Entering the town was not a difficult affair, although it was very… awkward. No, that wasn't the right word. I had no idea what word or phrase I'd use to describe how it felt to scare the piss out of a squad of gate guards by your very presence.

As far as we knew, there wasn't a single mage living within a couple day's ride of Neub. I had a feeling that they might see one or two mages pass through per year, and now there were two of us arriving in a single party.

One large, burly man with a spear, chainmail, and a conical helmet asked us in stuttering anve if we could please wait in the courtyard beside the guard barracks while they fetched the local lord, who had the title of Jagdar. A little reading between the lines told us the title was roughly equivalent to a baron or count, depending on when and where you're lifting your understanding of European nobility.

As soon as we were left to wait while a couple of errand-boys dashed off, Dr. Ross turned to eye me with a considering expression. "They're terrified of you."

I blew out a sigh and nodded. "Yup. Mages have a bit of a reputation, especially around these parts."

"Are you really that dangerous?" He asked, clearly not buying into the 'hype'.

Eilian was the one who answered the question. "A normal mage could kill everyone in this —ah, town, and level it to the ground with a week of readying. Ryn is not a normal mage. She so much higher above the common mage that she may have the being to blow the town up right as we stand."

Her stilted and halting english, combined with the full double canines on display as she smiled, gave the impression that she'd find it amusing if I did as she suggested. I think she was probably playing up how unhinged she could be just to drive the point home.

"I don't have any spells that would be able do that," I said, with a much more diplomatic smile at the sheltered academic.

Tom, the quiet assistant, was the one who saw the loophole I carefully left unstated. "But you have the raw power, right?"

"I… yes, I do," I said, uncomfortable with even admitting that. Like, yeah, I could go back to my grove, design a simple explosion spell and seed the plants over a large area. A little growth magic and I'd have a spell with sufficient bandwidth to do what they were suggesting.

"I see," Dr. Ross replied, a frown creasing his brow. He seemed to digest this for a long few moments, and as he did so, the frown deepened. "That raises some very difficult political and legal questions, from an academic viewpoint and a practical one. For example, any individual with these capabilities is functionally above the legal and political structures that we've developed on Earth. You could brute force them into compliance, of course, but that would almost certainly require the assistance of a different level of similar power."

"Hence why pretty much everyone we know of on the ring has some sort of magical hegemony," I agreed. "Feudalism but instead of that divine right bs, it's magic."

We continued to discuss mages’ role in the society of the lands around us until three men on horseback thundered into the courtyard and dismounted. Each one of them appeared to be extremely skilled riders, which wasn’t a surprise.

Two of the riders wore the same armour as the gate guards, except that their helmets had platemail neck skirts and the top had horse hair tassels. The other rider wore very finely crafted, iron-reinforced leather armour, while his ornate helmet sat on the pommel of his saddle.

Striding across the dusty cobbles, he eyed our group with a wary, meticulous gaze. “Greetings, travellers. I am Jagdar Marat. You will tell me why a group of strangely dressed individuals, with two mages no less, is stopping in my small town.”

He glared at us for half a second, then realised he was currently making demands of two people who were very dangerous, and added, “Ah, forgive my brusque manners, we do not often make time for pleasantries out here on the frontier steppe. When what amounts to a small army’s worth of magical talent enters my lands, my first thought must be the safety of my people.”

“We take no offence,” I said politely, and it was true. He was kinda curt with us, but it wasn’t like, rude or anything. “The five of us in the green and silver armour are members of a new knightly order, called the Order of Eleos. We are here to accompany the other three, who are a delegation from a town that has sprung up within the mountains. I am in command of those of us within the Order, but Dr. Ross here is the diplomat. The other two are his bodyguard and assistant.”

Marat’s expression had been calm and impassive for the entire interaction so far, but his lips twitched briefly into a smile of approval now. “You speak plainly, this is good. I would like to invite you to my hold, such as it is. We may discuss more by the warmth of my hearthfire.”

“Lead the way, Jagdar,” I said with a gesture and a sideways glance at Dr. Ross to see if he was still on board with everything.

He didn’t raise any objections, so the Jagdar turned on the heel of his riding boots and strode back towards his horse, throwing rapidfire orders at his guards in the grieger language.

“Good work,” Dr. Ross whispered as we began to follow behind the local lord. “He’s obviously a martial man with very little patience for the dance of diplomacy. Having the head of our military contingent open dialogue in a manner that matches his tastes is a very good first start.”

Stifling a snort, I said, “He reminds me of my old highschool friend’s dad. He did several tours with the army in the middle east before he got wounded and had to come back and be a drill sergeant.”

“I am familiar with the type,” Ross chuckled. “No tolerance for bullshit, but if you earn their respect, they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re happy and thriving.”

“Kinda like Troy,” Grace said, who was well within earshot after having stuck to my side ever since we stepped through the gates. Couldn’t say I disagreed with her, but at the same time, Troy had a certain soft emotional intelligence to him that made him even better at protecting and caring for others.

The interior of the town of Neub was such a fascinating example of a culture still grappling with unwanted change. Everything looked as though it were a permanent version of things that were originally designed for use by nomads. The buildings resembled yurts or tents, but built from some sort of refined mud bricks, wood, and stone. There were horses everywhere and pretty much every house had a small stable. Unfortunately, the number of people and animals in this small of a space and without any sort of sewer system meant that it smelled… ripe.

The people themselves watched us pass with curious and fearful eyes, but they all gave the Jagdar little bows and smiles. I saw more than a few looks of relief too, when they saw the shining mages were already being handled by their leader. Honestly, I was just glad that the people here thought of their Jagdar fondly. It meant they were treated pretty well. I’m not sure I could stomach any sort of deal made with a malicious despot.

When we arrived, I was amused to see my observations of the nomadic aftershocks in their culture extended to the Jagdar's hold, It reminded me of a series of wagons circled around a cluster of yurts, except both had unfolded and expanded into a permanent fort. What I was thinking of as the wagons were thick identical stone buildings with flat tops that had been placed in a circle. The gaps were filled with chunky stone walls that lacked any walkway or rampart.

Inside the circular area, several circular wooden buildings with stone foundations sat clustered together around a similar larger building. It was to that building that the Jagdar and his men led us.

The open interior was richly appointed with thick carpets and tapestries that hung in a way that created niches and rooms, despite the building not actually having any. In the centre, a huge stone firepit roared with life while a wizened older gentleman tended to it.

Actually, it looked like a huge portion of the simple chores were being done by the older generations. Interestingly, the servile nature of their tasks didn't attach the associated lower level of respect that other cultures gave their servants. Even as we approached the central fire, the Jagdar bowed his head in respect to the older man keeping the hearth stocked with wood.

I think Dr. Ross also noticed this, because he gave the elderly man a small but deliberate nod. The Jagdar appeared to see right through the political scientist's carefully calculated move, but judging by his expression, he approved regardless.

"Yan-Kedji here was a noble and experienced warrior in his prime," the leader of the settlement explained. "When he could no longer keep up with the rigours of his profession, he became a Yan, and turned to a life of simple tasks and wise reflection. The Yan serve as honoured advisors and housekeepers to the younger generations."

"What happens if they get too old to do proper work?" Duncan asked, eyeing the heavy log that Kedji was busy arranging in the hearth with a long metal poker.

The old man himself answered the question with a light, rasping chuckle. "Young man, I am not some sedentary senator from the inner empire, grown fat and useless on my own arrogance. My heart will give out long before my muscles begin to struggle with these here logs."

"Point taken," Duncan grinned.

"Our Yan are always encouraged to speak their minds," Jagdar Marat said in amusement. "Now… tell me of your home and why it appears to have sprung up out of nowhere within the mountainous wilds… and what could you possibly want with my tiny backwater town?"

QuietValerie

Hiiii everyone! I hope you enjoy the chapter! Just a quick heads up if you haven't seen it, but I've started posting a new story! It's a system apocalypse story about an egg trans girl who gets a the ability to transform into a big tall angel form. It's fun, and I'm personally so hyped about it that it made me zoomies over into writing a couple Ryn chapters because ADHD. Anyway, enjoy!