Empire's Orders (Aether's Revival Book 9), page 25
“We apologize, but it’s difficult for her to train while being held inside the walls.”
Astriddottir looked at Gregory for a long moment before she sighed. “Your family has shown us time and again that you’re honorable. I have been given leave to offer a small token of trust between Aether’s Guard and the council. Twice a week, I will come to collect Roshana and take her to the harbor to work on her magic.”
“She would be honored to train alongside a priest as powerful as you, ma’am,” Gregory smiled. “When should we expect you next?”
“Do you not need to get approval from your ambassador?” Astriddottir asked.
“I was told that I had full authority to handle matters today, ma’am. I might frame it as Roshana learning how to better counter Kroggian priests in the report, but honestly, she just wants to have the best control she can.”
“I see…” Astriddottir sighed, then motioned Rama to gather the art. “Give me the addresses, and I’ll get these sent.”
“Leave one for us, please.” Gregory suddenly had a scroll and pouch in hand. “These are what you require to send them, including the payment.”
“Very well. You don’t want to have to report that you’re indebted to the council.” Collecting the payment and scroll, Astriddottir sighed. “We hope to have cordial relationships again once the conflict is over.”
“As do we.”
“You might not have heard yet, but Bloodrock fell to Ivarson.”
“I don’t doubt that. Ragnar was far more than the magi in the city would’ve expected. They’ll be bringing far more powerful magi to bear now.”
“We believe so, too.” Astriddottir stood up as Rama finished packing all but one of the portraits away. “Aether bless you, Pettit.”
“May Krog bless you, the council, and my friends in danger,” Gregory said, bowing as a magi to her when he stood up.
Astriddottir paused at that. “You…? Yes, of course.” She clapped her right fist to her chest. Acknowledging that Gregory had just potentially wished Ragnar safety wouldn’t be wise, so she cut it off.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Gregory smiled at the family portrait as he got dressed the next morning. Yukiko had it framed and hung before they’d gone to bed. Seeing what most of his family would be like together was heartwarming. The portrait was missing Claudia and Verka, which made him sad, but he knew why they weren’t depicted in it.
The last one to the front room, he took the seat remaining between Mindie and Roshana. “I know Rudit was unhappy with the sealed scroll she got yesterday, but she didn’t tell me what was in it.”
“It likely deals with the war,” Yukiko said. “She had me put extra scrutiny on a couple of people yesterday.”
“But you can’t tell us who,” Jenn said.
“No. My orders are complete silence on the targets,” Yukiko apologized.
“We do what we have to,” Gregory said. “If it might hurt the family, it’s understandable.”
“Greg, if you give me your puzzle and wax tablet, I’ll get it ready while you use foresight,” Mindie offered.
“Thank you, dear healer,” Gregory said, handing over the items. “This shouldn’t take long.”
The others fell silent while they waited to hear what he saw for the day.
Several long minutes later, Gregory exhaled slowly. “Roshana, Astriddottir comes back to take you to train.”
“That was fast…” Roshana murmured.
“They want to keep the goodwill. Even with Ragnar at war with the empire, they want to maintain what we’ve built.”
“Rudit will get some hard questions about Roshana’s trips,” Yukiko said.
“Which is why she’ll ask Roshana to make reports on how many priests are there every time she goes,” Gregory said. “She sells it as possible scouting, just in case the empire decides to attack Krogheim itself.”
“That would be… ahhh… it’s the posture of her trying to help,” Yukiko nodded.
“Giving her the appearance of doing what she can, while it’s near worthless,” Ling said.
“To attack Krogheim would take all the sages or even the emperor himself because of Stenson and his priests being here,” Jenn nodded slowly.
“Which dovetails nicely with my work,” Yukiko smiled. “I should have a talk with Rudit; she might have insights for me. She has centuries more experience in navigating political entanglements like this.”
“You’ll have the chance. She calls you to her office after me,” Gregory said.
“Which means new orders,” Yukiko sighed. “We do what we must.”
~*~*~
“Good morning, ma’am,” Gregory said, taking his seat across from Rudit.
“Gregory, I read your report. You’ve given me some trouble, yet also some wiggle room. When should I expect them to ask Roshana to head to the docks?”
“Today, ma’am.”
Rudit stared at him, then pinched the bridge of her nose. “Of course… Before we delve too far, what else happens today?”
“That’s the biggest event. You ask for Yukiko after we speak, but you never tell me why.”
Rudit eyed him for a long moment before she shook her head. “Gregory, you know why I don’t tell you.”
“Orders.”
“Correct. Just as Yukiko isn’t allowed to inform your family.”
Gregory dipped his head in acknowledgement.
“You have orders starting today, orders that you can’t discuss with your family.”
Gregory knew it was coming, but being told made it feel more poignant. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You are to start trying to find how the empire can take Bloodrock back. I need reports every day. You’re to drain your aether to this single task every day, besides making sure we know what today will be.”
“Understood. When do you want the reports?”
“Bring them with you every morning. I’ll fold them into mine so the information that needs to be sent can be.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Very well. Let me tell you about yesterday.”
~*~*~
After training the men with Jenn and a quick rinse, he went to his office. He hadn’t used it much, but now, he needed a place to sit and write a report. Taking a seat at his desk, he made sure he took a deep breath. Gregory knew he’d fail a lot, because Ragnar was in Bloodrock, but if he had orders, he had to do them.
“Is this a bad thing…?” Gregory asked out loud. “If I fail and fail to give them clear answers, it’ll cast doubt on my magic.”
Gregory tossed the thought back and forth. He knew he couldn’t see the future clearly, but he had to do his best. If he could get hints, but not clearly, it would diminish what people expected from him. That’d actually be better for him if he was garnering too much attention already.
Taking a deep breath, Gregory touched foresight and pushed his aether into it. Foresight was odd in that he needed to be told, see it himself, or something similar for it to work. With him stuck in the embassy, it mostly came down to what reports Rudit got and shared with him. There were also some futures where someone else would tell him about Bloodrock.
The snippets he found were just as jumbled and varied as he expected. After each glimpse, he paused to make notes, then pushed again. He kept at it for an hour until he felt drained. Sitting back, he rubbed his eyes. His aether flame was flickering, as he’d refused to use his ring. He’d been ordered to drain his aether to do the task, though not as much as he could use, so he adhered to the orders.
The knock on his door got him to absorb his notes into his ring. “Come in.”
Ling came in, giving him a puzzled look. “I was wondering where you’d gone. Normally, you find one of us after training. None of the others knew where you were.”
“Orders. Secret orders,” Gregory sighed.
“You didn’t mention it this morning, so we figured it had to be like Yuki’s orders.”
“I still need to put it into a report, but then, I’m done for today.”
Ling had crossed the room to him. “You look exhausted, Greg.”
“Orders. My ring is full, though.”
“Hmm…” Ling went behind him, her hands on his shoulders. When her thumbs dug into his muscles, he leaned forward slightly. “Just relax for a bit, my heart.”
“Thank you, Ling. Your day’s been good?”
“Yes. I’m making small steps on the guard enchantment. Another month or two, and I’ll be willing to give it a try on a test item.”
“You’ll pull it off,” Gregory murmured. “My wives are amazing.”
Ling purred as she kneaded his muscles. “I’ll fail a lot first. My magic, unlike most others, is based on failure and improvement. Even Clover doesn’t fail as often as I do. Mine is enduring, which most others aren’t.”
“I never thought of it that way.”
“Hemet said that to me, and I’ve accepted his wisdom. Years later, I see how correct he was.”
Gregory didn’t reply, just enjoying the feeling of the massage.
Ling eventually slowed her kneading. “It’s almost time to bathe, my heart.”
Gregory scooted his seat back, and Ling shifted to the side. He chuckled when he gently pulled her into his lap. Her purr and leaning into him made him smile broadly. “First, a little cuddle for my wife.”
“You’re a wonderful husband.”
“I try to be even half of what my wives are.”
Ling chuckled, nuzzling her face against his chest. “We love you, too, and feel much the same.”
“It’s why our family is full of love.”
“One of the reasons, yes.”
Gregory squeezed her firmly for a moment before loosening his grip. “Thank you for coming to find me, Ling.”
“Even if you already knew I would,” Ling chuckled as she stood up.
“Even if I knew you would, I don’t take your love for granted. Knowing you came because you were concerned made me feel bad for not telling you earlier.”
“But it would tip the reason why when you aren’t supposed to say anything.”
“Basically. I can explain the barest outline to our wives tonight, as it’ll be on a topic that’s common knowledge.”
“Very well.” Ling bent to kiss his head. “Finish your report, then come find us in the bath?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She gave him a smile before she left him in his office.
Taking a moment to watch her go, Gregory exhaled slowly. Pulling his notes out, he read through them, then compiled a report. No one would be happy with it, as it gave no hard facts. His documentation showed different futures every time he looked. The only overriding fact that remained was that Bloodrock stayed with Krogga, which was not what the empire wanted to hear.
In time, he finished with what was required of him. He let the report slip into his ring before he stood up. Making his way to the bathing rooms, he smiled when he heard his wives’ voices from the inner room. Stripping down, he entered the far room where most of them were already in the tub.
“Sorry for the delay.”
“It’s fine, our soul,” Yukiko said. “Ling said you have secret orders just like I do.”
“I can’t say anything about them, but yes.”
“It’s okay, Greg,” Mindie said. “But I want to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I rinse off. Roshana, how was your day?”
“Good. Astriddottir stayed with me the entire time, a little removed from the other priests. I held back the edge of what I could do, but I did my best to push my magic,” Roshana replied tiredly. “I just used everything I could personally do.”
“You two look like you both did,” Clover said.
“My ring is full, but I am not,” Gregory said. “My orders require me to be like this.”
Yukiko gave him a small nod. “We won’t ask you anything about it.”
“Because it’d get you in trouble,” Clover said. “Besides, Yuki thinks she knows and told us already.”
Gregory laughed as he took a seat to clean up. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew more than I do. We all know she’s the sharpest among us.”
Everyone agreed, and Yukiko laughed. It always made her feel accepted that none of them felt threatened when she put things together so much faster than they did.
Gregory joined them in the tub after a few moments, putting Yukiko on his lap. “Thank you for doing what I can’t, Yuki.”
“I’ll always do what I can for the family. No one can get in trouble this way, because you didn’t tell us anything.”
“Greg, how long will it be?” Clover asked.
“The war?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t say. It depends on how far the empire pushes to take Bloodrock back now as opposed to a century from now.”
“Okay.”
“Until then, we do what we have been,” Jenn said. “Train, complete our tasks, then love each other as much as we can. Eventually, things will change back to what they had been.”
“Alright…” Clover sighed as she snuggled on Ling’s lap.
Gregory looked over his family, soaking in the love he felt. He didn’t know what the war would do, but he did know that his family would always be here for him.
Chapter Thirty-nine
The next two months settled into a routine again. Gregory tapped his aether to exhaustion each day to see the future as he’d been ordered. His visions were jumbled, chaotic, and wholly unreliable. It was only two weeks prior, when Rudit tasked him with checking the futures of the edges of the war, that he was able to give solid visions. That took the war and pushed it to focus on Bloodrock, as Krogga was forced to give ground on every other front. He didn’t give perfectly clear visions, though, always hedging and obfuscating the full truth. If he hadn’t, then his inability to see Bloodrock became even more of a sticking point than it already was. The hints of uncertainty he allowed to linger would muddy what the problem was with seeing Bloodrock.
The empire had finally fielded the army and many magi to the border. The clashes were bloody and brutal. Gregory knew some of his previous classmates would die; some he felt bad for, but some, he didn’t feel bad about at all. A couple of the people he faced during the solstice also fell in battle, while others would be able to be raised as champions when they finally made it back to Krogheim.
War raged between the two nations while the majority of Aether’s Guard was absent from the conflict. Daciana was pulled into the far edges; she slew a fresh champion in single combat. That made the units with him pull back, but gave her a scar from hairline to jaw. The letter about it wouldn’t come for months, but it would eventually make it to them. She’d be awarded a medal for turning a flank in the Bloodrock war.
The big news was that Gregory found out how the war ended. Every future began to shift to it, showing it to be the future that would be. His notes were the longest he’d written for months, as he’d get a lot of news from various sources when things settled. It took him two days to arrange the ending in his notes; he was withdrawn those nights, and his wives helped comfort him as much as they could.
~*~*~
Entering Rudit’s office, Gregory was calm, even though he knew today set a lot of things into motion. “Morning, ma’am.”
Rudit’s head tilted slightly as she watched him. “Pettit, that was formal… Is the news bad?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s going to be well received. In a week, we’ll have a special guest arrive outside of normal channels to discuss this report.”
That got Rudit to set her ring on the desk, creating the barrier from the enchantment. “Tell me.”
Gregory set his report on the desk before he took his seat. “We can’t take Bloodrock back from Ragnar. Before winter comes, the army pulls back, and we’ve given up on the city.”
“Your recent reports were making that more likely… what changes to make it certain?”
Gregory gestured at his report. “General Ruzi offers a duel.”
Rudit’s eyebrows went up, but she didn’t pick up the report. “He fights Ragnar?”
“With a friend beside him… both die. Ragnar is wounded, but Elder Ironhand holds to the duel and withdraws the army from the border.”
Rudit picked up the report at that point. Silently, she scanned through it before setting it down. Closing her eyes, she exhaled slowly. “That’ll be a bleak day for the empire. If it doesn’t play out like you think…” She trailed off, shaking her head.
“That’s when Ragnar is gravely wounded, but pulled out. Stenson goes to the front, killing Elder Ironhand for failing to honor the duel. Sage Windfoot is summoned and fights Stenson, but is also struck down; Stenson is wounded, but is able to leave without issue. Krogga is emboldened and surges farther into the empire with the head of the army and two of the best leaders having been killed. If they take my advice, which they won’t, they’d just leave Bloodrock to Krogga and keep our best military minds alive.”
“That’s why Ironhand comes to speak with us?”
“He wants to push me to the breaking point to find any other way forward. When he returns to General Ruzi… the old man doesn’t budge. He’d rather die in combat than in three years of old age.”
Rudit sat back, looking into the distance. “Ragnar will become a name known throughout the empire because of this… the high champion who killed two legends. A lot of scrutiny will be placed on him.”
“Yes. It’ll make things awkward for us to be friendly. We’ll be asked to gather everything we can on him.”
“I’ll have to stop allowing his visits to the embassy.”
“Understood, ma’am.”
“Send Yukiko in. I’m sure you told her to wait for me.”
“Yes, ma’am. She’s with Makkar.”
Rudit held up her hand when he went to stand. “Gregory, tell me… how does the city respond to us when the war ends?”
“It’ll stop me from looking at more futures later, ma’am.”
“Understood, but proceed.”
Gregory exhaled slowly, then settled back in his seat and reached for the future. It was still months away before the warriors returned, but that was the future he pushed for. Things shifted some, but as long as he stayed away from Ragnar and Verka, it wasn’t hard to parse. Eventually, he let go of his magic, feeling about half as drained as he could be.
