PreCursive

  I took a longer bath than usual, taking the time to try and depress. I must have just y iub for nearly half an hour after ing myself, simply trying to clear my mind. I don’t know how successful I was at that, but at least I was thankful for the magi the tub. I’d experie before, but the water was self-ing or something. Thank God I wasn’t just floating in a bunch of re-hydrated blood, sweat, and mud.

  When I finished, I realized I hadn’t brought a set of clothes with me into the washroom. There was no way I was going to put my old clothes on, they were ruihey were little better than rags at this point, with all the battle damage on them. A shame though, they had been a gift from Ely.

  I ed a towel around my waist and walked to my room. I doubted either Grey or Azarus cared if I walked around half-naked. Ohere, I got ged into some of the old clothes that Azarus had gifted me back when I first arrived. Just a simple white tunid brown pants, nothing special. When I was done, I left my room and headed dowairs to joihers.

  Entering the kit, I found that Grey and Azarus were hunched over the table whispering to each other about something. As soon as I stepped ihough, they stopped and straightened up to look at me.

  I raised an eyebrow at them. “Am I interrupting something?”

  Grey smiled disarmingly at me, unfazed. “Not at all, Nathan. Azarus was merely inf me of some…developments, nothing more.” He gestured to the third spot at the table. “Take a seat, if you please. Azarus, if you would?”

  At his urging, Azarus grunted in assent and got up from the table. Walking over to the stasis et that funed as a pantry and fridge both, he opehe rightmost door. Inside te of food, upon which rested half of a roast chi and some equally roasted potato ks, still steaming. The wonders of domestic magic, I suppose.

  When he pced the pte in front of me, I was aware all ain of how ravenously hungry I was. Slipping Azarus a quick thanks, I tore into the food in front of me, barely remembering to wash it down with the water from the pitcher in the ter of the table. I ate everything oe that I was able, going as far as to suck every bit of meat I could off of the chi bones. When I finished, I sat back with a satisfied sigh. I luxuriated in the feeling of a full stomach for a moment before turning my attention back to the others.

  “Thanks again. I hat.” I said to them.

  “Thank him,” Azarus said wryly, jerking a thumb in Grey’s dire. “It’s not like I cooked it.”

  Grey shrugged. “I was in the midst of cooking dinner when you returned. It was no trouble to make more.” He paused. “Well…in any case, I suppose we have a few things to discuss, don’t we?”

  I fixed him with an unimpressed stare. “Uh-huh. We sure do, ‘Headmaster Grey’.”

  Grey winced slightly. “Ah, yes…” He said, scratg his beard sheepishly. “Azarus told me that Prince Elysael let that slip.”

  “What I don’t uand.” I began, crossing my arms. “Is if you’re someone important, why you tried to hide it from me? I mean, I got the impression you were more important than you let on. It’s not like the Savoy Prince would gh all this trouble to hold someone captive in the middle of nowhere for just anyone. I, uh, I assume so anyway.” I finished, gng at Azarus.

  He shrugged at me and wiggled his hand bad forth.

  Looking back at Grey, I tinued. “It’s just odd, man. Why?”

  “Ah…well, it’s both plicated and not at the same time.” Grey began, folding his hands in his p. “To begin with, let me fully re-introduce myself. In actuality, I am Headmaster Grey, of the Academy of Mystic Arts and Archmage of the Indigo Circle, at your service.” Before I could even speak, he held up a hand to stop me. “I know that none of those names or terms mean anything to you, Nathan. Please, let me expin from the beginning.”

  Grey paused for a moment. “I am…somewhat well-known.” He began slowly, only to be interrupted by a snort of disbelief from Azarus. Casting an annoyed g him, Grey tinued. “Both for some of my personal exploits and for my position. You see, the Academy is the foremost, and truly only pce upon mainnd Vereden where mysticality is explored ih. What this trao in practice, is that we teach young neophytes to harhe forces that reside beyond the reach of their Status. In other words, Magid Cultivation.”

  “So, you run a school basically. Like, the school. That right?” I asked Grey, curious.

  My question made him let out a shh and smile wryly. “Yes, I suppose so. The Academy resides ial, much to the sternation of certain political bodies. While we are rgely an apolitical anization, the fact ’t be dehat while we admit students of all races that are eligible, our presehin the Human Kingdom leads to some parties equating us to them. This isn’t true of course, but the Academy has enjoyed a rgely amicable retionship with the Royal House of Herztal for turies.” His smile faded. “Which is what I believe tributed somewhat to my current predit.”

  Grey and Azarus shared a gnce.

  “I haven’t beeirely truthful with you about why I’m so eager to be rid of this pathan,” Grey said to me seriously. “Truthfuly I’m fident that in time I could devise a method in which to free myself. In fact, I’m certain that Pringuis of House Savoy is ting on that eventually, in the fullness of time. However, I don’t have that time. I was captured and removed from my position for a very particur reason.”

  Leaning forward, I interrupted him. “Because Herztal is at war?”

  Grey raised his eyebrows at me in surprise befng at Azarus. He just shrugged at Grey, causing him to look back at me. “What have you heard, Nathan? Is this ahing the Priold you?”

  “Not really, no. I just heard something off-hand.” I replied, somewhat taken aback.

  “Hmm. Well, you’re incorreathan. The Kingdom isn’t at war. It’s experieng a civil war. Ohat is almost entirely my fault.” Grey told me gravely.

  Azarus burst into the versation. “Godsdammnit Grey!” He said frustratedly. “I’ve told you time and again, this whole mess isn’t your fault!”

  Grey rounded on Azarus with more ahan I think I’ve ever seen from him. “And I’ve told you I disagree!” He snapped back. “They are my creations! I brought them into this world, and I’m responsible for anything they do! Anything they bee! Aainly, anything that happens to them because I’m stu this damnable house!” He finished half a step from full-on shouting.

  I was taken aback. This was the first sign of tention I’d ever seeween Grey and Azarus. They had, almost frustratingly, alresented an almost unified front whenever expining things to me.

  “Uh.” I broke in. I almost flinched when Grey’s eyes snapped bae with speed. “What ‘creations’ are you talking about?”

  Grey took a deep breath. “I…” He almost looked lost for a moment. “I’ve always been something of a…tinkerer, you could say. I enjoy experimenting, you must uand. I derive deep personal joy from pushing the farthest bounds of mysticality. I was born in a small farming unity on the periphery of the Kingdom known as Hollow Hill. As I grew, I witnessed firsthand the problems that pgue the an. Even with a Status, Vereden is a harsh world. The stant struggle between a o provide for one’s family, in bination with the o fight off the beasts that pgue the a deep impression ohe travels that I’ve experienced over my long life had only reinforced this diy. Fifty-three years ago, I hit upon an idea. What if…I could ease this burden?” He fixed me with an almost manic look. “What if I could improve the lives of all free-thinking sapients upon this world?! What if I could alleviate the an of the o choose between both worlds?!”

  “Sounds…kind ant,” I said to him slowly.

  Grey defted like a popped balloon and lowered his head. “Yes.” He whispered, almost ashamed. “Yes, it was. I was.”

  The table was quiet for a moment.

  Stirring, Grey tinued, still staring at his hands. “But it worked, you see. Some time ago, I witnessed a uype of monster in the northern highnds that inspired me. It appeared to be some kind of stone man. It was quite a fight; I tell you. Very resistant to magic. I had to rely upon my panions in order to finish the creature off. I’ll never fet it, you know. It was called a Deviant Golem.” He reted with a far-off look on his face.

  I began to get an idea of where this was going. A bad idea.

  “And so, I thought to myself.” Grey tinued. “If the System create a man out of stone, why ’t I? I began experimenting. It took me a decade of stant work, staing aing. So many, many failed prototypes. In the end, the first wasn’t even made of stone, but shining silver mithril. But I succeeded. Forty-three years ago, the first of the AutoVants were born. My Autonomous Servants.”

  Finally looking up from his hands, Grey gave me a weak smile. “At first, they were difficult to produce. But over time, I refihe process of creating a fully funal AutoVaually learning to create them from different materials. Eveone I was so inspired by. Months of work became weeks. Weeks became days. Until the process of creating a sioVant was so streamlihat even a mere neophyte mage could likely ent one, singlehandedly. I was ecstatic of course. I released the design process out into the Academy at rge, aually the Kingdom itself freely. There was r, massive demand for them immediately. After all, why wouldn’t there be? For the farmers of the Kingdom, this meant they could delegate the endless backbreaking drudgery of farm work to a ype of tool. For the military, it meant they could drive the hostile creatures of this world farther beyond the frontier without risking soldiers. In all walks of Herztalian life, the AutoVant rapidly grew to promi seemed as if the Kingdom was entering into a golden age. No longer did man have to toil endlessly, forsaking their individual passions.”

  Grey sighed, and seemed to stare off into the distance.

  “Of course, it didn’t st.” He nearly whispered, before log eyes with me. “I did not desigoVants to be sapient, but they didn’t stay that way. Five years ago, they slowly started to…wake up, for ck of a better term. The first of these was the very first that I created, all those years ago.” He took a deep breath before smiling widely. “I was astonished, but in my own way overjoyed. My pursuits had never left me with the time to pursue a family, and so I took this as a sign. I adopted her. My Silvia…”

  His smile faded.

  “But it didhere. More and more, the AutoVants began to achieve sapience all across the Kingdom. This caused some arm and u of course, but nothing that wasn’t manageable. To this day, I have no idea why or how they gained full sapience, merely that they did. Eventually, the situation must have reached a tipping point of some sort, because the System took notice. Everyone upon Vereden received a simultaneous notification. ‘A new race has beeed, initiating System Initialization’.”

  I furrowed my brow, breaking out of the spell I had fallen under listening to Grey. “Wait,” I said, holding up a hand. “I swear I’ve heard about that before. Isn’t System Initializatiohing that caused everyoo gain a Status turies ago? Didn’t you say that never happened again?”

  My words caused Grey to let out a shh. “A minor historiission.” He admitted shamelessly. “At the time, I didn’t wish to overwhelm you with the full scope of the situation.”

  I felt my eyebrow twitch. “Don’t do that again, dammit. Just tell me upfront.”

  “Of course, Nathan.” Grey acquiesced, suspiciously easily. “Well, the Sed Initialization, as it came to be called, accelerated the situation. Every remaining AutoVant that had not gained sapience already gai immediately. In addition, all of them gained a Status, fully ting their position among the peoples of Vereden. The AutoVants anized, and chose a new name for themselves.”

  “The Sculpted.”