Chapter 28:
Without the power of the Industrial Union behind it, Democracy can only enter the State as the victim enters the gullet of the Serpent. - James Connolly
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P.O.V Switch: Calanthe Fiona Riannon - The Lioness of Cintra
Current Year: 1259
"Don't worry, my queen." The witcher boy replied with a blank expression. "My 'witcher code' evaporated into nothing when the school was destroyed."
I never thought I would hear a witcher utter those words. From my understanding, they hold their creed to an incredibly high standard. If this 'boy' wishes to enter my service, then I will allow it. He is already a significantly strong warrior, I Imagine that as he gets older, he will make for an exemplary asset. As long as he remains Mousesack's apprentice, I can be certain he will not act against us.
"I see." I responded while rubbing my chin. "Your loyalty to Cintra and the royal family will be rewarded, as long as you continue to stay within our good graces."
"Of course, lioness. You are married to the King of Skellige Isles. The king and I have recently become friends, being at odds with you would jeopardize that friendship. I would never disrespect Cintra or your family in such a manner." Harkon replied to my statement while tilting his head forward with respect.
Well… At least he is honorable. I didn't really think much of this child when he suddenly appeared here, but he's proven to be an enigma. A normal child doesn't come up with decent strategies for the advancement of the kingdom and is able to beat my husband in a duel.
"That is good to hear, Harkon." I spoke with a nod of my head. "You may leave us for now. There are a few matters of state that I will need to discuss with Mousesack, alone."
"I understand, Queen Calanthe. I will take my leave." Harkon said while bowing and then turning around to walk out the door.
"Finish attending to Cirilla's studies and then wait for me in my laboratory, apprentice. I will join you shortly." Mousesack abruptly stated while Harkon attempted to leave.
"Yes, Master Mousesack." Harkon quickly replied in an understanding tone while he opened the door and walked out of my chambers.
Harkon closed the door behind him. There was silence within the room for a few moments. I turned my gaze towards Mousesack and just stared at him while enjoying the silence. He had his hands resting over his mouth in contemplation.
"So." I asked. "What do you think of him? What are your impressions of the boy?"
Mousesack had a small smile on his face.
"Well, I can say that he is enjoyable to be around. Usually, witchers are a lot harder to talk to. Ciri seems to enjoy his company more than everyone else." Mouseack replied with a satisfied expression.
"Does she now? I would prefer she makes friends with someone who isn't a witcher, but I guess that's too much to ask for. Was he of any help when you taught her today?" I asked. Cir's studies have been lacking as of late.
"Yes, actually. He was able to help." Mousesack said with a bit of a jovial tune. "He did most of the work today, I simply watched. His teaching style is… very effective on the young princess."
"How so?" I questioned. For Ciri to take an interest in her studies is usually a rare thing.
"Well, he is stern and isn't afraid to tell Ciri if she made a mistake. Then, he offered her incentive to keep working. He promised her that if she was able to show improvement, he would teach her some swordsmanship in the yard." Mousesack exclaimed with a laugh.
"That… is certainly an interesting way to teach. Do you believe that the boy is a threat?" My tone turned serious.
"No, I actually believe that it would be in our best interest to cultivate our friendship with him. I can be certain that he is honorable, like most of our kin, but more than that… Training him would prove to be fruitful. Another magic user could greatly strengthen Cintra." Mousesack replied with certainty.
"Hmm… Very well. However, I want you to keep a close eye on him." I said seriously while pointing my index finger at the druid. "You may take your leave for now, keep me up to date on anything of importance."
"Of course, my queen. I would expect nothing less." Mousesack replied while getting up and out of his chair. He did a simple bow and then walked away to take his leave.
It was time to get back to work, I needed to approve several construction plans engineers have created for the city. Whomever said governing was easy has never known what it was like to be king or queen.
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P.O.V Switch: Harkon
A Few Moments Later:
Current Year: 1259
I had returned to Ciri's private classroom. She had been given enough time to study Temeria in detail since I've been gone. As soon as I arrived in the room, I took the map away and told her to get to writing. This was the last of what she had to do for the day, after this he could go out and play. Or, do whatever it is that she does in her spare time.
She was currently furiously writing down all of Temeria's provinces and vassal states. I imagine she was doing it this quickly before her mind could trick her into forgetting anything.
"How's it coming along?" I asked while reading a treatise on the arts of healing in my hands. I had lost all of my mothers books since the siege, but Mousesack had allowed me to peruse some of the tomes he had in his collection. I probably wouldn't be able to go back for anything in Kaer Lorna until I learned how to teleport myself.
"It would go a lot better if you didn't interrupt." Ciri said in a very sassy tone while taking a glance at me.
"Oh don't be dramatic, princess." I said while rolling my eyes. Despite what the third installment of the witcher shows, Ciri is a lot more bratty and jaded in the books. She is pretty selfish, but she is still a pretty decent person. Even though she does act a bit psychotic sometimes.
Ciri just pouted at my comment. She would probably complain about me later to Mousesack, but I doubt he would do anything about it. As far as he was concerned, she needed more discipline in her life. She continued to work on her paper for a few more minutes in a foul mood. After she was finished, she handed the paper back to me.
I quickly glanced it over, trying to notice any mistake she had made when describing the various aspects of Temeria. There were a few spelling errors, but everything else was fine.
"Very good." I said while nodding my head and continuing to read. "Everything here seems to be in order, you seem to have gotten it all down. You've done well for the day. Mousesack says you can go out and play for the evening."
Ciri was relieved to finally be done with her studies. She's not really an academic who likes to do tedious things like schoolwork. She mutely skipped away towards the door and prepared to leave. As soon as she attempted to open the door, she stopped moving to stare back at me.
"I'm… sorry for being snappy." Ciri said while holding the door open. She looked down at her shoes while she spoke. "The truth is… I'm not really allowed outside the palace too often. I don't really know anyone my own age besides a few friends I have in Skellige."
"It's fine, princess. Despite what you think, you are actually good company. Being snappy just adds to your personality." I replied with a smile. Spending time with her was quite pleasant.
I meant what I said too, Ciri is a very pleasant person to be around. At least, to me that is. We were both pretty similar in a lot of ways. For one, we're both pretty self centered, but we would do whatever we could to help those we love. Secondly, although she might not have started yet, I can tell she will love sword combat in the future; just as I do.
We obviously have a few key differences as well. For example, Ciri can be quite bratty during some situations, although that does seem to mellow out once she gets older. Another trait that we don't share is my affinity for manipulation. Ciri would much rather crush her problems into dust rather than to use something tactful like subversion. Despite being a princess, she never seemed to show a skill for it.
"That's… good to hear." Ciri gave me a big smile. "Do you want to come out and play with me? I like to watch the knights patrol the city."
"Sorry princess." I said with a small frown. "While your tutoring just ended, mine is just beginning. I need to travel to the laboratory and meet with Master Mousesack."
"Haha, 'Master Mousesack'." Ciri replied with a laugh. "I'll see you at the feast, then. Oh, and there's no need to call me princess. Just call me Ciri."
"Alright then, Ciri. I'll see you later." I spoke while waving goodbye to the young princess. Ciri promptly left through the door and took off running down the halls.
As soon as I packed up all of the learning supplies that were left out, I also took my leave. I began walking towards Mousack's laboratory. I arrived rather quickly, it was only a few corridors down from the classroom.
I knocked a few times on the door, just in case Mousesack had finished up early and beat me here. *Knock Knock Knock*
"Come in." Mousesack's gruff voice came from inside. That surprised me, I guess he finished up with the queen earlier than I thought.
I quickly opened the door and stepped inside. A beautiful sight entered my gaze. There were rare and exotic plants that covered the shelves and there were several cases of books that were piled up in nearby corners. The most magnificent addition to the room was the large tree that was, from the looks of it, homegrown into the stone work in the center of the large quarters. It was hollow on the inside and had two chairs and a small desk sitting within, Mousesack was currently seated on one of them. This place truly looked like where a druid would practice magic.
"Harkon! Good, you're here. Come take a seat and we'll get started." Mousesack's Skelligan tinged tone spoke out while taking a sip from a nearby wooden cup. From the smell of it, I could guess it was some kind of spirit.
I did as Mousesack commanded and quickly shut the door behind me. I walked over to the hollowed out tree and promptly sat down into the other chair contained within. As I sat down, Mousesack poured me a drink from a pitcher he whisked out of thin air with a spell. I took a sip out of the mysterious drink and determined it to be a delicious pint of apple juice.
"Tell me, Harkon." Mousesack said while placing the pitcher on the small table within the tree. "What do you know of sorcery?"
"Well, I do know extremely basic healing magic and I do know my witcher signs." I answered truthfully. It wouldn't do good to lie when it comes to matters of magic, something could end up exploding in my face.
"Alright, well do you know about the intersections and sources of power?" Mousesack questioned me.
"Hmm," I said as I started to gather my words. "I know that the intersections are where mages draw their chaos from. As for sources of power, they are basically the ethereal and elemental tinged chaos that is drawn from these Intersections. For example, a mage can draw their chaos from the 'air' element. The chaos they collect is branded with the element of 'air', making it a lot easier to cast 'air' magic spells. It is possible to cast 'water' element spells with this 'air' tinged chaos, it's just much more difficult. Does that sound about right?"
"Yes, that is exactly right. Good work." Mousesack replied with a smile. "However, despite your general knowledge of magic theory, you don't know how to draw from intersections and cast spells other than signs. Would I be right in that assumption?"
"Yes master, you are correct in that assumption. However, I believe I should inform you of something before we actually start trying to cast spells." I spoke with a clear cut tone.
"What is it?" Mousesack asked while raising his eyebrow.
"I am a source." I said while letting the ball drop.
Mousesack became quiet for a moment while letting his hands drop to his sides. He let out a coy smile, I think he was expecting something like this.
"Well, I kind of expected something like this. I didn't use a spell to test you, but I could tell right away that you were incredibly suitable for practicing magic. You just have that aura about you. Now that I've got confirmation, that makes things a little easier. Or, harder, depending on your point of view." Mouseack said with a dry tone.
"How do you mean? I know that sources can be talented in magic, but most of them can't control it." I asked with a curious tone.
"Well, there's two things. One, it will be a bit easier for you to cast magic once you've gotten a grasp on your abilities. Since you are a source, you don't have to draw chaos from the intersections. You can still do it if you want to, doing so would make your spells more powerful, but it is not required. Rather than drawing chaos from outside sources, you can draw it from within yourself. You are a conduit for chaos, you have no need for sources of power like the rest of us." Mousesack replied in a jolly voice. It looks like he's proud to have a talented apprentice.
"What's the second thing?" I questioned the druid.
"It has been the case for many sources that… you will have trouble learning to control your abilities." Mousesack stated in an apologetic tone of voice. "Most sources suffer from a plethora of mental illnesses and usually cannot summon the chaos from within themselves. I don't see any signs of mental degradation within you, but learning to control your chaos might prove to be troublesome."
"Well then." I said with a smile. "We better get started then. There is no time to waste."
"I agree, there is no time like the present. However…" Mousesack replied while chuckling to himself. He reached his hands to the floor and grabbed around ten ancient looking heavy tomes from one of the piles nearby. He placed them on the small table, it made a nice 'plunk' sound. "You will need to read these first. They mainly go over the basics of magical theory and a few odds and ends you will need to learn before we even attempt a spell."
To most people, this would seem like a disaster. It's fortunate that I actually enjoy reading, especially about things like magic. It was even better knowing the fact that reading all of this would bring me that much closer to become a grand sorcerer.
"Welp." I said while opening up a page to one of the heavy books titled 'Elemental Spell Configuration: A Thorough Examination' by Lytta Neyd. A mage that I actually knew from the books. I'm pretty sure she tried to seduce Geralt at one point, but that's hardly worth mentioning. Every sorceress has tried to do that at one point. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."