Chapter 103 — An Afternoon To Reflect

Profound soreness greeted Ria as awareness gradually returned. She tried to feebly stretch and relieve the discomfort, but the twinges and dull aches were strange in that they permeated deep into her body, not just her muscles. The shifting of soft bedding helped ease her growing worry at the urgency of her current situation.

She was someplace safe.

She had survived.

Ria furrowed a mostly cooperative brow at the quality of the pillow though. Her skull hurt. And the skin around the sides and back of her head felt painful and pulled taut.

Opening her eyes confirmed she was lying in a bed in a sunlit room—a room just like the one she had visited Aelyri.

The Hall of Healing Hands. That’s where she was.

But. Everything was wrong.

The colors of the world around her were strangely vivid, with more depth and detail than the waking-world should have.

Blinking and squeezing her eyelids tightly shut before opening them again didn’t help.

Was this a dream? A nightmare?

Could she still be unconscious or… dead? Her heartbeat quickened—louder and more powerful than it should be. She could hear the rush of blood with each contraction.

A twinge of phantom pain stabbed at her ribs, and with some effort she curled her arm enough to press with her hand where the wound should have been.

No hole existed between her ribs that she could find. Not even a bandage to cover it.

She had been healed. Or at least her dream-self had. That didn’t explain the way her head felt though.

Her arms were shaky and her body felt weak, but she managed to push herself up into a sitting position. The covers fell back to reveal a clean white shift she was wearing.

Sitting up, her head felt heavy… or at least heavier than outside the dream and had an oddly wrong center weight. Was it bandaged?

She was hesitant to touch it. If this was real, what if she worsened her condition? Poked her brain-flesh, or something?

There was another way. And with care, she reached for her magic. The energy was slippery at first, thick and difficult to control. Leery of her strange soreness, Ria separated off a small amount from her reserves, and after a few failures, focused harder and shaped it into her well-practiced Sensing Sphere spell.

What her magic sensing revealed made her eyes widen in shock, and she pulled up more energy to form a Water Mirror spell matrix as quickly as her clumsy control would allow.

Her hands sluggishly groped for the sides of her head. Her new magic organs had further developed into the beginnings of four crystal… horns?

Ana had called the changes to her eyes beautiful; would the girl call the small black protrusions of crystal peeking from her celestial midnight hair beautiful as well? Her mouth twisted in an expression halfway between a grimace and a wry smile. Ria doubted such words would be honestly forthcoming.

A dark at the tips of her fingers as she pressed them against the hardened but still-tender sides and back of her head caught her attention: her fingernails were no longer nails but also crystallized orichalcum! Ugh. Could it be any worse? Would she need a gem grinder to keep her nails trimmed?

Yes, it was worse. Exploring further, those weren’t the only changes.

Her eye-teeth were now sharp like elven fangs, but tipped in black as if she had bitten into an ink bottle. A vein of black reinforced the front edge.

And her eyes… the gold that made her irises look like starbursts had advanced noticeably further, which admittedly was pretty, but her pupils… her pupils now permanently yawned darkness like twin gates into the Abyssal Depths of the thirteenth netherhell.

Mina, her Healing Hands friend from Shadwich’s spellcraft class, had asked if she were demi. Whether or not she had been at the time, it would be hard to deny that now…

What could have happened to her? Did getting shot with voidstone cause her bloodline to awaken?

She seriously doubted such was possible—unless maybe she was dying from her injury… but when she replayed the scene in her mind, the wound didn’t seem that bad. Could the arrow have been poisoned?

Her eyes narrowed as she replayed the desperate moments of the attack in her mind. Had her vision begun darkening before the quarrel reached her? Had she simply pushed too hard like during her fight with Orlisi?

The burning she felt before collapsing certainly was suspicious.

Wait! Ranger!

Ria felt immediate relief that the bond was still there, and prepared to send him a query as she peeked through his eyes to see what he was up to.

The view was a familiar one. Master Enchanter Temiere was lecturing and Ranger was sitting in her seat.

She couldn’t help a slight smile at Ranger doing his best for her, so determinedly focused on understanding the lecture in her place that he hadn’t noticed she had used the bond. Carefully withdrawing from the bond, Ria decided against distracting him. She could contact Keira with the communication stone instead.

She just needed her vault key. Looking around, she found it on the bedside table with a pile of unopened letters and a decanter of water.

Her throat was rather parched.

Scooting close enough to the table took some effort, but she wasn’t feeling quite as weak as when she first woke up. As she unsteadily poured the water into a drinking glass and tried not to slosh too much, a fancy letter sealed with the symbol of Ellnys and sitting separate from the pile of other letters caught her notice. Taking the letter in hand and turning it over, an elegantly written ‘To: Ria of Shadewood’ came into view.

Still thinking about contacting Keira, Ria glanced at her vault key then shook her off-balanced head. People had gone to the effort to leave her letters; wouldn’t it be rude to not read them first?

Once her dry throat and thirst were addressed, she broke the seal for the letter that was most likely from High Priestess Elora and opened it.

Our precious gift sent to see us through the coming Time of Trials,

I can see now why it was Ellnys’ will for me to be present at your debut. This will likely come as a shock to you, but during the attack, you were poisoned by a bloodline-destroying poison intended for those sharing certain heritages of great power.

The extensive damage to your astral body made healing the damage caused by the poison quite a challenge. Fortunately, Researcher Shadwich had samples of your blood and hair as well as a cleansing pill he had been working on for you. Between those, some elven treasures he had acquired, and some of the temple’s resources, we were able to reverse the damage to your bloodline. Since you were already beginning to show physical changes related to awakening and refining your bloodline, further changes were unavoidable.

You’ll be glad to know that I was able to mend your astral body sufficient that you should be able to receive restorative healing again. There will still be some weakness and soreness to be expected as the changes to your energy pathways resolve into your body’s astral and physical representations. The healers of the Healing Hands should be able to handle your remaining treatment.

Stay well, dear Ria,

Elora, servant of Ellnys

Ugh. She didn’t want to even imagine how much more debt she had just incurred with Shadwich… But, the worrisome greeting aside, it seemed good news, considering how badly this could have gone.

Ria wondered why Phaelys’ condition wasn’t mentioned. Wouldn’t he have needed the high priestess’ and Researcher Shadwich’s help with the poison as well?

Spreading the pile of letters revealed one with Shadwich’s seal, and she opened that one next.

Ria, my favorite project!

The experimental restoration of your orichalcum bloodline was a success! Fortuitously, the process also brought to my attention a complication with your situation that I had initially overlooked. You have a second bloodline just as powerful as your orichalcum bloodline! This should have been obvious with your natural energy being separate from the energy produced by your orichalcum bloodline. Such an obvious clue! Ah, the dangers of initial assumptions! This also explains the initial unclear results from trying to isolate your orichalcum bloodline from the samples you provided.

Your primary (or previously primary, thanks to our hard work!) bloodline is something quite interesting in its ability to resist magical energies. I suspect it provided for your surviving the poison delivered by that foul assassin. It is also likely the reason why your body is able to withstand your current rate of growth. Such a fascinating synergy of traits!

We will have much to discuss and explore when you finish your recovery. From what the healers have advised, I suspect you will want to continue your recovery under observation. It will also give us more data to work with.

-Shadwich

Ria blinked at the letter and re-read it again just to make sure she had read it right the first time.

Lestina’s observations about her exploding came to mind…

Just how far from a normal girl was she?!

Ria sighed. Of course it was like that. Should she be surprised if, after all this, her father also wasn’t just a simple commoner? She still didn’t know any of her grandparents, maternal or paternal, after all. Well, except that one was the crown prince of Revant.

Ugh.

And apparently the poison had been a much closer thing than she had realized. Restoration of her orichalcum bloodline?

Had she almost ended up like Aelyri?

That thought was sobering.

Did Shadwich or the Vesali have a way to treat Phaelys? If he lost his crystal bloodline… would it be her fault?

Ria felt a twinge of worry that she might have irrevocably damaged her relationship with House Vesali and its elders.

There was a letter from Orlisi amid the other letters from her friends and others she didn’t recognize. Orlisi and Phaelys seemed to know each other from classes together, maybe. That was probably her best chance to find out if he was okay.

Her hand tremored briefly from the minor exertion as she switched Shadwich’s letter for Orlisi’s and broke the seal.

Welcome back to the world of the living, Junior Martial Sister.

I’m glad you are still with us. We elves are warned early in our lives that partings are a part of making friends with humans and the shorter-lived races, but such is the price of balance for our longevity we are told. I guess I’m too young to know yet whether the price is worth the boon.

I’m sure the others have written you supportive letters with well-wishes, so I won’t do that. Instead, I’ll use my letter to tell you the things that the others are keeping from you and avoiding mentioning.

First off, Phaelys is fine. The poison only rendered him unconscious and the wound was readily healed.

But not everyone was so lucky. The attack involved a surprising number of spies that set up devices to open spatial magic gates, allowing a strike force of very, very well-equipped mages, swordsmen, and assassins to bypass the estate’s protective magics and gain entry. Many guests were killed.

Our mutual culinary friend, Ellen, who you share your morning elemental class with was one of the casualties. She was severely injured by an orichalcum weapon used by one of the assassins. The weapon’s enchantment damaged her astral body and there wasn’t a nature-aspected healer available to save her in time. The boy she was with was also injured, but will live, and may recover in time. Zena… well, I’ll let her tell you herself.

I’m not sure if any of the other casualties were known to you, so I’ve included the official list of the dead.

As far as we can tell, all of the attackers have been captured or killed and the investigation has been handed over to the Hall of Inquiry and Bindings. Rumor is that Revant was behind the attack and consensus is that a strong response will be required, possibly even a declaration of war.

Contact me when you are ready, and I’ll come visit. Don’t forget that grandfather expects you to present yourself for recognition.

Your senior sister in Yurren martial arts,

Orlisi Yurren

Ellen… Ria’s stomach dropped, and her hand jerkily squeezed the letter. In just a few brief lines, all the relief she had been feeling was cruelly snuffed out, the void replaced by emotions too raw to name.

The memory of her friend’s smiling face flashed to mind unbidden—the last time she would see the cheerful girl—dressed in a gown her family likely couldn’t afford, ebullient and profusely thanking her for having given the invitation, blurting out that attending the event had been the best night of her life! That she had met so many important people and been introduced to so many possible new connections!

Ria choked out an angry sob. How wrong Ellen had been! The girl had worked so hard, so close to becoming the first licensed mage in her family—all for naught. Gone.

Unclenching her trembling hand enough to pull the second page of Orlisi’s letter free, Ria’s eyes fell onto the list of the dead with a sucked breath of despair. So, many… how many of them were youths like her? She didn’t even want to think about it.

If she hadn’t fallen, if she had noticed the attack sooner and gotten Phaelys out of the way, how many of those could she and four-time ‘Divinesday Newcomer Champion’ Phaelys have saved?

She recognized many of the Houses listed from her practice with Keira. Orlisi was right. There was no way Crysellia would let this go unanswered.

War. It was what she wanted. Shouldn’t she be happy?

Ria flung the letter down, and slammed her clenched fist onto the bed.

This was all because of her.

They had all died because of her.

More would die because of her.

But she couldn’t stop. She owed her mother and Jeni more than that. The king of Revant needed to meet her righteous judgment. Her grandfather needed to meet her righteous judgment. All those who knowingly advised or aided in the discarding of villages and so many villages’ people as so much trash, all of them needed to meet her righteous judgment!

But how many more would have to suffer for it? Because of her.

Her village, because of her. Amilee because of her. Because she had to play the hero. And now, Ellen. Ellen wouldn’t have even been there if not for the invitation! The assassins would have never attacked if not for her recklessness with her secret. She should have never taken Hemse’s amulet off!

And Zena, who was always so composed and cool like an older sister. Something bad enough that Orlisi wouldn’t even tell her!

Ranger sent her a query, half-concerned at the feelings bleeding through their bond, half-elated that she was awake. Ria blocked him out. She felt terrible for it, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk with anyone, guilt and anger crashing into her in waves as her emotions spiraled out of control.

Fury and self-loathing flooded out, and she slammed her aura down against herself. With a violent splintering of wooden legs, the bed and side table crushed down, the table’s contents scattering to the floor, glass breaking and water spilling. She shaped her aura with her arm intending to lash out, to smash and rend the vases and bundles of colorful get-well flowers and everything else around the room.

A familiar yellow and orange stopped her.

Flowers just like the ones given to Cassielle.

With a screech of frustration, Ria grabbed the energy to her fist, forming molten chains before letting it dissipate.

The noise and everything else about her raging had stirred up a commotion outside her room, and Ria flopped backward like a marionette with its strings cut. Groaning at both the discomfort of the broken wood under her broken mattress and the deserved scolding sure to come.

“An intruder?”

The identity of the voice drew Ria’s surprise as the door slammed open and her new Healing Hands friend rushed into the room together with a young man in a shiny breastplate emblazoned with a stylized gryphon.

Her eyes met Mina’s as the girl searched the room for the threat, a wand ready. It didn’t take long for her fourth-year friend to note the mangled letter laying on the bed’s covers. “I’m glad you’re back with us. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ria huffed and looked away, feeling both further guilty about the property she had damaged and embarrassed that a senior who she considered a friend had witnessed it. She hadn’t even managed to injure herself. Had her body become so much stronger—that even with her physical weakness—the magic had barely managed to bruise her skin? Or, was it simply because using her own domain against herself wasn’t particularly effective?

Only faint bruises in odd patches of crescent moon shapes… her eyes narrowed at the sight.

“Ah, you can go back, Gonni. Send for one of the wood-shapers from maintenance if you would, please,” Mina told the armored man.

“If you’re sure,” the young knight hedged, still looking around at the destruction and gazing around the room with glowing eyes, searching for a hidden threat.

“I am,” Mina insisted and pushed the knight toward the door. Once the door was closed again, the fourth-year girl sat down on the broken bedding beside Ria. “Ria… even if you’re a princess, you mustn’t. No, especially if you’re a princess, you mustn’t. You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”

Wha-?

Ria looked up in surprise at her friend.

Though restrained by understanding the mood, Mina gave her a sly smile. “Your special treatment, your talent, your aura, and an assassination attempt? It’s not hard to guess that you’re the rumored princess that joined this year’s group of first-years.”

Ria blinked for a moment then rolled on her side to face away from the older girl, a broken bit of wood poking uncomfortably under the fabric. “No, that’s actually someone else.”

Mina climbed over to sit facing her again, and seeing the warm look and further patronizing smile, Ria groaned and muttered, “I’m not saying that I’m not an unrecognized princess, but I’m not the one from the rumors. My Ordermate, Orlisi Yurren, was investigating that rumor and thinks she’s tracked down who it is.”

Mina’s face made an ‘o’. “That’s… not exactly the answer I was expecting.”

Feeling stubborn and emotional, Ria looked away again and let the silence grow, trying to keep her eyes from leaking further or her nose from sniffling. She didn’t trust her voice either.

“There’s no way that is comfortable, especially for someone still recovering. Here. Sit up,” Mina prompted undeterred, gently tugging her upright and wrapping her into a hug. “So… about you blaming yourself, want to talk about it?”

Did she?

“I don’t know.”

“That’s fine. We can just stay like this until Gonni returns,” Mina reassured her, giving her a squeeze and rubbing her back.

Ria grunted and wiped at the tear-streaks on her face, and tried to keep her composure in front of the older girl, but it was hopeless, and she leaned into the offered shoulder, the comforting hug destroying the last of her restraint and the tears and sobs flowed freely until there was nothing left.

When she finally calmed down and again wiped her face with her sleeves, Mina maintained the hug for a while longer before leaning back and helping clear away the remaining wetness. “How are you feeling?”

It took Ria a few moments to realize that Mina was asking about her recovery—not as a friend, but as a healer assigned to her. “Sore, weak. And my magic feels wrong. Sluggish like syrup.”

“Hmm…” Mina hummed then probed with a sensing magic for a few moments. “The treatment did make your flows thicker. Maybe the denser energy is just harder to control now?”

“Maybe…”

Wondering if it could really be that simple, Ria reached for her energy again, then tried to reach for her orichalcum energy and stopped with more than a bit of shock.

She had achieved unity with her affinity! There was no longer any difference between the orichalcum energy in her body and the energy in her reserves!

How?

The treatment to restore her bloodline was the only explanation. A goal that should have taken her years… accomplished just like that!

Her hand went to one of the sharp nubs of crystal mostly hidden by her hair.

No, not just like that. The change wasn’t without a price.

But. If her magic was stronger, what did it matter if her appearance changed?

Ria drew deeply of the room’s energy, breathing it in through the crystal nubs and circulating it. Mina was right. The energy pathways traversing her body were raging molten rivers now. Of course, a river would be harder to control than a meandering stream!

She almost laughed. Instead, a cruel smile lifted the corners of her lips.

She was another step closer to her goal.

Kurt looked over the maps and construction plans laid out before him. The section of wall that he was responsible for was progressing on schedule. The netherbeast attacks were still a problem but, after the combat training and the awakening of his and others’ bloodlines, had become manageable with minimal further losses.

That didn’t mean the current situation was by any means safe or secure. His glance fell to Ben and where his brother’s face was scarred and left hand missing.

For the most part, they all wanted to do what they could to protect the kingdom and their families. Getting sent home would mean becoming a burden on the war effort.

“You’re worrying about things again,” Ben chided him and a grin tugged upward. “I’m sure Ria and mom are doing fine. Knowing Ria, she’s awakened Dad’s bloodline as well, just to be like her strong and skilled older brothers.”

The sight of Dad moving with inhuman speed and strength as he rallied the others during that first netherbeast attack would forever be etched into Kurt’s memory, his father’s shovel splitting the demonspawn in explosions of gore until the tool’s jagged metal gave way and he smashed beast after beast with his bare hands.

With the discovery of their bloodline, both he and Ben had been given officer training and were promised land and minor noble titles if they performed well. Danny had also been recognized for his talent and trained alongside them.

The training had been exciting, painful, and frustrating. Neither he nor Ben had any talent for magic other than physical reinforcement, but the strength of their physical reinforcement abilities was unmatched among their age group and even unmatched by many of the veteran commanders and nobles.

Danny’s ability to disappear from time to time was uncanny, and the confident jerk had been assigned a scouting unit. Their hunter friend had yet to find out any information on the village where their families were being kept safe, but the recent batch of letters from family members had done much to raise the morale of the men he and Ben led. Hopefully, if the front became stable enough, they would start being allowed leave to visit with family soon.

~~~

End Book 2