Amber - 3 (An Order of Amber) (Patreon)

Soon enough it was time to depart from Tal'Doren's grove. I spent another night in the Dream with my small fox friend, wondering if they Blink Foxes were related to the fox I had seen in my vision, but there was no great insight to be had here. From the seal used to keep the Worgen sleeping beneath Daral'nir I could advance my own efforts on that front, drawing people into slumber more easily, perhaps even forcing them into hibernation but it wasn't what I had hoped for.

Still, it wasn't nothing. And I'd had more important reasons to come than gleaning new insights or getting lucky with a remnant that might have been left behind by the Kaldorei.

I had kept my promise to Emma, even if she didn't want me to leave.

"You're going to have to let go soon, Emma." I said to the girl who was holding onto me tightly.

"No!" She whined petulantly. "Not without you. I never get to see you anymore."

I sighed. "I was there for your birthday. I'll be there for the next, barring some calamity."

"I want you back."

"Emma." Celestine said warningly, looking down at her daughter. "Gwyneth has her own duties now. As will you, as my apprentice."

Emma turned to her mother with a look of betrayal on her face, then looked back to me pleadingly. "Please? I want your lessons. I promise I'll listen. I promise! I'll even do the numbers, I'll even help Rosaline with the numbers! Just... come home."

"I'll send some lessons with my next letter." I said, ruffling her hair. She looked utterly forlorn as she let go and went to her mother's side, turning her head and crossing her arms as she pouted furiously. "Celestine, it was good to see you."

"And you as well." She said, smiling softly. "Safe travels, Gwen."

"Safe travels."

-oOoOo-

I left alongside Heather and Joseline as we were headed in near enough the same direction to return home. Considering how I would travel the rest of the distance once we were out of the forest I could have gone with Emma and Celestine and barely lost any time myself, but I would have put a friend out and given them more work to do. I had already asked a favour of them in the form of being carried to and fro, expanding that needlessly wouldn't have been fair.

There was plenty to talk about with Heather as we walked, from our plans for what to teach our students when resumed lessons and simply gossiping about them. Heather was sure Richard had a crush on Trix and that was why he was teasing her.

Personally I thought that if that was the case we shouldn't be encouraging it. And certainlyshouldn't try and encourage Trix to accept or support the behaviour.

Pig-tail pulling was not a suitable way to handle a crush.

I made sure to commit the path we followed out of the Blackwald to memory as well. For all I had made my own way in Joseline lead us along a far easier, and swifter, route; my own path through the forest had followed natural trails, from game paths to streams and currents of magic. Not once had I spent more than a few moments crossing a man-made road, even though they made travel somuch easier.

The part where I'd had to clamber down the side of a hill hadn't been all that fun either; following the forest had worked, but it wasn't the best path by any means.

I was still glad to have done it. If I had found the spot Joseline and Heather had entered the Blackwald I likely could have followed their trail, the path well wore into the essence of the forest by countless trips, but that, I felt, would have been cheating.

Putting truth to Meredith's accusations of being shown the path to Tal'Doren by another. Better to do it without, even if it took longer.

Eventually we came to the edge of the Blackwald, the forest giving way to fields and hills covered with snow as far as the eye could see, and it would soon be time to part ways. I pulled out a feather charm and let out a long silent whistle on it.

The laughing breeze, who still refused to let me name them, took the call and carried it away for me.

When Heather looked at me suspiciously I shrugged, a grin on my face. It was more fun as a surprise.

We kept walking for a while, an hour or two, before the breeze returned and tickled my ear. Looking up at the sky I waved, and the distant spec of mount and rider waved back.

"What?" Heather said, looking at me in confusion. Then her mother pointed into the sky and she spun about. "Is that Lorna?!" Heather cried, pointing into the sky and signalling that my ride was here. "It is!"

Lorna Crowley swooped down atop Donovan, the gryphon crying out joyously as he saw us. His talons dug furrows into the dirt as he slowed to a stop, far less graceful than his father; but he made up for skill with youthful exuberance a lot of the time. And with my magic, at times.

The number of times I'd had to heal scratches or bruises he got himself, or the time he decided a boarwould make a good meal... he got a lot of healing.

Heather rushed over to Donovan and immediately started fussing over him, a wide grin on her face. She still hadn't gotten over meetinga gryphon, even if she was shy around Lord Crowley still. Lorna won her over with her mount.

"Hello Heather, Miss Rosethorn, Gwen." Lorna said, nodding steadily as she dismounted. "Don' found you easier than I thought."

I fingered the feather charm. "We did test it before."

A vague memory of a Druid calling a Hippgryph to rescue them via a feather. It was a fairly simple charm on the whole, the feather was a live part of Donovan so he could feel a summons through it as if it were right next to him. A shame it didn't work so well with people; we very much weren'tnaturally in tune with Nature the way a gryphon was.

"A pleasure, Lady Crowley." Joseline said, bowing her head. They had met before.

"Wait!" Heather turned, though she kept one hand rubbing at Donovan's crest, to the gryphon's delight. "You... Gwen! You let Lorna know where we meet. That's– I understand she's your friend, but it's still wrong."

Lorna pouted playfully. "I am not your friend too, Heather?"

"Ah– that's not–" Heather flushed, stumbling in on herself. "I didn't mean– I'm sorry, Lady Crowley, of course you're my friend. Unless I've offended you and you no longer wish to be."

There was a beat of silence before Lorna grinned. "Good, I was worried for a moment!" She laughed softly, a light and airy thing. "It's not as if it was much of a secret? When father investigated more, and he has done since we took on Gwen, he found Lord Tollar and Junswick both knew about the Witches that passed through their towns going to the Blackwald." She brushed her hair over her should before leaning against Donovan. "And, since I can fly... I dare say I can guess where in the forest you meet."

Her eyes sparked with mirth.

I opened my mouth for a moment to protest, the forest was dense and activelyworked against people trying to find its heart.

But, well.

She had a point.

"Huh." I said.

"No! You couldn't possibly, it's been a secret for generations, even if Gwen found her own way – which isn't unprecedented, just unheard of in centuries– the forest would hide it from you."

Lorna looked at me, tilting her head as if to ask if I wanted to say it. I shook mine in response, she could have her fun.

"Heather..." Joseline said, a pained look on her face as she stared at Donovan. It seemed she figured it out too.

"You wouldn't believe the views you can get on clear days," Lorna said casually. "If you fly high enough you can see clear across the forest, from the edge all the way to that great big tree in the middle. I wonder what it looks like in summer? It's this weird patch of bluein the browns, blacks, and whites of the forest this time of year."

"Our vaunted secrecy, thwarted by flying mounts." I said, shaking my head.

It still meant no army, and indeed no typical individual, could ever find us. But the Alliance while not flushwith fliers had more than enough to mean any true effort to discover us would succeed.

"But–" Heather held up her hand, paused, and slowly closed her mouth. "But..." She looked at Donovan. "Oh."

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. Lorna quickly joined in, as did Donovan with his own rumbling mirth even though he didn't truly understand whatwas so amusing. Heather turned beet red.

Walking up beside her I gave her a friendly shoulder bump. "I didn't think of it either, Heather." I was still grinning, but I didn't want to laugh toomuch at her expense. "But it's kind of absurd, isn't it? We put so much into hiding from the groundwe didn't really think about the skies."

Her face flickered between embarrassment, frustration, and mortification rather quickly. Lorna threw an arm around her shoulders, trying to assuage things.

"It's not as if I could get inthat way; Donovan wouldn't make it through the canopy. And until I flew down here I had no idea. I don't think many people do." She matched my eyes, then Joseline's before returning to Heather. "And I swear that I shan't tell anyone of what I saw. On my honour as a Crowley, in the name of the Holy Light, I do swear; I did not mean to learn your secrets and I shall keep them so long as you and your fellows are no threat to the people of Gilneas."

Heather fidgeted for a moment before nodding. "It isn't your fault for discovering it."

"Quite, I thank you for the oath, Lady Crowley." Joseline said. "Gwyneth, I take it you shall be departing without us?"

I nodded. "Donovan needs a little help to carry two, but he's capable of it now." Hardly a full grown gryphon by any means he needed me to enhance him with magic, give him a buff, to have the strength to carry us both. But he enjoyed the challenge, and neither of us were thatheavy. Lorna'd have my hide if I insinuated otherwise. "I have projects to get back to."

"Don's a showoff," Lorna said, letting go of heather to ruffle her gryphon's feathers. "He enjoys carrying us both. I think he likes the feel of the magic too."

It was the spell I'd shown Vivi that got her hooked on the idea of being a Monk, which might nothave been my brightest thought with how much she badgered me for more information – she was cute, she could get away with it – but it had meant I got a lot of practise with it. I feltlike it was akin to the Mark of the Wild spell I remembered, it made them elements less harsh, enhanced just about everything,

When it came down to it, I was drawing directlyon the Dream, specifically an Ideal within the Dream, and drawing into being to bless someone. In some ways it was an evolution of how I blessed crops, their ideal state was being healthy, full, and bountiful. Nourished and well cared for.

The Ideal for a personwas somewhat different, and there was variance from person to person. There hadn't been any side effects so far but I did try to keep an eye on anyone I cast it on regardless.

Heather frowned sadly. "Oh, you won't be with us the whole way back?"

I shook my head. "It's been a good week, Heather, but I want to get back to work."

She bit her lip, then enveloped me in a suffocating hug. Sometimes being short was a nuisance, I couldn't get my chin over her shoulder to breath. On the other hand, it wassoft.

And embarrassing. Thank the Keepers Heather was oblivious. Unlike Lorna, who was grinning at me; my cheeks flushed and she grinned even wider.

Letting go heather forced a smile onto her face. "I'll see you come spring. I can't let our students down, can I?"

"Of course not." I smiled, my cheeks burning despite the cold. "I'll see you then."

With our goodbyes said I waved them off and followed Lorna into mounting Donovan. He trilled loudly as I imbued him with my magic, testing his wings and pawing at the ground before starting to trot forward.

Until, with a great leap, he shot into the air and we were away.

-oOoOo-

Life during winter was a slow affair, for all I had plenty to do in my workshop to fill my days. For all I remembered a dozen of incrediblyuseful things from before there was a simple problem of not having all the details. And for all I tried and tried and tried again to use the rituals of recollection I'd learned in Dalaran to reach those memories of mine... they didn't work.

And it wasn't that they didn't work at all, I could reach back and remember the name of the first person I healed, my first words spoken to my mother. My awkward attempts to walk as a toddler. Specifically from thislife.

But nothing from before. The ritual just didn't functionfor some reason when I tried, and I hadn't any idea how to find out the why.

Still, as with the pens I'd made I kept chugging along. My waterwheel was rather overambitious considering how much I'd gotten done, the lathe it powered was certainly useful for making parts and powering the bellows of the forge when I needed to work metal helped too, but I had oneactual machine that used its power.

"Come on..." I grunted, staring at the thread and daringit to snap. "Yes, that's it..."

The most time consuming part of making clothing wasn't the sowing, it wasn't the weaving or the knitting. No, it was making the damn thread. Days and days of making thread and depending on your speed you might barely come out the other end with enough for a scarf. And there was a limit to how fine human fingers could reliably spin too.

When it came down to it, the Spinning Jenny had probably been the most influential invention of the Industrial Revolution. Turning the job of eight or twelve into the job of one, and making it less skillful of a job too.

My little lines of thread continued to spin, twisting while the whole frame moved and drew them out. With a light thunkit reached the end, then slowly began reeling itself in and adding the thread to the spinning bobbins. There were only two lines, if it finallyworked I might consider scaling up; but honestly it'd produce more thread than I needed with just this. And I had to stay near it, being part of the process, if I wanted to enchant them as they came out.

It was well worth it, making it far easier – and the results far stronger – to imbue the resulting fabric with magical effects.

That was my best guess as to the difference between Pyrecloth and something trulymagical like Dalaran Mageweave, someone with at least a small spark of magic was involved from making the rovings all the way through spinning the thread and weaving the cloth.

I breathed a sigh of relief as the bobbin filled up and the automatic shut-off kicked in. That was, finally, a successful trial run.

Standing up I stretched out my back, my arms high over my head as I flexed. Hunching over a machine for hours trying to fix whatever little thing was causing problems this timewasn't the most comfortable of things.

Soft footsteps, not the sound but the faint disturbance they left in my domain, told me Vivi was back again.

I pinched the two bobbins and disconnected the machine from its power supply. If my notes were right I had finally gotten a working Spinning Mule. I hadn't a sodding cluehow to get an automatic knitting machine to work, but sowing... it was two threads, wasn't it? One from above, one from below, looping through one another? This would be so much easier if the ritual worked.

"A nightmare to get right..." But probablyworth it. "Hey Vivi," I said, turning to greet her.

As she had tended to do since I made them for her, Vivi was wearing her training clothes again. While Professor Holdfast had briefly covered the various aspects an enchanted item could take on, Eagle, Monkey, Boar, and the like, it had still taken me time to practice enough to make them reliably. Vivi's set was the first I had fully committed to succeeding with.

And it looked amazingon her. As much as I liked wearing skirts myself and found trousers constraining, Vivi rocked the tight leggings she was wearing. And the vaguely Asian martial-artist style shirt I had made for her as well suited her lithe and fit physique. She was wearing her cape over all of it today, for warmth, but I knew what it all looked like. I still blushed remembering taking her measurements to make it all, Vivi wasn't anykind of delicate flower with the muscles she had.

She'd gotten a fair bit taller than me, springing up fairly late, but honestly... I liked it in some ways. So long as she didn't get so tall I had to crane my neck like with Darius.

At some point I'd have to upgrade her gear, and mine. I was still learning and most of the stuff I made was just for utility and comfort, common enchantments for everyday wear like warmth and endurance, or blood stain resistance. I already knew I could make better, and that was without higher quality thread to start from.

As it was my travelling outfit, the only one I had properly enchanted to amplify my magic, was okay-ish but not terribly impressive. And I still didn't have a good staff, I just wasn't good at wood shaping imbuement like Celestine was.

"Good afternoon," She said brightly, and I couldn't help but return it. "What's a nightmare this time?"

"Just thinking of my next project." I, gently, patted my spinning mule. "This one's finally working."

A closer look at the thread even showed that it was evenand tightly spin. Finer than was typically made on a spinning wheel too, might even be good enough for lace.

I hatedworking with lace. Never again, Lorna, never again.

Some part of me thought she had only made me do it to see me turn bright red when I gave them to her.

"Great! Do you need help forging anything?" She asked, Vivi wasn't much interested in the howsor whatI was making most of the time, but she still liked helping. Neither of us were real experts with a forge, though we had gotten a handle on it well enough I didn't need to trade favours with one of Crowford's blacksmiths every time I wanted to reforge something.

Being able to make my own nails and screws was nice, though I still preferred buying them. It was a horrendous time sink.

"Not yet." I shook my head, waytoo much to do first. "I need to actually design the thing first. And see if my ideas are even feasible."

Figuring out the motion would be one of the biggest hurdles even if I knew it was possible.

Vivi nodded, her red hair falling in waves over her shoulder as she did. "So... if you aren't busy, would you like to go out riding?" She asked tentatively.

Glancing out one of my windows I looked at the heavy snow still piled up outside. "Little cold for it," I said. Vivi's face immediately fell, looking like she was chastising herself for being stupid. "But that's what all the enchanting I did when making our clothes was for, wasn't it?" I slipped my arm into hers with a smile, brightening myself as her face lit back up. "The countryside is beautiful under a blanket of snow anyway."

"It is." Vivi said, her eyes locked with mine. "Best part of winter's snow."

"Yeah," Well, snow and sitting by a warm fire with friends. Shame Vivi wasn't more for reading, it'd be nice to bundle up and spend a night in. "When do you have to return home?"

"Not for a few days, mother–"

I started to frown, someone had passed through my gates on horseback. It wasn't someone I was familiar enough with to recognise on the spot...

"–gave me leave to visit Lorna while she went to the winter gala. She doesn't want me embarrassingher." She glowered into the distance. "Just because I don't want to dance with all the men she tries to shove onto me doesn't mean I can't! Or that I don't want to. I just don't like them."

"Your father isn't pressing?" I said idly. "Oh, damnit. Sorry Vivi, I don't think we'll get that ride."

"Lady Arevin! Lady Arevin!" I still didn't recognise the voice, but there was clear urgency as they approached the main house and yelled at the top of their lungs.

With a sigh I delinked myself from Vivi and headed outside, the chill air a sudden shift from the relative warmth of my workshop. Imbued wood was an excellentinsulator if you knew what you were doing.

"I'm here, I'm here." I called out. "What's the problem?"

"Oh thank the Light!" The man said, the look of desperation not fleeing. "My brother needs healing, and Roderic and Ben and–"

"Slow down." I held up a hand, resisting the urge to sigh again. People were notgood at explaining things quickly even when they needed to. "Sorry Vivi. Another day?" I whispered to her.

"I understand," She muttered behind me, sounding disappointed. "Duty first."

"Can you get my horse for me?" I asked, and she nodded, heading off to my small paddock and stable. It was just enough for my mare, though I let her roam most of the time. Wasn't like she'd run off on me. "Now, what's the problem, how many need healing and what caused it." I said to the man, keeping my voice stern. My height meant I had to work harder to appearauthoritative, but I had the hang of it after the last few years.

Growing myself a staff straight out of the ground in front of him helped too. For all they were used to the trick everyone still stared.

"Uh, my brother, he and the others, they were hunting a boar and it got out of hand..."

It wasn't anything unusual, some young men deciding to do something stupid and getting hurt for it. With luck they would all still be alive when I got there. It was still annoying, I would've enjoyed going on a ride with Vivi.

-oOoOo-

Vivi and I did eventually get to take our ride out that winter, and it remained one of the highlights of the season after she instigated a snowball fight with some youths in the village who were pestering a younger boy. We didn't know the, but we certainly trouncedthem; I might not have much practice with using branches as springs to launch projectiles but I sure could send a lotof them flying when I tried.

It had been a fun day, a bit of more childish antics between the requirements of my increasing workload.

After that winter passed by without much fanfare, and with the snows melting my classes with the few who had enough magical talent to be worth teaching picked back up. Classes had less of a formal start date and more of a 'when does Trix decide to start sneaking into my garden again' date in many ways.

Her antics were amusing, if also fairly disruptive.

I was teaching one such lesson, working with the children to show them the basics of enchanting with my Perpetual Flower imbuement, when Rodger rode into my domain.

"Something's come up." I said, cutting of my lecture. Rodger wouldn't be here if it wasn't something important, Darius usually sent Lorna to invite me to dinner when he wanted my presence. Well, or she volunteered herself for the task; the latter seemed more likely knowing Lord Crowley. "So I'm afraid the lesson will be ending here. Good work, Richard. While not perfect yours will sustain itself for several years before fading."

He had the part of the imbuement that had it absorbing mana from the air to sustain itself down, but the process was insufficient to keep up with the unrefined work he did elsewhere.

Conception problems. Keeping in mind what you wanted done clearly enough to come through without fuzzing and losing efficiency was a lotmore difficult for someone who couldn't see exactly what they were doing.

"Aww!" Trix whined. "But I was so close!"

"I was closer." Richard boasted. "I bet I can get a real enchantment done before you!"

"No way!" She snapped back. "I'll work extra hard!"

"Don't try and get more lessons, Lady Arevin's time–"

"Children." I said warningly. I didn't like it when they started fighting, no matter Heather's thoughts on the matter. "It is my choice whether I provide additional lessons, Richard. You are welcome to them as well, though Heather would be put out."

He looked down. "Yes, Lady Arevin."

I ignored Trix sticking her tongue out at him. I wasn't like that thistime around... at least, I was pretty sure I wasn't. And didn't think I was like that before either. A child was a blessing, children together could be a horrible curse. Still, I enjoyed teaching them.

Better than the adults I spent time giving lessons to anyway. They tended to argue with memore than each other.

Rodger walked into the garden, glanced over the students, and nodded to me tersely. "Inventor Arevin, his grace the Duke of Arevass summons you to meet with him."

It still wasn't clear to me why Rodger didn't like me much, but had never lost his tension around me. Though, in truth, the formality he displayed was typical of him with everyone. He didn't let his feelings get in the way of serving his lord.

"May I know the reason for it?" I asked, then looked to the children. "Lessons are over, you can return home for the day."

Trix glared at Richard, but began packing her things along with the others. Carefully showing off her pen to him; I should get around to making one for each of them, it was horrible favouritism as it currently was.

"His grace has informed me that he is seeking advice relating to a plague, Inventor Arevin." Rodger said bluntly, his face impassive even if the stiffness of his body was clear enough for me to read. "Your expertise in healing will be needed if it spreads south from Lordaeron."

I froze in place, my eyes moving glacially to look at Rodger properly. "Plague." I said, the words echoing oddly in my ears.

"Yes, plague." He said tersely.

I swallowed. A plague in Lordaeron and Darius was calling me. "I will be ready shortly." I said.

This... this was the beginning, then. The Third War couldn't be far away now. I thought I'd had more time. I thought I had another year.

I was wrong.