“Their oath empowers them, a single platoon of Vermilion Knights charging at you is the most horrifying thing there is next to Sword Saint from the Shogunate, I refuse to send my man to that slaughterhouse without Paladin and Mage support.”

 

General Thulius, Commander of the Sixth Legion “Empress Spears” of the Imperium army, after losing half his men in the final war of the Imperium against Vermilion.

William sat down staring at an empty notebook, Lucrezia went silent after teasing him at the end of their talk, From what he knew that either meant her soul had to restore mana after doing the Spirit Contract, or she was just keeping quiet, he picked up a feather and stared at it, how was he supposed to write with this thing again?

“Lucrezia you there? don’t you have a magical pen or something? Why is a duke’s daughter using a feather for writing?”

“Shut up Terran, you woke me up” Someone was cranky William thought “Sorry? didn’t know you had to sleep cause you know, being a soul and all that…” He couldn’t feel her emotions either, which meant they needed to be together down near the Monolith for the connection to be stronger, or at least that was what William assumed.

“Once I wake up, I will summon you, Whoever did this granted the small blessing of me being able to shut down sight and sound from my end, See that you finish whatever plans you have before I wake up Terran”

“You can call me William you know…” She didn’t respond, William felt a little stung, being called a Terran like that, sighing he decided to write his name in English, and the small epitaph he saw before.

“Can still write and read English, good if I want to keep a secret code or hidden message, gotta ask if Lucrezia can also read it when she wakes up” He tapped the table “Wonder how she even sleeps, Necromancy was my least played build back in the game” William talked to himself while writing up the three initial steps for his plan

Contact the elves in the border

Get the Knight Commander back

Save the dwarven clan in the wastes

Hmm leaving for the wastes will be hard, if that ward reacts to it, I could even die, gotta find someone to go there, or smash the warding ritual, doubt the court mage would even notice, this deep into the ritual they are.

Allying with the Commander should be first, then the dwarves, have they hole up on that hidden fortress, the Dungeon Core issue with the elves shouldn’t get dangerous, it took one year for them to actually try smashing the damn thing.

Gotta save that core, its terraforming abilities are second to none, and we're gonna need the boar meat it summons once Winter’s End hits. God bless the Imperium madman who tried to break the food magic decree via it, It's a shame he died…

I’m sure the Knights have scouts posted on every pub in the city, and merchants who deliver grain to them. After I’m done here I gotta talk with Saa’ryu...God, it's still weird seeing her alive and actually happy, not in the sorry state she was in the game.

William noted down the one merchant he knew dealt with supplying booze for the Knights and the pub the woman was a regular in, he got up and stretched his arms, feeling them pop, cracking his knuckles and neck.

“Creepy how natural it feels” he spoke, looking at himself in the mirror, still in a nightgown, William walked to the bathroom and cleaned himself up, he was sitting down on a very fancy toilet when Lucrezia spoke again.

“What are you doing Terran?”

“Using the bathroom, what does it look like? I just woke up”

“Have you no shame?! Did you forget the contract?! how dare you?!”

William sighed, he knew this was coming, best to set this right now than later.

“We should establish rules now, Lucrezia, but I assure you I have done nothing, The contract didn’t ping did it?”

Silence, several seconds passed before she spoke again

“...No, it didn’t warn me, I see the truth in your words Terran, Very well here are my rules, I will be wake whenever you have...Use the bathroom…Gods now I feel like one of those creepy nobles from the Imperium”

“I agree” William tried to not be confrontational here, it wasn’t his body at the end of the day

“Hmm, you are being too eager to meet my requests Terran-”

“It’s the right thing to do” William interrupted her

“Guilt drives you, you blame yourself for my death, don’t you? Should I blame myself for your death, I wonder? It wasn’t your fault Terran, whoever did this is above us mere mortals”

“BUT-”

“I was alive in that ‘game’, yes? I’ve seen your memories, Terran, the Lucrezia you knew from your time in the game, gods this feels weird to say out loud, that is not me, I don’t even like the third prince that much! True I found him cute when I last saw him in the Capital but I digress, If your soul got sent here, defying a blockade set by the All-Father himself, who’s to say whoever god got you here saw one of the infinite timelines where I lived?” William felt strange, he knew deep inside of him he was blaming himself for Lucrezia’s untimely demise, to hear her say the contrary was, strange to say the least.

She continued speaking in his mind

“Listen to me...William, it wasn’t your fault, I swear on the Wulfgrem name.”

William was taken aback by her intensity, he felt warm, happy even.

“Thank you Lucrezia, I mean it”

“Don’t thank me yet Terran, we still have much to do, and much to get used to, now get Saa’ryu to bathe you.”

“Ok... Hey, you called me by my name, Why go back to Terran?”

Silence, guess we aren’t on a first-name basis yet huh? William searched for the small bell that connected to Saa’ryu’s room, the maid didn’t take three minutes to arrive, William explained his wants and they got to work.

Feeling Lucrezia’s gaze as he cleaned himself on the bathtub was weird, alas he had a deal with her and he intended to keep it.

“Be like water” he whispered as he got changed into Lucrezia’s workout clothing, he knew today was bardic studies day but there was something he had to do as fast as possible.

“Lu?” Asked Saa’ryu, William waved her off and spoke.

“Get me a dozen earthen mana crystals and iron ingots, then meet me at the south courtyard” William spoke, trying to imitate Lucrezia’s bossy tone from the game, she didn’t talk back so he figured it was good enough.

“And the musical studies Lu? if you blow off the bard like that she’s going to get mad” Saa’ryu looked worried, but William didn’t care.

“I’m not asking First maid, get me those materials, Go” he didn’t wait for her response, moving with his head up high towards the courtyard

“I can feel your excitement down here Terran, what are you doing? and Saa is right, the bard won’t let you hear the end of it if you blow her off”

William smirked

“You’ll see soon enough”

Arriving in the courtyard, William found a few guards training in heavy armor, and with huge war hammers, they saluted him and kept at it, he went to the center of the courtyard and sat down, focusing inwards.

“In the game, to unlock true Magnetism one needs to expand it outwards, Lucrezia boosted the iron in her blood cells, almost like Ki, but this is just the stepping stone for the path of Magnetism…”

He felt the iron inside, its taste tinged his tongue.

“What she lacked was the knowledge to expand this control outside, Magnetism is a rare elemental variant, the only know mage being the elven sage Ammurat of the Imperium, and she hates people with a passion”

William saw Saa’ryu enter the courtyard with his items, he pointed at them and to the ground, the Maid nodded and laid both on piles right in front of him.

“Many thought Ki cultivation was the right way to unlock the full potential of Magnetism, but they were wrong, all you need is…”

With a thought William expanded his mana in its pure form into the Earthen Crystals, leveraging both Lucrezia's superb mana control and shaping skills and his own knowledge from the game, he shaped the now earthen tinged tentacles as a sphere, already feeling the many Minerals inside it.

The sphere expanded, Lucrezia’s shaping skills helping him keep the mana construct intact, he could feel every single piece of mineral that could be controlled by his Magnetism, with a snap he locked the sphere in the ingots and fused them into a perfect disc

At this point everyone in the courtyard was staring in awe towards him, Lucrezia was speaking something but he couldn’t hear, the sheer euphoria and power rushed to his head, William got up and with a small hand gesture split the disc in two, forming big squares and making them rotate around him, another gesture and the squares split into 16 rods with an arrowhead at their end, he turned to the nearest target and sent all of them into.

A few didn’t land on target but he didn’t care, he recalled the rods and fused them back into a disc, he jumped onto it and willed the disc upwards.

He got as high as the top of the guard's heads before his mana reserves gave up on him, he fell right into Saa’ryu’s arms as she was screaming at him, when the rush finally washed over he heard Lucrezia’s voice booming on his head.

“...YEARS OF HARD WORK, ONLY TO BE OUTDONE BY A TERRAN CHILD, GODS DAMN YOU WILLIAM”

“Sorry not sorry” he was feeling happy, powerful, with magnetism unlocked this early, even the toughest of the fights he was going to have seemed doable now.

“Smug little Terran aren’t you? abusing knowledge that isn’t yours”

Lucrezia went quiet after that outburst, William finally focused on Saa’ryu who was holding him princess carry style.

“Lu, what the fuck was that? I could feel whatever magic you were weaving messing with my gear! and your mana, Are you crazy? bottoming up after getting sick like you were?!” She put William down and produced a flask, the amber color making William grin, a Superior mana pot, Must be from the maid’s personal stash.

He took the flask without talking and downed it in a single gulp. Its taste was pure heaven, he could feel his reserves spring back to life, he had to agree with the maid, going dry was not peachy.

“True Magnetism Saa, watch” he pointed to a sword that was in a bench a few feet from them and with thought had the blade to his side, he bent the metal until it formed a nasty hook, then undid it and placed the blade back into its scabbard”

“All-Father above Lu! that was amazing!” even the soldiers cheered on, William felt that power rush again, after resting for a few minutes the potion had completely topped his mana reserves up

“Gotta wait for the blessing ceremony for a bigger tank tsk” he complained, Saa’ryu looked at him but said nothing, she collected the bags and placed them on a table.

“Shall we continue the combat training Lu?”

William felt hyped, it had been a while ever since he had fought someone hadn’t it?

“Sure”

With a snap of her fingers, Saa’ryu conjured a ghostly cage around them, giving ample space for footwork, the guards, done with their training, were taking bets on who would win, William noticed that most were in favor of the maid.

Lucrezia wasn’t that big of a melee fighter he recalled

“That is so unfair, they are lucky I’m not in control, ten lashes and a night naked on the snow wouldn’t be enough of a punishment!”

Ouch, still mad over the Magnetism thing, wasn’t she?

“Ready?” the maid asked

“Ready!”

Saa’ryu exploded forward, William let muscle memory take over, he knew her every move thanks to the game, she went for a series of kicks high and low, he dodged and parried all of them, ducking and weaving out of her range with the grace of a hummingbird.

The maid raised her eyebrows, clearly, Lucrezia had never lasted under such barrage without a hit making past her defenses, William raised his arms, the next combo would be punch only.

The maid lunged forward, and a series of jabs, uppercuts, hooks, and left swings came flying, once again he parried her blows, when the maid grew visibly exasperated he faked a straight jab, she raised her arms to parry the blow.

Only for William to plant a foot right in her solar plexus, he boosted the kick with Magnetism and the maid went flying.

“WOOW” the guards screamed and hollered from their chairs, Willaim was huffing and puffing air like a billow, the maid got up, she looked mad.

“She’s not gonna go easy on you know” Lucrezia spoke again, William was about to respond when a kick came flying in his direction, he grabbed the leg and tried throwing the maid back, the maid without so much as a grunt twisted her body and placed William in a leglock, knocking him to the ground

“That Wasn't Nice.” she hissed at him, angry as hell

Willaim tried to wiggle his way out of the leglock. but she twisted herself again and grabbed his arm, and pulled.

“AAAA” screamed William in pain, he saw red and immediately used Magnetism to boost him again, he threw his entire body weight upwards and both of them went up, he then rammed Saa’ryu into the ghostly fence, hammering the woman until she gave up her grip and went to the ground, he grabbed her by the leg and slammed his elbow right in the thigh.

The maid screamed.

“Enough! Godsdamn Lu, what the fuck was that?! do you want to break my godsdamned leg?”

William let out air, he had never lost himself like that in a fight.

“I’m sorry Saa, I don’t know what happened, after you grabbed my arm I just lost it” he felt horrible, the maid furrowed her brows and said.

“Must’ve been the leftover high from the mana potion, look it’s ok Lu, this isn’t the first time I get wrecked in a sparring session, although I must say, I don’t remember you being so good as to parry and dodge like you did today…”

“What can I say Saa? maybe the hidden fighter in me finally woke up haha” William tried his best to sell the lie to the maid, who huffed and let the matter drop, she was still looking at him with doubt in her eyes, however.

“I need to take a bath after this, then meet up with the others” the maid nodded at his words and they both dusted themselves off, a single guard came to thank William, apparently the bets were all in favor of Saa’ryu.

“That one wouldn’t get punished today” Willaim probed his literal soulmate, he heard a sigh

“Yes...I apologize for my earlier outburst Terran, it was unbecoming of me”

“It’s ok Lucrezia, I didn’t take it to heart”

“Good, I require rest, call me after the meeting” William could feel her tiredness, unlocking Magnetism to its fullest must’ve deepened their connections.

As they got moved towards the courtyard exit when the court bard, Miss Hayden showed up, anger clear in her face

“Young Mistress Lucrezia, have you forgotten your music class? Do you wish to bring shame to house Wulfgrem when the royals demand a song and all you can do is sing like a man being strangled? I’ll have you know that-”

William pointed to the iron disc he had made before the sparring and called towards him, he got up on it and floated towards the bard, his mana reserves steadily tickling down at a comfortable rate.

William's vertical flight demanded a huge amount of mana he remembered, low-level levitation was nothing compared to true flight magic, with only air attuned mages being able to offset its absurd costs, a shame Lucrezia wasn’t one, Flying was great in the game.

He stared the bard down from the disc, the woman looked flabbergasted, for a solid minute both were still, not daring to move a muscle.

With a huff the bard went away, William knew the woman didn’t mean no harm but music was very low on his list of priorities now.

“She’s going to be mad for weeks now Lu, you best be ready to hear songs about you shortly.” Saa’ryu laughed as they moved back to Lucrezia’s room, William noticed the crows of Velkarius staring at them, from Lucrezia’s memories they were scary looking and cawed without stopping, but now, it was almost as if they were happy.

Velkarius’s Priest is already in town William thought to himself, he recalled meeting with the man in-game, he had spent two years in the duchy after the crowns came, trying to breach the castle, without luck, until the protagonist came to help him that is.

“I wonder where she is now” William whispered, Saa’ryu looked at him but said nothing, she probably thought her Lady had gone insane at this point.

They both had another bath and got dressed, Saa’ryu in her typical maid dress and William in a fancy style that was supposed to be all the rage down south with the royalty and the big noble houses, he didn’t care much for it but went along with the maid anyway.

The cape was definitely too tacky on the other hand, but he also kept quiet on that.

They arrived in the war room, Leanu already there with Wilson, everyone greeted each other, the Head Maid had a platter with cold meats and cheese and a jug of hot ale ready for some reason.

It didn’t take long until Serkj showed up, the guard came flanked with three other guards, they saluted him and went off as he got into the room.

“Everyone,” he said and nodded, the gang nodded back.

“Lady Lucrezia, the situation on the city has grown worse, after the hit you pulled on the Soldier’s Headquarters they are moving around the town in a full platoon formation, another person was blessed with food magic, so rioting for food is off the table for now, but nary a soul dares to walk the streets now”

He finished his report and drew lines along the map, the main streets all patrolled by these platoons William assumed, Saa’ryu produced her finds from her outing, updating patrols routes and outposts in the map.

“They have the names of everyone being held at their prison camp, if we can bust them out, getting the people back to their families should prove easy enough,” the maid said.

“Assuming that ward isn’t keyed to defend the camp as well” Wilson shot back, earning a shrug from Saa’ryu.

Wilson sighed and continued “Lady Lucrezia my acolytes have failed to find where the ritual for the ward is located, I deeply apologize for failing the duchy and I’m fully prepared to take total responsibility for it, if anyone must be punished, please let it be me, my acolytes only acted on my order” the man hung his head, Leanu stood by his side holding his hand.

William could clearly see the man felt defeated and was more than ready to be killed on the spot by the contract Lucrezia had put him under.

“Raise your head, Wilson, no one will be punished here,” he said softly, he had a soft spot for the man from all the time in the game, doing quests for him and eventually breaking into the castle together, watching him be reunited with Leanu.

The man raised his head, shame all over his face, Willaim gave him a bright smile and said “I may have a lead on the location of the ritual, rest assured it will be dealt with”

The man visibly calmed down, almost falling into a chair, Leanu helped him sit down and whispered to him, he sobbed a little before controlling himself.

“Thank you for your mercy Lady Lucrezia,” he said quietly.

Leanu held his hand tighter and bowed to William.

“Lady Lucrezia the training of the castle staff is proceeding faster than we planned, we are running formation drills now, all in heavy armor, thanks to Commander Serkj we have a solid pike wall, they don’t falter even under mage fire from the Acolytes”

Amazing William thought, then again every northerner has that fighter streak in them according to game lore, he nodded and the Head Maid bowed again.

William cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone in the room, he marked down the hidden fortress location in the map and began the first step of his plan.

“If my information is right, after smashing the ward we must retake the city, but we lack the manpower for it, so I’m gonna get Knight Commander Erwin back to our side”

Frows and nods all around, Serkj raised his hand, William nodded

“My lady, the man was exiled, even if we assume there’s foul play involved, and I’m pretty sure there is, the man won’t trust you, will probably think it’s a trap set by your parents”

William nodded and said “Do not worry Serkj, I have a...Let’s say a good way to prove we are on his side here” the man didn’t show much but William could see he doubted him.

“There’s a clan of dwarven master forgers and architects currently exiled in the northern wastes, seeking a place to worship their god,” William said out loud, earning a surprised look from Saa’ryu “Velkarius came to me last night in my dreams, the goddess told me they will be important to save the Wulfgrem name, she also told me of a tribe of Winter elves, mostly druids and mages who are in dire need of help, finally the goddess told me of a way to regain control of the duchy’s lands via two pacts, one with the spirits here in the castle, and another with the Winter Dragon Kallista”

“All-Father above! My lady going to the dragoness is suicide!” Leanu exploded to which William only smiled and said “Do not worry Leanu, the goddess has given me a way to reach Kallista unharmed”

William was sweating bullets, he had to bullshit his way through this plan otherwise Saa’ryu would call him out on his knowledge of the “future” the maid looked at him funny but said nothing, the boy held a sigh of relief and kept talking.

“First things first, Erwin has numerous merchants sending him supplies from the city to his camp, Me and Saa’ryu will go out today and pass the man the message, if everything goes to plan we will have their support by tomorrow morning”

Everyone nodded and William disbanded the meeting, they weren’t in high spirits but once he had Erwin’s men back, things would swing back around.

William made his way to Lucrezia’s room and pulled a trunk from below her bed, opening it he found a set of dark knight fatigues and a grey mask that had a slit for the eyes.

Saa’ryu watched as William changed into the fatigues without a word, once he had the mask on she spoke “Velkarius is giving you revelations now?” From Lucrezia’s memories, he could see that the maid didn’t doubt him as much as he feared.

“She offered me a deal, and a blessing should I manage to fix the situation here” He lied through his teeth, the ravens were cawing to give legitimacy to his words, he was in the hole now, might as well keep digging.

Saa’ryu spoke her tone heavy “Lu, getting into a deal with Velkarius is dangerous, if she starts using you to go after other nobles you can be charged with sedition of state!”

“It’s ok Saa, trust me” he held her hand, the maid went red and quickly let go of his hand.

“So, how are we supposed to earn the Knight Commander’s trust back?”

William looked out of the window and said with a smile

“Easy my dear, we deliver him some heads”

---

Two clocked individuals stalked the rooftops of Glacialis Aeternum, it was a cold afternoon, William and Saa’ryu had dodged four patrols already, including the platoon-sized ones, they arrived at a checkpoint nearing the fish markets, William floating with his disc and Saa’ryu zipping around with her grappling hook.

“I thought we were gonna hit the headquarters again, or one of the big patrols, you saying the targets are all here?” Saa’ryu spoke, her voice being distorted via illusion magic that also masked her face

“Yes, they are all in that guard post over there” he pointed to a checkpoint in the middle of the market

“Now will you tell me why you decided to come? Sorry for being blunt here Lu but this is kind of my specialty, plus I’m pretty sure you have never killed a person before” a good point William thought.

“I must be the one to kill these men,” He said without explaining further, Saa’ryu stared at him, and William hoped the maid would figure out the why, after a solid ten seconds of staring he sighed and spoke again.

“Erwin has a blessing that allows him to confirm who killed who, to prove that I’m on his side, I must kill these men with my own hands” the maid nodded

“And why these three again?”

“You will learn soon enough Saa, now let's go”

Saa’ryu cast her divination spells and showed the map to William, who nodded and went down on tall grass, ten guards were on patrol in the empty market, William saw the maid try getting closer to the checkpoint via the roofs but they weren’t high enough, she dived to the ground behind a stack of fish crates, two guards right on the front of it, she cast a spell, Which William recognized as her variation of the Light’s Out and took the guards down, stashing them behind the crates.

eight guards left.

William stalked to the right side of the market, dodging patrols and crawling under stalls for stealth, the smell of fish guts and seawater was horrible but he quickly conjured a minuscule ice fan, taking the blunt off the smell.

Getting out of the stalls, he hid behind a cart only to see Saa’ryu taking out four guards all by her lonesome, she threw their bodies into sea and dashed forwards towards the guards William had avoided, the first two didn’t even see her blades coming before falling like puppets who had their strings cut.

The final two guards were knocked out by another Light’s Out and stashed behind a stall, William at this point had made his way to the sandbags outside of the outpost, Saa’ryu joined him with a big grin on her face

“Points for avoiding the guards, but why not take them out?” she whispered to him, he placed his fingers on her lips and used a hand sign that alarmed Saa’ryu something fierce

She slightly opened the door, two men and a woman were playing cards, smoking cigars and drinking, the man asked the woman if she had finally got her squad when Saa’ryu cast other Lights Out, William bolted into the room and shaping his disc into a blunt mace, smashed them to knock them all out for good.

“These?” Saa’ryu asked still looking alarmed, they would have to talk later it seemed

“Cadence, Xo’lyr, and Markus, yes those are the ones” William shaped his disc into a longsword, he was staring at them for seconds before Saa’ryu coughed and asked

“Lu, can you do this?”

Could he? William knew what these people had done, the details fresh in his mind, he knew they had kidnapped, defiled, and tortured Erwin’s family before giving them to Eustace, killing them now was…

“The right thing to do” Lucrezia spoke in his mind “I can sense your doubt Terran, muted as it is down here, the fear of becoming something less than human, I can hear the many philosophers from your world whispering in your ear, all arguing about what is right and what is not” a humorless laugh came from her.

“It’s a hard choice Terran, but your kind is all about those”

“It will be hard choice after hard choice Lucrezia, until they aren’t hard anymore, or even choices, they will be the only way”

“I won’t let you fall that low William, I swear on the Wulfgrem name” a pause, a sucking of air, William felt Lucrezia’s conviction fill him from deep inside.

“Do it” the blade fell, chopping heads from the bone in a clear cut, William felt sick, wanting to throw up the food he had eaten, but Lucrezia’s conviction held it in, he wanted to scream and curse but all he did was summon a bag and stash the heads, casting a spell to hold the smell and the blood there.

Saa’ryu didn’t say anything while all of this was happening, she took the bag and they quickly set off to the rooftops, stopping near the pub where the boozer merchant lady was known to visit, William spotted her cart, loaded with booze in a dark alleyway.

The maid cast a spell that cleaned both of them, and another to remove the smell of blood, William bent the disc into a hairpin and dropped down the alleyway together with Saa’ryu, using Magnetism to soften the fall.

“You didn’t throw up, or make a scene, are you ok Lu?” the maid was worried, William could tell.

“Later Saa, we gotta get these heads delivered, it’s already dark and the patrols will get tighter now that we hit them in the middle of the day” Saa’ryu nodded and both headed into the pub, masks, and hoods on.

To say the mood was bad in the pub would be an understatement, drinks were flowing and a bard sang near the fireplace, a sad and morose song that further made the patrons lay their heads near their glasses.

William saw the bartender, her face was ethereal, her pale ashen hair flowing down, ashen eyes looking at him and Saa’ryu with caution and weariness, and two pointed ears perking as they opened the doors.

“What a sorry state of affairs, and control yourself Terran, do not be rude to the elven lady you hear me?”

“Forgive me for being excited when seeing an honest to god elf Lucrezia, I swear I won’t do anything uncut”

“Spare me the sarcasm Terran, it’s unbecoming of you” Lucrezia went quiet as they sat down at the counter, Saa’ryu stayed quiet all the way there, William was going to do the talking it seems.

“Can I help you, two travelers? Mead’s fresh and we have mash and pie for tonight, rooms going for five silver” the elven lady said, her voice was like a bird singing, William focused himself and spoke the line from the game that would get him in contact with the merchant.

“I’m looking for the small special, five dosages”

The Elf raised her eyebrows but said nothing, she walked to a small kid hidden behind a door and whispered in her ear, the kid darted off, she returned with two cups of mead, Saa’ryu gave her three silver pieces, which earned her a smile, William was awestruck.

It didn’t take long until the merchant lady showed up, the little girl pointed at them and she made her way towards William and Saa’ryu.

“Who are you and how do you know the password, you better talk fast otherwise I’ll have the boys shank you as soon as you get out of the pub” she was nervous, angry, and agitated, William produced a small silvery dagger and the bag with the three heads and said.

“Tell the Commander that he has friends from where this came from” he also gave the woman twelve gold pieces, she pocketed those fast as lighting. calling off the attack with a hand gesture.

“He ain’t gonna like not getting a name but All-Father’s balls I’ll do it, meet me here tomorrow at noon for his response”

William sighed and finished the mead, it tasted watery and old, nothing like the fine mead Lucrezia had enjoyed last week, Saa’ryu finished hers and both went off towards a different alleyway, after checking if they were being followed with divinations, they both got back to the rooftops and made their way to the castle, William took a quick bath and got ready for tomorrow.

 

---

 

“How did you know about the dagger?” Lucrezia asked while he was in his morning bath to which William responded

“You can’t see my memories from that stage of the game yet?”

“No, everything is hazy whenever I try to, all I get is me sitting down in front of a computer for hours, enjoying myself, but no actual memories from the game, I must say Terran, you must’ve loved that game a great deal, to recall minor details as you do”

“It was an obsession of mine for two years yes, I wouldn’t claim I have an encyclopedic knowledge of it, but it's quite there”

Hesitation flooded him, curious, Lucrezia wanted to ask something but he could feel her stopping herself, it was...Weird

“I can feel your hesitation from up here Lu, what do you wanna ask?” He tried being polite, only for the young woman to blow up on him.

“Don’t call me Lu Terran, we aren’t that close, It’s either Lady Lucrezia Or Lucrezia for you!”

“Sorry, no need to blow up on me dude, sesh”

Silence, then a sigh, then a long sigh came from her.

“Your...life Terran, I have many questions about it but I will refrain from asking them until we are done with the Knight Commander, now leave me be, I must rest”

William was kinda happy, Finally, she was breaking the ice if only a little. It was hard he found, hard to stay on his best behavior but he wouldn’t go back on his word, he knew deep inside that he had to work with Lucrezia to get to the bottom of this madness.

Their souls were melding faster, more and more memories of Lucrezia were worming themselves into his mind, feeling like his own, William finally caught a glimpse of the third prince in one of them.

Wonder if he’s already like he was in the game now, probably given the backstory William thought to himself, expecting Lucrezia to pipe in, he knew her love for the young man was legitimate, unlike the other two bosses from the game.

She will probably get mad if I say that, it was a good thing they couldn’t read each other's thoughts, otherwise she would be a wreck right now, so many atrocities committed in the two years that he was meant to live before going to the academy.

“Not on my watch, This land will know plenty and happiness with me in charge” he whispered to himself as he changed into workout clothes and went to the courtyard where he had trained yesterday, only to find the castle bard there

“You won’t skip me today Lady Lucrezia, I refuse to become a laughing stock at the capital’s bards college because my charge can’t sing or play the harp, now sit down, we have much to do.

“Morning Miss Hayden” William did a short bow and sat down in a chair that was clearly dragged from one of the ballrooms, he picked up Lucrezia’s harp, recalling the young woman indeed had a great measure of skill when it came to singing and playing instruments, a hobby perhaps?

“Lucrezia, you like playing the harp?” William inquired, she was deep in thought ever since he woke up he could feel it, their souls were melding more and more after all.

“Indeed Terran, Music is one of my hobbies together with horse riding and gardening, There’s something...Pure on the act of stringing together notes, singing, and composing music that always put me at ease” she sighed “I’ve seen some of your memories Terran, your music playing skills might be less than stellar but your tastes are impeccable, I would never...Imagine that Terra had the culture for producing such great works of art.”

What is this William thought, actual compliments from the ice queen? He wanted to tease her but he knew it would not be well received, his jokes never landing with Lucrezia, he opted for a small compliment instead.

“Thank you for your words Lucrezia, I appreciate your honesty”

“I can feel that you don’t really mean those words Terran, but let me not waste your time, playing the harp is a skill it took me years to master, and you best not slack on it”

 

---

 

Deep in a forgotten forest, near the border with the northern wastes, a warhorse raced down a dirt road made in haste, its rider had just finished a patrol around the region and found nothing worthy of reporting, he neared the wooden fortress made deep into the forest, a man-made clearing surrounding it, he could hear his brothers and sisters toiling inside it, and the rivers flowing around it.

The sentries saluted the rider and opened the gates, it was already dark but the rider's mare didn’t care, as a dire horse from the Wulgrem steppes, it could see in the dark as good as any night predator.

More and more Saluted the rider as he rode inside the fortress, It was booze day today he saw, many already making merry around a great bonfire, leaving his mare at the stables, the man took his riding helmet, revealing a scarred face, brown eyes and ivory skin, his hair cut on a military buzz cut.

Making his ways to the tallest tower of the fort, he was stopped twice by drunken people asking him to share a spot in the fire, he declined them and kept on moving, reaching the tower and climbing its steps until he saw the face of a woman, old and battered, her cracked skin and frayed hair telling a far different story than of those below by the bonfires.

“Sigrún, haven’t I told you to sleep at least four hours a day?”

The woman laughed, got up, and saluted “Commander Erwin, you might wanna hear what we got from the booze merchant today”

“More booze? She has a name you know” Erwin said sitting down and checking the maps, no reports of Eustace's man in the forest in weeks now, a few days ago someone killed his men inside the old headquarters but it wasn’t one of his men.

Something was happening in the city.

He was lucky, lucky that the three engineers they had weren’t killed when Eustace betrayed them, so many Senior Knights died, their families hanged in the main plaza, like animals in a butcher shop.

Erwin shook himself, he mustn’t be weak, his men needed a strong leader and by Morugarius he would be it, He would uphold the Knight’s Oath to the end.

“So, what did she bring that is so important you would break an order I gave?”

Sigrún produced a bag, and a small silvery dagger, Erwin tensed up immediately, the woman put her hands up and said.

“The merchant told us two individuals came to one of our pubs, gave the barkeep the correct password and gave this to her, she was told to no open the bag, your eyes only”

“Did they say anything?” he asked, steel in his voice, he knew that dagger very well.

“They said that you still have friends in the castle” she threw him the bag and Erwin opened it on top of a clean desk

Three heads perfectly preserved by ice magic rolled out, the woman gasped as Erwin’s eyes went wide.

“Cadence, Xo’lyr, and Markus” he trembled, speaking those hateful names, the very people who committed unspeakable acts to his family before sending them to that bastard Eustace, dead just like that.

“Morugarius’s Spear Erwin are those?! are those the people who kidnapped your family,” Sigrún asked trembling as well, Erwin nodded, took a deep breath, and spoke in hushed whispers

“Karlie, Ester, May your souls be placated with this offering and know that more will come” the heads burst into flame, a pale blue flame that produces no heat, on the contrary, it made the room more cold than normal.

“In their hearts, you shall burn” he finished the prayer, an echo went off in his head, the voices of his Wife and Son repeating the words.

Sigrún held the dagger and asked, “Who was it, this dagger means something Erwin, who was the person who killed these men” he didn’t turn to answer, a ghost the size of a beetle appeared among the ashes of the heads, Erwin said something in a low tone and the ashes moved, three words forming as they stopped.

Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem

 

---

 

William was done with his music class when Saa’ryu called him over, it was time to meet the Commander

“The guards have spotted the merchant on her way back from the border, The cart had a tent over it, so I’m guessing the man actually came” Saa’ryu gave him a report “Now Lu, about that hand gesture you gave to me yesterday, pray tell, how do you know about it” she was angry William could tell, but not enough to force an answer outta him.

“Father told me” Another perfect white lie, Saa’ryu relaxed, great William thought she brought the lie.

“That settles it then, now let's go”

Both got changed into their earlier get-up, masks and all, and moved towards the city gates, they zipped around rooftops, the Soldiers were intensifying their patrols around the streets now, more platoon-sized patrols going up and down.

“We kicked the Haa’var’s nest, didn’t we? hehe” The maid laughed, feeling very much in her element, it was dusk and soon they would arrive at the pub.

One rooftop, somewhat close to the Usurpers headquarters was manned by a three-man checkpoint, armed with crossbows and sentry wards, Saa’ryu gave a puppy look towards William, begging to dispatch them but he told her no, more deaths could ruin their plans.

The maid got pissy, making snide remarks all the way to the pub, only stopping when they got to ground level and into the establishment proper.

“Greetings! Oh you two” the barkeep said looking weary “The big special is on the top floor, a single dosage”

“We pray for those who can only get five dosages” William finished the password, the barkeep nodded and guided them towards a fancier room, the door had been magically warded and to William’s surprise, Enhanced with Ki.

He pointed to the faint red streaks running along with the wood, Saa’ryu got the hint fast and her body language changed to absolute caution, the elf opened the door and two humans were inside, huddled over a table that had a pile of maps on it.

William got inside, his maid flanking him, the door was closed and he heard the lock.

Knight Commander Erwin Richftten, who William saw dying in a mad push against the castle gates in-game together with the game’s protagonist and Lich Wilson stood tall and proud, his face lacking the iconic scar he would get against a Demon one year from now.

The man took a knee and said “Your Highness, Heir Apparent Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, I have heard your message loud and clear, deliver me Eustace and my Spears will be your arms, my horses your legs and my men your strength”

William froze, holy shit that’s a goddamn Oath with a capital O, the second he took on it, he would be bound to the entire Company of Knights.

“They must’ve broken the Oath when my parents betrayed the Senior Knights” Lucrezia was seething, a noble breaking the Oath was big, and very few had the chance to mend bridges with the offended Knights and their goddess.

“Terran, you know how important the Oath is, take it now, you must” an order William was more than happy to comply.

William summoned a bowl using his ice magic, taking off the cape and mask, he placed the bowl right in front of the kneeling Commander, the woman beside him produced Lucrezia’s silvery dagger, a gift the Commander had given her long ago when the Lady saved a squire.

He slashed his hand, letting his blood drip into the bowl, Erwin got up and picked the dagger, doing the same, as their blood dripped, a symbol showed inside of it, the blood began to bubble and out of it, a small spear made of silver, iron, and snow was formed.

“With Morugarius as my witness, I Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem hereby swear on my body and soul that I will uphold the Oath Of Battle, may my soul be cast to the deepest of hells and shame be brought to my name should I ever break it”

“I Knight Commander Erwin Richftten, Leader of Clan Richftten that has served the Wulfgrem ever since the time of the first king hereby accept the Oath”

The spear split into two, and was branded into William’s arm, goddamn he thought, his first blessing! It wouldn’t increase his mana reserves but now he had actual cavalry, taking back the city was not a dream anymore.

All he needed to do was destroy the ward first.

William moved to their table, Erwin following close behind, he pointed to the headquarters and said “I must destroy the ward the court mage has in place before we can take back the city”

“My men are eager to put the usurpers to the spear Your Highness, just send the message and we will be here” both nodded, that was when William noticed the woman, that was Sigrún! the one who teaches high-level ice magic to the player character in the game!

“I may have a way to take a good number of them out without bloodshed Commander, but be certain that my people in the castle will come to the fight, we have been training the staff as well, all armed with the best gear we found there” William reassured the man who he felt was calmer, focused more than before.

“It’s the Oath, it empowers them in a way no noble can ever taste it unless one becomes a proper Knight” Lucrezia chimed in.

“Any big changes down there Lucrezia?”

“The blessing left a mark on the Monolith, it has now the spear that’s on your arm, a proper god-given branding, I haven’t noticed any new memories from you so I’m assuming blessings won’t speed the process”

“Good, I have a feeling we will get quite a few when you hit 18 Lucrezia”

“It still scares me we are only one year apart of age Terran, even if my kind ages slower than yours”

“You get used to it, I had an older sister if you don’t recall” William stopped talking and waited for a response from the Commander.

“Your Highness, I must bring the good news to the fort, contact me via the usual channels when you are ready.

They each bid farewells and went their separate ways, William didn’t miss the barkeep bowing towards him, even with cape and mask on.

He then heard a faint song coming from deep inside, Lucrezia was singing near the Monolith and he could hear it

“Ride Spears of dawn, those who bring justice to the untamed land”

“Ride Spears of fury, those who push back against the monster hordes”

“Ride Spears of dusk, those who stand vigil against the enemies at the borders”

“Ride Spears of Ice, those who never give up, and bring back the enemies heads”

“To mount them in their walls”

“To salt the earth and burn their houses”

“Let God and Mortal alike know”

“Vermilion marches forward, our Victory will be written in their blood”

“Vermilion marches forward, our Victory will be written in their blood”

“Vermilion marches forward, our Victory will be written in their blood”