Now on with the chapter.

Sorry if it's a little late, Studies took a peak. And I wanted to make sure the fight scene was good.

For those who didn't notice Chapter 3 , 4 ,5 were beta'd and some scenes were added/modified.

Plilaimida: Thank for the lone review, Thought I would like to know why you think it's a filler.

To the others, This is what happen when I don't get enough review, I get slower. I will still write but I have far less motivation.

Note: In this Chapter you will Find Louise's mother referencing herself as Karina whereas she is usually named Karin. That's because It is her name Karina Désirée de la Valiere ( De Tristain for this fic). The Karin name was her alias as a Knight.

A disclaimer : I do not own ZnT/Foz .Neither do I own Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha.

The Book of Void

Chapter 6

Vindobona, Capital of Germania

Imperial Palace.

"So, Handenburg, what do you think about their offer?" A middle-aged man on a throne-like chair asked watching as the heavy, intricately carved door of what could be called a council room was closed shut.

"That, with a little taming, she will make a wonderful bride." Handenburg, a well armored fellow seated to the man's right, said jokingly. Almost everyone in the room stifled laughter behind hands, shaking shoulders giving them away.

Unfortunately for Handenburg, the man under the crown wasn't one of them. "I prefer her that way." He said pointedly. The laughter stopped. He stared at everyone, giving them all their own personal eye time before continuing. "That's the main reason I accepted to have this meeting in first place. But that's not what I am asking you and you know it "

"Sorry, Haldreitch - uh I mean Your Imperial Majesty. Just a joke to lighten the mood." The armored man apologized, light blush powdering his cheeks. Clearing his throat, he turned serious. Taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts, he answered. "The fact that His Majesty King Phillip came himself proves that he's serious about his offer. He even brought Her Highness with him, basically saying straight out that they are ready and willing to make that sacrifice from the start."

"I agree." The Emperor nodded. "We will need them almost as much as they need us in the times ahead. I would have probably done the same thing if I were him." The man was well informed and he laid out the terms and conditions as such that the Emperor couldn't seem to refuse the offer. In fact, he was sure his Tristainian counterpart knew his taste in women as he couldn't explain otherwise which daughter he chose to bring with him. "But now," he said rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "when should we send our help?"

"When they need it." Handenburg answered simply, shocking a good half of his advisers. Haldreitch made a mental note to fire them in the coming month. "I mean, when they really need it, once the battles start." Handenburg clarified.

"And that's when we join them. Yes. I thought as much." The emperor paused. He had a feeling there was something strange with the entire situation but he just couldn't put his finger on it. " I know Philip. He knows that would be our plan."

"That's why he expanded the military of his country Your Highness." The general asserted. He didn't understand where the problem was with the situation. That's was probably why he was a general while Haldreitch was the ruler. Well, that and lineage. "From the way the previous King died, he knew wars would erupt, both from within and outside the country. He must hope that his men will hold out until things die down."

"But with Albion's Momentum, they won't. They still maintain too big of a fleet for Tristain to be reasonably safe." Haldreitch turned to another man wearing a light black armor. "Fritzlang, what do you think? What could he be hiding?"

"I don't know. I'm at a total loss like that one over there. Their Queen did a good job crippling our friends and our intelligence network within the Tristainian court, thinning out the information we're getting to a mere trickle." He said equal parts frustrated and impressed. He smiled slightly."It's easier to spy in Romalia than in that palace."

"I know," Haldreitch said dismissively. "I read the reports. And I really would like to know what that lunatic is hiding in that cave…" The deal they just reached with Tristainians in fact require that he revealed where most of his spies were. "But that's not today's subject."

"Yes, as I was saying," The man filled in the Emperor with what little news he had managed to gather. "The only thing I know is that we were his only choice. They don't have any confidence at all in either Galia or Romalia."Surprise reigned in the faces of all in the room lest one person.

"Galia, I understand. That man is too soft in the head to be trusted regardless of family ties. But Romalia? I always took Tristain for their puppet dancing to their merry tune."

"They were, my emperor but it seems that the Holy Seat has lost its credibility." The man explained, ecstatic he had found something his emperor found interesting.

"That's good for us. It means that they won't take the Pope judgment as an excuse to take back what we can get but that still doesn't help me..." Fritzlang gulped then chuckled nervously.

Luckily for the poor spymaster, Haldreitch's attention turned elsewhere. "Lady Zerbst, you know them personally, right? What do you think?"

The red-haired woman mulled over the question. It was rare that he asked for her advice. In fact, thought she hated to admit it but, were it not for the Valiere, she probably wouldn't be in this room. "I believe that they are far too prideful to let us in. If they must, they shall but they'll have a plan to make us withdraw once our usefulness expires." She paused, allowing her words to sink in. "It must have something to do with the wedding. They would never let a Germanian marry their precious heir for no reason. They did not even try to marry you to one of their other useless daughters and instead chose the one that will inherit everything."

"And he didn't even ask me to throw you out of my government either." The monarch joked, making her sweat nervously. "Although," he continued in a more serious tone. "You may be correct in your assessment. They are up to something. And," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "I think I know how to answer. Hadenburg!"

The man in question jumped. "Yes your Majesty?"

"Send the message to all our troops. We must be ready even before the war begins." The counselors were aghast, jaws hung and eyes wide.

"Yes your Majesty...um…but did I hear you correctly? All of them?" The General asked, dreading the confirmation. Even though he was a soldier and had been one since his boyhood, it didn't mean he liked the prospect of war.

"Yes, I said all." He confirmed "Let the Eastern Battalions know that they will have to do with what they have right now for a while. If we are to be attacked, let us show them we are serious and can hold our own. How are the Navy advancing?"

"Great! Excellent even. The new models are almost battle ready."

"Good, good. Now if you excuse me," he said with a childish smile. "I have to get ready for my wedding."

He laughed jubilantly, his advisors followed suit, lighting the darkening atmosphere. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he couldn't care less what happened to Tristain. In the end, it would be his. What he really wanted was that girl. Cunning Philip knew it and that was why he had offered her and not one of the other two.

The sand of Tristain was running out. That's why he would rush the wedding and marry Princess Eleanor, so that even if Tristain fell, he would have her and the legitimacy she brought with her.

...

Back at the Academy, although lessons resumed for the second years, Louise still found time to train along with her familiars. During classes, either Shamal or NachtWal made her study magic and her mental awareness while doing the regular schoolwork. On her free time, she trained her physical body with Signum.

She hadn't gotten any further on any other Void spells but, after a bit of experimenting, she found that she could use her teleport while seeing through her familiar's eyes, a thing she abused mercilessly during her bouts with Signum. As days wore on and Signum began to hold back less and less, she'd learned the hard way how much her red-haired familiar had been holding back. The number of bruises all over her body attested as much.

Against Shamal, however, was a different story. While the blond knight was a true model when it came to diligent work, she was not a warrior. Even Louise managed to beat her when they fought hand to hand. Her only real skill apart from healing and ones granted by the runes, were in long-range spells which weren't usable in the small clearing. When pressed by Signum on why she didn't use her "Snakeform", Shamal answered that they weren't in the right place. Understandable answer given its' effects.

To be sure Louise was ready to defend herself in the uneventful case she was caught alone, the third spell they'd trained her in was the [Barrier], spell in which she showed unpredictable proficiency in making and maintaining oddly even when she was unconscious.

Signum had told her they had taken two hours to break it after she passed out from her last fight against the her, one whose goal was somewhat ironically to teach her to use her abilities while her focus was split between different directions. Very useful to learn when she couldn't call less than fifteen shots with [Destiny Shooter].

She'd also gotten better in how to use her twin blades. On the day before their departure, she had insisted to spar with Henrietta, testing herself and to see if she had made any progress. To be frank, she had never gotten a real win against her bodyguard before, always managing to simply touch it before it slipped away through her fingers.

The result had been better than she could've hoped. Henrietta was great but the purple-haired woman couldn't hold against new attack style, not to mention dual-blades fixed on the pinkette's arms were different from fighting a lone sword that could be knocked away. She had been on the defensive the whole time and the bout ended with a small scratch on her cheek. When a trickle of blood flowed out of the wound, Louise panicked and quickly apologized, tears swimming in her large pink eyes. Henrietta reassured her there was no harm done but she could see a gloomy atmosphere settle around her closest friend. So much in fact that the next day, the bodyguard's gloomy atmosphere had gotten gloomier, promising their travel would not be as much fun as it could have been. 'Maybe I did too much.' Louise thought as she looked over at her friend.

Louise, besides worrying about the personification of gloom, was frustrated in not being able to learn any other spells but the three she'd kinda sorta mastered and she was forced to make due with the trio and her old boosting charms, Teleport and different kinds of miscast. With that alone, she still wasn't able to beat Signum even if her spells landed on their target more.

"NachtWal… Are you sure you can't do anything about it?" Louise asked for the her familiar for the umpteenth time as she looked out of the carriage. As it was sort of an official visit to the palace, she had been forced to take the royal car along with her guard. Not that she minded having to spent time around her guards - most of whom she considered family - but there were instances where she wished she was just the daughter of a duke, ride in carriage or better yet, horseback.

"As I already said I can't. I didn't foresee the Void Mage would be this peculiar."

The reptilian feminine voice answered, equally annoyed and frustrated. Even if Louise was not fused to 'her' right now she could feel it was unsettling for 'her' to not understand an aspect of magic.

"I feared as much." Louise sighed. She turned to her more scholarly familiar and asked, "And you? Any idea about what I can do about it?" She had little hope in anything positive but still wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Sorry master," Yup. She totally called it. "I also still can't find the reason why most of your spells tend to be on the…kaboom side. My best guess is that your affinity is very strict on types of spells you can use properly." The blond woman answered.

"I still don't see where the problem is." Sitting in the seat in front of the pinkette, Henrietta asked, finally snapping out of her gloomy mood, .

"Well, how to explain..." Louise mumbled. "How many spells are there in the Book, NachtWal, not counting the Void's?"

"2156."

Her familiar answered instantly. "Mostly Belkan and Mild-Childan with some Galean, Shutran and Halkeginian as well as some that I do not know their origin of."

"Wait. Halkeginian too? How come - ?" Louise asked a little perturbed by the news.

"Those are the spells that you learn but can't master such as Fire Ball, Gust or Wind Blade."

NachtWal answered in her usual neutral tone.

"Ah. I suppose it's normal." Louise said under her breath. "Anyway," she said facing Henrietta. "2156 spells of varied origins and each time I try a new one, all I get is different types of explosions. I don't even try the element-based ones because I know how it'll end but even pure energy ones get unstable when I try. The only spells I didn't try are the heavily destructive on their own. I don't want to see what I'd add to it." Louise complained. Something told she would have found something interesting in those particular spells but destroying a whole forest wasn't in her plan…for now.

"Ah…well… explosion are useful." Henrietta said sweat running down her face. She'd had gotten a taste of those a lot for the last 8 years.

Louise groaned at her bodyguard's words. "I know, believe me, I'm amazing!" She said sarcastically. Tipping over onto Shamal's lap, the girl covered her eyes with her left hand and groaned. "I almost blew up Shamal's arm trying a [Restrict Lock]. I still won but the moment that I lose focus it always goes boom. I'd like to rely on other things less explode-y."

"Don't worry." Henrietta patted her leg, getting her attention. Smiling, she said, "I'm sure you'll figure out."

"That [Restrict Lock] did work...that is until you lost focus. As I said, it must be because of the nature of your power." The scholar leaned over and touched her forehead with her master's. "It seem you have so much bottle up in there," pointing to her linker core, "that it try to escape all at once."

"I do have to try to contain it a lot."

NachtWal confirmed. The blond straightened and Louise started ranting again.

"Well maybe you're right but then why can I use [Teleport], [Destiny Shooter], [Star Shield] and [Dimensional Barrier] so easily?" Louise complained, already feeling the massive headache coming on. "And there are the small charms too. All of them are so easy I don't even need to chant."

"I admit that I don't know," The blond was obviously puzzled. The answer to that question, she felt deep in her heart, could cost her master her life one day. Even if she was dismissing it as an effect of Louise inexperience, it was still abnormal.

NachtWal had an idea, and after waiting to see if anyone else had an idea and was met with silence, she made hers known. "Those spells are naturally attuned to you, master. Destiny Shooter and Dimensional Barrier both play with direct Time-space manipulation just like your teleport."

"I see. That does make sense." Shamal nodded to herself as Louise and Henrietta looked at her like she had a second head.

"How does that makes any sense? I don't understand. What's Time-space manipulation anyway?" Louise glowered. She hated when her familiars did that, talking about things she didn't understand. It reminded her how strange they were.

"Time-space manipulation is just that. I can't explain it any other way." Shamal said embarrassed. Shamal turned NachtWal. "How does it explain the Star shield?"

A long silence followed. It seemed that no one had the answer to that one. Understanding that she would not get an answer for the time-space bit, Louise focused on what she at least somewhat understood. There had to be a reason. Then it came to her. She remembered what NachtWal had said when she described the spell to her, the solution was right there.

"Elemental negation." Louise calmly said. That was the common factor with her usable magic. Everyone looked at her in shock. "What? All my spells seem to explode whenever I try any elemental magic and Void is said to be superior to any other element and I'm a Void mage which I guess makes Void my element so its possible that it just do something to them." Louise tilted her head to the side. Was it really that far fetch of an idea?

"Hahaha! Good one Master. Those two tend to over think things." Signum said joyfully. "I have a feeling that you're right. Sometimes, the simplest answer is the correct one. I would give anything just to see Shamal's face right now."

Poor Signum was indeed missing a hilarious sight. The scholar had burst into an adorable blush and was looking to the side, staring at the wooden walls with such an intensity that it was a wonder it didn't burst into flames. "Here it is." Louise said smirking as she sent her falcon-shaped familiar what she saw, another trick Shamal had made her learned during their in class training supposedly for her defense - now used against her.

"Mou, Signum. Since when did you have any sense of humor?" Shamal complained. She eyed Louise. "And you master, don't encourage her."

"You have to admit they have a good point, knight of the Lake. We should have seen it earlier."

Said the slightly ashamed voice of NachtWal. It was the first time Louise had gotten the drop on them concerning her powers.

"Yes, the both of you should have."

Signum said mercilessly, "But now at least we have an idea on how to solve the Master's problem."

Louise smirked "Nacht, can you compile a list of all spells with those characteristics?"

"I already started, master."

The serpentine entity answered. "It'll take some time."

Things were looking up for her. When she could do magic without the usual side effects, maybe, just maybe, she would finally make her mother proud. Make the hard women smile down at her, ruffle her hair with palpable love and affection, and say the words, "I'm proud of you."

Amidst all of those discussions, no one but Louise saw the sad smile that the purple haired-girl was bearing as she saw her best-friend drift away from her.

'Looks like I'll need to pass the night with her or she will get depressed again...'

Louise thought as she saw the return of Ms. Gloom . 'I though she had understood.'

...

Tristania, Tristain's Capital.

In front of the Palace

"We arrived your Highness." The driver said as the carriage came to a stop.

"Thank you, Agnes." Louise answered back. Soon after, another guard opened the carriage door. Louise turned to Henrietta and extended her hand. "Shall we?"

The young knight blushed a little at the outstretched hand before remembering her duty and taking the hand, helping her outside, followed by Shamal.

'Here we are.' Louise thought. Before her was the main gate of Tristania's Castle, where she had lived in since the last eight years. No matter how many times she saw it, she still found it sumptuous and magnificent even with all the gold her parents had stored in the royal treasuries as well as the age-old treasures all about its walls.

And for once, she wasn't here on official business. Rather, it was because of personal reasons. Well, as close to personal as her life could get at least.

As she walked past the finely crafted and well guarded fence perimeter that lead to the inner sanctum of the palace she noticed that the guards had been upped once more. The last time she had come here, there were only twenty foot-soldiers and five Griffin knights walking and guarding the grounds. Now it seems, the foot soldiers were doubled with an entire squadron of Griffin knight, all bowing when she passed by them.

"Looks like aunty got even more paranoid." Henrietta muttered to Louise.

Louise nodded "Or maybe something happened." Then, Louise noticed something odd. "Hey…we've been here and still no officials have come to try to talk to us." To add to all the weirdness, the guard were all looking slightly on edge, more so then usual. One of them almost unsheathed his blade when Signum landed on her shoulder.

"Well, technically I'm an official, but I see what you mean." The purple-hair glanced to the left. A look of displeasure managed to cross her face before she could hide it. "Ah, we seem to have spoken too soon. Here comes one now." Henrietta straightened when one of the earlier foot soldiers walked to her. Now that she got a closer look, he had the insignia of a captain on his chest armor. Louise, however, seemed to have known him. The captain was none other than Gramond's second oldest brother.

"Please, excuse me for my lateness your Highness. It's an honor to see you back." The young man said with that lecherous smile that seemed to run in the family. Henrietta's eye twitched violently. Shamal began to emanate a dark, oppressive aura. The young man it seemed, was as dense as a rock for he took no notice of the two women's reaction. "I had to finish giving my men their orders."

"It's nothing, Captain de Gramond." Louise dismissed the young noble. "I know how the security is important"

"Quite so. Nevertheless, I was instructed to guide you to her Majesty as soon as you arrived. Please follow me." The man waited for Louise's confirming nod before turning around and entering the palace.

As they strolled down the great hall, Louise noted that the guards in the hall also looked twitchy. She noticed that some were even inspecting the maids. Nobody ever suspected the maids. What could be happening? She was about to ask the flamboyant man but her friend beat her to it.

"Did something happen to warrant the upping of guards?" Henrietta inquired. Seeing the man hesitatingly steal a glance behind her she continued. "Do not worry about her. I need to know if anything threaten my...uh…I mean her Highness."

"If you say so." He sighed. "We received word that the famous thief Fouquet might target the royal treasury. As you might guess, the queen didn't take it well."By the way he was sweating, one could guess what suffering the poor soul who had the misfortune of delivering said news must have felt.

"You mean that rogue noble who makes a living in ridiculing the Nobility? I thought that the Dragoons would have caught him by now." Louise scoffed. No thief has ever been on the run for so long on Tristianian soil.

"Alas, no. We've chased him for two years but still no luck. Although, they did manage to stop him from robbing valuable treasures some times, though he does always got free somehow." The man said hotly. From what she knew of the man, she knew that he'd only get that mad if he was personally involved. Guess his group was one of the few to manage to stop those attempted robberies…and allow the thief to walk free.

"Well, if he tries to come here, he's in for a nasty surprise." Louise chuckled. The castle had been made so that even she had trouble getting out when she was younger and she just had to look outside with her wand in hand to do so.

"Quite so, but we should stop talking about it. It's making people nervous." Henrietta said seriously. As Louise looked up, she saw the posted door guards had sweat rolling down the sides of their faces. Given that the temperature was at a comfortable degree, only their frayed nerves served as an explanation for their inexplicable loss of water through perspiration.

As they got nearer to the throne chamber, the tension in the air became palpable, thick and heavy, as the women and their escort cut through the crowd of armed men and women. Hands on their hilts, muscles taunt under armor of iron and leather, eyes alert and scanning their surroundings. Now that she'd thought about it, they had all trained at least once with her mother.

"Well, here we are. Your mother the Queen is waiting for you." The young man said as he stopped in front of a door almost as big as the palace's main entrance.

"Wait, Father isn't here?" She asked slightly confused.

"I'm sorry to inform you that he isn't. He is currently in Germania with your eldest Sister, Princess Eleanor." Louise was a little saddened, she really wanted to see her father. She felt a hand fall on her shoulder. She turned and met the understanding look of Henrietta, one of the few to guess what she was feeling. Probably seeing her crestfallen expression, the young man hastily added "However we are expecting him soon."

Shamal and Henrietta both glared at the man as Louise brightened.

"Thank you for telling me. Maybe I'll have enough time to wait for him." She then glanced back to Shamal. "Are you ready?"

"We are."

The Knights/familiars answered in her head.

As if on clue she heard her name called and the doors opened. "Her Highness Princess Louise Francoise, Le Blanc de la Valiere de Tristain, Duchess de la Valiere."

...

When she saw her daughter entering, Karina quirked an eyebrow. Henrietta she knew, and she was expecting but something like that fire-red Falcon which, to her eyes was clearly acting suspiciously and the blond mop of a woman behind her daughter, not so much. She made a small gesture, signaling the hidden guards to leave the room and waited until they were completely alone before addressing her daughter. "You can sit."

"Good day mother, may Brimir bless us." Louise slightly bowed - Karina swore that the bird perched on Louise's shoulder bowed as well - before sitting a simple yet elegant chair conveniently placed just in front of the throne while Henrietta and the blond one remained standing.

Once the pinkette made herself comfortable, her interro- friendly conversation began. "Void?" She asked, pointing to Shamal.

"Yes, all three." Louise replied, shrugging her reinforced shoulder, motioning to the bird too.

Karina narrowed her eyes. "Three? That's a rather provocative claim, after all, most mage have only one, few ever have two but three? Unheard of since the times of Brimir. Where is this third familiar?" Counting the bird and the woman, there was only two. Two does not equal three so either it was hidden or…a hint of mischief played on the woman's usual cold expression. "Don't tell me you contracted with Henrietta." Karina noticed the reddening of the said Knight's face. The girl was far too attached to her daughter for her tastes but she couldn't complain. She was Marina's daughter and there are worse people who her little girl could've attached herself to.

"No, no! The third is technically my first but…she is a bit of an odd case." Guessing from her daughter's frown, it was not of the funny kind. She was about to ask when she saw a dark-purple thing forming around her daughter. She grabbed at her wand and ran through her list of spell to get rid of the thing daring to invade her Louise's personal space. Then the smell hit her. The smell of fresh honey, of falling rain, of woodlands, of fire-mountains. The distinctive smell of a spirit and the dark purple monster reeked of it.

"No need to worry mother for I will never harm Master."

She heard a serpentine voice say, and using her brilliant deduction skills realized it must have come from that thing.

"Mother, I present you my familiar, NachtWal." Her daughter assured her, smiling softly with that accursed smile that always seemed pleading. "And she said she won't harm me so there is no need to worry."

"I hope you know what you are doing. If I wasn't already waiting for some odd to happen, I would have impaled you." 'In a non-fatal way if possible.' She added mentally. Her statement, nevertheless, was still serious and Louise knew it. The poor girl gulped nervously. Looking behind her daughter, she saw the green clad woman stiffen. Unnoticed by her youngest, both the woman and Henrietta inched closer to her. The blond scathingly glared at her and had a sword that she had not seen ready in her hand. 'Good.' She thought approvingly.

"I hope I do, Mother." Her voice shaky and uncertain. Karina sighed, she just hoped Louise would be ready when that day comes. She's called to a destiny far greater than she is. The proof, unfortunately, is right in front of her. All Karina could do was prepare the field in her favor.

Now that she thought about it, Karina noted that Henrietta, maybe the only person more worried for Louise than herself and Cattleya, wasn't phased by the thing.

"Who are the other two?" Besides the fact she already knew some things from the headmaster's weekly report, she wanted to see for herself for much was left out for being classified as 'delicate'. "And did that thing call me mother?"

"Well..."

"I am Shamal, Knight of the Lake and your daughter's familiar." The blond presented herself, helping Louise avoid an embarrassing explanation. If what Osmond said was to be true, she was a healer so the rune name didn't faze her. She was also a scholar, which made the fact she bore a sword slightly odd. Karina made a mental note to inquire about it later.

Karina gave Shamal a stiff nod of acknowledgement and turned back just in time for the 'bird' to flash pink and illuminate her daughter's left side. 'Here's the third.' Karina though as she took in the sight of the woman who had been a bird. She was in an armor which reminded her of her old days in the army. She was, in fact, a splitting image of her not-so-younger self, but a tad taller and with more experience if those odd eyes were any indication.

"I am Signum." The woman started with her deep but still womanly voice "General of the Raging fire, leader of the Cloud knights as well as your daughter's familiar and knight." Karina heard the stressing on the fact that they were her daughter's. It came to a surprise Louise could command such loyalty to people she'd known a short while. Signum, unlike her scholar counterpart, she looked like she belong her title.

The former leader of the manticore's knights in her was restless for a spar.

"Good. I'm sure you'll serve my daughter well." She turned to said daughter. "From what I can see, you did not fail us." Her gaze softened. "I am proud." For an instant she could swear she had seen a star in her daughter's eyes. "However, I hope you understand that I have to attest their capabilities."

"I understand. I already knew you would but first I have to.." Karina cut her off.

"Whatever you have to say will come after. I received word that your father will be here tonight. That way we both will get the full picture at once." She wanted her husband there so that he understand. He always was better at seeing the grand scheme of things. She was more interested in the details of the here and now.

Louise bowed. "I understand." She said defeated. Louise knew when her words were final.

Believing everything of importance was said, Karina sat up from the throne and was about to lead them to the training ground but she was stopped by her daughter's voice. "Signum needs a sword. Can I take her to one of the armories to allow her to choose one?"

The monarch stared to said knight. She was swordless. Not that she was harmless as Karina could feel the aura she emanated, and calling herself a general meant she was noble which meant she could use magic, but she could not see any foci. "Can't she use her friend's sword?."

Shamal and Louise winced and NachtWal flinched. Signum remained stoic. "I would like to. In fact, Laevatein was originally mine however it's currently attuned to Shamal and only she can use it."

That was not the answer she was expecting. "A named sword…one who can only be used by its possessor. I think tonight's talk will really be interesting." It made her want to "test" them even more.

She turned to Louise. "You may lead her to the armories to see if they have anything that fit her. In fact, I think there is one blade perfect for her there." The Queen heard Louise gulped. She smirked.

"That one? Well, ok. It's the only thing I didn't break when I was practicing but he... " She couldn't find words to describe the thing, and Karina could understand. She had found the sword in the rubble of one of the traitor's castle after dealing with the worthless piece of swine personally. The weapon was rusty but still in good state and it was also too finely crafted to leave it laying around.

When she brought the sword to the castle, the young Louise, curious as ever, grabbed it. Louise touched the hilt and immediately regretted it. It was a Void be damned talking sword. One with far too many things to talk about and would not shut up... She really didn't want to remember.

"Yes that one. Even if I don't like it, it's the best weapon for her, at least for this one fight." She explained reasonably.

"Very well. It's just for one fight." Louise shuddered, Karina mirrored her. No one wanted to recall their time with that thing.

"If you believe it is best sword you have, I shall take it. Master, could you show me it?" Louise shot her knight a pitying look.

"I guess." Karina could relate to her reluctance. That thing was a nightmare. Louise turned to her. "Mother, I'll be on my way."

Sheesh. Her daughter looked like she was going to meet an official or something.

Louise got up and dragged her body toward the doors. Her retinue unsurprising followed.

" Shamal , could you come with me?" she called out to the blonde knight. The latter glanced back to her master for approval. Louise nodded. Shamal walked back toward her. "Good, I'll test you first." She turned to Louise. "Louise, your purple monster is showing." The pinkette blushed slightly as her familiar disappeared back to wherever it was hiding. She laughed internally and turned to the purple haired bodyguard. "Henrietta, you remember where the private training grounds are right?"

"Yes your Majesty" The young knight said, glad that she was remembered.

"We will be waiting there for you." She left the room by a side door that appeared out of nowhere with Shamal in tow.

Louise and Henrietta prayed silently for Shamal's safety.

...

As soon as they were out into the hallway, Shamal noticed something odd. Contrary to what had happened with Louise, there was no guards to surround the monarch. At first, she thought it was part of the test but when she looked around the Hall, there were flickers and unnatural shadows in the corners and hard to reach places.

The queen was guarded alright. It was just more discrete.

Making their way through the building, Shamal looked at the magnificent architecture. The halls in which they passed were less high, less wide and more finely decorated than the ones on the route to the throne room. Shamal guessed that they were now in the private quarters of the family. She peeked into an open door and was surprised to have found a large table with chairs which probably doubled as a council room.

On the walls, one could find numerous portraits of who she supposed were the former rulers of this country where in the background you could see great esquires depicting glorious moments of history. The floor too was less about being beautiful, trading the mosaics of colors for tasteful rows of black and white marble, easier to enchant whoever gazes at it. As for the ceiling, it had passed from multiple areas decorated with religious scenes and golden figures to a single silvery sculpted wood.

All in all it was simple but tasteful.

Suddenly the queen stopped. 'Are we there?' Shamal wondered. She doubted any training could be done in there and that woman would be lost but, as Louise was her daughter, it was a that slight possibility.

She looked at the woman about to voice her question when she noticed that the Queen was fixated on one of the painting, eyes lost in sadness. The painting was depicting a middle-age woman with purple-hair along with a young girl who bore a striking resemblance with the taller one and to a certain bodyguard.

Finally, the woman moved again, her shoulders stiff, expression hard and eyes soft. "I gather she was dear to you." Shamal said as they continued their walk.

"Yes, in more ways than you can possibly imagine." She paused. "I would have given my life for her." Shamal could see the woman was not exaggerating.

The queen sighed. "But in the end, she was the one who saved mine. Kind of ironic. The guard saved by the guarded." Shamal was taken aback. She knew the former queen had died eight years ago but she had assumed that she'd been assassinated.

"Surprised you, right?" The woman said with a small chuckle.

"Yes. From what Master told us, you are an exceptionally strong warrior whereas she was just above average."

Karina snorted. "No denying that. Her stance was always off and her swings always seem to clip my right ear."

"At least she managed to land a hit." Shamal said lightheartedly.

Karina look at Shamal completely deadpan. "She was supposed to be aiming for my chest."

The women shared a small laugh. "Ah. She was an amazing person. The funniest you'd ever hope to meet. She is-" Karina smile fell and she stopped a moment to collect herself. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "She was my best friend."

The atmosphere turned somber. Something Karina said didn't add up with Shamal. "I'm sorry for asking this but wasn't she the target?"

The woman sighed. "Well, as you're my daughter's familiar. I guess I have to tell you. At least if anything happens to me, they'll be someone to tell the whole truth to Louise when the time comes." She slid her wand from her sleeve into her hand and, in one little whisper, Shamal felt a spell had taken form. They were now inside a multilayered Wind's Cage.

Shamal was prepared to link their conversation with Louise but decided that, if she had not told her, there must have been a reason so instead she just contacted Signum.

"The truth is that there wasn't only one attack eight years ago but three at the same moment." She let it sink in.

"Three? Why?"

"That I'll explain later. As you may know, one of them targeted Louise and Henrietta as well as one of the Royal treasures. Thank Brimir Louise managed to foil that one by escaping with every one of the other targets. We still don't know who the perpetrator is but we know who their patrons are." Shamal nodded. She had heard it during a their training with Louise while they were in the clearing.

"The second, the one who succeeded, was the grievous murder of the monarchs, both of them were targeted but I still managed to save her Majesty. At least for a time anyways. The third one targeted us, me and my husband."

Shamal went pale. She could only see two reasons for attacking the top two families of a country. "Political enemy?" She asked.

"Yes, but not for the one you believe. After my husband took charge, following cardinal Mazarin's insistence on his right of inheritance, we literally overturned the country searching the perpetrators and their allies. They wanted to place Marianne's and Henry's murder on us. We only got unscathed thanks to Louise's attempted kidnapping taking place at the same time."

"Then who tried to kill you?" Shamal asked knowing it would be central to her roles as Louise's familiar.

As they turned onto other hall, Louise's mother stopped. "We have no proof of who it might be but we know that their plot was to use our deaths as an excuse to take Louise away which mean they, like the group that attempted the kidnapping, already knew her significance when I still didn't." The queen's voice had become a cold whisper. If she was to make an analogy, Shamal would compare the woman with a mother bear. A mother bear who could shred anyone in sight with only a flick of her wrist.

'Yep, Signum. All the way.' Shamal thought. They started to walk anew. "You have suspects, I suppose." Shamal asked.

"More than that. As I said we just don't have proof but it doesn't mean we don't know. The attempted kidnapping is still mystery as they were the more discrete and were using unknown magic to foul our defenses, but the two other are sure." Shamal quickly took note of that fact. Another thing adding to the fact that this world might be less alone that she they thought. Over the link, Signum agreed.

"The death of King Henry and Queen Marianne was a first trial run of what is currently happening in Albion. A rehearsal that didn't work as great as they thought it would be." Karina scoffed. "As for my murder, it was an idea of the current Pope Vitorio, then a very ambitious cardinal." Suddenly Shamal understood why exactly Louise didn't trust the Church. She probably knew already about that.

As she said that, the queen opened a door that led to a large inclosed field with an open sky. In the middle, stood a man with white hair under his dark blue hat which seemed to be his favorite color as nobleman's garments were the same color.

"Miss Shamal, I present you the Captain of the Griffin Knights' Corps, Viscount Jean-Jack Francis de Wardes." The man who was standing there was obviously waiting for them. As he came to greet her, she already knew she didn't like the man.

The queen pointed to her as the man advanced toward them. "Captain, I present you Miss Shamal, a new knight officer who will join my youngest daughter's guard." Shamal quirked an eyebrow. 'She didn't tell him the truth.'

"Nice to meet you." Shamal bowed lightly. 'You remind me of one of those prehistoric dinosaurs with your penciled in smile and horrid presence.'

"As I am." The man said, taking his hat in one hand before turning to his queen. "I assume she is the reason you sent for me while I was off duty."

"You assume right. I would like you to test her capacity in a duel." The man turned to her with an appraising eye, his stare taking its time on Laeventein. Shamal reflexively caressed her finger, where Clarwind used to be.

"If she is to be a Knight officer, why would you need to test her majesty? I am the one being tested?" The man was not a fool. He knew something was up. She doubted he would openly oppose his monarch for long. It was most likely just a barb.

"Think what you will, Viscount. I need to assess her skill level but I can't do it myself. I personally trained you and your capabilities are the closer to mine. It will be a good training for you too. Or," she narrowed her eyes, "Are you questioning my judgement?"

The man bowed slightly. "Of course not." The noble man turned to face her once again. "Looks like we will duel Ma'am. I hope you are ready. I'll try to hold back." The man smirked before going to the center of the field.

Shamal sighed 'Master did say she would test us. I just hope I won't have to use the more exotic moves.' She followed him to the center. She was not a warrior like Signum but had seen enough to know the basics. That man was almost on par with the queen. This will not be easy.

Speaking of the queen, she could not see her anywhere.

"En garde." The man said, unsheathing a narrow sword that probably doubled as a wand. Over the Wind, she heard him mumble what seemed like a more advanced version of Louise's speed spell.

"Laeventein." Shamal called as she unsheathed her own sword keeping on guard. She had been already in her knight armor for the travel so there would be no magical flare.

[Bereit, Herrin] The device answered, charging the cartridges. Shamal verified she still had the ten packs she had crafted this last week. "Good." She took her place, readying her own spells.

"Shamal, Captain, remember that you must follow the rules." The voice of the queen came from somewhere, the echoes making hard to pinpiont the exact location. "This duel is NOT a death match. You MUST stay in the training ground. The first to yield, get knocked out or run out of willpower loses. If the duel takes too long, I will choose the winner. However, remember that it's just a training. Your honor is not on the line. I just want to assess both of your capabilities." She paused, letting what she had said sink in.

Not letting her eyes stray from her opponent, Shamal nodded. The viscount did the same.

"You can go." As soon as the metaphorical handkerchief hit the ground. Shamal felt a sharp Wind magic rush past her as she dodged to the right. 'Ok , So he is a Wind mage.'

She did not have the time to think as the man was already on her, a little storm around his sword-wand. He had accurately predicted her movements and was pointing straight to her belly.

[Wind Shield] Her device called as the familiar green triangle glowed, protecting her from the offensive magic. The man, eyes wide with surprise, quickly leaped backward landing crouched on his feet.

Using the little time given by the man's recovery, Shamal closed the distance, her sword in over her head and she brought it down on the Viscount's exposed shoulder followed by whirling orbs [Zephyr Schüsse].

When her blade connected with Wardes' block the orbs rounded her, the Wind they contained unleashing agaisnt the swordman's protective clothing. Unfortunately for her, she was still too much of a rookie with the sword itself, her large movement had given Wardes the chance to quickly pushed her back, making her lose her balance and allowing Wardes the opportunity to cast his own spell.

She couldn't even blink before being caught by one of the lighting arcs the man had conjured around himself. 'Uh oh.' Shamal thought to herself.

She had to roll to the side to dodge another lighting spell, directed at her deliberately. Distracted by the flashes of light blocking her sight, she didn't see the man jump at her with his blade.

'Ugh.' It hurt but, even if she wasn't a front liner like her comrades, she had sustained a lot of injuries in her lives. Feeling a rush of air on her cheek, she instinctively hurled herself backward and her sword locked with Wardes sword-wand at the hilt.

The weight of her own device compensated for her lack of pure strength so much so that she wasn't forced back. She was close enough for her to see that the man was enjoying the fight. When the tell-tale of another lighting spell appeared, she laid low placing her hand under the man [Surging Storm].

From where her hand was, a powerful storm surged up, throwing the man away from her. She wasn't a match for him at close range, so she had to get some distance.

As the man got to fly, Shamal propelled herself backward while swiftly changing her cartridges. She kept up an eye on the man and was ready when the lighting blast took form at the point of the captain's sword who had managed to catch on one of the longer branches of the trees that bordered the field.

[Wind Shield] As she raised her sword she put her weight behind her shield as an incoming blast came toward her. The blast was too fast for her to dodge.

"Yah." Shamal heard her opponent yell behind his spell. Feeling her shields would be failing, she steeled herself and closed her eyes. [Panzerchild]

The blast connected, sending her against one of the walls.

"Do you yield?" The man said, confident she would but Shamal smiled, seeing her own attack had yet to make contact.

"Not yet." She said as she got up, quickly dodging a cutting [Razor Wind]. The man's assault didn't stop there and she was forced to run as the man ripped them apart.

Shamal wanted to use the Snakeform. She fought in that form far better but something was telling her she should save it for when she would really need it, not in a petty duel with a sleazy nobleman. That self-imposed limitation didn't stop her. She still had some tricks up her sleeves. Answering an other wave of Cutting Wind with her own Wind spells, Shamal turned to face the Tristainian who was tiring. He had stopped trying to follow her and was just throwing his curved spells at her forcing her to move to his miserable tune.

'Not this time.'

She thought as she saw him ready an other round of Lighting Cage.

Suddenly stopping her movement, she hit the ground with Laeveitein were a big green triangle appeared "[Commandment Chains]" She shouted.

As soon as she did so, green chains hurled toward the Captain from many smaller triangles all around the field. She, unknown to Wardes, had been infused her magic all around the ground as she ran. "[Tanzen Haft]"

The man was surprisingly agile for his age and managed to dodge most of them. But her plan didn't stop here. "[Zephyr Schüsse]." She called the swirling green orbs again, lancing them toward the man. For a moment, she saw the man blurring from sight for a moment before stabilizing. She pegged it on the heavy drain she was inflicting on her linker core maintaining all those chains and shooters.

The man was fighting all he could, blasting the chains with powerful Wind spells while crushing her shooters with his sword largely thanks to lighting fast reflexes - again abnormal for a guy that old looking - but soon enough, a green orb caught his wand hand. In the lapsing time he took to take off, the chains were already on him.

The man was scowling, frustrated. "Do you yield?" She asked him as she got near him, her Laeventein on his throat.

"No." The man said in a smile, before suddenly disappearing.

"Hinter! Achtung"

Laeveitein tried to warn her. She managed to turn around but it was already to late. As she collapsed from the Lighting shock on her neck, all she saw were twin smug smiles of her opponent. 'That blur huh. You won't have me next time.'

...

While Shamal was entering the field

Somewhere deep in the Tristania's palace.

"Here we are" Her master shouted.

Shamal had just cut the link after sending the unpleasant face of the Viscount.

It had taken a while to get there as Louise kept second guessing herself on the exact direction but she seemed to known the general vicinity of where she was going which was a plus. They managed to find the damn room of the forgotten priceless items in under an hour -another victory.

From what Signum had understood, it was the vault where they stored precious but unusable things such as old heathen relics or untranslatable books.

"Now, where did we put it again?" Louise was looking around the large room. "Henrietta, Signum, can you help me search for it?"

Henrietta didn't voice her answer and instead just started to rummage through the left corner of the room where she could see some broken weapons while Louise looked uselessly through some old parchments. Deep underneath its' monster mass laid a trove of shiny metal things seen only by a small hole. Well, its either that or the pinkette's brain pulling a very clever prank.

"What does it look like?" Signum asked.

"It's a big broad sword with a seal around its guard. Whatever you do, don't touch the seal without my permission. Grab it by the blade if you have to touch it." Louise answered still in the middle of and next to a very unstable looking pile of parchments.

Signum was about to ask why she would search for a sword there - Signum didn't have Louise's knack for seeing the unseeable - but thought better of it and got to work in the right corner of the room.

Signum could have used a spell if she knew more about the sword makeup but the room was so infested with unstable artifacts that she didn't even dare to even ask.

After 15 minutes, they still hadn't found it. That vault was really badly arranged. As advertised, you could really find anything here and she had found things like the old etendard of the first crusade amidst books about old treaties with Albion as well as a vase marked "Vampire Blob" in the middle of what was identified as Elven Arrows.

"Master, isn't there any inventory we could consult to see where it was stored?" Signum asked as she looked behind a mirror.

"It would be useless." The young bodyguard asked.

"May I ask why? It shouldn't be that hard to put some order among all those pieces of junk." She was as calm as ever even after all that time searching. It was just as true that she could not see anything that could really be useful here.

"Those pieces of junk as you put it are what made Tristain. Please have some respect." The purple-haired woman retorted before lifting what must have been a proud shield rusted to the point it broke in her not so delicate hands. "Even if they are pieces of junk."

"So, why can't these...'treasures' be put into place?" Signum asked once more, looking for the next portion she would inspect.

"Because that piece was enchanted so that only the royal family can touch the hilt. A poor decision, yes, but it seemed a good idea at the time. The vault is protected with the same spell." Henrietta pointed out.

"Even so, it shouldn't be such a mess. There are books everywhere." Signum made a grand gesture with her hand to emphasize her point. There wasn't any logical order in the arrangement of the room and she had more that once failed to stop herself from falling on one of the books laying around.

The voice of her master came from under what she thought looked like a mural painting. "That's because...wah!"

Brrrrr. BRrrrr. The room was shaking.

Said mural had fallen down when Louise had tried steady and distance herself from the walls prompting Signum to swiftly move to stop the wall from trapping her mistress in the small alcove.

"Is everything alright master?" Signum asked as she slowly knelt next to the 'chef d'oeuvre' on the ground.

"Yes, thanks to the both of you." Louise smiled at them before spuddering nonsense like she could have saved herself if she had a little warning, blah, blah. At the same time, apparently the young knight - e.g. the one who hadn't lived for centuries - had dived under the rubble using her own body to protect her friend. "As I was saying," Louise said in a less terrifying version of her mother's commanding voice, "Eleanor often comes here to study and she always make a mess. There's no point in clean it up because that idiot will just mess it up again." Louise slowly got up, taking the hand of a red-faced Henrietta - her face made contact with a certain part of Louise's chest, not that there's much to feel - held out for her and passing her wand around a minor injury the fall had caused her.

"You should be more on your guard." Henrietta pouted scoldingly. She looked hard at her charge when she saw the small smile play over Louise's lips.

"I know but you were there so it was safe." Her tone was so innocent that it made Signum squirm for some reason. Henrietta nearly died of happiness.

She ignored moment occurring between to two girls, a skill she'd gained over the years, and looked in the pile Louise looked through. There she saw a really old-looking scabbard, the thread frayed and wood the purple-hair was lost in her mistress eyes, flirting but not realizing they're flirting, Signum asked, "Sorry to bother you, but is that it?"

The pair broke eye contact and the pinkette's face lit up. "Ah, yes! Give it to me. I'll break the seal." Signum obeyed and gave the heavy sword to Louise. As she heard her master incant something in a language she didn't know over the blade, Signum mused that, if it was what it was said to be, it was at just the right weight and length for her to use. Once the seal was broken, Louise delicately got the sword out of its scabbard and carefully gave it back to her.

"It does look good?" Signum said as she played a little with it.

"LOOK GOOD? I'm the best you'll ever see my girl." Signum heard a hoarse voice coming from behind her as she was trying a downward thrust.

"And it talks too. Maybe I'll really be able to do something with it." She had felt the tingle the moment she had touched it so she knew the thing was at least magical.

"He... You aren't surprised?" the sword said surprised.

"My old sword can talk too, as well as my comrades' rings and hammer. The question is can you handle my magic.". Signum answered.

"Can I handle your magic? Hee, do I have to ask you if you can handle a sword? I am the legendary sword Derflinger and I have more than 6000 years on me! Of course I can." The sword boasted.

Signum turned to her annoyed master. "Is he always like this?"

The young girl was already massaging her temples. The blasted thing's existence was enough to give her a migraine. "Yes always. If not, he would probably be mother's sword. But the thing never stops talking even when I blast it!"

"That's because you're interesting girly. After being left behind for so long with unworthy people, finding myself in the hand of such a great warrior. Ohhhh." Signum could hear the pleasure the sword had at the remembrance. It was sorta creepy.

"You didn't stop talking for a whole week." Louise deadpanned "And nothing you said was interesting. You didn't even remember what happen when you were the Gandalfr's weapon but you boasted about it the whole week."

"Of course I had to. I hadn't seen a Void mage for 6000 years and it looks like you got better too. Your hand told me that much." the sword followed.

"Well, I had to. Also, for future reference, palm reading without some's permission is bad manners." Louise said shortly "But that's not the problem." She turned to the Fire mage. "Signum, do you think that thing will do?"

"Let's see" Signum played with the sword again, making different movement before concentrating on her magic. Immediately, she noted that it would make a perfect foci for her magic. Her fire could pass through without any hindrance.

"Well , you're a hot lady I see." The sword joked.

"In more ways than one." She replied dryly. She wanted to try something else.

"Woohoo. Very hot even. I hadn't seen spells that complex in a while, not the same style but I guess it's the same." Derflinger answered as she let the unvoiced spell run through it.

She smiled " I knew it."

"Knew what? Is that sword really good for you? Or can I blast it away?" Her master asked.

"You're as short-tempered as the last time girly. Uncle Derflinger is glad." If it could have nodded the sword would have but instead he just moved the metallic part of its guard.

"You're not. My uncle." Louise said as she visibly raining in her temper.' You damn pervert. I know you were sneaking peeks under the maids' dresses. I saw you...' was the unvoiced portion of that statement .

"Better me than that mad one." Derflinger said smugly.

'Can't deny that.'

Louise ground her teeth. She turned to her familiar. "So Signum, apart from a very bad sense of humor, what did you see in that sword?"

"I saw that I found a new member for the Cloud Knights." Louise gasped but Signum hadn't finished and gave a predatory smile as she looked at her reflection in the sword. "A new member who will have to learn to respect our master. I may not know how weapons like you work but I'm sure Shamal will and you make too good a substitute device for me to let you go."

There was a very audible clap on metal. For a long second, nobody moved.

"I like it." The sword cut the silence "You're not the Gandalfr but you'll make a excellent partner, Lifdrasil."

"Glad you think so highly of me. With some luck, you now be a thing that'll be useful for our Master." Signum said as she took the scabbard.

"I wouldn't count on it. Like I said, he talked non-stop for one full week before Eleanor sealed him and put him here. All he knows that would be useful is that I am a void mage and that the four familiars of Brimir were all women. Oh, and that he is afraid of snakes."

"I'm not afraid of snakes but The Snake. That's the one image I will never forget." Signum heard a shudder in its voice. To frighten an old sword like that, "The Snake" must have been something dangerous. Signum hoped she wouldn't have to defend her master from something that could frighten 6000 years old sentient metal.

"So partner, what's your name? I don't remember you giving it." Derflinger was back to his usual demeanor to the horror of everyone.

"My name is Signum, Leader of the Cloud knights and Master Louise's familiar and knight. Nice to meet you Derflinger." She said politely.

"Nice to meet you, Partner, So...why did you come anyway? I suppose it was not just so you could meet a handsome devil such as myself."

Louise gasped. "Ah right, Mother and Shamal must be waiting. I hope they didn't wait too long." She quickly raced out - Karina was not a woman to keep waiting - followed by Henrietta. Signum put Derfliger in him scabbard before going after them. As she closed the vault, she heard a loud thud. 'Really messy place.' She thought before racing after the duo.

Thank you for reading. Please review, I would like to hear your thought.

Thank go to Alphawold45 for the beta.

Fragment of Ring