Swarming Sovereignty

Chapter 46: An Outside Perspective

Brom, King of the Glens, was in his office, handling the paperwork for a series of reforms when he was interrupted by the door flying open.

“What is it?” He asked, looking up at the worried woman who had just burst into his office and resisting the urge to snap at her. Yes, it had been a long day, and yes, she had just significantly thrown off his rhythm, but his attendants knew not to bother him unless there was something important, and this messenger certainly like she had something important to say.

“The Hero is missing!” The woman panted, looking up at Brom with fearful eyes. “She failed to report in for her weekly checkup, and when we went to her lab was gone, except for a letter addressed to you!” The woman…Neph, if Brom remembered correctly, hurried over to the desk and handed Brom an envelope.

“Has it been screened yet?” Brom asked.

“Yes.” Neph said. “It’s just regular paper, it’s safe.”

“Good.” Brom replied, opening the envelope and taking out the letter inside. With some trepidation, he opened it and began to read; this generation’s Hero was…unusual, to say the least. Unlike most Heroes, she didn’t work with others easily, and wouldn’t accept many of Brom’s offers of aid. She was…headstrong, and not afraid to use her position to get her own way.

The letter read.

“Assemble a

“Yeah, we’ll move that up the list.” Rose said. “Depending on how busy the rest of us are, we might have to put Lily in charge of that, but as long as we give her an escort, the worms shouldn’t pose enough of a threat that she’ll be in any danger.”

“Probably.” Lia said. “But…enough of that for now. I’m interested in seeing how you’re training my sisters, mind if I watch?”

“Not at all.” Rose replied. “Go ahead and take a seat next to Maria.”

Lia nodded, and walked over to her sister. “How are you holding up?” She asked, sitting down in the grass next to her.

“Fine.” Maria said. “I’m still…getting used to my new body. It feels…weird being able to use magic this easily. It’s like…what was all my previous work for, if this was an option?”

“Well, it wasn’t an option until recently.” Lia said, smiling slightly. “And I’m sure your magic training will come in handy once you want to optimize your spellcasting. I get the feeling that what we’re doing isn’t really…the way we could be doing them, but I also wasn’t really good at magic theory, so I can’t say what’s actually wrong, if it even is. I suppose we’ll just need to wait until we have some more scholars in the swarm to tease out the details of our spellcasting.”

“I guess.” Maria replied. “Um…how are holding up?”

“It’s been a little hectic, but I’m enjoying myself.” Lia said. “I obviously wasn’t expecting a second shot at life, so I’m just making the most of it.”

“Oh…good.”

Around that time, Robin and Olivia began to spar again, while Rose shouted out advice and corrections.

“Have you done any sparring?” Lia asked.

“No. Rose said we don’t have the proper equipment to make my magic safe to use in a sparring environment, so…we’re having me sit out, and she’s going to have some one on one time with me later.”

“Sif might be able to help you out too.” Lia said. “She knows some barrier spells, and I’m sure she can help you learn those.”

“Maybe, but she scares me a little.” Maria admitted. “She’s a little…intense.”

“Yeah, I’ve only talked with her a couple of times, but I think I know what you mean.”

The conversation ended up getting off-topic and into less important subjects, but Lia didn’t mind in the slightest. It was her first time talking with her sister like this in a long time, and she was more than happy to just let it go wherever. Things really looking brighter than ever.