Nate’s enchanted paintbrush made gentle swishing sounds as the paint glided over his small canvas. A haphazard array of tents decorated the horizon with a miasma of dust circling above. The war encampment of Princess Morgane was not what he had been expecting and it was that image that he was trying to capture. In his mind, he had been expecting something resembling a semi-orderly medieval campsite. The kind of thing you might have seen in a movie back on Earth. Instead, the warcamp of the Bright Army looked more like barely contained chaos covering half of the grounds contrasted with the trappings of ridiculous wealth covering the other half.

  The divide between the conscripts and the Nobility couldn’t have been made any clearer and just seeing it left a sour taste in Nate’s mouth. Roaming his farsight sphere of awareness over the war camp, it became apparent that the divide went beyond just wealth. While he couldn’t see parts of the nobility’s camp due to some warding enchantments, the guards stationed around the conscripts were blatantly facing inwards rather than out. The message couldn’t have been clearer if it was written in blood. Nate suspected it very well might have been already, going by a few reddish-brown stains in the grass.

  Aisling grabbed his attention, worry writ on her face.

  “What is it?”

  He explained what he had seen quickly.

  Aisling nodded her understanding, “They have taken payment from Princess Morgane and her supporters. Mana and coin. Now, they have to hope they can survive. Both the battles and the camp life. The ones who do will return to the Capital with enough coin to set themselves up for many years to come. But many won’t. This is the truth of Etrua, Nate, in all its ugly glory.”

  Aisling looked forward and Nate followed her gaze as he saw a small procession moving to meet them at the edge of the camp. Banners in blue and white fluttered above them and even without using his sphere of awareness, his Perception was high enough to recognise the woman at the centre. Princess Morgane had come to meet them.

  Kiri drifted closer to flank Aisling on her right side while Nate remained on her left as their alliram mounts ate up the distance until they stood within spitting range of their welcoming party.

  He frowned slightly when Conceptual Insight didn’t activate in response to the Princess’s presence. The last time he had met her at the Royal University she had hummed with a Concept barely contained. This time, he felt nothing. Not a whisper. While that difference was noteworthy, everything else about the woman was consistent with their first meeting. Just like the first time they had met, her eyes glowed within an inner golden light. Her black hair was tied up in an ornate bun and she wore layered silver plated armour which included a skirt. On her hip rested a sheathed hand-and-a-half sword. She was utilising a veil around her body but it did nothing to conceal her equipment and he noted that like last time, both armour and sword were of Epic quality and focused on durability with some minor stat enchantments. On her finger she wore a spatial storage ring on her left hand beneath her gauntlet, along with a number of other stat enhancing rings. A silver diadem sat upon her brow and he could tell that it was an epic barrier-type enchantment. Finally, a single legendary item lingered beneath her breastplate over her heart. A healing item, he determined…though it seemed to focus on passive regeneration rather than direct healing.

  Taken together she looked both beautiful and deadly. Without knowing her Classes and Levels he wasn’t certain whether he could defeat her. His mind jolted to a stop when he realised that battle was the first place his mind had gone and he glanced to his left towards the conscript’s camp, knowing that his reaction to their treatment was the source of his simmering anger. He needed to take a breath and calm down. Looking inside his Runic Gallery, he relaxed a little at the sight of a few of his paintings.

  The wave of calmness that washed through him was perfectly timed with the Princess’s husky voice as she greeted their procession.

  “Stormspear, I hadn’t expected to see you here. It was my understanding that none of the Platinums from the Etrua branch of the Adventurer’s Guild had accepted any job offers to participate in the war.”

  “You are correct, your Highness,” answered Aisling. “I am just here acting as a guardian and oversight for the Guild members participating in this war.”

  Princess Morgane’s golden eyes flicked from Aisling to Nate and a knowing smile formed on her face.

  “I see. You’re here to make sure we don’t get the Guild’s best and brightest killed. Very well, I grant you entry to the Third Army. I assume the Adventurer’s Guild will wish to camp together. Space has been set aside between Houses Landin and Beaumont. My commanders will expect the Guild members to have reported into their appropriate divisions by the time we make camp tomorrow afternoon. Take the afternoon and evening to get yourselves situated. We march at first light,” stated Morgane.

  “As you say, your Highness. I will make sure that all Guild members are prompt and uphold the Guild’s good name.”

  Princess Morgane turned away, the guards and what Nate now assumed to be a few nobles turning as well. The Princess paused after taking two steps, her boots twisting the grass beneath her feet as she glanced back at Aisling.

  “Once you’re situated for the night, might I borrow Nathaniel?”

  Nate tried not to let his body language betray him and for perhaps the first time, he didn’t freeze up at being singled out. He turned his head to look at Aisling, who gazed back with a question in her eyes. He realised then, that if he shook his head no, that his guardian would deny the innocent sounding request. Warmth flowed through his chest as he realised she would deny a Royal of Etrua for his sake if he asked. But, he wouldn’t put her in that position. The Royals were dangerous. That was certain. His current view of them was that they were the Nobility on steroids. However, he was bound to cross their paths again if he and Kiri continued their meteoric rise. His defensive items were all fully charged and his soul was effectively sacrosanct due to Kiri’s Soul Engraving Skill. He could escape if things went sour.

  His mind had played it all out in the few seconds while the Princess waited for a response. He finally gave it, nodding his assent to Aisling who turned back to the golden-eyed beauty.

  “You may, your Highness,” answered his guardian.

  Morgane’s considering glance as she watched the interplay between the Guild Platinum and Nate was anything but subtle, but the Royal simply smiled and nodded her thanks to Aisling before her eyes drifted over to Nate.

  “I will send an escort. It’s a big camp and we wouldn’t want you getting lost,” stated Morgane, before glancing at the rest of the Guild members. “Etrua appreciates your help with the war. Let us hope this foolishness is put to an end quickly.”

  With her parting words said, the Princess and her retinue marched back into the camp.

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  “The fuck was that about?” asked Kiri, anger in her voice.

  Aisling tapped her lips with a finger, “Not here.”

  Marching through the camp was both simple and unpleasant. The grounds of the Noble camps were already torn up from alliram mounts and wagons. That at least meant that the thoroughfares were wide enough for them to ride three abreast with space to spare. The unpleasantness came from recognition of their Guild insignias. The guards of the Nobility, mostly Golds from what little Nate could tell, sneered and jeered at the Guild members. Nate was already debating just how much effort he would bother putting into healing these assholes if they were actually injured in the battles to come.

  The space set aside for the Guild was larger than expected and almost at the edge of the conscripts’ camp. Only one camp was closer, and after a whispered question to Aisling, he knew the name of the unfortunate Nobles. House Landin, it seemed, had somehow offended the Princess and as such were to camp right next to the conscripts. Nate had expected it to be loud but even he was surprised for a moment at the amount of revelry, interspersed with violence, coming from the conscript camp.

  One of the House Landin guards must have noticed Nate’s glances as the Guild began to dismount and set up camp. With a sly smirk, he grabbed Nate’s attention before nodding in the conscripts’ direction.

  “They’re celebrating life, because they know by the time this is done, ain’t many of them gonna have it.”

  With his piece said, the guard returned to his post outside of the large purple tent that seemed to be the temporary home of House Landin.

  Setting up his tent took no time at all, courtesy of the enchantments contained within and after setting up his bed and some other minor protections he went to join Aisling in her tent. Kiri was already there, frustration plastered on her face. Nate moved to stand next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her. Or at the very least, offer his support. It was clear to him she had been having a difficult time.

  “I’ll shadow him,” his sister stated confidently, eyes burning into Aisling and daring the woman to deny her.

  “Does your Skill work against those with soul protections? And if it does, does it hide itself as well, or will they know their protections have been breached?” asked Aisling quietly as she rolled out a map onto a table that took up a quarter of the large tent.

  “No…” muttered Kiri quietly.

  “Then you won’t. The Princess is not known for acting rashly. Nate should be fine and you can check him over if you’re concerned about any soul-related Skills when he returns. That is, if he still wishes to go?”

  Aisling glanced up from the map, looking at Nate questioningly.

  “I do. I’m curious what she wants…and she did help us once before. I think knowing is better than not,” he finished lamely.

  “Come to my tent when you return. We’ll discuss it,” replied Aisling, her eyes flicking to Kiri. “All of us.”

  Kiri’s nod of agreement looked forced and Nate followed his best friend out of the Platinum’s tent.

  “Be careful and run at the first sign of trouble,” Kiri hissed at him the moment they were out of the tent.

  Nate smiled at her ruefully and whispered back, “I promise I won’t get kidnapped again.”

  Kiri relaxed ever-so-slightly at his words.

  “Yeah, yeah. She’s too young for you anyway,” she replied, a small smile creeping onto her face.

  “I thought dating Britt would have put this whole thing to rest,” Nate griped, looking away.

  Kiri responded by altering her voice to try and sound like him, “As you would say, the majority indicates a preference.”

  “The majority? Valeria, Florence and Britt,” he replied, ticking them off on his fingers. “That is two of similar age and one older.”

  “Florence is over thirty,” Kiri whispered back, her smile turning smug.

  “She is not.”

  “Told me herself. You’ve got a type, dear brother. How Britt managed to slip through I guess we’ll never know!”

  Nate rolled his eyes as he sensed his ‘escort’ approaching. “Yeah yeah, have your fun. Glad you’re feeling a bit better.”

  Kiri tucked some of her brown hair behind her ears and locked him in place with her blue eyes, “Be careful.”

  “I will,” he replied, giving her a hug.

  “Guard our tent,” he sent to Frick mentally as he moved towards his escort.

  “You got it, Boss.”

  His escorts sent by the Princess were a man and woman. The man was short and stocky, with short blonde hair and brown eyes. The woman had a similar build with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. Both wore silver plated steel armour with blue and white accents upon it. Swords hung at their hips with shields upon their backs. His sphere of awareness told him the shields were decorated with a coat of arms but it was hard to determine what the image was without seeing it. He supposed he would be able to in a moment.

  “Nathaniel Weber?” asked the man.

  Nate nodded and the man continued his introduction, “I am Third-Sword Lorith and this is Fourth-Sword Kaylee. We will be your escorts to the Princess. Follow us closely and do not stray.”

  With his commands given, for that was the only way Nate could possibly interpret the guardsman’s statements, the Third-Sword spun and began to walk deeper into the nobility’s section of the war camp. The pair were a step in front of him as he followed them, which finally gave him a view of the coat of arms upon the shields. Each one bore the symbol of a castle with cliffs behind it – the Royal Palace of Etrua. Alongside the Castle each shield was inlaid with the image of swords. Three for Lorith and four for Kaylee. A sign of rank, Nate guessed.

  The walk to the Princess’s tent was a short distance but felt longer under the gazes of the Nobility. Up until now, Nate had only been exposed to the next generation of the nobility. Young men and women who were still coming into their own. For the most part, they had ignored him until the issues with Fabien Lussier, and after, had looked upon him with hatred and fear in equal measure. The looks he got from their parents were far more considering, like he was a chess piece and they were debating how best to move him. Does that make me the rook or the bishop?, he wondered? The thought made him smile because he knew if he had voiced the question to Kiri, after explaining chess, she would’ve definitely called him the queen and then made some quip about serving her majesty.

  Rounding one of the huge garishly-coloured tents, Nate was finally exposed to the Princess’s abode while on the march. The tent could have fit a small circus inside, and like the Princess’s attire earlier, was coloured in blue and white. Arrayed around it were guards dressed similarly to his escorts, with their shields on their arms. He counted the swords on each and found all except for one of the guards had four swords decorating their shields. Definitely a signature of rank, then.

  Approaching the entrance to the tent, they found the way blocked by two guards, one of which was the only other guard to possess three swords. With a glance at his escorts, the two guards parted to allow him through. His escorts remained outside and so Nate straightened his spine and walked inside the voluminous tent. Rather than decked out in luxury, the room truly looked like someone planning for war. Mostly empty armour and weapon racks bordered one side of the tent, the few that weren’t empty showed the same uniform as the guards outside as well as emanating a whiff of mana. At the centre of the room sat a bed and though it was heavily warded against identification, he could sense the mana of enchantments flowing through it. The remaining spaces were filled with a table covered in papers and maps as well as a kitchenette. What need did they have for chests, he supposed, if they had spatial storage devices to hold all their clothes and wealth. If anything, it was a surprise that there were armour racks, though perhaps that gentle sense of mana he had gotten from them indicated they were for recharging the armours. Enchanted armour for the Royal Guard seemed like a no-brainer.

  The Princess herself, still dressed in her armour, turned away from talking with a tall Royal Guardsman who bore two swords on his shield, and pinned him with her golden eyes as Conceptual Insight hummed in the back of his mind.

  “Thank you for joining me this evening, Nathaniel. I was hoping we could discuss your disagreements with House Desmarais over dinner.”

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