Chapter 56 - Recital

Taelun’s confident smirk vanishes, replaced by a tense, guarded neutrality. Clovis’s posture doesn’t change, but I feel the sudden stillness in her, the coiled readiness. 

Arrian pushes past the linen that’s acting as a door, his silver armour dimming slightly as it gets out of the sun. He moves with a liquid grace that is unnervingly silent for a man clad in so much metal.

Taelun forces a measure of his usual charm back into his voice, though it sounds thin. “We were just discussing the structural integrity of these salvaged beams. Can’t have the roof caving in, can we?”

Arrian ignores him completely, his gaze fixed on Clovis. “I gave you the corrupted stones as a professional courtesy. A token of faith in your work. And I find you, not a day later, conspiring behind my back. Wasting this man’s valuable time on what I can only assume is a continuation of your fanciful theories.”

“Our work requires a specific tool, Knight Captain. Taelun makes such tools. It’s a simple matter of logistics.” She doesn’t yield to his accusations.

“Logistics.” Arrian scoffs. He stops before us, his sheer height forcing me to tilt my head back. “The only logistics that matter are fortifications and manpower, as I am planning a reconnaissance expedition into the forest.”

Arrian continues, his eyes still locked on Clovis. “And you will be accompanying us. I require your expertise to aid my men to a successful mission.”

He’s not asking. He’s commanding her as if she were one his own. I see the trap closing around us, and I feel a surge of helpless anger.

But Clovis doesn’t flinch. “I will go. On one condition. You provide us with a high-grade mana stone. One large enough for Taelun to work with for our project.”

Arrian’s eyebrow arches. He seems almost amused by her audacity. 

He glances at Taelun, then at me, then back to her. “A single stone is a small price to pay for you to come willingly.”

“Wait.” All of them turn to look at me before I can process my next sentence.

“Knight Captain, with respect… our project might be able to help you with your mission if you allow us some time to get it ready. Clovis is too valuable to the people here to put in that kind of danger.”

The amusement on Arrian’s face departs.

“I have told you before to be silent. Your opinion is without value, and your interruption is an act of insubordination against your master. How dare you bring shame to her.” His contempt is no longer veiled; it’s a naked, palpable force that makes me feel small, insignificant.

I feel my eyes begin to burn, and I fight with every fiber of my being to keep the tears from falling. To cry now would be to give him the victory he so clearly desires.

I turn to Clovis, expecting a defense, a show of solidarity or comradery in the face of his oppression.

“I can take care of myself, please be quiet Shikara.” 

I’m so focused on her words of disdain I barely catch the disgust that briefly slips onto her face. 

It’s a betrayal. A public disavowal from the one person I thought was my ally. 

The fragile bridge we had just started to build between us collapses into a chasm of confusion and hurt. I stare at her, my mouth slightly agape.

She’s siding with him. She’s throwing me to the wolves to save herself.

The heat in my cheeks is unbearable. I want the entire place to burn to the ground around me. 

I look down at my feet, at the dirt and cinders on the ground, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. I feel pathetic, a fool for ever thinking I could stand on my own here.

Arrian lets out a satisfied sound, as he savors his triumph over me. “What discovery could possibly be so important that it warrants such insubordination, Clovis?” 

Clovis doesn’t miss a beat. The moment Arrian’s focus is off me, she seems to seize the opportunity. “We have identified a potential method for observing ambient mana.”

“Through our experiments,” Clovis continues, her confidence unshakeable. “we’ve determined that the corrupted stones aren’t inert. They’re saturated with a foreign type of mana, one that seems to absorb or nullify the mana our mages are familiar with. We believe this is the ‘sickness’ that is driving the creatures in the forest to their frenzy.”

She pauses, letting the weight of her words settle. Arrian is no longer smirking. He is listening, his head tilted slightly, the mind of a commander processing new intelligence.

“We also discovered, by accident, that an uncorrupted mana stone can act as a filter. When looking through one, we were able to perceive the presence of this foreign mana as a visible, tangible mist. It’s faint, but it’s there. And that is why we need Taelun. We believe if he can craft a lens from a sufficiently large and pure mana stone, we can create a lens that allows us to see this corrupted mana clearly. Which could mean we could track its source.”

Arrian’s aristocratic disdain is completely gone, replaced by a calculating intensity. Before him is no longer a village healer; he is seeing a potential asset, a key to the success of his mission and, by extension, his own glory. 

He steps forward to approach Taelun who has been busying himself ever since I was torn down to nothing. Arrian doesn’t need to ask the question.

“The theory is sound. If the material is pure, I think I could create the lens you need.”Taelun splutters out, his confidence hindered by Arrian’s arrogance.

Arrian seems to weigh the possibilities as his mouth stays shut for longer than 5 seconds.

 The potential reward against the risk of indulging what he just dismissed as fanciful nonsense. 

Ultimately pragmatism wins again.

A pure instrument of command beckons Taelun to action. “You will be provided with the stone. I want this lens, and I want it completed before the expedition departs in two days. You will have whatever resources you require. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Knight Captain Sir.” Taelun says, his voice regaining a shaky confidence. 

The contempt is gone, but the authority remains as he addresses Clovis and me. “You have your stone. See to it that you deliver on your promise. I will not tolerate failure or any further underhandedness.” 

He fixes a final, pointed glare at me. “From either of you.”

And with that last jab he retreats from the forge with the same grace he entered with.

I don’t look at Clovis. I can’t. The sting of her public rebuke is still too raw. I just stand there, staring at the empty space where Arrian stood, feeling hollowed out.

“Shikara.”

Clovis’s voice is soft and tentative. 

But I still can’t respond.

“I am sorry for what I said…I didn’t mean any of it.” she pleads. 

“I told you before, Arrian is a man who understands only power and dominance. Arguing with him, defending you directly, would have been pointless. It was just a farce. Just like last time, a means to an end.”

Her words begin to wash away the hurt.

I finally turn to look at her. Her cool distance feels hot as she places a hand on my shoulder in her own attempt at genuine regret.

She wasn’t betraying me. She was protecting the mission. 

She was protecting me from his continued wrath.

“You’re a great performer.” I admit quietly as a small smile relaxes my shoulder at last.