Author's note: At least five chapters today. Hoping for more, but the rough drafts need a bit more love than usual.
...Mage Lord...
Kaochim’s tournament was coming together quickly.
Yet not quickly enough for Ari's liking. If she had it her way, it would’ve already been over. Then she could have been moving on to more productive things. Still it would be good for morale. She could appreciate that if nothing else.
“Why have we come to this bog once again?” Bahama asked, looking around the Vox Knight’s compound.
“Because they’re holding the tournament here. You know that.”
“And you know I was requesting why our attendance was required.”
“You didn’t have to come with me,” Ari pointed out, though she was glad for the dragon’s company. Having her along made certain interactions easier. The respect people showed the dragon transferred rather well, considering her choice to stand behind Ari instead of at her shoulder. “Though it is technically your fault we’re here.”
“My fault?”
“Yes. You threatened to eat one of the new recruits.”
“Did I? I don’t recall.”
At that, Ari turned in place to glare up at the lizard. “You don’t recall? Do you threaten to eat so many people?”
“If they stepped on my tail, I likely said it out of reflex then forgot about it. It’s an old habit,” Bahama admitted with a shrug. At least the dragon hadn’t started staring blankly into space. Felt like that happened more often than Bahama wanted to admit.
“Well, now I need to reassure their leadership you’re not declaring war on their entire order.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had knights attempt to slaughter me. Knights attempting to slay dragons was a whole thing, once upon a time.” Ari’d been around the dragon enough to recognize the smile as a wry one, likely a joke that only Bahama would get. Ari certainly didn’t.
Even so, she had to be sure. “That’s a joke, right? You’re not declaring war on the people training our next generation of guards.”
Bahama snorted, arching an eyebrow at Ari.
“Right. Silly of me to ask. You’re on vacation. No wars for you.”
This time the smile Bahama gave her was warmer. It was a bit alarming how used to the dragon’s smiles she was getting.
With an unrepetant dragon in tow, Ari went to find Vexith or Vexna.
It was the latter she encountered first, lounging against a barrel while occasionally yelling a correction at one of her trainees. Ari envied the woman’s freedom to simply be. If she were to lounge like that, she’d be constantly tugging at her clothing, glancing around to see who was looking, judging. Ari frowned. Thoughts like that were intruding frequently since Perry left.
At least the woman didn’t expect niceties. Ari could skip right to the heart of the matter. “I heard there was an incident. I’m here to assure you Bahama holds no grudge.”
“Wait, is that what Vexith wrote?” Vexna asked, glancing towards the two of them before turning back and yelling at one of the recruits. After they’d corrected their form, she returned her attention to Ari. “The damn dragon threatened to eat a kid. During their sixth Summer Tide party.” Despite her words, the woman had a smirk fixed firmly in place. Vexna gestured across the grounds, to where a group of children touring the tournament setup were playing. “Honestly, the children were ecstatic. It was their caretaker who came rambling to us, demanding we do something about it.”
“Ah. I do remember, after all,” Bahama said, suddenly beaming. “We played for most of the afternoon.”
“Yep. Was a good time all around. Except for the caretaker. Man must’ve lost half his hair,” Vexna turned away, yelling more corrections. “Vexith didn’t think to check with me. Head’s grown two sizes since we took this position, I swear. Sorry to waste your time, Lady Arizar.”
“That… is honestly a relief,” Ari said, glancing at the still beaming dragon. “Sorry Bahama.”
“No apology needed. I know how often misunderstandings occur. I am the head of administration.”
As the Tethered would say, that was a whole other net Ari wasn’t climbing. Not that she could if she wanted to. Bahama was very tight lipped about what the title entailed, unless it was to slip in the sort of teasing comment she’d just made.
More than once, the temptation to reveal to Bahama that Perry was the head of maintenance had surfaced. But of all her impulses of late, it was one of the easier ones to suppress.
With the situation resolved before she’d even arrived, Ari took the opportunity to tour the compound alongside the children. It made her wonder how Bevel was doing. The girl hardly seemed to need her lately, always off with her friends.
It had been quite the adjustment, taking her on. One Ari had ended up quite enjoying. It felt like an even bigger one, learning to give her the space she needed.
As they passed near the children, Bahama leaned over, nearly breathing in Ari’s ear. There’d been a time that might have terrified her, knowing the dragon could incinerate her with a single exhale.
Now Ari found her ears perking slightly, as she waited for whatever inappropriate comment the dragon had in store. “Are they truly that young? It can be so hard to tell these days. I thought they were just another variant of the short ones. What was it they used to call them? Halflings, I believe?”
Ari let out a quick puff of breath, shaking her head. “They’re children. I don't know if I've ever seen one of these halflings you're referring to.”
“They are quite like your children in size. Except I suppose they are more adult in features. Plus there was an offshoot who were particularly proud of their large feet. Strange little creatures. Good at serving tea and delivering packages to dangerous locations though.”
Deciding to ignore that for the moment, even if Ari did find her curiosity piqued, she addressed the original issue once more, “If you're going to be poking around on your own, you could try acting like a regular person, you know.”
“But I have been acting like a regular person, have I not?” Bahama asked, scratching her head with one oversized claw.
Ari turned to study the dragon for a second before letting out a half-laugh. “You’re serious.”
“Have I been so strange? I thought I was adapting well.”
Was Bahama… was the dragon pouting? Ari shook her head, clearing it of the ridiculous notion, no matter that was exactly how it appeared. “I can give you some instructions, if you’d like.” If there was one thing Ari had plenty of experience with, it was acting normal.
Too much experience, perhaps, considering how everyday she discovered how very out of the ordinary her life had been. The three people she related to most were her adopted child, her paramour and a dragon. The first had spent half her life without parents, the second had been born on another world, and the third… well Bahama was a dragon who’d lived longer than the history of their very world.
Supposedly.
“Very well,” Bahama decided. “Teach me how a normal person might behave.”
“Right, well, let’s walk and talk.” Ari did her best to relay her lessons to the dragon as they continued the tour of the compound. As she was talking she quickly realized just how far her standards had changed from when she'd grown up. Already the many cultures of the Frigid Peaks were having an effect, everything melting together. As stubborn as some of the tribes like Falith’s could be, a great many more were interested in bragging or trading with their neighbors, which created less conflict. It also meant that what was acceptable and what wasn't was constantly changing as people tried to adapt to Aeternia’s new social norms.
The children touring with the Vox Knights was just one aspect of such.
At least Aeternia was having a period of unprecedented creativity when it came to clothing. Ari had spotted no less than ten new dresses she wanted to buy that morning alone, more than half of which had been spent on the Vox Knight base.
She found herself halting, both physically and in her explanation, staring at the pen of inferno drakes. Children were climbing on their backs, held there by one of Vaserra’s people.
How was any of this supposed to be normal?
“Is there a problem?” Bahama asked when Ari stopped.
“No. Not exactly… I just… forget everything I just said,” Ari said, staring at one of those inferno drakes. She remembered the story of how Inertia had claimed them. Just as importantly, how respected Inertia was. “It has quite suddenly occurred to me, I’ve spent the last ten years of my life quite foolishly.”
“How so?” Bahama inquired, her voice taking on a rare tone Ari hadn’t yet identified. At another time, she might’ve given it more thought.
But Ari felt herself thrust into a horrible sea of doubt.
“I… I’m not entirely sure. I just… The people I want to spend time with aren’t normal. Our lives aren’t either. So why did I…” Ari shook her head, pushing her doubts down. She flashed Bahama a crooked smile. The sort of smile she normally reserved for her time inside Memory Palace. “What do you say we get out of here? I’ve got real problems to deal with.”
For all the empire grew, the more there were moments like children climbing atop an inferno drake’s back, the more difficult it became for her to stay on top of things.
The dragon acquiesced with a nod, and they left the compound behind, traveling via Waygate to Southport. Her spells returned, lighting up in her vision, neatly categorizing her tasks in the area. Something she doubted most normal people would use regularly, even if they could. For once, that thought didn’t send a tingle of shame down her spine.
Ari slowed as they emerged from the Waygate near South Port, nodding at the decreased traffic.
“Is it me, or are there less people using the Waygate,” Bahama asked, in a tone that told Ari the dragon was indulging her.
“I made some changes,” Ari admitted. “The queue was taking longer than the new trains.” It was amusing to her that instantaneous travel had become one of the slower methods to get around Aeternia.
“Or flying,” Bahama said, stretching her own wings.
“Precisely. Now the Waygate is reserved for priority transport and bulk goods. Or if people want to pay for the privilege.” A delivery of said bulk goods was making its way past them even as they stepped out of the Waygate’s building. Some sort of woven cloth, according to her spell’s analysis.
“It is good you kept those machines from being available for personal use,” Bahama said, nodding towards the six-wheeled vehicle that had likely delivered the cloth from the harbor. “They tend to make things worse. Better if everyone flies.”
“Yeah. A couple people did try to suggest them, but after talking with Perry, we decided to keep them to a few certain roles.” Namely delivery, construction and scouting. Though the last was for Fang alone, and then only when Calbern was at its helm. Flight was more efficient. “I did approve the development of a few race courses in the emptier areas near the Wyvern Peaks. Much cheaper than father’s Tide Runs.”
“It can be entertaining to restrict oneself to the abilities of a lesser form of transport,” Bahama said. Despite the apparent condescension, Ari could tell the dragon was being sincere.
They continued talking as they made way down the busy street. Gliders passing overhead, people going about their daily business. Not even ensouled people, simple mortals. A glance at the dragon, made her wonder what all they must have lost for this to feel so revolutionary to Ari.
They moved into a busier area near the docks, though the street she was headed to in particular was a little slower at this time of day. Too early for its usual customers. The tavern was a new building. One that had been intended as a storehouse. She didn’t know the details, but it hadn’t worked out so it’d been converted into a tavern. Not a very good one either, going by the smell.
Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to find the man she was looking for.
“Tanis,” Ari said, pausing over the table where he was slouched, his head firmly fixed on the table. The man was doing a truly astounding performance of being drunk.
Astounding in how horrid it was. Even in the time it’d taken her to scan the room and locate him, he’d lifted his chin no less than three times to peek out at everyone around him.
Tanis peeled his forehead up from the table, staring at her with a gaze that was far too clear to fool anyone. “Lady Arizar? What’re you doing here?”
“I should be asking you that. Aren't your wives expecting soon? Shouldn't you be with them?”
At her question Tanis's face scrunched up even as he nodded. “I would be my lady, if it were up to me.”
“That means you feel you don't have a choice. Why are you here? Sidhe tells me you’ve been asking questions about men in dark robes?”
Tanis mumbled something under his breath.
“I’m afraid you’ll need to speak up.”
The large man let out a loud sigh, glancing about the room. “Been having dreams. More like nightmares. ‘Bout men in dark robes snatching children.”
“That is… highly specific,” Ari replied, glancing towards Bahama.
“I know how it sounds, lady Arizar,” Tanis said, rubbing his face. “Thought maybe if I found proof…”
“I’m afraid you’re not fooling anyone,” Ari said, laying a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Nor should you. You’re one of the most famous Untethered in all of Aeternia. I’m afraid your place isn’t catching men skulking about in the dark.”
The big man laughed. “Right. Guess I just wanted to… I don’t know.”
“Tell you what, why don’t you tell me everything you can about your dreams. If there’s anything useful, I’ll make sure we keep our eyes open.” Ari’d seen enough research about latent visionaries to know better than to simply put his dreams to the side.
“You sure, boss lady? Don’t you have more important things to do?”
“Tanis, at the moment, your worries are my highest priority.” Because, while Tanis’s efforts were likely doomed to failure, he was hardly the only one chasing down dark figures. There were all sorts of agents trying to infiltrate and create problems. That some of them were so bad at it they acted little better than cultists from the stories… well, such was life.
Ari put together a report, though as he talked, she picked up a feeling of helplessness. She respected his feelings. Having monsters raining down on you several times a week, only to know that you were doing nothing to repel them… She'd felt that way when she learned about Spellford's efforts to cleanse the oceans around it just so their people could have a bit more warning when the threats did come.
What she needed was something for him to do, something productive. Her gaze shifted to the dragon standing nearby.
“Come on, this isn't the best use of your talents, and we both know it,” Ari said, patting the large man's shoulder. Wasn't even a lie. There were so many things she could put him to that others wouldn't be half as capable at.
The key was to find something that would make him feel like he was making the difference he needed. In fact, wasn't she just dealing with exactly the sort of thing that he would be good with?
The tournament would benefit from his touch. And seeing other people who likely felt similar to him. Yep, sending him to the bog would be the right move.
“There’s a tournament coming up. And I think Tetherfall’s most famous guardian should take a prominent role.”
Tanis perked up, and soon she’d managed to offload most of her duties on the man.
Even so, there was always something else to be taken care of.
“I’ll see you later,” Ari said to the dragon. “I have a personal matter to attend to.”
“Your father?”
“Am I that transparent?”
“You are all as glass to one as old as I.” Bahama thrust out her chest at the words.
Ari might’ve believed them, if not for their earlier exchange about what was normal. “Stained glass, like the type they use in the Hundred Kingdoms?”
Bahama harumphed, but left Ari in peace.
Using a spell to cinch her dress tighter to her legs, Ari raced inside the Waygate, returning home. There wasn’t anyone to see her. Mount Aeternia was mostly empty these days. Only her family dwelled within. She’d dismissed the servants. Dealing with infiltration took more time than doing the few mundane tasks themselves. Plus, there was a satisfaction in being the one who served her family’s meals, even if it was just her, Bevel and Nexxa these days.
Nexxa was there even then, bent over a bench working on some project or other. One she’d get the details over later, in Memory Palace. Ari was surprised at how much she'd come to enjoy Nexxa's presence. Even more so, she was surprised at how often Nexxa was finding herself in Aeternia even with Parry gone. It was only for a couple of hours a day but those hours were spent together, either at meals or inside one of their Memory Palaces. It added up to quite a bit.
The biggest problem with running an empire the size she was, was that it didn't leave a lot of time for her to visit her father. Yet doing so was critical for a number of reasons, not least of which was trading information. Sidhe had advised Ari doing the trades personally would be the most secure method. She’d seen the excuse to visit her father once a week and grasped it with both hands. Thankfully, even if the interference grew worse, Ari’d be able to return to Aeternia in a few hours by airship.
Not that she intended to do so. Ari started walking around her own artifact that she'd crafted, inspired by Perry's work. She'd been relying upon Recall.
After the interference, and their success sending Calamity through it, she’d built her own version of Perry’s anchor. The matching component had arrived in Spellford the day before. And Ari hadn’t been able to spare the time to test it until now.
She did so.
After a few successful transits, sending a few low value trade goods through, Ari followed suit.
Her anchor wasn't whatever Perry had designed, a "spark plug" as he called it. Her design didn't use any storm imagery. Instead it held a flickering flame in a hearth, much like the ones she used to cuddle up with, reading books in her father's Memory Palace. Hers was large enough to step inside of, which felt appropriate. A flame shouldn’t be allowed to spread wantonly.
Instead of thunder, Ari became a ball of fire streaking across the sky, reforming in a blast inside one of her former bedroom in Spellford. The nearby stone was blackened from her first attempts at the spell. It was impossible to control the side-effects without being present.
Stepping out into the hall, she made her way towards her father's office. A short walk. Despite being Djinn-souled and the ruler of Spellford, her father's home was rather modest, barely a four-room dwelling. One of which was her bedroom, where she'd placed the hearth.
Much like her own home, there weren't any servants here. And for much the same reason. It had been her father's suggestion to get rid of them when she'd been complaining about how long she'd spent each day making sure that they hadn't been infiltrated again with more assassins. A simple solution she regretted taking so long to come to.
Ari found her father in the main front room, where the hearth she’d modeled her transport on burned. It held wood logs, likely grown by her father in his personal greenhouse. The smoke was carefully sucked away into a hidden enchantment that would break the exhaust into its component parts for reuse.
One of her father's minor indulgences. Ari found herself moving towards that hearth first. It was the warmth of the hearth that had first drawn her to fire. She'd never thought of fire as solely a great destructive thing. For her it had first been associated comfort and home.
“Just a minute, my dear,” her father said from his table as he scratched out some document.
Ari was glad to let him work for a minute, simply enjoying his presence. She'd budgeted two whole hours to spend with her father, knowing some of it would be spent inside his palace where they could truly relax. And where they would conduct the bulk of their business.
For the moment she wanted to enjoy being in her home after so long away.
“Now then,” her father said, setting his paperwork to the side. He leaned back in his chair before pushing up and holding his arms wide.
With no one else around, Ari didn't bother with decorum, running over and jumping into his arms and squeezing her father tightly. Then she released him, stepping back. Her eyes were unable to keep from flitting to the paperwork he'd just set aside, which caused a frown to take the place of her smile. “They're hassling you because you've been trading with us?”
Her father waved a hand dismissively. “Oh don't worry about that, my dear. They're always upset about one thing or another, especially with those of us who don't adhere so tightly to central command’s, uptight war footing. This new Risen Council's trying to act as if we don't have thousands of years of successful history to draw upon, as if the rules have suddenly changed. Monsters have always been there; they just weren't the ones doing the fighting.”
“That's an interesting take, Father.”
Her father smiled, cracking his knuckles as he prepared to cast his Memory Palace. “It's the truth. Remember how much effort it took that Captain Sidhe of yours to get the Dauntless built? Then she finally got it doing the job and instead of keeping it around central command, sent it off on diplomatic missions on the far side of Ro’an. They've never been the ones doing the job, just the ones taking all the credit.”
Ari didn’t disagree as she cast her own palace before joining her father in his. Instead, she frowned. It was good she’d visited. Her father’s palace was a lot more powerful than her own.
It would give her a great deal more time to prepare for the coming storm. Her father was right: central command wasn't doing much of the fighting but they were certainly capable of causing headaches for the rest of them.
Just another set of figures in dark robes, far as Ari was concerned.