait, were you not worried?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I know how great you¡¯re going to grow up to be.¡± Jeddard beamed brightly and Hazard shrugged before looking back to Dallia.


    ¡°Hello Dallia, I¡¯m sorry if I worried you.¡±


    ¡°...are you okay? They sicked you were sick but you fell...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay Dallia. The doctor¡¯s fixed me right up?¡±


    ¡°¡±Doctor?¡±¡±


    ¡°He means the Medecinne! In his home, a healer is called a ¡°doctor.¡±¡± Jeddard supplied. ¡°They don¡¯t use crystals to heal at all!¡±


    ¡°...So he¡¯s okay?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    Dallia nodded and approached the side not occupied by Ro, curtseying. ¡°By my power as the princess, I hereby grand you this boon.¡± She reached behind her to fiddle with something, and he craned his neck to see a small pouch at the small of her back. When she returned around she gently placed a small, hand-sized plush of a white rabbit in his hand. ¡°This is Baron Jumper. He¡¯ll keep you safe.¡±


    ...He tried, he really did, but the fact she was suddenly acting so prim and proper along with the complete seriousness with which she said the plush¡¯s name made him breathe out a laugh before he could speak, ¡°Thank you. I will also keep him safe.¡±


    She nodded, curtsied, and quickly left. Jeddard watched her leave and there was a popping noise around the corner. ¡°Amazing! Short range transposition at such a young age! Even in the capital that¡¯s impressive!¡±


    ¡°...You are a font of enthusiasm, aren¡¯t you Jed.¡±


    ¡°Why not? Every day I¡¯m not in the dirt is a blessed one.¡±


    ¡°Jed we lived in a mine.¡± Ro pointed out.


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    Hazard shook his head, and for a moment he let himself forget about the situation, and sinking into conversation with the two.


    <hr>


    ¡°Never a moment to relax.¡±


    Vitala rubbed at her temples as she sat in the auditorium, the rabble of Upper and Lower ring nobles fighting to have whatever inane or idiotic request heard. Eventually she grabbed her gavel and swung the hammer down onto its platform, a loud crack and boom of thunder silencing the crowd. She glared down and let her eyes roam the auditorium, daring anyone to speak up. She looked to the Steward, ¡°Now, let us try this again: Steward, what are the most important items on the docket?¡±


    The reedy man fixed the clear crystal lenses across his face before looking at his handboard. ¡°The construction in Inani Bay has been stalled for unknown reasons.¡±


    Vitala¡¯s eyebrow raised as she looked to the Upper Ring section of the auditorium. ¡°Lord Gaula, explain.¡±


    The lord slapped a hand to the stand in front of him, ¡°We can¡¯t keep up pace with just the scraps you send us! We need real workers, not just whatever debtors can be scrounged up!¡±


    ¡°You have been given an extra three months and a hundred more workers in that time than you were supposed to need, Gaula. I will be sending a wing of knights and a Steward to make sure if everything is as it¡¯s supposed to be. If not, we can find others more competent to do the construction... and manage the Bay.¡± He was clearly incensed but he quickly sat back down. As if she didn¡¯t know about his little ¡°skimming¡± of resources for his passion projects. Vitala just about kept her eyes from rolling as she looked at the Steward who was noting down the resolution. ¡°What is next?¡±


    She wished she could say anything interesting had happened, but it was more of the same: red-beaked scavengers trying to pick at the Crown¡¯s coffers. Her only saving grace was the recess they took an hour into the Convene, where Dallia returned to her side in the booth. ¡°Hello, little one.¡±


    ¡°Hello, grandmother.¡± Vitala noticed something was off, and she realized Dallia was beaming. It was jarring, even if she had clearly been enjoying her new... friends, it was clear they had a much more profound expect than she thought.


    ¡°I assume the boy is awake now?¡±


    Dallia nodded rapidly. ¡°I had the guard tell me as soon as he woke up. He is healed, and under the protection of Baron Jumper.¡±


    It took Vitala a long, long moment to realize that Dallia must¡¯ve meant one of her toys, and she was struck. Dallia guarded her playthings religiously, but she gave a boy she practically just met one of her treasures. Vitala understood she was excited, the short teleport she did once they were informed of his condition all the evidence she needed, but this? She wanted to caution her granddaughter against being so trusting, but how to breach it?


    ¡°I see... did he, appreciate it?¡±


    ¡°He swore he would keep Baron Jumper safe.¡± Vitala mulled over the words. It was just as likely he understood appeasing Dallia as it was that he appreciated having a toy himself. Only so much entertainment to be gotten from a pet rock, after all. Before she could question her further Dallia¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Can I show him the rest of the castle once he¡¯s ready to walk?¡±


    ¡°...I¡¯ll tell you what, Dallia: once we get him a new name and he gets better completely, you can go show him the whole castle.¡± For once a truly soft smile broke her face. Her reservations tried to wheedle at her for being so open to Dallia¡¯s wishes, but she smothered them. Dallia¡¯s smile at Vitala¡¯s words was worth more than the whole Heart, as far as she was concerned. Unfortunately, it was all too soon that they both returned to the Convene and the rabble of the nobles. The temptation to send Dallia back was tempered with Vitala¡¯s need to keep her granddaughter¡¯s learning schedule.


    Hopefully, Dallia would learn how not to act in addition to how politics usually went. Dallia had dutifully sat through the rest of the Convene after the break ended, and Vitala breathed out in relief once she saw the nobles begin shuffling out, ¡°Finally.¡±


    She stood, rolling some of her joints to free them from their stiffness. ¡°Alright Dallia, you are free to go play.¡±


    Dallia nodded, slipping off her own seat and taking Vitala¡¯s hand, ¡°Can you come with me?¡±


    The question soothed Vitala¡¯s soul, and she stooped down to pick Dalia up in her arms, ¡°Of course. What would you like to do, dear?¡±


    ¡°Can we visit Hazard? I think he¡¯d like to see you.¡±


    ...Vitala was certain that was a lie, or the optimism of youth. She could count the number of people happy to see her on one hand. Regardless, Vitala nodded, and she decided some pomp was in order. Her hand raised and a purple portal to the hospital ward of the tower spun open, and she was unsure who was more surprised: obviously Vitala¡¯s visit wasn¡¯t expected, but the Queen didn¡¯t expect to see the young woman hoisting her brother¡¯s cot above her head with one arm. Roanna was quick to lower the cot back down as the Queen stepped through the portal, the old man waving to her, ¡°Hello, Your Highness!¡±


    ¡°What... is going on here?¡±


    ¡°They are brilliant! I decided to give them an exercise, and they passed with flying colors! You see, they were curious about how the princess managed short range transposition without a crystal, and Hazard posited that she¡¯s able to do so by using the Heart as a source-¡±


    ¡°Okay, yes, I understand.¡± Her good mood was bludgeoned with the old man¡¯s rapid rambles, and she set Dallia down. ¡°So, they managed to figure out the obvious?¡±


    ¡°Yes indeedy! The Hazard tried out his magic, and then Ro tried hers, but it wasn¡¯t as impressive. Ergo, I pointed out her Resonance was internal, and she channeled her energy into newfound strength! Imagine what they could do with full bellies and some training.¡± While she doubted it was intentional, Vitala couldn¡¯t argue he was making a good case to keep the two. An extra pair of semi-competent bodies to protect Dallia... or perhaps her edge was dulling. Vitala hummed as she watched her granddaughter approach the bedridden boy, the two chatting excitedly and he raised a hand.


    A ball of soft purple light appeared, and he made it rapidly change color before crushing the light. It exploded into small sparkles, a parlor trick really, but still, more control than she¡¯d expected. Dallia was absolutely fascinated and started showing off some of the tricks she knew from her control exercises, and Vitala mulled over the small lights the two exchanged between them. Perhaps they could change his name to ¡°Little Light¡± in the old tongue or something like that. She¡¯ll have to ask the Medennice when he¡¯d be clear to leave, another chunk of her schedule gone-


    ¡°Up we go.¡± Roanna had picked up Dallia and set her on the cot, apparently some chunk of the conversation missed as Roanna lifted the cot up and down. Her hackles raised at the potential danger of the move, but the two younglings were practically cheering as the older girl lifted them up and down. When they were set back down Vitala was quick to clear her throat.


    ¡°There are some rather important to discuss.¡± Yes, important things, not bitter at all that the dregs of humanity got her granddaughter to laugh more than anything Vitala did. ¡°While Jeddard¡¯s past is being investigated, I will be setting up the Rite of Forebears for ¡°Hazard.¡± Is there any name your parents thought about giving him?¡±


    Roanna and Hazard looked to each other before Roanna spoke, ¡°Nothing... nothing solid. Chevonne if he was a girl, or Chevra. I think... I think Lunas was mentioned? They never picked something before...¡±


    She trailed off and Vitala finished. ¡°Before they died, I assume. And what do you think, boy?¡±


    ¡°...I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even know what the ¡°Rite of Forebears¡± is, what limits or rules there are to it.¡± The mood had clearly been brought down, the room quieter as the boy rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°I mean I would like something my parents chose, but...¡±


    He shrugged, and Jeddard leaned forward in his seat. ¡°The Rite of Forebears is an ancient ritual in which an individual is named a noble by virtue of a sponsor or having a strong bloodline claim! So long as your sponsor and/or the court agrees, you can name yourself whatever you wish!¡±


    ¡°Not like there¡¯s an extra Noirus out there, otherwise we wouldn¡¯t have been sent to the mines.¡± Roanna crossed her arms with a huff, but Vitala grew curious.


    ¡°You had a surname?¡± Now she was almost certain the siblings were noble offspring; no commoner would have a surname. ¡°Do you remember your parent¡¯s names?¡±


    ¡°Our mom was Addelaide. Our dad was Mateo.¡± Now they were getting somewhere in the case of the mysterious orphans.


    ¡°I see. I will begin preparations on the Rite, among other things. Dallia, as soon as you are done here, I want you to study the last chapter of your history book.¡± Dallia nodded, and Vitala opened another portal, this time to her personal office. When she stepped through, she sent a quick message for the Royal Guard to remain with Dallia, and Vitala sighed through her nose as she took her seat at her desk. She¡¯d have to research this ¡°Noirus¡± bloodline, she didn¡¯t come all this way to have her family tied to some sort of dirt farmer or worse: a noble who might get too big for their britches and ¡°conveniently remember¡± their ¡°long-lost¡± family.

 A Brief Return to School

    Lord Amete nervously paced in his study, hands clasped behind his back, only briefly pausing to look at his desk before he continued pacing. After a few minutes of repeating the actions he sighed heavily, approaching the desk and grabbing a scroll marked with the royal seal, carefully breaking the seal and slowly unfurling it.


    ¡°To the Lord Amete Volbaine of Blackspire


    As dictated via Steward Mercurio per the High Queen Vitala¡¯s request,


    Lord Amete Volbaine of Blackspire is hereby requested to deliver, in person or in writing, all information regarding Addelaide and Matteo Noirus, pertaining to familial charters and economic ledgers during their tenure as stewards of Blackspire. In addition, Lord Amete Volbaine of Blackspire is hereby sanctioned for all taxation and economic ledgers during his stewardship of Blackspire under Imperial inquisitorial law-


    Amete dropped the scroll, leaning with his hands on his desk for a long moment before he quickly moved to his spirits box and pulled his wine free. He briefly debated just swigging straight from the bottle but figured he should keep some decorum, even if he was alone, and pulled a glass out of the box as well. He sat at his desk, filling the cup and taking a sip. ¡°Okay, Amete, just breathe. Breathe, and think. Why is the Crown asking about this now?¡±


    He wracked his brain, trying to think of anything he might¡¯ve done to get in trouble. He all but doubled how much Blackspire produced, the economy was booming... were the Noirus¡¯ connected more than he thought? No, Blackspire was barely on the map when they were in control and it¡¯s been years since they were gone, surely if they had any allies, they would¡¯ve raised a fuss when they first left? He took a deeper, longer sip this time. ¡°It¡¯s fine, everything is fine. I¡¯ve done nothing wrong; I am totally good and safe.¡±


    He kept repeating positive affirmations as he set about penning a response letter, hoping he would eventually believe them...


    <hr>


    Vitala sighed through her nose as she pored over several books and scrolls, occasionally flicking over to her abacque to do a calculation before returning to the papers. She¡¯d only gotten the financial information she¡¯d requested from Lord Volbaine, and what she saw was, frankly, completely average. Blackspire¡¯s colonization was relatively recent, at some point during the previous rulers¡¯ reign, so she saw the typical rises and dips in taxes and income that came with it. There was one sharp drop, right before Volbaine took over, but overall, nothing particularly egregious stood out to her.


    This led to the important question: how did the Noirus family end up debtors?


    No matter what she did she couldn¡¯t find any financial reason for the debt to have occurred. Even that drop she saw wouldn¡¯t have driven the Noirus into debt, so she had a distinct feeling there was typical political intrigue going on. Vitala¡¯s first instinct was to wash her hands of the whole situation and send the children away, but she eventually convinced herself not to act until she received the lineage papers. Maybe she could find a way to make it worthwhile to remove Lord Volbaine and place the kids under ward as heads of Blackspire, even if that did leave some potential political issues.


    ¡°...Ox before cart.¡± Vitala sighed after a moment of consideration. ¡°All information, then a decision.¡±


    She organized the papers and set them aside, standing and stretching from her desk before letting her senses expand. The world turned into a dark space populated by lights, but a familiar light was already approaching her study, and she groaned as she looked towards the door. A Steward entered, holding a scroll tightly in one hand while breathing heavily, ¡°Urgent message from- phew, from the Jeveraux Academy, Your Highness.¡±


    She raised a brow. It had only been about two weeks since she had begun sending out various inquiries and the Academy was rather famous for being sluggish: she had expected a response after a month, not so soon. The message was passed over and she unfurled it to see a wall of text, mostly padding of her titles followed by use of overly long words she eventually parsed to say ¡°we will tell you later.¡±


    ¡°...Is this all they sent?¡± Vitala looked at the Steward.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    Now normally, this would be the point she rolled her eyes and messaged them ¡°politely¡± to hurry up, however she also had the alleged headmaster of the school in her employ, and she was more than petty enough to see the slight in being sent an urgent message to wait. She said nothing as she returned to her desk, finding a blank piece of paper and finding a quill to send her response.


    ¡°I believe a trip is in order.¡±


    <hr>


    Hazard smoothed out his clothes as best he could while the group waited in the stone courtyard, marveling at how soft the clothes were compared to his old rags. His, Jeddard, and Ro¡¯s outfits were an incredibly plain grey material, sure, but it was miles above the sometimes-literal potato-sack clothes they had to wear in the mines. Dallia was dressed in black finery, of course, practically bouncing on her heels. Despite the lack of information, he could tell this was important due to the fact she left behind her usual plush toy companions. ¡°I take it we¡¯re going somewhere good?¡±


    ¡°Did Grandmother not tell you? We¡¯re going to the Jevereaux Academy! I¡¯ve wanted to visit since forever and we¡¯re finally going.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the Academy, my old stomping grounds.¡± Jeddard smiled into the distance, stroking his beard. ¡°I wonder if Miss Benedotte is still making sour tarts during lunch?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe we¡¯re going out already.¡± Ro grumbled under her breath. She had been less enthusiastic about being shepherded around by maids and servants to get ready to leave, practically glued to his side out of a near-constant worry over Hazard ever since his fall. Still, he reached out and squeezed her arm.


    ¡°Relax, this is a good thing. It¡¯s not quite Aoti¡¯i, but we¡¯re travelling! We can actually meet people our age.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna meet people.¡± She wasn¡¯t quite whining, but she was grumpy in tone and pout.


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t comfort her as the Queen made her appearance, standing in front of the group, ¡°Dallia, are you ready?¡±


    With Dallia¡¯s nod the Queen turned to the empty courtyard, and Hazard jolted as he felt a weight settle over the air. The Queen¡¯s hands rose and a large portal swirled into existence, like a vortex of purple fog the Queen casually stepped through. Dallia quickly followed suit, as did Jeddard, and Hazard stepped forward before he was stopped by Ro grabbing his hand. He fought against rolling his eyes as the two finally joined in entering the portal, stepping out to a stone pathway, surrounded on either side by bright green grass. Seeing real, live grass that wasn¡¯t well trodden was still new to him, as was the sudden trilling noise he heard that caused him to look about frantically, spotting a small bird pecking through the blades of grass. He stared at it for a long moment before Vitala cleared her throat, and he realized the Queen, Dallia, and Jeddard were all waiting on a stone staircase.


    He and Ro quickly caught up to the group, following the staircase upwards to a tall wrought-iron fence stretching out in a wide circle around a series of tall brick buildings. He saw a few people peering from quartz windows, but they were quick to disappear when he caught their eyes. He didn¡¯t get to observe more as Vitala led the group straight to a stout, domed tower that had several older men and women nervously standing outside it and lining either side of the path, some of whom bowed deeply. Others had their eyes practically bugged out of their heads as they saw Jeddard coming, waving to them.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Ms. Lucinde, so good to see you again! Gilberte, you as well! Lady Moirra, how are the kids?¡± None responded, and Hazard swore he saw some start to nervously sweat. The Queen cleared her throat and a man with long grey hair to his shoulders stepped forward, bowing again.


    ¡°Y-Your Highness, it is truly an honored day you visit these halls of learning!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± She said flatly, lightly nudging Dallia forward. ¡°My daughter and the... others, will require a chaperone while I discuss things with the Headmaster.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Your Highness, I would be honored to help them explore the Academy grounds! After all, I am sure your daughter will be an excellent student once she¡¯s older.¡±


    The Queen only hummed and looked at Jeddard, ¡°You: follow me.


    ¡°Okie-dokie! Can¡¯t wait to see my old office!¡±


    The Queen walked through the open doors while Jeddard followed close behind, and the teachers scattered once the two were gone minus the children¡¯s chaperone. The man nervously cleared his throat, looking straight at Dallia, ¡°Welcome, Princess Dallia, to the Jeveraux Academy! Here, we are the forefront of not only teaching aspiring young minds all there is to know about the crystals, the hearts of our world, but inspiring new research into all the gifts and powers crystals grant!¡±


    The speech was practiced and Dallia was completely enthralled as the man began leading them through the schoolgrounds, showing off buildings and the history behind them... which was the point Hazard started to check out mentally. He tried to keep notes on the conversation and questions between Dallia and the chaperone but it brought to mind all the long, long years he spent in school and the droning of his own teachers in his old life, and he found his mind wandering as he and Ro followed the two. His thoughts drifted to the bird he saw earlier and how little he actually got to see of this world so far. Between his surprise illness and the Queen all but confining them to their quarters for some reason, the most he could do was ask Dallia when she visited or watch the city from a window. The servants that tended to them came in to do their jobs in a blur of motion then left before he could ask anything. He wanted to know the history of the Stormlands, what happened exactly to Dallia¡¯s parents, why there was a giant gold Jeddard-


    Hazard paused in his walk, Ro looking at him curiously as he took a few steps back to peer around a doorway. ¡°No way...¡±


    There was indeed a statue on a pedestal at the far end of a long hall, white marble with gold striations running through it, an image of a smiling Jeddard with a foot up on a rock while holding a massive white crystal aloft. Minus a shorter beard, it was a one-to-one depiction of the old man they knew and loved. Ro joined him, Dallia next, the princess looking to their chaperone. ¡°So Sir Jeddard really is Lord Jeveraux?¡±


    ¡°I, y-, n-, uh, it-¡± The man couldn¡¯t form a coherent sentence, but he didn¡¯t need to as there was a loud grinding of stone as a whole opened on the pedestal, Jeddard himself slowly rising out of the whole in the exact same pose as the statue, rock included, empty hand aloft.


    ¡°Students, I have returned!¡±


    What few people had been in the hall gazed up at the statue in shock and confusion, silence thick for a moment until Hazard began clapping, ¡°Well, if nothing else, he knows how to make an entrance.¡±


    ¡°Oh, hi guys!¡± Jeddard carefully scrabbled off the statue, quickly moving towards them, ¡°How did you all get here?¡±


    ¡°How did we-¡± Ro cut herself off as she gestured to Jeddard, ¡°How did you get here!?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°...and there¡¯s the portrait of Lady Arbane, the Iron Spear, and on her pedestal are the remnants of the famous regimental blade she made when she retired from active service. Oh! There¡¯s Lord Panderbelka, the Wayfinder! I remember him, he was one of my worst students! Always trying to find new ways around the Academy, always getting stuck! On his pedestal is the Wayfinder¡¯s Eye, the origin and inspiration of today¡¯s modern compasses and crystal based directional tools! And there¡¯s-¡±


    Jeddard had rarely been so happy as to have been explaining the tall portraits of famous past students and the pedestals that held the major inventions and artifacts of those students as he and the High Queen made their way through the Hall of History towards his old office. The High Queen had insisted he go through each portrait¡¯s origin, and he especially beamed when he saw High Queen Vitala¡¯s portrait, ¡°Ah, there you are! Lady Vitala the Black, the Storm Born, the Storm Raven, the Storm Witch, the-¡±


    Jeddard¡¯s lips were suddenly pinched shut by magical force, and the Queen spoke up, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    Jeddard¡¯s practically bounced in place as he saw the office doors that were all too familiar for him, and he was so excited he started to speak before forgetting he was muted. The High Queen released his mouth before grabbing the rings of the doors, pulling... and then pushing, and then frowning deeply when the doors did not move. Jeddard raised his hands, ¡°Allow me! I used this trick whenever I forgot my keys.¡±


    She stepped aside as he stepped forward, rubbing his hands together before raising them up towards the top of the door, reaching out with his power. His energy seeped into the stonework, tapping into the crystals there and then with a light push the door unlocked before swinging open. On the other side of the door at Jeddard¡¯s former desk was the stunned face of Jeddard¡¯s former colleague, Lord Gulv¨¦re. The High Queen stepped forward, ¡°Your door was locked despite expecting us, Lord Gulv¨¦re.¡±


    ¡°I-I... my apologies, Your Highness, I had sent my assistant off to handle some paperwork but told them to guide you to my office. I suppose they got preoccupied. Please, come in, would you like some tea, perhaps-¡±


    ¡°Enough, Gulv¨¦re.¡± Vitala stepped forward, taking a seat in front of the desk. ¡°You know why-¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the Golden Beast of Lemat?¡± The two looked to Jeddard as he scoped out the room, ¡°In fact, several of my favorite toy- er, gifts, are gone! Where¡¯s the stuffed Volian bear, my portrait of the Vrakti emperor Eesharr, my miniature dragon skeleton!?¡±


    ¡°...I came here to question you Lord Gulv¨¦re on whether this fool was truly Lord Jeveraux, but it appears he knows this place better than you do.¡±


    Jeddard harrumphed at the High Queen, hands on his hips, ¡°Of course I do! It¡¯s my Academy, after all!¡±


    ¡°Preposterous!¡± Lord Gulv¨¦re shouted, looking to the High Queen, ¡°Your Highness, please, I do not know what game this fool is playing at but there is no way he¡¯s truly Jeveraux! This charlatan must¡¯ve just recited some common knowledge of Jeveraux¡¯s past!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll show you ¡°common!¡± Fine, then I¡¯ll show you the secret you all hounded me for: my hole!¡±


    <hr>


    Jeddard blinked as Hazard started to wheeze, Ro smacking her palm to her face, ¡°What? What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡± Hazard breathed out, ¡°Go on.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Your... hole.¡± The High Queen was obviously skeptical.


    ¡°Of course! It¡¯s the one I used to get around the school for my dramatic entrances!¡± Jeddard waved for them to follow him as he quickly made his way out of the office. He returned to the portrait of Lord Panderbelka, gesturing to it, ¡°Behold!¡±


    The two stared at him before he smugly raised a finger, pressing on three indents on the side of the portrait¡¯s frame, then swinging the portrait up to reveal a darkened tunnel of stone and dirt. Lord Gulv¨¦re stared in shock as Jeddard disappeared down the tunnel, tiny light crystals starting to flicker to life as he moved for the platform that he used to rise out of his statue-


    <hr>


    ¡°Wait, so you just left the two of them there in the hall or did they follow you?¡±


    Jeddard chuckled at Hazard¡¯s question, ¡°What? No, they followed me in of course!¡±


    ¡°...So you left them trapped in the tunnel?¡±


    Jeddard raised a finger, opening his mouth... and a massive crack sounded out before the side of the statue¡¯s pedestal exploded outward. The Queen stepped out, looking much more sour than usual as wind flowed from her hand to blow dust away. Jeddard¡¯s finger went limp and he quickly shut his mouth as the Queen stepped up to him. She said nothing and he nervously giggled, ¡°Well, I proved I¡¯m the real deal, did I not?¡±


    Her eye twitched and she shut her eyes, taking a deep breath... and warping them all away.


    The four were back in the courtyard, stumbling slightly at the sudden change. They all looked to one another before Jeddard clapped his hands, ¡°So, what did you all get up to?¡±


    Dallia was quick to regale Jeddard with the tale of the tour and all she learned, and Hazard looked to Ro, ¡°Not quite a proper field trip, but at least we got to go outside for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Even if we didn¡¯t get to really meet anyone?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure one day we¡¯ll be back, either as students or... servants.¡± Hazard made a face, ¡°I hope as servants.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the brainy one? I thought you¡¯d love to get your hands on some books and learn properly.¡±


    ¡°You clearly don¡¯t remember me complaining about school. Would be about as fun as chewing glass for me.¡± Hazard shuddered at old memories of eight hour school days and teachers who took their jobs way too seriously nor not seriously enough. Jeddard however wrapped an arm around his shoulder comfortingly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Hazard! Jeveraux Academy lets you pick your own classes, why some even only take one class!¡±


    ¡°...Oh. Oh that actually doesn¡¯t sound so bad-¡±


    ¡°Unless you are required to follow Dallia¡¯s courses, which you might as her best friend! Dallia, which classes were you looking to take?¡±


    Whatever mental pleas for mercy Hazard could make went unheard as Dallia¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°All of them.¡±


    ¡°Starting to wonder if I shouldn¡¯t have taken my chances with the queen...¡±

 A Serious Talk

    ¡°No, no, no, no, please, I have done nothing wrong, it was a mistake-¡±


    The portal closing cut off Lord Gulv¨¦re¡¯s desperate pleas, and Vitala rubbed at her temples in a desperate attempt to abate her migraine as she returned to her private study. It had been... however many hours since she had sent Jeddard- Jeveraux away, and she had not felt as angry as she was now in a long time. Lord Gulv¨¦re had tried to defend himself and discredit the former Headmaster, but once the threat of imprisonment until this could be sorted out was used, the teachers and staff were all practically tripping over one another to throw blame around. Eventually she called in the Royal Guard to detain them all and spent the rest of the day getting the story.


    Evidently, the staff wanted someone more in-line with their views and more willing to bend the rules to run the Academy, and Gulv¨¦re was more than happy to take on the ¡°burdens¡± of the position. That was about all she could get out of them before they devolved into screaming idiots, so she ordered the Guards to bring those who seemed involved to the dungeons until a full investigation could happen. Heads were going to roll for this, literally and metaphorically. The petty power grabs and politicking of nobles was one thing, she didn¡¯t give a damn who ran a bunch of farmland barely big enough to be taxable, but one of the most brilliant minds of their age, of multiple ages, was tossed into a hole in the ground because of petty antics. How many years of invention and discovery were lost?


    Vitala slammed her fist into her desk, breathing deeply as her anger swelled, trying to assuage the growing fire in her mind. Eventually her anger ran cool, and she let out a long breath as she sat down. She¡¯d have to reinstate Jeveraux as Headmaster, not to mention sort out new staff for the Academy depending on how deep the corruption ran. That was for another day, it¡¯d likely take the Guard-


    Knock-Knock-Knock


    She sighed through her nose at the knocks on the door, ¡°Enter.¡±


    A Steward slowly and hesitantly opened the door. Clearly he¡¯d felt her anger before, holding a thick sheet of papers out towards her, ¡°The familial charters and tax ledgers from the Volbaine family, Your Highness.¡±


    She took the papers and the Stewards quickly retreated as she began to read through the papers. ¡°And the petty politics continue.¡±


    Reading through the data showed a typical tale of betrayal: the Noirus¡¯ lent out money to a brother of the family patriarch, eventually becoming personally destitute to the point they borrowed money from Volbaine family. The Noirus lands were eventually taken as restitution when they couldn¡¯t pay the Volbaine¡¯s back, and the brother conveniently joined the Volbaine family in marriage with a massive dowry, more than likely the money he borrowed from his Noirus family members. The Noirus were sent to the mines when they couldn¡¯t pay back the rest of what they owed plus their taxes, and that¡¯s where they met their end and left their two heirs behind.


    Normally, Vitala would end whatever relationship there was with the two younglings, but... they were very close to Lord Jeveraux. It would behoove her to keep the two around for a better relationship, but that left the question of how to handle this whole Volbaine affair. There were as many benefits to disadvantages no matter what she seemed to choose... thinking to the two children she decided to let the elder make their case as to what they wanted. A Steward was sent out to find the two, and the first to arrive was Roanna in sleep clothes. Vitala wordlessly gestured to one of the seats in her study and Roanna sat, arms crossed. ¡°Tell me, Roanna, what do you know of your family?¡±


    The younger woman¡¯s brow furrowed and her frown grew, ¡°I know what I told you. My parents were good people and didn¡¯t deserve what happened.¡±


    ¡°You are more correct than you know.¡± Roanna¡¯s face softened from confusion. ¡°Do you remember an uncle? One by the name of Amete?¡±


    ¡°...Nooo?¡± The word was drawn out as Roanna looked to the floor. ¡°I was young when we were forced to leave though, so maybe we only met once or twice?¡±


    ¡°Your father had a brother by the name of Amete. He is the current head of the lands your family once owned.¡± The girl¡¯s head shot up, completely shocked.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Lord Amete Volbaine is currently in control of Blackspire... and the reason your parents died.¡±


    Roanna shot to her feet, ¡°What!? What are you talking about!?¡±


    ¡°Do not raise your voice to me, girl.¡± Vitala flexed her Resonance and surprisingly the girl did the same, her body starting to glow as she shook... and then collapsed into the seat, clutching her head. There were a few seconds of silence before Roanna took a deep, shuddering breath, looking at Vitala.


    ¡°What... Please, what happened?¡±


    ¡°A typical tale, really; your uncle borrowed money from your parents to the point they had to ask the Volbaine¡¯s help. Their lands were seized when they couldn¡¯t pay the Volbaine family back, your family sent to the mines, and your uncle married into the Volbaine family with the money he borrowed.¡± The girl was shaking eyes growing wet and Vitala could see her Resonance flare and flicker. These were expected, but the sudden laugh was not.


    ¡°So... ha, so what you¡¯re telling me is, this uncle is the reason my parents died?¡±


    ¡°...That appears to be the case, though further investigation is needed.¡± Vitala watched her carefully as Roanna¡¯s hands balled into fists.


    ¡°How did you find out about this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been investigating for some time, similar to how I investigated Lord Jeveraux.¡± The youth quickly stood.


    ¡°Please... Please, you have to let us-¡±


    ¡°Let you what? Do you think you could truly take over running those lands? Or do you want revenge?¡¯


    ¡°Revenge.¡± The answer was so immediate it threw Vitala for a loop, ¡°I want to punch him in the face, then keep punching him in the face until I can¡¯t feel my hands.¡±


    ¡°So, you want to kill him?¡± Roanna opened her mouth, then shut it, then opened it again, looking conflicted. Vitala had pegged her for being a bit harder built than her brother, but it seems like she overestimated how much harder. ¡°If you could, would you?¡±


    Roanna¡¯s face curled before sighing heavily, crossing her arms again. ¡°I dunno. I... Are you telling Haz this?¡±


    ¡°You would let your brother decide?¡±


    ¡°I trust him.¡± Despite her words her face still looked conflicted.


    ¡°I am not asking what he would want or do, I want to know what you desire.¡± The girl met Vitala¡¯s eyes and held her gaze before sighing heavily.


    ¡°...yes.¡± The word was quiet but clear, ¡°I want my uncle to suffer everything we had to in the mines. If he ended up... like my parents did, then I wouldn¡¯t be broken up about it.¡±


    ¡°And after that?¡± Roanna slowly shrugged.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I never even thought I had an uncle, so it¡¯s not like I keep a plan for stuff like this.¡±


    Vitala hummed. At the very least, for now she likely didn¡¯t have to worry about any nefarious plans from the girl. Still, stranger alliances have been made than a niece and uncle. She sent the girl off and briefly stood from her seat before she paused. Roanna seemed to have a lot of faith in her brother¡¯s decision for some reason...The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ...she might as well. Maybe it¡¯ll be worth a laugh to hear his response.


    The boy was summoned next, though he took much longer to arrive, and when he did he was being held by the back of his shirt by a Guard. When he was set down he offered a quick thanks to the guard before looking to Vitala, ¡°You wanted to see me, ma¡¯am?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I recently discovered some information involving your family.¡± She went through the same explanation as she did with Roanna, and it was fascinating to see how similarly the two siblings reacted. He had the same disruption of Resonance, the shaking, the unshed tears, but he actually managed to keep a tighter hold of his emotions compared to his sister. A deep breath and he looked at Vitala but seemed to be almost looking through her.


    ¡°I... see. Did your... I¡¯m sorry, may I please have a moment?¡± She raised a brow but nodded, and the boy spent a minute calming himself, ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°You are bearing this news much better than your sibling.¡±


    ¡°Well... I am a Bright Soul or such. Suppose I¡¯m just more mature, I have 40 years of experience.¡± He weakly chuckled then sighed. ¡°Did the investigation tell you anything else?¡±


    ¡°The whole situation is still under investigation, though your sister seemed ready to march there herself and tear your uncle apart.¡±


    ¡°She would.¡± He nodded, his only response, and Vitala raised a brow.


    ¡°Do you not also seek revenge?¡± Hazard made a face of deep thought, looking like he swallowed something bitter.


    ¡°...I¡¯m not sure, if I¡¯m being honest. I mean I hate this uncle, but I need to know more before I decide anything. I need to know it was malicious.¡±


    ¡°Are my words not your assurance of that?¡±


    ¡°...Even the sharpest-eyed hawk misses a rabbit on occasion.¡± She¡¯d give him this much: that was a quick way to save his skin. Complimenting her with the choice of animals while not outright saying ¡°no.¡±


    She leaned forward, ¡°And if it does turn out to have been a malicious plot?¡±


    He took a deep breath, ¡°As much as I would love to watch Ro beat him like a pi?ata, I think figuring out what legal recourse we have is the better move. If there¡¯s nothing to be done, then...¡±


    He trailed off and shrugged, and Vitala studied him curiously. ¡°If you could punish your uncle, how would you do it?¡±


    He thought for a second, hand tapping on his knee, ¡°I would either allow him to run the area until I was old enough then retire him to the tiniest plot of land I am allowed to give him, or seize his lands outside of a small area surrounding his house.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know enough about him or the situation to say I would do more or less, Your Highness. Sometimes though... you have to let things slide, even if only temporarily.¡±


    ¡°A surprisingly mature answer... or perhaps a soft one.¡±


    ¡°...Would you rather I say I¡¯d want him burned at the stake, Your Highness?¡± She raised a brow. ¡°I don¡¯t want him to get away with it, of course, but I¡¯m not spending all my life chasing someone that, until today, I had no idea even existed. If I have to choose between revenge or living, I choose to live.¡±


    Vitala studied the boy. He didn¡¯t seem like he was forgiving the uncle and he remained calm despite the situation, but that maturity and thinking could just as equally be a problem in the future. ¡°And if this uncle invited you back into the fold-¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The interruption was instant. ¡°If I get bit by a dog, I¡¯m not going to try and pet it afterwards. I...¡±


    He took a breath, Resonance still that trembling mass as he pressed his hands together in front of his face and took a breath, ¡°Do you need to calm yourself again?¡±


    ¡°...No.¡± He sighed heavily, ¡°I¡¯m just not sure what else I am supposed to say here. Just... does he have kids? Children?¡±


    ¡°He does not.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m sticking with my original idea of what to do with him until we know it was done out of dickery, and if it was then I¡¯ll go from here.¡± He huffed, and she figured perhaps he wasn¡¯t as mature as she thought. Still, at this moment she couldn''t think of any complaints that weren¡¯t her circling the well. She was about to send him away when he raised a hand, ¡°Can I ask something, Your Grace?¡±


    She raised a brow, ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°The Rite of Forebears.¡± She nodded. ¡°How does the Rite work now that we know about my family?¡±


    ¡°I have not made a decision on that yet, but I presume you have something to say?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I... well firstly I was thinking about ¡°Chevalle¡± or ¡°Chevalluna¡± for a name, if that would be fine?¡± Another nod, ¡°Thank you. As for the other thing... does, does keeping the Noirus name put any potential danger on the Crown?¡±


    That caught Vitala¡¯s attention immediately. Did he already figure out that his uncle might potentially have a claim to him? She leaned forward, eyes sharp on him, ¡°And what makes you ask that?¡±


    He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, ¡°It... I don¡¯t know what the law is, but I don¡¯t want him- my uncle, I mean, getting his claws on us because of some obscure law, or something. I don¡¯t want to be having tea then suddenly he comes in talking about how we¡¯re now his heirs or something and he starts causing problems, trying to worm his way into the royal family.¡±


    A point in his favor to show concern towards Dallia, likely what influenced Vitala¡¯s next thought, ¡°He would certainly not be the first to try, but unlike previous rulers I do not tolerate such attempts. As long as you remain in service to the Crown, you are as untouchable as fire.¡±


    He nodded but now seemed greatly hesitant as he spoke, ¡°Thank... you, Your Highness. If... I may ask a question, of my own?¡±


    ¡°I make no guarantee of answers, but you may.¡± He nodded, working his jaw before he took a sharp breath in and spat the words out rapidly.


    ¡°Can-you-tell-me-about-Dallia¡¯s-parents?¡± He leaned back in his seat as if expecting her to leap at him, though Vitala simply made a sour face. She wanted to avoid the topic, but... this would be a good place to plant a seed loyalty in his heart towards Dallia and the Crown.


    ¡°What do you know of the past rulers?¡±


    ¡°Not much, I know they are likely,¡± he paused, picking his words, ¡°passed on, but politics wasn¡¯t usually talked about in the mines and when it was it was with a lot of bias, so I took those with a grain of salt.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t sure what that grain of salt comment meant, but she understood the gist. She kept the calming breath she took quiet as she could manage, refusing to show any weakness here lest it be used later, ¡°The previous rulers were King Abbadellia Mallis and Queen Sophia Mallis... my daughter.¡±


    ¡°...Oh.¡± His response was quiet, and she bristled at the pitying look he sent her but kept herself under control.


    ¡°They were kind and good-natured rulers, something I thought foolish where my rule required a harder hand. I was proven wrong when they did much to undo stigmas between nobility and commoners, undid laws they found harsh, made great strides in foreign relations with other kingdoms. They were truly considered the greatest rulers of their age.¡± Two faces, a young man and woman, smiling beatifically manifested in Vitala¡¯s memory, her fists clenching as every detail stood out perfectly in her mind.


    ¡°And some people didn¡¯t like that.¡± Hazard said quietly again, ¡°I... you don¡¯t need to go on, Your Highness, I think I know this story too well. Even more so now, given what I now know about my family.¡±


    ¡°No. I would have you know it all, so you understand the position you and your sister are in.¡± That and she still hated that this child might see her as weak. She took a breath again, banishing the faces. ¡°Several Upper Ring nobles close the royal family had plotted with foreign spies to strike at what they saw was a weakening Empire. The reasons for the coup were many but the point is it was, at least in part, successful. While the King and Queen were eliminated, the coup otherwise failed as more loyal forces quickly organized and eliminated as many of the traitorous bastards as they could.¡±


    ¡°Which put you back on the throne.¡±


    ¡°Which put me back on the throne.¡± She nodded, ¡°For some that was the plan as intended, others wanted to put an entirely new face on the throne. I executed everyone who had a hand in the act, and spent the next few years raising Dallia and tending to my duty as ruler. She only knows that bad people are the reason her parents are no longer around.¡±


    Hazard leaned back against his seat while looking at nothing and both were silent, the boy processing all he learned while Vitala tamped down on long-imprisoned emotions. Quiet minutes passed on before Hazard leaned forward again, ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Do you?¡±


    ¡°I think I do. Why you¡¯re so careful and why Dallia got attached to us so quickly.¡±


    ¡°Then you understand how important you are to Dallia.¡± A bitter medicine to swallow, but the words were true. ¡°You will be her... friends, you and your sister both, for many years to come. You will be closer to her than near anyone in this Kingdom and I will not tolerate any abuses of that position. Am I clear?¡±


    Despite her threat he seemed unphased, simply nodding. She returned the nod and summoned a guard to begin escorting him back, but he paused halfway to the door. She watched curiously as he looked back at her, bit his lip then approached her. He suddenly was on her and her arms raised as she got ready to blast him for whatever attack this was... before she realized he was hugging her side.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡± The words were soft but they carried a weight to them she wasn¡¯t expecting. This... despite all he said about being a Bright Soul this was a child¡¯s level of kindness she had not expected...


    ...or was used to. Awkwardly and stiffly her hand went down and patted his back, ¡°Yes, well...¡±


    She trailed off and thankfully he quickly removed himself before shuffle-running to the guard and leaving. She watched him go and was left to awkwardly sit and ruminate on what had happened. The bitter, cautious part of her told her this was some ploy to prey on her emotions, but... if he wanted to do that, would he not have taken what he learned and used it to manipulate Dallia instead? Why approach her first? Vitala mulled over the whole thing but when she couldn¡¯t reach a conclusion she sighed, tossing all her thoughts aside.


    She was going to have some tea. This was enough emotional and mental turmoil for one day. She could deal with all this tomorrow.

 Parties and Pain

    Lord Puffington brought up his sword as the dragon¡¯s fiery breath rush towards him, the flames passing around the weapon, pointing the blade at the dragon once the flames died, ¡°You¡¯ll never stop me, Artagan!¡±


    ¡°Foolish Puffington! I have the princess and the scepter! You shall never defeat me!¡± The dragon swooped down towards the rabbit, but Puffington hopped over him, stabbing the dragon in the hindquarters. The dragon roared and swung its tail around and knocked Puffington to the ground. Artagan turned and leaped towards the Lord, Puffington jumping to meet him midair, the two giving off war cries-


    <hr>


    Knock-Knock-Knock


    The knocks at the door made Hazard lose focus, the two toys he was controlling falling to the carpet as a voice came through the door, ¡°Princess, your tutor will be along shortly.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Dallia called through the door, quickly standing from her pillow seat. Hazard reached out with his magic, the two toys floating into a chest before Hazard grabbed his cane and stood next to the door. Dallia herself moved to a little desk at one side of her room, and shortly after there was another knock at the door. ¡°Enter.¡±


    The door opened and Jeddard walked in, several books under his arm, ¡°Good morning, Princess!¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Lord Jeveraux.¡± Dallia bowed her head but the old man quickly waved her off.


    ¡°No, really, that isn¡¯t needed! I¡¯m not quite a ¡°lord¡± anymore.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you reinstated though?¡± Hazard spoke up, and Jeddard looked at him.


    ¡°Hazard, you too! You don¡¯t need to stand like that!¡±


    ¡°If I get lax about etiquette, I might mess up at a more important.¡± Hazard shrugged, ¡°Point was, you got reinstated as Headmaster, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m hands-off with the Academy at this point! I just handle the important business now and a few ceremonies. But!¡± Jeddard set the books down on Dallia¡¯s desk, ¡°Speaking of schooling, it¡¯s time for you two to learn about Queen Seresa¡¯s rule and the return of her husband from the grave!¡±


    Hazard shut the door and joined the two at the desk as Jeddard began the lesson. He was glad the Queen had ignored his hug, the action having haunted his days since then, but she seemed to have at least ignored it for now. Instead, he was finally put to proper ¡°work¡± as Dallia¡¯s servant and friend, though it mostly consisted of shadowing her and keeping her entertained throughout the day, with plenty of leeway. Vitala even granted him a cane to help him walk around, a tiny crystal embedded in the handle to help him use magic. A learning process, to be sure, but Jeddard and Dallia had been a great help in teaching him the basics. Unfortunately, they also dragged him into countless other lessons when he talked about how much he learned in his old life. Honestly, he wanted to go back to-


    ¡°Did anyone rise from the grave in your old life, Haz?¡± Jeddard asked, jolting Hazard out of his thoughts with the two looking at him closely. He wracked his brain, trying to recall old knowledge.


    ¡°...I mean not actually came back, but there were myths sort of like that, sure.¡± They still looked at him expectantly, ¡°I know there was one in... either Japan or China, a warlord who was so angry or fearsome after they chopped his head off and burned it, it flew off... or maybe it flew into a fire, cursing everyone? I¡¯m really not sure.¡±


    ¡°Dark! What was the other one?¡±


    ¡°There was this guy called ¡°Rasputin¡± who was a... complicated figure. There were dozens of rumors and myths about the guy because he was close to the royal family of a country, that he was an evil sorcerer, or just a well-learned man, a dozen different arguments about him. Point was a bunch of people didn¡¯t like how close he was to the royal family, so they plotted to... well, ¡°take him out.¡±¡± He was careful with the word ¡°assassination¡± outright around Dallia, though she seemed enraptured in the story to where he¡¯d question if she¡¯d care. ¡°They did so, but supposedly he survived the first few attempts and laughed them off before they finally managed to put him down. Still, they say his head came flying out of a river, cursing all of them before going... somewhere.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll never understand how you can say your old world didn¡¯t have magic then drop these stories on us.¡±


    ¡°Because it didn¡¯t, Jed. They¡¯re just stories, myths.¡±


    ¡°Riiiiiiight.¡± Jeddard winked at Dallia who giggled, and Hazard facepalmed as they continued the lesson. He couldn¡¯t really argue about magic existing or not, after all he was pretty sure he was supposed to be dead, yet here he was. Hell, this place had dragons at some point, even if they were now extinct. Maybe one of the little rocks or gems he had at home was responsible for sending his soul here, or- he quickly started to push down the thoughts of his death, focusing back on the lesson. ¡°-crystal sarcophagus, but three days later they discovered he was alive! Everyone practically wet themselves since they thought the king was truly gone, but they quickly rescued him from the crypt. Some say the Light chose King Mureille to be its chosen leader, others say the sarcophagus focused the energies of the star to bring him back from death. The two then ruled for the next ten or twenty years, and actually popularized the tradition of burying the dead for commoners!¡±


    Dallia nodded eagerly, a brief look of sadness on her face before she shook it off, ¡°Can we learn about dragons for our next lesson?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for the day after tomorrow! Tomorrow is for math.¡± Dallia made a face and Hazard chuckled.


    ¡°I feel your pain.¡±


    ¡°At least you¡¯ll be able to enjoy the party at the Rite of Forebears next week!¡± Jeddard beamed, and Hazard nodded... before the words sunk in and Hazard¡¯s head snapped to the senior.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean the Rite of Forebears is next week?¡±


    ¡°I overheard High Queen Vitala speaking about it with a Steward. She¡¯s going to have you and Ro learn more etiquette and the steps of the Rite.¡± Hazard felt a dozen thoughts running through his head. Was this going to be a huge ceremony, or just them? Did she pick a name, did he get to? Would... Would his uncle be there? As the thoughts started to spiral Jeddard reached out, patting his shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s going to be a super small ceremony.¡± Hazard breathed out in relief, ¡°Yes, I think fifty or so noble houses?¡±


    ¡°...I¡¯m going to assume you mean small for nobles.¡± Hazard took a deep breath, letting it out heavily. ¡°...Alright, I can work with this, this is fine, this is fine...¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s fine! You¡¯re finally getting the recognition you deserve!¡± Jeddard patted his back a few times.


    ¡°Sometimes being well known is a bad thing, Jed. Still, at least it¡¯ll be done with.¡±


    ¡°Of course! What could possibly go wrong?¡± Cold fear shot through Hazard¡¯s spine, and he put his head in his hands. ¡°What? Was it something I said?¡±


    ¡°Asking that is like inviting a curse in, Jed.¡±


    ¡°Now see, that sounds awfully magical.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear or learn anything else?¡± Hazard did his best to push on.


    ¡°Apparently they¡¯re having a special guest? The Queen said to watch him closely. I think it was... Volbaine?¡±


    ¡°...oh.¡±


    Hazard took a deep, deep breath, and made a long noise without opening his mouth. Okay, so the Queen was allowing his potentially murderous uncle to attend. Okay, cool, cool, this was fine, he could manage this, this was not fine, this was not fine, he couldn¡¯t manage this. Hazard was starting to get dizzy when Jeddard quickly squeezed his shoulder and there was a sudden calming surge that washed over him, ¡°Haz? Hazard, are you alright, lad?¡±


    Hazard blinked a few times and could actually see Jeddard¡¯s energy flowing into him where his hand touched, and he took a deep breath, calming himself, ¡°Alright, yeah, I¡¯m... I¡¯m okay Jed.¡±


    Jeddard pulled his hand away and Hazard started to sort his thoughts. Volbaine was coming, and the Queen didn¡¯t tell him. Had she just not told him yet? After all, this was overheard by Jed. Also, if he was coming, surely the Queen wouldn¡¯t let him try anything shady or stupid. Yes, this would be fine...


    ...hopefully Ro would feel the same way.


    <hr>


    The chair exploded like a grenade as it impacted the wall, Hazard shrinking back behind his bed as Ro breathed heavily, whole body shaking with rage.


    ¡°She¡¯s inviting him here!?¡±


    ¡°Ro-¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s inviting the bastard who killed our parents here!? Why!?¡± Hazard wanted to answer but Ro kept raging and pacing across their room. Her reaction was valid; he had been told the news early by Jeddard, but a Steward essentially ambushed the two of them right before they were heading to bed to tell the news. Hazard had hours to process this, Ro didn¡¯t. It didn¡¯t help that neither of the siblings expected the queen to invite Volbaine after both made their feelings on him clear. Hazard was willing to trust the queen¡¯s decisions but Ro...


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Ro punched a wall and Hazard saw a spurt of blood, so he quickly rushed up to her. He saw her knuckles had split open, so he grabbed her hand and started pouring magic in it to try and heal it. He tried to remember the lessons he was taught: visualize, focus, then do. His magic flowed into her hand, the small cut stitching itself up until her injury was gone, and he tried to take a page out of Jeddard¡¯s book by trying to push a comforting energy onto her. Her resistance was... strong, to say the least: he visibly saw her Resonance flaring and pushing away his, but Ro took a breath and slowly he watched his energy mingle with hers. Gently he stroked her hand as her breath became less and less harsh, until finally she huffed.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°...You okay?¡±


    ¡°...Yeah.¡± She said quietly, pulling him into a hug. She squeezed him tightly, and when she said nothing else, he patted her back.


    ¡°We¡¯ll get through it, like we always do, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Should¡¯ve just shoved him into the mines, that¡¯s what we should¡¯ve done.¡± Ro growled, and Hazard patted her back again. He thought it¡¯d soothe her but there was a twinge of an emotion he couldn¡¯t place. ¡°Haz?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± She hesitated before she spoke.


    ¡°...You didn¡¯t tell the Queen to invite him, right?¡± Haz pulled back in shock as he looked up at her, guilt immediately spreading throughout her face, ¡°Forget it, I didn¡¯t mean- nevermind.¡±


    ¡°Why... Why would you think-?¡±


    ¡°No, Haz, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think you were like... I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d do it, I was just worried. Not that you¡¯d forgive him, or something like that, I just-¡± Ro bit her lip to cut herself off, and Hazard was hurt but he tried to brush it aside. She was angry and emotional right now, he couldn¡¯t blame her for her thoughts going to dark places.


    ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s alright, Ro-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not, I can feel it.¡± Ah, right, she could feel his energy now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have even thought about that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Look: I¡¯m sure the Queen has some sort of plan in place. We just have to trust in her.¡± Ro was skeptical, he didn¡¯t need to read her energy to know that, but the point was to get off the topic as fast as possible. It seemed to work as she nodded, and the two settled into talking about their respective day.


    It was a calm night before an absolutely shitstorm.


    The days until the Rite became hours-long slogs of etiquette lessons being ground into their skulls, outfit fittings, and lessons on cues and responses for the Rite that had strict punishments if they screwed up. Ro¡¯s already sour mood plummeted, Hazard unable to do much to soothe her, until finally the day of the Rite came. Both were dressed in simple white robes with purple scarves draping over their shoulders, being guided through the halls of the Spire by two Royal Guards. The walk was silent until Hazard tried to cut the tension. ¡°You... look pretty?¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Ro said curtly, and Hazard deduced it was probably safer to leave her be for now. They arrived at a doorway that led into a temple of pure crystals, and even Ro snapped out of her funk in surprise at the room. Most other rooms were made of marble or other stone formed around the crystal of the Spire, while the temple was almost like a carved-out cavern into it. Long pews and columns of hewn crystal led up towards a wide dais, unadorned saved for the facade of a short-haired woman in robes carved into the back wall. The room seemed to be naturally lit despite the lack of candles, a natural glow Hazard understood when he stepped into the room, and he felt the energy of the Fallen Star flow into him immediately. It was the same feeling as when they first arrived, Hazard basking in the feeling as his senses got sharper, Ro looking over herself and clenching her fists over and over.


    The guards shifted and the two quickly moved for the dais, standing off to one of the side walls as they waited for others to arrive. The first was a lithe person in incredibly ornate clothes: pure white silken pants and shirt with an equally silken hood and sharp-edged cape, highlighted with silver threads and metal at points with purple crystals adorning. The outfit seemed familiar and after a moment Hazard realized the outfit resembled a bird with its wings curled up. That would be the... ¨¦cclise de Astre, if he remembered right, one of the priestesses of the Light. The next people to enter were of course the Queen and Dallia, and Hazard¡¯s eyes almost boggled out of his head as he saw the Queen¡¯s outfit. It was completely pitch black, a massive, ostentatious thing decorated with black metal with a ¡°crown¡± of spikes rising from around her collar and behind her head.


    It was as if the armor of a villainous king from a fairy tale and a noblewoman''s dress had a bizarre lovechild. Dallia was thankfully dressed much more simply, albeit still as a princess required: it was a purple dress with thick white ribbons decorating it, tiny purple gems decorating the entire thing along each seam, likely an entire year¡¯s worth of a high-ranking noble¡¯s wealth went into that dress. Dallia was trying to look prim, proper, and serious as Vitala spoke quietly with the priestess, but she kept glancing at the siblings before giving a tiny wave. Hazard waved back, nudging Ro to do the same. It came with a roll of the eyes, but Ro did return the wave. When Vitala and the priestess were done talking the priestess nodded, Vitala and Dallia stepping over to the other far wall as the priestess stepped to the edge of the dais, reaching out with both hands, and energy visibly flowed from her hands into the surrounding crystal. There was a sound like twinkling or falling glass as the priestess made smooth, practiced motions and the pews began to shift and sink, being replaced with square tables of warped crystal shards


    It was a very impressive display of magic, though not as impressive as when other ¨¦cclise de Astre entered and began floating up in the air to hang tapestries depicting the stained-glass windows they saw when they first arrived, laying out the story of the Saintess Alessa. A horde of servants were next as they laid out finery and food, platters of breads and cakes-like sweets, another table with fine sausages and meats, a table of exotic fruits, and a final table of various drinks. It took another hour or so for the guests to start arriving, high ranking nobles in bright, ostentatious outfits of course decorated with countless gems. Unlike the Queen or the siblings¡¯ outfits the nobles were in bright colors with countless equally colorful gems, showing off to one another once the nobles were done sucking up to Vitala. A few minutes after it seemed no other visitor was coming the original priestess raised her hand, a faint chime sounding throughout the room that caused everyone to quiet down before they started to speak.


    ¡°Souls old, young, and those still Bright, we humbly thank you for appearing this day before the Light, honoring-¡±


    ¡°Which is he...?¡± Ro spoke under her breath, and Hazard saw her eyes darting around the room. He gently nudged her with his hand, and she whispered to him. ¡°Trying to find Volbaine.¡±


    ¡°Ro-¡±


    ¡°Obviously it¡¯s a man, right? He¡¯s our uncle so he must look like us too.¡±


    ¡°Ro.¡± Hazard nudged her again, trying to keep up with the priestess¡¯ speech so they didn¡¯t miss a cue. ¡°Let it go for now.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, he has to be-¡±


    ¡°-consecrate a new family in the warm embrace of the Light.¡± The priestess finished, looking towards the two, and Hazard quickly grabbed Ro¡¯s hand to force her to follow. They stood by her side as she continued, ¡°These two young siblings faced many a great trial in their lives, but by the grace of the Light and the High Queen¡¯s kindness, they return into our embrace. The Noirus family, lost to a tragic accident, has survived in its two youngest members.¡±


    Hazard quickly turned and kneeled towards the facade of Saintess Alessa, Ro hesitating but following his movement. The ¨¦cclise de Astre stepped between the facade and children, raising her hands and letting energy flow from the walls into balls of purple light in her hands, ¡°Roanna Noirus, do you hereby accept the Rite of Forebears, to live in view of the Light and Saintess Alessa, to represent all that is good in the Light and accept the Noirus name?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    Hazard swallowed as the woman now addressed him, ¡°You now receive the name ¡°Chevalluna,¡± as wished by your family before they passed. Do you, Chevalluna Noirus, hereby accept the Rite of Forebears, to live in view of the Light and Saintess Alessa, to represent all that is good in the Light and accept the Noirus name?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    The priestess lowered her hands presenting the two balls of light to the children. ¡°Rise, and declare your vows before both the Saintess and the Light.¡±


    The two stood and Ro reached out first, hand hovering over the orb, ¡°I, Roanna Noirus, vow to...¡± Roanna trailed off before suddenly her face was filled with determination. ¡°To defend my family and those I care about, no matter what, or who, threatens us, and I vow to serve in the Light.¡±


    The woman nodded and looked to Hazard, who took a breath to calm his nerves and reached out, ¡°I vow to serve my family, friends, the Saint, and the Light as best I can, to aid my family and those who need me.¡±


    ¡°Then under the eyes of Saintess Alessa, take the warmth of the Light into your breast and be forevermore the Noirus family.¡±


    With a deep breath the two shoved the lights into their chests, and Hazard¡¯s whole world went white for a moment. He swore he saw flashes of faces, buildings, all familiar but gone in rapid flashes in that white void before he was back in the chapel, the sound of clapping filling the room as every sense he had sharpened to like his first time in the kingdom. He steadied himself on his cane and with Ro he turned to face the crowd of nobles, bowing to them all. As he came up, he saw people whispering to one another, but one man the furthest back in the crowd seemed to be much more hesitant in his claps. Their eyes met and the man quickly looked away, but before Hazard could question it the Queen stepped forward, raising a hand and the clapping quieted down.


    ¡°The Crown thanks you all for coming for such an important occasion. I wish to thank Lord and Lady Volbaine for coming.¡± She gestured her hand to the man in the back, a woman with a long, thick blond braid hanging over her shoulder at his side. ¡°Lord Volbaine graciously took over the Noirus family¡¯s lands after an unfortunate incident and has agreed to not only steward it in their stead, but keep his door open for if they wish to return as heads of Blackspire.¡±


    Murmurs and clapping resumed, and Hazard heard more than one mention of how generous Volbaine was being. Given how pale Lord Volbaine suddenly got and the frantic looks his wife was giving him, it seemed like he was much less enthusiastic about the news. The Lord visibly swallowed, ¡°I... I am, so glad to be of u-use, Your Majesty...¡±


    Vitala nodded, gesturing to the crowd, ¡°Enjoy the Four Feasts.¡±


    All either curtseyed or bowed before the return to speaking with one another or moving in a route around the four food-laden tables. The Queen gestured for the children to follow her and they fell in line with Vitala. They moved to a room decorated comfortably, but it clearly did nothing to soothe Ro as she shouted as soon as the Queen turned around, ¡°What were you thinking!?¡±


    ¡°Do not-¡±


    ¡°No! I am not backing down from this! Why in the Light would you invite that monster here!?¡± Hazard was waiting for a harsh reaction, clutching his cane to try and be ready to cast some sort of shield of Ro, but shockingly the Queen didn¡¯t floor her. Still, Vitala had an extremely stern look on her face.


    ¡°What I have done is secure your future, to which I expect you to be grateful for.¡± Ro bristled. ¡°Do you know who would refuse me? None, assuming they are not idiots. In a public setting, like I chose, this is doubly so, lest he suffer a blow to his reputation or worse.¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s a thought: maybe just put him in prison! He¡¯s a fucking murderer-¡± A wave of magic slammed onto Ro¡¯s shoulders, forcing her to the ground.


    ¡°Watch. Your. Language.¡± Vitala growled, and Hazard frantically formed a purple dome over Ro, blocking the Queen¡¯s magic... until she started pressing down on the shield and it began to crack.


    ¡°Your Highness, please!¡± Hazard sweated from the strain, then from nerves as the Queen glared at him now. She stared at him before the pressure eased, and Hazard let the dome fade as Ro shakily stood, ¡°Your Highness, please, you must understand how this is for us-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare try to make this seem okay!¡± Ro pointed at Hazard. ¡°You... I...¡±


    Ro let out a noise of frustration and stomped off. Hazard reached out towards her but failed to come up with any words before she was out the door. Hazard looked to the Queen but she spoke quickly, ¡°Return to your room.¡±


    Hazard shrunk back, staying silent as the Queen started to leave. Dallia was revealed as her grandmother moved, shaking and tearing up slightly. She worked her mouth like she wanted to say something but she just ran after Vitala. Hazard quickly ran into the hallway but all he saw was the backs of the royals as they vanished in a portal. Hazard frantically looked around, panic welling up in his heart and head. What should he do? What could he do? What was the Queen-


    ¡°Haz?¡± Jeddard came around the corner, looking concerned, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, lad? I was late because I had to file some forms, is the Rite already over?¡±


    ¡°Jed! Did you see Ro pass by?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m... afraid not, but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking. Are you okay, Haz?¡± Jeddard kneeled to look him in the eye.


    ¡°No, Jed, things are bad, real bad. Ro angered the Queen then everyone just took off, I don¡¯t... Jed, it doesn¡¯t feel like something they¡¯re all gonna sleep off-¡±


    ¡°Okay, ooookay.¡± Jeddard reached out and Hazard felt that calming energy brush against him again. It didn¡¯t take until Hazard began to slowly take deep breaths in, trying to force his body to take the energy in little by little. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s just take this little by little. No one tried to attack each other, right?¡±


    ¡°No... kind of. The Queen pushed Ro to the ground.¡±


    ¡°But no hitting each other?¡± Hazard shook his head, ¡°Everyone got hotheaded and left to cool off. It sounds like it ended the best way it could. All we can do now is wait for tomorrow and go from there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple, Jed, our... our uncle was there.¡±


    ¡°...Ah. That does explain quite a bit. Unfortunately, the point still stands that we must wait until tomorrow to see the aftermath.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to wait until tomorrow, we need to fix it now-¡± Hazard was cut off by Jeddard ruffling his hair.


    ¡°I think this is the most of I¡¯ve seen you act your age in a long while. Come on, we can celebrate on our own in my room.¡± Jeddard started to walk off and Hazard wanted to argue, to shout about how they needed to do something... but that wouldn¡¯t solve anything, would it? He clutched tightly at his chain before huffing and rushing up to Jeddard¡¯s side to follow.


    If he had one hope, it was that Volbaine was in a worse situation than he was...

 A Lighter Tone

    ¡°What were you thinking!?¡±


    Amete winced as his wife shrieked at them in the carriage, but he shouted right back, ¡°I didn¡¯t do this! I didn¡¯t go up to the Queen saying ¡°Your Highness I¡¯d love to give my niece and nephew, whom I didn¡¯t know existed until now, all my property!¡±¡±


    ¡°You said your brother and his wife were gone!¡±


    ¡°They were! How was I supposed to know they¡¯d made some connection to the Crown before they died!? They were in! A! Mine!¡±


    His wife leaned back in her seat, clutching at her head. ¡°What are we going to do? You said-¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do! Even if it¡¯s not in writing everyone heard the Queen! I... I have to talk with them. Maybe, maybe I can-¡±


    ¡°Your brother wasn¡¯t that naive! There was no way he didn¡¯t tell the kids what happened, and there¡¯s no way they¡¯re as dumb as he is!¡±


    ¡°Watch your tone!¡± The shout was loud, even for him, and an awkward, pained silence overtook the couple. When his wife quietly sobbed Amete reached over, pulling her close as he mulled over the new curve life tossed him down. Was this some cosmic justice over what he did to his brother?


    ...A week. Maybe, in a week, he could send the two children a message and start bringing a gap to their hearts and keep them open to forming a relationship where they don¡¯t take everything he owns.


    Surely, the good mood of the Rite must¡¯ve carried over, right?


    <hr>


    Dallia had once heard the phrase ¡°tension so thick, you could cut it with a knife¡± from Haz- Chevalluna, but she had never really understood it until this moment. The difference was you could probably have a hundred foresters cutting at this tension and not make a dent for a hundred years. Cheval, Ro, and Lord Jeveraux had been invited into the royal dining hall to take their meals from now, but it was a mess. Ro was always sitting at the furthest end of the table, Cheval and Jeveraux were sitting closer but still further away, and Dallia was at her grandmother¡¯s side. This had been going on for days now, and this morning meal felt almost more awkward somehow. Just about everyone but Lord Jeveraux looked miserable in the silence, eventually splitting off to do their own things.


    Haz- Cheval came with her and he tried to have fun with her, but she could tell he wasn¡¯t into it despite his smile. When Lord Jeveraux came for their lessons, she had Cheval work on brushing her stuffies and she started to whispering to the old man. ¡°Is he okay?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Dallia glanced at Hazard, and Jeveraux nodded in understanding. ¡°Ah... no.¡±


    ¡°What happened? I don¡¯t... e-ever since the Rite...¡±


    ¡°Oh... well, I¡¯m not sure he¡¯d want me telling you that.¡± This was new, the Headmaster was always ready to part with information.


    ¡°Please? I want to know how I can make this better.¡±


    Jeddard sucked in his lips, rolling his jaw for a moment, ¡°...Honestly, I think this is one of those things that miiiiight be better to let lie.¡±


    ¡°Please?¡±


    Jeveraux said nothing for a moment before sighing, ¡°Their uncle was a very bad person, and that''s all I can say.¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Jeveraux smiled sadly, ¡°But there¡¯s nothing you can do for them right now. It¡¯s best to let this all blow over.¡±


    Dallia didn¡¯t believe this would ¡°blow over,¡± not in the least, but... what could she do? Ro could be really scary, Cheval wouldn¡¯t tell her anything, no one would tell her anything!


    ...Wait...


    Would Ro tell her? She was angry, sure, but she hadn¡¯t actually asked Ro yet. If she didn¡¯t want to tell her, then... then maybe Dallia could make Ro tell her? The thought made Dallia feel icky but she was the Princess, right? They had to tell her if she asked? The thought would plague Dallia for the rest of the day until it formed into a plan. Not a good plan, mind you, but it was the best she had.


    Sometime in the afternoon it came to fruition: sweets and tea were brought to her room along with Ro, clad in the plain brown outfit of the knights in training. The three of them sat around a small table, teacups in front of all. It... wasn¡¯t great; Hazard tried to ask Ro questions about her day but her answers were curt, and she didn¡¯t even look in his direction. After a few minutes of trying Dallia cleared her throat, building up her resolve, ¡°Are you upset because of what happened at the Rite?¡±


    Cheval seemed surprised, albeit more so than Ro, but the old girl recovered quickly and snorted, ¡°No, really? Why would I be mad about the worst human being alive being there?¡±


    ¡°Ro...¡± Hazard tried to warn off his sister but Dallia pushed on the chance.


    ¡°What did he do?¡± Ro¡¯s face curled in anger and she shouted before Hazard could stop her.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°He¡¯s the reason we¡¯re in this mess in the first place!¡± Ro slammed her fist on the table, silence reigning for a moment before Hazard tried to speak up.


    ¡°Ro-¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Dallia interrupted, ¡°I... I want to know.¡±


    Ro stared intently at Dallia before Hazard said, ¡°Ro, she didn¡¯t know anything.¡±


    ¡°Because no one would tell me!¡± Dallia¡¯s frustrations finally leaked through as she threw up her hands, ¡°You want tell me, Grandma won¡¯t tell me, just tell me!¡±


    The siblings looked at each other for a few seconds, then both started to speak. They stopped, trying to speak again and interrupting each other again, and Dallia finally pointed at Ro. The message was clear enough and Ro took a breath, crossing her arms, ¡°Our uncle, Lord Volbaine, caused us to end up in the mines. As far as I¡¯m concerned, he¡¯s responsible for our parents¡¯ death.¡±


    The answer made Dallia¡¯s whole body go cold, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°...Our uncle...¡± Hazard sighed, ¡°The High Queen believes our uncle worked with another house to take over our parents¡¯ lands, which got our parents sent to the mines.¡±


    ¡°Your... Y-Your uncle did that? Why? Why?¡± Family was supposed to protect each other.


    ¡°Money? Power? Maybe he just didn¡¯t like my face.¡± The bitterness in Ro¡¯s tone was stronger than any sour fruit. ¡°I wanted to see him get locked up, but the damn-¡±


    ¡°Ro.¡± Ro glared at her brother. ¡°I know, but you knew it was possible the Queen-¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Dallia asked. ¡°Why would grandmama do this? Why leave him in charge?¡±


    Hazard made a face, glancing at Ro, but she gestured at him. ¡°The High Queen thought it better to have him in charge of our land until we were old enough to do it ourselves, run Blackspire. He couldn¡¯t say no if she asked, but calling him out in front of everyone made it doubly true.¡±


    ¡°But he... your parents... it¡¯s not right.¡±


    Ro threw up her hands, ¡°And finally someone gets it!¡±


    ¡°Okay, first of fucking all: fuck. You.¡± Hazard¡¯s Resonance flared, both girls taken back by his sudden anger and his change to a strange accent. ¡°I ¡°got it¡± but you wouldn¡¯t listen when I said anything. Kind of fucking hard to have a conversation about it when all you give me is one word answers in the rare chance I get to fucking talk to you. Second of all: you¡¯re not doing shit!¡±


    ¡°What-¡±


    ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry; who the fuck is gonna run the fucking place? You? No, it¡¯s gonna be me and maybe Jeddard if he¡¯s not fucking busy. It¡¯s probably gonna be me, by my damn self, doing everything.¡±


    ¡°So we should let the guy who killed our parents get away it!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not getting away with it-¡±


    The conversation became a shouting match and Dallia felt her world spinning. By the Light this was her fault, wasn¡¯t it? She shouldn¡¯t have asked, she should¡¯ve just let them deal with it. Dallia¡¯s eyes started to blur, her face getting hot as she whined, starting to sniffle. The argument died down as the two slowly looked to her. Dallia felt nervous, afraid they¡¯d turn their anger on her now but Hazard very slowly reached out a hand and gently touched her arm, ¡°No, Dallia, it¡¯s... it¡¯s not your fault.¡±


    ¡°It is, I shouldn¡¯t have asked, I shouldn¡¯t have asked, I¡¯m sorry...¡±


    <hr>


    Guilt was a lead brick that sat on Hazard¡¯s chest as Dallia sobbed Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t even hope to push any sort of calm towards Dallia, least of all because he was tearing up himself. He got up and moved to Dallia¡¯s side, standing next to her chair as he pulled her into a hug, just quietly whispering to her, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    Small miracles it only took her a few minutes to calm down, the sniffles slowly trailing off, and when he was sure she had fully stopped he let go to find one of her handkerchiefs, passing it to her as he took his seat. Dallia cleaned her face with it, the only sound in the room the rustling of the cloth. Ro looked... he couldn¡¯t tell. Ashamed? Angry? Maybe she felt how Hazard did, like...


    ...how did Hazard even feel right now? Cold, perhaps. His chest hurt too. He focused on taking breaths, staring at the table. After a time he felt something brush his arm and he flinched away, looking up to see Ro looking pained as she pulled her hand away. He stared at her for a moment before taking a breath, ¡°Hate me if you want, but I¡¯m not going to try and keep apologizing for the Queen¡¯s choice.¡±


    ¡°...I...¡± Ro looked pained. ¡°I don¡¯t hate you Haz.¡±


    ¡°...You hesitated there.¡±


    ¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡± She whispered, looking down. He didn¡¯t like that some part of him got satisfaction at her feeling bad.


    ¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡± Dallia said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry grandmother brought your uncle here, I¡¯m sorry he did what he did. I know... I know what it¡¯s like. Bad people took my parents away too.¡±


    Ro said nothing but she stood, and next thing Hazard knew he was suddenly under her arm, Ro grabbing Dallia next and walking the two to the bed, sitting them both on her knees as she pulled them in for a tight hug. Her warmth slowly replaced his coldness, and he fought to keep his emotions in check as she had her Resonance reach out to both of them.


    ¡°...I¡¯m sorry. I... I¡¯m angry, I know that, but I should¡¯ve talked about it. I didn¡¯t mean to get mad at you, Dallia. I know it was wrong but I just... I-I just-¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Hazard sighed, burying his face into her neck. ¡°Still hurt though. I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll get over it, I know, but-¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Ro hugged the two closer, settling into a comfortable silence.


    Perhaps a bit too comfortable, as the three slowly fell back onto Dallia¡¯s bed, falling into sleep...


    <hr>


    Vitala raised a brow as she approached Dallia¡¯s room and saw Lord Jeveraux peeking through her granddaughter¡¯s door, making cooing noise. There was a brief concern of him doing something untoward but without looking he raised a hand and beckoned Vitala over. She raised a brow but approached, ¡°Lord Jeveraux, the servants claimed there was shouting-¡±


    Jeveraux shushed her, and she bristled at the audacity as he beckoned her faster. When she approached he stepped aside, and she peered through the door to see Dallia curled up on her bed, held close to Roanna along with Chevalluna. The three were fast asleep which, while admittedly somewhat adorable, didn¡¯t explain Jeveraux¡¯s excitement. ¡°While that is rather adorable, I don¡¯t see-¡±


    ¡°You need to look. Really look.¡± Jeveraux tapped his temples and she understood. She expanded her senses, and she saw the Resonances of the three children. She didn¡¯t see what was so exciting, they were all together so it was just one large ¡°blob¡± of power... wait. She peered closer and she realized their Resonances were flowing in and out of each other in a perfect cycle. Evidently she couldn¡¯t keep the shock off her face as Jeveraux got more excited. ¡°Cyclical Resonance! Harmony, at such young ages and with no assistance!¡±


    ¡°...I... suppose I made the correct choice in bringing you three out of the mines.¡± Vitala couldn¡¯t describe what she felt, as felt so many emotions. Pride in Dallia for doing something only masters could do at her age, a tiny bitterness at Dallia pulling away from her, and... something else. It wasn¡¯t a bad feeling, she just couldn''t place it.


    ¡°They¡¯re good kids, all. I think that shouting you heard was them finally getting out what they needed to. Like a rough-hewn crystal being carved out and polished with heat and force. I say we leave them be for now.¡±


    Vitala glanced at the pocket of her outfit where a letter sat before nodding to Jeveraux. ¡°Let us retire to my study. I wanted your opinion on a few projects of mine.¡±

 Suspicion

    Jeddard pored over paper after paper, dozens of calculations running in his head and on various tools, everything from an abacque to a star map at his disposal. When he finally stopped he stepped back, seeing the dozens of scrolls and papers hanging around the room, and he had his answer.


    He had no idea what the answer was.


    He blew out a long breath through his lips before he sat at the wide desk he was given for this task. It had been over a month since the High Queen assigned him these projects, and while he made some headway, the simple fact was he would have to invent a whole new series of mathematics and runesmithing techniques to even breach the surface of what she wanted. Which thus begged the question: who could get who could help him? Vitala was a master, of course, but as High Queen she had to spend her time ruling. Dallia was brilliant, but too young to have a full grasp of what he needed. He could bring in some talent and teachers from the Academy, maybe reach out to other countries and see if they¡¯d be available for an exchange of knowledge? That was assuming the Queen loosened some of the secrecy surrounding all this...


    Jeddard grabbed a quill, fiddling with it as he tried to come up with a plan. Who could help design an equation that- wait a minute.


    ¡°...What if I need someone not from this country? Or world?¡± He leaned back, tossing the quill away. Hazard... Hazard knew a bunch of strange equations and weird, esoteric knowledge. He might know only the basics of magic, but he learned those basics from Jeddard himself! Jeddard grinned wide and ran for the door, throwing it open to speak to one of the Royal Guards. ¡°Quickly! Go fetch Hazard!¡±


    He shut the door... then opened it again, ¡°And a pitcher of water!


    The door closed again, and he opened it. Again. ¡°And some sausages!¡±


    Jeddard set about organizing his papers across tables and piles along with his tools, and by the time he was done the door opened to reveal Hazard carrying a tray with several cups, a pitcher, and a link of sausages. The younger boy looked about the room in surprise, ¡°I... take it this where you¡¯ve been for the past month?¡±


    ¡°Hazard! Come, come.¡± Jeddard waved him and Hazard set the tray on a table, looking back at him.


    ¡°Jed, have you been sleeping?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°...Okay, let me rephrase that: have you been sleeping every night-¡±


    ¡°Innovation is ahead of us!¡± Jeddard pointed up, then to the stacks of papers. ¡°I have need of your brilliant mind!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I could possibly help with if it stumped you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a bit of mathematics... and rune knowledge, and science, and engineering-¡± Jeddard saw the growing look of concern on Hazard¡¯s face and grabbed a paper, ¡°Hazard, believe me, I wouldn¡¯t be asking you if it wasn¡¯t important.¡±


    ¡°Jed, I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s happening; you just vanished one day.¡±


    Jeddard thought about it, ¡°...Huh. My apologies, I guess in the excitement I forgot to tell you all: High Queen Vitala has tasked me with several top-secret projects!¡±


    ¡°...Wait should you be telling me-¡±


    ¡°And because I¡¯m stumped, I¡¯ve turned to you!¡± Jeddard shoved the paper towards Hazard, the boy gingerly taking it. ¡°I¡¯m sure, sitting somewhere in that noggin of yours, is the answer to my problems!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with crawling before we run, Jed. What am I looking at here?¡±


    ¡°So: Remera¡¯s Synchronicity dictates that each crystal has a magical ¡°hum¡± to it, yes? Much like our Resonance allows our magic to hum in tune with crystals, it¡¯s possible to make crystals hum in tune with each other, however that is rarely ever possible naturally.¡±


    ¡°Right, you told me about this, to do it you usually need to carve runes on crystals and place them close together.¡± Hazard nodded.


    ¡°Exactly! That sort of reaction causes harmony between the crystals and a new reaction is born! However, that relies heavily on the energy of the crystals themselves to fuel the reaction. What we need is something to power an array of such crystals.¡±


    ¡°I mean the obvious solution seems like adding another crystal in to charge it all.¡± Hazard pointed out, but Jeddard shook his head.


    ¡°That would cause interference in the crystals¡¯ harmony.¡±


    Hazard hummed, and Jeddard could see the gears turning in his head as he thought. ¡°Could you... channel the energy of the other crystal towards the array? Using a wire or something?¡±


    ¡°A wire... wait, wait hold on. Like the batteries you told me about? The little devices that powered machinery?¡±


    ¡°Right, like you get some magic-conductive metal and wire it from afar to the other crystals.¡± Jeddard grabbed a piece of paper and quickly began sketching a design out.


    ¡°Yes, yes, metals are difficult to find with high enough rates of transfer but if we add small discs to the wires with the right runes, we can...¡± Jeddard¡¯s monologue turned mental as he quickly sketched out a diagram for a potential array device, then another, and another before he smiled brightly and scooped Hazard up in a hug. ¡°I knew it! I knew bringing you here would solve my stump!¡±


    ¡°BACK, BACK!¡±


    ¡°Oops sorry.¡± Jeddard set Hazard back down, the boy rubbing his back with a wince.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you would¡¯ve gotten it eventually, whatever it is.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Maybe, but you¡¯ve given me a head start and so many brilliant ideas!¡± Jeddard clapped, then grabbed another paper. ¡°How about this? A multi-crystal disk array, but we need-¡±


    So it went that Jeddard introduced each idea and project the High Queen wanted to Hazard. The boy didn¡¯t always have a solution but just having someone to run ideas through improved Jeddard¡¯s progress by leaps and bounds. It felt like hours of talk, and Jeddard could tell that Hazard was just as curious, though not as excited, about all these projects as he was. If only he knew just what Vitala wanted all this for; maybe that was the lynchpin to figuring out what the projects were missing? Maybe...


    ...maybe he could shut his eyes for a few minutes.


    <hr>


    Hazard watched in confusion as Jeddard slowly sunk forward at his desk, cheek pressed against a freshly inked piece of paper. There was the briefest moment of concern as Jeddard¡¯s eyes shut, but it was washed away when he began snoring, and Hazard shook his head as he set about tidying up the other papers and tools. He was glad Jeddard had a reason to vanish, but he knew how the elder could get lost in his science, he¡¯d have to tell the guards to check in on Jeddard.


    ...Although, now that he thought about it, that could just as easily bite Hazard in the ass. The guards were practically robots, disciplined to the point of being almost entirely unquestioning. Sure, they brought him to Jeddard straight away, but considering these were all some super-secret projects, were they actually allowed to do that? If this was all work for-


    There was the sound of rushing wind and Hazard turned to see the High Queen quickly stepping through a portal, quickly glancing around before she looked down and locked onto him. Before he could say anything she grabbed his wrist and dragged him through the portal into her study, using her free hand to grab his shoulder, ¡°You saw nothing.¡±


    ¡°I-¡±


    ¡°You saw nothing, you heard nothing, you know nothing.¡±


    ¡°Your Hi-¡±


    ¡°What were you even doing there?¡±


    ¡°Jeddard asked me for help.¡± He couldn¡¯t stop the words from flowing out of him, shrinking in her grip. He could see her Resonance flare and he feared he was about to be sent to the floor again when she let go of him and began to pace the length of the room. Eventually she dragged her hand down her face and opened the portal again, dragging him back through, letting go to move up to Jeddard and tug one of his spikes of hair and yank him upright.


    ¡°Nyeh!? Oh, hell Your-¡±


    The Queen let go, pointing to Hazard, ¡°Explain. Now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Hazard has been helping me with my research for today! We¡¯ve actually made great progress in-¡±


    Magic sealed his lips, and the Queen pressed her hand to her face. Her Resonance flared again but he could see her trying to keep it steady. Didn¡¯t stop Hazard from shrinking under her gaze when she turned to glare at him, his hands raised up. ¡°I heard no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.¡±


    ¡°Is that true? I cannot help but notice my trust in assigning Lord Jeveraux this task has been compromised already.¡± She loomed over Hazard and he swallowed nervously.


    ¡°Your Highness, I really have no idea what I have even been asked to help with.¡±


    Jeddard tried to speak through the magic sealing his mouth, and Vitala glared at him silently for a few seconds before she waved her hand and the magic disappeared. ¡°It¡¯s true! I¡¯ve mostly just asked Hazard about the technology of his homeland to come up with solutions! Well, that, and I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m making myself! Hard to spill royal secrets when the secrets are secret even to me.¡±


    The glare remained and Vitala¡¯s face curled. She was silent again for a moment, ¡°And you claim his help has advanced the project?¡±


    ¡°I told you he was brilliant! Sure, not everything could help right away, but it would¡¯ve taken me months to come up with these solutions and I¡¯ll find a use for his other theories.¡±


    Vitala¡¯s hands clenched and unclenched before she pointed to Jeddard, ¡°When I say ¡°complete secrecy,¡± it means ¡°complete secrecy!¡±¡± She turned and pointed to Hazard. ¡°If at any point I find out what you have seen here has reached anyone but us three, I will personally rip out the memories of what you saw here.¡±


    Hazard quickly, silently nodded, and the High Queen stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The two stared at the door in the echo of the slam, and without turning Hazard spoke up, ¡°Jed?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°What in God¡¯s name did you rope me into?¡±


    <hr>


    Vitala was rarely so furious she forgets to teleport, though if any were to ask the walk to her study was to cool her head. She practically threw the door open, the Steward looking shocked. ¡°Your High-¡±


    ¡°Get out.¡± Her tone brooked no argument from the Steward who gathered several papers and scrambled out the door, pulling it shut behind him. She was half-tempted to start tossing things around the room but instead she moved to a bookshelf, pulling on one of its books and the shelf slide to the side to reveal a dark shaft leading upwards. She stepped in, pulling the shelf back in front of the shaft, and she began to ascend upwards using her magic. She came out to an empty room lit by a single light crystal, walked into the center... and screamed. All her frustrations were let out in a long scream that echoed throughout the room, and when the last echo died she took a deep breath, running her hands back to smooth out her hair.


    ¡°It is fine.¡± Vitala smoothed out her clothes. ¡°This is fine. It is fine that a literal child has been told about projects meant only for the eyes of a select few.¡±


    The rational part of her understood that likely the boy wasn¡¯t going to suddenly out the projects or even knew what the experiments were for, but the irrational part of her, the one that kept her on edge for danger, reminded her how quickly a secret could be lost and how devastating the effects could be once it was out in the world. Maybe she should just wipe the memories of the two...


    ...which might make the boy a mindless husk.


    Vitala rubbed at her temples. That sort of magic wasn¡¯t a perfect science, and a drooling husk would be entirely too noticeable. There was also the fact she sunk too much of her energy into keeping the children unaware of their uncle¡¯s letters, so undoing all that effort would be a waste. She took a breath and moved back to the secret shaft, making sure no one was waiting in her study before she returned to the study, glancing out the window to the sunny skies. If this were a fairy tale, this would be where the skies turned dark and cloudy to tell her things were going to go poorly, but the bright skies and chirping birds told her she would have to navigate this problem on her own like she always did.


    ¡°...Or... perhaps...¡± Vitala hummed and left her study, moving through the spire down towards the temple, thankfully empty. The last time she had been here was the Rite of Forebears, before that... truth be told, she couldn¡¯t remember when she visited before then. She reached out with her power, the entrances to the Temple sealing, and she took a seat at a pew nearest to the dais. She stared in silence at the carving of Saintess Alessa for a few minutes, feeling frankly ridiculous for coming here, but eventually she spoke. ¡°By the Saintess who guides...¡±


    Vitala trailed off, and she huffed. ¡°You know what? No.¡± She leaned forward in the seat. ¡°I will not sit here and offer obeisance. I think we both know it¡¯d be disingenuous given who I am, if you¡¯re even listening. If you are, then hopefully you care more about protecting your people than I believe you do. Everyone outside our borders conpires against us, and we cannot afford any slips. Let Chevalluna¡¯s lips be still however you deem fit with whatever dreams or visions you can come up with. Or, if I could get a clear answer for once, that would be more of a help.¡±


    The response she received was, of course, silence, and she sighed through her nose as she stood. As part of the tradition, she coalesced magic into her hand and let it drift to the carving of the Saintess, turning as it disappeared into crystal and returning the entrances to normal. She ruminated on how ridiculous the whole process was and that, if anything, the Saintess or Light would probably smite her instead, but... if there was a chance, however little, to prevent a disaster with how things were progressing?


    Then she had to take it.

 Interlude of Damsel and Knight

    ¡°...Are you sure we should be doing this?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Dallia looked up from the flower crown she was making as she and Ro sat in the garden.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying, I¡¯m sure these flowers are rare or expensive or something.¡±


    ¡°We can grow more.¡± Dallia shrugged, standing up from the grass to put the crown upon Ro¡¯s head. Ro had... mixed feelings, to say the least. Haz had been up to something with Jeddard, some big project they weren¡¯t allowed to speak about, which left Ro to be the object of Dallia¡¯s attention instead. Ro was used to training with the knights or the rock and stone of the mines, something physical. She hadn¡¯t sat down and enjoyed the grass since she was maybe around Dallia¡¯s age, or younger. Tea parties, games of tag, dolls, it was... it was a whole other lifetime ago, to Ro.


    Or maybe she just wasn¡¯t used to people, let alone friendly ones. She fiddled with the crown on her head as Dallia beamed at her. ¡°...Thanks.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your favorite flower?¡±


    ¡°I dunno, I don¡¯t know a lot of flowers.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Ro felt a hint of annoyance, reminded of Haz¡¯s non-stop questions when he was younger, but she tried to come up with an answer that was polite enough.


    ¡°I... didn¡¯t get to see flowers much while I was in the mine.¡± The realization hit Dallia admittedly and she began to quickly apologize, but Ro waved her off. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    The two sat awkwardly in silence for a while. Honestly Ro just wanted to get up and get back to training but she felt like she had to get closer to Dallia now, if only for Haz¡¯s sake. ¡°What¡¯s... what¡¯s your favorite flower?¡±


    Dallia brightened up and pointed to a bush- well, ¡°bush¡± was generous, in Ro¡¯s mind. The plant had only a few sharp woody branches, pockmarked with small purple flowers and berries. ¡°The Saintess¡¯ Gift.¡±


    ¡°...It¡¯s...¡± Ro couldn¡¯t even lie about the plant looking beautiful, so she changed gears. ¡°What¡¯s the name from?¡±


    ¡°They say the Saintess used it to feed our people on our journey through the Stormlands, and she used the wood to treat everyone¡¯s pain.¡±


    ¡°That thing? It looks like it barely has enough berries to feed the birds.¡±


    ¡°Oh, birds don¡¯t eat them.¡± Ro looked at Dallia in confusion. ¡°The berries are too bitter, they eat the seeds inside, but the Saintess fed the berries to her people, and it kept them going until they reached the Heart.¡±


    Ro hummed, looking at the plant again. ¡°You¡¯ve eaten the berries, then?¡±


    Dallia¡¯s mouth immediately puckered and Ro swore a shiver went through Dallia¡¯s body. It couldn¡¯t have been that bad, surely? She¡¯d eaten worse in the mines. Ro got up and moved towards the bush, plucking one of the berries and popping it into her mouth. She swore she heard a tiny, quiet ¡°noooo...¡± from behind her as she bit into the berry, chewing on it... and her chewing steadily slowed down as a sour, bitter juice spread through her mouth. She tried to power through, but her eyes started to water and her whole mouth tingled until she stopped chewing.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Hello all, finally on a break- uh...?¡± Ro turned and could just about see the blurry outline of Hazard. ¡°Ro!? Are you okay, what¡¯s happening!?¡±


    She tried to say something but all he could get out was a ¡°merp¡± due to her soured mouth, and the blur of Dallia came up to her, raising something to her. Ro took it, and realizing it was a teacup she quickly raised it to her lips and downed the contents. A wave of relief washed over her mouth as she was finally able to swallow, coughing and gasping once her mouth was clear. She used a hand to wipe away her tears and got out a croaky, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Explain please.¡± Hazard hobbled up to them, looking at Ro worriedly,


    ¡°S¡¯fine, just tried berry.¡± Ro pointed with her thumb to the berry bush as Dallia got her another drink, and it was one of the greatest things Ro tasted by dint of sheer relief.


    ¡°...Right, I... just came out here to check on you both during the break. Can I trust you not to poison yourself if I head back?¡± Ro waved off Hazard¡¯s concern and he nodded before he left again. When he disappeared into the Spire Ro chuckled, and Dallia looked at her curiously.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just funny whenever he tries to fret about me.¡± Curiosity turned to confusion, and Ro explained, ¡°Because he¡¯s usually the one that needs looking after.¡±


    ¡°Does he?¡± Now it was Ro¡¯s turn to look confused. ¡°I think he does a lot on his own.¡±


    Ro was about to scoff and give an example but she wracked her brain; what was the last thing she had to do for Haz? It was... odd, to not be able to think of something. ¡°I, I guess he does...¡±


    ¡°...Ro-¡±


    Ro cleared her throat, ¡°A-Anyways, anything else special about those berries?¡±


    ¡°The Saintess made a spear out of them.¡±


    ¡°...Of berries?¡±


    ¡°No, of the wood.¡± Dallia pointed to the woody branches of the plant, ¡°They say she used her magic to grow one long branch and used it as a spear to defend herself. She used the poison to make people sleep! She was a lot like you: she fought to keep everyone safe.¡±


    ¡°...N-Nah, c¡¯mon.¡± Ro definitely was not blushing, not her, she definitely did not feel a little pride in that comparison. Though, she was growing curious now: there weren¡¯t a lot of people in the mines who were keen on religion and considering she practically grew up in the mines, it wasn¡¯t like her parents really focused on teaching her all the holy stories. Still, she was surprised she never heard a story about the Saintess being a warrior, let alone having a spear; it was usually talk about her magic or how kind she was or some foss like that.


    ¡°It¡¯s true: Ha- Cheval didn¡¯t tell me much, but he said you were always a hero.¡±


    ¡°I think he was definitely exaggerating.¡± It sure was a sunny day, must be why Ro¡¯s face got so hot.


    ¡°He said you were always looking out for him and Lord Jeveraux, and you tried to hide it but he saw you helping out a few of the other miners. He says you even gave them some of your money.¡± That took away some of her giddiness. He saw her giving out some of her pay? Sure, she didn¡¯t make a habit of it and she knew he gave out some of his smaller gems to help some people, but if he knew, why didn¡¯t he say anything? All that time she chastised him for giving-


    ¡°Ro?¡± Dallia¡¯s words broke her out of her thoughts. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Tell me a bit more about the Saintess, was she really a fighter?¡± Dallia¡¯s eyes lit up and the younger girl unleashed a flood of stories, and Ro was thankful for the distraction. This... was nice. She¡¯d still like to be back at training, but she supposed there was nothing wrong with taking a break for a day, and if she dug into her own feelings it felt a little like those rare moments she managed to get Hazard to open up and he got extra excited. Maybe that¡¯s why the two youngsters got along so well, and maybe, just maybe, that could help the two girls get along as well...

 A Time to Think

    "TEST 29 OF PROJECT FEATHER! ROOM CLEAR?¡±


    The stone cavern was as empty as it could be, but they had these protocols for a reason. Jeddard crouched down behind their makeshift bunker and gave a thumbs-up to Hazard, ¡°ROOM CLEAR!¡±


    Hazard nodded and grabbed the long metal pole at his side, poking it through the slot of his shield to slowly press a metal slide into a crown-like array of crystals, ¡°ACTIVATOR CONNECTING!¡±


    The slide pressed into the array and the crystals fanned out before lighting up. Nothing else happened for a moment before a wall of faint blue light sprung up, forming a wall. Jeddard called out, ¡°ACTIVATION SUCCESSFUL! MOVING ON TO PHASE TWO!¡±


    Hazard raised the metal pole and began jabbing it into the wall of light. The wall was solid, at the very least Hazard couldn¡¯t break through it with his poking. He hooked the pole into the metal slide and pulled it out, the crystal points folding back in on the array and the wall disappearing. He smiled and called out, ¡°TEST SUCCESSFUL!¡±


    Jeddard cheered and Hazard moved around the shelter, heading for the array to disarm it. Jeddard joined him and patted him on the back, ¡°We did it!¡±


    ¡°Yup, finally out of the prototyping phase, and can move on to stress-testing.¡± Truth be told Hazard felt more relief than Jeddard¡¯s joy. Jeddard grabbed the device and the two steadily made their way out of the cavern and up to a nondescript room of the Spire, passing the device off to a group of Royal Guards who put it into a heavy-duty looking cart and marched off with it. The two moved up to a small ¡°office¡± that had been prepared for them to start filling out paperwork on the experiment. When that was done a Steward was called and they took the written scrolls away, Jeddard stretching with a loud pop of bones.


    ¡°I hope the next project comes soon!¡±


    ¡°Assuming we get to even work on it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be like that. So what if almost all our work is taken away in the early stages? We completed three whole projects so far!¡± Hazard shook his head but didn¡¯t bother arguing. He couldn¡¯t say how many projects they worked on since it felt like the High Queen was coming in with a new request every other week, and by the time they started making decent progress on one experiment their notes and designs would be taken away to... somewhere. For some ideas where he didn¡¯t have the knowledge of his old life to fall back on, sending off the projects made sense, but for things he knew they could figure out? Seeing all that work be sent off hurt him, in a way.


    Of course, there was also that hanging concern over what the projects would be used for. Some seemed awfully close to military equipment: forcefields like Project Feather, better designs to easily slot crystals in and out of weapons, a few projects that weren¡¯t outright weapons but the utility for war was there. He desperately wished he was wrong, and these were just precautions, but-


    ¡°COLD!¡± Hazard flinched at the sudden frost on his neck, whipping around to see Jeddard with a piece of ice in his hand.


    ¡°Stop worrying so much! You¡¯ll end up with more wrinkles than me!¡±


    ¡°Someone has to be the worrier in this family.¡± Hazard huffed, rubbing the spot on his neck. Ultimately Jeddard was right: not much they could do about it now. They just had to hope the High Queen had a good plan for all this...


    <hr>


    "...I should¡¯ve chopped off my hands.¡±


    What laid in front of Hazard was a series of different tools of all make and design, designs he had started on but clearly took on ideas of their makers. The Queen had essentially dropped the things in his lap and told him to see if they worked, then write down how they were supposed to be used. Jeddard was excited beyond all belief of course but for Hazard... this was another hell he¡¯d stepped into. Joy at seeing his designs realized turned to horror as he realized he may have to create a whole user manual for each item, hell maybe even a measurement system if this world¡¯s system wasn¡¯t up to snuff. Hazard dragged his hands down his face as Jeddard nearly pranced about the study.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°This is the best day of my liiiiiiiife!¡±


    ¡°Jeddard, please.¡± Hazard sighed, ¡°At least the Queen marked these and I¡¯m not guessing what they¡¯re supposed to be.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be like solving an ancient riddle!¡± Jeddard held up a goblet-like device, and Hazard leaned forward, squinting at the item. ¡°I wonder what this does!¡±


    ¡°...I think that¡¯s just a cup, Jed.¡±


    Jeddard blinked, holding the cup closer to his face, ¡°...So it is!¡±


    Hazard shook his head, randomly picking one of the tools to start with. It wasn¡¯t a short process by any means and by the time they were done the moon was high in the sky, the two were exhausted, and ink stains covered their hands and clothes. Jeddard vanished to who-know-where while Hazard all but stumbled back to his room. A part of his brain reminded him he should clean up but the moment his hands brushed against his blanket he all but fell over onto his bed, curling up and letting sleep take him. Despite his wishes, when he woke up he felt as tired as when he¡¯d laid down, and he groaned as he curled up further. ¡°Why...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s-¡± Hazard¡¯s whole body jolted at the sudden voice and he scrabbled around on his bed until he could face the source, seeing the High Queen there. ¡°As I was saying, it seems I have pushed you too hard.¡±


    ¡°...I won¡¯t insult either of us by lying here. I am very tired.¡± Hazard sighed through his nose, ¡°Though I¡¯m ready to-¡±


    ¡°Rest.¡± Vitala interrupted. ¡°I require your mind sharp for the rest of the projects.¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s a war coming, I surely will.¡± There was silence and Hazard took a second to realize Vitala looked surprised, then suspicious.


    ¡°Why would you think that?¡± Hazard sensed he screwed up, but his tired mind was too gone to care at this point.


    ¡°Some of these seem to be weapons or shields, or have some other potential military application.¡± The High Queen said nothing for a while before sighing under her breath.


    ¡°I forget you are more perceptive than a child should be, sometimes. No, there is no war currently going on.¡±


    ¡°...Is the operative word there ¡°currently?¡±¡±


    ¡°...This is not the concern of children.¡± Vitala turned to leave but Hazard pushed himself into a sitting position.


    ¡°It is if we have to escape with Dallia.¡± Vitala froze in her tracks. ¡°It is if my sister might have to die in some godforsaken dirt field. It is, if what I make ends up ending someone¡¯s life.¡±


    Vitala remained facing away from him for so long he worried he was in trouble before there was a much louder sigh and she turned to face him. She tried to smooth her face but he could see a hint of tiredness peeking through. ¡°Do you know what "sword rattling¡± is?¡±


    ¡°When a country marches troops around its borders as a threat. Okay maybe not ¡°threat,¡± per se, but a warning.¡±


    ¡°Close enough. Other rulers are angry we are reclaiming lands that once belonged to us.¡±


    ¡°Did the people living there now object?¡±


    ¡°...Some did.¡± Vitala said after a pause. ¡°But the histories and old laws are clear: the land is ours. People can leave if they do not like our laws, and any rulers complaining about our expansion would need to stop their own progress.¡± Hazard thought on the words then nodded.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? No grand suggestions?¡± The High Queen seemed amused and Hazard shrugged.


    ¡°Do you want my suggestions?¡±


    ¡°...Sure.¡± The Queen said after a pause, floating a small stool over to herself to sit on. ¡°You cannot prove any worse an advisor than my usual retinue. If you somehow do, then I¡¯ve at least had my joke for the day.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully I don¡¯t disappoint.¡± Hazard searched his memories of history lessons of his old life and countless bored internet searches. ¡°I think propaganda is the first step.¡±


    ¡°Propaganda?¡±


    ¡°You know. Posters about how great it is to be ruled by the Empire, painting the royalty and nobles as heroes, ¡°yay us, boo them,¡± all that.¡± Vitala snorted. ¡°You could also go the classic route of just bribing everyone. It¡¯s what I did in games; sending ¡°gifts¡± to people to encourage them to follow you.¡±


    ¡°That sounds rather shallow.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but it works. Find what people need, give it to them with no hooks, and at the very least they won¡¯t immediately fall under other people¡¯s sway.¡± Hazard tapped his knee as he thought. ¡°There is... one other, more extreme measure.¡±


    ¡°War?¡±


    ¡°No, a wall.¡± Vitala raised a brow. ¡°I don¡¯t mean something like the Great Wall of China, I mean a buffer zone. Grant a bunch of land and support to some small towns, make them lords, heck convince them all to become their own tiny country. Anything that creates a wall between you and whoever you don¡¯t want touching you.¡±


    ¡°...That...¡± Vitala put a hand to her chin. ¡°No. They can¡¯t attack their own people because they¡¯re too soft. Could claim aid to the new country against invaders if they attack...¡±


    ¡°We called it a ¡°cold war¡± in my life. It¡¯s when you don¡¯t want to fight an actual war, so you find a way to win without fighting.¡±


    ¡°Propaganda and buffers.¡± Vitala nodded. She seemed to think again before standing. ¡°I will not pretend I will rush out to put your thoughts to action, but I will thank you for the ideas you¡¯ve presented. Now, rest: I need your mind to be sharp for the rest of the projects.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± She left and Hazard sighed as he laid back on his bed. Maybe he could spend some time with Ro... after a quick nap...

 Talking to Rocks

    Vitala''s hands waved through the air, the crystals of the room shifting and pulsing with her unspoken commands until six pillars of crystal evenly faced a seat. She lowered herself onto the seat, letting her magic flow through, the pillar crystals pulsing once before silence. Minutes dragged until several pillars lit up, voices filtering through to praise her and claim they were awaiting her command. She channeled her magic again into the crystals. ¡°Status reports.¡±


    More waiting and the messages she got back were... mixed. The work on Inani Bay was actually progressing quicker than expected; the main structures and supports were done, everything else was just improvements to the plans. More sword rattling from the neighbors, even one brief rebellion of a village that refused to pay their due taxes. It ended without bloodshed but the town was now another drain on her forces. At this point she wished she could send them all the to the middle of nowhere-


    ¡°...Nowhere...¡± Something was stirring in her mind. What if it wasn¡¯t nowhere? What if it wasn¡¯t just some no-name little village? A place that wasn¡¯t part of her empire, nor a part of her enemies¡¯ lands. Her fingers rapped against her crystal seat; she couldn¡¯t just give the rebels gifts, what sort of message would that send? However, sending their neighbors, or better yet, their rivals aid? That was a whole other story.


    ¡°...Let us see if the boy had the right idea...¡±


    <hr>


    "...I admit, coming here without knowing much about you was probably not one of my best ideas.¡± Hazard admitted to the air as he sat in the chapel, the face of the Saintess peering down at him. He awkwardly smiled, ¡°Any chance you accept a Lord¡¯s prayer, or maybe something for Channukah?¡±


    He chuckled, and it just as awkwardly trailed off into the silence. He sighed heavily, clasping his hands in his lap. ¡°Look I don¡¯t... you, whoever or whatever or wherever you are, did a lot for me. This was... a chance I didn¡¯t actually think I¡¯d get. I¡¯m sure you know the question of what would happen after always kind of hung in my head. Well in a lot of people¡¯s heads, but you know what I mean. What I want to say is...¡±


    He took a deep breath and sighed again, ¡°Thank you. I never really had a chance to really sit and marinate on it, but this is what I had always hoped for, at least in a way. It¡¯s not... perfect, and I think you might¡¯ve taken me saying ¡°people need a bit of discomfort in their lives¡± way too far, but... it¡¯s a good life. Good enough for me, at least.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    There was no response, of course, and Hazard leaned back in his seat, taking a deep breath...and something brushed his shoulder.


    ¡°You-¡±


    <hr>


    Vitala looked over the proposition as she sat at her desk, sighing through her nose. Would that she could this little experiment of hers would happens over the next few days, but sadly it would take some months to even build up the supplies for it. Now it was just more the usual: budget requests for cockamamie things, tax deductions, she was actually interested in some of these rationing ideas for the colder months-


    She lifted her head as she felt a distant, but large blip of magic and heard some sort of... scream? No, it was more like a squeak. One of the maids must¡¯ve encountered a rat or something.


    <hr>


    Hazard breathed heavily as he shook, bordering on tears as the priestess rubbed his back and held his hands, trying to calm him. ¡°You are safe, you are safe, no harm will come to you here.¡±


    It took a good few minutes as Hazard calmed himself, and the priestess gently pat his head. ¡°Are you calm, little one?¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± He was pulled into a hug.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t think you reaction would be so...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I know you didn¡¯t mean to.¡± He took a deep breath again and the priestess gently pulled away from him, sitting beside him in the pew. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just kind of zone out sometimes, so when it gets really quiet and something really sudden happens-¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± She stroked his back again. ¡°I just wanted to say, it¡¯s very rare to see one so young yet so dedicated to the Saintess. It seems you¡¯ve had a difficult life, but I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve found solace in her holy light. My only wish is that she had done more for you.¡±


    Hazard jolted, stunned from her words. It wasn¡¯t just the kindness behind them, it was she¡¯d say them in the first place. Considering the world they were in, they felt like a big no-no. She smiled softly and angled herself down a bit so she was closer to eye level. ¡°Little one, it¡¯s okay. You of all people have earned the right to feel... frustrated. I know, however, that the Saintess loves you and your sister. Please never doubt that.¡±


    Hazard couldn¡¯t say anything in response to that; while he wasn¡¯t exactly about to sing anyone¡¯s praises (he, quite literally, couldn¡¯t stand to do so), he had just got done thanking the powers that be that he didn¡¯t... well he did die, but that it wasn¡¯t permanent. The priestess sensed his turmoil and stood, offering him a hand. ¡°Do you like books?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Would you like to join me in reading about the Saintess?¡±


    A myriad of unbearable Sunday-school memories flooded his head, but she was being very kind to him, and it¡¯d be a good chance to see the perspective on the religion from someone in the know. He nodded, picking up his cane to stand and take her hand. ¡°I would like that.¡±

 Sunday School

    ¡°...This feels wrong, somehow.¡±


    Lark couldn¡¯t disagree with Finch as she and her sisters crowded around the viewing crystal, watching the princess¡¯ young friend as he pored over various texts in the Sanctum library. The order came from on high, so it¡¯s not like they could refuse. ¡°At the very least, he is a dedicated learner.¡±


    ¡°Clever as they said, too.¡± Sparrow nodded. ¡°A book with an imaging crystal in it to play out scenes from stories? It would definitely help reach the children.¡±


    ¡°...I... am concerned.¡± Hawk spoke up in her raspy voice. ¡°He reads, he learns, but we don¡¯t know if he actually believes.¡±


    ¡°...We found him praying and thanking the Saintess and the Light, I think that¡¯s a good enough sign.¡± Finch pointed out flatly. ¡°It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a heretic.¡±


    ¡°That we know of.¡± Lark reluctantly pointed out. ¡°But that is why we are here. So, I suggest we do what he¡¯s doing, and listen.¡±


    <hr>


    If there was one thing Hazard could say, it was that the church was very thorough in its record keeping. Confirmed and false miracles, a very thorough detailing of the Saintess¡¯ life, how the church has tied in to the various kings and queens of the Stormlands. Question was, is this what gets told to the common people, or do they get a more idealized version?


    ...No. No, he supposed it didn¡¯t matter right now. He had his answers and a few he hadn¡¯t meant to find, it was better to cut it here and let his brain rest. He looked to the priestess that had guided him here, snapping out of her fiddling with an earring. ¡°I think I¡¯ve learned as much as I could handle in a day. Thank you for this.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it was of no trouble, young master. I hope you got everything you wanted out of this?¡±


    ¡°I got what I needed.¡± Alessa was seemingly just a good person in general, according to the stories. Though, he was noticing a lack of details around the apparent battles she fought against the old kingdoms. Not a lot of detail on why she and her people were originally exiled either, but he wasn¡¯t too surprised about that. ¡°It¡¯s... a little bit of comfort I needed after a trying time.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± Right, no spilling secrets about the projects. ¡°...Had to take on a few hard lessons in my learning. Nothing too bad, but I definitely needed a brain break.¡±


    He could see her mouth move as if she was about to say something but she paused for a long moment before she continued, voice quiet. ¡°I still admit that I¡¯m surprised. The High Queen is not known for being distinctly devout, and with all you suffered...¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Boy was this going a direction he really did not want to go down. He cleared his throat awkwardly, ¡°Yes, well... I had a few questions, if you wouldn¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Oh, of course not, ask away.¡± She leaned in against the table.


    ¡°Was there anything special about the Saintess?¡± She stared at him in blank confusion and he realized what he said afterwards, putting his palm to his face. ¡°Not... No, I didn¡¯t mean it like that, obviously she was special but I meant more if she had a unique magic or something.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± He saw her shoulders sag in relief and he pushed on.


    ¡°I understand from the facts she was skilled with magic from a young age, and she was eventually strong enough to not need crystals sometimes, but was there anything else special about her?¡±


    The priestess said nothing for a long moment, her earring sparkling in the silence until she spoke up. ¡°I think... there is one thing. They say she could speak with birds.¡±


    ¡°...What?¡± He laughed incredulously; of all things, ¡°talked to birds?¡± She smiled and gently poked his chest.


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh. She had a pair of hunting birds, one with feather of snowy white and another with feathers as dark as night. They say she spoke with the two of them frequently, and they seemed smart enough to at least understand and follow her orders.¡±


    He kept snickering at the thought, waving a hand as he tried to get words. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, this is very serious but I jus¡¯, it, it¡¯s not that funny I swear.¡±


    She giggled and pat his back, waiting for him to ride out his giggle-fit, and when he did he took a deep breath and wiped tears from his eyes. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes... yes, apologies. Hooooo...¡± He breathed out, then took another breath in. ¡°But yes, thank you, it is good to know.¡±


    ¡°...I think there is something else to know.¡±


    ¡°Is it your name because I forgot to ask?¡±


    ¡°...I am Raven, but other than that, I think there¡¯s something else to remember.¡± She gently poked his chest, right over his heart. ¡°She was a person, just like you and me. I¡¯m sure that, in time, you can be a person remembered by history too. It sounds like you¡¯re already on your way.¡±


    That... was oddly sweet. Obviously she was trying to be kind, sure, and there was probably some tiny bit of brown-nosing going on, but getting that sort of compliment from someone who wasn¡¯t Ro, or Jeddard, or Dallia... it felt like something he really needed.


    ¡°That does mean a lot to me, thank you.¡± Hazard gave her an honest smile, ¡°Though, I¡¯m kind of limited in my own magic right now. Best I can do now is work on my inventions and train.¡±


    Idly he closed his hand except his pointer finger and thumb, letting a string of fire, then wind, then lightning arc between the digits before closing his hand. It was a basic trick but it seemed to entrance Raven. ¡°That is... quite a lot of skill, even for a child.¡±


    ¡°No, no. I¡¯ve seen what Dallia can do, it¡¯s much more impressive. About the only thing I have over her is this.¡± He pulled the magic of the Spire up through the ground via his cane, letting it flow into his arm and aiming a finger at the table. The energy shot out like a thing, flickering laser, scoring some of the table¡¯s wood before he stopped. ¡°I can¡¯t even do that for long unless I want my whole arm to hurt.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...Raven?¡± He looked up from the table to see Raven staring at him, gobsmacked as her earring began flickering rapidly...