Leopold stared at Nathan. Slowly, he placed the marker down.
“Well, I imagine that will terrify Theus,” Leopold said.
“You know him?”
“I’ve heard of him before. My Champions ran into him at Forselle Valley. A thug carved from marble and a face ripped right from a painting. He’s stupid. Very stupid. Normally I’d say that losing a Champion would be enough, but I doubt he’ll admit it to anyone.” Leopold sighed. He rubbed his eyes.
“He doesn’t run the show,” Nathan said. “A regent does.”
“Your new recruit told you that, I take it?” Leopold grunted. “I’m ninety-nine percent certain that High Lord Torneus is behind this. He’s a conniving bastard who stabbed his way to the top and helped build the Federation. I’d blame him for a lot of the problems in the world today, but that excuses the people that work with him.”
Nathan scowled inwardly. He had been right. Torneus had been behind Seraph.
In his timeline, Nathan had struggled with Torneus right up until the Federation collapsed under the weight of the man’s arrogance. The man was the definition of vindictive. What he couldn’t rule, he would see burned to ashes around him. In the end, Torneus didn’t live to see it burn. Narime incinerated him first. But the damage had been done. Torneus brought down every nation west of the Gharrick Mountains in Nathan’s timeline.
Arguably, he brought down every nation east of the Gharrick Mountains as well, if he was behind the invasion of the Empire to begin with.
Now Nathan had to deal with the bastard again. If he wasn’t careful, the same thing could happen.
There was no way that the war had been avoided. If Nathan let this end here, then Torneus would find a new way to bring about the end of the world.
Leopold saw Nathan’s face and let out a dark chuckle. “I’m guessing Sunstorm shares my opinion, if that’s your reaction. That bodes well. It makes me trust her that much more.”
“You said that I prevented a war with the Federation,” Nathan said, choosing his words carefully. “Can we really say that’s the case?”
“Yes,” Leopold answered without hesitation.
Nathan grimaced.
“Hold your horses,” Leopold said. He shook his head. “The fact is that we can walk away if we want. The Federation won’t attack. Theus is terrified and they won’t have the resources. So we can sit on our hands until after winter if we like, which will keep His Majesty happy and the people unaware of the Federation’s aggression. That’s a possibility.”
“And the other?” Nathan asked.
“The other is on your map.” Leopold inclined his head at the mess of markers on the map of the region. “We use their attack as a casus belli—that’s a justification for a war, if you don’t know the fancy term—and invade the Federation. I don’t know how much territory we take. I’d wager a couple of binding stones would be a nice start. Those always look nice. And I have some political tactics up my sleeve to keep their neighbors out of it.”
“The leyline disruption,” Nathan said bluntly.
“You’re sharp,” Leopold admitted, his eyebrows shooting up.
“Heresy isn’t taken lightly by other Bastions. The dark elves and fairies won’t intervene if they think the Federation is up to something.”
Leopold smirked and said nothing.
Silence fell over the pair. Nathan felt that the choice lay with him, despite Leopold’s earlier comment that the Emperor had tasked the old man to do this.
“I have a plan to retake Vera’s tower and to capture Fort Taubrum,” Nathan said. “But I need your support.”
“You need a Champion?” Leopold asked.
“At least one monogem Champion. Preferably two,” Nathan said. “Anything less and I think the risk is too high. I’ll lose Champions and won’t be able to defend what I capture.”
Leopold nodded slowly. “Interesting. You realize that Fort Taubrum’s binding stone is warded, don’t you? The sorcerers from the capital can undo the wards, but it will be weeks. You’ll need to defend what you capture without a binding stone.”
“As I said, I have a plan. I only need your support,” Nathan repeated.
“Your confidence is fascinating.” Leopold grinned. “Very well. I will be your support.”
Nathan blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“I may not be a Champion, but you know as well as I do that a Bastion backed by binding stones can keep up with a monogem,” Leopold explained, his eyes glittering. “So, I’ll fight with you on the front lines. I’m looking forward to seeing you in action, firsthand.”
Somehow, Nathan felt that he might have made a mistake.
Chapter 34
Sparks flew as Fei and Sunstorm clashed. Neither broke through the other’s guard, and they both leaped back. They circled.
A crowd gathered in the training grounds. Soldiers and servants pressed themselves against the fence that separated the sparring ring from the rest of the training grounds. An enterprising young soldier began taking bets, and soon odds were set. Money exchanged hands.
The two Champions ignored the peanut gallery. But Ciana and Sen didn’t. The pair sat on a bench inside the sparring ring, where the four women had been taking turns to train and spar all morning. Ciana glanced backward.
Nathan waved at her, but ignored her look of concern. He doubted that it hurt for the women to be aware of their popularity in the fortress.
The life of a Champion meant becoming very well known to strangers. Sometimes too well known. Nathan remembered a lot of occasions where his Champions had clung close to him at parties, due to overbearing nobles.
By contrast, the attention from the soldiers was innocent. They respected and adored the combat prowess of Fei and the other Champions. If Ciana acclimatized to this attention, then it could only help her in the future.
So Nathan continued to read through the paper he had in front of him. He made some notes in the margin as he went through it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he continued to monitor the duel. Some time passed as Fei and Sunstorm fought to prove who was superior.
Neither Champion used their gem abilities. Strictly speaking, this put them on an even footing.
In practice, it showed the raw gap in experience and skill between them.
Both Fei and Sunstorm had the same enhancement. They were both monogem Champions. Both were physical fighters. Sunstorm had a few years on Fei, however. And her background from Kurai went back into her teenage years, whereas Fei was a fresh Champion.
Fei swung, Sunstorm blocked. Fei feinted, but Sunstorm saw through it.
Even when Fei pushed Sunstorm off-balance or seized the advantage, she failed to follow through. Sunstorm’s superior footwork or her experience in recovering from failure allowed her to stay in the fight.
This current spar was desperate and heating up rapidly. Fei rained down blow after blow, pushing Sunstorm to the edge of the sparring circle. A combatant couldn’t defend themselves outside of the circle, so a follow-up blow from Fei meant instant defeat for Sunstorm. Even so, the assassin continued to retreat.
She held her ground right at the very edge. The moment that Fei moved in for the kill, Sunstorm dropped both of her swords. As her arms twisted around Fei’s sword arm, Fei let out a yell. The beastkin pulled back with all of her strength and rolled. Both women scrabbled with each other on the ground.
Nathan sighed and went back to the paper, realizing he had let himself be distracted by the finale to the spar.
Seconds later, Sen called out, “Victory to Sunstorm. That’s four-to-one, so Sunstorm wins.”
The crowd groaned. The proceeds from the bets were doled out. Only a handful of people looked happy. Fei was a popular girl in the fortress. That was only natural, given she was the homegrown Champion.
Unfortunately for them, Fei still needed more experience. Her gem ability and raw talent made her an exceptional fighter. But her judgment tended to be lacking.
Such as cho
osing to engage Sunstorm in a brawl when she had the advantage prior. Sunstorm was an expert in unarmed combat, and Fei wasn’t. Reacting faster and pulling back would have been the best option, but failing that, Fei had daggers in her belt. Sunstorm would have had no choice but to let go the moment that Fei pulled out another weapon with her spare hand.
Instead she surrendered her best advantage, was dragged down into the dirt, and quite literally beaten.
The four women milled about in the sparring ring, no doubt deciding what to do next.
Their decision was made for them when the cooks brought out lunch. Boar was the dish of the day, and the wine and honey glaze dripped onto the serving platters.
“Is this going to be enough?” Sen asked.
Ciana gave her an odd look. “Isn’t this almost an entire boar? I thought others were joining us.”
Moments later, Ciana’s look changed to one of horror as Fei tried to stack her plate high enough to raise concerns about the integrity of the plate.
“Fei, you can get seconds,” Nathan chided.
“Fine,” Fei mumbled, and returned some of the hunks of meat she had taken.
“You get used to her,” Sen said.
“Where does she put away all that meat?” Sunstorm asked.
“Her tits, I imagine,” Sen muttered.
Sen, Sunstorm, and Ciana stared at Fei’s impressive bust, then at their much less impressive chests. Their eyes immediately focused on Sunstorm, and Sen’s eyes narrowed.
“You seem to be doing well enough,” Sen said. “I thought they were smaller.”
“I strap them up in battle,” Sunstorm admitted. “They get in the way otherwise. And I’m quite certain that their size is due to my parentage. My mother and sister were both larger.”
“Lucky,” Sen muttered. “If they get in the way, how do you deal with them, Fei? I can’t even fit them in my hands.”
Fei tried to answer, but her words came out as a garbled mess.
“Chew, then swallow,” Sen told her.
Fei did as told, then said, “Um, practice? I had to hunt daily for my food in my village. I ate too much, so they stopped giving me my allocated ration when I came of age.”
“Practice doesn’t make things that size move less. I know,” Sunstorm said between bites.
“Beastkin physiques are different,” Ciana answered quietly. “Because we move so much, and are often nomadic, are bodies are much more adapted to physical movement.”
Nathan listened in without saying a word. He found their conversation fascinating. Mostly because he was certain they had forgotten that he was here.
Normally when he was around, one of them tried to get his attention and that caused a fight. Usually Fei. He kept things from devolving too far by enforcing a strict rule about no sex outside the bedroom.
“So, what, Fei grows bones beneath her tits?” Sen asked.
“I haven’t,” Fei objected.
“No, it’s more that we have magic within our body that supports our bodies,” Ciana said, shaking her head. “We look like humans—”
“Except for the tails and ears,” Sen interrupted.
“And the rutting,” Sunstorm added.
Ciana blushed. “Let’s not talk about that.”
So, she was aware of that aspect of beastkin behavior. Fei showed no reaction, which suggested she was not.
Nathan considered that unsurprising. Fei’s upbringing didn’t involve a good education, and he appeared to be the first man she had shown a serious interest in. It might be another year before her beastkin physiology reared its head. Although Nathan had ordered medicine to deal with it anyway.
The last thing he needed was for Fei to be distracted in battle. She was Nathan’s Champion, not his pet.
Ciana cleared her throat and continued, “We look like humans, and largely act like them, but we have differences. The same that fairies and elves do. My stamina is far higher than a human’s. Fei can likely run faster and is more dexterous. Wolves can bend steel with their bare hands. Compared to a Champion enhancement, it’s nothing, but it matters against ordinary humans.”
“And that makes it easier for Fei to fight with large breasts?” Sen said, her voice echoing her disbelief.
“She won’t have the physical discomfort or other issues that a human woman would,” Ciana said. Then she paused. “Plus, she’s a Champion. I think enhancements take care of that anyway. Given the speed she moves at, her bones would break without magical help. She’s cutting through steel and running faster than draft horses.”
Sen opened her mouth to argue. Then closed it. She grimaced. “Okay, yeah, fair enough. I don’t have an enhancement, so I forget how inhuman they are by default. The whole ‘magic runs through their veins and makes them inhuman’ thing. Huh. No wonder the nights go on for so long.”
Sen’s eyes pierced Nathan’s body. So they did know he was here. He ignored them and continued to eat his lunch while finishing the paper.
“What’s that you’ve got there, Nathan?” Sen asked, refusing his attempt to ignore her and continue eavesdropping.
“An assessment for Ciana,” Nathan said. “Leopold asked me to handle her education while he’s busy.”
“Busy, huh,” Sen said. She looked sidelong at Ciana, who avoided her gaze. “Isn’t your Bastion supposed to be helping us when we march through the pass soon?”
Ciana remained silent.
“I guess he must be really busy up north, huh.” Sen waggled her eyebrows and leaned in close to Ciana, who glared back at her. “He’s visiting a couple of his Champions and didn’t want you getting in the way of his all day sex romps?”
Ciana pouted. “Probably.”
Sen’s face split into a grin and she giggled. “Wow. Despite his age, he really is more like Nathan than I thought.”
Ciana tried not to appear interested by the comparison. Her horse ears twitched, and her tail swished rapidly from side to side. She cleared her throat and looked innocently at Nathan. “Leopold said he only had time for the visit because Lady von Clair wasn’t ready. Is there anything in particular happening?”
“Anna is making some additional preparations with her troops,” Nathan said. “And I need to gather more power in the binding stone. It’s still summer. We have time before the weather worsens in the pass and makes travel difficult.”
“What happens if this duogem Champion attacks us while he’s away?” Sen asked, pointing her fork at Nathan as if to challenge him.
“That would make things easier for us,” he replied.
Sen scowled. “What if she attacks with a dozen Champions?”
Sunstorm opened her mouth to counter the idea, but Ciana spoke first.
“That would be improbable,” Ciana said.
Sen blinked and stared at the unicorn beastkin. Ciana held Sen’s gaze without flinching or ducking her head.
Continuing, Ciana said, “The engagement at Forselle Valley suggests that most of the Federation’s Champions are located there. Which is reasonable, given how much military strength the Empire has in the north right now. Furthermore, the Federation has significant commitments to the east. Its eastern border touches the Houkeem Desert and is under constant attack by demons invading from the Kurai Peninsula. They also must—”
“I get it, I get it,” Sen said. “The Federation is a small nation, with lots of neighbors, and all of their Bastions and Champions are already tied up. Everybody knows that. But what if they decide that it’s worth the risk to take us out?”
“They won’t,” Sunstorm replied. “If they were willing to take that risk, they wouldn’t have sent expendable Champions like Seraph and me.”
The table fell silent. Sen looked between Nathan and Sunstorm in search of help. This situation was far from her specialty.
“Done,” Nathan said, changing the topic. He handed back the paper to Ciana. “I’ve made notes in the margins regarding some of what you wrote. But largely, there’s not much to correct.”
/> “Are you sure?” Ciana asked, eyes wide. She held the papers against her chest.
“Yes. Your knowledge is well beyond what they teach at the academy. At this point, the only ways you’ll learn are books, experience, and other Bastions and Champions,” Nathan explained. He dug into a side of boar, after pouring some relish over it.
Fei tilted her head and swallowed. “If it’s not taught in the academy, how come you can grade her assessment?”
Sunstorm and Sen suppressed smirks, their eyes focusing on Nathan. Surely, he couldn’t worm out of this one.
But Ciana shook her head. “Nathan has already proven that he used his time at the academy very wisely. I’ve learned a lot of what I know from books and questioning the academy’s meisters when Leopold takes me there. There’s a lot more for me to learn.”
“That’s a smart approach to take.” Nathan smiled, and Ciana ducked her head. “Although you should start thinking about your path.”
“My path?”
“Whether you want to become a Champion or a Bastion,” Nathan said. “I can’t speak for Leopold with regard to your aptitude, but I can say that you know a lot more than most Champions ever learn.”
“Should we be offended?” Sunstorm asked.
Nathan shrugged. “There’s no reason that I can’t tell you more about the secrets of a Bastion. You’ve taken a similar oath.” He left out that Ciana hadn’t, which could be a concern under normal circumstances. “Most Champions don’t gain anything from knowing this sort of thing. And a lot don’t have the aptitude.”
All eyes subtly turned to Fei, then back to Nathan.
“So, I should become a Bastion, given the choice?” Ciana said.
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Nathan paused and chose his words carefully. “Champions rarely make good Bastions, but almost all Bastions make good Champions. But I don’t know if anybody could be both a great Bastion and a great Champion, if they somehow had the ability to become both. I’m sure that one of these paths is right for you. Leopold has offered you a choice that very few get. I recommend that you make the most of it.”
Heretic Spellblade Page 29
