“Are you going to tell me why it’s missing pieces?”

Ariel searched her daughter’s face for any signs of mischief and found none. As poor an actor and liar as she was, it would be no trouble at all to tell if she was playing a trick on her. They were in the office where Valerie first told her about her Aspect, and once again had the privacy ward activated. It wasn’t perfect, but it would prevent most attempts to listen in.

Seeing Valerie was completely serious, Ariel looked back down at the Relic in Valerie’s hands.

It was a choker. That was the best way she could think of it. Made of the same dwarven steel as her cloak, it held a strange depth to the metal, like it held more than it should. That and the way it shifted and rippled like it was made of fabric were sure signs of it being a Relic. They tended to be… strange in ways that were very difficult to replicate.

“It’s not,” Valerie said.

Ariel arched an eyebrow at her. “Care to elaborate?”

“It’s got to do with why it was so close to becoming a Relic despite being on Earth for so long,” Valerie explained. “Armsmaster figured it out. Apparently, when it was sent through the gate circle with you, it was about half to two-thirds of the way there, and that made it sticky, in a sense. High enough concentrations of magic would latch on, and the ritual for hopping across to another world definitely qualifies. While it was mid transit, it was also affected by the… stuff, that makes up whatever exists between worlds. This enacted a qualitative change in the mana it contained, even while it was in your ring. This change made the mana want to stay together, as well as give it a sort of protective shell that kept it from leaking away. So, not only did it acquire a significant amount of power from the transfer ritual, but it was also held in by the passage between worlds.

“This means it had a robust core of Metal mana, and two solid layers of Space mana well suited for containment. The Armoury made use of that, and blended the two together. The whole thing is stored inside itself. Here, try it on.”

Valerie handed the choker to Ariel, and she picked it up. She spent a moment examining the feel in her hands, the cool touch of the fabric like metal. It was oddly reassuring to hold. Like a weight she’d long grown used to, and hadn’t realised she missed until she held it in her hands. She felt the same thing the last two times she’d worn her cloak.

“It should accept you without any issues, you are the one who started off it’s becoming a Relic,” Valerie said.

“More than that, “Ariel said absently, “I’m the one who made it as well.”

Valerie’s gaze turned unfocused, presumably talking to Armsmaster. Then she refocused and said, “Yeah, Armsmaster says it basically won’t recognise anyone else as long as you’re alive, in that case. And even then, it won’t quite work the same for others as it will you. Actually making a thing tends to leave a mark on it.”

Her own Relic. Ariel always did wonder what that would feel like.

She raised it to her neck, and was about to ask Valerie if she knew how to actually put it on, when an invisible seam opened between her hands, seemingly as if it had read her thoughts.

Seeing this, she placed it around her throat and willed it to close.

Instantly, a connection formed between her and the Relic, and not only could Ariel feel the well of mana it held, about half the size of her own, but she could also feel the feather shaped blades she had wielded with her magic for so long.

And there were hundreds of them. At least twice, if not three times as many as there were in her cloak. She could tell, almost by instinct, that it would be near effortless to grasp every single one and manipulate them with ease.

There was something else she could feel as well. Not a well of mana, or the glimpse of its abilities, but a concept.

A name.

“It has a name,” Ariel breathed.

Valerie looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Yeah. Armsmaster said you’d be able to figure out what it is on your own, but there’s no harm in just telling you. It’s called the Steelwoven Mantle.”

Ariel felt her Relic, no, her Mantle ripple at the sound of its name. Not literally, but every blade it held quivered in anticipation. It was a heavy thing, being named after that month, but Ariel found herself accepting the weight of it. Any less would have been an insult to the innocents lost.

She wrapped her daughter in a hug. “Thank you for this, Valerie. This is… absolutely incredible.”

Valerie shuffled in her arms, but returned her embrace. “Thanks, but… you realise I’m basically just a glorified courier here, right? You did most of the work, and it was the Armoury that did the finishing touches. I just acted as go-between.”

Ariel chuckled. “Yes, well I can’t exactly show the Armoury my appreciation, now can I? You’ll just have to let it know for me.”

She snickered in response, and stepped back. “Well, regardless, I’d best tell you what we know it can do so far. Aside from storing the blades, and the standard durability increase that basically all Relics get, the Mantle can also wrap the blades in a field of warped space, another effect of the Spacial mana it absorbed. This means they will fly faster for less mana, as well as grant them significantly increased penetration. Armsmaster said it will also help with incorporeal foes, which is a plus. Any impact one of the blades takes is automatically spread between every other one that’s not held in the Mantle at the time, which means they will need a great deal more force to break. If they are broken, then the Mantle will regenerate new ones over the course of about a day. Controlling them will also require less mana and concentration, which you already use little of. That’s supplemented by the mana the Mantle itself stores as well as it using your Aspect as a framework for itself. You can basically fight forever unless you are in a very tough spot.”

Ariel’s mind reeled at how much the Mantle could do. “This is what it can do as a fresh Relic? I can only imagine what it’ll be like once it’s seen some growth.”

Valerie shuffled her feet. “Well… that’s going to take a while. Armsmaster said that the Armoury ‘borrowed future potential’ to solidify current power. This means that while the abilities it starts with are much more cohesive, you’ll essentially be paying off the debt from that benefit for a long time to come. Potentially years. Combine that with the reduced gains from it’s Feral protection, and it’ll take a lot of continuous effort to get anywhere. The Armoury could do this because of that same protective shell that contained it’s stored power. It made it able to accept more drastic changes without rupturing under the strain. Which is also why it looks so different, incidentally.”

Ariel smiled at her. “I’m not going to complain, Valerie. This is already a major thing you’ve done. If all this means I’ll need to put some more effort in to strengthen it, then so be it.”

Valerie grinned back.

“Now then, I’d best get going. Tamaya has helped lay a lot of the groundwork for my tenure at Cardinal, wonderful person that she is, but there are some things I need to do myself. It’s about time for me to get on my way.”

With that, Ariel deactivated the privacy ward, returned it to her ring, and they both walked out of the office.

**********************

“So, I wasn’t going to say anything back home…”

“Good.”

“But I can’t help but notice you have a shiny new Relic that seems so very much like your cloak. I wonder how that ever could have happened.”

Ariel was honestly starting to regret offering to take Tamaya with her to the Academy gates. She knew there would be no way to conceal the Mantle from her, and it would have been childish to try. But the aura of pure smug radiating from Tamaya was palpable. It was clear she had already figured out where she had gotten the Mantle, if not how.

“I’m not going to say it, Tamaya.”

“But I did tell you so, did I not? I specifically said her Awakening could have taken so long because of a Leg-!”

Before Ariel could even fully form the thought, three feathers whipped out of the Mantle and wrapped around her friend’s mouth. Ariel looked around to see if anyone was watching, and seeing no one, she pulled Tamaya off to the side of the path. There was a small gap between the Academy gates and the building proper, and she dragged her over through it and out the other side.

Once there, Ariel pulled out her privacy ward and placed it on another blade from her Mantle. She activated it, then pulled as many blades as necessary from the Mantle around her to obscure sight of them both.

Only then did she remove the covering on Tamaya’s mouth, who had been looking rather upset at the treatment.

“Really now, I don-”

“You and I both know the kind of attention Legacies bring, Tamaya, and the responsibilities they come with. If I can keep that attention from reaching Valerie, then I will. The longer the truth stays hidden, the more time she has to prepare, and I will not jeopardize that. Do you understand me?”

Tamaya only nodded, muted from the intensity of Ariel’s gaze.

Ariel sighed and relaxed. “Good. Yes, you were right, and yes I was being a fool in denying the possibility. I’m sorry for the harsh treatment, but I won’t regret it.”

Tamaya sighed herself and said, “I understand, Ari. I should have thought before opening my mouth. But what about that Relic of yours? Won’t people notice?”

She scoffed. “People have been assuming I had a Relic for decades now, no matter how much I deny it. They’ll just take it as confirmation of their assumptions and move on.”

Tamaya looked doubtful. “I suppose. So what does it do?”

Ariel then spent a few minutes explaining how the Mantle worked, both it’s unusual origins and it’s abilities.

“Steelwoven Mantle? That’s…”

“I know. I choose to wear it with pride, anything less would be a disservice to those who didn’t deserve what they got.”

Tamaya gave her a sidelong look. “Don’t you think you’re being a touch melodramatic?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. It doesn’t really matter. That’s how I’m choosing to view it.”

“Alright.”

Ariel retrieved her privacy ward, recalled the blades to the Mantle, and internally marveled at how not one of them made contact with each other, producing no sound at all.

The two returned to the path, and chatted amicably between themselves as they went. Eventually they had to split up, Tamaya to her office on the ground floor, where students could easily find her in case of an emergency, and Ariel to Rodrick’s office on the fourth floor.

She walked through the halls of Cardinal, not particularly hurried. It had changed so remarkably little since she attended, she almost fooled herself into thinking she was back in those simpler times.

“Ariel Endmarch.”

She turned to the direction of the voice, broken from her musings.

“Amadeus Gent.”

The mountain of a man was middle aged for a mage, so around 90 to 100. His bald head shone in the midmorning light streaming from a nearby window, and his brown beard was so thick and bushy that one could be forgiven for thinking it had a beard of its own. Ariel didn’t know him all that well personally, though he was acquainted with Roland, so she’d heard of him. He was the Head of the Combat track at the Academy, and taught the Advanced class for those few who made it.

He didn’t seem happy to see her, but nor was he displeased. Ambivalent, mostly.

“I’d heard you were back, and that you’d been pulled as Abraham’s replacement. How are you settling in?” he asked, and took a few long strides to catch up with her.

She turned and kept walking, responding as she did so. “Well enough, I suppose. Tamaya's been a massive help on that end of things.”

“I imagine she would be, running around like she has been,” Amadeus said.

“Yes. I’ve not had the chance to meet the other faculty yet, given how rushed my hiring has been. Is there anyone I should be wary of? That might be opposed to my presence?”

He seemed to contemplate for a moment. “For the most part no one here is too bothered. Rash though your actions were, there aren’t many outside of Heron that would begrudge them outright, and it was quite some time ago. Professor Sadle might cause something of a ruckus though. He’s always been a staunch proponent of Heron’s more… controversial perspectives.”

“Noble family?”

He nodded. “The Sadles are lesser nobility, but they have remarkable reach in academic circles. He wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Ariel groaned. “That’s going to be fun.”

Amadeus shrugged. “It is what it is. I heard you had a daughter? Will she be attending?”

“Valerie Awakened nearly three weeks ago. She never showed much interest in fighting before then, but recent events seem to have kindled a spark in her. She intends to enter through the Combat track, and she’s shown a level of talent for it that I can only call prodigal.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Really now? That’s good news. It’s been far too long since we’ve had any real talents here. Though rumours have it we’ll be up to our ears with it this year.”

“Is that so? What kind of rumours tell you that?”

He looked up and down the hallway, and seeing no one, said, “Well, I’ve heard whispers that the elves have sent an envoy. Apparently, we’ll be hosting their King’s youngest daughter.”

That news shocked Ariel. The elves had taken a serious blow to their population, and due to their unusually low birth rate, had taken an extremely long time to recover. She’d hadn’t heard anything about them being willing to open their borders when she left, and to go from that to open to sending their royalty to a foriegn school? By elven standards, that kind of thing in sixteen years was moving very quickly.

“That’s… if that’s true, that could be very big.”

“Indeed,” he nodded sagely. “I admit, I look forward to seeing how their martial techniques mesh with our own. It will be enlightening, I’m sure.”

They both continued walking together, discussing how Ariel intended to start her own lessons, which would begin a month after the Academy opened for the year, leaving her ample time to prepare. Amadeus was willing to offer advice here or there, being much more experienced as a teacher. Ariel noticed him eyeing her Mantle on occasion, but he seemed disinclined to ask about the Relic. Eventually, they arrived at Rodrick’s office, where Amadeus left some paperwork with Louise, and Ariel stepped through to see Rodrick after knocking.

She found Rodrick scanning through one of the books on his shelves.

“Ah, Ariel, good to see you. It’s about high time we- Is that what I think it is?” he asked, pointing at her neck.

Ariel closed the door before answering. “It is.”

“Remarkable. Hold on one moment.”

He returned the book to the shelf, walked over to his desk, and placed his hand on the underside. Ariel felt a wave pass through her, similar to her privacy ward, though this one is clearly more robust.

“Now then, I simply must know. Did it come through the Armoury?”

“How did you know about that?”

He spread his hands. “Come now Ariel, I run one of the greatest centres of magical learning on the continent, and you assumed I hadn’t figured it out? The signs were all there.”

She looked at him skeptically. “Like what?”

Rodrick counted off on his fingers, “Well, there’s the forced Awakening taking seven days. The fact her Aspect, the name of which was kept undisclosed, could do things at a degree I’ve never heard of an Aspect achieving without being part of a Legacy. Her unusual hair and eye colour, few know that the Legacies carry physiological effects due to being chosen at birth, but it is known by some. All other Legacies are accounted for, and the one that clinched it for me, Magister said there were rules that prevented him from speaking about the Armsmaster, a reclusive Guide I hadn’t heard of. The only time a rule has prevented him from speaking was when it involved a Legacy.”

Ariel sighed. “Yes, it came through the Armoury.”

“That’s excellent news for you. And there’s no worry about it turning Feral? Fighting you even without a Relic is a daunting prospect Ariel, I shudder to think of the havoc that would come about from you succumbing to a Feral.”

“It won’t be happening. This one’s fresh, and Relic’s processed by the Armoury don’t turn Feral. It’s actually my cloak, believe it or not. It was on the verge of changing anyway, so the Armsmaster offered to give it a push.”

Rodrick blinked. “Ariel, you were on a world without magic for sixteen years. And your cloak managed to retain it’s stored energy for that long? I find that hard to believe.”

“Apparently it’s due to the transition from here to Earth, and back again. You might like to let the researchers know about that, I imagine they’d love to study the effect.”

He paused. “That… would be rather difficult. You see, we can no longer access Earth.”