Emily wakes up just before 7, and sleepily s herself in her robes before the maids arrive. They once again e and leave in sileaking her dirty clothes and delivering a hearty meal. Emily eats while deg her order of activities for the day.

  I need just under seven hours for each cycle of Spellweave aation, so I only get two full cycles a day. That leaves me with around two hours for food, exercise, and sh. Let’s do some light exercise after meals to maximise the use of my meditation. Maybe I improve my body’s stats faster that way.

  Polishing off the bowl of soup, she enthusiastically gets up and throws on fresh clothes, identical to the ones she was given the day before yesterday. She spends twenty minutes doing a reduced form of her workout, only using up 43 stamina, then sits down on the floor to delve bato the Spellweave.

  She falls into a routine and tass quickly.

  At 8 pm ohird day of her fi, Emily is once again pulled out of meditation by the maids knog at the door. She calls them in, then thanks them as they leave as usual, but this time she is sat with a self-satisfied smile throughout.

  H in the forefront of her vision is her updated status page.

  ˉˉˉˉˉ

  [Status]

  [Name:] Emily Coldstone

  [Race:] Human

  [Age:] 15

  [Magic Circle:] First Circle

  [Maa Cortex:] First Stage

  [Attributes:] Strength 7, Dexterity 15, Agility 12, Vitality 8, Intelligence 22 > 23

  [Health:] 115/115

  [Stamina:] 175/175

  [Mana:] 180/330 > 180/345

  [Maa:] 330/330 > 338/345

  _____

  It took about twenty hours of meditation to increase my intelligence by one, and none of the other stats have gone up, so for now I’ll assume meditation just affects intellige looks like eatelligence gives me fifteen mana and maa too.

  Emily eats her food and moves to do her exercises. Over the past two days, she’s noticed the ability tee stamina through meditation reduces the more she uses it. However, it resets when she sleeps.

  As she’s getting into position for her final meditation of the day, someone impatiently knocks on the door.

  “e in,” she calls, watg the door cautiously.

  The maids don’t normally break schedule, I wonder who it is.

  The door swings open to reveal Jose standing with a light scowl, staring at Emily.

  “Tomorrow be up and ready to leave at 8 am, I will e collect you to take you to the airship docks,” he says without taking a siep into the room.

  “Okay.”

  Immediately upon hearing a response, he shuts the door and walks away.

  “Wow, I tell he really likes having to deal with me. I wonder where they’re sending me,” Emily mutters before pushing her questions away as she falls into her meditation.

  ***

  The m Emily wakes up and prepares to leave. She says goodbye to the taciturn maids, eats the breakfast they’ve delivered, and then takes a long shower.

  After the shower, she dresses in her robes and finally puts on the shoes she received on her first day in captivity. Cheg The Clock, she sees it’s only 7:38 ales down to meditate until Jose arrives. After seeing her intelligencrease, Emily has decided to meditate whenever she , to increase her stats as fast as possible.

  Twenty mier, at 8 am o, Jose knocks. This time Emily gets up and moves to the door, opening it instead of inviting him in.

  “Take this and follow me,” he ands, handing her a sizeable suitcase, before swiftly turning on his heels and walking back down the hallway.

  Emily follows him in silence, making an effort to keep up with his brisk walking pace while carrying her luggage.

  If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to lose me. Is he in a hurry? We weren’t walking this fast the other day…

  The cause of Jose’s urgency soon bees clear as they leave the servant's wing. Standing in front of them with his arms crossed, impatiently tapping his fingers, is Diego.

  “Took you long enough,” he says with a clear look of irritation on his face.

  Jose es to a halt and lightly bows his head.

  “Apologies, sir.”

  “Whatever.” Diego turns his attention towards Emily. “You are beio join The ant of the Blessed, the elite mages w for the Modo Kingdom. While you are there, we expect you to plete a multitude of courses to further yourself as a mage and bee a useful asset to the family. You will find a few items to assist you within the suitcase that has been prepared for you. The first is a list of all the courses you must plete. Those are a requirement, and you may choose any other courses that i you as long as they fit around those listed. The sed is a unication crystal. Always keep this on you and a, no matter what, if it activates. Any instrus givehis crystal must be taken as the orders of the family and obeyed. The third is a silver family crest. You may not dispy this crest on your person under any circumstances. However, you must present it wheering. Due to the Patriarch’s high evaluation of your talent, you have been given the allowance of an i family member as opposed to the oner scum you are. But, you are only given three years to reach the third circle. Otherwise, your resource limit will be decreased again, and you will be punished severely for wasting the family’s money. Once you reach the third circle, immediately report it through the unication crystal and await further instrus. Uood?”

  “Yes, sir,” Emily responds, lightly bowing her head as she processes his words.

  Three years! Is that how long I’ll be away? Is there a way for me to let Anna know?

  “Good, take her to the airship theurn here immediately Jose.”

  Diego walks away the moment he finishes giving ands, and Jose leads Emily towards the gates of the estate.

  Why did he e and give me that speech himself when he clearly didn’t want to be here? Ah, is this a limitation on their brainwashing spell? The t Elder Santiago used said ‘Broken and bound to our family tree’ so maybe only instrus given by direct members of the family must be followed. That would also expin why he told me to listen to anything Jose says the other day and to take ivehe crystal as orders of the family.

  As Emily siders the details of the brainwashing spell used on her, Jose leads her out of the gates and bato the streets of Eimdon City.

  They turn aowards the east, along a single, wide and open street. Several guard patrols are out, with clockwork rifles in hand, casting cautious gazes over the eg side streets as they go.

  As they move further east, the extensive mansions b the road are slowly repced by a multitude of shops. Emily takes in the rge gss windows, filled with expensive dispys of fresh produd fine clothing. Since being brought withiy walls, Emily had been forbidden from ever straying onto the main street, so this is her first time experieng the prosperity of the city.

  Her experience doesn’t st long, as Jose maintains a quick pace through the slowly growing crowd, and she has to make a certed effort to keep up. The people in front of them part as they see the Mandrago crest, lightly bowing their heads as they pass.

  I thought my body had improved, so why is it still so hard to keep up with him? Stupid luggage.

  Emily is soon distracted by the t building that es into view.

  Standing at the end of the main street is a behemoth of metal, spanning half the eastern wall and covered in an array of pipes and smokestacks: the airship docks.

  Emily’s senses qui as she hears grinding gears and steam engines running when they get within a few hundred metres of the rge entrahe distinctive cmour of people underlies the droning of the meical monster, and her fasation only grows as they pass through the entrance.

  Looking around in wonder, she tries to take ihing. Along the edges of the ceiling are moving ptforms, spun by gears, carrying masses of coal and cargo across the plex. Every surface above head height is lined with plicated runs of tubing, weaving together like a fine piece of art, with several meics hanging from cables doing maintenand repairs throughout the hall.

  The hall itself is a seething mass of people, in a crer than Emily has ever seen before, all busily moviween different side passages, or setting up stalls and yelling out for different people or destinations.

  As they push through the crowd, Emily glimpses a few small ships past the people elling into the side passages.

  Wait, why are the ships this far in? I thought they weren’t allowed to fly above the city…

  She’s pulled out of her thoughts wheices a familiar head of salt and pepper hair sitting behind a stall selling various high-quality fabrics. Her gaze locks onto the owner, a chubby man with light wrinkles creasing his face, c his crafty smile behind a guise of old age.

  Gregory! I didn’t realise he worked out of the docks. Perfect! I use him to send Anna a message. Dad always called him a pig who’ll do anything for . If I promise him payment, he’ll deliver a letter.

  Emily reaches up to her chest pocket and activates The Clock, sending herself bato the Mandrago estate.

  ***

  She returns to the m of the day before and quickly falls bato the routine she followed while waiting for the maids to deliver her lunch. When they do, Emily stops them before they leave.

  “Excuse me,” she says, remaining polite in hopes that they’ll fulfil her request. “Could y me a pen and some paper please?”

  The maids nod without a word and leave. Emily settles on her bed, watg the door and waiting to see if they return. A few mier, one of the maids returns aloh a bundle of paper and a few pens, setting them down on the dressing table for Emily to use.

  “Thank you,” she says as the maid leaves with a bow, settling down before the dresser to write her letter.

  I ’t seal it – asking for proper letter writing supplies may attrauch attention – so I’ll have to avoid writing anything that may cause Gregory to report me, in case he peeks.

  She pces the pen to paper before freezing, unsure of what to include in her message. Every word she tries to form is quickly buried beh a sea of guilt and sadness, and she repeatedly sches up and throws away failed messages, gd for the quantity of paper the maid provided.

  Eventually, she settles on a message that fails to vey the weight behind her words, but at least gets across her meaning. She lets out a sad sigh and pces her pen down, raising her hand to rub her brow, gazing down at the paper before her.

  Dear Anna,

  I’m sorry I left like I did. I wish I could expin and apologise to you properly, but I don’t have the words to vey my message on paper.

  I know you’re hurting, but you’re strong. I know you’ll get back up again and keep going.

  I promise I’m not abandoning you. I’ll be back within three years, and I’ll expihing then.

  I love you so muever fet that.

  Love, Emi. Your sister forever and always.

  Emily wipes a few tears from her cheeks, folding the letter up and pg it aside as she starts oe fory, her words flowing easily this time.

  Hellory,

  We haven’t spoken before, but I’m Herber Coldstone’s daughter, Emily Coldstone. I ’t currently speak to you, but please could you deliver the enclosed letter to my sister, Anna. She should be at Herber’s shop.

  Hand this o her as well, and she’ll pay you three silvers. (Tell her to use my savings - she’ll know where they’re kept.)

  Please nod at me if you agree,

  Thanks, Emily

  Satisfied, she folds the sed note around the first with the writing oside before tug it under her pillow and ripping up the discarded notes, making sure not to leave any evidence. Satisfied with her preparation, she returns to repeating her as exactly as before, waiting for the night to e.

  ***

  The day flows the same as the first, and after listening to Diego’s instrus once again, Emily soon finds herself walking through the docks as before. They approach the stall where she noticed Gregory, and Emily slowly drifts sideways, creating a little distance from herself and Jose while carefully watg him to make sure he doesn’t notice.

  He doesn’t even spare a sideways gnce as Emily slips her hand into her robes, pulling out her message and tossing it intory’s p as she passes. He flinches when the folded paper nds on him, looking at Emily questioningly as she walks past, but he doesn’t say a word as she pointedly looks at the note. Uanding her meaning quickly, he picks up the paper and skims the message as Emily moves back to join Jose, repeatedly gng back at the mert.

  Before they’re swallowed by the crowd, Gregory looks up, makes solid eye tact with her, and nods his head. Emily lets out an inaudible sigh of relief and turtention back tuide who is he wiser.

  He leads her through the main hall, eventually leaving the rge crowd behind as they turn into ay passageway with the Mandrago crest hanging above it. The passage walls are lined with steam pipes, hissing away, and the din of the entrance slowly fades, repced by the hum of maes and the rhythmic tapping of their feet oal.

  After a few turns, the passage opens inte hangar housing a sleek bronze airship. The ship spans a hundred metres of carefully folded and polished broing, with several reinforced gss windows dotted along the side. Several pipes jut out of the sides and bottom, carefully aowards the rear, along with two small fins on each side, each carrying three propellers.

  The rge balloon above sags against the gondo, partially defted and only given shape by the ballo inside. Emily stares i the ship, excited, despite herself, to finally see one up close. They hurry forward and are greeted by a few members of the ground crew, who bow to them before tinuing preparations to leave.

  A hatch drops open midway along the body of the gondo. A short, skinny man with long brown hair tied in a messy bun and wearing greasy overalls, walks doweps that fall with the hatch.

  “Jose! Is this the cargo you mentioned?” he calls out with a businesslike smile while walking over to greet them.

  “Yes, this is Emily. She’s bei for education in the capital.”

  “I see, and no soldiers this time?”

  “No, she’s one of ours, no need.”

  With that, Jose turns and walks back towards the passage.

  “Always a man of few words that ohe man shrugs while turning to Emily, “the name’s Anton, captain of this fine vessel. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emily!”

  He gives a light bow while keeping solid eye tact, a cautious glint in his eyes.

  “o meet you, Anton. What’s her name?” Emily asks with a smile, gesturing to the ship with her head.

  Anton’s gaze rexes as he responds:

  “I call her Calypso. No meaning behind it, just thought a pretty name suited her.”

  “She’s beautiful. How fast she go?”

  “On a good day, she push a hundred kilometres per hour, but for this trip, we’ll probably maintain arouy. Should get to i by m the day after tomorrow. e aboard, I’ll show you around before we leave!”

  He heads towards the ship’s hatch; clearly pleased Emily showed an i. They ehe hatto a small corridor leading off to either side, with a sign hanging from the ceiling giving dires.

  “Let’s start with the crew quarters, so you drop off ygage, then head around the facilities and end at the bridge for unch.”

  “Sure, how do you unch from in here, by the way? I thought ships weren’t allowed to fly above the city?”

  “Haha, that’s one of the best bits. I won’t spoil it now.” Anton guides her to the right, away from the front of the ship.

  The narrow hallway walls are lined with pipes, a sight Emily is quickly growing used to, with smooth riveted ptes making up the floor. After a few turns taking them deeper into the hull, they walk up a steep flight of stairs and e to a corridor lined with six doors oher side and a sign overhead belled ‘Crew Quarters’.

  “We run with a light crew of only ten people, five for the day and five for the night, so we have a couple of spare rooms here. The day crew are on the left and the night crew on the right. Since I assume you won’t be noal, you use this room here.”

  Antohe door at the far end of the corridor on the left, revealing a small room with a single bed and a small oil mp attached to the wall above it.

  “I know it’s not much, but you’ll have to make do for a few days, I'm afraid.” He awkwardly scratches the back of his head as Emily walks into the room past him.

  “It’s fine, I’ve lived with less,” she responds while dropping her suitcase onto her bed.

  Anton raises an eyebrow at her words, but quickly shrugs it off before motionio follow him again.

  “Why don’t we start with the engines!”

  Emily finds his enthusiasm iious as she follows him deeper into the belly of the beast.