The Privilege of Being Here

I got the first letter from my mother today. She is safe, my brothers and sisters are adapting to this new life in a hot land where people speak a different language and everything is new to them. The two girls and the two boys suffered from fever, my other brother had a digestive problem of some sort due to the change in diet. Mother herself had just recovered from a similar problem when she wrote the letter. Inconvenient situations like that are to be expected in long travels.

They are, I suppose, one of the things why travel to distant lands was so expensive on Earth before the XX century that only people doing it were those who could not afford to not do it. Fiction during my time on Earth, written by my contemporaries, liked to portrait ethnic and cultural diversity as if it was the norm, only prevented by pathological xenophobia but the more I think about it now, more plausible the opposite image feels.

Teleportation and healing spells exist here, but the first are absurdly expensive and carefully controlled by authorities. Healers are common and affordable enough, but still a significant cost to take under consideration when you need anything more than a basic spell. And magic is tied to civilization, takes a large structure of education to maximize the number and the power level of mages in a nation to those levels I have learned to take for granted.

Without trains, trucks, huge modern transoceanic ships, modern medicine with antibiotics and vitamins. The risk of leave one side of the continent to go half the way across it is huge.

Make sense for geographic isolation to be the norm, and migration the exception. Even nomadic cultures tend to follow traditional routes until some external pressure forces them to change direction.

That all make sense, before we even consider national borders, bandits, wild territories controlled by non-human barbarians and magic monsters.

I was happy to know my mother and my young siblings are alive and well. Enjoying the adventure of get to know another nation. Despite the discomfort that comes to it.

Took six months for my mentor and her method to broke my body and mind in small enough pieces. Now the actual mind exercises started and as they intermingle with the physical aspects of the Path I am starting to feel like a person again. I like this sensation.

I never knew, imagined or even dreamed, that anyone could have that many physical vigour.

Was happy coincidence for me that my mother letter arrived in the same day when Ellizabeth and Sheva were leaving to celebrate a marriage of some distant relative in a village on the other side of the Miner’s River.

I had to practice the Path of Cold-Iron alone, four hours a day, every day. However, without my mentor here and with the Redstone family gone too, the house was silent and time flowed slowly. No one had any desire to include me in their plans or activities, because they liked their routine and work in a house like that, in a city protected by magic, was a privilege. Being included in the work could open to me the chance to became a permanent servant in this house one day, costing those already working for this family an open position that should go to some younger brother of cousin of them

To me was fine, I was glad to have time to rest, sleep. Some people don’t like to be ignored, on principle. To me that always felt better than being noticed. Even before this world.

Besides, there was no shortage of things to think about and take notice. The war was growing into something worse every day. There was an alliance of three neighbour countries against us now, and our king had failed to secure any. The traditional allies we had where either in their own dark hour or buying time with empty promises.

There was the larger issue of that uncertain rumour about Evil Demons in the frozen north. Many of the most respected mages in the Continent had already left their nations to some unknow destination. Presumably to raise crusade against the Evil Demons while that was still possible. Before their power surpass the collective military capacities of humanity and friendly races combined.

The departure of those masters of magic was at first glance a factor affecting all civilized nations. However, the journalists commenting this didn’t spared words to explain why the blow was actually worse for the most civilized nations than for those that never had many powerful mages to depend on.

“You are from Skrull-Braker mountains. Your father is still up there. Got notices from him?” it was Verenice, chief healer in the house. She just caught me reading newspapers in the library, a place that was theoretically of limits to me. A dismissive hand gesture tranquilized me.

“Not yet. I got a letter from my mother early today, she arrived safely in Bellmor. Our family has friends here. Nothing from my father yet, but yes. He stayed in the mountains acting as contracted guide for the Royal Army. Our village is much closer from here than the Golden Bells country, but still…”

“Don’t take conclusions from this! My brother is up there too, with the army. He is commandant of Blue Jay Mages. He didn’t send me any letter since he left the capital five months ago. Is hard to move information out territory like that, orc riders kill our messengers any time they have the chance. Essential military communication happens by magic and sensible documents are transported by elite shadow-unities. Personal letters must wait for some exchange of troops to be carried out the frontlines.

The war has spread for most the north-east. More troops are being send in that direction, so we should be receiving our letters in a few more months.”

“Your brother. He cannot use wind-magic spells to communicate directly with you?”

“Oh, yes! However, that would be a serious breach of security. Information is valuable during war, and the orcs may not have the same mage capacity we have, but their human patrons are almost as civilized as we are. Besides, there are elven mercenaries specialized in steal and manipulate information in communication spells.

Is not pleasant to wait without knowing nothing, but would be worse to put the people we love in danger just to have a moment of tranquillity right now”

She was not wrong, really.

“I am almost 11 years old. If wasn’t for this war I would be worried about enter the last year of preparation for the Magic Exam. Not that I was ever any good with magic, I doubt I would have passed the test. Still, is strange to no longer have that to worry about!

How do you see martial-doctrines like the Path of Cold-Iron, compared to magic? I suppose you know more about this than most mages, since you are Miss Ellizabeth’s mentor.”

“Actually, her grandfather though her magic, for the most part. We speak about, mostly General Principles and Meta-Magic Theory, but I am not her mentor. The young laide has a remarkable talent for magic, very sharp intelligence, but hardly any interest for the kind of magic I have dedicated my life to master first and foremost. Healing Magic takes a specific disposition, and attention to details. Many great mages choose to stay in that first basic healing spell all their lives. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose.

Answering your question, I understand you want me to compare your doctrine with magic from the point of view of how effective they are as weapons? My dear brother would love to speak about the subject, I will tell you what I believe he would say. Not as well as he would say it.

The Path of Cold-Iron has many strong points in its favour. Making your mana dense and slow you became harder to read or manipulate by magic, far more resistant than any normal human could be to impact, cut or perforation. You get those powerful strikes, due to speed and strength above natural limits. Spells can provide powerful strikes too, and extraordinary velocity. Going against a fully equipped arcane-knight the Cold-Iron warrior is in disadvantage, both have super-human strength, the magic full plate armour enhanced by arcane power of the knight makes him even harder to hurt than someone following your path. Even if your fellow is in a full plate himself, it will not be an arcane-armour because those depend of the arcane-aura to be summoned and to work.

The advantage you have above any other human user of magic, once you master your Path, is endurance. The arcane-knight is at the top among the magic users, in that aspect. Rationing their mana and using as little spells as possible they can keep fighting for a week without sleep or rest. The best among them can. That’s why I am using them in this comparison. I know your mentor and others like her fight without rest for a month or more, day and night, in the Demon Continent.

Magic burns energy fast! The most powerful spells are immensely expensive in that regard.

That’s why the Forest Elves created their martial path of non-magical combat, that demons beast-folk latter have adapted into this doctrine of yours. Forest Elves are strong magic casters from human point of view, but they are far worse in that than any other elven branch. All other elves look down to them because of that, so they came up with something that sacrifices most of their magic pool, in exchange for physical advantage.

On the other hand, the great weakness of Cold-Iron is that it gives you no way to reach an enemy from distance. At very best, some of you can use a polearm and not one too big because it would compromise your mobility.

I saw Sheva throw her 2 black daggers a few times, they hit with considerable power at half-distance. Still, that’s noting compared to what mages can do with attack spells of level 2. While level 3 spells can bring to the ground a small fortified village in one blow. Now, that without even consider how more versatile spellcasting is.

You don’t just can make yourself stronger, you can make other stronger too. Send messages, walk through solid rock, read and control minds. Send constructs to kill your enemy far away or prepare traps for them in advance.

Cold-Iron Warriors must jump direct to the enemy they want to engage, close the distance as fast as possible, before they can strike. The rarity of your art works in your favour, most people never fought someone with your capacities. Still, that is one option, and you may find this limitation frustrating at times.

On the other hand, if you compare your way to the fate of most soldiers. Most soldiers do not have enough mana or spellcasting skill to use magic in combat. They are far more vulnerable to destructive magic than you are even now, and you are just an apprentice.”

“That was a very generous answer to my question, Maestra Verenice. I am grateful! You are very close to your brother, I understand. I don’t know him, but I feel as if I had listened his words right now. Does that make sense?”

“He is the only family I have left, young man.”

I tough that hard to believe. Maestra Healer Verenice was a very beautiful woman, around 25, maybe 30 years old. Besides, she had a lot of status as certified mage and First Healer of a noble house in the nation. Why no husband?

That was curious! More honestly speaking, I was curious about that. Still, I kept my curiosity to myself.

“I tried to persuade Sheva to learn at least some basic healing spells. Is harder for those who practice your path because most of your mana is not available, but even advanced masters like her still have some mana paths flowing in their bodies! That’s how we healers can still heal you. She will teach you to facilitate the process deliberately, by the way, when you advance in your practice.

This is another disadvantage of Cold-Iron Path, by the way. The more you advance in your practice harder will be for any spell to work on you. Included healing magic. That’s not too significant when you are awake, and concentrated in being healed. An unconscious Sheva would be almost impossible to help, because the mana inside her is too dense.

Every good medicine must have an unfortunate side effect, regretfully.”

She raised from the armchair she had taken, by my side, and walked to find the book she came for. Then she came back half the way, and asked.

“How would you feel about adding some magic lessons in your daily routine, young man? If your mentor allows it, I mean. I can ask her, if you are interested”

That offer was amazingly generous of her.

I knew I could not accept it, because actually practice spells under supervision of a certified mage would expose me immediately. As the Evil Demon I am. Technically.

“I will love to study magic with you, Maestra. I have no right to accept such a generous offer, knowing my family may never be able to pay you for it. My father would not allow me to take advantage of your moment of weakness, when you are sad, because your brother is far away.”

“How mature of you, mister warrior! I will extract my payment from you, then, for fairness sake. In whatever currency pleases me. I do like the sound of that, now that I am thinking about, really, I do! We have a deal!! Whenever Sheva is not training you, consider yourself mine. Worry not I shall settle this deal with her. With your noble father as well, if the silver-tonged possum ever comes down from those mountains where he has been hiding from me all those years.”

Women in this world have this unilateral contract thing, I noticed.

I do not like it.