Chapter 60   - Duty

*Ding*

Mana Sense (lv50) ➔

As you reach the first milestone, you are presented with two choices to continue your journey:

Stay the course on your current path. You won’t gain new significant benefits, but you’ll greatly deepen your insight into what you already know.

Watch deeper. Choose to improve your senses to become able to perceive the elemental alignment of mana. The higher your affinity the clearer it will be.

*Ding*

You chose to look deeper and become more in sync with the elementals, Mana Sense (lv50) can now reach lv75.

Val smiled. The edges of her vision were still blurry and distorted with the last remnants of the mana-enhancing potion and her head was pounding with a growing headache. None of that mattered. She had finally done it. Her father was surely going to compliment her after this.

“Please young miss, you shouldn’t force yourself. Let me help you.” Her maidservant, Nalia, came forward to help her, worry written all over her aged face.

Feeling unsteady on her legs, Val would have liked to accept the help and sit down to recover. But even in the privacy of her house, she wasn’t allowed to slip. She was the hope of the archipelago and of her family. Her father had told her countless times not to show weakness or uncertainty in front of anyone. Not even the woman who had cared for her since she could remember. Her image was as important as her accomplishments.

“That is not necessary, Nalia. I’m fine.” She raised her hand to stop the maid, trying to imitate the commanding tone her tutors taught her. The simple gesture caused a wave of vertigo. The straight polished wooden floorboards looked wavy in her vision.

Don’t fall. Don’t fall. Don’t fall.

Her balance was still in disarray due to the mind-altering potion and her legs felt wobbly. The only thing she could do was stay still and pray the aftereffects of the potion would pass before her body failed her. That would be so shameful. Nothing less than perfection would be acceptable.

After a few seconds, her sight cleared, and Val felt confident enough to take a step forward. Three steps later she managed to regain the gracefulness countless lessons had ingrained in her. She accepted the towel Nalia offered her and dried the sweat on her forehead. Her hair must be a mess right now, she wished she had a mirror and her brush. What would people think if they saw the high councilor’s daughter like this?

“Prepare a bath and let master Gelia know I succeeded. I’ll go meet her as soon as I’m presentable.”

“I’ve already seen to that. The water has already been heated. Do you wish me to accompany you or to inform master Gelia personally?” The old maid asked her not hiding her apprehension.

“Go inform my master. I can reach the bathhouse by myself.” Val gave a grateful nod and dismissed the maid.

Nalia hesitated a moment at the door. “Remember to take care of yourself, miss.”

Val threw her a meaningful gaze. What if her father heard her? She already had to plead with her father to allow Nalia to remain in her service. The old maid sighed deeply but eventually left.

Alone in the training room, her proud shoulders slumped slightly. She wished she could lie down and not wake up till her headache was gone. She allowed herself ten seconds of weakness, massaging her temples to alleviate the pain, before standing back up. Many gold mesars and the hopes of multiple generations rested on her, she couldn’t disappoint them.

Marching outside, the light of the sun blinded her for a moment. Their house had grown many times during the last few years, but she still knew the compound like the back of her hand. She didn’t need her eyes to navigate it.

Val kept her gaze straight ahead, giving small nods as she passed a pair of servants busy with their daily chores. A steaming bath had been prepared for her. The soap and oils filled the air with a sweet floral smell. A girl around sixteen waited by the side to attend to her needs. Val let her do her job.

For a second, she considered sending her away and bathing herself, then her father’s admonition resonated in her head. They needed to project a fitting image. This was nothing compared to what the young scions on the mainland were used to.

The young maid disrobed her with clumsy fingers. Maybe feeling awkward having to attend to someone so much younger than her. She’d need to learn, they all had to play their part for the future of the archipelago. To survive they couldn’t cling to the ways of the past.

Val soaked in the bath as her tired mind relaxed. A small, relieved sigh escaped her lips as the servant massaged and washed her hair. She knew she must already be blushing even as she tried to hide it with a cough.

“Are you okay, missy?”

“Yes, perfectly fine. Please hurry along, my master doesn’t like to wait.” She should have reprimanded the maid for being so casual with her. It would be a problem if that happened with her father present. She made a note to tell Nalia to instruct her properly.

The maid rinsed off the soap and offered her a hand to step out of the tub. Val gave her a glance, but the girl just looked confused.

“The towel first.”

“Oh, yes… I’m sorry. I’m still new. Just joined two days ago.” The maid hurried to bring her the towel, almost tripping on her feet.

“You can go now. I’ll finish myself.” Val dismissed her. Hopefully, Nalia would know what to do. It would be more proper to let the servants help dry and clothe her, but that still felt too weird to her. With her recent success, her father would probably forgive her small lapse.

Val checked herself in the mirror, a round face and long wavy hair fell down her back. Many people told her she looked very pretty, but maybe they were just trying to curry favor with her father. For once she wished she looked older, without those chubby baby cheeks. There were clear dark circles under her eyes, but there was no time to fix that. After she reached Orange, she had thought the problem would be solved, but her training and duties had been increased more than proportionally.

She wore the set of blue silk robes that had been prepared for her, checking one last time in the mirror to make sure she was presentable. A whole wing of the compound was reserved for her master's exclusive use. She knocked on the outer door and respectfully waited to be called with her head bowed.

“Come.” An aged voice whispered in the wind. Master Gelia called it a parlor trick, but it was hard not to feel intimidated.

Opening the door, Val headed directly for the garden, where she knew her master would be waiting. Even if she had seen it countless times, she couldn’t help but spare a few glances of admiration.

It was quite big for an inner courtyard, only smaller than the one in the governor’s house, but no one would ever argue it was inferior in beauty and charm. Dozens of exotic ornamental plants and flowers grew perpetually in bloom as if time had stopped. Paths of white pebbles crossed through with no apparent order.

If someone studied it close enough they would soon realize each inch of it had been carefully arranged. If you looked at it from the sky, the apparent random paths formed an arcane pattern, which made up a small part of the formation that increased the mana density well beyond that of her house. The only way to ensure the plants in the garden thrived. Even the most plain-looking weed was at least red-tier, with many higher than that.

Not even her father would have been able to shoulder the cost. Master Gelia brought most of the specimens from the mainland with her. They only had to take care of the installation and the expense had almost bankrupted them. It was a cheap price for the teachings of a Fourth Circle mage.

Master Gelia sat on a table under a blooming cherry tree. Thin white hair gathered into a tight chignon on her head, austere features and a peaceful expression on her face.

“Come, Valela. Sit with me and tell me of your progress.” Her voice was quiet but perfectly clear as if she was talking beside her.

With a more formal posture, Val walked closer and took a seat. Up close she could notice many thin lines marking her face. Her eyes clouded by time. She had never dared to inquire, but she suspected her master was the oldest person in the archipelago, and not by a little.

Not a wisp of her aura escaped, but only a fool would think she was a helpless old lady. Apart from the governor, Val doubted anyone else could compare to her.

“How are you feeling today, master Gelia? If there is anything needed, I’ll do my best to provide it.” Val recited the pleasantries her father told her to say.

“Thank you for your concern, dear, but, like always, I have everything I require. This climate helps soothe my old bones. My garden is all I need. Now, tell me, did you manage to receive the right evolution?”

“Yes, master.” Val began to narrate her experience. Going into detail about what she experienced after drinking the enhancing potion and the exact words the Guide used for the skill specialization.

“Excellent. I knew you had some talent. I’ll prepare the ritual for your elemental assessment by next week. Now go practice your meditation exercises and rest. Potions are useful but they don’t come without side effects.”

“Yes, master Gelia.” Val was relieved, she was never sure what her master’s expectations were. Standing back up, she gave a small bow before walking away.

Plenty of people kept repeating to her how talented she was, but her rivals weren’t the other children of the archipelago. Her master’s approval comforted her a little.

She was walking towards her room to practice meditation when she noticed her father, the high councilor, was standing by the door. Short hair and a perfectly trimmed beard. His expression seemed made of stone. He donned blue clothes in the style of the Republic and a golden pin of a soaring hawk that symbolized his position.

“Was master Gelia satisfied with your progress?” He asked.

“Yes, father. She told me she’ll prepare the elemental assessment ritual soon.” The thought made her worry a little, but she had been tested at birth to see her mana affinity. She would take whatever she got and make the most of it.

A rare smile appeared on her father’s face. “Good work, Valela.” Then his expression was back to impenetrable again. “Remember you can’t allow yourself to rest on your laurels. Our family has invested everything to give you these opportunities.”

“Yes, father.”

“Well, then… accompany me on my walk through the city.” He turned around expecting her to follow.

“Fath—.”

His steps halted. “Yes, Valela?”

It’s probably not going to be a problem if I practice my master’s exercise later.

“Nothing, I’ll need to change to more appropriate clothes.”

Her father gave her a look over. “Good idea. Put on something more lively. You need to appear approachable to the citizens, but not too plain.”

“Yes, father.”

***

The streets of Higharbor were packed with people. Most of them were local islanders, but there was also a growing number of tourists and merchants.

Riding on their coach, Val smiled at the passerby. Sometimes she missed the quieter city she remembered. As time passed, the memories of a time before all this were fading away as if it had all been an illusion.

A twinkle in the distance signaled the arrival of a new zeppelin. Ships sailing the sky. She still remembered the first time she had seen one. By now they were almost a mundane sight.

As her father told her, there was no looking back: this was the future. They needed to adapt if they wanted to gain freedom for the Baquire Archipelago. Opposing the Republic was madness.

Moving past the imposing Church of the Seven Moons, they reached the main square. Her father got off the carriage. “Wait here for me.”

“Yes, father.”

“Do you have something to spare?” Val turned to see a boy not much older than her. His clothes were ragged and his face looked gaunt. He stood quite a distance away, at the entrance of an alley, looking hesitant to come closer.

Maybe he was afraid the enforcers would see him. It was strange already that he had been allowed to come to the main square. She didn’t like that, but her father said it was necessary to make some sacrifices and compromises for the greater good.

Val smiled at the boy. Her father told her to remain here, but she guessed a few meters around the carriage still counted as ‘here’. “I’ll be back in a moment.” She told the coachman and got off before he could object.

Checking her pockets, she had a silver and a handful of coppers. Not much, but it should be enough.

“Here.” She said, handing the silver to the boy, who stared at her hand without doing anything.

In a moment something flashed on the beggar’s face. Something was weird. The boy's arm flashed forward before she could make sense of it. Val looked incredulously at the dagger piercing her. The pain hit her in a wave. She fell backward screaming.

The boy followed her, his dagger moving for another blow. A hateful fanatical expression distorted his face. “Traitor! This is what you deserved. The Voice of the Ancestors will deliver justice! Di—”

His screams were cut short when an enforcer materialized behind him and made half of his torso explode with a blow.

Blood rained down on her adding to her own. People started screaming. The crimson pool under her growing larger.

I can’t die here. Father will be disappointed if I die…