Moral Stand (Aether’s Revival Book 7)

Two weeks went by with only one event: upon leaving Icelake, their unit was attacked by bane vultures. It was a chaotic fight, even with the knowledge of the attack ahead of time. One of the men took a nasty gash to the face, luckily just missing his eyes. Gregory had the salve to heal it, but a vivid scar remained.

Commander Roberts had been impressed at the lack of deaths and major injuries after two bane beast attacks on Gregory’s men. Gregory spent a few hours going over past magi guard units’ reports so he had a better idea of potential troubles.

Blasot, the owner of Cleaned Cuts in Coldwood, was happy to take on the job to turn the vultures into jerky. He was even happier when Gregory explained the process that he wanted used, having learned it from Rafiq. Before leaving, Gregory made sure that Blasot would send the first part of the jerky to Magus Artok as a gift.

Gregory’s men had a little trouble with idiots in Coldwood, as neither tavern they were using was as good as Groomed Mane. In the end, the men refused to let anything blow up on them, leaving as the last resort to make sure there was no trouble. Gregory gave them back any money they lost, thanking them for behaving civilly.

Their return trip to Icelake didn’t have any attacks, for which everyone was grateful. When they arrived, Gregory was told by the gate sergeant that Magus Smitton wanted to see him. He thanked the man, planning to go the next day— it was already evening when they got in.

~*~*~

Gregory smiled— it just felt like pins and needles when he polished his channels. It was no longer painful, just uncomfortable. Watching the aether flame as he did it was very interesting. Whole streamers of fire went flying down the channels instead of sparks, the channel glowing with aether flame while he held it in place. Looking down one of them showed him the slow build-up of crystal as the stone was purified.

“Slowly building toward tomorrow…” Gregory murmured. “I should ask Rafiq about more advanced texts. I’m sure he has something to help move things forward. What we’ve been doing has worked, but we need to keep pushing to be ahead of others.”

Taking a seat, he stared into the flames as he continued to polish his channels. Today, he was focused on trying to connect even more with his resonance. Being able to selectively pressure specific people was likely another step down that path, but he didn’t know what would come next. Magi Squares were starting to get easier, too, which meant he’d need to see about advancing that branch, as well. The only path that he still felt good with was body— the Peaceful Fist felt like it would continue to work for him, but he thought that maybe he could add weights to his arms and legs to push himself.

Fourth bell pulled him from his meditation. Sighing, he got up from the floor, already thinking about the different errands he’d have to run. The one he wondered about was seeing Magus Justina Smitton. He hoped it was about the jerky he’d arranged to be delivered, not something else.

“Good morning, Gregory,” Rafiq greeted him. “Is something wrong?”

“No. I just have things to do today, like seeing the magus. However, I was wondering if you had any scrolls or books on steps to take to further my training on the paths?”

Rafiq chuckled. “I believe I do. Sarinia said she would be sending copies to your wives around this time. She thought you would ask before you were a magus.”

Gregory chuckled. “Of course, the chief would. Does she have foresight along with shadow magic?”

“Not at all. She paid attention to your growth during the academy, and my notes have updated that.”

“Good morning, sir,” Basal said, just ahead of Hanz. “Anything you want us to focus on today?”

“No, just the usual. Rafiq will be here, though, so if you want to get extra training in, he might be amenable.”

“I would be, indeed,” Rafiq smiled.

“Good morning, sir,” Davis said. “Are you heading to the magus first?”

“Butcher, magus, commander, and then errands,” Gregory said, laying out his itinerary. “I’ll be back before dinner. I just have no idea how long before.”

“Yes, sir. When you get back, if there’s time, I was hoping to get a few bouts of sparring in with you.”

“Sure,” Gregory nodded. “Have the men been okay with the routine?”

“The hour of the Peaceful Fist during the march is fine; all of them have enjoyed maintaining that. Sparring before dinner is something they’re eager for. There’s a small competition for single honor and squad honor starting up. I’ll be keeping my eye on it.”

“Good. If I need to step in, let me know.”

“I will, sir.”

“Let’s get today started,” Gregory said, leading the others downstairs.

~*~*~

Gregory collected the jerky that was ready from Cutting Block. The owner explained that he’d sent the first batch to the magus along with the note Gregory had left behind. Justina came back a day later to inquire about more after having sampled the gift. That told Gregory why he was being summoned, it was because she wanted more jerky. Sampling the bane wolf heart that Frenton had finished that morning, Gregory understood why Justina wanted more. He was just about to leave when Kona, Frenton’s daughter, asked if Rafiq might come by to talk more about jerky. Gregory promised to pass the message along, but tomorrow would be the soonest it would happen.

She’s cute, but I doubt Rafiq is interested, Gregory thought as he got closer to the magus’ manor. She’s past her age day, at least, but she might not understand that Rafiq has aether and is older than her father. Gregory put the thoughts aside as he used the knocker to announce himself.

The butler was quick to lead Gregory into the private study, not commenting that he didn’t change his boots after seeing no debris on them. The maid poured him a cup of tea that Gregory had just started on when Justina Smitton arrived.

“Adept, I’m glad you came,” Justina smiled. “Is the tea to your liking?”

“It’s good. Your maid has skill with the leaves.”

“She should. I made sure she was trained,” Justina smirked. “My usual,” she said to the maid before taking her seat. “Pettit, I was delighted by the gift you left for me.”

“I’m glad, Magus.”

“The potency of it was beyond anything he’d made before. When I went back to him, all he would say was that it was a new recipe he was trying and that you owned all the rest of the batch.”

Gregory sipped from his cup before telling her, “It was the pack of bane wolves that attacked my men last patrol.”

“Oh, I hadn’t heard. How many of your men died?”

“None.”

Justina sat back with her cup after the maid finished making it. “Truly? Hmm… Foresight helped with that?”

“To a degree, but it was breaking the alpha’s howl that made the real difference.”

The silence drew out as Justina eyed him, the cup lingering on her lips for longer than needed. “I didn’t think you were spirit path.”

“Spirit and body, Magus. My entire clan uses the Peaceful Fist as set down by Lionel Lighthand.”

“A combined path? How many of the clan does it work for?”

“As far as I know, all of us,” Gregory smiled. “We believe it’s because we venerate Aether as much as we do. After all, we’re merely his guard, waiting for his return.”

Justina’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I recall your clan. I went to the academy at the same time as Samantha Bishop. She was one of the few who stayed with your clan when I came to this posting. How is she?”

“Bishop now leads the clan, Magus. Her bloodline ties back to Lighthand. Last I knew, she was a sixth-rank magus.”

Justina’s lips compressed and her free hand briefly touched her hidden medallion. “Is she, now? How nice for her. The combined path must be working well for her. What of you, Adept?”

“Myself and my wives all grew in equal measure together,” Gregory said, then lied, having looked briefly into the future. “I’ve reached late initiate ranks.”

Justina’s smile became real again. “Ah, that is fast, but with a combined path, it makes sense. Your clan is coming back to prominence?”

“We’ve won the majority of tournaments since my novice year. I’m sure another clan will be bumping us from that streak soon.”

“No doubt. When one clan stands out, the others make sure to remind it not to. Can’t have one clan accruing all the fame and best novices, now can we?”

“No, ma’am. As it is, our clan only takes those that believe in Aether’s return.”

“Yes, I recall,” Justina said, her eye twitching. “It’s a quaint thing to believe Aether will return when we already have the Divine Emperor.”

“I’m sure he waits for the day, as well, ma’am,” Gregory said with a smile. “All magi should.”

“Of course. Now, about the jerky; we got sidetracked. I’d like to get more of it.”

Gregory nodded, then looked at the maid. “Bring me a container, please.”

“Go,” Justina said when the maid looked at her. “You have some on you?”

“Part of what’s been done. How do you feel about hearts?”

“A bit primitive, and they do mean extra yuzu fruit for the solstice, but they can be beneficial. I would accept one if it’s at least as good as the jerky.”

Gregory finished his tea just before the maid came back. He took the enchanted box from the maid, then summoned jerky into it. When he finished, he handed her the box. “A plate, please?”

The maid took the box over to Justina, then hurried to her cart to bring him a small plate. Gregory summoned one of the hearts onto it— it’d been turned into jerky slabs, so he was able to stack it up to resemble the heart it had once been.

“There you go, Magus.”

Justina smiled brightly as she shut the box and took in the heart. “Goodness, this is very nice.” She motioned to the maid, who brought her the plate. As delicately as she could, she tore a piece off. Eyes widening, she chewed slowly.

“It’s potent,” Gregory chuckled. “I’ll be taking even smaller slivers, myself.”

Justina nodded absently as she chewed.

“Thank you for inviting me over, Magus. I still need to speak with the commander and see about a few personal items. If it’s okay, I will take my leave.”

Justina nodded once more, still chewing.

Gregory stood, bowing to her before leaving. As he left the manor, he considered how upset Justina would be when he started interfering with her extra income— she obviously still had problems with Bishop and the clan. Shaking his head, he walked on toward the guard’s offices to speak with the commander.