Mable was claiming to her friends at their table in the training yard.

With her, there were Nessa, Penny, Brenia and Aglaya. Gytha could have been there too but she was attending a survival cla.s.s.

"T'was really a spell-caster that got you to that state?"

"Yes, a fire mage, I dodged most of the spells but a few got through the armor."

"He should have used lightning instead, you're too fast for fire spells. Tell us how it went in detail, I want to know how you won so I won't do the same mistake as him." Penny chimed in.

Since their mock fight, she came back a few times to study how everyone fought. His story about how he fought the mage was very interesting to her. It wasn't that she really wanted to beat him but more that she used him as template for what a warrior could do.

He did as he was told and recounted the whole story of the fight except for the circ.u.mstances of it and why it took place. His voice was still more than a bit rough and he needed to drink water all the time to calm his aching throat. He was lucky to have Celtine here to serve him water since he couldn't see the pitcher.

Yesterday, after he had sent back the other him to fight he did his best to calm himself of his anger but he would not feel better before he was done with the mage and claimed the memory of it. In the meantime, he had Celtine and Harriett remove his armor again in case he got hurt and needed a healers help right away.

With nothing else to do, he took the time to finish his discussion about the book he needed with Heinrich properly. Because he insisted, Emp told them what was happening on the other side but there was nothing more they could do from here. Either he would get a note about his success later or he would just die right there without warning.

Knowing he was involved in a life and death battle without being able to do anything about it was a very stressful feeling. He could die at any moment and he would not even know why.

He got Heinrich to sell him a book including some spells about sounds and decided to come back another time once he knew what he wanted to do for Mable. He had the same problem for her confirmation that he had with Calla and of course, he could not use the same idea twice. He needed to find something else and he dreaded the long hours he would spend thinking about this.

After he left the mage, he went to meet Mable right away, hoping it would make him think of something. It was while he was with her that he received a message written by Marcy saying that he had been burned and would be blinded for a while.

He felt that the circ.u.mstances were a good opportunity to show Mable how the anchor worked. He had been forbidden to say anything about it but not to show her. Anyway, he had promised to marry her one day and was already working on his confirmation, she would have to learn about it eventually.

"Hey Mable, I need to go see the healers now, would you like to come with me?"

"What for?"

Was she asking why he wanted her to come or why he needed to go to the healers?

"I got myself in a fight with a mage today, that's why I was a bit tense and grumpy. I got injured in the fight and I have to go see the healers for it."

"You're injured? But you seem fine."

"Yes, well, this is about what I'm not supposed to tell, that's how I meet my mother and Calla and how I fought the unnameable of chaos. I am not supposed to tell anyone about this but I was not forbidden to show. Would you like to see?"

"Isn't that just cheating? You're bending the rules." Mable was very curious about his motives.

"It might be a bit true but I trust you. I also don't think that you could learn anything worthwhile just by watching it happen. What you will see probably won't make any sense to you."

"All I have to do is follow you to the medical hall?"

"Yes, I'll show you there."

"Let's go then! I'm curious to see!"

She led the way there with a a spring in her step, it was quite something to see after how mad she had been against him.

"You seem really happy." He commented.

"That's because you said something so embarra.s.sing earlier in cla.s.s, I'm feeling way better now."

"You're feeling better because I said something embarra.s.sing?"

"Yes, I feel like I got some some sort of revenge over you and also, I liked what you said so it's a double victory for me. It feels great."

"I'm glad you're feeling great."

After that she asked him what had happened but he could only tell that he didn't know yet what exactly occurred. He would have to wait there to know.

When they got to the medical hall, the healers recognized him so when he told them he had been injured, they believed him this time.

They had him lie down and once everyone was ready, he closed his eyes and recalled the other him. The memories of what happened appeared in his mind and his boiling anger vanished in favor of relief and pain. His skin felt really unpleasant but luckily the s.h.i.+rt was intact, he had cooked inside his armor but nothing had caught fire.

"No way!" Mable shouted.

She couldn't believe what her eyes just told her she saw.

"You've been cooked alive!"

That's what led to their current discussion in the training yard. The healers came to the very same conclusion than Clide and both versions of him ended up with bandages around the head and disgustingly viscous creams to apply on his skin. The only difference was the price tag on the creams the two places offered him.

He told the curious girls all about the fight he had lived, the impressive self-magic Sophus used and the ingenious way he activated it, how even though the flames did not reach him the heat by itself still got him in this state, how he ended up blinded and how it all ended by blowing up the hole Sophus fell in.

"His way of casting the longer spell using wands was very clever, I'll keep it in mind."

"That spell would have been great too if not for the snake's death. He would have been really hard to take out."

"Yeah Emp, you were lucky that your mom is a good fighter and came to your rescue. I don't think you would have won without her help."

Emp thought the same as Brenia, they had managed to corner Sophus only because they worked together to corner him and because she got rid of that annoying snake.

"I think he did pretty good for a second year student. He won against a professional mage in the end, even if he was wounded." Aglaya praised him. (1)

"Now I'm blind though, so I can't do anything."

"That's not true, my ancestor learned the sword dance even though he was blind. You won't be blind for long anyway, you just need to take it as a vacation."

"But I have a confirmation to make and a trip to plan. Plus, what if something happens to Mable? I won't be of any help then."

"I'll watch over her for you while you waste your time being blind." Brenia said from his side.

"Don't worry about Mable, she's fine. She's too busy pulling faces at you to put herself in trouble." Aglaya added.

"What! I didn't pull any faces at him!"

"You've been doing this the whole time we've been here."

"I'm not! Stop it you'll make me look bad."

The others all laughed.

"I don't mind even if you pull faces at me."

"But I'm really not!"

"Oh, that one was a good one."

"You're so mean!"

Emp enjoyed listening to the conversation even though he couldn't see anything.

The biggest hards.h.i.+p he was currently experiencing was that keeping his eyes closed all the time made him feel very sleepy.

"What are you? A bird? It's only noon, don't fall asleep in the yard!" Brenia complained when he told them about this serious problem.

He didn't understand why everyone else was laughing about this. It was a real problem for him, he had things to think about, he couldn't fall asleep here. He yawned the whole day but thanks to Harriett who kept him awake with the occasional tap on the shoulder, he managed to stay conscious despite the drowsiness.

He tried is best to spend his day like usual but there were a lot of things he could not do. He could not spar, he could not study magic and every other subject became very hard to practice. The only thing he could do with ease was think about his plans for the two confirmation gifts he needed to make.

But, his momentary blindness didn't stop him from going out to see everyone else, listen to Blackbull's rants and talk to the Duke about those new wounds and the upcoming marriage.

The morals teacher was rather angry about his bold declaration in her cla.s.sroom. To be clear, she was angry of the way he said things and the words he used rather than about the contents of the message. Since he was a Muracier, she knew he was serious about Mable but there were strict rules about this sort of thing and he had followed none.

At least, he had effectively remembered all the little behavioral rules she attempted to teach him since last year, she had just never spoke about this specific sort of thing.

She fixed this hole in her teachings right away and there was a lot to say about courting. Emp had to listen through it all and it was very, very long. This was the moment he most feared that he would simply fall asleep.

She did not approve of this whole thing but, since they both seemed to want to go down that path, she said that she'd do her best to help them. Only, helping them to the extent of her abilities didn't help all that much, she lacked some important information to seriously help them. In particular, she still did not know what Emp and the duke were planning and if it would affect Mable's house.

Blackbull had lived a long life and could easily navigate the troubled waters of the court. She understood the n.o.bles and their ways like she understood how to breath, something that still escaped Emp sometimes. For her, it would be easy to move the important pieces in the n.o.ble spheres of society to achieve the results she desired but, she didn't know what was the result the two of them were looking for.

Even if she did, it would not mean that she would side with them when everything was put into motion, this was a point she wanted them to keep in mind, she wanted them to always stay on their toes and think carefully about the interests of everyone around them as who knew when one might be betrayed. This was just her role as a teacher, help them if she could, correct them if she couldn't.

With all of that said though, for now, as long as they weren't planning anything too extreme, she was willing to help them, whatever she meant by that. Emp felt it was a good thing she didn't know he aimed to replace the emperor because this was definitely too extreme for her.

This was high treason wasn't it? He wondered how he would pull it off in the end. He was about certain that the old lady would be able to help him do it but he was just as certain that she would never do it.

She wasn't really an opponent but not really an ally either, at least he knew what to expect from her. This wasn't the case for the duke.

He had no idea of what the duke wanted out of this at all. It was clear that he held the Muraciers in high regard and seemed to be very loyal to them. The problem Emp had with this had been caused by his understanding of Blackbull's lessons. Was the duke Jazay loyal to the t.i.tle of great general, the Muracier family or loyal or to Chinui? All of those would produce very different results once Emp's goal was exposed.

If he was only loyal to the t.i.tle, he would turn against him as it would go against everything a great general should do. If it was Chinui he was loyal to, he would refrain from siding with anyone until the man himself sent him some signal to go with either. The old man didn't feel like someone that would a.s.sume the wishes of the son to be the same as his father, after all, he kept complaining on how his sons sent him here to get rid of him. Only if he was loyal to the Muraciers as a whole would he be his ally without doubt.

However, he could not simply ask him that and now wasn't the time anyway. For now, he just needed him to help plan a trip to Dark-glint.

When he went to meet him in his office, the duke wasn't all too happy about these new wounds.

"Seriously, ye two are the worst troublesome kids I ever saw. How's it that ye keep getting in tumble?"

"You mean trouble." A servant said from somewhere on Emp's right side.

"Aye, this be what I mean. Good thing I'm not gonna be the ancient of this ole place for long."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I be an ole man! At this rate, ye two are goin to kill me. I've been more requested for crazy things in da two years since ye came than all the time I be here in charge before that."

Emp heard him pour some liquid, probably in a cup or something. Not seeing things was really disturbing. Where there really people that could not see at all, ever? He didn't understand how they did.

He heard the old man drink and after slamming something on the desk he asked a new question.

"What be the thing that did it this time? Another beast? I be wanting to ask ye to stop hunting big nasties while ye be in me care."

"No, I didn't go hunting, something important happened, I have a lot to tell you about."

"I see, all of ye get out, except the la.s.s there. I be needed ye to speech probably."

"You mean to speak properly."

"Aye this be what I meant. Now shoo."

He heard ten different set of steps as everyone moved to get out, Emp caught the arms of his own two servants before they could get the idea to leave.

"You two stay as well since I can't see."

"As you wish master."

After everyone was gone, Emp started his story. He began with the s.h.i.+rt since he was pretty sure that no one told the old man yet.

"First, I have to tell you that this s.h.i.+rt I'm wearing is an offering of Holia."

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"What! Ye sprout be gettin a wifey? Please, don't be tellin me it be the trouble la.s.s."

"No, her name is Calla Champom, I'm working on the confirmation right now, well, I'll resume once my eyes come back."

"This be a name I don't reco... remember."

"This is normal, she is not a n.o.ble and doesn't live in Bêtéclair. I will to go over there for the marriage."

"I see, I be congratulatin ye on this joyous event. Best wishes, happiness and all that. Also, I want to tell her meself too and shake da hand of da new lady Muracier, I missed the last one. Now, where ye be goin for this?"

"Not far, I'll just be going to Dark-glint on the main road."

"This not be fur for right. Ye not be needed that many smoulders."

Emp didn't understand at all what he just said.

"He says that it is truly not far and you will not need that many soldiers to escort you there."

"Aye, this be it. Ye be rewarded later."

"I will be eagerly awaiting that moment." The helpful servant answered.

Emp had not thought about having soldiers escort him there before but he didn't reject the idea. He needed to travel with Harriett, Celtine and later, Calla as well. If he was alone to watch over them, they might get in unnecessary trouble. For their safety more than his own, this proposed help was really useful.

"Thank you, I'll accept the company on the way. I would just like to ask you to take only people who can keep their mouth shut."

"That be obvious, I didn't have ye hide yar name just to spill it ta everyone now."

"Not only that but Marcy is going to be there."

"Marcy? We be talkin about the Marcy I think we be talkin about?"

"Yes, Marcellia Gladius."

Since the soldiers would come with him, they'd see the marriage, her, and the fact he called her mom. It was impossible that the information wouldn't go back up to the duke at that point. Instead of trying to hide it, it was best to find a way to say it that wouldn't make him overreact or that would make him think that Marcy became the wife of Chinui after Chijou's death.

"Aye lad, what about the emperor's order?"

"I don't think my father really cares. She should have been in the family, she should have our name, I've been calling her mother lately."

All of what he said was true and that way, the duke might think that he just called her that by respect and loyalty to the engagement cancelled by death.

"I be hearin ye lad. Back in the day, the la.s.s was fierce, a lovely match for yer uncle. If ye be tellin me she is part of the family, I'll see her as so. I be respectful and make sure that those that be followin keep their traps shut. Ye can place yer trust in me."

"Great, thank you for your help. Also, the village needs a new mage."

"A magician? What for?"

"I killed the one they had yesterday."

The old man burst in roaring laughter and took a while to regain a semblance of calm.

"Be that how ye got burned? What was the fight for?"

"He tried to enslave Marcy and steal my future wife."

"He be lookin for death then. Ye be needin more trainin lad, a puny village mage got ye to look like a sea creature in me plate. I be introducin the teachers to be harder on ye."

"You mean instructing."

"Aye."

"I would like that yes."

More training was never a bad thing for him.

"I be lookin for a replacement then, someone who's smart enough to not go against the future head of the imperial army this time. Spell users are hard ta find though, it will be long."

"That's fine, as long as you can do it."

"Aye, that village is on the main road so it needs to be kept safe. It's also the place that be housin the smith la.s.s and the relatives of yer wifey I be guessin."

"That's right."

"No worry, I be takin care of it. When is this marriage be hapennin so that I can prepare me boys fer the trip?"

"I can't finish the confirmation as long as I'm blind so I don't know. Maybe a month? We'd leave in about two weeks then."

"This be fine. Before I be forgettin, I have an advice fer ye."

"An advice? What is it?"

"Ye be takin care of her smile. The la.s.s be one of yer faces too now, if she won't be smilin, the moral of tha troops be going down. Yer wifey be a..."

"Indicator?" The servant proposed.

"Aye, she be an indicator for tha soldiers ta know if things are going well or not. If she not be lookin good, they be believin you might not be lookin good also and it stresses them out. I made the mistake once of tellin one of me wives about what me and me boys were about to do and worried her. She be so worried the boys started to worry too, if even the wifey of the boss be worried for him, what about our own safety."

Emp nodded to acknowledge his advice. He could roughly understand what he was rambling about. As a commander, he should be the safest in the army, if his wife was worried sick for him, the soldiers under him might think that the operation was much more dangerous than they thought it was. Either the commander is hiding some danger from them to keep them moving or they are underestimating the threat.

He got all that but, he wasn't in any commanding position yet so for now, it didn't matter at all.

He didn't stay all that long in the duke's office after that and instead went back to thinking about what to do for Mable's gift.

That was almost the only thing he could do while he was still blind. He couldn't even talk to Celtine since he couldn't read her words. He sat down on his bed and fell deep into thoughts.

When thinking about Mable, he felt that giving her something she could put in her hair was most appropriate. That was something she needed to use all the time since her hair was way too long to keep loose. She had a great amount of all kinds of hair accessory already though.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. She had enough of them and each one she already owned were well crafted pieces of jewellery. It would be a pain for him to make one too since those things were usually very thin and delicate. The best Emp could do would probably be a hair band or a pin on the larger side of things.

He kept the pin idea in the maybe section of his head and attempted to find something else. He thought about a hair comb, another kind of bracelet, an anklet, something to pin into her dress, a small dagger, a necklace, maybe even some sort of armor. They where all considered the same way he had examined the hair accessory one at a time and he felt like rejecting them all.

He couldn't make up his mind, what would be useful to her, what would she like, what would be original, what was realistic for him to do? If only he knew how to do more things than just working a forge, he felt it might have been easier.

Mable wasn't really the type to fight for herself so an armor or a weapon wasn't all that useful to her. A small dagger she could carry discreetly would have helped her in a situation like that time Ninoslav got in her room but at the same time, he felt it would make it seem as if he wasn't certain in his ability to protect her. He rejected the idea. He might give her a dagger but not for a confirmation gift, if that gift represented his best, something that said "protect yourself with it" wasn't the way to go.

Then there were all sorts of ornaments and jewels but he felt that he would never achieve the quality she could just buy in an artisan shop here in Bêtéclair. He didn't want to give her something that said "here, my best is worse than any old thing you can buy". They were all rejected along with the hair ornaments.

He really needed to work with his own strengths instead. He had to stick to what he knew, metals and leather, but what would interest Mable from this?

He only wanted to find an idea that was just as good as the one he had for Calla but repeating that success proved to be difficult.

On the second day of his thinking, he toyed with the idea of making a huge hairpin that would double as a weapon. He could make it extremely light and sharpen the tip of it before making some sort of receptacle in the form of a band that would hold her hair together when the pin was used to hold it together.

On the third day, he felt that maybe some sort of amulet would be better. It would be able to receive magu from her and s.h.i.+ne brightly on command letting her blind foes and see in the dark without carrying a rushlight everywhere. What sort of design should he shape it into though?

On the fourth, he remembered she hated some huge river crab and wondered if it would be good to make a weapon specialized in dealing with crustaceans.

On the fifth, he circled back to the armor, even if she didn't use it often, it was the thing he was the most comfortable doing and would definitely help protecting her.

On the sixth day, he was getting very depressed for not being able to find anything that felt right. There was always that little something that made him feel like it wasn't enough, not as good as what he planned for Calla. He asked Harriett for help, not to find an idea but to bring him to Love's temple instead.

Once in the prayer room, he asked his mother for advice.

"I understand how you feel." Her voice came from nowhere. "You want the thing you will give her to be the best thing you will ever offer to her because it will go with the heartfelt vows you will take. However, that vow is there to tell her that you will continue to love her from now on, It doesn't have to be the best thing ever because you will continue to improve and gift her more and better things in the future.

You are also afraid that your gift to her won't be as good as the gift you plan on making for that other girl but what makes it such a good gift in the first place? It is not that complicated aside from the materials you chose for it. It is just a tiny enchantment as well. What really makes it stand out is that it is perfect for her and her alone.

What you need to consider above the rest is what will truly be a thing that says: this is for you only, made with all my best. You are not searching for something that says: this is what I can offer you. Do you understand the difference? That is the only thing I can do to help because the answer is meaningless if it doesn't come from you.

Also, your eyes are mostly healed, you'll be able to remove those bandages tomorrow."

Emp thanked her and let Harriett guide him back home. He thought hard about what she said for a long time but the idea he was looking for did not grace him of its presence.

The next day, he felt kinda upset that he had spent a whole week thinking about it but still found nothing worthwhile to offer Mable.

He went back to the healers so that they would remove the bandages for him and check if he could see properly but he didn't feel all that happy about it. He was too focused on his lack of ideas to enjoy regaining his vision. After all, now that he would get it back, he would have to start working on the gifts again and would not have as much time to think about what to make for Mable.

He was led to a bed and after exchanging a few ba.n.a.lities with the healers, they started undoing the wrapping of bandages over his head. He saw the world slowly getting brighter and brighter as layers of cloth were removed. From total darkness, it became so bright his eyes started to burn even through his eyelids.

The amount of cloth was reduced again and he started to see vague shapes through what remained until he finally opened his eyes and the world as he knew it was revealed. Harriett and Celtine were at his side and the healers around him to take a look at his eyes. They weren't the first person he saw though, the first he saw was Mable.

"Surprise!" She called, throwing her arms in the air.

Her smile was simply brilliant, a true sun for his previously blind self. With her golden hair flowing like rays to warm the world bellow. He felt awed for a moment, to a degree that the healers wondered if he could actually see what was in front of him or not.

He could see alright, as clear as day, and from that moment, he knew what he needed to offer her. The idea just came to him with her dazzling smile.

"Mable, I'm happy to see you. I didn't know you were there."

"That's the whole point of a surprise!"

Now that he knew what he wanted to make for her, that is eyes were back to normal and that Mable brought back up his mood, he was more than ready to start working.

Later that day, he made a trip into town and bought a new set of improved tools in Normanic-steel including a drill, a chisel and a set of files. This way, he might be able to work on the purple crystal more easily.

The whole week after that, Emp studied hard, collected the gems and precious metals he required and planned his trip to Dark-glint carefully.

Finally, the time came for him to depart. He said goodbye to everyone and made sure that they would all keep each other safe.

"Yes mom, we'll all be careful." Mocked Kenneth. "Go get your wife already, nothing will happen to us. We can all take care of ourselves."

"You are the one that needs to be careful on the roads instead." Mable complained.

"Of course I'll be careful, the duke even lent me a few guards to protect me and the girls." He rea.s.sured her for the twentieth time.

"Worry not, I'll watch the idiots and Mable for you." Brenia told him right after.

"Thank you." That was all he needed to make sure of.

He joined up with the guards the duke wanted him to take at the front gate of the school. Conveniently, a carriage had been prepared for the girls. That was very thoughtful of the duke since neither Harriett nor Calla knew how to ride and walking there would just be a pain for the delicate girl.

He did not expect the old man to be there himself however. He wore his full armor and rode a large warhorse leading all the soldiers he chose for the task. In total, including the duke, they were twenty-one. A twenty-second horse had been prepared for him. It was a good thing he had gotten better at riding over his time in school.

"Ancient, you are coming as well?"

"O'course I be commin! The young master Muracier is about to get married, no way I be missin that! I told ya before that I wanted to shake her hand by meself."

Emp did hear it but he thought he would have waited for them both to come back. He wasn't particularly disturbed to know the old man was coming and since there was no way for him to refuse his presence anyway, he agreed to it easily and hurried the two girls inside the carriage.

He had started to train Celtine to use a crossbow but with all the soldiers there with him, he didn't need that extra bit of help and he didn't want Harriett to feel lonely inside that carriage.

As for why he thought Celtine how to use a crossbow rather than the usual bow, it was because if she was sat on his shoulders, a bow would always be hitting against his helmet and be in his way in general.

Once he got onto the saddle of his horse, the duke Jazay gave the signal and the whole group rode out of the school grounds and onto the streets of the city.

Soon, the two parts of him would be reunited and he would be able to give Calla his confirmation.

*-*-*-*

(1) The school years don't match the new year, this is why they are second years instead of third. The school year starts 3 months after the new year. Deep into summer.