Me, My Spirit, And I [Book 1 Complete]

Witch Queen Kiera and Shinobin were both fascinated to learn that their Guides had customization features, but their conversation was cut short when a runner came up to one of the guards to relay a message. "Your Majesty, the army you planned to send North to combat the new Dungeon and the Monsters spilling out of it is ready to depart. Would you like to see them off?"

At these words, Kiera's face grew more grim before glancing at Lusha, who had merged once more. "Grandchild, might I ask a boon of you?"

Lusha looked between his mother, grandmother, and the guard, feeling put on the spot. "We are family, of course you can," Lusha answered with a charming smile.

"How fast can this Beast of yours travel, and how many troops could it hold?" Kiera asked seriously.

"I assume you would like me to ferry your soldiers North to combat the Dungeon break?" Lusha asked while drawing out pen and paper.

Kiera nodded affirmatively while Lusha began doing some basic calculations.

"How far away is this Dungeon? How many troops do you need to move? Oh, and how many supplies are they carrying?"

Kiera looked thoughtful for a moment and glanced at her guard. It was the guard that answered. "We have 500 troops ready to head North. The new Dungeon is roughly 250 miles North by Northwest of Ahras. Each soldier has 50-100 lbs of gear and supplies each," the guard responded promptly. Kiera's guards acted as both guards and assistants to the Witch Queen.

Lusha hmmed and started doing basic math. "If I upload everything on board, pack the troops in tight, and make multiple trips…" They paused to double-check their math. "I can get the entire army there in 12-15 hours, depending on loading times. Maybe a touch longer if they have beasts of burden and wagons, but I can definitely get 100 soldiers there within two hours."

The guard's mouth dropped open in surprise. While Kiera was equally surprised, she was far too poised to let it show on her face. "Lusha? Are you sure?" Kiera asked while leaning forward earnestly.

Lusha looked up from their notes and noticed the surprise on everyone's faces. "Yes, I am positive. I am sorry it isn't faster, but the Shadow Beast is still a prototype and isn't really designed as a troop carrier."

"Dear child, it would have taken days for the troops to arrive on their own. The number of lives this will save is incalculable!" Kiera turned to the guard. "Spread the word to the army to wait. Tell them I have arranged alternative transportation. Be quick about it!"

Following the Queen's order, the guard hurried to obey. Lusha split into Luca and Shada. Shada went off to organize the clearing of the holds while Luca remained behind with Kiera and Shinobin.

"Shada is off to organize things with the captain," Luca told his mother and grandmother.

Kiera tilted her head curiously at Luca. "It is strange. I can tell the difference between you when you are Lusha and when you are Luca. There are all kinds of subtle changes to your demeanor, mannerisms, and general aura. I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't know, though," Kiera mused while examining her grandchild.

Shinobin looked between Luca and Kiera before speaking. "Luca, Lusha, and Shada are very distinct individuals. Luca is more cheerful and lively than the other two. Shada can be a bit cold and pragmatic. Lusha is far more mercurial than either. Despite being the same person, I often feel like I have three children." Shinobin's smile was radiant, and her voice was filled with motherly love and pride.

"I can see that. Walk with me while I go make sure that things are being organized properly," Kiera said while turning and heading out of the conference room, followed by Shinobin, Luca, and the guards. Hidden from normal sight were Luca's Wyld Elf Shadow guards that followed him everywhere.

After clearing the ramp, the group was met with organized chaos as the crew of the Shadow Beast hauled out wyvern corpses and other supplies while Gloddus troops were lining up next to the hovering skyship in rows.

A man dressed in armor that was just a bit nicer and more decorative than the common troops approached the Witch Queen and bowed deeply. "My Queen, I hear that you have arranged an alternative form of transportation?" the man asked curiously.

"General Halless, I have indeed. May I introduce you to my daughter, Shinobin Aseralis of the city-state of Westlin, and my grandson, Lucanarius Intarius Aseralis, also of the city-state of Westlin. It is he, not I, that will be providing transportation," Kiera's voice was warm but formal as she addressed General Halless.

The General looked at the young child or perhaps teenager in confusion before looking at Kiera and asking a question. "I am afraid I don't understand?"

"It is simple. The monstrosity behind us is a skyship, my grandson's skyship. He will be ferrying you and your troops North." Kiera gestured to the Shadow Beast behind her.

"That is a skyship? I thought it was some massive prop for a play, or the like!" the General exclaimed in surprise.

Kiera motioned Luca forward. "If you would explain, my dear?"

"Of course, grandmother!" Luca said cheerfully. He gave General Halless a slight bow before speaking to him directly. "This is the Shadow Company Skyship Shadow Beast. We will have to make several trips, but it will take less than an hour once loaded to get the first 100 troops north." He shrugged at the look of surprise on the General's face. "It will be a tight fit, standing room only in many areas, and I must apologize for not being able to go faster, but the extra weight will prevent us from hitting our top speeds."

"Surely you jest, young lord? That speed is already ridiculous and will save us days of travel overland!" The General was normally quite the stoic person but was genuinely surprised by Luca's statements.

"I do not. The Shadow Beast is fast, but when weighed down, it becomes much slower than I would like." Luca gave the stunned General another apologetic smile. Shinobin and Kiera looked at each other and smiled, as both knew that Luca's idea of slowness was apparently terribly skewed.

"Thank you, young lord! My troops and I thank you for this opportunity to travel quickly and save lives!" The General actually gave Luca a deep bow. "I will go back to getting my troops organized. Thank you again, my Queen, my lord, my lady." The General bowed to each in turn before making a sharp turn to march back to the small army that was filling the large courtyard.

Kiera, Luca, and Shinobin stood by while the last of the cargo was unloaded and the first troops were sent on board.

"I hope we can spend more time together soon, but I need to head to the bridge if we are to get everyone where they need to go quickly." Luca looked at his mother. "Mom? Will you be staying here, or will you head north? I don't know how well equipped the army is with healers, and there are bound to be injured."

Shinobin shared a chagrined look with her mother before nodding at Luca. "I will head north. There will be plenty of Vitalists among the troops, but I will do my part as well."

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Kiera looked disappointed that both of them would be leaving, but a bit of pride was also in her eyes. "You both do our family name proud. Be safe, both of you, and return as soon as you can. Luca must still be Tested and introduced to society after all!"

Both Luca and Shinobin had similar looks of discomfort on their faces at the mention of the noble Testing and being presented to society. They noticed that they were each making the same face before smiling, bowing to Kiera, and heading back on board the Shadow Beast together.

The bridge crew was down to a skeleton crew while the captain and others oversaw the loading. Shada's manifestation was floating in the center of the room, watching the various scry screens that showed scenes both inside and outside of the skyship. There was no need for words between Shada and Luca, but they often chose to speak out loud to avoid making others uncomfortable.

"This is going to stretch our Essence supplies thin, isn't it?" Luca said out loud as he took his seat in the captain's chair, which the poor captain rarely got to use when he was on board. Silently, he and Shada were considering how long they could keep the Essence Resonance Generators running without rousing suspicion. Those had been installed secretly, and only a couple of Engineers even knew they existed.

"It will. We do have the new Crystals from the wyverns, but we may need to make a brief trip back to Westlin for more," Shada said for the sake of those listening. Even with Contracts, they didn't trust many people with the knowledge of the ERGs or Ambient Essence Accumulators. Between those two devices, there was never actually a need to resupply, but the illusion was important.

Thirty minutes later, much to everyone's surprise, the troops were loaded and the ramp retracted. General Halless and his aide brought maps up to the bridge, and the captain was plotting their course north.

Luca looked around and confirmed everyone appeared ready. "Captain, sound the alarms. Remind our guests to brace and prepare for rapid movement."

"Aye, sir! I took the liberty of warning everyone beforehand, but I will relay your orders." The Captain used the speaking tube that transmitted sound throughout. "Everyone brace and prepare for lift-off and rapid acceleration!"

"Take us up and over, Captain, top speed!" Luca said cheerfully.

The Captain nodded in agreement and gave specific orders to each of the bridge crew. Everyone onboard felt like they were being shoved downward and back as the SCSS Shadow Beast soared into the sky with a rapid, angled ascent.

Luca laughed as he could hear cursing throughout the ship as those who hadn't taken the warnings seriously were tossed around by the rapid acceleration. When pushed, the Shadow Beast could really move. In less than a minute, they had hit their cruising speed and were rapidly leaving the city of Ahras behind. They would later learn that their passing had actually created a wind strong enough to cause minor damage to some of the less sturdy roofs they flew over.

The General's aide looked scared and pale. While the General was trying to keep a more stoic appearance, Luca could see them gripping their chair's arms with knuckles turned white.

"Captain, let everyone know we are on our way and they can move about in the non-restricted areas where possible. Our estimated time of arrival to the village of Northpoint is approximately 58 minutes," Luca said after doing some quick math and checking their speed.

"How, by the Spirits, is this thing moving so fast? I have seen nothing like it before!" The General couldn't help but ask.

"By magic, of course!" Luca said with a cheeky grin at General Halless. "The exact methods are, of course, Shadow Company secrets, but everything boils down to magic and enchantments. Oh, and enough Essence Crystals to make a merchant prince weep in horror." This last was said with a proud smirk.

The General was speechless for most of the trip but had gotten the courage to stand and observe the bridge crew, scry screens, and take occasional looks out the windows. The views were breathtaking from this high in the air, and the forested hills of Gloddus seemed to glide by beneath them.

As they approached their destination, smoke could be seen rising across the sky in a wide area from multiple locations. The land here was heavily farmed, and it appeared that some fires had been set deliberately to slow the Monsters emerging from the new Dungeon mouth.

"General, where would you like us to land?" Luca asked as they began to slow down on their final approach. "We can get pretty close to the Dungeon mouth, but it might be safer to land further away near one of the walled villages."

"Near the village is best, my lord," the General said confidently while taking in as much information from the scry screens as possible.

"Sir! We have flyers coming at us from the direction of the Dungeon!" One of the crew shouted suddenly.

"Captain, raise the wards! Crewman, can you tell what we are looking at, yet?" Luca asked.

The crewman concentrated hard on their screen while using a few verbal commands to adjust the view. "Sir, it is hard to say precisely."

"Best estimate, crewman," Luca ordered.

"At least 2 dozen large flyers. Looks like a mix of Roc and Wyvern. I think there might even be a gryphon in the mix, sir! Smaller flying creatures of various sizes are mixed in. Likely twice as many as the large flyers."

"General, we have two options. The Shadow Beast's wards can hold them off, but I wouldn't recommend trying to disembark while under attack." Luca nodded when the General shook his head in agreement that it was a bad idea. "Option two is to use the Shadow Beast's active defenses. Both options have only been tested properly once, and we will deplete our stored Essence. It will delay the return trip."

"No offense, milord, but what can this vessel do against such a large flock of Monsters?" The General was doing his best to treat this grandchild of the Witch Queen as an adult, but it was hard to do so when seeing a child, no matter how mature, looking back at him. "Maybe we should retreat and land somewhere further away. We have already saved days of travel."

There were actually a few quickly suppressed chuckles from the bridge crew at the General's question. Luca just gave a grin. "I assure you the Shadow Beast can handle this many, unless they are much higher Ranked than should be possible for a newly risen Dungeon."

"It is your ship, my lord, but I suggest we retreat." The General's words were respectful, but there was an edge of command to his final statement.

"Understood, General, but let me show you what my Beast can do against Monsters." Luca nodded at Shada, who had gone invisible while the General was on the bridge. The two merged quickly and closed their eyes. "Captain, bring us to a stop and let the flock surround us. Just like with the Wyverns."

The Captain was more confident in the ship and its master, so he quickly gave the necessary commands. Lusha turned to Shinobin. "Mom, be ready. This is going to be a bit of a strain. I am going to try to forcibly redirect the enchantments. Please be ready to help."

A grim but determined look came on Shinobin's face. "I will keep you safe. Do what you must. You know your limits, but that flock will devastate the area if left alone."

With their eyes closed, Lusha reached for the Shadow Beast's weapons system. The enchantments were meant more as a deterrent and defense than an active attack. They were only designed to fire single bursts of laser-like light in a brilliant starburst that went in all directions. Lusha bent the spell circles being created by the enchantments so that instead of going in all directions, a significant portion pointed straight at the incoming flock.

Rather than trigger all the spell circles at once, Lusha began triggering them in controlled sequences as the flock of Monsters began attacking the skyship's wards. While the individual triggers were built into the enchantments, Lusha was drawing on the ship's power to redirect small batches to improve their aim. With access to the scry screens of the entire ship and the Split Mind capabilities of their Traits, they began doing their best to hit the large monsters with more precise strikes. The strain was greater than anticipated. They had to quickly drop that strategy and go back to regular burst patterns.

The crew, now pre-warned, covered their eyes as strobing beams of light began piercing the flying monsters. If not for the sound wards and the crew's precautions, the crew would be both deafened and blinded by the combination of Monster sonic attacks and the laser light show Lusha was providing.

Unfortunately, no one had warned the General or his Aide, so both were temporarily blinded by the bright searing light. When their eyes cleared, with a little help from Shinobin, the General gasped as he saw the threat reduced to smoking and falling debris.

"By the Spirits! What the hell was that?!" The General practically shouted.

"My apologies, General. Forgot to warn you about the flash." Lusha's tone was cheeky, but the fatigue in their voice was clear to anyone listening. "I hope that was all the flyers. I can't really do that again soon. The enchantments will need time to bleed off excess Essence, or they will crack, but it looks like we are safe to land." Lusha nodded at the Captain. "You are in charge of the ship. I need to retreat to my quarters for a rest. Land where the General asks and get everyone unloaded. We will head back to Ahras in an hour."

"Yes, sir!" The Captain said firmly and with conviction. Unlike the General, he was used to working with Lusha and had stopped seeing them as a child long ago.