The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Volume 2: Chapter 4).

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Volume 2: Chapter 4).

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Commissioned by Sivantic

…

Anisette and Lord Trelawney disappeared in the evenings, only for Lord Trelawney to dump Anisette onto us in the morning.

Each time, frighteningly, she was somehow awake, if a bit disheveled, and had the energy to wash, feed, and clothe herself properly before going to rest.

That is with the equivalent of my curriculum, but in the open sea, against far larger prey from the onset.

The blessings of divinity were truly astounding.

Then, after a moment of rest, she arose to go and assist around the castle.

The regular troops arrived and were consolidating around the castle. With their beachhead destroyed, the lizards were making smaller landings and making daring raids across the coast, but at the same time they kept the main body of their fleet just out of our reach. It was an obvious strategy. If we left, then they would land with their main force; therefore, we had to stay and allow their swifter, smaller forces through.

I, Chloe, and Alice were patrolling in force, curtailing any efforts within our range, before returning to our base of operations. I was practicing with my magic to hopefully begin putting the fleet to siege, but I was unlikely to succeed. They were undoubtedly fortifying their position and ships, since they were receiving a constant stream of supplies as well as setting up fishing operations across the ocean.

But they were running out of time.

The empire was marshalling its troops. The initial vanguard force has already arrived and is stymying all the efforts being made by those who have snuck through. With time, sorcerers and mages will arrive with specialized rituals and barriers readied to lay siege to the navy from the coastline. Not to mention that the lack of our own navy at the present meant only that they were being marshalled to strike with devastating force.

Our foes were smart; they knew their time was running out, as they were a seaborne invasion from a faraway land.

If they could retreat, they would’ve already done so.

Therefore, they were going to attack and establish themselves here before the rest of the empire came and destroyed them.

They will strike with all the force that they have at their disposal, and that force will surely involve the threat on par with Aigen that was with their fleet. Not to mention all the peers of the leader whom I had slain when I had first arrived. None had come forward since then, and I was sure that there were more of them present, even if I didn’t have the same senses as Lord Trelawney.

How many of such opponents could I, Alice, and Chloe face while having to contend with someone who was Aigen’s equal?

I was not even confident in surviving one foe that was Aigen’s equal with the two of them with me.

But a fourth individual within striking distance of us?

That could change the dynamic of the battle significantly.

So, despite myself, I prayed that Anisette would get stronger more swiftly than I did, because we believed that the invaders would try to take the whole region within the next five weeks.

…

“They’re keeping the kids they’ve abducted alive, and they’re getting ready to ship them out.” Lord Trelawney addressed me casually. I was returning from my most recent patrol. The area where we operated was being avoided by the enemy, but they were still sending in probes. Sacrificial soldiers who were meant to die to inform us that we couldn’t relocate without them knowing and launching their fleet. “If you want your former classmates back, you, Alice, and Chloe are going to need to do something.”

“You would not lift a hand to save them, teacher?” I walked gingerly through the dark halls of the castle. Torchlight flickered in our passing. Lord Trelawney stood and walked like a lord, while I couldn’t help but feel like I was skulking through. “I know that most of the empire abandoned your family when they thought it would fall, but…”

“But?” Lord Trelawney drawled the word out, as if egging me on to explain. However, no words came forward. “They haven’t even offered me a ransom to take if I get them back. If you can do something, never do it for free.”

“So, if you were offered payment, then you would do it?”

“For the right price, sure. The North is in dire need of supplies and support. A few kids saved is a small price to pay.” He was a child himself. When I returned home, I questioned my father as to why Trelawney’s family was abandoned. The loss of most of the family, with only Lord Trelawney surviving, led all to believe that it would be best to hold back and save funds to send an expedition to reclaim the lands set to be lost. Only a select few knew of Lord Trelawney’s strength; my father was amongst them, and he sent funds because of that fact. “A few dozen less heirs would make everyone more leery of a civil war, too.”

“Do you believe that will still occur with this invasion?”

Lord Trelawney almost scoffed.

“It’s more about inertia than anything else. Even with the prince grounded and Anisette off the table, the crown saw what was coming. Even if your neighbor decided to turn to face a new threat after coming at you with a knife, they still came at you with a knife.” I grimaced at his words. He was right. The crown will remember. It would be foolish of them if they did not. Those who were about to rebel with the prince know this as well. “Unless they give their all in this coming war, unless they’re nearly annihilated and need a generation to rebuild, they’ll fight just for decent terms.”

“Is there truly no way for the coming war to be avoided, then? Is all hope truly lost?” I almost begged my teacher to share with me some unfathomable knowledge. His response to my plea was a shrug of his shoulders. “Isn’t there something that can be done?”

“Leave and let this beachhead be established. Let the houses who were about to rebel prove their loyalty and valor through blood and death. That’s how things work, right?” Lord Trelawney prodded me with a path that I could not take. An unbearable path where I would allow thousands and thousands to die and even concede a part of the empire so that it could be united by a common foe. “Everyone is willing to fight until they’re looking death down whilst nearly crippled. So, let them be crippled, force them to stand shoulder to shoulder, and have slights be forgotten because a war demands it.”

Lord Trelawney looked at me with a vicious smile.

“It’ll have to be a bloody, terrible, and long war for these people to forget, though. The nobility tend to have long memories and hold onto grudges like misers with their last bit of gold.” He gestured at himself, obviously using himself as an example. In the end, his power and might were strange, but his actions against those who harmed his family were not. He had every right to act as he did now. I could only grimace at his assertion. So many of my lessons were on how to manage conflict and negotiate between two parties. This was a complex web of fear, terror, and disdain that was impossible for me to untangle on my own. “I think it would be best to just kill all the potential traitors and replace them with loyal people. You up for that?”

Of course, Lord Trelawney’s solution was to cut through that tangled web.

“I cannot do such a thing without losing my mind.” I admitted without shame. “I will leverage all that I gain from this to try and pull houses away from conflict. All those who could listen, I will have owed me and my family. Subordination for a generation or two should allay the concerns of the crown, especially if their coffers benefit.”

Lord Trelawney gave a hum at my words before idly shrugging once more.

“Suit yourself. You’re the one living here. I’ll be up north.” A foolish part of me wanted to ask him to remain, but I knew better than to do such a thing. If he stayed, then it would only introduce confusion and chaos into the already volatile mess that has become of the empire. Even if he decides to be neutral, how many would rally to him and create a political foundation that would threaten all others? Too many. I would be tempted to do so myself. “Oh, right. How’s your preparation going to take on the godling they’ve got with them?”

I froze at the question before shaking my head.

“I would appreciate some information, Lord Trelawney. I have considered many methods, but they all falter. The number of foes we must fight… I could only think of conscripting Anisette to our cause as a means of eking out a victory.”

“Right, right. All three of you are mostly specialized for fighting swarms of mobs or single targets. Powerful targets with elite support? That’ll be tough.” Lord Trelawney gave a hum before looking my way. His gaze was introspective. More like a professor than a lord. He was evaluating me and using his mind to use the quantities and qualities he determined of me to find some path for me to take.Despite all his callousness, he was undoubtedly an amazing teacher. “You really only have three options. The first is to pick them off and kill them before the fight. That’ll have them launch their invasion early, because they’ll know better than to just lay back and take it.”

I grimaced at the euphemism but nodded as Lord Trelawney raised two fingers.

“So, you have two viable options. Find a way to stun and keep the elites at bay while you murder their Aigen-equivalent, or find a way to kill them all so quickly that they don’t matter in the fight. Well, technically, you can just run away… but you won’t do that.” Trelawney hummed as he spoke, and we reached the room where Chloe slept like a log. We erected a tent over the bed and made it easier to sleep even in the day. He took a seat at the desk, while I took a seat on the floor. “How are your lessons with Lightning going?If you can run a strong enough current in the air, you can slow enough of them down, kill your target, and get out before things get hairy.”

I shook my head and grimaced.

“Lightning does not come easily to me. It is difficult to harness compared to heat, which I have studied all my life.” I understood the intricacies of it. Lightning’s generation was studied by many mages ever since magic was deduced. When large clouds gathered, two forms of energy formed above the cloud and below it. As the cloud expended itself and brought rain down, those two energies collided, and the product was lightning. Those who used lightning said those two energies were omnipresent and could be gathered like heat, then lightning could be formed to strike down one’s foes. Try as I might, I could only manage a spark, and only through brute force. “If I used what I know now, I would expend too much power generating lightning to be of use. I cannot tap into what is already present in the world.”

“Then, what about your studies in removing enough heat from someplace to freeze it?” My mind stopped at his words. That was right. I had been considering that path when I left the north. Over there, most enemies were resistant to the cold, but here? “Try it.”

He gathered a small amount of water from the air and threw it my way.

I seized the heat in it, and it froze in midair and cracked when it hit the floor.

“Plenty of water in the air. Cover them, then freeze them in place. If you lower the temperature enough, you’ll hurt them, too.” Lord Trelawney advised before leaning forward. I idly tried the technique again, gathering water, freezing it, and then adding heat again to turn it into something else. He gave a hum. “How about you try manipulating steam after making it? With high enough pressure and at a small enough area, you’ll have something that can pierce and burn at the same time.”

I obeyed out of instinct, falling back into old habits of listening instead of thinking, and soon enough I had a globe of steam in hand that I was steadily shrinking until it was the size of a marble.

“I can’t make it smaller than this.” I admitted after a moment. I had to superheat the vapor in order to prevent it from returning to water, but I managed it. The pure white ball in my hand was held together by my will. Unleashing it would undoubtedly result in an explosion of significant strength. Enough to destroy the room, but not us. “If I unleash it in one direction, I will need to make a channel of magic, too.”

“Then, don’t. Use it to extend your reach a little, then carve through your enemies. Turn it into a moving saw. One whose edge will not break and can move far faster than metal.” A shiver went down my spine as I followed his instruction. The marble-sized sphere shifted and turned into a long. A line of compressed, superheated vapor that wished to be unleashed. I pressed it idly against the rock floor and marveled as it cut through and melted rock at the same time. “Alright. You have options now. Freeze them in place, or just cut through them using that. You can now freeze people in place and have a blade that will never dull, that’ll always be sharp, and will burn all it touches.”

I sapped my power away from the edge composed of steam, turning the vapor back to water, and held the thimbleful in my palm before returning it to the air.

It was so easy to use my power overtly, but when I made it smaller and more controlled and used it with more thought, it became far more dangerous.

While people will most certainly fear a ball of heat and flame barreling towards them, they will never see either of my new weapons. They will freeze in place, encased in a shell of ice that will sap heat from their own flesh, or they will be cut apart by a near-invisible blade.

I should’ve been awed by my own power, but I could only think of one thing.

How many secret, little things did Lord Trelawney have at his disposal?