Acadian: It is ironic that Aela being so successful at her transition is now stymieing her. Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.

This Aela is a different one than the one we knew from the TES stories. I have had the opportunity to do much work in her history, especially at the university. Thanks to that, she has the presence of mind to be supportive of Vesia, hearkening back to a conversation she had about coming out to her mentor. This gave her the chance to say the same words back to Vesia that he said to her.



Grits: As I mentioned to Acadian, Aela had that same conversation in reverse when she was in university. Except time it was about her transitioning. That experience taught her how to respond from the other side. Though the ability to suck up her own pain and be understanding is all her of course. I was really happy with that when I wrote it, because it shows how she has evolved as a person.

Thanks for the nit. That was a remnant of a former edit that got left behind.





Chapter 15.7

Later that day Aela found herself and Loria standing before Vesia, Daehyun, and Alcheon. The Light Elf had tried to make excuses not to attend, but Aela had quashed that. "There is no way I am going to do this all on my own," she had said to the Light Elf. "Venca has Hrafn to help him train, I will have you. Besides, it will be a chance for you to show off."

So as she had done before with Alcheon, she first taught the others to feel their mana. Then came a lesson on how to create an arcane shield. Afterward Loria stepped up and showed them how to cast an arcane bolt. Just as Venca and Hrafngoelir sparred together to offer examples in fighting, Aela and Loria did the same with magic. The elf blasted with arcane bolts, and Aela defended with her shield. Every day their new apprentices practiced using magic together, just as they did with shield and spear.

As word spread, the tiny group of prospective mages grew. Hrafngoelir was the first newcomer to join in. Having some experience with using magic, she took to the spells with ease. Then Dhasan joined in as well, and with him a smattering of villagers, from children to elders. Even Phereinon joined the group, and displayed a knowledge of arcane shields that made her a perfect assistant to demonstrate their use. That allowed Aela to give her full attention to the class.

Aside from the deadwalker, Aela knew that she could not turn them into true, fully-fledged mages like herself and Loria. That would take years. The fact that none of them could devote all of their time to study and practice only exacerbated matters. Being a magician, like being a warrior, or being a farmer, was a full-time profession. To truly be one left little time for anything else.

Still, the Arvern knew they could learn some simple things. They might be able to spend a little time practicing. Someday, even years from now, that might just be enough to save a life. That life might even be her own. So she never doubted that it was worth the time and effort.

Soon Aela had another idea to aid in the village's defense. In no time at all she was handing out small, rolled up pieces of parchment to each new hersir and rathningar.

"Since we know that our enemy likes to use fire magic, I decided to make some scrolls to summon undines," the Arvern Witch explained. "They can put out the fires. Go ahead and unroll them and practice. I have more I made to hand out later."

"I have used summoning scrolls before," Phereinon said.

"You are excused from class then goodwoman," Aela said in her best stuffy professor voice. The white-haired swordswoman almost smiled at that. Almost. Then stalked off. Aela wondered why Phereinon had attended the classes at all. She clearly knew a great deal about magic. Aela could not see how any of the lessons could be new to her. It was as if the deadwalker simply wanted to be around her.

Perhaps she still wanted Aela to accompany her to the City of the Dead? Was she trying to win her over? Was that why she had been so callous in protecting the secret of her being undead? Did she hope that if Aela knew everything, she would be more likely to join her in her quest to unravel the secrets of the Sluagh?

"Undine." A chorus of voices broke her from her reverie. The village square filled with women comprised of shimmering water. Their hair waved like seaweed, their eyes were deep and murky like algae-soaked pools, and their bodies flowed like gentle streams.

"Now controlling a spirit is actually rather simple," Aela explained. "The act of conjuring forms a mild telepathic link between the two of you. Simply think of what you want them to do, and they will do it. You do not need to say a word. But you do have to be careful not to-."

Aela's words were cut short when Dhasan's undine suddenly leapt above her. A torrent of water splashed down upon the Arvern, soaking her to the bone. Aela sputtered for breath, and took a moment to push aside the long brown hair that plastered itself against her face.

"-Think errant thoughts," Aela finished as a chorus of laughter erupted from all around. The other villagers in the square stopped to gawk as well. Even the villagers training with Venca across the square pointed their spears and hooted.

Aela smiled, and raised a hand toward the guilty undine. The spirit stopped dead in her tracks, then rushed upon Dhasan, engulfing the Asokar in a small tidal wave. The vulpine warrior staggered under the onslaught, slipped, and fell into a widening pool of mud. That brought more laughter, and Aela had to raise her voice to be heard above the din.

"A scroll has the mana I placed in it, formed into the pattern for the spell I chose. But it has no Will." Aela shouted over the racket. "So they are easily dispelled or banished. A skilled conjurer can even take control of them. So don't try to use them against enemy magicians. Use them to fight fires."

But it was far too late for any attempt at seriousness. Soon undine after undine was splashing and drenching everyone present. In no time at all they were all rolling in the mud and water, and flinging both at each other with their hands. Others came to join in the impromptu mud fight, including the water priestess Aecha, whom Aela could feel had summoned her own undine to add to the chaos.

* * *

"These villagers certainly eat well!" Loria commented. Aela nodded in agreement as she chewed on a mouthful of pork, fried rice, and kimchi made from cabbage, radishes, and green peppers. She washed down the first spoonful of the spicy dish with a cautious sip of soju. She was pleased to find that the strong Teodon drink was not as rough as it had been the first time she had tasted it, over a month before.

Vesia had explained that the first soju of any batch was always harsh. The best came from the middle of the brewing, and the dregs leftover at the end were often reused for the next batch rather than drank. Now that the brew mistress had been at her work for several weeks, she had supplied them a cache of soju from the ideal part of the process. Though since it had not been given time to age, it was still not at its finest.

"Aye, if I had known farmers all ate so well, I would have never become a warrior!" Hrafngoelir laughed. "Probably for the best though, I'd be fatter than a hadrosaur!"

"Do you think the Agrigentans eat the same fare?" Alcheon broke up the guffaws from the other seven with his somber words. "Do you know what they eat? Plain rice, if they are lucky! Many of them have not tasted meat in years. While we sit here and feast like the sacred ancestor himself!"

Aela stopped chewing. Suddenly the kimchi tasted like ashes, and the soju like pond scum.

In no time at all the seven mercenaries had gathered up the meal and taken it outside of Ranazu's home. Soon the children of the village were gathered, and one at a time, the seven passed out bowls of the sumptuous fare for them.

Aela noted Daehyun standing off to one side, beside Hyunsu. "Now, we are one," the Teodon trader said in a low voice.

Aela smiled wryly. Daehyun was right. They had a reason to fight for Agrigento, and it was not for a bowl of rice and a cup of soju.

Progress continues as Arigento, under the guidance of the Seven, trains, practices and refines . I very much enjoyed Aela’s magic lesson – even as it deteriorated into a hilarious undine-fueled mud fight.

White Hair continues to be a mystery but I wouldn’t be surprised if her attendance was simply a show of support for Aela since we think her objective here is to recruit Aela for follow on service.

’In no time at all the seven mercenaries had gathered up the meal and taken it outside of Ranazu's home. Soon the children of the village were gathered, and one at a time, the seven passed out bowls of the sumptuous fare for them.’
- - This turning point and the ending to the episode that followed was very well done and shows us clearly that the Seven have now embraced their task more as protectors and part of Agrigento rather than purely as mercenaries.


Nit? ’Though since that it had not been given time to age, it was still not at its finest.’ - - Unless I am missing something here, the word ‘that’ seems awkwardly extraneous here?

Aww, love has gone awry. Sounds like life can be just as complicated in their land as it is here on Earth.



My thoughts too. Something is going on there. I love this deadwalker character, and how you have brought her to life.

What a funny class!

I love how the magic lessons show that spells can be studied and learned by regular folks, but that becoming a mage is a full-time commitment. The reader can infer a huge amount about the world from just the beginning of this scene.

The undine mud fight was charming and hilarious. The perfect lead-in for the mercenaries learning about the food situation, and then truly joining the village.

Acadian: That was one of our last progress montages. Ending of course with the seven protagonists truly joining the village, rather than remaining simple hired help.

Thanks for catching that nit. Fixed now.


Renee: Love is complicated everywhere, even without phobias thrown in.

It was nice to write a light-hearted scene, given how serious so much of this story is. It shows that people can still enjoy life, in spite of everything else.


Grits: I did want to show exactly what you mentioned. Magic is not just for special people, born the right way or chosen by fate. It is something anyone can learn and master, just like swiging a sword, or laying bricks. It just takes time and effort. The same as any other skill.




Chapter 16

"Junhu still sees no reason for his band to join with yours Dark-Eye. He has done just fine on his own, and will continue to do so."

Only his years of training and discipline allowed Sindeok to keep a straight tail. Was this nom actually referring to himself in the third person? Did he think he was the sacred ancestor himself? Sindeok was glad it was Dark-Eye's gang of raiders he had fallen in with. At least Dark-Eye was a leader he could respect. This Junhu was nothing but a mudskipper with pretensions of grandeur.

Still, he must be a dangerous mudskipper, to lead a band of thirty some bandits. His scales were yellow and green - unusual for a commoner, but still nothing but a mud-foot peasant. They gleamed with bright color, revealing his youth. A long scar ran down the middle of his face, seeming to separate it into two halves.

The raider captain wore a straight bladed ring-sword, which Sindeok was certain came from a hwarang given its elaborately carved crossguard and hilt. A bronze lamellar cuirass protected his torso. The rectangular pieces of metal were burnished to a bright reddish orange. But the bronze guards on his arms and shins were less resplendent, and had gone green with verdigris. Sindeok imagined they must be centuries old Rasen cast-offs, like so much of the gear that Kye Rim's bandits and other lower classes used.

"I am thinking that Junhu does not see very much," Sindeok growled. "Given that his head is up his hindquarters."

"Junhu hears the buzzing of an insect," the yellow and green bandit said with his nose in the air. "It would be wise for it to keep silent, lest it be squashed."

"Junhu will be most silent when I have cut out his tongue." The members of both raider bands stepped away, leaving the pair alone within a wide ring of saurian faces. Dark Eye himself stood silent, arms crossed, and watched the exchange with interest.

"Who is this corpse who seeks Junhu's blade?" The other bandit leader emphasized his words by drawing forth his sword. The steel blade glimmered in the sunlight that streamed down through the leaves of the trees around them.

"I am Sindeok, hatched of Yeonsa, who was daughter of Geonbhwa." Sindeok drew his own sword and held it before him. "I call for the greatest among you to face me, that we may settle this with honor."

The former nangdo knew that there was no honor to be found in either raider company. But he also knew that now that he had called Junhu out, the other Teodon had to fight him. If he did not, he would lose face among his subordinates. It did not require an astrologer to know how that would end.

Until now the rival captain's intransigence had been running headlong toward creating a pitched battle between the outlaw bands. That Dark-Eye's group would win Sindeok had no doubt. But it would cost lives they could ill afford to spare. If he could settle this man to man, then the rest of the newcomers might still be integrated into Dark-Eye's company. All they needed was something dramatic to inspire their loyalty, and more importantly, their fear.

Without another word Junhu attacked. He went from perfect stillness to an explosion of action. Clearly, he had practiced a quick draw. It was not quick enough however, and Sindeok parried, then countered with a thrust of his own. Junhu side-stepped, taking himself off line, and kicked mud up into Sindeok's face.

Sindeok ducked under the brown missile, and was ready when Junhu came in with a chop that came straight down at his head. Once again he parried. This time their blades locked, hilt against hilt. Before Sindeok could rise, Junhu took advantage of his higher position to shove down, both hands upon his sword. Sindeok felt himself being pushed down into the mud. In a few moments he would lose his balance, and be on his back.

He remembered what he had read in Recipes For A New Age. He followed the Scale-Breaker's writing, and filled his scales with mana. Focusing on the image of the blade she had described, he released his power, and willed it into reality.

A brilliant dagger of what seemed to be pure lightning formed in his free hand. Wasting no time, Sindeok pushed the aetherial blade under both their swords and cut from side to side. Junhu screamed, a high-pitched and most unmanly sound, as the arcane weapon neatly sliced off both of his hands.

The rival bandit chief staggered back, staring at the bloody red stumps of both his arms. Sindeok followed, and once again swept his aether-blade from side to side. This time it took off the front of Junhu's mouth, tongue included. A kick sent the bandit sprawling into the mud, still writhing. Sindeok took care not to deliver any instantly mortal wounds as he further dismembered the pathetic creature. Still, it was not long before life fled the bloody fragments that had once been Junhu.

"Who else will face me?" Sindeok hissed. He turned to the members of Junhu's band. He clutched his own ring-sword in one hand, and aetherial dagger in the other. "Anyone?"

No one answered, no one dared move a finger to a weapon. The question of whether or not they would join Dark-Eye's band had been settled.

Sindeok turned to face his master, and saw a smile cross the older Teodon's features. Dark-Eye walked to his side, and cut the heart from Junhu's mutilated remains. He took the first bite, and offered the second to Sindeok. The former nangdo dispelled his manablade and eagerly accepted the succulent meat, glorying in the hot blood that splashed down his throat.

Then Dark-Eye took the rest of the heart, and offered it up to the new members of the raider company. Many blanched at the sight, and turned away. Dark-Eye allowed this to pass, at least for now. They needed men right now, and could not afford to butcher so many. But Sindeok knew that sooner or later, they would all partake of Manaha's Dark Communion.

The rest of Dark-Eye's band cut up Junhu's remains and began passing the meat around. As they feasted, the bandit captain laid one arm around Sindeok's shoulder, and led him away.

"Very well done my friend," he said. "Very well indeed. I knew you would make the most of the Scale-Breaker's wisdom."

"Thank you my lord," Sindeok replied. He kept his head down, as a dutiful nangdo would when praised by his hwarang.

"I want you to take command of these new ones," Dark-Eye said. "Whip them into shape, and show them how things are done among us. Soon, we will take them into battle. I will be counting on you most then."

"I was thinking of that my lord," Sindeok ventured carefully. "If we are to face the gyukon's forces, would it not be best if we trained? These men are killers yes, but they have no discipline, no order."

Dark-Eye laughed.

"If they were capable of taking orders, of doing what they are told, they would not be bandits in the first place. You can turn farmers into soldiers. They are used to following commands. But not scum like this."

"But how will we face the gyukon - the Celestial Flight - with such a force?" Sindeok questioned.

"Just like that book I gave you says my friend," Dark-Eye explained. "We will fight with stealth, surprise, and ferocity. We will not line up in the open like a Rasen army. Instead will be like orcish night raiders - moving swiftly and silently, attacking where our enemy is weak, fading away when faced with strength. Every time we will take weapons, equipment, and food from the enemy. He will be our quartermaster, and as he weakens, we will grow stronger."

"Tell me Sindeok," Dark-Eye continued in a lower tone, "do you miss the old days, when you were among the hwarang?"

Sindeok knew that this was a dangerous question, and that his life might hang in the balance of his answer. But he felt that lying would be the crime most unforgivable to Dark-Eye.

"Yes," he admitted. "Sometimes I miss being a man of honor, among other men of honor. I miss… it was not the friendship… but the loyalty. The absolute trust I had for every other man in my company. That cannot exist here, in this sea of blood upon which we drift."

"An honest answer, from an honest man," Dark-Eye sighed. "We are both men of honor, in a world where honor does not exist. I will tell you a secret. It never truly existed when we were members of the Celestial Flight either."

"Do you know much of the Skanjr?" Dark-Eye asked. When Sindeok shook his head, he continued. "They put much stock in oaths, such as those between warrior and lord. This is why the Rasen and other folk prize them as mercenaries. They can be trusted to keep their word. Well, most of them at least."

"But these oaths do not run in one direction only," Dark-Eye explained. "Both parties - master and servant - swear fealty to one another. If one breaks faith, the other is freed of all obligation. Gaesomun - our gyukon - never had that faith with us. He never had any loyalty, except to his own greed. He piddles his money away in games of chance. Then outlaws a noble or a merchant, takes his wealth, and uses it to pay his debt. He raises special taxes to gild his palace in greater splendor, then sends us out to kill the peasants incapable of paying. He plays us like the cards in a game of gabo japgi."

"Gaesomun has betrayed his obligations to all of us, noble, farmer, and outlaw alike," Dark-Eye declared. "We are not adrift in this sea, I assure you. Our course has always been his destruction. Let this be the object of your honor. Not service, but vengeance!"

"Now I grow thirsty," Dark-Eye said, "and I know just to place where we can stop for some soju."

Wow, this was brilliantly-written!

I could cut the tension in the air building between Sindeok and Junhu with an aetherial blade. Then a quick, dirty and bloody fight – gruesome even. Sindeok is a terrifying opponent!

Dark-Eye was right – the situation was very well-played by Sindeok to eliminate a rival while, likely, increasing his own band’s numbers.

This episode really locked in for me what makes both Dark-Eye and Sindeok tick and crystallized their motivation. They have each become vividly memorable characters now.

Ahah, some soju to wash down the hearts of their foes. It looks like all the work and preparations in Agrigento are going to be put to a deadly test.


Nit: “It never truly existed when were members of the Celestial Flight either." - - Looks like this is missing word before ‘were’. Perhaps ‘we’?

I love Sindeok’s Teodon expressions (straight tail, mudskipper).

If I didn’t know Aela’s team, I could almost root for Sindeok after this scene. Outstanding, this section should be in a class about how to create compelling antagonists.

I love that the Scale-Breaker’s writing allowed Sindeok to learn how to create his very scary aether-blade, and that she might see it if he uses it against the villagers.

Urrr urrr cripes!!! Ewwwww he ate the guy's heart!!!

Yeah I think I'll skip my next soju break....

Ah, here we go eating hearts again . . .

And I must apologize for being so delinquent in keeping up with this most excellent story.

I smiled at one of my favorite scenes, the one where the Seven take their most excellent meal out and share it with the kids.

I did see one nit, from Chapter 15.6: For a second there I thought Vesia is a man in drag?? Then I realized that an 'r' had gone AWOL.

I sense the big fight is coming soon - as the villagers are quite advanced in their defense preparations, and Dark Eye's band grows larger through absorption . . . there is a sense of anticipation that is growing by leaps and bounds at this point in the story.

Looking forward to more!