Chapter Three: Echoes

"This way." Tira said, tugging Kyle into a restaurant in her part of the city. Whoever had come up with the idea for the place had certainly been creative; the seats were waves coming out of the floor; the tables much larger waves. A giant wave in the back served as the counter, and a man behind it was gutting fish with a practiced technique. "This is one of the best places to eat in the city. Hey, old man! Can we get two plates of your Salmon with Syrup?"

"Coming right up!" the man behind the counter answered, laughing. "And since you've come in here with a man, he must be the new Runelord I heard about. It's nice to have you in here, sir." Kyle nodded to the man, and a few minutes later, he emerged from the back with two plates of some sort of fish meat covered in sweet syrup. "It'll be my treat today." Kyle shook his head and took out a silver coin. Tira forced his arm down, though, and took out a coin of her own.

"It's my treat." she said sternly, giving the man who ran the store the payment. He just grinned and went back to work. She couldn't let Kyle think she was cheap, not after the beautiful gift he had given her. "Try it." she said. The Runelord examined his meal for a few moments, then pierced a part of it with his fork and bit in. He nodded a moment later; it was actually quite good. "So, how was your morning?"

"Not bad. I went to see Lady Selune a little before dawn, and I think I'll spend an hour or two a day with her before the sun rises, since she won't be available the rest of the time. Walked around after that, saw the marketplace, then took a bit of a nap. And you, Lady Tirara?"

"I told you, you can call me Tira! I woke up and found that you were missing, so I went ahead and ate, then made my way to my school. The students there are looking forward to seeing you, so you'll have to drop by sometime." she nodded firmly. "What about your past? You said you were a Royal Guard."

"That is correct. Until yesterday, I was in service to Her Majesty as a member of her Royal Guard."

"What's that like?"

"It was often difficult, but very rewarding. To be in the Royal Guard, you must be more than simply a warrior, though in the martial skills you need to be the best in the nation. You must know how to arbitrate disputes fairly and justly, how to lead others while in combat or out of it, set an example for the youth of the nation to follow, and above all to protect the ruler of the country, her family, and her citizens. I had hoped to be at Her Majesty's side until one of us died, myself if at all possible. Lady Inferno had to convince Her Majesty to direct me to come here before I would leave."

"So you didn't want to come?" Tira asked.

"No, I did not. This was not a job I sought; my dream since I was a child was to follow my father's steps and serve in the Royal Guard all my life, and I have had to give that up. I accepted Her Majesty's wishes, however, and I have decided to do the best job I can as your Runelord. I understand that this is a very important job, and that the fate of many people is in my hands. My honor would be forever tarnished if I were to step aside and perhaps allow others to suffer because I was unwilling to do a job myself." Tira laughed quietly. "It is... amusing?"

"That's not it. I'm just glad to know I was right." the girl answered. "You have a little ways to go, I believe, but there are many worse choices for our Runelord. I'm glad it was you. Here." she took a ring off her finger and slid it onto his right middle finger. "Your second Ring. And my Mark." she held up a finger, and a small sphere of water appeared on the end of it. The Tide Witch drew a wave on both the Runelord's palm and her own, and as the water vanished into their bodies, a mark appeared on each of them. For Tira, it was just the wave; on Kyle, the wave appeared next to the crescent moon. "And I can't be losing to a girl who barely says ten words a day. I hear she writes all of her lectures, even!" Kyle laughed. "What? Now I'm amusing?"

"Just something I was told before." the Runelord answered, shaking his head. "I apologize; I should not have laughed at you. It was very rude."

"Oh, come on! Why's it funny?" Tira demanded.

"I should not. But I thank you for your trust, Lady Tirara, and am honored by it."

"Hmph." the Tide Witch leaned across the table for a moment and kissed him. "There. Now I forgive you. But you have to promise to come to my hot springs soon." the Runelord nodded, and Tira returned to her meal. Eventually, they finished, and Tira escorted Kyle back into the streets. "Now, where to next..."

"Training." a stern voice said. There was a whooshing sound, and something came down and smacked Tira on the head.

"Ouchie!"

"While bonding isn't a bad thing, the Runelord has work to do right now." Avari, the Radiant One, growled. She put a paper fan back into her belt. "Come on, Lord Markal. Merely by becoming Runelord, you've been gifted with several abilities, and it's time for you to learn how to use them. You too, Tira. You don't practice nearly as often as you should."

"But I don't like doing the same thing over and over again! That's fine for your magic, but water's meant to flow freely!" the Tide Witch complained.

"You should be glad I don't have you spar with Milliarde; as you are now, she'd crush you, and I'd make sure nobody healed you afterwards! March, woman!" Avari pointed down the road, and with a whimper, Tira started walking. "You, too, boss."

"I do need a little exercise." he said sensibly, falling into step beside Tira. The girl quickly grabbed his arm and held onto him as they went. Behind them, the Radiant One rolled her eyes.

The training complex was little more than a large, empty building. As soon as they were inside, though, the training began. Before he'd even realized what he was doing, Kyle had created a circular barrier that blocked a barrage of attacks from Avari. His second-in-command didn't even hesitate before firing off a burst of light energy at him. Kyle drew something in the air, and the beam vanished as it connected with his defense.

"How did you do that?" Avari inquired. It wasn't a true question; her tone was more leading, as if trying to encourage him to state something he already knew.

"I'm not entirely sure." Kyle answered. "When you were casting, it was like there was a voice in my head that suddenly let me know everything about what you were doing, and it told me that I could defend myself by drawing that. Seemed to work. Do you happen to know what it is, and if it is reliable or not? I would prefer not to depend on an ability I do not understand."

"Good idea." the Radiant One agreed. "There are different powers you might have; not every Runelord gets the same things, or even at the same levels of power. Let's see if we can figure it out what this one is; I think I know already, but it's best to be sure. Come on, Tira, your turn!"

"I don't want to attack him!" the Radiant One glared at her. "Okay, okay!" the Tide Witch raised a hand, then pointed it at Kyle. Water shot towards him, forming into a serpent's head and body. As it got close, Kyle drew a different mark in the air, and the serpent blew apart. He etched another mark with his finger, and the water shot back towards Tira. Only a quick barrier she conjured up stopped it from striking her. Kyle scowled.

"That is much too close to striking a lady." he muttered.

"You didn't actually hit her, and it wasn't in anger, so don't worry about it. It's training, and she could use a few bruises anyway." Avari answered as Tira grumbled. "Still, I can see that your power is quite strong. Do you know the origin of your title?" Kyle shook his head. Fern hadn't covered that during her teaching session on the way to Linkal. "Well, you should, so I'll explain it. The first Runelord had a peculiar power he called Runes; he could make a mark, and things would happen. This is entirely unlike any other form of magic except for summoning, like what Selune's students do, but that calls up beings and such, while the Runes seem to be more of a specific effect. Fern really did make the right choice; if you can use those, you were practically born for this." Kyle didn't seem entirely sure how he felt about that. "Still, just having the power doesn't mean you've mastered it. Tira, go practice over there. I'm going to make sure our boss gets his power totally under control." she launched forward, firing off a series of light bursts that bounced off the walls and came arcing back towards the Runelord from various directions. Practice ended only when it was time for dinner, and despite the fact that he was used to strenuous exercise, Kyle found himself exhausted. Tira contented herself with mopping his brow as they returned to his home. Fern, Milly, and Jeanne were there waiting for them, as was a large meal.

"Welcome back." they chorused.

"Thank you, ladies." Kyle answered. He waited until Tira and Avari had taken their seats before settling into his place at the end of the table. "And again to whoever made all of this. Shall we begin?" With that, the group began eating. Kyle wasted no time in getting through the slice of meat on his plate, then moved on to some fruit. "So, how was everyone today?"

"Could have been worse." Fern noted. "I see I was right about Tira."

"Indeed."

"Right about what? Tell me!" neither of the two looked towards her. "Feh."

"By the way... Tira I understand, but what did you do to Selune?" Milly inquired, looking at Kyle's hands.

"You should have heard him." Fern answered. "He was quite the gentleman. I don't think I've ever seen her open up to someone that much."

"She said six words the whole time I was there." Kyle objected. He'd counted them. "I wouldn't say that was opening up."

"You don't know her well enough. That was a lot; even some of her own students think she's mute because she doesn't talk during their lessons, and she doesn't often help them afterwards." Fern explained patiently. "Nobody knows why she's like that, though." Kyle merely nodded and continued with his meal, listening to the girls talk about what had happened to them since that morning. He was starting to understand... they had all been friends for a long time now, and he was just a newcomer. There were references to events that he didn't understand, a few technical discussions that he couldn't even begin to guess at the meanings of, and just a general sort of underlying level to the conversation. Whatever they had told him, he knew that it would take some time before they really got used to him. This was most prominent in the cases of those he had spent the least personal time with; Jeanne and Milliarde, mainly. However you looked at it, he didn't really know them, and they didn't know him either. Finally, after everyone had finished eating, he collected his utensils and took them to the sink.

"Wow, he even does his own dishes. I like this guy." Jeanne said, chuckling. "By the way, Fern, what's with that pendant? You haven't taken it off since you got back."

"Oh..." the girl said. "Well, I received it from the Empress when I was visiting her lands." she clasped the curved teardrop with her hands. "It's been a lot of trouble, though. I had at least seven offers of marriage from young nobles who wanted to gain favor at court." the other Councillors laughed. "I know. I didn't have to deter them directly, though. Besides, I think the way things turned out is rather better regardless." she glanced towards the Runelord as she said that.

"I'm going to bed." he said a few moments later. "I want to be up early to talk to Selune, after all, and if I'm going to start a new sleeping cycle, I may as well start it now."

"I'll come with you." Fern and Tira said together.

"As you wish. Just remember; I actually want to sleep." the Runelord answered as he left the room. The two girls scrambled after him.

"So, what do you think?" Milliarde asked.

"He's done well so far." Avari admitted grudgingly. "Better than I expected, really. Maybe it's that he has both Selune and Tira's rings already; a few of the history tomes suggest that something about the Marks increase the Runelord's power. It is true that the first one had five, and nobody's ever surpassed him; the next two strongest had three rings each, the eight most powerful after them two rings, and I doubt that's all a coincidence. Still, he didn't manage to figure out how he was doing what he did, and until he can, he's never going to master his powers."

"So that's a pass?"

"For now. I wasn't using any serious magic on him for the training; most of the senior students could probably defeat him, not to mention what the graduates could pull. Or any of us. He's set some new records, but he's not a hero from a story that suddenly finds unrivaled power or gets blessed by a deity. He has a long way to go before he's a true Runelord. There have been better this early on, but there've also been worse."

"I see. Well, perhaps I'll take him on a little ride tomorrow." Jeanne said, stretching. "Show him the Valley, things like that."

"Tira's going to be angry that she didn't get him into those hot springs of hers first."

"Fufufu. Why do you think I'm doing it tomorrow?"

"Mother, where is Father? He hasn't come home."

"He's... he's not going to be coming home, Kyle."

"Was he sent out to the borders to stop the invaders?"

"Yes. He was."

"Father's dead, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm going to beome a member of the Royal Guard."

"Kyle, you-"

"Father always said that I had the potential to lead the Guard someday, so I'm going to. I'm going to protect the Princess when she becomes the Empress. The person best qualified for a job should do it, and I'm going to be the best."

"You don't know what you're saying!"

"I know enough. All I have to do is beat everyone else, right?"

"I don't want to lose you the way I lost Arthur! You're only a child... a... yes, you're a child! You cannot talk back to me this way, Kyle! I am your mother, and you will obey me! No more of this foolishness. You will not join the Guard, Royal or otherwise, and that is final!"

Kyle sat up and stared at his hand. Proud, was it? Was his father proud of what he'd done now? Was this the right path... did it even matter? There was a yawn from beside him, and Tira sat up, rubbing her eyes. She had grudgingly taken off her rippling scarf before going to bed, and replaced it with a blue nightgown.

"What's wrong?" the girl mumbled, looking at him.

"...Nothing to worry about, Lady Tirara. I apologize for disturbing you. Please, go back to sleep."

"Mmpfh." the girl fell back onto her pillow and was soon fast asleep once more. Very carefully, Kyle slid out of the bed and changed in the nearby room that held all his new clothes. Soon, he was outside, and he stared upwards. There were only a few shadows that suggested clouds; otherwise, the night was well-lit by the stars above. They were nothing like the ones he was used to seeing at this time of year. Chuckling quietly, he passed through the city until he came to a dark building. As he walked inside, he found that students were moving through the halls every which way. Most of them stopped to bow as he passed, and he gave a few enouraging words to each. Reaching the end of the hall, he knocked on the door there.

"Enter." the quiet voice he was expecting said. The Runelord slipped into the room and shut the door behind him, relaxing in the warmth that filled the room from the fireplace. Selune was waiting for him in front of her desk.

"Good morning, my Queen." he said, smiling. The girl merely nodded, and motioned for him to take a seat on a large, cushioned chair. Kyle complied and looked at her for a few moments. "So, how has your night been?"

"Acceptable." she answered. Kyle nodded as he thought. The girl wheeled over to him, then turned her chair so that they were next to each other.

"Would you mind if I talked to you about a few things? I'd like to get them off my mind, but I don't think any of your friends are appropriate for it."

"Begin." the girl answered softly.

"...Thank you. As you probably recall, I did not seek this job. Just a little while ago, I found myself dreaming about the day I set my sights on joining the Royal Guard and serving in it until I died. My father died in combat, and I wanted to surpass him and do what he could not. To gain his approal, you might say, though I now believe that I may also have simply wanted to prove I was better. He was a great man... the head of the Royal Guard, in fact. When I was young, I thought that no man in the world, not even the Emperor, could compare to him. My path is different from what I imagined, though, now that I have come here. I understand that it is a great honor to be your Runelord, even more so because of what you have given me. I regret that I have nothing so precious to give you in return. On topic, however, I'm still not sure about how to go about becoming like he was, a man who inspired so much respect even among his enemies that his soldiers, if taken in battle, were treated well and eventually returned just because they had served under him. Strong and just, noble and merciful, as well as wise. I often ask myself what he would do in a situation when I'm uncertain. I can see that doing what he did, by itself, is only a pale shadow. But how can I ever be like him, I wonder?"

"...Don't." Selune answered. Kyle looked over to her, and after a moment, the girl stared into his eyes.

"I... should not be like my father?" the girl nodded firmly. "Are you... telling me that if I try to be like him, I'll miss the point?" Another nod. "I see. I think I understand what you mean by that. It does not make very much sense, though; he is everything I wish to be. How can I not want to be like him?" there was a loud knock at the door. Frowning, Selune wheeled herself over and opened it.

"E-excuse me, ma'am." a voice said, its owner out of sight from where Kyle was sitting. "We have visitors, a-and they insisted on seeing the Runelord immediately, so-" the door opened wider, revealing two well-dressed men standing behind what looked like one of Selune's students.

"Good morning, Midnight Queen." one of them said, inclining his head. "We're sorry for intruding, but it really is urgent." Selune wheeled herself backward, and the two men strode inside.

"So, what can I help you with?" Kyle asked. The two visitors stood in front of him and were silent for a few moments.

"Forgive us. We thought that you were perhaps a little older."

"Nevertheless, I did pass the tests I was given, and so I am the current Runelord." Kyle answered. "Please get to the point." The speaker of the two visitors handed him two sets of papers, and Kyle read through them as he listened.

"My name is Torim, and this is Odrith. We serve the Throne of the Sun, the Lord of the Shining Plains, the-" he trailed off. "Yes, the point. Our King is most interested in the Council of Mages, and greatly desires an alliance." Kyle thought about what he knew of their country. The Throne of the Sun was a very formal name for the Sun King, ruler of a Kingdom far to the south of the empire he had been living in; he wasn't entirely sure of its location compared to the Valley. That was something he needed to find out. Since travel in and out of the Valley was only through magic, though, maybe that didn't matter much. The current Sun King was not known to be particularly warlike, not as far as he knew, but...

"What reason does the Sun King have for an alliance? I can tell you now that I will not help him fight his wars simply for the sake of treaty or trade."

"The Sun King does not need the might of your armies, powerful despite their size." Torim answered smoothly. "We have discovered rich new veins of ore in our lands, and the Sun King would like to mine them. Unfortunately, our traditional methods are ineffective in that terrain, and so we must turn to magic if we are to get them. He is willing to give you fifteen percent of the ore for the work, and-"

"Twenty."

"Ridiculous!"

"If he does not have our help, then he would have nothing. One cart out of five seems like a reasonable price to pay in order to get to these veins of ore, and if working them is lucrative for us as well, I could be persuaded to talk to some other people here and convince them to help work your metals. Magesmiths can produce far superior work than the ordinary kind, and in less time. I will not have them make enchanted weapons for you, however. That is not negotiable. Armor... perhaps. Certainly accessories, charms, and other such items." The two visitors leaned towards each other and spoke rapidly back and forth in their own language for nearly three minutes. Behind them, Selune simply smiled.

"You make an interesting proposal, Runelord." Torim said eventually. Ordrith had yet to talk.

"More importantly, do you two have the authority to make deals?"

"As the Ambassadors to the Valley of Magic, yes, we have been given full authority by the Sun King to make any deals relating to trade."

"Excellent." Kyle answered. "Well, then, since haste would be unseemly, why don't we table the discussions until, say, this afternoon? I'm sure that the Sun King can wait that long for an answer."

"As you wish. We shall prepare our counteroffer in the meantime." Torim answered. He and Ordrith bowed slightly to both Kyle and Selune, then strode outside. Kyle let out a slight sigh.

"...Interesting." Selune eventually said, looking at the door as it was pulled shut behind them.

"I was expecting something like this, just not so fast." Kyle answered. "Well, I suppose they all want to test me and see how they should treat us. I'm sorry that had to cut into our time together, though."

"Forgiven."

"Thank you." the Runelord noted. Things were quiet for a few more moments as he stared at the ceiling. "What do you think? Should we help them?"

"No."

"I see." he was starting to get used to her method of talking, and meaning a lot while saying little. It was a refreshing change from the nobility he recalled, which seemed to consist mostly of people who said a lot and meant nothing. "I'm sorry; I didn't want to be here just to talk business. I wanted to get to know you better." Selune wheeled herself over to him and gently held onto one of his arms.

"Sufficient." she whispered, pressing a finger against the crescent moon that had appeared on his skin. A moment later, she waved towards some things on her desk; a blank scroll, a quill, and an inkpot floated over to her, setting themselves across a board that she took out from under her cloak and set on her lap. "Lesson." she said decisively. With that, she began to write. Kyle watched, and it took him only a short time to realize that she wasn't making a plan for her students, but was writing down information for him. When dawn finally broke outside, he had managed to create a small sphere of shadow energy to the satisfaction of his quiet teacher. She nodded, and as Kyle let the magic dispel, blew across the ink to dry it, waited a moment, then handed the scroll to him.

"This will be useful, I think. Shall I come back tomorrow morning?" the girl nodded. "All right. Until then, Lady Selune." she quickly hugged him, then hung her head down and wheeled herself away. Kyle stepped out of the building a minute later and began walking back towards his house. He was getting hungry, and today seemed like it was going to be busy. Keeping one's strength up was a duty, and a very important one. He fingered the sword at his side, bought just before his life had changed and already with the prestige of having defeated an enemy. Yes, practice with it later would be necessary.

000

"You've decided not to help us? You cannot be serious!" Torim roared, slamming his hands down on the table as he stood up. The conference room was large, enough for many people to crowd into if necessary, though only three were currently there.

"I discussed it with my Council, and that was the decision we came to. Our reasons are unimportant." In reality, it was that none of the girls thought that a major job like mining large veins of ore was a good idea when he himself was just barely getting on his feet as Runelord. What the other nations would see was weakness, inexperience, if he didn't do things the right way. Avari had suggested that he be hard, as hard as he had been when guarding his Empress, refusing to allow even a trace of weakness. He needed to deal with other nations as the true master of the Valley, with his presence alone enough to silence a room, and his power all but unmatched. "I may reconsider in the future."

"Twenty-five percent."

"Not that quickly, Sir Torim. One thing you should keep in mind is that I am not a member of the nobility. I am a Knight. This is nothing personal against you, your Sun King, or your country; we have our own reasons, and that is all you need to know."

"You play a dangerous game, child. The Sun King is extremely powerful."

"You have no idea what sort of powers this Valley can unleash. Do not presume to threaten me, gentlemen. I have little patience for such things. You can come to me as men, seeking fair trade, or you can come to me as children, saying that you'll call for your big brother if I don't do what you want. I respect men, and will deal with them as equals whatever they do for a living. I treat children as what they are. Are you men, or are you children?" The two visitors scowled and began muttering back and forth again.

"...Fine." Torim eventually said. "We shall let it go for now, but do not be surprised if the Sun King sends us back with something valuable to convince you to change your mind."

"I do not accept bribes, either. Understand that for me, this is not about money or political favor, and you will start making better deals. It is not a matter of the price. Have a nice day, and a safe journey home." the two visitors nodded and walked towards the door. Behind them, Kyle simply smiled.