Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 39

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 39

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

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Djet’Is stood across from me with hands raised in fists. She hid her face behind her forearms and kept her chin tucked in. Her right foot was forward, leading her stance, and I observed her with the same style.

She charged at me, practically gliding across the padded dirt floor, and launching a swift jab at my guard.

Her fist was wide enough to close the gap metween my arms and rob me of my vision.

So, I ducked to the side at the last moment and struck at her side.

At her ribs.

She grunted, but took the blow, and tried sending three quick jabs at me past my guard.

I took two steps back and out of her reach, but she covered the distance with a single step forward.

I went low, ducking beneath the passing of her fists, and stepped in.

My fist surged up towards her chin, still tucked and safe, as I slipped under her guard.

She decided against enduring the attack and leapt back.

I pursued, pushing against the ground and practically leaping after her, while her eyes widened as she found herself in mid-air and incapable of moving.

I landed a strike right at her stomach, putting my back into the blow and twisting my core to impart as much force as possible.

Her arc through the air stopped in an instant and I sent her crashing into the ground.

Once upon a time, Djet’Is would’ve tried to attack once again, but she gained some semblance of maturity over the years.

“Well fought.” Djet’Is grunted as I took hold of her arm and brought her up. We were in a camp outside of the city controller’s territory in an expanse of forest a few miles from the main road. I’d elected to seclude myself for a few days to gather my thoughts and refocus. Djet’Is accepted my invitation to a spar and so we fought to clear our minds. “I lasted longer this time.”

“You guard yourself now, rather than charging in. I noticed you were ready to use your legs to kick many times, too.” Boxing was a sport to which I was only an amateur. I’d fought a few bouts, but mostly, simply trained. Nothing more than that. I introduced it to Djet’Is and we fought on occasion. Now, our unarmed bouts were quite different from what I recalled of the sport. It was more like bloodless combat now. “Employ that in our next bout. I’ll find a way to defend against it.”

Djet’Is dusted herself off, the dirt falling from her body as she grimaced, until I used my power to rid her of any detritus.

“The strength of my kicks is twice that of my arms. You will find it difficult to overcome.” Djet’Is stated simple.

“Better overcome it now, than face such force in battle and find myself incapable of defending against it.”

“You shall be more incapable of defending when your arms are broken trying such a thing without your normal weaponry.” Djet’Is stated simply, while accompanying me to my temporary camp. The luxury of the city had gotten to me. All the wealth, power, and national strength showcased in the metropolis of nearly half a million people had grown tiresome. “But if soothes your troubled spirit, I suppose it shall suffice.”

I grunted in answer.

My temporary camp was simple. A tent with all the things normally on Cornelius on a single pallet. My mouth was enjoying not being weighed down and was lounging on a rock that I had heated to a warm temperature. He was due for a molting soon, so it was time to put him through his regular training, so that his old shell would properly leave his body and not leave anything rotting connected to him. He will be incapable of carrying my things while he regrew his shell to full hardness, but that will take mere days.

As for food, I’d asked for some flour and preserved meat and dried fruit, as to distance myself from the rich foods that flowed like water from Lord Lucien’s kitchens. A quick bout of foraging had me boiling some simple tree bark and herbs for a light brew. Fall was soon to arrive and the eternal night was getting colder and colder. The winter will surely be far worse than I anticipated.

For now, though, I would speak to Djet’Is.

“You’ve taken their measure. DO you still wish to ally with these people?”

“Ally? Perhaps against monsters, but not against the people of the Desert. They are weaker than I imagined. No. They will be a source of strength and trade from our people. The food, supplies, and weapons they have are all worthy of our support.” Djet’Is answered honestly and took a seat on the carpet I’d laid out. As the host, it was my duty to serve us both. I did so after retrieving my wires and bandages. Cups filled with our woodsy and earthy brew, and with meal of preserved meats and fruits and fresh bread, we broke our fast over the last day together. The meals of the city were so filling that I hadn’t felt the need to eat for a day. “Something will need to be done against the parasites. They must be brought low. Against those, I suppose these forest people can be used as fighters. The best of them, at least.”

Djet’Is took them in, searched them for strength and weakness, and made her decisions based on what was best for the As’Kari.

I could only wonder why she thought me a better leader.

I am far more selfish than her.

“I see, there’s no deterring you. Then, I’ll say this: take everything you can from these people and make sure that the war in the Great Desert ends as swiftly as possible. Defeat them with such strength and power that you can afford mercy.”

“Your mercy or the mercy of the Great Desert?” Djet’Is looked upon me, sitting cross-legged, a young woman turned into a titan of war and destruction for the sake of conquest by her own people. Venerated, adored, and in her element during battle. Fearless and resolute and completely accepting of death and destruction. Though I’ve known her all my second life, we are perfect strangers when it comes to understanding one another. “You ask for much with the former.”

“You have seen what they have. You see what they lack. Gouge them for all that you can. Take everything from them without a hint of shame. Solve their problems with the parasites, and extract from them a nation’s ransom. Use that to create your own empire and end the wars in the Great Desert forever.” That was all the advice I could give to my former people and former tribe. It was the least terrible thing that could be done in these turbulent times. They could not aspire for peace, therefore the only thing that could be done was for war’s horrors to be restrained. A pitiful existence for all of us. “You’ve dreamed of the princess of this nation too, haven’t you? They know that you’ve trained the same way I have. That you have strength to spare.”

“I have heard of their leading tribe, but I was unable to force them from my mind as you did. I cannot compare to you.” Djet’Is grunted and shook her head. Dissatisfaction roiled off her in waves. With a furrowed brow, she glared at the ground. In truth, her anger was at herself for not being capable of doing the same. From Lucien’s reaction, and the princess’s, I was sure that I waws the only one who achieved such a thing. “You must tell me how you did it. All the As’Kari should know how to protect their resting minds from such attacks.”

“Shield your mind as you do your body. Form a shell around it. A thin one. One that does not isolate it from the rest of you.” I could only suppose the magic was akin to some sort of radio. One that can be directed towards an individual within the territory of the noble house. The rulers of this place were stronger than the common folk, so they should be easier to find and target with the power. The more I considered the power, the more I realized that Djet’Is was correct. It was a truly frightening ability. The princess had used it to craft a message of a future she feared would pass, of the tree of light burning, to try to gain me as an ally. Could she not conjure other illusions and lies? “I believe some armor around the head work to disrupt the magic. As would hiding your power, even as you sleep.”

Djet’Is grimaced at my words but nodded.

“Then, that’s how you were able to do it. You practice hiding your power even as you sleep.”

“It is a discomfort to many if I do not.” I shook my head and Djet’Is scoffed. The moment I realized my new power, I had tested it. I wanted to know its limitations and what I can do with it. With my constant training, it grew and grew and grew. Whatever wellspring from which the power flowed within the body, it was better trained at an early age, though the method of constant training still aided those who were older, especially with constant consumption of the flesh of monsters. “It will be difficult at the start, like sleeping with your body tensed, but you will grow used to it. It is not a muscle. You will begin to do it out of instinct, always guarding yourself, and restraining the power that you wiled from frightening others as you do.”

“I understand. It is a skill worth training… though it will be put the test when the princess comes to visit us. If her power is so might from such a great distance, then I am sure it will be more terrifying when she is here herself.”

I hadn’t known the princess would be here, but she had fled when I spoken to her in the dream she forced upon my mind.

I’d long pondered how to reach the leaders of this realm and how to speak with them, but now they were coming to me.

All I needed to do was find a way to convince them to see reason.

…

Djet’Is departed and left me alone at my camp only for another to arrive as visitor.

It was Averi.

Though she spent much time back at home, she looked tired with bags beneath her scarlet eyes. Her hair lost some of its brilliant luster, barely aglow beneath the shine of tree of light. She came covered in armor and with a weapon at her side, but with her shoulders slumped and tired gait, I doubted that she came forth to do battle with me.
She didn’t have any companions.

“Lord physician, please, won’t you reconsider your choice to not ally with my people?” The question was direct, which surprised me. The carefully-bred bloodline’s scion had tried to be furtive about the matter all the other times she mentioned it. Now, though, she gathered all her strength of will and stood straight as she aimed that questioned at me. “The people who have chosen to follow the crown and the nobility are not at fault. Can you not fight for the sake of the many and not the sins of the few?”

I deduced that she must’ve discovered the truth of the evacuation of the outer regions of her empire, of how many were left to die, and how even now against the threat of parasites her people planned for war against those who refused to abandon their fellows. While the processing camp to find infiltrators and parasites was slowly being built, already ships had descended from the sky to retrieve soldiers to bring to bear against the cities that went against the crown.

They intended to wage war before winter set in and establish their safe perimeter through force.

“The average person living in those cities have only done as they were directed. They follow the will of the crown, which they never strayed from their lives entire.” I was fixing my clothes. With needle and thread, I tended to small scratches born from travel. The hide of the beast I slayed for my outermost covering was strong, so I had to imbue the needle with power to feed it through the hide. Thin as it was, it was strong and resistant to magics. Perhaps, a nightcap of some sort  composed of the creature would be a good defense against intrusions of the mind? “And, you see that they already suffer. That they are under the control of the soldiers and nobility. Physician, their lives were saved not for the sake of being saved, but to become workers and soldiers to safeguard the nation. That is why so many of the elderly and sick were left behind.”

I focused on answering Averi’s plea with the conclusion to which I had arrived after considering the princess’ arrival.

“If I am to aid your people, then your people must cede claims to the lands you left behind and those who have broken ties with you, and all the knowledge I share should be given freely to all peoples.” All that I could do, with even all my strength, was to try and change the will of those who led an entire nation. Those who held the minds of the nobility and the hearts of the people. They were the ones who truly stood over all others. In exchange for my help, I would have them relinquish their control over the lands that they abandoned and those who abandoned them, and to ensure that what I shared with them would spread across the whole world. “Do you think that your princess would be able to accept such an offer, Averi? Do you think your people will be willing to give up on what they have abandoned and accept the enemies that they have made?”

I expected my offer to be refused, but Averi’s eyes filled with hope at my statement.

“I do not know, but I will try. I will try to make your intentions known. The price you ask for is great, but it can be accepted.” It wasn’t great. The compromise was immense. They were to simply accept the consequences of their actions and help others. The crimes of this kingdom was the abandonment of many, stealing from their own people, and now retaliating against those who opposed their cruelty. In their eyes this was compromise, yet those they harmed will see this as insult. But it was possible. “I swear it on my name. I will do everything that I can to make the princess agree.”

Averi bowed a moment later and left as soon as she arrived.

As she did, I wondered her relations with the princess, before discarding the thought for later.

Those words worked with Averi, but they would need refining before I shared them with anyone else.