Chương 47: Chapter 1.47: Country Roads

Favius stepped out into the estate's courtyard. The cold crept up through the furs blanketing his body as his boots crunched on the trampled snow. He studied the scene before him. Nearly fifty soldiers of the household guard, most of them heavy infantry except for a small unit of riders, were assembling under the gray and snowy sky around four wagons.

Marcus and Brutus were busy talking to someone who Favius vaguely recalled as a centurii of the household guard, while Serran was overseeing the loading of some crates onto the last wagon. Finally, he found his sisters by the side of one of the wagons. They were arguing.

"Put it down, Caliga," Urania said.

"We have to behave, and this is just a stupid risk." They hadn't noticed him yet, so Favius snuck closer. Caliga held her hand up.

"Oh, come on. It's just a snowball. And do you really think I can hit Brutus? He's just going to dodge because he will feel it with his aura." Favius smirked and grabbed some cold snow, holding it loosely in his hands. So my dear elder sister is planning to assassinate my poor bodyguard with a snowball? I gotta do something about such a vile plot. He approached with the cover of the wagon, keeping to it, and as the girls' bickering continued, he took three quick steps.

Caliga spun, but her reflexes still couldn't match Favius's. The handful of snow hit her straight in the face. She screeched, scrambling back and barely managing not to fall over.

"Favius!" Urania screamed, and soldiers and servants alike looked at them with wide grins.

"You... you... how dare you," Caliga hissed. Yet Favius gave her an innocent grin.

"I heard you planning to hit Brutus. And you know what he always says. Better to strike first and ask questions later."

"That's unfair," she mumbled, holding up her snowball. She took a deep breath and raised her hand, but the moment she opened her mouth, another snowball slammed into her face.

"Yikes!" This time, Brutus's boisterous laughter drowned out the preparations, and Favius, Urania, and the cultivator laughed. Before the situation could escalate further, Marcus called out over the din of preparations, "Children, no more snowballs or you can walk alongside the guards. I won't have you dragging ice and water into my carriage." Caliga studied the snowball she had formed and glared at Brutus, who stuck out his tongue at her. She huffed and dropped it.

The Magnicultor joined them and looked over the assembled convoy.

"Almost feels like we're going on campaign. I must say, it gets some old memories going." He smiled, and while the others began talking, Favius studied the small detachment of cavalrymen. They were five riders, but he narrowed his eyes. The horses are ponies by modern standards, technically not even horses, but that's not surprising. After all, the Mongols conquered most of the world on the back of ponies, not horses. But he narrowed his eyes. It's just a leather strap with grips and a blanket.

No saddle or stirrups. Is that another medieval innovation? He shook his head and turned to examine the four horses hitched to the carriage. A leather strap around their throat and torso connected them to the harness. Favius scratched his head and focused on a memory. There was this medieval museum, and the guide talked about how improvements in harnesses were huge in the Middle Ages because horsepower could be fully utilized. But... that's something for the future.

Soon all of them settled into the most luxurious carriage. It was similar to the one they had ridden on during their way to the estate, a wooden contraption with upholstered seats and a roof. Yet now the sides were covered by thick leather sheets. At a gesture from Marcus, they climbed aboard. The convoy ambled down the dirt path and turned onto the paved road toward Cindrath. The party endured the cold and rocking of the road in contemplative silence.

Well, maybe I should move up inventing suspension for carriages if I'm going to ride them a lot, Favius noted grimly. Yet as they reached one of the tributaries of the Eron River that shaped the fertile plains of Cindrath, Marcus spoke up.

"Very well, children—" Brutus cleared his throat, yet his efforts only earned him a glare from the senator.

"I have already discussed this with Favius. But you all will denounce your association with the Iron Phoenix faction in the presence of some of my most important political allies."

"The party will be in Consul Valeria Orestara Marinus's estate. She leads us Constitutionalists." Favius nodded along, but Urania spoke up.

"And as long as we can convince her that—" She swallowed hard and clenched her fists while Caliga squeezed her thigh. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"—that we are not a threat to her, we will be fine?" Marcus nodded.

"Indeed. She is on the fence, yet without her support I couldn't have adopted you. I believe she just needs to meet you in person and hear some reassuring words." Brutus gave a low grumble but did not speak up, and Marcus continued, his breath turning to steam in the icy air.

"The bigger problem will be Serpens Aurelian Varro. He is my greatest rival. The leader of the radical Constitutionalists." Caliga frowned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I... I think I remember him from a party a few years back."

"Indeed," Marcus said, his eye twitching slightly.

"He and I may be united in ideals, but our methods differ." He spat out the last word like something rotten.

"He was opposed to your adoption and argued that any branch of a familia so close to the dictator should be rooted out by the stem." Brutus chuckled darkly.

"Let me guess. You believe the bastard was more interested in denying you a male heir than in ensuring that the Magnus branch disappeared." Marcus sat there in silence before nodding slowly. Favius swallowed. The more I learn about this entire situation, the more dangerous it seems. Maybe my idea with the soap wasn't that great. He looked over at Urania and considered all the effort they had spent in the workshop. Well, I can always call it off at the last minute. Urania raised a hand, and Favius nodded to her.

"But Father, why is he such a bitter enemy of you if the two of you believe in the same things?" Brutus chuckled.

"Oh, many a man has more sympathy and respect for their enemy because from them they can expect vicious honesty. But allies that are not within your inner circle—" The cultivator shook his head, and for the first time since Favius had known his new father, Marcus's mask seemed to crack as he slumped back into the seat.

"You speak true, Ovinius Kestrelo. A rival can be more dangerous than any enemy." He swallowed his next words, then looked at Favius.

"Tell me, son, why is that so?" Favius nodded slowly before replying.

"Because you can treat an enemy like an enemy. There is no doubt about his hostility. But someone like this Serpens—" Marcus raised two fingers.

"You will refer to him as Aurelian Varro, or as Senator-Cindrathii Aurelian Varro. Serpens, his familiar name, is something only I may use." He looked sternly over the children.

"Is that understood?" His sisters nodded vigorously, and he felt their fur coats shifting.

"Speaking of rivals," Brutus interjected, "I believe I will attempt to break through to Transcensor next summer." Marcus's eyes grew wide.

"So soon after your last breakthrough? Are you certain?" Brutus flashed a grin.

"I believe the time has come to grasp providence by the horns and to ride on her back towards glory." Marcus nodded slowly.

"It is most unusual, yet—" He smiled at his children.

"—maybe there is something in the air of my estate that leads to extraordinary cultivation." Marcus scratched his chin.

"Perhaps even I ought to attempt finding another insight." The man hummed before nodding.

"Very well, brother. You have my blessing."

"I wasn't asking for permission," replied Brutus tersely.

"Yet you nonetheless have it. After all, you have done well by my children, and I am not an ungrateful man." Brutus snorted absentmindedly, touching the axe that he had stuffed beside him into the carriage.

"And you believe that having a martial Transcensor in your corner of the political arena won't hurt your position?" The senator chuckled.

"There is truth in that as well." The two powerful men shared a long look that Favius wasn't quite able to follow. Brutus was the first to interrupt the silence.

"If that is the case, may I assume that my friends can stay at the estate instead of camping in the woods?" Marcus's smile became more fragile.

"Your friends?" He trailed off, then sighed.

"Then there is no use convincing you that my allies will be able to protect you during the tribulations?" Brutus shook his head.

"For all that we are united in purpose, brother, there is too much history between us for that."

"Very well. So be it." Marcus made a cutting gesture before turning back toward his children.

"The final person of import at the party will be your grandmother, Aelia Nyctara Aquilara, Consul-Cindrathii."

"Though," Marcus admitted, "that title is almost an insult to who she is." Caliga took a sharp breath.

"How can calling someone a consul of the Republic be an insult?" Brutus let out a low chuckle.

"If being selected as consul for the fourth time in her long life was her only achievement, she would already be one of the greatest figures of the Republic." Marcus nodded as Favius leaned forward.

"Yet she is so much more. A Magnicultor Arcanis, matching your protector in skill and reputation." Brutus continued, "An eagle owl shifter matriarch of the rank of Ancient. She has guided her clan well through the turbulent years of the Republic." Brutus stared deep into Favius's eyes.

"There was much love between Lavira and Severin, yet it was Aelia who arranged the marriage the moment she realized that the Iron Phoenix was ascendant." Favius's eyes widened. He couldn't help but focus on one of the first things that were said.

"Magnicultor Arcanis. That means she is a magi? A caster?" he ventured. Both Brutus and Marcus laughed.

"She is a Magister Arcanum Vitae, the headmistress of the Tower of Life," Brutus murmured in a low, almost reverent voice.

"Children, your father may carry political power, and I am hard to match in terms of personal power. Yet she... she represents the Academy of Magi, the most important institution in the Republic."

"And she is one of the greatest healers in the known world." Urania and Caliga gasped and made suitably impressed noises, yet Favius couldn't help but smile broadly. I finally get to talk to an actual mage, and she is my grandmother. This... this is going to get interesting. The discussion turned to minutiae of the party and what they were to say, who else they might encounter and should or shouldn't speak to.

Yet as the rushing of the tributary river grew louder, Brutus lifted his head and sniffed the air like a dog. Marcus gave him a strange look, but a short while later, he too took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. He opened the curtains.

"Stop the convoy," he said. Favius's shoulders tensed.

"What's happening?" asked Urania, her voice unsteady. But Brutus merely grinned.

"Oh, children, it's nothing to worry about." Urania relaxed instantly, but Caliga only let out a breath once Marcus nodded as well. The senator smiled, an excited glint in his eyes.

"Indeed. I believe we should take a walk in the forest to enjoy the winter air." Favius narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cold, clean winter air. It smelled fresh, but he narrowed his eyes. There was an oddly familiar spicy tang to it. He pursed his lips. If Brutus smelled it first, and then Marcus...