I spent long hours thinking about my choices in Farway. I imagined differing approaches. Burning everything to the ground, even forgiving my mother. There was a moment I even considered finding my former betrothed, Greg. It would be amusing to watch him squeal. Yet, regardless of the minor amusement of the idea, I felt no compulsion, no regret. Edith might have taken exception to the idea that I took no vengeance, but Edith was ash in the wind now. The empire slowly drifted away, and so too did all my feelings.

  What would happen to my mother was of no interest to me, and whether she recovers from her despair and finds true happiness or wallows in it until her death, I was pleased to know that neither conclusion meant anything to me. It was time for a new journey, a beginning in a new land.

  ~

  We avoided main roads; Corina, Anicia, and I crossed into Helios without any fanfare. Unfortunately, the road was ill-kept and rocky, and already we were starting to see damage on our heavily laden carriage. But it was better than garnering attention in a border town or any of the official crossings. Staring down at my map, I carefully decided where in Helios I wanted to go.

  Helios had a king, Barnabas Arledan the Third. Due to the alliance with the empire, magi were serving the wealthiest and most well-connected members of the Helosian nobility. However, I was reasonably assured that they weren't Magi of great skill or influence. Due to them being stationed so far south, outside the empire, much like Elis was.

  Regardless, I intended to avoid any Magi; that meant planning and gathering information. A decent-sized town with enough through traffic would be ideal. So with that in mind, we decided to visit an unnamed town, a week’s travel from the border.

  “Myr,” Corina said, interrupting my thoughts. I sat beside her in the driving seat of the carriage while Anicia rested inside.

  “Yes.”

  “You say ya want to be a queen? How will that work? It seems impossible,” she said.

  I paused for a moment, noting her improved grammar from months of my tutelage, and answered, “Like most complex things, it has to be broken down into simple and manageable steps.”

  “What’s step one?”

  I held up a finger. “Anicia, come, you should hear this,” I shouted into the carriage. There was a rustle, and a red-headed girl popped out, staring at us.

  “I was listenin’,” she said.

  I nodded in approval and continued. “As I said before…building an army. This is what we will do after we know where we will go.”

  Corina looked poised to interrupt me, but I cut her off. “This can be broken down even further. An army is more than just fighters. Servants, cooks, fletchers, cobblers, smiths, engineers, officers, coopers… This list goes on and on. I understand these things on an academic level, not a practical one. Finding someone with actual experience in war would be rather useful. But even before that, we need simple numbers.”

  “So our first step is just gettin’ random people?” Anicia asked.

  I sighed, “Essentially… Age, country of origin, sex, or even skill level matters not. We just need warm bodies for now.”

  “What’s the number?” Corina asked.

  “20 or so, including us. That’s around where not having proper structure wouldn’t pose a problem. For now, your roles are as follows: Corina, you will handle the training. Anyone who joins us will be rather desperate and unskilled, and even a little knowledge about fighting will be useful; the magical tools also require instruction. Anicia, you will manage them. Sort out their pay, manage the supplies, and keep them organized.”

  “What about your magic? Should we use that in recruitment or…” Corina trailed off.

  I sighed. “I’m of two minds about it, so for now, no, not until we can’t hide it. We'll just promise them good coin and safe work. Maybe show off your weapons… flash some coin, and the desperate will come.”

  “What kind of work would we be doing?” Anicia asked.

  I already knew the answer: “We’ll start small, with escorting, guarding, and small skirmishes. As our fame grows, so will the number of recruits. But for now, we're requiring people to simply aid me on my travels, not for fighting. I will transition our group into a fighting force gradually.”

  Tapping my map, I continued, “First town we reach, we'll find information. Ideally, I want to go to a region of Helios rife with conflict. Wars, skirmishes…the bloodier, the better. ”

  Anicia nodded, though she showed a slight amount of concern. “And the rest, Ferosia, and all that?” she asked.

  I smiled. “All in due time. The plan still needs to marinate in my mind.” Anicia nodded, trusting me. We settled down for travel while I contemplated the future.

  There were many things I had to consider, chiefly the Empire and Helios’s reactions. I needed a perfect strategy, a path that would completely negate any attempts to either hinder me or somehow destroy my reputation. Even when they learn of my survival, I doubt they would smear me, unless it was desperate; they tied my reputation too closely to Korin’s. However, there was no problem with stacking things in my favor.

  One week later

  We rolled into the small village, purposely chosen since it was out of the way. Although it was close to the border and involved a considerable amount of travel, it was at a reasonable level of prosperity. I’ve traveled far enough and seen enough places to tell at a glance if a village was safe.

  There were two main things to look out for. One, if women couldn't walk about unaccompanied, and two, if there were starving and desperate children lining the streets. If these things were true, then the village was a lost cause, and the people were likely vermin. After a glance at the villagers walking about and plying their trade, I was pleased to see that none of the warning signs were apparent.

  That still wouldn't stop me from being cautious, but it did help relieve some tension. I was still excitedly waiting for another inevitable encounter with men who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of lone traveling women. It would be excellent training for Anicia and Corina, after all.

  Villagers, young and old, men and women, watched us roll through.

  “Stop here,” I said, looking at a tavern.

  “Gonna get a drink?” Anicia asked.

  “That and some information.” I looked to Corina. “Watch the carriage; draw your enchanted sword and holler if a verbal warning doesn't ward them away.”

  Corina nodded and tapped said sword in the odd metal sheath at her waist. I nodded towards Anicia, signaling her to follow me.

  ~

  The tavern also served as an eatery, since many of the patrons had bowls of thick stew. I had eaten so well for the last several months that random tavern swill didn't interest me anymore.

  ‘Bread, though… I haven't had fresh bread in some time. It’s the one thing missing from our meals. I wonder…’

  A barman eyed me up and down in a manner that would have been disrespectful, but at the moment, I didn't care.

  “Good day, sir. Got any drink that isn't swill?” I placed a silver eagle on the counter. The large red-haired man stared at me with a mixture of amusement and reproach. But coin was coin.

  “Got decent brandy, a pretty good wine,” He said.

  “Any Arbor West?” I asked.

  He stared at me as if I were an idiot. Asking about specific vintages in a far-off village was a bit moronic, but I was desperate.

  “I’ll take the best you have.” Then I glanced back to the patrons. “And twenty uncooked loaves of bread”

  The man’s face twisted in utter confusion. “Ya want raw dough?”

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  I nodded as if he were the one asking nonsense. “Aye, wrap ‘em up individually for me, two bottles of decent brandy and four bottles of wine. What’s everything all together?”

  The man debated the ridiculousness of my request and the coin he could gain, then finally he nodded in affirmation, though he couldn't hide his smirk. I waited for him to overcharge me. “Four eagles.”

  Without hesitation, I placed three more coins on the table. “I expect proper dough, not cut with sawdust.”

  He snorted in offense. “I run a decent place. Ask anyone. It’ll take a bit to sort out, though.”

  While he yelled my order to a confused-looking young man, I pulled out my map. “I plan on traveling for some time. I’m a merchant by trade, you see.”

  Pointing to my map of Helios, I asked. “As a woman, you know it's not easy to travel, and I plan to see much of Helios. Any advice on where to go? And where to avoid?”

  He silently chuckled, realizing what I really came to the tavern for.

  “Alright, lass,” He said, then pointed to the map.

  “We ‘bout here. Helios isn't much worse than anywhere else. But you're going to want to be avoidin’ the east.”

  “Why is that?”

  “We ain't got dukes, just barons… lots of barons. Out east, they call 'em the twelve desert kings.”

  The name sounded ridiculous. “Twelve kings?” I asked, confused.

  He shrugged. “They ain't kings really, and they aren't all men. Just a bunch of barons and baronesses out in the wastes, too far from the Capitol for the King to bother himself with their constant fightin’. He just collects his taxes and ignores 'em.”

  “You say it’s a desert out east?”

  “Aye, sometimes it’s sand as far as the eye can see. Other times, it's just vast dry shrubs and short grass; life is hard out east, and resources are scarce. So they be fightin’ all the time. There are some good spots, rich and fertile, but they all taken and ruled by some baron or another.”

  I smirked; it was exactly the kind of thing I wanted. “I’m assuming the roads are shite. ”

  He nodded with amusement. “Aye, villages are sparse. Good coin if you willin’ to risk it. Any merchant with sense will travel with a dozen guards.” The barman glanced down at Anicia, who was acting as my shadow. “Word of advice, lass.” I nodded for him to continue. “We a decent sort, but further south, well…” He trailed off, but his meaning was obvious.

  “Thank you for the warning. Not to worry, my good man, I’ll take the proper precautions.” He shrugged, went around back, and brought out the bottle of brandy and four bottles of wine. They didn't look impressive, but it was something.

  ~

  We rolled out of town an hour later, with more supplies, some butter, more fresh produce, a fist-sized sack of sugar, and, most shockingly, a jar of honey. I was already anticipating how nice supper would be. I scribbled in my notebook with a bit of charcoal.

  “It’s getting cramped,” Anicia said as we rolled along inside the carriage. It was packed with supplies and as much meat as could fit inside the large chest. Combining that with the magical tools, extra scrap iron, spare fuel for the furnace, feed for the horses, and clothing, we were quickly reaching our limit.

  “Indeed, we’ll need a second carriage. But not before we find some people.” Thinking back to the map, I mused. “I say we’ll give it another week, then start recruiting.”

  “You’re thinking about getting involved with the desert kings,” Anicia asked.

  I nodded. “Definitely.” After putting the final touch on the arcane formula for my new light circuit, I continued, ”Though, once we reach the wastes, we’ll run into trouble.”

  Anicia nodded, knowing she would have to kill again; though there was some slight hesitation, the fire of determination remained. It was enough for me at the moment.

  ~

  Anicia watched me use shape transformation on both molten scrap iron and glass simultaneously. The inch-wide floating orb of iron was quickly engulfed by the molten glass to create a three-inch sphere. Using the power of my animus, I made sure that it was in the exact center. Then three arcane circles appeared on the surface of the glass.

  Then, with a third transformation circuit, the space for the runes was filled in with molten silver. With another circuit drawn into the dirt, the entire thing cooled evenly. Once it was done, I cut off the energy and caught the glass ball before it fell to the ground.

  The two circles on the surface of the ball heated the iron, and the second absorbed heat from the glass. From experiments, glass contained trace amounts of metals, so as a precaution, I ensured that the sphere of influence for the heat iron circle was the exact size of the ball.

  The first heat iron circuit was fueled by my amulet. The second actually used heat from the glass itself.

  The minimum energy point for glass was rather high, so it only got as cold as the night air. This, however, kept it solid while the iron core would be glowing white-hot; if it was exposed to the air, the metal would probably boil or vaporize. It also helped recycle lost heat back into the iron core. With runes made from silver, the entire thing was rather efficient once it reached the proper temperature.

  “I’m never going to get tired of that,” Anicia said, watching as I examined a slightly green glass orb.

  Focusing on the arcane circles, I created the necessary bindings, and the iron core went from orange to yellow and finally to bright white in a matter of seconds. I stopped increasing the strength after the orb glowed as bright as a campfire.

  “It’s beautiful,” Corina said as we all stared at the orb held in my hands. It was like holding a small sun.

  “Time for testing,” I said, still not satisfied.

  “Seems to work fine,” Anicia said.

  “I need to know how far I can push it before the glass breaks; it must be under considerable internal pressure from the iron.”

  Walking around 100 feet away from the camp. I dug down a few feet with a shovel, dropped the orb inside, and jogged back to the carriage.

  Then I slowly increased the strength of the binding. After half a minute, there was a loud popping sound, a shifting of dirt, and the bindings broke.

  “Not bad,” I mumbled. It took around ten times more power before the glass couldn't withstand the pressure from the iron. A simple passive binding could never reach the levels needed to destroy it. After that reassurance, I spent another quarter-hour recreating the orb after gathering as much scrap as possible.

  After creating three orbs, the entire camp was lit so brightly it was almost uncanny. We could probably be seen for miles off. After binding everything to a small metal box with another arcane switch, camp lighting was finished.

  As Anicia squinted at the glowing orb in her hand, I said, “Can you imagine thousands of these spread across a city? On every street corner. ”

  “It must be beautiful.” She mused, nearly hypnotized by the orb.

  “It was a shame you never saw Greystone at night,” I said.

  “You should put these up on tall posts with shades like a lantern; it damn near hurts my eyes when I look at them.” She said. That was an excellent idea, but I had to wait since we are running out of glass.

  ‘I know glass is made from sand and some other additives. That’s something I should look into. Wouldn't it be interesting if I made a magical oven with a glass window and a light inside? I can only imagine how much gold a wonder like that could sell for.’

  Smirking, I decided to keep that in the back of my mind as a project for later.

  ~

  After a few days, the forests and green hills turned into flat plains as we headed southeast. The roads became worse, but since we had at least a hundred pounds of meat, produce, and water generators, we could camp wherever we wanted. In that time, I improved the water generators significantly. Firstly, there was an intake tube that pulled air and an arcane circle inside the tube to gather water.

  There was another tube with a valve that one could turn to pour out the water. My favorite addition was a metal float inside the water chamber that was on a hinge. This hinge acted as a switch, turning the air intake and water generation on and off as needed. So long as it had even a meager source of energy, the water generator would work without my intervention, and I wouldn't have to worry about it overflowing.

  Considering we were going into a desert, and I intended to build an army, I’d have to, at some point, make many more of these.

  Next was the oven; my reservoir, if I didn't use orichalcum, would simply transmit primal energy, so I removed the storage element of the arcane formula and attached a rotating dial with a wheel with orbs of different alloys of iron and platinum, which would regulate the flow of primal energy. The orbs of platinum alloy would intersect with an arcane circle one at a time, changing the amount of energy being transmitted.

  The greater the amount of platinum, the more the energy would be blocked. Doing this, I could not only turn it on and off but also control the temperature. Smiling, I opened the door for the oven and pulled out a loaf of fresh bread cooked at the proper temperature.

  “Now we can eat,” I said as Anicia and Corina stared at the steaming loaf of bread.

  “Why?” Corina asked, looking serious, while Anicia stared, mouth watering, as I brushed the golden loaf with butter. Then I moved to pull the chicken quarters off the magical grill.

  “Why invest so much time in the oven so I can make perfect bread?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “Seems like a waste.”

  Without answering, I cut the loaf into four, the dough still steaming, added some honey, and gave her a slice. I took a bite and nodded for her to do the same. That barman actually had a decent baker, and a lot of butter added to the flavor.

  “Good?” I asked.

  “Aye.” She nodded. “But you didn't answer.”

  “It’s two things: I’m testing my abilities, seeing the limitations and benefits. These principles can be applied to larger and more complex creations.” They both nodded as if that made perfect sense.

  Then, with a smirk, I added. “And I really like fresh bread with my meals.”

  Both Corina and Anicia looked confused. “What? Just because I have grand plans of conquest and glory, I can't enjoy the simple things?”

  Anicia nodded.

  I continued. “I decided a long time ago that I had no interest in becoming an unfeeling machine of ambition. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and on my path to glory, I will indulge myself.”

  Anicia still didn't look convinced. “That simple?”

  I shrugged. “I’m a human in the end, Magic or no. If you had the power to make a tool like this, wouldn't you?”

  “I guess I would,” Anicia said, staring at the third slice of bread. Smirking, I handed it to her. While Anicia nearly choked while shoving the slice of still-steaming bread in her mouth, her mother stared at me for long moments before a calmness crept over her face.

  Corina nodded to the meat and said with a smile, “Let’s eat, then. Don't want it to get cold.”

  ‘Something about what I said reassured her. I think I just earned a little more trust. Though I'm not entirely sure why.’