Miniarc-Sleepover-2 (Patreon)

Compared to the letter from her…Alana didn’t quite know how to describe what Lou was to her, the second letter was quite bland. She couldn’t think of anyone who would bother to send her a letter. Her loving family hadn’t sent anything since she started at the Hall. They hardly talked when she was still at Victory.

She opened it with far less enthusiasm but quickly found herself similarly engrossed in its contents.

Greetings, young miss.

We have met only in passing so you may not remember me but it is my hope that we will come to know each other quite well in the ensuing years. Your father, the honorable Duke James, has asked that I be your instructor, as the preeminent light caster of the north.

I have already arrived at the Hall and am in the process of handling the process of my accommodations. Though my priority is your instruction, being an instructor of the Hall has its own responsibilities I cannot ignore. Come Manaday, I will expect you first thing at the Foundation Fields. That will give you the weekend to put your affairs in order.

As the daughter of the duke and a fellow light user, I do not wish to question your honor or commitment but there are things I feel I must say. Being a knight of Victory is a serious commitment. If we ever hope to conquer the Peaks, we must devote our everything to the war effort. It is a hard life and some might say unrewarding. You’ve been exposed to a different life here at the Hall. No one could blame you for having second thoughts.

If you decide to take up Victory’s greatest battle, I will do everything I can to support you. I will be by your side, even as we venture into the land of death beyond the mountains. However, if that is the path you wish to take, you cannot afford any distractions. There is a reason why the women of the orders swear off marriage and motherhood.

Regrettably, I am here to train a soldier of Victory, so should you decide that you no longer wish to dedicate your life to the James family legacy, I will waste neither of our times and return to the fort. Take no consideration of any trouble your decision may cause me. The most important thing is your will. A soldier without the proper will is nothing but a walking corpse.

No matter your decision, I look forward to our meeting.

Sir Polluck of Undying Embers

Alana sucked in a sharp breath. The Order of Undying Embers were extraordinary, even by Victory’s standards. They only accepted casters with the fire and light affinities. All the knights of Victory had a suicidal zeal but the Embers took it to another level. They were always at the front of every campaign. Their squads averaged a horrific fifty percent casualty rate but always took out dozens of times the number of their fallen. They were one of the best and without question the most famous order in Victory.

Sir Polluck was just as famous. All light casters were revered to some degree, as light was the affinity of the first saint, the first hero of humanity, and anyone with it was thought to be blessed by the saints. He could have gone anywhere in the kingdom and been welcomed with open arms.

The knights of Victory only knew war. Boys grew up watching their fathers and brothers join the orders and march off toward the mountains. All they knew was fighting.

Polluck had joined an order like thousands before him but it was especially meaningful knowing he didn’t have to and could live a good, even charmed, life. He didn’t join just any order, but the order with the highest mortality rate. The light affinity was devastating and he quickly gained fame as a fearsome fighter. Even when he took a break from the campaigns, he continued to contribute to the war effort by becoming an instructor.

She should have been honored to receive his personal instruction. She was honored but…something about the letter didn’t sit right with her. It was too abrupt. Almost accusing. He was questioning her commitment to Victory. After all the work she had put in. After all she had suffered, fighting for a place amongst the other boys and girls her father had trained on his estate despite being his blood.

She was honored…but she was done groveling for the James family and their knights. When she was sent to the Hall, she had worked hard to convince herself that she wasn’t being thrown away. Her father believed in her ability and wanted her to excel. She was the James’ family pride, being molded not just by the warriors of Victory but also the greatest minds in the kingdom.

If she was the same young woman as when she arrived at the Hall, her determination would have been shaken. She’d spend the weekend convincing herself that the accusatory tone to the letter was nothing but her father’s worry and she’d slink to the Foundation Fields come Manaday determined to prove herself worthy of her father’s acknowledgement, having long given up on obtaining his love.

Now, her confidence wasn’t so easily shaken. Knowing Lou had made her brazen. A touch willful, even. When she would have cowered before, she saw the offense for what it was and let her anger rise. He may be a famous knight but did that give him the right to command her attendance through a letter? Did she not warrant a proper greeting? And why was he questioning her commitment? Was it her father questioning her commitment through him? If it was…

A line in the letter jumped out at her. About how the women of Victory forsook marriage and motherhood. She understood the practice. If a knight became pregnant, they couldn’t fight for a year or more. After, mothers rarely wanted to leave their newborns behind. It was far more difficult to risk your life against a never-ending army when your death would leave a child without their mother. Most women who wanted to fight swore off marriage until they were ready to retire from the frontlines, usually around their thirties or forties. Young mothers were a rare sight in the Fort.

From Sir Polluck’s words, it seemed he was at the Hall and had been for a day or two at least. It was easy to imagine he would ask about her, specifically to her instructors to hear about her progress. Such a conversation would lead him to Kierra and speaking of Kierra would lead him to Lou.

Lou was an infamous figure amongst the initiates. There were all manner of unflattering rumors surrounding her and she could imagine at least one of them included her.

Thinking of that, the vague disapproval she sensed from the letter cleared as she zeroed in on the possible source. There was a single moment where panic made her heart race. Then her previous indignation swallowed it.

Who the hell is he to tell me who I can see? I’ve forgiven my father for ignoring me and my mother. I’ve already pledged my life for his cause. I endured every indignity, accepted all the training, without a word of complaint. I didn’t ask for pretty dresses, or cute pets, or a saints damned hug! Not so much as a fucking good job, Alana. But the one thing I find for myself, the one thing I’ve done to make myself happy that has nothing to do with my father and that damn fort, and these assholes are questioning my commitment? Telling me not to waste their fucking time?!

She hissed as she tossed away the offending letter. Angry eyes moved to her bed and the clothes spread over it. She grabbed a large sack from where it was tucked under the bed and started to pack.

She’d show them. Her father and her prospective teacher could both go to the Abyss. The saints would all turn their backs before she let them control her relationships. She’d enjoy this weekend to the fullest to spite them. Come Manaday, she’d meet her supposed teacher and let him know exactly what she thought of his “concern”.