Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave picked up a ring and poured the well of magic bursting within him into the confines of the inscription wrought into the metal. Imbuing enchantments felt like he was handling red hot liquid metal, pouring it into a cast with his will alone. He attempted to speed it up… yet as one might expect, the magic danced dangerously, and Argrave quickly directed things so as to seal them off. Just as he did so, he was sealed off from the near limitless supply of power springing from the Blessing of Supersession.

“That should be five minutes, Your Majesty,” Galamon said gruffly. “Forty rings, by my count.”

“…I messed this one up,” Argrave set the ring down in a pile alongside many others. Each of the rings had Argrave’s personal symbol on them—the sun, with four snake heads at the edges of four rays.

“Then thirty-nine,” Galamon amended.

“Not good enough,” Argrave shook his head.

“You’ve managed to imbue thirty-nine B-rank enchanted items, Your Majesty. Less than a month ago, you had done zero,” Ansgar reminded him. As Leopold Dandalan’s most trusted son, Ansgar had become a sort of aide to Argrave in the past month. Though sixty-two, he was still quite able on many fronts. Above all, he was trustworthy. “Your efforts are astounding.”

Indeed, one month had passed. It had taken Argrave a month of learning to get to the point to do this. Granted, his time had become much more limited ever since taking on his duties as king, but the point remained. One month, thirty-nine rings. It could be said that it was far above normal production rates… but far below what Argrave wanted with this venture of his.

“…hmm,” Argrave grunted discontentedly. This enchanting business was his sole reprieve from the mundanity of administering things in Relize. Once the politics were well and settled, he felt useless.

“These cast B-rank warding spells, do they not?” Ansgar eyed the rings. “I would advise that you distribute them first to your newly formed royal guard. Perhaps your knight-commander can handle this matter, Your Majesty,” Leopold looked to Galamon.

Galamon had become Argrave’s knight-commander of his royal knights. Indeed, Argrave had his own royal knights, now. Though only twelve, each and all were masters. Galamon had chosen the most skilled out of people in the army. From there, Anneliese had evaluated their loyalty. That number ended in twelve. Argrave disliked bringing them everywhere—even now, they waited outside.

“I had intended to distribute them to meritorious performers in the battlefield,” Argrave said. “Giving them to my guard… might come off as selfish, no?”

“I believe it would show that being loyal and steadfast brings rewards, Your Majesty,” Ansgar disagreed.

Argrave rubbed his chin. “Alright. It’s only twelve—the rest will be distributed as I originally intended. Galamon?”

The elven vampire nodded. “I’ll see they’re handed out.”

Argrave rose to his feet, content. “Alright. Now, before we depart to evaluate the fortress… Leopold’s waiting.”

Ansgar dipped his head. “I believe my father is eager to meet his bride-to-be.”

“I can only imagine,” Argrave said with a droll nod. “Send for Elenore before we meet. I have things to discuss with her, and she should be there when I talk to Leopold.”

#####

“Avoiding a federation in central Vasquer turned out to be an impossibility,” Elenore lamented to Argrave, her voice loud even when she spoke quietly on account of the ward surrounding them, blocking all sound from escaping. “They still remain firmly loyal to Duke Rovostar. In the south they’ve begun to call Rovostar the king’s dog. I underestimated his charisma and capability. They possess a far greater number of spellcasters than we do. That remains… a glaring weakness of ours.”

The two of them walked down the halls of Leopold’s estate, guarded by six guards on each side. Galamon stood just behind the two of them. Even here, these men remained diligent—if they weren’t, their knight-commander quickly corrected their behavior. Galamon took his role seriously. Argrave sustained the ward around them with one hand—he’d learned a spell that allowed the ward to move with him, yet he needed to sustain the spell. Fortunately, it was low-ranking, and his still-growing magic supply accommodated him ably.

an A-rank mage, isn’t he? Felipe did a good job earning their undying loyalty, it would seem, if they should fight for him crippled and imprisoned,”

things have stagnated somewhat. The central federation of nobles briefly attempted to siege down Dirracha. The walls were meant to withstand devastating spells, though, and Orion has proved an able defender.

ask who. Before he could comment, Elenore

they can’t afford to dedicate attention to Dirracha. The force Orion has is too small to do anything beyond maintain their position. On paper, he’s on our side. He’ll surrender Dirracha to us once we arrive. His only condition is sparing

madness. I cannot understand why they fight so hard for someone so…” Argrave sighed. “No use dwelling. What of the north? What of Atrus? We’re direly insufficient in magic prowess, and they might remedy

but as for spellcasters… we remain utterly without support,” Elenore shook her head. “Many have turned to low banditry after loss of leadership. Some central nobles outright invade the former lands of Atrus, razing villages and seizing lesser fortifications. The land is… not in a good place. Orion’s coup made so many venues

guilt on her tone. She viewed that fact as her

order in the north, bolstering our forces in the process… we have to be able to get magic users, then. After,

I know you say

“We can work it out later. But before

had been prepared to name Durran something like junior knight-commander—a made-up position to ensure the man could have status and stay near his side justifiably. Instead, the tribal requested to work with Elenore. The man did have some ulterior motives, but it suited Argrave fine. He was quite curious about how

trusted eye to keep an eye on me after my big faux pas,” Elenore said. Argrave opened his mouth to protest, but Elenore cut him off with a waved hand, saying, “I know he’s not, at least now. In fact, I see why you wanted him to

right?” Argrave

my request… granted, this was before you’d assigned him to work with me…” Elenore pointed to her feet, where Argrave only now noticed she wore genuine

shook his head. “Well, it seems he likes you well enough. I’m

had him teaching personnel about druidic magic, preparing some scouts for the war… and for personal use, I admit,” Elenore moved past Argrave’s leading observation. “In essence, we have an advantage of superior espionage over our foes if we can integrate druidic magic,” Elenore said, voice speeding up as they strayed onto a topic that interested her. “It’s nice to have someone capable and trustworthy. I’ve been weaning responsibilities off

I imagine,” Argrave noted sarcastically. He dispelled the ward around them. “Leopold should be

for them, and Elenore moved closer to Argrave after the ward around them disappeared, crossing her arms as though to guard

isn’t here yet?”

held up a note. “She sent this, Your Majesty,” he

of a slight delay. At once, worry festered. He didn’t like being away from Anneliese for long at all. If he were near, he could at the very least ensure that they’d face whatever

more than a few minutes,” Leopold noted. “I’m not sure this sort of… dependency, shall we say,

on, per Anneliese’s request. He knew as well as

fiancée soon enough,” Argrave declared, setting

“We have very

knock came at the door. Argrave’s royal guard came to attention,

Wearing light white furs, this new arrival was a little taller than Anneliese and kept her light gray hair short. She had bright blue eyes that had an almost predatory aspect to them. Argrave regarded her curiously—this was someone Anneliese called

guards regarded Hirnala cautiously but acquiesced to her

Argrave greeted

smiling, then turned to her friend. “Hirnala—Argrave, his sister Princess Elenore, and his knight-commander

the Great,” she interrupted.

“I do,” Galamon answered.

his

Anneliese interrupted. “And lastly… the man I think you should meet. Leopold,”

stepped up to the old man immediately. He craned his neck up

hope for a mutually beneficial partnership,” she said