BK1 Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

The silence of Roger Heversham's office was stifling. I stood opposite his large mahogany desk, the room dimly lit with a mage light. I could have sat on one of the two blue leather chairs, but the atmosphere didn't call for comfort, so I decided to stay standing. Roger sat behind the desk, his hands folded, elbows leaning on the wood. Beside him stood Eduard, his arms folded behind his back. As Eduard relayed to Roger my latest employment, they both frowned upon me.

I nervously pinched my hand as Eduard did so. Callan wasn't here, which was probably a good thing. At least Roger and Eduard were somewhat rational. Callan would have been shouting his head off already. As the second-born son, he didn't have the same responsibilities as Eduard, so his lifestyle was a little more carefree.

"Lynette", Rogers's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, Viscount", I replied, nodding my head. It was strange to call him father now. After everything I've experienced these past few lives, he didn't feel like a father figure anymore.

"What you have done is of grave seriousness. But, do you truly understand your actions?" Roger asked me, his tone not hiding his doubt.

"I am fully aware, Viscount."

"You are aware of sullying your reputation so badly that your marriage proposal was placed on hold?" He scowled at me threateningly. I saw Eduard flash me a look, almost a grimace, before returning to his calm composure.

"I am aware, Viscount. I would be lying if I said that was not the point" though on hold isn't what I had wanted. I had hoped it would have been cancelled altogether, but I'll take it.

"The point!? You intentionally did this to stop the marriage?" Roger's voice grew in anger.

"I did," I confirmed

"Do you have any idea of how stupid you are? This could have been resolved with discussion. You can't be so foolish to expect that you can remain here for your whole life Lynette. Women get married and raise families, that is the best you could hope for as a mortal, but now you have sunk that opportunity!"

"Ha", I mocked. "Sunk my opportunity? Whose opportunity is it I have sunk exactly? Is it not that you saw a way to get rid of me and jumped? You say we could have discussed it, but would you not have used lies to trick me into accepting?"

"such spiteful words Lynette. I am your father! How dare you accuse me of such things" Roger stood so quickly Eduard had to step back.

"Accusations? Is it, not the truth? Had you not planned to lie and tell me Kara had been the one the Baron had wanted to marry? That if I accepted, I would be saving Kara from the embarrassment of turning him down so she could pursue her dream of working in the palace. Did you not prepare one of the Iron mines to gift the Baron to accept the marriage, knowing my reluctance?"

"How did you.." Roger paled as I spoke things I could not know if I hadn't lived this scenario once already.

"Father? Is this true?" Eduard asked, surprisingly ashamed.

"Lynette, regardless of if I had to lie to you, marrying the Baron is in your best interests. You will be lucky to get any other offers even before this scandal of yours. I only thought of what was best for you!" Roger ignored Eduard's question, or he hadn't heard him over his rage.

"Best for me? Is that not something I get to decide?" I sighed. "You think so little of me that I can't survive without a husband?"

"That is the way of life for mortal women, Lynette! As a noblewoman with no core, your value is in your marriage. As it is for every woman unable to protect themselves, you know this!"

"So you say Viscount, but I see many women with no cores earning livelihoods with their crafts and talents not reliant on their core abilities."

"Those women are not nobles! You are the daughter of a Viscount, not a commoner. Your future is to lead a household and raise your family's status in social circles, not to prattle on items you can sell" Roger began to pace back and forth, his water snake slithered slowly, its movement halting to settle on his right arm. I saw its tongue taste the air before its hollow eyes blinked, resting its head gently on his shoulder.

"Oh, so it's fine for Kara not to lead that life? It's okay for her to follow her dreams to work in the palace, but not for me?" I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"Kara isn't a mortal. She will find a husband in the capital during the social season who matches her core level."

"Ah yes, because her having a core makes her marriage valuable, not something to barely consider as anything but an option to get rid of her" I could feel my own voice growing louder as the small study we were in grew violent with emotions.

"Lynette", Roger stopped his pacing and finally glared at me head-on. "I shouldn't have to tell you that matching core levels is desired in marriage as that is the only way to produce descendants with similar cores. The only occasion a noble marries another with a different core level is because they are second born or because their family is already rich with descendants, so it does not matter what core levels their children may have. The Barons offer is a rare opportunity that will not come again. As a mortal, you will have no viable offers from nobles as your children may also be mortal."

"Is that all you care about? Does my happiness truly revolve around being with another noble? Did you not once think about what my life married to Baron Asher would be like? I would rather live in squalor, going hungry, than be that man's wife."

"Do you think I would allow you to live in squalor!? To marry a commoner!? I would rather you stay here for the rest of your life than bring such shame to our family." Roger walked around the desk to stand in front of me, his hands moving in conjunction with his words.

"Do you think I want to stay here for the rest of my life?" I rebutted his arrogance. Would it be so shameful for me to marry a commoner if it meant my happiness? In his eyes, my happiness is clearly meaningless compared to his reputation.

"Is that why you joined the army?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. I could feel his breath against my face; he was so close.

"Yes."

"Foolish girl", he gritted his teeth even though he wasn't holding back his anger. "You may die."

"If that is my fate, then so be it" not like I haven't died before.

"If you miraculously survive the trip to the capital on the march, you will be pushed more than you are physically capable of in training."

"I am prepared for it."

"Prepared? You have never undergone such exhaustion in your life. You will fail."

"I may at first, but it's what I want" I stood my ground. Vishka said the army was my path forward, and I had to believe in that.

"You know not of what you speak" Roger finally stood back with a heavy sigh. "I will petition for your release from the blood contract immediately with the courts, and Baron Asher will bring you home. That is my decision."

My hands tightened into fists at my side. "I will not marry him", I hissed

"You will do as I say, as your father", Roger stated defiantly.

"You are not my father", I spat, causing him to be still. Eduard's eyes widened, looking back from Roger to me. I saw the box above his head blur, the number vanishing.

"Eduard, take her to her room," Roger spoke, his voice quiet and oddly calm as he remained standing before me.

"Yes, Father, come, Lynette" Eduard quickly headed towards the study door, holding it open for me. I picked up the skirt of my dress and stormed out without another word.

***

I followed Eduard's back quietly through the halls of the Heversham Manor. My blood was still boiling from my conversation with Viscount Roger Heversham. Despite my protest, he refused to take into account that I didn't want to marry Baron Asher. He only cared about his damn reputation as a noble. There was no way I was going to repeat my third life married to that bastard, not a chance, this is my final life, as Vishka said, but I think I would rather die to a demonic beast.

Eduard and I reached my room at the end of the hallway of paintings. He opened the door, waiting for me to enter, before closing it behind himself. I wandered over to my bed and plopped down with a heavy sigh leaning back to face the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" Eduard's voice interrupted my moping.

"Watching the ceiling, what else?"

"Sit up", he instructed, so I complied reluctantly, pulling myself up. Surprisingly Eduard sat beside me on the bed, dipping under the weight of the blue armour he still wore, not having had a chance to change since we arrived home.

"I meant what I said", I mumbled, looking at a particularly interesting speck of dust near the dank curtains.

"I know" he leaned forward on his knees. "I wasn't aware of what Father intended to do, to lie to you" His lips firmed into a straight line. "But you shouldn't have rebuked him" he shook his head.

"So I should just accept marriage to Baron Asher when that isn't what I want?"

Eduard sighed. "No, if that isn't what you want, but Father is stubborn. He won't listen when you pull these stunts" he eyed me directly with meaning. These years of my youth throwing tantrums had definitely made Roger Heversham a stubborn man when dealing with me.

"He wouldn't listen to me regardless. He's made up his mind" I stood, not wanting to be next to Eduard any longer. His presence in my room was unusual enough. He normally avoided this place. I walked to my wardrobe and opened it, searching for items of clothing to bring for the march.

"He believes this marriage is best for you, Lynette. He's doing what he thinks is right."

"So my opinion is moot if it's what he thinks is best?" I said, pulling out a pair of old boots, there was a hole in the cuff, but it didn't matter so long as the soles were sturdy.

"That's not what I said" Eduard now stood with a frown.

"You didn't have to", I sighed, finding a pair of brown woollen trousers, much better than a dress for marching. Eduard always did as Roger told him. I wasn't expecting him to take my side in this. He never had before. "I regret my actions in the past, but I'm doing what I think is best for me."

"What's best for you right now is surviving the march" Eduard picked up the boots I had pulled out and inspected the soles. "You need to know the basics as a noble. It wouldn't be good if it became apparent you knew as little as a commoner."

"And who's fault is that?" I raised my eyebrow at him as he put down the boots, not pleased.

"We never thought it was information you would need as a mortal. This situation was not expected" Eduard folded his arms, looking away with pursed lips.

"I guess not", I shrugged, finally choosing a burgundy cotton shirt. I would probably need a couple more.

"No, now sit so I can explain what you need to know" he nodded to the bed, choosing to pull out the chair from my desk for himself.

I put down the shirt on top of the trousers near the bed and did as he asked. Sitting down on the flattened mattress, I was somewhat glad he didn't choose to sit beside me again.

"First thing to know is about cores and how Aether works", he started

"Alright, well, I know I have one now" I smiled, pleased with that knowledge.

"What?" Eduard looked at me, puzzled

"Ah, the test I took with the evaluation globe showed that I have a core. Though it's so small, most low-grade tests won't pick it up. That's what General Saika told me" I had forgotten to mention that to either Eduard or Roger.

"I see" Eduard rubbed his chin in thought. "That's unexpected. You likely have below a grade one if our tests didn't pick it up."

"There's a grading system?" I asked

"Yes, it's a standard designation for evaluating the power grade of a core. Grade one is the lowest and most basic strength required for most skills. To put that into perspective, most Barons have either grade two or three innate, a Viscount is often grade four to five innate, an Earl is a grade six to seven innate, and a Marquess is a great eight to nine innate. The royal family is usually a grade nine or ten."

"So mine is lower than the lowest standard?" I had expected it to be abysmal, but lower than standards lowest?

"Most likely, if a low-grade evaluation didn't pick it up. They can only sense grade one and up."

"So I won't be able to do much with it?"

"Doubtful." He shook his head. "These are grades of our innate cores. However, they have the potential to grow through gathering techniques designed to draw in Aether. The growth is limited depending on your innate core strength, so having a small innate core will block your growth at a point. I have an innate core strength of five. With that, I can expect to grow to a strength of ten, but any further than that, I will struggle as my core wont be able to contain much more Aether. Whereas the royal family with an innate strength of ten will be able to grow to a core level of possibly twenty as their starting core was much larger and able to absorb much more Aether."

"Um, what is Aether?" I asked, sort of understanding what he was saying but not fully. I had never fully understood what Aether was. It was impossible to learn by standard means as books on its topic were forbidden.

"Aether is the power our cores are made from" Eduard lifted his hand, and suddenly many small floating molecules of white balls tinier than the tip of a pin sprouted out from his fingers. My single one mote of white paled in comparison to the dozens floating around his hand.

"This is Aether" he moved his fingers, and the small white balls moved. "Every living being is made from Aether. It is the makeup of our world. It exists all around us, plants, people, demonic beasts, all is Aether. A person is born with a core when they possess more than is required. The additional Aether within them condenses, allowing the person to control the abundance within them. This condensed form can be grown when more Aether is pulled in towards it through specific techniques."

"So Aether is the basis of all living things?"

"Precisely, demonic beasts are born from Aether-rich locations. Its density can vary. Talbour is low in Aether, so there are few Demonic Beasts here, whereas, in the dead lands, it is incredibly rich, so many Demonic Beast forms thrive there. Demonic Beasts also have cores, which are useful for strengthening our own for growth when absorbed"

"I see… So would I be able to grow my core with Aether?"

"It is possible, but with your innate strength below the standard, I think you would be lucky to raise it even to grade one."

"Disappointing", I sighed but was happy to know I could grow it. Perhaps with the herbiscous tea and jabascus root formula, I could improve my chances of growing it past grade one.

"Quite", Eduard half smiled. "To become a Summoner, the limitation is a grade eight core that has been trained past the initial first two stages."

"Stages?"

"Yes, the first is the condensation stage, which I just explained. You must gather as much Aether as your core can accommodate from the natural world. You must refine the Aether within your body to match your natural affinity until it is absorbed. Aether exists in many forms, some are water Aether, and some are fire. You must filter out the Aether of the affinities you are not accustomed to. Once you have condensed as much as possible, you can break through to the next stage. Each stage has layers. So before you can break through, don't try it until you are absolutely certain you have condensed your core level as far as you can. For you, that will likely be level one. "

"And the second stage?"

"That is foundation establishment. After completing condensation, your core level will be set, but you can refine it through foundation along with your body. You will learn more about this if you ever reach this stage. The final stage is core solidification. Most people don't reach this, as you can damage your existing core if the breakthrough isn't done correctly. Each stage can propel your core's power greatly, affecting your skills' strength. However, someone who reaches Core solidification and only grows their core to level ten in the condensation stage will be far less powerful than someone who grew it past that. Which is why innate core strength is so important."

"I think I understand, so why is the limitation to become a summoner a grade eight core?" I leaned back on my hands, curious.

"That is simple. Each core level allows you to control more Aether" he flicked his fingers, and the many motes of white instantly began gathering together. "To summon a spirit of Aether, you need to be able to control a set amount to supply the spirit" The motes squished together, and suddenly, a bright light flashed for a moment. In their place popped a blue water snake, the motes disappearing altogether. The snake floated in place before Eduard outstretched his arm, and it clung to it, slithering around before settling.

"If you have too little Aether, you cannot contract with an Aether spirit safely. It will be hazardous if you try to summon one without a level eight core. The spirit will consume the Aether that makes up your being rather than the abundance in your core to make up for what it requires. This can cause serious harm to the body and has often resulted in death."

I gulped. "So not something I should try" I half smiled, which received a hardened stare from Eduard.

"Do not ever attempt it, Lynette, with a core so small it will most definitely kill you."

"Don't worry", I sighed ", I won't" It's not like I ever hoped to be able to summon anyway. "So, what exactly is an Aether spirit? Yours is the same as the Viscounts."

"Yes, I chose the same Aether spirit our household has held for generations, as many heirs do, since it represents our houses. Do you remember when I told you Aether formed demonic beasts?"

"Yes", I nodded, intrigued.

"An Aether spirit is more or less the same. We use a rune spell to summon a desired spirit to contract with. Rather than forming into a Demonic Beast, the Aether is controlled to summon a creature we desire that is linked to our core, our very being. By doing this, the Aether spirit can not exist without us, as it can only feed on the Aether we produce. A Demonic Beast, on the other hand, can function on the Aether in the world, so they do not need such a contract as they can grow stronger by consuming other living beings and absorbing the Aether in their bodies. That is why they are so dangerous to us, as you know" Eduard didn't need to remind me of Cassandra Heversham's death, she had been a strong summoner, but she had still succumbed to a Demonic beast attack. Now I know they must have been drawn to her because of the Aether in her core. They had wanted to consume it to grow stronger themselves.

I grimaced at the thought.

"So your core is at least a level eight, then? And you are at least at the foundation stage?" I asked since Eduard could summon. I wonder what stage Callan is at then, as I know he doesn't have a summon yet.

"I'm a level ten core, at mid-foundation stage, yes." Eduard nodded, happy I had understood that much before stroking his water snake. As he did so, the snake bubbled before popping back into dozens of tiny white motes. "I won't be able to keep my summon out constantly until I reach core solidification."

"I see, so that's why I didn't see many summoned creatures at the Army tent today", I mused. I had wondered where they had all gone. Roger always had his water snake with him, so that meant he was at the core solidification stage.

"Precisely." Eduard shifted in his seat, bringing the motes back within himself so they were no longer floating around. "Now, I need to explain how to hide some of your abilities on your blood sign. I don't think advertising your social skills as a minus two will do you any good," he stated, and I couldn't help the meek blush on my cheeks at the slight embarrassment.

"No.. probably not", I agreed, noticing the box above Eduard's head. It had been blurred for a while now, but it began fizzling, and I was surprised at the new number it now showed.

Well, that was unexpected.

Vishka’s Guidance System

Eduard Heversham

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