That night, Aegis went back to the academy. She had a very important person to speak to.
See, she knew how to take down a griffin, she’d done so in the ga, but she figured why not ask for more specialized advice?
And, it just so happened that a certain ancient queen had also fought griffins in the past. How fortunate for Aegis.
"Aegis." Rosanna smiled. "What brings you here at this hour?"
"I need advice."
"Oh? On what subject?"
Aegis sat down cross-legged across from her.
"Griffins. How do I kill one?"
Rosanna’s eyebrows rose.
"A griffin? My, that’s quite the quarry. What prompted this sudden interest in monster hunting?"
"There’s one terrorizing a village outside Rosevale. I figured I’d take care of it myself." Aegis shrugged. "You know. For the attention."
"How virtuous."
"I— I care about the villagers’ safety too, of course!" Aegis held up her hands. "But... you know, so glory would also be appreciated. I an, right now, I’m building up my House’s na to make myself worthy of marrying Talia. I have to do this sort of thing, right?"
Rosanna laughed, shaking her head.
"Well, at least you’re honest about it. Very well." She sat up straighter, her expression shifting into sothing more serious. "You want to know how to defeat a griffin. The conventional wisdom is to use overwhelming force. Teams of five or more, heavy weapons, fire to counter its fire. Brute strength combined with ranged options for when it flies around."
"I feel like there’s a ’but’ coming..."
"But, you’ll be fighting it on your own, which ans you need to make use of your less... conventional tools, for this fight."
Aegis blinked.
"You don’t an—"
"Shadow magic is actually quite effective against most magical creatures. Griffins included."
"Wait, seriously?"
Rosanna nodded.
"Magical beasts draw power from the ambient aether around them. It’s what makes them so dangerous. But shadow magic disrupts that connection. It clouds their senses, weakens their abilities, makes them slower and clumsier than they would otherwise be." She tilted her head. "Did that professor, Nazraya, not teach you this?"
"She, uh, focuses more on making sure I understand the magic, rather than how I can apply it."
"That’s admirable, but she’s wasting potential. I suppose she doesn’t want you to get carried away." Rosanna sighed, though there was fondness in it. "The point is, if you truly believe you can keep your shadow magic under control, this could be an excellent test. A real combat scenario against a powerful opponent. It would show you how far you’ve co."
Aegis turned that over in her head.
Using shadow magic against the griffin. It made sense, strategically. She’d been training with Nazraya for months now, and her control had improved a lot. But using it in an actual fight, against a real enemy, with real stakes?
[That’s... actually kind of terrifying. But also kind of exciting?]
"Of course," Rosanna added, "you cannot allow anyone to see you using it. If word got out that Lady Starcaller practices forbidden magic, well." She smiled thinly. "I suspect your marriage prospects would suffer considerably."
"Right. Secret shadow magic. Got it."
"I’m serious, Aegis. Not a single witness."
Aegis nodded.
"I understand."
Rosanna studied her for a long mont, then smiled.
"Good. Now, let tell you about griffin weak points. There are several, and most hunters don’t know about them..."
---
"So... You’re going to take down a griffin?" Rosalie asked.
"Yep."
The stagecoach rumbled forward as Rosalie nodded slowly.
"And... you left your retainers behind so you could fight it single-handedly? And claim the glory for yourself?"
"Indeed."
"So, you don’t actually need any help in fighting this thing, right?"
"True."
"So..." Rosalie raised a brow. "Why am I here?"
Currently, Aegis and Rosalie were riding the stagecoach to Lenninsale. People gawked, pointed, and whispered as the stagecoach made its way outside the city of Rosevale, with just Aegis’s things and Rosalie’s packed. That was all they needed, after all.
"You’re here because I need potions," Aegis said, leaning back against the seat. "Specifically, a few things that’ll help take this beast down."
"Potions?" Rosalie perked up a bit. "What kind?"
"Fire Resistance, for starters. Griffins breathe fire when they’re cornered. Also, a Haste elixir for when it tries to take off, and sothing to dull pain in case it gets a good hit in." Aegis ticked them off on her fingers. "Oh, and an antidote. Their talons are venomous. Not lethal, but it’ll slow you down if you don’t treat it fast."
Rosalie’s eyes had gone wide.
"You know a lot about griffins."
"I’ve done my research."
[By which I an I fought about forty of these things in the ga because they dropped a crafting material I needed for an endga weapon. But sure. Research.]
Rosalie pulled out a small notebook from her bag and started scribbling.
"Fire Resistance, Haste, painkiller, antidote. I can make all of those, but..." She paused, tapping her quill against her chin. "Couldn’t I have just made them back ho and sent them through mail? You didn’t need to drag all the way out here."
Aegis gasped, pressing a hand to her chest.
"Rosalie. Are you saying you dislike your Lady’s company so much that you’d rather stay behind?"
"W-What? No! That’s not what I—"
"Here I thought we were friends. Colleagues. Comrades in the pursuit of alchemical excellence." Aegis shook her head mournfully. "And yet you’d abandon to face a deadly griffin alone, with nothing but cold, impersonal mail-order potions for comfort."
Rosalie’s face had turned bright red.
"That’s not— I didn’t an— My Lady, please—"
Aegis burst out laughing and threw an arm around Rosalie’s shoulders, pulling her in close.
"Relax, I’m ssing with you." She grinned. "Think of it as a road trip. You, , the open road, a terrifying monster waiting at the end. Fun, right?"
Rosalie stared at her for a mont, cheeks still flushed, before letting out a defeated sigh.
"Your definition of fun is very concerning, my Lady."
"I’ve been told."
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