Hey, show it to me again, asked Kaja, not even trying to conceal her excitement, the screen with the blueprint.

Grunting, Enok once again opened his blueprint inventory, which only had one item. The night before they had discovered that Kaja could see the windows when looking through his eyes, and she had been bothering him since.

They had been back on the road with the first lights of the day, not even bothering with a proper breakfast. Domor, in particular, was worried about the nature of their cargo being revealed.

“You can never be too cautious,” he had been saying while they got ready, “there isn’t a lack of nosy people around these parts, and many would kill for what we have.”

Which would have been totally fine with Enok if he could have had a good night of sleep beforehand, instead of being kept awake most of it because someone was interested in usually invisible blue windows.

Now he was riding Naope half-awake, reading once again the screen giving details about his first blueprint, along with an illustration showing two identical curved figures he could only describe as white hooks of some sort.

Blueprint Physical backup module Version : Galateus

Gives the ability to restore from non-lethal physical damages received after activation; in exchange of energy.

Cost of materialization : -50% Durability until next level up. -50% Energy Conversion until next level up.

Minimum requirements : 10 points in materialization; 10 points in Durability.

The blueprint Enok had received seemed to be more a curse than a gift, seeing all the constraints it came with. It almost made him want to forget about it and never use it.

Almost.

Killing Gormin and his men had only granted him two levels, which he could probably credit to the bonus of XP he had for killing any living beings, considering how weak they had been.

Which meant he currently had twelve unused ability points, and since he had three points in durability and a single one in materialization... He still needed for points to be able to use galateus. And that was if he made the rather difficult choice of adding all his points in two categories, disregarding all the others.

Such a pain, he thought.

Was that for Domor or for me? Kaja asked.

Well. Now that you ask, I think it would suit either of you.

Hey. You’re the one who agreed with them coming with us.

Their group was back on the road to Mildbloom, and since there weren’t any village until they reached the border city, they would have to set up camp to spend the night in the wilderness, under the stars. At least he could look forward to that later part.

Calling the plains there were traveling through “the wilderness” though, was as accurate as calling a house cat a predator. Sure, it would still have some of the stickiest instincts of its race, but chasing mice from time to time wasn’t enough to be considered a representative of felines everywhere. In the same vein, the world around Enok like a caricature of what it was supposed to be.

The world Enok remembered was one in which mortals made a point to show how determined they were to fight for their survival against everything it threw at them. On the very ground they were walking on, he remembered peering on titanic battles between dragons and orc armies, a particular group of brazen adventurers on a quest to uncover artifacts known to be tied to the antlers of a divine deer and even wandering spirits tricking foolish travelers into damning deals.

But after almost two days of travel, all they had come across were small animals who quickly ran away when spotted and a drunk dogkin riding a donkey. The world just felt like it had no pulse anymore.

Not that he was looking for a fight himself, or for some epic adventure, but nature in particular and the beings it sheltered were designed to take root wherever the people weren’t active. But there was almost nothing worthy attention from one side of the horizon to another. Not decent human activity either. He mostly didn’t care that he had still not seen any elf, not any real one anyway, but he had not seen any mystic, and that was worrisome.

He had anticipated it. Hell, he had known for a fact that the Path was in bad shape before setting a foot on Alfheim, due to the density of ki having decreased to an alarming degree and the mantra simply disappearing. But he couldn’t help but feel a weight in his stomach when sighting the pathetic excuses for trees and bushes this close to the actual Flower kingdom.

He truly hoped that this all had to do with the nature of the region he was in, and not an actual example of what was happening everywhere else. He could grit his teeth trough a boring world, but not through an already dead one.

Thankfully, caressing Naope’s dot-covered neck had also proven to be very therapeutic. The horse had proven to be an excellent mount, even anticipating his commands sometimes. It snorted as his hand performed the now familiar motion.

“Do you like animals Enok?” a voice asked behind him.

“I do. And I like to think that they like me back,” he said, glancing back.

Mein was smiling, sitting on the carriage with Domor. Enok noticed that she was the one holding the reins this time. Domor’s attention was on their surroundings.

The catgirl’s attitude had greatly changed since he had first met her, and while Enok would like to think it was because she had gotten to know him better, he had a feeling that it had more to do with her ability.

Knowing said ability, he really wanted to ask her the specifics but wasn’t sure if it was fine to mention it, since no one had.

Enok, Kaja thought to him, I can feel you getting anxious about this female catkin and on Mother’s name, if it’s what I think it is...

Give me a break Kaja. Quit the jealous younger sister thing, it’s getting weird.

I am not jealous! You can do whatever you want, but at least-

What do you see when I look at her? he interrupted.

With the thought, he turned around to get a better look of her. Domor raised his brows in response and Mein’s expression was equally questioning. Over her head, the words appeared.

He had discovered she was a seer thanks to his drifter ability, a witch able to peer into the future.

Witches and wizards were mortals born with a rare natural ability to interact with ki, but while he was curious about whether she had seen anything related to him, he was still hesitant to mention it.

If his memories were right, many mortals considered the word “witch” to be an insult.

Oh, hum... wow..., was all Enok got from Kaja’s embarrassed thoughts.

Yeah, he thought, now tell me something that will make them not think of me as a weirdo who turned around just to stare at them.

Just... Just ask her about it!

He sighed.

“Mein,” he called out loud, “there is something I have noticed. I haven’t said anything until now because where... I’m from, talking about it would be very bad manners. But it’s important.”

“Hmm...” she said, “ I think I know what it is.”

“You do? Oh, of course.”

Well, she was a seer after all. She probably already had visions of this very conversation. He had been worried over nothing.

“Yes,” Mein said, with a serious expression, “you want to know about my relationship with Dom, don’t you?”

Enok’s mind went blank... Which meant that Kaja’s mind had gone blank too.

“Uh... What?”

“Don’t worry, for some reason it’s a question that always comes up when we meet new people.”

She put a hand on Domor’s shoulder, and it seemed as stiff as rock as red slightly tinted his cheeks.

“We’re friends,” she said, as if it was the hardest thing to believe in the world, ”practically brother and sister.”

Enok looked at the male human. Domor was slowly shaking his head, a hand covering his now crimson face.

Poor guy, Kaja thought.

I agree.

“Mein,” said Domor, with an exasperated tone, “I don’t know what Enok wants to talk about, but I really don’t think it’s about that.”

“Oh really?” she said, surprised.

“Yes. I wanted to talk about the fact that you were a witch.”

No matter how awkward that subject could be, it certainly wouldn’t be as awkward as the present situation.

Or so Enok thought. Silence fell on the lonely road as Mein and Domor stared at him with a look indicating they weren’t sure they had correctly heard what he had said.

“... What?”

“A witch,” he repeated, seeing them frowning and looking at each other he added, “you know, those people born with strange powers? Very good at one thing in particular?”

“Yeah, yeah, we know the rumors and legends,” said Domor , smirking, “I don’t understand why you would think that Mein is one though. Hell, I can’t even think of one thing she is that good at, and don’t even get me started with her cook- Ouch! That was a joke!” he finished, massaging his ribs where Mein had hit him.

She looked at Enok, something shining in her eyes. Avidity?

Maybe you should have just kept quiet, thought Kaja.

“Lord Enok,” Mein said, her voice slightly shaking, “Am I... Am I really a witch?”

“Yes. I can see it because I’m a drifter... And I’m guessing you had no idea, which is, well, rather strange. Do you really have no idea of what I’m talking about?”

“... You’re serious.” said Domor.

“When... When I was younger” started Mein, “I used to sing, and I really liked it. But sometimes, during my songs, I would... See things. When I told my father about it, he told me to stop, that it was dangerous... And I listened to him. Could that be it?”

Her knuckles were white with how hard she was clutching the reins of the scaled bull pulling their caravan.

“That’s why you stopped?!” asked Domor, incredulous, “You said you had hurt you voice and then I assumed you just lost interest!”

“I am surprised she could even stop, It must have been because she wasn’t too advanced yet,” said Enok, “wizards and witches are usually addicted to their spells. In times when people were afraid of them, many outed themselves because they weren’t able to quit their passions.”

Silence fell once again between the travelers, though this time it was because they each had things to think about.

Enok in particular, received thoughts from his sister.

So, she said, are you happy to have once again thrown the life of a mortal upside down?

It wasn’t on purpose. I just thought she might have seen something about me, or us even. Guess not.

Hmm. But you saw her reaction, didn’t you? The look in her eyes. Like she was finally getting something she had been waiting for for a long time.

Can you blame her? I’m pretty sure all mortals react in a similar way when they are told they possess a power that could help them raise their status. Whether they show it or not.

Hmm. If you say so.

What’s your problem with her anyw-

“Lord Enok!”

He had gotten into the habit of riding a short distance in front of the carriage, so the heart-wrenching scream made him look back at his companions. Tears were streaming down the cat girl’s face whose ears were lowered, and Domor had put an arm around her shoulders in a consoling effort.

“Can... Can you tell me more about it?” she managed to blurt out during her sniffles, “about witches and how I can sing again? I don’t-, I-, because whenever I try I just can’t seem to-”

Oh, Enok thought.

He seemed to still be lacking a proper grasp of people’s emotional strength and how to act with them in mind.

“Sorry”, he said along with the most apologetic smile he could muster, “I sure can.”

***

When the light washing over Ornelia vanished, she found herself in a totally unknown place and felt dizzy. Thankfully, she had been warned by her master that crossing world gates could be quite disorienting the first times, so she made sure not to make a fool of herself. First impressions where the ones that mattered the most after all.

Standing straight, a hand lightly resting on the hilt of the rapier at her waist after having quickly adjusted the glasses on her noses, she patiently waited until the blurriness disappeared and listened attentively to the multiple voices that surrounded her.

“What the fuck, I can’t see anything!” said a voice she instantly recognized as Duncan’s. That boy had never been the brightest. “Sir Graham are you-”

“OUCH! That’s my foot, dumbass! Can’t you just stayed still until it’s over?!” Ornelia didn’t recognize the girl who had just screamed, probably one from the other schools she had briefly met. Knowing that a good part of Duncan’s anatomy was cybernetic -of the heavy variety-, she almost winced at the thoughts of him walking on anyone’s feet.

Almost.

Her sight got better and she was able to quickly assess her surroundings. The seven people of her group were in what seemed like a castle’s garden at the edge of a cliff. Trimmed trees with red leaves and red flowers that were obviously delicately cared after filled the space in front of her, living only a single -but quite large- alley stretching between them and the opened gates of the building. Every ten meters along the alley, were a pair of guards wearing complete Neopanth armors facing each others.

The ground under their feet was dark rock covered with innumerable symbols she didn’t even recognize. Sir Graham was standing in front of them, muscled arms folded as usual. Next to her were three girls and two boys, one of them being Duncan, the only one wearing the same brown uniform as her. He was a tall -even taller than sir Graham- and burly, but didn’t seem very assured as he was awkwardly avoiding the scowl of from a female rabbitkin. Coincidentally, the other boy, an orc who was her partner judging from his similar red uniform, was also glaring at Duncan. He was the only one to carry a weapon beside her, a fine curved blade of the East Isles, called a katana, she believed.

The two other girls were eerily still. Ornelia didn’t like to think about them.

“Gordon Graham! Last time I saw you, you were still a little squire with arms I could encircle with my fingers. Now look at you!”

Ornelia’s gaze snapped to the speaker who had appeared out of nowhere, and fell on her knee, eyes on the ground, as soon as realized who he was. She was immediately followed by the five other squires. Sir Graham, of course, had already put his knee down, though she was shocked that he hadn’t ordered them to do the same.

In front of them was standing a little old man. Bald with a white goatee and with smiling eyes. He was wearing a common white Neopanth robe, one that she had only seen on the back of regular small village priests.

However, she could see the word floating over his head.

She felt the sweat forming on her neck. One of the strongest beings across the worlds was standing in their presence. In front of her.

“Administrator Jakool,” she heard the deep voice of sir Graham say, “it is an immense honor to know that you remembered such an unworthy name as mine. I bring with me the young squires who are to partake in the special class.”

“Red Rain” Jakool. He was a living legend, one known enough that even Ornelia’s youth had been filled with bedtime stories of his feats. At the time, they had been wonderful tales of power retelling the foundation of the Neopanth. He had been part of a very little group of men she had dreamed to meet.

Now, she was realizing how foolish one should be to want to be near anyone with the surname “Red rain”.

“Ho ho ho, you are breaking this old man’s heart Gordon, don’t act like a stranger!” laughed the administrator, “ah, the little ones, yes. Two of them already arrived a few days ago with Deteri, who I believe you are acquainted with. But where are my manners, rise, rise!”

He urged the group to stand with ample motions of the hand, which they promptly did.

“I can see that two of them are drifter, hmm? Which makes it three in total, quite a high number in such a small group.”

His steely eyes landed on Ornelia, and her heart skipped a beat, but the next moment he was looking at the orc boy.

“Good, good,” he said caressing his goatee and directing his attention to the whole group, “I welcome you all to Alfheim, first world of the Path. I am aware of the seriousness inherent to the purpose of your presence, and the politics in which each of you are sadly entangled, at such an early stage of your lives. I won’t ask you to lighten up, but at the very least, you are to not treat each others as rivals from different schools of war while under my authority. You are to be a team, so start acting like one. Well, I guess you can go in, my second in command will meet you inside and you will be guided to your quarters. As you know, protocol requires me to supervise the closing of the gate.”

Loud clicking noises started behind them and she turned around. They were in the middle of the day and in all logic the scenery through the gigantic black stone arch should have been a view of Aurora, the city built under and around the gate.

But there was nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see, which wasn’t far due to the opaque fog that slowly seeped from the gate. But the clicking noise itself came from...

“Squire Avel, whenever you’re ready.”

“My excuses!” she blurted out, quickly rejoining the group that was processing down the alley behind sir Graham. Thankfully, the administrator was already gone, making a fool of herself in front of him, of all people, wasn’t an option.

Her heels hitting the stone as she got closer her “teammates”, she heard Duncan talking to the orc boy with a lively body language.

“... Not sure you get it dude, that was “Red” motherfucking “rain” Jackool! I mean come on! The guy who dealt with the Thorn incident alone! Heard that just talking to him was enough to be favored by the Three-eyed, man, no one is going to believe me back home, ...”

“I do share your excitement my friend,” the orc said with a surprisingly soft voice, “it’s just that I am too tired to express it. I wish I could be as in shape as you seem to be after traveling through the fog of war.”

“Goddammit! Don’t you-”

“You should be grateful Nagato,” interrupted the rabbit girl. Her high pitched voice was already annoying Ornelia. “I heard people used to travel through the fog on foot, only guided by their ability to sense ki. You imagine that?”

As they entered the building and earned stares and gases from the personnel, either people or automatons, the boy shuddered, “I’d rather not think about it, unless I have to.”

From behind, Ornelia saw Duncan look for someone else to share his enthusiasm with, glance at the two silent girls walking on his other side, then slump forward, dejected.

To say that the Neopanth headquarter of Alfheim was different than the previous one she had been invited in, was an understatement. Everything was white with small red details, from the floor to the high ceiling, including the furnitures and decorations which were minimalist to a point. With the natural light illuminating the hall, it went well with the image she had of administrator.

“Enough with the chatter,” sternly said sir Graham as they approached a woman who was looking through papers she was holding, “bishop Deteri.”

“Bishop Graham,” she said on an even tone, “glad to see you finally came through. There are lots of different interests involved and I was worried someone would have a stupid idea.”

“Some people did,” he said, “the survivors are currently under interrogation, though I doubt they will disclose any information we do not already have.”

“Ah, I see. Well, it was to be expected.”

She glanced over the squires, her eyes lingering a second longer on the girl duo.

“I am Dereti, bishop of the Neopanth and second in command of admnistrator Jakool, but you can simply call me ms Dereti. Bishop Graham and I will be the main officials in charge of your training and the success of this... Project, if I may call it so. I’m sure administrator Jakool mentioned it, but I would like to stress that fighting between yourselves outside of training is strictly prohibited. You will need to be a cohesive group for this to have any chance to succeed, and rivalries will simply add to your already high chances of dying.”

She paused, letting the words sink in.

“Boys go to the tower at the end of the left hallway, girls to the one on the right. There is one room per floor, furnished with the essentials and new uniforms that you are required to wear from now on. Be back here in an hour.”

Ornelia glanced at Duncan who nodded at her. She did the same in response and left before the other girls had moved, in a silence only perturbed by the sound of her eels.

She wasn’t interested in making friends, and making that clear from the beginning could save her some headaches down the road. However, she wanted respect. Caressing her rapier’s pommel, she wished for an early chance to establish the hierarchy between the squires.

After all, what more fitting way of becoming a queen, than to lead the squad that finally managed to slay the Iron Queen herself?

She almost failed to keep herself from grinning.