The restaurant inside the inn wasn’t exactly bustling, but the guests staying at the inn came in at random times, so there were people coming and going. Naturally, there were fixed operation timings, so anyone who wanted dinner would congregate in that room sooner or later.
Even so, in the corner where Nero and Irene sat, there was no one nearby to spy upon their conversation. Not that Nero was worried about being spied upon - Irene was a literal walking grimoire of Spell Models. None of her tattoos were just for show. As soon as they sat down, Nero felt some kind of protective bubble envelop them, so he knew they could talk freely.
"You know, I have no experience with parental figures, but I have plenty of experience with siblings - especially younger ones," Irene said, casually referring to her origins at the Hammel orphanage. Once they all adopt the same name, they all become siblings from the same family - or at least, that’s how they treated it.
"I can spot it a mile away when a little brat is trying to be sneaky. You brothers aren’t the only observant ones but... well, it’s good for kids to be naughty. It’s the spice of life, isn’t it?" .
Without Marilyn present, Irene’s actual personality was slowly coming out. She was actually quite a bit of a daredevil and thrill seeker, and wasn’t really one for being constrained in any way - quite a contrast from how Patrick was, at least as Nero knew him. Apparently, behind the scenes, Patrick was a bit of a dare devil himself.
"Yes, spices, life, et cetera. Who doesn’t like pain when they eat their food?" Nero asked sarcastically.
"Oh please, masochists like you can’t say that. Anyway, I’m not stopping you, nor am I going to tell you to be careful or anything like that. I just wanted you to know that I’ve seen Spell Models extremely similar to your Pale Virtuous Moonlight before. So similar, in fact, that I’d even venture a guess to say that they have similar, if not the same origins," Irene said, giving him a knowing look.
"Normaly people won’t be able to tell, but you might want to reserve showing that card around people like me who are extremely sensitive to Spell Models. High level artisans are also best avoided - they’re far more perceptive than they make themselves out to be."
Nero was taken aback, not expecting Irene to say this. If what Irene was saying was true, did that mean she’d encountered another person with a Luminari card? What were the chances?
Nero could not help but recall the words his mother had said to him just a few hours ago. Even if he has special encounters, even if he has advantages, he should not be so arrogant as to assume that he was the only one in the world who could have them.
In fact, compared to him, the sons and daughters of Ascendants or Sages were much more likely to have such advantages.
"Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind," said Nero. Just like Irene didn’t ask him the origin of his card, he didn’t ask her where she had encountered the other one.
Secrets. So many secrets, even among those who trusted each other. The world... was a complicated place.
"So... how was Patrick?" Nero eventually asked. Although he did his best not to show it, he had been dying to learn more about his brother. Once upon a time, he had been the one to guide all of Nero’s steps. Now, though, Nero was on his own, and the path he was choosing to walk was...
"He was up in Kilachi..." Irene began to tell the story, her eyes growing distant as she too visualised the story she was telling.
*****
Patrick stood firm, holding onto the guardrail overhead as he looked at the instructor standing in front of him. Besides Patrick, there were nineteen others in that small, dark room that they were in. Somewhere outside, the wind was raging, making it hard to hear anything else.
"You are all training for what lies beyond the mists," the instructor yelled so that his voice could be heard. "What lies beyond the mists is death! Inside the mists we have a few contained cursed zones. But the world beyond, as far as you’re concerned, is just one giant, endless cursed zone. So, like I said, beyond the mists lies death! Survival is the exception, not the norm, so we will train you all to be exceptional!"
The instructor’s words weren’t elaborate, but there was just something about the way he was yelling with such fervor that stirred a fervour in the soldiers’ hearts.
"The situation beyond the mist can change rapidly, and you will need to be deployed at a moment’s notice, so the first thing we’re going to be teaching you is tactical aerial deployment. In short, you’re going to learn how to fall from the sky without dying."
A wall in the small dark room suddenly moved outwards, and then to the side, revealing a raging storm outside, with thick black counts and bolts of purple lightning flashing soundlessly all around them.
"While you drop, you’ll have to combat fierce weather conditions, for the weather outside the mists is unstable. Besides that, there are a number of aerial aetherkin to watch out for, not to mention possible Parasitic curses, Tainted aetherkin, and others. The best way of avoiding them is by increasing the speed of your descent, so you won’t just be dropping out of your ships. You will be shot out of them."
The instructor was trying to impress upon them the difficulty of the future that they were facing, but the more that he talked, the wider Patrick’s smile became. Higher altitudes were a lot colder, which gave him the opportunity to put his passive to good use. If he strengthened his defense sufficiently, then shot out of the sky, his descent would be like that of a shooting meteor.
That should be fun.
"Who would like to volunteer first?" the instructor asked, fully expecting for no one to step up. In fact, he was relying on it. Unfortunately, in front of him was a Grant, and Grants could not be judged using common sense.