"Harrison Clarke," the Pigeon practically spat, "Is one of the many sons of Adrien Clarke, the Inferno Monarch."

"...I believe I've heard of him," Amy considered, racking her brain. The pair were once again talking inside the old shop, only this time their two followers had been sent away after their battle, the Pigeon left to tend to his own wounds. All that he had been doing since he promised to give the Witch what she wanted was casting small Soothe Wounds on himself, Amy guessing that he didn't have a high enough affinity for Healing for anything greater. She had thought about offering help, but after how he had treated her at first, she didn't think he deserved it. If anything, he still hasn't paid enough. If she had been any slower in reacting to his first attack, she might be the one left bleeding out not him. Amy had been lucky, and sloppy.

I can't believe I let myself get into that situation, Amy scowled. I barely know how to fight beyond what Schooling taught and that's the bare basics; and that same training is designed for typical Mage fights not the trickery I'm familiar with. There is a lesson to be learned from it all though and that is I need more Fae Spells. I had to rely on Illusion and I hadn't used that in a while. Fae can be used to fool the world - as said by Wizards - and I need to use that aspect more. Rather than relying on fakery, Spells that can be easily disbelieved like the Pigeon had done with my Illusory Coruscation Bolts, I need something solid and reliable. Well, solid and reliable enough for Spells that aren't actually real. What I did with infusing my Ward with Fae was... it was risky, but it felt right. Just like how my Magecraft for Fae is, I need to slowly enchant the world to have it under my control, to exact my own Laws upon the world, and enforce them. Perhaps... that's what Fae is to me. When I was looking for the right word to describe Fae, I landed on 'prideful', but that wasn't right, nor complete. Fae is an enforcement of my own distorted reality. Either way, I can't keep relying on what just happens to feel right according to my affinity. I need something concrete and something that I can actually depend on. Not instincts.

"Like a lot of Monarchs, the Inferno King fathered a lot of children and doesn't really focus on any one of his litter in particular," He continued, dabbing some of the cuts on his face with wool. "Recently there was a stir about a new Archmage that came from him who had a meteoric rise through the Journeyman Tiers. And of course, only then did his daddy start paying him attention. His mother was some noble in Harth and so the city started getting a lot happier and better now that a Monarch was taking special interest in it. Except, one day, that stopped."

"Stopped?"

"People stopped seeing the Monarch around, and the city seemed to go to shit again. City council funding went down after that and now we're all paying for it. There's a couple theories running around about it, but the most convincing one is that the supposed genius Archmage wasn't much of one at all."

"As if he was faking it? That he wasn't an Archmage?"

"I don't know about that; I think there'd be a bigger stir if that was the case. That'd be something even I would hear about," The Pigeon said, giving her a strange look. "You are an Apprentice, right? A proper one?"

"If you're referring to Mage Tiers, then yes, I am one," Amy revealed, unconcerned that the Pigeon could do anything to her in his state.

"At that level of Tier, Spell Tier advancement like what we hear of down here doesn't exist. It's Mage Tier or nothing. So there's no way to fake being a higher Tier by casting at a higher Tier than you're capable of, if that's what you were thinking."

"...It was, partially. And if he was faking being a proper Archmage?"

"Then the Monarch would've seen through it instantly."

"And the other theories? What were they?"

"He got in trouble with his papa and got abandoned for it, or some variation on that is a popular one. Another is that he never became an Archmage in the first place and merely made it out like he was about to; now that's a fringe one. In reality though, the simplest theory is the most likely one. Archmage Harrison Clarke failed to live up to his father's impossible expectations and got left behind for it. It's not going to be some grand conspiracy; it never is."

"I see," Amy hummed, pacing around while the Pigeon remained sitting in his chair, his eyes following her.

"...Why do you want to look into the Clarkes, Witch?"

"I thought I made myself clear," Amy whipped around, glaring at the Pigeon intensely.

"And this time I'm not threatening you about it - I'm trying to warn you. Nobody just 'looks into' a Monarch's family. That's a quick way of getting yourself killed after they find out you're looking into their secrets."

"...I simply want information on Harrison, nothing else."

"Ugh," He sighed, shifting around in his seat uncomfortably. Finally, after falling silent for a while, he relented, "Fine. I'll tell you what I know about the Archmage, but nothing else. I don't even know much about him or his family, but don't tell me you can't understand where I'm coming from with this, right? If you get caught investigating them and they dig through your mind, who are they going to find? Me. And then I'll be next on their shit-list."

"I understand. Trust me, I have no interest in the Monarch's family, just Harrison."

"Harrison was a little asshole growing up and he made sure everyone in the city knew it. He's mellowed out as he's gotten older, but it couldn't be by that much when the things he did only happened ten or so years ago."

"How old is he then?"

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

"It's been two years since a little parade was thrown for his 30th, so around 32."

"Young for an Archmage," Amy couldn't help but comment.

"Very. It's why it was a big deal when he announced it."

"If he's mellowed out then, how's he like now?"

"He's still a known womaniser, that hasn't changed, but it's less courting multiple people at the same time without them knowing, and more indecent relationships with everyone he likes the look of even if they don't fit his station. Why, hoping to get some of that Archmage action miss Witch?"

"Watch your tongue, Pigeon. You could still lose it," Amy glowered.

"Alright, alright," He shook his head, wincing as he strained a wound on his neck, one of the mirror-lacerations the Witch had inflicted. "Recently he seems to be in a good position with the association, where he wasn't before due to some of his previous... proclivities with them and a couple of their members. He broke two marriages the day his affairs came to light; those morning papers were a delight to read."

"Very much a womaniser then," She sighed, trying to hide her disgust.

"Anything more than that starts getting into dangerous territory, so I haven't looked into his relationship with the association recently. That sort of thing is something anyone can tell you though. However... he's been making some movements underground lately, on his own personal agenda, not some job from the association or his family. Some speculate it's to do with the recent robbery on the museum, but I've got nothing on that front. I know enough to stay well clear of that shit-show. All I know of it was that Beatrice was involved somehow, and it's what got her in trouble in the first place. I may not have been the guy to snitch on her, but enough people knew of her activities that I didn't have to. Someone always would when they're offering Mage money."

"How do you reckon he got involved with that in the first place?" Amy asked, hiding behind a veil of nonchalance.

"Personal obsession? Maybe something caught his eye in that ordeal he liked the look of and thought it'd impress a Monarch? I don't know, I can only speculate. Either way, he seemed desperate. It wasn't some random whim of his that he decided to pursue. His people were adamant in what they wanted and looked everywhere for it."

"So Beatrice's gang gets stomped and he's found what he wanted to find. What's Harrison doing now?"

"Nothing much from what I hear. He's vanished from the kind of sphere I operate in and kept to himself for the most part. There's some sort of ball he's running in a week, but he always does those every couple of months. The only odd thing about it was that he delayed it. It was supposed to happen more recently, but I suppose the robbery interrupted him; maybe that's why he's so interested in it. His papa wanted him to look into it and got his knickers in a twist looking for it so he can get back to partying."

"That's all? If it was really such a big deal to him you'd expect... more," Amy frowned, contemplating.

"It could be that he's showcasing his findings at the next party of his, or everything's going back to normal now that it's all sorted. In both cases, it's none of my business, so I'm staying out of it. The less the association and people related to it know I exist, the better."

Grabbing onto the only lead she was tossed, Amy looked at the Pigeon and asked, "Where is this ball of his?"

"At his estate, a literal week to this day," the Pigeon explained, before he realised what he was saying and started at her askance. "Why do you ask? You can't possibly be-"

"It's none of your business, Pigeon. You don't want to be involved, correct? So don't get involved."

"...You're going to get yourself killed," the Pigeon said, casting another Spell over another particularly bad injury.

"None of your business," Amy smiled, clapping her hands and standing up straight. "Well, thank you for the information, Mr. Pigeon, but I must depart. I would say it was wonderful meeting you but it wasn't. Next time I see you, please be more welcoming."

"You're just leaving? And what did I say about leaving me alone after all of this!"

"Oh I will, but if we do happen to meet again, it will be on my terms. As payment for the disservice you have done me."

"...Fine. Just make sure it won't be for a while."

"Great," the Witch grinned, bowing slightly and walking off. "See you later, Pigeon."

Whispering to himself, he returned it, "Goodbye, Witch."

* * *

When she returned to Beatrice's apartment, Tod immediately barraged her with questions but he was shooed off as soon as she could, leaving herself alone, lying across a sofa she could never dream of affording.

I'm never going to get paid for the museum job, am I? It's all been confiscated by the police and Beatrice would never have access to her own stores to pay me with either. Damn. And I should probably tell Tod about his own Aspiration too and... Gods, it's all so overwhelming. How did I get involved in all of this? Am I seriously planning to infiltrate a ball run by an Archmage? Yes, I suppose I am. For what? To maybe meet this Harrison Clarke face to face, and maybe even investigate the rest of his estate for anything he might have around. He's supposedly keeping everything close to his chest right? What if he still has something from his investigation, something that could give me anything for leverage on him. And yet... for what I am doing that for? To try and prove my hopeless notion that the man isn't an Archmage and something that I can handle? It's circular reasoning in the end. I want to hunt an Archmage so I'm looking into the Archmage for reasons why he isn't an Archmage so that I can hunt him. At the end of the day, I have to admit, I'm not wanting to hunt an Archmage, I already am. I'm going against Felin's advice and being a fool. The only good lead on my stupid hope is those theories the Pigeon said. Even they seemed silly though, so the possibility of it being real is somehow even lower than it was previously.

I... I just need something. Anything to get closure. Whether that be vengeance or otherwise. And what happens if I do get a hold of him. Do I kill him? Extort him? What do I actually do? He might not have been the one to even hurt my birds. It's undeniable he killed Brook but... does that justify me killing him too? I've never killed anyone. I'm just an Apprentice. What hope could I have to slay an Archmage? A Journeyman would have just as much trouble as me too so it's not like I can rush my ascension either. It's all pointless.

Still, I have to try something. Regardless of what I end up doing, I need more information. I need to know his capabilities, what he knows, where he visits, anything that could be useful for hunting him. And the best way to get that is breaking into that ball and finding it myself. The security will be lessened as people will be running about and I can sneak in with a Visage or something similar to help me. I'll definitely need to upgrade it to Tier 5 in that case, but it's at least a start. My Fae Spells need shoring up too as I've already decided. I think I need to focus on what I already know without Felin to teach me.

I know three things when it comes to Fae Magicks: Words, that odd museum magic, and the corruption I used with the Pigeon. Perhaps... If Fae, to me, is to do with the enforcement of Laws, what if it could... create new ones? Using Word Magick to declare a new order for the world to follow, to distort reality into what I demand and Enforce it. It would be...

Ah, why of course, Amy chuckled aloud, remembering a word she used to describe Command what felt like such a long time ago now. It would be a Decree.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.