Arthur placed his quill down and looked over the Aetherin-filled page before him. It would be the first of many within the new research journal dedicated to the spells created by house Bennet. And he hoped that in time, its completion would pry open the doors to his understanding of the language.

"What are you doing? We've barely even started!" Rennar shouted from behind Arthur's shoulder.

"I told you it'd be slow. Besides, the trebuchets should be built by now, and I'd like to witness the opening volley." Arthur replied honestly.

Rennar's eyes widened. "It's been nearly two weeks since we started, and you've barely filled in a page! Nevermind years, at this rate, it'll take decades to finish!"

"Take it easy." Arthur blew on the page, ensuring the ink was dry before closing the new journal and stowing it in his locked desk drawer. "I've always wanted to see real trebuchets in action. Unfortunately, the people in my original world stopped using them hundreds of years before I was born, so I've never had the pleasure."

"It's a long stick that throws rocks. What's so fascinating about it?" Rennar mocked.

Kyren floated over to Arthur's side. "I'm with the old man, kid. Sieges are boring, especially when you're on defensive duties protecting the damn things. Might as well watch paint dry."

"What may seem boring to you is exciting for me. I won't stay long either way." Arthur rose to his feet and stretched before glancing at Kyren. "Have you finished searching Harran yet?"

"I've checked every Bernish soldier that looked to be in charge. Ain't one of 'em above third circle. The streets are deserted too, even though we passed by all them empty villages along the way." Kyren replied.

"I guess Arianna was telling the truth after all. They really did evacuate part of their population to Agelia. Hmm... Still, it seems foolish to leave behind so few mages to defend their cities."

Kyren shrugged. "Ya don't need mages to defend a walled city."

"No, but they certainly help." Arthur said, throwing on his drake-leather coat. "At this rate, the war will be over within half a year. So what's the point of it all?"

"Good! Once the war's over, you can focus on writing down my spells and granting us new bodies." Rennar announced, looking pleased with himself.

"I'm not complaining. I just don't understand Bern's strategy in all this."

"You need not concern yourself with it." Rennar scoffed. "Ollerin's nobles were only levied to deal with Bern. Whatever they're planning in Agelia is the emperor's problem."

"I imagine if the imperial army is destroyed, it'll quickly become my problem." Arthur shot back.

Rennar laughed. "You think too little of the imperial army. What was lost in Bern was nothing but new recruits. The emperor was wary of Sparnia's intervention, so he drafted a fresh invasion force for Bern while holding the true might of the imperial army in reserve."

Arthur didn't deny it, but that didn't mean he was as confident as Rennar. Bern and Agelia were moving to Minaan's tune. No matter how he looked at it, an enemy aided by a god wasn't something to be taken lightly.

However, Rennar was correct. It wasn't his problem since there was little he could do, even if he knew Minaan's plan. With that in mind, Arthur walked outside to find Saria waiting by the entranceway holding a stack of parchment. "Excuse me, lord. I was just on my way to see you."

"Is that the inventory report from the Bernish camp?" Arthur asked, pointing to what she held in her hands.

"Yes, I took extra time to make sure nothing was missed. Forgive me." Saria replied, handing the stack to him.

"Great!" A smile crept upon his lips as he looked it over. "There's nothing to forgive. Well done!"

"Are you going somewhere?" Saria asked as Arthur read the report.

Arthur looked up. "Yeah, I intend to watch the trebuchets' opening volley. Would you mind fetching Jeren and Foster for me?"

A light flush filled Saria's tanned cheeks as her fists tightened ever so slightly. She averted her eyes and hesitated to speak a few times before finally getting the words out. "I-is it okay for me to t-tag along as well?"

He wasn't as much surprised by the request as her reaction to making it. Arthur wasn't so blind as to think she was somehow interested in him. He was a child, after all, and although Saria had a tomboyish vibe to her, she shouldn't have any problems in the dating department based on looks alone.

Instead, it seemed more as if she was a quiet child who just witnessed their sibling receiving praise while getting none herself. As if her competitive spirit was jealous and embarrassed for having to speak up at all.

Arthur laughed. "Of course. Why don't you fetch our mounts, and you can escort me alone since we won't be going very far anyway."

The embarrassment fled as a brilliant smile replaced it. "Thank you, lord. I'll be right back."

Once she had left, Arthur skimmed the inventory report while he waited. The monetary value of Arianna's belongings was hard to guess, but the Bernish coins alone would increase his net worth by at least ninety thousand Riis. It was a much-needed relief to his financial situation, but it was still far from enough.

Arthur wasn't content to merely manage Helagaust. Nor would the Yor family allow him such a luxurious life. He needed Helagaust to thrive, and for that to happen, he needed money. After looking it over, Arthur stowed the inventory report in his tent, and when he came out again, Saria was waiting with Aithon.

As the pair rode to the southern edge of the camp, soldiers and slaves were busy at work in all corners of the noisy Ollerinian camp. They dug trenches, built walls, and carted massive boulders from all over. Unlike the temporary camps they erected each night during their march south, now they dug in for the long haul.

"We're you telling the truth about giving us spells?" Saria suddenly asked.

"I was." Arthur smiled and prodded. "And you've asked me about spells twice now. Is there some reason behind it?"

"No, I don't mean to doubt you, lord." Saria hesitated. "I-I just want to learn."

Arthur shot her a sideways glance. "Are you trying to learn Aetherin?"

"I know I don't look much like a scholar." Saria's cheeks reddened. "But my dad was teaching me before he passed away, and although I'm not very good at it, it feels like it's my last connection with him. So I want to learn even if it's a waste of time for someone like me."

"Was your father a scholar?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, he worked at the imperial college." Saria replied proudly.

Arthur couldn't help but smile at the innocent reverence she had for her father. "He must have been a pretty smart guy to work at the imperial college. Does that mean you lived in the capital before signing up as a guard?"

Saria sighed and shook her head. "My mom got sick when I was eleven, so my dad retired early and moved us to her hometown near the city of Mitesh. Then, a few years later, the Sorian rebellion began when he was tutoring a boy in Mitesh.

He got trapped in the city, and when the rebels discovered he was an Ollerinian, they killed him even though he was married to a Sorian woman that relied on him for her medicine... I'm sorry, lord. I don't know why I'm telling you all this... I'm ten years your senior, yet talking to you, I feel like our ages have swapped."

"I'm sorry about your parents, Saria." Arthur said solemnly.

"Me too." Saria nodded. "That's why I joined the Revan house guard. I've tried to practice on my own, but Aetherin dictionaries are so expensive and need to be updated so often... I just know I can do it if I had access to more spells."

Arthur's ears perked up because she sounded like him when he faced his necromancy spells. "If you're serious about learning Aetherin, I'll support you wholeheartedly."

"Really?" Saria asked with hopeful apprehension.

"If it were up to me, every mage would be required to learn Aetherin. If that had been the case for the last thousand years, then Aetherin would have no secrets today." Arthur replied honestly. "Give me some time, and I'll get spells for you to study."

Saria nodded, seemingly satisfied, and soon the pair arrived at their destination. It was a forward camp a few hundred feet away from the city of Harran; within it, three sixty-foot-tall trebuchets stood at the ready as men heaved massive stones inside their slings. Nearby, dozens more stood at various stages of construction as soldiers and slaves assembled them without rest.

A whistling noise reached Arthur's ear causing him to inadvertently look up and glimpse a boulder hurdling toward him from the enemy city. However, before he could even panic, a nearby mage sprung into action, erecting a yellow crystalline barrier in front of the boulder's path overhead.

The boulder smashed into it, raining dust and shattered crystal shards below before its momentum was redirected, falling outside the camp walls with a thump. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward to enemy city.

In the distance, twenty-foot-tall walls separated the Ollerinian army from its prize. Men ran erratically between trebuchets and catapults atop them, looking no different from the orderly chaos within the forward camp.

Looking elsewhere, Arthur spotted Baron Iken gazing toward the enemy walls along with some of the other commanding lords and soldiers, so he rode over to them.

"Baron Iken." Arthur announced as he approached.

"Ah, young lord Arthur. Come to see the beginning of the siege, I take it?" Baron Iken asked as two more enemy boulders were blocked by Ollerinian mages nearby.

Arthur nodded, watching the marvel. "When do we start firing back?"

"Soon." Baron Iken chuckled to himself. "We must allow diplomacy to fail first lest we appear brutish and unreasonable."

As Baron Iken spoke, a group of mounted mages bearing a white flag rode to them. They dismounted before one stepped forward and shook his head.

"I assume that means diplomacy failed?" Arthur asked jokingly.

"Indeed." Baron Iken glanced at one of the soldiers beside him. "Begin."

Shouts, whistles, and horns quickly filled the air within the forward camp while a deafening drum beat began to play from somewhere outside of Arthur's vision. Finally, the tension keeping the trebuchets from firing was released as three boulders were sent hurdling toward the Bernish city of Harran.

 

 

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