Kaland and Ajoreal were sent to the kitchen to carry another ’platter of black stones’ inside the dining area. They didn’t complain about being used as *servants*... anymore - just hopped to their sister-in-law’s order like the health of their legs depended on it. Running the full circuit of the Exclave took more than a full day at a horse’s gallop speed and only ever needed to be done *once* to understand the hierarchy of things.
With a talkative Elua at their backs, a sword-demon who kept an un-winded pace along with them - and only stopped to occasionally deal with sothing interesting in the surroundings that was sent back to the mansion by a spiritual construct - the disciples were taught they had the right to quit any ti they wanted. But they would only ever be expected to accomplish sothing that their master was capable of herself.
Taking on a small ’low caste’ chore here and there was not at all the end of the world compared to managing all of the production within the land they were currently enjoying the bounty of. She was sure that The Ironclad Order’s training would have broken them of that ideal of cultivator reliance on others eventually, but there was no need to wait another few years when she could do it herself.
Today, they set dishes on the table without comnt - for they also learned that most of their questions were usually answered if they just waited a little while longer. As well as that pondering the possibilities for what they didn’t understand was sothing that their instructor admired.
"The thod for these was... we’ll say taught to by this very smart woman. I’d seen process of baking in clay before, but it had never really clicked as the answer until she brought it up as a regional technique from her holand, adapted for our particular... agricultural challenges."
"I grew up eating a kind of clay-baked fish from the river. The things tasted very awful if you tried any other way of cooking them. The principle here is the sa, just different contaminants being filtered."
A bright smile from the heiress shone at the woman for so easily taking the credit being given. She no longer tried to downplay the enormity of any praise she deserved for linking concepts together to form new ideas. Her chemistry teacher had spent the first months turning her quick competence and natural talents into confidence that had been stifled. But she hadn’t been sure that it would remain when facing new socializations.
’I worried for nothing.’
"Mixed with powdered charcoal remnants from her tal production, the slow bake pulls most of the oils and that awful hydrocarbon taste out from anything like this that we can successfully pack all around it. Oh, and you crack the shell like this... uh... well, she can show you."
After the pregnant woman attempted to sit up more and realized she was being too active, Elua plucked one of the black spheres from the platter with a small flourish to hold it up for the new arrivals to see. Madrigil’s graceless little assault on his portion left fragnts now scattered across his section of the table - which was appropriate if this was a simple village’s clay bake, but the heiress always sought to simplify everything by complicating the route to get easy repetitions.
"The clay is pressed on with molds, so there is almost always a clear seam you can find. Unfortunately, we haven’t developed a good inner layer yet, though we are looking into growing a variety of cruciferous vegetable in containnt with purified water to wrap things with."
Her thumbnail traced along the surface as she explained, until it caught on an almost invisible line. A quick, firm press with both thumbs on either side of that seam, and the shell split cleanly into hemispheres thanks to her cultivator strength. The food inside was revealed as its skin tore away from the tuber along with the clay, leaving it steaming and golden - completely free of the contaminated black powder and clay dust.
"Then you just lift the good part out, maybe put it in a bowl if you’d like, I have plenty of them."
She deposited the starchy center in one such tableware and slid it toward Sevra along a particular conveyance line of sigilscript. Features which dotted the table and allowed those used to manipulating it to guide food, utensils, or anything else to others seated around it with a bit of flex of will.
"Try it."
As soone who had suffered through the original petroleum-flavored cuisine and then had lovely years back on the continent with good food... she wasn’t much looking forward to be the first to experint. Of course, the spiritual pressure on her all but *ordering* her to eat it was intense enough for her to shrug and sigh.
"The taste is... significantly closer to edible. What is this one, anyway? I don’t recall all of the plants I discovered here."
"Oh, it was this one. I ignored it first because it seed like it would take too much area to farm, but-"
Showing off the plant with her illusions - looking sothing like an excessively *prickly* wild sunflower... if its golden petals were spotted with a poisonous seeming red and consistently grew stalks the height of five people - the heiress directed everyone to sit as she continued to talk about the many little details of farming in this Exclave. With Rezzue pitching in on occasion, especially when the topic turned to isolating specific nutrients for her pre-natal care.
Which was of course sothing that the reincarnator making plans for inducing her own children into existence so day knew quite a bit about. Enough that only she, her assistant, and her first healer disciple where the only ones with bright eyes as the chat droned on. Everyone else had glassed over, wondering when the other major matters would be discussed.
"I suppose we can talk more later... should I guess the reason that the three of you ca this ti, or will you provide it yourself?"
Elua had managed not to openly question this so far, giving them all space to deal with the chaotic seeming situations they’d just experienced, in their own ways... and partly because she only cared about spending ti with them regardless of they made so much trouble for her.
"I ca to officially talk with you about the problems the continent has been facing. And what advice you might be able to give to help us resolve it. These two were rely available and trusted to co along."
"The Ouras thing, is it? I’ve been kept sowhat abreast of the situation with the cult, at least as little as you could tell Qatrand. I take it sothing has changed?"
The scout reached behind, into her travel pack, and withdrew a thick black leather folio thick with docunts. Maps, lists, investigation reports. The accumulated work of years spent chasing the shadow of ’the Promised’ across the continent. She spread the first map across the table, weighted at the corners by black clay that had yet to be cracked open.
"You’re aware that Anper er Yecine was released from house arrest a bit more than seven months ago. Since then, he’s killed approximately two dozen individuals, that have later been confird as cult mbers."
"So many?"
"That we know of... possibly more. He’s hard to pin down, despite leaving evidence around for others. Knowing how and where the Void Defense Society will look is probably helpful. You seem calm enough about this."
Already busily looking over the map in order to formulate a manipulable blueprint, Elua let the silence hang for a few seconds before she blinked her mint eyes and tilted her head at her friend.
"You’ll have to accept my apology if I don’t seem surprised. He always was smart enough for things like that. The man also always struck as willing to use force if his other options were limited. And the people he actually wants to use it on are either beyond him - like myself - or protected by his own filial ethos."
Tracing her fingers across the map of the continent, her hand slid from the concentrations of dots, numbers, and circles around them and towards so of the first piles of paper. It was harder to listen, read, and talk all at once... but she was confident enough to hurry things along. Getting the unpleasant parts out of the way would make whatever remaining visit they would have more enjoyable.
"At least protected from physical harm. The emotional damage he has caused others is sothing he doesn’t seem to consider out of bounds."
"Elua. The boys are in front of you."
"I know. They know as well."
With a slight warning tone, Rezzue tried to clip the heiress’s conversational wings. But she was having none of it today, despite giving in frequently during full get togethers to the other woman’s mothering instincts.
"I’ve never went out of my way to disparage their father for the failings I see in him, but they have very much asked pointed questions when you were not around - and I have answered truthfully when I answer at all. While clarifying how everything I say is ultimately a matter of my own opinion. Which is sothing they are entitled to develop for themselves, by either listening to... or ignoring the viewpoints of others."
"Master... they are younger than when we t. Aren’t you treating them a bit too much like adults?"
"She... makes..."
Kaland’s voice broke when Nohre’s attention turned to him. In the end, an introvert did not learn social skills overnight... despite interacting with the people here so much. In fact, the limited pool of people simply made it worse. But he still felt like he needed to say sothing, so cleared his throat while Ajoreral looked his way like he would definitely be teased later.
"...makes sure we know we are only kids. A lot."
"Yeah. That’s why we don’t get our super strong swords yet."
"Shut up! She said if we told people-"
"Ah... I forgot!"
Grinning viciously at their first entrance into the conversation being both defense of her thods and ignoring it entirely... the two young Yecine looked back with the wide eyes of rabbits caught in a trap. It was true she told them if they bragged or expected the two weapons to be handed over without any conditions, she would rely keep them for herself. Or, worst case and they displeased her beyond repair - lt them down in front of their very eyes. However...
’As if I would destroy sothing I painstakingly made and designed for my own disciples, who have their whole lives to beco worthy of the gifting.’
"The world has always been a place where our ideals are forged, tested, and tempered in the chaotic imperfections of society. Even children can develop their own sense of things within that. You were expected to be stronger, less childlike, the mont you were orphaned, were you not?"
"I wouldn’t say expected..."
"However you’d like to fra it is fine by . But with your loss of loved ones, would you say you would prefer to know nothing of the reality of your old family? Or would you rather know everything about them, even if it ant learning less than pleasant stories?"
Sevra gripped the folio and sighed, really not sure how the topic was derailed so easily! Trying to get the intelligent heiress’s input on the problem facing the continent, or perhaps the world, had sohow caused a debate between first Nohre - then the other two won there - about the timing and ways a guardian should let those they were raising understand the dimr aspects of the world.
’Nothing is ever simple here.’
Finding herself sitting beside the offspring of the man she once snuck into a study to threaten - after also stalking the places *they* were training in the Yecine estate... the three eventually began to swap small stories about what it was like to learn things from and live alongside Elua er Goltbred.
The consensus was terrifying, but valuable. The forr assassin found she liked talking to people that understood easily and thoroughly. Unlike Dranuil, the forr body double, who literally didn’t seem to learn until after his face had been rearranged.
User Comments
0 comments from readers