The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Volume 2: Chapter 11).

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Volume 2: Chapter 11).

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Interlude: Anisette, Demigod of Love

…

“You went wild when you fought against that creature. If it were an actual fighter, you’d have died. You were lucky it was a priest.” Lord Trelawney’s words reached me through the ringing in my ears. I had flown through the sky, then his cursed armor appeared above me, and then with two balled fists sent me crashing into the forest outside of the town. I collided with a tree, and it splintered and broke around me until I hit the ground. He appeared in front of me as I scrambled to get up. “So, now, I’ll be teaching you to fight. First rule: always get a weapon.”

My vision cleared, and I realized he was carrying a boulder with one hand the size of a shed.

He slammed it into me, and I barely managed to raise my hands to break through it.

Only for him to appear in the shattered remnants of rock with his fist, which he struck my stomach with.

Air rushed out of my lungs, and bile crawled out of my throat and out of my mouth. The sting of my stomach’s insides filled my mouth with a terrible flavor, but I ignored it and scrambled to get away.

I was so panicked that I brushed past a tree, and it broke apart where my shoulder touched it.

“That’s a dead, normal ally right there.” Lord Trelawney told me simply, before once again catching up with me. “But running away when faced with a superior foe is decent. Typically, though, they can just catch up if you don’t do anything to slow them down.”

Mid-stride, I was grabbed by the shoulder, pulled back, and thrown to the ground. Soil, roots, and rocks broke apart, and I was embedded into the ground; then I realized a foot was going for my head.

I raised my hands to stop it, but I was too late.

Lord Trelawney’s foot stopped before hitting my head.

“And, you’re dead. Twenty seconds of combat. That’s your baseline. Time for you to actually learn.” He plucked me out, and with a gesture, rid me of dirt and detritus. The enchanted nature of my robes made it so that they were not destroyed by his assault. “So, you want to learn how to run away and engage from a distance or to fight in close quarters?”

I considered his words for a moment, catching my breath, before speaking.

“Will it not be prudent to learn both?”

Lord Trelawney grinned at my words.

“Correct answer.” He stated, and a package drifted towards him, which he directed to me. The burlap sack hovered for a moment before crashing onto the forest floor and embedding itself in the ground. “Those are weights meant to hold prisoners with extreme strength down. Put them on. You’ll be learning how to move quickly with them. You’ll be wearing them every other day.”

I gingerly nodded at his demands and opened the burlap bag.

They were small and innocuous, but the weight of each simple bangle was truly immense.

Once I placed them all on, I could not move without exerting much of my newfound strength.

“Alright, now, I want you to stretch, find your current limits, and understand what you’re working with. You’re tough, and they shouldn’t hurt you if you move wrong, but it’s better that the opportunity doesn’t arise.” Lord Trelawney went through several motions, and I followed. I felt like my body was resisting every move, especially whenever he tested my balance. I realized in moments that I had to control the power within me with greater and greater precision, even while my focus was being weighed down by fatigue. “Unlike everyone else I’ve taught, you haven’t trained since birth. The reactions for combat aren’t there. What you need is skill, focus, and overwhelming strength at the right moment, along with cunning. If you meet someone more skilled than you but as strong as you, then you’re going to die.”

The statement settled in my head with indisputable importance.

Faintly, I felt the leviathan’s agreement from the depths of my soul. I saw immense and powerful beasts laid low by smaller creatures who knew how to swim with grace and use strength at opportune moments. Immense beasts fell to creatures a hundredth of their size because they were ponderous and slow. Too slow to catch their foe before their heart was pierced and core consumed.

I needed to learn to not just be a ponderous beast with excessive strength, and this was the best way to do it.

With that in mind, I devoted myself to doing as Lord Trelawney bid.

With what is to come, I needed to know how to fight, or else I will see those I care for perish in what is to come.

…

Anisette all but collapsed the moment she entered the room, and from the creaking of the floorboards, I realized that she had upon her Lord Trelawney’s most recent invention.

Cursed items that exerted weight upon those who wore them but to whom they were not bound. It was an ancient method of safekeeping. Those who wielded magical weapons would have that curse inlaid so that they could not be stolen like common weapons. My own family had several heirlooms, which had far greater curses upon them for those who would take them from us. However, instead of using them for security, Lord Trelawney saw fit to use them as methods to train others.

The artifacts were bound to him; thus, he could give them to his students, and they would need to train under immense weight.

He judged me and the others to not need it, as our bodies were already honed and skills inscribed to the point of being reflexes.

Anisette, being raised as part of the clergy, had to endure this, as she lacked our training from childhood.

“G-greetings, Lady Argelia. Please excuse my disheveled state. I have just returned from training with Lord Trelawney.” To my surprise and slight trepidation, Anisette stood up, and with sweat staining her brow, she managed to give me a curtsy. The talent and physical forms of demigods were frightening. I tried those bangles, and I was falling with every other step. Alice was the only one I knew who could wear them with grace, but she practiced her whole life to be my shadow and act with utmost precision. “If I may ask, are the baths currently occupied?”

“They are not, and rest assured that they are safe to use. I have protected the area myself.” Alice informed me that a few of the guards were muttering about peeking, so I moved to dissuade them. A simple boundary, which would cause those nearing the baths made private for us to see people trip and fall on their face. Anyone who dared try and enter the baths themselves who was not meant to would be covered in magical ink for a year. I informed the commander of my efforts, and he informed his men. “Though I believe your recent training with Lord Trelawney has properly scared any suitors off.”

“It is unbecoming of a young man to act to protect me, but I am grateful.” Anisette stood straight and composed herself. Then she began to walk as though the weights were utterly meaningless. It was almost frightening to see. Did she even know how difficult it was for a normal individual to accomplish the same feat? I was almost tempted to inform her of the difficulty she was surmounting. Most would be unable to move or send themselves through walls. For her the only signs were that she had a slight frown and the floorboards creaked beneath her footsteps. “How fares your current state, Lady Anisette? Is everything well in your home?”

“All is well. The fear of a civil war engulfing our realm is now gone. This current war is making rivalries fade. That is not to say there will not be horrors ahead, but there remains a silver lining in the storm.” I spoke carefully with Anisette’s status as a demigod in mind. The church will move after this. In civil conflicts they abstain from picking sides and offer safety to the populace, and even press hard against levying the common people to fight. Against the fanatical monsters we now face, however, their militant arm will rise, and a crusade will be composed of the myriad faiths. Anisette will be central to it, regardless of what she wants. She is the sole demigod currently in the empire. “Have you any news of the coming crusade?”

Anisette was silent for a moment, but she soon spoke.

“I have not heard, but it will form. They will march to protect the faithful.” Anisette stated with almost effortless grace. Did she know that I spent many hours learning and practicing decorum? Raised in a monastery to become a cleric of the healing arts, yet she was able to match me effortlessly when speaking on political matters. The more I learned of her, the more I understood why the prince thought replacing her with me was worth the civil strife to come. Her talent was boundless, and her ability to learn unmatched. Now, having only known Lord Trelawney for half the time that I did, she was already equal to me in raw strength. “They will need lands to base themselves from. I would ask my father to station them in Argelia territory if you would allow it. I wish for our past to be reconciled through this act.”

It was my turn to be silent.

First, she acknowledged my greater strength and influence over my father by searching for my position.

Second, she indirectly referenced a reason why many would think us at odds while proposing a solution to that fact.

And, finally, by placing herself and the faith under Argelia’s protection, she knows we will shield them from those who sought to ostracize us… and use them.

All the while giving my lands more protection in the war to come, especially as the crusaders will bless the lands, tend to the populace, and build upon them.

I had no doubt in my mind that she would have made a powerful empress if given time to grow.

I nodded and broke the silence with a small smile.

“We would be delighted to put the past behind us and host the crusading army. I will be working with my father to shore up our defenses and see our industry ready to feed the war effort. If the crusade does as they did in previous wars, we will be indebted to our guests.” I responded with all the grace I could muster while we ascended the stairs. All that remained of the prince’s effort was undone at this moment. Whatever enmity that our political foes could use was dissolved within seconds of conversing. Security and safety for my people was secured in ways I could not achieve with mere strength alone. “We need to be united in these coming times, and I would be a fool to refuse.”

We reached the threshold of the baths, and I held my hand out to her.

She took it, and we shook hands.

The memory of that day was fast fading, but I was now sure that while it would return in flashes, I would be able to tell myself that it was truly the past and would never again occur.

…

I awoke from my nap thanks to a commotion outside the building.

Dressing myself with Alice’s aid, I left ready with staff in hand.

Only to find a giant eagle with armor coverings fitted upon its person, and before it was Lord Trelawney.

He addressed me while holding a large parchment without looking upon the eagle the size of a house, as everyone else did.

“Hm. Word travels quickly. It’s a proposal.” I blinked at his words while he pulled a gold coin the size of a man’s fist out of his hand. The massive eagle bent its neck, and I realized it had a collar with a box on it. He slotted the large gold coin into the box, and it arose… to roost on the manor’s ceiling. “Come on, I need to write a response.”

I followed him unconsciously out of curiosity, while recalling his last words to his former fiancé.

“Is this from Lady Aigen’s estranged family? The ones you mentioned joining to face her?”

“They are. Aigen apparently launched a preemptive attack and failed. Lost her body and everything. Now she’ll be out of commission for a few decades. The perfect time for them to swoop in and get me on their side.” He read through the parchment while we walked and read it again. “Hm. Looks like they stopped a nasty curse from falling upon all my students. Aigen has always been a petty bitch.”

“Language, Lord Trelawney!” I was barely startled upon realizing that Anisette was with us. She must have been attracted by the commotion. Typically, she was training or resting, and this situation caught her in the former. She was only presentable thanks to the thick nature of her robes. “Call her cruel and capricious. The truth marks her nonetheless!”

“Make me.” Lord Trelawney’s reply to her was as glib as always, and we reached the office of the mayor, which had the commander of the forces in the town present. The commander instantly stood and bowed to Lord Trelawney. He received a nod in return and was asked for parchment and ink. In moments, Lord Trelawney had what he desired and was writing with a floating quill in words I did not recognize. It must be the language of that faraway, fantastical isle. “So, the four of you need to come along and give thanks. Otherwise, the curses will land even if I kill every single body that Aigen has.”

“…Wicked and foul would be permissible words, then.” Anisette stated. Aigen seems to have targeted all of Lord Trelawney’s students. Not even just the ones who she confronted. Even though Anisette suggested some choice words, I was more inclined towards the word chosen by Lord Trelawney. Such extreme malice was born out of almost groundless hate towards those who couldn’t protect themselves, because she couldn’t harm Lord Trelawney himself. "Bitch" seemed far more appropriate. “When shall we go?”

“Tomorrow. Pack your things.” He answered and opened the window behind the desk of the study and tossed the rolled parchment out. The eagle snatched it out of the air and consumed it. I could only wonder how it would not be digested as it flew high into the sky. “The eagle will arrive a week ahead of us. The sooner you four show your gratitude, the better, too.”

He gazed at me and Anisette before sighing and looking away.

“Man, I wanted to go back home and just mess with the tribes some more, but you guys are making me work my ass off.”

Then, he left, ignoring Anisette’s words regarding crass language entirely.

Meanwhile, I felt a warmth in my chest thanks to his complaint.

Despite his demeanor, he truly was a caring teacher, wasn’t he?