Chương 222: 5.21 Spin

After the battle, the Crusade returned to camp. A celebration was declared as they did, which meant the first actual full day off since it had first set out. Several motivated Time mages showed that they could start a feast in a bafflingly short time. Within minutes of their return, the central area with the ballot box had instead sprouted several robust long-tables as well as benches, even built out of wood rather than stone.

Kegs were already being opened and Irwyn spotted someone starting to roast a whole pig to the side. Irwyn and his group ended up occupying a spot at one of the edges, which had the benefit of the auras of everyone being so overwhelming. The sheer number of Domain mages present in close proximity made all magical senses incomprehensible. They split so that Waylan sat between Desir and Alice, with the shapeshifter at the "head" of the table—though he needed to make his own mana chair for that.

That way, no one would accidentally sit on the sneak. The arrangement left Elizabeth and Irwyn next to each other, which she shamelessly abused to constantly lean against his shoulder. About a quarter of an hour in, the word went around that a famous chef of some kind would take orders for attuned cuisine, paid for by the Federation, of course. Irwyn was quickly surprised by how much of a luxury that actually was from Desir.

He had only come into contact with it back when first coming to Abonisle, and Elizabeth had distorted his perception with her old habits. It was an excess actually expensive enough that even advanced Conception mages could not afford to eat such fare often. Not that Elizabeth ordered anything. Irwyn likewise abstained in solidarity, what had happened in the Trial still well in memory. Waylan had no interest since the attunement would do little for him, and Alice opted for something with a strange name.

Desir lightened the mood by asking everyone to help him workshop the most abominable combined dish that might still just barely get delivered. The cuisine could be custom-made after all—that is what they had been explicitly told—and Desir knew enough about cooking to cobble together something offensive, yet coherent enough to not clearly be just a jest. A few minutes after those orders went out, music started playing.

Looking over, Irwyn noticed that someone had grown a dubiously shaped tree that twisted up into a platform to the side of the central square. Since it was technically above the buildings, the arrangement meant the extra space stood in a universally visible spot. On top of it was a group of mages from various duchies that had formed an impromptu band. In particular, Irwyn noted the golem in red colours that had seemingly been carrying around an entire set of drums.

From there, more people began to rise and build their own platforms. Besides the camp followers, everyone present was a powerful mage after all. The impromptu celebration had started off simply, but once an idea was visible, it began to compound. No one rose to challenge the musicians in sound, but they certainly competed for attention. While it was difficult to impress a crowd like theirs, a few tried.

The Domain mage from the duchy of Green rose up on a cloud of small and colourful birds, made sure to gather as many eyes as cared to watch, then began to transmute the beings beneath his feet at incredible speed. From hummingbirds to a feathered lizard with wings, then into a swarm of butterflies, which soon became a singular giant eagle, and so on. Irwyn had to admit he had never seen anything like it. Besides that, someone had begun painting a vista of the battle just gone by from a high seat of distorted space.

Irwyn recognised the figure of the Archduke being painted high overhead, overlaid with the newly rising sun of his Edict from just the initial sketching. Not long later, three other painters joined the original in a small circle. Irwyn couldn't begin to guess how long it would take good Conception mages like them to actually finish the whole vista. The Inquisition, surprisingly enough, also started something.

Irwyn didn't take them to be a particularly cheery bunch, but perhaps even they could let loose during a celebration like that. Or at least some of them—there were noticeably fewer Inquisitors in the crowd than there should be in camp. Two of them rose up on pale white planes, sat opposite to each other, then erected a small sign stating 'poetry'. Soon, a few others approached them, though Irwyn couldn't hear what they were actually versifying about. Then there were the dancers.

Several couples first rose to the air and built simpler but even platforms of raw elemental magic, where they quickly began to sway in ways often closer to acrobatics than waltz. Though soon enough, less confident participants joined them, who opted for much simpler motions. After a few minutes of shuffling, four such platforms remained where all the dancers congregated. Irwyn noticed this because Elizabeth specifically pointed them out.

The sudden look of anticipation in her eyes conveyed quite clearly what activity she was interested in joining. Even if Irwyn was quite confident that he would be terrible at it.

"How durable are your shoes?"

"You couldn't crush my toes if you tried," she simply laughed, then dragged him up by the hand. He helplessly glanced at Desir, who merely shot him a grin and a thumbs-up, then he surrendered to his fate and flew them up to the back edge of one the dance platforms.

"Just move along with me. I used to take lessons for this."

"I, on the other hand, have never feared social embarrassment," Irwyn joked, but did as instructed. The ongoing song was rather fast-paced, so Elizabeth followed suit. She grabbed onto Irwyn's arms and began to move, nudging him to follow. He had no idea what he himself was doing, but quickly realised a major advantage. Irwyn had learned to read Elizabeth's body language extremely well after the many battles within the Trial. Dancing, as it seemed, was close enough to that for the skill to be transferable.

With all the magic hastening his thoughts and reinforcing his body, Irwyn still had supernatural coordination. Even if it was far from his focus, as a byproduct of his magic he could make split-second adjustments with ease and move nigh exactly where he wanted. It was nothing compared to the insane swirling he was seeing from a few others around them, but he was quite able to mirror Elizabeth. At least while she took it easy. The song soon ended and the next one was far slower-paced.

Elizabeth used that as an opportunity to pull him in close, chest to chest, smiling wide.

"You know, I never had a chance to actually do this during a proper ball," she said after some comfortable silence. Her warmth was pleasant.

"I don't think this counts as that."

"Close enough, I say."

"Are they not common in the Duchy of Black?" Irwyn asked. He still had a limited understanding of the minutiae among nobility.

"We do some, but they are networking events. Think a bit like the Exenn we had gone to after the first Beacon sounding, but instead of a battle pit, there is a dance floor in the middle. Likewise, things are stratified by age. Since I was sick for the childhood portion of it, I missed the chance to find friends there or on similar occasions. Then later, in the teen segment, the expectation is that those dancing are either already engaged or seeking to find betrothal.

Not something I was even remotely interested in at the time."

"Sounds unpleasant. I could barely bear with the celebrations the Tears held, and I knew basically everyone there. Even then, I would usually leave early. Well, leave might be a bit of a strong word since my room was just a flight of stairs away."

"I used such opportunities to raid the buffets." She grinned.

"They literally never run out. Whatever I took ended up replenished within a few minutes. There would be a few spats from time to time, but those memories are closer to boring than genuinely bad."

"Hmmm, I would have probably been able to bear with it longer too, if there had been infinite food involved." You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"And drinks. Freshly pressed juices from every fruit you have heard of," she added, almost teasingly. Then the song changed again, once again fast. Elizabeth adjusted and Irwyn followed, turning their dance into something much less suitable for conversation. They even separated their left hands and moved away at several occasions. At one point, Irwyn got briefly distracted by someone literally jumping over half the crowd, and Elizabeth took a vicious advantage of that.

With a flick of her hand, she brought their right hands above the head level, then proceeded to spin Irwyn through sheer brute force. He was pretty sure an unreinforced body would have broken more than just a few bones from that, as she rotated him five times within the second, then swept him off his feet, only to catch him.

"No reaction?" She raised an eyebrow after staring into his eyes for a moment.

"Should I be reacting?" He raised his own right back.

"I have seen three other people already do exactly this."

"Phhh," Elizabeth laughed at that for some reason. Then let Irwyn stand on his own feet again. They stayed for two more songs after that. Irwyn was getting a bit tired by that point. Not physically, but from all the people all around them, though not to the point he would speak up about it yet. Elizabeth either noticed as much or felt the same, so they ended up departing at that point.

When they returned to the table, Alice had already finished her meal, at least judging by the empty and licked-clean plate in front of her. Desir, in the meantime, had not even touched his. As soon as he saw them approach, the shapeshifter was very eager to show them why. There was a massive grin plastered on his face as he triumphantly gestured to the table in front of him. The plate indeed consisted of all nine elements, neatly arrayed with ingredients that matched the colours of their affinities.

Five of them were placed into mounds, flame at the center being the longest by far. The remaining four elements served as background, mixed sauces or chunks surrounding the centerpiece. That was a very polite way of describing what Irwyn had immediately noticed:"It's a middle finger."

"Yes, indeed," Desir laughed.

"My highest salutations to the chef. I almost feel bad about eating it."

"Try to mix the Void and Light portions in your mouth," Irwyn suggested.

"You will very likely not be feeling bad after that."

"Please, it probably wouldn't even explode."

"Fizzling out is much more likely." Elizabeth nodded, joining in.

"But it could definitely still scald your tongue. Which the chef might appreciate."

"And what would we do then?" Desir performed a very exaggerated sigh. Plenty of bickering was had afterwards. Their group remained secular throughout, which was exactly how Irwyn preferred such things to go. While the Inquisition had high opinions of them, those were mostly professional outlooks rather than interpersonal. As for the rest of the crusade, Irwyn had barely spoken with anyone. His importance for the victory was thankfully not being widely publicised.

"Do you have time now?" A voice sounded about two hours after the dance. Recognisably the Archduke's. Irwyn glanced around, and clearly, everyone else in the group had heard it too, their head glancing around. Soon, they shared a round of nods and were teleported away. The new place was on the very edge of the camp. Not far ahead of them, a group of people stood in a silent half circle. Most of them wore the brown of Realm mages, though a few others were mixed in, the vast majority of those Inquisitors.

Just by a quick headcount, it seemed like half the people from the Duchy of Brown were present. Or at least, half of how many Irwyn had seen in camp before. In between them, a strange mound stood. Three dozen or so smooth stones, stacked next to one another in neat piles. Most of them were very close in size, except for the centerpiece which was several times larger than the rest. A few moments passed before Irwyn read the somber expressions and realised what he was looking it.

The Duchy of Brown had lost a Domain mage after all. It was a funeral.

"In the wake of victory, it is often easy to forget its cost. The greater the triumph, the more forlorn its shadow. Or so I find it. Consider the scenery a reminder of that. The Rot thrives on forgotten details, for it never neglects one." That certainly doused the celebratory mood that had filled them just moments prior. For a while, they watched on in silence. No one from the procession seemed to notice them, but Irwyn could still hear the music in the distance. He wondered, what did these people think of that?

Surely there were also others who had lost companions and were in no mood for open joy. Unlike in the prior battles of the Crusade, they had no Truth mage ensuring safety during the pitched part of the battle and the dead had claimed their due.

"Why have you sought us out, sir," Elizabeth eventually said.

"The war is finally turning. In an attempt to corner Marmian, the undead had launched large scale assault across the Federation so that no reinforcements could be sent. Besides the three Titled undead I have slain, two more have genuinely perished. Bartholom, the Once-spark was killed by the Archduke of Red after Ezax reinforced him with his gaze rather than continuing to support me. The last was slain by the Duke of Brown. I have not heard many details, but it was an Outsider without any prior sightings by us.

Ten more mostly lost their bodies and will need varying time to recover."

"What have we lost then?" Elizabeth asked, nodding thoughtfully.

"No deaths, one debilitating injury, three serious injuries. Not counting any further Outsiders, the undead should only have three uninjured Titled Liches left that we know of. We finally hold the initiative. Rather than shuffling our forces around, we can at long last make harder pushes and close this chapter out."

"How were there so many in the first place? Didn't the Federation win a war against them less than twenty years ago?" Irwyn asked.

"Liches with Truths are like cancer. Unless you obliterate them completely, even a wisp of a soul is enough to let them arise again. That is the reason why Lich Wars usually have fourty to fifty years of peace between them: It is how long they usually take to recover. We have done so during the last war. Their reconstitution had been faster than usual, likely due to another Outsider, but even today, most of them had been at merely 90 or so percent of their full power. Destroying as many as today…

it has not happened before in my lifetime. The most I recall were three, on the very day I had claimed my Name. In some Lich wars, we have barely broken even, or worse."

"It will still not be easy with the Duke of Cyan now most likely converted," Elizabeth commented.

"Indeed. Which brings me to your reassignment. As has been discussed earlier, your group will be moved away from this Crusade. There are several options for you to pick from."

"We actually get to choose?" Elizabeth said with a frown.

"The list is not large, and they share elements, but yes. I have discussed with your father and Conflagration and there are four. One would have you return to Abonisle. The next two would be Spireholm or the City Teal. And finally, the City Red. Either way, you will have some additional or strange tasks to do during your stay, Irwyn in particular, but nothing outright dangerous."

"And has anyone stated any preference for which we should pick?"

"Your father said you would prefer to come to your own conclusions," the Archduke replied. Which probably meant Avys, and Elizabeth clearly knew as much, judging by her gleam. Had there been any specific 'recommendation' coming from the Duchy of Black, Elizabeth might have outright rejected it out of sheer spite. Without that, they would have to confer and decide based on their own logic.

"Not eager for the Duchy of Black," Desir started.

"Not even talking about your problems, I am also technically on the run, and that is exactly where some of the Demons after me might coincidentally pass through. If they start to believe I am alive, it would spell trouble."

"Agreed," Irwyn said with a nod.

"Abonisle or not, the Duchy of Black holds too many problems for us right now."

"What can we expect from the Duchy of Red right now?" Elizabeth turned to the Archduke again.

"How available would the Archduke even be?"

"I presume he will be willing to see you briefly, much like I have. But Wartime doesn't allow for much leisure or instruction. I myself can barely manage the one apprentice, and that is while stretching most of my days into weeks."

"Then I don't want us to head to the Duchy of Red yet," Elizabeth said, turning back towards their group.

"It may be a bit childish, but… the day I walk into that ancient city, it should shake at its foundation. Even Conflagration himself would have to acknowledge me, unable to keep himself from paying direct and frequent attention. It is something I have dreamt of for years, when I first got the idea of going South to study Flame, not older than thirteen. Maybe it hasn't been on my mind much over the past few years, but why should I let the Rot rob me of that?"

"No harm in aspirations," Irwyn naturally supported her with a smile.

"There is no hurry," Desir also nodded.

"I would like to head there eventually, but after the War works for me just fine."

"No complaints from me," Alice added with a shrug. Waylan did not even deign to show himself.

"Then it is either Spireholm or City Teal," Irwyn summarized.

"They do have very good food in Spireholm," Alice immediately said.

"Wouldn't you want to explore a different place instead?" Desir asked.

"Maybe, but… Alright, I am just a bit sentimental. My uncle used to love that City. It wouldn't be such a bad thing to go there, even if his tower no longer floats. Maybe I could even… live out his dreams of having one built and raised to its peers above. Not right now, but I could start figuring it out." Irwyn himself did not particularly care where they went. Actually, going somewhere already a bit familiar would only be a plus.

Desir quickly supported Alice in her decision and even Waylan briefly appeared to concur with that. Elizabeth seemed briefly hesitant, but after a moment of thought, also agreed, making the decision unanimous. They turned towards the Archduke who simply nodded, having clearly already heard them.

"You can return to the celebration. I will bring you to Spireholm tomorrow alongside your new official orders."