Beneath the Dragoneye Moons

I looked over the poor shivering waif in front of me once again.

Poor girl. I was no genius at people, but even I could see how she was flinching. I was frankly impressed at how she’d kept going, even with all the issues I spotted. Malnourished, underweight, broken fingers that hadn’t healed right, parasites all over, it was a testament to elvenoid tenacity that she’d been up and moving.

Iona had clearly fed her a large meal before coming back, and I eyed the clearing we were in.

I’d just declared that Nina was the solution to our water troubles, but this was no time to execute on that. We barely had a shelter for us, and we were tough.

Nina?

Nina was a city girl, like I’d been. We didn’t even have a wagon for her to sleep in!

“What are you thinking for the next few days?” I asked.

Iona switched to English, and started talking at the edge of her speed stat. A quick way to communicate a lot of information privately.

“I’ll be honest, I have almost no idea what I’m doing here with a squire. I figure I’ll start teaching her practical stuff that she needs to know now. The most basic, gentle wilderness survival, with all of us looking over her shoulder and helping. Nothing nearly so cruel as ‘hunt or go hungry’, not with what shape she’s in, but ‘here’s how to build a fire’, ‘here’s how to set up a camp’, and other fundamentals that we spot she’s lacking. She needs to start on this, make a clean break from her old life. To know that this is real, that it’s not some joke. Being out of the city, being away from the environment that was shaping her, should do a world of good. After that? Slow training in all things squire. Do you want to help?”

I crossed my arms and drummed my fingers. I was semi-staring at Nina through [The World Around Me], without the awkward social bit of actually staring at her.

“You’re not wrong, but at the same time, she needs rest. Food. She needs to build her body up a bit. She needs to be warm. I’d love nothing more than to help, and I’m sure as a War Sentinel I can tap a ton of resources to help her out. However. The healer in me is insisting that she take a break. Sleep in a warm room. She might not have wilderness survival, but I’m willing to bet that she’s spent more nights sleeping outside than we have. She’s got the survival knack, she’s not a sheltered kid. Tell her the history of the order. The philosophy. I get the sense that she wasn’t exactly on the straight and narrow, not with those callouses I’m seeing, and starting off setting her on the right road could be more valuable than wilderness survival.”

Iona clicked her tongue a few times, and gave Nina another appraising look.

“Healer’s orders? A few days of rest and food?” She confirmed.

I sized Nina up some more, thinking about potential paths. It was possible that I could apply my healing in such a way to turbo-charge her strength building and food, and there was something to be said for going hard, but…

I nodded.

“Yeah, healer’s orders.”

Iona switched back to High Elvish.

“Nina, we’re going to spend a few days in the city. Hot meals and warm beds while we review the basics of what it means to be a [Page] and a [Squire]. Dawn and I are also going to dissect your build, and frankly, you’ll probably need to reset both classes.”

A spark of an idea ran through me, but I let Iona and Nina finish.

Nina was looking defiant at the idea.

“Lady Valkyrie, ma’am, I don’t need no coddlin’. I’m tough! I can do it here. No need for fancy beds.”

Iona and I traded amused looks, neither of us missing Nina’s lack of denial over food. Iona tilted her head to me a hair, letting me know the next part was on me.

“Healer’s orders.” I brusquely told her in my no-nonsense voice. “You’re a mess, and we’re going to work on fixing that. I can’t just magic away all your issues. Think of it like a house. We can start trying to put beams up now, but then we’re building on a poor foundation. Let us fix the foundation, so you can be the best Valkyrie you can. No arguing.”

I was skipping over a bunch of stuff, like the fact that a [Biomancer] probably could magic away most of her issues - and that was the other thing I wanted to talk with Iona about. If she was resetting her classes anyway, she’d be in the perfect spot for a biomancer.

Nina looked like she wanted to protest more, but Iona drew herself up, crossed her arms, and glared with her best intimidating look.

The poor girl wilted under the potential for Iona’s disapproval, and the Valkyrie cracked a grin.

“Plus, all the hot meals you could want!”

We quickly found ourselves back at the Drop of Blood inn.

“Brrrpt.” Auri commented as we entered.

I sighed.

“Yeah, I thought we were done with this place as well.” I said in a language I didn’t think Nina knew.

We were doing the right thing, but it was a bit unfortunate to go from home to a tavern. Warm sheets, mattresses, toilets, and someone else doing the cooking quickly reminded me of why a tavern was actually quite nice.

“Brrrpt!”

“Go, have fun.” Auri flitted back out the door, heading into town. Night had promised to help us settle in, and a little bakery for Auri was one of the ‘easy’ things he said he could do. Auri figured this was a good time to get started, and really, she wasn’t needed here and now. She knew where to find us.

We settled into our rooms - different ones than last time, and Nina got her own private room, a luxury she protested that she didn’t need - and I set up a bunch of privacy wards in our room.

“Want me here?” I asked Iona.

She nodded.

“Oh yeah. You at least have some experience teaching, and I’ll admit, I’m a little scared. What if I screw this up? My first chance at a squire, and there are no other Valkyries around to give me a hand with anything. Jump in if I’m screwing something up.”

I nodded.

“Yup, can do.”

Iona grabbed Nina, and we started.

“What do you think a Valkyrie is? What do we do?” Iona started off by asking.

Nina frowned, immediately going deep into thought.

“You fuck monsters up!” She boldly proclaimed, like everything depended on her being right.

Iona shook her head.

“It’s okay to admit when you don’t know something.” She said, and Nina flinched at her words. She opened her mouth, as if to protest and argue that she was right, then closed it again, clenched her jaw, and nodded.

“It depends on the individual Valkyrie, but we do a lot. Broadly, we’re a knightly order, which means we try to make the world a little bit of a better place, mostly through force of arms. Often, yes, that involves slaying monsters. Killing goblins, pirates, bandits and marauders are all examples of killing monsters. At other times, we’ll engage at the edges of a war, on the side we believe is right. Sometimes, we’ll simply defend others from the war. We can also be called upon to be peacekeepers, negotiators, to show up and let people know that we’re ready to intervene. Amazing how many problems can be resolved when villagers suddenly know there’s a powerful force nearby that’ll intervene if things turn to blows. We escort healers, caravans, builders, and anyone else who’s trying to improve the world, but can’t travel alone.”

Iona shrugged.

“Broadly, we do what we think is right.”

Nina’s face scrunched up as she thought about it, and slowly nodded.

“Right. Tell me if this is a honkin’ stupid question, but how do I know what’s right? Till yesterday, muggin’ a man for his pouch was right, cause it kept me alive. Now, I know you all don’t do that sorta thing, and I’ll be the first to admit my compass’s all screwy, and I wanna do it right, I just…”

The last words were practically forced from her. I could see the sheer effort it took for her to say it.

“... I don’t know.” She admitted, almost flinching again.

Her little flinches were subtle, but Iona and I didn’t have crazy vitality and senses for nothing. It was clear as day to us.

Nina’s utter lack of any morals came as no surprise to either of us. Iona had picked Nina up off the street, and she’d already confided in me that the kitsune had a [Mugger] class. Not exactly the most auspicious start. Couldn’t blame her for it - we all did what we had to do to survive.

I had first hand experience with that. Ethics and morals quickly gave way when pure survival was on the line.

At the same time, it was physical violence - the key was directing it in a proper direction.

“Morals and ethics are tricky things.” Iona smoothly said. “Nobody gets it right all the time, and even to this day, I’ll wonder if I’m doing the right thing. Dawn and I will occasionally conflict on what we believe is right, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we disagreed more in the future. One fundamental, basic rule I’ll give you to start with - how would you feel if someone did it to you?”

Nina scowled at that.

“Like. How would I feel if someone hit me over the head with a cosh and stole my… pouch?” She stumbled over the last word, and I shivered at all the other fates possible.

Iona nodded.

“Exactly!”

Nina was still scowling.

“Pretty awful. But don’t the people you kill in a fight feel pretty awful about it as well?”

“Well, yes.” Iona said. “But…”

The two of them talked for hours, covering a wide range of topics. Nina’s reactions, and the information in question, was interesting enough to keep my attention… that and trying to work out everything that was going on in the kitchen just by the smells. I was probably on a three minute delay, but I think it was potato and leek soup tonight. Nina slowly grew more comfortable with us, and started opening up, asking her own questions in return.

“When do I become a Valkyrie, for real, and not just a squire?”

Iona laughed at the question. Nina grinned, a heady, reckless look that said ‘I can’t believe I just said that and got away with it!’

“Would you believe that was one of the first things I asked Alruna, my mentor?” Iona said.

Nina nodded.

“Nobody likes to see themselves at the bottom of the heap of shit.” She agreed.

“We go in three stages.” Iona said. “[Page], [Squire], [Valkyrie]. There’s more to it, but broadly, that’s it. [Page] is where you start, levels 8 to 32. Now, you’re coming to us after having unlocked, and you’re unlikely to have the [Page] class offered at the start. I’ll eat my helmet if you don’t have an [Apprentice] class available, and we’ll work out what you take. [Squire] comes after that, and after working with me for some time, when I decide you’re ready, you’ll class up at 32 for it, maybe merging your classes. After that -”

I was familiar with Iona’s process and how the Valkyries worked, and I loudly coughed in the middle. Iona paused and looked at me.

“Yeah?”

“You can do [Squire] at 128, you’re not gated at 256 here.” I pointed out, letting Iona process the rest on her own. With the look of enlightenment on her face, she got it.

“We’ll work out exactly what classes you’re getting when.” Iona corrected. “We could have you merge as late as 256, to try and get your first class as powerful as possible. After being a [Squire], traditionally, you’ve got until you’re 20 to perform a feat of bravery and valor, at which point you’ll be accepted as a full Valkyrie, be given a title, and set loose on your own.”

Nina looked a little worried at part of that.

“Work out my classes?” She asked.

Iona immediately saw the issue, and backpedaled.

“You’ll be the one to decide your path. What classes and skills to take, what your build will look like. Dawn and I both went to the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft, and we know a lot. We can guide you to the optimal classes, configurations, and paths, to help you get the most powerful classes and skills you can. It’ll save your life. For example, one skill we both have is an [Education] variant. It helps us level faster.”

Nina proudly drew herself up and thumped her chest.

“I’m a kitsune, and I’m good with my illusions! That’s going to be one of my classes!”

I couldn’t help but let out a snort of disbelief. I’d been around some really, really good illusionists, and Nina was massively overstating her abilities.

She looked offended.

“Watch!” She threw her ‘street tough’ illusion over herself. Iona shot me a look that clearly said ‘please take her down a few notches, but don’t utterly shatter her confidence.’

“Your shadow isn’t quite right. It’s close, but it’s not there. You’re missing the crossing impact of the fourth light source.” I immediately started analyzing. “Your clothes don’t have stitches, they have texturing. Your movements are locked to what you’re doing inside the illusion, it doesn’t look like it’s independent. Do I need to continue?”

A furious Nina dropped the illusion and scowled at me.

“Well, how about this!” She asked, standing up and going invisible.

It worked - for my eyes. [The World Around Me] gave me a perfect image of what was going on.

“Hold up some fingers.” I said, tracking her with my eyes as she tried to sneak around the edges of the room.

“Three. Four. Seven. Two, and yes, I can see what’s going on behind your back.”

Nina dropped the illusion and sagged, defeated.

“How?” She asked.

I shrugged.

“Powerful sensory and anti-illusion skill. Want to try again, without me using it?”

Nina nodded, trying to regain some of her pride. I paused [The World Around Me] as Nina went invisible again.

I closed my eyes for dramatic effect.

I pointed to her as the floorboards creaked, as the whisper of wind by her movement gave her away.

“Sense of hearing.” I announced, then swapped.

Foxes and kitsunes had a smell about them. Nothing pungent, nothing repulsive, but they had a smell. It was easy to tell where it was coming from, and I continued to point as Nina tried to move around the room.

“Sense of smell.” I reported, switching again.

Vibrations were harder in some senses, but exactly like sound in another. Air currents delicately brushing against my skin, small vibrations that I teased out from the rest of the activity in the inn on my feet.

“Sense of touch.” I said, and moved onto some easier ones.

I’d given myself a few exotic senses, like the ability to sense magnetic fields. Nina blazed like a beacon in that one, and I could also feel the heat she was giving off.

“Some exotic senses.” I explained, opening my eyes. “You can reappear now.”

Nina was fuming, and stomped over to the chair, throwing herself into it. She crossed her arms and glared daggers at me.

Iona started to say something, but I gave her a tiny shake of my head.

“It’s better that you know now.” I emphasized. “You have to know the limitations of your skills. I tried to pull off a slightly better version of your skill in a dragon’s lair. I have to think the only reason I’m alive is I was highly entertaining, healed her, and only touched what I had to. Better to find out now, today, against me that it’s full of holes, and not when it’s your life on the line. Yeah?”

Nina reluctantly nodded at that. I carried on before Iona could say anything - I’d been quiet for hours, which had to be a record or something. All the words were now coming out.

“Invisibility is useful. Proper invisibility. Here, I’m going to show you [Greater Invisibility] from Jiwa.”

I started to trace the rune in the air, burning light emanating from it. Better to recast it now, saving a charge from the one engraved on my bones, with the bonus of showing Nina what wizardry looked like.

The rune completed, and I vanished as I poured mana into it.

One downside - nobody could hear me, the rune muffled my noise as surely as it let light pass through me. I quickly let the skill disperse.

“Part of what Iona wants to do with you is show you all the tricks of an illusionist, and make you the best possible illusionist you can be.”

Iona opened her mouth to protest, and I kicked her under the table. I was on a roll!

“Now, Iona briefly touched upon [Oaths] and [Vows], and I think it’s fair to give you a heads up on this. Part of Iona’s [Vow] is a line against lies and deceptions, which Mirage as an element tends to trade in. If she’s giving you a hard time about it, feel free to tell me about it, and I’ll see what I can do.”

Iona looked furious at me, and I gave her a deadpan stare back. She closed her eyes, the tension in her shoulders loosened, and she gave a brisk nod.

“Dawn’s right, as much as I hate to admit it. I’m probably going to be giving you grief for your illusions for a long, long time, but if they’re right for you, they’re right for you, and I won’t take that away. The one thing I’m unsure about is merging for an illusionist class. Kitsunes innately have a strong Mirage affinity, I don’t know if we can get a Water and a Light element to merge for you. Might be worth getting that element after your primary merger. Do you have any thoughts on the elements you want?”

Nina frowned at that, thinking hard.

“Heck, do you know if you want to take the physical path, or the mage’s path?” I added in. “Mirage tends towards the magic stats in the first place.”

Nina shook her head at that, her face clearing up.

“Physical. I’m a fighter and a scrapper through and through. I can always rely on my body, none of this ‘oops no mana’ nonsense for me. Hit em, hit em hard, and hit em again so they don’t get up.”

It sounded like there was a story there, and I wasn’t going to argue.

However, I did have something to add.

“I’ve known a bunch of illusionists over my life.” I said. “One in particular springs to mind with your description. Awarthril, an elf. She was a powerful warrior that used illusions. She acted as the front-line fighter for her team, and used illusions to hide her team members, and create decoys of them. She then used Ooze and Mantle to try and chain monsters down before physically engaging. A style like that might be worth looking into.”

Nina looked interested, but Iona looked pained.

“You’re not the first kitsune Valkyrie.” She said. “The Untouchable was a kitsune. Used Mirage and Mist, deception, dodging, and misdirection. Was practically untouchable until a goblin swarm got to her. Having a strong personal physical prowess to back up Mirages is good, but I’ll always be concerned about when your tricks fail you. Then you’re in just as much trouble, with a fraction of the abilities of your opponents.”

The poor squire looked pained at the news that kitsune Valkyries, better trained and deeper into the art of deception could and had died, but was trying to put a brave face on it.

“You don’t have to decide right now.” Iona reassured her. “In fact, it might be good to study the fighting styles of a number of different people before you find one that’s comfortable for you. We’ve got time and years.”

Nina nodded agreement.

“If you figure out what you want around the time you reset your classes, we could also see about incorporating that into whatever biomancy we look into.” I added in.

Iona did a double-take at that.

“Wait, really?” She asked.

“Oh yeah. Thought it was traditional or usual for you lot, yeah?”

“Yeah, but…” Iona trailed off. I knew what she was worried about.

“Seriously, don’t worry about it.”

We were a team after all.

Who was I to be tight-fisted, or anything short of generous?

I knew the finances of our relationship were terribly lopsided, and I wasn’t going to start driving wedges between us over something so stupid.

“Let’s talk about squire duties.” Iona shifted track. “There’s going to be a lot of work that looks and feels like gruntwork. That’s because it is. Hauling water up a mountain is solid character and bodybuilding, but honestly, the primary reason is that it’s convenient for us. Not going to lie or sugarcoat that for you. Another part…”

I settled back down as Iona started to detail all the expectations she had of Nina, and lightly chuckled to myself.

In some ways, it was like looking into a mirror.

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