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The two fairies led me to a small camp in a clearin’, containin’ a jumble of equipment, a couple tents and three more people. The group had already settled in, to the point of draggin’ in logs for seats around a fire pit safely lined with rocks.
As I arrived, I became aware of a nagging sensation. I recognized witchery right away, and thanks to the bits and pieces of wisdom that have leaked over into my thoughts from the other incarnations, I knew it was the same magic that had waylaid the recovery mission. But my friends were helpin’ me with it. I didn’t need anyone else’s help.
If the princess hadn’t wanted a better assessment of the situation, I would have just ignored the fairies and moved on to the tower. But I was here for information, so I sat down with them to get it. Naturally, they wanted information too, since all but one of them started out convinced I was actually the princess, usin’ a disguise.
Interestingly, the old half-dwarf sage called Matthias accepted my explanation for myself and my relationship to the princess from the start. I got the sense he could see somethin’ extra, the same way the princess can, and knew my body was no natural creation. I also had the sense his vast knowledge included some similar techniques. Maybe Senhion and Diurhimath’s ‘spiritual arts’ were still alive, somewhere in this world, and he had heard of them.
But I guess my aura, lookin’ identical to the princess, kept Serera and Dilorè suspicious that I was actually the princess, here in person while disguisin’ herself. The princess’s knack for coming up with unusual techniques even made them think she might be fooling their fairy sight, and might actually be physically present even thought they couldn’t sense her.
And I had just as little luck explainin’ my presence to Lady Chiara as the princess was havin’, explainin’ it to His Royal Highness back in Narses. On the other hand, Ryuu understood the basic idea immediately, sayin’ somethin’ about Bunshinjutsu. That word didn’t mean much to me, even after learnin’ about it from the princess’s memories, but the princess thought it was hilarious.
But that didn’t mean he believed me. He was still suspicious.
Eventually, I had to convince Lady Serera to call Lady Halet, the royal knight with the crystal ball back in Narses Castle, in order to confirm that the princess was, in fact, still safely back in the Castle.
Then I had them catch me up. These five were the only remainin’ members of the recovery mission. Everyone else had vanished into the tower, includin’ the eight Hippalektryon riders. Without them available to deal with the cavalry beasts, the party had been forced to unload the gear and let the animals go free. Accordin’ to Matthias, they would find their way back to their home stable on their own.
Lady Serera had attempted to communicate with Áne of the Green Tower, to learn why she was doing this, only to repeatedly receive the same message back. She would explain all, provided they first entered the tower. Naturally, Serera wouldn’t allow it, and I didn’t blame her. That kind of answer was suspicious as nine hells. And thus, here they sat, in a standoff with Áne while Serera and Matthias tried to come up with a plan.
After I relayed all this back to the princess, she sent back a question, so I looked to get the answer for her.
“From Dilorè’s report, you lot were havin’ all manner of trouble keepin’ Chiara from followin’ the rest into the tower. Yet here she is, actin’ all normal. What happened?”
“I stole her bracelet,” Serera answered, simply.
My eyes went right to Chiara’s wrist, where the bracelet keepin’ her bond under control was… missin’, as reported.
“And you still need to give it back!” Chiara retorted with her brow bunchin’ up. She rubbed her wrist as she said it.
“The blood bond is interfering with Áne’s charm,” Serea calmly replied. “And that in turn is allowing you to stay with us.”
“Even so, I need it back!” Her tone was as resentful as a small child who had a toy stolen.
“Is that bloody thing addictive?” Serera asked, turnin’ to Matthias. “The way she’s acting…”
I answered, “It’s ’cause the princess orders her Servants to always wear their bracelets. She’s under a vampire magic compulsion not to take it off, so yer givin’ her a load of guilt for disobeyin’ it.”
The fairy knight frowned. “Tiana should be more careful with such things. “
“I can’t blame her,” Matthias disagreed with a shake of the head. “The bond without the bracelet twists their personality far more than a little compulsion like this. My Lady may be acting normal, out here away from her mistress, but once you see how a blood slave acts with the master is nearby, without the bracelet, you will understand. Such a command is given out of the desire to let them lead a normal life.”
“You folks do realize you’re talking about me in third person while I’m standing right here, right?” Chiara asked.
Matthias smiled and dipped his head. “I beg your pardon, My Lady. And please put up with not having your bracelet for a while longer. We couldn’t come up with a better solution.”
Now that all five seemed to be finally willin’ to believe that I was me, and not the princess, Serera turned to the obvious question.
“So, then, what exactly can you do here? Miss, um…”
“Sirth,” I replied, then scratched the back of my head. “And as for what I can do, other than help you fight any enemies that show up… well, not much. But I’m here because I can turn into someone else.”
Serera’s expression went blank, then she tipped her head. “I beg your pardon?”
“I can become any other of the princess’s previous incarnations, Milady,” I repeated, grinning a little. “Except I can’t become the original Senhion. We haven’t grown to the point of resurrectin’ her, yet. But that’s alright, ’cause at least two other incarnations can deal with Áne.”
Serera looked more than a little flummoxed, but of course, Dilorè, Chiara and Ryuu all understood, since they had met both Fan Li and me in the past, and even seen us changing from one to another in the training system. But of course, Matthias asked the most glarin’ question I was beggin’.
“Then why not send one of them instead of you?”
I scratched my head again, then said, “Well, in the words the princess uses, I’m more fuel-efficient.”
He scowled in thought for a moment, then wondered, “You require less mana?”
Shakin’ my head, I said, “I think it’s different, but ask the princess about it, Sir. I’m not the right person to explain it.”
“So, what do you mean, ‘deal with Áne’?” Serera demanded. “She’s the most powerful fairy I’m personally acquainted with, outside of the Royal Family and a couple clan lords. She isn’t someone you ‘deal with’.”
I sighed, shakin’ my head. “Milady, yer still thinkin’, ‘Tiana’s just a juvenile, she shouldn’t try to fight adult fairies’. How many times have you seen her do it anyway?”
“You don’t understand! Áne is thousands of years older than me!”
I stood up, patting the dirt from the log bark off my bum and then scratching the back of my neck. “Well, that’s that, then. I don’t reckon I can learn much more here, so it’s time to check this tower out.”
Serera sprang to her feet. “Wait! You’re leaving right this minute?”
The others rose as well, makin’ noise all at once, tryin’ to stop me.
They might try to stop me, and I can’t be fightin’ them, I told a certain grumpy old lady as I expanded our vessel to wake her up.
– You actually understand that it’s normally best not to fight?
I refused to let her bait me with her mock surprise, and just told her, Stow it and take over, Old Lady. It’s your turn.
… this small one saw no profit in trying to reason with them. They would understand within minutes anyway. Converting to the ‘flock of birds’ mode of the [Blood Effigy] technique, this scholar ascended back into the sky, then converted again, to the invisible blood and mana mode, picking a spot above and only a few hundred paces to one side of the Green Tower for a target.
Once there, and once converted back into the form of a half-spirit scholar of Huajie, standing upon her lotus blossom, this small one stared down at the ancient building. It was as the princess had last seen it, a weathered round tower of green-hued stone, having the proportions of a ‘rook’ piece from Tiana’s chess game, except that the top, rather than bearing a crenelated ring, ended with a vertical cut, as if a titanic foe had lopped off its upper portion like a sword severing a stalk of bamboo.
Actually, from the look of it, that almost had to be exactly what happened in this place.
The pressure from the dryad’s mental technique came almost immediately, but it was tolerable. The much younger current incarnation had used a clever technique that this scholar forged for her, to deflect this magic by presenting it with a powerless simulation of a young fairy’s mind. To an aging practitioner of spiritual arts, though, it was a mere annoyance, so this scholar simply flicked her sleeve and expanded a bubble of Will that drove the Dark mana away. The technique had no effect if it could not make contact with the body in the first place
It was time to communicate to the being within the tower exactly whom it was that she was dealing with, so this scholar again utilized the acting techniques that had (almost but not quite) worked on Falerè, the fairy warrior captain back in Narses.
With thoughts as hard as iron and full spiritual pressure, this proxy Princess Tiana declared, Áne of the Green Tower, have you still not learned your lesson?!
The effect was instant, and remarkable. The thin haze of Darkness, so reminiscent of [Vampire Sense], along with the Dark magic pressure on the protective bubble of Will, vanished almost instantly. Nevertheless, it made sense to continue the mental pressure.
This scholar had directed Her Highness to use her Light mana to defend against other possible Darkness techniques, but this was unnecessary when Will could directly hold such magic at bay. So, the only thing left was to wait for the dryad to appear.
Instead, her communication technique, composed of a light haze of Light, appeared, feeling almost tentative as it cautiously manipulated the nearby air to make sound.
“Please accept my apologies, and cease your pressure,” she begged. “How is it that you have become even stronger? Are you not yet fifteen years old?”
At first blush, it would seem a mystery how a young girl like Her Highness had overpowered an ancient being like Áne, but the fact was, much of the skills that this scholar possessed were things which the Elders had known, but which they had been unable to pass on to their fairy children before they passed away. By all rights, even with Princess Tiana at her full power, she would not have been able to overpower an Elder of Áne’s age.
The increase in strength was partly due simply to this scholar’s better skill at wielding spiritual energy, and partly due to the boost that Gaia gave Her Highness during the battle in Hamalgaar. But the fact was, it wasn’t even remotely what would have been possible with Her Highness’s main body on hand.
Even then, Áne ought to be able to do far more. For the moment, it seemed prudent to continue the pressure. She might still possess a dangerous trump card.
The source of my strength is not something you need to concern yourself with. Why have you detained my friends?
“I assure you, it was for their own safety! As I keep telling Serera, she need only come inside and let me explain things!”
What you can explain there, you can explain here.
“Your Highness, I dare not! Only within the safety of the tower do I dare speak of it!”
She sounded desperate. She seemed to be honestly begging this scholar to understand, there was something she could not say out here in the open.
I could understand Serera’s doubt. Fairies of their age should possess all sorts of privacy techniques. But if she believed none of them would suffice, what then?
A spiritual voice came from Lady Serera, who was now approaching from behind. Your Highness! Please don’t approach any closer!
But this small one had already made a decision, and responded. Go back and wait at the camp, My Lady.
Please come with me!
No. This scholar shall enter the tower and learn what Áne wishes to say.
