Tristain Academy of Magic, Medical Wing, 2035 hours
Guiche de Gramont stared emptily at the wall in front of him as his girlfriend, Montmorency Margarita La Fère de Montmorency, changed his bandages for the third time that day. His food lay untouched, partly due to not being able to use his dominant arm for the meantime and partly due to his lack of appetite. The duel from that afternoon had rendered him a shell of his former self, and from what Montmorency had heard, it had seemed likely that Guiche would remain in such a state for a lengthy amount of time.
"Guiche, please, you have to eat if you're going to somewhat recover," Montmorency pleaded as she finished bandaging her boyfriend. "What would your father think if he sees you in such a state? You can't just keep on sulking all day."
Guiche only shook his head, either unwilling or unable to respond to Montmorency's coaxing.
The blonde girl sighed. It was unusually difficult to get Guiche to talk, although given today's events she could hardly blame him. As she looked up into the blond fop's face, she recoiled at what she saw.
His eyes registered fear. It was not the usual kind of fear that Guiche would normally express when Montmorency would catch him chasing other women. This fear was different; it was the kind of fear that would be usually associated with a feeling of powerlessness, and now she started to panic as his breathing became shallower and quicker, until it came to the point where he felt like was being suffocated.
"Guiche?! Guiche! Pull yourself together!" Montmorency shook him, taking care not to aggravate his injuries. "Guiche! For the love of Brimir, get a hold on yourself!"
It had turned out that slapping Guiche on the face was enough to bring the boy back to his senses. "Montmorency? What… what just happened?" he asked, his whole frame soaked with sweat.
Montmorency sighed and slumped down on Guiche's chest, finally succumbing to her emotions. "You looked like you were about to lose it, Guiche! I… Guiche, you have to tell me what's bothering you! You can't just keep all of your thoughts bottled up inside you! I can't… I just can't…" she started sobbing.
Guiche stared out at the window in contemplation. "I think… I think we've all been wrong, Montmorency. All of those times when we called her a zero when she always bests us in theoretical magic… we should have seen it. I should have seen it."
Montmorency looked up, seeing the emptiness in his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Guiche stared at her. The pain in his eyes would haunt Montmorency for the rest of the night.
"The duel. Those soldiers. Those carriages. If the leader of those soldiers is Louise's familiar, what's to say that she could easily destroy entire armies with the kind of power under her? You saw the duel, how I was defeated so effortlessly by one of those soldiers."
Guiche hardened his glare. "One soldier, Montmorency. One soldier was all it took to defeat me. Just think of what they could do to Tristain."
Montmorency paled as she saw where his train of thought was going. "Then we have to stop insulting Louise and get on her good graces."
Tristain Academy of Magic, Courtyard, 2135 hours
"Why do I even need a sword? I've got my bayonet with me if I ever run out of ammunition."
Julius looked up from the map he was studying, a local map of Tristain which he had requisitioned from the academy's headmaster, and gave Louise a befuddled look. Lionel and Travis looked on, curious to see where this was going.
"Julius, it is customary for soldiers to carry swords with them at all times, especially since you're the leader of these men. That, and you should learn how to use a sword in battle," the young mage explained.
Julius raised his eyebrow at this as he took a drag of his cigarette. "Louise, in the time and world where we come from, swords are mostly used for ceremonial purposes. You have seen firsthand what our weapons can do when you watched Cpl. Holstein's duel this afternoon."
Louise took a moment to ponder over the major's words. A sword, while far less effective in the style of combat the Lancastrians are used to, can still do some damage. She has yet to witness how Julius and his men perform close combat drills, something that Julius had promised to demonstrate to her on the following day, which was the Day of the Void.
"On the other hand," Julius broke the mage out of her thoughts. "I suppose that getting a sword as a souvenir wouldn't be too bad. It'll at least remind me of you whenever I look at it."
Louise's spirits lifted. She was all too eager to accept Julius' proposition.
"Then it's settled. We're going to the capital tomorrow, I know where I can get you a sword."
Julius glanced down at the ground. "We can use the tank to get there. It can give us additional protection."
Louise blinked in confusion. "What's a tank?"
Julius chuckled at this. "You know those vehicles that came with us when you summoned us here? Those are what we call tanks."
The mage's eyes widened at this. But then a thought came to her mind. "Is it even possible to get there using this… tank? I doubt that my horse will be able to pull it all the way there."
Julius's chuckle turned to outright laughter, causing some of the Lancastrians and the Hussars to stare in confusion. This only served to annoy Louise.
"Julius, what's so funny?" she snapped.
The major stopped laughing and gave Louise a look of amusement. "Louise, tanks don't need horses to enable them to move. I'd show you how they operate, but I'm afraid that'll have to wait until tomorrow. For now, we should get some sleep, it's getting late."
Louise gasped, having lost track of the time. "Brimir help me, I didn't notice! I'll see you tomorrow, sir Julius!" With that, the mage ran back to one of the towers where her room was located.
Julius watched her leave before making his way outside to speak with the Hussars' commander, Maj. Marcus Hudson, about tomorrow's plans.
Tristain Academy of Magic, 0730 hours
Kirche paced around her room in thought. Her efforts to seduce Michael had not only failed, it had also put her on his bad side. Being the persistent mage that she is, however, she deduced that he might be only hiding his real feelings for her. "Yes," she purred to herself. "He's the perfect one." She was pondering on how to seduce him when she heard the neighing of a horse, followed by a whine that dissolved into an earth-shaking rumble. She glanced out her window and saw Louise on horseback, in the middle of a conversation with some of the soldiers who were riding on two of the steel carriages that was on everyone's minds since the day before. There was smoke coming from the rear of the carriages, although the soldiers paid it no mind.
Kirche smirked. "Going out, I see. I suppose I can tell her that I just happened to be in the exact same place at the exact same time."
Intrigued on finding out where they were heading, she rushed to her friend's room and knocked, opening the door immediately afterwards.
Tabitha d'Orleans, a mage with short, blue hair and glasses, glanced up from her book and immediately casted a silencing spell on the redhead. She watched Kirche rant with a deadpan expression before undoing the spell.
"We're leaving right now, Tabitha. Get dressed," the redhead finished.
"Day of the Void, not going," the bespectacled mage replied.
Kirche sighed in frustration. "Look, I know how much you value the Day of the Void, but I'm telling you. I'm in love right now with someone, but he's gone and headed off to who knows where with that damned Vallière! I need to know where they're headed. Come on, Tabitha, please?"
Tabitha merely shook her head. "Not doing it."
Kirche closed her eyes and massaged her forehead. "I forgot, you won't do it unless I tell you the whole thing." She took a deep breath. "I want to go after them but I don't know where they went and I need your familiar's help in finding them! Pleeease, please please please?"
Tabitha sighed, snapping her book shut before giving Kirche a sidelong glance. "Done," she said.
Kirche squealed with joy. "Thank you, thank you Tabitha!"
The blue-haired mage simply walked past the redhead, opening her windows and letting out a sharp whistle. Seconds later her familiar, a blue rhythm dragon named Sylphid, hovered beside her window. Tabitha took a moment to get dressed, and within two minutes the two mages were airborne.
Tristanian Airspace, altitude 600 meters, 0740 hours
Kirche let out a contented sigh. "You know, I'm starting to like Sylphid even more," she said.
Tabitha merely scanned the Tristanian countryside below them. "Direction?" she asked.
"Er, I was kind of in a rush, so I have no idea," the redhead nervously chuckled.
Tabitha kept scanning until she found them. "Horse with rider, two carriages with thirty men close behind. Don't eat them," she ordered her dragon, which responded by tracking them all the way to the capital. "This better be good, otherwise we're heading back."
Kirche just pouted behind her. "Tabitha, since when do I ever fail to impress you?" she asked.
Tabitha merely glanced back at her with a flat look. The stare was all the redhead needed to know before she gave up. "Fine, I still have to make an impression," she groaned. The bespectacled mage then turned her head back to the skies around her.
Tristania, 1145 hours
Julius made his way through the bustling streets of Tristania as he followed Louise to an armory. Half of the infantry force he had brought with him, Cutlass 2-1, had been instructed to wait with the Challenger IIs one klick away from the city walls, while the remainder, Cutlass 1-1, followed the mage, as was their agreement before they left the academy. Surrounded by unknown people in an unknown environment, the Lancastrians' training kicked in, surveying each and every building they pass by. Their appearance had gained them mixed reactions from the populace. Some of them were curious about the strange men wearing strange clothing and packs on their backs and brandishing strange muskets. Others viewed them with caution and kept their distance. Still others viewed them with hostility, which only placed Julius and his men on high alert.
Louise strode down an alleyway, with Julius and the others following behind, until she reached a particular shop. "This is it," she said. She opened the door and entered, with Julius, Lionel, and Travis following close behind. The rest of Cutlass 1-1 went back out to the main street, keeping watch for anything suspicious.
As Louise did her business with the shopkeeper, Julius and the other two officers inspected the various swords, daggers, spears, halberds, glaives, and maces currently displayed, testing each blade for its strength, which in their opinion was subpar compared to the L3A1 bayonet that they currently use in terms of quality of material.
"I want a bigger and wider sword for him," Louise told the shopkeeper, jerking her head in Julius' direction.
The shopkeeper balked at her request – no, demand for the kind of sword she wanted. "Ms. Vallière, this sword is the perfect one for him. I suggest that you reconsider," he gestured to the saber in her hands.
The mage glared stonily at the shopkeeper. "You'll get me a better sword, or I'm having this shop closed permanently. Your choice," she said in an eerily calm voice.
Julius, Lionel, and Travis awkwardly watched the exchange, and after a tense few seconds the shopkeeper went to the storage room, presumably to get a sword that would satisfy the mage. While Louise waited, the three officers continued browsing the rows of weapons laid out before them before the shopkeeper returned with a large, golden broadsword, a ruby stone embedded in its hilt.
"This is the best sword we have in Tristain. It was forged by the greatest alchemist-mage in Germania, Johann Kleist von Spee. Its blade can cut through steel like a hot knife through butter," the shopkeeper boasted.
While Louise seemed intrigued by the sword, it took all three officers with her a large amount of effort to stop themselves from sighing in disappointment.
"How much is it?" the mage asked.
"Three thousand new gold," the shopkeeper answered, causing Louise to stumble back in shock, as well the officers' jaws to drop.
"WHAT?!" Louise cried out in disbelief. "I can get a nice house with a forest behind it, and complete with a garden for that price! Are you serious?!"
The shopkeeper just shrugged. "A good sword has as much value as a castle," he said.
Julius stepped forward. "Are you trying to rip us off?" he asked.
The shopkeeper turned his head to the officer. "Sir, I assure you that this weapon's quality justifies its price," he said.
Julius inspected the sword, turning it over in his hands. "A moderate strike would be just enough to break the blade. Gold is easily malleable." He applied some pressure on the blade, causing it to bend ever so slightly before handing it back.
"This one, on the other hand," Travis cut in, holding up a rusted longsword, "appears more durable as compared to that thing in your hands right now."
The shopkeeper's face paled at this, and Louise turned to the major. "Julius, your decision?"
Julius took out his cigarette pack, lit one, and took a drag before motioning to the sword in Andrew's hands. "I'll take that one. One hundred new gold, take it or leave it," he said in a tone that wouldn't take no for an answer.
The shopkeeper sighed before processing the transaction, and without another word the quartet left, finding Nathan with a guitar.
"Done with your shopping, Major?" the kingsman grinned.
Julius gave the private a puzzled look. "Kgn. Campbell, would you mind telling me how you managed to get your hands on a guitar?" the officer asked.
Nathan just laughed. "Apparently it turns out that I got a copy of Playboy that I lost interest in, so I guess you could say that I did some business of my own," the kingsman chuckled, causing the rest of Cutlass 1-1 to laugh. Louise just stared, clueless.
"Playboy?" the mage parroted.
Julius turned to Louise. "If you value your innocence, I suggest that you don't pry any further," he sighed. "Alright, we're heading back. Let's move out."