A second later, a lightning bolt impacted between myself and the five racist morons. I breathed a sigh of relief as my shield held, sparing a cursory glance at the bowled-over idiots - they seemed to be breathing - before I fully focused on the sorceress. I recognised the warning shot for what it was.
Then I felt the woman begin gathering power again, though words couldn't describe the sheer artistry of what I was seeing now that she was closer. There was no doubt in my mind that fighting this woman should be an absolute last resort.
Quickly, I shouted, "Voe'rle Aen Seidhe! Dice!" My Elder Speech wasn't the best, but it'd hopefully do. I wouldn't have graduated from Aretuza if I couldn't at least hold a conversation in the language, yet the elven speech proved tricky to master when it came to actual conversations. Incantations were much easier.
The woman hesitated for a second before stopping, "Cease butchering my language, dh'oine. We can talk."
I cast an evil look at the groaning villagers, "Fuck off if you want to live."
Slowly, they gathered themselves. Two of them needed support, which left Jakub free to worsen the situation.
"We won't abandon you, m'lady! I swear we did not know they had a witch!" He shouted, brandishing his club above his head, in a manner he must have thought heroic.
With dread, I realised that either the lightning bolt had deafened him or he was even more moronic than I thought possible.
With a fierce battle cry, the lone villager rushed towards the elf at a not-very impressive speed while his comrades looked on with wide eyes.
I hesitated, unsure of what to do, but the elf did not.
One second he was there, the next he was replaced by a very confused-looking bunny, leaving both me and the villagers goggling.
"In three days, a beast bearing the face of your kin shall arise to claim him. Should you stand firm and guard him well, your kin's true self will be restored and your village spared further misfortune," the elf spoke softly, breaking the silence.
The peasants looked at me.
"Grab him and go," I hissed.
Thankfully, the rest complied. A brief struggle ensued as the bunny tried to escape, but luckily they managed to catch the creature, their departure making me breathe a sigh of relief.
I stepped forward and gave a courtly bow, "I apologise for the circumstances of my arrival. My name is Tanya von Degurechaff, a Sorceress of Aretuza. It shames me to admit, but I had fallen for the lies of those men. I mean your people no harm."
A little bit of humility was always a good way to show contrition. I wasn't about to fight an elven sorceress and who knew how many other elves for a stupid horse. I had also never heard of such an esoteric spell. A curse that would not only turn one into an animal but also create a monstrous doppelganger? Another good reason to avoid hostilities.
"Ah, you," the elven sorceress responded, her severe expression mellowing out, as her gaze roamed over me.
I blinked, "You've heard of me?"
"The daisies in the valley whisper your name," she said with a small smile. As if we were not on the brink of killing each other a moment ago.
"Come," she beckoned towards the temple, "I'm sure you will find this interesting."
Thanks to the still-running reflex enhancement, I managed to stop the intense befuddlement I was feeling from showing on my face. I examined her more closely. The amber accessories were true amber, set in what looked like coral. A pearl necklace completed her undoubtedly expensive look, making me even more confused. Metal and gemstones were the preferred accessories for mages, thanks to their beneficial effects and uses.
"Where I am from, it is customary to return the favour when someone introduces themselves," I interjected, unwilling to just follow this strange woman inside a building likely filled with her compatriots.
She paused, "So it is, little Argent, so it is. I am Ida Emean aep Sivney. Of the Blue Mountains now, I suppose," then she began walking towards the temple, "Come along now," she said over her shoulder.
I stood frozen on the spot, mouth open stupidly, before double-checking my mental protections and finding nothing amiss.
Cursing quietly my foolishness, I jogged to catch up with the elf, before speaking up, "How do you know that name?"
"Your ring," her eyes flicked to my left hand, "It is argent. A cute nickname, no?"
My mouth clicked shut as we passed the entrance to the temple.
'Could it have been just a coincidence?'
My ring was silver, but I didn't buy that explanation for a second.
The question was, did the elf know about my past, or had she simply divined a word that would be effective at shutting me up, or some such? With the sheer breadth of options offered by magic here on the Continent, both options were possible. As the reflex enhancement ran out, I barely suppressed the grimace that threatened to break out on my features.
The last option was, of course, Being X. I had not seen hide nor hair of that bastard since I had been reborn here, but there were plenty of the so-called gods here he could be masquerading as. That someone I met next to a temple would possess knowledge of my past was suspicious. I felt the urge to investigate, cautiousness be damned. The elf did not seem to be hostile, at least.
As we entered the temple, I surveyed it carefully. The inside of the temple was in an even worse state than the outside. What little furniture remained was nothing but scrap and any leftover space was filled with bones.
Human bones, if the skulls were any indication. A fitting place for the worship of Being X, though I doubted the self-absorbed creature would agree with me.
The stone walls of the temple were carved with spiderwebs, while the floor had thin canals dug into it, originating from a stone altar set at the far end of the building. A lion's head with a human skull in its jaws and spider legs sprouting from the neck sat above the altar, the entire effigy made out of stone. No other elves, though.
"What did you do to that man?" I asked changing the topic, not yet willing to push Ida on her comment, lest I reveal even more.
Ida looked at me with a twinkle in her eye, "Transposition."
Silence reigned as I grappled with the implications, eventually deciding to just ignore the matter. As far as I was concerned, Ida would have been in the right had she decided to kill the man. That she did not was to her credit and made me respect her more. It was nice to meet another individual averse to unnecessary bloodshed.
"What is this place?" I quickly changed track once more.
"A temple dedicated to Coram Agh Tera, the Lionheaded Spider," Ida responded, voice tinged with happiness, "Interesting, is it not?" She finished, tracing part of the spiderweb carved into the wall with her fingers.
I looked at the wall the elf was praising, unsure if she was joking or not. Personally, I felt that the spider web motif was a bit overdone. Plastering it everywhere was tasteless even to my sensibilities.
Ida turned to me, her smile widening upon seeing my face, "Did you know, little Argent, that there are a great many ways of manipulating the Power?"
I nodded, unsure of her point. This was mostly common knowledge. Priests and druids utilised different principles for their magics than a sorceress like me, or so they claimed. In Aretuza, we were taught that though their methods work, they provide little proof of the divine, as the core principle behind magic has always been the will of the caster, an explanation I very much favoured myself. That Being X and other entities like him would happily ascribe their own benevolence for feats done solely by the caster went without saying.
"The source remains the same, but the methods differ. Only the will of the caster is paramount. Priestesses of Coram Agh Terra achieve so through what they term weaving," the sorceress continued, tracing more of the carved spiderweb, "I have decoded the spell carved into this temple just before your arrival, a disappointing endeavour."
I looked around the walls, some of which had cracks in them. That must have taken a lot of work. As I looked around, I was once again reminded that we were alone in here.
"That is interesting, but I don't quite see what it has to do with me. Where are your companions anyway?"
"My companions?" The elf tilted her head, "Oh, those were illusions meant to scare off the humans, I'm afraid. I find that your kind often struggles to comprehend the danger a woman can pose."
"I see," I responded, but it made me like the situation even less, as another one of my assumptions was thrown to the wind. I almost wished the woman was lying, but I saw no place where anyone could have hidden, nor did I hear anything indicating the presence of someone veiled by magic.
Unwilling to let her retake control of the conversation, I pushed further, "Why are you here? And how do you know of me?"
The sorceress turned to face me properly, "Your questions have the same answer, little Argent. I am an Aen Saevherne - a sage, as your kind calls us in the common tongue."
"Perhaps that answers my first question," I said. I could see a sage being interested in a rare religion, "But not my second one."
Did she want me to believe she had read a book about me or something?
"A question I have already answered," Ida responded.
I opened my mind to press but thought better of it at the last moment. I didn't actually have any leverage in this situation, the opposite, in fact.
I stood there awkwardly as Ida turned back to the wall, producing a small book out of nowhere into which she began scribbling while quietly humming a melodious tune.
As I mulled over her words, a thought struck me.
'Daisies in the valley…'
"Enid an Gleanna?" I muttered. The Daisy of the Valley.
Ida raised her head from her journal, shooting me a small smile, before returning to it.
That explained how she knew who I was in this world, if not how she knew the name Argent.
Enid an Gleanna, more commonly known as Francesca Findabair, was one of the members of the Chapter, like Tissaia. That the Chapter knew of my existence was a given, considering my tutelage under the Rectoress. Had I done anything to arouse her attention, I had little doubt that someone like Francesca had ample means of finding out more about me. At least I could rule out Being X. Probably.
'But I had kept my head down for the entirety of my time in Aretuza!'
I had worked hard during my time there, with little room for distractions. I had tried to network with my peers, but Being X must have given my new life a bit more thought than the last one, as I had found myself stymied from the onset.
Unfortunately for me, Aretuza students fell into two categories. The first and most populous category were the unmarriable daughters thrown out of their, often rich, families in a way their parents didn't have to feel much guilt over. As students were forced to forswear their familial relations, they couldn't return even if they wanted to.
The second type were those personally scouted out by one of the faculty, a much rarer occurrence. It didn't necessarily mean the person in question was more talented, only that their magical talents were noticed and the Academy thought them worth the effort to obtain.
Triss Merigold was the last person who joined Aretuza that way before me, but she had been nearing graduation already when I joined.
This proved a rather large obstacle for me, as it instantly isolated me from my peers, especially as most of them were quite jealous of my appearance. Unmarriable didn't refer to personality. My unnatural intelligence born out of my past lives only exacerbated the issue as did my resistance to the corrupting effect of magic on my reproductive system, especially considering my actions to rectify that matter. So instead of beating my head against a wall, I had turned my efforts towards the faculty, eventually catching Tissaia's eye.
In other words, I had not done anything of note in my time at Aretuza. No enemies, no real friends. No incredible feats of magical prowess, either. I had learned my lesson from the Silver Wings Assault Badge.
As I stood there, furiously thinking about what I had done that could have attracted such attention, Ida started speaking again, without turning away from her journal.
"In truth, the spell weaves of Coram Agh Terra are more of a curiosity, as their clergy cannot be said to possess any real skill. Take this weave, for example. A spell encompassing an entire temple, yet its sole purpose is only to enhance certain curses wrought by the lifeblood spilt here. Interesting principle, lacking execution."
Finishing her writing, she closed the book with a snap before once more turning her amber eyes upon me, "It is not often that a truly novel way of spellcasting comes along. You have almost managed, however."