M.D.Syl
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Chapter 103 colorless
🕑 Added 2023-08-05 17:51:58 +0000 UTCChapter 103 The Aftermath of War.
Fear, doubts, and lies stems from the truth.
Much like how the shadows stems from the light.
Raise up your torches my sons and daughters.
Let’s chase away shadows and deceit from our world.
Noxi, Guardian of Light.
{28} Lokamesh (May) the 10th
I have a new mask on my face. My left wrist is in a wooden and cloth contraption that Jolla Silverquill has made, and she also wrapped some odd cloth bandages around my broken rib. Although, I still need to take pain tolerance potions daily or even talking would become a pain.
The palace kitchen is abuzz. Menservants and maids run out with used pots and come back in with pots filled with water for my potion operation. Marasi commends the preparation for food on the other side, and he has his own army of maids and manservants. I can barely see the various kitchen utensils and ovens due to the amount of people here who somehow manage to not get in each other's way.
I focus on my potion pot again. I am mass brewing lesser healing potions. Instead of a small cauldron, I do it in multiple giant pots that normally serve food for the whole castle. I have the maids doing most of the manual labor, while I cover the spell casting required for the potions at the correct time. I can't fit these large pots in my alchemy lab, so I have to do it right here, in the kitchen.
“Ton at revis, atno tonoar tonoto, kas rit ler tonoar atonome.” <Life and energy, here is some life’s blood, feed this water life’s healing.>
The blinding flash makes me wince. "Clean the pot." I order the maids as I move to the next pot on the fire. Another pot wasted.
I drop blood into the second pot. “Ton at revis, atno tonoar tonoto, kas rit ler tonoar atonome.” <Life and energy, here is some life’s blood, feed this water life’s healing.> This time the liquid turns scarlet red. Good! Now I have to get the spell right for the last one. I move to the next and repeat my spell successfully.
"Your Majesty. There's another riot. People are fighting over the potions again," Tasiya reports, red faced, still heavily panting from her run. "We need you to..."
"I can't leave these potions or we'll lose two pots. Where's Salik? Kolag? Go to them."
Tasiya tucks her gray hair away from her face, brown eyes observing the messy kitchen. "I've already sent maids, Your Majesty."
"They'll take care of it then. I need to finish this."
Tasiya wipes the sweat off her forehead with a handkerchief. "Your Majesty. Queen Tiara and Lady Jolla are waiting for you in the private meeting room."
Snakes! I facepalm, which turn into wiping my sweat off my forehead. I swiftly clean my hand right after to avoid contaminating the potions. "Snakes. I forgot! Let me finish these potions. Did she have any issue with lending me her men for the rebuilding effort?"
"She wants something for it," Tasiya says in an 'I told you so' tone. Of course she does.
"What about the orcs?" I ask.
"Lord Balgrum didn't object to putting his new slaves to work, Your Majesty." Tasiya circles the pot and looks into my eyes. "Your Majesty..."
I raise a hand to shut her up and spill small pile of fish scales and eyes into the second pot. “Fainim, nimalo, num asano riquill. Oue nimfai Rialuwe, rilasula. Nimakee si rilaluwe, akeloki si ril. Asano si aluwe nufilata.” <Life’s water, beauty, I (my) wish remember. Here’s a fish scale, eyes. Caress the wound, smooth the edge. May the skin flourish.>
I repeat the same for the second pot. "Don't prepare another pot." I order the maids as they bring another pot full of water from the outside. "Talk, Tasiya."
"Your Majesty. The orcs... they... ahem... they don't treat their slaves kindly, Your Grace."
Good! Those men deserve to suffer with what they've planned to do to this place. "That was my agreement with them, and I have bigger issues at the moment. Besides, those men tried to burn this city to the ground, they attempted to kill and rape everyone here. I couldn't care less about their fates. Especially since they'd all take you as slaves if they could."
"These two pots are healing potions." I point at the pair of pots with the bubbling red liquid. "Twenty potions each. Don't fill more than twenty flasks from each pot or they won't work." I've put twenty sets of materials in each pot, the water and the blood don't need to be duplicated, but everything else does. I've been doing this for a few days now, we have too many wounded and this is the least I can do.
When it comes to potions, the amount of liquid doesn't actually matter. The amount of materials used does. I do not know why it's like that, but this is how it works. On the bright side, I don't have to measure accurate amount of liquids, and can brew a large pot of potions at once. On the down side, I cannot use small amount of the same potion to heal myself multiple times. If it was all about the materials, I would've made tiny drop sized potions for everyone for healing and my would've been over a while ago.
"I'm going to see Tiara. Take care of this batch, it's the last for today." I turn to leave the kitchen, smoothing my skirt.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Tasiya bows.
I hurry through my blue carpeted hallways. I do my best to ignore the numbness my 'Pain Tolerance' potion creates in my head, or how sweaty I am.
I enter the cozy room, Tiara and Jolla are already seated around the mahogany table. Red banners cover the walls, standing in stark contrast to the blue carpets. A few yellow flower pots above the cold fireplace add another color to the room.
"Hey, Tiara, what seems to be the problem?" I take a seat and nods toward my dorm mate from the past.
"The Lady Jolla informed me you want Apricot City and Willow City. I planned to give you Green Pear City and Olive City." She points at the map that spreads across the table.
Really? Now of all times? I thought this was urgent, can't she see we're rebuilding things here?! Focus. This is important for later. I sigh and turn my full attention to the map, or as much as attention as I can with the odd numbness in my brain.
Apricot City and Willow City are both located on the wide river that splits this large island into two. While Green Pear City and Olive City are inland. Green Pear City is located on the other side of the vast forest near Red Cedar City, while Olive city is near a mountain chain further south. Tiara's capital is also on the river. If she keeps the two cities she wants, she'll have a strip of the river to herself.
Cities that are located on the river are easier to travel to, not to mention trade. It's clear why Tiara and Jolla are fighting over this. "Jolla?"
"You did not mention which cities in your agreement, that means we can take any two cities of our choosing," Jolla states, fixing her glasses on her white eyes as she observes Tiara with her.
Tiara folds her hands on her chest. "No. The cities I agree to, or there's no alliance."
They're both acting like children. Olive City is way too far for me. But I don't mind taking Green Pear City. "How about I'll take Green Pear City and Apricot City?" I ask. Those two are actually the closest to Red Cedar City. It'll give me a triangle with the vast forest in the middle.
Tiara hums and observes the map quietly.
"You'll keep the iron mines of Olive City," Jolla adds an incentive.
Tiara gets up. "I'll need to think about this. I also want to rewrite our terms of war alliance. I will not come to your aid in an offensive war, only a defensive one. I don't intend to attack anyone, and will not need similar aid."
I shrug. "That's fine. I don't intend to attack anyone either. Take your time, think about it. We'll meet again tomorrow." I'm seriously tired of these discussions, how long does it take to hammer a simple alliance?!
Tiara leaves the room, and Talbot enters with a list of bills I have to go through. "Your Majesty! The treasury is nearly empty! This cannot stand. We need to issue a tax," the old man demands.
"What tax? Did you look outside? We're rebuilding the city."
"But we're out of gold!"
I place my used diamonds and a small pouch of gems on the table. "Use this for now."
The old man grabs the pouch and starts counting the gems. Moving beads in his abacus.
I focus on the bills and read exactly how much gold I've got left in my treasury. "The orcs settled in?" I ask Jolla.
Jolla's quill runs fast on her notes as she answers. "Yeah. Just outside the city. Their... sheep are already helping rebuild. Pha, free labor force. Ryon settled in their camp for some reason. Not that I care."
A blond maid enters the room with a wooden tray of hot drinks. She puts her tray on the table and starts taking off her cloths.
"What are you doing?" I ask the blue eyed maid.
"Um... the L-Lady Keyholder t-told me to come here and d-dance for you, Y-Your Majesty?" the maid replies hesitantly.
Tasiya?! No. That's... "Sharla!!!" You shapeshifter bitch!
I hear the giggles behind the door. When I open it I only catch a glimpse of Sharla who rounds the corner. I shake my head and turns to the terrified maid. "Go back to work. If Tasiya orders you to do something that should belong in a Temple of Koshavi again, you have my permission to slap her.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The maid runs outside.
"Pha. By Tukado's beard, your fae pet is a handful," Jolla notes. Talbot still moves beads in his abacus.
I focus on my papers. Numbers. Numbers. Numbers. Numbers. Numb-ers... Nu-mbers... N. U. M. B. E. R. S.
Ugh... I'm way too tired. I really need a bath...
"I've had enough for today, I'm going to get some sleep. I'll see you all tomorrow."
Jolla snorts.
I head to my chambers and ask my maids to fill the bathtub for me. As they're working I open my grimoire, place my hand on an empty page, and concentrate. I need a spell that allows me to regrow missing bones.
Nothing. No reaction from the book.
So it’s a second level spell after all… The skin healing spell is a first level… but this must be second… it makes sense… growing missing limbs is a thing of miracles…
Let’s see if healing broken bones is possible. I need a spell that allows me to heal broken bones!
Brigit’s bone mending
Names: Brigit’s Bone Mending. Bone Mending.
Element: life
Sub element: bone-wood
Level: 1
Language: rod’e
Words: sefius, rod’e. si to rod’esud’e koxshixar, si to shixar! Xalus si rod’esud’e sus exaful xaxa!
Translation: Life, wood. This one’s bone is broken, this one was tricked! Mend the bone and a gift shall be yours.
Quicken: Xalus si rod’esud’e sus exaful xaxa! < Mend the bone and a gift shall be yours.>
Patterns: 26
Gestures: dip ring fingers in blood> smear the blood on the caster’s lower abdomen > smear the blood on the target’s nape > attach both hands to the broken or shattered bones.*
Offering: Snake skin of sufficient amount.
Requirement: X
Range: touch
Target: a creature with a broken bone within range.
Duration: instant.**
Effect: The spell will heal any broken or shattered bones that has no curse on it. All the pieces of the bones need to be there for the healing to occur, if a piece is missing the bone cannot be mended since the spell cannot grow bones.
Cost: 40 light gems. 60 wood gems.
Bound cost: 25 light gems. 40 wood gems.
Altered cost: 5 light gems. 10 wood gems.
26 patterns?! Just for broken bones?! No wonder growing bones is a 2nd level spell. I guess I’ll have to wait for my broken bones to heal naturally after all…
I sigh and let my maids remove my bandages for the bath. The feeling in my broken ribs slowly coming back, signaling the fact that the potion's effect will soon run out.
*
{28} Loamesh (May) the 12th
After another long day of brewing potions and working on bills, I finally come to an agreement with Tiara about which cities I'm going to get. Once our alliance is hammered out, Tiara sails off, taking her soldiers and a third of our work force with her. There's still much work to be done.
After a long tiring day, I find myself in my room, staring at the set of five glassy bottles that contain Luard's soul. I want it, I know it contains power for me, I know it can help strengthened and connect my mana pools. But the fact it came from a human being makes the act of consuming it feel evil.
Even if he was an awful person who tortured people for fun? Why can't I do it? What's stopping me? Who's to say this is evil? The gods? I don't worship the gods... I only have myself and I can allow myself to drink a soul of a horrible cruel person. I won't touch the meat, just the soul.
What would my father say if he saw me right now... considering if I should drink a soul out of my own free will... What would Kolag say?
What does it matter? It didn't stop me from giving Lezere's body away, why is it any different?
So have I lost my morals entirely? What's stopping me for just indulging in human meat and get stronger faster?
Ugh... Rotten snakes and venom... “Zoe, Please call Kolag here.”
“One second, just let me finish reading this part.” Her nose is buried in the guidance book I received from the hag.
“Zoe, I didn’t let you read this book so you can ditch your other duties.”
“Ugh fiiiine!” She folds a dog ear in my book and goes outside.
I sit on my windowsill, observing the working people below. The sun is setting in the distance to my left, casting a scarlet haze over my city. I spend the next half an hour reading restlessly on my window sill. and toying with the ectoplasm bottles.
“Inara!” Kolag’s voice wakes me up from my thoughts and dilemmas.
“Come in, close the door behind you.”
He enters my room in a loud metallic stride. “You have to stop these savages! You have no idea what they’re doing to their prisoners!”
“The orcs? Pretty sure I know what they’re doing, that was my agree…”
“They force themselves on those prisoners, they humiliate them. Female orcs force themselves on those men! I never thought something like that was possible. They spread broken bones on the ground and force them to walk on the shards, naked! They bind their hands and make them fight each other on these broken bones, they whip them, and they curve strange symbols on their skin!”
Good! Poetic justice! Those men wanted to do so much worse to everyone who live in this city. My city!
Kolag lets out an echoing huff before he continues. “You and I, we know how it feels like to be a slave, to be toyed with, to fight for someone’s entertainment! You have the power to stop this, and if you sit and do nothing, then you’re no better than the evil mages in their blue tower!”
Wow… harsh… “I’m perfectly aware of what’s going on with those slaves. That was my agreement with the orcs, I promised them that they’ll get a third of the prisoners. That’s why they fought for us, and they saved this city. Am I supposed to go back on my word?” I slide off from the window sill and face him, arms folded.
“No, but make them treat these people better! It’s people. Not pigs! Not that pigs should be treated that way.” His voice is full of passion, and his hands move with every word.
“I already tried talking to Balgrum about their slaves, he didn’t take kindly to it and I had to back off. The last time I saved people who were being abused in such a manner I got Lezere killed. And unlike the women who got abused by King Luard, these soldiers don't deserve my kindness."
I stab my finger in front of his metallic chest. "Tell me, what happens if I go there, insist that they stop, and the orcs turn on us? What if the orcs decide that I'm no longer their shaman, and now they want capture this city and turn all of the residents into their slaves? What then, huh? Can our current army stop them? Not to mention our army has fewer men, you’d need at least two or three human soldiers to take a single orc down. And with these holes in the walls?! We don’t stand a chance!”
I tap my bandaged hand. “And I’m currently limited in the spells I can cast too, I can’t cast with a broken hand. We can’t fight them, not now.”
He stands there quietly for a long moment, his heavy breaths are the only thing breaking the silence. “You’re right, I wasn’t thinking,” he says at the end.
“No. You care about those people even if they don't deserve that, I love that about you! You care about everyone, and you truly want to help. You have a heart, and you have a conscience. But we can’t always get everything the way we want to, we have to make do with the little good we can achieve. And there’s something else I need to your conscience for.”
He lets out an echoing grunt. “And what is that?”
I take out one of the glassy bottles that contain Luard’s soul. “This is King Luard’s soul,” I explain.
Kolag takes the bottle and holds it close to his metallic visor. “Is this how souls look like?” There’s awe and wonder in his echoing voice, as well as fear.
“It’s only a shard of his soul, I have four more of these.”
“What are you planning to do with it?” he asks.
“That’s what I need you here for. Consuming it will make me more powerful, it’ll save me a lot of time and effort, and might even bring more benefits to me. I want you to convince me.”
“Convince you of what?”
“Convince me not to drink it. It’s someone’s soul! As terrible as he was, it’s still eating a human being.”
“I think you should drink it.” He hands me the bottle back. “A monster like him doesn’t deserve an afterlife, and if it can help you reach your goals, all the better.”
What?! I stare at him, dumbfounded. “Are you sick Kolag? Fever? Having a crisis of faith?” I ask once I regain my wits.
“Why would you think that?” he sounds puzzled.
“I didn’t expect you to tell me to drink it, that’s all. I asked you here to convince me not to drink it.”
He takes a deep breath and taps the side of his thigh with a metallic finger. “But I think you should drink it. As long as you don’t have to eat the flesh, which is a corrupt evil act. Just consuming the soul of such an evil being? It doesn’t seem wrong to me. Don’t go around killing people for this stuff, but this guy was a monster, and he’s already dead. His soul doesn’t deserve peace. Go on ahead.”
If even Kolag thinks it’s ok, then I don’t need to guilt-trip myself over this. “Ok then… bottoms up!” I gulp down the content of the bottle. “I’ll be meditating now, I’ll talk to you later at dinner.”
He nods and leaves me to my mediation.
*
As I sit crossed leg, and regulate my breath in the required pattern, my mind wanders all over the place. I think, I calculate the reconstruction costs of red cedar city, I plan my trip to the other cities who came under my rule.
*Choke*
An hour into my mediation there’s a hand holding my throat, the thumb pressing on my windpipe, strangling me to death.
Gasping for air, I open my eyes and attempt to pull the strange hands from my throat. Except, I can’t move my hands, they aren’t responding. I can’t feel my arms from the shoulders down.
My own hand is choking me. The broken one struggles to move out of its wooden and cloth cast, but the healthy one is on my throat.
I panic, I can’t breathe, and I can’t move my hands away. My thumb is pressing down my windpipe with all the force it can muster, and I can’t stop it.
“Help!” My attempt at crying for help results in a choked whisper. Zoe isn’t in my room, she always leaves when I meditate. I am alone, dying for the weirdest of reasons.
My second hand manages to leave its sling, and shoots for my throat as well.
*~*~*
Power level: 3rd stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Crown-knot: Affinity 10: connected: 1 gem replenished per minute.
Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 73
Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 11 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1
Air: Affinity 4: formed: 22 gems
Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 11 gems
Light: Affinity 3: formed: 16/17 gems
Water: Affinity 6: formed: 33 gems
Earth: Affinity 1: formed: 5 gems
Wood: Affinity 2: formed: 11 gems
Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 46/50 gems
Cantrip known:
Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword. Shavi’s Hair Dryer, Aria’s Enhanced Hearing. Aria’s Sonic Scream.
Fire: Nuriss’ Flame. Effrat’s Firefly, Effrat’s Fire Breath. Sorladika's Lesser Heating. Nuriss’ Ignite. Oniga's Soap Creation.
Light: Noxi’s Light. Lako’s Blinding Light. Rika’s energy hand.
Water: Water Evocation, Water to Ice, Ice to Water, Water to Vapor, Vapor to Water, Mayan’s Icy Spike, Ayla’s Water Jet. Ayla’s instant freeze. Ayla's Flowing Shield. Ayla’s Freezing Vapors.
Earth: Alice’s Oil Summoning, Reiko’s Acid Spray. Alf's Copper Bolt
Wood: Arigor’s Lesser Vines. Kolosu’s Vegetable Summoning.
Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s Lesser Shield II. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body. Alino's Orbiter.
Transmutation: Oniga's Laundry.
Spells known:
Light: Rika's Electric Channelb1
Gravity: Alino’s Weightless Bodyb1x2. Imari’s Lesser Flightb2.
Life: Brigit’s Lesser Cure Poison.
Focus capability: 17 patterns.
Social status: The Queen of Red Cedar City. Shaman of the Twin Moon Tribe. Inara, Daughter of Mysteries. Apprentice to the Maven of Mysteries. Sorceress.
Personal Wealth: 1465 Magic Gems. 1420 Golden Peas, 45 Silver Scales, 32 Copper Bits.
Personal Items:
Magical necklace. Contains 100 gems of general mana, can be drained like a mana pool. It’ll recharge by itself at the rate of five gems an hour.
1 potion of lightning body.
1 potion of mana, medium grade.
5 potions of Lesser Healing.
5 potions of Pain Tolerance.
An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keeps the pouches’ content fresh. Each pouch may contain 10g of petals or six potion flasks.
Fresh rose petals, 6g
Fresh lavender petals, 10g
King Luard's fresh heart.
10 empty soul bottles. Glass with a diamond stopper, put in scaled leather wrapping.
The Great White Egret grimoire. Dedicated by the Maven of mysteries to Inara. 27/100
Present Companions:
Salik
Kolag of House Befar
Sharlafyn Nettledew
Jerro
Berthold
Loyal
Ryon
Zoe
Languages:
Toml’a <People’s tongue> Fluent
Sinteo <Speech> Fluent
Myrsha <Gravity> 8/10
Felul <Wind> 1/10
A'arkalu 1/10 <wolf tongue>
Injuries and scars: Melted skin; face, upper chest, chain scar. Left wrist broken. Broken ribs.
Curses: ???
-
Kingdom’s treasury: 923 gold coins. 136 diamonds. 200 magical gems.
Kingdom’s citizen: 3,877 humans, 1,840 human children. Twin Moon Tribe: 1,157 orcs. 294 orc children. 532 sheep-slaves.
Kingdom's army: 1,1157 Orc Warriors. 347 Footmen. 12 Peacekeeper Knights.
Notables at Court:
Tasiya Keyholder
Jolla SilverQuill
Talbot Bookkeeper
Marasi Chef extraordinaire (spymaster.)
Old Gardner Tiom
Balgrum Orc Chieftain.
