A group of soldiers were searching through the storm for a merchant caravan that was caught in an accident in the territory of Viscount Rimemere whose own soldiers who wanted to wait for the storm to pass before conducting a search. The national army always found feudal troops to be either reliable or a source of headaches that were more trouble than they were worth with nothing between or beyond, this time it was the latter which only made this entire ordeal more vexing. The storm was so fierce that you could barely see or hear anything. Their flashlights were rendered almost useless in this rain as they were walking ankle-deep in mud which had also seeped into their boots. The winds were strong enough that they felt like they would fall over if they weren't careful and fought against it considering what awaited them if they let that happen.

"THERE IT IS!"

one of them shouted, his voice barely heard over the storm.

At the bottom of a mountainous path, they saw the destroyed remains of several wagons. Its contents scattered about, some buried under the mud.

"LOOK FOR SURVIVORS!"

Half of them began to set a few large tents while the others quickly looked around and found the dead horse, with the lifeless bodies of the passengers nearby. Trapped in the wreckage of one of the wagons lay the sole survivor, unconscious and severely injured.

"MEDIC! WE HAVE A SURVIVOR!" One of them called out, noticing one of the bodies was still breathing but barely, she was up to her neck in water. They began to get her out and took her over to one of the tents where the medic rushed over and began administering whatever treatment possible. While the others continued their search before concluding there were no others to save and took shelter inside the remaining tents. Moving a caravan under this kind of weather when there was no need, plus all the other irregularities while all appearing to be nice and legal made this entire thing feel highly suspicious. He should've tried to bring in some of the Militia with them, they might've been able to help here.
Several hours later the medic came out saying "She should make it, if she were human, she be dead for sure."

"was it that bad?" one of them asked,

"yes, if her injuries didn't kill her, then hypothermia and infection would... she'll need further treatment and medications when we get back" the medic stated, looking towards the unconscious girl.

"thats good to hear, on that note, I just got word that one of the transports just got back, they'll head over once this storm lets up a bit"

An hour later the storm subsided almost to an unnatural degree, they began searching nearby. The cargo looked to be mainly food and jewelry though they were all buried under mud. One of them got curious about the small sealed containers buried under thick layers of mud, picking one up and wiping away the mud she noticed that there was no labeling to identity it so she opened one of them. It let out an audible hiss like canned food but what she found inside was anything but food.
"Sir, you might want to have a look at this," she said, holding up a shattered gem that seemed to emit a very faint light.

"th-this is…"

"We should report this to the Viscount immediately."

"Don't inform him or his men of anything; make sure this information goes directly to the King." another interjected, his uniform more ornate. He began to look around the vicinity.
"Well head back to the mansion… I'm sure they will have questions for her once she's recovered."
"But sir this territory is under Lord Hasting's control."

"Tell that piece of haggis that we have found the caravan but we left soon after encountering signs of an infestation and so we couldn't conduct a proper search, that should shut him up while we deal with this." The conversation was over, leaving no room for arguments. He then took some of the men to shoot at the trees and bushes just to make the story convincing.

"Do you think they'll believe this story?" one of them asked

"Only if Hasting actually bothered to hire a seasoned tracker" he retorted, his tone filled with disgust. He wondered how these feudal nobles managed to last as long as they did. "lets get out of here, once we get back its a nice warm bath for us all" he said which brought a smile to everyone present who were only too happy to follow those orders.

At the castle an hour before dawn, Harrow was in the council meeting reading a report that came in with Opeli and Viren shocked at its contents.

"Grade-B1 Etherium... how?" Opeli asked, still unsure of what to make of this report

"I'm more interested in who and why." Harrow interjected, placing the report on the table.

"I agree, though finding out who won't be a problem... it's the why that concerns me." Viren added "What exactly is he even going to use it for? Its useless as a catalyst for spells or does he intend to sell it for wealth or favors?" his usual stoic expression was replaced by genuine confusion, he couldn't understand how a mere viscount would have the means and connection to get his hands on this, and he didn't like the implications one bit.

"If we can find any evidence connecting him to it then our job will be easier. Shall I ask Prince Callum to put out some feelers?" Opeli asked.

"Do it but keep things on a need to know and ask him to investigate the logistical side of this." Harrow replied then turned to Viren
"Has Vaeril made any progress on his end?"

Viren shook his head "No, his agents are being impeded by several Alta Magus and Golems. Their considering waiting it out rather than risking discovery"

Harrow nodded "Its better that they not take any risks" then changed subjects "Whats the status of"

"only three left and their likely to be finished by the end of this month" Viren replied without hesitation, his voice dripping with pride and satisfaction.

They all paused as they heard a knock on the door, Opeli asked them to identity themselves and state their business without opening the door.

"Your majesty, I came to inform you that the hunters came in empty handed so there won't be any fresh deer for tonight's dinner." the person outside said.

"Thank you, tell them not to worry about it" Harrow replied, then the sound of footsteps was all that could be heard.
Harrow merely chucked "Looks like Bait is going to be exceptionally grumpy tonight."

"Regardless of the state of tonight's dinner, we should focus on how to deal with Viscount Rimemere" Opeli added, "as it stand, he's already violated 14 different laws according to this report, once we have evidence then we can abolish his house." Neither of them could argue with her, if she said something was permissible or not within the law then that matter was settled. Not even the courts dared to argue with her.

Dawn, two days later within Rimemere, the halls of the mansion were filled with music as someone was playing a violin somewhere as the staff went about their day,

"where... am I?" she said as she awoke, she was overcome by a jolt of searing pain as she tried to get up, the pain alone made her give up trying and laid down. She recalled getting hired to act as security for a caravan, then getting caught up in an accident as her caravan fell down the mountain path during the storm, and being stuck under the wagon, but nothing else after that.

As she kept thinking, she heard the sound of a violin playing from somewhere, it sounded relaxing that she almost forgot about her current predicament. She shook her head which she quickly regretted as she was rewarded by another jolt of pain.
"GAH! Just how badly was I injured?"

Trying yet failing to ignore the pain, she tried to figure out where she even was. Looking around, she understood her room was too well-appointed to be some kind of Apothecary. The curtains, furniture, the carpet, the large jewel embedded chandelier above, even her comfy bed and cloths

"CHANDELIER?! who puts such a ginormous chandelier in a bedroom?! AAARGH!" she exclaimed then wincing from the pain. "I might die from the pain if I keep this up,"

Everything looked so expensive that she thought that even one of these items would cost her an entire year's wages just to rent for just one day.

"Why am I in such a luxurious room?" Oddly enough when checking her body she couldn't find any bruises, no cuts, no broken bones, no stitches, no bloodstains, no inflammations, or bandages. The only thing that looked out of place in this entire room was her. She didn't understand why her body looked fine, despite the pain telling her otherwise.

Then the door opened to reveal a female Sunfire elf, she wore an ornate outfit that also doubled as light armor. But the markings on her clothes were somehow different from the designs she saw on normal Sunfire elf clothes.

"Ah good, you are finally awake." the sunfire elf said as she walked towards her. "How are you feeling?"

"That's what I want to ask, I look fine but," she asked, her face a mix of confusion, worry, and agony... but mostly agony.
The sun fire elf gave a light chuckle "that was my response when I first got treated, basically they healed your body but the pain and fatigue persists for a while. Relax you'll be be on your feet in no time considering how bad your condition was when they rescued you."

"I am Janai, Golden Knight of Lux Aurea… assuming my sister hasn't replaced me thinking I'm dead… and you are?" she introduced herself with a slight bow.

"Rayla, just Rayla... ummm … did anyone else?" she wanted to know if the others managed to survive.

"No," Janai responded, "I'm sorry, when they found you, everyone else was already dead... Were they close to you?"

"No, I just met them a few days ago," she said, she had no real attachment to them, but they hired her for this job despite her being an elf and they treated her quite well. They needed someone to guard them in case they were attacked by bandits. she would probably need to talk with her landlord about delaying her payment when this was all over, she just arrived here as a refugee over three months ago and money was something she didn't have a lot of. Then it dawned on her, why was the strongest warrior and the sister of the Queen of Lux Aurea speaking to her in some rich human's mansion.

"Excuse me but where are we and why are you here in Katolis?" her confusing obvious on her face. Janai knew from experience what she mean't though that didn't mean what followed ever got old.

"This is my wife's mansion, the soldiers who found you brought you here since it would be safer." then shrugged.
"As for why I am here, I was brought to Katolis when I was rescued"

"You're wife owns a mansion?" That made almost no sense to Rayla, she was wondering if this was some strange dream after hitting her head but then quickly remembered why it couldn't be a dream.

"Yes though her position as General of the Katolis Army means she is often at the border." she said as her face flushed a slight shade of pink

"THE IRON WALL OF KATOLIS?! Why is the Golden Knight of Lux Aurea married to General Amaya!?" she groaned before she was brought down by waves of pain, again. How does this even happen she wondered while switching her gaze back and forth from Janai to the chandelier of all things.

"Am I not allowed to?." Janai asked, pretending to be alarmed while smirking, before long she began explaining to Rayla about her current condition while answering any questions she had, though Janai wouldn't deny she found it hilarious watching Rayla's exaggerated reactions which were always accompanied by pain. Rayla wondered if the treatment was originally developed by a masochist, she swore she would have look into it one day.

"You should rest, for now. I'll have one of the servants bring you your meal soon, you can listen to this music till then. Once you're healed we can discuss other matters."

She then walked over to the nearby cabinet and took out a small jar, she took some pills and a glass of water. "Here's, its a pain suppressant," Janai said smiling as she offered the pills to her

"You waited this long before giving me those?!" Rayla asked, her annoyance bubbled to the surface.

"Yes, yes I did" Janai responded, a warm radiant smile on her face still fixed on her face.

Rayla wanted to tear that smile off Janai's face, her subconscious almost daring her to do it. The grinding of her teeth barely audible as she begrudgingly took the pills "I hope this works," Having finally understood why the previous generations took so much pride in the large public bathhouses they built.

She then left quietly closing the door.

Rayla was lying on the bed listening to the music coming from outside, it reminded her of the large music performances held in the capital of the Moonshadow Kingdom when Runaan and Ethari took her there before the war. This song felt comparable to that despite only one isntrument being used here, maybe that was why it felt somewhat incomplete because the song was originally made to include multiple instruments and vocals, yet it was still mesmerizing to her ears but there was a strange emotional weight to it almost as if whoever was playing it was weighed down by something

Note: I mainly post on Ao3 (with long end notes) and 34 chapters have already been written.

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