Chapter 2-23

“How did your arm hold up?”

Kari grimaced, rotating the limb in question at the shoulder. I watched the motion carefully, looking for any sign of malformation or rejection.

“It’s still weak and stiff,” she replied. “Tried to seize up during the battle. But a damn sight better than not having it at all.”

Although the woman kept her tone brusque, I could practically feel the awe radiating from her. With a missing limb, most healers could offer little better than preserving her life. Regrowing an entire limb was the province of the most renowned of sorcerer-surgeons. And even then, a full restoration wasn’t assured.

“I think with time and exercise you’ll regain full function.” I assured her. “What’s troubling you?” I asked as I saw a pensive expression cross her face.

“Esur’uk,” she hesitated another moment before pressing on. “I’ve noticed during training, the new arm is different, channeling mana.” At my concerned look she hastened to finish. “It’s not bad, it works better. That’s my concern. It works so much better than anything else. I don’t know if I should be worried it might… turn against me somehow.”

She waved the silvery limb I’m my direction. Presumably to illustrate her worry.

“I don’t think you need to be concerned.” I replied. “Your meridians there are just… different. More advanced where I needed to reinforce them. Just keep an eye on it, and let me know if you have any mood swings or strangeness. Just like we talked about with the aspect integration.”

She nodded. “Do you think you could do that to the rest of them?”

“I could, but I won’t.” I replied. “When I do that it leave marks in your anima. It’s dangerous for your spirit. And even besides that, you’ll need the practice and discipline of doing it yourself. That’s what practicing the path of Inner Harmony is for. If you remain dedicated to that, your meridians will even out.”

She nodded again and took her leave, leaving my tent mostly empty. I’d finished patching up the last of the injuries from the battle at the pass. Checking in with Kari was the last task I’d set myself.

Sati appeared from the corner of the tent, unveiling herself.

“How was that?” She asked.

“Better, you’re improving rapidly, little flower. Ket’s techniques seem to work well for you, although you still cannot maintain concealment from me for more than a few minutes at a time.” She flushed a little at my words.

I had realized that she was **** for positive reinforcement. In her past life, her accomplishments were simply assumed, and most of the flattery she received had been based on her standing, rather than her skill. My honest appraisals had stung her pride at first, but when she adjusted to the fact that my praise was honest it more than made up for the criticisms.

“How did you find your role in the battle?” I asked.

“It was difficult.” She answered, stepping a little too close to me as I folded and put away the furniture of my ‘clinic’. “The battle churned the mana all through the area. I was barely able to control it, let alone cloud the enemy’s senses.”

“Unsurprising,” I nodded. “You need practice, and that kind of practice is difficult to obtain. That is why Myta drew out the fight. Not for you, specifically, but because true battle experience is impossible to obtain without a real battle.

“It might help you to know that sorcerers often refer to that turbulent mana as ‘the fog of war’. You can see it not just in combat though. Although any type of high pressure situation with a large number of people generates it. The chaos itself is a kind of fog, and I imagine you can begin to manipulate it.”

I stopped speaking as I stood from packing away a raised cot. The apsara was close enough that my upper arm pressed into her generous chest, and she put her hand on my shoulder.

“Thank you, sir. Will you be showing Myta how to align her meridians soon? I’d like to attend that lesson, if I can. Perhaps I can even offer some insights of my own!” There was a teasing note in Sati’s voice.

“Yes, she has reached the point where her spirit needs shaping. After we pass through Seto.” I turned to the apsara, and caught her chin as she went to step back. Tilting her head, so that her eyes met mine. Her expression was playful at first, but it grew more serious as she met my gaze.

“Sati, Myta told you our sessions often end in lovemaking, didn’t she?” At her nervous nod I continued. “I am all for some flirting and teasing. But things have already pushed the bounds of what I think is appropriate without us having a real conversation.

“Myta and I are in a committed relationship. You’re attractive, and as a person I find you increasingly enjoyable to be around. I think that being out of your father’s court is doing you a world of good, giving you the chance to be your own person. But right now this wouldn’t be more than… a fling, I suppose. And I am concerned that it would become much more for you.”

Sati waited patiently for me to finish speaking before pulling her chin from my grasp. Turning her face to the ground her shoulders began to hitch, and then shake. If her emotions hadn’t come through so clearly, I would have been deeply concerned. Instead, I was unsurprised by the peals of laughter that followed.

“I take it you talked this out with her already?” I asked, chagrined. She raised her eyes to mine and nodded. She failed to speak several times before managing to get her giggles under control. Her mirth was so good-natured that I couldn’t even be annoyed.

“She guessed at your speech, nearly word for word, and we practiced it,” she laughed again.

“Well,” I said dryly, “Myta and I have been discussing it. With our link, things could become very complicated, if we were to alienate one another. I’m surprised she wasn’t here to watch.”

“She thought it would give us away too soon.” She grinned at me.

“Maybe you’re a bad influence on one another.”

“Or a good one,” she rebutted. “Well, let’s not waste the practice. I’m no blushing virgin, my father saw to it that all his daughters were taught the ways of seduction and love. I’ve had flings, and even girlish crushes, and they have been turned against me. If there is one commodity in short supply in Ramana’s palace, it's innocence.”

I nodded slowly. “I tend to think of you as younger than you are. Less worldly.”

“That… is true enough. You’ve shown me already that I’m less worldly than I believed. But given our nature, my sisters and I couldn’t escape the lessons of heartbreak.” At my raised brow she snorted. “You’ve seen it already. We inspire desire, most often lust. I’ve met few who could resist it. Yatek was a tutor for my older siblings because he could, but he was assigned to Bani before I began learning sorcery.”

“So, I am a new opportunity.” I smiled. “Then what is it that you want? If you know your desires already?”

“I didn’t say that, exactly” she began to hesitate, but pushed ahead despite her mounting nervousness. “I have had lovers and fleeting romances, and I am familiar with desire in many forms. When I’m with you, I feel… my passion rises when you deal with me fairly. With a firm hand and an open heart.”

“I think I understand.” I thought about how I had appeared in her inner world, and in her dream. “You will join Myta when she learns to shape her meridians. And I will review yours as well, to ensure they’ve been done correctly. And both of you will pay for this little prank you pulled, colluding behind my back.”

“Yes sir,” she bowed her head, hiding her face from me again. But I could see the goosebumps on her bare shoulders. Apparently I’d hit the correct tone, firm and commanding, but also warm. It was how I felt right now. Sati was in my care for now, and I would take care of her as I did Myta. Even if I didn’t care for her the same way. Not yet.

“One more thing,” I said as she turned to go. “Myta and I have a very deep bond, but ours, while growing, isn’t entirely reliable. I may need you to tell me, explicitly, if anything I do makes you uncomfortable. Uncomfortable in a way you do not enjoy. If you don’t, I can’t take care of you. Do you understand?”

I raised my brow again as she tried to rush through her agreement, pinning her with my gaze. Silver light reflected in her eyes, and she swallowed her hasty words, and then swallowed again. I could see her pulse in her throat.

“Yes daddy,” she finally whispered. And then she flushed so hard it was visible on even her almond skin. The sweet scent of flowers lingered as she fled the tent.

I sighed as I rubbed my brow. Sati was going to require careful handling, if I wanted to give her what she wanted, without hurting her. She was more **** than she believed.

Searching the fort yielded little. The remains of the unit that had been stationed there were shredded and eaten by the corrupted shifters. We found the monk, and his clothes and rations were consistent with a traveler from Metic. But beyond that he carried nothing of note. I was unwilling to loot the fort itself, but even if I had been willing, the supplies had been despoiled. There wasn’t even much currency in the place.

Another week brought us to Seto, and the city was a welcome sight. It was an odd place, melding the building styles of Ramana and Metic. The walls were formed of many different stones, formed and fused into one mass with earth shaping. In places the colors of the stones swirled into decorative designs, which took the place of Ramana’s more common carved reliefs.

We encamped outside the city, which didn’t sit well with the company. Myta sent them in by squads for some leisure time, however. I just didn’t want a large group of newly minted sorcerers lose in the city all at once with full purses. And their purses were quite full. Myta assured me that the officers and squad leaders would keep them from going too wild.

For my part, I headed with Myta to a supply outpost outside the walls. It was a military staging point, mostly a set of large warehouses and an equally large paddock. This was where Minister Yatek had told me to meet our new quartermaster, and receive our resupply.

Entering the headquarters, we introduced ourselves, finding the place bustling with a surprising amount of activity. Or perhaps not so surprising, if Ramana was marshaling more troops to the northern border. Myta managed to wrangle a conversation with some officers who had fought against raiders from the Metic clans, looking to learn as much as she could about the clan’s tactics, while I located our contact.

I found her in a tiny office, working at a tiny desk. Despite the cramped space, everything was neatly organized. The woman I was to meet was tall and thin, older, with silver wings in her dark hair. Her face was severe and careworn, and filled me with a nagging sense of familiarity. Her eyes flicked up to me as I entered.

“Esur’uk, I presume.” She stood to greet me. “I’ve been given a contract as your logistics advisor. My name is Petad.”

Her name might have been a coincidence, but the ragged scarf that was tied at her waist was impossible for me to mistake. Although it was badly faded, I could still make out the gray and orange pattern in the wool.

This was Pedu’s sister, Myta’s mother.