Cal had remained silent for the rest of the meeting. A few times, he had the urge to add his piece. Some of them were legitimate points that might have added to the discussion, and some were very much not. In every case, he decided to keep his comments to himself. He couldn't get a solid read on the Steward, and he wasn't keen on making himself a target.

  Instead, he passively listened as the surrounding nobles blabbered on. He was tempted to zone out, but he paid attention to even the most unimportant sounding of things. With where he was, anything else would have been irresponsible.

  When the meeting finally ended, they exchanged pleasantries without incident and were escorted to the exterior wall of the citadel. There had been a brief stop to change clothing, but they now waited in the front courtyard, adjacent to the portcullises. The gate was already raised, and all that remained was the arrival of their mounts. After that, they'd embark on a journey to a land guaranteeing death.

  Cal was tapping his foot impatiently, his mind running in circles. Naturally, all thoughts revolved around beast waves. While he would have to exaggerate his knowledge when it came to Magical Engineering, he was an expert on beast waves. He might not have had any formal schooling on the subject, but he'd been in the middle of enough of them to make up for it.

  Because of that, he knew exactly how dead this group would be if dropped into the middle of one. It wasn't a slight to them. As difficult as it was to believe, even someone like Millie would have perished if she had been put in such a scenario. She'd told him that very plainly. Aside from basic safety protocol, it was one of the few areas he could claim to best her in.

  Yes, he cheated with his abilities, but her entire existence was cheating, so it evened out.

  The only reason he didn't put his foot down and end this right now was that he wasn't being completely honest with himself. While Prodigy would die if put in a wave, it would never come to that.

  Waves were loud.

  What would start as a rumble in the distance would build into a deafening, incomprehensible cacophony of sound. Even in the chaos of the Waste, they were nearly impossible to miss. Their threat came in the numbers and the strength of each beast. Any village, town, or city in their path would be trampled, with most of the inhabitants eradicated.

  However, those above a certain level did not have to suffer the same fate. If you were fast enough, avoiding them was a viable option. Barring extraordinary circumstances, this group met that cutoff. Which meant venturing out was still feasible. It wasn't the smart choice, but it was never that to begin with.

  A string of words kicked him out of his head, and he looked up, staring at their speaker.

  "Sorry," Cal said, incredulity bleeding into his tone. "Could you repeat that?"

  Lily stood with her arms outstretched. At the end of them were a pair of gauntlets, similar to the ones he'd seen her fight with before. Her hands clenched, and she took an experimental swipe of the air.

  "Little off," she muttered to herself, adjusting the straps. "But I can make it work." She took a solid step forward and lashed out, the silver of her claws streaking through the air. "I said." She paused, pivoting on her foot and kicking back. Her upper body would continue to be protected by her school blazer, but she'd turned in the skirt for fur pants. "Good job in there."

  That was what he thought she had said. He just couldn't believe it. He'd been completely prepared to disregard any complaints sent his way.

  "Thanks?" He questioned, watching her practice her swipes. "I'm not asking to be yelled at, but didn't I mess that up a bit?"

  He glanced at the two boys, seeing them adjust their own equipment. Rolland's armor was obnoxiously shiny. It consisted of a sparkling silver breastplate with matching greaves and vambraces. Underneath it was a leather garment, running the full length of his body. It was made of polished red leather and served as the only layer of protection for much of his body, such as his shoulders and thighs. Black accents were drawn on the edges of his armor, giving it more definition. Benjamin wore a nearly matching set, though he traded the vambraces for his usual bracers. His coloring was also different. A dull gray took the place of silver and the red was darker, resembling dried blood more than the ink of a seal. Over it all, he draped a plain black cloak.

  "Absolutely," Lily shot back, not mincing her words. "It was so bad I almost found religion. Then I realized that even if my prayers were heard, the gods would be just as helpless as me in dealing with you."

  She had a good read on him. If a god were to resurrect from the dead, his first course of action would be to punch it in the face. It probably wouldn't work, but he'd rather go out swinging than live by their rules.

  "I'm not sure about that," Rolland replied absentmindedly, with his arms out. Benny was helping him loosen one of his pieces. "However, I'll echo her praise. You truly did comport yourself well, verbal slips aside."

  Cal snorted, crossing his arms and being generally unimpressed.

  "Why do I have a feeling the bar you guys set for me was near the floor? What, did you expect me to attack her or something?"

  None of them met his eyes, suddenly finding another piece of their equipment that needed adjusting.

  That…

  He took a breath, closed his eyes, and counted down before releasing it. Some bad memories had bubbled up, but it wasn't like before.

  "None of you realize how petty I can be," he threatened while contemplating what he could reasonably put them through.

  Benny glanced up toward the ramparts, where a guard or two could be seen patrolling. Wordlessly, the boy funneled magic into his bracer, expanding the bubble to block sound. His eyes darted to Rolland, who rolled his eyes before twirling a finger. Cal could feel the magic kick up around them, bending the light and leaving static images of them in place.

  "Personally," Benny grunted, a glower coming over his face. "I would not have faulted you. It took restraint on my end to not confront her over the insult to His Highness."

  He didn't need the validation, especially when he hadn't planned on assaulting her, but he still found himself appreciative of it. He was a tad disappointed to know he'd missed Rolland being insulted. It would have been nice to know in the moment that someone else was being verbally attacked.

  "Benny, Benny, Benny," Rolland repeated, shaking his head and slapping Benjamin on the back. "She was far tamer than what we would expect from the other dukes or their representatives. With how they've been recently, they wouldn't have had the decency to indirectly question my judgment."

  Was that counted as an insult? That was remarkably stupid. It would result in being surrounded by people who only told you what you wanted to hear.

  "This is why you should stay away from them," Lily added, almost sounding like one of his checked-out professors. "Anyone small standing next to the royal family gets crushed." She pointed a claw at a nonplussed prince. "Whatever you said was going to end up twisted and used against him." The claw went down, and she released a sigh. "You just really outdid yourself by making light of the Waste of all things."

  Was that what they thought he was doing? For a brief moment, he wished he could tell them how much knowledge he actually had of the Waste. The thought forced away. There was a limit to how much he could play the fool.

  "Don't doubt yourself," Rolland replied, mistaking his bitter expression. "However, I would caution against discussing the Waste in front of the Eastern Lords. They hold strong opinions on the matter and don't tend to appreciate the input of others."

  They fancied themselves fellow experts then? He had yet to be impressed by them, but judging them so hastily wouldn't have been fair.

  "And how much do you know about what we're walking into?" Cal questioned the group, roving over them with his eyes and watching for reactions. "Because she used the word wave in there."

  Lily stopped her testing but remained silent, choosing to wait in the stillness. Benny appeared ready to speak but withheld his words at the last moment. Rolland's playful expression faded, replaced briefly by a troubled look before it too vanished.

  "Ferguson used to tell me about them. He'd always claim he couldn't give them justice. That one had to see them to understand."

  Cal mused that must have been one of Ferguson's rare sober moments, as it was a fair opinion. It was the kind of statement that showed him that behind his useless persona, their teacher had been someone important. That didn't mean he was in any way worth the risk this trip presented.

  "No then," Cal filled in what Rolland had tried to get around. "Well, your nobility will amount to nothing in the face of it. What's your plan then?"

  If he said anything other than run as fast as he could, this whole thing was over. For someone like him, it was the only correct answer.

  His words may have been too hostile for certain people's sensibilities, and Benny stepped forward, only to be stopped by Rolland's palm. The crown prince met his stare evenly, and he gave a nod of acknowledgment.

  "It's a prudent question." Rolland slipped a hand underneath his breastplate. "One I've come well prepared for."

  In his hand was a small bundle. It was wrapped in some sort of cloth or thin leather, Cal couldn't quite tell which. The prince's free hand carefully tugged at its side, undoing the wrapping and exposing a corner of the object hidden inside. As Rolland methodically pulled at the material, a golden square was revealed. It was only as long as a finger and roughly as thick as two. The center was covered with glass, allowing one to peer into its hollow center, where a needle pointed east.

  "You brought a compass," Cal deadpanned, staring at the object skeptically. "To the Waste."

  As something not powered by magic, it wouldn't be corroded by the ambient magic. That didn't mean it would work. There were too many overpowered beasts stomping around, altering the landscape to their will. They were capable of all kinds of magic and if something like traveling by magnetic poles was practical, everyone would do it.

  "Y-" Benny's strangled voice caught his attention. "Your Highness, you didn't…"

  The man sounded pained, and it occurred to Cal that this might not have been a gaudy paperweight. Cal probed with his senses, and they did not tell him anything of note. With his curiosity piqued, he reached out with a finger to give it a closer inspection.

  A hand clamped down on his wrist, and he looked up to see a wide-eyed Lily. However, her stare was not directed at him.

  "I can't believe you got permission to take that," she breathed out, still locked on the compass. "I've only seen a painting of it."

  Okay, so definitely not a normal compass. That only made him want to poke it more, and his arm tried to move, only to meet stiff resistance from Lily. Her attention still looked elsewhere, and he wondered how conscious she was of the death grip on him. He maneuvered his other hand and started gently prying her fingers off.

  "Ah," Rolland's expression froze for a moment, and he put on a blatantly manufactured smile. "Permission might be a liberal interpretation of events. However, I would not concern myself with the details of its acquisition. Rather, be reassured by its presence."

  There was a piece of this puzzle he was missing, and Cal looked for someone to fill him in on it. Benny turned out to be that person.

  "That's the Wayfinder. A relic of the gods, it is said to take those who hold it to safety. I've never seen it outside of the palace vault, where it is meant to reside."

  That nugget of information caused him to stop trying to remove Lily's fingers. He'd heard the Empire had relics, but he'd not expected to encounter one. They were vanishingly rare, and this would be the first time he'd ever set eyes on one.

  "Alright," Cal spoke hesitantly, watching for any aberrations from the object that belonged in another age. "What does it actually do? Like, practically speaking. Because I'm not about to trust something at face value just because it was made by a bunch of controlling pricks that killed each other."

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  It had shock value. He'd give Rolland that, but it didn't save the god who made it, so why would it save them? The scales of the conflict might have been off, but he felt asking for clarification was valid.

  He must have been the only one, as all heads turned to him and looked at him as if he were some manner of alien.

  "That's an extreme view of things," Rolland ventured, pulling his hand back and beginning the process of wrapping up the relic. "From a radius of five meters from it, all persons will be instantly moved to a safe venue. It is not a set location, but we have records of it functioning seven times in the past."

  Seven was a good number. It meant the thing was somewhat reliable. He didn't like the location being random, but that fit with the fickle nature of the gods. He wasn't in a rush to test it himself but—

  Hold up.

  Wasn't this pretty much the perfect present for Millie? It was an irreplaceable magic item concealing an untold amount of secrets. He'd never thought he'd find something that would work as a gift for her, but here it was.

  All he had to do was figure out how to get his hands on it. Funny thing about the Waste, people tended to lose things all the time there. If a small object were to be knocked loose by a beast during a frantic fight, who would know?

  Besides Cal, of course.

  "So what's taking our ride so long?" Cal asked, looking down the path for any sign of their mounts. "We're burning daylight."

  It was heartening to learn that they were not blindly riding into the Waste. No, Rolland had people do some legwork, and they knew the village Ferguson was last spotted at. The village in question was underwhelming, consisting of a few buildings surrounded by an earthen wall. There were supposedly over a hundred people living there, and Cal wondered how they accomplished that in such cramped quarters. He suspected it was a series of tunnels and cellars, but he would have no chance to verify that as they bypassed it completely.

  Cal cared little for the time, but some of his compatriots were under the delusions this might actually work, and so they moved with haste. With the sun beginning to set, they would have been better off staying the night at the Bulwark but it wasn't a huge problem in his book. Augmentation didn't let you abandon the need to sleep completely. However, it did give you more flexibility with it. His trance made it a non-issue for him, but the others could still manage a few days.

  The countryside changed progressively around him, tended fields turning into rugged earth. This area was barren, devoid of any shrubbery. If he were to use Federation lingo, they would be nearing sector A-7. They'd broken it into a grid system, and while the ever-changing landscape made things difficult, it worked well enough. The letters represented latitude while the numbers longitude. Counterintuitively, the numbers ran backward, with 1 being the southernmost sector.

  They rumbled along, their mounts trampling everything in their path. He was not being facetious either, as the ground under their hooves shifted, smoothing out. They were called Terraeus and, at a distance, could be mistaken for ordinary horses. The difference lay mainly in their legs, which were double the width of their non-magical cousins. Carefully bred for generations, they could barely be considered magical beasts, and their magical signatures were extraordinarily faint. Cal had been keeping a close eye on their expenditure, and they fell just short of generating enough magic to appease their consumption. He could feel them making up the difference by taking in the ambient magic, which had only grown thicker during their travels. Conventional wisdom told him that was a bad idea, but the Empire was famous for its beasts and he was hoping they knew what they were doing in this instance.

  Due to Lily's last-minute tag-along, they were short one. Cal had unilaterally decided he would not be the one sharing. Unfortunately, the Terraeus didn't agree with that and he found himself sitting behind Lily again.

  He maintained the game was rigged. As a silver lining, it did give him an opportunity to speak with the girl somewhat privately. Rolland and Benny were riding on either side of them, but with the distance and wind, their whispers would go unheard.

  "Yo," he opened, squeezing her side to make sure she was paying attention. "What do you think would happen if he lost that thing?"

  Cal didn't think he needed to elaborate on what that thing was. It had been a snap decision to steal a national treasure, and he couldn't help but think he might have been too rash with it. Once this whole assignment was done, someone would be able to put together that a Federation agent was with the relic when it went missing. Plausible deniability was nice and all, but it wasn't a great look if they were trying to mend relations.

  Then again, would it be so bad if they 'found' and returned it later? Millie's interest was difficult to hold, and she'd grow bored of it eventually.

  Lily kept her eyes forward, but she leaned back in the seat and replied in a low voice.

  "For one? We wouldn't have to call him the crown prince."

  Cal didn't know if that was more or less extreme than he originally thought. Ignoring his prejudice, saying he liked Rolland was a stretch. However, he didn't hate the idea of him being Emperor. Rolland was rash, but Cal appreciated the casual manner in which he could carry himself. He didn't know how much of the man was fake, but his relationship with Ferguson and Benny felt genuine.

  "Does that mean Se–" Cal coughed, pretending he'd been about to swallow a fly. He wasn't sure if Alice had told her about his nickname for the prince, but he wasn't going to share it here. "Does that mean Sebastian would be chosen next?"

  The kid wouldn't be bad either. He could do with some more real-world experience, but he was earnest enough. It occurred to him that regardless of which was chosen, the future leader of the Empire would have been directly struck by him. That was probably best left out of the history books.

  "That's a big question," Lily replied, and he could sense hesitation in her tone. "It would be the Emperor's decision, but I've heard rumors that House Procellae and House Viridiqua might favor him. House Ferrum is usually more reserved, which is why I didn't expect her to go after you like that." Ideally, Cal would not have dealt with any of the dukedoms, but he was already two down and so he wondered when House Viridqua would come knocking. "You're not going to ask about the second princess? She could be chosen as well."

  No, he didn't think he would. Cal stared off into the distance, reviewing his choices again. Somehow he'd fallen into an almost quasi-kingmaker position. In a certain sense, this was his second time. He just didn't have a genius to deal with the fallout this time.

  His eyes drifted to the perfect-looking prince. Rolland was the main reason they were in this mess. Relic or not, he was risking lives. Losing his crown for it seemed like an apt consequence.

  Cal had taken plenty of things that weren't his. So why did the idea of stealing this seem wrong to him? He also wasn't convinced the consequences would be what Lily predicted. He wouldn't deny the value of a relic, but with how sparingly they were used, were they really that important?

  "Who does the Academy support?" He ignored her question and threw one of his own. "I know they're supposed to be independent, but they must have a say."

  Lily didn't reply straight away, taking some time to think. Somehow, he didn't think it was entirely related to his words.

  "You're right in that the Academy has no official political power, but people listen to Vic. He would never support someone publicly, but I wouldn't put it past him to have private meetings with specific people. It might be enough to have some houses break from their factions, which now that I'm saying it out loud, sounds crazy to me. That would have been unthinkable in our parents' age."

  Defanging the Board would have been unthinkable mere years ago, yet here they were. There were no gods determined to hold them in place, and times were changing. He couldn't say how it would turn out, but he didn't have to be a quiet observer. What part he would play was the outstanding question.

  His senses caught a shift, and he sat straighter.

  "Who's got it?" He yelled to ensure all heard him.

  Heads turned to him, but they were slow to act, and he took that as his cue. Cal slid off the saddle, unhooking his spear on the way down. He rolled on the ground once before getting his feet under him and pushing off. He noticed the Terraeus give distressed neighs as he sped past them, but they weren't his concern.

  His strides grew increasingly wide, and he kept the tip of the spear just above the ground as he ran. Once near enough, he thrust it into the ground, sweeping it forward. The earth was torn up and a small fissure surged forward. It was purely brute strength, and he found himself annoyed about the restrictions he was already having to put himself under.

  The ground in front of him burst open, chunks of earth flying toward him. It was within his expectations, and he smoothly ducked under a larger rock before deflecting several smaller ones with his spear. After worming his way through the initial barrage, he spotted his target. The beast was rotund, resembling a furry boulder three meters tall. A small head with floppy ears poked out the top.

  Taking out the head didn't always work, but it was a good start. Cal raced toward it, and an elongated foot emerged from the ball. It slammed on the ground, causing it to turn against Cal. His legs bent before propelling him upward, spikes of earth chasing him. They wouldn't make it in time, and his trajectory would have carried him on a collision course with the beast—if not for the wall that erupted from the ground in front of it.

  He snorted at the display and twisted in the air so that his feet met it first. Kicking off it, he scaled it in an instant and then used its backside as a springboard to finally reach striking distance of the beast. One of the ears stretched, attempting to slap him away. He took the opening and grabbed it, pulling himself closer.

  His spear was the first to greet it, entering its sole eye with a squelch. His magic flowed into the spear, and where he would usually tear it apart with blades of wind, he chose flame. A blast of heat hit him, followed soon by the smell of charred flesh. He extracted his spear and used his hold to flip to the other side of the beast, jagged pebbles passing through where he had just been.

  It was disappointing that his first beast here would have an affinity with earth, but at least it made it easy to deal with.

  The spear struck again, biting into the small bit of neck the creature had. It met resistance, and Cal grunted before heating the spear enough to burn through the thick fur. That did the trick, and once it sank in, he ignited the tip again. The creature spasmed under him, and its mass toppled forward. He rode it down, and it seemed to deflate after hitting the floor.

  Being careful not to fall off the beast, he navigated to the center. Once in position, he raised his spear with two hands before striking down forcefully. Waiting until he felt it pierce flesh, he swept the blade outward, carving into it. That done, he kneeled on the carcass and stuck his hand in, fishing around its innards. His fingers brushed the familiar round object, and he yanked it out.

  With what sunlight was left, Cal inspected the brown core. It was smaller than he would have liked, but hopefully, it would be the first of many. He'd just have to be careful about draining it in front of the others…

  Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten them. Glancing up, he saw that they had dismounted and run ahead of their mounts. Their weapons were drawn, and they slowed as they neared, stopping almost awkwardly.

  Cal hopped off the beast and dragged his arm across its fur to get some of the blood off. It seemed to only make it smudge, and he gave up on it with a shrug. He glanced back at their frozen expressions before walking past them, making his way toward their mounts.

  "What?" He had displayed no more power than he had before. "I said I was good at this."

  Maybe now people would start believing him when he talked. Wait, was that even a good thing?

  Cal: Yeah so I'd totally sucker punch a god.