Have you seen one? No? Then shut up. Champions are not misunderstood, they're not hot, and Silent Gods give me patience, you're not going to try to seduce one. I don't care about your reasons. Bran, no.
I said no.
Excerpt from The Beasts of the Dungeon.
REPLACE WITH LINE BREAK p^o^q REPLACE WITH LINE BREAK
Marcus idly stroked Xathar's mane while they walked through the main Redwater gate, a throng of people on either side of the path. Company after company of soldiers marched behind them, and though Elly had said this was likely to happen, and that it would be good for basically everyone, it was… disconcerting.
Two weeks between the end of the Dungeon Break and that so-called party in Strada, then another two weeks to get back home. There was no Gate in Mirrania yet, which meant the army needed to actually travel, but again, Elly had said that was good.
It apparently allowed for decompression and gave the soldiers time to mentally recharge. He was starting to suspect she was making things up, honestly.
Elly nudged her own horse to walk beside his, because Xathar had been petty and had pulled ahead some minutes prior. "The adoring crowd loves you, your Grace."
"What are you, the devil on my shoulder?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "No, actually, that's Vess. And don't call me your Grace. It's weird."
She grinned at him. "Am I making you uncomfortable, sir?"
"That one I don't mind," Marcus replied lightly. "It's about time you showed me the proper respect, really."
The grin fell off her face, replaced by narrowed eyes and a displeased frown. Or pout. He wasn't entirely sure what she was trying, honestly. She was about to shoot something back, most likely aimed at his manhood and the supposed lack thereof, when her eyes flickered upwards in surprise.
Marcus twisted forward, his full defenses snapping into place and a spatial arc on the verge of being released. He saw nothing, but Elly's senses were better than his own, so—
"Calm," Elly soothed, tone apologetic. "There's no danger. I just saw the Academy tower and was surprised at its height. It's higher than the keep. We've been gone for a while, haven't we?"
He forcefully relaxed the hold over his magic, waving away the Royal Guards around him. A stutter of confusion had gone through the crowd at both his own actions and that of his men, but moments later the first Royal Mirranian Soldiers marched through the gate. The cheer continued and the moment passed, though he felt like cursing.
Elly sighed at whatever she saw on his face. "It's fine. You're fine, and don't you dare apologize. Tell me about the tower."
"Ten stories tall," he began, clearing his throat. "More like fifteen if it's higher than the castle. It has an internal diameter of five hundred feet, with room for thousands of students, staff and faculty. I'm planning to expand the internal space pretty soon after we settle in, which, at a fourfold increase, should allow for ten thousand people to live there. That's in addition to the various facilities needed, like classrooms, sparring chambers and more."
She blinked. "That's… enormous. The logistics alone would be a nightmare."
"Magic," he replied, forcing a grin. Marcus hummed. Now that he was thinking about it… "Smokeless fire and dedicated water mages alone cut down on that massively, but yeah, it's big. Which it needs to be, because they've enrolled more students than even my wildest expectations. I guess the end of the world broke down some social barriers. That, and I've been throwing money at it as fast as Vess has been squeezing it out of the Empire. Call me biased, but magic is the future of Mirrania."
Elly hummed, and the expected rebuke didn't come. Which made him feel worse, honestly, almost pitied, but it wasn't like he could force her not to feel bad for him.
The silence slowly turned comfortable as they continued their track towards the castle, which also gave him a good look at his Academy. He mostly ignored the people cheering for the soldiers, which Vess had assured him would be fine, and took in the Redwater castle instead.
It was still the same, honestly. The roof had been reinforced in a number of places, new timber and stone standing out from the old, but Redwater hadn't faced any attacks itself. Not according to the reports, at least.
Right, the tower. It rose from just beside the keep, and frankly, it didn't look like much of a tower at all. Almost more fat than high, it dominated the area more than the castle itself. The latter was still bigger, but where it had towers and walls to give it shape, the Academy was simple in design.
Round, with windows starting from the fourth floor and three massive doors granting access. It was bustling with activity, hundreds of people streaming inside and out with guards at every entrance. Guards that, to his surprise, wore livery of the Academy itself.
A dark sky filled with stars. He wondered whose bright idea that had been.
He turned to the castle instead. There was a court to preside over, Dukes to speak with and reports to read. The Academy, no matter how much he might want to explore it, would have to wait.
The procession came to an end when they reached the castle proper, a detachment of city guardsmen stationed on its walls. Those would be replaced by Royal Guards soon enough, but for now they held their post.
Marcus dismounted a bored Xathar and fed him a sugar cube, earning him a light shoulder shove before the demon returned to his Hell. He was pretty sure that was an affectionate gesture. Mostly.
Elly moved next to him, nodding once before they moved. Mitzi joined after a moment, slightly behind them with Royal Guards all around, and he was already tired of the show. But shockingly, the Dungeon Break had been a reprieve from politics, and compared to watching cities burn or being ambushed by Calamities, he could deal.
He didn't want to deal, but he would.
The throne room was exactly how he remembered it, and an old memory came to mind. A memory of being fetched from his chambers by Royal Guards, half dragged into this same room. His father had looked so very imposing on the throne, then.
That had been before the School of Life. Hells, it had been when he first heard Elly's name, though Helios had needed to remind him later on. Marcus almost snorted at how he had stormed out, what kind of show he must have given the court.
Now, when he strode towards the trio of chairs on the far side of the room, those same nobles bowed low. Loyalists and Isolationists and Moderates. They came as first-born sons to represent their lands, as daughters to trade intelligence and forge alliances. They came here from duchies, baronies and lesser, a sea of faces he scarcely recognized.
Lords and Ladies and so, so much more.
It was a room of influence and power, a room where one rumor could break someone's future. It was a room where the Kingdom's affairs were discussed, where nobles could air their grievances, and it was a room that could, and had in past times, controlled the Crown.
Marcus took his seat, looking down at those below, and Elly took the one next to his own. Mitzi sat slightly below and in between them, still above the nobles but not quite equal to theirs. Marcus glanced at the room, waving his hand after a long second had passed.
The crowd straightened, greed and fear and love and apathy and more on their faces. Marcus' Kingly mask had long since settled over his features, and he nodded to the herald to begin the proceedings.
Duke Helios parted from the crowd when his name was called, bowing politely before launching into a short welcoming speech, and Marcus didn't even blink when Vess swept into the room from a side chamber.
The demon took her place next to Mitzi, and the show began in earnest.
REPLACE WITH LINE BREAK p^o^q REPLACE WITH LINE BREAK
Marcus stretched, rolling his eyes when Elly openly eyed him up and down. She smiled innocently when she caught him having caught her. "What?"
"Nothing, I'm sure. Just the usual perversion of your mind."
"You don't want to know what's in my mind," she replied with a grin. He rolled his eyes again, making her snort. "Silent Gods, you're so innocent. Anyway, what's next? And don't tell me it's more meetings. Four hours of sitting on a chair and pretending to care—that wasn't on purpose, shut up—is about all I can take."
Marcus hummed. "I need to start on the Redwater Gate, which is going to take a while now that Vistus isn't here anymore, and you need to get your eye replaced by Margaret. We can't keep indulging your need for new colors."
"Pity. Come with? I'm sure the Gate can wait another hour or so." It was said lightly, but he remembered having his own replaced. It wasn't comfortable, not in the least. Marcus inclined his head, making sure to add some mockery to the gesture. She beamed at him, the clinginess fake but the gratitude real. "Yay! Let's go, I wanna see the Academy."
And people dared to say he was bad at reading social cues. Or maybe that was just when it didn't concern Elly. Meh. "Too bad, then, because Margaret isn't there."
"What? Why not?"
"Because she's mobilizing a group of her healers to go to Isolationist lands? The sickness spreading there because of, you know, the war quickly followed by the Dungeon Break?" He raised an eyebrow when she shrugged. "Alrighty then. Well, she's near the main gate."
Elly pouted. "We just came from the main gate. Teleports?"
"Yes, teleports," he replied drily. "And then uppies, you giant infant."
"How dare you. Infants aren't half as good at being cute as I am."
Marcus snorted. "Twice zero is still zero."
She reared back in outrage, but he glanced out through one of the windows and teleported them outside before she could snipe back at him. And then again, because the Redwater rooftops made excellent walkways. Not all of them, of course, but there were enough flat spaces to rapidly transport them across the city.
A journey of at least an hour, done in minutes. He loved spatial magic, he really did.
Actually finding Margaret took another few minutes, admittedly, but hey, he couldn't have everything.
They appeared in the street, two roads away from the main gate and in front of a very large stable. A whole host of mages were saddling horses, dozens here and he could see dozens more up ahead, with their target presiding over it all.
Margaret turned when a hush fell over the area, which Marcus found a little dramatic, but it couldn't be helped. Vess had been almost delighted to inform him that his reputation had… increased, since the Dungeon Break.
And it wasn't even because of the Gates! That he could understand, if not be wholly comfortable with. But no, it was tales of him and Elly battling Calamities that everyone was talking about. People, as a whole, were so small minded.
He cleared his throat, shaking off his brewing bad mood. "Margaret. I see you've been busy."
"As have you, your Grace," the healer replied, bowing lightly. "May I introduce the Medico, Mirrania's official healing order. We are currently recognized as a division within the Academy."
The group, which so far had just kind of frozen, startled, a sea of cloaks rustling as their owners bowed. He could see Academy guards with them, armed and armored with quite a few interesting enchanted items. He inhaled, nodding to himself at the magic feedback.
Low level but fairly numerous, which was fair enough. The Medico themselves didn't wear any, though he supposed their task wasn't to fight. Not in the normal manner, anyway.
Margaret took his distraction as a cue to continue. "Their detachment of city guards will be here soon, but how may we assist, your Grace?"
"Ah, that." Marcus cleared his throat. "Elly needs a new eye."
Elly nodded happily, returning from where she'd been inspecting one of the Academy guards. The man looked rather terrified, if he was being honest. "Yup. I'm thinking of going back to light blue for both of them. Heterochromia is fun and all, but nothing beats all natural."
"Of course, my Queen," Margaret replied, not even so much as blinking. "My order keeps a collection of preserved specimens for Academy needs. Accidents happen, especially for the more combat oriented students. Would it be alright for me to see off my students before we return to the Academy?"
Huh. Marcus didn't remember the healer to be quite so… servile? No, that wasn't right. Neither was polite, but the point was that she used to be more something. Maybe teaching ground away her soul, or maybe his own memory was whispering wicked lies, but still. Weird.
Weird enough for him to grow wary, rippling a short burst of divination around himself. But no demons were in sight, and though the older woman raised her eyebrow, nothing happened.
Elly stepped up next to him, both replying to the healer while drawing attention to herself. "That's fine, thank you. Take your time, and we'll be on the roof."
The roof. Good, yeah. He hadn't really noticed it until now, but the limited sight lines were constricting. Marcus nodded to the healer, then whisked them away. He took a deep breath of the mostly clean air, looking out across the city.
"That will get better, I promise." Marcus half turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. Elly sighed. "Paranoia, nervousness, restlessness, any of that sounding familiar? It's common in soldiers when returning from war. It's normal, and time will smooth away the sharp edges."
Marcus hummed. "I don't like it. One reflexive spatial arc and hundreds could die. More, potentially. I have a lot of leeway as King, but insanity won't be tolerated. Not even for Archmages. Or perhaps especially for Archmages."
"You're not insane," Elly replied. It held a casual assurance he found almost impossible. Like it was truth, and that was that. "And hey, you trust me, right? Then trust me to hold you back when it gets too bad, just like I trust you to keep my dislike of the Empire from getting us in trouble."
He sighed. "It's not a matter of trust, but— Don't look at me like that. Yes, fine, I trust you. Stop pouting."
"Good," Elly said, crossing her arms. "Now, not to be a bitch about this, but there's nothing you can do. Not anymore. See, I was raised for this. Conditioned and trained and blooded over a period of decades. You were thrown into the deep end with the School of Life, but that's hardly the same. I went through exactly what you did, but I had the luxury of being unimportant. You don't. So get your big boy pants on, and don't spiral into self-reproach."
Silence stretched for a few long seconds, and then Marcus snorted. "You suck at making me feel better."
"Funny, sucking usually works wonders to make someone feel— Don't you dare teleport me into the sky."
He lowered his hand, eyes narrowed. "You're spared only because your intentions behind that speech were kind. Now shush, I need to meditate."
Elly huffed dramatically, but soon entertained herself by juggling knives. A great many knives, at that, and maybe 'juggling' implied that she was succeeding, but at least it was mostly silent.
Marcus drifted downwards into a cross-legged position, the motion smooth and sure. It had been only partly effective at training his flexibility, but it was kind of fun to just… drop. To twist downwards and sit, his balance never shifting by more than a hair.
And unlike some, he didn't use Life to cheat.
Meditation came smoothly, and though he didn't reach out to the Mirror Dimension, he did bask in his own magic. A rather soothing activity, and one that he felt attuned him more to his core of self. Not that that was a proven theory, but then it was unlikely to hurt, either.
But soon enough Margaret had seen her people off, and he returned them to the castle with a few sweeping teleports. A messenger was sent to fetch the eyes, which annoyed a curious Elly and in turn made him feel better, and the operation barely took any time at all.
Elly rose from where Margaret had invited her to sit, placing the old eye in the now empty container of fluid. "Please circulate a trickle of Life energy through the organ."
She complied, and Margaret spent a few seconds inspecting her with magical perception. After which she apparently gave up, because she turned to him instead.
"Her Life energy is too dense. I can't see past it," the healer admitted. "Would you be willing to confirm, your Grace?"
Marcus shrugged. "I can probably guide you past it, but I won't know what I'm looking at. Not with a permanent replacement."
Margaret nodded, so he grasped her perception and pulled it down. The healer seemed to stiffen and grow almost nervous while he did, which was strange. Seeing that Elly was strong did nothing, but actually getting past it was too much?
He mentally shrugged, placing the woman's magical sight directly in front of Elly's eyes. Margaret looked around before promptly retreating, having to clear her throat twice before she spoke.
"Everything seems in order," the older woman finally said. She bowed, already turning to the door. "If your Grace would excuse me, I have a lot of work to do."
Marcus stared while the healer basically fled, opening his mouth before closing it again. He turned to Elly. "That's not just me, right? Please tell me that's not just me."
"Nah, that woman is being weird." Elly agreed. "But hey, if you're too thick to understand why, and more importantly when she started having a minor freakout, who am I to spoil the fun?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Am I being mocked? I feel mocked."
"You are being mocked," she replied cheerfully. "And hey, look what I can hear coming. It almost sounds like a distraction. I'll see you tonight."
She almost skipped out, and when Marcus followed her, he ran into a procession of people. Barons, six of them, with one Duchess in the lead.
A distraction indeed.
"Your Grace," Duchess Soema greeted, surprise quickly swallowed by a bland smile. How had Elly gotten past them already?! The other Isolationist Barons bowed, almost seeming to relish in being able to keep silent. What was it with everyone being weird today? "I had meant to schedule a meeting later this week, but if you have a moment?"
Marcus nodded at the woman, a woman whose support he was going to need if he wanted to build Gates in the Kingdom. Or have an easy time doing it, anyway. "Of course, Duchess, though we shall have to be quick."
Because I have a wife to strangle information out of.
Afterword
Patreon (10 and 15 chapters ahead)
Discord (2 chapters ahead for free)