Cass sent Odal to get something to eat, and promised him that she wouldn’t leave while he was gone. The fact that he believed her was kind of silly, but for once she had not been lying. She was simply too busy with her attempt to create a magic tool based off of what she had read. Honestly, Cass was trying something that was way out of her league… But like when she had worked on her bracelet, she had the mana to spare… The more time she spent with other mages, the more she realized just how special the glyph on her back was and the fact that she was able to possess it on top of her normal mana…

In terms of creating magical tools, where mages normally had to spend days or weeks in transforming crystals to replicate magical systems, and had to spend years in training to be able to focus their mana long enough to do it. The formation of magic tools follow the same rules as systematic magic, and even with a crystal base, they were essentially being formed from nothing, the most expensive form of magic in terms of mana, and the hardest to use.

A good mage who made magic tools was like an artist, Cass was more like thug. She used her overwhelming mana pool to bludgeon things into shape and place, the results were undeniably crude, but they functioned… Her bracelet was a good example of this, it was a magic tool that was crude and brutally effective. Magic could affect magic, and when Cass would pour mana into her bracelet it would radiate the mana around her in a wave, disrupting magical systems around her.

She would not be caught out by that orb again…

However, this next tool was different. It was another tool that would only see use by her, but if she could get it right… Paired with the bracelet, she would be able to to handle the previous battle with ease.

The idea had come from an anecdotal story in the book she had been given, it had just been intended to be an example of how everything was magic. However, it was something that Cass was intimately familiar with…

The mage who wrote the book had described recreating the crack of a whip via magic, explaining the way the tip moved and how the process could be replicated. Cass could follow the test laid out in the book and create it as well, she was glad Odal was not here to see her shiver at the sound… The last thing she needed was to have to explain why she was so happy to hear that sound…

She shook her head, she had to focus… Most whips were not particularly useful practical weapons, but they could inflict pain and control… The ‘concept’ of a whip, would be her catalyst, with the magic tool using the motion of her body as a stand in for the whip itself to replicate the strike…

She focused herself on the crystal on her anklet, took a deep breath, and started…

Hours later, she sat back in her chair, gasping… It had been far more complicated and draining than she thought it would be… But the anklet was finished…

“Are you alright?” A voice… Ah, Odal… He sounded worried. “You were so deep in concentration you did not notice me or even respond when I told you I had brought the food… It is cold now…”

Food? Oh, Yes.

“My apologies Odal,” Cass said as she turned to the basket laid out on a table in her dining room. “I got a little distracted with something.”

Odal did not ask further, which was fine with Cass since she would probably have to lie if he asked. She doubted they would be comfortable with the kind of weapon she created, but then, who besides someone like her would think of something like this? She kind of wanted to test it out though…

Odal flinched when Cass looked at him, “Your fa- face…”

“Is something wrong?” Cass thought that someone like him would probably be useful for that kind of test, but she had to sublimate the feeling for now. Instead, she made her face look cheery and happy. If he pushed, she would just say she had been tired and distracted, he wouldn’t need to know she had just considered killing him…

“Ah, no,” Odal muttered in confusion. “Please, excuse me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cass waved it away. “I must look strange after how much stress I was under, ah, that smells good…”

“Later tonight, there are some really good restaurants in the Silver District if you would like to go…” Odal spoke somewhat quietly, “but if your tired, I could show you some other time.”

Odd thing to suggest… But why not? Odal was probably bored sitting here all day, and she was not entirely certain what people of this social level did with their time… Odal would be useful for defusing suspicion about her…

“No, no.” Cass smiled brightly, “I think that is a great idea. To be honest, I have never really been to a restaurant…”

Odal brightened at that and rushed out to make a reservation. What an odd man… It was a bit of a hassle though, she had been lazing about in a nightdress all day and she supposed she would have to get dressed now… Still, it wouldn’t be for some hours so she did not have to move quite yet…

Still, she might as well. She did have to admit she really liked the clothes here… She wondered if her Master would enjoy it, though Lord Hall had dresses made for her… She had never gotten to see them, well she would when she got back home.

Deciding to get dressed before Odal returned, she picked out a silver dress from her wardrobe. Cass had decided that she quite liked silver. Gold was too flashy, almost gaudy, but silver made her feel elegant…

When Odal returned he seemed a little shocked. Cass wondered if he was getting sick… When she had first met him he had been more verbose, but over the past few days he had gotten much more quiet…

“Are you well, Odal?” Cass asked with some concern, it would be a shame if he was replaced with someone less malleable…

“Ah, perfectly so,” Odal stumbled over his words. “I just… You… Well, I- I have the reservation.”

She should learn how to make healing potions, but those were incredibly complicated works of magic that required decades to learn how to make and years to produce… So even if she knew it would not be of help right now…

“Wonderful,” Cass smiled again. Smiling always got the wrong kind of attention on the streets, but when interacting with people in society a smile was like a mask. You could cover anything with it, from a desire to kill to simple confusion over what is going on.

They had a few hours until they needed to be there, so Cass asked about Odal’s personal history. As part of the Warrior Caste, his whole life had been dedicated towards fighting and guarding. Some of the stories he told made Cass think of her time on the street, it was interesting to see things from a different perspective, though some of the things he said made Cass want to kill him again.

“Do you really think that the children of the Sand should be treated the same?” Cass frowned. Sure, the guards in Tyine would often pull in entire families if one commited a crime, but generally they were released, though not always in perfect condition… Here, that system was codified, one crime, or one alleged one, could land you in the Sand Caste where no one would care if you were killed or raped.

“They are all either criminals or the children of criminals,” Odal nodded firmly. “They deserve everything that happens to them.”

“Odal… You do realize that I have stolen and fought during my time on the streets right?” Cass asked bluntly, “You realize that if you are looking for a criminal, there is one right in front of you.”

“The Strioi are exempt from that consideration,” Odal answered immediately, then hesitated. “But I do see your point… I will consider it…”

Perhaps when the rebellion started in earnest, Cass figured she would test her new magic tool on him. Idiots, fools, and the weak do not have the right to cruelty, it is the privilege of the strong and those who can wield it well. Cruelty in the right hands is a valuable, wonderful, tool. In the hands of Odal it was simply a waste...