PART I:

The Fool

"The role of determination is to limit the agonies of doubt and the perils of hesitation when the motives for action are inadequate."

-Clausewitz

…

…

In the courtyard of the Tristain Academy, a group of students were huddled together. They were accompanied by a menagerie of strange creatures which sat or flew right next to them. Everyone in the crowd was tired. Today had been the day when all second-year students would summon their familiars, magical creatures who would act as their servants. Most of them summoned ordinary creatures like a frog or a cat, but exceptional students were capable of bringing forth something greater. Even now, some of the students glanced in awe at a blue-haired girl who sat on her summoned dragon.

But now the last student of the day stood in the summoning circle, her hands outstretched as she held a wand. Her name was Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliere. She began to finish the spell that would grant her the beautiful and pristine servant which she desired.

"Heed my summoning…. And bring forth my familiar."

BOOM

"Another explosion?"

One of her classmates muttered those words to her friend, and the latter giggled. But the reaction among the crowd was not much more than that. The Valliere girl, the one who had never been capable of doing even the simplest spells, was now trying to summon a familiar? It was a terrific joke. But even the best jokes get stale after one hears them multiple times. If any of them retained their interest at this point, it was only to watch an incompetent girl, someone who had clearly survived two years at Tristain Academy of Magic, the most prestigious school of magic in the land of Helgekinia, only because of the power of her family, accept her final defeat. One red-haired Germanian girl in the crowd was barely hiding her glee at the prospect.

Louise, her pink hair flowing, struggled to her feet. Her face was an impassive mask. It did its best to ignore the soot which stained her face and uniform, as well as the fear which gripped her heart. She turned towards her teacher, Professor Colbert, her voice slightly quavering.

"I need one last shot. Please, Professor."

The bald man pushed up the folds of his glasses and glanced at her, but said nothing. He had no reason to stop her from trying, and his silence represented tacit approval.

However, while he would allow Louise to continue, she knew that this was it. The next minute, the time necessary to finish the summoning spell, would be the most important moment in her life. Either she summoned a familiar, and proved herself worthy to join the rest of the nobles standing in the courtyard with their magical servants or…..

No. She wouldn't think of it. Not of probable quick marriage to her fiancé Wardes, not of the disappointment her family would have, not of being removed from this Academy. If she thought of failure, if she envisioned failure, it would already be over before she began to even say a single word.

With her face set, Louise stepped into the circle, and raised her wand.

"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliere!"

The voice was calm, mechanical. She couldn't betray her fear at this point, not now. But even as she continued the chant, her heart became a vortex of passion, and she prayed inwardly.

I have to seize my destiny. I have to show that I'm worthy to everyone, that I am not a worthless failure. Brimir, gods, grant me a familiar. Any familiar.

Her mouth continued its motions. The chant and pose was perfect. But her eyes flitted out, at the surrounding classmates, and in their eyes was glee, the joy of watching failure and final defeat. And so while her mouth repeated the spell necessary to bring forth a familiar, her heart said something else.

I'll take anything. I wished for a dragon and griffin once, but not anymore. A mouse, a bird, even a demon. Yes, a demon.

I'll take a demon, Brimir! One who will destroy me, one whom will swallow everyone around me, the world, even Cattleya! Even if I have to give up my soul and everything I love, grant me this wish, Brimir!

"Heed my summoning!"

That last line broke from the rest, as Louise's chant progressed from reciting to screaming. It was different this time. She felt power and her right arm shook with pain. But the pain was good. It signified change; change from the failures of the past. She would eliminate her past mistakes, and march onwards as she would reach for a glorious destiny among the stars. The first step would begin here.

"AND BRING FORTH MY FAMILIAR!"

The chant finished…. And the magic circle exploded.

As smoke filled the courtyard, Louise nearly dropped to her knees. Was that it? The summoning had felt different, but had she created nothing more than another explosion, that symbol of failure which continually chased her? Was the prayer worth nothing to Brimir? Her mind panicked with these questions, especially since the crowd had begun to laugh again.

"You're still a Zero after all, Louise!"
Louise turned towards Kirche's voice in anger, tears starting to leak out of her eyes. But then she felt a presence in the smoke. Something was in there this time. And as the smoke dispersed, she and everyone else looked at what was in there with an expression of surprise.

It was a man, a human being. A first glance seemed to indicate that he was in his forties, but as Louise's eyes ran over him, this man seemed far, far older than that. He was standing, but with a slouching posture, and exhaustion emanated from every part of his body. The fact that his clothing was not of fine quality did not help either. He wore a giant grey coat which had clearly been worn down through the years, accompanied with a formal white shirt and a pair of black boots.

But it was his eyes which were noticeable. The face was somewhat handsome, but it wasn't that interesting, especially since what was left of his hair clung to his scalp in an unkempt fashion. But his eyes, while evidently exhausted, were piercing, and Louise instinctively avoided them as she made her confused statement.

"Who are you?"

Two people spoke those words. Louise looked at the other, and then realized that Colbert had his wand out. He pointed it at the person she had summoned, his brows furrowed. But it wasn't that which surprised Louise and the crowd. Colbert was clearly emitting absolute hostility, with overwhelming pressure, as the students, some of whom had been about to laugh at Louise summoning what was clearly a commoner, gaped at his reaction. The pressure was horrifying, and the bumbling and kind professor emitted an aura which Louise realized was almost, though only almost, as terrible as her mother's in her worst rages. Everyone knew. Colbert was perfectly ready to kill the Valliere girl's familiar before he would move a single step.

While the students and Louise gaped in fear at the uncontrolled killing intent in Colbert's stance and words, the familiar looked merely confused. Colbert's intensive rage, even as it was clearly directed at him, provoked utterly no reaction, while the surrounding students who merely felt its aftereffects stared with fear at their professor. Now that they thought about it, could the man even understand the professor?

"Is that anyway to speak to me?"

It appeared that he could, as he gave a clipped response. But it was strange. He spoke what appeared to be Helgekinian, but at the same time it wasn't. The accent was wrong, but also the wording was slightly different, as if he was speaking a completely different dialect. It took everyone a few seconds to actually comprehend what he was saying, and it appeared that the same was occurring with the familiar.

"I don't know what you are, familiar, but you're not a human. No human could give off such a strong scent of blood."

The statement by Colbert only served to spread the confusion as the students all sniffed the air. What the heck was Colbert talking about? There was no scent, no sign of blood on the man's spotless coat or boots. There even wasn't a trace of red on his clothing.

However, the hostile reaction of the professor changed things. When Louise had at first looked at the human in front of her, she had panicked. The man, with his dusty clothes, was clearly a commoner. And to summon something like that was almost as bad as summoning nothing at all, and would have continued to make her the laughingstock of the Academy. But Colbert's reaction was too strange if he really was just a commoner. If the professor claimed that this thing was not human, then perhaps it was best to accept and keep him as her familiar. After all, she would avoid being kicked out of the Academy if she could just contract with it.

"Professor Colbert. Whatever he is, he is my familiar. Please, let me finish the contract."

Colbert looked at Louise. His wand shook for a moment, and Louise began to really worry about whether her successful summoning would end right there. However, the teacher eventually sighed and put away the wand.

"He's all yours, Miss Valliere."

Louise nodded in acceptance at Colbert's decision. But before she could make a move, the man – no, she reminded herself, it wasn't a man, it was her familiar, her servant - turned around and strode off towards what appeared to be the castle gates.

"Wait up, you! What are you doing?"

The familiar turned around with a quizzical expression at Louise's expression.

"Is this a trick question?"

"Listen, you! I summoned you, so you're my familiar! That means you have to do what I say!"

"Summon? Familiar? Are you magicians?"

Louise's response was to gape at this question, but as her peers burst into laughter at the absurd question, her face grew red. Had she summoned a moron?

"Be quiet! My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliere! And I summoned you, which means you're my familiar, and have to obey me!"

The man's eyes seemed to widen for a second in surprise.

"So you're a magician, then? Can you show me your magic?"

Louise's face turned bright red at that question, and the crowd guffawed. This person, this dog had already struck at her weak point! But no, she thought to herself. She had to calm down. She had performed magic, just now, and that meant that he had no right to question her!

"I summoned you, familiar! That is magic! And like I said, you have to obey me because of that!"

"But I'm not your familiar yet, am I?"

"Huh?"

As Louise once again gaped at the question, he continued.

"You told your professor that you needed to finish the contract with me. This means it hasn't been established yet. So, tell me girl, why should I be your familiar?"

The surrounding groups of students were stunned. A familiar denying his master from the beginning? This was completely unheard of. But before they could break into jeers at Louise's utter incompetence, he smiled, though it was one which did not reach his eyes.

"I'll accept. I can tell potential when I see it, girl. So I will be your partner for now, if that is what you desire. If you are worthy, we can work together, and if you are not-"

The man shrugged his shoulders, and thenraised his arms out wide.

"Since you gave me your name, I shall give you mine. I am Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, Mediator of the Helvetic Confederation. I shall accept becoming your partner, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliere, and I will look forward to crushing our enemies and seeking the world. Now, let us complete this contract."

…

"I must say, Louise, that is quite an unusual way of sealing a contract."

Louise said nothing to Napoleon. She continued to walk determinedly in front of him, her nose held high. Nevertheless, the Emperor continued to follow her for the moment. They left the courtyard and had entered a stone tower. As they walked up a set of stairs, Napoleon took notice of every detail. If this place did contain magic like the girl had said, it was likely not Earth, especially given how old-fashioned some of the things he had observed were. Their clothing and the stone traditional castle really made it feel like to him that he had gone back to around the Middle Ages, though he could tell that he was in some kind of magic school.

The two entered what appeared to be a dormitory, and then Louise opened the door to a room. Napoleon took note of how spacious it was. It was twice as large as his room during his days as a student at the military academy, and a luxurious bed occupied the middle. There was a desk and chair also by the bed. Napoleon walked towards the chair and sit down on it, only for Louise to shriek.

"What are you doing, you commoner! Why are you sitting down in the presence of a noble?"

"Noble?"

Napoleon noted the word to himself and mulled it over for a bit before he continued.

"Do you not have the courtesy to offer a seat to a guest, Louise?"

"A guest? You're my familiar! I summoned you!"

"That changes nothing. I have arrived at your school for the first time, and have pledged to work with you."

"S-shut up!"

Louise pointed her wand at Napoleon. She then flicked it over at a pile of clothes nearby.

"As my familiar, this is your first order. Take these clothes and wash them."

Napoleon had put his hands in front of him, and was looking at the girl. At first, he gave no reaction to Louise's command, but then he responded.

"Excuse me?"

"What's wrong? How do you think you're going to get food, or a place to sleep? You're my familiar and you don't seem to have any special abilities, so you can at least do menial tasks like cleaning."

Napoleon's expression became more impassive in response to such a command.

"Oi, girl. Do you remember my name?"

For the first time, Louise seemed to hesitate. She looked upwards in confusion before her face grew red, probably in frustration.

"Well, you're not remembering mine!" She yelled. "I am not 'girl'! I am Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, and you will address me with my full name, familiar!"

"When you start calling me by my full name, I shall do the same for you." Napoleon said. "But I will re-introduce myself. I am Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, Mediator of the Helvetic Confederation. Do you understand, Louise? Em-per-or."

He took particular care to stress every syllable of that last word, only for Louise to stare at him.

"Emperor? No you're not. There are no emperors. That is a title only reserved for one who would rule all of Helgekinia!"

"I never said I was from Helgekinia. I'm not from this world, Louise."

"That's just stupid!"

Louise threw up her hands in exasperation and strode to the bed. She laid down in it without even bothering to undress and threw the covers over her.

"Fine, don't do the laundry, useless familiar! I'll figure out something on my own. Just leave me alone!"

Louise gave a short breath after finishing that statement, which Napoleon took notice.

"Are you crying?"

His voice changed. Before it was short and sarcastic, throwing off questions and statements with aplomb. But now it was more soothing, inquiring about this girl in a sincere manner. It didn't help.

"N-no! I wouldn't cry over you, useless familiar! Now go away and leave me alone!"

Napoleon hesitated for a few seconds longer, and then got up. He looked at the round form occupying the bed.

"It is late. I will return tomorrow morning. Good night, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere."

With those words, Louise heard him stride out of the room. It was only when she heard the door shut that she let out hot tears of humiliation. Why couldn't anything go right for her? Sure, she summoned a familiar, but it was a terrible one who refused to listen to her at all. She still hadn't really proved anything, only that instead of a total failure, she was just a partial one. The students would still continue to mock her and her mother would still be ashamed of her. All she had managed to do was to stay at this Academy a little longer, but for how long given that she still couldn't cast a spell and had a disobedient familiar?

Still, she thought as she cried herself to sleep, her new servant really knew how to talk.

…

Napoleon looked out on the night sky, with its two moons. He lay down on the courtyard, smelling the fresh scent of new grass and feeling the wind, but he couldn't help but feel slightly discomfited at looking at the strange objects in the sky. Not only was the moon so different, the stars were in the completely wrong places in the sky.

The more he thought about it, he couldn't help but believe that he had been taken to an interesting place. The denizens whom he had met seemed to all be magicians, people who spoke a language which was highly similar to French yet different. It almost seemed to be some mixture of particularly archaic French with Italian, which suited him just fine. His French had always been mediocre anyways. The fact that he could understand these people was a good enough start.

But there remained problems. After leaving his angry partner, he had gone straight to the library. This country was similar to his France. Many of the people he had met, his master included, had names which he recognized from his days of reading history, and a glance at a maps showed that the geography was in fact fairly similar to Europe. But this country called Tristain was more like the France of the Ancien Regime. Napoleon had no doubt the ruler of this land was a fat slovenly king, whom did nothing but play around with idle pursuits while subjugating people only for the sake of his own greed. It also appeared that those who could use magic were nobles, and they claimed their power through birthright. The mere thought filled Napoleon with rage – he never forgot the boys at the Military Academy in his youth, incompetent fools whom mocked him because he was of lower birth even as they were inferior soldiers. Many of those men had died during the Terror, and he had not mourned any of them. He idly wondered whether those whom the nobles called commoners in the same way that one talks of a roach were truly incapable of magic, or just didn't possess the means and resources to try in the same way that these nobles did.

Still, there were problems. He opened a book that he had snuck out of the library and flipped the pages, stopping on a random sheet. It was unreadable. The language that these people spoke was similar, but apparently they used a completely different alphabet. He would have to learn it. For now, as obnoxious as that Louise girl was, she would be useful. He needed information, and she provided an excuse for him to roam around this academy and learn as much about this country as he could.

But that wasn't the only reason he would remain at her side. The girl had potential, and his initial appraisal of her had been backed through his research. While at the library, he had eavesdropped on some students who were gossiping about the day's events. From what he had heard, to summon a human was unprecedented, and the fact that it had come at the hands of Louise all the more so. It appeared that she was an incompetent mage from a powerful family. As someone who despised those who survived only through family connections like it seemed some of the students had claimed, she should have been among the first targets of his contempt. But he had not survived countless battles without being incapable of discerning hidden talent. The girl was not without power, he was certain of that much. It would be interesting to follow her for now, even if her treatment of him so far had remained less than impressive.

Still, he needed to rest. Being transported into such a different world was mentally exhausting even for him. He had left Louise's room, but he noted the grass was soft enough and shrugged. He had slept in far worse. Pulling off his military boots, he casually tossed the book he had been holding to his right. It landed on the ground with a soft thud.

SMASH

The minute the book stopped moving, an icicle shot into the grass. Napoleon barely managed to conceal his surprise, but chose not to move his body. He had no idea from where the attack came from, but against a wizard who could do something like that, it would be better to do nothing rather risking a move that could possibly provoke him. Still, he noted, it was a precise shot. He hadn't thrown the book that far, but the icicle had bridged the gap perfectly between them. A centimeter to the right or the left, and either the book or the fingers on his right hand would have been gone.

He craned his neck up and noticed that someone was walking up to him, and chose to remain generally still. However, his left hand inched inside his coat. He had brought a pistol with him when he entered this world, a standard flintlock. He had brought it in case of the worst, but he needed to see who the target was.

The attacker finally walked up. It was a girl, incredibly thin and with strange blue hair –Napoleon couldn't help but wonder about the bizarre hair colors these people had. But as he did so, she walked up to his head, carrying a massive crooked staff. She stopped when Napoleon could finally get a good look at her face as he lay down, and then pointed at the book.

"Stolen. Damaged."

It was a quiet voice, one that Napoleon could barely hear even as close as they were. But he simply shrugged his shoulders at the accusation.

"Not stolen. Borrowed. I can't read it anyways, you can return it if you want. Besides, that's a bit much for a stolen book, isn't it?"

The girl's stoic expression never changed. But she bent down and picked up the book. Then she finally said something.

"You're just like him. Be careful."

With no further words, she shuffled off into the night.

Napoleon thought about going after her, but then he realized something strange. His left hand – no those strange runes which had appeared on his hand since the girl had established the contract was glowing. There was also an odd feeling. Napoleon felt… light. Like he was 20 years younger, and the burdens of his years of battle were simply washed away from his body and mind.

Despite the pleasant feeling, he pulled the pistol out of his coat and set it on the grass. As he let go of it, those runes faded, and he wondered about what had happened. Did that light appear only when he was holding a weapon? While he may have been feeling that wonderful concept of youth again, it was possible that it came with repercussions. He would need to be cautious of those runes.

The former Emperor, he whom yesterday had slept in a great palace, now draped his greatcoat over himself and slept out under the stars. However, it remained the best sleep that he had obtained in a long, long time.