It had to be a trap; there was no other answer. How could Sim, of all people, track me down and find me here? The obvious answer was: there was a puppet master behind him. The magisterium was my first bet, but I couldn't be certain. That was why I spent time armoring myself. I ran over to my chill box, shoved it to the side, pried up a loose floorboard, and dumped all the magical items, including two, foot-wide silver and gold energy rings, my water cup, knives, and a few utensils into a pack that slung over my shoulders.
I also had a map of the empire with notable villages, cities, and highways. After creating all the bindings for my barrier, I took a deep breath. Opening my chill box, I threw in some strips of dried meat and a few cubes of dried soup. I double-checked my coin purse: 5 golden royals and 100 silver eagles.
I answered, my voice Firm, "What? Should I have just stayed in Farway, push out children for that walking ox my bastard family decided to wed me to? Is that what I should have done, Sim?"
"You were a handmaiden to the Baroness. Even your witch sister would kill for that chance. You didn't have to marry him then, did you?"
"No."
Sim slumped into the chair, looking down at his hands, speaking to himself, "What happened to you, Ed? I should have never left the village."
I scoffed, "Don't be so vain, Sim, you couldn't have stopped me; no one could."
"Was it so bad for you, Edith?" Sim asked.
"Was what so bad?"
He sighed, "Your family, did they treat you so bad that...."
I interrupted him, "Let me stop you right there, Sim. I make my own choices. I didn't fall into this life by accident because my family was shite. I am my own person. Neither you nor anyone else will take that away from me."
He stared down at the table, unable to speak.
"You're shocked because you can't wrap your mind around this person being the same as your old friend Ed. Let's clear up your confusion. My name is Myr. That is who I am, who I chose to be."
"How many have you killed with the dagger?" He asked, still staring at the table.
"I lost count."
He held his head down, unable to meet my eyes. "So, it's all true then," he mumbled to himself. He looked back up at me, "I met the Baron, you know?"
"Really?" I asked, surprised.
"Aye, he was so angry about the death of his daughter. He killed so many in the war; entire villages were wiped out, entire fields were salted so they can't grow crops. And now we're in a deep winter, I don't even want to know how many are still dying in Farketh. So many dead, Ed."
"You blame me?" I asked.
"If the Baroness survived then..." I cut him off again. "And what? The baron is exempt from his actions because of his grief. His soldiers, who carried out his orders, aren't responsible. Oh, I am guilty. But I'll not take blame for the actions of others. Everyone has a choice, Sim, Everyone. It's not my fault they're too weak-willed to make them."
I leaned back in my chair, "What did he offer you, Ed?"
He looked away a little guiltily. "The baron and some man from the Magisterium wanted me to talk you down. To make you surrender."
I laughed in his face, "Little chance of that happening. But you still didn't answer my question."
"A knighthood, land of my own."
I shrugged, "See, we all make choices. I don't blame you for seeking a future for yourself at my expense."
He stood up, truly offended, "You think I came here for the land title or coin. I came here cause I don't want you to die. You'll avoid the noose if you surrender."
I drew the dagger, "You know, my first day out on the road, a man, Clark, realised I was a girl. Didn't hesitate to threaten me. I'm sure you can guess what he wanted."
Sim looked worried, "Did he..."
I shook my head and gestured to the dagger, "No, I used it to kill him before he had the chance. And I've used this dagger quite a bit since then," My voice became stern. “Did I run? Did I turn back scared? No, I kept going. I fear death like anyone else. But living a worthless life under the yoke of others is a far worse fate than the grave.”
“They found the bandits you killed. They say one of ‘em was just a boy.”
“And so what? He was a bandit.”
Sim looked at me, confused, “He was a boy, Ed.”
‘What was he searching for here?’
“Age doesn't mean innocence, Sim. Blame his father, brothers, or whoever brought him into that life. Besides, that little ingrate would turn out just like them with time. As far as I’m concerned, I did that village a favour.” I said flippantly.
"You've changed, Ed." He said, sounding remorseful.
"I have changed, and I am all the better for it." I would not apologize or regret anything I did.
"Better? A line of dead bodies everywhere you go, cavorting with murderers and thieves. How are you better?" He raged at me.
"Because. I. Choose. " Each word was punctuated with a slap of palm on the table. "Everyone else just accepts their fate. I make my own."
He shook his head, "Not everyone has a choice in life."
"Listen to me, Sim. Everyone has a choice, even if that choice is death."
Sim laughed without humor, rubbing his forehead, "So, that's it then. You'll just commit any sin if it means gettin' power and doing what you want?"
"If being nice and kind, a holy woman filled with goodness and righteousness, would lead to me getting power, then I would be the greatest saintess in the known world. But that's not how the world works. The only people with power are those who are willing to do anything to have it. Everything else but the pursuit of power is a distraction."
Sim spread his arms wide. "What about the rest of us? What am I? What of Dim? Helan? Are we not important to you?"
"The rest of you are all trapped by your own weakness. You can change nothing, become nothing. So no, in the end, you're not. Not enough for me to change my path."
'You're not Ed anymore to him.'
Sim swallowed deeply. He looked as if he was fighting back a tear.
"My name is Myr, Sim. I'm not the Ed you knew anymore." I tossed the dagger on the table, and he flinched as it landed in front of him. "You can have it back since you're so repulsed by my actions."
He stared at the dagger numbly. Then, he picked it up and examined the blade. After nearly a minute, he placed it in front of me, "It was a gift....Myr. I don't take back gifts."
Surprisingly, I was relieved. I returned it to its sheath. We were silent for a minute before I spoke again. "Are you still my friend, Sim?"
He hesitated to answer. Disappointment crept up my spine.
'I can't really blame him. My actions, for someone as simple as Sim, would be monstrous from his perspective. He’s just a boy in the end.'
"It's all right, Sim, we're different people now. It's not like we can go back to those days after..."
'My bindings, they all broke.'
Terror ran up my spine, and I sprang to my feet.
Immediately, I tried to rebind them to my energy furnace. "Ed, what's wrong?" Sim asked, worried.
The bindings failed, meaning my energy furnace was destroyed. Before I could even formulate a plan, I heard Ashe shouting, "Oi, Back up, who the hell are..."
I heard something strange, a loud combination of ear-piercing shriek and low growl punctuated by a bright flash of yellow light. I looked at the open door. The only binding that wasnt broken was the potential energy binding in my gloves.
I tensed, ready to turn whoever was coming to ash, the moment I saw them, though, I abandoned that idea completely.
~
Standing in the doorway was a man in full plate. Everything seemed to be made of black steel; not a single inch of skin was exposed. There was a slit in his visor where I could see his eyes. A deep brown, they seemed to be protected by some type of glass or crystal across the slit of the visor. The entire suit was elegant and beautiful; what I wore in comparison was pig iron garbage.
Every piece was clearly molded into shape specifically for this man. It lacked the curves to deflect weapons away from the body like normal armor. And the interlocking plates hugged his body in a way that would be impractical and even uncomfortable for normal steel armor. My only conclusion was that it was enchanted. No normal smith could create steel so smooth and perfect.
As he walked towards me, the articulated joints moved without sound. I didn't even hear his steel boots impact the wood floor. The only sound I could discern was the creaking of wood from his weight. In his left hand was Ashe's crossbow. Anger crawled up my spine before I stamped it out.
"Greetings," He said. His voice was slightly muffled as if covered with a thin cloth, though it did nothing to muffle the strong baritone.
"Lord Heywood, I thought we agreed that I'd talk her down." His brown eyes focused on Sim.
"Dont be a fool, boy, she would have run regardless of what you said."
Sim sounded confused, "But she's still here..."
"A fact that I accounted for, now run along." He commanded, with a bit of a threat in his tone.
Sim stiffened, bowed, and left. As he passed me, he whispered, “Just take the deal, Ed...Myr.”
“Decent boy, a bit slow in the head though.” With a gesture of his right hand. A table and two chairs levitated to the center of the room and oriented themselves so that one chair faced the entrance and the other sat on the opposite side of the table.
‘How in the hells does that magic work, such precision? ’
He walked past me, seeming not to be concerned that I would bolt, and took the chair facing the door.
“Sit,” He commanded.
‘Foolish, foolish, foolish, Myr. You wrongly guessed that a group would appear and not one man. You didn't predict that they would use someone close to you. Now, Ashe and Mar are dead, and you, depending on how this situation plays out, would join them soon.’
I sat at the table and examined the man. Though the only flesh I could see was his eyes, which were calm and unconcerned.
“I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Edith of Farway. Or should I call you Myr, Sera, Ember, or any of the other aliases you’ve used? ”
Tension crawled up my spine; clearly, the man had significant information on me. Not surprising really.
“Myr, if it's all the same to you,” I said, sitting with my back to the door.
Lord Heywood placed Ashe’s crossbow on the table. With a slight gesture, it levitated a few inches and rotated mid-air.
“A cute little trinket, reminds me of when I was just starting out,” he mused to himself.
‘Alright, Alright, think Myr. He’s not attacking, meaning he probably wants something. The Ocularums and the stones. Only I know what thier inevitable fate was. We're not done for yet.’
“It was a task, tracking you across three Baronies. Quite a shockwave you have created, my dear. Do you know your name has crossed the desk of the emperor himself?” He said.
‘Really? The emperor knows my name. How amusing. But what is his game here? Why doesn't he come out and say it?’
“That’s quite the compliment. Especially for someone as common as me.”
The man’s eyes seemed to smile, “Common you are not. The village girl is now a mighty Magus.”
The crossbow rested on the table. “The life you lived the past few years is quite the story. I am an inquisitive man. Tell me, how long did you desire magic?”
“You know about the tinker?” I asked.
He nodded, “Offered you a story, you wanted to hear half before you paid.”
“It was then I decided to be a Magus,” I confirmed for him.
He hummed to himself. “From then on, Edith sets out on a quest, abandoning her betrothed for magic.”
His eyes seemed to smile, “And that you did.”
“Edith meets Darion and Beth, for a time she finds happiness, then an opportunity comes, my former student becomes the master and takes on Baroness Surian as her own apprentice.”
‘What? Elis was his student?’
He continued, “Gets picked as a handmaiden, serves the baroness, blackmails the head maid, Denice, to help her through. Five becomes four, becomes three, and now she is at a crossroads. Her goal is slipping away; she needs an opportunity. So she makes one for herself. And maiden Genna falls to her death from a poorly guarded section of the Baron’s walls.”
‘How did they figure out it was me? I was sure I felt no evidence.'
“You wonder how we know that murder was your doing? Simple, we found the jewels, so it was either you or Eleanor.”
‘It probably sank to the bottom of the lake. How did they find it? Magic obviously. Still, what is the point of regurgitating my own story?
“Myr’s gamble pays off, and she becomes the handmaiden to the Baroness. Months pass, a war breaks out, and an ambush. She makes her way through the fighting; escapes with Surian. On the journey, she realizes, this was her chance, no witnesses, no one between her and the secrets of magic but a baroness and an unexceptional magus. So she acts, and somehow she succeeds in learning.”
He shook his head, musing, “Quite the tale, my dear, it was a joy to discover.”
“Why repeat this to me?” I asked.
“Simple, I know who you are, Myr, I know what you are.” His tone became slightly amused.” You know your dagger left damage to the bones in Elis’s neck. You must have put your whole body weight into that moment, knowing you had to kill her in one strike. Ruthless, efficient.”
“You don't seem to care about Elis?”
He shrugged, “I’ve had many students, she was amongst the worst. Why do you think she was so far south? No magus worth their salt would dare come this far for work.”
‘He’s probably as ruthless as I am. Keep him talking, Myr. Those eyes are watching you. One false move and your death will follow.’
“Now, my dear, do you know what your future entails?” He asked.
“Death, probably,” I answered.
“Oh, that’s what the baron wants. Not even after drowning Farketh in a river of blood has his desire for vengeance been sated. But the whims of a backwater baron are of no interest to the Magisterium. ”
“Then what would be my fate?” I asked, confused.
‘Keep him talking, Myr, one chance is all you have, one moment when he’s not watching you like a hawk. Wait for it and don't hesitate to take it.’
“Do you know how rare activating the animus is?” He asked.
I shook my head, “It is by far the most difficult part of teaching magic. We tried many ways to force it. Threats, torture, both physical and psychological, everything, even rape. It all failed for the most part. Even when it worked, it only resulted in broken people, largely worthless as Magi.”
“So we worked smarter, identifying characteristics in people who had the highest chance of activating the animus. Most peasants are concerned with the now, with food, family, and work. The ability to push their mind into that near insane state is largely culled from them. But noblemen, who are born believing that they should rule; that the world should change at their commands, have a much higher chance. So we choose from them, and the enormously wealthy.”
I nodded along, “From that bias comes the idea that magic comes from noble blood.”
“Precisely, but every so often, we find a commoner who can push through their upbringing and achieve greatness.”
‘Flattery?’
“You have achieved what you desired, no? You have learned magic.”
‘Now comes the deal, Myr.’
“Such potential is a waste, so I am here with a compromise.”
“That is?”
He shrugged, “You surrender to me, face your trial. Once convicted, you will serve your sentence with us, at the magisterium. Our prison can hardly be called such. Your life will be comfortable, and most of your days will be spent learning magic to serve the empire. It is a permanent position. But one certainly appealing given the alternatives.”
I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth, “You realize I killed a baroness and a magus?”
The man carefully rolled his eyes, “You think it's the first time a magus has killed nobility. So long as you are punished, they will not complain.”
‘And here I thought I was cold. Now I understand his game. The flattery and the clear understanding of my intentions. It was all to endear me to accepting. He did not judge or seem overly concerned by my crimes. Is this a legitimate deal, or is he just buttering me up to admit where the stone and books were?’
"I assume you have a few stipulations?" I asked.
"Of course, the items of value you stole are of concern. They must be returned."
"And how do I know I won't be killed as soon as they are returned?"
He sighed as if this conversation was annoying, "The Ocularums we know are destroyed. Remnants of gold were found inside the hearth of your little hut. That alloy is a specific combination of gold and silver, only used for Ocularums. That means you are likely in possession of the two stones."
He gestured to my armor, "You came here fully armored, expecting danger, so, no doubt, you have them on your person. I ask, what exactly is stopping me from killing you and taking them off your corpse?"
'It seems I am outmatched here. He knew from the beginning that I didn't have the ocularums. Of course, the obvious deduction was that I would have the stones on my person. And without a doubt, I cannot best this man in any form of combat. Worse still, I don't think I can outwit him.'
I gazed into his calm brown eyes. 'Not emotionless like Derek or mildly insane like Rennah. Just focused, he has a job to do, and if killing is necessary, then he kills.'
"You are a reasonable sort, Myr. Killing those two peasants was a test. If you had reacted out of anger, you would have died. Understanding your relative level of power is important for a Magus." He nodded to himself.
'He speaks casually about murdering my crew. And there are his eyes, always focused on me.'
"So life in a comfy prison, I get to practice magic though restricted, so long as I willingly partake in a trial?" I asked to clarify the situation.
"Yes, your alternative is death. If by some miracle you best me and flee. You will become an enemy of the empire. Our reach is vast; we have eyes and ears in every city, every town, and every village. You will be hunted from now until the end of your days. Right now, you are just a nuisance to us. Don't make yourself more than that. "
A bit of confusion came over me, "You seem oddly invested in my agreeing, why is that?"
"It's rather simple, how many Magi do you think there are?"
'There was an entire college, surely there had to be many.'
"A few hundred? Maybe a thousand."
"The actual number is a secret. But closer to a few hundred, we train thousands every year, perhaps 10 can achieve the animus. This small number of Magi serves an empire numbering in the tens of millions." He explained.
'Too many trainees and you risk magic slipping out of your control. That's why, isn't it? I bet it takes years for someone to do their first binding. Why toss a potential resource in the garbage? Just replace the lost magus with a better one.'
My posture relaxed, and I nodded as if his words were easing my worries.
"I see you understand. Quite a deal, no? In the end, you'll get what you want, magic. No need to die, just tolerate the sham trial for a few months, accept life imprisonment in our custody, and we'll ship you to the imperial capital to serve it out in comfort. Who knows, maybe in a decade or two, you can earn the right to travel. You have struggled to get to this point, Myr. You can further your magic with us, with the Magisterium." He sounded sure of himself. I bowed my head, looking at the table, being every bit the capitulating criminal. I looked up at him.
'Yes, he's ever so slightly relaxed. Just a little more distraction, and I can act. There is a narrow way through, I can see it. '
"Elis used up all the power in her first stone; it turned into an odd powder."
He nodded as if that made sense, "Indeed, without primal energy, the structure destabilizes."
"I keep the second one around my neck at all times," I said.
'Just a little distraction. Is all I need.'
I tilted my head to the left, reached for the leather strap, and pulled it off my neck. His eyes, which were almost always focused on me, strayed.
My left hand snaked into one of the pockets in my cloak, reaching for the iron cylinder.
'You are intelligent, Lord Heywood, you understand my personality to a mildly scary degree. But you are wrong in one singular aspect. My ultimate goal was freedom from the cage that binds me. To not live a mundane life, to not die in the same village where I was born. Magic is the means to that end. Not the end onto itself. To achieve that freedom, I lied, cheated, killed, stole, and collaborated with criminals, murderers, and rapists. I bent and capitulated to those whom I found to be distasteful, all in the pursuit of magic and power. But now you ask me to be caged once again. I cannot and will not be chained down. I prefer death. Under no circumstance do I believe that I can escape an institution that has existed for over a thousand years once the irons are locked around my neck. There are no more options, no alternatives, no other paths forward; if I must be branded an enemy of the empire, then so be it.'
Lord Heywood's eyes were focused on the fine silk pouch. In that moment, I put everything on the line. I gazed over to the left wall of the eatery. I activated my animus to fuel my will even further.
'Right about there.'
In a single move, I pulled out the iron cylinder, dropped the stone inside, and dove to the right. Before I had even hit the ground, there was a blinding flash of yellow light. Whatever magic he used to kill Ash and Mar, he tried on me but missed; that fraction of a second was just enough. An instant later, the world exploded.