The next morning, our routines were more or less back to normal; with the exception of me still feeling a little cautious around Victoria. I’d known she was a talented ‘shield maiden’, as she called herself. I just didn’t realize she was such an overpowering wizardly one.

All magic takes a recurrent mana expenditure, if one wants to sustain it. For example, let’s say Jewel uses her magic to create a light. If she just suddenly released a fixed amount of magic, she’d create an instant flash of light. FLASH and done. To create a light and sustain it, requires that initial energy to make the light, and then a constant little trickle of mana to sustain it.

In the old world computer games I used to program, we called it the ‘initial cost’, and the ‘upkeep cost’. In many cases, upkeep costs could become more important in the long run than the initial costs. For example, let’s say there’s a game where a character has 100 mana and a recovery rate of 10 per minute. Now, they cast 3 party buffs that each cost 10 mana and have an upkeep of 4 mana per minute. 30 mana is the initial cost, with 12 being the upkeep — that character is going to be out of mana after about a half hour.

Now, compare Victoria to that character. With 100 mana and a recovery rate of 100 mana per minute, she casts the same 3 party buffs. She’s now at 70 mana, and with only 88 mana per minute recovery. Half a minute later, she’s full of magic again, and recasts those buffs for a second time. In the next ten minutes, she recasts, stacks, and maintains all three buffs a total of eight times — and STILL has a positive mana recovery rate of 4 per minute.

It’s a complete cheat power, and intimidating as hell to know someone actually exists like that in real life! Try as I might, I’m having issues viewing her the same as before. I’m a little worried that offending her may end up causing one to end up cracked like a dropped egg.

Heading out to the warriors’ practice field was both a relief and a dread this morning. A relief because it gave me a little time away from Victoria to try and sort out what I’d learned. A dread, just because I was afraid I’d end up with a repeat from the other day. Knowing Red was going to be right there with me, was a huge boon to my general outlook.

Arriving at the practice field, walking arm in arm, Red helped direct me around the corner of the old shed where the trainers would sit and watch practice on breaks. I call it an old shed, but it was really nothing more than a single wall on the backside, and a roof supported by thick wooden posts, to keep the rain off. It reminded me a lot of the cheap structures used back in Hone to protect a woodpile from the element, and those we called a ‘woodshed’.

Past the main field, and off the walking path, we finally arrived at the archery field. Thick bales of hay stacked up in front of the school wall, with wooden scarecrows of various sizes forming interspaced targets before them. “Looks like this is the place,” I told Red, showing off my keen powers of hunter’s obversation.

“Uh huh.” Obviously, she was totally impressed. Doubly so, since she was the one who led us out here.

“Gather round! Gather round!” A naked male slave with thick shackles and an enormous erection yelled for everyone nearby to gather up. Of medium height and build, I thought he looked ridiculously disproportioned with a penis at least twice the size as mine waving unerringly in front of him. Just another example of the worthless body modifications the rich and snooty indulged in — I couldn’t imagine any human being actually being pleasured by such a huge thing! Maybe a horse…

While I was openly staring at the enormous cock on the little fellow, Red tugged me over to where he was calling everyone to gather. Up close, it seemed even larger and more impressive than I’d first imagined. It’s got to be hell rounding a corner and worrying about bumping into someone with that damn thing!

“… going to be covering not just archery, but also sharing experience with various forms of ranged weaponry. We’ll cover short and long bows, crossbows, slings…” While I was distracted, Slaveprick (I don’t know what he’s actually called, but he’ll forever just be ‘Slaveprick’ in my mind.) had already started his introductory lecture on the class.

Apparently, we’ll practice hitting the targets, while also being exposed to a wide range of projectiles. Personally, I’m hoping to never see how strong a projectile his ‘man gun’ can fire. Or is that a ‘man cannon’?

Needless to say, for some large reason, I found myself constantly distracted and failing to pay attention today. Honestly, I had to admire Red for her ability to hold her composure around such a deadly polearm. Apparently, she’d been exposed to seeing such extremities her whole life, and gave it absolutely no thought, whereas I was just showing off my “Hickvilleness”.

After class was finally over — it was one of the long-dongest days of my life — Slaveprick yelled at me. “Lord Tomas, do you have a moment?”

Heading over to where he was standing, I answered, “Yeah? Whatcha need?” It felt odd to me so be so informal with an instructor, but one was never supposed to call a slave ‘my lord’, or ‘my lady’. It was considered one of the worst breaches of etiquette and could inflate the slaves ego, leading to them getting in trouble later. Jewel gave me a long lecture over that, after my gaff calling the slave teaching heraldry ‘my lady’ and bowing to her the other day.

“I noticed your appreciation of Piercer,” Slaveprick smiled, shaking his hips gently to draw my attention back to his protruding extremity. “If you’re really interested,” he whispered coyly, “I have some free time for the next few hours if you want to test it out.”

Red collapsed and died on the spot, laughing.

I didn’t care. I ran for the safety of my room.