Author's Note: Yeah…Chapter 11 here…

I know it's been a while, but what with computer issues, dodgy internet connections and the last couple of day's worth of server downtime (was that only me? Do tell) it hasn't been easy to update my stories.

Enjoy.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero.

"Saito" -Talking

'Louise' -Thinking/ Human-Human Telepathy

"Explosion!" -Spell

:Master: -Master/Familiar Telepathy

Chapter 11: Lesson One

"So then." Osmond said after he recovered from his fit of the giggles, "Might I ask you some questions about your Familiars, young Saito?"

"If Agnès holsters her pistol, certainly." Saito replied as he resumed his seat. Kaede reluctantly sheathed her tetsubō over her shoulder and knelt at Saito's side as a retainer would kneel next to her lord. Emereldas sashayed over and sat next to Louise, who glared at her.

"Agnès." Henrietta said pointedly.

With every visible sign that the action caused her physical pain, the musketeer returned her weapon to its holster and scowled at Saito, who merely smiled faintly at her.

"Now that the weapon is away…" Osmond said leadingly.

"Of course. What is it you would like to know?" Saito said with a nod.

"Miss…Emereldas here said she was a succubus of the Eighth Circle. What does that mean?" Osmond asked.

"It means she is one of the few succubae to accumulate enough power to rank up." Saito replied, "Don't let her appearance fool you; she is five hundred years old and is one of only a handful of her species of demonkind to rise above her nature and accumulate power and wisdom."

"Master, you say the sweetest things!" the succubus cooed.

"Hell, or Pandemonium, is divided into nine levels or 'Circles' as they are referred to." the Onmyōji continued, "The deeper down you go, the more powerful the denizens become. This system is also applied to determining rank and power among demons and devils. Succubae are typically ranked at Circle Two, meaning they can handle regular humans with relative ease. It is, as I said, very rare that a succubus rises above Circle Four, so the fact that Emereldas is at Circle Eight should tell you something about how powerful she is."

"I'm almost at the threshold of the Ninth Circle of power now." the succubus put in.

"Exactly how powerful are we talking here?" Karin asked warily as she eyed Emereldas with trepidation.

"Physically and magically, she could carve a castle out of a mountain and still be fresh enough to strangle a chimera." Saito replied with a crooked smile, "She will not so much as harm a fly without my permission, however. That was one of the terms of our contract."

"I can't wait to become an Avanta." Emereldas said in excitement.

"A what now?" Louise asked.

"An Avanta." Saito replied, "It's a demonic word referring to a demon or devil that can fully materialise outside of the demon realm with no demerits to their power and even self-materialise. Most devils and demons require someone to actively summon them from their realm and provide them with an anchor to remain summoned, as well as suffering a thirty-to-fifty percent loss of power. An Avanta comes and goes as he or she pleases and has no restrictions on their power at all."

"And being a Ninth Circle devil automatically makes her an Avanta?" Osmond asked curiously.

"No, being a Ninth Circle devil grants her the right to undergo a ceremony to become an Avanta." Saito corrected, "It involves imbibing the blood of a Fallen Angel and her wings being cut off."

"What?!" was the general outcry.

"It isn't a permanent thing." Saito replied to the unspoken question, "In her true form, Emereldas has black wings. Once she swallows the blood of a Fallen, her wings will regenerate, but in white instead of black. That is the sign of an Avanta, a devil with pure white wings."

"Won't that hurt though?" Cattelya asked with a frown.

"Oh it'll hurt." Emereldas assured her, "But as the human saying goes 'no pain, no gain.' Isn't that how it goes, master?"

"Just so." Saito nodded, "And the trade-off is quite substantial. Avanta are the more respected members of Pandemonium, especially ones from races that rarely reach that height of power. Ambition and making that ambition a reality are worthy of respect to demonkind."

"Fascinating…" Osmond muttered, "And miss…I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."

"I am Urajirosatoukaede." Kaede stated, "My Aruji may refer to me as Kaede."

"Aruji?"

"It's one of the many words in my home tongue for master." Saito said with a sigh, "Japanese is a very formal language with honorifics for addressing every level of society. But you wanted to know about Kaede. Well…what do you want to know?"

"What is she?" Osmond asked bluntly, "Succubae I have some knowledge of, but I have never heard of an 'Oni' before."

"Translated, Oni means ogre." the Onmyōji replied.

"…I was under the impression that ogres were at least three meters tall, male and muscle-bound." Agnès said carefully.

"Western Ogres, which are what you are describing, are." Saito nodded, "Japanese Oni are a different kettle of fish altogether. For one, there are two distinct types. Lesser Oni, such as the Onimodoki, and Greater Oni, which is where Kaede belongs."

"Lesser? I thought she-" Louise flapped a hand at Emereldas, "-is a quarter Onimodoki?"

"I am, brat." the succubus replied with a toothy smile, "Onimodoki care capable of Shapeshifting into the forms of any being stronger than themselves, and are generally weak enough that a regular human armed with a sword can beat them if they are lucky, so they are definitely 'lesser' by any scale you care to measure them by."

"Most of the Lesser Oni are not humanoid or sentient either." Saito added, "Now the Greater Oni are both humanoid and sentient…most just aren't very smart, Kaede being an exception to this rule."

"My thanks for your kind words, Aruji." Kaede bowed her head, "I am unworthy of them."

"None of that, Kaede." Saito said sternly.

"By your command." Kaede said softly.

"That sounded…ominous." Henrietta said with a frown.

"Racism." Saito replied bluntly, "Or…well, discrimination, at the very least. You need to understand, there are various tribes of Oni. Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Black and White. All of them tend to marry within their own tribe. Those that don't…the offspring are considered 'halfbloods' and are always a metallic colour. Bronze, Copper, Silver and Gold. These are tribes in name only and are treated as second class citizens by the majority of the pureblood Oni."

"That's awful!" Henrietta said indignantly.

"If she's silver, does that mean one of her parents is from the Black Oni Tribe?" Osmond asked curiously.

"As Shuten-dōji was of the Black Oni Tribe, yes." Saito nodded, "Her father is his descendent. Her mother was from the White Oni Tribe. The Princess of the Tribe, if memory serves."

"Hai, you are correct, Aruji." Kaede said with a slight nod, "Haha-ue abandoned her position when she became with child, as did Chichi-ue."

"I didn't understand those odd words." Louise admitted.

"Very old, very formal and very respectful ways of addressing your mother and father." Saito translated for the room's benefit, "It is very rare for a single parent of a mixed-blood Oni to abandon their tribe of origin, let alone two. One of them in line to become the leader of their tribe even."

"They must love you a lot." Louise said softly as she looked at Kaede kindly.

"They do." the Ginki said quietly, "They were very happy to discover that I made a contract with an Onmyōji, although they still want to meet you, Aruji."

"Not at the moment, Kaede." Saito sighed, "I at least want to make some headway in deciphering this accursed runic binding that I'm under before I speak to your parents. Emereldas, I'll want you to look at it later on."

"By your command." Emereldas nodded.

"Can I ask why your culture requires you to contract with two Familiars?" Éléonore asked stiffly, "We make do with one."

Saito regarded her for a moment. "For the sake of balance and safety." he replied.

"What do you mean?" the blond-haired woman demanded.

"Three is a stable number." Saito explained, "In my world, trinities are a solid part of myth and legend. Three-faced goddesses, goddesses with three aspects, mythic creatures appearing in threes…it is a stable number. Besides, unlike your culture, mine has been embroiled in a civil war for the last millennium. One familiar for offence, one for offence."

"Civil war?" Henrietta asked sharply.

"Indeed, Your Highness." Saito nodded, "One-thousand years ago, Abe no Seimei, the most powerful Onmyōji in the history of my country, had a rival for the position of Imperial Fortune-teller and Chief of the Ministry of Onmyōji. When that rival was defeated and humiliated for the final time, the man went mad and started releasing captive Yōkai, Mononoke, Ayakashi and other mystical beings that the Ministry had imprisoned for breaking the laws set down to protect regular humans and the mystical alike. He then used the chaos from his actions to gather those who opposed Seimei and the Ministry and founded the organisation that would eventually become known as Heichi Kuroboshi, or Juxtaposed Black Star. We have been at war ever since."

"A civil war lasting a thousand years…" the Duke whispered, "That sounds impossible."

"It is more like a civil insurrection combined with a guerrilla war." Saito told the duke, "There is an unspoken agreement to keep the war to the shadows, so it is rare for any serious casualties to occur. Besides, our side is generally more powerful."

"How so?" Louise asked.

"For one, we are more organised and have more Onmyōji than Black Star has." Saito replied, "For another, we can have more than the standard two familiars."

"EH!?"

"Abe no Seimei was famous for possessing twelve familiars, who were referred to as the Jūnishinshō, or Twelve Heavenly Generals." Saito replied, amused at the shocked looks from everyone in the room barring his familiars and himself, "The more powerful an Onmyōji becomes, the more familiars we can contract with. Although, no one since Abe no Seimei has ever contracted with more than ten familiars, and Black Star hasn't got access to the spells that allow more than two familiars per Onmyōji."

"There are limits though, master." Emereldas pointed out, "You can't summon more than half of your familiars simultaneously once you have more than six."

"Unless you reach twelve in total." Saito countered, "Abe no Seimei was famous for summoning all of his Jūnishinshō against Shuten-dōji."

"Your magic traditions are far more bizarre than I first thought" Karin stated with a shake of her head.

"As I stated previously, to me, your system of magic is primitive." Saito retorted, "In matter of fact, your entire culture is, to my point of view, utterly abhorrent. Ruling over those without magic, attacking those without magic, enslaving familiars…the list goes on."

"Attacking those without magic…who?" Henrietta asked sharply.

"Count Mott's son, Julienne 'Le Loup de L'eau' (The Water Wolf) Mott." Louise replied grimly, "He attacked Siesta when she first arrived over something trivial and burned her hair to the point she had to cut it to its present length. Mott the Elder recently had the audacity to request her service from Old Osmond, who transferred her services to me before telling him no. Saito and I have plans for when Mott the Younger returns."

The twin evil smiles gracing both Master and Familiar made the room's occupants feel very glad that they were not on the receiving end of the pair's plotting.

"I see." the Princess said, "Well, let me know once you have finished with him. For such a violation of the Noble's Code, he must be punished."

"Of course, Your Highness." Saito inclined his head in acknowledgement, "Dare I hope that his punishment will be severe?"

"For a fop like Julienne Mott it is." Osmond snorted, "He will be conscripted into the Royal Army and placed in charge of menial duties; sapping, digging privies and the like, in addition to being stripped of his Noble Privilege for the duration of his enlistment."

"How long is that?" Saito asked with a grin on his face.

"Seven years. More if he acts like a spoiled brat." Osmond said cheerfully.

"Nice to see that justice is being upheld." Saito commented, "At this time period in my world's history, indifference and nepotism were what Nobles and royalty usually followed."

Éléonore sniffed snobbishly. "We are Mage Nobility. We obey our own laws."

"If that was the case, punishments wouldn't be necessary." Saito pointed out, making the blond woman scowl at him.

Karin had to admit that, despite her own disinclination to allow the boy to address her daughters in such a casual manner, it was good for Éléonore to be taken down a peg or two. She was far too arrogant and concerned with her position at times.

"With Viscount Wardes being under suspicion, we'll have to find Louise a suitable groom…again!" the eldest de Vallière daughter grumbled.

"I'm afraid that isn't possible." Henrietta interjected.

"And why is that?" Karin asked calmly.

"I…signedaMasterandServantcontract!" Louise blurted out before taking shelter behind Saito.

"You…" Éléonore worked it out rather quickly, "You foolish girl!"

"Louise…" Cattelya's voice positively dripped with shock and disappointment.

"Who?" was the one word Karin spoke, cold anger in her voice.

"Me." Saito said with a shrug, "We couldn't be certain if you and Éléonore were a part of this or not, so we removed Louise from your board of intrigue just to be on the safe side. I did prune most of the more…distasteful punishments from the contract, so rest easy on that front. Osmond, if you would?"

The headmaster pulled out a roll of parchment and handed it over to Karin, who rolled it out and started pouring over it with a beady eye. Her delicate eyebrows rose as she read the terms, conditions and rules of the contract slowly and carefully.

At length she raised her eyes to look at Saito with an inscrutable expression on her face. "You have removed all of the clauses and punishments that would make me kill you with the Wind Fang…except for the Deflowering Punishment."

"That one is required to be in the document by law, otherwise it would be gone also." Saito replied, a slight amount of nervousness barely audible in his voice, "But if you look carefully, the punishment is limited to one specific infraction being repeated three times and we have taken steps against it happening in any fashion."

The two locked eyes for a long moment. The tension became thick in the room, to the point Kaede was slowly reaching back to grasp her tetsubō and Emereldas was stealthily sketching a rune in the air, ready to defend their master at the first sign of hostility from the woman.

With a huff, Karin rolled up the scroll and passed it back to Osmond. "Abuse her and I will shred you to pieces and scatter your remains to the winds."

"If I do, my lady, I will deserve it and will not stop you." Saito replied seriously.

"Master/Aruji!?" Kaede and Emereldas exclaimed in horror.

"Calmly does it girls." Saito said with an appeasing look on his face, patting Kaede on the head just behind her horn, which made her blush. Allowing someone to touch her head was an honour reserved solely for him. Usually, only her mate would be permitted to do so.

Emereldas pouted at this, but obeyed her master's order.

"Your familiars seem unduly distressed at the thought of your death." Henrietta observed.

"What happens to a familiar when their master dies in Halkaginia?" Saito asked carefully.

"Usually, they are taken care of by the family of their masters until they pass on." Osmond answered, "Being bound to a Master extends the life of those who only live only a short time, so they pass when their master does."

"Ah, good. You are familiar with it happening then." Saito nodded, "Then this isn't entirely a surprise for you. When I die, my familiars are banished back to their home realms for a century or, depending on how well they have bonded with me, they could die if I am killed by unnatural methods."

"Will die, Aruji." Kaede corrected him softly, "We have no desire to live beyond you."

"Exactly." Emereldas agreed with her fellow familiar.

"But…according to myth and legend, demons live forever." Agnès stated in bemusement, "Why risk limiting their lives to the length of your own?"

"Because the risk is well worth the outcome." Emereldas stated, "Being contracted to an Onmyōji is highly desirable for demons and devils, as we can ask for a regular tithe of their magic as a price for making the contract, which allows us to become more powerful more quickly."

"It is similar for Oni." Kaede added, "In our case though, it is that we are naturally inclined to serve the strong. I willingly serve my Aruji because he is both kind and strong. Both are desirable traits in a master, as the wench there will come to appreciate in the days to come."

"Who's a wench, dammit!?" Louise hissed indignantly.

"Kaede." Saito sighed.

"My apologies, Aruji." the Ginki bowed her head submissively again, but he caught a slight smirk on her face as she did so.

'Troublesome woman!' was what Saito thought as he gazed in an exasperated fashion at his Superior Demon. The contract he held with her put his wellbeing above hers; unfortunately, it also allowed her considerable leeway in interpreting what that pertained to, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual wellbeing.

"I think we should move to the final topic of this meeting." Henrietta said, trying to move away from the subject that was making Louise angry.

"Agreed." Saito said as he removed an object from his pocket and held it up, revealing the bullet from the assassination attempt, "Four days ago, someone attempted to kill Princess Henrietta with a firearm, using this bullet."

"What!?" the Duchess bellowed. The rest of her family sans Louise were equally shocked.

"I was able to shield her in time, but what concerns me more than the attempt itself is that the bullet was fired from far beyond the range of any Arquebus and far more accurately." Saito said seriously, "The technology for such a thing as rifling shouldn't exist in Halkaginia…unless someone from my world brought it here."

"Impossible." scoffed Éléonore, "Beings can only be brought to this land when someone performs the Summon Familiar spell and you are the only human in history to be summoned."

"That isn't necessarily correct." Osmond stated, "I was saved in my younger years, during a battle against a dragon, by a man wearing strange clothing and wielding two powerful staves, which I called the Staves of Destruction. He was fatally wounded and died soon after the battle. I buried him with the Staff he used to save me whilst sealing up the remaining one. I showed it to Mr Saito yesterday and he identified it as a non-magical weapon from his world."

There was silence for a moment before Karin spoke up in a clipped, almost emotionless, voice.

"So someone acquired an Arquebus and 'rifled' it, whatever that means, allowing it to fire more accurately and at a longer range. I assume you wish to know who my husband has sold firearms to determine if anyone unusual has purchased one recently?"

"As expected, you are quick on the uptake." Saito nodded, "Agnès has determined that about twenty Arquebuses are missing from the Royal Castle's Armouries, but confirming that additional weapons haven't been commissioned from one of the leading manufacturers would be helpful."

"The sheer audacity of whomever is responsible for this astounds me." the Duke remarked with a shake of his head, "Stealing from the Royal Castle's own armoury? Shameless!"

"Mr Saito has put the motion forwards -and I agree with him- that using a firearm to assassinate me was intended to implicate my own Musketeers as the culprits." Henrietta said with a frown, "And, as a side effect, implicate the de Vallière family. Thanks to Mr Saito, however, the plot was stopped in its tracks. I owe him a debt and I will repay it."

"I am still working my way through what I would like, your Highness." Saito said uncomfortably.

"Aruji, why not ask for a house?" Kaede opined, "You will need somewhere to stay if you are to teach the wench."

Louise was almost glowing with anger at the repeated use of the 'wench' comment.

"Is that a feasible request?" Saito asked Henrietta, ignoring the incipient bickering between his Master/Apprentice and his Familiar.

"Certainly. There are several manors around the capital that have been empty for a couple of years." Henrietta replied, a distant look in her eyes as she mentally catalogued the available houses, "Most belonged to Nobles who were forced to give them up because they couldn't afford their upkeep, while others are from old Chevalier Noble families who died out. Come to the castle on the next Day of the Void and you shall pick an estate as thanks for saving my life."

"My thanks, your Highness." Saito inclined his head, "I shall also be investigating whoever was responsible for bringing advanced technology into Tristain and using it to equip an assassin. I will, of course, pass any relevant information on to Agnès."

"And I will provide her with a list of all those who have bought firearms from my foundries for the last year." the duke added, "I'll also perform an inventory on my stockpile of firearms to make sure someone hasn't pulled what they did in the castle."

"Excellent." Saito nodded, "I should be going. I have lesson plans to write out."

"I'm sorry, what?!" Éléonore asked in shock.

"Pardon me for omitting my introduction." Saito bowed slightly to the room at large, "I am Saito Hiiraga, Familiar and Master of Louise de Vallière and newly appointed Professor of Magical Morals at the Tristain Academy for Magic. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

With that, Saito strolled out of the room trailed by his Familiars. Emereldas shifted into the form of a Yatagarasu and flapped after him, while Kaede faded into the background and seemed to be invisible to all but Saito and, strangely enough, Louise.

SLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSL

Later on

Louise and Saito's Suite

"You enjoyed that." Louise accused her Familiar/Master as she came into the room from her day's classes.

"I can't think what you could mean." Saito replied innocently as he sipped a glass of chilled fruit juices that Siesta had brought him. It was really rather good.

"You know perfectly well what I am referring to." the pinkette stated, "You deliberately waited to tell my family that you were a Professor here until the last damn moment before fleeing, leaving me to deal with their questions and demands!"

"Ah…sorry about that." Saito chuckled, "I rather thought you would have wanted to catch up with your family, which is why I didn't take you with me."

"Do you have any idea how many times I got scolded by Big Sister Éléonore?!" Louise growled, "My cheek feels like it was almost ripped off!"

"At least your mother's proud of you." the Onmyōji pointed out.

At this, the pinkette softened slightly. "Yes, that surprised me. She has been so disappointed in me since I arrived at the Academy that I had forgotten what it was like to have her proud of me. I really don't want to be Viscount Wardes when she gets her hands on him."

She sounded very sad was she uttered that last part. Saito cocked his head slightly and asked softly, "Tell me about Wardes."

"He…he's one of the Royal Family's most trusted agents, and has been for years, since before His Majesty the King passes away." Louise said slowly, "He's also been a friend of the de Vallière family for the same length of time. I've liked him since I was little, he was always so kind…"

"This can't be easy for you." Saito said gently.

"It isn't." Louise confirmed, "But…if he did seal my magic, then he isn't the person I thought he was."

"If you need to talk about it, just let me know." Saito said.

"Thanks." the girl sighed.

The room was silent then as Saito returned to what he had been doing before Louise entered the room; paperwork. To be precise, he was doing exactly what he had told the de Vallière family he was going to do, write out his lesson plans.

He didn't have that many to do, but he did want them to be appropriately thorough. It hadn't taken him long to deduce that the language the Tristainians used was remarkably similar to French, with a couple of minor differences.

He hadn't taken any foreign languages during his years at the Academy, because, frankly speaking, leaving Japan hadn't attracted him whatsoever. Now however, that decision was coming back to bite him on the ass. Fortunately, there was a stopgap measure, a written word translation spell that he had learned on the off chance Heichi Kuroboshi agents started communicating via dead drops in foreign languages.

'And Tsubaki-sensei was sceptical about how useful it would be.' the young Onmyōji thought somewhat smugly. In his opinion, there was no such thing as useless knowledge, only knowledge for which a use hadn't been found yet. This situation, if nothing else, had proved his belief in his own judgement.

"And…that is that." he sighed as he finished writing in kanji before applying the complex charm to the surface of the paper for a moment and watched as the ink on the paper shifted from rows of vertical kanji to lines of horizontal Romaji in French.

"It always amazes me when your magic works like that." Louise remarked as she poured herself a cup of tea, "How does it work?"

"Very basically, I have no idea." Saito replied wryly, "I copied the formula for the charm and would have followed up with the relevant knowledge on how it works, were it not for the Trials of Light and Darkness."

"The what?" Louise asked in befuddlement.

"The final exams at my Academy." Saito replied as he shuffled the papers in front of him into a neat pile, "They last for three days and exhaustively test the examinee's knowledge of the disciplines of magic, as well as their skill at wielding them."

"Three days? How many magic disciplines do you practice?" Louise asked in astonishment.

"Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Metal, Wood and Lightning are the basic ones." Saito replied, "Additional subjects include Shikigamijutsu, divination, Alchemy, History and a host of other mundane subjects."

"Threes again." Louise muttered, "Are there any other numbers that you use so commonly?"

"Three is common, but six, seven, nine and thirteen are also common." Saito replied, "Of them, seven is usually seen as lucky, while thirteen, especially if it's Friday the thirteenth, is seen as unlucky."

"Friday?"

"The fifth day in our seven-day week. Named after a goddess, Frigg, I believe." Saito elaborated, "Anyway, now that your parents and sisters are safely on their way back to their estate, do you want that first lesson?"

"Really?" Louise perked up at this.

"It won't involve actually casting magic, sorry to disappoint you." Saito said as she pouted at his words, "Hey, I'm going to teach you as I was taught, so none of that. The best foundation to magic is to know the theory behind it."

Louise grumbled at that, but settled down and awaited Saito's lecture.

"Now, the first thing you have to learn is the Creed." Saito said, "The Creed is what guides us Onmyōji throughout our lives. It is composed of four basic rules. First, never used magic for frivolous purposes. Second, Never do harm to those who cannot defend themselves. Third, Protect those who cannot protect themselves. Fourth, Use your magic for the betterment of your country. Do you have any problems with these rules?"

"None. They are honourable rules that are not in conflict with the Noble's Code." Louise replied thoughtfully.

"There is actually a fifth rule, but as magic is no secret in this world, it is a moot rule, so feel free to ignore it." the Onmyōji continued, "Right…next we have the basics of how the charms and talismans are made."

"What's the difference?" Louise asked.

"Charms are used for lesser spells, like cantrips." Saito explained, "The spell I used on my lesson plans over here is a charm. A limited spell, with a limited effect on a specific target."

Louise nodded at this explanation.

Saito pulled out eight talismans and laid them in front of Louise. Each was exactly the same, barring the character beneath the Yin and Yang symbol in the centre of the paper.

"Each symbol around the edge of the paper is designed to draw the ambient magic out of the air in order to empower the spell." Saito explained, "The element of the spell is determined by the character here in the centre. When you combine your own magic with the ambient magic, focus your willpower and call out a spell, the talisman activates as a medium for that spell before being consumed by the magic."

"It's going to take me ages to be able to copy that formula." Louise groaned. She could already feel her hands aching from grasping a brush after hours of practice.

"Copy it perfectly." Saito corrected her, "You need to copy it exactly. Any small error in the copying process and you could make it backfire on you. I remember a couple of times that happened to me. I got half-drowned in water and buried up to my neck in earth."

This, of course, made his pinkette Master giggle like no tomorrow at the mental image of Saito being buried under half a gallon of water and up to his neck in dirt.

Shaking his head at those memories, Saito continued, "These talismans are basic ones that can only be used for minor spells. Filling a bowl with water, growing a shrub, removing rust from metal, turning a bowl of water into a bowl of ice, a minor electric shock, a gust of wind, removing impurities from a pot of earth and creating a small flame. That sort of thing."

"So…these are the first spells I'll be able to use." Louise pondered.

"Pretty much." Saito nodded, "Your alignment to Void magic is extreme, and so I doubt you will be able to use any Halkaginian spells of the other elements. These Talismans only draw upon a spark of your power, a small grain, to act as a trigger and binding agent, so they will be a useful substitute."

"What about Void spells for the talismans?" Louise asked curiously.

"I have no idea." the Onmyōji admitted, "Theoretically, Void magic should be similar to the other talismans, but from what I've read about, they talismans were…different for Void Magic as opposed to, say, Fire. I've never seen a Void Talisman, not even a diagram of one. No one, except perhaps a few high-ranking Onmyōji, has seen a Void Talisman in the five-hundred years since Void magic was stolen from our world."

"I see." Louise scowled. Having the option to use Void magic via her talismans would have been useful.

"Here are your materials." Saito passed her several sheets of paper, a bottle of high-quality ink and a fine brush, "Much like learning how to write the letters of the alphabet, you must practice writing the characters so that the act of doing so becomes instinctive and you do not even need to think about it. Pick one and I'll show you how to write it. Then you can try it yourself."

With trepidation, Louise selected one character that looked reasonably simple to write, '' (Power).

"Ah, Chikara." Saito nodded, "OK, watch closely."

Picking up the brush, the Onmyōji drew the kanji in three practiced strokes, making it look identical to, if larger than, the kanji on the talismans.

"Do I have to make it look exactly like yours?" Louise asked.

"No, you merely have to make them identical." Saito replied, "Every person's ability with calligraphy is different, and even the best make minor errors that makes their pieces stand out from one another. All that matters is that you make the same mistakes or accents as they are referred to, in each Kanji. Any questions?"

"No, none." the pinkette replied.

With determination, Louise de Vallière buckled down and started to learn how to write in the complex writing system that is Japanese Kanji.

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Next Chapter: Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt

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