Laura Mondero could barely keep herself from shivering. In fear. In awe. Or perhaps to shake the surprise and keep herself from staying stunned.
Lady Yuriko.
Yuriko Mishala Davar, she introduced herself, so perhaps Lady Davar would be more appropriate. At least it would have been, but Lady Yuriko told them to use her first name.
There was little doubt of her rank now. Her exposed power would have ranked her as a True Magus, which was two levels above her own Magus rank. But now that she had a closer look, now that she could feel the resonance of her own Light Elemental energy.
It was clear. The woman was a Grand Magus. At least.
The Light Elemental energy surrounding Laura had stopped swirling almost as soon as Lady Yuriko entered. The building, not the room. They moved to obey the stronger master, and now, the thickness of it was almost suffocating. And even more so, the Radiant Element was dominant over the Light, as the latter was merely a small component of the former. The behaviour spoke of the existence of a Domain, though it wasn't quite as oppressive as the others Laura encountered before. That spoke of being a True Magus.
But the most telling part was the fact that Lady Yuriko's body was partially made of Radiant energy. It was evident with how the woman respired Light Element. It was evident in how her lustrous golden hair absorbed the sunlight and emitted it back.
Even more disconcerting was the appearance of youth in the woman. Gwendith and Heron looked young, but they at least looked like full adults. Lady Yuriko looked like a teenager. An extraordinarily beautiful and perfectly formed teenager, but one nonetheless. Only the depths of her eyes gave away her age and maturity.
What did that mean? Either the woman was truly that young, or she took an Elixir of Youth. Life Essence was a major component of the Elixir, as well as other rare, natural treasures. But the final appearance of one who partook it would depend on the imbiber. Why did Lady Yuriko decide to keep her looks as a near child?
She was tall enough that only Lord Martelli's ears overtopped her height. But her body proportions made it clear anyway. Why youth? Or was it that age that she stepped into the realm of Magus?
Every Magus aged slower once they reached that threshold. An Elixir of Youth would have fixed that age's appearance. So there was the chance that she simply advanced that young and took the Elixir right then. But that also meant she was skilled, powerful, and rich enough to afford something that should have been taken once the body had already surpassed its prime.
It was impossible that Lady Yuriko, who was at least a True Magus but was more like a Grand Magus, was less than two decades old after all. Mastery of their chosen Element, mastery of casting spells, mastery of Arcana Weaving…those took decades. There were no Advanced Magi less than thirty years old, and most reached that august level by their fifties. By that time, most of them looked middle-aged at best.
Not that it would be a concern for a Sha'ledras tribeswoman. While she was only in her mid-twenties, her race could live for centuries even if they did not advance to Magus.
While Lord Martelli spoke about the advantages of becoming a guild member, Laura kept her eyes and senses trained on Lady Yuriko. The swirling patterns of energy around her were fascinating but incomplete. Well, she couldn't see the whole thing since she was not a Radiant practitioner. She thought briefly about casting Arcana Sight, but using that spell made her eyes glow. Perhaps when they were more accustomed to each other.
"Here's a booklet denoting the guild's rules and regulations, as well as the advantages and duties of an adventurer," Lord Martelli said as he handed them over. "Feel free to peruse them at your leisure."
"Thank you," Lady Sharine said with a bright smile. "We will examine these carefully. Ah, we also intend to continue our journey to Nirlith City by tomorrow. We only stopped to gather supplies, and help."
"I will be returning to Nirlith City, too," Laura said. "If it pleases you, may I accompany your group?"
"I don't see a problem with that," Lady Sharine said. "Our ship is parked outside the walls. We will leave at dawn. Ah, 6 o'clock."
"Wonderful. I and my entourage will be waiting," Laura said eagerly.
"If there's nothing else, we will take our leave," Lady Sharine said.
"You may be interested in the guild's shop. We have supplies and other tools for sale there, in already easily packaged bundles." Lord Martelli said.
"Thank you," Lady Yuriko said with a blinding smile. Laura felt her breath hitch.
They took their leave and Laura leaned back against her chair with a sigh.
"What do you intend?" Lord Martelli asked.
"She is powerful and a conundrum," Laura muttered. "A wielder of the Light. There are few such practitioners even back home in Xotha."
"You intend to seek her knowledge?"
"Who could resist?" Laura laughed. "But I heard they are being escorted by a soldier. Their destination of Nirlith likely means she intends to enter Niria."
"Ah, that would be troublesome."
Both of them, though they were mono-elementalists, were not part of the Four Classical Elements. Lord Martelli was even a Metal Element wielder, and though he did not practice the Cyclic Elemental movement, he was still suspect in the eyes of the stubborn traditionalists. Well, as part of the Orthodoxy, she would have some leeway in Niria.
But Radiant…
Primordial energy was something every Magus coveted. Though learning it would be difficult, having someone act as a guide would go a long way to achieving enlightenment.
But it was too good a chance to pass up. She would ask Lady Yuriko for tutelage no matter what price was asked of her. Save for treason and wholesale slaughter, of course, though she felt a chill as she realised that the scales did not weigh too far from the balance point.
___________
Yuriko and the others perused the guild shops housed within a wing in the building. Gwendith took the initiative to buy what the Darter lacked. Those were mostly luxury goods such as wine, and delicacies. Yuriko found that she did enjoy sweet wines, and in the idle moments when she relaxed, she liked to sip a glass or two and nibble on candied nuts and fruits. The butter candies Gwendith bought for her before had her hooked. She might even like them more than chocolate…
No, who was she kidding? Chocolate truffles were still her favourite indulgence. Too bad Bresia didn't seem to have them. They had different things though, such as the candies, which turned out to be some kind of confection made from syrup squeezed from some kind of plant. There were even candies that were flavoured with different fruits, and those she loved too!
"Not too many at once. You might ruin your teeth or your figure," the matron selling them warned Yuriko and Gwendith good-naturedly.
Well, it wasn't as if she'd ever get fat, and even if they rotted her teeth off, it was a simple matter to rebuild them with Elementalisation.
She moved on to a weapons shop while Gwendith wandered off to see what she could get at a bargain. Most of the displays were numerous firearms of sorts. There was a display piece, a pistol that carried a cartridge with space for eight bullets. She inspected the piece with her eyes, fingers, and Anima perception. Most of the runescript work was within the barrel, and the trigger mechanism, and she marveled at the ingenuity of how the weapon loaded the pistol by itself after firing. It had to do with springs and levers, or sorts. The trigger mechanism and the way it touched off the bullets was a mystery, and it was only when she actually had a bullet in its casing that she understood.
The bullet was propelled by the compressed Fire and Wind Elemental energy within the casing, and the trigger would touch an activation runescript to the bottom of the casing. This would then cause the two Elemental energies to mix and expand violently.
Hmm, an interesting piece of work, but Yuriko wondered why they didn't use the Fire element to produce plasma instead. The Plasma Lancets and Casters of the Empire only needed Animus to… ah, of course. She had not detected anyone using Animus at all, and considering Yuriko and the others needed ambient Chaos to refill their reserves…perhaps it was impossible for Bresians to handle Animus? Or difficult, anyway. Unlike her people, the Bresians avoided Chaos instead of weathering it.
But still, they developed other methods to create power and bend reality to their Will. Frankly, their Sorcery was far more diverse and easy to learn…
The pistol was just one of the weapons displayed, and it looked like a novelty piece more than anything else. There were swords, spears, polearms, and daggers, among other, more varied melee weapons. There were also bows and crossbows displayed. She could detect Elemental energy swirling around each piece, entering and leaving in a pattern quite reminiscent of breathing, albeit at a much longer interval.
Her gaze landed on a small booklet displayed on the counter right next to a pistol. The language written on the cover was in Wojan and another familiar alphabet. Old Imperial.
Basic Spells for the Novice Magi.
"How much for this?" Yuriko asked the attendant.
"Thirty silver, Miss."
She wordlessly retrieved the coins and gave them to the attendant, who then retrieved a copy of the book from below the counter rather than taking the displayed copy. It was a thin book, roughly twelve by nine inches, and an eighth of an inch thick. She flipped it open and grumbled that most of the text was in Wojan and only had a smattering of Old Imperial.
She had watched more than a few Magi casting their spells, though most of them used their specialities rather than the spells that looked like basic Sorcery. Deciphering the foreword nearly gave her a headache, but it did confirm that the book was a beginner's manual. If she actually studied and followed the knowledge inside, she would be able to cast spells the way the Bresians did, too. Interesting.
Did it mean that everyone knew how to cast? Hmm, somewhat similar to the Empire then, rather than the Federation.
With most of the shopping done, the three of them returned to the Wind Darter. They spent the rest of the day resting and training. Yuriko tried to learn from the spellbook but had to limit her reading to a few minutes every couple of hours.
"How long would it take me to finish this?" She muttered to herself, annoyed.
"You're actually reading? Would it rain gold today?" Gwendith teased when she entered the cabin.
"Hmph!" Yuriko snorted and tossed the book at her paramour.
Gwendith chuckled and looked at the title, her expression morphing to interest. "You're interested in their methods? Well, I guess I am, too. Oh, Heron finished a painting of the countryside…the special kind of painting."
Nodding, the two women climbed up on deck to look for the young man, and found him at the bow, cleaning up his paints and easel. The canvas was laid flat on the deck. Yuriko looked at it curiously and grunted at the image.
It was as they expected, really. The canvas was practically covered in twisting streams of different hues, blocking every other image underneath. While it was nice to get confirmation of their thoughts, the patterns were completely obtuse and none of them could get any significant insight from it.
Gwendith borrowed the spellbook for the afternoon while Yuriko continued her sunblade exercises. The hours flew by, and by the next morning, they were all ready to leave. Lieutenant Cillian and Corporal Adan returned from their forays in town, and the Wind Darter was ready to leave.
A small detachment of riders emerged from the gate, and Yuriko recognised Laura Mondero, her two bodyguards, and surprisingly, the guildmaster, Alejandro Martelli. All of them were astride Steelds.
Alejandro trotted up next to the railings and called out. "I've business in Nirlith City, too. I hope you don't mind my company?"
"Not at all," Gwendith answered. "But I'm afraid we don't have room for all of your Steelds."
"No matter, we will keep up," the bunny-eared man said brightly. He turned the Steeld and they followed the road. Nirlith City should be no farther than a day and a half away.