Altura-MC

“I must say girlie, I like your eyes. Too bad I don’t like your great great grandad.”

Wait. What? Wasn’t that supposed to be ‘you’ ? Why was my Altura’s great great grandad a factor?

Was this woman crazy or something? Then I looked at the bodies and the woman laughing above. Wrong question, just how crazy was this woman? Must be high on the list the way it was going.

“Um what does my great great grandad have to do with this…” I asked.

“Something that you shouldn't know about, But tell me girlie, you going to beg? Or you going to stand tall and say ‘I don’t bow to you’ or something equally stupid.”- the woman burst into more laughter- “I always like it when you Kingdom idiots do this.” the woman said. Too bad I knew why she was really here. Well at least I thought I did, but it was losing something. Death seemed to be number 1 on the list of options already.

“No, I am going to ask you whether you plan to follow Ancestor Revelia’s orders.” I answered. As soon as the words left my mouth, the mood changed, no longer was it the dangerous fun of before. The woman suddenly changed. From the crazy person from before, she now had the presence of a serious person.

I was sure that if a person from Earth came they would be lost, never know what had happened. But I did, it was simple. Merely the same thing Aswelth had done to me before, except instead of pressure she applied it differently, invoked a person’s fear of the unpredictable, made herself appear mad. And now she has withdrawn that.

“Now that you have withdrawn your influence Elder, perhaps we can have a civil conversation.” I said.

The woman raised an eyebrow at that and said, “A smart one eh? Not what I would expect from one of the Kingdom freaks. I would ask if you were interested in joining the Jade Water Sect, but I have no interest in starting a war. Now Archduchess Altura, what do you want in return for giving our mistress back?” the woman asked.

“Nothing. Viona is not mine to give. It is up to her to decide if she leaves, and I would suggest that she do so”- I nodded to Viona- “Becoming heir to the Jade Water Sect is not a small opportunity. But I would like it if you left post-haste either way. This is still Kingdom Territory and your presence is not welcome.” I answered.

The woman looked straight in my eyes and said, “I would remind you that it is only Kingdom Territory as long as I want it to be, but you already know that. No, you are bluffing. I should have seen it before, your heart is beating like it's on a run. But still, you maintained a facade of power”- the woman began circling me, something I found profoundly uncomfortable given the content of the conversation.

“Dual elements. Leadership type seed. Nearly crossing an entire realm in twenty-four hours. I must reiterate my earlier statement Altura, you would fit in perfectly in the Jade Water Sect. But I just have to wait for the fools of the Kingdom to drive you away. I am taking Viona, the heiress is too young to be trusted to make the right decision.”

“If you want to meet her then come to the Jade Water Sect in five years, as long as you have no connection to the Kingdom and that stupid ancestor of yours., we will accept you. But if you are in any way connected…you will die.” The woman finished and disappeared from the hall. I looked back to see that Viona had disappeared too.

Where the woman had stood before there was now a piece of paper, I would say that it was the only sign of the woman being here but there was a headless body nearby. I would say there were plenty of signs.

I looked down at the piece of paper, bending to pick it up. It was a simple piece of paper with a few words written on it.

‘The Dukedom of Merden grants the bearer of this document an unconditional pardon for all crimes committed. Any attempt to unduly punish the bearer will be considered as an offense against the Duchy.’

The document was simple, its meaning was not. Someone had sponsored Welters to kill me and this was a pardon for the crime of killing an Archduchess. Of course, it would not work because killing an Archduchess would fall under the King’s purview, and beyond even that, the document was unsigned.

But it was apparent that it was truly from the Dukedom of Merden for no one else would dare quote their name. And these fools were just prideful enough to make their involvement so clear, it wasn’t as if they would get any pushback after all, the Duchies feared no one but the King. And even that was in doubt.

“Um, your grace, who was that woman? Was she that Treeling expert you and Aswelth were talking about?” Kerrin asked from behind me, diverting my attention to him.

“Yes, Kerrin, that she was. I suppose it is time I told you this, Viona is not simply another orphan, she is the heiress of the Jade Water Sect. Unwanted perhaps, but as the daughter of the now dead Sect Mistress, she holds that position. Of course the Sect is different from the Kingdom where positions are held by blood, and she will likely have to go through many hoops before she is named the new Sect Mistress. Until then the Ancestor shall likely remain in power now that she has disposed of the Acting Sect Mistress.” I replied to a wide-eyed Kerrin and an Aswelth that had entered a coughing fit.

“Viona is the heir of the Jade Water Sect? The Acting Sect Mistress has been disposed? That…forgive me for saying this, your grace, but if I ever think that your family is weak again, please kill me. How did you receive information that was likely known only to the highest of the Sect Elders?!” Aswleth asked, his reaction far more exaggerated than I had expected it to be.

“That is a question I would prefer not to answer, Aswelth. But I am curious, why are you so surprised? I would have presumed that you had expected such things, this is far too great a change to remain secret for long.” I asked.

“While it is true, your grace, that information has a way of finding its way out, there is a difference in you knowing it after it was leaked publicly and you knowing it before the Sect could even retrieve their heir. If you wanted you could have killed Viona and deprive the Sect of its heir, perhaps even plunging it into civil war.” Aswleth said.

“And risk death? The first person to die after that would be me, perhaps the Sect would fall into chaos for a while. Conflicting over the new heir, but that would be after they ask for my head and the Kingdom would give it to them. The nobles would love that, wouldn’t they? Two birds killed with no stones”

“And besides, I do not approve of killing a person because they might become a threat in the future. The future is far and there is much to come, who knows, by the time Viona grows up the Sect is our ally. Stranger things have happened.” I answered,

“That is true, your grace, stranger things have happened… It would seem that there is a reason that you were born Royal after all. Now what do you wish for me to do with all of this”- Aswelth pointed at the headless body of Welters, I wonder where the head went. Did that woman take it?- “DO you wish to still continue the judgement of Clan Welters?” Aswelth asked

“Yes, please begin interrogating the Clan members, the Qunaris Clan exists no more, its properties have now been confiscated by the Duchy.” I replied. Aswelth nodded and left, burning away the body behind him. Now I have to deal with one flustered MC.

I turned to Kerrin expecting him to panic, instead I found him relatively calm, though saddened. Had he perhaps grown more than I had thought? Seeds did supposedly do weird things.

“Kerrin, we shall meet her again.” I said to Kerrin.

“Yes, your grace, we will.” Kerrin said to me, a surprising amount of conviction in his voice. “I would like to help Lord Aswelth in bringing the Qunaris Clan to justice, your grace, I hope you will allow me to do so.”

“Of course, you needn’t even ask.” I replied wondering what had caused such a big change. Was this the same Kerrin that was so panicky a few hours ago? And even more importantly, if these guys were handling everything, what was I supposed to do? Sit around and look pretty?

Name

Altura Selrin

Title

Archduchess (In name) (landed)

Element

Dragon Fire, Snowflake ice

Age

10 years

Seeds

Military (ungerminated), Royalty (Seedling-Late(270.95/300)), Energy (ungerminated)

Stats

Strength[The amount of brute force one can use]

9

Endurance[The amount of time one can work continuously]

13

Flexibility[The range of movement of the body]

11

Precision[The accuracy of one’s movements]

13

Perception[The ability to notice nuances and advanced concepts]

9

Intelligence[The ability to comprehend the advanced concepts]

12

Wisdom[The ability to effectively use the concepts]

13

Aura Force[The ability to force your will on your surroundings]

14

Combat[The speed of one’s reactions, ability to process situations and other general combat abilities]

13

Retainers

Kerrin

Mid-Seedling (260/300). Element of Blood, anomalous Seedling.