I was too young to remember much from my first deep winter, though it was surprising that I survived, given who was taking care of me. The sky was an eternal dark grey with not a single ray of sunshine. The wind howled constantly, bringing fresh icy air that could freeze a man to his bones in a matter of minutes. All trade and business ground to a halt, even the whoring ceased. Only one thing was on people's minds: survival.
The winter, even a normal one, was a time of peace since not even the most power-hungry lord would dare march an army in this weather. Three weeks in, and there was simply nothing to do but wait in your home and pray your fuel and food lasted the winter.
I had not even left my home in days, refusing to spend even a moment in the icy wind, even though I had both thick clothing and magical protection.
'I wonder if Cloud will survive it?'
My horse, I hadn’t ridden in weeks, though I would check on him occasionally. He was healthy the last time I saw him. I sat by my desk reading another book, a text about treating plants. I consumed one every other day. Some were boring slogs written by men who seemed to pride themselves on their ability to use overly flowery speech. Others were mind-numbing manuals on mundane trade. Woodworking, architecture, and the history of bronze tools in the early stages of the empire; it was all soul-destroying to read.
In my never-ending boredom, I even read three cookbooks.
There was a stirring from behind me. The woman stretched and moaned as her joints popped. I could hear her as she got off the bed and wandered over to me. From behind, she kissed my neck and nibbled my ear.
"How are you so active in the morning?" Silvia asked.
"It's my mind. Unlike most, I can't not use it." I said, she turned my head, and brought me into a deep kiss. She ran her hand through my shoulder-length hair as our tongues danced. It lasted for a full minute before we broke apart.
Silvia was an exceptional lover, far more skilled than Jenna. She made me come undone with a mastery I had not expected. While the heights of pleasure came faster and peaked higher with Silvia, I didn't enjoy it more; the pleasure I shared in Jenna's company was somehow purer. I had Silvia every night except for the days I was on my moonblood. It seemed overly cruel to make her walk back in the frigid wind, so she usually fell asleep next to me after our trysts.
The daytimes were a frosted hellscape for anyone with sense; the night, however, when the chill crept up my walls and frosted over my windows, when even my hearth and air warmers struggled to keep the room at a comfortable temperature, were the only times I truly pitied those peasants. Day by day, the death toll was probably rising by the hundreds. At the very least, no one in my little territory had died yet. That was mildly comforting. Most were smart enough to stash away food for the winter.
It was only the first month. It would get worse before it settled for the third, then finally the winter would break.
"Come back to bed, I want your warmth," She murmured into my ear. I turned to look at her naked form. She was rather petite with breasts even smaller than mine. But she had impressive hips, which I rather enjoyed sinking my fingers into.
'Why not? This book on horticulture was boring to the point of being damaging to my mind.'
~
I floated bonelessly in the middle of my bath. Silvia had left after the sun rose, in a manner of speaking. The sky turned from an abyss black to a depression inducing dark grey. It wasn't the snow of deep winter that terrified everyone. It was the constant wind; the howling was dreadful to the ears.
Fortunately, while floating, my ears were beneath the surface of the water, and I couldn't hear anything. I was stuffed to bursting with wine and roasted lamb. Even after three weeks of eating meat for every meal, Mar, Ashe, and I didn't even consume 10% of our stores of meat.
After exiting the bath, I dried myself and reached for a robe, not before spotting myself in my tall mirror. It had been a while since I had examined my body.
I looked plumper than I remembered. The thighs, hips, stomach, and arms all seemed softer. After cupping my breasts, I confirmed that they were certainly fuller.
'I'm putting on weight.'
Not surprising since all I do is eat, practice magic, read, have sex, then fall asleep. I turned to the side, examining the swell of my rear end. It wasn't overly noticeable; in fact, I quite liked my softer features, but by the end of winter, I might have to get my clothes resized.
~
I stepped into Mar and Ashe's area of the warehouse. They were sitting around a metal table, playing some game with bone dice and sharing a bottle of wine.
"Hoy boss,"
I nodded to them, went over to their cupboard, rummaged for a cup, poured myself a glass, and joined them.
"So, how are you two dealing with the dreaded winter?" Ashe and Mar, either through some sense of devotion or pure boredom, still did patrols.
"Damned cold, though the little spells you added to the armor help," Ashe said. Sewing circuits into clothing was difficult, but I have had plenty of practice.
In the torso, arms, legs, and neck, were arcane circuits sewn into the cloth to heat the air; they weren't very efficient, but with the energy furnace to power the circuits and a strong binding, it was enough to keep the worst of the cold at bay. Unlike me, they can't extend a sphere of influence to encompass their entire bodies.
So, this was the best compromise. With some feedback from Ashe and Mar, I even added arcane dampeners to weaken the heating in response to the heat generated by their bodies. If the temperature of the air was greater than the temperature of their bodies, then the heating would be weakened.
In this way, I wouldn't have to worry about them being cooked in their armor or the armor not providing enough heat in strong icy winds. I even went as far as to stamp the circuits into the metal of their armor. 16 Individual circuits and 4 dampers made for sufficient heating, allowing them to walk casually even in the most frigid wind without discomfort.
I had the same on my own armor, but even then, I wasn't willing to step foot outside.
"Decent enough been havin' people comin' by askin' for handouts," Mar said.
"Our people?" I asked.
Ashe shook her head, "Don't know 'em so sent 'em packin'."
"What if we do know 'em?" Mar asked.
I went silent for a moment, contemplating, then spoke. "Our territory has been quite profitable; anyone with sense would have stores of food. To be begging this early is an insult." I thought back to my icebox. "But, letting everyone starve also isn't the optimal solution. So here's how we handle it. We give it another few weeks for the winter to truly settle. Then we can hand out morsels. Even if I gorged myself for an entire year, I couldn't make a dent in my stores."
I thought about it further, "Never the same family twice in the same week, I'm sure you two have dealt with them enough to remember names and faces."
"That seems fair," Mar said, nodding along.
Ashe shrugged, not caring either way. She was rather simple compared to her brother.
Ashe leaned back on her chair, balancing on the two rear legs precariously, "Gotta say, boss, can't believe winter is the easiest time I've been havin' my entire life."
"I suppose doing nothing for weeks is quite the change," I said, wondering if she would fall over.
"Ain't just that, if the others knew how we been livin' they'd keel over in envy," Mar added. Ashe nodded in agreement.
'Other slaves, they mean.'
"Makes me wonder, it ain't much work to make all this. Right," Mar said, gesturing to all the magical items and strange steel furniture.
"It's easy enough," I confirmed.
"Then why half o' Aniera starvin'? Them water barrels, a hundred of 'em, and you can water a field every day, grow strong crops. I bet you can make plows, shovels, and such with that metal shapin', easy as breathin." Mar looked at me expectantly.
"The world doesn't have to starve, Mar. But there are economic, political, and cultural concerns."
"Like what?" He asked.
"How to distribute the food and resources across an entire continent. Who manages the coin, personnel, magic, noble families, and merchants? The sheer scale of the effort would be monumental and likely end in failure. Too many moving parts, corruption, economic and political conflict would render the entire endeavor meaningless. Even something as simple as trading iron sparked a war between Farketh and Redstone."
Mar remained silent as he contemplated my words. "So that's it? People starve and die cause their heads are too far up their own asses?"
"Basically," I said, shrugging. “Humans are just that selfish. I've read much of history, and such unity of effort rarely, if ever, happens."
"When does it happen?" Ashe asked.
"Usually in times of existential conflict: War with Avahians, War with the Dryads. The Blue Plague, The Black Tar Eruption, The Incursion of the Mountain Men." I said repeating the tragedies through history usually met with a significant amount of human death.
"How do you know all this?" Mar asked.
"Books, dear Mar. " I tapped the side of my head. "This is the greatest tool I have. And like a blade, I need books to sharpen my mind."
"Can you teach me?" Mar had hope in his eyes.
"To read?" Mar nodded eagerly, and Ashe shrugged. "I suppose I could. It's not like we have much else to do."
~
One Month Later.
"A thousand blessings, Milady. The goddess will surely treat you kindly." I stood outside my house, handing a whole chicken, six eggs, and a small sack of vegetables and potatoes to a young woman. She was a member of a poor family in my territory. Their food had run out, even though they rationed as much as they could. It was the third family this week that came to my home asking for food. A few other things I gave were bundles of logs, some coal, and even a small sack of beans.
Even consuming as much as I did each day, I still hadn't even consumed more than 20% of my food supplies. Each time I gave out food, it usually came from my personal stores. It wasn't as if Mar and Ashe would have objected if it had been taken from them. As far as they were concerned, everything belonged to me.
I felt a small amount of pride that, even a third into winter, not one person in my territory had died. Though from Diane's report, death was wreaking havoc in the rest of the poorer parts of the city. We even had a few incursions from thieves. But Mar and Ashe, in their magically heated armor, remained on patrol. Half-starved thieves had no hope against strong, healthy, and fully armed and armored guards.
To say the people were grateful would be an understatement. As far as they were concerned, I was a blessing from Anier herself. Sent to save them from the dreaded winter.
Grown men fell to their knees in tears as I delivered to them fresh, succulent cuts of meat when it seemed that they would have to eat leather to stave off hunger. I didn't think I would have cared, but surprisingly, I enjoyed those eyes that seemed to view me as their savior. I wanted them to kneel and praise me, to worship at my feet as they do Anier.
'I really am bored.'
I shook my head, I shrugged, and with great annoyance took the street in a heavy cloak, heading to Unber's.
The deep winter had reached its zenith. It was early morning, but the sky was a dark grey. No snow fell, but the wind was maddeningly cold. It wasn't quite as cold as when my magic pushed the air to its minimum energy point, but it had to be close.
The cold wasn't the problem, though. It was the damned wind. The gale of frigid air was constant, seemingly drawn from the breath of a Stygian demon itself. This was both the cause of horror and hope. It was only upward from here; we were halfway through the winter.
I entered to see Derek sitting at a table with his son standing off to one side as a guard. Both were dressed in heavy cloaks to fight off the chill.
"Derek, always a pleasure," I said, sitting down.
"Indeed," Not even he could hide how miserable the cold was. He reached into a satchel and pulled out several sheets of paper.
"I have found reasonable success in determining where that orichalcum went."
He pointed to several sheets of paper, "The keep wasn't always as opulent as you saw it. After the baroness took her seat, there was a massive outlay of coin for refurbishment."
He pointed to invoices from contractors, builders, and merchants; gold and silver smiths. The numbers were astronomical.
"Most assumed she was taking from her family's coffers, me included. I even expected to see a massive increase in taxes due to her spending. But none came, at least for the wealthy."
I examined the papers, adding up all the coins spent in a single year.
"423 Golden royals...Madness." I paused, imagining such a large amount of wealth. Then, considering how opulent the keep was, it made sense.
"Quite, as far as I know, from then till now, she has never had a shortage of coin. It was a mild mystery that most everyone had long since abandoned solving."
"The orichalcum is why she never had a shortage," I muttered.
"Yes, in the same year, a Merchant, Elias, came to visit her. With some bribery, I was able to determine that Elias made a significant withdrawal from the bank on the same visit. Exactly 400 golden royals. I can only deduce that it was then that the sale was made."
"What can you tell me about Elias?"
"Enormously wealthy, is the first thing that comes to mind. Elias and a Count named Lucas Orell have been friends since they were boys. The capital of his county is only two hundred miles south of the imperial capital, near the center of the empire. Using this position, they worked together, establishing a massive trading network spanning the entire Kelian Empire. The two are so wealthy, in fact, Count Orell has two magi of high standing in his employ."
"What of Elias? Why did he procure the orichalcum?" I asked.
"Elias considers himself a collector of sorts, priding himself on owning rare and valuable items. Those 400 golden royals were likely little more than a pittance to him. "
Derek seemed amused as he watched me process the information, "This man is powerful, well-connected. And the personal friend of the most powerful count in the empire."
'That almost sounds like a warning.'
After a few minutes of examining the documents, I nodded in approval.
"Our deal is satisfied then," I announced.
Derek nodded and stood, "It was good doing business with you, and best of luck with your future endeavors, Myr." He offered a hand. I didn't react to him using my true name; I would be gone as soon as the winter broke anyway. An early winter meant a long summer after all.
I stood as well, shaking the offered hand. "A pleasure."
'A businessman through and through. I half expected some betrayal or subterfuge. But the man's words from the first time I had met him rang true. He only ever cared about profit. I suppose this is our last deal, Derek.'
I left the restaurant only to be met by frigid wind.
'As soon as the break of winter comes, I'll be gone. Everything is prepared.'
"Walking around this early, Sera," a familiar voice said from behind me.
I turned to see Jenna, bundled in thick fur-lined clothing, a bridal band around her left hand.
"Business doesn't stop. What are you doing outside?" I asked.
"Was helpin' Diane with the kids."
‘Right, this would be a good opportunity to invest in those wretches.’
"Well, don't let me keep you," I said, turning to leave.
"Wait, Sera," She said, stopping me. "Can we talk? I don't like how things ended."
I shrugged and nodded to my home. "Sure, but let's talk out of this damned cold."
~
My room was rather warm, and as Jenna removed her coat, I admired her fine clothing. It seemed she was eating well in the winter, which pleased me.
We sat awkwardly around my dining table.
"Did we ever have a chance?" She asked suddenly.
I shook my head, "You were right that first time. We're too different.”
“It was good while it lasted, do you still…” She asked, seeming not to find the words.
“No, I don't still think you had ulterior motives. You’re just a good person.”
She sighed, relieved, “That’s good to hear.”
Then she smiled and said excitedly, “I’m plannin’ on opening up my own store. Father’s been teaching me everything he knows.”
Then she smiled even wider, “It's gonna be in the middle quarter. Lily’s been helpin’ me.”
‘Oh, moving up in the world, I see.’
“Seems like you chose an excellent prospect. How is Lily's boy? I forgot his name."
"Carver. Thought he was a brute at first. But it turns out he's a rather gentle soul."
"Your speech, it's improved." I realised.
She blushed, "Been readin' more. Trying to talk properly since Lily's gonna want me to work at the Kingfisher for a while before everything's set up."
"And your father?"
She chuckled under her breath, "Over the moon. We already plannin' on movin' to a better part of the city after the winter breaks."
"That's good to hear, Jenna, truly," I said with genuine happiness. Did I love her? No, but I did like her enough to be pleased by her good fortune.
"What about you?" She asked.
"I'll be leaving Jenna, I've probably overstayed in this place as it is."
She nodded, "Right, you being an apostate after all."
"Indeed, so today will be the last we will see of each other."
A small amount of grief shadowed Jenna's eyes. Then she took a deep breath.
"If it is to be our last day, then can you do me a favor?"
I shrugged, "Sure."
"Lay with me, one last time." She looked nervous.
'Why not, Myr, you'll be rid of the place soon enough. One last taste before we flee, couldn't hurt.'
I smiled, "That I can do."
~
I wanted to carve a good memory of Jenna in my mind. Her scent, her laugh, the taste of her skin. I devoured every bit of her as humanly possible. After three hours of lovemaking, the sun was starting to set, and no one wanted to walk around in the frigid night. I watched as Jenna dressed; she had love marks all over her pale skin, especially between her legs. After finishing, she looked down at me, admiring her form.
With a smile, she said, "Thank you."
Kneeling, she kissed me softly and tenderly. "Goodbye, Sera. I'm glad to have known you. I hope you find love and happiness."
"And I, you Jenna. "
With one last smile, she left through the door.
'Goodbye Jenna, I hope you live a long, healthy, and prosperous life. As for me, I will move forward; only forward. Like Darion and Beth, I must leave you behind forever.
I stared at the ceiling, my mind ready to move on from this place. I would have to discuss things with Mar and Ashe eventually, though I get the impression they would be willing to leave with me.
With a deep sigh, I stamped down a part of myself, the part that held the goodness within me. I indulged it for a time, and it was pleasant.
Now my next goal was clear. North is where I would have to go to increase my power and knowledge. Anonymity would be difficult even if I dressed as a man. Even worse, I would likely be branded a public enemy, complete with a bounty, if the Magisterium became desperate. If so, then so be it, I will forge onward.
'Magic requires sacrifice.'
~
One Week Later.
We were still in deep winter, and it was likely to break in the next month. The reports of starvation were unsettling, but in the end, it was not my concern. I still gave out morsels here and there. So did Mar and Ashe. A quarter of my wood supply was gone, mostly from me giving supplies to people. It was just enough to prevent anyone in my own territory from dying. A fact I was still strangely proud of. Though the rest of the city was dying rapidly. Especially the old and the children.
I was playing a game of dice with Ashe when Mar entered the main room, looking oddly concerned.
"Boss, there's someone over at Unber's saying they want to talk to you."
I sniffed, "Treat them like the rest and toss 'em out. No handouts for outsiders."
Mar shook his head, "He weren't askin' for handouts. Just wants to talk. Sayin' he knows you."
"You know why this idiot is asking for 'er?" Ashe asked Mar.
Mar shrugged, "Not a clue, just gave me a name and said he wanted to talk."
"That is?" I inquired, barely paying attention to the conversation.
"Simon, but he says you call him Sim."
I dropped the dice, a cold fear crawling up my spine.
"What does he look like?" I asked.
Mar answered casually, clearly, not noticing my distress. "Red hair, like mine, slick back all fashionable like. Decent lookin' a little short though."
'Sim? Is it really you? If so, why are you here?'