Unnamed Memory

“Ahhh… I knew it!” Pamyra cried in consternation, and Renart sighed. The stones were infused with spells originally meant to form a protective barrier around Tinasha. Despite her power, she still required concentration for the incantation to divert the five magical lakes. That was why she needed a barrier that could protect Oscar and the others during the intervening time. Both Pamyra and Renart knew, however, that Tinasha was protecting the captives at the expense of guarding herself.
“Go!” the witch hissed to her two loyal attendants.
Fending off the hail of offensive spells that came barreling downward from every direction, Pamyra and Renart both turned down the command.
“No!”
“I refuse.”
Lanak’s huge spell had already activated, synchronizing the magical lakes. If Tinasha relinquished now, a storm of magical power worse than when Tuldarr was destroyed would carve its way across the land. The only hope was to reset the spell and divert the magical lakes. Tinasha was the only person capable of such a feat.
Guarding their lady, Pamyra and Renart retaliated against Lanak’s closest followers. The man himself fell back behind a row of his supporters and was still clearly enraged. Evidently, he didn’t want to expend his own magic.
Without an incantation, Renart summoned up a blade of wind. It mowed down two mages still in the middle of chanting. Pamyra was about to give pursuit when she sensed something and threw up a defensive shield at Renart’s side. Black flames battered against it.
“Ngh! Damn you…!”
The attack was more intense than she’d anticipated, forcing Pamyra to devote all her strength into fortifying the shield. She stumbled a few steps back and glared at the source of the strike.
It was the mad mage Bardalos, standing there with a look of unmitigated glee. “So you really did betray us! How hilarious!”
Bardalos loosed another wave of dark fire. This time, he aimed for the witch, who was still deep in the middle of her diversion spell. Renart hurried to block it, but a second spell came hurtling toward him and rooted his feet to the ground.
“Lady Tinasha!” Pamyra screamed, afraid that Bardalos’s attack would reach the witch.
Much to her relief and surprise, however, the shadowy tongues of fire never knew the taste of Tinasha’s flesh.
Looking slightly put out, Tinasha glared up at the man who had leaped to protect her.
“You really need to learn how to ask me for help,” he drawled.
Before Tinasha stood the one man who could kill her.
As Oscar was eyeing the situation at the base of the steps, Als came running up to him, hacking his way through Cuscull soldiers along the way. Doan and the other mages intermittently stepped outside the barrier to return fire against the enemy mages. Nark swelled in size and engaged in an aerial battle against five demons.
Of those fifty who’d been kidnapped via teleport, close to half managed to grasp the situation and spring into action. Some even dared to push past Tinasha’s shield. They charged forward to protect the witch, recognizing that she was key to their survival. Others climbed the stone steps in an attempt to reach the throne.
As things quickly devolved into a free-for-all, Bardalos hurled a spear of light toward the man who’d stood himself in front of the witch. The magic pole arm merely struck Oscar’s barrier and shattered.
“What?!” Bardalos exclaimed in shock. Oscar cast a knowing glance back at Tinasha. She returned the look while still working on Lanak’s spell.
…He’s here. He actually came.
Just knowing that was enough to fill her with a curious feeling of reassurance. The back of her throat grew hot.
“What do you want me to do?” Oscar asked, and Tinasha looked down and ran some calculations. It was going to take her thirty minutes to finish reciting the spell. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to last that long amid the current chaotic situation. Even if she did, there was still a chance of catastrophic damage.
Tinasha looked back up at Oscar. Her dark eyes glowed with a light that Oscar knew very well.
“Give me as much time as you can.”
“As you wish,” he replied immediately. Tinasha nodded.
Then she began the new incantation that would overturn everything.
Positioning himself in front of Tinasha, Oscar prepared to square off against Bardalos. The mad mage grinned with delight. “The swordsman of Akashia, eh? Heard a lot of legends. Wonder how much is true.”
“Hmm? I don’t care,” Oscar spat out and advanced on Bardalos. The other man had been expecting that, however, and aimed a sickle of flames at Oscar’s feet.
Dodging it would risk the spell hitting Tinasha behind him. Instead, Oscar brought down his sword and smashed Bardalos’s magic apart. Akashia scattered the flames, leaving only black scorch marks on the stone.
Bardalos licked his lips. “You’re pretty good with that. I thought you were just a foolish swordsman who’d let the barrier do all the work.”
“I don’t want to make any trouble for her—that’s all,” Oscar shot back.
The defensive barrier was linked to Tinasha. Oscar wasn’t sure what was going to happen as she completed her spell. As such, he wanted to make certain that he didn’t drain her power unnecessarily.
Bardalos sneered as the king again fended off the magic rushing at him with a single sweep of Akashia. “It’ll be interesting to see how long you can keep that up. You might even die without ever moving a single step from where you stand. That sure would be a shame. My first audience with the Mage Killer is certainly turning out to be rather disappointing.”
“Sorry to say, but my merciless teacher gave me one hell of a training regimen. I promise you won’t be disappointed, though I can’t promise your survival.”
“Bold words. I hope you have the strength to back them up,” Bardalos sneered. With an arcane motion, he summoned up some two dozen fireballs that floated in midair.
A swordsman who kept his distance would soon find himself battered by a volley of ranged attacks. While this upstart king possessed a legendarily dangerous weapon, Bardalos believed there was nothing to fear so long as the sword never touched him. In his mind, the battle was already over—and he had won.
“Go on—burn to cinders,” he cried with glee, commanding a flurry of fireballs down on Oscar. With one eye on his burning storm, Bardalos lifted his right hand to cast his next spell. He believed wholeheartedly in his own dominance, but then his eyes widened.
“Die.”
Unbelievable speed, unbelievable distance. A drawn sword glittered before his eyes like a polished mirror.
All of Bardalos’s thoughts ended there. In one motion, Oscar had cleaved through the foul man’s magical defenses and his neck.
Many of the Cuscull mages began to lose their will to fight after seeing their chief mage meet his end in a flashy spray of blood.
Behind them, Lanak continued to rage. “Summon more demons! Kill them!” he howled.
At this royal decree, the mages on the outermost stone steps began summoning incantations. A mage near the throne began the same sort of spell, but Als came leaping up and quickly struck that person down. With Pamyra and Renart in the fray as well, Lanak’s forces were quickly losing control of the platform with the throne.
To compensate, more and more of the mages who’d been in the outer ring teleported into the center. The occasional demon came with them, too.
“That can’t be true! There’s no way Lady Aeterna would betray us!” rose Tris’s voice above the melee.
She couldn’t bring herself to attack Tinasha, but neither could she defend her like Pamyra and Renart. Unsure and unwilling, she simply stood stock-still in disbelief. As other Cuscull mages teleported to the center of the fight, she was pushed to the back.
Tris’s childhood dreams were dying before her very eyes, and it seemed that everyone was content not to help. Only power and blood mattered on the battlefield. Finally, Tris tore her tear-filled eyes away from the spectacle and ran off. Tears trailing behind her, she vanished into the wilderness. A Cuscull mage who noticed the fleeing girl raised a hand to send a fire arrow after her.
Meredina’s sword bit into the caster and stopped the spell before it began, however. Protected by a barrier made by Doan and Kav, she slashed her way through the outer stone steps. As she pressed on through the crowd, someone threw a ball of light in her face.
“What in the—?!”
Closing one eye reflexively, Meredina slashed blindly with her blade in an attempt to hack through the spell. Before her sword made contact, the incoming magical attack simply bounced off the protections that her friends had placed on her.
“Stop acting like His Majesty. You can’t cut through magic with a normal sword,” Doan reminded her, appalled, as he hurled a small lightning bolt at some Cuscull mages.
“Wasn’t it better than doing nothing?” she snapped back.
Meredina came in from the left. With a practiced motion, she severed the arm of a mage that’d been attempting to protect himself with lightning. He collapsed to the ground with a shriek, and Meredina continued to move forward.
From behind, Doan calmly cautioned, “You’re going a little too fast. Slow down.”
Meredina shrugged and took two steps back, only to meet the sharp claws of a lizardman’s swipe. A terrible, metallic screech rang out in the arena. She exchanged three blows with the creature before plunging her sword into its scaly chest.
Another lizard tried to grab her sword, but a Cezar general cut it down from behind. Meredina pulled the blade out and nodded at the general, who gave a casual wave back.
Sword in hand in the middle of the battlefield, Reust looked at the dauntless Farsasian crew and bit back a sigh.
He had a habit of losing track of time during fights. One moment would pass in a flash, and the next seemed to lag. It was like wandering endlessly through a fog with no clear exit.
As he crossed swords with a wave of advancing demons, he looked up at the witch on the stone platform. Even at this distance, her white dress made her easy to spot.
She seemed just as beautiful as ever, even as she chanted her spell. Reust was so caught up in looking at the lovely lines of her face that a small magic spear grazed his shoulder. When he looked to see who had thrown it, he saw a very young mage—a boy, really—scowling at him with fear and hatred.
“Die! Rot in hell, you monster!”
The bitter cry was unmistakably meant for Reust alone.
Tayiri had built up this hatred over the centuries. Seeing it right before him in the flesh took his breath away.
The boy sketched a rough spell array, then hurled it at Reust. It became a fireball as it arced through the air, leaving a trail of flames in its wake. Faced with a literal burning manifestation of anger, Reust choked out, “Is this the result of Tayiri’s sin…?”
It was indeed a terrible thing to deny others the very right to live as human beings.
Both sides had been born with a twisted resentment of each other.
Had the day come for that to end? Was an end even possible?
Reust closed his eyes, ready to accept what came. Before the fireball could consume him, it was dispelled. Whirling around, Reust saw a mage of Farsas who waved him off casually.
“Save the deep thoughts for after this is over, Your Majesty. Right now, our priority is surviving.”
“…Got it,” Reust answered curtly, though not without sincerity. Tamping down the bitterness rooted in his heart, he strode up to the mage boy. As the little magic user hurried to prepare another spell, Reust drove an elbow into his stomach. He supported the buckling boy, gently laying him down on the ground. The time to think would come later; for now, Reust knew he had to keep his head up high.
He raised his sword, ready to engage his next opponent.
A winged demon swooped down upon the witch with its claws outstretched. A burst of fire rose to meet it, however. Hurling attacks as they dashed up the stone stairs, Sylvia and Kumu finally reached the top and rushed over to Tinasha. Although she was in the middle of her long incantation, she acknowledged the pair with a smile.
Overcome with joy that Tinasha was still her old self, Sylvia nearly broke down in tears. “We’ll protect you. I promise!” She then began to chant a spell. “O midday star, o nighttime flower. O thing that cannot be seen, breathe. Spiral up.”
It was a rather elementary spell that induced sleep. However, in the hands of Sylvia, a court mage, the effect was strengthened to a degree one could only describe as bizarre. Ordinarily, the spell wouldn’t have affected other magic users very much. That was why the Cuscull mages chose to ignore it. This complacency proved to be their undoing as one by one they began to stumble and fall.
Next to her, Kumu took point in front of the witch so that Oscar could enter the fray. He put up a defensive barrier and listened to the witch’s incantation more closely.
“…A double incantation?!” Kumu yelped in surprise before he could stop himself, and all the mages around him turned their heads. The shock on their faces meant that they’d realized it, too.
A double incantation was an old, high-grade magical art that had died with Tuldarr.
According to the records, by using one incantation to create two spell configurations, two types of magic could be utilized at the same time. Doing so unfortunately required more than just the power to cast each spell individually, making double incantations one of the most advanced magical arts ever devised. Tinasha’s usage of this now meant that she was preparing to cast something besides her spell to divert the power of the magical lakes.
“And not only that…”
When Kumu realized what the second spell was, he gasped and fell silent. Pamyra had come up to him, and she finished his sentence. “This is…from Tuldarr’s coronation ceremony…”
As if in response, the witch stretched out her right hand, palm facing downward.
A white glowing circle of light appeared around her. It rapidly expanded, stopping at the edge of the stone stairs. Lanak saw it from his position in the air above the fray, and he seethed with fury.
“Aeti! How much further will you go to mock me?!”
Tinasha offered no answer.
Dozens of white, glowing spell patterns rose up within the great ring. A huge light erupted from what would’ve been the one o’clock position had the spell array been a clock. Soon after, a similar luminous burst appeared at the two o’clock position, then three, and so on.
Powerful lights glowed in sequence until finally the twelve o’clock position blazed to life.
Perched from a high vantage point, Doan beheld the incredible display and muttered, “Could that be Tuldarr’s…? Wait, twelve? All of them? She can’t be serious.”
Brandishing Akashia against multiple demons, Oscar slashed apart the torso of a lizardman who leaped at him. He snapped the weapon to shake blood from its blade, then looked over his shoulder.
He caught sight of the witch and grinned. “Has enough time passed yet? What are you gonna show us?”
Combatants on both sides chanced glances at the witch. An unbelievable amount of magic had gathered around her.
This was when she showed what a witch was truly made of. Everyone could feel in their bones that this was going to be a turning point in history.
Tinasha paused in her chanting and began to issue some sort of decree. Her voice rang out sonorously across the battlefield.
“Appear, spirits bound to Tuldarr by an ancient contract! My name is Tinasha As Meyer Ur Aeterna Tuldarr! I am your regent, and by this proclamation, you are defined… Come to me!”
All was lost to a blinding explosion of white.
A violent torrent of power came rolling in. Sandy winds buffeted those still standing.
The air changed. A stream of alternating hot and cold winds rushed in.
When the dust settled—Tuldarr’s twelve hereditary spirits had appeared.
The beings known as the spirits of Tuldarr were legends spoken of in magical history. They were high-ranking demons that the first king of Tuldarr had summoned and bound to the nation. At the time a new regent was crowned, one to three of them—based on the regent’s magical abilities—would be selected and put to use.
History had taught many that it was impossible for any ruler of Tuldarr to control multiple high-ranking demons at once.
Tinasha’s calling of all twelve seemed akin to lunacy, yet it was happening before every nonbeliever’s eyes.
The high-ranking demons stood above the circle. One of them, a man with vermilion hair, said in a leisurely tone, “It’s been so, so long since I last made myself known.”
“Oh? I hadn’t gotten enough sleep yet…,” another complained.
“Hey, the country’s in ruins.”
“Well, anything humans create is fragile.”
As the demons started to chat with one other, the humans all around gaped in shock. Some of the demons looked elderly, while others appeared as young men and women. One or two even resembled children. Whatever their appearance, it was clear that none were truly human. Their deep crimson hair and aloof, intimidating airs betrayed their true natures.
If left to their own devices, they seemed liable to chat among themselves forever, but a word from the witch shut them up.
“I order…”
At that, all the spirits knelt down. The old, white-haired one at the twelve o’clock position spoke for its peers with a dignified tone. “Our master. What is your order?”
“Annihilate the enemies. Leave those who do not show hostility unharmed. Avoid killing if you can.”
“We understand.”
Their directive clear, the twelve rose to their feet. A few of them had their eyes closed, yet others were openly smirking. The vermilion-haired spirit appeared to be familiar with Tinasha and teased, “You’re all grown up but still such a naive little girl.”
“Just do it,” Tinasha commanded, waving a hand at them dismissively, and they scattered.
Instantly, the nearly one hundred demons the Cuscull mages had summoned all vanished.

The appearance of the spirits was enough to sap any remaining desire to fight from Lanak’s forces. Terrified of such a supernatural power, they either surrendered or fled the scene.
Now free of opposition, the witch resumed her first incantation. All anyone could do was watch the huge, intricately woven spell as it grew to exceed all human limitations.
Just like that, the battle was over. Lanak turned tail and ran through the ruins of the country he’d destroyed, panting all the while.
Gradually, the tumult grew distant. He tried to teleport away but found concentration extremely difficult. Whether it was due to exhaustion from the spell he’d created using Tinasha as a catalyst or more deep-set damage from his long stasis was anyone’s guess. Either way, his body’s magic was in tatters.
Lanak growled, the taste of fresh blood in his mouth. “Aeti… Aeterna…”
All he did was repeat her name. It was impossible to say now whether the word was spiked with hatred or something else entirely.
Over and over, Lanak repeated the name, as if calling it was the only thing still anchoring him in this world. A cloud of sand rolled by and engulfed the pale man.
Suddenly, Lanak’s surroundings grew terribly dark. He looked up to see a red dragon circling overhead. After catching sight of Lanak, the great beast started into a descent. A man leaped off its back.
Amid the grit, Lanak spied a double-edged sword that’d been polished to a mirrorlike sheen. He knew it well; the weapon was the only one of its kind in all the land.
The man who’d leaped from the dragon was blocking Lanak’s way. Doing his best to remain calm, Lanak called, “Hello. We meet again, I see. I believe the outcome of our little skirmish is already decided, so what are you here for?”
“Oh, nothing. I just had something to ask you,” Oscar replied, readjusting his grip on Akashia’s hilt. His handsome features were emotionless, but an angry fire burned in his eyes.
“What could you possibly want from me? If there’s anything you want to know, you should ask Aeterna, not me.”
Much like what had transpired in today’s battle, Lanak was sure that Tinasha understood more than he ever had. He was the only one who’d been clueless.
“Aeti knows everything. Take pity on me. We were both potential rulers of Tuldarr, but I wasn’t powerful enough.”
Lanak wished she’d stayed as the little girl he only had to protect. She was supposed to marry him; that was her role. Unfortunately, her talent and diligence had brought about a betrayal. If she’d only been weak, none of this would have happened.
“It is because of her that Tuldarr came to ruin. She’s the reason I…”
“You abused her trust,” Oscar spat coldly. His words concealed a frightening threat, and Lanak fell silent.
While the pale man was unsure of many things, he had a powerful hunch that he was going to die here.
Lanak’s long life, a journey bereft of joy, was coming to its end.
With indifference in his tone, Oscar asked another question. “What did you feel when you cut her open?”
“…Ha.”
Lanak’s face twisted into something resembling a smile. He only remembered that it was a lurid, ghastly sight.
He could hear her voice as she screamed and begged him to save her. Her blood and entrails had gushed up from her little body. The nauseating stench tickled his nose even now.
Lanak could still feel her innards in his hands, and he glanced down at his empty palms.
Compassion, jealousy, denial, longing, and hatred.
The names he gave to the lakes were the only feelings Lanak had ever felt toward her.
She was the woman who controlled his life and whose life he should have controlled. In truth, he had loved her. She had reached out to him with such innocence, and he’d only wanted to cherish her.
He simply never had the power to make that happen.
That was why…he’d wanted his power to exceed hers.
“Lanak, stay with me. Don’t leave me alone.”
“It’s all right, Aeti. I’ll protect you.”
Someday, he’d awaken from that fleeting dream. The illusory vision of the past that had so consumed Lanak for over four hundred years was now finally giving way to reality.
…He was sure that she would never look back at him again.
Lanak had been the one who’d perished that terrible night at the altar. In the throes of his demise, he’d ripped the purest part from his beloved.
The pallid man looked up with a crooked smile on his lips. “I wasn’t thinking about anything. She was just a tool.”
Perhaps that’s why he didn’t need to say her name anymore.
Lanak closed his eyes, shutting out all feeling.
Akashia bore down on him, and in his final moments, Lanak whispered her name one last time.

A young man selling firewood in the landlocked nation of Cezar was suddenly struck by an odd sensation. Curious, he looked to the eastern sky.
Legend had it that an evil god and his worshippers had built a village hidden in the forest along the eastern border. However, if the old tales were to be believed, magic fell from the sky and destroyed the village four hundred years ago.
After that, the place where the secluded settlement once stood became known as something called a magical lake.
As the boy stared toward the horizon, he saw something shine brightly in the sky and his eyes widened.
At first, he thought it was just his imagination, but the very next moment, white lights began to fountain up from the forest. Rather leisurely, they began to make their way up toward the sky.
“…What in the world?”
The sight was a wonder, a mystery, but beautiful to behold.
Such a spectacular phenomenon was enough to inspire faith in forsaken gods.
A warm, soft breeze swept across the entire region, though there was no wind.
The luminous motes continued their climbing until they diffused into the sky, gradually diminishing in number and growing paler. The boy stood rooted to the ground, entranced by the sight of it all.
At long last, all the floating, meandering globes dissolved into the clouds and disappeared.
Nothing was left.
For a long time after, the young man gazed dumbly up at the heavens.

The titanic spell configuration, set aloft from the witch’s grasp, finished diverting the energy of the magical lakes and dissolved into the open air above.
Now that her long incantation was finally over, Tinasha stared out at the former battlefield with placid eyes.
The stench of blood and charred flesh clung heavily to the breeze. Burnt and motionless bodies lay facedown. Tinasha carefully partook of the brutal sight. Cries of agony and death still lingered in her ears, or perhaps the sound was in her mind.
…It would be very easy to cry.
Tinasha didn’t want to, though. Allowing her emotions to rise risked them overflowing and her losing control. No matter what she felt, Tinasha knew it didn’t change the fact that every death today was her fault—her burden.
Those who survived were staring at Tinasha with a strange elation. It was the deep sort of emotion shared by comrades who fought side by side for a united cause.
There were just as many—particularly those still cowering inside the barrier Tinasha had formed with the pieces of obsidian—who eyed her fearfully, however. Pamyra and Renart moved to shield their lady from those hostile gazes.
They were covered in wounds from head to toe, and Tinasha cast them a look as if to say, It’s all right now.
Her dark eyes landed on Nark, who’d come back. The man who alighted from the red dragon spotted her and wasted no time in rushing to her side. Tinasha awaited him in silence.
A general from Gandona stopped Oscar before he could reach the witch. “As the bearer of Akashia, I trust you know what needs to be done,” he said.
A nervous ripple ran through the crowd. All present knew that Oscar was tasked with slaying the witch.
Oscar nodded tightly, then strode to Tinasha. He paused before Pamyra and Renart, who were teeming with animosity. Before either could conjure up some manner of defense for their lady, the witch talked them down.
“Thank you, both of you. Let him through.”
While they were reluctant, they heeded their lady’s order and stepped aside.
Oscar passed between the two and at last came to stand before the witch.
Tinasha was about to call Oscar’s name but held the word back.
She knew he had been crowned king of Farsas. That made it all the more improper for people to know he had any connection to a witch. He was someone who would walk the path of righteousness and go down in history as a wise ruler.
Knowing this, Tinasha thought it best that she fade away and become nothing more than his stepping-stone. She prayed that he would find happiness in the future to come.
“Please…,” she said, the quiet plea unconsciously spilling from her. Realizing she’d spoken aloud, Tinasha pressed her lips shut tight.
She didn’t know what she’d planned to say. All that she’d kept so repressed had somehow slipped out a little. The lingering heat in her throat felt good. Tinasha thought it more than she deserved to die while enjoying that sensation.
The witch took a deep breath, then closed her eyes with a smile.
Diverting the magical lakes had exhausted her own power. It took everything she had just to stand upright.
If she was to meet the end today, she wanted to greet it on her feet, however—on her feet and dry-eyed.
The lakes were gone, Lanak was dead, and now she would die.
With her death, the ghosts of Tuldarr would disappear. After four hundred years, the fate they had altered would at last right its course.
Tinasha tilted her head up a little, almost as if she were expecting a kiss.
She waited for Akashia to run her through.
Oscar reached out toward her face. He brushed her smooth cheeks.
“Do you remember what I said when you broke Lucrezia’s spell?”
No answer came.
Very gently, he placed the blade of Akashia against her alabaster neck.
Tinasha’s body crumpled into Oscar’s arms.

“Aeti, come here.”
She could hear a voice coming from very far away. It called her name, and she opened her eyes.
Tinasha was peering down a stone corridor that seemed to stretch on forever.
“Come to me, I’ve missed you.”
The voice was coming from somewhere behind her. It belonged to a boy who Tinasha missed terribly. She smiled. Tinasha recalled how she used to feel accustomed to solitude but still longed to cling to the warmth of someone’s hands. Something not quite self-derision and not quite loneliness filled her heart.
“Aeti.”
…Names defined people.
The name one was called became their self.
No matter how sweetly the voice in her memories called that name, Tinasha knew she would never turn back again. Aeti was a child who died a long, long time ago.
“Good-bye, Lanak.”
Eyes focused on what was ahead, Tinasha began to walk forward.
The stone felt cool under her bare feet and told her nothing of the future that awaited her.

When she awoke, Tinasha realized she had no idea where she was.
In truth, she did know. It was more that she didn’t understand. Her brain felt heavy and slow as she shook her head. Sitting upright in bed, she blinked blearily at the blue sky that could be glimpsed through the nearby window.
As she did, the door opened without a sound. Tinasha glanced over and saw a woman there. “Pamyra…?”
“Lady Tinasha, you’re awake!” Pamyra cried, rushing over to kneel before the bed and take Tinasha’s hand. She placed it against her own forehead, testing its warmth. “You’ve been asleep for over a week… I was very worried.”
“I’m alive?”
“Of course you are!” Pamyra reproved her, but it still didn’t feel real. Tinasha found she was wearing a nightgown, and she placed her feet on the floor. She tried to stand, but her body was too weak for her to stay up. She staggered, and Pamyra supported her.
“Thank you… So why am I in Farsas?”
“A lot of trouble has happened. But right now, you can’t be up and about. Rest some more.”
They were in Tinasha’s bedroom in Farsas Castle. She had vacated these quarters, but it all looked the same as when she had left. Tinasha let Pamyra push her back down and sat on the edge of her bed.
She asked about the other mage. “Where’s Renart?”
“The laboratory. Should I call him?”
“No, I just wanted to know he was safe,” Tinasha said. She had a feeling that he was all right if Pamyra was, but it still gave her a sense of relief.
Tinasha took a breath, then looked up at Pamyra, who was checking the witch’s pulse.
“Pamyra, I have a request…”
“What is it?”
“I want to go out of this room… Help me bathe and change my clothes.”
Her lady had barely recovered, so Pamyra pulled a face at this demand but nodded reluctantly.
Bathing proved a little tiring but also felt so wonderful that it swept aside what had built up inside her. It awakened her consciousness to a degree and cleared her thoughts. Back in her bedroom, Tinasha used magic to dry her hair and slipped into the long dress Pamyra brought her.
“It feels like my legs have weakened… I can’t walk very well… It might be easier to fly or teleport to get around.”
“You need to rest properly!” Pamyra practically shrieked, and someone outside the door took that as their cue to enter. The master of the castle walked in, looking sullen.
“Don’t go out if you aren’t at your best.”
“Oscar…”
He gave her the same warning as Pamyra, who bowed as she passed him and left the room.
Tinasha used magic to float over and land in front of him. She’d lost a bit of weight, and he picked her up like he would’ve done with a child. She touched his cheek as she asked, “Why am I alive?”
“Right off the bat, huh? If you’re feeling that good, I suppose you won’t mind if I grind my fist into your head for a moment.”
“That really hurts. Please don’t.”
Oscar brought her to the bed and sat her down on its edge. Then he dragged a nearby chair over and took a seat himself. “I never had any intention of killing you. And it feels gross that you wanted to make me do so.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Anyway, I’ve got tons more things I want to lecture you about. It’s likely to take half the day, so prepare yourself.”
“…I’m sorry,” Tinasha repeated, hanging her head like a child getting reprimanded. Oscar reached out and entwined his fingers in her long, silky black hair. As it was freshly dried, it was still a little warm.
The witch gazed into his eyes. They were a deep blue, and he stared at her just as seriously as he had before. Belying his harsh words was a look full of adoration that he lavished on her.
An indescribable sense of nostalgia welled up inside Tinasha when she saw that. “Can I touch you?” she asked.
“Do what you want.”
She floated up into the air and landed on her knees between his legs on the chair. Looping her arms around his neck, she pressed in close.
She had always thought that loneliness was just a natural thing for her.
When she finally found a way out, she plunged in headfirst, but then left it behind… The month and a half she had been away had felt like forever.
Everyone assumed Tinasha was dangerous, and she’d never thought it mattered. All she’d cared about was waiting for the right moment to arrive. Once it did, she believed she’d finally be able to pay back all the people she hadn’t been able to save. To that end, she did her best not to pay any attention to what others thought, even if it wore away at her.
That was why Tinasha had held it all in—everything she wanted to cry out. No matter how the irritation and self-hatred tore at her, she never let it rise to the surface. Even when that sludge of emotion burned her up from the inside and she thought she would go mad, she still told herself she didn’t have the right to express those feelings.
It was much the same as her childhood spent living all alone in a detached wing of a castle.
No one was with her. She blamed herself for everything. That had long since become her reality.
Acceptance should have settled in, yet Tinasha had always found herself strangely…lonely.
“You brought me back.”
“Of course I did.”
Tinasha buried her face in Oscar’s shoulder. He was just as steady and warm as when she’d left.
Something began to rise up within her, tempting her to open up, but the witch didn’t know what to say. There was just a comforting heat in her chest. It was so tranquil she felt ready to fall asleep in Oscar’s arms.
Tinasha smiled, her wet eyelashes trembling. “A lot…happened. In the past and now.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“But I…”
After getting that far, Tinasha found herself unable to continue. She was positive that Oscar already knew anyway.
She breathed heavily, and as Oscar stroked her hair, he muttered, “Oh right… You’re my fiancée now.”
“Why?!”
“If I didn’t say you were, I couldn’t have brought you back with me. It was bad enough that someone told me to kill you, but your huge display of power earned you a whole list of suitors.”
“You need to respect my opinion!”
“You’re already here; just do your best for the remaining half of the year,” Oscar instructed—as high-handed as ever.
Tinasha pulled back to heave a huge, exaggerated sigh, but she couldn’t stop her face from breaking into a grin. She looked up at him from under her long lashes. “As you wish, then, O contract holder.”
Oscar nodded solemnly, and she gave him an angelic smile. Then she hugged him again, whispering “Thank you” in his ear.

After the battle at the ruins, Oscar immediately sat down with all the high-ranking members of each country.
“All right, let’s jump right in and start our discussion of what to do post-battle. The plan is to cover everything we can, including how to handle that,” declared the king of Farsas, an irrepressible air of authority belying his calm demeanor. The representatives of the other countries, Reust included, picked up on the inherent threat in his words and gulped.
The conference, held at Tayiri Castle soon after the group returned, was on a timer. The witch, depleted of her power and cuffed with the Farsas sealing bracelet, was put to sleep in a separate room. If they didn’t decide how to handle her before she woke up, none could say how things would play out.
Everyone understood that going into this discussion, though things began under a veneer of calm. Focusing mainly on Reust, the group made arrangements regarding compensation for the troops Tayiri sent out and the Cuscull mages taken as prisoners of war. When talk finally turned to what to do with the witch, a general of Cezar—one of the Four Great Nations—readily volunteered as the first to speak.
“About the witch… Whatever her reasons, she sided with Cuscull and she’s incredibly guilty. There can be no better time to end the threat she poses than this very moment… There would be one less threat to our land.”
Among the five witches who were the symbols of their era, Tinasha was undoubtedly the strongest.
The battle with Lanak had laid bare the extent of her power. On top of that, she now controlled twelve high-ranking demons. She was not someone they could just ignore.
The representative of Gandona, another Great Nation, agreed. A silence of implicit consensus fell over the room.
Oscar surveyed the group, then rested his folded hands on the table. “There’s still room for discussion as to whether she’s guilty. We were able to confirm that all the people who vanished from cities and towns in Farsas were restored unharmed before the battle.”
“…What?”
“It seems likely that she used a kind of invisibility magic to merely hide them. I’d like to know if this is the same for those cities that were ‘attacked’ in other countries,” Oscar said, though he knew what the answer would be. Confusion broke out among those at the table.
The only one present who was not shocked to hear that was Reust. He lifted a feeble hand to reply, “Tayiri has also confirmed what happened in our cities. It’s true—there were no victims wherever she was involved. I can’t say the same for the very first town that burned to the ground, but…it’s possible that she learned from that incident and intervened within Cuscull to reduce future damage.”
Tinasha had volunteered for a dirty job to make sure no one else came to harm.
Those gathered in that very conference had seen with their own eyes what Tinasha’s true goal had been.
The queen of a ruined country. The witch who lived for those that had been lost.
Oscar and the others carried the weight of their respective countries on their backs. They all felt deeply moved despite themselves by the awfully clumsy, sincere beauty of that woman.
The third prince of Gandona piped up nervously. “She’s the successor to Tuldarr, isn’t she? Doesn’t that mean she has magical knowledge that’s been otherwise lost for centuries? I think it overly hasty to execute her while she’s unconscious…”
“But we won’t be able to stop her once she’s awake. She’s a witch,” snapped the general of Cezar warningly, a sour look on his face.
Oscar cut in quickly. “If she’s with me, I can stop her. She’s very reasonable as far as witches go. And I’m sure I don’t need to explain why Farsas is the most suited to take charge of her.”
“…Akashia.”
The royal sword of Farsas was the one weapon that could kill a witch.
Right now, a sealing bracelet, made of the same material as Akashia, held Tinasha in check. At present, she wasn’t a threat. The king of Farsas was the only person in the land with items that could so disarm a witch at his disposal.
Rather hesitantly, the Gandona general protested, “But wouldn’t that mean that Farsas has a monopoly on the witch’s power? If she’s as reasonable as you say, I should think many countries would want to borrow her power.”
“If all you had to do was ask her for a favor, she wouldn’t have been living in a tower. As long as we don’t do anything, she’s completely harmless—just floating around reading books all day long. But make one wrong move and she’ll reject you. The envoy from Cuscull made that mistake, and she turned down his invitation.”
“She refused an envoy from Cuscull? How do you know about that?”
“Because I was originally the one who brought her down from her tower,” Oscar admitted. Reust’s eyes widened.
The others reacted in much the same way. Everyone looked like they wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. Slowly, Oscar looked at each member of the conference in turn. Sitting up perfectly straight in his chair, he said, “I’m sure she had her reasons for her part in the Cuscull incident, but ultimately the fault is with my negligence. I apologize for that and vow that nothing like this will happen again.”
His low, resonant voice sent a ripple through the council. The representatives from the other major nations exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond to what the king of Farsas said. Though he was making his own position highly precarious, Oscar went on matter-of-factly, “Bearing that in mind, I intend to answer your concerns to your complete satisfaction. Ask away.”
Oscar ceded some ground in the debate, but his unwavering intent was still clear in his attitude. Doubt plain in his tone, the Cezar general inquired, “I’m sorry, but why are you going to so much trouble for her?”
The witch was a living cataclysm, an abominable oddity. Why was he, a royal, taking steps to protect her? It was a perfectly natural question, and Oscar smirked. “That’s easy. It’s because she’s going to be my wife.”
“What…?”
Palpable waves of varying degrees of shock ran through the room as everyone’s heads swiveled to look at Oscar.
The young king of Farsas just gave the largely uncomprehending group a light smile. He finally picked up the cup of tea in front of him and took a sip.
By the end of the day, the decision was made; the witch would stay with Oscar.

“I just know he did something rash so he could take me in… Hmm, is it really all right…?” Tinasha fretted between mouthfuls of soup in bed.
“I wouldn’t worry about that part. He was kind enough to allow Renart and me to stay with you, too,” Pamyra said with a tight smile.
It certainly hadn’t been easy—Oscar had been left with no choice but to force his opinion on certain points—but he’d succeeded in convincing the other representatives to withdraw their concerns about the witch. Upon hearing that, Tinasha decided she needed to be on her best behavior whenever she left Farsas.
Pamyra went on to explain one other thing she knew her lady was wondering. “Tayiri initially held the Cuscull mages who surrendered, but later they were allowed to return home. Prince Reust has declared that Tayiri recognizes Cuscull as a self-governing, inviolate dominion for mages.”
“…Wow, that’s unexpected.”
“It appears he’s taken your sermons to heart. Inspired by recent events, a number of Tayiri people have begun speaking out about the persecution of mages. Several members of the Tayiri elite had children born with magic who were killed by the state, after all.”
“Ah… I see now. That would help things along.”
The death toll for Tayiri ultimately comprised those killed in that first village that was razed and the soldiers who fell during the battle on the Asdra Plains. Both were tragedies but may have marked the end to something even bigger. Only the passage of time would say for sure.
Tinasha felt faintly for her part in the recent changes. Returning her empty bowl to Pamyra, she broached the subject of one final person she was worried about. “Do you know what happened to Tris?”
“I don’t know where she is now, but…I’m sure she’s doing fine wherever she is. I just know it.”
“Oh…”
It seemed Tinasha hadn’t succeeded in saving everyone.
For all her power, such a feat was impossible. Just like turning back time or returning the dead to life, there were some things she could do nothing about.
Even if she had the ability, it was unfeasible to expect a single person to help everyone. That was why Tinasha had decided a long time ago that she wouldn’t get involved. Her decision to exist as a witch was a choice to live for those who had passed, not the living.
Even so, she couldn’t help but mourn. Whether that amounted to hypocrisy or self-gratification, she was still free to do it.
Tinasha gazed up at the canopy of her bed and sighed.
Everything she had been working toward was over now. There was nothing left she wanted to do. If she died the next day, she wouldn’t have found it objectionable… Her contract with Oscar still remained, however.
Tinasha decided to live for just a while longer. She would live for the man who hadn’t killed her.
When she thought about it that way…she did feel a little glad to be alive.


Unnamed Memory

 7. Teatime
“All the magical lakes really cleared away completely. It’s amazing.”
“That was my goal from the start.”
One week after Tinasha awoke, King Oscar had handled almost all the remaining post-battle cleanup, and Farsas Castle was completely back to normal. Amid that backdrop, two witches were having tea in the castle lounge.
It was a glorious afternoon, and Sylvia whispered to Kav at the next table over, “It doesn’t seem strange to me at all anymore to see Miss Tinasha and Miss Lucrezia here at the castle… I suppose my senses are dulled…”
“Mine too,” he replied.
Two of the mainland’s five witches came and went freely from the castle of one specific country. This was probably the first time such a thing had ever become commonplace during the Age of Witches. By and large, they were the personifications of power and fear. The extent of said power had recently been laid bare for all to behold. The sight of two witches calmly sipping tea was oddly humanizing, however.
Teacup in hand, Lucrezia pointed at Tinasha. “I heard you inherited the spirits, too? You were really prepared for the worst.”
“Don’t bring that up,” Tinasha said with an annoyed scowl.
Behind her, Pamyra piped up wonderingly. “Why didn’t you inherit them before this?”
It was a perfectly natural question. The witch who should have become queen of Tuldarr grimaced. “I’ve never felt a need for more might than I already have, and the spirits are the symbol of the Tuldarr throne. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to have a ruler but no country? Country and ruler are concepts that exist to protect the lives of the people, after all.”
Tinasha smiled, as if to say that, even now, she had no use for the twelve.
What she said made perfect sense, and Pamyra simply nodded. Sylvia, Doan, Kav, Renart, and the other mages all looked serious.
…Even so, she’s a queen without a throne, thought Pamyra.
The witch brushed it off as something she’d done for a personal reason, but she had chosen to exist for four hundred years in order to free the souls of Tuldarr’s dead. If anyone was fit to rule, it was her.
Lucrezia rested her chin in her hands and stared at the witch. Then her eyes narrowed fondly. Before Tinasha realized it, the other witch was wearing a bright, perfect grin. “By the way, I brought a new type of pastry for you to try.”
“Really? What kind?” Tinasha asked, her eyes sparkling, and Lucrezia conjured up a plate piled high with confections.
“Here you go. Be my taste testers, everyone.”
The pastry was cut into the shape of a flower and dusted with sugar on top, but breaking it open revealed three layers in different colors. Tinasha tasted one first, followed by Sylvia, Pamyra, and then the men. Perhaps Renart didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, because he hesitated. After a moment, he gave in and partook, however. His eyes widened. “This is good.”
Looking delighted, Sylvia took a second one. “They’re absolutely delicious! I’m in heaven!”
“Mm, thank you. Have as many as you like.”
Most of the group was enraptured, but Tinasha looked unsure after eating one. She appeared quite dubious, and Lucrezia cocked her head.
“What is it?” she asked. “Do you not like the taste?”
“No, the taste is fine. Did you put magic in these?”
“Mm-hmm. Since I made them with three types of batter, I used magic to adjust the baking time.”
“I see,” Tinasha said. With her doubts dispelled, she took another pastry. As she savored the taste of it, she sipped at the tea she’d made. Lucrezia’s baking was always exceptional. Tinasha had been enchanted by the taste of her friend’s handiwork ever since she first became a witch. Lucrezia looked on with a smile as Tinasha grinned happily to herself.
By the time Tinasha took a third one, the other mages had already eaten through most of the plate. She took a fourth and twirled it around as she asked innocently, “Is the magic you used new? You said we’re taste testing them.”
“Nope, I put an aphrodisiac in them,” Lucrezia admitted, grinning with glee.
Everyone froze. Doan put down his half-eaten pastry. Kav choked on a mouthful of tea.
This was unbelievable. A muscle in Tinasha’s face twitched. “What exactly are you playing at here…?”
“I buried it layers deep in the spell so you wouldn’t notice, but you still picked up on the magic. I suppose it was naive of me to hope you wouldn’t sniff it out.”
“I’m asking you to tell me why you did that!”
Magic began to crackle and spark in the air over the table. The mages all paled at the sight.
“Maybe we should call His Majesty…,” Kav muttered to his peers in a low voice.
“Oh, possibly.”
None liked the idea of explaining how a castle fell to indecency.
Just as Kav tried to creep out of the room unnoticed, Lucrezia blocked his path with a barrier.
The instigator of this chaos surveyed everyone with confidence in her eyes. “At least listen to what I have to say first. You’ll begin to feel the effects roughly two hours from now. It comes on pretty strong, so I’ll keep the details to myself. Also, it will last about three days, so you can’t just hole yourselves up in your rooms.”
The explanation was worse than expected, and Tinasha buried her face in one palm, utterly exasperated. Sylvia begged Tinasha in tears, “Can you break the enchantment?”
“This is Lucrezia’s handiwork, so two hours won’t be enough…”
“Oh no…What are we going to do…?”
There was no use in worrying. Dropping her hand, Tinasha crossed her arms and leaned against the chair back. Sighing, she eyed her friend. “All right, what do you want us to do?”
“Your intuition is spot-on.”
“How many hundreds of years do you think I’ve known you?”
The two had shared countless conversations similar to this. A brilliant smile on her lips, Lucrezia held out her right hand above the table. Above her palm floated an image of a ring.
It was a silver band inscribed all over with spell sigils and inlaid with a small garnet.
“I lost this a while ago. I’d like you to look for it.”
“When and where did you lose it?” Tinasha pressed.
“Five hundred years ago at home.”
“That was before I was born! Clean your house!” snapped Tinasha.
“It’s no longer in my house, of that I am certain,” Lucrezia replied.
Tinasha let out a little frustrated groan. Lucrezia loved riddles and using tricks to demand favors of people. There weren’t enough clues to go on, however. Surely, Lucrezia wasn’t so cruel as to deny them their best chance.
“Give me a bit more information. There’s no way I can find it with so little to go on,” pleaded Tinasha.
“I made it, so it’s tinged with my magic.”
“You can’t track it?”
“Nope. I can’t see it,” answered Lucrezia.
There were few scenarios where a witch couldn’t track her own magic. That would place the object either behind an extremely secure barrier or on the person of a powerful magician. The treasure vault was the only place in the castle with such a barrier. Tinasha herself had reinforced it after the incident with Miralys.
After thinking it over, Tinasha stared at her friend. “Two hours?”
“Two hours. If you make it in time, I’ll undo the enchantment.”
“And if I don’t make it?”
“Then I’ll be entertained.”
“I’ll blast you into the sky,” Tinasha grumbled, getting to her feet. She looked around at the other mages. “Well, guess I better get to work.”
Already, her voice sounded exhausted.
“So I need access to the treasure room.”
“You haven’t told me why. Explain that first,” insisted Oscar, not looking up from his papers. Tinasha had teleported into his study out of the blue.
He was king now, but he still made use of the same rooms he had prior to being crowned. Moving everything had proven too much of a hassle.
Tinasha had predicted his response, and she brought both her palms together before her face and begged, “I would really rather not go into it. There’s no time. Please.”
“No. Tell me. I’m already planning to lecture you later on your secrecy.”
“Urgh…”
The Cuscull fiasco had robbed Oscar of his trust in Tinasha. With a great deal of agony, she managed to relay the gist of her current situation. By the time she finished, Oscar was doubled over with laughter.
“I can see you have no sympathy for our plight…”
“You can’t expect me not to laugh at this. What were all you mages even thinking?”
As the one with the most magic of the entire group, Tinasha could say nothing. Instead, she hung her head dejectedly. Oscar got up from his chair and patted her head. “Well, I find it highly entertaining, so it’s fine by me if you don’t find the ring.”
“It’s not entertaining in the least! Have a little more value for your subjects!”
“You reap what you sow. Don’t eat suspicious stuff,” Oscar chided calmly as he headed for the door. He opened it and turned back to gesture that she come along. “Well, come on. You don’t have much time, right?”
Tinasha perked up and rushed after him.
As Oscar and the witch made their way down the corridor leading to the treasure vault, Oscar went over each and every detail of Tinasha’s predicament.
“So this is really going to affect you, huh? I thought normal magic drugs didn’t bother you.”
“The ones Lucrezia makes are an exception… She’s fed me all kinds of weird potions in the past.”
“And yet you ate something she made again. I don’t get it.”
“Because it tasted good.”
Shortly after passing a group of guardsmen, they came into view of the doors to the treasure vault. Oscar approached and pushed the giant things open. Once inside, Tinasha reached out with her magic to search the place.
It came as no surprise to her that she detected several unknown objects that resonated with strange power, but none of them carried Lucrezia’s magical signature.
“It’s not here… Hmm, so my guess was wrong…?”
“Too bad,” Oscar commented, not sounding like he was really all that worried. Tinasha glared resentfully at the man who looked perfectly content to just watch things play out.
“Do you have any other ideas?” Oscar asked.
“I have one I’m pretty sure about. The Tuldarr treasure vault.”
“That exists?!”
“It’s been sealed off for a long time, but now that I’ve taken the throne, I should be able to open it. I’m going to go check,” Tinasha declared. She then proceeded to draw up a transportation array.
Oscar stopped her. “Sounds intriguing. Take me with you.”
Tinasha was surprised but quickly grinned and took his hand, resetting the array to open up a gate.
The two teleported into the middle of empty wilderness. In the distance loomed the cathedral ruins—the sight of the recent battle. After wandering about for a bit, Tinasha caught sight of something and paused in her tracks. Slowly, she raised her arms above the ground.
“I am queen. Open your path.”
In response to her royal decree, a white spell sigil floated up from the earth. Seconds later it vanished, leaving a stone stairway descending underground in its place.
“Whoa, what’s this? Amazing,” commented Oscar.
“The entrance is enchanted. It’s very likely that no one has come in here since Tuldarr fell,” said Tinasha, manifesting a ball of light in her right hand and readily heading down the shadowy stairs. Oscar followed her.
After going down two flights of stairs into increasingly stagnant air, they entered a wide room of stone.
The instant they stepped on the ground, candelabra on the walls flickered to life. The glow illuminated messy piles of magical objects on shelves and stone tables. It looked just like the witch’s rooms in her tower.
“I’ve got to make sure to clean up in here from now on.”
“Wow… Look at all these magic implements,” said Oscar, picking up a nearby crystal ball. Inside of it floated an image of an unfamiliar seaside.
Her eyes focused ahead, Tinasha warned, “Some of these things could be activated by touch. They’re dangerous, so try not to touch anything.”
“Got it. I’ll watch out,” said Oscar, returning the crystal ball back to its spot. Tinasha turned away and used her magic to search all around, just as she’d done in Farsas. As nearly every object in the vault was magical, it was going to take Tinasha far longer to distinguish one thing from the next. Carefully, she sorted through every nook and cranny, taking care not to overlook any small articles.
After he’d wandered all over the treasure vault, Oscar returned to Tinasha’s side. “Is it here?” he asked.
“It’s…not!” Tinasha cried in horror. Judging by Lucrezia’s account, however, it really should have been. Tinasha checked the time and felt something in her stomach drop as she realized only an hour remained. The witch wondered if perhaps it was wiser to return to Farsas and admit defeat to her friend.
As Tinasha fell into panic, Oscar dropped a hand on her head. “Think it over one more time. There’s gotta be a clue. What’s different about today compared with other times you’ve met with Lucrezia?”
“Hmm… The most obvious is that I’ve claimed the throne of Tuldarr. Another would be that I have Pamyra and Renart, but Lucrezia didn’t know about them until she arrived at the castle today, so I don’t think that’s it. The last thing I can think of is that you’re a king now.”
“That reminds me, I did see Lucrezia once after being crowned.”
“You did?” Tinasha inquired. She was interested to know the circumstances of their meeting, but now wasn’t the time to ask about that. “I really think it has to do with Tuldarr, since she lost her ring five hundred years ago. Not much remains from that era. It was the Dark Age, after all.”
“Are there no other structures still standing?”
“In terms of underground facilities, it’s just this and the Spirits’ Hall.”
At that, Tinasha and Oscar exchanged a glance. Oscar ruffled the witch’s hair. “Looks like we know where we’re headed next. Can we get there from here?”
“No, they’re not connected. I’ll have to get the coordinates once we’re aboveground. The hall should be located directly below the remains of the cathedral.
The pair returned to the cathedral ruins, then teleported underground from there.
The Spirits’ Hall was a round, empty cavernous space paved with stone as far as the eye could see.
Normally, any of the twelve spirits that had not been claimed rested here as statues. Tinasha inherited all of them, however, leaving not even a pebble in the place.
Magic lights in hand, they each took a side of the vast hall and began to explore. Along the way, Oscar discovered a singular door in the outer wall. “Does this connect to somewhere?”
“It actually connects to the castle, but it’s probably long since caved in.”
Aside from the door, they didn’t find anything. They made a loop of the room and met back up in the center.
“Doesn’t look like it’s here,” Oscar observed.
“No, it doesn’t. I can’t sense anything. I think I’ll summon one of the twelve and ask them… King Zayurk reigned five hundred years ago, so I’ll ask one of his old spirits.”
Tinasha shrugged, then called quite casually, “Senn, come here.”
In response, a spirit materialized before them.
“My Queen. What do you need?” asked the spirit in the form of a man in his mid-twenties. His white hair was short and slightly bluish. Crimson burned in his eyes. A devious smirk was on his handsome face.
Tinasha crossed her arms and spoke plainly. “Do you know the Witch of the Forbidden Forest?”
“I know her.”
“I’m looking for a ring she made. It’s a silver garnet ring.”
Since this spirit had been active when the ring was lost, Tinasha thought he may have some knowledge on it. That was why Tinasha had summoned him, but his reply far exceeded what Tinasha had been expecting.
“I have it,” he said.
“You what?! Why?!” she shrieked wildly before she could stop herself. She’d never dreamed that the spirit had the item in question. Her head was spinning as she wondered what in the world was going on, but Oscar poked her in the back to remind her about the time limit. Recalling the urgency of her predicament, Tinasha asked, “Will you give it to me? She wants it.”
“It’s mine. But if the queen wants it, I’ll obey her orders,” he said, looking a little doubtful but still smiling.
Tinasha felt somewhat indecisive. She was resistant to the idea of confiscating someone’s property simply because she was their master. Under the circumstances, Tinasha was left with little recourse than to accept the lesser evil. Looking sour, Tinasha nodded. “Then I’ll make it an order. Give me the ring. Once I’ve given it to the Witch of the Forbidden Forest, I can try to negotiate it back for you.”
“No need for that. If she wants it, that’s all the answer I need,” Senn replied, holding out a hand. Tinasha held out her own in kind. A ring appeared out of thin air and dropped into her palm. She looked it over and confirmed that the sigils and the stone were all that Lucrezia had described.
To make sure she wouldn’t lose it, Tinasha put the ring on her own finger. It was extremely loose on her, as a man’s ring might have been. She closed her other hand around the little trinket.
“Thank you. I feel bad about this,” she admitted.
“It was an easy task. I’ll be off, then,” Senn declared and vanished as quickly as he’d arrived.
The witch turned around and showed Oscar the ring. He stared at how it was practically falling off her slender finger. “You made it in time,” he said.
“Thanks to your help…,” Tinasha replied, breathing a sigh of relief. Then she took his arm and cast a transportation spell back to the castle.
After Oscar gave his impressions of the little adventure—“That was fun”—and returned to his work, Tinasha headed back to the lounge where Lucrezia and the aphrodisiac-dosed mages were waiting.
They were still sipping tea just like when she left, and Tinasha gave them an exasperated look. “I’m glad you’re all taking this so calmly.”
Doan looked up from a spell book, exhaustion plain on his face. “I feel like we’ve had to adapt to all manner of things lately. By comparison, something like this just doesn’t seem worth a fuss…”
The others’ expressions were much the same; it appeared they agreed with him. On the other hand, the woman who was the cause of all this grinned delightedly. “Did you find it?”
“Yes,” answered Tinasha, taking the ring off and throwing it at her beaming friend. Lucrezia snatched it as it arced through the air. The mages all looked at her, nerves taut.
The Witch of the Forbidden Forest rolled the ring around on her finger, inspecting it, then broke into a smile. “Mm-hmm, thank you.”
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Tinasha massaged her temples, thoroughly exhausted from yet another day she’d spent wrapped around Lucrezia’s little finger. “Next time, just ask normally,” she insisted.
“Oh, but where would be the fun in that?”
“First things first. Go on and undo the enchantment,” Tinasha urged. Lucrezia reached her left hand out. Instantly, the spell design appeared there before popping out of sight. At the same time, those ensorcelled suddenly felt themselves free of the magic’s insidious effects. As the creator of the spell, it only took Lucrezia a moment to undo it. Anyone else would’ve needed a long incantation and that was assuming they could crack it at all.
“Unbelievable… You always waste so much magic,” Tinasha complained.
“It’s the best I can manage, okay? I’m not like you.” Lucrezia sniffed.
“This is why they call it the Age of Witches…,” grumbled Tinasha as she floated over to her friend. After all that trouble, she wanted a proper explanation.
Tinasha sat down and rested her chin in her hands, looking distinctly displeased. “So what was that all about?”
The oversized ring on her finger, Lucrezia arched an eyebrow. The smile melted off her beautiful face, and she pouted like a child. Throwing Tinasha a sidelong glance, she muttered sulkily, “…I gave it to an old lover of mine.”
“What?” Tinasha said, eyes round and wide. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Ignoring her, Lucrezia waved a hand. “Welp, gotta go!” With that, she winked out of sight.
Left in the dust, Tinasha stared blankly at where her friend had been sitting until just a moment ago. “Wh-what in the world…?”
Something had clearly happened between Lucrezia and the spirit Senn before Tinasha had even been born.
Evidently, there were still things she didn’t understand, even after living for hundreds of years.
Tinasha stared at her bare hand. She had the feeling that the silver ring contained someone’s love and affection.


Unnamed Memory

 8. Ocean Blue
It was a rather sunny day, so much so that it was uncomfortably warm, even inside. The witch had just brewed tea in the king’s study, and she repeated the words Lazar had said to her, “What? Birthday?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s two weeks from now.”
“Whose?”
“Mine, of course,” Oscar cut in, breaking his silence as he signed another document. Still surprised, Tinasha placed a cup of tea near his free hand.
“So you have a birthday…,” she muttered wonderingly, placing the tea tray under her arm.
“What do I look like in that head of yours?” Oscar retorted. His eyes remained trained on the contract he was looking over. His fine features exuded nobility, though Tinasha was long used to seeing them.
Tinasha let her true thoughts slip out. “You’re going to be twenty-one, right? …So young.”
“Everyone must seem that way when compared with you.”
“Mentally, you’re like an old man, so it’s especially surprising.”
“I will grind my fist against your head again. Come here,” Oscar said, reaching out for the witch. She dodged and leaped back.
Tinasha took a seat in a chair to the side of the table and had a sip of her tea. In sharp contrast to his leisurely protector, Oscar worked hard at progressing through his documents. He worked efficiently from right to left.
“What does ‘surprising’ mean? Don’t you have a birthday, too?” Oscar inquired.
“Yes, I do. I was born just the same as you were. It was two months ago.”
“How old are you?”
“I’ve forgotten… I suppose I’m four hundred plus around twenty or thirty.”
“Crazy,” Oscar remarked.
Lazar stacked up the papers Oscar was done with and picked them up. The faithful attendant asked his king, “And what should we do for your birthday celebration, Your Majesty?”
“My dad just had his, so we don’t need to do one this year… Too much trouble.”
“But the coronation ceremony was a simple affair, too,” Lazar protested.
“And right after that, I saw just about everyone who’s anyone while we were in Tayiri, so it’s fine,” Oscar argued. While he carried out his duties impeccably, he had little desire to appear at fancy affairs.
Lazar hummed unhappily, but when he considered the situation with Cecelia in Tayiri, he felt some amount of sympathy. He gave up and nodded. “Then I’ll answer as such to the people who have already inquired about the matter.”
“Please do that, thanks.”
Lazar left, his sighs trailing after him. The witch set down her cup and floated up. Fluttering through the air as if she were swimming, she drifted over to a position directly above Oscar’s desk and looked down at him. A bit of her sweet floral perfume tickled Oscar’s nose, and he smiled.
“Is there anything you want?” she asked, her voice like tinkling bells.
“Where did that come from?”
“It’ll be your birthday, so just this once.”
Oscar tilted his head to look up at Tinasha, only to find her grinning in amusement. She looked so innocent—it was hard to believe she had lived for over four centuries.
Oscar paused in his work to consider the question. “You’ve put me on the spot. I can’t think of anything.”
“So you want for nothing,” Tinasha replied doubtfully.
“I’m aware of how blessed I am,” Oscar said, gesturing for her to come closer. She descended until she was sitting on his lap with her legs out to one side. Oscar brushed her hair back, revealing one pale earlobe. He took in her lovely profile and neckline, and his eyes narrowed.
“By the way, about getting married—”
“I’m not going to!” Tinasha cried in her usual way. Oscar made a face as he dropped a hand on her head.
“Then there’s nothing I want. I have you, and that’s enough.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm. So don’t dart around hiding here and there. You’re not a little kid, you know.”
Tinasha groaned, aware she could say nothing for herself. In the end, she just looked up at Oscar regretfully.
Little light penetrated the deep canopy of the forest. Thick bushes abounded, seemingly staring at any visitors. Silent in the shadows, they appeared eerie and almost ill intentioned to any humans who wandered through.
Despite the gloom, patches of sunlight filtered down in spots surrounding the cabin tucked snugly away in the woods. One sunbeam generously poured right onto a group of flowerpots. The planters must have been placed in just the right spot forecast to get sunlight. Wondering at it, Tinasha knocked on the door of the house.
“Oh, it’s you. Come in,” said Lucrezia, appearing at the door. She seemed mid-experiment, as she held numerous tiny bottles between her fingers. Once inside, Tinasha began to brew some tea herself, as she was very familiar with this house.
Soon enough, the two sat down. Tinasha lifted one finger that was wrapped around her teacup to point to the ceiling. “Tell me how to make the pastries from the other day. Without the aphrodisiac.”
“They won’t taste the same without it.”
“Seriously?!”
Tinasha often wound up an unwilling live test subject for one of Lucrezia’s potions, but as this only happened once every fifty years or so, she would always forget and recklessly consume a Lucrezia creation again. While Tinasha was extremely cautious in every other area of her life, she was aware that when it came to this, she had a tendency to forget in calms the vows she’d made in storms.
“So why have you come today?”
“Oh, I have something to ask you about. What’s a normal thing to give men?”
“…What in the world?” the Witch of the Forbidden Forest exclaimed, staring nonplussed at her friend after such a random question. Tinasha recounted the events of the conversation back in Oscar’s study.
To Lucrezia, the situation seemed quite trivial, and she offered a simple answer. “If he said he doesn’t need anything, then you don’t need to worry, do you?”
“I’ve been feeling like I owe him a lot lately. Since I have the chance, I’d like to pay him back.”
“Owe him, huh?” Lucrezia said. She rested her chin on her hands as she eyed Tinasha, who was carefully selecting a cookie.
Wanting to give someone a birthday present was so completely ordinary that it seemed exceedingly unordinary for a witch. Lucrezia wondered if Tinasha had realized that.
“So then why did you come to ask me for advice?”
“Because the other day with the ring, you…”
“What?!”
“Nothing,” Tinasha said, electing not to broach the subject after seeing the look her friend gave her.
With hurried bluntness, Lucrezia cut to the chase. “Anything you give him will be fine.”
“I suppose you’re right… Maybe I’ll go take a look around the Tuldarr treasure vault while tidying it up a bit. There might be some intriguing armor in there or something.”
“I am begging you, do not make that man any stronger than he already is!” cried Lucrezia. Feigning calm, Tinasha sipped at her tea.
Even so, she did wonder if getting him something he could use every day would be best. The question was what? Maybe some sort of food that wouldn’t leave leftovers? Tinasha mulled over the idea as she picked at a cookie. She realized she had almost no experience giving someone a birthday present. If she messed this up, she’d have to consult her memories from before she became a witch. Never had Tinasha considered such an innocuous concept to be so vast.
“I can’t think of anything…”
“Give him your body. He’ll love it.”
“You’re a pervert,” Tinasha said. She broke her cookie in half, sighing.

The southern tip of Farsas touched the ocean.
Numerous port cities dotted the mainland’s southern coast, and each had long bustled with fishing and trade. Merchants did business with partners in the continent far across the sea to the east, as well as with countries along the eastern coast of the mainland.
One day, an aristocratic merchant ship set off from the port city of Nisrey bound for none other than the eastern country of Mensanne. The ship was laden with pearls and silk goods to sell there, where it would load purchases of grains and spices to bring back to the southern ports.
Soon after departing Nisrey, however, the boat disappeared without a trace.
People suspected that the long-lost ship had been set upon by pirates or that it ran into some sort of accident. No information to support either claim surfaced, however. As time went on, more reports poured in of similar vanishings.
After ten such cases, people began to regard that portion of the ocean as cursed waters that no ship could cross.
“The other day, I replied to the other countries, letting them know about your birthday celebration. Prince Reust of Tayiri sent word that he’d like to make an official visit thanking you for your military aid.”
“Turn him away,” Oscar replied immediately.
Lazar pulled a face. He sighed as he chided his king. “Please don’t be difficult. Farsas can’t afford to take a hard stance against Tayiri.”
Oscar was quite aware of that, of course.
Farsas had recently sent troops in accordance with Tayiri’s request, and everything had wrapped up rather well, given the stakes. One unfortunate outcome was that every other country was now acutely aware that Farsas possessed Tinasha. Fortunately, no other nation openly opposed that, but it was still safest for Farsas to be on its best behavior for the time being.
As if that alone wasn’t enough, Oscar had also crossed swords with Reust over his keeping Tinasha’s visits a secret. If Oscar was entirely honest with himself, the last person he wanted to see was the Tayiri prince.
Lazar flipped through the papers in his hands. “Even if you refuse him now, the visit is only three days away. Your letter will pass his retinue on the road.”
“I just wanted to say it. I have a feeling I know why Reust is coming.”
“Why?”
“He wants to see her, doesn’t he?” Oscar said, jerking his chin over at Tinasha to indicate her as she entered the room with a book in hand.
As both men’s gazes converged on her, she cocked her head in bemusement. “What are you talking about?”
“You, you traitor.”
Faced with criticism she didn’t recall incurring as soon as she stepped into the room, the witch scowled.
Oscar ignored her and passed some documents to Lazar. “Here, you handle the preparations.”
“Hey, Oscar… What was that just now?” Tinasha inquired.
“Does it matter if you don’t remember?” he retorted shamelessly. It was hardly a satisfactory answer, but Tinasha sank down into a chair anyway. She started to flip through a thick spell book.
“What the—?” she heard Oscar say in a tone of surprise. She looked up to see him frowning down at a document.
As she looked on curiously, Lazar explained, “Evidently, a number of ships have gone missing in the southern sea. The cause is unknown, but the damage keeps piling up. The nobles and the merchants have banded together to request the situation be handled.”
“If they’re going missing on the ocean, it’s probably the work of pirates, right?” Tinasha theorized.
“We had some issues with pirates a while back, but General Als should’ve handled it.”
“Ohhh. Then maybe it’s a sea monster.”
“Do those really exist?” Oscar asked, setting the report down and crossing his arms. It was dangerous to face off against any type of demonic spirit or monster and even more so at sea off some faraway port.
Oscar began seriously considering the sort of team he’d bring while Tinasha gave a brief explanation. “There are many types of sea monsters. There’s huge fish as well as creatures of unknown shapes and sizes. Sea creatures can grow very big. Of course, it’s also possible that it’s just a regular demonic spirit.”
“What falls under the classification of ‘unknown shapes and sizes’?” Oscar questioned.
“Things like gigantic sea anemones… Have you never seen one?”
“I’ve never even seen the ocean,” Oscar admitted.
Next to him, Lazar raised a hand and offered, “Neither have I.”
Farsas as a country was so huge that many people who were born in the capital went their whole lives never glimpsing the sea. Surprised by the response, Tinasha let out a little cry of shock.
“If you’ve never gone to the ocean, can you not swim, either?” she asked.
“I can swim,” Oscar assured her.
“That’s no fun…,” she muttered.
The conversation had gotten off track, and Oscar reeled it back in. “Who do you think is best suited to handling this?”
“It depends on their skill, but if you bring Als, then you’d need about ten people, including mages. That should be enough to handle it. There’s no accounting for the creature’s size, though.”
“Als, huh? He’s more of a land guy, I wonder if putting him on this team is a good idea…”
As Oscar was deliberating over his decision and Tinasha floated directly overhead, she peeked at the papers. “Oh, Nisrey. That really takes me back. In Nisrey, there’s—”
She got that far before she clapped her hands together, having just remembered something. Oscar looked up at the sound. “What’s up?”
“I’m heading out,” Tinasha declared.
“Why so suddenly…?”
“Don’t mind that. I’m going to take care of it!” Tinasha answered, suddenly very excited and in a great mood. Oscar narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. He wanted to make her tell him what she’d thought of, but he also knew that Tinasha handling the trouble at sea was the safest way to see it done.
As Oscar rested his chin on his knuckles, he remembered something else. “Fine then, go along. Pick out who you want to accompany you.”
“Thank you.”
“Make a weeklong trip of it and get some rest while you’re at it.”
“Your Majesty…,” Lazar objected, appalled. He knew what Oscar was up to. This was a ploy to make sure Tinasha wouldn’t be around when Reust arrived. For a king, he could certainly act very immature.
The witch suspected nothing, however, and replied to Oscar’s seeming generosity with a wide smile that bloomed like a flower.
“I’ll be back by your birthday,” Tinasha promised. She gave a playful toss of her hair before winking out of the study.

The witch chose Als, Suzuto, Pamyra, and Renart to accompany her.
Als had knowledge of the southern regions of Farsas, and he suggested Suzuto accompany him. That was because he was close with the witch and counted as one of the few people in the castle not afraid of her. Then Tinasha picked Pamyra and Renart. While the two had recently been made Farsasian mages in name, it was more accurate to say they served Tinasha directly. Unlike most other local mages who were terrified of the sea, Pamyra and Renart had volunteered to go on the trip.
The group of five used a transportation array to teleport to a fortress far to the south. From there, they rode on horseback to the port town of Nisrey.
Als had vanquished the southern pirates only three short months ago, and the people of Nisrey had not yet forgotten his deeds. Tinasha’s group was met with cheers and applause upon their arrival. Marquis Broguia, the most influential person in the city, welcomed the five into his mansion.
The marquis wore an ashamed expression as he bowed low before Als. “I’m deeply sorry to be troubling you again.”
“Not at all. Ships going missing is quite the significant matter. We’ll get this resolved as quickly as we can,” Als replied formally. While Tinasha was the actual leader, Als took the role of a figurehead so as to ensure her identity as a witch stayed a secret.
Marquis Broguia’s eyes widened as he beheld the beautiful woman behind Als, and then he seemed to grow concerned at how small their party was. He suggested sending some of his private officers, but Als refused. “We’re only asking for a ship and the sailors to man it.”
“I’d be happy to, of course, but… Will you really be all right?”
“We’ve brought everyone we need,” said Als. He flicked his gaze over to the witch, who was looking out the window. She grinned and waved at him.
The next day, the group of five was escorted to the port where they borrowed a medium-sized ship that normally ferried around twenty. The marquis had wanted to lend them an even larger man-of-war, but Tinasha said it would be a waste if it sank.
“Does that mean there’s a chance we could sink?” murmured Suzuto. His face looked pale as they sailed out toward where the disappearances had occurred.
“We can’t rule it out. I’ll do my best to keep us from sinking, though,” Tinasha said matter-of-factly.
Als cocked his head in puzzlement. “What exactly are we up against anyway?”
“Based on what I’ve heard, it’s either a demonic spirit or a sea monster. I’m hoping it’s the former, because that will be easier for me to handle. I don’t like how sea monsters look. They’re big and slimy.”
“That’s your reason…? I think there’s bigger problems beyond their size and sliminess…,” Als objected.
Pamyra suddenly cut in, raising her hand. “Could it be a kraken?”
The witch frowned at that. Krakens were a famous and gigantic sort of sea monster that lived deep in the ocean. They were said to resemble squids or octopuses. Tinasha’s little band was in for a hard-fought battle if their opponent was something on that scale.
After some thought, Tinasha shook her head lightly. “Krakens tend to live only in the northern waters. I don’t think one would be this far south unless it’d been specifically summoned.”
Suzuto piped up and hesitantly inquired, “Um, sorry to ask something so basic, but does magic not work on things that are underwater?”
The three mages exchanged glances. Renart was the one who answered. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s more difficult for a spell to affect something that’s in the water. If they’re completely submerged, the spells will have almost no effect. You can’t speak an incantation while submerged, so it’s best for us to fight above the waves, if at all possible.”
Tinasha and Pamyra nodded in agreement. Als let out a deep sigh. “We’ll have to lure it out, then. Before the boat sinks.”
“Even if it sinks, we can fly back to land,” the witch said brightly, and Pamyra and Renart grimaced. Tinasha often floated in the air when she was in the study or her rooms, but flight magic required a spell and dedicated concentration. Most normal mages couldn’t fly and perform other spells at the same time.
Fortunately, both Pamyra and Renart were highly skilled mages who could do battle while flying. So long as they didn’t need to defend themselves, they could carry the others away. With this crew, they could handle the situation even if the ship was lost.
Owing to the heat, Tinasha’s hair was tied up, and she was wearing a lightweight, boyish outfit. A thin sword was sheathed at her waist, and her overall lithe figure made a perfect picture against the marine backdrop.
As she gazed out at the open water, Als turned back to eye the others. He didn’t know about them, but Als sometimes felt like Tinasha was a natural part of Farsas—and he often found himself forgetting she was a witch at all. He had a hard time believing that she would someday leave the castle.
That was why her leaving for Cuscull had been such a shock to him. Now that she was back, he felt relieved. Als actually couldn’t imagine Oscar marrying anyone but her.
He was unsure how things would truly play out, however. At best, he knew he could only accept whatever came and grow used to it with time.
After about an hour, they reached the area of the ocean where the disappearances had taken place. Far in the distance was the shore, where an intimidating gray quay jutted out from the cliffs.
Als scanned the surface of the water. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. “All right, Miss Tinasha, what should we do?”
“We’ll be wasting time if we wait to get attacked, so I’m going to send out a scout,” she replied. After a short incantation, a fishlike creature appeared in her palm. Upon closer look, it wasn’t a living creature but a hazily glowing mass of clay. She threw it into the water, where it began to zip along just like a real fish.
“It’s going to loop around the area and search for magic. If something happens, it’ll alert me,” she explained.
“That’s convenient. I guess we’ll break out the booze while we wait,” Als replied.
“You’ll die when you fall in the ocean,” Tinasha cautioned.
Neither of them seemed worried at all, but everyone else on the boat looked pale and drawn. The crewmen were there on the marquis’s orders, but more than ten ships had gone down already—no exceptions. They wanted to turn around and head straight back to land.
Blessed with fine weather, their vessel bobbed in the blue ocean. A favorable tailwind carried the ship to the middle of the danger zone. Als peered back at the distant sight of land on the horizon. “I’ve come here before. We sank one of the pirate ships around here.”
“Ohhh. Then maybe it’s a ghost ship causing all this trouble,” Tinasha suggested.
“That’s ridiculous. First of all, ghosts don’t exist; you told me that yourself—”
Then Als noticed that the breeze had suddenly died down. The sea was eerily calm. The sailors in charge of adjusting the sails were glancing around uncertainly. Off to one side, waves could be seen rippling out from a point not too far away. Tinasha grinned radiantly after noticing the trembling in the water.
“Oh, sorry. I guess it really is a kraken after all,” she stated.
Screams erupted high into the air.
Ten huge tentacles, each the width of a column, rose from the briny depths.
The half-transparent limbs tried to assail the ship from all sides, but each was stopped by an invisible wall. In the nick of time, Tinasha had thrown up a barrier to protect the boat. Unfortunately, that only provided a moment’s relief before the kraken tried to drag down the ship by way of pulling the barrier itself.
The witch’s eyebrows raised. “This isn’t good. The shield’s got about ten seconds before it breaks. Drive that thing back.”
Als and Suzuto unsheathed their swords while Pamyra and Renart began to chant spells. In the middle of it all, the witch continued to bark her countdown. “…Eight! Nine! Ten!”
On that final word, the barrier shattered.
With nothing stopping the kraken’s tentacles anymore, the slimy things slunk their way over the deck. Pamyra and Renart burned them with magic. One tentacle tried to make off with a sailor, but Suzuto intercepted it with his sword while Als cut it off. The severed limb wriggled fiercely for a moment before a spell from Renart sent it tumbling back into the ocean.
As she burned the other legs, Tinasha conjured another magical shield around the ship. In the face of such an unexpected counterattack, the kraken dragged its arms back into the sea. Pamyra looked out over the slimy deck.
“This is inarguably disgusting…”
“Apparently, you can sell kraken mucus for a high price.”
“Lady Tinasha…”
Their battle with the kraken had lasted only a few dozen seconds, but it had all felt too bizarre to instill fear. Instead there was a strange sort of mania that hung about the vessel and its crew. Als realized his heart was beating out of control and took some deep breaths.