Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Daniel takes his seat with Nemaisol laying across his lap. His very next stop is the artifact from Mornistae, but right now, he needs to address the big ol’ Grand Principality-sized elephant in the Citadel.

Daniel recognizes the golem presented before him only on virtue of the fact that he’s on his knees next to Doephluev, who is obediently waiting for her punishment.

Daniel explains quietly, “This isn’t going to finish today. So, don’t expect to be forgiven as easily as before.” Daniel looks at Doephluev, specifically, and she winces as if in pain. She’s already sweating a bit, though his gut tells him it isn’t fear of him. In fact, even when he has scolded her in the past, she was never nervous.

Doephluev doesn’t have a true shred of fear of Daniel, nor does she have any noticeable shame. It’s something else.

“My Liege… My failures are unfathomably disgraceful…” starts Cheshyret, but Daniel cuts him off.

“Forget the grovelling. I would be disgusted if you weren’t sorry at all, but I need to know right now; who exactly was it that died?”

“His name was Archmagus Baelok, a half-elf and a chief mage of the Imperial Institute of Magery.”

Daniel looks to Senn, who is in her ‘Yuna’ appearance, though he’s starting to suspect it’s her true form the longer she spends in it. The ancient sorceress nods politely. “I’m very well-acquainted with him. He has the potential to reach heights that could rival myself or Father, but he spent a great deal of time… living as a human, so to speak. And, I mean no offense by that. Rather, it was because he was so heavily buried in his family’s nobility that he did not refine his magic when he was young.”

Wenlianna confirms, “While magic can be expanded throughout a person’s life, the best period of growth is as a child. My Father saw that I had early talent, and he spared no expense on resources.” The brunette smiles reverently, and a rare, truly gentle smile spreads across Aramellianna’s face as well.

“I can only speak for the Chi’rinnis, of course, but I agree. Though… our way of nurturing talent is… a bit more aggressive,” remarks Kera’tai a little bashfully. She quickly urges, “I-I’ll be careful with our children, Daniel! But, I can’t let us lose the proven advantages.”

Daniel nods, “We’ll worry about that when they’re born.” He looks at Shek and Skloe, who have joined the group for the meeting, though the children are being looked after by the various Ladies in Waiting, Keepers, or a few members of Grendel Six in the case of Daugli and Pomiel, at the two Goblin Queens’ request. Like the implications Kera’tai just made, the goblins have a much more… Spartan means of raising children, especially males. Daugli and Pomiel are princes of the Fievegal, but having them spend time and fight with more soldierly goblins will help them develop restraint, instincts for defending themselves with their small bodies, and skill at hiding and ambushing, which Daniel cannot deny are valuable, even if he’s worried that a year old is rather early to start such things. But, he trusts Klur and the others not to harm the children, and he trusts Shek and Skloe to have proper judgment about these things. They requested the same thing for the princesses, but Daniel wants Jieka and Tekten to be raised more peacefully, ideally ending up down a path more like Ahok.

Regardless, the point now is the assassination attempt. “Cheshyret, why did you attempt for a second time to take on a clandestine mission inside the Grand Principality with only permission granted by Doephluev?”

“Daniel, it’s my responsi-...”

“Be quiet,” growls Daniel, interrupting Doephluev when she tries to speak up. She flinches at his sharp tone, and for once, it looks like she actually regrets the outcome. But, he thinks she’s having cramps associated with her pregnancy, given her posture and trembling. He’s not experience prior to Zenkon, of course, other than things he has heard and seen here and there. To be safe, he’ll have to have her checked over by the healers as much as possible to make sure she’s safe. He’s angry at her, but he still cares about her.

“Answer me, Cheshyret.”

“I was confident that I could succeed without support, your Grace,” replies the golem. “I see now how arrogant I was, believing myself powerful merely because my body came from the feldroks. But, since the last time I had autonomy, prior to Lugrae’s occupation of the Citadel, methods of offense and defense have changed drastically. That, and Yaulander is far more… tactful than I expected. But, he’s malicious. I still don’t know if he is stupid or simply callous, but he executed Baelok without hesitation because I was trying to protect Baelok’s innocence by using him as a shield.” Cheshyret bows his head to the floor. “I grossly underestimated Yaulander, and for that, I have no excuse. I accept any judgment you lay upon me, your Grace…”

Daniel sighs, and Ryuogriar says cooly, “Tell everyone what you did accomplish, at least.”

Cheshyret nods, “Yes. Though the damage far outweighs the achievements, I did manage to finish off Count Baumalde.”

Daniel explains, “I’m not a military tactician, nor am I even a very good Emperor. Clearly. My own beloved –and apparently, grossly spoiled– Empresses and my agents operate behind my back.” Daniel stares pointedly at Doephluev again, and she averts her gaze out of apparent shame, though she’s a master of feigning anything, so he takes it with a grain of salt. She at least knows Daniel is trying to needle her, specifically, with her culpability. He then continues, “But, the reason I have been hesitant to engage Yaulander is because we need to know where his threat goes; how he ties to the Fellmother, if he does at all. Suspicions are strong, but we have no direct links, and without that, even if we kill him, she will start with a new agent, while we will only fall behind her machinations.”

Cheshyret twitches, and Daniel looks at him. “What is it?”

“I… That was… what gave us away…”

“What do you mean?” asks Ryuogriar, who already got most of the story while she separately scolded Doephluev, likely at volume, since her own and Doephluev’s clothes smell distinctly of the smoky-sweet flavor of ignityal. The dragon wouldn’t have burned Doephluev, but when they get especially angry, the dragons will sometimes vent that frustration with puffs of fire.

Doephluev is also surprised by this, and she looks at Cheshyret.

“I mentioned offhand my belief about an abyssal creature being our enemy to Baelok, and I thought nothing of it, because I didn’t name her as the Fellmother or even the ‘Great One’. But, when Baelok mentioned it to Yaulander in his own attempt to obfuscate the Fievegal’s ties to the golem, Yaulander had no real reaction to this. In fact, he more specifically asked targeted questions, having realized that my hand was missing, which I had deployed remotely to finish off Baumalde.”

“Why would Baelok say that if he knew we suspected Yaulander’s ties.”

“I… didn’t word it that way, your Grace… That is my fault. He was trying to improvise, and he clearly wasn’t prepared to face Yaulander’s suspicions. I didn’t catch it in time, but… I judged that retreating with Baelok would have confirmed our ties… and by the time I knew I was wrong, it was already too late.”

“Was Baelok your prisoner?” asks Zuzia. “He wasn’t with Yaulander during any of my time with him, but I know that many of the people Yaulander keeps in his employ are… not very good people. Regular soldiers are mixed in, but he has plenty of scum, to put it politely…”

“Archmagus Baelok is a well-respected sorcerer,” replies Senn. “His loss will be a major blow to the Empire.”

Cheshyret nods. “He was cooperating under threat, but also out of a sincere desire to learn the forgotten magic that created me, specifically, and evolved into what is used more regularly for the golem forms.”

“How long has it been since he died?” asks Vaergraes.

“About two hours now,” replies Cheshyret.

“Is there a hard number on the effectiveness of revival potations?” asks Daniel, directed at whoever knows the answer. He knows it’s at least a few hours, given how quickly he was able to get to Neith after Fort Twilight was erased by Rikuto’s void artillery, as well as the time that Ryuogriar, Geirahoel, and Magnir were dead after the Valkyrie mission against the Orbicharium.

“There isn’t a stark consensus,” replies Vaergraes. “Too few have ever been used, and most are used within minutes.”

“Since they appeared in this world,” starts Senn, who is actually more up-to-date on them than her father, “I have only heard anecdotal evidence that suggests anything over half a day is impossible, though, I’ve also heard of two hours being too long.”

“Could the extent of a person’s injuries affect it?” asks Zuzia.

“That was exactly what I was thinking too,” murmurs Daniel.

Vaergraes replies, “Certainly, I’ve always considered that a factor with the few I’ve seen used, and the one that failed in my own experience. I’ve also wondered if a strong-willed soul is able to cling to its body longer than others.” She gestures at Neith, whose state of being when they found him would be more accurately described from a pessimist’s outlook than from an optimist’s.

“There are spells that can prevent a person’s mind from returning as well,” replies Cheshyret. “Which was one half of what I did to Baumalde, to ensure that nothing the Fellmother or anyone else can do stands a chance of him helping finish the Void artillery.”

Daniel sighs. “Cheshyret… Do you know how many tanks, trucks, machine guns, bombs, airships, diamond making machines, pearl farms, and atom bombs I made on Earth?”

The golem pauses, confused by Daniel asking this.

The mechanic replies, “None. Zuzia and I possess the knowledge of what these things are, and I possess a rather… accessible level of knowledge to get most of the way through a design. I know what the end result is supposed to do, and I know many of the follies I read about in history. But, I didn’t have the resources, and certainly no magic, to make any of the things I have here. At best, I rebuilt motors and pumps fairly regularly, but I never had to forge one from scratch until I got here. Many people know the end result of the void artillery now, they have an intact device, and they have a high-ranking Imperial backing them. Even if we kill Yaulander tomorrow, does he have any adult children capable of finishing his work? Cousins? Brothers? Close confidants? If he is working for the Fellmother, does she have the knowledge now to pass onto her next agent? The leak has already occurred. Baumalde is a meaningless victory because he is just a single cog in a machine that is already rolling downhill. Even if we can make that machine crash, it is reaching the bottom of the hill.”

Cheshyret bows his head, apologizing softly, “I… was narrow-minded, your Grace. Please forgive me…”

Daniel looks at Doephluev, “And, you. What’s your excuse?”

Doephluev looks at Daniel worriedly, and she replies softly, “I… was scared that you might be lured into a trap again. Yaulander doesn’t have the reservations about these weapons that you have… And… I thought it would be easy to take out one person and set them back years or more.”

“Maybe you have, but instead, you’ve incentivized Yaulander to use it, and you’ve emboldened him enough to argue for its use,” replies Daniel. “I don’t know what your past looked like when you were on the other side of these decisions, but the only think I know about assassination is that it is not something that can be decided on a whim without dire consequences in any direction. Only psychotic lunatics and fools think assassination is an appropriate tool for solving problems without at least discussing alternatives with the whole.” Daniel gestures around them. “I want you to ask yourself which one you are.”

“I-... I was a fool,” replies Doephluev.

But, Daniel shakes his head. “No. I want you to really ask yourself, not just say what is easy to say. Why did you not trust me enough to at least talk it through with me? Even if I refused, you didn’t give me a chance to be persuaded. But, I have been dragged into the consequences either way, haven’t I?”

“I’m sorry, Daniel… I did… intend to do something for the greater good…”

Daniel takes a breath and sighs. “With the exception of medical appointments and meals, you are confined to quarters until further notice. If you are caught sneaking around or slipping away from your guard, or using third party agents to bypass my intent, I will not be the one deciding your fate.”

Doephluev tenses slightly. Daniel is her primary shield from otherwise being shunned and excluded by the others, who have not withheld their feelings about various things, including Doephluev’s cunning and manipulative behavior. He is the only reason anyone who makes a deal with her upholds that deal, especially once they’ve realized they’ve been tricked. Doephluev needs Daniel more than he needs her, but he doesn’t treat her like a weapon or a tool the way she’s used to.

“Understood,” replies Doephluev softly. “I will reflect on myself, and I hope I can earn your forgiveness.”

Daniel doesn’t respond to her ‘promise’, but instead, he says, “Cheshyret, help her to a seat.”

“If we’re done with her for now, should we not dismiss her?” asks Ryuogriar as Cheshyret obeys his orders and helps the archoneldwyn to her feet.

“No. It’s her mess as well, so if she does have anything useful to add, I want it to be added.”

Ryuogriar purses her lips slightly, but she can’t deny the logic at least. Doephluev hasn’t explicitly betrayed them, so it’s unlikely she’s going to suddenly turn traitor. If anything, Daniel is proving that he still trusts Doephluev for now.

Doephluev takes the seat meant for her, and she nods sorrowfully, though Daniel knows not to give in to her tears too easily, because there’s still a high chance they’re fake.

Daniel notices how much effort it takes for Doephluev to sit down though. If it’s cramps, she’s suffering a great deal, which is the other side of why he wants her to have a more comfortable position for the rest of the conversation.

“Now then, the more important thing is that we have to decide what to do about this. If Baelok is so important to the Empire and the field of magic in general, Sundenelle will undoubtedly be extremely pressed to do something about this whole mess, not least of which because we should expect Yaulander to formally accuse us. The fact that we have this much headstart is luck, and nothing else. So, we need to weigh what we reveal we know against how we achieve our goals.”

“What if we just teleport in and kidnap his body right now?” asks Hekate. “I can probably do it before anyone can catch me.”

“If you knew where it was at,” points out Reignleif. “Given that it has been two hours already, Yaulander will have moved the body, and if he’s expecting us to try to act or to cover up our involvement, he won’t leave the body unattended.”

“Even if he does, we should assume it’s a trap,” adds Jeavana, lounging somewhat lazily, but no less contributing to the conversation at least.

“What about the Zuzia golem?” asks Gwenesphia. “Is there any way we can use it to get to Baelok’s body?”

“It’s a one time use if we do that,” replies Xyreko. “Yaulander’s guard is up right now, and Vini’terrek reports that he is having ‘Zuzia’ help ‘interrogate’ the other mages. He hasn’t killed anyone else yet, but she is the only window we have into the Grand Principality right now.”

“I don’t mind going,” offers Zuzia. “Just fly over with one of your shuttles or even one of the dragons, if anyone’s willing, and I’ll handle it. I won’t let them catch me so easily a second time.” She touches her chest, where a subtle contract mark is hidden by her clothes, unlike the hand-drawn one on the top of Ryuogriar’s breast. “Plus, this time… I have a bit of a shield. Though, I do still intend to have it removed, mind you.” She looks at Daniel, and then at Hekate, trying to reassure the latter that it’s not any sort of affection that she feels ‘thankful’ for Daniel’s contract, which should be impossible to overwrite.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“I just… I mean the contract, Mała. That’s all.”

“Mm-hmm…” replies Hekate skeptically.

“Same problem as sending Hekate, though,” replies Daniel. “If we’re going to storm the place, we might as well conquer it.”

“I would strongly recommend against that,” adds Aramellianna. “It would make a diplomatic union with the Empire impossible. The old families of the Empire would not take kindly to an all-out attack on the Grand Principality, no matter what side they’re on right now.”

“Why?” asks Hekate. “Isn’t Yaulander a jerk to everyone?”

“Even if he is, we’re outsiders,” states Wenlianna. “If we simply kill people we don’t like, others will wonder when they’ll be next, and it will be easier to try to get rid of us than to fret about when we might go after their territory next.”

“That’s exactly right, my Dear Wenlianna,” replies Aramellianna. She adds playfully, “Your Grace.”

The younger brunette giggles. “Thank you, Mother.”

“Can we send in stealth golems to find him at least?” asks Veiranoei. “You have them posted on Sundenelle, Erimaya, and Heralesse anyways, right?”

“That’s an option,” replies Daniel. “But, we do need to avoid giving Yaulander what he wants. If the body disappears, he just has to get us to reveal our involvement. We need it to be formal.”

“If that’s the case,” starts Ryuogriar, “Then we need to include Sundenelle. We’ll need the Empire’s cooperation.”

“If I may…” speaks up Byleathea a little sheepishly, since she’s lingering at the back. Everyone turns their attention to her, and she stands up to be easier to see and hear. “Sundenelle will give her blessing, of that I have no doubt, since Master Baelok is undeniably a crucial resource to the study of magic. But, you will need to counter His Majesty Yaulander in front of as many of the nobility as you possibly can if you hope to curtail the wave of rumors from spreading.”

“It’ll be too late by that point, though, won’t it?” asks Kera’tai.

“Almost certainly. He’ll make his case before the Imperial Court, which means he will wish to gather as many people as possible when he makes his accusation,” Ryuogriar. “That would be the most effective way to damage us.”

Zuzia remarks a little dryly, “Can we talk about how miraculous it would even be to bring the guy back in the first place? If it wasn’t, wouldn’t Yaulander have already done so?”

Serrentuk answers, “Revival potations are the only known process I’ve heard of, short of necromancy, and it isn’t practiced in any of the neighboring territories.”

“Why not?” asks Hekate. “That seems pretty dumb.”

Senn explains, “It has been introduced several times throughout history. The process is incredibly taxing and requires skilled alchemists, making them more rare than skilled magic artisans.”

“And far more valuable, I would imagine,” remarks Aramellianna, which gets a nod from Senn. The brunette matriarch then expands on that point, saying, “If your rivals had a means to revive people, but you knew they could and would charge a fortune and something happened to Daniel or your children, what might you do?”

Hekate’s ears flatten down as she comes to understand with ease. “I would stop at nothing…” murmurs the feldrok teen.

Aramellianna nods. “Now, factor in those who hope to live forever, those who hope to profit… Even the church would weaponize something like that to increase their power and influence. Demon-kin have more naturally gifted mages in any given population, for the most part, so it stands to reason the commodity value drops.”

“The next chokepoint is ingredients,” replies Doephluev. “That’s why we only have a few right now.”

“We actually have the materials to make more now!” exclaims Wenlianna excitedly. She clears her throat, saying, “Apologies. But, one of the alchemists finished analyzing the sample Sir Wulfsten and his men were able to take from Sayrdarralouche after… um…” She becomes sheepish, glancing at Zuzia.

“So, the material he was turned into became useful in mass-producing revival potations?” asks Zuzia, trying to move past it right away. She knows she made a mistake throwing the titanic dragon through the air, but if it means they have a lead on saving this archmagus, and others, it can be made to be a benefit.

Wenlianna nods. “Y-yes. Though the concentration is a low amount, the sheer size of the converted material that composed Sayrdarralouche’s final ‘skin’ structure is one of the hardest materials to find.”

“Starfall powder,” murmurs Hekate, somehow remembering that from the last time it was discussed.

“Starfall powder?” asks Zuzia.

“Lonsdaleite, I’m pretty sure,” answers Daniel. “Basically, a slightly different crystalline structure from diamond, and… I think I’ve heard it’s supposed to be harder than diamond.”

“Ah, yes. I know what you’re talking about.” She grins and leans towards Daniel with a smirk. “My Grandpa actually found a piece…” She gestures with her hand, and her cellphone appears by magic. After a moment of texting, a camping backpack arrives, and Zuzia digs inside as everyone waits patiently. She finds her prize; a small necklace with a black chunk of stone cradled in a small, sealed glass container. “Check it out! No magic required. I-I mean… other than… You know what I meant!”

Daniel inspects it, and Hekate leans on his shoulder to look at it, too.

There is one tiny, sparkling piece within the mineral itself, suggesting it’s a piece of a meteor that impacted with Earth hard enough to form lonsdaleite, but the sparkle could be regular diamond.

“How do you know it’s lonsdaleite?” asks Daniel.

“Grandpa had it tested by a friend at a university geology lab. I think they met in the army a long time ago…” Zuzia smiles affectionately as she watches Daniel turn the thumb-sized necklace piece over in his hand. “Grandpa’s friend helped him preserve it, and they made the glass bauble so it’s… theoretically still scientifically valuable… Not that I’d ever sell it.”

“I don’t blame you,” replies Daniel. “May I?” He gestures to pass it around, and Zuzia nods. “Please be careful though. The bauble is glass, so it’ll break if you drop it.”

The others are careful with the gem-like object, with some of the ladies simply looking when their seat-neighbors hold it.

Daniel then asks, “Wenlie-Mukori, how much do you think we have?”

“I… don’t know how much of Sayrdarralouche’s body we recovered, but if it’s all like the spike sample we got, then we’d need five or six times more than the spike sample to make one dose.”

“It doesn’t really matter, though, if we are fighting the clock already,” remarks Treia.

“No, but we can at least use them a little more liberally on people harmed by… the events all around the mana fire. R-Right?” asks Zuzia.

Daniel nods. “Those in void bags should be safe as long as they remain within void bags. As far as we can tell, it truly does stop the clock.”

“I’ll hold onto anyone within Gate until we have more in that case,” replies Serrentuk.

“So, what about Baelok, then?” asks Aoloan. “If we have to dance around Yaulander, we are going to run out of time, aren’t we?”

Everyone is quiet, and Zuzia remarks bluntly as her necklace works its way back around to her. “If only we had our own Captain Rose on our side… Or even an omnipotent saint.”

Daniel scoffs. “I know both things you’re referencing very well, and I don’t remember Rose being able to revive the dead…”

Zuzia waves her hand dismissively at Daniel, retorting, “Ahhh, maybe we’d be lucky and he’s only mostly dead.”

Daniel chuckles and massages his temples, while the others watch curiously or skeptically.

“If you’re done flirting,...” growls Treia, “We should probably actually solve this issue, right?”

“We are not flirting!” snaps Zuzia defensively, her voice nearly cracking when she says ‘not’.

But then, Veiranoei speaks up. “Wait… but… we do have a ‘saint’, don’t we? Or… um… a ‘Daughter of Fate’?” She looks at Byleathea, and the matron flinches, her eyes widening.

Everyone turns their gazes to her as it all fits together for those who know, which is almost everyone present.

“What does that mean?” asks Zuzia quietly.

Byleathea shakes her head. “No… No, I’ve never… If it could work that way, I would have… Please no…”

Daniel replies softly, “She has a powerful healing spell of a sort that isn’t far off of what we were joking about… But, it requires living sacrifices.”

Zuzia’s expression turns grim, since she understands why everyone has gone silent, other than the two otherworlders.

Ryuogriar murmurs, “Her power did restore the goblin Floria…”

“Your Grace, I beg you…” murmurs Byleathea.

Daniel says sincerely, “Byleathea, we won’t force you. Please take your seat and don’t worry.”

“We should at least discuss it,” replies Ryuogriar. “If this Archmage is so valuable to the Empire…”

“Even so, it’s not right to force that onto someone. If I had the power myself, I believe I would be able to, but I wouldn’t expect anyone else to.” He adds more seriously, “We also don’t know what the cost actually is. Floria is alive, and as far as we can tell, she is herself and free from any influence of other entities. But, she is hardly fully restored.”

“I’m sure if we ask her, though, she would say she is happy to be alive,” retorts the dragon matriarch. “And, Huwt was willing to trade himself for her life.”

“With the backup of becoming a golem,” replies Reignleif pointedly. “Xyreko, would the golem-making process work at such extreme range?”

“No. Archmagus Baelok would need to be brought here to the Citadel for me to be able to capture a soul to become a golem.”

Zuzia sighs. “Some of this sounds really sketchy… But, we can’t go trading lives for one person. Life and death are a part of nature. If we lose our hu-... our goodness along the way, we have lost what it was that we were fighting for.”

Daniel takes a breath and massages his temples, not because of Zuzia, but because of the whole situation. He remarks, “I would argue that it’s not far off from sending soldiers into a dangerous battle, where their chances of dying are high… The difference is… we know exactly when and how the sacrifices will die. I don’t like it, but we have had some volunteers already…”

“You’re not allowed to ‘volunteer’,” retorts Geirahoel immediately.

“I wasn’t going to,” replies Daniel with an exasperated smile, though he only gets scowls in reply. “It doesn’t matter anyways, if Byleathea doesn’t want any part of it. So, we’ll drop it. Do we have any other options? Anything at all?”

Baeka straightens her own posture after thinking. “Uh… What about Lucy?” Daniel looks at the little fairy-like being floating near his collar. She’s still trying to stay out of sight of Hekate, particularly, but she has mostly stopped being afraid. She looks up at Daniel, knowing she has been addressed, but she only really pays attention to instructions from Daniel while he’s wearing the scarf. She can move a short distance away from the scarf, but she’s generally stuck to within a couple yards at most.

“We don’t know the extent of her capabilities, and it required an immense amount of magic power.”

“Then, just go steal that foolish woman’s ‘god’,” retorts Ryuogriar. “She only has it as an extension of our kindness… Why, I don’t know.”

“You also promised her you’d restore her vision,” retorts Jeavana a little bitterly, and Ryuogriar scowls at her.

“Even if we want to try to use Lucy,” starts Daniel, before a fight starts. “We’re not shifting too far from the same problem. I think she has to channel that power through a person through direct contact.” The mechanic gingerly scratches his right cheek just below where Lucy’s handprints are visible on his cheek underneath the eyepatch he’s wearing. It has Erimaya’s handiwork on it, since he’s basically wearing the handkerchief as a bandana, rather than a typical patch, which is now the new Lawson family crest, thanks to Hekate deciding it so.

A few of the ladies avert their gazes, and Magnir is the one to break the icy awkwardness. “Do you think her power would require the taking of life?”

“In exchange for reviving someone? Almost certainly,” replies Daniel. “I was… confronted by C-, er, uh, Amitiel during that moment. She teased other options, and although… I held my ground at the time, part of my heart constantly whispers ‘what if…?’ And, what I traded for was essentially a few seconds of invincibility; a micro Citadel shield, so to speak. Perhaps I have the wrong sense of scale, but I doubt it’ll be so easy for us.”

“Test it on that woman’s eyes, then,” states Geirahoel bluntly. “We need to wait for Sundenelle anyways.”

“Now, hold on…” starts Zuzia. “If we don’t know what’s going to happen…”

“I’ll do it,” states Magnir, cutting her off and stunning everyone.

Roetta exclaims, “Mukori!?”

“I have faith that Daniel’s estimate is fair. I also have a better sense of magic scale than many of the people here. I do ask that my family be looked after in the worst case scenario, but I doubt a pair of eyes will come to that.”

Jeavana sits up, surprised by Magnir’s fearlessness enough to worry for him as well. “If you die, there’s a chance a revival potation won’t be able to help you.”

“But, there’s a chance it will,” retorts the blue dragon confidently. “This will grant us two feats at once; the keeping of her Grace’s spoken promise, and to gauge if there’s a measurable cost to Lucy’s power. If I lose an eye, then we know it’s not scaling. Anything else will tell us more about the spell, right?”

Daniel replies, “Magnir… I wouldn’t wish this pain on people I hate… Even now, it feels like a bunch of rats are chewing on the inside of my cheek, and it feels like someone is squeezing my eye in their fist. And, I don’t think it’s going to go away.”

Doephluev offers, “Do you need more decoction, Darling?”

Daniel shakes his head, not giving her the usual affectionate look she gets. He’s still a bit cold and bitter, though he knows his softness has limited it to only that. “I need to ensure I can wean myself off of pain medications, lest I be on them the rest of my life.”

She nods sheepishly, allowing Magnir to continue.

“I understand the risks, my Liege. But, we need answers. If we wish to defeat Yaulander,...”

“I’ll do it…” cuts in a female voice this time. Everyone looks at Byleathea again, and she steps forward. “We don’t need to harm anyone who doesn’t volunteer, and we know the cost of my power.”

“But, my Lady,” starts Daniel.

She shakes her head. “My instincts… are telling me that I can do it. I just…” She looks to the side. “It’s… difficult…”

“What if we ask Ryukana?” asks Hekate. “She made the scarf, didn’t she? Would she be able to tell us the extent of that… wish power?”

“I’ll ask her…”

“I accept the responsibility,” states Byleathea. “For the drider woman and for Baelok. I… I will stay strong enough… for the Empire. But,... I… I… don’t enjoy using good people… even… even Sir Huwt… His courage… it was such a waste.”

Shek replies, “Huwt chose and is proud as a golem, Lady Byleathea. Please don’t fret.”

“Yes, but these sacrifices won’t have that luxury, your Majesty,” replies Byleathea respectfully.

Vaergraes asks, “Can we use criminals?”

Zuzia looks at her with a bit of scorn, and Daniel doesn’t like it much either.

But, the Uhl’tall archpriestess clarifies further, “Volunteers among them, of course. Preferably the condemned.”

Baeka nods, “I’ve been working with the Dante scouting units and Grendels Three and Five to arrest bandits and murderers, who were preventing our unification with other villages and tribes. Those that aren’t killed outright during the ensuing fight, of course. Some of them are deserters from the Covenant, and a few specifically targeted Fievegal allies. If they are not worthy of death, I don’t know who is.”

“So, if we offer them forgiveness for their crimes in exchange for their lives, we don’t have to wipe out their families…”

“No,” states Daniel bluntly. “Unless they’re involved, the sins of a father or mother do not pass to the children, and vice versa.”

“Daniel, your Grace, we must disincentivize treason and murder…” warns Aramellianna.

Daniel asks coldly, “Then, would you suggest Vaergraes should be in a cell right now, being offered this choice?”

The Uhl’tall flinches, and Aramellianna pauses, glancing at the former Demon Queen. The Grand Duchess Senior lets out a sigh, and she replies, “No… But, how do you propose we deal with traitors going forward?”

“Public execution is sufficient,” replies Daniel. “But, we need to be careful of what we call ‘traitors’. Tyranny is one of the most dangerous landmines we must avoid. For now…” Daniel sighs. “Get me a list of all of the military-captured prisoners, specifically. We don’t have a proper judicial structure yet, so I’ll hold the trials myself, and we’ll ask Leiwelles to back us up. If we can find… let’s go with ten people willing… let’s say in exchange for a pension to be paid to their families, then we’ll use them. Lady Byleathea… Are you sure? We might be able to think of something else, but if we go with your power, we’re committed, because we need to plan carefully.”

She bows politely, placing her hand over her heart. “I am committed, your Grace. There is too much to gain if I fail to act. But… if there is any way to lessen the burden on my heart… I ask that we work to that end…”

Daniel nods with a weary heart. He looks to Zuzia, saying, “Volunteers, death row, and pensions for their families or anyone they designate. Can you accept that?”

The Polish woman rolls her eyes. “Only because you’re not entirely wrong, I suppose… But, what’s to stop it from being coercion? And, who will ask people to die for some random guy they’ve never met and will never meet? No offense to Baelok, I’m just saying it as it’ll look.”

Daniel nods, “You have a point. I’ll…”

“I’ll do it,” states Treia. “I know the value of choice for these kinds of things, so I’ll handle it with care.”

“Treia…”

“You have enough on your plate right now. And, you need to stand in judgment of them, right? At least declaring their sentences. Let me handle this for you.”

“I’ll help,” replies Kera’tai.

And, with that, the other Empresses volunteer for various roles.

Magnir speaks up, saying, “All of that said, I would still like to know the extent of Lucy’s power as well, and I’m still willing to volunteer.”

Daniel shakes his head. “Not this time if we can help it, Magnir. But, we’ll keep it as a backup option. Chances are good that the damage will be permanent with Lucy’s power, even if a person could normally be healed by magic.”

Magnir nods, letting the issue rest. He doesn’t want to be harmed, but he does have a point about knowing what tools they have.

Daniel has plenty of other things he wants to get to, but his mind is being pulled in a thousand directions while drowning in the pain from his eye.

“If anyone comes up with any other ideas while we’re awaiting a response from Sundenelle, please speak up. If we can’t get ten volunteers, we’re stalled for the moment anyways. I want to maximize our chances that we’ll succeed, and we need to account for anyone who tries to escape or back out.”

Everyone nods in agreement, and Daniel stands up with Nemaisol. “Now then, I have another promise to keep today. Wenlie-Mukori, you know the artifact best, so would you mind helping me?”

“Of course!” exclaims the brunette as she jumps up, and Reignleif joins her just as quickly.

“I’d like to participate as well.”

“I’ll watch over our Mukori,” teases Jeavana with a cheeky grin, and almost everyone decides to join as well, with the only exception being Roetta, Magnir, and Doephluev, since the former two are going to discuss at length Magnir’s volunteering himself and the latter requests to go get some rest.

Though he finally saw Kaeralegier’s apparent form for the first time when ‘Amitiel’ revealed it with a simple snap of her fingers, Daniel is feeling anxious for once.

He has been friends with a sword-bound goddess for quite some time now, and though he doesn’t necessarily feel romantic feelings for a sword, it would be an utter lie to try to deny that he doesn’t have a deep feeling of affection, and even love, for his feisty and wise companion for most days of the last year.

That said, he tempers his expectations, since Kaeralegier will be achieving freedom for the first time in hundreds, if not thousands, of years. She might cry, she might dance, and she might want to fight.

Amitiel, or rather, Chaos and Order, seem to have given their indirect approval for Kaeralegier’s continued existence, but her existence as a former World Manager raises some questions.

Assuming her plan to weaken herself by being Nemaisol didn’t work as intended.

***