Uncle was sending me away! I stayed for barely two months, and he was already getting rid of me. Was it something I had done? Did I fail his expectations, somehow? He said it was unsafe here. Hah! As if I was naive enough to believe anyone short of a Concept would ever dare go against him. This manor was the safest place I could be. No one would risk attacking me here!

Except someone did manage to get in.

Still, that could have happened anywhere, and the intruder was caught.

As for a war, yes, an explosive conflict between Netacari and Sherpen seemed likely now, but how did that put the manor of the most important man on Eucleron in danger? If anything, this made it one of the safest places to be. They both wanted the water line project, right? Neither would want to upset uncle. Levanne was the one to be worried about, since they opposed the project, and getting on the ocean was offering them an easy target.

I did not need more people trying to kill me. We still had no idea about the identity of whoever was responsible for the incident two months ago.

Oh, no... This was just another one of his ridiculously obtuse schemes, wasn't it? Getting me in danger to bait them out.

I had known his reputation for cloak and dagger maneuvers, but sharing a home with him was enough to make anyone paranoid. Like that intruder, for example. What the fuck was that about? Did uncle really deal with soul desecrators? There was no way he would, yet clearly, this had been one of his plans at work.

I was in my room, letting off steam by throwing my clothes on... well, maybe just at my bed.

"Get it together..." I told myself, before picking up the projectiles that had missed their target.

I became aware of two new visitors at the edge of the manor. In the middle of the night, no less. The staff was getting ready to welcome them, so they were expected. Focusing on them, I could tell they were both men, one of them a lord and the other bound to him. They felt most strongly of anxiety, but that was not uncommon when visiting uncle. Briaca and him were still in the study. The intruder might be there, too. I couldn't tell, and that was scary. He could be anywhere, even have hostile intentions, and I wouldn't know until he struck. Even his weapon had been hidden. How had they managed to catch him?

It seemed uncle had not arranged for anyone to bring me my suitcases, so now I was going to have to do it myself. His punishment for acting out, possibly.

After letting an annoyed sigh escape me, I went to the cellar to fetch them.

On the way, I couldn't help but feel a surge of panic at every vaguely humanoid shape I came across, ready to draw my sword each time.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed, startled by an ancient set of armor that had been hidden by a cabinet.

I had drawn, this time. Thankfully, I stopped before striking anything. It was late, and tiredness might be a factor, but I had to resign myself to face the truth. This was psychological scarring from the incident, and it seemed not to show any of the improvements I had come to expect since those last few weeks.

It was unfair. I even went to those exasperating therapy sessions, yet progress had been excruciatingly slow, and now it even reverted? Was I going to start lashing out at every surprise again?

I was shaking now, feeling a mix of fear, annoyance, and anger at myself for being like this. It was weakness, and I could not afford it.

Finally, my anger found a different target. I had, after all, made some progress since arriving here. Witnessing that aberration, able to trivially nullify all reassurance of safety I had built up, had surely vindicated my phobia enough to entrench it for years to come. It was his fault if all my work had come undone.

Once I reached the proper room, it did not take me long to find the bags that had accompanied me to the manor. I brought all four of them back to my bed, and started packing, leaving me again alone with my thoughts.

I was not in a good state, mentally. Too unstable to risk binding a retinue, uncle had judged, when he had offered me refuge. It pained me to do so, but I agreed with him, despite how horrible remaining alone made me feel. He refused to let me join his service, too. That, I was not so forgiving of. I knew it was solely for political reasons. Indeed, the root of the issue even hanged on a wall not so far from my room. A damn edict Aenor had made to ensure she would not spawn a dynasty, going so far as to forbid two generations of her own family from being allowed to hold any governmental power in Eucleron.

Uncle played some dangerous games with that one. As far as I knew, he did follow the rules as they were written, never participating directly in the Council, and never using any of his votes. But I suspected he simply didn't need to. His transport businesses gave him enough influence to unofficially control other lords, so his grip on Eucleron politics was still rather firm.

It annoyed me, but I had to admit Aenor had been right. And so was uncle, in the end. Binding the only remaining descendant of Aenor young enough not to be restricted by the edict would correctly be seen as him taking complete control of the country.

Even as I carefully folded my clothes for transport, I could not escape the reminder of what I had been raised for all my life. Some of these were painted in the corridor just outside, worn by the acclaimed hero my parents had done their best to make me remind everyone of, right down to the name they gave me.

Trying to change my train of thoughts, I let myself feel the people around. It seemed the visitors, Briaca, and uncle were all still in the study. Unsurprisingly, uncle beamed of satisfaction, getting whatever he wanted. I also noticed one of the staff was leaving the manor, most likely to fetch my new guardians.

Yan knocked at my door, radiating apprehension.

"What is it, Yan?" I asked him.

"The negotiations have completed," he said, after opening the door, "and our guests stand ready to depart. Have you finished packing your belongings?"

I gestured at the filled up baggage. "Yes. You can take these and bring them... wherever."

It seemed I had not addressed him correctly, because he felt like chastising me for a few seconds, then pity, followed by resignation. That was pretty much how most of my exchanges with uncle's staff went. In fact, even that was an improvement over how things were when I first arrived. This constant disappointment was not something I was going to miss. It did not help that my own annoyance made them all reluctant to address me in the first place, leading me to feel, in turn, even more isolated and irritable.

In that regard, perhaps there were good aspects to taking a trip away from it all.

No. That was false relief, brought by escapism. I would not fall in that trap.

"Lord Konogan requested you depart along with Lord Derrien's clan." Yan told me. "They are waiting for you at the main gate."

Yes, as expected, uncle was going to have things go as fast as possible. I supposed it was fitting, considering most of his businesses focused on transport.

Preparing to say goodbye to what had been my refuge for so many nights, I recalled with horror there was one other thing I would have to leave behind.

No, I decided. I wouldn't. Not given the opportunity to negotiate it directly with uncle, I chose to confront Yan about it instead.

"I am keeping the sword!" I blurted out, putting a hand on it. That was not a good way to start this conversation, but my nerves were frayed, and at least it made my demands clear.

As expected, Yan did not react well. He stayed silent, though, going through emotions in a rapid succession. The outburst, and potentially ludicrous demand, had upset him, but he was too professional to let it affect his decision, and so I had to wait until he calmed down to hear it.

"While I would advise not to advertise such a precious item as much, Lord Konogan has indeed not specified that it had to be returned." Yan finally said. "Considering his desire to keep you safe, I believe the artifact is meant to be lent to you for the duration."

"Really?!" I exclaimed, surprised to have gotten my wish so easily.

Yan nodded.

I had thought it would not to be allowed to leave the manor. Even the intruder had clearly taken notice of it.

"Great!" I told Yan. "Let's go, then!"

He followed me as I went all the way to the main gate. I felt some of the staff going to my room, and assumed they were taking care of transporting my bags.

When I reached the lukewarm air outside, I had my first real view of my future minders. They... did not look like much. In fact, one of them had even managed to already have a broken arm.

It was obvious they felt about as happy about our situation as I did, exuding worry and irritation. The only one not so easily read was the intruder, since he still had no soul. Seeing him still creeped me out. It was like meeting the monster of a fairy tale, or maybe just some sort of dead person continuing to live as if nothing was wrong.

Uncle was there and, as I was about to greet the group, he spoke first.

"Let me present Lady Alienor, whom you are to protect. With your life, if need be." he intoned. "You will accompany her for an extended stay at Sarveil."

It was only then that I realized he was not going to let me have any power over them.

I had to pay more attention to what was going on here. This was the perfect setup for a Shift, but nobody wanted one to occur, so they had to be really careful about the power dynamics. Lord Derrien would not be accompanying us, since I might have otherwise ended up binding with him. Likewise, I could not lead the group myself, as they might Shift to me instead. This was quite the awkward arrangement. Even uncle's solution still risked a Shift, but of course it was only one that benefited him. He was, in effect, lending some of his authority to part of Lord Derrien's retinue, without conferring it to the lord himself. If they ever came to rely on it, a Shift might occur. Since those people were here despite that, uncle's payment for this contract must have been considerable indeed.

"Derrien, if you would?" uncle signaled him.

As expected, the lord did not introduce the one man that looked like a capable fighter, moving instead straight to the injured one. In fact, I noticed that the lord himself appeared more of a combatant than the rest of his retinue, with all those muscles and scars. That was quite a breach of tradition.

"This is Loann, our alchemist, herbalist, and emergency medic." Lord Derrien said.

Too bad he was injured. Given he had a sword, and not the rapier most people chose out of obligation, he might have otherwise been able to be of some help in a fight. Not sure how good he was going to be, because as far as I could tell, everything Lord Derrien indicated would be severely hampered by his broken arm.

"This is Yaelle, our tracker. The aourgi's called Ashnu." Lord Derrien continued, now introducing a woman armed with a spear and her beast. That one, I could see stand her own in a fight, though I doubted she had much experience doing so. Aourgis would always help, and I liked the creature. Maybe I should have asked uncle for a pet. It was much less dangerous to bind one, even in my mental state.

"Aostin, our information gatherer." Lord Derrien went on, now next to a rather plump but well-dressed man. Surprisingly, he did have a sword, belying my previous assessment of what kind of people would use one. However, I strongly suspected that, given his role, he was perfectly aware of what having a sword implied, and simply attempted to fool people into thinking he might be able to defend himself.

"Eriol, our newest member." Lord Derrien said, having reached his last and more perplexing associate. I judged him to be the most dangerous one. Perhaps not in an open fight, but he could trivially land a fatal blow on any unsuspecting target.

"Good. Now that the presentations are done, let us not tarry." Lord Konogan said. "Your ship is waiting at Dornow, so we're going to need the Locomotive."

Oh, no... I hated that thing.

Even as I gripped the handrail to climb the stairs of the Locomotive, I felt the contraption start pulling my energy. Not being part of any binding, I could ill afford to lose what little I had, but the Locomotive took without asking.

In fact, I could tell nearly all of my new minders were feeling the same depletion, the difference being that they had so much more to spare. The only exception being Eriol, that did not register at all, as usual.

I reached the door, entered the corridor, and proceeded to ignore the man holding the counter on my right. I was not going to pay for transport imposed on me. Instead, I went on until I found the first room capable of holding all of us, then sat.

My escort had apparently taken my behavior as example, and they all settled themselves close to me.

I focused enough to find that uncle was addressing the clerk we had passed. The employee seemed both excited and anxious, which was understandable considering who he was talking to.

"Could they please hurry it up?" I asked nobody in particular. "It's really tiresome!"

I doubted uncle heard me, but regardless, after a few seconds, the wood around us started to feel more alive. It always kept enough energy to appear at least as living as something like grass, but now the sensation was rapidly becoming more imposing. It was almost fully permeated with uncle's signature, unlike the other times I had used the Locomotive. That was slightly more pleasant than the strange mix I usually felt in there. It took uncle only a few minutes to fully charge the enchantment. That was ridiculous. I knew of nobody else who could accomplish that feat.

Now that it was sated, we were no longer feeling the constant drain the Locomotive had imposed on us. I still found it uncomfortable, though, because now it was if we were in the belly of a giant beast. It was suffocating. I knew it inspired awe to some, but to me, the exuding soul pressure was terrifying.

Uncle joined us shortly after that, but stayed standing up at the door, using his cane to hold his weight.

I felt the whole room shudder, then a sudden vertigo followed by a slight nausea. We were moving, then.

People using the Locomotive are often confused by the extensive amenities. Truth is, there's no time to enjoy them while the vehicle is moving. The point is that it can take hours to charge up, and it needs people inside to do so. The furniture is not for the three minutes of actual travel.

We waited in silence, uncle not starting any conversation, my minders being too intimidated by him, and myself not wanting any.

The disorientation came back, indicating we had arrived at our destination. The sensation was just one more unpleasantness inflicted upon all passengers aboard. It was unavoidable, being part of the enchantment that ensured we felt nothing of the quite ridiculous acceleration and deceleration we had endured.

As much as I hated using it, I could not deny how impressive the Locomotive was. One of the world's most powerful and complex enchantment, I had been told. And now, it seemed, development of its water analogue was about to trigger a war.