Chapter 84

She turned back to the rows of benches and was surprised to see some of the lower-ranked cardinals and two Lady Cardinals standing in the back, one of which was Olivia. She smiled at Olivia, and Olivia nodded back. Katarina drew a deep breath, held it a second, and then spoke.

"My name is Katarina, and I am a Witch Hunter in service to the Golden Lady." She dipped two fingers into the bodice of her dress and displayed her holy symbol.

"In two months, more than half of you will be dead." She began harshly, remembering Cyrillus telling her that they would be heading into the forests for their survival test in a month.

"My class was fifty-three when it started. Only eleven won their guns. Two years after, there were only four. I am the only one remaining from my class, the last one died five years ago." She warned. "The Empire graduates a class every year. None of those that have graduated since me are alive today."

There were a few quiet murmurs at this proclamation.

"I was asked to speak with you, the Witch Hunter neophytes, under the idea that I can pass along something that will keep you alive just a little bit longer, and I agreed, but I’m not really sure what it is I can speak to you about." She casually tucked the symbol back into her bodice.

"You all get weapons training, and you are trained in various forms of tracking and infiltration techniques to hunt the mage, how to use your abilities, and when. You leave with a general idea of how the abilities the Golden Lady grants you grow and develop as you gain skill and experience." She started, and then paused.

No. There was something she could teach them. Something only she could teach them. Alicia’s delighted giggle echoed in her mind.

No. She thought back to the voice of the Saint, and was unsuprised at the sense of disappointment welling up.

"My Master told me that the Church can teach you the rules of being a Witch Hunter, but they can’t actually teach you how to be a Witch Hunter." She started. "Which isn’t to say that what the Church is doing is wrong. It’s not wrong, but it’s simply not enough."

There was a murmur of discussion at this, and Cyrillus gave her a speculative look.

"The rules are like the bones of your body. They are a fundamental and necessary part of you, but you are not your bones." She emphasized.

"Frankly speaking, you follow the rules and you’ll freeze to death before you meet your first Witch. Or starve. Or get mauled by a bear." She stated clearly. "You’ll have to decide for yourself what that means."

"I’ll tell you some of the biggest dangers a Witch Hunter will face besides surviving in the wilds: You will be used and manipulated. At some point in time you’re going to run across some local Lord or Lady that won’t see you; instead they’ll see political leverage. They’ll see you as a tool to advance their agendas. You’re not a servant of the Golden Lady, you’re an opportunity." She stated levelly.

"They will use you, and your Witch will get away, and nothing will be accomplished." She clenched her jaw briefly, thinking of Norn. "Witch Hunters don’t have the luxury of bowing to whatever authority happens to bounce across their path. You pursue the Witch. Everything else is secondary."

She wanted to teach them to ignore the Seven Prayers to the Goddess, to just pray from the heart, but she wasn’t sure she knew the words to do so. She wanted to remind them that the Golden Lady was a Goddess of love, that she wanted to know and love each and every one of them as much as they wanted to learn and love the Golden Lady, but there was no way she could do that. In fact, the moment she told them to forget the Seven Prayers to the Goddess, she would likely be handed to the Inquisition.

Cyrillus spoke up. "Why don’t you tell us about the mage. What are their habits?"

Katarina glanced over at him, and he made some small gesture at her.

"A mage that has gone rogue has three places he can go: He can attempt to hide inside the city he’s assigned to. This can be easy or difficult, depending on how much the mage has been exposed to the city he works in, though even the most disruptive citizen will still report a mage in the city. You will oftentimes be approached by various types of people that are willing to report a magic user and it will behoove you to allow yourself to be approached. I have received valuable tipoffs from the Order of the Golden Ring, the Beggar’s Guild, and street-walking prostitutes. The ordinary citizen has been taught by us to fear the mage, and we use that to our advantage. To contradict what I’ve just said, there seems to be a ‘railroad’ of criminal elements and rogue mages that funnel escaping mages out of cities, so be aware of that possibility as well."

She paused, and wet her mouth with some water. "The second place a rogue mage can go is another city. oftentimes this is the mages’ home city, where they attempt to rejoin family and friends they left behind when the church claimed them. Simple investigative procedure here: find out everything you can about your target before you even start hunting.

"Finally, a mage will disappear into the wilderness. In some ways they’re a lot harder to hunt in this condition, in others they are significantly easier. The average mage is not used to outdoors or wilderness travel. Tracking through trailcraft will yield the best results there. Be cautious: There are other things in the forests that mages take advantage of: First, they can sense the ley lines that they can use to draw their power. A mage that has prepared this way is quite formidable, because they can set up very complicated spells. The vulnerability here is that they need to establish spell circles that by necessity have to be prominent and visible. destroy the circles and the spells are invalidated.

Second, they often will cavort with and form alliances with beastmen. Consult the manuals regarding beastmen. Many will have redundant organs and organ systems, so confirm your kills. I’ll say it again to emphasise: confirm your kills.

Mages may mutate, or associate with mutants. be aware of this. They may also foul the dead and raise zombies, skeletons and the like. Some also indulge in demonancy: contacting and making foul deals with demonkind. Demons are best left to clerics and those that can call upon the clerical powers of exorcism, though sometimes demons can be weakened or killed if you have the ability to cancel magical power around you."

"Our best weapons are preparation and investigation. Mutants in the area? there’s probably a mage in the area too. There is the off-chance that there is simply a nexus of magical energy that fouls and corrupts things around it, but most often a mage or group of mages is involved- the same as if you hear of groups of beastmen, or demons, or reanimated dead. Mages may also travel or band together in groups. Our best counter to this is attacking from range. Really, our best counter to the mage at all is attacking from range. It doesn’t matter if you carry a pistol or a rifle, attack from range and optimally you will kill them before they even know you are there."

One of the neophytes spoke up, then. "What about capturing them?"

Katarina shrugged. "It might be an option if you’re in a city, but in the wilds it’s simply more efficient to grant them the Goddess’ Mercy. Remember, your power comes from resisting and countering magical spells. Can you guarantee that you can resist every spell, that you can counter every spell, every day and night as you take them from the forest to the nearest city? I personally believe that the final solution is the most efficient."

Another spoke up. "What about if they’re willing to become penitent?"

Katarina shook her head. "Penitence is a difficult proposition. I understand that your soul is bonded to that of the mage and they are in your service until you die. The reasoning is to fight magic with magic. I cannot fathom a situation where I would agree to such a personal violation." she shuddered, and thought of Isabella, a mage that had volunteered to become Penitent so she could be with the man she loved.

"What if they agree to be sanctioned?"

Katarina smiled at that. "One of our very useful functions involves collecting mages from frontier cities and towns and bringing them to the church for sanctioning. Most are willing and ready to follow your direction. There is usually at least one escape attempt." She stopped for a moment and rested her hand on the podium and took a breath. "If you’re simply moving a mage or a group of mages to be sanctioned, it will help if you remember that they are people. Be respectful. Keep a professional distance from them, but remember they’re people and most are eager to serve the Goddess as we do."

"How do we- how can we track mages, or sneak up on them? It would be logical to assume they have magical wards, defenses, you know, countermeasures."

Katarina sighed. "What sort of question is that?" She asked rhetorically. "Survival training? Tracking? Be sneaky?" She sighed and shook her head at that. "Auravision? Sense Magic? It allows you to see magical essences, you know. A mage that uses magic to cover his tracks will leave magical residues. One mage I hunted used magic to keep himself just enough above the ground that he left no tracks. Instead, he left a brilliant and direct line to follow. I was able to see the magical fields around his encampment, flank it, and then grant him a merciful end while he was foraging for food."

She was suddenly reminded of the young lord she’d spoken to yesterday. He’d had magical residues on his hands. He was no mage, so what would have caused that? Handling magical artifacts?

"What about interacting with guards or city folk?" A young woman with the accents of Katarina’s home town on her tongue asked. Katarina blinked in recognition; the blue-haired girl was Indigo.

Katarina shrugged. "You’re a member of the clergy. Represent yourself well, but always carry yourself with the expectation that you are in charge and that they will follow your orders. They usually will, and things will fall into place for you."

Olivia burst into peals of laughter at that, and everyone turned to look at her. She quieted and excused herself.

Katarina struggled with her chagrin. "You are given a Writ which allows you certain powers of authority over citizens, but you should not be seen to rely on it. I find that displaying my symbol," She again dipped into the bodice of her dress and pulled her symbol out, a tiny shield emblazoned with the fleur-de-lys of the Golden Lady, "and announcing who I am is usually sufficient to gain obedience, as long as it’s simple and non-intrusive. Arrest this man. Loan me the use of a horse." She smiled, remembering one incident. "Hold this alley and kill anything that tries to leave."

She shook her head. "Don’t use your Writ to avoid having to purchase goods and services. pay for your room and board, pay for your own supplies. Be certain to carry sufficient ammunition. Remember that although you are in a position to command others, you are a servant of the people: you are doing the dirty work that keeps them safe from the mutant, the beastman, the unsanctioned, the heretic, the abomination."

She looked ready to leave, but one of the neophytes spoke up.

"Have you encountered an abomination?"

She nodded. "I have. It was horrifying in a way that I cannot describe sufficiently. It was so offensive to look at that my stomach churned and my head hurt for days afterward. They are blighted, physically and mentally repulsive, and an affront to everything the Goddess exemplifies. It took a combined resources of the local church, a monastery, and the use of several sanctioned mages to destroy the thing. Even then, after all the expended effort, one of the critical determining factors was my Goddess-granted ability to negate all magical effects in a radius around me. This was enough to keep it in check while the other forces were able to destroy it."

"What sorts of seals should we use with our gear?" a student asked.

"Pay attention to your instructors and their lectures." She replied, raising her eyebrow.

"What about weapons? Which ones are best?"

"Whichever ones you are proficient with." She replied, irritated. She fielded a few more simple questions, referring them back to their instructors, her responses becoming more curt, more abrupt. Finally, while the neophytes were shouting out questions rapid-fire, without giving her a chance to answer any of them, she snapped.

She unwrapped her parcel; a book bound in black wood, ancient sigils in gold adorned its surface. She slammed the book on the podium; the sharp report cut the babble of questions to a halt as easily as if sliced with a knife.

"This is the prize." She lifted the book and showed it to the assembly of neophytes. "A Tome of Power. Within it are the secrets of three hundred years of Witch Hunter history."

There was a rushing wave of excited whispers at this. She let her hand linger on the cover of the book, making careful note to not look at Cyrillus. She didn’t want to see what was on his face, didn’t want to hear what he had to say. After all, it was either offer the Tome of Power to the Witch Hunters or unveil Glory to them; one would drive them with the hunger to succeed and the determination to survive, Glory would simply scour their minds and leave them helplessly drooling simpletons.

Alicia laughed in her mind at this.

She continued, cutting off the excited babble: "To read it is to gain knowledge. To understand it; wisdom. If you can unlock it; power. The power to follow those who came before. To be the beacon to those who come after." She pushed back the sleeves of her dress, exposing the tattoos she’d inherited from her Master. "If you unlock its secrets, if you are true, if you are destined to truly walk the path of the Witch Hunter, you will receive the mark."

She lowered her hands. "If you’re unworthy," She paused, "Well, the terror of death is something we face every day."

Shit. I’m starting to sound like Alayne. She thought to herself bitterly.

"I’m leaving. Goodbye." She announced, and exited the stage. Cyrillus went with her, and patted her back comfortingly. "Sorry they ended up behaving like that." He consoled, opening the door for her. "They’re not bad students, just eager. We’ll beat that out of them soon enough." She nodded quietly, not looking at anything in particular. He took his leave and retreated back to the auditorium, presumably to begin the beatings in earnest. Katarina took a long deep breath, looked up at the night sky, and let it out slowly.

The blue-haired girl suddenly appeared in the doorway and nearly collided with Cyrillus.

"Please, let me speak to her!" She argued, tussling with Cyrillus.

Katarina eyed the blue-haired girl briefly.

"Cyrillus." She called, and to the girl, she added, "You’ve got two minutes and a penance."

The girl flashed a bright smile as Cyrillus let her pass. "Yes, Lady." She acknowledged as she trotted over.

"I see you survived Begierde." Katarina observed dryly. The initiate shrugged. "Aleima had my ass on a boat for Darnell practically the moment you two split up. I got my ass chewed out something fierce."

Katarina nodded at that.

"I didn’t risk a penance to catch up on old times." Indigo suddenly spoke up curtly with a roll of her eyes. "If I somehow manage to pass, I’m betting they think I’ll be just as dead as the rest of them in a year. Be real with me: How do I prove them wrong?" She asked.

Katarina took a moment to think as Olivia approached.

"In any given group, or organization, who do you kill first?" Katarina asked.

Yasmine frowned. Katarina gave her a moment. "Think, because I’m not going to do it for you." She added. "You’ve just stumbled upon a conspiracy of heretics who plan to burn down the church in their village. Who do you kill first?"

"The one with the most authority." Indigo replied. "Sure, they may reform under different leadership, but cut off the head and the snake dies."

Katarina shook her head. "You just contradicted yourself. With your method, the cult will reform. Your actions are meaningless, and thus wasted." She judged.

"The correct answer is to kill the women first." Yasmine’s eyes opened wide. "Here in Darnell, women hold power and authority. But in most other places it’s the other ‘way ‘round." She pointed out. "Men rule." Katarina added. "But in either case, the women are the most dangerous. The women are the most resourceful. The women have to train ten times as hard as any man in order to be respected." She finished. "You want them to respect you?" She asked and gestured at the neophytes that were filing out of the auditorium. "Train ten times harder. Get stronger. Be faster. Be smarter." She reached out and lifted a lock of the girl’s hair and showed it to her.

"And stop fucking around." She finished, and waved the girl off.

Olivia came up and slipped her arm around the taller woman’s waist.

"I’m sorry I disrupted your lecture, my sweet Kat. Please forgive me." Katarina raised an eyebrow at her, but leaned against her a little. Olivia giggled. "if you like, you can come back to my rooms with me. We can bathe and eat dinner together, and then you can punish me until you are satisfied that I have learned my lesson."

"Is that all you think about?" Katarina asked, glancing down at the smaller woman as they walked back to the carriages.

"With you? Absolutely." She stopped and took Katarina’s hands in her own.

Katarina’s thoughts were a whirl of unrelated things she’d been struggling with. Rika’s firm refusal beyond that first passionate hug. Alayne’s strange acceptance of Ollara. The problem with Norn. The painful burn of Glory that beat within her breast, and her inability to unlock the final mystery. That noble, hands doused in magical residues as if he had been paddling around in magic-filled waters. Olivia’s continued seductions. Everything hammered at her.

"Are you thinking about Rika?" Olivia asked, but Katarina shook her head slowly.

"I can’t be with Rika that way. She..." Katarina explained, trailing off and Olivia squeezed Katarina’s hand.

"I’m so sorry, Katarina." Olivia murmured. "I know how bad it hurts when you’re rejected." She twined her fingers in Katarina’s.

Katarina shook her head. "It’s not that." She paused. "Hard to explain without... explaining other things. Things I’d rather not talk about."

Olivia glanced around and led her a few more steps away from the auditorium. "There’s nobody around but me, Katarina, and you do have my promise." She reminded.

"You know I died a few months back?" She asked finally, and Olivia swallowed. "It was reported, yes." She allowed.

"I was reminded that the Golden Lady is a Goddess that loves us, that wants to be loved by us... and wants us to love." She explained. "And suddenly everything fell away. I had to stop being a fucking bitch and re-learn how to love." She rolled her eyes. "I hadn’t even thought, even once, about sex or love, or any of that. There was always the next assignment. The next town. The months in the woods." She shook her head. "And suddenly, there it was: I had to have Rika. There wasn’t any other consideration. She was just the only one I’d ever been myself around." She hooked her hands into claws. "Rawr."

She gestured meaninglessly. "If I’d’ve done it ten years ago, I’m sure..." She paused. "I wouldn’t be a Witch Hunter, and she wouldn’t be a Cardinal Priestess, and we’d be living together." She shook her head. "But it’s been too long. She loves me as a friend, as a confidant, as a sister, but she’s too hopelessly entrenched in ...everything... to allow herself anything more than that."

Katarina let out a despondent sigh. "What rides me is that I don’t even know that I love her in that way. I was just, "I have to get her clothes off, I have to eat her up." She chuckled a little. "Scary."

Olivia nodded, she’d had those feelings herself from time to time. She knew it was just lust and frustration and desire and everything else all jumbled together, and she said as much to the Witch Hunter, who nodded.

"Still, " Katarina mused, "I think I need to know-" Whatever she was going to say she cut off, and glanced at Olivia. "You know I can’t stay." She said quietly.

Olivia nodded. "I know." her lip trembled. "It seems it’s too late for me." She whispered. "I think I might have already fallen for you, my dear. The thought of you leaving makes me feel miserable."

"I’ll miss you too, Olivia." Katarina allowed. Olivia beamed up at her and wiped her eyes. "Sorry, Kat, I didn’t mean to get all mushy with you. I didn’t want to make you feel pressured. We each have our duty."

Katarina nodded, and they moved towards the carriage again, Katarina thinking about the magical residue on Norry Dalakis’ hands. Katarina came up short, stopping in her tracks. "Wait." She stated, and then frowned, thinking.

Magical residues like that occurred only under certain circumstances. She recalled his request to hire her, and her suspicions about his request. She wondered if he were smuggling magical artifacts. She was also baffled, why on earth would someone who was smuggling magical items reach out to a Witch Hunter for assistance? It simply made no sense at all.

Olivia prodded the taller woman gently. "What is it?"

"I need to get changed, I think. I have a hunch."

"Changed? Here?" The Lady Cardinal asked with a worried frown.

Katarina reached down and took off her shoes which were quite sufficient for walking but not suited for running and put them into Olivia’s hands.

"Of course not, Olivia." She replied and tore off down the path at full speed, leaving a befuddled Lady Cardinal to wonder what Katarina hoped to achieve. After a brief second to wonder at Katarina’s impulsive decision, she hurried to the carriages. Whatever Katarina had decided, she’d likely need Olivia’s help, and for that she’d need to get ahead of her.