The Empress’s Mage

By Niall Teasdale

Copyright 2021 Niall Teasdale

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Contents

Part One: Student

Part Two: Apprentice

Part Three: Journeyman

Part Four: The Life of a Wandering Mage

Part Five: Teacher

Part Six: The Town Where Magic Is Made

Part Seven: Capitol

Part Eight: Dragon Hunt

Part Nine: Tutor

Part Ten: The Empress’s Mage

Epilogue

Part One: Student

Greenwall, 10th Hinerasur 1453.

Jessalyn opened her eyes and looked up at the wooden boards of the ceiling. Today was her eighth birthday, and she took a moment to allow that to sink in and revel in the fact that she was now a year older. That was, she thought, something of an achievement. She had been determined that she would be as healthy as her relatively frail body would allow on her birthday. She had, it seemed, achieved her goal. There was no sign of fever or headache. Her breathing was easy. Now it just fell to her parents to remember their promise that, should she be fit to do so, she would be allowed to go foraging with the other children today.

Because, though it was her birthday, there was to be nothing else special about today. Her mother might make something a little special for dinner tonight, but that was about as extraordinary as things were going to get. Tomorrow would be a rest day, but today everyone worked, just like they did on every other workday of the year. Jessalyn’s family were not wealthy enough for presents or costly celebrations. Most people in Greenwall were not wealthy enough to let something as simple as getting older be an excuse for slacking off. Jessalyn herself was looking forward to being put to work on her birthday! She frowned and wondered briefly what was wrong with her.

Of course, the answer to that was simple: diseases seemed to love her with a passion normally reserved for close family. If you could catch it, Jessalyn had suffered from it. That was probably an exaggeration given that there were plenty of diseases which would surely kill you and Jessalyn was not dead. Yet. Still, she was eight but looked more like she was five or six. She was small and underweight. She could pretty much keep up with the other children her age but she winded quickly and easily. Wounds closed slowly and there was her susceptibility to every form of contagion going. She was constantly being described as ‘cute’ and ‘sweet,’ which she hated. Her brown hair was cut short – as was the convention for younger children – and her eyes were a sort of light brown with flecks of yellow and blue in them. She had a round face, a little gaunt from her illnesses, strongly bowed lips, and a small curved nose. The local women loved pinching her cheeks, saying a little blush in them would make her look less pale. Jessalyn bore their attentions with fortitude because she was a child and children did not scream at their elders.

Slipping out of her parents’ bed, Jessalyn prepared for the day. She shared her parents’ bed because there was no room elsewhere. Her older brother and sister, Tatton and Wilda, slept in curtained alcoves built into two of the bedroom’s walls – though Tatton was complaining that it was getting cramped in his – but Jessalyn slept beside her mother, Sarah, under her own small blanket because her father, Foster, had a habit of turning over and dragging the larger bedclothes with him. Tatton was taking after his father and was likely to grow up into a strong youth, if lacking in brains. Foster was a big man with little talent for anything other than labouring. Tatton had higher aspirations: he would be starting as an apprentice guard in a few months. Though Foster would never admit it, the family made more money from Sarah’s weaving than it did from his work.

Jessalyn pulled on her undershirt and then her dress, and quietly left the bedroom to step into the only other room the family had which was probably best described as the kitchen. There was the hearth in one corner, with a stack of firewood beside it, and a table in the middle. There were cupboards in which could be found plates and bowls and cutlery, and whatever non-perishable foodstuffs they had in. Beside the shuttered, glassless window was her mother’s loom and the materials used in clothmaking. Jessalyn’s home occupied the middle floor of a three-storey wooden building and she could tell that the family above had not risen because she could not hear their feet on the floorboards.

It was the duty of the first one up to light the hearth which had burned down to ashes in the night. The stone was still warm, but there was no fire to make it warmer, and without it there would be no porridge for breakfast. Generally, the process was somewhat laborious. Put tinder in the fireplace, light it, then add kindling and build up the flames before you finally added larger pieces of wood. When Jessalyn was doing it, she had a shortcut. She could only use it when she was sure her father would not see her at work, but it was likely that he would be asleep for a while longer, so she was good.

Taking two hunks of firewood – the driest she could find – from the pile, she opened up the firebox and placed them inside. Then she concentrated, making the sign of fire with her right hand while she spoke a few simple words of Celestial. A spark of orange light jumped from her fingertip and landed on the wood. Smoke curled from the impact point, flames burst up, and soon the wood was burning. She put another log on top to be sure it kept going and closed the doors. And then she looked up at the bedroom door to be sure that Foster was not standing there with a scowl on his face. He had an unaccountable distrust of magic, even though a lot of people knew minor spells like that one. Her mother knew at least one spell, which was why there had been no more children after Jessalyn. Jessalyn had no clue why her father was so hostile to magic, but she really wished that he would get over it.

Next, Jessalyn checked the water bucket and found it to be empty. They would also need water for the porridge, so her next task was to head downstairs to the well outside. She put on her clogs to do so, lamenting the fact that they were too big. They were hand-me-downs from Wilda, and her mother had said she would grow into them. Eventually. Clothes passed down from Wilda could be adjusted for Jessalyn’s smaller frame, but clogs were an entirely different matter. Clogs were ubiquitous for children since they were hardwearing and could account for some growth. Boots were reserved for adults. Picking up the bucket, Jessalyn left the apartment and began to make her way carefully down the stairs to the ground floor. Loose clogs and stairs were an accident waiting to happen.

On the way, she considered the improvement in her ability to work magic. No one had taught her. Well, Master Zachary had taught her the spell to light fires and another to find things she had lost, but the others had materialised in her mind as she needed them. The first time it had happened, she had wanted a light to see by when she had woken in the middle of the night. She had really wanted that light and then there were words and gestures in her head. When she had spoken the words and moved her hands in the right way, a small ball of light had appeared in front of her and she had been utterly delighted for the second before the pain hit her and she had fainted. It had taken two weeks for her to recover, but that had been put down to her general frailty; no one else had seen the light or known what she had done. She suspected, quite strongly, that it was working magic which had dropped her and had avoided it even though the spell had remained in her memory, waiting to be used.

She had been five then. Three years later, she could work spells like the fire spell or the light spell and not harm herself. If she worked too many spells too closely together, it hurt. So she avoided that, and she never allowed her father to realise that part of her ill-health lay in her attempts at working magic. He would shout at her and forbid her from ever doing it again. As she stepped out into the morning light outside the apartment building, she reflected on the fact that part of her loneliness stemmed from the fact that she was, even at eight, the smartest member of her family by a fairly large degree.

Unfortunately, Jessalyn’s smarts were of little help when hauling the bucket, now full of water, out of the well. Southgate, the district of Greenwall where Jessalyn and her family lived, was arranged in a grid of bubbles. That was how Jessalyn thought of it anyway. Some twenty wooden buildings were arranged in a circle around each ‘square’ – the squares being round – and each square had a well in the middle of it. The wells were not hugely deep because the groundwater was not far below ground in Greenwall, but it still took Jessalyn quite some effort to pull up a bucket. Then there was the task of carrying it back into her building and up two flights of stairs without spilling much of it. She had to stop on the landing between floors to rest her small hands, but she made it to the top without getting too tired.

Her mother was there to take the bucket as soon as Jessalyn opened the door. ‘Thank you kindly, Jess,’ Sarah said. ‘That wasn’t too much for you, was it?’

‘It’s heavy, but I managed,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’m not even out of breath.’

‘Mm. I’ll put the porridge on. And happy birthday.’

‘Thank you, Momma.’ With nothing left to do unless asked, Jessalyn climbed up onto a stool which sat at one end of the table. Her stool. It was taller than the other four around the table and she really did have to climb to get onto it. Once perched, she just sat there, absently swinging her legs in free space, and waited for breakfast to be served.

Sarah was a pretty blonde, tall compared to most of their neighbours and possessed of a substantial bust and wide hips. At the moment, her hair was bound into a loose plait to keep it out of her face. She hummed as she worked, pausing only to ask, ‘Are you looking forward to going out with the other children today?’

‘Yes. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.’

‘You’ll stay with your brother and sister?’

‘Yes.’

‘And do as they say?’

There was a slight pause before Jessalyn said, ‘Yes.’

‘Jessalyn…’

‘I will, Momma, even if it’s stupid.’

That did not get a response, partially because Sarah did not entirely think Jessalyn was wrong in her assessment, and partially because Wilda chose that moment to walk in from the bedroom.

Wilda was looking a lot like she would take after Sarah when she grew up. She had short blonde hair but was looking forward to growing it out. At ten and a half, she did not have her mother’s womanly figure, but she did have a pretty face with a pert nose and large blue eyes. Like Sarah, she would have looked prettier without the dirt which decorated her nose and high cheekbones, but just about everyone had a dirty face in Southgate. A bar of soap could cost as much as three moons and was considered by most to be a luxury item.

‘Happy birthday, Jess,’ Wilda said, smiling brightly. She was a cheerful girl. Practically nothing got her down. ‘Looking forward to your trip outside the gate?’

‘Thank you, Wilda. Yes, I am.’

‘Do we have to take her with us?’ That was Tatton emerging behind Wilda. He would be twelve in three months, but he looked older. He had almost as much muscle as their father, possibly because he frequently got to eat the meat Jessalyn passed up because of her illnesses. Their father had declaimed that ‘a strong body needs meat to feed it’ and so Tatton got the extra. Somehow the logic that not feeding Jessalyn that well would therefore make her weaker had escaped Foster. It was quite possible that Tatton had missed that too, though Jessalyn suspected that he would not have cared if he had figured it out. He was a bit gawky at this age, with a strong upper body and thin legs. His face still had the roundness of youth. He was taking after Foster but seemed to have missed out on the looks his father had apparently had in his youth; neither of them were much to write home about now, though Tatton had the chance to grow into a better visage. He had a hawkish nose, thin lips, and brown hair and eyes. Whenever he looked at his youngest sister, he seemed to be sneering.

‘Yes,’ Sarah stated flatly. There was no point in providing explanations to Tatton. He would take any qualification or reasoning as an excuse to argue. Less so with Foster, who would cuff him around the ear when he talked back, but anyone else was fair game. So, instead of providing material for a tirade on Jessalyn’s infirmity and how it would inconvenience Tatton, Sarah raised her voice. ‘Foster, the porridge is ready.’ This was a lie. The porridge would be another couple of minutes at least. However, another thing Sarah knew was that her husband would hang around in bed as long as he could. Calling him early meant he would probably be eating his breakfast hot and not complaining it was cold.

‘She’ll just slow us down,’ Tatton grumbled. Louder, he addressed Jessalyn. ‘If you’re too slow, we’ll leave you behind.’

‘If you do,’ Sarah said, ‘your father will make sure you can’t sit down for a week.’

Tatton glared at Jessalyn. Jessalyn ignored him. It had been an empty threat anyway. Or… Actually, maybe their mother had needed to spell it out for him. And that was worrying on many levels…

~~~

Southgate was named, obviously, for its proximity to the south gate of the town. It occupied the southern half of the town, bounded by broader streets on three sides of the triangle. One road, on the east side, went up to the warehouses the foresters filled with lumber for sale. The west side was the road the better off used to avoid the smells from the east side of town.

Smaller streets wound their way variously through Southgate, linking the squares together and allowing passage through to pretty much anywhere you could want. Almost every building in Southgate was made of wood because if there was one thing Greenwall had plenty of, it was wood. It was actually pretty amazing that there had only ever been one major fire in Southgate. The Southgate Fire of eleven sixty-two had burned down pretty much the entire district and resulted in the current building plan which, it was hoped, would provide greater resistance to the spread of flames. So far, it had not been tested, though smaller fires affecting one building were not entirely uncommon. These days, they usually ended when a mage arrived to snuff the flames.

Once you got to the southern point of Southgate, you entered the South Square which was, of course, not square. It was a sort of pie segment shape with the curved sides made up of buildings which were at least partially made of stone: two inns with rooms above them and several shops catering to travellers. One of the inns catered to wealthier clientele and was composed entirely of stone. The other was cheaper to stay in and drink at, and it had a stone ground floor with wood above. If you really had money, you stayed in neither; there was better accommodation available on the northwest side of town. At the point of the pie was the south gate itself, an imposing structure which was the first thing most visitors saw of the town.

Jessalyn had seen South Square before, but it was still exciting to arrive there knowing that today she would be walking through the gate to the forest beyond. What she knew was that Greenwall was surrounded by the Greenshadow Forest, the source of much of the town’s income. Foresters went out through the north gate to brave the denser, more dangerous woods to the north. Children, and not a few adults, would go out through the south gate to the less dangerous outskirts of the forest where they would find firewood, mushrooms, and various forms of wild fruit when in season, and they might even hunt for small game. There was little there that would harm you, though that was far from the case when you got into the deeper woods. About the most threatening thing you might face in what the foresters called the ‘Light Green’ was an annoyed rabbuck. Then again, a rabbuck was a threat to Jessalyn and they were always annoyed.

Tatton was up ahead, ignoring Jessalyn as much as possible and sticking with the other boys. This made it pretty hard for her to stay with both her brother and her sister, but Jessalyn was walking beside Wilda and within the cluster of girls who were out to forage. The idea was, mostly, that the boys would collect firewood while the girls handled mushrooms. There was not a lot of fruit to be had at this time of year, it being the middle of spring, but mushrooms were another matter. Wilda had looked a bit askance when Jessalyn had said she could help. Sarah had said that her youngest should be allowed to try because they could always check what she found after. Jessalyn found this lack of confidence irritating, but she was confident of her ability because she had a secret weapon which her sister, and even her mother, lacked.

The south gate was a massive, square, stone structure with the gate itself punched through it. Two sets of physical gates were placed at either end of the tunnel, but they stood open most of the time. In times of heightened alert, the inner gates would be closed until someone arriving at the gatehouse was cleared through, and then the outer gates would be closed before the inner ones were opened. Jessalyn was not aware of any time during her life when that had happened. Both sets of gates would be closed at sunset, however, even in peacetime.

Jessalyn looked up at the huge wooden gates, studded with metal spikes and hung on massive iron hinges. She took in the murder holes in the ceiling of the tunnel. She marvelled at the ability of the masons who had cut stone so precisely to make the walls. Her father knew masonry, but he was not that skilled. He was not unskilled, but this would, she thought, have been beyond him. Then they were through the gatehouse and walking down the road beyond, and they were surrounded on two sides by trees, and all thoughts of stone and building left Jessalyn’s mind.

They were outside the town! This was the world beyond the thick walls of Greenwall and it was green. Well, green and brown, but mostly green. Beside the road – which was a road here, covered in packed gravel to keep it from getting too muddy – there were bushes of various shapes and sizes. Jessalyn could name almost all of them, despite never having seen them before. She knew the ones with thorns and those without. She knew the names of the trees which grew behind the bushes. Here, the trees did not grow too thickly. It was easy enough to walk between them once you passed the bushes. She watched the boys pushing through bushes she knew would rip clothes and no longer wondered why she spent so much time darning holes in Tatton’s trousers. It was one thing she could do even if she was not physically capable of many household tasks. The girls passed on to a gap in the bushes perhaps twenty paces further down the road while the boys called them slowpokes. Boys, it seemed, were universally idiots.

They were now on the left side of the road, the eastern side, and they made their way deeper into the woods fairly quickly. The canopy overhead thickened, dappling the spring sunlight. Jessalyn was thankful that Rallia had decided to bless her birthday with good weather. It was a little cool out of the sun, but not at all bad. Her mother had wrapped a shawl around her shoulders before sending her out and she was rather thankful of the fact, even if the shawl was too big for her.

The boys were spreading out ahead of the girls, hunting for fallen twigs and small branches. If they saw something edible and worth collecting, they would shout it out for the girls. Or that was how it was supposed to work according to Sarah and Wilda. Jessalyn could see them stealing berries and such if they spotted them first.

‘Are you feeling okay, Jess?’ Wilda asked.

‘I’m fine. We didn’t walk too fast.’

‘If you get tired, you’re to rest, okay?’

Jessalyn gave her sister a pout. ‘I’m frail, not stupid.’

Wilda flashed a grin back. ‘I know, but you can be a little stubborn and you’ve been looking forward to this all winter.’ Which was not entirely untrue.

Jessalyn agreed to the assessment by not countering. ‘I’m going to look for mushrooms. I’m not going to stray far from you. I’m going to take my time and not push myself. Just being out here is enough.’

Wilda’s grin got broader. ‘I’m not sure I believe a word of that, but I’ll trust you for now.’

~~~

‘Oh, Jess, those are no good.’

Jessalyn did not look up from her task of very carefully cutting a large, semi-circular fungus off the trunk of an aged tree. You could not really call it a mushroom. About the size of a dinner plate, the fungus was dull brown on top and paler brown below and had the general consistency of soft wood. It did not look appetising.

‘You have to soak it for a day in water,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Then you can add vegetables and stew it or braise it in its own juice. It tastes like beef. It’s called woodmeat and it only grows on okel trees.’

‘Oh? Where did you hear that?’

‘I read about it in one of the books Master Zachary lent me.’ That was Jessalyn’s secret weapon: reading. Her family thought that nothing worth knowing could be found in a book, but Jessalyn knew otherwise. And given that she spent a lot of time in bed, she had a lot of time to read.

‘Oh. Well, I guess we’ll see.’ Wilda did not sound convinced. On the other hand, she was not dismissing it out of hand either.

‘Hey! Wilda!’ Tatton’s voice came from somewhere up ahead. ‘There are berries here.’

‘Okay,’ Wilda called back, ‘I’ll come look.’ She started off toward her brother, leaving Jessalyn to finish cutting the woodmeat.

By the time Jessalyn joined her siblings at the bush Tatton had found, it was to see Wilda looking curiously at a collection of black berries in small bunches on a straggly, dark-leaved plant. ‘I’m not sure,’ Wilda said. ‘I’ve never seen that plant before. Momma always says that if you don’t know, you should leave it alone.’

‘But they’re sweet,’ Tatton replied, grinning. ‘They taste–’

‘You haven’t eaten any of the berries, have you?’ Jessalyn asked, knowing the answer already.

‘I had a couple. They taste good.’ He had had more than a couple. There were at least six, maybe more, obvious stems missing their berries.

‘That’s acheberry,’ Jessalyn said, and Wilda let out a little groan so she had obviously heard of it. ‘You’re going to have an achy tummy in a few hours and then you’ll get the runs.’

Tatton sneered. ‘What do you know? You’ve never even been out here before.’

‘I read about it in–’

‘Oh, sure. You read about it. Get lost!’ Then he pushed her.

‘Tatton!’ Wilda shrieked as Jessalyn fell over backwards onto the rough leaf- and twig-strewn ground. Jessalyn’s right palm began to sting immediately; that was a cut or a bad scrape. ‘What were you thinking?’ Wilda continued as she rushed over to her sister. ‘If she gets hurt because you can’t control your temper, Momma will be furious.’

He had not been thinking at all, Jessalyn thought. Thinking was not one of Tatton’s strong suits, she added to herself. She said nothing but examined her palm instead. Making her brother more annoyed with her would be counterproductive. Sure enough, there was blood welling from her scraped palm. Jessalyn examined it dispassionately and concluded it was unlikely to heal properly for at least four days. It was starting to hurt quite badly and the only consolation she had was that Tatton was going to be in a lot more pain tonight.

‘Oh, blast you, Tatton! She’s bleeding.’ Wilda held out a hand to her sister and Jessalyn took it in her left hand to be pulled up. ‘Come on. There’s a stream not far from here. If you wash it, the bleeding might stop.’

That was good advice, especially if the water was cold. ‘Okay,’ Jessalyn said. She glanced at her brother, making sure to keep her face neutral, and then she set off behind Wilda to the stream.

‘Stupid cripple,’ Tatton said to her back.

Jessalyn ignored him. Tatton was a bully, and there was nothing to be done about it. Ignoring him was the best she could hope for.

~~~

Tatton was looking uncomfortable by the time they got back to the gate. He was walking slower and had fallen to the back of the group of boys. Jessalyn was trying not to grin and was not quite managing it. She was having so much fun watching her brother pretend he was not in pain that her own pain was almost forgotten, and she did not see Master Zachary walking toward her until he was barely a couple of paces away.

‘Hello, children,’ he said. He was a happy sort of man and sounded genuinely happy to see the group; he was not one of those old men who hated children. ‘Happy birthday, Jessalyn.’

Zachary did not really look like a master mage. For one thing, he dressed in clothing far below his station. He was always seen wandering around Southgate in rough, dirt-coloured robes, belted with an old leather belt around his expanding middle. He was not fat, but he was definitely not thin either. He was somewhere near fifty – Jessalyn recalled that he had had a birthday the month before – so the paunch was possibly to be expected. His black hair was receding and starting to turn grey. It tended to the wild and unmanageable, but that did help to hide ears which were a bit on the large side and tended to stick out from his head like handles. There was grey in his thick eyebrows and more than a few wrinkles on his face. His light-brown eyes were on the small side while his nose was on the large side and featured a thick bump midway down its length. His lips were thin but often smiling, as they were now.

‘Thank you, Master Zachary,’ Jessalyn replied in lieu of joining the chorus of welcomes from the other girls. Then she looked with interest at the book Zachary was holding out. It was not a thick book and it had no binding. Generally, the books he lent her were leatherbound. Handwritten on the front were the words ‘Primer for Magical Studies.’

‘This is for you. To keep. Some of the words might be a bit hard for you, but you can ask me about them if you need to. It’s a birthday present.’

Jessalyn’s eyes widened. She rarely got presents at any time of the year. She had never owned a book before. And this one was about magic! ‘Thank you, Master Zachary.’ She reached out with her left hand and he frowned at her.

‘You’re righthanded and carrying your basket on your left arm. Why would you not take your present with your right hand, I wonder.’ He caught her right hand before she could pull it away and turned it palm upward.

‘I… fell,’ Jessalyn said. The water had stopped the bleeding, but the scrape was now a livid red covered in threadlike scabs.

‘Hm.’ Putting the book in Jessalyn’s left hand, Zachary covered her right palm with his. A soft green glow could barely be seen coming from between their hands in the afternoon sunlight. ‘There. That should take care of it.’

The stinging was gone, that was certain. When Zachary moved his hand away, you could not tell that anything had happened to Jessalyn’s hand. ‘Thank you, Master Zachary,’ she said. ‘And thank you for the book.’

‘My pleasure.’

‘D-don’t we need to pay you for that?’ Wilda asked.

Zachary looked at it. ‘There’s no contract. I did not stipulate a cost beforehand, nor do I demand one now. If a man can’t help a child in need, he shouldn’t call himself a man.’

‘Oh. Poppa says–’

‘Dear Wilda, your father says many things and you should forget almost all of them as quickly as you can.’ He waved whatever remained of Wilda’s statement away and glanced at Jessalyn’s basket. ‘Ah, you found some woodmeat. Very nice, if you know what to do with it.’

‘It was in Woodland Plants and Fungi of the North,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’ll tell Momma when we get home.’ She paused, a slight smile curling her lips. ‘Tatton ate some acheberries.’

Zachary pursed his lips. ‘Not too many, I hope.’

‘He says not,’ Wilda replied.

‘You know the signs, Jessalyn?’

‘That was in Woodland Plants and Fungi of the North too.’

‘I thought you said that a man should help a child in need,’ Wilda said.

‘I did. Yes, I did. Now tell me that your brother isn’t the cause of your sister’s fall.’ There was silence. Wilda’s cheeks coloured. ‘Much as I thought. Pain is a great educator. Tatton should be an absolute genius by morning.’

~~~

‘Why didn’t you tell him not to eat them?!’ Foster demanded of Wilda. He demanded it in a voice loud enough that people two squares away could probably hear it. Wilda cowered before her father’s wrath. There was no wrath from Tatton who was downstairs in the soil closet. Jessalyn pitied her mother, who would be cleaning Tatton’s pants, and the nightsoil men who would have an even less pleasant job when they emptied the closet next week.

Foster was a big man and kind of dark. He had dark-brown hair and thick black eyebrows. His eyes were a dark shade of brown. When he was angry, he was threatening. He had a broad chest, muscular limbs, and shoulders which felt very supportive on the occasions when he had carried Jessalyn upon them. His nose was a little large and hawkish. His lips were a bit on the thin side. He was not really that attractive, but not really that ugly either. Sarah should have been out of his class, but love had a tendency to create unusual bedfellows, it seemed.

‘He ate them before he called out to Wilda to pick the rest,’ Jessalyn said. Her voice was quiet, but it was heard. Foster opened his mouth to yell but was stopped by Sarah.

‘That’s boys for you,’ Sarah said, shaking her head. She was working on some darning beside the open firebox. Jessalyn was on the floor beside her so that she could read her new book. ‘They always grab a few sweets before sharing what they’ve found. You used to do it, Foster. Don’t deny it.’

That took the wind out of Foster’s sails. He deflated, even if he still looked like he wanted someone – other than his son – to blame. ‘Is he going to be alright?’

‘So long as he didn’t eat more than a few berries,’ Jessalyn said. ‘You should check on him in a bit. If his face is turning red, we’ll need to ask Master Zachary for a potion.’

‘It could kill him?’

‘Cows die of it if they get into the bushes in spring,’ Sarah said. ‘You have to eat quite a lot of the berries, however. Mostly, you just spend the night with everything you’ve ever eaten falling out of your bottom while your stomach feels like it was kicked by a cow.’

Foster settled onto a stool, anger a thing of the past, it seemed. ‘Well, I suppose he’ll learn something from this.’

Jessalyn really doubted that but concluded it was best to stay quiet on the matter. Besides, she had a book to read and she needed all her concentration for that.

11th Hinerasur.

It was Ralliaday, the day when everyone rested. Theoretically. Modern society found it difficult to function if everyone took the day off, and the religious community considered Ralliaday the perfect opportunity to gather everyone together and feed them a large dose of doctrine.

Just about everyone in the world was religious, to some extent anyway. Some were, as in all things, more enthusiastic about it than others. The followers of Rallia tended to be more enthusiastic than the followers of Unerra, but that was at least partially due to the nature of the deities in question. Jessalyn was a follower of Unerra, by virtue of her parents being the same, so she went with them and Wilda to the Unerran church each Ralliaday. Tatton had been going to the Rallian temple for the last nine months because Rallia was the patron of professional soldiers, and Tatton was to be a town guard. This had not caused any problems in the family, it was just something which had happened, and Jessalyn for one was rather happy that her brother did not attend church with her.

Both churches could be found on the town square. The town square was, of course, triangular with one point facing north. The Temple of Rallia was on the northwest edge and so was considered part of the Merchants’ Quarter. The Unerran church was on the south side and so, at least technically, part of Southgate. Southgate was getting a little more genteel by that point anyway, but the relative positions of the two churches did reflect the congregation quite well. Rallia was favoured by the nobility and, by extension, the richer members of society. He was the personal deity and patron of the Imperial Family. Unerra was the goddess of the lower born, the ordinary folk. Rallia was the Sky God. Unerra was the Goddess of the Earth.

Besides the congregations, there was another difference between the two churches. The temple was big enough to hold its congregation. It was an imposing structure built of white stone with two towers which climbed toward the sky. The church was smaller and simpler. Built of grey stone, it was more or less just a box and, since much of Southgate worshipped there, it was quite incapable of holding everyone on Ralliaday. For this reason, come sun or rain, the congregation of Unerra gathered together in the square to hear the sermon and be blessed by the elder priestess. That was another difference: Rallia’s clergy were exclusively male and Unerra took anyone, though the upper ranks of the church were all female.

Jessalyn found a patch of cobbled ground which was not too dirty and settled onto it with her legs crossed. Her family, aside from Tatton, settled around her. Sitting on the cold ground for long periods was not too good for her, but today she disliked it for a different reason than comfort and possible health issues. What she really wanted to be doing was reading her book. Oddly, the first chapter had been concerned with Unerra and the creation of the world, a theme which came up frequently in the elder priestess’s sermons. According to Unerran teaching, Unerra had created the world and everything in it through an act of will. The world was made of magic. Magic flowed through it, constantly renewed by Unerra. The Rallians claimed that Unerra and Rallia had created the world in a more traditional, pseudo-biological manner – it had involved sex, which was something Jessalyn was not supposed to know about – and they claimed that the flow of magic was a result of the union. Mages, according to Jessalyn’s book, agreed with the Unerrans: Rallia had nothing to do with anything and had, in fact, probably been created by Unerra when she made everything else. Jessalyn had decided, on this basis, that Unerra was the goddess for her. Besides, Rallia came over as distant and snooty.

Not that Unerra was an especially approachable goddess. She was the Goddess of the Earth, the Goddess of Plants, and the Goddess of Magic. She was also the Goddess of Darkness and Secrets. Night was her time while Rallia ruled the day. Supposedly at least, Rallia spoke to his followers while Unerra was largely silent, though it was said that she spoke through omens. Jessalyn was not sure she believed in omens. The point was that Unerra kept her secrets and her distance. Rallia just felt distant, removed from the people who worshipped on the ground far below his sky.

The elder priestess climbed up onto the podium which was brought out every Ralliaday for the purpose and, without reference to any texts, she began. ‘In the beginning, Unerra created the world.’ Did she do that just to annoy the Rallians? She was an imposing figure, even if her age was beginning to show and she walked with a stoop. When she got up on that podium, her back straightened and her voice was clear and strong. She had straight grey hair always done up in a braid and her eyes were blue shading toward grey now. She wore the earth-brown robes of the Unerran clergy, though hers had some gold trim around the collar. ‘She made the earth beneath our feet, the sky above our heads, and all that lives and breathes between them.’ She just had to be doing it to irritate the Rallians. ‘Let the blessings of our Great Mother fall upon all those who revere her.’

Everyone bowed their heads to accept the blessing. Jessalyn did not really expect there to be one; blessing that many people would have taken a lot of power and the elder priestess was probably not as fit as she once had been. So, no real blessing, but Jessalyn did feel as though a shiver ran down her spine as the priestess spoke. She often did and assumed that it was the same for everyone. The old priestess was sort of charismatic, but she had barely started talking…

Raising her head, Jessalyn prepared herself to spend the rest of the hour listening to whatever today’s sermon was about. Hopefully it was not going to be too boring.

12th Hinerasur.

Magic was hard. That was inaccurate. Working magic was not that hard at all. Nine times out of ten, Jessalyn’s few spells worked flawlessly. Okay, so they were the simplest spells you could learn, but Jessalyn was eight. She had confidence that, when she was older, the harder spells would come just as easily to her.

Studying magic was a whole other matter. The Imperial Mages’ Guild put a lot of resources into trying to figure out how magic worked and exactly what it was. There were spells in existence today only because the guild had spent so much energy in that study. You could, theoretically, muddle through creating an original spell by luck, but knowing what you were doing was both more productive and safer. There were promising mages who didn’t exist today because they had tried something inadvisable to get what they wanted. Jessalyn did not want to be a stupid mage, but she was having some trouble working her way through her book.

‘This stew is really good,’ Foster said. Jessalyn was thinking about all of this at the dinner table. The stew in question had been made with the woodmeat she had cut, and it was interesting that her father seemed to be enjoying it. ‘I don’t recognise the meat. Tastes like beef but the texture’s not quite right.’

‘It’s a woodland species I don’t normally use,’ Sarah said. ‘Jess found a recipe for it in one of the books Master Zachary lent her, so I decided to try it.’ The girls of the family had decided not to reveal to the boys that the ‘woodland species’ was not an animal or even a plant. Foster and Tatton simply did not need to know.

Foster frowned. ‘In a book? Not a magical book?’

‘What kind of magic book has recipes in?’

Jessalyn decided not to mention alchemy at this point. ‘A book on things you find in woodland, Poppa.’

‘Huh. Well, I suppose there are useful things to read in books.’

Foster did not approve of the book Zachary had given Jessalyn. It was not a ‘magical’ book, because those tended to be horribly dangerous. It was not even a magic book, a grimoire, really. There were no spells in it, just a lot of long words about how magic worked. Telling Foster that would not have improved matters. It was progress that he thought books were good for anything.

Something she had been reading before her mother had called her to dinner came back to her and Jessalyn pondered it again. Spells, the book had said, were powered by the ‘mana’ which flowed through the world from Unerra. Mages gathered this energy together and redirected it to work their will. Gathering and holding the energy for a spell took effort and was tiring, which placed a limit on what any given mage could do. That was what the book had said: Mages got tired from working magic. Jessalyn had seen it herself when Zachary worked a lot of magic.

But that was not what she felt when she worked her spells. She had never felt tired. There had been pain. She had hurt herself. But she had never once felt sleepy let alone the exhaustion the book said could result from working too much magic too quickly. Either the book was wrong – something she was not willing to believe – or she was missing something. That just meant she had to work harder to understand. She had to read more and get Zachary to clarify the things she could not understand. It was exciting!

‘Well, you can make this again,’ Foster said.

‘I will,’ Sarah replied. She glanced at her youngest. ‘If I can get the ingredients, of course.’

‘I’m sure we can, Momma,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I like it too.’

5th Kanniasur.

Three months had passed and summer was in full swing. Jessalyn had read her book three times through and was beginning to think that she understood most of it. She still had a lot to learn, but she had made a start. Going further probably meant getting herself an apprenticeship and that was going to be difficult.

And speaking of apprenticeships…

‘You have everything you need?’ Sarah asked.

‘Yes, Momma,’ Tatton replied. ‘I mean, I don’t need anything except my lunch. I’ve got that.’

‘Good. That’s good.’ Sarah was nervous. Her son was about to begin his apprenticeship with the guard. He had turned twelve two days before and that was old enough to be accepted. It was Kanniday, the first working day of the week, so this was the first day he could go. The guards did not keep a barracks for apprentices that young, so he would be back tonight, but Sarah was acting as though he were going to war.

‘You’d think you were packing him off to another town, Sarah,’ Foster said.

Jessalyn was of the opinion that Tatton would not last long in the guards. She had a sneaking suspicion that Sarah was worried about him for the same reason that Jessalyn thought he would be kicked out: his attitude. Tatton was a bully. Jessalyn doubted that the guards would put up with him. Sarah probably thought they would beat him up before kicking him out. Jessalyn was trying not to hope for that because she felt that was a nasty way to think of her brother.

‘You will be careful, won’t you, Tatton?’ Sarah asked.

‘Soldiers aren’t–’ Tatton began. Then he noticed the warning look from his father. ‘Yeah, Momma. Of course, I’ll be careful.’

Jessalyn was a little surprised that she managed to stop herself from giggling.

9th Kanniasur.

Tatton looked like he had spent the day lugging bricks around. Maybe he had. The evenings all week had been filled with him complaining about his training. He fetched and carried. He exercised. He drilled. He had not so much as laid a finger on a sword the whole week. He was not pleased. Jessalyn had revised her estimate: she now thought her brother would quit before they threw him out.

Except that she spotted the bruise under his right eye as he walked through the door tonight. Unless there had finally been some combat training and there had been an accident, someone had slugged Tatton a good one.

‘I’m going to lie down for a bit,’ Tatton said as soon as he was in the door.

‘Dinner will be ready as soon as your father comes in,’ Sarah told him.

‘Just for a bit.’ Then he was gone, into the bedroom and likely into his bed alcove before there could be further argument.

‘He must have had a tiring day,’ Sarah said to no one in particular.

When Foster did return and they were all sitting at the table, Foster’s first question was, ‘How did you get that shiner, Tatton?’

‘It’s nothing,’ Tatton replied sullenly.

Sarah glanced at Foster, who returned the glance and then pressed the question. ‘Maybe, but how did it happen? Have they finally got you practising with weapons?’

‘Huh, no. We’re just there to do menial work. They say we need to be fitter before we can start training to fight.’

‘That seems reasonable,’ Sarah said and was ignored by both men.

‘So, how did you get the bruise?’

Tatton ground his teeth for a few seconds. ‘I asked Jarret to help me carry some crates of vegetables for the garrison. He told me to get lost, then he slugged me.’

Foster shook his head. ‘Workshy bullies like that shouldn’t be allowed in the guard. They’ll figure it out eventually and kick him out. Just be ready for him next time. Is he bigger than you?’

‘Yeah,’ Tatton said eagerly, ‘he’s–’

‘Jarret’s not that big,’ Wilda said. ‘He’s quick, though, and his father’s already a guard, so he probably knows a bit about fighting. And he’s not workshy. He used to help everyone get enough firewood when we went out to the forest.’

‘Oh!’ Jessalyn exclaimed. ‘Wasn’t Jarret the one who carried me back to the gate that time?’

‘Yeah, that’s him.’

‘He did say I was cute, which I’m not sure I can forgive him for, but he carried me when I got overtired, and… no one else would.’ She meant that Tatton had told her she should ‘man up’ and get on with it, but actually naming him would have probably been a bad idea.

‘I see,’ Foster said. He fixed Tatton with a stare. ‘It seems you haven’t learned to pick your fights very well, young man. But you have learned to lie to your father.’ That was a laugh; Tatton had been lying to both his parents for as long as Jessalyn could remember. Nothing was ever his fault. Like most bullies, he was insecure and desperately afraid of encountering someone he could not intimidate. Jessalyn was fairly sure that her brother was not a coward, however. If he had to fight – even a powerful enemy – Tatton would not run away. Maybe he would be terrified the entire time, but he would fight.

‘Sorry, Poppa,’ Tatton said, his eyes on the table.

‘Just make sure you learn from your mistakes, boy.’

‘I will, Poppa. I really will.’

18th Kanniamar.

There was much learning going around. For six weeks, through half the summer, Tatton had been learning. He was looking fitter, and he had begun to train with some basic sword and shield exercises within the last week. He had been really pleased with that. Unfortunately, he had also learned to ‘pick his fights,’ as Foster had put it. He only bullied people who could not possibly fight back, which included Jessalyn and Wilda.

So, being outside the town, in the forest, collecting whatever could be collected was Jessalyn’s favourite thing at the moment. She had learned a lot from her trips out into the woodland. Books, she had found, could tell you a lot, but experience was important too. Now she had some experience and, according to Wilda anyway, a bit of a talent for finding ‘the good stuff.’ Jessalyn had taught Wilda how to find and harvest woodmeat, so Wilda looked for that while she was gathering firewood. With Tatton working, he was not available to get wood, so that task fell to Wilda now. Jessalyn hunted for fruit and fungi to use in their meals. She was good at it, and the other children had started looking to her when they were unsure of something. A couple of times over the summer, when a storm had come down from the north without warning, it had been Jessalyn who had spotted the signs and suggested they seek shelter. Admittedly, only Wilda had believed her the first time, but the others were quick learners when it came to avoiding torrential downpours.

Today, there would be no rain. Jessalyn had found a spot among the trees where the sun was making it down to ground level. She was now lying in the sun, looking up at the sky with a pleased expression. Her basket was full, and she was resting before she went to find Wilda and help gather firewood. She had found and excavated a toadtwist plant. Above ground, toadtwist consisted of long, climbing stalks which occasionally smothered other plants. Below, however, it grew large, lumpy tubers on its roots which, if boiled well before eating, were highly nutritious and tasty. It had taken some effort to dig them all out, hence the resting.

She had now read her magic studies book a number of times and she thought she understood what it was teaching. She had asked a few things of Zachary when she saw him, and those questions had clarified some ideas she had not quite grasped. He had been impressed, which had made her happy. No one exactly knew why Zachary had chosen to come to Greenwall and live in Southgate of all places. He was a master mage, guild accredited. He could certainly make enough money from his magic to live in better circumstances. Indeed, he had come to Greenwall and bought the two-storey house he lived in with gold, so he had been wealthy in the past. Now he lived in the poorest part of a small town which was out of the way, largely unnoticed by anyone who was not interested in wood. The other master mage in town lived in the Merchants’ Quarter, dressed in fine robes, and possibly had a better lifestyle than the town’s lord. Jessalyn had never met the other mage, but she thought she would prefer Zachary anyway.

Rumours had, of course, spread about Zachary as soon as he had shown up. He had performed some unspeakable magic and was hiding. He had killed a count somewhere and was on the run. He had fallen in love with the daughter of a duke and been forced to leave Capitol or face the retribution of her family. Jessalyn was not buying any of those, though the last one was at least romantic. She could not see some beautiful young girl falling for Zachary, however. She suspected that, even in his youth, he had not been the most handsome of men.

Jessalyn closed her eyes. The sun was warm on her face. She could just drift off and take a little nap…

‘Jess! Jessalyn! Could you come look at this mushroom?’ That was Tahnee’s voice. She was about Wilda’s age, ten verging on eleven, and she was not too good at identifying edible mushrooms. She claimed they all looked the same to her.

‘Coming,’ Jessalyn called back. She wished Tahnee would learn, but she would not have been able to live with herself if Tahnee poisoned her whole family. ‘What colour is it?’

‘It’s… brown. Or maybe red. With paler spots. Maybe yellow?’

Jessalyn had wondered a couple of times whether Tahnee could not see colours properly. ‘That sounds a bit like cowspittle. But it could be firecap.’ Hauling herself to her feet, she started toward where Tahnee’s voice was coming from.

‘Which of those is better?’

‘Depends. If you dry firecap and cut strips of it, you can use it as really good tinder. If you eat it, however, you’ll die in horrible agony. Cowspittle’s good in stews, even if the name sounds like it should be disgusting.’

‘Oh. Which is this?’

Jessalyn rounded a tree to find Tahnee kneeling beside a clump of bright-red, pointy mushrooms with yellow spots. ‘That’s firecap. It’s really red. Cowspittle’s brown with cream spots.’

Tahnee, a pretty red-haired girl, made herself look remarkably cute by grimacing. ‘I just can’t tell the difference. I think there’s something wrong with my eyes. Anyway, do you want them? I just know if I take them, I’ll get them mixed up and use them in a stew.’

‘I tell you what, I’ll take them and dry them, and then I’ll bring some over to you when they’re ready. They really make fire lighting easy. Your momma will love them.’

Tahnee grinned. ‘You’re the best, Jess.’

Jessalyn returned the grin. ‘I know. I just try not to let it go to my head.’

16th Marilasur.

Autumn had come with the attitude that people should know it was here. For the past two weeks there had been a fierce wind blowing out of the north and no one had wanted to go outside unless they had to. The wind had brought several quite nasty storms with driving rain, just to make things worse. The service at the Unerran church had been torture that morning, but at least the rain had kept off until evening. Now Jessalyn and her family were huddled around the hearth, keeping warm until they all went to huddle under their blankets and hope the morning would be better.

They had more light than in previous autumns. Zachary had taught Jessalyn her first real spell. Anyone could learn the little spells she had used before, but this was an improved version of her light spell which was only taught to mages. It proved she had talent. She had the talent for magic a mage needed, if she could find someone to apprentice to. This new light spell created a light which lasted for a week, six days, and Zachary had said it was a bread-and-butter spell for journeyman mages. People would pay to have a magic light in their homes as it was safer and more convenient than oil lamps or candles. And definitely less smelly.

Foster had, of course, objected until he realised that he could save money if his daughter put the spell on one of their oil lamps. Then the light could be carried between rooms without the possibility of spilling or the need to buy oil. Then Jessalyn had started casting the spell for the other families in their building. She charged a few coppers for this service, which was cheaper than a week’s worth of lamp oil. Of course, she never got to spend any of this money as it went into the family’s coffers. She did feel like she was contributing more and she was doing it with magic.

Right now, Jessalyn was reading by the light she had created, sitting not too far from the fire because her mother did not want her getting sick. Yes, she had read the book many times before, but she thought she got a little something more from it every time she went over it again. Around her, the evening’s conversation continued.

‘It’s going to be a bad winter at this rate,’ Foster said. ‘Work’ll be slow.’

‘If you’ll help around the house,’ Sarah replied, ‘I’ll make more cloth. That’ll make up the shortfall.’ She was darning a sock. One of Tatton’s. He seemed to go through them at an alarming rate.

‘Jess said that when Marilasur starts hard,’ Wilda said, ‘it’s often a sign that winter will be easier.’

‘Oh really?’ Foster replied. ‘Got that from a book, did she?’ His contempt for this idea was readily apparent.

‘The same book that taught me about the mushrooms you like,’ Jessalyn said. ‘And the ones we use for tinder. And how to find toadtwist tubers.’

‘Huh.’

‘She has a point though,’ Sarah said. ‘Think back. When autumn comes in like this, we don’t usually have a bad winter.’

‘Well… Huh, you may be right.’ That pleased Foster. He did not like helping at home but would do it if it meant they still had food on the table. He had a ‘a man must provide for his family’ thing, however, and preferred to be the one bringing in the bacon. To be fair, society as a whole felt the same. Foster was just a fine example of a typical male.

There was silence for a second or two. ‘You’re eleven now, Wilda. Have you given any thought to an apprenticeship?’ Sarah asked.

Wilda looked as though she was giving it some thought now, but it probably was not entirely the first time. ‘I guess I’d like to learn to make cloth, like you. Or maybe a seamstress.’

‘Moving up in the world. A little ambition is a good thing. Perhaps I can teach you more about weaving over winter and we can look at seamstresses who might be willing to take you in the spring.’

‘That’d be good.’

‘Making clothes can be difficult,’ Foster said. ‘The money’s variable.’

‘Yes,’ Sarah countered, ‘but it’s something she can do once she’s married, and if she gets a good reputation, she can make more. People always need clothes.’

‘It’s a point. People always need strong backs and people to keep the peace, right, Tatton?’

‘Right, Poppa,’ Tatton replied. Tatton had got a lot better at hiding his bullying from his father over the past few months. Jessalyn thought that none of the other boys he trained with put up with his shit, so he took it out on anyone else he could. Jessalyn and Wilda were prime targets, but not when Foster was around. Tatton would still do mean things around Sarah because she just scolded him. Scolding Tatton was like yelling at a wall. He had even hit Wilda a couple of times, though he made sure to do so where the bruises would not show, and Wilda would say nothing to their father for some reason Jessalyn could not fathom. Jessalyn escaped Tatton’s fists because he knew he would get in trouble if he hurt her badly, which was far from difficult.

‘How’s your training going? You haven’t said much about it recently.’

‘Well, because we haven’t really done anything new. They still have us doing basic sword and shield drills along with a lot of other boring stuff.’

‘The basics are important.’

‘I guess.’

It was true. Jessalyn had figured that out. She was learning the basics of magic so that she could go on to learn the more exciting stuff. She supposed that Tatton could not really understand that. He wanted to know it all, be able to do it all, and he wanted it now. Well, Jessalyn was not going to be like that. Start from the bottom and work up. That was the way to go.

‘The fire’s going down,’ Foster said.

‘It’s almost bedtime,’ Sarah replied.

‘Yeah, but a couple of twigs might be a good idea.’

‘A couple of twigs wouldn’t make much difference.’

‘You might be right…’

‘I know what we could use,’ Tatton said and, in retrospect, Jessalyn thought she should have known what was coming. If she had known, then perhaps the rest of the evening would have gone quite differently, but she did not.

She heard Tatton get to his feet and take a step. Her book was torn from her fingers in an instant and was tossed into the open firebox before she could react. Her mind went numb.

‘Tatton!’ Sarah shrieked.

Words and gestures flooded into Jessalyn’s mind.

‘That was wrong, son,’ Foster said, ‘but what’s done is done. It was only a book.’

Jessalyn was speaking the words in her head before she really knew what she was doing. Her left hand inscribed the Celestial rune of fire in front of her. She was not even sure when she had stood up.

‘What did you say?!’ Tatton demanded. He turned toward his youngest sister, anger on his face. ‘What did you say to me?!’

Jessalyn raised her eyes to look into his and he flinched back half a step. ‘You burned it,’ she said in a soft voice as cold as winter snow. Her right hand darted forward and only then did the orange glow around it become visible. She could practically touch Tatton from where she was standing, and the bolt of flame hit him squarely in the chest. He let out a scream of pain as fire burned through his shirt and the skin beneath.

‘Jessalyn!’ Sarah screamed. Some detached part of Jessalyn’s mind thought about just how ineffectual her mother was being tonight.

‘Why you…’ Jessalyn turned toward her father just in time to see his fist swinging at her face. Pain blossomed on her left cheek, but she barely had time to notice, or realise that she was falling, before everything went black.

~~~

There were voices. Two of them were arguing. One of them was trying to calm things down. The higher-pitched voice trying to make peace was her mother. One of the other voices was her father, loud, brash, and angry. The other was… The other one was not as obvious at first. It was a man, arguing in a much calmer, almost cold tone. It was… Master Zachary. The mage was here?

‘She almost killed him!’ Foster shouted.

‘Now, Foster, he–’ Sarah sounded as though she was on the verge of tears.

‘She did not,’ Zachary said. ‘Considering the circumstances, I applaud her self-control. She could have killed him.’

Jessalyn kept her eyes closed and took stock. Her cheek was aching, but the pain she had felt before blacking out was down to a dull throb. It seemed that Tatton was still alive. And for that she was grateful. She hated him with a vicious intensity which scared her a little. No, a lot. He was her brother and she did not wish him dead. If Zachary was here, he had probably healed Tatton, which probably meant that her brother would learn absolutely nothing from all this.

‘How did she even know how to cast that spell?’ Foster asked. ‘Did you teach her? Was it in that accursed book?’

‘That,’ Zachary said, ‘is a good question. Well done. Now we can make progress. She does not have the training to learn that spell. Spells form a kind of hierarchy. To learn to throw fireballs around, you must first learn other spells to manipulate fire. Spells Jessalyn does not know. And no, the book was a primer on magical studies. There were no spells in it. Not even basic ones. So, how did Jessalyn, an untrained magic worker, work a spell which is taught to apprentices before they become journeymen?’

‘I don’t know and I want her to stop!’

‘Foster, please calm down,’ Sarah said. ‘I’m sure she didn’t mean to hurt Tatton so badly.’

‘Don’t be such a fool, Sarah! The girl’s–’

‘I wanted to hurt him,’ Jessalyn said. She opened her eyes and looked around at the three adults. She was, it turned out, lying on the kitchen table. There was no sign of Tatton or Wilda. ‘He hurt me. Why shouldn’t I hurt him?’

Foster surged forward, raising his hand.

‘If you so much as lay a finger on her,’ Zachary said, and now there was definite cold in his voice, ‘I’ll see to it that you spend the rest of your life as a gibbering, drooling imbecile.’ Foster stalled; he was angry but not stupid. Not that stupid. Zachary gave Jessalyn a smile as she sat upright. ‘Do you remember what happened, Jessalyn?’

‘Tatton burned my book, because he’s a bully and Poppa won’t do anything to stop him. I wanted to burn him like he did to my book. There was a spell in my head and I used it. It’s gone now. I don’t remember the words.’

‘The spell just came to you when you wanted it? Has this happened before?’

‘Yes.’

Zachary frowned. ‘That settles it then.’ He almost muttered the phrase.

‘Settles what?’ Foster asked.

‘Your daughter is a talented magic worker. She needs to be trained so that we don’t get other events like this. As she says, it’s unlikely that you will choose to control your son and he’s too stupid to learn from his mistake.’

‘What mistake? He didn’t do anything wrong.’

‘Foster, he did,’ Sarah said. ‘Tell me what you’d have done if he had burned something of yours.’

Foster was, obviously, smart enough to know when he was faced with an argument he could not win. But he tried. ‘It was just a stupid book.’

‘Which your daughter loved, and you were going to let him get away with destroying it without so much as a harsh word.’ Sarah set her jaw. ‘Things are going to have to change around here.’

‘They are,’ Zachary said. ‘For one thing, I intend to take Jessalyn as my student with the intention of apprenticing her when she’s ready. Go pack your things, Jessalyn. Enough for tonight at least. We can return tomorrow for whatever else there is since I have to finish Tatton’s treatment.’

There was silence. Jessalyn was staring at the mage with wide eyes. Sarah’s jaw had dropped open. Foster was looking a lot like he was about to explode.

‘You can’t just–’ Foster began.

‘Tell me you really want a mage living under your roof, Foster,’ Zachary said flatly.

‘She’s too young to be apprenticed,’ Sarah said. Her brain had re-engaged.

‘Guild mages start young,’ Zachary replied. ‘Rich families engage tutors for talented children. Those of our station must make do as best they can. I’m willing to take her on as a student, as a registered student, to train her up to the level she’ll need for apprenticeship. And, under the circumstances, I’ll forego the usual fee for healing your son. I’m feeling generous for no good reason. Go, Jess, fetch your things.’

Jessalyn clambered down from the table and hurried toward the bedroom. She was scared out of her mind and so excited she could not speak. Behind her, Sarah was talking very intensely to Zachary, though she could not quite hear what was being said. Her father was silent, his back turned.

In the bedroom, she found Wilda sitting on the floor beside Tatton’s alcove. The sound of pained tears could be heard through the thin curtain. Wilda got to her feet, walked quickly over to Jessalyn, and then pulled her to the opposite side of the room before speaking in a low voice. She had been crying. ‘I know he kind of deserved it, but you hurt him real bad.’ Jessalyn just stared at her older sister, not quite able to get her throat to function. ‘I had to run to Master Zachary’s shop and get him to come back here. And then Master Zachary mostly healed Tatton. He said it was dangerous to use healing too much too quickly. Then he took the worst of that bruise you’ve got from you. And then Momma asked me to watch Tatton while he rests, but all he’s done is lie in his bunk and cry. I think it still hurts quite a lot.’

‘Good,’ Jessalyn said.

‘That’s not nice, Jess.’

‘Neither is he.’

‘Well, no, but… I h-heard what was said. Are you really going with Master Zachary?’

Jessalyn considered that briefly. Her mind was swirling like one of the windstorms she had read about in the nature book she had read. ‘Yes,’ she said finally. ‘I don’t want to leave you and Momma, but I can’t stay with Tatton and Poppa. A-and Master Zachary will teach me about magic. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, Wilda.’

Wilda looked into her sister’s eyes and then nodded. ‘Then I’ll help you pack.’

~~~

The walk through the dark streets to Zachary’s home was scary and it left Jessalyn a little out of breath. When she stepped into the light of Zachary’s shopfront, she stopped immediately and stood there, breathing heavily. The room was illuminated by the same sort of light spell that he had taught her, and it showed a very basic shop with a counter and some cupboards in which she knew there were various potions for sale. Zachary practised alchemy along with his magic, as did most mages.

‘I’m sorry for rushing,’ Zachary said. ‘I know it’s not easy for you.’

‘I’m… okay.’

‘I’m sure you will be. Let me finish what I started on your face.’ He reached out to her cheek and green light glowed beneath her left eye. The throbbing pain subsided immediately.

‘You told Poppa that you couldn’t finish working on Tatton because working a lot of healing was dangerous.’

‘I didn’t exactly lie. Finishing on Tatton would have left me too tired to get back here. And I wanted to fix what your father did to you too. Now I’m here, I can sit down and rest. Assuming I can get up the stairs. Come.’

He set off through a door at the back of the shop and immediately turned right to go up a steep flight of stairs. There was another door at the bottom leading to rooms at the back but finding out what they were could wait. The stairs were hard work for Jessalyn’s short legs. She managed, however, even if she had to stop part way up to catch her breath. If she had not already been tired, she told herself, this would not have been a problem.

‘Now the problem we have,’ he said with his hand on a doorknob, ‘is that I only have two rooms. Upstairs, that is.’

‘We only have two rooms at home.’

‘Yes, but it’s a different matter to share a bedroom with someone who isn’t your family.’ He opened the door and led the way into the cosiest room Jessalyn had ever laid eyes upon.

The building was made of stone instead of wood and that clearly held the heat in well. On one wall there was a fireplace. A real fireplace, not just a hearth with a firebox. There was a shuttered window on the far wall with a desk under it, and that desk had books on it. Beside it was a shelf with more books. Jessalyn could almost smell the learning. Not all of them would be about magic, she was sure, but many of them would be and all of them would be able to teach her something. Closer to the door and set against the wall opposite the fire was an expensive-looking sofa with a low table set before it, and there was a big, comfortable-looking armchair closer to the fire. The room was warm, lit by both the fire and a light spell, and it felt wonderful just to be standing in the doorway.

‘I have spare blankets,’ Zachary said. ‘Perhaps you could sleep on the sofa. At least until we find a more permanent solution.’

Jessalyn walked over to the sofa and pressed on one of the cushions. Were there feathers in this?! The woodwork of the piece was carved and far more ornate than anything back home. More ornate than anything Jessalyn had ever even seen. Zachary gave off the impression of being just another commoner living in Southgate, but he was clearly wealthier than anyone else in the district. ‘I think this should be fine to sleep on,’ she said. ‘It’s softer than my bed at home and I’m small. Perhaps when I’ve grown up, I might find it difficult.’

Zachary laughed. Putting the bag containing Jessalyn’s rather meagre possessions down beside the door, he walked over to the armchair and sat down. ‘Oh, that’s better. I think we should make more suitable arrangements before you outgrow that bed, though I admit I’m hard-pressed to think of what we can do.’ He looked upward. ‘Perhaps something in the attic…’

Jessalyn sat down on the sofa. She needed to rest too. ‘Is magic really that tiring?’

‘You’ve cast spells, Jess. Do they not make you tired if you cast too many close together?’

Jessalyn frowned. ‘No. When I first cast a spell, it hurt. Now I can cast more without it hurting, but I never feel tired from doing it.’

Zachary sighed. ‘Ah, well that’s just the cap on it then.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Nor do you need to. Let us just say for now that it’s likely that you have a great deal of talent for magic. That just means that someone should have decided to train you before now and it’s likely a good thing that I’m going to do it now.’

‘That… makes it sound really scary.’

‘There’s no need for that. Never be afraid of magic, my dear young lady. Magic is both a gift from Unerra and a tool with which great things can be achieved. It is not evil. It is not good either. The morality of magic stems from the magic worker. Except, perhaps, for necromancy, but even that can do good when needed.’

‘Okay,’ Jessalyn said. She had only the barest clue what necromancy was. It had not been in her book. ‘That spell. The one I used to b-burn Tatton.’

‘Yes?’

‘I don’t think I ever want to learn that one.’

Zachary nodded slowly. ‘There are other spells you can learn to defend yourself. Now, I shall go down and make us both a drink before bedtime. Tomorrow, you can sleep in while I see to your brother. You will come out when both he and your father have gone from the house. Your mother has questions we both must answer and I’m quite sure your sister will need some reassurance. And then we’ll go see the young fool in the Merchants’ Quarter.’

‘Who?’

‘Master Layton. He’s the representative of the Imperial Mages’ Guild in Greenwall. We have to go see him to register you as my student.’ Zachary rolled his eyes. ‘Unerra only knows what he’s going to make of me taking on an eight-year-old girl as a student.’

17th Marilasur.

Sarah looked like she had spent a lot of the night crying. Wilda did not, but she looked terribly forlorn and she hugged Jessalyn with more ferocity than usual when her younger sister walked into the apartment.

‘You were alright last night?’ Wilda asked. ‘Where did you sleep?’

‘On the sofa in the living room. It was soft and warm. Master Zachary has feather pillows.’ Out of the corner of her eyes, Jessalyn spotted Zachary’s cheeks turning red.

‘At my age, a little comfort is welcome,’ Zachary said.

‘I’m sure,’ Sarah said. She was sitting across the table from Zachary. Each of them had a mug in their hands. Probably some of the terribly valuable tea Sarah kept for guests and had probably turned to dust in the packet since it had been bought. ‘Perhaps I should move in there too.’

Zachary went scarlet. ‘I’ll be trying to organise some more permanent sleeping arrangements. I admit that I was not expecting to take on a student so suddenly. My home is arranged for a single mage.’

‘You’ve never thought of taking a wife?’

‘Thought of it, certainly. On more than one occasion. But as a journeyman, my life was not really suited to marriage. When I became a master and settled down more, I was always too busy. When I tired of all that and moved to Greenwall… Well, I’m getting a little too old to be changing my ways in the manner most women would expect.’

‘I’m going to be a woman,’ Jessalyn said.

‘You are going to be an apprentice and then a journeyman mage.’

‘So, she’ll be travelling?’ Sarah asked. She sounded a little worried.

‘It’s the accepted path a mage takes,’ Zachary replied. ‘However, she’ll be eighteen before she can be raised to journeyman ranking and she will have been taught how to take care of herself. She won’t just be learning to cast spells as she goes through the student and apprentice stages. Journeymen must be able to defend themselves, so she will learn to fight with a staff as well as some offensive and defensive spells and basic healing magic. They must be able to make a living, so they learn the basics of negotiating contracts and bargaining for supplies, as well as keeping track of money. Jessalyn will learn basic alchemy, how to find what she needs in books and libraries, and she will further her education in what we know of how magic works. Before she leaves Greenwall, she will be made ready to do so.’

That seemed to ease Sarah’s worries, though the reason was not quite what Zachary had been aiming for. ‘Ten years. Well, I won’t have to worry about her until then, I suppose.’

‘You won’t have to worry then either,’ Jessalyn said, all confidence.

‘I’m your mother. I’m always worrying about you one way or another.’ Sarah gave a sigh. ‘At least you’ll be somewhere you can be treated when you fall ill.’

Zachary nodded. ‘She’ll get no days off for illness. By spell or potion, I can cure most maladies.’

‘I get a lot of reading done when I’m sick,’ Jessalyn pointed out. ‘But I suppose I’ll be doing plenty of reading anyway. He has so many books, Momma. I’ve never seen so many books. I’ll be able to learn so much.’ She was grinning like a little maniac, which just managed to make her look cuter. She would have hated it if anyone had pointed that out, however.

‘I assume she’ll be helping you around the house?’ Sarah asked.

‘I suppose I should apportion a few chores,’ Zachary agreed. ‘She’ll be helping me with some magical chores, including making potions and such, but a little cleaning and perhaps some cooking… She’s probably a better cook than I am. To be honest, I frequently use magic to cook my meals. It’s fast and the results are quite passable.’

‘Jess is a passable cook.’

‘It comes out okay most of the time,’ Jessalyn said, not sounding so sure. ‘I haven’t actually seen your kitchen yet.’

‘It’s downstairs, beside the workshop,’ Zachary replied. ‘We’ll get into things like that this afternoon. You can have a thorough tour of the house. Speaking of chores, I see no issue with Jess continuing to provide the light spell for you. Perhaps she should come here once a week while Foster is at work.’

‘I do it for the other apartments here too,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I, um, I’d like to keep doing that and giving the money to Momma. I won’t be here to help foraging. At least I can provide a little money to help out.’

‘Commendable. We’ll make arrangements.’

‘Thank you, Jess,’ Sarah said. ‘You don’t have to do that, but it’s welcome. Since you won’t be eating our food, our money will go further. You should keep a little of the money for yourself.’

Jessalyn pursed her lips. ‘We’ll see. Maybe it’ll depend on how Poppa acts the next time I see him.’

Wilda gave a grimace. ‘In that case we won’t be seeing any of the money.’

~~~

Jessalyn had never been in the Merchants’ Quarter before. She had seen it when she had attended church but walking into it was a novel experience.

Where most buildings in Southgate were wooden, perhaps with a stone ground floor and a few made entirely of stone, the Merchants’ Quarter was predominantly stone with some wood. On the other hand, it was not quite as rich as she had expected. The district was laid out on a true, very-nearly-regular grid. Very orderly. Even somewhat attractive. Yes, it was clear that the inhabitants had more money than the residents of her home district, but there was little ostentatious wealth on display. The buildings were of better quality. The people walking by were better dressed. Few of them paid any attention to Jessalyn in her rough dress or Zachary in his worn robes, however. A few clearly considered themselves a cut above the rest, but the majority were working people and considered themselves as such.

‘The people here have something of a reputation as snobbish,’ Zachary said as they made their way down streets which were somewhat cleaner than those in Southgate. ‘Most of them know their position in society, however. They know they’re not really that far above those in the other districts. That is something of an important lesson for a mage.’

‘It is?’

‘Mages exist beside the usual social rankings. Rank in the guild means rising through society. That’s by imperial decree. However, mages should endeavour to ignore that. As the saying goes, “Only the emperor is above us and none are below us.” We should treat everyone as equals, even the lowest of the low. It’s expected that such treatment is returned in kind. Treat everyone with the respect they deserve, and they should treat you with the respect you have earned.’

Jessalyn was a smart child. There were a lot of conditionals in that speech. ‘But it doesn’t always work like that?’

‘In every respect, it does not always work as it should. No matter how I try, I can’t stop some people in Southgate from bowing and scraping in front of me. There are plenty of nobles who look down upon everyone. They would look down upon the emperor given the chance, so mages are no exception. And there are proud mages who press their social advantages far too much. And here we are.’

They had come to a three-storey stone building with the ground floor clearly being something akin to a shopfront. A sign over the door proclaimed that the building belonged to ‘Master Mage Layton, purveyor of magical items, Imperial Mages’ Guild representative.’ The stone was white rather than grey. Even the tiles on the sloped roof were white. Jessalyn was thankful that it was autumn and the sun was not too strong; in summer, this place had to be blinding.

‘He used magic to recolour the stonework and tiles,’ Zachary said in a resigned sort of tone.

Jessalyn examined the white building with pursed lips. ‘Are you saying that Master Layton is one of those mages who presses his social advantages?’

‘I was implying rather than saying.’

‘I’m not sure I understand the difference.’

‘At least there are some respects with which you still act like a child. Come. Let’s get this over with.’

There was a bell over the door which rang as Zachary pushed it open. The interior of the shop was painted in a pale colour – something close to white but not white – and everywhere Jessalyn looked, there were dark wooden shelves with various items on them. Where Zachary made alchemical potions, it seemed that Master Layton made magical items. Jessalyn knew that Zachary did enchant items, but they were special orders, made specifically for a given client. Here you could buy things off-the-shelf, as it were. There was a rack of swords and shields. There were various racks containing jewellery of various sorts. The rolled-up carpet sitting in one corner seemed a little out of place, but it, like everything else, gave off a distinct impression of enchantment.

The least magical things in the room were Zachary, Jessalyn, the counter, and the man standing behind it. At first glance, Jessalyn was not actually sure she was looking at a man. He was dressed as a man in a rather fine waistcoat and shirt. He had shoulder-length blonde hair and quite large, bright blue eyes, a petite nose, full, rather pouting lips, and skin smoother than most women with a pale quality that suggested he did not go outside much. He was, Jessalyn thought, more pretty than handsome. He was smiling, though the smile got stiffer as he clearly recognised Zachary.

‘Master Zachary,’ the man said. ‘What brings you to Master Layton’s emporium today?’

Zachary did not return the smile. ‘Guild business. I need to see Layton.’ Before the other man could say anything, Zachary turned to look down at Jessalyn. ‘Jessalyn, this is Bailee, Layton’s apprentice.’

Jessalyn bobbed a rather imprecise curtsey. ‘Pleased to meet you, Apprentice Bailee.’ Before Bailee could respond, she added, ‘What’s an “emporium?”’

‘A shop,’ Zachary replied flatly. ‘Is it okay if we go through, Bailee?’

‘Uh, I’ll announce you,’ Bailee replied. His shoulders sagged a little, but he turned and went to a door behind the counter. A second or so later, his voice could be heard coming through from the back. ‘Master, Master Zachary is here to see you. He’s brought a child with him.’

Zachary was already moving, so Jessalyn followed. The door opened onto a hall with a staircase on the left and another door at the back. The walls here were dark wood and the hall would have been almost black if it were not for a light spell which glowed from a sconce on one wall. Bailee was standing in the door at the back, but he stepped away from it, apparently fully aware that Zachary was not going to wait to be invited in.

‘What is it you want, Zachary?’ the voice sounded both unhappy and resigned. It was a fairly pleasing baritone which, when Jessalyn got to see its owner, did not appear to fit him. Layton was a slim man, bordering on skinny. He had a thin body and a thin face, and also a pinched nose which jutted out from his face like an axe blade. His lips were, perhaps unsurprisingly, thin. His brown hair was cut short and very neat, and he was dressed in a shirt, waistcoat, britches, and boots, all of fine quality. The waistcoat was embroidered with dark-blue thread in some sort of flower pattern on a shiny, grey base. Jessalyn knew something of embroidery from her mother, and that work had to have cost more than a few coppers.

Zachary said, ‘Jessalyn, present yourself to the master mage,’ and he pushed her ahead of him with a hand on the back of her head.

Jessalyn managed another curtsey without falling over. ‘Good afternoon, Master Layton. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Jessalyn of Greenwall. My father is Foster, and my mother is Sarah.’

Layton regarded her in a manner which suggested that he was being addressed by a talking rabbuck. He then ignored her and spoke to Zachary. ‘She’s from Southgate?’

‘She is,’ Zachary replied. ‘I’m making her my student.’

‘You’re serious?’

‘I am. Look at her, Layton.’

Layton’s brows knitted, more in annoyance than concentration, but it seemed apparent that he had cast a spell because, after a second, his eyes widened. ‘How old is she?’

‘I am eight, Master Layton,’ Jessalyn said, because she was fed up with being talked over.

‘She’s already casting simple spells,’ Zachary said, ‘and some not-so-simple ones. I taught her Lingering Light and she’s been casting it for her family and neighbours.’

‘Not for free, I hope,’ Layton said.

‘I charge my neighbours a little,’ Jessalyn told him.

‘Hm. I suppose she’s not going to mess with the market doing it for one building in Southgate. And the oil salesmen won’t be too worried either. You want her registered properly? If she’s only a student…’

‘We do it properly,’ Zachary replied. ‘There’s going to be enough talk having an eight-year-old girl under my roof. I want the paperwork to be pristine.’ Stepping forward, he reached out and put something on Layton’s desk. When he took his hand away, it was revealed to be a gold coin with a hole in the centre.

Jessalyn’s eyes widened: she had never seen a coin that valuable in all her eight years.

More importantly, Layton’s eyes widened too. ‘You want the ring as well? It’s not usual–’

‘Special circumstances,’ Zachary said. ‘I don’t wish to discuss the matter here.’

Jessalyn really wanted to know what the ‘special circumstances’ were, but she kept her mouth shut. It came as something of a surprise that Layton did not make further objections. Instead, he picked up the coin and turned to a second desk at right angles to the first. This second desk was empty where the first had books and ledgers all over it. Opening a drawer, Layton extracted a scroll, a pen and a pot of ink, and a metal box which he proceeded to unlock with a key taken from around his neck. He dropped the coin into the box.

Next came writing on the scroll before turning to Zachary. ‘Sign.’

Zachary stepped forward, picked up the pen, and wrote his name beside whatever Layton had written. ‘You’re next, Jessalyn.’

‘She can write her name then?’

‘Don’t be an ass, Layton.’

Certainly, Jessalyn could write her name, but she had never used a pen before. A real pen formed of metal by a master craftsman. She was sure she would make a blot and ruin everything, but she stepped forward, took the pen from Zachary, dipped it in the ink as she had seen him do, and carefully wrote her name down beside Zachary’s. The rest of the line gave the date and then the word ‘Student.’

‘Now,’ Layton said, taking something from the box, ‘face me, young lady, and hold out your right hand.’ Jessalyn did as he commanded, and Layton held up a silver ring far too big for her with a single black jewel mounted in it. He slid the ring onto the middle finger of her right hand. ‘I, Master Layton of the Imperial Mages’ Guild, do confer upon you, Jessalyn, the title of student. Let none deny your right to wear this ring, a symbol of your power and vocation.’ The ring shrank around Jessalyn’s finger and the gem went from black to a pearly white. ‘There. See that you don’t disgrace the guild, Student Jessalyn.’

‘I-I won’t,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Thank you, Master Layton.’

‘Well, for a girl from Southgate, you have better manners than your master.’

Zachary shrugged. ‘Well, if I’m honest, that’s not hard.’

~~~

‘Master Zachary?’

Zachary looked across the low table in his parlour at his new student. ‘Yes, Jess?’

‘What are the “special circumstances” you wouldn’t discuss with Master Layton?’

‘Hm…’ Zachary looked at her for a long second and she began to shuffle a little on her seat. ‘You’re an intelligent girl, mature for your age, but I’m not entirely sure you should be burdened with that just yet.’

‘O-oh.’ That sounded scary. That sounded really scary. What was wrong with her?

‘On the other hand, if I don’t tell you now, you’ll just worry over it, and it’s probably important that you try to understand your limitations.’ He paused, looking up at the ceiling as though for inspiration. ‘You’ve been given a gift.’

‘A gift?’

‘A gift from the Goddess of Magic.’

‘Unerra? Unerra has given me… I don’t understand.’

‘Because I haven’t really explained anything. This isn’t absolutely certain, Jess, but all the signs are there. I believe that you are what we call a Blessed of Unerra.’

‘B-blessed? Like, I’m a priestess?’

‘In one way, yes, but generally no. You are a mage, but you power your spells in the way priests and priestesses do. They don’t have to exert their own energy to gather mana for a magic working. They… call it from the air. However, if they work too much magic too quickly, or attempt a very powerful spell, Unerra takes an interest and may choose to remind them of their place. Frequently, this takes the form of a burning pain. A small reminder from the goddess that you shouldn’t push your limits. However, it can also result in madness or disease. In extreme cases, you might explode and there are rumours that especially unlucky mages have had Unerra personally intervene, much to the detriment of all around them.’

‘Pain and diseases. I know about those.’

‘Yes. It’s quite possible that your apparent ability to catch things no one nearby seems to have is the result of your younger self casting spells without really knowing what she was doing. And that is possible without learning because you seem to have another talent the Blessed often exhibit.’

‘You mean, like with Tatton? The spell was just there in my head when I wanted it. And now it’s gone, and I never want to have anything to do with it.’

‘But sometimes you remember the spell after you’ve cast it, correct?’

‘Yes. Sometimes. I suppose… I suppose I might have cast a spell and forgotten it when I was young. I remember thinking some really mean things about Tatton at times.’

‘And then getting sick, perhaps? That was Unerra trying to educate you in the right way to use magic.’

‘Her gift doesn’t seem like much of a blessing.’

Zachary sighed. ‘And so we come to why you are special, Jess. It may not seem like much of a blessing now, but some of the greatest mages in history have been blessed. It’s by no means a certainty, but you may grow into a very powerful mage. The signs are all there. That is why we need to get you trained. That is why I decided to remove you from your father’s influence.’

‘Poppa?’

‘For some reason, Foster hates magic and mages. Given time, I believe he would have pushed you down a dark path. Not on purpose, I might add. I don’t believe he’s an evil man. However, if he was left to constantly poison your mind and beat down your talent, things would not go well. I said Blessed were often great mages. Not every great mage is a good person.’

Jessalyn pursed her lips and considered. ‘I think I’d prefer not to be evil,’ she said after some reflection.

Zachary let out a roar of laughter. ‘Well, you remember that as you get older and I’m sure you won’t be.’

Part Two: Apprentice

Greenwall, 21st Drostamar 1457.

Jessalyn was cooking. She did it a fair bit because she was much better at it than Zachary, but today she was working on something a little special because it was her master’s fifty-second birthday. Admittedly, at this time of year they were working through the tail end of the winter stores and there was little or nothing in the way of special ingredients available in town, but she was at least trying to put together a bit of a feast. Fifty-two was so incredibly ancient that she felt Zachary deserved a treat.

The man himself was in the next room over. It was bigger than the kitchen, but in some ways it served the same purpose. Zachary was busy brewing potions. Today it was potions which cured diseases, and it had been all week and some of the last. That kind of thing was sought after, especially in winter, and took about eight days to make, requiring constant attention and use of magic to assist in the process. At least he got nights off. Mostly, they sold to the rich since Zachary had to charge a lot for them, but he usually had one or two in stock which he would let go for a fraction of the cost to Southgate folk in dire need. Soon, he would be switching to healing potions – which were far easier to make – because the guard liked to have a good stock available. They also tended to go through them in winter due to guards slipping and falling on the icy cobbles. It was not like they usually needed to do much fighting.

Casting a simple spell on her hands to resist the hot metal, she pulled a pot off the heat and turned to check the seasoning in another. It was easier now that she had grown a little. She had been with Zachary for over three years now and she had gained almost twenty-five keray. She had also learned how a keray was defined and was unimpressed. Apparently, it was the width of the thumb of someone back when the unit had been defined. Which explained why it was a keray, which meant thumb in Old Common, but not why anyone thought that was a good way to define a unit of measurement. The extra height put Jessalyn at about two-thirds the height of a typical woman and made reaching the top of the range much easier.

On top of the change in height, she had lost some of her childish features. She was, in fact, a little on the gaunt side, especially in the face, so she kept her fringe longer than was customary so she could hide behind it. Her hair was longer now, past her shoulders, so she usually kept it bound up in twin pigtails. People still felt the need to treat her as an invalid, but she was a lot fitter than she had been. Not quite at the point where she was average, but better than she had been. She had not caught a single bug this winter and was rather proud of her resilience. She was smarter too. Probably as smart as Zachary, though neither of them was going to say that out loud.

Glancing around, she nodded, and then she opened the door to the workroom. ‘Master, the food is almost ready. Are you going to be free soon?’

Zachary looked around and gave her a smile. ‘Food?’ He did not look that much older than he had when she had first become his student. His hair had more grey in it, but was still mostly black. There were probably a few more wrinkles but not enough to really show. He was slowing down a bit as Jessalyn’s legs got longer and she got faster; she no longer had to run every other step to keep up with him. His back troubled him not infrequently, especially in the mornings. His eyesight had never been great, but his eyes were slowly getting worse and he used magic to compensate when he needed to. More concerning was his mind. He would forget things and his concentration was wavering. Luckily, if he was focused on something like brewing potions, he was fine, but then every other concern tended to slip his mind.

‘Yes. It’s your birthday, remember? We’re having a nice meal for your birthday. Will you be ready soon?’

‘Birthday, yes, of course. I’m about to complete this stage of the process, so we should be good in… ten minutes.’

‘I’ll time it for then.’ She closed the door and went back to her cooking. He had forgotten about eating again. Well, he had a devoted student to help him…

~~~

At the top of the stairs in Zachary’s house, there was a ladder of sorts. It was composed of wooden ledges fixed to the wall and, frankly, they were too narrow for Zachary to use now. When he wanted to go up to the attic – which was practically never – he used a levitation spell. The ladder worked fine for Jessalyn, however, so her room had been built at the top of it.

There was a trapdoor in the ceiling over the landing, and that opened into the floor of a small room which was nevertheless far bigger than anything she had expected to have to herself before she married. Zachary had brought in some workmen to put in some false walls and a solid floor over the beams. They had also nailed boards over the rafters with straw behind them to keep the place warmer in winter, and Zachary had enchanted a blanket to keep her warm too, though the heat from the parlour meant the room was only really cold in the worst of weather.

A craftsman had come in to make furniture too. Getting anything prebuilt through the hatch would have been difficult, so her bookcase, desk, chair, wardrobe, and bed had been constructed in place. She cast Lingering Light once a week to provide illumination and had a pot to put over it when she wanted darkness. It was simple, and she spent a lot of time in the parlour with Zachary anyway, but it was her room and she loved it. On winter nights, she would curl up under her blanket and read one of the many books Zachary had, in her own bed, in her own room, and it was wonderful.

She was, in fact, doing just that when she heard Zachary’s voice from below. ‘Are you awake, Jess?’

‘No,’ Jessalyn called back.

She could not hear the sigh but suspected there was one. ‘What are you reading?’

‘Principles of Elemental Manipulation.’

‘Well, that’s a good book, but try to get some sleep. You’ll end up with eyes like mine if you keep straining them reading in dim light.’

‘I won’t be much longer,’ Jessalyn lied.

‘And pigs might fly.’

‘Well, they might if you cast–’

‘Don’t sass your ancient master. I’ll see you in the morning.’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘Goodnight, Master.’

‘Goodnight, Jess.’

She heard his feet on the boards below, heading into his own bedroom. She heard the bedroom door close. Then she refocused her attention on her book and forgot about everything else.

23rd Drostamar.

Jessalyn slid through the crowd in the town square at a moderate pace. Behind her, Zachary was having more trouble and she did not want to get too far ahead of him. Being small could be an advantage at times. In this case, she did not wish to use her thin body’s ability to slide through the gathering throng to her advantage, however, because it was Ralliaday. Church services were the only times in most weeks that Jessalyn had anything to do with her father.

She spotted him up ahead and turned that way because, while she might not like her father too much, her mother and sister would be with him. Tatton, of course, was trying to find somewhere to sit in the Rallian temple, and that was one continued small blessing. Jessalyn closed the distance with her family with a feeling of resigned trepidation. She had begun to feel that the animosity her father felt was kind of formulaic, like he disliked mages out of some weird sense of duty. He had reconciled himself with the idea that his youngest daughter was one, but could still not bring himself to admit that that was okay.

Still, there were social niceties to keep up. ‘Good morning, Poppa. Good morning, Momma and Wilda.’

Foster turned at the sound of Jessalyn’s voice, looking at her before he glanced behind her and gritted his teeth. ‘Good morning, Jessalyn. Good morning, Master Zachary.’ The words came out through those same gritted teeth.

‘And a fine winter morning it is,’ Zachary replied. ‘Spring is certainly on the way.’

‘It’s been quite a mild winter,’ Sarah commented. ‘Good morning to you both. I hope you’re keeping well?’

‘At my age, a few aches and pains are to be expected.’

‘I haven’t been really sick all winter,’ Jessalyn put in. ‘Well, I caught a cold just after the new year turned…’

‘Not a bad one,’ Wilda said.

‘No. How is Tatton?’ Jessalyn asked every week, even though she did not really care.

‘He’s doing well,’ Sarah replied. ‘It won’t be long before he’s made a real guard.’

‘I’m sure he will do very well in the job,’ Zachary said. ‘I think I could see him making sergeant without issue.’

Foster raised an eyebrow at the comment, as though trying to work out whether the mage was insulting Tatton in some way. Not spotting anything, he grinned rather proudly. ‘That would be a step up for the family.’

‘Of course, mages don’t really involve themselves with the class system,’ Zachary went on, ‘so when Jessalyn becomes a master and is considered, by imperial mandate, to be the equivalent of a baronet, it won’t have as much meaning, but still…’

Jessalyn spotted her father’s face shifting into an angry grimace. ‘I haven’t even become a proper apprentice yet, Master. Let’s not talk of master ranks until I’m at least a probationary journeyman.’

‘I suppose I am getting ahead of myself,’ Zachary agreed. Then he spoiled it. ‘Your birthday is in a mere eight weeks, however. I’ve already spoken to Layton regarding your trial.’

‘Oh, trial sounds like such a bad thing to go through,’ Sarah said.

Zachary waved the worry away. ‘There’s a test to cover the required skills. Basic accounting, knowledge of alchemy and magical studies, etcetera. She needs to be able to cast spells which she has been taught. She needs to exhibit some basic skill with a staff, which she will have no difficulty doing. The most difficult thing about it is the tedious nature of the whole thing and having to do it under Layton’s disapproving gaze. Frankly, through her reading and her native talent, her understanding of magical studies already exceeds the requirements of a master. In my judgement, of course.’

Jessalyn blushed. ‘I have a very long way to go before I can be a master mage.’

‘Obviously. I doubt I’ll be around to see it happen, though that would be nice.’

‘You never know what the future might bring,’ Sarah said. ‘The Elder is here.’

Up at the front, the elder priestess was walking out to lead the prayers, partially supported by another priestess. Zachary was not the only one getting a little infirm, and the tall, rather elegant, supporter was being seen more and more these days, assisting her superior in simple physical matters.

‘In the beginning, Unerra created the world.’

And so it began.

1st Hineraun.

It was the first day of spring and the weather had taken a noticeable turn for the better. The sky was blue and the sun was warmer as it shone down out of it. That was the way of the world: the sun was at its brightest in summer and its dimmest in winter. Spring and autumn sat between the two extremes and you could feel the difference each time the month changed. Today, the sun had risen warmer than the day before and, for most, that was a cause of celebration.

‘So why is it that you look so displeased with the warmer weather?’ Zachary asked at breakfast.

Jessalyn glowered at him. ‘Your faculties are failing you, old man. This is the start of Spring Fever season. Have you forgotten?’

‘Ah. I suppose there is that. It’s not usually that much of a problem for you. A nasty cold.’

‘For me, a nasty cold is–’

‘Of course, it can be worse. Perhaps one year in twenty, we get a bad outbreak.’

Jessalyn eyed her master for a second. ‘And how long ago was the last one?’

‘That would be… Yes. The spring of fourteen thirty-five. That one was much worse in the south. Capitol was badly affected.’

‘So, we’re overdue for another bad one then.’

‘My dear student, the world simply does not work that way…’

7th Hineraun.

Peddlers were a common sight at the south gate. They were common wherever there were roads and towns where they could sell whatever goods they had managed to buy in some other town. They were the lowest brand of merchant. To be a peddler, you needed a talent for bargaining and a wagon to travel in. Some of the poorest even went without a wagon, carrying their wares on their backs between towns.

This one had a wagon, and he was stopped at the gate by the guardsman on duty. He had a ready smile and a face which was not unattractive. Not that that influenced the guard, but it did help when selling finery to the ladies of the town.

‘I’ve a wagon full of goods from Vestinport,’ he said when asked. ‘Got out of there just at the right time too. Spring Fever’s taking that city. You should watch for those as have the fever and the cough.’

The guardsman raised an eyebrow. ‘And that makes you think I should let you into our town?’

The peddler waved the question away. ‘Took me two weeks to get here from there. You ever heard of a Spring Fever that took that long to afflict someone? Couple of days is the most I’ve ever seen. I’d’ve been sick on the road.’

Which was all true. It took a wagon around two weeks to make that journey along the roads and the disease struck quickly when it struck. The previous year, the guard’s wife had come down with it two days after he had. And he had been afflicted two days after stopping someone with a cough at the gate.

‘Right. The best place to stay is the inn across the square, the Wounded Dragon. They’ve stables for your donkey and a place to put your cart.’

‘I know it well. Came to Greenwall not two years ago. Always a pleasure to stay at the Dragon.’ The peddler lifted his reins and pushed what looked like a very long-suffering donkey forward toward the inn, and the guardsman went back to waiting for the next traveller to come to the gate.

11th Hineraun.

The peddler was not a terribly religious man, but it paid to show your face at church in small towns like Greenwall. Besides, there was always a chance that Unerra might smile on a businessman a little down on his luck.

Sales had not gone as well as he might have liked so far. He had set up shop in the market in Southgate the day before, even though he had not been feeling that good. He was sure that some bugger at the inn had given him Spring Fever because he had woken in the night, sweating and coughing his lungs up. The coughing had subsided a bit and some food had eased his fever some. It seemed likely that the lack of sales was down to the film of sweat he had been wearing much of the day yesterday and his general discomfort. It was not easy to persuade some housewife that she needed the latest in fashionable accoutrements from Vestinport when you felt like shit.

Dropping to his knees to await the arrival of the priestess, he was struck by another coughing fit. Those around him edged away a little and he hoped against all hope that they would not recognise him when he attended the Mariladay market in two days. He was never going to sell anything at this rate.

~~~

In the middle of the crowd, Jessalyn heard the coughing and grimaced. That was probably someone with Spring Fever and that hacking cough sounded bad. She just knew this year was going to be an uncomfortable one, if not worse. Zachary had continued to tell her that the ‘one year in twenty’ thing was just a rough gauge, but she did not believe a word of it.

Still, whoever it was that was coughing his lungs up was quite a distance from her. She could not even see him. And no one else seemed to be suffering in the same way. Looking around, she could not even see anyone who looked feverish. Red, sweaty faces were not an uncommon sight in spring, and not just because of the young men’s fancies turning to thoughts of love, whatever love had to do with young men’s thoughts.

A recent revelation from Wilda had more or less turned Jessalyn’s world upside down: Tatton had been walking out with a girl! The very concept that a member of her own sex could find her brother anything other than a horrific blend of body odour and nascent violence was beyond her. Things like the smell most of her Southgate compatriots gave off had been bothering Jessalyn a lot more since she had become Zachary’s student. He had the money to buy soap, and he washed regularly, so she did too. Maybe this mysterious, clearly brain-injured young woman did not notice the stink of unwashed Tatton. Or she had no sense of smell because of that blow she had taken to the head. From all accounts – well, Wilda’s account – the girl was pretty! Did the males of her family simply have some magical ability which drained the intelligence of prospective partners? Maybe she should ask Zachary about it.

Her attention was drawn to the podium as the elder priestess arrived, once again supported by the blonde priestess. The coughing had stopped, and Jessalyn forgot about it as the old woman’s voice rang out across the square.

13th Hineraun.

The small, rather useless bell over the shop’s door gave a barely audible tinkle and Jessalyn lifted her head from the book she was reading behind the counter. The person she saw in the doorway was someone she knew by sight but had never really expected to meet in person. She was surprised, briefly, and probably showed it before putting the book away on a shelf below the counter and smiling. ‘Welcome, Priestess. What might we do for you today?’

The woman entering and closing the door was tall and slim and beautiful in a rather severe way. There was possibly a rather lush body hidden away beneath the plain brown robe which covered her from throat to just above her simple, black shoes. All you could really tell was that she had a quite substantial bust, just from the way the garment fitted her body. She had pale-blonde hair tied into a bun atop her head and hanging as a pair of curtains about her face. They served to narrow her already narrow face, giving her the look of someone you did not mess with, but her blue eyes were sharp and intelligent and very pretty, and her lips were full and rather sensuous. She did not smile; her expression was too serious as she regarded Jessalyn for a second.

‘You recognise me?’ the priestess asked.

‘I’ve seen you helping the elder priestess onto the podium.’

‘Ah. May Unerra bless your endeavours this day. I am Priestess Sofia and you, I believe, are Master Zachary’s student, Jessalyn.’

‘Yes, I am.’ Somehow, the fact that the priestess knew her name was a little disturbing.

Sofia nodded. ‘I have a need to converse with your master. Would you be kind enough to ask him when he will be free?’

‘Of course.’ Wondering what Zachary had done wrong – or was it Jessalyn herself! – Jessalyn climbed down from her stool and went back through the building to the workshop. ‘Master, Priestess Sofia from the Church of Unerra is here. She needs to talk to you when you’re free.’

Zachary looked up from a book of his own and glanced at the glassware around him. Things were bubbling. Things were frothing. Jessalyn’s current knowledge suggested that a batch of healing potions was due to be finished soon. ‘Now is as good a time as any,’ Zachary said. ‘We should be breaking for lunch about now anyway.’

‘I can start getting it ready.’

‘No, the church does not come to see me very often. I suspect that this is something we should both hear.’

As it turned out, it was, just not for precisely the same reason. ‘This morning,’ Sofia began, ‘a body was found at the Wounded Dragon.’

‘Not, I think, a murder,’ Zachary said. ‘You would not be telling me this were it as simple as that.’ Zachary was trying to impress. Much to Jessalyn’s embarrassment, it had turned out that her master had a thing for blondes. Jessalyn, of course, was a brunette, but her mother was blonde and so was Wilda.

‘All signs point to it being Spring Fever. The man was a peddler. He arrived at the gate on the seventh, showing no signs of sickness. However, the guard on duty recalls that the peddler came from Vestinport and commented upon the bad outbreak of Spring Fever they were experiencing. We received a message from the church there yesterday saying that the disease was bad this year, killing more than most years.’

‘It’s two weeks from Vestinport to here. It’s surprising that there was no sign of illness.’

‘Vestinport has recorded cases where exposure resulted in the first signs of illness after two days, as we see in normal years, but other cases where there was no sign of illness for almost three weeks and then a healthy individual fell ill. The innkeeper’s wife at the Wounded Dragon does not believe the peddler was showing any signs of sickness as recently as last Hineraday. She also indicated that he went to services on Ralliaday.’

‘There was someone coughing in the crowd,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Right before you came out with the elder priestess. It might not have been him, of course.’

‘Very observant of you,’ Sofia said. ‘I noticed it too, but it stopped quickly and, I admit, I thought nothing more of it.’

‘Well, the same here. I tend to notice things like that. I get ill easily and try to avoid anyone with any sickness.’

‘I see. You should be more careful this year.’

‘Indeed,’ Zachary said. ‘It would seem that this year’s Spring Fever can kill an adult man in a matter of days. I think I know what you need from me, Priestess, but if you would say it…’

‘The Church of Unerra, with the backing of Lord Vergil, requests that you produce as many Cure All potions as possible, Master Zachary. The church will buy half of them. Lord Vergil will buy the rest. We need them as fast as you can make them. Our spells can treat many, but there is a limit.’

‘I have something brewing which will be finished this afternoon. I can start on the cures in the morning and have the first batch ready next Hineraday. I’d normally charge twelve small golds per potion.’ Zachary noticed the slight wince Sofia gave out, but that made no difference to what he was about to say anyway. ‘The church can have them for twenty-five moons. Don’t tell Lord Vergil about that arrangement. Under the circumstances, I’ll cut him a deal for ten small golds each, but I know he’ll just be selling them on to his rich friends at an even higher price, so I’m not feeling that generous.’

Sofia actually gave a small smile which brightened her face considerably. ‘He does come from merchant stock.’

‘I’m aware. The first batch will be eight potions. After that, I’ll make batches of ten for as long as needed.’

‘Very well. If I might ask, why the smaller batch the first time.’

Zachary looked up at the woman, judging. She was taller than him by at least a dozen keray. ‘I could say something about making larger than usual batches and needing to ramp up my working method slowly. However, the truth is that I’ll be keeping two doses back for myself and Jessalyn. She’s too frail to be afflicted for very long and I’ll be useless to anyone if I come down with this.’

‘Your honesty is appreciated,’ Sofia replied. ‘I might add that I think your plan is a good one. In your position, I would have done exactly the same thing.’

~~~

‘You know,’ Jessalyn said, ‘Priestess Sofia sounded a bit like you.’

Zachary peered across the dinner table at his student, raising an eyebrow. ‘She sounded like an angel and I sound like a gravel rockfall.’

‘Oh, well, yes. I mean, your voice is deeper and rougher. She has quite a deep voice for a woman, however, and there was something about her accent that reminds me of the way you speak.’

‘You don’t have to agree with me so descriptively. She’s from Capitol. I’m not, but I spent years there before coming to Greenwall.’

‘She is?’

‘From what I’ve heard. A new priestess at the church does tend to attract attention. It may all be rumours, but I’ve detected enough truth in them that I suspect the story is true. She was born into a noble family, the daughter of a baron. She was thrown out to fend for herself for refusing a marriage her family had arranged. And then she joined the Church of Unerra at least partially to thumb her nose at her family.’

‘Oh. So, that’s what people in Capitol sound like? It was kind of… snooty.’

‘Ha! Yes,’ Zachary replied with a broad smile. ‘I suppose it is. On the other hand, we should work on teaching you some of their manners.’

Jessalyn frowned. ‘We should? What have I to do with lords and ladies? I’m a girl from Southgate.’

‘You’re going to be a powerful mage, Jess. In the years to come, it’s likely that you’ll have much to do with nobles, whether you wish it or not. Mages have a certain leeway with regard to nobility, but it pays to understand their ways and treat them with the respect they think they deserve.’

‘I suppose that makes sense.’

‘It makes life easier. Always do anything you can to make your life easier. Speaking of which, you’ll be staying indoors until this fever season is over. I’ll take care of buying food and such.’

‘I can’t go out at all?’

‘Only when it’s absolutely necessary.’

16th Hineraun.

Sarah watched her eldest daughter at work at the loom, nodding as deft fingers worked at the task of merging thread into cloth. Wilda was coming along nicely, which was good because she was a year and a half away from her sixteenth birthday and potential marriage. She was seeing no one at the moment, mostly because all her prospective suitors were terrified of Foster, but the time would come soon enough.

Sarah turned back to the small wheel she was using to spin yarn. Wilda had already mastered the art of yarn making, so Sarah was handling the drudge work while her daughter practised at the loom. If she were honest, Sarah was not doing her best work today. She was hot and tired, and her best course of action was probably to stop and rest for a time. There was yarn enough to keep Wilda going for a day or two…

‘Momma, you don’t look so good,’ Wilda said. She was, apparently, taking a small break and one glance had suggested her mother was not feeling well. ‘You’re looking hot and there’s that new Spring Fever going around.’

Sarah did her best to laugh. ‘I’ve not been near anyone who looked ill.’ Except that there had been that peddler she had talked to in the market a few days ago… ‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’

‘Well, okay…’

17th Hineraun.

Not going out did not mean not going to church on Ralliaday. At least, that was what Jessalyn thought, and Zachary had finally given in because he was going to get no peace if he made her stay back. It was the only time in most weeks that Jessalyn saw her family. Even if that meant she had to see Foster, it was still something she was unwilling to forego.

One look at her mother, however, suggested that she had made a mistake. Sarah was managing to look pale and flushed at the same time. She looked weary and there was a film of sweat on her brow. Zachary had yet to impart his knowledge of diagnosing diseases upon Jessalyn, but she had enough experience of illness that she recognised many of the signs in others.

‘Momma, you look terrible. You’re sick,’ Jessalyn said.

‘You’ve become a priestess in the past few months, girl?’ Foster asked.

‘You can see it too, Poppa. I know you can.’

‘It’s nothing, she’s just– Hey!’

Zachary pushed past Jessalyn and Wilda to get to Sarah, taking one of her arms in his hand to keep her where he wanted her, and then putting his other hand on her forehead. ‘Haven’t you heard about the Spring Fever this year?’ he asked. ‘It’s a killer and here you are with a high fever, wandering around as if it was nothing.’

‘She hasn’t got–’ Foster began.

‘Would you prefer to wait until it’s too late to find out she has?’ Zachary started pulling Sarah through the crowd. She did not give much resistance. ‘Clear the way. You’re going to be checked out by the priestesses, Sarah, and I’ll hear no more about it.’

‘Damn the man!’ Foster said. ‘What gives him the right to drag a woman off like luggage?’

Against her better judgement, Jessalyn started to follow Zachary and Sarah. The last thing she wanted was to be left with her father. ‘He’s trying to save Momma, Poppa. He shows more concern for her than you do.’

~~~

‘There’s no definite link to anyone known to have it,’ Zachary said, ‘so they’ve decided to keep your mother at the church to observe her progress.’ Around him, there was much frothing and bubbling. Cure All potions were in full production, the largest batch of the stuff Jessalyn had ever seen Zachary make.

‘It looked to me like–’ Jessalyn began.

‘And to me. And to Sofia. However, they don’t want to waste magic on a head cold. It’s likely they’ll know tomorrow.’

Jessalyn smirked. ‘So it’s just Sofia, is it? Not Priestess Sofia?’

‘Jessalyn, you are too young to have such impure thoughts. I was simply being concise.’

‘I’m sure. Momma is in the best place for anyone who’s sick. I can’t believe Poppa hadn’t taken her–’

‘Your father was denying the truth, I agree, but your mother was telling me I was fussing over nothing even as she wilted before me. People can get very funny about fatal diseases. It will be hard work for the church, and me, but we have got the means to ensure no one else dies in this town. Despite this, people will die. Why? Because they refuse to believe they might be that sick until it’s too late. So, if you–’

Jessalyn held up a hand. ‘I have had enough sickness in my life to know that denying I have something won’t make it go away. One of the potions you’re making has my name on it. If I need it, I’ll take it. Without resistance.’

‘I’m glad to hear it.’

There was silence for a while. Or as much silence as you could get in an alchemy workshop working at maximum capacity.

‘Uh, that potion? What does it taste like?’ Jessalyn was sure she would end up taking one. It was best to be ready when the time came.

‘This one? Oh, it tastes of… strawberries. Strawberries with a hint of lemon.’

‘Really? That doesn’t sound too bad.’

‘Really. Jessalyn, I’m your revered master. Would I lie to you?’

It was not the kind of response which engendered trust in the speaker.

18th Hineraun.

Sarah lay under her blanket in the church’s infirmary, shivering and trying not to cough. The coughing had started the night before. So had the pain. Her joints seemed like they were full of sand and her head hurt miserably. Still, she was determined not to look too sick as the blonde priestess made her rounds with a couple of attendants. She just did not want to be a bother to the clergy.

Sofia arrived at Sarah’s bed in time to hear Sarah coughing as quietly as possible into her blanket. The patient was, using purely technical language, looking like shit. ‘When did the coughing start?’ Sofia asked.

One of the novices following Sofia around checked the tablet she was holding. Her parents had given her the unfortunate name Piety. They were both lay members of the church and had probably expected their daughter to become a priestess, but still… ‘It was noticed last night,’ Piety said. ‘The note says the patient appeared to be in pain.’

‘Appeared to be? Hm. You’re Sarah, aren’t you? Jessalyn’s mother?’

Sarah’s eyes widened a little. The priestess knew who she was?! ‘Yes, Priestess.’

‘Well, Sarah, are you in pain? Headache? Pains in the joints? Be truthful. I’ll know if you’re trying to hide it out of pride or some misguided belief that you’re causing trouble.’

Priestesses of Unerra were known for their many talents with magic, but Sarah had never heard of one who could read minds. ‘W-well, yes. Both. The headache isn’t too bad, but–’

‘Well, Sarah, when the pain starts, you probably have no more than a day before the coughing will get so bad that you can’t breathe.’ Sofia was speaking rather loudly, and Sarah was not entirely stupid; she was being used as an example to the others in the room. ‘At that point, there is almost nothing we can do for you. Your lungs fill up with fluid, and you die, gasping for air. It does no one any good for you to hide your symptoms from us.’

‘Y-yes, Priestess.’

Sofia nodded and lowered her voice. ‘If I let you die, Sarah, your daughter would be very unhappy, and her master is currently working hard to prepare potions to fight this disease. A crying child would, I have no doubt, be a distraction.’

‘It’s her twelfth birthday soon and she’s to be made an apprentice mage. I should like to see that, Priestess.’

‘Then we shall continue this assessment to see whether anyone is worse and also hiding their condition, and then we shall return to cure you of your ailment.’

~~~

The infirmary was a long, fairly narrow room with ten narrow beds in it, each spaced a couple of paces apart. At the far end, away from the door, there was a fireplace with a constantly burning fire in it. The windows were high up and thin, providing little light, but there were Lingering Light spells at several points on the walls to help with the illumination. The heat of the fire did not provide much heat where Sarah was lying, but the room was warmer than it might have been, and Sarah was feeling hot enough without a fire to keep her warm.

When Sarah had been brought in, there were three other patients. Now it was full. Who knew how many others were out there in the town, feeling as poorly as Sarah did and too proud, stubborn, or long-suffering to come to the church? How many people would die this spring out of some foolish determination to fight through this disease?

Sarah would not be one of them and neither, if she had any say in the matter, would any of her family. Jessalyn would be fine, no matter what; Zachary would see to that. Foster might be a problem. But even if it was really embarrassing to have a priestess of Unerra kneeling beside your bed as she prayed for your salvation, Foster would come to be cured if he had to be knocked out and dragged through the streets!

The odd thing was that Sofia was not saying anything. She had dropped to her knees – on a small cushion one of the attendants carried for this purpose – beside the bed. Then she had made a gesture in the air directed at Sarah. And then she had bowed her head, clasped her hands before her chest, and… That had been it for what felt like hours, though it was probably only a few minutes. Sarah had never seen a priestess work magic before, but she had somehow expected more ritual and rigmarole.

With a sigh, Sofia raised her head and then got to her feet. As she did so, the headache which had been plaguing Sarah all night eased away and the tickle in her throat faded. She still felt like she had not slept in three days and her muscles ached, but the major symptoms had vanished as though they had never been.

‘How are you feeling?’ Sofia asked.

‘Much better,’ Sarah replied. ‘I–’

‘You’re tired and aching, but the cough is gone and, perhaps, the headache.’ Reaching out, Sofia put her hand on Sarah’s forehead. ‘The fever is broken. Good. Make no mistake, the disease is gone from your body, but the damage it did is not. You’ll take it easy for the next week or I’ll have something to say about it. You can start by staying in that bed for now and getting some sleep. That should relieve the fatigue. You can return home this afternoon unless we need the bed before then and I pray that we don’t.’

‘It… It’s getting bad out there?’

Sofia’s rather severe face grew even more serious. ‘Yes. Yes, it is.’

22nd Hineraun.

Sarah had stopped off at the shop four days ago on her way home, even if that was a far from direct route, to let her youngest know that she was fine. She had not looked fine, but Jessalyn trusted that if Sofia said her mother was cured, then she was cured. Now Sarah was back in the shop to say that Wilda was in the church infirmary having come down with a fever the day before last.

‘And you are not looking good, Jess,’ Sarah pointed out to her flushed daughter.

‘I know,’ Jessalyn replied in a resigned tone. She lifted her arm and shook the bracelet she was wearing. It was silver with some form of ornate carving on it which Sarah did not recognise. ‘Master borrowed this from the church. It stops me passing it on to anyone who comes in here. We’re both sure it’s Spring Fever, but he wants to wait for the cough to start, just to be sure. How are you feeling?’

‘Oh, a lot better. I wouldn’t say I’m back to full strength, but I don’t ache nearly as much, and I don’t feel like I’ve been at the loom for three days straight.’

‘Only two?’

‘One and a half at most. I wonder when Foster and Tatton will fall ill?’

‘They’re both stubborn. It could be weeks before they get the fever and I bet they won’t tell you until they’re coughing their lungs up.’

Sarah pursed her lips. ‘You’re right about the stubbornness, and your father will probably say nothing until he can’t deny it, but you may have your brother wrong. Young Eloise is proving to be a better influence than I might have hoped. If he thinks he can’t see her because he’s ill, he might just go to the church on his own.’

‘Are you sure Tatton hasn’t been taken away and replaced by a duplicate?’

‘Well, moderately sure.’

~~~

It did not take long for Jessalyn to develop a cough. It began in the late evening, when she was sitting in the parlour with Zachary, reading as usual. Twenty minutes later, Zachary was on his way downstairs to retrieve a potion for her.

‘Strawberries with a hint of lemon, right?’ Jessalyn asked as she uncorked the bottle and wafted it under her nose.

‘That’s right. Now, drink it all down in one go.’

‘It doesn’t smell of strawberries. Or lemon. More like old socks. Your old socks.’

‘As I’m sure you’re well aware, something can taste much different to the way it smells.’

Jessalyn gave her master a look, tilted her head back as far as it would go, pinched her nose with one hand, and then poured the contents of the bottle into her mouth, hoping to avoid having the liquid touch her tongue. She swallowed convulsively before putting her head on her knees, then raised it again, grimacing. ‘Yuck! Straw– Yuck! That tastes like socks and a couple of soiled loincloths flavoured with used boot soles! Strawberries! Yuck! I will never trust a thing you say, ever again.’

‘I am going to forego the question of how you know what soiled loincloths taste like. How’s your fever?’

‘I’m feeling better.’ Jessalyn put her hand to her forehead. ‘I think it’s going. And when I’ve got over the urge to vomit, I suspect my cough will be gone.’

Zachary replaced Jessalyn’s hand with his own. Nodded. ‘Still a little warm, but definitely subsiding. Would you have willingly drunk the potion if I’d told you it tasted as bad as it does?’

‘Yes! I hate being sick. I’ve spent far too much of my life in a sickbed as it is. I may be small and thin, but I’m almost twelve and soon to be an apprentice mage. Don’t treat me like a child.’

Doing exactly as she had told him not to, Zachary patted her on the head, smiling. ‘I’m sorry, Jess. Next time you have to drink a horrible potion, I’ll tell you exactly how bad it’s going to be.’

Jessalyn pouted. The effect was not quite as pronounced as it had been when she was younger, but it still had power. ‘I’m going to bed. Yuck! I can still taste it. I’m going to drink a bucket of water, use the soil closet, and then I’m going to bed.’ She headed for the door. ‘Strawberries…’

Zachary sighed as the door closed behind her. ‘I’m sure she’ll get over it. If I live that long…’

28th Hineraun.

Four full days had passed before Sarah had come to the shop to say that she had just come from the church. She had escorted Foster and Tatton there, mostly to be sure that Foster actually went.

She had come bearing other news as well. The church was getting to the point where it could be considered overrun. The priestesses had given up on waiting for more symptoms to show up because they needed beds for those brought in already suffering, and those who came with just a fever were being treated and sent on their way as soon as they walked in. The disease was spreading rapidly through Southgate and the richer areas too. Rumour had it that some of the staff in the lord’s castle had succumbed and Lord Vergil was in a bit of a panic. Sofia had sent a message saying that they needed all the potions they could get.

And that had been yesterday. Today, Zachary was flushed, hot, and obviously feverish. The shop had been closed so that Jessalyn could help him in the workshop, though mostly what she was doing was double-checking what he was doing since he said his concentration was more than usually off.

‘You should take a potion before you get worse,’ Jessalyn told him as he got worse.

‘I’m busy,’ Zachary replied. ‘This batch will be finished tomorrow.’

‘If you manage to hold yourself together until then. You should take the potion.’

‘I’ll wait until the coughing starts.’

‘We both know you’ve got it now. You should take the potion.’

‘Don’t want to,’ Zachary said rather petulantly.

Jessalyn raised an eyebrow. ‘And why would that be?’

‘Because it tastes foul.’

‘Does it? But I thought it tasted of strawberries.’

‘There’s no need for sarcasm.’

‘I think there is. You should be proud of me for knowing what that is at my age. Tatton still doesn’t know what sarcasm is. And probably never will. Stop being a child and take the potion.’

‘No. And you can’t make me. So there.’

29th Hineraun.

Jessalyn walked up the steps of the church with a little trepidation and a little fatigue slowing her steps. She was still not really recovered from the fever, but Zachary was in a state back at the shop, the batch of potions was done and needed to be delivered, so Jessalyn had set out to deliver them. She was immune to this disease, so that was not a problem. The potion bottles in their boxes were not too heavy, so that was not a problem. But she was not the fittest of girls at the best of times, and she had never been inside the church before.

The front of the church was basically just a stone frontage without much in the way of decoration. There were steps leading up to a doorway. The door was usually open during the day outside the winter months, but when it was closed it was quite forbidding, being of heavy oak with iron furniture and studs. There were three floors to the place and, by all accounts, a basement in which the novices and acolytes lived. Most people never got past the ground floor which was where the public areas were located. Jessalyn figured she would not have to go further up or down either.

Perhaps the first thing you noticed when you walked into the atrium was how plain it was. The walls were bare stone and the only thing in the room was a novice priest tasked with greeting anyone who entered. That was something peculiar to the Church of Unerra, the utter lack of iconography. Unerra was the Goddess of Nature and the Earth, the creator of everything, but she was also the Goddess of Secrets and Darkness. As far as anyone knew, no one had ever seen her true form. There were statues of Rallia. Drosta, Hinera, Kannia, and Marila, the gods and goddesses of the seasons, all had imagery associated with them. Jessalyn had even seen small statues of Grossgar, the god of smiths, and Rashtar, the god of war, illustrated in books. But Unerra kept her secrets, and one of those was what she looked like.

‘Can I help you, young lady?’ the novice asked. He was young, probably not much older than sixteen, but he had managed to learn the proper manners for the circumstances. He was, in all probability, telling her to get lost because she should not be there.

‘I’ve brought the next batch of potions from Master Zachary,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘He’s ill.’

‘Oh! Oh, right. Wait there.’ The change in attitude was almost magical and certainly comical. The novice bolted through a door on his left and Jessalyn felt a waft of heat brush her skin.

No more than a minute later, he was back, but this time he was following Sofia who had likely got ahead of him thanks to much longer legs. The priestess had a full head over the novice. She really was quite a tall woman. Plus, dressed in what amounted to a fitted vegetable sack, she looked like she could be gracing a noble’s ballroom. Jessalyn found herself wondering whether she would ever manage to look as beautiful and graceful as Sofia did. Unlikely.

‘Jessalyn,’ Sofia said, ‘I hear Master Zachary is sick?’

‘He got feverish yesterday, but he wouldn’t take a potion because… he wanted to get this batch finished first. He’s supposed to be relaxing and getting better this afternoon.’ The excuse she gave for the delay was probably better than ‘it tastes bad.’ Apparently, Sofia was not to be fooled so easily.

‘He hates the taste, doesn’t he?’

‘Who wouldn’t?’

‘That is a very valid point. See that he takes it. We can’t afford to lose time on the potions at this stage.’

Jessalyn gave a little grimace. ‘It’s bad? Momma said it was bad when she brought Poppa and Tatton here.’

‘Tatton and…’

‘Foster.’

Sofia gave a nod. ‘Yes. That would be… two days ago? Three? The days are blurring together.’

Jessalyn noticed then that maybe Sofia’s blue eyes looked a little more sunken than usual. Even her cheeks seemed more hollow. Her features were always sharp, severe, but now she was looking a little more haggard. ‘Are you getting enough sleep, Priestess?’

‘No,’ Sofia replied flatly. ‘Come, we’ll check the lists and see whether anyone needs a dose of that foul concoction immediately. You’ve had it, so being exposed to others won’t matter.’

Jessalyn followed Sofia back through the door and into what was in fact a warmer room. The fire at the far end was blazing and still some of the people in the beds near the door were shivering under their blankets. The beds were full and there were people who appeared to be less affected sitting in the walkway down the middle of the room. Everyone looked like this was not the best of their days. The sick were, obviously, sick, but the clergy working beside them looked tired, worried, and close to collapse in some cases.

‘It’s been getting worse all week,’ Sofia said. ‘When your mother came in, we were at the start of it. We could afford to wait to be sure of what she was suffering from. Now, we treat everyone as soon as we can. The ones in the beds are those who were carried in by their families after waiting too long. Piety? Do we have any we need to use potions on?’

A young girl with red hair, dressed in one of the atrocious habits, turned from the small desk – without a chair – which sat in the corner just across from the door. She had a wax tablet in her hand, but she did not look at it before answering. ‘Prayers did not work last night for Marlin. We don’t think he’s going to last much longer, but we might have to force the potion down his throat.’

‘You’d have to force me to take another,’ Jessalyn commented.

‘Marlin?’ Sofia’s question seemed to be more aimed at herself. ‘Marlin… Oh, that one. That one takes “stubborn old man” to new heights. I’d swear his family had to tie him up to bring him here.’

‘Uh, I was here when they brought him in,’ Piety said. ‘They did have him tied up and he was squirming the whole time. One of his sons had a black eye that looked recent.’

Sofia looked up toward the ceiling. ‘Why, Goddess, do you try us so?’ She looked down to Piety again. ‘Get a couple of our strongest people. I don’t care whether they’re novices or priests. They’ll hold him down, you’ll hold his head, and I’ll brave his teeth.’

‘I never knew tending to the sick was this hard,’ Jessalyn said.

Piety gave a weak grin which just managed to highlight how tired she was. ‘Oh, he’s not so bad. You should see the ones who really don’t want to take their medicine.’

~~~

Jessalyn arrived home and went straight to the workshop. There, she checked the cupboard where Zachary had put the two potions he was keeping for himself and his student. Sure enough, the second of those was exactly where he had left it. She picked it up, left the workroom, and started up the stairs.

Zachary was lying on the sofa. His forehead was damp and glistening. His breathing was laboured, though she suspected that he was not coughing yet. His eyes were closed, which was just about perfect. Stubborn old men was right. This one was not going to get away with it this time.

Taking the cork out of the flask, Jessalyn turned to her master, flexing the fingers on her left hand. Timing was going to be everything. He needed to be awake enough to swallow and too asleep to realise what was happening. She realised she was grinning. This was not petty revenge, she reminded herself; this was clearly administering medical attention to a reluctant patient. But she could not stop grinning.

Okay. Time to do this. Reaching out, she pinched Zachary’s nose shut. His eyes flew open along with his mouth. ‘Juzz?’ came out before Jessalyn began pouring, and after that there were just the gulping and gagging noises until she let go of his nose. Well, there was a bit of flailing and some slapping of the seat cushions.

‘Demon!’ Zachary shrieked when he could talk again. ‘Why would you– How could you– Gah! Gah! That stuff is–’

‘Just like strawberries with a hint of lemon?’ Jessalyn had managed to hide the demonic grin behind an angelic smile by now.

‘Horrid child.’

‘You said you’d take the potion while I was out, Master. You’re needed. We all love you and don’t wish to see you suffering any more.’

‘That sweet tone won’t work on me, girl. You enjoyed that far too much.’

Jessalyn made a show of considering her answer. ‘No, I don’t believe that’s true. I think I enjoyed it just as much as I expected to.’

10th Hinerasur.

‘Happy birthday, Jess.’ It was something of a chorus since Jessalyn was sitting down to lunch with Zachary, Sarah, and Wilda. It was lunch because dinner would have involved inviting Foster and Tatton. Worse, having them actually come.

‘Thank you,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Let’s eat. I’m hungry.’

‘Are you ready for your big day?’ Wilda asked once everyone had actually partaken of a bit of the lavish feast before them. Lavish for Southgate. A noble might have considered it a passable snack or something, but there was bread, meat, cheese, butter, and a light wine which Jessalyn was being allowed to drink for the occasion. Wilda had been particularly wide-eyed about the butter, which was rarely served at home.

‘My apprenticeship test? Yes. Well, I think so.’

‘You’d better be,’ Zachary said, ‘it’s all set for Kanniday.’

‘My youngest daughter is growing up,’ Sarah said, smiling. ‘Twelve years and about to become an apprentice mage. There was a time when I never thought that would happen.’

‘I’m a lot healthier now,’ Jessalyn countered. ‘I’m going to get healthier still.’

‘I should hope so. You’ll be travelling in a few years and you don’t want to be so frail when that happens.’

‘Six years. I think I can toughen myself up in six years. Is everyone fully recovered from the Spring Fever?’

‘Oh, Foster wouldn’t admit it if he wasn’t, but I think everyone’s over it now. What about you?’

‘No more aches or pains. I think… I think I noticed I was fine again about the start of this week.’

‘Over two weeks,’ Wilda said. ‘You still heal slowly.’

‘Yes, but that’s just another thing to overcome before I turn eighteen.’

‘I’ll drink to that,’ Zachary said, picking up his goblet. ‘To Jess and her continued better health.’

‘To Jess!’ Sarah and Wilda chorused.

Jessalyn could do nothing but blush.

12th Hinerasur.

‘I assume you believe she’s ready?’ Layton asked. He had not changed much in the past four years. There was grey showing in his brown hair and a few more wrinkles on his face. His general attitude was no different.

‘Of course,’ Zachary replied.

‘Then we’ll begin with the written exam.’ Layton turned to Jessalyn, waiting quietly beside her master. ‘You’ll have two hours to answer as many questions as you can. Reference works are not allowed.’ He pointed her to the guild desk where there were papers waiting for her. One was the current guild apprentice approved list of questions. Four different lists were sent out from Capitol each spring and the adjudicating master selected one, supposedly at random, before the test was administered. The rest was blank paper for her to write on. ‘Begin now.’

Jessalyn went over to the desk and sat down. As Zachary had suggested, her first action was to read over all of the questions. They covered basic accounting and merchant practices, alchemy, methods of research, and magical theory. You did not need to be especially skilled in any of that to pass the test. In theory. She was quite sure she detected a little twist to one of the magical theory questions on her read through which would require some more careful analysis. That would be the first one she answered since magical theory was by far her best subject.

‘Is she going to start?’ The question was whispered, but Jessalyn had no doubt that Layton meant her to hear it.

‘You don’t read the questions before starting an exam?’ Zachary asked in reply. ‘That explains a lot.’

Smirking, Jessalyn put pen to paper.

~~~

As at Zachary’s shop, there was a yard at the back of Layton’s shop and dwelling place. The test moved out to there once Layton had gone through Jessalyn’s answers and, it seemed to her, rather reluctantly declared that she had passed. Zachary had been checking the answers over Layton’s shoulder and had declared that Jessalyn had passed with flying colours.

Now, in the yard, Jessalyn was demonstrating that she could use a staff, but her prowess with the standard weapon and magical tool of a mage was in no way equal to her mental capabilities.

Her opponent was Bailee, who had also not changed a great deal in the last four years. He was still the most feminine man Jessalyn knew of. He had been made up to journeyman at nineteen but was still living in Greenwall where he was doing his best to ingratiate himself with Lord Vergil, possibly in the hopes of never having to actually take the journey part of journeyman seriously. His skill with a staff seemed to be in line with that aim since he was not really much better than Jessalyn.

It was rather comical to watch the two of them battling it out in a sparring session. They were not trying to hurt each other, but they were both missing their targets at least half the time and neither of them could parry well. On the other hand…

‘That will be sufficient,’ Layton said. ‘Clearly, Student Jessalyn has a basic knowledge of the use of a quarterstaff. I admit to some surprise that she can actually lift one.’

Zachary coughed. ‘When we started, she had to use a shortened one, but she has grown since then.’

‘At least a little. Now, do you need a break, Student, or can we move on to the spell tests?’

Jessalyn leaned on her staff, which was considerably taller than she was, and tried not to look too tired. She had been at it for a couple of minutes and it had been tiring for someone with her constitution. Then again, she knew that physical fatigue was not a factor in her spellcasting. ‘I can go on, Master Layton.’

‘Very well. Show me a Light spell.’

Lifting a hand, Jessalyn gestured in the air, her fingers making the Celestial symbol for light. A ball of slightly blue light appeared in the air, barely visible in the midday sunlight but clearly there.

‘Good.’ Layton pointed at a small pile of twigs which had been set on one of the flagstones and was clearly there to be set on fire. ‘Ignite the twigs.’

Jessalyn looked at the twigs. It would not take too much to make them ignite, but it would have been beyond the simple spell she had previously used at home. She also wanted this to be over soon, so she overdid it. ‘Burn,’ she said. A second later there were flames consuming the pile.

‘Good,’ Layton said. His eyes narrowed. ‘Can you put it out?’ Jessalyn’s fingers inscribed the fire symbol in the air and the flames died away in an instant. Layton turned his head to Zachary. ‘She’s learned more than the required list.’

Zachary shrugged. ‘Just that one. Putting out fires is something that anyone who works in or around an alchemical workshop should know if they have the talent.’

‘I won’t actually disagree… Student, please cast Detect Magic upon this wand.’ Layton took a slim wooden wand from his robes. It had been carved such that it had a clear handle and narrowed to a rounded tip, but Jessalyn’s first look at it showed no signs of magic about it.

Still, she focused her mind on it and began to speak in Celestial, keeping her voice low to show that she did not need to speak louder. ‘Reveal unto me the magical nature of this object.’ The words did not really matter, though there were common forms used by the majority of mages. Since, as you grew in skill, the need for words and gestures declined, it was the intention of the mage which mattered. She had expected a temporary enchantment or a simple spell, but she got absolutely nothing. ‘That wand appears to have no magic about it at all,’ she said in Common.

‘Correct,’ Layton replied. ‘Your Celestial pronunciation is quite acceptable too. Master Zachary, do you swear that your student has learned the other required spells?’

‘I do,’ Zachary replied. There were a couple more, but they were a pain to test, Jessalyn imagined.

‘Very well. Student Jessalyn, step forward and present your ring.’

Jessalyn moved forward until she was just in front of Layton. She raised her right hand, fisted, before her as Zachary had shown her was the correct way to present the ring on her middle finger. A tiny push of mana brought the ring to life, projecting an image above the white stone which was now glowing. The image was the crest of the Imperial Mages – a three-quarter circlet of gem-studded gold, which was the imperial crown, slowly revolved around a golden staff with an ornate headpiece, which was the Staff of the Grandmaster – with white lettering revolving above it. The letters spelled out Jessalyn’s name and rank.

‘I, Master Layton, representing the Imperial Mages’ Guild, do hereby swear that Student Jessalyn has met the requirements set forth in guild law to become an apprentice. Student Jessalyn, do you swear to uphold the law of the guild with all your being?’

Swallowing, Jessalyn nodded. ‘I do so swear.’

With that, the stone on her ring went from white to yellow and the lettering above the crest changed, revealing her new rank and changing to a golden colour.

‘Welcome to the guild, Apprentice Jessalyn,’ Layton said.

‘Thank you, Master Layton.’ She turned. ‘And thank you, Journeyman Bailee, for your assistance.’

Bailee bowed his head. ‘It was my pleasure.’

Jessalyn smiled and turned her head to Zachary. ‘And thank you, Master Zachary, for getting me this far.’

‘Oh, my apprentice,’ Zachary said, ‘we have barely started.’

Part Three: Journeyman

Greenshadow Forest, 22nd Hineraun 1463.

The Greenshadow Forest. Jessalyn had foraged in it from a young age, walked in it frequently, even taken a few trips deeper into the trees, but she had never been as far inside the forest as she was today. Accompanying a team of foresters, she was five days’ walk from Greenwall with the intention of seeing whether she could apply the survival skills she had learned in the past six years to real situations.

A lot had changed since she had begun her apprenticeship. One of those things was the reason she was with this particular group of foresters. Reid was a tall, handsome, well-built young man with glowing blonde hair and blue eyes that twinkled, especially when he smiled. He was Jessalyn’s brother-in-law and had agreed to bring her along on a three-week trip into the deeper forest because Wilda had asked him to and he liked Jessalyn.

Deeper was a relative term. There were foresters who trekked further into the forest to claim more valuable prizes. They were either very tough, very stupid, or had short life expectancies. Frequently, all three applied. Most of the wood the forest provided came from within ten days’ travel of the town, from carefully managed areas, and even then there were dangers the foresters needed to be aware of and be able to counter. Five days in, one of the reasons why the place had its name was clear: beneath the dense canopy there was relatively little light. The trees were mostly thick-trunked okel, or slimmer-but-taller silverbark which tended to sneak into the gaps between the larger trees whenever they could. They were following what the foresters called a trail but Jessalyn was having a lot of trouble seeing it. This was, according to Reid, on purpose since the areas foresters tended were, at least to some extent, a secret; you did not want the other foresters finding and cutting your best trees. Dragging a small wagon all the way along this trail had not been an easy task for them, but it had meant they could carry more food and tools with them, and they would be able to carry cut wood back with them.

The party consisted of six people, plus Jessalyn. Four of those were married couples; foresters usually married within their own community and the women went out with the men to support them with foraging, cooking, and other camp duties. So there was Napier and Avice, and Wiley and Claire. Napier was the oldest of the group and the leader. He had taken over the trees they were going to from his father about four years ago. Wiley’s father had been Napier’s father’s partner for years, and now their sons worked together, at least on this stand. They were both strong men with dark hair and eyes and, years down the line if Jessalyn ever saw them again, she suspected she would have trouble remembering which was which. Their wives were more distinct: Avice had jet-black hair which she plaited down her back and Claire was a redhead who wore her hair in curls to her shoulders.

Then there was Reid, of course, and Jaycob. Wilda was not suited to the life her husband had to put up with in the forest, but the money she made from her clothmaking helped them to smooth out the lumpier income from Reid’s work. They lived pretty well for commoners. Jaycob, who everyone called Jay, had copper-coloured hair, green eyes, a ready smile, and the strong belief that he was irresistible to women. He was nineteen and still unmarried because no one woman should be allowed to own the wonder that was him, or maybe because most women could only stand him for a night. He thought having Jessalyn along on this trip was the best thing ever.

And that was because Jessalyn had changed too. She had grown up thanks to not being ill as often and having a better diet. Zachary considered meat to be a valuable source of nutrition. So did Sarah, but affording to put meat in every meal was another matter. Plus, Tatton had consumed more than a few of Jessalyn’s meals when she was young and too sick to eat more than broth. Jessalyn had gone through an awkward, gawky teenage phase around fourteen and fifteen. Her legs had grown faster than the rest of her, especially her bust, which she had decided was never going to amount to anything until suddenly it had decided to catch up with the rest of her. Now, standing at a hundred and seventy-six keray, she was a match for many of the men around town and moderately tall for a woman. She was still quite slim, not too wide in the hips, but she clearly had a womanly figure. She was neither as tall nor as busty as Priestess Sofia, but she could hold her own with Sofia’s looks.

It was generally agreed that Jessalyn had grown, against all odds according to many, into a beautiful young woman. Her hazel eyes were quite large for an adult and she had full lips and a pert nose. Her face had filled out a little from her gaunt twelve-year-old look. She had high cheekbones and a narrow jawline, but she no longer appeared starved. Her hair had lightened from the red-brown of her youth into something which seemed to have blonde filaments in a brown base. Each morning, she tied it into a ponytail which fell to the base of her shoulder blades and teased out strands to frame her face. She was more than just good-looking, and she clearly had power, and both of those facts had not gone unnoticed.

‘We’re here,’ Reid said. He usually walked alongside Jessalyn, partially to keep Jay from doing so.

The ‘trail’ opened out into a clearing perhaps sixteen paces across, open enough that some of the evening’s sunlight was managing to make its way down to the ground. Why this clearing was different from a couple of others they had seen along the way was not at all clear to Jessalyn, but this was, apparently, where they would be setting up camp for the next seven days. Jessalyn lowered her staff from where it rested on her shoulder, also lowering her bag to the ground since it was hooked over her staff by its carrying handles. It was not a huge bag, but it was sturdy leather and it carried what she needed.

Napier walked out into the middle of the clearing, looked around, and then turned to the others. ‘Okay, let’s get the place tidied up before the light goes entirely. Uh, Jessalyn, would you make us a fire? Right here where I’m standing.’

‘Sure, Napier,’ Jessalyn replied with a smile. ‘Won’t be a problem.’ She unhooked her cloak and deposited it on her bag. It was thick wool with a hood and her mother had made it for her over the winter. It kept the rain off quite well and it was warm. What more could you ask of a cloak? Then she carried the bundle of twigs she had picked up on their walk to the middle of the clearing. The others were depositing their own bundles down near to Napier, mostly silverbark since it made excellent firewood, burning well without popping even when freshly cut, and even giving off quite a pleasing aroma as it burned.

‘If you look,’ Napier said, ‘there’s a ring of stones already set there. You might want to clear the grass out of the middle before you start.’

Jessalyn shrugged and marked out the fire symbol in the air over the ring of stones which was quite well hidden by the grass. Fire appeared out of nowhere, rapidly reducing the grass to ashes and leaving bare earth behind. The fire vanished just as quickly as it had appeared and Jessalyn gave a nod. ‘That should do.’

‘It’s not a conventional way of clearing it, but I guess it works.’

‘No one ever accused Jess of being conventional,’ Reid said with a grin.

‘I’d complain, but it’s probably true,’ Jessalyn said. She began building the fire from some of the twigs and larger pieces of wood.

‘You’ll never get it going with those bigger pieces in it,’ Jay pointed out.

‘Watch me.’

Tidying up seemed to largely involve clearing fallen branches and large twigs from the grass and digging up a couple of saplings which had popped up since their last visit. The care with which the small trees were taken out of the ground suggested that they would be replanted elsewhere. The team were basically making sure that they could put down their bedrolls in comfort, but they were also working to ensure that the clearing stayed a clearing. Jessalyn wondered how long this place had been used as a campsite. Generations, certainly.

With her fire built, she concentrated on the wood and flames were rapidly bursting out all over the fire. She added a couple more larger pieces to keep things going and got to her feet. ‘Fire’s done.’

‘Already?’ Jay asked, turning to look. ‘I didn’t even hear– I suppose it’s easy to set fire to things when you’re a mage. No need for a flint.’

‘Not really, though I can start a fire the usual way. There just doesn’t seem much point unless I’ve seriously over-used my magic, and I haven’t used any magic since yesterday. Anything else I can do, Napier?’

‘Uh, start getting things ready for dinner?’ Napier asked in reply.

‘Sure. What are we making?’

‘We have earth fruit, wortels, and some dried meat,’ Avice replied. ‘How about we make a stew?’

‘Sounds wonderful. I’ll get started.’

~~~

The stew was nothing to write home about, but it was improved by the addition of some seasoning courtesy of Jessalyn’s magic. It went down well and was filling. It was dark by the time they were eating it. Jessalyn could have prepared it much faster with more magic, but she was trying to avoid over-use. The only illumination came from the fire. With the fire and it not being a cool day, it was pleasant to just sit around the fire and chat.

‘So, the name of this place isn’t just because it’s dark among the trees, is it?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘No,’ Napier replied, ‘but you have to go deeper in to see where the name came from.’

‘People explored a lot deeper before the Empire,’ Wiley said. ‘Some of them came back to tell what they found. Up in the northern forest, things get a bit crazy. Like talking trees crazy. There are things up there that you never want to meet. Some of them, very rarely, come further south and there are other things between here and there that’ll eat you without a second thought, and without much effort.’

‘Wild magic,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Never heard of that,’ Jay said.

‘It’s what you get when there’s too much chaos in the world. Magic is chaos filtered through order. We tame the chaos, the raw ability to change, through the order of our minds. You must know a couple of basic spells, Jay. Even you are taming chaos to do what you wish when you cast one. In some places, the magical field potential is diminished. There’s not enough chaos and it makes magic really difficult to do. In other places there’s more chaos and magic becomes really easy. And sometimes the chaos gets out of control and you get wild magic. Talking trees. Strange beasts with weird magic about them. Spells can be amazingly powerful, but if you get anything wrong… Bad things happen. Demons really like wild magic.’

‘So much for me sleeping tonight,’ Jay said.

‘You can take the first watch then,’ Napier said. ‘Uh, we hadn’t really considered using you on the watch schedule, Jessalyn.’

‘I’ll be watching all night,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘That’s not–’

‘What I mean is, I’m going to set a Watchdog on the clearing and a bit beyond. If anything dangerous comes within ten paces of the fire, I’ll be woken up and know about it. I’ve set them each night while we walked here.’

‘Useful, but I think we’ll still keep a watch.’

‘Do as you wish. It’s something I’ll need to get used to doing when I’m travelling. I’ll be alone a lot.’

‘You’re really going to do it?’ Reid asked. ‘Wilda is sure you’ll stay in town when you make journeyman.’

‘She’s sure?’

‘Maybe it’s more like a strong hope.’

‘I’m going travelling. I may not leave right after my birthday… I have reasons to stick around for a while, and other reasons to leave as soon as possible.’ She looked up at the stars visible through the patch of open canopy. ‘I’m going to turn in for the night. I got pretty tired on the walk and we’ll be up at dawn, I’ve no doubt.’

‘We will,’ Napier agreed.

Nodding, Jessalyn got to her feet and walked over to her pack. She had no bedroll, but the grass was soft enough, she had her blanket with her, and she could wrap herself in her cloak. She would, she had no doubt, be asleep in minutes. She was a lot healthier than she had been as a child, but she was still a little more prone to diseases than others her age and she tired faster.

Lying down wrapped in blanket and cloak, she turned and focused on the fire to cast her Watchdog spell. Then she turned over, pulled her hood over her eyes, and let herself fall into oblivion.

23rd Hineraun.

The purpose of the camp was something which fascinated Jessalyn. She had never seen trees grown in the way it was happening here, though Reid informed her that it was a very common practice.

In various blocks among the taller trees, which the foresters called coups, the trees had been cut down leaving a stump called a stool. The tree reacted by growing again from the stool, but it would put up numerous new stems, far thinner than the main trunk had been. The new growth would be harvested on a repeating cycle, producing wood which could be used in different ways from more conventionally harvested trees. They called the process coppicing and it had been going on for thousands of years, since before history had been written down.

To illustrate this fact, this year they were cutting okel from one coup which had been last cut some fifty years before. Okel gave long, straight logs in this manner, suitable for staffs and bow staves among other uses. Reid said that it was not unlikely that Jessalyn’s own quarterstaff had come from one of their okel coups. There were also silverbark trees among the okel which were cut more frequently, but they were being left this year as they were not sufficiently grown.

Cutting the okel was a laborious task. The men handled that while the women, Jessalyn included this time, foraged and checked over the other coups hidden among the trees. Jessalyn was not a forester and knew nothing of how a coup should be managed, so she drifted away from the other women in search of herbs, berries, fungi, and anything else which might be useful or edible. It was while she was busy on such a search that she came upon another coup, and the rabbuck which had decided to claim that area as its territory.

A rabbuck is about the size of a domestic cat but with more developed hindquarters to give them that extra burst of speed in a sprint. They have a triangular sort of head with eyes on the sides and sharp horns like antlers mounted to face forward. They are highly territorial, bad tempered, and overconfident. Rabbucks will attack animals many times their size, just for straying into their territory, and they will frequently win such fights through sheer tenacity or because the larger creature does not wish to take extensive damage for little gain. They are dangerous to humans because they can damage someone’s legs badly enough to bring them down, at which point they can stab you to death with repeated charges.

This rabbuck spotted Jessalyn around the time she spotted it. It was a fawn colour, but the pale antlers stood out against the grass growing between the stools. For a brief instant, Jessalyn thought it might ignore her. She had never actually seen a rabbuck before, just heard about their reputation for attacking anything that came their way. Maybe the stories were exaggerated.

No such luck. Turning, the small animal began sprinting down the line of stools toward her. It was moving pretty fast and Jessalyn was quite sure that she had no chance of outrunning it, so she stood her ground and waited, and just as the creature was about to hit her, she slammed her staff down into the ground right in front of its head. One antler struck the okel pole and Jessalyn saw the rabbuck’s neck twist at a really bad angle as the animal came to a sudden stop. She looked down at the still body, the glazed eyes, and she knew that it was dead.

Rabbucks were kind of cute if you ignored their murderous tendencies. She picked the little body up by one antler and examined it. The fur looked really soft. It was almost a shame that she had had to kill it.

Then again, fresh meat tonight…

~~~

‘It’ll need dressing out,’ Napier said.

‘Yes,’ Jessalyn replied. They were looking at the little corpse she had made.

‘It’s likely too late to use it tonight.’ It was getting dark. They had maybe thirty minutes before the sun set completely and there would be night. When the sun sank into the distant western ocean, it went dark as though someone had put a cover over a Lingering Light.

‘I’ll have it ready in a few seconds,’ Jessalyn said. Focusing her attention on the animal, she began to cast.

‘I’ve never heard of magic that can…’ Napier trailed off as, over the course of ten or so seconds, the rabbuck was disassembled before his eyes. The hide was peeled off, the meat trimmed from the bones, the innards formed themselves into a pile, and the dislocated skeleton was set beside the rest to be used or disposed of. ‘That… is not necessarily something I ever want to see again.’

Jessalyn smirked. ‘No, Napier, it can’t be used on living things.’

‘I didn’t–’

‘Everyone asks. I asked. It only works on corpses.’

‘Yeah, but if you need to dispose of a body…’

‘So don’t annoy me.’ Jessalyn grinned to show she was joking and looked around at Avice and Claire. ‘Do you two want to see what you want to use? Then I’ll go bury the rest.’

‘You should keep the horns as a trophy,’ Reid suggested.

Jessalyn looked down at the remains. ‘I’m not sure I want to remember killing anything that cute. I mean, it was him or me, but still. Besides, that’s a pathetic sort of trophy. Now, if I’d killed a vogan, it might be different.’

‘I’d rather you didn’t have to,’ Wiley said.

‘I second that,’ Napier added. ‘Besides, we’ve not seen vogan around here for a few years.’

Jessalyn was rather relieved by that; she had no wish to meet a vogan either. Still… ‘That means that you have seen them here…’

25th Hineraun.

Talk of vogan had left Jessalyn’s mind after another day of foraging, so she was surprised to find herself awake in the early hours knowing that something large and doglike was out there on the periphery of her Watchdog spell’s radius. Sitting up and turning, she looked out in the direction the spell had indicated, but all she could see was darkness and shadows.

‘It’s a vogan,’ Wiley said from his position nearer to the fire.

‘I thought it was, but I can’t see anything. Will it attack?’

‘It’s alone. A lone vogan won’t attack this many humans. One might take on a lone human, and it would be a tough fight, but they know their limits.’

Apparently, this was true. Awareness of the threat at the edge of the light vanished. The vogan had retreated. ‘You’re right. It’s gone.’

‘Figured as much. You should get some more rest.’

Jessalyn made a gesture in the air and then shook her head. ‘It’ll be dawn in half an hour or so. I’m awake now and there’s not much point in trying to sleep more.’ She got to her feet and walked over to sit down beside Wiley. ‘I’ll keep you company for the last of the night.’

‘Huh. At least I know that spell of yours actually works.’

‘True, and now I know it actually works too.’

~~~

‘We’ll be sitting watch in twos tonight,’ Napier said.

‘The vogan?’ Reid asked. They were sitting around the fire, not long after dark, finishing their evening meal which did not have rabbuck in it tonight.

‘Sometimes a lone vogan is a scout. A pack might have sent out a single member to see what’s happening. That’s if a pack has set up shop not too far away. We sit double watch for the next couple of nights, just to be sure. You and Jay can sit first, Reid. The ladies will be helping tonight, and we’ll stagger the watches so someone is always fresh. I don’t suppose you could expand that spell of yours a bit, Jessalyn?’

‘I can make it a bit wider without making me useless if the vogan actually turn up,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘If memory serves, they’ll attack at night. Vogan have a bit of magic about them so they can see in complete darkness. That’s a useful talent I can’t replicate.’

‘I’m glad to hear you’re not perfect. Okay, no one strays far from the fire tonight, and sleep light.’

Jessalyn had a feeling she would be doing that anyway.

~~~

The danger was all around her and Jessalyn was on her feet and grabbing her staff almost before her mind was aware of what her body was doing. Reid was still on watch, though since Jessalyn had put her head down, Wiley had replaced Jay. Both of them jumped up as Jessalyn took a couple of quick steps closer to them, looking around as she did so.

‘You sensed something?’ Reid asked.

‘Lots of somethings,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘They’re all around us.’ As she spoke, she was charging a spell and flickers of light began to dance around her staff. ‘If they rush us…’

Wiley was kicking Jay awake and the others were rousing at the sound of voices. Maybe the vogan would leave with the element of surprise gone. Maybe… Jessalyn saw a pair of blue eyes glinting in the firelight as one of the creatures closed in, and then it was rushing at her. She thrust her staff out toward it and a bolt of incandescent white lightning burst from the tip to strike the vogan in the chest. It fell, not dead, but whimpering pitifully and unable to continue.

By now, everyone was armed and fully awake. Avice and Claire had large knives while the men wielded their axes. The axes were meant for cutting wood but they looked like they would do some damage to the vogan. Still…

‘They’re not backing off,’ Jessalyn said as she charged another Lightning spell.

‘Is there anything you can do?’ Napier asked.

‘There might be something…’ Jessalyn considered the power she had used so far and what she was thinking of. It was probably going to hurt, but if she kept throwing lightning bolts around, it would end up worse and probably not take down enough of the vogan to matter. ‘It’ll make a mess, but it might persuade them to leave.’

‘They’ll make a mess if they come for us.’

The decision was made as the entire pack began to appear on the edge of the firelight. Jessalyn threw her second lightning bolt. She hit her target, but this time it remained on its feet, though it did stop, letting its fellow pack members take the lead. The vogan were moving slowly, wary of more ranged attacks, and Jessalyn took the opportunity to focus her will on a different spell. Almost immediately, the wind picked up in the clearing, tugging at blankets still on the ground and ruffling the black fur of the vogan. Suddenly, the black dogs looked terrifying, but she held herself up on her staff and kept her mind fixed on growing the wind which, strangely enough, did not affect her or those with her as it seemed to swirl around in a circle, leaving an eye perhaps four paces across of still air.

‘You’re doing that?’ Wiley asked.

‘Y-yes. It takes a few seconds to get to full strength.’

‘Are you okay?’ Reid asked, hearing the fear in Jessalyn’s voice. His eyes were busy watching the vogan.

‘I’ve used too much magic. Unerra s-seems to have reprimanded me with a fear of d-dogs. Uh, so I’m going to be pretty useless f-for a while.’

‘That kind of sucks. I didn’t know magic worked that way.’

‘It’s different for everyone,’ Jessalyn lied. ‘At least I didn’t catch a disease or explode.’

‘You could’ve exploded?!’

‘It’s been known to happen. If you’re unlucky.’ The wind was up to full strength now. Blankets, twigs, and lighter pieces of equipment were blowing around the clearing in a wild dance, and two-thirds of the wolves were no longer on their feet. There were twelve of them aside from the two Jessalyn had hurt, but now only four were still upright which put them at a disadvantage to the six humans. Jessalyn was not going to be able to fight them, but they did not know that yet. The problem was that she could only maintain the wind for about a minute. If she tried to keep it going longer, Unerra would punish her with something much worse, she was sure. If the vogan held out…

A bark went up from one of the vogan and it rushed back, out of the windstorm. The others, some of them crawling since they could not stand, followed suit. A few seconds later, the only vogan left within range of the Watchdog was the first Jessalyn had hit. It was, it seemed, in too much pain to move.

‘Thank the gods,’ Jessalyn muttered. She let the wind die away as the spell expired and, since there seemed to be no sign of the black-furred monsters, everyone relaxed.

Then Jessalyn turned her back as Napier went over to the fallen vogan and hacked off its head. ‘I’ll sit watch for a while,’ she said. ‘There’s no way I’m getting back to sleep after that.’

‘I’ll make some tea,’ Avice said. ‘Once I’ve figured out where it ended up anyway. None of us will be sleeping straight away.’

‘That sounds good.’

Then Napier was standing before Jessalyn and putting a hand on her shoulder. ‘If we hadn’t had you here, we’d be dead or dealing with bad injuries.’

‘And you pushed yourself past your limits to help us,’ Avice added.

‘It wasn’t entirely altruistic, you know,’ Jessalyn countered. ‘They wanted to eat me too.’

‘True enough,’ Napier agreed, ‘but you’ll take our thanks anyway.’

‘Fair enough. Just don’t ask me to use magic before morning, okay?’

‘I think we’ll manage without.’

‘So long as the vogan don’t come back,’ Jay said.

Reid glowered at him. ‘You just had to say it…’

28th Hineraun.

There had been no more sign of the vogan that night, or for the two nights which followed. Napier had discussed getting more men from town to come back and kill the pack. It was likely that they had claimed this area and some land around it was their territory, and they would be a problem to more than just this one group of foresters. That would be for later.

Jessalyn had plucked up all her courage the following day and used her spell to disassemble the vogan she and Napier had killed. The pelt, he said, would fetch a good price in Greenwall and he insisted that she take it. She had hidden it in the wagon and hoped that she would be over her phobia before she had to try to sell it. The rest of the animal had been burned and then buried. Jessalyn had felt some satisfaction in roasting the remains, just not much.

Unerraday was upon them and things had been routine, until it grew close to sunset. Then the party gathered in the clearing and Napier took on the role of temporary priest. Out of sight of the town, the foresters gave their prayers to Unerra without the looming Temple of Rallia looking down on them or the intermediary of the Unerran priestesses. Here, the old worship of the earth goddess was still strong. There was no need for a church because they were out in Unerra’s domain, the wilds of nature.

The light was going as Napier raised his voice in thanks to the goddess. That almost certainly explained why the trees around them looked so dark, the shadows so deep. Except…

‘It’s weird,’ Napier said, ‘but it really felt like Unerra was listening tonight.’

It was fully dark now with only the fire to make light. Still, Jessalyn felt that the shadows beyond the firelight were not quite as thick as they had been while Napier had been leading the service.

‘You’re right,’ Avice said. ‘I felt her presence.’

‘Let’s hope she decides to bless us with some good growth next year then.’

Jessalyn looked out in the direction of the coup they had cut through the week. ‘I’ll bless the trees you’ve cut tomorrow. I think I can do most of them without overreaching.’

‘You can do that?’ Jay asked. ‘I thought it was only the priestesses that could.’ Jay was a changed man since the fight with the vogan, at least around Jessalyn. It was not that he was afraid of her, but he seemed to respect her more. He had certainly stopped making lewd suggestions about going off into the bushes with her.

‘Journeymen mages frequently make money blessing fields in places where the priestesses don’t get out to. The magic the priestesses use isn’t different to the magic I use. They just have a different way of casting. All magic comes from Unerra.’

‘I’ll take you to the coup we’ll be cutting next year,’ Napier said, ‘but we’d be grateful if you’d bless that one. Every little helps and we definitely don’t get priestesses coming out here to bless the trees.’

‘Well,’ Jessalyn said, ‘can you imagine Priestess Sofia tramping through this forest?’

‘No,’ Jay replied sadly, ‘but I can dream…’

30th Hineraun.

It was the last day of Hineraun and the foresters were packing up to leave for town. Anorat, the sun god, had barely launched the sun into the sky and Jessalyn had decided that a little extra light was needed to make sure she had left nothing behind. She ended up keeping that going so that Avice and Claire could make breakfast easier.

Breakfast was going to be needed. The cart they had pulled out to the camp was now loaded with wood to be taken and sold in Greenwall. They were going to have to swap the man pulling it more frequently on the way back, and probably assist whoever it was over roots and the like more often. Getting back would likely be a slog and Jessalyn was not really looking forward to it. She was preparing herself to cast strength-bolstering spells on people a few times during the day. Hopefully, not too many would be needed.

‘How was your first real trip into the wilds?’ Reid asked as they ate.

‘It’s weird, but I think I might miss this place a little,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Mind you, I can’t wait to get back to a change of clothes and a good wash.’ She had been in the same clothes for far too long. It was an outfit she had put together for her travels and Wilda said it made her look like a man, which was a foul slur and totally untrue. Men did not have chests that shape. She had light-leather trousers and good, solid boots which came up almost to her knees. Her chest was covered by a sweater of olive-brown wool which kept her quite warm and over that she had put a leather corset which provided a little protection around her waist and helped a little with carrying loads. There were fingerless gloves as well as leather bracers, and there was a wide belt from which was hung a pouch in which she kept her potions. Maybe it was a little masculine, but it was functional and Avice and Claire were both in leather trousers too, so Wilda could keep her opinions to herself.

‘Wilda says you like to be clean.’ It was apparent that Reid thought this weird. Maybe Wilda did too.

‘If you’d been ill as many times as I was when I was younger, you’d like being clean too.’

‘You may have a point. Clean is a luxury for foresters.’

‘I suppose so. I know there’s a spell that can clean you, or a room, but I can’t cast it yet. I really must learn it.’

‘Always something to learn when you’re a mage, huh?’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘Always. That’s one of the reasons I love it.’

~~~

‘Hey, Jess?’

Jessalyn looked around at Jay, who was currently pulling the cart. ‘Yes?’

‘I’ve been meaning to ask. When the vogan attacked, you used some sort of lightning spell to attack them.’

‘Yes. It’s my only real ranged attack spell.’

‘Okay, but don’t mages usually throw fireballs around? I mean, you think of mages battling it out and you think fireballs everywhere.’

‘I don’t know that spell. I won’t learn that spell. Ever.’

‘That’s… kind of intense.’

Jessalyn was silent for a second. ‘When I was a kid, my brother did something which was… insensitive, stupid, and vindictive. I got really angry and I threw a fireball at him. He could’ve died. Ever since then, I won’t even look at that spell, never mind learning it.’

‘But if you already used it…’

‘It’s complicated. Sometimes I just know spells. Sometimes they stay with me. That time, it didn’t, maybe because I didn’t want it to.’

‘Well,’ Reid said, ‘from what Wilda says about Tatton when he was younger, he probably deserved it.’

‘No. No, he didn’t deserve that. But I was really angry with him. Anyway, Eloise and the guard have changed him. I wouldn’t say we have the best relationship in the world, but I do get along a lot better with him now.’

‘You couldn’t get on much worse,’ Jay commented.

‘Probably not. And we do try to beat each other senseless whenever we get together.’

‘That’s better?!’

‘Oh, yeah. Much better.’

5th Hinerasur.

The copper-shod heel of a quarterstaff came straight at Jessalyn’s throat. She shifted her head and felt the metal touch the side of her neck.

‘Two to me,’ Tatton announced, smirking.

Jessalyn feinted at his face and then turned her staff quickly about, bringing it up between his legs to stop, just, against Tatton’s groin. ‘And two to me.’

‘That is an unladylike target,’ her brother replied, scowling. Somehow the scowl did not quite have the heat it had had when they were younger. ‘I don’t know whether to be proud or disgusted.’

They circled, each looking for an opening. ‘How’s Eloise doing?’ Jessalyn asked. ‘She has to be pretty big by now.’

‘Just don’t tell her that. She had to stop working a couple of weeks ago and she’s bored out of her mind.’ Eloise, Tatton’s wife of almost five years, was a dyer. She was also heavily pregnant.

Tatton feinted a leg sweep and Jessalyn brushed aside his thrust at her torso. ‘When’s she due?’

‘Before the end of the month. That’s the best guess I’ve heard. Uh, are you going to be here? Your test is only a week away.’

Jessalyn considered her answer while attempting a rapid-fire series of strikes which pushed Tatton back, but eventually only resulted in her losing a point when he countered. ‘I don’t plan to leave the day after or anything. I’ll stay at least until the baby is born.’

‘Good. Thanks. Uh, Eloise will appreciate it.’

They had been conducting these sparring sessions on Ralliaday afternoons for a while now. Jessalyn had decided to ask Tatton for help with her staff combat after Eloise had persuaded her that Tatton was a lot better than he had been when they were kids. Eloise was a sweet woman, kind and beautiful, and far too good for Tatton. She frequently had stained fingers from her work, which put some men off, but she had to have been able to get someone better than Tatton. According to her, he made her feel safe. This was likely because he was fairly proficient with the weapons the town guard routinely carried. As what was basically a foot soldier, Tatton primarily used a spear with a short sword as backup. In times of heightened security, he would carry a roundel shield on his back. A spear could be used by sticking the pointy end in someone, of course, but many of the defensive techniques and attacks were basically quarterstaff moves, so Jessalyn sparred with Tatton once a week – and drilled alone on other days – which Tatton said helped improve his own skill with a spear while on duty.

‘I’m sure.’ Jessalyn stepped in to jab at Tatton’s chest. ‘I’m going to be an aunt.’ Then she had to twist her staff quickly to block a strike to the head. ‘I think I should be here for that.’

‘Well, yeah.’ Tatton moved in with his own sequence of rapid strikes to the head and stomach. ‘I’m going to be a dad.’ There was a definite edge of fear, maybe even terror, in Tatton’s voice and Jessalyn used the momentary lapse in concentration to get hits in on Tatton’s right thigh and then a jab to the stomach.

‘I think that’s enough for today,’ Zachary said from his position sitting in the workshop doorway. They were sparring in the yard at the back of Zachary’s house, as always, and the old mage frequently watched them. He had much more grey in his hair now and was physically more frail than he had been when Jessalyn became his apprentice. ‘Tatton wins by two points despite a last-minute comeback by Jessalyn.’

‘He always wins,’ Jessalyn said. ‘He does this professionally, I’m just an amateur with a desire to get better.’

‘It is getting harder to beat you,’ Tatton said.

‘Thanks. And you… Just don’t take Poppa as an example of good parenting and you’ll be a fine father.’

Tatton frowned, railing against the implication. ‘Poppa was a good–’ He stopped. ‘I guess he wasn’t great with you or Wilda. Especially you.’

‘Much to my benefit,’ Zachary said. ‘I likely wouldn’t have such a talented apprentice if your father had been better with his youngest daughter.’

‘I think I’d have made my way here eventually,’ Jessalyn countered. ‘Anyway, just remember to use corporal punishment as a last resort and, if it’s a girl, that she probably won’t grow up to be a soldier and you shouldn’t regret that every day. What do you want? Boy or girl?’

That seemed to be a bit of a stumper. Tatton leaned on his staff and looked really thoughtful. Okay, so he had never been the brightest kid on the square, but Jessalyn had not expected this to be such a difficult question.

‘Well, see, it’s complicated,’ Tatton said eventually. ‘A son would be good. Carry on the family line and all that. Maybe he becomes a soldier when he grows up. Maybe we can get him apprenticed to a merchant or something and move up the social ladder a bit. I don’t actually mind one way or another, even if that comes as a surprise.’ It did, but Jessalyn was not going to say so. ‘But a girl…’ Tatton grinned in as foolish a manner as Jessalyn had ever seen on him. ‘Cute little girl to spoil. She’d take after her mother and make my life a misery when she’s old enough to be courting.’

‘You show more self-awareness than I’d give you credit for, Tatton,’ Zachary said. ‘Rumour is that there might be a promotion in your future.’

‘You heard that? Our captain’s retiring and one of the lieutenants is moving to Capitol. There’ll be some shifting around. I’m… not sure I’ll move up. I’m not the brightest of the guards.’

‘You’ve got some experience. That counts. Have some confidence. If they see you thinking you can’t handle it, or suspecting you won’t get it, they’ll look elsewhere.’

‘Think of the extra money,’ Jessalyn suggested.

‘Six moons a month,’ Tatton said. ‘I guess it’s a raise.’

‘You get paid more than me. Don’t knock it.’

‘You’re still an apprentice.’

‘I am, but not for much longer.’

12th Hinerasur.

‘I’m just going to assume you have the required spells,’ Layton said, ‘but recount them for me.’

‘Lightning,’ Jessalyn replied, ‘Shield, Healing, and Watchdog. Then for the business requirements, I have Lingering Light, Bless Plants and Inspired Creation. Also a number of cooking spells, including Preserve Food.’

Layton nodded. ‘Sufficient. You should learn enchantment as soon as you’re able, and some making and repair spells are always useful.’

‘I’ll take that advice to heart.’ Zachary had said much the same to her.

‘Very well.’ Layton pointed at the guild desk and the papers on it. ‘You have three hours to complete six questions out of the ten on the paper. Good luck, Apprentice Jessalyn. You may begin.’ Jessalyn headed to the desk and picked up the paper to read through the questions. Behind her, she heard Layton speaking in a low voice to Zachary. ‘I’m not entirely sure why I’m bothering with this.’

‘Because the paperwork has to be on record,’ Zachary replied.

‘There is that. I assume she’s going to ace this, just like the last one?’

‘Oh, probably.’

‘Is she staying in town?’

‘For a short while. She means to travel.’

‘Bailee will be pleased. He doesn’t need the competition.’

Jessalyn smiled and picked up her pen. Six questions in three hours. They were far tougher than the ones on the apprenticeship paper and all focused on magical theory, but she was going to ace the test. By the end of the day, she was going to be a probationary journeyman. The last requirement was that she had turned eighteen, and that had happened two days earlier. All she really needed was Layton’s approval. Now to get it.

~~~

Jessalyn sat on the sofa, looking at the guild sigil being projected above her ring. The ring’s stone was now green, as was the lettering giving her name and rank. Assuming she did not mess up and bring the guild into disrepute, in a year she could apply for promotion to journeyman. It was more work to get senior journeyman and she would have to learn enchantment, but she was planning to do that soon anyway.

Zachary walked into the parlour and tossed a cloth bag onto the table in front of her. It landed with a solid thump. ‘Graduation present,’ he said.

The sigil vanished as Jessalyn reached for the bag. It was not heavy enough to be money, but there was something with a little weight inside. Opening it, she reached in and pulled out a ring with a blue stone on it. She could see that it was magic, but not the spell it held. ‘And what does this one do?’

‘Keeps the rain off.’

Jessalyn laughed and slipped the ring onto her right ring finger. ‘A practical gift. I’m most pleased with it.’

Zachary settled onto his chair with a sigh. His back had been bothering him today. ‘I’m most glad. Just remember that the spell isn’t strong enough to deflect hail and the like.’

‘It’ll keep me dry while I’m sleeping. If it’s hailing, I doubt I’ll be doing much sleeping. Besides, I don’t think I’ll want to be travelling in the winter.’

‘Got it all planned out, do you?’

Jessalyn shook her head. ‘No. I don’t have it all planned out. However, I think I’ll head for Vestinport first. I’d like to see a big city and I’m sure I can make some money on the way. Maybe overwinter there or see where I might get to before winter if I can’t get much work.’

‘That does sound like a plan. When you get there, be sure to go to the guild as soon as possible. They’ll know of work in the area. They may have work from further afield too.’

‘Okay. What about your home city? You came from Sheardbergen, right?’

‘You don’t want to spend winter in Sheardbergen,’ Zachary replied. ‘It’s cold.’ He considered for a moment and then seemed to relent. ‘Well, the baths are an experience in winter. Sitting in a hot bath when it’s cold outside is a wonderful experience. They even have outdoor pools heated with magic. You can sit in hot water surrounded by snow.’

‘That sounds like… an experience, yes.’

‘No need to be snarky. It’s right under the Dragonwall Mountains, so the views from the city are glorious in winter. However, as I said, it’s cold.’

‘I’ll consider it. I won’t be going until next month. Unless Eloise has her baby early, I suppose.’

‘Next month is only three weeks away.’

‘Hm, yes. I suppose it is. Maybe it’ll take a little longer to go…’

13th Hinerasur.

Jessalyn looked up from her reading as the shop door opened. She did not put her book away, because the person stepping in through the door was not a customer. She could tell by the smug air he carried with him and the better-than-usual clothing he wore that he was a servant, probably from the castle.

‘Can I help you?’ Jessalyn asked.

Reaching into his vest, the man produced a sealed letter. ‘I have a message from Lord Vergil to Master Zachary and Journeyman Jessalyn.’

From the castle then. What did Vergil want? Only one way to find out. ‘I’m Jessalyn.’

The servant peered at her. She was wearing a basic dress, the kind you’d find on just about anyone in Southgate. Apparently, he was unimpressed. ‘Might I see your guild ring?’

Mages, as Zachary had said on numerous occasions, treated all with the respect they deserved. No one save the emperor was above them. No one at all was beneath them. Jessalyn smiled and beckoned the man closer. He took two steps and came to a stop. ‘If you’d like, I could demonstrate my qualifications by shooting a lightning bolt up your ass,’ Jessalyn told him. Treat others with the respect they deserved.

The messenger went pale and placed the letter down on the counter. ‘See to it that Master Zachary knows of the contents.’ Turning sharply, he scurried toward the door as though he did expect to be chased out by lightning.

Shaking her head, Jessalyn opened the letter. Not actually a letter, as such; within the envelope was a thick card with the lord’s crest stamped into it and a handwritten note beneath. ‘Master Zachary and Journeyman Jessalyn are hereby invited to partake of their evening meal with Lord Vergil on the sixteenth day of Hinerasur of this year, the fourteen hundred and sixty-third year of the Meginhard Empire. Dress will be formal.’

Jessalyn read the invitation twice. ‘Oh, ballsacks!’ she said, loudly enough that Zachary emerged from the back a few seconds later.

‘And what has you using language like that?’ he asked. She handed him the invitation. ‘Ah,’ he said after a minute or so. ‘He’ll have heard you passed your test and wants to meet the new journeyman.’

‘Oh, come on, Master. This is Quinten’s doing. And I’m going to have to go buy a dress.’

Zachary sighed. ‘I suppose I’ll have to dress the part too. Having something better to wear on your travels will be worth the outlay. You never know who you may have to spend time with.’

‘I suppose…’

‘And try to remember to mind your manners. Quinten may be an annoyance, but he is Lord Vergil’s eldest son.’

‘Of that I am painfully aware.’

16th Hinerasur.

In the end, Jessalyn spent a ridiculous amount of her savings on a dress which she felt would serve her well in the future, no matter the circumstances. Zachary took pity on her and bought her thigh-length boots in soft leather which went with the dress. The dress was dark, made from a thick fabric which was a dark grey but had a lighter spiral pattern woven into it. The sleeves were laced along the backs from wrist to shoulder and the skirt had long vents up the front to mid-thigh which were then laced closed to the hip. It was lightly corseted with a laced V-neck and there was a purple crocheted decorative mantle over the shoulders. She looked, if she said so herself, really good in it. That was good, because she was really hating putting out thirty-six moons to buy it.

‘It’s an investment,’ Zachary reminded her as they walked to the castle.

‘I wasn’t thinking about the dress,’ Jessalyn grumbled.

‘Yes, you were.’

‘Fine. I’ll think about something else instead.’

Zachary was in his best robes. They had colours, even if they were still dark, and gold thread in the trim. And Sarah had done him a favour and shortened the hem a little last year because he was stooping more these days. How was he going to do without her around to take care of him? If she were honest, Jessalyn had considered staying in Greenwall until Zachary died. He was becoming more and more frail as the years piled on. If his mind had worsened, she would definitely have stayed and that might have meant never leaving. She would have taken on more and more of his business and ended up replacing him as Southgate’s resident mage. Zachary had told her not to be so stupid when she had, in vague terms, broached the subject with him. If she stayed for that, she would learn to hate his memory which was not something he wanted.

The castle was up ahead. It occupied the northeast corner of the town and was really more like a fortified mansion than a castle. There was a wall around a forecourt and the wall had a gatehouse, facing east, let into it which could repel those trying to get in. On the other hand, the south wall was just the wall of the castle, which did not provide great secondary defence. Lord Vergil was not a military lord. His family had been merchants, his title purchased. They had never had to fight for their land and so had not really considered such martial concerns when building the town. The town wall was mostly there to keep animals and monsters out, not to repel an army. Still, at three storeys built entirely of stone, and at least one floor below ground, the castle was large and tough to break. Being more of a mansion than a castle, it had served the lords of Greenwall well when important guests came to visit.

Sight of the castle and the gate brought to mind Quinten. Vergil’s eldest had turned fifteen the month before. Jessalyn had used the excuse of going out with the foresters to decline his birthday gathering, in fact. She had been to the castle a few times in the past six years. It had taught her a lot about the manners of nobles, which was why Zachary had taken her along with him. Unfortunately, it had also resulted in Quinten noticing her. Since he had been thirteen and had seen the now almost fully grown Jessalyn at the castle, he had had a crush on her. This had developed into something more like an obsession and she had been forced to decline several offers of marriage. Luckily, he was not old enough to make a proper proposal and Vergil was not keen on the match, but she had a horror of being around for his sixteenth birthday when he could really ask her to marry him.

‘Stop thinking about Quinten,’ Zachary said.

‘I was not–’

‘You were growling under your breath.’

‘Oh.’

‘Just be polite and ignore him.’

‘That’s easy for you to say.’

The gate guard recognised them both and let them through without stopping them. Then it was across the courtyard, with its stables on the north side, and into the castle proper. Inside it was warmer in both tone and temperature. Lingering Light spells as well as candles illuminated the entrance hall where a servant took their invitation and directed them through to the dining hall which was across from the main door. Part of their monthly income came from maintaining the light spells at the castle, though Layton and Bailee also did some of them. The castle had a lot of spells to maintain and Greenwall had relatively few mages.

Lord Vergil came scurrying over as soon as he saw the two mages entering the room. He was a short, robust man whose cheeks seemed to have a constant ruddy colour. He might have been handsome, maybe had been in his youth, were it not for his somewhat rotund form and full cheeks. He had dark-brown hair and brown eyes, the latter being a little small for his face, though that might have been the result of too many good meals as well.

‘Master Zachary,’ the lord said, ebullient as he usually was, ‘and the now Journeyman Jessalyn. I am most happy to see you here. You must meet Baron Alwin. He’s up from Capitol on business.’ So, this party was not just for Jessalyn’s benefit, which was good to know.

‘Lord Vergil,’ Zachary replied, ‘it’s a pleasure to be here.’

‘Liar.’

‘You know me so well.’

Vergil turned his attention properly to Jessalyn. ‘That’s a very… interesting dress, Journeyman.’

In Southgate, Jessalyn’s dress turned heads and not entirely for the right reason. It showed a little too much thigh and revealed a little too much chest for the conservative residents. It was less revolutionary in the Merchants’ and Crafters’ quarters – it had, after all, been for sale in the Merchants’ Quarter – and Zachary had said that a lot of places outside Greenwall, especially Capitol, were a lot more liberal about modes of dress. Jessalyn did not consider this outfit especially risqué, though she had had to steel herself a little before walking to the castle in it.

‘Fashion from Sheardbergen, Lord Vergil,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Or so the merchant said. I’m afraid a newly minted journeyman can’t afford to buy clothes for a single banquet, so this must do double duty as spare clothes for my travels.’ Calling the lord by name rather than using ‘my lord’ or something similar was a mage thing. Whoever the lord was, they were not the mage’s lord, even if they technically were, as was the case here. Mages were distanced from the class system of the Empire, but they demonstrated that in small ways rather than making a big thing of it.

‘Ah, I hadn’t considered that. Yes, that would be quite a sedate gown in some parts of the world.’ Vergil smiled at her. ‘Should you ever make your way to Capitol, which I’m sure you will, you’ll see what I mean. Frankly, I had trouble knowing where to look.’ Jessalyn got the distinct impression that Vergil was pleased to hear that she was still planning to leave his town. That likely meant that Quinten had pushed his father to invite her and that Vergil was still quite keen to ensure that nothing came of his son’s infatuation. Well, that was something they could agree upon.

‘The weather is hotter in Capitol. I would understand it if they preferred wearing, um, lighter clothing, especially in summer.’

‘My dear, you have no idea. Why–’

‘And who is this lovely young lady, Vergil?’ The speaker was a good head taller than Vergil and more muscular with it. He had to be the baron because his clothes were better made than Vergil’s. Both wore waistcoats over light shirts and button-up britches, but Alwin’s waistcoat had very fine embroidery on it while Vergil’s had simple patterns along the edges. Alwin’s clothes fit him better too, though that might have been more to do with Vergil’s shape.

‘Ah,’ Vergil said, ‘Baron. Here we have two of the town’s resident mages. Master Zachary and Journeyman Jessalyn. Jessalyn was made a journeyman only this week.’

‘A probationary journeyman then,’ Alwin said. His change in demeanour was rather sudden. One moment he was sizing up a beautiful girl – so his wife was not accompanying him on this trip – and the next he was looking at a mage. Or was it a female mage?

‘That’s right, Baron Alwin,’ Jessalyn said. ‘As I would expect of someone from Capitol, you know the structure of the Imperial Mages’ Guild.’ Even if only to subtly insult them.

‘Jessalyn is an extremely talented mage,’ Zachary said. ‘She’ll surpass me in no time. She already has in power, if not experience.’ There was a very slight emphasis on the word ‘power’ which, to Jessalyn, seemed a little like a threat; Zachary was not pleased by the baron’s attitude either.

‘The Empire always needs powerful mages,’ Alwin said. ‘I should return to Guildmaster Landon. We were discussing something of import.’

‘So important that he had to stop to talk to a pretty girl,’ Zachary commented when the baron was gone.

‘The baron is a very–’ Vergil began.

‘There’s no need to make excuses for him, Lord Vergil. I’m well aware of the nature of minor nobility from Capitol. I spent several years there. It’s the main reason I chose to live in Greenwall.’

‘Ah. I’ve only been to Capitol twice myself.’

‘You’re not missing much.’ Zachary turned to Jessalyn. ‘That said, you should go there at least once, Jessalyn. It would be interesting to see you made a master there, if nothing else.’

‘Somehow, I’m not encouraged,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Anyway, Lord Vergil, I’m rather glad that Baron Alwin decided to dislike me, for whatever reason. I need to concentrate on only one infatuation tonight.’

‘Oh, yes… I’m afraid that Quinten hasn’t given up yet. His mother and I have both said that we don’t approve, but he continues…’

‘Out of interest,’ Zachary said, ‘why is it that you don’t approve?’

Vergil had the good grace to blush. ‘I won’t dissemble. The journeyman’s background in Southgate is the reason.’ He sighed. ‘And her elevation to journeyman rank has only given Quinten ammunition to counter that argument. Jessalyn has always been a polite and responsible girl and I know that she would not press the matter, but she technically has the same social standing as I do. Quinten has claimed this as Rallia’s blessing upon the match.’

‘As a mage and a commoner,’ Jessalyn said, ‘I pay more attention to what Unerra says, and I believe she means for me to travel and learn.’

‘Uh, not wanting to seem like I’m rushing you, but when do you plan to leave Greenwall?’

‘My brother is to become a father soon. I want to stay for the birth, which should be before the end of this month. I expect to leave early next month, but babies have a tendency to make plans go askew.’

‘Some of them continue to do that all the way into adulthood. Let us pray that your brother’s child does not keep us waiting. Oh, and please give my well wishes to the family when you next see them.’

‘I’ll do that. Tatton is a member of the town guard. I’m sure that will mean more to him than many.’

‘Mm. Well, mingle, both of you. There are one or two people here who will wish to meet the new journeyman. We’ll be eating soon but talk to a few people before then.’ The lord turned and began to walk away. ‘Tatton… hm…’

‘Did you just drop your brother’s name in the hopes that it might help his promotion?’ Zachary asked.

‘Would I stoop to using a slight social connection to benefit a sibling?’ Jessalyn replied.

Zachary started across toward a group of merchants he vaguely knew. ‘You’re not fooling anyone, you know.’

~~~

Jessalyn had been put opposite Zachary toward the middle of the long table which occupied a substantial amount of the dining hall. This put her about as far from Quinten and Alwin as she could get but right beside Vergil’s wife, Lark. The lord and the baron were at either end of the table, which Jessalyn was fine with, and Lark was a pleasant enough woman, if a bit hypocritical.

The hypocrisy stemmed from the fact that she did not want her eldest son marrying a girl from Southgate. Lark’s family had been in the upper rungs of Southgate society, but she had been born and raised in that district. She had come to Vergil’s notice after landing a job as a maid in the castle when they were both around fourteen. She had kept her looks a lot better than her husband had. She was a short woman with an expansive chest, which she liked to show off with low-cut dresses, long blonde hair, and green eyes that had flecks of brown in them. She had a bubbly demeanour which Jessalyn suspected was partially an attempt to make people underestimate her.

‘You simply must see Capitol,’ Lark was saying. She had been presenting the great opportunities and benefits of travel for a few minutes now. It was apparent that she wanted Jessalyn to leave town but was unwilling to just say it. ‘It’s… indescribable.’

‘That’s a word for it,’ Zachary muttered.

‘I’ve only ever been there once, but I’d love the opportunity to go again. Vergil says I’d bankrupt him. The shops! There’s the nightlife too. We went to so many evening engagements. And it’s a beautiful city.’

‘So I’m told,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I think I’ll be heading for Vestinport to begin with. It sounds like I’ll need to have accumulated some money before I visit Capitol.’

‘Vestinport is nice. Except the docks.’ Lark lowered her voice and leaned closer. ‘If you think the market in Southgate smells bad on a hot day when there’s meat for sale, that’s nothing compared to Vestinport docks when they land a new catch.’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’

‘Are you, uh, planning to leave soon?’ Lark gave the game away somewhat by glancing down the table to where her son was sitting under the watchful gaze of Vergil. The boy looked distinctly sullen.

‘My brother’s wife will be giving birth before the end of this month. Assuming all goes well, I’ll be leaving early next month.’

Lark gave a small grimace. ‘Please, give my congratulations to your brother and commiserations to his wife. Popping out my two was the most painful experience I’ve ever had. And that was with alchemical assistance. I hate to think what it would have been like without.’

‘Sadly,’ Zachary interjected, ‘pain relief potions can only make things easier. They can’t numb it entirely.’

‘You’re clever, Master Zachary. Invent a better one. Women all across the world would praise your name until the ends of time.’

‘Quite the incentive, but I think if there was a means of banishing the pain entirely, it would have been found by now.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure. Alchemists are usually men.’

‘That may be a valid point…’

~~~

Quinten was actually a fairly handsome lad. Physically. He had his mother’s blonde hair though his eyes were closer to hazel than green. He was still a little on the gangly teenager side, but he practised each day with a sword and was quite fit with fair amounts of upper-body strength. His face had a pleasing, masculine aspect, even if it had a way to go before he would really look like an adult. The problems with Quinten all stemmed from his personality.

‘Jessalyn, I’m pleased to see you here.’ He could certainly be charming. He had a ready smile, and he knew how to speak to people of all ranks. Usually. Skipping Jessalyn’s new title was technically a breach of etiquette.

‘Master Quinten,’ Jessalyn said, putting just a hint of emphasis on the boy’s honorific. ‘It’s a pleasure to be here.’ Which was a fairly transparent lie, and it said much that Quinten did not notice or chose to ignore it.

‘Congratulations on your new guild rank.’ He had managed to corner her after the meal. Zachary was talking to someone about business and neither of Quinten’s parents were in line of sight. It was quite a piece of tactical positioning.

‘Thank you. It’s the culmination of six years of work and it puts me in a position to begin my travels.’

Quinten’s smile became fixed. He was probably going to be a good politician at some point, but he had a little way to go. ‘I was hoping you’d given up on that idea. My future wife–’

‘Both of your parents, and I, have been hoping you would have given up on that idea, Master Quinten. I’ve rejected your proposals several times. Your father and mother don’t accept the match.’

‘They’re against it because you’re from Southgate. Mother is from Southgate, though she does her best to make everyone forget it, and a journeyman mage has the same status as a lord. I see absolutely no obstacles in the way of our marriage. I’ll be of age in less than a year and then we can be wed.’ Quinten’s main problem was that he refused to allow reality to impinge upon how he thought the world should work. Lark had had some trouble conceiving their second child, which had resulted in Quinten being spoiled prior to the arrival of Luvenia, a daughter. He was still a little spoiled, but a second child had cut back on Quinten being the centre of Vergil’s universe. Quinten had failed to accept that everything he wanted would no longer come to him at his command, and Jessalyn was now suffering for it.

‘There’s one very important obstacle. I don’t want to marry you.’

‘But I’m the son of a lord.’

‘And?’

‘And I get what I want.’

Jessalyn sighed. ‘No, you don’t. Not even your father can say that. Not even a duke can. Not even the emperor.’

Quinten stared at her for a second and then smiled. He had been standing there with one hand behind his back the whole time, and now he revealed why. ‘Well, at least have a drink with me before you go.’ He was holding a pewter goblet carved with trees in which there was a rich, red wine. To Jessalyn’s eyes, the wine sparkled.

‘You are aware that alchemical concoctions are magical, aren’t you, Master Quinten?’

‘What? I don’t know how that’s relevant.’ The fact that his smile was gone and the colour was draining from his face suggested that he did.

‘The wine might mask the flavour, but a mage can see enchantments. That wine is more than just wine. I’m guessing at a love filter, so you should dispose of that somewhere safe before some poor fool drinks it. Or you could go find someone your own age and drink it yourself. Rid us both of a problem at the same time.’ Jessalyn turned and started away toward Zachary.

‘I w-won’t let you leave town.’

‘You have no say in what I do. Get over it, Master Quinten.’ The thing was, she really doubted that he would.

18th Hinerasur.

The bell over the door rang and Jessalyn looked up to see a young man holding a large bunch of flowers. Since she did not know him, she had to wonder what was going on. People did give flowers to their loved ones, and sometimes for other reasons, but they were generally presented personally. At least, that was how it worked in Southgate…

‘Delivery for Journeyman Jessalyn,’ the young man said.

‘Hm. Who’s it from?’

The servant’s cheeks coloured a little. He looked like he had come from the castle. The clothing was a little better than was typical for Southgate. He looked groomed. Presumably, he knew about the situation with Quinten and would rather not have been involved in it. Still, if the young master gave an order… ‘Th-there’s a card.’

Jessalyn came out from behind the counter and walked over to pluck the card from the bouquet. The flowers were firespike blooms. Each flower was a slim horn-shape of curled, dark-pink petals surrounding a bright-red stamen which stuck out from the petals in a rather suggestive manner. The mechanism by which firespikes used insects for pollination was rather interesting, but irrelevant under the circumstances.

Somewhat as expected, the card read, ‘Eternal love. Quinten.’

‘From Quinten?’ Zachary asked from behind her.

‘With eternal love, apparently.’

‘Ah. Not an uncommon mistake. Firespike is actually used to say “all-consuming lust.”’ The messenger went even redder on hearing Zachary’s words.

‘I don’t think your lessons on noble etiquette ever covered flower meanings.’

‘I have a book on it somewhere. “Eternal love” would be… No, can’t remember. Firespike’s appearance is rather more mnemonic than many of the meanings.’

Jessalyn smirked. ‘Being an innocent young woman, I have no idea what you mean.’ She looked up at the servant, tucking the card back into the flowers. ‘Please return them. I can’t accept them for… multiple reasons.’

‘Uh, yes, ma’am.’ The unhappy messenger turned to leave and Jessalyn could not help but wonder whether his disquiet was due to having to tell Quinten about the rejection or having to walk back through Southgate with a bunch of big, red, sex flowers in his hands.

19th Hinerasur.

The bell rang again and the same servant was standing in the doorway. It was, as best Jessalyn could tell, almost exactly the same time as yesterday too. However, today there were no flowers. The servant was carrying a box of stiffened paper which carried the crest of one of the more expensive bakeries in the Merchants’ Quarter.

‘Is there a card?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘I believe so, Journeyman,’ the messenger replied.

‘What’s your name?’ Jessalyn asked as she walked over.

‘Rylee, ma’am.’

Jessalyn grimaced. ‘Do I look like a ma’am?’ She opened the box and spotted the card lying atop a variety of what she had no doubt would be very tasty pastries.

‘It’s not really my position to say, m– Uh, no. Not really.’

‘Oh! Sweets,’ Zachary said as he walked up behind Jessalyn. ‘That’s better than rude flowers.’

‘I suppose,’ Jessalyn replied, ‘but take them back, Rylee.’

‘Now, let’s not be hasty,’ Zachary said. ‘Those look really–’

‘They’re going back. Your waistline says that you don’t need more sweets, Master.’

‘You’re a cruel woman, Jess.’

‘Demons come to me for lessons,’ Jessalyn agreed, deadpan. ‘Take them back, Rylee. Suggest he gives them to the servants’ children or something.’

Rylee grimaced. ‘I-I probably won’t do that, if you don’t mind.’

Jessalyn shrugged. ‘You might be right. Possibly not a great idea.’

20th Hinerasur.

The bell rang and Jessalyn spoke without looking up from her book. ‘Just take it back, Rylee.’

‘You d-don’t even want to look–’

‘Not really. Whatever it is, take it back.’

Rylee did not sound happy. ‘Well, if you say so.’

~~~

Once again, the bell rang, and this time Jessalyn did look up because it was late in the afternoon and unlikely to be Rylee with a new gift from Quinten.

Instead of the unhappy servant, she saw an unhappy lord’s son. Quinten was holding a flattish square box and looking as though he was barely holding back anger. ‘You didn’t even look at it? I go to all this expense and–’

Jessalyn lifted a hand, pinkie raised. ‘One, I did not ask for these presents and have in no way encouraged you to spend money on me.’ Her ring finger went up. ‘Second, if you had done a little research, you might have found that personally presenting gifts to your intended was the preferred procedure in Southgate. Third, I am not your intended. And fourth, sending a bouquet which suggests you lust after me does not send the right message. Though that might be easier to deal with. I could give you a roll in the hay and hope that would be enough to get you over it.’

Quinten went scarlet. Apparently, Rylee had not passed on the error in the flower message and the idea of having sex with Jessalyn was enough to make the boy before her embarrassed. ‘I didn’t… That’s not what I…’ He raised the box. ‘This isn’t flowers.’ Marching over, he placed the box down on the counter. ‘And I’m personally delivering it.’

More out of curiosity than anything, Jessalyn opened the box which was made of fine-grained wood and opened on a pair of finely made copper hinges. Inside was a silver bracelet with beautifully cut, twining fronds of some sort forming the main band. Someone had put a lot of work into making it. ‘That’s beautiful, Master Quinten. Under other circumstances, I would be pleased to receive such a gift and proud to wear it. However, you should keep it for the girl you are going to marry.’

‘You are the–’

‘No. I’m not. I will not consent to be your bride, Quinten, and our relative social ranks as well as my membership of the Imperial Mages’ Guild are sufficient for me to be the deciding factor in the decision.’

‘But–’

‘Listen to Jessalyn, Quinten,’ Zachary said from the doorway. ‘I’m sure you’ve been taught that women are little more than chattels, but that does not apply to mages and Jessalyn is a journeyman mage. Leave. And don’t come back unless you have business with me. You didn’t walk here by yourself, did you?’

Scowling at the countertop, Quinten closed the jewellery box and picked it up. ‘There’s a guard outside.’

‘At least your common sense has not entirely escaped you. Off you go. No more expensive presents.’

Silently and with an almost visible black cloud hanging over him, Quinten turned and stomped off toward the door.

‘Hopefully,’ Zachary said, ‘that’s the last we’ll hear of that.’

‘Maybe,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’m not sure he’ll give up quite that easily.’

‘No, perhaps not.’

21st Hinerasur.

‘It’s not from Master Quinten,’ Rylee said as soon as he opened the door. He walked over to the counter and offered Jessalyn an envelope with Lord Vergil’s seal pressed into the wax holding it closed.

‘Okay,’ Jessalyn replied.

As she opened the note, Zachary appeared in the doorway. ‘What is it this time?’

‘Uh… It’s a letter of apology from Lord Vergil.’ Jessalyn looked up at Rylee. ‘Would you give him my thanks but indicate that his apology was not necessary. That sounds like the right etiquette.’

‘It’ll do,’ Zachary replied.

‘I can do that,’ Rylee agreed.

‘And don’t take this personally, but I hope I don’t see you again before I leave town.’

Rylee gave her a grin with a slightly cheeky edge. ‘Well, I admit that seeing you has not been among the low points of this week, but I understand and agree with your general sentiment, Journeyman.’

‘Here’s hoping for a quiet Unerraday,’ Jessalyn said once Rylee was gone.

‘Oh, now there’s no chance.’

‘You may be right.’

22nd Hinerasur.

Wilda stepped into the shop looking more than a little weary. Despite this, she also looked remarkably happy. It was a peculiar combination which Jessalyn took a second to dissect. She came to a conclusion just as Wilda spoke. ‘It’s a girl.’

‘Eloise gave birth? Everything went okay? Have they named her yet?’

Wilda nodded. ‘It all went fine. Momma asked me to stop by on the way home. I was up half the night helping Momma and the midwife, so I need some sleep. They’ve decided on Adella. Eloise says you can come by any time you like to see your new niece.’

Zachary emerged from the back at that point. ‘Wilda. What brings you– Ah! Eloise has had her baby.’

‘Adella,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Good and healthy,’ Wilda added. ‘Powerful lungs. She’s got little tufts of blonde hair and her mother’s blue eyes, though Momma said all that can change a bit with babies.’

‘True enough,’ Zachary said. ‘I was told that my hair was red when I was a baby.’

‘Well, we can hope that she takes after her mother,’ Jessalyn said, ‘even if Tatton has improved a bit with age.’

‘Even Tatton would agree to that,’ Wilda said. ‘The bit about taking after Eloise. I’m tired.’

‘Go, get some rest. I’ll go over and see the baby after lunch. And make sure Momma is resting too.’

‘That’s probably a good idea.’ Wilda returned to the door and walked out. She was wilting further as she went and Jessalyn wondered briefly whether she should escort her sister to be sure she did not pass out in the street.

‘Well,’ Jessalyn said, ‘it looks like I will be leaving at the start of next month.’

‘You’ll have all of next week to make ready,’ Zachary replied.

‘Mm. I’ll leave on the first. There’s really nothing to make ready but…’

‘You should enjoy being an aunt for at least a week.’

‘I suppose.’

‘Any longer than that and you’re likely to be wondering why anyone has children.’

1st Hineramar.

‘You will come back to visit sometime, won’t you?’ Wilda asked.

‘I’m sure I will,’ Jessalyn replied. She was decked out in her travelling clothes, her bag was hung on her staff over her shoulder, and she was ready to set out. Zachary, Sarah, and Wilda had walked with her to the south gate. Tatton was on duty and Eloise was busy with a very young baby. Reid was out in the forest. Foster had no excuse not to be there but was not. ‘It might take a few years. I have no idea where I’ll be going after Vestinport.’

‘Write,’ Zachary said. ‘The guild will be able to get messages here via Layton if nothing else works.’

‘I promise.’

There were tears in Sarah’s eyes, though she was not entirely alone. Wilda was on the verge and even Zachary was looking a little wet around the eyes. Jessalyn was trying to put on a brave face and not succeeding as much as she would have liked.

‘Take care of yourself,’ Sarah said. ‘There are bandits and monsters out there, so be careful. I know you’re a mage with lightning at your fingertips, but… Be careful, okay?’

‘I want to travel, Momma. I can’t do that if I’ve been killed by bandits.’

‘I suppose that’s true. Still…’

‘I’ll be careful.’

‘She’s ready, Sarah,’ Zachary said. ‘I’ll be sorry to see her go, but she is ready. She’ll be fine.’

‘Mm,’ Sarah said. She pulled her youngest daughter into a hug. ‘Stay safe. I hope to see you before I’m an old woman.’

Then Jessalyn had to hug Wilda and, rather awkwardly, Zachary. And then she turned, waving over her shoulder as she set out through the gate and into the world beyond.

~~~

An hour later, as she reached the edge of the forest, she discovered one more person waiting to say goodbye. Or she hoped that was what he wanted. The fact that he was waiting with two saddled horses suggested something else.

‘Good morning, Quinten,’ Jessalyn said as she approached. ‘Does your father know you’re out here without an escort?’

‘I want you to elope with me,’ Quinten replied, answering the question by implication. ‘We can ride to Vestinport and get married there.’

Jessalyn sighed. ‘Still not giving up, huh? I’ve never been on a horse in my life, so that’s not happening. You have no experience of living anywhere aside from the castle, so you’d just be a burden. I see you thought to bring some food, but that’s not nearly enough. What do you plan to eat along the way?’ The fact that she was not carrying any food and planned to make it when she could not catch it was something she would not mention right now. ‘And, as I’ve told you before, many times, I am not going to marry you. You’d still be fifteen by the time we got to Vestinport anyway. We’d have to find some way to live for months before your badly thought-out plan could be enacted.’

‘I–’ His head lowered, dipping his eyes away from her.

‘Stay here and grow up safely. Find a girl who loves you in return and–’

‘That’s not going to happen,’ he replied sullenly. ‘Mother will never agree to anyone from Greenwall and I never meet anyone else. They’ll find some noble’s daughter, an advantageous marriage, and she’s not going to be happy to end up living in an out-of-the-way place like this.’ He looked up. ‘The woman I end up with is going to hate me. If not at first, then eventually.’

Of course, there was every chance that he was right. However… ‘If that’s what happens, I’m sorry. Really. But I’m not ready to be married and you are not ready to live the life of a penniless traveller. I have twenty moons to my name and the hope that I’ll be able to make more before I get to Vestinport. I’m willing to bet that you have no skills worth coin to rely on, so you’d be living off me. Maybe you could find a few labouring jobs. If you’re lucky.’

‘S-so this is the last time I’ll see you,’ he said after staring at the ground for several seconds.

‘I’ll come back. I promised my family I would. When I do, I expect to see you married. And happy, if possible.’

‘Well, I might still be waiting, but okay. Goodbye, Journeyman Jessalyn.’

Jessalyn set off again down the track which led south and into the plains beyond the forest. ‘Farewell, Master Quinten. May Unerra’s blessings be upon you.’

She left him there, at the edge of the forest, and set out across the plains which made up much of the land. There was a world for her to discover and she was eager to see what it had to offer.

Part Four: The Life of a Wandering Mage

Near Petinham, 15th Hineramar 1463.

Jessalyn came upon the bandits after fifteen days on the road. Technically, it was more of a cart track than a road. She had turned off the main route south from Greenwall in the general direction of east on her first day since it was a more direct route to Vestinport. She had been on rutted wagon routes ever since, but she had seen little in the way of danger. In Greenwall, it was generally believed that leaving the immediate area of the town was practically asking to be set upon by beasts or bad men. Logically, that was ridiculous since people came and went from the town all the time, but she was a little surprised that these four men were the first sign of trouble she had seen.

Coming to a stop maybe twenty paces from them, she took stock and waited for them to do something. They did not look like their thuggery was especially profitable. They were thin men with enough muscle to suggest they might be dangerous, but they looked like they ate what they could get when they could get it. One of them was taller than the other three and had a bit more meat on his bones. He carried a large double-headed axe which probably had more utility for intimidation than causing harm. The others had large knives and, in one case, a short bow. None of them were wearing any armour to speak of.

‘Give us all you’ve got,’ the taller of the group called out, ‘and we’ll let you go on with your life. Otherwise…’ He hefted the axe and Jessalyn got the distinct impression that it was too big for him.

Silently casting her Shield spell, she considered her answer, covering her actions by lowering her bag to the ground. ‘Let me pass without incident and I’ll let you go with your lives,’ she called back. She began summoning lightning to her staff, but it was a bright day and she doubted they could really see the flickers of electricity around the wood.

That appeared to take the bandit by surprise; Jessalyn wondered how long these four had been doing this. He rallied. ‘Might be better if you don’t give up easily. There’s a lot we could do with a pretty girl.’

‘Not interested. I really don’t have much worth stealing and taking it won’t be easy even if you succeed. Step aside and make all our lives easier.’ Jessalyn had never really been in a fight before. There had been the vogan, but she had had no time to realise she was fighting before she had needed to do something. Here, she was faced with four opponents with plenty of time to see what was coming. She felt scared and excited all at once. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she tried her best to calm it as she waited what seemed like an eternity for the thug to respond.

‘Okay then,’ he said, and charged toward her. She waited until he was no more than seven paces from her before thrusting out her staff and letting the lightning fly. The bolt hit him in the chest and he dropped like a stone, tumbling another few paces before coming to a stop, dust settling around and on him from his impact with the dried mud.

The knife-wielders had been running up behind him, but they came to a sudden halt. ‘She’s a mage!’ one of them yelped. The bowman let his arrow fly, but he was no expert archer, and the arrow went well over Jessalyn’s head as she charged a second lightning bolt.

She took a step forward. ‘Does anyone else want one of those?’ she asked. Her intimidating tone of voice was entirely put on and she just hoped that dropping their leader with one strike would be enough to scare them off.

Apparently, it was. The two with the knives bolted off across the field beside the road, heading for a clump of trees where, she suspected, they had their camp. The archer continued trying to knock another arrow to his bow until Jessalyn began walking toward him. Then he too fled for the trees. Since she was still holding the Lightning spell, she fired it off after the man, not aiming to hit him. A patch of grass exploded about two paces to his right and he let out a yelp before dropping his bow and putting on an extra burst of speed.

As the rush of combat began to fade, Jessalyn found herself standing beside the lead bandit. Her bolt had burned right through him, leaving a charred hole in his jerkin at the back. The front was likely the same and she was moderately sure she had hit him in the heart. The chances that he was alive were vanishingly slim, but she checked. Her first fight with humans intent on hurting her had resulted in a death. This man had intended to kill her, or worse, but still…

She should have checked his body for anything useful. Maybe the axe would be worth something if she sold it in the next village, though it looked heavy and would have slowed her down as she continued her walk. Touching the man again was something she simply could not bring herself to do. She trudged off down the track, trying to forget the image of the man’s burned back which seemed to jump in front of her at every opportunity, occasionally transposing with the image of Tatton’s burned chest which she had never, in reality, seen.

Petinham.

Jessalyn had stayed in only one inn on her walk so far. On her third day, she had come to a village late in the afternoon and decided that a warm bed might feel good. She had got a bowl of stew and a breakfast of porridge and bacon for her money, but she had still come to the conclusion that it was not worth the cost. Now she was walking into the hamlet of Petinham late in the afternoon and the desire to sleep in a real building was too strong to ignore.

Petinham was a few houses and a couple of extra buildings surrounded by fields and a small wood which looked like it was being managed. Actually, she was not sure whether she was looking at trees or some sort of bush from this distance. There was no sign of a church of any denomination, though there was a small shrine to Unerra outside what purported to be an inn named The Cider Barrel. No doubt, the place was ruled over by some lord or higher noble, but there was no castle here and no house large enough to suggest a noble’s residence. It certainly belonged to the territory of the Duchy of Vestinport, as Greenwall was, but Jessalyn suspected they only ever saw even a representative of the nobility when taxes needed to be gathered.

The Cider Barrel had one room on the ground floor. The bar consisted of a trestle table with barrels behind it, one of those significantly larger than the rest. Perhaps a local brew. She was beginning to suspect that those trees she had seen were sinun bushes. Their fruit could be used to make cider, and a local cider brewery might explain the big barrel and the name of the inn.

She walked up to the bar and the skinny man standing behind it who was watching her with some distrust. He was not alone; there were about ten people in the taproom, all male, all watching her as though she might murder them or need murdering at any moment. ‘Do you have a room for the night?’ she asked.

‘Ten moons,’ the man replied. ‘Food and anything else is extra.’

‘Six, and that’ll include some of that pork you’ve got roasting.’

‘Ten and I’ll throw in the food.’

‘Six. It’s a fair rate and you know it. I just killed a bandit on the road to this place and I’m not really in the mood to haggle.’

‘You killed a bandit?’

Jessalyn raised her right hand and pushed energy into her ring. The guild crest appeared over her fist. ‘Yes. I killed a bandit. The other three ran for it.’

His attitude seemed to change in an instant. ‘You’re a mage? Why didn’t you say so? Six moons then, and I’ll give you a mug of our Petinham cider with your meal. For the bandit. We’ll only have porridge in the morning mind.’

Apparently, mages were better thought of than she had originally assumed. Certainly better regarded outside Greenwall than she had expected. She had just shown her ring to demonstrate that she could have killed a bandit… ‘Porridge is fine. Could I see my room before I eat? I’ve been on the road a while.’

‘Of course. Minnie, show the lady mage to room two.’

Minnie was a slim girl of around fourteen or fifteen with short red hair and wearing a dress that was getting too small for her. She seemed a little timid, but she took Jessalyn up the stairs at the back of the taproom, along a corridor, and then pushed open a door. ‘Room two,’ she said. ‘We, uh, only have two rooms for guests.’

‘As long as one is free, that’s fine by me.’

‘Well, since those bandits started attacking people on the road from Greenwall, we’ve hardly had any guests at all.’

‘Ah. Thanks, Minnie. I’ll be down for some food in an hour.’

‘Okay.’ She paused and managed a smile. ‘The pork’s pretty good tonight. Mom’ll make sure you don’t get any burned bits.’

Jessalyn grinned back. ‘That’d be nice.’

The room was basic. There was a bed and a small dresser upon which was a bowl for water and a jug. The jug was, however, empty. She filled both jug and bowl with water using magic, and then heated the water in the bowl for a minute, stripping while she did so. A washcloth was produced from her pack and she began cleaning more than a week’s worth of dirt from her body. Tomorrow she would try to clean her clothes as best she could, but for now, being clean herself would feel wonderful.

She tried lying down on the bed for a while, just to rest, but images of burns kept appearing behind her eyelids. Giving up and wondering what sleep would bring, she got her dress and boots out of her pack, put them on, and set off downstairs earlier than she had expected. Even so, there was someone waiting for her when she got back to the taproom.

He was a moderately big man with a ruddy complexion and dark-brown hair trimmed short and neat. He had confidence, but he looked a little nervous faced with Jessalyn in her dark dress. ‘Selby says you’re a journeyman mage,’ he said. Selby was, presumably, the innkeeper. There had to be some reason Selby had got this man over to the inn so quickly having found out her profession.

‘Probationary Journeyman Jessalyn,’ Jessalyn supplied.

‘Ah, probationary…’ He seemed to reconsider what he was about to say and then decided to go ahead anyway. ‘My name is Gyles. I’m the headman of the village and the brew master for our cider works. I was wondering, Journeyman, if you knew the way of blessing crops.’

‘Yes, I can do that. Could we talk business while I eat? I’m told the pork is excellent tonight.’

With a plate of pork, earth fruit, and gravy, and a flagon of cider, in front of her, Jessalyn started to feel fit to discuss business. Gyles let her get some of the meat and veg in her mouth before starting, however, which was appreciated. The pork was actually pretty good. Earth fruit was pretty much the staple everyone ate in the north, like toadtwist tubers but blander. Zachary had mentioned that grains were more widely used around Capitol and further south, but here the whiteish tubers gave you a solid source of energy and were not too difficult to grow. You could get a huge yield from a field of them, and that was just what you wanted to keep the populace fed.

‘Thing is,’ Gyles said after a swig from his own flagon, ‘cider is pretty much the only source of income Petinham has. It’s a family recipe, popular in some of the taverns in Vestinport. We can get a good price for whatever we can produce, even if the costs of getting it there aren’t low.’

‘Okay,’ Jessalyn said. ‘You want your bushes blessed to increase your yield.’

‘We’ve not had the best harvest the last couple of years. I’m willing to pay to make sure we do better this year. I’ve got eighteen felte laid over to sinun bushes and I’d like it all blessed, if you can manage it.’

Jessalyn made a few quick calculations in her head based on the area he had given and what the plantation had looked like. She sighed in what she hoped was a ‘this is going to cost you’ manner. ‘That’s going to take me around twenty days. Normally, I’d be looking for an imperial to do the job. Maybe a little more.’ Gyles grimaced in what Jessalyn was sure he hoped was a ‘you’re killing me’ way. ‘I won’t be able to do any other work while I’m doing this. You’ll have me exclusively, even if it only takes a part of the day to work the magic.’

‘Fifty moons,’ Gyles countered.

It was Jessalyn’s turn to grimace. ‘I’ve living costs to pay, Headman Gyles. I can maybe talk Selby down a little on the rate for a long stay, but fifty moons is barely worth my while. Eighty.’

‘Fifty, but I’ll put you up at my farm. Free room and board. I promise my wife’s cooking is as good as Lettice’s and the bed’ll be more comfortable.’

The innkeeper’s wife, or at least his cook, was named Lettice? Had her parents really not wanted her or something? That had to be shortened to Letty, just for the woman’s sanity. ‘Fifty plus room and board…’ It was basically fifty moons for free and she would have all of eight moons to her name after tonight. Under the circumstances, it was a good deal. Yes, it was well under the usual rate for a mage’s exclusive services, according to what Zachary had told her, but eight moons would get her nowhere in Vestinport. ‘You have a deal, Headman Gyles.’ Putting down her fork, she reached out a hand to shake.

Gyles was smiling when he took it. He knew he had got a pretty good deal but Jessalyn was not really unhappy with it. ‘I figure you’ve seen the farm when you came in. Come out in the morning and we’ll get things rolling.’

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

16th Hineramar.

Jessalyn was not looking forward to anything much by the time she walked out to Gyles’s farm the following morning. The porridge at the inn had been fairly good, for porridge, but she had slept badly, plagued by forgotten dreams which she could guess the subject of even if she could not remember the details. The bandit had been going to kill her and she had defended herself. In such circumstances, she had a perfect right to fight back. Why was his death plaguing her so much?

Gyles’s farmhouse was larger than the inn and had a huge barn of some sort beside it. A vague scent of fermented fruit came from the large wooden structure which Jessalyn decided had to be where they stored the sinun fruit, pressed it, and then fermented the pulp into cider. While the barn was wood, the house was a combination: stone at the ground level with what she suspected was a wooden expansion above. There were definite signs that the house had been grown a couple of times. The stonework was not entirely even, for one thing. The upper floor appeared to have been added some time ago and looked like it had not seen much maintenance in the past couple of years. It looked like things had been a little thin for a while.

Beyond the house were the sinun fields, but Jessalyn ignored them for now, heading for a door at the side of the house which was open. It was one of those portioned doors with the upper half free to move separately from the bottom, but it was all wide open now and there was a vague smell of breakfast emanating from it as she walked over and poked her head in.

As suspected, the kitchen. A woman who was slightly on the plump side with a round face and a substantial bust was washing dishes in a large, deep sink. Her hair appeared to be a lighter shade of brown, but it was largely hidden under a scarf so it was hard to tell. She looked a bit like a sinun fruit, actually: a round face with a small nose and rosy cheeks.

‘Hello,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’m Jessalyn. I’m here about blessing the fields.’

‘Oh!’ The woman turned from her dishes and gave Jessalyn a big smile. ‘You’re the lady mage? And a pretty one. No wonder Gyles decided to hire you. Come in and sit down. Gyles is out checking some of the earth fruit fields with Audley. That’s one of our farmhands. You can take the weight off ’til he comes back. You’ll not be wanting to get started right away, I’m sure. Would you like some tea? We get it from Vestinport special.’

Wow! The woman could talk, that was for sure. ‘Thanks, I’d love one, but please finish what you were doing first.’

‘I will and thank you. Best to finish a task once it’s started. Now, I’ve got your room all ready. There’s fresh sheets and a blanket. It’s not too cold, so you should be fine, but you just let me know if you need something warmer.’

‘I have my own blanket if that happens, it’s–’

‘Well, of course you do. You can always get water from the pump outside. We can warm it up too, seeing as I see you like to keep yourself clean. We eat three solid meals a day in this house and I’ll not have you saying no to any of them. Young lady such as yourself has to keep her strength up. I don’t know how you’ve been faring on your travels. Couldn’t do that myself. Homebody, I am. I like a good roof over my head, that I do.’

Did the woman ever slow down? ‘I would like to get my other clothes washed at some point, if that’s not too much trouble.’

‘Of course not! No trouble at all. Farming’s a dirty business when it’s busy. I’m always washing something, so you just leave them with me and I’ll not have you saying you’ll do it yourself. You’re a guest in my house and I’ll see you right as much as is needed.’

‘I’m really just an employee.’

‘Nonsense. No mage is going to live under my roof like any old servant. A mage, a lady mage, is a lady.’

Jessalyn laughed. ‘I have no doubt you’ll find plenty who aren’t, but I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations, Mrs…’

‘Oh! I’ve not even told you my name. I’m Merle, Gyles’s wife going on sixteen years.’

‘Well, hello, Mistress Merle. I’m looking forward to working for your husband. And your cooking. I’m told it’s good.’

‘Oh, well, I don’t like to brag…’

~~~

In truth, Jessalyn had tasted better, but Merle’s cooking was pretty good. She served a stew that evening with crusty bread made that morning in the village and butter if you wanted it. Everything on the table was grown in the fields around Petinham, even the meat which came from a local farm.

Jessalyn had gone out with Gyles after lunch to examine the fields she was to bless. The plantation was an area six felte by three, but given that a felte was a weird measurement, that made the three felte side over twice the length of the six felte side. A felte was an allotment of land one hundred paces long by twenty wide. It was traditionally used to define the area of fields because that was the tradition. Jessalyn found it silly; why not use one hundred by one hundred, a nice square? Whatever, that was what she had to cover and she had double-checked her calculations, coming to the same conclusion, before she made her first blessing. She was able to cover a fairly respectable area some sixty paces in diameter, but that left her right on the edge of her limit, and it would take most of the day to recover to do it again. So, it was one block per day until she covered it all.

‘The big Unerran churches have magic items,’ Jessalyn explained over dinner. ‘They spend the winter storing magical energy in them so that they can bless very large areas in one go. Or they do large ceremonies with several priestesses working together to bless big areas. On my own, I’m more limited, but you get the same effect. My magic is just as good as theirs.’

‘We don’t get priestesses out here often,’ Gyles said. ‘When we do, they’re usually just passing through. Honestly, I don’t think a priestess has blessed our crops since I’ve been alive.’

‘B-but shouldn’t a blessing from one of Unerra’s priestesses be b-better than one from a mage? I mean, she’s the g-goddess of nature and everything.’ This came from Ansel, Gyles and Merle’s son, who was sixteen and a little lacking in confidence, especially when talking to a beautiful woman. He was a handsome enough kid, but he was the kind of sixteen-year-old you thought of as a kid, not a man.

Jessalyn shook her head. ‘Magic is magic. If Unerra herself came up and blessed your crops, I’m sure that would be different, but the magic of a priest or priestess is no different from that of a mage. Even a hedge magician or witch uses the same spells. Unerra, and Rallia and the other gods, is able to grant her followers a way of casting spells which is different from the way mages generally cast. Mages learn to make magic work. Priests are given the way of working magic from their god. So, for example, I had to learn various other spells, taking many months to do so, before I could grasp the way of working a blessing. An Unerran priestess might wake up one morning knowing how to bless crops.’ She grinned. ‘I don’t know whether that’s how they learn spells. Maybe they have to pray a lot to receive them. Whatever, whoever eventually works the spell, the spell is the same.’

‘Oh, right.’

‘Whatever made you decide to start travelling the land?’ Merle asked. ‘I couldn’t do it, I’m sure.’

‘You’re a homebody,’ Jessalyn said. ‘You said. I want to learn and Greenwall can only teach me so much. I think I’ve always wanted to travel, almost as much as I wanted to learn magic.’ There were plenty of other reasons, but she was not discussing them with strangers.

‘I’d like to go to Vestinport one day,’ Ansel said.

‘You will,’ Gyles replied. ‘I’ll take you before you’re eighteen. You can see the big city and see for yourself that you’re better off here.’

Ansel did not seem entirely satisfied with that answer. ‘You must’ve seen a city, lady mage. Do you think it’s that bad?’

‘Well, I’ve never been to a city as big as Vestinport or Capitol. I’m on my way to Vestinport from Greenwall, where I was born. Greenwall is a lot bigger than Petinham.’ Jessalyn looked at Gyles. ‘You have less than a hundred people here?’

‘Around sixty in the village and surrounding farms.’

‘Right. Greenwall has about eight thousand over the winter when all the foresters are stuck in town and we don’t get many travellers in for trade. I think it’s a nice place. I never thought it was big, but it’s huge compared to Petinham. Uh, there are obviously more shops there. The markets are bigger and have more produce in them. The Merchants’ Quarter is bigger than your village and it’s a pretty amazing place. Then again, the biggest part of the town is Southgate, where I grew up, and that’s poor, smells a lot, and it’s the first place any disease comes to. Petinham’s air is fresher, even when you can smell the pig farms. It’s… Every place is different. I bet Vestinport has some poor areas like Southgate which you wouldn’t want to live in.’

‘I’ve heard Capitol is a beautiful city,’ Merle said. She seemed to be a lot calmer around her husband. Maybe he had a calming influence, or he told her off for blabbering.

‘My master spent a few years there before he moved to Greenwall. He says that parts of it are beautiful, like the palace, and parts are not. I think it says a lot that he ended up moving to a small town in the Greenshadow Forest. I’ll go there when I’m ready to be a master mage. There’s a lot more of the world to see before that.’

‘How long will you have to w-wait for that?’ Ansel asked.

‘I have to spend a year as a probationary journeyman. There’s no set time to wait until you can become a senior journeyman, so I just have to learn the right magic and it won’t take long. Then there’s the big obstacle.’

‘The b-big obstacle?’

‘Mm. To become a junior master, I need the sponsorship of a master mage. I could probably go back to Greenwall, but that might look bad. I think my master wanted me to find someone in Capitol to sponsor me, so… Two years. In two years, I’ll probably go to Capitol to seek a sponsor. Or maybe three. I’ll see where I am when I make senior journeyman.’

‘There’s no need to rush,’ Merle said.

‘No. No, there is not.’

18th Hineramar.

The second day was Ralliaday, so Jessalyn went out to the plantation to do her work before joining the villagers at the shrine in the village for something of an impromptu prayer session. With no priestess, it was usually the job of the headman to lead the prayers, but since a real mage was there, Gyles persuaded Jessalyn to do it. It was not as if she had not heard the prayers to Unerra pretty much every week for her entire life. It was a little weird that the sun was blocked by clouds just after she began to speak and it cleared almost as soon as the service was over, but no one thought much of it since various bands of cloud were rushing across the sky above the hamlet.

On the next day, Jessalyn awoke late after sleeping badly. Some of Merle’s tea perked her up and she headed out to the sinun bushes with a determined cheerfulness designed to brush the shadows of dreams away. Today, the sky was clear and blue. They were more than halfway through Hineramar and it would be the summer festival soon, the start of summer when the sun was at its brightest. You could tell that the weather was improving, even if some days brought cloud and rain.

Quite carefully, Jessalyn paced out the distance to the centre of her third circle. She was trying to be as accurate as possible so that she did not have to add in any extra casting to fill holes. It helped that this was a deliberately planted ‘forest,’ with all the bushes regularly spaced and clear ground between them. Sinun bushes were almost trees but not quite. They tended to grow from a central trunk with long, flexible branches coming off with greater frequency than one might expect from a tree. In the wild, the branches would form a messy heap, trailing on the ground at the ends. Here, poles had been placed around each plant to lift the branches up and keep the fruit, when it came, off the ground. Gyles had explained that this method also improved the yield.

‘Alright, Unerra,’ Jessalyn said once she was at the right spot. ‘Time to go to work.’

All she had to do was concentrate for about five minutes. Most of the spells Jessalyn knew properly she could cast without gesture or word. There were spells she could cast because she already knew spells related to them, and those she had to perform a ritual for. This was not one of them. All she had to do was close her eyes – though that was not strictly required – and maintain her focus on the spell for a few minutes.

She felt the spell take effect. There was the growing sensation of energy swelling inside her and then the release, in this case quite an obvious rush of power flooding out into the bushes around her. Smiling, she opened her eyes.

There was something odd about the shadow one of the bushes was casting on the ground nearby. It seemed thicker and not quite the right shape. Frowning, Jessalyn stepped closer to examine the phenomenon but when she looked again there was nothing to see. Everything was normal.

‘I’m seeing things,’ she said to the empty air.

Then, because the empty air chose not to reply, she turned and retraced her steps to the farmhouse.

25th Hineramar.

‘I can’t help but notice that you’ve been a little unhappy this past week,’ Merle said as Jessalyn sat with her in the kitchen, drinking tea after the day’s spellcasting. ‘Since you’ve been here, in fact. What’s troubling you, Jess?’ They had got past the stage where Jessalyn was ‘Journeyman’ or ‘lady mage.’ For the most part anyway.

Jessalyn had spent a lot of time in the kitchen with Merle, occasionally helping with food preparation or other small chores when Merle would allow it. The truth was that Jessalyn wanted something to distract herself. Reading was not doing it: she found it difficult to concentrate on her books. Helping Merle felt ordinary and nothing to do with fighting and killing and harming people.

‘I’m–’ Jessalyn began.

‘You’re not sleeping well. I see you sitting with a book, but just looking sad and not reading. I thought mages were all about books and reading. Can’t read more than a few words myself. Never saw the need. Mages though, they’re all about the books.’

That was actually a cheering thought and Jessalyn managed a little laugh. ‘Not true of all of them, but most I’d bet.’

‘Then what’s got into this one?’

‘On the way into the village,’ Jessalyn said after a second or two of silence, ‘I was attacked by some bandits.’

‘No! By any chance was one of them a big man with a huge axe?’

‘That would be the one I killed to run the others off. I’ve never killed anyone before, Merle. That was the first time I’ve ever been in a fight with other people and it ended with one of them dead. W-when I was a child, I burned my brother quite badly because he did something… Never mind. He did something I didn’t like and I burned him. With magic. I won’t learn the spell I used. I won’t ever use it again. I thought I’d picked something which wouldn’t remind me of that, but…’

‘It did.’ Merle got to her feet and looked down upon Jessalyn with fists on her hips. ‘Well now, you listen to me, young lady. I don’t know about this thing with your brother, but you don’t seem like the type to harm someone without good reason. I have an older brother and there’s many a time I’ve wished him far enough for one reason or another. And I won’t say violence is always the answer by any means. I think it’s better to talk over your differences, that’s for sure. But that man with the axe went by Jost the Axe and I doubt even his mother is sorry to hear he’s gone. Him and his little band have been attacking anyone that comes along that track for over a year and killing probably more than we know. I’m thinking the others will leave with Jost out of the way, so you’ve done Petinham a big favour. He’d have killed you for sure if you hadn’t killed him. He was a monster and there’s no reason for you to be getting upset over his death.’

Jessalyn gave a weak grin. ‘I think his reputation was blown out of proportion. He wasn’t that big. His axe was too heavy for him. If I’d given him the chance to swing at me, I think I’d have been able to beat him to death before he got it back into a state where he could use it again. I just didn’t let him get that close.’

‘That’s beside the point. Sometimes, violence is the answer. This world is hard. Provided you don’t make a habit of it, or attack those minding their own business. Or you start to enjoy it. That’s bad. But if it’s your life or theirs, there’s nothing wrong in staying alive. That’s what I think anyway.’

‘Maybe you’re right, Merle.’

‘I am.’ Merle sat back down and picked up her tea and looked satisfied. ‘Nothing comes of mourning a man you didn’t know when no one else in the world is going to do it.’

Now there she surely had a point. ‘Okay. I’ll see what I can do about cheering up.’

And, oddly, Jessalyn slept like a baby that night.

1st Kanniaun.

Gyles had insisted that there was no work done on the first day of Kanniaun. Even five minutes’ work standing in a field was not allowed. By Jessalyn’s calculations, she had five more spells to cast to cover the whole plantation and, if she were honest, taking an extra day to finish them would not really hurt when her needs were being met for free anyway.

Today, everyone’s needs were being met for free. As far as lunch was concerned anyway. Every year Gyles procured a hog to be roasted beside what would, come nightfall, be a bonfire in honour of Kannia, the god of summer. Kannia was the second of Rallia’s sons – the first being Anorat who sent the sun on its way each morning. Kannia was less of a fire god than his brother Anorat, but it was said that he was encouraged to see flames rising in the night on the first day of his time of the year. And the people’s mood was raised by the opportunity to eat roast pork.

Once again, Gyles had persuaded Jessalyn to lead the prayers which had started the summer festival that morning. It was becoming a thing and Jessalyn wondered what the headman would do when she finally left. She was less used to the prayers for summer since the festival only happened once a year, but then Gyles needed some notes to get it right and he graciously lent them to his substitute for this year.

The whole village, it seemed, had come into the middle of the little collection of houses for the occasion. There had to be about sixty people there, talking, laughing, drinking cider or beer, and eating pork in one way or another. Jessalyn got herself a fairly substantial slab of meat between thick slices of buttered bread. Lettice and Merle were handling the cooking along with several more of the village women, who, of course, did not entirely get a day off even if ‘no one’ worked today. Lettice made very sure that the lady mage got some prime pork with no overcooked or uncooked bits to it. Jessalyn’s main problems were eating it without getting melted butter everywhere and actually getting it all down. These were worries she could handle.

She was sitting on a huge tree stump which was used by many of the villagers as a sort of park bench near the cooking area, trying her best to finish the last bite of her sandwich, when she heard someone speak and began to pay attention.

‘H-hello, M-Minnie.’ She would have recognised that stutter anywhere. Ansel had been getting more used to Jessalyn over the past two weeks, but he still got flushed and stuttered when he actually had to look at her while speaking. And now he was doing it to Minnie?

‘Hello, Ansel,’ Minnie replied. Her cheeks were flushed too, but Jessalyn thought this was a different kind of embarrassment. ‘I’m busy, you know. I don’t have time to be interrupted.’ She had been ferrying flagons out of the inn since everyone had started eating. And collecting money; the food was free, but the booze was not.

‘I know. I was just saying hello.’

‘Well. Good.’

‘D-do you think you might have some t-time later?’

Minnie looked confused, flattered, and embarrassed, all at the same time. ‘Well, I might. I’ll… I’ll come find you, if I do.’ Jessalyn decided that Minnie had no idea what to do about Ansel’s interest in her. It was kind of cute.

‘O-okay. Uh, I’m looking forward to it.’

It was cute, if it was not causing problems.

~~~

‘Yes,’ Merle said, ‘we know.’

‘We do,’ Lettice agreed. Lettice was a diminutive powerhouse of a woman. Slim and possessed of fairly powerful arm muscles, she came equipped with copper hair tied in a braid and green eyes. ‘We even approve. Selby and Gyles too. The trouble is that we don’t want to interfere. Minnie hasn’t a clue what to do with it and Ansel’s too timid to make a direct approach.’

‘Well,’ Jessalyn said, ‘Minnie’s not sixteen yet, so there’s time.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Uh, forgive the indelicate question, but she does know that spell, right?’

‘That spell?’ Lettice asked. ‘Oh! That spell. Yes, I made sure to teach her that as soon as we realised Ansel was interested. She really doesn’t understand why she might need it, but she’s a conscientious girl.’

Jessalyn remembered the conversation she had had with her mother about that spell. It had been mortifying, but there was no way she could have learned it from Zachary. It was passed down from mother to daughter, occasionally from a village witch. It was secret. Though there had to be plenty of female mages who knew it, you could not learn it from any Mages’ Guild. When Sarah had told Jessalyn about it, just before her sixteenth birthday, Jessalyn had been unable to imagine a situation in which she might use it, which was a stupid attitude from her eighteen-year-old view. It stopped you getting pregnant and was the reason Jessalyn did not have a younger sibling.

Even now, Jessalyn found her cheeks heating. ‘Well, that’s okay then.’

‘We don’t want her ending up like me,’ Merle said, ‘though I see my son as just as responsible as his father.’

‘Like you? Oh!’ When she thought about it, it was obvious. Merle had been married for sixteen years and Ansel was sixteen years old.

‘Ansel was born six months after the wedding,’ Merle confirmed. ‘Gyles was a very responsible young man. Of course, he was being groomed to be headman, as his father was before him, so responsibility was part of the package. I can’t have another, so I suppose it was lucky we were stupid.’

‘Minnie and Ansel are a good match anyway,’ Lettice said. ‘If Ansel hadn’t decided to show some interest, we might have been pushing them that way in a year or so.’

‘True enough,’ Merle agreed.

Jessalyn grinned. ‘I guess with you two looking out for them, they won’t go too far wrong.’

The two older women broke into raucous, slightly dirty, laughs. ‘You’ve the right of it there, Jess,’ Merle said.

‘Well they do say even young mages are wise beyond their years,’ Lettice said.

‘And this one more than most.’

6th Kanniaun.

‘Well, that’s the last section done,’ Jessalyn said as she walked into the kitchen. ‘I’ll be on my way in the morning.’

‘We’ll be sorry to see you go,’ Merle said. ‘I’ve rather enjoyed having company during the day. Of course, people are always dropping in, so I won’t be lonely.’

‘I suppose I will be, but it doesn’t seem to bother me. I quite like time to myself.’

‘That’s a useful trait to have when you’re travelling alone. Couldn’t do it myself. What will you do for the rest of the day?’

Jessalyn gave a shrug and sat down at the table. Merle would be making tea soon. That was a given. ‘Get everything ready to leave and then I guess I’ll read some and keep you company.’

Merle flashed a smile. ‘Well, I won’t mind that at all. Where are you heading next?’

‘I heard there is a fishing village east of here. Lakwilham. I heard I can book passage across the lake to Vestinport from there.’

‘That you can. Don’t take any lip from the captains. They’ll skin you alive on the cost if you let them.’

‘Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.’

Lakwilham, 13th Kanniaun.

It took her until the late morning of her sixth day on the road to reach the village of Lakwilham. It was more of a village than Petinham, probably twice the size and clearly based around fishing rather than agriculture. The port was barely a port, but it seemed to be the focus of the village’s life and the place someone had decided to open an inn.

It was set up in a similar way to The Cider Barrel with a taproom below and rooms above, but it was larger, and the cooking happened in a separate kitchen. At the back was a stable where customers could house their animals. There was no pig roasting in the taproom, and no smell of pork from the kitchen to suggest there was one there, but there was a vague scent of fish hanging over the place. They even had a barrel of Petinham cider behind the bar. It went by the name of The Lord’s Repose, though Jessalyn could not imagine a lord staying there or anywhere else in the village.

‘Eight moons a night,’ the barkeeper told her when she enquired about a room.

‘Six,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘Eight’s with food in.’

‘Six is with food thrown in. Do you really think your wonderful establishment is worth a two-moon hike in prices, or are you just trying it on because you’ve never seen me before? I’m perfectly happy to forego the pleasures of sleeping in bedding that smells of fish. I can have that on the docks for free.’

He was a heavily built man with small eyes and a receding hairline. He looked like he was the inn’s bouncer when not serving drinks, and also that he was a little annoyed that Jessalyn was as tall as he was. Then again, six moons was better than nothing. ‘Six then. Take the room with a five on the door, that’s free.’

‘Fine.’ Jessalyn counted out six silver coins as she asked, ‘Where can I go to get passage to Vestinport from here?’

‘Docks. Should be something sailing tomorrow at dawn.’

‘Perfect.’ For some reason, Jessalyn did not feel like staying in Lakwilham any longer than she had to.

~~~

Captain Mayson peered at Jessalyn from beneath a leather hood with a peak built into it, likely to keep rain off his face. He was far from being a young man. His face was weather-beaten, and his eyes were a faded sort of blue. What little hair there was on display was grey. There was a spry muscularity about his body, however, suggesting that he did more on his ship than stand by the tiller and shout orders.

‘It’s three days to Vestinport, so I’ll take three moons off you. You sleep on the deck, like everyone else, but I’ll feed you, like everyone else.’

Jessalyn looked at the captain and then around his boat. She refused to refer to it as a ship, though it was bigger than the fishing vessels tied up nearby. It was basically a hull with square sides, curved fore and aft with a mast in the middle. A pair of tillers were mounted near the stern to steer the thing. The cargo, fish to be sold in Vestinport’s markets, would be piled fore and aft, so the thing would stink. It already smelled of fish worse than The Lord’s Repose.

‘Guild mages,’ Jessalyn said, ‘are as much merchants as they are magicians. We know the price of things and when those prices vary with circumstances. Three half-moons would be a fair price for three days afloat. Doubling the price is insulting.’

His lips curled a little, a malicious little smile. ‘And how else are you going to get there?’

‘I have legs.’

‘That’ll take longer.’

‘Do I really look like I’m in a hurry? Three half-moons, or nothing.’

Mayson gave her a sour look. ‘We set out at dawn. Money when you board and don’t be late.’

‘Thank you, Captain. I’ll be here in the morning.’

~~~

Putting a locking spell on the door of her room turned out to be a good idea. Jessalyn awoke to a thump from outside and then she heard voices.

‘How’s she locked it? It doesn’t have a lock.’ That was the innkeeper.

‘Do you have a room for me or not?’ A male voice she did not recognise.

‘Yeah, yeah. There’s space in one of the others.’

‘Glad to hear it.’ That was quieter, further down the corridor. They were moving away.

The innkeeper had wanted to put another guest in the room with her. There were two beds in here, neither of them very comfortable. But the oaf had wanted to put a man in with her? Wonderful. It was not an entirely uncommon practice to stack up the guests when the rooms were full, but it was common practice to at least put different sexes in different rooms.

‘Moron,’ Jessalyn muttered to herself before turning over and going back to sleep.

14th Kanniaun.

‘You locked your door last night,’ the innkeeper said in a surly tone as Jessalyn picked up a small loaf of bread to take with her for breakfast. ‘I didn’t say you could have that room to yourself.’

‘You didn’t say I couldn’t,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘I’ll take another–’

‘Nothing. You’ll take no more than you’ve already got because you tried to put a man in that room with me. Do you have the slightest idea how wrong that is? Or is there nothing in your head but fish guts?’

Apparently, he did know he was at least not entirely in the right. He looked away. ‘I thought it’d be alright because he was another mage. Come down from Ulriksport and got in late.’

‘Male mages are still men. He might have had ideas I would not find to my liking. So, you’ll get no more coin from me and I’ll be on my way. I have a boat to catch.’

‘Can’t say I’m sorry to see you go,’ he grumbled, half under his breath.

‘Can’t say I’m sorry to see the back of you,’ Jessalyn replied as she marched out the door.

~~~

There was a man aboard the boat who did not look like a sailor. He was a little taller than Jessalyn with a lightly muscled body and a good-looking face with a strong nose and quite full lips. His dark-blonde hair fell around his face, almost touching his shoulders. Blue eyes were shadowed from lack of sleep. His clothes were typical travellers’ clothes of reasonable quality, nothing to indicate his profession, but he was carrying a staff which sparkled in Jessalyn’s eyes and she could see a ring on his right hand with a green stone in it.

Having paid Mayson, Jessalyn walked over to the man. ‘Probationary Journeyman Jessalyn,’ she said. ‘Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?’

He turned from gazing out over the lake and gave her a weary smile. ‘I’d be the man the innkeeper at The Lord’s Repose was planning to dump on you last night, if I’m any judge. Journeyman Ansgar is my name.’

Jessalyn gave him a little sympathetic grimace. ‘Wasn’t too comfortable where he put you?’

‘I’d have lost as much sleep and been far more comfortable in your bed, I’m sure, but hardship is something you get used to when you’re a journeyman mage.’

‘True enough.’ She got the impression he might actually have talked his way into her bed if she had let him in. ‘Then we’d both have lost sleep.’

‘A burden shared is–’

‘A burden doubled.’

‘That’s not how it goes.’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘No, but in this case it’s true. The innkeeper said you were down from Ulriksport.’

‘He did? Well, I am. For the second time. Born and raised there, but I went back to see if I could help Lord Kjell with one of his projects. I couldn’t, but it was nice to see the old place again.’

‘How long have you been away?’

‘Three years, give or take.’ Which probably put him around twenty-one, if he had left at eighteen. That seemed about right given his looks. ‘Hey, maybe you could help him. I’m supposed to post the job at the Vestinport guild, but you could take a look at it first.’ He crouched down and began digging through the backpack at his feet. ‘He wants someone to teach reading and writing to some of the townsfolk over winter. I need to be in Rainsport this winter but I’m not sure I could handle it anyway. I know those people and they’d never treat me with any respect.’ Straightening up, he handed Jessalyn a sheet of rolled paper.

Basically, Lord Kjell wanted someone with good reading and writing skills to teach them to commoners. Teaching experience was not needed, said the paper. Jessalyn wondered how well she would do without. The pay was sixty-eight moons per month, seventy-two with teaching experience and possibly more depending upon other skills. It was not what she might have wanted as a journeyman mage, but it was three months of steady work. In fact, it was three months of three mornings per week with the rest of your time free, so she might be able to scrape up some extra coin with side jobs.

‘The pay isn’t great,’ she said.

‘If you can cast Lingering Light, he’ll make it up to regular journeyman rates if you handle the spells in the castle. Uh, don’t let on you know that. That’s one of his incentives to try to persuade you to take it on.’

‘Okay, sounding more interesting. I hadn’t made any real plans about winter…’ She handed the paper back. ‘Post it like he asked. If no one else has taken it before I run out of money, I’ll go see this Lord Kjell about teaching his people.’

Ansgar nodded. ‘Fair enough. We’re moving.’

The sun had just appeared to the west, lightening the sky, and they were beginning to pull away from the jetty. Mayson was yelling at his small crew to pull on ropes and other such sailorish things. A couple of large oars had been deployed to help them on their way out of the docks which were, basically, just a collection of wooden jetties jutting out into the lake. The water had a slight ripple in it from the breeze blowing from the southwest, but it was smooth going so far.

‘Three days to Vestinport,’ Jessalyn said.

‘If the wind’s with us,’ Ansgar said. ‘The captain is pretty much relying on it since he has to get there, unload, stock up on goods to bring back, and then be back here to do it again next week. This trade wouldn’t work if the winds weren’t fairly reliable.’

‘I’m hoping for a stiffer breeze when we get out into deeper water. It might help with the stink.’ The smell of fish was just as bad as she had suspected it might be. The cargo was in crates, for Unerra’s sake, and it still smelled dreadful.

‘You get used to the smell. Or your nose gives up and you can’t smell anything for days after you get off.’

‘I’m not sure I see that as a disadvantage.’

~~~

Calling Lake Vestin a lake was maybe a little mean. It was a big lake. It was about five hundred and seventy unreks north to south and six hundred and forty east to west. An unrek was a thousand paces, and how someone had measured those distances across water, Jessalyn could not envision. Maybe someone had used magic somehow. Figuring it out was something she was thinking about when she got bored with reading.

Honestly, she did not have a lot to read and it was mostly studying the grimoire Zachary had given her that occupied her time. Ansgar spent his time staring out at the water. He had explained that he was not that fond of boats and keeping his eyes on the horizon helped him keep his breakfast down.

Even the sailors seemed to be at a loss for something to do. There were twelve of them including the captain with most of them unemployed for long stretches. Jessalyn saw six of them at the tillers at various times and Mayson paced the decks a lot. The rest sat around playing dice games much of the time, only moving when something needed changing in the rigging or whatever.

There was not much swell. The wind was constant and from the west now, and they seemed to be making good time though there was really nothing to judge their motion by. It was early afternoon and Jessalyn could not see the shore. She presumed that Mayson was navigating based on the position of the sun, though she had no idea how he was telling the time aside from by seeing where the sun was. He was doing a lot of staring at the western sky and looking grim, which Jessalyn finally decided was not a good sign.

~~~

The reason for the grim looks became apparent when the sun set. A mist had come in over the water, which was not something Jessalyn had expected but, apparently, Mayson knew the signs on the lake better than she did. With the sun gone, the captain would be navigating by the position of the moon, and the moon was not visible thanks to the mist. At this time of the month, the moon would be almost due south and the density of the cloud which had settled over them was too much for the silver glow to be at all clear.

Mayson stood on the aft deck, glowering at the atmosphere as though his glaring eyes could pierce the mist. He seemed to be considering something and Ansgar provided the answer to what.

‘He’s thinking of turning her starboard,’ the other mage said. ‘That’ll take us closer to land for sure, and make it easier to navigate, but it’ll make the journey longer.’

‘Frankly,’ Jessalyn replied, ‘I’m unwilling to put up with the smell for any longer than necessary.’ In the relatively still air, the stink of fish was rising to horrific proportions and the sail was not picking up much to power them forward. Add on extra distance and Jessalyn felt she might go insane before they reached the city. She got to her feet and walked around the crates of fish to where the captain was standing. ‘Having trouble, Captain Mayson?’

‘Can’t see the moon. Can’t see the moon, so there’s no way to tell if we’re on course.’

Jessalyn nodded. Ansgar had been right. ‘Find me north,’ she said in Celestial.

‘What did you say?’ Mayson asked, turning his glower on Jessalyn.

‘Doesn’t matter. North is that way.’ She pointed, over the port side toward the stern of the boat.

‘Magic?’

‘I’m a mage.’

‘Never met a mage who’d do magic for free.’

‘Ah, but have you ever met a mage so determined to get off your boat and away from the smell?’

‘Huh. So it’s not just out of the goodness of your heart.’

‘Not really. Your misconceived view of mages can continue. Ask again if you need to check, but not too often, if you don’t mind.’

‘What if you’re sleeping?’

Jessalyn turned and started back toward Ansgar. ‘Captain Mayson, if you think I’m going to get much sleep with this wretched smell plaguing me, you have far more optimism than I do.’

16th Kanniaun.

Jessalyn got more sleep than she had expected but was still feeling the weight of fatigue when the boat arrived in Vestinport’s port as the sun set on the third day. There had been no more mists to block the moon and no other issues to slow them down. She walked down the plank from the deck to the jetty with a profound sense of relief and a desire, above all else, to be clean and in a bed.

‘You can find lodging at the guild,’ Ansgar informed her. ‘They have dormitories for journeymen visiting the city. Cheaper than a room in a hotel.’

‘I know that,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’d forgotten, but I was told. Which way is the guild?’

She was faced with more buildings than she had ever seen in her life. Most of them around the docks were stone and a couple of storeys high. They were, she guessed, warehouses for the goods brought in on the boats. Several of the jetties here were also stone. Stone was clearly the preferred building material.

‘I’m headed there myself. I’ll take you.’

They had gone no more than a dozen paces before a boy of ten or twelve was walking beside them with an unlit lantern in his hand. ‘Light your way, gentlefolk? I can get you where you need to be. I know all the streets, lanes, and alleys. Only a copper to anywhere in the city.’

The night was very black in the city. Jessalyn could barely see the buildings around them; they were shapes outlined by the moonlight from the south. If she had been on her own, she might have taken the offer. ‘Sorry, young man, but my companion knows where we’re going. And as for the light…’ She gestured vaguely into the air and a soft ball of light appeared before her. It was only about as bright as a candle, but it lit up the ground at her feet and gave more of an impression of their surroundings. The buildings here still appeared to be stone.

‘A mage? Aww…’

‘Two mages,’ Ansgar said. ‘Thank you for offering, but we’ll not be needing your services.’ The boy vanished into the darkness and Ansgar walked on a little way before adding, ‘Be careful of using their services, Jessalyn. Most are honest, but some will lead you down a supposed shortcut where their friends will be waiting. Even showing a light at night when away from the main thoroughfares can be dangerous. It shows the thieves where you are.’

‘It seems it might be wise to learn to see in the dark. Is Vestinport really so dangerous?’

‘The poor and desperate exist everywhere, and a city is much like a dense forest since they can vanish down alleys before the city guard can grab them. There are areas of the city with better lighting, and if you must go out after dark, it’s best to stick to them.’

It was a fair walk to the guild building, but it became a lot easier as they rounded a corner and came upon what Ansgar said was the Merchants’ Quarter. Across the street from it was housing for the richer people who did business through the docks – shipowners and the like – and many of them had light spells set above their doors. The Merchants’ Quarter was a different manner of beast. Posts were set into the ground at various intervals along the sides of the roads, each with a permanent light enchantment set atop them. The duke, or maybe the merchants themselves, had spent a lot of money over the years to make sure the district was well lit.

Ansgar led the way along the wide street, which was the northern border of the quarter, to an imposing wall behind which lay the duke’s castle. There, they turned right along another wide street and soon the Imperial Mages’ Guild’s home in Vestinport became visible on the left. It was opposite another road which led to the castle’s main gate and right beside what was known as the Nobles’ District, though Ansgar said that most of the houses belonged to the very rich merchants who made their home in Vestinport.

The guildhall looked like any other business establishment on first appearances, aside from the large guild crest mounted above the door and illuminated by permanent light spells. It was a stone building three storeys in height with shuttered windows above the ground level. It seemed a little larger than the buildings to either side, but there was nothing special about it.

Inside, the impression did not change, but this was the first real Mages’ Guild building Jessalyn had been in and maybe the light spells shone bright in her eyes a little as she walked with Ansgar to the back of a room which sort of looked like a very posh taproom. There was no bar and no barrels, no pig roasting over a fire, but there were tables and chairs around which a few mages were sitting, chatting with others or sitting in silence and giving the impression that they were waiting for something.

At the back of the hall were a couple of rows of benches which seemed to be a waiting area for those seeking to do business of some sort with the guild. No one was sitting there at the moment; Jessalyn figured most of the guild’s business was conducted during daylight hours. Beyond those was what looked for all the world like a shop counter staffed by four mages. Jessalyn spotted a green ring on one of them, suggesting that these were journeyman mages given the job of handling the public. Two were engaged, but Ansgar headed for the one standing at the far left anyway; that one had, on closer inspection, a sign on the counter before him saying ‘Guild Members Only.’

Ansgar walked up and lifted his hand, displaying the crest on his ring. He was a proper journeyman, one rank above Jessalyn. Following suit, Jessalyn showed her own crest. The man behind the counter nodded. ‘Your business tonight?’

‘We’re both in need of lodging,’ Ansgar replied.

‘Duration of stay?’

‘I’ll be here for two nights. I need to move on after that.’

The man behind the counter looked at Jessalyn and she said, ‘Uh, I’m not sure how long I’ll be here. I’m looking for work.’

‘First time in a guildhall?’ the receptionist asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Come to this desk in the morning. Whoever is on duty will be happy to show you the procedures. The dorms are in the first basement. The female dorm is on the right. I’m sure your companion will show you to the right location.’

‘Happy to,’ Ansgar replied.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow. ‘Just remember that the dormitories are segregated.’

Ansgar grinned and placed a hand over his heart. ‘You wound me, Senior Journeyman. I would never.’

‘Hm.’

‘Do you have a reputation?’ Jessalyn asked as they made their way down via a door at one side of the counter and then a flight of circular stairs.

‘I may have something of a name as a… connoisseur of fine women.’

‘I think I’m insulted. We’ve been together for two nights already and you haven’t even made any especially lewd suggestions.’

‘Would you like me to? We spent those two nights on a boat with no privacy. Alas, that lack of privacy continues here. Otherwise, Jessalyn, I assure you that I’d have enjoyed persuading you to be enjoyed and to enjoy in turn.’

‘Good comeback. And, since you asked, no, I’d prefer you stuck to subtly lewd suggestions.’

‘So noted.’ They had come to a corridor on which there were three doors on the right and four on the left. ‘And here we are. Pick a room on the right and find a spare bed. There are usually a number of mages staying here at any given time, but there are more men, usually, so the women’s rooms are less occupied.’

‘Okay.’

‘Perhaps I’ll see you in the morning.’

Jessalyn reached for the doorknob of the nearest room. ‘Perhaps you will.’

17th Kanniaun.

The dorm beds were comfortable, especially when compared to the deck of a boat, and the room was warm. Jessalyn technically shared a room with four other mages, but since she was asleep before any of them returned to the dorms and awoke after them, she did not really notice. It was Ralliaday, she had nowhere to be, and she took the opportunity to make up for two nights of bad sleep.

Ansgar was sitting in the hall when she ventured out in search of breakfast. The guild would give you a bed for as long as you needed one, but it did not lay on food. The previous night, Jessalyn had been sufficiently tired to go without, but now she was ready for something substantial to compensate. Her companion for the journey looked as though he were sitting there contemplating his choice of activities for the day, but Jessalyn noticed him noticing her and walked over to his table.

‘Have you been waiting for me?’ she asked, smiling.

‘I have been considering what I might do on my day of rest. I admit that the thought of spending it with an attractive young mage has made many of my considerations more to my liking.’

‘Well, I want breakfast. Then I thought I’d find the Unerran church here for the morning service. And then it would assist me if you could show me more of the city.’

‘A leisurely day seeing the sights. That doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend my time.’

~~~

They had breakfast in the Merchants’ Quarter which was just as bright and clean in the day as it had seemed at night. As the name suggested, it had a lot of shops, taverns, and restaurants at ground level. On the streets within the quarter, more of the buildings had wooden upper storeys and at least some of those were the dwellings of the merchants who owned the shops below.

Saying they would be back, Ansgar led the way south and east to the Unerran temple once they had eaten. As in Greenwall, the south side of the city was where the commoners lived, and the Church of Unerra had built their temple on the northmost corner of the east side. The big difference between the church in Greenwall and the one here was that here it was a temple. Several times the size of the Greenwall church, it could actually seat parishioners inside it, though not all of the congregation could fit at once, so they held four services through the morning and afternoon.

Across the road from the Unerran temple was what was called the Nobles’ District, though Ansgar said that there were few living in it with noble rank. Most of the occupants were very rich merchants who chose to live outside the Merchants’ Quarter. Whatever the case, the Rallian temple was inside that district, to the north where the duke could get to it with relative ease when he chose to do so.

The service was… boring. It was just the same as listening to the old priestess in Greenwall. The priestess here was no more charismatic than the one there, and the subject matter was the same boilerplate that the priestesses always presented to the worshippers. Still, Jessalyn had not attended a real service in a real church for several weeks and had decided she needed to do so as soon as she could. Weirdly, she felt as though there had been more… Presence was a good word. There had been more presence at the services she had given herself in Petinham.

‘And now,’ Ansgar said as they walked out, ‘we can begin the leisure part of the day.’

‘I thought breakfast was rather leisurely,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘Not the way you were eating.’

‘I was hungry.’

‘I could tell.’

~~~

Lunch was had in a small, family-run restaurant in the Merchants’ Quarter, but by then they had done a brief tour of the city with Ansgar indicating the purpose of each district. The housing of the common folk which took up the southern part of the city was divided into East Ward, Mid Ward, and West Ward. The wealthier you were, the further to the east you lived. East Ward contained a few shopfronts for master mages who lived above. The main gate into the city was on the southern wall beyond Mid Ward.

On the west side, north of West Ward, was the Warehouse District which was well described by its name. North of the Merchants’ District was that housing Jessalyn had seen the night before, but the south face was, in essence, a façade. North of the wealthier dwellings, the housing was poorer and largely consisted of tenements where sailors lived when not afloat. There were also a number of taverns catering to sailors and a couple of whorehouses.

There were no brothels in Greenwall, though there were a few women who would exchange coin for companionship, and Jessalyn found the concept strange. Ansgar had gone on to point out something that looked like a private home in the Merchants’ District which he said was actually a brothel of a higher class, and it was not the only one to be found.

‘There’s one run by the Church of Hinera,’ Ansgar informed her. He seemed to find her curiosity about the places amusing.

‘Really?’

‘Really. She’s the Goddess of Spring, has a certain fertility aspect to her, and the sale of womanly affection brings quite some coin to the Church.’

‘This world will never fail to amaze me. What about manly affection?’

‘I’ve heard that noble women sometimes keep young servants for the purpose when their husbands no longer meet their needs, but it’s only rumour and I’ve never heard of men doing it, um, professionally.’

With lunch eaten, they went shopping. Well, they went window shopping for the most part. Ansgar needed to pick up a few things for his journey east, but Jessalyn was mostly doing research. There were things she looked at and considered buying, but she was mindful of both her limited funds and the weight anything might add to her pack. In the end, she walked away with nothing.

‘I was told that clothing was more revealing beyond the walls of Greenwall,’ she said as she looked over some dresses with Ansgar following along behind her.

‘Oh?’ Apparently, Ansgar found that interesting.

‘This dress was considered a little risqué when I wore it to a banquet, but here it seems that it might be considered a little concealing.’

‘I assure you that your dress is both decorous and sufficiently stimulating.’

‘The skirt is quite long. Some of these don’t even cover your knees.’

‘Ah, but your skirt shows a little thigh while maintaining an element of respectability. Though, for summer wear, the trend is for shorter skirts, I believe. Capitol has something of an influence, especially on noble fashion, and it’s warmer there. They tend to wear lighter clothes, as I understand it.’

‘That’s what I’d heard,’ Jessalyn replied, smiling. ‘You’ve never been to Capitol?’

‘Not yet. I’ll go there when I’ve made senior journeyman and want to find a sponsor.’

‘Hm, that was my plan too.’

~~~

They ate dinner together in a restaurant Ansgar claimed had very good food. It did. Jessalyn had beef, which was so succulent she wondered what magic had been used to create it, together with seasonable vegetables that would have made her mother cry. There was wine with the food, a rich red which Jessalyn felt going straight to her head.

He took her to a couple of taverns after the meal, showing her the nightlife of Vestinport. She drank more but made sure that the worst she got was a little tipsy. The taverns were much more genteel than anything she had ever seen in Greenwall or the places she had stayed on the way to the city. There were barrels behind the bar – at least one of which held Petinham cider – but the floors were clean and so were the customers and the staff. Ansgar pointed out more than one individual who was a minor noble in service to the duke.

And after the tavern…

~~~

Jessalyn’s body strained against the waves of pleasure washing up from where their bodies were joined. He was a skilled lover, which she was thankful for because she had no idea what she was doing. She had remembered to cast that spell when they had come to this room since his intention had been obvious and she was not going to stop him. She was convinced that the alcohol she had consumed had not been a factor in her decision, and she was even fairly sure she would not consider that conviction deluded in the morning.

Something broke inside her. Not something physical exactly; a dam broke within her and the wash of pleasure took her, moaning and mewling, over the edge into brief oblivion. Some part of her mind knew that he was coming with her, over the edge of a waterfall which had no bottom.

And then it was over, and they were both left panting for breath. He pulled out of her – leaving an emptiness she was not sure she would ever fill – and flopped onto his back, still trying to control his breathing.

‘That… was good,’ he said after a second or two.

Little aftershocks were still catching Jessalyn by surprise and she did not reply until she was sure her body was once again hers to control. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it. As did I. That was the first time for me, and I had no idea what I should do.’

He propped himself up on one elbow and stared at her. ‘You’re serious?’

‘As a priest on Ralliaday.’

‘You appear to have some considerable natural talent. I couldn’t tell. Honestly. I’d assumed… You must be eighteen and you’re a beauty. I… I’ve taken virgins before, Jess, but you’re the first I feel I have to thank for the honour of taking your maidenhead.’

‘Honour?’ Jessalyn laughed. ‘I’m not sure it’s that. I… don’t know why I agreed to this tonight. Perhaps it’s that you’ll be gone in the morning and I won’t have the need to worry over a relationship. I don’t need a relationship right now. And, I must add, I have no regrets. My mother told me that her first time was clumsy and rather unsatisfying. I am quite satisfied.’

‘Would it worry you if I said I had an urge to postpone my trip?’

‘Were you to mean postpone, then no. However, you have business in the east. Delaying could cost you, and so you should leave, knowing that you have deflowered a satisfied virgin who will remember you fondly.’

Ansgar laughed. ‘How can you be sensible while naked and still feeling the afterglow of good sex?’

‘I suppose I’m a sensible person. Um…’

‘Um?’

‘Well, I was wondering whether, now that I’ve learned a little of what’s done, if we might give me a chance to try out my new-found knowledge.’

‘You want to go again?’

‘I want to go again. Very much.’

He sagged back onto the bed. ‘Give me but a moment, my lady, and I’ll oblige you. I would have to be an absolute moron to reject you.’

On a whim, Jessalyn straddled his hips and settled herself down on what she discovered was a semi-hard cock. ‘I don’t think you’re a moron.’ She began to slide her slick lips up and down his shaft which stiffened ever faster.

Ansgar let out a moan. ‘You’re going to kill me, or at least leave me bedridden.’

‘A big man like you? Hardly. Speaking of hardness…’

18th Kanniaun.

In the morning, Jessalyn walked with Ansgar to the city gate after taking breakfast with him. He did not kiss her when he left, because they did not have that sort of relationship, but he looked conflicted about going. Jessalyn felt a slight pang of loss as she watched his back recede. It seemed likely that she would never see him again, and she could not help but feel that was a shame.

To get over the loss, she put her mind to finding work. The first step of that was to go to the desk at the guild and discover how things worked. It was all fairly simple.

A board hung on one wall of the entrance hall, upon which all guild-approved job postings were placed, tacked up by a simple spell which would not break until the form was pulled down. Anyone could go to the desk and request that a posting be placed. Any mage could see a job, take it down, and go to the desk to register that they were undertaking the task. The receptionist went through the procedure with her and gave her some tips.

‘We rate each job according to the rank capable of handling it,’ the receptionist said. This one was a woman, but she seemed just as knowledgeable as any other member of staff. ‘However, mages are all different. If you see something above your rank you feel sure you can handle, bring it to the desk. We will have more details, including the reason for the rank we suggested. If we think your particular skills do meet the requirements, we will assign the job to you.’

‘That seems fair,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘We try to be. Remember that you are a probationary journeyman. To be promoted, you need to get through your first year without bringing the guild into disrepute. That includes taking on jobs you can’t handle.’

‘I’ll remember.’

Ansgar’s teaching job was up on the board with the addition of a comment suggesting journeyman rank or above. Jessalyn ignored it for now; she would see how things were going after a couple of weeks and decide whether she wanted to spend her winter in Ulriksport. There were a few other tutoring roles available, but they required a master. Jessalyn was not quite sure why, but she assumed it was as much to do with the clients as anything: all of them were nobles wanting a tutor for their children.

There was one job on the board which seemed intriguing with a side helping of potential boredom. The city guard needed a mage to help with the screening of goods at the gate. Magic items needed to be detected such that they could be taxed at a higher rate than other goods, for example. Secretly entering with a magic item was also heavily discouraged. They had regular mages doing the job, but they needed someone for two weeks to cover an absence. They were paying thirty-five moons per week for two weeks’ work from someone of journeyman rank, which was a little over the standard rate, but not by much. It was two weeks of steady work…

‘You must be able to use a Detect Magic spell or you wouldn’t have been accepted as an apprentice,’ the receptionist said when Jessalyn handed her the sheet. ‘That’s more or less all it entails. They work eight-hour shifts. Pretty busy ones at this time of year. If you think you can handle that, the job’s yours. They need someone who can start on Ralliaday and we thought we were going to have to send someone from the staff.’

‘Ralliaday? Okay, I think I can handle it.’

‘Fine.’ The receptionist stamped the sheet and handed it back. ‘Go to the gatehouse and talk to whichever officer is on duty. They may introduce you to the duty mage who’ll walk you through it. Or not. They may not be that thoughtful. The officer will tell you which shift you’re on, where, and when to arrive for it.’

‘Okay. Leave it to me.’

~~~

Lieutenant Giffard peered at Jessalyn across his desk. ‘You do know you’ll be working with the city guard, right?’

‘Clearly,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I am standing in front of a lieutenant in the city guard to inform him of my acceptance of the work.’

‘You’ll be dealing with smugglers, cut-throats, maybe even assassins.’

‘As I understand it, you deal with those. I just have to point them out. Besides, all mages attaining journeyman rank are required to be able to defend themselves. The last bandit who tried to kill me is lying in a field west of Petinham.’

‘Hm. I’ll introduce you to Esmund. He’s the duty mage today and you’ll be replacing him while he’s… doing something magical somewhere. He can show you the ropes. You’ll be on the daytime shift, starting at eight, ending at four. You’ll be here fifteen minutes before your shift starts.’

‘And I’m starting this Ralliaday, correct? The twenty-third.’

‘Yeah. The twenty-third.’

‘That sounds perfect. I’m looking forward to working with you.’

23rd Kanniaun.

Of course, that left Jessalyn with three and a half days to fill before her job started. She spent the time reading and wandering around the city, getting a feel for the place. She found herself wishing that Ansgar was there to accompany her, and she pushed back on that with determination. She had spent a few hours in bed with the man, in a room in a brothel you could rent by the hour no less, and here she was mooning over a fling. Ridiculous.

She discovered that the Mages’ Guild sold ‘instructionals’ on various topics intended to help improve the skills of their members and that, for only twenty-eight moons, she could buy a booklet which taught the basics of enchantment. Enchantment was a necessary skill for senior journeymen, so she was going to have to learn it eventually. She determined to buy one of the books as soon as she had been paid for the guard job.

She also discovered an area of the city which Ansgar had not shown her. Then again, it was an area of the city which was not, technically, in the city at all. On the western wall where the docks met the Warehouse District, there was a secondary gate into the city. On the other side of the wall there, an area had grown up known as the Outer Docks. While it had a couple of jetties, most of the boats which used the Outer Docks were small and they were beached to land their goods. It was a way for the smaller traders to bring goods ashore without going through – and paying taxes to – the city. To Jessalyn, it also looked like a smugglers’ paradise; however, it was policy not to charge taxes where a citizen bought something from a stall there and brought it into the city, so there was a thriving market frequented primarily by commoners from the three wards.

And then the day arrived when Jessalyn was to start her job at the gate. She arrived thirty minutes before her shift was due to start, just to be sure, and was not surprised to see Lieutenant Giffard already there. He was a man in his early thirties, by her estimate, with brown hair and eyes, a fit body possessed of sufficient muscle to swing a sword and spend most of his day in a mail shirt. The dominant feature of his face was a thick moustache which more or less obscured his upper lip and was probably trimmed to regulation length – assuming there were regulations for that kind of thing – every morning. Giffard looked like the kind of man who had a measuring stick to ensure each lip hair was exactly the right length. And he was the kind of officer who acknowledged it when his underlings did something right.

‘I commend you on being here early on your first day,’ Giffard said. ‘Go wait in the watch room. There’s tea brewing.’

It seemed that the guards operated on a steady stream of tea. How much of the budget went on keeping a steady stream of over-brewed, red-brown liquid on tap Jessalyn did not want to estimate. She switched to water after the third cup, afraid that her stomach would rebel otherwise. The guards seemed used to it. They seemed to enjoy it. From her alchemy, Jessalyn knew that various interesting chemicals could be extracted from tea with the right processes. It seemed likely that the tea boiler in the watch room was concentrating various things she did not feel like taking a lot of.

Irritatingly, the traffic into the city did not manage to be a constant flow, but it also did not manage to give much of a break between arrivals. Whenever Jessalyn thought she could go sit in the watch room for a few minutes to read, another wagon would appear. With each wagon, her role was the same: she checked over the contents with one of the sergeants on duty, looking for anything which was not on the manifest. The sergeant was looking for various forms of contraband. Jessalyn was there to look for magical items of one form or another.

And since she found nothing, she ended the day wondering why she was there. She had suspected the work would be boring but not that she would end up both bored and exhausted. It was about all she could do to find somewhere to eat her evening meal before crawling into bed back at the guildhall. And thus ended her first day assisting the city guard of Vestinport.

29th Kanniaun.

And that was how things carried on for the rest of the week. By the fourth evening, Jessalyn was sufficiently used to the work that she managed to stay awake for a couple of hours after dinner, but the general nature of things stayed the same. She found various magic items in wagons, but all of them were being declared and taxed by the merchants involved. The guards seemed to have no luck in finding non-magical contraband either. Considering the amount of effort they put into all of this, Jessalyn had assumed it was really a problem, but it seemed like an overreaction.

Then her second Ralliaday rolled around along with a peddler’s wagon. Sergeant Gerhard watched the man steering the wagon approaching and made a distinctive, suspicious teeth-sucking sound. ‘We’ll want to be thorough with this one,’ he said.

Jessalyn had no idea why this one was provoking Gerhard’s instincts, but it was. ‘Okay, Sergeant.’ She spoke a brief phrase in Celestial which caused a couple of the soldiers to look in her direction, but they saw nothing out of the ordinary, so they went back to watching the wagon coming to a stop in the gateway.

To Jessalyn, there was nothing much to see either. Yet. She wandered around to the back of the wagon while Gerhard started talking to the peddler.

‘Good day,’ Gerhard began. ‘What brings you to Vestinport today?’

‘I’ve things to sell. Silks and dyes from Rainsport.’

‘You know there’s a tax on luxury items entering the city for sale?’

‘I know. Got your money right here.’ Jessalyn could hear the broad cooperative smile the man was giving. She looked into the wagon and what she saw was some crates and bundles of cloth. The silks and dyes of Rainsport were sought-after commodities and they had come a long way. It was doubtful the peddler had brought them all the way from that city since it was more or less on the other side of the Empire. Perhaps he had bought in Capitol and was hoping to sell at a good profit.

At the front, Gerhard continued. ‘Do you have any magic items, weapons, other luxury–’

‘Magic items? I wish. And I don’t carry weapons.’

‘We will have to take a look in your wagon,’ Gerhard said.

‘Of course.’

Taking that as her cue, Jessalyn climbed up into the wagon. It was a typical four wheels and canvas top sort of peddler’s wagon; she had to bend her neck to be more or less upright in it. Looking around, she found nothing out of the ordinary at first. Gerhard was climbing in behind her before she spotted something glowing through the boards behind the driver’s seat. She angled her way between some crates and dropped to one knee to examine the area. There was what looked like a simple hole in the wagon’s bed, a gap wide enough to put your fingers through, though it did not really look intentional. The glow was brighter through the gap but visible enough through the thin wood. Maybe thinner wood than Jessalyn might have expected to be there.

Putting her fingers into the gap produced more evidence. Her fingertips brushed something metal and her skin tingled the way it often did when she touched something magical. She glanced up at the peddler. It was a warm day, that was true, but the sweat running down his cheek from his temple did not appear to be the result of overheating. She pulled on the board and it came up easily.

‘Sergeant,’ Jessalyn said as she examined the contents of the hiding hole, ‘I have to admit that I was starting to think this whole smuggling thing was paranoia, but I also have to admit that I was wrong.’

There was a sword glowing with a reddish hue in Jessalyn’s magically enhanced vision. There were two daggers, and one of those had a nasty dark-purple sheen about it which you could not really describe as a glow. There were amulets of various types. There were several rings. There were also three vials of liquid padded in layers of cloth which were not glowing. Jessalyn lifted one out and peered at it. ‘These aren’t magical,’ she said. ‘Since he’s hiding them…’ She gestured in the air beside the vial, concentrating on it for a couple of seconds. Then she nodded. ‘Poison. You’d need an alchemist to tell you what kind. One of these daggers has a nasty enchantment on it too.’

‘Is that right?’ Gerhard said. Jessalyn got the impression from his tone that the peddler was in for a hard time over this.

1st Kanniasur.

‘Do you have plans for this evening, Journeyman?’

Jessalyn’s eyebrows went up. ‘Lieutenant Giffard, this is so sudden.’

Giffard coughed. ‘That was not… Ahem.’ He had called Jessalyn up to his office when she had been intending to eat lunch. She really hoped that she would be getting time to do that before she had to be back on duty. ‘We’ll be undertaking a special operation tonight and having a mage with us would be useful.’

‘A “special operation?”’

‘A raid into the Outer Docks. There is extra pay since it’s outside your agreed-upon contract. You’ll get nine extra moons at the end of this week.’

‘That’s more than a day’s pay.’ Jessalyn narrowed her eyes at the soldier. ‘You’re expecting this to be dangerous.’

‘Yes,’ Giffard said flatly, which surprised Jessalyn: he was not trying to obfuscate the hazards. ‘We are expecting trouble. We may be wrong in a number of ways. This could be a colossal waste of time and resources. The people we’re after could give up without any commotion. However, we go in assuming that there will be trouble and any other result is a happy one.’

‘That’s a very practical view. What are we looking for?’

‘That’s unclear. An informant has given us a couple of names and says they’re bringing something magical in through the Outer Docks this evening. He believes it’s something dangerous, so we’re going in to look for it and arrest whatever idiot is responsible.’

‘Which is why you need a mage. Okay, Lieutenant, the pay’s good for an evening’s work. I’ll do it.’

‘Good. Be at the west gate at seven. Dress for a fight.’

Jessalyn smiled. ‘Lieutenant, I’m always dressed for a fight.’

~~~

The Outer Docks was a mixed collection of stalls – now largely closed down for the night – and impromptu warehouses consisting of stacked crates waiting to be transported away from the city in one direction or another.

Jessalyn had rather suspected that the business of the docks themselves would be shut down by dark, but there were still boats arriving and leaving. The jetties were still; vessels large enough to need them did not, it seemed, choose to leave or arrive without good visibility. Actually, the visibility was pretty good. On the first day of the month, the moon was in the north and so more overhead than when it was in the south. There were no clouds, so the pale light shone down unobstructed, giving everything a slightly eerie, silvery tint.

The occupants of the unofficial district cast sidelong distrustful looks at the soldiers and the mage in the middle of the squad as they marched through. Eleven soldiers and a mage were not a welcome sight to people who deliberately chose to avoid the city itself. It was quite possible that most of them were legitimate traders, but Jessalyn would have put good money on various shady deals being done here after dark.

‘There,’ Giffard said. He was walking alongside Jessalyn, encircled by his men, but he would be taking point when it came to dealing with the people they were after. ‘That’s them.’

The ‘them’ in question were five men gathered about one of the piles of crates. Some of those crates were being used as seating and there was a small campfire burning in the middle of the circle the men were sitting in. They looked like pretty rough types, what Jessalyn would have imagined smugglers looked like if she had put much thought into it before seeing them. A couple had thick beards. One even had an eyepatch. All of them were armed in some manner, mostly short swords on their belts. One was sitting near to a spear. Another had a loaded crossbow sitting on a crate within arm’s reach. If they gave up without a fight, Jessalyn was going to be truly amazed.

The squad came to a stop and Giffard moved through to the front. Jessalyn followed suit, though she stayed back a little. Her eyes were showing her nothing magical so far, but then she would need to lay eyes directly on a magic item for it to sparkle. Hiding her gesture behind Giffard’s back, she cast the same vision spell she had used on the peddler’s wagon.

‘Good evening, gentlemen,’ Giffard said. ‘I am Lieutenant Giffard of the Vestinport City Guard. We’re here to do an inspection of your goods.’

One of the bearded men got to his feet and gave Giffard an appraising look. ‘That so?’ His eyes shifted to Jessalyn and then away. ‘We’re just stopping here for the night. Nothing here is going in through the gate.’

Jessalyn scanned over the men and the crates. Nothing glowed. Still, the glow would not show through a crate and the pile could have been concealing something within it. The next step would be…

‘All the same,’ Giffard said, ‘we need to take a look. I’m sure you’ve no objection if there’s nothing to find.’

There was something magical in the pile, buried under the other crates. Jessalyn charged up a Lightning spell because she had a strong feeling she was about to need it.

‘I have an objection, sure. You open all the crates to look in them and we have to spend time and nails to close them again. You–’

‘That won’t be necessary,’ Jessalyn said, stepping forward a little and giving herself a clear path to the man with the crossbow. ‘Lieutenant, we need to clear off the top layer of crates and get to the ones–’

And then things happened really quickly. The bearded leader went for his sword. The others were apparently watching, because they were grabbing weapons an instant later. As Jessalyn had suspected, the one with the bow laid his hand on it and started to lift it. She stretched out her staff and lightning flew from the tip, striking the crossbowman in the chest. His body jerked from the sudden massive shock, and then he rolled off his perch to the ground, unmoving.

‘To arms!’ Giffard yelled. His sword was already in his hand and the other soldiers were readying their spears, so the shout was unnecessary, but Jessalyn supposed that he needed to give orders. She stepped back a little, away from the readied blades, and set to preparing another attack spell. Blades clashed as the leader struck at Giffard, only to have his weapon parried. The soldiers moved quickly forward, engaging the remaining three smugglers. It was a pretty hopeless fight: ten against three and the soldiers’ weapons mostly had longer reach than the smugglers’. The smugglers were fairly good. Jessalyn saw one of them parry a spear thrust, then a second, but the third jabbed into his thigh, taking him to the ground and, apparently, into death or unconsciousness. He was soon joined by the others as spears stabbed into various body parts.

The leader, fighting Giffard alone, was having more luck. He got a thrust through Giffard’s defences to stab into the lieutenant’s right bicep. Giffard’s sword fell from nerveless fingers and, wearing a malicious, triumphant smile, the smuggler raised his own sword to bring it down on Giffard’s head. And Jessalyn blasted him in the chest with a lightning bolt. She saw the light go out in his eyes as his body convulsed before falling. This time, the death did not bother her quite so much. He had been about to kill Giffard and he had decided to fight when the odds were stacked against him.

‘Bugger,’ Giffard said. He pulled what looked like a clean cloth from a pouch on his belt and tried to staunch the bleeding. ‘This hurts like–’ He stopped talking and gritted his teeth.

‘Is anyone else injured?’ Sergeant Gerhard asked. ‘No? Let’s check these men. I don’t want them quietly finished off if they’re alive.’

Jessalyn reached out a hand to touch Giffard’s injured shoulder. He looked at her, frowning, but then his face relaxed some as a warm glow spread from Jessalyn’s fingers. ‘That’ll stop the bleeding,’ she said, ‘but it’s not enough to heal your arm completely. You need to go to the Temple of Unerra when we get back inside the walls.’

‘You can’t fix it now?’

‘I might be able to, but it gets harder every time I try so close together and I do have limits on how much magic I can throw around. We still don’t know what they were hiding. I want to save some for then.’

‘It doesn’t hurt as bad now, which is something. Sergeant Gerhard, how are they?’

‘Two dead, including the one the journeyman hit. Two unconscious and fairly badly wounded.’

Giffard nodded. He shifted his arm so that he could cradle it, wincing as he did so. ‘The leader’s dead from the looks of it.’ He turned to Jessalyn and gave her an awkward bow. ‘I believe you saved my life tonight, Journeyman Jessalyn. I thank you.’

‘I was just doing what I’m being paid to do,’ Jessalyn replied, happy to think her blush could not be seen in the glow from the fire. ‘Shall we see what the fuss was about?’

When the soldiers had lifted the top layer of crates away, what they found were four iron cages, each with a small, strange beast inside. The creatures looked for all the world like miniature dragons, complete with leathery wings. They all had silver scales and cold, blue orbs for eyes, and Jessalyn recognised them immediately even though she had never seen one before.

‘Don’t touch the cages!’ she ordered quickly. ‘Not without thick gloves anyway.’

‘Winter lizards,’ Giffard said. ‘You’ve seen them before?’

‘No, but I’ve read about them. They live in the mountains, in cold temperatures. It’s much too warm for them here, so I suspect that the cages have been enchanted to keep them cool. Even if the metal isn’t cold, when they’re annoyed, they can breathe ice and their skin is frigid to the touch. An angry winter lizard can freeze a man to death, and winter lizards are easily annoyed. What in Unerra’s name could these men want with them?’

‘There’s a trade in them to be tamed as pets. They sell for quite the price in Capitol, of all places.’

‘That’s worse than trying to keep a pet rabbuck! Are the people in Capitol all insane?’ If she were honest, the lizards were very pretty, even cute, if you ignored the potential for frostbite, the sharp claws, and the practically unstoppable bad temper.

‘I couldn’t possibly make comment,’ Giffard said, implicitly making a comment.

‘Nobles,’ Gerhard opined, ‘have some very strange ideas.’

‘Don’t let the duke hear you saying things like that.’

‘I’m surly, not stupid. What do we do with them?’

Giffard sighed. ‘We ship them to Ulriksport. Lord Kjell has some arrangement with the legitimate hunters up there to have the ones we find put back into the wild.’

‘Kjell’s a bit crazy for a noble. He’s got some strange ideas.’

‘Don’t let the duke hear you say that either, even if he agrees.’ Giffard let out another, longer sigh and flexed his right arm. ‘Thank you, Journeyman. I thought you said I’d need to wait to be fully healed.’

Jessalyn shrugged. ‘Looks like I can spare the power after all. These little guys don’t need to be shot full of electricity.’

‘And for that, me and my arm give thanks to all the gods. Let’s get this wrapped up so we can get out of here.’

‘That’s a plan I can get behind.’

2nd Kanniasur.

By lunchtime on the day after the raid, Jessalyn had noticed a change in her compatriots at the gate. Ever since she had found the cache of magic items in the peddler’s cart, they had been a little more friendly. Perhaps not friendly, but she had proven her competence and they were easier around her. Now that she had shed blood, and maybe because she had healed their lieutenant, it seemed like she was both one of the guys, figuratively, and someone to be respected.

She had killed two men using one spell for each. Maybe soldiers found that kind of thing impressive. Whatever, she found herself eating her lunch of some-sort-of meat – so called because no one was ever sure what sort of animal it came from, or even if it had come from an animal – and dry bread surrounded by men who appeared to have forgotten she was a woman.

‘Got tomorrow off,’ Tobias said with a look of reverie plastered over his face. ‘I am hitting The Painted Jugs until I run out of money.’ He was young and, as yet, unmarried. He had said at some point that being a guard was not the kind of life a woman would marry into. Jessalyn suspected that his personality was more of an issue. He had tried propositioning her three times in the first two days and had appeared to be quite reluctant to give up.

‘The Painted Jugs?’ Jessalyn asked, though she felt she might regret it.

‘It’s a whorehouse by the docks,’ Ralf replied. ‘The girls paint their–’

‘I think I get the reference.’

‘It’s clean. Mostly. And the girls are comely. There’s a redhead there with tits the size of my head.’

Jessalyn happened to know that Ralf was married, so his marriage oath probably prevented this from being current information. It was possible to break a marriage oath, if you had the will to do it, but she doubted that was the case with Ralf.

‘She left,’ Herman said, confirming Jessalyn’s suspicion. ‘Got married, if memory serves. Now, Muriel’s my favourite.’

‘Oh, Muriel…’ Tobias was in reverie again.

‘She gives head like she was born to it. She could suck the plaster off a wall.’

‘I’m not sure this is suitable conversation for my delicate ears,’ Jessalyn said. She grinned while doing so, but she was not entirely joking.

‘Why?’ Tobias asked her. It appeared to be an entirely genuine question. Then he looked at her chest and appeared to realise what her sweater was containing. ‘Oh! Uh, I hadn’t really thought. Sorry. Your tits are pretty good too.’

‘That was going so well until the last sentence,’ Jessalyn muttered.

‘Huh?’

‘Nothing. I’m glad you like them. You’re still not getting to see them.’

Tobias gave a shrug. ‘I’ll have to make do with Muriel’s.’ He sighed, staring off into space as though he could see Muriel’s painted breasts right now. ‘Can’t wait.’

5th Kanniasur.

Of course, she only had to put up with that kind of banter for two more days. She had got the guards on her side just before her contract ended. Hopefully they would remember if she ever came back to Vestinport.

She spent Ralliaday going to church and then relaxing as much as she could manage, either in taverns or her bed at the guild. She had not had a day off for two weeks since it was a short contract and they had not felt it was needed. Now, she took one, but she felt she had to get back to work the next day. She had accrued over an imperial and ten moons thanks to that job, but she would go through that soon enough, she supposed.

After breakfast on Kanniday, she went to the guild’s bookstore – which actually had more scrolls than books – and bought the enchantment instructional she had been wanting. Somewhat, it seemed, to the surprise of the mage in attendance.

‘But you’re only a probationary journeyman,’ the woman said.

‘I suppose I am,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Does that matter?’

‘You don’t need to be able to enchant things to become a journeyman. That’s for senior journeymen.’

‘Is there a reason why probationary journeymen can’t learn enchantment?’

‘Uh, well, no. It’s approved even for apprentices.’

‘Well, there we go. I like to be prepared, so I’ll get started on learning it now and that means I’ll be quite ready when I can become a senior journeyman.’

‘I suppose you will. That will be twenty-eight moons.’

~~~

With that, Jessalyn went back to her room to begin studying. The book was short and she could probably manage a first read-through by the time her stomach called her to dinner. She was rather enjoying some serious study by mid-afternoon, even if she had discovered that the main thing about enchanting things was tedium, when someone from the front desk came up to the dormitory to tell her that someone from the city guard was there to see her.

‘Lieutenant Giffard?’ Jessalyn said upon seeing her visitor. ‘Is there a problem? Shouldn’t you be on duty?’

‘I am,’ Giffard replied. ‘I should be on duty at the gate, but they told me to come and see you about some work.’

‘Oh.’ Jessalyn did not really want to spend more time at the gate. Plus, if another mage was wandering off for a couple of weeks, it would likely be on the evening or night shift. ‘What was it you wanted me to do?’

‘You remember the winter lizards we confiscated?’

‘Of course. I’d never actually seen one before and they are rather attractive creatures. If homicidal.’

‘Yeah, well, they need to be taken up to Ulriksport and someone heard you were on the raid, so I’ve been asked if you’d accept the job of escorting them.’

‘To Ulriksport?’ Jessalyn glanced at the job board and was fairly sure that Ansgar’s posting for Lord Kjell was still there. ‘What’s the pay? How would I get there?’

‘An imperial and sixteen moons. You get paid fifty-eight moons before you leave, and Lord Kjell will pay you the rest on delivery. A boat’s been arranged to take you up there, leaving at first light tomorrow. Food is taken care of on the trip. It takes twenty, maybe twenty-one, days to get there.’

The pay was pretty good. In fact… ‘That’s a lot of money for a delivery job.’

‘Well, if everything goes to plan, you’ll get plenty of coin for a simple delivery job. If the lizards get out or there’s some other kind of trouble, you’ll earn it.’

Jessalyn nodded. ‘Okay. I’ll sort things out here and be at the docks in the morning.’

‘I’ll let the higher-ups know. Thanks.’

When Giffard was gone, Jessalyn walked over to the board and pulled down Ansgar’s notice. Then she walked over to the desk. ‘I’m taking a job escorting winter lizards to Ulriksport,’ she said.

‘We get that,’ the receptionist said. ‘Have a nice trip. It’s actually reasonably warm up there this time of year.’

‘Thank you.’ Jessalyn slapped the job request form on the desk. ‘While I’m up there, I want to see if Lord Kjell will take me on for this.’

The receptionist picked up the form and glanced over it. ‘Oh, yeah, that one. Well, it doesn’t specify a rank and specifically says teaching experience isn’t required. If you think you’re up to it, go for it. We’ll consider the role filled until we get another request for a teacher from up there.’

‘Uh, thanks.’ That did not sound very encouraging at all.

8th Kanniasur.

Two days into the trip saw Jessalyn sprawled in the front of the boat in the sun, reading. There was not a whole lot else to do.

The boat was far smaller than the one she had travelled on before. It was no more than ten paces from bow to stern and a lot lighter. It had a single mast with fore and aft sails which worked well in the westerly wind, but it was still slower than the larger vessel had been. The crew of six were pleasant enough, even happy to have a mage aboard. However, Jessalyn was the only passenger and the sailors stayed away from her most of the time. Every few hours, she checked on the lizards and fed them dried meat by dropping it into their cages. They were surly, but since she was feeding them, they seemed to prefer not to aggravate her. She made sure the cooling enchantment on the cages was working and that they were covered by a thick, oiled cloth to keep the sun off, and that was her only task. The rest of the time, she read, ate, or slept.

The route was basically straight across Lake Vestin to the river on the opposite side. Then they would travel up the river to Lake Glass and wind their way through that to a second river which would get them to Lake Ul and Ulriksport. It was a regular thing. Two boats had contracts to carry messages and small amounts of cargo between city and town on a regular basis. This was why Jessalyn had been given the job on short notice; the next scheduled departure had been coming up when they had been arranging things.

‘Everything to your liking, mistress mage?’

Jessalyn looked up at the captain of the boat, Gottlob. He was over forty and his hair was greying and receding. He had a bulbous sort of nose which dominated his face and grey eyes perpetually narrowed from looking into both sun and wind. His lips were thin, but he smiled readily, and Jessalyn kind of liked him. ‘Everything is fine, Captain,’ she told him. ‘The lizards are quiet, the sun is warm, and my book is educational.’ Frankly, she sort of wished she could divest herself of some clothing, but it was an all-male crew and there was nothing under her sweater.

‘It’s a fine day for sailing. We’re making good headway. If this keeps up, and at this time of year that’s a fairly sure thing, we’ll be right on time into Ulriksport.’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘Only two days in and you’re saying that? It seems too early to call it.’

‘Maybe.’ The sailor nodded, accepting that she might be right. But then he said, ‘Something about this trip feels right. Unerra is watching and wants us on our way, that’s what I think.’

‘Who’s to say what the whims of a goddess might be?’

‘True. It’s just a feeling.’

‘Let’s hope your feeling is right.’

14th Kanniasur.

It was midsummer, give or take a day. That did not make a huge amount of difference to the temperature since Kanniasur was the warmest month from start to finish, but it was sort of symbolic.

Stephen, one of the crew, was fishing over the side of the boat. He had pulled two out already and was hoping for enough to make a meal of fresh fish in the evening. The fact that Jessalyn could cook whatever they caught without need for a fire had gone down very well with the sailors.

Jessalyn was up in the bow with a book, as was often the case, when a call went up from the stern. ‘Land ahead!’ Getting to her feet, she looked out to see that, sure enough, you could see the edge of the lake ahead of them. She could not see a river, which suggested they were a little off their course. That did not seem to worry Gottlob.

‘We’re a little to the east,’ he said after walking up beside her to look himself. ‘Fish faster, Stephen. We’ll be in the river in another hour or so.’

‘Fishing as fast as I can, Captain,’ the sailor replied.

‘Is the river easy to navigate?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘This one is, aye,’ Gottlob answered. ‘Above Lake Glass, it’s not too bad at first, but then it narrows and the water gets shallow in places. Up around Lake Ul, there’s marsh to either side. That’s why we use boats like this one for this trip. You can get a bigger one through, but you have to pole it through some of the shallower sections.’

‘Well then, let’s hope that Unerra stays with us and we don’t run aground.’

‘Your lips to her ears.’

24th Kanniasur.

Ten days later, they had passed through Lake Glass and up the river to the section Gottlob had described as surrounded by marshes. And you could tell that the land to either side of the river was marshy. Rushes were the predominant plant along with hardy-looking short grasses. Occasionally, you spotted a flash of sunlight off water where the ground was sufficiently sodden for there to be standing water. It was summer, so there were insects buzzing about all over the place, though few of them seemed to venture out over the river itself. It was hot and humid, and Jessalyn checked the lizards more frequently in case they were overheating. They did not seem to find her greater attention particularly to their liking.

‘Three more days,’ Gottlob said. ‘Less than three now. We may have to stand offshore and wait for dawn, but we’ll be there soon enough. Can’t say I’ll be sorry to see those little monsters off my boat.’

‘Oh, they’re adorable,’ Jessalyn replied, ‘for bad-tempered killing machines.’ There was a scraping sound from below as the keel found a particularly shallow section of river. ‘Is that going to be happening a lot from now on?’

‘Gets worse as we go further up. The channel changes sometimes, which makes it hard to know exactly where we should steer. Night’s the worst part. It’s hard to see the signs.’

Jessalyn bit at her lip and considered. ‘I’m going to get some sleep this afternoon, if I can. Maybe I can help with the visibility.’

‘Anything you can do is useful…’

~~~

And so, when night fell, Jessalyn was at the front of the boat with Gottlob, watching the water ahead of them for signs that the river’s passage had shifted. More precisely, Jessalyn was concentrating on keeping a light spell about ten paces in front of the bow. She had cast a Lingering Light spell on the bow itself to give close visibility, but the more distant spell gave early warning.

‘You’ve my thanks for this,’ Gottlob said. ‘We’re normally working by torchlight.’

‘I can manage this for two nights,’ Jessalyn replied.

Gottlob did not reply immediately, instead raising his voice and calling back to the steersman. ‘Steer right!’ He turned back to see how his instruction was working and nodded. ‘Probably just two nights. We should be out onto the lake by the third.’

‘I won’t complain if that’s how it goes. Anyway, this is making it faster and safer for me to get to my destination. I’m being a little selfish as well as altruistic.’

The captain was not convinced. ‘You have to concentrate to keep that light moving with the boat, right? That’s got to be tiring.’

‘I don’t have to concentrate that hard… But I will probably be useless for anything by morning.’

‘As I said, you’ve my thanks for this. Take them.’

‘Fair enough. I will.’

26th Kanniasur.

Jessalyn awoke to find that the sun was setting, but they were in open water. She lifted her head and looked out to the north over Lake Ul. The Dragonwall Mountains were visible to the northeast, so named because they acted as something of a barrier to dragons flying south and east from Dragon Island. She thought she could make out trees on the western shore, the edge of the most northern part of the Greenshadow Forest. She was actually further from Greenwall here than she had been in Vestinport, but seeing the forest made her feel closer. If she was staying in Ulriksport, she would write a letter home.

Gottlob came up beside her as she got up to check the lizards. ‘Told you we’d be clear before nightfall.’

‘You did. We are. I’m happy I won’t need to strain my brain again tonight.’ Jessalyn dropped some food in for each of the lizards and then covered them over again to the accompaniment of hisses from the creatures. ‘I think they’re just going through the motions of being surly. Maybe they can smell the mountains.’

‘Be a while before they get there. Someone’ll take them across the lake from here, but the river’s not passable as it comes down from the mountains. They’ll have to be taken on foot.’

‘As long as it’s not me, I’m good with that.’

‘I bet. What’ll you do once you’ve delivered them? I go back in three or four days.’

‘That will depend upon the lord. He’s posted a job teaching some of his people to read and write over the winter. If I’m suitable, I’ll stick around here until then. I’m sure I can find a few jobs to keep me busy until the teaching starts.’

‘Maybe. Overwintering in Ulriksport isn’t for the weak, though. Winters hit hard here.’

‘It can’t be too much worse than Greenwall.’

‘You tell me that in the spring.’

Ulriksport, 27th Kanniasur.

The harbourmaster was either waiting for Jessalyn to arrive at the docks or he got deliveries of winter lizards for repatriation often enough that it was no surprise. They docked around a quarter hour after dawn and Jessalyn had been handing the lizards over ten minutes later.

She was told that her pay would be handed over at the castle, so she said goodbye to Gottlob and his crew and set off through Ulriksport to find the lord’s residence.

It did not take a great deal of effort and she saw next to nothing of the town before reaching the main castle gate. The castle was right beside the docks, like in Vestinport, but there was no private landing area here. The area beside the castle was a mixture of stone and wooden buildings which, to Jessalyn anyway, seemed to be warehouses with dwellings mixed in.

The guard on the gate was yawning when Jessalyn walked up to him carrying her pack looped over her staff on her shoulder and wearing her grey cloak. He stopped yawning long enough to peer at her suspiciously. ‘What business have you at the castle of Lord Kjell of Ulriksport?’ He looked to be in his late thirties, a timeworn veteran of many a night in the tavern after a long shift at the gate. If Ulriksport kept the same sort of schedule as Vestinport, he was approaching the end of his shift and probably about ready for bed.

‘I just dropped off a collection of winter lizards at the docks,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’m supposed to pick up my pay here. And then I’m hoping to see Lord Kjell about a teaching job he posted in Vestinport.’ She focused on her ring and let the guild crest spring up above it. ‘Journeyman Jessalyn, requesting to be recompensed for work done.’

‘Oh. Right. Hang on.’ He turned his head and yelled. ‘Apprentice Axel, front and centre.’

There was the sound of running feet and a boy of about fourteen came rushing out of the door in the side of the gate tunnel. Blonde and kind of cute, he had dark rings under his eyes, but he came to a grinding halt and saluted his superior as enthusiastically as any apprentice Jessalyn had ever seen. ‘Sir!’

‘This lady mage needs to see Seneschal Bjoern. Take her in and find him. He should be out of bed by now.’

Jessalyn got the impression that there was not a great deal of noble etiquette going on in this place. Whatever, Axel gave Jessalyn a bit of a bow and led the way to the castle’s front door. The building ran to three storeys plus a taller tower at the back which likely gave someone a good view out over the wall. It was clearly a castle built for defence where Greenwall’s was more of a place to live with some thought to making it hard to attack. Then again, maybe this far north you needed thicker walls to keep the cold out in winter.

The door was not a large one, not especially grand, but it looked like it would hold up to some punishment. Maybe the castle was defensive in nature. Beyond it was a functional entrance hall with a high ceiling, equally thick doors in the walls, and, if Jessalyn were not mistaken, arrow loops looking down from the second storey.

Axel turned to a guard stationed beside the door. ‘Where might I find Seneschal Bjoern, sir?’

The guard, younger than the one outside but not young, scratched his beard. ‘Likely in the kitchen. He’ll be having breakfast before Kjell gets up.’

‘Thank you, sir.’ And Axel set off toward the door on the left. The guard had not asked why or who Jessalyn was, and he referred to his lord by name. No, this place did not run on the etiquette Jessalyn had been taught.

She was taken through the door and along a corridor to a less substantial door which opened into a busy kitchen. Pots were boiling, there was the smell of bacon and sausage cooking, and women of various ages were rushing about. Over in one corner there was a small table at which one man and one woman were sitting. The man was eating a breakfast of porridge with some bacon on the side. The woman was drinking tea. The scene did not quite manage to look matrimonial and there was a definite air of a working breakfast, so Jessalyn was expecting the interruption to be unwelcome.

Whatever was going to happen, Axel had his orders. He marched up to the table, saluted, waited for the man and woman to look at him, and said, ‘Seneschal Bjoern, this mage is here to see you.’

‘What does she want?’ Bjoern replied. He looked to be over fifty. His hair was greying and kept very short, but there was no sign of it receding. He wore a carefully trimmed beard around a mouth with thin lips. His nose gave him a hawklike impression which sharp, grey eyes did nothing to dispel. Jessalyn guessed he was shorter than she was, but his slim body made him look taller somehow. His voice held a lot of authority and, as expected, more than a hint of irritation.

‘Uh, I don’t know,’ Axel said.

‘So, you’re interrupting my meeting with Birgit without even–’

‘Don’t be an arse, Bjoern,’ the woman, Birgit one assumed, said. ‘Be on your way, Axel. The lady can tell us herself why she’s here. Sit yourself down, girl, I’ll pour you some tea.’

Axel scurried away as fast as his legs would carry him, much to Jessalyn’s amusement. Jessalyn bowed her head to the couple and circled the table to get to the third seat. ‘My name,’ she said as she did so, ‘is Journeyman Jessalyn. I’ve just arrived from Vestinport with four winter lizards.’

‘Oh,’ Bjoern said, ‘so it’s money you want.’

‘Bjoern,’ Birgit said in a warning tone. She was the kind of woman you would expect to be a cook. Not tall, but fairly plump. Jessalyn got the impression that her arms had a lot more muscle to them than fat, but she had a large bust sitting over a wide waist and quite short legs. Her face was round and moderately pretty. She was chasing Bjoern’s fifty-or-so but doing it with more decorum. Her auburn hair was covered by a flower-patterned scarf, but there seemed to be no grey in it. Her blue eyes sparkled, and her mouth suggested that she found Bjoern’s behaviour amusing even as she warned him to tone it down. ‘He’s useless for meeting people before his third cup of tea.’

‘Be that as it may,’ Jessalyn said, ‘he’s right. However, I’d also like to speak to someone about this teaching job Lord Kjell posted in Vestinport. I believe I can handle it, so I’d like to see if I’m suitable.’

Bjoern’s attitude changed as though someone had clubbed him over the head with a happy stick. ‘You want to take the teaching job? Why didn’t you say so?’

‘She just did,’ Birgit commented, and was ignored.

‘Have you had breakfast yet? Kjell will want to meet you personally. He can pay you for the delivery himself. That way I don’t have to go through the hassle of getting money out of the treasury. Two birds with one stone.’

‘I haven’t had breakfast yet, no.’ Just in case someone was going to drag her away before she got her tea, Jessalyn picked up the cup Birgit had pushed in front of her and drank some. It was actually a lot better than she had expected, if a little over-stewed. ‘You seem very happy to get someone asking about the work.’

‘Kjell’s been trying to find someone who can stick the job all winter for three years,’ Birgit said. ‘He’s constantly nagging Bjoern to take it on. Bjoern says he’s too busy, which I can’t say is actually wrong.’

‘You didn’t need to tell the lady mage that, Birgit,’ Bjoern said through gritted teeth.

‘She’s going to hear all the things that might put her off from Kjell anyway. You listen to him and see what you think yourself, Lady Jessalyn.’

Jessalyn grimaced. ‘I’m just Jessalyn. Journeyman Jessalyn if you must. On the day I become a noble, the sun will freeze in the sky.’

‘Whatever,’ Bjoern said, ‘I’ll finish here and let Kjell know he has a guest for breakfast.’

‘What? I don’t need to see him that urgently.’

‘If he finds out you’re here and haven’t been invited to breakfast, he’ll be annoyed.’

‘Oh, well, I guess… Uh, is there somewhere I can change clothes and wash up? I’ve been on a boat for over three weeks in the same outfit.’

‘I’ll have you shown to one of the guest rooms,’ Birgit said. ‘I’d do it myself, but if I don’t watch this lot, they’ll burn the water.’

Jessalyn had not noticed Birgit paying any attention to the others in the kitchen, but she had the feeling that the woman – the head cook? – knew everything that was happening there. ‘Okay,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Then I guess I can have breakfast with the lord.’

~~~

Lord Kjell was a moderately tall man, maybe a keray or two taller than Jessalyn, with a handsome sort of face containing dark-brown eyes to go with dark-brown hair. His hair was past shoulder length and kept out of his face by means of a leather thong which he used to secure a ponytail. He did not look like the kind of man who regularly practised any form of martial art, but he appeared fit and there was some muscle on his frame. Upon seeing Jessalyn arrive in the dining chamber in her dress, his relatively full lips shifted into a smile and he bounded forward to greet her.

‘Journeyman Jessalyn,’ he said, his voice full of good humour, ‘I’m so glad you could join us.’ There was, in fact, more enthusiasm there than Jessalyn was entirely prepared to deal with.

‘Calmly, dear,’ said a woman coming up behind him with a child in tow. ‘You’ll scare the journeyman off before you’ve had a chance to talk her into anything.’

Kjell grimaced. ‘Yes, of course, apologies, journeyman. I’m not going to let that happen again. Introductions. I am Lord Kjell of Ulriksport. This is my beautiful wife, Valorie, and the pride of my life, Tonje, our daughter.’

‘Daddy…’ Tonje whined, though she was grinning and blushing.

‘Ah, yes. Tonje is six now and believes that such flattery is beneath her.’ Reaching down, Kjell scooped his daughter into his arms, causing deeper blushing. ‘But she still likes it.’

‘What woman wouldn’t?’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I am Jessalyn, a probationary journeyman mage, originally from Greenwall.’

‘Ah, Vergil’s town. Have you met him?’

‘Once or twice. He’s not a bad lord to grow up under.’

‘Hm. That sums up my opinion of him quite well. Shall we eat?’

Jessalyn ate. There was porridge, bacon, sausage, and earth fruit, sliced and fried, which was a method of cooking Jessalyn had not met before but quite liked. She also conversed with and watched her hosts, trying to work out what kind of lord this was. He had been described as ‘progressive,’ and he did seem to have plans which most of the nobility would never even have thought of. He wanted to see his people having more say in what happened on his estates and believed that this might bring greater prosperity, if he could persuade them of that and educate them enough.

Entirely political, Kjell was not. Valorie interjected periodically to calm her husband’s enthusiasm, frequently injecting a note of reality into the conversation. She was quite beautiful: a blonde with blue eyes, she wore her hair in one straight stream down her back to the base of her spine. Her gown was not new, but it was meticulously clean, showed no signs of hasty repairs, and was probably last year’s fashion in Vestinport, not that Jessalyn was a great judge. It showed off a fairly large amount of cleavage and would have caused quite a stir in Greenwall.

A doting father, Kjell was. Tonje took after her mother in most ways. She was cute as a button and Jessalyn could certainly commiserate with wanting to be taken more seriously: she had suffered from being cute through into her teens. The girl seemed inordinately interested in Jessalyn, which eventually resulted in…

‘You’re a mage, like Ansgar?’ Tonje asked in a gap between her father’s plans to reform the local political system.

‘I am,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘You know Journeyman Ansgar?’

‘Yes. He used to come to the castle a lot. I liked him. Then he had to go away.’

‘You know Ansgar?’ Valorie asked.

‘I met him on the boat I took from Lakwilham to Vestinport,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Then he showed me a little of Vestinport before he had to head east.’ She gave Tonje a little smile. ‘I liked him, but then he had to go away. It was Ansgar who suggested that I might like to take your teaching position, Lord Kjell, though I admit that I’m not sure I’m entirely suited to it.’

‘If Ansgar thought you might be suitable,’ Kjell replied, ‘then it was based upon knowledge of the circumstances and should be taken into consideration. He’s a good man.’

‘A little flirtatious, perhaps,’ Valorie said.

Jessalyn smiled. ‘I found him just flirtatious enough, but then, I’m not married.’

‘What’s flirtatious?’ Tonje asked.

‘Something for when you’re older, dear,’ Valorie replied without skipping a beat. ‘He was an asset to the town, especially after his master died. However, he had to leave to be able to raise his guild rank, and now we’re left with Hanne.’

‘Hanne?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘A witch,’ Kjell replied. ‘She does well by the townsfolk, but she’s… somewhat hidebound in her thinking.’

‘Doesn’t like your reforms?’

‘Hanne believes that ignorance is bliss,’ Valorie said, ‘so long as the ignorance is other people’s and she’s in on the secret. If she can read and write, why should anyone else have to? If we succeed and our farmers are able to raise stronger crops, that means she gets less coin from blessings. Of course, that attitude is the same as our Unerran priestess’s.’

‘At least Eleonore agrees with the general idea of teaching people to read,’ Kjell said. ‘She hasn’t spread rumours that learning to read will corrupt the children.’

‘I can read, Daddy,’ Tonje said. ‘Am I corrupted?’

‘No, Tonje, you’re sweet and innocent.’

Tonje grinned. ‘Good. I wouldn’t want to be corrupted.’

‘No,’ Valorie agreed, ‘you should save that for when you’re married.’

‘Does that mean you’re corrupted, Mommy?’

‘Oh yes. Your father saw to that on our wedding night, dear.’ Kjell made strangling noises. ‘I was an innocent baronet’s daughter until I moved to Ulriksport. However, I wouldn’t change it for the world.’

Jessalyn got the distinct impression that Valorie had never been innocent. She certainly seemed to enjoy teasing her husband.

‘Anyway,’ Kjell said, trying to get the conversation away from his marriage, ‘that’s the situation you’ll find yourself working in. I feel it only right that you know before going in. Your students will not be entirely cooperative. However, it’s solid work for the winter and the pay is–’

‘The pay is an issue,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I could get more doing more usual journeyman work.’

‘Hm,’ Kjell said. He was attempting to look thoughtful, as though considering the matter, even though he already had a plan to get around that one. ‘If you were willing to do magical odd jobs around the town and castle, I could pay you the usual rate for a journeyman. It means less free time, obviously. You will be staying in the castle, so your food is covered and you’ll have a roof over your head without cost.’

Jessalyn favoured him with a smile. ‘That would obviously be quite acceptable. That leaves only the issue of my qualifications. I’ve never taught before.’

‘That should not be an issue. I want someone to guide the students more than teach them.’

‘Hm. You’re determined to see this happen, aren’t you?’

‘I am.’

‘Well, if I’ll be eating like this over winter, and getting paid an acceptable rate, I don’t see any reason not to take the job.’

Kjell smiled broadly. Tonje clapped her hands in glee. Valorie was more subtle about it, but it was clear enough that she was happy that her husband’s project would be proceeding. ‘You won’t regret it,’ Kjell said.

Jessalyn considered that a sign that she possibly would, but she had already agreed to do the work. There was no backing out now.

Part Five: Teacher

Ulriksport, 1st Drostaun 1464.

You could tell it was winter. In Greenwall, the first day of the year tended to be chilly but little different from the last day of the year otherwise. In Ulriksport there was snow on the ground. Not much of it, but enough that the season seemed more obvious. The older residents were taking this as a bad sign suggesting a bad winter, and the less old were calling the older ones paranoid.

Everywhere in the world, the next two days were a holiday. According to Zachary, in the south where the winters tended to be milder, they really were a holiday. There was some religious observance for form’s sake, but not nearly as much as in the north. Jessalyn was on her way to the town’s one church to offer a prayer to Unerra. Tonight, there would be a grand bonfire festival dedicated to Drosta, the god of winter. It was really an appeasement ceremony; everyone got together, many got drunk, and everyone prayed that the winter would not be too bad. If the snow was anything to go by, Drosta had already decided it would be fairly bad, but maybe they could persuade him to ease back a little.

Greenwall had taken the winter festival pretty seriously. Here in Ulriksport, it seemed to be more serious than that. Then again, having spent half the summer and all of autumn there, Jessalyn had concluded that the culture in Ulriksport had some significant differences to that in her hometown. She had been trying for the last few weeks to work out how that was going to affect her teaching job, which would be starting next week, and had finally decided that she was not going to know until she had students in front of her.

Ulriksport’s church was dedicated to Unerra. As far as Jessalyn knew, there was not even a shrine to Rallia there, not even in the castle. Ulriksport was out of the way, not somewhere imperial society visited on a regular basis. Kjell had mentioned that the duke responsible for the area had not visited the town in its entire eighteen-hundred-year history. So, the locals had been left to worship the goddess they wanted to and had been doing so since before the Empire. It was still a fairly simple building of stone, not much larger or smaller than the Greenwall church. It was situated in the Marshwallow district, more or less in the geographical centre of the town, if not the social one. It had a priestess and a few lesser-ranking clergy, but it had a larger ley membership than Greenwall had.

And its priestess was not nearly as attractive as Sofia. Eleonore was heading for her fiftieth birthday, and greying hair and a fair number of wrinkles demonstrated that clearly. Her green eyes were still clear, and she had a firm, authoritative voice when performing ceremonies. She was not pretty, especially her nose which made her look like a hunting bird, but she was not ugly and she had charisma. The people liked her and she, for reasons Jessalyn could not quite fathom, appeared to like Jessalyn.

‘Come to offer a prayer to Unerra?’ Eleonore asked as Jessalyn entered the small chapel beyond the entrance hall.

The room was fairly crowded. There were benches at the back, but the ones at the front had been removed for the festival. The reason for this was obvious when you saw the people kneeling in prayer. Some were even prostrating themselves. Almost all of them were likely lay members of the church, seriously trying to send their wishes to the goddess. The ritual was actually a spell. They would be at it for at least an hour. And all it did was guarantee that the supplicants’ thoughts reached their deity, not that he or she would pay any attention at all.

‘Not like they’re doing,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’m not one to bother Unerra with my troubles.’

‘I’m sure she appreciates that.’

‘Hopefully, if I ever do need her, she’ll remember.’

‘Unerra is a mystery. Who knows what she thinks when called upon to act?’

‘If you don’t know, I’m sure I don’t.’ Jessalyn passed on to take a seat on one of the benches. Bowing her head, she offered up a short prayer to the goddess and contemplated the past year that she might count Unerra’s blessings.

Since arriving in Ulriksport, she had been doing moderately well. She was not rich, but she had more money than she had ever seen in her entire life, almost ten imperials. She had spent several weeks blessing crops outside the town in places where Eleonore and Hanne rarely got to. Then she had returned to Ulriksport and set to more intensive enchantment training via the expedient of making simple magic items which anyone could use and selling them to the townsfolk. Magic items were so rare in Ulriksport that the richer residents snapped them up at an inflated price, just to say that they had a real magic item. She had performed other odd jobs at the castle and various richer households and, according to many of those employing her, she had a better attitude than Hanne, which got her more work. It had been a lucrative four months.

Now all she had to do was survive winter in Ulriksport and teaching some of its residents to read. She had a bad feeling that surviving freezing temperatures, thick snow, and howling winds was going to be easy compared to the teaching.

~~~

Ulriksport was a small town, even compared to Greenwall. In winter, there were around twenty-six hundred people living there. That thinned in spring when the foresters and hunters who called the place home left for their camps along the edge of the Greenshadow Forest, returning at the end of autumn. This characteristic of the population had resulted in a couple of the peculiarities of Ulriksport culture, as well as contributing to another.

In the southeast corner of the town was Forest District, which was where the foresters and hunters lived when in town. They did not, however, have homes there. Come spring, the male residents of the district shipped out to the camps, leaving the area to be dominated by women. Since those women were generally associated with woodsmen, they had turned to carpentry and bow making. Most of the skilled woodworkers in Ulriksport were women.

Most of those skilled workers were also unmarried, as were the foresters and hunters. Jessalyn found the situation odd, but also quite practical. When the woodsmen returned in autumn, they would find themselves a woman to spend the winter with. Sometimes, that would be the same one they had overwintered with for years, but others found themselves a new partner each year and some of the women preferred that arrangement too. The men helped the women with winter tasks and shared whatever they had earned over the past nine months. The men got a roof over their head, female companionship they had been lacking for months, and hopefully some good cooking. This flexible living system had not spread to other areas of the town, but it had had an influence on the general attitude of the residents: Ulriksport had a more permissive culture than Greenwall.

Jessalyn had found the largely female populace rather pleasing and so had found herself somewhere to stay in Forest District when she had returned to the town in autumn. She had been sharing a bed with a pretty carpenter named Amalia for three months, which had worked out well enough for both of them since Jessalyn could buy bundles of wands from Amalia to use in her enchantments. However, today was the day that Jessalyn was moving out and up to the castle. Kjell had been subtly badgering her to do so since she had arrived in town, but Jessalyn had said that she would do so when her teaching job was due to start. That was not, technically, right now, but Amalia’s partner of five years, Fritjof, had come back to town and the bed was getting cramped. Not to mention the fact that Fritjof was a little handsy and getting more insistent by the night.

As for the rest of the town… North of Forest District was Marshwallow, the largest residential area. It got its name from the occupation of most of its residents, which was making whatever living they could in the marshes beyond the east wall. They cut peat, hunted and fished, ‘farmed’ some of the native grasses, and did anything else they could think of. They were far from being rich. West of Forest District was the Craftsman’s Quarter, home to blacksmiths, silversmiths and one goldsmith, the male carpenters, and whatever else fitted the idea of a craftsman. Then there was the Visitors’ District, full of inns, taverns, and boarding houses. Visitors to the town generally stayed there, which was why Jessalyn had chosen not to. North of that was the Merchants’ District where the richer residents lived and had shops, unless they were in shipping, in which case they lived in Lake District, between Marshwallow and the docks against the east wall. And the lower-status sailors lived among the warehouses in Docklands, also between the docks and Marshwallow. Only visitors thought that Docklands referred to the docks.

Jessalyn had been to most of the town’s districts over the last four months for one reason or another, and thought she knew the town reasonably well. She had not intended to make a home for herself here, and still did not intend to do so, but it was a sort of home for now. She had got to know Kjell, Valorie, Tonje, and many of their staff fairly well, so moving into the castle was not going to be an onerous task. Despite technically having the same social rank as Kjell, she still thought of herself as a commoner and preferred living among the common people.

The castle was preparing for the evening’s festival, so the gate guard could have been forgiven for not paying much attention to Jessalyn, staff and pack over her shoulder, walking in. In reality, she was well known to them and they had not stopped her to ask her business in months. Right now, they were paying more attention to the locals filing through the gate carrying foodstuffs, barrels of booze, and wood for the bonfires. The courtyard was being converted into a festival site; it was one of the few large areas able to accommodate a lot of people. Even so, there were other bonfire sites around the town, with a particularly big one outside the castle wall on the docks.

Inside the castle, Jessalyn headed for the kitchen where Birgit was supervising the production of a lot of food. Not everyone got to spend the festival relaxing. ‘Morning, Jessalyn,’ the cook said on seeing her. ‘You’ll be moving in today?’

‘I will. Usual room?’

‘The same. It’s been made ready. Get yourself settled and then go see Kjell. Bjoern should be with him. They’re finalising the winter preparations.’

‘Fine. I’ll go find them. When’s lunch?’

‘You tell me, dear. If people didn’t remind me, I wouldn’t know what day it is with the amount of work we’ve been doing.’

~~~

Jessalyn knocked on the door to Kjell’s study, heard a somewhat muffled command to enter, and went in. Sure enough, Kjell was in conference with his seneschal. They were both sitting at a table which Kjell used for all of his meetings, a small round one which had some quite intricate inlay decorating the dark wood with light.

‘Jessalyn!’ Kjell exulted. ‘Finally joining us?’

‘I am, Lord Kjell. Journeyman Jessalyn, reporting for duty. I hope I find you both well?’ It was unlikely that they had come down with anything since she had seen them two days ago, but you never knew.

‘Aside from premature baldness due to excessive hair-pulling, I’m fine.’

‘And I am just as you find me,’ Bjoern said. ‘I hope you enjoyed your sojourn in the Forest District?’

‘Until all the men came back,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Being surrounded by sex-starved woodsmen isn’t quite as much fun as one might think.’

‘I don’t believe I’d consider that fun in any way.’

‘Perhaps not. Anyway, I’m here and ready to be put to work.’

‘In which case,’ Kjell said, ‘I believe your first official action as the castle’s mage will be to light the first bonfire tonight.’

‘As long as you don’t expect me to do it with a fireball or something, that should be fine.’

‘I was thinking of something more along the usual forms of magical ignition. You can’t cast a fireball?’

‘I have offensive magic available, it’s a requirement of becoming a journeyman, but I chose to go with lightning.’

‘Uh, will you be wearing that dress to the festival?’

Jessalyn looked down at her gown. She had bought a new one in town and she rather liked it. It was straight, long-sleeved, and black with a red panel down the front decorated with silver embroidery. It was floor length and had nought but a small V at the throat, so it covered her almost entirely. There was also a sort of shawl about her shoulders held with a silver chain, a broad girdle around her waist and a long red belt on her hips. It was, most importantly for this season in this place, warm. ‘I was thinking I would. Is that a problem?’

‘No. No, it’s not. No. I just liked the other one.’

Jessalyn gave him a frown which was not especially serious. ‘Does your wife know you like looking at other women’s legs?’

‘Yes. Yes, she does. So long as I keep telling her I prefer hers anyway. Have you let her and Tonje know you’re here?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Then that should be your next task, though I admit I’d prefer to keep you here and provide a longer break from this.’ Kjell waved a hand at the paperwork on the table.

‘It’s necessary, lord,’ Bjoern said.

‘I know. I do know that, yes. I just wish it wasn’t.’

‘As do we all.’

Jessalyn secretly thought that Bjoern liked paperwork, but she was not going to say it. ‘I’ll go find Lady Valorie then,’ she said.

‘She’s probably in the library,’ Kjell supplied. ‘I believe Tonje is supposed to be practising playing her harp.’

‘I’ll try there first then.’

~~~

It was apparent that Jessalyn had found the mother and daughter before she opened the door of the library. The sound of harp strings being plucked could be heard. They were a little timid, as though the harpist was having to concentrate very hard and was not sure of what they were doing.

Smiling, Jessalyn eased the door open, stepped through, and closed it as quietly as she could. She had been a frequent visitor to the library over the past couple of months and knew it well, from the books on agriculture, to the ones on novel woodworking techniques, to the treatises on governing people under the imperial system, to the shelves containing the slightly racy romance novels that Valorie liked so much. Three generations of lords had collected most of them, except for the last category which had been gathered by four generations of ladies.

The room took up two floors with stairs leading between the levels. Every wall was lined with shelves. Kjell’s family had been progressive in one way or another for quite a while and this was one of the expressions of that. On the lower level, the floor was open and had a couple of reading desks, but the chairs from those were currently moved out into the middle and occupied by two harpists. Valorie sat with a full-sized harp in front of her watching Tonje pick out a tune on a smaller instrument balanced on a footstool. Jessalyn had no idea what the tune was, but she was not a great connoisseur of music by any means.

Tonje plucked her way to the end of whatever it was, let out a breath of air, and relaxed. Then she bolted upright, almost dropping her harp, when she heard clapping. Her eyes brightened as she spotted Jessalyn walking toward them. ‘Jessalyn! You’ve come!’ Quite why the girl seemed to like Jessalyn so much, the mage had no idea, but like her she did.

‘Welcome,’ Valorie added. ‘You’re here to stay this time?’

‘Until spring anyway,’ Jessalyn qualified. ‘I do believe Tonje is improving. She’ll be as good as her mother in no time.’

‘I expect her to surpass me.’

The praise was making Tonje blush. ‘I’m not that good.’

‘Really?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Well, maybe. I’m not as good as Mommy though.’

‘She’s been doing it longer. Everyone takes time to get good at something.’

‘Even mages?’

‘Especially mages. I don’t think anyone has enough time to learn all there is about magic.’

‘I bet you will. I bet you’ll be the greatest mage ever. Except maybe for Ansgar.’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘Well, I suppose you never know.’

~~~

Tonje clapped gleefully as the flames became visible on the main bonfire in front of the castle. Men with torches rushed forward to light them and transfer the flames to the other piles of wood in town, and Jessalyn relaxed her will, letting the spell which had produced those flames fade. It had not been flashy, but it had done the job.

‘Well done,’ Kjell said from just behind her right shoulder.

‘That’s not exactly a feat of major magic,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I could’ve done that when I was twelve. I used to use magic to light the hearth at home before I was trained at all.’ She looked at the raging flames which were now lighting up the night. ‘Not that I could’ve lit that with the spell I used back then.’

‘This is important. The First Night bonfires are important. They remind Unerra that light is needed in the world and that we remember when there was none. And they remind Drosta that we don’t like it too cold. Around here, that’s particularly important.’

‘I suppose it is.’

‘That was amazing!’ Tonje exclaimed.

Jessalyn turned to look at the girl, currently resting in her mother’s arms. ‘I’m glad you liked it, Tonje.’ Something caught Jessalyn’s eye and she looked down at her own shadow. Briefly, it seemed darker than Kjell’s, but then it was not and Valorie was speaking.

‘I find such simple uses of magic more… real than the flashier spells. Is this not what magic is for? To make life easier in as many small ways as possible. Those wands you’ve been selling over the autumn, they give common people the ability to cast simple spells to make their lives easier. The best use of magic, I think.’

‘Yes,’ Jessalyn agreed, ‘but I like the bigger spells too.’ She lifted her hand to the sky and sparks began to flicker around her fingers before a bolt of lightning shot upwards. Tonje’s eyes were wide and her mouth formed an ‘oh’ of pleased surprise. ‘Not that I know many really flashy spells.’

‘That was great!’ Tonje squeaked.

‘Well, Unerra is the Goddess of Magic too, so hopefully she found it pleasing.’ On a still night, the air crisp and cold without the fire to warm you, a wind sprang up, blowing Jessalyn’s ponytail out to her right for a moment. Then it died away and the air was still once again.

‘I’m going to take that as a sign that she did,’ Kjell said.

‘Because you’d rather not believe it otherwise?’

‘Precisely.’

2nd Drostaun.

The objective of the winter festival was to see the first night of the year through until dawn. Obviously, younger children were put to bed perhaps a little later than usual, but not too much. The adults theoretically tried to stay awake and many of them did. Equally, a substantial number fell by the wayside, generally due to celebrating far too much. By the time those awake were thinking that there was only one or two hours to go, people could be found all through Ulriksport asleep on tavern tables with a half-drunk mug of ale beside their heads.

Jessalyn had been down to Forest District after midnight. There she had found Fritjof well into his cups and Amalia suggesting that Jessalyn might like to go to bed with her since she was clearly getting nothing from her partner that night. Jessalyn had declined, though only because she had other places to wander to.

She ran into Hanne on the way to the Unerran church. The witch looked like someone had given her a lemon to suck. Then again, she appeared to have a sour taste in her mouth whenever she saw Jessalyn, so nothing new there. She was in her mid-forties, as far as Jessalyn knew, and seemed to be doing well enough for her age. Word was that she had been something of a beauty when she was younger, and there was still a general comeliness about her. She had long hair, generally tied into a bun though loose tonight, which was very dark, and equally dark eyes set in a pretty face. Or it would have been pretty if she could manage a smile. Her personality was shrewish, bitter, and that tended to detract a lot from her looks. Age had narrowed her face, worsening the effects of a life spent scowling. She was also a bit flat-chested and, from the looks she gave Jessalyn’s bust, jealous of those with more generous proportions.

‘Good evening, Hanne,’ Jessalyn said, going for cheerful even if she did not feel it.

‘Enjoy your moment in the spotlight?’ Hanne asked without returning the greeting.

‘Hm?’

‘I usually light the first fire.’

‘Of course you do.’ Fire was not in the repertoire of Unerran priestesses, so without a Rallian priest to do the job, it would have likely fallen upon Hanne’s shoulders. ‘I don’t really think of it as a big thing. And I am on retainer to Lord Kjell as of today.’

‘Retainer, huh? That the kind of word nobles use for a wage?’

‘Not exactly. It means he’s paying me to be available for whatever he needs through the winter.’

Hanne’s grin was leering. ‘I’m sure he is. Yes, I’m quite sure he is.’ She turned and walked off without letting Jessalyn reply, which was both a good and a bad thing.

Sooner or later, Jessalyn decided, she was going to have to find a way to take the witch down a peg. For now, she would ignore the bitter bitch and offer up a prayer that the poor girl apprenticed to her was not going to end up as grouchy as her teacher.

~~~

In the west, the sky brightened as Anorat set the newly ignited sun in motion for another day. It was technically the end of the festival, but there were likely to be a few people who would continue drinking until mid-morning. The bonfires which had been kept burning all night would be allowed to die, however, and the saner residents of the town would seek out their beds.

Jessalyn had made it back to the castle and was watching the bonfire when the sky grew light. In fact, she was staring at the flames and trying to get up the energy to find her own bed. If she had had her blanket with her, she might have curled up right there on the cobbles. The sky was clear, and even if it had decided to rain, she had the ring Zachary had given her.

‘Another new year brought in.’

Jessalyn turned to see Valorie behind her. ‘Indeed. I hope you enjoyed yourself.’

The lady shrugged. ‘There’s always a lot of talking to the right people and saying the right things on First Night. It’s not really a night for enjoyment when you’re the wife of the local lord.’

‘Oh.’

‘It is what it is, and now I get to go to bed.’

Jessalyn smiled. ‘I was just thinking much the same.’

‘Yes. Uh…’

‘You needed something? I am on retainer now.’

‘I wanted to ask something,’ Valorie said.

‘Ask away.’ Really, Jessalyn wanted nothing more than to find her own bed and sleep for as many hours as she would be allowed, but you did have to make allowances for your employer.

‘Well, I was wondering whether you might like to join us. Me and Kjell.’ Jessalyn stared at the lady but did manage to keep her jaw from dropping open. ‘In bed.’ Valorie waited about two seconds for a reply, got none, and added, ‘For purposes of mutual pleasure.’

‘I’d sort of figured that was what you meant,’ Jessalyn said.

‘You’re not interested?’

‘Equal parts shocked and intrigued.’

‘That doesn’t sound like a no.’ Valorie was grinning now. She thought she had Jessalyn interested.

Jessalyn considered how her mind was leaning briefly and came to the conclusion that she was too tired to really make complex decisions right now. Noble society was weird. ‘I’m going to walk into the castle. If I end up in your bedchamber, we’ll assume it’s a yes.’

‘Sounds good to me.’

~~~

‘What about your marriage oaths?’ Jessalyn asked over breakfast. She was still in the lord’s bedchamber, eating toasted, buttered bread and preserves, in the nude, and feeling rather decadent. ‘Doesn’t this kind of thing go against them?’ Marriage oaths were enforced by magic. You could go against them if you put your mind to it, but it was not easy to do it consistently.

‘No,’ Valorie said around a mouthful of bread. She was also naked. She was, in fact, rather flaunting herself and her ample bosom.

‘The vows nobles make are frequently not those made by commoners,’ Kjell explained. He was dressed, if only in shirt and trousers. Jessalyn had made to put her own dress on when he had clothed himself, but Valorie had stopped her with a meaningful look and a shake of the head. Apparently, this was part of their ‘ritual.’ Or the lady was hoping for another round before they parted. ‘Since many noble marriages are either political, arranged, or both, it’s common for the fidelity aspect to be omitted or amended. It’s very common for official mistresses to be allowed for the man. I find that… distasteful. If I’m allowed to stray, so should Valorie be.’

‘“Official” mistresses?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Ones approved by the wife,’ Valorie said. ‘Concubines. Either to produce children or because the lady in question has no interest in satisfying her partner.’

‘I see. And your vows…?’

‘We agreed that it was okay to take lovers, so long as we shared.’

‘I see.’

Valorie gave her husband a rather loving smile. ‘Even then, I’m sure you noticed, Kjell doesn’t indulge in more than voyeurism.’

It was true that Kjell had only actually partaken of his wife the whole time. Thrice. The second and third interspersed with watching Valorie and Jessalyn wring a number of orgasms out of each other. ‘I hadn’t thought about it, but yes.’

‘There may come a day when I need more than my love to satisfy me,’ Kjell said, ‘but not yet. I admit to gaining considerable pleasure from watching her with another woman, however. Tonight was… especially exciting.’

‘And I would never bring another man to our bed,’ Valorie said. ‘I admit that I was pleased that you were willing, Jessalyn.’

‘Blame Forest District,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Oh, for all of this. I came to Ulriksport with my father and mother when I was fourteen. That was when the betrothal was arranged. The… freedom the women of that district enjoy for most of the year is one of the reasons I decided that Kjell was going to be right for me. You and Amalia…’

‘We didn’t always sleep when we got into bed together, no. She told me it’s fairly common when the men are away.’

‘It’s an open secret, never spoken of,’ Kjell said, ‘that the men don’t go entirely without in the camps. It’s not for me, but I won’t do anything to stop them if they’re happy.’

‘That kind of thing doesn’t happen in Greenwall. The forest is right outside the walls and the women go out with the men in many cases. I spent some time with the forester team my brother-in-law belongs to and you could hear the couples at it at night on occasion.’

‘That would drive me insane,’ Valorie said. ‘I’d have wanted to join in. Before my marriage anyway.’

‘Oddly, the thought never crossed my mind. Ansgar was the first… Perhaps I’m sharing too much.’

‘I don’t think so. You can tell me all about it when we have some free time.’ There was, it seemed, more than one reason Valorie liked steamy romances. ‘Anyway…’ A large dollop of red-berry jam dropped from Valorie’s carefully positioned and angled toast to land on her near-perfect left breast where it proceeded to glide toward her swelling nipple as though guided there. ‘Oh. Dear me. How unfortunate,’ Valorie said. ‘Jessalyn, would you be an absolute darling and get that for me?’

Jessalyn got to her feet. ‘You’re incorrigible.’

‘I just can’t imagine what you mean…’

3rd Drostaun.

A wand about thirty keray in length sat on Jessalyn’s desk in front of her, surrounded by a chalked circle with various symbols drawn within it. The symbols represented the nature of the spell Jessalyn was setting into the wand and she had been concentrating on the entire arrangement for the last hour, slowly pushing energy into it to form the enchantment.

She felt a shift in the metaphysical nature of the thing she had come to associate with a successful working and let out a sigh, relaxing in her chair. In a moment, she would pick up the wand and test it, but for now, she would let herself relax for a few minutes; such fast, ‘dirty’ enchantments were intense compared to the longer process used for the bigger spells. This wand would allow someone to cast a Light spell. She already had a merchant willing to pay five moons for it; it was a dirt-cheap magic item, but it was still magic, and he was willing to pay double the going rate to get it.

It was still morning, not very late. This afternoon, Jessalyn planned to go over the plans she had for teaching the students next week, but that could wait until after lunch. If the wand was good, and she was sure it was, she could deliver it and then take a walk around town until lunch was due.

Perhaps she should check with Bjoern before doing that. Maybe there was something which needed doing around the castle she had not yet been informed of. This, it seemed, would be her life for the next three months. There would likely be plenty of time to read, which was a good thing.

There was a knock on the door, which then opened to reveal Maja carrying a tray. Maja was Jessalyn’s maid. Or at least she was the maid who saw to Jessalyn’s needs, somewhat to Jessalyn’s embarrassment. Jessalyn had indicated to Kjell, Valorie, Bjoern, and Birgit that she did not really need a maid. None of them had listened. Well, Birgit had stated flatly that ‘a lady needs a maid and that’s that’ and then ignored Jessalyn’s refutation of her lady status.

‘Tea, ma’am,’ Maja said. ‘Cook’s put some biscuits out too. Said you should give your opinion. New recipe from Kynaston is what I heard.’

‘Thank you, Maja,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Just put it on the table.’

‘I’ll be pouring. That’s my job and you know I’ll do it.’

‘Yes. Yes, I know.’ Jessalyn got to her feet and looked over at the table and the biscuits which were now there. They were thin and quite brown but, she suspected, also very sweet. ‘Oh, Maja, since you’re here, would you test this wand for me?’

‘Of course, ma’am.’ Maja had now tested a couple of Jessalyn’s wands and was quite used to the way they worked. That was simply willing the wand to work and, subconsciously for non-mages, feeding it a little mana. She was rather blasé about it, in fact, and showed no sign of surprise when a ball of light appeared at the end of the wand after a second of concentration. Using the wand as a pointer, she moved the light about the room for a few seconds before nodding and placing the item down on the table beside the biscuits. ‘Seems to be just fine, ma’am. Just as I’d expect, of course.’

‘I’m still learning,’ Jessalyn said, ‘but I think I have the process fixed now, so I don’t make as many mistakes as I did.’

Sitting down at her breakfast table, Jessalyn picked up her cup and sipped the tea. It was a little bitter, but quite refreshing after an hour of enchantment work. ‘Thank you, Maja. This is just what I needed.’

‘Then if you don’t need me, I’ll be about my other duties.’ Giving a little bow, she turned and headed for the door.

Jessalyn picked up one of the biscuits and studied it. A recipe from Kynaston, huh? Fair enough. She sipped her tea, sighing in satisfaction as the hot brew slipped down her throat. If this was the life she was going to have for the next three months, it was not really going to be too bad.

5th Drostaun.

First indications were not good. Jessalyn could hear the noise from the classroom before she got to the door. Kjell had converted a dining room in the castle for teaching, taking out a table, chairs, etc., and bringing in benches and long, narrow tables for the students to sit at. There was also a lectern and stool at the front for the teacher. There were supposed to be twenty-five people of various ages occupying the benches and it sounded like all of them were chattering at the top of their voices.

The volume just got louder as Jessalyn entered the room and did not abate in the slightest as she walked to the lectern. She gave them a few seconds to notice her and quiet down. The conversation continued.

At the front, there were three rows of children. The ages went from twelve to fifteen and there was a mix of genders. Similarly, the back two rows were occupied by a mixed group of adults. The women in particular were using the time to gossip like old hens, but the men were doing a fairly good job of gabbing for all they were worth as well.

‘Let’s get started, shall we?’ Jessalyn said, raising her voice enough that she was fairly sure she could be heard at the back. The chattering went on. The kids were not as good at hiding what they were up to as the adults, but she saw various eyes look her way from both groups; they knew she was there and were keeping going anyway. Jessalyn sighed. So, this was how it was going to be. Okay. Getting them to shut up would be her first goal…

There was a spell in her head and she cast it, centring it on the middle of the room and making it large enough to cover the whole area. Silence fell. It was not simply the silence of people stopping talking: there was no sound at all. People’s lips kept flapping for several seconds, but no sound came out. After those few seconds, there was silent shouting, looks of surprise, and attempts to make a sound by banging on the tables. Jessalyn stood at the front, leaning on the lectern with a slight smile on her face, until all eyes eventually turned to her.

Since that had taken almost the entire duration of the spell to happen, she let them sit there in uncomfortable silence for another few seconds before the spell expired and she spoke before any of them could realise it. ‘As I was saying, let’s get started. My name is Journeyman Jessalyn. I’m here to educate you in the joys of reading and writing, though–’

There was a scoffing bark from the front row. ‘What joys?’ The speaker was a boy of fourteen or fifteen. Jessalyn had notes from the previous teacher’s attempts to teach this lot, so she knew that he was Filip and that he was a pain in the arse. He was the son of a hunter and likely wished to follow in his father’s footsteps. Teaching him to read did seem a relatively pointless exercise, but this was what Jessalyn was being paid to do.

‘If you learn, you may find out.’

‘Reading’s dangerous,’ one of the women at the back said.

‘There’s books that can make you go mad or curse you if you read them,’ another opined.

‘Reading’s for nobles and mages,’ one of the men said.

‘And neither ever did anything for us,’ Filip announced. Around him, various kids nodded.

‘You just stand there,’ the first old woman said, rather kindly, ‘and let us gab. You get paid, we get paid, and no one has to be hurt by reading the wrong book.’ It was a fact: this idea had been so difficult to get going that Kjell was paying the students a few coppers a day ‘to recompense them for lost work.’

‘I decline,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I will, if you wish, make you sit here in silence for four hours every day while I read. Then you can earn your coin and I can educate myself. I’m not willing to let you enjoy cheating your lord, however.’

‘We’ll just walk out,’ Filip said, smirking.

‘Fine by me. I’ll tell Lord Kjell you didn’t show up and there’ll be no money for you.’ Filip’s smirk melted. Jessalyn sighed. ‘Taking a few of your ludicrous statements in no particular order… Your lord is trying to educate you, which is not a bad thing and could result in you making more coin or getting better jobs in the future. That’s at least one noble who is trying to do something for you, though I do admit he’s not a typical noble.’

‘Mages are useless though,’ Filip said. The smirk was back. ‘What’s a mage ever done for anyone?’

‘That has to be the single stupidest question I’ve ever heard anyone ask.’

Filip’s face fell, but he rallied. ‘I mean, aside from, like, casting spells. Witches can cast spells. The priestess can cast spells. What else have mages done?’

‘Hm… Invented numbers?’

‘Huh?’

‘More correctly, numerals and the means of using them. Arithmetic, at the basic level.’

‘Numbers have been around since before there was writing,’ one of the men said. ‘That’s ridiculous.’

‘The concept of numbers, sure, but not of numerals or how to manipulate them,’ Jessalyn replied. Turning slightly, she formed a simple illusion in the air behind her. The numerals zero to ten appeared as a line of text, floating in the air. ‘These are the basic numbers you’re used to. They were invented by a mage named Keir around twenty-two sixteen pre-imperial. He needed a way of manipulating numbers so that he could further his magical research, so he created a way of writing down numbers which could be added, subtracted, and multiplied more easily.’

‘They had to have had numbers before then. How do you do anything without being able to count?’

‘Keir’s numbers were not used in written language until the invention of Imperial Common. Old Common and Celestial have numbers but not numerals.’ Jessalyn’s illusion changed. Beneath the numerals, a string of words appeared. ‘I don’t speak Old Common, but I know its numbers were derived from Celestial, so it’s something like this. I think you’ve learned enough reading to be able to puzzle them out, but I’ll read them for you anyway. Un, sur, mar, kal, tin, ba, vin, pon, fo, and unse. One through ten. There’s no word for “zero” as they would have just said none or nothing. The idea of a zero value was another of Keir’s innovations. Now, you may recognise un, sur, and mar because they are used in our month names. Drostaun would translate as “first Drosta.”’

‘So, they had numbers.’

‘Right. Mardabasetin. Now add mar to that.’ The illusion changed to show the two words below the other text. ‘I’ve given you the numbers associated with the words, so it should be easy enough.’ After a few seconds, she said, ‘It’s mardabasepon, but isn’t it easier to add three to three hundred and sixty-five.’ The sum was added to the illusion using numerals. At the back, the man stopped arguing, if reluctantly. ‘So, mages gave you all the means to calculate how much coin you’ve been cheating out of your lord each week. Aren’t we nice?’

‘Hunters don’t need that kind of thing,’ Filip said.

‘It must be glorious to go through life trusting everyone, Filip. I foresee you dying penniless after every merchant you sell a pelt to cheats you on every purchase. Now, as for this cursed books thing. Have all of you been listening to that bitter old witch?’ There was some muttering but no actual answers. Jessalyn took that to be confirmation of her assumption. ‘The only reason Hanne wants this class to fail is because she thinks she’ll lose money. If you can read, you won’t have to come to her if you need to read something. You might even learn some things which mean you don’t need her potions or spells. That’s ridiculous. Potions and spells are useful because they do things we can’t do any other way. However, Hanne doesn’t want you to learn because it might hurt her. She doesn’t care how it might benefit you.’

‘And just how can a book benefit us?’ one of the women asked. She was clearly expecting no answer she could believe in.

‘Okay. You I don’t know, so I can’t say. We have a carpenter here, right? Vegard?’

‘That’s me,’ one of the men said. He was a younger man, maybe early twenties, and had said nothing up until now.

‘Okay, Lord Kjell has a number of books in his library on woodworking from all over the world. Instead of just sticking to what your father taught you, you could be using joints from Kynaston or decorative techniques from the fine craftsmen in Capitol. The lord’s library has books on all sorts of subjects that he and his father and grandfather have been collecting in the hopes of making Ulriksport a centre for craftwork. Metalworking, goldsmithing, forestry, and cookery. There are even some books on hunting techniques.’

Jessalyn paused to let that soak in. It did seem to be causing some beliefs to be overturned, even if just a little. ‘But books aren’t just for learning, or just for learning things you already know about. You can learn about the people in other cities. What they think and feel. How they dress. And there are stories. Entertainment for those long, winter nights. You can read the legends of gods and heroes. Epic battles. Great works of magic. The rescuing of damsels from dragons in ruined castles. Banishing demons found in ancient dungeons beneath the Dragonwall Mountains. Romance. Lady Valorie has an extensive library of romance novels the ladies here might like.’ Jessalyn gave a knowing grin. ‘Some of them are… not suitable for the younger members of the class, if you take my meaning.’

The adults smirked at that, especially the women. Ulriksport did have a more permissive culture than many places in the world, and that culture was showing. One of the girls in the front row, no more than thirteen if Jessalyn were any judge, went bright pink, so she at least knew what Jessalyn was talking about.

‘Ignorance is bliss,’ Filip said, breaking the growing mood of ‘why not give it a go.’

‘Only ignorant people say that, Filip,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Or people who want the ignorant to stay that way. I have notes on you, Filip. I know about you because your last teacher can write, and I can read. He said you were a troublemaker. I have never known a troublemaker who didn’t think that he was better than others. That they were fighting the nobles and the rich folk who wanted to put them down. Are you a troublemaker who wants to be kept in the dark and fights to stay where you were put by your birth? If you’re going to be a pain in the arse, I’d much rather you questioned me about things you think I’ve taught badly, or things you know that I don’t.’ She lifted her eyes to cover the whole class. ‘Lord Kjell wants his people to prosper. Reading and writing can help you make more coin and entertain you. You’re even being paid to learn! I honestly have no idea why you would give up this chance. So, like I said earlier, shall we get started?’ She emptied her illusory blackboard and replaced it with the letters of the imperial alphabet. ‘The alphabet,’ she said.

‘We already know that,’ Filip said, though it sounded like he was doing it because she had said he should question her teaching methods.

Well, that needed quashing. ‘Excellent! In that case, Filip, you’ll have no trouble sounding them out for me.’

Filip groaned.

~~~

‘How did the lesson go?’ Kjell asked at dinner.

‘Better than my worst-case scenario,’ Jessalyn replied, ‘and not quite up to my best case. I had to spend a while persuading them that it was worth learning.’

‘Ah. Hanne has had most of the year to continue her campaign.’

‘And I don’t think she’ll stop now. However, some of them might engage a little critical thinking the next time she spouts some rubbish about cursed books.’ Jessalyn glanced at Valorie. ‘When they get a little better at reading, you might like to start a reading circle or something, Lady Valorie.’

‘A reading circle?’ Valorie asked.

‘Yeah, a get-together over tea and tarts or something to discuss, um, romance novels. You could hold it in the library and take turns reading aloud from some of your books. I think you’d get quite a bit of interest.’

‘You mean a girly gossip session,’ Valorie stated.

‘Well…’

‘I can get behind that as an idea. Aside from anything, it sounds like an excellent way to gather information a lord or lady might not normally hear.’

‘And by information, you mean gossip.’

‘Ladies don’t gossip,’ Valorie replied haughtily. ‘We gather information of a social nature.’

‘I shall consider myself educated. It’s always a good day when you learn something new. Even if it’s about the delusions of nobility.’

‘Nobles don’t have delusions,’ Kjell said, ‘they have a different and more… noble outlook on the world.’

‘Even I wasn’t convinced of that one, my love,’ Valorie said.

‘Well, no. Neither was I.’

10th Drostaun.

Kjell saw himself as a man of the people. Some of his people were a bit concerned or confused by this and his desire to move everyone up in the world, but Kjell kept on trying. One of the ways in which he demonstrated this was to go to church on Ralliaday, just like everyone else.

Just like everyone else… sort of. Everyone else did not attend with a couple of town guards standing to either side of them. It kind of spoiled the effect, but at least Kjell and his family were trying. They actually attended the same church as everyone else and stood in the crowd to hear the sermon. Jessalyn had never seen another noble doing that, and it did underline that Kjell was not a very conventional noble.

Tonje was there, but it was hard to tell. Everyone was bundled up against the cold, but Tonje sat in Kjell’s arms, wrapped in so many layers that she was just an indistinct shape with a face you could only see if you peered carefully into the fur-lined folds of her hood. The girl was cute at the best of times, but this was taking it to the next level. Despite the wrapping, Tonje called out the responses during the service just as everyone else did. It was muffled and hard to hear, but Jessalyn definitely heard her little voice several times, confident in what she was saying and trying her best to let Unerra hear her.

Also present, and spending much of the service glowering at Jessalyn, was Hanne. Having had most of her arguments against reading rebutted, the witch had come up with new ones which Jessalyn had had to hear from various people in her class. Despite the fact that Hanne had theoretically had longer to come up with these ideas, they had been easier to rebuff. This led Jessalyn to the conclusion that Hanne had been sure she had won and had quit trying. Then she had been required to come up with something quickly and not very successfully.

Beside Hanne was her apprentice, Isabell. About fifteen, Isabell was a pretty girl with pale skin, flaxen hair, and blue eyes. She had a tendency to look tired. Jessalyn suspected that the apprentice was treated more like a slave, but there was no proof of that and overworking apprentices was not illegal. Still, Jessalyn felt sorry for the girl. It had to be hard having a mistress as bitter as Hanne.

Of course, Hanne took the opportunity to try to put Jessalyn down in front of as many people as possible. ‘Unerra doesn’t approve of what you’re doing, you know?’ the witch announced having stepped in front of Jessalyn as the castle party turned to leave. ‘You shouldn’t be here.’

‘Making pronouncements in the name of Unerra is the job of the priestess, Hanne,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Lying in her name is going to get you in trouble.’

‘I don’t lie,’ Hanne growled.

‘No? Then it can’t have been you saying that reading stunts your growth. Seriously? Is that the best you could come up with?’

‘I don’t lie,’ Hanne repeated.

Jessalyn widened her eyes and pointedly looked down at Hanne. ‘Truthfully? Then I should have been a giant. I should not have liked that. I bump my head on doorframes too often as it is.’ There was muffled laughter from those within hearing range. It stopped and people looked away when Hanne glared around her. ‘And reading apparently causes impotence. That was the next one.’

‘Oh?’ Kjell said. ‘Is that true? I had not heard that one.’ There was a tightness about his voice which Jessalyn decided to file away for later inquiry.

‘That was Drostaday’s rumour. Mistress Tonje would seem to be evidence of that being incorrect.’

Hanne smiled, and it was not a nice smile. ‘Mistress Tonje’s an only child, though…’ Beside Hanne, Isabell cringed.

Kjell’s voice came out as hard as Jessalyn had ever heard it. ‘Hanne, I have never once, in all my time as Ulriksport’s lord, considered banishing someone. Leave, before my temper overrides my common sense.’

For a very brief instant, Hanne’s smile lingered. Then she seemed to realise Kjell was serious and that she had overstepped more than just social bounds. There were mutterings in the crowd and some looks in the witch’s direction which were either unfriendly or shocked. Isabell caught her mistress’s arm and pulled. Hanne went with it, though she shook off her apprentice quickly.

‘Let us return to the castle,’ Kjell said, forcing a more upbeat tone. ‘It’s too cold to be standing around gossiping.’

‘I really must see if there’s a spell to warm crowds,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Do you think there is?’ Valorie asked. She was forcing good humour too. ‘That would be a true miracle of magic.’

‘Sadly, I only know of one which warms an individual, and I’m afraid I can’t cast it. Perhaps a research project for the future.’

‘You would go down in history as a hero of the northern towns,’ Kjell said. ‘Your name would be remembered for all time.’ There were laughs and calls of agreement from around them.

Jessalyn shrugged. ‘It’s a good way to be remembered. Perhaps I’ll make it my project for when I want to be made a senior master.’

Valorie shivered. ‘Then let us hope that you are to become a senior master before next winter.’

Jessalyn laughed. ‘I’m good, Lady Valorie, but I’m not that good.’

~~~

‘It’s not a great secret,’ Valorie said. ‘Kjell and I have been trying for a second child for over a year without luck. We agreed to wait until Tonje was a little older before trying so that we would not be dealing with two babies at the same time, but then things have not been going our way.’

They were having tea in the library. Tonje was not too far away, puzzling her way through a book with a lot of pictures. She was uninterested in ‘adult talk.’

‘There’s an alchemical preparation which can ensure fertility,’ Jessalyn said.

‘I know, but we would need two doses to be sure and getting them here would cost us dearly. It’s only been a year. Or so. A year or so isn’t grounds to give up. Tonje took a lot of, um, practice before we got it right.’

‘I’m sure that was a very onerous training regimen.’

‘There was certainly a lot of physical exercise involved.’ Valorie was still forcing the humour a little, but she was more relaxed than she had been. ‘Anyway, we’ll keep trying for a while longer before trying to procure fertility potions. There’s no spell to help?’

‘Nothing I’m aware of. The opposite can be done. There’s a spell to strike someone barren. But I would know if you were under a curse. I’d offer to help make a potion, at a discount, but my own formulary doesn’t have that recipe. My old master, Zachary, had it in his. He only made it to special order. It was not an easy thing to make, the ingredients were not cheap, and it took a long time to brew.’

‘We made enquiries of Hanne, to see whether she had a herbal concoction to do the job. She did not. And she would have gladly told us if she did. She could have made considerable coin from it, gained favour with us, and her reputation would have increased. It seems we must purchase from the Alchemists’ Guild in Vestinport, if we must take that route. Kjell is, of course, concerned. He blames himself. We have Tonje to prove that both of us are able, but he still worries that he’s… less of a man than some.’

‘I admit that I have limited experience, but he seemed as much a man as Ansgar certainly.’

Valorie stifled a giggle. ‘I’m sure he would be happy to hear that, but I’m not sure that external appearance is a true judge of internal function.’

‘Perhaps not. Keep trying. I’m sure it’s just bad luck that you’ve not succeeded yet.’

Valorie gave Jessalyn a sly look. ‘We will. Perhaps tonight. Especially if we have additional reason to try. Perhaps a certain someone to make it more interesting…’

‘You really are incorrigible.’

‘So I’ve been told.’

26th Drostaun.

After almost two weeks, Hanne had not come up with any substantive new reasons why reading was going to end the world. This would have worried Jessalyn had there been no attempts to do so, but what Hanne had come up with had fallen on deaf ears. Well, not entirely deaf since Jessalyn had been told about some of the funniest. No one spoke about the impotence one after the incident at the church. The unspoken opinion of most was that Hanne had gone too far that time.

And then it had started to snow. The temperature had been dropping all day and the fires in the castle had been poked into brighter life. Clouds had gathered from mid-morning, becoming thick by the time night was falling. An hour later, small flakes of snow began to fall, rapidly becoming larger and covering the cobbles in the courtyard with a thin layer of white fluff. By morning…

‘It’s still snowing,’ Kjell commented over breakfast.

‘I want to go out and play,’ Tonje stated. Her mother leaned over and wiped red-berry jam from her nose.

‘There’s a pretty thick covering on the ground,’ Jessalyn said. ‘It’s drifting too. I could see thick banks of the stuff against the northern wall.’

Kjell nodded. ‘It’s not entirely uncommon. We have ways of dealing with it. The guard and some of our sturdier men get a little coin to clear it from the major roads. I’ll not ask them to do anything while it’s snowing this thickly, however.’

‘Probably wise. I’m not sure they could clear it fast enough to keep up with what’s falling.’

‘I want to play in the snow,’ Tonje said, louder this time.

‘You may be right,’ Kjell said. ‘It’s too cold anyway. Today, I think, is for huddling in a blanket near the fire and reading a good book.’

‘Daddy…’ Tonje said, louder and firmer still. ‘I want to play in the snow.’

‘If you went out now, my dear, you would vanish into it and we would not find you until it thaws.’

‘But–’

‘You’ll have to wait until some of it is cleared. No, don’t pout. You know Daddy is only thinking of your health.’ You could see Kjell weakening as his daughter made little grumbling noises and continued her pouting. ‘I’ll go out with you myself when it stops snowing.’

Since there was still pouting, Jessalyn decided to step in. ‘I’ll come out and play with you too, when the snow stops falling.’

Tonje’s little face brightened. ‘Magic snowball fight?’

Jessalyn could not think of a single spell she knew which could make a snowball fight magical, but she said, ‘Sure. I’m sure we can manage something.’

29th Drostaun.

Class was rather depleted. Many of the younger children were missing, though Filip was there, which was something of a surprise. Some of the older members were not there, which was reasonable, but younger adults were missing too, and they would be less inclined to stay away due to snow on the ground.

The snow had not let up through Hineraday and had continued until midday on Unerraday. The snow had been cleared from the courtyard and most of the major thoroughfares in the afternoon, but then it had snowed again overnight and into the morning of Ralliaday, making the church service poorly attended and miserable. Eleonore had cut things as short as proper worship allowed and sent everyone home before they caught a chill. Valorie had huddled in against Jessalyn, making sure that Tonje was under the mage’s umbrella charm, which worked adequately to keep the snow off as well as rain.

And Hanne had been looking rather pleased with herself that day too…

‘Mistress Hanne says that the bad weather is because teaching us to read is against Unerra’s will,’ Filip said.

‘Oh did she,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘And you don’t believe her?’

‘It didn’t snow like this last year. We were learning to read last year, and it didn’t snow like this. Maybe we weren’t paying attention in class as much… But I still think it doesn’t make any sense.’

‘Filip, I admit to being impressed. I had not thought you up to that kind of thinking, and I am impressed by it. You have gone up in my estimations. Don’t spoil it.’ Filip rather emphatically kept his mouth closed. ‘The rest of you came to the same conclusion?’

‘I did,’ Vegard the carpenter said. ‘Besides, I’ve not been out of my house in three days. It’s not snowing now, so I came for the change as much as anything.’ There were mumbles of agreement from the others.

‘Well, try to spread the word that Unerra isn’t making it snow, would you? Aside from anything else, it’s Drosta who brings the snow, not Unerra. I thought everyone knew that.’

‘She’ll just say we’ve displeased Drosta if we say that,’ Filip said.

‘To be honest, I don’t think Drosta cares one bit whether you can read or not. He’s not that kind of god. Now, if she’d said Rallia was unhappy, I could see a little logic in it. Rallia is the nobles’ god. He might be upset to see commoners raised up a little, though I don’t believe he’s that petty. But Rallia does not bring snow any more than Unerra does. What we have here is bad weather. Unfortunately, I don’t see it ending soon.’

‘It won’t?’ one of the women asked, looking unhappy.

‘I cast a spell yesterday and I could see no change for this week. It won’t be snowing constantly, but it’ll stay cold and the snow will stay as bad as it is.’

‘Maybe we did do something to annoy Drosta.’

Jessalyn shrugged. ‘He’s not the easiest of gods to get along with. Maybe he just thought you got off easy last year.’

‘Well, yes, that does sound like him…’

32nd Drostaun.

Things had not improved by Hineraday, not regarding weather and not the class’s attendance figures. The rumour about the bad weather being Unerra’s displeasure had gained some ground too, despite attempts by Jessalyn’s students to push it down. With the week’s classes done and Hanne still spouting nonsense, Jessalyn had decided to act, which was why she had trudged through the snow to Hanne’s shop in Marshwallow and received the expected welcome.

‘You’re not welcome here, mage,’ Hanne said. ‘Get yourself gone before–’

‘What?’ Jessalyn asked. ‘Witches rarely know any curses worth the casting. If you’re inclined, you might blight some crops or foul a water source. You might be able to create a storm, and I’d consider spreading rumours that you are making it snow, but I doubt you could keep such a spell up this long and, more importantly, I’m not you.’

‘A witch doesn’t do harm through her magic. First thing I taught Isabell. Isn’t it, Isabell?’

Isabell had been manning the counter of the little shop – which took up the ground floor of a small, stone-built cottage-like building – when Jessalyn had come in. The shop was cold and Isabell was wrapped in a blanket which did not seem to be entirely working to keep her warm. ‘Yes, Mistress Hanne,’ Isabell replied. She wanted nothing to do with this argument, and you could tell.

‘So, it’s just your mouth that causes harm then?’ Jessalyn asked. ‘I told you that telling lies in Unerra’s name would get you into trouble, Hanne. If Priestess Eleonore gets wind of this–’

‘She’ll do nothing, because it’s true. The goddess is angry at you and that fool of a lord.’

Jessalyn rolled her eyes. ‘I can’t believe that you are doing this over the couple of coppers a year you must earn reading letters for people. I spent eighteen years in Greenwall and my family never had anything they needed to have read for them. I know that because it would have been me they got to read it. If more people in Ulriksport can read, you’ll lose next to nothing. Or is it simply that you like being able to do something others can’t? Are you that petty?’

‘You’ll see!’ Hanne said, ignoring the questions. She raised a hand, finger pointing upward in an imperious sort of gesture. ‘This snow won’t stop until you give up those lessons. It’s Unerra’s will!’

Something weird was happening in the shadows behind the witch. They shifted, though the light making them had not changed, and they seemed darker than usual. There was a spell in Jessalyn’s head…

‘Unerra will punish you for lying in her name, Hanne,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Heed my words and close your mouth, before she does it for you.’

‘I don’t lie,’ Hanne replied. ‘I do speak in Unerra’s–’ The witch’s mouth kept working, but nothing came out.

‘Mistress Hanne?’ Isabell asked, sounding concerned.

Hanne turned to her apprentice, mouth and throat working hard, but the only sound that came out was some incoherent groaning. She turned back to Jessalyn, and now there was fear in her dark eyes.

‘I think that says all there is to say about your behaviour,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’ll offer a prayer tonight that your voice might return, though I don’t think anyone will be listening.’ Turning, Jessalyn headed for the door. She needed to turn her back quickly to hide the grin threatening to break out on her face.

~~~

‘You struck her dumb?’ Kjell asked, sounding equal parts surprised and amused. He had joined his wife and daughter, and Jessalyn, in the library for afternoon tea for once. Usually, he was too busy working, but the snow was slowing everything down.

‘If she can lie her head off and say it’s Unerra’s will, I don’t see why I can’t help Unerra out,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Besides…’

‘Besides what?’ Kjell asked when Jessalyn seemed disinclined to continue.

‘Ever since I was a child, spells come to me when I need them. They just pop into my head and, often enough, I can’t remember them as soon as I’ve cast them. I can’t remember this one, but I can keep it working on Hanne as long as I need to. I don’t know where they come from, but it might be Unerra sending them. She’s the Goddess of Magic. She could do it. I don’t actually have any proof, however.’

‘In this case,’ Valorie said, ‘I think that sounds like a very reasonable position to take. Is Unerra not the Goddess of Mysteries too? She’s never seen and works from the shadows.’ Jessalyn thought of the odd way the shadows in Hanne’s shop had moved. ‘She would not take direct action against Hanne, would she? But she might work through a mage who happened to be there.’

‘Please don’t make me out to be some sort of agent of Unerra.’ Except, Jessalyn realised, she was supposed to be blessed by the goddess.

Valorie gave a shrug. ‘I’m just proposing an idea based on the evidence.’

‘If you were acting for Unerra,’ Kjell said, ‘no one would ever listen to Hanne again.’

‘Perhaps,’ Jessalyn said, ‘but I could definitely do without that reputation.’

1st Drostasur.

‘Ma’am, you have a visitor.’ Maja was standing in the doorway, very much ensuring that whoever the visitor was, they could not get past her.

‘Oh?’ Jessalyn said. ‘Who might that be?’

‘Mistress Isabell. Mistress Hanne’s apprentice.’

‘Really? Okay, well, show her in.’ Jessalyn had a fairly good idea what Isabell wanted. Or what Hanne wanted anyway; somehow, it seemed unlikely that Isabell was here by her own will.

The flaxen-haired girl stepped into Jessalyn’s chamber like a mouse being asked to present tribute to a tyrannical cat. Nervous did not quite express the feeling. Terror was, perhaps, a little too extreme. Somewhere between the two, Isabell made her way to barely two paces in and stopped, hands clasped before her and eyes dipped in a posture of submission. She jumped when Maja closed the door behind her.

‘Even when I was a child,’ Jessalyn said, ‘I did not bite. I won’t start at my age.’

‘Yes’m,’ Isabell replied in a voice so tiny it was practically inaudible.

‘If you’re going to speak in that voice, you’ll need to come closer.’ Isabell took precisely one step closer. She was dressed for winter with a heavy coat – though not that heavy – over a long dress and the heat in the room was making her sweat. It was probably the heat and not just fear. ‘Oh well. Let’s get this over with. I’m sure I know why you’re here, so spit it out.’

‘I’ve come to ask if you would please lift whatever curse is on Mistress Hanne.’ Isabell was at least speaking louder, but she was still staring at the floor. ‘E-even if it was Unerra’s punishment, you’re a mage. You could lift a curse.’

‘What makes you think a mere mage could lift a divine curse?’

‘W-well…’

‘We’re not all-powerful, you know. Besides, why should I? Has she learned her lesson? If she could speak again, would the first words out of her mouth be the truth, or yet another lie?’

Isabell bit her lower lip. ‘Without her voice, she can’t cast any of her spells. People will suffer without her help.’

‘Is that what she said? I’m on retainer to the castle. If anyone needs help of a magical nature, they can send word here and I’ll be available. For free. Or they could turn to you. Or has she taught you nothing useful for fear that you’ll cut into her profits?’

‘She– I’ve only been her apprentice for three years–’

‘Plenty of time to learn basic, useful spells when taught by a competent instructor. That said, if she really can’t cast any of her spells without speaking, she’s not very competent.’ Jessalyn made a gesture in the air before her and examined the results. ‘I’ve no idea why you apprenticed yourself to her. You’ve a lot more talent than she does. You could have found a mage to teach you, though it might have meant leaving town…’

‘I don’t have that much talent.’

‘Hanne tell you that? She lied. On the plus side, you’ll surpass her and be a better witch for the town than she is. Just don’t let her attitude become yours. I’ll not be lifting any kind of curse from Hanne until she realises what she’s doing is wrong. When that happens, I’m sure things will return to normal.’

‘Yes’m.’ Obviously unhappy, Isabell turned to the door.

‘Isabell, I harbour no animosity to you. If she punishes you for failing to get me to act, I’ll see to it that losing her voice is the least of her worries.’

Isabell’s back straightened a little. ‘Yes’m. I’ll be sure to tell her that.’

Jessalyn grinned. She had no idea what she could do to punish Hanne further, but perhaps another spell would spring to mind if the need arose. ‘Oh, please do.’

2nd Drostasur.

The weather was as foul as ever and Hanne was kneeling in the snow, silently begging for Eleonore to intercede on her behalf with Unerra. The service was over – Eleonore had done it at breakneck speed today – and people had been about to leave. Now they were sticking around to see Hanne abase herself. Isabell stood nearby looking embarrassed. Thankfully, Jessalyn could see no signs about the apprentice that Hanne had taken out her anger on the messenger.

‘I suppose you’d better come inside,’ Eleonore said. Kjell and his party always had a place not far from the priestess, so it was easy enough to hear. And also to be seen. ‘Journeyman Jessalyn, might I consult with you on this matter?’

‘Of course, Priestess,’ Jessalyn replied, and she set off to follow Eleonore, Hanne, and the reluctant Isabell into the church.

‘Mistress Hanne hasn’t been able to speak since last Hineraday,’ Isabell explained because Hanne could not.

Eleonore listened silently while shaking the snow off the headscarf she had been wearing to the service.

‘It may be my fault,’ Jessalyn said, affecting a sad tone. The effect was somewhat diminished by her shaking the snow off her cloak in a business-like manner while she spoke. ‘I warned her that lying in the name of Unerra would get her into trouble. She ignored me, of course. Her voice left her right in front of me.’

‘Then the fault would not lie with you, Journeyman, but with her,’ Eleonore said, though she gave Jessalyn a look which suggested that she had a good idea what was going on.

‘Perhaps. Isabell came to me yesterday to ask whether I could do anything. She could give me no assurance that Hanne had learned her lesson, however.’

‘No. In all the years I have been here, Hanne has never once learned a lesson life should have taught her.’ At this, Hanne began to literally grovel at Eleonore’s feet. Maybe the no-voice thing really was getting to her. ‘Come, Hanne,’ Eleonore went on while giving a rather disgusted look at the witch, ‘we shall pray together to Unerra. Perhaps, if you pray enough, she will relent and return your voice.’

Hanne got to her feet and went with Eleonore into the chapel. She did not really look like she held out much hope.

~~~

After an hour, they emerged with Hanne looking subdued. Her prayers had, apparently, not been answered. Jessalyn found that interesting because, had Unerra actually chosen to intervene, there was no way her spell would have still been active. Unerra rarely answered prayers, of course, but with a priestess asking for the same thing… Assuming Eleonore had asked…

Frankly, Jessalyn was getting sick of maintaining the spell. It took care of itself, but it was a constant drain on her concentration and made it harder to cast other spells. She had almost been hoping that Unerra would end it but, then again, Hanne had been lying in the goddess’s name, possibly for years.

‘Unerra has made her requirements clear to me,’ Eleonore said. ‘She will release Hanne if the first words out of her mouth are an oath that she will never spread false words in the goddess’s name again. I am to make the oath official, just to be certain.’

‘Really? Unerra’s being quite equitable about it,’ Jessalyn said. ‘In my opinion.’

‘Unerra is, yes.’ Was there a smirk around the corners of the priestess’s lips? ‘Are you ready, Hanne?’ Rapid nodding from the witch. ‘Then I shall pray that Unerra may hear your solemn oath.’ She lowered her eyes, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and began speaking softly in Celestial. Jessalyn could understand the words, but they were religious copperplate. Priests and priestesses cast spells by seeking the aid of their patron deity. Mages worked magic in a different manner, talking to the world directly. A mage could learn nothing of magic from a cleric.

As the Oath spell neared its end, Jessalyn let her own spell lapse naturally. It took a few seconds for it to fade, but there was plenty of time before the Oath’s final phase, where Hanne was supposed to state her pledge.

‘Speak your oath, Hanne,’ Eleonore said.

‘I–’ Hanne said, stopping when the word actually came out. ‘In Unerra’s name, I will never lie again!’

Eleonore raised an eyebrow. ‘And the oath is sealed. That was a little more than the goddess asked for, but your sacrifice will not go unnoticed, I’m sure.’

Hanne’s eyes went wide. ‘No! I didn’t– I can’t go through life–’

‘It’s a little late to take it back,’ Jessalyn said. ‘It’s always wise to speak your words in your head before saying them aloud. I’m sure the townsfolk will be most happy with their new witch.’

Hanne scowled at her. Well, you could not expect a complete change in personality overnight. ‘I have no proof that that was your doing, mage,’ the witch said, ‘but I suspect it.’

‘Did you see me cast a spell? Did Isabell? When you tell others of your suspicion, you won’t be able to lie and say you know. Whether I stole your voice or not, Mistress Hanne, your oath was your own. Unerra will see to it that it’s kept, and now everyone will know that it took the intercession of Priestess Eleonore to get your voice back. Give up while you still have any reputation at all. And hope that no one asks you any tough questions which you would prefer not to answer truthfully.’

3rd Drostasur.

The weather outside was as wintery as ever. Dawn had brought a respite in the snow, but it would likely not last until sunset. Even Tonje was getting sick of the snow. Jessalyn’s weather prediction for the week suggested little change too.

Despite this, Jessalyn found herself looking at a full classroom when she turned up to teach. Some of the adults were looking a little sheepish, as though they were ashamed of listening to Hanne’s assertions but preferred not to admit it out loud.

‘Welcome back to those who enjoyed a week off,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Please be aware that both me and Lord Kjell are aware that getting about under these conditions isn’t easy. We don’t wish anyone to come to harm while getting to these classes. However, I’d rather you stayed away for real reasons, rather than the mutterings of a bitter, greedy woman who holds her own interests over yours and thinks to speak for a goddess.’

‘I heard as how Hanne can’t lie no more,’ Filip said, grinning maliciously.

‘It’s a magically enforced oath, so she can if she tries hard. And there are plenty of ways to be dishonest without lying. And, Filip, I don’t want to hear that you’ve been teasing her about it. I’ll have something to say if I do.’

‘You spoil all my fun.’

‘I highly doubt that I do. Now, take out your slates, everyone. We have some catching up to do and I want to get through the past and future tenses today if possible.’

Slates were quickly produced, some of them showing signs of people practising in their own time. With Hanne out of the way, maybe this lot really would manage to advance their literacy by the end of winter. She would certainly see to it that it was through no failing of hers if they did not.

11th Drostasur.

A summons to Kjell’s office after lunch was not a totally uncommon occurrence. The lord liked to discuss plans for the future with Bjoern and Jessalyn or get Jessalyn’s advice on more immediate concerns. He seemed to think having a mage available to discuss things with was wonderful, as though she had miraculous knowledge not available to more mundane people. Despite having revealed no such knowledge to him, Kjell was still doing it, so Jessalyn figured she was doing something right.

Sure enough, Bjoern was there when Jessalyn walked in, but so was another man she did not recognise. He had the look of someone who spent much of his time outdoors. His complexion suggested exposure to strong winds. His grey eyes were shrewd and worldly. There was grey in his hair too, suggesting that whatever he did, he had been doing it for some time.

‘Jessalyn,’ Kjell said as soon as the door was closed, ‘this is Severin. He’s nominally a captain in the guard, though he holds a rather specialised remit.’

‘I watch the camps and farms during winter,’ Severin said. His voice sounded like gravel being run over by a cart. ‘It’s my job to make sure they’re safe when none other can get out to see to them.’

‘That’s a tough job,’ Jessalyn said, bowing her head in respect. ‘The fact that you’re here and not there suggests that something bad has happened.’

‘Right. Vogan. They’ve trashed a campsite and moved on to raiding some of the farms. I know of one man who died trying to protect the animals he was overwintering. There may be others.’

Jessalyn frowned. ‘Vogan… Not forest vogan then. Mountain vogan down out of the Dragonstail Range.’

Severin’s brow shifted so slightly it might have been mistaken for a twitch. ‘That’s right.’

‘So, we have an advantage in that they don’t hunt at night. However, they’re hard to see in snowy conditions, they care nothing for the cold, and their bite will chill you to the bone on top of the puncture wounds. Do we know how big the pack is?’

‘As you said, they’re hard to see in snowy conditions. More than ten. Maybe a lot more. I didn’t expect some city mage to know much about vogan.’

‘Ah, but I grew up in Greenwall. It’s bigger than Ulriksport, but hardly a city, and it’s nestled in the southern part of Greenshadow. I’ve fought vogan before, though they were forest vogan. They attacked a party of foresters I went out with before I became a journeyman.’

Severin nodded, amused. ‘Then I admit my mistake. Lord, I agree, she’ll be useful.’

‘In that case,’ Kjell said, ‘I’ll ask you to go out with Severin and the guards, Jessalyn. They’re leaving tomorrow morning and hope to strike down the vogan before the end of the day. Severin says they’re close to town just now and it’s our best chance of stopping them.’

Jessalyn glanced at the window. Thick snow was falling past it. ‘I’m on retainer for just this kind of thing. I’ll be ready to leave when the others are. But you’d better have a hot bath ready for me when I get back.’

Kjell grinned. ‘I shall carry the jugs to your chambers myself.’

12th Drostasur.

Severin stepped in close enough to Jessalyn that her umbrella ring was protecting them both before speaking. He was a solid man, hardy, and he had a hood, but he was not stupid enough to forego the respite from the falling snow whenever he had an excuse. Jessalyn liked his practicality.

‘Are you using magic to warm yourself?’ he asked.

‘I was a weak, sickly child and prone to catching chills,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘My old master enchanted a blanket to keep me warmer at night in winter. I have it over my shoulders under my cloak. It’s getting a little threadbare now, to be honest. I must learn the warming spell so that I can make a replacement.’ That would go on the list. ‘How could you tell?’

‘Your nose isn’t red.’

Jessalyn muffled a giggle. ‘This is not good hunting weather. Do you think we’ll find them?’ The snow was not heavy, but it managed to reduce visibility and make life difficult in other ways. The cold was cutting into the soldiers’ bones around her, but the vogan would not care a jot about it and they were naturally camouflaged in these kinds of conditions. The group was sticking to the roads, for now, but even there it was hard work tramping through knee-deep snow.

‘I’m hoping they’ll be hungry and stupid enough to find us,’ Severin replied. They had twenty guards plus Severin and Jessalyn. It was not a huge number, but it was hoped that it would be sufficient. ‘I know where they were, and that’s where we’re heading, but actually finding them in this is going to be almost impossible. If we have to stay out overnight, we should be able to find shelter at one of the farms, so that’s something.’

‘Basically then, we’re relying on luck?’

‘We are. So if you’ve any say with Unerra, I’d appreciate it if you’d use it.’

‘Despite any rumours you may have heard while in town, I don’t think Unerra listens to me more than anyone else.’

Severin shrugged and stepped back out from under Jessalyn’s charm. ‘Never hurts to try.’

~~~

Somewhere not too far away, something was howling. The snow muffled and altered the sound, making it hard to determine where it was coming from, but it seemed that the vogan had found them. Whether they would attack an armed party of soldiers was another matter. If there were enough of them, maybe. But if there were enough of them, that would make the fight harder.

The soldiers formed a circle, unsure of where an attack might come from. They carried shields and spears, with short swords as backup. The thick, winter coats they wore over their mail would likely provide more protection too.

Jessalyn stood with Severin within the circle. Severin was the leader and the most experienced of the men. Jessalyn was there because she was less use in a straight fight than the soldiers.

‘Any way you can find them for us?’ Severin asked.

‘Yes, but I’d need to cast the spell wide to locate them, and that would make me of considerably less use when they show themselves.’

‘Fair enough. Can you thin their numbers for us when they close in?’

‘Perhaps. If we see them soon enough then–’ Jessalyn stopped as a spell popped into her mind, something which would thin the vogan numbers more effectively if she could use it early. She began to cast it. ‘Yes. I’ve a spell which should work,’ she said slowly as her mind worked on the spell. ‘But the sooner we spot them, the better.’

‘Then I’ll do my best to give you a good shot.’

The howling was getting closer and becoming easier to localise. Jessalyn turned toward the sound, confused a little because it seemed to be coming from a range of locations. Still, on average…

‘They’ve spread out,’ Severin said. ‘They’re using the calls to coordinate.’

‘Clever bastards, aren’t they?’ Jessalyn replied.

‘They’re coming. Be ready.’

‘I will be.’ Jessalyn pushed between a couple of the soldiers in what she hoped was the right part of the circle and raised her staff. Sparks and flickers of light danced around it. Snowflakes vaporised on contact with the magic stored and waiting to be unleashed.

‘There!’ one of the guards shouted, and Jessalyn narrowed her eyes, looking in the direction he was pointing.

Sure enough, a fairly indistinct shape was dashing through the snow some thirty paces away. She aimed as it closed the distance, and it became apparent that the vogan was far from being alone. A bolt of incandescent lightning lanced out toward the lead beast, striking it in the chest. It fell, twitching and thrashing in the snow, but the magic was not finished. Another bolt shot out from the fallen beast to strike the one to its right, and then on to the next, and the next, and… It was clear that the charge was weakening as it travelled down the line, but when it finally stopped, seven of the animals had dropped out of the fight. Some of them were whining in pain; two were silent.

‘I’ve never seen a spell like that before,’ Severin said as Jessalyn stepped back into the circle.

‘Neither have I,’ Jessalyn replied. It was still there, waiting to be used, but… ‘If I use it again, too close to us, it could jump to our own people. The rest is up to weapons and what I can do with lesser spells.’

‘Thirteen, if I’m seeing right. I’ve seen worse odds.’ There were, in fact, now fewer vogan than men, especially since the circle was breaking as those on the wrong side turned to bring their weapons to bear on the charging beasts.

Three of the vogan did their best to impale themselves on out-thrust spears. They snapped and bit at the man holding the weapon until they were stabbed from either side, ending their fight. The others split, trying to flank the formation of men, one receiving a gash to a hind leg as it got too close. Another got it much worse as Jessalyn let a lightning bolt loose, reducing it to an immobile corpse with smoke rising from it before it could turn to come back.

Now it became pure close combat. Jessalyn charged her staff again, but this time it came into play when the vogan ran in to attack. Teeth snapped at a guard Jessalyn was standing behind and she struck out, swinging the metal end of her weapon down on the beast’s skull before it could pull back. She heard bone crack and then the burst of electricity as her spell discharged. The vogan stopped moving instantly, dropping to the snow without even a twitch. Another fell a second or so later as she jabbed her electrified staff into its ribs, this time to roll on the ground in pain.

The smell of blood came to her through the cold air. There were shouts and the occasional cry of pain, but the majority of the sounds came from the vogan, and those sounds were whimpers.

‘Finish the ones still alive!’ Severin yelled out and Jessalyn blinked, realising that there were no wolves still on their feet.

‘Is anyone badly hurt?’ she called out. Everyone seemed to be on their feet, though one man was wobbling a little. No, shivering. She walked over to him. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Got bit on the leg,’ he replied. ‘Bite’s not bad, but it put a chill in my bones like I’ve never felt before.’

Around them, vogan were meeting their end at the end of spears and swords. Sharp yelps rent the air more than once.

Knowing she would regret it, Jessalyn pulled her blanket out from under her cloak and wrapped it around the guard’s shoulders. Pretty much immediately, she felt like the air had frozen around her and his face relaxed. Crouching down, she examined his leg. It was not a bad wound, but it was a wound and it might become infected if left. A soft glow issued from her hand and the bleeding stopped. ‘That should see you fit to walk back,’ she said, standing up. ‘I want that blanket back eventually.’

‘We’ll go to a farm nearby,’ Severin said, walking up behind Jessalyn. ‘Maybe half an hour’s walk. We can rest up there before we head back to town. There’s one other with a bitten leg. No major wounds.’

Jessalyn nodded. ‘I’ve enough magic left to heal that. We’d better not run into anything else while we’re out though.’

‘This pack’s the only one I know of. We should be clear to get back.’

Jessalyn winced. ‘Have you ever heard of tempting fate…’

~~~

Jessalyn had not really meant it when she demanded a bath on her return. Not until she had given up her blanket to the wounded soldier anyway. He had returned it as soon as they reached a farmhouse with a fire he could sit beside to regain his warmth, but Jessalyn had still felt cold all the way back to the castle.

The bath was actually a large half-barrel, and Kjell had not carried the water for it himself. Still, it felt glorious to be sitting in hot water after over half a day in the freezing conditions outside. And she was being attended to. Not by Maja but by Valorie who stood by with a cloth ready to do the drying and a smile on her face. A screen had been put up between the tub and the door, but Valorie insisted on standing on the tub side where she had a good view.

Meanwhile, Tonje practised her harp on a stool where she could not see her mother lusting after a woman. Valorie would offer advice now and then, but Tonje was simply learning to play some tune and needed little of it. She stopped, however, when the door opened and then closed. ‘Daddy, a lady is bathing in here and this is no place for a gentleman.’

‘I shall remain on this side of the screen, my dear,’ Kjell said. ‘I’m sure Jessalyn will forgive me for talking shop while she soaks.’

‘I’m not sure I will,’ Jessalyn called back, ‘but I don’t suppose I can stop you.’

The harp playing restarted and Kjell began to speak. ‘I’ve had a report from Severin. He was impressed by your skill, and your magic. He says you cast a spell he’s never seen before and stopped half the vogan before they could close the distance.’

‘He’s exaggerating a little. It was less than half of them. The spell is one of those ones that just pops into my head sometimes. I’d never seen it myself. Chain Lightning. I’m remembering that one.’

‘And he says you disabled or killed three more of them when the melee started.’

‘Sounds about right.’

‘And healed the two men who were injured. And gave one of them an enchanted blanket after the wolf bite chilled him.’

‘I couldn’t let him suffer. And he would’ve slowed us down on the way back.’

‘You’ve impressed a man not easily impressed, Jessalyn,’ Kjell said earnestly. ‘Accept the compliment. There’ll be a little extra in your pay this month.’ He went on over the start of an objection. ‘The guards are getting additional coin for taking on this task. It was dangerous work in difficult conditions. It’s not much, so take it without complaint.’

‘As you wish, Lord.’

‘And without the sarcasm.’

‘Now that I’m not sure I can do.’

15th Drostasur.

‘Tell us about the vogan!’ Filip was beaming, excited. Apparently, word of the expedition to eliminate the pack had got out into the town’s gossip chain. Likely the result of guards chatting in a tavern.

‘There’s not that much to tell,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘There were some mountain vogan raiding the local farms. I went out with some of the guards and we killed them before they could do worse.’

‘I heard you killed twenty of them with one spell!’

Someone had been drinking a little too much when they had been telling the tale. ‘There were only twenty of them to kill. I stopped seven of them and injured three more. That left twenty guards, Severin, and me to take on thirteen vogan. You couldn’t even call that a fair fight. Armoured men against beasts, even magical beasts, is very one-sided.’

‘Still sounds heroic to me,’ Vegard said.

‘Yeah!’ Filip agreed. ‘Dad says mountain vogan are bad news. And you killed seven with one spell!’

Jessalyn smiled. ‘I suppose it was a little heroic. But the men who went out with me were heroic too. They faced the vogan without magic.’

‘But you didn’t have armour.’

‘No…’

‘See? Heroic.’

‘Is this going to get you to pay more attention in class?’

Filip’s face fell a bit. ‘Well, it might…’

‘In that case, I killed forty-three of them in one blow and sixty-two with a second.’

‘Oh, now you’re just making stuff up…’

21st Drostasur.

‘Well, it’s official,’ Valorie said over the lunch table.

Kjell sat up straighter and looked at his wife with a rather eager expression. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Quite sure.’ She turned and gave her daughter a smile. ‘You’re going to have a little brother or sister, Tonje. What do you think of that?’

Tonje considered this statement while chewing her food. ‘I think I might like that.’

‘Good.’

‘Congratulations,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I know you’ve been trying for a while.’

‘Indeed,’ Kjell said. ‘A weight off my mind.’

‘I believe,’ Valorie said, ‘that this is the result of our winter festival celebration.’

‘Did Unerra make it happen?’ Tonje asked.

‘Well, she may have had something to do with it. It’s my belief that Jessalyn is our lucky charm, however.’

‘Jessalyn? Oh, because she lit the fire.’

Valorie favoured Jessalyn with a knowing look. ‘Yes, dear,’ she said. ‘She certainly did light a fire that night.’

Jessalyn hoped that Tonje would not notice her blushing.

22nd Hineraun.

Winter was done, the classes were over, and spring was beginning warm to make up for the foul time Ulriksport had had over winter. The snow had lasted into Drostamar and it had remained cold even after that. There had been snow on the ground until almost the start of Hineraun.

There had been no transport back to Vestinport for a while, so Jessalyn had stuck around and Kjell had insisted on paying her a retainer the whole time. She had earned it with various castings, but she was sure that the success of the teaching project had swayed the lord as much as anything.

Maybe there was something else…

‘He’s treating me like I’m made of glass,’ Valorie whispered into Jessalyn’s ear. She was doing other things to Jessalyn’s body that were sending surges of electricity through the mage’s nerves which had nothing to do with magic. They were on the big, curtained bed in the lord’s bedchamber and Kjell was sitting off to one side with a glass of wine, watching with rapt attention. ‘I’m not that fragile and I like it when he… gets a little forceful.’

‘A-and what am I to d-do about it?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘We’ll start slow, but I want you to get a little rough once he’s too interested to think about it. I want him so wound up that he gives me a good, hard poking tonight.’

‘I suppose I can d-do that. One last t-time before I g-go.’

‘That’s my girl. I’m going to miss this when you’re gone, but I suppose I would have to stop soon enough anyway.’

‘I think I might f-feel the same… You’re going to make me come if you keep…’

‘Precisely.’

23rd Hineraun.

It was another dawn departure, but Jessalyn had said goodbye to a tearful Tonje the night before, and to her parents rather later in the evening, sleeping like a log for the remainder of the night. She had a letter from Kjell in her pack which was, if anything, a little too effusive in its praise of her. That would, however, guarantee her rise to full journeyman rank and end her probationary year. She was going to spend her birthday on the boat, but she could live with that. She would celebrate with a fine meal when she got to the city since she had plenty of coin in her bag.

She had been away from Greenwall for almost a year. The thought made her a little homesick, but there were still places to see. She would travel more before she decided upon a visit to her hometown. In the meantime, she would write a letter home when she got to Vestinport. No, when she had her new rank from the guild. That would be a good time to write with her exploits. Perhaps not all of her exploits, but most of them.

‘Have a good time in Ulriksport?’ Gottlob asked. They were out of the docks and on their way. He had time to check in on his passenger.

‘Yes,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘It had its ups and downs, but in all I’d say it was a good experience.’

‘I heard you killed seventy vogan singlehanded.’

‘That is a massive exaggeration. There were twenty guards with me for one thing, and there were only twenty vogan when we started.’

The captain grinned. ‘I did think it sounded like a bit of a tall tale.’

‘Gigantic.’

‘Shame. That’d have been a great story to tell back in the city.’

‘I can live with being credited for the nine or ten I did put down.’

‘A mage can always do with a bigger reputation, you know.’

Jessalyn shrugged. ‘I’d prefer to be known for what I did do than for what people have made up about me.’

‘Well, I never thought I’d see the day.’

‘Sorry?’

‘A humble mage. The world never fails to amaze me.’

Part Six: The Town Where Magic Is Made

Kasenton, 19th Marilaun 1464.

The town of Kasenton was kind of famous. It had been around in one shape or form for over two thousand years, and Jessalyn could feel one of the reasons for that as she approached the western gate. The magical field potential in the area was higher than normal, which made magic easier to use. Kasenton was supposed to be at about the same potential as Capitol.

No one had ever figured out whether mana crystals tended to appear in areas with a high magical field or the magical field was higher in areas with mana crystals, but it was a known factor that the two tended to occur in the same locations. Kasenton was no exception. The combination of mana crystal availability and a strong field had resulted in Kasenton being one of the major producers of magic items in the Empire before the Empire was even a thing. Capitol’s big factories outstripped Kasenton’s production these days, but the town remained one of the major producers in the north.

Age and relative wealth had made Kasenton an attractive town. The outer wall was built of white stone from the mountains of the Bright Sands, far in the south. The entire town seemed, at first sight, to be built of stone, frequently carved and decorated by master masons. The castle, in the centre of the town, dominated with its twin towers, one overlooking Kasenton Lake to the east, and the other looking out to the plains on the other side of town. Since it was early autumn, there were shutters open in many of the windows. The town looked cheerful, bright in the sunlight of a day which had featured relatively warm temperatures and not a cloud in the sky.

Jessalyn had a sense of cheer about her as she set about finding an inn to spend the night in. She was not really sure how long she planned on spending in Kasenton. She had thought about trying to find work in one of the enchantment factories and spending the winter here. She had the strong feeling that the work would be boring, but it would also be steady and probably good experience. Tomorrow, she would locate the guild building and see whether there were any jobs of the kind advertised there. Tonight, she had coin enough to sleep in a better bed than the guild would provide, and after almost fifty days on the road, that felt like a great idea.

~~~

The tavern was called The Baron’s Head and it was not far from the restaurant where Jessalyn had eaten her evening meal. The food had been adequate, not exactly great in the taste department but filling. She had certainly had better in Kynaston. Better ale there than this place served too.

She had spent four weeks in Kynaston after getting her promotion to full journeyman in Vestinport. Her birthday had been spent on the boat, so she had actually celebrated it after getting to Vestinport a few days later. There had been a good meal – much better than the one here – and good wine. Having Ansgar happen to be back in the city would have made it just perfect, but that was not meant to be. After confirming her new rank, she had walked to Kynaston and found work there for a month before moving on. Her target was Elwinport, on the east coast, but she had decided to break her journey in Kasenton because the place was famous. The idea of finding work there had come and gone a couple of times on the way there. She was still not sure about it, but if she did not stay long here, she could probably make it to Elwinport before winter really set in.

Nearing the bottom of her tankard, Jessalyn considered one more before leaving, or heading straight back to her lodgings. She was just coming to the conclusion that she wanted her bed before another drink when she heard a voice from behind her.

‘Well, aren’t you a comely wench?’

Wench? Jessalyn turned on her stool and examined the man who had spoken. The first thing she noticed was his clothes. Well made and well decorated with fairly subtle embroidery. There was a jacket in white with silver embellishments over a white shirt of fine cloth. His trousers were gathered at the ankle and wide from the knee down, a fashion from Capitol which Jessalyn thought silly. He wore white slippers on his feet rather than boots, though they did look like they had thickened soles and they were not cheap footwear.

The clothes were good, and the face of the wearer was attractive. Attractive in a manner Jessalyn found unattractive. He had very white teeth which he was showing off in a broad grin. It was the sort of grin which suggested he was absolutely clear that he was getting lucky. There might have been a sparkle in his blue eyes, but they were dulled by alcohol. His brown hair was cut to hang around his shoulders and was in an untidy mess. He had finely cut features and yet he seemed soft. This was a man who had never done a day’s hard work in his life, though his body suggested some muscle, perhaps from training with a sword. Oh, and he smelled awful. Part of it was booze – his breath was rank – but there was a definite hint that he bathed irregularly.

‘No one says wench any more,’ Jessalyn said. The man was not alone. There was another with him, hanging back and looking a lot like a bodyguard rather than a friend. More muscle, more competent, and less drunk by an order of magnitude.

‘It goes with comely. Comely wench. Sounds right. I’m looking for a comely wench to spend the rest of the evening with.’

Jessalyn started to turn back. ‘Since I’m no wench, you’ll need to find someone else.’

‘Come on. I know all the best taverns in town.’

Deciding not to turn around again, Jessalyn said, ‘Your breath attests to that fact. Surely you must have visited most of them before coming here. Are there any left to go to?’

‘Doesn’t matter.’ Pause. ‘Look at me when I’m talking to you.’ There was a hint of annoyance in his voice now.

Jessalyn looked up and across the bar to the bartender. He was very studiously wiping tankards with a cloth that might have seen a tub of water sometime in the past week. She had the definite feeling that there would be no help there and that whoever this drunken idiot was, he was trouble. Still… ‘I’d rather not. Your breath is making my eyes water.’

‘Sir, we’ll find another girl. Leave this one.’ That was likely the guard. There was a weary, resigned quality to his voice.

‘I want this one.’

Now Jessalyn turned. ‘You can’t have me. I have no intention of taking you up on your… kind offer. Please leave me alone.’

‘Do you have any idea who I am?’ the man asked. ‘No one refuses me. Filthy commoner, you–’

Jessalyn laughed. ‘Have you smelled yourself lately? You’re clearly a noble. You can afford soap and regular bathing, so your only excuse would seem to be laziness. I’m cleaner than you and I’ve just spent fifty days walking here from Kynaston.’

‘Bitch! I’ll–’ He was reaching for the knife on his belt as he spoke. His guardian’s eyes widened. There was no attempt to stop what was happening, but there was surprise that his master was going this far.

Jessalyn let him get the blade free before lifting her hand and pointing her index finger at the noble’s chest. ‘Go away,’ she said flatly, and a jet of air hit him squarely in the chest.

He stumbled backwards a pace, eyes widening, and would have fallen if his guardian had not caught him. ‘You’re a mage?’

‘I am. Now, please leave me alone.’

‘I’ll–’

‘Please, Master Kamden,’ the guard said, ‘let’s find someone more willing.’

Kamden bared his teeth, but he jammed his dagger back into its scabbard and turned. ‘I’m going back to the castle,’ he said through gritted teeth. Then he was storming across the taproom to the door.

‘I’ll be asking you to leave now, miss.’ The bartender had decided that now was the time to step in.

Jessalyn got to her feet without turning around. ‘I was leaving anyway. Your establishment is less to my liking than your ale.’

20th Marilaun.

Jessalyn was roused from her sleep by someone banging on the door of her room. There was no light coming through the shutters, so it was before dawn. Briefly, she wondered what was going on, and then she remembered Kamden. She had no proof that he was the son of the local baron, Eustace, but it seemed likely. She also had no proof that he was the kind of arsehole who would cause trouble for a woman who rejected him, but that did not seem especially unlikely. Slipping out of bed, she began to put on her dress.

The banging continued. ‘Open this door! You are under arrest for the crime of assaulting a noble. Open this door immediately!’ Whoever it was, they sounded frustrated. That was likely because the door was not opening, despite having no lock. Magic was a wonderful thing. Of course, they could break the door down…

‘I’m coming,’ Jessalyn called out. ‘Just let me get dressed.’

‘You’ll open–’ The voice stopped as, apparently, whoever it was thought about what he was saying. ‘You’ve got two minutes.’

Rather deliberately, Jessalyn took her time. The banging resumed after about four minutes, at which point she walked over to the door, cancelled the spell, and pulled the door open. There were four guardsmen standing outside, each armed with a longsword and wearing mail. One of them had been using the pommel of his sword to bang on the door and so had his weapon in hand. Jessalyn looked at it, shifting her staff across her body and stepping back.

‘You are under arrest,’ the leader of the group said. ‘We will escort you to the castle to be tried for your crime.’

‘I see.’ There was little point in arguing about it. These men were just following orders. Jessalyn had put on her cloak in preparation for being dragged out of the inn anyway. ‘If you’ll put that sword away, I might believe you have no intention of enacting judgement yourself.’

The soldier looked a little reluctant, but he sheathed his sword. Jessalyn relaxed and stepped forward again. ‘Come with us,’ he said.

‘That’s my intention. When you stop blocking the doorway, obviously.’

The soldier’s cheeks coloured, but he turned and started down the corridor, flanked by another of the four. Jessalyn followed and was followed in turn by the last pair. This, she thought, was going to be a truly enjoyable experience. Or probably not.

~~~

She was eventually led before Baron Eustace himself after five hours of waiting in a room which could have been a lot warmer. She might have suspected that the baron had kept her waiting because it would soften her up, make her anxious. That would have suggested that the man was deploying a clever psychological strategy. On seeing him, she had decided that was not the case. He had ordered the arrest last night, commanded that it be done in the early hours because it would inconvenience her, and then forgotten about it until he had been reminded after breakfast. Baron Eustace was an arsehole, just like his son.

The meeting was being held in an audience chamber with a thronelike chair at one end raised up a little from the rest of the room, banners of the baron’s crest on the walls, and a desk off in a corner where a clerk was sitting ready to record whatever transpired. Four different guardsmen, these ones with spears and shields, had escorted her from the waiting room and remained near the door once Jessalyn was inside. Four more, bearing swords and wearing finer armour, were already there. They were presumably the baron’s honour guard. Whether the baron had any honour to guard was yet to be seen, but early indications were not good.

Eustace cleared his throat. ‘What’ve you got to say for yourself?’ he asked. He was a heavyset man, likely able to hold his own in a fight. Kamden had presumably got his looks from his mother, though his hair might have come from his father. Eustace wore his short, however. His nose was a little on the bulbous side and his lips were thin. There was an impression of worry about his wrinkled face; this was a man who felt the world sat heavy on his shoulders, and maybe he was right.

Jessalyn gave the baron a bow. ‘Good morning, Baron. You haven’t told me the charges, so I’m at a loss to say anything.’

Eustace sighed. ‘Warrick, read the charges.’

Warrick was the clerk. Or the clerk spoke, so he was presumably Warrick. A thin man with short dark-blonde hair and narrow eyes, he looked the part. ‘Journeyman Jessalyn, latterly of Greenwall.’ They had to have got that from the inn. Warrick did not have a nasal voice, which was almost a let-down. ‘You are charged with assault upon a noble. The particulars of the case are that you did strike Master Kamden, son of Baron Eustace, in the tavern known as The Baron’s Head on the evening of the nineteenth day of Marilaun. Master Kamden did receive injury from this blow, which causes him to remain bedridden as of this reporting.’

That was the story? That explained why Kamden was not in the room with them. It was rather more likely that he was sleeping off a hangover, but perhaps he had slipped in the street and bashed his head on the way home. He had been fairly drunk.

‘I see,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Well?’ the baron asked.

‘Your son propositioned me without any provocation on my part. I declined his offer. He grew angry and drew a knife. I pushed him away from me with a spell which causes no physical damage unless you happen to be a swarm of wasps. He did not even fall thanks to his bodyguard, who then persuaded him to leave. Master Kamden was uninjured when he left the tavern. I returned to my room immediately after that transpired and have not seen him since. If he’s hurt, it was not my doing.’

‘You’re accusing my son of lying.’

‘I’m not accusing him, nor anyone else, of anything. However, it seems there is a difference of opinion over what happened. The standard recourse under these circumstances is to summon a–’

‘You have no recourse. You’re a commoner who–’ The baron stopped as Jessalyn raised her right hand to display the crest of the Imperial Mages’ Guild from her ring.

‘By decree of the emperor, as a journeyman of the Imperial Mages’ Guild, I have the rights and privileges of a noble. I request that a priest of Rallia be called to cast a spell of truth on me such that my story may be verified.’

‘I’ll be the judge of the truth here!’ Eustace snapped.

‘You’re refusing to call a priest? In that case, it would seem that the only recourse is trial by combat. Are you unwilling to sanction that too?’

‘I am unwilling, yes. You attacked my son without provocation. Justice will be done. The sentence is death. You’ll be executed–’

‘You first,’ Jessalyn said, lifting her staff to point at the baron. Lightning danced around the tip, waiting to be unleashed.

‘You’re threatening me?!’

‘If I’m going to be executed for assaulting a boorish, unwashed, lying drunkard, I may as well do something to deserve it. Your guards may kill me afterward, but they’ve no time to stop me turning you into a corpse. Perhaps you can be brought back, though I suspect Rallia may balk at returning someone to life who speaks of justice while denying it as the law demands.’

The baron was trembling with anger. His guards seemed – rightly – reluctant to move with a ready spell waiting to strike their lord down. It was, effectively, a stalemate. ‘Trial by combat,’ Eustace said. ‘We’ll do it tomorrow. Don’t leave this town.’

‘I have to clear my name,’ Jessalyn replied, not lowering her staff. ‘I have no intention of leaving.’

‘Get her out of my sight.’

Jessalyn turned and started for the door. Lightning still danced around her staff. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll see myself out.’

~~~

Jessalyn’s pack had been waiting for her in the inn’s taproom when she had returned. They were unwilling to allow her to remain there under the circumstances. They were throwing her out, despite the fact that she had done nothing wrong. She had very pointedly sat in the taproom, checking the contents of her pack to ensure nothing was missing before leaving to go to the guild.

It seemed unlikely that any other inn would let her stay, so it was the guild or the streets. She gave serious consideration to finding a park bench to sleep on when her reception at the guild was far from cordial. If it had not been for the bylaws the organisation operated by, Jessalyn was quite sure they would have thrown her out too. It made some sense. The baron controlled the town. The guild operated many of the factories in the town, but they had rivals in the form of the Enchanters’ Guild and the baron was the one who allowed any of them to operate. He owned the crystal mines and so controlled the supply of a vital component in the manufacturing process for the more powerful items. One word and the guild could find themselves cut off.

So, Jessalyn had spent the night in the guild dorms, alone. That was a plus. No one else wanted to be associated with her, it seemed, so she got an entire room to herself. She read and did her best not to think about what would happen the following day. However, that was easier said than done…

It seemed likely that the baron would cheat. Well, cheating was a possibility. Bending the rules to the point where they were no longer rules but twisted parodies of the law seemed very likely. So, Jessalyn should be asked to face her accuser, but a champion was allowed and would be chosen. This would be a professional fighter, probably not a guard but someone the baron could guarantee would fight dirty. He would be given magical equipment, which was allowed if you owned it so Jessalyn could not really complain. Thinking about it, the baron did not need to cheat since the odds were stacked in the favour of the strong and the rich. Trial by combat was an inherently broken system of justice. Of course, where the nobles got involved, the entire system was rigged anyway. Jessalyn was lucky that the nobles she had so far met had been decent people.

Well, there were ways to deal with magic weapons and armour. She was not dead yet, though she did have to hope that the baron would play fair if she won…

21st Marilaun.

The guild did at least send a representative to see that things were handled according to the law. Whether they would be willing to do something if they were not was another matter. The trial was to take place in a courtyard of the castle, with an audience. They were called witnesses. That was a joke. They were rich merchants and nobles who lived within the walls. They were there to see a fight, one in which a mage was killed.

The scene was a railed-off square about twelve paces on each side. To Jessalyn, it seemed that the audience were being foolish standing so close to the rails. A bad swing could see someone other than her coming to harm and her opponent did not seem like the type to hold back. He was, as predicted, a big man with clear experience in combat. His muscles were quite something to see, though they were hidden beneath a mail shirt and a layer of padding, and leather trousers which likely offered some protection. His face was mostly hidden by a domed helmet with a nose piece, but his eyes sparkled and he was grinning at the sight of a girl, unarmoured, wearing a cloak and carrying a staff. His own gear, including a massive axe with a wicked spike on the back side, was magical. Jessalyn could not tell what the enchantments were, but she was quite sure that they improved his chances of winning.

Ten paces apart, the two combatants waited for the baron to finally give the command to start. That was bending the rules: as the father of the complainant, he should have delegated the role to someone else. Then again, he should not have been the presiding judge either.

‘Jessalyn of Greenwall,’ the baron said, apparently having decided the anticipation of blood had reached sufficient levels, ‘you are accused of assault and have chosen to undergo trial by combat to prove your case. Do you wish to forego this ritual and admit your guilt?’

‘No,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Very well. Let the proof of your crimes be proven upon your body. Begin.’

The fighter charged forward, but his armour and weapons were heavy, which slowed him down, and Jessalyn did nothing to close the distance between them, instead using the time to cast a defensive spell upon herself and then charge up a Lightning spell as he finally got within range to swing his axe. It was a clumsy strike, hampered by his movement, and it passed over Jessalyn’s head without even stirring her hair. Well, he had gone for a quick, clean kill, which was nice of him.

Jessalyn decided to return the favour. Lifting her staff, she unleashed her spell at point-blank range, but he still managed to dodge it. The only result was shrieks from the audience as the bolt of lightning lanced over their heads.

Now the axe man was in a better position to strike and he did so, aiming the broad, slashing blade of his weapon at Jessalyn’s neck. Jessalyn ducked under it and took a step to the side, widening the distance between them, if only for an instant, and beginning to charge another lightning bolt. He closed again and swung, this time aiming at her legs. Stepping away from the strike and widening the distance again, Jessalyn lifted her staff and once again let electricity burst free. This time, however, the fighter was not as fast, and the bolt hit him in the chest. He shook violently for a second, and then collapsed onto the slate floor of the courtyard like a falling tree.

Silence fell. Into it, Jessalyn said, ‘He’s still alive. Do you need me to kill him to prove my innocence, or will this do?’

‘That is sufficient,’ Eustace said.

‘Then you’ll pass judgement, Baron.’

‘Journeyman Jessalyn, on the field of combat, you have proven yourself innocent of all charges. You are free to leave.’

‘Thank you.’ Turning, Jessalyn started for the gate in the fence she had come in through, swirling her cloak about her as she did so. The gate was opened with miraculous speed and the route cleared of spectators just as fast. Some rich, entitled people would not be so quick to judge mages, especially female mages, so quickly again. Possibly. Maybe. Who did she think she was kidding?

~~~

Master Mage Lebrecht was a portly sort of man getting on in years. His hairline was travelling backward in compensation for his belly moving forward, and he looked like a man who did not let his work stress get in the way of a good meal. He headed the guild in Kasenton. He had not been the one to attend Jessalyn’s trial and he was only seeing her now because he wanted something. He was seeing Jessalyn in his office on the top floor of the guild building, which was supposed to be some sort of privilege.

‘The guild is willing to support you in a claim of wrongful accusation,’ he said. ‘Kamden has something of a poor reputation in Kasenton. He’s even deflowered the daughters of a couple of nobles which caused… friction. Baron Eustace had to pay compensation. This is the first time he’s been really caught out and there’s pressure to make him pay. Or for the baron to pay. As you could perhaps tell, Kamden has already forgotten why he started this in the first place.’

‘You want me to go before the baron and complain that his son wrongfully accused me of assault?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Yes. The guild will cover legal costs and–’

‘This is the same man who tried to have me executed without trial until I threatened to kill him on the spot.’

Lebrecht went white. ‘You did–’

‘Your baron isn’t interested in justice, Master Lebrecht. He isn’t going to admit his son lied, even though the trial says otherwise.’

‘We have the support of several nobles and factory owners. We can force him into a settlement. The guild will retain thirty percent of that settlement for covering–’

‘No, Master.’

‘No?’

‘No. I’m leaving this town this afternoon and I hope never to see its walls again.’ Frankly, Jessalyn felt sick that the guild was now stepping in to help when they thought they could make some money from her. ‘Kasenton is not my kind of town. When Eustace dies and Kamden takes over, I see this place falling apart and ending up under the control of the Emperor. I’d say that would be the best possible outcome, but I’ve never met Emperor Witold, can’t judge him, and my trust in nobles has been badly damaged.’ And her trust in the guild with it. She was rather coming to the conclusion that a weak, useless lord resulted in a weak, useless populace, but was considering it only a preliminary hypothesis.

‘I see. Well, I hope your travels prove lucrative.’

Turning, Jessalyn headed for the door. ‘Thank you. I wish you luck when Kamden becomes the baron. May you have retired somewhere nice before then.’

Lebrecht sighed. ‘From your lips to Unerra’s ears.’

Part Seven: Capitol

Capitol, 6th Drostaun 1466.

Capitol, the centre of the world. The tall white walls of the capital city of the Empire loomed over Jessalyn as she walked up to the northern gate. You could not see a join between the blocks. Someone had probably fused them together using magic, creating a solid barrier, impenetrable to almost anything which might attack it. The massive gatehouse was just as formidable. Gates five times the height of a man stood open now but closed they would present a barrier no one could hope to breach.

Of course, Capitol was not the geographic centre of the world. Well, it sort of was, and it sort of was not. At midday, the sun was precisely overhead, and the moon appeared to mark a circle in the sky with Capitol at its centre. In that sense, this was the centre of everything. The landmass was a different story. There was more land to the north and to the east than there was in the other directions.

Politically, however, there was no argument. The emperor’s palace was here. The Nobles’ Conclave sat here. This was where the Imperial Army had its headquarters, as did the Imperial Mages’ Guild. Capitol was the centre of power in the Empire, and it was about as close as you could get to the middle without precise measurement. The position had actually been chosen such that the sun shone directly down into the Solar Chamber of the palace at midday, but it was the political power here that mattered rather than any symbolic nature the place had.

The city guard of Capitol were all imperial soldiers, decked out in mail shirts which had been given a gold sheen and golden helmets with blue-feather plumes set atop them. Their weapons were neither blue nor gold, which Jessalyn thought was quite reasonable. Each man had a spear, a longsword, and a shield, which Jessalyn thought was a bit much for guard duty. The shields did have the imperial crest on them: a golden sun on a sky-blue background.

Overdressed or not, the guards were efficient. They had one group handling incoming carts, one handling outgoing carts, and one handling incoming foot traffic. Outgoing pedestrians appeared to be not something anyone worried about. Jessalyn found herself confronted by a bored soldier whose only job was to record people entering the city. Given that the only thing the army had been doing for almost fifteen hundred years was standing guard, perhaps he was in the wrong line of work.

‘Your business in Capitol, Journeyman Jessalyn?’ the soldier asked after taking her name and guild rank, which was now senior journeyman.

‘I’m seeking a sponsor to become a master mage,’ Jessalyn replied with a smile.

The soldier scribbled something in his notebook. ‘You’ll want to seek out the guild building as soon as possible.’

‘Yes.’ Having said that, her first task would be lunch. ‘Would you be able to direct me that way?’

‘Head for the palace. You should be able to find it on the way. It’s a long walk.’

‘I’m sure I’ll manage.’

~~~

Lunch was expensive. Jessalyn ate at a restaurant suitable for someone of her status and paid twice as much as she would have in Vestinport or Kynaston. Some of it could be put down to transport costs, one supposed, but a lot of it seemed to be simply that merchants in Capitol thought they could inflate their prices.

The setting was nice. Jessalyn had been making her way up a long thoroughfare which ran directly from the north gate to the centre of the city where the palace was. It was lined on both sides with prestigious-looking buildings of white stone. Mostly, these were shops or provided some form of service, but some of them were houses, presumably belonging to people with money to spend on expensive land in the city. Every so often, the street would be broken by a round plaza with a fountain in the middle of it. All very decorative.

The restaurant was one of the service establishments on this street. It had an interior which complemented its exterior: a lot of pale wood panelling, pale wood furniture with dark seat cushions, and permanent lighting spells to keep the place bright. The waiting staff seemed to be exclusively female and dressed in nothing much: bands of cloth crossed their breasts at a diagonal from a collar of sorts, and their skirts were ankle length but split up the front to reveal more leg. This display of flesh had Jessalyn confused and a little embarrassed at first, but everyone else seemed to think this was entirely normal. Capitol really was a different world to the rest of the Empire.

Continuing up the road to the palace, Jessalyn began to spot the crack in the façade the city projected. She would catch glimpses of darker, dirtier spaces down alleys off the main road. She would, she decided, explore some of those when she was not tired and wanting to find a place to spend the night. If the food prices were anything to go by, a room at an inn would cost a fortune. She had business with the guild anyway, so she might as well see if they had room to house her.

Ahead of her, the palace grew more visible. Well, the wall around the palace did. More fused white stone from the looks of it. Not as high as the city wall but still quite formidable. Beyond it, you could see the tops of towers, especially the large, gold-topped cylinder beneath which was the Solar Chamber. Jessalyn hoped to see beyond the wall properly sometime, but it seemed unlikely. She might have been a guild mage who, when she became a master, would have the same social ranking as a baronet, but she had no business with royalty. So far as she knew, the imperial court was not noted for taking commoners on tours in there.

She reached that imposing wall without seeing the guild building and had to resort to asking for directions. The guard had not been particularly helpful since the guild turned out to be on the south side of the palace, opposite the gate there. At least the local she asked seemed to be helpful enough and also, Jessalyn noted, dressed in clothing which showed more skin than was typical in the north. It was warmer here; perhaps the skimpier outfits were related to that. Maybe the costumes the waitresses had been dressed in were summer clothing, still worn in the warm interior of the restaurant because… Maybe girls not dressed in much attracted customers or something. It was the best Jessalyn could come up with.

After that, she found the guild building quite easily. It was huge. In Greenwall, the guild got a desk in a master mage’s shop. In Capitol, the guild building took up an entire block. The frontage was more of the white stone the city seemed to like using. Jessalyn noted that the windows seemed larger than she was used to and realised that the same was true of most of the other buildings she had seen. Perhaps to provide better air circulation? Whatever, most of them were shuttered now; winter was only just beginning but the air was not warm. Zachary had told her that summers in Capitol were far hotter than in the north, and it was probably warmer now than it was in Greenwall or Ulriksport, but it was still the start of the winter months.

Inside, the guild appeared to have a similar layout to the one in Vestinport. There was a large room with tables, chairs, and benches, at the back of which were a number of counters where attendants handled whoever might have business there. Here there were five attendants devoted to guildmembers’ needs, so Jessalyn had to wait only a few minutes to be seen. What it would have been like with only one line, she hated to think. The room was more crowded than Vestinport’s guild had been, with both mages and others talking and doing business. It was crowded and it was loud.

‘Good afternoon,’ the smiling attendant said when Jessalyn approached, ‘might I see your guild crest?’

‘Of course,’ Jessalyn replied, raising her right hand and pushing a little mana into her ring.

‘Thank you, Journeyman Jessalyn. What can the Imperial Mages’ Guild do for you today?’

‘I’m in Capitol to look for a sponsor. Any help you can give would be useful. I also need somewhere to stay while I learn my way around.’

The attendant looked a little surprised. ‘You’re looking for a sponsor for junior master rank?’

‘That’s right.’

‘If you don’t mind me saying so, you seem a little young.’

‘If I’m good enough, does my age matter?’

‘No. No, there’s no age requirement. Well, we can provide a list of senior masters currently taking students and…’ Reaching under the counter, the attendant produced a small booklet, placing it in front of Jessalyn. ‘And you may find this useful if you’re new to Capitol. It has a fold-out map of the city and gives information on the city districts. Which contain good restaurants and which you should avoid, for example. You should read the section on the cultural aspects of the city. Things here can be quite different from the rest of the Empire.’

‘Thank you,’ Jessalyn said, ‘that will be very useful. I’ll come back for that list of masters in the morning. Is there someone who can show me to the dormitories?’

‘Through the door on your left and follow the signs. The dorms are downstairs.’

That much had not changed then. Jessalyn set off to find herself a bed for the night. If the foyer was anything to go by, the dorms would be busy. Best to stake her claim now before any more people arrived seeking a bed.

~~~

The city was divided into eight quarters. Jessalyn found this illogical at first until she read more of the booklet. Basically, north–south and east–west streets divided the city into four, then each of those divisions was further divided into inner and outer districts. Hence, there was inner first quarter, outer first quarter, inner second quarter, and so on. First quarter was the northeast one, and they numbered clockwise. Easy enough once it was explained. The outer second and third quarters were the poor districts with denser housing and a note that strangers were advised not to go there unless they had business there. The other two outer quarters contained the wealthier housing while the inner districts were largely mercantile, but they did also contain larger houses belonging to nobles and very wealthy merchants.

The centre of the city was, of course, the palace, which the booklet gave very little detail on. Circles, it seemed, were a big thing in Capitol. The palace wall was a circle and so was the city wall. As drawn, both appeared to have been made with considerable precision. Outside it, the guild was located at the tip of inner third quarter, the massive Temple of Rallia was similarly positioned in inner first quarter, and the Imperial Army headquarters was in inner second quarter, across the street from the guild. The Temple of Unerra was in outer second quarter, not too far from the south gate.

And then there was the culture. Jessalyn had been right about the clothing since ‘visitors from the north often find the clothes of locals immodest.’ It was, apparently, best not to mention this since it made you look like an uncultured fool. Bathing was common in Capitol. Public baths could be found in all districts and even the commoners were expected to bathe at least once a week. The bathhouses charged little for entry and made extra money by selling soaps, perfumes, and other extras. In the richer quarters, this included services such as therapeutic massage. Both genders used the same facilities which was something else the booklet said visitors found strange. There were public baths in Vestinport and Kynaston, which Jessalyn had used a couple of times, but they were segregated into male, female, and family. She was not sure how she felt about mixed bathing.

The booklet also said that it was wise to avoid the very rich areas if you were a commoner. Nobles were prone to treat strangers as potential thieves or even assassins. The guard units which patrolled the city generally sided with the nobles where disputes occurred. It was best to avoid them. Jessalyn considered her experience in Kasenton and decided that she would avoid nobles on principle. Sure, there were good ones, but the bad ones made it better to just stay clear of all of them.

Well, she only really needed to deal with mages. The question was, what were master mages from Capitol like? People, she decided. She had to deal with them, so she would take them as she found them.

8th Drostaun.

There were twenty-one names on the list Jessalyn was given. Eight of those were masters, the rest being senior masters. You could use a master as a sponsor but having a senior do it was more prestigious. Jessalyn was not picky, however, and there were only three women on the list, only one of them a senior. Thinking that a woman might be more inclined to give another woman a chance, Jessalyn determined to try the two female masters first.

That turned out to be a total dead end. She had managed to get to see both on her first day trying. Master Helmine had examined her, asked a few questions, and sent her away. Master Hillevi had not got that far, taking one look at Jessalyn and stating that she was not suitable.

‘The problem you’ve got,’ her advisor at the guild, Junior Master Kasimira, had said, ‘is that you’re young, attractive, and you have a lot of talent. Master Helmine probably evaluated you, decided you’d be a senior before she was, and didn’t want the competition. Master Hillevi… Well, you’re prettier than she is.’

‘Oh,’ Jessalyn had replied flatly. ‘Look, I know you said to leave Master Hjordis as a last resort, but–’

‘Try some of the men first,’ Kasimira had said, very firmly. ‘Master Hjordis has a reputation. I’m quite sure she’ll take you.’

‘Then–’

‘It’s what she’ll want to do with you that’s the problem.’

And that had been that for the first day. Today, Jessalyn was seeing Senior Master Hartmut who turned out to be a man in his early fifties with greying hair and fading eyesight. In some ways, he reminded Jessalyn of Zachary. In others, not so much.

‘How old are you, Journeyman Jessalyn?’ Hartmut asked as Jessalyn stood in his study, which was in his large townhouse not too far from the guild. He was, of course, sitting. He was sitting on a thick cushion which suggested to Jessalyn that he had issues with sitting on hard surfaces.

‘I’ll be twenty-one in three months,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘You’re twenty and you want to become a master. Do you have any idea how long it took me to attain the rank of junior master?’

‘I don’t, sir.’

‘And you never will. Off you go. Come back when you have some experience under your belt.’

Zachary was more broadminded. Hopefully, others would be. Jessalyn decided that, if she did leave to gain more experience, Hartmut would be dead of old age before he decided she was ready.

~~~

‘We did warn you that your age would be a problem,’ Kasimira said when Jessalyn met her for lunch. They were eating in a fairly upscale restaurant and Jessalyn was paying. The investment seemed worth it for good advice.

‘Why is it a problem?’ Jessalyn asked.

Kasimira was edging toward thirty and had become a junior master three years earlier. She looked a little younger than she was, kept to the latest clothing styles for Capitol, and wore her blonde hair loose about her shoulders. She seemed to speak from experience, which was not a good sign as far as Jessalyn was concerned.

‘Because the senior ranks in the guild are guarded by people with a vested interest in maintaining their own position. Master mages command higher fees for their work and the fewer of them there are, the less competition there is. Frankly, the merchants and nobles like it if the masters keep the journeymen down. They get to pay less for general magic working. Since the only people who lose out are the journeymen wanting to rise in rank, no one with any power to change the rules ever thinks of doing so. Basically, master mages are jealous old men. Don’t get me started on the fact that the majority are men. They are jealous old men and women who don’t like seeing talent rewarded. They had to work for it, so you should have to work twice as hard. Four times as hard if you’re a woman.’

‘My old master in Greenwall would never be like that.’

‘Ah, but he isn’t here. He came here to become a master?’

‘That’s right.’

‘And he hated it enough to move out as soon as he had the rank. I’m sorry but I have no idea what Greenwall is like. I’m assuming it’s a nice, quiet town with a reasonable lord and virtually no politics.’

Jessalyn considered briefly before nodding. ‘That’s a fair assessment for someone who’s never seen it.’

‘It’s just the kind of place someone who dislikes Capitol’s culture goes to. When I make master, I think I might find somewhere like that myself. Though, I was born here and I’m not sure how well I’d do outside the city. Who are you seeing this afternoon?’

‘Senior Master Florian.’

Kasimira winced. ‘He’s from the south.’

‘Is that bad?’

‘Well, I suppose it’s no worse than anywhere else outside the city. Mages from outside the city have to work even harder to be noticed here.’

Jessalyn frowned. ‘I’m from outside the city.’

‘Did I forget to mention you had that against you too? My mistake.’

11th Drostaun.

Florian had been younger than Hartmut by several years, but that had seemed to make him more inclined to reject Jessalyn due to her age. On Unerraday, she had met with Master Inigo and Senior Master Sievert. She had got the same treatment from them, and the next day had been Ralliaday, so no one was going to see her.

A new week, a new start. Right? Jessalyn set off to see Senior Master Agatino with hope in her heart. She kept her positive attitude right up until she saw him.

Agatino was a tall man, attractive, no grey in his hair, and fit. He also had a full set of white teeth, and Jessalyn could tell that due to the lascivious smile he gave her when she was shown into his study by a servant. A young, female servant wearing the same kind of outfit the waitresses in the restaurant had worn. Thinking about it, the servant’s outfit should have been a clue…

‘So, you want a sponsor?’ Agatino said by way of an opening.

‘Yes, sir. Your name is on a list from the guild of masters taking students for sponsorship. I was hoping you might be willing–’

‘Yes, yes. Tell me, Jessalyn, what would I get out of this arrangement?’ Him dropping her title was another red flag. What did he want? Exchanging coin for sponsorship was explicitly against guild rules. ‘It takes time and effort to evaluate a prospective master. That’s time and effort I can’t put into my own work.’

‘I’m sure I can make up at least some of that, sir. I can make magical items of a number of sorts. I am quite skilled in magical studies, so I can assist with your research.’

Agatino smiled. Again. Wider. ‘I’m sure. I was, however, thinking of more personal services which might ease my burden. The life of a senior master is stressful.’

‘I’m sure it is.’

Apparently, he took that as some form of acceptance. ‘A down payment is customary. I think you’ll find the sofa there to be quite comfortable. If you perform well, I’ll accept you as–’

‘Perhaps another time,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’ll see myself out.’ She turned, heading for the door.

‘You’ll not get a better offer.’

Jessalyn kept walking. Unfortunately, she was beginning to think he was right.

~~~

‘You should have warned me about Agatino,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Yes,’ Kasimira admitted, ‘I probably should have.’

15th Drostaun.

Senior Master Pontus was Jessalyn’s last hope. Well, there was still Hjordis, but…

Anyway, she had seen a number of others since Agatino, with no luck. Senior Masters Alda and Niklaus had thought her too young. Niklaus had suggested that he might take her on if she became his unpaid magical drudge for a year ‘for the experience.’ Masters Clayton and Cyrus had been jealous of her talent. Jessalyn was beginning to wish that she had never received Unerra’s blessing, if blessing it was. It was all rather depressing.

Pontus was the last on the list, and Jessalyn was not really hopeful. He was the fourth son of a viscount from the Rainsport area in the southeast. As such, he had no title and his social standing was essentially based on his guild rank. Despite this, he was the youngest senior master she had met and Kasimira had let drop that this was largely due to his father’s influence.

His home was a white-stone building with four floors to it. The portico was carved with emblems which Jessalyn did not recognise but assumed were those of his noble family. Pontus lived as though he were a baron. There was no ‘mages are the equals of all and superior to none’ feel about either the home or the man. Jessalyn had left him until last precisely because he was a noble, and Pontus did nothing to sway her opinion in a positive manner upon meeting him.

‘And who, might I ask, were your parents, Jessalyn?’ Another one who casually dropped her title.

‘My father is a labourer. My mother is a skilled textile worker. I come from the town of Greenwall. Born there and apprenticed to Master Zachary there. Due to circumstances, he more or less raised me from the age of eight.’

‘Zachary… No, don’t know the man.’ Pontus was widening around the middle and looked as though the only exercise he got was walking from his bedchamber to his study. He had a soft face and would likely develop jowls in the near future. He also had a large nose which lent a nasal quality to his voice. He wore some sort of robe in white with gold embroidery as trim which disguised his belly a little but not enough. Jessalyn had seen a few similar garments around the city and assumed it was one of the current male fashions. He did not seem like the kind of person her old master would have got on with. ‘Greenwall is in the north somewhere, I believe.’

‘Yes, sir. It’s on the southern edge of the Greenshadow Forest.’

‘Mm. Never been there. Still, I suppose being raised by a master mage from a young age might explain your precociousness. You believe you’re ready for the duties of a master mage at your age?’

So far, Jessalyn had yet to see any signs of these duties. She had been told about them, but no one seemed to be doing anything much aside from making coin off their talent. She could not complain about that since she planned to do the same, but she was getting sick and tired of hearing how terrible the pressure was up in the upper ranks. ‘Well, sir, I believe I am but admit that I have only a vague idea of the life a master mage lives. Perhaps you could educate me on the subject. What duties are you speaking of?’

Pontus looked at her for a second or two. Finally, he went with, ‘You’re an impertinent one.’

‘I’m sorry if I give that impression, Senior Master. I am simply keen to understand the pressures of the position I seek.’

‘Master mages of the Imperial Mages’ Guild are the pinnacle of the magical profession. Standards must be maintained at all times in all things. A commoner could never be expected to understand what is required.’

‘I see. I’ll leave you to your onerous duties then. Thank you for explaining.’

‘You’ll get nowhere with that attitude, girl,’ Pontus said to her back. ‘Know your place.’

‘Equal to all save the emperor,’ Jessalyn replied, ‘and superior to none. Or do the mages of Capitol not believe in the rhetoric they spout to the rest of us?’

Jessalyn was a little surprised to get no answer.

16th Drostaun.

The Temple of Unerra was the largest of that denomination Jessalyn had ever been in. It was still small and somewhat inconsequential compared to the massive Temple of Rallia, and it was still out of the way, among the dwellings of the common folk. In fact, given that the temple was within outer second quarter and away from the main thoroughfares, this temple was less obvious and easier to overlook than the church in Greenwall. One might think, if so inclined, that the city planners had wished to push Unerra out of sight, placing Rallia more obviously in the forefront.

Jessalyn attended the morning service on Ralliaday because she was used to that being the only one. It took place in a huge room where the high priestess stood at the head of the congregation to lead the service. The chamber was, of course, undecorated. There was no ostentatious decoration to the robes the clergy wore either. High Priestess Magdalena was dressed in the same brown robes as her subordinates, the same design and colour that Sofia had worn back in Greenwall aside from some gold trim. The altar at the front of the room was a bit larger than Greenwall’s altar, but there was nothing otherwise to distinguish it as special.

High Priestess Magdalena was somewhere in her forties, tall and straight, with no grey in her hair and a strong, authoritative voice. She was more of a handsome woman than a beautiful one. She had a strong jawline and there was frequently a rather fierce look in her blue eyes. After Jessalyn’s first visit to the temple, Magdalena had sought her out and been friendly for no reason Jessalyn could really determine. Except for the blessing of Unerra. Perhaps the priestess could sense it somehow. Perhaps Unerra had whispered in her ear. Whatever, Magdalena seemed to like the young mage and that had rubbed off on the lower clergy, mostly anyway.

At the end of the service, Jessalyn made her way up to the front. She might have to wait if Magdalena was seeing other parishioners, but it was polite: Magdalena seemed to like having a word before Jessalyn left. There was someone talking to the priestess, a tall, slim woman with vibrantly red hair tied into a plait. She was pretty but rather stern looking. Her face was thin with high cheekbones, her lips were quite full, and her nose came to a point after a shallow curve. Her eyebrows went with her hair and her skin was quite pale. Jessalyn suspected that she did not get out much. She was wrapped in a long blue cloak which hid much of what was beneath, though there was a suggestion of a long blue skirt.

Despite the fact that the two women were talking, Magdalena waved Jessalyn over as soon as she was spotted. ‘Ah, Jessalyn, have you met Master Hjordis? She’s a fellow mage.’

Jessalyn gave a short bow. ‘I haven’t, High Priestess, but I was hoping to.’

Hjordis raised an eyebrow. ‘You were? You’re looking for a sponsor?’

‘I am, Senior Master.’

Now Hjordis smiled. It was something of a knowing smile. ‘And the guild suggested that I might not be the best to fill the role.’

‘They… did, yes. Though their other recommendations were not so good, so I wonder whether they might have made a mistake with you.’

‘Probably not.’ The senior mage turned to face Jessalyn properly. ‘Let me have a look at you…’ She probably did not mean physically, though she did let her eyes run from Jessalyn’s boots to the top of her head. ‘You have talent… Easy on the eye too. You’re right, Magdalena. She’s…’ Appearing to come to a decision, Hjordis nodded. ‘The guild can tell you where my house is. Arrive there by eight tomorrow morning. I don’t conduct business on Ralliaday. Bring whatever belongings you have and expect to be staying with me for the winter. If you can put up with me for the first week, you’ll have yourself a sponsor.’

Jessalyn bowed again, a bit deeper this time. ‘Thank you, Senior Master. I’ll be there in the morning.’

‘Good. Thank you, Magdalena. I’ll see you next week and tell you how things go.’

Magdalena smiled. ‘I’m looking forward to it.’ She waited until Hjordis had stalked away on long legs, with more hints of that blue skirt showing with each stride, before speaking again. ‘Hjordis is a strange one, but a good woman. You couldn’t have a better sponsor.’

‘If I can put up with her?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Her words. I’ll say little more. Putting up with her will be to your advantage. Stick with it.’

‘Well, I’ll try. I don’t have much choice. All the other options turned out to be useless. Master Hjordis is all I have left.’

17th Drostaun.

Hjordis had a house in outer fourth quarter. It was not exceptionally large, nor was it exceptional in any other way from the outside. Grey stone had been used to construct it and it was just one of several in a row which likely housed wealthier commoners. Jessalyn had walked past much larger buildings on her way there and those might have been more suited to someone of Hjordis’s standing, but this was where she lived, so that was that.

There was a large brass knocker on the door, so Jessalyn used it and waited. The door was dark wood and appeared solid. Above her were three storeys of shuttered windows; Hjordis was not one to allow the daylight in it seemed. After a few seconds, the door was opened by a girl of perhaps seventeen wearing a similar outfit to the waitresses Jessalyn had seen, except that the skirt was considerably shorter. Falling to mid-thigh, it had an extra feature, that being a slim, loincloth-like strip which came down from the belt. The top was just a band of cloth suspended from a loop of blue beads around her neck. The outfit was made of a fine blue-green fabric, and it did not leave a whole lot to the imagination.

‘Hello,’ the girl said. ‘Have you business with Mistress Hjordis?’

‘I’m Senior Journeyman Jessalyn,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’m expected.’

‘Yes. Please come in. Mistress is awaiting your arrival in the study.’ There was something just a little off about this servant. She did not seem at all bright, but there was more to it than that. She seemed almost as though she were drugged or under a spell.

The hallway beyond the front door was simple. Wood panels lined the walls. A flight of stairs went up on the left. There were panel doors to either side. All the wood was quite dark, and light was provided via strategically placed Lingering Light spells. It was also warm, warmer than Jessalyn might have expected, and she wondered whether there was magic involved in that.

The girl led the way to the back of the house where she knocked once on a door before opening it. ‘Mistress, Senior Journeyman Jessalyn is here for you.’

Hjordis’s voice came from within. ‘Very good. Show her in and then you’re dismissed.’

The girl turned and wordlessly ushered Jessalyn into the room, closing the door behind her. The study was large. There was more dark wood panelling but that was difficult to tell because of the bookshelves. Hjordis had more books than Zachary. Big books, small ones, thin ones, tomes so thick that lifting them had to be difficult… There was also a desk set at the far end facing a shuttered window. There was a book open on it and a magical lamp set beside that to let Hjordis read. Other papers were piled in the corner of the desk, maybe research notes.

Hjordis sat on a large chair, straight-backed and carved. Without the cloak, her choice of clothing was more obvious. There was the blue skirt which was made of variously coloured panels, all shades of blue, both dark and pale, and all with a twining pattern dyed into them. Her chest was covered, sort of, by a vest of a halter design, sleeveless and low-cut, in two tones of plain blue. Soft white slippers adorned her feet. It was an unconventional look for a senior master, in Jessalyn’s opinion anyway, but not entirely out of keeping with the fashions of Capitol.

‘So,’ Hjordis said, ‘you came. Is that all your belongings?’ She gestured at the bag Jessalyn was now carrying in hand and Jessalyn’s staff.

‘Yes, Master Hjordis. To both statement and question. I’ve been a travelling journeyman since I left Greenwall. I keep my possessions to a minimum since I need to carry them all wherever I go.’

‘Never saw much in that life. To each their own, however. Are you, by any chance, wondering why I agreed to sponsor you?’

‘I’m wondering why it took you less than a minute to decide to, yes.’

‘It’s quite simple. I enjoy the company of attractive young women with talent. You are one of the most attractive students I’ve ever had, so that part is covered. As for your talent… If Magdalena had said nothing, one look at your aura would suggest the truth. Blessed of Unerra. You’ve heard the term?’

‘My old master told me about it. He said I was… blessed in that manner.’

‘Don’t consider it a blessing, do you?’

‘It has two edges. Several of the other masters didn’t want to sponsor me because I’m more talented than they are.’

Hjordis grinned. ‘I can’t stand the power politics in this city. Made my home here though. I won’t let grumpy old men chase me out. Here is what I’m going to propose. You’ll work for me through the winter. I’ll pass on whatever knowledge I deem you may need. Get through it all and I’ll see to it that you rise to junior master.’

‘You mentioned something about the first week.’

‘That’s your “get out free” clause. You get to back out during the first week and I’ll not hold it against you. After that, you’re stuck with me until spring. Clear enough?’

‘What kind of work do you have in mind?’

‘Anything I tell you to do. Whatever I need, you deal with it. Anything I want, you do it.’

It sounded like Hjordis was after a slave for the winter. Did she not already have that weird servant? Jessalyn suspected that she should back out now, but she had no one else to seek a sponsorship from. She could at least start and back out before the week was out. ‘Very well, you have a deal.’

Hjordis got to her feet. ‘Good. I’ll show you to your room and leave you to get changed.’

‘Get changed?’

‘Of course. You don’t think that… travelling outfit is suitable clothing for a servant in my house, do you?’

~~~

The room was nice. There was quite a large bed with a thick mattress and a patchwork comforter in various shades of orange and red. There was a small but useful desk with a chair. The latter was of the wooden frame holding a leather band to sit on type. It matched the desk well, giving a comfortable position to work on. The wardrobe was large and Jessalyn had little to put in it. There was a small round table with another two chairs which would allow Jessalyn to receive visitors here, not that that seemed likely. Currently, and despite saying she would leave Jessalyn to it, Hjordis was sitting in one of those two chairs, watching as Jessalyn changed without the slightest indication that she was embarrassed about doing so.

The view from the window revealed that there was a small paved area at the back of the house. Beyond that was a garden. The coming of winter had robbed it of much of its appeal. There were a number of bushes and a few small trees, but they were deciduous and largely bare at this time of year. In the summer it was probably quite the sight to see.

Jessalyn closed the shutters and turned from the window. Hjordis watched her with a small amused smile on her face, so Jessalyn stepped further into the room, where she could be seen properly, and posed, arms at her sides and her right leg set a little before her left. ‘Is this satisfactory, Master Hjordis?’ Her outfit was the same as the servant’s: a short skirt and a top which showed off a little too much breast. She had simple sandals with wooden soles to keep her feet off the floor, though the floor was quite warm, especially where covered by woven rugs. There was one addition Jessalyn found interesting: a black leather collar with a metal ring suspended from the front over her throat.

‘You look perfect,’ Hjordis replied with a soft purr in her voice.

‘Might I ask about the collar?’

‘A small gesture. An indication of subservience.’

‘I see.’

‘Now, you’ll address me as mistress. I’m a woman and not fond of being referred to in the way this patriarchal society suggests is appropriate.’

‘I understood that the use of master for both genders was to indicate equality.’

Hjordis shook her head. ‘So they say. Let me ask you a question. What do you think the masters would do if it were suggested that they be called mistress to indicate that all are equal?’

‘They would…’ Jessalyn considered for a second, but just a second. ‘They would throw a collective fit.’

‘Precisely. When you finally become a master mage, you can have people address you in any way you wish, but I prefer mistress.’

‘You have your reasons, and I respect them. Now that I’m suitably dressed, Mistress, what would you have me do?’

‘Let me see… Can you cook?’

‘Yes.’

‘Without magic?’

‘With or without,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’d need recipes to follow if you want anything special, but basic stews, soups, and other dishes I can do. I’m told I’m quite good at the simple stuff. I do often use a spell to provide seasoning. I believe it gives a better flavour.’

‘You’ll be in charge of food then. Lunch is at midday and we’ll take our evening meals at sunset. There should be plenty of food in the pantry, but you may wish to take stock.’

‘Yes, Mistress.’

‘Otherwise, you may study as you wish, so long as you remain available to attend me as required at any time. I’ll spend this week determining a proper curriculum for you. That will begin next week, assuming that you don’t leave before then.’

‘Pardon me for saying, Mistress, but it seems that you expect me to give up before the week is out.’

Hjordis smiled. ‘You would not be the first and, I have no doubt, you would not be the last.’

~~~

The pantry had been well stocked for winter. There were cured hams, slabs of salted beef, and carefully stored vegetables of various sorts. The jars of preserves were numerous, both savoury and sweet. Actually, Jessalyn got the impression that Hjordis had a bit of a sweet tooth. There was a lot of honey along with big rounds of butter wrapped in paper. Bread might be an issue; there was enough for a while, but she might have to go out to get more at some point. How that would be arranged if she had to wear her slave outfit the whole time was going to be interesting.

She had decided that ‘slave outfit’ was appropriate. If nothing else, the collar suggested a slave. Hjordis wishing her to obey all orders, no matter what, and being available whenever needed suggested that her sponsor considered her a slave of sorts. That being said, there was something about the arrangement which was not sitting quite right in Jessalyn’s head. Something about the way Hjordis acted…

Well, no matter. Jessalyn was left alone until lunch. She prepared slices of ham, cheese, bread, and butter, and she made tea. Hjordis seemed happy with that, though she said that it was hardly a test of Jessalyn’s cooking skills. Jessalyn determined to show off a little when it came to dinner. She also brought Hjordis tea and small rounds of bread with butter and honey as an afternoon snack, and she was rewarded with praise for her thoughtfulness. As she had suspected, her mistress had something of a sweet tooth.

In the afternoon, Jessalyn explored the house. She had already encountered the kitchen and parlour, of course. They took up the rear of the house on the right side; the study was to the left. The kitchen was a moderately large room with a central table for preparation and a hearth capable of spit-roasting anything up to a mid-sized pig. There was plentiful wood for burning. The parlour formed an L-shape with the kitchen. While windowless and with sufficiently solid walls that it would be cool, Jessalyn sensed magic there. The whole house appeared to use magic to control its temperature.

Also on the ground floor was a lounge with another large fire and plenty of comfortable chairs, and a morning room, which was where most of the eating was done, whatever the time of day.

On the floor above there were four bedrooms and a bathroom. Jessalyn’s room was at the back, opposite Hjordis’s. Both rooms had permanent light spells to provide illumination. The other two rooms were for guests, and they were lit with Lingering Light as needed. The bathroom contained a large tub, bigger than the one Jessalyn had used in the castle at Ulriksport. The difference here was that Jessalyn would end up carrying her own water if she wished to use it. The fact that Hjordis had a room specifically for bathing was interesting, however.

Above that was a floor devoted to magical study. At the rear was a magical workshop while the front was a library. Hjordis had so many books that her study could not contain them. The library was, almost entirely, books. In the study there had been scrolls and loose papers, but the library was devoted to bound volumes on various subjects. It also had chairs to read in, both of the slung-leather type and a large padded one for more extended reading sessions. Jessalyn spent a couple of hours looking over the shelves to see what she could find and concluded that she had plenty of material for self-study. If Hjordis continued as she had been, self-study would be a major component of Jessalyn’s time here.

~~~

Dinner was stew made from salted beef, which Jessalyn had soaked since lunch to make it more palatable, and some of the vegetables. There was also crusty bread to mop up the broth, which Hjordis used with gusto. She actually seemed to be holding back her enthusiasm a little.

‘That was… more than passable,’ Hjordis said when she was finished.

‘Thank you, Mistress,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it.’

‘Clear away and then join me in the living room. I think a fire would be nice. You can make that up when you get there. I’ll select books for us to read. Oh, and bring two goblets of wine. Let’s celebrate your joining my household.’

‘As you wish, Mistress.’

Jessalyn cleared the dishes into the kitchen, putting them in the large square sink to be washed in the morning. It was apparent that Hjordis did not intend for her to do that now. Then she selected a bottle of red wine from the pantry and poured two goblets from it. The goblets were pewter and carved with intricate designs of twisted vines, appropriate for wine goblets. These she carried through into the lounge where she found Hjordis sitting in one of the chairs before the fireplace. Beside the chair was a small table, upon which Jessalyn put the goblets, and a cushion placed such that someone could sit on it with their back resting against Hjordis’s chair.

The master mage said nothing. Her gaze was on the book in her lap and she ignored Jessalyn’s preparations for the fire. Or Jessalyn thought she was being ignored as she knelt before the fireplace, taking wood from the stack beside it to build the necessary stack within it. She lit the fire with magic and turned, beginning to rise, and she saw Hjordis’s eyes flick back to the page.

‘Come sit here,’ Hjordis said, indicating the cushion. She picked a book up from where it had been sitting against her thigh. ‘I thought you might enjoy reading this.’

‘I’m sure I will,’ Jessalyn replied.

The book, it turned out, was named Sketches in Erotica. It was a collection of short stories which even Lady Valorie would have been hard-pressed to describe as romances. Apparently, literature in Capitol was a little more… advanced than could be found elsewhere. Still, Jessalyn had nothing else to do and for all she knew she might be quizzed on the content when she was done. So, she read.

She was in the middle of a particularly well-written description of a princess’s reward to a knight for saving her from a dragon when she felt Hjordis’s fingers gently stroking her neck. Between the story and the sensation of soft fingers stroking skin and brushing through hair, Jessalyn found herself getting more than a little excited. Periodically, the fingers would leave to let Hjordis take a drink, but they always returned, soft and delicate, seductive. So, Hjordis was into girls, as her reputation in the guild suggested. However, this was some sort of mild torture. After an hour, Jessalyn was hoping that Hjordis was going to take it further. Preferably right now, in front of the fire.

And then… ‘Time, I think, for bed,’ Hjordis said, withdrawing her fingers. ‘Feel free to take that book to your room, if you wish to read further.’

‘I may finish the story I’m reading,’ Jessalyn said. She got to her feet, hoping that she was not looking too flushed.

‘Don’t read too late.’ Hjordis got up and started for the door. ‘You’ll get bags under your eyes and I’ll find you less decorative.’

‘I’ll try to avoid that.’

‘Put the fire out. I’ll see you in the morning.’

Jessalyn turned and raised a hand toward the fire. The flames died as she willed them to, then she turned and started for the door. She was feeling frustrated. Hjordis was torturing her! Well, Jessalyn would not let her know that it had worked. She would read the book for a bit longer and, when she was ready, she would scream into her pillow as she came. So there!

20th Drostaun.

The second day of Jessalyn’s tenure with Hjordis went much as the first. Jessalyn was largely left alone aside from providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the evening, Hjordis had a new book for Jessalyn to read, more steamy than the previous one and featuring only tales of love between two, or more, women. It looked well thumbed. There was more neck stroking and Jessalyn ended up screaming very loudly into her pillow before going to sleep.

On the third day, Jessalyn was called to Hjordis’s study by the servant she had seen before. Hjordis wanted to know what spells Jessalyn knew, so Jessalyn went through them.

‘Quite an extensive list,’ Hjordis said, pursing her lips and considering.

‘Master Zachary thought I should be prepared for the life I was choosing. So, I have spells to earn money and spells to keep myself safe on the road. Since then, I’ve learned more, but it’s all been untutored.’

‘I’m much more of a research mage myself. However, I think I know some spells which might help you. You already know some illusion magic, which I’m good at, and I know some spells of movement I think you’d find useful. A master mage is expected to have a wide repertoire.’

‘I’d be happy to learn whatever you’re willing to teach, Mistress. May I ask a question?’

‘You’re here to learn, aren’t you?’

‘The girl who came to get me today, she’s not real, is she?’

Hjordis smiled. ‘Figured it out, did you? She’s a magical construct. I use them for various things around the house, summoning them as required.’

‘She felt a little off on the first day and I haven’t seen her since. Then she comes up to the library to get me today. I wasn’t sure what she was, but I knew she wasn’t a normal human.’

‘I could probably teach you to make them, but I think you’ll find more utility in other forms of magic. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be testing you on your magical theory. I have a few suitable questions for you to write answers to. I’ll review them and decide whether you need any education there.’

‘I hope I meet your standards, Mistress.’

‘Somehow, I think you might exceed them.’

21st Drostaun.

Jessalyn worked her way through the problems she had been set with her usual care and attention to detail. She knew that she was lacking in some areas of magical study. She could learn more on the subject and would when she had the chance. It was a complex subject, difficult to grasp in places. Magic was ordered chaos and it sometimes acted in ways which made no sense. That being said, Jessalyn’s talent for magic gave her an intuitive grasp of how things worked in a supernatural sense. She could often puzzle out answers to problems she might not have learned the principles behind. Hjordis seemed to be testing that capability to its limit.

Hjordis was not helping. She was sitting in her office chair, watching Jessalyn work with an expression on her face which suggested deep, abiding lust. She said not a word, but every time Jessalyn looked her way, the master mage was staring as though at a particularly good work of erotic art.

‘Finished?’ Hjordis asked as Jessalyn put down her pen.

‘I am.’

‘Hand it over.’ Thus followed half an hour of relief from the lustful looks as Hjordis went over Jessalyn’s answers followed by, ‘Well, I doubt there’s much I could teach you if this is indicative of your knowledge.’

‘I’m sure there is. I was working from what I knew and extrapolating for about half of those problems. I was basically making educated guesses.’

‘Good guesses. Just so you know, I got the last one wrong on my master’s exam. You got it right.’

‘Those were questions for master rank?!’

‘Some of them. There’s no exam to progress to junior master, and I wanted to see how you’d do with the more advanced questions. Now I’m stuck with having little idea of your level since you aced the test. As your sponsor, I’m supposed to be able to say you know your theory well enough, and I guess I have enough to believe you do… Good enough.’

‘Um, does the way you said that imply that not all sponsors know how good their students are?’

Hjordis smiled. ‘Far from me to speak ill of other masters.’ But she was going to anyway. ‘In reality, it depends. The good ones will perform some sort of evaluation. Those of master rank are often in it to ensure that anyone becoming a junior is not going to be competition in the near future, so promoting those with weak skills is meeting the goals. Seniors are either more diligent, or they don’t really care and never bother to find out. That’s in Capitol. I was made junior master in Sheardbergen. It was a lot easier, but my sponsor did want to make sure I deserved the rank.’

Talking about things like this, Jessalyn noticed that Hjordis seemed more relaxed and less like someone who wanted Jessalyn undressed and between her legs right now. It was like her character slipped when she was discussing magic or the aspects of Capitol’s society she disliked.

‘Well, that’s done with,’ Hjordis said. ‘You’ve the rest of the afternoon free until it’s time to make dinner.’

Jessalyn got to her feet. ‘Thank you, Mistress. I believe I’ll go to the library and look up some of the things in your problems which I was unsure of.’

‘Very diligent.’

‘If you don’t mind me asking, if you became a junior master in Sheardbergen, why did you come to Capitol to go further?’

‘For all its faults, Capitol is the best place for magical research outside the City of Mages. I may not like the politics here, but it’s the perfect place to do what I want to do. You should consider what you want to do and where it would be best to do it.’

Jessalyn nodded. ‘I’ll do that. Thank you.’

~~~

Jessalyn found herself sitting at Hjordis’s feet once again, reading a book written by someone from Rainsport concerning various techniques designed to bring a woman to extreme orgasmic bliss. Jessalyn was a little sceptical about several of them, but if Hjordis was going to tease her all night again, she was determined to try as many as she could once she got to her room.

Hjordis was stroking her neck again. But she never went further and that was both frustrating and beginning to cause doubts in Jessalyn’s mind. She teased. She made Jessalyn read books which she would never have normally read – though Jessalyn was aware that she was reading them and not just flipping the pages. There were the long lust-filled looks; Hjordis really seemed to like watching Jessalyn move about in her skimpy outfit. But then Hjordis would stop all that when she got serious about something. Which was the real woman? Was it all an act?

‘Time for bed,’ Hjordis said. ‘Are you finding that one interesting?’

‘I have my doubts regarding some of these techniques,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘Something to try out at some point, perhaps.’

‘But not tonight?’

‘No, I–’

Jessalyn moved, turning to rest on her knees facing Hjordis. ‘Mistress Hjordis, is this all a test?’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘Your reputation is that you like younger women, that you become their sponsors in order to sleep with them. You have me read explicit books, several featuring love between women and this one being about ways to please women. Every night you tease me while I read. Every night I go to bed frustrated and have to please myself, hiding my screams so that you won’t know you got to me. But… You aren’t ever going to take me to bed, are you? All this, even the collar and these clothes, are just some twisted test to see whether I have what you think it takes to become a master mage.’

Hjordis looked at her blankly for a moment, and then she sighed and favoured Jessalyn with a smile. ‘Figured it out, did you? You’re a smart one. Don’t think any of the others have seen through me so fast.’

‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’

‘It is. To be clear, my reputation is only exaggerated. You probably have no idea how difficult it’s been to keep my hands off you. However, I don’t sleep with students. Now you know what I was doing, I won’t be teasing you or having you read erotic texts either.’

Jessalyn waved her book. ‘This isn’t erotic. It reads like a manual on fixing a broken axle on a cart.’

‘That aside, there are more like that in the library if you want to read them, but I won’t be ordering you to. As a matter of fact, I won’t be ordering you to do anything. On Kanniday, we’ll begin your training. It will be hard work. Hard work. We’ll spend the winter making you as good a junior master as I can make you in the time available. Uh, wear what you will from now on. The collar and clothes were just a means of humiliating you and it’s not needed now.’

Jessalyn got to her feet, still holding her book, and turned to extinguish the fire. ‘Thank you, Mistress.’

Hjordis got to her feet and started for the door. She was wearing a bit of a smirk. ‘Planning to try out some of the things in that book when you get upstairs?’

‘Yes, I certainly am,’ Jessalyn stated firmly in reply.

22nd Drostaun.

‘Might I ask, Jessalyn,’ Magdalena asked, ‘why you are wearing a collar?’

‘Mistress Hjordis put it on me,’ Jessalyn replied, ‘and I’ve decided I rather like it.’

Hjordis looked mildly mortified. She had been more than a little surprised when she had come down for breakfast to see Jessalyn in the same outfit and collar. She had been mildly horrified when Jessalyn put her cloak on over that outfit to go to church. And now she was mortified to have Magdalena noticing her collared student.

‘I said she could wear whatever she wanted,’ Hjordis said in a bit of a mumble. ‘She seems to have decided to wear that.’

‘Someone finally called you on your little game, Hjordis?’ Magdalena asked, grinning in a most un-priestess-like manner.

‘The fact that it makes my mistress uncomfortable has, of course, nothing to do with my choice of attire,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Yeah,’ Hjordis said, ‘this one is going to be trouble. I don’t need a reading of the future to tell me that.’

‘It serves you right,’ Magdalena said. ‘You’ve been doing this for years now. It’s about time someone turned the tables on you.’

Jessalyn just smiled. Maybe the winter was going to be more fun than she had thought.

23rd Drostaun.

‘Movement spells, as I’m sure you know, deal with the relative movement of objects in space,’ Hjordis said.

‘It is sort of in the name,’ Jessalyn said. They were in Hjordis’s study, beginning the training the master mage thought Jessalyn would find useful before her rise to junior master. Jessalyn was still in her ‘slave’ outfit. Hjordis had made no comment.

‘Quite. You learned a movement spell when you were young, one which allowed you to open doors where you couldn’t reach the handle. Thus, you understand the basics of movement magic. I’m quite sure you can work such simple spells as this.’ Hjordis reached out a hand and one of the books on a shelf several paces away made its way through the air to her hand. ‘Apport, the most basic of remote movement spells.’

‘I can do that, yes. I know the spell, just not well.’

Hjordis nodded. ‘As you well know, magic is easy, especially for one with talent. If one knows the appropriate words in Celestial and the correct gestures, one can work magic.’

‘But to really understand a spell takes deeper study. Through such study, one learns to optimise the casting, performing it without words or gestures and reducing the strain on the caster’s body.’

‘Not that you feel strain from your castings, but that’s beside the point. Together, we will plumb the depths of the theories of movement magic to broaden your understanding of it as a whole, and to optimise your casting. And we will start with this most basic of movement spells because it is the basis for many more complex ones.’

‘That sounds like an excellent way to start,’ Jessalyn said.

‘I thought so.’

‘Should I just remove my top so you can get a better view, or are we going to muddle through with you trying to see through the fabric?’

Hjordis sighed. ‘We’ll muddle through. If you start stripping, we won’t get any work done.’

27th Drostaun.

‘I’m not entirely comfortable with this,’ Jessalyn said.

‘I can tell,’ Hjordis replied.

‘It sounded like a good idea, but now I’m here, I’m not so sure.’

‘At least the water feels good.’

‘True.’

It had been a strenuous first week. If Hjordis’s resolve not to sleep with her students had broken, at least all they would have been doing was sleeping. Neither of them was fit to do anything other than crawl into bed and pass out after a day of solid study. Since it was Unerraday and the end of that first week, Hjordis had suggested a trip to the local bathhouse to relax. Jessalyn had agreed, but…

She had forgotten that most of the bathhouses in Capitol were mixed. That was not an entirely accurate description since the actual bathing part of the process was segregated. Despite any fantasies one might have about soap suds and intimate locations, no one wants to see anyone else washing their behinds. Or if there was someone who did, Jessalyn had no desire to meet them. So, you washed under running water in an area reserved for your gender, rinsed off in a plunge pool, and then went through into the main pool room.

The main pool was mixed gender, but there were protocols to observe. No running, no splashing, no swimming, and no intimate contact. There was also an unwritten rule about not staring at the other bathers, but that was not entirely adhered to. There were two teenage boys in the pool, and they were doing their absolute best to not appear to be staring at a rather pretty, quite short woman with enormous breasts. At least it kept them from looking in Jessalyn’s direction.

There seemed to be more single women than single men. The teenagers were both part of family groups, so they did not count. There were men there with women, probably their wives, and some women there with other women, like Jessalyn and Hjordis. The female groups appeared to be two or more friends who made a habit of attending the baths as a group. Jessalyn wondered vaguely what they thought of her and her mistress. Hjordis had been rather relieved when Jessalyn left her collar behind at the house.

‘Men,’ Hjordis replied when asked about the gender disparity, ‘tend to come to public baths with women or their family. They get viewed as predatory otherwise, even if they only come because they value their cleanliness. Personally, I tend to think single men who come here are probably looking for someone to bed, but I tend to be prejudiced.’

‘So, that part of your reputation is true? You only sleep with women?’

‘I do. Tried the other once when I was young and didn’t know my mind. Never again. What about you?’

‘Since I asked, I suppose I should be open to being asked. I… enjoy both. I’ve only been with one man, but I’d happily repeat the experience. I suppose it depends on your luck in obtaining a partner.’

‘Probably true. Though my experience simply helped to confirm that men aren’t for me. Then I was celibate until I got to master rank and decided to throw caution to the wind. Capitol is more tolerant of women who only go with women than other parts of the Empire, which may have affected my decision. I was also getting quite tired of ignoring that part of my life.’

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Jessalyn said, ‘This is very relaxing.’

‘That’s the whole point of coming here.’

‘I’m just worried I’ll fall asleep and drown.’

‘I wouldn’t worry about it. If you did, there are at least three single men here who would rush to pull you out.’

‘And now I’m worried I’ll fall asleep and not drown.’

2nd Drostasur.

Winter in Capitol was different from what Jessalyn was used to. In Greenwall, one could expect to see snow on the ground by the start of Drostasur. In Ulriksport, you could expect that snow to be thick. She had wintered in Elwinport the previous year, a city beside the sea, and there had been little snow there, but it had been very cold. The wind off Torshalla’s Sea had been bitter and almost constant.

Here in Capitol, Drostasur had begun and Jessalyn and Hjordis were off to church on clear streets. There had been more rain, but almost none of it had fallen as snow. The temperature was far from hot, but it was notably warmer than Jessalyn was used to.

‘We’ll see snow later in the month,’ Hjordis said. ‘We usually get a few days of it lying on the ground, but there’s rarely need to clear it.’

‘That makes life easier,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘True, but then we pay for it in the summer. You could cook food on the cobbles in midsummer. That’s one of the reasons people tend to wear lighter clothing here.’

‘Lighter? You mean barely any clothing, surely. And I’m sure that’s not the only reason.’

‘No. It’s not. Capitol has a habitual air of decadence about it. In the richer parts anyway. It’s not something I agree with.’

And yet, Hjordis seemed to fit in with that decadent culture quite well. She enjoyed greater freedom because of it. She seemed to rather enjoy the skimpy outfits worn by the women around her and even wore them herself. Her attitude was a little hypocritical but Jessalyn could understand it.

‘At least we don’t have to stand around outside in the snow for the service,’ Jessalyn said.

‘And aren’t we thankful for that.’

‘I certainly am.’

19th Drostasur.

Midwinter parties were apparently a thing in Capitol. There was snow on the ground and Hjordis had received an invitation to spend Unerraday evening at a gathering of the moderately wealthy from a merchant of her acquaintance. So, they had ended their work a little early, to be sure they would stay awake through the experience, and set off through the snowy streets to enjoy themselves.

Anulf, the merchant, had a big house in the same quarter as Hjordis. Three storeys, all of stone, contained a home which was in many ways also a place of business. Anulf held events like this many times a year. He was all about contacts and maintaining them, and parties were an enjoyable means of doing that. He had a huge room in his house just for hosting parties. There were more guestrooms in the place than seemed entirely necessary. He always invited Hjordis to his parties, but she did not always attend. In fact…

‘Hjordis! I’m so glad you could come.’ There was a woman greeting the guests as they arrived in the entrance hall. She seemed to know Hjordis quite well and be very happy to see her, though that was perhaps what she was supposed to be feeling, given that she was welcoming people into the home. Just from her dress, which was a richly embroidered sheath of fine fabric with quite a low bodice, Jessalyn could tell she was wealthy and likely the hostess.

‘Wilhelmina,’ Hjordis said, smiling. ‘Thank you for the invitation. I have a new student who I felt would benefit from a night out in society. Frankly, we’ve been working so hard, an evening off is a good idea.’

Wilhelmina smiled knowingly while turning to Jessalyn. ‘Working. Yes. Please introduce me.’

‘Wilhelmina, this is Journeyman Jessalyn, soon to be Master Jessalyn.’

Jessalyn bowed. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mistress Wilhelmina.’

‘None of that. Wilhelmina will do. If we get to know each other better, I may let you call me Mina. You are a pretty young thing, aren’t you?’

‘That’s not really for me to say.’ Jessalyn was wearing the same outfit as usual, though this one was purple. Hjordis had insisted on getting her something different and the colour was more appropriate for a party, apparently. Jessalyn was also wearing her collar, which Hjordis was trying not to be embarrassed about.

Hjordis was in a long gown made of finely woven fabric. It went from her neck to her hips in a quite tight form, then it spread into a wide fishtail. The sleeves were long too. It was also purple, and it was thin enough to show at least a hint of the body beneath. Hjordis was also wearing makeup, which she rarely did, and had persuaded Jessalyn to wear some. Apparently, that kind of thing was expected. ‘She is,’ Hjordis said. ‘She’s also modest, which is a nice change.’

Wilhelmina flicked the comment away. ‘Ha! Modesty will get you nowhere in this town, Jessalyn. Anyway, how can you possibly call her modest when she’s showing so much skin? Hjordis, I swear your perspective on the world has become twisted over your time here.’

‘Plenty would say it was twisted to begin with.’

‘I couldn’t possibly comment. Go on through. Anulf will want to see you.’

‘He’ll want to see you,’ Hjordis said as they walked through and into the entertaining room. ‘Anulf has a thing for younger women. Wilhelmina is his second wife.’

‘Ah,’ Jessalyn said. Wilhelmina had seemed young to be the hostess of a society party. Young, with vibrant auburn hair, green eyes, a slim body, and an abundant bust. ‘I think wearing this collar was a good idea. It shows I’ve been claimed.’

‘Don’t remind me about the collar. Anulf, you old letch. Thank you for the invitation. I hope you’re keeping well?’

Anulf was a middle-aged man who seemed to be keeping his figure, possibly because of his younger wife. He was not exactly romance novel material, but he was attractive, and he could pull off the loose robe he was wearing over one shoulder thanks to a modicum of muscle. The robe was white with purple embroidery along the edges; purple really was a good colour for these parties.

He turned at the sound of his name and smiled on seeing Hjordis approaching. Or was it Hjordis approaching with Jessalyn in tow? ‘Hjordis, my dear. I’m glad you could come. We haven’t seen you since summer.’

‘I’ve been busy.’

Anulf’s gaze shifted to Jessalyn, scanning her from top to bottom. ‘Of course. I’m keeping myself well for Mina. Sooner or later, she’ll be reduced to caring for a sick old man. I’d prefer that was as far in the future as possible. Now, who is this lovely young lady?’

‘My new student, Journeyman Jessalyn. I’ll be her sponsor to master rank come spring.’

‘And part of her education is how to avoid looking bored at society parties?’

Hjordis gave a shrug. ‘Well, I had to learn.’

Now that was not disheartening at all.

~~~

It was certainly true that Jessalyn had never been to an event like this before. In Greenwall, she had attended one dinner with the lord, and that had been a sit-down meal with chatter. This was geared to allow the chatter to dominate. The food was on long tables at the sides of the room, all designed to be eaten with your hands while holding a goblet. There was a lot of pastry involved but also meat on the bone, frequently in some sort of batter, and biscuits which could be used as a base for cheeses or sliced meat. You could stand around and chat to people while still filling your stomach.

However, boredom was definitely a factor. There were a lot of merchants of various sorts at the party and all they seemed able to talk about was money and the ways of making it. Both Jessalyn and Hjordis had been trained in the basics of the mercantile world – mages were merchants selling a service – but there was only so much of the expected market prices in Sheardbergen and Rainsport one could take without wanting to crawl into a corner and die.

Some of the mercantile wives were more interesting. Some were as bad, or worse, than their husbands. Some were only interested in the latest gossip. However, some of them, including Wilhelmina, could hold a conversation which did not involve the price of silk or who was having an affair with the stable boy. Hjordis tended to gravitate toward Wilhelmina on a frequent basis. Jessalyn suspected that there was more to this than simply wanting to avoid other conversations.

‘I hear Katharina has run off another tutor,’ Lady Constanze said. Constanze was the current partner in Wilhelmina’s conversation circle, the wife of Baronet Elmar. She was an imposing woman, tall and strong, and severe in the same manner as Hjordis. Constanze was, however, blonde and blue-eyed, and did not have Hjordis’s chest. She was wearing a white gown a little like Hjordis’s purple one. It did manage to accentuate what little bust she had and showed off the rest of her figure well.

‘Princess Katharina?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Of course. Oh, you’re not long in Capitol are you, dear? The princess has magical talent. Her mother had a little, Katharina has significantly more, and the emperor decided that she should be tutored in the use of it.’

‘Unfortunately,’ Wilhelmina picked up the tale, ‘Katharina has a stubborn streak.’

‘That’s an understatement,’ Hjordis put in.

‘She’s very fond of education, so long as it isn’t her who has to receive it,’ Constanze said.

‘Which has resulted in a string of unsuccessful magic tutors,’ Wilhelmina said. ‘We’re up to… six? I think it’s been six in the past three years.’

Constanze shook her head. ‘Eight. Two of them didn’t make it through the first day.’

Jessalyn giggled. ‘That takes me back.’

‘I would not have thought there was much back for you to be taken to. Even Mina is older than you.’

‘I’m almost twenty-one. I’ve been travelling for almost three years now. The first winter, I got a job teaching some of Lord Kjell’s people to read. That was in Ulriksport. There was some opposition to his plans to elevate literacy among other things, so I had to work at persuading the townsfolk that it was worth learning.’

Constanze’s brow lifted. ‘Perhaps Witold should hire you. There’s opposition here too. Currently, the only successor to the emperor is the crown princess. He never really got over the death of Margareta, his first consort. It’s doubtful there will be more recognised children.’

‘I don’t think there will be illegitimate ones either,’ Wilhelmina said.

‘You may well be right. Anyway, since it’s likely that we’ll see Empress Katharina on the throne at some point, various people in the conclave are up in arms over her learning magic. “It’s not what’s done! It’s against tradition!”’

‘It’s hogwash,’ Hjordis said.

‘Absolutely. The noble factions want an empress they can manipulate. Educating her in anything works against that. Unfortunately, Katharina is playing right into their hands.’

‘There’s time, isn’t there?’ Jessalyn asked. ‘Emperor Witold isn’t that old. He could be on the throne for another thirty years easily enough.’

‘True enough. Unless fate intervenes anyway.’ Constanze looked upward. ‘Rallia save us from fate intervening.’

‘Anyway,’ Jessalyn said, ‘I’m sure the emperor would want at least a master teaching his only daughter, so I’ll stay out of all that politics.’

‘Yes,’ Constanze conceded. ‘He has had masters and senior masters doing it before now. All male. Oh, except for the first. That was a woman.’

‘Jessalyn could be promoted straight to master in the spring,’ Hjordis said.

‘She could?’

‘I could?!’ Jessalyn asked, eyes wide.

‘To become a master,’ Hjordis said, getting her lecture on, ‘you need to pass the appropriate exam and have learned at least two advanced spells. You’ve already proved to me that you understand sufficient magical theory and, by spring, you’ll know Flight and Teleport, which are both advanced spells. The only thing stopping you from going straight up to master is tradition and the guild officials refusing to let someone your age rise so fast.’

‘Interesting,’ Constanze said.

‘We are chatting with a magical prodigy,’ Wilhelmina said, ‘who is thoroughly embarrassed about it. It’s refreshing. Enough politics, I’ve found a new book you may find interesting.’

‘Oh?’ Hjordis asked.

‘It’s called Winter Tales of a Knight’s Lady.’ Wilhelmina wafted air onto her face. ‘It’s really quite exciting.’

‘Wait,’ Jessalyn said, looking at her mistress, ‘this is where you get all those dirty books from?’

‘I have a side business in book distribution,’ Wilhelmina said. She was blushing a little. ‘They’re not dirty. They’re artistically erotic.’

Jessalyn did not look convinced. ‘I think we may have been reading different books.’

~~~

‘The conclave is split on the matter,’ Count Eugen said.

‘When is the conclave not split?’ Anulf asked.

Eugen barked out a laugh. He was a big man in his middle years who seemed to enjoy his food a little overmuch. His lands were in the south, not too far from Rainsport, and he did business with Anulf selling silks from that region. However, he had people to handle that kind of thing; he preferred to discuss politics. ‘On days when the sun turns blue. It’s a matter of who gets the most out of any given question. The imperial faction wants whatever the emperor wants, and he wants better relations with the City of Mages. The mercantile faction is worried over the price of magical items falling. The military faction sees the City of Mages as a potential threat.’

‘And you?’

‘I can’t say I’m bothered either way. Despite my militaristic ancestry, I believe diplomacy is better than swords, shields, and spells.’

‘I can’t disagree. Hm, I wonder what our soon-to-be master mage thinks on the matter?’

All eyes turned to Jessalyn and she had a strong urge to find a way to turn Hjordis and Wilhelmina into frogs; they had dragged her across to where Anulf was talking to Eugen. ‘I grew up in a town in the north,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I don’t really understand the politics here. Of course, I’ve heard of the City of Mages and know something about it. I’ve heard of the Nobles’ Conclave too, but I don’t really understand its function. I’m not sure I have anything to add without the knowledge to make my words meaningful.’

‘Allow me to educate you,’ Eugen said. ‘The Nobles’ Conclave advises the emperor. Theoretically, every noble of any rank in the Empire has a seat on it. Practically, only those who can afford to have others manage their lands while they live in Capitol can participate on any regular basis. You’ll find baronets and lords there, but only the ones who control lands close to the city. Obviously, there’s a bias toward the middle region of the Empire with the north in particular being underrepresented. Those who do sit on the conclave have a bad habit of trying to maintain that inequality.’

Jessalyn smiled. ‘You’re being very honest about this. I was expecting a more glowing picture.’

‘And if there were higher-ranking nobles around, I’m sure you’d get one. Now, what the conclave decides upon is entirely advisory. The emperor’s word is final and absolute. However, the emperor does need to take into account the “will of the people,” as represented by the word of the conclave, since no ruler can rule without popular support. Of course, most of the nobles on the conclave wouldn’t know the “will of the people” if it turned around and bit them on the nose. I include myself in that number, by the way. I’m no better than most of my peers.’

‘That is not entirely true, Count,’ Wilhelmina said. ‘Not wishing to sound like I’m just flattering you, you do know more about those beneath you than many.’

‘Since I’m not an idiot, I won’t argue. Now, the City of Mages is a city on Sharrow Island to the far south. It has such a strong magical field that anyone can work magic freely. The true mages there are powerful, but that power wanes somewhat if they leave the city. They study magic constantly and produce many powerful magical items as well as lesser items in great profusion. The Empire’s relationship with the City of Mages is based purely on trade, largely in magical items and mana crystals. The emperor wishes to open more expansive relations, but there is opposition. Can you comment now, Journeyman?’

Jessalyn pursed her lips. ‘Well, I doubt they pose a military threat. I’m sure they would be very difficult to defeat on their home ground, but away from that strong field they would be little better than guild mages.’ She looked up at Eugen, got a nod and an encouraging grin, and continued. ‘There’s a limit to how low enchantment pricing can go. Each item requires raw materials and, more importantly, time. A strong field does not help with that, though it would make the process more certain. More extensive trade might threaten the livelihoods of guild enchanters, increasing the availability of more powerful items, but the lesser items would suffer from the transportation costs incurred in importing them. Even if the supply increases, the costs increase too.’

Eugen looked at Hjordis. ‘Your new student shows a remarkable grasp of the subject, despite being new to Capitol and professing an interest in staying out of politics.’

‘I only pick the best, Count,’ Hjordis replied.

‘I can well believe that, Master Hjordis. Now, the other major group in opposition is the Rallian faction. They’re traditionalists, opposed to anything in the way of change really. In this case, however, their opposition is based upon the fact that the City of Mages worships Unerra. Rallia is largely ignored there. His presence in the city is no more extensive than any of the lesser deities.’

‘Oh,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I suppose I can understand that. Both sides of that. Most mages revere Unerra. Some more than others, obviously. She is the Goddess of Magic. The Empire considers Rallia more important because the Rallian Church was supportive of Emperor Meginhard when he was creating the Empire. The Church of Rallia has a strong powerbase here and probably would not wish to see it eroded. That being said, I don’t see why opening relations with a country which places Unerra above Rallia should erode the Rallian powerbase in Capitol. Both Rallia and Unerra are important in the Empire. I doubt Emperor Witold is going to revoke the official status of the Church of Rallia to gain favour in diplomatic talks.’

‘He would not,’ Eugen said. ‘I think your evaluation is very well considered. I believe the Rallian objections to be based purely on doctrine. There have been rumours that the Rallians wish to further downplay Unerra’s role in the making of the world in favour of Rallia. There are also a number of nobles who wish to see the influence of the Church of Rallia reduced. There’s a small faction of nobles aligned with the Mages’ Guild, mostly mages themselves. They balk at the power of the Church, but they are too few to make a difference. Obviously, they are quite enthusiastic about more open relations with the City of Mages.’

‘Are there a lot of factions in the conclave?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Major factions? No. Minor factions form and dissolve with the direction of the wind.’

‘How do you keep up with it all?’

Eugen gave a shrug. ‘I don’t. I try to, but I miss things. The nobles who are really serious about it have spy networks of wondrous complexity.’

‘As I was saying,’ Jessalyn said, ‘I believe I would prefer to remain out of politics.’

‘And while I said you should be educated on the matter, I can only advise you to follow your beliefs. I wish I had.’

~~~

‘Are you sleeping with Wilhelmina?’ Jessalyn asked as she walked home with Hjordis.

‘That makes it sound more of a thing than it is. We occasionally get together to entertain each other. She has an arrangement with her husband. Anulf is a fine man, but he can’t keep up with Wilhelmina. So, she’s allowed lovers so long as they’re female. Anulf, quite reasonably I think, prefers that his young wife does not sleep with other men.’

‘Very open-minded of him. Do you make her wear a collar, or is this reserved for students?’

‘I’d remind you, young lady, that you’re the one who kept it on when I said you could stop. As for Mina… Well, that’s for us to know and you to never find out.’

‘Meanie.’

15th Drostamar.

Jessalyn was practising flying. All she was doing was flying loops around the garden, but she was flying. It was kind of a big deal. Flight was one of those things that non-mages assumed mages did all the time, even though the sight of a flying mage was rare. And now Jessalyn could do it!

‘Are you planning to stay up there all day?’ Hjordis asked after fifteen minutes of this.

Jessalyn lowered herself to the ground beside her sponsor. ‘No, I think that’s enough. It is a lovely day, so it’s tempting to take off and see the city from the air.’

Hjordis looked up at the blue sky. ‘Yes. Spring is three weeks away. Less. We could still get a winter storm through, especially with the ground heating up. However, it’s just going to get hotter from here. The spring fashions will be in the shops.’

‘Spring fashions? Now?’

‘Well, everyone has to have time to buy what they’re wearing before spring starts, don’t they?’

Jessalyn looked down at her green skirt and bra. ‘These are the first new clothes I’ve had in years.’

‘In this town, it’s new outfits every season. If you can afford it, obviously. If you can’t, well, you don’t matter anyway.’

‘New fashions from Capitol got to Greenwall about five years after they were current here. Unless someone came up from here and happened to be wearing the latest thing. Then we ignored it. I guess it was a little more current, and worn, in Vestinport.’

‘Here, you have to be wearing the right outfit on the first day of Hineraun. There are parties to show off your new clothes.’

Jessalyn grimaced. ‘We don’t have to go to any, do we?’

‘You’ll be too busy. We’ll be finishing your training and then going to the guild to register your new rank. That will be on the third. We’ll have a party to ourselves that night.’

‘I can accept that. But will I have to go to spring parties after I’m a junior master?’

Hjordis started for the kitchen door. ‘Only if you’ve done something to really annoy me before then.’

3rd Hineraun.

Grandmaster Valentin was a thin man with a thin face and the look of someone who practised necromancy as a hobby. His skin was pale and drawn tight over his skull. His eyes were very dark brown and had shadows under them. His nose was narrow and hawklike. His lips were, of course, thin and had a slight blue tinge. He was getting on in years, almost sixty according to Hjordis, so perhaps his appearance was nothing out of the ordinary. He was dressed in the loose robes Capitol favoured looped over his left shoulder with a shirt of soft wool under it. He looked kind of regal as he read over Hjordis’s recommendation letter behind the huge desk in his office.

The fact that he was reviewing Jessalyn’s promotion had come as something of a surprise. That it would be handled by someone senior was a given. However, Kasimira had been waiting in reception for Jessalyn and Hjordis to arrive, looking nervous. That had not put Jessalyn’s mind at ease. Then her advisor had said they would be seen by the grandmaster immediately…

Hjordis had questioned it, but Kasimira had explained it away as an administrative detail. Jessalyn was not buying it, and from the looks of it, neither was Hjordis. It seemed like someone was playing politics. Maybe someone had decided to object to Jessalyn’s rise in rank. Maybe the grandmaster himself was inclined to put obstacles in the way of a young mage, a female one at that, becoming a master. It did not sound good. However…

‘It would seem that your protege is overqualified for the rank of junior master, Senior Master,’ Valentin said after clearly taking a lot of care in reading the letter.

‘I agree, Grandmaster,’ Hjordis replied. ‘However, I can only recommend her rise to that rank according to my assessment of her capabilities.’

Valentin nodded and then peered at Jessalyn in a manner that had her shrinking against the large and rather comfortable armchair she was sitting in. When you visited the grandmaster, no matter who you were, you got to sit in comfort. ‘You’re a Blessed, of course. That can make all the difference.’

‘You can tell, sir?’ Jessalyn asked. ‘Just by looking?’

He sniffed. ‘I’ve never seen one before. The last anyone knows of was active… over a century ago. It’s said there were more about before the Empire. There were yet more before we have records. That, of course, is legend and may be entirely inaccurate. I can see that you have quite extraordinary talent. That in itself suggests a Blessed of Unerra.’ He looked back to Hjordis. ‘I’m asking this primarily because I’m required to. Senior Master, you stand by your recommendation and have no qualms about Senior Journeyman Jessalyn becoming a junior master?’

Hjordis looked him right in the eyes. ‘None whatsoever, Grandmaster Valentin. She’s one of the best students I’ve ever had, perhaps the best.’

‘Very well. Journeyman, present your ring.’

Getting to her feet, Jessalyn stepped forward and extended her arm. The guild sigil appeared above her ring, showing her current rank.

‘Good,’ Valentin said. ‘As Gandmaster of the Imperial Mages’ Guild, I hereby grant you the title of junior master. Go forth and represent your guild with pride.’

Immediately, the rank on the image changed and the stone in the ring went from green to blue. ‘Thank you, Grandmaster,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’m honoured.’

‘Tell me that after you’ve put up with the politics in this town for a few years. Now, the guild has a task for you, Junior Master. You don’t have to take it…’

‘I can’t make a decision on that without hearing what it is.’

‘Then take your seat and I’ll tell you.’ Valentin waited for Jessalyn to sit and then he continued. ‘West of here, near to the Draken Mountains, there’s a village called Merrilville. We’ve received a report from there indicating that a dragon has been attacking farms, eating the livestock, burning down buildings, etcetera. Now, we don’t believe that it’s a dragon. However, we do need someone to go out there and find out. If it is a dragon, someone of your talent is more likely to survive to report back.’

‘Dragons most usually appear in the north before they would get near a location like that,’ Jessalyn said. ‘It could have flown down the coast before turning inland, but it would seem unlikely. It’s most likely a drake.’

‘As you say. Will you go? We’ve arranged a carriage for transportation and there’ll be a scroll you can use to send an urgent message should you discover the worst. And you’ll be paid for your time, obviously.’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘I’ve never seen a drake. A dragon would be exciting, though I personally prefer to never live to see one.’

‘I’ll take that as a yes. You’ll leave tomorrow. The roads aren’t good to Merrilville but they are dry now. You’ll likely get there around the twenty-eighth. Hopefully, we can have your findings before the end of the month.’

‘Tomorrow? Very well, I’ll be ready.’

~~~

‘Not fair of them to ask you to go out dragon hunting as soon as you’ve got your new rank,’ Hjordis said. Her speech was a little slurred; they had been drinking for quite a while now, with food at first and then in general celebration. They were on their second bottle of wine. ‘You should get some time to relax after all that shtudy.’

Jessalyn giggled. ‘You shed “shtudy.”’

‘You said “shed” instead of “said.”’

That provoked more giggling. ‘I’m feeling pretty relaxed now.’ Jessalyn was, in fact, sprawled on the floor in front of the fire. The fire was not needed, at all, but they had lit it and it was the only thing providing light in the lounge.

‘That’s not what I mean.’

‘I know. I’ll be back before the end of Hinerasur, if all goes well. I can find out what summer in Capitol is like.’

‘Hot. It’s hot and sweaty. Sensible people stay inside and don’t move about much. Most of the people here aren’t sensible.’

‘Hot… I’m kind of hot.’

‘Well, you’re lying in front– What are you doing?’

‘Taking my top off. Are your eyes going?’ Jessalyn pulled the flimsy garment over her head and tossed it aside. She was going to be back in her travelling clothes tomorrow anyway.

‘I can see that. It’s not like losing it’s going to make you much cooler.’

‘Right.’ Jessalyn got to her feet and slid her skirt off down her legs. She was still wearing her collar. Then she laid herself down again, stared right into Hjordis’s eyes, and sipped her wine. She licked her lips. She waited.

‘I don’t sleep with students,’ Hjordis said.

‘I’m not your student. That relationship ended this morning.’

‘You make a valid point.’ Getting to her feet, Hjordis pulled her own top off. Her nipples were already standing out. ‘You need to be up early though. We should–’

‘I can sleep in the carriage. Take your skirt off and get down here before I start to think you don’t want me.’

‘Oh, Jessalyn… I’ve wanted you since I first laid eyes on you. It’s going to be painful saying goodbye in the morning.’

‘Maybe, but all I’m worried about is pleasure. Forget about tomorrow. It never comes anyway.’

Hjordis, now naked, got down on her knees and crawled over until she was face to face with Jessalyn. ‘At least we will.’

Part Eight: Dragon Hunt

Merrilville, 28th Hineraun 1466.

The village of Merrilville consisted of around thirty houses of various sizes, a tavern, and a shrine to Unerra. Most of the houses were not much bigger than the apartment Jessalyn had grown up in, though they did all seem to have a garden surrounded by a low fence. The gardens looked barren at the moment, probably because they were devoted to growing vegetables; few, if any, had anything which looked like flowers in them.

Some of the cottages had lights showing through their shutters. The driver of Jessalyn’s transport for the journey had decided to push on as darkness fell because they were only an hour from their destination. Now that they were there, the lights from the coach were showing them the way more than anything the village might provide. Jessalyn had got to know Ortwin and his son, Horst, fairly well over the twenty-five days they had been travelling. Ortwin had been driving coaches for almost twenty-four years and Horst had been learning the trade for four. They were a good team, treated their horses well and their passengers almost as well, and she trusted them. Certainly, she trusted Ortwin to navigate down a dirt road for an hour without running them into a ditch.

The only stone building in the village was the tavern. Ortwin pulled the carriage up outside it and Jessalyn got out to look the place over, rather thankful to be standing. The coach had good suspension and cushioned seats, but there was only so much all that could do to protect your behind from roads which were rough at best. The tavern had a single storey, but it spread out a lot. If they were lucky, there was somewhere at the back to park the coach and house the horses. That was Ortwin’s problem, but Jessalyn hoped there was going to be no problem. Again, light showed through the shutters, but there was not much sign of life about the place. She looked up: a thatched roof sat atop the stone walls. The village was thatched: wooden houses and a stone-built tavern with a thatched roof. If a dragon came by, the only thing left would be the shell of the tavern.

Inside, the tavern appeared to be one room at first sight. A little thought suggested that the taproom did not take up the entire building, but it had to be over half of it. Overhead were the beams supporting the roof and the thatch above them. There was a fire burning in a large fireplace off to one side, with an empty spit set over it. At the back was a trestle bar with three barrels behind it along with a heavyset man who was presumably the bartender. The rest of the place was taken up with tables surrounded by stools. Many of the stools were occupied by men who gave off the impression that they were drinking to forget. Conversation, such as it was, was subdued and it vanished entirely when Jessalyn walked in.

Marching over to the bar, Jessalyn addressed the man behind it. ‘Good evening, I’m Master Jessalyn. I was sent by the Mages’ Guild to look into your dragon problem. Might I speak to your headman?’

‘They sent a girl to deal with a dragon?’ It was not the bartender who spoke.

Jessalyn turned to look at the man who had. He was more heavily built than the barman and dressed in a mail shirt. A spear leaned against the table beside him. His nose was large and had been broken a couple of times. He had fists like hams and his eyes seemed to have reacted in the opposite way being small and dark.

‘No,’ Jessalyn said, ‘they sent a woman and master mage to look into whether you have a dragon at all.’ She turned back to the bartender. ‘The headman?’

‘You’ll not see Geb before dawn,’ the barman said. ‘Has a thing about that. I’m Erich. This is my place. I can put you up for the night and you can see him in the morning.’

Jessalyn paused long enough to make it seem like that was less than ideal. ‘I suppose that will have to do. My driver is outside with his carriage. Can someone show him where to put up the horses?’

‘Came on a carriage, did you?’ The armed man asked from behind her.

‘Someone thought the situation was urgent enough to provide fast transport,’ Jessalyn replied without turning around. ‘I suppose that was mistaken since your headman won’t see me until morning.’

‘Don’t mind Duke,’ Erich said. ‘He’s sour by nature.’

‘Am not!’ Duke exclaimed. ‘Damn monster’s been attacking farms since the middle of Drostasur. We finally get them to do something about it, and they send a girl to tell us we don’t have a dragon!’

Now Jessalyn did turn. ‘Have I said you don’t? I’m here to see what is out here. If it’s a dragon… Well, then we have a problem. If it’s not, I may be able to get rid of whatever it is myself.’

‘It’s a dragon.’

‘You’ve seen it? You know how to tell a dragon from a drake?’

Duke frowned and his eyes dipped away. ‘No.’

Jessalyn turned back to Erich. ‘My driver?’

‘I’ll get it seen to. I’ve only got communal rooms for you to sleep in, but there’s only one other traveller here this early in the year. You can sleep in a room by yourself. Your driver’ll have to share.’

‘I’d imagine he’s used to it.’ On the road, Ortwin had insisted that he and Horst stood watch while Jessalyn slept in the carriage. So, Jessalyn had insisted that whoever was sleeping use the other padded seat in the coach to do so. A real bed of any kind was going to be an improvement. ‘He has his son with him.’

‘Right. It’ll be twelve moons a night, for each, including food.’

‘I’ll take a look at your accommodation and then I’ll decide whether you get six or not. I’m not from Capitol, Erich. I was just there when your lord sent his request to the guild. I’ve spent most of the last few years on the road and I know what lodging in cheap taverns costs.’

‘Ah, but there’s nowhere else for you to–’

‘There’s the carriage. A bed would be nice, but I doubt your beds are nice enough to be overcharged for.’

Erich sighed. ‘Well, you’re not wrong…’

29th Hineraun.

The bed she was hoping for was a cot, and she only got that because she said she would pay a little extra for a little comfort. Dinner was vegetable soup which had been shown some meat so it knew what it was missing out on. Breakfast was porridge, and a lot better than the soup. And the headman turned up at the tavern two hours after dawn.

‘I’m Gebhard,’ he said when Erich had told him who Jessalyn was, ‘the headman here in Merrilville. I was expecting… someone else.’

‘A man?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Well, yes.’

‘I’m what you have, and I’m quite capable of handling what needs doing. Now, tell me about your dragon.’

They sat down at one of the tables, Jessalyn, Gebhard, Duke, and Erich. Everyone called Gebhard Geb, apparently, while Duke turned out to be really called Marmaduke. Why Duke and Erich were there was not entirely clear at this point.

‘The first sighting was on the eighteenth of Drostasur,’ Gebhard said. ‘It attacked a herd of goats being overwintered out on the foothills. The goatherd managed to escape and fled straight here. We sent word to Capitol, where Lord Gerold is overwintering.’

‘Overwintering, my arse,’ Duke said. ‘He comes out here when the moon goes backwards.’

‘We sent word to him,’ Gebhard continued, clearly ignoring the outburst, ‘and it seems he sent you.’

‘I have no idea who the actual client is,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I was contracted by the guild to handle this. What did this goatherd see? What does it look like?’

‘Big,’ Erich said. ‘Huge wings, huge jaws, huge claws. Scales all over.’

‘Colour?’

‘Red, maybe reddish brown.’

‘Horns?’

‘No mention of horns.’

‘So,’ Jessalyn said, ‘no huge horns and it’s red. How big did he say it was?’

‘Twenty paces nose to tail. That was what he reckoned.’

‘Okay. Any other sightings? What has it been doing?’

‘It hasn’t come out this way, yet,’ Duke said. ‘If it had, I’d have–’

‘Died,’ Gebhard said flatly. ‘But, Duke’s right, it hasn’t come out this far yet. It’s attacked about a dozen farms so far, eating the livestock. Anyone who’s tried to fight it off has died. It’s burned down a few farmhouses.’

‘Three at last count,’ Erich said.

‘Anyone who got away from it has given about the same description. Maybe not always so big.’

‘Well, the biggest dragon on record came in at fifteen paces, nose to tail,’ Jessalyn said. ‘You either have people exaggerating or the largest beast on record.’

‘Why would they exaggerate?’ Duke said. ‘These are good people. They wouldn’t lie.’

‘I didn’t say they were lying. People are terrible witnesses. They mistake details, believe they’ve seen something they haven’t so much that they can’t have it any other way, and they’re terrible at judging scale unless trained to do so. Listening to other reports can bias your opinion of what you saw. Our memories are not the perfect things we like to believe. Mages researching all sorts of things have had to contend with things like this for centuries. That fifteen-pace dragon I mentioned was said to be over thirty paces long until it was dead and could be measured. Even then, some said it had shrunk to half its size upon death.’

Duke narrowed his eyes. ‘You’re saying our dragon isn’t big enough?’

‘I’m not saying anything of the sort. I haven’t seen it yet. However, dragons almost always have horns, and their scales are black, sometimes with a red tip. Fire drakes, on the other hand, are red or brown. We can rule out an ice drake since they’re blue or white. Venom drakes are very rare, thank Unerra, but we can definitely rule one of those out since they’re green.’

‘It’s still doing a lot of damage,’ Gebhard said. ‘And killing people, obviously.’

‘Of course. What I want to do is go out and see if I can find this thing. Do you have some hunters who can lead me? As few people as possible would be good. The fewer in danger, the better.’

‘Dale’s in town,’ Erich said.

Gebhard nodded. ‘Dale’s a good man. His eldest, Fulton, is learning the trade now. They can take you out. Duke can go with you.’

Duke’s eyes widened. ‘What if it comes here? The village’ll be defenceless if–’

‘Drake or dragon, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. You’re the town’s watchman and you’re going.’

‘True,’ Jessalyn said. ‘If you can get close enough, that spear might scratch it. Then it’ll rip you apart before you can try again or roast you on the spot. That’s if it’s a fire drake. If it really is a dragon, you’d need a ballista or an arbalest to make a dent.’

‘How do they kill dragons at all then?’ Erich asked.

‘A knight with magical weapons and armour or a mage. It’s not easy. Dragons are intelligent, brighter than most humans. They can work magic, plan, and strategise. They don’t pick fights they can’t win unless tricked or forced into it. Thankfully, they mostly stay on Dragon Island. I’d like to leave as soon as possible.’

‘I’ll get Dale to come see you,’ Gebhard said. ‘You can probably get a start this afternoon.’

‘Sooner the better.’

Merrilville Region.

The land around Merrilville shifted from low hills – the village itself was on one of the larger ones, which was not saying much – to grassy plains, apparently on a whim. There were some clumps of trees dotted about the landscape, but nothing you could have called a forest. In the distance, to the west, the Draken Mountains looked grey and uninviting, though they were hillocks compared to the snow-capped peaks of the Dragonwall Mountains Jessalyn had seen from Ulriksport.

All in all, there did not seem to be anywhere for a dragon to hide, but there was no sign of it as the little team of hunters headed west toward the areas the beast had been seen in. Jessalyn reassessed her standpoint on that when she realised how lumpy the land was around here. It was quite possible that even a dragon could have been hiding behind one of the hills and not be seen until you were too close for comfort.

Setting out after lunch, they’d managed to get a good twelve unreks away by nightfall. Duke grumbled about having to sleep on the ground. He had been showing every sign of complaining about the food, but Jessalyn used magic to turn the travel rations they had brought along into something far more edible, so he lost that chance. Thankfully, he went to bed early since he was to stand the early watch, which left Jessalyn chatting with Dale and Fulton.

‘Thing about Duke,’ Dale said, ‘is that he’s all mouth and no backbone.’

‘You’re saying he’s a coward?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Not exactly. He’ll stand his ground against someone he’s sure he can beat. If a dragon did attack the village, the only reason he’d be the last one hiding in the tavern is because he’s not that quick on his feet.’

Dale was not the most talkative of people. Or maybe he was not that talkative around Duke. He was not a large man, kind of wiry, even a bit thin. He did have the overdeveloped shoulders and arms of those who use a bow habitually, but that was built on a relatively light frame. He was on the more attractive side of the scale with dark hair and eyes. He dressed in browns and dark greens, which made him look darker. He was in his early thirties and had a fair breadth of experience out on the plains and hills of the area.

‘Duke’s a bully,’ Fulton said. Fulton took after his father in general looks, though he was more attractive and had a slightly stronger build. He was thirteen and Jessalyn suspected there were village girls eyeing him as a marriage prospect. She also suspected he had not noticed because he was paying Jessalyn no mind; some boys developed later than others. ‘He’ll pick on those who can’t fight back. Give him a real threat and he starts talking. A lot.’

‘He doesn’t sound like an ideal man for his job,’ Jessalyn said.

‘He’s Geb’s brother-in-law,’ Dale said, shrugging. ‘That said, I’m not sure even Geb is going to put up with him for much longer. He stands most of his watches in the tavern with a tankard in his fist.’

‘Huh.’

‘Um, lady mage?’ Fulton said.

‘Jessalyn.’

‘Well, okay. Um, what do we do if there is a dragon out there?’

‘Hide,’ Jessalyn replied flatly. ‘I have a scroll that’ll let me send a message to the guild. If there’s a dragon, I’ll use it and they’ll send out the army and a regiment of mages. That’ll take some time though.’

‘And if it’s a drake?’

‘Well, then I’ll improvise.’

30th Drostaun.

On the second day they came across a burned-out farmhouse. There was no sign of what had attacked it, but parts of the wooden frame of the building were still smoking. It had probably been only a day since the beast had come calling.

‘This was Braith’s farm,’ Dale said.

‘Do you think they got away?’ Fulton asked.

Jessalyn was standing amid the ruins of the farmhouse, unable to tell which room had been which. She looked down at the three corpses, huddled together, which Fulton was likely unable to see from where he was standing. ‘No, they didn’t. Just stay over there, Fulton, this isn’t a pretty sight.’ At least they had not been eaten.

‘This place is less than twenty unreks from the village,’ Duke said. He was pointedly not going near where Jessalyn was either. ‘It could be there–’

‘Probably about thirty minutes,’ Jessalyn said, ‘and we’d have seen it. So, it didn’t go that way. It may be getting closer to the village, but it’s taking its time over it. If it’s a drake, it probably won’t go near Merrilville anyway. Drakes are smart but they’re still animals. They won’t attack a large group of people without a reason.’

‘And if it’s a dragon?’

‘Then it would assess the potential threat before wiping out the village. Probably. There’s a lot of chaos about a dragon. They’ll destroy on a whim, or just fly on by. Humans aren’t much of a threat unless they have magic. That means humans are inconsequential; they live or die according to which side of the bed the dragon got out of that morning. We should bury them.’

‘We don’t have the tools,’ Dale said. He walked over to where Jessalyn had found the bodies. ‘Unless you have some magic…’

‘Earth magic isn’t something I’ve studied.’

‘Then the best we can do is pile rocks over them. We’ll send people out to do a proper job when we get back.’

‘Right. Duke and I will handle that. Take Fulton and see if you can find anything suggesting which way it went.’

Dale flashed her a look of thanks. His son would have to get used to the realities of life eventually, but maybe he could wait a year or two before dealing with bodies barely recognisable as human after a fire. ‘If there’s something to find, we’ll find it.’

~~~

What they had found were the corpses of a few pigs, or parts of them. Something the size of a drake was not a delicate eater, dragons more so. There were limbs scattered about, a few bones it had managed to pick clean. There was little indication of where the beast had gone from there aside from a burn mark which could have been made on the way in or out, so they kept on heading west until sunset.

‘Doesn’t this mean it’s more likely a dragon?’ Fulton asked as they sat around camp eating a stew Jessalyn had made out of their rations.

‘Your reasoning?’ Jessalyn asked in reply.

‘Well, why would a drake burn the farmhouse?’

‘It’s probably had people run out of a burning building. Then it ate them. Still, you may be right.’

‘Said it was a dragon,’ Duke said.

‘And I did’t. When I see it, then I’ll know.’

‘It could take us weeks to find it.’

‘That’s not impossible. They can fly a fair distance in a day, and we don’t know where it’s calling home. Unless we can find some sign of it, we’ll just have to get lucky.’

‘I’m not sure I’d call that luck,’ Dale said, ‘especially if, as Duke says, it’s a dragon.’

‘Better we find it than it keeps hunting around here. If it’s really a dragon, it’s going to move on to higher-population areas soon enough and there’ll be a lot of deaths.’

‘If it moves on, that’s good by me,’ Duke said.

‘Your community spirit is duly noted, Duke,’ Jessalyn said. He seemed to think that was a compliment.

2nd Hinerasur.

The third day gave them little. There was another burned farm, but it was one they already knew about and told them little. The fourth day was looking like it would follow the same pattern until maybe three hours before sunset when Fulton spotted something in the air.

‘What’s that?’ he asked, pointing upward.

There was something there, a black shape with what looked like large flapping wings, heading generally in their direction. Jessalyn squinted at it and wished she had learned the spell Zachary used to improve his eyesight. ‘It’s probably the best evidence we’ve had so far. Any idea where it’s going?’

They all stared at the blob until it resolved more clearly into something like a dragon. It was high, but not very high, and it looked like it was scanning around, looking for something. Food was the probable target, which likely meant another farm.

‘Tobias’s farm is out that way,’ Dale said. ‘A bit north of here, but it looks to be heading a bit north of here. If it keeps going the way it’s going, it’s going to find Tobias and his family and their cattle.’

‘His house is stone,’ Fulton said. ‘It’s thatched, but it might hold out a little longer.’

‘Maybe,’ Jessalyn said. ‘How far away is Tobias’s farm?’

‘Two, two and a half unreks.’

‘Then we head there and, hopefully, intercept it.’

~~~

It took almost an hour to reach the farm and they lost sight of the beast twenty minutes before they arrived. Luckily for the humans involved, it seemed that it was more inclined to gulp down as many cows as it could before attempting anything else. Lucky in the immediate term; how they were going to survive with no livestock was another matter.

The team of four stood beside the stone farmhouse and watched for a time as the monstrous creature destroyed the overwintered herd. In the climate of the region, you could overwinter a lot of animals. The period when the grass was inedible was fairly brief. The herd was not a small one and the thing was taking its time over its snack.

There was a hissing sound from behind them, and they turned to see a bearded, heavyset man in rough clothing. He looked terrified. ‘Are you all crazy? There’s a dragon out there eating my herd! Come inside before–’ This was presumably Tobias. He seemed to think his house would be safe but dying when burning thatch fell on you would not be a great way to go.

‘On the bright side,’ Jessalyn said, cutting him off mid hiss, ‘that’s not a dragon.’

‘It’s not?’ Duke asked.

‘Too small, no horns, wrong colour. It’s not a dragon. On the less bright side, it’s a fire drake and it’s probably learned that humans make a nice dessert. So, when it’s done with the cows, it’s going to set light to your thatch to try to force you out.’

‘Uh, oh,’ Tobias said. ‘I hadn’t thought… We need to run for it, right?’

‘You need to take care of it,’ Duke said, pointing at Jessalyn. ‘Isn’t that what you were sent out here to do?’

‘I was sent to evaluate the situation,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’ve evaluated.’

‘That’s as cowardly a statement as I’ve ever–’

‘Why don’t you go kill it, Marmaduke?’ Dale said. ‘You were all fired up about defending the village with that spear of yours. Get out there and stab it in the eye.’

‘She s-said that wouldn’t work.’

‘Yeah, but you have to try, right? Tobias here is relying on you.’

Before Duke could come up with a reply, Jessalyn spoke. ‘I might be able to kill it. Duke’s wrong about why I was sent but I do feel a little bad taking the money for just coming here and looking.’

‘It’s too dangerous,’ Dale said sharply. ‘If I could hit it in the eye…’ He was lifting a hunting bow from his back as he spoke. It was a good one, made from different woods glued together to be stronger and more supple than any of the parts.

‘I don’t want to denigrate your skill with a bow, but can you really make a shot like that?’

‘If I can get closer and wait for it to stop to eat a cow… Maybe.’

‘Get closer than this? In an open field?’ There was next to no cover on the farm. It was frankly amazing that the drake had not spotted them and come over to see what they tasted like.

‘So, what’s your plan?’

‘I’m going to walk over there, attract its attention, get it to rush me, and then kill it before it gets close enough to roast me.’

‘You call that a plan?!’

‘I did say, if it was a drake, that I’d have to improvise.’ She cast a spell on herself to improve her chances of dodging, and then she began to charge up a Lightning spell. ‘I think it’ll come at me if I make enough noise. It’ll see me as a threat or a snack. The maximum range it can use its flames is about twenty paces and I should be able to hit it at that range.’ She lifted her staff and sparks danced around it. ‘There’s a reason they send people with magic to fight dragons.’

‘You are crazy,’ Duke said.

‘I’m not going to argue.’ Turning, Jessalyn set off across the farm’s yard toward the field where the drake was frolicking with the cattle. There was a low wall around the property, and she saw Dale flanking her until he reached it. There, he dropped to one knee with his bow at the ready. She supposed it was a backstop arrangement: if she failed, he might get lucky.

About two hundred paces from the beast, having jumped a fence to get into the field, Jessalyn raised both arms and waved them. ‘Hey! Hey, drake! Come and get the juicy mage. I’m bony but tender, come and get it!’ The drake lifted its head and looked her way. ‘Yeah, you! Stupid beast. Come and kill me before I kill you.’ She kept walking toward it.

Apparently feeling challenged, the drake let out a roar and ran forward a few steps before unfurling its wings and taking to the air. It was impressive, even if it was not a true dragon. Its scales were fire-red and while it did not have horns, it did have a lot of bony ridges around its skull which made it look meaner than a plain head might have. A couple of bone spurs jutted from its chin like a weird, off-white beard. Large blood-red eyes burned with malign intent as it opened its jaws and readied its flame weapon. Drakes, and dragons, did not breathe fire. The fire was magical, and it began as a ball of incandescent, flame-like light before lashing out at whatever the creature wished to incinerate. In this case, that was Jessalyn.

Jessalyn was not giving it the opportunity. Just before it got into range, she lifted her staff, extending it out toward the drake, and unleashed a lightning bolt bigger than any she had ever tried before. It streaked under the monster’s extended neck and hit home in its broad, scaly chest, burning through the scales and wreaking havoc with the flesh behind them. The fire died in the drake’s mouth and its eyes. It arced through the air toward Jessalyn and she backed up fast as it ploughed a furrow in the turf before tumbling once and coming to a stop right where she had been standing a second ago.

‘That was a good move,’ she said to herself. ‘Getting hit by a falling drake would’ve been a terrible way to die.’ Just to be sure, she set off to check that it was dead.

The others, including Tobias, turned up a minute or two later. Duke had his spear at the ready, but there was absolutely no sign of life in the thing.

‘Well,’ Duke said, ‘that was easy.’

Jessalyn looked at him. ‘Are you bloody kidding me?!’

Merrilville, 5th Hinerasur.

They spent the night at Tobias’s farm. He had lost a lot of livestock, but he still had some as well as his life and the lives of his family. He was better off than Braith and several others, and he was grateful to the mage who had saved him. Then they set off back to Merrilville in the morning, reaching it before sunset on the third day.

In the room at the back of the tavern, Jessalyn used the scroll she had been given to let the Mages’ Guild know that the situation had been resolved. Then she changed into one of her dresses – the first she had bought, so long ago, for Lord Vergil’s party – and joined the villagers in their celebration of the drake’s demise.

‘You’ve earned the thanks of the village,’ Gebhard told her as he handed her a tankard of ale which she was not expected to pay for. She was getting her cot for free tonight too, even if it had looked like it caused Erich physical pain to do it.

‘I’m getting paid to do this,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Thanks are unnecessary, but they are appreciated.’

‘We don’t expect people from Capitol to go beyond their job description. Most don’t match it.’

‘Well, as I said, I’m not from Capitol. I just happened to be there when the request came through. You’re lucky I spent the winter there to get my junior master rank. Though I’m sure someone else would have come if I hadn’t.’

‘Wait. You’re a junior master?’

‘I was promoted the day before I started out to come here.’

‘Can all junior masters stop a fire drake with one blow?’

Jessalyn gave a shrug. ‘Honestly, I have no idea.’ Actually, she had some idea, and it was that most would have killed themselves powering the Lightning spell she had used unless they had a mana crystal to draw upon. That was assuming they could have controlled that much power in the first place, which was unlikely. ‘I’m me, and I managed it. Nearly got flattened when it fell out of the air, but it died and I didn’t.’

‘That,’ Dale said, ‘is what counts. Heroes are the ones who win when the other guy doesn’t.’

‘I am no kind of hero, Dale.’

‘In Merrilville you are,’ Gebhard told her. ‘We’ll be telling this story to our grandchildren and beyond.’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘I’m famous in a village near the Drake Mountains. My story of great deeds begins here.’

Dale shrugged. ‘Have to start somewhere. Here’s as good a place as any.’

Part Nine: Tutor

Capitol, 30th Hinerasur 1466.

‘So, it was a fire drake,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’m guessing, but it was probably pushed out of its territory by a stronger drake or pressure on its food supply, and it found it far easier to hunt on farmland.’

Grandmaster Valentin nodded. ‘As you say, a guess but a reasonable one. You struck it down with a single spell?’

‘Lightning. It’s my one– Actually, I have two lightning-based spells to attack with. One of them is aimed at removing multiple targets from the field and its use is circumstantial. So, I almost always use Lightning.’

‘And you can put considerable charge into it. I know the other one you mentioned. We call it Chain Lightning and you shouldn’t have been able to learn it before becoming a master.’

Jessalyn’s cheeks coloured a little. ‘I sometimes just know spells. They appear in my head when I need them. Sometimes they stick around.’

‘Another of the benefits which may appear in Blessed mages. Junior Master Jessalyn, having completed this task with relative ease and in a most satisfactory manner, the guild wishes you to sit the exam for full master rank. Senior Master Hjordis believes you to be ready. My assessment of your talent suggests that her view is not coloured by favouritism.’

Jessalyn stared at her guild master for a second, blinked, and said, ‘You don’t think I’m too young? Or that it’s been too short a time since I became a junior? Or that I’m a woman?’

Valentin actually smiled. ‘I’m quite clear on the fact that you’re a woman. Were I but a decade younger, I suspect I’d be quite focused on that. However, I assume you refer to the general bias toward the male gender. I won’t say I’m unaffected by that bias. I’m getting on in years. Nostalgia for the “good old days” gets stronger as you get older. In this case, other factors outweigh that factor and your age. The… guidelines, that’s a suitable word, we follow are based around the need for experience and knowledge. They assume talented but normal mages. You have been blessed by Unerra. The normal rules don’t apply. Still, we’ll go through the formalities to ensure that your knowledge meets expectations.’

‘Well,’ Jessalyn said, ‘I’d be a total fool to decline the offer.’

‘And we’ve established, I think, that you’re not a fool. I’ll make the arrangements for Kanniday. Pick up your payment for the Merrilville job from Junior Master Kasimira and then, I believe, Senior Master Hjordis wanted you to stay with her before the test.’

‘Oh, I’m sure she does…’

~~~

‘It’s practical,’ Hjordis said. They were in her study, drinking tea. ‘You need a place to stay. Your room here is free. I wouldn’t say I need the company, but it has been quiet here while you’ve been away.’

‘I can’t stay here forever, Mistress.’ Jessalyn had put her collar back on prior to going to Hjordis’s house. She had not been wearing it while working and, oddly, she had missed it. Seeing it, Hjordis had gone red around the cheeks. ‘If I’m staying in Capitol, I should find my own place.’

‘There’s nothing stopping you staying here until you decide what you’re doing.’

‘True,’ Jessalyn conceded, ‘but I’m paying you for room and board.’

‘I don’t need your coin. We’re friends, I think.’

‘I’d be happy to consider us so. Friends don’t allow friends to be out of pocket when they have the means to pay.’

‘Friends don’t allow friends to hand over coin when there’s little or no need for it.’

Jessalyn’s eyes narrowed. ‘Then I’ll assist with your work. I’m sure you could use a little help with whatever you’re working on.’

‘You should be concentrating on preparing for your exam. The guild is paying me to research a lost spell. Bringing you up to speed on it would likely slow me down.’

‘I’m going to pay you for my lodging somehow, Mistress.’

‘Ah!’ Hjordis gave an exasperated cry and threw up her hands. ‘If you absolutely insist, you can pay with your body.’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘That’s acceptable.’

‘You didn’t even think about that.’

‘Nothing to think about. Should I undress now, or do you want to finish your tea?’

~~~

‘There may be another reason for Valentin to push you through to master early,’ Hjordis said.

Jessalyn looked up and frowned. ‘Oh?’ She was stretched out on the rug in front of the fire wearing only her collar. The flames in the fireplace were only an illusion this evening, but they set the mood. Both women had glasses of wine. Both were expecting Hjordis’s clothes to follow Jessalyn’s soon enough.

‘I’ve heard mutterings. One or two people are disgruntled about your promotion.’

‘To junior master, or higher?’

‘Both, but specifically the swift push up to master. They’re saying there’s a political motive. Pressure from the nobility.’

‘From the nobility? Why?’

‘Nothing I’ve heard ascribes a motive. Where nobles are involved, it’s usually money or power.’

‘I can’t see how elevating me to full master rank benefits anyone other than me.’

‘And neither can I. They’re rumours. It’s likely that some unhappy master wants to ascribe your rise to dubious motives. Don’t worry too much about it.’

Jessalyn gave her mistress a look. ‘Then why bring it up? Are you going to undress, or shall I just crawl under your skirt?’

‘I brought it up for information,’ Hjordis replied in a haughty tone.

Jessalyn waited a second to be sure there was not going to be an answer to her second question, then she shifted to her hands and knees and started forward. ‘Okay, so it’s under the skirt then.’

‘You are a bit assertive for a sex slave, you know,’ Hjordis commented.

Jessalyn’s response was a bit muffled by the fabric. ‘Mistress is too kind.’

3rd Hineramar.

Once again, the very busy grandmaster of the guild was handling Jessalyn’s promotion. That on top of Kasimira’s continued nervousness had Jessalyn thinking that there might be something to the rumours of pressure from above concerning Jessalyn’s rise in the ranks.

However, Valentin was taking his own sweet time in going over Jessalyn’s answers. She was confident. She had, she felt, done well. The answers had come easily to questions which were difficult to say the least. Of course, that might mean she had misunderstood and got them all horribly wrong, but then it should have been easy to fail her. Valentin either wanted to be very sure that no one could fault his assessment, or he was simply the kind of man who read slowly and carefully, wanting to be sure his marking was correct. The fact that Jessalyn had to sit there watching him was some form of torture, she was sure.

Finally, after what seemed like several hours, he shook his head. ‘Quite excellent. Perhaps you are just on good form today, but these answers are insightful, accurate, and, of course, correct. I’d expect this from a seasoned master. A senior master might be hard-pressed to do this well.’

Jessalyn let out the breath she had not realised she was holding. ‘Thank you, Grandmaster. I’ve had good teachers.’

‘Perhaps. Your personal talent has much to do with this, I think. Whatever the case, you’ve met the requirements for promotion. Please present your ring, Junior Master.’

This time, the only change to the guild crest was the change in title. The stone stayed blue and would only change again if Jessalyn created an original spell and passed the next, even harder, exam to become a senior master. She was hoping no one would suggest she get right on with that now.

‘Thank you, Grandmaster,’ Jessalyn said as she looked at her new crest.

‘My pleasure, Master Jessalyn. You’ll have something to celebrate with Hjordis tonight.’

Jessalyn smiled. ‘You know, her reputation is largely a fabrication she uses to stay out of things she dislikes.’

‘I know. Just don’t tell her I know. Frankly, I wish I’d thought of such a ruse myself when I was younger. I’m jealous.’

~~~

Jessalyn was in a rather uncomfortable position, but she really did not care. The exchange after dinner had gone like this…

‘You did amazingly well,’ Hjordis had said. ‘I should do something special to reward you.’

‘Like?’

‘Tie you down and cause you unspeakable amounts of pleasure.’ It had clearly been meant to sound entirely over the top.

‘That sounds interesting,’ Jessalyn had replied.

Hjordis had shaken her head. ‘I’m starting to think you really might be into that sort of thing.’

‘I’m not really sure. I know I enjoy watching you get embarrassed when I suggest I’d agree to whatever you ask. Perhaps if you did tie me up, we could find out whether I’m into it.’

And so, Jessalyn’s wrists were tied to the back legs of one of the easy chairs in the lounge. Her ankles were tied to the front legs. A loop of rope around the back of the chair was holding her knees apart as far as they could go, which was quite far since her behind was barely on the seat. Hjordis had really wanted her immobile and available. Having succeeded in her goal, the senior master was employing all of her considerable talents to reduce Jessalyn to a quivering collection of overstimulated nerve endings. It was a form of magic Jessalyn had never encountered before, and it was driving her insane.

‘Y-you know,’ Jessalyn managed to get out, ‘I told the G-grandmaster that y-your rep-reputation was un-unde-undeserved today. I lied to the Grandm-master.’

‘We’re celebrating.’ Hjordis added a fourth finger to the ones she was pumping in and out of Jessalyn. ‘Something special is appropriate. Now, shut up and come.’

Jessalyn could do little but comply.

4th Hineramar.

Having received and celebrated her new rank, and feeling rather sore, Jessalyn walked to the guild the following morning to see what kind of work was available for a newly minted master mage. After a few hundred paces she was regretting the walking part, but she persevered. She was heading for the job board in the rather sumptuous reception area when Kasimira rushed over to her, not even waiting to see whether Jessalyn would walk over to the counter.

‘Master Jessalyn, I’m so glad you came in. It saves us sending someone out to find you.’ That did not sound ominous at all.

‘What can I do for you, Master Kasimira? Uh, you’re not upset about me being promoted past you, are you?’

Kasimira waved the question away. ‘If that got me upset, I’d be in a constant state of agitation. I’ll get there when I get there.’ She held out a folded sheet of paper, sealed with wax. ‘No, this came for you and it’s urgent.’

Jessalyn took the message. The only writing on the outside was her name, but the seal was stamped with the crest of the Meginhard family, the imperial family. This was the crest of the emperor, not simply the Empire. ‘Oh,’ she said. She opened the seal and read the contents. ‘I’m “cordially” invited to a meeting to discuss work for the imperial court.’

‘Cordially is good,’ Kasimira said. She did not sound nearly surprised enough that the new master mage was being invited to discuss a job at the palace.

‘What would be bad?’

‘Oh, um. “Politely” isn’t good. It sounds the same, but it’s not. And it’s not an order. An order would be bad.’

‘But it’s not like I can decline.’

‘Not unless you want to be known for being the shortest-lived master in history.’

‘Hm.’ Jessalyn reread the ‘invitation.’ ‘Doesn’t say to reply, just to turn up at two this afternoon.’

‘Then I suggest you go home and get changed. You should probably be there thirty minutes before.’

Jessalyn sighed. ‘This is going to be a real pain. I can tell already.’

~~~

Despite the letter seeming to indicate that the summons was from the emperor, it seemed that Jessalyn was going to be seeing a lot of officials with questions.

The first was an army officer of quite high rank who seemed to think Jessalyn was a threat to the crown, the Empire, and the very nature of society. Jessalyn endured his questions, wondering what the point of them was. He went over her background in detail and seemed to pay particular attention to the incident with Baron Eustace. He was a minor noble and seemed to think a mage standing up to another noble was an affront to the law.

The second was a man with a thin neck and no chin, dressed in robes which hung off him as though he were normally employed as a drying rack. He did not so much ask questions as decide where Jessalyn was deficient in correct manners, cluck disapprovingly, and neglect to mention how she was deficient.

And then Jessalyn was shown to a room with several chairs and low tables and told that she was to wait. A servant in a long white gown turned up to bring her tea, but she was mostly left to stare at the walls. The walls were nice, she noted. All of them were smoothly plastered with mouldings at the joint of wall and ceiling bearing the Meginhard crest. Jessalyn waited, trying to keep her temper bottled, for about an hour.

Then the emperor burst in through the door, followed by two men in armour with swords on their belts, looking like a thundercloud. That did not seem good. Storming in, he dropped onto the seat opposite Jessalyn before she could get to her feet. At least the soldiers remained by the door. ‘Don’t stand,’ he ordered. ‘This face isn’t for you. Just sit there quietly and let me get my temper in check, if you don’t mind waiting a little longer.’

Jessalyn opened her mouth to reply, reconsidered, and just bowed her head to accept the imperial command. It gave her time to study the man who ruled her world.

Emperor Witold Meginhard was not an especially big man. He was probably a little shorter than Jessalyn and wiry more than muscular. If memory served, he was almost thirty-three and looked about right for that. There was no sign of ageing on his face and what she could see of his body suggested that he engaged in exercise of some form rather than just sitting on a throne all day. She doubted he did that anyway. He had a reasonably handsome face, nothing stunning, but attractive enough to be pleasing to the eye. She was not sure his carefully trimmed beard really suited him; it encircled his mouth and came to a slight point below his chin. His hair was dark, both on his head and face. His beard was definitely black, but his head hair, trimmed short and neat about his skull, was more of a dark brown. More startling to see were his eyes which were a shade of purple. Purple eyes ran in the Meginhard family.

Witold pulled in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and appeared to force himself to relax. ‘Now. I am Emperor Witold Meginhard. Do I have the pleasure of addressing Master Jessalyn latterly of Greenwall?’

Jessalyn rose to her feet, despite his admonishment to stay seated, and curtsied. She had selected her more formal gown to wear, it being the best she had for meeting an emperor. ‘You do, Your Imperial Majesty.’ Then, because he had told her to stay seated, she sat down again.

A grin pulled at Witold’s lips. ‘I’m sorry you had to sit through Hubert’s assessment of your manners. They insisted most forcefully that you be assessed to be sure you’d neither assassinate me or cause affront. Damn them all to the worst of the underworlds, I asked you to see me. Old hens, the lot of them. I swear they think I need mothering.’

‘I have threatened a baron once, Your Imperial Majesty, I think a little caution–’

Witold waved a dismissive hand. ‘Eustace. The man’s a fool. I’ll be replacing that family in Kasenton with someone else within a decade, mark my words.’ His temper was rising again and he made a conscious effort to push it down. ‘As I said, I invited you here and, after all that waiting, I should get to the point.’ Jessalyn felt that would be appreciated, but she was not stupid enough to say so. ‘I need a magic tutor for my daughter. I believe you meet the requirements. Therefore, I am offering you the job.’

Jessalyn blinked. ‘You wish me to teach Princess Katharina?’

‘And I see that you’ve heard something of her reputation. Damn. I was hoping to get to you before you did. My daughter is… difficult. No two ways around it. She’s difficult. She goes through tutors like paper. You have previous teaching experience in Ulriksport, under difficult circumstances I might add, and you’ve just killed a fire drake in one strike.’

‘I’m not entirely sure how that last part helps in dealing with your daughter, Your Imperial Majesty. I can’t shoot a princess with a lightning bolt.’

‘It demonstrates courage. I would obviously prefer it if Katharina survived her lessons. She has three per week, in the mornings on Kanniday, Drostaday, and Unerraday. She needs to learn some proficiency in magical theory and a few spells of a suitable nature. I believe you’ve become quite versed in illusion magic recently?’

‘Senior Master Hjordis taught me several spells in that field,’ Jessalyn replied, nodding. ‘I’m not at her level with them, but I can teach that kind of magic to a beginner, certainly.’

‘That’s a good start. Perhaps some defensive magic and something to allow her to fight back. Of course, I’d prefer she never had to use it, but I’d also prefer that she knew how in case the need arises.’

‘I understand, Your Imperial Majesty.’

‘You get paid an imperial a month, but you also get to live in the palace. You’ll have your own rooms and all the food you can eat. And we won’t make you eat with the family more than once a month at most.’

It was not great pay, but she would have a high standard of living on top of the basically free money. Free if you discounted the need to teach an unteachable student three times a week.

‘I understand your reluctance,’ Witold said before Jessalyn could express any. ‘I’d like you to at least meet Katharina before you decide. Would you be free to lunch with us on Hineraday?’

‘Your Imperial Majesty, I’m one of your subjects. If you want me to attend a luncheon with you and your daughter–’

‘Yes, yes, but I’m still asking.’

Jessalyn gave a shrug. ‘Well, to be perfectly honest, it’s not like I have anything else on at the moment.’

6th Hinerasur.

Jessalyn went out shopping with Hjordis the following day. She needed a new dress to attend a royal luncheon and that took some time. Besides, it was getting warmer in Capitol and she wanted to scout out appropriate clothing for the summer. It took a while, and they were both exhausted by the time they returned home.

So, an hour before lunch, Jessalyn presented herself at the palace gate dressed in a dark gown, black with red dyed into it around the hem. It had silver embroidery around the relatively modest neckline and bands of grey material under the bust and around the hips to add contrast. A long embroidered drape in mauve hung over her right shoulder and could be wrapped around her neck should she feel cold, which was unlikely. Hjordis had persuaded her to add a snake-styled silver armband around her left bicep and to wear makeup. Her nails were even lacquered.

The palace itself was a relatively conventional shape set within the round walls of the complex. It was surrounded by gardens of various kinds as well as courtyards, promenades, and whatever else the architects had decided needed to go into an imperial palace. The square building had towers at each corner and, of course, the taller tower containing the Solar Chamber at its centre. Everything was in fused, white stone and, amazingly, every window Jessalyn could see from the ground had glass in the windows. Glass was expensive and here they had it all over the place.

There was another room to wait in, though this time it was for less time, before Jessalyn was escorted to a small dining room which could have seated twenty quite easily. What the large dining rooms were like was mindboggling. She was directed to a place setting near the head of the table and told she should wait for the emperor and princess, which seemed reasonable. There were only three settings at the table, so this was really going to be a fairly intimate meal with the royals.

It did not take long before Witold entered followed by his sullen-looking daughter. He was wearing those over-the-shoulder robes which seemed popular, though in a rich purple rather than the white most wore. His daughter was wearing a pale-blue dress which showed off a lot of leg as well as the sides of her breasts. It hung from a wide collar of blue and gold. The skirt was unusual, being wrapped around her hips and dropping to a low point near her ankles at the back, and that would have left her exposed but for a shorter, roughly triangular panel which came down to just above her knees. That still left her thighs exposed almost to her hips. Katharina was not afraid to show off skin, but that seemed fairly common in Capitol.

‘Master Jessalyn,’ Witold said, ‘I’m glad you could come. I’m sure you’re very busy.’ The emphasis suggested that she should pretend to be, whether she was or not.

‘It is my pleasure to attend you, Your Imperial Majesty,’ Jessalyn replied, dropping a curtsey. ‘No matter what the circumstances, I would do so.’

‘And this is my daughter, Her Royal Highness, Princess Katharina. The apple of my eye.’

Jessalyn dropped another curtsey. ‘Your Royal Highness, I am Master Jessalyn, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.’

‘Charmed, I’m sure,’ Katharina replied sourly.

Witold coughed and went on with forced joviality. ‘Shall we eat? We can discuss Katharina’s education while we have some of whatever delight the kitchen has come up with today.’

The meal consisted of some little gamebirds, roasted whole, drizzled in a rich, wine-based gravy, plus some seasonal vegetables. It tasted good but teasing the meat off the skeleton was a chore. Jessalyn wanted to pick it up and tear the meat off with her teeth, but there was cutlery…

Katharina was beautiful. No question about that. She would have looked better without the sour expression, but she was a good-looking young woman. Her looks, Jessalyn decided, had to have come from her mother. Katharina was light to Witold’s dark. Her hair was pale gold and fell to her bottom, long and straight. She had a pert nose, maybe a little haughty, and lips which probably pouted well. Purple Meginhard eyes sat under pale eyebrows, set in a heart-shaped face. She was cute and probably mischievous, when she was not scowling. She likely still had a little growing in her; there was not a lot of bust filling out her dress and there was still a little teenage softness to her body.

‘Katharina already knows a few spells,’ Witold said as he stripped his bird with the ease of someone used to dealing with this kind of food. ‘Light, I know, and she’s made a start in the healing and illusion arts. I believe she can sense those nearby meaning her harm.’

‘Useful spells,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Illusion magic is usually something of a speciality, but the others are taught to all guild mages.’

‘It’s not like I can heal anyone,’ Katharina said. ‘It’s not like I’d be allowed near anyone who needed healing. I think I’m supposed to faint at the sight of blood or something.’

‘No one who knows you would believe that, my dear,’ Witold told her. ‘I’m afraid her theory is… lacking.’

‘It’s boring. And useless. I’ll never be a mage, so what’s the point in me learning that stuff?’

Witold looked at Jessalyn, so Jessalyn put in her two coppers. ‘The study of magical theory is the study of the nature of the world, Your Royal Highness. All of this world is suffused with Unerra’s magic. That’s the reason it, and we, exists. Magic keeps the sun and moon in the sky. Magic is what keeps us all alive. Understanding magic helps us understand the nature of the world and, for a ruler, it helps one to govern in a manner sympathetic to the world.’

‘Well put,’ the emperor said. ‘I’m beginning to wish I’d paid more attention to my lessons now.’

‘See? You didn’t have to learn this, Father. Why should I?’

‘His Imperial Majesty is not talented,’ Jessalyn said. ‘He could learn the theory, learn a few spells, but there’s an understanding which comes with talent the untalented cannot match. Giving my unguarded opinion, Your Imperial Majesty should have learned a little more, perhaps, but for someone with talent to remain uneducated is… a waste.’

Katharina sniffed. ‘So, you decided stinky old men in robes weren’t working and tried another woman, Father?’

‘Katharina’s first tutor was a woman,’ Witold said. ‘It was felt more appropriate.’

‘An old woman,’ Katharina said. ‘And this time you’re suggesting that a girl is a better idea.’

‘Don’t be rude, Katharina.’

‘It’s okay,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’m rather used to it. I’m sure half the guild, more than half, thinks I’m too young to be a master. I’m only about six years older than Her Royal Highness. It’s not that much.’

‘You’re actually a master?’ Katharina asked. ‘Not a junior?’

‘It’s a recent promotion, but yes. After I killed a fire drake for the guild, they decided I was ready.’

‘You killed a fire drake.’

‘In one shot.’

‘Oh.’ Pause. ‘I still don’t see what the point of me learning all that boring theory is.’

And so it continued. Jessalyn got the impression that Katharina thought magic would be pretty good to learn, if she did not have to learn it. If she could just cast spells, anything she wanted, now, there would be no problem. She was an only child. Her mother was dead and Witold had shown no inclination to take another consort. It was likely that she had been spoiled as a child and had become used to getting whatever she wanted when she wanted it. If it took effort to gain, it was not worth the effort to get it.

At the end of the meal, when Katharina went off to do whatever princesses did after lunch, Witold took Jessalyn to another reception room to see what she thought.

‘I think,’ Jessalyn said, ‘that your daughter is so deep into a mindset that she should be able to have whatever she wants instantly that she’s virtually unteachable.’

The emperor of the world’s shoulders sagged. ‘That’s what her last tutor said.’

‘Mm. However, if Your Imperial Majesty wishes me to become her magic tutor, I really don’t think I’m in a position to decline.’

‘Her last tutor said I was throwing good money after bad. I should give up and not put you through the torment. I’ve tried to persuade her that her attitude needs to change, but it’s not easy for me. I meant it when I said she was the apple of my eye. I find it… difficult to discipline her. I have spoiled her, and she rails against the restrictions I’ve put in place since she turned twelve. Well, thirteen because I felt she should have twelve years of childhood at least.’ Pause. ‘Well, I only really got serious when she turned fourteen.’

‘If I say no,’ Jessalyn said, ‘the rumour is going to be that you turned me away as unsuitable.’

‘I’ll make a statement saying that’s not the case.’

‘It won’t matter, Your Imperial Majesty. Enough people don’t like that I’m a young woman with such a high rank as it is. Uh, you wouldn’t have had something to do with my rapid climb to master, would you?’

Emperor Witold’s cheeks coloured, which was quite something to see on a man who could literally have anyone executed on a whim. ‘I heard about you from one of the nobles. His wife, actually. She met you at some party. You seemed perfect but they tell me I must have a master teaching Katharina.’

‘A dubious stipulation at best.’

‘Perhaps. I suggested to Valentin that he might consider an accelerated promotion for you to meet the requirement.’ He held up a hand. ‘He agreed, but only if you did meet the requirements of the rank. Apparently, it helped that Hjordis taught you a couple of spells journeymen would not normally be allowed to learn.’ Teleport and Flight were advanced spells; Jessalyn had wondered whether it was really allowed for her to be learning them but Hjordis did tend to go her own way. ‘He reported back to me, Valentin obviously, that your scores on the written exam were exemplary and that it would have been a shame to see you floundering as a junior to appease the more conservative masters. So, yes, I did apply some influence, but you did deserve the higher rank. You just got it earlier than you might have.’

Jessalyn bowed her head, since they were sitting and a curtsey would have been difficult. ‘Then I thank you, Your Imperial Majesty. I’m aware that it might have taken years for this to happen. In gratitude… Providing I can take some liberties, I’d like to take the role as Her Royal Highness’s tutor for a year, to see how things go. If I can’t get anywhere in that time, then I think you need to hire her some very good advisors.’

Witold’s eyes narrowed. ‘Liberties?’

‘A carrot and stick approach. I want to show her what she can gain from her lessons while also taking away her options for avoiding those lessons. If I can make her pay attention long enough, I think she’ll start to see the benefits. That may involve… restricting her liberty somewhat.’

The emperor looked at Jessalyn for a few seconds. She was starting to wonder whether he was considering what her head would look like mounted on a wall. Then he said, ‘She isn’t to be physically harmed in any way.’

‘Obviously.’

‘Then you can do whatever you want. Understand, I’m abrogating my responsibility to discipline my daughter to you, Master Jessalyn. It’s a form of cowardice. I’m not proud of it.’

‘I think it’s an understanding of your personal limitations, Your Imperial Majesty, and the delegation of your responsibilities to someone better equipped to handle them. Frankly, you love your daughter while I do not. It’s easier for me to provide the discipline she needs, and you have recognised that and acted upon it. Rather than cowardice, I see this as the act of a wise and responsible parent.’

‘You’ll go far in politics with flattery like that.’ He was grinning now. Probably a good sign.

‘Flattering, but not flattery. If I may be honest, it’s an attitude I wouldn’t expect from most nobles and I’m pleased to see it in my ruler.’

‘If I may be honest, I prefer that those I employ be honest with me. So, keep it up. I get enough pleasant lies told to me every day that it’s a wonder we get anything done. I’d like weekly reports on Katharina’s progress. Oral reports, let’s not write anything down at this stage. Oh, and you’ll actually be teaching three young ladies. Katharina has two companions, nobles’ daughters with talent, who attend her lessons with her.’

Jessalyn gave a nod. ‘Could someone give me a short briefing on those two? Teaching a class is one thing, but for tutoring, I need to be able to tailor the lessons to the students more closely.’

Witold raised an eyebrow. ‘Really? No one’s mentioned that before. I’ll have the information sent to you. Can you start next week?’

Practically, that gave Jessalyn two days to come up with plans for her new students’ education, but she was likely to have to wing it for at least the first couple of weeks anyway. She bowed her head once more. ‘As Your Imperial Majesty wishes.’

9th Hineramar.

The classroom assigned to Jessalyn for her lessons was basically a reception room set aside for study. The princess had various lessons there during the week, and books for all of those were in shelves down one wall. The collection on magic was moderately impressive, if aimed at the beginner. The students sat at a round table meant for taking tea, and a lectern and chair had been set up facing it for the teacher. Even more impressively, a large piece of flat slate had been attached to the wall behind the lectern, and there were chalk sticks available which could be used to write on it. It was an innovation in teaching that Jessalyn had not seen before. It was a shame that it was wasted on her three students.

One of them was in the room, on time, and apparently ready to learn. This was Sabina, the third daughter of the Count of Cipriano. That was a small city on the south coast which acted as the trading port between the City of Mages and Capitol. Notes from previous tutors suggested that she was actually fairly interested in magic, though her talent for it was weak; it made sense that she would be here on time. She was a relatively small girl with long black hair tied simply at the base of her neck. Her eyes were dark too. She was pretty, unassuming, and smart. She was also embarrassed.

‘Her Royal Highness will be here soon, I’m sure,’ she said as Jessalyn waited at the lectern on a stool.

Jessalyn looked at her with a slight smile on her lips. ‘No, she won’t.’

Sabina’s cheeks got pinker. ‘She is sometimes late to the first lesson on Kanniday.’

‘And all the other ones.’ There was no answer to that. ‘I understand you’re quite interested in magic, Mistress Sabina?’

‘Oh, yes. I went to the City of Mages once with my father. We do a lot of trade with them. It was amazing. I wanted so much to be a mage, and then it turned out I had a little talent, and the emperor was looking for a companion for Kathy. Lessons in magic was part of the deal. I jumped at the chance. Of course, there’s political gain involved in being the companion of the next empress…’

‘Of course. You call her Kathy?’

The blush flashed to near incandescence and Sabina covered her mouth in shock. ‘She only lets her closest friends call her that in private.’

‘Your secret is safe with me.’

And that was when the door was flung open and Katharina and Ferdinanda walked in, laughing at some joke or other. Or maybe laughing to make it sound like there had been a joke. Certainly, they did not seem to care that they were late, or about closing the door. As they ignored their new teacher and headed for the table, Jessalyn walked over to shut the door.

‘Always here early for magic class, Sabby,’ Ferdinanda said, making it sound a little like an insult. Ferdinanda was the second daughter of the Count of Manfreton, a small city under the duchy of Elwinport in the northeast. It was actually on the river between Sheardbergen and Elwinport, about halfway between the two, and made most of its money as a rest stop for those navigating the river. Ferdinanda was tall, a little on the muscular side, and brash. She wore low-cut dresses to show off an expansive bust and was the more sporty of Katharina’s companions. Her hair cascaded in red curls to her shoulders, her eyes were green, and she was attractive aside from a rather pronounced nose which made her look a bit like the horses she enjoyed riding.

‘It would be nice if you all had her inclination to learn,’ Jessalyn said as she walked back to the lectern. ‘I am Master Jessalyn, and I will be your new magic tutor for the next year.’

‘So, you let Father talk you into doing this then?’ Katharina asked.

‘We came to an arrangement.’

‘Well, fine, but if this gets boring, I’m walking out and there’s not a thing you can do to stop me.’

Jessalyn nodded. ‘I see. Best to leave now. I plan to assess your current levels of skill today, which means a test, which you will hate.’ Katharina got to her feet immediately, followed by Ferdinanda. ‘Best to leave, if you can,’ Jessalyn added.

‘Just watch us.’ Katharina marched over to the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled. Nothing happened. She pulled again, getting the same result. ‘Ferdy, it’s stuck or something.’

‘Let me try,’ Ferdinanda said. She was a lot bigger than the princess and likely unused to stuck doors, but even with two hands and using a leg to push on the wall, she could not budge the door. ‘It’s–’

‘Magic,’ Sabina said. ‘She locked the door with magic when you didn’t close it.’

‘Very good, Mistress Sabina,’ Jessalyn said, favouring the girl with a smile. ‘I did indeed. And I locked all the windows before you arrived, just in case anyone’s unconcerned by a five-storey drop. You’re sealed in.’

‘You can’t do this!’ Katharina shrieked. ‘My father will–’

‘His Imperial Majesty has given me considerable leeway in dealing with you three. Locking you in the classroom to study is the least of the things you need to worry about me doing to see to it that you stay here.’

‘You can’t make me learn stupid magic.’

‘Correct, I can’t. But I can make you come here three mornings a week and do nothing, unless, of course, you find a way to get past my spell.’

That resulted in a frown from the princess. ‘How?’

‘Do you know, Sabina?’

‘Uh, well, countermagic could undo it. Or… Isn’t there a spell that specifically undoes locks?’

‘There is. Learning to counter the locking spell is probably easiest and of more general utility since it allows you to counter other magic you know. The unlocking spell requires further knowledge of movement magic. That said, learning the needed spells for it would be interesting. Apport is one of the spells on that tree and it’s a lot of fun.’

‘Magic isn’t fun,’ Katharina said, ‘and you can’t make me learn it.’

Jessalyn shrugged. ‘Get ready to be very bored for three hours. Mistress Sabina, would you be willing to answer a few theory questions for me?’

‘O-of course, Master Jessalyn.’

‘Very good.’

‘Don’t just ignore me!’ Katharina exclaimed.

‘Why not?’ Jessalyn replied flatly. ‘If you’re not going to partake of my lesson, why should I be even remotely interested in you?’

Katharina stared at her for several seconds. ‘Because… I’m a princess.’

‘Mages,’ Jessalyn said, ‘are the equals of all save the emperor and the superiors of none. You are not your father, so it doesn’t matter to me what you are.’ Jessalyn smiled and Katharina actually flinched. ‘Please, Your Royal Highness, sit down and shut up.’

~~~

Jessalyn sat at her desk, writing notes on her pupils. The rooms she had been given at the palace were up on the fifth floor, not too far from the classroom, and they were pretty well appointed.

She had a reception room, a more intimate lounge which contained her desk, a bedroom with a four-poster bed with curtains around it, and a dressing room in which all her clothes were hung or put away in drawers. The last was also where, somewhat to Jessalyn’s embarrassment, one of her two maids would help her dress in the morning and undress at night.

Her desk had a lid, which was something she had never encountered before. It was basically a box on legs with a set of small shelves and drawers behind the writing surface. A key unlocked the box and allowed the front portion to be hinged up over the shelves. She could secure whatever she wished within it, not that she had anything much to secure. Her notes, perhaps.

As for the notes… Katharina was behaving just as expected. Presented with a situation where she could do nothing for the morning or interact, however sullenly, she had answered questions after ten minutes of silence. Her knowledge of magical theory was about the same as any uneducated commoner without talent. The spells she knew, she was moderately capable with. She needed to speak and gesture to get them to work, but they usually did work. The problem with her was getting her to study, not her capabilities.

Sabina was smart and enthusiastic. She had talent, just not much of it. She did have a better understanding of theory than your typical non-mage, and she had studied spells in her own time as well as learning a few in class. She was about as competent at casting as the princess, which she seemed to find a little disheartening considering that she put in more effort.

Ferdinanda was not interested at all. Katharina feigned disinterest to avoid having to work, but Ferdinanda was a physical girl without the slightest interest in using her talent for anything. She was also a bad influence on Katharina, promoting a disregard for lessons and suggesting they practise wrestling, knife fighting, or anything physical. Apparently, it had been decided that Katharina should learn some self-defence skills, so this attitude was partially reasonable. However, Ferdinanda could probably be bought with spells which would enhance her physical abilities or fighting prowess. She just needed a motivation to learn. The problem was that Jessalyn was weak on enhancement spells herself.

In the morning, Jessalyn would go to Hjordis and ask about the possibility of learning body enhancement in a hurry.

10th Hineramar.

‘Body enhancement… It’s not an avenue I’ve pursued. Sorry.’

Jessalyn sagged a bit and drank some tea to cover her disappointment. Maybe she could find a tutor at the guild…

‘Why do you need it?’ Hjordis asked.

‘One of my students is not interested in magic because she doesn’t think she can use it for anything. She’s a physical girl. I thought that, if I could show her magic which helped in her physical activities, she would be more inclined to learn and stop trying to get the princess to skip classes.’

‘What about Hasten? Improves your running speed and dodging. Sounds good for a physical sort of girl.’

Jessalyn knew the spell. She had used it herself in the fight against the drake. ‘I know it. Not well enough to teach it.’

‘There I can help you.’

‘Okay. That’ll be a good start. I was planning to teach her Shield first anyway and she won’t pick it up as quickly as I do. I’ll probably need to start from the basics, so that’s even more time.’

‘I can do… two days a week. You’ll be busy on the other three anyway.’

‘True. I’m paying you for this.’

‘There’s no need–’ Hjordis began.

‘It’s the principle of the thing. You shouldn’t work for free.’

‘Hm. Very well. Half the usual rates for a senior master, plus a couple of hours of personal attention each week.’

Jessalyn smirked, shaking her head. ‘That sounds a lot like I’m being paid for your help as much as you are.’

‘That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.’

‘Oh, I’ll take it.’

11th Hineramar.

Ferdinanda was in class this time, along with Sabina, but Katharina was missing. ‘Do you know where she is, Mistress Ferdinanda?’ Jessalyn asked.

Ferdinanda grinned. ‘Don’t have a clue.’ She was lying and did not particularly care that Jessalyn knew it. ‘You said you’d teach me a spell to help me fight.’

‘I did, but I need to locate a reluctant princess.’ Jessalyn picked up a scroll from her lectern and took it over to the table. ‘You’re going to have to start with the basics first. This is useful. It helps you to anticipate trick attacks and feints. When you’ve mastered this, we’ll move on to Shield, and when you’ve mastered that, we’ll start you down the road to Hasten, which lets you run and dodge better. You can start by memorising the words on the scroll.’

‘I’d be better at ignoring feints?’ Ferdinanda frowned, as though the idea went against her established ideas.

‘Yes. Frankly, I’m surprised no one’s thought of teaching you this before now given your interest in stabbing people. Now…’ Closing her eyes, Jessalyn concentrated on the princess while making a gesture in the air. She had anticipated a need to locate the girl and so had procured several strands of hair from one of the princess’s maids already. That was quite enough to locate her. ‘She’s in the rose garden on the north side. Sabina, you can continue practising your illusion spell. I won’t be long.’ With that, Jessalyn walked over to one of the windows, opened it, and stepped out into the air.

Ferdinanda’s jaw dropped. ‘She can fly.’

‘Master Jessalyn is quite accomplished,’ Sabina said. ‘She’s possibly the youngest master ever, certainly the youngest woman to ever become a master. She killed a fire drake in the spring. With one spell.’

‘Really? Maybe she isn’t the wimp I thought she was.’

~~~

Jessalyn dropped to the grass amid the tall bushes of the garden. It was late in the spring and the scent from the flowers was thick. Katharina seemed to be there more because it provided cover than for the pretty blooms or the smell.

‘That’s cheating,’ she said. ‘No one told me you could fly. Is that how you found me?’

‘No,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘And Ferdinanda didn’t give you away either, if that’s worrying you.’

‘She would never.’

‘Mm. I found you through magic. A simple scrying spell. I can locate you anywhere within about fifty unreks with reasonable surety, so don’t try this again. Come on, class has started.’

‘You can’t make me go.’

Jessalyn raised a hand, palm upward, and then lifted it. Katharina let out a yelp as her feet left the ground and she found herself hovering in the air. She kicked and thrashed, but there was nothing she could do. Jessalyn gestured again and set off at a walk with the princess, struggling all the while, preceding her. It was slow going since Jessalyn had to concentrate to keep her prisoner moving, but she was going to get to the classroom eventually.

Anyway, as they approached the edge of the garden, Katharina spoke up. ‘Okay, okay, you’ve made your point. Let me down and I’ll walk. If anyone sees me like this, it’ll be embarrassing.’

Jessalyn halted and looked up. ‘You’ll come back to class with me?’

‘Yes.’

‘No trying to run off once you’re down?’

‘No.’

‘You know,’ Jessalyn said as Katharina descended, ‘if you want to stop me finding you, you should learn to counter scrying. That’s a useful ability for someone in your position.’

‘What, being the prisoner of an insane mage who levitates princesses?’

‘Being the next empress. And a princess who doesn’t want this insane mage finding her to heap further humiliation on her.’

‘I hate you, Master Jessalyn.’ She made the title sound like an insult.

‘As long as that inclines you to learn how to stop me, I can live with it.’

13th Hineramar.

Somewhat to Jessalyn’s surprise, Katharina was in the classroom when she got there on Unerraday. Which would have been good, but it was too early and it just made Jessalyn suspicious.

‘Good morning, ladies,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Good morning, Master Jessalyn,’ they chorused back.

‘We’ll begin today with a discussion of the core principles of magical theory. This may well be going over old ground for some of you. Well, for Sabina. Even for her, however, it’s good to go back to the beginning to see how gained knowledge affects one’s perspective. Now–’

‘Boring,’ Katharina said, and then she produced a book from under the table. Opening it, she began to read. Interestingly, even Ferdinanda looked a little annoyed; it seemed that the sporty girl had decided that learning magic might be worth it.

Jessalyn walked out from behind her lectern to the table. She leaned forward and peered at the cover of the book. ‘The Legend of Timotheus,’ she said. ‘You are far too young to be reading books like that, Your Royal Highness.’

Katharina sat back in her seat, pulling her book out of Jessalyn’s reach. ‘Well, you can’t stop me. If I have to be here, I’m going to spend my time–’ She cut herself off as Jessalyn made a gesture in the air and the room fell into darkness. ‘What?’ The weird thing was that you could see the light coming in through the windows, even the sky outside the windows, but nothing at all was visible inside the room. The light did not illuminate, but Katharina had not noticed. ‘Ha! I’ll just cast Light!’ She made a rather sloppy light sign in the air and spoke a word of Celestial and… ‘I’m sure it worked. Why isn’t it–’

‘It is,’ Jessalyn replied, ‘but light sources don’t work inside this spell. Now, there is a spell which would let you keep reading, but you don’t know it.’ Neither did Jessalyn but she was not going to mention that to the princess.

‘B-but you can’t lecture us without your notes.’

Jessalyn laughed. ‘Do you really think I can’t talk about the very basic elements of magical theory without notes?’

‘No,’ Katharina replied resignedly.

‘Give it up, Kathy,’ Ferdinanda said. ‘I want her to get onto the practical bit so I can learn this fighting spell. I don’t really want to get the lecture either, but she won’t give us the good stuff without the boring.’

‘I th-think I’ve almost got my illusion spell mastered,’ Sabina said. ‘I really want to see what Master thinks.’

‘Okay, okay,’ Katharina said. ‘I won’t read the book. But you can’t make me learn anything.’

As suddenly as it had come, the darkness was gone. There was no blinking in the light because the light had been there all along. It was just that no one could see anything by it. Jessalyn held out her hand and Katharina closed her book and handed it over. ‘You really shouldn’t be reading this at your age, Your Royal Highness,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Have you?’

‘Yes. And I’m not sure I should be reading it at my age either. The author had some… strange ideas. Now…’ Jessalyn walked back to the lectern and turned to face the girls. ‘As you should all know, magic is chaos. We bind it with the order of our minds, but magic is change, and unbound change is chaos.’ She paused. ‘Can anyone suggest what that means about Capitol?’

‘Huh?’ Katharina said.

‘I don’t get it?’ Ferdinanda said.

‘The… magical field is stronger here?’ Sabina said uncertainly.

‘Is that a question or a statement?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘Well, everyone knows it is,’ Katharina said.

‘So,’ Sabina said, ‘that means that, um, chaos has more influence here.’

‘Correct,’ Jessalyn said, smiling. ‘Something to consider if you’re in charge. Chaos isn’t just a physical effect; it can affect the way we think and act. It can be affected by the way we think and act. Too much chaos here could make the field stronger yet, which could be good, up to a point.’

‘Everyone could work magic,’ Sabina said.

‘Yes.’

‘And then… wild magic?’

‘That would be the worst case. Unbridled, uncontrollable magic. We don’t know how it happens, except that it means a complete breakdown of order. Something to be avoided.’

‘Are you trying to scare us?’ Katharina asked.

‘I’m trying to instil a sense of responsibility, Your Royal Highness. Magic is useful and wonderful. It’s also dangerous when misused. Anyway, it’s also chaos mediated through an ordered mind, so let’s work from there.’

~~~

‘The end of the first week,’ Witold said. ‘Do you believe you’re making progress?’

Jessalyn appeared to consider the question as she sipped her tea. They were in some sort of drawing room in the imperial apartments, which showed that Witold considered the ‘teaching my daughter’ project to be something private, even if everyone knew about it. The architects had overdone the mouldings in this room; it looked like a cakemaker had severely lost control when applying the cream. ‘I’m cautiously positive,’ she said. ‘I seem to have won over her companions.’

‘Even Ferdy?’

‘I’m teaching her some spells which will enhance her fighting, moving on to physical enhancements when I understand them myself sufficiently to teach them.’

‘She always has been something of a tomboy. Still, without her it might have been difficult for Katharina to learn the wrestling techniques recommended by their master.’

‘Wrestling?’ Jessalyn shook her head. ‘I probably don’t need to know. Your daughter is still defiant. I can’t say she’s really paying attention, though I suspect she is once we have the daily attempt to avoid the lessons done. It’s listen to me, or sit there in silence and boredom. She won’t ask questions. I think she’s stubbornly avoiding appearing to engage with me. Has she said anything to you, Your Imperial Majesty?’

Pointedly, Witold lifted a hand and made a show of waggling a finger in his ear. ‘I think I may be slightly deaf on this side.’ Jessalyn dutifully laughed, though it was kind of funny. ‘She hates you.’

‘She told me.’

‘She wants you replaced, exiled, and executed by turn. You’re a monster. Why does she need to learn useless magic? Why must she be bored to tears three mornings a week? Why, why, why. I admit that it’s hard to remain stoic.’

‘Hold firm, Your Imperial Majesty.’

‘That’s easy for you to say. I don’t get to float her through the rose garden until she gives in.’

‘You heard about that?’

Witold grinned a little maliciously. ‘I rather liked that one. I’m told she was kicking and screaming the whole time.’

‘A slight exaggeration. There was no screaming. She didn’t want to draw that much attention to her predicament.’

‘Keep up the good work. I’ll attempt to keep being strong.’

15th Hineramar.

Katharina was looking smug. She was in class and on time, but there she was, looking smug. Something was up. Again. It became apparent what was wrong when Jessalyn asked her a question.

‘What?’ the princess asked. She lifted her hair away from her left ear to show the tuft of cloth sticking out. She had plugged her ears. ‘I can’t hear a thing you’re saying.’ Which was likely not entirely true.

Jessalyn closed her eyes, and Katharina giggled, assuming that her tutor was showing exasperation. Actually, there was a spell in Jessalyn’s head… ‘As I was asking, Your Royal Highness, what are the necessary features of an item which is to be used for sympathetic magic?’

Katharina’s eyes bulged and her jaw dropped. ‘That’s just not fair!’

‘Projecting my words into your head? I think it’s perfectly fair. What’s the answer?’

Reaching up, the princess yanked the cloth out of her ears. Jessalyn was pleased with that since keeping the spell up for the whole lesson would have been practically impossible. Katharina was too impatient. It made her unwilling to take time to learn something difficult, but it also made her give up too easily when one of her plans failed. ‘I really hate you.’

‘I’m aware. You still haven’t answered the question.’

‘Because I don’t– No, wait, you need something connected to the subject, right? The less connected, the less the spell works. So, um, blood is great, hair is good, but something like a sock they’ve worn once will work, just not well.’

‘Very good. By the way, I use some strands of hair to track you down when you don’t turn up to class. Be careful what you do with things like that.’

‘I’ll remember that,’ Katharina said sourly.

‘See? You can learn something when it’s of interest.’

17th Hineramar.

Jessalyn was yawning when she walked into the classroom. She had had her lesson with Hjordis the day before. Generally, they kept Jessalyn’s ‘payment in kind’ to Hineraday, but Jessalyn had stayed for dinner and things had got heated afterward. They had been at it until after midnight. When the princess was not in class, Jessalyn heaved a long sigh.

‘She said she was overdue a soak in the baths,’ Ferdinanda said before Jessalyn asked.

‘The baths?’

‘Yes.’

‘I could use a soak in the baths myself. Keep yourselves busy for a short while. I’ll be back.’

‘Uh, she’ll be in the private baths. You’re not allowed–’

‘I think I can get away with it.’

~~~

The palace had two sets of magically supplied baths. There was the larger ‘public’ ones, though they were only for the residents of the palace, not the public. Jessalyn had used them once and they were excellent. The walls were tiled in purple and white. The facilities were free and very complete. Then there was the private baths for the imperial family, which meant Witold and Katharina and anyone they specifically invited to join them. Technically, you were not allowed in without an invitation.

‘Hey!’ Katharina shrieked from the middle of the hot pool when she spotted Jessalyn marching into the room. ‘You can’t just walk in here like it’s your home.’

‘I have special dispensation to deal with you,’ Jessalyn replied.

The place was nice. Kind of intimate, actually. There was no imperial purple here; the walls were tiled in earth tones instead. Light came from some high windows and permanent light spells hidden behind lantern-like fittings. There were various items of seating around the pool in dark wood: a lounger with a wooden slat surface, and a sort of wooden hammock hung from the ceiling on a thick chain.

‘Well, now you’re here,’ Katharina said, ‘what do you think you’re going to do? You can’t float me naked through the palace. I’m staying right here and there’s nothing you can do about it.’

‘Hm.’ Jessalyn considered her options. Levitating a naked princess through the corridors was probably not a realistic option. Yes, her deal with Witold probably covered it, but it still seemed like that might be stretching things a little too far. ‘You’re right.’

‘Ha! This time–’

‘I can’t drag you through the palace like that, but I can do something.’

‘W-what?’

‘I’m sure Ferdinanda and Sabina have seen you naked before.’

‘What?!’

Jessalyn spoke quickly in Celestial. Katharina vanished, leaving the water to rush into the space she had been occupying. Jessalyn busied herself collecting something for Katharina to dry herself with, and then she teleported herself up to the classroom after her charge.

Katharina was frantically yanking on the door handle, but Jessalyn had locked it on the way out. ‘I thought you didn’t want to be seen wet and naked in the corridors?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘You maniac!’ Katharina replied. She caught the drying cloth Jessalyn threw at her and began using it. Interestingly, she did not seem to be that bothered about being naked in class; there was no real attempt to hide herself. ‘You’re sick! You’re–’

‘Going to teach you magic whether you like it or not,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Don’t you think it would be easier to just go with it, Kathy?’ Sabina said.

‘Sabby’s right,’ Ferdinanda said. ‘This one isn’t like the others, Kathy. She means it.’

‘Traitors,’ the princess said, though she did not really sound like she meant it. She glared at Jessalyn. ‘You could have brought my clothes with you.’

‘If you’re a good little girl, I’ll send Mistress Sabina to get you something to wear in an hour.’

Now Katharina’s cheeks coloured, and she folded her arms over her chest. She was, apparently, a bit sensitive about her breasts which were not large. ‘I’m not little. I’m still growing.’

‘You’re too big for sulking. It’s a warm day, you won’t catch a cold. Sit down and we’ll begin the lesson.’ Sulking anyway, Katharina set off to her seat. ‘I apologise if my remark seemed insensitive,’ Jessalyn said. ‘You’re an attractive woman with nothing to worry about. And, yes, you may grow a little more.’

Sitting down, the princess pointedly put her hands on the table. ‘I suppose I’ll accept your apology.’

‘I had a dream like this once,’ Ferdinanda said. ‘I was in a really boring lecture about… accounting, I think, and I was naked the whole time. Weird.’

‘I’ve had a dream like that,’ Sabina said, ‘except I was presenting a report in front of all these old mages. It was terrifying.’

‘You ever had that dream, Master Jessalyn?’

‘Nothing like it. Not once.’

‘No,’ Katharina said. ‘I’ve never had a dream like that either. Unless I’m still asleep.’

‘Well, if that’s the case,’ Jessalyn said, ‘when you wake up, don’t go to the baths.’

19th Hineramar.

The princess was sitting at the table with her companions when Jessalyn walked in. All of them were fully dressed. Katharina was not looking smug.

Jessalyn paused at the door, then she walked over to her lectern, and then she asked, ‘What am I going to have to deal with this morning?’

‘My undivided attention,’ Katharina replied. ‘I give up. I don’t want to be here, but it’s easier to turn up than try to think of some new way of getting out of it.’

‘Works for me. It would be nice if you actually tried to learn, but perhaps just being here you’ll absorb some knowledge anyway.’

‘I don’t get it. Most of the others had given up by this point. The first one kept going until I’d at least learned that spell. You know the one.’

‘I know it,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘It’s a useful spell to know. Your first tutor was a woman, right?’

‘Yeah. The men all gave up by this point, even the ones who pretended to teach me for longer. Why won’t you just let it be?’

‘If I’m being paid to do something, I do it. Maybe I’m just as stubborn as you are. Maybe I think this is good for you and that you’re wasting a talent Mistress Sabina would give her soul for.’ Sabina blushed, but she did not deny it. ‘Maybe I think that if you actually bothered to put in the effort, you’d find that magic is fun. You’re interested in illusions, aren’t you?’

‘Well… sort of.’

‘Now that Mistress Sabina has mastered her basic solid illusions, she’ll move on to illusions with sound. That means she needs to know magic to make sounds, and I think her first step in that is learning to redirect her voice. An amusing trick. Great fun at parties. Try not to think of this as a chore.’ Raising her arms, Jessalyn concentrated and a scene of fantastical battle appeared in the air before her. Dragons wheeled in the sky. Mages sent out lightning bolts and balls of flame. Knights on horseback charged at monsters. You could hear the roar of flames, the battle cries of knights, and the crackle of lightning. ‘Think of learning magic as a means to an end, such as making illusions like this.’

‘That might be worth learning, I guess,’ Katharina said. ‘It’s still too much work.’

‘Compared to ruling a country, Your Royal Highness, this is easy.’

Katharina grimaced. ‘Don’t remind me.’

~~~

‘I think,’ Jessalyn said, ‘that your daughter is worried about taking over from you when, let it be many years from now, you eventually pass.’

Witold nodded slowly. He had obviously come to the same conclusion. However, what he said was, ‘She’s too young to be worrying over that. I’ve another couple of decades in me at least.’

‘Longer, with Unerra’s blessing. However, I’d imagine people have been calling her the future empress for years now.’

‘She was made crown princess on her twelfth birthday. She was always a bright girl. I think she understood what it meant even then.’

‘Children, most children anyway, don’t want to see their parents die. Ever. But something like that might throw up the possibility. And there’s the pressure of being a future ruler. I think she’s abrogated her responsibilities precisely because they’re a little too much for her.’ Jessalyn sipped her tea. ‘So, I’m concentrating on teaching her things she can enjoy while educating her more broadly with the excuse that it will make her better at the things she likes.’

‘Just as you’ve done with Ferdinanda.’

‘Same principle. For now, she’s decided she can’t stop me trying to teach her, so she’s going along with it because it’s easier.’

‘It’s a better outcome than I might have hoped for,’ Witold said.

‘Well, I still say we try for a year and evaluate the situation then. Honestly, Your Imperial Majesty, I don’t want to be teaching magic like this for the rest of my life.’

Witold nodded, smiling. ‘A year. Two at most. You’ll still be young enough to travel and you’ll have all that time to improve your skills in the best place to study in the Empire.’

‘Two at most. I suppose I can cope with two years in Capitol.’

24th Kanniaun.

‘There is no way I can cope with two years in this heat,’ Jessalyn said. She was not referring to the hot water she was currently sunk to her chest in, though that was hot.

‘It’s only three months a year,’ Hjordis replied. ‘You get used to it.’

‘Or run screaming to anywhere with snow.’

‘Or that. How are the classes going?’

‘Well, now that I’ve finally got Hasten right in my head, my lesson plans for the next few months are sorted. The princess has settled down. Mostly. She still tries the odd thing to get out of lessons, but I honestly think that’s just her stubborn streak talking. She isn’t really putting her heart into it.’

‘I assume the emperor is ecstatic?’

‘More so that his daughter isn’t giving him headaches over how terrible I am than that she’s actually learning something, but yes. I’m still not sure I can take the heat here for two summers.’

Hjordis let out a low chuckle. ‘You’ll manage. You’re adaptable. Um…’

‘Um?’

‘Um, your lessons are finished with me, so our contract is at an end.’

‘I suppose it is, yes.’

‘You… don’t have to stay away, just because we no longer have a business relationship.’

‘I wasn’t planning to.’

‘Oh, good, that’s alright then.’ There was a moment of silence. ‘You do understand that I still want you to come over for sex, right?’

Jessalyn smirked and relaxed into the pool further, laying her head on the edge. ‘Yes, Mistress. I had worked that out.’

Part Ten: The Empress’s Mage

Capitol, 1st Drostaun 1468.

The Emperor’s Mage, Senior Master Wystan, lit the bonfire in the palace forecourt. The task was alternated between the Emperor’s Mage and the High Priest of Rallia, and this year it was Wystan’s turn.

Jessalyn watched the flames rise from a position which some might have considered one of honour. She stood beside Katharina, who stood beside Witold. One step away from the emperor was considered an important position, especially for a commoner from a nowhere town in the north. Jessalyn viewed it as a bit of a chore; she had had to wear a dress which was not entirely suitable for the weather because it was stylish. She sometimes wondered whether the fashionistas of Capitol ever went outside in winter, aside from in a heated carriage.

Katharina was dressed in less than Jessalyn was, but she had a magic item on her person which kept her warm. Apparently, she had one that kept her cool in summer. Her father had similar items which explained why he was able to stand there, not shivering, wearing typical Capitol robes. Behind Katharina, Ferdinanda and Sabina were underdressed and looking more chilly. Still, it was only the start of winter, so the temperature was not too bad.

On the other side of Witold, High Priest Korbinian was wrapped up in thick woollen shirt and trousers as well as his robes, and he still looked cold. He was pushing sixty and his health had been declining for years. He looked like a shrunken version of a fit man: thin, bony, stooped. A woollen cap hid the remaining whisps of grey hair on his head. His face was thin, his forehead wrinkled, and his eyes narrowed by age. He still had a good voice, though he mostly used it to complain.

‘Isn’t it about time this task was given to the Church every year?’ Korbinian asked.

‘We’ve spoken about this, Korbinian,’ Witold said, smiling and not looking in the priest’s direction. ‘The Mages’ Guild is an important institution and having the Emperor’s Mage involved is appropriate for the palace bonfire.’

‘Next you’ll be saying the Unerrans should have their turn.’

‘No one, including Magdalena, has ever suggested that. Your words border on the insolent, High Priest.’

‘I merely wish–’

‘Enough, Korbinian.’ Apparently, the priest was wise enough to know when he was about to go too far. He stopped talking and the emperor raised his voice. ‘Let all rejoice! The new year is upon us. Let us all see that we welcome it in as happily as we can.’

A cheer went up and the crowd which had gathered to watch began to disperse. Runners with torches began filing out toward the gate to light the fires in the rest of the city. There were a lot of fires to light; Capitol did the festival just as it was done elsewhere in the Empire, just bigger.

‘What are you going to do for the rest of the night, Jessalyn?’ Katharina asked.

‘Visit Mistress Hjordis,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘Buy some questionable food from a street vendor and think it’s tasty even though I know it’s not. Drink a little too much so I can regret it tomorrow. Go to church, I suppose.’

‘The Church of Unerra, I presume.’ Jessalyn turned to see Korbinian standing nearby, looking disapproving. ‘Mages tend to favour that Church.’

‘We tend to favour the Goddess of Magic,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘We have done since Unerra revealed the secret of magic to mortals, before either of the two major Churches were formed, and I’d imagine we will when both are gone.’

Korbinian grunted and turned, walking away without another word, and Witold spoke. ‘Korbinian has some rather… unique views on the roles of the deities. And he’s turning into quite the curmudgeon. You’ll have to excuse him.’

‘Only if it’s an imperial order, Your Imperial Highness,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I’ve heard about his views. I consider them dangerous.’

‘It’s not an order, and Korbinian is only as dangerous as any other old man. He knows I’ll never give in to his various demands. He just can’t stop himself demanding them.’

It was at times like this that Jessalyn sort of wished that Witold was more like what she had expected of an emperor: capricious, somewhat vindictive, and with an extreme dislike of those who disagreed with him. If Korbinian had been worried that Witold would execute him for making the wrong remark, he would likely have stopped his badgering. Still, she would not have liked working for an emperor like that, so…

‘I hope you have time to enjoy this night, Your Imperial Majesty. The ruler of an empire should be able to relax for one night in a year.’

‘I shall do my utmost to follow your advice, Jessalyn. I expect you to have a good night yourself.’

‘I shall put every effort into doing so.’

~~~

Jessalyn’s fists clenched in Hjordis’s hair. Her body strained. Wave after wave of pleasure washed up from the only part of her body she was really aware of before the final wave broke and she collapsed onto the sheets, spent. It was no way to keep herself awake to see the dawn, but she had been told to have a good night.

Hjordis crawled up the bed to lie beside her. ‘Don’t fall asleep. If you do, I will.’

‘We should’ve saved this until after dawn,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘Come back to see it in with me and we’ll do it again.’

Jessalyn chuckled; anything more energetic was beyond her. ‘You must be getting old.’

‘Why?’

‘You didn’t suggest we just keep doing it until dawn.’

It was Hjordis’s turn to laugh. ‘I am not getting old, but I don’t think I could keep this up all night.’

‘I’m sure with the right spells…’

‘Ah, well, now there’s an interesting thing for you to research. If you worked out an enchantment process for it, you could make a mountain of coin from rich old men.’

Jessalyn grimaced. ‘A spell to keep old men hard for twelve hours? I think you just put me off sex for the next month.’ She gave out a small yelp as Hjordis’s fingers slid over her labia.

‘You had better be joking,’ Hjordis said.

‘I think you’ve rekindled my – Oh! – enthusiasm.’

2nd Drostaun.

‘Medical aid is needed, High Priestess,’ Hjordis said as she approached Magdalena.

‘I see no one in distress,’ Magdalena replied, watching Jessalyn walk about behind the senior mage.

‘Against all of my advice, she ate a sausage from a street cart. She needs disease and poison resistance, immediately.’

‘Ah.’ The high priestess affected a sad expression. ‘Sadly, no amount of magic can stave off the effects. All we can do for her now is pray.’

‘It tasted pretty good this year,’ Jessalyn said, frowning.

‘That probably means he laid his hands on fatter rats,’ Hjordis replied.

‘There’s no rat meat in the sausages. The city passed an ordinance against it a decade ago and the penalties are steep enough that it’s unlikely to be worth the risk, even in the poorer districts.’ Jessalyn gave a small sigh. ‘Of course, if they had to pass a law, it means there used to be rat in the sausages…’

‘I’m sure you’re safe,’ Magdalena said, smiling. ‘Unerra’s blessing upon you on this first night of the year. Of course, you have that every night of the year, but a little more cannot go amiss.’

‘I won’t argue. Oh, I ran into your Rallian counterpart at the bonfire lighting.’

‘Korbinian? Oh, that was a poor start to the evening. I hope the rest of your time has been more pleasant?’

‘It’s been uphill from there. You know he wants the Rallian high priest to light the fire every year?’

Magdalena nodded. ‘One of his less disruptive ideas. Korbinian is, for want of a better word, delusional. He will tell you, at great length should you let him, that Rallia created the world, and that the Church of Rallia should be the faith of all people in the Empire, even the world. Was the Church of Rallia not formed before the Church of Unerra? Does that not demonstrate the pre-eminence of Rallia?’

‘No,’ Hjordis said, ‘it just shows that the faithful of Unerra didn’t think they needed a formal religion until the Rallians started bossing people about with theirs.’

‘I don’t really believe we need any of the Churches,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Why do we need people to intercede with deities we know exist?’

‘I won’t argue,’ Magdalena replied. ‘We don’t teach anyone that they need a priestess to talk to Unerra. We freely teach the ritual needed to do so yourself and many use it.’ She nodded to the chapel which did have a fair number of people praying in various postures. Jessalyn always wondered about the masochistic attitudes of those who spent an hour prostrating themselves before the altar. That had to be uncomfortable, and it was not required to cast the spell.

‘I’ll offer her a short prayer before I leave,’ Jessalyn said. ‘At this time of year, it seems the right thing to do.’

‘Let us hope that fourteen sixty-eight brings us all that we could wish.’

‘I don’t know,’ Hjordis said, ‘I can wish for quite a lot…’

~~~

The sky in the west lit up with the first blue light. The orange of the sun was invisible behind the city walls, but dawn had arrived. Another year was officially upon them.

‘Well,’ Hjordis said, ‘that’s done. Back to my place?’

Jessalyn grinned. ‘Sure. Why not? Just remember that we do need to sleep at some point.’

Hjordis waved the suggestion away. ‘We have all day for that.’

‘Are you trying to kill me?’

‘If I wanted to do that, I’d… be really stupid.’

4th Drostaun.

Magdalena looked unhappy when Jessalyn and Hjordis met her before the ceremony on Ralliaday. She was usually fairly serene, but today she appeared to be worried about something.

‘Not worried,’ she replied when asked, ‘but… Perhaps I am worried. Korbinian’s rhetoric has been unusually strong since the new year festival.’

‘He’s nothing to worry over,’ Hjordis said. ‘He’s a joke. Have you seen him recently? He’s getting old. Might not last the year.’

‘He’s healthier than that,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I was up close with him at the bonfire lighting. He’ll survive a few more years.’

‘You don’t take into account his fits.’

‘He has fits?’

‘It began two years ago,’ Magdalena said. ‘He began falling over, trembling violently, frothing at the mouth. He claimed he was receiving visions from Rallia, not that all that rigmarole is necessary to receive visions from your god. The entire church believes he’s Rallia’s prophet, though I’ve heard nothing of what his visions say until yesterday.’

‘What happened yesterday?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘He says he had a vision that Rallia would come to take his true place in the world.’

‘Rallia would come? As in, he’s going to come down from the sky?’

The high priestess shrugged. ‘The statement is open to interpretation.’

‘I interpret it to mean that Korbinian has finally lost it,’ Hjordis said. ‘Mark my words, they’ll be seeking a new high priest before the end of the year.’

5th Drostaun.

‘Did you have a good festival, Mistress Jessalyn?’ Sabina asked.

Katharina answered before Jessalyn could open her mouth. ‘She certainly did. I saw her coming back through the gate at two hours after midday. I’d say she had a very good festival.’

Jessalyn felt her cheeks heating, but she kept her voice level and her expression neutral. ‘I did, Sabby. I hope you three kept yourselves out of trouble? And by you three, I obviously mean Kathy.’

‘Oh!’ Katharina exclaimed. ‘Why do you assume I’m the one who causes trouble.’

‘Long experience. Though Ferdy can be a bit of a handful.’ They were at the stage now where Jessalyn called them by their pet names, so long as they were in private. Only Sabina still referred to Jessalyn as ‘Mistress Jessalyn.’ And Jessalyn had decided that, like Hjordis, she preferred to be mistress rather than master.

‘I don’t get into trouble!’ Ferdinanda said. Jessalyn looked at her. ‘Not much anyway.’

‘We had a nice, trouble-free night,’ Sabina said. ‘We stuck to the palace, but we had an enjoyable time, and you can see the sun rising from one of the towers. That was nice.’

‘And now it’s back to work,’ Katharina said sullenly.

‘You’ve had a week off,’ Jessalyn said, ‘and now it’s time to continue your lessons, yes. We were, I think, discussing the process by which mages draw mana from the world to power their spells.’

‘Didn’t we finish that?’ Katharina asked, all sincerity.

‘Nice try. I take notes. Open your books to page four hundred and twenty-six. And then Kathy can tell us what she remembers of the process.’

‘Should’ve kept my mouth shut,’ Katharina muttered.

‘One day, you may learn that. I’m not holding my breath.’

~~~

Jessalyn was leaving the classroom and heading for a much-desired lunch when she saw Wystan walking toward her. The Emperor’s Mage was in his fifties and still looked fairly fit. There was grey in his dark hair, but not that much, and wrinkles on his face, but not that many. His eyes were blue and full of intelligence, but they also tended to be full of displeasure whenever he was looking at Jessalyn. He generally wore more traditional mage’s robes, today’s were largely red with some purple inserts, and carried his staff. Jessalyn considered that a little paranoid.

He was glowering at her again today, but apparently today was special, because he actually spoke to her. ‘Master Jessalyn. I trust the new year finds you well?’

‘Good afternoon, Senior Master Wystan. I’m well. I hope you can say the same.’

‘I can. You’ve restarted your lessons with Her Royal Highness, Princess Katharina?’

‘We stopped them for the week of the festival. Today was the first one of the new year.’

Wystan gave a slow shake of his head. ‘I was hoping that the emperor would finally call a halt to them. A new year seems a good time to mark an end to such a waste of time.’

‘His Imperial Majesty wishes to continue until at least Her Royal Highness’s eighteenth birthday. He doesn’t consider it a waste of time.’

‘He relies on me for advice of a magical nature and knows little of it himself. I’ve advised him before now that women are not suited to the pursuit of magical excellence.’

Jessalyn smiled. ‘But your attitude to women is well known to His Imperial Majesty, Senior Master. As such, he would know that your advice on such matters is worth less than nothing. You can’t see through your own prejudices and are, therefore, effectively blind.’

His eyes narrowed. To be expected really. ‘Know your place, girl. Just because the emperor pulled strings to get you made master, that does not give you the right to think you know more than your betters.’

‘I have never believed myself better than anyone else, Senior Master. That would be what you do. Have you ever bothered to look at my aura?’

‘Why would I bother?’

‘Try. You might see something which provides you with illumination.’ Turning, she stalked away, hoping that her appetite would return before she got to her rooms.

‘I shall speak to His Imperial Majesty on this matter,’ Wystan called after her.

‘Do that. See where it gets you.’

9th Drostaun.

‘Wystan is… fixed in his ways,’ Witold said. ‘Just ignore him.’

Jessalyn took a sip of her tea. ‘If he ignores me, I’ll return the favour. He hasn’t even spoken to me since I started here, and suddenly now he does, it’s to tell me I’m inferior.’

‘Technically, he is a senior master and my mage…’

‘He didn’t mean inferior in rank, Your Imperial Majesty.’

Witold gave a small wince. ‘I told you that when we’re in private–’

‘But we’re not, Your Imperial Majesty.’

They both turned to look at the two guards standing beside the door to the room where Jessalyn met with the emperor for tea and a chat. The chats had been reduced in number for a while. With the new year, Witold had wanted a review of Katharina’s progress, but he had given up the weekly meetings after six months. The guards had decided that Jessalyn was trustworthy after a similar amount of time and had remained outside the room for the past year. These ones, however, were new.

‘They’re being a little overzealous,’ Witold said. ‘I accepted Korbinian’s request to have the Rallian Knights share guard duties with the army because I did not think it would be disruptive. This is their first time doing it, however, and disruption is all I’m getting.’

‘They wanted to search me,’ Jessalyn said. She wafted a hand down past her chest and stomach, indicating the form-fitting gown she was wearing. ‘Where do they think I’m going to hide a weapon in this?’

‘And what’s dangerous about you is not your skill with a staff.’

‘Quite true.’ The two guards seemed to be entirely ignoring them. That was what guards were supposed to do, so Jessalyn guessed it was a good thing.

‘I’m sure things will settle down. Eventually.’

‘How long are they doing this?’

‘Through the winter.’

‘Oh,’ Jessalyn said flatly. ‘Is it bothering you? If you’ll excuse the personal remark, you look tired, Your Imperial Majesty.’

‘Oh… That’s nothing to do with my guards. I’m still trying to push through greater ties to the City of Mages and the conclave keeps putting up objections. Frankly, their positions have become entrenched, and it’s wearing on me. There’s little to be done before spring, however. On to other matters. What plans have you for my daughter’s education this year?’

Jessalyn lifted a rolled-up piece of paper she was holding and handed it over. ‘I decided to write down the general plan. I’ll go through it with you. Essentially, more of the same. This year we’ll be focusing on…’

15th Drostaun.

‘Have you considered becoming a senior master?’ Hjordis asked. Her head was on Jessalyn’s chest. They were taking a break from sex, chatting in bed while they recovered the energy to start again.

‘Not really,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I suppose I could probably pass the exam, but I’d have to come up with an original spell to research.’

‘There was that–’

‘A sex-aid spell is not, I think, appropriate for my first original spell. Besides, I don’t really care about becoming a senior mage. I’m not sure I’d have bothered with master yet if the emperor hadn’t pushed the guild into getting me to take the test. Junior masters get paid as much as masters, and they have access to the full list of guild-approved spells. Becoming a master or a senior master is just… extra cream on top.’

‘We could do with more female seniors.’

‘Maybe, but why should I be the one who has to try to break through that wall so young? There’s a load of politics involved which I’m not especially keen to be involved in.’

Hjordis sighed. ‘Well, I can’t really say you don’t have a point. At least you’re educating our future empress in the ways of magic. It’ll be nice to have a woman on the throne with some clue about the magical arts.’

‘She’s getting there. By the time she’s on that throne, Katharina may even be a reasonably proficient mage.’

22nd Drostaun.

Wystan was at church. Jessalyn arrived with Hjordis to find the Emperor’s Mage talking to Magdalena before the service. Hjordis was not the kind to let such matters bother her, so Jessalyn was sort of required to tag along as her ex-tutor walked up to join the conversation.

‘Senior Master Hjordis,’ Wystan said. ‘You’re joining us for the service?’

‘I’m here every week,’ Hjordis replied. ‘You know Master Jessalyn, of course?’

‘We’ve spoken.’

‘I’ve been trying to persuade her to do the work to become a senior master. She’s reluctant.’

‘That’s a shame,’ Magdalena said. ‘I believe the guild could only profit from having greater equality between the genders in its upper ranks.’

Wystan gave a strained smile. ‘My opinion differs, High Priestess. However, I’m sure that Master Jessalyn will do as she wishes. From what you say, she is following my advice on the matter.’

‘Not really,’ Jessalyn said, ‘though you have been an influence on my choices.’

‘I see. If you’ll excuse me.’ Turning, Wystan walked away toward the pews.

‘He’s a nice enough man, generally,’ Magdalena said.

‘Just not if you’re a female mage,’ Hjordis countered.

‘He does have his issues. As do we all.’

‘True enough, I suppose.’

‘How has his advice swayed your opinion, Jessalyn?’ the high priestess asked.

Jessalyn gave a shrug. ‘People like him are not hard to find in the guild. Going for senior mage would be hard, mainly because the guild would do everything it could to stop me. I don’t need that. I’m perfectly happy to remain a master mage for the rest of my life. I have ambitions. Senior master is not one of them.’

Magdalena nodded. ‘If you’re happy in yourself, that’s what’s important. Besides, I’m sure you’ll soon be more powerful than most of the seniors, assuming that’s not the case already.’

Jessalyn blushed. ‘I think I have a little to go before I can say that.’ Probably.

~~~

Wystan stomped through the streets of outer second quarter, still annoyed by his encounter with Hjordis and Jessalyn. Hjordis had had the nerve, after the ceremony was over, to suggest that he escort Jessalyn back to the palace. He had declined as politely as possible, claiming he had an errand to run. He did not really care whether Jessalyn discovered that he had lied, but he was making his way as quickly as decorum allowed to get to the palace before her.

This neighbourhood could be rough, and he kept his wits about him as he walked. Still, he was fuming over the temerity of the woman, seeking the senior rank at her age and a woman to boot. Even if Jessalyn claimed to be uninterested, he knew she would try. His anger was his undoing. He failed to see the man stepping out of an alley behind him, failed to see the dagger the man was holding, and failed to see him closing in from behind. He did feel the blade stabbing into his back, low on the right side. It should not have been a lethal injury, certainly not immediately, but Wystan felt his heart stutter, the breath halt in his throat. His last thought was that he had been struck by an enchanted blade, and he wondered why someone would go to that much trouble to kill him.

~~~

Jessalyn was entirely unsure why she had received a summons from the emperor on Ralliaday. He generally followed the rule that this was a day of rest. On occasion, he went out to the Temple of Rallia for services, but he usually took them in the private chapel within the palace. On most Ralliadays, the emperor conducted no business. So, this had to be some sort of emergency.

The fact that Korbinian was in the audience chamber when Jessalyn arrived was something of a surprise. Ludolf, the emperor’s administrative assistant, was also there. Well into his fifties, the man looked like an animated skeleton, but he was efficient and well versed in the processes of the palace. There was also a fairly large contingent of Rallian Knights; presumably, Korbinian had brought his own guards and no one had told them to wait outside.

‘Master Jessalyn,’ Witold said as she entered, ‘please come forward.’

Since this was the audience chamber, Jessalyn stepped forward to where Witold was sitting on the throne and dropped to one knee, bowing her head. ‘Your Imperial Majesty, you summoned me?’

‘I did. A grave allegation has been placed before me which I cannot ignore. Master Jessalyn, you are accused of the murder of the Emperor’s Mage, Senior Master Wystan.’

Jessalyn frowned and fought not to lift her gaze. ‘The Emperor’s Mage is dead?’

‘He was stabbed on the way back to the palace after attending the Unerran temple. His body was found just after midday.’

‘Might I know who accuses me of this crime? And why?’

‘You may. High Priest Korbinian, explain the situation.’

Korbinian was behind this? Jessalyn was quite aware that she had not stabbed Wystan on the way back from church, but if Korbinian was making this allegation, he had to have evidence. Right?

‘I was approached at the temple this afternoon,’ Korbinian said, ‘by a man claiming to have witnessed the murder of the Emperor’s Mage. The description he gave of the assassin matched Master Jessalyn. Knowing that His Imperial Majesty would wish to know of this immediately, I rushed here to tell him what had been seen.’

‘Without the witness,’ Jessalyn said.

‘He is in protective custody at the temple.’

‘I see. Well, I did not kill the Emperor’s Mage, Senior Master Wystan. Whoever this man saw, it was not me.’

‘I am quite sure of the man’s veracity,’ Korbinian stated.

‘Without seeing him, how can anyone else be so sure.’

‘You may trust my word, Your Imperial Majesty,’ Korbinian said, ignoring Jessalyn’s words.

‘Unfortunately,’ Witold said, ‘I trust Master Jessalyn’s words as much as anyone. She has proven herself a loyal member of this court.’

‘If I may be allowed to take Master Jessalyn to the temple, a truth spell may be used to–’

‘Why not cast it here? You are capable, are you not? On second thoughts, please save your magic. Ludolf?’

Ludolf came forward, producing a golden chain from his robes. He stepped up before Jessalyn. ‘Please, if you would, place this chain about your neck and close the clasp.’

The chain sparkled in Jessalyn’s sight; it was enchanted, and she could guess what the spell was. Taking it, she placed it around her neck and closed the clasp. She felt no different, but she was sure the spell would be having its effect.

‘Master Jessalyn,’ Witold said as Ludolf stepped aside, ‘did you attack and murder the Emperor’s Mage, Senior Master Wystan, today?’

‘I did not,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Did you employ an agent to assault and kill the Emperor’s Mage?’

‘I did not.’

‘And there we have it,’ the emperor said. ‘No one wearing that chain may lie. Master Jessalyn did not murder Wystan, nor did she procure his murder. Your witness is mistaken, High Priest.’

Korbinian bowed his head. ‘Apologies, Your Imperial Majesty. I will look into the matter to determine why he gave false witness.’

‘As will I. Please stand, Jessalyn. Your good name is cleared.’

Jessalyn handed the chain back to Ludolf. ‘Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty, for your swift handling of this matter.’

‘You’ve not had the best luck with the justice of nobles,’ Witold replied. ‘If nothing else, I wished to demonstrate that we can act swiftly and with true justice in mind.’ He turned his attention to Korbinian. ‘Be assured that swift justice will follow once we have determined the real perpetrator of this heinous crime.’

‘Of course, Your Imperial Majesty.’ The high priest did not look especially pleased, though that could just be because he had been made a fool of in front of the emperor.

Then again… ‘It occurs to me, Your Imperial Majesty,’ Jessalyn said, ‘that if this witness did not see me taking the Emperor’s Mage’s life, he may have been the one holding the weapon.’

‘That had occurred to me as well,’ Witold replied. ‘Have him brought before me, High Priest Korbinian. I would see this man for myself.’

‘Of course, Your Imperial Majesty,’ Korbinian replied.

23rd Drostaun.

‘Killed while attempting to escape,’ Katharina said. ‘Father is livid.’ It was time for class, but Katharina had news she just had to share before the lessons began.

‘I’m more than a little annoyed myself,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Apparently, he broke away from the knights guarding him and they had to give chase. They were hoping to recapture him, but there was an unlucky sword blow.’

‘Unlucky?’

‘That’s what Father was told. I don’t think you’re to be officially told, which was why Father didn’t kick me out of the room when he was being told.’

‘Then I thank you for passing on the information, Kathy.’

‘Seems like it’s going to be put down as the man who brought false witness was the murderer. Seems to me, though, that someone like that wouldn’t attack someone like Wystan without a lot of gold being behind it.’

‘That’s a reasonable supposition, though we don’t know who this man was.’

‘So, who wanted Wystan dead? Why? It does leave Father without his Emperor’s Mage. The guild is putting together a list of candidates, but the old guy is going to be hard to replace.’

‘Mm.’ Who would want Wystan dead and why? And who would then want to frame Jessalyn for the murder? All good questions, but… ‘Speculation will get us nowhere,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Unless, of course, you merely wish to distract me from giving your lesson this morning.’ Katharina sagged and Jessalyn grinned. ‘Let us continue with what we should be doing then.’

27th Drostaun.

The request for Jessalyn to come to the meeting room to meet Witold for tea had come as something of a surprise because it was a week early. Monthly reviews of Katharina’s progress were the order of the day, and it had only been three weeks since the last one. Maybe something had changed. Something certainly had, but not to do with the subject of education.

‘I would like you to consider the position of, well, temporary Emperor’s Mage,’ Witold said. Jessalyn stared at him. ‘It would be an unofficial role, until the position can be filled permanently.’

‘I… see,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Is that even possible? I thought it was all some big ceremony and the guild being involved.’

‘Yes, it is. However… Frankly, the candidates the guild are putting forward are… I don’t know them. I’m sure they’re fine mages, but I’ve met almost none of them, and then only briefly. I’d rather have someone I know and trust fulfilling the role until I can get to know whoever the guild believes would be best.’

‘And that’s me?’

‘I have entrusted you with my daughter, Jessalyn. I have known you for over eighteen months. Were there a way, I would ask you to take the position permanently, but even Valentin would have a fit if I suggested it.’

Jessalyn nodded. ‘That seems likely. Has there ever been a female Emperor’s Mage?’

‘Twice. Both times when an empress sat upon the throne, however briefly. We will simply inform everyone in the palace that magical matters are to be handled by you for the time being. It will be an entirely internal matter. Administrative, if you will. Your pay, until the new Emperor’s Mage is in place, will be increased to five imperials per month, starting with this one. Aside from handling such matters as arise in the general course of events, I have a special task I would like you to perform.’

‘Very well.’

‘I wish you to pay particular attention to the safety of my daughter. She will be the primary focus of your attention.’

‘You believe she’s in danger,’ Jessalyn asked, frowning.

‘I’m worried that there is a reason for Wystan’s assassination. I’m worried that it was the start of something. Should Katharina be caught up in whatever intrigues are unfolding, I want someone with powerful magic ready to defend her.’

‘Witold, I’m just a master–’

‘A drake with one strike, Jessalyn. I believe you’re strong enough to keep my daughter safe. As your emperor, no, as someone I’d like to think has become at least a well-known acquaintance if not a friend, I ask you to do this for me.’

Jessalyn smiled. ‘I never had any intention of declining. I just hope I can meet your expectations.’

~~~

Anulf was holding another party. Jessalyn was there because she had been invited and because Hjordis was going, but she was also interested to hear the gossip going around after the events of the last couple of weeks.

‘The emperor seems to trust you,’ Constanze said when they met in the early stages of the evening.

‘He’s indicated that I’m doing good work with Princess Katharina,’ Jessalyn replied.

‘So good, it seems, that he’s installed you as interim Emperor’s Mage.’

That bit of news had got around fast. ‘Where did you hear that?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘I have my sources.’ Constanze grinned. ‘Of course, there’ll be a man in the job as soon as one can be found, but it’s a pleasant turn of events while it lasts. Wystan is probably spinning like a top in his grave.’ The grin turned a little malicious.

‘He didn’t like me much,’ Jessalyn conceded. ‘It’s just a temporary thing. To ensure that people in the palace have someone to consult when magic is a factor.’

‘When is it not? You’re in a position of considerable power, Jessalyn.’

‘I can’t believe it’s that important. The palace doesn’t run entirely on enchantment and spell. If it did, Senior Master Wystan would have looked a lot more harried.’

‘Or he just told most of the people coming to him to ask someone else,’ Hjordis said. ‘He had a very high opinion of himself even before he was made the Emperor’s Mage.’

‘He wasn’t bad at his job,’ Constanze said, ‘he just thought he had more important things to do than answer every foolish question a courtier came up with. He wasn’t entirely wrong. You need to learn to focus on the important tasks, Jessalyn.’

‘I’ve been given some specific orders which will be my main focus,’ Jessalyn replied.

She said it in such a manner that Constanze quickly realised there would be no further details. ‘There have been a few interesting rumours floating around about Wystan’s death too. Suggestions that the Unerran Church was involved.’

‘Why would they be?’ Hjordis asked. ‘He was an Unerran. He was killed leaving the temple!’

Constanze shrugged. ‘Rumours don’t have to come with reasoning.’

‘But someone’s spreading them,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Someone tried to frame me for his murder.’

‘Thankfully, the emperor isn’t that stupid.’

‘And now they’re trying to get the Unerrans blamed.’

‘With more credence. Or rather, it’s easier to blame a group without evidence. I’d suggest it was a powerplay by the Rallians, but obviously that would be a foolish thing to say out loud.’

Jessalyn frowned at the baronet’s wife. ‘You just did.’

‘Did I? I think you must have misheard.’

~~~

‘The Rallian faction is prominent in keeping the rumours going,’ Eugen said. ‘Not exactly unexpected, but they do seem to be quite forward about promoting the idea.’

‘Surely they have no evidence,’ Anulf said.

‘Well, that just makes it easier. Those inclined to listen don’t need evidence to agree. They don’t approach those inclined to ask for evidence.’

‘So, they reinforce support while ignoring other opinions,’ Jessalyn said. ‘With no one to counter the rumours, those inclined to believe them come to believe them more firmly.’

‘Precisely,’ Eugen said, smiling triumphantly. ‘I really do think you should go into politics. Though… I hear that you have your toe in the halls of power, however temporarily.’

Jessalyn frowned. ‘The emperor only asked me to do it this afternoon. Does everyone know?’

‘He’s been considering it since Wystan died. Those who know him have considered it a certainty since he began thinking about it. I’m quite sure he’d prefer you to take the position permanently.’

‘But there’s a snowball’s chance in the sun of that happening.’

Eugen regarded Jessalyn for a long second. ‘I’d support the idea. I’m not the only one.’

Jessalyn shook her head. ‘I’m not a senior master. There would be uproar if a female master mage was given the job. Besides, I’m not sure I’d want it if offered it. I haven’t really done it yet and I already think it’s going to be a complete pain.’

‘And that, my dear young lady, is one of the main reasons you should get the job. In my opinion, one of the key requirements of the Emperor’s Mage should be that they don’t want the title.’

Jessalyn knew Eugen well enough by now that she could scowl at him without him taking offence. ‘In that case, I’m overqualified.’

31st Drostaun.

Katharina was not entirely happy that Jessalyn was keeping an eye on her so much, but they were well-enough acquainted now that the opposition was minor. Still, Jessalyn could not help but think that the proposed visit to the baths was an attempt to embarrass her into backing off. Certainly, Katharina had looked a little miffed when Jessalyn had agreed without any sign of colouring cheeks.

Now, Jessalyn lay on the suspended bench with a long skirt wrapped around her hips, watching the princess soaking in the hot pool. Jessalyn’s staff leaned against the wall near where she was sitting. Katharina had frowned when Jessalyn had brought the weapon in with them. She had said nothing, but she had looked a little more serious, as though she had just realised how serious Jessalyn was about protecting her.

‘I suppose it’s not that bad having you around so much,’ Katharina said out of the blue.

‘I’m glad you think so, because I’ll be doing it until your father tells me otherwise.’

‘I’m almost surprised you haven’t started sleeping in my bedchamber.’

‘That would be going a little too far. Besides, there are wards around your rooms.’

‘I bet you could get around those.’

Jessalyn thought about it briefly. ‘I could get around the ones I know of. I would need to carefully analyse the entire area to be sure of everything, and then I might be unable to counter it all.’

‘Oh. I guess that makes me feel a little safer.’

Silence fell. Then there was the sound of a body moving through water as the princess emerged. She took a few steps toward her towel which was lying on another bench and paused, looking at Jessalyn.

‘Something wrong?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘I was just thinking.’

‘Thinking while staring at me?’

‘I was thinking you have a really good body.’

Now Jessalyn’s cheeks coloured. ‘Thank you.’ She could think of nothing else to say.

‘I thought I might grow to be, um, more your size, but it looks like this is all I’m getting.’

‘You’re an acknowledged beauty, Kathy,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘You are beautiful. You have nothing to be ashamed of.’

‘I suppose.’ The princess continued over to where her towel was waiting. ‘You know, I wouldn’t mind if you did decide to spend the night in my room.’

Was she suggesting what it sounded like she was suggesting? Yes, taken at face value and in context, it was simply a statement that, should Jessalyn wish to watch over her in her sleep, Katharina would not object. But…

‘It’s not necessary,’ Jessalyn said.

‘I wouldn’t mind. I might even like it.’

‘It’s not necessary, and it’s not going to happen. Given my relationship with Hjordis, there would be rumours spreading around the palace and beyond before the night was out.’

There was silence for a moment. ‘So you’re unwilling to do what may be needed in order to save my reputation?’

‘It’s not needed, so risking your reputation would be foolish.’

Katharina sighed. ‘I won’t say I’m not disappointed. Can I ask a question which we will then immediately forget the answer to and that I asked it?’

Thinking this was probably a bad idea, Jessalyn nodded. ‘Okay.’ This conversation certainly explained why Katharina had not invited Ferdinanda or Sabina to the bathing session.

‘If I wasn’t the crown princess, would you… want to?’

‘My wants aren’t relevant. You are the crown princess.’

‘But–’

‘You’re also my student. Even Hjordis doesn’t sleep with her students.’

‘Oh.’ Slowly, a smile overcame Katharina’s face. ‘So she waited until after to seduce you?’

‘No. I waited until after to seduce her.’

‘I want to hear all the details.’

‘In your dreams, Your Royal Highness. In your dreams.’

2nd Drostasur.

There was a moment when the doors of the imperial apartment were opened and Rallian Knights filed in where Witold was not sure what was happening. Four knights followed by High Priest Korbinian, and then four more knights. They all had drawn weapons, aside from the priest who instead carried a triumphant, energised air about him. He was a man on a mission which was about to be carried out.

‘What is the meaning of this, Korbinian?’ Witold asked, rising to his feet.

‘My lord, Rallia, foremost of all the gods, has sent me,’ Korbinian replied. There was a gleam in his eyes which Witold realised had been there for some time, growing brighter. ‘I am to raise the Church of Rallia to its true position within the Empire. Already, the loyal and true of the faith are taking control of the palace. From here, we will take full control of everything.’

‘And what do you want of me?’ Witold had considered calling the priest mad. He had considered calling the plan insane. He had considered those things but had concluded that the gleam in Korbinian’s eyes and the drawn blades in the knights’ hands would not be receptive. Diplomacy was the right course.

‘What do I want of the emperor at this time?’ Korbinian said. ‘Nothing. Hold him.’

Witold’s eyes widened as the high priest and his knights advanced upon him. Perhaps diplomacy would not work after all.

~~~

Jessalyn was in her room, reading, because Katharina had retired to her rooms to do some studying. At least, she had said she would be studying and Jessalyn had taken her at her word. There was some probability that Katharina had got her hands on another naughty book, but she was getting old enough that Jessalyn was not about to question it. Though, the princess’s reading habits might have had something to do with the conversation in the baths…

The sound of her door opening might have gone unnoticed had Jessalyn not been considering that subject rather than paying attention to her book. Someone was doing their best to not be heard, which was not a good sign. Getting to her feet, Jessalyn crossed the room to where her staff was leaning against a wall. With it in hand, she turned.

There were two of them, both men, both holding daggers which glittered, betraying their enchantments. Jessalyn did not know what the enchantment was, but she also knew that enchanted daggers were not something she wanted near her. The fact that both men wore masks over the lower parts of their faces was not a good sign either. She focused her will.

The men seemed unsure now that they did not have surprise on their side. They advanced carefully, watching their prey with dark eyes. It was exactly what Jessalyn needed. She pointed her staff at the one who was marginally closer, and lightning blasted out from it. The man jerked violently as electricity coursed through him, and then he fell. Instantly, and to the considerable surprise of his companion, the lightning arced across to the second man. He dropped too, but he was still breathing, unlike his friend.

This was bad. Assassins inside the palace was bad. For a brief moment, Jessalyn was unsure of what to do. Then she thought of Katharina. If there were assassins here, in Jessalyn’s apartment, there might be more. Witold had tasked Jessalyn with protecting the princess, and that was what she would do.

Right after she stabbed the live assassin through the heart with his own dagger.

~~~

The corridors were empty, which was not a good sign. Normally, the early evening saw considerable traffic as the palace’s staff prepared food for the noble residents, plus Jessalyn. Jessalyn, despite her rise in position, did not consider herself a noble and did not think she ever would. That was beside the point. There was no one rushing about. No one was carrying trays. There was no one.

At least until Jessalyn reached Katharina’s rooms. She slipped inside as quietly as she could after listening at the door. Then she had heard nothing. Now she heard the princess.

‘What is the meaning of this? You aren’t allowed in my rooms. You’re Father’s guards, not mine.’

‘We’re here to ensure your safety, Princess.’ A man’s voice. If they were ‘Father’s guards’ then they were likely Rallian Knights. The fact that he was calling her ‘princess’ was not good either. ‘You’re to wait here until the high priest comes for you?’

‘Korbinian?’ Katharina said, her tone carrying disbelief. ‘What could that old fart possibly want of me? Ah!’ The cry followed quickly after a sound which might have been a gloved hand hitting flesh.

‘Silence!’ the knight yelled. ‘We’ve been told to keep you unharmed, but we’ll brook no disrespect to Rallia’s prophet.’

Okay… They were in the bedroom and the door was open. Jessalyn stepped into the doorway, lifted her staff, and blasted one of the two men she saw with lightning. The man’s armour was no defence against the power she put into the spell. He was falling before his companion even realised what was happening. Then Jessalyn threw a dagger at the second man’s back.

It was the second weapon from her pair of assassins. The first had shown no signs of magic after Jessalyn had used it which suggested a one-shot enchantment, probably an instant-death spell. She had heard of such a spell but knew of no one who crafted such weapons. Apparently, someone did. It seemed likely that one had been used on Wystan given that he had died after only one blow. There was every probability that the mail shirt the knight was wearing would stop the blade, but Jessalyn was hoping that that would not matter. Sure enough, the dagger seemed to just bounce off the man’s back, but he fell dead on the carpet in front of Katharina anyway, and the magic of the blade died with him.

‘Are you okay?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘My cheek’s sore,’ Katharina replied. ‘You… You killed them.’

‘I did. And now I need to get you out of here. Something’s going on and your father ordered me to keep you safe.’

‘Father! What about Father? We should–’

‘He told me to keep you safe, Kathy. They won’t hurt him, just as they were told not to hurt you. He’s too valuable.’

‘But–’ Katharina stopped as she saw the look on Jessalyn’s face. ‘There’s a way.’

‘Oh?’

Walking over to one of the walls, the one the big four-poster bed sat against, the princess reached up and grabbed a sconce upon which a Lingering Light spell had been cast. She pulled and a section of the wall jerked forward. There had been no sign of a door there before, but now it was waiting to be pulled open. Katharina did just that. Behind it was some sort of hidden passage with bare stone walls and cobwebs. ‘It leads down to tunnels that can get us just about anywhere in the city.’

‘Tunnels?’

‘Th-that’s what I was told. Thinking about it, I always thought they were probably sewers. There are sewers under the city that take waste to the magical treatment plants.’

Jessalyn grimaced. ‘I’m aware. Remarkable feat of engineering and enchantment. I never thought I’d see it up close. However, it’s better than trying to get out through the palace.’ She had a strong feeling that the corridors might be empty, but the gatehouse would be another matter. ‘Let’s go.’

With the door pulled closed behind them, Katharina pulled on a lever and the panel slid back into place. Jessalyn placed a locking spell on it for good measure. ‘How many people know about these passages?’ she asked. Lifting her staff, she summoned up a light for them to see by; the passage was totally dark otherwise.

‘Now? Only the Meginhards. There were more people when the palace was built, but they all died a long time ago, sworn to keep the secret.’

‘Somehow, I doubt it’s that secret… Still, we can hope the Rallians don’t know. Which way now?’

Katharina pointed to her left. ‘There are stairs about twenty paces that way. Then it’s a long way down.’

‘Then we should get moving.’

~~~

‘Is the smell getting worse?’ Katharina asked, wrinkling her nose. She was trying to put on a brave face, but there was a tremble in her voice.

‘Probably,’ Jessalyn replied. They were in a tunnel maybe three paces wide with the middle two paces a bit lower than the outer edges. It kept the stream of water-like fluid in one place, allowing someone who had to come down here somewhere dry to walk, though in times of heavy rain, the paths were probably submerged. About every hundred paces, they passed a metal band set into the walls, floor, and ceiling, and they were passing one now. ‘See the metal in the wall?’

‘Oh, uh, yes.’

‘That’s the purification enchantment. Each time the water goes through one of those, it gets cleaned up.’

‘Right. And the water is flowing toward the palace, we’re walking away from it, so the further we go, the less the water’s been cleaned.’

‘Basically, yes. We’re heading for outer third quarter. It may get kind of stinky by the time we get there.’

‘Oh.’ There was silence for a second of two. ‘I guess I’m running away from a probable coup. Beggars can’t be choosers, right?’

‘That’s a better attitude than I expected.’

‘Oh, I’m probably going to complain a lot when we’re hiding in the poor district. You’re going to hate me.’

Jessalyn gave a shrug. ‘So long as you complain quietly, you can do it as much as you want.’

3rd Drostasur.

Not every home in Capitol had occupants. There were fewer houses in the poor districts, and the ones without residents were mainly that way because they were starting to fall apart. Every so often, such buildings would change owners and be repaired or rebuilt, but there were always a few with leaking roofs, broken shutters, and only the poorest of people using the apartments with the most integrity.

The one Jessalyn had elected to use was on the third floor of a tenement with no one else on the same level. Water ran down a wall in the bedroom, but then the window shutters had been entirely ripped off in there, so it was not a room to use anyway. The living room was basically intact, but it was cold and a bit damp, and they could not use a fire to warm it up. Hjordis arriving with some blankets was most welcome.

‘I got your message,’ Hjordis said. ‘You’ve found a wonderful place to hide.’

‘It was the best I could come up with,’ Jessalyn replied.

Hjordis nodded. ‘Coming to me would not have been a good idea. I had the army at my door just after first light.’

‘The army?’ Katharina asked.

‘The army and some Rallian Knights. They seem to think you’ve been kidnapped. By Jessalyn. They’re out looking for the two of you all over the city. What happened?’

‘Assassins,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Knights with an attitude. The suggestion that Korbinian may be involved. Then there was the escape through secret passages and here we are. The emperor told me to keep Kathy safe. That’s what I’m trying to do.’

‘Well, according to some comments I’ve heard, the emperor is secluded in his chambers, under guard, while the “threat” is dealt with. I have to say, that doesn’t sound like–’

‘I think they’ve killed him,’ Katharina said. ‘I think that was the first step. I think they want to put a weak, inexperienced princess on the throne, marry her off to someone they have control over, and take over the Empire that way.’

‘Regicide seems a little extreme, even for Korbinian.’

‘I have to agree, Kathy,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I don’t think they’d–’

Katharina stood from where she had been crouched in a corner, pulled herself up to her full height, and took two steps forward. ‘I’ll prove it. Show me your guild ring.’

Frowning, Jessalyn extended her hand with its blue-stoned ring. ‘What are you going to do?’

‘If Father is dead, then the magic of your ring will recognise me as the new empress. I have no idea how it works, but the enchantment’s worked that way since the guild was formed.’ The princess raised her hand, fingers spread over Jessalyn’s ring. ‘I, Empress Katharina Meginhard, grant unto you, Master Jessalyn, the title and position of Empress’s Mage.’ Nothing seemed to happen and, sighing slightly, Katharina withdrew her hand. ‘Or maybe I’m– No!’

‘What?’ Jessalyn asked. ‘What’s wrong? You look like you’ve just seen–’

‘Your ring,’ Hjordis said. ‘Look at the stone.’

Jessalyn looked. The stone was now red. She pushed a little mana into it and watched as the crest appeared above it. She read the title, frowned, read it again. ‘That’s…’

‘I thought…’ Katharina said, her voice weak and distant. ‘I thought, but I didn’t really believe. But if… If that worked…’ She dropped to her haunches, hands wrapped around her cheeks. ‘No. He can’t be…’

‘That does it,’ Hjordis said. ‘This really is a coup.’ She looked down at Katharina. ‘Knew it but didn’t really want it to be true.’ She turned her attention back to Jessalyn. ‘You take care of our new empress. I’ll see what else I can find out about the situation in the palace.’

The tears began. Katharina had the sense to keep her sobbing relatively quiet but sob she did.

‘I’ll do what I can,’ Jessalyn said.

~~~

‘It’s your duty!’ Katharina exclaimed. She was exclaiming in a hiss. Even as angry as she was, she was keeping her voice down. ‘You’re the Empress’s Mage, my mage. It’s your duty to avenge my father and return me to my rightful position on the throne.’

Jessalyn was also angry. It was good that the princess had stopped crying and was back on her feet, but the sudden desire – however reasonable it might be – to wreak bloody vengeance upon those responsible for her father’s death was a problem. Especially since it seemed that she expected Jessalyn to do the wreaking.

‘You didn’t ask me about this,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Do you even want me as your mage? You were just proving a point and hoping you were wrong. You used me as an example, without my assent, and now you want me to march into the palace and murder the High Priest of Rallia.’

‘It won’t be murder. It will be justice. We can get back in the same way we left. You can–’

‘Korbinian is going to be surrounded by guards. It’s not going to be a case of walking up to him and filling him full of lightning. Getting near him is going to be hard.’

‘Not as hard as you might think. Those passages go everywhere. It’s your duty.’ The princess paused but spoke again before Jessalyn could think of another rebuff. ‘And, yes, I would want you as my mage anyway. How can you think otherwise? You’ve been teaching me for eighteen months. I know you. You’re… You are my friend as well as my teacher. I would have no one else, no matter what the guild might say on the matter. And, well, they get no say in the matter anyway.’

Jessalyn frowned, her anger deflating. ‘I didn’t ask for this, Kathy. I didn’t even get a chance to decline. It’s not fair. But I suppose none of this is fair… We’ll sleep on it. We’ll stay here tonight and if you’re still determined in the morning… I guess we’ll see what can be done.’

4th Drostasur.

Jessalyn’s eyes opened. She was awake and alert immediately, which meant that her Watchdog had woken her. She had set the spell on the ground floor to warn her of people with ill intent entering. It had gone off.

Quietly so as not to wake Katharina, she went to the door of their hiding hole and opened it a crack. Noise came up the stairs from the floors below: people banging on doors, shouts to open up. The army had arrived to check the building, it seemed. The question was, would they come up this far?

Moving back to the princess, she shook her gently, and then more firmly. ‘We have company,’ she said when Katharina’s eyes opened.

‘Army?’

‘That would be my guess. Or knights from the church.’

‘I might be able to reason with soldiers.’

‘Somehow, I doubt it, but it’s not worth the risk anyway. We don’t know exactly what they’ve been told. They may not come up here. If they do, we need to be ready to leave.’

‘How?! There’s only one staircase and they’re at the bottom of it.’

‘And I’m a mage. Remember what I did to you in the baths that time?’

Katharina nodded. ‘Where do we go? The palace?’

‘Risky. The further I go, the more chance there is of something going wrong and the more power it takes. I’ll get us as close to the entrance to the sewers as I can, and we’ll walk the rest of the way.’

‘Does that mean we’re going to kill Korbinian?’ There was an eagerness there that Jessalyn did not like. She understood, but she did not like it.

‘It means we’re going to hide out under the palace until morning. Then we’ll decide what to do from there. Anyway, they may not–’

There was the sound of boots on the stairs and then a voice. ‘Be careful. Half of these boards look rotten.’

‘Yeah, but if anyone finds out we skipped the top floors, we’ll be flayed. Or worse. Have you seen the way the Rallians are acting?’

‘We’re leaving,’ Jessalyn said, putting her hand on Katharina’s shoulder.

‘You’ll be right behind me, right?’ Katharina asked.

‘Stay where you are when you arrive. I’ll be there a second after you.’

And then the princess vanished and the door burst open. ‘What?’ The soldier looked surprised to actually see Jessalyn there, but he had probably not seen Katharina disappearing. He was the second speaker, the one determined not to be punished for failing to search properly. ‘You! Stay right where you–’

He cut himself off as Jessalyn disappeared before his eyes.

Beside him, his colleague blinked. ‘No one said she could teleport. And where was the princess?’

‘No idea. This is bad.’

‘They can’t blame us for–’

‘You have seen what the Rallians are like at the moment, haven’t you?’

~~~

‘At least it got less smelly the further we walked this time,’ Katharina said. They were almost at the point where they would enter the complex of passages under the palace. Apparently, no one had yet thought to check the sewers. Jessalyn could not really blame them for that.

‘That’s a very optimistic viewpoint. Can we get into the crypts from down here?’

‘Uh… Well, yes. You’re not thinking–’

‘It’ll be dry, and the temperature should be stable.’

‘And it’s full of ghosts.’

‘Ghosts rarely bother the living. And it’s pretty unlikely that the imperial crypts have many ghosts in anyway. Everyone in there should have been laid to rest properly.’

‘That’s what everyone says but…’

~~~

‘You know this is wrong, Valentin,’ Hjordis said. ‘You know Jessalyn wouldn’t harm the princess.’

‘To be entirely candid,’ Valentin replied, ‘I don’t know that.’

‘You–’

‘It seems entirely out of character, I’ll grant you that. The palace is claiming that the princess seems to be cooperating with Jessalyn and so must be under her control.’

‘Jessalyn’s never studied mind-influencing magic.’

‘No, but she has the ability to summon spells out of the air when she needs them.’ He held up a hand before Hjordis could argue. ‘Logically, the question would be the same whether she could do it or not. Why would she suddenly decide to mind-control and kidnap Princess Katharina? Not only can I see no reason for it, but the palace has given no reasoning for it either. I’m… disquieted.’

‘Witold is dead.’

The grandmaster stared at Hjordis for a few seconds. ‘You have proof?’

‘Sort of. I… I met with Jessalyn and Katharina yesterday.’

‘Hm.’

Hjordis had kept that a secret until now. She had not been sure of Valentin. She was still not entirely sure of him, but his reactions seemed like those of someone not involved with the coup. ‘Katharina thought her father might be dead, so she… She granted Jessalyn the position of Empress’s Mage.’

‘And that worked?’

Hjordis nodded. ‘I’ve no idea how the rings know that she’s now the empress, but–’

‘It’s a ridiculously complex enchantment using multiple spells devised just for the purpose of making them work the way they do. It’s one of the reasons we hate losing a ring; making new ones takes far too long. There’s even an element of divine intervention in the magic, a call to Unerra to determine that someone is allowed to act upon the ring.’

‘Oh. Well, Jessalyn is now the Empress’s Mage and that presumably means that the succession has passed to Katharina.’

‘It explains… too much. The guild has been denied any role in the investigation. They haven’t even allowed us to use scrying to look for them. Who better to locate them than us?’

‘You know Jessalyn could pretty easily block scrying attempts.’

‘It’s a valid point. However, we haven’t been asked to try. And Korbinian seems to be taking the lead… I don’t like this. Not any of it. I need you to go to High Priestess Magdalena, tell her what you know, and ask that the Unerrans make themselves ready.’

‘I can do that. What will you be doing?’

‘I’m going to the palace to see the emperor.’

‘And when they don’t let you?’

Valentin smiled grimly. ‘When that happens, I’ll be gathering the troops.’

~~~

Jessalyn awoke in complete darkness. Briefly, she wondered where she was, and then a thought cast a light spell to reveal her environment, and she almost regretted confirming it.

They were in the crypts beneath the palace. Far beneath. Everything here was grey stone, from the walls, floor, and ceiling, to the pair of sarcophagi containing an emperor Jessalyn had never heard of and his wife. The only thing which varied from the grey was the metal gate over the entrance, which was black and glinted a little in the light. There were also cobwebs, but they were an off-white which suggested grey. Spiders, it seemed, were not afraid of ghosts.

It certainly felt like there should have been restive spirits walking the halls of the crypts, but Jessalyn had neither seen nor sensed any of them. She thought she would. She thought, should there have been ghosts down here, that they would make themselves known. Nothing had. The shadows here seemed to move around when you were looking the other way. Maybe something was down here, in the dark, watching.

‘What time is it?’ Katharina turned over and squinted. ‘This has to be an old crypt. I have no idea who Emperor Berthold was.’

‘It’s about midday,’ Jessalyn said. ‘I’ve never heard of him either.’

There was silence for a few seconds. ‘So, what do we do now?’ Katharina asked.

‘I use some rubble and cobwebs to make us some food.’ Jessalyn watched the expected grimace appear on the princess’s face. ‘It won’t taste particularly good, but it will fill your stomach. Then… Then I suppose we’ll plan what we’re going to do. We’ll plan to go upstairs a little after nightfall. We might catch everyone off guard and eating, if we’re lucky.’

‘That seems unlikely.’

‘So, we need a plan. We need to know where we’re going and how we’ll get there.’

‘Father’s apartment first. If they came for him when they came for me, he would’ve been in his rooms. I need to know… I need to see…’

‘Very well. He may not be there, but we’ll look. If we’re going after Korbinian… Where would he be?’

‘The audience chamber. He’ll be in the audience chamber, sitting on my throne.’

Jessalyn raised an eyebrow. ‘You seem sure.’

Katharina nodded, her expression dark. ‘He wants the Empire for himself, or for his god. And he’s the representative of Rallia in the mortal world. He’ll be sitting on the throne, pretending he’s already the emperor.’

~~~

‘There’s nowhere along this route that someone could see a light?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘I don’t think so,’ Katharina replied. ‘I mean, it’s not like I’ve explored all the passages. There might be somewhere that– What’s wrong?’

‘I just got a message from Hjordis.’

When Jessalyn stopped speaking for what seemed too long for the princess, she asked, ‘Well, what did she say?’

‘Grandmaster Valentin tried to get an audience with the emperor. He was told he couldn’t. Security issues. He’s convinced that Korbinian is up to no good. The guild and the Unerrans will be at the gate trying to get in at sunset.’

‘The guards will be kind of busy with an army at the gates.’

Jessalyn smiled. ‘Yes, they will. Maybe we don’t need to be worried about lights showing on the way to where we’re going.’

~~~

Korbinian was not sitting on the throne. He was in the audience chamber, and he was acting as though he was the ruler of the Meginhard Empire. He had plans to change the name – to the Empire of the Faithful, though that was a work in progress – but he had no plans to sit upon the throne himself. Instead, he would marry off the princess to someone he trusted and then…

‘High Priest, we have a problem.’ The speaker was Knight Commander Sigismund, an upstanding member of the Rallian Church, loyal to Korbinian who he considered to be the true prophet of Rallia. He was a tall, strong man with blonde hair cut close to his scalp and a handsome, rugged face. His mail armour gleamed. It and the longsword he carried at his hip were enchanted.

Korbinian looked at the commander of his forces in the palace with the kind of expression reserved for a waiter bringing you soup with a fly floating in it. ‘We cannot have a problem, Knight Commander,’ Korbinian said. ‘We are doing Rallia’s work.’

‘Yes, High Priest, but it appears that a large number of citizens are gathering outside the main gate. They demand that the emperor be brought out to assuage their fears of his death.’

‘Disperse them.’

‘We don’t have the numbers to do that and hold the gate, High Priest.’

‘Get the army–’

‘The soldiers in the palace have heard the same rumours. They are refusing to act against the crowd, and we’ve had to secure them in their barracks, aside from a few loyal to Rallia.’

Korbinian was silent for a moment. ‘Ignore them. There’s nothing they can do anyway. Rallia will see to it that we uncover the princess’s location soon enough. Once we have her, we have everything.’

~~~

The imperial apartments were empty. They were still lit because the magic providing the illumination was still working. They were, however, silent in a manner which made Jessalyn’s heart drop. Calling the emperor a friend was, perhaps, presumptuous, but she had got to know him quite well over the past year and a half. The thought that she would never again have tea with the man while discussing his daughter’s magic lessons was not a happy one.

Despite the fact that she was on a mission to avenge Witold’s death, Katharina rushed from the bedchamber where the secret passage had let out to the lounge and then the reception room. Jessalyn followed at a slightly slower pace. That was how she came across Katharina, standing in the reception room, staring at a burned chair.

‘I don’t… understand,’ Katharina said.

Jessalyn rounded the chair and looked at it. It appeared that a fire had been set on the seat. The cushion and base had burned through, falling into ashes on the carpet which also showed signs of burning. The back of the chair had been gutted by the fire too, though the frame there was relatively intact. Among the ashes on the floor, Jessalyn could see small fragments of bone. Very small fragments.

‘The Church of Rallia advocates cremation for their dead,’ Jessalyn said. ‘It’s not as common in practice as they’d like. The imperial family have mostly sealed their dead in the crypts, for example. They have a ritual to ensure that a body can’t become undead.’

‘Yes, but–’

‘There’s an advanced spell which draws upon the same magical mechanics. The Rallians use it as a method of execution since it precludes the possibility of resurrection. It’s possible to cast both spells if you’re a mage, but it’s really a Rallian thing. It’s considered a secret spell in both the Guild and the Church. Only high-ranking members can learn it. This… looks like the result.’

‘Precludes the possibility…’

‘There isn’t enough left to bring back. I’m sorry. It looks like you really are the empress, Kathy. Without the possibility of reversal.’

‘Oh. Well. Well, I knew that.’ Jessalyn suspected that there had been some hope left in the princess’s heart. Now it had been dashed, but there were no more tears. Katharina gritted her teeth, a terrible look of angry grief on her face.

‘Your Imperial Majesty,’ Jessalyn said, ‘do we proceed?’

‘Yes. This means, with little room for doubt, that my father died by Korbinian’s hand. We see this through.’ Katharina turned to face Jessalyn. ‘Empress’s Mage, Master Jessalyn, I must place upon you the burden of bringing my father’s murderer to justice. I should be the one to do it, but I fear my skills are insufficient for the task. Will you accept this duty in my name?’

Jessalyn bowed. ‘I will carry out the task you have laid upon me, Your Imperial Majesty. Or die trying.’

And then Katharina kind of spoiled it. ‘Please don’t. Die, I mean. Otherwise my reign is likely to be the shortest in history.’

~~~

‘Is this really going to get us anywhere?’ Hjordis asked. She was with Magdalena and Valentin, standing in the crowd which had gathered at the palace’s main gate.

It was quite an impressive gathering. If you looked, there were a lot more common people there than nobles. There were nobles – Hjordis had spotted Eugen and Constanze among the crowd – but the proportions were skewed toward the commoners. The nobles were either on the side of the Rallians or hedging their bets until the outcome was clear.

‘I don’t think it has to,’ Valentin said. ‘We are, assuredly, expressing our opinion that this takeover is not welcome. I believe that the fact that the Imperial Army has not come out to disperse the crowd indicates that our opinion is shared by most of the soldiers. We grant them power to resist orders from the Rallians by our presence. However, we are fundamentally a distraction.’

‘Jessalyn and the princess are going to resolve this,’ Magdalena said.

‘Is that insight from Unerra?’ Hjordis asked.

‘Who knows? Unerra grants us knowledge, but she has a habit of doing it in mysterious ways. I believe that Jessalyn is the tool the goddess will use to set this right. Did Unerra put that idea in my mind? Or is it simply that I have faith in the power of a Blessed of Unerra to do the right thing?’

‘That’s not even vaguely helpful, you know.’

Magdalena smiled, her eyes glinting in the light from magical and mundane torches. ‘I am the high priestess of the Goddess of Secrets.’

~~~

‘That door opens up behind the throne,’ Katharina said. They were at the end of a side passage which had taken some wiggling to get through. The route was convoluted and Jessalyn was a little surprised that the princess remembered the way.

‘Very well,’ Jessalyn said, extinguishing her light and focusing her will on another spell. ‘These are the rules. Stay behind me and out of sight until I’ve cast my first spell. It could be dangerous for you to be out in the open when I cast this. It won’t distinguish you as a friend and it could have significant lethal potential by the time it gets to you. The wall, however, will protect you.’

‘Okay.’

‘If I’m lucky, this spell will take Korbinian down and all we’ll need to do is not get killed by his followers. That said, this spell is likely to eliminate any in the room with him, so we should be good. Once I’ve cast that spell, you can come out, but be careful. You don’t have a weapon, and a knife isn’t much use against a sword anyway.’

‘I’ll… Okay. We don’t even know Korbinian is in there. I expect him to be but–’

As if on cue, Korbinian’s voice rose and could be clearly heard through the thinner material of the secret door. ‘If the Imperial Army chooses to stand with those outside the gate, execute them! We do the work of Rallia! None may stand in our way!’

‘He’s really lost it,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Then let us help him find it,’ Katharina said. ‘By which I mean death. If he’s so keen on his god, I say we should make personal introductions.’

‘That sounded really tough.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Maybe you should go into politics.’

Katharina grimaced in the dark. ‘Is this really a good time for jokes?’

‘Facing potential death? It’s the best time.’ Jessalyn found the lever for the door and pulled it down. The door slid outward, not silently. Moving quickly, she pushed it open and stepped into the audience chamber. Just as Katharina had said, she was behind the throne, which was two paces in front of her. She could see four Rallian Knights, standing against the walls to either side, but she figured there were more of them there. And the ones she could see were looking right at her. As the first one moved, she let loose her Chain Lightning spell. The room lit up in a blaze of brilliant light as the spell’s discharge arced from man to man. The sound was cataclysmic. The bolt ended its flight against one of the walls, leaving a blackened hole in the plasterwork.

Jessalyn stepped forward, Katharina following her. They had gone no more than a couple of steps when Korbinian emerged from behind the throne. A knight was slowly regaining his feet – wearing insignia which suggested a senior rank – but he was badly burned and looked as though any fight he had had was almost gone along with his life. Korbinian, on the other hand, looked entirely unharmed.

‘Lightning?!’ Korbinian shrieked. ‘My lord is the master of lightning! Did you think such could harm me? I am protected!’

‘It was worth a try,’ Jessalyn said, raising her staff. Her problem was that, if Korbinian was shielded against lightning, she was rather short on lethal options. He was an old man, though; she could likely beat him down without too much trouble. Maybe. If he had no other tricks up his sleeve.

‘You’ve brought the princess to me as Rallia said you would. Give her to me and your death will be swift.’

‘I’m afraid that’s not going to happen. I’ve been given a task, as the Empress’s Mage. I can’t back down from that.’

‘Then I shall smite you with the fires of Rallia!’ He began speaking in Celestial as he walked toward Jessalyn. ‘In the name of Rallia, Almighty Lord of the Sky, I call upon the power of flame to cleanse this unbeliever from the world.’ Then, using an open hand, he struck Jessalyn across the face.

Jessalyn did not dodge or block the blow. She barely felt the slap. In Celestial, she spoke one word. ‘Reflect.’

Korbinian’s eyes widened and he staggered back a step. The skin on his face began to blacken in exactly the same place as he had struck Jessalyn, but that only lasted an instant before his entire body burst into flame, the fire reaching up to touch the ceiling. He let out a shriek which cut off very suddenly as his body dissolved into burning ashes on the stone floor.

‘It looks like Rallia doesn’t have your back after all,’ Jessalyn said. She turned toward the only knight still standing, stepping around the Korbinian bonfire and advancing. ‘You. Do you understand what this means? Your high priest has just died trying to kill me by calling upon Rallia. He died by his own hand. Do you understand that?’

Katharina was following Jessalyn, but she took a step back as the knight fell to his knees. ‘Your Imperial Majesty,’ he said, his voice weak.

More knights burst into the room at that point and Jessalyn raised her staff. ‘Stand down!’ she yelled. ‘Your high priest is dead, killed by the power of Rallia.’

‘Do… as she says,’ the knight said. ‘I, Knight Commander Sigismund, order you to stand down. We… were wrong. About everything.’

The knights paused, lowering their weapons but not sheathing them. They appeared confused. Katharina stepped forward, pulling herself up straight. ‘I am Empress Katharina Meginhard. Your empress. Take this, your first order. Stand down your forces, open the palace gates, and get your commander some medical attention immediately.’

‘I’m not sure he’s going to make it, even if they do,’ Jessalyn said, keeping her voice low.

‘They can try. Now, there’s a balcony overlooking the forecourt. Escort me there. I have citizens to reassure.’

‘As you wish, Your Imperial Majesty.’

‘Please don’t sound so sarcastic when you say that.’

‘I promise to try.’

~~~

‘People of Capitol,’ Katharina’s voice went out, strong and clear, into the night air. The crowd which had swarmed into the palace forecourt when the gate had been opened had fallen silent when she had been recognised on the balcony above them. Almost too quiet, as though they were waiting to hear terrible news.

Beside Katharina, Jessalyn watched the crowd. She had already spotted Hjordis, Magdalena, and Valentin and sent someone down to invite them inside. She had a feeling they might be needed to sort things out.

‘People of Capitol,’ Katharina repeated, ‘Emperor Witold, my father, is dead.’ There were murmurs from below, nothing really loud, just expressions of disquiet or ‘I told you so.’ ‘He was murdered by the High Priest of Rallia, Korbinian, but justice has been done. While my mage, the Empress’s Mage, Master Jessalyn, was the vehicle for Korbinian’s demise, he fell to a spell summoned by his own hand from Rallia. Rallia looked down upon the world, saw that his high priest was committing heinous acts against the true rule of law, and struck down his most senior follower. Korbinian claimed to be a prophet, but he was nothing but a self-deluded fool who met his end screaming at the hand of his own god.’

There were cheers. Jessalyn was a little surprised, but there were cheers, and they spread through the throng rapidly until everyone seemed to be involved.

Katharina waited for the noise to subside. ‘As Emperor Witold’s only child, I have taken on the burden of empress. We’ll make it all official in the days to come but rest assured that there will be someone on the throne, seeing that all returns to normal. I’m young. I hoped that I would not need to take the throne for many, many years. However, I am ready. I hope to be the kind of ruler my father would have wished, and you would want. Return to your homes, people of Capitol. Return and rest with my thanks. Without you, I might not have been able to avenge my father’s death. I thank you from my heart.’

To the sound of cheering, Katharina turned and walked back through the large windows which let out onto the balcony. Jessalyn followed her.

‘That was good,’ Jessalyn said.

‘Thank you,’ Katharina replied.

‘Very regal.’

Valentin was leading Hjordis and Magdalena into the room which was one of many meeting rooms in the palace. Katharina smiled. ‘And here come the other members of my advisory panel. I do know one thing I can be assured of.’

‘And what’s that?’ Jessalyn asked.

‘If my head gets too big now that I’m on the throne, I’m quite sure that I can count on you to shrink it.’

‘Of course, Your Imperial Majesty.’

Epilogue

Capitol, 5th Drostasur 1468.

‘For fourteen hundred and sixty-eight years,’ Katharina said, ‘the High Priest of Rallia has crowned anyone who takes this throne.’ That would be the throne she was sitting on, uncrowned. She was addressing various nobles and dignitaries who had come to witness the coronation. Valentin was there, as was Magdalena. ‘Today, there is no High Priest of Rallia to perform the ceremony. As the only successor to Emperor Witold, I take it upon my own shoulders to claim his crown, and I request that the Empress’s Mage, Master Jessalyn, who saw to it that my father’s murderer received the justice he deserved, place this burden upon my brow.’

Jessalyn was not entirely happy about the arrangement, but she was not entirely happy about a number of things. She had said she would be Katharina’s magic tutor for two years. Now, eighteen months later, she was stuck with the position of Empress’s Mage; Katharina had refused to select someone else with considerable firmness.

Stepping forward, Jessalyn raised the jewelled circlet that was the imperial crown and placed it upon Katharina’s head. It looked like it wanted to stay there. There was a bit of magic about that crown which no one had ever been able to analyse. ‘May your reign be a peaceful one,’ Jessalyn said. ‘Rise, Your Imperial Majesty, Empress Katharina.’

Katharina got to her feet and everyone else, including Jessalyn, dropped to one knee before her. ‘Let this be my first edict,’ Katharina said. ‘For as long as the Empire has existed, the Church of Rallia has held a special status within it. No longer! The Meginhard Empire will no longer have an official religion. All should be free to worship the deity they most favour.’

There were some mutterings. That was not going to be a decision everyone agreed with, but after attempting a coup, what could the Rallians expect. ‘Further,’ Katharina went on, ‘so long as I live, the Church of Rallia is forbidden to have a high priest. I never wish to see another man claiming that title appear before me. My successors may choose to reinstate the office, but I never will.’ That was a bit more vindictive, but, again, what could they expect?

‘Grandmaster Valentin, please stand.’

Valentin got to his feet. ‘Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.’

‘I have two tasks for the Imperial Mages’ Guild. First, working with the Imperial Army, I need mages to find and detain for trial any who remain loyal to Korb–’ She stopped, clenched her fists, and then restarted. ‘To the old high priest. Second, I’m rescinding the rights of the Rallian Knights to guard the imperial palace. I would like to organise mages strong in offensive and defensive magic to work with the army on a permanent basis. Only to secure the palace. I will not disturb the general policy of mages engaging in only the wars they feel are just.’

Valentin bowed his head. ‘I shall begin the selection process for both tasks, Your Imperial Majesty. It would be my pleasure to accommodate your wishes, as well as my duty.’

‘Thank you. High Priestess Magdalena, please stand.’

Magdalena got to her feet, bowing her head to the new empress. She was a stark contrast to most of the people in the room, dressed as she was in her simple robe. Even Jessalyn and Valentin wore brighter colours.

‘High Priestess, there is a shrine to Rallia in the palace. I wish to add a shrine to Unerra. I would be grateful if you could make any necessary arrangements.’

There were more mutterings, which both Katharina and Magdalena ignored. Valentin, however, turned to look at the gathered nobles and no one he looked at met his eye.

‘I would be honoured, Your Imperial Majesty,’ Magdalena said, bowing her head once again.

‘Very good. Now, I have much to do. I know all of you want meetings with me and I’ll get to you all in time. Ludolf will be continuing his role as assistant to the crown. Speak to him and arrangements will be made. For now, thank you all for bearing witness. I bid you farewell until that future time.’

Katharina walked through the assembly which parted for her and Jessalyn to pass. They were out in the corridor and several paces away from anyone who might hear before Katharina spoke again. ‘I need out of this gown and into something more comfortable.’

‘You’re the empress now, you know. You could wear whatever you want.’

‘Not for a coronation. I feel like I’m going to trip over this thing any minute.’

Jessalyn grinned. She was a little behind Katharina and her empress would not see it. ‘You really threw poor Ludolf to the vogan back there.’

‘He’s used to it. He’s too honest to even profit from the chance to take bribes too. Father called him a present from Rallia. I’m trying not to hold that against him.’

They arrived at Katharina’s rooms and she unceremoniously removed her crown and tossed it onto a seat. Then she was heading for her dressing room with a pair of maids moving in from both sides to assist her in changing clothes. A third maid went to retrieve the crown and put it where it was supposed to be. ‘Come with me, Jessalyn,’ Katharina called over her shoulder. So, Jessalyn trooped after them.

The gown was corseted and designed to present Katharina’s bust in the best light. That meant getting it off did require some assistance if you wanted it to happen in less than thirty minutes. Jessalyn propped her staff against the wall near the door and then propped herself against a chest of drawers.

‘I’d like to continue my lessons,’ Katharina said as one of the maids popped open a panel at the back of the dress and began working on slackening the laces.

‘I suppose we can continue,’ Jessalyn replied. ‘I don’t see any reason that an empress can’t learn magic.’

‘My thoughts exactly. Oh… That feels so much better.’ The laces were now loose. ‘I know you were only supposed to be my tutor for two years, but–’ She stopped as the gown was lifted up over her head.

‘I think you voided that arrangement when you made me your personal mage.’

‘What? Oh. Yes, I think I did. I know you want to travel but you probably will get to do that as Empress’s Mage. Maybe not as freely as you might wish.’

‘Probably not.’

Katharina paused the redressing by turning toward Jessalyn. All she had on was what passed for underwear in Capitol, a triangle of cloth tied over her private parts with cords, and a pair of slippers. She seemed rather oblivious to her state of undress, and Jessalyn wondered whether growing up with maids to dress her had entirely twisted her sense of decorum.

‘I want to continue moving forward with Father’s plan to tighten our relationship with the City of Mages. I think you’d be the perfect envoy. Or maybe we’ll both go as a sort of diplomatic mission. That would have to wait until things have settled down though.’

‘That sounds interesting. Put some clothes on before you catch a cold.’

Katharina giggled. ‘You’re not my mother.’ But she turned again to let the maids do their work. The replacement garment was one of the shorter ones Katharina favoured and took a lot less work to put on. ‘You will stay on as my mage, won’t you, Jessalyn? Wait until you see the salary.’

Jessalyn sighed. ‘I don’t need enormous amounts of money, Kathy. But I’ll stay. I suppose it’s my duty. I basically put you on the throne. I need to see that through if nothing else.’

‘Good. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

Jessalyn smirked. ‘Frankly, neither do I.’

The imperial shriek of outrage was probably audible at the city walls.

###

About the Author

I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote science fiction when I was playing Traveller. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still love the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

Recently I took the big step of quitting my day job and taking up full-time writing. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, J.D. Robb, and Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.

For More Information

Take a look at the Witches and Ray-guns blog: http://witchesandrayguns.wordpress.com

Links to book vendors and other information can be found there, along with a view on what I’m up to and when it might happen.

Other Books by this Author

The Thaumatology Series

Thaumatology 101

Demon’s Moon

Legacy

Dragon’s Blood

Disturbia

Hammer of Witches

Eagle’s Shadow

Ancient

Dragonfall

The Other Side of Hell

For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

Vengeance

Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe

Tales from High Towers’ Study

Tales from the Dubh Linn

The Aneka Jansen Books

Steel Beneath The Skin

The Cold Steel Mind

Steel Heart

The Winter War

The Greatest Heights of Honour

The Lowest Depths of Shame

Hope

The Ultrahuman Books

Ugly

Shadows

Hunting Mink

Frostburn

Guardian

True Dark

Liberty

Royal Flush

The Unobtainium Books

Kate on a Hot Tin Roof

King Solamet’s Mines

The Reality Hack Books

Reality Hack

The Fox Meridian Books

Fox Hunt

Inescapable

DeathWeb

Criminal Minds

Emergence

The Ghost in the Doll

Eden Burning

Dominance

The Hellas Find

Dancing with The Devil

Overwatch – coming in 2021

The Princeps Venator Books

Hunter’s Kiss

Be My Valentine

Blood Magic

The Gunwitch Books

Gunwitch: Rebirth

The Children of Zanar Series

The Zanari Inheritance

The Misfits Series

Misfit Magic

Misfit Witchcraft

The Sondra Blake Series

The Vanity Case

The Shil the Huntress Books

The Eyes of the Huntress

The Twilight Empress Trilogy

The Iron Princess

The Last Emperor – coming when it’s ready

The Death’s Handmaiden Series

Death’s Handmaiden

Bitter Wind

Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions

Other

The Girl Who Dreamed of a Different World

Age of Atlantis: Return

The Empress’s Mage

Sign of the Dragon – coming April 2021

Table of Contents

Part One: Student

Part Two: Apprentice

Part Three: Journeyman

Part Four: The Life of a Wandering Mage

Part Five: Teacher

Part Six: The Town Where Magic Is Made

Part Seven: Capitol

Part Eight: Dragon Hunt

Part Nine: Tutor

Part Ten: The Empress’s Mage

Epilogue