Devil Bringer of Zero [FOZ/TM! crossover]

CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4





Just bringing this one over to QQ for archiving purposes.











Chapter 1: No need to heed the call!





“Louise of house Valliere. It is time,” spoke a voice gentle and firm, its balding, bespectacled originator nudging his staff in her direction.

Her mind had been wondering in circles for the entire day. And now that she was here standing on the precipice of her task, it was all that Louise could do in order not to choke upon her own bile. Tension knotting muscles tightly, teeth grinding with a subconscious force, as the youngest scion of the house Valliere valiantly… futilely... attempted to calm herself in the face of this the task before her.

~“Will she manage?”~ The murmur of the crowd.

After all, this was only the most important day in her entire career as one of the magi. What happened at this ceremony would only go on to define the entirety of the rest of her life. Success or failure allowing her freedom of choice and validation or the confinement of one doomed to be little more than a laughing stock, and if lucky be able to retire from public view as breeding stock till the end of her days, unremarked upon, unknown, forgotten...

...no pressure...

She felt like crying.

~”I’m just curious to see if she can actually summon anything.”~ A physical echo to the doubt which already pierced her.

She was going to fail. And it was all that she could manage to keep her hands from acting upon the turbulence which she felt here at the edge of her impossible task.In that even court yard itself seemed leer at her. The brilliance of the sky’s one eyed gaze looming over her in cold anticipation, its dire implications at odds with the tranquil beauty of the grassy court yard. Panic was rapidly setting in and ill omens seemed to sprout from every corner.

At the moment only the constant memory of her mother’s stern decorum kept her backbone stiff, the dire understanding that failure was NEVER an option to be expressed kept her from breaking down in front of her peers. Win or lose, pass or fail, she would not dishonour the Valliere name with anything less than her best showing.

~”Zero will probably just screw up again... like always.”~ The jeering verbal stabs of her peers pressing into already open wounds.

Grimly her teeth clenched.

She needed this time to be different. It HAD to be different. Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere couldn’t bear the thought that it might not be different, that her dire nickname would continue to haunt her every facet of life with ruthless abandon, Louise the Zero.

Zero ability, Zero success, Zero hope.

“Valliere, after all your talk yesterday, I’m sure you can summon something more amazing than this child here, right?”

A voice rang from a few paces away; its red headed owner’s teasing tone a savage affront to the young Valliere’s senses, a foe both as a matter of family and personal pride, Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst. The sight of her knelt right next to her newly summoned Salamander as she spoke was a further poke in Louise’s eye. Her rival’s playful grin as she ran her hand over the proof of her own success was a further stab in Louise’s side.

Anger coursed through Louise, galvanizing her to her task. For where need alone was insufficient, when combined with the inky red haze of the determination to prove wrong those who would decry her, the young woman would find herself forgetting about all else but the task. Stubbornness was very much a family trait which Louise exemplified. And so she forgot her nervousness. The red eyed rage of determination rapidly replaced the imposing pressure of near crippling self-doubt as she pressed onward to her task like a charging beast.

Composing herself she began, wand held stiff in a starter’s position, she sought the words which in turn reached for her power.

“In the name of Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere, I beg of you!”

Power. She could feel its weight upon her, feathery soft. Here she spoke, almost a whisper. Now her words were forged into Magic.

“By the Pentagon of the five powers Elemental!”

Her words reached out ever louder by the syllable, forging her will into effect,the familiar tingle traveling down though her arm as limb moved in time with chant, the wands motions weaving speech into spell.

“My servant, who lives somewhere in the universe!”

A sudden jolt shocked its way through her; she’d almost dropped her wand in the process. It felt as if she had cast out a line into the sea with all her might, hoping desperately to troll the deepest depths for her catch. This alone left her arm feeling leaden, but all the same almost pushed her into the next motion.

“Oh my sacred, beautiful and strong familiar!”

She could feel it, in a way unlike no other spell she had ever cast, she could feel it working. The power which flowed from her congealed itself into the mold as set by her wand motions.

“From my heart, I plead to you my deepest of desire!”

She could not keep the need from her voice, its dire echo feeding will to magic and enforcing the shape of her power. Then suddenly she could feel it, a tingling grip, a sublime answer to her call, a pouring force which almost drove the breath from her, compelling her to inhale to complete her final shouted exaltation.

“Heed my Summons and come forth, MY FAMILIAR!”

...then as all too often her world exploded in a wave of white.

*************************************************​

“My servant, who lives somewhere in the universe!”

Ancient eyes cracked open, a baleful yellow blazing from the dark crevices of its mask. For the first time in seven centuries it tingled with sensation, the shallow pool of its prison rippling with its movements... also for the first time in centuries.

Seven hundred years, of dreamless sleep and sleepless dreams as its prison restrained even reason. But such was to it a familiar prison even before its long time shackles were set. Deep here in the heart of its dungeon, the roots of its jailer pierced unfeeling flesh, draining nutrient and power in exchange for its traumas. Slowly the poison of thousands of years seeped from its heart, drained by roots of light. The irony of it all being that the very power which it had used to devastate, was being fed to its jailer to keep it imprisoned.

Still, though it had heard the call, this did naught but to stir it to wakefulness.

Servant?

To follow the errant whims of an uncaring master once more?

To subject itself willingly to the rape of its will?

Never.

The ancient almost closed its eyes once more, to ignore the summons, and wrap itself again in solitude, a preferable alternative to slavery. Better imprisonment of body, than the binding of its will.

“From my heart, I plead to you my deepest of desire!”

Raw emotion poured in.

The psychic echo of a need bordering despair kindled a rare flame of empathy within the wakened beast. The desire of its caller wasn’t of destitute slavery, but one of partnership, love and naked necessity. The warm intensity of feeling reminding the enlivened ancient of those times which it was allowed to slip its bonds ever so slightly, and project its power. The waiting smiles of love and fellowship with the one being it had come to cherish, but knew like all other things, would come to dust.

The instinct of a guardian, the fires of a destroyer, the love of a nurturer, the tender hand of a creator... like a ghost in the dark lay there to await it, everyone of them a path it could choose if only it would accept this one small thing.

To give service rather than to be bound in slavery. Distinctions which till even now in its long existence the ever young ancient had never pondered, but knew intrinsically on instinct.

And thus while reason slept... the monster chose to wake.

“Heed my Summons and come forth, MY FAMILIAR!”

***************************************************​

Slowly the world faded back into view.

Yet another explosion... now the grandest of disappointments.

Resigning herself the scion of Valliere began to crack open her eyes, her small body laying prone upon her back, driving herself onward in dim hope beyond hope Louise would spy that the grand nature of her explosive spell had spilled over, rocking back the entire crowd, save one blue haired staff wielder, who had found it prudent to climb upon her own newly summoned familiar, away from the potential chaos...

...familiar...

...no...

The dimming light of hope dying as every spot of what now looked like a minor warzone was examined. All others lay groaning and or rising from the grass in a pattern which radiated from what had been her original position, the alert eyes of her balding teacher pointing toward the centre of the explosion, Louise’s eyes followed suite.

That is where she saw it.

In the exact centre of the explosion it knelt.

A corpse.

The almost completely naked, mummified remains of what was once a person rocked back upon unmoving knees in a stiff mockery of prayerful reverence, its masked face searching upward toward the sun in seeming of worshipful adoration. Slick wet hair hung down behind its mask as its wrinkled hands faced palms up. And between its legs an egg of deep purple sat.

“No... no... no…” Louise whispered, an icy feeling prodding at her toes.

That sick sensation climbed until it rammed Louise in the gut, a bitter wrenching sensation which forced tears of frustration and defeat from her lavender eyes. A horrifying and grisly actuality, here destiny spoke to her in clear tones. It’s cruel mockery of her culminating in this its most of spiteful jokes. Bitter bile washed up her throat as the idle consideration that maybe she HAD in fact reached her perfect familiar, alive and intact... only to kill it in the process of summoning it to her, clawed at the back of her mind.

“Louise... what have you done?” Zerbst spoke, hesitant horror burning at her lips. The newly summoned salamander curled about her and tensed in hissing defiance toward the desiccated remains.

Louise stared on in mute horror, she could almost scream.

Only the long years of having lived with her mother, the duchess Karin Desiree de la Valliere, allowed her to note the sharp alarm which suddenly radiated from her balding teacher at the corner of her eye. His hand clenching about the staff which he carried and the sharpening of his eyes reminding her of her mother’s own hawkish looks when something was amiss. Small evocations of preparatory flame issued from his mouth, while his demeanor smoldered with the embers of potential action. This was not the professor Jean Colbert with whom she had become familiar, the slightly doddering, over enthusiastic educator. This was almost as if another man was standing there, wearing his skin. But, for the life of her Louise could not string together a why for the abrupt transformation. Maybe she had damaged him also in the blast, it morbidly occurred to her. One more sign that maybe she should give up on magic forever.

But even as she wallowed in her misery Louise turned her eyes back toward the shriveled figure of her failure. Strange motes of light hung like fireflies in the air around her, almost unremarked upon by her already shell shocked brain... a shell shocked brain which was just noticing that the corpse which had sat in the center of her disaster was now, first on hands and knees then struggling onto impossibly thin limbs to walk upright, shambling towards her. A growl of menace echoing hollow from its mummified throat, its hand full of far too thin fingers reached towards her in grim anticipation... and all the Valliere youth could do was watch in numb horror at this newest development advanced upon her.A yellow gleam shone out from the darkness of the mask’s eyeholes. The horrific march of time seemed to slow as the abomination fell to its knees over Louise’s waist, its shriveled hands reaching to grip her lovely face in a tender caress.

“Tenchi...” a creaky, yet feminine voice groaned so softly Louise thought that she might have imagined it.

The mask creaked and rocked upon its face as it leaned over Louise’s prone form with all the tenderness of a lost lover. The strange horned, red mask first hung loose, then fell away from its face uncovering its shriveled facial features, the most prominent of which were the eerie yellow eyes which shone a feral gold against its sunken face, and far more importantly the large tapering ears which seemed elven for their great length but at the same time wrong in the way in which they terminated into square shapes. The limp still wet mane of cyan hair framed and accentuated its crumpled facial features.

And in an instant everything went to hell

“E... eh… e... ELF!” Someone in the crowd stammered, “It’s an undead ELF!” the cry transmuting a current of shock as to an unknown into panicked, full-blown naked TERROR. Almost the entirety of the student body panicked as a single spooked animal, all but climbing over each other in attempt to run as far away as fast they could and forgetting in some cases that they could even use magic to help them escape the threat.

A ball of flame exploded into action just above the terror frozen form of Louise, knocking the frail figure of the undead elf from above Louise and flinging it back away from her. It was to her shock to feel an arm hook itself around her own, dragging her to her feet, and a greater alarm to see who the arm belonged to.

“Montmorency?” Louise questioned weakly, the blonde girl with spiraled tresses dragging and pulling her up onto her feet and trying to pull her into a run, away from the direction in which her summoned disaster flew.

Next to them a nervous Kirche readied herself with another spell to launch in case the thing got back too close. She had expected that her attack would only distract at best, be Countered at worst, but good fortune was to be embraced and if needs be, she would repeat. She had committed to the attack without even thinking about it, animosity toward Louise or not, she couldn’t stand by and let the thing do whatever it was that it had intended to Louise and now committed Kirche the Ardent would not back down from the charge. Though it helped immensely to have a friend with a dragon, however newly summoned beating its wings nearby as a rapid means of escape.

Still she was otherwise worried. The motes of light which had been gathering since the mummified elf appeared seemed to be slowly collecting and growing in intensity, the separate embers merging together and flowing almost fluidly toward the…. Oh no.

A horrific scream of primal power shook the air, almost itself feeling of an evocation. The monster was alive, upset and charging down upon them in a flurry of motion. Worst yet, the glowing motes of light were flowing towards it gathering in its hands while its feet were not touching the ground as it rapidly propelled itself towards them.

“... rrRAahahhEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...”

The sound of impact sang out across the field, its sound matched only by the retched screech of the beast, as professor Colbert evoked fire with but a sharp jab of his staff. For a mage of his skill and power, no words were needed for the most basic of technique, the obedience of one’s primary element as bound to one’s will. Explosive force rushing forth at his soundless command, only motion was needed to evoke, to command.

“Please get back, children. I will cover your escape. Get the rest of the faculty staff, now HURRY!” he spoke, never once did his gaze waver from the crater which he’d created, one with the would-be familiar at its centre.

******************************************​

With quiet determination he faced off against the snarling incarnation of death.With struggling limbs it rose again growling from the makeshift grave which he’d put it into,as it then charged once more. At first he’d waited. After all some truly dangerous things had been at times be summoned by his students, more often that he’d like to admit over the many years which he’d been teaching at the Tristain Academy of Magic. It had been his hope that this could be resolved with the simple meeting of Summoner to Summoned, and when the undead thing had taken no overt moves against the Valliere girl; he’d simply prepped himself and prepared a Flame Sniper spell, in case he was in fact needed. But before he could call out to Louise and recommend that she bind her familiar to herself, panic broke out amoung the students.Discovery of just what kind of mummy that it might be had driven them into an orgy of fearful panic.

“Can you hear me?” He asked it, “Can you understand what I’m saying?” The snarl which he’d gotten back in reply had been disheartening at best, “Please calm yourself. We meant you no harm,” he spoke in a vague hope of resolving the issue, his arms outstretched and away from his body in a show of his intent not to attack.

Unfortunately his words seemed to fall to onto unyielding ears. He had hoped at least that Louise had somehow summoned some form of sensate dead, but the mindless fury of the creature’s howl told him that there was no one at home inside. With a sad sigh, Colbert prepared himself; the creature would need to be subdued before it could get to any of his retreating students.

Again he pounded it with another explosive evocation, this one aimed to spin it on its guard and disorient. The trick only half worked. Upon impact the monster spun with the force of the blow, but he had underestimated severely just what kind of punishment was needed for disorienting the beast as it barreled down upon him. For in its spin one clawed hand took hold of several nodes of light which had begun to gather about it and used the force of its spin to throw a grenade of light almost directly onto the professor’s feet. Colbert‘s experience on the battlefield and sharp combat instincts were all that kept him intact, having already begun his movements upon the moment of realization that there had been flaw in his old plan he’d switched over to a new one immediately.

With swirls of motion and intent, the warrior professor spoke of flame. The deadly dance of the white blaze matching his own motions, as the unforgotten steps came to him still so naturally after almost terminal disuse for so very long. Step, to counter step, trails of ragged white against streaks of uniform red flowed from act to act. To an outsider this would not appear a struggle, but as a thing of choreographed beauty.

Once again the ground exploded in shrapnel of light and earth right where his feet used to be, but Colbert had no time to take interest in something as trivial as that. Ignoring the sting of dirt and shards of rock as they impacted against his legs Colbert finished yet another evocation while performing a spinning thrust with his staff toward its solar plexus.

“Flame Shock!” it was one of his nastier small scale combat evocations, made to create a flame which sought to burn only things which were directly similar to its point of first contact, using them directly as fuel to persist and quicken the act.

This was a quick and easy evocation utilizing a very low amount of will power to start though it would quickly begin mounting up as the mage held the effect and it consumed more resources. A negligible issue, if the target were an enemy’s skin. Touching skin almost always resulted in immediate third and fourth degree burns all across a target’s body, flaying them alive with fire. Back when he’d been a more ruthless person he’d found it a useful tactic against powerful water mages, who could effectively guard themselves against even his hottest of flames, the pain and massive trauma quickly putting them down before they could put up much of a fight. In undead targets it was usually effective at quickly forcing them to fall apart. Besides that most undead had an utter fear of flame that retarded their reactions when set alight.

In every case he had ever utilized it would result in complete incapacitation, if not immediate death to the target, then at the very least an agony so intense that no other action were permitted. Only those immediately attended to by powerful square class water mages themselves had ever recovered completely. That number could be counted on half of one hand. And undead beasts not to have recoiled in existential dread, numbered zero. Thus when his blow struck solid and his spell raged true that his inhuman foe had not even flinched as its very skin set alight; it was surprise which coloured the Professor’s face. A moment of hesitation as plans were reformulated to include its complete pain immunity and lack of concern to its own burning flesh into the equation would cost him, as the creature took hold of his staff during said flash of uncertainty, and brought down a glowing palm toward the good professor.

Only narrowly did he manage to avoid the explosive impact of its glowing hand, releasing the staff and reaching immediately for his backup wand as he slid backward from the last scene of confrontation, small gouts of flame exploding from beneath his feet. The wet slick of blood and a brief stinging pain would warn him of a gash which had opened up above his eyebrow even as the flame beneath his boots consumed the blackened trail of grass. A careful moment was taken to mop the blood from his brow to ensure that the bleeding drip would not reach his eyes. All across his body bruises ached from the explosive wash of power which he’d narrowly avoided. Even indirectly it was quickly racking up the damage on his body.

“EXPLOSIVE BARRIER!” he cried out, a frugal mixture of desperation and pragmatism prompting him to create obstacles between himself and the beastial power which bore down upon him. His salvation risen, in the form of burning barriers of explosive force.

The small breathing room which his shields had given him allowed him the luxury of standing back to assess the condition of his overly vital foe. The pounding which he had subjected it to was indeed showing. Bone and flesh shifted in what looked like an uncomfortable manner across its body, rent flesh hanging loose from several long tears in its limbs... but the burnt segments of its parchment dry skin seemed to be regenerating rapidly as more motes of light gathered to and caressed its body. More than that, the limbs seemed to be growing fuller and the wound flesh twisting back into place with a slow, but noticeable regularity. He could thus far overpower the threat... but he quickly concluded that he would not be able to outlast it.

It would be vital that he hold focus, but thus far the spells he had been low will power consumers, geared toward quickly striking and the enemy with vital damage and continuing on to the next one. What he needed instead here was artillery geared spells with which he could put it down quickly, despite the heavy willpower penalties which such evocations imposed. But without his staff he wasn’t sure that he could get the specific motions necessary to the heavy nature of the evocation just right to pull it off with a low enough cast time to be effective.

All in all, the humble wand was dreadfully unsuited for what he needed. But it did give him another option. An option it seemed, that would be augmented with the supporting fire a rain of exploding Icicles launched from afar, and driving the beast back from its prey without exposing the caster to easy retaliation.

Colbert watched dispassionately as once more the beast made her berserker’s charge, dodging her way through the deadly explosive crystal rain,getting back on top of the Professor’s defenses then shattering the last of the shaped-charge flames which he had been using to buy himself time. Pushing his glasses up against his nose, the professor would begin a simple evocation, his wand sweeping about in grandly unique gestures as he created a personalized version of a very common flame trap spell. The original spell was a construct made to surprise foes with a pillar of flame, cutting them off and giving them light to moderate burns in the process. But Colbert was a man of study, even though he had been good at war; it had been his passion to apply his academic’s mind to the process of creation. In this case the creation of spell variants.

“Infernal Cage!”

It was a very simple spell, the inverse really of the barrier which he’d been using to keep her off of him. Her charge once more with savage glowing fists would bring her right on top of the spell location activating a twisting shell of flames which she would drive her powerful explosive fists right into. The ringing sound of a barrier of implosive flame collapsing upon its target sang music to his ears. The cage variation to the Inferno Trap was required quite a few extraneous motions which made it distinctly unsuitable for staves and rods, but with his wand, he had been able to cast the initial trap, and then layer it multiple times. The implosion of flame was designed to use the force of the attempts to struggle free of it to further fuel itself, only a water mage could fully counter and free their selves completely and easily from its constricting grip.

With but a wave of his wand, a quick bout of telekinesis retrieved him his staff. Quickly with staff once more in hand he would repeat his initial evocation, the one which he’d begun when first he’d laid eyes upon the undead summon of young Ms. Valliere. He’d discovered a long time back that a specialized version of the Flame Shock spell could be used to prime the air around him itself, using the consumptive properties to remove and concentrate substances found in the air he could effectively modify and control the intensity of his flames far beyond any regular will powered effect.

An old brother at arms from before Colbert had turned from that life, Bunsen who had been obsessed with creating a flame of the most intense heat and purity, had stumbled into the method by utilizing a clever combination dot class fire and wind spells to prepare an area for the mechanics of furthermore powerful fire spells to come. Despite only being Line class, his colleague had earned himself the Runic name of ‘The Burner’ and went on to become a feared name in Magical Combat, casting with triangle class power using only Line class magical ability. It was with the guidance of his friend that Colbert had established his own technique which allowed his spells to burn beyond their class.

“Burn Havoc!” He extended the field of his burning touch, using his flame to gather and shape the air itself, the spell would manage the act of concentrating the flow of air to absolutely maximize the power of his flame. He was ready to burn this threat to ash.

Allowing his head to droop in dire concentration he could only vaguely note when mid-way through it, that the final barrier had been broken faster than anticipated by once more burned and regenerating monster, the condition of which spoke of it having found its way out without taking further damage from the trap. Idly he noticed that it had somehow gained a hole straight though the left side of its chest. But he’d managed to put the fear of him into it at least, and no longer did it blindly approach, not recognizing that this was finally the instant which it should have rushed him the beast circled, motes of light gathering to its body ever faster as it seemed swell in repair of damage so very long done. Only near the end of his chant, had the undead thing seemed to have caught on, though it was seeming less and less like one of the dead by the second, and more and more like a lovely, if feral, and very naked elf maiden. Even its tactics seemed to be changing, as instead of making a full on charge, the creature began to careful approach, allowing some of the gathering motes of light to congregate in its palm once more, but this time in a surprising twist it seemed to squeeze them into what became a recognizably sword-like shape of blazing red while the other hand seemed to continue gathering and compressing the motes into a radiant intensity. Its actions had become ever more lifelike in nature, the uncanny quality of its very sway seeming to soften into the rhythms of a living creature.

But he couldn’t see how it could be anything at all that was fully alive, not after its continued function after all that he’d subjected it to, and the plain reminder of its ragged chest wound... besides if he started thinking of it as anything less than a monster now he didn’t know if he could bring himself to do what it took to finish the fight. His killer instinct had been abandoned years ago.

Steadying himself Jean Colbert, would wait. The cold gleam of intellect burned brightly within his eyes, as he swallowed his reservations at the possibility of killing another person.With a dour smile he spoke to himself, She’s going to make me cut this close, then stopped himself as he realized something. In his thoughts, he’d already declared her a possible person. But it was too late to do anything else but carry through with his dire evocation.

Almost in exaggeratedly slow motion, Jean Colbert would bring down his staff and cry out for the greatest weapon in his arsenal, a chain of delayed evocations meant to devastate earth work entrenchments as almost a single mega spell.All starting with his signature spell, that for which he had earned his runic title.

“Come FLAME SERPENT!”

************************************************​

The lonely beast wept. Pulled from the dark confines of her ancient prison, too weak to stand, too weak to move, she could only tilt her head upward staring at and feeling the gentle warmth of the sun. The simple beauty of a planet side view moved something within the creature as she remembered. Between her legs sat a familiar egg of royal purple.

Free.
FREE.
Free, free, free, free, free!

No rational though could breach the surface of her mind, yet... even the deepest core of instinct could feel it, for the first time in time over 2000 years; she was free in body, in mind, in spirit.

Almost automatically she began to gather the power needed to form a false gem. Even without the benefit of thought, her body knew what to do. Leaching energies from higher dimensions, it would begin to force them into a format which her three dimensional body could utilize. Motes of photonic energy gathered at the points of conversion from the higher dimensional barriers into three dimensional space.

She would need the energy gathered as a jump start for her anti-matter based energy extraction organ, a compromise between the carbon-based life form and the exotic-material beings from which she had been engineered. These would provide her a great boost in energy, but were none the less useless without even a fake gem to help with energy distribution and prevent localized overloads.Without the gems the risk of its utilization usually was just too much beyond the rewards.

“Louise... what have you done?” a noise rumbled though the air like many others made by the crowd, but this noise was different, this noise reminded her.

That first noise amid the rest of the noise string, a familiar sound, it was the noise of choice into freedom. And suddenly she knew. Like a sunflower tracking the sun, her face came pointed in the direction of her savior, watching the exotic spikes of energy which felt as gentle and welcoming as the visage of that boy, now so far away.

With a grand effort, with a body not yet repaired enough for even any of the basic vigours of living, she tried to get closer.First crawling, then in a stumbling unsteady gait she approached, a thought less need driving her steps, the caller of demons moved with all haste, with every bit of strength that she could muster toward the siren song of her savior. Her longing gaze drew a juxtaposition of all desire, all need, and all gratitude upon the youth who had given her freedom, whose own pure desire had drawn her across worlds.

With a tender smile upon hidden lips, ancient hands caressed the face of youth while gently uttering the most calming noise which she knew.

“Tenchi…”

And from her face the mask fell. A moment of perfect tranquility shattered.The fearful noise of gibbering beasts all too familiar surrounded her, and then was followed by the slam of impact, heat and consuming flame upon her face. Instincts shifted gears and the red haze of rage coloured her eyes as fight or flight instincts fought their way back up to the surface.

She couldn’t have said what she did in that combat rage which had been invoked, only that she hurt and had been hurt in turn. That she had become fury incarnate, countered again and again as she lunged like an animal towards her goal, to destroy the one before her. But no intellect guided her hands. No mind guarded her motions. And at every step she had been coldly countered, frustration and damage mounting as brute force struggled to keep up with scholarly guile.


Once more confined.
The final straw.
The ancient beast raged itself raw... Raw enough that the young woman could rip herself free.
Pain flared, as a young woman groaned into wakefulness.

Her last memories were a jumble.
A duel, across planets, across the stars... against a young bastard of heaven...
A gentle smile and hopeful innocent eyes that melted her,far too long, cold heart...
The passion of an eternal perfect moment of connection, knowing her hope, her need...
Relentless, smoldering, passionate eyes directing the steps in a dance Macabre....


“Ugghhh... what hit me? Yosho?” words reached her mouth, as bidden. Thoughts begun to flow, assessments were made, and a lifetime of combat experience came to once more inform her actions, and words.

“Goddamit! Why am I ON FIRE!?”

Though it wasn’t a common state for her, despite the many hazards of her original occupation,as an ex-space pirate it wasn’t exactly an unknown state to her either. Still it had been a while since the last time she’d turned off her alcohol immunity. Longer still since last she’d blanked out in the middle of a drunken brawl after trying to enjoy the simpler pleasures in life, booze and beating some bozo’s brain’s out. But here she was, and she ached. She hurt like mad in her... well everywhere. What wasn’t burnt was battered, and what wasn’t battered was bruised, and what wasn’t bruised seemed to hang limp from the rest of her flesh.

Her energy reserves were shot to levels she didn’t know she could get so low to, and the ragged hole in her chest suggested the destruction of her most difficult to regenerate organ. It seemed only by virtue of basic energy gathering techniques which were second nature to her from wearing the 3 gems for most of her life, was she able to free up enough energy from nearby higher dimensional space and utilize that to keep from falling apart. Even her regenerative abilities were at the most sluggish she had ever felt them, the fire retardants and reparations only just NOW starting to kick in, and without the gems she couldn’t even create any higher dimensional backups of her brain. Hell simple systems like her ability to phase shift and short range teleport were shot to shit. She could have almost shuddered at the fact that this was closer to death that she had ever been in her lifetime.

Even the fight with Yosho had never brought her this far down. Though to be fair, it was mostly because he was powerful enough to keep her subdued without needing to bring her any lower. The simple fact was, the antimatter engine which had powered her though the fight had simply exploded due to heat stress and shock damage, thankfully it was designed to mostly contain such an event though in the process of doing so it completely ruined any chance of quickly salvaging its parts for future use, having vented the energy output in its final moments directly in its dense neutron molecular structure vapourizing the organ completely into a cloud of plasma and streaming the vented mass though the newly minted hole in her chest. Without her gems it could take months or even years for her body to transmute dense enough materials to forge a new one, compared to that, loosing limbs was a bloody cake walk. Unfortunately, loss of that organ had severely limited her combat options because she would now have to enforce recovery periods to make up for any excessive energy outputs, and with her now embedded in the heat of combat, she would probably need to waste much of the energy she had already gathered for the creation her false gems in fighting once she sprung herself free.

“Yosho, when I get outa this bloody cage I’m gonna skin you,” golden eyes closed with a sigh, then reopened in the light of concentration.

“Alright, let’s see what this stupid thing is. Ow, owowowow...”

Newly reinstalled pain sensors screamed out, the unnatural state of system wide damage adding to the pain. Sticking her damaged fingers in her mouth, she quickly continued to look at the structure of forces involved in holding her captive.

It was a fairly primitive force array, but the design was impressive. It was created to explode inward and shift so as to redirect the energy utilized on the barrier itself as a part of the attack. It was bloody clever, in a technical manner of speaking, for something as simple as utilizing an electromagnetic shell to contain a hot plasma wall.But the space-pirate though was not one to be impressed, and even less of one to think about the information which she almost instinctively could pick apart with a close look at her prison.

What she knew was simple.

Direct.

Brutish.

What she knew made her smile.

The fire shell extended into the ground which she stood upon, but gave her enough room to move about without bumping directly into it. A human may well have fainted by now, either from the oxygen being eaten up by the room of flames, heat exhaustion, or having been concussed by triggering the trap itself. This was of little concern to her, only that the ground gave material for her use. The real issue with the barrier, she’d realized, was the mobility of the deflective forces it employed. Strike any single place and the barrier moved with the blow, setting up for and multiplying its explosive effects. The spell was useful for keeping an enemy from concentrating enough force to crush the barrier without devastating his or herself in the process. But the ex-pirate knew how to defeat this. And all it took was a little math, and a bit more dirt.

Attempts to rate the ex-pirate’s skills at mathematical analysis would for the most part be bound for failure, her mind did not work with the symbols which others called numbers, though numbers it did express, and her attention would not be held for long enough for her to work her way into being able to show what she knew almost by instinct. But advanced senses and a mind capable of instantly assessing and utilizing variables at an intrinsic level gave rise to an immediate solution. All she needed was to disrupt the forces which allowed the barrier to work at multiple key points simultaneously,utilizing spikes transmuted from the dirt about her, each disruption setting up a resonating echo with the rest, forcing the barrier to explode in an imperfect shaping of its energetic charge and crack itself wide open, allowing her at that point to use force against force.

She REALLY liked the last part of that. And with a howl of victory her fist struck true.

She freed herself just in time to witness her opponent deep in concentration, probably some sort of psychic, readying himself for his next strike. Unbidden, memories of their fight trickled in in flashes between moments of blind rage. Caution was warranted against this one. At this low ebb in her power he was actually a match for her, and maybe more.

********************************************************​

The fight raged before her eyes, disbelief warring with deep feelings of responsibility and uselessness. But one such as Louise the Zero could only gaze on, while the two titans fought. One wreathed in flames of white, the other bathed in motes of light.

“Come.”

The word was punctuated with deathly finality, as the blue haired Dragon rider descended to meet her closest friend and Louise, to convey them both to safety. But this was a word spoken at no expense to concentration, the young warrior waited with staff in hand to support their battling teacher the instant that a clear shot was provided.

The already tight grip upon her own staff grew tighter still as she witnessed the disarmament of her balding teacher. Forced to switch from Staff to wand his combat potential had been effectively halved.

Because of the short nature of the wand all evocation points corresponding to it were arcing sweeps and stabs, effective for short spells which the wand’s expressive nature would allow nuance to flourish. Combat evocation tools were divided into Staves, Rods and Sword-wands. Staves were the most versatile of the combat tools, able to both perform the motions of artillery and simpler combat efficient evocations while sturdy enough to be utilized as directly physical weaponry as the need arose. Rods were thin switches of wood or metal, capable of Moving with the flexibility of a wand but the length needed for heavier evocation type motions. Sword-wands, which included dagger-wands were implements of melee combat meant to be utilized more as melee weapons than evocation tools, and while Artillery class spells were generally limited to them for the same reasons that they were a regular wand, it carried the additional benefits of a wand in evocation refinement. Few however mastered the range of skills needed to make complete effective use of the sword-wand, and the entire demi-evocation, demi-martial style which came with it.

Cold blue eyes flared, and shifted. Advantage would come soon. She just had to wait for it.

Louise glanced on toward the hawkishly watchful, ice blue eyes of her peer with a brief wondering of what went on beneath their usually placid surface. Tabitha had ever been a mystery to Louise. She was an apparently mousy, quiet child who never seemed to be without a book for every occasion of truly festive anti-sociality. Louise herself knew of a few attempts to bully and brow beat her by older students wishing to assert their own power and choosing the naturally quiet girl as their target of choice. After ignoring them quite pointedly several times, they decided that a more private session with the uncommunicative waif of a young woman would be more productive toward the results which they desired. The next day saw several boys with broken teeth, the only things not quickly fixable by simple evocation, no one could ever get them to speak of that night, though they were always noted to cringe when need placed them anywhere near her.

Tabitha’s blue dragon cooed almost cutely, tilting its head to a side in a birdlike manner that would have been adorable if it weren’t on a half a ton of apex predator. Still entangled in her arm, the blonde hair of the Montmorency heiress bobbed in Louise’s face as the other girl attempted to pull her up onto the dragon mount.

“I know we don’t get along to well Louise, but it’s just not safe here. We have to go!” the blond spoke with grave urgency etched into her voice, the small frog familiar which she’d summoned earlier peaking from its resting spot within the unused hood of her cloak.

Behind her the worried figure of Kirche paid no heed to the two, watching the intense matchup with an equally intense stare, wand gripped tightly in her hand, almost to its snapping point.The combat between the two was almost godlike. Intense gouts and swirls of flame danced deadly with motes and orbs of light both leaving swaths of rent earth and burning, black grass with nary a pause in motion. Struggle, passion, strength all there pressed into service for combat....

It was awe inspiring.

It was glorious.

It was all she could do to force herself to look away, feeling like a moth caught on the draw of the flame... knowing how it ached to burn. Forcing herself not to look back Kirche turned her immediate attention to a matter closer at hand.

Her rival.

Louise just could not bring herself to abandon everything, to abandon the teacher who fought for her, and to abandon what was one of her greatest responsibilities, that of a Mage to their familiar. Before things had gotten out of hand she could have sworn even though her own fear, there had been a tenderness, before the inertia of the moment had schemed to steal her away, Louise had been on the edge of taking her wand to the task of finishing what had been started with the creature’s summoning. She could not shake the feeling that if she ran now she might never have the chance again. At her side her small fist clenched around her wand with a grip so tight that crescent wounds formed where finger nails pressed to flesh.

Kirche watched Louise of house Valliere closely, it had become almost a hobby of her house to choose a target amoung the Valliere broods and learn them. A long tradition of this pastime had yielded some of the best entertainment possible for generations of Zerbst. Learning to annoy the stoic family line of Tristan, with whom so much blood both was shared and spilled together that they were practically one family across two countries, had long granted the Zerbst a proper vantage point from which to view the moods and mannerisms of the Valliere. And it was as much to annoy as it was a statement of respect that they made a habit of stealing away the male brood of the Valliere family as potential husbands as well as those who were deemed worthy to be welcomed into the family. It was as a result of these insights, that Kirche was prompted to take notice when she saw the stubborn light come alive in Louise’s eyes. That was the look of a determined woman of the Valliere line readying herself to do something potentially very stupid. That was a look that spoke of passion and drive, and though the Zerbst scion could tell that it meant trouble, it was a trouble which she could never steer anyone, least of all herself, clear of. For when passion burned, Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst fueled its flames!

“I need to go back,” thus when Louise spoke these words Kirche could not help but to nod in agreement, even as Montmorency shrilled in shock as to the insanity of the ‘Zero’. Tabitha’s quick downward glance would be the only expression of her own surprise, another glance cast towards her closest friend would galvanize her into action.

“Finish the ritual,” two faces would turn towards her in shock and one in agreement. That Tabitha decided to suggest what had been dancing at the edge of Louise’s mind rocked the young Valliere. Kirche merely walked over to her rival, taking in hand and straightening her cloak in an almost familial manner.

“It’s ok Louise, we understand,” the wide eyed look of her rival at the unexpected acceptance brought a smile to Kirche’s lips.

Louise hesitated, and then turned a haughty look in Kirche’s direction while attempting to shrug off the mothering being lavished upon her person.

“It is the duty of a Master to quell their familiar. No less could be expected of house Valliere,” her mother’s Rule of Steel danced about her head. Duty was an ABSOLUTE. She would make her name proud, her mother proud.

Kirche grinned sardonically at this declaration, so very typical of the Valliere scion. It was a trait both endearing and frustrating when dealing with her.

Then nodding to Tabitha she asked, “So. What’s the plan?”

********************************************************​

Fire filled the air. Murderous and ravenous the spectre of inferno loomed large. A serpent of Flame painted the sky with a pure white blaze as it coiled about its creator, ready to strike. It was his masterpiece of spell work, much like the golems of earthen mages; his serpent had been the result of relentless perfectionism and studious mastery of his craft, though a good many hints had come his way from his old comrade, Bunsen. Long hours of studying the spell mechanics of advanced golems and tweaking, adapting them to something with a completely nebulous form had paid off, spectacularly. He had cribbed more than a few notes on golem crafting in creating the cognitive engine for his creation and had invented an entire crypto-graphical key to shorten the evocation needed for its summoning. A chain of Bound Evocations, key words to which a mage could symbolically link to longer spells allowing their rapid execution, allowed him to summon it with all the speed and effort of lesser spells. Though, the costs in will power on the initial summoning were fairly steep as the act of calling up an evocation binding in itself caused the spell to cost more than it usually would.

And with the calling of this his most famous spell work, just two more spells needed to be unleashed. One a simple two stack evocation of Twisting Flame, it was the simplest one of them all. The other was a full four stack alchemical mixture of rare metals which would allow it the flame to reach a level of intensity unknown to anything thing else in the world, he called it Sun Fire. While not it would not cause wide devastation like his Flame Bomb, the Sun Fire spell could burn its way though several feet of solid steel, and with the twisting motion of the Twisting Flame motivating it into a drill of explosive forces which he would have as his sword. With the Flame snake as his shield, he would hold finally the power to put down the menace before him. With that synergy of spell crafting he would be able to overcome its incredible regeneration and put it down.

The young ancient Devil-caller grimaced.Before her was no mere fiery show of forces, it was a full on programmable construct of balanced bubbles of hot plasma and EM-fields. Together they formed what seemed to be a surprisingly complex computation able machine capable of receiving input, and creating outputs, in the form of movements. And with her lowered state of health, avoiding its deadly embrace long enough to take down the mage behind it was paramount to her success. This was especially so now that she would not be able to depend on her regeneration as extensively as she had before. She’d boosted her current condition to push all the necessary structures to top combat efficiency. It had consumed a fair chunk of the energy which she would not be able to recoup too soon... but would give her the edge.

Colbert too grimaced on his side of the battle field. The flame snake was his most deadly weapon. The snake’s presence on the field gave him options and bought him time to finish his evocation chain. Without needing to do anything else but maintain it with his will, he could simply set it orders and rules to follow, allowing it free reign on the battle field. After the intensity of the combat, he could feel his will as it slipped lower. But his mind was none the less steel, tempered in the flames of his own desire to protect and nourish. He would endure until this deed was done.

One step. Eyes locked.
Two steps. One foot fell before the other, settling into a bounding leap.
Three steps. His mouth stirred, spinning utterances into fire. The holy power of the word made manifest.
Four steps.Guardian and Aggressor clash, fire and light once more dancing freely in a field of green streaked black.
No steps left. The deadly elfin girl danced though the weaving flame, accepting damage where it touched her now pale flesh to advance upon her target. The Warrior professor allowed her ever closer, weaving a path as vital to his purposes as the words which flowed from him in a stream of utterances.

With no space between them but the clash of wills,
With Sword of light and Serpent of flame as the last defense,
With all else stripped away but each other and the heat of the thrill.

The bright glow of the gathered light in her left hand pulse ever faster while her right hand struck out and parried blow after blow. The final words hung in the air as a grim eye of swirling white flame formed above him while about him the serpent of flame circled ever closer shielding blow after blow.

Then suddenly, so suddenly she could not see it coming. Should not have seen it coming, the white flame switched from defense to offense, wrapping itself about her. They both knew that this was only restraint of the moment, even the white heat and forces which constrained the body of the serpent would not hold for long against the strength on who had broken the Explosive Barriers of earlier. But it would give him a vital moment and with his final words.But he flinched. A life lay in the balance, but only the surety that her rampage would bring harm to those who were in his care moved his lips for the final evocation.

He called down the fire!

Straight down the column of twisting white flame came, searing and rending its way right though solid earth without stopping. A strange noise barely audible above the roar flame went unnoticed. Relief blossomed through the professor’s features, it was over. He’d done it. He’d ended th... a vicious swipe to the back put him down into the ground.Only barely singed the elf maiden stood above him with a triumphantly, savage fanged grin. She swayed with a visible effort to stand, the hole in her chest still leaking smoke.

“I win,” for the first time he’d heard her speak anything beyond animal growls and inhuman wails.

“H... how...?” Colbert groaned. The question key to both how she’d escaped the final trap, and how it was that she now seemed like a rational being, where before was only howling madness. She knelt before him, half in her exhaustion, half in order to reach his face and pick him up by the front of his collar, his face meeting hers. His long shattered glasses hung down loosely from his nose. Idly he noticed that she was still naked as a jay bird.

Anger lit her yellow eyed gaze, “Oh no, you don’t get to ask the questions buddy. Now where are we, Who are you... and WHERE THE HELL IS THAT BITCH YOSHO?”

“Yosho?” he groaned in confusion.

“Gaahh... what are you, dim or something?” she replied, shaking him roughly as she spoke. She’d never been the patient sort, and the act of interrogating her victims after a drunken rampage had always been one her less stellar abilities. Also waking up in a place completely different from the one where she’d last been conscious always made her cranky.

“PROFESSOR COLBERT, Get away from him You MONSTER!” the cry brought the heads of both former combatants in uniform turn toward the swooping contingent of students one of which was the Valliere girl.

“Who the hell are you calling a MONSTE... AAHHHH!!!” the demonic woman began to object. A cry which was unfortunately for her interrupted most rudely, the girls did not wait for her splutters of outrage to properly begin before Louise utilized a failed spell to flash bang the yellow eyed woman in the face, knocking her over and effectively separating her from the fallen professor. Where she’d fallen shards of ice pinned her to the floor, a momentary distraction as the fallen professor Colbert was scooped up into the forepaws a rapidly moving blue reptilian beast, which promptly flew off. On its back the professor was drawn up by two riders, the blond of whom quickly set busily to work on healing his battered body.

Louise sent a quick thank you prayer to the Founder, she’d been aiming for the creature’s shoulder with that failed fireball spell.

With all due haste Louise approached, wand flickering in hand as she excitedly put it though each motion while saying the words to the most important evocation of her life.

“Pentagon of the Five elemental powers,
Grant your blessings upon this creature,
And bind it as my familiar.”

It was a haste which proved to be of necessity, for the ice pinning the demonic woman down had crumbed before her struggles. And even as Louise managed to close the damming gap between her own and the demon’s lips, it would prove not to be enough. An impossibly strong grip clenched her throat but a second after the final word. Only that her wand itself had been still free had she gotten in the assigning tap which needed to proceed the final step of the contract.

“Now little girl, maybe you’ll tell me what the hell is going... on...” a look of confusion crossed her amber-gold eyes, “...why do I know you?” the ex-space pirate asked. Louise had no answer for her.

“Why do I feel like I should know you?” she asked again, this time more slowly. Still Louise had no answer.

“Are you the one who came for me? Did you take me from the dark?” there were tears leaking from the woman’s golden eyes. A sudden wave or recollection washed over her as she loosened her grip on the girl’s throat.

“I was in that damp, dank hole a long, long time. It was dark... and lonely in there... 700 years I was lonely. No light anywhere. It was you wasn’t it, you gave me my way out?” this time she spoke again, crying, pleading. Her grip on Louise completely loosened... but the young Valiere was herself entranced by the sound of sobbing, pleading. Each of her cries digging deep into the young girl’s heart like a ballista bolt through light tin.

“There was Tenchi for a while, I dreamed about him coming to me, freeing me. But he never did. I can’t even remember how old he was when he stopped being there. Or did I imagine that he was there in the first place? For a while I had my light in the darkness but it flickered and died...and then… and then... there was you,” Louise did not understand even as brief fragments of information entered her mind. And to her chest she found herself cradling the other woman in a position bizarrely like that of a mother or caretaker. Her hand stroked its way through spiked cyan tinted silver hair, which for all its straightness felt like the softest feather down beneath her fingertips.

“You gave your heart to me, I remember now. Down in the cold and the dark you wanted me, you called me to freedom in your service,” Louise stood stock still at that; all breath had caught in her throat at that declaration. Her throat grew dry as she considered the thousand and one things that she ought to reply with. Nothing came to her blank mind but the sadness when she spoke of her prison, the blunt panic at the idea of going back, and the pure joy with which Louise found herself being thought about. Even if she had had no plan before of taking the woman as her familiar, Louise would not now be able to abandon her for the world.

Unbidden Louise’s lips moved, “And if you are to be mine, if I’m to complete your freedom,” Louise spoke as if entranced, loosing herself in those golden eyes, “then tell me. What is your name?”

Gold eyes met pink with an intimacy deeper than either cared to express, “I am Ryoko, the Devil Caller. Scourge of the galaxy. And you?”

“I am Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere… I... I am Louise,” she replied, a hesitancy crawling through her voice, “I... am nothing,” her own tears began to fall, the feedback of Ryoko’s own raw emotions pushing her over the very edge of control.

“No,” Ryoko replied, her naked form pulling itself up face to face with the Valliere scion, one hand reaching to caress her delicate face. The tears in her amethyst eyes were adorable, a plain honesty of emotion which surpassed even the link they shared. Ryoko could only stare as Louise’s eyes laid all bare before her.

“You are Everything!”

No other words were spoken as the Commander of Devils and her Summoner drew each other into a deep kiss.

For a few minutes they stayed that way, locked to each other in promise of better times to come. Only to pull away blushing at their moment of mutual pleasure. When the fires of pain came as the runes being etched were forging the link between their two spirits and minds, far stronger than it was before, the dire feedback began to loop between them both. Thundering pain echoing ever louder with each wave until neither could stand it any longer.

Both new master and familiar crumpled together as one, the cries of several approaching members of the facility washing uselessly over them on their way to the ground.

 

Devil Bringer Of Zero Chapter 2

Well as usual all disclaimers apply.









Chapter 2: No need for the Stars!!!





Louise had never been one to waste her time staring up at the stars. She had always been too busy just trying to pull herself from the depths of mediocrity. Long hours she’d studied the mechanics of spell crafting, the philosophy of spell crafting, and even the rhetorical aspects of spell theory. Days, months and years of choking on the smoke and dust of failed spells, hour upon hour upon frustrated hour spent buried in the heart of her books, on a purely theoretical level she was probably leagues ahead of her peers. Not that it made one wit of difference to the explosive forces of practicality. To look at the strange lights of the sky in wonder was almost beyond her, earth bound as she was by the cares which weighted her down.

That is why it had been so strange when the dreams began. So very bizarre it was when she found herself amid the jet black of night, surrounded on all sides by a sea of stars, and confronted by a globe of shifting blue, white and green, like a living active version of the oh so common moons of her world. She could not have imagined such a scene which all at once left her breathless to its beauty yet confused her so utterly as to its nature. It was a scene deeply alien to her experiences.

It would not stay foreign to her for long.

Again and again she would find herself plunging. Hurling headlong from unending skys the master of Ryoko would learn that these great spheres; of blue and white, and green and brown, and sometime other colours as vibrant and vivid as could be imagined, and a great many more which could not, were each worlds unto themselves. She would learn that each point of light in the sky was another sun. That so many of these worlds bustled with vibrancy and lives far beyond her ken... that so many, many more of them were so completely, starkly without that even the spectre of death seemed to shy away.

It was here in dreams where she was forced to watch death looming, the doom of worlds, of continents, of countries, of villages, of people... the pillage of a thousand worlds. And all the while to hear the mad cackle of a chained beast, the hellish howling laughter that was all with which it could imprison the tears of frustration at its own restraints. All this desecration of life directed by the unrestrained curiosity of a single scholarly seeming man, a man with the most uncaring eyes she had ever met. And like a butterfly pierced right through by a collector’s pin she could feel those eyes, black in yellow, serpentine and cold, stabbing right though her.

Louise awoke screaming.

But she could not remember why...

Only the cold twinkle of apathy set in the coldest of eyes.

*************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**************​

Louise had come to wake in a screaming fit, which sent her residing attendant into a near panicked flurry.

“Ms. Valliere, you’re awake,” a kindly face set in usual jet black hair loomed over her, a certain mixture of anticipation and panic in her voice, “Is there something the matter? Are you all right? Shall I call the physician?”

Louise simply laid there sweating. Eventually she calmed from the hyperactivity which had been induced by the bad dream which she almost completely could not remember. In her stupor the young woman shook violently, feelings of horror coursed through her. Her stomach felt ill.

“Excuse me, Ms.Valliere?”

Louise jumped. She’d forgotten about the maid who’d been at her side for the last minute or two. As shaken as she was it would not be proper to appear so before a commoner servant.

“I am... fine. I’m fine,” she spoke, trying to shake herself of the feelings which had wormed their way bone deep. Louise’s eyes narrowed, “... wait a moment, what are you doing in my room?”

“Ahh... Miss, I have been... assigned to your side until you are well,” the maid kept her eyes down cast at all times, a proper show of deference.

Her noble pride supplicated in the act, Louise calmed visibly, “I passed out didn’t I. I only rememb... Oh founder!” the sudden flush of crimson on Louise’s face puzzled the maid, “I… my familiar, what news have you of her?”

“Well Ms, there hasn’t been much in the way of talk about the Elf woman save idle gossip. Only thing sure which I’ve heard at all was that they were keeping her bound under several seals, as directed by the Headmaster,” the maid spoke with an unsure formality to her voice.

Louise sighed, it was to be expected after the ruckus that her familiar had caused that they would take extra precautions in dealing with her, but the thought of her bound lonely in the dark made Louise shiver in sympathy. She needed to rectify this. She needed to rectify this right now.

The reaction was immediate unto the decision, as Louise threw off the tangle of bed sheets and tried to swing herself down into immediate action on the floor. This plan however met the enemy, and broke upon contact. A weakness she didn’t even realize she’d felt, until after her first toe collided with the floor, overcame her and Louise tumbled forward, face first, at the floor. The watchful maid however had been well aware of her circumstances having spent the last few days tending to the sleeping scion of house Valliere. She moved immediately though catching Louise in mid fall it was all the maid could do, herself toppling beneath the over balanced weight of her charge.

“Ms Valliere, please restrain yourself. You are not well and I do not wish to explain to your physician that I allowed you to hurt yourself so soon after you’ve managed to recover your wits,” the maid spoke sternly, then a moment later looked both mortified and abashed at the very idea of having told off a noble without thought, “forgive my familiarity Ms Valliere... I did not mean to overstep propriety.”

Louise’s mouth opened to form her own reply, when in mid motion the sound of her room’s door opening cut her short.

“Hehehe, My, my Louise. You certainly seem to have a way with the ladies. The rumors might well have some substance to them.”

“Zerbst...” Louise growled.

“Still, Little Louise, passion is passion,” Kirche smirked, head poking from the doorway with a raucous grin plastered across her face and a signal of approval formed on hand, “even if does take on such a deviant bend.”

Louise could do little more than splutter in indignation at her rival’s accusations, face so red that it surpassed her brilliant pink hair in hue.

“W... w... w... w… WHAT!”

Kirche slunk into the room with nary a care, wide smile doing its best to become ever larger as she teased and poked the spluttering Louise, “I know, I know, you don’t want anyone to be witness to your illicit liaisons. But you really must consider locking the door before you start such a tryst. Take it from me; it’s just one small step that really does help in keeping romantic encounters on track and distraction free.”

Louise boiled and shifted upon the black haired maid’s lap, her angered twitching and shifting continued in a futile attempt at righting herself, paying no heed to the equally red faced servant below her. Her struggles would continue for a moment only to be thwarted when she was overcome once more with a bout of weakness which, to Louise’s ongoing misfortune, landed her face first into soft tide of the maid’s ample bust.

“Miss Valliere!” the maiden squeaked, her own mortification at this moment peaking till she was as red as a tomato.

“Mhmmm, mmmmhh!” Ms Valliere managed to burble out, drowning in a tide of soft flesh, and struggling like one out to sea without a life raft.

“HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!” the scion of house Zerbst cackled out whilst doubled over, no longer able to hold in her laughter.

Eventually Louise managed to struggle her way out of the marshmallow palace and face first, as seemed her new paradigm, into the hard floor. She managed to squeak out an oddly cute onomatopoeia for pain in the process. Kirche would forever treasure the stark look of mixed embarrassment and indignation which etched itself upon her rival’s face as she scrubbed at her sore nose. It was nothing short of Adorable!

But that had been enough of the farce which found itself playing out before her, thus Kirche raised her hand in supplication to peace, though it seemed that Louise wanted to have no such thing.

“Heh... ok, ok. Louise, get dressed. I came to check up on you and see if you wanted to come see your Familiar. The head master sent me to fetch you. Your Familiar is awake and he sent me to see if you had also wakened and was strong enough to move.”

“Then get out Zerbst, and let me get dressed,” Louise frowned as she attempted to regain some semblance of poise and dignity, “Uh... servant, escort our... guest... outside. Then come back over and dress me.”

“Planning on some last minute hanky-panky? Oh, how very scandalous!” Kirche’s grin widened with every word, “We should switch your calling from Louise the Zero to Louise the Risqué.”

The poor girl just twitched. Louise did also.

Kirche smiled, “I’ll just wait outside,” she managed while chuckling heartily.

Without waiting on the stunned pair, Kirche glided from her position straight out of the door without so much as a pause. Louise could barely even bring herself to look at the now skittish servant girl as she rushed about the room gathering Louise’s garments, and after Kirche’s barrage of accusations when it came to undergarments both young women attempted to avert their eyes, to the result of further embarrassment, a tangle of limbs, with the dark haired maid this time ending up on top of the mostly naked Louise. That of course was the exact moment which Kirche choose to stick her head right back in.

“You know you two should hurry if you want to play,” she said in a most matter of fact tone, “I can’t wait outside here forever and the headmaster is expecting you.”

Tear’s welled up at Louise’s eyes as she fumed one final time. With but a word she all but shoved the maid from atop of her then grabbed her wand from its place on the nearby table pointing it with wild eyed fervor at the Germanian noble woman. With a quick eep, the Zerbst heiress leapt back outside, narrowly avoiding the explosion which formed at the door, slamming it in with forceful finality.

The red in Louise’s face never lessened as she stood before the maid, who herself was fussing over minor details in Louise’s clothing as she stood being dressed, her own face suffused with a crimson blush as she studiously attempted to avoid eye contact with her charge. The lingering embarrassment which hung about the room stifled all further communication save for silent commiseration.

And an unspoken vow to get even with the red headed witch.

*************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*************​

Boldly the red-haired maiden escorted the other two as they both attempted to set her a fire in truth with evil looks, their own cheeks still aflame after her indecent suggestions. She wore a smile as big as the first day she’d discovered boys, having gotten such a big one over her rival. To have pushed her right past bluster and into stony silence was beauty of accomplishment all in itself, having pushed past even the put on hauteur which the young Valliere used as her shield leaving that crimson of embarrassment painted upon her cheeks to overmatch her hair. There was a certain beauty in stroking flames till they burned as high as they could fly, and Kirche seldom missed a chance to revel in such an event.

Still, as fun as it was to tease and fret Louise, Kirche was genuinely glad to see that she had recovered from her role in the ordeal. It had been worrying at best to find her passed out, intertwined with the long eared demon which Louise had made her familiar, the two having collapsed holding each other what looked like a lover’s embrace. Thus it surprised her to hear Louise speak up as they traveled to the headmaster’s office, light on haste.

“Servant, you’ve been assigned to me and I do not know your name,” this was a noble’s question, i.e. none at all. The almost subtly demanding command did however carry an undercurrent of uncommon courtesy. It was sad to say, but most nobles would have simply ignored the young maid with the raven hair, never once glancing back in the young commoner’s direction unless they had… other interests... in her. But the pink haired youth whom she’d spent most of the last week caring for had spoken, and seemed to be awaiting an answer. After all, if it were not a thing worth knowing, it would not have been worth bringing up in the first place.

“I am named Siesta, Miss. I hope I do not presume too much,” she spoke with her eyes down cast, all the same watching her charge’s feet for any residual unsteadiness. She trailed behind her charge and her bawdy noble friend as was proper.

“Hmm... you know, I think I’ve seen you around as part of the kitchen staff,” Kirche spoke congenially, “Just what were you doing looking after the shrimp?” Kirche smirked at the irritation to cross her rival’s face.

“It was mere coincidence Miss,” she said, eyes still low, “I happened to be serving with the infirmary staff as a fill in since a few of their regulars were ill. When Ms. Valliere came in I was simply there tending to the room, and thus the duty of caring for her was passed to me. The headmaster thought it might help her to be in a more familiar setting when she awoke since there was nothing wrong with her physically, so she was taken to her room and I assigned to watch over and take care of her until she woke.”

“You did your duty well,” Louise spoke with a curt nod, using her best imitation of her mother. Good service should be acknowledged as her father would say, but one should ensure that it was just that, an acknowledgement of what should have been anyway, as would say her mother. The maid’s polite thank you ended the matter in Louise’s concern.

“... I... how is professor Colbert?” Louise asked hesitantly. It was after all her familiar who had brought him down and thus to her own mind, as good as having hurt him herself.

“Darling is just fine, handsome and manly as he ever was. A little water magic and two days’ rest and now he’s as right as rain. Darling has a remarkable constitution,” Kirche gushed. That brought an instant tilt to Louise’s eyebrow.

“Darling?” Louise blurted as if in that one word she’d questioned Kirche’s well-being, sanity and taste in men all at once. Which, of course Louise did.

“Yes, Darling,” Kirche retorted firmly.

“To speak frankly, he doesn’t seem your type,” Louise said, genuine puzzlement in her voice. After all, even with yesterday, this was boring old Colbert. He was a dreamer and a balding middle aged man who was obsessed with strange contraptions that no one could see the use of. Though out in the field he’d shown a side to himself which strongly made her think of her mother. Louise shuddered at that mental comparison.

“After what happened... I thought I knew passion and fire, but he burned so brightly, so beautifully... I just knew. He was the one. All those other boys, all those flings were nothing, not even a spark in his presence. He DANCED with fire Louise; spoke it with command and brilliance. All but sang his fire and passion into existence,” the crimson red-head shivered with audible delight, “Love knows no boundaries. And passion will not be denied!”

There was a weird note of wonder in Kirche’s voice which Louise had never heard before, a tone which spoke of the fervor to which her red headed rival professed at ever chance. Even her eyes seemed to burn with a strange light of desire. Almost all at once a pool of pity settled in Louise’s stomach, a strange sympathy toward their unassuming professor. Kirche was little if not relentless, and well-practiced at wrapping men around her little finger.

“Righhhhttttt...” the look on Louise’s face spoke her doubts far more effectively than any words.

Forgetting herself for a moment, the maid who trailed behind the two of them, for the most part disregarded, tittered musically for all to hear. A moment later she looked forward, stricken and unsure as to how the young noble would take her laughter. It was to her relief that the red head cast a kind eye toward her, and chimed in with her own laughter, quite willing to share the moment with her companions.

Siesta smiled brightly, this she had not been expecting from nobles. It was rare for a commoner to be treated as anything more than furniture in a noble’s presence, and all too often as less than garbage. It was of little surprise that she knew the professor which they spoke of by both name and look, after all the staff of any establishment were expected to know the intricate running’s of who was who when nobles were about. It was easy for a commoner to lose out on an exchange with a noble for having forgotten who he was. Some took offense in the unpleasant extreme, and there were few punishments for such an event. Short of murder they could get away with anything. And ever with murder they usually could get off with little more than heavy fines for the crown treasury.

Colbert was one of the few staff that she could say was mindful of the commoner staff as more than smart golems running about doing what they were meant for. Though for all that he was strangely polite to everyone, his head was often cleanly situated in the clouds and not particularly interested in anything outside of his own dealings, it was seldom that he interacted with anyone save colleagues who could give critique on his constant tinkering with his strange devices.

Siesta’s thoughts wondered over her own experiences with nobles. Especially after leaving home to both make some extra money for her family, for serving staff at the academy were nothing if not well paid, and having gotten away from the potential attentions of a less than stellar nobleman.

Still walking before her maid, Louise pondered her own problems once the laughter had ended and the careful walk towards the headmaster’s office continued. For one thing, she could feel the ghostly whisper of the familiar runes, as if they had been branded into her own skin, a weird tautness and ache in the skin which left her expecting to see something every time she looked back at the back of her hand. She’d never heard of such a thing happening between Summoner and Familiar before, but then again she’d never heard of anyone bonding an elf... or whatever her familiar was... before either. It was here as her mind drifted in wondering about the strangeness which her familiar had brought that she began to overhear faint strains of conversation as others spoke in hushed tones as she passed.

~“... summoned an ELF of all things…”~

~“... I’m telling you she sicked the dammed thing on Professor Colbert.”~

~“I was watching, and that kiss was lurid... Zero, didn’t summon a familiar she called up a lover...”~

~“... up you idiot, you want her to send her pet elf after you?”~

~“... maybe she pulled something worse than an e...Elf. It seemed more like a demon too m...”~

The halls were abuzz with gossips plying their information. Only long histories of disregard had left a good few with free tongues while she passed, the others still would completely clam up and pretend to either be talking of something completely different, or simply stopped talking. In all cases however, their eyes never left the petite pinkette. In each case what little she did catch as the trio rounded corners and passed cliques left her wishing she hadn’t heard anything at all.

But there was one point which did stick out in her mind, a contention which brought her worry as she thought about it more. Her familiar said that it had been imprisoned, 700 years it had been bound and Louise was the one who had broken its bonds. This worried the young Valliere, after all its... no her... imprisonment may well not have been unjust, especially in the light of other information given straight from her mouth. Ryoko, the Devil Caller, Scourge of the Galaxy. Whatever the ‘galaxy’ was she wasn’t sure, though she did remember it having something to do with stars. But even disregarding that bit, the name devil caller implied something ever more sinister, and possibly heretical in nature. They would need to figure some way around that if needs be. Her familiar would listen to her she was sure, hopefully it would be enough that Louise would be able to keep her obscured from the church’s scrying even if every negative proved true.

Louise specialized in wishful thinking.

***********xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx***********​

Ryoko the space pirate; Envy of the great pirate guilds, Raider of ten thousand worlds, Slayer of armadas, Destroyer of planets (26 to be exact, and 69 colonies), Highest bounty offered by the galaxy police themselves and a multitude of other worlds for proof of her demise, and the ONLY creature to have successfully raided the heart of the Juraian empire itself was bored. Worse than bored, she was outright insulted. Since she had come to this place, called here by a mere slip of a girl, she had been almost defeated in life or death single combat for only the second time ever, and imprisoned as well for what was also only the second time in her life.

It had not been a good week.

Not to say of course that she’d been awake for most of it, another fact that grated on her immensely. A little thing like pain had put her down for the better part of a gal-standard cycle, at least that’s what her temporal senses were telling her, Ryoko was not pleased. With her mind inactive and overloaded from the sensory fugue between herself and her Summoner her body had stopped the process which allowed her to forge a new false gem. And now wrapped in a primitive power sink, she could not properly draw upon and convert the higher dimensional energies which powered the formation of a new gem. The primitives of this little stink-hole had managed to trap her, a feat only carried out once before and by a being far greater than they. Damaged and more vulnerable than she had ever been before anyone save two individuals in her past, both of whom she’d rather forget about, Ryoko did what she did best when her back was against the wall.

Attack.

“GET ME DOWN FROM HERE ASSHOLE AND LET ME GO!” she snarled with ferocious intent, once again.The beastial sound coming between grunts of exertion.

At the very least they had not left her in a dark cold place. That would have been too much. As it stood, all that she could do was to get angry. It staved off the nervousness which boiled within her belly.

A stray wondering as to the state of her Summoner came, only to surprise her with an actual reply reading out her vitality in much the same way she had always been able to with Ryo-Ohki. That came as almost enough of a shock to stop her constant tirade against those who held her captive. It probably wasn’t a wise idea, raging at them like this, but it was all she had.

“She’s been like this for at least an hour Headmaster,” the balding man spoke wincing slightly, he was still sore from the fight a few days back despite the relatively light injuries he had taken, “She alternates between threatening me personally, and then the castle... and then our world.”

A thick eyebrow lifted upon an ancient scowl as fingers raked though thick white at the chin, “A wild cat caught in our trap maybe?”

The balding professor shook his head, “No, more like a manticore held by the tail. She is dangerous Headmaster... and I can’t really stress to you how much.”

The elder nodded, if reluctantly, “Over the last five days I’ve had our best water mages examine her. They were baffled. On the outside she looks completely human and normal... but on the inside she is anything but. They all felt her... disturbing... and almost subtly so. Whatever liquid courses though her, one can hardly call it blood as we know it, is viscous to the extreme and cold to the touch and she doesn’t have any distinct organs that we can figure out what their function is save her brain and stomach. They could not identify what were the substances comprising her bones either, even in collaboration with earth mage alchemical experts on staff. Frankly they were quite perplexed and excited at everything about her.”

The balding man frowned but also nodded, “It just does not make any sense... Even elf corpses have been recorded show the natural attributes. Viscera, blood, bone, all in the same structure as our own.”

“Colbert, I all my years, both as an adventuring lad and as Headmaster of this establishment, I’ve never seen anything quite like her. Even amoung the stranger forms of supernatural beasts she presents an anomaly. The closest thing to her strangeness I’ve ever found record of that we have encountered would be demons. And it has been a long, long time since the last demonic gate was opened. And even then it doesn’t match; she shouldn’t be so... real... if she were a demon in disguise. A demon’s corporeal form is supposed to be similar to that of an elemental, made of cobbled together substance with no real rhyme or reason to the insides. She actually does have an internal order,” the old man spoke with the quiet conviction of a scholar. His youth may have been spent adventuring, but he was widely read in his advanced years.

“I’m unfortunately unsure of just how safe it would be for us to allow her free,” Colbert looked up towards her face, as she spouted an ever growing string of curses against his lineage while struggling as she had from the beginning. She never seemed to tire. A prospect which scared him deeply having fought it before, if he’d tried to hang back and wear her out at all in the field... it was all too likely that he might have been dead.

“I know Colbert. But if Ms. Valliere can prove herself able to handle her familiar and keep it from causing harm, then we will have to. Honour and tradition dictate this,” the Headmaster nodded to himself, hand combing through his beard in habit, “and besides, it seemed to calm in her presence even after the fight you had. It would be a crime to keep a mage and familiar, who have managed to bond so well, apart.”

“I advocate caution sir...”

“Yes and caution I do intend to take,” the headmaster spoke sharply, a bit more so than he’d intended, with a much softer tone he continued, “I do not begin to dodder in my old age Colbert. I know you have the utmost concern of the student’s well-being at heart, but I must consider this matter in all fairness. Besides, this here is the familiar of a member of the House Valliere, even if no one wants to speak it the fact is that at any time word may reach the heads of that household and they may feel displeased at the treatment of their daughter. It pains me to say, but we have to keep an eye on such matters especially with a family in such good odor with the crown, they could do much damage both to the school as a whole and each of us involved in this directly. Caution is currently the only path to take, as danger lurks in certainty upon all others.”

“...yes. I suppose I do understand,” Colbert spoke, shaking his head.

“Still it was good that I had an experienced veteran on hand when the incident occurred. Else wise things could have become very ugly. Indeed that that man happened to look quite a bit like one of my senior staff members may well be a thing easily forgotten, after all the only witnesses were panicked children,” the headmaster spoke absently, his eyes wondering about the place in that look he got when pretending to have lost his wit.

Colbert recognized it for what it was, the headmaster was throwing him a bone in all this madness, an out in case anyone started probing deeper into the professor’s history after his display of magical combat. Without the headmaster covering for him, word would leak out quite quickly, luckily for him he’d begun his fight after most of the second years had been fleeing to safety and only a small fraction of the second year’s had actually seen him in all clearness. Those who did had been instructed personally by the headmaster at the possible wisdom of not speaking of the event too loudly, or in too much detail. Rumour would still leak out, still spread... but hopefully in such a slowed, diffused manner that the details would be lost soon enough to keep his name being amoung them from sounding like anything but another farfetched version of the events.

Still he was concerned deeply about the issue of the elf-like woman, but the headmaster’s experience and authority ruled, and beside that the voice of curiosity had settled upon Colbert as he noted the familiar runes which covered its right hand. There was a weird familiarity about them which bothered his researcher’s soul. He would need to look them up the first chance he got in the library. He was pretty sure they had been in overlooked by those here, so much more focused on knowing what the elf like maiden was rather than the magics which now invested themselves upon her body. This train of thought was momentarily broken as the old headmaster’s secretary spoke up from at the door to the inner vault.

“Headmaster, Professor Colbert, Louise de la Valliere and Kirche von Anhalt Zerbst have arrived. Shall I send them into you?” an innocuous green haired head poked in at the door, primly styled hair leaving a few loose strands to brush against her glasses.

“Yes, thank you Ms Longueville,” the head master nodded, “please, do send them in.”

***************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx****************​

Louise grimaced as a cold feeling swept over her. Her familiar was close by and the feelings sympathy and connectivity had flared again. This time though only for a brief instant as she felt almost as if something had ‘touched’ her. A feather soft press, non-specific in location it felt familiar and all too foreign all at once. And suddenly she knew. Her familiar was on the brink. Closer to the edge of destruction than she’d ever before experienced. Louise knew it. Right down into her bones, with a certainty which she could not explain.

This is what it’s like to experience a connection with one’s familiar... right?

Apparently the Headmaster had decided to utilize the castle dungeons to hold and examine her familiar. Like some common criminal. Louise of course was not in the least bit pleased with the insult given by that. Worse, was the condition of her familiar, Ryoko was damaged. Louise could only imagine the things they were doing to her to bring her so close to the brink of destruction. Very visibly she bristled.

Man-handle my familiar, will they! Her face contorted in evident rage. Next to her worried looks were given as both Siesta and Kirche wondered silently just what was going through Louise’s mind.

Louise’s staggered attention kept her from noticing when they’d arrived at their destination.

“Ladies, you may enter,” spoke the headmaster’s secretary as she returned from announcing their arrival, her green haired bun bobbing with her head as she nodded to herself. The scowl slid from Louise’s face, leaving a faint trace of confusion and embarrassment at her unaware state.

Looking up at the entrance, the dungeons though so named, were in fact quite a furnished and surprisingly well kept area, and the particular place in which the ever more familiar throb of presence which Louise was coming to identify with her own familiar, was practically as well furbished as the medical wards.

“Ah, Ms Valliere, Ms Zerbst,” the headmaster greeted as they filtered into the room, “and the lovely servant I assigned to Ms Valliere. Come in, come in.”

Louise looked nervously about the room, an outer reception chamber, her eyes sliding restlessly towards one particular wall every few moments, her companions looking distinctly worried as her expression grew tighter and tighter.

“Now, my dears would you enjoy some tea? Something nice and soothing…”

“My familiar,” Louise interrupted her small hands clenching about handfuls of pleated skirt, “I want to see her.”

“Ms Valliere? Is there something wrong?” the head master quirked an eyebrow inquisitively.

“She’s right there,” the young mage pointed, straight though the wall directly at the bound Ryoko. The headmaster’s expression sharpened, while mages and their familiars did share certain bonds the nature of the chamber in which the elf-like maiden was bound as well as the various spells which bound her should have kept her mage from having even an inkling of her presence and location, even if they were just a few feet away.

“I want to see her right now. It is my right as her summoner,” Louise drew herself up, into her proudest pose, an imitation of the woman whom she molded herself after in all things.

Old Osmund scrubbed at his white beard as was his habit. The girl was right of course, as a mage her familiar was considered legally an extension of her own will, any actions which it carried out both positive and negative were seen as being hers. As such it was a criminal offense to keep a mage and familiar apart, especially when it didn’t warrant anything less than a charge of possible treason or heresy.

On the other hand though, considering the power and hostility of her summoned partner, there was a real risk of someone being killed if the situation was even slightly mishandled. Still the request was just to see her, which alone couldn’t do too much harm. But the sooner the two met, the sooner he would have to make the decision of whether or not to free the elf-like beauty from her suppressing wards. Also, the closeness of her resemblance to the ancient enemies of mankind would not be something to remain mere rumour if her freedom was allowed. The headmaster frowned, that was something yet for the future, but another worry none the less. With a grave nod and a gesture from his staff, he opened the door into their captive’s current cell.

Louise didn’t know what she expected to see, but this was not it. Within the refurbished cell rune script was scrawled all across the room, binding spells of all forms written into chains and brick then suspended against a wall holding the nude form of her familiar suspended and spread eagle against the wall. She recognized each of the enchantments, things which were spoken about in her books of deep theory, some of which would have been deadly to anything human. There were wards here for binding greater dragons, demons, and all manner of immortal and mortal First Born, some of which were truly insidious in nature. From what she was seeing, Ryoko should have been writhing in pain, unable to focus on anything but the magic of her own nature being twisted against her flesh. Instead her familiar looked and even more importantly felt, merely annoyed and angry at being suspended within this array. There was also there a hint of fear, buried beneath the anger, but not so deep that it did not flash to the surface ever so often in Louise’s head.

Louise goggled. How dare they... HOW DARE THEY! The indignity of her familiar spread bare before her as the teachers within the room bustled and prodded utilizing advanced spells of scrying to examine this and that before them. Her familiar’s nudity only the tip of the invasive actions which carried on even as Louise entered the room watching in shock. The look on her face and tightening grip upon her wand must have given it away, because in that moment she spun, evoking the power of a fireball upon the array of ensorcelled bindings, but her red headed companion was already in motion grabbing her hand and redirecting the blast of magical energy towards the floor.

The sound of desperate detonation filled the air, as Kirche struggled with the now wild Louise over control of her wand while the dust still settled across the room. A quick spell from the headmaster and several other staff members swiftly levitated and bound both girls in an upright position. Colbert muttered to himself in surprise, not at the young Valliere’s impulsive act so much as at the damage which she’d done to the vault level reinforcements which strengthened the stone of cell. Where in the floor her spell had hit, the stone split open almost a full 40 centimeter’s though.

With a sigh the headmaster rubbed a hand across his eyes, he’d expected strong resistance and demands from her, with her record of what many teacher’s called her ‘bull-headed nature’, but he never expected something like this as it contradicted the other part of reports on her, the strong lean towards following authority. His own brief meetings with the young girl due to the numerous times which she had been remanded into punishment for acts of wonton destruction, acts which were always as she claimed due to mistakes in her own casting, were always of a sedate tone, the inbred respect for his authoritative position keeping her docile in the face of her ‘mistakes’. Now in the grasp of a levitation and wind binding the amethyst eyed youth struggled and cried out.

“LET HER GO! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! LET HER OUT!!”

A glance towards the familiar also shocked him, as the fury of a moment ago was replaced by a look of almost wonder and definite surprise. He’d just endured several hours of her... worldly abuse, but the single act of her magus had quelled her tongue to nil. What she said next, froze him in place.

“Calm down Louise, don’t get a heart attack I’m fine, I’m fine,” Ryoko soothed from behind her wall of bindings.

Osmund paused and assessed, enthrallment and glamour were not out of the window, but from what he could tell and spending several hours in the company of the creature before him she was not a being of guile. She’d never once even tried to trick them into undoing her bonds or even getting closer, beyond threats of bodily harm. She did not seem to have such a thing in her. No she was all aggression and intensity. Her summoner’s attempt at freeing her seemed to be genuinely shocking. But on the other hand this was an inhuman creature wearing the guise of a woman, and it would always pay to be wary of those beings which clothed themselves in human flesh, one could not always read them in the same way one could a person.

On the other hand, Ms. Valliere was all too easy to read. Despite the conflict between report and current reality, the core of the disparity was one easily deduced. Louise seemed as straight forward as her familiar, and her sense of propriety had been badly breached by the state of her familiar, so much so that it overrode her usual responses to authority. That the rampaging familiar was now the calming voice struck him as a certain irony. Oh he could understand her plight, if his cute little Motsognir were to come under such a threat as she saw her own familiar under, he did not know if he would be able to restrain rage with reason. Still he was Head-Master here; taking charge was a part of his responsibilities. With a judicious banging of his staff against the floor he drew attention to himself.

“Ms Valliere, do I need to point out to you the damage you familiar caused when she was summoned? She was placed here in these seals in case she awoke from the slumber into which you both fell, in the feral state she’d woken up in before then. And afterwards these threats which she has been calling out have done nothing to disprove the danger which she represents to the life and health of my students. Including you,” his tone was unusually firm.

“Alright look, I take it back alright, I won’t blow you all up if you let me down from here,” Ryoko spoke, her voice resembling cordiality, somehow, “Hell I don’t think I’ll be able fight another fight like that one for at least another week,” she admitted, both a concession and offering to her seemingly well-meaning captors, “Just cut the kid a break.”

“I am not a child,” Louise declared with a petulant pout, still floating bound in wind. Ryoko flashed Louise a reassuring grin.

“Yes I can see that we all started on the wrong foot here Ms. Ryoko, let us try this again from scratch,” Osmund spoke, he was still not sure, but he was close to taking the risk. It didn’t hurt that there were two square classed, at least 3 triangle classed, and a few dot classed mages working within the area in case she tried anything immediately, “What I want from you Ms Ryoko is very simple. An oath upon something you hold sacred, that you will not attack anyone within the grounds of my school so long as they do not physically or magically assault your person.”

Ryoko’s brow creased with effort. Something she held scared? Looking like she had bitten something bitter when she opened her mouth the first time, she closed her eyes then nodded with a look of resignation.

“An oath, huh. And what happens if I break this oath?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“Then I will hunt you down with every resource at my disposal and lock you away until none remember that you ever existed,” his shining purple eyes never veered from her own, a quality ice cold and hard creeping farther in with every word.

“And it wouldn’t be nearly enough. But that’s ok little man, I’ll promise. And I’ll even keep my promise. I swear it by Louise’s life and safety,” the elf-like woman grinned as she spoke, sharp teeth like those of a predator shone pearly white, “Now let me down. You’re keeping me from regenerating properly.”

The headmaster nodded slowly, signaling all of the current staff arrayed in the study of her behind him to be alert to his intentions. Then with a sudden slash of his staff he began to chant. Words flowed with alacrity and power, every utterance part of a greater key to which each chain was tuned, and with each word the locks and chains loosed themselves, until there remained no more than physical restraint.

“HA hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY!” all were taken aback by the loud but casual snapping of chains which ensued. Ryoko ripped away her bindings with great mirth painted across her face, “Man that was embarrassing, spring one jail and get caught in another.”

As she spoke wisps of light formed about the room each one reaching some preordained critical point before streaking towards her and gathering within a ball in her hand. The ball swirled and pulsed growing ever brighter, for several minutes they stood, staring as it pulsed and coalesced into a red Pearline gem. But only for a moment it seemed. At the final swirling of formation the entire thing seemed to collapse upon itself breaking down once more into motes of crimson light.

“Shit,” Ryoko cursed. She was still too weak to even form her false gems, unable to track all the points in its formation and the correction of flaws in its higher dimensional construction and the reshaping of gathered matter into a proper dimensional capacitor. This would change with the passage of days, but that was far too slowly for Ryoko’s tastes. After 700 years of powerless captivity, she wanted to feel the fires in her blood as completely as she could... and no others would ever take them from her again. In frustration she snarled, she didn’t like the vulnerability which she felt operating with so few resources. Even the relatively small boost of power flow and energy management from the false gems would a far cry from her current state.

“That was most impressive, Miss Ryoko, but I’m assuming it was not meant as a failed breach of your oath?” the headmaster spoke with calm solemnity, one backed up by the pointing of every wand and staff in the room at the elf-like creature before them.

“Ehh... Wha? Relax. If I still wanted you dead I’d be killing you all now,” she spoke as if distracted, golden eyes focused on some far away task. Slowly a curving smile creased her lips once more exposing uncomfortably sharp teeth, “Ryo-Ohki came with me. That’s good, but only her core came along for the ride...”

“Familiar, what are you muttering about?” Louise spoke, still slightly in shock at actually having gotten what she’d demanded. She had been released from her binding spells even before Ryoko was, and held steady on her feet by the maid who watched the entire affair as a peasant should, with eyes open and mouth shut.

“My ship, she came with me!” the self-proclaimed ‘space’ pirate seemed genuinely happy to exclaim.

“Your ship?” this time Colbert spoke.

“Anyone remember seeing a purple egg lying around the place?” Ryoko asked.

Osmund looked thoughtful, “I believe I left it in the artifact vault. Don’t worry Ms. Ryoko, I will hand it over to you at a later time. The vault has many protections on it and a few of them are time specific. We can regain what is yours later on in the week once the vault resets.”

Ryoko nodded in agreement. She didn’t mind, just knowing that Ryo-Okhi was safely away from others was fine with her. Besides even in egg form there was little which could permanently harm the central control module. At least little that wouldn’t prompt Ryoko to investigate anyway.

“Though I am curious as to how it qualifies to being your ‘ship’ as you call it?” Old Osmund spoke, stroking his beard as he did.

“’She’,” Ryoko emphasized, “Is a living critter. She’s made of crystals and junk. Never really thought too much bout how she works but she’s been with me for as long as I can remember, probably even earlier. We’ve been everywhere and back together. She’s always the way that I fly off into the sunset.”

“Ahh! So she is an Air ship then!” Colbert cut in, sounding suddenly intrigued.

“No, she isn’t some measly atmospheric affair, she’s a Space Ship,” Ryoko replied, annoyed at the implication. Pride flared hot within the link between herself and Louise.

“Space... ship?” Kirche joined, her own voice chirping in, if only to pull some of the attention back to her for the moment. Of course real curiosity coloured her question as well, but...

“Jeez, forgot I was dealing with dammed hicks,” annoyance crossing her face, “It’s a ship that flies, between the stars, from world to world. Without her I’d be stuck here till you guys worked a proper space program. And I do NOT plan to spend the next thousand years or so dirt side.”

Ryoko felt the link grow quiet, as if a big reset button had been pressed in her Summoner’s head. Then a low lingering sensation of questions left untouched haunted the link.

“World to world...? Oh my... founder...” It seemed the rest of the room reacted with similar amazement, save one. This being, whatever she was. Not only came from another world it seemed, but regularly moved from world to world.

The headmaster nodded slowly, “I see. I think I may wish to show you something’s once you come to collect your ‘Ryo-Ohki’ from the vault.”

Ryoko’s interest seemed to peak then settle, Louise found it strange how she was getting used to the link. It might even seem normal to her in a short time.

“Sooo... anybody got some spare clothes? I would have just made myself some but my powers are still playing the fool,” the gold eyed woman spoke plainly and without the slightest ounce of shame, even taking time to emphasize her state of undress by a judicious cupping of her breasts, then turned towards Louise and started laughing as her Summoner turned red all at once, wobbling on her feet as Siesta continued to support her.

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Colbert’s eyes narrowed as he examined the woman before him. The hole in the right side of her chest almost completely sealed, quite rapidly since the moment she was freed. He wanted to trust her, but with something of her power it was hard not to wonder whether allowing her free to fully regain strength after managing to match and defeat a square class mage in direct mortal combat while still in what was admittedly a highly weakened state. The elflike woman did not seem a fool yet she gave pieces of information like that, things which could be used to hurt her or at least would array the mages of the Academy against her. Of course there was always the idea that it could be all careful lies, but trust had to come somewhere, and they were dealing with the familiar of a mage as obtained though the sacred summoning ceremony of Brimir. To question the founder’s wisdom was in itself a blasphemy that worried him.

“Darling,” a voice behind him half moaned, half whispered, “Thinking naughty thoughts about her naked body?” light amusement flowed in with a voice silk smooth.

When did I let her get behind me? The professor thought to himself as she wrapped her arms about his waist and chest. This had been the biggest fallout of the entire event thus far. Or rather these... which rested softly upon his back, reminding him that he were as much a man as he was a scholar, though he’d neglected that aspect of himself long since discarding his military trappings.

“Don’t worry darling,” Kirche spoke softly into his ear, looking for the entire world as if she were simply trying to molest him as usual, “I’ll keep a nice close eye on her for you.”

The professor coughed and tried as always to slip from her constricting grasp, “I cannot condone you putting yourself in danger like that. I mean as your teacher, I cannot.”

Kirche smiled, “Colbert darling, it’s alright, Louise already has her chains on the beast. She won’t be too careless with those reigns, especially if she has a few people keeping an eye on her,” she added an extra squeeze in a sensitive place to emphasize the point.

“Ms. Zerbst,” Colbert all but squeaked at the impropriety of it. Kirche of course grinned, letting go of the professor before anyone else in the room began to pay them much attention.

“Don’t worry darling, one day I will make you mine.”

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It was the first night which they would spend together, master and familiar. The peculiar silver spikes of her familiar’s hair now gathered into a single tuft with the rest drawn tight against her skull. Siesta had stayed with them for most of the time after Ryoko’s release, insisting on grooming the golden eyed familiar as a courtesy to her master, while Kirche too had stuck around providing clothing that would fit the tall woman. Now the familiar wore a loose white blouse which seemed to show off her bosom more than it hid, a pair of black pants which hugged her curves in a manor almost indecent, and a pair of light black boots. The odd combination of clothing and styled hair seemed weirdly to suit the wild woman. Despite the more masculine cut to the clothing, none would mistake her for anything but female. But even so, she looked strangely dashing.

Louise could hardly help but to watch her in pure fascination. In the brief time they had spent in each other’s company she could tell how different from each other they were, how wild, how free of all rule and restraint that she was. If not for the power she’d displayed and her elf like features, Louise conceded to herself that she might have mistaken for a mere commoner.

“Except... that freedom is an illusion isn’t it,” Louise muttered to herself, memories and feelings of helplessness, of subjugation in its most raw flooded her. Though she could not quite remember her dreams, she knew the emotions behind them and of whom she’d dreamed.

“So you guys in this place are the nobility, eh?” her familiar spoke in her usual rough tones, as the last of the workmen filed out from Louise’s room. Louise merely nodded in return. She had heard her familiar’s take on nobility earlier as the tall woman strolled next to herself and Siesta and their conversation veered around the various facts of the world in which she now resided.

“So what you’re saying is that you guys come here to learn how nobles do crap?” her voice carried to an unfortunate volume, crass and uncaring of propriety.

“The nobility is necessary to the survival and thriving of the people of the lands. Without us nobles, commoners would not be able to ensure healthy crops, disease and sickness would run rampant though out the lands without water mages, the land would lack for couriers able to move messages about with any true rapidity. We do anything the commoner’s can, only faster, more efficiently and with far less necessary ensemble. Nobles do not do CRAP,” Louise twitched, the whole time since they had been getting to know each other Louise had been trying to restrain herself. It seemed almost as if everything her familiar did or said since their freedom had been a calculated jab trying to make her loose her temper.

“So basically nobles are best at doing the dirty work?” Ryoko asked innocently.

“Yes... wait, I mean No!” Louise could feel her amusement flooding down though their link, just as the evil pirate could feel her own irritation.

“Stop that. You are provoking me on purpose. I don’t like being prodded,” Louise finally lost her temper, shouting and shaking her wand at the woman across from her. Her cheeks puffed in the cutest manner.

The gold eyed pirate simply smiled. For her it was a game she played, poking, prodding, and breaking the things most precious to others. The thrill of an antagonistic confrontation never failed to make her truly Feel, to push at the boundaries of her leash via the use of her targets. The stronger they reacted to her teasing the better. And her new ‘master’ was a fireball in pink just waiting to explode.

Still she should probably ease up a bit on the teasing.

The second bed which was just installed in Louise’s room to accommodate the familiar in her master’s quarters was a tiny affair in comparison to the master bed of the room. A nice gesture, Ryoko thought, but wasted on me. She never did like sleeping on the ground much, where others had easy access to her person. The instincts of 5000 years of pirate life dominated, and the best place to sleep was always somewhere out of the way of everyone else, whether friend or foe. Luckily the room had a nice set of rafters which along with a nice pillow would suit her fine, and allow her to keep an eye on her charge. Also she’d gathered enough energy that expending a little in simple low grade hovering wouldn’t be too much of a detriment to her recovery. Besides, when she’d first begun to casually float about as was her habit, the look on Louise’s face was priceless. Even better was the jealousy which Ryoko could practically taste emanating from the young girl.

A weird sense of satisfaction filtered lightly down the link.

The link between them seemed to be settling, their awareness of each other becoming more muted as time passed in each other’s company. Louise supposed it a good thing really. Her familiar seemed to shift from emotion to emotion with an unrelenting verve, passionately embracing each state as if it were something precious. Even the vicious teasing which she engaged in seemed as if backed by a certain inexorable hunger, like a starved man gorging himself on rich foods. But even now, the link still gave form to feelings shared between them, understanding growing faster than without.

“Ryoko,” Louise spoke, her voice gentle as she settled down on her bed in her sheer night gown, “You know... this thing between us, I’ve never even heard of it in my theoretical magic books. The familiar runes shouldn’t be doing anything like this, not without actual spells to start it up.”

“That’s because runt, they aren’t the reason for it,” Ryoko flexed her hand. The runes which skittered across it tended to shift and skew with her flesh. It was the first time she’d actually had anything like a tattoo stay on her skin for more than a few hours. Her body would cleanse it away too efficiently for her to keep any regular ones, “I don’t know how, but you got into my psychic info-sphere, my link between me and Ryo-Ohki. Somehow I can feel you in here like I would her. When the runes were applied, the link got stronger, but I don’t really know why.”

“You really love her don’t you? I mean when you spoke about her just now, it was just all warmth and affection whenever you say her name. But she’s just a ship?” Louise questioned.

Ryoko’s gentle smile was a complete surprise.

“She’s my sister,” the space pirate spoke, her words bringing a puzzled crease across Louise’s face.

“Sister? I thought you said she was a ship?”

Ryoko, grinned, “I wasn’t going to give it away until we got her back tomorrow. But Ryo-Ohki is a living breathing creature, alive like you and me. I don’t remember much from when I was a child... assuming that I ever was, but I do know I’ve always had her by my side. And even when she gets hurt, I know that she can recover and be with me again.”

The space-pirate then frowned, “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this crap.”

Louise bit her lip. The feeling of something intense and private invaded the link, as well as a sense of unease. Ryoko, it seemed, did not like thinking too hard on her past.

“You’re a space pirate right, Ryoko? So you’ve seen other worlds right?” Louise asked trying to feel innocent about the probing question.

Ryoko’s silence answered her, but the emotions which filtered across their link spoke of affirmation.

“I had a dream,” Louise’s started, “I don’t remember all of it well. But I do remember that I saw these great spheres, like globes of spun glass. Each one sat in inky blackness like the night sky. And as you got closer you could see everything roads, forests, buildings... people. And everywhere the people were different. And so many of them...”

Ryoko stayed silent. But her presence and attention filtered in just as strong as if she’d spoken.

“I’ve never had a dream of anything so bizarre before in my life. But the dream made it seem so real...” Louise trailed away, unwilling to make any more of a fool of herself before her familiar.

“Planets,” Ryoko spoke, head never leaving the comfortable pillow on her high perch, “Those are called planets. They are what a world looks like from far enough in the sky,” she her amusement at this filtering in, “You really are a backwater hick.”

Louise exhaled sharply and ignored the insult for once, the information it had been tacked on to blew her mind wide open. The dream had been true. It was a prospect which both terrified and inflamed the young girl’s curiosity. It had never occurred to her that the pretty lights in the sky might hold mysteries greater than anything she’d ever imagined. That each point represented a world or several huddled together in the night sky. The thought made her feel small. The idea of it blew her mind.

And here on hand was someone who not only knew of these things, but was so enmeshed with them that she though them little more than common place.

And for the first time in her life Louise wondered about those brilliant points of light which hung in the night sky. Just the glimpse she’d seen gave lie to the explanations of the few scholars whom she could think of speaking to said topic. And within her something broke open. A desperate need to wonder... WHY?

“Tell me Ryoko...” she spoke then hesitated, sapphire pink eyes sparkling with questions which bubbled below their surface as she addressed the golden eyed woman, who had turned on her perch to meet Louise’s own sapphire pink eyes. Their eyes met from across the room... but it felt as intimate as if they stood face to face.

Louise banished her hesitance and spoke, “...tell me about... the stars.”

Her familiar faltered. A million things running through Ryoko’s head as raw curiosity and genuine wonder coursed through their link.

Ryoko found her tongue moving unbidden.

“Yes Louise,” she spoke, surprising herself in the process, “I’ll tell you about them. Everything you want to know.”

With that the floodgates opened.

Wonders invoked from the twist of tongue, minds filled with distant Suns.

They stayed awake for most of the candle light, sharing the heavens and earths.

 

And as always I'm happy to see what people think of the story and if the various parts impact as I desired. I'll answer any question that isn't an out right spoiler.

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Devil Bringer of Zero

Chapter 3: No need for Devils to ride!!!




Locked away.

Secure in the darkness.

The polished purple surface of her pseudo-organic assembly unit rocked. The gentle sway growing into a fevered movement as she who lay within struggled for freedom. She had done this dance before, given birth to herself like a phoenix from ash and flame. She would always arise, so long as the core crystal which was her survived. She was very hardy. Her prison fell from its perch, the height providing the physical force needed to put a ready crack for her to exploit. The great demon broke free of her meagre bonds, feeling the first stretches of new birth. It was a scene fitting to the dark warmth in which she found herself reborn, a womb from which she would emerge complete.

Her sister was awake and well, it was time for her to be entering this world. With a diagnostic run as it had been run more times in 5000 years than anyone else could have kept track of (117934686 times since her first activation... she counted every one) as crystal and flesh synchronized and remembered each other. One lost would beget the other in such a crisis. Thought at the moment she found herself missing 99.9999% of her original structural mass, she was down to this single pseudo-organic unit and control crystal... all else with which she'd been severed. But that was alright, she could rebuild and adapt.

She sat in that comfortable darkness, the birth pangs of hunger gripping her.

She would need to replenish herself from scratch, too much of her major mass had been abandoned and it was disconcerting to have only this single body in which to act. She did not think of these things in term of higher functioning words, merely impulses drawn from instinct and cobbled together into a basic language of animal level symbols, her mind still needed time to grow and invest itself properly into her new body. Until then she was like a child. But that was fine, the aftermath of her failures always left her appreciative of being babied a bit after the fact, those memories of being a child being treasured in every incarnation.

Because Kagato did not love failure.

Because Kagato did not tolerate things which failed.

Because Kagato and failure together meant things which she would rather forget.

Though he had never damaged her in anger, no he was beyond that in his own mind. When he punished it was like the uncaring hand of god come down. She shivered at the almost memory. It carried across the link, but her sister slept still.

The link... she realized it felt strange, heavier than before. Like another shared in it, pressing in between her connection to her sister, an infiltrator and eavesdropper. But as foreign as it felt, there was something familiar about it as well, something which she who was reborn could not recognize or puzzle out in her new youth, none of the connections of her mind yet solid and firm. But that familiarity calmed her.

Still she was hungry.

And for the first time of her new life, the ancient Carrier of Devils opened her eyes, and saw that the world was good. All around her was a quiet glow, like the light of Jurai, though rough and unrefined. And she could see it, see it so clearly that each light looked composed of parts and shapes, each one telling her how to make the light do things. The walls were saturated with it, and so were most of the objects in the darkness with her.

Hunger still rumbled within her. And carefully she wondered... if it would be fine just to have a taste of something saturated with the Light.

Across her forehead runes skittered and glowed, crossing the red gem which resided there at their centre as she stared hungrily at the artifact, judging where along the lines of formed light would be best for her to try.

After all, Ryo-Ohki figured, it would be fine if she took just one bite.

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Guiche de Gramont was a man of style. Guiche de Gramont was a dashing figure before whom all the girls would swoon; his good looks and daring persona would win the day, earning him the lips of almost any girl he would choose to chase. Guiche de Gramont was a man who would not fail to protect any woman within his sight even if hell itself came flooding out.

Guiche de Gramont lied to himself, for the truth was that he was nothing more than a coward and a fool. The field had proven him thus. In the midst of the battle he turned his face and ran. In the midst of death, he cried and begged for life. In the face of the girl who he claimed to love more than life itself... he deserted while she stood firm. He hadn't even checked for her presence beside his own, only ran like a scared rabbit before the shadow of the hawk. And so now Guiche de Gramont man among men did a thing which he'd never done before... in public.

He brooded.

Not sulked nor pouted. Guiche brooded.

For the last few days he'd done nothing but move around as if a dark cloud hung over him. Not once flirting with the girls who usually crowded about him, not even paying any but the most cursory attention to those who threw themselves to him. He responded to no other actions save to his own melancholy and a burning need to overcome himself which he covered in brutal training.

It was in his nature to present a front of cheer and good will, to float about as if happiness and laughter had been overly apportioned to him when the world began to divvy them. His goal, to flounce around with his rose shaped wand in hand and proclaim love for the female form, and of those who wore it. Thus when for five days in a row, the young man who was always immaculately groomed, who went out of his way to charm and console every girl within his reach became a mere echo of that youth, warning flags went up among all those participating in the local gossip. But this did not faze him from his new found funk.

His father had always said to him, "Son. There will be a time in a man's life when he chooses his ultimate path. For some it will be a clear direction, for others it will come in the decision of a single moment. When that time comes for you, don't screw it up."

But he had screwed up. He was there, but did not render aid. He'd left Montmorency to fate, after pledging himself her shield. He'd lost both wit and courage, and the realization of that shook him. It shook him as nothing else ever had. Even the arrival of his darling familiar, the giant mole Verthandy, could not mitigate the disgust and disdain which he currently held against himself. Combat and conflict should have been in his blood, the colour of war inherent to its red brilliance. Instead, he found, his was not the colours of war. His were the yellow of cowardice and self centred vice.

Self-loathing he was unaccustomed wielding to any great effect, but he found it a powerful motivator. He'd taken this time trying to clear his head as time to also train in the more military aspects of the magical arts.

As an earth mage specializing in the summoning of combat oriented metal golems he usually found it particularly cleansing to rise up his Valkyries and set them against himself. Wand in hand he would call them forth, the simple spell which gave them limited self-reaction added in to make their swarming tactics a challenge as well as keep himself from being overwhelmed in the act of trying to command each golem in the crowd like a separate finger on a single great hand.

Golem crafting was an ancient and vital discipline of all earth magi. From the moment that their talent is identified, young earth mages were made to study both the mechanics of alchemy and golem creation.

Alchemy itself was a rather easy skill in comparison at the most basic levels, though its difficulty curve rose with a dreadful sharpness, all one had to do was become properly familiar with a material, reading its elemental feeling and remembering that. From there it was possible to copy that feeling into any new piece of solid material. Advanced alchemists, however, didn't just copy but twisted and composed their own twists on materials, a process which could take decades of training and practice. The best alchemists of all created wildly new materials from nothing else but hints. Even now the creation of Swords of Damascus steel was the sole purview of the greatest of masters.

On the other hand golem creation was an art which was widely studied, golem craft being almost a symbol of nobility in itself. To create a thing which would go forth in your name, a fighter which would not tire, would not falter save if the will of its creator did. It was the very essence of nobility distilled. As such there were always those who constantly sought to improve the process of golem making. Some of the most important men to have contributed to the golem arts were never the less simple dot mages who wrote long complex treaties of how to shape the golem and give it an internal system similar to a series of gears and switches, much like the famed clockwork of the eastern esoterics, which allowed one to give the golem simple commands based on the positions of these internal switches and gears combined though the exercise of willpower to further animate and empower.

Though not seen as useful by most golem makers, these did allow the more interesting types more autonomy than their mages could usually provide. Only the real problem was that what took painstaking learning to master with these more esoteric systems, a truly powerful golem creator could do by the merest dance of will. As a youth Guiche had been forced to memorize and utilize these 'Analytica' while learning the basics of golem creation from his father and army of tutors. While what he did with his Valkyries wasn't exactly anything revolutionary, he was one of the few golem maker's he knew of who actually sat down to make and memorize a design schema for his elegant creations. After all if he was going to sculpt beautiful golems, he should do so with all the care that he could.

Admittedly it wasn't often that he created a properly automated golem, as they tended to break down with too high an amount of jostle, but with his magic's constantly reinforcing their Analytica and bodies; he could get an interesting tumble from out of them.

There was a trick to putting it all together though that some of the best earth mages utilized, and thus so did he at his father's insistence. A copy of what he wished to create in miniature, kept near him at all times. With it he could feel the form his golems needed to take and copy that into new templates of transmuted bronze. His rose wand was one such key. With each petal was a schema for his golems, allowing him to simply replicate them by pouring magic though said schema and instantly doing the work without more than a thought. And from even one petal he could replicate more, providing him with the ability to summon up an army of intricate figures at minimal cost to willpower, as many as he could continually empower. It was an art similar to rune writing and its spoken counterpart of Bound Evocation, save instead of locking the magic into the rune pattern and leaving it, he would leave the pattern then pour magic in when needed as a shortcut.

It was the most complicated bit of magic which he knew. And not particularly well, as his Analytica were often flawed anyway, leaving him to make up the difference with extra will power. And even the very best of the best could not create truly self-aware golems without the use of earth stone to hold the patterns of intellect.

Besides, the concentration it took to keep them intact while having them fight him and giving them the simple instructions to follow on the fly kept his mind from falling back into thoughts of his failure. Silently he laughed at himself; most would consider his Valkyries pretty wastes of time, and worse dabbling in attempts at improving the mechanical features of the golem were seen as lower class pursuits, things sought after only by the weakest and of no real use to those already mighty. In earth mage circles he'd be a complete laughing stock really if his golems were anything less than bronze, the metal of first civilization. Bronze being the best he could create alchemically in one go even using the Bindings from his rose wand. Probably worse, but he didn't want to dwell on failure at the moment. More than he already was that is.

"Arggg!" Growls of aggression formed at his lip as he fought. One, two, three. Parry, spin, stab. With an unnatural focus his morphed wand moved with speed and alacrity from foe to foe striking against the oncoming crowd of Valkyries. But that did not stop the onslaught, blunted bronze connecting to chest, to arm, to shin. That does not stop the pain and embarrassment. The complete humiliation to which he found himself subjected. He allowed them to go on for a few hits more, a punishment for not doing better... for not being better.

"Guiche you idiot...what are you doing to yourself?" a familiar voice asked, annoyance and concern at war in its genteel tones.

The subject of this question could only look up and answers in a groan. The solid figures of his Valkyries were still standing as accorded by his will, but now no more motion was in them than cold carved marble statues before temple steps.

"Sometimes I swear you are more trouble than you're worth," she chided, getting another barely coherent groan, "Now hold still you fool, this will probably hurt a little."

Words flowed, liquid and crisp, their litany washing over him like cool liquid engulfing him, nurturing him, and immersing him. She'd lied, it didn't hurt at all. It took several minutes of this for him to reorient himself as his body came to grips with its new state of wellness the aches and pains of his previously damaged flesh still fresh in his skin.

"Montmorency," he spoke, reaching a hand up to touch her face. It was dirty, caked with dirt and sweat, and the finger nails were uneven and torn from clawing at the ground for purchase several times in the last few days. It spoke of a transformation in him which she found herself admitting was neither wanted nor desired. She wanted back her silly fop. All poetry seemed to be gone from him as he danced about with his Valkyries, a bloody intensity in his air now which frightened her.

"Why?" she spoke once more, no more needed to spin the question between them.

And again as he had in previous days he shook his head, "Because I'm not worthy right now of being a man."

"You are going to kill yourself on this foolishness," the worry was thick in her voice. He loved when her voice was gentle. That was when it was at its strongest. But he wished she would not worry for him, after all it was he who failed her. Until he could figure his way into being worth her time and attentions all he could do was press on.

It was funny really. Before he'd craved gentle kindness which shone in her eyes, the warmth and care which grew alongside of the worry now settled there. There was a time when he thought himself worth such things. If he were a real man he'd try to dissuade her from lavishing this care upon him. But he couldn't find it in himself to turn her away. He was not that strong.

With a grunt, he rose again, almost glad for the residual pain of his healed flesh.

"I ran away Montmorency... when you ran toward Louise to help her... to protect her, I ran way. You can do better than a coward like me."

"Is that what's been bothering you Guiche?" she sounded genuinely upset at the prospect. "You weren't anywhere close to us, if I were further back I’d have run away too. Stop beating yourself up over something like that. You weren't any more of a coward than anyone else out there."

Stubbornly he shook his head, he could be as hard headed a rock when given the right motivation. "That may be so, but Montmorency... what if you'd died and I'd just been running. It would break my heart."

The blonde girl with her hair of spiralled tresses shook her pretty head back at him. "And if you really hurt yourself over this how do you think I would feel. I love you fool... now look, you've made me go and say it." She smiled softly. "Besides. I'm here, unharmed. Louise is safe, and her familiar safely bound by the ritual. You know I heard that they both woke up yesterday from Kirche. Maybe if you just go and look you will see I wasn't in any terrible danger, you can forgive yourself that one little slip and stop this foolish 'training' that nets you little more than a few extra bruises and breaks that I have to heal."

"You know you don't have to. You don't need to have anything to do with me," that stubbornness asserted itself in his voice.

A swift kick to the shin took down his composure. "Don't ever say that again you idiot. You're such a bloody drama queen sometimes..."

He grimaced and held the offended shin, marvelling internally at the girl who called him hers. This woman was a beautiful torrent, an ocean of brilliance, but he was anything but solid, as he was he felt like little more than mud.

The blonde girl sighed. Her man had always been a tough nut even for all his floof and flitter, and a persistent one at that, the same persistence which now worked against getting his head on straight was the very persistence which had attracted her to him in the first place. She would try again.

"Ok then, would you at least go and talk to Louise and her familiar. Maybe seeing them will cool you down. The threat is past and you don't have to beat yourself up for some silly preparations for the future."

Guiche frowned. "That will not change how I feel about it Montmorency... I will still have run away from the threat that bore down on you. Whether that threat had been real or imagined... I cannot forgive myself abandoning you." Holding up his hand he stopped her from trying again. "But, your solution has merit. I shall talk to them... and I suppose I should spend some time with my cute little Verthandy."

Montmorency smiled. A victory over his stubbornness, she felt a measure of pride over that. He was not easy to dissuade when on a chosen path. But still she worried as the cheer which he bought with him everywhere was not yet back. That spark in his eyes, while not dead, smouldered still beneath weight of his own guilt.

Even as he gave his promise to his beloved, Guiche contemplated. He had not been able to keep his wits about him when first faced with the unholy spectre which Louise had summoned, but even if it had not kept its fearful visage he still needed to know. He needed to know desperately, if he could face it. Win or lose it didn't matter. He needed to know down in his bones that he could look in the eye of superior force and be defiant before it.

And for the first time in his life he felt something inside him. A terrible motion quaked within him, like his father had once described. A thing he'd warned his proud young peacock of a son against.

A mournful longing for the enemy welled up within him, a desperate yearning for the battle to come.

And thus Guiche decided to do something that he was particularly good at.

Guiche de Gramont was going to do something foolish!

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Morning had come fitfully for the restless mind of Louise. All night she and Ryoko had stayed up, tales of peoples across worlds, more than she'd ever imagined flitted across her wonder dazed mind. The world where she lived, the country the continent, all that which had yesterday seemed so large now in comparison but baubles in the grand scheme of things. She did not like feeling so incomparably tiny, familiar though the feeling was, but in the same breath she could not help but let her mind drift in wonder at how much wider the world was than she had ever known. She'd been awe struck so many times though the night, and in the previous dreams that the entire idea still seemed almost as unreal as a true dream. But Ryoko was here, and the ring of truth sang out in her words. Hard as they were to fully accept even though Louise believed them...wanted to believe them. But even so, the very ideas which she stirred made Louise uncomfortable, ate at her steady understanding of the world, thus she simply put them out of mind. Blatant denial had ever been her best defense against all ills, and failing that simply ignoring the issue until it either solved itself or she was forced to confront it directly, and she was far from ready for that.

After all, it was morning, and there were duties to attend.

She scowled. Her ineffective magic had been completely forgotten for an entire night of her life, its crippled state replaced by visions of worlds above and beyond.

Louise sighed. While her familiar represented amazing possibilities, she simply didn't know where to even begin in attempting to reach them. Silently she shook her head then looked over to the still form of her familiar, lazy to bed and still snoring.

"Ryoko! Wake up!" Louise commanded hopefully. In return she got a lovely snore of higher volume.

Screwing her face in annoyance the noble lady picked up the nearest small object and hurled it up towards the rafter. Ryoko quite casually blasted it with power from her fingertips, never once showing any other signs of possible wakefulness. Louise's annoyance grew. Even in the bond she seemed asleep... somehow lucid yet still asleep.

"Fine you lazy... argh... GET UP!" Louise shouted, angry at not being obeyed. In her mind there was a strict hierarchy at work here and for all her power Ryoko had given herself to Louise. She was Louise's to command. And those commands were being completely ignored. The impulse to grab her wand and blast her familiar was strong, but she fought it down at memories of the woman's strength and temper flared.

A knock came at the door as Louise readied herself for the morning and grumbled.

"You may enter!" she spoke, turning around to see who entered as the door creaked open.

"Good morning Ms. Valliere," the face at the door was the maid from yesterday, Siesta, Louise remembered was her name. "I just came to make sure if there was anything you needed Ms. Valliere. Especially after you were in your sick-bed for a few days straight."

Louise blinked. The maid had come over to check up on her? It was a good follow up, though the task itself was outside of the scope of her duties, especially after the headmaster yesterday had formally dismissed her from needing to continue the tending to Louise. A warm smile grew across Louise's previously furrowed face. Her father had always said that a servant who went above and beyond the necessities of duty in care of their charges were to be treasured. People who went out of their way to help here were also a rarity in her life.

"Thank you Ms. Siesta but I believe myself to be in perfect health," she said to the maid, then cast a dirty look across towards her familiar. "I'm having a bit of trouble waking up my familiar for the morning activities though."

Siesta smiled, recognizing the problem which often plagued her when she tried to wake slugabed siblings or cousins. "May I try then Ms.Valliere?"

"Go ahead, you are welcome to try," a bitter note creeping into Louise's voice.

Walking further into the room the maid rubbed her hands together then took a hand full of the nearest curtain to the spot in which Ryoko lay. With the practice of youth she climbed up the well secured curtain as close as she could then shook the pillow beneath Ryoko's head, the only thing she could grasp from the distance between curtain and rafter. The space pirates snoring came to an abrupt halt as she flipped from on top of her high resting place to below, landing squarely upon the unused bed.

"HEY! What'd you do that for!" the space-pirate shouted.

"It's breakfast time. You are making Ms. Valliere late." even as she slid back down the curtains the maid's smile stayed serene, yet it took on a wicked tilt.

Ryoko fumed for a moment, then let it go. "Fine, but you're getting me some Booze you hear me! Bah... I need to eat anyway though... got to go restock on mass."

Louise grinned in devious collusion; Eleonore could not have done better herself.

"It's alright Ms. Valliere," the servant girl spoke, serene smile still painted to lips. "I'm eldest in a large family," she said, clearly explaining everything... clearly.

To this Louise smiled, thinking fondly of her elder siblings. "That I can believe."


The trip to the dining hall was a short one. And while yesterday had been filled with doubt and uncertainty today pride filled the young pinkette's step. Yesterday had been an unsure youth walking toward possible shame, the weight of rumour and innuendo increasing an already heavy burden. Now however she could walk upright, she'd done as they'd said she could not. She had performed magic and here floating behind her (a disconcerting habit) was her ultimate proof of ability. Her familiar, whole and for the most part hale and intact though not yet properly healthy she was most importantly here at her master's side. And she was undoubtedly powerful.

Calmly Louise walked her way through the cafeteria, taking in the sudden rush of silence. She'd never heard anything quite so beautiful in her life. She fought hard against herself to keep the smile which twitched at her lips from forming.

Across the room one pair dared to whisper something between each other. A sharp glare in their direction closed their mouths immediately, their faces turning sheet white. Ryoko gave her own smile here. It was always good to be respected in any new sphere... and baring that feared by a measure.

"Familiar," she said in a formal tone which made clear the floating woman's relation to her. Louise's voice was heady with the power which Ryoko's presence invoked. "You may sit and eat with me or go your way to get food as you wish."

Ryoko sighed at the smug satisfaction which choked its way down the link. Before her peers Louise blazed with the arrogance of one proven right against the odds, and she'd never been at best a humble child. Ryoko on the other hand merely raised an eyebrow then shrugged at the swell of her summoner's ego. But ultimately the alien woman said nothing; there was a catharsis which accompanied her summoner's actions and words which coloured every smug smile and look. The rumble of her stomach spoke of hunger. Ryoko decided that it would simply be easier on them both if she just took herself off to the kitchen and purloin the food directly from there.

With a dismissive wave of her hand the space-pirate floated off after Siesta who stood near waiting to see if Ryoko was going to follow her off into the kitchen.

"So miss Ryoko. What would you like to eat?" Siesta offered once they entered her domain, all about them hustled the cooks and various servants rushing to ensure that the breakfast buffet continued to look succulent and fresh.

"Just grab whatever, I'm not picky. I just want my belly full," the space-pirate nonchalantly replied honestly not caring for the content of the menu so long as it came in mounds. "Oh some alcohol... screw that as much Alcohol as you can find, I'm gonna party it up!"

"But Ms. Ryoko we're not allowed to serve alcohol to the student body. They are too young for it unsupervised." A knot of worry was evident in her voice.

"Uhuh. That's sweet kid but it ain't got nothing to do with me. I'm 5000 years old. I passed legal drinking age eons ago. Bring on the boo..." Ryoko paused, an awestruck look ramming its way across her face even as she tried to regain her last word.

"WHAT WAS THAT!!!!" she shouted floating clear of the ground then propelling herself at high speed back towards her partner. For the second time the Cafeteria fell into a hush as the familiar of Louise cried out at the top of her voice. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT LOUISE..."

Worry flashed briefly across Louise's face, until she took her time to read the link between them. A spike of sensation flowed between them, something simple, direct and primal. Desire came strong from Ryoko to Louise even as the pink haired girl tried to figure out what exactly what she had done to spark off such a strong reaction in her familiar. Before her was a full breakfast spread of ham, eggs, fresh toast, and more than a few sweet fruit tarts which she'd taken, she was a growing young mage of course. She'd been famished from the last few days without real food, and this was the first real intake of food she'd taken since she'd awoken yesterday. Up till then, Siesta had been feeding Louise's prone body with a light broth.

"Whatever it was, do it again!" her gold eyes shone with a wild excitement, shaking the young girl to emphasize her point.

Tentatively the young mage reached over to her half eaten tart, pinned in place by her familiar's strong grip, then took another bite.

It had been 5000 years. 5000 years of life in which she'd done much and tried more. While that bastard Kagato had indeed denied her many things, this new sensation which engulfed her from the link was something which had never been successfully integrated into her original sensory protocols. She couldn't taste anything, and had no real context of what the sense was supposed to be like.

Ryoko rocked slightly as the information of sensation danced down the link. This was something new to her, something so far beyond her experience that it almost made her weep for its beauty. Longingly she pushed, trying to delve deeper into the sensations, trying to connect further with the experience before it fluttered away.

"That was... that was... I never knew… all this time... he was holding out more. He never even showed me anything about this..." her eyes shone with the dew of fresh tears as she stared over at Louise's plate longingly. "More Louise. Eat some more!"

Louise paled at the command but that hungry look which crossed her familiar's beautiful face... it frightened her into immediate babbling obedience. That look, so charged with feral need, changed Ryoko's beauty. Transformed it into something frightening and menacing in so many ways that Louise could barely think beyond carrying out her familiar's command. Mechanically she ate, piece by piece accommodating Ryoko's various demands of trial taste combination.

Ryoko's golden eyes fluttered in pure satisfaction. The sensations of taste stolen from her youthful sponsor left her writhing in pleasure, forcing more and more upon Louise until she began to vehemently fight back against being fed. But for the entire spectacle that their struggles made, none in the hall could bring themselves to laugh. None in the hall wanted its attentions redirected towards themselves while Louise took on the brunt of its focus.

The attentions of that frightfully elven familiar so precariously balanced upon the knife edge of control.

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It took Louise a while before she could fully disentangle herself from Ryoko's demands. The partial backfiring of her showing off in the cafeteria leaving her to exit the place in a far more subdued manner than that in which she'd originally entered. All in all she'd eventually been forced to utilize her faulty brand of magic to blast her familiar off as the crazed demonic elf thing attempted to shove all manner of food down her throat while almost callously enraptured with the fed over sensations from the Link. The struggle of flailing limbs and explosive countermeasures did nothing to ingrate her further to her fellow students. It took a quick trip back to her room for Louise to change the many rips tears and scorch marks which marred her uniform.

The first bell of classes rang out, a beautiful cacophony signifying the need to quicken steps and get to moving. Warily she allowed her familiar to float along to class with her. Not that Louise could stop her anyway.

"Look. I'm sorry about the cafeteria thing, alright," Ryoko spoke, the rarity of what she'd given unnoticed and uncared about by the Valliere scion, who still wore a shade of crimson red across pink cheeks. "I went overboard a little, maybe."

Louise's eye twitched as she tried to calm herself, she needed to keep these clothes intact as class was only a short distance away, her cheeks puffed in the frustrated need to blow something up. "Overboard..."

Ryoko grimaced at the bitten off word, the bitter emotions of embarrassment edging into anger biting viciously at the link.

"Fine, fine... I admit it was more than a little bit of a display. But I don't have taste-buds."

"What?" her embarrassed anger turning quickly into curiosity.

"I haven't got a sense of taste. Never have," Ryoko spoke to her quietly, not wanting to announce what felt like a personal failing too widely. "That breakfast was the first I've ever known what it actually tastes like. I never even imagined something like that."

Louise's eyes widened at this revelation, and then grudging understanding began to flow. While she didn't say a word more Ryoko knew she'd been forgiven. Next time she would be a bit more subtle about making sure Louise tried something new to eat. Sweet things were more wonderful than she'd ever guessed.

It didn't take long for them to reach the class and enter to be seated. With the bell having rung only very shortly before, they had a few minutes before the lecture room was filled.

While officially first day of classes should have been a week ago from what Kirche had told her, the professors for the last few days had seen it fit only to use the classes as introductory sessions. Real classes would start from today, and for the most part would be review material in concert with some basic theory to get a feel for the class direction.

"Good morning, this will be the first official class for Introduction to the Arcane Physic." she was a tall lanky woman, sea blue hair pulled back into a sensible bun and grey eyes bespectacled. "I am professor Roxanne de Bergerac. My runic name is the Effervescent." an ample bust line bounced, as if in agreement.

A general snicker went up across the class but the teacher ignored it, the response being all too common. "Fine if you are all done laughing at my expense... you there in the back. Yes you." she pointed directly a mousy looking blond boy. "What are the Principia Magicus?"

The mousy youth looked left and right before getting up, making sure he was indeed the one called. "... I'm not really sure?"

The professor twitched then rubbing the bridge of her nose spoke softly to herself. "Every year it's the same. I swear these youths become dullards over vacation breaks." Then raised her voice. "Alright then let us start slow, and begin assuming that you are all completely dim. What is Magic? You should be able at least to answer that… what no really? NO one wants to answer?"

Tentatively a single hand somewhere around the middle left row rose up, Roxanne had almost missed it due its positioning. She almost never paid much attention to that area, especially the front row of it. "Oh, one of you actually has something resembling memory? Go right ahead young lady, I won't stop you."

The maroon haired girl looked slightly spooked but spoke up once called. "Magic is the ability to assert form across substance without material intervention. It is the exertion of the will."

"Hmm. Adequate for your level of study. So then does anyone wish to elaborate on the idea of will for me?" she spoke encouragingly.

One rotund blond boy spoke up. "Will is the manifestation of our intellect upon the form of our spirit. Will power is the term used in how we apportion our mind and spirit into magic. Spirit provides the form of the spell while our intellect provides the direction of said form to a task. The elements create the substance of the spell and in combination our spirit and mind creates Will. Will is used up in fuelling a spell. The components of will can be said to be Concentration, how deeply one can focus one's will to a task, and Determination, how much will you can provide. Both are critical factors in whether or not a spell command will succeed or fail and with what force the spell can interact with the world."

The professor whistled. "I can see you actually did some studying. Now can anyone tell me what the elements of magic are, and how this pertains to the classes of Mage? Come on, be brave, I won't bite... Ah yes you over there." she pointed to a boy with dark skin and chocolate light brown hair, at which he promptly pointed right back to himself then stood.

"There are five elements of magic. Air, Earth, Water, Fire," he spoke, looking nervously, "and sacred Void. A mage of the Dot class can only manipulate 1 elemental unit at a time, while a mage of the Line class can combine 2, a mage of the Triangle class can combine 3, and Square class mages can combine four. Each elemental unit is called a stack and while a Triangle mage for example might be able to handle 2 or more stacks at a time usually their proficiency with spells goes down exponentially the less stacks of their primary element which are used."

"Not completely dead of mind I see. Can anyone give me the attributes of the elements?" the professor asked. She was surprised to see a hand go up from the pinkette who sat all the way in the back beside her silver haired servant who seemed to be sleeping sprawled in the chair by her side. Usually the ones who tried to bring servants to class were the ones who ignored the class the most... oh wait wasn't that the elf familiar from the other day? A slight grimace crossed the teacher's face... but then settled. It would be better served to act as if the familiar was not here at all. "Ok you."

"Fire is the element of consumption and destabilization. In its presence all components are made to falter and reform. Fire seeks to make all else into fire first by breaking it down and reshaping it. It’s often called the element of destruction." Louise paused for a moment looking at the teacher though her pink bangs.

A nod of encouragement was all that it took to get her back on track, "Water is the element of conformity and integration. It seeks to shape itself to the container which holds it, but also it seeks to make anything which it interacts with conform to it as well. Water is also known as the element of Life due to its extensive use in healing

“Air is the element of freedom and separation. All spells which utilize wind as their base stack in some way or another removes a thing from something else. Wind is also known as the Military element, because of its extensive use in wartime activities."

Louise took a breath then calmly continued. "And Earth is the element of stability and sustenance. As the scholar Abigail wrote 'the greatest power of the earthen mage is to invest pieces of magic into objects and foster the increase in their natural attributes'. It is why Earth element is utilized extensively in agriculture. But besides that Earth is also the element of the Alchemist and Enchanter. Because its solidity of purpose lends it well towards creating structure."

The ‘none-too-youthful’ professor smiled. At least someone had done their homework. "Nicely put... what was your name again child?" she spoke, keeping up the appearance of ignorance.

"Louise, Madam De Bergerac," she replied with a small curtsy.

"Ah lovely child, but you forgot one element. So anyone care to deliberate upon it for me?" the professor looked up among the sea of students, though only silence reigned, again she rubbed her eyes beneath her glasses a muttered. "This is going to be another one of those semesters...” She sighed, exasperation thick upon her breath “... mother always told me going into teaching was a bad idea..." Then raising her voice she spoke again louder. "Fine then, The last element, Holy void the element of boundaries. 'All things originate from the void. And all things return to the void. Like a capricious woman who seeks to tear down what she'd once made.' were the words of Brimir the founder... may he be eternally blessed. Because of this statement Scholars have long debated if Brimir spoke in metaphor or if being the wielder of the holy Void element gave him a special insight into the absolute truth." She fixed her glasses once more then continued.

"Now that we have the ground work covered, let us discuss the Principia Magicus, the principles of Magic. When speaking of the principles of magic one notes that it is the nature of magic to be commanded, spoken to, and even coaxed to some degree. Thus one of the longer held ideas of magic's relation to the world starts with the thought that the world is a conversation of sorts, with constant discourse going on between its various aspects. The spiritual world providing the form and syntax of the conversation while the material world is comparable to the words and symbols utilized to build the sentence..."

Ryoko listened half-heartedly as the teacher spoke. Her Summoner was besides her working away busily at her note book trying to keep up in jotting her notes down as quickly as she could. She could literally feel the intensity with which her Summoner paid attention to the river of words flowing to her ears. There was a singular passion, a drive so intense that it almost reminded Ryoko of another, which floated before Louise. Each syllable which she listened to was a way of crawling just a bit closer to her goal. Sadly it also felt like she knew every word being said intimately and was just comparing what was said against a mental checklist.

Quietly Ryoko spoke. "Louise, you know this stuff already don't you?" she asked, the feeling of probing curiosity sent down the link. "Why are you getting so serious with it?"

Surprisingly shame flooded the link, "That's n...n...none of your business!" she exclaimed in an impassioned stammer.

A sly smile crept its way across Ryoko's face. "So a secret eh," she edged forward her fingers curling about Louise's slender waist.

"Wh...w... what are you DOING!" Louise squeaked out as fingers danced across her sides, once again mortified by the impropriety of her familiar, but this time with the added incitement of her ticklish spots being explored. She could feel Ryoko though the links, judging even as her fingers did the touching, eventually making her cry out loud as the Devil Caller used the feedback of the link to make her writhe. Ryoko simply grinned.

Fortunately for Louise, the professor cleared her throat particularly loudly, while gesturing toward the two. "Ms Louise, you showed yourself to be of some intellect earlier, now don't waste that good credit by making play time with your familiar in my class room. Familiars aren't usually allowed into the class, especially if they won't be doing anything but being distractions for students who actually wish to learn."

Louise blushed prettily in embarrassment. This time out of a feeling of having failed to meet up with her teacher's standards... and of course the eyes of the entire class painted onto her the more stable part of the explosive arrangement.

"Alright I need someone to come here and demonstrate elemental cycling... Ok Louise, as I already know your name, and it will keep you and your familiar separated for the moment," the professor spoke.

Her announcement was met with a general hiss.

"Umm, Madam De Bergerac... I do not believe that to be a wise idea," one student spoke up.

"Yeah she might have summoned a Monster yesterday but you're playing with our lives if you let her do magic," cried one of the louder boys.

"Please you must reconsider Madam Professor... Louise can be quite the menace without meaning too," Kirche bubbled from the back row where she'd been lounging her way through the lecture. All the while a certain blue haired mage made her way from the class never once looking up from her book and neatly closing the door behind her unnoticed exit.

Grim determination crossed the pink haired mage's eyebrows, she'd already been humiliated one too many times for the day and besides that she'd managed not only to carry out the familiar summoning but had been the one to gain the most spectacular familiar of the day in the process. Ryoko's eyes crossed slightly as Louise walked over to the professor with a big cheery fake grin, the emotions roiling off of her a weird mixture of hope, determination... and spite.

Hope and determination she could almost understand, but Ryoko didn't quite get why the sp... the room went white.

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Louise groaned miserably as she shuffled down the hall next to her floating companion. Both of them had taken considerable clothing damage in the explosion which had rocked the lecture hall and were covered in black silt and dust. All in all for an explosive of its magnitude, the human inhabitants of the class room had taken a surprisingly low amount of damage, mostly in the form of bruises. Even Ryoko had been battered by the spell, but for some reason despite her own physical toughness it had still hurt.

Beside her Louise looked pensive, but in the link Ryoko could feel the girl almost ready to break down and cry. Between the chain of humiliations which had rocked her for the day, humiliations wrought by the very being in which she had sought to take solace, and the still broken nature of her spell casting Louise felt like she might crumble if anything else came at her right now. Ryoko barely had a clue what to do with such emotional fragility. She was after all used to being the cause and not the potential source of redress. But she empathized so keenly with the bundle of vinegar who walked beside her that she could not help but slip her arms about her in an attempt at comfort.

Louise barely noticed the warmth of contact or even the weight of an arm encircling her shoulders. Though the link came a weighty mash up of comfort and support, and a distinct lack of the patronization which she'd expected. She bit her lip and allowed herself to lean back and absorb it whole sale.

"You know how you can't taste things," she said, her decision to open up a spur of the moment thing. "I can't seem to do anything but fail at magic..."

Ryoko mulled for a moment then replied, "But you got me here and that explosion…"

"That explosion was a mistake!" she barked out, tears leaking from shining carnation coloured eyes. "It's the same with every spell I do, no matter what I want to accomplish it fails. All I get are useless explosions."

"Ok now stop there a moment." Ryoko shifted Louise in her grip, turning the pinkette meet her face to face, eye to eye. "Explosions are never useless, hell they are some of the best things in the world," there was a weight of seriousness in her voice, in the link as Ryoko spoke. An impassioned appeal made in solemn severity.

This alone broke though Louise's funk, as laughter welled up from within her to overwhelm the tears at the share serious intensity which Ryoko seemed to carry at the subject matter. Slightly confused as to how she'd achieved laughter, Ryoko decided not to press the issue as they made their way down the hall together back to Louise's room for a change of clothing. Only the occasional stare from tardy students came their way during that very personal moment between them. A general glare form Ryoko kept many of gawker's who did stick around from staying too long.

"You!!!"

Ryoko froze bodily for a moment, then began with head turning to face the person who had spat the word, laced it with such venom that it burned and hissed in her ears. That was the sound of rage and humiliation bound up and focused at her, and it was always a welcome noise in the Space Pirate's book.

Standing before them was a boy, gold of hair and aqua green of eye. He was a pretty boy by any estimation. And beside him one of the girls she remembered from the field who'd helped Louise, her twisting golden locks bobbing as she bit her thumb in what looked like a combination of fear and annoyance.

Louise on the other hand looked confused. "Guiche, Montmorency?"

The blonde girl cast a quick glance towards Louise, then turned back to her boyfriend tugging none too gently upon his arm. "Guiche please don't start anything, not now, not here. Please, not with her."

But Guiche's eyes held steady against the source of his shame. Teeth grinding he did not speak, but the malice in his eyes conveyed the message to her. Ryoko grinned back in almost uncaring defiance of that hate, soaking up the raw emotion which lay naked across his face.

Quietly she assessed him, all grins plastered beneath watchful, silted, golden eyes. Eye's which took in new prey for her hungers. His look reminded her of a certain princess whom she'd beaten seven hundred years ago, of the raw ecstasy of adrenaline as she basked in the enemy's hate.

Louise could feel the sense of calculation as her familiar sallied forward until mere inches set her apart from the young ponce. "You want to fight me don't you. I can see it in your eyes. You want me on the floor pleading to you for my life, to appease your pride."

Guiche's teeth ground in affirmation.

Ryoko grinned then petted his head as if encouraging a child. "Aww, that's so cute!" then she simply walked right past him, smiling as if she'd just heard a wonderful joke.

He almost lost all semblance of rationality as she planted her knee firmly in his damaged pride. Only Montmorency's restraining arms kept him from immediate foolishness.

"I, Guiche de Gramont the Bronze, do challenge you to a duel devil woman," he growled out, almost inhuman in intensity. Montmorency blanched at the thought, fear for him roiling though her gut. A languid smile slowly seeped across the features of the Devil Caller, a bared madness shining in the twinkle of her eye.

"Yes," she spoke simply and in that one word cast forth challenges of worth, of heady excitement, of the scent of prey enriched by emotions pushed unto the extreme. Ryoko took no pains to deny her own predatory nature.

"Meet me at the vestry field," he growled. Ryoko could almost taste the hate in his passing.

Mousily his companion cast her eye back upon Ryoko's smug form then to Louise, who stood in confusion as to what just happened and why.

"Di... di... did he just challenge you to a duel?" Louise asked, pointing shakily towards the retreating figure of Guiche.

Ryoko nodded affirmative with a vicious glee.

"I remember Guiche being pretty stupid... but I don't remember him having a death wish..." Louise was feeling faint. The acts of a familiar were in law the acts of the mage, in law and in propriety. By the rule of Steel she could feel that idiot blonde's blood already oozing across her hands, thus she felt obligated to add, "Please don't make him dead...or bleed too much...please?"

"Ahh, don't worry. I'll stop before he dies...or bleeds out," Ryoko assured most unreassuringly, "...maybe."

Louise simply felt faint.

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Guiche had known with crystal clarity that he could not win. That was not why he wished to fight, not why he wished to challenge. No Guiche de Gramont knew, even in the flame of anger that the beast lit in his belly, that he wasn't good enough, that he wasn't fast enough, that he wasn't strong enough. But even before he'd found her in the hall way he'd known that he would challenge her, that he would fall to her. But in this confrontation, there was only one goal which he whole-heartedly embraced. To be better than he had been before...

To be better...

His eyes held in them bronzed death and steel. Even if he died he would bring himself to be better here.

And on the vestry field, he stood shock still, rose wand now rose sword-wand, tilted into the grass. From his breath utterances splayed at the edge of his tongue readied themselves for the inevitable.

"I see you weren't just blowing smoke with that challenge," the Devil woman spoke, lips curled cat like in anticipation. "Good," she all but purred the word, and then began to move.

Two foes circled each other in the bright light of day, the crowd which was slowly gathering a fair distance around them to bear witness to folly. But not too close for a good few, lest they be caught in the maelstrom of violence which they were sure would come. The rest though, had little idea of storm which brewed, only the second year’s having been witness to the events of the summoning ceremony a scant week ago.

With a primal scream of all his rage, frustrated uselessness, self-hatred, and foolishness Guiche hurled himself at the enemy wand first.

Spells forgotten; spells didn't matter.

Technique forgotten; technique didn't matter.

All forgotten save the heady rush of throwing himself with all his might at what he'd before run from in fear, till only the dread catharsis of his weakness remained.

Ryoko just spun and smacked him upside the head.

"That was pathetic. You can do better than that can't you Rosey girl?" Ryoko levelled him a look of smug satisfaction, as once again he attacked this time the meagre skills behind his weapon as it sought her flesh apparent in its fullest.

One, two, one, two and through and through, his glowing blade went snicker-snack.

Only to find that empty air occupied the place where he'd struck every time.

Only to find himself suffering the insufferable smile of the Beast dancing beside him, one two, spin, one two, spin... every time just ducking and weaving before him, dancing on the razor edge of his deadly blade as it sang itself to white, an old earth element weapon's trick.

She danced with him, loosing herself to the rhythm of combat. Touches, caresses, small proofs of her superiority over the hate filled fool were all she took. No blow harder than needed to alert him that he had been breached, nothing more than lingering touches, found their ways to him. She could see by his grimace as they danced to the deadly song of combat that he knew himself a novice and child throwing itself against a grand master. Thus it amused her to play with him, to anger him, to teach him.

"RAAAHHHHH!!!!!" frustration edged his ragged voice, as once again he thrust, this time straight ahead to run her through at the sternum. She simply limbered her way beneath the deadly attack, dancing behind him in almost the same motion, then making her second true attack of the entire fight. She pushed him forward. He landed on his nose.

"I'm a bit bored with dancing. Unless you want to bring some music maybe, Rosey?" she taunted him...savoured him.

Guiche's gritted teeth were the only answer which she got, as he pulled himself to kneeling from the grass, wand planted firmly, point first into the earth. In rage, and shame, with tears of self-hatred leaking from cerulean green eyes. And in intensity of feeling, the blonde man spoke, sacrificing a petal to his element.

"Come forth, my Valkyries!"

From the earth they sprang forth, like dragon's teeth sown, fourteen warrior armours of bronze, Guiche's absolute limit. Each one female in form, tall and statuesque... save for the fact that they moved. The armoured bust bobbed slowly up and down in grave imitation of life. Each one stood gripping its weapon's lightly almost as if in anticipation, waiting for the moment of command so that they might spring into action. The bestial snarl upon Guiche's lips gave way to command... only to still in looking upon the face of the enemy.

Joy.

It was the only way to describe the look which she'd possessed. She was happy with the state of the fight, with the escalations of their combat, with toying with him, with the raw emotion which she'd provoked. And upon her face it showed. A huge goofy grin plastered itself there, almost disturbingly so when one paired it against the animal intensity of her gold eyed gaze.

"So you do have some more good tricks," eyes flared in golden gleam, mouth curled to a wild curve, caught in the moment of battle. The emotional high of doing combat against one whose passion spoke clearly even if his blades were underdeveloped, rippled through her. Hated, feared, wanted, lusted after... intensity of emotion was its own reward, and in that passion she basked. In the back of her head she could feel the intense worry of her Summoner... that too drove her on. For it didn't matter truly the emotional quality... right now her high came from its intensity.

"Well then, let me show you a trick of my own..." her eyes were gripped in the throes of ecstasy as a random idea occurred to her. High on the joy of battle and life she forgot her limits and from the earth, from the air from every piece of dark intent she extended her will.

"Do you know why my name is Ryoko?" She asked, madness shining golden in her eyes. "It is because I can call forth evil spirits from anything to serve me... BEHOLD...AND SUFFER...” wild laughter issued forth, a noise teetering upon the bare edges madness, raucous and unhinged it poured fourth almost as if without end.

A steady red light pulsed forth from script inscribing her right hand, as wisps of white gathered from the air about her, motes of earth crawled forth in horrific spidery motions and all cobbled themselves together into several nightmarish beasts, each one a tangle of disconnected long clawed limbs and wispy pulsing white forms around cores of solid earth, each one carrying three gleaming red gem like eyes. In all they numbered 3.

"Hunt. Monsters to your knights," she commanded in her feral high, she too taking the field. In a motion which was little more than reflex to her she formed the blazing sword of her custom, to her hand... only feel it falter as she remembered.

"Huh wha? I'm outa fuel... Oh right… I burned my reserve on trying to make that gem yesterday." She stopped in private wonder, pounding fist to palm. "But if that's the case then... how the hell did I call up these babies... Oh shit... I don't even have my real gems... how the hell did I call these bastards at all?" Ryoko was puzzled; it was impossible what she'd done. But here it was set into motion by her own hand. But with her questioning doubts the Devil Caller lost command of her beasts.

Beset, and outnumbered though they cared not, the monsters rampaged their way through the figures of bronze. Spears, arrows, swords, axes, and heavy lances weighed down each creature as the Valkyries swarmed their targets 5 on each save the one against whom Guiche joined in assault. But even confused and wild they still fought, chewing their way through Valkyries, leaving devastated bronze in their wake. It was all that Guiche himself could do to both summon new Valkyries to take the place of those already downed as well as stumble his way through the battle without getting himself killed.

From the side-lines he could hear his darling Montmorency screaming his name. But to it, he paid no attention. Only the knife edge of survival and combat pounded in his ears till he was sure that they would bleed. The vibrating metal of his wand-sword found its way across the ethereal flesh of one of the beasts, as he clambered though the new made warzone toward the floating form of the monster woman who commanded the evil beasts of spirit.

Step by step he advanced. Even with the earth rebelling to strike him bloody in a spray of its flesh in the fall of one creature, step by step he strode forth, crawling, at one point after being knocked down... one of his own Valkyrie's slammed into his back. Step by step he made his way fighting pains sprouted new from bruised flesh slammed again exposed rock from a stumbling fall. Step by bloody step he closed onto her... and she didn't even notice or care.

She had her back turned to him, head tilted as if lost in some thought.

So he took his chance.
So he ran.
So he struck...
So he was struck down.

Ryoko only paid heed to the sword wand sprouting from her chest, a measure of surprise washing over her. But the grip upon it weakened; the blossom of pain only brief. She turned to see one of her own creatures, running wild, saw blade teeth which moved with a rotating motion in its jaws, bared to its victim and spinning as it stood perched above her prey, her plaything. Thus she spoke without thought, with only conviction.

"Stop."

They froze. All 3 beasts one in the throes of triumph, one slumping over in defeat, and the third poised and teeth bared at the edge of final victory.

"Go away. Go on. LEAVE," she spoke, a cruel finality edging across her voice. Behind this declaration her rune's blazed bathing her hand in a bloody red as she flicked it outward in a gesture of dismissal. And like the ghosts they were, each one dissolved and scattered into the rocks and mists from whence they came.

And there he lay. Tears and defeat. Defeat he'd embraced from the start, but still it hurt. To lay in his element bereft of glory, he stayed there hurting all the same.

But... but… but... even though it was defeat, even though it was painful, even though it was a humiliation... Guiche could not help but feel the grip of shame slipping from him. He'd faced his nightmare. He still breathed. He'd even struck it what would be upon another a mortal blow.

But she was no more done with him than he was done breathing.

Golden eyed she floated o’er his face, a genuine gentle smile gracing her features.

"You beat me..." he spoke simply, all rage spent. The peace it had bought, almost deafening behind the drumbeat of his heart in his ears.

"Yeah. Don't take it too hard kid. You did good," she returned, and from the side-lines Louise could feel a measure of... affection flowing down the link. A hand outstretched towards the fallen mage of blonde and cerulean green. "If you want we can do this again.

... Again?

In the pain and the terror, in the fight for his life he'd felt something.

In the depths, beyond the hate, beyond the self-loathing, beyond... himself. He had caressed it.

In words it echoed from the mouth of his father.

"My son. There are two kinds of men who go into battle. Those who do because they need too... and those who go because they love too. And to be the best of battle, you need to be a little in love with the process. Need to be a little in love with the pain. You need to be in love with battle even if you hate its results. Like a woman with whom you share yourself, battle will make demands of you, but if you embrace these demands as befits a man, then she will love you with passion and flame."

Before this moment... he'd never understood those words. But now he saw her, golden eyed and pale of flesh. There and then Guiche de Gramont fell into an old habit. Guiche de Gramont allowed his heart to drive him before even the prick of common sense could pierce its thick skin.

With a smile he let hate slip away.

With a smile he spoke. "Yes... I think... I think that I would like that."

He took her hand.

**************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx***************​

Colbert watched the final part of the match, having arrived after a dutiful student decided to inform her of the Elf-like woman's current combat against a student.

He'd feared the worst, and thus rushed with all due haste out to the Vestry field. What he saw as he approached there was nothing like what he'd expected.

There it was, carnage wrought by the... things... called forth then in a blaze of power, runes lighting up her right hand, bathing it in crimson red as she spoke their dismissal.

It brought only questions to his scholar's soul.

After all, according to his research... the Rune on her hand should have had no dominion over those of the spirit.

This would take further research...

But for now, there were other matters to which he needed to attend.

******************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*****************​

Surprisingly to Louise, the repercussions of her familiar's latest rampage had not come with any particular fallout in her own direction. Indeed the entire incident was dismissed as water under the bridge due to the absence of serious injury and the fact that it had indeed been Guiche who'd declared duel in the first place. Ryoko had merely been showing him courtesy in showing up for the entire affair, much less participating in the resultant debacle. That school property had been damaged lay entirely on Guiche's pockets, which seemed considerably more shallow after that. But if the boy minded, no one could tell. He'd not lost that focused intensity with which he'd met the Demon Caller with upon the field of battle. But he did stop moping about, much to the pleasure of more than a few of his more illicit liaisons.

And much to the enmity of one particularly unhappy water mage.

But even so he could be seen, every day challenging that woman with the golden stare and spikes of silver hair. In a way, she got more of his attention than any other woman. A fact which only seemed to deepen the well of jealousy.

"Althame, Orjota jarin nos toht haoloz ze gral so phemroil draem!"

And now, little more than three days after the last incident the headmaster stood before his vault entrance, standing in that moment of the day when he could speak his enchantment of disengagement and allow himself access. Before the door 6 other figures stood wait till the Vault doors swung wide alongside of him. Ryoko, Louise and Kirche stood beside Guiche and Colebert, as the headmaster's vault slowly slid open. Ms.Longueville stood in silent vigil, no stray emotions showing, not even anticipation.

"I can't wait to see this Ryo-Ohki of yours Ryoko," Kirche gushed, chest bouncing distractingly as possible before her darling Colebert.

With a slight blush the professor responded, trying to ignore the overtly sexual displays of his student, "Yes, I don't believe I've ever seen a living artefact before, it might prove fascinating."

Guiche had fallen back into old habits. Without the strain of guilt and doubt of his self-worth, he'd regained much of his old vive, much to the dismay of those who had to deal with him being... overly enthusiastic... on a daily basis, "I'm sure Madame Ryoko's... ah...space...ship...? Will be just as lovely and elegant as she is," and of course also deal with him being completely deluded.

Ryoko grimaced. The kid had proven a fun chase about the fields of combat, she'd never before tried to teach anyone... well anything at all really, and he'd taken to her instruction like a battered pirate freighter to an unguarded convoy. Instruction such that it was, took the form of lessons in plain ole not being killed on the battlefield. But in the same breath, he could be so overly happy that often times she'd just leave while he spun and spouted some nonsense or the other. His transformation into this... happy fool that he was now had not been immediate, but it hadn't been slow either.

Ryoko sighed then yawned. Standing around while watching the old guy chanting was getting boring, all she wanted right now was to get her partner out of the vault and get on with life. Though the little bugger apparently found the dark place in which it was locked particularly satisfying. She'd made no attempts at leaving, much less sending complaints down the link to Ryoko.

Louise was herself excited, though in a somewhat more outwardly subdued manner than her fellow students, even though she might be the one who held unto anticipation the most tightly. She boiled inside to see this sister of her familiar, this creature who could be ridden between the stars... this creature who was her chance to see the things buried in her dreams. But for all these hopes she could not allow herself to outwardly show it. No she would be composed and calm, as befitting one of her station. She would not give in to gleeful excitations like... like... like Guiche!

Ryoko smiled in her direction, those bottled feeling humming down the link. Supplemented she knew by Ryo-Ohki's own excitement to meet this 'not Kagato' presence who now stood to their command.

And with a sudden flare of enchantment, the headmaster brought down his staff, runes of earth carving themselves into the rock as he broke the final magical seal to his vault. The complex of nonsensical words he'd been speaking were in part padding and in part a cipher which contained the true encrypted spell key, each word in the true spell key spaced apart to be said in an exacting timing, the true reason for the rhythmic chanting. Each word of the spell key a part of a larger Bound Evocation, a vital part of their spell encryption, which essentially disarmed the myriad of seals and counter spells laid upon the chamber in a tangled Gordian knot almost simultaneously. Spells on spells monitored and allowed the system of spell alarms, strengthening spells, and a hundred and one other types which had been laid so that even if one or ten enchantments were broken, the rest would spring to life against the breaker. As such, it was considered among the most secure vaults in all of Tristram. It was a true masterpiece of enchantment.

"OPEN!" with his final word the headmaster wove enchantments into stone, and expertise of earth mages.

Six stood in anticipation as the dark doors to the vault creaked open, their dark interior shrouding mysteries collected over a lifetime, treasures of magic priceless in their scope and function. Many of which were in their own ways horribly dangerous and unstable. It was like standing before the lair of the beast...

"MYAOW!" cried the darkness.

Six pairs of eyes pulled down towards the sound. One golden pair rolling at the drama of it all. Ryo-Ohki certainly knew how to play it up to a crowd.

What they found as a fuzzy little creature, barely as big as a large rabbit, which speaking of it looked almost dead on like. Save for other more catlike features which also graced it. And across its forehead ran runic script over a red crystalline gem at their centre. And with a few clumsy hopping steps it managed to take flight, depositing itself directly upon the shoulders of its long-time partner. In its mouth was a strange metal object which it deposited in its partner's hand.

Kirche was first to recover from the shock, "Oh my, ITS ADORABLE!" she all but squealed. Guiche too let off a manly (in his opinion only) noise of delight at the lovely little creature.

Louise was a little taken aback; this was the beast which flew between worlds? Her skepticism overflowed in the link, reaching the object of its scorn. This prompted a snubbing by the cat like rabbit thing... (cabbit?)..Which held its nose cutely in the air as she approached, sending strongly its rejection of her skeptical emoting to her. Quizzically her eyes crossed, she'd not expected reply nor had she realized till that moment that she could feel and be felt by the small creature just as she could Ryoko. With a careful apology firmly in mind, Louise edged closer, offering a hand to the cute little beast.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to doubt you," Louise spoke soothingly, trying hard to be as much like her elder sister Cattleya as she could... she had a way with small animals, "One day you will take me out to see the stars won't you?"

The cabbit practically glowed in forgiveness and assent, running up her offered hand and onto the young Valliere's shoulder, nuzzling itself against her cheek.

The headmaster murmured softly, "I wonder why she was attracted to that particular piece?" he then raised his voice. "Did she recognize it that she brought it to you Ryoko?"

"Huh? Yeah. Why?" Ryoko asked busying herself with the object, examining it carefully.

With a careful deliberation the headmaster decided to speak, "Years ago when I was a lad, a man of worldly travel and adventure; a woman appeared before me while I was being attacked by a dragon. She wore strange clothing and had an almost clumsy manner. No magic I knew could save me, nothing I could quickly do would pierce the scales of a full grown Dragon and it had just disarmed me with a lucky tail swipe. And yet, this woman, finding me injured and on my last legs interceded. From her coat she produced that 'Wand of light' and in one mighty spell blasted a hole in its heart with line of pure white light. I was groggy from the beating I'd already taken, passing out after witnessing the amazing sight. I woke up afterwards and she was gone. Only the Wand of Light left lying by my side, and the dead Dragon's remains' before me. I could not get it to work again but I could not leave such a powerful artefact of magic about either, thus its presence in the vault."

All there save Ryoko boggled at the tale, a simple wand which held the power to smash its way through a dragon's heart. Unheard of!

"It's not a wand. It's a gun, like those muskets you were showing me the other day Louise," Ryoko muttered, still intent upon the object. "There's no magic to it."

"WHAT!?!?!" cried them all, an object of magic was one thing, but something profoundly unmagical able inflict such damage as in the tale. It was in itself a shock to their world view.

"Yeah, galaxy police standard plasma beam pistol. Whoever it was that saved your ass. She overloaded the battery cartridge to get in one big power shot before the power cells failed. Pretty clever trick, don't get many GP who are willing to use it, or even have the know how to get it done, " Ryoko praised the gun owner. It was also, she didn't mention, a massively illegal and risky trick, as the charge conduits might not have withstood the overcharge and simply exploded in her hand. Though from what she'd heard of fully adult dragons on the local scene such a measure would have been a necessity for survival.

"Ah, there. Fixed it!" she exclaimed, her own alchemic abilities having coming in handy for nullifying damages done. "Though, unless you can fake the officer's bio signature, or turn off the safeties on this thing, it won't shoot. And I can do both"

Gold brown eyes leaned in to get a closer look.

Only to hear a truly ‘UNHOLY’ wail of purest anguish extruding from within the ajar vault door.

It was Old Osmund and he looked pale, stumbling out from within the vault. He'd though to make a quick check of his artefact trove, so as to see if there might be anything comparable to the wand that he might show Ryoko... only his vault it was empty, devoid of enchanted items and denuded of the enchanted lining of magically condensed stone as if some monstrous thing had chewed its way through them. Small bits of metal and wood lay strewn about, ruminants of the items which once littered the vault.

The others ran forward to see what was wrong...

... then slowly all eyes turned to the cute bundle of fur who simply tilted her head with a happy grin and cried out.

"MYAAAAAAAA!!!"

 

Devil Bringer of Zero

Chapter 4: No need for Fashion!





Nearly a month had passed since the theatrical debacle in the Vestry Court, and life at the Academy settled into a comfortable regular rhythm. As slow weeks passed, each fledgling mage learned to adapt to the new pace of their school, a fresh tempo timekept by explosive detonations, the clang of metal, and the ever-suffering sighs of the Earth Mages assigned to repair the castle.

Old Osmond, the Headmaster of the Academy, felt exhausted just by thinking of it.

His voice joined to the litany of sighs once again.

He’d been on edge since the little beast had eaten its way thought at least three hundred years’ worth of priceless artefacts, some of which held enchantments which no mage to this day had been able to duplicate. Many of the artefacts were hazards of grave and certain lethality if even approached in the wrong manner much less handled.

His head shook, as if trying to remove the unpleasantness from it. That Ryo-Ohki creature seemed harmless enough at first glance, but Osmond knew painfully better, it was a priority one menace. Often the creature would be caught hanging about areas of highly magical concentration and mooning about potions labs, mewling like a lost stray and it was voracious. Anything at all magical it ate and drank, enchanted stone, enchanted metal, potions, poisons... it didn’t matter, if the hungry little beast got into them they disappeared. Worst yet, both it and its mistress began to demonstrate new abilities as they grew in power. After creating the red gem which rested in her throat, Ryoko began doing more than just her constant floating ability. Now she would randomly poke her head though doors and windows and anything else without a strong magical reinforcement as easily as one would stick a hand in water. On occasion she would teleport as if it were the most normal thing in the world, popping out of angles where nothing had been before. And her little menace also did the same, making it nigh impossible to contain the creature from exerting her ravenous appetites.

To appease the little monster, Osmond found himself often scooping up the cute little menace and summoning mounds of enchanted metals away from any observation. He found the curious little beast to have a profound liking for earth directed enchantments which were laid into any dense, heavy metals and centered around defensive and regenerative spell crafting, the more of it the better. He didn’t know where she packed it all, but from what he could gather, she could devour several times the tonnage of the castle, and it would never make a dent in appetite so long as she was still reconstructing her ‘true’ form.

A square classed earth mage himself; Osmond could practically assemble various types of enchanted items by pure effort of immediate will, and a single cast spell. In the old days of his youth, he’d been Osmond of the Black Steel. Even now some of his best creations still floated around though disconnected from him, Osmond the old headmaster. He was an old hand in the enchanting business and was one of the few who could outright ‘read’ most enchantments which he came across, a talent which he’d put to good use in his time as a student of applied magic. It was a talent found mostly among earth and water mages, capable of both creating and having an intimate understanding of items with elemental spell pattern’s embedded wholesale or creating potions which would coat an item, usually a weapon, with strange but temporary properties. It was one of the main reasons he’d become a true adept or innovative alchemical items. Being able to read the efforts of those who had gone before, though it was only to a limited extent, even if they kept no notes was a useful ability for one of his interests.

It was also one of the reasons why he’d been entrusted with so many over his long career.

Shaking his head the headmaster wondered briefly how he was going to break the loss of his entire magical collection to the various benefactors who’d loaned pieces, and heirlooms to be held by the school for them. Many paid a small stipend for the privilege of storing historically important magical artifacts in what was one of the safest places in Tristan to store anything. Safest that is until the artefact munching ball of fur packed it all away into that undersized stomach of hers. For now he would keep it hushed, and hopefully figure out a solution in the delay... a dim hope but it gave him something to work with. Maybe he could blame it on this Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth whom he’d been warned of this morning alone by the royal messenger. But such a deception did not sit right with him... but it would be considered as an option even if he didn’t like it.

With another sigh the headmaster fed one bit of metal to the hungry little horror, and a bit of milk dipped bread to his own familiar. Over and Over both he and Colbert had searched the many books of lore and which inhabited the library about the Runes which ran across its forehead, and again and again they spoke the same tale.

Familiar runes.

Just like those of her mistress.

No.

Not just like them at all. They were different, and yet of the same source. In the script of the founder these runes both were marks of god. Windalfr, and Myoznitnirn. The right hand of God, and the Mind of God. The flute and book... That Ryoko held one of these legendary inscriptions was already a shock, a thing of both awe and excitement. That the little creature here, who to her was as she was to her summoner Louise, did also... It was something outside of the scope of his understanding. Worse yet for all that the books spoke of these two runes, nothing like what had been witnessed the day of the fight was recorded. The fact of the matter was that the Windalfr should not have been able to command any being not clothed in flesh. And yet with its power Ryoko was able command spirits as if they were mere beasts of burden, self-aware and willful spirits at that.

And then there was her familiar.

The creature had undergone no familiar contract yet it bore runes, runes which were intimately connected to the legends of the founder himself. Once could be coincidence... twice though, he doubted an event this big could have a doubled coincidence happen so easily. Runes not seen since the founder himself strode these lands, both upon the familiar and the familiar of the familiar of this one young mage?

A young mage unable to command and evoke the forces of magic as all other mages could. Who could find no element which responded to her call, yet wielded the power of spirit manifest... the conclusion which he gained was almost itself a heresy given wings. For now he would share this conclusion with no-one. Such a thing could spark both religious and social strife more easily than he cared admit, to even himself. Colbert too would need to be reined in.

As it stood the other teacher was too close to the mystery, and held too many pieces to simply be moved away from investigating. Osmond sighed, he would have to tell the poor boy of his own suspicions and get him involved directly in hushing up the connecting dots.

At least though, Osmond though wearily, its Colbert and not one of the other staff members. Though only he would have gone digging for this anyway without a lot more motivation.

Absently Osmond’s fingers continued the motion of distributing treats. One of metal, one of bread.

He didn’t know how long he could protect his cute little students from this potential fallout without slighting any of them, or those who would demand the rolling of heads, but he would try.

He would try.

**********xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**********​

Good ole, comfortable, familiar earth.

The element of greatness, of stability, of growth, and of potential.

Good ole, wonderful earth.

Guiche wondered if he would ever learn to forget what it tasted like.

Since the moment that he’d first accepted her hand, he’d known that life would change, that HE would change. What he didn’t realize was just how much that change would include the ever present taste of fresh earth as he was beaten into it.

Ryoko had proven herself more than simply a capable warrior, her skills though unpolished in look stemmed from lifetime’s worth of experience and strife, fighting at all levels of combat to secure all manner of objectives. There were as many times as not where she’d been required to hold back her power as she fought her way into places, searching for delicate relics which could be threatened by anything resembling her true powers. As such she’d often fought in close combat, and after 5000 years of it she was a top combatant... one of the many reasons why she held a distinct grudge against the one named Yosho. Where her skills had come in a mountain of effort climbed over the bodies of those who had in the past opposed her, his had been the sharpened deadly grace and finesse of talent. In all-out battle she and he had been matched near equal, only an accident of luck allowed him to guess at her sources of power, the ancient red gems which had been with her for as long as she’d known life.

Guiche knew none of this, but he did know her powerful, ancient, and deadly. And he also knew that she held herself back, restrained to an almost exact match of slightly better than he was in every fight. And he knew that with every battle which they’d fought, he’d been worked to the very bone. Somewhere deep inside, he figured... well hoped really... that maybe she really didn’t want to kill him... but on the battlefield she allowed him to take no such chance. Only constant replenishment by his ever more appreciated and beloved Montmorency had given him the ability to get up and do battle with the demonic being whom he’d come to worship in the arena. His hate of self he’d projected at her had long melted in completion; even lingering resentment had managed to burn itself out in the face of constant battle.

More than ever before he felt like a man.

“What Rose-Girl?” the devil taunted. “Looking to live like a worm now? Or are you going to get back up and fight?”

He squared his jaw to the abuse, as always she taunted, teased and tested him. In the month since they’d begun these bouts of dire combat disguised as training, she’d as often as not made him fight her from dusk till dawn, duties of scholarly life notwithstanding, every free moment was spent entertaining her with battle. So much so that it had become a game to many of the water gifted student mages to utilize him as a practice dummy whenever his dear Montmorency was too tired or otherwise unavailable for the task of cleaning up the mess which Ryoko all too often left behind. His days were beginning to look like the training regimen of a Prince’s Guard, elite barbarians of Germania.

Few would undertake the rigours which he was throwing himself at daily. Fewer still would have access to such an abundance of water Magi to soothe and force benefit from such training. And ever fewer still among those whose fortunes might align for them to be able would even consider doing so, with the stigma of barbarism which came with it. After all why subject one’s body to such foolishness and chance real lasting damage when one could simply summon a golem and let it do the fighting for you.

Less than a month ago Guiche would have agreed. But now he grew harder, better, faster and stronger while ignoring the eyes of social grace. It also helped that he was of earth affinity. For some reason earth mages always seemed to grow more solidly, faster and with less effort than others.

And that had been his physical growth alone.

Spitting soft loam and bright green grass from his mouth, the noble youth pushed himself to his feet. Eye’s blazing with a hungry need. Even if he’d conceded his hate, he had only traded it for something of equal fervor. This alone was why the blazing gold in Ryoko’s eyes never dimmed when they clashed. For all that the boy was a complete babe in skills; his passion never failed even when it faltered. In a way he reminded her of a certain prissy girl she’d encountered oh so long ago, the passion in her movements enticing the Devil-Caller to indulge play and drag out the fight.

Once more they entered into the breach, blazing red against vibrating white. A narrow miss to the face, a dire reprisal as red rushes against ribs, sudden force applied in concert as Guiche learned these newest steps in their dance. Faster and faster they danced on, spin parry thrust in their deadly game.

Guiche held back nothing.
Not passion, not hope, not even fear of deadly force. He came at her to kill.

She appreciated the effort.

She reciprocated the effort.

Only a flash of insight kept him whole, for while she did not fight at her full powers she didn’t hold back more than a little past what he could handle, and she never held back so much that he felt himself safe. A moment left his guard open; Ryoko closed it with a rock breaking fist. She never respected rules, borders or boundaries. Only the fight mattered.

In final desperation, laid out upon his element, the blond noble whispered words of power to the earth. Recovering himself to his legs with a grand slashing motion, he hid the nature of his evocation using threatening motions of his sword between himself and the Devil he fought. A bit of cleverness he’d picked up in the weeks of being beaten daily.

With a sudden stiffness Guiche stood at attention, sword-wand rising to face as each of the petals strewn about the field during previous stages of their engagement sprung to life as shining Bronze Valkyries, surrounding the enemy. The closest to her and to himself bore shields of bronze, fashioned with a ramming spike in the middle, while those farthest from her bore arrows and were defended by one other with a sword. At least 14 of them stood attention with him, and then those with bows began to fire arrows at his foe. Those with shields defended their sisters from the cross fire.

Ryoko though caught initially off guard by this tactic, began to randomly teleport between the feminine Golems, the bite of her plasma blade respecting no metal as she carved Valkyries apart, shields and all. It did not however distract greatly from Guiche, as more than once as he attempted to prepare longer evocations he would find the need to duck and cover behind which ever group of golems he was with at the time. Slowly his forced were whittled away, but that was fine. With the precision of hours upon hours of practice the mage used the last of his Valkyrie distraction to close distance upon the Devil Bringer, a full frontal assault, to hide his final option.

With a stabbing thrust of his blade, he evoked the transmutation of one last petal upon the ground into a Valkyrie archer, letting fly the arrow directly at Ryoko’s back, while forcing a clash with her to the front.

It was a brilliant effort.

But it was not good enough, was not fast enough.

With that infernal noise, the Devil Caller disappeared from before him, leaving arrow in flight towards his front. The world froze in perspective for him... an arrow to the chest during training would ruin his day; he could almost see his life flashing before his eyes. And then behind the arrow, Ryoko reappeared, holding the implement of disaster by its tufted tail. She’d teleported sideways slightly to capture the arrow in flight then with a spin which placed her beside him, was now holding the arrow playfully, as a weapon to his throat. In the process she’d grabbed his blade almost bare handed yanking it to the side and from his grip, a layer of scooped up dirt transmuted into thick metallic skin which gripped the vibrating heat of the Sword-wand comfortably.

“I... I think that this might be enough for now... Ms Ryoko.” Guiche gulped carefully, the sharp blade of the arrow resting lightly at his neck but ever so slightly breaking the skin there. “I do have class in a bit, and we can always have another match later on tonight before we turn in.”

Ryoko simply smiled her predatory smile then leaned in close enough to almost rest her head upon his shoulder. “You mean before your little healing station over there decides to go on strike from jealousy hmm?” She purred.

Guiche rolled his eyes, the Space Pirate did nothing which didn’t antagonize someone in some way he’d found, and his lovely girlfriend had become a target of opportunity on numerous occasions. Often as not Ryoko would get close to him under the vague suggestion of romantic interest just so that she could watch Montmorency foam at the mouth and twist herself in knots over the perceived indiscretion. In this Guiche at least knew to keep his mouth shut during the events as his dear Monmon, an appellation which she’d recently picked up, never seemed to place the blame upon his shoulders. A good thing too that he had given up his other pursuits (for a certain value of give... and up), or Monmon might have taken Ryoko’s antagonistic acts as being encouraged by him... though a part of him did not at all mind the idea that Ryoko’s advances were real at some level... the same insane part of him, he figured, which drove him to come out here upon the battlefield every chance he could get in order to fight a self-proclaimed destroyer of worlds.

An errant caress of her still metal lined hand surprised the young noble, but not because of its inappropriate nature. Surprise slid across his features, something about that metal hand was... strange. Quickly he caught her hand in his; placing skin to metal in an attempt to learn just what it was that bothered him about the material.

“Getting frisky there now kid?” Ryoko teased, grinning her Cheshire smile.

Guiche simply ignored her words, concentrating upon the metal alloy which she’d conjured up on the fly.

With a sudden jolt, his eyes flew wide. It... It was...amazing.

He’d never seen or felt an alchemical transmutation as complex. It was composed not of a solid sheet of metal, but twisting fibers of gold, platinum, iron and ash constructed into an exacting fabric-like lattice. The composition of it alone was worthy of a Square level master-craft’s man, but the precision of placement and regularity in the structure of interwoven and alloyed metal and ash was almost inhuman. Hell, the cloth tabards of his Valkyrie’s had been the hardest part of them to design for his golem schema simply because of the interweaving of their various threads, and he’d been told that he had some real talent in that area of intricate design. But the material which now comprised Ryoko’s skin was intricate on a level that he’d never seen before. It looped and coiled about itself in patterns which, from what he could tell, leveraged the forces of contact so that they were redistributed to counter other further forces. The humming of his sword wand had been used to quiet itself... It was awe inspiring.

He'd once before had the honour of examining a Damascus blade... it had felt even more beautiful to his earthen senses than the wondrous black sheen which it possessed was to his sight, the twisting feeling of iron wrapped about ash dust was strong, but even the best of the best were hard pressed to reproduce the exact way in which they intertwined, creating the intricate lattice which earth mages of all walks tried desperately to recreate. To be able to work at that intricate scale with the care needed took a square class mage, and one who studied, ate, breathed, and lived alchemy. Such men and women willing to slave themselves to the forge were rare in both needed power and dedication. Most of the best alchemy focused mages simply cheated their way around alchemical manipulations by utilizing fire magic's natural transformative properties to make the materials which were out of their class as mages to create outright.

This…this ‘skin’ was beyond even that.

“... Ms Ryoko. This may sound a bit strange... but can I have this skin you made for your hand?” he spoke with a slowly, uncertainty colouring his voice.

“Eh? Sure,” she said casually and with a yank from her other hand ripped it off in a clean manner, almost like removing a glove. Beneath it was a new layer of fresh skin. Guiche gulped, and decided that it would be best not to ask questions about that. Taking the new ‘glove’ in hand, the young earth mage touched it tenderly. Even as just a dot class mage, Guiche had been tutored enough to recognize the limits of earth magic. And this simple thing... this exceeded them.

“This was nothing to you wasn’t it... you made something amazing here in the middle of a fight, without thinking about it. You...wow...”

The sudden seriousness of the youth almost startled Ryoko. Guiche apart from the details of how she’d met him, was for the most part a carefree young man. There was little that he took seriously, save their sessions of combat which from what she’d heard were a new thing for him.

Looking up from his new prize the young man had a strange thought, “Can you... teach me?”

“Wait what?” Ryoko was taken aback, her eyes quirked quizzically at question. “Teach you Alchemy? No way kid. Not like I want to do something as boring as tutor you... but you don’t even do it the same way I do. I probably can’t teach you anything about your way.”

“What do you mean?” Guiche asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Well in the first place my way works by taking what’s there and shifting it around. Kinda like fitting together a puzzle, a lot of it I do without thinking. You guys... you cheat like Jurians.”

“We cheat like who now?” a voice from behind the two called out in curiosity. Next to a slightly disgruntled Montmorency was the curvaceous figure of Kirche and her little blue haired friend, having over heard the conversation and deciding that it might be intriguing to intrude.

“Eh? Oh it’s you.” The curvy redhead had been close at hand for weeks, most often with her blue haired friend. The young lady was friendly as hell and it made Ryoko little uncomfortable because of that. Ryoko found the girl far more bearable when she was teasing Louise, a pastime which they both shared. The space pirate was never one to have much in the way of interpersonal contact, she’d had over 5000 years of life... but much of that existence was moving from one star system to another to raid, pillage and plunder. Kagato had worked actively against the very idea of her taking companionship beyond what was absolutely necessary to gain what he desired. In his own life and by extension hers, he’d sought to eliminate the weakness of emotional influence where ever possible.

“Well, like I was telling Guiche, you guys work like Jurians. It’s almost as if you reject the reality of something and replace it with something else,” she spoke with an almost misplaced authority. “You dispute the fact that a lump of rock was say… limestone or clay, and tell the world that it should be iron, and just like that, it gets overwritten. Closest I’ve ever seen to that is the way Jurian ships just do whatever the hell they want under the power of Jurai. Just like if they just tell physics to go cry itself to sleep in a corner while they play. When I transmute, the mass of the object stays the relatively the same give or take some loss due to shaping stress. When you transmute the amount of space occupied by what you’re transmuting stays the same...” Ryoko left off, slowing down as she realized what she’d been doing. She looked somewhat abashed at even knowing this much of the subject matter, and squirmed visibly as she seemed to remember herself and the cautious veneer of ignorance which she tried hard to project.

“So you’re saying you take it apart and put it all back together differently... while we just fill in what we want things to be, in where something else was?” Guiche sounded somewhere between amazed and intrigued. He’d never heard alchemy described that way. He was also feeling a bit out of his depth, swimming in concepts which were making foreign what should have been familiar to him.

Kirche looked thoughtful at the idea. This was something she was sure her beloved darling would want to know, and if she could find out a bit more about it later on... she might have some material to at least lure him into a nice romantic dinner. And maybe... something more. Taking a glance next to her, she saw Tabitha staring at the tall golden eye woman, a flare of interest sparking in her eyes.

Guiche looked disappointed for the moment, then glanced back down into the glove which he held, “You don’t mind if I keep this Ms Ryoko?”

“Meh, knock yourself out,” she said in seeming nonchalance. “I can always make more any time I feel like it,” and to prove her point scooped up a fist full of dirt then with a quick blazing glow of her hand reveled another skin glove much the same as the one in Guiche’s hand. Guiche smiled lightly, then turned towards his blond lover who began to fuss over him with the same gentle insistence and annoyance which Ryoko had been observing from the time they had first begun these combat sessions.

“Now Ryoko, look at you. You’re a mess from playing with Guiche.” Kirche spoke as she intercepted the Devil Caller on her way back to Louise’s room. It was true that in the course of her little workout with Guiche she picked up a fair layer of grime, mostly due to him trying to distract her with it. “I have a lovely idea. My bath-tub should be big enough for the 3 of us. Let’s go relax in my room, a nice hot bath would hit the spot, don’t you think?”

Tabitha rolled her eyes from behind the book to which they were glued, then turned and started off in her own direction.

“I guess little Tabitha doesn’t want to bathe with us. That’s alright, let’s go, just you and me. We can talk for a bit right Ryoko?” Kirche babbled cheerfully, her arm quickly hooking itself about the space pirate’s own and her step quickening towards her room.

“Hey, I didn’t agree to anything!” the space pirate all but shouted, the red head’s friendly gesture putting her on her guard. It was seldom in life that Ryoko had ever been offered anything that she wasn’t planning already to take, and it was even more seldom still that something was offered her without obligation or hook attached. She couldn’t see what the hook might be here, but instincts said that the red head had been too good to her since she’d awakened.

Fortunately for Kirche her kicked puppy impression was impeccable, despite her tall height, and well-practiced too. Begging copper brown orbs shone upon Ryoko in an eager fervor which the unaccustomed Ryoko was unable to deny.

“Geez, stop with that already... gah... I know I’m going to regret this,” the Devil Caller threw her hands in the air. “Fine, fine lets go have that bath.”

Kirche smiled, “No worries, Ryoko. I knew you wouldn’t be too keen on the idea so I bought a few nice bottles of Germanian ‘Clear Water’ out from my storage closet. The strongest alcohol I could sneak in from home. I wasn’t going to tell you about it till after you agreed... you know so you wouldn’t feel like I was trying to bribe you with it.”

Ryoko perked up, suddenly looking enthused, “You know as long as it’s good booze I’m in. I hope you’ve got more than one bottle, cause I don’t do light drinking.”

At this, they both grinned.

***************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx***************​

Since the day in which she’d been reborn Ryo-Ohki had been roaming about the campus cheerfully getting to know those who resided within. Unlike her very anti-social sister Ryo-Ohki positively loved the company of others, and she never missed out on a chance to get to know the other familiars, and be cuddled by their masters. It also helped that few made the connection mentally between her cute habit of running into, and then though walls like a ghost and that of her Sister’s, and fewer still realized that after their petting and preening sessions when she’d left, some random magically reinforced item had gone mysteriously missing.

It was one such day after wheedling a quick meal from the white beard, he gave the best handouts, the cutest little terror of the academy found herself chasing butterflies right out of the castle grounds, though and all too often into several trees and walls. By the time she’d made it out to the forest the poor little thing had had quite the headache. It took her a while to notice, but she’d become quite lost in the circles of butterfly chasing.

Now one might think that what was the most advanced space craft in the known galaxy, crafted by the red headed stepchild of science herself might be a little out of the league of such words as Lost... but to be frankly put, Little Ryo-Ohki suffered from a syndrome known as acute dumbass. Being a child and her neural pathways not yet properly developed, Ryo-Ohki’s active organic mind was not only prone to wondering, as the bit of butterfly chasing proved, but also she was somewhat forgetful when stressed and to her child-like mind the state of lost was one which created great stress upon her.

Within the forest, a young woman wandered. Her blue hair nestled against naked thighs as she swept gracefully though the thick underbrush with ease. Her graceful stride and unblemished skin were at odds with the very environment which she traversed. As if even the dirt feared mar her in any way.

Suddenly the sound of soft mewling sobs over took her ear, a slight frown creasing her forehead.

It didn’t take her long to find the source. It was a small creature, barely more than a mouthful even in this form, it fur disheveled and its eyes full of tears. A strange little thing that took the attributes of a rabbit (good eating!) and a cat (kinda stringy) and put them together in one slightly undersized morsel... Irukyuwu wondered briefly if it was tasty like the first or stringy like the second... A predatory gleam shone through aqua eyes, it would only take a moment for her to find out. Baring one hand to make a claw like grasp, the little wind would stalk fourth like her namesake, readying herself to seize the unsuspecting mouthful. After all food was food, even if there wasn’t a whole lot of it.

As she gathered herself up in preparation to pounce, Irukyuwu unexpectedly felt a powerful presence sweep over her, like the preening gaze of her great-grandfather, vast and strong. The mouthful was looking directly at her, studying her with senses which defied explanation. She’d not bothered at first to look beyond the physical manifestation of the creature, a thing usually unnecessary and it always left her head tired trying, but when she finally did the young dragon paled. This was no mere mouthful, or even a simple beast. This was a person, twice over for the runes which she knew marked the persons of the mages. More than that, its spirit was a titanic thing in the shape of a vast crystalline beast. It was like Irukywu!

Without so much as a pause, all thoughts of the little great one as possible food fled and died.

“Hello!” the predatory blue haired currently human...ish... girl greeted, when dealing with people it was always good to be polite, that’s what great-grandfather always said, “This one is Irukyuwu! Who are you?”

“Myaa...” Ryo-Ohki answered slightly less despairingly.

“Yes of course you’ve been found. Irukyuwu is here isn’t she? But you haven’t told me your name yet. And that’s rather rude not to speak when asked, unless you’re hiding that you can, cause then it’s ok cause speaking will give you a way to the bad men that want to hurt you so you don’t.”

“Myaaa, Myaa, Mya Mya!” the little creature dried its tears with a furry paw, eyes and gem sparkling with emotion as she stared up into beautiful Aqua eyes.

“Devil King’s Steed? Irukyuwu thinks that a weird name. Even if you’re old like great grandfather...”

“Myaa mya?”

“Of course Irukyuwu knows how old you are! You spirit shout it all over the place. You’re really, really, really old!”

“Myaaaa mya Myaaa!” the little creature grumbled out in the most indignant pose one could imagine out of a small ball of fuzz.

“You can’t say things like that!” replied the horrified girl who wasn’t, her startled eyes flying wide. “Great Grandfather said that you shouldn’t asssossi... asocial...mingle with people who say those kinds of bad things.” She both admonished and lectured.

“Myaow Mya mya...” the little one replied uncertainly.

The girl looked sheepish, “Irukyuwu guesses if it’s your sister... But she shouldn’t be saying them either!” Firm conviction entered her voice with the last declaration.

“Myaa myaow mya,” the cat rabbit thing shrugged, waving a paw in a gesture of nonchalance, then stopped for a moment and again mewled. “Myaa?”

“Of course Irukyuwu knows the way out. Irukyuwu is a great flier, and has to be able to find big sis when she whistles for Irukyuwu. So, are you lost Devil King’s Steed?”

The little thing simply rolled its eyes, “Mya… Myaa mya,”

The girl merely giggled, her aqua eyes thinning into reptilian slits, “Big sis tells me that all the time.”

“Myaamyaaa, Myaaaow.” The little cat rabbit thing folded its paws in a gesture of superiority.

“Sure! So where too Little big sister?” she asked as the Cabbit leapt onto her head.

“MYA!!!”

And with a few bounding steps into a leap, the girl of the wild blue hair and aqua eyes transformed herself into a great beast, reptilian in form with azure scales and a completely unsurprised Cabbit mewling joyously as they both took flight.

****************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*****************​

She’d been planning this for a while now, though she’d only seen an opportunity for it today with her own later classes finished and right after a combat session with Guiche. It seemed prudent to get closer to the familiar of Louise, as both a daughter of the Zerbst family and in darling’s interest, for her the act of befriending the self-proclaimed Devil Caller was one of necessity. In all honesty the particulars of the process were a bit sneakier than what she would have preferred, but even Kirche recognized that sometimes one needed to keep to a slow gentle burn in order to prepare for the raging flames to come. Still contrived though her attempts at befriending the demon woman were, there was nothing otherwise false about the desire to do so. Kirche found her personally fascinating, almost a dark mirror in a way. Everything the Space Pirate did was dictated by her passion, an inner flame of all consuming need which reached out and tried to make the world FEEL. As if in provoking the world to reaction, she could in turn feel as it felt, that she could know its power and intensity reflecting in her eyes.

Dipping her hand into the formerly cool water of her bath-tub Kirche stirred it about, whispers of flame echoing with the tip tapping of her wand against smooth enamel finish. Soon steam resulted.

“You done over there yet?” Ryoko asked, lounging upon the opulent bedding of her red haired host. A smile in her direction was the only answer which she received as the Seniwan dark girl begun to strip away layers of cloth. She was as tall as Ryoko was and the size of her bust certainly eye catching. Silently Ryoko wondered if this was supposed to be something more than a bath session in her host’s mind. She hoped not. Ryoko was not exactly the romantic type and sexual advances made no real difference to her from either gender. Thanks to Kagato there wasn’t anything in the processes which could excite her.

“My, my do you like looking?” Kirche teased, catching Ryoko’s sideward glance.

“Yeah sure, the bath tub looks great, you should get the over-sized butt out of the way of my view,” Ryoko bantered back. Kirche simply rolled her eyes at the implication. Her rear end, she knew from the experienced hands of many a lover, was feminine perfection in itself.

“Clearly the old hag should watch it, might give her some clues as how to make her own wrinkly behind firm,” Kirche stuck her tongue out in the most mature fashion with which she could muster. Ryoko was clearly sensitive about the subject, as fire and light began to dance about her while an eye twitched. She gave, but she wasn’t particularly good at receiving.

With a shake of her head Kirche scooted over to the bed where she sat down next to Ryoko attempting to defuse the humanoid bomb. “Oh don’t be so sensitive. You can’t play hard if you can’t take a blow,” she said, draping one arm about the golden eyed woman.

Beneath her breath the space pirate grumbled in acceptance, canceling the floating lights from their haunting places.

“So, you just want to stay here watching or are you actually planning to take those clothes off and get in the bath with me?” Kirche asked, casting a sly glance over her shoulder then stretching gratuitously.

Ryoko simply shook her head then floated off the bed and disappeared from sight, the distinctive noise of her teleportation ringing out behind the Red head. Kirche turned to be greeted by a sly grin from Ryoko as she sat naked in the tub lounging.

“What a useful skill.”Kirche commented in as innocent a tone as she could manage.

Ryoko rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose. “From what I’ve heard, you’d give it quite the workout.”

Wearing but a smile in response, Kirche slid her wand unto the tub’s nearby table then slipped in beside the lovely Space Pirate.

“Here let me wash your back for you. You can do mine once I’m done, alright?” Kirche smiled, enjoying the gentle warmth of the water as it surrounded her. Goodness knows that she treasured both her bath tub and the words spoken in flame which allowed her this luxury.

Quietly Ryoko accepted, turning her back to the young red head Ryoko drew herself up into a ball and hugged her knees while Kirche proceeded to scrub away at her back with a soft sponge.

“Hehehe, I haven’t done anything like this since I was a little girl,” Kirche spoke absently as she scrubbed away. “I used to do this with... our family’s benefactor... a lot. She always loved a good soak in a hot spring or a warm bath. I haven’t seen her in years but she never changes when she comes by,” Kirche reminisced.

“Why,” Ryoko spoke, genuine wonder laced in with wary tension, “What is it that you want?”

“... Ryoko I... I shouldn’t lie to you,” she said while continuing to stroke her sponge across the space pirates back, “I do want to become your friend, but I’m also doing my duty here. You are the familiar of the daughter of the house sworn to feud with my own. You are something I’ve never seen before, and you have displayed a frightening strength that, from what you swear, is but a fraction of your true ability. You could probably rip me apart physically from right where you are without so much as breaking a real sweat.” Even as they traveled along the sensuous curves of the Space Pirate’s back, Kirche’s hand’s trembled where once they’d been bold.

But she stopped and held herself firm.

“All of this informed my choice to bring you here, to do with you this activity which has all my life been the most intimate thing I’ve ever shared with another person... that wasn’t sex, that is. Maybe I’m fooling myself, but maybe there’s a chance that the two of us could become close like sisters, or at least good friends. But I’m not going to lie to you about this; it is as much a political thing as it is anything else. I want to learn about you, and hopefully how I can ensure that you are not used against anyone whom I love.”

For a few long moments the two sat silently and still within the confines of the enamel tub. “... I see,” Ryoko responded.

Silently Kirche bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t screwed this up with the direct approach, knowing after her weeks of observation that it was the only approach likely to work in the long term dealing with this monster of a woman who sat between her legs in the cooling waters. Though funnily enough not one bit of fear ran though her, only worry of acceptance spurned.

“... Scrub if you’re scrubbing,” came Ryoko’s gruff response. “Alright, if you want to know more about me, give me something. I shouldn’t really care but I’m assuming there’s politics coming Louise’s way because of me... I should probably know a little bit about it.”

Kirche smiled gently, “Well you might know that my house and Louise’s are on opposite sides of the Tristain Germania border. Because of that any conflicts between our two countries, our houses are the first to war against each other. But unlike Tristain Germania doesn’t actually have any single absolute monarchy. The entire territory is too big and the people too independent minded for any single monarch to rule absolutely. The other countries call us barbarians because we don’t think that magic is the end all of a person’s ability, because we have nobility who are not mages. They call us stuck up, because we hold our governance away from the purview of the Church. But nowhere else in Helkeginia does rule of law take precedence over rule of the church. We have found a certain amount of freedom in segregating the functions of church from those of state.”

“Yeah, yeah I’ve heard the same story a million times. Its GXP and Juria all over the place,” Ryoko snubbed.

“I’ll take your word on that...” Kirche said, skipping over her ignorance of the actual factions spoken of and by passing it into the obvious comparisons being made, “But Tristain, it has a reputation for bowing to the whims of the church. This is important because it becomes the church’s business as to what you do. You represent the most dangerous force which has walked the lands since the days of the founder. You will represent also both opportunity and potential instability. Even if Louise never grows more dangerous than a hang nail, YOU are the sort of unknown quality which can make or break a play for power. Gaulia as always is armed and dangerous, whereas recent civil wars are making Albion a particularly juicy target, but it flies close between Tristain, Gualia and Germainia.”

“Flies?” Ryoko asked.

“Yes, Albion has a massive deposit of active Windstone that keeps the entire country aloft. It’s quite the sight to see.” Kirche smirked. Most who first saw Albion tended to be amazed at the very concept of it even if they knew intellectually that it existed.

“Ah more magic stuff,” Ryoko replied completely unfazed by the concept. She’d merely been confused as to the method by which they’d achieved such an engineering feat, mainly because of her continued image of them as backwater natives with a few inborn tricks. Thus far nothing had managed to disabuse her of this notion.

“Any way like I was saying Romalia, the seat of both the empire and the church is probably the smallest territory, but it holds the biggest political sway. The emperor is both the absolute secular and religious authority and they have had a history of jealously guarding this authority. More than that, you represent a few things which may make Louise a convenient political target or scapegoat,” Kirche spoke, a sigh in her voice.

“What kinds of things are we talking about here?” Ryoko asked, slightly perturbed by the idea of her presence itself bringing harm to Louise.

Kirche rubbed her sponge across the space pirate’s sides, marveling internally at the strange porcelain quality of her skin, “Well, in the first place, some of the oldest Brimic laws concern making deals with demons and inhuman intellects that wear human skins. If the church decided that you were of demonic origin that would give them a lot of both religious and political capital in making a presence here in Tristain if they so desired. Or one of the house Valliere’s internal rivals could look to force such a point as a way of either disgracing the house or forcing it into a disadvantageous position relative to its relationship with the crown. Little Louise may not say it often, but her house is known to be very friendly with Tristain’s royal family. You’d think with all her problems she’d brag about that a bit more often. But as far as I know she’d never out right stated her family’s relations with the crown... for all the boastfulness and hauteur which she usually approaches everything. And the fact that you look at least a little like an elf, one of the ancient enemies of mankind... that’s not a point in your favour should everything go south.”

“... I could cost her, her home... or I could cost her country the political capital it might need to get help in repelling anyone who gets too ambitious is what you’re saying.” At Ryoko’s summary Kirche merely kept in accentual silence.

“Fine... It’s always me against the world anyway. Let anybody try it. If they want to strike her, they have to get though me first. They want her home; they got me to show them the door. Kick her out and I’ll just take her with me back to the stars... after I break everyone responsible.” Palpable anger at these thoughts leaked almost visibly from her, etching themselves upon Ryoko’s face.

“You really do care about her, don’t you,” Kirche spoke wistfully.

“...you... wouldn’t understand.” The devil caller blurted, then after a moment more of silent thought spoke again, “I suppose telling you can’t be that much of a problem, you’ve been pretty upfront with me,” Ryoko sighed, “Where’s the booze you promised? This isn’t a story I want to be telling sober.”

Kirche smiled then reached over to the table that her wand rested upon. With but a murmured spell and a flick of her wrists, she set in motion the flight of a bottle of north Germanian ‘water’. Whatever she’d intended with the bottle, Ryoko caught it the instant it got close enough.

“I’m taking this one,” she said simply, then settled back comfortably against her bath time companion. Rolling her eyes at that, Kirche prepared herself another bottle this time pouring it into a small shot glass and leaving it upon the table with her wand.

“Flame, Flame darling!” she called out, prompting the large Salamander to waddle its way over from its windowed corner, “Be a dear and heat the tub a bit more for me, it’s starting to get a bit tepid,” the reptilian complied with a light jet of flames to the bottom of the tub where the scorch marks wouldn’t show.

Then in silence the two women sat in the tub soaking up the warmth and drinking; Ryoko in large swigs of the bottle, and Kirche in much smaller portions of poured shots.

“For five thousand years, all my life, I’ve served a man that I knew all others call wicked. At first I think I loved him, like a father or a brother, I did as I was told and I asked nothing. Then as I got older, and learned more about the things which he wanted me to do for him... I started asking. Why should I hurt these people? Why is this thing they own so important?” Ryoko leaned back, head pressed against the red head’s naked chest. It was comfortable there, “In the first few centuries I tried to be everything he wanted. Cold. Deadly. Ruthless. Efficient. Emotionless. Interested only academically in the mysteries of life. But I found it unfulfilling. An existence like that crushed me more and more until one day I couldn’t take anymore. I stopped being his perfect little weapon and became the Space Pirate Ryoko. Turns out beyond a bit of disappointment he didn’t really care one way or another so long as I continued to obey. Even attacking him was useless, he could just hijack my will at any time he pleased set me on autopilot and point me at the things he wanted... Less efficient than me doing it of my own volition... but if I wasn’t going to do what he wanted anyway then it would be used. So I learned to love what I did, to love the act even if I couldn’t ever stop to think about the outcome. I learned to be a Monster. Not the kind of monster that Kagato wanted, I could at least rebel that far... but a monster none the less.”

Kirche kept silent, listening intently to her every word. Her stomach churned in thought of this dread master, this Kagato whom Ryoko had once served. She’d been warned of men like him, quiet, dispassionate, like settling frost... until that moment when they found what they were looking for, and in their desperation to have it set fire to the entire world so that whatever it was that they wanted could be theirs. They represented the true dark side of passion, the intimate corruption of the quality which she so valued.

Obsession.

“The rest is history... He used me for his biggest heist ever and it failed. I was beaten, and then... and then....” she simply trailed off, even thinking of the horror of her time in the hole was too much. Kirche’s hands circled her as a horrified shudder worked its way through her frame, “Louise saved me, she pulled me out of hell itself,” between the red head’s legs Ryoko shifted, golden eyes meeting amber brown. “Anything that wants to harm her has me to go through first. I don’t know how to be much. But I do know how to be the boogieman.”

Kirche’s breath caught itself in her throat. Not for the first time she found herself mesmerized by the deadly creature who sat before her, feeling like a maiden cornered by something wild and fierce. Rhythmically her pulse pounded as the deadly fanged grin radiated both desire and menace. But this was not desire as she was accustomed; this was the lust of predatory beasts, for blood and flesh, for the struggle of conflict burning gold. Fear never touched the flame haired girl, though she knew it should have, no it was not fear at all. So locked in the gaze of this feral woman Kirche could think not of anything save the passion which drove her. This was the intensity of the battlefield distilled into orbs and set to a human face.

Kirche could think of little more than to reach out and touch... wondered about nothing more than what it would be like to taste from this fruit both forbidden and wild.

But before she could reach, Ryoko withdrew, pulling herself to the opposite end of the tub, almost unaware of the effect she’d left upon her host... or at least, uncaring.

For long moments Kirche simply at there, breathing, soaking in the heat, and doing what was most unnatural to her... pushing down her desire. Right now was time to be a friend.

And nothing else.

The beast which lay within the Caller of Devils was a wounded creature, it need time to heal, to be nurtured... and as appealing as it seemed to her right now, she could hardly imagine how beautiful it could be freed from the chains with which it was burdened. Anything too... close... might leave her too dependent to properly heal, if it hadn’t already happened.

A gentle dark hand rested upon one porcelain and a tender smile followed.

“You know, it’s been a while since I’ve gone to town shopping. And I think a new hat would suit you perfectly,” Kirche spoke, smile transforming into ever widening grin with every word.

With a raised eyebrow and an expression of incredulity Ryoko replied, “... a hat. Why the hell would I want a hat?”

“So that you can go out in public more easily my dear. Of course I’ll loan you something so we can go choose a good one for, but you know we can just go have our time on the town,” her face became serious, amber eyes fixing themselves against golden stare. “Will you come with me? Louise can come too if she wants.”

“... I’ll have to see. But I guess we can do it tomorrow.” Maybe it was the alcohol making her hear things that weren’t there, but for a moment Kirche though that Ryoko’s reply had been tinged with a bashful lit.

With shot glass lifted Kirche spoke in agreement, “Tomorrow.”

The bath’s heat simmered gently on.

“Oh right. Ryoko-dear before I forget. I find myself wanting a nice, new, interesting pair of gloves.”

**************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx***************​

Louise struggled with herself, constantly it was a battle to become better, become more competent, become someone who was not a failure in the eyes of her peers, herself, her sisters, and most importantly in the eyes of the woman who gave her life. In the past few weeks that struggle had been revitalized within her, given an unexpected push as if the very forces of destiny decided to exalt her. Thus Louise studied.

The pinkette pored for hours over Tomes of Lore, devouring her way through a library’s worth of study on vain vague hopes. Study was her one way out; it was the only gateway available to her at the moment until she could figure out what it was that was going wrong with her magic. Maybe locked away in the words of men, thousands of years of knowledge and wisdom, maybe somewhere within lay the key to her problems. It was of course also a matter of pride that she could run circles academically around the greater whole of those even in years above her, that in every form of theoretical discourse she was leagues beyond the common student and almost the equal of those who could be called scholar when it came to the subject matter of magic... only the bitterness of practical failure, complete and utter, kept her from being called prodigy... of this she was convinced.

But she was weary of it all, not a scholar by natural aptitude, she found her way through long twisting sessions of uncompromising words written by old men with dry unyielding tongues by the one attribute which women of her family held in spades. Shear unrelenting, undying, uncompromising stubbornness guided her weary eyes from tome to tome, pushing her ever forward towards an answer which she was sure could be found if only she searched hard enough, long enough... It was the only reason for which she’d managed to stay the course. But in the last year she’d come to despair. Between the constant social stigmas which utterly alienated her from her peers, and the constant failure no matter what magic she tried, no matter how perfectly she tried it... Louise’s spirit had been growing weary indeed. It would be safe to say that if the familiar ceremony had not been an unequivocal success, Louise would have given up completely on the scholastic path, ignoring it with the same fervor with which she’d pursued it in the first place.

But then Ryoko happened.

A familiar of other worldly might, and knowledge the likes of which she’d never known, a being of light and death dancing upon the rough edges of perfection. In her, Louise found once more her own inspiration, to persevere, to become great, and now to walk amoung the stars themselves. For after all, such a brilliant familiar could not have come to someone who was completely unworthy of it, could it? Such power and wealth of untapped knowledge was for one willing to push onward and herself to become its equal at least. In the face of her familiar, Louise could do no less to honour this call to greatness than become the most brilliant mage to have walked the lands since the founder himself.

No small amount of pride informed this train of thought.

As a consequence the young mage decided that it was not enough to simply excel at the classical aspects of academia as she had been thus far, but that maybe the essence of her issue’s had fallen in the purview of knowledge which was no longer of the common bend. And thus her long days within the School Library begun, as she secluded herself from all but those who would seek her first, digging though ancient scholarly tomes for even a hint at where she should next steer her path. Unfortunately, a good many of the eldest texts were written in languages which she’d never even heard of, much less knew. And also another matter pressed upon her time.

“Louise! You promised,” a voice whined lightly, causing Louise to sigh. In the last few weeks, since that fateful day of summoning, Montmorency was slowly becoming a fixture in her life. The blonde who once had nothing but antagonistic words for her, had mellowed in the face of near tragedy. Having without a second though placed her own safety at risk to defend Louise against what all at the time believed a threat, Monmon placed herself squarely not only in Louise’s good graces, but also placed Louise in her debt.

“Fine fine... but only for a little while,” she spoke in exasperation. Monmon was quite insistent when she decided that there was something which she desired, much like her paramour she didn’t like to take no for an answer.

“Good,” the golden tressed girl spoke in a pleased tone, “Tabitha doesn’t like to talk enough to make study sessions work for me, and besides her, you’ve got the best theory craft scores in the class. Hell you actually bother to remember all those names and dates.”

“For all the good it does me...” Louise spoke. It was a testament to the rapid growth of the friendship between the two that these words had ever been vocalized, mere weeks ago such an admission would have would have never happened between the proud youth of house Valliere and the scion of Montmorency.

They’d both been at each other’s throats since the first day of meeting. The boastful Valliere, powerful and cocksure in her ways, it had always felt good to bring her down a peg or two from that high horse of hers. Louise, always with her nose in the air at everyone else made her mad beyond comprehension, Montmorency always hated to be snubbed and it never sat well with her when face to face with noble families who flaunted their higher status in court. The delightful surprise that this arrogant little bitch, was in truth nothing without her family connections had given Montmorency a jolt of savage joy. That girl herself was unpleasant, and whatever sympathy or friendship that might have formed out of feelings of pity for her situation were ruthlessly crushed under the heel of her unfailing arrogance which kept her separated from all of her peers. From there the antagonism had escalated, Montmorency saying things which were viciously true, and Louise attacking in kind as her only defense.

It had taken a shared brush with near death to shake them both from what had become an exercise of habit more so than will. But true character shone though that day, and Louise could no more deny the bravery and nobility of the girl than she could make the sun rise from the west. The same for Montmorency, who’d believed for the longest time that there was a core of nothing but rot beneath the haughty pink exterior only to see her charge in that day, headlong into the maw of the unknown, to subdue or die. For them both a moment’s decision provided insight into the enemy beyond anything a year’s interaction could have.

The first tentative motions towards friendship had been on Montmorency’s part, a loose comment on Louise defended in earshot. Louise was many things, a failure maybe even one of them, but to have someone who had never faced the beast laugh at Louise’s lack of control, a third year who felt himself justified in his scorn, disparage her courage in the face of her own familiar, something snapped. Montmorency ranted, she ranted and she raved and her tongue grew sharp. And when she’d realized, shame faced at the spectacle, what she’d done, she crept off into a corner and hid her face in a book. She could barely believe what she’d done. And Louise, she too could hardly believe her own ears. To her Montmorency was the enemy, the one who along with Kirche had actively sought to tease and ridicule her... though they had always done it straight up and too her face were many others simply snickered behind hands and doors. But... in the time of fire Montmorency tried to save her, and now the girl stood up for her honour and bravery.

It was there and then that Louise decided to try, even a little, to reach out to the other girl. It was there when Montmorency decided that if the other girl was worth standing up for, she was also worth reaching out to.

She spoke to her in the time when their others were intertwined upon the field of combat, both dancing their ever evolving routine which left those on the sidelines behind in completion. There were small words at first; shared interests, of gems and manners and balls, of favored clothings and prided little knickknacks which meant more than they let on. Eventually as they found each other’s measure the speech too changed. From the inane prattling of those making the first steps towards common ground, towards that strange place where things of deeper interests lay but the hearts of true matters were avoided. For Montmorency it was her passion at perfuming and magical engineering of potions which excited and interested her. For Louise the ideas for applying magic, things which she could never do on her own, but wished to in order to someday show the world her own brilliance. The renewed passion for magical learning’s sparked a revolution in her that seemed to snowball in its wake.

It was in this strange common ground that Montmorency discovered something which she should have already realized. Louise was the hardest working student she’d ever known... as strange as that sounded in her own ears it was truth. There was no social life for Louise, the very concept of mingling with others was all but foreign to her. Instead after the end of classes and the times she needed to show her face in public, the pinkette would find herself in a library, a secluded room, or some other place of peace in which she could study, and study, and study.

Never in the eyes of her peers, never in places where others could easily see.

Years’ worth of ridicule and derision from others shaped her habits into solitary things, and her desires into a razor edge of purpose. In the quiet she sought solace in study, learning and prying from the ugly grasp of books whose contents gave her everything and yet taught her nothing of what she truly desired, the understandings of men about magic. Every inch of magical theory and innovation she’d read, every book of every class she poured herself into. On theoretical academics alone she’d pulled herself from first to second year.

Montmorency came to learn that Louise was just something short of being a true scholar, and for all that she failed in one aspect, she had been getting the best theoretical grades in their year across the board. Sheer bloody mindedness seemed to motivate it, but it turned out to be an asset which Montmorency could share in. It didn’t take long for her to begin asking Louise to study with her, so that she too could come to be ahead of the theoretical curve. This was offered in return for the use of someone who could get the spells which seemed interesting done. A guinea-pig for her activities who could serve to test rules of magic as was known in the books and the stark reality which Louise faced in her own malfunctioning magic every day.

“Well don’t forget, the familiar exhibition is soon. You might want to make that wild woman of yours at least a little bit presentable,” Montmorency spoke, her doll like face quirking into a grin, “My dear little Robin shall be the darling of the event.”

“Monmon, you’re the ONLY person here who thinks that slimy little thing is cute. She may be deadly enough to kill a full grown man, but she still just a frog. She loses points just for that.”

“You’re just jealous of my little baby,” Monmon spoke making cooing noises to the small frog which leapt from its place of honour amoung her tresses, into Montmorency’s hand where the gentle touches and occasional treats tended to await.

Louise rolled her eyes as Monmon guided the deadly little critter back into the hair which had before sheltered it.

“Uggg… We need to study Annabella’s theory of transference for Potion’s tomorrow, and I don’t get her Multi-Elemental Alchemic,” Monmon groaned, while she was practically a prodigy in mixing potions and figuring out the right combinations of items to gain magical effects, there was still a lot of the more academic aspects which she simply did not know.

“It nothing difficult,” Louise spoke, anyone who knew her family would recognize the scholarly intonations and mannerisms of her elder sister shining though, “Her idea was that if a mage of sufficient skill or power existed and they were both trained in high potion making, and alchemy, they would be able to forge magical materials with potion like properties. The trick to it being that they would utilize Water’s assimilative properties to ‘leech’ a potion into the material being enchanted and use alchemy to build the material in question around the potion as it normalizes between its spell burden and the material’s structure. That way you can add attributes of concept and spirit to things like weapons and walls. She’s just horribly longwinded and bad at saying what she actually means.”

“Oh... but the kind of skill that you would need to pull that off. Even square class mages don’t have that kind of control,” Montmorency folded her arms in annoyance.

“Which is one of the reasons why Annabella’s theory has always remained just a theory. Though there are always rumors that someone or the other has figured out how to increase the coherence of the spell structures without needing higher than square class control though preparatory substances, but those reports usually turn out to be fakes or mistakes,” or at least that’s what Louise heard of it from her sister when she’d asked.

“Still can you imagine it? Being able to make attributive items like the elves do...” Monmon trailed off in a moment of reverie. Like any good hopeful magical engineer, whether potion or alchemical, the idea of making items which could enhance attributes in a stable fashion was a longtime dream.

“... Umm... Pardon me. Ms Valliere, Ms Montmorency...” a hesitant voice spoke from near the corner of the bookshelves across from the table where Louise sat and Montmorency stood. As one the two girls swung around to see the source of the voice.

“Siesta,” she spoke, nodding towards her former caretaker with a small smile then schooling herself into a serious expression, “Ah right, Monmon this is Ms.Siesta. She took good care of me in the week that I was ill.”

Montmorency looked upon the nervous maid with a dubious gaze, “And what does she want now?” In her experience, commoner’s never interacted with Nobles if they could help it, unless they stood to gain something or were sent by someone.

A silence settled between the three. Louise mentally debated if to call out her friend on her rudeness infront of a commoner, or if it would be inappropriate to do so.

Siesta was startled, she’d not expected such a reception and momentarily her will faulted. She would not look for solace here, and make Ms.Louise think less of her. As she begun to open her mouth to this effect she was surprised by the next words spoken.

“Monmon, that was rude. Even a servant deserves common courtesy,” Louise chided. And to Siesta’s amazement the golden tressed girl turned her head away with pink cheeks in admonishment.

This shored up the confidence which Siesta had left, emboldening her to speak, “Ms Valliere... I have a problem. And I have no idea where else to turn...”

Louise’s head tilted, as an annoyed look passed Montmorency’s face, “What kind of problem is this? One you wish for me to help you solve using my money, good will, or family name?”

Siesta paled at the insinuated accusation, “No no... not at all Milady. It’s about Count Mott,” she spoke, lip trembling as she struggled with herself to even say the name, “I... I...” tears leaked from her eyes even as she desperately tried to hold them back, her hands gripping tightly unto apron, the desperation of one drowning, clutching anything they could to keep afloat and head clear. One hope played itself in her head, with fever pitch.

Over and over and over again...

“Please...” she spoke lifting hands to face in sullen prayer, “Help me. Help me get away from him...”

Louise’s eyebrows quirked their way down into a frown, “What has the Count done to you? Doesn’t he know better than to be accosting the private servants?”

Siesta shook her head, and tried to will her tears dry... failing that she used the sleeve of her shirt to do the job, “He has done nothing so overt, Ms Valliere, and it would be unseemly for me to make such claims even if he did...”

Annoyance painted the Pinkette’s face. “Then what has he done that’s so bad?”

Siesta lowered her eyes, “He has made a formal request for me to work directly for him, as his personal servant in his house. And I have been made to know that declining this... ‘honour’ will result in him leveling charges at me that would remove me from the university, or at least I was given this knowledge without so many direct and incriminating words.”

“And what’s so bad about being invited to be his head servant? I must confess that I’m failing to see the issue here...” Louise spoke, somewhat confused. As far as she was concerned Siesta was crying herself silly over being given what was one of the highest honours a Noble could award to a commoner short of the queen herself bestowing some kind of lesser title. It made so little sense that she was tempted to dismiss the concern out of hand.

Still, the servant girl looked utterly dejected. So silently Louise put together in her mind a list of the various things that could possibly be wrong with the picture being painted there.

Strangely, it was Montmorency who seemed to understand her concern and spoke up too it, “He wants her for his Mistress Louise. So that he might have her on hand for his... pleasures... as he feels them necessary.”

Louise paled then began to glow a bright crimson which long outshone her hair. That never even began to surface in her thoughts.

“I’m sure that he wishes for me to surrender up my maiden head to him. And worse I’ve heard rumors of those to whom he has done this in the past, and the long string of mistresses who were abandoned by the wayside on becoming... useless to him,” her voice sounded as fragile as she looked, standing there shaking like a tattered leaf at the nauseating idea of that man and his unclean hands touching her, caressing her... the very thoughts made her desire a cold river in which to scrub herself down.

Louise gaped, mouth moving like a fish trying to work water over gills, unable to form a thing to say. To offer a home and pay for someone whom you considered lovely was one thing, after all even a noble woman or man was required to sometimes join in marriage with those less than agreeable to themselves. And for a commoner such protections as would come with being the mistress of someone powerful, though a distasteful thought, was not in itself so horrible a fate... But a man who would abuse the power of the nobility so horribly as to take advantage and never give back when his advantage is spent... only the worst of the worst could be called to this category. This was a crime for which Louise knew no other names but shame and dishonor. For a noble to act so ignobly, there was something broken here something which needed to be fixed immediately.

It helped also that Louise had come, over the short time they had been together while she was awake, to know Siesta as more than just another commoner, but instead as someone she’d learned to like and respect... especially considering the rapport which she seemed to have formed with Ryoko.

“No,” Louise spoke, red marks visible upon a bitten lip.

“A real noble would not behave that way,” she spoke. The surprising Steel of authority gleaming within her words, “And if the rules let him get away with this then I can use the rules to keep him from it as well.”

For the first time Siesta’s dewed eyes cast towards Louise’s own in something akin to hope. Beside them both Monmon swallowed heavily, caught upon the moment just as they were even as an outsider looking in.

“Siesta, would it be possible for you to come into my service? I won’t be able to pay you quite as much as the university, at least initially, but all of your woes with Mott will be at an end, as I won’t release you for whatever nonsense that he could come to dream up,” Louise spoke, her voice imitating the power and authority of another with whom she’s spent her whole life, “Is this acceptable to you Siesta?”

Louise, whatever the response she had been expecting, found herself entangled in a hearty hug from almost nowhere. So grateful were the great racking sobs from her new servant, that Louise was not herself sure of how long the poor girl might last. With slow careful strokes, Louise ran her hand though her new servant’s hair, though she wondered briefly at the total impropriety of the gesture, on both sides of the bargain.

After a short while, the sobbing ended, and Siesta looked down to her shorter mistress with red rimmed eyes and a smile. More than anything else, it had been the utter lack of control, which had brought her low. The sheer helplessness, which drove her headlong to seek shelter beneath the skirts of a noble who had only known her for a short time, it was a feeling which she never wanted again, and would never forget for as long as she lived.

“Oh, bother,” Monmon pouted, having turned her face as not to witness the embarrassing display. “We can study together another day Louise. Just go make sure that you get all of the necessary legalities out of the way. It would be horribly embarrassing to have just gone through all of that drama only for the whole thing to fall though some legal loop whole which lets him drag her off from you.”

A small smile greeted Louise’s newest friend at the sensible suggestion.

“Yes, I suppose we should. Siesta, are you feeling better now?” Louise asked, as best as she could she tried to be kind.

A tentative smile lit up a face now freed of burdens. “Yes, Milady... Yes. I believe that I am.”

And she was.

*******************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx********************​

Ms. Longueville paced restlessly across the well-worn floor. Months and month of this cover, months of playing nice, for small token quantities of nice, with the old perv Osmond and what did she have to show for it? Nothing of worth that was what. Only the ‘cabbit’ eaten bits and pieces which were left strewn about like so much refuse, all that was left of a fortune in mystical items, some of which no one had even an inkling on how to replicate. Worse, with this hit it was quite likely that credible sources, namely Osmond and his favored crony Colbert, would likely pin the blame on her to cover it all up. She’d have to either grab the remaining items and get them back to base, or go home empty handed and somehow convince him that she was still completely trustworthy and didn’t actually take everything and sell it. She really hated when her own reputation came back to bite her in the ass.

Ok so she wasn’t being so very generous in her thoughts, tough. She was sick of this job, hell she’d only taken it because his brilliance decided to be a pain in the foot about it. Or at least that’s what she preferred to tell herself... truth was she would do anything for him. Nobles, Royalty... hate boiled in her blood at those who took the names and titles without possessing any of the virtues. It was as if being declared Nobility drained everything good and human from a person, leeched it out over a portion of years and years. If that was the case she was glad she’d gotten out, though not at all for the manner in which she had, she’d rather be a complete nobody and rise with the light than have stayed a noble even if it would have made everything easier.

She was almost tempted to steal the little beast itself, but thought better of that idea. Who knew what evils the cute little creature was hiding under its fuzzy exterior, especially with what she’d already heard of its capabilities. Lord knows with what she’d been hearing of disappearing magical equipment and of a small furry thing walking through walls like a ghost. In addition, aside from that, from what she’d gathered its mistress could follow it anywhere, and distressingly, move from one place to another without moving though the intervening spaces... all without even the slightest hint of Magic... it was eerie just to contemplate. Both beast and mistress seemed to be things almost like spirits given flesh, and far be it for her a simple thief to go mixing herself up in the business of spirits.

No she had come here for far more solid targets.

Targets which apparently had managed to survive the onslaught of the little artifact devouring terror. Oh as Osmond’s secretary, she knew exactly where he was keeping everything, in his secondary vault, one that rested within the enchanted stone of his office space. Not nearly as secure as the artifact vault but filled with much more generally useful goodies, not that she would stoop to being a common thief and stealing money, but if there were any particularly interesting gems in there amoung the mundane coinage...

Not that an elite earth mage such as herself couldn’t make the beauties that shone and sparkled, but it did take an incredible effort to get certain types of gem to form alchemically. Diamonds were hard. As any decent mage worth his salt could tell you, Diamonds were unreasonably difficult, and anything difficult was a thing valuable indeed.

“Ahh, Ms Longueville!” a cheerful voice interrupted her train of larcenous thought. “How are you?”

“Mr. Colbert,” she demurred, lowering her head in a small bow of greeting, in the process hiding the grimace of slight annoyance which crossed her pretty face. “I am quite well sir.”

“I was wondering if I could have a word with you, being that you are the head master’s secretary and all,” he smiled with an almost charming ease, if he were a younger man with a full set of hair she might well have even looked at him twice.

“About what?” she was genuinely puzzled.

“I’ve been reassigning guards though out the academy, at the Headmaster’s request, for the Princess’ arrival on the day of the festival. And I wanted to know if you might want to keep a contingent of guards near by the Headmaster’s office,” he offered her a small sad smile. “The princess’ personal guard will be helping to fill in the numbers but the sad truth of the matter is that we just don’t have enough personnel to make proper coverage for the princess herself without gutting the castle guard. But as the Headmaster’s secretary I do wish to ask if you would mind the temporary leave of the guard, or if you want to hold on to your usual door and hall contingent. A courtesy of course, considering the recent incident.”

“Wait what? The princess is coming here? When did that message come in?” she did not at all like being out of the loop, especially when the first link in the loop should have been her.

“Message came by Far-song, no less than an hour or so ago,” Colbert spoke of the military use network of wind magics which passed messages countrywide. Mainly it was a spell that encased a segment of speech in a capsule of wind, replayed constantly within until the spell sustaining it wore down. A mage would create said capsule then attach it to a breeze in the direction of the next mage interceptor a few miles away, who would take the message, repeat its contents to a new capsule spell and send it to the next interceptor, and so on and so forth.

The real trick to it was that one didn’t need a much more than a dot classed wind mage to cast the spell, or send it, only the occasional dedicated line class Wind mage at strategic spots though out the country to provide signal boosting though amplification spells and cryptographic backup spells which ensured that information wasn’t lost due to weak sendings. Militarily important messages, as well as missives from the crown when it wished to move quickly were often sent in that manner.

Of course because others had a chance of intercepting these packets, spell encryptions were utilized to keep the messages safe, some of Old Osmond’s finest work in truth. A basic encryption spell which was taught to everyone across the board, the end result needed a secondary spell key available only to select mages within the network, while a trail of false keys were integral to the main encryption spell as it was taught, and worse the unsuccessful attempts at opening the message caused the entire spell structure to collapse upon itself, reducing the captured missive to a single unpleasantly intense scream. Such encryptions were one of a few ways in which Tristain had managed to keep a small edge over the other nations.

“Ah, I was busy for the morning so I haven’t been with the Headmaster for the day,” in her head the spectre of opportunity loomed and grinned wide, “No I don’t think I’ll require the guards. Feel free to assign them as you need. I wouldn’t want to pull back even a single man who could help keep the princess safe. Besides, I can always stay in the office and get some work done. Not like the headmaster needs me for stamp duty while the exhibitions are on.”

Colbert let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear at least someone is being reasonable. I’ve had demands from Professors Eldsbury and Johan both to keep guards on hand to watch over their studies when the procession begins,” both he and Ms. Longueville rolled their eyes at the silliness of the two old codgers, both of whom were middling talents at best, Line mages, who believed themselves close to the next big advancement in magical theory. A claim they’d apparently both been making for the last 20 years.

Aside from those two old jokes, Ms. Longueville was suddenly delirious with mirth. Not only had the perfect opportunity for getting the items fallen directly into her lap, but all in one fell swoop she’d managed to redirect attention and give herself an excuse to be alone in the office for an extended period of time before she needed to leave. It was like Winter Solstice had come early this year.

“Thank you, Ms. Longueville. But I must be on my way, there are still others who need to be prepared.” Colbert smiled, and then took his leave.

The green haired thief in secretary’s clothing all but jumped for joy, in a most unprofessional manner. Still she needed to be careful. For all that she had been handed the keys to the castle, it wasn’t as if she was dealing with fools here. She needed to cover herself in case they managed to cure their ignorance earlier than expected.

But for all the caution which would be needed she was happy to have had the objects of her attentions moved to this much lower secured and lesser warded area. Unlike the Arcane Vault wards which were creations of generations of warped minds having spent years in convolution and innovation, the wards of this lesser vault were for the most part of the more standard affair, with only a few of the headmaster’s special overlays making things more difficult with them. Thankfully she’d had months of studying the bloody things in advance but even with these lesser creations she had to admit to the old perv’s genius when it came to matters of warding and alchemically based enchantment.

But she was no slouch when it came to the opposite end of the spectrum of earth, for all that has form, as they say, can and must eventually falter and crumble to dust. The Crumbling Earth was the runic name bestowed upon her in her escapades and it was a title well deserved. She’d found from an early age that while earth was indeed the element of Sustenance and Stability, one could make parts of a thing so stable unto itself that it no longer fit together and supported the rest of that thing, and that sustenance could be provided to that which caused corrosion and destruction, pushing the reactions to the point of near flame. Just as earth could build up, it could tear down, and scour. One couldn’t always depend on being able to directly transmute the door, or lock... but transmuting physical elements to interact with them was always doable.

Indeed the Headmaster’s genius might come in matters of building up items and defenses... But hers, hers flaunted itself in the act of bringing it all right back down.

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The dread space-pirate, known as Ryo-Ohki, stretched herself out atop big little sister’s bright blue scales, resisting the urge to take a nibble of their heavily magic infused edges. It would be a bad example if she was to go eating people, even just a little nibble. It was in its own way relaxing, the rush of air flowing over her small form as she nestled between the bright blue scales and the small outcropping of spikes at the top of big little sister’s head. For Ryo-Ohki flight was an old hat, and though her current mental processes were still vastly simplified from what her full interface consciousness would eventually become, there was still the element of long experience which snuck its way into her mind when it came to certain matters. Flight was definitely one of them. Though that didn’t stop her large blue ride from Kuuing and Kyuuing about how great it was non-stop.

With them flew Ryoko, Kirche and Tabitha, the blue dragons summoning contractor. Kirche chattered away at the two far less talkative members of the group, making up for the silence between the two, a spell shield preserving both pressure and shielding from the wind covered them making her chatter audible. For Tabitha it was of small consequence to put up with the slight annoyance which her best friend’s speech represented. Ryoko on the other hand seemed caught between being pressed about the constant social chatter, and the strange fact that it didn’t seem as if she were required to do anything but listen to Kirche fill up the void of silence with her own personal noise.

The trip‘s end saw the trio dismounting just outside of town. Irukyuwu or Sylphied, as Tabitha called her, Kuued in longing. The very idea of the town fascinated her. So many people, so many sights and smells... The dragon’s plaintive pleas drew the attention of her summoner.

“Don’t be seen.” Was the terse order, Tabitha’s slight frown punctuating the order.

“Myaa!” Ryo-Ohki sounded.

At this Ryoko momentarily paused. “Really? You want to stay with the lizard? Well that’s a first, I thought you’d be begging to go off into town.”

Another mewl of confirmation sounded, but Ryoko felt something within the link being badly hidden.

Anticipation.

Her little sister was planning something. Well that was new... Ryoko thought. Briefly she considered giving orders to stay... but decided against it. There was only so much trouble the two could get into, and most of it wouldn’t be her problem anyway. Thus not caring came swiftly to the agenda.

As the small group strode off into the distance Irukyuwu sighed. She never got to go the interesting places, because Big sis spent so much time worrying about her safety. However Ryo-Ohki begged to differ.

“Myow Mya myaow myaow myaow!” she said leaping down from her perch and setting off towards the town.

“But... But... Big sis said not to...” The great beast spoke, her girlish voice at odds with the mighty body of a dragon.

Ryo-Ohki took on a cutting expression and mewled her rational.

“... true... Irukyuwu guesses that wouldn’t be being seen...” The dragon drawled unsure, “But Irukyuwu can’t Rhyme with you... so Irukyuwu can’t be like you.”

An exasperated sigh puffed its way from the little creature’s mouth, the in a single bounding leap she slammed her forehead jewel first right between the dragon’s eyes. In an instant there was connection, communion almost as pure as the link she shared between her sister, herself, and their now welcome interloper.

One slightly dizzy dragon later.

“Kyuuu... what hit Irukyuwu?” The azure dragon then stopped for a moment almost as if savouring some strange flavour. Then slowly the look melted from her dissolving into pure unrestrained shock. “You can Rhyme!!?”

The cabbit yawned looking particularly pleased with herself. “Myaow!”

Then with a great big grin began to shrink down, until where once was a massive reptilian beast now stood a slightly larger blue female cabbit. Where on her counterpart was a crystal shard, the azure cabbit had but a single simple runic inscription.

After a brief round of fur rubbing and frolicking the two bounded off into the city.

The two cabbits gambled their way through the city, twin bundles of curiosity as they made their way from scene to scene, chasing each other and playing all the way though. The two creatures drank in their fill of the city, moving like ghosts amoung the populace and upon occasion utilizing the institution of charm to ingrate themselves to the inhabitants of the city. Ryo-Ohki in particular found it useful for her companion to do the charming, while she slipped through walls and stalls and carriages towards brilliantly illuminated prizes. There were enchantments aplenty for her to pillage, and plunder she did. Everywhere they went, Irukyuwu distracted while Ryo-Ohki indulged herself, enchanted items abounded within the town; a wall here, a knife there, a potion in another place, and a sometimes even an enchanted coin-purse or two, made so that cutpurses would not be able to simply cut them away from the owner.

They were delicious!

This continued for a few hours as they moved about, all the while keeping tabs on the movements of their respective partners. It had been a telling thing that at some point during the entire trip, Kirche had managed to finally break the barrier of silence and had gotten Ryoko involved with her in telling funny stories from their respective pasts. And though more than a few of Ryoko’s took to a grim turn as they ended, the Germanian noble woman simply smiled and took them then in turn offered some of her own, usually embarrassingly racy stories of past... exploits. More than once the word ‘slut’ was passed about from Space pirate to Noble, only for both of them to grin in vicious playfulness and rounds of creative name calling. Ryoko could barely remember having such a good time with anyone. In particular with anyone whom she knew for certain that she would not need to kill once the banter was over. The floppy blue hat which the red headed Germanian had given her hung loosely over her ears as if it were some kind of cold weather head gear. Gingerly Ryoko played with the tassels of it, apparently it had been a gift from Kirche’s old caretaker who’d doted upon the young girl and encouraged her finally to leave when she was being offered to that elder noble for the sake of the house. Kirche hadn’t worn it since she’d left home, strands of her care taker’s curly golden hair still caught against some of its fibres. Ryoko couldn’t help but think that the hat had a strangely familiar look to it.

On their way through town they eventually passed by a small weapons shop. Briefly Kirche stopped the group, asking Ryoko if there was anything she might like from the place. Ryoko simply laughed. What use were metal arms to her? She’d asked. When she could create swords of gleaming light with a thought and cut metal like hot butter. Kirche just smiled and they all walked on, the dark skinned youth then pointing out a very high class establishment, a book store, for her best friend’s perusal.

Ryo-Ohki and Irukyuwu though, they made the stop, walking, after a few bumping tries, into the shop completely undetected by any.

Ryo-Ohki was flush with excitement.

In this slightly run down establishment she’d caught the scent of something, something powerful and intense. Something which made her tremble in terrible anticipation of mouthwatering delight. Within the shop was the tantalizing scent of light and power... such great potential power, embedded in metal, enchanted for strength... enchanted to devour.

“OY!” cried out a thing which sounded like an old man’s voice, if that voice were encrusted with rust and grime.

The two cabbits stared at the barrel from which the noise came; Ryo-Ohki could almost taste the heavy scent of magic which it gave off. She mewed; wonder to that effect thick in her voice.

“Hmm... now that’s something strange. You are Myoznitnirn… but you’re some kinda animal... the mind of God in with the brains of a beast?” The ancient thing spoke clear.

Ryo-Ohki mewled plaintively, wonder and annoyance at war within her voice.

“Oh yes, yes. Book of God I recognize you. For both you and Gandalfr I fall under your jurisdiction... or at least that’s what I remember. It has been a bit of a while since those days, and the time in-between hasn’t been kind to an old sword like me.” The voice in the barrel mused.

This time it was Irukyuwu who spoke up, her own meows cheerfully polite.

“Ah, Yes. You may call me Lord Derflinger!” it said, slight dramatic flair in its voice. “Now pull me out, let me see you.”

With a shrug and two head-butting attempts Ryo-Ohki complied with the delicious talking metal stick.

“Cute little things you are. A transformed dragon, and something else... my, my you are definitely nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

Ryo-Ohki’s plaintive string of meows sang out in rapid succession.

“Well I already told you. I’m Lord Deflinger, I’m the ancient companion of the Gandalfr and those who are Of God. My memory for isn’t that great on its own... but I’m sure once I’ve gotten some magic flowing though me properly again I’ll be able to do all sorts of things,” the sword urged.

Ryo-Ohki’s meowed a sound which sounded, not at all amused.

“Say, you’re the Book of God, you should be able to tell me about myself if you use the sight.” The sword prodded.

The bejeweled cabbit was about to answer back, only to remember reading the light which suffused magical things before. Closing her eye’s she looked deep into the sword’s body, fishing her way through the interwoven enchantments of both element and spirit. What she saw redoubled her hunger; this was not just any artefact... This sword was a master work of intricate forms woven into a single sentient spell fabric. She told Irukyuwu of what she saw.

“So. Now that that’s settled, I can see that there is a potential partner for me here, so what’s the deal? Do I continue to rust here on display or do you take me with you?” one could almost hear the grin in its lipless voice.

Ryo-Ohki shook her head in assent.

“Well then, how are we going to get me out of here?”

Ryo-Ohki this time said nothing... expressing only the feral gleam of hunger which shone in her eye. Only the unnatural grin of one about to be fed.

And all too late...

Derflinger feared.

Ryo-Ohki ate.

...Irukyuwu fainted.

 

All the usual disclaimers...

Also a HUGE shout of thanks to the Wizardtwo. Without him this would have been alot messier...





Devil Bringer of Zero
Chapter 5: No need for the show to go on!






Louise could barely contain herself as she watched the princess of Tristain pull up to the hastily prepared reception. But contain herself she did, after all, if one could not control one’s self in the presence of one’s monarch, she might as well consider herself a liability to the crown. As such, the rude and uncaring attitude of her familiar towards the event was a grievous offense that needed to be corrected.

“So what? She’s a princess. They’re a dime a dozen.” The devil woman callously threw out, stretching and yawning as the carriage rolled past, still somewhat careful not to dislodge her new wide brimmed hat. She liked the way it pushed her stiff bristly hair down enough to force it to cover her ears, without making her look silly.

Her complete lack of decorum brought pink shame to Louise’s face and echoed a quietly brewing rage within the link. The sharpness of the emotions surprised Ryoko but more than that was the lingering bits and pieces of worry which dawdled behind the stronger feelings, vague chills of an ominous nature that pierced her unspoken.

Ryoko sighed.

Louise had been a bundle of nerves all morning, apparently the princess thing was something which she took surprisingly seriously, and while it was annoying the hell out of Ryoko, she was trying to be on her best behavior for the event. It was an almost impromptu announcement that the princess of Tristain herself was coming to attend the event which set a spark of surprise though the Valliere youth. Since then excitement, need, annoyance and that undertow of worry permeated the link to near saturation.

“So what? So what?!” Louise hissed in outrage into her familiar’s ear. “You will show respect to Princess Henrietta or so help me...” an empty threat, Ryoko knew, but there was something there, a feeling of frustrated loyalty and... to Ryoko’s surprise, an almost familial love which warped and twisted its way through the threads of loyalty in her heart. And while she’d never been one to pay much attention to feelings in the past, Ryoko could not help but come to empathize because of the intensity of the feelings as they flittered through. Though she did have to admit, Louise’s vicious little glare was almost distractingly amusing. Patiently Ryoko prevented the signs of empathy from leaking down the link, it wouldn’t do to have her little fireball feel her acquiesce too quickly.

“...I won’t eat anything sweet for a month!” Ryoko’s eyes flew open wide at this declaration.

Oh no... she wouldn’t. She couldn’t...

But she could. And she would. Louise, Ryoko knew, was a ball of stubbornness and spite when properly motivated. And while the girl truly did love sweet treats, in moderation of course, she’d torture herself to forgo them in order to punish her familiar in one of the few places where she could make it hurt.

Instantly Ryoko’s spine straightened. And the look of indolent defiance ran screaming from her eyes, “Yes Ma’am!”

“But if you’re good while the princess is around, and maybe figure out how to win us first place... I Might go out of my way and get Siesta sneak some chocolate from the kitchen for us before bed.”

Louise loved those moments when she got the upper hand on her familiar... oh so very few and far between though they had been. The elder woman was so far beyond her in so many ways; it was hard to even think of her as anything less than an elder sister to add to the bunch. As fun loving as Cattleya and as aggressive as Eleanor, with a streak of irresponsibility which her mother would never have tolerated.

“You’d better make it that choco-ice you’ve been saving...” Ryoko grumbled, continuing to wear her stiff expression, through clenched teeth she muttered, “One of these days Louise...”

“Was that a threat Ryoko? Or was it the sound of no sugar for a week? I’m sorry but I confuse the two.” There was triumph in the pinkette’s eyes. And the sweet taste of victory on her mind.

Ryoko merely turned to scowling holes in whatever rocks crossed her sight.

“Oh Hoho! I see our ‘meek’ little Louise has found a leash for her beast.” An infuriating noise came from behind summoner and her wayward familiar.

“Zerbst...” the diminutive pinkette cursed. It was one of the more vile ones in her current vocabulary.

“Valliere.” Her tall, dark, and sexy counterpart cheerfully returned, before turning to study the royal figure as she descended from her carriage. “She’s a little cute, but I’m definitely sexier. Don’t you think so Ryoko?”

The devil caller didn’t even bat an eyelash at the explosively loaded question.

“What are you talking about you barbarian fool? The princess’ charms are a hundred times greater than your unruly flouncing”

“I’ll have you know little Louise, that every boy in the student body wants to get their hands on this!” she retorted, eyes leveled against her pink haired opponent, and running her hands down shapely hips to emphasize her point.

“And that only proves their inferior taste!. Just because you can charm men into your bed doesn’t make you pretty, If anything, it makes you a slut!

Kirche simply smiled in her smoky sensual manner, “Is that jealousy I smell on your breath little Louise? You know that if you just asked nicely I could be yours as well” She waggled her eyebrow in a most evocative manner, arms draped about her prey in a slightly suggestive fashion. “Or is it that you only have eyes for your princess over there now that she’s arrived?” she breathed quietly into an ear. “Risqué Louise.”

“You! You!” Louise spluttered with pure indignation, pink hair lost against a face rapidly turning the same colour and flushing further.. It was actually a surprise when Kirche’s finger reached up to touch her lips in a silencing gesture.

“Now, now Louise. You wouldn’t want to cause a scene in front of your beloved princess would you?” Kirche smirked; the fact that she stopped struggling and visibly calmed herself said much about Louise’s regard for the princess. Looking up, Kirche passed a look of triumph to her cohort Ryoko. The savvy golden eyed space pirate nodded in return; alongside of a look which said ‘I owe you one’.

“Stop fretting Louise, Kirche. Hello Tabitha.” Montmorency hailed with a smile, moving with purpose from among the crowd towards the small group. Tabitha merely looked up from her book off to the side of Kirche where she’d remained unnoticed till the interruption of Mommon’s salutation, then lowered her gaze back to the page once she was sure her acceptance of the greeting was acknowledged.

“Ooo, you seem chipper today Ms. Montmorency. Had a good night with Ryoko’s boy toy?” Kirche asked with a mischievous glint in her eye, arms still wrapped about Louise as if playing with a favoured teddy-bear.

Monmon’s eye twitched, “Ryoko’s BOY-TOY? Never! Never mistake! He’s not hers and NEVER will be!” Then she caught herself and gave a genteel cough. “No. He is my betrothed, and yes you gutter-brained wench, we had a lovely romantic evening, but with none of the trimmings which you so love to add at the end.”

“A pity for poor Guiche. All the work he’s putting in day and night now, and not even a nice reward for his trouble. At this rate, I might have to see to the poor boy’s needs myself. He has become rather more handsome in the past weeks.” The sly germanian girl replied, sensing weakness. She went in for the kill, “Or do you suppose one of the other girls might be willing to provide a worthy test of his new... stamina?” Kirche grinned cruelly.

A slight green pall fell over the Montmorency heiress at the thought of the eventual competition and the... willingness they might display. Kirche just couldn’t help but get a kick here, in some ways Monmon could be just as fun as Little Louise, and her levers were easy to see.

But the true look of worried paranoia made the tall germanian girl frown.

“You do realize I’m kidding right? Guiche steals kisses and that’s all. He doesn’t want to go any further than that with anyone but you, you know.” Kirche offered gently.

“How would you know? Unless you tried to whore yourself out to him already?!” Montmorency hissed. Kirche rolled her eyes, but silently wondered if her teasing had gone a bit too far. Only pride kept her from backing off and trying to outright apologize for the joke.

Fortunately it was instead Louise who broke in between the bickering pair with a noise of frustration, “Stop making a scene you two. The princess is going to look over this way. Do you really want to make a bad impression before you even compete?”

It seemed almost as if the sound of Louise’s voice shocked her from her rage, “Y...yes... yes of course Louise.”

Louise sighed. The whole of the campus had gone mad with the desire to show off their familiars in front of the princess an insane rush of training and primping to prepare their familiars for the competition of the day. Even Guiche, who until now had never missed out on any possible chance to train with Ryoko, had attempted to skip out on their combat session in favour of trying to train his beloved Mole-Beast Verthandi. Ryoko though simply decided to change the nature of the combat session into one of hunter against prey. In this session Verthandi learned a most valuable and impressive trick.

How to make himself and Guiche disappear.

Still it was better than Sylphied and Ryoko’s little companion. For some reason since the trip whenever the two got near to each other the great big blue dragon would try her level best to hide, shivering and jittery, behind her diminutive mistress. Attempting to make herself look as small as possible.

Taking her eyes back from off of her friends, Louise looked up toward the steadily walking figure of the princess. She was loved and cherished, more so now than ever before since the death of her father, the Prince consort. Louise did not know the details of his death, nor did she expect to ever receive them, but because of that sad event Henrietta was treasured. A living symbol of the enduring monarchy and all that was right with the world.

The cheers which went up as the Royal personage slipped gracefully down the red carpet only magnified the feelings of affection which fluttered about within her heart. And for a brief moment Louise could swear that the princess had looked back towards her. A thought confirmed as their eyes met from across the courtyard, and then the smallest lifting of fingers in a gesture of greeting.

From there the young Valliere could not help but smile, losing herself in the crowd’s excitement at their monarch’s presence. The initial greeting ceremony for the princess’ arrival that evening only lasted until the first signs of oncoming darkness began to show beneath the twin moons of Halkeginia.

Louise made damned sure that she could be there to continue watching the headmaster receive her officially on behalf of the school.

Then darkness fell.

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Tiredness tugged at the corners of her eyes as she made her way through the halls to her dormitory room. It had been a long day, both pleasing and frustrating in its own way. Ryoko, the source of many of the day’s complications, was currently being buddy-buddy with that big breasted cow... which was completely unfair. She was Louise’s familiar dammit. but at least Louise figured that it wouldn’t be an illicit liaison... or at least Louise REALLY didn’t want to know if it was indeed such an event. The very thought made her eyelid twitch madly. She was tempted to head for the Zerbst heiress’ room and drag her familiar away from That Woman’s corrupting influence... but decided against it on the off chance that they were in fact doing something immoral and going into that den of sin that Kirche called a bedroom landed her an eyeful of it.

Whatever ‘it’ might be.

And Ryo-Ohki, founder bless her cute little ravenous soul, had gone out on what Louise suspected to be another gluttonous rampage of mythic proportions hopefully somewhere far, far away. Unlikely as that might be.

That was why, after polishing off dinner and a fine 3 part chocolate dessert as they had agreed, Ryoko was not present when Louise was approached by an unsavoury character.

“Ms.Valliere, a moment of your time if you will?” the man whom she did not recognize spoke up from his perch, leaning against the wall, “We have some business to discuss, you and I.”

Louise looked up almost startled The man in her path wore a noble’s garb, right down to the puffed out pants with leggings which Louise herself found patently ridiculous, and her mother had often dismissed as a one of the fanciful pastime of fops and fools.

Curling her lip, the young noble lady found herself disliking the scrutiny of this court dandy’s penetrating gaze. “I seem to be disadvantaged sir, for I know neither to whom I speak, nor what our business might be.”

The man simply smiled, leaning back with what he must have felt a charming look and a grin below his curling mustache, “Under normal circumstances I would have sent a summons, that we might have spoken in less...” he shifted his gaze about their environs, “...unpolished settings. But as luck would have it, I‘m forced to be here for matters of some import, and you happen to be here as well. So in the spirit of the good hunter I shall kill two birds with one stone.”

“You still haven’t added a name to your face, lord...?” Louise probed.

“Lords no, I am Count Mott of the Crashing Wave. And you my dear lady Valliere have taken something which I’ve had my eye on for a very long time.” The man’s expression hardened with every word, peeling away layers of foppish inadequacy and unbidden charm until only the cold hard eyes of a predator cornering prey remained.

This may have cowed another, but Louise was brought up under the gaze of manticores and worse, She lowered her eyes in deference to his rank alone, but her steady voice spoke with no hint of intimidation, “I am aware of that which you speak, Count Mott. It is not yours, and I do not intend to give it to you in completion, loan, or otherwise.”

“Be reasonable Ms.Valliere. You are but an untitled lady of the court. Do you really believe that you could impede my efforts in recovering what is mine by right?” His voice remained calm and steady as well.

“No I could not. But Seista is mine. Make no mistake my lord. She is not ever going to be yours so long as she desires freedom from your clutches. I stake my name on that.”

“Arrogant brat, do you really believe that you can keep hold of her? Your name? Surely you jest? You’ve no connections and no support. Do you really believe that you can throw your family name at me Ms.Valliere? I’ve been looking into you... the Zero.” he grinned as she flinched. “Oh yes, I’m quite aware of your affliction and your status. Do you really think that a lady with no connections, no power of her own and a family on the verge of disowning her could truly turn aside a man of my standing? Child, learn your place and behave. The Valliere family would hardly brook rallying support behind its youngest daughter with the least personal prospects for the sake of a plebeian Maid.”

In anger the Valliere scion gritted her teeth. Every word spoken was truth, and like knives they cut deep.

“Besides young miss, what does it gain you to hold on to her so tightly? Is it as the rumours say? Do I have my eye on your favorite toy?” He scoured her with every question leaving a barely controlled rage to flicker behind her eyes.

“The contemptible lies of abhorrent gossips eager to stain another’s name rather than build up their own.” Her right hand itched to dart forward and strike out against the man before her. His viper’s tongue left her pained with every exchange of words, but his greater rank, and the rule which bound her like steel itself crushed her desires.

“Is that so? Well perhaps the lady doth protest too much?” he revelled in the flash of anger which shot through her gaze. “In any event, I will offer this to you clearly, no word games and no tricks, only a deal laid out between noble parties. You are a woman without prospects, few connections, no power, and no future. The only connection you’ve ever had was your position as royal playmate... and clearly you’ve managed to alienate yourself from our lovely princess.” He saw her twitch for an outburst but silenced it with an advance and a glance. “Oh don’t try to lie about it, after all someone in your position would be shoring up whatever small amount of support you can in order not to be all but exiled into obscurity or married off for political expediency.”

Louise bit her tongue; words flung carelessly here would simply become ammunition for her opponent.

“So I’ll extend you a wonderful vision of the future. One day soon your marriage contract will be up for discussion, and your family will seek to recover the embarrassment of your lack of magical capability. Then suddenly someone will come and offer a dowry of great proportions, almost as if their daughter was a noble girl of true worth. When that day comes, that daughter, being a loyal child of her parents, will join this man in the marriage bed until such time as an heir is produced between them. And long after as well. That is, unless she is willing to give up the service of a certain maid in her employ as a... token... of her new found affections. Or said maiden joins her mistress in the wedding bed for lovely games of marital bliss.” All though his scenario, the count leaned forward upon his staff, maintaining a malignant grin. It was one which seeped into the pores with its greasy slick sickness. “I am not a man who takes being cheated laying down. And I do not tolerate anything which I want being out of my reach. Even someone as deficient in charms as you are.”

Louise felt queasy even talking to the man before her, but anger quickly replaced ill-ease, and her hand moved unbidden. The crack of flesh against flesh cried out across empty halls only to be swallowed up by the ringing silence which followed.

Dual expressions of shock and anger painted both noble faces, though one would begin to curl itself into a snarl of grave ire as his own much heavier hand lifted to reciprocate in kind.

But it was a blow which was never to come.

Behind the nobleman Ryoko stood, her own hand curled like a vice about his forearm, her face wearing only an icy veil which hid her furious heart. She squeezed, almost as if hoping for satisfaction to ooze out from the gripped limb.

“Hello naughty boy. I see you were playing with my little Louise.” Her breath tickled his jaw playfully, yellow slit eyes glowing like a cat enjoying a cornered mouse. “Now I don’t really mind what she plays with so long as she washes her hands afterwards... but when things like you start playing back rough,” she squeezed enough to bring him to his knees, “I like to come and join in.”

The nobleman’s ashen face turned green when his eyes fell upon the beautiful visage of the one who held him. The beauty of her face stood at odds with the bestial orbs which locked their gaze with his own. Furthermore she was still halfway sunk into the wall.

“And I don’t play well with others.” With fist cocked back, Ryoko began the motion for a slow heavy punch. Let the bastard see it coming for all that he could stop it. But the crux of the moment, a spike of panic raced its way through the link at realization of Ryoko’s action. And in that moment Ryoko too reacted, as her arm phased its way through the nobleman’s face, his crossed eyes staring at the place where it slid effortlessly in above the nose.

She let the arm stay that way for several moments, then withdrew it slowly back out the way it came.

Breathing a sigh of relief at the lack of continued escalation, Louise closed her eyes and spoke in slow clear tones. “Count Mott. With all due respect, I do not know what has brought you here, and I do not care. Your threats are empty, even if you don’t know it. You are a pathetic man with whom I will never have relations, and should that change I believe my familiar here may well have objections. Objections that may involve your ability to create heirs in the future. Please keep this in mind.”

Through clenched teeth the nobleman spoke, bitter anger clear in every word. “Yes. I think I shall. But know that you and I are not done, lady Valliere... not at all.”

The gentle clip clop of his boots were all that were heard as the man turned, refusing to acknowledge the apparition which had apprehended his arm, and left the way he came.

“So... gonna tell me what that was all about kiddo?” Ryoko enquired.

The silence spoke volumes which the link appended with feelings of unhappiness fused with mild violation.

In the silence Ryoko studied her summoner. So vibrant and willful, the tall woman often forgot just how small and fragile her Louise could be, a thought which prompted a wave of possessiveness and protectiveness which was as obvious in the link as the sun rising in at the dawn.

“Weren’t you going to spend the night with Kirche and Tabitha?” Louise asked, unable to keep the warble of jealousy from her thoughts and her voice.

“Yeah... I was. But then something more important came up.” Ryoko smiled

Though Louise said nothing, schooled her expressions into smooth blankness, Ryoko could feel the pleasant warmth of gratitude bathing her in their shared bond.

In companionable quiet they entered their room together, and shut the door on the world outside.

**********************************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*************************************

Along quiet corridors two figures hurried, their visages obscured by simple cloaks as they made their way in silence.

“Over here, my liege.” One whispered. A feminine but coarse voice spoke while reaching a rough gloved hand over to the other whose own delicate attire seemed suited to receiving the gesture.

“Thank you.” The second spoke, her voice showing the careful refinement of practiced precision. “We must hurry, lest my duplicity be discovered.”

The first shook her head and rolled her eyes within the confines of her hood. “You speak as if this were a clandestine operation and not an overly quiet social call, my lady.”

“My dearest Captain, sometimes there are two birds to be killed and a single stone suffices.” A cocksure grin crossed delicate features, causing her protector to sigh.

“I’m sure that saying only works my liege, where the hand throwing the stone doesn’t happen to be one of the birds being taken.” The Captain made her sardonic reply.

“Oh, don’t worry so much.” Spoke the noble lady. “I’m sure any trouble will find itself being treated to the edge of your razor wit.”

The Captain merely sneered in a private parody of her lady’s reprisal. She’d lay her life down for the girl, that much was a given... but some days following the letter of that oath she’d made to her lady made protecting her a giant chore..

“Now stop worrying Captain. We’re almost there, and once we’re in Louise’s room you can rest easy. I promise.” The noble lady smiled. Really Agnes proved every day that she was indeed the best of the best for this job. Loyal and competent to the extreme. One could argue that she absolutely had to be, to have been placed at the head of her majesties guard complement. Henrietta’s very own unofficial musketeer corps, the proposed praetorian guard of the princess herself. Despite that, the girl really did need to relax ever so often. Her long service to the crown, and namely to Henrietta since that fateful day when a brave young soldier saved the life of her sovereign liege, had left Agnes more than a little bit paranoid when it came to Henrietta’s safety. A safety the princess seemed hell bent on disregarding.

Agnes silently bet that for all her faults, Henrietta’s queen mother had never been this much trouble to her guardians.

“Princess. Even if you told me you were just going over to lock yourself in the deepest vault in Tristain and stay there till you were old and gray, I’d be worrying. You don’t do anything by half measures. I didn’t expect to be following you, sneaking around the place. I expected at most to be doing the sneaking for you.” The stress of an age old argument augmented her voice with a passionate cadence.

“Oh, don’t worry so much. It’s only a quick jaunt over to my best and oldest friend’s room in the most magically secure place in all of Tristain. Really, what’s the worst that could happen?” Henrietta smiled that innocent, ‘I’m a helpless princess’ smile which she so loved to use when being mischievous, a reminder that she was anything but.

The captain merely stopped and stared. “My liege... I have no words... except maybe please go inside before something actually does happen. Making temptations for fate to take you up on is a poor pastime.”

“Oh Agnes,” the princess spoke fondly to her immediate subordinate, “you worry entirely too much.”

But the serious look did not leave her face, “Because you, princess, worry entirely too little.”

When the two approached the room Henrietta was surprised to find it locked, and all hint of light within the room extinguished. It seemed as if Louise had chosen to turn in particularly early that night.

“Well doesn’t this just ruin all that careful planning of yours?” The captain her majesty’s musketeers grinned smugly.

Henrietta merely grinned in return. “Oh ye of little faith. You should know I hold the skeleton keyword to all the magelocks.” Indeed Henrietta did, for within the intrinsic casting scripts was an algorithm which allowed members of Tristain’s royal family near unlimited access to the magelocked vaults, secret doors and other places under Official Tristainian edict.

Magelocks were popular with nobles, though hard to create or procure normally. A very limited form of gargoyle, enchanted with an innovative rune set which empowered the earthen magic of the construct. Between the nurturing aspects of earth, and its galvanizing aspect, the rune set would allow the enchantment to slide, its complex commands balancing hardening the lock against magic, or encouraging the metal to shift and reshape itself against physical intrusion; until the runes could take no more and with a tortured scream alerted the entire household of tampering. Though not perfect, the Magelock had become a cornerstone of Tristain’s small scale defense against spies trying to steal the secrets of a household. The lock itself would grow thin threads, much like a fungus, all across the surface of whatever it was placed to defend. It ensured that within a matter of days, or weeks for larger areas, its target was enfolded in a skin which defended against all forms of intrusion, able to shift the bulk of its mass and the majority of its power to the spots where it might be needed. It was under Osmond’s design schema that royally employed mages could recreate, with some difficulty, the complex inner workings of the magics which ran them. And even then it was still a bit of a mystery to any but Osmond himself. The component runes worked in precise but encrypted ways, which seemed all but incomprehensible to anyone else. Many attempts to copy and replicate them had been made, but without understanding how the true words of Osmond’s insufferable syntax and structural puzzles interacted, any deviation from the original schema would ultimately produce a similar but inferior product.

With Osmond’s constant tinkering had also come a system of ‘tuning’ the Magelock spells across the board from afar should the worst befall the current royal head, allowing the newest monarch sole access in a rapid fashion. It was just another example of the innovations which had kept Tristain from being completely eroded by its neighbours within the last forty odd years of the headmaster’s tenure. Of course such things were state secrets of the highest order and allowing the knowledge of it to even the captain of her personal musketeers was a risky proposition. But Henrietta had come to trust the woman beside her like she did her own right hand and had long ago informed her of this ability.

With a few gently spoken and timed words, many of which were gibberish, Henrietta simply commanded the lock open, by royal decree.

As they entered the two young women were greeted by a dark room, the only light which shone was that of the pale full moon and its quarter phased twin. Carefully they stepped inside, closing the door behind themselves with a gentle, but audible click.

But before they could take even two steps forward, each cloaked woman found their necks encircled by the grip of slender yet powerful hands from behind.

“I don’t suppose you two might be thieves, eh?” A woman’s voice behind them whispered, her playful tone belying the unnatural strength with which she lifted them off the ground by their necks. They had to strain on tip toe to avoid strangulation. “So who wants to speak up? I’m listening?”

The strangled noises which came from their throats indicated that speech was not an actual option, with each breath becoming a struggle for survival. The female soldier was not about to be cowed by mere asphyxiation, reaching for her knife as she strained against the iron grip. Agnes flipped it upward, slamming it into the exposed armpit of her captor then dragging it down to cause maximum damage. The woman yelled out in the darkness, loosening her grip on Agnes for the brief moment needed for the young blond woman to grab the arm holding her for the leverage to drive a double press kick into the spot where the knife was already sticking out.

With that the young woman was able to struggle free, rolling to the ground and reading her loaded gun for use.

“Fuck.” The abnormally powerful creature muttered, turning to face its escaped prey while holding the other in a much closer bar grip. “That stings you little bitch. This is what I get for going easy on people.”

Agnes looked up directly into the eyes of a nightmare. At first she’d assumed that this was a vampire attack, in itself a fearful proposition, but the eyes... the eyes of that thing told her differently. In the darkness they glowed a silent gold, predatory in nature, and while not vampiric they were representative of an unknown threat, one which still held the princess in its iron grip.

“What is going on here?” a voice from behind Agnes spoke up. “Ryoko what are you doing, who are these people in my room?”

And from her struggling grip the purple haired girl gasped. “Louise, help us...” the young Valliere, shocked by the familiarity of the voice clapped twice, activating the spell upon her nightlight, only to release a gasp of mortified astonishment.

“Princess Henrietta? Ryoko let her down at once!” Louise sounded frantic and aghast. Before her stood a nightmare of titanic proportions, the princess gripped in a choke hold by her very own familiar... standing in combat with one of the Princess’ own guards. Louise dived to her knees in prostration, hoping to ease the ire of her monarch.

Ryoko immediately, though reluctantly, complied. Convinced by the panic which she felt coming from louise.

With a sigh of relief the princess felt about her neck, the flesh there was bruised and marked with dark imprints where Ryoko’s fingers had been. She would need to heal the bruising as best she could once back in her own room.

“No, no Louise, rise. It was no fault of yours that we chose to sneak into your room.” The princess said. “Though I must admit that I hadn’t expected such a vigilant or strong guardian when I found you... Agnes what’s wrong? Lower your weapon.”

“I’m sorry your majesty, but you should turn around and see just what is in here ‘guarding’ your friend.” Never once did the blond captain’s gaze nor gun waver..

When Henrietta turned, what she saw was not something that she could have expected at all. “Oh founder... Louise... how... how is it that you have come to acquire the services of an elf? And what is it doing here in the academy?” Her voice was cracking about the edges with swallowed fear, and her heart pounded within her chest at the nearness to this enemy of mankind; the very boogieman which haunted the nightmares of the young all across Halkeginia.

“Ryoko is not an elf your majesty.” Louise groveled from her position on the ground. “She is my familiar, by rights of the sacred ceremony. Branded on her right hand is proof of our relationship.”

“Bloody thing looks like an elf to me.” The gunwoman still held her weapon trained upon the creature which stood before her, its eyes almost bored despite the knife which still was jammed in what should have been an excruciating position, lodged as it was in the hip bone.

“Agnes, put up the gun.” The princess scolded her bodyguard, and then ran her eyes across the knife where it was still buried in flesh. “Ryoko is it? Is that... painful?” she asked hesitantly pointing to the knife.

“Hmm... Oh right, almost forgot about that.” Ryoko spoke with carelessly abandon, proceeding to literally rip the knife from its lodgings, and then hand it over directly to the young lady who had so neatly put it there. Cautiously the blond gun maiden holstered her rifle, and then accepted the knife, its edge coated with something clear, clingy, and clammy. She wiped it carefully then placed it back in the hidden sheath from which she’d drawn it.

“Louise, get up, get up.” The princess spoke, dropping to her knees and with a guiding hand and raising Louise from her supplicants bow, “My dearest Louise... it is alright, your familiar was simply doing her duty, and for that there can be no blame. If anything the blame for this incident lies with me for the cloak of secrecy with which I’ve opted to operate with. We can simply count our blessings that nothing more... unpleasant... happened here.”

“You are most gracious your majesty.” Louise answered; face still flushed a nervous pink.

“Wait, wait lemme get this straight.” The brash golden eyed woman interjected, “This is the princess of the country right? I knew it! You know her... you never said a word about being buddy, buddy with her royal highness. What gives, Louise?”

“It’s none of your business Ryoko.” Louise snapped, and then threw her a fierce glare. The glare was promptly ignored in favour of continuing to press the question.

“Louise and I have been playmates from the time that we both could walk. We’ve been getting into trouble together for that long as well.” The princess smiled as she serenely reminisced, then pressed one finger gently against protesting lips. “A fond time that I will forever treasure.”

“I too will always treasure the memories of those days, your majesty.” Louise also smiled as the finger withdrew, Ryoko giving her an odd glance as feelings of love and loyalty flowed freely.

“So much time has passed since we last greeted each other. Too much time.” The princess sighed. “Since my father passed away there’s just been no time for anything personal.” Then the princess perked up from her wistful thoughts, “So tell me about your familiar Louise, I had heard rumours that you’d summoned something strange and human-like... but nothing so extravagant as this lady before us. Not even your letters hinted at a creature such as she.”

Louise blushed, feeling doubly guilty at having hidden all mention of Ryoko even from this her best friend and ruler. “I didn’t want her to become common knowledge... and the headmaster has been so kind as to provide interference for me despite nefarious claims. The ceremony of summoning... it was frantic.”

Louise then began to spin the tale of her summoning, and the subsequent fight which followed, and then a brief history of events after that point. By its end the princess sat, dumbstruck by the demonstrated power of the self-professed space pirate. The battle they described sounded like something out of a blowhard bard’s tale, something reserved for the greatest of square classed opponents clashing. And even then not so much, most mages fought in a conservative manner.

““That is… a shocking admission.. Despite how easily manhandled we were coming in, the feats which you have described are... astonishing. In fact I’d think it self-aggrandizement and hyperbole if not for the source of these revelations.” The princess spoke, concern evident upon her face. “And you say that she and this boy, General Gramont’s youngest son, have been practice dueling every day since you two woke up?”

Louise nodded meekly.

“And that she also has a familiar... and that it ate every magical artefact in the vault...?” Louise paled at this one. “And continues to ravage objects of magic wherever she goes? Frankly Louise, I can’t really hold you responsible for that, but the fallout from it could have been immense if we didn’t have Fouquet to place the blame on. Even blaming Fouquet has its problems, her fame already rises and her defiance of the law and order of my lands makes too clear an example which says our strength may be waning. For all that it needs to be so if am to keep any overly ambitious demands for your punishment from surfacing, in all honesty I am not very eager for this deception, and you my dear friend, aren’t particularly good with obfuscation.”

Louise’s embarrassment was clear, there was no need to read it in the link, as was painted upon her face. “I apologize deeply your majesty. If it were some way that I could take the blame on this alone, without exposing you to critics, I would.”

“I know Louise. But sometimes we must deal as fate plays. Besides, even if we could do that, I would not choose that option. There is no way that I could allow my dearest companion to be thrown to the wolves even if it provided political convenience.” The stern look upon the princess’ face conveyed her honesty.

From the side, came a clapping noise, as Ryoko moved from her wall perch. “Well, well, could it be that the little princess has some backbone to her? Good. It would be a shame if a fireball like my summoner here was serving a coward or a fool.” The words sounded more of a compliment than a threat, but Agnes eased closer to her charge, gripping her gun lightly for a quick draw if needs be.

Still the princess took them in the spirit they were delivered, “Thank you Lady Ryoko. And thank you again also for choosing to protect this person who is amongst those dearest to me in the world.”

Ryoko simply nodded, as if taking only what was her due.

“Now Louise, I know that you’ve been excited to compete, and goodness knows I too have wanted to see you present your familiar to the world formally,” at this Louise beamed, “but entering the competition would be detrimental to all attempts at keeping this secret from gaining credibility amongst those who might use it against you or the crown.”

Louise’s smile quickly waned into an expression of pure disappointment, however this did not last for very long as it was almost immediately countered by a sudden royal hug.

“Above and beyond everything else, your wellbeing is my concern. I only ask that you think of ways that you might in turn serve Tristain with the good fortune which has been bestowed upon you in the form of your familiar.” Henrietta continued as she pulled back from the hug, briefly brushing hair the colour of royalty from her eyes.

Ryoko watched the exchange with a feigned nonchalance. Her gold eyes keeping both of the strange new players within at least peripheral vision range while testing and tasting the emotions which flittered their way through the link. Love and devotion were almost unbearably strong as Louise gazed admiringly at her princess. As far as Ryoko could see, in Louise’s eyes her beloved friend and ruler could do no wrong. Even this impromptu visitation, through doors which should have been locked and magically protected, seemed to be no more than the princess’ right in her eyes.

The mixture and potency of these emotions said one thing alone to Ryoko, If that woman, warm and kindly seeming as she was, were to order Louise’s immediate death and give a ‘good’ enough reason the young woman would go along with it in dogged determination. To Ryoko this was profoundly disturbing. Even if she’d not gained her own freedom, to find that the one she’d pledged loyalty and service to have such a thick chain hung about her neck....

Frankly the power which the Purple haired royal had over the pink haired noble... it scared Ryoko to recognize such a deeply ingrained bond. No...She did not like it in the least.

It was almost painful to watch the usually headstrong young lady place herself kneeling before the princess, “Now and forever, my liege, I will be your sword, your shield, and your staff as needs be. By will and steel.”

Henrietta nodded, “By will and steel, as you have spoken in our youth. It is a promise which I shall never forget Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere, even as children barefoot and wild we were as sisters together and you’d touched me with your offers of fealty and protection. Through thick, and thin, you are to me pledged, and I am honoured to hold this trust between us. By the motto of your house, by the rule so strong it is writ in steel with a will that is ever stronger still.”

Ryoko’s seething but lidded distaste simmered as the young woman took the hand of her beloved princess, kissing it with an air of formality.

With the finality of an ended ceremony, Henrietta raised Louise up from bended knee and kissed both cheeks. “Seeing you again has been a rare kind of happiness dear Louise. I thank you for your reception of me unannounced.”

“I couldn’t ever turn you away princess... Henrietta. Even if our circumstances were reversed and our places different in the eyes of the founder and god, I would always welcome you the same.” Louise was all smiles, despite its startling difficulties, the visit had been wonderful, and even the tickling feeling of watchfully reserved jealousy from her familiar could not get her down. So long as she behaved herself well in the princess’ presence things would be just fine.

And with that they departed. Agnes and Henrietta both replacing the hood and pulled their cloaks forward to hide within, then all but bolted out the door.

Louise turned a speculative eye on her familiar, a strange sense of pleasure and entitlement settling in over her. “You know there’s no need for you to be jealous of the princess,” her voice teasingly pleasant.

Wisely Ryoko had but a single reply.

“Shut up Louise...” leaving her already near deliriously happy summoner to bask in the gloating afterglow.

Outside of the room the princess and her guardian made their way out like thieves in the night.

Hurriedly the two figures moved through the academy halls, one pausing briefly to touch her wand against a section of wall, which gave way to a door of rippling stone. With urgency both bounded through the arch of living rock, and then like ghosts, vanished into now settled wall.

“You lie with a soft tongue your Majesty.” The Guard Captain spoke lightly, her words eliciting an unseen pinking of cheeks.

“So, are we done here now? Can I get you back to the secure location?” asked Agnes nervously as they stepped into the cool dark passage. After the surprise they’d received from Henrietta’s friend, and her uncanny familiar, the Musketeer captain wanted nothing better than to have the princess back in a room that could be considered safe and secure. Not that knowing there was a pseudo-elfling able to walk through walls and fight with the fury of a square class mage lurking about the halls brought any peace of mind whatsoever... but for now she’d take what she could get.

“Oh no Agnes, we are still in the flight path. Only one bird has been struck and it nears time for the other to show.” Henrietta grinned that insufferable grin of hers, easily mistaken for a smile, gentle and pure. Purity and kindness were her most vaunted traits to the public, but she was no saint. The girl sometimes surprised the blonde captain with how twisty her mind could get. Still she was perhaps one of the most friendly, loving people whom Agnes had ever known, and her heart had much room in it. Hell, she’d even summoned a Unicorn as her own personal familiar.

“And just why do we care about this bird?” Agnes asked almost petulantly, though never quite sounding anything but purely professional.

“Why he is the greater reason I’ve come to the academy.” Henrietta paused almost as if for dramatic effect. “He is one of my espionage agents, with a taste for exotic gossip, and a certain skill at procuring manuscripts.”

“And I’m supposing that I do not know who this man is... and that you plan to keep it that way.” Agnes asked, suspicion settling into her bones..

“Why yes, my dearest Captain! After all I doubt you’d be able to stay in a room with him for more than a few minutes without attempting to remove his... eh... manly virtues... So do forgive me for sparing you his presence.” Henrietta smiled, this time a bit more apologetically.

Agnes was not convinced. “Sounds like the exact kind of trouble you don’t need hanging about you right now, princess.”

“Yes, hence why it was so useful for me to have beloved Louise in the vicinity. If you hit both birds with enough skill, you can always claim to have only slain one, and come back to collect the other in stealth.” Henrietta lectured.

“Henrietta. You don’t need to be your grandfather.. Scheming doesn't suit you. Though you wear it well enough right now.” Agnes half commended, half scolded.

“Thank you dear Agnes. I truly couldn’t do without you. But even if the cloak doesn’t fit me, I need to wear it with a certain ease. If not I may see my beloved home fall to chaos within my lifetime... and I cannot... Will not fail father at that. He worked too hard to keep the dirtier aspects of rule from stressing mother after grandfather died, for me to allow it all to fall apart at the seams. What with the Albionese rebellion and the rash of peasant revolts which have been plaguing us of late. If I cannot stabilize the kingdom soon... between my mother’s long absence from anything like rule and all the ills which her withdrawal from governance has permitted to fester, the fermentation of unrest and rebellion threatens to cripple us.” There was passion, and fierce conviction in her voice.

For a moment, there was silence between them. “I just want to know what the hell it is that you had to come out this way all by yourself to get it.” Agnes asked, tilting her head in honest curiosity.

“Not alone. For you are with me.” Henrietta replied cheerfully, a smile holding up against dark tides. “And if I am right, that Manuscript holds some very important secrets for those of royal descent. Secrets which may mean the difference between us being overrun with the machinations of rapacious Galia or Germania’s fractious princes, or the Romalian heads of state. They may even save us from attracting the eyes every first born predator that might take advantage of such weakness. Already I am to give my troth for the safety of our realm to such a man as that barbarian Emperor of Germania... but the things I hunt here might even undo that need. Secrets that may well allow us escape the bitter crush of forces which we never perceived until too late.” The grave tone which her voice took on as she spoke was undeniable.

“...Surely you exaggerate, your highness?” Agnes frowned in concern.

The princess smiled. “Yes, more than a little bit... though not quite as much as you might think. Besides that, I need to know more about the movement which threatens my cousin. There are too many rumours flying about, and I need someone with experience who can sort out what is true from what is not. Even if that someone would be too scandalous for me to associate with through regular channels.” Henrietta admitted.

“...That just makes me like this all the less. Especially after the last part of your bright idea...” Agnes replied, still sore over the entire ‘being dangled off the floor by her neck’ thing which had happened those few minutes ago. “And besides that, just how much does the good Cardinal know about what you profess?”

Henrietta grimaced. “I’ll admit I may have left him out of my confidence, for sake of over-zeal. But I’m determined to see my plans though to fruition. At least even if it is something Mazarin does know, we can at least compare notes with whatever information I manage to acquire. Besides, he’d want to protect me from all the ‘harsher aspects’, as is his habit. I do not wish to be shielded from unpleasant truths.”

“Unfortunately such truths have a tendency to have sharp teeth and unyielding jaws, your highness.” Agnes spoke, a bitter lit to her tone.

Henrietta sighed, tired of the gloomy outlook of her guardian. “Granted.But there’s no need to be so serious at the moment, dear Agnes. We can find a way through this morass... even if my beloved Queen mother has not made it an easy task. And if nothing else, we’ve just discovered that one weak friend and ally has overnight become something far greater. And that loyalty still binds her to me with an uncanny strength. At least in that respect, the world is looking rose coloured indeed.”

The knight-captain merely grunted in reply as their neared the next exit passage and the next leg in their travels.

******************xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx******************

The day of competition came and the reckless shine of a gloating sun stared down upon the proceedings, all the while the princess sat serenely upon the raised stage, watching the event from her exalted position. One by one the students stood, bowing before an eager crowd and commanded their beasts, of air and earth and water and flame to strut their stuff before one of the great ladies of the land.

It was amateur talent night and Ryoko was capital B bored.

Oh the creatures on parade were interesting enough, well to the extent to which such things could interest her, but Tsunami dammit those nobles really knew how to suck the fun out of what could have been a good time.

First of all the most of the little idiots had at best cursory understanding of how to exploit the abilities of their familiars, most opting for whatever cute or slightly showy ability could be flashed about like a flag. It was silly and unimaginative. With the sheer varieties of creatures on display, both individually and (if they had any brains) together as a team, they could make something beyond this sad mockery of a production.

Granted some of the creatures themselves were interesting. Like that bugbear thing. Idly she wondered where it was from, what forces allowed it to carry out its floating, bobbing flight, and even what had shaped its form. Her concerns amounted to little beyond personal idle speculation, but the fact remained; summoned creatures like Kirche’s Flame, and Guichie’s Verthandi were for the most part just treated as overly pampered exotic pets.

Thinking of those two, Ryoko glanced about to ascertain Louise’s other friend’s immediate whereabouts. Kirche had already gone up and come back down, having had her Flame whip up tongues of his namesake into the air leaving trails of almost artistic fire. Guiche and his Verthandi did a bit more than Ryoko’d expected, having his beloved Mole-beast flip him up into the air with its mighty digging claws then dig its way to the location where he would land to do it again until the final flip put him back upon the podium where the entire act had started. It would have been a better act if the blonde fool had managed to make most of his landings with his feet rather than his behind. Ryoko of course laughed her ass off at this.

While this was going on, Ryo-Ohki ran about the field between the seats of the students, finding good laps and hugs, and the occasional loose enchanted item with which to satisfy herself. Ryoko continued to be utterly amused at the way in which the great Blue Dragon of Kirche’s friend ran and hid behind her master like a scared little girl whenever Ryo-Ohki got too close. Ryo-Ohki still seemed somewhere between puzzled and resigned to this fact. Ryoko resolved to give her a hug over the whole matter once she was ready to share the details. She suspected it had something to do with the... bit of fun, which they’d found the two creatures involved in within the town. Tabitha had been surprisingly good about paying off the damages. It wasn’t every day that a big blue dragon appeared in the middle of town.

Curiously, Louise’s new buddy, Montmorency seemed to be missing from the area, her act with Robin jumping thought cute little hoops had gone on near the beginning of the entire show. She must be looking for Louise, Ryoko decided; fine by her, after all if Monmon was with Louise that was one less thing for Ryoko to worry about.

Quietly Ryoko settled back into her seat on a nearby ledge, careful not to startle the guard who had been standing watch from it. She’d seen the poor sod before, and his solution to handling the fact that she existed was to ignore, ignore, ignore, so long as no official orders about her were given. It helped when ordered to be quiet about things by powerful mages, to learn how to hold one's tongue and ignore strange happenings studiously.

With a slight yawn, Ryoko stretched. The tubby wind kid was up, his owl showing off some swooping and a few agile turns but there was not a mote of anything special between them. The runes which alit on the underside of its wing seemed to gleam with an eldritch glow in her eyes every time the bird was given a complex order to follow. Sardonically Ryoko smiled to herself. If she remembered right about the species, there was no way in which a normal one would be able to follow the complex and somewhat vague orders which the tubby child was giving it. The runes which printed themselves beneath the creature’s wing seemed to be in some way boosting the intellectual capacity of the creature. In the back of her head a mini-Kagato looked on intrigued, dissecting the idea of the runes and the power which lay behind them. Clearly these primitives possessed something akin to the power of Jurai, warping the very nature of reality to suit their whims, but these localized transitions seemed to be governed by an internal logic. They also seemed in to match and permeate parts of the environment in some ways..

After being branded with that rune across her forehead, Ryo-Ohki seemed to be able to take far more in-depth sensory investigations into the power which she could now see clear as day. Somehow the rune had tuned Ryo-Ohki’s senses to key aspects of the structural warping of the conceptual layer of reality, and how that shifting forced the physical world to transform around it.

Though an ability which Ryo-Ohki had been built with in the first place, the runes seemed focus and direct it, informing her sister of the specific nature of the shifts and how each change in the conceptual structure culminated into what seemed like real world effects, could be looked at in the light of a coding language. Ryoko didn’t take long to pick up the implications of this though she herself did not retain much in the way of conceptual layer manipulation without her gems, an ability which was a side effect of the wholesale manipulation properties which the gems enabled. Over the years neither she nor Kagato had been able to unlock the full potential of the gems, not even enough to see what their true limits were. Luckily for her he’d become obsessed with the much more accessible power of Jurai. The Juraians may have guarded that power zealously but it was a power well documented even if not completely understood. To an extent, conceptual layer manipulation was one of Kagato’s specialties, and his obsession with the power of Jurai to not only alter the conceptual layer but actually order it to carry out functions without brute forcing it intrigued him. It was the difference between coding a program using the raw machine language from scratch, and using a pre-coded editor to make limited but incredibly complex changes. There were things, incredible unreal things, which the Juraians could do with their power. Things he could learn and apply.

Her former master had wanted it all.

Ryoko shook her head. Thinking about Kagato was the fastest direction to a headache really. The dull procession of imbecilic amateur showmanship continued to parade its way across the stage. Boredom set into her bones and muted any possible enjoyment of the event with the urge to curl up and just sleep here in the heights. About the most interesting thing in the here and now being a small lizard, a simple anole, crawling its way up the high stone walls.

For but a brief moment, curiosity overcame apathy and she directed her attentions to the tiny struggler as it made its way across the mostly smoothed granite surface of the castle wall. But the blasted thing was moving away from her... she wanted it to get closer.

A light tingle tickled the runes which engraved her right hand, and all at once the small creature stopped its scurrying. Almost as if confused the little beast shook its tiny head, then all at once burst into sudden motion swerving its way back towards the ancient pirate of spaces vast between the stars.
The creature seemed to mull on her for the moment, its eyes unfocused and distant, even as it stilled before her. It only took a few moments of examining its stationary form for boredom to settle back into place. Ryoko pouted... now if only she could get this little critter to put on a show, maybe she could dispel her boredom by seeing the entertainment for this fools event done right. Once more her right hand tingled, a sensation which this time prompted her to pay attention to it, even as the little lizard began to do a merry dance... the very same dance which had been in her mind’s eye when she thought of it putting on a show.

One eyebrow lifted as the ancient pirate turned her less mundane senses to the task of probing her imprinted tattoo. She’d studied the thing before, wondering how it had been able to fuel her conceptual level abilities, including the summoning and management of those spirit beasts which she’d called forth in playing with her new Student. Unfortunately the Tattoo itself seemed to be only a link to a larger conceptual construct which both processed and fed energy and information to her mark when it was active. This meant that unless she triggered the entire conceptual program, she could only ever see the link with which she was marked, and the section of the program which she was affecting at the moment of activation. She’d grown bored of the entire thing after that and put it aside. After all if it worked, it worked. No need to stick her nose in beyond figuring out what she could get it to do. Ryoko’d just had no reason to delve back into its workings until now.

Silently she began to play, her newly noticed ability to command urging her onward as she began to imagine all manner of entertainments that her new thrall might provide. Standing on a stable portion of the wall, away from gravity’s downward grasp, the little creature lifted itself with a little difficulty onto its hind legs, and then began to dance. Fitting a sultry number which she’d once seen while raiding the halls of Makura-Mani to a more reptilian physique; Ryoko set the little creature to its routine.

As she continued to play with the small reptile, the thought began to dawn on her... yes... yes. A rush of surprise as her eyes widened in sudden realization and fist pounded into palm.

A Cheshire grin formed upon her sultry lips supplementing the twinkle of mischief in her eye as she dismissed the small creature from its mockery of a sensual sway.

It seemed as if Louise had forgotten all about her, moping about the school, out of view of anyone else in the courtyard who was watching the competition... completely away from every inkling that her familiar might be causing trouble beyond the link itself.

Good.

Ryoko smiled to herself. A problem easily solved. And with now practiced ease, she dimmed the sensitivity of that which passed between them. Mischief demanded a certain level of anonymity.

And future sweet treats passing Louise’s lips within the coming weeks ensured that duplicity need be kept from prying eyes, ears, and linked minds.

Even the connection via her faithful companion and sister was muted, keeping any possible feedback though the longer path of Ryo-Ohki in the loop from reaching the young girl whom Ryoko had sworn herself.

With that accomplished Ryoko donned her feral grin, and then proceeded to divide herself into several individuals. “Alright girls, we know the plan. So let’s get to it. Make sure this party’s one to remember!”

The multitude of voices cried out “HAI!” in synchronicity and then were gone, phasing away to their goals. With baleful purpose each apparition swam her way through air and rock and anything else which let her get close to each target, then whispered sweetly into the ears of those bound, the rune upon her right hand glowing in every instance.

And then, the howling began. Across the yard, every beast of canine form and relation began to howl, their plaintive cries filling the air and their breaths synchronized in the strangest surges of song. They were but the first signal in the madness which would commence.

In exalted motion each beast rushed its way into the forefront, aligning themselves into a pyramid, sorted by both size and rarity... and then, madness.

Sweeping out in fits and starts, all types, and elements represented in a flurry of sound and motion. Where a grand serpent grew forth nurturing grass, a dark hound set it ablaze, where a floating eye beast summoned forth crackling lightnings to its tentacle tips, a small mousy looking creature swelled its cheek sacks to call down mighty thunder. And all about indignant masters swore in embarrassed horror as their beasts ran amok, each one working with others to form what appeared to be total bedlam.

The princess started with wide eyes as all about her the familiars sprang into action. As she observed the goings on which suddenly plagued the courtyard all about her, her faithful musketeers drew into a tight circle. The watchful eye of her Guard Captain focused with hawkish intensity, casting her gaze all about the high towers and other places where a possible sniper might hide.

The triumph of thunderous noise continued to fill the once still air, bird familiars, bat familiars, and even an exotic winged serpent which belonged to a third year student who wasn’t even participating in the competition joined in with the merry bedlam, darting and weaving with serpentine grace all about the mad scramble. It flew leaving trails of beautiful light with its rainbow coloured feathers.

Above it all upon her podium seat, the princess of Tristain sat, surrounded by her guard in almost stupefied wonder. Henrietta had never heard of such an event before, this sudden insanity seemed almost unreal... and then she saw it. A glimpse of cyan within the crowd, there for an instant then gone in a flash. And in the place where eye had been drawn, she found a pattern emerge from the madness.

Order born from the burst of chaos.

A rainbow light and twists of flame framed parts of the chaotic event, changing everything from a rabble of disconnected motions to something more orderly. The chasing of a dog by its master, the bolt of flame diving though two seemingly quarreling creatures, the flurry of flitting wings... It all came together from where she stood, a caricature of personality and motion, much like some earth, wind, fire mage entertainers liked to do with panels of light and or surfaces, animating figures as surely as they could any golem or other construct.

It was almost a portrait of Louise’s familiar’s leering face putting on a rude gesture then moving into a knowing wink...

A glance to the side told her that Agnes too recognized the face and the ultimate meaning of this entire event, and was in no way, form or fashion pleased with the antics of the creature which had nearly killed her just the night before. Henrietta on the hand had to cover a most mirthful smile of delight, though her own mischievous streak was often buried under layers of duty she could still appreciate the trait so well expressed in another, especially the one protecting her closest, truest friend.

A heavy jawed turtle hung from the rear-end of one child, a dire rat chased down a guard with its iron teeth bared sharp, and a strange cattish-rabbit like creature circled the entire scene like a child delighted, floating on high with the soaring birds.

A princess grinned to herself behind her would be protectors.

Henrietta would have to think of some way to repay her dear friend for this present and reward what was by far the most entertaining familiar present. Even if she’d managed to make her entry on both stealth and confusion. Hmmm, maybe especially because of it. The official prize though would of course go to the blue dragon which circled in majestic avoidance of the Rabbit-thing below it.

And then with thoughts of Louise nestled in her mind... the other side of the campus exploded.