Valentia visibly considered Drake’s questions about recruiting as they passed the line of horses and then turned around to avoid stepping outside the line of highly alert zarovians. Drake’s lizardmen soldiers were now reinforced every so often by one of Sky’s rangers. As they headed back into the camp, Valentia spoke again.
“I do not think there will be much chance for recruiting in the capital, especially once the cabal begins. Kohaurbauten is the one place in this land where the authority of the manor lords is not absolute. Typically, those who travel there wish to be left alone.”
“What do you mean, not absolute?” Drake had discussed this a bit with Lydia, but he wanted to make sure he’d understood her properly.
“A manor lord has complete authority in their own territory,” Valentia said calmly. “This includes the right to reward, recruit, or punish whomever they see fit. In Korhaurbauten, however, the noble court holds power. Manor lords cannot simply do as they wish there.”
“So if I was a person with a powerful rarity who didn’t want to get pressed into joining a manor by a dickish lord, I’d go chill in Korhaurbauten.”
“If by ‘chill’ you mean ‘live’ then yes.”
Drake nodded. “So even if we run into someone as powerful as the Asp or one of the Gilded Blades in the capital, I couldn’t force them to join me. They’d have to volunteer. Which they likely wouldn’t, since they’re in the capital in the first place.”
“Correct. As such warriors have chosen to remain independent of any manor, it is unlikely any would choose to become your blood thrall. Also, manor lords can offer extravagant deals when they are interested in a powerful blood thrall, so there is also fierce competition when one makes it clear they will entertain joining a manor. So even if a thrall was interested in joining a manor, they would likely seek offers from all interested lords.”
“And I guess people with powerful rarities could also become a manor lord if they manage to take one down,” Drake said. “So if you have a powerful rarity, you have a choice. Serve a manor lord, or carve your way through the world until you kill one.”
Valentia nodded grimly. “That was the route taken by the current Lord Frostlight. She survived eight years as a Gilded Blade until she killed the former lord of Frostlight Manor and took it by force. She purged all blood thralls she considered insufficiently loyal afterward. When a manor changes hands by force, such a housecleaning is not uncommon.”
Valentia said that so calmly. It must have been exactly what she had expected would happen once he took over from Lord Crow. Lydia had likely expected the same, which explained why she was so relieved when it turned out he wasn’t an asshole.
“So Lord Frostlight’s rarity is one of the deadly ones?”
“Windshear, lord. She can harden and use air to such a degree it can actually cut flesh.”
Drake whistled. “So she does what you do, but with air. Which is everywhere.”
Valentia nodded. “My ice projectiles remain stronger, but any duel in which we engaged would be a difficult one. Other than Lord Frostlight, you are the only manor lord now sitting at the table who killed his predecessor and took his manor.”
If it was true the Eidolons—the gods of this world—were the ones who decided who got what rarity, they obviously had a real sadistic streak. Why else would they create a world full of normal people and a bunch of superpowered folks who could rule over them with fear?
Either way, it was good that someone on Team Proudglade had killed their former manor lord and seized the manor. That way if Lord Proudglade brought it up during the cabal, Drake could simply point out Proudglade was allied with a former assassin who’d done the same. It also brought up another interesting aspect of how he might be perceived at the cabal.
“Does the fact that I killed Lord Gloomwood to seize his title mean the other lords will respect me more or less?”
“I cannot say. Lord Proudglade no doubt sees your assassination of the prior Lord Gloomwood as a despicable act despite the fact that he wished Lord Gloomwood dead. He would not have preferred to kill our former lord in open battle.”
“And he says that while allied with Lord Frostlight. Suitably hypocritical.”
“Lord Redbow would likely see your success as proof of your prowess as a warrior were he not currently opposed to us due to his alliance obligations. And I do not know enough about the other manor lords to say with confidence. This is a question you should ask Samuel.”
“But the rest of the current crop got their titles handed down?”
“Handed down voluntarily, like Lord Skybreak, or inherited after the former lord died and named them their successor. Such is the case with Lord Brightwater. She gained her post as manor lord nine years ago when the former lord was killed by an assassin.”
“Did anyone ever find out who the assassin was working for?”
“No official responsibility has ever been assigned, but as you would expect, common wisdom suggests Lord Redbow or one of his sons was behind the attack. That may be the only reason Lord Brightwater has not yet joined the other four in the alliance.”
“But she has no interest in joining us?”
“Correct. A blood thrall working for the Lord Gloomwood two before you killed the former Lord Brightwater before the one most recently killed. So bad blood remains.”
Drake sighed. “Once again, I’m stuck paying for the crimes of assholes who pissed people off before I was even born. That’s my least favorite part of being a manor lord.”
“You like that even less than the constant assassination attempts?”
Drake glanced at Valentia. “Okay. Second least favorite.”
Valentia’s features turned curious. “May I ask you something personal?”
Drake was so surprised by the question he stopped walking. “Sure, Val.” Since when did Valentia ask personal questions? She must really be warming up to him.
“Did you have a family back in your world?”
Drake realized then he’d never discussed anything about his home with her. He’d mentioned his mother to Lydia, but she’d never share personal details without his permission. “I do. I mean, I’m not sure if I’ll ever see her again, but I have a mother and I miss her.”
“But no one else?”
Drake shook his head. “My dad isn’t dead, but I think the last time I saw him I was... four, maybe? He was never a part of my life. And my mother’s parents were killed in an accident before I met them, so no grandparents either.”
“So your family was just you and your mother, whom you may never see again.” Valentia motioned for them to resume their journey to his command tent. “We have that in common.”
“We do?”
“That is also how I was raised. My parents were originally from Brightwater territory, but my father died at sea shortly after I was born. Not long after, unsavory individuals used the circumstances of his death to demand an unseemly amount of coin from my mother to pay his debts. Or, they advised her, she could offer me and consider her debt expunged.”
Drake grimaced as Valentia recounted her story with absolutely no emotion in her voice, like she was telling him the history of some dusty old building. Not even Lydia had shared details about her past or family with him before now. What had prompted this from Valentia?
“My mother had no rarity. She was not powerful enough to kill those who sought to claim us, nor could she keep me safe from those who wished to abduct me had we remained in Brightwater. So she fled to the territory of Lord Gloomwood, which remained hostile to those from Brightwater territory due to recent events. She hoped our enemies would not follow.”
Drake looked toward the command tent and said nothing, though he already suspected what Valentia would say next. She really must have had it rough growing up.
“Those men killed my mother not long after we arrived, but not before she presented me to Lord Gloomwood and I demonstrated my flashfreeze rarity on a rabbit. I was eight.”
“I’m sorry, Val.” Drake grimaced. “I didn’t know any of that.”
“I would not expect you to. Fortunately for me, Lord Gloomwood saw my potential as an assassin and agreed to protect me until I came of age.”
“So those evil debtors lost out in the end.”
“They did. I asked that Lord Gloomwood see to the deaths of all who harmed my mother in exchange for my pledge to become his thrall. He found the trade worthwhile.”
So Valentia had ordered the deaths of the men who murdered her mother at age eight. She had started killing early. Drake couldn’t blame her given the circumstances and the world in which she lived. Still... that would leave some emotional scars.
“Lord Gloomwood sheltered me in his manor until I turned sixteen, at which point, as we had agreed, I accepted his blood pact and became his assassin.”
Drake hesitated before asking his next question, but he doubted Valentia would tell him all this if she wasn’t open to discussing it. “Do you wish you’d ended up somewhere else?”
“I have no family left in any territory,” Valentia said softly. “Gloomwood Manor was all I knew after my mother passed. With her dead, I had no reason to travel, and the only thing I was ever good at was killing people.” She shrugged. “To this day, that remains the case.”
“That’s not true, though,” Drake said.
She paused at the entrance to his tent and glanced at him. “How do you mean?”
“You’ve saved my life twice now with your flashfreeze rarity. First when you blocked Robin’s arrow, and again when you saved Nicole and me with that ice barrier you used to blunt the arrow volley at Fort Graystone. I’d be dead if not for you.”
“Those were isolated events, and we were fortunate my desperate action blunted those attacks. Using my rarity defensively is not my strength.”
“Well... would you want it to be?”
“I do not understand what you are asking.”
“The prior lords have all used you as their personal assassin, haven’t they? They’ve ordered you to assassinate those they needed dead or employed you exclusively to kill other warriors in battle. It seems like your protective potential is going to waste.”
Valentia now looked unsure of herself. “My potential?”
“All I’m saying is... if you want a break from being asked to freeze people to death all the time, I could give you a different role in combat. You’re amazing when it comes to blunting attacks and slowing the enemy. You could protect us with your freeze powers.”
She actually smiled. “That is kind of you, Lord Gloomwood.”
“It’s not just me being benevolent. It makes sense!”
“Perhaps.” Valentia looked back to the camp. “Yet there is so much blood on my hands that I feel there would be no point in walking a different path. I protect those I care about by killing those who would harm them. It would be irresponsible and inefficient to act otherwise.”
“But if you wanted—”
“I know.” Valentia impulsively gripped his arm with one chill hand. “And I truly appreciate your consideration. But I will best serve our manor and those I care about by acting as I have until now. So when you wish your enemies dead, please call upon me first.”
She seemed to mean this. Drake wasn’t about to question her choice when she seemed so resolved to follow it. He simply patted her hand and nodded. “Then I’ll just say thanks.”
“No other Lord Gloomwood has.” Valentia released his arm. “Be careful at dinner. Lord Skybreak I trust, but I do not know what to expect of Lady Skybreak. Before she passed down her title, she was among the most shrewd manor lords to sit at the table.”
“I won’t give away the manor, Val.”
“See that you don’t.” She walked off to take up position outside the command tent.
It felt strange to see Valentia smiling, let alone sharing details of her past, but maybe it wasn’t. Perhaps the fact that he’d saved Nicole’s life at Fort Graystone had eased the last worries she had about him not being ruthless enough to succeed as a manor lord. She hadn’t berated him even once for risking his life to save a blood thrall, though... it had been Nicole.
Hypocritical of her? Maybe a little. Still, given what he now knew about the horrors she’d suffered growing up, he was all the more willing to cut her some slack. Now, it seemed she felt the same way about him. That made for a good working relationship.
Drake entered his tent to find two servants inside, Tamara and another woman whose name he didn’t know. It looked like they had finished setting six places at the long table with fine dishes, spoons, forks, and folded white napkins with gold trim.
Tamara straightened. “Supper will be served in a few minutes, lord.”
“Thanks.” He glanced at the private area in the back of his tent. “Say, do you have any water you can spare?” He still needed to do something about his bedhead.
Valentia visibly considered Drake’s questions about recruiting as they passed the line of horses and then turned around to avoid stepping outside the line of highly alert zarovians. Drake’s lizardmen soldiers were now reinforced every so often by one of Sky’s rangers. As they headed back into the camp, Valentia spoke again.
“I do not think there will be much chance for recruiting in the capital, especially once the cabal begins. Kohaurbauten is the one place in this land where the authority of the manor lords is not absolute. Typically, those who travel there wish to be left alone.”
“What do you mean, not absolute?” Drake had discussed this a bit with Lydia, but he wanted to make sure he’d understood her properly.
“A manor lord has complete authority in their own territory,” Valentia said calmly. “This includes the right to reward, recruit, or punish whomever they see fit. In Korhaurbauten, however, the noble court holds power. Manor lords cannot simply do as they wish there.”
“So if I was a person with a powerful rarity who didn’t want to get pressed into joining a manor by a dickish lord, I’d go chill in Korhaurbauten.”
“If by ‘chill’ you mean ‘live’ then yes.”
Drake nodded. “So even if we run into someone as powerful as the Asp or one of the Gilded Blades in the capital, I couldn’t force them to join me. They’d have to volunteer. Which they likely wouldn’t, since they’re in the capital in the first place.”
“Correct. As such warriors have chosen to remain independent of any manor, it is unlikely any would choose to become your blood thrall. Also, manor lords can offer extravagant deals when they are interested in a powerful blood thrall, so there is also fierce competition when one makes it clear they will entertain joining a manor. So even if a thrall was interested in joining a manor, they would likely seek offers from all interested lords.”
“And I guess people with powerful rarities could also become a manor lord if they manage to take one down,” Drake said. “So if you have a powerful rarity, you have a choice. Serve a manor lord, or carve your way through the world until you kill one.”
Valentia nodded grimly. “That was the route taken by the current Lord Frostlight. She survived eight years as a Gilded Blade until she killed the former lord of Frostlight Manor and took it by force. She purged all blood thralls she considered insufficiently loyal afterward. When a manor changes hands by force, such a housecleaning is not uncommon.”
Valentia said that so calmly. It must have been exactly what she had expected would happen once he took over from Lord Crow. Lydia had likely expected the same, which explained why she was so relieved when it turned out he wasn’t an asshole.
“So Lord Frostlight’s rarity is one of the deadly ones?”
“Windshear, lord. She can harden and use air to such a degree it can actually cut flesh.”
Drake whistled. “So she does what you do, but with air. Which is everywhere.”
Valentia nodded. “My ice projectiles remain stronger, but any duel in which we engaged would be a difficult one. Other than Lord Frostlight, you are the only manor lord now sitting at the table who killed his predecessor and took his manor.”
If it was true the Eidolons—the gods of this world—were the ones who decided who got what rarity, they obviously had a real sadistic streak. Why else would they create a world full of normal people and a bunch of superpowered folks who could rule over them with fear?
Either way, it was good that someone on Team Proudglade had killed their former manor lord and seized the manor. That way if Lord Proudglade brought it up during the cabal, Drake could simply point out Proudglade was allied with a former assassin who’d done the same. It also brought up another interesting aspect of how he might be perceived at the cabal.
“Does the fact that I killed Lord Gloomwood to seize his title mean the other lords will respect me more or less?”
“I cannot say. Lord Proudglade no doubt sees your assassination of the prior Lord Gloomwood as a despicable act despite the fact that he wished Lord Gloomwood dead. He would not have preferred to kill our former lord in open battle.”
“And he says that while allied with Lord Frostlight. Suitably hypocritical.”
“Lord Redbow would likely see your success as proof of your prowess as a warrior were he not currently opposed to us due to his alliance obligations. And I do not know enough about the other manor lords to say with confidence. This is a question you should ask Samuel.”
“But the rest of the current crop got their titles handed down?”
“Handed down voluntarily, like Lord Skybreak, or inherited after the former lord died and named them their successor. Such is the case with Lord Brightwater. She gained her post as manor lord nine years ago when the former lord was killed by an assassin.”
“Did anyone ever find out who the assassin was working for?”
“No official responsibility has ever been assigned, but as you would expect, common wisdom suggests Lord Redbow or one of his sons was behind the attack. That may be the only reason Lord Brightwater has not yet joined the other four in the alliance.”
“But she has no interest in joining us?”
“Correct. A blood thrall working for the Lord Gloomwood two before you killed the former Lord Brightwater before the one most recently killed. So bad blood remains.”
Drake sighed. “Once again, I’m stuck paying for the crimes of assholes who pissed people off before I was even born. That’s my least favorite part of being a manor lord.”
“You like that even less than the constant assassination attempts?”
Drake glanced at Valentia. “Okay. Second least favorite.”
Valentia’s features turned curious. “May I ask you something personal?”
Drake was so surprised by the question he stopped walking. “Sure, Val.” Since when did Valentia ask personal questions? She must really be warming up to him.
“Did you have a family back in your world?”
Drake realized then he’d never discussed anything about his home with her. He’d mentioned his mother to Lydia, but she’d never share personal details without his permission. “I do. I mean, I’m not sure if I’ll ever see her again, but I have a mother and I miss her.”
“But no one else?”
Drake shook his head. “My dad isn’t dead, but I think the last time I saw him I was... four, maybe? He was never a part of my life. And my mother’s parents were killed in an accident before I met them, so no grandparents either.”
“So your family was just you and your mother, whom you may never see again.” Valentia motioned for them to resume their journey to his command tent. “We have that in common.”
“We do?”
“That is also how I was raised. My parents were originally from Brightwater territory, but my father died at sea shortly after I was born. Not long after, unsavory individuals used the circumstances of his death to demand an unseemly amount of coin from my mother to pay his debts. Or, they advised her, she could offer me and consider her debt expunged.”
Drake grimaced as Valentia recounted her story with absolutely no emotion in her voice, like she was telling him the history of some dusty old building. Not even Lydia had shared details about her past or family with him before now. What had prompted this from Valentia?
“My mother had no rarity. She was not powerful enough to kill those who sought to claim us, nor could she keep me safe from those who wished to abduct me had we remained in Brightwater. So she fled to the territory of Lord Gloomwood, which remained hostile to those from Brightwater territory due to recent events. She hoped our enemies would not follow.”
Drake looked toward the command tent and said nothing, though he already suspected what Valentia would say next. She really must have had it rough growing up.
“Those men killed my mother not long after we arrived, but not before she presented me to Lord Gloomwood and I demonstrated my flashfreeze rarity on a rabbit. I was eight.”
“I’m sorry, Val.” Drake grimaced. “I didn’t know any of that.”
“I would not expect you to. Fortunately for me, Lord Gloomwood saw my potential as an assassin and agreed to protect me until I came of age.”
“So those evil debtors lost out in the end.”
“They did. I asked that Lord Gloomwood see to the deaths of all who harmed my mother in exchange for my pledge to become his thrall. He found the trade worthwhile.”
So Valentia had ordered the deaths of the men who murdered her mother at age eight. She had started killing early. Drake couldn’t blame her given the circumstances and the world in which she lived. Still... that would leave some emotional scars.
“Lord Gloomwood sheltered me in his manor until I turned sixteen, at which point, as we had agreed, I accepted his blood pact and became his assassin.”
Drake hesitated before asking his next question, but he doubted Valentia would tell him all this if she wasn’t open to discussing it. “Do you wish you’d ended up somewhere else?”
“I have no family left in any territory,” Valentia said softly. “Gloomwood Manor was all I knew after my mother passed. With her dead, I had no reason to travel, and the only thing I was ever good at was killing people.” She shrugged. “To this day, that remains the case.”
“That’s not true, though,” Drake said.
She paused at the entrance to his tent and glanced at him. “How do you mean?”
“You’ve saved my life twice now with your flashfreeze rarity. First when you blocked Robin’s arrow, and again when you saved Nicole and me with that ice barrier you used to blunt the arrow volley at Fort Graystone. I’d be dead if not for you.”
“Those were isolated events, and we were fortunate my desperate action blunted those attacks. Using my rarity defensively is not my strength.”
“Well... would you want it to be?”
“I do not understand what you are asking.”
“The prior lords have all used you as their personal assassin, haven’t they? They’ve ordered you to assassinate those they needed dead or employed you exclusively to kill other warriors in battle. It seems like your protective potential is going to waste.”
Valentia now looked unsure of herself. “My potential?”
“All I’m saying is... if you want a break from being asked to freeze people to death all the time, I could give you a different role in combat. You’re amazing when it comes to blunting attacks and slowing the enemy. You could protect us with your freeze powers.”
She actually smiled. “That is kind of you, Lord Gloomwood.”
“It’s not just me being benevolent. It makes sense!”
“Perhaps.” Valentia looked back to the camp. “Yet there is so much blood on my hands that I feel there would be no point in walking a different path. I protect those I care about by killing those who would harm them. It would be irresponsible and inefficient to act otherwise.”
“But if you wanted—”
“I know.” Valentia impulsively gripped his arm with one chill hand. “And I truly appreciate your consideration. But I will best serve our manor and those I care about by acting as I have until now. So when you wish your enemies dead, please call upon me first.”
She seemed to mean this. Drake wasn’t about to question her choice when she seemed so resolved to follow it. He simply patted her hand and nodded. “Then I’ll just say thanks.”
“No other Lord Gloomwood has.” Valentia released his arm. “Be careful at dinner. Lord Skybreak I trust, but I do not know what to expect of Lady Skybreak. Before she passed down her title, she was among the most shrewd manor lords to sit at the table.”
“I won’t give away the manor, Val.”
“See that you don’t.” She walked off to take up position outside the command tent.
It felt strange to see Valentia smiling, let alone sharing details of her past, but maybe it wasn’t. Perhaps the fact that he’d saved Nicole’s life at Fort Graystone had eased the last worries she had about him not being ruthless enough to succeed as a manor lord. She hadn’t berated him even once for risking his life to save a blood thrall, though... it had been Nicole.
Hypocritical of her? Maybe a little. Still, given what he now knew about the horrors she’d suffered growing up, he was all the more willing to cut her some slack. Now, it seemed she felt the same way about him. That made for a good working relationship.
Drake entered his tent to find two servants inside, Tamara and another woman whose name he didn’t know. It looked like they had finished setting six places at the long table with fine dishes, spoons, forks, and folded white napkins with gold trim.
Tamara straightened. “Supper will be served in a few minutes, lord.”
“Thanks.” He glanced at the private area in the back of his tent. “Say, do you have any water you can spare?” He still needed to do something about his bedhead.
