Swords of Gilded Crimson

Chapter 24 | Recognising the Past Holds Value |

I launched into questioning of the relevance of a High Lord's magic to other courts, attempting to word it in such a way that would prompt Meira to tell as much as came to her mind on the matter. It turned out my efforts weren't really needed though; she seemed to be self-sufficient in terms of wanting to prolong her speaking.

Meira cocked her head, speculating on why I'd be asking on such a subject, but answered anyway. 'A High Lord's magic... I suppose what they all share in common- Day, Dawn and Dusk- is that their magic is tied to their land. The size of land equates somehow to the extent of the High Lord's power. I think it dates back to something like the very first High Lords of Exolvuntir, how each could claim more territory with the more power they had.'

Her eyes became distant, scouring further into her answer. 'Then, I read this old tale on how these first High Lords instilled their power amongst the land they claimed in their territories- for their magic to be spread over the people of their respective courts for centuries on end. As you know, the Day Court ended up being the largest.'

A hint of a smug grin appeared across her face. 'And hence why we have Tenebrae's mountain range spanning to Luxandria's coast, though obviously more was instilled into the coastal side. But I also heard some was infused into various weapons and things, like reiners and swords, but again, most of which are in Luxandria.' Her quirky attitude with the last line made it worse than it had to be.

I tried not to roll my eyes, listening intently to what she knew. 'Then if their land equates to a High Lord's magic, does the land now hold the magnitude of their power, or does the extent of their power reside within them- which way round?'

But the woman clad in red silk only grinned, tutting her tongue in response. 'My turn. Remember.'

This time I did roll my eyes, motioning for her to start.

'Has Kymil always been Spymaster since I left, and if so, has the obsidian reiner always been his?' Her question caught me off guard; wasn't the answer obvious enough already?

'Yes, and yes.' I muttered. But she'd already delved deep into her own memories. Even when it wasn't her answer for her to continue on-

'The golden reiner was supposed to be wielded by me,' she said. Her recollection of thoughts was distant, but mine zoned into the heap of bloody scraps of fighting leathers I'd used as tourniquets until soaked through with blood. They hadn't attempted to take my reiner yet, but I kept it hidden regardless.

'But, as you know, it faltered- twice,' she continued. 'Even the astrologers had no idea why- I was born pure blooded from the circle of nobility and the planets had aligned on the eve of my birthday. Well anyway, that night- after my second failed use of the golden reiner and when the legion returned home, I went over to the blacksmiths' corner. Oh, you were in the training chambers I think. Your cohort or something had just been announced a few weeks back, but imagine if we'd met back then.'

I grimaced at her take on those times, 'The two of you were friends, perhaps more. But, why are you telling me this?'

She gave a pretend swat to the air in my direction, scowling, 'I'm getting to it. As I was saying, I returned to tell Kymil the reiner faltered with me a second time, but he wouldn't stand to believe it. And, seeing as he was working alone that night, I raised the idea of sneaking into the treasury where Odeir had put it back- to show him. He was reluctant at first, you know, with the whole 'no entering the nobility's quarters rules', but he came along anyway.'

I tried to picture Kymil fresh out of his own training, slipping into the nobility's quarters of all places, once punishable by fifty five whips for people of our rank. I'd made that one of the first rules to be changed for those with roots from the lower class in the legion. Unfortunately again, the change still only extended to the army.