Right now, I am looking at the scholars. They are fascinating figures. Even though we are all part of the Black Mountain, I can't really say anything about them. I don't know the magic that they practice. I don't know the hierarchy of their organization. I don't even know the name of their leader.
The Scholars have always been a little isolated. I especially know so little about them due to the relations between my master and the Scholars. Our two factions have been at each others throats for a few decades now. Even now, I can see the Scholars give me a stinkeye from the edge of my vision. They tolerate my presence, but that is their limit.
I think they also remain aloof to demotivate any copycats. Every power on the continent has tried to create their own variety of scholars. The results have not been pleasant to these powers. Still, it doesn't stop them from trying.
Even now, the scholars are keeping to themselves. They have taken over a part of the guest house. To be honest, I have nothing more to add about the scholars. All I can tell is that they have no desire to interact with us. They are just sitting there doing whatever a scholar does. (It looks like they are meditating, but they must be accessing their thought logger.)
Well, I do not like to be passive like this. We have been stuck in this room for two days. Standing guard outside our rooms are the two soldiers who have escorted us here in the first place. Yesterday, I tried to get them angry by trying to leave our room. (The plan was to provoke them into an argument.) The instant that I left the room, the soldiers just shifted into a battle state. Cool and calm, they would have fought me to death without any hint of passion.
This state of calm can only mean one thing. The soldiers here have been trained to resist the observations of the Scholars. Every power has a regiment of soldiers who are trained to resist being studied by a scholar. Not that they are particularly successful, but people try at the very least. (A scholar is able to predict many things based on the emotional state you show.)
Our wardens move with a careful gait. They are careful not to do anything that might give us information about them. They don't speak unless they need to, even to each other. They don't eat anything in front of us. I have never seen them sleep. I get no insight into these people at all.
Looking at these people, I feel a twinge of fear about the room we are in. They are clearly treating us as if we are enemies. When we are in their house, that is a very dangerous thing. As I have explained before, a room like this is meant for an enemy. They tend to be full of surveillance formations. That much is within expectations. (Though it does leave you with a sense that somebody is staring at you from the edge of your vision.)
The problem is that the folks here are not that peaceful. I have heard them do things with poison that leave me deeply uncomfortable. If it was some kind of formation, I would have some idea of how to deal with it. I have no Idea how to defend against poison, you know.
Right now, I have nothing to do other than to stew in my anxiety. My troop has found other things to keep busy, none of which I am able to do.
Trevor has been busy searching the room for surveillance formations. The man has an almost unnatural knack for finding them. I wouldn't have guessed half the formations he found even existed in the first place. Well, he did find them and then he proceeded to smash them to pieces.
I had been looking for them as well, but had only managed to detect the obvious ones. (The few visible in my mana sense at least.) Now I can't find anything so I leave Trevor to his task.
Andrew and Jacob are both cultivating. They seem oddly eager to cultivate. Well, Andrew makes sense. The fifth foundation stage is very useful to people, you know. (It is where most people get their mana sense.) I am more surprised about Jacob. The man seems as desperate, if not a bit more desperate than Andrew. The only benefit of the fourth slab is that you get a bit more mana to play around with. That is not enough of a reason to explain this desperation.
I have tried to cultivate as well, but it has been a disaster. I am not able to focus when it feels like I will be attacked any second. Anyway, one of the benefits of being a formation mage is that I don't need to cultivate as much. Cultivating helps, but not as much as a good formation would. (I can't tweak the formation as well. I am supposed to be hiding it.)
I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing at this moment. Trevor is supposed to tell me that. He does not do so because he wants to make sure we are not being spied upon. That is why he is looking for surveillance formations. I have tried to ask the man for help a few hours earlier as well. The man had refused me with such vehemence that I stopped trying. I am more likely to distract the man than help him out, even if I were to interfere.
I guess I should speak about him as well. Trevor is something of a mystery. He is important enough that my master personally made him part of the troop. He was clear that I should take the man's advice seriously. Well, I am not complaining. For all of his lecturing, the man does give good advice.
Oh yeah, I guess that I should speak about my master's conditions. They are part of the reason for my present state. My master had three conditions for the Head Office when he was selling my services to them. (I had no interest of joining the Guard Corps, by the way. My master forced me into it.)
First, Trevor and the two sworn were meant to be my troop. Trevor is also meant to lead the group. Granted, I am still the captain and have the final say in the field. Trevor might have the experience, but he doesn't have the strength.
The second one is something my master put in just to torture me, I tell you. He made me come here as my first mission. He placed me this close to the Frozen Wastelands. On this matter, I do not want to speak any more. It would be quite risky if I were to slip up now. (You slip up once, it is easier to slip up again.) I guess I am being paranoid, but I really don't want to take a risk.
As for the third, that is the weirdest of them all. He restricted the guards from reinforcing my troop. Even the two Sworn (though they are of the Legion.) have been added to the troop against my master's will. They would have followed me even if my master had restricted them. (My master would not have been able to prevent that.) To give context, a guard troop is supposed to have at least ten soldiers.
(After about a couple of hours.)
After seeing Trevor avoid me for so long, it is a surprise to see the man approach me on his own.
"Well, you have been busy the last couple of days," I say, hoping that the man cannot hear the sarcasm in my tone. I am not in the mood for another lecture.
"A man has got to keep busy, Captain, or it is very easy for him to lose his mind," replies Trevor, gesturing to the wreck of surveillance formations strewn across the room. "Regardless, the littler that they know about our conversation, the better."
"Are you confident that we are not being spied on?" I ask the man.
"About as confident as I can reasonably be. I still assume that they are listening to us even after all this work. I won't be caught off guard that way," Trevor answers. "It won't really be an issue even if they listen to this. After all, I am sure that what I want to say is common knowledge for the Snowwinders. Much of it, we have learnt from them. What do you know about the purpose of the Frozen Peak?"
"I know that it is the northernmost fort of the Snowwinders. I know it is the only structure that can survive this close to the Frozen Wastelands," I reply. "I wasn't allowed to read anything beyond that."
"Well, the purpose of the Frozen Peak is quite simple. This fort is meant to hold off the Snowlords. They attack the Snowwind Empire every winter as you must have guessed. Without the fort the Snowlords would be able to attack their homes and farms," He replies.
I am not really surprised about that. The fort could only have existed to fight them. There is literally no one else to fight. The Snowlords (or the Snow Tribe) have always made the Frozen Wastelands their home. I don't know too much about them, but they are considered to be one of the sworn enemies of the Legion. That makes them dangerous enemies.
"What does that have to do with me? I am a formation mage. It is not like they can send me onto the battlefield," I reply. I ponder about that possibility with a sinking heart.
"Do not try to assume what the commander will ask you to do. He wants his hands on advanced formations. He will go to any length to get it. The battlefield is the only place he can get you to make those," replies Trevor. "I am still sure that whatever task you will be given will be something that you will be able to manage. After all, the folks here need you. You are a resource that they won't waste."
"I will still have to complete the task, won't I?" I ask the man. "After all, will the Head Office even act to support me if I fail?"
"You know the Head Office. They don't want to act unless they are forced to. They will only act if the task is impossible for you. That would be an insult to the Guard Corps reputation, you see. Anything less than impossible, though, they don't care if you get killed in the process," replies Trevor. "It is time for you to learn about the Snowlords. What do you know about them?"
"Most of what I know comes from stories told by soldiers of the Legion. I am sure that most of what they have told me is exaggerated, though," I reply.
"It is safe to say then that you don't know much. That is a pity. The Legion has the best records on the tribes. I can't say that I know much about the tribes either," speaks Trevor. "All I know about them comes from the records of the Snowwinders. At the onset of winter, the Snowwinders are harassed by the Snowlords. Every year, they and their beasts attack the territory of the Snowwinders. They are more legend than reality to the empire. The one thing we can tell is that they are supposed to be very dangerous enemies."
"That much I know. They are supposed to be able to twist the very weather around them. They have skins of iron that no ordinary weapons can pierce. The grandest claim I have heard of them is that they can summon blizzards at will," I reply while remembering the many stories of the Snowlords.
"That can be considered to be the truth if a bit exaggerated. The Snowlords are masters of manipulating external mana. Their soldiers can manipulate mana for kilometers around them in the wastelands. That is what makes them dangerous." says Trevor. "As for their ability to manipulate weather or summon blizzards. That is a lie. You of all people should know how hard manipulating the weather is. They can affect the weather around them, I have heard. This is pretty limited in nature, though."
"Why are we discussing the Snowlords so suddenly?" I ask the man. The man hasn't share much information from the beggining, you know.
"Well, I had to make sure that this information was given to you correctly. You are going to need it soon if things go how I expect them to." he replies. "Also, your master was very insistent that you at the very least have a working idea about the Snowlords. The are the worst threat you shall face here. Shut down your thought logger. I am not sure if you are supposed to know this at your present clearance. Let's not give the Head Office another excuse to punish us, shall we?"