The Lich Without a Soul Vessel

Natural feedback, it seemed, didn't require the underlying theory to be correct at all — only that one believed it genuinely, from within, and that some sufficient number of others believed it too, forming, without anyone quite intending it, this phenomenon of feedback. Put plainly, magic worked, at its root, through effort applied to the mind. Evan felt himself slowly grasping certain traits of magic's true nature — and yet magic clearly reached into the physical world as well. Did that mean the world itself was built from two fundamental substances, mind and matter both?

He couldn't work it out, and when he couldn't, he simply let it go — one of his better habits. That kind of balance between exertion and rest served him well enough, though left unchecked, it could just as easily slide into idleness. He hadn't yet settled into a proper mindset for this kind of deep theoretical work, and it wasn't entirely his fault — for all his magical cultivation, he hadn't built his understanding from nothing the way this world's own mages had. Nicholas's own experience, whatever it had been, wasn't something Evan had lived through himself.

Once Jessica submitted their paper, Evan spent some time up in the floating city, furnishing his own residence there, adding alchemical equipment. Xiaoshuang came along as well.

The floating city now drifted lazily around Hollingburton's own grounds, with nowhere in particular to go — something of a spectacle in its own right by now, though it wasn't ready for any real journey yet, plenty of systems still in testing, likely another three or four months before it was fully operational.

Evan found himself drawn up there whenever he had free time, drawing no small amount of envy from others — after all, aside from the legendary mages, only he and Jessica held residences up there at all.

Boniface had also earned real credit this time — he'd been the first to discover Shulman's teleportation array, though his reward paled next to Evan's own. He kept his true identity carefully hidden throughout, unaware that Ortlando had already seen through it long ago, choosing to say nothing and simply watch him quietly instead.

Boniface hadn't let go of his grudge. It gnawed at him like a serpent lodged in his chest, and he knew well enough he stood no chance against Evan directly.

So he studied Evan quietly instead, searching for some weakness to exploit. He noticed Xiaoshuang and considered using her against Evan somehow — though he couldn't make sense of it. Evan was plainly a lich; how could a fairy have signed a contract with him at all? Had she been forced into it?

He'd tried to strike at her in secret, but Xiaoshuang's senses ran keen against any lich's presence — get within a certain range, and she'd notice him at once. He'd tried three times already, none of them successful, and once he'd very nearly given himself away entirely.

That road seemed closed to him. Then, quite by chance, he'd heard of Tina's connection to Evan, and something occurred to him — a different approach entirely, striking through her instead. He had no intention of acting personally, of course. As high priest of a devil-worshipping cult, matters like this hardly required his own hand at all.

In Watersdale, seat of the New Faith, October had brought crisp, clear autumn weather. Katherine lowered her stance, and Tina, facing her in practice, let out a breath of relief.

Katherine said, "Tina, your progress has been remarkable. If your foundation weren't still a little short, you'd already be a Great Knight. Breaking through before you turn twenty is all but certain now. There's little more I can teach you. I've decided to have you join the Tulip Guard — your senior brother Monroe is there, and he'll look after you. Broadening your experience there, and advancing through real combat, will serve you far better going forward."

"Thank you, Master," Tina said. She knew she'd reached something of a plateau in her training, and breaking through in genuine combat struck her as a sound path forward.

Tina became a knight of the Tulip Guard — an order of fifty-five knights and thirty-five mages, three of the knights Great Knights, twelve more senior knights, the rest ordinary knights, and among the mages, sixteen senior, the rest all fifth tier or above. Tina became the fifty-sixth knight to join.

Nearly all the Tulip Guard's members were men — Tina was the only woman among the knights, though the mage ranks included five women.

When Tina first arrived, everyone but Monroe looked down on her, given how delicate she seemed — though most kept it well hidden, only a few unconscious slips in word or manner giving it away. That attitude didn't last long, though.

During one operation, a band of thieves had raided a small town, and the Guard crossed paths with them by chance. Splitting into two flanks in a pincer formation, they surrounded the thieves — only to find some genuine skill among them, four knights knocked down in quick succession before one finally met Tina, who cut him from his saddle without hesitation. Among knights, raw strength earned respect above all else, and Tina's own skill won her that respect at once.

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Some knights even began openly wishing to serve as her own sworn protectors, though Tina paid the gesture no mind at all.

Monroe, for his part, genuinely liked his junior sister-in-arms — though already engaged to a viscount's daughter, his fondness for her stayed firmly brotherly in nature.

The other knights felt rather differently, whatever they kept hidden on the surface, undercurrents running deep beneath.

Tina stood in her knight's armor, holding the reins of her warhorse — an unremarkable-looking animal at a glance, though its eyes carried a faint tinge of blood-red. Not a true magical beast, but close — one step short of becoming a Blood-Eyed Phantom Steed, a breed born from ordinary warhorses under the right conditions.

"Lady Knight Tina, are you free tonight?" a knight named Joe asked.

Tina hesitated, and another knight, Jed, spoke up beside him. "Lady Tina, there's a ball tonight — Brother Monroe's hosting it for his fiancée. I'd like to invite you to attend."

"What are you two carrying on about here? Junior sister, don't listen to either of them. I'll settle this for you — anyone who wants to court my junior sister had better get back to training first. Not a chance before you reach Great Knight rank," Monroe said, overhearing their invitation and understanding exactly what they were after, not bothering to soften his words.

A round of mock wailing followed. "Boss, that's harsh!"

Tina laughed, and the knights froze at the sight of her smile blooming like a flower, momentarily stunned.

The ball took place at Monroe's estate, a steady stream of young nobles and ladies arriving throughout the evening. Tina came as well — she owed her senior brother that much courtesy. She wore a pale-colored gown over a fitted underlayer, forgoing her usual sword in favor of the short blade Evan had forged specially for her — small enough to carry close against her body without notice.

Plenty of knights had come along as well, and their arrival drew a cluster of noble young ladies around them at once.

Joe and Jed stayed close to Tina's side — good friends, both of them, both smitten with her. She knew it well enough, but her heart had long since settled elsewhere, and she treated the two of them exactly alike, leaving both thoroughly discouraged.

Once the dancing began, both men extended invitations to her at nearly the same instant. "Lovely lady, my own tulip — might I request this dance?"

Tina couldn't help a small laugh at the sight of them glaring at each other, both declaring at once, "I asked first!"

She smiled. "I'm not much of a dancer, honestly. I think I'll just sit this one out." She took a glass of champagne from a server's passing tray. The two men exchanged a wary look, understanding she'd offered the excuse to spare them both embarrassment, and took glasses of their own as well.

"Let's sit over there," Jed suggested. This time Joe didn't echo him aloud, though he followed along regardless.

The three of them made their way toward a grape arbor at the edge of the grounds, where the lighting ran dimmer. The dance itself wasn't held indoors, but out in the estate's courtyard, magic lamps illuminating the space bright as day, washing out the starlight above — though beneath the arbor, the light stayed noticeably softer.

Somewhere in a shadowed corner, a few pairs of eyes had fixed on Tina. She felt it herself, sweeping a casual glance in that direction, wariness rising in her at once.

The watchers were nobles she didn't recognize — likely visitors from elsewhere, or minor houses without much name. They seemed to be discussing something among themselves, and after a while, rose and made their way toward her. Joe and Jed paid them no mind at all — with so many guests present, a few nobles lingering in a corner drew no particular notice.

Monroe danced with his fiancée out on the floor, surrounded by young nobles and their ladies, along with a scattering of society women, couples turning gracefully around them.

Everyone present felt genuinely thrilled to attend Monroe's ball — a rising star among the younger generation, well regarded by the New Faith and a nobleman in his own right besides, drawing plenty of noble offspring hoping to curry favor. The older generation had mostly stayed away, uninvited, but their children had flocked here in numbers, ostensibly for the dance, though really angling to build connections.

The visiting nobles drifted toward Tina's group with studied casualness. Tina, a noblewoman herself by title now, still held a deep distaste for the aristocracy at heart — her own history among them had been something close to an ordeal, though it had also brought her good fortune in its way, leading her to Evan, who'd rescued her from it, and later to Leonardo, who'd taken her in as his own daughter. Leonardo, noble as he was by blood, remained a mage at heart, unlike so many others of his class.

Tina's guard rose at once, though she never anticipated what came next. Assuming the nobles meant simple harassment, she rose to her feet, intending to leave.

The lead noble suddenly flung the contents of his glass straight at her. Joe barked out, "Baron Alp, what do you think you're doing?"

The wine, leaving the glass, mist-formed in midair, thickening into a churning cloud of blood-red vapor, engulfing Tina, Joe, and Jed in an instant. All three startled. Joe's shout hadn't even finished when the blood cloud reached them, and in the scramble, a flash of white light drove it back.

Joe reached for a weapon he didn't have — no one had expected an attack in the middle of a ball. Just then, a streak of white light flared — Tina had acted. She'd kept Evan's short blade on her the entire time, and the moment danger struck, a thought sent it flashing forward like a gale sweeping away fallen leaves, clearing the blood cloud away in an instant.

Baron Alp froze, a flash of white light catching him across the forehead, blood welling up in a spreading line before he collapsed, lifeless. The other nobles, seeing this, seemed to snap momentarily back to clarity, crying out, "Don't kill me!"

The words had barely left them before something else took hold — their eyes flooding red, a voice sounding in their minds: Seize the girl. They let out savage roars, their bodies transforming at once — fingers lengthening into razor-sharp claws, muscles bulging grotesquely, frames stretching taller, clothing tearing apart at the seams, all trace of humanity stripped away entirely. Howling, they lunged straight at Tina.