Arceia – Chapter Nine

My seal was mostly a safety blanket at this point as far as I understood it anyway, but it still made me nervous to see it gone like this. I made special note that it didn’t even leave a scar, which told me that father had in fact seen it and corrected it, possibly thinking it an injury I sustained during the battle that night. I also began to wonder if he had done the same for Zephyra and her eye, but I shook that thought away. She was in presentable condition when we saw her, and it sounded like she didn’t fight after we did. It was unlikely father took pity on her and granted her a new eye just for saving my life.

Finishing my preparations and putting myself together in a manner that the Third Princess would be required to present herself in – the same emissary uniform I first came to Magnum in – I looked again to the bed June was resting in and saw that she seemed to have a smile on her face in her sleep. Such a carefree person, even after such a terrifying situation, it made me realize all the more that she was in fact blood related to my adopted family. I’d never seen her as my cousin before this, but I suppose it was time I recognized her as one. Privately, of course, as I still decided it was her place to tell father of her relation to him. 

The door to leave the room was lighter than I’d imagined, and I felt as though my sudden optimism gave me more strength to leave this room, and this fear I had, where it belonged; As something to be aware of and not controlled by.

“Ready to go?” Father asked, as I closed the door behind myself with a nod. I noticed that there were several Imperial guards outside our room, and berated myself for not thinking there would be. Even if it were against his will and even if he could handle himself just fine, the royal guards who were hired to protect exclusively the First Tactician and the palace wouldn’t leave his side. I had no doubt that this small collective believed themselves to be doing the right thing, but supposed that there would be tenfold the number or more standing at the throne still.

“Do we have parchment  and ink for the occasion?” I asked, to which he snapped his fingers and materialized some of each for me. I laughed. “I don’t know why I asked.”

“When we arrive, you should do your best to keep to observations only. If the memory of the battle triggers, write down all that you can. If it does not, we must at least gather information on the battle scars of the terrain and make educated guesses. I believe seeing the corpses of the creatures will be plenty to awaken those memories, however.”

“Let’s hope.” I said, tucking the paper and ink away into the same spot I’d normally carry a spell tome on my hip. “Should we… Make this trip quick?” I asked, hinting at father to do his teleportation and escape the small horde of soldiers we were surrounded by. He sighed, and shrugged in a very unfitting way for an Emperor.

“I suppose we can, it is only a quick trip after all.”

“Thank you. I’m not sure I’d be able to focus in this large of a crowd.” I joked, making some of the soldiers step back as far as they could against the walls of the narrow hall.

“Very well. Then, my assignment for those in this space with us now is as follows.” he began, raising a finger to the door I’d just come from. “Stand guard and protect the Second General and her student behind this door. Do not enter under any circumstance unless specifically directed to by the Second General herself. We will return shortly. If ten minutes pass and we are not present once more, inform the Second General to contact me directly for more orders.”

All together the soldiers stood at attention and confirmed they had received their orders, lining up against opposing walls. Two stood at each side of the door, and two stood watching them parallel, with the others standing facing outward toward the rest of the hall. Father offered his hand to me and raised his other in a position to snap his fingers once more. I took his hand and thought about the last time I’d teleported with him, almost a year ago. I remember the experience making me somewhat sick, but as he snapped his thumb and middle finger rather than index, I felt the energy of Creation overwhelm us. 

Part of being a Creator was to have an unending pool of a substance more refined than Flux energy in the body, and in this case he used that energy to manipulate our position in the world to instantly shift us to another. This process phased us through solid matter and relocated us within the blink of an eye. The feeling of heat and wind is all there was to the process, and there was no visual indicator that we had begun. As soon as it began, it ended. We stood at the outskirts of the farm I’d defended that night, and I remember the sight from the angle. This is where June bolted forward without us.

“We need to move. That’s what June said at this spot. After that…” I looked forward to where I could loosely remember us standing based on some of the charred marks in the dirt and burnt grass around those. “That’s where we fought. But that’s not hard to guess.”

I continued my approach, running a hand along the railing of the fence as we did so. The closer I got, the more I realized the evidence of the battle was only from our side, save for a glassed over portion of the area and a few spots similar to it. 

“There are no bodies. Did somebody clean them up?” I asked, and heard father say no.

“This area was under strict orders to leave it as is until we determined the origin of the damage. Nobody should have been allowed here.”

“And those people preventing entry didn’t report any bodies either?” I asked, turning back to face him. He shook his head, and followed me closer.

“That’s why I was awaiting your testimony. None who were charged with this area after the fact have said anything about it to me, or to the Peacemakers.”

“I see… And this hardened dirt below our feet. None have spoken of this either?” I asked, noting to myself how I’d been speaking more formally to my father than I had to anyone else this prior time at Magnum. I started to think about the comedy in feeling like I had to speak like a diplomat to my family while being free to casually laugh with strangers, but that thought was unimportant to the moment.

“Not a word.” He replied, eyeing it and its position to the rest. “Perhaps, this relates to your injury? It seems as though it is directly behind where you were presumed to stand.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” I confirmed, kneeling down to reach for some of the glossy dirt. “It feels like a glass texture, though very rough. It is emitting slight heat as well.”

“Perhaps this is what remains of some form of magical attack?” he asked, his words as uncertain as my instinct.

“I… think this is blood, actually.” I leaned down closer to smell the area, on my knee to do so. “Yes, it smells of… smelting iron. Father, this is-” he cut me off.

“Coagulated blood that feels like glass and emits heat… That would explain your injury, where it appeared as though your arm had been partially dissolved.”

“Wait. Say again?”

“Your arm and a portion of your side had seemed to melt off your body. There was no blood, either. It was as though the areas affected by that attack had been sealed by the same moment.”

“That’s it!” I shouted, realizing my excitement and hushing myself for a moment. Clearing my throat, I continued. “I remember now. I was toppled by something, and landed in a pool of its blood. This blood felt like acid to me, and I rolled out of it quickly, but I recall June mentioning the same thing. She had encountered this creature before, and warned us of this during the battle.”

Suddenly, I was getting flashes of the night, and reached for my quill and paper. I nearly slammed it to the ground and began writing, speaking as I did so just so father knew what I was doing.

“Six legged reptilian beast. Exoskeletal armor. Pulsating joints with faint orange glow. Tails with stingers. Elongated faces. Six eyes. Pack behavior like wolves. Capability to adapt and learn, showing primitive sentience. Alpha pack leader with a fanned neck. Alpha was capable of Flux control. Acidic blood, now confirmed capable of coagulation. Durability-” I punched the blood puddle and felt no give from it. “High.” I stood, handing my paperwork to father.

“June referred to the creatures as abominations, saying that is what Drey and her had named them. They encountered a small pack before this and dealt with it swiftly. She also stated that her memory of the fight only came back to her when she was forced to perceive the creature again, so there is a definite form of memory cloaking these creatures have innate to them. I will likely forget all of this the moment we leave the area.”

“Flux beasts with such potent defenses surely would have been documented otherwise.” he nodded, agreeing. “Abominations, you say? We will have to properly document them upon a true observation sometime. Perhaps if we can catch one in the future. For now, however…” he read through my writing, and nodded. “Everything you spoke, you did indeed write down. This is fortunate – it means we at least can educate the public on the creatures directly. Remembering them or not, if they are a known threat then we can protect against them.”

“While true, I believe this is a small sample.” I interjected. “Seeing the creatures myself, I was able to note several differences in muscle structure and face shape that seemed more like it was a gathering of differing subspecies that branched from a larger whole. What I’ve written is the general common themes between each of them, but I couldn’t see them all still long enough to make this anything more than a hypothesis.”

“You’re saying you believe there is a progenitor to the pack that is unrelated?” he question, and I nodded.

“My encounter was brief, but this pack acted with an uncomfortable level of intelligence and coordination, almost as if guided by a higher force. A tactician. At the time I’d assumed this was the alpha, but thinking forward even toward the end the alpha was willing to throw its life away to kill us. That’s not the behavior I’d expect of a true alpha, in charge of an entire group.”

“That’s the behavior of another grunt that has slightly more power.” father confirmed. “I see where you’re going with this.”

“Correct. As such…” I returned to my hunched position and began to write more, creating a branching graph.

“I believe we can classify these abominations. The smallest of them can be classified under the term Grunt. The larger, Soldier, and perhaps more of them yet to be discovered can be added later.”

“Logical, as always.” I could feel the pride he had in his words from my position. “Very well then. I will grant you a new title. I believe you’ve earned it.”

This made me nearly crane my neck in response before standing.

“Third Princess Arceia.” he spoke in a stern, more noble voice than before. I recognized this as his ‘work voice’ and went along with it. 

“Yes, sir.” I responded equally in my own ‘work voice.’

“You who have demonstrated superior problem solving and investigative skills, shall be known as the Third Hunter henceforth. This title demonstrates your ability to pursue the truth, no matter the obstacles in your way, for the good of the Empire. Your actions in the face of danger  and your ability to perceive that which others cannot has been beyond any other. Will you accept your new title and the boons therein?”

“I- I will, sir.” I confirmed, bowing my head low.

“Then raise your head, and be granted your new rank with a smile.” he returned to his normal speaking voice to me, and snapped his fingers again, presenting me with a normal map of Magna Varia. “You will be granted your own private location to conduct research and puzzle out things asked of you. Please select a location not currently occupied that is within Empire territory for construction to take place, and elaborate on what structure you would prefer.”

I couldn’t form proper words for this moment, as I’m sure anybody else being gifted land would react the same, and so I held my tongue for a moment while I considered the best option for the task. Not only would this enable me easier access to materials for my personal project of determining what Crimson Mistress was and why it chose me for its host, but it would grant me the freedom to use my own methods in private to solve most of my ordinary situations. I was strongly in favor of this, but the placement had to be correct or it would never amount to much.

“A tower from which I can observe the terrain for changes would be ideal.” I spoke finally, pointing to a location on the map that was toward the eastern coast, about a three day walk from Skade Peak. “In this location, centralized in the wilderness. This tower would need to contain its own library of course, but also facilities for extended stay. I would need it to be outfitted as if it were my new home, as I would spend a great deal of time there working on greater issues and travel from this secluded a location would take too long.”

“Granted.” he rolled the map back up, tucking it away never to be seen again. “It will be done in a matter of days with Imperial mages aiding construction. Between now and then, you are relieved of duty and free to use your time as you see fit. I will call for you again when it’s completed.”

“Understood.” I bowed, and then switched back to my more casual nature for a hug. Out here, if it were just us, I knew he wouldn’t mind. Father was surprisingly bashful with affection, and I could tell this was no exception.

“You’ve made me very proud, Arceia.” he said, distancing himself from the hug quickly. “Let’s return to your friend, now. Surely she will be awake by this point.”

“Agreed. The funniest thing about this situation is, it was all her idea.” I decided to elaborate a bit “She was trying to make quick money to buy herself and her family Sending Hearts, and we wound up in a situation we had no idea would escalate like that.”

“Is that all this amounted to? An outing to buy a long range device?” he sighed. “Well, she is a teenager I suppose. She will have her device and thensome. Nobody who performs that bravely will go unrewarded.”

“I was thinking the same thing. But that’s enough about that for now.” I offered my hand this time first. “I think your ten minute timer is about to expire, we should hurry back.”

I may not have figured out the whole story behind Franz’ killer, how it ties into myself and Crimson Mistress or how to properly keep myself under control yet, but I was beginning to think things would turn out okay anyway. After all, I was finally making progress.