Sir Manchester looked like he still wanted to protest. Maybe attacking them, even with restraint, had been the wrong decision. I just was so frustrated with how these little humans kept trying to order me around.

  They were all so ignorant. I kept feeling like there were greater issues at stake here, even if I couldn’t quite put my claw on it yet. The expansion of my mind continued to provide me with more questions than answers.

  Then I heard a familiar voice speak very softly behind Sir Manchester. I hadn’t even sensed her approach, but then again that was what she did.

  “Even if you don’t respect the secular authority of Forlay, you should respect the authority of a goddess who is allied with your god. Miseria has protected this student more than once, and his mentor is not only a Princess, but also a Grand Priestess. He also calls a chosen of Miseria his friend. So, unless you want to cause trouble for your entire church, I suggest you look for evil elsewhere.”

  Sir Manchester’s eyes went wide at Modessa’s softly spoken words. Her hand was against his lower back and he seemed to have risen up on to his toes, as if trying to avoid the contact.

  “Well, uh… perhaps that would be wise… that is, if Miseria… ah… vouches for this one,” the paladin sputtered.

  “That’s what I thought,” Modessa said with a smirk on her face as she slipped away from the paladin.

  I didn’t say anything as we all walked away. I so wanted to taunt the paladin, but I swallowed my words. Modessa helping me like this still left me feeling… uncomfortable.

  I let Sir Latham guide me towards Lisella’s building rather than the headmaster’s tower where my room had been moved to. The chamber there had been significantly damaged by our battle, but its magical walls were still intact. I had laid in the room in my true form after the fight for some time. But now, I wasn’t sure if it was where I would be staying.

  Perhaps, now that Tolston was dead, I’d be allowed to decide where I wanted to stay—as if the humans could force me to stay where I didn’t want to stay. I snorted softly to myself. Of course, that brought up all kinds of other questions.

  I wanted a place where I could stay in my true form. I found that a few days of being in it made me miss it more than I knew. Shaking such thoughts away, I realized we were halfway to the building which housed Lisella’s apartment.

  Modessa said, “Sir Latham, you can go on ahead. I’ll bring Nico to Lisella in a moment.”

  “I’m sorry, Lady Lonerat, I’m afraid I can’t do that. My orders were very explicit. I am to make sure that Princess Lisella’s apprentice makes it safely to her apartment. As you are no doubt aware, there are many forces at play here on the university grounds, and without a specific decree from the Emperor, there are going to be problems.”

  “Problems I can handle,” she smoothly replied. “Surely you don’t think he’ll be unsafe with me? You have my word that I’ll bring him to Lisella soon. I have something I need to discuss with him, but it’s a private matter, so don’t bother asking.”

  For a moment, things got tense, but then Sir Latham lowered his eyes and said, “I’ll hold you to that, Lady.” Then he looked at me. “Princess Forlay has ordered us to protect you. Are you okay with us leaving you here with this woman?”

  I looked at Modessa. What I felt about her was… jumbled. It was complex. A part of me was absolutely sure that I couldn’t trust her. But another part of me wanted to see what I could get out of her.

  I needed to be pragmatic, but I wasn’t going to be ignorant. She was powerful, but no longer stronger than me. As long as I remained on my guard, I was confident that I’d be able to deal with her.

  “Yes,” I said.

  Then I felt a tingling in the back of my mind. I knew that humans liked more words, so I added, “Thank you for stepping in with the followers of Nilarue. If nothing else, it made things more… convenient.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t suppose you really needed our protection from them, but you’re young. You’ll learn that fists can’t solve every problem.”

  “Of course not. I nodded. “That’s what lightning is for.”

  He laughed again, apparently thinking I had made a joke. At least with my mind evolution, I could better understand his mindset. In that moment, though, I promised myself something. I was going to reveal myself as soon as possible—and after that, I wasn’t going to put up with any of these silly human social games.

  After they walked away, Modessa looked at me. “That was impressive restraint you showed with Manchester. For a moment there, I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to step in to stop you from killing them.”

  “You lecturing me about restraint is a bit ironic, don’t you think?”

  Modessa’s face grew red, and she dropped her eyes. “Sadly, that is true. I’ve wronged you and others out of fear. I’ve already apologized, but don’t believe that words can make up for such a thing.”

  “You did attempt to save my life, so I’m trying to factor that in,” I admitted.

  Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. “Yes, but from what Cami has told me, she doesn’t believe it was necessary. She believes that you would have been able to resist the poison which has nearly unmade me.”

  “I am me, after all.”

  She shook her head, a rueful grin on her lips. “I think I like it better when you’re arrogant like that. When you act kind or understanding, I feel like I don’t know how to deal with you. The arrogant dragon, at least, I can handle.”

  We stared at each other for a moment before she finally said, “I’m sorry. I’m still trying to change.”

  I nodded. “Humans place a great deal of importance on intentions. My kind care more about results. But I know what you did, and I have some idea of what it has cost you. Have Lisella and Galbrecht come up with a way to repair the damage to your soul?”

  Modessa shook her head. “No. I’m told that the gods won’t be the answer for me, but Cami has had an idea.”

  “Well, she is rather bright.” I felt an innate pride that my bonded might have come up with a solution where the chosen of a goddess and her grand priestess had failed.

  “Yes, she thinks that if I become your minion, that will patch the hole in my soul.”

  I didn’t even know what to say to that. Her little monkey face looked like she had just swallowed some offal. The words must have tasted very bitter to her. Still, I wasn’t about to make it easy for her.

  I crossed my arms in the imitation of a human posture I’d seen many times. Then, I rocked back on my heels and rose up to my full height, looking down on her.

  “You’re going to make me beg aren’t you?” she asked, but the question seemed rhetorical to me, so I didn’t answer. She started mumbling to herself. “I knew this was a mistake.”

  I just waited. As I did, the smile on my face grew wider.

  Modessa finally dropped down to one knee and looked up at me. “Will you please make me your minion, Nicosandumas?”

  Interlude 7 – Takes a Dragon

  Earlier…

  Over the past few days, Nico had been meditating:

  Modessa cursed once again as pain rippled from her core and ran down her arm. The dagger she’d been holding slipped out of her numb fingers and she stumbled, falling to the ground. The pain wasn’t anything more than a dull ache as long as she remained inactive. Even physical exercise didn’t seem to bother her too much.

  When she really pushed her stats to their max, though, she found the pain ramped up. Modessa wasn’t a researcher; she had never paid much attention to the lectures about the connection between magic and enhanced physical stats. Now, she was forced to consider it.

  It really did make sense. How could a slender woman of her height possibly be as strong as she was? All animals had limits to their strength, based upon their muscle mass and skeletal structure—all natural animals, that is. The same was true for unleveled humans.

  Yet she was many times stronger than a normal human. A man who weighed twice as much as her, who strengthened his muscles with regular physical exercise but was unleveled would be helpless as a babe against her. The same was true for her durability and agility.

  The very way she moved was well beyond normal human limits. It had been such a part of her for so long, that she had failed to understand how much she relied upon her system granted stats.

  The pain she felt when pushing beyond human limits with her stats paled to the pain she felt whenever she tried to use an ability which required mana. She had just tried a Shadow Strike. It was one of her class abilities, and while not the same as a spell, it required mana. Using a class based skill was only a little less painful than when she tried casting a spell.

  So far, she had tried casting spells three times since sustaining damage to her soul. Even recovering from the pain of the failed Shadow Strike, she still shuddered at the memory of how casting a spell had ravaged her body. She wanted to vomit just thinking about it.

  Modessa liked to think that she was brave. That she could stand up to anything. But she wasn’t sure she could force herself to try casting another spell.

  Then she felt strong arms around her. Galbrecht knelt down on the floor next to her and pulled her into his embrace. “It’s all right, Dessa. We’ll get through this.”

  Modessa bit back the bitter words which came to her tongue. How would they get through this?

  Galbrecht had grown even stronger. She was going to be left behind, even without what had happened. Now, she was an invalid. She wanted to curse again, mostly because she’d learned it had all been for naught.

  Nico hadn’t been the threat she thought he was. But even when she had tried to make amends, he hadn’t needed her. She felt less than useless now. And she absolutely loathed that feeling. It took her back to that day in her village, so very long ago.

  Modessa leaned her head against Galbrecht’s chest as she mumbled, “I’m out of ideas.”

  “I wish I could help. Lisella and I have both petitioned Miseria, but she says that only this realm can repair what has been done. Well, that… or a horror could restore you by removing their taint. But we both know that isn’t going to happen.”

  Modessa rested in his arms as the pain passed. “I may have to try Cami’s idea.”

  Galbrecht didn’t respond right away. When he did, his tone was hesitant. “I believe he’s changing, but could you actually do that?”

  “What choice do I have?”

  That he didn’t answer, spoke volumes.

  ____________________________

  Now…

  Cami felt the changes going on in Nico, but she also knew he needed time to himself. It was harder for him. She wanted to be there for him, but sometimes space was the best gift that a friend could give. With the change inside of him, she felt emotions flowing more freely between them.

  It had caused a hope to spring up within her. As she swung the hammer down on the anvil, she forced such thoughts away. Nico had made his feelings on that issue clear. If he changed his mind, it would be up to him to broach the topic.

  Beating steel was cathartic. Her soul had been empowered and repaired by the bond, so she knew she could have performed another soul crafting. But she wasn’t ready yet. For now, she simply worked on elemental tools. She was attempting to forge a breastplate which would absorb heat.

  Red dragons seemed to be the ones they would have to worry about the most. Nico would never admit it, but they were the only dragons who were physically more powerful than blues. That, and his connection to the hatchlings hadn’t given him any special protection against fire.

  This breastplate she was working on was not for her, but rather a piece of a large harness she was hoping Nico would consent to wear if they were going to encounter any reds. Rather than working fire into the metal though, she tried to work a type of emptiness into it.

  She had needed to go to the library and had spoken to some of the researchers there, but it had finally clicked with her. Ice was a thing, but cold wasn’t. She had finally come to understand that cold was simply the absence of heat—or at least a reduced amount of it.

  Since her crafting class allowed her to infuse the metaphysical aspect of an element into her creations, she was working on pushing a void of heat into the armored plate on her anvil. The first time she had tried doing so, it had almost gone very poorly. It took her several tries, but eventually she had visualized a black void within the armor.

  It was an empty place. A space heat was drawn to and was fueled by the concept of cold. The real problem had happened when she tried it on. If Daggin hadn’t been there to help get it off of her, she might have died. The armor instantly began sucking all of the heat from her body, trying to fill the void.

  Apparently, that was a bad thing.

  It was a reminder of something Serius had said. “Those who use magic without understanding it will always be limited in their applications.”

  So, Cami tried not only to master the working of her craft, but also the theoretical underpinnings of what she attempted to do. It was a big step to take for a rancher’s daughter. She had grown up thinking about only doing what had to be done.

  That was often the life on the ranch. Her da would have to go out and fix a fence which broke or drive off some wolves or whatever—simply because of the immediate need. For the women on the ranch, it was even worse. She had watched her mother spend her whole life reacting to her da’s whims.

  Still, she was making progress. If this new armored plate worked the way she intended, then it would only draw heat in from the front side. She had a vision of creating a type of armor which could draw in energy like heat and convert it to mana for the wearer. But Cami was honest enough with herself to recognize that this was at least three steps beyond her current ability.

  Even what she was working on now was really beyond her. But her frustration over what had happened with Modessa had built within her a fervent desire to come up with a win—a big win.

  It also helped her think about the transference of energy. Her soul imprinting ability was a way of imprinting a piece of her own soul into an object. She could sense her spear, for example, leaning up against the wall. She didn’t even have to look in that direction, because it was connected to her.

  She had begun to wonder if she could patch the hole in Modessa’s soul with a piece of her own. There were obvious issues with that, but she wanted to help her mentor. Actually, if Cami was being honest with herself, she wanted to help everyone.

  She and Nico hadn’t had a chance yet to discuss the ramifications of the attack, or what it would mean for them going forward. She had done more, however, than simply work on her craft these past few days. Cami had poured herself into improving herself. She had an entirely new class, one which the librarians had barely even heard of.

  Unfortunately, there was precious little information available about it.

  Oddly, she had gotten a letter this morning which had the markings of the church of Shorishisen, the god of war, on it. Or, as he was known further to the north, the triumphant warrior. While she waited on her current project to temper, she went and examined the letter again.

  Greetings Valkyrie,

  Your new class has come to the attention of my god and master. He has instructed me to offer you training—training which will greatly benefit you. If this is something which you wish to consider, then simply find me in the temple dedicated to my god in Haltorst.

  I eagerly await your arrival. My master has also bid me to welcome your bonded companion, whom he calls the ‘worthy foe.’

  As proof of my sincerity, I have included a scroll which will provide you with some spells which will work well with your class.

  Ryoken, 1st General and Priest of Shorishisen

  She’d hadn’t learned any of the spells from the scroll yet, but they definitely seemed suited to the things she knew she would need.

  Deathwatch - Tier 1 spell. This spell creates a link between the Valkyrie and up to one individual per class level. The link is such that the Valkyrie will instinctively know if the target(s) are close to death. It will not warn of an insta-death and will only pass on the knowledge of their passing in such cases, but if the target lingers near death, it will allow the Valkyrie to track their condition as well as knowing their exact location. This spell is limited to Valkyrie who possess an innate ability related to souls. It is blessed by Shorishisen.

  Mana: 40

  Cast Time: 1 minute

  Cooldown: Till the duration expires or all targets are deceased

  Range: Targets must be seen by the Valkyrie at the time of casting

  Duration: 1 day per class level

  War Horn - Tier 2 spell. This spell creates a blast of sound which can be heard for up to 100’ feet per Valkyrie class level. All enemies within the area of effect have their damage and magic resistances weakened by 2% per the caster’s class level. All allies within the area of effect gain a boost of the same percentage to each of their physical stats. This spell is limited to Valkyrie and priests or paladins of Shorishisen.