Chương 11: Chapter 10 - Offline Search Engine

"The name Coehoorn sounds familiar, give me a moment, dear," Tissaia said, her steam image dissolving. A few minutes later she came back, holding a book.

"This is an armorial of the southern kingdoms, though it covers genealogy too," she explained, rapidly flicking through the book.

"Coehoorn, Coehoorn…" She muttered, "Ah! Here. Noble family of Nilfgaard, seat of power in the Capital, two main branches. Known members Carl, Isaiah, Menno, Alder, Alice, Frisk, Cara and Siev. Heraldic symbol is a black kestrel, if that interests you. It seems your hunch was correct, Tanya." I grimaced. I really did not like having this particular suspicion confirmed, mostly because it indicated a level of competence and long-term planning that I very much hated to see in an enemy.

I could see no other explanation. The Nilfgaardian Empire did not plan to stop their march, already working behind the scenes to soften their next conquests. It seemed that my safe retirement still faced one last obstacle.

"Do not worry too much, child," Tissaia's kind voice brought me out of my gloomy thoughts, "The Brotherhood is, above all, neutral and you will always be welcome in Aretuza." I fought hard to keep my expression even. As if any self-respecting employer would ever hire me again if I ran away the moment the going got tough. That was half the reason nobles hired sorcerers in the first place. If I ran away like that, my reputation would be forever ruined.

Leaving now, before Cintra realised the danger wouldn't be much better. Sure, it'd probably be attributed to the general eccentricities surrounding sorcerers, but the outcome would be nearly the same. I would be seen as unreliable. Unprofessional. I'd probably have to mooch off Aretuza for decades, racking up debt, achieving nothing. It was an option of last resort. Even worse, such an action would reflect badly on the Brotherhood as well.

"I appreciate the offer, but any conflict is still far away. I will keep it in mind, however," I responded, voice kept carefully neutral.

"As you wish, but do not let politics consume you, Tanya," she paused, fixing her sleeve, "Philippa was just like you when she started, I only fear that her work will consume her. Remember, Tanya, that you are a sorceress first. Our duty is to humankind as a whole, not any singular kingdom." I blinked, not quite sure how to interpret that. Philippa Eilhart was Redania's Court Sorceress and one of Tissaia's star pupils before me, so on one hand, the comparison was quite flattering.

On the other, it was a public secret in Aretuza that Philippa was a bit more entangled with Redania's inner workings than a member Brotherhood was supposed to be, something I knew very well Tissaia disagreed with, even without her reminding me just now. The Brotherhood was everything to the ancient sorceress. She believed in its rules and laws quite a bit, something which I personally found admirable. Humans without rules and laws were just animals.

Another reason not to quit, since it was the Brotherhood that facilitated my post. Tissaia might put on a gentle face, but she sat on the Chapter, not to mention that she was old enough that she could have reasonably talked with Jan Bekker, one of the original human settlers of the Continent and the founder of the human magical discipline. That a person like that would be great at masking their real feelings was obvious. Too big of a slap to the Brotherhood's face and I'd get dropped like a pile of hot rocks.

My eyes widened in realisation as I connected my current train of thought with her offer. Running away from my post in Cintra might just constitute a big enough slap. Tissaia was probably testing me. There was no way someone who cared about the Brotherhood as much as her would be happy with me tarnishing their reputation like that. Though I was happy that I had surely passed her test, I wasn't about to touch whatever conflict was there between the two sorceresses with a ten-foot pole.

I asked my next question instead, "And Ida Emean?"

"She is one of Francesca's associates, that is all I can tell you about her. I know of her existence, but I was not aware that she has left the Blue Mountains in recent history," she paused, "As for your last question, my ever-hungry student," I straightened my back unconsciously, " Aen Saevherne are a bit of a mystery, both because of their rarity and the secretiveness of the elves. They are said to possess a vast amount of knowledge about many subjects, great skill with magic and some special abilities.

Though whether the last is a prerequisite for the title, I do not know."

"Special abilities?" I probed further.

"Mm, yes. Oracular abilities and powers over space and time, though this is more rumour than fact. I've never met any Aen Saevherne and I know of only two others apart from Ida. Lara Dorren and Simlas Finn aep Dabairr." Lara Dorren had been dead for many centuries, her existence was considered half a fairy tale by the common people, so that wasn't terribly helpful.

Simlas was likely dead as well, though it was possible he was alive somewhere, as being both a mage and an elf would have given him an extraordinary lifespan. I had no way of tracking down the erstwhile elvish leader in any case. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Even so, I could extrapolate some things.

Power over space and time in any significant capacity was obviously nonsense since the elves never would have lost against humankind were they in the possession of such great power. Some limited ability to see the future was plausible, as such things were not unheard of even amongst humans, if still incredibly rare and of dubious value.

"I've heard it said that the White Rose of Shaerrawedd, Aelirenn, had also been one of the Aen Saevherne," Tissaia continued, "But this talk only started appearing near the end of the twelfth century and never spread by elves, so I would not put much stock in it." I didn't think I'd ever get used to these casual reminders of Tissaia's age. Aelirenn's rebellion happened over two centuries ago, in the middle of the eleventh century. It was the thirteenth now.

The elvish woman had a near mythological status today, for both human and elvenkind, even if the tales told about her were drastically different depending on the race of the narrator.

"That is everything I know about the matter," Tissaia finished.

"Thank you, it is more than enough," I responded politely. I could perhaps ask the Rectoress to question Francesca about it, but that would be quite a large favour just to satisfy my curiosity.

"Ah, there is one more favour I'd like to ask, Rectoress," I said.

"Yes?"

"When you next see Lady Findabair, could you ask her to relay my gratitudes to Ida Emean? I fear I did not thank her properly during our encounter," I answered. This was only partially true. Mostly, I wanted to reinforce my name in her mind. Also, having Tissaia relay this through Francesca, two members of the Chapter, would let her know that I did possess at least some influence, despite my youth, signalling the mutual benefits we could glean through cooperation.

If Ida truly possessed oracular abilities, then securing her help would likely be a good idea, though frankly, I doubted the usefulness of such things. If the elves could reliably see the future, then they would not be nearing extinction now, would they? Aen Ithlinnespeath, the most famous and widely believed prophecy, basically just predicted that the world would grow colder, except with some added vague nonsense—most of which I had forgotten quickly after being forced to study the parts of it known to Aretuza.

Not that I could completely ignore the matter, as people claiming that the signs were coming true and that the world was ending next tuesday came about every few months, like clockwork. Yeah, the most famous prophecy in the world was basically a very vague and dramatic weather report. I mean, what did the spilling of elven blood have to do with climate change? Besides, the earth had already been soaked with the blood of elves and the climate hadn't cooled.

Suffice it to say, I did not put much stock in those who claimed the ability to see the future, nor fate. Any overtures to Ida would have to wait until I had properly secured my position here anyway, so I put the matter out of my mind. Tissaia didn't hesitate, "Easily granted, child," she sighed before continuing, "Be careful and remember to ask for help, should you need it." With that, the spell was cut from Tissaia's end, leaving me in silence with my thoughts.

I had to metaphorically pat myself on the back for the idea of ingratiating myself to the Rectoress as the effort once more proved its worth. Having one of the oldest and most knowledgeable people in the world available for advice was worth its weight in gold, especially in a world without the internet. Mulling my situation over, I reached the conclusion that my problem was not immediate or insurmountable. First, I would have to convince the Queen that there really was a threat. Then…

I'd look for a good dog trainer. Since the King liked to hunt, the castle should have a kennelmaster. This was a project I could tackle on my own and with the potential to significantly augment Cintra's military strength. Alzur and Fregenal had already done a good chunk of the work. With a serious threat on the horizon, it didn't make sense to leave such a potent weapon unfinished. I nodded to myself.

Properly mastering both Alzur's Double Cross and Triangle Within a Triangle would take a while, but magically empowered hounds had a lot of potential. Any city was bound to have plenty of mice and rats I could practice on, Cintra included. Anything more significant would have to be discussed with Calanthé and would likely involve more than a little teeth-pulling, possibly literally. Not necessarily on account of the Queen, but the realm itself.

Being a medieval-ish kingdom, I was sure that there were plenty of improvements that could be wrought here, but progress was ever the enemy of those in power. Still, I was getting ahead of myself. I would need to understand the situation in Cintra significantly better before I could start poking things on my own, but I could bring some key matters to the Queen's attention before that.

"But first things first," I muttered, going back to the top floor. Sitting at my new desk, I took out a piece of paper and began writing. More paper, cages, a few reagents and a silver dagger to start with. After some more thought, I added a silver-coated doorknob to the list as well. A primitive precaution, but anything that'd make life more difficult for any hostile monsters was worth it. I tsked, realising that I'd have to ward the tower as well. Vet the guards too, or even better, find some of my own.

A golem wouldn't go amiss either. I wasn't an expert in the art, but the basic spell was not overly difficult, even if demanding. I couldn't say I was particularly skilled with sculpting or metalworking, but magic made the moulding of materials quite convenient and the end result didn't need to be pretty, just functional. The hard part of golem-making was creating a sufficient power source, as powering it yourself made the entire point of building a golem moot.

However, a golem's heart, as the nomenclature went, was beyond my abilities. But keying it to a power-gathering ward linked to the tower? I could manage that. The intersection the castle stood on would provide enough power. The golem wouldn't be able to leave, but well, I mostly wanted it to protect me while I slept. Yes, another worthy project.

Satisfied, I handed the list to one of the guards who had materialised in front of the tower while I was preparing the communication spell, and then I started working on warding my new abode. That occupied me for most of the day, the rest I spent on researching Nilfgaard. I had brought some general books with me and the castle had an extensive library I could make use of.