Future Plans

Lucian Bachmann, a Banneret of the Purple Dragons, was a close friend and comrade of Aaron's father, Manuel. A master Purple Dragon Knight with a thick beard and long, curly hair, Lucian had been awarded the rank of Banneret for his service as a knight-commander after the Time of Troubles.

The master Purple Dragon Knight had always felt guilty about his old friend's death. After Manuel died, he had worked hard on Aaron's behalf and even offered to become his knightly mentor, teaching him the ways of the Purple Dragons.

Aaron had given him no formal answer. Lucian had been busy at the time, so he had told Aaron to think it over without rushing into a decision.

Now, unexpectedly, he had come calling again.

Aaron set down his knife and fork, frowned, and began to think.

Seeing that he seemed to be considering something serious, Eleanor knew this was no time to settle scores with him. The young cleric tucked away her angry glare and took out her frustration on the creamy hare stew in front of her.

Mm. He may be infuriating, but the food in his house really is good.

Lady of Silver, this rabbit is delicious.

Was it a farm-raised hare?

"I'd guess he deliberately came while I was out," Aaron told Aunt Mellie. "He wanted to give me a chance to refuse."

"Yes, Mr. Lucian has put a lot of thought into this. Aaron, I think he's right. You can't go on like this. You have a Viscount's title, but no actual post." Seeing that Aaron appeared to be taking the matter seriously, Aunt Mellie ventured, "Besides, you know you're the last of the Salians. You already qualify to join the Purple Dragons. Why not take this chance to enter the order and train properly?"

"And you're a Viscount, Aaron. The family may have fallen on hard times, but if Her Highness the Lord Regent calls you to war, you'll still have to go," Uncle Lothair added. "Otherwise, that annual stipend of eight hundred Golden Lions... If you refuse the call, given our regent's temperament, she'll certainly..."

Lothair spread his hands and left the rest unsaid.

No one else reacted, but the young cleric frowned without thinking.

Eleanor had a vague feeling that Mellie and Lothair weren't speaking entirely for Aaron's sake.

Of course. Now that they live in a mansion and have a comfortable life, neither of them wants to leave and return to living frugally in the lower city.

That's how people are. Lady of Silver, everyone comes and goes in pursuit of their own interests.

The thought left the young cleric feeling a little dispirited.

She wasn't a Salian, so it wasn't her place to speak.

Yet the more she thought about it, the more she felt that, whatever selfish motives Aaron's aunt and uncle had, they did have a point.

Aaron was a noble of the kingdom, a Touched One of the Lady of Silver, and a Sorcerer gifted with Extraordinary Charisma. If he stayed home living off a fixed royal stipend and doing nothing with his life, that would be contemptible!

The Lady of Silver spent so much divine power healing you, and Lady Silverstar used faith the temple had gathered over decades, perhaps a century. None of it was so you could shut yourself away and give up!

As the one assigned to watch over you, it's my duty to make absolutely sure you don't become one of those cruel, drunken, lecherous wastrels!

You won't disappoint me, will you?

Eleanor stole a glance at Aaron. He had always made a good impression on her: he took initiative, wanted to improve himself, acted with method and foresight, and had principles of his own.

The Lady of Silver had not been wrong to choose him. At least, nothing so far suggested otherwise.

Around the dining room, everyone had their own thoughts, but all were waiting for Aaron's answer.

Aaron kept his head lowered for more than a minute.

"I need a little time to think about it. I'll make a decision in the next couple of days." Having offered that noncommittal answer, Aaron turned to Lothair. "Come to my study after dinner, Uncle. I have something I need you to do."

"...All right." Lothair looked stunned.

Aaron actually had a task for him?

Lothair wondered if Aaron was joking, but his expression was serious, with a hint that he would not take no for an answer. Lothair could only agree.

After that one mission, his nephew really did seem a little different!

With that, the lavish dinner came to an end. Mellie had the household maids clear the table and heat water for the young cleric's bath. As she did, she cast a slightly worried look upstairs.

Yes, the young cleric had ended up staying the night.

The reason had everything to do with the lightning, thunder, and sudden downpour outside.

With rain pouring down and Aaron having given her a hint, Aunt Mellie had planted herself at the door and insisted with great warmth that the young cleric stay. Cousin Yuta had gone straight up to Eleanor and wrapped her arms around her leg, sweetly calling her "big sister" again and again.

Eleanor herself had no idea when she had agreed. In any case, she stayed.

These clothes are expensive, and so are these shoes. I can't let them get dirty!

The young cleric kept making excuses to herself. Although she helped clear the dining table, her eyes strayed upstairs from time to time.

After dinner, Aaron had gone into his study and shut himself in.

What was he doing in there?

In the study, Aaron stood before the window, his expression cold.

Outside, lightning split the black night sky as thunder rolled and rain fell steadily. Each flash briefly lit the dim street before darkness swallowed it again.

Rain beat against the windowpanes, and against Aaron's heart.

"Lothair, listen to me." Aaron stood with his hands behind his back, his left hand clenched and his right wrapped around it. The Viscount spoke evenly. "When you go to work at the Stables tomorrow, ask any knights who come by whether there's a suitable mentor for Sorcerers in Suzail. Tell them someone has awakened Extraordinary Charisma and become a Sorcerer."

"A mentor for Sorcerers? Aaron, have you... become a Sorcerer?" Lothair looked baffled at first, then his face lit up. "Good heavens, Lady of Silver! Why didn't you tell us such wonderful news?"

A spellcaster? Aaron had become a spellcaster?

To Lothair, who had spent thirty years raising horses in his own small world, spellcasters were people far above the rest. They could make fortunes easily, command the respect of nobles, and charge a sack of gold for a single spell. Even the least successful could become a librarian or scholar, or teach at the War Wizard Academy: grand figures who sat around collecting money all day!

They weren't called masters of magic for nothing.

"It isn't the right time to make it public." Aaron's voice deepened. His bright, handsome eyes suddenly turned dark and fierce. A gray-violet vortex swirled through his pupils, sending a chill down Lothair's spine.

Lothair swallowed. Yes, his nephew was a master of magic now, while he was just a man who tended horses. "Aaron, tell me again. What do you want me to do?"

"Go to the Stables tomorrow and tend to your work. When knights come to choose or use horses, tell them someone has awakened Extraordinary Charisma. He's become a Sorcerer and can cast spells on his own, but he doesn't know how to use his newfound powers and hopes to find proper guidance." Aaron motioned for his uncle to sit. "Remember, whether they agree to help or not, don't tell them I'm the one who awakened."

"But how could that work? How am I supposed to keep working at the Stables afterward?" Lothair immediately objected. "That's impossible, Aaron. I can't do it."

"You can tell them it isn't that you don't want to say, but that the person in question forbade you to." Aaron gestured. "Don't give up the name too quickly. Wait, and someone higher up will come to ask you. Then you can consider whether to tell them."

"Oh! I understand!" Lothair caught on at once. "It's like selling horses. You bring out a poor horse dressed up to look good and deliberately let the customer see through it. Then you pretend you have no choice but to bring out the fine horse. The customer feels clever and usually pays for it on the spot."

"Exactly. I'll leave it to you to judge who should see the poor horse and who deserves the fine one. When the time is right, bring out the fine horse—spread the news about me." Aaron nodded.

"Understood, understood." Lothair finally had the whole picture. He couldn't help laughing at how roundabout his nephew was being. "But why go to all this trouble? If you reported it directly to the royal family, a duke, or Grand Master Stavalar, the royal family would surely find you a magic mentor! Aaron, you're Cormyr born and bred. You're Manuel's son!"

"It isn't the same." Aaron shook his head, his expression calm. "Uncle, when you sell a horse, do you get a better price when a buyer comes looking for one, or when you take it to market?"

"When the buyer comes looking, of course. That means he needs one urgently... Oh! I get it!" Lothair slapped his thigh.

When had his nephew become so clever?

Did adventuring really change a person that much? If it did, perhaps he should have Aaron take Robert along on an easier mission next time, so the boy could see something of the world.

Once he had given his instructions, Aaron waved his uncle out. Alone in the study, he looked over the shelves of books, the map of Cormyr on the wall, the swords and other weapons on their rack, and the animal heads mounted by the fireplace. His gaze settled on the enormous head of an Owlbear, and he fell into thought.

Neither in his previous life nor in this one had he known much about spellcasting. For now, he relied entirely on the instinct flowing through his blood.

Even Sorcerers, born with the ability to cast spells and fortunate among spellcasters, needed mentors. Unlike a Mage's mentor, though, one who could teach a Sorcerer was hard to find.

After Lothair left, Aaron settled into his chair. He leaned back, resting his left arm on the cherrywood armrest while the index finger of his right hand tapped lightly against the sandalwood desk.

Why had he asked his uncle to put on this little performance with him?

The reason was simple. Aaron was like a young man with the technical know-how to start a business but no capital. Going door to door with his idea, begging for investment, was entirely different from having someone spot its potential and approach him with funding as an angel investor.

In the first case, he would lose most of his leverage. In the second, there would still be strings attached, but he could keep the initiative.

Aaron knew that, given his status, his standing in Cormyr, and his parents' connections, he would have little trouble getting the royal family to arrange a mentor for him. But if he did, he would owe them an enormous debt.

He already owed Selûne, the Lady of Silver, a tremendous debt. As he had promised, he would repay her. He had even worked out how to use his "big gift" to do so.

But Aaron had no wish to owe Cormyr too much.

He wasn't even sure what the current Lord Regent, Princess Alusair, thought of him.

He didn't want to tie himself too tightly to Cormyr just yet. With his talent, he could obtain the magical guidance he needed in Waterdeep or Silverymoon to the west, or in Aglarond, the Dalelands, or the Kingdom of Halruaa to the south. There was no reason to put himself at a severe disadvantage over the search for a mentor.

That was not what he wanted. It did not fit his "grand plan."

The appearance of the Queen's Blade had been a warning.

He also needed to test what the Obarskyr Royal House thought of him.

When a "Touched One of the Lady of Silver," a "Sorcerer with Extraordinary Charisma," and a "descendant of a Martyr" appeared before the royal family, how would the princess regent, renowned for her harsh, cold manner, treat him?

Aaron looked forward to finding out.

Knock, knock. Not long after his uncle left, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Aaron rubbed his brow and instinctively restored his sincere, faintly beguiling smile.

Ha. I'm always saying the young cleric has two faces, but don't I have two myself?

People go through life wearing masks.

Just as Aaron expected, it was the young cleric. She clearly wasn't satisfied with their earlier conversation. Once Eleanor saw that they were alone, she shut the door and marched up to him. "Aaron, what are you thinking? Do you want to join the Purple Dragons and train as an apprentice knight?"

Aaron glanced at the closed door, then nodded slowly. "Yes. That's my plan. I'm still very weak, so I intend to spend six months training as an apprentice knight with the Purple Dragons and raise my abilities to the elite level first."

"At the same time, I need time to master my magic." A strange blue flame sprang from Aaron's palm. "As you said, I need a magic mentor."

He hadn't disappointed me after all. The light in the young cleric's eyes brightened, and she nodded. "Lady Silverstar has also asked me to help the church here in Suzail. If you need me, you know where to find me."

"You're not going to protect me anymore?" Aaron immediately put on a wounded expression.

"This is Suzail, not the King's Forest!" the young cleric said helplessly. "If your life is in danger even here, what good would having me beside you do?"

"We could go see the Lady of Silver together!"

"Aaron!!! That isn't funny at all!"

The young cleric was plainly angry. "That is not something to joke about! You're a Touched One of the Lady of Silver. My lady spent so much divine power healing your soul. What do you take that for? A farce?"

"I know, I know." Aaron quickly raised a hand in surrender. He came out from behind the desk, walked up to Eleanor, and took hold of her shoulders. "I'm just worried I won't get to see you anymore."

"...I told you. You know where to find me." Eleanor was plainly at a loss under Aaron's attention. A faint blush spread across the young cleric's delicate face, and she instinctively took two steps back, her high-heeled shoe tracing circles on the floor. "I'll be at the church."

"Then it's settled. When I come to see you, you're not allowed to hide from me!" Satisfied that he had gotten his way, Aaron wisely chose not to press further. He returned to his seat and saw that the young cleric had not left. "Go ahead. Ask what you want to ask."

"If you mean to join the Purple Dragons as an apprentice knight, why not simply accept Banneret Lucian's invitation?" the young cleric asked, finally voicing the question that had troubled her all evening.

"Dear Eleanor, nobles and clergy think in different ways," Aaron said calmly, as though stating something self-evident.

"The Salians are devoted to the Lady of Silver. Before her, I can hold nothing back, because she is my goddess, my lady."

"But there is no such bond among nobles. Even with family, even through marriage, even between master and apprentice, we must keep something in reserve."

"In all of Cormyr, and even in this house, you're the only person I can hold nothing back from, dear Eleanor!"

Faced with Aaron's earnest expression, the young cleric had no defense. She stumbled back in a fluster.

"I-I-I'm not talking to you anymore, you... you!"

Eleanor pulled open the door and fled. The crisp click of her heels echoed down the corridor, leaving Aaron smiling in the study.

It was time to begin the next stage of the plan.

Everything was part of the plan.

Everything was the plan! Plan! Plan! Plan!