By the time Celeste regained full consciousness, it wasn't Tristan or even Tesni who was speaking. It was disorientation, voices jumping between accent and language in an instant from her perspective. She slowly blinked her eyes open, not moving from where she was lying. Someone had placed a rolled-up jacket under her head so she could see around her easily enough.
Tristan was stood talking with an Ofprovian officer. She took a moment to start translating their conversation in her head.
“-It will go up the chain of command as well. I will be on the hook if I let you just take our prisoner,” The officer was saying. “It's our right to take her. We lost many good men to subdue her like this, it's not fair-”
“I've had enough of your prattle,” Tristan said, raising his hand and forcefully silencing the officer. “I am taking her to safety and then I am going to deal with that consumed wizard. I doubt you are competent enough, Colonel, and I can't allow my ex-students to cause such a mess.”
“Don't try to order me about!” The officer said, shoved Tristan back. He was brave to try and push a wizard around, particularly one with such an unnerving aura. “This is war, you are in the lands of a sovereign nation, not your little school. I have no reason to listen to what you say.”
There was a pause. The two officers that flanked the Colonel shifted uncomfortably. Celeste heard Tristan laugh softly. “You have graduates of mine serving under you, don't you, Colonel?” He said the title very slowly, his intent clear.
“That isn't relevant. I am not letting that wizard go.”
Celeste felt something brush past her nose and loudly sneezed. Around her, she heard the shuffling and clicking of men preparing guns. She sat up a little and looked around. two dozen Ofprovian soldiers had rifles trained on her. Tesni was stood over her and gave her a quick wink.
“Ah, she is awake then,” Tristain said. “She will be sent away and I will go clean up this mess.”
“You're not going anywhere,” The colonel said forcefully. “You might be spying for the Laocienans for all we know. You are protecting one of them after all.”
“I don't have time to waste arguing with you. If that wizard reaches a civilian population, who knows how many will die. What will you tell your superiors when they hear you stopped someone from saving the lives of your people?”
“This is war. There are costs, and letting you go isn't worth it.”
Tristan sighed and nodded. “Alright, I see how it is.” He moved with sudden speed and strength that Celeste hadn't expected. He grabbed the colonel by the neck, pulling him into a tight grip, one hand resting in his hair. The guns suddenly turned on Tristan. “I could kill you before they fire. You get to decide. You let me carry out my responsibility, or you die.”
There was a momentary scuffle while the colonel tried to escape the headmaster's grip. He quickly realised he wasn't going to overpower the wizard. “Fine,” He grunted. “You may go.”
“And my friend will not be detained?”
“Fine!” He called out in a strangled voice.
Tristan released him and he quickly straightened his uniform and motioned to his men to stand down. The Headmaster straightened up, looking back at Tesni and Celeste. “Now that's settled, you get her to safety. I will go handle this on my own.”
“I'm coming too,” Celeste said firmly. She tried to stand, feeling pain stinging in her chest.
“You're not well enough, I'm taking you to safety,” Tesni said, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“If you didn't want me coming with you, why didn't you teleport me away already?”
“I can't teleport unconscious people. Besides, I don't like doing it against someone's will.”
“Then you can't stop me. This is my responsibility,” She added, turning to plead her case to Tristan. “I should help to make it right, at least.”
Tristan sighed, but shrugged. “I don't think there's anything I can do to discourage you, is there?” She shook her head. “Fine. But you will have to be especially careful. I won't be able to protect you.”
“I don't need your protection. I've lasted this long.”
The headmaster took a long moment to examine her. Bloody and beaten as she was. His eyes flicked through a few runes. “Tesni, I will send a signal for you when I'm ready to be picked up.”
“You won't need to. If she's going, I'm coming as well,” Tesni said.
Tristan rubbed his face. “I was intending this to be a delicate operation but why not just a whole band along while we're at it.” He turned and started to walk. “Come on then. If you two slow me down I will leave you behind.”
And so, the trio passed through the Ofprovian camp and out into the countryside. The consumed wizard had left a trail of destruction through the camp. It was an obvious trail to follow. Celeste felt deeply uncomfortable going through the camp, feeling the eyes of her enemies on her. They had the colonel's protection, theoretically, but she felt as if every one of them might try to kill her. She wasn't undeserving of that, she supposed. But they were the invading army here.
They walked for half an hour through the countryside in silence. It felt much more muted than the vibrant valleys of Laociena here. Partly it was the melting snows and growing mud. But even the colours felt dull. The fields they passed looked less like grass but toxic mould.
Finally, one of them had the courage to speak.
“How are you finding war then, Celeste?” Tesni said, looking down at her. They were walking side by side, with Tristan a few metres ahead, as he seemed to know where he was going.
“What sort of question is that?” She asked, avoiding his gaze.
“Sorry, I just wanted to know how my friend is feeling about her choices.” He threw his hands up innocently.
“You never approved of my decision, did you?”
“I can't say I've ever had the desire to go and fight. Maybe I've just never had enough conviction like you. But is it worth it? Is what you're doing worth saving your country?”
She paused for a moment. She hadn't considered it like that. And she didn't want to. It was a stupid question, infantile. “It doesn't really matter if it's worth it. I have no other choice. I will fight this war and I will be sure we win because that is the only way to keep my people safe. It's as simple as that.”
“And this wizard we're pursuing? Did you have no choice but to do what you did to him?” There was more edge to his words now. In all the time she'd known him, Tesni had always been laid back. She hadn't imagined him sounding angry.
“I was just trying to survive,” She said simply. She didn't want to think about the wizard's words. He had seen her as a crazed murdered. As though she was the one in the wrong. The Ofprovians had started this war, no matter how much they tried to obfuscate that fact.
“Lay off her, Tesni,” Tristan said, not looking back. “We have no say over how she uses her powers. We aren't trying to control the world through the school.”
“I wasn't saying this as a teacher,” Tesni shot back. “Only as a friend.”
“What are you two doing here?” Celeste asked.
“Watching out for exactly this scenario,” Tristan said.
“For wizards to be consumed?”
“It happens quite often in war. Well, more often than in times of peace. We take responsibilities for wizards across the continent, just like we did for you.”
“How did you know it was happening?” She asked.
“Luck,” Tesni said simply.
“We can't be everywhere at once,” Tristan elaborated. “But we travel along the front with our eyes peeled. He's right, it was luck that we were in the area to save you. Usually, we'll appear after the incident.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “Consumed wizards can be more dangerous when they're been consumed recently. It might be safer for me to handle this alone.”
“You have no combat powers,” Celeste pointed out. “Why would you be able to take it down on your own?”
“He's more capable than you expect,” Tesni admitted. “But, I'm not leaving you to do this alone, Tristan. And I know Celeste isn't going to back down from this.”
They reached a small village in the path of destruction left by the consumed wizard. The buildings were all made of stone here, with slate rooves. Celeste had never seen buildings like this before. The nearby hill bore the marks of an extensive mining operation. Steam rose up from it, as machines pumped away.
One of the buildings had been tore through, which could only be from the wizard. Many of the villagers, who seemed to mostly be women and older men, were digging through the rubble. Celeste stood at a distance and watched while Tesni went to speak with the villages.
Their eyes glanced hesitantly at Celeste and Tristan as though spoke. It was to be expected. Tristan was unsettling at the best of times. Celeste was in uniform. She tried to listen in to what the villagers were saying, but she couldn't make it out. They spoke faster than she was used to, and seemed to be in heavy dialect, not like the clean Ofprovian she'd been taught at Tricapon. But she did pick out when they mentioned wizard. It was worryingly often.
When they finished speaking Tesni came back to the other two, urgency in his motions. “Come on, we need to be quick.” He motioned for them to follow him passed the village.
“What's happened?” Tristan said.
“There were half a dozen soldiers garrisoned here. They followed after the wizard when it came through. If we're quick, we might be able to save them.”
Tristan nodded as they followed after, but Celeste was left wondering why they were bothering to hurry now. They were only Ofprovian soldiers. If Tosetti's strategy kept up, in a few months this village might be under Laocienan protection. Celeste realised she hadn't been to an Ofprivan village before. They were sparse in the south where the fighting had been from the start of the war. Plus, Tosetti was never going to leave her to serve as an occupying force.
“Why were they mentioning wizards so much?” Celeste asked, curiously, jogging to catch up with Tesni.
“Hmm? Oh, I guess you weren't following all of that. They were complaining that they would have been alright if their wizard had been there.” Tesni looked down at her meaningfully.
“Their wizard?”
“There was a village wizard here before the war. It sounds like they got conscripted by the Ofprovian military at the start of the war.”
“What did they do in the village?” She asked.
“They were a village wizard, basically anything that needed doing I imagine. Regardless of what their powers were, a wizard is an invaluable asset. They may have just been a legal counsel for the village. They still would have been some protection against a consumed wizard.”
“I didn't know village wizards were such a common thing.”
“Not many who graduate Tricapon go on to work like that. We're better at producing court wizards. But it is probably what the majority of wizards go on to do.”
“You sound like you approve of the work. Why are you at Tricapon? It is a military academy after all.”
“My spirit isn't one for staying still,” He said with a small smile. “And I don't think I am either. Tricapon makes use of my powers and gives me enough freedom to keep going out into the world. Could you see yourself settling down like that, when this is all over?”
Celeste shook her head. “It sounds nice, calming. But I can't imagine being in a small village again. Even my own. I don’t think it would feel like home anymore.”
“Ah, you've seen the potential in the world. Now you can't turn away from it.”
She shrugged in response.
Ah, good, good! You are learning then. Together we have so much left to achieve. Imagine wasting your powers helping some filthy peasants settle meaningless disputes.
As they left the village, they entered into a forest. The ground was uneven, roots lying nearly exposed under the mud. The heat of the summer was largely blocked out by the canopy overhead and Celeste felt herself shiver slightly. Their path was made clear though. The wizard had torn through the exposed roots on its path. It wasn't long before they came across the bodies of the soldiers.
Five of them lay strewn about the muddy ground. A couple looked like they had been shoot. The rest, however, had been torn into by the wizard's claws. Celeste tried not to look at their bodies while Tesni stooped to check none of them were still alive. It was difficult seeing how young these soldiers were. Just like her own men.
“I thought you said there were six of them,” Tristan said as he counted.
“That's what they told me,” Tesni said quickly, running his hand over a soldier's face to close his eyes.
They heard a snarling and crunching noise from ahead. Tristan raised his fingers to silence them and crept forwards. They came to a rocky outcrop overlooking a clearing in the forest. In the clearing was the consumed wizard. He was busy tearing apart the body of the final soldier. Blood and viscera mixed with the mud. The wizard's metallic body was streaked in red and brown.
Did it need to eat, or was this just entertainment for it, Celeste wondered. The consumed wizard she had met back at Tricapon, Marine, didn't seem nearly this violent. She thought back to what Teodor had said back then. The spirit and the wizard's desires. What did a clocktower want for? Maybe they had both been like this, maybe this is what they had both wanted. Would she become something like this too, if she went too far? An inhuman creature slaughtering anyone it could.
Tristan turned to them, whispering instructions carefully. “I'm going to head down and confront it. If I seem to be able to soothe it, I need you two to get away. If you startle it, it might become impossible to deal with cleanly.”
“I will have back up ready, Tristan. We're not risking that thing escaping,” Tesni said.
“It has to be a last resort. You know I don't like fighting consumed wizards. Now keep down.” He motioned to them to keep low before jumping off the ridge.
Celeste lay on the mud, wincing as she put pressure on her wounds. She watched intensely as Tristan plummeted towards the wizard. It looked up at him and in an instant, he was frozen. It was weird to finally be seeing the time bubble from the outside. Even the ripples in his clothes were frozen, none of him able to move.
The wizard surged up the sheer rocks, scrabbling along until it was within a pounce of him. He was unfrozen so that it could get close but he moved faster than it. This was the second time today she realised she'd been underestimating him all these years. He kicked himself off the cliff to moved out of the way of the mechanical jaws. They slammed closed where he had been while he pressed his hand against the consumed wizard's face. He pushed with enough force to send the creature tumbling to the ground.
Tristan landed gracefully in front of it. The wizard shook its head, standing up. On all fours, it was still taller than Tristan. It was quick to launch into another attack. This time he placed his hands on either side of its head and held it in place.
“Calm yourself!” He called, his voice booming through the forest. For a librarian, he was very good at being loud. “You must listen to me, I can help you!”
For a moment, the creature stooped its resistance. It turned its head as if examining him in a new light.
“I know you're scared,” He continued after a moment, his voice softer now. “But I can help you. You must listen and obey though.”
The creature shifted as though trying to escape. He strained, his feet digging into the mud as he resisted it. What was he planning? Could he truly stop it from being dangerous? Celeste realised she was holding her breath in, not wanting to breathe for fear of setting the consumed wizard off.
“Just give me a moment, you must be patient.” Tristan glanced up, his eyes locking onto where Celeste and Tesni were crouched. His eyes flicked from one rune to the next. One thing she hadn't learnt in her years at school was what his runes meant. Did they correspond to anything in particular? The rest of his face, though, made it clear he was desperate for them to back off now.
Celeste started to crawl away when the consumed wizard turned its head upwards and caught sight of them. Its head snapped back down to look at Tristan.
“It's not that, I just want to talk to you!” He called, but the consumed wizard wasn't soothed by that. It broke free of his hands with newfound strength and slammed its head into the rock, narrowly missing him.
“I've got to help him. Stay here,” Tesni muttered, scrambling to his feet.
He vanished and a moment later he appeared behind the beast with half a dozen armed men. They raised their rifles and fired at the creature. It howled it pain, spinning to attack, only to find it's assailants had vanished. Tesni reappeared with more men. The crack of the guns echoed around the forest as they unloaded another volley into the metal beast. This seemed to have done nothing to weaken it.
It swiped at the men Tesni had brought with him. Clearly, he had no more ready and so they remained, trying to fend it off with their rifles. It bit clean through one and left the man ducking to avoid a swipe of the claws.
They were all going to die down there. They didn't look to be wizards. They were going to die down there, just like the Ofprovian soldiers. This was all Celeste fault. She reached for her sword, ready to spring into the fray.
Stop what you're doing. You will just die down there as well if you rush in.
“I'm not leaving anyone else to die. I promised myself that.”
Then be sensible. Get a gun.
It was rare for the spirit to caution her against rash action. Usually, of course, it was encouraging her to use her magic. She took a moment to remind herself of what it wanted. She was still far too close to being consumed herself. It wanted that, of course. It didn't want her to die a bloody death though.
She hurried over to the nearest of the dead Ofprovians. She did her best to not look at them as she salvaged the gunpowder and shot from their corpse. As she shakily poured the powder down the barrel, she couldn't help her eyes drifting. He was so young. His soft skin looked well kept. Other than the blood on it, it was flawless.
She accidentally dropped a ball on the ground. She focused her attention back onto the gun, finishing loading it. The screams of the men fighting the beast came back into focus. As did Tristan as he tried to calm it with words. It sounded like it was too late now.
She hurried back to the edge, bringing the rifle stock up to her shoulder. She knew how to load them now, but that did not mean she was a good shot. And where to even fire?
Flesh remains. The spirit said, sensing her uncertainty. You must simply spot it. There it will be weak.
It was easier said than done. The whole thing seemed to be a mess of metal. Gear and cogs. Pieces of clock mechanism she didn't understand. As its head lowered to gore another man, she spotted it. Matte amongst the shinning metal. It was a narrow chink in the armour of the beast.
She pulled the trigger. The flash of the rifle blinded her just long enough that she couldn't see if her shot had been true. But as the ringing faded from her ears, she could hear the cries pain. Its screams faded into the clang of a bell, calling out its final moments.
Celeste dropped the gun, standing there and watching the scene, stunned. Tesni helped to pull one of the men out from under the dying beast while Tristan went to rest his hand on its head. He spoke softly to it as it let out final rasping breathes.
It was some hours later when Tesni finally had the time to return Celeste to friendly territory. He and Tristan needed to clear the area around the wizard’s corpse. Although it would face into steam, then a fine mist, as it did so there was a chance the escaping power could cause damage to its surroundings. They didn’t want a forest fire to start on top of the destruction that had already happened.
She didn't complain for having to wait. It left her with time to think quietly. Well, after they had her do some work for them. She gathered up the corpses of the soldiers and returned them to the village. She wasn't sure if the villagers would know what to do with them, but it was better than leaving them to rot. It was impossible to be sure what the villagers said to her as she placed the bodies by the collapsed building. She tried desperately to apologise to them but was unsure if they even understood her Ofprovian dialect.
Once she had the time, she sat and found herself crying. She mourned all the deaths of the last two days. Her men, Julius and Filipe. The wizard she'd killed. The soldiers that had died because of her recklessness. She even started to mourn the men she had killed in the trenches. It was a difficult thing to come to terms with, but after seeing the dead soldiers in the woods, she couldn't ignore it. She had been killing people all this time.
She had to, she told herself. It was a war, they had invaded. But they hadn't ordered the missionaries to enter Laocienan land. They may not have even held their faith strongly, she thought. She knew nothing of the lives she'd taken. Only that they were gone.
As she sat in the mud, she felt herself calming. It might have been the cold of the earth helping to ground her and stop her mind spiralling away. It certainly helped that her spirit began to soothe. The coldness in her bones reminded her of how high her emotions were running right now.
By the time Tesni told her it was time to go, she felt almost normal. Only because she was blocking the thoughts out as best as she could. When they appeared in the Audutain valley, Celeste felt even colder. The sun wouldn't set for a long while yet, but the valley had been in shadow for some time.
Tesni watched her shiver for a moment before sadly nodding. “I must leave you again. I assume you can take care of yourself from here?”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. “Thank you. You didn't have to do this for me. I created this mess myself.” She tried not to meet his eyes.
“You did. I respect you for sticking with it though.” He sighed and rested a hand on her shoulder. “I know you to be a good person, Celeste. It's not a magic power of mine, but I like to think I can judge what's in someone's soul. I hope next time we meet, it's under better circumstances. I hope the woman I see when this war is over isn't so different from the girl I met all those years ago.”
With that, he vanished.
She wandered through the camp, doing her best to ignore the stares of passing soldiers. She quickly located Tosetti's tent, breezing in. He looked her up and down, wide-eyed, before waving the men he'd been speaking to out. As she slumped into a seat, he spoke.
“You look like shit.”
“Thanks for noticing,” She grunted, loosening her jacket to check her bandages.
“Are you going to tell me what happened? How did you even survive that?”
And so, she explained everything that had happened since the bombardment. She kept in as much detail as she could. With any luck, Tosetti wouldn't want a write up of this. She didn't know if she'd ever have the energy to put these events to paper. When she finished, he took a long breath before responding.
“Only you would have the luck to survive that stupid move. I would reprimand you, but I guess you didn't make things worse for us.”
“Did the bombardment stop?” She asked.
He paused for a moment, looking at her like she was an idiot. “Do you hear the Ofprovian guns firing? Of course, it stopped, but not until long after we'd got everyone to safety.”
“So that was all for nothing?”
“Probably.” Tosetti shrugged. “I don't know, you might have caused a bit of chaos behind their lines. And losing a wizard that powerful it going to hurt them. What I'm more curious about, is why the Headmaster of Tricapon is skulking about at the front lines of a war?”
“I told you, looking out for consumed wizards,” Celeste said, looking at him with confusion.
“He's ruled on high from that school for a hundred years and never bothered until now. I've only ever heard of him coming down for his own students.”
Celeste pondered his word for a minute before looking up in confusion. “Tristan hasn't been headmaster that long. He can't have been. He's only a hundred himself.”
Tosetti shook his head. “I've never been up there myself, but the wizards I studied under, studied there. They spoke of Headmaster Tristan.”
“Are you sure there's not just been two men called Tristan in the position?”
“Tall, unsettling runes in his eyes? Spirit of a library?” Celeste nodded slowly. “Pretty unique appearance. And spirit, actually. I don't think the chances are all that good.”
“Why would he lie about his age to me?” She muttered, stunned.
“Wizards aren't immune to vanity, of course. And it doesn't hurt to hold back a few secrets. Surely they taught you that? One of the first lessons I had drilled into me.” Tosetti brushed it aside. “Go and get your wounds properly seen to. And then get some rest. I'm not going to give you less work just because you nearly got yourself killed. Against my orders, I should add.”
Celeste nodded, standing and moving to leave. She paused, looking back at him. “I've just noticed; are you growing your hair out, sir?”
He twirled a finger through a strand of black hair. “Thank you for noticing.”
“Whatever for? Do you not have someone who can cut it?”
“For morale. You have a lot to learn about leading. This war is being fought ostensively to protect Wind Worship. And maybe eighty percent of our soldiers believe it. I thought I should adopt some of your practices to show who I am fighting for.”
“That is kind of you.” She muttered.
“I will need someone to teach me to braid it. You might help me with that, if you want to get back into my good books. Now, get on your way,” He said, shooing her out of his tent.