Chapter 13: Wind of Change

Only a week in, Melia was not having a very good December. She came down with a cold on Friday that effectively ruined the entire weekend, and on Tuesday, she slipped and tumbled down the entirety of the third-floor staircase. She walked into her Wednesday training session almost expecting something to go wrong.

Against all expectations, nothing went wrong. She was getting very good at controlling her Healing Gift, now capable of extracting only a hand-sized parcel of vitality, and at the end of the hour, Reddel estimated that she could move on to something new in a few months.

"In fact," he said, "if everything goes perfectly, it may even be next month."

Perfection is unrealistic, Melia thought. "I look forward to it."

Before Reddel could respond, a messenger entered the room, carrying a large, flat black case with bronze trimming. The case had a letter loosely attached to the top.

"Mr. Reddel, a package has arrived for you."

"Ah, excellent, perfect timing. Thank you." Reddel took the case and started reading the letter as the messenger bowed and left.

Melia expected this to be a personal matter and prepared to leave, putting down the Training Staff. "I shall see you next week."

"Please hold on for just a moment."

Confused, Melia remained still. It was quite unusual for Reddel to keep her beyond a session's end. She waited for him to finish reading the letter.

"Very good." Reddel removed the letter from the case. "Well, here you are then!" He held out the case to Melia.

...what? Even more confused, Melia slowly took the case, which was surprisingly light. What is this about? Was this not addressed to you? Why-

"Aren't you going to open it?"

...oh, all right. Melia placed the case on a nearby table, unlatched it, and lifted the lid.

It was an ether staff. Beige and grey in colour, it had a teardrop-shaped head with eight wing-like structures for decoration and a flared diamond on the bottom. The two ends of the handle were ornately bevelled.

It had completely escaped Melia's mind that she was to be getting a personal staff sooner rather than later. Surprised and excited, she popped the staff out of the case and started moving her hands across it, getting a feel for it.

"Crafted by a Mr. Karl Swiddle," explained Reddel, "this Protect Staff is composed of scupperwood and powered by an amethyst dipped in pure ether. Its classical design is not uncommon amongst the populace, yet signifies its practitioner is no mere beginner - though I suspect it will rise significantly in popularity once the princess is seen with it."

Melia was not an expert on staves, but she could tell this one was special. Zero imperfections. Perfectly smooth. Symmetrical in all directions. It feels almost weightless. "It's perfect."

"I'm glad you agree." Reddel opened a hinge in the bottom part of the case, revealing a cleaning kit. "And supplemented with only the highest-quality maintenance tools."

Taking a step back, Melia started twirling the staff around in circles. This is effortless.

"Now, I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but this staff is not to be trifled with. It is a legitimate weapon, and while you certainly may practice elementals and ether arts with it, whether you should outside an approved environment is quite another matter. I strongly recommend you continue to utilise your Practice Staff on your own time."

"I understand." Elementals are far too dangerous to toy with in my chambers or other such confined spaces. Though perhaps aquas are benign enough- Not paying full attention, Melia dropped the spinning staff. Unexpectedly, however, it continued to spin in midair, hovering exactly where she had let go of it.

Reddel nodded with satisfaction. "This is the true test of whether a personalised staff matches its owner: whether the bond is strong enough to overcome the forces of nature. And without much surprise, it has passed with flying colours. As long as you intend to possess this staff, nothing in this world can remove it from your grasp against your will."

Melia took hold of the spinning staff again, recalling the time when an assassin had kicked the Training Staff out of her hands. That's one issue I will never have to worry about again.

"Now, I don't think I need to keep you any longer from whatever is next on your schedule. Have a nice day."

"Thank you." Melia closed and picked up the empty case with her free hand and left the room, heading straight to her chambers for an hour of free time.

I wonder if I should be carrying my new staff everywhere I go. Well, not that I really go anywhere. But if anyone tries to attack me in the palace again, I'll be ready.

Arriving to her room, she placed the staff case upright against the desk and compared the Protect Staff with the Practice Staff, noting that the latter had a larger head and longer handle. The idea of wielding two staffs at once popped into her head, but she dismissed it as foolish and dangerous.

I wonder what materials the Practice Staff is composed of. ... Actually, maybe I can find out.

Dropping the old staff on the bed and keeping the new one in her grasp, Melia hurried out of the room and towards the imperial library. Being an adult granted her much greater access to the library's resources, and upon realising such, she had been spending much free time reading up on just about everything.

Arriving at the library, she started searching through the shelves for a book on ether staffs. The stock was well-organised, but it was still sometimes a chore to find anything, simply due to the sheer volume of volumes. After a few minutes, she pulled out Branch of the Heavens: Ether staff construction, composition, and utilisation, and started to sift through it.

As she had hoped, the book was a highly useful source of info. She learned that Practice Staffs contain a core of six ether crystals, attuned to cancel each other out while still channeling the expected energies, and were typically constructed of whiplarch, the softest of the nine viable staffwoods. The scupperwood of her new Protect Staff was chosen for its free-flowing nature, lacking in defences but quick to respond, while its ether-infused amethyst core was known for refusing to function to amateur practitioners. Staffs could in fact be made of metal, which tended to improve their resiliency at the expense of power and flexibility, and so was quite rare outside specific situations. Finally, the natural ether wavelength of inactive staffs can result in gravitating creatures towards them, even species that do not normally collect objects, making it not uncommon to slay a beast and discover that it was hoarding a forgotten staff.

This was forty minutes well-spent. Melia closed the book and moved to return it to the shelf. On her way, she passed by Kallian, who must have entered the library after her and was reading what looked to be a biology textbook. He sensed her presence and looked up.

"Oh hello Melia. I see you have taken to your new staff quite well."

Unsure how to reply, Melia simply nodded.

Kallian nodded back. "Your instructor approached me some time ago asking for a second opinion with regards to material composition. I think it's safe to say we got it right."

Of course he had a hand in it. He'd want to ensure it goes well.

"Oh yes, there is something I am to ask you about." Kallian absentmindedly flicked the corners of the book's pages. "Father wishes to know why you have have not gone on an excursion since March. Why is that?"

Melia didn't know how to answer the question, and didn't particularly want to. The truth was unpleasant: after just five minutes of being in public in her new wardrobe, effectively advertising that she was legally an adult, she could sense that the public perception of her had changed from "some random adolescent" to "easy pickings". Whether this was actually true or just an overblown instinct, it simply didn't feel safe to go outside anymore.

"I...er...I suppose that...um...that I am simply less interested in...in doing tasks of no meaningful purpose outside the palace."

"...Very well. I shall see you at dinner." Kallian went back to reading.

Melia continued on her way, her mood shot. He instantly knew that wasn't the real reason. This is going to be discussed at dinner, and will probably result in nothing good. Probably a mandate to leave the palace on a regular basis. She looked down at the staff in her hand. Well, I suppose at least I won't be defenceless outside anymore.

It was the last week of January when it finally happened.

"You are ready to learn your fourth elemental."

Excellent. It will be somewhat annoying to be forced to decide what to leave out of a lineup of three, but more options is always a good thing. "I am ready."

Reddel nodded. "Again, we shall see what you can do with nothing but its name: wind."

Melia considered how she would go about summoning a gale. Is this to be similar to aquas, with focus on the beneficial properties, or like the aggressive energies of bolts and flares? Let's see if I can succeed with a combination of the two. She started focusing on a strong, constant wind - powerful enough to cause havoc in the streets, but predictable enough for maximum turbine efficiency. After not getting much reaction after fifteen seconds, she started shifting the windspeed in both directions until she found a sweetspot: a wind strong enough to impede opposing motion while not overwhelming those trying to move alongside it. An airy feeling began to swirl around her staff's handle, slowly getting stronger. Seventy seconds after finding the sweetspot, the summoning was complete, and a miniature whirlwind appeared in the head of the staff.

"Very, very good." Reddel clapped his hands together. "You have successfully fused your instincts of your three known elementals to arrive to the correct way of summoning this one."

Melia brought the gale out of her staff and stared into it. She could feel an updrafting breeze circling the mass of swirling air.

"The wind elemental, like aquas, is also one of support. Its natural aura boosts reaction time and physical mobility, which will improve the accuracy and evasion of you and your allies. When discharged, it deals above-average damage, but with no extra effects."

Melia discharged the new elemental, which collided with the wall and vanished into a wispy greenish cloud, before summoning a new one in just over a minute. This was not at all difficult to learn. All it needs is practice to reach usable speed. She spent the next two minutes producing a further two whirlwinds, stacking up the breezy and uplifting feeling. It always seemed odd to her that the presence of an elemental didn't make it any harder or easier to summon further copies.

Reddel looked at the trio of gales. "It is clear that your tenth art will pose little challenge to master. It should not be long before the eleventh is ready."

It had never occurred to Melia exactly how many arts she had been gathering; she had subconsciously lumped all the elementals into the same proficiency. The number spiked her curiosity. "How many arts am I slated to learn?"

"Four more after this one, for a total of fourteen." Reddel paused to think for a moment. "Although there is an optional fifteenth art, which I have no doubt you will be equal to the challenge of."

Since two of those future arts will be the earth and ice elementals, that leaves two others, plus the...extra one. That makes discharging, six summons, Spear Break, and seven other ether arts. That...actually seems a little low. Don't my personal guards have seventeen arts each? Even if tripling counts as one, which it arguably could be given the effort required to initially master it, that's one too few. It's likely I'm just missing something.

COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION

28 March Sorean 8

Evaluator: Keldon, James

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Antiqua, Melia

Gender: F

Race: High Entia father, Homs mother

D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 76)

Height: 154cm

Weight: 47.2kg

Specialisation: Ether staff

STATISTICS

Note: Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale.

Physical Strength: 14 A healthy increase from last year. Still low compared to the average. No further comment.

Ether Attenuation: 51 Continues to be unnaturally high - not that this is a problem, of course.

Agility: 14 Slow but constant growth here, no comment.

Resilience: 209 Melia seems to be equalising out slightly, able to remain upright for proportionally longer and reducing the time spent active while down.

Overall Combat Level: ~1.4 As is typical for adults, progression in these areas is accelerating. Nothing more needs to be said at this time.

ARTS

Elemental Discharge: A+ Burst aura now activates in 15 discharges, though it has been seen at 14 as well, which is somewhat unusual.

Summon Bolt: A Summoning time varies between 2 and 3 seconds.

Summon Flare: A Summoning time varies between 2 and 3 seconds.

Summon Aqua: A- Summoning time varies between 4 and 5 seconds.

Summon Wind: C Summoning time varies between 50 and 60 seconds, with no other differences from her other elementals.

Burst End: B- The defensive drop of this art now measures approximately 6% and leaves about 4 discharges worth of burst aura left over.

Hypnotise: B+ Casting time varies between 5 to 9 seconds, and can withstand most interruptions.

Shadow Stitch: B Casting time ranges between 3 and 6 seconds, with trivial target selection, and ensnares targets for a total of 10 seconds.

Healing Gift: B Melia shows strong control of vitality extraction, and can perform the art in 9 seconds.

Spear Break: F Nothing more needs to be said here that has not already been. At this point, it is frankly baffling how an otherwise model student cannot grasp the simplest of break arts.

Overall Arts Grade: B If I may speak candidly, I consider it something of a disappointment that the most naturally-gifted ethermistress I have ever graded has no future in the profession simply due to being royalty.

MOCK BATTLE ANALYSIS

I was present at Melia's second mock battle, which occurred this past month. She shows a strong grasp of basic combat logic and preparation, but falters when under stress and pressure. It is the classic example of knowing what call to make versus the ability to execute and form a backup plan on the spot. She certainly seems capable of following orders, but time will tell as to whether she can reliably give them.

As expected, Melia progressed quickly with summoning wind elementals, and she estimated that she would be given her next art sometime after more than one year but less than a year and a half. It was a nice thought to hang onto as she began the final and most challenging segment of her schooling: the high-level politics necessary to rule Alcamoth. While she put just as much effort into it and was getting similar levels of success as all her previous subjects, she didn't understand why she had to learn any more than the low- and medium-level stuff, as she would never be high enough on the royal totem pole to put the high-level knowledge to use.

On the first Friday of August, she returned to the classroom after lunch to find Kallian finishing a conversation with the instructor.

"Excellent timing as usual, Melia." Kallian left the room and beckoned for her to follow. "Your afternoon lesson has been postponed. Come, we have a job for you."

Bewildered, Melia followed. What could this possibly be about?

The two quickly arrived at the Northwestern Advisor's Room to find Sorean and Mr. Henriques, head of the Ministry of Environment.

"Thank you for arriving promptly, Melia." Sorean turned to the minister. "You may explain the situation."

Henriques nodded and began. "Five months ago, a zoological transport crashed on Anu Shore. At the time, it was believed that all its escapees had been retrieved. But in the past few weeks, a Bunnit infestation has revealed itself. Obviously, their presence is upsetting the natural order. As you may have heard, a hunting society intends to take the opportunity for a mass hunt, but this will simply agitate the creatures and make it more difficult to contain them. We would have preferred to gather more data on the situation before acting, but now we need a way to eliminate the creatures all at once before action is taken tomorrow."

Melia nodded; she had heard of the situation about a week ago when the public first learned of it, and was aware that a hunting party was starting to gather around Anu Shore in preparation for a weekend of fun. But she had no idea why she was being brought into it. You can't be expecting me to talk them out of it? Or try and inconvenience them somehow? That would be so foolish-

Sorean cut off her thoughts. "And this is where you come in. Your task is to eliminate the Bunnit infestation before the hunters can interfere."

Melia's brain screeched to a halt, completely baffled.

"Without a large squad to scare them off, it should not be difficult to ensure all the Bunnits are accounted for," added Henriques. "Once one of their number is in danger, the rest will all converge to aid it. The newborns should be old enough to join in, yet not enough to be dangerous."

"Should you wish, you can be provided with a set of protective boots that should render it difficult for the creatures to injure you, though they will hinder your movements." Sorean indicated a pair of Shell Boots that were resting on a chair.

The information entered Melia's mind but had yet to be successfully comprehended. She was still utterly stupefied from being told she was expected to go out and murder a bunch of bunnies with no prior experience.

Kallian was the first to pick up on the reaction. "Are you okay, Melia? You look quite pale."

Melia managed to clunkily get a few words out. "Um, forgive me, but...how...why...I...I do not..." She shook her head vigorously and managed to get herself re-engaged. "Why would I be sent to do this task when a team of exterminators could accomplish it much more effectively?"

Sorean exchanged a straight-faced look with Kallian before responding. "We have been searching for a test of your abilities in the field for some time now, and this is a prime opportunity for you to demonstrate what you are capable of."

"But...but is there not major risk to myself?" Melia knew she couldn't refuse the order, and had basically resorted to stalling while she tried to come to terms with it.

"Less than you would think," Kallian said. "This subspecies of Bunnit is not clever; they enjoy watching a fight as much as participating, and more often than not end up only attacking with two or three of their number at a time. And in this case, you would be up against only two adults. I see you having quite an easy time once you get past any initial hurdles."

"Indeed," Sorean nodded. "You possess more than enough tools to complete this task with minimal difficulty."

This is madness. You can't honestly expect me to...to go on some sort of killing spree? Just so you don't have to get some experts to do it? And was it not your opinion not long ago that I not be...not...not not, notnotnot. The train of thought rolled off the rails and into a pit of wordless exasperation.

"Good luck."

Kallian gestured as the Issor he was aboard climbed upwards, where it would observe from above the shoreline.

Standing alone on Anu Shore with little direction to go on, Melia gripped her staff tightly. Being told to be an exterminator was one thing, but actually being left in the wilderness to carry it out was quite another. She had the distinct feeling this was part of a replacement for the ancient coming-of-age trial.

Turning to the sea, she spotted the cruise ship the hunters had rented to lounge around on before getting things going tomorrow. The Issor had flown unusually close by it when depositing her on the beach, as if intentionally ensuring that her presence was known to them. It wouldn't take a very strong pair of binoculars for them to watch the spectacle.

Adjusting her headdress and mask, Melia looked back towards the foliage on the landmass. She had been told that it was likely to find the younger Bunnits in the bushes, and so should look there first. With difficulty, she started moving towards the nearest leafy piles. She had decided to take the extra protection of the Shell Boots, but they were indeed very cumbersome, and two-thirds of walking speed was the best she could do.

It didn't take long to find her first target upon reaching the bushes. A single young Bunnit, knee-high, was fishing around for berries.

Melia sighed. This creature, and indeed all its brethren, has done nothing wrong, yet it must be killed to preserve the balance of nature. A balance that was accidentally upset by our species. What a depressing world this can be.

She gingerly stepped closer to the Bunnit. It noticed her presence and turned around, unsure whether to respond passively or aggressively.

I need to wound it enough so it cries for help without accidentally killing it or letting it run away.

Aiming the flat side of her staff towards the creature, Melia swung it downwards, bashing the Bunnit over the head. The impact felt very different than the training dummies she was used to, giving off the sensation of breaking a branch hidden in a stiff pillow. It was quite disturbing.

The Bunnit started yelping incessantly, either unwilling or unable to move.

I suppose that's the first part successful. Now I just have to wait-

It didn't take long for many more Bunnits, all of similar size to the first, to start popping out of the bushes. Within fifteen seconds there was several dozen of them.

...well, that was simple enough. She gave the first victim a second smack, ending the noise and knocking a chunk of hair off it.

The pack let out a dissonant roar and started hopping towards Melia, but she was ready. A single blast of Shadow Stitch locked all of them in place, and from there it was rather trivial to launch bolts and flares at them. The smell of burning fur filled the air while crystals and corpses began to litter the ground.

A few latecomers appeared from the bushes, but only one of them managed to reach Melia before being spotted and shot, and it was easily dealt with via a staff smash. She was rather surprised at how smoothly the whole thing was going - the creatures were weaker than she expected and it seemed she had chosen the perfect strategy, with them completely unable to break free of Shadow Stitch even after several minutes. But it was still unpleasant to be surrounded by freshly-killed animals. Even knowing it was the right thing to do, it felt very wrong.

After what seemed to be about four or five dozen young Bunnits, the parents finally emerged from hiding. They had grown quite large from the food of the out-of-place habitat, big enough to strangle Melia if they had the fine motor control, and the female looked close to giving birth again. Moving slower than the children, they bounced towards their enemy.

With a pause in the action from having dealt with all the younglings, Melia had the opportunity to unleash her Burst End, slowing the progress of the two remaining opponents. She then focused on the male first, setting it on fire with a flare and striking it with a bolt. It went down surprisingly easy, as if it had been fat and lazy for the past few weeks and was not ready to be fighting. She finished it off with a second bolt just before the female leaped with surprising speed and pounced on her.

"Ieaouhfffff!" Melia was now laying on the ground with a big fat rabbit sitting on her. It was heavier than she was, and made it very hard to breathe. She started recklessly pounding the Bunnit in the face with the handle of her staff, unable to swing it with any force. The creature took the blows with minimal apparent effect, though it was dissuaded from trying to bite her, and seemed to instead decide to just sit until the flailing lessened.

Acting without thinking, Melia summoned a flare, kept it in the head of her staff, and pressed it against the enemy's face. It didn't take long for the Bunnit to spring away in pain, though the leap put even more force on Melia's torso and knocked the wind out of her again. The lack of air over the past half-minute made it hard to think, but she did manage to discharge the flare, causing another fur fire. The Bunnit, apparently believing its assailant was badly wounded and could be finished off later, decided to dash towards the nearby shore to put itself out.

It didn't get very far. Melia succeeded in getting off another Shadow Stitch, trapping it after just a few metres. A few seconds later, she unloaded water, wind, and electric elementals into it, and upon finally standing up finished the job with a kick to the head.

The beach grew quiet once more. Exhausted, Melia summoned an aqua for regeneration, jammed her staff into the sand, and thoughtlessly sat down on the dead mother.

What a scrape. The juveniles were not a threat, but the parents as a group were just barely within my range of competence. I suppose it is necessary to have experience against a legitimate enemy, but given the triviality of the young ones, another month or two of practice would have been nice. I just hope that success here doesn't mean I have to do anything similar again in the future. Regardless of its necessity, killing innocent creatures is not fun.

"Perfect." The beach lit up in a series of white flashes. "You're so photogenic, Your Highness. This'll make a statement to the public for sure."

Disgusted that the paparazzi had followed her here, Melia stood up and turned around with a sour look on her face - not that it could be seen, with her headdress and mask on. Three reporters were reviewing the shots of her sitting on the dead Bunnit with her back to the camera, with her staff in the sand, an aqua above her head, and scores of corpses in the background. Alongside them were a few cooks of the royal kitchens, with Kallian's Issor just landing.

"Incredible news story, front-page material." One of the reporters had produced a news camera while another stuck a microphone into Melia's face. "You've single-handedly saved Anu Shore from an invasive species, Your Highness. Can you go over some of the best moments of that savage battle?"

"No." Melia plucked her staff out of the beach and walked towards Kallian. The media had an easy enough time making fun of her; she didn't need to give them any ammunition.

Kallian looked like he was having difficulty containing a smile. "Well done, Melia. Our faith in you is well-placed as usual."

Melia said nothing in response; she could still feel the reporters hovering behind her, and was getting the feeling that they were not here by coincidence. Instead, she focused on the cooks, who were having a hushed yet excited conversation.

"I see you've noticed the...well, the cleanup crew." Kallian nodded towards the cooks. "They have been clamouring to be involved in our efforts as soon as they heard of the infestation. As you might guess, they are eager to have this much Bunnit available effectively for free. I can personally vouch for a special kind of satisfaction in seeing your own handiwork on the dinner table."

I very much doubt I will share that sensation. On the whole, she was the kind of person who would rather not think about where meat comes from.

"Now, let's return to Alcamoth. Father will be very pleased at this accomplishment of yours."

As long as it doesn't turn into an expectation. Just because I succeeded doesn't mean I should ever do this again.

6 August Sorean 8 - THE HIGH ENQUIRY - 3G

MELIA PURGES BUNNITS - Her Highness exterminates infestation alone

[Kol Jerdries, Freelancer]

Anyone who still believes the princess cannot fend for herself is about to be given a rude awakening.

This past Friday, Her Highness Melia Antiqua took it upon herself to deal with the troublesome Bunnit infestation on Anu Shore first reported one week ago. Wielding her ether staff, she dispatched every one of the invasive creatures with pinpoint efficiency and no injuries to speak of.

Princess Melia herself refused to comment, but Prince Kallian was more co-operative. "Despite having no prior experience in the field, she concocted a plan of attack and executed it to perfection, eliminating the creatures with minimal risk to herself or the surrounding environment, and ensuring that no survivors escaped notice. A team of dedicated exterminators couldn't have done it better."

The infestation, believed to have stemmed from a crashed transport five months ago, consisted of two adult Bunnits and approximately five dozen offspring. With the local predators unsure what to make of the new creatures, experts estimated that the accidental invaders would have consumed all the local berries and fruits within a year from now, leaving none for the native herbivores. This problem had already been identified by the Fernando Hunting Society, which was planning to deal with it in its own way before the princess intervened.

"I'm not going to lie, we're all a bit disappointed," said Jem Quissel, president of the FHS. "We haven't had a good season in a few years, and the unexpected ones are always the most entertaining. But we respect the "don't wait, do it yourself" mentality shown by Her Highness."

As of this writing, it is unclear what motivated Princess Melia to take the situation into her own hands, and even less clear how she managed to convince her family to allow her to follow through with it. One thing has been made apparent, however: she is not the recessive pushover that many believe her to be.