Empress of Fire

They say knowlege is priceless, however, my experience proved that to be a complete lie. Knowlege cost half the coin I had. I could resell the book, but I would still be at a loss of 80 bits. The bookstore, I remembered, had many on offer; however, the most important one to me, at the moment, was the history of the greater and lesser kingdoms. 

The thick tome cost 85 bits and a silver. The bastard merchant wouldn't allow me to rent it at a reduced cost, but he was more than willing to purchase it back at half price. No doubt to resell it.

Regardless, it was the eight-day and I spent the entire time in my rooms reading history. Most of it was based on the empires that claimed dominion over the entirety of the eastern continent, or what we in the Kelian Empire call Aneirus. 

Four empires weren't exactly accurate to reality. The northern empire, which consisted mostly of icy mountains, didn't even have a name since, unlike the rest of the continent, it had no central government. They consisted of many bands of nomadic clans in constant conflict. None ever became large or powerful enough to take control. Both, due to the limited natural resources of the icy mountains and their barbaric, bordering on imbecilic, culture. The entire region was hostile to life, not allowing for significant agriculture. 

Gracian Mountains were home to what the rest of the empire simply called the Northern People or Mountain Men. The most common trait amongst them was their black hair and black eyes. The Northeners were a strong and proud people, staunchly against any form of centralized government. They selected their leaders through combat prowess. The more lives a man had taken, the greater his worth both as a husband and as a man.

The women were equally as barbaric; they would outright refuse to marry any man who had never blooded himself. If a wife began to notice a husband becoming weak or cowardly, then she would try to murder him. It came as an enormous surprise that not only was this legal, but it was taught to them as girls. If he survived the attempts, and there could be many, then he proved himself to be worthy. If he died, then he wasn't worth being a husband in the first place.

Marriage happened the same way. If a man wanted a woman as a wife, then he would have to survive her attempts to try to kill him.

Even if they were satisfied with man, it was a common practice to try to murder him at least once a year to make sure he was in peak form.

Polygamy was not only practiced but encouraged. However, this came with another problem. If a man had more than one wife, then he would have to face multiple women trying to murder him. Thus, generations of this warrior culture produced a people with some of the finest fighters on Aneirus. Pity they were so divided, and primitive combat prowess and strength meant nothing against imperial forge steel and the power of a Magus. The only reason they weren't exterminated was the difficulty of the terrain. But every decade or so, some enterprising clan would head south only to be exterminated when the imperial forces stepped in. 

South of the Gracian Mountains was the Kelian Empire. Ruled by Emperor Nevron Kelian the V, a boy of only fourteen summers. Unlike the Northern tribes, Kelia had a proper aristocracy. 

The order of the peerage was Emperor->Duke->Count->Baron->Viscount.

The distinction between them was rather complex, a combination of their family lineage, land ownership, wealth, and military service to the empire, even whether they had blood ties with the Imperial family. 

Baron Redstone was a Vassal of Duchess Menel, which meant that he owed direct fealty to him as his liege lord. While Baron Farketh owed fealty to Count Elieas.

Who owed fealty to whom was largely dependent on the history of land ownership. The most common role of a liege lord is to settle disputes between their vassals, collect taxes under imperial law, and ensure loyalty to the empire. With 426 vicounts, 47 barons, 14 counts, and 5 dukes at the time of the book's writing. At any moment, factoring in their families, the nobles numbered in the thousands. Counting knights, landed gentry, and honorary positions that encompass the minor nobility, the number was probably over 10,000. 

Though only Barons and above had a claim to any significant amount of land, Viscounts are usually associated with more military prestige, and technically, even commoners can become viscounts. Only Baron and above can be given through direct lineage. A bastard can be considered, though he or she would have to be legitimized by their liege lord, which is a practice intensely frowned upon by the church since they considered bastards to be born under a curse. Women could hold any noble position, and there were many Baronesses, Viscountesses, and Countesses. However, noblemen preferred primogeniture with male preference; the exceptions were if there was no male heir or other males in line were inadequate.

The most powerful force in the empire, however, was the Magisterium. They were responsible for the training and management of Magi. But the books suggested it was significantly deeper. They controlled all magic; no one, no matter how powerful, could train their own Magi. Candidates were reviewed, and usually a Magus was sent to evaluate. If approved, they would receive training as an apprentice. 

If the training proved to be successful, then they could move on to the College of Mystic Science located in the imperial capital. Magical items were heavily controlled. Only approved merchants could sell, and buyers had to be vetted. 

Getting magical engineering work like Darion's kitchen done was not a simple task. It required a formal request to the Magus, who would then seek approval from the Magisterium. After approval, a payment of material and labor costs would be prepaid. The energy furnace, as the book defined it, was commonly used to power magical items. Though the book suggested there were other methods, none were stated. Nor did the book have information on how the magic worked.

Further south was Helios, half the size with a quarter of the population. They followed a similar noble ranking system to Kelia since, at some point, they were once a single empire. Some civil war centuries ago split the empire in two. The difference was that at the head was a king or queen, not an emperor or empress. 

On the southern tip of the continent was Ferosia. Or what it was derisively called, the Dark Empire. Of all three kingdoms on the continent of Aniera, they were the only ones who practiced slavery. It offended both Helios and Kelia that they stood so steadfastly to their barbaric ways. However, so long as they stuck to enslaving their people, neither empire was willing to put in the effort to stop them. Black clothing was the current fashion for Ferosia, which was why the noblewoman thought it was amusing. A northern girl wearing southern garb. 

There were other strange areas of the continent, like the Everwind Peaks, a mountainous range in the east where a dragon supposedly lived. The Dalianar forest, which was said to be infested with dryads and other magical creatures. Apparently, an emperor led over 100,000 men into the forest to wipe them out. They were slaughtered to the last. Ever since then, the Dalianar forest has been left alone. With the advent of human magic, most magical creatures like wyverns, drakes, basalisks, cocathrices, and many more were hunted to almost extinction. Sightings were so rare that most started to believe that they never existed.

Sighing, I closed the book as I reached the end. My mind; digesting the information. It was expensive, but now my knowledge of the wider world has expanded significantly. There were still more questions, but there were always more books to buy and read. Who knows, maybe I can stumble on magical text or something.

~

Another week passed, and slowly, I grew used to the work. My movements became second nature; I could smile, cajole, and complement without much effort. 20 bits every eight days was my base pay; however, due to gratuity from the nobility, I earned almost double that. I decided to invest in myself in three primary ways: books, food, and anything to make myself more appealing to look at. 

Even though it's only been two weeks, I was already starting to fill out in places. I was still skinny, but I didn't look as emaciated as before. I even spent ten bits at a local salon to have my hair properly cut and washed. I decided to simply keep the tied-back hair and fringe. It looked decent and wasn't hard to maintain, like the complex networks of braids noblewomen wore.

My progress with magic, however, had ground to a halt. Both due to how busy my work was and the fact that there was only so much I could learn from simply observing. 

The energy furnace did, in fact, work entirely automatically. In one eight-day the fire had to be put out so it could be cleaned. Of course, none of the magical items worked except the teapot for some reason. However, once the ash was cleared and the fire relit, everything worked fine. I decided not to dwell on it too long lest I drive myself insane.

As I reached my destination, and banished the thoughts from my mind. 

Yarah's home was rather nice. It was in a small cottage in a residential area with a waist-high fence. All the houses in this neighborhood were connected; her cottage had a single door and shuttered windows. Passing through the fence, I walked up to the door and knocked.

Yarah opened, smiling brilliantly as she saw me. She was in a regular brown cotton dress. I was mildly disappointed she wasn't wearing something more eye-catching. I wore the same dark blue cotton dress Beth had gifted me before my maid uniform. 

"Myr, come in, I've almost finished supper," she said, stepping to the side and allowing me to enter. 

Her home was small but well furnished. To my right was her hearth and kitchen, a hall to the back led to two rooms. And to the left was a sitting and dining area. 

"Fine home," I said as I observed the many plants and flowers that served as decoration. 

"Thank you, I'm quite proud of it," Yarah said. 

"Please sit, would you like something to drink?"

I shrugged, "Arbor West, if you have it."

"That I do. Though you're going to have to settle for a tankard."

"Fine by me."

~

 In her kitchen was a small island. Yarah was busy chopping vegetables and adding them to a cook pot above the fire on her hearth. I took a sip of the wine and asked. 

"So, what's it like livin' in your own?" I asked. Very few women did, regardless of their level of wealth.

She paused in her chopping and thought. "Nice... A bit lonely a times. My family is nearby by so it's not like I can't simply visit them if I feel like having company."

"No husband in your life?"

She shrugged noncommittally, "Not yet. Can't afford to get with child yet. 'Sides, I want to start my own business."

"Really! What do you want to do?"

Yarah added her cut vegetables to the stew and started chopping potatoes and carrots. "I want to run a mercantile business. Not sure what I would sell. Perhaps a general store. Don't tell anyone this, but I didn't even spend half of what I got from the Baron."

"If you don't mind me asking, where do you keep it all?"

"Darion holds it in trust for me. His wife was a minor noble, so she has access to the imperial bank."

"Imperial bank?"

"Aye, there's a bank in every capital. Not sure how it works, but nobles can deposit coin and get coin from anywhere in the empire. It's only available to nobles and very wealthy merchants."

So there's a building in the city with access to massive amounts of wealth. How hard would that be to rob?

"What do you want to do, Myr?" Yarah asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I want to become a powerful magus and burn Farway to the ground; other than that, I have no real plans.

"Not sure, I have all I need at the moment." 

"What about your family?" she asked.

A shadow came over my face, "Don't have any worth mentioning."

There was an awkward pause in the conversation, but Yarah recovered, "Well, glad to have you here. How about we sit for a bit while the stew cooks."

"Certainly."

~

We sat at the small dining table, eating her rather well-made stew with fresh bread. It even had meat, which I was grateful for. 

"This is excellent," I said, with a mouth full of food, ignoring proper decorum. Yarah didn't seem to care.

"Thank you, it's not quite Darion's level of skill, but I get by."

I dipped the bread into the stew and took a large bite, "Speaking of. How did Darion, a butcher's son, marry a magistrate?"

"Not a clue how they met or fell in love. But Darion was knighted. It's a pretty famous story how he saved the Baron's life during some border conflict. Some time after they met fell in love, and just like that, Beth Renois threw away her position as magistrate and decided to marry him. An act that made her family disown her. So she can no longer use the Renois name. In terms of precedence in the peerage. Darion is technically above her. Though she seems rather content with her life, so who are we to judge?"

A magistrate was a respected and feared position. They held everyone, including nobles, to imperial law.

What more proof do I need that love is the poison of ambition? From a respected magistrate and noble to the wife of a restaurant owner, even more terrifying was the fact that she was content. I wonder how it happens. Did she just wake up one day and decide that her ambitions meant nothing compared to the bliss of love life? Or was it slow and insidious like leprosy? Gradually eating away at a person's dreams before they become numb and crippled. I can't allow myself to fall into such a trap.

We continued eating, our conversation devolving into meaningless pleasantries. The weather, what nobles were fighting, and gossip about the other maidservants. Apparently, Hewit and Julia had a secret relationship, even more salacious was the fact that Julia was married with three children.

I couldn't care less.

But it was a pleasant conversation. It didn't take long before we moved to her couch, determined to finish the entire bottle of Arbor West. The more I drank, the more enchanting Yarah became. Even in her simple dress, she had wonderful curves and a laugh like birdsong. Her green eyes were like polished emeralds under the setting sun. Her hair was like a field of golden wheat, practically begging me to run man hands through it. Her lips were red and cheeks rosy from the wine.

I shook my head, grappling with my scrambling thoughts.

What in Anier's name is in this wine?

I signed in relief as Yarah poured the final drops into my cup. I wasn't sloberingly drunk like I had seen some people before. But I did find walking slightly harder than before. Yarah, noticing my inebriated state, escorted me to her second room, without protest, to sleep it off.

Unfortunately, not even sleep would give me relief from my impure thoughts regarding the woman. My last thought was to be more cautious with wine, it makes you think strange things.