Chapter 12 – The Calm

Here's chapter 12. Not much to say about it. It was a fun chapter to write though. There is an OC in this chapter but he does not really play a big role. He is from Gransys and is a full human, not a Pawn or Arisen.

Silentium cannot be classified in FoZ terms.

As always, read, comment, enjoy. x2 (I forgot to say that in the last chapter.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.

Tristain Academy of Magic

It had been a two week since Louise and Mikhail returned from Albion. The students returned from their vacation and classes were going on as usual. It was noon and many students were currently either outside in the courtyard or in Alviss Hall to dine. Louise had her lunch brought to her room, by Mikhail, and was still trying to think up of something to say at Henrietta's wedding. With a shriek of frustration, she crumbled the piece of paper she was writing on into a ball and threw it over her shoulder.

Mikhail had been doing well these past few weeks. His Master's obsession with writing a speech had led to her being in the Academy the entire time. That let the Pawn have a moment of peace for his Master was not going to be in danger. The time with his Master these weeks had also awakened one of his previously unknown abilities: catching paper balls at an instinctive level. As soon as his Master grumbled in frustration, the man would move to a position that he expected the wad of paper would be thrown. Every time he was correct and found some satisfaction that this sped up his cleaning time tremendously.

The weeks had also allowed Mikhail to think some things through. He suspected that, at the very least, Professor Colbert and Headmaster Osmond knew something about his true nature. Colbert had been excessively polite to him whenever they spoke. Osmond had also acted cautiously around him but not overtly so. The other professors generally either ignored him or thought that he was a new teacher at the Academy and greeted him as such. Through interactions with them, Mikhail had gleamed some more knowledge on Halkeginia in general.

While looking out of the window, the man saw something else that he had gotten closer to over the weeks: Sylphid. The young dragoness had proven to be a comfortable presence to be around whenever Louise got out of her room to get some fresh air in the open court. Through his conversations with the young dragon, Mikhail was surprised to find out that she was a real dragon. As in a real, fire-breathing, flying reptile. The dragons that Mikhail had experience with, while powerful and vicious enough to be worthy of being called a dragon, they were ultimately fallen Arisens or Pawns that were transformed into the reptilian beast. And as far as he has seen, the "dragons" of Gransys were more powerful than the ones in Halkeginia. Granted, the dragons in Gransys were technically linked to a higher being rather existing as a natural animal.

Back onto Sylphid, it appears to be that the dragons in Halkeginia were, in general, less intelligent than her. She was very likely one of the last of her kind due to her species' scales being a powerful ingredient for all kinds of magecraft that they were hunted to the brink of extinction. Her kind, the Rhyme Dragons, were the only species capable of human speech and actually created a language of their own. Their language was close enough to Wyrmspeak that she could converse with Mikhail fluently after one lesson in the language. From their conversations, Mikhail also learned that she was pitifully naive about the world around her, although that could be forgiven because she was practically a hatchling. She had just emerged from her egg a few days before she was summoned by her Master.

Mikhail watched as the students outside began to return inside the building. Figuring that lunch break was over, the man walked over to his Master to inform her.

"Master, lunch break is over. It is time to return to class," Mikhail said. With an exasperated sigh, Louise nodded and left for class.

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Professor Colbert entered the classroom with a strange mechanical device. When the device was wheeled into the center of the room, Colbert began his explanation.

"Ahem. Class, I would like to show you a project of mine. This device is powered by a small fire spell to start but is completely autonomous after that. With this device, the possibilities are near endless! Watch."

By the end of his little explanation, Colbert was visibly withholding his excitement. Colbert ignited some powder near one end of the device and then it roared to life, with some parts of it spinning or pumping. Just as soon, it then broke down. The entire class was looking at the device with a questioning look. One student was brave enough to say something that almost everyone in the room was thinking.

"This is supposed to the endless possibilities? No thanks. I think that magic is far better than that." Many of the students muttered their agreements and Colbert had a strained smile on his face. Louise just looked indifferent to it because she was currently thinking about something else and ignored the events of the class.

Mikhail, however, was staring at the balding man with an approving look. He noticed the students underwhelming response to the breakthrough of the century and sought to fix that. He stood up and then walked towards the device while clapping. His clapping and the emptiness next to her brought Louise out of her thoughts to focus on class.

"Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful Professor Colbert. I see that this continent is not lost cause after all. With someone of your genius, I'm sure that Tristain will one day rise to be a world superpower. I cannot allow a piece of human ingenuity to be scoffed out so easily and possibly deny it its purpose," Mikhail said as he approached the device. "Those who do not see this device's potential is blind. This engine is the future. Let me point you into the right direction."

With that, Mikhail pulled out some tools from his robe and worked on the device. Colbert was apprehensive about someone else touching his invention, though it quickly turned into awe as he watched the man before him work. About a minute of tinkering later, the man retreated and spoke once more.

"There you go. With this, the device had been upgraded and its power is equal to ten horses," he said. The device was now humming steadily. The students watched as the white-haired man returned to his spot next to Louise. Eventually, the same student as before spoke again.

"I still don't see it. Whatever. Professor, please continue with the regular lessons."

"Ah right," the professor said. The class then delved into how Fire magic could be used for less harmful tasks and then to how it was dangerous and that it should always be used with caution.

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Class ended and Louise back into her room thinking about how to begin her speech. She was working on it until dinner and past that. Colbert had wanted to speak to him about the improvements made to his machine and to ask about Mikhail's apparent knowledge in that field. Unfortunately for the professor, Mikhail did not give him information and only said that "humans can figure it out on their own" before leaving with Louise.

It was getting late as Mikhail idly watched the moons travel across the sky. He heard his Master give a sigh before she changed clothes and went to bed. Mikhail left the room when Louise fell asleep to help the staff clean the school. He had gotten along well with the maid Siesta during these late nights of peace. After she had returned from her vacation, she was happier in general and her mood spike whenever Mikhail was around to help her. At first she was surprised to know that a noble would actually help out but eventually reasoned that Mikhail was one of a kind.

When all of the jobs that needed to be done were finished, the man returned to his Master's room to rest.

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The next morning, Mikhail woke with a jerk of his leg, nearly kicking the chair by his foot. With a silent yawn, the man stretched and then went to wake his Master. She had repeatedly made it clear that she was to be woken up at dawn each day and Mikhail obliged. With a yawn, the petite girl woke up. Mikhail went through the usual morning routine consisting of dressing her, brushing her hair, and setting her clothes into laundry pile.

Louise went to work on her speech as soon as she could that morning. The wedding was only a few weeks away by now and she still hadn't think of anything to saw. She was irritated at the Princess for going through with the wedding which resulted in her having to do this. She was still upset ever the whole thing with Wales but began to relent, accepting the fact the true love was irrelevant for the royalty. The Prince was still in Tristain because the situation in Albion took a turn for the worse a few days after he departed. King Charles had foolishly led the remnants of the Royalists into an ambush and they were routed with the king's death. Albion had fallen to the Reconquista.

For a few days after receiving the news, Wales refused to meet with anyone and secluded himself into his room. He finally came out when Henrietta coerced him into at least eating something. He emerged from his room as a changed man. He had the look of man thirsting for vengeance and no one could fault him for that. Currently, he was trying to build up Tristain's military for the inevitable war with his former homeland. Reconquista hadn't attacked yet because the were not ready for war with another country when they had just won one. They were most likely hard pressed to replace the men that Mikhail had killed when he struck that one time.

Louise was busy writing when she heard a knock at her door. She ignored it and continued focusing on her speech. The knock came one more time and Mikhail went over to open the door. He was greeted with a dark skinned woman jumping him. Said woman rubbed herself against Mikhail suggestively. From the frown on the man's face, he was evidently clear that he was less than pleased. Louise turned around to see who it was to be bothering her so early.

"I should have known. What do you want Kirche?" Louise deadpanned. Mikhail had extracted himself from the Germanian's hug and was currently in the middle of slamming the door in her face. Louise's attempt at starting a conversation had made him stop and welcome the red-head in. She took a step in and then spoke her intentions.

"Well I've been thinking. Since you obviously haven't had any luck in writing that speech, I was thinking that maybe a change in scenery was the perfect way to inspire something."

"Huh. That's actually not a bad idea. But we can't just leave school," Louise countered, grateful for the distraction.

"I'm sure that the school can make an exception for this," Kirche said.

"I guess. So, where are we going?"

"Many places."

"What?"

"We are going to go on a treasure hunt! Look. I've already bought all of these treasure maps!" Kirche exclaimed excitedly.

Tristain Countryside

Tabitha and Siesta was roped into this hastily constructed trip as well. Actually, Siesta had found out about it and was adamant about coming along as well. Between the two skilled mages and the Sorcerer, Mikhail reasoned that the maid would be relatively safe with them. Louise still hadn't been able to improve her magic and, oddly enough, she couldn't cast anything other than weak fire spells. Kirche had reasoned that since she had gone so long with the inability to cast any spells correctly, she just might be having a hard time adjusting to actually doing it right. Tabitha had voiced her opinion, claiming Louise might just be developing like a someone who had just awakened their magical talent, similar to a little child. Naturally, they would have trouble improving right away.

Louise had taken both statements in stride, simply being happy that she even has a chance to improve. She was also thankful to Kirche, although she'll never admit it, for giving her advice on Fire magic. The treasure hunts so far had been a bust. The first two maps led to a dead end while the third one led to an altercation with a group of bandits. It did not end well for the bandits. Mikhail was upset that Louise had been faced with danger again, although she was actually even in danger what with him literally disintegrating anything that comes even remotely close to harming Louise. After all their efforts, they were rewarded with only the bandits' bounty, nothing that they didn't already have.

The group was currently on a the hunt for a supposed ring that enhanced the wearer's magic power. This led them into a hive of fat orcs. A hive of child-eating, village-plundering fat orcs. The kind of things that people wouldn't have any remorse killing. And the group certainly did not have any remorse hunting down any that escaped as well. Mikhail was normally opposed to live test subjects, but these things were beyond his level of tolerance and so permitted Louise to try her spells on them. After killing the patrol group, the team went deeper into the cave that supposedly housed the ring which coincidentally also served as the camp for the orcs.

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Mikhail was just finishing brutally gutting one of the orcs when Derf decided to speak, "Do you really have to use me so grotesquely? I mean, I am a weapon and I'm supposed to be used, but come on! I don't want to have so much orc blood and guts on me!"

Mikhail wiped the pieces of orc that was clinging onto the sword with the dead body before replying, "There. Better?"

"Very. Say, do you even think that this ring is real? 'Cuz from past experiences, we are likely to just be on some wild goose chase," Derf questioned.

Mikhail paused to ponder for a bit before shrugging, "I don't know. In any case, I'm just following what my Master chooses. And also, their really are rings that enhance magical power out there. You just have to find it."

"Mikhail! Come here!" Louise yelled. Mikhail ran to where Louise was and spotted a chest in front of her and the other two. "Do you think that this is it?" she asked Kirche.

"I don't know. Let's open it and find out," Kirche responded while rubbing her hands together.

"Be careful," Tabitha chipped in. Mikhail recalled those nasty things that frequently took him by surprise on Bitterblack Isle and decided to open the chest just to be on the safe side. He carefully lifted the top open, the hinges squeaking loudly in the quiet cave, to reveal… a ring.

"That's it? This huge chest just for this single ring?" Kirche asked. Honestly, Mikhail was not surprised. The chests in Gransys were often times like this too. Sometimes he thinks that whoever keeps leaving chests around with a single small item in it was making a fool out of him. Whoever it was, he had vowed to enact punishment for the trickery. He never did find out who kept doing it though…

Mikhail picked up the ring and examined it. True to the rumor, the ring did enhance the wearer's magical power. It was a Master Ring. For some reason, it wasn't cursed so it must have belonged to an Arisen at some point. Mikhail checked its augments and found himself to be impressed. A truly rare item. He turned around and held it out to the girls behind him.

"Does it actually do anything?" Louise asked. When Mikhail nodded, Louise continued, "So who gets it?"

The girls looked in between them and then nodded. Well, Tabitha actually just shrugged before she pulled out her book to read. Mikhail's lantern was bright enough that she could comfortably read her book inside the formerly pitch black cave.

Louise looked Kirche in the eye and then raised her fist to her head. Kirche smirked at Louise and did the same. Tension filled the air as both glared at the other. Mikhail looked at the two with a confused expression before Tabitha tapped him on the shoulder with her staff and said, "Don't worry."

Louise and Kirche took in a deep breath and then they both yelled, "ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS SHOOT!"

"Noooooooo."

"Yeesss!"

Louise was hopping in joy before she triumphantly walked over to Mikhail and extended her hand. Mikhail looked at it a bit. Louise cleared her throat loudly and shook her hand a little to signify something.

Comprehension flashed across Mikhail's face before he slid the ring onto Louise's middle finger. Louise suddenly felt a surge of power flow through her body from the ring. She looked at the ring with incredulity.

"Whoa," was all that she could say.

"This ring fits you perfectly Master. It is called the Master Ring and increases your magical capabilities by 100 and your resistance against silence by 90%," Mikhail explained.

"Alright, I get the 'magical capabilities' part but what the heck do you mean by 'resistance against silence'?" Louise asked. From the looks on Kirche's face and Tabitha slightly cocking her head to the side, Mikhail figured that they, too, did not know about Silence.

"Silence," Mikhail began while striking a lecturing pose, "is a debilitation that is especially lethal to wielders of magic. It does not actually prevent one from talking; it prevents a mage from casting spells. Spells are usually cast after one recites an incantation so that is where the name comes from."

"That's impossible. There is no way one can prevent a mage from casting magic unless their wand is taken away," Louise retorted. Mikhail clearly understood that the girls before him did not believe him one bit.

'I guess I'll show it to them then,' Mikhail thought. "I'll show you when we get out of here."

Outside of the cave, Mikhail had Louise and Tabitha stand away from him and Kirche. He then began to cast Silentium. The jewel at the top of his archistaff emitted a dark glow that transformed into a small sigil. He released the power into a dark aura that encased him and Kirche. After a few seconds, Mikhail released the spell and then motioned for Kirche to try a spell.

"Fireball," Kirche tried. Nothing happened. She tried again and the same result occurred. Tabitha walked over to Kirche and then looked her over to try and figure out what just happened. Louise looked astonished at the fact that there was a spell that could neutralize mage. It seemed to be an idiotic spell to her.

"What idiot would create a spell that weakens himself?" Louise wondered.

"Someone who fights other mages all the time," Mikhail answered.

"Ok, this is getting weird. Will I get to cast again?" Kirche asked.

"Yes. After an hour, the spell's effects will fade away and you will be able to use spells again."

"Undo?" Tabitha asked. Mikhail nodded and then handed Kirche a potion. Kirche drank it and tried out a spell. It worked.

"Huh. So that's what silence does. So this ring gives me protection from that type of affliction?" Louise said.

"Yes."

The team headed back to their camp to see Siesta cooking a stew and petting Sylphid, who was eating an orc. Louise saw what Sylphid was doing and then turned green.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick," she said. Kirche nodded while Tabitha just looked up from her book and shrugged. Siesta didn't seem to mind and was humming happily while stirring the stew.

Louise walked to a log and sat done. After she had eased her upset stomach (from throwing up) she smelled the delicious fragrance in the air.

"Mmmm, what's for dinner Siesta?" Louise asked. Kirche had also just gotten back from vomiting lunch.

"It's a special stew from my hometown of Tarbes," she explained as she handed out bowls to everyone, "I hope you enjoy it."

Louise and Kirche took a big sniff of it before digging in. Tabitha was quietly eating and reading at the same time. Just as Mikhail put a spoonful in his mouth (Siesta had convinced him to eat even though he did no need to to survive), Siesta spoke, "The meat is orc meat."

Louise and Kirche immediately spit out the stew that was in their mouth and ran off into a nearby bush, retching the entire way. Mikhail slowed his eating but just shrugged and then continued eating. Tabitha looked at the bowl on her lap for a second before she placed the bowl on the ground and pushed it away before continuing to read.

Siesta then laughed out loud, grabbing her stomach and trying not to fall over. Derf also joined in the laughter from his position next to Mikhail. After several minutes of laughing, the maid finally regained some control over herself, "I-I'm just kidding. Oh Founder, I didn't think that it would have worked." She then wiped a tear away and got herself a bowl. "Oh man, all that laughing has gotten me hungry."

Louise and Kirche came back and it was clear that they had vomited once more. They both eyed the stew suspiciously and then shot Siesta a glare. To their credit, Siesta smiled sheepishly at them before wilting under their gaze. "I-I'm sorry, please don't hurt me it was just a joke," she muttered quickly.

Kirche then let out a loud laugh and walked over to the scared maid and wrapped an arm around her neck, pulling her in close. "Haha! Well played! Better watch your back because you're fair game now," the Germanian said.

Louise sighed and then walked over to the bonfire. She pulled out some paper and began to think about something to write, but it was to no avail. She crumbled up the paper and threw it into the fire. Night descended quickly and soon everyone was sleeping. Everyone except for a certain white-haired man. The man stared into the dying fire. Derf popped out of his sheath and began conversing with the man.

"Hey. Whatcha thinking 'bout? A girl from home?" he joked.

"Yeah…," Mikhail replied.

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Yeah. She was- no, is the love of my life. She's been with me through thick and thin. No matter what, she was always by my side. But, not anymore; I don't think that she will ever forgive me for betraying her trust."

"What did ya do man?"

"… I did something stupid. I still think that it was the right decision, but the way that I went through with it without consulting her may have been the worst mistake in my life."

"I see. Well, I can't exactly tell you what to do by using some kinda age-old wisdom, 'cuz you're like a hundred times my age. But what I can tell you is that women that have been faithful like yours are generally forgiving after letting out their anger as long as you apologize and mean it. And after you treat them to a bunch of sweets."

Mikhail smiled at that, "Thanks Derf."

"No problemo partner."

And so the white-haired man sat through the night in a peaceful silence while watching the stars.

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The next day, Tabitha was the first to wake up. She climbed out of Sylphid's embrace to stretch. She looked around and saw Mikhail cooking breakfast. She walked over to the fire and sat on a log.

"Morning," she mumbled.

"Good morning Miss Tabitha. You are up early today," Mikhail responded with a gentle smile.

"Sleep?" the blue-haired girl asked.

"Hm? Oh are you asking if I have slept?"

Tabitha nodded.

"Don't worry about me. I don't need to sleep. Are you hungry? It will be done cooking in just a bit."

The scent of breakfast woke everyone else up. After serving breakfast, Mikhail turned to Kirche and asked, "Any plans for today Miss Zerbst?"

"Ah, this is the last one," Kirche said as she pulled out a piece of paper, "It is apparently called the Stone of Truth and located by a village called Tarbes."

"Oh, I know that one. I'm from Tarbes and I know exactly where it is," Siesta explained.

"Really? Let's go right now!" Kirche jumped to her feet in excitement.

"Can I stop by my house first?" Siesta asked.

"I don't see why not."

The team departed for Tarbes shortly after breakfast. It turns out that Tarbes was actually pretty close by, only about an hour away by feet. As soon as the team stepped into the village, many people started to greet them.

"Oh Siesta, you're back so soon."

"Siesta! You're back!"

"Hey, come play with us Siesta!"

"Welcome back Siesta."

"Oh? Looks like someone's popular," purred Kirche. The maid blushed in embarrassment and quickly greeted everyone. The children were disappointed that Siesta couldn't play with them so they went off on their own. The team soon arrived to Siesta home. From out side, the group could hear loud yelling and laughing and running.

"Oh dear… I've only just left and their already causing trouble for mom," Siesta sighed. She then walked towards the door and then kicked the door in. "HEY! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!? SIT DOWN!" the quiet maid yelled.

Louise and the other two girls flinched back instinctively. They had never seen such a huge change in personality before. This morning black-haired girl was a kind and understanding girl. Now, she was an angry demon from hell, bent on wreaking havoc upon the two boys held within her arms. The other children were immediately kneeling on the floor with their backs straight. If one looked closely, one could see that each children were sweating with fear.

"The moment I leave, you think that the rules are gone huh? Don't think that I'm letting you two off easily," the demonic maid threatened menacingly. She then rapped both of the boys on the head with her knuckles. Judging from the sound that resulted, the maid did not hold back. The other children, who were still kneeling on the ground, watched as the boys fell to the ground limply.

"Now then," the demon turned towards the other children, emanating an aura of promised death, "What. Happened. Here?"

The children all pointed to a man who was also kneeling on the ground. Said man gulped audibly and smiled nervously. "S-S-Siesta. Y-You're home early," he said.

"Father," the maid said, stressing every syllable, "What do you think you are doing fooling around in the house when the garden has work to be done?"

"I-uh, I came in for a break?" the man said. Just then, another door was slammed open. In walked a woman who resembled Siesta but was clearly older.

"Dear," the woman began in a frighteningly cheery voice, "So this is where you were when I told you to go get another gardening hoe. Two. Hours. Ago."

The man could only smile nervously before the two demons descended upon him. Thankfully, Mikhail had the sense to close the gateway to hell and carnage to prevent any mental scarring to his Master or the other girls still standing by the door. "Perhaps now is not the right time to visit Siesta's family. Let's come back later," the Pawn said as he ushered them away.

"A demon. She's a demon," Louise mutter incoherently.

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Siesta returned to the group shortly after. "Sorry about that. My family's a little dysfunctional, but I still love them all the same," she said as she wiped away some blood on her hands.

"Uh yeah. Haha ha…" Kirche replied.

"So! Let's go to the Stone of Truth now. Follow me," Siesta said as she started walking. The group followed her quietly, unwilling to awaken the demon again. Even Tabitha was jumping at every sound. Siesta led the group through a small tunnel before it opened into a small, beautiful field of red spider lilies. In the middle of the field a large black stone with scriptures written onto one of its faces. Close to the base of the stone was a pile of dirt the size of a person and an exquisite silver shield big enough to defend a man at full height.

Mikhail watched the scene with a somber expression. He knew what these flowers signified and what the pile of uncovered earth was. It seems like Tabitha also knew what it was because she finally regained her composure and was standing even quieter than usual. She lowered her head in a show of respect before looking up again.

Louise and Kirche watched the scene in wonder. Both were stunned by the beauty of the place and began to walk forward when a hand stopped both of them. The two girls turned around to see Mikhail holding them back with a mournful expression. Only then, did they notice that Siesta had gone quiet as she stepped towards the stone. She knelt down by the pile of uncovered earth and touched it gently, "Grandfather, I'm back. This time, I brought some friends like you asked."

The group heard the maid sniff once and then saw her wiping away some tears. She then stood up and beckoned them over. When the group reached her, she spoke, "This is the Stone of Truth. My grandfather guarded this stone through life and now through death. He said that it was his only reminder of what he left behind. I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to take it away."

As Siesta explained what the Stone of Truth was to the others, Mikhail knelt down to touch the earth. He then whispered, "Aegis, so this was where you went… I release you from your post. You may finally rest now, my friend." The air around the area seemed to ease in pressure just a bit.

He hadn't intended for anyone to hear him, but it seems like Siesta did, "You knew my grandfather?"

"Yes. He was once under my employment and one of my greatest warriors, but more importantly, he was one of my best friends. I had ordered him to guard this Rift Stone with his life when our city was once under siege by an enemy. I gave him this shield, the Angel's Sanctum to aid him. After the battle, this stone had vanished along with Aegis. It seems like he was somehow transported here. I'm glad that he was able to start a new life here."

"You look so young. How could you have known him?"

"I'm older than I look."

"Understatement of the century," Derf interjected.

With a sigh, Mikhail went to stand by Louise's side again.

"Well, we can't exactly do anything with this stone. Why is is even called the Stone of Truth when it is just a rock?" Kirche questioned.

"Runes," Tabitha pointed.

"This is actually called a Rift Stone. It lets people move from one dimension to another by passing through what is known as the Rift, although only a select few could really utilize it to its full potential," Mikhail answered. Tabitha looked over at Mikhail.

"Impossible," she said.

"You have doubted me before right?" Mikhail walked closer to the stone. As he did, the runes flashed on, glowing with an ethereal blue light. "Watch me." Mikhail then placed a hand onto the stone and called for a Pawn. A swirling dark cloud suddenly formed above the stone. The clouds roared and then a figure jumped out. The figure landed on its knee before straightening up. Mikhail turned towards the blue-haired girl and gestured with his hand at the real Pawn, "See?"

He then felt a hand firmly grasp his shoulder. He turned to look but was met with a fist to his face and a feminine shout.

"WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS WAST THOU THINKING THOU DUMB DAW!?"