I finally got it, the reason why the material component for Haste is liquorice! The spell is just a magically enhanced sugar rush. The lethargy the spell induces in its sunset is the crash from the high.

- Findings of founding archmage Vexington Larezuz, recorded the day before he died.

We had a small audience. It wasn’t surprising since this was the middle of Veliki, which was the worst part of all this from my perspective. I didn’t want to be the centre of attention. I didn’t want random angels dropping down from the heavens to force me to marry. All I wanted was to not have to deal with all that.

When the angel moved, it was like watching lightning arc down from the sky. One moment she was on the roof, the next she was looming over me. I hadn’t even fully drawn my weapon yet.

“Fucking hells.” I swore the moment before the tip of the sword pierced my stomach. It didn’t stop, and by the time I had realised I should’ve dodged the blade was cleanly sticking out of my back. It made me stagger, which made me aware of something mixing my insides, but I wasn’t feeling much pain.

I was feeling more anger than I was used to. I was not about to die again.

“A con artist as well as an unrepentant sadist.” The angel spoke and stepped closer, bringing the hilt of her blade closer to me. “You do not have the constitution of a resident of Veliki. You have no place here.”

I gripped the handle of the angel’s sword, but her hands were huge. Just trying to grab ahold of them told me I was no match for strength. “You don’t know… anything.”

“I know all I need for the purposes of justice.” The angel rebuked. “That you are so weak was something that should have been brought to light before the agreement was made.” Her head twitched a fraction. “You do not possess the curse.”

While she was saying that I stabbed into her stomach with the dagger she’d neglected to disarm me of. The blade sunk in seamlessly but didn’t draw blood. Instead, the angel flashed with bright light starting from where the dagger went in and was gone in a moment. Sword, dress, and all. That probably took five seconds from start to finish.

The angel hadn’t even been real. It was just an illusion. One that was remarkably real going by the fact that I was still bleeding, but there was little difference between the angel that just battered me and the illusory dragon that Mary had been commanding the day before.

“Damn bitch.” I muttered as I struggled back to my feet, ignoring the polite applause from the retired adventurers around me. I covered the one hole in my body I could both reach and put pressure on with one hand, lamenting the blood now staining the fabric. “These clothes were brand new.”

“What a show!” One such brightly and many coloured adventurer called out as he separated from the crowd and jogged over. The rest seemed to decide that was enough to assure my continued health and began to disperse. “You fought on even though the blade just went right in! Reminded me of an old sorcerer friend.”

I took one look at the menagerie of a cloak, the belt and harness jangling an assortment of magic items, each probably worth more than my house used to be, and the identifying white hair that was very similar to a silver head that I was familiar with, then I turned and lurched into the building.

Kwalski meant well, probably, I wasn’t sure, but he was… difficult regardless.

“Get awa-” Blood interrupted the rest of that phrase. It was punctuated by me slamming the door closed. It was slammed right back open as Kwalski barged through.

“Now now, Amber, you’re bleeding.” Kwalski rotated his belt around so the back was now at the front, revealing about five new items. He reached into one of the two sizable pouches he just revealed. “This will fix you right up.” He pulled out a vial of black liquid, added something to it, making the stuff within turn a radiant yellow. Then he handed it to me. “It can be applied in one of two ways: ingesting it, or pouring it over the wound. Theoretically. It’s new. If you don’t mind, I would like to test a theory. We’ll use that second method, and we can see if rubbing it in causes the healing to be enhanced, or if it just speeds it up.”

“Amber!” Brynn appeared in the room at the same time that I fell over from the wound. That, unfortunately, didn’t have anything to do with an unfortunately placed step, though there was one of those that I ended up sitting on.

“Ah, Brynn!” Kwalski sounded quite pleased to see him. “Have you finished reviewing my proposal for the train connections yet?”

Brynn ignored the artificer to focus on me, which I appreciated. I grunted and removed my hand from my wound. He got the message and pressed on my wound with glowing fingers. The feeling shot through my stomach, and I got treated to the gross feeling of my insides knitting themselves back together.

“What in the hells happened?” Brynn demanded as he stood back and offered a hand to help me up, but I ignored it and used my dagger to leverage myself up instead.

I panted, but not because I was still in pain. Barring the fatigue I was back to health, and that would not be shifted by such base magics. “I’m here for training. I missed yesterday, and I don’t want to miss another.” I glanced sharply at Kwalski, remembering too late that he was there. “He followed me in.”

I really, really hoped that didn’t breach my agreement with Angelica. There wasn’t any sense of foreboding, so I was probably fine.

Brynn’s face was impassive. When he spoke, the angels were quiet. “I should send you back to your parents. Missing days of training is expected when you are fighting through a debilitating condition. That’s completely ignoring the fact that you just crawled in here bleeding from a wound that would’ve been fatal without me around.”

Kwalski cleared his throat. “What is this topic you seem to be dancing around?”

“Oh, that?” I glanced at my dagger, which didn’t have anything resembling blood on it. I sheathed it and immediately felt the fatigue rise to claim me, but steeled myself and remained on my feet. I spoke to Brynn, not Kwalski. “That was Mary trying to kill me again, or something.”

“I’d appreciate it if I wasn’t ignored.”

Brynn’s expression notably darkened. “I thought she would be smarter than that. Why would she try that?”

“Beats me. But making an illusion of an angel descending from the heavens to punish me for breaking an oath is right up her alley.”

Brynn stared me in the eye, searching for any misinformation or maybe just withheld information. “I see.”

“That wasn’t an illusion.” Kwalski helpfully supplied, butting into the conversation again. “That was a sustained projection sourced from some kind of magical item. I didn’t see enough to determine the shape. A true archangel in Veliki would’ve caused quite the stir, and I would’ve had some-” He cut himself off. “So about the trains.”

“We’ve told you, no one is to leave Veliki.” Brynn sighed. “There would be no point in constructing an inter-civilisation transit system, as you put it. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Not so. A means of getting from one end of town to the other would be greatly appreciated by the townsfolk. Veliki’s size belies the number of populace, and I suspect I am one of the few who thinks about the issues that arise from such circumstances. But yes actually, I’ve been having some trouble sourcing materials for builds recently. My piles of blueprints are getting quite high.”

Brynn scratched his neck in thought. “If it’s monster parts, a beithir was around recently. Ask sir Torment if you want to know more. Are there any matters more important than tending to Amber?”

“Of course-”

“Are you certain?” Brynn cut in, looking Kwalski level in the eye.

Kwalski looked between me and Brynn. A look of minor defeat crossed his face and his smile became something of a polite pout. “Amber, that will cure most of your wounds, should you get any more, but it will only work until… roughly nightfall. Pleasure to speak with you again. Congratulations once more. Ta!”

He found a helmet on his harness and put it on. He uttered a magical word, and the space around him folded in on itself as Kwalski shunted himself away with magic. It wasn’t the teleportation spell, he didn’t actually cast any magic. The items he carried did that for him.

I turned to Brynn. “So about that training.” I said, trying to get to the whole reason I was here.

“I should refuse.” Brynn said, giving me a long look. “But you’re going to need it at this rate.” He turned to walk into the town hall, in the direction of the room we’d been in two days ago.

“Is that supposed to mean something?” I demanded.

“That was not Mary sending an angel after you.” Brynn told me. “It was Lavina. Weldon showed up last night demanding to know where you were. Obviously, we kicked him outside. Nor did we tell him why you were indisposed. It’s been some time, so I forgot she could do it, but Lavina is able to conjure an echo of her old self at times where she needs to take agency in the world when she cannot as a sword.”

I recalled how Lavina had perched on my head not far from where we were now. “Yeah, I’ve seen the tiny angel.”

“She has displayed two forms of projection. The one you are referring to is little more than an illusion. Physical and her weak, but difficult to dissipate. The form you described to have attacked you is the other. Very much physical, and very much strong, but fragile.”

Which explained why she vanished after only taking one blow. I took in the information and sorted through the questions I wanted answered. “She told me I broke an oath, then told me I was missing a curse. Do you know what that was about?”

“Likely a misinterpretation in her case.” Brynn sighed, an angel singing a short melody to punctuate it. “You were Chosen by her to be Weldon’s mentor. When you died, the blessing you received from Lavina broke instead of being rescinded or reaching its natural end. Normally nothing happens when a blessing is broken that way, but when an angel is involved there is retribution.”

“So I’ve been cursed.” I deadpanned. Brynn nodded. “I’m cursed by the Heavens.”

“Cursed at.” Brynn corrected. “Your soul wasn’t in Santoria at the time, so the curse would’ve failed. The fact that you’re still alive is proof of that.”

“So what would the curse have done?”

“You would’ve been marked as a heathen, and some angels or celestial emissaries would’ve recognised that within you going forward. Of course, you’re not a heathen and you don’t need to worry about that, so long as you uphold your agreement to train Weldon after training with me.”

I sighed. “I don’t want anything to do with him.” Not to mention how tired I was going to be after training. Maybe training through the fatigue would improve the results of my training, but I wasn’t hopeful about that.

“I’m sure the boy will be overtly apologetic once the misunderstanding is brought to light.” Brynn gave a vicious smile. “You might even be able to blackmail something out of Lavina for it.”

“That sounds like something I would do.” I agreed, smiling in tired anticipation.

We made it to the room for the magnificent mansion and Brynn almost went to fetch Voxis before I pointed out he could probably use his own magic to charge the majestic manor. He was dubious, but my analysis was correct, and we soon found ourselves on the hillside where Brynn liked to spill my blood.

We didn’t train for the full eight hours, I was far too tired for that. Brynn didn’t go any easier on me during that time, which I appreciated. If anything, he was more pedantic with his strikes. My rehearsing swings started being corrected as they were happening, with Brynn’s sword nudging me into the right position while still only leaving a cut large enough for one or two drops of blood.

After a haze of time going from one form to another, we set up for a single round of sparring. Brynn gave me some of his healing magic before the duel so I wouldn’t be bleeding all over myself.

“When the timber hits the ground, that’s when we begin.” Brynn said. We were standing far enough apart that I’d have to lunge forward to reach him with my blade. “First strike wins. No spells. Try not to kill each other.”

“Rules I can get behind.” I panted.

Brynn raised his mithril blade and pointed it to the shack. He muttered a prayer, and four beams of silver light pulsed out of it, one after the other. The first hit a corner of the cabin and dislodged some wood. The second hit it from underneath, and propelled it up, as did the third and fourth.

It soared, and Brynn turned his sword to me. I grimaced and adjusted my grip on my sword. The magic invested in the dagger had faded when I died, and Brynn had used that as an excuse to learn the method with less magical weapons. As the timber fell, I lowered the tip of my blade to better see over it.

I studied Brynn, but I couldn’t gauge how he was planning to attack. He was so relaxed I couldn’t even tell if he was going to attack.

The wood hit the ground.

I had a mithril blade against my throat.

“Point to me.” Brynn said cheerily, the angels tittering along with him, and he withdrew his sword.

I spat. “Again.”

“Best of three, then.” Brynn smiled, and returned to his starting position. He raised his blade as he did before and sent another part of his old cabin flying. It soared. It fell. I made my will explode as it hit the floor and lunged, but Brynn was already somewhere else.

I swung blindly behind me, only to have my sword knocked out of my hand.

“That’s another move we’ll need to work on.” Brynn commented.

I spun to face him as I pulled my dagger out of its scabbard, then froze when I felt the point of the mithril blade against my forehead.

“Point to me.” Brynn smiled.

I glared. “Again.”

“No. You’re done today.” Brynn sheathed his blade. “It was best of three, and you still need to train that angel’s boy.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Weldon Pine. I don’t think I’m ever getting over that one.”

“Is that because it’s clear your angel is never getting over you?” I snarked as I collected my weapons.

Brynn smiled as he sat on the hillside and looked out at the illusory landscape.

He wasn’t saying anything, so after I got all my things together I sat near him, but not next to him. I was liable to get stabby if I sat next to Brynn. Or I would have been if I wasn’t still so tired. My body gave out and I fell backwards to look at the illusory sky instead.

It was ever so slightly grey, an effect that Voxis had installed after hearing that an angel had lived here. That was obviously a joke, angels didn’t affect the world around them like that, but it did make a thought cross my mind.

“I have a question.” I said, “Why do you still have angels talking alongside you? You aren’t Chosen of the Heavens anymore.”

“Are you expecting a long story?” Brynn asked.

“No.”

“Well that’s good, because it’s quite a short one.” He let out a melodious chuckle. “After Lavina left, I was all but powerless for some time. It was only after we found Veliki and settled here that All knew where to find us, and several interesting creatures made their way here.” He paused, looking around. “Well, to Veliki. One of those creatures was a forgotten angel.”

I frowned. “Like, black wings, murder on their mind kind of fallen angel?”

“No, not a fallen angel. Just a forgotten one.” Brynn hummed a beautiful tune, and one angel in particular harmonised with him. “He was made from a shard of divinity that has since faded from relevance. Any traces of the one he once served are scarce, widespread, and incomplete. All men, women, constructs, and monsters that knew of this deity have passed through the river of rebirth and forgotten everything. Even the angel does not remember, but angels don’t fade in the way their gods do.”

“So he’s just a sad guy without a purpose?” I checked.

“A brazen way to put it, but not incorrect.” Brynn aceded. “But he still has power to exercise and rules to obey. Left to his own devices, he would slowly forget more and more of what he used to be, and eventually start committing acts against his very nature. After that, they would be a calamity that would need to be put down. So long as I champion for him, the day he would lash out is pushed further away.”

“I think I get it.” I said, rolling my head from side to side with some difficulty to fend off sleep. “So how many of those guys are you championing?”

“One thousand, four hundred and twenty six.” Brynn answered immediately. “Voxis and I gave the second one to show up a purpose in spreading the word. She’s still out there as far as I know, finding more angels that have been discarded by their deities and sending them my way.”

“Huh.” And just like that, I no longer really cared. Those angels were just Brynn’s rebound from losing Lavina. It was exactly the same as how Weldon Pine was Lavina’s rebound. Honestly, the two should just make out and get it over with.

We stayed like that for a good while, and I completely failed to stay awake because of it. I was rudely awoken by Brynn shaking me with his healing touch, and that was how I learned that the experience of being healed was much more effective at waking me up than being shaken. After another round of complaining from me, it was time to go teach a wide-eyed and impressionable kid to swing a sword with magic.

\V/