A New Star Chapter 5

My mother marched with me in her arms out of the residence wing and across the first floor to the area where several offices and a large study were located. Father stepped forward and opened the doors for everyone before turning to the guardsman as my oldest brother and the secretary filed in. 

"Go fetch the other captains and the commander, Mike," he said. The captain, Mike, apparently, nodded before turning and walking out the door. 

My father moved across the room and sat at his desk while my mother sat on one of the several couches in the center of the room. She commanded her secretary, Helen, to get the servants to fetch some tea and small snacks. The woman curtsied, an antiquated custom in my eyes, before hurrying out of the room. Thomas appeared a little lost before father indicated for him to sit at his normal place at Father's secretary desk. 

"Father," he began as he sat, but was interrupted. 

"Let us wait," said father. "We should go over everything just once." 

We waited for the captains and the commander to join us in the office. I was slightly surprised when Marianne appeared, seeming to have a bit of a nose for trouble, and more surprised when nobody tried to chase her out, mother simply pointing to one of the armchairs, which Marianne promptly sat in. It was only another minute before the lord commander of my parents' forces strolled into the room, a striking siren woman of very plentiful curves combined with thick, ropey muscles. Once everyone was seated, my mother began the meeting, addressing the captains and commander first. 

"I want to thank you for your timely response to our little…situation here," she said, jostling me as she mentioned situation. I was not amused and retained a flat look on my face the entire time. "Alexandra will have permission from now on to move about the house, and I expect someone from staff to keep track of her whereabouts." 

I nodded at this, only to receive a light tap on the head from mother's knuckle. "Don't think you're out of the woods. You might be advanced for your age, but you should not just wander off like that." 

"I am perfectly capable of assessing my own capacity and taking care of myself," I replied coolly, made just a bit petulant by the crossing of my arms over my chest. 

"We can and will revoke privileges based on poor behavior, young lady," my father replied to me from his desk behind us. 

"Coercion is a poor substitute for cooperation," I spat out by rote, only to wince immediately on realizing now would not be the best time for such little gems from my former life. 

"There is a fine line between precocious and troublesome," my mother replied acerbically. I wisely chose to remain silent on the topic. 

"Well, anyway," my father moved the conversation along. "What affinities have you unlocked?" 

"She's unlocked affinities?! She's two!" exclaimed one of the captains I had not yet met. Temple-rubber was at it again while the third captain seemed shocked to the point her mouth was just working but not emitting sound. The captain who had asked was either a full-blooded minotaur or very close to it, having the massive height, large horns, thick mane of hair, fur on several of her joints and areas of her limbs, as well as the heavy hooves normative to the species. The gawping captain was a dwarf, powerfully built with thick limbs and a heavy torso, but also possessing quite a pretty face, one that I would even call gorgeous, in point of fact. 

"Yes, she has unlocked at least two affinities," my father responded dryly.  

"And what are they?" my mother continued in the same vein, looking down at me. 

I waited a second, debating if I should try to stall out even naming them, before deciding to reveal the types of the two external arts. I would try to keep as much about my body affinity secret as long as I possibly could. Just as my mother was opening her mouth, I spoke, "Gravity." 

"And?" 

"The Dark." 

"That's an…interesting combination," muttered the commander, old temple-rubber letting out another one of his patented sighs.  

"And what compatibility?" asked my eldest brother. 

I did not reply to this, not deeming him worthy of an answer. It was apparently the right move, as he was immediately scolded by several people at once, including mother, who said, "Thomas! You know that is not an appropriate question to ask somebody, even a family member! Do not step out of line like that again." 

"Apologies," he said in the most unapologetic manner I had witnessed in a century. I rolled my eyes in his general direction, which he failed to catch. My estimation of Thomas was certainly not rising at the moment. 

"Just the two?" father once again redirected us. 

"Indeed," I replied calmly. 

"Very well then," he said after a moment, seeming to reach some conclusion of his own. Mother, the only other one who possibly detected my third unlock, chose to follow father's lead and drop the topic. For now, at least. 

Mother reached forward and grabbed the cup of tea a servant had prepared for her and placed on the central table that sat between the couches before taking a small sip. I could do nothing but sit patiently on her leg as the discussion drifted away from me for just a moment to several security matters, not all of which related to the estate. Mother and father's joint territories took up a large block of our country's northern border, an area stretching over five hundred miles from east to west and between seventy and one hundred and forty miles north to south. It was large enough that it could have been its own country on my original home world, before I united our people under one banner and led us out among the stars.  

The lord commander worked to oversee the entire military force that was employed by my parents, as did all the captains, of which the three that were present at the estate were part of a group that currently totaled nine. There were also a slew of lieutenants, as well as all the ranks typical for enlisted, with several delineations of sergeant, corporals, privates, etc. The three captains that were stationed at the estate were responsible for estate security and management, as well as overseeing a swathe of territory around the estate. The lord commander oversaw the entire territory, traveling often to see the state of the land in person, and reporting back to my parents at regular intervals. It was a little strange to see a siren here, as her people loved the sea and our entire country was landlocked, but just as temple-rubber was an old companion of father's, the lord commander and mother had known each other since they were little older than I was now.  

The topic eventually drifted back to me, with mother re-iterating her commands that I be constantly watched from now on. I was little worried, as I wouldn't be doing anything outrageous…yet. And besides, I was already unimpressed with the general skills and capabilities of not just the staff, but the guards in particular. Given a few early years of dedicated work, I imagined evading the security would be little more than an easy breeze. After all, I had a power that seemed perfect for stealth, and at a compatibility that was literally unheard of in the present age. 

After several more of the stern reprimands, I was handed off to my maid, Zira, like so much unwanted baggage to be transported back to my room for my afternoon nap. I slept very little, spending the time before my maids brought me dinner thinking about everything I had learned and experienced that day. Having a tail at all times was the biggest worry I had at present, but I was sure it wouldn't take long before I could reliably shake them with minimal effort. 

The next day dawned bright and clear, and I was up and out of my crib before my maids even arrived. They washed and dressed me, something I was still getting used to after so many centuries of total independence, but I didn't protest, knowing that cooperating would get the whole experience finished that much quicker. I then had a quick breakfast in my room, as was typical for all my meals at this point. I had "weaned" as quickly as possible, understanding that my body could easily start handling solid foods quite a few months ago, though what I was presented was still prepared for the taste and acceptability of a child; something else I would work to correct soon. 

I finished with everything and thanked my maids who bowed in the traditional form before they moved to leave the room. As opposed to every other day until now, I followed them to and out the door, at which point they both glanced at each other nervously before looking down at my miniscule frame. I merely stared back up at them, waiting for them to move out of my path, caught in a bit of an unintentional staring contest for an awkward minute.  

"Young miss," Zira began tentatively, clearly unsure of exactly how to phrase her protest. She was thankfully interrupted by a guard walking down the hallway, yawning quite wide before they noticed the gathering in front of my door. Sloppy. 

"Ah, young miss," the guardswoman said as she straightened up. "I was told to take you to the library." 

"More likely you were told to play nanny," I replied calmly. I continued just when they opened their mouth to protest, "Do not worry, I am not wont to stumble into open hearths or errant sword swings. Just follow along." 

With that said I strode confidently down the hallway, the effect only slightly ruined by my short legs taking quite a bit of time to actually pass by the surprised guard. I continued down the hall, ignoring the muttering of my maids who, apparently with little else to occupy their time, trailed behind the guard as the whole procession followed me. I simply discarded it all, retracing my path of the morning before until I had reached the library with the guardswoman stepping forward to open the door for us.  

I strode in, frowning when I saw the table I had been working at now empty. It appeared I would have to fetch the historical tomes I had still been in the middle of scanning the day before, which would really be a waste of my time. I continued frowning as I strolled for the correct aisle, wishing that I had more time to spend. I staggered slightly as I felt a burning in my chest and limbs, rolling my eyes and just barely resisting sighing at this point.  

Third Affinity unlocked. 

Unlocked: Time 

Grade: A 

Compatibility: 125% 

Well…that's certainly an interesting grouping of three, I thought as I reviewed my new power. Fortunately for me, the guardswoman had remained by the door, and the maids had left after they were assured I was not going anyplace dangerous. I flexed the mana that was always present, always circulating in my body, trying to gauge the effect of the power. After experimenting for a minute, or less, given the power's functionality, I had some grasp of what I could do. I would have to spend much more time exploring and training my abilities to really grasp them, but Time seemed relatively straightforward. At least at first, I could use mana to speed up or slow down the flow of time related to my person. I was unsure how this would look to others, though it would likely look as if I started to move as a blur as I sped up my personal timestream.  

I recovered the history books I had been working on before I was so rudely interrupted and returned to my chosen table with them. I had only gotten a small part into the political and economic history of the Settled Lands, and I intended to focus on that next. I spent the next few months working my way through that history, figuring out the current situation and looking to see if there were any other gaps I could find to use as a wedge for advantage later in my life. 

I would get more into the current state of affairs a little later, but the general layout of the Settled Lands wasn't too complicated. There were two great empires that held the east and west, with three other countries, including my new adoptive homeland, sandwiched in-between them. The empires had seemed to get much of their conquering out of their system, and currently had no plans to move on any of the other countries.  

The country that bordered our southwest and was the largest of the three non-imperial powers was Salere. It was a great merchant republic that was almost solely focused on wealth generation. Due to how the coast twisted and turned, as well as the way the land had currently been divided up, Salere had the most coast of the four coastal countries. There were few things forbidden in Salere; if it made money, it was good business. 

To the east of Salere, the smallest of the five countries was Tabaern. Tabaern, somewhat surprisingly, was the most militaristic of the five countries, and their young men and women worked quite often as mercenaries, as well as frequently forming their own clans and companies. Many Tabaernians could also be found in Adventurers Guild Halls throughout the Settled lands, fighting anyone or anything they could.  

The two empires were generally focused on their own affairs currently, with the western empire of Kradonia just starting the process of going through a succession. The eastern empire of Nomahra occasionally fought against Tabaern in minor skirmishes, but it never really boiled over. Tabaernians, no matter where they wound up, were oddly and distinctly loyal to their homeland, and would pour back into the country at the first sign of threat. That made Tabaern too tough of a nut to crack, while Nomahra didn't have easy access to Salere and wouldn't have bothered anyway, as their wealth was a different kind of high wall they would have had to climb. 

In between Tabaern and Salere in terms of overall power was my new home, Adonaria. We didn’t fight as much as Tabaern, but our constant war against the Untamed Wilds led to us having a significant amount of military power. The use of our country for conferences and as a staging point for expeditions into the Untamed Wilds also brought in quite a bit of wealth, meaning we were a little too rich to wear down or attack economically. Our constant hosting of conferences and expeditions had also made us into a well-respected neutral party, though I think the fact that anyone who conquered even part of our country would have a larger border with the Untamed Wilds was just as much a deterrent. 

Previous

Next