Fall of Autumn, Week 5, Day 1

Ridan stood stock still in the aftermath of Frill's descent, unmoving even as his bangs fell away—cut by an unseen blade. I knew, then, that he was doing something. I could feel his mana in the air, taste it on my tongue, the bitter taste of a stranger's magic. [Mana Sense] had become so ingrained into my passive perception that I hardly acknowledged it anymore, but this could be nothing else besides the Skill.

For all that Ridan was doing nothing, I was the same, staring at the small humanoid spirits before me.

"Are you—?" I couldn't bring myself to say it. To wonder if it was real.

"We are." Answered the pitch black spirit, "You have officially named us. We are no longer mere Animations."

"Then you are Noir," I said, breathless.

"I am. I, who once was merely Entertainer, am now my own spirit. An elemental in every right. I am Noir, spirit of the Dark."

I looked to the iridescent spirit. "Haze?"

"I, who once was merely Adventurer, am now my own self. I am Haze, spirit of the Dark."

"And I, who once was merely Defender, am now my own life. With a will to match. I am Shade, spirit of the Dark."

I turned to the final spirit, Shade, and felt wetness on my cheeks. Bringing my hands up to my eyes, I wiped the tears away, but they just kept falling.

"Does that mean you don't have to leave?"

"Never again, Nora," Noir said, stepping up to my leg and wrapping his arms around my calf. Haze grabbed the other leg, and Shade jumped up, resting weightlessly on my shoulder, laying her head up against my hair.

My heart clenched, and I forgot about the audience we had.

"That makes a lot more sense, then, cousin," Ridan said, his eyes—a brilliant sapphire blue much like my own—meeting mine. "I had thought you a contractor. But you're an Elementalist. That is so much more dangerous."

I felt a wobbly smile form. "Are you going to tell the Countess?"

Ridan barked out a laugh. "Now, why would I do a crazy thing like that? I'm just your history teacher. I teach you history. Strategy. Nothing more, nothing less."

Looking at the broken window, he frowned. "I hope you have friends in the estate. Hiding the descent of a Goddess is not an easy feat."

Sighing, I shook my head.

"Maybe the Dusk Knighthood would help, but only the 43rd. I don't know the rest of them."

"What about that butler of yours? Grime or whatever."

"Gristle," I correct Ridan sharply, "is a servant of the Dawns."

"I think you've forgotten something," Ridan was quick to retort, and when I furrowed my brow in confusion, he smiled a feral thing. "But you are a Dawn—the ranking Dawn at Fellan. You are not lesser than anyone. And unless your dear old mother knows to ask, why would they go against you and tell her?"

I blinked. "What?"

Ridan huffed, "I know your etiquette lessons start tomorrow, but in the entire western borderlands, you are the highest-ranking noble. Unless the eldest Lights of Dawn show up, you'll stay that way. Do you know what that means?"

I tilted my head to the side. "What?"

"That your word is law, cousin."

Around me, the spirits bristled, but, for the first time, I could see expressions across their faces. Their mouths split into smiles.

"He's right, Nora. Your word is better than gold." Shade said, nuzzling further into my neck.

I brought my hand up, running my fingers over Shade's back. She leaned into my touch and the feeling of ice-cold mana pressed against my fingertips.

"My word is law?" I tested the phrase, unsure, then, I shook my head. "Okay. My word is law."

I didn't mean to, not really, but I felt the blood in my veins shift and jump at the power I channeled. More than a Skill or mana. This was Divinity. And around me, I watched my aura shift and strengthen. It was, at that moment, the first time I'd seen the emerald sheen cast around my person.

My aura. The notification said my Domain had formed. Is that what this is?

It matched the verdant green of my [System].

"Take a breath, kid, let your power settle," Ridan said softly, his eyes no longer meeting mine—instead, he was looking around the room, taking in the space as if he'd never seen it before.

He hasn't, I acknowledged.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I listened to his words, taking a breath and feeling my power shift ever so slightly.

"Okay, what now?" I asked.

"Now? Now we do our lesson. We're lucky none of your guards were within range of your Divinity."

Luck, I thought, Or fate. [Otherworldly] had already activated. It had changed the Tydes of Fate for me. It may have been responsible for the lack of attention as well.

"Do you think we're in the clear?" I said thoughtfully, looking around at the shards of glass cast about the room and feeling the chill coming in from the broken window.

"What? No, didn't we just go over this?" Ridan said critically.

Swiping his hand through the air, an unfamiliar rune appeared before him, and the glass scattered about shot to it, forming a tight ball of cutting edges.

Handy.

"So, wanna see how long it takes before that butler rushes in with a High Priest?" Ridan said lightly.

I peered at the clock mounted above the archway in the room. "I say we only make it twenty minutes."

"Absolutely not. It'll take them at least an hour to grab an entourage."

"Fine, an hour fifteen?"

"I guess, we'll see," Ridan finished with a wide grin, setting the ball of glass down on the ground and settling into the far chair at the table.

"Now, who do you want to hear about first? Killian the Worst or Mallorica Also the Worst?"

I laughed. "Let's do Killian."

As it turned out, there were a great many things Killian Dawn had done wrong according to Radir Ridan. From too many taxes when he was young, to too little when he was old. From mismanaging the Dusk Knighthood and stationing them too far inward to mismanaging the knights and stationing most of them at the border. From his lax attitude about the Queen to his strict rules for interacting with the King Consort. There was nothing he corrected that was made right and anything done right was immediately worsened by his touch.

It was actually comical how much Ridan hated the man.

But, by and far, his biggest gripe was the destruction of Ridan's grandmother—her status and her fortune both. That, in my opinion, was the most valid version of events of everything Ridan told me.

Ridan went on a tirade against the previous Duke for over half an hour, which put us right at the hour fifteen we'd guessed. Still, no priests had arrived. Nor had Gristle come to check on my lesson—though a few maids had passed by the archway leading out of the room. I noticed none of them so much as peeked in our direction.

It was strange, and I was mildly intrigued at what had caused them to act that way.

"They're here already," Ridan huffed after the latest maid passing by had caught my attention and I had not returned it to his latest tale. "That's why they keep walking by. They're waiting for me to leave, to catch me on my way out and grab you alone."

I looked at Ridan incredulously. "How do you know that?"

"Skill," he said, tutting, "But skill not Skill. I caught sight of a carriage looping the perimeter of the estate through the window."

He gestured vaguely at the broken window. "Besides, why else would no one have come to clean up? Or even look in? They're waiting."

"But what if it was you? What if you're the dangerous one?" I asked, amused.

"I can't be. I had a documented Affirmation, cousin," Ridan laughed, "They know I barely have enough to be called a Flicker of Dawn, let alone a Light."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Just call me Nora. You don't have to call me cousin. I don't care."

Tsking, Ridan leaned forward and flicked my forehead. "It doesn't matter what you want. I like calling you cousin. Reminds you we're tied together by blood. You don't have much of that out in the borderlands."

Rubbing my forehead, I pitched my voice up high and mocked him, "Your word is law, cousin." Dropping my voice back down, I smiled, "Isn't that what you said, Rad? Or do you want me to call you Captain like the others?"

Ridan grumbled, "Yeah, yeah, okay. You got me there. Fine, Nora."

As I'd listened to Ridan's droning, the spirits had curled up into various shadows around the room—I noticed later they tried to find areas similar to their coloring. Noir was in the darkest shadow within the crevice behind the bookshelf, Haze was in the shadow cast by the fractals of light crossing through the shards of glass, and Shade was settled underneath the sofa. Nothing was quite as dark a green as she was, so I'd assumed she'd simply settled for a dim orange.

"So? When are you going to let them take you?" I asked, bringing the subject back on topic.

Ridan glanced at the clock. "Fifteen more minutes. It's early enough for me to feign ignorance that I didn't see a Goddess. She didn't touch my eyes. I can convince the priests I arrived like this, but that butler of yours personally hired me. He knows I should be blind. He'll ask you about it."

I thought for a moment, about how Gristle had treated me so far. Everything he'd done when I asked—everything I'd asked and he'd not questioned.

"No, actually, I don't think he will." I mused, "He never has before."

"That's almost worse," Ridan sighed. "You're an odd kid, you know? I saw how you froze earlier, before, with my aura. You were terrified of the feeling. But then a Goddess descends and you're somehow more comfortable? Make it make sense."

I turned my head to look out the archway and into the hall again, catching sight of an approaching shadow. Lowering my voice, I said, "You'll figure it out eventually. But I'm not afraid of the Gods. I hate them too much."

Rearing back, I watched Ridan's scandalized expression before Sylvie and Juniper walked in. The younger maid cleared her throat.

"Sir Ridan, you have a visitor. Head Butler Gristle has instructed us that you may end Lady Eunora's lesson early today in order to handle your affairs." Juniper stumbled slightly over Eunora and affairs, but otherwise, her delivery was smooth, and she looked smug as Ridan blinked at the girl.

Glancing back at me, he stood, "Very well, it seems our time has come to an end, Lady Dawn. Until our next class, then."

"See you, Captain Ridan." I waved as he went.

Once he was out of sight, I looked back at the two maids, a tight smile on my face, "Someone's here for me too, aren't they?"

Sylvie put her hand on Juniper's shoulder, stopping her from speaking, "Lady Nora, the High Priestess of Ital has arrived for you. She is waiting with Gristle in one of the lower sitting rooms. I will take you to see them."

I looked up at the silver-haired woman, fighting back a sigh. Her expression was stony, and while Juniper was eyeing the broken window, Sylvie did not so much as glance away from me.

"All right, let's go."

Nodding, the woman turned on her heel, dragging Juniper along with her.

It was a silent trip downstairs to a set of overly large double doors with the emblem of the Dawn pressed in a shining gold outline. Sylvie opened the doors, and a familiar face was smiling and coming to greet me.

My spirits, for that was what they were, mine, vibrated in anticipation within the shadows they were lurking in.

"Nora," the woman said warmly, "How wonderful to see you again."

I found a smile on my face before I could wonder where it had come from.

Effy.

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