The warm bath—with the sweet and floral aroma of chamomile—soothed Elijah's aching muscles.
Seated in the gold trimmed wooden tub; his mind was clear, as his worries washed away.
His head, rested on the tub's edge, with his eyes closed and a subtle smile dancing on his lips. A sweet sensation filled his entire being.
He was practicing his mana flow.
It became a hobby, his new favorite thing. An almost supernatural urge, compelled him to.
Surrounded by water, he couldn't help attempting to manipulate it in someway. To his disappointment, his attempts ended in failure.
After soaking for a prolonged period, it was time to leave the bath house. Calvin, was undoubtedly dying of impatience.
He exited the tub;water dripping from his slender body, and walked over to the dressing area.
It was occupied by a mirror and a closet, much like the ones in his room.
'What to wear?' He wondered.
He stared at the closet momentarily, then immediately gave up. He knew nothing about fashion, even less about medieval fashion in particular.
However, in the end, he chose at random.
The mirror, now reflected a fully clothed man.
He wore a deep blue doublet—with gold patterns covering most of its surface, and gold embroidered buttons running from his torso to his waist. His silk trousers were of the same color and had limited gold designs streaking down its legs.
Excluding the many stubbles hoarding his face, and his messy hair in need of grooming. The man was exuding an air of nobility.
He gave an approving smile, pleased with himself.
Heading to breakfast, elijah started thinking of his nexts steps. So far, he'd just been winging it, but he knew that wouldn't work forever.
He needed a plan of action, a goal of some kind, but what?
There was always the idea of modernizing the kingdom, but that was a long term goal of his. Right now , he was in need of something with more immediate effect.
Performing an act worthy of his title, as soon as possible, was imperative.
However—
He had no idea where to begin.
After retracing his steps, Before long and without much trouble—he reached the dining area. He remembered passing it on his way to the training area.
Seated inside was Calvin and his sister, belladonna. Laid before them—A large table,displaying a small feast.
Alazard, was nowhere in sight.
Noticing his arrival, Calvin called out to him.
"Eli , welcome." He greeted, His eyes scanning Elijah's attire.
"Or should I say, Mr noble man? Wow, someone is looking dashing."
Elijah smiled shyly— scratched the back of his head nervously, then looked away. At some point, his eyes found belladonna, curious what she thought.
She had no reaction
"Oh yea.." Calvin continued, "I know you've already met, but allow me to officially introduce you to my big sister,Bella."
He gestured to both of them "Eli meet Bella, Bella meet Eli. Now, let's eat!"
The table was loaded with an assortment of meat— fish, chicken , beef and pork. Accompanied with bread, oats ,different fruits and vegetables and ale to wash it all down.
Being very hungry, Eli didn't hesitate to dig in.
After breakfast, they sat around the table in conversation.
"I have a question" Calvin asked, addressing Elijah.
"Go ahead" he responded taking a sip of ale.
"How do you… bring someone back to life?"
Elijah choked on his ale.
Bella gave Calvin a look of concern.
"Calvin" she uttered, in a reprimanding tone, before stopping herself.
Her disapproval was evident, but, so was a hint of hope in her eyes
'Oh hell No! I refuse to be involved in anything corpse related'
Coughing erratically, he looked at Calvin, then paused.
He noted the look in his eyes. He wasn't just asking to gain knowledge of magic, this was something personal, something he fully intended on pursuing.
Calvin continued. "Don't worry about the details, I just need to know where to begin."
Elijah took a second to think, before responding.
'I see… I was wondering why I hadn't seen the queen around... Really wish I could help, but these things rarely end positively'
"You can't…" he replied,eventually
"You can bring back the dead— a mindless lump of rotting flesh, or a pile of bones— to do your bidding. But not a person."
He paused briefly, before continuing.
"And the only exceptions I can think of, are required to be done, immediately after theyve died."
Calvin responded sharply "Tell me about those exceptions"
Through a sigh, Elijah continued. " You could reverse time— undoing the death right after it happened, or capture the soul after it's left the body, then place it in a new vessel. Both requiring a very intricate use of and a high mastery of magic.
Silence roamed through the room for a few seconds— As Calvin sat in deep thought, digesting Elijah's words.
Eventually, he said. "I see.. thanks for the information."
Unlike Elijah had wished, his words were not enough to stifle Calvin's hopes.
In an attempt to change topic, and ease the tension in the air, Elijah asked his own question.
"What is the current state of the kingdom and its standing in comparison to the others?"
Calvin took a moment to shake off his melancholic aura, then gave an intrigued smile, before answering solemnly.
"In Military might we're lacking. Though my siblings are among the strongest around, even compared to the emperor's own knights, our army as a whole significantly lags behind.
"In regards to wealth, however" his lips twisting into a more positive smile
"we lead the pack. We are sitting on quite the fortune of gold."
Elijah interjected, " so you have a fortune, but not the means to sufficiently safeguard it? Im surprised they haven't just taken it by force.
"They've tried" belladonna added. " however, Alazard and I make sure they regret it each time. Our strength acts as a deterrent against foolish moves against us"
"But even that isn't enough" Calvin took over.
"Eventually, we adapted an additional approach— generousity.
"We hand out hefty incentives to the emperor periodically; to ward off kingdom's from making big moves against us. In doing so, the capital protects us by openly showcasing their support towards us. The kingdoms, view that as an indication we are under the emperor's protection— and liable to have assistance if need be.
' so they are paying protection money?' Elijah thought to himself.
Calvin continued.
"On top of that, As for the kingdoms themselves— five in total on this continent , including us— we give them a much smaller incentive. That coupled with the likelihood of being decimated by Bella and Alazard keeps them in check and sustains us thus far."
"However—
with the world changing, it's unlikely to work forever. We need even stronger defenses."
Elijah couldn't help seeing an obvious solution
"Question... Since you seem to have unlimited gold. Why not hire all the strongest around and have them for yourself? That would certainly guarantee your military's standing."
"Because it's illogical." Calvin responded
Belladonna added "Best case scenario; they stab us in the back and flee. Worst case scenario; they organize together, coordinate with outside forces and wipe us out all together." She spared a glance to Elijah before continuing.
"It's never wise— to trust anyone whose loyalty can be bought.
Silence filled the room once more, as Elijah fell into deep thought.
'I see. So the most pressing issues are: kingdom fortification and military improvement.
'The best way to fortify the kingdom would be with a magical barrier. That, however, is above my current capabilities... that leaves improving the military.'
Elijah rested his elbows on the table, and used his hands for support as he leaned on his interlocked fingers— placing his chin on his two touching thumbs, and his other connected fingers resting comfortably at his nose.
'Expecting an entire army to master magic, with the limited time, is improbable… the fastest way to improve it in one fell swoop, would be with echanted gear… but thats only possible, with an already experienced enchanter'
Tch Tch Tch. He clicked his tongue as he weighed his option.
'That leaves the simplest way— potions. Their versitily allows them to grant a variety of boosting effects and on top of that— healing, which could be a game changer.'
"Alright!" Elijah slammed his hands on the table, startling his companions.
"I need to have a word with the king."
Calvin raised and eyebrow, surprised and asked "Why all of a sudden?"
"Magic advisor stuff", replied Elijah dismissively.
Calvin laughed subtly and shook his head " You dont 'have a word' with the king as you please. You only see the king,when you're summoned. Besides.."
He took a dramatically pause, before continuing.
"if thats all..Im the one you need to speak with."
"Oh perfect!" Elijah's pleasing smile shining brightly.
"I need a few things done." Firstly, he raised his index finger.
"Enlist meditation as priority training for the army. That goes for the both of you as well, everyone needs access to mana as soon possible. Oh.. and instruct them to focus only on gathering mana, after they become adept at that, report for further instructions."
'can't risk someone else exploding a finger, or something worse'
Elijah shook off the memory—of the agonizing pain he experienced,when his finger exploded. then continued.
Secondly, he raised another finger.
"I need a forger or blacksmith. Whatever you call it, as long as they make weapons or gear. The best one you have, the one most passionate about their work."
"And last, but certainly not least" he raised his final finger.
"I need an expert in herbs and medicine."
Calvin and Bella gave him curious stares, then, Calvin spoke.
"Sir Magic advisor" he said in a joking tone
"'If you don't mind me asking, why do you need those two?"
"Isnt it obvious?"
Elijah responded, giving him a huge smile.
"We're about to create some pioneers"