by Andur
One of the boys points at the door. “You should turn around and leave while you can.”
“Why should I? I want to be in this class to spend time with my brother!” I answer without concern. Why are they trying to keep Azir asleep? Now I notice that the girl who came up to me isn't wearing shoes. She is going to great lengths.
“You? You are his sister?” The girl who came up to me points at Azir. Somehow I get the feeling that she is pitying me.
“Yes.” I nod, not getting what's going on. Is this some kind of perverted play? Is my sleeping brother's face that adorable to watch? My eyes flicker towards him, but it doesn't seem to be the case. He is lying on his back and snoring with an open mouth. Both of his hands are on his chest and there is a little drool running down his cheek. “Shouldn't he be teaching us?”
“Pssst!” The girl with the notebook gestures to be quiet and falls to her knees in front of me. The other students get up too and run in front of me to kneel down. What's freaking me out is that none of them were wearing shoes and everything happened in absolute silence.
Now they are kneeling in two rows of six in front of me. “Please. Don't wake up the sleeping dragon!” Again they whisper in unison. “Only bad things happen to us while he is awake.”
I squint my eyes at this sight. “You guys... what happened to you? You seem to be genuinely frightened of him. My brother isn't such a bad person.”
“Your brother is a god. He gives what he wishes to give and he takes what he wishes to take.” All of them mumble in unison. “And he interchanges what he wishes to interchange.” One of them finishes the formula.
They are like a group of religious fanatics! What did my brother do to deserve people like this? I ignore them and use my finger to poke my brother awake. He is weak against attacks like this. “Brother. Wake up!”
The students gasp and hurry back to their seats.
Azir opens his eyes and sits up. I hurriedly pull out a handkerchief and clean his cheek while he is drowsily staring at the wall in front of him. He yawns. “I had such a nice dream.”
“Brother. What do you think you are doing? This throws a bad light onto our family. You should teach us properly. Instead I find you sleeping while your students are engaged in self study.” I reprimand him.
Finally he looks at me. “Oh, sorry. Yesterday I had a hard night. First those assassins and then the interrogation. Stella took her time too. I was just dead tired and so I decided on self study. Are they done already? I said that they should go through the entire book within the hour.”
“Assassins! Interrogation! What happened?” I call out in shock.
He makes a dismissive gesture. “Don't worry. Everything was taken care of. Quarma and I will inform you this evening when there is time.”
“Oh, good. So Grandma took care of things.” Then it should be fine. I turn and take a look at the weighty tomes which are used for the general studies lesson. “All that? Within the hour? Brother, that's not possible for most normal people! Short of a Siorda or you nobody can do that. I wouldn't be able to either if you hadn't taught me your self hypnosis tricks.”
He blinks. “It is not? Well, they simply have to surpass their limits. Learning magic is a constant process of breaking the laws of physics and challenging your own limits. Maybe they should just drop out of this school if they can't do that.”
“Big Brother, why don't you start by teaching us your learning techniques. It shows that you are bad at teaching if you demand such things from your students. You taught me properly too, why don't you help them the same way. Simply start from the basics and go up in small steps.” I point at the chalkboard. “Like you did with me.”
He snorts. “That was completely different. You were just out of the egg. It was reasonable to teach you from zero. You really expect me to start teaching them from scratch? They should have learned the basics already.”
I walk to the other students and take a seat. “Please be so kind. I think I am in need of brushing up everything you taught me.”
For a moment it looks like he is considering refusing my wish. Then he rolls off the table and takes up a piece of chalk. “Tch! It was so amusing to see them struggle in vain.” Then he gives us a crash course in learning techniques and mental training.
From there he starts his explanation of magic and physics. How the two of them can be used together to cheat the laws of nature. Of course I know all of it already, but since there are... ah... Damn! Didn't I want to drive them off? I completely forgot about it since the other students behaved so oddly.
A while later Brother puts down the chalk. “Well. That concludes it for today. I'll hurry home to get rid of my stuff. We'll see each other at our parents' mansion, Valeria.” He grabs a bag and rushes out of the room before I can stop him.
Feeling left behind I stand up and grab my own bag, but then I realize that all the student's eyes are on me. Somehow I feel a little disturbed by their expressions and so I stand up and walk towards the door.
“Please!”
I take a look back, just to find them kneeling in two rows of six... again! They look at me like I am some kind of messiah. “You have a good relationship with your brother?” The girl with the notebook from earlier looks at me with hopeful eyes.
“Well... of course. We are brother and sister after all.” I answer a little hesitantly. What did my brother do to these people?
“He doesn't place your soul in another body?” “He teaches you properly?” “He doesn't ask the impossible from you?” “He listens to you?” “He doesn't punish you for a mistake in your homework?” “He doesn't break your bones one by one because you played a little trick on him?”
“Of course he does nothing of that sort. I am the future clan head. Don't talk bad about my brother!” Why would those bullies spout such lies!
Then they speak in unison. “We would never talk bad about the master!” All of them touch the ground with their foreheads. “Please protect us from him! If he listens to you, you must be an even higher existence than him. We swear eternal loyalty! Please visit this lesson every day from now on!”
I feel my left eye twitching. What's wrong with me. That's my brother's habit when he is under stress. Is it a problem within the family? “I have to go now.”
While I am turning around one of the girls throws herself forward and grabs my foot. “Please! You can't leave us like that. Promise that you'll protect us! We'll become your minions!”
I try to free my foot, but the girl doesn't let go. Her strength is on another level. Though I don't feel her using magic and she doesn't look like she is doing proper training either. Is this the power of desperation?
“I don't need minions! It's not like I am some kind of street boss!” Without holding back I kick the girl, but she proves to have more endurance than I thought. She doesn't let go of me.
All of them answer as one. “You are a future clan head! You need to learn leadership!”
That day twelve of my most loyal followers forced themselves onto me.
32. ~Caught.~
“The effects of mana on living beings are without a doubt a two-edged sword. First we have to note that someone with a high amount of inner mana lives longer. A commoner without magical ability lives up to a hundred years. Average magicians can easily reach an age of two to three hundred years. Some exceptional individuals are reported to have lived until the age of about five hundred years.
However, not many magicians reach an age over two hundred years. Our dangerous lifestyle and the many wars tend to end someone's life before she is able to die of old age.
While a high amount of mana increases someone's lifespan, there are also some not so desirable effects on the body. A person who is continuously exposed to high amounts of mana has to deal with physical changes and deformations. At first those changes are subtle, but with time they get more and more bothersome while they get out of control. There are reports of a Siorda clan head who was very gifted and reached a
n age of four hundred years. She grew a pair of wings and the scales which normally cover only a woman's tail started to grow over her entire body.
But those changes occurred slowly and over a long time. There are also cases like they can be observed on black magicians. If someone is exposed to higher amounts of mana than his body can handle, the changes occur faster and are more problematic. We studied the bodies of some black magicians who drained other people of their mana to increase their own strength. In all cases we can confirm heavily mutated bodies, sometimes the researchers even voiced doubts about the race of the individual.”
-Papyri magicae.
Free City States of Nict, Tri
Valda
“SILENCE!”
The noisy room quiets down instantly. “That's much better.” I let my gaze wander over everyone at the big, round table. Since there was an attack on one of our family members we decided to have a little meeting in order to get everyone up to date.
And since it was a great chance to meet with our new friends I invited the Gejene over to my mansion. My husband Yoran is sitting to my right, then there is Valeria and Quarma. My sister Jade and her husband Daylen are next. Next to them is Azir with his girlfriend Stella. Then we have Stella's older sister, Sola Gejene. The circle is closed by Helen Gejene to my left. Unfortunately her husband Lucas is still in the southern borderlands.
After confirming that I and Helen have the full attention of the assembled lot, I smile and nod to Helen. “They are all yours.”
Helen leans forward and starts her speech. “You've already heard about the attack on Azir and we gave you a short briefing on the summoning incident at the university a while ago. Luckily the surviving assassin pointed us in the right direction.”
She takes a deep breath and continues. “We managed to capture several of the perpetrators. The military got valuable information from them. Unfortunately not as much as we would've liked. First, the instigators behind the black magician incidents are from outside the country. That's for sure. They operate by hiring specialists from far away countries. This is the reason why we are still in the dark about their identity. According to the caught people they got hired in their home country. Then they were taught on how to open a portal within our borders.”
She leans back again. “I am preparing to share all of this with the other clans, together with the clues which give us a hint that this is a long prepared operation. The attack on Azir was just a miscalculation by said hired guns. They messed up the summoning ritual and weren't paid. That's why they acted without orders and with bad information in the hope of redeeming themselves.”
I snort. “So the unknown employer operated on the assumption that his operation will be uncovered at some point. Is there a chance for us to get our hands on him?”
Helen shrugs her shoulders. “Our captives were interrogated and it doesn't look like backtracking their path will bring us any fast results. I sent some spies through the portal. They'll have to play the role of mercenaries and hope to get hired by the people we seek. We can't expect fast results from that. If I was in charge of the operation I would stop hiring people from that country and simply hire them from somewhere else. According to our captives the portal can be opened anywhere you want.”
Azir raises his hand. “Did you find out how they hid themselves so well? It was very annoying to fight them. I suspect that spell to be a risk to national security.”
Helen raises an eyebrow. “We got that information. Like you said the spell shouldn't fall into the wrong hands. So I won't allow it to be taught outside of the military. But be assured that there is a countermeasure. It looks like the spell relies on a fragile spacial rift. The user shifts himself partially to another plane. The spell falls apart as soon as something foreign enters the user's space at a slightly higher speed. A small burst of mana in all directions does the trick too. Once you know the countermeasure the spell isn't that great any more.”
I smirk at Helen. “It's still troublesome. You can't walk around while giving off bursts of mana all the time. I guess the country is already researching other countermeasures?”
Helen nods. “Of course. We can't have someone take a walk inside the palace's archives.”
Free City States of Nict, Tri
Helen
“I could help with that. Give me the specifications of that spell and you'll have a countermeasure within the week.” Azir smiles at me.
“It'll be fine. My researchers already promised me fast results. The spell isn't out of their understanding.”
It looks like my daughter found herself a guy who is far too capable. Not only is he a powerful magician despite his gender, he also has outstanding skills and knowledge according to his university records.
On top he is an exceptional fighter. Despite being ambushed he fought off several assassins and turned the situation around, killing most of them until the rest decided to flee.
I wish I could place Stella in the position of the next clan head instead of Sola. With such a powerful asset at her side she would have no problems with keeping the country together. My oldest daughter isn't ideal for the job. Maybe I can convince Stella to assist her sister. Unfortunately the both of them could become a destabilizing factor in the future. I hope it doesn't come to that.
My husband will come back soon. I need his opinion on this situation. Lucas is always able to find a way to turn a situation in our favour. Gehehehe... his eyes will pop out of his head when he learns that our little black sheep spread her wings and turned the situation he worried so much about to our advantage.
He was really disturbed by the Zait's recent rise in power. It looked like the situation would get to the point where they are able to challenge our position as the country's leading clan. He tried to arrange an alliance by having Sola marry Azir.
But Valda refused all attempts at opening negotiations by saying that Azir is too young. It began to look like they already had a secret arrangement for him. An alliance with one of the other candidates could've enabled them to oppose us. Luckily our fears were wrong.
After getting to know them a little better I doubt that this noisy bunch is interested in something like a confrontation with anyone.
Returning back to reality I realize that I am still the focus of attention. “Well. It seems I lost myself in thoughts. You can focus on your studies Azir. Everything is taken care of.”
Free City States of Nict, Tri
Azir
“I see. Too bad, but it can't be helped.” I smile and give up on my curiosity. Pestering the head of the country for more information is probably not a good idea.
She already gave me a solid hint on the spell anyway. I have an idea on how this spell works. Her hints have reduced the possibilities to a mere handful. It's easy to replicate a technology once you know how it is achieved.
Build a nuke and tell someone of sufficient expertise that the boom is achieved by splitting atoms. Even if he had no idea of the concept beforehand, you can be sure that he can build nukes within a month. Given that he has the need for them.
I bend over to Stella. “Do you know why your mother looked at me like that? Her expression was strange.”
Stella shrugs her shoulders. “Don't think too much of it. She often looses herself in her own little world when she starts scheming something. And before you say that that's a problem, my mother is always buried in plans and conspiracies. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
We keep listening to the ongoing talks, but nothing new is said. In the end Helen assures us that the confirmed results of this investigation will be shared with all clans. The level of alertness will be raised too. Otherwise we can only hope that the military's spies can dig something up.
After a short silence my aunt Jade stands up. “Since we talked for so long about disturbing stuff, I have a happy announcement to make.” Then she pulls her husband into a hug. “We finally did it! Soon there'll be a new family member.”
Yoran jumps up and runs
over to them. He hugs Daylen from the other side. “I knew that you can do it my friend! After such a long time I started to believe that you might swing the other way!”
Daylen's forced smile turns cold and he elbows my father without holding back.
“Congratulations.” My mother hugs her sister and the rest of us follow suit.
“Since when were they married?” Stella asks, whispering into my ear.
I shrug my shoulders. “A little over ten years. It was just a small party within the family because they had a big one when they were engaged. And my aunt doesn't like assemblies with many people. Though I don't understand what took them so long.” Of course, as magicians they are in no rush to get children, but such a long time seems odd.
“For some people it takes a little longer.” Stella mumbles.
Maybe Daylen just didn't want kids? His behaviour is a little odd. There are men who simply don't want to be a dad. “Probably. I'll excuse myself to take a leak.” And hell! Now that I think about it I can understand him! How old is he? Somewhere between forty and fifty? And he'll be in perfect health until he is a hundred years old. Why the hell would he want to start making bothersome children right now. He could enjoy his lovely wife for a few more decades without little pests running through the house and disturbing them while they are trying to do it!
I leave the big room which is used for gatherings and walk down the corridor. There is a restroom at the last door to the right. A few unhurried steps take me there and I enter. Then I take my time doing my business. Hopefully Stella isn't too focused on kids. I want to continue our life like it is right now.
When I am done I open the door and try to step outside, but I am pushed back inside by someone familiar. Sola closes the door behind her and locks it, grinning at me with an expression that's probably intended to look lustful.
“Is there something you need?” I take a step backwards.
“~There is something I want.~” She steps closer and unbuttons the chest-piece of her blue dress.
